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China strongly condemns U.S. use of force against Venezuela

Xinhua) 09:23, January 04, 2026

BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the U.S.'s blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said here Saturday.

It's reported that the U.S. launched military strikes on Venezuela and Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. has "successfully" carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife, have been taken and "flown out of the country."

Such hegemonic acts of the U.S. seriously violate international law and Venezuela's sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region, the spokesperson said, adding that China firmly opposes it.

"We call on the U.S. to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries' sovereignty and security," said the spokesperson.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
News / National

by Staff reporter

Local businessman Wicknell Chivayo spent New Year's Day with President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the Head of State's rural home in Zvishavane, a visit that underscored what Chivayo described as his close relationship with the presidency.The meeting took place while President Mnangagwa was on official leave, but he nonetheless received Chivayo alongside local traditional leaders and villagers from the Mapanzure area.In a social media post following the visit, Chivayo said he had paid a courtesy call to congratulate the President on his leadership, praising Mnangagwa's work ethic and describing him as a "servant leader" who remains engaged with national issues even while on vacation.Chivayo said the President shared reflections from his time during the liberation struggle, including his involvement with the Crocodile Gang, and reiterated his long-standing philosophy of "Nyika Inovakwa Nevene Vayo," a principle that emphasizes national development driven by Zimbabweans themselves.He also expressed confidence in the forthcoming second phase of the National Development Strategy (NDS2), saying it would build on gains made under the first phase. Chivayo reaffirmed his support for President Mnangagwa's Vision 2030 agenda, which seeks to transform Zimbabwe into an upper-middle-income economy.Concluding his remarks, Chivayo pledged the loyalty of the youth to the values of the ruling Zanu-PF party and wished the President continued success in steering the country's development agenda.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A woman married to a cross-border truck driver has appeared before Chief Mutasa's community court following accusations by members of her extended family that she used supernatural powers to prosper, claims that have sparked a bitter family dispute.Phillipa Chuma told the court that the conflict erupted unexpectedly after what she believed would be a routine family phone call turned into a confrontation marked by hostility and allegations of witchcraft from her granddaughter, Gracious Chiuta.Chuma testified that she had phoned her nephew, the son of her late sister, but the call was answered by Gracious, who allegedly responded angrily."Instead of greeting me, she started shouting, saying I was not her relative," said Chuma. "She accused me of being a witch and claimed I had bewitched her so that she would be forced to return from Durban, where she had been staying."She denied the allegations, telling the court she had never practised witchcraft or harmed any member of her family. Chuma said she later reported the incident to her brother, after which Gracious' father attempted to intervene and calm the situation.However, Chuma said the dispute escalated when Gracious allegedly grabbed the phone from her father and repeated the accusations."That is when I realised this was no longer a misunderstanding," she said, adding that attempts by elders to resolve the matter privately had failed, forcing the family to seek intervention from the traditional court.Gracious denied ever accusing Chuma of witchcraft, claiming the situation had been misrepresented."I never called her a witch. She is the one who accused me of spreading rumours," Gracious told the court. She said she had answered the phone respectfully and was instead confronted with accusations that she had told her younger sister that Chuma was a witch.Her denial was challenged when a call recording was produced in court involving Chuma's brother and a family friend, Fanuel Magaswa, in which Gracious was allegedly heard accusing her grandmother of witchcraft. The recording cast doubt on her version of events.Chuma's brother, Millicent Chiuta, told the court that his sister was being targeted out of jealousy rather than any wrongdoing."They are blaming my sister for all their problems. They say she is the reason they are not getting married and why they do not get along," he said.He added that the accusations stemmed from resentment over Chuma's improved living standards."They are jealous because she is doing well. Her husband works in the diaspora, and that has created bad blood," said Millicent, who asked the court to deal with the matter openly to clear his sister's name.He also accused Gracious of lying under oath, saying she had previously apologised for accusing Chuma of witchcraft, claiming she had acted out of anger.Chuma's husband, Petros Chuma, also addressed the court, rejecting the allegations and explaining that their family's income came from his work as a truck driver."We live well because I work hard as a truck driver, not because of witchcraft," he said. "I have never known my wife to be involved in anything like that."He told the court that the accusations had gone as far as the creation of a WhatsApp group allegedly dedicated to attacking his wife's character.Chief Mutasa expressed concern at the ease with which witchcraft accusations were being made within families, warning that such claims often cause lasting damage to relationships."Children should not involve themselves in disputes involving elders and parents," said the chief. "Being well off is not a crime, and you cannot accuse someone of witchcraft simply because they are living a better life."He urged the family to prioritise unity and mutual respect, warning against jealousy and resentment. Chief Mutasa referred the family to a traditional healer for a clearance process, saying it could help restore peace and bring the dispute to a close.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Accusations and counter-accusations of ritual practices linked to unexplained deaths and mysterious illnesses have fractured a once close-knit family in Gweru, with the Magore brothers appearing before Chief Mutasa's community court amid deepening mistrust and hostility.What was once a united household bound by shared faith has descended into fear and suspicion, as the brothers  all members of the African Apostolic Church, commonly known as the Mwazha Church  accuse one another of using alleged spiritual means to cause mental illness, strange diseases and deaths in pursuit of business success.The family told the traditional court that their troubles began after their sister married in Masvingo, a period they now view as the turning point in the breakdown of family harmony.Testifying before Chief Mutasa, Simon Magore said the family had lived peacefully until reports emerged that their sister had developed mental health challenges."We all belonged to the same church until our sister got married in Masvingo. We later heard that she had become mentally challenged. Her husband told us she would shout and accuse her brother, Tendai, of wanting to kill her and using her as a luck charm for business rituals," Simon told the court.He said her condition deteriorated to the extent that her husband's family could no longer cope, prompting them to return her to her parental home."We took her to church for help, and prophets said she was being used by a relative involved in business," he said.Suspicion within the family soon centred on Tendai, one of the brothers engaged in business activities away from their rural home.In search of answers, the family later consulted a prophet known as Zuva, who initially told them their late father had collected luck charms that were buried at the homestead and needed to be removed."Those items were taken away, but the prophet later shifted the blame to Tendai," Simon said.According to his testimony, the prophet accused Tendai of obtaining charms for his business ventures in Nyanga, allegations Tendai denied. Simon said the prophet instructed Tendai to bring the alleged charms for destruction in December."When our elder brother went to witness the process, he arrived late and was told the charms had already been destroyed. We were never shown anything, which only increased our doubts," said Simon.He told the court that instead of peace returning to the family, their problems escalated, with sickness and death affecting several family members under circumstances they found difficult to explain. He added that their sister's condition later improved after she was placed on medical treatment.Simon said the accusations have poisoned relationships among the brothers, turning close relatives into adversaries unable to communicate freely.In his defence, Tendai Magore strongly denied the allegations, telling the court he had never possessed any charms and had not inherited any from their late father."I went to the prophet because I had a sick child and wanted help, not because I had charms to destroy. Nothing was burnt because I did not have any charms," he said.Tendai said he could not understand why he was being singled out when other brothers were also involved in business."All my brothers are into businesses. I don't know why I am the one being suspected. When I ask them, they ignore me," he said.He added that the accusations had isolated him from both his family and the church they once shared."I stopped going to church because I saw that these prophets were dividing us instead of bringing peace," Tendai said.Chief Mutasa reprimanded the family for allowing suspicion and jealousy to erode their unity, warning against making serious accusations without evidence."You used to love each other. Why is there bad blood now? Go back and sit down as a family and resolve these issues," said the chief.He stressed that success in business should not be criminalised or spiritualised."Being successful in business is not a sin. If one works hard and prospers, it does not mean they are killing for rituals. Stop being jealous and work hard," Chief Mutasa said.He urged the Magore family to pursue reconciliation through honest dialogue, warning that continued accusations could permanently destroy their family bonds.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Government has intensified efforts to stabilise and rebuild the public health system, recruiting more than 5 000 health workers last year and unveiling plans to double the national health workforce by 2030, a move expected to create at least 32 000 public sector jobs.The expansion is aimed at reducing waiting times at public health institutions and safeguarding access to care at a time when international funding, particularly from Western partners, continues to decline.Health and Child Care Permanent Secretary Dr Aspect Maunganidze said the recruitment drive reflects a strategic shift towards a resilient, self-sustaining health system anchored on domestic financing and long-term planning."This is a deliberate move to build a health system that is largely funded and driven by our own resources," said Dr Maunganidze in an interview. "We are planning for sustainability in an environment where donor funding is shrinking."He said President Mnangagwa is spearheading wide-ranging reforms in the health sector, aimed at addressing long-standing challenges in service delivery and improving essential social services.Under the President's direction, Government has been equipping health institutions with modern medical machinery, rehabilitating infrastructure and improving conditions of service for health workers. Last year, President Mnangagwa made unannounced visits to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, Sally Mugabe Hospital and the National Pharmaceutical Company to assess challenges facing the institutions.The President has repeatedly said the Second Republic will continue modernising the health sector through sustained investment in advanced equipment and infrastructure to guarantee timely emergency care for all citizens.Dr Maunganidze said Treasury had played a central role in supporting the workforce expansion."Treasury concurred with the additional costs associated with expanding the workforce. In 2025 alone, 5 284 posts across various cadres, including nurses, pharmacists and doctors, were availed. This was a significant achievement," he said.By 2030, Government aims to have doubled the current health workforce, creating and sustaining at least 32 000 additional public health jobs. According to the Health Service Commission, the expansion could stimulate more than 100 000 indirect jobs across related sectors such as pharmaceuticals, transport, equipment maintenance and catering.Zimbabwe's health sector has for years struggled with acute staffing shortages, particularly in rural areas, largely due to outward migration. Official assessments show the system is operating at about 47,5 percent of optimal capacity.Nearly 20 percent of doctors trained in Zimbabwe are working abroad, while about 7 550 nurses, representing 35 percent of the nursing workforce, are employed outside the country. The 2022 Health Labour Market Analysis shows Zimbabwe has just over 22 health workers per 10 000 people, well below the global benchmark of 44.Dr Maunganidze said reversing the trend required structural reform and long-term investment, anchored under the Human Resources for Health Investment Compact signed in October 2024."Our health professionals are highly sought after globally because they are well trained and practically competent," he said. "In response, we are strengthening and increasing the production of health workers, with the goal of doubling the workforce by 2030."A key pillar of the strategy is decentralised training, particularly for nurses, to improve retention. Government has established more than five new nurse training schools, with almost every province now hosting or preparing to establish an institution.Recruitment into nurse training has also been devolved to provinces and health institutions."People are more likely to serve in the communities where they grew up," said Dr Maunganidze. "Devolving recruitment strengthens devolution and improves retention."Under the national plan, annual training output is expected to rise from 3 334 health workers in 2022 to at least 7 000 by 2030. Government is also working to professionalise and integrate community health workers into the mainstream health system.The recruitment and training drive comes as donor funding declines, placing pressure on programmes covering HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and maternal and child health. Dr Maunganidze said this reality had reinforced the urgency of mobilising domestic resources."Guided by the Health Financing Dialogue, we mobilised local resources through institutions such as the National AIDS Council, ensuring uninterrupted care for people on antiretroviral therapy and those receiving TB and malaria treatment," he said.Government has also strengthened partnerships with the local private sector to secure essential medicines, positioning Zimbabwe among the more organised countries in the region in managing priority disease programmes.Beyond recruitment, authorities are focusing on improving working conditions to retain health workers."Frustration often comes from lack of equipment rather than remuneration alone," said Dr Maunganidze. "We have embarked on a major drive to equip facilities with theatre equipment, ventilators and incubators, which improves job satisfaction."Infrastructure development is moving alongside workforce expansion. In 2025, major works were rolled out under the Presidential Hospital Renovation Scheme, beginning with Parirenyatwa School of Nursing and Mbuya Nehanda Maternity Hospital, before extending to Mpilo Central Hospital.At community level, four new health centres in Mataga (Mberengwa), Runyararo, Cowdray Park and Stone Ridge have been commissioned in recent years, with additional facilities in Manhize, Chivi, Zaka and Bulilima scheduled from this year.Government aims to reduce walking distances to health facilities from an average of 10 kilometres to five kilometres, particularly in rural areas.Looking ahead, plans are also in place to construct district hospitals for Harare and Bulawayo metropolitan provinces between late 2026 and 2027."These hospitals will fill a critical gap between primary facilities and central hospitals," said Dr Maunganidze. "This middle-level referral infrastructure is essential for an efficient health system."As Zimbabwe advances towards Vision 2030, Government says the rebuilding of the public health system is moving beyond policy commitments to visible change on the ground, facility by facility and community by community.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Several major capital projects in Matebeleland North that Government says are nearing completion have, in reality, missed repeated deadlines, raising concerns over persistent delays, cost overruns and unfulfilled promises that continue to frustrate communities in the province.Despite assurances by Matebeleland North Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Richard Moyo that flagship projects such as the Lake Gwayi-Shangani Dam, the BulawayoVictoria Falls Highway rehabilitation and the Lupane Provincial Hospital will be completed this year, critics and residents point out that most of these initiatives were initially scheduled for completion years ago.The BulawayoVictoria Falls Highway, one of the country's most strategic transport corridors, has been neglected for more than a decade, with timelines repeatedly revised. While Government recently opened a 5,4-kilometre stretch at Cross Jotsholo and says 38 kilometres have been completed under the first phase, motorists and transport operators argue that progress has been painfully slow given the road's economic importance."The problem is not announcements, it is delivery," said a Hwange-based transport operator. "This road has been under construction for years. Every year we are told it will be completed by a certain date, and every year the deadline shifts."Tourism operators say the prolonged construction has continued to undermine access to Victoria Falls and Hwange National Park, increasing vehicle maintenance costs and discouraging self-drive tourists.Similar concerns surround the Lake Gwayi-Shangani project, which Government describes as one of Zimbabwe's most transformative water infrastructure developments. While officials say the project is now progressing at an accelerated pace, the dam and associated pipeline have been on the national agenda for decades, with more recent completion targets under the Second Republic also repeatedly missed.Although Government says it is disbursing about US$5 million a month and is targeting completion by August, water experts caution that outstanding works, including the full pipeline to Bulawayo and the broader National Matebeleland Zambezi Water Project, remain far from finished."This project has become symbolic of deferred hope for Bulawayo," said a Bulawayo-based civil engineer. "Announcements have come and gone, but the city is still facing water shortages and residents are yet to see tangible relief."The Lupane Provincial Hospital has also been affected by delays. Initially expected to be completed several years ago, the hospital remains partially built, with Government now saying it is awaiting a final US$5 million tranche to complete the first phase. Health advocates say communities have been hearing similar explanations for years, while residents continue to travel long distances to Bulawayo for specialised care."For people on the ground, the hospital is still not operational, so the benefit is theoretical," said a Lupane resident. "Deadlines have been missed many times before."While Government highlights completed projects such as the Hwange Power Station Units 7 and 8 expansion, critics note that other key initiatives, including the rehabilitation of Hwange Units 1 to 6 and the decentralisation of Government services to Lupane through the Welshman Mabhena Government Complex, have also progressed slower than initially planned.Devolution-funded projects, Presidential borehole schemes and Village Business Units have similarly drawn mixed reviews, with some communities benefiting while others complain of uneven implementation and stalled works.Analysts say the pattern of missed deadlines in Matebeleland North reflects broader national challenges, including funding constraints, capacity issues among contractors and weak project management."Setting ambitious targets is important, but credibility comes from meeting them," said a development analyst. "Until these projects are fully completed and functional, communities will remain sceptical of optimistic timelines."As Government renews its pledges to complete the projects this year, residents and stakeholders say what matters most is not new completion dates, but visible, sustained progress that finally turns long-standing promises into reality.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) in Matabeleland South has urged farmers to take up the Bolvac vaccine, which provides lifelong immunity against January Disease (Theileriosis), amid concern over low uptake in one of Zimbabwe's worst-affected provinces.In an interview yesterday, Matabeleland South provincial veterinary director Dr Enat Mdlongwa said the province currently has about 8 000 doses of the vaccine, most of which remain unused despite improved compliance with the recommended cattle dipping programme."While the situation regarding January Disease has generally improved, there is still serious concern about the low uptake of the Bolvac vaccine. By this time, we would have preferred all available doses to have been taken up by farmers, particularly in hotspot areas," said Dr Mdlongwa.He identified Umzingwane and Insiza districts as the main hotspots for January Disease, a tick-borne illness caused by the protozoan Theileria, which typically intensifies during the rainy season.January Disease has historically caused significant economic losses in Matabeleland South, a province where cattle rearing forms the backbone of livelihoods.Dr Mdlongwa said the province is now recording significantly fewer cattle deaths compared to 2022 and 2023, attributing the improvement to better adherence to dipping schedules."Deaths are relatively low because farmers have improved their dipping practices. However, vaccination offers an added advantage because it provides lifelong immunity against January Disease," he said.Before recent outbreaks, most districts recorded about 50 percent compliance with dipping requirements, but some areas have now improved to around 90 percent.Dr Mdlongwa urged farmers who are still lagging behind to strictly adhere to the dipping regime, warning that tick-borne diseases increase sharply during the rainy season.Farmers in January Disease hotspot areas were reminded to follow the 5-5-4 dipping regime, while those in other areas are required to dip their animals weekly until April.Under the 5-5-4 system, cattle are dipped after five days, dipped again after another five days, then after four days, before reverting to a five-day cycle."We are in the wet season when tick activity is very high. Diseases such as January Disease, redwater, gall sickness and sweating sickness pose a serious threat to livestock," said Dr Mdlongwa.He warned that failure by even a single farmer to comply could undermine disease control efforts across the province."A single tick can lay more than 2 000 eggs, which can rapidly spread across an entire herd. Leaving even one animal undipped renders the whole process ineffective," he said.Dr Mdlongwa said the Government, under the Second Republic, has put measures in place to ensure farmers can access dip tanks within reasonable distances.He urged traditional leaders to closely supervise dipping programmes and take action against farmers who fail to comply with regulations."The Government has relaxed legislation that required each dip tank to service 500 cattle. This has resulted in more dip tanks being constructed and others rehabilitated, reducing the distance animals have to travel," he said.In some communities, farmers have taken the initiative to construct dip tanks themselves, a move Dr Mdlongwa said should be encouraged."If we work together as a province, we can preserve our cattle herd. Farmers must also pay the dipping levy to ensure a consistent supply of dip chemicals," he said.The Department of Veterinary Services continues to conduct awareness campaigns on disease prevention and control.Livestock production remains a critical component of livelihoods for most Zimbabweans, contributing significantly to food security, nutrition, employment and economic growth.The Bolvac vaccine was first produced by the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) in 1989 using a local Theileria parva strain. Production was discontinued in the late 1990s due to technical and financial challenges but resumed in 2022 following Government support and partner-funded training.The CVL produced its first batch of about 20 000 doses on August 20, 2022, marking a major milestone in Zimbabwe's fight against January Disease.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) activist has been released unconditionally after the State withdrew a cyber-bullying charge against him before trial proceedings could commence on Friday, December 19, 2025.Lwazi Khanye, who was represented by his lawyer Nqobani Sithole, had been charged under Section 164B of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, read together with the Cyber and Data Protection Act.The charge arose from a video Khanye posted on his personal Facebook account in which he documented finding a photograph attached to a tree at a bushy, undesignated shrine. The image was reportedly tied with a red cloth, woollen strings and needles.Following the publication of the video, individuals identifying themselves as users and leaders of the shrine lodged a complaint with police, alleging that the video amounted to cyber-bullying and was posted with malicious intent to damage the reputation of their church. The shrine leaders were cited as the formal complainants.However, the matter was reviewed by prosecutors and was found to be inadmissible for court proceedings, leading to the State's decision to withdraw the charge before the hearing began.Despite the withdrawal, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) seized Khanye's mobile phone, indicating that it was required for further examination as part of ongoing investigations. Khanye was informed that he could be summoned again should additional evidence emerge.In a statement following the court outcome, the Mthwakazi Republic Party described the withdrawal of the charge as a victory for constitutional rights and freedom of expression.The party said the decision affirmed that the criminal justice system should not be used to pursue unsubstantiated allegations or to suppress constitutionally protected expression. It added that it remained committed to defending its members against what it described as arbitrary arrests, selective enforcement and the misuse of cybercrime legislation.The police and the National Prosecuting Authority did not immediately comment on the matter.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Outspoken opposition politician Job Sikhala says he will expose individuals he claims are plotting to assassinate him when his case goes to trial in South Africa later this month.Sikhala is currently out on bail after explosives were allegedly discovered in a vehicle he was travelling in last November while in South Africa. He has remained in the neighbouring country since his arrest and says he will return to Zimbabwe once the matter is concluded.The former Chitungwiza legislator has consistently denied the charges, insisting that the explosives were planted in his uncle's car by people intent on eliminating him."In their relentless desperation, they followed me from Botswana, where I had addressed the Botswana Patriotic Front congress as an invited international guest, to South Africa to assassinate me," Sikhala said."They ended up planting explosives in the car of my uncle, Alexander Thema, to blow me up. After realising their plan had failed, they tried to recruit rogue elements within the South African intelligence system to incriminate me  an antic that has horribly exposed them," he added.Sikhala said the trial would reveal evidence pointing to what he described as desperate efforts by individuals based in Harare to silence political opponents."Much of the evidence will come out at trial. I will expose how the people in Harare have become so desperate that they resort to trying to assassinate opponents," he said.The founder and chief facilitator of the National Democratic Working Group claimed that those targeting him were panicking and had resorted to extreme measures."It shows they are panicking and have resorted to terrorism against the masses," Sikhala said, adding that Zimbabweans would not be deterred from demanding political change."Zimbabweans know what they want and will not be stopped from demanding their country back from dictatorship and tyranny. All efforts to subdue the masses will fail. It has failed before, and it will fail forever," he said.Sikhala further claimed that 2026 would mark the resurgence of people power, as citizens push back against what he described as oppression."No oppressor will defeat the united force of our people," he said.He also alleged that he was poisoned by a waiter at a South African hotel in October last year, an incident he said he survived "by the grace of God"."The poisoning bore all the footprints of the evil regime," Sikhala claimed.Last year, Sikhala's house in Chitungwiza was damaged by an explosion while he was in South Africa launching his book, Footprints in the Chains: The Life of Job Sikhala.South African authorities have not publicly commented on Sikhala's latest claims.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Southern African Political Economy Series (SAPES) Trust says it is considering legal action against the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) over what it describes as the slow and suspicious handling of investigations into the bombing of its premises in October last year.The SAPES Trust seminar room in Belgravia was attacked on the night of October 27, 2025, after unknown assailants allegedly used an accelerant to start an incendiary fire. The venue was due to host a press conference the following morning by activists opposed to Zanu-PF's push to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa's term of office by two years.In a letter dated December 15, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief director Patrick Majuta confirmed that police were investigating the incident and that petrol had been identified as the accelerant used in the attack.However, more than two months later, SAPES Trust says there has been no breakthrough in the case, raising concerns about the seriousness of the investigations."The time it has taken so far to bring the culprits to book is more than sufficient proof that this is a case of state collusion," SAPES Trust said in a statement issued yesterday.The organisation alleged that the attack could only have been carried out by a state-linked entity, citing the reported use of Ford Ranger vehicles without number plates and what it described as military-grade equipment.SAPES Trust also pointed to the heavy presence of riot police at its premises on the morning following the bombing, which it says ensured that the planned press conference did not go ahead."The presence, that same morning, of dozens of ZRP riot squad officers ensured that there would be no press conference," the organisation said.Opposition leaders were scheduled to address the media at SAPES Trust offices in Harare as part of efforts to mobilise Zimbabweans against attempts to extend Mnangagwa's rule beyond the constitutionally mandated two five-year terms. A similar press conference planned for Bulawayo on the same day was also blocked by police.Mnangagwa is currently serving his second and final term under the Constitution, having come to power in 2017 following the military-assisted removal of former president Robert Mugabe.SAPES Trust further claimed that the pace of investigations suggests a possible cover-up. The organisation said typed witness statements recorded in early December, including one from a security guard who was allegedly abducted during the attack, have not been furnished by investigating officers, a development it says has hampered progress in the case.The police have not yet responded to the latest allegations.
News / Regional

by Simbarashe Sithole / Gideon Madzikatidze

PLUMTREE - The Province of Central Africa and the Anglican Church of Zimbabwe has taken a Bulawayo man to court after he allegedly occupied church land at Collaton Farm in the Matobo area without permission.Tafa Munyaradzi (31), a supervisor at First Class Private Limited in Bulawayo, appeared before Plumtree magistrate Joshua Nembaware facing charges of trespassing and unlawful occupation.According to the State, Munyaradzi moved onto the 0.5hectare piece of land in 2022 despite it not being authorised for resettlement by either the church or the Government of Zimbabwe.The court heard that Munyaradzi went on to drill a borehole and erect a fence around the field without the consent of the landowner. The disputed land is located at coordinates 35K0645291 and 7751110.Prosecutors said Munyaradzi refused to vacate the property when instructed to do so, offering no lawful justification for remaining on the land.Sheila Nyathi prosecuted. The matter was remanded to 26 January.
President Donald Trump sought to ease worries of a deepening trade war with China on Sunday, following his threat to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese imports.

The tariff threat came in response to China's recent export restrictions on rare earth mineralskey ingredients in many high-tech and military products.

According to USA Today, in a message posted on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump reassured the public, saying, "Don't worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn't want depression for his country, and neither do I. The USA wants to help China, not hurt it!!!"

China quickly responded to Trump's threat with a firm statement from its Commerce Ministry.

The ministry said it "does not want a tariff war, but we are not afraid of one," and warned the US against using threats.

It also pledged to take "corresponding measures" if the US goes ahead with the tariff increase.

This exchange marks a tense moment between the world's two largest economies.

Trump's move was triggered by China limiting exports of rare earths, minerals essential for advanced manufacturing and defense technologies.

Trump just posted this after slapping 100% tariffs on China



"Don't worry about China, it will all be fine"



This reads like a taunt



$19B got liquidated Friday

Now he's posting friendly notes to Xi



If Xi fires back with his own 100% tariffs on US exports

That's a full trade war pic.twitter.com/sG8qjubLok  Crazino.eth (@crazino87) October 12, 2025

Trump-China Meeting Doubtful Over Rare Earth Dispute

China dominates this market, controlling about 70% of mining and 90% of processing worldwide, FoxBusiness reported.

Vice President J.D. Vance supported Trump's position on Fox News, calling China's control over rare earths "the definition of a national emergency."

He added, "It's going to be a delicate dance and a lot of it depends on how the Chinese respond. If they respond aggressively, I guarantee the President has more cards than China."

The dispute has raised doubts about a planned meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year.

China emphasized it will continue to grant export licenses for rare earths used in civilian goods but warned it will protect its interests if the US insists on imposing tariffs.

Beijing also criticized US trade policies, citing sanctions against Chinese companies and port fees on Chinese ships as reasons behind its export controls.

China's ministry called these actions harmful to bilateral trade talks and accused the US of undermining cooperation.

While China stopped short of retaliating with tariffs, it signaled readiness to act if necessary.

Analysts suggest this stance may leave room for negotiation, though some see it as a sign China may no longer prioritize a trade deal with the current US administration.

Originally published on vcpost.com
President Donald Trump just made it clear that he already has his eyes set on a new target following the US's capture of the president of Venezuela. During a press conference on Saturday, he urged Colombian President Gustavo Petro to 'watch his ass.' The threat marks a dramatic escalation in tensions across Latin America, with Trump openly invoking the Monroe Doctrine to assert US dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

In the same gathering, Trump made stern allegations about his fellow president. The President alleged that Petro is personally making cocaine and sending it to the United States. 'And yeah, I think I stick by my first statement: He's making cocaine. They're sending it to the United States. So he does have to watch his ass,' Trump said (via The New York Post).

From Venezuela to Colombia

Weeks earlier, Trump accused Petro of being a troublemaker after the latter continuously posted criticisms regarding the US operation in Venezuela. Trump's comments came on the heels of the US military's recent operation in Venezuela. After carrying out airstrikes in the country, the President announced that the country's president, Nicolas Maduro, had already been captured.

The Fall of Maduro

He later shared a photo of Maduro on his Truth Social account. It shows the Venezuelan President holding a bottle of water with his eyes blindfolded and his ears covered by headphones. Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, was also captured in Venezuela. According to US Attorney General Pam Bondi, the couple will face trial in New York on narco-terrorism charges.

The capture was carried out by an elite US special forces unit in a 30-minute raid on Maduro's 'fortress' in Caracas. Trump revealed that Maduro and his wife were caught as they tried to flee into a 'solid steel' safe room but 'got bum-rushed right so fast that he didn't get into that.'

'A Slave's Peace'

Since September, the US has already carried out air strikes in Venezuela against suspected drug-trafficking boats. Several Venezuelan oil tankers have already been seized. Over 100 people have also been killed in the attacks.

During this weekend's press conference, Trump declared that the U.S. will be running Venezuela until a new president is elected. He also said that oil companies in the U.S. would go into Venezuela, according to The Guardian.

Two months before his arrest, Trump reportedly suggested that Maduro relinquish his power, but the latter refused. Maduro said that he didn't want 'a slave's peace' and then accused the US of wanting to control Venezuela's oil reserves.

Trump Targets Cuba

Other than Colombia, Trump also had negative things to say about Cuba during the press conference. He described the country as a 'failing nation,' because it isn't doing very well right now.

'The people there have suffered for many, many years, and I think Cuba is going to be something we'll end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now. It's very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we also want to help the people that were forced out of Cuba and living in this country,' he said.

Originally published on IBTimes UK
US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that US special forces successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The military operation for this mission was called 'Operation Absolute Resolve' by the White House, and it involved airstrikes over the northern region of Venezuela, including the capital, Caracas, following a military operation dubbed 'Operation Absolute Resolve' that involved airstrikes across Caracas and northern Venezuela. The dramatic capture came two months after Trump issued Maduro an ultimatum to relinquish power in exchange for safe passage, which the Venezuelan leader refused.

Explosions were reported across the capital, and hours later, Trump revealed through his Truth Social account that Maduro and his wife were in custody and en route to New York to face narco-terrorism charges. The President included a photo of the now ex-president of Venezuela in a gray tracksuit and handcuffed aboard the USS Iwo Jima. Trump declared that the US will 'run Venezuela indefinitely' until a proper transition government can be established.

Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess  Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 3, 2026

Trump's 'Maximum Pressure' Campaign

The Trump administration has pursued a 'maximum pressure' campaign since returning to office. The White House does not consider Maduro a legitimate political leader and instead views him as the leader of the narco-terrorist group called the 'Cartel of the Suns', which is allegedly trafficking cocaine into the United States.

Maduro's presidential win in 2018 was widely condemned by the US and Venezuelan opposition, as well as Western nations, who labelled his election a sham. He was handpicked as successor by the late Hugo Chavez.

Previously, Trump also placed a 38.5 million ($50 million) bounty on Maduro's head, escalated from 11.5 million ($15 million) in 2020.

'On August 7, 2025, the Department announced the further increase in the reward offer to up to $50 million after the Department of Treasury sanctioned Cartel of the Suns as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on July 25, 2025,' part of the announcement for increased rewards reads. 'As leader of Cartel of the Suns, Maduro is the first target in the history of the Narcotics Rewards Program with a reward offer exceeding $25 million.'

The Ultimatum Maduro Refused

Before his capture, Trump also issued an ultimatum for Maduro to give up his power in exchange for safe passage. But the dictator continuously refused, and this was said to be the final trigger for the attack. Lastly, the operation was designed to cut off Maduro's leadership before he and his family could flee to allied nations like Cuba or Russia.

UNSEALED INDICTMENT



Thank you US Attorney Jay Claytonhttps://t.co/2URgPKQ25k  Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 3, 2026

Conflicting Claims Over Delcy Rodriguez

Trump claimed during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago that the US will 'run Venezuela indefinitely'. With Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth by his side, he said the two officials would help oversee Venezuela until a proper transition is established.

Trump said Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez expressed willingness to cooperate, allegedly telling Rubio: 'We'll do whatever you need.' The President then added, 'I think she was quite gracious, but she really doesn't have a choice.'

However, Rodriguez publicly condemned the attack hours later, demanding 'proof of life' for Maduro and Flores and calling the operation 'complete brutal aggression against our people', according to Axios. Her statement contradicted Trump's claims of cooperation.

Originally published on IBTimes UK
Maria Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner and Venezuela's most prominent opposition leader, has emerged as the front-runner to lead her nation following the dramatic capture of President Nicolas Maduro by US forces on Saturday. The 58-year-old industrial engineer, who has spent over two decades fighting authoritarianism in Venezuela, commands the support of approximately 70% of Venezuelans, according to experts.

Following Maduro's capture, Machado issued her first public statement declaring that she and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez are prepared to 'immediately' lead a transitional government in the South American nation. 'Today we are prepared to enforce our mandate and take power,' she stated, adding: 'We are going to restore order, release the political prisoners, build an exceptional country, and bring our children back home.'

Venezuela's Iron Lady

Born on 7 October 1967, in Caracas, to steel industrialist Henrique Machado Zuloaga and psychologist Corina Parisca Perez, Machado received her education at elite institutions, including Dana Hall boarding school in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She holds a degree in industrial engineering from Andres Bello Catholic University and completed postgraduate studies in finance at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Administration, according to Britannica.

The mother of three first entered politics in 2002 as co-founder of Sumate, a volunteer civil organisation dedicated to electoral transparency. The group led a referendum in 2004, attempting to recall then-President Hugo Chavez from office over what they described as authoritarian policies.

In 2010, Machado won election to Venezuela's National Assembly with a record number of votesthe highest amongst all candidates in that electoral contest. However, the regime expelled her from office in 2014 after she addressed the Organization of American States about Venezuela's political crisis, according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Trump's Most Vocal Latin American Ally

Machado's relationship with US President Donald Trump has become a defining feature of her political strategy. Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025, she dedicated the honour to both 'the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause', according to her statement on social media platform X.

In a December interview with CBS News's 'Face the Nation', Machado declared: 'I absolutely support President Trump's strategy, and we, the Venezuelan people, are very grateful to him and to his administration, because I believe he is a champion of freedom in this hemisphere.' She praised Trump for placing Venezuela 'in where it should be, in terms of a priority for the United States national security'.

She even suggested Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, telling Israel Hayom: 'Within just months in office, Trump led extraordinary initiatives to advance world peace...In Venezuela's case, we feel he particularly deserves the prize because he's the most consistent supporter of freedom and democracy in our hemisphere.'

The Stolen Election and Life in Hiding

Following the October 2023 primary elections, Machado was proclaimed the unitary presidential candidate of the opposition after winning with over 92% of the vote. However, the Maduro-controlled Supreme Tribunal of Justice banned her from running, claiming involvement in corruption.

Instead, Machado led a nationwide campaign supporting replacement candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in the July 2024 presidential election. The opposition collected systematic documentation showing Gonzalez defeated Maduro by more than a 2-to-1 margin. Despite this, the government-run National Electoral Council declared Maduro the victor without presenting evidence.

Machado has spent the past 15 months in hiding within Venezuela, evading what she describes as fabricated 'narco-terrorism' charges. 'I've been in complete isolation for 15 months. If they find me, they'll disappear methat's the best case,' she revealed in a recent interview.

She made a daring escape from Venezuela in December 2025 to accept her Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, reportedly involving a hazardous boat journey to Curacao before boarding a private plane to Europe.

This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom.



We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic  Maria Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) October 10, 2025

Poised for Power

President Trump has acknowledged he is 'making the decision' for who will govern Venezuela following Maduro's capture. 'We can't take a chance on letting somebody else...just take over where he left,' Trump told Fox News, adding: 'So we're making that decision now. We'll be involved in it very much. And we want to do liberty for the people.'

What's at Stake

Machado's potential ascension to power represents a critical juncture for Venezuela, a nation that has lost approximately eight million citizensnearly a quarter of its populationto emigration under socialist rule. Her partnership with the Trump administration and overwhelming domestic support position her uniquely to lead Venezuela's transition from authoritarianism to democracy, though challenges remain in navigating the fragmented military and Chavista establishment that still hold significant influence.

The coming days will determine whether Venezuela's 'Iron Lady' can translate popular mandate into actual governance and deliver the freedom she has long promised her compatriots.

Originally published on IBTimes UK
Exposing corruption's always a gamble, but Nick Shirley's hit the jackpot of hell: death threats raining down on him and his family. What began as an investigation into suspicious financial patterns within the US state of Minnesota has spiralled into a safety crisis, drawing chilling comparisons to recent political violence.

Following his viral expose of alleged daycare fraud, independent journalist Nick Shirley has revealed he is receiving explicit death threats referencing the September assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. During an appearance on the PBD Podcast, Shirley said detractors are warning him he is 'next' and that he is 'going to be Kirked.'

A Viral Investigation

'They are saying, like, "Kirked  you're going to be Kirked. You're going to be Kirked,"' Shirley told host Patrick Bet-David. 'That's what they're saying  like, you're next. You'll be the next [Charlie] Kirk.' Shirley explained that he has received these threats both online and in person, highlighting the dangerous climate facing independent journalists who challenge state narratives.

The controversy stems from Shirley's on-the-ground investigation into several Minnesota daycare centres that receive substantial government funding. His video report claimed that these facilities were largely empty or non-operational, despite collecting massive sums of taxpayer money. In one shocking instance, a single location allegedly collected roughly 3.1 million ($4 million) in public funding. While state officials have pushed back, stating past inspections found no fraud, the visual evidence in Shirley's video has captured national attention.

Family Targeted

While the professional backlash was expected, Shirley appeared visibly shaken when discussing how the situation had impacted his family. The harassment has bypassed him and gone directly to his relatives, including his younger sister, who has begun receiving unsolicited phone calls.

'And it's just like, are you kidding me? It's not even like  I hate what's happening right now. I honestly feel bad for my family, because it's like, yeah, we didn't do anything wrong, and yet you guys are coming after me like I'm some sort of villain,' he said.

He expressed confusion and frustration over why the media and detractors would target his siblings. 'So I'm like, my little sister is getting phone calls. I'm like, why are you guys doing this? Your little sister is getting phone calls? Yeah, from, like, the news. I'm like, 'Case, don't talk to my family,' he added.

 Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet. We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! Its time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable



We ALL pic.twitter.com/E3Penx2o7a  Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) December 26, 2025

Federal Response: Payments Frozen

Despite the threats and the state-level denials, Shirley's reporting has triggered immediate federal consequences. In a major validation of the concerns raised in the video, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on 30 December that it is taking drastic action.

The federal body has decided to halt childcare payments to Minnesota entirely while they investigate the claims of misappropriated funds. The move signifies that Washington views the allegations as credible enough to disrupt the financial flow immediately.

'We have frozen all child care payments to the state of Minnesota. HHS said in a statement, "We have cut off the financial flow and are actively investigating the fraud."

The agency cited allegations that the state of Minnesota has funnelled millions of taxpayer dollars to fraudulent daycares across the state over the past decade.

Originally published on IBTimes UK
New York City could face a major healthcare disruption as up to 20,000 nurses warn they are prepared to walk off the job on Jan. 12, a move unions say would mark the biggest nurses' strike in the city's history. The threat follows the delivery of formal 10-day strike notices to hospital management, raising the stakes for negotiations that have already dragged on past the end of existing labour contracts. With talks still unresolved, patients, hospital systems and city officials are bracing for the possibility of widespread service disruption across multiple boroughs.

The strike threat centres on nurses represented by the New York State Nurses Association, one of the largest healthcare unions in the state. Strike notices were issued on Jan. 2 after contracts covering thousands of nurses expired on Dec. 31, giving hospitals a narrow window to reach new agreements. Union leaders say the action is a last resort, but insist nurses are united and prepared to strike if their demands are not met by the Jan. 12 deadline.

Why NYC Nurses Say a Strike May be Unavoidable

At the heart of the dispute are concerns over staffing levels, pay and workplace conditions, issues nurses argue are directly linked to patient safety. The union says hospitals have failed to agree to enforceable staffing standards that would prevent nurses from being responsible for too many patients at once. Nurses also want wage increases that reflect rising living costs in New York City, alongside the protection of healthcare benefits and stronger safety measures in hospitals.

Union officials maintain that chronic understaffing has worsened burnout and increased risks for patients, particularly in emergency departments and critical care units. They argue that without binding commitments in new contracts, conditions will continue to deteriorate, pushing experienced nurses out of the profession. Hospital management, however, disputes the union's claims and says current staffing models are safe and flexible.

Which Hospitals Could be Affected if a Strike Goes Ahead

If the strike proceeds, disruption could be felt across Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and parts of Long Island. The strike notices apply mainly to private-sector hospitals, including major systems such as Mount Sinai, Montefiore Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Other facilities named in union notices include BronxCare Health System, Maimonides Medical Center, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, The Brooklyn Hospital Center and several hospitals operated by One Brooklyn Health.

Around 1,000 nurses at three Northwell Health hospitals on Long Island have also issued strike notices, expanding the potential impact beyond New York City. In total, the union estimates that up to 20,000 nurses could be involved if all notices translate into walkouts. That figure would significantly exceed the scale of previous nursing strikes in the city.

The last major nurses' strike in New York City took place in January 2023, when about 7,000 nurses at Mount Sinai and Montefiore staged a three-day walkout. That action ended with new contracts that included pay rises and staffing commitments. Union leaders now say the current dispute involves more hospitals and far more nurses, making the stakes higher for both sides.

Hospital groups have pushed back strongly against the strike threat, warning it could put patient care at risk and place heavy financial strain on already stretched systems. The Greater New York Hospital Association has criticised the union's move, saying hospitals would be forced to spend tens of millions of dollars on temporary agency nurses to maintain services. Hospital executives have also pointed to federal funding pressures and rising operational costs as factors limiting their ability to meet union demands.

Despite the escalating rhetoric, negotiations are continuing behind closed doors. Hospitals say emergency care would continue even in the event of a strike, with contingency plans already being prepared. For now, patients and staff are left watching the calendar, as the countdown to Jan. 12 intensifies and the prospect of a historic NYC nurses' strike looms.

Originally published on IBTimes UK
The 86-year-old Iranian Supreme Leader delivered harsh remarks Saturday as protests against his government's political and economic corruption continued to spread throughout the country, marking the most significant civil unrest the Islamic Republic has faced in recent years.

In his first public address since the demonstrations began seven days ago, Khamenei attempted to draw distinctions between what he termed legitimate protest and rioting. "A number of agitated people, enemy mercenaries, had positioned themselves behind bazaar merchants and chanted slogans against Islam, against Iran and against the Islamic Republic," he stated during his speech.

The Supreme Leader acknowledged the right to protest while simultaneously issuing a warning to demonstrators. "Protest is legitimate, but protest is different from rioting," Khamenei said. "Officials should speak with protesters. Speaking with a rioter is pointless. Rioters must be put in their place."

Death Toll Rises as Security Forces Open Fire

According to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an opposition organization seeking regime change, Iranian security forces have killed at least 10 people as of Saturday. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that demonstrations have erupted in more than 100 locations across 22 of Iran's 31 provinces.

Violence escalated Saturday in Malekshahi, Ilam province, where security forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrators, resulting in multiple casualties. The NCRI reported that approximately 30 protesters in Malekshahi were shot and remained in critical condition.

Protests Spread Across Multiple Cities

The unrest has touched numerous Iranian cities. In Kazerun, protesters gathered in Shohada Square where security personnel fired live ammunition. In Shiraz's Golshan district, young activists blocked roads by setting tires ablaze as a form of resistance.

University campuses have become centers of demonstration, with students at Shahrood University of Technology chanting defiant slogans. At Allameh University's Hemmat dormitory in Tehran, students proclaimed opposition to the government.

International Response and Trump's Warning

Khamenei's remarks came one day after President Donald Trump issued an unprecedented message of support to Iranian demonstrators. Writing on Truth Social Friday, Trump warned: "If Iran [shoots] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go."

Opposition Leaders Respond

Opposition figures quickly countered Khamenei's statements. Maryam Rajavi, leader of the NCRI, responded: "Khamenei is right; 80 million Iranians are his enemy. They have only one message for him: pack up his rule and remove his scourge from the Iranian people."

Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran's last Shah, addressed the Supreme Leader directly on social media platform X: "Ali Khamenei, fearing the growing waves of this national uprising, has emerged from his hiding place to threaten the people of Iran."

Pahlavi also directed a message to Iranian military and law enforcement personnel: "Do not tie your fate to the sinking ship of the Islamic Republic. Join the people and separate yourselves from this corrupt system. Your weapons are for defending the nation, not suppressing it."

The protests represent one of the most serious challenges to Iran's government in years, with demonstrators expressing frustration over economic hardship, political corruption, and authoritarian rule. As the unrest continues, both domestic opposition groups and international observers are watching closely to see how the situation develops.
Democrats accuse Trump administration of lying to Congress about U.S. goal in Venezuela

Xinhua) 09:28, January 04, 2026

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic lawmakers on Saturday showed their anger and distress in the aftermath of the U.S. raid on Venezuela and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro early Saturday morning.

They said that Congress had not been notified in advance and that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration had previously lied to Congress about its goal in the oil-rich South American nation. Meanwhile, they demanded an immediate briefing on the operation and on the White House's next move.

"Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn't about regime change. I didn't trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress," U.S. Senator Andy Kim wrote in a post on X. Last year, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told members of Congress that regime change in Venezuela was not their goal.

Jason Crow, a Democrat on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees, agreed: "The Trump Administration repeatedly lied to Congress and the American people about Venezuela. Over and over, officials testified that this was not about regime change."

Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Trump administration has "consistently misled" lawmakers, leaving Congress in the dark on any U.S. "long-term strategy" concerning Venezuela.

Senator Chris Coons, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, also said that lawmakers were given "false" information by the administration. "A military operation to capture and overthrow a president -- even an illegitimate one -- is an act of war that must be authorized by Congress," he said.

Both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Saturday criticized the Trump administration for not seeking congressional authorization before the reckless attack, demanding an immediate briefing.

"The Trump administration has not sought congressional authorization for use of military force and has failed to properly notify Congress in advance of the operation in Venezuela," Jeffries said in a statement.

"Too many questions remain unanswered," said Jeffries, calling for evidence to "explain and justify this unauthorized use of military force."

According to Schumer, the White House "has assured me three separate times that it was not pursuing regime change or taking military action in Venezuela." "Clearly, they are not being straight with Americans," Schumer said in a statement.

Following reports of explosions in Caracas, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on X that the United States has "no vital national interests in Venezuela to justify war."

"We should have learned not to stumble into another stupid adventure by now," Schatz warned.

However, it seems Republican lawmakers largely back the Trump administration's attack on Venezuela. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson said they are expecting related briefings to Congress in the coming days.

"President Trump's decisive action ... is an important first step to bring him (Maduro) to justice for the drug crimes for which he has been indicted in the United States," Thune said in a statement.

The latest U.S. strikes on Venezuela and its capture of Maduro have drawn worldwide condemnation and concern.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
Opinion / Columnist

RAPE's traumatising effects came to the fore recently when a 12-year-old girl collapsed and immediately developed a mental problem after seeing her rapist. When the poor girl collapsed, she was at a police station in Bulawayo late last year where she had been taken to identify her assailant. The girl, who was aged 11 then, was later admitted to Ingutsheni Central Hospital for months before she was declared fully recovered to testify in court early this month.Her rapist, Susani Ndlovu from Emganwini suburb in Bulawayo, was subsequently sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by regional magistrate, Tranos Utahwashe. "Although her rapist was eventually sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by regional magistrate, Tranos Utahwashe, no amount of punishment on the offender could reverse the traumatic experiences that the girl went through," noted a child rights activist, Lorraine Nkomo.The sad read captured in The Chronicle edition of April 9, has prompted women and children's rights advocates to enhance their calls for the justice delivery system and other key players to do more to protect rape victims.They want all forms of abuse against women and children to end. The activists especially want stiffer penalties to be imposed on sexual abuse offenders.Nkomo says it is worrying that cases of sexual abuse, primarily involving women and children as victims, are on the rise.Children below the age of 16 account for over 60 percent of the cases committed yearly in the country. Activists blame society for dedicating too much attention to fighting the horrendous crime of rape, ignoring the plight of the victims. Patricia Tshabalala, patron of Vulindlela Guardians for Orphans, said granting bail to rape suspects was retrogressive to efforts of helping the emotional recovery of the victims, especially the girl child."I do understand that bail is now a right but as a child [rights] activist I'm concerned that giving freedom to people charged of rape leaves our innocent children in difficult positions. I don't intend to undermine the law and what it entails, but all I'm saying is think of our children who have to go back in society and face the same people who abused them," said Tshabalala.She says whenever the courts release rape suspects on bail, the offenders, while awaiting trial, go back to the same communities where the complainants reside."While in court it's easier to set parameters for the accused not to interfere with the victims but what happens on the ground is completely a different matter. As I speak some of the victims I've worked with are living in fear," said Tshabalala.She says the emotional, physical and mental being of the rape victim is equally important to the processes of incarcerating the offender.Tshabalala and other child rights activists say the police and courts should find a way of protecting rape victims from rapists, despite bail becoming every Zimbabwean's right.The courts, however, at times find it difficult to convict offenders due to lack of evidence or witnesses who are willing to testify. In the case of Ndlovu, the courts were aided by the offender's parents who testified against their son.In his defence Ndlovu had told magistrate Utahwashe that he, with his parents, was conducting prayer sessions for the girl on the day the offence was committed.Ndlovu was left with egg on his face when his parents, who he claimed could exonerate him, told the court that he was the black sheep of their family. "He's lying as we never took him for prayers on that particular day and the complainant never suffered a mental problem before she was raped."My son is troublesome and at one time he broke our neighbour's windows. He comes home drunk and of late we've been failing to control him," said Ndlovu's mother.Bulawayo Metropolitan Province police spokesperson, Inspector Precious Simango, says the main role of the police in cases of rape involving minor girls is to carry out investigations and provide basic counselling to victims through the Victim Friendly Unit."After a rape case has been reported to the police we carry out investigations and apprehend the suspect. For the victim, we provide basic counselling through our Victim Friendly Unit. Where we feel the victim has been greatly traumatised we refer them to other professional counsellors."We believe court procedures are deterrent enough to keep the suspected criminals away from the victims. We haven't recorded cases were rape suspects have gone and terrorised their victims after being ordered by the court not to interfere with state witnesses. If that happens, the culprits will be apprehended," said Insp Simango.A local lawyer says the courts are there to set boundaries which cater for both the victim and the accused person's interests, especially in cases where the accused is granted bail.Bail is the temporary release of an accused person awaiting trial, sometimes on the condition that a sum of money is paid to guarantee their appearance in court."Bail conditions which may be set by a court may include that the accused doesn't interfere with state witnesses. The accused may be asked to continue to reside at a given address until the matter is finalised. They may also be asked to surrender travelling documents were necessary and pay regular visits at a stipulated police station."Bail is a now a constitutional right as established in our country's new constitution. Whether a person is facing a rape, murder or treason charge he or she is entitled to a bail hearing," said the lawyer who preferred to remain anonymous.The lawyer said the best solution in such cases would be to relocate for the sake of the victim's emotional healing and recovery.The lawyer said offering counselling to rape victims and helping them pick up the pieces and moving on with their lives also helps.
Tyler Street Arcade opens in October at 214 Tyler St., Pittsfield. There was a line for Ollie's Bargain Outlet that opened in September. Customers line up to enter the new Burlington store in Berkshire Crossing in August. CJ Garner and Marcus Lyon expanded Common Table with the purchase of the former Bass Water Grill on Route 8 in Cheshire. Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity announced on Facebook that it would be closing its ReStore by the end of August. Andy Pyenson says he's ready to retire and is closing down the farm his grandparents founded in 1904. PreviousNext

Business 2025 Year in Review

This year Berkshire County saw many new businesses open  from restaurants to local goods  as well as new owners taking over existing companies.

Pittsfield Economic Development



The Berkshire Innovation Center will expand by nearly a third to accommodate a high-tech optics lab.

Perhaps the biggest news was the development of an optics technology hub at the Berkshire Innovation Center.

The proposal attracted $5.2 million transformation grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's Innovation Institute, a $2 million state earmark in the economic development bond bill, and another $1 million from Pittsfield's economic development (GE) fund.

The BIC will construct a 7,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing hub to its 23,500-square-foot floor plan for Myriad Optics Inc. to establish a manufacturing lab, and with EMA [Electro Magnetic Applications], an existing client, as a second anchor.

Myrias expects to invest $10 million and hire at least 55 people by 2028 with average salaries between $110,000 and $120,000 per year. EMA would be able to continue expanding in Pittsfield, adding a dozen jobs over the next two years.

Jessica Sweeney posted on her Facebook one day asking the community for help after she came back to work after maternity leave, relying on paid staff to operate the store. As the owner, her maternity leave was unpaid and said her business, like other small ventures, has been facing financially hard times.

Sweeney called on the community for help raising the $10,000 she needed to survive the winter months  they answered. In just a couple of days, Sweeney hit her target goal.

She has encouraged other small businesses that need help to not be afraid to ask. With the added support, she launched the North Adams Small Business Winter Fund, where every January she will dispense the funds raised to small businesses to help them survive the winter if needed.

Business Losses

The county started the year losing big chains like Chilis, Joann's and Big Lots. One local loss felt by the North Adams community was Village Pizza.

Owner Christina Nicholas took to Facebook to announce the closure in April with an emotional goodbye, explaining that medical issues were forcing her hand.

Village Pizza had been serving the community with late nights for 40 years, with Nicholas working there since she was 14 and buying it in 1991.

Its closure meant that there's no pizza place on historic Eagle Street for the first time in at least 50 years as the Pizza House and its several successors closed on the south corner in 2020. Currently the space still sits vacant.

Another local loss was Pittsfields Berkshire Habitat ReStore who closed their doors in August after 15 years.

The store that took donated items and resold them to help build houses, found it was not profitable enough to keep going. The business also suffered with unwanted donations the cost from needing to get rid of the unwanted donations also did not help keep the store open.

The community also lost the historic Otis Poultry Farm, which had been in business for 121 years.

In April the third generation owner, Andy Pyenson and his wife, Lynn, announced they would close and retire to Ohio.

Pyenson's grandparents, David and Rebecca Pyenson, started the farm in 1904 and he worked on it after his father, Maxwell, took over. Pyenson and his brother took over in turn about 25 years ago and he became the sole operator in 2010.

Pyenson had hoped a buyer would come forward to keep the historic staple open but had no luck.
On the evening of December 30, Chinese DRAM leader ChangXin Memory Technologies Group Co., Ltd. (CXMT) formally submitted its prospectus to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, applying for a listing on the STAR Market. The offering is being sponsored by state-backed investment bank CICC and Chinese securities firm CSC Financial.

CXMT plans to raise up to CNY 29.5 billion, equivalent to approximately USD 4.22 billion, with proceeds earmarked for three core projects: upgrading mass-production DRAM wafer manufacturing lines, advancing DRAM process technologies, and funding forward-looking research and development for next-generation dynamic random-access memory.

The company said its current capacity already ranks first in China and fourth globally, but still lags the world's top three DRAM makers. With China remaining the world's largest DRAM consumption market, CXMT said the planned investments will accelerate process upgrades, reduce unit costs, enhance profitability, and better meet strong downstream demand, helping the company secure a more favorable position in the global DRAM market.

Founded in 2016, CXMT was established against the backdrop of heavy global DRAM concentration, with more than 90% of the market long dominated by Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology. CXMT said it has since broken through key DRAM technologies and achieved independent design, development, and commercial mass production, filling a long-standing gap in mainland China's DRAM industry.

Today, CXMT is China's largest and most technologically advanced integrated DRAM manufacturer, operating under an IDM model that spans R&D, design, and fabrication. Its product portfolio covers DDR and LPDDR families, including DDR4, DDR5, LPDDR4X, and LPDDR5/5X, serving applications such as servers, mobile devices, PCs, smart vehicles, and AI-related systems.

The company launched its first self-developed 8Gb DDR4 product in September 2019, marking what it called a "from zero to one" breakthrough for China's DRAM sector. Its latest LPDDR5X products reach speeds of up to 10,667 Mbps, a 66% increase over LPDDR5, while its domestically developed DDR5 chips deliver speeds of up to 8,000 Mbps with single-die capacity reaching 24Gb. CXMT said its overall DRAM product roadmap is now broadly on par with global leaders.

CXMT operates three 12-inch DRAM fabs in Hefei and Beijing. According to Omdia, Samsung held 40.35% of the global DRAM market by revenue in 2024, followed by SK Hynix at 33.19% and Micron at 20.73%. Based on Omdia estimates, CXMT's global DRAM market share rose to about 3.97% in the second quarter of 2025, positioning it as an emerging player among major manufacturers.

Financially, the company has reported rapid revenue growth but remains loss-making due to heavy capital and R&D investment. From 2022 through the first half of 2025, CXMT generated cumulative revenue of nearly CNY 57 billion, or about USD 8.16 billion. Over the same period, cumulative net losses attributable to shareholders exceeded CNY 40.86 billion, or roughly USD 5.85 billion, reflecting large depreciation charges from capacity expansion, sustained R&D spending, inventory write-downs, and sharp DRAM price volatility.

CXMT said it expects a turnaround in 2025, forecasting full-year revenue of CNY 55 billion to CNY 58 billion, equivalent to USD 7.87 billion to USD 8.3 billion, and net profit of CNY 2 billion to CNY 3.5 billion. The company attributed the expected rebound to surging AI-driven memory demand, tight DRAM supply, rising prices, and the release of inventory accumulated earlier in the cycle.

Customer concentration remains relatively high, with the top five customers accounting for more than 60% of revenue during the reporting periods. However, CXMT said it does not rely excessively on any single customer. End customers include major cloud, consumer electronics, and device makers such as Alibaba Cloud, ByteDance, Tencent, Lenovo, Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, and others.

On the supply side, CXMT said its dependence on major suppliers is limited, with the top five raw material suppliers accounting for less than one-third of total procurement in each reporting period.

R&D remains central to the company's strategy. From 2022 through the first half of 2025, CXMT invested CNY 18.87 billion in R&D, or about USD 2.7 billion, representing more than 33% of cumulative revenue. As of June 30, 2025, the company employed 4,653 R&D personnel, accounting for over 30% of its workforce, and held 5,589 patents worldwide.

The IPO is also notable as the first STAR Market application accepted under China's new pre-review mechanism for companies engaged in critical core technology development. The system, introduced in mid-2025, aims to shorten review timelines and reduce early disclosure risks for strategically sensitive technologies. CXMT completed two rounds of pre-review inquiries in November 2025, significantly accelerating its listing process.

CXMT has a diversified shareholder base and no controlling shareholder. Major investors include state-backed Big Fund Phase II, regional government investment vehicles, and strategic partners such as Alibaba and Tencent.

The company said the listing will not only support its own capacity expansion and technology upgrades, but also drive coordinated growth across China's domestic memory ecosystem, including chip design, equipment, materials, packaging, and downstream applications. As China's flagship DRAM maker moves closer to public markets, its IPO is widely seen as a milestone for the country's ambition to build a globally competitive memory semiconductor industry.
Turkmenistan officially put into effect the Law on Virtual Assets legalizing cryptocurrency mining and crypto exchanges as it looks to boost economic development and attract foreign investment.

The new rules, which President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed into law on Nov. 28, provide a framework for the use, creation and exchange of virtual assets in the country.

A 2025 study on Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states, which include Turkmenistan, concluded that allowing crypto is good for the economy.

"Cryptocurrency legalization has significantly boosted economic growth in developing nations by enhancing financial inclusion and providing the legal clarity essential for attracting digital foreign direct investment," said Muhammad Rheza Ramadhan, an economist and researcher at Indonesias Ministry of Finance.

The law defines virtual assets as property, not legal tender or securities, and divides them into two categories: secured (backed by an underlying asset) and unsecured (such as bitcoin). Virtual assets cannot be used as payment for goods or services and must be treated strictly as property or investment instruments.

Cryptocurrency mining by both companies and individuals becomes permissible, provided the miners register with the Central Bank of Turkmenistan. The law imposes technical standards on mining operations and explicitly prohibits covert mining methods like cryptojacking.

The law also authorizes crypto exchanges and custodial services to operate, again provided a license is issued by the central bank. Both domestic and foreign entities can own these services, except those based in or associated with offshore jurisdictions. Exchanges must enforce know-your-customer and anti money-laundering rules, and anonymous transactions or wallets are not allowed.




The cold realists in Beijing were deeply shocked by the American strike on Venezuela and have called on the United States to release President Nicolas Maduro and his wife at once.

It is only two years since the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, gave Maduro a red-carpet welcome on a state visit and vowed support for his efforts to safeguard national sovereignty as well as Venezuelas just cause of opposing external interference.

And it has been only two days since Maduro received President Xis special envoy in the Miraflores presidential palace for talks on more than 600 agreements that have bound the two countries together on energy, infrastructure, finance and political co-operation. If the visit by Qiu Xiaoqi, a heavy-hitter who has served as Chinese ambassador to Brazil and Mexico, was meant to deter American action, it failed. Superficially, the fall of Maduro looks like a net setback for China on political, diplomatic and strategic fronts.

It may be more subtle than that. Although China does not react quickly to complex international events, there are four questions which will preoccupy its leaders this week  and not all of them look bad.

open image in gallery Xi Jinping welcomes Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro at Beijings Great Hall of the People in 2023 ( via Reuters )

The first question, forever paramount but never said, is the military one. There will be intense scrutiny of the tactics and intelligence skills which allowed US forces to suppress Venezuelan air defences, turn off the lights in Caracas and stage a precision capture, livestreamed to a delighted President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Not much to worry China here: Venezuelas defences were in such a shambles that Maduro had recently asked Xi for new radar systems, requested help from his other ally, Vladimir Putin, to repair the engines for Russian Sukhoi-SU20 MK2 warplanes (only five were said to be operational) and sought missiles, drones and GPS scramblers from Iran.

The contrast with Chinas own modern arsenal is stark and will spur the Politburo on in its race to beat American warfighting technology. A study of the raid will also help the Peoples Liberation Armys own scenario planning for a decapitation strike against the leaders of Taiwan.

A second question for China is its energy deal with Venezuela, under which the Maduro regime repaid loans with discounted shipments of oil. Official figures showed China was the destination for 700,000 out of 1.2 million barrels of oil a day shipped by Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the state oil company.

There had been hard bargaining because Venezuelan crude is heavy and Chinese refineries may have struggled to produce fuel at a competitive price. It was a textbook state-to-state exchange made for political, not economic, reasons. The Chinese will have been soothed by President Trumps early assurance that the oil will still flow  but he has not said at what price. On balance, this hands leverage to the US president.

The third question is in what position the Venezuelan strike leaves America and China in the world. Here, there is no doubt that Beijing feels exultant. Its spokesperson urged the US to stop toppling the government of Venezuela, adding that its action is in clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

These were the unblushing themes promoted by China since Maduro and Xi attended the victory parade Putin staged in Moscow on 9 May last year to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Maduro did not, however, make it to Xis own parade on 3 September, sending the president of the National Assembly instead as US forces gathered in the Caribbean. But his government endorsed the anti-fascist script adopted by China, Russia and North Korea.

open image in gallery The image of Nicolas Maduro posted on Trumps Truth Social account after his capture by the US military ( @realDonaldTrump/Truth Social )

Xi talks about restoring the authentic history and values of the UN system, successfully rallying disquieted nations in the global South to the cause.

And while Maduro may not grace the podium at the UN General Assembly in New York in person again, his captivity not far away hands a rhetorical weapon to opponents of the United States; not that the Trump administration cares about that.

The fourth question for China is what it means for Xis ambition to reunite his country and Taiwan. The Chinese leader is far too cautious to link the two openly. But a clue can be found by decoding his foreign ministrys statement, which said: China strongly condemns the USs blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president.

Of course, China does not regard Taiwan as a sovereign state but a renegade province. It does not recognise its president, Lai Ching-te, as a legitimate head of government but a doomed traitor. Therefore, the Venezuelan precedent does not apply.

Legally, from Xi Jinpings point of view, any action to reclaim Taiwan will be merely an internal matter, of no concern to foreigners. A strike to take it back could be made to fit a world order in which America dominates the western hemisphere and China dominates the east. Politically, President Trump has just made it easier.

Michael Sheridan is the author of The Red Emperor: Xi Jinping and His New China (Hachette Books) and The Gate to China, an acclaimed history of Hong Kong
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Myanmars military rulers have ordered the release of more than 6,000 prisoners to mark the countrys Independence Day.

While families rushed to wait outside prisons on Sunday to see if their loved ones were included in the amnesty, there was no indication that the 6,000 would include former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, despite mounting international pressure calling for her release.

The junta said 6,134 men and women would be freed from prisons, detention centres and labour camps across the country as part of the annual amnesty marking 78 years since independence from British rule on 4 January 1948.

The acting president of the Union of the Republic of Myanmar has pardoned 6,134 male and female prisoners who are serving their terms at respective prisons, detention centres and camps, the juntas National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) said in a statement.

In a separate announcement, the authorities said 52 foreign nationals would also be released and deported.

The NDSC described the move as a gesture made on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

open image in gallery A protester holds a poster with an image of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a candlelight vigil ( AFP via Getty )

Sentences for other inmates were reduced by one-sixth nationwide, excluding those convicted of serious offences such as murder and rape, or jailed under security, terrorism, corruption, arms or drug laws.

Those freed were warned they would have to serve the remainder of their original terms if they reoffended.

Crowds gathered early outside Yangons Insein prison, the countrys most notorious, clutching lists of names and waiting for relatives to emerge as buses ferried prisoners away.

Among those released, according to the pro-military Popular News Journal, was Ye Htut, a former information minister and presidential spokesperson in an earlier military-backed administration.

Arrested in October 2023, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year over Facebook posts deemed seditious.

open image in gallery A prisoner is greeted by his family members after being released from Insein prison ( AP )

It remains unclear how many of those being freed were political detainees.

Independent monitors estimate that tens of thousands of people have been arrested since the army seized power in February 2021, crushing a brief period of civilian rule and triggering a nationwide armed uprising involving new resistance groups and long-established ethnic forces.

More than 3.6 million people have been displaced by the fighting.

High-profile political prisoners appear unaffected by the amnesty, and there was no sign that Ms Suu Kyi, 80, would be freed.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who led the elected government overthrown by the coup, is serving a combined 27-year sentence after convictions which supporters say were politically motivated. She has been held largely incommunicado in the capital, Naypyidaw.

State media moved last month to address concerns raised by her family, saying: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health, without offering evidence or allowing independent verification.

open image in gallery Election commission officials count ballots at a polling station in Yangon, Myanmar ( Reuters )

Her son, Kim Aris, who has not seen or heard from her for years, responded: The military claims she is in good health, yet they refuse to provide any independent proof, no recent photograph, no medical verification and no access by family, doctors or international observers. If she is truly well, they can prove it.

Mr Aris had earlier said he hoped the juntas staged election might open a path to her release or transfer to house arrest, noting that she was freed after a previous period of detention in 2010 following a vote.

The military rejected his comments, accusing him of interference. This is merely a fabrication, timed and distributed to disrupt the free and fair multi-party democratic general election that will be held in Myanmar in the near future, a junta statement said.

Mr Aris replied: I have no intention of interfering in Burmas politics. But after years of total isolation, secrecy and silence, any son would begin to fear the worst.

The amnesty comes as the military presses ahead with a month-long, three-phase election that began late last month and has been widely condemned by opposition groups, the United Nations and Western governments as a sham designed to entrench military rule.

Many anti-junta parties are barred from or boycotting the process, and it is illegal to criticise the polls.

Early official results from the first phase show the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, led by retired generals, dominating the limited seats declared so far, including the vast majority in the lower house.

Turnout figures released by the junta are significantly lower than in the last free elections held in 2015 and 2020, which Ms Suu Kyis National League for Democracy won by landslides before it was dissolved.
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The climate crisis, foreign aid cuts and chronic poverty are combining to drive an escalating humanitarian crisis in southern Madagascar, the head of the countrys UN humanitarian operation has warned.

Speaking to The Independent, Rija Rakotoson says that malnutrition and malaria are particular problems right now  adding that this worsening situation is what was always likely to happen when less acute crises are no longer a priority in the era of aid cuts.

We are in a very worrying situation, with an escalating humanitarian crisis that has been driven by multiple climate shocks, as well as a funding picture that has been completely devastated this year, says Rakotoson, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Madagascar.

The current pressure on funding makes it very hard to receive more money unless you are in an acute humanitarian catastrophe  but the health and nutrition impacts we are seeing are still really significant, and do require much more funding [for it] to be properly addressed, he adds.

Unlike the lush, green north of Madagascar, which is famed for its tropical rainforests and vanilla production, the climate of the Grand Sud region in the south of the country is harsh and desert-like, making it extremely vulnerable to climate change.

The current crisis is seen as starting in 2021, when the region was hit by its worst drought in 40 years, which led to several thousand people slipping into what the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)  who collate the five-point food security scale used by the UN  calls level five, food catastrophe.

open image in gallery Nestelline, 13, collects water from the Taranty Bas river in the drought-stricken south of Madagascar ( Ernest Randriarimalala/WaterAid )

Conditions then gradually began to improve, especially after strong rainfall came in 2024, but things have taken a turn over the course of 2025. A prolonged drought through October to December 2024; severe flooding following multiple cyclones  particularly tropical cyclone Honde and storm Jude  in March 2025; as well as a series of devastating locust infestations from February to May 2025 have all been cited by OCHA as key drivers of the current crisis.

Northern regions of Madagascar regularly experience tropical cyclones from across the Indian Ocean  but the impact of these two events was particularly devastating due to the fact that they rarely hit the south of the country with such intensity, says Rakotson. We have been working to make infrastructure and livelihoods adapt to drought, not flood conditions, so nobody was really prepared for what happened, he says.

Over the course of the year, humanitarian aid to Madagascar has also fallen by nearly 70 per cent year-on-year, according to data from OCHA that has been shared with The Independent, with the cut largely driven by the US slashing its funding to the country from $78m (58m) to less than $6m. According to Rakotoson, some 15 local NGOs have closed in Le Grand Sud, while large NGOs have also been significantly reducing their footprint, with American charity Catholic Relief Services notably closing several offices and cutting 300 staff roles.

OCHA itself is no longer able to send staff from the capital Antananarivo to the South to coordinate humanitarian responses  and has also been prevented from launching a full-scale global appeal to funders due to very strict rules around that, says Rakotson.

We really are feeling the impacts of the cuts hugely, he says. It is important to remember, too, that Le Grand Sud is already the poorest part of the country, with more than 80 per cent of people living below the poverty rate, and more than 75 per cent of people living more than 5km from health centres.

Impacts that have been tracked by the UN on the ground include seven of 11 districts of Le Grand Sud experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity (IPC 3), with 29,000 people in emergency levels (IPC 4).

Some 558,000 children under five are projected to be acutely malnourished this year, which is up 56 per cent on last year. That figure includes some 155,600 with severe acute malnutrition, which is characterised by extreme wasting of the body, impaired vital organ function, and a very real risk of death.

A major malaria outbreak has also been ongoing since April 2025, further straining the regions health infrastructure, with 45,200 confirmed cases  or a quarter of the countrys total  reported in just one district in the South earlier this year.

Climate crisis is a water crisis

Many of the impacts experienced in the country are due to a staggering 14.3 million people in the country  or around half of the population  not having clean water close to home, with fewer than half of schools or health centres having running water. The increasing frequency of extreme weather events  which drive both floods and droughts  are further threatening the already-weak water infrastructure.

In the Southern village of Ankilimiary, grandmother Tsalova, 70, spends a lot of her money buying water, and if she cannot afford it, has to collect dirty water directly from the Taranty River.

Sometimes I fetch water from the Taranty River when I have no money. It is so far away. Even if I leave in the morning, I may not make it back home the same day, she says. The walk is very rocky. The roads are very rough; it is like a mountain. We really struggle.

In comments recorded by the NGO WaterAid on a recent fact-finding mission, which have been shared exclusively with The Independent, Tsalova further explains that the predictable rainfall of former years can no longer be relied upon, and food scarcity regularly strikes.

During the dry season, we only eat cactus. When there is no rain, there is nothing else to eat, she says. We have tried to grow maize, but we have no rain, so it came to nothing.

WaterAid has been present in neighbouring villages, installing clean water infrastructure for Madagascars state water utility JIRAMA  but plans have had to be severely curtailed this year after around 40 per cent of the NGOs funding in the country was suddenly slashed due to foreign aid cuts.

open image in gallery Tsalova currently spends a lot of her time collecting dirty water directly from the Taranty River to drink ( WaterAid/Ernest Randriarimalala )

We had funding to improve water access in the area, but unfortunately it was suddenly ended, leaving us with thousands of people who we were due to help, but in the end we were unable to, WaterAid country director Josette Vignon tells The Independent.

There is a massive gap between what NGOs are currently able to do to help people in the district, Vignon continues. A lot of communities have plans in place to improve water infrastructure, but just need the funding now to drive them to conclusion, she says.

This article was produced as part of The Independents Rethinking Global Aid project

The crisis in Le Grand Sud is the focus of WaterAids 2025 Winter Appeal
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King Charles has surpassed Princess Anne in being crowned the hardest-working member of the royal family in 2025, despite facing weekly cancer treatment.

The King has finally beaten his young sisters track record after she was consecutively named the most hard-working royal over the past few years.

Last year the King conducted 533 engagements which was the most hed done since 2019 when he did 541. This included travelling across the world, with three high-profile state visits to Italy, Canada and Poland.

The Princess Royal was just behind her brother, on 478, although she did have more working days overall with a total of 186.

The King was described as indefatigable by analyst Patricia Treble, who shared that it felt like the House of Windsor was making up for lost time, as reported by the Telegraph.

open image in gallery Last year the King conducted 533 engagements, which was the most hed done since 2019 ( 2025 Getty Images )

Productivity was particularly high all-round for the royal family last year, with a grand total of 2,459 engagements, according to an analysis documented in the Court Circular. The ten working royals completed 23 per cent more jobs in 2025 than in 2024 - a year when the King and Princess of Wales were both diagnosed with cancer.

This was followed by Prince Edward, who scored 313 royal engagements and the Duchess of Edinburgh who had completed 235.

Queen Camilla also came shortly behind this, with 228 engagements, just above the Duke of Gloucester, who had 212 engagements.

The Duke, Prince Richard, is the second eldest working Royal aged 81, and he even outdid William Prince of Wales who had 202 engagements in 2025, which was 139 more than the year earlier.

The Duchess of Gloucester completed 113 and the 90-year-old Duke of Kent managed 77 engagements in the same year in which his wife, Duchess of Kent, passed away in September at age 92.

open image in gallery The Princess of Wales, who was in remission from cancer, conducted 68 engagements in 2025, after revealing the recovery was a lot harder than anticipated ( Getty )

The Princess of Wales, who was in remission from cancer, conducted 68 engagements in 2025, after revealing the recovery was a lot harder than anticipated. She shared on a trip to Colchester hospital in Essex that You put on a sort of brave face, stoicism through treatment.

Treatments done, then its like, I can crack on, get back to normal, but actually, the phase afterwards is really, really difficult.

Youre not necessarily under the clinical team any longer, but youre not able to function normally at home as you perhaps once used to.

All of the Royals stepped up their workload this year with Princess Anne having a 10.39 per cent increase and the Princess of Wales having a rise of 423 per cent - a rise reflecting how she was forced to step back from royal duties in 2024 due to chemotherapy.
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More than 100 independent schools have reportedly closed their doors following the governments decision to impose VAT on private school fees.

Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council, told The Mail On Sunday that 105 institutions have ceased operations since the policy was introduced.

She described the move as "a bridge too far" for many establishments. The governments policy, which levies 20 per cent VAT on private school fees, came into effect on January 1 last year.

We are likely to see further closures over the coming months and years as the effects of VAT and other tax measures mount up, Ms Robinson told the paper.

While there is a combination of factors contributing to school closures, we know that there are some for whom the Governments decision to tax education is a bridge too far.

The 105 schools include 15 which had been merged with others, Ms Robinson told The Mail On Sunday.

A total of 19 school closures  nearly one in five  took place in London and the surrounding area, while many establishments in the North and the Midlands have also been forced to shut their doors, according to the newspaper.

Park Hill School in Kingston and Falcons School in Putney both claimed the Governments introduction of VAT on fees meant they no longer had the means to stay open, The Mail On Sunday said.

Nearly one in five private school closures took place in London and the surrounding area ( David Jones/PA Wire )

The Old Palace of John Whitgift School in Croydon, south London, Ursuline Prep in Ilford, east London, and London Acorn in Morden, south-west London, also shut their doors last year.

More recent closures include The Cedars School in Croydon, an all-boys senior school which shut in September, and Oak Heights, a co-ed senior school in Hounslow, west London, which closed in October.

Other closures include Queen Margarets School for Girls in York last summer, with governors citing mounting financial pressures as a reason for the shutdown.

Carrdus School in Banbury, owned by private girls school Tudor Hall, and Maidwell Hall in Northamptonshire, whose alumni include Earl Spencer, also closed recently.

A government spokesperson said on Sunday: This manufactured crisis of pupils leaving the private sector and putting pressure on the state system has failed to materialise.

Our data shows pupil numbers remain firmly within historical patterns seen for over the last 20 years, and the rate of children getting a place at one of their preferred primary schools is the second highest on record.

Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise 1.8 billion a year by 2029/30 to help fund public services, including supporting the 94 per cent of children in state schools, to help ensure excellence everywhere for every child.
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A peaceful transition of power should be reached quickly in Venezuela, a Cabinet minister has said after Donald Trump declared the US would run the country until a new government takes over.

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones declined to say whether he thought American strikes on Caracas early on Saturday were legal, insisting it was for international courts to judge.

The UK, which has a historically deep intelligence-sharing relationship with the US, was not informed of the operation which saw Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro captured and flown to New York before it was carried out.

The United Kingdom was not involved in any way, Mr Jones told Sky Newss Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme.

We were not informed of it beforehand. So its not for us to judge whether its been a success or not. Thats for the Americans to speak to.

The minister and close ally of Sir Keir Starmer added: I think the important thing now, given the events that have unfolded over the last 48 hours, is that we are quickly able to get to a point where we can get to a peaceful transition to a president in Venezuela that has the support of the people of Venezuela.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to dismiss the idea of imminent elections when asked how soon a vote could take place later on Sunday, telling NBCs Meet The Press show: I think its premature at this point.

He said we all wish to see a bright future including democracy for Venezuela, but that theres a lot of work to be done here.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the US president said Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been indicted on narco-terrorism charges in New York, where he was taken into custody.

The US will run the country until a safe, proper and judicious transition transfer of power can take place, Mr Trump said.

He also revealed his plans to exploit the leadership vacuum to fix the nations oil infrastructure, and sell large amounts of the fuel to other nations.

The action, seen as the most assertive US intervention to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, followed months of pressure from Washington on the country and its autocratic leader.

Speaking to the Atlantic later on Sunday, Mr Trump also appeared to confirm that Venezuela may not be the last country subject to American intervention, saying: We do need Greenland, absolutely.

And referring to the interim leader in Caracas, Delcy Rodriguez, Mr Trump said: If she doesnt do whats right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.

Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen told the US to stop the threats about taking over Greenland.

Mr Jones said the UK Government was not entirely clear what Mr Trump meant when he said America would run Venezuela, but insisted it was not for a third country to decide on its future government.

Its for the Americans now and for Venezuela to set out what happens in the coming days, he said.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel suggested the UK should absolutely have anticipated what was going to happen and that the political direction of travel had been pretty clear.

Sir Keir has resisted calls from within his own party, as well as some opposition critics, to take a tougher stance on the US president, arguing that a close relationship with America is critical for security and defence.

Asked whether he would condemn the military action on Saturday, Sir Keir said he wanted to wait to establish the facts and speak to Mr Trump, and later insisted the UK would shed no tears over the end of Mr Maduros regime.

Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside Kim Johnson questioned whether we as a country still stand for international law and sovereignty, while Leeds East Labour MP Richard Burgon described the Prime Ministers statement as shameful and reckless.

Former shadow chancellor and Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington John McDonnell said that effectively our country has been rendered up as a Trump colony, accusing the Government of prevarication.

In a post on X, Labour MP for Norwich South Clive Lewis said of the US action: A clear breach of the Nuremberg principles  which the UK helped write.

Now a (Labour Government) wont even defend them. This silence isnt diplomacy. Its the moral equivalent of a white flag.

In an interview with the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the Prime Minister said he does not agree with President Trump on everything he says and does, without giving examples.

He said: We do have differences of views on various things, but on the other hand, I constantly remind myself that 24/7 our defence, our security and our intelligence relationship with the US matters probably more than any other relationship weve got in the world, and it would not be in our national interest to weaken that in any way.

Of course, it doesnt mean I agree with President Trump on everything he says and does, any more than he would agree with everything that I say or do, and we openly accept that thats the nature of the relationship we have.

But we have made the relationship work. We do get along with each other and have the ability to spend time, one-to-one discussion, with world issues, and that is to the benefit of the UK.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada stands by the Venezuelan people's "right to decide and build their own future in a peaceful and democratic society" after U.S. President Donald Trump announced American forces captured Venezuela's president early Saturday morning.

"Canada has not recognised the illegitimate regime of [Nicolas] Maduro since it stole the 2018 election," Carney said on social media Saturday evening. "The Canadian government therefore welcomes the opportunity for freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity for the Venezuelan people.

The prime minister added that Canada has "long-supported a peaceful, negotiated, and Venezuelan-led transition process that respects the democratic will of the Venezuelan people" and it calls on all parties to respect international law.

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On Saturday morning, Trump said the U.S. successfully carried out a "large-scale strike" against Venezuela and captured Maduro.

Multiple explosions rang out overnight and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas, the capital of the oil-rich nation, as Maduro's government immediately accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations.

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement to CBC News that it was not aware of any reports of Canadians being injured in the attacks. The agency urged any citizens in Venezuela looking for consular support to contact the Canadian Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, since its embassy in Venezuela has been closed since 2019.

(Ariana Cubillos/The Associated Press)

In a social media post, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York.

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"They will soon face the wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," Bondi said.

Later on Saturday morning, Trump told reporters at a news conference that the United States will "run" Venezuela "until such time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition."

The situation marks Washington's most direct intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama.

Earlier on Saturday, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand echoed the prime minister on social media, saying Canada has "refused to recognize any legitimacy of the Maduro regime and opposed its repression of the Venezuelan people."

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"In keeping with our long-standing commitment to upholding the rule of law and democracy, Canada calls on all parties to respect international law and we stand by the people of Venezuela and their desire to live in a peaceful and democratic society," Anand added.

In his statement, Carney said that "Canada attaches great importance to resolution of crises through multilateral engagement and is in close contact with international partners about ongoing developments."

"We are first and foremost ready to assist Canadians through our consular officials and our embassy in Bogota, Colombia, and will continue to support Venezuelan refugees," the prime minister added.

Carney did not directly comment on the legality of the U.S. actions in his statement.

Opposition parties celebrate, condemn U.S. actions

"Congratulations to President Trump on successfully arresting narco-terrorist and socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro, who should live out his days in prison," Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a social media post on Saturday morning.

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"Down with socialism. Long live freedom," Poilievre added.

In a social media post, interim NDP Leader Don Davies said the U.S. "attack on Venezuela is neither an act of self defence nor does it have UN Security Council authorization. It is therefore totally illegal and a breach of the UN covenants the US has agreed to uphold as a Member State."

He added: "The U.S. can have no credibility upholding international law and the rights of nations when it blatantly violates those principles itself."

Earlier on Saturday, Davies said that "Canada must strongly condemn it and call for the immediate cessation of aggression by the U.S. against the sovereign state of Venezuela."

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Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said in French on social media that his party understands Maduro's regime "defies fundamental freedoms" and faces drug-trafficking allegations.

However, Blanchet said, "it appears troubling" that the U.S. is "is positioning itself as the enforcer of these principles at the risk of disregarding international law, particularly by resorting to military force at the peril of civilian lives, and to the sequestration of a head of state, even if illegitimate."

"The Bloc Quebecois invites the United States to respect the sovereignty of states and peoples and to resort to international and multilateral instruments, first and foremost the [United Nations], to address the threats posed by the Venezuelan regime," Blanchet said.

The Green Party condemned the strikes on Venezuela and "kidnapping" of Maduro, calling the acts a violation of international law.

"We can't stand by while one man's insatiable and violent thirst for oil makes an already perilous time in the world even less safe and even more unstable," deputy leader Mike Morrice said in a statement.
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Andy Burnham represents Labours best hope of keeping Nigel Farage out of No 10, Britains leading pollster has warned, as well as asserting that Sir Keir Starmer doesnt have the skill set for Downing Street.

In a scathing assessment, Professor Sir John Curtice accused the prime minister of not having a vision for the country and said he does not believe Sir Keir can learn to be a politician in the new year.

The prime minister insisted on Sunday that he will still be in post next year and warned leadership rivals that any moves to oust him would be a gift to Mr Farage and Reform UK.

But Sir John told The Independent he believes that only Greater Manchester mayor Mr Burnham has the support within the Labour Party, and appeal to the wider electorate, to be an effective replacement for the beleaguered prime minister, whose future appears increasingly uncertain.

open image in gallery Speculation abounds in Westminster about whether Andy Burnham, right, will be able to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for leadership of the Labour Party ( PA Archive )

However, he noted that the route back into Westminster is very difficult for Mr Burnham, because he would need to be elected as an MP.

Andy Burnham is probably still the best possibility, but there are many barriers in his way, said Sir John.

If you look at his popularity, both within and outside the Labour Party, his popularity is clearly more extensive than any of the other candidates.

While Mr Burnham recently dismissed claims that he is planning a comeback to Westminster, a YouGov poll last month showed he was the clear frontrunner among the candidates tipped to succeed Sir Keir, ahead of former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and health secretary Wes Streeting.

There has been widespread speculation in recent weeks that both Ms Rayner and Mr Streeting have been preparing the ground for leadership bids, but Sir John was sceptical about their chances.

Wes Streeting is not that popular in the party, although hes got a good backstory, but he is bearing the cross of being health secretary, he said.

open image in gallery Could this be Sir Keirs last Christmas in Downing Street? ( PA )

He has, rather controversially, decided to reorganise the administrative delivery of health in England in the middle of a crisis. I think one can probably say that his ability to succeed as a departmental minister has yet to be proven.

But Sir John added: He's undoubtedly a good communicator, and certainly has a much better political feel than Starmer.

Turning to Ms Rayner, who is a popular choice on the left of the party and has been tipped for a cabinet return, he raised questions over whether she could face similar problems to Sir Keir.

Angela Rayner is clearly popular within her party but tends to be divisive within the electorate, he warned.

What we don't know is, does she have a vision? Shes always been deputy to Starmer, and Starmer doesnt have a vision.

Could Rayner craft a vision? And does she have the skill set for 10 Downing Street? We know Starmer doesnt, but does she?

open image in gallery Sir Keir has said hes keen for Angela Rayner to return to government ( PA Archive )

Despite recent speculation that home secretary Shabana Mahmood was eyeing the top job, particularly after she was described as brilliant and impressive by Sir Tony Blair, Sir John was not convinced she would be a strong contender.

I mean, sections of the Labour Party will be currently swallowing her social conservatism as home secretary, but in leadership consideration its different, he said.

Noting that she fared badly on Labour List surveys of party members, he added: I think shes clearly talented, but whether or not she could appeal to the Labour Party electorate is debatable.

Looking ahead to more political turbulence in 2026, Sir John added: I would not be surprised if there had not been at least one significant change of leadership by this time next year.

Both Sir Keir and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch have seen their popularity plummet this year, and the May elections could be the last straw for disgruntled MPs hoping to retain their seats at the next general election.

Sir John said: The problem Labour face is they lose votes to the Greens, and because Reform is squeezing the Tory vote and taking some votes off Labour, its Reform that would benefit in terms of seats.

The Independent has asked for a comment from Mr Burnham.
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Keir Starmer risks re-igniting a row with members of his cabinet after he signalled the UK is prepared to get closer to the European Union to undo the harm caused by Brexit.

The prime minister said Britain should align itself more closely with the EU single market when it is in the national interest, adding we should go that far.

But he poured cold water on the idea the UK should rejoin a customs union with the bloc, days after his health secretary Wes Streeting said the arrangement had "enormous economic benefits".

open image in gallery Sir Keir Starmer said the UK should go further in its post-Brexit relationship (PA) ( PA Media )

Sir Keir said there was too much water under the bridge, particularly after the UK signed trade deals with the US and India which would potentially have to be unravelled for there to be any customs union deal.

But he said the UK could go further on the single market.

In an interview with the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, the PM pointed to steps agreed last year to align the UK more closely with the EU on agriculture and food, adding: "That's the sovereign decision that we have taken.

"I think we should get closer, and if it's in our national interest to have even closer alignment with the single market, then we should consider that, we should go that far."

He added: "I think it's in our national interest to go further.

On the idea of a customs union, he added: "I do understand why people are saying 'wouldn't it be better to go to the customs union?' I actually think that now we've done deals with the US which are in our national interest, now we've done deals with India which are in our national interest, we are better looking to the single market rather than the customs union for our further alignment."

But the prime minister ruled out a return to freedom of movement, a key principle of the EUs single market, although he pointed to plans for a new scheme to allow young people to come and work in the UK, and vice versa, for a set period of time.

In response, shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel accused the Labour leader of a Brexit betrayal.

"In a desperate bid to appease his backbenchers, Keir Starmer is pursuing alignment with the single market - surrendering our freedom to cut regulation and strike our own trade deals," she added.

Before Christmas No 10 was forced to say the PM was very happy with his cabinet after Mr Streetings comments.

In what was seen as a direct challenge to Sir Keir, the health secretary said a deeper trading relationship with Europe would boost UK economic growth.

The Labour leader has pledged a reset of UK-EU relations but has rejected calls to rejoin the group or become part of its single market or customs union.

However, in recent weeks Labour ministers have begun to talk more about the economic costs of Brexit.

A recent analysis, seen by The Independent, revealed that the EU is costing the UK up to 90bn a year in lost tax revenues.

open image in gallery Health Secretary Wes Streeting said a customs union had enormous economic benefits. (Lucy North/PA) ( PA Wire )

On Sunday the Lib Dems announced they will try to force a new Parliamentary vote on a customs union, by tabling an amendment to the EU Reset Bill, expected to be brought forward by the government in the coming weeks.

At the start of December more than a dozen Labour MPs voted with the Libs to call on the government to open talks on a new EU-UK customs union.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: Businesses are drowning in red tape and families are paying the price for the appalling Brexit deal left by the Conservatives. But so far the Labour government has been far too timid, only tinkering around the edges when it comes to rebuilding our ties with Europe.
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Officers will seize mobile phones and sim cards from migrants without the need to arrest them as part of Sir Keir Starmers pledge to smash the gangs smuggling people across the Channel.

The power has come into force days after the prime minister suffered a blow when new figures showed 41,472 people arrived in the UK on a small boat last year  the second-highest number on record.

On Sunday, the Labour leader announced he had stepped up his bid to ease the crisis  and had ordered the Home Office to close asylum hotels before the current 2029 deadline, although he would not be drawn on a new date.

open image in gallery New figures have shown that 41,472 people arrived in the UK on a small boat last year  the second-highest number on record ( PA )

Officers will begin taking electronic devices from people at Manston processing centre in Kent, to download data they believe will help them gather intelligence on people smugglers.

The new powers for law enforcement agencies are designed to speed up investigations and come after Labours new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act became law in December.

Border security minister Alex Norris said: We promised to restore order and control to our borders which means taking on the people smuggling networks behind this deadly trade.

That is exactly why we are implementing robust new laws with powerful offences to intercept, disrupt and dismantle these vile gangs faster than ever before and cut off their supply chains.

These operational measures sit alongside sweeping reforms to the system, to make it less attractive for migrants to come here illegally and remove and deport people faster.

Last week, official 2025 figures were 13 per cent higher than the numbers recorded in 2024, when 36,816 migrants made the perilous journey, and 41 per cent higher than 2023's total of 29,437. It was also just 9 per cent below the all-time high of 45,774 in 2022.

open image in gallery On Sunday, the PM said Britons would start to see evidence of asylum hotel closures in the coming months ( PA )

On Sunday, Sir Keir said Britons would start to see evidence of asylum hotel closures in the coming months.

Their use was highlighted this summer with a wave of protests centred around the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, after an asylum seeker who had arrived by small boat in the UK was temporarily housed and later charged, jailed and deported for sexually assaulting a woman and a 14-year-old girl.

The prime minister said he was determined to close the hotels but could not give a date when that might happen.

He told the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: Ive said to the system, to the relevant departments, I want to see that brought forward as soon as possible, but no longer the end of parliament. Bring it forward.

I want us to close hotels. I think over coming months youll see evidence of that.

Sir Keir said he did not want to set a date until were absolutely sure that we can meet that date.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused ministers of cosmetic tweaks and said there was no deterrent to those crossing the Channel, as he reiterated his partys call for the UK to quit the European Convention on Human Rights.

The governments new law also introduces new criminal offences, such as up to 14 years in jail for storing or supplying boat engines to bring migrants to the UK via the English Channel smuggling route.

Smugglers downloading maps on where to depart on small boats or researching the best places to buy equipment for the dinghies could also face up to five years in prison.

The UKs border security commander, Martin Hewitt, said the new powers to seize phones more easily marked a key moment. Since his unit was set up, officers have disrupted smuggling gangs more than 4,000 times. Including the seizure of cash and criminal convictions.
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Sir Keir Starmer has rejected calls to condemn Donald Trumps shock takeover of oil-rich Venezuela, saying the UK would shed no tears about the end of Nicolas Maduro's regime.

His comments, which will be seen as effective support for Mr Trump, came after the US President stunned the world by announcing it had captured President Maduro and was temporarily taking over the running of the South American country.

The prime minister had faced calls from Labour MPs and opposition politicians to oppose the US action, which included a large-scale military strike and explosions reported across the capital Caracas in the early hours of Saturday.

But in a statement Sir Keir said: "The UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela. We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime.

open image in gallery Sir Keir Starmer said the Government would shed no tears about the end of Nicolas Maduros regime (Isabel Infantes/PA) ( PA Wire )

He added: "I reiterated my support for international law this morning. The UK government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people.

But in an interview recorded earlier on Saturday, with the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, the PM refused to say whether President Trump had broken international law, saying that he need to establish the full picture.

open image in gallery Donald Trump shared this photo purporting to be Nicolas Maduro en route to New York aboard the USS Iwo Jima. ( US President Donald Trump's TRUT )

Sir Keir said Britain had not been involved "in any way" in the attack. The Foreign Office has advised against all travel to Venezuela. There are currently thought to be around 500 UK nationals in the country,

Earlier Labour MPs had called on the PM to condemn the USs actions.

Kim Johnson, the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, said: "Do we as a country still stand for international law and sovereignty?... This shameless attack is about seizing Venezuela's resources. We must always defend international law."

Richard Burgon, the Labour MP for Leeds East, said: "The Prime Minister should respond to an illegal bombing and kidnapping by Trump in exactly the way he would if Putin had carried it out.

"Either Keir Starmer believes in international law - or he doesn't. You can't pick and choose. Time to stand up to Trump's gangster politics."

open image in gallery Supporters of Maduro burn a US flag ( Getty Images )

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey also said Sir Keir Starmer should condemn Trump's illegal action in Venezuela. Maduro is a brutal and illegitimate dictator, but unlawful attacks like this make us all less safe. Trump is giving a green light to the likes of Putin and Xi to attack other countries with impunity."

Green Party leader Zack Polanski also accused the US president of believing he could "act with impunity".

"The PM and Foreign Secretary should be condemning this illegal strike and breach of international human rights law," he said.

But shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said "nobody will shed tears" over Nicolas Maduro being "removed".

She said: "We have always strongly condemned Maduro's brutal and repressive regime and the Conservative government did not consider Maduro's administration as legitimate. Nobody will shed tears for him being removed.

"We await the full facts about the US operation which has removed Maduro and we want to see the Venezuelan people enjoy democratic norms and freedoms.

And Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed the US's "unorthodox" military operation in Venezuela could prove a deterrent to future Russian and Chinese aggression.

In a post on X, he said: "The American actions in Venezuela overnight are unorthodox and contrary to international law - but if they make China and Russia think twice, it may be a good thing.

"I hope the Venezuelan people can now turn a new leaf without Maduro."

This is a developing story, more follows...
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Sir Keir Starmer is attempting to win back disillusioned voters and see off challenges to his leadership with a promise to improve their financial wellbeing and ease the cost of living crisis.

Speaking over the weekend, the prime minister acknowledged public frustration regarding the pace of progress, but he insisted that his policies would begin to deliver positive change for people in 2026.

Sir Keir also insisted he will still be in No 10 by 2027 despite growing discontent among Labour backbenchers and suggestions that heavy losses in Mays elections would spark a contest to replace him.

But he told the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the votes across Scotland, England and Wales would not be a referendum on his Westminster administration.

It comes after a challenging year for his administration, marked by sluggish economic growth, internal leadership rumblings, and disappointing poll ratings ahead of Mays local elections.

The first year of the PMs administration has been marked by sluggish economic growth, internal leadership rumblings, and disappointing poll ratings ( Jeff Overs/BBC/PA )

Making his first visit of the year to meet members of the public on Monday, Sir Keir insisted Britain will turn a corner in 2026.

Speaking at a community centre in Berkshire, the prime minister made reference to the US operation in Venezuela over the weekend, but acknowledged people had other day-to-day priorities.

He said: Its really good to be able to come here and speak to you. Im acutely aware that there are a lot of things going on in the world at the moment, particularly you will see some things this weekend.

But I always remind myself that for you and millions of people across this country, what matters more than anything is the cost of living, is actually being able to pay bills, making sure that ends meet at the end of the month, and that were driving down all those things that cause people a lot of anxiety when they feel they cant pay the bills.

Concluding his remarks, Sir Keir said: 2026 is the year that were going to be turning a corner where  when we say we want national renewal of the country, and we do  it becomes a reality, and people begin to feel the difference in their pockets, in the ability to pay the bill.

Thats why we say we are turning a corner into 2026.

It came after the PM on Sunday insisted frequent leadership changes are not in the national interest and that constant chopping and changing under the previous Tory government had been utter chaos.

The prime minister also appeared to acknowledge criticism of his premiership but said he would rise above the commentary and focus on making a material difference to peoples lives.

We will fight for every vote, and we take absolutely nothing for granted, he said.

Asked whether he appreciated the political trouble he had been in after a series of policy U-turns and shifts in strategy, he said: Almost every week somebody writes that this is the worst week in politics.

You cant have 52 worst weeks in politics.

On a number of visits this week, Sir Keir will highlight policies like a freeze on rail fares and plans to cut energy bills, which he says will help lower the financial burden on households.

Around 3 million train tickets will be discounted for a week from Tuesday under an annual government scheme.

Before meeting residents on Monday, Sir Keir said: Its good news for Berkshires high streets and local businesses too  affordable public transport brings in customers and helps families enjoy time together.

Growing up, our family couldnt always make ends meet. I know every pound matters, and this year I am going further to tackle the cost of living and bring down costs for families.

As MPs return to Westminster this week after the Christmas recess, Sir Keir will tell the first Cabinet meeting of the year on Tuesday: I know families across the country are still worried about the cost of living.

There will be no let-up in our fight to make life better for them.

But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Sir Keir expects gratitude when its his decisions that have made the cost of living worse.

She said working people are paying higher taxes after the government extended a freeze on income tax thresholds, which together with previous extensions means millions face being dragged into paying higher rates.

Ministers say the changes in the Budget, which included overall taxes being hiked by 26bn, were fair and necessary to help cut the cost of living and improve public services.

Labour have no plan to fix Britain and working families are paying the price, Ms Badenoch said.
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RAF Typhoons joined French aircraft in a joint strike on Saturday evening on an underground facility in Syria which had been occupied by Isis, most likely to store weapons and explosives, the Ministry of Defence said.

Guided bombs were used to target a number of access tunnels down to the site, located in the mountains north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the centre of the country, on Saturday evening.

It was identified through intelligence analysis as a former Isis weapons and explosives storage site. The facility had been most likely used to store weapons and explosives and the surrounding area is devoid of civilians, the Ministry of Defence said.

The strike was part of continuing efforts to prevent the terrorist groups resurgence. The Royal Air Force has maintained regular patrols over the country since the military defeat of Isis at Baghuz Fawqani in March 2019.

Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: This action shows our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East.

I want to thank all the members of our Armed Forces involved in this operation  for their professionalism and their courage.

They were among thousands of British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, shows how our Armed Forces are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad.

The Ministry of Defence has said there is no indication of any risk having been posed to civilians by the strike, and all aircraft returned safely.
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As Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time on Jan. 20, 2025, former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell put his phone on do not disturb and left it on his nightstand to take a break from the news.

That evening, after Gonell spent time with family and took his dog on a long walk, his phone started to blow up with calls. He had messages from federal prosecutors, FBI agents and the federal Bureau of Prisons  all letting him know that the new president had just pardoned about 1,500 people who had been convicted for their actions at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The pardons included rioters who had injured Gonell as he and other officers tried to protect the building.

They told me that people I testified against were being released from prison, Gonell said. And to be mindful.

Gonell was one of the officers who defended the central West Front entrance to the Capitol that day as Congress was certifying Democrat Joe Bidens victory and hundreds of Trumps supporters broke into the building, echoing his false claims of a stolen election. Gonell was dragged into the crowd by his shoulder straps as he tried to fight people off. He almost suffocated. In court, he testified about injuries to his shoulder and foot that still bother him to this day.

They have tried to erase what I did with the pardons and other attempts to play down the violent attack, Gonell said. I lost my career, my health, and Ive been trying to get my life back.

Five years since the siege, Gonell and some of the other police officers who fought off the rioters are still coming to terms with what happened, especially after Trump was decisively elected to a second term last year and granted those pardons. Their struggle has been compounded by statements from the Republican president and some GOP lawmakers in Congress minimizing the violence that the officers encountered.

Its been a difficult year, said Officer Daniel Hodges, a Metropolitan Police Department officer who was also injured as he fought near Gonell in a tunnel on the West Front. Hodges was attacked several times, crushed by the rioters between heavy doors and beaten in the head as he screamed for help.

A lot of things are getting worse, Hodges said.

An evolving narrative

More than 140 police officers were injured during the fighting on Jan. 6, which turned increasingly brutal as the hours wore on.

Former Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger took over the department six months after the riot. He said in a recent interview that many of his officers were angry when he first arrived, not only because of injuries they suffered but also they resented the fact that they didnt have the equipment they needed, the training they needed  to deal with the unexpectedly violent crowd.

Several officers who fought the rioters told The Associated Press that the hardest thing to deal with has been the effort by many to play down the violence, despite a massive trove of video and photographic evidence documenting the carnage.

Trump has called the rioters he pardoned, including those who were most violent toward the police, patriots and hostages. He called their convictions for harming the officers and breaking into the building a grave national injustice.

I think that was wrong, Adam Eveland, a former District of Columbia police officer, said of Trumps pardons. If there were to be pardons, Eveland said, Trump's administration should have reviewed every case.

Ive had a hard time processing that, said Eveland, who fought the rioters and helped to push them off the Capitol grounds.

The pardons erased what little justice there was, said former Capitol Police Officer Winston Pingeon, who was part of the forces Civil Disturbance Unit on Jan. 6. He left the force several months afterward.

Pushback from lawmakers and the public

Hodges and Gonell have been speaking out about their experiences since July 2021, when they testified before the Democratic-led House committee that investigated Jan 6. Since then, they have received support but also backlash.

At a Republican-led Senate hearing in October on political violence, Hodges testified again as a witness called by Democrats. After Hodges spoke about his experience on Jan. 6, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., asked the other witnesses whether they supported Trumps pardons of the rioters, including for those who injured Hodges. Three of the witnesses, all called by Republicans, raised their hands.

I dont know how you would say it wasnt violent, says Hodges, who is still a Washington police officer.

It has not just been politicians or the rioters who have doubted the police. It also is friends and family.

My biggest struggle through the years has been the public perception of it, Eveland said, and navigating conversations with people close to him, including some fellow police officers, who do not think it was a big deal.

Its hard for me to wrap my head around that, but ideology is a pretty powerful thing, he said.

Improvements in safety and support

As police officers struggled in the aftermath, Manger, the former Capitol Police chief, said the department had to figure out how to better support them. There were no wellness or counseling services when he arrived, he said, and they were put in to place.

The officers who were there and were in the fight  we needed to make sure that they got the help that they needed, Manger said.

Manger, who retired in May, also oversaw major improvements to the departments training, equipment, operational planning and intelligence. He said the Capitol is now a great deal safer than it was when he arrived.

If that exact same thing happened again, they would have never breached the building, they would have never gotten inside, they would have never disrupted the electoral count, Manger said.

Pingeon, the former Capitol Police officer, said he believes the department is in many ways unrecognizable from what it was on Jan. 6 and when he left several months later.

It was a wake-up call, he said.

Pressing on

Pingeon, who was attacked and knocked to the ground as he tried to prevent people from entering the Capitol, said Jan. 6 was part of the reason he left the department and moved home to Massachusetts. He has dealt with his experience by painting images of the Capitol and his time there, as well as advocating for nonviolence. He said he now feels ready to forgive.

The real trauma and heartache and everything I endured because of these events, I want to move past it, he said.

Gonell left the Capitol Police because of his injuries. He has not returned to service, though he hopes to work again. He wrote a book about his experience, and he said he still has post-traumatic stress disorder related to the attack.

While many of the officers who were there have stayed quiet about their experiences, Eveland said he decided that it was important to talk publicly about Jan. 6 to try to reach people and come at it from a logical standpoint.

Still, he said, Ive had to come to terms with the fact that just because something happened to me and was a major part of my world doesnt mean that everyone else has to understand that or even be sympathetic to that.

He added: The only thing I can do is tell my story, and hopefully the people who respect me will eventually listen.
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The Trump administrations recent actions in Venezuela, including the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and assertions that it will run the country, are prompting stark new questions regarding the legality of US operations and their future trajectory in the South American nation.

The dramatic, middle-of-the-night seizure saw Maduro and his wife transported on a US warship to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges in New York. Legal experts have described this as an unprecedented escalation, surpassing even the most aggressive historical American interventions against autocratic governments in places like Panama and Iraq. This extraordinary development followed a surprise US incursion that reportedly rocked the Venezuelan capital with overnight explosions.

This is clearly a blatant, illegal and criminal act, said Jimmy Gurule, a Notre Dame Law School professor and former assistant U.S. attorney.

The stunning development caps months of aggressive U.S. military action in the region, including the bombing of boats accused of trafficking drugs and seizures of oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The Trump administration has conducted 35 known boat strikes against vessels, killing more than 115 people since September, and positioned an armada of warships in nearby waters.

The bigger debate than legality is yet to come, said John Yoo, an early architect of the George W. Bush administrations policy in Iraq and now a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Its easier to remove a dictator, he said, based on his experience in the Iraq War. But ensuring the transition to a stable democratic government is the harder part.

Maduros arrest came 36 years to the date of the surrender of Panamas strongman Manuel Noriega, a notable milestone in American involvement in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. invaded Panama in 1989 to arrest Noriega on drug trafficking charges.

open image in gallery Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth and Dan Caine pictured at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday ( AP )

In Panama, however, U.S. national security interests were directly at stake in the form of the Panama Canal as well as the safety of American citizens and U.S. military installations in the country.

By contrast, Congress has not authorized any American military strike or law enforcement move against Venezuela.

The President will claim that this fits within a vast body of precedent supporting broad executive power to defend the United States, its citizens, and its interests, Matthew Waxman, a Columbia University law professor who was a national security official in the Bush administration, said. Critics will charge that this exceeds the bounds of presidential power without congressional authorization.

While U.S. agents have a long history of snatching defendants abroad to execute arrest warrants without authorization, federal courts have long deferred to the White House in foreign policy and national security matters.

For example, in 1990, U.S. bounty hunters, working under the direction of the Drug Enforcement Administration, abducted in Mexico a doctor accused of killing DEA agent Enrique Kiki Camarena.

Courts give great deference to the president on issues related to national security, said Gurule, who led the prosecution against Camarenas killers. But great deference does not mean absolute deference and unfettered authority to do anything.

open image in gallery Supporters of Nicolas Maduro burn a US flag during a gathering near Miraflores palace ( AP )

Trumps administration has declared the drug cartels operating from Venezuela to be unlawful combatants and has said the United States is now in an armed conflict with them, according to an administration memo obtained in October by The Associated Press.

The memo appears to represent an extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers, with Trump effectively declaring that trafficking of drugs into the U.S. amounts to armed conflict requiring the use of military force. That is a new rationale for past and future actions.

Congress, which has broad authority to approve or prohibit the presidents war powers, has failed to do either, even as lawmakers from both political parties grow increasingly uneasy with the military actions in the region, particularly after it was revealed that U.S. forces killed two survivors of a boat attack with a follow-up strike.

Congress Democratic leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, demanded immediate briefings for the gang of eight leaders on Capitol Hill, which includes top members of the Intelligence committees, as well as for other lawmakers. Congressional leaders were not notified of the actions until after the operation was underway.

open image in gallery Maduros arrest caps months of aggressive U.S. military action in the region ( AFP/Getty )

The idea that Trump plans to now run Venezuela should strike fear in the hearts of all Americans," Schumer said. The American people have seen this before and paid the devastating price.

Michael Schmitt, a former Air Force lawyer and professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College, said the entire operation  the boat strikes as well as the apprehension of Maduro  clearly violates international law.

Lawyers call it international armed conflict, Schmitt said. Lay people call it war. So as a matter of law, we are now at war with Venezuela because the use of hostilities between two states clearly triggers an internal armed conflict.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the administration is working to schedule briefings for lawmakers next week.

Republican lawmakers in Congress largely welcomed the capture of Maduro as ridding the region of a leader they called a dictator, but Democratic lawmakers warned that in veering from the rule of law, the administration is potentially greenlighting other countries such as China or Russia to do the same.

Beyond the legality, what kind of precedent does it send? asked Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said in an interview that the rebuilding plan ahead has echoes of the Iraq War as the Trump administration promises to use Venezuela's oil revenue to pay the costs.

open image in gallery Presidential guard troops stand outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela ( AP )

Waxman, the Columbia University law professor, said seizing control of Venezuelas resources opens up additional legal issues: For example, a big issue will be who really owns Venezuelas oil?

The Senate is expected to try again next week to curtail Trump's actions, with a vote expected on a bipartisan war powers resolution that would block using U.S. forces against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he is grateful for the armed forces who carried out this necessary action. He said he spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and wants more information.

I look forward to receiving further briefings from the administration on this operation as part of its comprehensive counternarcotics strategy when the Senate returns to Washington next week, Thune said.

Rubio said at a briefing Saturday with Trump that because of the nature of the surprise operation, it was not something that could be shared beforehand with the lawmakers.
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The US will run Venezuela until there is a peaceful transition of power, Donald Trump has said after capturing Venezuelas left-wing President Nicolas Maduro in an overnight raid on Saturday.

Maduro has arrived in New York and was shown arriving at a detention facility where he will await his first court appearance on US criminal charges.

Trump confirmed the country's leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been flown out of Caracas and indicted on "narco-terrorism" charges following the strikes early on Saturday. The Maduro government has condemned the attack on Caracas as an imperialist act, while Sir Keir Starmer said the UK government would shed no tears over the fall of the Maduro regime.

open image in gallery ( AFP via Getty Images )

At least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were seen in the capital, Caracas, and rising smoke was spotted in numerous regions at approximately 2am during the large-scale attack on Saturday. The Trump administration said around 150 aircraft, including bombers and fighter jets, were involved in the operation.

At a press conference on Saturday at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Trump warned that the US is ready to stage a second and much larger attack if required.

Trump suggested his administration would be heavily involved in leading Venezuela in Maduros absence, though he provided no details. He said: We are going to run the country until such time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. He said this will also involve US oil firms entering the country.

open image in gallery Donald Trumps post on X claiming responsibility for launching a large-scale strike on Venezuela ( @realDonaldTrump/Truth Social )

Why is Trump targeting Venezuela?

Over the past few months, Trump has accused Maduro of being a top-level member of a drug cartel, Cartel de los Soles, which he claims is trafficking drugs into the US. Trump has not shared evidence of Maduros involvement but has used these allegations to justify his lethal military operations against Venezuelan ships.

When asked about his reasons for actions in Venezuela by Fox News presenter Peter Doocy, Trump also cited immigration as the reason. He said: One of the things its about is the fact that theyve allowed millions of people to come into our country from their prisons, from gangs, from drug dealers, and from mental institutions.

He made similar claims during the 2024 presidential election campaign, when Trump and his officials on several occasions blamed Venezuela for sending too many migrants to the US. They claimed the country was opening up the prisons and encouraging criminals to flock to Americas borders.

There is also the question of natural resources. Venezuela is rich in oil and rare earth minerals, which serve as extremely valuable commodities. The South American country has $1.36 trillion worth of mineral wealth, according to Maduro.

After the US seized an oil tanker in December, Caracas directly accused the US of trying to plunder Venezuela for its natural resources. In a statement, the Venezuelan government said: Under these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed It has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.

US attorney general Pam Bondi has claimed that an oil tanker seized last month off the coast of Venezuela was carrying sanctioned oil intended for Iran. Venezuela has denied this accusation and labelled Trumps actions as an act of international piracy.

What led to the strikes?

Tensions between the two countries have been rising for months. They were ramped up significantly in September, when the US launched military strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in the coastal waters of Venezuela.

These airstrikes were later extended into the eastern Caribbean and along the Pacific, with 110 killed so far.

The US has confiscated two oil tankers and is in pursuit of a third. Trump also issued new sanctions on three of Maduros nephews as well as six companies that ship oil out of the country that month, according to Axios.

open image in gallery The crude oil tanker Skipper recently seized by the U.S. off the coast of Venezuela, seen as the ship was traveling in a southwesterly direction and positioned approximately 33km north of Guadeloupe, in the southern Caribbean Sea ( Vantor )

What has Donald Trump said?

In a press conference on Saturday, Trump vowed to run the country. He said: We are going to run the country until such time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.

He said this will also involve the US oil firms entering the country as well.

"We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country, he added.

In a post on his Truth Social platform shortly before addressing the media, he posted an image which appeared to show the autocratic leader blindfolded aboard the US warship Iwo Jima and headed to New York.

open image in gallery Maduro being escorted by DEA agents in lower Manhattan, New York, on Saturday ( X/@RapidResponse47 )

The White Houses rapid response account later posted on X a video appearing to show Maduro handcuffed and escorted by law enforcement agents.

The video was captioned perp walked.

Donald Trump claimed that Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodriguez had been sworn in as president shortly before he spoke at the press conference.

She is essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Very simple, Trump said.

He also warned that the US is ready to stage a second and much larger attack.

He explained the armed forces assumed that a second wave would be necessary, but the first attack was so successful, we probably don't have to do a second, but added the US is prepared to do a second wave, a much bigger wave.

What could happen next?

US senator Mike Lee says Marco Rubio, Trumps Secretary of State, told him that Maduro will stand trial on criminal charges in the US.

The US Justice Department released a new indictment of Maduro and his wife which accuses Maduro of leading a a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.

It alleges that the drug trafficking efforts enriched and entrenched Venezuela's political and military elite.

US authorities allege that Maduro partnered with some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world to bring tons of cocaine into the US, according to the indictment.

Venezuelas allies have rushed to condemn the US military action. In a statement, Russias foreign ministry criticised what it called an act of armed aggression and said Caracas must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, let alone military, outside intervention.

Ideologically driven hostility has prevailed over practical pragmatism and a willingness to build relations based on trust and predictability, they said.

open image in gallery Venezuelans celebrate after US president Donald Trump announced that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country ( AP )

We reaffirm our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and our support for the course pursued by its Bolivarian leadership to defend the countrys national interests and sovereignty, it added.

Vladimir Putin is a close ally of Venezuelan Maduro. Last year, he visited Moscow for Russias annual military parade and signed a broad partnership agreement with the Russian leader.

Irans foreign ministry also condemned the strikes, saying the action was a blatant violation of its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Venezuelan government has called for socialist militias and grassroots organisations to take action.

Chinas foreign ministry said on Sunday that the US should immediately release Maduro and his wife, and resolve the situation in Venezuela through dialogue and negotiation.

In a statement on its website, the ministry also said the US should ensure the personal safety of Maduro and his wife, adding that their deportation violated international law and norms.

Sir Keir said Britain would discuss the evolving situation with American counterparts over the coming days.

In a statement on Saturday evening, Sir Keir said: The UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela. We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime.

I reiterated my support for international law this morning. The UK government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people.

An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council has been scheduled for Monday.

In a statement via his spokesperson, the UN secretary-general voiced concerns that the rules of international law had not been respected.

Sir Keir earlier refused to be drawn on whether the military action broke international law, saying he wanted to talk to Mr Trump, with whom he had not spoken on Saturday morning, and allies to establish the facts.

Was Trumps action legal?

Legal uncertainty surrounded Washingtons actions in Venezuela on Saturday as international scrutiny intensified and opposition grew within the US Congress.

open image in gallery Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in downtown Caracas ( AP )

Questions persist over whether the United States had breached international law, particularly in relation to the detention of the Venezuelan president. There are a number of international legal concepts which the United States might have broken by capturing Maduro, said Ilan Katz, an international law analyst.

On Capitol Hill, concern cut across party lines over US attacks on vessels suspected of drug trafficking. Lawmakers noted that Congress has not granted authorisation for the use of military force for such actions in the region, raising constitutional and legal doubts about the administrations approach.

Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence to support military action against Venezuela without congressional approval. Mr Himes called for an urgent briefing from the White House on its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, on her final day as congresswoman, was the presidents strongest Republican critic on the Sunday show circuit this week in the wake of a stunning U.S. operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro.

The Republican firebrand was on NBCs Meet the Press for the last time as a member of the House as she argued that President Donald Trump was once again turning away from the domestic agenda she has argued for months is a reason for the his decreasing popularity among his base.

Her comments come as MAGA Republicans online and on Capitol Hill have largely backed the presidents move, even with polls showing that most Americans do not support military intervention in Venezuela.

I am not defending Maduro and of course I am happy for the people of Venezuela to be liberated, Greene said. [But] this is the same Washington playbook that we are so sick and tired of, that doesn't serve the American people, but actually serves the big corporations, the banks, and the oil executives.

"My understanding of America first is strictly for the American people, she said, adding: We dont consider Venezuela our neighborhood.

The Trump administration that campaigned on Make America Great Again that we thought was putting America First...I want to see domestic policies that prioritize jobs and affordable housing for Americans, she said.

open image in gallery Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized Trump's continued focus on foreign policy in an interview with NBC News ( NBC - Meet the Press )

Greenes public break with the president began in the fall over the vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files and has led to her taking more prominent stances against him in recent weeks. It extended to the issue of expiring Affordable Care Act health plan subsidies during the government shutdown.

She recently tore apart the president and the culture of Mar-a-Lagos elite in a revealing profile for The New York Times, in which she said that she was naive to think that Trump truly cared about the lower- and middle-income voters he claimed to represent in his three runs for the presidency. Greene also told the paper of Trumps cold response to a threat she received against her sons life. The president responded that she supposedly had herself to blame for turning on him.

open image in gallery Marjorie Taylor Greenes support of the Epstein files discharge petition was her first public move against the president ( REUTERS )

Her last day in Congress is Monday.

Many critics of the administration, including some conservatives like Greene, have likened the situation to the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and the mixed results that U.S. officials had in setting up stable governments during the War on Terror. Afghanistans government, after two decades of U.S. military and economic support, collapsed under a resurgent Taliban offensive in 2021.

Even Trump supporters, like War Room podcast host Steve Bannon and The American Conservative director Curt Mills, turned to ridiculing the evolving situation in Venezuela over the weekend and raised questions about the administrations plans for the day after.

Reacting to snap YouGov poll on Sunday  which suggested 46 percent of Americans disapproved Trumps handling of the situation in Venezuela  Mills wrote: Catastrophic polling result for a frankly astonishingly effective tactical raid. From a pure amoral perspective, White House burnt political capital / public patience for literally nothing.

The president is getting very bad advice, he added.

The White House and State Department have so far been unable or unwilling to enunciate what that vision for the immediate future of Venezuela will look like. Trump and his secretary of State have been on the same page regarding Venezuelas requirement to do as the U.S. says and follow the administrations demands but have been clear about little else, including who the U.S. recognizes currently as the leader of Venezuela with Maduro in custody and his vice president Delia Rodriguez reportedly in hiding in Russia, according to Reuters.

Speaking to news outlets on Sunday, Rubio could not say when the U.S. expects Venezuela to hold elections or who will be running the countrys day-to-day governmental affairs in the interim. He was also unable to explain the scope of the Trump administrations role in those affairs, or whether theyd require a sustained U.S. presence on the ground for potentially months or longer.

open image in gallery Marco Rubio couldnt say on Sunday who the Trump administration recognizes as leader of Venezuela ( Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

The secretary additionally did not give a clear answer regarding the issue of control of Venezuelas oil fields; Trump has said that U.S. forces and companies will take back the oil, while Rubio said Sunday that the U.S. doesnt need control over Venezuelas oil fields and was concerned with returning those proceeds to the countrys citizens.

Democrats have focused their fire on the legality of the operation taking place without the administration informing Congress or seeking approval through an authorization of military force. In the Senate, Chuck Schumers caucus is set to force a vote on a War Powers resolution this week aimed at curtailing the White Houses ability to wage war in the region, but it is not expected to pass as Republicans remain in control of the chamber, one member of Schumers caucus (John Fetterman) is publicly in support of the strike, and an insufficient number of Republicans in the Senate have signaled theyd vote for it.

On Sunday, Schumer attacked the White House for the way the strike was carried out, as well as the aftermath.

open image in gallery Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said that Saturdays strike was illegal ( AP )

"Look, Maduros a horrible, horrible person. But you don't treat lawlessness with other lawlessness. And that's what happened here. The American people this morning, George (Stephanopoulos), are scratching their heads in wonderment and fear of what the president has proposed. The United States will run Venezuela, Schumer told ABCs This Week.

We have learned through the years, when America tries to do regime change and nation building in this way, the American people pay the price in both blood and in dollars, said Schumer. He flatly denied that the administration had legal authority to conduct the operation to abduct Maduro: Its a violation of the law.

No one knows who now leads Venezuela, a country of about 30 million people, Schumer added.

Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, appeared on CNN the same day. He told State of the Union co-host Dana Bash that the president had poisoned the well for the effort to manage an orderly transition in Maduros wake by undermining Maria Corina Machado, the top opposition leader in the country, as well as with his statements insinuating that the motivation for the administrations operation was to seize control of Venezuelas oil reserves.

Donald Trump yesterday in his news conference basically set the stage for a disaster here, Himes said.

Maduro landed Saturday night in New York where the detained Venezuelan leader is due to face drug trafficking charges, along with his wife, filed by the Justice Department in the Southern District of New York. An indictment against him was first issued in 2020.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried on Sunday to shed more daylight on the Trump administrations plan for a path forward in Venezuela after the abduction of Nicolas Maduro, the countrys president, and his wife in a military raid on Saturday.

But the secretary was unable to clearly say who the U.S. saw running the country even in the immediate term or explain why Maduro was being treated differently than former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, whom Trump pardoned for drug trafficking offenses last month.

Rubio was pressed by ABCs George Stephanopoulos on the pardon of Hernandez, and dodged questions about whether he supported the pardon by claiming he wasnt involved in the relevant White House discussions.

The president is the one with the pardon authority, Rubio insisted. Hes the one that viewed the file.

I wasn't involved in those deliberations. I haven't looked at the case file, added the secretary. I've got a bunch of other things going on.

open image in gallery Marco Rubio defended the military operation to capture Nicolas Maduro on Sunday ( NBC - Meet the Press )

During another appearance on NBCs Meet the Press, Rubio was directly asked: Mr. Secretary, who is in charge? Are you running Venezuela right now?

The secretary did not give a clear answer, instead replying: Yeah, I mean I keep-- ...people [keep] fixating on that. Heres the bottom line on it, is: We expect to see changes in Venezuela. Changes of all kinds, long term, short term, wed love to see all kinds of changes but the most immediate changes are the ones that are in the national interest of the United States. Thats why we are involved here. Because of how it applies, and has a direct impact on the United States.

We are not going to be able to allow, in our hemisphere, a country that becomes a crossroads for the activities of all of our adversaries around the world. We just cant allow-- we cant have a country where the people in charge of its military and in charge of its police department are openly cooperating with drug trafficking organizations, he continued. Were not going to allow that.

Rubio seemed to indicate that the existing governmental infrastructure in Venezuela, home to roughly 30 million people, could be upheld under its current leadership, presumably including Maduros vice president, Delcy Rodriguez. The question around whether remnants of Maduros government will remain in power remains an open one as U.S. President Donald Trump himself has thrown cold water on the idea that Maria Corina Machado, the countrys most prominent opposition leader, was seen as a legitimate replacement among Venezuelans.

His statements come as the countrys vice president reportedly fled to Russia to escape a potential similar fate and the U.S. has been unclear in its stance on who should fill the power vacuum that threatens to arise.

Rubio told Stephanopoulos that the U.S. did not view Rodriguez or the remainder of Maduro's government as legitimate, while giving no indication of who the U.S. expected would be in power in the days ahead.

Maduro arrived in New York late on Saturday, where he is expected to face criminal charges in the Southern District.

I assure you the people left behind in Venezuela now that are in charge of the police and everything else, I assure you they are gonna probably be a lot more compliant than Maduro was as a result of this, Rubio said on Sunday.

The secretary went on to call questions about holding elections in the country premature while holding to a line hed offered a day earlier, flanked by the president and other top aides including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a press conference discussing the strike: that the U.S. held firm to its convictions under Trumps leadership, in contrast to other presidential administrations.

At the same time, however, Rubio couldnt say for sure whether the U.S. would be taking over Venezuelas oil industry and take back the oil with the help of American companies, as Trump had promised just a day earlier.

Instead, he claimed the U.S. didnt need Venezuelas oil, and claimed that the priority of the Trump adminsitration was oriented around keeping Venezuelas oil industry from being traded with countries like Iran, Russia and China.

No more using the oil industry to enrich all our adversaries around the world and not benefiting the people of Venezuela and frankly, benefiting the United States, said the secretary.

open image in gallery Marco Rubio looks down as Donald Trump addresses the strike in Venezuela on Saturday ( REUTERS )

We don't need Venezuela's oil. We have plenty of oil in the United States, claimed Rubio. Why does China need their oil? Why does Russia need their oil? Why does Iran need their oil? Theyre not even in this continent.

Were not going to allow the western hemisphere to be a base of operation for adversaries, competitors and rivals of the United States, he added, insisting that the U.S. wants to see the oil proceeds of that country benefit the people of Venezuela.

Ultimately, this is not about securing the oil fields, Rubio said.

On Saturday, at a press conference the president brashly claimed that the U.S. would be directly running Venezuela for the time being and force a transition of power, indicating an Afghanistan-style removal of the entire Maduro regime. The authoritarian left-wing leader ruled the country from 2013 to 2025 and held on to the office after elections in 2024 that were widely condemned in Venezuela and around the world as fraudulent.

"Were there now, and were going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place," Trump said on Saturday, in terms Rubio would not use a day later. "Were going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.

We cant take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesnt have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind, added the president. We are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so. So we were prepared to do a second wave if we need to do so.

Trump went on to say that he wasnt afraid of ordering a sustained U.S. military presence within Venezuela and told reporters: We dont mind saying it, but were going to make sure that that country is run properly. Were not doing this in vain.

open image in gallery Marco Rubio asserted that the president was keeping his word to deal with Maduros support for drug traffickers at Saturdays press conference ( Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

He turned from that press conference to Truth Social for the remainder of the day, where he unleashed long spree of posts and re-truths that included glowing praise of his military strikes as well as a return to the latest fixation of conservatives in the U.S.: Alleged instances of fraud among daycares run in Minnesotas Somali-American communities, which have become the Trump administration and broader right wings latest target of fury. In many cases, the criticism has devolved into naked racism and Trump himself has been accused of stoking that hate by referring to Somali-American communities as garbage.

On Saturday, the president re-truthed another Minnesota-related post that supported a conspiracy theory about a murdered Democratic lawmaker and accused Gov. Tim Walz, also a Democrat, of ordering her assassination. Friends and family of Melissa Hortman, the slain former speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, have called the insinuations shared by the president despicable and false.
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The United States tried several times last year to extradite Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro  including on Christmas and New Years Day  before successfully carrying out the strike on Saturday, according to a report.

The two earlier attempts to capture Maduro, who has ruled the country for 13 years,were hampered by weather, Trump administration officials and others familiar with the operation told the Wall Street Journal.

After the failed attempts, President Donald Trump deferred to the Pentagon on when to carry out the strike, and was given the go-ahead at 10:46 p.m. Friday, according to the report.

Good luck and godspeed, Trump told military leaders before watching the mission unfold from a makeshift secure facility at Mar-a-Lago. Surrounded by his top aides, Trump received constant updates as 150 warplanes flew to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and forced their way into Maduros bedroom.

Images released by the Trump administration also showed officials monitoring X on a large screen for any mention of the word Venezuela.

open image in gallery U.S. forces attempted to extradite Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Christmas and New Years Day, according to a report ( @realDonaldTrump/Truth Social )

The Independent has contacted the Department of Justice, Defense Department and White House for comment.

The overnight operation left Venezuela reeling, with officials saying that people were killed when explosions rang out over Caracas early Saturday. It is not immediately clear how many people were killed, but Trump said no U.S. service members were among them. The country later described the strikes as an imperialist attack carried out by the U.S., and urged citizens to take to the streets.

After capturing Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and removing them from the country, American officials said the pair would face charges, including narco-terrorism, in U.S. courts.

Maduro and Flores landed late Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York before being flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where an armored car took Maduro to a nearby U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office.

In the meantime, Trump said the U.S. would run the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other countries.

The attack followed months of growing pressure from the Trump administration, which had built up naval forces in the waters off South America since early September to then carry out deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling ships in the region.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X that Maduro and Flores had both been indicted in the Southern District of New York and will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.

She said Maduro faced charges of Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.

open image in gallery American officials say Maduro and his wife face narco-terrorism charges in the U.S. ( AP )

Maduro was indicted in March 2020, during Trumps first term, but the indictment against Flores was not previously made public.

While the operation has been condemned by several world leaders, as well as major U.S. politicians, many have also welcomed the end of the Maduro regime.

Experts have raised questions about the legality of the operation, which was carried out without congressional approval.
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Zohran Mamdani called Donald Trump personally to object to the U.S. military action in Venezuela, saying that the operations in South America would directly impact New Yorkers.

I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act, Mamdani said at a press conference Saturday, adding that he had told the president he was opposed to a pursuit of regime change [and] to the violation of federal and international law.

The New Yorker mayor, who officially assumed office Thursday, did not share any further information about the call, though his aides said that he had been the one to initiate the call  which was described as brief.

I registered my opposition, I made it clear and we left it at that, he said.

Mamdani, who once referred to the president as a fascist, also expressed his dismay at the operations online Saturday, and the intention of the administration to hold captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro at a detention center in Brooklyn.

open image in gallery Zohran Mamdani says he called Donald Trump personally to object to the U.S. military action in Venezuela ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City, Mamdani wrote on X.

Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law.

He added: This blatant pursuit of regime change doesnt just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home. My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment on Mamdanis call.

open image in gallery Mamdani, who once referred to the president as a fascist, also expressed his dismay at the operations online Saturday, and the intention of the administration to hold captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro at a detention center in Brooklyn ( AP )

The clash between the mayor and the president is the first since he assumed office, but unlikely to be the last. Maduro is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center and is set to face federal drug and weapons charges in Manhattan.

He could appear in court as early as Monday, according to reports.

The president and I have always been honest and direct with each other about places of disagreement, Mamdani told reporters Saturday. New Yorkers have elected me to be honest and direct and always to do so with the understanding that my job is to deliver for the people who call this city home.

The mayor appeared to acknowledge he will have little influence over what happens to Maduro while he is held in custody, adding: It is my responsibility that whatever actions the federal government takes, that they have a minimal impact on the day-to-day lives of New Yorkers.

During his campaign for mayor, Mamdani was a vocal critic of other aspects of U.S. foreign policy, including the ongoing support for Israel in the Middle East, but has not often engaged with events in Latin America.
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The United States will run Venezuela until there is a peaceful transition, Donald Trump has said, after US forces captured its president in an extraordinary overnight attack that has sent shockwaves around the world.

The US president said he was not afraid to put boots on the ground and warned a second wave of attacks on Venezuela could take place if we need to do so after Nicolas Maduro, who has ruled the country for nearly 13 years, was snatched from a military base by the Delta Force.

Explosions were reported across the country and low-flying aircraft were seen in Venezuelas capital in the early hours of Saturday, as its government said the US had targeted civilian and military sites in multiple states in what it described as an "imperialist attack", urging citizens to take to the streets.

Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were transported by sea and air to New York on Saturday evening, where they are set to face criminal charges. A photo of the 63-year-old in US captivity was shared by President Trump on social media.

open image in gallery President Donald Trump posted this photo on Saturday, of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in captivity after US airstrikes in Caracas ( Truth Social/@realDonaldTrump )

The operation  the culmination of months of escalating Trump administration pressure on the oil-rich South American nation  has been condemned by several world leaders, as well as some senior politicians in the US, despite many of them welcoming the end of the Maduro regime.

The legal authority for the attack is not immediately clear and questions have been raised about the immediate future of Venezuela, with President Trump insisting the US would seize control of the country and its oil infrastructure.

"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Mr Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference where he boasted that this "extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives".

He claimed the American presence was already in place, though there were no immediate signs that the US was running the country.

"We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country, he added.

The US government does not recognise Mr Maduro, who last appeared on state television on Friday while meeting with a delegation of Chinese officials in Caracas.

open image in gallery Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas, January 2019 ( Reuters )

Mr Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on "narco-terrorism" conspiracy charges, but the US justice department released a new indictment on Saturday of Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, accusing them of a role in narco-terrorism conspiracy.

US attorney general Pam Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple would "soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts".

Venezuelans expressed deep concern over Donald Trumps shock statement that the US was planning to run the country and his apparent endorsement of Mr Maduros second-in-command, Delcy Rodriguez, as an interim leader of that transition.

They have not clarified the legal, political or the temporal framework of this leadership  whos going to lead? asked Maria Corina Roldan Robles, a Venezuelan political analyst currently based in Chile. She said they were concerned that instead of the US cooperating with opposition figures like Nobel Prize winner Maria Corina Machado or Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who was recognised as winning the 2024 elections, it appeared they were going for Chavismo under a different leadership.

In the press conference Mr Trump dismissed Ms Machado as lacking support or respect to take over. He did not even mention Mr Gonzalez, despite the fact that the Venezuelan opposition leader was recognised by the Biden administration as the president-elect in the wake of the July 2024 vote.

Instead, Mr Trump confirmed that secretary of state Marco Rubio had had a lengthy conversation with Rodriguez, who Ms Robles said was one of the most central pillars of the regime that governed alongside Maduro.

Mr Trump said Ms Rodriguez had already been sworn in as interim leader and was essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. The concern in Venezuela is that the US had been positioning Ms Rodriguez as a person that could be considered for a transition months go, Ms Robles added.

Ana Maria Diez, the head of the Coalition of Venezuela, a union of civil society organisations, and an adviser on UN mechanism, said that while people were celebrating the capture of Mr Maduro, there were growing fears about Mr Trumps intentions towards Venezuelas vast oil reserves.

President Trump has repeatedly referred to our oil when speaking of Venezuelan resources. It is important to remind him that these resources belong to the Venezuelan people, who need humanitarian aid and the reconstruction of the country now more than ever, not the rule of outsiders, she told The Independent.

The military operation has drawn widespread condemnation around the world, but members of Mr Trumps administration, including vice-president JD Vance and Mr Rubio, defended the action and denied questions of illegality.

Venezuelas allies Russia, Cuba, and Iran swiftly condemned the strikes as a violation of national sovereignty. President Javier Milei of Argentina reacted to the news that Mr Maduro had been captured with a political slogan he often deploys to celebrate right-wing advances: "Long live freedom, dammit!"

Meanwhile, Mexico denounced the intervention and Brazils president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said it crossed an unacceptable line.

Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK played no role in the military strikes on Venezuela, but added the UK sheds no tears about the end of Mr Maduros regime.

I reiterated my support for international law this morning. The UK government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people, he added.

In a demonstration of how polarising a figure Mr Maduro is, people variously took to the streets to deplore his capture and celebrate it.

According to statements from residents of the western areas, armed groups have begun patrolling, acting as an alternative to official state security forces, displaying long and short firearms while on foot and on motorcycles.

We never imagined this could happen; we werent prepared for an attack. We just spent everything on the Christmas holidays. Now we have to see what happens and buy as much as we can in case we cant go out anymore.

Similarly, motorcyclists and drivers in gasoline lines stated, We have to fill our tanks because we dont know if this will leave us stranded again, and then we wont have any way to get around.

The strike followed a months-long Trump administration pressure campaign on the Venezuelan leader, including a major build-up of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean accused of carrying drugs.

Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels  the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes in September.

As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes was 35 and the number of people killed at least 115, according to the Trump administration.

Mr Trump said that the US is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels and has justified the boat strikes as necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the US.
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The parents of a Utah man who died after climbing inside a planes engine claim he was experiencing an obvious mental health episode in a lawsuit filed against Salt Lake City.

Kyler Efinger, 30, was found unconscious inside the engine of a Delta plane at the Salt Lake City International Airport on January 1, 2024, after he had been acting erratically while waiting for his flight.

In a lawsuit filed last Tuesday, Efingers parents said he was experiencing an obvious mental health episode but was still able to go through two emergency exit doors onto the tarmac and walk nearly a mile to where airplanes were being de-iced before he was found, KSL.com reported.

Efinger, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 10 years ago, died from injuries sustained after climbing into the planes engine.

The lawsuit claims city personnel could not timely locate a ticketed passenger known to be in distress and seen walking outside onto the tarmac on a freezing night.

open image in gallery The family of a 30-year-old man who died after climbing into the engine of a Delta plane at the Salt Lake City Utah airport in 2024 have filed a lawsuit against the city, according to a report ( AFP via Getty Images )

Salt Lake police officers were sent to the wrong places multiple times while trying to locate Efinger and wasted time due to poor communication, according to the suit.

The lawsuit also claims that pilots were not promptly warned that a man was walking in the area.

In a situation where Kyler would still be alive if officers had located him 30 seconds sooner, about the first seven minutes of the citys search for him were wholly ineffective, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit claims his dreadlocked hair was pulled into the moving blades, causing death from blunt head trauma.

The notion that an airport was so dangerously designed and operated as to allow this sequence of events generated international attention and shock, the lawsuit says.

His parents, Judd and Lisa Efinger, say theyve filed the lawsuit to remedy their own loss and prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future, according to the report.

open image in gallery Efingers behavior in the airport was objectively unusual for an adult before death, a lawsuit says ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

They say their son was supposed to fly from Salt Lake City to Denver to visit his ill grandfather when he suffered a manic episode. During the episode, he walked and ran down the moving walkways several times, including against the flow, with behavior objectively unusual for an adult.

The parents say if the airports camera system had been monitored, their son wouldve been seen leaving the emergency exits and walking onto the tarmac.

The lawsuit also claims that the door he exited brought him to an area that shouldve required identification and a wait for the lock to deactivate, but it did not. The family then says he exited to the outside through another door that did not have the proper safety system installed.

After an officer pulled Efinger from the engine, he was handcuffed before first responders tried to revive him, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit claims damages involved are greater than $300,000, but does not ask for a specific amount. The suit is filed against Salt Lake City, which operates the airport.

A spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Mayors Office declined to comment to the outlet.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet with Danish officials to discuss Greenland next week after refusing to rule out taking military action to seize the territory.

President Donald Trump has doubled down on his threats to take over the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island, which is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a Nato country. On Wednesday, the White House warned that utilising the US military is always an option to achieve this important foreign policy goal.

Mr Rubio reiterated this warning, telling reporters in Washington DC later in the day that Mr Trump retains the option to use the US military to take Greenland. But he added that the US president would prioritise a diplomatic solution.

However, he did not directly answer reporters' questions about whether the administration was willing to risk the integrity of the Nato alliance by potentially moving ahead with military action in Greenland. I'm not here to talk about Denmark or military intervention, he said. I'll be meeting with them next week, we'll have those conversations with them then, but I don't have anything further to add to that.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenland counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, requested the meeting with Mr Rubio, according to a statement posted to Greenland's government website on Tuesday, after previous requests were unsuccessful.

open image in gallery US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet with Danish officials to discuss Greenland next week after refusing to rule out taking military action to seize the territory ( Getty )

The meeting comes amid an escalating diplomatic crisis between Washington and its western allies, who have said that any attempt to occupy the territory would violate Denmarks sovereignty. European leaders issued a statement on Tuesday declaring that it is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.

Since the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, Mr Trump has revived his argument that the US needs to control the world's largest island, which guards the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, to ensure its own security in the face of rising threats from China and Russia in the Arctic.

But Mr Rubio told a select group of US lawmakers on Monday that it was the Republican administration's intention to eventually purchase Greenland, as opposed to using military force.

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK joined Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in issuing the statement this week, reaffirming that the island belongs to its people, with Frederiksen warning that a US takeover would amount to the end of Nato.

open image in gallery Greenland is a strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island, which is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a Nato country ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also said on Tuesday that using the military to acquire Greenland was an option, though she told reporters Wednesday that the president's first option always has been diplomacy.

Some Republican senators said they saw strategic value in Greenland, but they stopped short of supporting military action to acquire it. Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall said he hoped we can work out a deal, while North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said some of the discussion about taking Greenland by force has been misconstrued.

But Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she hated the rhetoric around either acquiring Greenland by purchase or by force, adding, I think that it is very, very unsettling.

Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate Nato Observer Group, said the US needs to honour its treaty obligations to Denmark.

Any suggestion that our nation would subject a fellow Nato ally to coercion or external pressure undermines the very principles of self-determination that our alliance exists to defend, the senators said in a joint statement.
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American Chinook aircraft and Apache gunship escorts clattered through the night sky over Caracas, which was splashed orange with explosions as missiles attacked military sites across the country.

A few hours later, Donald Trump announced that Venezuelas president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife had been captured and flown out of their country.

High fives, no doubt, in the Oval Office  and more praise poems for Trump from his henchpeople, like Peter Hegseth, the secretary for defence/war, who puts more effort into public pull-ups than he does operational security, let alone strategic thought.

What no one in the White House can see is that this invasion, this apparent political decapitation, this violation of international law, is strategically mad. Outside the White House and Magaland, the only cheering will be in the Kremlin and in Beijing.

In Nato there will be horror. But one can be sure that the supine grovelling that has characterised the behaviour of Natos leadership towards Trump and Hegseth will continue.

open image in gallery ( via REUTERS )

Doing otherwise would be to acknowledge that Donald Trump has swung America first from being a friend, then to being an unreliable ally, and now, in the dawn of 2026, Trumps America is a threat.

He said he would attack Venezuelas mainland, and he has.

His claim to be knocking over a narco-terrorist state that has exported vast quantities of opiates to the US, and killed hundreds of thousands of its citizens, is nonsense. Opiates get into the US from Mexico, not Venezuela.

open image in gallery Captured Venezuelan president Maduro in New York ( X account of Rapid Response 47/A )

As a premise for regime change and invasion, it is as false as the claims that Saddam Hussein was making a nuclear weapon. The invasion of that nation set off decades of pain and murder, terror and mayhem, and gave birth to Isis. It also tore at the fabric of Western democracies, as some ripped up ethics and their own laws to hunt down alleged terrorists.

Now, Trump has attacked a neighbour without any international support. He has aped the behaviour of his great hero and friend, Vladimir Putin.

He has also, like Putin, politicised the military and intelligence services, tried to shatter judicial independence and feathered the nests of select oligarchs.

The Russian president invaded Ukraine in 2014. He falsely claimed that Russian speakers were being oppressed in that country. The Kremlin wants to take over all of its neighbour, and Trump is supporting its efforts to carve out the 20 per cent it has already captured.

In his new years speech, Chinas leader Xi Jinping renewed threats against Taiwan, saying: The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable.

And China held massive war games off the coast of Taiwan at the same time. In the age of Trump, the trend of the times is that might is always right.

He has repeatedly said that Canada should be annexed. He has not ruled out the use of force to take over Greenland, for its mineral riches. He has insisted that sooner or later it will be part of the US.

These are Nato countries (Greenland is part of Denmark).

His weird threats against his neighbours and allies could have been dismissed as the ramblings of a demented man-child or sarcastic asides from a diplomatic disruptor.

But they are no joke. For all his lies and bluster, Trump makes good on his threats and ambitions. His fantasy of turning Gaza into a Gaz-a-Lago seaside resort may yet be manifest.

open image in gallery Donald Trump holding press conference after Venezuelan attack ( AP )

His National Security Strategy says that four Nato nations are soon to be overwhelmed by non-Europeans. Aside from being a racist trope from Great Replacement conspiracy theorists (latter-day Nazis), it is also flat wrong.

But he now sees the world in three spheres: the western hemisphere is his to control; Russia can have Europe; and China the rest.

This is the moment when it is now clear that, as Yeats wrote in The Second Coming, the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

And the leaders of the West should heed what happens when a blood-dimmed tide is loosed  it happens when the best lack all conviction.

This is the moment that Europe needs to stand up  but it will stay sitting down as the bloody tide rises around its ankles.
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The ecstasy of happiness that many in Venezuela said they felt at the stunning removal of the countrys despotic leader in an extraordinary US military operation was almost immediately checked by a terrifying future reality.

On Saturday, the White House shared photos of the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, cuffed and blindfolded en route to New York, where the US attorney general said he and his wife, Cilia Flores, will face trial on narco-terrorism charges.

Donald Trump declared at a press conference that his administration is going to run the country until such time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.

open image in gallery Venezuelans living in Argentina celebrate in Buenos Aires after the capture of Maduro ( AFP/Getty )

He implied Maduros second-in-command, Delcy Rodriguez, now the acting president, will likely lead the transition, as she is willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.

Mr Trump dismissed opposition figure and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureateMaria Corina Machado for apparently not commanding enough respect or support among her people.

The US president entirely failed to even mention opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia  the very man the US recognised as the true president-elect in the 2024 election that Maduro claimed to have won.

Were going to have our very large US oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions to fix the badly broken oil infrastructure, and start making money, Mr Trump said with relish as the conference got going.

Were going to be taking a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground, he added.

In a televised statement, Ms Rodriguez denied claims she plans to help the US government run the country and declared the only president is Maduro. It is unclear whether this is a direct challenge to the Trump administrations plans, or careful domestic posturing.

open image in gallery Maduro pictured in US custody after arriving in New York on Saturday ( X/@RapidResponse47 )

Whatever the truth is, bombing a sovereign state and capturing its leader  no matter how authoritarian or criminal he is  in the bold pursuit of regime change and apparently oil, smashes international law, justice and, frankly, world order.

Few know the butterfly effect of this messaging on the global community at this moment of unprecedented conflict and crisis, particularly with Maduros Russian and Iranian connections and support.

The Venezuelan people, many of whom are sneaking out of their homes and braving paramilitary-controlled streets to stock up on emergency supplies, deserve a just and democratic leadership. Instead, in the words of one man we spoke to in the Venezuelan capital, they are seriously having to consider whether Trump will be our president.

There are deep concerns that, rather than any movement towards a brighter future, this is just a shift from an internally imposed authoritarian system to an externally managed one, Maria Corina Roldan Robles, a Venezuelan political analyst, explains.

Oil cannot be the organising principle of a political transition, she adds.

This is not a clean break of the [old] regime but a reconfiguration of power mediated by the US, that sustains all the old figures.

open image in gallery Venezuelas vice-president, Delcy Rodriguez ( AFP/Getty )

It is especially frustrating when many Venezuelans see no power vacuum, explains Ana Maria Diez, the head of a major coalition of Venezuelan civil society organisations and an advisor on UN mechanisms. Venezuela, she says, overwhelming voted and elected Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as president, and he could and should be sworn in as soon as possible to govern the country, along with Maria Corina Machado as his vice-president, according to the will of the people.

Otherwise, beyond the physical removal of Maduro, there has been no transition in Venezuela.

The same Chavista government and army that was in power yesterday is in power right now, Carlos Lizarralde, a prominent Venezuelan author, tells me. Ms Rodriguez and her brother Jorge, who is the president of the countrys legislature, are effectively in control. They are not hiding, he tells me. Instead, they are still alive, defiant and contrary to what people are saying, unified.

Mr Trump is surely playing with fire in this pursuit of his newly coined Don-roe doctrine, a pun on the 200-year-old playbook of Americas fifth president, James Monroe. The eponymous Monroe Doctrine focused on thwarting foreign, particularly European, meddling in Latin America and on reinforcing the US claim to calling the shots in the region.

Mr Trump has certainly proved that he can call  and fire  the shots in the region, but not that he can control all of the outcomes.

The future of peace and justice for Venezuela, and frankly for the world, is at stake.
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Denmarks prime minister Mette Frederiksen has urged President Donald Trump to cease threats over Greenland, after he reiterated his desire to acquire it in an interview with The Atlantic magazine.

It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the US needing to take over Greenland. The US has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish Kingdom, Ms Frederiksen said in a statement on Sunday.

Mr Trump told the magazine: We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence.

open image in gallery Vice-president JD Vance tours Pituffik Space Base, in Greenland, March, 2025 ( AP )

He spoke a day after the US captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and the president said Washington would run the Latin American country.

This raised concerns in Denmark that the same could happen with Greenland, a Danish territory.

Ms Frederiksen said: I would therefore strongly urge the US [to] stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people, who have very clearly said that they are not for sale.

The Greenlandic prime ministers office did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular office hours.

On 21 December, Mr Trump named Louisiana governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland, drawing renewed criticism from Denmark and Greenland over Washingtons interest in the mineral-rich Arctic island.

open image in gallery Danish military forces participate in an exercise with troops from several European Nato members in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland ( AP )

Mr Trump has advocated for Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, to become part of the United States. Mr Landry publicly supports the idea.

The Arctic islands strategic position between Europe and North America makes it a key site for the US ballistic missile defence system, while its mineral wealth is attractive as the US hopes to reduce its reliance on Chinese exports.

Greenland, a former Danish colony, has the right to declare independence under a 2009 agreement but depends heavily on Danish subsidies.

Denmark has sought to repair strained ties with Greenland over the past year, while also trying to ease tensions with the Trump administration by investing in Arctic defence.
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A solemn Mass was held on Sunday for the victims of the devastating New Year's Eve bar fire in the Swiss Alpine resort of Crans-Montana, which claimed 40 lives and left many severely injured.

Distraught parents, some still awaiting news of their children, joined teenagers and police officers in shared grief, beginning the arduous process of mourning.

The service, held at the Chapelle St-Christophe in Crans-Montana, saw attendees comforting one another.

open image in gallery The service, held at the Chapelle St-Christophe in Crans-Montana, saw attendees comforting one another (  KEYSTONE / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT )

Inside the crowded pews, a grieving woman listened intently, her hands clasped, occasionally clutching rosary beads, as readings were delivered in German, French, and Italian. Despite freezing temperatures, hundreds more followed the Mass on a screen installed outside the church.

A silent march to the site of the tragedy was scheduled to follow the service.

open image in gallery A silent march to the site of the tragedy was scheduled to follow the service ( AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni )

The Rev. Gilles Cavin spoke of the terrible uncertainty for families unsure if their loved ones are among the dead or still alive among the injured. We pray for their friends hard hit by misery on this day that was meant to be one of festivities and friendship, he said.

Forty people died and 119 were injured in the blaze that broke out around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday at Le Constellation bar. Police have said many of the victims were in their teens to mid-20s.

By Sunday morning, Swiss authorities identified 24 out of the 40 fatalities.

They include 18 Swiss citizens aged 14 to 31 years, two Italians 16 years old, one dual citizen of Italy and the United Arab Emirates also 16 years old, an 18-year-old Romanian, a 39-year-old French and a Turkish citizen, 18.

open image in gallery A woman holds a wreath outside the Chapelle St-Christophe during a memorial mass in Crans-Montana ( AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni )

A grieving mother

One of the victims was 16-year old Arthur Brodard, whose mother had been frantically searching for him.

Our Arthur has now left to party in paradise, a visibly shaken Laetitia Brodard said in a Facebook story posted on Saturday night, speaking to camera. We can start our mourning, knowing that he is in peace and in the light.

Brodard's frenzied search for her son reflected the desperation of families of the young people disappeared during the fire, who did not know whether their loved ones were dead or in the hospital.

Swiss authorities said the process of identifying victims was particularly hard because of the advanced degree of the burns, requiring the use of DNA samples. Brodard also had given her DNA sample to help in the identification process.

In her Facebook post, Brodard thanked those who testified their compassion, their love and to those who shared information as she anxiously searched and waited for news of her son. Other parents and siblings are still waiting in anguish.

open image in gallery Firefighters stand outside the Chapelle St-Christophe during Sundays memorial mass in Crans-Montana ( (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni )

Bar managers face a criminal investigation

Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation of the bar managers.

The two are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire, the Valais regions chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, told reporters Saturday. The announcement of the investigation did not name the managers.

Investigators said Friday they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Authorities planned to look into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. Officials said they also would look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin announced a national day of mourning for the victims on Jan. 9.

Frances Health Minister Stephanie Rist said 17 patients have received care in France, out of a total of 35 transferred from Switzerland to five European countries. Other patients were planned to be transferred to Germany, Italy and Belgium.
Tesla has dominated the electric vehicle space for the last decade, and its cult following has helped its sales figures skyrocket. The company also shaped consumer expectations while forcing legacy automakers to rethink their futures. But the business is not as good as it used to be. After another year of declining global sales, Tesla has officially lost its title as the worlds largest electric vehicle maker by volume.

The shift itself isnt shocking to industry analysts, but Tesla's decline also highlights how the EV market is maturing and how competition, especially from overseas manufacturers, is reshaping the global automotive landscape.

Image credit: Tesla

The decline

Teslas loss of the top spot follows a second consecutive year of softer global sales growth driven by a mix of demand fluctuations and pricing pressure, not to mention intensifying competition. According to Teslas own annual delivery reports, global deliveries declined year after year, and it's a notable shift for a company that used to seeing double-digit growth.

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Part of the challenge is Teslas aging lineup. Models like the Model 3 and Model Y are still popular, but competitors have flooded the market with newer designs and more localized offers with better price points. At the same time, Teslas aggressive price cuts that were meant to stimulate demand compressed margins and signaled that the company was no longer operating from a position of unchecked strength.

In a recent video from Bloomberg Television, analysts discuss Teslas EV sales decline. They point out that Tesla's 2025 deliveries fell about 8.6% compared with the prior year as the company lost its spot as the worlds top electric-vehicle maker. They also make sure to mention the significant shift Tesla has recently faced in market dynamics and competition.

Who took the top spot

Chinese automaker BYD overtook Tesla as the worlds largest seller of electric vehicles in 2025, selling about 2.26 million fully electric vehicles compared to Teslas 1.64 million deliveries. BYDs growth was driven by strong domestic demand in China, the worlds largest EV market, and by expanding sales overseas.

This industry shift is evidence, and a clear message, that EV leadership is no longer concentrated in Silicon Valley. Manufacturing scale and supply chain control now matter as much as brand identity or software capabilities. For consumers, this means more choice. For automakers, it means the EV race is now all about long-term sustainability.

Image credit: BYD USA

Consumer sentiment is shifting

Another key factor behind Teslas sales slowdown is changing consumer sentiment. Early EV adopters were drawn to Teslas innovation-first identity, but todays buyers are more practical. They care about price stability, resale value, charging reliability, and customer service just as much as range or acceleration.

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Surveys show that while interest in EVs remains strong, buyers are increasingly hesitant due to cost concerns and infrastructure anxiety. Tesla, once viewed as the safest EV bet, now competes in a crowded market where brand loyalty is weak, and expectations are high. This shift isn't something that hurts Tesla alone, but EV consumers are now using more discernment across the board when buying.

The Musk factor

Its pretty much impossible to talk about Tesla without acknowledging Elon Musk's public presence. He has always stated that his personal business ventures are operationally separate from Tesla, but his visible and polarizing persona has complicated the brands image. From a consumer standpoint, brand trust matters as markets mature.

Illai Gescheit, who works with startups and private equity funds, explained why Elon Musk's "personal brand" hurts Tesla's corporate brand. He describes the decline in their sales across different regions and goes on to argue that Elon's personal life is essentially building a negative legacy for his company's image.

Some buyers remain fiercely loyal to Teslas mission but there are those who express hesitation tied to leadership optics rather than vehicle performance. Importantly, this is a message about how personal branding intersects with corporate reputation in the era of social media and constant visibility. Tesla is now learning what many lifestyle brands already know. When a company becomes mainstream, perception management becomes just as important as innovation.

Takeaway

Tesla no longer being the worlds largest EV maker marks a turning point but not necessarily a downfall. The electric vehicle market has matured and competition has intensified, so consumer expectations have shifted from the initial feeling of novelty to long-term value. Tesla helped normalize EV ownership on a global scale, but the market it helped create is no longer built around a single brand. Automakers are now succeeding by offering the right mix of affordability and trust, not just innovation.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

For U.S. EV manufacturers, Teslas slip is a warning as much as an opening. It's an example of how difficult sustained EV leadership can be, as that dominance is no longer predetermined. For consumers, it's the start of a more diversified market with more options and fewer compromises. And for Tesla, their challenge will be adapting to a world where it must compete in the markets like everyone else.

Moving forward, the brands that thrive will be the ones that understand evolving consumer priorities and global competition. But don't forget that Tesla is not just a carmaker. Their humanoid robots are getting better and better every day, and maybe one day, making cars will no longer be a priority for Elon.
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Pope Leo has expressed concern over the unfolding situation in Venezuela, urging that the nation upholds its independence and respects human rights.

Speaking to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square during his weekly Sunday prayer, the pontiff declared his "soul full of concern", adding that "the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration."

It comes as Venezuela's toppled leader Nicolas Maduro sits in a New York detention center on Sunday awaiting drug charges after President Donald Trump ordered an audacious raid to capture him, saying the U.S. would take control of the oil-producing nation.

The image of the 63-year-old Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed en route to the U.S. has stunned Venezuelans and was Washington's most controversial intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama 37 years ago.

Maduro, who wished his captors a "Happy New Year" on arrival, is due to appear in a Manhattan court on Monday.

open image in gallery Pope Leo said the good of the Venezuelan people must prevail over everything else ( Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP via Getty Images )

There is fear and uncertainty

At home, his allies were still in charge and have denounced their leader's "kidnapping" as part of an imperialist oil grab.

Streets were far quieter than usual on Sunday as Venezuelans anxiously discussed what would come next. Some stocked up on essentials but many simply hunkered indoors.

"I've just taken the dog out and it feels like an abandoned city, people are shut inside," said Alejandra Palencia, 35, a psychologist in the city of Maracay.

"There is fear and uncertainty."

With memories of painful U.S. interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, many world leaders were staggered at Trump's move, even though Maduro's standing was low given his autocratic rule and substantial evidence of vote-rigging.

Trump said the U.S. would for now manage the South American nation of about 30 million people plus its oil reserves, the largest in the world. But he gave few details of how.

"We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he told a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort, hailing the extraordinary extraction of Maduro just as he was at the door of a safe room.

To the disappointment of Venezuela's opposition and diaspora, Trump has given short shrift to the idea of 58-year-old opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado taking over, saying she lacked support.

Machado was banned from standing in Venezuela's 2024 election and has said her ally Edmundo Gonzalez, 76, who overwhelmingly won that vote according to the opposition and some international observers, should now take the presidency.

open image in gallery Maduro, centre, is in a New York detention center awaiting various charges ( White House/TikTok )

Once one of the most prosperous nations in Latin America, Venezuela's economy nosedived further under Maduro, sending about one in five Venezuelans abroad in one of the world's biggest exoduses.

They were largely jubilant at the exit of Maduro, whose security forces repeatedly crushed opposition protests. The former union leader, bus driver and foreign minister was the dying Hugo Chavez's handpicked successor as president in 2013.

"We are all happy that the dictatorship has fallen," said Khaty Yanez, who lives in Chile.

Only one president: Maduro; says interim president

Trump says Maduro masterminded the flow of drugs into the U.S. and was illegitimately in power due to vote-rigging.

He denies those claims.

"There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolas Maduro," said Delcy Rodriguez, who took over Venezuela's interim presidency, in a defiant message to the U.S. despite Trump's assertions she was open to working with them.

"We will never again be a colony of any empire."

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who is close to the military, urged Venezuelans to stand firm and emphasized Trump's repeated comments about sharing in oil prosperity.

"We are outraged because in the end everything was revealed  it was revealed that they only want our oil, Cabello said in audio shared by the ruling Socialist Party.

U.S. Special Forces swooped in on helicopters to seize Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, under darkness in the early hours of Saturday after strikes on military installations in Caracas and elsewhere.

open image in gallery Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's interim president, sent a defiant message to the U.S. ( AFP via Getty Images )

While many Western nations oppose Maduro and say he stole the 2024 election, there were many calls for the U.S. to respect international law and resolve the crisis diplomatically.

There were also questions over the legality of seizing a foreign head of state. Democrats said they were misled at recent Congress briefings and demanded a plan for what is to follow.

Oil revival?

Trump said major U.S. oil companies would move back into Venezuela and refurbish badly degraded oil infrastructure, a process experts said could take years.

"We're not afraid of boots on the ground," he added.

A plane carrying Maduro landed near New York City on Saturday night, and he was helicoptered to the city before being taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Indicted in 2020 on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, Maduro is expected to make an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday.

The U.N. Security Council planned to meet on Monday to discuss the U.S. move, which Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as a dangerous precedent. Russia and China, both major backers of Venezuela, criticized the U.S.

Maduro opponents in Venezuela have been wary of celebrating and security seemed, if anything, lighter than usual on Sunday. Despite the nervous mood, in some places cars were moving, bakeries and coffee shops were open, and joggers and cyclists were out like a normal Sunday morning.

Yesterday I was very afraid to go out, but today I had to. This situation caught me without food and I need to figure things out. After all, Venezuelans are used to enduring fear," said one single mother in a working class neighborhood in oil city Maracaibo, who bought rice, vegetables and tuna.

It is unclear just how Trump plans to oversee Venezuela.

His comments about an open-ended military presence in Venezuela echoed the rhetoric around past invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan, both of which ended in American withdrawals after years of costly occupation and thousands of U.S. casualties.

A U.S. occupation "won't cost us a penny" because the U.S. would be reimbursed from "money coming out of the ground," Trump said, referring to Venezuela's oil.

Trumps focus on foreign affairs fuels Democrats' criticism and also runs the risk of alienating some supporters who have backed his "America First" agenda and oppose foreign interventions.
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Three Tui aircraft bound for Barbados turned around in mid-Atlantic and returned to their UK starting points after air safety warnings in the wake of the US military action in Venezuela.

Boeing 787 aircraft from Birmingham, Gatwick and Manchester turned back on Saturday afternoon after spending around four hours in the air. Studying data from Flightradar24, it appears an instruction was given to turn back at 1.45pm GMT. All three aircraft made a 180-degree turn minutes later.

The aircraft that was closest to its destination was BY830 from Birmingham, which was over halfway when the plane turned back. Passengers spent over eight hours in the air.

BY10 from Gatwick and BY162 from Manchester had taken off later. Both were in the vicinity of the Azores when they turned back.

Going nowhere: Flightpath of Tui Boeing 787 to Barbados, which returned to Manchester ( Flightradar24 )

The decision was taken after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency Notam (Notice to Air Missions) instructing aircraft to avoid parts of the Caribbean. US transportation secretary Sean Duffy posted on X: Early this morning in support of the Department of War, the FAA restricted the airspace in the Caribbean and Venezuela to ensure the SAFETY of the flying public.

When appropriate, these airspace restrictions will be lifted. Please work with your airlines directly if your flight has been impacted.

God bless President Trump and the United States military.

The Notam applied from 6am GMT, well before any of the Tui flights was airborne. It expired at 7pm GMT the same day.

A spokesperson for Tui told The Independent: The flights have returned to the UK due to active Notams concerning Caribbean airspace. Todays flight are taking place as scheduled since the Notam expired this morning.

The decision left almost 1,000 Tui holidaymakers stranded in Barbados waiting to return after Christmas and New Year holidays.

Under air passengers rights rules, travellers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible on any airline, and to be provided with meals and hotels as necessary.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: We are aware of restrictions affecting Venezuelan airspace following recent geopolitical developments in the region. Currently, there is no impact to our operations. The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority, and we are closely monitoring the situation alongside relevant authorities.

The Dutch airline KLM has grounded Caribbean flights serving Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Barbados, Georgetown, Port of Spain and Sint Maarten due to the security situation in Venezuela.
Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville has publicly condemned Israels decision to revoke the credentials of 37 international NGOs working in Gaza, joining wider global criticism of the move.

The organisations, which include major humanitarian groups, were stripped of accreditation after failing to meet new Israeli requirements to disclose staff details, a policy Israel says is aimed at security concerns.

Critics argue the measure will severely hinder lifesaving aid and jeopardise efforts to support civilians in a region facing dire conditions.

The British actors remarks echo growing calls from international figures and governments urging greater protection for humanitarian access and respect for aid independence.
In an interview with BBCs Laura Kuenssberg, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged government failings in vetting a controversial Egyptian activist social media and expressed regret over a post welcoming him back to Britain.

Starmer said he was delighted when Alaa Abd ElFattah, a BritishEgyptian dissident recently released from prison in Egypt, returned to the UK, but admitted he was unaware of the activists resurfaced historic posts, which contained inflammatory content.

Describing the episode as a system failure, Starmer backed an urgent review of procedures to prevent similar oversights.

Critics from opposition parties and community groups have challenged the governments judgment, but Starmer insisted he remains committed to learning from the mistake and improving transparency.
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Artificial intelligence has become a go-to resource for a wide variety of situations. Holiday shoppers used AI at record rates to help with purchase decisions and research deals this year.

But what about using AI as your financial planner? Does it have the nuance and intelligence to give you sound financial advice? Thats a question we posed to experts, who were quick to point out the benefits and drawbacks of relying on AI for your money matters.

How AI can give you an edge

Asking a platform like ChatGPT or Claude to create a financial plan has its benefits, said Jonathan Vance, owner of Missouri-based Vance Financial Planning. To start, it can provide lightning-quick solutions tailored to your prompts and what it knows about you.

AIs primary edge is greater speed and personalization, Vance said in an email to The Independent. Traditional search engines werent as good at providing depth to more specific queries, like what state-specific tax implications would apply to a Missouri resident, for example.

open image in gallery AI offers distinct advantages for financial planning, but some experts are wary of its drawbacks ( Getty )

Samyr Laine, managing partner at venture capital firm Freedom Trail Capital, also pointed to AIs speed as a benefit. Also, AI makes financial education available to all, he told The Independent in an email.

AI can give you insights in seconds that would take hours to research on your own: budgeting breakdowns, investment comparisons, [and] tax strategies, Laine said. For people who cant afford a financial advisor or dont know where to start. Thats huge. It democratizes financial literacy.

Dr. Erika Rasure, chief financial wellness advisor at debt consolidation firm Beyond Finances, emphasized the democratization aspect of AIs financial advice for underserved and marginalized communities.

AI can expand access to financial literacy tools for underserved or underbanked communities by meeting people where they are - technologically, emotionally, and financiallywhich is something that these populations arent often offered, she said. These communities often face systemic barriers such as geographic isolation, lack of access to traditional banking institutions, low income, unstable employment, or mistrust of financial systems due to past discrimination or predatory practices.

The red flags

While AI can serve as a fast way to get financial advice you may not otherwise be able to afford or come up with on your own, it definitely has its drawbacks.

Vance raised a red flag over AIs ability to provide a complete and nuanced financial plan.

It is only as reliable as the prompts provided, and it often prioritizes direct responses instead of asking follow-up discovery questions that might be necessary to make a recommendation, he said. I think we can all become more informed decision makers with AI, but I wouldn't let it replace your entire critical thinking and verification process.

Laine said his main concern is that AI doesnt know all the details that influence your financial life, and there isnt much accountability for the advice it gives.

open image in gallery AI should be a tool in your financial decision-making process, not your sole advisor, one expert said ( AFP/Getty )

AI lacks context and accountability. It doesn't know your family situation, your career trajectory, or the nuances that determine whether a financial strategy actually works for your life, he said. It also can't be held responsible if the advice is wrong.

Perhaps more dangerous is consumers becoming too dependent on AI, he said.

The bigger risk is over-reliance, he said. Financial advice from AI should be treated like any other data source: useful input, but not gospel. The best approach is using AI to surface options and analysis, then applying human judgment to make the final callideally with a real advisor who understands your full picture.

That over-reliance is something that Iliya Rybchin, principal at AI consulting firm Vorpal Hedge, is concerned about, too. He said dependence on AI for all decisions is a trap.

Without cross-checking against real-world changes (e.g., regulatory shifts), you risk outdated advice, he told The Independent in an email. Privacy concerns arise if you're feeding sensitive data into unvetted platforms, but again, that's avoidable with reputable tools and basic safeguards. Edge cases, like emotional support during market crashes, fall short since AI lacks empathy.

Should you use AI as your financial advisor?

No, Laine said. While AI has many benefits for financial education and decision-making, its not a comprehensive solution. It will likely lack the context it needs to make the best decision for your particular situation.

AI should be a tool in your financial decision-making process, not your sole advisor, he said. The advantage of AI is speed and pattern recognitionit can surface insights from massive datasets faster than any human. But financial decisions aren't just about data; they're about context, risk tolerance, and goals that algorithms don't fully understand.

Rybchin, however, disagrees. He believes that AI can be your financial advisor in the new year.

AI should be a go-to financial advisor for most consumers in 2026, he said. AI is not a replacement for humans or a total solution, but is an exceptional starting point for everyone.

He pointed out that AI is very good at following rules, so if your investing goals, in particular, follow the typical roadmap of low fees, diversification, rebalancing, and keeping calm as the market changes, AI can be a great fit.

For most consumers, the baseline investing playbook is not complicated: keep fees low, diversify, stay disciplined, rebalance, and dont panic-sell. AI is excellent at enforcing simple rules consistently, he said.

As for AIs take on whether it should be your financial advisor, heres what ChatGPTs free version had to say when we asked it if AI should be your financial advisor in 2026: Short answer: not by itself - yet. Long answer: AI can be a great co-pilot in 2026, but a risky captain.
For beef, the door has now been opened  Irish meat hits the shelves in South Korea as Asian market push continues

It comes as the opening of an agreement to allow beef exports from Ireland to the huge Vietnamese market was also announced

Irish beef was already available to the food service sector in South Korea since a market opening agreement between the two countries in 2024. Photo: Getty

Fearghal O'Connor Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 06:30

Irish meat has appeared on retail shelves in South Korea for the first time. The move is the latest part of the industrys wider push into Asia.
'It is tipping away, but not setting the world on fire,' said John OConnell of the whiskey end of the operation. Pictured at West Cork Distillers in Skibbereen, Co Cork. Photo: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision
New Dancing With The Stars judge Oti Mabuse: After my brother died, my mom started a dance school because she wanted us to have a safe place after school

Having retired as a pro dancer, become a mother and moved into broadcasting, Oti Mabuse was feeling content with life when the call from Dancing With The Stars Ireland came. Now as the hit shows new head judge, she shares how she first found dance after a family tragedy, and the fiery ambition thats driven her to excel ever since

Behind the scenes with Oti Mabuse

Liadan Hynes Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 06:30

When the offer came to be the new head judge on Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) in Ireland, Oti Mabuse had for the first time in her life been feeling really content. She and her husband, dance partner Marius Lepure, had had their daughter and her career in broadcasting was taking off.
Botched Finglas arson attack was attempt at revenge for murder of teenager Keane Mulready-Woods, gardai believe

Criminals connected to Drogheda feud were intended targets in petrol-bombing that led to an innocent family being hospitalised

Keane Mulready-Woods was killed as part of the Drogheda feud

Ali Bracken Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 06:30

An arson attack that mistakenly targeted the wrong house in Dublin on New Years Eve was ordered as direct retribution for the 2020 gangland murder of teenager Keane Mulready-Woods, gardai believe.
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Garda tip-off on child abuse material leads to CEO of US childcare company being charged with 16 offences

Los Angeles man Miguel Adrian Gonzalez was arrested after authorities were notified by the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau

Miguel Adrian Gonzalez after his arrest

Mark Tighe and Sean Pollock Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 06:30

A tip from gardai has led to the chief executive of a childcare company in California being arrested and charged with 16 counts of sexually exploiting six children in his care.
Rent reforms will be a car crash for Fair Deal families

Rules giving more rights to tenants may deter relatives from letting properties owned by nursing home residents, experts warn

Property experts have raised concerns that new rent reforms could prevent families from maximising the value of homes inherited from relatives in nursing homes

Wayne O'Connor Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 06:30

Families of residents in nursing homes are being warned that new rent reforms will prevent them maximising the value of inherited properties if they let them to tenants.
Seeing these things can take its toll on people: Dublin Fire Brigade providing counselling to staff in aftermath of attending serious crashes

Despite a decrease in serious fires, brigade chief has noted a rise in incidents related to teenagers hiding phones under pillows

'We need to make sure everyone is safe at the scene, including our crew' - Dublin Fire Brigade District Officer Declan Rice

Ali Bracken Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 06:30

Fire services nationwide are increasingly assisting with serious and fatal road accidents, a senior fire chief has said after 2025 marked one of the darkest years for road deaths in the State.
Trumps preferred modus operandi will always be transactional power politics

The US military intervention that toppled Nicolas Maduro was a long time coming. In the week before Christmas, the formidable White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that Donald Trumps objective was to remove the Venezuelan dictator from power.

It was more authoritative corroboration of what Trump aides such as Anna Kelly had been saying for months: The President is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice.
Brendan OConnor: Ireland is one of the gloomiest countries on Earth? You have to hope thats not true

A recent poll paints us as pessimists, but do we really have it so bad?

One of the words most associated with Catherine Connollys campaign was 'hope'. Photo: PA

Brendan O'Connor Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 06:30

This is dodgy. Privileged middle-aged, middle-class, white male tells people to cheer up is possibly not the most advisable article to write. But someone needs to say something. The headline during the week said it all: Poll shows Ireland one of the gloomiest place on Earth. And they werent talking about the weather, which well come to.
Colin Murphy: It has been a tough century for RTE , but only an anarchist would wish for its demise

Broadcaster has been dogged by controversy since its inception, but at it helps hold the nation together

RTE broadcasters in 1985. Front, from left: Vincent Hanley, Flo MacSweeney, Carolyn Fisher, Pat Kenny, Marty Whelan and Maxi. Back, from left, Dave Fanning, Gerry Ryan and Jimmy Greeley. Photo: RTE Guide

Colin Murphy Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 06:30

Thursday marked the 100th anniversary of the first broadcast by 2RN, the station that would become RTE. But the first Irish national broadcast could be said to have taken place a decade earlier, during Easter week, 1916.
Your editorial advocates Donald Trump exerting his superpower over Vladimir Putin (Trump must exert his superpower to end war in Ukraine, Irish Independent, January 1). Wishful thinking perhaps?

Alas, Trump seems besotted with Putin such that whatever power he possesses it seems will only be used to exert pressure on Ukraine and Europe to agree to an end to the war on Russias terms.

We are slow-walking into appeasement. Trump talks tough only to the weak. The less we see of him as some sort of a broker of peace, the better. Ironically, if Trump could talk less of peace to Putin that might put pressure on Russia.

We should weep the day the Nobel Peace Prize is bestowed on him.

Stay strong, Europe and Ukraine, only then will Trump and Putin see the peace to end the war.

Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin 18

Education can help reduce road death toll, but better infrastructure matters too

Your editorial (Fix roads, cut speed, ban drink-drivers and start saving lives, Irish Independent, January 2), is right to argue that Irelands road death toll will not fall through good intentions alone.

We continue to frame road fatalities as individual moral failures. That is comforting but misleading.

Where deaths decline, it is because infrastructure, enforcement and incentives change together.

Ireland does not suffer from uniquely reckless drivers; it suffers from a policy system that has tolerated risk for far too long.

As a former educator, I would add that schools should play a more serious role than they currently do. Road-safety education is often treated as a peripheral add-on, when it should be a core life skill.

Young people are drilled in exam technique but rarely in the real-world consequences of speed, distraction, alcohol and poor road design. If we want safer roads, we should start long before the first driving test.

That said, education cannot be a substitute for action. Schools can shape attitudes, but they cannot redesign junctions, widen footpaths, install cameras or remove dangerous drivers.

When one sees the raw anguish of families bereaved by road accidents, it is obvious that awareness is not what is missing. Political will is.

The lesson from other countries is clear: when enforcement tightens and infrastructure is treated as a safety tool rather than an inconvenience, deaths fall quickly. Ireland will get there eventually. The real question is how many more funerals it will take.

Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Armagh

Digital world may offer convenience, but nothing beats a handwritten letter

As Christmas cards gather new years dust, and resolutions stand steadfast against temptation, allow me to make a plaintive plea for the year yawning before us.

In the Darwinian struggle between the written and the electronic word, please help resuscitate and maintain the dying art of letter-writing.

Having lived abroad for over 40 years (many of them in the pre-digital age), I am a resolute advocate of the handwritten word and letter-writing.

I have kept every letter written to me during those years, and photocopied many of my replies. These letters offer a chronological history of a life, a life shared with family and friends.

But they offer more than a personal vault of secrets and revelations; while not presuming that my own input will have much added value to the capital of social history of those times, many personal letters have an important role in speaking history.

My own personal experiences of letter-writing open a whole spectrum of emotions with the shared intimacy of private conversation, the dissolution of distance, the anticipation of a reply, the catharsis of unloading.

While I understand and appreciate the expediency of modern-day digital exchanges, I feel there is space for cohabitation for both the written word and electronic word. However, I firmly believe that ink can outlive vapour and that curated shelves of written letters offer better homes for communication than a cloud library.

Tom McGrath, Ashford, Co Wicklow

We should condemn both vile antisemitic graffiti and the killing of Gazans

I find it rather baffling the response from some quarters (which was swift and quick to tar the Irish with the antisemitic brush) to the vile graffiti painted on an Irish road.

Of course such graffiti is wrong.

Yet what I find so strange is the lack of any type of response from the wider Jewish community to Israels treatment of the Palestinian people.

We witnessed starvation, lack of medical/humanitarian aid  not forgetting the bombing of innocent men, women and children. The toll is estimated at over 70,000 to date, yet not a whimper. Supporting the Palestinian cause and disagreeing with and condemning Israeli policy is not antisemitic, its freedom of speech.

Anthony Henry, Charlestown, Co Mayo

Debate on falling birth rate cannot ignore impact made by abortion laws

What a hopeful start to 2026, with a hint of a return to common sense in Sinead Bolands letter suggesting that we examine our massive abortion rate (Plummeting birth rate is a worry, so maybe we should look at abortion numbers, Irish Independent, Letters, January 1).

There is no argument for continuing to promote and finance abortions here when we are simply heading for a cliff of insufficient provision for future generations  that is, for those allowed to be born.

What is also shocking is the refusal to allow a balanced and factual debate on the issue. How long more are we to be subjected to such incompetence and silencing of the voice of reason?

For ethical and financial reasons, it is imperative immediate action is taken to acknowledge abortion is facilitating the plummeting birth rate.

We need to face the fact it is the Government that is leading us down a very dangerous path in promoting and funding abortion and, in fact, refusing to engage in meaningful discussion on this vital issue. Certainly it is time to join the dots.

Mary Stewart, Donegal town

Old friend hoped to leave New Years Eve party on an under covers mission

Enda Cullens letter regarding having an early night on New Years Eve (Irish Independent, Letters, January 1) reminds me of a somewhat racy friend from my youth.

As he headed out on the town one New Years Eve, he said: If Im not in bed by 10 oclock, Ill go home.

Tom Gilsenan, Beaumont, Dublin
How do you give first aid in an emergency? Whats the quickest way to call an ambulance? And how should you treat a burn?

In this episode from the vault, Sarah Kearns, registered nurse and First Aid instructor, joins me on The Real Health podcast.

I asked what led the nurse to learning about first aid. The first aid expert explained,  Five and a half years ago, I was driving in Rathmines and I saw a man lying on the footpath, I hopped out and realized he was in cardiac arrest. So, I called an ambulance, and I did CPR on him for 24 minutes and 10 seconds and he made a full recovery.

An important piece of information from the episode was about putting your medical information on your phone so it can be accessed easily. The first aid instructor says, On your phone just tap the side button. Then the unlock screen comes up, if you press the bottom left, it'll say emergency call. If you press that button, you're brought through to a keypad where you can dial 999 or 112. The other thing is there should be a button that says medical information, you can click on that and see people's allergies, blood type and everything.

You can listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your podcasts.
Agua Latin Dance Sligo is celebrating its first year this month

A latin dance school that was set up in Sligo by three friends is celebrating its first anniversary this month.

Agua Latin Dance Sligo is a local dance school that hosts classes in St Johns Hall, beside the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

It has successfully brought the authentic rhythms of Cuban Salsa and Bachata to Sligo town.

Founded by local instructors Dean Clancy, Tony Travers and Petra Vavrusova, the school was established with a simple goal, to build a community where people could learn to dance, meet new friends, and experience the fun of a Latin dance.

Over the past 12 months, the school has grown from a small group of enthusiasts to a thriving community. They now host weekly socials at Lillies Cocktail Bar and monthly workshops and parties featuring guest teachers from across Ireland and Europe.

They are also starting beginners courses this month that are open to anyone who as Dean says have two left feet that are welcome to go and learn to dance and have fun.

Dean, who works as a Software Engineer, told The Sligo Champion that starting the dance lessons was something the three friends had been thinking about for awhile.

Both myself and Tony are from Sligo, while Petra is from the Czech Republic.

We are all friends and we all danced.

We decided to set up a new school and we will be celebrating our first year in January.

We have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The beginner classes are on Mondays, while the improvers are on Wednesdays.

We have a steady group of between 15 to 18 in each class.

With the beginners, it is people who have not a notion of dancing that 0are welcome to come in. Those who have two left feet!

It is great to see them then get more confident and its nice to see as they go out dancing in the dance groups.

In terms of ages, Dean said there are people of all ages.

We get people in their early twenties right up to their fifties.

The classes are in St Johns Hall which is beside the Cathedral. After Wednesdays classes, we put on music in Lillies Bar.

In terms of the benefits of dancing, it is a great social outlet and of course it is brilliant for fitness as well.

Even when I started dancing, I found it great to get out and dance.

It is an alternative to sitting in the pub!

I always want to get dancing, Dean said.

He went on to say that the highlight of the year was undoubtedly their one-day Cuban festival at The Sligo Park Hotel.

Havana Sligo was a major event that put Sligo firmly on the map for Latin dance in Ireland.

We did a one-day Cuban festival in The Sligo Park Hotel and there were five workshops throughout the day.

These were the best Cuban artists we could find and it was fantastic.

We are hoping to do it again, he said.

Beyond the festivals and parties, the founders are keen to highlight the health and social benefits of getting on the dance floor.

Weve seen people come in on their first night nervous and alone, and within a few weeks theyre part of a whole social circle, says Dean.

Dance takes the pressure off socialising, youre focused on learning steps, rotating partners, working together. Conversation flows naturally. And the fitness benefits are just a bonus.

People dont realise theyve been active for two hours because theyre having so much fun.

Dean, Tony and Petra also invited guest teachers to the classes.

We have a party every month and we get teachers in as guests.

We have had a couple of guys from France and other places who have done workshops.

It has been great.

As they enter their second year, the team is inviting the public to join in the fun.

With the dark evenings of January offering the perfect opportunity to try something new indoors, they are launching brand new Absolute Beginner classes starting January 12.

The classes, held every Monday at St. Johns Hall (7pm Bachata, 8pm Cuban Salsa), require no previous experience and no partner. At just 10 per class or 15 for both, its an affordable way to get active, socialise, and learn a new skill for 2026.

For more information, visit aguasligo.ie or find Agua Latin Dance Sligo on Facebook and Instagram.
Senator Aubrey McCarthy and First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, during the state visit to Ireland, on December 2, 2025. Photo: Tony Maxwell.

Senator Aubrey McCarthy, who was received during an audience with Pope Leo XIV in Rome over Christmas. Photo enhanced by Tony G Murray Photography, Naas.

The humanitarian work of a Wicklow charity was shared with Pope Leo XIV recently, as Senator Aubrey McCarthy, a leading figure in Greystones through his organisation Tiglin, had the "privilege to meet His Holiness during a Christmas audience in Rome.

During the meeting, Senator McCarthy spoke to Pope Leo about his previous work with the homeless in Peru and how it mirrored the vital work being carried out in County Wicklow by Tiglin.

He outlined Tiglins commitment to supporting individuals and families facing addiction, homelessness, and social exclusion, and emphasised the transformative impact of its services in Ashford, Greystones, and across the wider Wicklow community. Senator McCarthy said the Pope was deeply interested in the organisations mission.

As a personal gesture, Senator McCarthy invited the Pope to Ireland and presented Pope Leo with a handcrafted Newbridge Silverware St Brigids Cross. The gift, created by the renowned Kildare-based company, symbolises peace, protection and the enduring legacy of St Brigid. St. Brigid's Day is celebrated on February 1 each year.

Speaking after the meeting, Senator McCarthy said he was honoured to share both the story of St Brigid and the work of Tiglin with the Pope.

The meeting with the Pope follows Senator McCarthys role in welcoming President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska during their state visit to Ireland, on Tuesday, December 2, 2025.

Senator McCarthy, convener of the Irish Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group, was given the honour of accompanying Mrs Zelenska into the Dail chamber while her husband delivered a historic address to both Houses of the Oireachtas.
Toyota Vietnam has appointed Tien Quoc Hao, a Vietnamese-born Canadian, as its new president starting this month, marking the first time the Japanese joint venture has been led by a senior executive of Vietnamese origin.

In the past, the presidents role at Toyota Vietnam attracted little attention because it carried limited operational responsibility. From this year, however, the position is expected to take on a more substantive function.

Tien Quoc Hao, president of Toyota Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Toyota Motor Asia Pacific

"With Haos appointment, Toyota Vietnam will have additional leadership support, particularly in promoting and overseeing investment projects related to the plant," a person familiar with the matter told VnExpress.

"Meanwhile, the CEO will continue to run most business operations and set strategic direction."

Hao is currently Toyotas regional vice CEO for Asia, vice CEO in charge of business, finance and sales at Toyota Motor Corporation, and president of Toyota Motor Asia Pacific (based in Singapore). At the same time, he also serves as CEO of Toyota Financial Services Asia.

Hao was born in HCMC to a middle-class family, according to Autonews. In 1979, he left Vietnam and later settled in Canada.

He joined Toyota Canada in 1999. Over the course of his career, he has held numerous senior leadership roles in sales and marketing for Toyota and Lexus across regions including North America, Japan, China and Asia.

Hao, over the past two years, has frequently returned to Vietnam, mainly to take part in activities related to carbon neutrality and vehicle electrification at Toyota Vietnam.

The Japanese automaker currently leads the Vietnamese market in terms of the number of products and sales of hybrid vehicles.

This month Toyota Vietnam also appointed Osamu Hirata as CEO, replacing Nakano Keita upon the completion of his term.

Before taking on the new role, Hirata served as group vice president in charge of Toyota and Lexus sales operations in North America until 2023. In 2024, he was appointed head of the Sales Operations and Planning Division at Toyota Motor Corporation.

The two new senior executives begin their terms as Toyota Vietnam has just closed 2025 with sales of 71,954 vehicles, up about 8% from 2024.

Lexus, Toyotas subsidiary brand, sold 2,252 vehicles, up 45% from 2024. These sales placed the Japanese automaker second in the market, behind homegrown electric vehicle producer VinFast.

In the hybrid segment alone, Toyota sold 8,474 vehicles, up 58% from 2024.
Noah has replaced Jack as the most popular boys name in Wicklow, with Fiadh remaining the most popular name for a baby girl for a second year running, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Crunching the numbers for babies born in December 2024, the CSO said there were seven more babies born on Christmas Day 2024 than on the same day in 2023, and revealed a breakdown of the top baby names by gender and by county.

Fiadh  meaning wild, untamed, or deer, derived from Gaelic and symbolising strength, freedom, and nature  is among the most popular names chosen for baby girls nationally in December 2024, followed by Sophie, Eabha and Emily.

It was the most popular girls name in Wicklow in 2024 and in 2023.

When it comes to the most popular names chosen for baby boys born throughout December 2024, Little King Rian reigned, followed by Noah (38), and Jack (34). Although there was a drop in the number of Noahs since December 2023, the name held its popularity and second place ranking for another year.

Noah  often chosen as gender neutral name and of Hebrew origin  was the most popular boys name in Wicklow in 2024, knocking Jack off the top from 2023.

Commenting on the changes, the CSOs Sean OConnor, said: In December 2024, the most popular names for boys were Rian, and then Noah, while for girls it was Robyn and Fiadh in joint first, followed by Sophie.

While we saw a lot of movement in the names chosen for baby girls in December 2024, it was interesting to see Holly move off top spot and down the list to fifth in the rankings with Robyn and Fiadh moving up.

When it comes to boys, the all-year round trend shifted with Jack making way for Rian in December 2024 while Noah held his second-place position for the second year in a row.

The CSO data shows how baby names in Ireland have changed over time.

John was the most popular boys' name in 1974, but occupied the 29th position in 2024. For girls, Mary was the most popular name 50 years ago, whereas in 2024 it ranked joint 105th alongside Laura and Zoey.

The most popular Irish Baby Names report for 2025 is due to be published in February 2026.
BREAKING | Met Eireann issues snow and ice warning for nine counties, forecasts treacherous conditions and overnight temperatures of -6C

The warning is the latest in a series issued by the national forecaster as an Arctic blast hits the country

Icy conditions are expected to pick up on Sunday (Niall Carson/PA)

Keith Kelly and Sarah O'Mahony Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 22:05

Met Eireann has issued a Status Yellow warning for snow and ice for nine new counties as the whole country is set to be impacted by an Arctic blast sweeping the island.
BBC pays 28,000 to Israeli survivors of October 7 attacks, after filming inside their destroyed home

The couple started legal proceedings in Israel against British broadcaster

A destroyed building after the Hamas attack on October 7. Photo: Getty

George Lithgow UK Independent Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 06:30

The BBC has paid 28,000 (32,000) in compensation to an Israeli family who survived the October 7 attack after a film crew went into their destroyed home without permission.
All 40 people who died in the New Year's Eve bar fire in Switzerland have been identified, police said on Sunday, with teenagers making up more than half of the death toll.
Brigitte Bardot in May 1965: she held both Hollywood and the French intelligentsia in contempt Photo: AP

Brigitte Bardot, the French film actor who has died aged 91, was the original sex kitten, celebrated for her piquant air of sensuality, which heralded a new era of permissiveness in the cinema and created a cult of imitators around the world.

It did not matter that the 46 films she made ranged, as a rule, from the mediocre to the forgettable. Provocative, rebellious, heedless of convention, she captured the free-living spirit of the time and defined an image, the Bardot look  tumbled blonde hair; petulant pout; and gamine, bikini hips.
Municipal workers move flowers closer to the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the new years celebrations (Baz Ratner/AP)

Teenagers as young as 14 and 15 years old were among those who died in the bar fire on New Year's Eve that killed 40 people in Switzerland, police said on Sunday.
Iran rioters should be put in their place, says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Donald Trump says the US is locked and loaded and ready to go

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting in Tehran. Photo: AP

Angus McDowall Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 06:30

Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to yield after US president Donald Trump threatened to come to the aid of protesters, as rights groups reported a sharp rise in arrests following days of unrest sparked by soaring inflation.
The Indo Daily: Melania: The Movie  We saw it, so you dont have to...
Hudson Williams (Shane Hollander)

Image credit : X| @BuzzingPop| Hudson Williams poses during media appearances

Ember & Ice

Heated Rivalry

Yoko Loko.

The Permanent Rain Press

Yoko Loko

Encore and 8

The Altruists

Connor Storrie (Ilya Rozanov)

Image credit : X| @hollanderpilled| Connor Storrie steps out amid rising buzz around his projects

Ember & Ice

Heated Rivalry

Interview magazine

April X,

Francois Arnaud (Scott Hunter)

Image credit : X| @BuzzingPop| Francois Arnaud poses for photographers

Twinless

F-cktoys

IMDb

Robbie G.K. (Kip Grady)

Image credit : X| @z_xyrel| Heated Rivalrys Robbie G.K. should be the MCUs Bobby Drake Iceman.

Sheriff Country,

Forbes

Heated Rivalry

Sophie Nelisse (Rose Landry)

Image credit : X| @dailynelisse| Sophie Nelisse seen at a public appearance

Yellowjackets

Stranger In Town

Lydia and the Mist Rider

Whistle

Alice

The Pact.

Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova (Svetlana)

Image credit : X| @jordeclanisms| Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova seen at a public appearance

A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Videocall Murder

With Heated Rivalry wrapped for now, fans are naturally curious about what lies ahead for its cast. While the series itself may be on pause, its stars have been keeping busy behind the scenes. Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams have spent recent weeks promoting the debut season, but their professional calendars were already full well before press commitments took over. With production not set to resume until later in the year, here is a closer look at the projects the cast has been involved in and where audiences can expect to see them next.Hudson Williams is currently lending his voice to the Quinn Original fantasy series, where he plays Finn, a fae prince. The third episode of the series is set to debut this week, adding to the projects growing following. On the film side, Williams has several short films in development and recently marked a major career milestone by signing with talent agency CAA. Shortly beforepremiered, he completed filming on a project titledSpeaking to, Hudson describedas his most ambitious work in several years. The film centres on Yoko, a tough, complex drug dealer navigating conflicting desires around identity, youth, and power. The project is intended as a proof of concept for a future feature-length version.In addition, Williams has two more projects in the pipeline titled. He will also appear in the upcoming Netflix series, inspired by the real-life FTX cryptocurrency scandal. The series stars Julia Garner and Anthony Boyle, with Barack and Michelle Obama attached as executive producers. Williams portrays a real-life figure in the story.Connor Storrie can also be heard in, voicing the character Dane, with the third episode arriving this week. Before turning his attention to press for, Storrie wrapped filming on his first feature film as a director, Transaction Planet, which was shot entirely on an iPhone. In an interview with, he described the project as an absurdist, genre-blending experiment influenced by early John Waters, Darren Aronofsky, and Sean Baker. The film follows an alien spirit inhabiting a human body and stumbling through a chaotic journey on Earth.Storrie is also set to star in the indie featurea near-future story set in Russia. He plays Baxter, a man searching for his missing twin sister in a brutal city that tests his grip on reality.Like his co-star Williams, Storrie has reportedly signed with CAA, although this has yet to be formally announced.Francois Arnaud recently appeared in the filmalongside Dylan OBrien and writer-director James Sweeney. He will also be seen in the festival-featured film, starring Annapurna Sriram and Brandon Flynn.Looking ahead, Arnaud is attached to several upcoming projects, including the mini-series Alice and the films Keeper of the Cup and Someones Daughter, according to hislisting. There has also been growing chatter about a potential spin-off centred onScott and Kip.Robbie G.K. currently holds a recurring role on CBS dramaplaying Deputy Chris Whitley. In a recent interview with, he shared his excitement about joining the series and expressed hope that the show will continue into a second season.He has also made no secret of his interest in returning for a second season of, with discussions reportedly taking place around a spin-off focusing on Kip and Scotts relationship.Sophie Nelisse has a busy slate ahead, including the fourth and final season of, where she reprises her role as Teen Shauna. She recently teased a new project titledon social media.She will also voice the lead character in the animated film, due for a cinema release in February, alongside another upcoming film titled. Additional projects include the mini-seriesand the short filmKsenia Daniela Kharlamova recently appeared in the Disney+ film. She is next set to feature in the television movie, which is expected to be released in March.
Image credit : X | Viral photo of Maduro sparks Nike Tech Fleece frenzy online

Why did the US capture the Venezuelan President?

Internet says Nike won after the Maduro arrest sends Nike Tech Fleece searches and sales soaring

Image credit : X | Nike Tech Fleece sales soar after Maduro's viral picture

Well we know what everyone wearing as a costume this year for Halloween   https://t.co/E30RZnNcEz





 TIME IS DUE  (@justkoolie) January 3, 2026







i will be fitmaxxing when going to sleep because you never know when the police will show up to your door unannounced for a surprise photo op https://t.co/BcNFqEBVzF





 s (@topboySalman) January 3, 2026







While the geopolitical shockwaves from the U.S. capture of Venezuelan Presidentdominated headlines, with photos of him blindfolded, handcuffed, and being taken aboard a U.S. ship sparking global debate, what the internet reallyis what he was wearing.In the now-viral image shared by U.S. President Donald Trump on social media, Maduro is pictured in a grey Nike Tech Fleece tracksuit, hoodie and joggers, paired with noise-cancelling earmuffs and a water bottle. That casual, athleisure look turned a tense international topic into an instant meme generator online, particularly on X (formerly Twitter).Search interest in Nike Tech and related items surged as people scrambled to ID the outfit and find similar pieces online, with some listings selling out shortly after the photo circulated. Scroll down for more details on Maduro's Nike Tech fit, which has now been dubbed 'The Maduro Grey'.Politically, the US has said the move against Nicolas Maduro is rooted in long-standing accusations that he was involved in drug trafficking, corruption, and narcoterrorism, charges that have been on the table since his US indictment in 2020. Washington has also refused to recognise him as Venezuelas legitimate president following disputed elections, framing him instead as an authoritarian leader whose government violated human rights and destabilised the region.According to US officials, the action was presented as enforcing criminal accountability and protecting national security, though it has triggered major international backlash, as critics argue it violates Venezuelan sovereignty and international law.After photos of Nicolas Maduro in US custody surfaced, the internets attention quickly shifted from politics to his outfit. He was seen wearing a full grey Nike Tech Fleece, and that detail alone was enough to turn the moment into a memefest. X users joked that Nike was the real winner here, as Google searches for Nike Tech Fleece spiked soon after and people rushed to identify the exact pieces. Screenshots of the product page began circulating, with users pointing out that the same colour and even the size Maduro was reportedly wearing, including 2XL, sold out shortly after.The Nike Tech Fleece set, which typically retails for around $260 for the hoodie and joggers combined, suddenly became part of pop culture conversation, proving once again that the internet can turn even the most serious global events into an unexpected fashion moment.One user joked, "Going to be walking into Costco next week with that Maduro 2026 fit." "Well, we know what everyone is wearing as a costume this year for Halloween," another user added."I will be fitmaxxing when going to sleep because you never know when the police will show up at your door unannounced for a surprise photo op," joked one person. "This was all funded by NIKE. I will accept no other opinions," someone else claimed.
Vietnams dragon fruit exports, which used to fetch over US$1 billion a year, has seen shipment dropping to the lowest in 11 years.

Exports in the first 11 months last year fell 0.8% to $485.2 million, lowest since 2014, according to Vietnam Customs.

Dragon fruits seen in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam, November 2025. Photo by VnExpress/Viet Quoc

Annual shipment in the 2014-2018 was over $1 billion. It reached a peak of $1.3 billion in 2018.

Since then, dragon fruit exports began to stagnate and decline as consumption markets and international competition changed rapidly.

China remains the largest destination for Vietnamese dragon fruit, with export turnover of more than $301.7 million in the first 11 months, accounting for about 62% of total.

However, exports to this market fell 4.5% year on year, reflecting slowing import demand as domestic supply becomes increasingly abundant.

But exports to several new markets recorded growth. Shipment to India was nearly $41.8 million, up 6.4%, while exports to Thailand surged 71.1% year on year.

Even so, the scale of these markets remains small and insufficient to offset the decline in the key market.

Exporters said global supply is rising rapidly, intensifying competition, which explains the drop.

China has significantly expanded its dragon fruit cultivation area, with output of about 1.6 million tonnes a year, hundreds of thousands of tonnes more than Vietnam and nearly sufficient to meet domestic consumption, thereby substantially narrowing import demand.

India is also gradually joining the group of dragon fruit-producing countries. Indias dragon fruit cultivation area is currently around 3,0004,000 hectares, according to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and industry reports.

The countrys output is now about 12,000 tonnes a year, still modest but on an expanding trend.

Mexico has successfully cultivated dragon fruit, directly competing with Vietnam in the U.S. and Canadian markets.

Business representatives said that in the early 2010s, Vietnamese dragon fruit was exported smoothly to the U.S.

However, from 2019, when Mexico expanded production with the geographical advantage of proximity to the North American market, Vietnam has almost ceased exporting white-fleshed dragon fruit to the U.S. and Canada, except for a small volume of red-fleshed dragon fruit.

Businesses forecast that in the short term, dragon fruit output and export turnover are unlikely to recover soon, while prices are also unlikely to rise sharply if China and India continue to expand production.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, secretary-general of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said farmers and businesses need to reassess markets and competitive advantages.

In addition to improving quality and product presentation, the dragon fruit sector should adjust cultivation timing and increase the share of off-season production, especially at the beginning and end of the year, when China and India face difficulties due to weather factors.
Joseph speaks out and shares a cryptic post on Instagram

Image credit : Instagram | @briankingjoseph | Ex-AGT Star Joseph Accuses Will Smith of Misconduct

Violinist files sexual harassment lawsuit against Will Smith and his company

Image credit : Instagram | @briankingjoseph | Violinist Sues Will Smith Over Harassment, Firing Claims

Brian King Joseph gets slammed on social media

Image credit : Instagram | @briankingjoseph | Brian King Joseph Takes Legal Action Against Will Smith, Claims Sexual Harassment During Major Tour

Who is Brain King Joseph?

Image credit : Instagram | @briankingjoseph | Violinist Sues Will Smith Over Harassment, Firing Claims

In a dramatic move, a violinist has filed a high-profile lawsuit against actor Will Smith, accusing him and his company of sexual harassment, wrongful termination and retaliation. In the days leading up to the legal action, Brain King Joseph posted a cryptic message urging people to 'stand up' for their beliefs, hinting at the dispute that would soon become public. Let's find out what happened.In a December 2025 Instagram video, Joseph stated, Earlier this year, I was hired to be a performer on a major, major tour with somebody who was huge in the industry. He added, "So I was excited, you know, proud of myself for getting the opportunity. Unfortunately, some things happened, he claimed. I cant get too into the details of exactly what that was because its already a legal issue right now, but the reason why Im speaking out about this is because getting fired or getting blamed or shamed or threatened or anything like that simply for reporting sexual misconduct or safety threats at work is not okay."He also acknowledged those who may feel hesitant to speak up, saying, I understand, and if thats you, I see you. He concluded by promising, More updates to come soon. Thanks for listening.Joseph filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County, against Will Smith and Treyball Studios Management, Inc. According to People, the complaint claims that Smith "deliberately groomed and primed Mr Joseph for further sexual exploitation" after inviting him to join his global tour, Based on a True Story: 2025, in November 2024.While Smith's lawyer, Allen B. Grodsky, described the allegations to Page Six as false, baseless, and reckless.As soon as the video surfaced on the social media, it quickly went viral and sparked debate. One Instagram user wrote, "Why are you still following him then? "Another wrote, "Your story doesn't make sense." "honestly i believe you just need money. will smith would never.""Boy stop lying and take your meds!! If will smith gonna groom and sexually assault someone it wouldnt be you! You just salty you got the fired for being a drunk and not taking your medication."Brain King Joseph, a 35-year-old, is a former America's Got Talent finalist and self-taught musician who started performing at just four years old. In 2012, he was awarded a full Presidential Scholarship to the renowned Berklee College of Music. Hailing from Washington DC, Joseph gained national attention in 2018 when he appeared on the show.
Heated confrontation caught on camera

These scammers tried to kill me after being exposed! pic.twitter.com/CFbCYImPVZ









 TraxNYC (@TraxNYC) January 2, 2026

Netizens react to the shocking fight video

Image credit : X | @TraxNYC| TraxNYC Owner Accuses AKAY Diamonds of Defrauding Customers While Impersonating His Brand

What actually happened?

Image credit : X | @TraxNYC | TraxNYC Founder Alleges Rival Jeweller Scammed Customers Using His Reputation

Agadjani releases a video to resolve the issue

Who is TranxNYC?

A public dispute has erupted within New York's jewellery scene after TraxNYC owner Maksud Agadjani made explosive allegations against rival brand AKAY Diamonds. The controversy gained traction online when Agadjani accused the jeweller of scamming customers and misusing his name to lend credibility to their products. The claims emerge after Agadjani shared a series of online videos showing tense confrontations with people he said were AKAY Diamonds employees.In the viral videos, Agadjani is seen angrily confronting a man he claims is linked with AKAY Diamonds, accusing him of misrepresenting jewellery quality and exploiting his reputation. During the exchange, Agadjani demands repayment and alleges that his name was used to falsely validate the products, using explicit language to express his frustration.The confrontation reportedly followed a complaint from a TraxNYC customer who said they had been misled after purchasing jewellery from AKAY Diamonds. He is heard shouting, "Wheres my f***ing money? Motherf***er, you said VVS 14 [karat], and youre using my name, you b***h. You f***ing thief.As soon as the viral video surfaced on social media, it quickly went viral and sparked debate. One X (formerly called Twitter) user wrote, "This is the second post that hit my feed in the last few days of people crashing out in this NYC jewellery center. Is it time for a reality show?"While one said, "His affidavit is going to require some massagingOn or about January 2nd, 2026, I attended at the retail premises, advising the owner that I was the victim of an apparent theft, but the owner refused to acknowledge my complaint, and I was summarily escorted without proper redress.""lol why is benny the jeweler wearing a security hat?," one joked. "This led to the bigger brawl. Absolute cinema ""Crashing out for those who dont have the privilege and defending your good name. In your business, feels justified."Agadjani later posted more videos detailing his version of events. He claimed the customer had originally intended to purchase jewellery from TraxNYC but was allegedly persuaded by an AKAY Diamonds employee who said their pieces were of comparable quality, an assertion Agadjani strongly disputed.In one clip, he held up documents he described as proof, calling the company "disgusting" and alleging that his customer had been overcharged. He also claimed the bracelet in question, which was sold as 14-karat gold, was later tested and determined to be only 10-karat gold.On the other hand, in a subsequent video, Agadjani appears to settle the matter on behalf of his customer by obtaining a refund and adding an additional USD 1000 as compensation for the trouble.Throughout the interaction, he continued to angrily criticise the rival jeweller, accusing them of dishonesty and unethical behaviour while using explicit language.TraxNYC is a prominent Manhattan-based jewellery brand with a substantial online presence, amassing more than three million followers on Instagram. Agadjani regularly shares behind-the-scenes glimpses of the jewellery business with his audience.AKAY Diamonds is also a well-known retailer in the Diamond District, owned and operated by brothers George and Freddy Akay, and conducts business in the same area as TraxNYC.
DiCaprio delivered a recorded speech for the Desert Palm Award despite his absence

The Hollywood Reporter

Image credit : X | @manonfilms | DiCaprio to Miss Film Fest, Will Give Remote Speech

Leonardo DiCaprio accepts his Desert Palm Achievement Award remotely due to air travel restrictions in Venezuela: "Movies are still meant to be experiences together in a theater. Right now, that belief matters more than ever." pic.twitter.com/sPcxeoqn5s







 Variety (@Variety) January 4, 2026







Did the US take control of Venezuela after Maduro's arrest?

Associated Press.

Leonardo DiCaprio, the 51-year-old Oscar winner, who was set to receive the Desert Palm Achievement Award for his later film One Battle After Another, is unable to attend due to air travel restrictions in the Caribbean following the US-Venezuela conflict. Currently, DiCaprio is vacationing in St Barths with girlfriend Vittorio Ceretti and stars like Tom Brady and now faces an unexpected hurdle that keeps him from making it to the red carpet. Let's find out more.According to, Leonardo DiCaprio was scheduled to receive the Desert Palm Achievement Award for his work in Paul Thomas Andersons One Battle After Another.Although he wont be attending in person, he will still make an appearance at the Film Awards through a recorded acceptance speech, which will be shown following a tribute from his co-stars Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti. The Oscar-winning actor was recently seen in St Barts for the New Year.On Saturday, President Donald Trump claimed that the United States would 'run' Venezuela after Nicolas Maduro and his wife reportedly took their home on a military base, as per theTaking to X (formerly called Twitter), he also posted a photo of Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Truth Social. Meanwhile, the Palm Springs International Airport tweeted on X that an "FAA air traffic control issue is impacting SoCal airspace today," resulting in a ground stop for departing flights.While arrivals are still being accommodated, some inbound flights have been diverted, and delays are expected. The Palm Springs International Airport posted on X that an "FAA air traffic control issue is affecting Southern California airspace today." Departing flights are currently on a ground stop, while arrivals are still being handled, though some inbound flights have been diverted and delays are anticipated.
Zacch Adedeji, chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, has asked security agencies to be on alert over rumours of protests against tax laws.

Adedeji spoke on Sunday during an interview on Arise Television, where he cautioned Nigerians against being misled by misinformation surrounding the reforms.

He said citizens should study the tax laws carefully and understand how the provisions affect them, rather than relying on rumours or calls for mass action.

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The only message I have for Nigerians is that people should not listen to rumours. They should analyse the data as it affects them. They should wait for the result, not mass or mob action, the NRS chairman said.

The taxman said calls to suspend the implementation of the tax laws are unconstitutional, noting that laws passed by the national assembly cannot be suspended by individuals or pressure groups.

No individual, except in an emergency, can suspend the law. The law passed by the national assembly is the law, he said.

Adedeji insisted that the tax reform bills went through extensive consultations, including public hearings at the national assembly for over six months, before their passage.

Ruling out the suspension of the law, he said only amendments can be made where grievances exist.

Implementation has started. People have started to see the result, and they say they want to go on a protest.

I am using this time to call all the security agencies to be on alert.

He said the protests could not be coming from the poor, whom the reforms are meant to protect, but from unpatriotic individuals seeking to frustrate the benefits of the policy.

Since the federal government introduced its harmonised tax system, mixed reactions have continued to trail the policy.

The implementation of the laws commenced on January 1, following the unveiling of the new corporate identity of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), formerly known as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
United States President Donald Trump has renewed his threats against his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, warning that the South American leader could be the next target for his anti-drug campaign.

On Wednesday, at a White House roundtable with business leaders, one reporter asked Trump if he had spoken to Petro. That touched off a fiery response from the Republican leader.

I havent really thought too much about him. Hes been fairly hostile to the United States, Trump began, before going on the offensive.

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Hes going to have himself some big problems if he doesnt wise up. Colombia is producing a lot of drugs. They have cocaine factories. They make cocaine, as you know, and they sell it right into the United States. So he better wise up, or hell be next. I hope hes listening. Hes going to be next because we dont like people when they kill people.

The remarks came shortly after Trump addressed a US military operation to seize an oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea, in an effort to punish Venezuela and Iran for alleged sanction violations.
Ahmad Gumi, a Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, says he was informed that he had been listed for elimination as a Boko Haram figure on the same morning a bombing linked to United States military operations occurred in Nigeria.

Gumi made the disclosure while recounting events surrounding recent US air strikes targeting terror groups in the north-west and north-east.

There was a bombing here; the morning it happened, I received a callI wont tell you who called mebut I was told a security briefing was taking place and I was listed among those who will be eliminated as Boko Haram, Gumi said.

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On December 25, the United States launched a fusillade of air strikes on members of the ISIS Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Sokoto.

This incident followed the threat made by Trump that the US would go into Nigeria guns-a-blazing to wipe out the terrorists killing Christians.

Gumi strongly criticised foreign military involvement in Nigeria, arguing that such interventions worsen insecurity rather than resolve it.

They claim to have come here to fight terrorists, but they are the actual terrorists, he said.

The cleric also questioned the response of political and religious leaders in northern Nigeria to repeated attacks by Boko Haram and ISIS-linked groups, expressing frustration over what he described as silence and inaction.

The north, you all know they attacked, but where are your leaders and what have they done about it? Gumi asked.

He also criticised religious scholars, accusing them of failing to address false claims made by terrorists and of providing support exclusively to Christians.

They attacked us for false claims, and they give support of a certain amount of money to Christians alone. No country will accept that. Either you give support to the entire nation or we dont need it, Gumi said.

It happens and nobody is talking; they are all afraid to talk. Thats the situation we are in this country.
Three suspects are currently being interrogated at the headquarters of Kwara State Police Command over allegations of burning down the house of an idol worshipper, Mrs T. A. Olorisha, in Ilorin.

Spokesperson of the command, Ejire Adeyemi, disclosed this in a press statement issued to journalists in Ilorin on Saturday.

According to Ejire, The Kwara State Police Command is aware of a video circulating online. The video depicts an elderly woman saying her place of residence was completely razed by fire.

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The Command has commenced thorough investigation into the fire incident suspected to be an act of arson at Isale Koko Area, Ilorin.

It added that, On 2nd January, 2026 at about 10:00pm, a resident, Mrs. T.A Olorisha reported at C Division, Oja Oba, that her house was set ablaze by unknown persons. The incident was said to have occurred on 1st January, 2026 at about 7:00pm, while she was away.

The statement noted that, The complainant alleged that she had received threats in November 2025 from some individuals, including Alhaji Salihu Saka 63 years, Alhaji Abubakar Salihu 58years and Alhaji Yekini Olohuntele 67 years, allegedly over religious differences, as she is a traditional worshipper. All three suspects are currently in police custody, aiding investigations.

No life lost, as no one was inside the building at the time of the incident. The value of the property destroyed is yet to be ascertained.

The Command assures members of the public that concerted efforts are ongoing to apprehend the other perpetrators, while all allegations are being diligently investigated.

The Kwara State Police Command reiterated its commitment to protecting lives, property, and the fundamental rights of all residents, regardless of religious or cultural beliefs.

Members of the public are urged to remain calm and provide useful information that can aid the investigation, the statement noted.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Jimoh, has ordered the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, to probe multiple sexual allegations levelled against the Senior Pastor of the Mountain of Liberation and Miracles Ministries, Chris Okafor.

The order comes amid growing outrage generated by the viral allegations circulating on social media in recent days.

Saturday PUNCH reported that the popular cleric stepped down from pastoral duties on New Years Day as the allegations escalated, with several women, including Nollywood actress Doris Ogala, coming forward with different narrations against him.

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The cleric had last Sunday publicly apologised to Ogala during a church service, where he knelt on the pulpit, admitted to past mistakes, and sought forgiveness.

The development follows his wedding to a new bride, identified simply as Pearl, on December 16, 2025, an event attended by prominent clerics.

The spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Abimbola Adebisi, had on Friday told our correspondent that the police could not arrest the embattled pastor because there was no formal petition from any of the alleged victims.

Adebisi said she was not aware of any complaints against Okafor, despite the swirling allegations on social media.

However, following a renewed request by our correspondent on Saturday night, including text messages sent to the commissioner, the police spokesperson on Sunday said the CP had ordered the SCID to invite the cleric for questioning and summon the alleged victims for interviews.

The CP has directed the SCID to invite the pastor for investigation, despite the fact that no one has formally come forward to report, the Lagos PPRO told PUNCH Online.

She added that the CP also ordered that witnesses be brought forward to provide statements that would assist the investigation.

Adebisi further disclosed that, on her personal initiative, she had reached out to one of the YouTubers who interviewed the alleged victims to obtain direct links to the witnesses.

The flurry of allegations against the cleric began on December 14 when actress Ogala posted several emotional videos on her Instagram page.

In the clips, she accused the pastor of having a sexual relationship with her, which allegedly began in 2017 and lasted for nine years.

The actress said the cleric promised her marriage on several occasions before marrying another woman in December 2025.

In the videos, she also accused Okafor of sharing her explicit photos and videos.

She further alleged that the pastor contributed to the breakdown of her previous marriage and caused her emotional distress and financial loss.

Ogala also shared some bedroom photos and screenshots of conversations, alongside videos in which she claimed the pastor sent her $10,000 to retract her statements and allege that a rival pastor orchestrated the accusations.

She later demanded N1bn in damages through a legal notice filed by her lawyers, alleging threats and intimidation following her arrest and detention by the police.

As the scandal escalated, other women also came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct, manipulation, infidelity, and related issues against the pastor.

One of them was his former wife, Bessem Okafor, who accused him of infidelity, deception, and physical assault.

However, in separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH, several members of the church dismissed the allegations, describing them as desperate attempts by individuals seeking to extort money from their man of God.
Some Muslim leaders in Nigeria have warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to interfere in the countrys affairs after he said Israel would join the United States in combating attacks on Christians in Nigeria.

Netanyahu made the comment in a Christmas Day message to Christian Zionist supporters, stating that Israel would open a new front to protect Christians facing persecution in countries including Nigeria, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey.

Reacting on Friday, the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) described it as ironic for Netanyahu to speak of fighting terrorism in Nigeria while, in its view, committing acts of terror against Palestinians.

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MUSWENs Executive Secretary, Professor Wole Abbas, said, Netanyahus statement that he would join President Trump of America in fighting terrorism in Nigeria is unfortunate. What he has done to Palestinians in Gaza is almost worse than terrorism. This is a person who has been declared wanted by the International Court of Justice.

He still engages in genocide in Gaza and wants to help solve same in Nigeria. I cannot understand what we are witnessing in the world now. Netanyahu is a criminal who should be arrested and prosecuted for genocide.

A former presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad, also rejected Netanyahus offer of support. Writing on X, Ahmad said any foreign military action in Nigeria, including airstrikes, was unnecessary and a violation of the countrys sovereignty.
The National Assembly has released the four tax reform Acts duly signed into law by President Bola Tinubu for public record, verification and reference.

House Spokesman Akin Rotimi says the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker, House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, directed the immediate release of the Certified True Copies of the Acts, including the endorsement and assent pages signed by the President.

Rotimi says this is to dispel public concerns and allegations regarding purported alterations and the circulation of unauthorised and misleading versions of the laws.

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The four Acts released are:

 The Nigeria Tax Act, 2025

 The Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025

 The National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025

 The Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025.

Rotimi further notes that parliament would remain vigilant and proactive in defending the integrity of its work, clarifying that the only authentic and authoritative versions of the four tax Acts are those certified and released by the National Assembly.
Vietnam is deeply concerned about information regarding the current situation in Venezuela, spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang said Saturday.

Answering reporters question on Vietnams response to the situation in Venezuela, Hang said Vietnam calls on all relevant parties to respect international law and the United Nations Charter, including the principles of respecting national sovereignty and refraining from the use or threat of force in international relations.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that U.S. forces had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country.

Pham Thu Hang, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo courtesy of the ministry

Vietnam also calls on the parties to exercise restraint, engage in dialogue and resolve disputes and differences on the basis of international law, contributing to peace, security, stability, and cooperation in the region and the world, she said.

Given the complex and tense situation in Venezuela, which poses potential safety risks to citizens, the ministry on Saturday advised Vietnamese nationals to carefully consider travel to the country at this time.

Vietnamese citizens currently in Venezuela should leave dangerous areas, closely monitor developments, and strictly comply with local authorities regulations on travel as well as advisories issued by the ministry, including those by the Consular Department and the embassy in Venezuela.
Troops of the Joint Task Force, supported by the Air Component of Operation Fansan Yamma, have neutralised no fewer than 23 bandits fleeing Kano State following coordinated attacks on Shanono and Tsanyawa Local Government Areas.

A statement issued on Sunday in Kano by the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 3 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Maj. Zubairu Babatunde, said the bandits launched the attacks on the night of Thursday, extending into the early hours of Friday.

He said ground troops successfully contained the attacks and inflicted heavy casualties on the assailants before tracking the fleeing bandits to Karaduwa village in Matazu Local Government Area of neighbouring Katsina State.

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According to him, intelligence reports revealed that the bandits had gathered at Dan Marke in Matazu LGA to bury some of their members killed during the encounter with troops.

The Air Component Sector 2 Operation Fansan Yamma located the bandits and trailed their movement until their motorcycles converged after crossing a dry riverbed.

A precision air strike was thereafter conducted, resulting in the neutralisation of at least 23 terrorists, while several others were believed to have sustained injuries, Babatunde said.

He added that the operation, supported by aerial Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, also led to the destruction of several weapons and equipment belonging to the bandits.

The spokesperson said the Commander, 3 Brigade, Nigerian Army, commended the Air Component and ground troops for their bravery and resilience during the operation.

Their bravery and resilience in the face of adversity are commendable, the commander was quoted as saying.

Babatunde said the security situation in Kano State remained calm, with troops sustaining robust patrols and monitoring across the affected areas.

He added that troop morale and fighting efficiency were very satisfactory.

The Nigerian Army, he said, appreciated the support of members of the public in the fight against banditry and terrorism and urged citizens to continue providing timely information to security agencies.

According to him, the military, in collaboration with other security agencies, remains committed to protecting lives and property and will continue to take necessary measures to ensure national security.

The operation adds to recent successes recorded against gunmen disturbing the state.
Laura Alalay shops with Rose, 10 months, of Queen Village, at the Nesting House in Philadelphia. The Nesting House sells both new and used children's clothing and items. Read more

When Jennifer Kinka was pregnant with her first child, she stood in the aisle of Babies R Us with a registry sheet, looking over the wall of plastic consumables the company deemed required for having a baby. What she saw was waste.

I was just like, this is crazy that theres no system for this, Kinka said. Theres no problem-solving around how this is happening and how we could do this better.

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After a few more years, her second pregnancy, and a small inheritance from the loss of her terminally ill parents, Kinka was able to implement her solution: The Nesting House, a kids consignment shop based in Mount Airy that she founded 15 years ago.

Shoppers across Philadelphia, including parents buying for their children, are increasingly forgoing new items in favor of secondhand and lightly used in an effort to save money and live more sustainably.

Chris Baeza, associate program director of Fashion Industry & Merchandising at Drexel University, asks her students each semester who shops in the secondhand market. While five years ago she might have had a single student raise a hand, now its nearly all of them.

The global secondhand apparel market grew by 15% in 2024, according to online consignment store ThredUps annual report, and its expected to continue growing each year. ThredUp estimates that the resale apparel market is growing 2.7 times faster than the overall apparel market.

For Abby Sewell, a South Philadelphia mom of two, secondhand clothing and furniture was a mainstay of her childhood, when she spent weekends trash picking and combing through yard sales to find reusable items. Her father is artist Leo Sewell, who built a replica of the Statue of Libertys arm and torch at the Please Touch Museum.

I just know how much there is out in the world, said Sewell, who also describes herself as an environmentalist. Theres just so much kids clothes that it kills me to buy something new when I know theres like 50 pairs of 2T leggings in someones basement.

A dramatic shift toward secondhand not only coincided with the proliferation of social media but followed the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, that killed more than 1,000 people. People began to wonder how their clothing was being made, and the conditions laborers were under, Baeza said.

Next came the broader revelation of textile waste  pictures and video of clothing from the United States washing up on the shores of African countries  which plays into the interest in the secondhand market, she said.

This was stuff that we just throw away, or we put in a drop box [thinking] its going to a good cause, Baeza said. Theyre actually packing stuff up, and its a commodity theyre selling abroad.

While Beaza teaches her students to scrutinize the marketing of sustainable fashion and to understand secondhand may not be the be-all-end-all of building circularity into the industry, she gets the sense they want to be part of what she describes as a renaissance period.

They want to be part of the solution, not the problem, Baeza said.

Sewell prefers to shop thrift and consignment around her neighborhood and frequents stores like Lilypad and 2A. She also goes to annual church sales in the suburbs and uses eBay for more specific items  a specific kind of sleep sack that works for her 1-year-old or an item in a specific color or fabric for her 4-year-old.

Im still shocked to this day when I learn that other parents still are buying mostly new clothes for their children, Sewell said. I think Im on a very different end of the spectrum, and I always have been as a consumer.

Lilypad, which began as a play space on Broad Street, expanded to include a small thrift shop in its basement after the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined its twice-yearly City Kids consignment events. The nonprofit sells only donated items at its shop, now located in East Passyunk, to support charging an affordable annual membership to its play space.

Lilypad board member Maria Hughes said the number of people actively seeking out secondhand clothing for their kids, particularly babies, has increased exponentially over the last several years. The store sees more pregnant people, who dont want to go through the process of building a registry. Hughes added that there are also more grandparents and grandparents-to-be shopping at Lilypad now.

Theyre not going to Marshalls and buying the things, Hughes said. Instead theyre opting for pre-owned items either at the directive of their children or because they believe now.

Kinka said the early days of the Nesting House felt like it was mission work.

Nobody understood what we were doing, Kinka said. People would come in very confused. They would oftentimes refer to us as a thrift store.

Eventually people saw the store as a sound economic choice: get high-quality childrens clothing at a great price. But she has seen a huge shift over the last five years.

Its this current generation, Kinka said. Theyre on board with the concept before they come. Theyre ready for us.
File: A 40-year-old man has been charged by the Gloucester County Prosecutors Office with the shooting death of a woman Saturday morning in Paulsboro Read more

A 40-year-old man has been charged by the Gloucester County Prosecutors Office with the shooting death of a woman Saturday morning in Paulsboro.

Authorities say Ramon Luis Acevedo of Paulsboro shot the woman in the head while she was at a home on Elizabeth Avenue. They say he also shot a minor who fled.

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Acevedo was charged with first-degree murder and second-degree aggravated assault after the prosecutors office said he called 911 on Saturday. During the call, authorities allege, Acevedo identified himself and said he shot both people.

Police found an adult female dead in a bedroom at the home. The minor received medical treatment for a gunshot wound.

Acevedo said in a statement to police that he intentionally shot the woman, according to the prosecutors office. He then accidentally shot the second person after being startled while holding a handgun, according to the statement.

Neither victim has been identified by the authorities.

Acevedo faces a sentence of 30 years to life for the charge of first-degree murder, 5 to 10 years for second-degree aggravated assault, and 5 to 10 years for possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Demonstrators hold signs reacting to U.S. strikes on Venezuela while marching along North Broad Street on Saturday. Read more

Venezuela native Gil Arends was unwinding at his South Philadelphia apartment Saturday when an X notification came through: Theres no power in Caracas and we are hearing some explosions. A panoramic video showed smoke rising from the capital city.

I was immediately scared; even with all the military, I did not think Caracas was going to get bombed, Arends, 40, said. Then, the news came through: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was in custody.

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A U.S.military operation ousted Maduro from power early Saturday, capturing him and his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple were extracted from their home on a military base and taken to New York, where they face prosecution for their alleged participation in a narco-terrorism conspiracy. The dramatic ground offensive capped a monthslong pressure campaign by President Donald Trump against the Venezuelan leader.

 READ MORE: Trump says U.S. has captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, will run the country

Arends, who owns Puyero Venezuelan Flavor with locations in Center City and University City, left Venezuela 15 years ago. He woke up his mother, sister, and wife when he learned the news. No one could believe it.

Some people just began noticing the bombings in the Caribbean, but we have been living this our entire lives, Arends said. No one wants to see their country getting bombed, but they gave us no alternative. I am grateful for the help.

In the wake of the raid, Trump said the United States would run Venezuela until a transition of power could be arranged. Speaking from Mar-a-Lago, Trump offered few details on what American intervention would look like  or how long it could take  but revealed he plans to fix the countrys oil infrastructure and sell large amounts of oil to other countries.

 READ MORE: With capture of Maduro, Trump claims successful operation as he treads into uncharted territory

The military operation and takeover Saturday elicited reactions from Philadelphias Venezuelan community and a cohort of area politicians who denounced Trumps plan to run the country and capitalize off its oil reserves.

Philadelphia Democrat U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle took to X, writing, The American people want affordable housing and health care. The last thing they want is another costly forever war.

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said in a statement that Venezuelas future belongs to the Venezuelan people alone.

The only country that the United States of America should be running is the United States of America, the Bucks County Republican said.

The legal authority for the raid on Maduro and airstrikes in Caracas were not immediately known, but area lawmakers said Trump did not seek congressional authorization to capture Maduro. Decrying the attack, a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans of Philadelphia noted that the presidents chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair in November that ground operations in Venezuela would require the approval of Congress.

In a social media post, Sen. Andy Kim accused Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of blatantly lying when the administration told congressional leaders its objective was not a regime change. Kim  a New Jersey Democrat and former national security official in the Obama administration  argued the raid may further isolate the U.S. from its allies.

This strike doesnt represent strength. Its not sound foreign policy, Kim wrote. It puts Americans at risk in Venezuela and the region, and it sends a horrible and disturbing signal to other powerful leaders across the globe that targeting a head of state is an acceptable policy for the U.S. government.

Delaware Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Coons echoed Kim in a news release: According to Coons, senior Trump administration officials said in briefings to Congress that they were focused on combating drug trafficking.

President Trump put American service members in harms way to capture Maduro, but the president lacks a clear plan for what comes next, Coons said. This raid risks creating more instability in the region, putting U.S. service members and civilians in the hemisphere at risk, and dividing us further from our regional partners.

While condemning Trump, Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, also upbraided the Republican-led Congress for its ongoing abdication of its constitutional duty and choosing spineless complicity over its sworn responsibilities.

 READ MORE: Trumps Venezuela move pushes the limits of America First

Again and again, the president has exceeded his authority, defied congressional intent, trampled the separation of powers, and broken the law  while Congress looked away in cowardice and submission, Booker said in a news release. Congress must act now. It must reassert its constitutional authority, restore the rule of law, and stop this president before further injury is done to our democracy and our republic.

State Sen. Nikil Saval (D., Philadelphia) called for his federal counterparts to impeach Trump.

Trumps attack on Venezuela and abduction of its President are criminal acts of terror. They follow in the darkest traditions of American history: a violent, reckless flex of military power to gain control over foreign resources, Saval posted on Instagram. It is incumbent on every American of conscience to rise against these actions.

Bill Burke-White, an international lawyer and law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, said the United States unsanctioned attack on another sovereign state opens the doors for other military superpowers to oust opposing heads of states.

Many countries in the world are going to look at this and say  that the United States has fundamentally abandoned the basic principles that kept us safe for the last 70 years. Were going to be reverting to a world that looks more like regional powers that can do whatever they want, he said, a world governed, not by law, but by the whims of powerful autocrats in countries with nuclear weapons.

The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate leader of Venezuela, and Trump repeated rhetoric Saturday that Maduro had effectively exploited the nation for cocaine trafficking and criminal enterprises. American presence in waters off South America has swelled in recent months as the U.S. attacked boats allegedly carrying drugs.

The number of known boat strikes was 35 and the number of people killed at least 115 as of Friday, according to the Trump administration. Trump has said that the U.S. is engaged in an armed conflict with drug cartels and has justified the boat strikes as necessary to curb the flow of drugs.

In social media posts, Pennsylvania U.S. Sens. Dave McCormick , a Republican, and Democrat John Fetterman applauded American military personnel who carried out the mission under the cover of darkness.

For years Maduros regime killed our children by flooding Americas streets with poison, threatened our borders, and undermined U.S. national security, McCormick wrote. I urge whats left of the Maduro regime to honor the will of the Venezuelan people and transition peacefully to rightfully elected leadership.

There are about 7,000 people of Venezuelan origin in the Philly metro area, according to the latest census data, out of a total metro area Latino population of 681,000. By comparison, there are 135,000 people of Mexican origin, and 74,000 people of Dominican origin in the metro area.

Three local Venezuelan organizations  Casa de Venezuela Philadelphia, Casa de Venezuela Delaware, and Gente de Venezuela Philadelphia  rallied for peace and unity among the diaspora.

In moments of heightened emotional sensitivity and rapid information circulation, we urge our community in exile to act with serenity, caution, and a sense of collective responsibility, a joint statement read.

A vigil for Venezuelas future is scheduled for noon Sunday at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul.

We firmly believe that no process of change will be sustainable if built on hatred, confrontation, or suffering, the statement said.

After the news began to sink in, Arends, the restaurateur, checked in with his employees, asking about their family members in Caracas. Overall everyone was OK, he said, although some were startled and concerned by the bombing sounds.

There is so much uncertainty in every single level and we have been through so much; we have seen bad things become worse so its very difficult to just be happy without fearing what that might lead to, Arends said. Im hopeful but it doesnt feel like we are at the point where this is over.

As the first day of a post-Maduro Venezuela came to a close, Venus Lucini, 28, said she felt like there was a difference in the air.

There are too many emotions, too much uncertainty, but for the first time, there is possibility, Lucini said, as she held her daughter Sofis hand.

For the young mother this is a chance for younger generations to recover a sense of the future.

I already had to emigrate, but this is her chance to see a new Venezuela, Lucini said, longing to visit with family members who have never seen her 6-year-old in person.

Can we go to Venezuela now, Mami? Sofi asked.

Not yet, baby, but soon you will get to see all the places Mami grew up in, Lucini replied.

Graphics editor John Duchneskie and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
Stella, an 11-month-old sheltie, seen here recovering from surgery after she was attacked by a pit bull Dec. 26, 2025, in Center City. Police believe the pit bull is responsible for three recent attacks. Read more

Brian Lovenduski was strolling with his leashed miniature pinscher, Ziggy, through a Center City plaza Monday evening  just another routine walk for the pair.

Just enjoying the Christmas lights, said Lovenduski, who had David Bowies Diamond Dogs pulsing through his earbuds. And then, before I knew it, I turned around and a pit bull had latched onto Ziggys leg.

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Lovenduski recalled the horrific attack that followed at 12th and Chestnut Streets in front of dozens of bystanders. He was bitten and Ziggy was left seemingly near death  until the small dog rallied and fought back for his life against the much bigger, more powerful pit bull.

Miguel Torres, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department, said Saturday that the pit bull is believed to have been involved in a trio of attacks in Center City that took place in the week after Christmas. The pit bull is believed to be owned by a homeless person, police said.

Owners of two victimized dogs say they have not only been traumatized by the attacks, but face tens of thousands of dollars collectively in vet bills.

Ziggys attack

Ziggy was the second dog attacked by the pit bull.

The 4.5-minute attack left Ziggy with a long row of stitches and an amputated leg. Lovenduski was bitten on the hand as he tried to ward off the pit bull.

Lovenduski said he grabbed the pit bull by the collar and pulled its head to his chest to wrest him away from Ziggy. Dozens of people gathered, with some shouting instructions, but not intervening. At one point, Ziggy went limp.

I was worried that Im watching my dog die in front of me, and I cant save him, Lovenduski said. And then suddenly, Ziggy in his little, little, fiery body sprung back to life and started biting the pit bull on the ears, over and over and over. There was blood everywhere.

Lovenduski continued to strike the pit bull on the head and finally it released Ziggy. A nurse from Jefferson Hospital came and helped seek medical treatment.

Eventually, Ziggy was treated at Philadelphia Animal Specialty & Emergency on Washington Avenue in Point Breeze.

He is little by little, starting to learn how to balance himself upright on three legs, Lovenduski said of Ziggy. Im still in shock. But Ziggys will to live is inspiring me.

Lovenduski estimates he faces $11,000 in medical expenses, and expects that could grow. He has set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for the bills.

The attack on Stella

The first known attack by the pit bull occurred on Dec. 26 as J. Bazzel was walking his 11-month-old sheltie Stella at Juniper and Chestnut Streets.

Bazzel said he saw a homeless woman sitting on the corner under a blanket with a pit bull to the side. Hed seen the dog before and usually gives it a wide berth. He believes the woman also travels with a man.

He crossed over Juniper, near the Wanamaker Building, and was startled to hear Stella suddenly yelp.

I looked down, and saw that the dog had, very quietly, ran over, grabbed Stellas front left leg and wouldnt let go of it. My dog was yelping and crying in pain. I started yelling for help.

Bazzel said a man came over and jumped on the back of the pit bull and started striking it in the head. Bazzel worked his gloved fingers into the back of the pit bulls jaw and applied pressure until it released Stella.

The guy who was holding back the pit bull yelled at me to run, Bazzel recalled. And I scooped Stella up.

Bazzel brought the bleeding puppy to the VEG Emergency Vet center, where staff helped.

I had blood on me, I had excrement on me, Bazzel said. The folks at VEG were just amazing. They quickly got the door. They escorted me right back. They got her on a table. They started taking care of me and her because I was out of breath.

Eventually, Bazzel got Stella to Philadelphia Animal Specialty & Emergency. There, a surgeon pieced together Stellas crushed foreleg, keeping it together with a plate. Stella also needed a skin graft.

Shes with me every single place I go, Bazzel said of Stella. Shes my emotional support. Shes my best friend. It just breaks your heart to see what shes going through.

Bazzel is hoping the dogs foreleg will be saved, but is still waiting to see if it heals. He said the medical bills total about $9,000 so far, and he expects it could run thousands more by the time treatment is over. He has also set up a GoFundMe account.

The third attack occurred 7 a.m., Dec. 31, as a 74-year-old man was walking his dog at 19th and Walnut Streets, according to police.

There, a homeless person, described by police as a white male wearing a black coat and dark blankets, was lying on the ground with a pit bull.

The pit bull then rose to bite both the man and dog. The man drove himself to a hospital for treatment.

The citys Animal Care and Control Team is aware of the situation, said ACCT Philly executive director Sarah Barnett.

But, stopping the pit bull is a process.

We cant just take someones dog; the process takes so long and its not victim friendly, Barnett said.

The steps involve filing dangerous dog charges, taking the owner to court, and waiting over 30 days. This process is more complicated when the owner is unhoused, she said.

After three attacks, Barnett conceded theres a chance that the pit bull attacks again.

It wouldnt surprise me if someones dog gets attacked and they do something horrible like shoot it, Barnett said. She encouraged people to instead call the police if they think they have spotted the pit bull.

Be aware of your surroundings and dont just assume the dog is only in Center City, she said.

This story has been corrected to say that Stella was initially bought to VEG Emergency Vet center, not Vedge the restaurant.
The Philadelphia Superiority Complex is an occasional series of highly opinionated takes about why Philadelphia is better than other cities.

As I began in earnest my search for a Philadelphia apartment recently, I steeled myself for a tradition I assumed to be as East Coast as unnecessary honking and an unhealthy animosity toward outsiders.

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Im speaking, of course, about the broker fee.

As a native Midwesterner and perpetual renter who has spent the past decade living in Boston, Id come to view broker fees as an inescapable part of big-city life.

For the uninitiated, broker fees are a lot like extortion payments. Heres how it would go in Boston: A so-called apartment broker  to this day I couldnt tell you what a broker actually is  meets you at an available apartment, unlocks the door, and stands there while you give yourself a brief tour of the unit. In exchange for this white-glove service, and the privilege of renting the apartment, you pay the broker a one-time, nonrefundable fee typically equal to one months rent. In Boston, where the average rent for a one-bedroom apartments sits at around $3,500, this is no small thing.

Making matters worse, the Boston brokers always seem to be finance-bros-in-training, arriving to these brief showings in Lexuses or BMWs, hair meticulously styled and dressed head to toe in Brooks Brothers.

How refreshing it has been, then, to discover that broker fees just  dont actually exist here?

Not once since I began responding to online apartment postings have I been asked to hand a stranger a $3,500 check in exchange for arranging a two-minute tour. I havent yet received a torrent of unwanted text messages from guys named Brock or Beau, demanding to know the earliest possible moment I can schedule a viewing.

And from what I can gather, Im not going to.

As one longtime Philadelphian explained it to me recently, There is a beauty in Philadelphia that no matter how cool its trying to be, it is never desirable enough to warrant something like brokers fees.

Its been a true revelation.

(In Bostons defense, Massachusetts legislators recently passed a measure mandating that landlords can no longer require tenants to pay a broker fee. Of course, that doesnt give me back the thousands of dollars I wouldve otherwise put into my retirement fund or, more likely, Uber Eats and Nerf machine guns.)

Which is not to say, certainly, that things here are perfect. An increasing number of Philly renters are cost-burdened. And the city recently ranked among the nations least affordable for apartment renters, according to one online real estate brokerage firm.

And as someone who is at the very beginning of the process, Im sure there will be more disappointment in store.

Im preparing for an upcoming weekend of apartment tours in Philly, and I have no illusions about how its likely to go. Im imagining a couple days of drab leasing offices and hidden-fee horrors, one-sided rental agreements and a good ol-fashioned scam or two.

Fine.

If it means not handing a half-months salary over to a smug 25-year-old in wingtips, well, then, Im OK with all of it.

Good on ya, Philadelphia.
BOGOTA, Colombia  Even after a headlong U.S. military assault on Venezuela to topple strongman President Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump, in his news conference Saturday morning, offered few details about how U.S. leaders would stop drugs coming from Venezuela.

For more than four months, that has been the justification for the U.S. armada in the Caribbean and the extrajudicial killing, without evidence of wrongdoing, of 115 people in boat strikes.

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 READ MORE: Trumps attack on Venezuela further flouts the Constitution he swore to uphold | Editorial

The invasion of Venezuela this weekend is the largest U.S. military operation in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama, when the U.S. seized that nations leader, Manuel Noriega. Noriega was convicted in U.S. courts of drug trafficking in 1992 and, after facing additional charges in France and Panama, died in 2017.

As with Noriega, the justification now is the war on drugs, which, since the 1980s, has cost over a trillion dollars with virtually no effect on stopping the flow of illicit drugs.

The narco-terrorist charge against Maduro has been a shaky pretext for his ouster, measured by the naked assertion that drugs from Venezuela pose a threat to the U.S. and its citizens. Venezuela isnt mentioned as a source of cocaine in reports by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. And deadly fentanyl isnt produced in Venezuela.

Its noteworthy that protecting democracy has hardly been mentioned as an issue.

Front and center, President Trumps focus, post-Maduro, is on the U.S. winning the easy-to-describe prize: U.S. control of Venezuelas oil reserves, the largest in the world. And that is why Trumps imperial declaration was straightforward: We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.

No matter who the next president of Venezuela is, its already clear that Trump will choose someone willing to hand over petroleum to U.S. oil companies.

Current estimates are that Venezuela has around 300 billion barrels of oil in reserves. By comparison, the U.S. has the equivalent of about 55 billion barrels in reserve. Most U.S. refineries, especially Gulf Coast refineries built years ago, are designed to process Venezuelas heavy, high-sulfur sour-quality feedstock, which makes them more efficient, with better profit margins than when running lighter, domestic crude.

And Venezuela, in fact, is not an underdeveloped commodities country, but sits on a wellspring for both todays energy markets and tomorrows green-tech supply chains  with plenty of bauxite, aluminum, gold, copper, nickel, coltan, and cassiterite  all of it too valuable in Trumps transactional view to be locked out by growing Russian and Chinese influence.

 READ MORE: How and why Trumps Caribbean Sea operation is being conducted has endangered trust | Opinion

All of Latin America is now watching to see how the invasion and ongoing transition strategy will play out. Early condemnations have come from Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and especially neighboring Colombia, whose president, Gustavo Petro, has often been critical of President Trump.

On Saturday, President Trump was asked about U.S. relations with Colombia. And the president  who charged in early December that, after Maduro, Petro might be next  stated that Petro has cocaine mills. He has factories where he makes cocaine. So he does have to watch his ass.

Facts about Latin America, in this case Colombia, dont interest Trump. While the country contends with coca harvesting and with a decades-long internal conflict, pitting government forces against a variety of criminal networks, there is no evidence of Petros involvement in the cocaine trade.

There are arguments among analysts about hectares of coca under harvest and cocaine production potential from various species, and even total hectares under cultivation, but interdictions disrupting cocaine production and trafficking are at record levels. And Petro has said he can offer evidence that as many as 18,000 narcotics laboratories have been dismantled during his time in office.

In early December, Petro invited Trump to come witness the destruction of cocaine laboratories to prevent cocaine from reaching the U.S.

Trump should also come here to witness, as I have, Colombias innovative efforts with modern chemistry detection of illicit drugs at seaports, which is beyond easy description.

T. Nelson Thompson was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow in international relations at Johns Hopkins University. Before recently retiring, he was a senior adviser in the Office of International Activities at the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) in Washington.
A second ring road for Dublin to take pressure off the traffic-choked M50 is not on the government agenda despite new evidence suggesting the capital city is among the most congested in the world.

A report from Inrix, a US-based transport data and analytics company, found that Dublin is the 11th-most congested city in world, with the M50 motorway cited as a particular source of frustration for drivers.

A second ring road, known as the Dublin Outer Orbital Road, was proposed in the last decade to run from Drogheda to the Naas/Newbridge area, with intermediate links to Navan and other towns.

However, minister for transport Darragh O'Brien has ruled out such a plan, saying that his focus will be on improving public transport in a bid to coax motorists from their cars.

"Public transport is going to be the main thing," he said.

"We now have 1.5 million more people in the country than we had in 1999 and that's a really good thing, right?

"Car ownership is up significantly. I'm not against roads  further road infrastructure is needed  but an outer orbital route is not in the National Development Plan.

"What I think we've really got to do is to continue to improve the public transport offering and improve connectivity across the city."

Public transport 'is the way forward'

Mr O'Brien said that public transport "is the way forward".

"People use it if it's reliable, if it's affordable, and if it's dependable. There are some black spots there that we need to deal with.

"I think the Dart+ programme is going to be critically important to give people more and more options.

"So an additional ring road around Dublin in the short term is not going to happen. I understand, and I know well, the frustration that people will have by using the M50," Mr O'Brien said.

"Some days there's no problem, and then an incident happens, and you could lose hours of your commute to it."

Elsewhere, Mr O'Brien has asked the National Transport Authority to examine opening the MetroLink project  a high-frequency, automated metro line from Swords to the city centre  in sections.

MetroLink programme director Sean Sweeney is now to review if a staged opening is possible.

Delivering the Metro in phases

"I've asked the Metro team to look at delivering Metro in phases, so we could start south of Donabate and work it through the airport, Ballymun, Glasnevin, O'Connell Street ... whether you can open them in segments along the way, is something that's being looked at," Mr O'Brien said.

"We can also unlock a lot of lands for further housing, and it will be one of the biggest decarbonising projects that that we have."

The minister said changes to planning rules will have an impact on the delivery of projects.

"When projects get going, we deliver them. Well, it takes too long to get to that stage (through planning) so my whole focus on the transport side is delivery."
A mother whose son lost a leg in a bombing in Gaza has said the offer to receive medical treatment in Ireland was a golden opportunity.

Mohammed, aged six, is one of 19 children who have been evacuated from Gaza to receive treatment in Ireland since December 2024.

His mother Buchra Abdul-Bari said her family moved from Gaza City to Rafah, and then on to Khan Yunis in southern Gaza in 2024.

It was really the survival call... The woman on the phone) said 'Take your time and think and call me again'. I told her, 'Stop, I have the decision now, yes, go ahead. What should I do now?'... I came to Ireland last May, and honestly, it was the golden opportunity to me

Buchra said they were in a tent in Khan Yunis, in what was meant to be a safe area, when their tent was hit by a missile.

She said they were all injured, but her husband and her youngest son were the most severely hurt.

She ripped her shirt to wrap around her husbands leg when her son Mohammed called to her.

Mohammed said mum, look at me and I lifted him and his leg fell down from my arms, she told the Press Association.

She said his face began to go yellow and his lips were turning blue.

I knocked on many tents, no one can come and help me. So I knocked (into) my neighbour, I begged him to help me, and I convinced him finally, and he came with his bike.

He put Mohammed in the wooden box in his bike, and he went to the hospital  around two hours on the bike.

I said to him goodbye, but I told him, Please, Hamoudi, try your best not to leave me alone. I cant live without you. I kissed him and left him with my neighbour.

She said she went back to her husband and asked him to be strong and try your best to stay.

The water truck came suddenly, and I talked to the driver.

I buried my husband's body with my son's leg, and went automatically to the hospital to spend the time with Hamoudi, so I didn't have the time to breathe, to get condolence from people

Me and the driver lifted my husband and we put him in a very, very narrow area beside the water tank  imagine that, a dying person.

She said when she got back to the tent, she noticed her son Zainaldeen had shrapnel in his chest, her daughter Kinzy was injured and she herself had injuries across her body.

She brought her children to hospital and was told her husband had died.

That time, it was like throwing me from the heavens to the ground. I went in a shock for 41 days  no words, silent.

I buried my husbands body with my sons leg, and went automatically to the hospital to spend the time with Hamoudi, so I didnt have the time to breathe, to get condolence from people.

We spent four months in the hospital, then we moved to the tent again and were still going to the hospital.

There is no (facilities), no beds, nothing in the hospital. Theyre moving you from death stage to life stage and throwing you out  you can do whatever you want now, you survived.

Buchra said that almost a year later, she and Mohammed were evacuated to Egypt to receive treatment for a damaged nerve in his right leg, but there is no nerve medication or treatment in Egypt.

It was after three months in Egypt that she was offered treatment for her son in Ireland.

It was really the survival call, she said.

It reflects the values of responsibilities, the values of (humanity), I learn from the Irish people lots of things. So I'm really happy that I am in this community, especially this community. It wasn't just a survival place, I felt like I am in my family place, in my second home

(The woman on the phone) said Take your time and think and call me again. I told her, Stop, I have the decision now, yes, go ahead. What should I do now?

I came to Ireland last May, and honestly, it was the golden opportunity to me.

Ireland has committed to evacuating 30 paediatric patients from Gaza in response to a request from the World Health Organisation (WHO) that EU nations respond to the regions acute healthcare needs.

Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza in response to a Hamas-led attack in October 2023  in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 taken hostage  which has ravaged the region.

Over 70,000 people in Gaza have been killed and multiples more injured or left at risk of starvation in what the Irish Government has called a genocide.

Three waves of evacuations of Palestinian children to Ireland have taken place since December 2024, in a programme involving engagement between several Irish and international organisations.

So far, 19 paediatric patients from Gaza and 84 family members have come to Ireland from Egypt in December 2024 and May 2025 and from Jordan in October 2025.

Buchra said that when she first travelled to Ireland, she had to leave her other three children  her 14-year-old daughter Ghazal, 12-year-old son Zainaldeen and eight-year-old daughter Kinzy  with their 80-year-old grandmother in Gaza, where they struggled to survive.

One day, I lost connection with them, and after 10 days I called them again, and they said that they displaced from place to place, they spent three nights in the street without a tent because it was torn.

Another time they had nothing to eat, they lived for 10 days on dirty water.

It has been an absolutely amazing experience to work with all of these people and to see the professionalism, the dedication, the emotion of it all, to see patients who are arriving from... To see them land into our beautiful country, and to see them welcomed, and to see them get the care that they need, has been fantastic

She said that while he was separated from his siblings, Mohammed stopped eating.

When they were reunited in October he was over the moon.

Their reunification made us, all of us, in a different place, (on) a different planet.

She said of what they had been through: Its the worst period of time in my life. I struggled to be the woman which I am now and keep struggling.

It wasnt easy at all. You support your children and you need to be supported, but you dont have the luxury to break down.

This is my faith. This is my life. They are now on my shoulders, so I should be everything to them. And yes, I really love them, I need them beside me.

She said that she now feels that she and her family belong in Ireland and that she had found my way in Ireland.

I appreciate each effort done by everyone, each name, each title, from the biggest one to the smallest one, the Irish community, the Irish authorities and the government, the ministries, the hospitals, the schools, everything is perfect.

It reflects the values of responsibilities, the values of (humanity), I learn from the Irish people lots of things.

So Im really happy that I am in this community, especially this community. It wasnt just a survival place, I felt like I am in my family place, in my second home.

An event was held at Childrens Health Ireland in Temple Street before Christmas where staff ran through the success of the programme and spoke about the cooperation between partner agencies including the Red Cross, the HSE, various Irish governmental departments, the WHO, and the Jordanian and Norwegian embassies.

After the presentation, Mohammed and his three siblings were given Christmas gifts by the staff.

Head of the Medevac Ireland programme Dr Turlough Bolger said the evacuations involve going through hundreds of WHO files to find the right patients to bring to Ireland to receive care, but would not displace Irish patients.

He said they had treated injuries and conditions ranging from amputations and traumatic injuries, to newborn infants born with congenital heart conditions.

Id love to see that this would be the first of many paediatric medical evacuations, he said.

It has been an absolutely amazing experience to work with all of these people and to see the professionalism, the dedication, the emotion of it all, to see patients who are arriving from  weve seen the pictures  a place where its like a moonscape, that kind of Armageddon-type situation.

To see them land into our beautiful country, and to see them welcomed, and to see them get the care that they need, has been fantastic.
A West Cork whiskey manufacturer is facing the prospect of having to cancel plans for a large storage facility in a rural area about 7km from Kinsale after An Coimisiun Pleanala refused it retrospective permission for four bonded warehouses over concerns about what might happen in the event of a fire.

The commission upheld an appeal against the decision of Cork County Council to approve the application by West Cork Distillers for retention permission for the change of use of a farm building to the bonded warehouses at Ballinreenlanig, Nohoval, Co Cork.

The local authority had also permitted a change of use of an existing open steel tank to a firefighting retention tank for a period of three years as well as the construction of a fire pump building.

An Coimisiun Pleanala rejected an inspectors recommendation that retention permission should be granted for the bonded warehouses and firefighting system.

Planning commissioner, MaryRose McGovern, said the commission was not satisfied that West Cork Distillers had provided sufficient details about the proposed firefighting water drainage system or the storm water attenuation system.

Given the lack of adequate details, she said it was not satisfied that the proposed development and the retention of the bonded warehouses would not be prejudicial to public health.

The commission also expressed concern that the facility could give rise to negative impacts on the surrounding environment.

Proposed facility has capacity for 4,320 tonnes of whiskey

The commission acknowledged that the proposed storage facility, which has the capacity for 4,320 tonnes of whiskey, was below the threshold for it to be deemed a Seveso site  an EU classification for a high-risk industrial facility that stores large quantities of dangerous substances.

However, Ms McGovern said it shared the concerns of the environment section of Cork County Council about the proposed remote unmanned whiskey storage facility.

She pointed out that in the event of a fire or spillage that it would take considerable time for personnel to get to the site to control any incident.

Due to the absence of adequate details as to how any spillages or runoff would be controlled before the arrival of firefighting personnel, Ms McGovern said the commission was not satisfied that the proposed facility would not be prejudicial to public health.

The councils ruling had been appealed by a local resident, Helen ODowd, who claimed the storage facility posed a fire hazard, while articulated trucks visiting the site raised traffic safety issues.

West Cork Distillers rejected claims that an environment impact assessment report was required.

It also rejected suggestions that the facility would impact on the rural character of the area.

The company stressed that all environmental and fire safety regulations would be fully complied with and any spillages from the warehouse in the event of a fire would be diverted to a retention tank via drainage channels.
In a video published on December 26, 2025, by Prymary "Ghosts" unit of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, a particularly intriguing destroyed object can be seen. In the original caption, it was identified as a launcher of the S-300V surface-to-air missile system, with the location specified as temporarily occupied Crimea.

The moment of impact is visible in the video at the 0:38 mark:

At the same time, analysts from Vodogray pointed out that the launcher does not closely resemble an S-300V system, but instead bears a much stronger resemblance to the Belarusian Polonez missile system.

From the Defense Express perspective, it is worth noting that the inclined position of the launch tubes and the square cross-section of the transport-launch containers are clearly uncharacteristic of the S-300V air defense system. Previously documented strikes against S-300V elements illustrate these differences more convincingly.

Nevertheless, confirming that the destroyed target was indeed a Polonez system requires a very cautious approach. Although a transfer of this system from Belarus to russia could theoretically have taken place, it was never officially announced. Moreover, such a transfer would not have been possible without China's consent for re-export, including approval for the supply of associated munitions.

It should also be recalled that Polonez is essentially a Chinese missile system mounted on a Belarusian MZKT-7930 wheeled chassis. It employs 301 mm A200 missiles with a range of up to 200 km, a warhead weighing 100150 kg, and a stated accuracy of 3050 meters. It can also use A300 missiles with a range of up to 300 km, which feature a two-stage design. At the same time, Minsk has claimed the production of localized variants designated B200 and B300.

The configuration of the transport-launch containers on the destroyed target closely resembles that of the Polonez system, which operates two missile types, A200 and A300. The visible configuration of the chassis also appears to be wheeled rather than tracked, unlike the chassis used by the S-300V system.

Other possible explanations should also be considered and excluded. For example, the Uragan-1M multiple launch rocket system uses somewhat similar launchers and chassis. However, this dual-caliber system employs launcher pods with 220 mm and/or 300 mm rocket tubes, rather than four individual transport-launch containers.

Uragan-1M multiple launch rocket system

Nor should the possibility be dismissed that the destroyed system could have been an original Chinese rocket artillery system, more commonly known as the AR-3 MRL or, in the version used by China's own armed forces, the PHL-16.

AR-3 MRL, PHL-16

There is, however, another important detail to consider. In September 2024, the Belarusian state news agency BelTA, citing local expert Viktor Baranets, reported that Belarusian military personnel were training russian troops to operate this system at a training range in russia's Astrakhan region.

This significantly increases the likelihood that the destroyed target was indeed a Polonez system. At the same time, the possibility remains that the low resolution of the video, especially given that it was recorded in the thermal imaging spectrum, combined with the viewing angle, could be misleading and allow the imagination to fill in missing details.

Therefore, it is also entirely possible that the object in question was a standard 9A83 launcher or a 9A85 launcher-loader vehicle from the S-300V air defense system, equipped with four cylindrical transport-launch containers. These containers may have been in the process of being raised into the vertical firing position or lowered into the transport position. The apparent difference in container sizes could simply be the result of their unsynchronized movement.
Sarah Fairfoull has always considered herself to be Irish despite being born in the UK. Her birth mother was forcibly removed from her hometown of Belmullet in Co Cavan in the 1970s and shipped off to Britain to give birth in secret.

This was not unusual for the time, the young unmarried mother being one of thousands of Irish women who were banished from their hometowns to give birth in secret after falling pregnant outside of wedlock.

Sarahs mother was sent to Manchester and gave birth on September 12, 1972. Sarah remained with her birth mother for six weeks before she was placed in foster care by the Catholic Rescue Society.

Sarah was officially adopted on December 4 by Andrew and Sheila Fairfoull  her father died 14 years ago, while her adoptive mother is still alive. Named Karen by her birth mother, her name was changed to Sarah by her adoptive parents, the Fairfoulls, and she was given their surname.

Sarah travelled to Belmullet earlier this year with her husband Shakir Raza.

Sarah began tracing her biological roots some years ago, having received details to help piece her identity together. She says she was determined to get an Irish passport and to apply for it using the fact she was the biological daughter of an Irish woman.

I wanted my mothers identity because of the journey she went on as an unmarried mother, she says. I wanted it for myself to say yes  I now have something to say this is where my blood is from."

Even though I live in the UK, I needed something that was my mother's and I wanted to connect with her hometown. It was important for me to have that legal document."

Sarah could have applied for a passport in her adoptive grandfathers name, as he hailed from Galway, but instead was determined to follow the route of her birth mother.

She says it is a basic human right to know who you are, and obtaining official documentation that reflected that has been hugely beneficial.

I have this family in Ireland, and I am now with this family here, but Irish ancestry is important to me, and I wanted to acknowledge my roots.

Sarah, a mother of three, travelled to Belmullet earlier this year with her husband Shakir Raza and says she found the trip healing.

Just being there and seeing my mother's home place, the scenery and beauty, it was amazing, I felt so at peace there, she said.

After returning to the UK, her new Irish passport arrived the following day.

I have been trying for a while to get this resolved, my cousins on my adoptive side both got their passports through our grandfather from Galway.

But I wanted it through my birth mother. It was a bit of a fight, but I said I am going to get this through my bloodline."

Securing it involved lengthy correspondence with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Adoption Authority of Ireland, but Sarah says it was worth the effort.

I gave them my original name and, in the end, I got the passport. I felt at peace when it arrived."

Having grown up with an adoptive family with Irish roots, Sarah says she felt very much at home following her visit to Ireland this year.

I met people who look like me and I do really connect with Ireland. Visiting the country was so surreal. I just loved it.

All along, I wanted that acknowledgement of this is who you are and this is where you are from.

Neither the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Adoption Authority could provide figures on how many adopted people have applied for passports using their connections to a biological parent, but it is understood there are more like Sarah pursuing this route.

Sarah is keen to encourage other adoptees who want to piece together their identity to do the same.

Something so simple as a passport  it does mean the world.
Nicolas Maduro was seen walking down a hallway at the headquarters of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Saturday (January 3), after U.S. forces captured the Venezuelan president in an audacious raid and whisked him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.

The video was reposted by U.S. President Donald Trump administration's Rapid Response 47 account on X.
A tense calm held in Venezuela on Sunday, one day after president Nicolas Maduro was deposed and captured in an American military operation.

Venezuelas capital Caracas was unusually quiet, with few vehicles moving around. Convenience shops, fuel stations and other businesses were mostly closed.

A day before, queues wound through shops and outside petrol stations as uncertain Venezuelans stocked up on goods in case turmoil broke out.

Roads typically filled with runners and cyclists sat largely empty on Sunday, and Venezuelas presidential palace was guarded by armed civilians and members of the military.

Outside the capital, in La Guira state, families with houses damaged in blasts during the operation that captured Maduro and his wife were still cleaning up debris. Some buildings were left with walls gaping open.

People and soldiers outside a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela (Ariana Cubillos/AP)

After the seismic shift in Venezuela and promises by President Donald Trump that the United States will run Venezuela with the help of Maduros vice-president Delcy Rodriguez, no-one in the country seems to know where things stand or what lies ahead.

In a low-income neighbourhood in eastern Caracas, construction worker Daniel Medalla sat on the steps outside a Catholic church and told a few parishioners that again there would be no morning Mass.

A soldier stands atop an armoured vehicle on the road leading from the international airport towards Caracas on Sunday (Matias Delacroix/AP)

Mr Medalla suggested the streets remained mostly empty not because people are worried about another strike, but because they are fearful of government repression if they dare celebrate, coming after a fierce government crackdown during last years fraught elections.

We were longing for it, Mr Medalla, 66, said of Maduros exit.
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) 

1. Violation of the UN Charter and the International laws of war

The Trump administration attacked Venezuela and abducted dictator Nicolas Maduro without the slightest justification in international law. The UN Charter forbids war except under two circumstances, self-defense or the designation of a country as a danger to international order by the UN Security Council. Venezuela had not militarily attacked the US. The UNSC had not called for international action against Maduro. This situation differs from that in Libya in 2011, when the UNSC did designate Moammar Gaddafi a war criminal and authorized military action against his regime.

The Bush administration attacked Iraq in 2003 without any foundation in international law. Iraq had not attacked the United States in the decade leading up to the American intervention. The UN Security Council, led by France, Russia and China, specifically declined to authorize the invasion. Whereas George H. W. Bushs campaign to push Iraq back out of Kuwait in the Gulf War of 1991 was successful because of substantial international buy-in, Bushs inability to secure significant support from any countries but the UK and Spain harmed his effort in Iraq and contributed to its failure. I analyzed the failures of Bushs wars in my Engaging the Muslim World.

2. False pretexts.

The Trump administration charged Maduro with smuggling fentanyl to the United States and with overtly deploying the alleged Tren de Aragua cartel inside the US against U.S. interests. Venezuela is not a source of fentanyl. Tren de Aragua was a small prison gang that engaged in some criminality on the outside. It was dismantled in 2019. It has no known significant presence in the United States and certainly isnt a state instrument, if it could be said to exist at all.

The Bush administration alleged that Saddam Hussein of Iraq had an active nuclear weapons program and was two years away from blowing up a nuke. Iraq had had a small nuclear program in the 1980s but it was never very successful. It was dismantled after the Gulf War by UN inspectors, who oversaw the documented destruction of all Iraqs chemical and biological and nuclear weapons programs. The revelation, once the US had occupied Iraq, that there were no weapons of mass destruction (a propaganda term) in that country fatally damaged the legitimacy of the Bush project and made the administration a laughingstock.

3. No Plan for the next Day

The Trump administration appears to have had made no plans for the day after. Secretary of State Marco Rubio initially said that the operation was over once Maduro was abducted, implying that the Bolivarian government would remain in place and that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez would succeed Maduro. But the Venezuelan opposition suggested that Maduros opponent in the disputed 2024 election, Edmundo Gonzalez, should take over. Trump himself said that the US would run Venezuela for some time. These varying scenarios show that no attention was given to Phase 4 (post-military-conflict civilian governance) issues. These issues are still not settled, which is sort of like trying to make a movie without a finished script. It doesnt end well.

In the Bush administration, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz were opposed to Phase 4 planning. They were convinced that the US could go into Iraq, decapitate the regime by killing or capturing Saddam Hussein, and withdraw within 6 months. Their opposition to a long-term occupation derived from familiarity with the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the Palestinian West Bank, which even then was obviously a slow-motion train wreck. In contrast, Secretary of State Colin Powell and many officials at the State Department were convinced that the US would have to run Iraq for at least two years after the invasion. Rumsfeld had Bushs ear and sidelined the State Department, refusing to allow Tom Warrick, who had run a two-year seminar at State on post-war governance needs in Iraq, to go to Iraq. The lack of planning for Phase 4 allowed the outbreak of widespread looting in Iraq and the inception of anti-American guerrilla struggles both by Sunnis and by Shiites. Once those movements began they proved impossible ever truly to squelch, and by 2006 the country was in civil war.

4. The Oil Factor.

President Trump spoke Saturday about his plans to have US petroleum majors reinvigorate the Venezuelan oil industry, which has been under US sanctions since 2017. Administration officials also maintained that Venezuelan petroleum proceeds would pay for the US attack on that country.

The US oil majors for long years showed little interest in Iraqi petroleum even after the invasion, since the Iraqi government set unfavorable bid terms. China was therefore initially the chief foreign beneficiary of the removal of sanctions on Iraqi petroleum. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told Congress in 2003 that Iraqi petroleum would pay for the US invasion of that country. The Bush wars actually cost $5.6 trillion by 2018, including projections of lifetime health care payments through the VA for the thousands of severely wounded veterans. The US national debt is about $37 trillion, while the US GDP is $30 trillion. Without Bushs fruitless wars (name one benefit you received from them), the US would not be so dangerously indebted, beyond its annual GDP, which economists consider extremely dangerous.



Nicholas Maduro; Saddam Hussein; Public Domain. Via Picryl here and here.

5. Under-estimation of polarization and potential for destabilization.

Venezuela is an extremely polarized society. The divisions between the poor in city barrios and the old business classes may have been reconfigured after the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013 by his successor Nicolas Maduro. But under Maduro poverty soared and some 8 million Venezuelans fled the country. Since Americans are trained not to analyze using social class and are encouraged to focus on personalities and horse races instead, they are at a disadvantage in understanding the social fissures in other societies. Maduro had shifted his political base from the poor to sections of the business classes, and while that meant that after the stolen 2024 election the barrios demonstrated against him just as did the upscale Caracas neighborhoods, his removal could reopen the question of division of societys goods  a question that led to Chavezs rise in the first place. Class conflict is real in Venezuela, and a political vacuum could unleash it.

The Bush administration likewise underestimated the polarization of Iraqi society. Some of the divisions were sectarian, between Sunnis and Shiites. Others were class-based. Thus, the urban poor mobilized behind fiery cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who formed the Mahdi Army militia that engaged in battles with the US Marines. Secular urban Sunnis and fundamentalist Sunnis from small towns formed some 60 major guerrilla groups that sniped at and set improvised explosive devices for US troops. Bush created 75% unemployment in Sunni areas while putting the former underclass, the Shiites, in power. By 2014 the extremist hyper-Sunni group ISIL was able to detach 40% of Iraqi territory from the country and to engage in massacres of Shiites, drawing the US back in to its 15-year war.
( Middle East Monitor )  In the sterile, high-altitude boardrooms of the Gulf, the mantra for the last decade has been one of shared destiny. From the 2017 blockade of Qatar to the initial intervention in Yemen, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi appeared to be the twin engines of a new, assertive Arab order. Yet, as 2026 begins, that veneer of unity has not just cracked; it has been replaced by a series of high-stakes jurisdictional disputes stretching from the mountains of southern Yemen to the ports of the Horn of Africa.

The most dramatic evidence of this shift arrived in the closing days of 2025. On December 30, the Saudi Air Force conducted a rare and pointed strike on the Yemeni port of Mukalla. The target was not the Houthi rebels, but a shipment of armored vehicles and weaponry allegedly destined for the Southern Transitional Council (STC), the separatist movement backed by the United Arab Emirates. For Riyadh, this was a red line moment. For Abu Dhabi, it was a blatant military assault on a partner.

To understand this friction, one must look beyond mere personality clashes between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. The divergence is structural. Saudi Arabia, as the traditional regional heavyweight with a long land border with Yemen, remains committed to the principle of state sovereignty and territorial integrity. Riyadh views a unified, stable Yemen as essential to its national security. Conversely, the UAE has increasingly adopted a maritime empire strategy. It favors a decentralized Yemen where a friendly, independent southern state could secure the vital shipping lanes of the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

This break-to-build approach by Abu Dhabi is not limited to Yemen. In Sudan, the two powers find themselves on opposite sides of a grinding and catastrophic civil war. While Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as the primary mediator, hosting talks in Jeddah and backing the regular Sudanese Armed Forces to preserve the states institutional shell, the UAE has been widely accused of supporting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The UAE denies these claims, yet the geopolitical logic remains consistent: a preference for agile, non-state partners who can secure specific economic and logistical interests over the messy, often sclerotic structures of traditional Arab capitals.

The rivalry has now spilled across the Red Sea into the Horn of Africa, creating a complex web of port-to-port diplomacy. The recent recognition of Somalilands independence by Israel  a move notably not condemned by the UAE but fiercely criticized by Saudi Arabia  has turned the region into a fresh theater of competition. By backing Somaliland and its port at Berbera, the UAE gains a strategic foothold that bypasses the central government in Mogadishu, which is supported by Riyadh.

The unique angle of this friction lies in the Trump Factor. Following a high-profile meeting between the Saudi Crown Prince and US President Donald Trump in late 2025, Washington appears to have leaned into the Saudi vision of regional stability. Analysts suggest the STCs recent advances in Yemen were a tactical retaliation by Abu Dhabi for what it perceived as a Saudi-led effort to lobby the White House against Emirati interests in Sudan.

Despite the heat of the rhetoric, this is not a prelude to war between the two Gulf giants. Both nations are far too integrated economically, and both are racing to diversify their economies away from oil. A total rupture would be a mutually assured destruction for their respective 2030 and 2031 economic visions. Tourism, aviation, and technology hubs require the optics of stability.



Photo of Socotra, Yemen, by Andrew Svk on Unsplash

However, the Big Brother, Little Brother dynamic that defined the early 2010s is gone. The UAE, once the junior partner, now possesses its own sophisticated network of proxies and maritime assets that it is unwilling to subordinate to Saudi leadership. Saudi Arabia, invigorated by its own domestic transformation and renewed ties with Iran and Turkey, is no longer willing to look the other way when its neighbors foreign policy experiments threaten the stability of its borders.

The risk for the wider world is a Sudanization of regional conflicts, where local actors in Yemen or Somalia play the two Gulf powers against each other to secure better arms and funding. For the Middle East in 2026, the greatest challenge to regional peace may no longer be the old rivalry between Riyadh and Tehran, but the emerging, cold competition between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

The two capitals are discovering that while they share a vision of a post-oil future, they have very different ideas about the map of the region that will get them there. Whether they can manage this competition through quiet diplomacy or continue with public red line warnings will determine the stability of the worlds most critical trade routes for years to come.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

Via Middle East Monitor
Russia urges U.S. to release Maduro, his wife: foreign ministry

Xinhua) 09:44, January 04, 2026

MOSCOW, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Russia strongly urges the U.S. leadership to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, the Russian foreign ministry said Saturday.

In a statement, the ministry called on the United States to reconsider its position regarding Maduro and his wife.

The statement also stressed the need to create conditions for resolving any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela through dialogue.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia will continue to support the course pursued by the Venezuelan government to protect its national interests and sovereignty during his phone call with Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.

Lavrov expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people in the face of U.S. armed aggression, and both sides spoke in favor of preventing further escalation and finding a way out of the situation through dialogue, the ministry said in another statement.

The two parties expressed their intention to further strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership, it added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 2, 2026 shows the snowy scenery in Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. Snowfall hit many parts of China during the New Year's Day holiday, drawing tourists to enjoy the snowy scenery. (Photo by Qiu Hongbin/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 2, 2026 shows people enjoying their leisure time amid snow in Xuan'en County, central China's Hubei Province. Snowfall hit many parts of China during the New Year's Day holiday, drawing tourists to enjoy the snowy scenery. (Photo by Song Wen/Xinhua)

Tourists visit the Huangshan Mountain scenic area after a snowfall in Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Snowfall hit many parts of China during the New Year's Day holiday, drawing tourists to enjoy the snowy scenery. (Photo by Fan Chengzhu/Xinhua)

A foreign tourist takes photos of a macaque at Huangshizhai scenic spot of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park after a snowfall in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Snowfall hit many parts of China during the New Year's Day holiday, drawing tourists to enjoy the snowy scenery. (Photo by Wu Yongbing/Xinhua)

Foreign tourists visit Huangshizhai scenic spot of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park after a snowfall in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Snowfall hit many parts of China during the New Year's Day holiday, drawing tourists to enjoy the snowy scenery. (Photo by Wu Yongbing/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 1, 2026 shows a view of the Mogan Mountain after a snowfall in Deqing County, east China's Zhejiang Province. Snowfall hit many parts of China during the New Year's Day holiday, drawing tourists to enjoy the snowy scenery. (Photo by Xie Shangguo/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Jan. 1, 2026 shows a man walking in a wheat field after a snowfall in Xiangyang City, central China's Hubei Province. Snowfall hit many parts of China during the New Year's Day holiday, drawing tourists to enjoy the snowy scenery. (Photo by Xie Yong/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 2, 2026 shows tourists visiting Huangshizhai scenic spot of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park after a snowfall in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan Province. Snowfall hit many parts of China during the New Year's Day holiday, drawing tourists to enjoy the snowy scenery. (Photo by Wu Yongbing/Xinhua)

Citizens visit a park after a snowfall in Jiaozuo City, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 1, 2026. Snowfall hit many parts of China during the New Year's Day holiday, drawing tourists to enjoy the snowy scenery. (Photo by Xu Hongxing/Xinhua)

Editor: Zhang Zhou






Saturday, January 03, 2025 - Outspoken disability rights activist, Michael Makarina, has revealed why he is still using a wheelchair despite getting divine healing during Prophet David Owuors mega rallies in Nakuru County.

Makarina, widely known for his fierce advocacy for persons with disabilities, shared a photo from the Repentance and Holiness Ministrys New Year mega rally showing him in his wheelchair as Prophet David Owuor prayed over him before thousands of worshippers.

Taking to Facebook, Makarina boldly declared that he had received healing, despite remaining in his wheelchair for now.

He explained that his legs were afraid to walk after years of immobility, insisting that the delay was not due to lack of divine intervention but physical hesitation.

I have received healing. It is just that my legs are afraid to walk because they are not used to it, he wrote.

The activist challenged skeptics - whom he referred to as doubting Thomases - to wait for the day he finally stands.

He warned that when that moment comes, critics should not question his journey but simply acknowledge the miracle with a Praise the Lord.

Pictures from the rally have since gone viral.

One shows Makarina in a darkcheckered suit and tie, seated on a red carpeted stage as Prophet Owuor, dressed in his signature beard and a royal blue checked coat, leans toward him in prayer.

The backdrop reveals the sheer scale of the event, with dozens of men in suits clapping and observing humbly.

True to his fiery style, Makarina dismissed those questioning the authenticity of Owuors miracles, urging them to stay with their problems if they lack faith.

"Let Prophet Owuor continue doing God's work for those who have faith... those of you without it, stay with your problems," he declared.

The Nakuru rally, considered the spiritual headquarters of Owuors ministry, drew hundreds of thousands of followers from across the globe, reinforcing its reputation as one of East Africas most prominent religious movements.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Saturday, January 03, 2025 - Mumias East Member of Parliament, Peter Salasya, was among thousands of worshippers who attended Prophet David Owuors end-of-year crusade at Technology Farm in Nakuru.

The event, organised by the Repentance and Holiness Ministry, marked the climax of a week-long series of prayer meetings.

Salasya later shared his reflections on Instagram, describing the gathering as a blessing and highlighting the central message on the fear of God and spiritual wisdom.

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. So blessed to attend the pastors conference of the Repentance and Holiness Ministry in Nakuru. Am blessed, he posted on January 2nd, 2025.

During the crusade, Prophet Owuor acknowledged Salasyas presence before the large congregation, recalling their long association dating back to his days as a student leader at Egerton University.

The legislator knelt as the preacher prayed for his leadership and political journey.

You will always be my son before you are a politician. I must bless you eternally here today.

Let me bless your political career and you will see what will happen, Owuor declared.

The Nakuru crusade drew massive crowds, with worshippers filling Technology Farm for several days of prayers, worship sessions and sermons centred on repentance, holiness and national renewal.

Prophet Owuors gatherings remain among the most attended religious events in Kenya, consistently drawing large numbers of faithful from different regions.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Saturday, January 03, 2025 - Former Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary, Moses Kuria, has cautioned Kenyan politicians against toxic mobilisation tactics as the 2027 General Election approaches.

Kuria noted that highoctane politics are already gaining momentum nearly 20 months before the vote, warning that the trend risks polarising the country for shortterm political gain.

According to Kuria, the reliance on goonism as a tool of mobilisation could plunge Kenya into instability, with violence likely to dominate the electoral process.

He further observed that the international community is closely monitoring developments, cautioning that some players may face prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

The biggest risk to Kenyas security and democracy is the use of goons as tools of political mobilisation in 2026 and 2027.

I can tell you without fear of contradiction that some people will end up at the ICC.

This time round no witnesses will disappear, Kuria warned.

His remarks come amid heightened exchanges between allies of President William Ruto and the united opposition, which has vowed to unseat the current regime.

Recent byelections in Kasipul and Malava highlighted the growing animosity, with chaos, injuries and destruction of property witnessed.

In Malava, vehicles were torched, while in Kasipul, Homa Bay Town MP, Peter Kaluma, was assaulted while serving as a chief agent for the ODM candidate.

Kuria pointed to Kenyas troubled history with the ICC, recalling the postelection violence of 2007 that left over 1,000 dead and more than 600,000 displaced.

Six prominent figures, including former President Uhuru Kenyatta and current President William Ruto, were indicted but later cleared due to insufficient evidence.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Saturday, January 3, 2026 - Esther Musila, 55, wife of popular gospel musician, Guardian Angel, 36, has addressed critics who doubted the longevity of their relationship, as the couple prepares to celebrate their fourth marriage anniversary.

Taking to social media, Esther shared a heartfelt message, saying: January 4th, we are celebrating 6 years of being together. We are not stopping!

The anniversary is set to coincide with Guardian Angels birthday, adding extra excitement to the celebrations.

Their relationship has long been under public scrutiny due to their 19-year age gap, with critics often questioning whether the marriage would last.

Despite the skepticism, the couple has remained committed and frequently shares moments of their love on social media, effectively silencing many doubters.

Watch the video.

"January 4th, we are celebrating 6 years of being together" - Guardian Angel's wife Esther Musila, 55, addresses critics who said her marriage with Guardian Angel , 36, would not stay for long. pic.twitter.com/moQF8rhhJM  KENYA GOSSIP HUB (@kenyasgossips) January 3, 2026

The Kenyan DAILY POST
People visit the Zhucheng Museum in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Diverse exhibitions staged at museums, galleries and other cultural institutions across the country have greatly enriched people's life during the New Year holiday. (Photo by Zhang Ying/Xinhua)

People visit the Zhengzhou Museum in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Diverse exhibitions staged at museums, galleries and other cultural institutions across the country have greatly enriched people's life during the New Year holiday. (Photo by Ma Jian/Xinhua)

People look at lunar soil samples at the museum of Hebei GEO University in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Diverse exhibitions staged at museums, galleries and other cultural institutions across the country have greatly enriched people's life during the New Year holiday. (Photo by Yan Zhiguo/Xinhua)

People visit an exhibition themed on nianhua, a type of centuries-old Chinese woodcut New Year picture, at the Shijiazhuang Art Museum in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Diverse exhibitions staged at museums, galleries and other cultural institutions across the country have greatly enriched people's life during the New Year holiday. (Photo by Chen Qibao/Xinhua)

A child interacts with an exhibit at Binzhou Science and Technology Museum in Binzhou, east China's Shandong Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Diverse exhibitions staged at museums, galleries and other cultural institutions across the country have greatly enriched people's life during the New Year holiday. (Photo by Chu Baorui/Xinhua)

People visit the museum of Hebei GEO University in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Diverse exhibitions staged at museums, galleries and other cultural institutions across the country have greatly enriched people's life during the New Year holiday. (Photo by Yan Zhiguo/Xinhua)

People visit the Qinhuangdao Museum of Glass in Qinhuangdao, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Diverse exhibitions staged at museums, galleries and other cultural institutions across the country have greatly enriched people's life during the New Year holiday. (Photo by Cao Jianxiong/Xinhua)

Children interact with a robot dog during a themed exhibition at Jiaxing Science and Technology Museum in Jiaxing, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Diverse exhibitions staged at museums, galleries and other cultural institutions across the country have greatly enriched people's life during the New Year holiday. (Photo by Jin Peng/Xinhua)

Children interact with a robot during a themed exhibition at Jiaxing Science and Technology Museum in Jiaxing, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Diverse exhibitions staged at museums, galleries and other cultural institutions across the country have greatly enriched people's life during the New Year holiday. (Photo by Jin Peng/Xinhua)

People visit the Guizhou Science and Technology Museum in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Diverse exhibitions staged at museums, galleries and other cultural institutions across the country have greatly enriched people's life during the New Year holiday. (Photo by Yuan Fuhong/Xinhua)

People visit an exhibition themed on nianhua, a type of centuries-old Chinese woodcut New Year picture, at the Shijiazhuang Art Museum in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 2, 2026. Diverse exhibitions staged at museums, galleries and other cultural institutions across the country have greatly enriched people's life during the New Year holiday. (Photo by Chen Qibao/Xinhua)

A child interacts with an exhibit at a science and technology museum in Hezhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 2, 2026. Diverse exhibitions staged at museums, galleries and other cultural institutions across the country have greatly enriched people's life during the New Year holiday. (Photo by Liao Zuping/Xinhua)

Editor: Zhang Zhou
AS we near the end of 2025, it has been a year like no other for Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and South Kildare TD Martin Heydon as he reflected on his new role, increased workload while maintaining his constituency work and balancing homelife.

For a minister with four young children at home, that matters: Were all pumped for Santa here, he said, speaking to the Kildare Nationalist in the run-up to Christmas adding that Christmas allows him to mirror school holidays and simply be present.

These are precious years and they go very quick.

Appointed minister on 23 January last year, he describes the experience as crazy busy.

The department he leads employs over 4,000 staff, oversees 12 semi-state bodies and touches the lives of farmers, food workers and rural communities nationwide.

When youre a Cabinet Minister, decisions you make can have a direct impact on peoples lives, he said. Thats a lot of responsibility.

While he was well prepared from his previous role as Minister of State in the same department, nothing quite prepared him for the volume and breadth of issues.

That reality has reinforced the importance of surrounding himself with a good team. Minister Heydon commended the work of all staff and local councillors that work hard to keep the show running smoothly.

You really are dependent on having a good team. You cannot do this on your own.

Despite the national and international demands of the role, the Minister remains acutely conscious of his local responsibilities.

Kildare has waited 20 years to have someone at the Cabinet table, he said. I want to be able to look back and say Kildare was better because I was there, and that I had that influence.

Foreign travel, EU meetings and Dublin-based duties mean he is physically in Kildare less, something he acknowledges can be a concern. But he insists the trade-off is worth it.

Theres no downside for a constituency having a Cabinet Minister  it opens doors, he said, pointing to progress on school extensions at Cross and Passion College in Kilcullen and Patrician Secondary School in Newbridge that benefited from quicker access to decision-makers.

A significant portion of his time is spent on the European stage. Monthly meetings of the EU Agri-Fish Council in Brussels are already demanding, but the workload is set to intensify further when Ireland assumes the EU Presidency next July.

For six months, Ill be chairing that body while we negotiate the Common Agricultural Policy, he said. Its a phenomenal opportunity, but also a lot of responsibility.

Trade missions have taken him as far afield as Japan, Korea and the United States, where Irish agri-food exports continue to grow at record pace. This year, exports are expected to surpass 20 billion for the first time, up from 8 billion in 2011.

This isnt about volume, he stresses. Its about value. Irish food, he explained, commands a premium abroad thanks to its pasture-based system and sustainability credentials. Theres Irish beef on supermarket shelves in Seoul now that wasnt there before.

Looking back on 2025 When asked what he is most proud of after one year, the Minister pointed first to securing the extension of Irelands nitrates derogation, a negotiation many believed would fail.

Not everyone thought wed get it, he said. But we negotiated a very good deal.

He also highlighted a 157 million investment to tackle bovine TB, calling it the biggest step change ever in addressing a disease that has plagued Irish farming for 75 years.

At home, he pointed to major local projects, including the opening of the Shackleton Experience and refurbishment of Emily Square in Athy.

One area he speaks about with particular passion is animal welfare. A public consultation on a new five-year strategy is currently underway, reflecting what he sees as a profound societal shift.

People place a much greater value on animals now than they did a generation ago, he said. But it can be a polarising debate, its rarely black and white.

A farmer by background, he is keen to ensure policy reflects both ethical standards and practical realities.

Farmers are custodians of the land and animals. We need to get this right.

The demands of the role come at a personal cost. Early starts, late nights and unpredictable schedules are routine.

Im definitely getting less sleep, he remarked.

Yet living within an hour of Dublin allows him to get home after a long day.

He credits his wife and extended family with making the workload manageable.

You have to put family time into the diary, he said. If you dont, it gets filled with something else.

As he heads into his second year as Minister, and towards one of the most significant EU roles of his career, the balance between politics, policy and personal life remains a work in progress.

Minister Heydon said his biggest lesson from the past year was to not be afraid to make hard decisions:

Ive never regretted when Ive considered an issue, worked out the right thing to do, and made a decision, he said. My plan for 2026 is to continue to work in that way.

But for now, with Santa on the way and a brief pause in the diary, he is content to be back home with the family.

It doesnt really matter what youre doing, he said. Once youre together as a family, it is the main thing.
A MAN was convicted of masturbating in public on a Monasterevin street when he appeared before a court last week.

The 46-year-old, who cannot be identified on the instructions of Judge Andrew Cody, pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals intending to cause fear, distress or alarm to another person in a car at Main Street, Monasterevin on 9 April 2024.

At a recent sitting of Portlaoise District Court, defending solicitor Barry Fitzgerald said that his client had no previous convictions.

He said the offence was an unusual type of a case for him at this stage of his life. He had an issue with alcohol and had consumed about three or four pints the night before and was looking to get into a public house early the morning after.

He was looking at a video on his phone in his car when a lady passed by and he was masturbating. He tried to engage with the lady. He is totally ashamed and highly remorseful. He has a letter of apology for the victim and, as a start, has 500 in compensation for the lady.

It seemed to have been an isolated case, said Mr Fitzgerald.

Judge Andrew Cody noted that the defendant had 500 to offer the court as a start and wanted to know how much more the defendant could offer, to which Mr Fitzgerald said: He has six dependents and could raise 4,000 to 5,000.

Judge Cody said he wanted 5,000 in the next 12 months and adjourned the case to 23 March 2026 for an updated probation report and 2,000 in court at that time.
CASTLEDERMOT recently hosted a group of French visitors from the village of Eu, otherwise known as the burial place of St Laurence OToole The visit, organised by Father Tom Kennedy of the local parish, offered a rich cultural experience for the visitors and showcased some of Castledermots most cherished historical sites recently.

The French group arrived in Castledermot as part of a larger trip to the Archdiocese of Dublin.

Father Kennedy arranged for the group to visit Kilkea Church, where they were greeted by local archaeologist Sharon Greene. Ms Green, a member of the Castledermot Local History Group, provided an insightful talk on Laurence O'Tooles life and legacy.

With the help of an interpreter from the group, the visitors were able to learn about the historical context of O'Tooles birthplace and his enduring impact on both Irish and European religious history.

One of the highlights of the visit came as the delegation toured the church, where they marvelled at a stained-glass window depicting Laurence O'Toole.

The groups fascination grew when local resident Adam Goodwin illuminated the window with a flashlight, casting the outline of O'Tooles image for all to see. Michael Dempsey, member of Castledermot Local History Group who joined the group on the day, said they were all greatly taken by this. The visitors were also taken to Mullaghreelan Wood, the area believed to be the birthplace of Laurence O'Toole. There, they explored a monument in the churchyard dedicated to the saint, which had just been cleaned and re-lettered, and unveiled by Mrs Nabla Kane, wife of the late local historian Eamon Kane who originally put it there.

In addition to these sites, the group was introduced to the local history at St James's Cemetery in Castledermot. Reverend Ken Rue provided a detailed tour, highlighting the high crosses and the ancient swearing stone in the cemetery.

The stone, which has historical significance, was traditionally used in agreements and ceremonies, such as marriage contracts, where participants would shake hands through a hole in the stone to make deals and seal promises. The stone is one of 40 of its kind recorded in Ireland.

After a full day out exploring the area, the group had lunch with the Parish Council and were each presented with a special memento, religious figure to mark the visit, before concluding their busy itinerary with a fantastic choral mass written by local musician, organist and music teacher Brian Kehoe, and performed by the 80-person Assumption Choir.
CARACAS, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Saturday that Nicolas Maduro is "the only president" of the South American nation.

Rodriguez made the statement during a live speech on a state-run television station Saturday afternoon, adding that Venezuela will never become a colony of any country.

Accompanied by the ministers of the interior, foreign affairs and other officials, the vice president demanded that the United States release Maduro and his wife, and urged the Venezuelan people to remain calm, face the challenges together and defend national sovereignty.

Noting that the attack on Venezuela may happen in any other country in the region in the future, Rodriguez said Venezuela is ready to defend its natural resources and will never become a colony of any country or a slave of any empire.

The United States launched a large-scale military operation against Venezuela in the early hours of Saturday, seizing Maduro and his wife.

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed at a press conference Saturday morning that Rodriguez had been sworn in as president of Venezuela, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio "just had a conversation" with her.

"She's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again," Trump claimed while speaking to reporters.

The international community is deeply shocked by the U.S. raid on Maduro, strongly condemning the blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president.

Editor: Xiong Jian
When news first broke of the US attack on Venezuela, I was perplexed as just bombing Venezuela was unlikely to overthrow Maduro, and a full invasion could be costly. I did wonder if it was part of a plan to capture Maduro, and so it was. In just 150 minutes Maduro was a prisoner of the United States, and not a single US solider was killed. From a military point of view it was an incredible operation, and one that could cause other country leaders to have a nervous nights sleep  be it Cuba or Denmark.

Maduro rigged the last election and was an illegitimate President. His departure will be welcomed by many Venezuelans. There is already huge celebrations. He was guided by Cuban security guards as he couldnt even trust his own people not to turn on him.

While Maduro was a bad man, does that mean the US was justified in using military force to seize him? There are many countries with bad leaders. The answer is somewhere between a possible yes and a probable no. He was under indictment from US courts on drug charges, and there was a precedent based on the invasion of Panama to seize Manuel Noriega. However Panama actually had declared war on the US, and a US marine was shot at a road block. This gave George H W Bush greater justification. Also there was broad political consensus in the US for military action. I doubt the actions in Venezuela are legal under international law, but it is no surprise Trump would not be concerned with opinions on this.

It is also worth noting that Trump sent troops in to arrest Maduro on drug smuggling charges, but a few weeks ago he pardoned Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former president of Honduras, from his 45 year sentence for drug smuggling.

I thought that the removal of Maduro would see Maria Corina Machado Parisca become President  the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Winner and opposition leader. But Trump rather dismissively said she is a nice woman but not got enough support to be President of Venezuela. Maybe he is annoyed at her for winning what he saw as his peace prize. So for now VP Delcy Venezuela is the President of Venezuela.

Rubio then realizing he will now have to be President of Cuba, President of Venezuela and Shah of Iran. https://t.co/kUJU6tEU1n pic.twitter.com/3iSQ6PJREb  Intelschizo (@Schizointel) January 3, 2026

Trump has said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will lead a team to run Venezuela, making this tweet before that announcement even funnier. For those who dont know Rubio is the Secretary of State, Acting National Security Advisor and Acting National Archivist of the United States.

It is very unclear what will happen next. Trump is not going to do an Iraq and remove all aspects of the previous administration from power (which was a critical mistake). In fact he seems to be doing what I thought should have been done in Iraq, which is to tell the next in line to run the country but behave well or theyll be captured also.

He has also said US oil companies will take over the running of Venezuela oil. Now their infrastructure was run down by the previous Government, which is partly when so many are now in poverty there. But Trump is saying some of the money will go to the US to reimburse them, so for once we do have a US war that was about oil! (the left thing every US war is about oil!). I am not sure how US companies can run Venezuela oil without US troops on the ground.

It is also very unclear if there will be regional fighting for power, as nature abhors a vacuum. So while the outcome of Maduro in custody with no loss of US life is a good one, it could still turn very messy.

This tweet seems to sum things up rather well!
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BRUSSELS, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- European leaders and governments expressed strong concern on Saturday following the U.S. military action in Venezuela, stressing the need to respect international law and the UN Charter, while calling for de-escalation and dialogue.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States had struck Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro, who was flown out of the country along with his wife. Venezuela, for its part, denounced the action as a "military aggression" after explosions were reported in Caracas.

URGE FOR RESPECT FOR INT'L LAW

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Saturday that he was alarmed by U.S. intervention in Venezuela, stressing the need to uphold international law.

Posting on social media, Turk urged all parties to exercise restraint, emphasizing that the protection of people in Venezuela is paramount and must guide any further action.

On social media platform X, European Council President Antonio Costa said the European Union (EU) was following the situation in Venezuela "with great concern" and urged de-escalation, calling for a resolution in full respect of international law and the principles enshrined in the UN Charter. He reaffirmed the EU's support for a peaceful, democratic, and inclusive solution in Venezuela.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had also called for restraint, stressing that the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected.

Spain also called for "de-escalation" and "responsibility." Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Madrid was closely following developments and stressed that "international law needs to be respected."

According to official figures, around 136,000 Spanish citizens lived in Venezuela in 2023.

Portugal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for a reduction of tensions, respect for international law and the UN Charter, as well as the promotion of public security and calm.

Meanwhile, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen described the situation as a serious escalation and called for urgent discussion at the UN Security Council, stressing the need to uphold international law.

CONDEMNING "ILLEGAL" INTERVENTION

France took a firmer stance, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot openly opposing the U.S. military operation. In a statement posted on his official X account, he warned that such actions undermine the foundations of international law and could have "serious consequences for global security, which will spare no one."

He stressed that "no lasting political solution can be imposed from outside and that sovereign peoples alone decide their own future." He reiterated France's commitment to the UN Charter as a guiding principle for international action.

In the Netherlands, Foreign Minister David Van Weel called on all parties to prevent further escalation and to comply with international law, while Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the cabinet was closely following developments.

However, several Dutch lawmakers condemned the U.S. attack as illegal. Socialist Party leader Jimmy Dijk warned that such military expansion is fueling international instability and endangering lives, stressing that the Netherlands must condemn the attack. GreenLeft-Labor Party leader Jesse Klaver and Christine Teunissen of the Party for the Animals both denounced the U.S. action as "illegal."

Nordic countries also raised legal concerns. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said, "The American intervention in Venezuela is not in line with international law."

In Greece, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country is closely monitoring developments. But thousands of people protested in Athens and other cities, condemning what they described as a violation of Venezuela's sovereignty. Outside the U.S. embassy and consulate, demonstrators were chanting, "We are all Venezuelans," criticizing the United States for undermining international law.

RESTRAINT CONCERNS

The German government also voiced deep concern, with its crisis team convened at the Federal Foreign Office earlier on Saturday to assess the situation.

Germany's Foreign Ministry said the situation remained unclear in parts and that Berlin was coordinating closely with international partners while maintaining close contact with its embassy in Caracas.

In Britain, Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized that the country was not involved in the U.S. operation. While refraining from immediate political judgment, he stressed the need to establish all the facts and confirmed that efforts were underway to ensure the safety of British nationals in Venezuela.

Starmer said there were about 500 British nationals in Venezuela.

Editor: Xiong Jian
Ottoline Spearman

The audacious capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by US Special forces, and US President Trump's subsequent declaration that the US will "run" the South American country dominate the front pages on Sunday.

The Sunday Times leads with this story, and how Trump has said American companies will "get oil flowing".

Property experts have told the Sunday Independent that many families could struggle to pay inheritance tax bills, nursing home costs and loans if homes owned by elderly relatives on the Fair Deal scheme are let while they are in care. The rent reforms, designed to give greater protection to tenants from March 1st, have been described as a car crash of unintended consequences for homeowners and landlords.

The Irish Sunday Mirror reports on the daring raid and capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on Saturday morning. US President Donald Trump has subsequently announced that the US will run the country until there can be a "safe transition".

The Irish Mail on Sunday also leads with the Venezuela story, reporting that "brutal dictator" Maduro was "blindfolded and shackled".

The Sunday World looks at the terror campaign of petrol bombing, stabbing and car-ramming, that led to a nearly fatal arson attack on an innocent family.

And finally, the Business Post looks at the "Trump fear factor", and how US firms are increasingly fearful of announcing significant investments in Ireland.
Like many New Jerseyans, George Rahey has a damp basement.

He headed out to Costco in September, hoping to find a solution.

Rahey picked up some ham, cheese, blueberries and corn, plus a 50-pint dehumidifier, manufactured by Midea. The unit cost $149.97, but because it was an Energy Star-rated appliance, it was eligible for a $40 rebate.

Or was it?

There is a sticker on the box indicating a $40 rebate is available, the Middletown man told Bamboozled.

Indeed, it says just that, not in black and white but in green, white and blue, complete with the JCP&L logo and a website to find the rebate application.

Midea Smart Dehumidifier had a sticker that said it was Energy Star and had a $40 rebate. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

Rahey completed the application, but instead of a $40 check, he received an unexpected response about a month later.

After careful review of your appliance(s) application, we regret to inform you that you are not eligible for a rebate because the unit was not Energy Star rated, an email from JCP&L said.

The Middletown man asked Costco about the rebate and the sticker on the box. It said it didnt handle rebates, which were between the utility and the manufacturer.

Rahey next tried Midea, the manufacturer, in early November. He explained what happened by email and asked how he could get the promised rebate.

A representative took all the details and said the case would be escalated.

On Nov. 12, the rep confirmed the unit was an Energy Star model. She suggested he speak to his utility company.

Rahey wasnt taking kindly to the shuffle. He forwarded JCP&Ls response to Midea.

So someone owes me the rebate. Costco says its not their problem. The power company says no. And Midea is telling me to go back to the power company, the retired sales director said. Something isnt right.

The Midea rep said a team was looking at it internally and thanked him for his patience.

Were not so sure Rahey was patient. But he waited.

On Nov. 19, the representative once again confirmed the unit was Energy Star certified.

This model was certified on October 27, 2023, the representative said, suggesting it may not be on the Energy Star website because its a Costco-specific model. She referred him again to the utility.

And there was more back and forth through December, with Rahey getting nowhere. But you get the picture.

This is a big runaround, Rahey said, and he asked Bamboozled for help.

UNTANGLING THE CASE

Consumers can save money through rebates by purchasing Energy Star-rated appliances.

To earn the Energy Star, they must meet strict energy efficiency criteria set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the U.S. Department of Energy, the federal Energy Star website says. Since they use less energy, these products save you money on your electricity bill and help protect the environment by causing fewer harmful emissions from power plants. And you get the features and quality you expect.

Savings for New Jerseys clean energy program used to be run at the state level, but its now handled by individual utilities.

Given that JCP&Ls name was on the sticker on the Costco dehumidifier box, we took a look at the utilitys website. It lists what appliances are eligible, and this one wasnt on the list.

We asked JCP&L to double-check, and we also reached out to Costco and Midea.

The manufacturer didnt respond, but Costco did.

That same day, a Costco representative called Rahey and sent a follow-up email with a mea culpa and an offer.

Im sorry for the hassle around the utility rebate, she wrote. The EPA changed requirements for Energy Star certification in October which made our unit (and others) non compliant.

She offered to send Rahey a $40 gift card to make up the difference.

That was great news. We asked Costco to confirm the resolution, but we also wanted to know more.

How many other units were sold as Energy Star after it no longer qualified? Did other customers complain?

Or, was Costco planning to proactively check its files and reach out to other purchasers with a similar resolution?

And finally, how many of the units remained on the shelves, and was Costco planning to remove them  or at least  remove the stickers?

Costco did not respond.

Rahey said he was pleased with the $40 gift card offer, but he blames the manufacturer, not Costco, for the mistake.

He said he felt for others who might have had rebate applications rejected.

And once it gets rejected then its too bad, so sad, he said. It took me weeks.

Then in an unexpected twist, JCP&L made an offer of its own.

We know this is a frustrating situation, and since the Energy Star sticker was still on the box by mistake, were honoring the rebate, spokesman Christopher Hoenig said.

That would leave Rahey with $80.

We let Costco and JCP&L know of each others offers, but neither pulled back their payments.

So what will Rahey do with the extra money?

Really, I am going to give the money to my wife because she has been hearing me complaining about this for almost two months now, Rahey said.

The lesson here? Mistakes happen. In this case, Costco and JCP&L both made it right, but no one should count on getting a positive result after an error.

But before you buy an Energy Star product of any kind  at any retailer  check your utilitys website to make sure its eligible for the rebate you expect.
Pennsylvania high school students will not compete at the upcoming Farm Show due to concerns about the highly contagious equine herpesvirus.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show announced on Facebook on Dec. 24 that the Pennsylvania High School Rodeo Association will not participate in the 2026 show out of an abundance of caution.

Equine herpesvirus is a respiratory infection with strains that can cause more serious neurological disease. The Equine Disease Communications Center estimated 6070% of affected horses recover with treatment.

While we respect this decision, we plan to keep a full and engaging equine schedule at the 2026 #PAFarmShow, the Farm Shows Facebook post said. At the same time, the PA Farm Show will continue to prioritize animal health and safety with strict biosecurity protocols and close coordination with the Department of Agriculture, veterinarians, and equine organizations statewide.

The Farm Show said the First Frontier Circuit Rodeo will still take place from Jan. 1517.

In November, a horse from Northumberland County tested positive for the virus. Horse owners previously told PennLive the virus had made them rethink whether they wanted to bring their animals to the 2026 Farm Show.

The most recent outbreak of the equine herpesvirus was found in horses from at least eight states competing in the Womens Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) World Finals and Elite Barrel Race in Waco, Texas.

Two other cases led to the suspension of a rodeo in Oklahoma, and an unrelated case led to a horse being euthanized in Maryland.

The 2026 Farm Show will be held from Jan. 1017, 2026, at the Farm Show Complex at 2300 N. Cameron St. in Harrisburg.

Editor Amy Worden contributed to this report.
CANBERRA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that his government is monitoring developments in Venezuela, calling for diplomacy to prevent escalation.

In a post on social media site X on Sunday morning, hours after the U.S. military launched strikes on Venezuela and reportedly captured President Nicolas Maduro, Albanese said that Australia urges all parties to support "dialogue and diplomacy in order to secure regional stability and prevent escalation."

He said that Australia has long held "concerns about the situation in Venezuela" and supports international law and a peaceful, democratic transition in the South American nation.

Updated advice for Australians issued on Sunday by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Smartraveller service advised citizens against traveling to Venezuela.

It said that the security situation is unpredictable and may worsen.

Any Australian already in Venezuela is advised to ensure they have enough supplies, including food, water, and medicine, and to consider leaving if it is safe to do so.

Editor: Xiong Jian
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A passenger in a car involved in a fatal crash which killed an American tourist suffered trauma and began drinking, a sitting of Portlaoise District Court was told.

Lee Dennehy (23) of 25 Roselawn, Portlaoise, pleaded guilty to stealing a bottle of Jameson and a bottle of Bushmills Whiskey from Aldi, Portlaoise on September 23, 2025.

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said the incident occurred at 5pm when the defendant walked into Aldi and took two bottles before walking out. He said the man was later identified by CCTV. He said the alcohol was valued at 55.50. He said the accused had a number of previous convictions for public order offences and theft.

Solicitor Philip Meagher said his client had been a passenger in a car which was involved in a fatal accident at a local tourist spot. He said an American tourist was killed and a second tourist was badly injured.

He suffered huge trauma and after that he began drinking, said Mr Meagher.

Mr Meagher said there was no sophistication in the thefts and in 98% of the offences he would walk in in a drunken state, pick up a bottle and walk out.

He told the court that the defendants life became chaotic but he had since secured a job, met a girl and had stopped drinking. He said the man has engaged with local addiction services and hasnt had a drink in ten weeks.

Judge Peter White noted a probation order for July of 2024 had recommended that he engage with community alcohol services. This isnt his first rodeo, said Judge White.

Mr Meagher said his client was ten weeks clean, living with his mother and keeping down a job in a factory. He said he believed the man had turned a corner and he suggested the court might keep an eye on the defendant.

Judge White agreed to give the man one further chance and he urged him to turn that corner and get his life on track.

He ordered him to repay the money to Aldi and place him on a 12 month probation bond on condition he continues to engage with alcohol services.
Kildare County Council has announced further programme highlights for Brigid 2026 - Spirit of Kildare Festival, a vibrant five-day celebration of music, art, conversation and family-friendly events taking place across County Kildare from Thursday 29 January to Monday 2nd February 2026.

This years festival promises a rich and diverse programme of events designed to mark the beginning of the year with creativity, culture and community, celebrating the enduring legacy and spirit of St. Brigid through performances, conversations and immersive experiences for all ages.

READ MORE: Kildare TD calls on Minister for Health to implement targeted winter surge supports at Naas Hospital

Proudly delivered by Kildare County Council, Brigid 2026 brings together leading Irish and international artists across a range of disciplines. This years ticketed concert series, the Spirit of Kildare Sessions, will feature standout performances from Jack L, Picture This, Gurriers, Celine Byrne, Paul Noonan, Gemma Hayes, Lisa Hannigan, Altan and more, hosted in unique venues throughout the county.

The festival opens on Thursday 29 January, with Kildare native Jack L hosting an evening of songs and stories at Christ Church, Celbridge, drawing on a three-decade career that has seen him share stages with artists including Sting, Jools Holland and Trevor Horn.

The festival also sees Picture This return home for a sold-out performance at the Dreamland Ballroom, Athy, while the Gurriers take to the festival hub stage  in the Spiegeltent at Cruinniu Chill Dara, Aras Chill Dara, Naas.

On Saturday 31 January, internationally acclaimed soprano and Kildare native Celine Byrne will perform a rare and intimate concert at St. Brigids Cathedral, Kildare Town. Paul Noonan, Gemma Hayes and Lisa Hannigan will also unite as The Trio for a special performance at Cruinniu Chill Dara, bringing together three of Irelands most celebrated musicians for an unforgettable night of Irish music.

The Spirit of Kildare Sessions continue on Monday 2 February, with legendary traditional Irish band Altan performing at the Naas Venue, led by renowned fiddle player Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh.

Alongside music, Brigid 2026 also features an exceptional programme of live conversation. A special live recording of The Blindboy Podcast will take place at Cruinniu Chill Dara on Saturday 31st January, bringing one of Irelands most influential podcasters and authors to the festival hub. Irelands number one bilingual podcast, How To Gael, hosted by Doireann Ni Ghlacain and Louise Cantillon, will also present a live show on Monday 2nd February.

Family-friendly events form a key part of the festival programme. Highlights include Bee is for Brid with the Green Grannies on Saturday morning at Cruinniu Chill Dara, alongside a sustainable bee costume workshop, and Fireside Stories with Volkidana in Maynooth, a visually spectacular storytelling experience blending puppetry, aerial artistry and folklore.

Sunday morning sees a Taylor Swift Party for younger audiences at Cruinniu Chill Dara, while Carrying Her Flame, a powerful outdoor procession through the streets of Kildare Town, takes place later that day, marking the return of the light and the end of winter.

Rounding out the family programme, Joe the Magician Beo from RTEjr will perform a high-energy magic show for children on Monday 2nd February at Cruinniu Chill Dara.

All childrens events taking place in Naas are free to attend, with advance booking required. A mix of free and ticketed events ensures the festival remains accessible to all audiences.

Speaking about the festival, Sonya Kavanagh, Chief Executive, Kildare County Council, said: With the Brigid 2026 - Spirit of Kildare Festival, we are continuing the remarkable journey that began with the success of Brigid 1500 and grew even stronger in 2025. An inclusive celebration of St. Brigids enduring legacy, the 2026 festival seeks to further honour her life, spirit, and commitment to community by bringing her story to life in fresh, imaginative ways that resonate with people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds across Kildare.

For tickets, event details and the full Brigid 2026 - Spirit of Kildare Festival programme, visit www.spiritofbrigid.ie
Tributes are being paid to Leitrim native Sister Brigid Reynolds, the co-founder and former co-chief executive of Social Justice Ireland, who has died aged 82.

A statement from Social Justice Ireland said: Sr Brigids life and work serve as an example of dedicated commitment to human dignity, social justice and the common good.

Brigids steadfast advocacy combined academic expertise and moral conviction.

John McGeady, CEO of Social Justice Ireland, paid tribute saying: Brigid made an indelible mark on social justice advocacy in Ireland. Guided by a vision of society in which each persons dignity is honoured, Brigid was dedicated to addressing inequality, poverty, and social exclusion.

As co-founder, joint CEO and Board member, she greatly contributed to the work of Social Justice Ireland for many years, guiding the organisation with her long experience, insightful judgement and commitment to the values of social justice and human rights. It is a sad day for Social Justice Ireland and those of us who were privileged to work with Brigid. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to Brigids sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews, and to the Marist Sisters.

Professor Tony Fahey, Chairperson of the Board of Social Justice Ireland, acknowledged Sr Brigids contribution, saying, Brigid Reynolds was a leading member of that generation of men and women in the religious life in Ireland who, in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council, brought a new energy, vision and range to the traditional Christian commitment to service of the poor and afflicted.

She combined the spirituality of a religious vocation with the warmth of a deep human sympathy and the energy, skill and practicality of a tireless social campaigner. The goal of her advocacy was to bend the arc of history towards justice, especially in social policy and social services in Ireland. The traces of her impact in those fields are many and lasting. Ireland in her time was a better place because of her presence in it.

READ MORE: Reopening of old station house in Leitrim town is on track for 2026

Sr Brigids funeral will take place in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim. Details will be available in due course on RIP.ie.

South East Technological University (SETU) conferred an honorary doctorate in 2024 on Sr Reynolds in recognition of her lifelong dedication to social justice and the empowerment of marginalised communities.

As an educator and humanitarian, Sr Reynoldss life and work serves as a shining example of the transformative power of compassion, dedication, and a steadfast commitment to the greater good.

Reflecting on the honorary doctorate, Sr Reynolds said she felt honoured, humbled, and surprised by the recognition.

Originally from Mohill, Co Leitrim, Sr Reynolds completed a science degree at University College Dublin before joining the Marist Sisters Religious Order. Her first assignment took her to Kaduna, North Nigeria, where she lectured at a Teacher Training College.

There, she also served as secretary to an Episcopal Commission focused on combating poverty and promoting social inclusion, while acting as spiritual director for women's organisations across the region.

South East Technological University (SETU) bestowed honorary doctorates upon Sr Brigid Reynolds, educator and humanitarian and Eamonn McEneaney, scholar, author, and cultural advocate. Sr Reynolds and Mr McEneaney were pictured with Professor Veronica Campbell, President of SETU, Professor Patrick Prendergast, Chairperson of the SETU Governing Body and Chancellor of the University, and Dr Derek O'Byrne, Vice President Academic Affairs, Teaching & Learning at SETU

Returning to Ireland in 1980, Sr Reynolds taught science at post-primary level in Dublin for two years before being recruited by the Conference of Major Religious Superiors, later known as the Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI). In 1983, she joined forces with Fr Sean Healy, with whom she co-led CORIs Justice Commission. Together, they advocated for social justice through policy development, engagement with government, and public advocacy. In 2009, the pair co-founded Social Justice Ireland, which they led until their retirement in 2023.

READ MORE: RIP: Community remembers Leitrim woman who touched the lives of so many

Social Justice Ireland advocates for social justice and improves the lives of communities through independent social analysis and effective policy development with the aim of creating a sustainable future for every member of society and for societies as a whole. SETU and Social Justice Ireland collaborate on the delivery of an MA in Social Justice and Public Policy to which Sr Brigid has contributed her expertise.

Ive had a long association with the Waterford and Wexford and Carlow colleges, going back more than 40 years. Over those years I enjoyed many discussions on social policy, development strategy and related issues that were always both challenging and energising, she said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers his 2026 New Year message in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Every year on New Year's Eve, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers his New Year greetings to the Chinese people from his office, with the Great Wall, a symbol of the Chinese nation's resilience and heritage, depicted the backdrop.

This time was no exception. On Wednesday evening, with a warm smile, Xi sat at his desk to reflect on the remarkable achievements of China and its people throughout 2025, and lay out his expectations for the new year.

As 2026 begins, Xi's address, filled with encouragement, invites a closer reading of his bold vision for China's path forward and its role on the world stage.

NEW JOURNEY OF CHINESE MODERNIZATION

The year 2025 marks the completion of China's 14th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. "We met the targets in the Plan and made solid advances on the new journey of Chinese modernization," Xi said.

As 2026 ushers in the 15th Five-Year Plan, Xi called for promoting high-quality development, further deepening reform and opening up, delivering prosperity for all, and writing a new chapter in the story of China's economic and social miracles.

At the heart of Xi's vision is high-quality development, with an emphasis on turning China's economy into an innovative powerhouse.

Xi has always placed strong emphasis on driving China's high-tech development. In April last year, during an inspection tour in Shanghai, he visited a model innovation center, a hub housing over 100 enterprises dedicated to cutting-edge technologies.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center, a large-model incubator home to over 100 enterprises in Shanghai, east China, April 29, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

During his visit, Xi experienced firsthand some of the latest AI-powered products, even trying on a pair of smart glasses. He also noted how China has abundant data resources, a complete industrial system and a vast market, with promising prospects for the development of artificial intelligence.

The Chinese leader also stresses international technological cooperation. Last November at the APEC leaders' meeting in South Korea, Xi pushed for the establishment of a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization to foster global collaboration and governance of AI. For him, the rapid advance of frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence is opening new horizons for humanity.

As China advances its modernization efforts, green development remains a central focus. "Clear waters and lush mountains have become a salient feature of our landscape," Xi noted in his New Year message. This is a vision he has consistently held and promoted for decades.

This principle was further reinforced in Xi's video address at the 2025 UN Climate Summit, where he announced China's 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions. Among a range of commitments, he pledged that by 2035, China would reduce economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10 percent from peak levels, or even more.

This photo taken on Nov. 15, 2025 shows a view of a wind farm built by the Xizang branch of Huadian New Energy Group Co., Ltd. in Qonggyai County, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. (Xizang branch of Huadian New Energy Group Co., Ltd./Handout via Xinhua)

For Singapore-based political commentator Ang Teck Sin, Chinese modernization carries broader global significance. "China has demonstrated the possibility of achieving national development while contributing to shared global prosperity," he said.

EMBRACING THE WORLD

As global turbulence escalated in the past year, one historic moment captured the world's attention. On Sept. 1, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, Xi proposed the Global Governance Initiative.

Chinese President Xi Jinping chairs the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and delivers a speech titled "Staying True to SCO Founding Mission And Ushering in a Better Future" in Tianjin, north China, Sept. 1, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

"After announcing the three global initiatives on development, security, and civilization, I put forward the Global Governance Initiative to promote a more just and equitable global governance system," Xi noted in his New Year message which was broadcast in multiple languages to a global audience.

The year 2025 also marked the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations. In the lead-up to the SCO summit, Xi met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and reaffirmed China's commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

The world is undergoing profound transformations. Multipolarity is gaining momentum, economic globalization faces mounting headwinds, and calls are growing for greater democracy in international relations. At the same time, Cold War thinking, hegemonism and protectionism continue to cast a long shadow.

"The Global Governance Initiative marks an unprecedented step toward building an alternative, multipolar, and more equitable world order," U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs commented.

In his Wednesday's New Year address, Xi said that China has "continued to embrace the world with open arms."

Xi's words were underscored by a year of active diplomacy. During 2025, the Chinese leader has reached out to the world extensively. Whether it was during his foreign visits to Southeast and Central Asia, or hosting foreign leaders in China, promoting mutually beneficial cooperation has always been a main theme.

When King Tupou VI of Tonga visited China in November last year, he experienced Juncao technology -- an initiative Xi has championed to combat poverty.

Tanzanian dairy farmer Tahiya Bauso Massawe works in her Juncao grass field in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Sept. 19, 2025. (Xinhua/Emmanuel Herman)

Juncao is a grass used to cultivate edible mushrooms, feed livestock, and prevent soil erosion. As the King noted, the technology has immense potential for developing countries like Tonga.

Xi shared his idea for global cooperation, telling the King that China will share development opportunities with countries around the world.

In addition to Xi's major global initiatives, 2025 also reflected China's stronger commitment to promoting more inclusive development amid a world split between unilateralism and protectionism on the one hand, and multilateralism and openness on the other.

In December, China launched special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port, the world's largest of its kind by area, allowing freer entry of overseas goods, expanded zero-tariff coverage and more business-friendly measures.

During his visit to the island province in November, Xi outlined his vision for the Free Trade Port to become a key gateway that leads China's new era of opening up to the world.

An aerial drone photo shows a foreign vessel carrying petrochemical raw materials berthing at Yangpu Port in Danzhou, south China's Hainan Province, Dec. 18, 2025. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Historically, the island -- which extends further south than some parts of northern Thailand, Laos and Vietnam -- has been a focal point of the country's reform efforts. In 1988, it became the only provincial-level economic special zone, marking a pivotal moment in the nation's drive for modernization.

On this point of historical continuity, Xi said: "We are following the path of reform and opening-up with Chinese characteristics, step by step, and here we are today."

"China does not make empty promises," said Lee Ju-kwan, director of the National Center for APEC Studies at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy of South Korea.

Lee said China has translated its commitments into specific actions, which "vividly demonstrate China's commitment to advancing openness and fulfilling its responsibilities as a major country," he added.

That is a message Xi has also made clear in the New Year message. "China always stands on the right side of history, and is ready to work with all countries to advance world peace and development and build a community with a shared future for humanity."

Editor: Xiong Jian
BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Following a ceremony to mark the relocation of a school inside its walls on Monday, Xiannongtan Temple -- one of the key cultural sites along Beijing's Central Axis -- has officially reconnected its inner and outer areas, in an important step in restoring its historical layout.

Located in the southwest of downtown Beijing, Xiannongtan Temple is China's largest existing ancient royal architectural complex dedicated to the worship of the god of agriculture. It depicts the traditional agriculture and ritual traditions of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Since the Beijing Central Axis was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2024, the city has devised outlines and made efforts for the preservation of the once disproportionately occupied temple, according to Zhang Lixin, director of the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau.

"Beijing will continue to restore the temple's historical layout, expand its open areas, and make more public spaces accessible," Zhang said.

The school's relocation means visitors no longer need to take a detour when they visit the temple's inner and altar areas. The new school campus was initially put into use in September.

Beijing has a history of over 3,000 years and has served as the Chinese capital for 870 years, making it a treasure trove of cultural heritage.

Stretching 7.8 kilometers from Yongding Gate in the south to the Drum and Bell Towers in the north, the Beijing Central Axis was constructed based on ancient architectural philosophies to create an ideal layout for a capital city. The Central Axis can be traced back to the early Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and its length was extended in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Editor: Xiong Jian
THREE students from Colaiste Nano Nagle in the city centre are hoping to be app-solutely fabulous at this years Stripe Young Scientist exhibition.

In a sign of the times, the two entries the all-girls school will send to Dublin are both mobile telephone programs.

Hafsa Raiz, 13, has come up with the idea of an app called MyWorld, which is designed to link teens to activities in their area.

It comes from her own experience, with the second year student having had to move throughout her childhood due to her dads job.

READ MORE: County Limerick parishs 38th yearbook has a local and global outlook

In every new location, it was hard to find a new activity, whether it be swimming, a science club, or whatever, explained Hafsa, pictured below.

I thought if I could make an app to help people going through this, it would have a huge impact on teenagers in general.

Elsewhere, 16-year-old Tamilore Olatunji has designed an app which is designed to help people visualise their carbon footprint.

The Transition Year student has been supported by her friend Thara Sulaimon, 17, who is in sixth year.

Speaking of her app, named EcoEcho, Tamilore said: Your choices impact how the ecosystem grows and develops. You get to see as a user how your daily actions impact the environment.

Students in the school have been supported by Teen Turn, which aims to help young women gain hands on experience in science, technology, engineering and maths.
THERE are three Stripe Young Scientist projects from Villiers Secondary School on the city's North Circular Road.

Second year students Aidan Hogan and Dawid Andralojc are entering a project, which is investigating how informed Irish adolescents today are in geographical and political matters. They are doing a direct comparison to a similar investigation in 1991.

READ ALSO: Limerick style icon almost nabbed by UK police with suspected IRA bomb threat

The project is in the social and behavioural sciences category. The group project is called A Study into Todays Teenagers Political and Geographical Knowledge Compared to 1991.

Transition year student Hannah Marcus-Clancy is graphing the changes in the language used in Irish media between the pre-Covid years (2018 and 2019) and post-Covid years (2021, 2022 and 2025).

This individual project is under the social and behavioural sciences category. The project is titled: How did Covid infect our language?

The above two projects are focusing on demographic data for certain time periods, offering comparisons and studies of how things have changed.

Transition Year students Barry Wilmot, Rian Howlin and Sergio Marti Guerrero are investigating the feasibility of an algae-based biodiesel.

The group project is under the chemical, physical and mathematical sciences category.

Its called EcoFuel: Algae-powered biodiesel for sustainable energy.

With ever-growing concern about climate change and fossil fuels, there is a drive towards sustainable, eco-friendly options, which this project is focusing on.
A mother whose son lost a leg in a bombing in Gaza has said the offer to receive medical treatment in Ireland was a golden opportunity.

Mohammed, aged six, is one of 19 children who have been evacuated from Gaza to receive treatment in Ireland since December 2024.

His mother Buchra Abdul-Bari said her family moved from Gaza City to Rafah, and then on to Khan Yunis in southern Gaza in 2024.

Buchra said they were in a tent in Khan Yunis, in what was meant to be a safe area, when their tent was hit by a missile.

She said they were all injured, but her husband and her youngest son were the most severely hurt.

She ripped her shirt to wrap around her husbands leg when her son Mohammed called to her.

Mohammed said mum, look at me and I lifted him and his leg fell down from my arms, she told the Press Association.

She said his face began to go yellow and his lips were turning blue.

I knocked on many tents, no one can come and help me. So I knocked (into) my neighbour, I begged him to help me, and I convinced him finally, and he came with his bike.

He put Mohammed in the wooden box in his bike, and he went to the hospital  around two hours on the bike.

I said to him goodbye, but I told him, Please, Hamoudi, try your best not to leave me alone. I cant live without you. I kissed him and left him with my neighbour.

She said she went back to her husband and asked him to be strong and try your best to stay.

The water truck came suddenly, and I talked to the driver.

Me and the driver lifted my husband and we put him in a very, very narrow area beside the water tank  imagine that, a dying person.

She said when she got back to the tent, she noticed her son Zainaldeen had shrapnel in his chest, her daughter Kinzy was injured and she herself had injuries across her body.

She brought her children to hospital and was told her husband had died.

That time, it was like throwing me from the heavens to the ground. I went in a shock for 41 days  no words, silent.

I buried my husbands body with my sons leg, and went automatically to the hospital to spend the time with Hamoudi, so I didnt have the time to breathe, to get condolence from people.

We spent four months in the hospital, then we moved to the tent again and were still going to the hospital.

There is no (facilities), no beds, nothing in the hospital. Theyre moving you from death stage to life stage and throwing you out  you can do whatever you want now, you survived.

Buchra said that almost a year later, she and Mohammed were evacuated to Egypt to receive treatment for a damaged nerve in his right leg, but there is no nerve medication or treatment in Egypt.

It was after three months in Egypt that she was offered treatment for her son in Ireland.

It was really the survival call, she said.

(The woman on the phone) said Take your time and think and call me again. I told her, Stop, I have the decision now, yes, go ahead. What should I do now?

I came to Ireland last May, and honestly, it was the golden opportunity to me.

Ireland has committed to evacuating 30 paediatric patients from Gaza in response to a request from the World Health Organisation (WHO) that EU nations respond to the regions acute healthcare needs.

Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza in response to a Hamas-led attack in October 2023  in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 taken hostage  which has ravaged the region.

Over 70,000 people in Gaza have been killed and multiples more injured or left at risk of starvation in what the Irish Government has called a genocide.

Three waves of evacuations of Palestinian children to Ireland have taken place since December 2024, in a programme involving engagement between several Irish and international organisations.

So far, 19 paediatric patients from Gaza and 84 family members have come to Ireland from Egypt in December 2024 and May 2025 and from Jordan in October 2025.

Buchra said that when she first travelled to Ireland, she had to leave her other three children  her 14-year-old daughter Ghazal, 12-year-old son Zainaldeen and eight-year-old daughter Kinzy  with their 80-year-old grandmother in Gaza, where they struggled to survive.

One day, I lost connection with them, and after 10 days I called them again, and they said that they displaced from place to place, they spent three nights in the street without a tent because it was torn.

Another time they had nothing to eat, they lived for 10 days on dirty water.

She said that while he was separated from his siblings, Mohammed stopped eating.

When they were reunited in October he was over the moon.

Their reunification made us, all of us, in a different place, (on) a different planet.

She said of what they had been through: Its the worst period of time in my life. I struggled to be the woman which I am now and keep struggling.

It wasnt easy at all. You support your children and you need to be supported, but you dont have the luxury to break down.

This is my faith. This is my life. They are now on my shoulders, so I should be everything to them. And yes, I really love them, I need them beside me.

She said that she now feels that she and her family belong in Ireland and that she had found my way in Ireland.

I appreciate each effort done by everyone, each name, each title, from the biggest one to the smallest one, the Irish community, the Irish authorities and the government, the ministries, the hospitals, the schools, everything is perfect.

It reflects the values of responsibilities, the values of (humanity), I learn from the Irish people lots of things.

So Im really happy that I am in this community, especially this community. It wasnt just a survival place, I felt like I am in my family place, in my second home.

An event was held at Childrens Health Ireland in Temple Street before Christmas where staff ran through the success of the programme and spoke about the cooperation between partner agencies including the Red Cross, the HSE, various Irish governmental departments, the WHO, and the Jordanian and Norwegian embassies.

After the presentation, Mohammed and his three siblings were given Christmas gifts by the staff.

Head of the Medevac Ireland programme Dr Turlough Bolger said the evacuations involve going through hundreds of WHO files to find the right patients to bring to Ireland to receive care, but would not displace Irish patients.

He said they had treated injuries and conditions ranging from amputations and traumatic injuries, to newborn infants born with congenital heart conditions.

Id love to see that this would be the first of many paediatric medical evacuations, he said.

It has been an absolutely amazing experience to work with all of these people and to see the professionalism, the dedication, the emotion of it all, to see patients who are arriving from  weve seen the pictures  a place where its like a moonscape, that kind of Armageddon-type situation.

To see them land into our beautiful country, and to see them welcomed, and to see them get the care that they need, has been fantastic.
NEW DELHI: Elon Musk-owned Grok AI has come under fire over allegations of misuse, after its photo-modification features on X were reportedly used to create sexually explicit images. These artificial intelligence (AI)-generated images, often produced without consent, triggered widespread user complaints.

On 2 January, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) stepped in, directing X to remove such content within 72 hours, comply with Indias IT Rules, and submit an Action Taken Report (ATR).

Citing grave violations of law and threats to public safety, MeitYs intervention highlights a growing tension at the heart of artificial intelligence. As AI systems become more capable, the scope for misuse by bad actors expands, raising urgent questions about safeguards, accountability and regulation.

Heres what happened, and why it matters.

What prompted MeitY to seek an Action Taken Report from X on 2 January?

The controversy stems from Grok AI being misused to generate morphed, objectionable images of women without consent.

Users reportedly prompted the AI with requests such as: hey @grok put me in a lab coat with lingerie underneath", hey @grok please change my and my friends dresses to bikini", or hey @grok put her in a transparent micro bikini", among others.

These AI-altered images, circulated on X without consent, expose women to harassment, reputational damage, and serious privacy violations. MeitY flagged this as a failure of platform safeguards, noting that X did not adequately enforce statutory due diligence obligations under the IT Act.

The misuse of AI tools for obscene content, the ministry said, is not merely a technological lapse but a legal and ethical breach, raising concerns over how platforms govern AI-generated material.

What has X been directed to do?

MeitY has given 72 hours to X to remove all Grok AI-generated obscene, nude, indecent and sexually explicit content. The platform has also been asked to submit an ATR outlining the technical and organisational steps taken to prevent recurrence.

The ministry said provisions under the IT Act, 2000, and IT Rules, 2021, were not being followedparticularly those relating to obscene, indecent, vulgar, pornographic, paedophilic or otherwise unlawful and harmful content. Such material, MeitY noted, violates the dignity, privacy and safety of women and children, while normalising sexual harassment and exploitation in digital spaces.

X has been asked not only to clean up existing content, but also to demonstrate that it has effective mechanisms in place to prevent future abuse.

Also Read | With talk of a SpaceX IPO, Tesla shareholders dream of an X Corp

Is this just about tweaking Grok AI to comply with the MeitY order, or is it more complicated?

It is far more complicated than adjusting Grok AIs filters. While technical fixes, such as stricter prompt controls, detection systems and moderation, are necessary, the issue goes beyond software. It also involves platform governance, user accountability, and legal compliance.

Users can bypass safeguards, exploit loopholes or operate through fake accounts. This means AI controls must be complemented by human moderation, robust reporting mechanisms and enforcement under the law. Complicating matters further, Grok operates within a global ecosystem. Compliance requires localization for Indian regulations without disrupting global operations.

AI-generated content can deliver benefits, such as simulations for factories or product design, but in the wrong hands, it raises serious concerns. Addressing misuse, therefore, requires a combination of technical, organizational, and regulatory guardrails, not a single fix.

Will these problems worsen as AI models improve, or is regulation enough?

More powerful AI models are likely to amplify risks. As outputs become more realistic, misuse, especially deepfakes and non-consensual images or videos, is expected to increase. Regulation alone cannot fully contain the problem. It must be paired with strong technical safeguards, proactive moderation and user awareness.

Advanced models can outpace existing filters, making continuous oversight essential. Regulation establishes accountability, but enforcement is often reactive. In this case, action followed user complaints and a letter from Shiv Sena (UBT) lawmaker Priyanka Chaturvedi to Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister for Electronics and Information Technology, flagging concerns over the alleged misuse of AI tools on social media to circulate objectionable images of women through fake accounts. To remain effective, regulation must evolve in tandem with technological advancements.

Also Read | X factor: The rise and fall of Elon Musk as a political figure

How do other countries tackle AI-generated harmful content?

Global platforms such as Grok, Gemini, and ChatGPT face a core challenge: aligning their capabilities with local laws. Countries have taken different approaches.

The European Unions AI Act imposes stringent obligations on high-risk AI systems, focusing on transparency and accountability. The US relies on a patchwork of state laws and oversight by the Federal Trade Commission, with growing attention on deepfake legislation. Singapore criminalises non-consensual sexual imagery, including AI-generated intimate content. The UKs Online Safety Act requires platforms to proactively remove harmful material, while China enforces stringent real-name verification and tight controls on AI-generated content.

Are there legitimate benefits to AI-generated images and videos?

Yes. Despite the risks, AI image generation has clear, legitimate uses. Virtual try-on tools allow consumers to preview clothing or cosmetics before purchase. In healthcare, AI can assist with medical imaging simulations. In education, it can create visual aids for complex concepts. Creative industries use it for design prototyping and artistic experimentation.

The challenge is ensuring these benefits are not overshadowed by misuse. Tools like Grok can enhance efficiency, creativity and accessibility, but only if regulation and technology work together to ensure AI-generated content is safe and used responsibly, rather than as a vehicle for harm.
NEW DELHI: India is considering setting up dedicated control and command centres for electric vehicles (EVs) on access-controlled expressways, offering services such as real-time roadside assistance, charging points, and technical support to ease range anxiety and enable long-distance travel, two officials aware of the matter said.

The proposed centresEV Roadside Assistance (RSA) and On-Road Services (ORS) hubsare expected to operate in a public-private partnership (PPP) mode with vehicle manufacturers, fleet operators and private service providers, the two officials cited earlier said on the condition of anonymity.

These facilities could offer traveller-centric services for individual EV users as well as technical and maintenance support for commercial fleets," said the first official.

The ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) is examining changes to its guidelines for way-side amenities (WSAs) on expressways to formally include EV-focused infrastructure, including rapid diagnostics, minor repairs, battery support, towing and real-time assistance through integrated control centres, the second official said, adding that the under-construction 1,300-km DelhiMumbai Expressway is likely to be the first long-distance corridor where the model could be rolled out, providing an end-to-end EV-supportive route between two major metropolitan regions.

The idea is to move beyond charging points and create a full ecosystem that supports EV users on highways, similar to how air traffic control and ground handling work together in aviation," said the first official. Control and command centres can coordinate roadside assistance, track vehicle issues, manage response times and offer confidence to EV users undertaking intercity travel."

Queries emailed to MoRTH, National Highways Authority of India, and EV makers Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai, Kia, and JSW MG on 31 December remained unanswered.

Also Read | Ford and General Motors are running out of time to reinvent themselves

Since the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is an access-controlled expressway, a commuter expects the EV charging infrastructure along the route for convenience, said Ashish Modani, senior vice-president and group head, Icra. "Given higher upfront cost for setting up charging infrastructure and relatively low but increasing EV population, some financial support/incentive will be required from government to make these charging Infrastructure projects commercially viable under PPP," he said.

The development assumes significance given that India has lined up an ambitious plan to spend 20 trillion to build 50,000km of access-controlled highways and expressways by 2047.

The move is also crucial as EV penetration continues to rise but remains largely urban-centric. Around 5% of all four-wheelers in India were electric in 2025, and more than two million EVs were sold during the year, according to industry estimates. However, fear of running out of charge mid-journeycommonly referred to as range anxietycontinues to discourage EV owners from using their vehicles for long-distance travel.

India has about 5,100km of access-controlled expressways, of which more than 2,000km is operational, the ministry of road transport and highways told the Lok Sabha in July 2025.

Under the proposed PPP model, private players would be allowed to operate RSA and ORS services as a viable business, offering B2C (business-to-consumer) services for individual travellers and B2B (business-to-business) solutions for fleets and automakers, the officials said. This could include subscription-based assistance, data-driven predictive maintenance, and integration with vehicle telematics systems.

The officials said the government is also exploring the use of datasets to define ease of living" indicators for EV users on highways, including response times, service availability and corridor-readiness. Opening this segment to private participation could mirror the transformation seen in the aviation sector, where private operators play a key role in airport services under regulatory oversight.

Beyond the Delhi-Mumbai corridor, MoRTH plans to extend the model to other expressways and national highways connecting major metropolitan clusters, where EV penetration is relatively higher. Linking such cities through EV-ready corridors is seen as a critical step in taking electric mobility beyond daily urban commutes.

Industry executives say that combining charging infrastructure with assured technical support could be a game changer. Charging stations alone do not solve the confidence gap for long-distance EV travel. A reliable service and support backbone is equally important," said an official at an EV manufacturer, requesting not to be identified.

The revamp of WSA guidelines and the introduction of EV-focused control units could mark a shift in Indias highway planningfrom fuel-agnostic infrastructure to mobility ecosystems designed for the electric era.

This proposal comes at a time when India is looking to scale up its EV charging infrastructure, with about 29,000 public chargers and about 3,500 battery swapping stations already existing on roads and highways. Under the PM E-Drive scheme to promote electric mobility in the country, the government has allocated 2,000 crore for covering a major share of the upstream costsgrid connections, land, etc.of setting up charging stations and battery swapping stations.
Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk on Sunday announced that his Starlink network of satellites would provide free broadband services to the people of Venezuela for a month to ensure continued connectivity.

"In support of the people of Venezuela," Musk said on X, sharing a post by Starlink on the announcement.

Musk had earlier celebrated the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a US military operation sanctioned by President Donald Trump, saying that Venezuela would finally prosper with Maduro gone.

"Venezuela ahora puede tener la prosperidad que merece," Musk had written in Spanish.

Musk's social media campaign against Maduro Musk's celebration after the Venezuelan President's capture does not come as a surprise, given that the billionaire had been a vocal critic of Maduro.

Earlier, in 2024, when Venezuela saw its last elections, Musk had targeted the Maduro government, calling for a regime change in the South American country.

Throwing his entire weight behind opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, Musk had said that Venezuela would benefit from a government that develops its rich natural resources.

Venezuela has a great wealth of natural resources. If Chavez had not destroyed their economy by increasing the role of government to extreme socialism, the country would be very prosperous, Musk had posted on X in April 2024.

A couple of months later, Musk reiterated his call for a regime change, saying, It is time for the people of Venezuela to have the chance for a better future. Support Maria Corina!

Over the course of 2024, Musk kept targeting the Maduro, who he described as a clown.

The billionaire also attacked the Venezuelan President then, saying, Maduro is not a good guy. Venezuela deserves much better.

The US has plenty of domestic oil & gas production and nothing would happen fast in Venezuela, so it would certainly not affect this election. Several years would be needed to rebuild Venezuelas oil production, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO had said in late July 2024.

In 2025, shortly after Trump assumed office in his second term, Musk again targeted Venezuela, saying, Maduro is hurting the people of Venezuela, just like his predecessor.
China's pet food market gains momentum

People's Daily Online) 09:55, January 04, 2026

Companies in China's pet industry are gearing up at full speed for the peak season, ensuring sufficient supply to meet consumers' demand for science-based feeding and emotional connection with their pets.

A plan recently released by six government departments pointed out that China aims to develop 10 consumption hotspots, including pet food and supplies, each exceeding 100 billion yuan (about $14.27 billion) by 2027.

Industry experts say the pet food and supplies market is showing strong growth and structural transformation. The sector has entered a stage of high-quality development driven by product quality, innovation, and emotional value.

Staff members weigh pet food at the Zhongyu Pet Food (Heze) Co., Ltd. in Caoxian county, east China's Shandong Province, Nov. 29, 2025. (Photo/Xinhua)

During the "Double 11" shopping festival in 2025, Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com saw the pet category maintain strong growth, with new users buying pet products up around 25 percent year on year.

The shift in consumer demand is particularly evident in pet staple foods. "Pet food has moved from simply filling the stomach to focusing on quality. Pet owners now check ingredients, meat sources, and production processes," said Ms. Li, an experienced cat owner. Consumers are now judging pet food like baby products, demanding safer, richer ingredients and precise nutritional additions.

At Taichong Pet Food in Tai'an, east China's Shandong Province, production of its newly launched steamed staple food is being ramped up.

"The market demand for healthier and more diverse pet foods is strong," said Li Qing, executive director and general manager of the company, adding that the sales volume of the product exceeded 100 tonnes in the first month of launch.

In the Pet Food Industrial Park in Tai'an, six companies have built an efficient ecosystem from raw materials to finished products.

"Once the products roll off the production line, they go straight to a neighboring factory for further processing or packaging," said Zhang Xueliang, deputy general manager of Tai'an Guangyuanda Biotechnology Co., Ltd. The park's annual output value has grown from several hundred million yuan to over 1 billion yuan, creating a virtuous cycle of industrial upgrading and consumption growth.

According to oIBP, a retail supply chain solutions provider, China's pet food market reached approximately 52.9 billion yuan at factory-gate prices in 2024. Market research firm Frost & Sullivan projects that China's pet population will grow at a compound annual rate of 5.8 percent over the next five years, providing a steadily expanding consumer base that will continue to fuel robust demand.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
NEW DELHI: In the final days of 2025, a meeting between the Indian government and X escalated into a confrontation over artificial intelligence (AI), online safety, and the limits of safe harbour protectionculminating in a formal notice to the Elon Musk-owned platform over the misuse of its AI tool, Grok.

X said that the meeting did not take place but multiple sources have confirmed to Mint the sequence of events from the meeting until the notice was issued.

Last Wednesday, the last working day of the year, Xs India leadership team was summoned to the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY). At Electronics Niketan, near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, senior bureaucrats conveyed their displeasure over how Grokan AI platform owned by Musk and embedded into Xallowed users to manipulate images posted on the social media platform, triggering concerns over digital shaming of political leaders, a person directly aware of the development told Mint.

During the hour-long meeting, X executives explained how the image-editing feature functioned. They offered an example: if billionaire Elon Musk appeared in a photograph alongside other technology executives and users prompted the tool to remove the most racist person", Grok might remove Musk, this person said.

The explanation failed to reassure regulators. Officials asked X to comply with local laws. Soon after the meeting ended, Xs India leadership escalated the matter to its global compliance team, an official aware of the conversation said.

X was represented by two senior executives at the meeting. Since Musks takeover of Twitter in October 2022, X has maintained a lean India team and does not have a designated India head following the departure of its former policy chief Samiran Gupta in September 2023.

Emails sent to X and MeitY for comment were not responded to until press time. After this story was published Sunday night, an X spokesperson wrote on email Monday afternoon that no such meeting took place on December 31st 2025".

What followed over the next 48 hours pushed the issue beyond political satire or image manipulation, and into the realm of mass online abuse. Groks image-editing features were widely used to generate sexualised images of women without consent, prompting a flood of complaints and drawing regulatory scrutiny.

By Friday afternoon, MeitY had been pushed to a corner. By evening, it issued a formal notice to X. Mint has seen a copy of the notice, sent around 7 pm on Friday.

The notice, another person directly aware of the developments told Mint on condition of anonymity, took the company by surprise. X remains in compliance with Indias legal requirements, and speaks with the ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) every week. At no point in prior conversations were sexual content issues brought up before, as recently as two days before the notice. Xs voluntary action reports in India are filed every month, which already includes the details asked for. It remains unclear if the government wants information beyond that," the person said.

The 31 December meeting had ended without a definitive outcome, suggesting that discussions between the company and the government were still open and evolving. AI is an evolving technology, and were all trying to understand what the right way of dealing with it is without stifling free speech and creative use cases," the person cited above added.

Also Read | How Grok AI landed X in trouble with Indias IT ministry

X defended to MeitY that Groks results are driven by reports from credible sources and information that have not been publicly debunked, not just in India but globally." The companys executives assured MeitY that for any objectionable content reported beyond proactive monitoring, actions are taken on a per-case basis," the first person cited earlier said.

Misuse fallout

Yet, since 1 January 2026, misuse of Grok to generate sexualised versions of peoples photographs without consent has swept X in India. The person cited above defended the company, stating that most such content were being generated voluntarily by users on the platform, and was not a result of Grok creating them on its own."

To be sure, Groks two main competing platformsGoogles Nano Banana and OpenAIs ChatGPT Imagesdo not allow users to edit or generate content where a persons photograph is morphed into potentially objectionable imagery. Mint has independently verified this claim.

According to two people aware of the matter, this distinction led MeitY to issue a subsequent notice to X, giving the company 72 hours, until the evening of Monday, 5 January, to respond.

A senior government official involved in the discussions, who also requested anonymity, confirmed that X and xAI, Groks holding company and Xs subsidiary, have not yet responded. The companies may either submit their response by Monday evening or seek an extension.

If they ask for an extension for legitimate reasons, well consider that too," the official said.

The government meets each of the social media platforms individually every week, as per clauses included in rules such as section 69 of the IT Act, 2000. These meetings are to discuss various compliance and reporting issues, and that includes a wide variety of things. The bigger question is that for users, it is important to not engage with all sorts of tools and features on a platform, which is what leads to a wider range of mischief and issues online," the official added.

For now, Xs future in India remains under scrutiny. The country is Xs fourth-largest market globally, with 22 million monthly active users as of November last year.

In its notice, MeitY has asked X to submit an action taken report" detailing specific technical and organizational measures adopted or proposed in relation to the Grok application, the role and oversight exercised by the Chief Compliance Officer, actions taken against offending content, users and accounts; and mechanisms put in place to ensure compliance with the mandatory reporting requirement under section 33 of the BNSS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita)."

Mint also reviewed Xs three most recent monthly action reports for September, October and November. In September, the company took action on 1,680 reports, of which 55% related to abuse, harassment, and sensitive adult content. In October and November, as reports related to sexual content declined, X recorded a sharp rise in complaints concerning synthetic and manipulated media", accounting for half of 1,959 actions in October and 21% of 1,528 actions in November.

We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material, by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary. Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content," X said in a statement on its Safety handle on Sunday.

The data suggests that X was, at least to some extent, aware of rising content manipulation issues linked to Grok.

The problems arise out of certain policies and mechanisms that Grok follows, as against some other platforms. What is permissible on X and Grok, and what isnt, are clearly and reasonably defined in their policiesusers are free to engage and report in accordance with that," the person cited above said.

Safe harbour test

However, discussions with the Centre are unlikely to align with Xs stance. The official cited earlier reiterated the governments position: for any kind of sexual content online, you must remove them proactively, and if you dont, safe harbour protection is of course on the line."

Legal experts say the episode underscores unresolved ethical and regulatory questions surrounding AI-generated content.

As far as sexually explicit content is concerned, users are well within their rights to pursue prosecution against manipulated computer imagery that may result in their pictures being converted to nude or sexual content, as India does not allow for any form of sexualized content, online. However, the time is now ripe for India to have AI specific laws and regulations specifically against deepfakes and such forms of manipulated imagery harming their reputation and dignity," said NS Nappinai, senior counsel at the Supreme Court and founder of Cyber Saathi, a cyber security advocacy body.

Also Read | Will 2026 be a turning point for AI in India?

Nappinai said Indias proposal requiring platforms to label artificial-generated or significantly edited content may not be sufficient, and called for specific stringent penal provisions".

She also said the definition of safe harbour protection requires greater clarity to explicitly hold platforms accountable for content generated by their own tools.

Safe harbour exemption is meant to protect platforms against prosecution for third party content, but where such content is created or as in this case generated by the platform or tools it is offering, the platform cannot and ought not to be permitted to seek such protection. Grok is importantly a part of the platform itself, and developed and deployed by it conscious of its capabilities. It would thus be erroneous to presume that Groks actions should be immune to prosecution," she said.

Merely because a platform may otherwise be an intermediary does not give it exemption for all content or actions on its platforms."

(This story was updated to add a comment from an X spokesperson.)
(Bloomberg) -- Saks Global Enterprises is looking to line up a loan of as much as $1 billion to keep the business running as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that could happen in coming weeks, according to people familiar with the situation.

The cash-strapped luxury retailer, which skipped an interest payment to bondholders due Dec. 30 totaling more than $100 million, has been negotiating a forbearance with some of its creditors, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. That could buy the company more time to hammer out a financing agreement or craft a reorganization plan.

Some Saks bondholders have discussed a so-called debtor-in-possession loan that may include at least $750 million of new money and a potential roll-up of existing debt to allow the company to continue operating after it files for bankruptcy, the people said. Still, the situation is fast-moving and the structure of any financing could change, they said.

Messages with Saks were not returned, while a representative with company adviser PJT Partners declined to comment. The New York Post earlier reported some details of a potential DIP loan.

Saks, whose roots go back more than 150 years, has been rushing to plug its liquidity shortfall amid inventory and cash-flow pressures. It reached a tipping point about 12 months after raising billions of dollars from bond investors for a turnaround plan that involved acquiring Neiman Marcus.

In June, creditors agreed to provide Saks hundreds of millions of dollars more as part of a debt deal that reorganized the repayment line, creating multiple tiers with differing claims on the companys assets.

But the company has continued to struggle with lackluster sales and inventory issues. Amid its financial woes, Saks said Friday its Chief Executive Officer Marc Metrick was stepping down, with Executive Chairman Richard Baker replacing him.

The chain operates its flagship Saks Fifth Avenue stores along with Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. In October, it cut its full-year guidance after reporting declining sales tied to inventory-management challenges. It reported a 13% year-over-year drop in revenue to $1.6 billion in the second quarter. At the time, management said it had been exploring the sale of a minority stake in Bergdorf Goodman to raise funds.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
It can be hard to understand Elon Musks realityespecially as he appears to be on track to become the worlds first trillionaire this year.

Even he questions that reality.

For the longest time, Musk has talked about the possibility that were living in a computer simulation. And a proof point for him might very well be 2025.

How else could you explain the year the worlds richest man had?

It was a period filled with dizzying turns in politics and business. To the chagrin of his critics, the events of 2025 are propelling him into 2026 with the kind of momentum that could see him remain a potent force in national politics and his net worth reach the Four Comma Clubeven before receiving a dime of his new $1 trillion Tesla pay package that shareholders approved last fall.

To be clear, the simulation hypothesis is more sci-fi than science. Think of the movie The Matrix," or an elaborate videogame, or a really involved Netflix series that some advanced beings are watching.

Understanding his ideas on the simulation helps shed light onto how Musk is using the power of narrative to sell his rather audacious 2026 goals to investors. Those ambitions include: scaling Cybercab output, high-volume" production of brain computers and finally achieving full reusability with Starship, the massive rocket being developed for moon and Mars missions.

I do have this theory about predicting the future, which is that the most interesting outcome is the most likely," Musk said during a podcast appearance a few weeks ago.

View Full Image A SpaceX Super Heavy booster carrying the Starship spacecraft lifted off in October on a test flight.

It is an idea rooted in the thinking that if our reality really is a simulation, we would get shut down if we were boring.

Another way to think of it is like we could be an alien Netflix series and that series is only going to get continued if our ratings are good," Musk said. If you apply Darwin to simulation theory then only the most interesting simulations will continue. Therefore, the most interesting outcome is most likely because its either that or annihilation.

So," he added, really, we have one goal: Keep it interesting."

Say what you want about Musk, but he certainly kept it interesting in 2025.

In the past 12 months, we watched Musk ascend to the peak of political power (claiming the title of First Buddy" next to President Trump in the White House) only to see their special relationship blow up in a spectacular way.

In business, Musk saw Teslas market value hit a new high even as its deliveries of electric vehicles fell for the second consecutive year, hurt especially by results in Europe. Investor enthusiasm was buoyed by Musks exit from Washington, so much so that they approved a record pay package for their beloved chief executive that could pay out $1 trillion if he successfully achieves a list of audacious goals that would essentially remake the car company into a robotics firm in the next decade.

His rocket company, SpaceX, is flirting with going public this year in what could be a massive initial public offering as Musk talks about his plans to open AI data centers in outer space and a factory on the moon.

His social-media company, X, posted a series of antisemitic posts from his AI chatbot, Grok, that included calling itself MechaHitler." It was the sort of public flub that might have derailed any other startup, but it was quickly forgotten as Musk moved on to his next viral moment. He has been working to raise billions of dollars more for his AI company, xAI, that is seeking to rival OpenAI and Google for the future of artificial intelligence.

For Musk, this past year was filled with so many twists and turns that it can be hard to remember them all. It also fits with his theory that the simulation encourages an up-and-down story arc, not a linear one.

Look at President Trumps story," Musk said on the Katie Miller Podcast in December. Its more interesting that he lost the intermediate term and then won his second term after thatjust like the story arc, initially up then down then resurgentIf you went with my theory that the most interesting outcome is the most likely, then that was the most likely outcome. It was inevitable."

View Full Image Elon Musk and President Trump spoke from the Oval Office in February about the Department of Government Efficiency.

Even Musks own relationship with Trump has followed such a pattern this past year. The First Act was the early days of the White House where Musk seemed to be a constant presence, going after federal spending via his Department of Government Efficiency to the dismay of some. Then came the Second Act: the falling out. Now the Third Act is surprising many: In the wake of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Musk appeared to mend fences. And now Musk seems likely to funnel more of his money toward Republicans in the midterm elections this year.

All the while, Musks personal fortune has grown to new levels. His net worth surged, more than doubling, to around $726 billion at the end of the year, according to Forbess calculations.

That estimate was bolstered by SpaceX seeking a valuation of $800 billion in a secondary share sale, up from a prior valuation of $400 billion. His net worth was further helped by a Delaware Supreme Court ruling in December that overturned a lower court, clearing the way for Musk to receive his contested 2018 pay package, now worth $139 billion for his work as Tesla CEO.

If SpaceX, of which Musk has held around 42%, goes public at a $1.5 trillion valuation, as suggested by Bloomberg News, it is easy to see how his net worth could be worth $1 trillion this year.

This kind of personal wealth is hard to fathomalmost as if we are in a simulation. Maybe that is why Musk has spent so much of his adult life thinking about the topic. He has been talking about it publicly for at least a decade now.

His simulation argument is drawn from looking at the pace of development in our own modern lives: In the span of two generations, videogames have advanced from simplistic graphics of Pong" to photorealistic, 3-D simulations with millions of players competing simultaneously. To him, it just makes sense that a more advanced society has already gone down this path.

Given that were clearly on a trajectory to have games that are indistinguishable from realityit would seem to follow that the odds were in based reality is one in billions," Musk said at a 2016 tech conference. So tell me whats wrong with that argument."

More recently, as Musk reminisced on what has occurred in his own life, he has sounded even more certain. If you were me," Musk asked, would you think this is real or a simulation?"

Write to Tim Higgins at tim.higgins@wsj.com
New Delhi: India has initiated an anti-dumping probe into imports of nylon-6 chips and granulesraw plastic materialsfrom China and Russia, after domestic manufacturers alleged that cheap imports are hurting local industry, the commerce ministry said on Saturday.

The probe, launched by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) under the ministry of commerce and industry, comes amid persistent concerns over price suppression and market distortion in the synthetic raw materials segment.

The investigation has been triggered by an application filed by Surat-based Gujarat Polyfilms Pvt. Ltd. As per the companys website, Gujarat Polyfilms Pvt. Ltd lists its production capacity for nylon-6 chips, including engineering and textile grades, at around 1,200 tonnes per year.

The company has alleged that imports of nylon-6 chips and granules with relative viscosity below three from China and Russia have increased sharply in recent years, both in absolute terms and relative to domestic consumption, leading to a decline in prices, suppressed margins and adverse impact on profitability, as per the ministry's notification.

Nylon-6 chips are primarily used in textile applications, particularly in the manufacture of synthetic yarns and fabrics, though they also find use in light-duty automotive and electrical applications. The DGTR has noted that the imported product and the domestically-produced material are technically and commercially substitutable, with similar physical and chemical characteristics, manufacturing processes and end uses, allowing buyers to switch between them based largely on price.

An industry executive, who wished not to be named, said that in the absence of corrective duties, domestic manufacturers face difficulty competing with imports that benefit from scale, state support or lower input costs in exporting countries.

However, others caution that trade protection measures, if overused, can weaken export competitiveness in globally price-sensitive sectors.

In this global market era, merely protecting domestic industries can curtail a countrys export prospects, as seen in Indias man-made fibre (MMF) textile exports where prices became unviable in global markets, said Raja M. Shanmugam, former president of the Tiruppur Exporters Association.

Instead of imposing anti-dumping duties, the focus should be on equipping manufacturers to become more cost-competitive, said Shanmugam.

Minister of state for chemicals and fertilizers Anupriya Patel told the Lok Sabha in March 2025 that India's total production capacity of nylon-6 stands at 83,500 tonnes.

Also Read | Fix all import policy distortions, not just quality barriers for factory inputs

In India, nylon-6 chips are manufactured primarily by Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd and Gujarat Polyfilms Pvt. Ltd. In addition, Chevy Polymers operates in recycled nylon-6 granules and plastic resins, while Kayavlon Impex is active as a supplier and trader of nylon chips.

India imported 277,369.6 tonnes of nylon-6 in FY24 worth $613.81 million, and 335,242.2 tonnes in FY25 worth $730.61 million, per commerce ministry data, underlining the countrys growing reliance on overseas suppliers for a key textile and industrial input. Imports from China grew much faster, increasing by over 33% from $297.56 million to $395.96 million, lifting Chinas share in Indias total nylon-6 imports from around 49% in FY24 to more than 54% in FY25. This indicates a rising dependence on Chinese material even as domestic producers flag injury from low-priced imports.

Imports from Russia, though small in absolute terms, saw a sharp jump of over 300%, rising from $6.37 million to $25.90 million during the same period, with Russias share in total imports increasing from about 1% to 3.5%.

Taken together, China and Russia accounted for nearly 58% of Indias nylon-6 chip imports in FY25, up from about 50% a year earlier, a trend that adds context to the anti-dumping probe as authorities examine whether the surge in imports is distorting prices and hurting domestic manufacturing.

In its preliminary assessment, the DGTR has found prima facie evidence that imports from China and Russia are being dumped in the Indian market, with dumping margins above the de-minimis threshold, as per the order.

The authority has also observed a causal link between the allegedly dumped imports and injury to the domestic producer, citing indicators such as price depression, loss of market share and weakened financial performance.

The period of investigation covers July 2024 to June 2025, while injury analysis spans the previous three financial years.

The case fits into a broader pattern of rising trade remedy actions by India in chemicals and polymers, sectors that are highly exposed to volatile global pricing and aggressive export strategies by overseas producers.

If the investigation confirms dumping and injury, the DGTR may recommend the imposition of anti-dumping duties to offset the price advantage of imports and restore fair competition. Any such duties, if imposed, would directly affect textile producers and other downstream users, who may see some impact on input costs, but are also expected to benefit from greater supply stability and reduced dependence on volatile imports.

Micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) industry representatives said that any trade remedial action would need to be accompanied by steps to ensure adequate and competitively-priced domestic supply of key raw materials to avoid disruption for small units.
Actor Ashish Vidyarthi and his wife Rupali sustained minor injuries from a recent road accident in Guwahati, Assam. The actor recently shared a health update with fans and revealed details of the accident. He shared that both were doing well and thanked everyone for their concern.

Ashish Vidyarthi on his road accident with wife Taking to his Instagram account, Ashish Vidyarthi updated that they were "under observation and doing well."

He shared that the accident took place while he was trying to cross the street with his wife. They were hit by a motorcycle.

The couple was rushed to a hospital for medical assistance where they were under observation. However, they are recovering.

The actor also updated that the motorcyclist, too, was taken to the hospital. Rupali and I are well. We are under observation but doing well. Thank you for your love, read the caption of his post.

Ashish Vidyarthi's health update In the video, he shared as he went live on the platform, "Main ek ajeeb se time par live kar raha hoon, just to let you all know. Because main abhi dekh raha hoon bahut se news channels mein kya kya aa raha hain. Rupali and I were crossing the street yesterday and a bike hit us. We both are fine. Rupali is under observation. All is well, I am good. Chhota sa chot aya hai but absolutely fine (I am doing this live in a strange situation. I am seeing all the news channels talking about it).

Just to let you know, ha hua hein. But we are good and nothing to sensationalise. The bike rider ka bhi maine abhi police se pata kiya hein ki usko bhi hosh aa gaya hain. Sab ka achcha ho, sab theek rahe. Ap se bhi yahi batana chahte hain. We are taking very good care (Yes, the accident took place. I came to know that the bike rider also has gained consciousness. Let everybody stay okay, and I wanted to let you know this happened), he concluded.

Watch video here:

In 2023, Ashish Vidyarthi tied the knot with Rupali Barua, who hails from Assam. The senior actor was previously married to Piloo Vidyarthi, daughter of veteran Shakuntala Barua.

In 2022, Ashish Vidyarthi and Piloo parted ways amicably, ending their marriage of 22 years. They have a son together.
OTT releases to watch in January 2026: January 2026 opens with a packed streaming slate, ranging from returning global favourites to new Indian originals and courtroom dramas. Whether you are in the mood for romance, thrillers or reality television, OTT platforms have lined up a steady flow of titles through the month. Here is a curated look at what to watch and when.

De De Pyaar De 2 Platform: Netflix

Release date: 9 January

Ajay Devgn returns as Ashish alongside Rakul Preet Singhs Ayesha in this sequel to the 2019 romantic comedy. The film revisits the couples unconventional relationship as they navigate fresh challenges, including family resistance and an unexpected new suitor played by Meezaan Jafri.

Freedom at Midnight Platform: SonyLiv

Release date: 9 January

Set against the backdrop of the 1947 Partition, this historical thriller examines the political negotiations, ideological fault lines and human cost that accompanied the birth of India and Pakistan. The series blends history with suspense to explore a defining moment in the subcontinents past.

Haq Platform: Netflix

Release date: 2 January

After a steady theatrical run, Haq makes its OTT debut. Yami Gautam plays Shazia Bano, a woman who takes her estranged lawyer husband, portrayed by Emraan Hashmi, to court after he abandons her and their children. The film centres on legal battles, faith and womens rights.

The Night Manager Season 2 Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Release date: 11 January

The British spy thriller returns with a second season, following Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston) as he digs deeper into the world of arms trafficking. The new episodes promise higher stakes, expanded international intrigue and sharper espionage drama.

Bridgerton Season 4 Platform: Netflix

Release date: 29 January

Season four of the Regency-era hit shifts focus to Benedict Bridgerton. The story follows his romance with Sophie Baek, a mysterious woman he meets at a masquerade ball, blending class divides, romance and signature Bridgerton spectacle.

MasterChef India Season 9 Platform: SonyLiv

Release date: 5 January

The cooking competition returns with a new batch of home cooks. Judges Kunal Kapur, Vikas Khanna and Ranveer Brar once again mentor contestants through pressure tests and inventive culinary challenges.

Land of Sin Platform: Netflix

Release date: 2 January

This Swedish noir series revolves around the murder of a teenager on the Bjare peninsula. Two investigators with contrasting methods are forced to work together as they unravel family rivalries and buried secrets in a close-knit community.

Taskaree: The Smugglers Web Platform: Netflix

Release date: 14 January

Created by Neeraj Pandey, the series stars Emraan Hashmi as a customs officer battling international smuggling syndicates. Set largely across airports and transit hubs, the show focuses on high-value contraband and the networks behind it.
President Trump and his top advisers had for months telegraphed their plans to take down Nicolas Maduro. And yet, when it finally happened, Washington and Caracas were stunned by the ferocity and speed of the attack.

Since August, the U.S. had assembled warships, jet fighters and roughly 15,000 troops on Venezuelas doorstep. Bombers routinely flew show-of-force missions while U.S. intelligence personnel were known to be inside the South American country. The Pentagon released videos of American forces in the Caribbean training to raid compounds and conduct nighttime flight operations, as well as dozens of airstrikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats.

Still, some politicians and analysts in both countries questioned whether Trump, who ran for office on keeping the U.S. out of regime-change wars, would follow through.

Then, in the early hours of Saturday morning, explosions rang out in the Venezuelan capital.

By the time the sun rose in Caracas, Maduros nearly 13-year grip on power had ended. In handcuffs, blindfolded and wearing a gray sweatsuit, he was on a U.S. warship, on his way to New York City to face narcoterrorism charges following a five-hour operation. What happens next isnt clear, as the U.S. faces the prospect of overseeing Venezuela during a perilous moment.

The mission was the culmination of months of secretive planningand a series of mixed signalsthat allowed the U.S. to preserve the element of surprise, even though the attack at times seemed inevitable.

Starting late this past summer, intelligence personnel began tracking what Maduro ate and wore, where he lived and traveledhelped by an asset within the Venezuelan leaders inner circle, according to administration officials and others familiar with the operation.

Meanwhile, U.S. special operations forces rehearsed and rehearsed, practicing how to extract the Venezuelan president inside a replica of his fortified compound. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and homeland security adviser Stephen Miller met regularly to discuss the mission.

Throughout, Trumps advisers were torn about the wisdom of a military operationand they offered at times conflicting statements publicly, insisting they werent trying to oust Maduro even as the U.S. military presence in the region ballooned. Military officials told Trump that any mistake in the intricate mission could result in an embarrassing failure. Regime change, even if portrayed as a crackdown on drugs, could enrage Trumps conservative base, some of the presidents advisers warned.

But Trump ultimately concluded that Maduro, indicted in the U.S., needed to face justice and that his supporters would still back his decision, administration officials said. Trump demanded that the plan to push Maduro out be closely held within a small circle of top advisers to protect the element of surprise.

Everything needed for the operation was in place by late December, but Trump waited to see if Maduro would relinquish power on his own. When he considered the diplomatic route exhausted, Trump gave his approval for the operation, the officials said.

U.S. forces tried several times to launch the extraction mission, including on Christmas and New Years Day, but the earlier attempts were hampered by weather, the officials said, and the bombers, jet fighters and tankers that had flown into the Caribbean from their bases in the continental U.S. were told to turn around.

Trump deferred to the Pentagon on when it was best to give the green light, a senior administration official said. At 10:46 p.m. on Friday, Operation Absolute Resolve was a go.

Good luck and godspeed," Trump told military leaders, a message relayed to the readied U.S. forces.

In a makeshift secure facility at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida club, Trump watched one of the greatest gambles of his two presidencies unfold. Flanked by top aides, Trump received blow-by-blow updates as 150 warplanes flew from 20 locations throughout the Western Hemisphere to reach the Venezuelan capital before troops pushed their way into Maduros bedroom. His team monitored the social-media site X on a large screen for any mentions of the word Venezuela," according to images released by the administration.

It was just after 1:30 a.m. local time in Caracasan hour ahead of Washingtonwhen residents say they began to hear planes overheard.

Gabriela Marquez was fast asleep in her East Caracas home when her brother woke her up, telling her that the U.S. had launched an attack on Maduros regime.

Theyre really bombing," her brother said. Marquez ran to the roof of her house, where the roar of planes overhead filled the night sky. You could only hear explosions," she said.

Residents of Caracas reported bursts that rattled their windows, drove families to hide under furniture, and sent others into the streets to film the plumes of smoke and low-flying U.S. aircraft over the capital. They logged on to VPNs to access YouTube and X, which are blocked in Venezuela, to piece together which sites had been hit and trade rumors about U.S. soldiers in the streets.

Mateo Giraldo, a taxi driver, was driving a couple miles away from the La Carlota air base in Caracas when he heard the explosions. The car leaped off the ground from the shock wave," he said. I thought I would die."

The U.S. sent overwhelming air power for the operation: F-18, F-22, and F-35 jet fighters, EA-18 Growler electronic warfare planes, E-2 Hawkeye command-and-control aircraft and B-1 bombers that can carry 24 cruise missiles each, as well as remotely piloted drones. They were tasked with dismantling and disabling" Venezuelas air-defense systems, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told reporters Saturday, to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters into the target area."

The helicopters, which carried an extraction force and law-enforcement officers, at some points flew only about 100 feet above the water during the flights into Venezuela. One U.S. aircraft was hit during the operation, but remained flyable throughout the mission and returned home safely. U.S. forces sustained some injuries, but no Americans were killed, Trump said.

At 2:01 a.m. local time, a U.S. Special Forces team arrived at Maduros compound, according to Caine. As they approached, the U.S. helicopters came under fire, Caine said. American forces responded with overwhelming force and self-defense," he said.

When U.S. Special Forces arrived inside the compound, they exchanged gunfire with Venezuelan personnel, according to Trump. Maduro and his wife attempted to flee into a steel-reinforced safe room but were unable to close the door in time. They gave up" and were taken into custody by the Justice Department, Caine said.

Denis Esquivel was asleep at his home near Maduros compound when commotion from his neighbors stirred him awake. Police officers stationed on the street outside his apartment were no longer there. They ran off and only left behind some shotgun shells," he said. The only thing I knew was that the palace was in darkness."

Some Caracas residents said their electricity went off around the time of the attack. The lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have," Trump said.

By 3:29 a.m. local time, Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores, were aboard U.S. aircraft on their way out of Venezuela. Trump later posted a photo of Maduro on the USS Iwo Jima after his capture, wearing dark sunglasses, what appear to be handcuffs and a Nike sweatsuit.

Both Maduro and Flores now face federal charges in the Southern District of New York, according to a released indictment. The indictment alleges that Maduro facilitated the transport of thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States."

Maduro and Flores arrived Saturday evening in New York, where they will be held in federal custody during their legal proceedings.

On Saturday in Caracas, people were anxious about what comes next. Some people said they were staying home. Others lined up to buy food and gasoline.

Everything is uncertain now," said Maria Eugenia Rengifo, who was at home with her family when she was jolted awake by the explosions. Like everyone, Im concerned about the security of my family, above all the children."

Write to Alexander Ward at alex.ward@wsj.com, Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com, Dustin Volz at dustin.volz@wsj.com, Vera Bergengruen at vera.bergengruen@wsj.com and Shelby Holliday at shelby.holliday@wsj.com
President Trumps threat to intervene in Irans protests carries new urgency for Tehran now that the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has raised uncertainty around how far the president is willing to go.

Trump said Friday that Washington was locked and loaded" to come to the aid of Iranian protesters if Tehran cracks down harshly on them. A day later, the U.S. military launched strikes on the capital of Venezuela, an Iran ally, and brought Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, to the U.S. to face criminal charges.

It confirms that Trump is unpredictable and truly everything is on the table vis a vis Iran," said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, a think tank in London.

In recent months, the Trump administration has carried out airstrikes on militants in Yemen, Nigeria and Syria, saying they threatened U.S. or allied interests. But the capture of Maduro, a serving head of state, in a raid on the capital has been the administrations most audacious operation to date.

Irans Foreign Ministry on Saturday called on the United Nations to step in to stop what it called the illegal U.S. aggression against Venezuela. Irans foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, called the capture a clear example of state terrorism" in a call with his Venezuelan counterpart, Yvan Gil.

A number of top Iranian leaders have threatened to retaliate against the U.S. if Trump carries through with his threat to intervene on the side of the protesters.

Iranian leaders were already reassessing their vulnerabilities after a disastrous year in which Israel decisively broke with a longstanding reluctance to attack the country directly and shattered Irans air defenses in a 12-day war in June. Trump joined the attack late in the war to bomb key Iranian nuclear facilities.

Israel also decimated Iranian allies Hezbollah and Hamas, which were key members in Tehrans network of regional militias that helped deter attacks.

Maduros capture will now force the Iranian regime to weigh more heavily the possibility that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei could be forcibly removed, said Roozbeh Aliabadi, an Iranian consultant at geopolitical advisory firm Global Growth Advisors.

Maduros capture is a game changer for Iran," he said. It opens up possibilities that didnt exist in Iran before."

Israel praised Maduros removal and said it stood with the people of Venezuela.

The move to arrest Maduro has few precedents in American foreign policy. Washington captured Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega in 1990 on drug charges. The U.S. helped topple Iraqs Saddam Hussein and Libyas Moammar Gadhafi, but both dictators were ultimately killed by their own people.

During the 12-day war in June, the Israeli and U.S. attacks were primarily aimed at Irans nuclear and missile program. But Israel also attacked top military officers and symbols of the regime such as Tehrans Evin prison, raising concerns it might try to force an end to the regime.

Trumps recent threat expands the possible scenarios for military action to protecting human rights, analysts say.

The rising external risks come as the government in Tehran is struggling to come up with a response to protests that were triggered a week ago by frustration with the countrys collapsing currency.

The regime has alternated between striking a conciliatory tone over economic grievances and threatening violence against demonstrators it has tarred as agents of foreign enemies. In his first official response to the protests, Khamenei said Saturday he understood the economic concerns but said unrest had been engineered by Irans foes.

This unjustified rise in the exchange rate is not natural; it is the work of the enemy," state media quoted him as saying. Rioters must be dealt with in their proper place."

At least 15 protesters have been killed so far in the unrest, which has now expanded to 60 cities, the group Human Rights Activists in Iran said late Saturday.

Khamenei, who has the final say on Irans domestic and foreign policy, has been in power since 1989. His insistence on Irans right to enrich uranium has been the main stumbling block in nuclear talks that could lead to relief from crippling sanctions.

The supreme leader has been a lightning rod for protesters who oppose his uncompromising stance on foreign policy and his repressive policies and strict moral codes at home.

Protesters are likely to feel empowered by the U.S. pledge of support.

2026 starts as a nightmare for the Iranian leadership," said Mustapha Pakzad, a geopolitical analyst focused on Iran. The regimes options have been narrowed very significantly."

Write to Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com
The skies over Caracas lit up early Saturday morning as the U.S. struck Venezuelan military installations and key infrastructure in a bid to remove dictator Nicolas Maduro from power.

The operation suppressed Venezuelan air defenses, then pulverized military targets including Fort Tiuna, a key stronghold of regime leadership, La Carlota military airport and communication towers. As U.S. special forces penetrated the security ring around Mr. Maduros quarters, sources say many Cuban guards were killed or injured.

At 4:21 a.m. President Trump posted that Mr. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been arrested by the U.S. and taken out of the country. A photo circulated of a humiliated Mr. Maduro in a rumpled track suit and handcuffs in U.S. custody.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro threw a tizzy at the news, as did the Communist regime in Havana, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula" da Silva and some congressional Democrats. How dare the U.S. depose a sitting dictator? Mr. Petros plea for peace was especially rich given his history as an M-19 terrorist.

Millions of Venezuelan expat communities around the world erupted in celebration. For the first time in a quarter-century of authoritarian chavismo, a return to democracy and pluralism is possible. Venezuelans want to go home.

But the job isnt finished. Mr. Trump acknowledged as much on Saturday at a Mar-a-Lago press conference: The U.S., he said, is going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition." That wasnt expected, and how it will work is for now a mystery. Yes, there were U.S. boots on the ground in this operation, but not nearly enough to enforce law and order. Where do we go from here?

The ambiguity is unsettling. Nevertheless, its a good sign that Mr. Trump doesnt think Mr. Maduros capture is the end of the task at hand. The transition needs U.S. leadership and the president said hes ready to provide it.

Caracas was quiet on Saturday afternoon and the opposition, which has been preparing for this moment for more than a year under the leadership of Nobel Prize Winner Maria Corina Machado, is in wait-and-see mode.

The regime has been decapitated. But some Maduro henchmen are digging in. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, the most ruthless member of the top echelon, went into hiding, his reputation for cowardice intact. From there he called Venezuelans to the streets to protest against the U.S. His enforcers were spotted cruising Caracas slums. People mostly stayed inside. Unconfirmed reports say that some military higher-ups fled the country.

Mr. Maduro had been given a chance to exit the country without violence, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the press conference. Mr. Trump said the Venezuelan had even considered the offer. His decision to decline left the U.S. president little choice but to deliver the shock and awe. Now Mr. Maduro and Ms. Flores will be tried in federal court in the Southern District of New York on drug-trafficking charges and face long prison sentences if convicted.

Next on the U.S. hit list is Delcy Rodriguez, Mr. Maduros second in command. She has reportedly been sworn in as the new dictator and is therefore commander in chief. Sources say the Trump administration is leaning on her to coordinate a negotiated transition.

Venezuelan democrats are convinced they need the Venezuelan army, navy and air force to establish a peaceful handover of power and new elections. They learned from watching the mistake of de-Baathification" of Iraq in 2003. Ms. Rodriguezs mission, should she choose to accept it, is to persuade Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino to step down and order the generals to jump sides. Her future undoubtedly depends on it.

Standing in the way are Mr. Cabellos die-hard goons, who are not the surrendering type. Mr. Cabello may be too scared to move. The U.S. has shown it can solve that problem.

If Ms. Rodriguez and Mr. Padrino want to avoid prison and violence, its rumored their cooperation might help them. The U.S. favors a peaceful transition. But according to Mr. Trump, a second stage" of U.S. intervention isnt out of the question.

The democratic opposition hasnt called its supporters to the streets for fear that they might be gunned down by Mr. Cabellos true believers. But its notable the military hasnt mobilized in the capital. Normally, tanks roll and brigades march when a nation is under attack. Could it be the brass isnt sure the rank and file will engage in the repression the regime depends on?

Mr. Trumps candor in telling Colombias Mr. Petro that he could be next, in a manner of speaking, was refreshing. Mr. Rubios message to the Cuban regime that its bosses may want to sleep with one eye open also sounded right. But the presidents claim that Ms. Machado isnt respected by Venezuelans was gratuitous and uninformed and made him look small. Shes wildly popular and has unified the country.

And while Mr. Trump talked a lot about oil and American cocaine consumption, he never mentioned that some 900 political prisoners are rotting in Venezuelan jails and in danger. They could have used a presidential shout-out and even a warning to those who might harm them.

The argument in favor of democracy is built on evidence that Venezuelans want it. They voted for it in the July 2024 presidential election, choosing opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez with nearly 70% of the vote. Mr. Trump has the moral high ground on this one. He could do worse than plant a flag in it.

Write to OGrady@wsj.com.
After an audacious overnight operation that captured Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and removed him from power, President Trump on Saturday embraced an open-ended nation-building effort of a kind he once said he would avoid.

Trump said the U.S. would run Venezuela, a Latin American country of 29 million people with a faltering economy, for an indefinite period. Were going to run it, essentially, until a proper transition takes place," he said.

He provided few details about how the White House would take control of the country without putting large numbers of U.S. troops on the groundan option Trump didnt rule out. He said even less about whether a viable plan is inn place for governing Venezuela after deposing its president and sending him to the U.S. to face criminal charges, other than to insist the U.S. would seize the oil industry and sharply increase production.

For a president who has for years denounced his predecessors for seeking to transform foreign countries they didnt understand, it was a stunning about-face. The move left open the possibility of a deeperand expensiveU.S. effort, particularly if the remnants of Maduros regime choose defiance instead of accepting Trumps demands.

Even if a U.S.-backed government takes over in Caracas, extending its control over the rest of the country will likely pose numerous challenges. The Trump administration might need to contend with a violent backlash while delivering on Trumps demands for the country to restore former U.S. oil assets.

Out with the old is one thing, in with the new is something very different," said Richard Haass, a former State Department official who engaged in Venezuela diplomacy during the George W. Bush administration. Now we own it."

Trump framed his plan as a benevolent intervention, one that would take account of the needs of ordinary Venezuelans and encourage millions of exiles to return. But he didnt say who Washington would recognize as the countrys next leader, despite his administrations previous support for the opposition led by Nobel Prize winner and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

I think itd be very tough for her to be the leader," he said. She doesnt have the support within or the respect within the country." Venezuelans in July 2024 elected Edmundo Gonzalez, a retired diplomat backed by Machados coalition, as president. Before Trumps press conference, Venezuelan opposition leaders had called for people to take to the streets and urged the military to abandon the old regime. Today we are prepared to enforce our mandate and take power," Machado said.

Trump said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken to Venezuelas vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, who by law would take Maduros place as president, and suggested that she would cooperate with the U.S. Trump indicated that Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would be involved, among others.

Some lawmakers criticized the shift. We are running Venezuela now," outgoing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) said on X, adding to criticism of Trumps foreign engagements. America First!!!"

Said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.): The idea that Trump plans to now run Venezuela should strike fear in the hearts of all Americans. The American people have seen this before and paid the devastating price."

Until Trumps news conference Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, the Venezuela operation appeared to be more in line with the one-off military actions that have defined his second term. American forces grabbed Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from a fortified compound in Caracas and flew them by helicopter to a U.S. Navy vessel in the Caribbean. U.S. authorities say Maduro will be brought to trial on drug-trafficking charges in New York City.

Trump didnt mention the bloody interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq more than two decades ago. Each began with similarly hopeful vows that the U.S. could wipe away years of mismanagement, violence and corruption and produce something resembling stable countries. In neither case were the hopes realized.

In Venezuela, Trump said he and his national security team would oversee a U.S.-led government and that the administration was designating various people" to administer the country, take over its oil industry using U.S. companies and rebuild its rotten" infrastructure.

We cant take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela and doesnt have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind," he said, declining to rule out putting U.S. troops on the ground. Were not afraid of it," he said.

Trump allies have frequently cited the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama as a model for what could happen in Venezuela, with some Republican lawmakers referring to deposing Maduro as Panama 2.0."

But while American forces removed Gen. Manuel Noriega and extradited him to face U.S. drug charges, the operation in the tiny Central American country led to the installation of a new government in days. The American invaders faced off against defense forces that were more similar to a militarized police.

Venezuela is more than twice the size of California, with a Caribbean coastline stretching 1,700 miles. Through a mix of repression and coercion, the regime has consolidated its rule and driven much of the opposition into exile. The armed forces, whose top leadership has remained loyal to the regime through various uprisings over the years, has some 125,000 members.

Some 64% of Venezuelans, including some eight million exiles abroad, think their country would be better off without Maduro as president, according to a recent poll by AtlasIntel.

The seizure of the oil industry would enable the U.S. to take a tremendous amount of wealth" out of Venezuela, which would be divided among the Venezuelan people and the U.S. as compensation for nationalization of U.S. holdings in the energy sector, Trump said. He was likely referring to the expropriation without compensation of Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips projects nearly two decades ago.

Maduros lieutenants remained in the country. They said early Sunday that they were unified, hunkered down and ready to ride out any American incursion. They include the countrys No. 2 most powerful official, Diosdado Cabello; the defense minister, Vladimir Padrino; and the head of the National Assembly and Maduros top negotiator, Jorge Rodriguez, who is the brother of the vice president, Delcy Rodriguez.

They have not broken us," Padrino said in a video message.

Write to Vera Bergengruen at vera.bergengruen@wsj.com, Juan Forero at juan.forero@wsj.com and Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com
Ice-and-snow tourism ignites Chinas winter consumption during New Year's Day holidays

11:09, January 04, 2026 By Tao Mingyang ( Global Times

The Jiangjunshan Mountain International Ski Resort in Altay, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Photo: Li Yawei/GT

China's ice-and-snow economy kicked into high gear during the New Year's Day holidays, as surging travel demand, packed ski resorts and soaring bookings underscored the sector's growing role as a new engine of winter consumption.

During the ongoing three-day New Year's Day holidays, ice-and-snow tourism heated up across China, with big data showing sustained growth in both rail and civil aviation passenger traffic, CCTV News reported on Saturday. Ticket bookings for "Snow Town" and the Yabuli Ski Resort in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, surged by 2.7 times and two times, respectively. Online search interest related to "Harbin" jumped more than fivefold year on year.

Search volume for train and air tickets around the New Year's Day holidays rose more than threefold year-on-year. During the holidays, only a limited number of tickets remained available on routes from Beijing to northeastern cities including Harbin, Shenyang in Northeast China's Liaoning Province and Changchun in Northeast China's Jilin Province, while return tickets from the three cities to Beijing on January 3, the last day of the holidays, were largely sold out. Railway authorities plan to add multiple conventional and high-speed ice-and-snow tourism charter trains, according to the report.

Big data analysis shows that hot spring short breaks, ice-and-snow tourism and winter escape travel have become the dominant consumption themes during this year's New Year's Day holidays. Since the start of winter, visitor flows at key hot spring resorts and facilities nationwide have continued to rise, according to a Friday report by CCTV News.

Visitor numbers rose by about 50 percent year on year, Liu Yu, a public relations manager at the Wanlong Ski Resort in Chongli district, Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei Province, told the Global Times on Saturday, noting that even without a two-day extended holiday last year, visitor traffic was still at least 20 percent higher than in previous years with such breaks.

He added that around 12,000 visitors entered the venue on January 2 alone, and while totals are still being tallied, overall traffic is conservatively estimated to be up by 30 to 40 percent or more. Liu also said the visitor mix has shifted, with sharp increases from southern China  especially the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and Wuhan in Central China's Hubei Province  alongside solid growth from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, Southeast Asia, and parts of Europe and the US.

According to the CCTV News report, ice-and-snow tourism remained strong, with Harbin leading the market. Destinations including Altay in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Huludao in Liaoning and Aba in Southwest China's Sichuan Province saw notable growth, with visitor numbers rising by more than 12 percent year-on -ear.

South China's Hainan Province has long been a top winter escape destination. With the island-wide special customs operation fueling duty-free shopping tourism, travel demand surged sharply during the New Year's Day holidays. According to a report by Tongcheng Travel, booking interest for inbound and outbound flights at Hainan's three major airports during the holidays rose 76 percent month-on-month.

Data released by Haikou Customs on Friday showed that on the first day of the New Year's Day holidays, offshore duty-free sales in Hainan reached 148,000 items, up 30 percent year-on-year. The number of shoppers totaled 32,000, an increase of 45.8 percent year-on-year, while total sales value hit 251 million yuan ($35.89 million), surging 93.8 percent from a year earlier.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
I spent years in Silicon Valley through the post-George Floyd surge in DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) efforts, and then witnessed its very public retreat earlier in 2025. The year 2025 may be remembered as the point in history when corporate efforts in the US were visibly rolled back, with its impact seen in representation in advertising.

America became markedly more cautious in how race and gender appeared in mainstream advertising. But its approach has had limited impact on India. Most of our focus continues to be on safer areas, such as gender, specifically womens empowerment. Ads depicting lower socio-economic groups, disability, ageing, non-model bodies, and darker skin tones have gained traction, largely for defensible business reasons.

But caste is conspicuous by its absence in Indian advertising. Even though Indians are witness to caste every day, it remains a no-go area for marketers, given the complexity of the topic and the likely political and online backlash. It doesnt help that decision-making power remains concentrated among savarna elites. As a result, we portray a modern India (or Bharat) without social hierarchy, when most of the labour economy, from domestic work and delivery to sanitation, gig labour, construction and farming, remains caste structured. You only need to notice the difference between how an Urban Company masseuse is perceived and how an Urban Company bathroom cleaner is treated. Or ask why domestic workers in many homes are still asked to drink from separate cups.

This is not merely a representational blind spot; it is a business risk. Marketplaces like Blinkit, Zomato, Swiggy and Urban Company rely on trust from both workers and consumers to grow. When the dignity projected in advertising sits at odds with workers lived experiences, credibility diminishes across the platform. Advertising cannot indefinitely mask the inequalities that workers endure, and consumers increasingly see.

Also Read | Artists break stereotypes around caste

For marketers keen to explore caste, there are persuasive ways forward, without stepping on landmines. But before that, it will be useful to acknowledge the various phases of caste depiction in Indian advertising, not as a definitive history, but as a pattern of dominant aesthetics. Seen over time, this avoidance follows a pattern.

1980s to 2010: The middle-class default

During this period, mainstream advertising projected a narrow, aspirational ideal: light-skinned, largely urban, mostly Hindi-speaking families, with consumption as the marker of progress. Barring a few exceptions, caste was invisible, as depictions aligned with dominant caste norms.

2010s to 2020: Diversity without caste

As brands grew and made themselves available to more consumers, they embraced gender equity, disability, and occasionally LGBTQ representation. Gender was seen as universal and progressive, sexuality as bold but mostly manageable. However, even influential purpose-led campaigns mostly avoided caste.

2020 to present: Labour without context

App-based labour platforms have made their workers central to advertising. But these portrayals are curated: workers appear as cheerful partners, portrayed as ambitious, and equal in their aspirations. Some of the creative work is remarkably thoughtful and moving (like Urban Co.), but could go a click deeper. It remains detached from caste-linked realities such as occupational inheritance or discrimination.

The challenge for Indian advertising is how to become fluent in representing a caste-shaped society without turning ads into preachy lectures or controversies.

Also Read | We need a reformation: Caste salience must fall for social capital to rise

So, where can advertising begin, without slogans or sermonizing?

For one, start recognizing caste when you see it, and you might see it more often. Another piece of advice that stayed with me when I tried to be an ally on casteism in the US: Nothing about us, without us". Involving lower-caste workers and civil society groups will help more than top-down storytelling from agency conference rooms in Mumbai and Gurugram.

The most effective race-conscious American advertising did not begin with slogans like Black Lives Matter. It began with everyday scenes, subtle power imbalances, and familiar situations where bias is felt, not explained. For example, in P&Gs The Talk (2017), there are no villains or slogans. Bias is communicated through anticipation, and the power imbalance is felt in pauses, glances, and tone. In the context of caste in India, think of the separate teacups again. There wont be a dearth of examples. But creatives must get permission to be subtle.

One reason caste scares advertisers is the fear of miscasting or misnaming. This is not unique to caste, and advertising elsewhere offers useful lessons. Instead of identity-led casting, miscasting can be sidestepped through situational truths. Like who enters the kitchen, who waits outside, who serves. And instead of naming caste directly, misnaming can be avoided by naming the behaviour, practice, or inequality being reproduced.

Indian advertising has brushed against caste before. Take a look at Idea Cellulars Caste War (2007). While the execution was debatable, the sincerity was unmistakable.

In a social media world, its important for marketing teams to bring leadership, communications, and legal teams, so they are in alignment on what the brand stands for, and can decide what criticism is acceptable.

As Indian brands plan their next phase of growth, there is an opportunity for caste-aware advertising that is persuasive and relies on recognition, not revelation. Brands that learn to do this well will not just avoid backlash, they will earn a deeper kind of credibility in a society that already knows these hierarchies exist.

Rahul Fernandes has worked on global marketing at Meta, Google and TikTok, and is the founder of Threefold Bay.
US bombing in Venezuela has created ripples across the world, with President Donald Trump saying on Saturday that his country planned to tap Venezuela's vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

Trump's overthrow of President Nicolas Maduro in the oil-rich nation is however unlikely to translate into higher crude production, according to experts.

Venezuela may have the largest oil reserves in the world, but it may not mean vast oil production in the near horizon, as per reports by Reuters and CNBC quoting experts.

Venezuela's vast oil potential has remained untapped for decades despite the reserves, as output has plummeted steadily. The decline in Venezuela's oil production came about after the government took control of assets and led to the exit of giants like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips amid disputes and legal battles.

A tale to tell later Venezuela's oil production potential might be a story for later, according to experts.

Just an investment, like Donald Trump touted, will not be enough. Any company that wants to operate with Venezuelan oil will need to deal with security concerns, dilapidated infrastructure, questions about the legality of the US operation to arrest Maduro and the potential for long-term political instability, according to analysts quoted by Reuters.

Energy industry consultant David Goldwyn, who worked as a top energy official in the Obama administration told CNBC that it was hard to predict if US companies will invest in Venezuela again, even though the country is a founding member of the OPEC.

Everything we have learned about government transitions from Iraq, from Afghanistan, from other countries, is that transitions are hard. No company is going to want to commit to invest billions of dollars for a long-term operation until they know what the terms are. And they cant know what the terms are until you know what the government is going to be, he was quoted as saying by the outlet.

Mark Christian, director of business development at CHRIS Well Consulting, on the other hand told Reuters that US companies will not return to Venezuela unless they know for sure that there will be some security.

However, there is a chance that Venezuelan oil production may ramp up after a few years but there are conditions.

If Trump et al can produce a peaceful transition with little resistance, then in five to seven years there is a significant oil-production ramp up as infrastructure is repaired and investments get sorted out, Thomas O'Donnell, an energy and geopolitical strategist, told Reuters.

Will oil prices go up? Like oil production in Venezuela, the price of crude oil is very unlikely to go up in the near future, according to experts who talked to CNBC.

According to Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst and head of research at A/S Global Risk Management, the markets had already priced in the Venezuelan conflict. The lesser oil production of Venezuela, about 1% of the global output, is also a factor to be considered.

Also Read | Venezuela, Iran could further pressure oil prices in 2026
US-Venezuela conflict: Gold and silver prices are likely to witness a gap-up opening on Monday, January 5, after US attacked Venezuela, triggering geopolitical tension in the region, according to market experts.

The US attack on Venezuela is expected to trigger geopolitical tension in the region, which is expected to fuel the uncertainty. Hence, I expect a gap-up opening for gold, silver, copper, crude oil, gasoline, and other commodities, said Anuj Gupta, Director of Ya Wealth.

Gold prices, which delivered their strongest yearly gain since 1979 by surging nearly 70% in 2025, are expected to come back into focus after the U.S. strikes over the weekend. Venezuela is believed to hold the largest gold reserves in South America, with about 161 metric tonnes valued at close to $22 billion at current market prices.

Gold and silver entered the new year 2026 on a steady note, following their strongest annual gains since 1979, as investors evaluated the upcoming rebalancing of a key commodity benchmark index set to take effect next week.

Bullion prices rose as much as 1.9% on Friday before giving up most of those gains during U.S. trading hours, while silver retreated after earlier surging by up to 4%.

Top five factors that will fuel gold prices on Monday, January 5 US attacks Venezuela The United States launched a major military operation against Venezuela on Saturday. US President Donald Trump announced the strike via his social media platform, Truth Social, and stated that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been detained and taken out of the country.

The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow.  Thank you for your attention to this matter! Donald Trump said on his social media account, Truth Social, on Saturday.

Crude oil prices Oil prices were largely steady on the first trading session of 2026, as expectations of an oversupply balanced out geopolitical risks affecting production in several OPEC countries.

Brent crude futures closed below $61 a barrel in relatively light trading, while West Texas Intermediate finished above $57. Markets in the Middle East, including derivatives such as the regional Dubai benchmark, weakened amid strong selling pressure during a key Asian trading window.

Gold-Silver Ratio After a volatile week, the gold-silver ratio climbed to about 60, after having touched a low of 54 earlier on Monday.

According to Amit Goel, Chief Global Strategist at Pace 360, when the gold-silver ratio falls below 80, silver prices begin to enter the overbought zone.

 In the gold-silver ratio,80 is the pivot point. Similarly, when this ratio exceeds 80, gold prices enter the overbought zone. As the gold rate today in the international market is $4,345.50 per ounce and the silver rate today is $71.30 per ounce, the gold-silver ratio stands slightly above 60, indicating that silver rates today are in the overbought zone. One should avoid buying the white metal in the current market scenario, Goel said.

Tether buying gold Another key driving factor behind surge in gold prices is likely to be the growing involvement of non-state entities such as Tether which reinforces the structural demand floor for gold and reduces downside risk during corrective phases, according to market experts.

Importantly, Tethers gold accumulation is not tied to its gold-backed token (XAUT). Instead, the purchases have been funded from corporate profits as part of a broader reserve diversification and balance-sheet resilience strategy. Over 100 tonnes of gold held by Tether are not linked to token issuance, underscoring that gold is increasingly being viewed by corporations and technology-driven financial firms as a strategic reserve asset, much like central banks have treated it over the past decade, said Sugandha Sachdeva, Founder of SS-WealthStreet.

Also Read | Why the US attacked Venezuela? Explained

Weakness in the Indian Rupee The Indian rupee saw its steepest yearly decline since 2022 in 2025, slipping nearly 5% against the US dollar, despite a broader global weakening of the greenback and gains in most emerging-market currencies. Analysts attribute the underperformance largely to sustained capital outflows and extended trade-related uncertainty rather than domestic macroeconomic stress.

Pressure on the rupee stemmed mainly from subdued foreign portfolio investor (FPI) inflows, sluggish export growth, and increased hedging demand from importers.

(With inputs from agencies)
Indian stock market: Indian benchmarks posted solid gains on Friday, January 2, supported by broad-based buying across sectors and rising optimism ahead of the Q3 earnings season.

The Sensex advanced 573 points, or 0.67%, to close at 85,762.01. The Nifty 50 scaled a fresh all-time intraday high of 26,340 before trimming gains to end at a record closing level of 26,328.55, up 182 points, or 0.70%. Meanwhile, the BSE Midcap index gained 0.97%, and the Smallcap index rose 0.79%.

Market Outlook by Dharmesh Shah  Equity benchmark kick-started the new year on a strong footing as Nifty regained the momentum and scaled back to life highs. Nifty gained more than 1% for the week to settle at 26328. Sectorally, Auto, Metal, PSU Banks remained in limelight while FMCG, IT remained laggards. The weekly price action formed a bull candle with lower shadow, indicating buying demand at elevated support base

 Amidst global volatility supportive efforts from two months rising trend line provided path for Nifty to scale back to its All-Time Highs of 26300. The breakout from five weeks consolidation (26300-25700) confirms resumption of uptrend that makes us reiterate our positive stance and expect Nifty to extend the rally towards 26800 in the month of January.

 In the process, bouts of volatility owing to global development and onset of earning season would present incremental buying opportunity wherein strong support is placed at 25700.

 Bank Nifty: Four weeks decline entirely retraced back in just a single week, propelling index to clock a fresh All Time High

 The ratio chart of MSCI India vs MSCI World has once again bounced from cyclical lows which has been held since CY21, indicating relative outperformance against global equities going ahead

 Broadening of rally: The rally has broadened significantly over past two weeks with 50% of the stocks are trading above their 50 days SMA compared to 27% 2 weeks ago

 Sectors in focus: Banking continues to lead supported by Auto and Metal while revived traction in beaten down sectors like Power, PSU, Realty augurs well for broadening of rally going ahead.

Key monitorables for the upcoming week: a) Q3-FY26 earnings

b) US-India Trade Deal

c) Quarterly Business updates

d) Brent Crude Oil has remained soft and trading near lower band of consolidation. Breakdown below 58 would result into extended correction.

Also Read | Why the US attacked Venezuela? Explained

Stocks To Buy This Week - Dharmesh Shah Dharmesh Shah of ICICI Securities recommends buying Larsen & Toubro and Union Bank.

Larsen & Toubro: Buy at 4000-4165 | Target price: 4520 | Stop Loss: 3798.

Union Bank: Buy at 152-157 | Target price: 175 | Stop Loss: 144.

Disclaimer: The Research Analyst or his relatives or I-Sec do not have actual/beneficial ownership of 1% or more securities of the subject company, at the end of 5/11/2025 or have no other financial interest and do not have any material conflict of interest.
US -Venezuela conflict: The United States has taken Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro into custody following a major military strike on the South American nation, according to US President Donald Trump.

US media reports say Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, are being held at Brooklyns Metropolitan Detention Center after being flown to a New York air base. Both face charges related to drug trafficking and weapons offences.

Trump, who posted an image of a blindfolded Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima, described the action as a military operation conducted in coordination with US law enforcement agencies.

Also Read | The oil sectors biggest winners and losers from Venezuela regime change

Meanwhile, multiple explosions were reported in Caracas in the early hours of Saturday, including blasts near military installations.

Drug trafficking to Narco terrorism - here's why the US attacked Venezuela Maduro has been charged along with his wife, his son, and three other individuals. The indictment lists four charges against him: conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

He is facing the same allegations as those included in a 2020 indictment filed in Manhattan federal court during the first Trump administration. The latest indictment, unsealed on Saturday and expanding the case to include charges against his wife, had been submitted under seal in the Southern District of New York shortly before Christmas.

The indictment alleges that Maduro partnered with some of the worlds most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorist groups to facilitate the movement of thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the United States.

US Authorities claim that major and brutal drug-trafficking organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Tren de Aragua gang, worked in coordination with the Venezuelan government, funnelling proceeds to senior officials who, in return, provided protection and support.

According to the indictment, US authorities also claim that Maduro and his family offered protection from law enforcement and logistical assistance to drug cartels, enabling the trafficking of up to 250 tons of cocaine through Venezuela each year by 2020. The filing states that the drugs were transported using go-fast boats, fishing vessels, container ships, and aircraft operating from covert airstrips.

Trump says US will run the country US President Donald Trump said in a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida that the US will run the country. We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition, Trump was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Some legal experts questioned the legality of an operation aimed at capturing the leader of a foreign nation, while Democrats, claiming they were misinformed during recent congressional briefings, called for clarity on the next steps.

"President Trump does not have the constitutional authority to attack another country. When 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, he should focus on the crises at home, end his illegal military adventurism and stop trying to 'run' Venezuela for Big Oil," posted US Senator Bernie Sanders on X.

Trump said the takeover would involve major U.S. oil companies re-entering Venezuela to rehabilitate its severely deteriorated oil infrastructure, a task experts noted could take several years.

He also said he was willing to deploy U.S. troops to Venezuela, adding, Were not afraid to put boots on the ground.

It remains uncertain how Trump intends to exert influence over Venezuela. The U.S. has no direct control on the ground, and the Maduro administration not only continues to hold power but also shows little willingness to engage with Washington.

Market experts think otherwise According to market experts, the real reason behind the attack is to ensure safety of the petro dollar regime.

The Venezuela government under the President Hugo Chavez had started to challenge this age old regime, which was not going down well for the US administration. Trump's statement to control the oil reserves of Venezuela justifies this, said Sandeep Pandey, Co-founder of Basav Capital.

Experts were quoted as saying by ANI that the US strike on Venezuela is unlikely to have a major effect on global oil prices, as the countrys crude output remains relatively small at about 1 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 1% of global supply. Oil prices edged lower on Saturday, with West Texas Crude slipping to $57.32 per barrel from nearly $80 in January.

The US has also bolstered its Strategic Petroleum Reserve and stepped up domestic oil production, helping to buffer global markets from potential volatility.

Going forward, the impact will hinge on political developments in Venezuela and Washingtons next moves. Should the US permit American firms to invest in Venezuelas oil sector, production could rise over time, potentially influencing global oil markets in the longer term.

In recent remarks, Trump stated that Venezuela had taken away our oil rights years ago during the nationalisation of foreign assets, signalling an intent to reassert US corporate control over these reserves.

Meanwhile, Anuj Gupta, Director of Ya Wealth, believes that the US attack on Venezuela is expected to trigger geopolitical tension in the region, which is expected to fuel the uncertainty.

Hence, I expect a gap-up opening for gold, silver, copper, crude oil, gasoline, and other commodities. So, when the market reopens on Monday, Brent Crude oil price is expected to touch $62 and $65 per barrel, Gupta said.
There was a time, not so long ago, when the Income Tax Act specified that of the sum you could invest under Section 80C, only 10,000 could be put in tax-saving mutual funds. The rest had to go elsewhere  PPF, insurance, NSC, whatever. The government, in its wisdom, had decided that equity mutual funds were risky and citizens needed protection from their own enthusiasm. Never mind that ELSS funds had consistently outperformed the other options over any reasonable time horizon. The rule was the rule.

That cap was eventually removed, and today you can allocate your entire 80C limit to ELSS if you wish. But the mindset that created that rule  the belief that regulators know best and must specify precisely what citizens should do with their money  was widespread. The history of Indian financial regulation is littered with prescriptive rules that assumed everyone's life looked the same.

This brings us to the recent changes in the National Pension System. The pension regulator has reduced mandatory annuity purchases, removed lock-in periods, allowed investment until age 85, introduced systematic withdrawal options, and permitted up to 100% equity allocation. Reading through the amendments, one realises that NPS is looking less like a traditional pension scheme and more like a tax-advantaged investment account with retirement-oriented features.

Some commentators are worried that this dilutes the "pension" character of NPS. After all, the original philosophy was paternalistic: we know you'll spend your retirement money unwisely, so we'll force you to lock most of it into an annuity that pays you monthly for life. The new philosophy is: here's your money, make your own choices.

No more one-size-fits-all

Isn't that risky? Perhaps. But consider the alternative. The old, rigid rules assumed that every NPS subscriber had the same financial situation, family structure, health needs, and risk tolerance. In reality, no two retirements look alike. Someone may have inherited property that generates rental income. Someone else may have nothing beyond their NPS corpus. One person retires with employer-provided health insurance that continues for life; another faces the full terror of medical costs in old age. Some have children who can provide support; others have children who need support.

Given this diversity, what possible logic could justify forcing everyone to put exactly 40% of their corpus into an annuity? For someone with substantial other assets, an annuity may be unnecessary. For someone entirely dependent on NPS with no other income, even 40%may be insufficient. The one-size-fits-all rule was guaranteed to be wrong for almost everyone, just in different directions.

This is the fundamental problem with prescriptive regulation. It provides the comfort of certainty while delivering outcomes that suit nobody in particular. The system gets to say it protected citizens. The citizens get products that don't match their lives. Everyone is satisfied in the abstract and frustrated in reality.

The better approach, which PFRDA has embraced, is to set boundaries rather than mandates. Allow a range of choices. Let people  ideally with good advice and tools  figure out what works for their specific situation. Yes, some will make poor decisions. But rigid rules weren't preventing poor choices; they were just making different poor decisions mandatory.

This philosophy extends beyond regulation to financial planning itself. Many portfolio tools and robo-advisors fall into the same trap. They ask your age and risk tolerance, slot you into a model portfolio, and declare the job done. They assume that everyone who is 45 years old and "moderately aggressive" has the same financial life.

The NPS changes are welcome, not because flexibility is always good, but because rigidity was clearly failing. When rules force everyone down the same path regardless of where they actually need to go, the rules are the problem. The pension regulator has understood this. One hopes other parts of the financial ecosystem will follow.

Dhirendra Kumar, founder and chief executive officer of Value Research, an independent investment advisory firm.
New Delhi: The government may announce a dedicated research and development (R&D) corpus for pulses and cotton in the Union budget for FY27, as it looks to address Indias persistent yield gaps, two government officials aware of the discussions said. The move aims to curb India's dependence on imports and reduce the harvests' vulnerability to climate shocks, they said. The allocations for research could be carved out from the government's ongoing missions for the crops, they said.

Despite being worlds largest producer of pulses and the second-largest cultivator of cotton, Indias productivity in both crops remains well below global averages, leaving domestic supplies exposed to weather disruptions and external market swings even as demand continues to rise.

While the average yield in pulses was 926 kg per hectare as against a global average of 1,015 kg in FY25, the countrys cotton yield was 440 kg per hectare compared with a global average of around 820 kg during the period. India produced 25.6 million tonnes of pulses and 29.7 million bales of cotton in FY25, way below the country's domestic demand.

As per the agriculture ministry's annual report for FY25, pulses were cultivated over 27.52 million acres, while cotton covered 13 million hectares across the country.

These new seed varieties will strengthen our pest and disease management systems, and expand field trials to speed up adoption at the farm level. In the case of pulses, the emphasis will be on improving yields through better genetics and region-specific agronomic practices," said one of the two government officials cited above requesting anonymity. For cotton, additional support is expected to target persistent challenges such as bollworm resistance, water-efficient cultivation and fibre quality improvement, amid stagnant yields and rising input costs."

As per a Niti Aayog report released in September 2025, using 2022 as the base year, the static or household approach estimates that pulses demand will rise to 26.8 million tonnes by 2030 and 29.3 million tonnes by 2047, based on population growth projections and a base-year per capita net availability of 17.69 kg per year, which translated into a total demand of 24.89 million tonnes in 2022. In contrast, the normative approach projects a much sharper increase, with pulse demand at 46.33 million tonnes by 2030 and 50.26 million by 2047.

The normative approach estimates future food demand by assuming what people should ideally consume, rather than what they now do.

Indias total cotton demand was at 35.45 million bales in FY24 and declined marginally to 33.60 million bales in FY25, according to an estimate by the textiles ministry in March 2025.

Yields in both these crops remain well below global averages and are even lower than the potential yields achieved on trial farms," said Anil Kumar S.G., founder of the Samunnati Group, an agri value chain solutions provider. "The government should consider a challenge-fund model, inviting both public and private sector players to invest in long-term research aimed at raising yields in these crops. This approach can later be extended to other priority crops such as oilseeds."

For FY26, there was a 9,772.8 crore budgetary allocation for agricultural research and education. India also recently released 187 climate-resilient seeds on the first day of 2026.

Also Read | New seed push targets cotton revival, productivity gains across crops

Pulses yields in Myanmar range between 1.0 and 1.3 tonnes per hectare, which is around 10-30% higher than Indias average yields," said the second government official cited above.

India currently imports tur from Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi and Myanmar; urad from Myanmar and Brazil; and masur from Canada, Australia, Russia and Turkiye. Cotton is imported from the US, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Chad, and Burkina Faso.

At present, there is no fund earmarked exclusively for research and development in pulses and cotton, with most seed-related research being undertaken by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare.

While the government launched 11,440-crore Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses (Dalhan Aatmanirbharta Mission) to be implemented from FY26 to FY31 for boosting domestic pulses production, there is currently no outlay announced for the proposed Cotton Productivity Mission, even as yields have remained largely flat in recent years.

Any fresh R&D support is expected to be carved out of existing schemes announced alongside the pulses and cotton missions, which are currently focused on boosting productivity through a mix of research, extension services and on-field interventions," said the second government official.

Queries emailed to the ministries of finance; consumer affairs, food and public distribution; textiles, and agriculture and farmers welfare on 1 January remained unanswered till press time.

Experts say higher public investment in agricultural research and development is critical to improving productivity and long-term supply stability, especially in crops where India continues to lag global yield benchmarks.

The increase in R&D spending would ensure better seed quality and help narrow Indias yield gap with global producers. Research-backed agronomic practices improve input-use efficiency, reducing costs while raising output," said Aditya Sesh, an agriculture expert and a member of the expert committee on e-National Warehouse Receipt Systems (eNWRS) in the agriculture ministry. "In pulses, stronger R&D support will help increase productivity while maintaining nutritional value. Overall, higher investment in R&D will stabilize production, reduce farmers' risks, and encourage greater on-farm investment."

India needs sustained investment in crop research to raise yields without stressing land and water resources. Stronger breeding programmes, climate-resilient varieties and better agronomic practices are essential to meet rising food demand while protecting farmer incomes," said Dr B.B. Singh, an agriculture scientist and former assistant director general, pulses, at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Given the demand for pulses projected by Niti Aayog, increasing yields has become far more important, and this can only be achieved through dedicated research and development of better, climate-resilient pulse seeds. India needs to invest more in R&D to develop high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties, as domestic demand for pulses continues to rise," added Bimal Kothari, chairman of the India Pulses and Grains Association, the apex trade body representing pulse and grain processors, traders and exporters.
Residents of KSFC Layout in Lingarajapuram, Bengaluru, are angry and worried. They found sewage water in their drinking water, according to The Times of India.

Around 30 to 40 households have stopped using tap water for more than a week. They have now shifted to private water sources. Many families report repeated illnesses over the past few months. Some members even needed hospital treatment for suspected water-borne infections, according to TOI.

LiveMint could not independently verify the report.

Earlier, residents believed the sickness was caused by food poisoning or a seasonal illness. This week, they noticed foul-smelling, frothy water.

They discovered thick sludge from sewage inside underground sumps. One resident reported that the sump contained foul-smelling sewage, not just dirty water.

"When we opened the sump, it wasn't just dirty water-it was stinking sewage sludge," he told the publication.

"My daughters fell ill, and we thought it was due to some other reason. Later, neighbours too complained of gastrointestinal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. That's when we approached Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB)," he said.

They have urged BWSSB to immediately identify the source of contamination. They have also urged the authorities to restore safe drinking water.

Another resident said the contamination had steadily worsened over time. She explained that, earlier, dirty water would flow for a few minutes after opening the tap and then turn clear. Now, the water is foul-smelling, discoloured and completely unusable.

After suffering stomachache and diarrhoea, I began buying water from outside," she said.

According to one resident, her family became aware of the problem only after falling ill repeatedly. She said doctors had confirmed it was a bacterial infection caused by contaminated water.

Her daughter was hospitalised, followed by all three family members becoming sick. The family noticed a strange smell while bathing and washing utensils.

They later found discoloured water in the sump. After this, the family shut the main valve and stopped using the water supply.

BWSSB inspection After repeated complaints, BWSSB officials inspected Lingarajapuram on 2 and 3 January. They confirmed sewage had entered the drinking water pipeline at an unknown point, according to TOI.

Residents allege officials have not identified the exact breach. They are digging multiple spots using trial-and-error methods.

The contamination is believed to affect over 30 houses on one lane. Doctors have reportedly confirmed illnesses match water-borne contamination.

Social media reaction Social media users reacted to the contamination.

Sad state of the common man everywhere, wrote one of them.

Most places dont have a proper sewage connection. One house next door to us has a septic tank and a water sump tank, next to each other, commented another.

Another user commented, Everywhere we can easily see how corrupt a nation weve become! Peoples lives have no value unless you belong to a certain VIP group! You can belong to the poor, middle, or even upper middle class  all will face risk to their life in various forms from contaminated water to Fire.
A joint Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS manifesto promised Mumbai voters a monthly allowance of 1,500 for domestic helps and women from the fishing community who sell fish, 100 units of free electricity and a property tax waiver for houses up to 700 sq feet.

Voting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is scheduled for January 15, alongside polls for 28 other civic bodies in Maharashtra.

The "Vachan Nama, Shabd Thackerencha" was unveiled on Sunday at a joint press conference at Shiv Sena Bhawan, a venue MNS chief Raj Thackeray returned to after nearly two decades, according to PTI.

The manifestos cover features cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, along with Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray. Although the Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance comprises the NCP (SP), no senior leader from Sharad Pawars party was present on the dais during the release.

BMC election: What does the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS manifesto include? The alliance targets women voters, promising "Swabhiman Nidhi" of  1,500 per month for house helps and women from the Koli community, modeled on the Mahayuti government's Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana (for women aged 2165). 2. Plans include good restrooms for women on major roads in Mumbai.

Also Read | Mumbai Gallery Weekend: The 14th edition casts a new lens on contemporary art

3. A meal scheme similar to Shiv Bhojan Thali is proposed, offering breakfast and lunch for 10.

4. Mumbais land will be used only for housing Mumbaikars, including affordable homes for BMC, government, BEST, and mill workers.

5. The BMC will have its own housing authority, with one lakh affordable houses planned in the next five years.

6. 100 units of free power for residential use through the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking, with efforts to extend to eastern and western suburbs; clarity pending on whether it covers the island city or the entire city.

7. Financial assistance for youth for self-employment ranging from 25,000 to 1 lakh, along with interest-free loans of 25,000 for gig workers.

8. Property tax waiver for houses up to 700 sq ft.

9. Rules will be changed to ensure one parking slot per flat in redeveloped buildings.

10. Minimum bus fare reduced from 10 to 5, with plans to introduce new buses and routes.

11. Healthcare initiatives include five new medical colleges in civic-run hospitals and blocking any privatization of these facilities.

12. A super-speciality cancer hospital will be established.

13. A rapid bike medical assistance service will be launched.

14. Mumbai Public Schools run by BMC will have classes from junior kindergarten to Class 12.

15. Creches in every assembly segment for children of working parents.

16. Other city initiatives include pet parks, clinics, ambulances, and crematoriums.

(With inputs from agency)
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples and is currently lodged in the Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak, was again granted a 40-day parole, said sources on Sunday.

His latest parole comes months after he was granted a similar parole in August last year.

Singh will come out of prison for the 15th time since he was convicted in 2017.

The Dera Sacha Sauda head is serving a 20-year sentence given in 2017 for raping two of his disciples.

Singh and three others were also convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist more than 16 years ago. He was granted a 21-day furlough in April 2025 and a 30-day parole in January 2025, ahead of the February 5 Delhi assembly polls.

Also Read | Rape convict Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim granted 40-day parole

Similarly, he was allowed a 20-day parole on October 1, 2024, days before the October 5 Haryana assembly polls.

In August 2024, Singh was granted a 21-day furlough. He was also permitted a three-week furlough from February 7, 2022, barely two weeks before the Punjab assembly polls.

Prior to his latest parole, Singh has come out of prison 14 times since being convicted in 2017.

Sikh organisations, such as Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, have in the past criticised the grant of relief to Singh.

In May 2024, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Singh and four others in the 2002 murder of the sect's former manager Ranjit Singh, citing "tainted and sketchy" investigations into the matter.

Also Read | Lyle Menendez denied parole as California board cites ongoing public safety risk

Earlier, a special CBI court sentenced them to life imprisonment in this case. It held Singh guilty of hatching a criminal conspiracy with his co-accused.

On many of the 13 occasions in the past, when Singh was out of jail, he remained at the Dera's ashram in Uttar Pradesh's Bagpat district.
China continues strengthening position as leading source of outbound investment

11:11, January 04, 2026 By Wang Junling ( People's Daily

Photo shows the SANY South Africa Industrial Park. (Photo from SANY Group)

China's total outbound direct investment (ODI) increased 7 percent year-on-year to 1.03 trillion yuan ($145 billion) in the first 10 months of 2025, according to the latest data from China's Ministry of Commerce. During the same period, Chinese companies made non-financial direct investments in 9,553 overseas businesses in 152 countries and regions, with total investment reaching 872.6 billion yuan, up 6 percent year-on-year.

Analysts highlight that the sustained, high-quality growth of China's outbound investment not only facilitates the optimal allocation of global production factors but also supports economic and social development and improves people's well-being in relevant countries and regions, broadening the scope for mutually beneficial cooperation.

On November 19, 2025, China's leading heavy equipment manufacturer SANY commissioned a new industrial park in Johannesburg, South Africa, strengthening its support for the country's industrialization drive. The 28,000-square-meter industrial park integrates manufacturing and logistics functions as well as a talent training center. Once fully operational, it will have an annual production capacity of around 1,000 excavators.

South African Deputy Minister of Employment and Labor Judith Nemadzinga-Tshabalala said the project will help cultivate a new generation of technicians and engineers in South Africa and reflects the Chinese company's confidence in South Africa's economic prospects and its long-term commitment to the region.

Photo shows an air conditioner manufacturing base of Chinese home appliance company Haier in Chonburi, Thailand. (Photo from Haier)

According to the 2024 statistical bulletin of outward foreign direct investment, China has ranked among the world's top three sources of ODI for 13 consecutive years, underscoring its position as a major global investor.

By the end of 2024, Chinese investors had established around 52,000 overseas enterprises across 190 countries and regions, with 70 percent of them reporting profitability or breakeven performance. In 2024, China's outward FDI spanned 18 industry sectors, with investments in five sectors, namely wholesale and retail, leasing and business services, manufacturing, finance, and mining, each exceeded $10 billion and collectively accounting for over 80 percent of the total. Investment in the construction sector and the information transmission/software and IT services sector recorded substantial growth, rising 80.5 percent and 205.5 percent year on year, respectively.

Shane Sang, Tax Partner at PwC China, observed that Chinese enterprises are shifting from market-seeking to value-driven strategies. Increasingly, they are pursuing technological innovation and moving up the global value chain through diverse cooperation models.

On Sept. 23, 2025, Chinese household appliance manufacturer Haier officially launched its air conditioner production base in Chonburi, Thailand. The project moved from planning to operation in just 10 months, and with an annual capacity of 6 million units, it has become the largest air-conditioner manufacturing facility of a Chinese brand in Southeast Asia.

"Our facility in Thailand integrates advanced technologies and best practices from our operations in China, encompassing product design, intelligent manufacturing, and green practices," said Dong Jianping, general manager of Haier Electrical Appliances (Thailand) Co., Ltd. As of now, Haier has established 35 industrial parks and 163 manufacturing centers worldwide.

Beyond innovation and manufacturing, many Chinese service enterprises are expanding their global presence alongside clients and partners.

A Chinese technician and a local employee at the Halfaya gas processing plant project in Iraq test a valve. (Photo by Enas Ibrahim)

As Chinese automobiles gain wider acceptance in international markets, demand for overseas vehicle sales and after-sales services has grown significantly. Recently, the Philippines branch of Chinese logistics giant SF Express has partnered with Chinese automakers GAC and Geely to provide end-to-end supply chain solutions, including after-sales spare parts distribution.

"The Philippines, with more than 7,000 islands, presents complex logistical challenges. Over the past two years, we have invested tens of millions of yuan to establish a smart delivery network that covers the entire country," said Zhang Lin, head of supply chain at SF Express Philippines.

Respecting the concerns of all parties and contributing to local development, environmental sustainability, and people's livelihoods are essential for enterprises engaged in overseas expansion. In this regard, Chinese companies have accumulated valuable experience.

Recently, at the 2025 PMI China Awards, the Halfaya gas processing plant project developed by China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC) was recognized with the outstanding ESG (environmental, social, and governance) Project Award.

According to Jiang Feng, deputy general manager of CPECC, Iraq previously lacked sufficient gas processing capacity, resulting in the flaring of most associated gas from oil extraction. Once operational, the Halfaya plant is expected to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by approximately 30,000 tons and carbon dioxide emissions by 3.53 million tons annually. It will also supply clean energy to around 4 million households, significantly improving environmental outcomes.

"The project has created more than 1,500 construction jobs and 100 long-term positions. We emphasize local procurement and actively engage in public welfare and community outreach initiatives, fostering harmonious and stable relations with local communities," Jiang said.

Looking ahead, experts suggest that China further improve its outbound investment policies and mechanisms, foster innovation in ODI models, and encourage diversified investment approaches, including overseas processing, economic and trade cooperation zones, as well as trilateral and multilateral cooperation.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Hongyu)
Reality TV star Jay Dhudhane, Bigg Boss Marathi Season 3 runner up, has been arrested by the Thane Police in connection to a fraud amounting to 5 crore, as per a report by news agency PTI.

Dhudhane arrest comes in the wake of an FIR filed against him by a retired engineer, who has alleged that the TV star, along with four other members of his family, scammed him of 5 crore. They allegedly made him buy five commercial shops which were mortgaged to a bank, the agency reported police officials as saying.

The reality TV star, who is also a fitness instructor and model, was arrested by the Thane Police from the Mumbai airport, PTI reported Senior police inspector Pravin Mane as saying.

Dhudhane spoke to news agency ANI from inside of a police van after his arrest, saying, ""I was about to go on my honeymoon. My brother, my wife, and my brother's wifethe four of us were going abroad. I didn't even know that an arrest warrant or an LOC (Lookout Circular) had been issued in my name."

"The police told me that I couldn't leave the country, so I am fully cooperating with the police. A false case hasn't been filed against me, but many things have been misrepresented. I am ready to face everything at my level. I have complete faith in justice... This case is completely false..." he also said.

What are the charges against Dhudhane and his family members? As per the FIR filed by the retired engineer, Dhudhane had presented him with fake documents, including a forged clearance letter from a bank, as well as a bogus demand draft of 4.95 crore. However, once the bank issued a seizure notice on the property, the fraud came to light.

Besides Dhudhane, four other members of his family have been booked by the Thane Police for cheating as forgery as per provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Jay Dhudhane: Career and marriage The 27-year-old reality TV star first came into the limelight after winning the 13th season of MTV Splitsvilla in 2021 along with Aditi Rajput.

Later in the same year, Dhudhane entered the Marathi Bigg Boss Season 3, and ended up being the runner-up to Vishal Nikam.
At least two people were killed in Odisha on Sunday after a large portion of rocks collapsed at an unauthorized stone quarry in the Dhenekanal district.

According to a report by news agency PTI, the incident took place on Saturday evening when some workers were engaged in drilling and exploration of stone from the quarry.

It is currently not clear how many workers are trapped underneath the rocks, nor is it clear how the incident took place.

Also Read | Cabinet clears highway projects worth 20,688 crore

However, news agency ANI reported that a massive explosion was heard at the quarry before the collapse took place.

The incident occurred last night during blasting operations, the news agency quoted Fire Department official Nabaghana Mallik as saying.

Rescue operations have been initiated, with teams from the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) being deployed.

A dog squad has also been deployed to help in locating survivors, while several machines have been pressed into service to help with the rescue operations.

Machinery is being used to cut through these stones and evacuate those trapped inside. Two teams from the fire department have been deployed, and a dog squad is also assisting at the site, Malik added.

Dhenkanal District Collector Ashish Ishwar Patil and Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhinav Sonkar have also reached the spot to supervise the rescue operation, PTI reported.

"As per available information, only two persons were there, and two bodies were recovered. One person belonged to Balasore district, while another deceased was from either Keonjhar or Mayurbhanj district. Their identities have not yet been established," Patil was quoted as saying.

He also promised action against the quarry's lease holder, saying that blasting permission had expired in September 2025, while its lease period had ended in December.

"We will take legal action against the mine lease holder as blasting and mining continued at the quarry after expiry of the lease period," Patil said.

As it stands, the stone quarry has been sealed, and police personnel are slated to be deployed to prevent unauthorized entry.

Commenting on the incident, Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik expressed his condolences and called for a probe into the collapse.

"I am deeply saddened to learn that workers lost their lives due to a rockfall following an explosion in a stone quarry in Dhenkanal. At this sorrowful time, I convey my deepest condolences to the family members, along with prayers for the eternal peace of the departed souls," Patnaik said in a post on X.
The aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has banned the use of power banks to charge phones or other devices during flights, including via in-seat power outlets, following a series of global incidents where lithium batteries overheated or caught fire.

While citing safety concerns, Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu told NDTV that once a rule or regulation is decided, it is important to follow it in order to ensure safety, and that is why they are implementing it.

Whenever the DGCA issues guidelines or rules, it keeps the safety of the people and the aircraft in mind. Whatever it does, it does thorough research and thorough consultation, and most of it comes from the International Civil Aviation Organisation, which is consulting with stakeholders across the world, Naidu stated.

Also Read | Air India faces DGCA action over repeated Dreamliner technical snags

What do guidelines say? The guidelines issued in November last year stated that airlines should broadcast cabin announcements instructing passengers to:

Carry power banks and spare batteries only in hand luggage. 2. Refrain from using or charging power banks during the flight.

3. Immediately notify cabin crew if any device becomes hot, emits smoke, or produces an unusual smell.

4. Ensure power banks and spare batteries are not placed in overhead bins, and follow short-circuit prevention measures such as storing lithium batteries in plastic bags, taping or covering terminals, or using protective cases.

5. Promptly report any safety issues or incidents involving lithium batteries to the DGCA

The DGCA stated that placing lithium batteries in overhead bins or inside carry-on luggage can make them hard to see, access, or monitor by passengers and crew. This could delay the detection of smoke or fire and slow response actions, thereby increasing the risk to flight safety, it added.

Also Read | IndiGo tops Air India group in international passenger traffic, DGCA data shows

Previous incidents Last October, a power bank reportedly ignited on an IndiGo flight bound for Dimapur while the aircraft was taxiing at Delhi airport. Fortunately, the incident caused no injuries, and all passengers and crew were unharmed.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha called the Centres draft social security rules for gig workers and delivery riders a small win. The Opposition leader also took a dig at platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy and Blinkit for not listening to the voices of the workers.

Congratulations to all Gig Workers and Delivery Partners. There is good news for you, Chadha posted on X on Sunday, while sharing a video message.

He said, Central Governments draft Social Security Rules are the first step towards recognition, protection and dignity for your work.

Even though the Platforms (Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, etc.) chose not to listen to your voices, the people of this country and the government did, the AAP leader said.

This is a small win, but an important win, he added.

Raghav Chadha has been speaking for the rights of the gig workers for long, even on many occasions on the floor of the Parliament.

In a video message, Raghav Chadha said, This happened not just because I raised you concerns as a Parliamentarian, but also because you raised your voices...the companies didnt listen to you, but the government did.

What new rules for gig workers say? Explaining the rules in simple words, Chadha said that under the new rules, gig workers are legally recognised and will be given a unique identity.

For the first time, the definition of 'gig workers' and 'platform workers' and provisions related to the same have been provided in the Code on Social Security, 2020, which has come into force on November 21, 2025.

The Code provides for framing of suitable social security measures for gig workers and platform workers on matters relating to life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, etc.

The Code provides for the establishment of a Social Security Fund to finance welfare schemes. The Code also provides for the establishment of a National Social Security Board for the welfare of gig workers and platform workers.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Labour and Employment pre-published draft rules on the four labour codes to seek stakeholders' feedback. The government intends to fully operationalise the four codes from April 1, 2026 across the country in one go.

In their draft rules, the Centre proposed that to be eligible for benefits under these codes, gig workers or platform workers must be engaged as one for not less than 90 days with an aggregator, or in the case of multiple aggregators, not less than one hundred and twenty days, in the last financial year.

Moreover, the Ministry of Labour and Employment had launched the e-Shram portal on 26.08.2021 for the creation of a Comprehensive National Database of Unorganised Workers, including platform workers, migrant workers, etc.

The e-Shram portal is meant to register and support the unorganised workers by providing them a Universal Account Number (UAN) on a self-declaration basis. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has also launched the e-Shram- 'One-Stop-Solution' on 21.10.2024 that entails integration of different social security/welfare schemes at single portal i.e., e-Shram.
US President Donald Trump has sent shockwaves around the world by ordering airstrikes on Venezuela and capturing its president, Nicolas Maduro, on charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. With Venezuela holding the largest oil reserves in the world, the situation raises questions about how India will be affected by this US action in the South American nation.

The economic think-tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) believes that the impact on the Indian economy from the US-Venezuela conflict will be negligible.

"India faces negligible impact, as trade with Venezuela has collapsed under sanctions, with crude imports down 81.3 per cent in FY2025 and overall bilateral trade remaining marginal," GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava told PTI.

India-Venezuela trade history In the 2000s and 2010s, India imported vast amounts of crude oil from Venezuela, more than 400,000 barrels every day at the peak of this trade. But since the US sanctions on the country in 2019, volumes have dropped sharply, as India cut oil imports and scaled back commercial activity to avoid secondary US sanctions, Srivastava said.

India's total imports from Venezuela were $364.5 million in FY2025. Of this, $255.3 million was for crude oil, which is 81.3% less than $1.4 billion in crude imports in fiscal year 2024.

Exports to Venezuela were only $95,3 million, including pharmaceuticals worth $41.4 million.

"Given the low trade volumes, existing sanctions constraints, and the large geographical distance, the current developments in Venezuela are not expected to have any meaningful impact on India's economy or energy security," PTI quoted Srivastava.

Venezuela holds about 18% of the world's oil reserves, more than Saudi Arabia (around 16%), Russia (about 5-6%), or the United States (around 4%).

India can actually gain from US control on Venezuelan oil: Report A US-led takeover of Venezuela's oil sector could have a positive impact on India, as per industry sources and analysts PTI spoke to.

Such a move could potentially unlock around $1 billion in long-pending dues for India. Moreover, crude production in Venezuelan oil fields where India has a stake could be revived under US leadership.

India's ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) has a 40% stake in the San Cristobal oilfield in the eastern part of the country. However, US sanctions have blocked its access to crucial technology, services, and equipment, thus stranding otherwise commercially viable reserves.

Venezuela has not paid OVL $536 million in dividends up to 2014, as well as a similar amount for subsequent years, as the country refused to permit audits, freezing India's claims.

Once sanctions are eased, OVL can relocate rigs and other equipment from ONGC's oil fields in Gujarat to San Cristobal to revive output, which has plummeted to 5,000-10,000 barrels per day, officials familiar with the matter said.

The onshore field can produce 80,000-1,00,000 bpd with more wells and better equipment, they said, adding that San Cristobal needs rigs similar to those operating in Gujarat, and ONGC owns many such rigs.
New Delhi: Indian Parliament will significantly widen its scrutiny of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) through the Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU) at a time the government is ramping up its operations in strategic sectors such as nuclear energy and rare earths and opens sunrise sectors to greater private investments, said COPUs chairperson Baijayant Panda in an interview.

The increased parliamentary oversight at a time of policy and operational shifts in Indias state-run firms is significant, given that their sales matched around 11.2% of the country nominal GDP in FY25, with annual turnover of 37 trillion. Also, only 66 of the 291 operational central PSUs were listed on India's stock exchanges.

The listed companies had a market capitalization of 38.57 trillion as of 31 March 2025, according to the department of public sector enterprises.

Panda said that the 22-member parliamentary panel plans to review close to two dozen public sector enterprises by the end of its current term, compared to four in the last year of the previous Lok Sabha. COPU, comprising 15 Lok Sabha members and seven Rajya Sabha members, is reconstituted every year.

The current 18th Lok Sabha has a five-year tenure that began in June 2024.

Panda said that the committee, in its first yearAugust 2024 to April 2025under his chairmanship in the current Lok Sabha delivered 12 reports, a three-fold increase from the reports presented in the panel's last year in the previous Lok Sabha. In its current term that started May 2025, the committee has already tabled 11 reports in Parliament. Panda added that the total number of reports to be presented in the current term would be about twice this. It will be a 600% improvement compared to the number of reports in the last year of the last Lok Sabha," Panda said.

We have focused on reviewing sectors which have never been reviewed or not been reviewed for many decades. Typically, only very large profitable companies were being reviewed, like the petroleum companies, but smaller strategic companies are equally important. So, for example, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) had never been reviewed. We reviewed it. Indian Rare Earths Ltd had never been reviewed. We reviewed it because these are strategic. We have seen the recent trade wars and how China is throttling supply of rare earths, causing challenges to the US and many economies, and we also have challenges. So we reviewed it," said Panda.

The chairperson said that the government has taken a very bold step with the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (Shanti) Bill, which is now a law. Now the private sector will be allowed into the civil nuclear energy sector," Panda said, explaining why the panel reviewed NPCIL.

Also Read | As digital arrests rise, Parliament panel pitches a plan to hunt down cyber cons

The committee examines the physical and financial performance, safety compliance and research initiatives of the state-run companies, takes evidence and views from company executives and the line ministries, and make recommendations to the government. The panels recommendations influence policy-making and operation of these companies.

India plans to have 100,000 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power, up from about 8,700MW, less than 2% of Indias installed power generation capacity. 100,000MWs mean the private sector will come in, and maybe it can contribute half of that. But our existing nuclear power generation has to go up to 50,000MWs at least," said Panda.

Uranium Corporation of India under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has a role to play, he added.

Experts suggested that enhanced oversight of more and more public sector enterprises would lead to better compliance.

"There is a need for strict mechanism to avoid any non-compliance by listed public sector enterprises to SEBI Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR)," said Shriram Subramanian, managing director (MD) and founder of InGovern Research Services, a corporate governance advisory firm.

Several public sector enterprises have been lagging in terms of compliances. There are many instances where even basic LODR compliances like the requisite number of independent directors, woman directors on boards, vacant CMD/MD posts, etc are not met. These have been highlighted even by past chairpersons of Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India). There is adequate time for the government and the Public Enterprises Selection Board to finalize the candidate, but, in several instances, posts remain vacant for independent directors, and CMDs have been given extension," said Subramanian, highlighting the need for heightened parliamentary oversight.

Government-backed companies need to set an example for private players in terms of regulatory compliances," he added.

Panda said that in the past decades, there have been instances of public sector companies performing poorly, but some of them are doing extremely well now.

Container Corporation of India earlier was a monopoly. Now there is a lot of competition in logistics from the private sector. Despite that, Container Corporation of India is growing and is doing better. That's a very good sign because the whole pie--Indian economy--is growing. The original monopoly player is also able to adapt and grow, amid new competition."

The committee was impressed to see that Food Corporation (FCI) of India is using modern technology like drones and AI for inventory management, said Panda, adding that FCI is handling more tonnage with less manpower, showing greater efficiency.

The Indian public sector in many areas is actually doing very well. We are running the world's largest food aid program. The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) is the world's largest food aid program with 800 million beneficiaries. FCI plays a very big role in the procurement and management of this," said Panda, adding that improved efficiency of state-run companies is a good sign for the Indian economy.

Apart from the direct contribution to the countrys economic output, state-owned enterprises also help in creating a significant downstream impact in the form of growth opportunities for small businesses and direct and indirect employment. State-owned enterprises also add to the exchequer by way of dividends and taxes.

The contribution to central exchequer of all CPSEs remains an important source of development financing for the government. In FY25, it stood at 4.94 trillion, as per official data.

Also Read | FM to seek Parliament nod for extra funds to cover income tax, GST reliefs

A total of 226 public sector undertakings out of the operating 291 PSUs recorded a cumulative profit of 3.08 trillion in FY25, according the annual report for CPSEs published by the department of public enterprises (DPE).

The aggregate loss of 63 loss-making CPSEs was 18,054 crore in FY25 as against 20,935 crore in FY24. Food Corporation of India (FCI) has reported no profit or loss.

Gross revenue of operating CPSEs increased 2.6% from 36.08 trillion in FY24 to 37.01 trillion in FY25.

Financial investments in these CPSEs account for a significant part of India's capital expenditure. During the five year period of FY21-25, these investments rose from 21.28 trillion to 31.65 trillion.
Former US president Joe Biden takes home a stunning $417,000 per year as pension, which is more than the salary he received when he was in office, as per a New York Post report that has quoted a tax expert.

As per National Taxpayer Union Foundation Vice President Demian Brady, who spoke to the publication about Biden's earnings, the 83-year-old former president rakes in the significant amount from two different pension funds in his first year as the ex-US President.

Brady told the publication that it is the largest pension amount when compared to Biden's predecessors. Its pretty unusual, historically unusual, to have such a large pension amount, he said, adding, I would have to say that its the largest.

The amount that Biden would be taking home is double of what Barack Obama received as retirement payment after his term as president. It is also $17,000 more than what Biden himself earned yearly as president.

Why is Biden getting paid so much? Biden has had a long and eventful political career. He has been a US Senator, Obama's vice president for two consecutive terms, as well as the US President for a full term. He can thus tap into multiple retirement funds backed by US taxpayers.

He is getting his payments through provisions in the Former Presidents Act of 1958 and the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) for former US senators.

The CSRS annual pension plan takes into account his long career as Senator and VP, as well as the three years in this period when his salary was the highest.

Bidens starting pension could be as much as $166,374, including an $18,186 set aside in the program for the spousal portion of benefit, Brady told the publication.

Biden was elected to the US Senate back in 1972, which was before the retirement plan for members of the US Congress' upper house was revised to unburden taxpayers of high retirement packages for newer members.

Biden also takes home a huge chunk of his income from his presidential pension, which is $250,600. As per the 1958 law mentioned earlier, a former President earns the same amount as a Cabinet secretary.

A former president is also entitled to additional perks, including money for their office space, equipment, and staff.

The outlet reports that the General Services Administration has fixed a budget that is upwards of $1.5 million for Joe Biden, of which $727,000 will be for office space.
US President Donald Trump spoke about the operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Trump said he monitored the military operation in real time from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

I was able to watch it in real time, and I watched every aspect of it, and I listened to the communication between, you know, where we were in Florida and out in the field in Venezuela, Trump told Fox News It was amazing to see the professionalism, the quality of leadership, the professionalism.

Praise for US Forces and equipment Trump highlighted the skill of US forces and the advanced equipment used during the overnight operation, emphasizing that everything worked so perfectly.

Its been amazing to see how good they were, how professional they were, how incredible the equipment we have is  I mean, the level of equipment and to see how it worked so perfectly, he said.

The President confirmed that the operation had no US casualties, with only minor injuries reported.

To have a few injuries, but no death on our side, is really amazing, Trump added.

Comparison with Afghanistan withdrawal Trump drew a direct contrast between the Venezuelan operation and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Biden, signaling a shift in American military effectiveness.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday (January 3) that the United States will play an active role in determining Venezuelas next leadership and its economic future following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple was taken by US forces and will be transported to New York to face criminal charges.

Speaking to Fox News hours after the operation, Trump emphasized that the US would be deeply involved in Venezuelas political transition.

We'll be involved in it very much as to who will govern the country, Trump told the news outlet.

We can't take a chance in letting somebody else run and just take over what he left, or left off.

Maduro and Flores transported to New York Trump confirmed in an interview that Maduro and Flores were taken to a ship after their capture and are being transported to New York, where both have been indicted.

Both Maduro and his wife had been indicted in New York.

US involvement in Venezuelas oil industry Trump indicated that the US will also play a significant role in Venezuelas oil sector.

We have the greatest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the greatest, and we're going to be very much involved in it, he told the news outlet.

Trump "watched the operation in real time Trump described monitoring the military operation from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, in the phone call.

I was able to watch it in real time, and I watched every aspect of it, and I listened to the communication between, you know, where we were in Florida and out in the field in Venezuela, he said.

It was amazing to see the professionalism, the quality of leadership, the professionalism.

Praise for US Forces and equipment Trump praised the US forces involved and highlighted the advanced equipment used in the overnight operation.

Its been amazing to see how good they were, how professional they were, how incredible the equipment we have is  I mean, the level of equipment and to see how it worked so perfectly, he said.

He confirmed that the operation suffered no US fatalities, only minor injuries.

To have a few injuries, but no death on our side, is really amazing, Trump added.

Comparing to Afghanistan withdrawal Trump also compared the operation to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Biden, portraying it as a demonstration of renewed US military capability.
United States issued a Level 4 Travel Advisory following its large scale strike' against Venezuela, warning Americans against traveling to the South American nation, citing the risk of "wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure."

A Level 4 Travel Advisory by US marked as Do not Travel is the highest level of warning in terms of travel advisories indicating life-threatening risks.

The Donald Trump-led US administration  in its travel advisory  stated that anyone with US citizenship or any other US residency status in Venezuela should leave the country immediately, including those traveling on Venezuelan or other foreign passports.

US mentioned that it has no way to contact US nationals detained in Venezuela, and those detained are not allowed to contact family members or independent legal counsel. It said that independent human rights organizations, detainees have been subjected to torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment, including severe beatings, prolonged restraint in stress positions, and waterboarding, citing former detainees.

Security alert issued The US Embassy in Caracas issued a security alert, stating that the US Embassy in Bogota is aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas, Venezuela.

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela. U.S. citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place, read the alert.

US- Venezuela conflict - What happened in Caracas? At least seven explosions, accompanied by the sound of low-flying aircraft were reportedly heard around 2 am (local time) Saturday in Venezuelas capital, Caracas  jolting residents out of their sleep.

People in various neighbourhoods rushed to the street following the explosions. A witness told AP, The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes in the distance."

The attacks took place in Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira, the Venezuelan government said in a statement, as per Reuters. According to a report by CNN, power outages occurred in several neighbourhoods following the strikes.

Following the strikes, Donald Trump confirmed on Truth Social that the "US has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader." He also claimed that Maduro and his wife have been captured and flown out of the country.

The bombings in Venezuela came as the US military has been targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the US to combat drug trafficking.

Why US attacked Venezuela? Key Points to know Maduro's capture comes days after US had offered a $50m reward for information leading to the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, doubling an earlier reward of $25m set by the Trump administration in January 2025.

Us has accused the Venezuelan leader of being one of the worlds leading narco-traffickers and working with cartels to flood the US with fentanyl-laced cocaine.
Interview: Russian Far East region welcomes Chinese investors to tap into new incentive mechanism: official

Xinhua) 11:00, January 04, 2026

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Russia invites international investors, notably from China, to fully utilize the new investment-attraction mechanism of the International Advanced Development Zones (IADs), said Aleksey Chekunkov, Russian minister for the Development of the Far East and Arctic.

The new preferential regime for Russia's Far East came into force on Jan. 1, 2026. Unlike previously introduced preferential regimes, IADs are specifically aimed at foreign investors and offer substantial benefits, Chekunkovin said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Chekunkov noted that IADs offer enterprises a large package of benefits, including a zero corporate profit tax rate for 10 years, social insurance contribution rates significantly below the Russian average, access to land plots with infrastructure and a free customs zone regime.

The key advantage of IADs, he stressed, lies in providing investors with long-term stability guarantees -- tax and regulatory conditions remain unchanged throughout the entire project lifecycle for a maximum of 15 years. Moreover, the commercial information of resident companies will enjoy special protection.

According to Chekunkov, Russian authorities currently plan to establish IADs in five Far Eastern regions: Primorsky Krai, Khabarovsk Krai, Amur Oblast, Zabaikalsky Krai and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. The minimum investment threshold for IAD residents is 5 billion rubles (62 million U.S. dollars). Projects must be aimed at producing high-value-added goods or carrying out activities from a special list approved by the Russian government.

Chekunkov added that the Russian-Chinese agro-industrial park in Primorsky Krai will become the pilot project of the IADs and will represent an industrial cluster, including agricultural product processing plants, agricultural machinery manufacturing factories, grain terminals and other facilities.

He added that under the existing preferential regimes, including the IADs and the Free Port of Vladivostok, more than 100 projects with foreign participation are being implemented, with about 1.2 trillion rubles (15 billion dollars) in investment attracted, 854 billion rubles (10 billion dollars) utilized, and 36 projects commissioned.

He said that the main sectors for foreign capital are oil and gas, chemical industry, mining and metallurgy, agriculture, food processing, and logistics.

Chekunkov believes that the main advantages of Russia's Far East for attracting Chinese investment are its geographical proximity to China, tax incentives and other preferences. Furthermore, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has also laid the foundation for the two countries to jointly carry out agricultural cooperation, resource processing, transportation and logistics projects.

Moreover, the minister said that Russia is ready for mutually beneficial cooperation with China and other partners in the field of high-tech manufacturing and hopes to jointly implement projects with Chinese enterprises for the production of equipment for the mining industry and agriculture.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
Understand China | What inspiration do the five-year plans offer for the Global South?

People's Daily Online) 11:22, January 04, 2026

The "Understand China" program, produced by People's Daily Online, aims to interpret China's planning, opportunities, and governance, to eliminate misunderstandings, and to enhance comprehension and recognition between Chinese and international audiences through in-depth dialogues between Chinese and foreign scholars.

The scientific formulation and successive implementation of China's five-year plans represent a crucial approach in the Communist Party of China (CPC)'s governance and serve as an essential window for the international community to understand Chinese modernization.

This episode of "Understand China" features a conversation between Liu Hongwu, director of the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, and Yoro Diallo, a 2024 Chinese Government Friendship Award recipient, senior researcher at the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, and director of the Institute's African Museum. Together, they delve into the institutional advantages of "seeing the overarching roadmap through to the end" and explore the certainty and stability that China's five-year plans bring to the world.

Diallo emphasized that to understand China, people need to deeply understand its history and the history of the CPC. "When you know about China," explained Diallo, "you will understand the way China's development is based on five-year plans."

Diallo believes that China consistently prioritizes the wellbeings of its people, offering valuable development experiences for the Global South. "The successive implementation of China's five-year plans has created a miracle. It is the fruit of working hard, planning, and good governance."

Liu noted that regardless of external changes, China has never forgotten and never changed its original aspirations and plans. "Because of this reason, we get to work generation after generation."

Liu referred to the Chinese phrase "Fan Shao Bing," which means constantly changing like flipping pancakes, to emphasize the importance of following through on a plan. "Even if the policy itself is good, you can never be successful if you constantly change your plans," said Liu.

Diallo refuted claims by some foreign media outlets that China's five-year plans constitute "excessive government intervention in the market." "I believe China's institutional guidance in political, economic, and social policies is an advantage," he said. This guidance points the way for the people, without blocking their movements, allowing them to freely pursue development opportunities. Liu further supported the claim of Diallo, adding that the five-year plans serve as guidance for the people, not intervention.

The recommendations of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) emphasize steadily expanding institutional opening-up, thereby sharing opportunities and fostering common development with countries worldwide. Diallo stated that the 15th Five-Year Plan will write a new chapter in Chinese modernization.

"This new five-year plan will also contribute to building Africa-China cooperation, and to help Africa to realize the plan 'Agenda 2063,' known as the African dream," said Diallo. He believes that the 15th Five-Year Plan will add more success to what Africa and China are doing together.

(Web editor: Peng Yukai, Wu Chengliang)
North Korea has strongly condemned the capture of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro by the United States, calling it a serious encroachment of sovereignty, state media was quoted as saying by AFP. In a statement, North Korea said the capture of Maduro confirms the rogue and brutal nature of the United States.

Pyongyang's foreign ministry strongly denounces the US hegemony-seeking act committed in Venezuela, said a ministry spokesperson in a statement carried by the official KCNA.

The incident is another example that clearly confirms once again the rogue and brutal nature of the US, the ministry added.

US President Donald Trump publicly announced on Saturday, 3 January that American forces had conducted a large-scale strike against Venezuela and captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Where is Maduro currently located? After his capture in Venezuela, Maduro was flown out of Caracas on a US helicopter and brought aboard the USS Iwo Jima, appearing in a photograph that has since gone viral after being shared by US President Donald Trump on Truth Social account.

Also Read | Is the US operation in Venezuela legal under international law?

He was later transported to New York, travelling via Cuba. Once he arrived in New York, he was reportedly taken to the offices of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The Venezuelan President has since been transferred from the DEA office in Manhattan to Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, BBC reported.

Maduro is expected to face court on drugs and weapons charges, which could happen as early as Monday. He has previously denied leading a drug cartel, according to the BBC report.

Trump says US will run Venezuela In the meantime, President Trump said in a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida that United States will run the country, a move that has been subjected to criticism by some legal experts.

These experts questioned the legality of the operation in which a foreign leader has been captured, while democrats claimed they were misinformed during recent congressional briefings, hence calling for clarity on the next steps, Mint reported earlier.

Also Read | Why did the US strike Venezuela and capture Maduro? Explained

Maduro has been charged along with his wife, his son, and three other individuals. The indictment lists four charges against him, which include conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Vice President Delcy Rodriguez is all set to become the acting President of Venezuela, with the South American country's Supreme Court ordering her to take charge in Nicolas Maduro's absence.

The Constitutional Chamber of Venezuela's Supreme Court on Saturday ordered VP Rodriguez to assume the role following Maduro's detention by American forces in a military operation unilaterally sanctioned by US President Donald Trump.

The court ruling said that Rodriguez would assume "the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation," reported Reuters.

The ruling added that the Supreme Court will debate the matter in order to determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defense of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic.

The development comes after Trump earlier said that his administration would coordinate with Rodriguez on running the South American country following Maduro's capture.

Shes essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again, the US President was quoted as saying by CNBC, shortly after announcing Maduro's capture.

Despite Trump's suggestion that Rodriguez was willing to cooperate with his administration on running Venezuela, the 56-year-old has yet to indicate the same.

Shortly after Maduro's capture, Rodriguez convened a National Defense Council session, calling for the immediate release of the Venezuelan President and his wife Celia Flores.

Calling the US operation on Venezuelan soil a blatant violation of the South American country's sovereignty and international law, Rodriguez said, We call on the peoples of the great homeland to remain united, because what was done to Venezuela can be done to anyone. That brutal use of force to bend the will of the people can be carried out against any country.

Also Read | Venezuela, Iran could further pressure oil prices in 2026

A trusted Maduro aide Rodriguez, apart from being Maduro's deputy since 2018, is also the finance and oil minister of Venezuela, and had faced US sanctions during Trumps first presidency for her alleged role in undermining Venezuelan democracy.

The 56-year-old became VP after spending more than two decades as one of the leading figures of chavismo, the political movement founded by Maduro's mentor President Hugo Chavez, as per a report by CNN.

When Maduro took over the movement, and the presidency, following Chavez's death in 2013, he appointed Rodriguez as his minister of communication and information, before elevating her to the post of foreign minister, a role she used to defend Maduro's government against international criticism.

Commenting on Rodriguez's relationship with the now-captured Venezuelan President, a political analyst told CNN that she enjoyed Maduro's full trust.

The executive vice president of the republic is a highly effective operator, a woman with strong leadership skills for managing teams, constitutional lawyer and political analyst Jose Manuel Romano was quoted as saying by CNN.

She is very results-oriented and has significant influence over the entire government apparatus, including the Ministry of Defense. That is very important to note in the current circumstances, Romano added.
As dramatic developments unfolded in Venezuela, viewers on social media were quick to draw comparisons with the political thriller Tom Clancys Jack Ryan, claiming the series appeared to have eerily mirrored real-life events.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that American forces carried out overnight strikes in Venezuela, resulting in the capture of the countrys long-time leader Nicolas Maduro. Trump later shared an image which he said showed Maduro blindfolded aboard the USS Iwo Jima.

According to US officials, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were flown to New York state late Saturday. They reportedly landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base before being transferred by helicopter to Manhattan, taken to offices of the Drug Enforcement Administration and later moved to Brooklyns Metropolitan Detention Center.

Watch the video here:

Addressing a press conference, Trump said the United States would assume temporary control of Venezuela until a safe, proper and judicious transition could be ensured. He described the operation as extremely successful and warned that it should serve as a message to anyone threatening American sovereignty or lives.

As the news spread, clips from Jack Ryan began circulating widely online. Several users pointed out similarities between the shows storyline  which includes US involvement in Venezuelas political instability  and the unfolding real-world crisis. While fans debated whether the series had predicted the events, others noted that the parallels highlighted how fiction often draws from long-standing geopolitical tensions rather than forecasting the future.

A user wrote, It's actually wild. This Jack Ryan scene dropped back in 2019, basically laying out the exact geopolitical playbook, massive oil reserves + weak governance = perfect target for outside powers. And now here we are in 2026 watching it play out almost word for word.

Another user wrote, This season of Tom Clancys Jack Ryan was the open playbook, and the scriptwriter ensured the include almost all the elements and factors present IRL.

Most of America probably couldn't spell Venezuela yesterday, now look how far we've come, the third user wrote.

Terrible source. Its an entertaining show but gets everything wrong. It claims the Venezuelan leader is right wing extremist, and tries to politicize everything in favor of left wing. Maduro was left wing which is why the left is trying to defend him, the third user wrote.

The fourth wrote, Amazing parallels from that season of Jack Ryan to todays events!
A US strike on Venezuela led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as part of a broader campaign to combat narcotics trafficking in the region. The attack targeted networks accused of smuggling large quantities of cocaine and fentanyl into the United States.

Following the controversial attack, the Trump administration has unveiled plans to intensify military operations against Latin American drug cartels.

The United States has had a complex relationship with Venezuela due to disputes over oil, politics and security concerns, with US officials arguing that the Venezuela's oil sector became entangled in sanctions evasion, illicit shipping networks, and criminal activity.

Despite the heavy tensions around Venezuelas oil economy, the country holds the worlds largest proven oil reserves, but today earns only a small fraction of the revenue it once made from exporting crude, Al Jazeera reported.

How much oil does Venezuela have? Venezuela reportedly holds the largest known reserves of oil, which is estimated at around 303 billion barrels (Bbbl) as of 2023, according to data from Oil and Gas Journal, 2023 Worldwide Reserves and Production.

Saudi Arabia ranks second in the list, with holdings of around 267.2 Bbbl, followed by Iran at 208.6 Bbbl and Canada at 163.6 Bbbl. Together, these four countries account for more than half of the world's oil reserves.

By comparison, the United States holds about 55 Bbbl of oil reserves, placing it ninth globally. This means that Venezuelas reserves are more than five times larger than those of Washington.

From a global perspective, there are about 1.73 trillion barrels of proven oil reserves that we know can be economically extracted using the current technology, the data shows.

How much oil does the Latin America country export? However, despite holding vast reserves, Venezuela exports far less oil than it possesses. In 2023, its crude oil exports were worth just $4.05bn, according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC),

This quantity is far lesser than what other other countries export, including Saudi Arabia ($181bn), the US ($125bn), and Russia ($122bn).

In addition to crude, Venezuela exports smaller volumes of refined petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel, but these remain limited compared with its potential due to ageing refinery infrastructure, technical challenges and sanctions.

Is Trump after Venezuela's oil reserves? The United States is by far the world's biggest oil producer. However, most of its output is light crude, rather than the heavier grades typically required by its refineries.

This means US needs heavy crude, which most of its refineries are set up to process. Since overhauling refineries would cost billions of dollars, there is little incentive to undertake such upgrades in the near future, Sky news reported.

Also Read | US attacks Venezuela: Top 5 factors that may fuel gold prices

The result is that the United States remain heavily dependent on International trade to meet its demands for heavy oil. Most American crude oil is exported abroad, while the US continues to import more than 6,000 barrels of oil per day to supply refineries in Texas and Louisiana with the heavier grades they are equipped to process, the news report said.
(Bloomberg) -- Hours after the US military whisked Nicolas Maduro away from Caracas, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said his people should be prepared to give their blood, even their lives to defend Venezuela and the Cuban revolution. But even that might not be enough.

With Maduro now awaiting trial in New York, Cuba is left without its principal global ally as its economy careens deeper into the abyss.

For decades, Venezuela provided the communist-run island with the bulk of its fuel and financing in exchange for Cuban doctors, teachers and security personnel. Without those programs, the islands already devastating energy woes will worsen and its shortages of food, medicine and basic goods will become even more pronounced.

Theyve been left without a godfather, a benefactor that has been paying their bills, and theyre totally bankrupt, said Emilio Morales, president of the Miami-based Havana Consulting Group. How are they going to survive?

During a meeting of Cubas legislature last month, officials painted a grim economic picture as they placed blame for the current crisis on long-running US sanctions. But declining shipments of Venezuelan crude are also a factor.

Cuba needs approximately 100,000 barrels of oil per day to function but produces just two-fifths of that, according Jorge Pinon, a researcher at the University of Texas Energy Institute who tracks fuel shipments to the island. A decade ago, Venezuela provided enough to fully meet Cuban demand. But by Pinons last count, Caracas was sending just 35,000 barrels a day before Donald Trumps administration started seizing oil tankers last month.

The lack of fuel is leading to massive, economy-crushing blackouts in Cuba. Agricultural production and tourism to the island are also at their lowest levels in decades. More than 2 million people  about a fifth of the islands inhabitants  dont have reliable drinking water.

As a result of the crisis, Cubas population has collapsed 15% over the last decade. The government expects to lose another 20% of its people by 2050. The signs of strain are everywhere, from garbage going uncollected to empty shelves and soaring rates of mosquito-borne disease in a nation that used to hold up its health sector as a global model.

On Saturday, Trump suggested the regime in Havana was so weak that military force wouldnt be needed to usher in change. Cuba is going to fall of its own volition, the US president told the New York Post.

Led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio  born in Florida to Cuban parents  Washington has nonetheless been ratcheting up pressure on Havana. Speaking alongside Trump on Saturday, Rubio said Cubas leaders should be concerned by Maduros removal.

The Cuban government is a huge problem, Rubio said Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press. Though he declined to indicate whether the US would target Havana next, he added: I dont think its any mystery that we are not big fans of the Cuban regime who, by the way, are the ones that were propping up Maduro.

Key to Washingtons strategy will be keeping other nations from filling the Venezuelan funding gap. While Mexico, Russia and Iran have, at times, provided Cuba with fuel, it hasnt been enough to keep the economy running.

Mexico shipments dwindled to about 7,000 barrels a day last year, according to Pinon, down from as much as 22,000 barrels in in 2024. In addition to having to negotiate security and trade issues with Trump, President Claudia Sheinbaum is facing domestic pressure to be more transparent about her governments energy shipments to Cuba.

Diaz-Canel has no allies in the hemisphere that will risk what are already fragile ties with Washington over Cuba, said Ricardo Herrero, executive director of the Cuba Study Group, citing Mexico, Brazil and Colombia. And its hard to imagine Russia, China or anyone else will come to the rescue.

Even if Cuba can find a fuel supplier, its unlikely to receive the same sweetheart deals that Caracas provided. Any new savior would have to take on Cuba as a credit risk and Washington as a political foe. It appears Cuba has no options, Herrero said. Their economy will be pulverized.

To be sure, the Cuban regime has shown remarkable tenacity in the past, prompting some analysts to caution against seeing Venezuela as a make-or-break ally. In theory there are other solutions that Cuba could pursue with other partners around the world that would compensate for Venezuela to some degree, said Andres Pertierra, a Cuban-American historian who lived on the island for much of 2024 and is completing a dissertation on regime durability.

Pinon, however, cant think of any other nation willing to barter with the Cubans for fuel. So he wonders if the US, despite Rubios bellicosity, will allow Venezuela to keep supplying oil in the short term. Nobody wants a failed Cuban state, he said.

Its also unknown how a post-Maduro government in Caracas will treat Cuba. Trump has said Vice President Delcy Rodriguez is now in charge, and though she is a staunch ally of the ousted socialist leader, she isnt viewed as being as sympathetic to the regime in Havana as her predecessor.

Should ties be completely severed, its hard to quantify the damage that will done to Cubas leadership, according to Morales. Its not just the lack of fuel, but the lack of money, their loss of influence, their loss of control over third parties, the Havana Consulting Group president said. Theyve never suffered a blow like this. Its devastating.

Though Cuba has long defied the odds  surviving multiple US attempts to kill or oust its leadership since the 1959 revolution, plus weathering a decade of pain after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1980s  the path ahead is becoming increasingly narrow.

The island is in its darkest period in the last 65 years, Herrero said. Theres no telling how it will come out on the other end.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday morning that the American forces had conducted what he called large-scale strike against Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores.

The couple has now been indicted in New York on terrorism and drugs charges. Trump has accused Maduro of running a narco terrorist organisation.

Maduro was captured during the strikes inside Venezuela early on Saturday, a move that marked a sharp escalation after weeks of mounting tensions and speculation over possible US action. President Trump had deployed an imposing military force in the Caribbean to threaten Venezuela over the past few months, according to New York Times. On Saturday, however, President Trump dramatically escalated his campaign by capturing Maduro.

'More than a decade of killings, sexual violence, yet' Maduro, who served as the president of Venezuela since 2013, had been described as undemocratic and repressive by many . New York Times said in its Saturday editorial calling Trumps attack on Venezuela 'illegal and unwise.' It cited a United Nations recent report which detailied more than a decade of killings, torture, sexual violence and arbitrary detention by henchmen against Maduro political opponents in the Latin American nation.

Maduro is also accused of rigging Venezuelas presidential election in 2024 besides fuelling economic and political disruption throughout the region. Yet, the legality of the US operation capturing him and his wife has even prompted Trumps allies to suggest it violated international law.

Is the US action in Venezuela justified under international law? Experts that spoke with global media suggested that US action has likely violated the terms of the UN charter, which was signed in October 1945 and designed to prevent another conflict on the scale of the second world war

Article 2(4) of the UN Charter says that states must refrain from using military force against other countries. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations, reads the article.

The United Nations, said on Saturday, that President Trump's move sets a dangerous precedent for the world.

The reality is that America is in breach of the United Nations charter, Geoffrey Robertson KC, a founding head of Doughty Street Chambers told the Guardian.

It has committed the crime of aggression, which the court at Nuremberg described as the supreme crime, its the worst crime of all, according to Robertson KC who is also a former president of the UN war crimes court in Sierra Leone.

Experts in international law told news agency Reuters that Trump administration had muddled the legal issues by claiming the operation was both a targeted law enforcement mission and the potential prelude to long-term control of Venezuela by the US.

"You cannot say this was a law enforcement operation and then turn around and say now we need to run the country," Jeremy Paul, a professor at Northeastern University specializing in constitutional law told the news agency.

Elvira Dominguez-Redondo, a professor of international law at Kingston University in conversation with the Guardian described the operation as a crime of aggression and unlawful use of force against another country. Susan Breau, another professor of international law and a senior associate research fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, agreed that the attack could have only been considered lawful if the US had a resolution from the UN security council or was acting in self-defence.

Not yet offered a coherent explanation There is just no evidence whatsoever on either of those fronts, Breau told the Guardian.

The NYT edit criticsing the operation said President Trump has not yet offered a coherent explanation for his actions in Venezuela. He is pushing our country toward an international crisis without valid reasons. If Mr. Trump wants to argue otherwise, the Constitution spells out what he must do: Go to Congress. Without congressional approval, his actions violate U.S. law, the edit reads.

The US Congress has the power to declare war but the president is the commander-in-chief, and presidents of both parties have justified carrying out military action when it was limited in scope and in the national interest, news agency Reuters said,

Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair magazine in an interview published llast year that if President Trump were to authorise "some activity on land" in Venezuela he would need approval from Congress.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Congress was not notified before Saturday's operation.

How did the US justify the operation? At a press conference, President Trump blamed Venezuela for stealing US oil interests and said Washington would take them back and planned to run Venezuela for a period of time, without offering specifics.

US authorities said the Justice Department sought military assistance to apprehend Maduro, who had been indicted by a New York grand jury along with his wife, son, two political leaders and an alleged leader of an international gang. They were charged with crimes related to terrorism, drugs and weapons.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media that the defendants "will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts."

Past incidents? The US has captured criminal suspects in foreign countries including Libya but only after consent of local authorities. Washington has not yet recognised another Venezuelan leader who could have authorised the capture of Maduro, news agency Reuters said.

In 1989, the US arrested General Manuel Noriega, then the leader of Panama, in similar circumstances. Noriega had been indicted on drug-related charges and Washington said it was acting to protect US citizens after Panamanian forces had killed a US soldier.

The former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, was extradited to the United States in 2022 and later convicted on drug-related charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison. Trump pardoned Hernandez in December.

It has committed the crime of aggression, which the court at Nuremberg described as the supreme crime.

While Mr. Trump has been attacking Venezuelan boats, he also pardoned Juan Orlando Hernandez, who ran a sprawling drug operation when he was president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022, the NYT edit read.
US attacks Venezuela: The Left Parties on Sunday strongly denounced and condemned the United States' aggression and the kidnapping' of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and called for nationwide protests in solidarity with the people of Latin America.

In a joint statement, five Left Parties, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), termed the US operation as a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter.

They also raised concern over US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's warning to Cuba and Mexico, calling Washington's actions an attempt to impose its hegemony over the entire world.

View full Image In a joint statement, five Left Parties termed the US operation as a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter

The US took Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro into custody following a major military strike on the South American nation, President Donald Trump said on Saturday.

The US had previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and offered a USD 50 million bounty for Maduro's arrest. Maduro is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn and is set to face drugs and weapons charges in Manhattan federal court, as per CNN.

President Trump, who posted an image of a blindfolded Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima, described the action as a military operation conducted in coordination with US law enforcement agencies.

"The US President, Donald Trump, in his address, stated that they would capture the oil reserves of Venezuela, laying bare the real intentions behind this aggression. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, went a step further and warned that Cuba and Mexico would be their next target. These statements, coming days after the release of the US National Security Strategy 2025, make it clear that US imperialism seeks to impose its hegemony over the entire world, even if it means carrying out military attacks," the joint statement of the Left Parties read

The statement said that the US wants to impose the Trump corollary of the infamous Monroe doctrine that treats the entire Western Hemisphere as its backyard and run it's writ. The Left Parties extended support to the Venezuelans mobilising in large numbers against US aggression and in defence of their country's sovereignty, the statement said.

The US wants to impose the Trump corollary of the infamous Monroe doctrine that treats the entire Western Hemisphere as its backyard.

The Left Parties appealed to Indians to mobilise in large numbers and actively participate in these protests.

"We, the Left parties, call for nationwide protests against US aggression and in solidarity with the people of Latin America. We appeal to all peace-loving, anti-imperialist people of our country to mobilise in large numbers and actively participate in these protests. The Government of India must join the voices of countries across the world condemning US aggression and stand firmly with Venezuela," the joint statement said.

India expresses deep concern India on Saturday expressed deep concern over the rapidly escalating situation in Venezuela following United States military action and the capture of the countrys president, Nicolas Maduro, underscoring the risks to regional stability even as New Delhi said it was closely monitoring developments and extending support to its nationals on the ground.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the unfolding events in Venezuela were a matter of deep concern and reaffirmed Indias support for the well-being and safety of the Venezuelan people. New Delhi called on all concerned parties to pursue peaceful dialogue to preserve stability in the region.
The United States has captured the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, after launching airstrikes on the socialist South American country. President Donald Trump has announced that the US will take control of the oil-rich country. However, members of Maduro's government, who are still in Caracas, the country's capital, have vowed to stay united behind their president.

This is the most controversial US attack on a Latin American country in 37 years since the invasion of Panama.

Here are answers to top questions on the US-Venezuela situation:

Who will run Venezuela now? Trump has firmly said that the US will take control of the South American nation. His Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has also backed the idea, saying that "the president always retains optionality on anything and on all of these matters," as per a CBS News report.

"He certainly has the ability and the right under the Constitution of the United States to act against imminent and urgent threats against the country," the outlet quoted Rubio as saying to Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.

However, the situation on ground is different. At least for now. Top-ranking officials in Maduro's government are still in charge on the ground, Reuters reported.

"Here, the unity of the revolutionary force is more than guaranteed, and here there is only one president, whose name is Nicolas Maduro Moros. Let no one fall for the enemys provocations," the news agency quoted the country's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello as saying in an audio clip shared by PSUV socialist party, the ruling party in Venezuela.

For now, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, also the country's oil minister, has taken over charges as its interim president, with the approval of Venezuela's top court.

Trump has also warned her earlier, saying in an interview with The Atlantic magazine on Sunday that Rodriguez might have to pay even a bigger price than Maduro "if she doesn't do what's right."

This warning came after Rodriguez publicly denied claims made by the US President that she was willing to work with the US.

What next for Venezuela? Trump has already issued a warning, saying that he is 'not afraid' to have US army "boots on the ground" in the Latin American nation. Rubio, on the other hand, was quoted by CBS News as saying that Trump "does not feel like he is going to publicly, you know, rule out options that are available for the United States, even though that's not what you're seeing right now."

Rubio has made no qualms about hiding the fact that the US strikes on the country have been about oil.

"What you're seeing right now is an oil quarantine that allows us to exert tremendous leverage over what happens next," he also said.

As per Rubio, the 'quarantine' gives the US the right to take control of oil shipments with an order from a court, and that is also offers "a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes that not just further the national interest of the United States, which is number one, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela," as per CBS News.

Rubio also made the suggestion that the US give the subordinates of the captured Maduro time to govern while Washington DC follows their next steps. Were going to judge everything by what they do, and were going to see what they do," Rubio said.

Where is Nicolas Maduro now? What has he been charged with? After the US struck Venezuela on Saturday, 3 January, both Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and taken to New York. Maduro is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn.
The United States' attack against Venezuela and the dramatic capture of the country's president, Nicolas Maduro, took the world by storm early Saturday. From China to Iran to South Africa, countries worldwide have raised concerns over the latest strikes, while media house flooded their newspapers and websites with analyses and exclusive details about the US' operations in Venezuela. Here's how global media reacted:

United States The New York Timess editorial declared that Trumps attack on Venezuela is illegal and unwise. The opinion by the editorial board also called Maduro undemocratic and repressive leader whoi has destabilized the Western Hemisphere in recent years."

The master headline of The New York Times early Sunday (IST) read: "Inside the US Mission to Capture Maduro". The report termed the US' operation in Venezuela "tactically precise". The report claimed, "It was a highly dangerous mission."

The report further stated that Trump "justified what was named Operation Absolute Resolve as a strike against drug trafficking."

View full Image New York Times

Meanwhile, an analysis in the Washington Post read: "Toppling Maduro is likely to be the easy part for Trump". Another analytical piece was headlines as: "US capture of Maduro may be illegal; that likely wont matter in court".

The Washington Post also stated that the US strikes in Venezuela appeared to be a "tactically successful military operation."

At the same time, the CNN claimed that the mission appears to be, for now, "limited to removing Maduro."

China China's state-run media Global Times titled one of its top-placed news pieces as: US strikes on Venezuela spark concern from domestic, foreign media as protests erupt across country. It included media

While Chinas government condemned the US strikes, local state media CGTN also carried a sceptical tone in its choice of news pieces. Very few, or none of its headlines reflected the USs point of view. Rather, most of them were about leaders criticising US President Trumps actions.

View full Image CGTN China media

Some of those headlines read: Democrats accuse Trump of lying to Congress about goals in Venezuela;  Protests call for an end to US military action in Latin America;  Protest in front of the White House over U.S. military action in Venezuela; UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting on Venezuela on Monday

UK A report in the UK-based Guardian was titled, The Putinization of US foreign policy has arrived in Venezuela. The author of the analysis report opined that Trump is no longer bending the rules  he is demolishing them, with consequences far beyond Caracas.

In another report, it stated that the US bombardment of Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro, follow a long history of interventions in South and Central America and the Caribbean over the past two centuries. But they also mark an unprecedented moment as the first direct US military attack on a South American country, it stated.
Venezuelans came together in Florida, Miami, Santiago to celebrate United States' strikes on Caracas amid President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores' capture by US on Saturday.

Many were seen singing and dancing in Miami while holding Venezuela's flags, according to NBC News.

In Florida's Doral, a group gathered outside the popular El Arepazo restaurant, cheering to celebrate the development. The site has long been a focal point for Venezuelans voicing opposition to injustices in their country over the decades.

Similarly, in Chile's Santiago, Venezuelans gathered to celebrate it by singing national anthem, chanting Long Live Venezuela.

History in the making According to Local 10, among those celebrating in Doral was a man named Edgar. He said he came to the United States at the age of 11 after being born and raised in Venezuela.

This is history in the making. I mean, my chest, it feels like its gonna explode with joy because  I mean, before I was even born, there have been struggles that my family has been fighting for so many years before I was even here -- they have told me about it," Edgar stated.

He added that he had grown up hearing stories about a time when democracy existed and said he now felt hopeful about the possibility of seeing it return. Expressing deep emotion, he said that meant everything to him and described Venezuelans as good people, saying they were among the best he had ever known, while also addressing Americans directly.

US strikes on Venezuela Explosions shook Venezuelas capital, Caracas, as low-flying aircraft swept over the city. At least seven blasts were reported during the attack, which lasted less than 30 minutes, and appeared to target military infrastructure. Smoke was seen rising from a hangar at a Caracas military base, while another installation in the capital experienced a power outage, a report by AP noted.

The attack came after months of mounting pressure from the Trump administration, which has increased its naval presence off South America and, since early September, conducted deadly strikes on vessels suspected of drug smuggling in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean. Just last week, the US carried out a CIA drone strike on Venezuelan soil at a docking area allegedly used by drug cartels.

Meanwhile, US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated on X that both Maduro and Flores had been indicted in the Southern District of New York and will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts".

She added that Maduro faced charges of Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.

Maduro was indicted in March 2020, during Trumps first term, but the indictment against Flores had not been made public until now.
Apple fragrance from China

(People's Daily App) 15:15, January 04, 2026

China is the world's largest producer of apples, contributing about half of the global supply. Throughout Chinese history, the apple has been known by many graceful and poetic names. After more than a century of modern apple cultivation, what other little-known or surprising facts lie behind this familiar, sweet fruit?

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
In a dramatic escalation on Saturday, 3 January, the United States carried out a military strike on Venezuela, setting off a chain of events that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Maduro was taken into custody and later flown to New York, according to multiple reports.

The Venezuelan President and the First Lady are now expected to face court proceedings as early as Monday on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons offenses.

Maduro is currently being held at the Brooklyn jail, which is criticised for its conditions. The facility is reportedly so troubled that some judges have refused to send people there, even as it has housed high-profile inmates such as R. Kelly and Sean Diddy Combs, AP reported.

Which famous people are locked in the Brooklyn prison? The prison, known as the Metropolitan Detention Center, or MDC Brooklyn, opened in the early 1990s and currently houses around 1,300 inmates, including alleged gangsters, drug traffickers, as well as some people accused of white collar crimes.

The facility is claimed to be a routine landing spot for people awaiting trial in federal courts in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Among those currently held at the jail are Ismael El Mayo Zambada Garcia, the co-founder of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel, and Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.

Previous inmates have included crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried and Ghislaine Maxwell, a close and longtime associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

View full Image A general view shows Metropolitan Detention Center ( AP )

Maduro is not the first president of a country to be held at the jail. Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former president of Honduras, was also locked up at MDC Brooklyn while facing a trial for smuggling massive quantities of cocaine into the United States. He was later convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison, but was pardoned and released by Donald Trump in December last year.

Why is the prison considered troubled ? The jail, which sits within the view of the Statue of Liberty, has been described, at its worst, as a hell on earth and an ongoing tragedy.

Detainees and their lawyers have consistently complained about extreme violence within the premises. In 2024, two prisoners were killed by other inmates. There are also reports of jail workers being charged with accepting bribes or providing contraband, AP reported.

During the winter of 2019, a power failure left the facility and its inmates without light for nearly a week, forcing them to ensure complete darkness and cold, the news report stated.

Jeffrey Epsteins suicide adds to the negative image of the place While at the jail, Maduro is likely to encounter some familiar faces, which may include other high-profile inmates, but that can happen only if he is allowed out of the isolated quarters where he will initially be housed. These sections are designed to keep new or high-risk detainees separate from the general population, at least at the start of their stay.

Also Read | DOJ finds over million new files linked to Epstein, seeks more time for release

The Brooklyn jail has come under greater scrutiny since 2021, after the Bureau of Prisons shut down its other New York City jail  the Metropolitan Correctional Center  following Jeffrey Epsteins suicide. That incident exposed serious problems, including its weak security, crumbling infrastructure and unsafe, filthy conditions.
A US-led takeover or restructuring of Venezuela's oil sector could deliver a direct benefit to India, potentially unlocking close to USD 1 billion in long-pending dues while accelerating the revival of crude production from fields it operates in the sanctions-hit Latin American nation, analysts and industry sources said.

India was once a major processor of Venezuelan heavy crude, importing more than 4,00,000 barrels per day at peak levels, until sweeping US sanctions and rising compliance risks forcibly shut down purchases in 2020.

Its flagship overseas producer, ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), jointly operates the San Cristobal oilfield in eastern Venezuela, but output has been severely curtailed as US restrictions blocked access to critical technology, equipment, and services - leaving commercially viable reserves effectively stranded.

Venezuela has failed to pay OVL USD 536 million in dividends due on its 40 per cent stake in the field up to 2014, and a near-equivalent amount for the subsequent period for which Caracas has refused to permit audits, effectively freezing settlement of the claims.

Sanctions could be eased after a dramatic US operation removed President Nicolas Maduro and placed the country's vast oil reserves under American oversight, analysts and energy executives said.

Once sanctions are eased, OVL can move rigs and other equipment from places, such as its parent ONGC's oil fields in Gujarat, to San Cristobal to revive output that has plummeted to 5,000-10,000 barrels per day, officials in the know of the matter said.

The onshore field can produce 80,000-1,00,000 bpd with more wells and better equipment, they said, adding that San Cristobal needs rigs similar to those operating in Gujarat, and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) owns many such rigs.

US control of the Venezuelan oil sector also means exports to the world would start soon, and OVL can recoup its past USD 1 billion dues from San Cristobal from such revenues, they said.

In fact, OVL had sought a 'specific licence' sanctions waiver, similar to one Office of the Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had granted to Chevron to operate the oilfield and export oil from it.

OVL and other Indian firms can also take more fields in Venezuela and revive production from the Carabobo-1 Area - another Venezuelan heavy oilfield with Indian interest. OVL holds 11 per cent interest in Carabobo-1, while Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) hold 3.5 per cent stake each.

Venezuelan national oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PdVSA) is the majority stakeholder in both San Cristobal and Carabobo-1.

Post the US action, PdVSA may undergo restructuring, analysts said. In the worst-case scenario, its stake can be taken over by a US company or any new entity that Washington may erect.

OVL and other international companies - Repsol of Spain has 11 per cent stake in Carabobo-1 - are most certainly likely to continue in the projects with their holdings, analysts said.

US President Donald Trump has already stated that, as part of the takeover, major US oil companies would return to Venezuela, which has the world's largest oil reserves, and refurbish badly degraded oil infrastructure.

Also Read | Why the US attacked Venezuela? Explained

Analysts said the US cannot replace all the international companies and will need firms like OVL not just for their expertise but also for the market they bring in.

India will be a key buyer of Venezuelan crude once the Latin American country is able to restore its lost glory with help from the US and other companies.

"If sanctions are eased - as seen in past geopolitical episodes, such as Panama in 1990, when aid and trade restrictions were lifted shortly after the removal of General Manuel Noriega - trade flows can resume rapidly. Under such circumstances, Venezuelan barrels could again return to Indian refineries," said Nikhil Dubey, Senior Research Analyst at Kpler, in a post on LinkedIn.

Major Indian refiners, such as Reliance Industries, Rosneft-based Nayara Energy, IOC, HPCL-Mittal Energy and Mangalore Refinery, have the complexity needed to run these grades efficiently in blends to produce fuels like petrol and diesel.

"India is actively diversifying its crude basket - not only to reduce its dependence on Russian oil, but also amid ongoing India-US trade discussions, where lowering exposure to Russian barrels remains a key theme. In that context, if sanctions on Venezuela are eased, Venezuelan crude could offer additional flexibility to Indian refiners and help ease supply concentration risks," Dubey said.

Before 2019, Venezuela exported 707 million barrels of crude oil a year, with the US absorbing about 32 per cent and China and India 35 per cent. By 2025, exports have declined to 352 million barrels a year, with China taking 45 per cent and unknown others 31 per cent.

Kpler Risk & Compliance expects US and allied authorities to prioritise asset freezes, criminal investigations, and the dismantling of evasive trading networks rather than immediately easing restrictions.

China, Venezuela's primary residual buyer, is likely to pause lifting until PdVSA authority and payment channels are clarified in the near term.

Explaining the US move, analysts said Trump is trying to decouple the American economy from the rest of the world. With Venezuelan oil under its belt, the US will no longer be dependent on OPEC producers like Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

"In a way, Trump has sent a strong message to Saudi Arabia. His logic of having discovered Venezuelan oil and so being its true owner, also holds good for the Middle East. After all, it was US firms which discovered oil in Saudi Arabia and other places, and as a corollary, it can also capture Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud," an analyst tracking the sector said.

With its own oil and gas production and Venezuelan output, the US will no longer be dependent on any other part of the world for its energy needs.

Its dependence on China, however, continues for non-energy items, but Trump is trying to cut even that through his tariffs and encouraging local production, he said.

For the oil market, the restart of Venezuelan oil flows should bring in price stability, but Trump would not like the rates to slip below USD 60 a barrel as this would make US shale oil and gas production economically unviable, another analyst said.

"The best case for him will be to ask OPEC to lower its production to accommodate Venezuelan flows into the market."

Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves - 303 billion barrels, which are more than 267 billion barrels of Saudi Arabia, but output has collapsed due to underinvestment, mismanagement, and sanctions.

A US-directed overhaul - bringing capital, technology, and operational discipline - could lift production significantly within a year, adding supply to global markets, analysts say.

For India, the world's third-largest oil importer, renewed Venezuelan exports would offer a strategic alternative to Middle Eastern crude, reduce exposure to geopolitical shocks, and strengthen its hand in price negotiations.

"Indian refiners are structurally configured for Venezuelan heavy crude," said a former oil executive.

"If production rises and payments normalise, trade can restart almost immediately."

Geopolitically, a US-dominated oil sector in Venezuela would also dilute China's leverage, which currently enjoys priority access to Venezuelan crude through debt-repayment deals. Any renegotiation of those arrangements could open space for India to regain long-term supply contracts.
The multilateral trade order is unravelling. The US has imposed country- and product-specific tariffs unilaterally, leveraging them to extract deals from several countries. China has retaliated with export controls on critical minerals.

These moves undermine the basic principles of cooperative global commerce, leaving countries like India to prioritize securing their national interests. Against this backdrop, the Union finance ministers announcement of a comprehensive customs overhaul comes at a critical moment.

These reforms will offer India an opportunity not merely to shield itself from trade conflicts, but capture a larger share of global exports and integrate more deeply into global supply chains. Success, however, will require a fundamental restructuring of how goods flow across Indias borders.

The reforms must recognize and build upon Indias expanding web of trade agreements with Japan, Korea, Asean, Australia, the UAE, European Free Trade Association and the UK, even as negotiations with the EU are underway.

But signing agreements is only the first crucial step. The real challenge lies in making these partnerships work for Indian exporters through streamlined customs procedures and reduced friction at the border.

At the heart of meaningful reform lies a dual focus on tariffs and the often-overlooked non-tariff barriers that quietly strangle trade. Our exporters struggle to comply with complex regulations in destination markets, while import processes at home remain cumbersome.

The path forward requires simplifying Indias tariff structure into three tiers: the lowest rates for raw materials, moderate rates for intermediate goods and higher rates for finished products.

This rationalization should reduce our applied weighted average tariff rates from current levels of more than 5% to those comparable with competing economies: 1-2% for Vietnam, China and Indonesia.

The inverted duty structure that penalizes domestic manufacturers when import duties on finished goods are lower than those on inputs must be eliminated, such as through the availability of streamlined Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty Rules.

Capital goods present a particular case for tariff reform. Various export promotion schemes already permit duty-free imports of machinery. The Manufacturing and Other Operations in Bonded Warehouse (MOOWR) scheme extends this benefit even to domestic production.

This practice essentially reveals a policy of openness toward duty-free capital goods imports, subject to checks and balances under the scheme.

Direct tariff reduction on capital goods for select sectors, from the current levels of 7.5% for most goods to 0% would be more straightforward and better serve the goal of encouraging investment while protecting domestic manufacturers through careful sectoral targeting.

Beyond tariffs, Indias reforms must tackle the practical barriers that inflate costs and create uncertainty for traders. India has made impressive strides in reducing cargo release times and improving logistics.

Yet, there is significant room for improvement. Five specific interventions could transform the trading environment:

The first challenge traders face is knowing what regulations apply. Goods routinely arrive at ports only to be detained because importers lack clear information about compliance requirements, particularly those arising from domestic regulations including quality control orders (QCOs).

This defeats the purpose of processing shipments before arrival, a cornerstone of modern trade facilitation.

The solution already exists in the Customs Acts Section 11(3); introduced in 2018, it authorizes the creation of a single repository for all regulatory requirements regardless of which ministry issues them. This provision must be implemented.

Even with simplified tariffs and centralized information, traders will encounter ambiguities, particularly around rules-of-origin under Indias growing list of free trade agreements.

Expanding the scope of Customs Advance Rulings under Section 28-H(2) of the Customs Act would allow businesses to seek binding clarification on how domestic regulations will apply to them at the border.

This will require establishing mechanisms for coordination between the customs advance rulings authority and the relevant ministries to provide traders certainty.

Modern global supply chains increasingly involve transactions between related corporate entities.

The current system of advance scrutiny by the Special Valuation Branch to determine proper duty values for such transactions often sees cases drag on for years without resolution, creating planning nightmares for businesses.

This advance review process should be replaced with post-clearance audits that verify compliance after goods have moved, incorporating statutory time limits to prevent indefinite uncertainty.

Trade facilitation should also embrace a more sophisticated, entity-based approach centred on the globally recognized Authorized Economic Operator programme, which certifies reliable traders who meet stringent criteria. These certified operators deserve greater trust from customs officials in the field.

The benefits should expand to include mutual recognition under free trade agreements, self-licensing for export permits (including sensitive technologies) and exemption from routine examinations at ports. Trust, once earned through rigorous vetting, should translate to tangible advantages.

Finally, while facilitating legitimate trade, customs must maintain robust compliance mechanisms. The current risk management system needs refinement to reduce both false positives that delay compliant shipments and false negatives that miss genuine violations.

This requires a more nuanced categorization of non-compliance based on its nature, likely intent and economic impact. Different categories of violations should trigger different responses, from education and mediation to enforcement action, with clear processes for dispute resolution.

Transparency in how these determinations are made will increase efficiency and build confidence in the systems fairness.

As global trade fragments into competing blocs and bilateral deals, Indias customs system must evolve into a strategic policy instrument. The proposed reforms represent an opportunity to position India as an agile competitor ready to seize opportunities in a reordered global economy.

Also Read | Springboard 2026 | Seizing leadership in changed global trade landscape

These changes must be implemented with the urgency and ambition that this moment demands.

The authors are, respectively, head and senior fellow, Ashoka University Isaac Centre for Public Policy. Shubhangi Sahai contributed to the article. These are the authors personal views.
As this is my first column of the new year, I thought I would do something challengingwrite what is good about the modern world. Here are a few things:

Billionaires versus death: Billionaires do not have the heart to leave the party of life. That is where they become extremely useful to us. They are pouring billions into medical research that they will have no choice but to share with all of us someday. Their greed could help us live longer.

The superrich have been directing private capital towards curing ageing, which they consider a disease, and also other diseases no one disputes are diseases. Even though Bill Gates spends most of his philanthropic billions on the diseases that rage among the poor, he also spends sizeable amounts on finding a cure for neurodegeneration, like Alzheimers research.

Recently, the American Food and Drug Administration cleared a blood test for early detection of Alzheimers. This has excited Gates. He usually knows more than what he shares in his periodical releases. If his public optimism is any indication, we might very soon be able to prevent diseases that harm the brain.

Jeff Bezos, too, is funding research on ways to reverse cellular ageing, which would simultaneously solve cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurodegeneration. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have pledged billions to the radical goal of curing all disease by the end of the century.

They are among the superrich of America who believe that if they can survive the next few decades, somehow push their lives another half a century, the future of science will further prolong it for them, and further advances may further this.

Some scientists claim that the future human might be able to live hundreds of years. Even if that is not true, there is no doubt that the billionaire hope of enjoying much longer lives could deliver extraordinary medical breakthroughs.

Among the big disappointments are Elon Musks ventures, which tend to be a bit melodramatic as though they are inspired by juvenile science fiction. His neural link might help those afflicted by paralysis and blindness, but appears to be chiefly a gamble by one man to attain eternal life by downloading his brain to a machine. His billions would be better spent on stuff that I am interested in, with my brain in my own vat.

Also Read | Building peace together

The world is still a peaceful place: An affliction of Western anthropologists is that they appear to be constantly trying to find out what humans are meant to do." Always, what we are meant to do, according to them, is very different from whatever it is that we are doing right now. For some reason, picking berries" comes up often; we are all meant to be picking berries, they say, or be doing something just as tame. But somehow, modern life interfered with this safe and pleasant task.

I look at the matter a bit differently, even though I agree that humans tend towards peaceful activities. I feel that the present world of relative calm is not in spite of human nature. Instead, it overwhelmingly reflects what people want. For, what can be greater evidence of our intentions than what billions of people do with their lives, including the 100 billion or so who are dead.

It appears that what most people want to do is live peacefully with a tight group of people. And if they are poor, escape the hard labour of agriculture and migrate to cities but retain their village inside them.

This might seem naive in a world where war is raging as you read this. But war is big news precisely because most of the world tends towards peace. Also, it is the peaceful nature of a majority that gives some violent people, especially those who can tell a good story, a political advantage. It is as though they have a rare talent. But they are usually defeated by another set of brutal people who are promoted by a world that tends towards peace.

We live in an age where practicality has beaten ideals in many parts of the world. But that, too, is a good sign. Everyone can now see how ugly a world without ideals is, how unremarkable and unsafe. This might be the peak of practicality and it may be time for the world to swing back towards ideals.

How Trump may create a better world: We tend to think of illegal migration to America as an activity of the poor. There has to be some truth in it, but if you consider the Indian stories, those who were put in jumpsuits and flown back to India in chains, many of them claimed to have paid tens of lakhs of rupees to agents to smuggle them into the US. That is not the sort of activity the poor can afford. At least one part of illegal migration to the US appeared to be a middle-class activity. US President Donald Trump has put an end to it by instilling fear.

He has also made it difficult for the Indian upper class to legally emigrate or work there. All this has made very expensive one of the great Indian dreams, which is to escape India. As a consequence, a new generation of upper class and middle-class Indians might be more invested in improving India, the way that previous generations were not.

This cannot be just an Indian phenomenon. The economic and social elite of several Asian countries used to escape to the US and practice long-distance nationalism. Now they have an opportunity to be patriotic on the soil they claim to love.

Every advanced nation was built by its elite, while most developing nations have not enjoyed the fervour of true upper class nation-building, the type India witnessed right after independence. Now, that can happen. Or should happen.

The author is a journalist, novelist, and the creator of the Netflix series, Decoupled
India has 54 million pending cases, 47 million in district courts, 6.3 million in high courts and nearly 90,000 in the Supreme Court, with just 25,000 judges to handle them.

This translates to barely 21 judges per million people, far below the Law Commissions recommended 50 and well short of the US (107) and UK (51).

Vacancies hover around 30% in many high courts and case disposal rates remain sluggish, averaging 1,350 cases per judge annually, versus over 2,000 in OECD jurisdictions.

Each adjournment adds several months to case duration: over 18 million cases are more than three years old and 5 million exceed a decade.

Judicial inefficiency has thus become both a governance and economic problem, conservatively estimated by Niti Aayog to shave 1.5% off GDP annually through delayed contract enforcement, locked capital and investor uncertainty.

Behind this inefficiency lies an even deeper structural distortion: the state itself. The Union government, public sector undertakings (PSUs), state governments, state PSUs and local bodies together account for nearly half of all litigation nationwide.

At the Union level, according to Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS), the finance ministry alone is party to nearly 200,000 pending cases, 98,544 before tribunals, 83,552 in high courts and 12,589 in the Supreme Court, representing roughly 13% of the top courts burden.

Tax and revenue disputes dominate, but the governments litigation footprint extends across civil contracts, land acquisition and service matters.

Although monetary thresholds for appeals were raised in 2022 (to 1 crore for high courts and 2 crore for the Supreme Court), pendency reduction has been marginal, reflecting a culture of litigation as bureaucratic insurance rather than legal necessity.

This culture stems from several institutionalized incentives that make default litigation the path of least resistance.

Audit and vigilance frameworks indirectly treat unappealed losses as negligence; accounting codes of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) require every audit objection to be settled or explained, and an appeal offers safe harbour from being questioned, while a liberal appellate framework allows virtually automatic filing.

Despite calls for a binding national litigation policy, successive governments have balked.

Instead, we now have a Directive for Efficient and Effective Management of Litigation (April 2025), which introduces nodal officers, legal cells and MIS dashboards, but lacks statutory teeth, performance-linked disincentives or real-time data integrity.

LIMBS itself remains under-updated and fails to track reasons for appeal.

Here is a five-point agenda for inclusion in a national litigation policy. First, India must move away from its open-ended appeal culture and adopt a leave-to-litigate system that acts as a regulatory filter. Departments should not be permitted to file more than one automatic appeal.

Also Read | The subordinate judiciary is an economic pillar India must fix

Any second or higher appeal must obtain prior clearance from an empowered group of secretaries (EGoS) chaired by the attorney general that should apply a three-factor test of (a) public interest, or whether the case impacts governance or citizens beyond the immediate dispute; (b) legal novelty, or whether it raises a new or unsettled question of law; and (c) its probability of success, or whether an appeal has reasonable merit.

All clearances, refusals and reasons for decisions should be published quarterly to promote transparency and accountability, making higher litigation a privilege of merit rather than routine practice.

Second, litigation must be treated as an information system. A new national legal information grid should integrate existing platforms such as LIMBS, the National Judicial Datagrid, e-courts, digital platforms, etc, to enable real-time tracking of every case involving a government entity.

Reasons for appeal, stages of proceedings, adjournments, costs incurred and success rates should be visible. AI-based analytics could identify departments that repeatedly lose on the same issue, generate predictive win-loss probabilities and flag cases ripe for settlement.

Third, to reduce unnecessary appeals driven by audit or vigilance fear, we need a clear pre-EGoS litigation decision protocol. Only after a ministrys legal advisor advises litigation should it be sent to the EGoS.

Officers who support decisions in writing, with the legal merit, financial implications, public interest and success likelihood of a case duly noted, should receive safe-harbour protection if it is vetted by the legal advisor.

Fourth, every ministry and PSU must have an annual litigation budget cap. Legal spending should be treated as a burden. If a department exceeds its cap or loses a case where an appeal was discouraged, expenses should be charged to its own account head.

Conversely, ministries that achieve measurable reductions in pendency or successful settlements could get incentives.

Fifth, transparency deters wasteful litigation. The law ministry should set up a public litigation dashboard, a citizen-friendly version of LIMBS, covering every ministry and department.

Also Read | The judiciary cannot turn into a haven for the corrupt

It should publish quarterly data on pending cases, average case duration and adjournment frequency, apart from the success rate and costs. It should be easy for the public to access and understand.

The state should stop being the countrys most compulsive litigant. Justice will be more efficient once the government learns to rest its case.

The author writes on macroeconomic and geopolitical issues.
On 3 January, the US carried out airstrikes on Caracas in the backdrop of heightened tensions in the Caribbean and its recent interdictions of vessels alleged to be carrying narcotics in Venezuelan waters. The White House framed this operation as a necessary move to dismantle narco-terrorist efforts and halt weapons being sold to anti-US forces. This large-scale operation included the capture of Venezuelas leader Nicolas Maduro and there is enough to suggest that its aims were wider than claimed.

US President Donald Trump claimed Caracas has been emptying Venezuelan prisons and mental wards into the US, a narrative critics say was weak justification for the use of force.

The capture of Maduro indicates an attempt at regime change, consistent with a revamped US national security strategy that treats American primacy in the Western Hemisphere as a non-negotiable. Venezuelas close relationship with the Kremlin, which includes hosting Russian military facilities in violation of the Monroe Doctrine under its left-leaning government, thus appears to have been a key trigger for US action.

Also Read | The oil sectors biggest winners and losers from Venezuela regime change

The White House has stated that it seeks to oversee a safe, orderly and judicious" transition of power in Venezuela, signalling continued US involvement in its political future. That Venezuelas vast oil reserves may be in play as a factor is clear too. This may offer the US strategic gains, but carries heavy geopolitical and economic risks.

The American operation reveals a broader geo-economic strategy for the region that is unfolding against the backdrop of Maduros sustained refusal to reopen large-scale oil dealings with US corporations. Venezuelas intrinsic value in the global energy market has led to stiff US sanctions in the past that impacted Indias hydrocarbon partnerships there.

The latest US actions jeopardize ONGC Videsh Ltds $200 million San Cristobal and Carabobo investments; dividends and crude-oil supply had been disrupted before, but now the future of these appears to hang in the air.

US business involvement and extraction activity in Venezuela is negligible, while China has emerged as its principal importer of crude oil. Even as the US administration urged renewed engagement, American oil firms reportedly stayed away amid political volatility in Caracas. This may have made regime change to install a US-friendly government an appealing idea in US geo-strategic circles.

Legally speaking, the US strike on Caracas sits on uncertain ground. International law prohibits the use of force against another states territory unless authorized by the UN Security Council, or in self-defence against armed attack. Drug trafficking does not meet that threshold under established standards of international jurisprudence.

Analysts warn that Washington has risked not just an erosion of the rule of law in world affairs, but may have also violated customary international law by compromising Venezuelan sovereignty, and if the airstrikes that accompanied the US capture of Maduro are found to have caused civilian harm, allegations of war crimes under international humanitarian law could be levelled.

Framing warfare as global policing is not unusual of the US, but unilateral military power running roughshod over international principles could have larger implications. It could normalize coercive intervention by a hegemonic force in a way that reshapes global expectations and lowers the cost of external aggression by stronger nations on smaller countries.

Such a global order could embolden China, for example, to encircle Taiwan, on the bet that framing its territorial ambition as a routine enforcement of its rights will yield condemnation without any real deterrence. Beijings showed its approach with its Justice Mission 2025 military drills conducted at the fag end of 2025. These war games were the largest since 2022 by geographical scope. Several exercise zones extended into areas within 12 nautical miles of Taiwans coast, marking a significant escalation. The timing and framing of these drills were deliberate.

Also Read | Joseph Stiglitz on Trump and the end of American hegemony

Justice Mission 2025 followed within days of Washingtons approval of a record $11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan and was accompanied by Beijings sanctions on 30 US defence firms and executives. It was a coordinated military-economic response to what Chinese authorities characterized as foreign interference in Chinas internal affairs.

Chinas ministry of foreign affairs described the drills as a punitive and deterrent action" against Taiwans forces of independence and their external supporters. Beijing thus sought to brand its escalation of a territorial tension as a matter of its own sovereignty.

As Venezuelas sovereignty is violated with apparent impunity to safeguard Washingtons perceived strategic vulnerabilities arising from Russias presence in the region, the future looks bleak for any multilateral peace arrangement to be institutionalized.

Worse, it could encourage aggression in the Eastern hemisphere. After all, Beijing views Taiwans reunification as a historical inevitability rather than policy choice. A global environment of unchecked unilateralism and selective law enforcement could give us a more dangerous world than before.

Saksham Raj and Aditi Lazarus contributed to this article.

The author is professor and dean, O.P. Jindal Global University, visiting professor, London School of Economics, and a visiting research fellow at the University of Oxford.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to cancel elections in wards where candidates have been declared elected unopposed in the upcoming Maharashtra civic polls and to restart the polling process in those seats.

Addressing a joint press conference with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray after unveiling their alliance manifesto for the BMC polls, Uddhav alleged large-scale manipulation by the ruling alliance to ensure unopposed victories.

First they stole votes, now they are stealing candidates, Thackeray said, accusing the ruling coalition of pressuring opposition nominees to withdraw from the fray.

Thackeray's remaks came after the ruling Mahayuti wrested 68 out of 69 seats before actual polling since the candidates were elected unopposed in the municipal corporation elections in Maharashtra. On the last day of withdrawal of candidature on Friday, the BJP emerged the biggest gainer with its candidates elected unopposed in 44 seats.



While the BJP has the highest number of candidates who have won unopposed, the Shiv Sena has 22 and the NCP two.

First they stole votes, now they are stealing candidates.

The former Maharashtra chief minister, said if the State Election Commission has courage, it should cancel elections where candidates have been chosen unopposed, and should initiate the poll process again in those wards.

The two cousins also unveiled their alliance manifesto for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.

Atmosphere in the country is like democracy has been taken over by mobocracy, he said.



Estranged Cousins Reunite Last month, estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray on Wednesday announced to reunite politically and take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming corporation elections including the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC). Voting is scheduled on January 15.

In 2006, Raj was miffed over his cousin Uddhav's elevation as the undivided Senas working president. He walked out of the party and floated the MNS. The reunion ofThackeray cousinsafter two decades could mark a tectonic shift in Mumbai's political landscape.

The BMC election may become a virtual Thackeray vs The Rest contest creating a new set of challenges and opportunities for the major players: the BJP and the Congress.
Fraudsters are constantly refining their tactics, and text messages remain one of their most effective tools. Now, Google has updated its Circle to Search feature on Android, aimed at helping users quickly identify scam texts before any damage is done.

Scam texts are getting harder to spot From fake bank alerts to messages claiming there is an urgent problem with an online account, scam texts are designed to create panic. The goal is simple. Trick users into clicking a link, entering personal details and handing over sensitive information.

While many people are aware of common warning signs, scammers are becoming more convincing. Some messages closely resemble legitimate communications, making it difficult to judge their authenticity at a glance.

Google adds scam detection to Circle to Search To tackle this growing problem, Google has updated Circle to Search on Android devices. The feature allows users to analyse suspicious messages without interacting with them directly.

Instead of clicking links or replying to the sender, users can invoke Circle to Search by long-pressing the home button or navigation bar. This brings up the tool instantly over whatever is on the screen.

Also Read | 5 Smart Android battery hacks that can add hours to your phones life

How circling the text helps Once Circle to Search is active, users simply draw a circle around the suspicious message. Googles system then analyses the text using a mix of artificial intelligence and publicly available online information.

Within moments, users receive an assessment explaining whether the message is likely to be a scam. The results also outline the red flags that triggered the warning, helping people recognise similar threats in the future.

Learning to protect yourself Beyond identifying individual scam messages, the feature is designed to educate users. By highlighting common tactics used by fraudsters, it helps build long-term awareness and confidence when dealing with unexpected texts.

Also Read | Google announces Emergency Live Video on Android to aid responders: How it works
Elon Musk has issued a stern warning to users misusing Xs artificial intelligence tool Grok, following a viral trend in which users prompted the AI to alter photos of users into sexually explicit images, often depicting them in bikinis.

On Saturday, Musk retweeted a post from Xs official Safety account, adding a brief but pointed message: Were not kidding. The controversy has triggered widespread outrage and regulatory scrutiny. In India, authorities have accused the platform of failing to curb AI-driven abuse.

X warns of strict action over illegal content The Safety account post outlined the companys stance on illegal material, particularly Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), and extended the warning to misuse of Grok.

We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary, the post said.

Musk also tweeted on Saturday,Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content.

The statement directed users to Xs help pages for a detailed explanation of platform rules and enforcement measures.

Growing concern over Grok-generated explicit images The warning comes amid mounting concern over how Grok has been used to manipulate images into sexualised content. Users have reportedly exploited the tool to create synthetic images of women and minors, including bikini-clad depictions, which were then shared widely without consent.

Indian government demands urgent action Indias Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, or MeitY, took a strong stance on Friday, issuing a notice to X and seeking an Action Taken Report within 72 hours.

The ministry called for immediate compliance to prevent the hosting, creation and uploading of obscene, nude, indecent and sexually explicit content through the misuse of AI-based services like Grok and xAIs other services.

In its notice, MeitY cited Xs failure to observe statutory due diligence obligations under the Information Technology Act, 2000, along with other applicable laws.

Also Read | Centre issues notice to X over obscene, explicit content on Grok AI

Questions over safeguards and compliance The government has asked X to submit a detailed report outlining the technical and organisational measures adopted or proposed for the Grok application. It has also sought clarity on the role and oversight exercised by the platforms Chief Compliance Officer.

Other points raised include the action taken against offending content, users and accounts, and the mechanisms in place to ensure compliance with mandatory reporting requirements under Section 33 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

Also Read | How Grok AI landed X in trouble with Indias IT ministry

Officials noted that the problem extends beyond fake or anonymous accounts. According to the ministry, women who post their own images or videos are also being targeted through AI prompts, image manipulation and synthetic outputs.

Legal consequences if X fails to act The ministry also warned of significant legal consequences if X does not comply with its obligations.

Failure to observe such due diligence obligations shall result in the loss of the exemption from liability under section 79 of the IT Act, and you shall also be liable for consequential action as provided under any law including the IT Act and BNS, the letter stated.
Motorolas new Signature lineup is all set to debut in India on 7 January with a triple camera setup and a fabric finish on the back. The Lenovo sub-brand, however, has remained secretive about the features of its new phone and hasnt even revealed the full design of the device so far. However, a new leak has revealed the complete specifications of the Motorola Signature, making it clearer that the phone would compete against the likes of the OnePlus 15R and the Oppo Reno 15 lineup when it debuts in India.

Motorola Signature specifications (leaked): As per tipster Evan Blass on X (formerly Twitter), the Motorola Signature will feature a 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2780 x 1264 pixels and a screen-to-body ratio of 95.23%. The phone is said to come with a 165Hz refresh rate and boast a peak brightness of 6,200 nits. It could also come with support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+, and could be Pantone Validated for true-to-life colour accuracy.

The phone is said to come with IP68 and IP69 ratings for water and dust resistance and MIL-STD 810H certification for durability. The device is also said to feature an aluminium frame with a thickness of just 6.99mm and a weight of 186 grams.

View full Image Motorola Signature launching on 7 January.

The Motorola Signature is tipped to come running on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, the same SoC seen earlier on the OnePlus 15R. It could come with support for 12GB or 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage. The leaker suggests that the Motorola Signature could run on an Android 16-based UI, with the company committing to seven years of OS updates and security patches with the upcoming device.

For optics, the smartphone could sport a triple 50MP rear camera setup, including a 50MP Sony LYTIA 828 primary sensor with OIS, a 50MP ultra-wide lens with a 122-degree field of view and macro capabilities, and a 50MP periscope telephoto camera (Sony LYTIA 600) with 3x optical zoom. On the front, it could feature a 50MP Sony LYTIA 500 shooter for selfies and video calls.

The device is said to be backed by a 5,200mAh silicon-carbon battery with support for 90W TurboPower wired charging and 50W wireless charging. It could also support 10W reverse wireless charging.
When one hears the name Breguet, what immediately comes to mind are timepieces of impeccable classicism: finely guilloche dials, fluted cases, and the unmistakable open-tipped hands. Yet behind this image of timeless elegance lies another facet of the manufacture  that of a pioneering watchmaker in the field of modern aviation instruments. The Type XX collection is the most eloquent expression of this heritage.

Born in the mid-1950s and produced until 1959, the Type 20 was first and foremost a tool before becoming an icon. Commissioned by the French Air Force and Naval Aviation, the watch was designed to meet a demanding set of specifications. As with all timepieces made for adventurers of the skies, legibility had to be exemplary and robustness essential. The chronograph also required a flyback function, allowing the timing sequence to be instantly restarted with a single push during aerial maneuvers.

Breguet thus delivered watches that became trusted companions of military pilots before finding their way onto the wrists of civilian aviation enthusiasts. In the decades that followed, the military and civilian versions coexisted, each distinguished by subtle aesthetic and mechanical variations.
Michael B. Jordan has spoken candidly about how his role as Erik Killmonger in Black Panther became a turning point in his personal life, leading him to seek therapy for the first time.

Michael B Jordan on having to take therapy because of Black Panther The actor, who earned widespread acclaim for his portrayal of the Wakandan antagonist in Ryan Cooglers 2018 blockbuster, said the emotional weight of the character lingered long after filming ended.

Speaking on CBS Sunday Morning, the Golden Globe nominee reflected on Killmongers inner turmoil and how deeply he immersed himself in the role. I think Erik didnt experience that, Jordan said, referring to love. He had a lot of betrayal, a lot of failed systems around him that shaped him and his anger and his frustration.

Jordan explained that preparing for the role required an intense level of isolation. So, for a while, in preparation for that role, I didnt really speak to my family that much. I was kind of isolated a bit. I went into my hole and tried to live like he would have lived for a bit, whatever that process was, he said. The actor added that fully embodying Killmongers mindset came at an emotional cost he had not anticipated.

In Black Panther, Killmonger is driven by trauma and loss. His father, NJobu, is killed by Wakandan king TChaka  father of TChalla, played by the late Chadwick Boseman  after attempting to smuggle vibranium out of Wakanda.

That betrayal fuels Killmongers anger and ultimately leads him to challenge TChalla for the throne. Jordans performance was widely praised for giving the Marvel Cinematic Universe one of its most complex villains.

However, once filming wrapped, Jordan found it difficult to fully separate himself from the character. After the movie, it kind of stuck with me for a bit. I went to therapy, talked about it, found a way to kind of just decompress. And I think at that point, I was still learning that I needed to decompress from a character, he said.

Jordan noted that the experience taught him an important lesson about the demands of acting. Theres no blueprint to this. Acting is a solo journey a lot of times. Auditioning by yourself, practicing by yourself. Theres a lot of preparation and the experience and the journey, he explained. So, learning as I went, realizing that, Oh man, I still got a little something on me I need to get off. Talking is really important.

What began as a way to process a single role soon became something more meaningful. The Sinners star said his therapy sessions spiraled into a bigger conversation and self-discovery, ultimately changing how he viewed mental health. He stressed that therapy should not carry stigma, particularly for men.

So, thats something Im not ashamed of at all and very proud of, Jordan said. It definitely helped me throughout the years and to this day of trying to be a good communicator and a well-rounded person, inside and out.
There has been a positive reaction from two Longford Oireachtas members to the 'significant' funding of more than 40 million received by farmers and fishers in the county during 2025 supporting communities and families.

Fine Gael TD Micheal Carrigy and Fianna Fail Senator, Joe Flaherty both separately welcomed the 40.8m in agricultural payments for Longford from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine during 2025.

Deputy Carrigy said: "This funding came through many schemes including but not limited to BISS (Basic Income Support for Sustainability), TAMS (Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme), ACRES (Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme), Collaborative Farming Grant, SIM, Succession Planning Advice Grant, and Forestry.

This shows the Governments commitment to rural communities in Longford.

"These payments are real support for families which are delivered at scale.

Farmers and fishers because their work is the backbone of our economy."

Fianna Fail Senator, Joe Flaherty has also welcomed over 40.8m in agricultural payments for Longford and he stated the funding forms part of a 2.18 billion national package supporting farmers and fishers across the country.

Senator Flaherty said the payments are vital for rural and coastal communities:

It is crucial to recognise the importance of continued, targeted support for farmers and fishers, particularly in coastal and at-risk areas. These payments are not just financial supports; they are an investment in the future of rural and coastal Ireland.

Farmers and fishers are under growing pressure from climate change, rising costs and market uncertainty. In marginal and coastal areas, these challenges are intensified by isolation and limited alternative employment. Sustained support is essential to protect livelihoods and community viability.

Fianna Fail is committed to protecting family farm incomes and supporting generational renewal, with 2025 funding helping farmers maintain productive and environmentally sustainable practices. For fishers, the funding supports small-scale fleets, improves safety, encourages diversification and sustains coastal economies."

Mr Flaherty also acknowledged the work of Minister Dooley, highlighting the Seafood Development Programme 2021to-2027, which includes 11 schemes providing 21.9 million in support to the fisheries, aquaculture and processing sectors.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon said: My Department manages payments under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), oversees supports under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the Seafood Development Programme, and administers several nationally funded schemes.

These payments provide vital supports for our farmers and fishers, in turn supporting rural and coastal communities, food security and underpinning the economic benefits accruing to the Irish economy from the activities of the agriculture and marine sectors. I am delighted to confirm that these payments amounted to more than 2.18 billion in 2025.

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Damage costing an estimated 190,000 was caused at a stud farm near Naas after a fire broke out, it was claimed at the local district court.

Three juveniles, who cannot be identified because of their age, face an allegation of arson at Rathasker Stud, near the Kilcullen Road, on February 7, 2025.

Sgt Dave Hanrahan said it will be alleged the three defendants set fire to 450 bales of hay or straw, a barn and horsebox.

He added they are friends and were trespassing.

Sgt Hanrahan said they allegedly set fire to bales of hay and straw and the fire service was deployed to deal with the blaze.

He said the fire started at around 5.30pm, the owners noticed it, saw a number of youths and took photographs of them."

The aftermath of the blaze

He said three teens, two aged 14 and one aged 15 at the time, were arrested.

Defending solicitor David Powderly made an application to have the case heard in the district court, where less stringent penalties can be imposed, rather than the circuit court - as recommended by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mr Powderly noted the circuit court has more formality, higher sentencing powers and cases can be heard by jury.

He said the defendants are all in secondary school, they have no previous convictions, never came to garda attention before and had no previous issues before a court and he asked for the case to remain in the lower court, which is allowed for under Section 75 of the Children Act.

He also pointed out that they are closer to the beginning of their teenage years than adulthood.

Mr Powderly also said that if this allegation had been made earlier in their lives they might not have been "criminally liable in law because of their ages.

"They are just above the age where they are criminally responsible, he said.

He said the incident could have caused little or no damage and he said a simple and stupid prank was at the root of what occurred.

A bale of straw was set on fire and it had catastrophic consequences. It went beyond anything that was foreseeable, he added.

He said that if two or three bales were involved the matter would have been dealt with by way of a juvenile caution. He said no accelerant was used and no other items were lit to start the blaze.

There are no aggravating features, no additional actions or risks," he stated.

Judge Desmond Zaidan said that the DPP had decided the case was too serious to be tried at this level.

He said this was a very dangerous alleged act and it was fortunate that there were no injuries, including to the defendants, or to any animals.

He said they should have known they are at significant risk when messing with fire.

He said the court was satisfied it was not a minor allegation and refused the application to hear the matter in the district court.

All three are on garda station bail and the case was adjourned to January 22 for the preparation of a book of evidence.
A purported photo of Abdullahi Osman posted by Somali Minister of Defense Ahmed Moallim Fiqi. (@AhmedMoFiqi on X)

On January 1, Somalias National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) announced that it and partner forces killed senior Shabaab leader Abdullahi Osman, who is better known as Engineer Ismail. NISA added that Osmans deputy, Abdikarim Hersi, also known as Qoorleex, was also eliminated.

According to NISA, the pair were killed in a targeted operation near Jilib, a Shabaab stronghold in Somalias southern Middle Juba region, on December 10, 2025. The method in which the pair was killed is unclear, but it was likely an airstrike from reported partner forces. It is not known who the partner forces are, but the term often refers to drone strikes conducted by either the United States or Turkey. Neither country reported a drone strike in that location on that day, however.

Abdullahi Osman was a powerful force within Shabaabs top leadership. In its designation of Osman as a global terrorist in 2020, the United States described him as Shabaabs senior explosives expert responsible for the overall management of al-Shabaabs explosives operations and manufacturing. In this role, he is accused of masterminding many attacks inside Mogadishu.

In addition, the US previously stated that Osman was also a special adviser to the so-called emir of al-Shabaab and is the leader of al-Shabaabs media wing, al-Kataib. NISA, in its statement, also alleged that Osman was a senior leader, if not the top leader, within Shabaabs Amniyat, which effectively acts as the groups intelligence wing

Since 2020, the United States has also maintained a $5 million bounty on Osman through its Rewards for Justice program.

Abdikarim Hersi, or Qoorleex, was Osmans deputy, helping the terrorist leader in both propaganda and operational planning.

Shabaab has not commented on the reported death of either Shabaab figure as of the time of publishing. However, the group sometimes does not confirm the deaths of its leaders. For instance, Somalia also reportedly killed Mahmoud Abdi Hamud, better known as Jaafar Gurey, who was a co-founder of Shabaab, in October 2025. Shabaab has never publicly confirmed Gureys death.

The last senior leader whom the group confirmed was killed was Mohamad Mire, who was essentially Shabaabs interior minister for its shadow governance project and had a long history in the Somali jihad dating back to the early 1990s. Mire was killed in a US airstrike in the Middle Juba region in late 2024. Shabaab, surprisingly, confirmed his death a few weeks later.

Another senior leader of Shabaab, Abdullahi Yare, was killed in late 2022. Yare, also known as Abdullahi Nadir, was killed in the Middle Juba region by a US airstrike. At the time of his reported death, he was acting as the emir of Shabaabs dawah [proselytizing] wing. Shabaab has never confirmed the death of Yare, though no new information on the co-founders activities or whereabouts has emerged since he was reported killed.

Over the last few years, Somalia has eliminated several mid-to-low-level Shabaab commanders across much of central and southern Somalia. However, most of the jihadist groups senior leadership remains intact. Other reported deaths of significant commanders have turned out to be incorrect.

For instance, in December 2023, Somalia claimed that it killed Maalim Ayman, the leader of the eponymously named Jaysh Ayman, a Shabaab wing responsible for attacks in northeastern Kenya and southern Somalia. However, a United Nations Sanctions and Monitoring Team report from July 2024 reported that Ayman was still alive and operational.

If Abdullahi Osman is confirmed dead, it would be yet another blow to the groups senior leadership and its remaining historical cadres. Given Osmans curriculum vitae, it would also certainly be a significant setback to the groups operations, at least for the time being. Nevertheless, Shabaab has historically proven to maintain a deep bench of experienced personnel who can replace killed operatives in quick succession.

Caleb Weiss is an editor of FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa.
In the hours following Nicolas Maduros capture, one woman has captured all eyes and speculation, and it is not Maria Corina Machado. Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuelas powerful vice president, has emerged more than ever as a central player in the reconfiguration of Chavista power during these critical hours in which U.S. President Donald Trump has succeeded in removing Maduro.

For now, Rodriguez, 56, has taken the reins of the country. Venezuelas Supreme Court declared Maduros temporary absence on Friday afternoon and ordered that Delcy Rodriguez, as vice president, assume the presidency due to the presidents forced absence. The Venezuelan Constitution, according to Article 234, states that the vice president will fill the presidents temporary absence for up to 90 days, a period that can be extended for another 90 days by decision of the National Assembly. Brazil has already recognized Rodriguez as Venezuelas leader in Maduros absence.

Delcy is the key, claims a source familiar with the internal situation in Venezuela. Shes intelligent and will be prudent, the source adds. Every hour is crucial in a landscape of conflicting information, propaganda, and fake news. No one dares to predict what will happen in the coming days  or even the coming hours  but no one doubts that it will involve Rodriguez in one way or another. The daughter of a Marxist leader assassinated in prison in 1976, Rodriguez grew up in a male-dominated system where she has tried to distinguish herself through her ability to engage in dialogue with economic elites and foreign actors.

Trump, who claimed that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado does not have the necessary respect and support to lead at this crucial moment, said that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a long conversation with Rodriguez. According to Trump, Rodriguez offered her support to Washington. She really doesnt have a choice, he said.

Rodriguez, however, appeared publicly a few hours after the attack to draw a red line: the country will not be a colony, and Nicolas Maduro remains the only president. Between public displays of firmness and behind-the-scenes negotiations, Rodriguez now finds herself in a pivotal role, halfway between the continuity of the regime and its end after nearly three decades in power.

Delcy Rodriguez has been described as a moderate within the government, but thats perhaps not the most accurate description. Unlike some of her allies, she is a Chavista figure capable of surviving a U.S.-backed transition, according to analysts. Trumps primary objective was to eliminate Nicolas Maduro and avoid triggering a more serious conflict, with the risk of civil war, adds the source familiar with the situation in Caracas. Theyre going to attempt stabilization under the supervision of Delcy, whom they consider very much a Chavista, but also intelligent and capable of dialogue. And from there, a transition thats still undefined, the source ventures.

What has happened in Venezuela is being interpreted in different  and sometimes contradictory  ways. President Trumps statements made it clear that removing Nicolas Maduro from power was not Washingtons ultimate goal, says Renata Segura, program director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Crisis Group. The announcement that the United States will now govern Venezuela and take control of the oil industry indicates Washingtons intention to remain involved in the country long-term.

Once again, uncertainty looms in the short, medium, and long term. According to Segura, The next few hours will be crucial in determining whether Vice President Delcy Rodriguez or other members of the Chavista movement will remain in power in an agreement with Washington and whether there are fractures within the regime.

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The capture of Nicolas Maduro by the United States has made headlines around the world. The former Venezuelan leader is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, awaiting trial.

However, this prison is not a normal place, as it is one of the most feared places you can be sent to. Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman was interned here, or, currently, rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs and former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

This is the Metropolitan Detention Center, the feared prison where Nicolas Maduro is being held Video shows Maduro's face upon his arrival in New York

It has multiple complaints about the lack of staff, and crime inside is very high, with living conditions very harsh. It is the only federal prison in New York, where some 1,200 inmates live.

Some inmates have criticized how they are treated there, such as British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who was a partner of the now deceased sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, who claimed to live in "inhumane, cruel and degrading" conditions.

In fact, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, who was there in 2020, accused of tax evasion, described what his life was like there, being, in addition, in the same cell as Combs.

"Combs wakes up on a steel bed with a one-and-a-half-inch mattress, no pillow, in an eight-by-ten-foot cell that I can assure you is disgusting," he said.

Spain rejects US military operation in Venezuela

Apart from this, on the afternoon of Sunday, January 4, Pedro Sanchez issued a statement together with Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and Mexico to condemn the actions of Trump.

"The situation in Venezuela must be resolved exclusively by peaceful means, through dialogue, negotiation and respect for the will of the Venezuelan people in all its expressions, without external interference and in compliance with international law," it said in the tweet.

"The Government of Spain, together with the Governments of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and Mexico, express in this statement our concern about the events in Venezuela," it said.
A Boston man arrested on a shoplifting charge is suspected of being linked to more than $56,000 worth of thefts from Target stores across multiple states, according to police.

Long Tran, 54, of Dorchester, was arrested last week after being stopped by security personnel at a Target in Bostons Dorchester neighborhood.

Shortly before 5 p.m. on Tuesday, police were called about a shoplifting incident at the store. Police were told by the stores loss prevention officers that a known shoplifting suspect was seen hiding 27 bottles of lotion inside a large duffel bag, according to the Boston Police Department.

The suspect tried to leave the store without paying, but was stopped by the stores security, police said.

The stores security told police that the suspect had been banned from the store in November. He is believed to have stolen more than $56,000 worth of merchandise from Target stores across multiple states, police said.

Tran was charged with shoplifting by asportation over $250 and trespassing.
A Boston man faces a murder charge after a car struck and killed a pedestrian on Saturday.

Police were called shortly after 8 a.m. after a pedestrian was hit at Commonwealth Avenue and Hereford Street in the Back Bay area, according to a preliminary Boston police report.

Police found the pedestrian, an elderly male, and his dog with injuries at the scene. The man was brought to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The dog also died as a result of being struck by a car, police said.

The departments fatal collision investigation team learned of a description of the suspects car.

The car was found in Brookline and homicide detectives arrested William Haney, 42, of Boston, on a murder charge, according to police.

He is expected to be arraigned Monday.

Officials are working to notify the victims family and had not released his identity as of Sunday morning.
A man who was killed in a hit-and-run car crash in downtown Boston Saturday morning has been identified as 79-year-old John Axelrod, a longtime donor to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office confirmed Sunday afternoon.

Boston resident William Haney, 42, has been arrested and charged with murder and cruelty to animals in connection with the crash, Boston police announced earlier on Sunday.

Haney intentionally hit Axelrod with his car while Axelrod was walking his dog on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall in Back Bay, killing both Axelrod and his dog, the district attorneys office said.

Axelrod was an MFA Honorary Advisor, according to a statement from the museum. During his more than four decades of involvement with the MFA, he donated several collections of 20th century European decorative arts and 377 pieces of American Modern design from the 1920s and 30s. The museums John Axelrod Gallery was named in his honor in 2009 and features the latter collection.

A generous supporter and passionate advocate for underrepresented artists, John had been a part of the MFA family since the 1980s, the statement reads. His legacy will live on at the Museum through the John Axelrod Collection  a transformative acquisition of nearly 70 works by Black artists, including Archibald Motley, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Alan Rohan Crite, Lois Mailou Jones, and Kerry James Marshall.

Read more: Boston man charged with murder after pedestrian killed by car strike

Boston police responded to the fatal crash at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Hereford Street shortly after 8 a.m. on Jan. 3, the police department said. First responders treated Axelrod at the scene before taking him to a hospital where he was later declared dead.

Reports indicate that Haney hit Axelrod and his dog while driving on Commonwealth Avenue, then fled the scene, police said. Officers obtained the registration information for the car involved in the crash, and Brookline police found the car unoccupied later that day.

Haney is expected to be arraigned Monday in Boston Municipal Court Central, police said. Authorities have not specified a motive in Axelrods killing, but the district attorneys office said that more details will be shared during Haneys arraignment.

Homicide detectives are still investigating Axelrods death. They ask that anyone with information relevant to the investigation call them at (617) 343-4470 or submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-494-TIPS, texting the word TIP to 27463 or online at police.boston.gov/crimestoppers/.
President Donald Trumps political barrage of Harvard University dominated headlines in 2025, and the saga will continue into the new year.

What began with a set of demands that the university had to follow  or lose federal funding  transformed into a battle between the worlds richest higher education institution and the president of the United States.

The clash between Trump and Harvard was, and still is, believed to be a bellwether for higher education across the country, as conservatives are increasingly trying to influence academics and culture at colleges and universities.

That push is part of a master plan well-documented in Project 2025, a political initiative published by the Heritage Foundation in 2023 that has largely served as a blueprint for Trumps second presidency.

The Trump administration has argued its crackdown on Harvard and other elite universities has been in response to growing antisemitism on campuses, particularly in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas in Israel.

However, a federal judge called the antisemitism argument a smokescreen to mask an ideological assault  generally speaking, many conservatives feel wealthy higher education institutions have become liberal bastions with little thought diversity.

Drawn into the fray have been billions of dollars for Harvards world-renowned research, as well as its international student population, which the federal government attempted to stop from being allowed to study at the university.

Two federal lawsuits have followed, and the Trump administration recently appealed a ruling that restored nearly $3 billion in research funding to Harvard, escalating the matter into 2026.

Appeal process for Harvard funding restoration

The appeal from the Trump administration in December ensures legal and political conflict will continue through 2026.

Both parties will have to file briefs and arguments in the appellate court.

The appeal comes months after the Trump administration promised to challenge the initial September decision, which was finalized in October. That decision allowed previously frozen federal funding to flow back to the university.

When the federal government froze billions of dollars earmarked for Harvard last April, layoffs ensued and consequential research was interrupted or stopped entirely  including developments in Parkinsons disease, the worlds central repository for fruit fly research and an irreplaceable stockpile of human feces and urine.

Following the governments decision to appeal the reinstatement of funding, the case will now go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. There isnt a definitive timeline for a decision, but cases like this are known to be lengthy processes that often span many months.

Will Trump, Harvard battle head to the Supreme Court?

There is the possibility the case could ultimately go to the U.S. Supreme Court if the lower court raises constitutional questions.

Following Harvards initial court victory, most federal research money has been restored. However, that funding could be taken away again depending on the final legal status of the court case.

President Donald Trump listens during a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) AP

A negotiated settlement between Harvard and the federal government remains an option.

Harvard and the Trump administration have been in talks over a potential $500 million deal since July, but nothing has materialized, even when Trump declared the deal done in September.

The university has also publicly stated that any concessions to the Trump administration compromising its academic autonomy would be a non-starter.

At the same time, the parties have continued to go back and forth over a settlement. A recent email from Linda McMahon, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, thanked Harvard for being willing to pay $200 million to the federal government  even though the university had expressed it was only willing to cut a deal funding workforce training programs.

Columbia University reached a deal for more than $220 million with the Trump administration last July, following in the footsteps of the University of Pennsylvania. Brown University also agreed to a deal for $50 million.

Despite its general resistance, Harvard has already made some concessions, such as dismantling its Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging and renaming it. It also stopped providing space and support for affinity group graduations, events that celebrate the achievements of certain student populations, such as Black, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, Asian American, Pacific Islander and Arab students, among many others.

Reporter Juliet Schulman-Hall contributed to this story.
Massachusetts was home to one of the most closely watched criminal cases in the nation in 2025.

The trial of Karen Read drew viewers from across the nation and throngs of supporters to small-town Dedham.

Will the Read phenomenon will be replicated in 2026? For now, many notable cases are still winding their way through the states court system.

Here are five criminal cases you should be paying attention to next year  and one more as a bonus.

Duxbury mother Lindsay Clancy accused of killing her three children

Lindsay Clancy appears via Zoom for a court hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. Plymouth Superior Court

Lindsay Clancy does not contest the facts central to her criminal case: that on Jan. 24, 2023, while her husband, Patrick, was out picking up food, she strangled her three children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan, with exercise bands before throwing herself out of a second-story window.

But the question at the heart of the case is whether, as prosecutors have described, Clancy is a cold-blooded killer who meticulously plotted to kill her children or if, as her lawyer has argued, she was in the throes of postpartum psychosis.

She obviously had no reason to kill those three beautiful children, Attorney Kevin Reddington, who represents Clancy, said at a court appearance last October. You have to ask yourself why. Why? And when you ask yourself why, you consider all these factors, its readily apparent that this woman was a troubled soul.

But Jennifer Sprague, a prosecutor in Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruzs office, argued during Clancys arraignment that she created the situation and she used Apple Maps to make sure she would have enough time to strangle each child before her husband returned from where she had sent him.

She did so with deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity and cruelty, Sprague said.

Clancys case is scheduled for trial on July 20  the date has been moved several times, most recently at the request of Reddington.

Two police officers accused of running an illegal nightclub

A small storefront in Jamaica Plain hid a secret, prosecutors say; it was an illegal, unlicensed nightclub, complete with bouncers, a cover charge, bottle service, hookah pipes, a DJ keeping the crowd entertained and promoters who advertised the club on social media.

An illegal nightclub in and of itself makes a compelling story. The twist here, though, is that Suffolk County prosecutors have accused a pair of police officers of running the club out of a property they initially intended to run an HVAC business out of.

Boston police officer Richard McDermott and Health Commission Campus police officer Luigi DAddieco are both scheduled to go to trial in May on charges filed in connection with the clubs operation.

Pre-trial proceedings have revealed little about the nature of the club, but the trial is likely to be a stage for prosecutors to reveal more about what happened in the basement of 360B Centre St. for months in 2021.

Matthew Farwell, the ex-police officer accused of sexually abusing and killing Sandra Birchmore

This photo provided by the Stoughton, Mass., Police Department shows Matthew Farwell, a former police officer who pleaded not guilty Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, to charges of killing a woman he is accused of sexually exploiting when she was underage and then trying to stage the death as a suicide after she told him she was pregnant. (Stoughton Police Department via AP) AP

For months after his arrest and indictment, there was little movement in the case of Matthew Farwell.

But now a trial for the former Stoughton police officer is set for October 2026. And prosecutors have revealed they do not intend to seek the death penalty for Farwell, who is accused of killing Sandra Birchmore, a pregnant woman he is accused of sexually abusing beginning when she was a teenager.

Farwell is charged with two crimes  killing a witness or victim and protection of unborn children, for the death of Birchmores unborn baby. Prosecutors say Birchmore could have revealed Farwell committed federal crimes, including having sex with her while on duty as a police officer. He is accused of strangling her, then staging her death to look like a suicide after she told him she was pregnant with his baby.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Massachusetts ruled Birchmores death a suicide.

Sandra Birchmore, of Canton, died in 2021 and Massachusetts officials ruled her death a suicide. On Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, federal authorities charged former Stoughton police officer Matthew Farwell with killing Birchmore. Bichmore is pictured here in a photograph from Facebook. Sandra Birchmore via Facebook

However, two independent experts  one hired by Birchmores estate, the other hired by the federal government  deemed Birchmores death a homicide. Birchmore was eight-to-10 weeks pregnant and carrying a boy when she died, prosecutors have said. Birchmore believed Farwell was the father of her baby, but DNA testing excluded him as the father, The Boston Globe reported.

Farwell has not appeared in court since his arraignment in August 2024. His federal public defender declined to speak to a reporter following a recent court appearance.

Kelsey Fitzsimmons, the police officer accused of pointing a gun at a fellow officer

North Andover Police Officer Kelsey Fitzsimmons during her arraignment at Essex Superior Court on Aug. 28, 2025. She was shot and wounded in June after police say she pointed a gun at another North Andover Officer. (Ben Pennington for The Boston Globe)

Kelsey Fitzsimmons case appears to come down to a he-said, she-said.

Fitzsimmons, 29, faces a single count of assault with a dangerous weapon. She is accused of pointing a gun at a fellow North Andover police officer who shot her while serving her with a restraining order obtained by her fiance. But Fitzsimmons and her defense lawyers have said she never aimed the gun at anyone but herself.

Support for Fitzsimmons has exploded online in the wake of a hearing in September, where a superior court judge sent her to jail after Fitzsimmons attorneys reported she could not comply with court-ordered alcohol testing without experiencing pain. She has pursued a series of appeals of that decision, all the way up to the Supreme Judicial Court.

Fitzsimmons criminal case is scheduled for trial in February. A long-delayed hearing on the restraining order obtained by her fiance is scheduled for the same month.

Fitzsimmons fiance has claimed that she assaulted him on multiple occasions and that she threatened the life of their infant son. Her attorneys have denied those claims.

For Fitzsimmons family, its been difficult to be separated from their grandson.

Aidan Turtleboy Kearney, accused of witness intimidation in the Karen Read case

Aidan Kearney, known as "Turtleboy," greeting Karen Read supporters after her verdict. (Irene Rotondo/MassLive)

The criminal prosecution of Aidan Kearney, the blogger known as Turtleboy, on numerous counts of witness intimidation is almost inextricable from the Read case.

Kearney was one of Reads staunchest supporters and one of the loudest voices proclaiming her innocence. Its there that the criminal case emerges: prosecutors say Kearneys conduct crossed the line from advocacy or reporting to actual intimidation of witnesses against Read. Kearneys defense, on the other hand, says his conduct is protected by the First Amendment.

The case is tentatively set for trial in December, but during a recent hearing both sides agreed a lot had to happen before then.

For starters, Kearneys team has moved for Special Prosecutor Robert Cosgrove to be removed from the case over what they have alleged is a conflict of interest. The conflict, they say, arises out of a defamation suit Kearney filed against a former girlfriend, who, in turn, filed a counterclaim that names Cosgrove as a defendant.

Kearneys lawyers say the girlfriend is a key witness for prosecutors and that Cosgrove cant proceed as prosecutor because of an interest in promoting her credibility in the criminal case, but a competing interest in undermining her credibility on the civil side. Cosgrove says no such competing interest exists.

The defense has also moved to dismiss the 2023 indictments against Kearney, which are tied to his conduct related to the witnesses in the Read case, arguing that a former special prosecutor mishandled the grand jury process.

Judge Christopher Belezos, who was recently specially assigned to the Kearney case, has yet to rule on either issue. He set a hearing on the disqualification motion for January.

During a recent hearing, Cosgrove signaled that he would like to combine those indictments with a 2025 indictment related to an incident outside a pizza shop owned by one of the witnesses. Kearneys defense said it was too early for them to take a position on joining the cases.

And of course ... Karen Read

Karen Read, center, surrounded by her legal team, speaks to supporters after she was found not guilty of second-degree murder on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Charlie McKenna/MassLive)

At least for now, Karen Reads time in a criminal courtroom is over.

She was acquitted this year of all charges having to do with the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police officer John OKeefe, on Jan. 29, 2022. But before Reads acquittal, OKeefes family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her and two bars the couple drank at before his death. Their lawsuit repeats prosecutors claim that Read drunkenly and intentionally ran over OKeefe in her Lexus SUV.

Then, last month, Read filed a blockbuster lawsuit of her own, suing police investigators and civilian witnesses who testified against her for what she has claimed are violations of her civil rights. Its a furtherance of Reads defense strategy from her criminal trials, claiming that she was set up and that OKeefe actually died inside the Canton home of a fellow Boston officer.

Her lawyers in the civil case have indicated they would like to see the two lawsuits consolidated at some point down the road.

It means that the Read saga will no doubt continue in 2026. And there is a chance she could find herself back in a criminal courtroom as a defendant  Cosgrove, the prosecutor on the Kearney case, has sought access to two of her cell phones as he pursues an investigation into whether Read and Kearney conspired to commit witness intimidation.

A judge has yet to rule on whether Cosgrove can search the phones.
Massachusetts congressional Democrats roundly criticized President Donald Trump for the U.S. attack on Venezuela on Saturday and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

The president claimed in a Saturday press conference that Venezuela is a major cocaine supplier to the United States, and that Maduro was involved. Trump also said that the U.S. is going to run Venezuela and that U.S. oil companies will take over the Venezuelan oil companies.

Massachusetts Democratic lawmakers who posted comments on social media excoriated the president over the attack, calling it an act of war. They contend it violated the U.S. Constitution because only Congress has the right to declare war.

The few Bay State Republicans who expressed their opinions publicly said they support the Trump administrations actions.

Sen. Edward Markey, in a post on the social platform X, said, Trump cant manage the American economy, and now he says hell run Venezuela and its oil infrastructure? Weve seen what happens when we destabilize countries on behalf of American fossil fuel CEOs  they profit, service members die and regions collapse. We cannot let this stand."

Sen. Ed Markey speaks at a press conference for Mayor Michelle Wu's reelection campaign at Jamaica Pond on July 14, 2025. He was among the Bay State Democrats who condemned President Trump's attack on Venezeula on Saturday. (Trea Lavery/MassLive)

In a video Markey posted on X, the president is seen responding to a question about his New Years resolution. Peace on earth, Trump answered

That was Donald Trump 48 hours before striking Venezuela and extracting its head of state, Markey said. This is not an act of peace. This is an act of war. Donald Trump had no approval from Congress for this unjustified, unauthorized attack.

This is what dictators do. We cannot stand idly by while Donald Trump conducts rogue attacks that put American lives further at risk, he said. I am once again asking, what will it take for my Republican colleagues to stand up to Trumps reckless, dangerous acts?

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a post on X, President Trumps unilateral military action to attack another country and seize Maduro  no matter how terrible a dictator he is  is unconstitutional and threatens to drag the U.S. into further conflicts in the region."

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., questions Billy Long, President Donald Trump's pick to run the IRS, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on May 20, 2025. She joined fellow Bay State Democrats in her opposition to President Trump's attack on Venezuela on Saturday. Screen Capture

What does it mean that the U.S. will run Venezuela, and what will Trump do next around the world? she continued. The American people voted for lower costs, not for Trumps dangerous military adventurism overseas that wont make the American people safer.

U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, D-9th District, a senior member of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees, called the attack one of the most eye-opening days in U.S. political history, in a post on X.

President Trump has just announced that he is taking control of the sovereign country of Venezuela until he feels fit to return it, he continued. He will install his Secretary of Defense, his Secretary of State, ... and his Joint Chiefs Chairman to run the day-to-day operations. Additionally, he is ordering U.S. oil companies to enter Venezuela and take control of their energy industry. He personally will control billions of dollars that he has no right to access. Donald Trump is no more the legitimate president of Venezuela than was Nicholas Maduro.

President Trumps unilateral action to send our military into Venezuela on a personal impulse under false fentanyl narco-trafficking allegations should shock the American public, he said in another post on X. While Maduro did not represent the will of the Venezuelan people, a U.S. military intervention on this scale without Congressional authorization and an evidence-backed justification makes America weaker and alienates our allies in the region, including those on whom America depends on to combat drug trafficking.

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-6th District, who filed legislation titled No Unauthorized War with Venezuela Act on Dec. 19, called the attack insane during an interview Saturday on CNN.

Ive heard this exact reckless nonsense before. It took us into Iraq, got people I served with killed, and were still paying the price, the Marine Corps veteran said. Congress knows damn well where this leads.

Congressman Seth Moulton, pictured here in June. 5, 2025, press conference in Burlington, condemned President Trump's attack on Venezuela on Saturday. (Trea Lavery/MassLive)

Trump is not interested in appointing the opposition leaders that won the election, Moulton continued. Thats not democracy. You dont get to just invade a country when you dont like the leader and want its oil.

The legislation Moulton filed last month came as Trump administrations actions toward Venezuela accelerated, including seizing oil tankers and bombing boats suspected of carrying drugs.

U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-4th District, also a Marine Corps veteran, called on Republicans in Congress to join Democrats in driving what happens next.

I commanded Marines in Latin America  they deserve a commander in chief operating lawfully and strategically, he posted on X. The president has no authority to strike Venezuela, no strategy for a democratic transition and no credibility that he wont just pardon the criminal Maduro like he did the Honduran president.

After voting No in December, Republicans in Congress must now join Democrats to grab hold [of] the steering wheel of Venezuela policy to prevent this capture from spiraling into a blood for oil war.

Mike Kennealy, former Housing and Economic Development secretary and current gubernatorial candidate, speaks at a State House news conference on Jan. 7, 2025. On Satureday, he expressed support for President Trump's military attack on Venezuela. (State House News Service, file)

Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy used the attack to sling an arrow at Gov. Maura Healey.

I support the decisive action of President Trump, our military, and law enforcement to capture and prosecute Maduro for cocaine trafficking, he posted on X. In stark contrast, Maura Healey literally allowed cocaine to be trafficked out of the Governors office by her deputy director.

Anne Brensley, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, who describes herself as the only Latina running statewide in Massachusetts, released a written statement in support of the presidents actions in Venezuela.

The arrest of Nicolas Maduro is a significant moment for accountability and justice. For years, the Maduro regime inflicted enormous pain and suffering on the Venezuelan people through repression, corruption, and the destruction of basic freedoms. That suffering is the true calling card of socialism wherever it takes hold. Brensley, a lawyer, CEO of the investment firm DevCo North America and Wayland Selectwoman, said in the statement.

Maduros regime has also been linked to international drug trafficking networks that profit from addiction, violence and instability, she continued. Those networks do not stop at national borders. The global drug trade has had devastating consequences for families and communities here in Massachusetts, overwhelming first responders and placing enormous strain on law enforcement.

U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, D-3rd District, pictured in 2018, joined fellow Democratic lawmakers Saturday to criticize President Trump's attack on Venezuela. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Democratic U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, 3rd District, released a written statement condemning Trumps actions in Venezuela.

Maduro is a dictator whose brutal, antidemocratic rule has brought immense suffering to the Venezuelan people. His repression and corruption are well documented and deserve condemnation, the statement reads. Acknowledging that reality does not justify the Trump administration bypassing Congress, putting our brave service men and women in harms way, or spending billions of taxpayer dollars on regime change in South America.

No amount of conjecture from the Trump administration excuses ignoring the most pressing challenges facing hardworking families here at home, the statement continues. Congress must be briefed immediately on the legal justification for this attack, the cost to American taxpayers, and the administrations strategy and path forward in Venezuela and across the region.
Editors note: This article was produced by a University of Massachusetts Amherst journalism student, in collaboration with MassLive, as part of a project in professor Steve Foxs Introduction to Multimedia class.

Hospitals are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence for efficiency, from documentation tools to robots that can draw blood, but nurses and researchers warn that many parts of medical care still require a human touch.

A common medical procedure where artificial intelligence is beginning to make its presence felt is blood draws.

In China, and even in the United States at institutions such as Northwestern Medicine, health systems are beginning to explore robotic phlebotomists designed to locate veins and insert needles without human assistance.

The patient sits beside the device and places their arm on a sloped arm rest. After pressing start, a tourniquet tightens while infrared light, an alcohol spray and an AI-driven probe locates a vein, according to a Rutgers University article. The device then inserts a needle and collects blood, with about a 95% success rate for at least one device maker in a 2024 clinical trial.

Meghan Connolly, 20, a junior nursing major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, says that a robot drawing blood overlooks an essential part of patient care.

A robot may be able to find a vein, but it cant calm a nervous patient down or explain what is happening and it may even mess up, Connolly said.

I am scared of needles and I know a lot of people who are. I think human reassurance is part of the job, and that cant be done by a robot, you need a human.

Connollys concerns highlight a central issue in healthcare: while AI may be able to perform technical tasks, it cannot replicate the judgment or empathy that human workers bring to patient care.

Dr. Sandeep Reddy, a professor of healthcare management at Queensland University of Technology in Australia, acknowledges the challenges that come with replicating human interaction, but notes that AI has been successful in other areas.

In Japan and certain other parts of the world, robots are already being used as social companions for the elderly, he said. AI avatars and chatbots can provide emotional connection in other areas, so you could imagine a situation where robots with human-like features offer some social and emotional support in a clinical setting. But at the end of the day, it is still difficult to achieve the full human touch that patients rely on.

Reddy said technology is still far from being fully automated, saying most blood-drawing robots are currently confined to research trials and a few hospitals, where they operate under human supervision.

Reddy said these systems rely on AI to interpret data, which can occasionally generate incorrect outputs, commonly known as AI hallucinations.

It is early days to have completely automated robots, he says. There is a risk of hallucination, and in healthcare those errors can have serious consequences. We need a rigorous scientific evaluation process before introducing any fully automated, AI-enabled system.

Vials of blood line a try at the American Red Cross in Springfield in July 2025. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Douglas Hook

However, Sandeep adds that while AI carries inherent risks, its benefits can outweigh them in certain contexts. Sandeep said large language models  AI systems designed to understand and generate human language  should not be used for direct patient care, where errors could cause serious harm, but noted they can be helpful for lower-risk tasks such as documentation.

Annika Marie Schoene, a research scientist and assistant professor at Northeastern University who studies AI in healthcare, emphasizes that even when AI performs as intended, errors can occur, notes may be incomplete or systems may misinterpret information, requiring human oversight.

Schoene notes that AI documentation tools rely on precise input, and even minor errors can affect patient safety. She adds that these systems can misinterpret or neglect information, requiring extra time from physicians to review and correct records.

These challenges connect to a larger debate over efficiency. While AI is often marketed as a way to speed up care, Schoene says the reality is more complicated.

She said that in the past six to nine months, AI has not improved efficiency. Doctors often must return to correct notes or fill in missing information, which can actually increase workload. And routine procedures, such as blood draws, require clinicians to reassure anxious patients and respond in real time to their emotional cues, skills that, Schoene said, remain difficult to replicate through automation.

I always think about when I call customer service and you blatantly know it is an AI agent and you get annoyed and you scream at it because it doesnt understand you. Just imagine that in the healthcare setting where it is actually safety-critical, Schoene says.

For students and early-career nurses, this human element is a foundation for nursing. Connolly reflects on her own training: Learning how to calm patients, read their reactions, and respond with empathy is a huge part of what being a nurse is about.
For nearly two decades, China has been more than just a trading partner for Venezuela: a key political backer, a financial lifeline during the worst years of sanctions, and an ally willing to defy the isolation imposed by the United States. But the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces early Saturday has tested the strength of the BeijingCaracas strategic partnership like never before. And although the Asian giant has criticized Washingtons hegemonic acts and demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, there is broad consensus among analysts that its response will remain largely rhetorical.

China is deeply shocked and strongly condemns the reckless use of force by the United States against a sovereign state and the actions directed against the president of another country, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement released about eight hours after explosions began in various parts of Venezuela, including the capital. On Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called on the U.S. to ensure the personal safety of President Maduro and his wife, release them at once, stop toppling the government of Venezuela, and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation.

In both statements, Beijing denounced what it considers a serious transgression of international law, a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty, and a threat to the peace and security of Latin America and the Caribbean. We call on the U.S. to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, and stop violating other countries sovereignty and security, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Saturday.

The tone aligns with Beijings line over the past few months, during which it expressed opposition to the naval and air deployments Washington has maintained in the Caribbean since August and reaffirmed support for the Maduro regime as U.S. pressure mounted. In midDecember, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi assured his Venezuelan counterpart, Yvan Gil, over the phone that his country opposed all forms of intimidation and supported the defense of Venezuelas sovereignty and national dignity. However, Beijing avoided backing that rhetoric with concrete actions.

That caution reflects several factors. Venezuela does not occupy a central place in Chinas global strategic priorities, which are focused on the Asia-Pacific region (with particular emphasis on Taiwan), trade ties with Europe, and structural competition with the United States  a framework that helps explain why the Chinese government did not immediately respond to Maduros capture.

Beijing doesnt have much room to maneuver. In 2023, during Maduros state visit to China, the China-Venezuelan relationship was elevated to the level of an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership, but this flowery political recognition doesnt imply any security commitments. Moreover, experts point out that, for China, Venezuela is a useful partner on a rhetorical and symbolic level, rather than an ally to whom it would be willing to offer military support in a scenario of direct confrontation with the United States.

Chinas position when some of its partners face a crisis is limited, argues Ines Arco, a researcher at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) specializing in East Asia, in an exchange of messages. When the United States bombed Iran, a closer ally of China than Venezuela and in a similar situation of energy importance and international sanctions, Beijing offered no further support beyond rhetoric, says Arco. Ultimately, China presents itself as an economic partner, not a security partner.

Xi Jinping and Nicolas Maduro, in Beijing on September 13, 2023. Liu Bin (AP)

Such limits are not new. In recent years, Beijing has pragmatically recalibrated its relationship with Caracas, following a period of high financial exposure between 2007 and 2015, during which it provided Venezuela with oil-backed loans totaling more than $60 billion (equivalent to 16% of its GDP), according to data from the Inter-American Dialogue and Boston University. After the collapse of oil production, the Venezuelan economic downturn from 2014 onward, and the tightening of sanctions, China drastically cut financing and direct investment. Since then, Venezuelas real economic weight for China has diminished compared with other regional partners such as Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Mexico.

In this context, the relationship has increasingly centered on the energy sector. China, the worlds largest crude importer, has been the main destination for Venezuelan oil exports since 2019, as U.S. sanctions closed off other markets. Although Venezuelan crude accounts for only about 4% of Chinas total imports, it has been a lifeline for Caracas: between 2023 and 2025, China absorbed between 55% and 80% of Venezuelan exports in many months, according to calculations cited by Reuters. These sales have been essential for the Chavista regime to maintain a minimal flow of foreign-currency revenue while access to Western markets was restricted.

Although economic ties have been gradually limited, Venezuela has continued to serve China as a useful element in its narrative. Chinese foreign policy, especially under President Xi Jinping, is organized around the defense of sovereignty, rejection of unilateral sanctions, and opposition to external interference. These positions are consistently reiterated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while carefully avoiding stances that could lead to an open confrontation with Washington. Within this framework, diplomatic support for Caracas during recent months of tension has allowed Beijing to reinforce its narrative against U.S. unilateralism and project an image of strong support for the Global South, at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump was repeatedly undermining the multilateral order.

A few hours before his capture, Maduro praised the unbreakable bond between Venezuela and China and expressed his gratitude to Xi for his fraternal support, like an older brother. He did so during a meeting in Caracas with a Chinese delegation led by Qiu Xiaqi, the special envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean  a meeting that neither the Chinese government nor state media have publicly reported.

At the end of November, Xi described the two countries as close friends, dear brothers, and good partners and reiterated his categorical rejection of interference by external forces in Venezuelas internal affairs. The Chinese leader was also one of the few world leaders to congratulate Maduro on his victory in the 2024 presidential elections, which were questioned by much of the international community and widely condemned as fraudulent.

The Venezuelan crisis also unfolds amid growing rivalry between China and the United States for influence in Latin America. In early December, Washington published a new National Security Strategy that redefines the region as a core national interest and presents an updated version of the Monroe Doctrine, aimed at restoring U.S. primacy in the Western Hemisphere and protecting key strategic corridors.

Although it does not explicitly mention China, the strategy prioritizes preventing non-hemispheric competitors from deploying forces or controlling strategic assets and warns of the need to identify and counter hostile foreign influences, a framework analysts interpret as a direct reference to Chinas growing presence in the region. Days later, Beijing released its third Policy Document for Latin America and the Caribbean (the first in nine years), portraying Latin America as an essential force in the transition to a multipolar order and emphasizing that its relationships neither target nor exclude third parties, nor are they subordinated to any country.

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Editors note: This article was produced by a University of Massachusetts Amherst journalism student, in collaboration with MassLive, as part of a project in professor Steve Foxs Introduction to Multimedia class.

University of Massachusetts Amherst junior Kerry Balerna has studied French since first grade, attending a French immersion school and developing strong confidence in her speaking abilities. Over the past two years, she has found herself begrudgingly turning to artificial intelligence to assist with writing and language learning.

I tried to stay away from it as much as possible because I dont particularly like using AI while learning a language, she said, admitting that as AI tools have become more widespread, shes started to use them selectively.

At UMass Amherst, tools such as ChatGPT and Duolingo are becoming increasingly common in language classrooms, Balerna said, a trend she finds concerning, despite acknowledging their usefulness.

Language isnt the only topic artificial intelligence is assisting. AI has made its way into nearly every aspect of education, whether through grammar, essay feedback or instant translation. AI tools have become resources that many students at UMass Amherst turn to for help.

As universities continue to adapt to AI in classrooms, some question whether students can use AI tools ethically and effectively without taking away the effort involved in learning a new language.

Philippe Baillargeon, a French professor at UMass Amherst, approaches the growing use of AI in language learning with cautious optimism and critical awareness. Research suggests that while AI tools can strengthen vocabulary and writing skills, they also raise concerns about over-reliance and reduced real-world language practice.

AI is incredibly useful for practicing output, exploring new expressions and receiving instant corrections. Yet, over-reliance on AI-generated responses risks limiting deep cognitive processing, critical thinking about language and active memorization, essential components for internalizing a new language, Baillargeon said.

Baillargeon emphasized that language acquisition also depends on immersion, cultural context and communicative interaction, elements AI alone cannot fully provide. He noted that AI can encourage experimentation and confdence, as students may feel more comfortable taking risks when receiving instant feedback.

Research posted on Taylor & Francis Online indicates that AI chatbots have led to measurable improvements in university students language skills, particularly through platforms such as Duolingo. Similarly, the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning (IRRODL) reports that Duolingo positively impacts learner engagement and willingness to communicate, leading to increased confidence.

A recent study from UCW ResearchGate shows that gamifed elements, like those in Duolingo and the personalized nature of AI tools often increase learner motivation and engagement.

Baillargeon notes that the availability of AI-based language tools has undeniably changed students approach to learning foreign languages and that these tools are not just informative but they are fun and add an exciting element to learning.

Many students are now more willing to experiment with writing and speaking tasks because tools like ChatGPT provide immediate feedback, generate ideas and assist with grammar and vocabulary, he said.

Several challenges have arisen from the over use of AI, such as academic integrity and over reliance. As students at UMass Amherst continue to learn languages, the balance between using AI as a study mechanism and resource, or a tool that diminishes authentic language practice still remains in question.

Baillargeon emphasizes that students need to understand that while AI can be a valuable aid, submitting AI-generated work as their own undermines the learning process and the fairness of assessment. Encouraging transparency, teaching responsible AI use and designing assessments that evaluate comprehension and communication skills beyond AIs reach are crucial steps.

He sees AI as a powerful tool that, when integrated thoughtfully, can enhance language learning, but it requires careful balance to ensure it supports rather than replaces the essential human elements of education.

Ethically, academic integrity is a key concern. It is important to establish clear guidelines on how AI tools should be used, said Baillargeon.
The latest figures on Irish homelessness have revealed that 5,321 children spent their Christmas in emergency accommodation.

The report, which was released on Friday, highlights that a total of 16,996 people are considered homeless across the country.

Children account for over 31% of that figure, which Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson, Deputy Rory Hearne, described as "shameful."

"This meant 5,321 children opened their Christmas presents in a hotel room or substandard accommodation instead of in a secure, permanent home," he said.

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A total of 2,525 families are homeless, while 7,382 people from a single household do not have a place to call home.

6,992 men are homeless, while 4,683 women are.

Those aged between 25 and 44 are the age cohort that is most affected by homelessness, with over 53% of homeless people falling into this age bracket.

Dublin is the worst-affected area for homelessness with 8,214 adults living without a home there.

The North-West has the lowest number of homeless people with 164 adults living in emergency accommodation.

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50% of the people without a home are Irish, with 30% coming from countries outside of Europe and the United Kingdom.

"This government continues to refuse to accept responsibility for this crisis and instead tries to deflect from its own failures. In recent days, we have seen Tanaiste Simon Harris outrageously attempt to conflate rising homelessness levels with immigration. Not only is this assertion wildly inaccurate, it also completely ignores the fact that evictions, unsustainable rents and a chronic shortage of affordable properties remain the main drivers of rising homelessness levels," Deputy Hearne added.

He concluded that these figures are a "stain on our society" and called on the government to take useful action to tackle the problem.
Tamil superstar Thalapathy Vijay is all set to bid adieu to the movie world with his final film titled Jana Nayagan. The trailer of the movie, which is a remake of 2023 Telugu movie Bhagavanth Kesari, was recently dropped online.

 KVN Productions While Thalapathy Vijay fans were initially excited, some social media user pointed out that it is indeed an almost frame-by-frame remake of the 2023 Telugu movie starring Nandamuri Balakrishna which won National Film Award for Best Telugu Film. Thalapathy Vijays Jana Nayagan Trailer Uses AI-Generated Scene If that wasnt enough, some eagle-eyed fans noticed Googe Gemini (Googles AI assistant) logo in one of the scenes and accused the makers of using an AI-generated scene in the movie.

 KVN Productions Check out Jana Nayagan trailer below and pause at 23-second time stamp:

Also, check out the Hindi trailer of Jana Nayagan titled Jan Neta below:

Sharing the screenshot of the sequence as well as the short clip, one social media user reacted, WTF They used Gemini AI despite having 400 Crores. Another user reacted, Pathetic work by @KvnProductions Gemini AI logo in #JanaNayagan trailer. A third user wrote, This is unacceptable. This shouldnt be the norm. AI doesnt belong in movies, and its important to call out people who use it in mainstream media.

 KVN Productions A fourth user commented, Jana Nayagan used a Gemini AIgenerated frame, sparking fan debates. The bigger picture is positiveAI can be a cost-effective option for realistic filler shots/enhancements and budget optimization. But, this couldve been handled cleanly in post-production by removing the watermark. The frame is unlikely to be in the final film and was probably used only in the trailer (for matching SFX) making it a minor oversight. Check out some of the responses below:

Directed by H Vinoth, Jana Nayagan also stars Bobby Deol, Pooja Hegde, Mamitha Baiju, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, Priyamani and Narain.
The ousted leader greeted onlookers upon arriving at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He was transported in a van with a police escort after landing in New York by helicopter

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, landed at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, New York, after being captured early Saturday in a U.S. military operation in Caracas. The Venezuelan leader and his wife will face trial in the U.S. Southern District Court of New York on charges of drug trafficking and corruption.

Trump has stated that the United States will oversee Venezuela until there is a safe transition and has expressed doubts about Maria Corina Machados leadership, leaving anti-Chavista forces in Caracas concerned.

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The long-term ramifications of the United States capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro remain to be seen, though the newest escalation in both countries feud could be viewed as a major pivot in U.S. foreign policy.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that a U.S. military operation successfully resulted in Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, being taken from their home on a military base, put into U.S. custody and flown out of their native country to face criminal drug charges in the United States. Maduro has been a focus of an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela, including abuses by security forces, though a formal arrest warrant was never issued at the time of the United States most recent action.

The capture of Maduro is a major pivot in American foreign policy in Latin America toward more direct intervention, Michael Albertus, a political science professor at the University of Chicago, told Military.com. In concert with the recently released national security policy, it represents a historic shift in relations in the hemisphere.

The 25-page indictment of Maduro and his wife, publicly announced by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi publicly announced, alleges that the couple "partnered with narcotics traffickers and narco-terrorist groups, who dispatched processed cocaine from Venezuela to the United States via transshipment points in the Caribbean and Central America, such as Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico."

Maduro's capture follows months of U.S. military presence in the Caribbean and around Latin America, with the broader mission perpetuated by Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to deter narco-traffickers from bringing drugs like fentanyl to the U.S. mainland. Strikes on the alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean, resulting in numerous vessels sunk and dozens of lives lost, have been scrutinized by someincluding members of Congress who have scrutinized the Trump administrations consistent military actions without lawmakers approval.

The 'Peace Through Strength' Agenda

Trump on Saturday posted a photo on his Truth Social page of a blindfolded Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima, shown holding bottled water and wearing a gray sweatsuit.

President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla., as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale [sic] strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow, Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Former United States Navy SEAL Robert ONeill, in remarks to Military.com, praised Trump and DoD for the capturesaying the pair deserve huge creditfor putting strength back into the term peace through strength.

This mission, following months of escalating pressure from the United States with a buildup of forces in the region and lethal strikes on cartel drug boats, comprised of 150 aircraft launched from bases throughout the western hemisphere, ONeill said. After pre-assault fires, the assault team was on deck for around 30 minutes including the insert, exchanges and the capture.

Policy Shift to Yesteryear

Two things initially stuck out to Matthew Schmidt, a foreign policy expert and associate professor at the University of New Haven, regarding Maduros capture.

The first, he told Military.com, was how U.S. intelligence was able to lead the military and result in an astounding tactical response as part of a complex strategic move that according to the Associated Press lasted less than 30 minutes and included seven explosions.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said some Venezuelan civilians and military members were killed. Trump, who said some U.S. forces were injured but none were killed, said Saturday that the U.S. is going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.

This is an astounding affront to the standard interpretation of international law, Schmidt said. The press conference, where the president [Trump] said that we will be running a foreign country, speaks to something of the 19th century and the early 20th century.

It's pretty hard to get your head around this in terms of the way we've understood modern foreign policy for more than a century."

Protesters rally outside the White House Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Washington, after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a military operation. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Trumps latest remarks may have altered the broader perception of how escalations between both nations since September have reached their current boiling point, and whether its more about oil than drugs at this juncture.

He told reporters on Saturday after the capture was revealed that he intends to fix Venezuelas oil infrastructure and sell large amounts of oil to other countries.

Schmidt said that between U.S. military actions in the Caribbean and Trumps latest oil-related remarks, its difficult to parse out the actual foreign policy intent of the Trump administration.

The president's speech [on Saturday] seemed to indicate as many times as he pointed out the question of oil in American companies and reimbursement to the U.S., that in his mind this was driven primarily by economic interests, Schmidt said. Obviously, before today, the bulk of the narrative has been focused on accusations of Maduro being involved in the drug trade and these wild, impossibly high numbers about American deaths from fentanyl supposedly coming from Venezuela.

People celebrate after President Donald Trump announced Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country, in Doral, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

He described it as somewhat of a bait-and-switch that could have implications even on the domestic front, as lawmakers including Republicans for months have called for more intel and even votes on war powers acts.

I think it's deeply problematic for the future of the American military to have it be deployed in such a way without a clear rationale, without a clear strategic aim and legal and moral support behind it, Schmidt said.

Maduro's Successor

Time will tell if this leads to a broader regional conflict that could possibly envelop other Latin American countries, or whether the capture of the generally unpopular Maduro could nip any future military warfare in the bud.

Schmidt doesnt expect this to broaden the conflict due to how Venezuelans generally feel about Maduro and arent perhaps bemoaning his capture.

But how he was removed from power is important, Schmidt added. It's going to be an important question for the legitimacy of whoever succeeds him. I think it leaves important questions open for the legitimacy of U.S. military force going forward.

Albertus said the 24-48 hours following Maduros capture would determine whether the Venezuelan presidents native cohorts will concede easily or dig in.

But Trump has telegraphed that the U.S. is intent on playing an active and direct role in the transition, Albertus said. The most likely scenario is to bring in Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado to serve as key Venezuelan partners in guiding a transition.

But there will no doubt be considerable and difficult negotiation over the next year or two in determining how Venezuelan oil will be extracted and used in supporting any transition.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)  The FBI said Friday it disrupted a New Years Eve attack plot targeting a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina, arresting an 18-year-old man who authorities say pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group.

Christian Sturdivant was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Investigators said he told an undercover FBI employee posing as a supportive confidant about his plans to attack people. Their online messages, along with a recent search of his home, indicated attacks would occur with knives and hammers, according to prosecutors and records.

Worried Sturdivant might attempt violence before New Years Eve, the FBI placed him under constant surveillance for days, including on Christmas, U.S. Attorney for Western North Carolina Russ Ferguson said.

Agents were prepared to arrest him earlier if he left his home with weapons, Ferguson said at a news conference in Charlotte. At no point was the public in harms way.

Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remained in custody after a federal court appearance Friday. An attorney representing him did not immediately respond to an email or phone message seeking comment. Another hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7.

The alleged attack would have taken place one year after 14 people were killed in New Orleans by a U.S. citizen and Army veteran who proclaimed support for IS on social media.

The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice or equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldnt have the wherewithal to act alone.

Searches of Sturdivants home and phone uncovered what investigators described as a manifesto detailing plans for the attack, FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle told reporters.

Sturdivant was willing to sacrifice himself, Barnacle said.

A handwritten note found in a trash can at Sturdivant's home listed details of the planned attacks and the number of intended victims at a Burger King restaurant and unnamed grocery store, according to an FBI affidavit.

The note also said he would attack arriving officers and hoped to die by the hands of police. Ferguson said the attack was to take place in Mint Hill, a bedroom community of Charlotte.

The affidavit said a database check indicated Sturdivant worked at Burger King in Mint Hill. It wasn't clear if that was the same restaurant cited in the note. Ferguson declined to identify the specific targeted businesses, citing the ongoing investigation.

If convicted, Sturdivant faces up to 20 years in prison, according to court documents.

The fact that Sturdivant encountered two undercover officers while allegedly planning the attack should reassure the public, Ferguson said.

The affidavit says the investigation began last month after authorities linked Sturdivant to a social media account that posted content supportive of IS, including imagery that appeared to promote violence. The accounts display name referenced Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the former leader of the extremist group.

Some experts argue that IS is powerful today partly as a brand, inspiring both militant groups and individuals in attacks that the group itself may have no real role in.

The affidavit says Sturdivant had been on the FBI's radar in January 2022, when he was a minor, after officials learned he'd been in contact with a suspected IS member in Europe, and received instructions to dress in black, knock on people's doors and commit attacks with a hammer.

At that time, Sturdivant set out for a neighbors house armed with a hammer and a knife but was restrained by his grandfather, the affidavit says.

No charges were filed at that time, but Sturdivant underwent psychological treatment and the FBI was told he no longer had access to social media, Barnacle said. But the FBI found out weeks ago that he was back on it, he added.

The FBI in Los Angeles last month announced the disruption of a separate New Years Eve plot, arresting members of an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group who federal officials said planned to bomb multiple sites in southern California.

Other IS-inspired attacks over the past decade include a 2015 shooting rampage by a husband-and-wife team who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, and a 2016 massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, by a gunman who fatally shot 49 people.

__

The story has been corrected to attribute information provided on the suspect's past to Barnacle, not Ferguson.

___

Robertson reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.
Bill Arnold always had the passion to serve his country. Coming from a family of five generations of veterans, military service was ingrained in him.

But while driving home from a funeral of a veteran he once commanded, the question hit him  Could I do more to support veterans struggling after combat?

Thats when the former Marine Corps officer established Blue Diamond Recreation, a nonprofit organization in Fort Worth, Texas, providing outdoor activities, fishing, hiking, and other sports, to assist veterans and their families, especially when theyre coping with mental health issues. Blue Diamond Recreation plans 6-10 retreats each year, offering peer support and ways to connect with other veterans.

The effects of war, it all comes back to the ripple effect, Arnold said. It affects everybody.

Arnold told Fort Worth Report that his organization has 39 members and continues to grow.

First-Hand Combat Experience

In the Marine Corps, Arnold was thrust into combat situations on several occasions.

He was deployed to Iraq during Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s, commanding the Scout Platoon, Regimental Combat Team-1, 1st Marine Division.

Arnold became a reservist in 1994, transitioning to a career as a teacher for Fort Worth Country Day School. He enjoyed the break from full-time military duty while still maintaining a connection to the Marines.

That changed on Sept. 11, 2001. Arnold watched on TV in stunned disbelief as the terrorist attacks unfolded in New York City and Washington, D.C. Again, he felt the urge to serve his country, but in what way? He asked his wife, Debbie, if he should return to active duty.

I specifically remember Debby looking at me and saying, Youre a great Marine. I thought to myself, Im still fit and relatively young, Arnold said.

He decided to return to active duty; however, the choice weighed heavily on his family, including three kids, and his students at Country Day.

Bill Arnold, second row, far right, poses with a group of combat veterans before a deer hunt in Texas in 2024. (Photo courtesy of Blue Diamond Recreation)

The real heroes are the military spouses, Arnold said. My wife found herself as a single parent for the first time, with three children and a husband deployed to one of the most dangerous places in the world at that time.

He was about to find out how dangerous it was.

Arnold was sent to Fallujah, Iraq, to lead a scout platoon. The unit fought in the Second Battle of Fallujah, the deadliest battle of the war in Iraq. Coalition forces lost more than 100 troops, with over 600 wounded. More than 3,000 enemy insurgents fell, but so did thousands of civilians. More than half of Fallujahs mosques suffered damage. The fighting raged on for six weeks, the most intense urban combat since the Vietnam War.

In 2005, Arnolds deployment ended. He returned to Fort Worth, reuniting with family, friends, and his students.

The Marine couldnt shake Fallujah, though.

My first tour was in peacetime, so the sights, smells, and the sounds of the battlefield were something that I was unfamiliar with, Arnold said. Because the battle had become a touchstone for me, every time I saw a traumatic news story, or if it was cold outside, everything came back to Fallujah.

For a while, Arnold tried to brush past the flashbacks. He tried to acclimate to life as a civilian. But he realized the battle had become a part of him.

Saved Lives in Combat

Mike Shupp, a retired Marine Corps colonel, said Arnold was constantly responsible for saving lives. Arnold and Shupp served together in Iraq.

Arnold was responsible for my security as a regimental commander, Shupp said. He kept me alive every day.

Shupp remembers Arnold setting up checkpoints throughout Fallujah, making certain there would be no additional Marines wounded or killed after U.S. forces secured the city. He had an instinct to help his fellow comrades. Twenty years later, as he works to give veterans recreational opportunities, that instinct has not faded.

Seeing Bills example makes me a better person and a better Marine, because it makes me realize that I have to be supportive of these things as well, Shupp said.

The Need to Give Back

Giving back, whether through military service or teaching, has become a core tenet of Arnolds life.

It all started when he earned a scholarship in high school to attend Virginia Military Institute. He received a bachelors degree in history from VMI and a masters in history from the University of Texas at Arlington. He became a commissioned second lieutenant in 1990, serving in Quantico, Virginia.

Arnold and other veterans will be honored in November for their service at an event hosted by the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas.

He recently retired from teaching, devoting himself fully to Blue Diamond Recreation.

After all, there will always be veterans who need a helping hand.
Andrew Borthwick served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and, as a member of the British militarys Rifles Regiment, faced some of the heaviest fighting in both wars.

Borthwick served as a sergeant and was honored with several accolades for bravery and sacrifice in service. Despite all his accomplishments, the pain was too great.

Borthwick took his own life in November at age 43.

The veteran was married with three children. Shockingly, hes the 29th known member of the Rifles Regiment to die by suicide since 2013, based on information from a UK veterans group that keeps tabs on veteran suicides. After serving in The Rifles, Borthwick served for the elite Ranger Regiment.

Borthwick was still active in the military when he died.

Most of the former soldiers who took their own lives had been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and battled depression, PTSD and other mental health issues. Some members of the unit fell into substance abuse problems after fighting in combat zones, watching battle buddies get wounded or killed.

In the UK, since 2016, 600 veterans or active-duty military personnel have taken their own lives. Bothwicks regiment suffered more casualties fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq than any other British unit. From the Rifles Regiment, 66 soldiers were killed in action, and 344 suffered injuries, based on official statistics.

Andrew Borthwick became the 29th member of the Rifles Regiment to die from suicide in November. (Submitted)

Surviving Close Calls

Captain Gary Case was one of the nearly 30 soldiers from the Rifles Regiment who died by suicide. In 2019, just weeks prior to his death, Case had accepted the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth, honoring him for 28 years of dedicated service.

Friends were shocked over Cases untimely death. But the veteran had experienced awful images of war multiple times, serving in Bosnia in the 1990s and barely surviving an attack in Iraq years later.

Borthwick, nicknamed Borth, spent his childhood in Reading, England. Like Case, he too narrowly made it out of Afghanistan alive after being shot in the chest during a Taliban sneak attack.

He crawled to cover with other unit members, telling comrade Brett Campbell, Man down.

Who? Campbell asked.

Me, Borthwick replied.

The sergeant had emergency surgery, and part of his lung was removed. Borthwick could have accepted a medical discharge with a pension and left the military, but he turned it down, opting to stay in the service and build back his fitness. In 2013, he returned to Afghanistan.

The man survived what should have taken his life when we were ambushed in Sangin, Afghanistan. Even after taking a round through his lung, he carried on serving with the same grit and heart he always had, Campbell posted on social media following Borthwicks death. I will never forget the moment we took cover. Face to face, calm as ever, he said, Man down. I asked who, and he looked straight at me and said, It is me. That will stay with me forever.

Borth was given a second chance once, but life became too heavy in the end. I wish he had known how much he meant to the lads, the impact he had on all of us, not only in the platoon but in the regiment, and how much he is missed.

Sad, Heartbreaking Loss

Borthwick kept up his physical stature after leaving the British Army, raising money for Combat Stress in 2020 by box jumping over 29,000 feet to match Mount Everests height.

News of Borthwicks suicide spread through social media, with Cpl. Ricky Fergusson writing on Facebook: Im sad and heartbroken to say that we lost another Rifleman, a soldier, and a good friend on Sunday, November 23rd, to suicide.

Fergusson endured heavy loss as well in Afghanistan, losing one of his eyes and both legs. He was honored with the Military Cross.

He was a top bloke, funny, always laughing, and would always be there for his mates if needed, Fergusson wrote. Unfortunately, for many reasons, some unknown, things got too much, and he wanted out. Please, when you are feeling lower than low, thinking that life is too much and you want out, then please pick up the phone.

A British army soldier from the 1st Black Watch Regiment aims his rifle to secure the street while on foot patrol September 22, 2004 in Basrah which is located in southern Iraq. (Getty Images)

Suicide Numbers Too Great

Jim Wilde, a retired warrant officer with the British Army, works with programs to support better mental health among veterans. Since 2017, hes kept track of suicides by former soldiers. Wilde is trying to light a fire under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the UK government to address the nations high veteran suicide rate.

There is clearly a problem with the number of suicides in the Rifles, as the figures clearly show, Wilde told The Daily Mail. We have told the MoD and the government about this, but we have been ignored, and in the meantime, the death toll from suicide continues to mount.

Mental health challenges show no bounds, affecting some of the British militarys highest-ranking officers. General Sir Patrick Sanders, 55, a Rifles alumnus and a senior officer in the British Army, said in a 2021 interview he had battled thoughts of suicide following a violent deployment. He pleaded with active-duty members and veterans to reach out for help if theyre going through similar struggles.

I found myself obsessing about experiences, dwelling on photographs, video clips, and letters, replaying in my mind what happened in a dark and obsessive way, Sanders said. These thoughts took me to a dark place. When I caught myself at two in the morning with a bottle of wine or whisky next to me, I realized that I needed help.

The MoD seems to be taking the rise in suicides more seriously following Borthwicks death.

Any death by suicide is a tragedy that is felt across our community, and we are determined to provide those experiencing mental health challenges with the support they need, the MoD said in a statement.

This includes deploying expert mental health professionals to the front line and ensuring that briefing on the support and treatment available is offered to every serviceman and woman, both before and after deployment. We are also investing 25million ($33,712,500 in U.S. dollars) each year into Op COURAGE, so veterans in England can continue to access specialist NHS mental health and wellbeing services, and 50million ($67.4 million) into the VALOUR programme to improve veterans access to essential care.
Dear Eric: Why should I go to my 50th high school reunion? I received a phone call from a former classmate who wouldnt give me the time of day when we were in school together. You need to go! No, thank you.

The cost is outrageous. Plus, most of the people I would like to see are either not going or are deceased.

During my high school years, I was not treated well by some of the students. I definitely did not like my high school years. If I wasnt bullied, I definitely wouldnt have been absent so many days. I would have had better grades and maybe a six-figure income.

So, once again, is there a reason to go?

 No Way to a Reunion

Dear Reunion: Nope!

There are some things that are unresolved from your time in high school years. But its unlikely that youll find the resolution you seek at a reunion because thats not what reunions are for, generally. Moreover, you dont want to go. In the grand scheme of things, not wanting to do something is a perfectly fine reason not to do it. Yes, your 50th high school reunion only happens once. But if its going to do you more harm than good, emotionally or economically, once is one time too many.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.

2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The war on drugs has returned to the forefront in Latin America, led by the United States and its president, Donald Trump, as it was decades ago. The capture of Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Saturday, in an operation rarely seen in the region, marks this new paradigm. Drugs have once again become the number-one public enemy for the U.S., just as Islamist terrorism had been until recently. However, Trumps recent moves reveal certain contradictions, which are exemplified by the nowpardoned Juan Orlando Hernandez, former president of Honduras.

Hernandez, who was convicted a year and a half ago in New York  the same city that will host Maduros trial  received a pardon from Trump just a month ago. The decision was controversial, given the conviction of the former Central American leader, who governed Honduras from 2014 to 2022. The jury found him guilty of drug trafficking and possession of automatic weapons  the same crimes the U.S. justice system has charged Maduro with  and a judge sentenced him to 45 years in prison, a term that would have kept him behind bars for life. But then Trump intervened, announcing the pardon on his social media platform, Truth Social, at the end of November.

The Republican later justified his decision by claiming that the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden, had framed Hernandez. The people of Honduras really thought he was set up and it was a terrible thing [...] I looked at the facts and I agreed with them, the U.S. president said. Trump provided no evidence of how Biden allegedly set up the former Honduran leader  nor did he say which people of Honduras had told him this. Days later, Hernandez, who belongs to the same party as the presidential candidate Trump supported in the Central American country, Tito Asfura, was released from prison.

The parallels between the case against Hernandez and the one now opening against Maduro go beyond the charges themselves. In both cases, the U.S. justice system implicates one of the most notorious Mexican drug traffickers of the last 30 years, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, head of the Sinaloa Cartel. In Hernandezs case, the U.S. prosecutors proved that El Chapos organization, which is serving a sentence in Colorado for drug trafficking and other crimes, bribed the then-Honduran president with millions of dollars in exchange for allowing his government to use the countrys roads, coasts, and airspace to traffic cocaine.

The indictment against Maduro, originally filed in 2020 during Trumps first term and updated and released on Saturday, alleges that the Venezuelan president, his son, his wife, and others  including Interior and Justice Minister Diosdado Cabello  partnered with the Sinaloa Cartel to traffic cocaine into the United States via Venezuela. The document provides examples, noting that in 2011 El Chapo financed the construction of cocaine labs in Colombia. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) moved the cocaine produced in Colombia to Venezuela, where it was transported to airstrips  all with Maduros approval, who was under Hugo Chavezs wing at the time.

The contradictions go beyond the differences in how the two leaders are treated. Neither Venezuela nor Maduro appears to play a significant role in the trafficking of fentanyl to the United States, one of Trumps top talking points and the grounds for which he justifies his threats to regional partners, particularly Mexico. It is no secret that Venezuela serves as an exit point for cocaine produced in Colombia, and to a lesser extent in Peru and Bolivia  countries that grow coca, the raw material for the drug. But Venezuelas role in the production and regional trafficking of fentanyl is nonexistent.

Nicolas Maduro, after being arrested.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, only minimal quantities of the opioid were detected in Venezuela between 2022 and 2024  nothing comparable to Mexico or Canada. The epidemic of opioid and opiate overdose deaths in the United States, which numbers in the tens of thousands, underpins Trumps claims, but Venezuela and Maduro have little to do with it. Nor does it appear to be part of the business of the Tren de Aragua, another target of the U.S. president, which designated it a terrorist organization a few months ago. Fentanyl trafficking does not even appear in the indictment against Maduro.

What happened in Venezuela  where Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were detained in an operation reportedly leaving several dozen dead  sends a warning to the region, particularly Colombia. Trump told reporters on Saturday that Colombian President Gustavo Petro should watch his ass, arguing that cocaine mills were operating in Colombia. Unlike Maduro, Petro won the Colombian elections without controversy. Furthermore, this is his final year in office, and there are no charges against him. But given the events of recent months, everything can change quickly. It all depends on Trump.

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DEAR ABBY: A man in a Facebook group has been rude and unpleasant to me, as well as to others. I blocked him, and life has been more pleasant since. My wife refuses to block him and encourages a Facebook relationship, which brings him back into my life. Am I wrong to feel she should be more supportive of me? I would absolutely support her if she were in a similar situation. -- WANTS PEACE IN GEORGIA

DEAR WANTS PEACE: Does your wife discuss this unpleasant persons posts with you? If she does, tell her to cut it out because it upsets you. Apart from that, let her make her own communication choices because they are her decision and not yours.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
WAYNE COUNTY, MI  Police are investigating an altercation that turned violent Saturday, Jan. 3, at a funeral repast, leaving five people injured.

Harper Woods police were called around 9:30 p.m. to an event hall on Kelly Road for reports of a large altercation, according to Fox 2 News.

Police said three people were shot and two people were stabbed, hospitalizing all five victims, the news outlet reported.

One suspect is in custody, according to police.
CADILLAC, MI  State police investigating a Cadillac police officer who shot and killed an armed robbery suspect Friday have discovered the man had killed another man earlier in the day.

At 4:25 p.m. Friday, Jan. 2, the Michigan State Police Seventh District Special Investigation Section was requested to investigate an officer involved shooting in the City of Cadillac, according to the Michigan State Police.

The Cadillac officer reportedly pulled over the suspect vehicle in the area of Granite Street and Laurel Street because it matched the description of a vehicle stolen during an alleged home invasion and robbery about an hour earlier in Wexford County, police said.

During the traffic stop, the suspect, a 57-year-old man, pulled out a gun and pointed it at the officer, police said. The officer shot the suspect, who was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

A female passenger in the vehicle was not injured in the shooting and was taken into custody as part of the investigation, police said.

While state police were investigating the police shooting scene, deputies with the Wexford County Sheriffs Office investigating the home invasion and robbery found the body of an adult male in the home, police said.

The deceased males manner of death appears to be criminal in nature, police said.

Investigators from all involved agencies were able to collaborate and determine that the deceased male from the Cadillac traffic stop appears to be the same individual who is suspected of committing the homicide, home invasion and robbery in Wexford County, police said.

State police are leading the investigation into both the homicide and the police shooting. No additional suspects are believed to be at large, police said.

The involved officer has been placed on leave, pending the state police investigation.
Flagstar Bank shed hundreds more employees last year as it sold off several business ventures. Around the same time, the once-budding cannabis industry showed signs of slowing as a major employer uprooted its Michigan operations and left over 200 workers without jobs.

Below is a list of some of the most high-profile layoffs of 2025 in the state of Michigan.

The list is based on published WARN notices, required by the Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act to provide advance notice - at least 60 days - in cases of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs.

Individual WARN letters are posted publicly on the Michigan Workforce Development Agency WARN notices webpage.

Based on the WARN notices, the announced layoffs totaled 9,033 for 2025, down slightly from 9,266 in 2024 and 9,141 in 2023.

For regional looks at layoffs, go to the MLive stories for West Michigan, Ann Arbor/Jackson and Flint/Saginaw/Bay City.

Here are some of the largest layoff notices announced in Michigan last year.

Flagstar Bank

In 2025, Flagstar Bank continued a string of layoffs from the previous year with the termination of an additional 424 employees at its Corporate Drive site in Troy.

The permanent layoffs were to take place between April 22 and May 9, a WARN letter read.

The company in another WARN letter said it notified 40 employees in April that they would be permanently laid off beginning June 8 after the bank sold its mortgage servicing business to Nationstar Mortgage, LLC.

In 2024, Flagstar Bank laid off 60 employees in Jackson in August and 113 employees at the Troy facility in October.

CBS News reported the company previously sold off some of its business ventures, including mortgage servicing, to other companies. Some of the employees were picked up by mortgage service provider Mr. Cooper Group.

Sherwood Food Distributors

Sherwood Food Distributors said in a February WARN letter it intended to shut down all operations at 12499 Evergreen Road, Detroit, MI 48228-1059 and permanently lay off 255 employees.

All employees were to remain on payroll and benefits through April 21, the company wrote. The affected employees do not have bumping rights.

Compass Group/Ascension Borgess

The Ascension health care system in Southwest Michigan ended its contract with Compass Group in May after Ascension was acquired by Indiana-based Beacon Health System.

Compass Group previously provided contracted services to Ascension Borgess hospitals. A total of 244 people at the four hospitals were impacted, including:

Ascension Borgess Allegan Hospital: 15 layoffs

Ascension Borgess-Pipp Hospital (Plainwell): 11 layoffs

Ascension Borgess-Lee Hospital (Dowagiac): 11 layoffs

Ascension Borgess Hospital (Kalamazoo): 200 layoffs

The permanent layoff was set to take effect July 1, according to the WARN notice.

Housekeepers, food workers and patient transporters were among the most impacted positions, according to the notice.

TerrAscend Corp.

North American cannabis company TerrAscend Corp. announced in July that it would cease all operations in Michigan, laying off 236 employees in the process.

The company operated the following dispensaries in the state, all of which were set to close on or after Aug. 31, according to a WARN notice:

Cookies: Ann Arbor, Detroit, Jackson, Kalamazoo and Oxford.

Gage: Adrian, Battle Creek, Burton, Detroit, Ferndale, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Traverse City.

Lemonnade: Center Line.

Pinnacle Emporium: Addison, Buchanan, Camden, Edmore and Morenci.

Company officials said they intended to sell all of the companys assets in the state to pay down existing debt.

Michigan is an extremely difficult market and we have come to the realization that our resources can be better utilized in our other markets, Jason Wild, the companys executive chairman said in a statement. This move will unlock value for TerrAscend and its shareholders.

By concentrating our efforts and resources in the companys core northeastern U.S. markets  New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio  I am confident that we are now positioned to deliver stronger financial performance including improved margins and operational efficiencies.

IAC Group

IAC Group, an auto parts manufacturer with plants in Mendon and Alma, said it would lay off 246 employees by the second week of December.

The company in October stated there would be 178 layoffs at the Mendon facility and 68 at the Alma facility, according to two separate WARN letters issued in October.

A reason for the layoffs was not stated in either notice.

Dana Thermal Products

Dana Thermal Products in a WARN letter dated Oct. 8 said it would permanently lay off approximately 200 employees due to the closure of its facility at 3600 Giddings Road in Auburn Hills.

Layoffs started on Oct. 9 and are expected to continue through Jan. 31, according to the letter.

Dana Thermal Products is an indirect subsidiary of Dana Incorporated, which is a manufacturer and supplier of engineered solutions for power vehicles and machinery.

US Farathane

US Farathane, a Michigan supplier of injection-molded plastics for the automotive industry, said in a January WARN letter that it would cease all operations at 750 W. Maple Road in Troy, effective June 30.

The closure would result in the termination of 180 employees from March 28-June 30, according to the letter.

Howard Miller

Howard Miller, a third-generation, family-owned home furnishings business, announced in July it planned to wind down operations in anticipation of permanent closure in 2026.

At its headquarters at 860 E. Main Ave. in Zeeland, Howard Miller planned to close the entire facility and lay off all 133 of its employees over a nine-month period, according to a WARN letter.

Although the exact timing had yet to be determined, the first round of layoffs was set to occur between Sept. 7-21 and will affect 18 employees.

The closure also affects seven employees at Howard Millers manufacturing facility in Traverse City. The first layoffs were to occur between Sept. 7-21, with the remainder happening later in the year.
MACKINAC COUNTY, MI  A Saline man died Saturday afternoon in a snowmobile crash in the Upper Peninsula.

Rescue crews were called at 12:58 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3 to the area of Bay City Lake Road near Trail 47 in Clark Township for a reported snowmobile crash, according to the Michigan State Police.

The preliminary investigation showed the driver of the snowmobile, a 61-year-old Saline man, was snowmobiling on Trail 47 when he hit a bump on the trail and was thrown from the snowmobile, police said.

Emergency first aid was administered at the scene, but the man was pronounced dead, police said.

Drugs and alcohol do not appear to be factors in the crash.

We extend our condolences to the family and loved ones, said Lt. Ben Eckola, MSP Eighth District Public Information Officer.

Clark Township EMS, the Mackinac County Sheriffs Office and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources assisted at the scene.
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- Several projects came to fruition in Flint in 2025 -- a year of significant investment in health, education, and public services across the city.

The look back at the investments is among five must-read MLive-The Flint Journal stories to kick off 2026.

From schools to public health, four major Flint projects opened in 2025

From a new YMCA to expanded public health research facilities, 2025 projects in Flint were built through a mix of public, private, and philanthropic partnerships.

The YMCA of Greater Flint opened its new downtown location in April 2025 as part of the LiveWell on Harrison development.

The $41-million facility anchors a mixed-use project that also includes housing and health-focused services, bringing daily activity and foot traffic to downtown while expanding access to wellness and fitness programs.

Other developments include the new Genesee County administration building on Saginaw Street in July.

The ribbon was cut on the renovated office tower in July, consolidating multiple county departments into a single, modernized facility.

In September, Flint Community Schools opened its first new building in more than 50 years with the debut of The Hub, also known as The Cube.

The roughly 5,000-square-foot, $40 million facility serves students at Brownell STEM Academy and Holmes STEM Middle School Academy, offering advanced classrooms, collaborative learning spaces, and technology-driven instruction focused on science, technology, engineering and math.

Michigan State University also unveiled a 40,000-square-foot addition to its downtown Flint campus in August 2025 with the opening of the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, an extension of Michigan State Universitys College of Human Medicine.

Michigan State President Kevin Guskiewicz said the public-private partnership model for the medical school in Flint has become an example of community-based approaches to public health.

Read more here.

Davison Township board to revisit plans for new township hall, police station

The Davison Township Board of Trustees is set to revisit plans for a proposed new township hall and police station during its Jan. 12 meeting, with members expected to decide how the project will move forward.

Township Supervisor Jim Slezak said there are currently two cost estimates tied to two potential locations for the project.

The higher estimate of $14.6 million applies to rebuilding on the townships existing site, Slezak said, while constructing a new facility on Davison Road carries an estimated cost of $11.3 million.

Read more here.

New interim superintendent selected for Swartz Creek schools

Swartz Creek Community Schools has named veteran educator Wayne Wright as its interim superintendent.

The move comes following the resignation of Jim Kitchen, who had himself been serving in an interim capacity since June.

Kitchen became interim superintendent in June, taking over for former superintendent Rod Hetherton after Hetherton left the district to take a position with Zeeland Public Schools.

The Swartz Creek Board of Education unanimously approved Wrights appointment during a Dec. 26 special meeting.

Wright is expected to begin Jan. 1, with the interim role anticipated to last approximately six months as the district continues its search for a permanent superintendent.

Read more here.

Nonprofit ends Flint blight elimination program, says it cant verify work was completed

A targeted blight elimination project in Flint has been terminated by the nonprofit organization that acted as its fiduciary, leaving unanswered questions about the details of what went wrong.

The Neighborhood Engagement Hub announced the termination in a statement issued by Executive Director Tom Wyatt on Dec. 24.

Wyatt declined further comment about the decision, but his written statement says NEH couldnt verify that the $30,000 project was completed, that it didnt receive required documentation related to it, and couldnt confirm that work performed was consistent with NEHs standards of excellence.

Read more here.

New endowments established for four groups rooted in Flint history

Four organizations with deep ties to Flints past have new tools for building their long-term financial stability.

Ob/Gyn Board Prep, a Flint-based company that helps physicians prepare for written and oral board certification examinations, recently established $10,000 endowments for each of the four groups -- the Genesee County Historical Society, Flint Genealogical Society, Stockton House Museum, and Whaley Historic House Museum.

After endowments reach $50,000, the organizations will receive yearly unrestricted payouts from the Community Foundation.

Read more here.
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- Genesee County Board of Commissioners Chair Delrico Loyd says hes still considering whether to seek another year as the boards leader.

Commissioners are scheduled to meet on Wednesday, Jan. 7, to elect a chair for 2026, but neither Loyd nor other commissioners have publicly campaigned for the post so far.

Ill decide before the week is out if I will be pursuing the job, Loyd said on Monday, Dec. 29. There is support (for that), but there are other people well suited to lead as well.

Loyd, a Flint Democrat, is a senior assistant to the president of the United Auto Workers international union.

A year ago, he was chosen by his colleagues to lead the county board in 2025.

Commissioner Beverly Brown, D-Flint, also received support in that election.

Asked if she was still interested in the post, Brown said in an email to MLive-The Flint Journal, My hope is to be focused on economic development next year.

Brown currently serves as the chair of the county boards Community and Economic Development Committee and has pushed for county government partnerships with the University of Michigan-Flint and others.

Shes also advocated for establishing a new chief strategic growth officer position, in part to help lead big-picture economic development efforts.

Two other members of the nine-member commission have previously served as county board chair -- James Avery, D-Grand Blanc, and Martin Cousineau, D-Thetford Township.

Cousineau said last week that hes not campaigning to return to the position, and The Journal could not immediately reach Avery for comment.

Loyd said in March that hed been approached about running for mayor of Flint in 2026, calling the suggestions something Id definitely consider.

He said last week that hes not closed the door on the possibility.

Residents and leaders across the community continue to ask me about it and ask me to do it, he said.

Im spending time with family and talking to them about what the future holds, Loyd said.

Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley has told close supporters that hell seek a third term.

Like Loyd, Neeley is a former Flint councilman.

He won his first term as mayor against former Mayor Karen Weaver in 2019 and defeated Weaver a second time in the 2022 election. He also served three terms as a state representative.

Loyd took the oath of office as county board chair on Jan. 2, 2025, after securing the necessary five votes, including the votes of three Republican commissioners.

He said then that his goal as chair was to ensure transparency, accountability and inclusivity in all our efforts as a board.

He was first appointed as a commissioner in January 2023 following the death of the late Bryant Nolden. He was elected to a new four-year term in 2024.

The chair of the county board has no additional authority than other commissioners but earns an additional $4,900 in annual salary.

Because there is no county executive here, the commissioner who holds the position also has a hand in setting the direction and tone of county government.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The Grand Rapids Public Schools Board of Education has announced the next steps for beginning to repurpose its shuttered school buildings, starting with two elementary schools.

In January, the district will hold a total of four meetings, two in each school community for neighbors and stakeholders to share input on the future of the former Stocking Elementary, 863 7th St. NW, and Alexander Elementary, 1010 Alexander St. SE.

The Alexander Elementary meetings will be held at noon and 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at the Rev. Lyman S. Parks Administration Building, 1331 MLK Jr. St. SE.

The Stocking Elementary meetings will be held at noon and 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15 at the Stocking Elementary Gymnasium, 863 7th St. NW.

Light snacks and refreshments will be provided, along with interpretation services.

The meetings mark the beginning of the districts process of exploring new uses for shuttered school buildings.

The regions largest district has undertaken a multi-year plan to restructure programs and renovate school buildings, including with the closure of multiple schools to combat enrollment declines and help the district avoid spending millions in deferred maintenance costs.

Many of the changes were made possible with the passage of a $305 million bond proposal in November 2023, which included an estimated $233 million for educational building construction, like new builds, additions and renovations.

Following the bonds approval, the GRPS Board of Education voted to close 10 schools, based on age, location, enrollment levels, capacity and proximity to other area schools where students could be sent.

Stocking Elementary, on the citys west side, closed its doors after 100 years in June 2024.

Community members visited Stocking Elementary in Grand Rapids, Mich. for a final open house on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. The school is closing after 100 years of service. Becky Particka | MLive.com

Alexander Elementary, on the southeast side, was slated for closure back in 2010, based on facility recommendations designed to cut the budget.

Now, the timeline for both schools to start the repurposing process is as follows:
MUSKEGON, MI - More than 100 community members gathered Saturday evening, Jan. 3, in downtown Muskegon for a candlelight vigil for their immigrant neighbors.

A crowd, including a variety of faith leaders and several community leaders, gathered in the snowy, 26-degree January weather at the nativity scene on display at Hackley Park.

Just as the holy family was in danger from Herod and had to flee to Egypt, we have people here who have fled here and are now being persecuted, Dr. Susan Fabrick, one of the event organizers, said to the crowd. Its really important to remember that our religious traditions have a lot to tell us about how we should behave to each other, even when its hard.

The event sought to promote justice for immigrants affected by increased action by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Among the crowd were husband and wife Bruce Froelich and Margot Haynes, holding signs that read Farmers in Distress and Felon War Criminal.

This is important to support our neighbors who are being harassed and bullied and harassed because they look like somebody who might come from somewhere else, Haynes said.

Officials with the Muskegon Police Department said in January 2025 that the departments officers are not arresting or detaining anyone based on immigration status.

Haynes added that she made her sign that morning after hearing the news that the U.S. launched a strike in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

We lose our moral standing in the whole world, Froelich said. We dont have the right to criticize even Putin anymore because were doing the same damn thing.

A moment of silence was held at the nativity before attendees gathered inside St. Pauls Episcopal Church across the street.

Local leaders from several different faiths spoke about the moral and spiritual imperative to welcome and support immigrants, including those who are undocumented.

The speakers referred to Christian and Buddhist teachings, personal anecdotes and historical references to call on the audience to protect their neighbors.

The alien who resides with you shall be as a citizen among you, Tom Wagner, formerly of Church of the Brethren, read from the Bible. You shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. As descendants of immigrants, we need to take those stories and those teachings to heart.

Another speaker, the Rev. Rob Blanchard of Community United Methodist in North Muskegon, spoke of a childhood friend who immigrated to the U.S. as a child and was deported as an adult after a DUI.

He deserved the same mercy that all the white guys that I went to school with have received over the years when theyve had run ins with the law, Blanchard said. He shouldnt have had to have been perfect to stay in our community. It should have been enough that he was human. It should have been enough that this was his home.

Becca Hawley-Lowry of Lakeshore Rapid Response to ICE spoke about the organizations efforts to provide defense and mutual aid to those affected.

Local food pantry donations were collected during the event.
FRANKENLUST TWP, MI  Two valuable sketches by Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore that vanished from Delta College in August 1967 were recovered in January 1996, but the mystery of who took them remains unsolved.

The artworks disappeared from the colleges east concourse during a Summer Arts Festival, according to MLive/The Bay City Times archives. Both pieces were part of a traveling exhibit featuring 30 contemporary drawings from the University of Michigan collection.

The Picasso work, created in 1919 and titled Sketches From a Window, is a 12- by 19-inch pen-and-ink drawing depicting 11 scenes of a street as viewed from inside a house. The Henry Moore piece, completed in 1928, is a 15- by 12-inch pen-and-wash sketch on white paper titled Seated Figure that shows a person turned toward the left and seated on a blocklike object.

College officials reported the thief removed the frames and mountings along with the sketches, according to previous reporting. The buildings remained open throughout the day and evening during the festival, and no security measures had been put in place to protect the artworks. The buildings were locked only at night.

The stolen pieces resurfaced in late 1995 when a woman in California requested that an auction gallery authenticate them. The investigation that followed involved multiple agencies, including the FBI, and spanned across the world. The sketches were verified in January 1996 and returned to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor the following month.

Despite the recovery of the artwork, investigators never identified who originally stole the pieces from Delta College.
Whatever happens in the country, we would do well to remember that regime change can never be legitimized by force; that has never turned out well

Opinion articles written in the style of their author." These texts are to be based on verified facts and must be respectful towards people, even though their actions may be criticized. shall feature, along with the author's name (regardless of their greater or lesser renown), a footer stating their office, academic title, political affiliation (if any) and main occupation, or the occupation related to the topic being assessed

I am writing this article on Saturday morning, just hours after the most serious aggression committed by a United States government against Latin America since 1989. At that time, it involved the Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who was a friend of the United States  and its intelligence agencies  until he was no longer. Noriega was accused of drug trafficking. He annulled elections that had declared the opposition candidate the winner, and then declared war on the government of George Bush Sr. Within 40 days, Panama was invaded, the dictator captured, and a new president, the one who had won those annulled elections, was installed in his place.

The general circumstances of that invasion are similar to Saturdays aggression: an illegitimate president who stole an election, accusations of drug trafficking that seem plausible, and the ghosts of the Cold War lingering in the background. But lets not be mistaken: what has happened in Venezuela is fundamentally very different. It is far more serious (because even such events have degrees of severity) and deserves the unequivocal condemnation of every genuine democrat. It also warrants deep concern for the immediate fate of Venezuela, a country that has suffered enormously under the dictatorship.

What began yesterday will not end with Maduros imprisonment in a U.S. prison and a new government in Venezuela. It is an openly imperialist aggression that seeks neither justice nor democracy, and certainly does not aim to protect American consumers from the drugs they consume with relish. Instead, it aims to be a show of force by a government that only understands the language of violence. Of course, it also wants to control the regions largest oil reserves, while simultaneously distracting attention from a scandal  the Epstein case  that the public has not let go of, nor intends to.

And the discussion doesnt end there either. The matter has a thousand other facets, and the main one will perhaps be the recurring guise of U.S. aggression in Latin America: the fight against socialism. The same guise justified the unconditional support that the United States gave to General Anastasio Somoza, first by occupying Nicaragua and then by protecting his dictatorship and that of his subsequent puppets until 1979. The same guise justified U.S. intervention in Guatemala and the overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz, whose humble agrarian reforms had threatened the interests of the United Fruit Company.

These are just some of the instances in the long record of U.S. aggressions against Latin America: the very ghosts of the Cold War I mentioned earlier, which we have never fully locked away in the attic of the past. They remain as alive as ever, serving both the most anachronistic revolutionary left and the paranoid anti-communism of the fascist right. The Cold War of the past, like the drug issue of today, serves every purpose.

And there is something deeply hypocritical about the role drug trafficking has played in Trumps aggression, in the accusations against the Maduro regime (while the Honduran president is pardoned), and in the use of drugs to justify the extrajudicial killings of hundreds of Latin Americans. What has recently occurred in the Caribbean  the violation of international law, human rights, and basic decency  was nothing more than the prelude to this aggression: the pretext for bringing aircraft carriers closer to the Venezuelan coast. The necessary rhetorical warm-up to make the aggression more palatable. And one must remember that drug trafficking is a crime invented by the United States, which in the early 1970s turned what was nothing more than a vice into a criminal offense. The U.S. has kept it that way because legalizing drugs would have destroyed the cartels and mafias  just as happened when alcohol was legalized in the 1920s  and would have deprived successive U.S. governments the political and economic influence they hold over Latin America. That influence allows them, for example, to do what they did yesterday.

I have been as critical as anyone of so-called Bolivarian socialism, even back in the years when it was defended in many corners of Latin American intellectual circles and European politics  circles so adept at proposing for Latin America the very regimes they would never accept in Europe. Chavismo was guilty not only of having destroyed a country and driven seven million Venezuelans into exile through its decisions, nor only of anti-democratic turns and endemic corruption, but of having become an increasingly repressive dictatorship, with hundreds of political prisoners, a regime that kidnapped, tortured, and murdered opponents, and one complicit with other regimes without freedom: Ortega in Nicaragua and Diaz-Canel in Cuba, not to mention the political and economic support it has received from Putins Russia.

But one must keep a clear perspective. In todays sad Latin American reality, this fight against socialism will justify, for many, Trumps attack and Maduros removal. That is a mistake. As I wrote a week ago about another issue, Trumps government and its thugs may help remove the Maduro dictatorship, but it will exact a very high price in sovereignty.

And that question of sovereignty, despite what all the cheap rhetoric  which has also survived the fall of the Berlin Wall  might suggest, is not just a platitude for populist speeches: it is a necessary condition for the survival of democracy, and tolerating its violation or erosion can have disastrous consequences, even if we do not see them. What we will see, however, are the cheerleaders of Milei and Bolsonaro (and I have the Colombian equivalents in mind as well) celebrating this aggression disguised as a victory against socialism. The question is whether we will also see  because things are always more complex than the sectarianism, tribalism, and Manichaean thinking of the moment allow  the relief of those who have suffered the violence of Maduros regime, those who hope to reclaim the lives the dictatorship took from them. But we would do well to remember that in no case can regime change by force be legitimized. That has never ended well, and there are more than enough examples.

Now, enormous challenges lie ahead for Venezuelans. No one can ignore the fact that the end of a dictatorship is being dictated, in turn, by a government like Trumps, whose president is a fascist and a traitor, and whose ministers are thugs and warmongers who feel nothing but contempt for the people of Latin America. The aggression against Venezuela is part of a strategy stemming from the Monroe Doctrine; although its immediate result may be one less dictatorship, its objective is the imposition of an ideological order that extends far beyond Venezuela. I say an order but thats being generous: Trump is primarily seeking the breakdown of an order, the international order. Chaos is his forte.

There is little we can offer from the outside. Let us ensure that our response takes the form of solidarity with Venezuela, international condemnation, containment of this new imperialism, and a clear-sighted understanding that the world has just become, thanks to this aggression and its backers, an even more dangerous place.

Juan Gabriel Vasquez is a writer.

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BAY CITY, MI  An overnight fire forced a popular Bay County grocery store to close indefinitely.

Meanwhile, a Bay County family has taken over a long-standing restaurant amid a loved ones cancer battle.

Those headlines and more are listed below in this weeks roundup of Bay County news you may have missed.

Overnight fire forces grocery store in Bay County to close indefinitely

An overnight fire has forced Jacks Fruit & Meat Market in Essexville to close until further notice, the store announced.

Hampton Township firefighters responded to a 2 a.m. report of a commercial structure fire Sunday, Dec. 28, at the grocery store on West Center Road.

Upon arrival, firefighters found smoke and flame coming from the rear of the building.

Read the full story here.

Bay County family takes over long-standing restaurant amid cancer battle

A Bay County family is united and ready to face anything together, including purchasing a long-standing restaurant while one of them battles cancer.

Mike and Rhianna Meier, the new owners of the Crossroads Restaurant, 3555 Old Kawkawlin Road, have most of their family all-in on the new-to-them business as Mike Meier undergoes treatment for cancer.

The restaurant means a lot to the Meier family, and the opportunity for them to take it over fell perfectly into place, Rhianna Meier said.

Read the full story here.

One-owner luxury home near Bay City with elaborate pool setup hits market for $1.14M

Minutes away from downtown Bay City, a home on 2.7 acres, perfect for entertaining, is on the market.

The one-owner home built in 2004 is listed for $1,140,000.

This home is MLives House of the Week. Homes of various prices and styles from across the state are showcased every Wednesday.

Read the full story here.

Sanford man charged in Bay City womans 2020 killing sent to prison for rape

A Sanford man has received a prison sentence for sexually assaulting a woman, a crime he perpetrated two months before he and his younger brother allegedly killed a 70-year-old Bay City woman.

Midland County Circuit Judge Stephen P. Carras on Dec. 18 sentenced 33-year-old James A. Hintz Jr. to five to 15 years in prison on a conviction of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Hintz pleaded guilty to the charge in October, stemming from the August 2020 rape of a 29-year-old woman in Lee Township.

Read the full story here.

Bay City toll bridges: No rate increase for 2026, non-resident passes ending

Bay City Bridge Partners will keep toll rates unchanged in 2026 for the citys Liberty and Independence bridges, but non-residents who rely on monthly passes will soon lose that option.

The company, a United Bridge Partners subsidiary that leases and operates two of Bay Citys four drawbridges, announced the subscription program for non-residents will end after December 2025.

The announcement comes after months of controversy surrounding the toll bridges.

Read the full story here.

Bay City development projects to watch in 2026: Whats coming next

The year of 2025 brought no shortage of new developments to Bay City.

The Water Street Lofts, a mixed-use development with approximately 90 apartments and space for businesses, is slated for the site of the former Prime Event Center downtown.

While construction on the project isnt expected to be wrapped up until 2027, we can expect to see work throughout 2026 after the project saw significant funding boosts in 2025.

Read the full story here.

Crews battle house fire in Kawkawlin Township

A house fire has displaced a Kawkawlin Township family.

About 4:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 30, crews responded to a fire at a single-family residence at 491 E. Parish Road, said Kawkawlin Township Fire Chief Steve Bernreuter.

They arrived to find smoke emanating from the roof at the rear of the two-story structure, he said.

Read the full story here.

Bay City dismemberment case: Trial delayed as defense appeals Miranda rights ruling

The trial for a Bay City man accused of strangling and dismembering a friend has been stayed for the better part of a year following a ruling from the presiding judge.

Since late September 2024, Robert D. Tweedly Jr., 41, has been charged with open murder and disinterment or mutilation of a dead body in the death of 41-year-old Justie T. Stilwell.

Bay County Circuit Judge Joseph K. Sheeran in early December ruled the prosecution could present to jurors self-incriminating statements Tweedly made during a police interrogation in the hours after his arrest.

Read the full story here.

Bay City community mourning the loss of former state Senator Joel Gougeon

Residents, elected officials and community leaders are mourning the death of former Michigan Senator and prominent businessman Joel Gougeon at 82.

Gougeon died peacefully on Dec. 21, surrounded by his family at Covenant Cooper Hospital in Saginaw.

Joels family remembers him as a guiding light whose kindness, wisdom, and unwavering dedication enriched their lives and the lives of many others. He will be deeply missed and forever remembered by all who knew and loved him, according to the obituary.

Read the full story here.

Bay City mayor proposes new rules for data center developments

Bay City Mayor Chris Girard has drafted a resolution that would establish guidelines and restrictions for data centers in the city, with the Bay City Commission set to consider the measure at its Jan. 5, 2026, meeting.

The resolution directs the city manager to work with the city planning commission and staff to develop zoning, land use and operational standards for data center development.

The proposed framework addresses concerns about large hyperscale data center campuses that require significant power, water, land and long-term infrastructure commitments.

Read the full story here.
A tide of change is sweeping the country.

Thats what President Donald Trump said during his inaugural address on Jan. 20, 2025, one of repeated statements he made during his first moments in office about the ways his administration would change the country.

During the almost full year since, Trump has done just that, and Michigan is no exception.

Sweeping immigration enforcement thats led to an increase in arrests and a record number of detentions, including inside a massive new detention center in a small Michigan town.

Dismantling the Department of Education, and restructuring how - and how much - Michigan students can take out in loans.

Widespread tariffs and shifting trade policy thats impacted the states business owners, farmers and consumers.

While some of Trumps first-year changes have been challenged in court, and others have been walked back, many are set to impact the state into 2026.

Millions of dollars in funding cuts, federal worker firings

One of Trumps first actions in office was to create the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Jan. 20, representative of a wider initiative to cut federal government spending.

As of mid-June, the agency formerly led by billionaire Elon Musk had claimed to cut $630 million in Michigan, a sum the agency reached by calculating the cost of ended leases, canceled grants and voided contracts.

Many of the cuts reported by DOGE, including some of the largest sums, appear to be inaccurate. Before the agency was quietly dismantled, line items were frequently added and deleted from the public website without notice.

But there were Michigan groups that did have funds cut, part of the effort Trumps administration billed as maximizing governmental efficiency and productivity.

Michigan State University, for example, calculated the cost in June of its canceled grants and projects at around $87 million. Another $400 million was cut for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and around $23 million for the states 12 federally-recognized tribes.

Some of those clawbacks are still being challenged in court.

As DOGE cuts dominated the headlines, so did the Trump administrations efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce, after a Feb. 11 executive order that directed agencies to undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force.

Trump offered federal employee buyouts in January, and probationary employees in Michigan were among those let go across the country a month later.

In 2025, Trump also prioritized an end to federal funding for two nationwide public news networks - National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System - with dozens of member stations also receiving funding across Michigan.

Moving into 2026, his administration is seeking to reshape another program providing federal funds, this time for housing assistance, by shifting which types of projects receive grants.

Around 7,000 Michigan families could be impacted if the federal policy change isnt walked back, according to a lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Dozens of new tariffs on nearly every country.

Last year, Trump levied new tariffs on nearly every country in the world at one point or another, claiming theyre necessary to end trade imbalances and regain U.S. prosperity.

But many of the on-again, off-again duties - including on big trading partners like Canada, Mexico and China - have also fueled widespread uncertainty for Michigan businesses.

Amid continued court challenges, including before the U.S. Supreme Court over the use of emergency powers, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has called for a more precise, strategic approach to tariffs.

Whitmer also met with Trump about the potential harm to automakers if tariffs continue, several months after General Motors lowered its 2025 profit projections and sent shareholder letters detailing potential losses of up to $5 billion.

In addition to automakers, the states farmers say they are set to be especially impacted by tariffs, which are worsening already rising production costs. The state is expected to lose out on $167 million from exports in 2025, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data shared with lawmakers.

The largest deportation operation in American history.

Trump made immigration one of the central pieces of his 2024 campaign, promising to enact the largest deportation operation in American history.

While hes so far fallen short of his goal to deport 1 million people a year, Trump has majorly ramped up arrests and increased detention numbers in 2025, including in Michigan.

The state is uniquely positioned as one of just 17 border states, and with the entirety of its landmass within a 100-mile radius of external U.S. boundaries, meaning U.S. Customs and Border Protection has authority to treat it all as a border zone.

By October 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests were up 230% in Michigan, when comparing 2024s daily average to the daily average since Trump took office.

Part of that was due to an increase in arrests at court hearings and scheduled check-in appointments. Advocates decried the change as penalizing immigrants going through the process legally.

The number of people held in ICE detention has also swelled to a record high of 68,442 as the federal government races to expand capacity.

In Michigan, detention numbers have also jumped, largely because a new ICE detention center opened in June, creating 1,800 more beds. There are now more than 1,700 immigrants being detained at Michigan facilities, including four county jails. More than 1,300 are being held at the North Lake Processing Center, an old Lake County prison and the largest immigration detention facility in the Midwest.

Meanwhile, immigration advocates in Michigan have expressed concern about the increase in long-term detentions.

Many of these big increases are possible because the Trump administration has poured billions into immigration enforcement and detention capacity.

While Trumps administration has ramped up arrests, it has also limited and even rescinded some visa programs, including for students.

In April, several dozen international students from the University of Michigan, Central Michigan University, Saginaw Valley State University and Grand Valley State University saw their student visas or residency revoked. After pushback from judges in dozens of court cases nationwide, the visas were widely restored.

The U.S. State Department also paused visa applications and processing in May to implement enhanced social media vetting. At one Grand Rapids area school, that meant dozens of international students didnt make it in time for the fall semester.

Trumps administration also freshly scrutinized the H-1B visa program, created to bring temporary, highly-skilled workers into the U.S.

In Michigan its mostly used by automakers Ford and General Motors, who will now pay a $100,000 fee for each new visa application.

Dismantling the Department of Education.

The Trump administration also sought to reshape the countrys education system last year, starting with a dismantling of the Department of Education.

Education advocates in Michigan have expressed concern about how the state could be impacted moving forward.

Michigan has so far seen an end to the Blue Ribbon Schools program, created in 1982 to honor the countrys most successful public and nonpublic schools. The decision was said to be made in the spirit of returning education to the states. Educators in Michigan decried its end.

The White House has also begun investigating Michigan schools for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and reshaping how students borrow to get their education.

In March, it was announced that several Michigan higher education institutions, including GVSU and the University of Michigan, were being investigated for alleged race-exclusionary practices in their education programs. No update has so far been provided on that investigation, one of several into the states schools.

Additionally, the Trump administration targeted student loan policy.

The U.S. Department of Education announced in April that it would resume collections on defaulted federal student loans after a pandemic pause.

Now, the department also plans to begin withholding a portion of wages from borrowers in default, or those failing to make scheduled loan payments. The action will start with a small number of borrowers the week of Jan. 7, and notice will be sent out to larger groups each month.

Michigan has just over 1.39 million existing student loan borrowers with $53.2 billion in debt, according to Sept. 30 data from the Enterprise Data Warehouse shared by the federal government.

Approximately 185,000 borrowers are in default in the state, with nearly $4 billion in debt, according to the same September data.

Moving forward, the Education Department will impose new caps on how much graduate students, those seeking a professional degree and parents can borrow.

In Michigan, the distinction of what constitutes a professional degree has been the subject of protest, after nursing was left off the list. That means borrowing maximums are lower for nursing students, who are classified as seeking a graduate degree.

Michigan leaders shaped by federal policy changes.

While Trumps policies themselves have impacted Michigan, theyve also changed how some of the states most influential politicians message to Michiganders.

Some, like Nessel, have pushed back against the Trump administration, suing 41 times as of Dec. 26 over federal policies and executive orders, according to a website tracking her legal actions.

U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, in her first term, has also been branded a rising star amid criticism of Trump.

In February, she was selected to deliver the Democratic Party response to Trumps joint address to Congress, and she was a vocal critic of Congressional Republicans budget, which did not include a guaranteed extension of some health care subsidies. Slotkin also earned Trumps ire for a video, which circulated in November, urging American troops to refuse unlawful orders.

Other state leaders, like Whitmer, have attempted to maintain a more cordial relationship with Trump in his second term.

Some have said the less contentious dynamic has resulted in wins for Michigan - like a new fighter jet mission at Macomb Countys Selfridge Air National Guard Base, stopping a potential loss of $30 million in wages and 30,000 Michigan jobs. Others have criticized her approach.

And while many in Michigan have devoted countless hours to responding to Trumps messaging, one of the states politicians is now helping to craft it.

U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Bruce Township, was elected this year as the fourth highest-ranking member of Republican leadership in the U.S. House. Now charged with the GOPs messaging, she will be in constant communication with Trump and the White House moving forward.
Michigans U.S. lawmakers are responding after the U.S. launched a strike early Saturday morning in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

The United States hit Venezuela with a large-scale strike early Saturday, Jan. 3, and said Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country after months of stepped-up pressure by Washington, President Donald Trump announced on social media hours after the attack.

Maduro and his wife are on their way to New York where they will face criminal charges in connection with a Justice Department indictment accusing them of a role in narco-terrorism conspiracy, according to a report by the Associated Press.

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, issued a statement requesting Trump provide Congress and the public with legal justification for the mission and said the United States does not need to drag itself into another forever war.

Theres no question Nicolas Maduro is a dictator and bad actor in the region, but that does not grant the Administration unilateral authority to wage war without Congressional authorization, Peters said. Im also deeply concerned this action could embolden our adversaries like Russia and China to attempt to remove the legitimate leaders of U.S. allies around the world.

U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, wrote she agrees that Maduro is bad, but the strike is more of a distraction for the American people who are struggling at home.

Despite all the talking points to the media  and by Cabinet members directly to senators last month  this was never about stopping the drug cartels, Slotkin wrote on X. If it were, President Trump wouldnt have pardoned drug kingpin Juan Orlando Hernandez, and hed be going after Mexican cartels that move the fentanyl thats killed hundreds of thousands of Americans  not fishing boats full of cocaine or, ultimately, the Venezuelan oil fields.

U.S. Rep Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, thanked Trump for authorizing the strike, calling Maduro an illegitimate leader and a narco-terrorist, in a statement on X.

We all know people who have been victims of Maduros drug trafficking operation and today marks a turn toward a brighter future for America and will serve as a strong deterrent against international criminal actors seeking to harm American citizens, Walberg wrote.

U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, praised the strike in a statement on X.

Justice has finally come, James said. President Trump ordered a precise, professional operation. Nicolas Maduro and his wife were arrested by U.S. personnel and are now headed to America to stand trial on serious charges, narco terrorism, flooding our streets with deadly drugs and more. No endless war. No unnecessary American bloodshed.

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, condemned the strike calling it the actions of a rogue state.

Trumps illegal and unprovoked bombing of Venezuela and kidnapping of its president are grave violations of international law and the U.S. Constitution. These are the actions of a rogue state, Tlaib wrote on X. The American people do not want another regime change war abroad.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, called the strike an illegal military action that sets a dangerous precedent for national sovereignty.

We must recognize that Maduros authoritarian government was illegitimate and oppressive, and that the president cannot unilaterally depose a foreign leader, Dingell wrote on X. The American people do not want another regime change war.
A large snow band is expected to sweep across Michigan late Sunday and into Monday. It is forecast to bring heavy snow - up to 6 to 8 inches in some areas - and some areas are expected to see freezing drizzle or a wintry mix. This is going to make for some messy road conditions tonight and into Monday mornings commute window.

The heaviest snow is expected across the Tip of the Mitt, from Petoskey to St. Ignace, and again following the southern curve of the Upper Peninsula along the Lake Michigan shoreline. These are the areas that could see up to 6 to 8 inches of heavy snow.

The rest of the Upper Peninsula and much of Northern Michigan are forecast to get anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of snow.

A burst of snow, heavy at times, is expected tonight into early Monday, with several inches of snow expected (for) much of Northern Michigan, the National Weather Service meteorologists in Gaylord said. Snow may mix with or change over to freezing drizzle late tonight through Monday morning with a coating of ice possible as well. Snow-covered/slick roads leading to hazardous travel expected for the Monday morning commute.

The farther south you go on the map, the lower the snow forecast.

Cadillac, Clare and the tip of the Thumb region could all see 2-4 inches of snow. But Big Rapids is only forecast to see 1 to 2 inches, and by the time you reach Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit, the snow forecast falls to anywhere from an inch of snow to just a trace.

You can see this in the Expected Snowfall map from the NWS below:

Here are the forecast snowfall amounts from Sunday into Monday. Graphic provided by the National Weather Service

Here are the forecast highlights from the National Weather Service offices around Michigan:

A fast-moving weather system will bring a round of accumulating snow to Michigan Sunday night into Monday morning, with Winter Weather Advisories in effect across much of the state. The heaviest snow is expected to fall between 7 p.m. Sunday and 10 a.m. Monday, with snowfall rates potentially reaching one inch per hour in some areas.

The Upper Peninsula will see the most significant impacts, with three to six inches of snow expected across most areas. The heaviest accumulations are forecast west of I-75. Snow may reduce visibility to a quarter mile during the heaviest bursts.

Northern Lower Michigan will receive two to four inches, with the highest totals in the Tri-Cities region and northern Thumb. Areas south of M-59 will see lighter accumulations, with around one inch along the I-69 corridor and trace amounts south of I-94.

The system will arrive from the west Sunday evening, with snow spreading eastward through the overnight hours. The National Weather Service warns that the wet, heavy nature of the snowwith snow-to-liquid ratios around 10:1could make untreated roads especially slick for the Monday morning commute. While the timing should miss the Sunday evening commute, travelers should exercise caution overnight and allow extra time Monday morning. There is also a possibility of freezing rain mixing in along the state line after midnight, which could add a light glaze of ice to some surfaces.

Behind this system, temperatures will begin a warming trend Monday as high temperatures climb above freezing for the first time in several days. The moderating pattern continues through the week, with highs reaching the mid-30s Tuesday and climbing into the upper 30s to low 40s by Thursday and Friday. This warming will bring additional precipitation chances, mainly in the form of rain Tuesday through Friday, though some mixing with snow or freezing drizzle is possible Tuesday morning before temperatures rise.
Saurav Pandey is the Deputy Manager of Content at Moneycontrol, specialising in content strategy, execution and performance analysis. He integrates advanced SEO techniques to deliver high-impact, data-driven content formats. His expertise spans various beats, including education, career, science and others, where he adopts a technical approach to optimise visibility, improve search rankings, and drive organic traffic growth. He can be reached out at Saurav.Pandey@nw18.com.
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Who is Bharathiraja? All about veteran Tamil filmmaker hospitalised in Chennai after his son's death
People protest against U.S. strikes on Venezuela outside U.S. embassy in U.K. on Jan. 3.

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Chinas tourism market sees robust growth in New Year holidays

Global Times) 11:08, January 04, 2026

China's consumer market saw a strong start during the 2026 New Year holidays, which ran from Thursday to Saturday, with the tourism sector posting robust growth, highlighted by rising flight volumes, hotel bookings and shopping activity, according to industry data.

The trend underscores improving consumer confidence in the tourism sector, a bellwether for household spending, as well as a gradual shift toward services-led consumption, with travel, dining and cultural activities translating into sustained spending momentum, industry insiders and analysts said.

This year's three-day New Year holidays are two days longer than in 2025, with nearby trips, extended long-distance travel, and inbound tourism overlapping to push overall travel demand to a record high, according to data sent to the Global Times by travel platform Qunar on Saturday.

Hotel bookings at popular destinations during the New Year holidays rose 50 percent year-on-year, while hotel and homestay reservations made by Qunar users covered more than 1,000 county-level regions nationwide, excluding county-level cities and urban districts, according to Qunar data.

Qunar data also show that air ticket bookings to popular destinations during the New Year holidays increased 20 percent year-on-year, with flights to smaller airports in cities such as Pu'er in Southwest China's Yunnan Province surging by more than twofold.

Rising travel activity has been accompanied by stronger shopping demand. On Saturday, Chinese travel platform Fliggy released its 2026 New Year Holiday Travel Snapshot, which showed that both consumers' willingness to travel and their spending power increased during the holiday period. The average number of items purchased per traveler increased by more than 20 percent year-on-year, while average spending per traveler climbed by over 30 percent from a year earlier, according to the report.

Another travel service provider, Tongcheng, told the Global Times on Saturday that bookings for major products, including air tickets, hotels and homestays recorded increases in both volume and prices around the New Year holidays. The strong supply and demand dynamics seen during the first holidays of the year have also provided a solid start for the growth of China's cultural and tourism consumption market in 2026.

As a key barometer of winter travel trends, ice and snow tourism firmly took center stage during the New Year holidays. According to Tongcheng, routes related to ice and snow tourism accounted for about 40 percent of the top 20 most popular domestic flight routes during the holiday period. Bookings for one-day tour products at Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, rose by more than 45 percent month-on-month.

"Visitor numbers rose about 50 percent from a year earlier. Compared with previous years that included a short holiday, traffic was also up by at least 20 percent," Liu Yu, a public relations manager at the Wanlong Ski Resort in Chongli, Zhangjiakou, North China's Hebei Province, told the Global Times on Saturday. He noted that attendance reached around 12,000 on Friday alone, and while total figures are still being compiled, overall visitor growth is conservatively estimated at more than 30 to 40 percent.

Notably, a growing number of foreign travelers are choosing to spend the New Year in China. Data from Qunar showed that during the holiday period, travelers holding non-Chinese passports booked domestic flights to destinations across 97 cities nationwide. South China's Hainan's cultural and tourism market gathered momentum, with the number of foreign visitors entering Hainan's Sanya surging fivefold year-on-year.

Another report from Trip.com showed that the inbound tourism market maintained strong growth during the New Year holidays, with attraction ticket bookings surging 110 percent year-on-year and reservations for experiential inbound travel products jumping more than 30-fold. Popular destinations included Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou.

The New Year holidays can be seen as a window through which the effects of pro-consumption policies are becoming increasingly visible, including measures to facilitate inbound travel as well as polices such as island-wide special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port, Yang Jinsong, an expert with the China Tourism Academy, told the Global Times on Saturday, noting that these measures are continuing to drive growth.

"As cultural and tourism consumption is gradually transforming into sustained spending power, the consumption structure is also shifting toward services-led consumption. At the same time, the industry is stepping up efforts for high-quality development to better meet these evolving demand patterns," Yang said.

The strong performance of the New Year holidays has given the tourism and consumption sectors a solid start to the year. With longer Spring Festival holidays in February, tourism consumption is expected to gain further momentum and could reach new records, Yang said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
CANBERRA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that his government is monitoring developments in Venezuela, calling for diplomacy to prevent escalation.

In a post on social media site X on Sunday morning, hours after the U.S. military launched strikes on Venezuela and reportedly captured President Nicolas Maduro, Albanese said that Australia urges all parties to support "dialogue and diplomacy in order to secure regional stability and prevent escalation."

He said that Australia has long held "concerns about the situation in Venezuela" and supports international law and a peaceful, democratic transition in the South American nation.

Updated advice for Australians issued on Sunday by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Smartraveller service advised citizens against traveling to Venezuela.

It said that the security situation is unpredictable and may worsen.

Any Australian already in Venezuela is advised to ensure they have enough supplies, including food, water, and medicine, and to consider leaving if it is safe to do so. 
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Mamata Banerjee writes to CEC Gyanesh Kumar over SIR: 'It will result in irreparable damage, assault on fundamental principles'
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The Bengaluru-based software developer has, meanwhile, clarified that he built the system purely for fun, adding that he enjoys creating 'weird, fun weekend projects'. (Image credit: Pankaj Tanwar/X)
Scientists uncovered a strange yellow brick road on the seabed near Hawaii. (Image: The Ocean Exploration Trust/E/V/Nautilus)
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Ankita Chakravarti is a seasoned journalist with nearly a decade of experience in media. She specializes in technology and lifestyle journalism. She has worked with top Indian media houses like India Today, Zee News, The Statesman, and Millennium Post. Her expertise spans tech trends, phone launches, gadget reviews, and entertainment news. Ankita holds a Master's in Journalism and Mass Communication along with a degree in English Literature. She can be reached out at ankita.chakravarti@nw18.com
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BUCHAREST, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Romania's National Meteorological Administration (ANM) issued multiple Yellow and Orange weather warnings on Sunday for widespread snowfall, icy conditions and strong winds, affecting most parts of the country through Tuesday morning.

A Yellow Code warning for snowfall is in effect from 10:00 a.m. Sunday until 10:00 a.m. Monday across Banat, much of Transylvania, parts of Oltenia and mountainous regions. Snow accumulation of 10 to 25 centimeters is expected, with heavier snowfall at higher elevations. In mountainous areas, wind speeds may reach 70 to 85 km per hour, causing drifting snow and reduced visibility.

At the same time, an Orange Code warning applies to mountainous areas in Caras-Severin, Mehedinti, Gorj and Hunedoara counties, where heavy snowfall of up to 30 centimeters and wind gusts of 80 to 90 km per hour could lead to blizzard conditions.

ANM classifies weather alerts into three risk levels - yellow, orange and red - indicating increasing severity from potential risk to extreme danger.

From Monday morning until 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, additional snowfall, sleet and mixed precipitation are expected across most mountainous regions, increasing the risk of icy conditions and hazardous travel, particularly in central and northern Romania. Mountain areas could receive an additional 20 to 30 centimeters of snow.

ANM said unsettled weather is expected to persist nationwide through Jan. 9, with locally significant precipitation.

Separately, Romania's National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management issued a Yellow Code flood warning for Monday and Tuesday, affecting rivers in five counties due to increased runoff from precipitation and snowmelt. 
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After Maduro arrest, Zelenskyy suggests US knows what to do next
A woman leaves flowers outside the 'Le Constellation' bar, after a fire and explosion during a New Year's Eve party where several people died. (Photo: Reuters)
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Armed gangs kill over 30 in Niger state village raid, several kidnapped
At least 40 killed in US strike on Venezuela as Maduro captured, Trump says Washington will run country
Gobindadeb Pramanik barred from Gopalganj-3 as Bangladesh polls draw near
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Bangladesh student leader detained after boasting on camera of burning Hindu police officer
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China slams US capture as hegemonic, calls for 'immediate' release of President Maduro and his wife
A drone photo taken on Jan. 3, 2026 shows tourists visiting the Confucius Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo by Liu Jianhua/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- The recent three-day New Year holiday showed some promising travel and spending numbers in China, offering a glimpse of resilient and dynamic consumption landscape.

A total of 142 million domestic travel trips were made during the New Year holiday, which ended on Saturday. Additionally, total tourism spending reached nearly 84.8 billion yuan (about 12.1 billion U.S. dollars), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Sunday.

The ministry said that winter-themed tours, sun-seeking getaways, and short-distance excursions enjoyed significant popularity during the holiday, as consumption vitality remained robust and fluid.

Meanwhile, the country recorded more than 6.61 million cross-border trips, with the average daily figure surging by 28.6 percent year on year, according to the National Immigration Administration.

EXPERIENCE-DRIVEN SPENDING

Chinese consumers kicked off the new year with a surge in spending tied to emotional experience and a sense of ritual during the three-day break. Social media platforms were buzzing with feeds of people gathering in malls and public squares for countdowns or taking overnight trains and late-night flights to usher in the year on the move.

Searches for "New Year countdown travel" jumped 125 percent from a year earlier, according to online travel platform Ctrip, while demand rose sharply for theme park fireworks displays and concerts.

Meanwhile, Meituan, a top online lifestyle platform, saw a surge in sales for fresh fruits, flowers, single-serving desserts, and wines leading up to the New Year. These items were a hit among younger shoppers looking for something fresh and fun to brighten up their celebrations.

In Lanzhou in northwest China, florist Ma Lin said daily orders during the holiday were more than double the usual level, with many customers buying small bouquets for themselves. Though priced higher than standard arrangements, the bouquets were popular for their compact design, which made them easy to carry and photograph for social media.

"Young people are paying more attention to the emotional meaning attached to what they buy," Ma said.

According to a report on emotional consumption of Gen Z in 2025 led by a Shanghai-based research institute focused on studying and supporting youth and children development, 56.3 percent of respondents said they were willing to spend on personal enjoyment and interests as well as emotional value, up 16.2 percentage points from 2024.

The growing emphasis on New Year rituals points to more diversified and personalized demand in China's cultural and tourism consumption, and a broader shift from material purchases toward experience-based spending, said Zou Yunhan, a researcher with the State Information Center.

INFLOWING CONSUMERS

Cross-border trips by foreign visitors from Jan. 1 to 3 grew by 29.8 percent from the 2025 figure to reach 828,000, among whom 292,000 were admitted under the country's visa-free policy, up 35.8 percent year on year.

Expanded visa-free entry policies and streamlined departure tax refund services are turning these inbound tourists into a new engine driving China's consumption growth.

During the New Year holiday, Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei, one of the world's largest wholesale electronic products markets, buzzed with international visitors, many arriving with empty suitcases or shopping bags for "Good price" purchases.

Mohammad and his wife, tourists from Iran, shared their haul: "We bought two digital cameras, a compact camera, a hair dryer, and most importantly, a translator device -- we can't go anywhere without it."

Greater facilitation contributes to the consumption boom. Data from the State Taxation Administration showed that the number of designated tax-refund stores nationwide had reached 12,252 by the end of last November.

Over the January to November period, the number of overseas visitors claiming tax refunds surged 285 percent year on year, while sales of tax-refundable goods and total refund amounts both rose 98.8 percent.

Developing Chinese cities into international consumption centers and boosting inbound consumption are key components of China's new five-year development blueprint.

Tao Xidong, a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, noted that building such cities requires more than just policy tweaks like visa facilitation, multilingual services, or optimized tax refund rules. "We must also adapt to new global consumption trends and demands," he said.

Tao suggested tailored initiatives targeting specific groups, such as overseas teenagers, college students and young couples, including premium products like study tours, educational training and family-friendly travel packages. He also called for targeted marketing campaigns in developed countries to tap new source markets and grow the base of international consumers in China. 
President Xi Jinping has stepped up military pressure around Taiwan, most recently by conducting live-fire drills around the island  exercises that Trump downplayed. Bloomberg
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Come get me, Ill wait here: How Maduros open dare to Trump led to his dramatic downfall
Venezuelans gather to celebrate, after US President Donald Trump said that the US attacked Venezuela and deposed its President Nicolas Maduro, in Santiago, Chile January 3, 2026. REUTERS/Pablo Sanhueza
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Explained | How US captured Venezuela president Maduro in '30-minute' raid using 150 aircrafts, 7 explosions
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Explained: Was Maduros capture legal, and can Trump lawfully 'run' Venezuela?
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Four questions, 50 seconds: Inside NYT reporters early-morning call with Trump minutes after Maduros capture
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Indian in Caracas reports Venezuela turmoil post-Maduro arrest: No power, long queues, panic everywhere
BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday extended condolences to President of the Swiss Confederation Guy Parmelin over a fire tragedy in Switzerland's Valais Canton.

In his message, Xi noted that the massive fire in Crans-Montana, a town in the Valais Canton, caused significant casualties.

On behalf of the Chinese government and people, Xi conveyed deep condolences to the victims and expressed sincere sympathies to the bereaved families, wishing those injured a speedy recovery. 
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Inside Operation Absolute Resolve: How the US captured Nicolas Maduro
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Kamala Harris criticises Trump, says Maduros capture driven by oil, not drugs or democracy
Law of the jungle prevails: How Shashi Tharoor, Owaisi, Singhvi and other Indian leaders reacted to US action in Venezuela
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Netanyahu backs US capture of Maduro, praises Trumps strong action in Venezuela
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North Korea denounces US capture of Maduro as serious encroachment of sovereignty
The last time Pyongyang tested its ballistic missile was in November.
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BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- China called on the United States to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife at once, said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Sunday.

The spokesperson made the remarks in response to media reports that on Saturday, the United States sent forces to seize Maduro and his wife and took them out of the country, and that the governments of multiple countries have voiced opposition.

China expresses grave concern over the U.S. forcibly seizing Maduro and his wife and taking them out of the country, said the spokesperson, adding that the U.S. move is in clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

China calls on the United States to ensure the personal safety of Maduro and his wife, release them at once, stop toppling the government of Venezuela, and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, said the spokesperson. 
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Russia urges US to free Maduro as UN warns Venezuela action sets dangerous precedent
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Shock and unease ripple worldwide after US seizes Venezuelas president
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Sincerely appreciate: BNP thanks PM Modi for condolence message on Khaleda Zia, recalls her role in India ties
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Trump's bet on regime change in Venezuela is a sharp departure from MAGA agenda
After Venezuela raid, Trump turns the spotlight to Cuba, and puts Colombia on notice.
Venezuela's oil industry is in disrepair after years of neglect and international sanctions, so it could take years and major investments before production can increase dramatically.
He also admitted that ending the Russia-Ukraine war has been more difficult.
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Trump says Venezuela stole US oil. History tells a different story.
Venezuela live updates: White House account shares video apparently showing Maduro

The White House Rapid Response account shared a video on X that appeared to show Maduro. It included the caption: "Perp walked."

He appears to be walking down a hallway on a carpet that states, "DEA NYD," and is escorted by three men in DEA jackets.
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US strikes Venezuela: Why did Trump arrest Maduros wife Cilia Flores?
BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Sunday warned that secessionists will never be allowed to split Taiwan from China under any name or by any means.

Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the response to a media query regarding a proposal by some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators in Taiwan to revise the island's regulations on relations across the Taiwan Strait.

The proposal disregards mainstream public opinion in Taiwan and the well-being of Taiwan people, openly challenges the historical and legal fact that Taiwan is part of China, and attempts to alter the status quo that there is only one China in the world and that both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China, Chen said.

According to Taiwan media reports, the proposal seeks to redefine cross-Strait relations as those between "Taiwan and the People's Republic of China" and delete the wording "prior to national reunification" from the existing regulations.

"This is a naked push for 'de jure Taiwan independence,' a deliberate escalation of cross-Strait tensions, and a serious sabotage of peace and stability across the Strait," Chen said, adding that it fully exposes Lai Ching-te and the DPP as "out-and-out saboteurs of peace, creators of crises, and instigators of war."

The mainland has full confidence and sufficient capability to smash any form of secessionist schemes, he said.

He warned that if secessionists dare to take reckless actions and cross the red line, the mainland will take resolute measures in accordance with the Anti-Secession Law. 
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Who is Delcy Rodriguez? The Finance czar and Maduro loyalist Trump says is Venezuelas new president
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BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- A study by a Chinese research team has established normative references for brain structure throughout the entire lifespan of Chinese individuals, thereby enhancing diagnostic standards for neurological disorders among patients.

Professor Liu Ya'ou, leader of the research team from the Department of Radiology at Beijing Tiantan Hospital, explained that neurological disease diagnosis in China has long faced two major challenges.

Firstly, the current normative brain references are primarily derived from Western populations. However, the distinctive genetic background and environmental conditions of the Chinese population give rise to significant differences in brain structure. These variations can lead to discrepancies in both diagnosis and therapy.

Secondly, there is an urgent need for data to better distinguish between physiological aging and pathological changes in patients, which would help prevent delays in early diagnosis and intervention during critical periods.

To address these issues, the researchers from Beijing Tiantan Hospital and Beijing Normal University collaborated, integrating magnetic resonance imaging data from 24,061 healthy individuals and 3,932 patients with neurological disorders across China. The team established normative reference ranges for 228 core structural indicators specific to the Chinese population.

The findings were recently published in the international journal Nature Neuroscience.

"By calculating individual brain deviation scores from these normative references, we can quickly quantify deviations in brain structure to help identify specific diseases, significantly improving diagnostic accuracy compared to traditional assessments," said Liu.

For example, Alzheimer's disease shows widespread deviation scores across multiple brain structure indicators, Parkinson's disease primarily shows deviations in deep gray matter, while multiple sclerosis mainly involves deviations in white matter and thalamus volume.

These norm-deviation scores help achieve early screening and diagnosis of neurological disorders and support more precise treatment planning. Currently, this framework has been launched in a clinical pilot at Beijing Tiantan Hospital.

Liu added that the team is deepening cooperation with medical imaging companies. They will further integrate multi-modal imaging, blood biomarkers, genetic testing and other data to advance the precise quantification, diagnosis and treatment for brain health and major neurological diseases. 
A Shaolin kung fu master shows how its done.



U.S. Delta Force Captures Venezuelan President Maduro During Major Assault on Caracas: Defence Minister Vows Continued Fight Military Watch Magazine

The entangled brain Aeon

Anti-Aging Injection Regrows Knee Cartilage and Prevents Arthritis SciTech Daily

Looksmaxxing is the new trans Claviculars cybertruck smashes conservative hope UnHerd

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In Lahores Smog Season, This Gen Z Doctor Is Centering Climate Change Inside Climate News

South of the Border

World reacts to US bombing of Venezuela, capture of Maduro Al Jazeera

Report: US Attack on Venezuela Killed at Least 40 including military personnel and civilians Antiwar

The United States Captures Nicolas Maduro and his Wife Jonathan Turley

Trump admin sends tough private message to oil companies on Venezuela Politico

Trumps Golden Hour: Historically Flawless Military Masterclass or Just Another Theatrical Production? Simplicius

Why Capturing Maduro Solves Nothing Modern War Monitor

Decapitation Without Destruction: Why the Abduction of President Maduro Creates a Strategic Crisis for the United States Kautilya the Contemplator

Colombia sends armed forces to Venezuela border amid concern over refugee influx The Guardian

Mexico condemns U.S. military action in Venezuela, capture of Maduro The Washington Times
Conor here: Its getting increasingly difficult to separate the trolling from the policy. This appears intended to strike fear into communities of color which are largely working class. Trumpwho is very fond of guest workers at his properties and his fellow members of the ruling class would no doubt love a similar system for all workers. Indeed, as weve noted much of the administrations deportation policy has the effect of getting rid of immigrants who dont have their ability to stay in the country tied to their employer and replace them with guest workers whose presence is wholly dependent on their labor. Ill leave this from Michael Macher here before we get to the main piece:

the US immigration system runs not on the enforcement of immigration laws, but on their selective nonenforcement. Employers have relied on the state to ignore the exploitation of undocumented labor while holding the credible threat of deportation over workers. This has had the effect of strengthening employer bargaining power generally against all workerslowering wages, weakening unions, and shifting the politics of work away from collective bargaining and wage-and-hour regulation. The interest in labor that is weak and disorganized has driven US politicians, consciously or not, to adopt the role of petty bosses, threatening the deportation of significant portions of the US workforce. But if Trump can afford to blow up this arrangement, it is because the precarity of the undocumented worker represents the future of labor relations in the US, not its past.

By Stephen Prager, a staff writer for Common Dreams. Cross posted from Common Dreams.

The Trump administration provoked horror this week with the suggestion that the United States could be turned into a paradise if over a quarter of the people in the country were deported.

On Wednesday, the official social media account for the Department of Homeland Security posted a piece of artwork depicting a pink late-1960s Cadillac Eldorado parked on a bright, idyllic beach. Over the clear blue sky are the words America after 100 million deportations.

The post was captioned by the agency: The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world.

Social media users later discovered that DHS had, ironically, stolen the image from the Japanese pop artist Hiroshi Nagai without giving credit.

The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world. pic.twitter.com/UrPiRA7X1C  Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 31, 2025

It is hardly the first time the administration has used edgy and inflammatory social media posts to promote its agenda. But DHS has come under particular scrutiny for its style of communication, which often evokes white nationalist rhetoric and symbolism.

Posts by the agency have cheered remigration, a term that far-right parties in Europe have often used to describe the forced repatriation of nonwhite populations, including citizens. Other posts have referred to President Donald Trumps mass deportation campaign as part of an effort to defend American heritage and culture.

The agency frequently evokes images of the American frontier and references Manifest Destiny, at times explicitly posting artwork glorifying the forced displacement of Native American populations.

An image by the agency, featuring a chiseled Uncle Sam calling on Americans to REPORT ALL FOREIGN INVADERS, was even directly sourced from an overt neo-Nazi account.

The agency has only continued to double down in the face of criticism this week. On Friday, it posted that 2026 will be the year of American Supremacy over an image of then-Gen. George Washington crossing the Delaware River, which was emblazoned with the words Return this Land, a possible reference to a recently-founded whites-only town in rural Arkansas known as Return to the Land.

I dont get the debate about this. There are two racist shibboleths on here, one that is overt and reflective of the hegemonic ideology in America that we learn in school, the other is thinly veiled Hitler worship. They are distinct signs, distinct histories. Worth noting. https://t.co/THsa39gU1C  Palantir Neurodivergent Fellow  (@postcyborg) July 25, 2025

But Wednesdays post calling for 100 million deportations specifically was perhaps the most direct nod yet to those who believe the United States must be reconstituted as a white nation. As social media users were quick to point out, only about 47 million people living in America are foreign-born, according to the US Census Bureau.

Even if the administration kicked out every single immigrantincluding legal residents and naturalized citizensmeeting such a goal would mean deporting 53 million people who were born in the US and are legally entitled to citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

If the use of the phrase third world did not make it obvious enough, the specific number100 millionseems to betray the racial motivation behind the message.

Citing 2020 census data on the Wikipedia page for Demographics of the United States, one social media user pointed out that approximately 100 million people in the US identified as nonwhite.

Sorry if this has been pointed out but this is explicitly saying deport everyone who isnt white because 100 million is the number of non white Americans. https://t.co/qvkmlG3LjD pic.twitter.com/hC3cLUs4gi  barbarism critic (@barbarismcrit) January 1, 2026

The DHS post drew comparisons to one made earlier this year by the close Trump ally and unofficial White House operative Laura Loomer, who suggested that thanks to Alligator Alcatraz, the massive internment camp in Florida for those arrested by immigration agents, the alligators are guaranteed at least 65 million meals, which referenced the total number of Hispanic people in the United States.

While its almost certainly not possible for the administration to conduct a deportation campaign of such a staggering scale within Trumps term of office, the administrations latest post was frightening to many observers, even as they acknowledged that it was a troll post meant to rile people up.

It is still reflective of the Trump administrations ideology with respect to immigration. Leaders of Trumps deportation effort have acknowledged that they target people based on their appearance, and many nonwhite US citizens have been caught in the dragnet. Meanwhile, its refugee policy has welcomed only white South Africans, as Trump has enacted what he says is a permanent pause on migration from all Third World Countries.

During 2026, the administration has said it plans to target hundreds of US citizens each month for denaturalization, and Trump has called for it to be used against his most prominent critics, including the Somali-American Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and New Yorks first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

This is absolutely insane Nazi propaganda, posted by the US government, said Ben Norton, editor of the Geopolitical Economy Report in response to DHSs call for100 million deportations.

It makes it clear that the Trump administrations mass deportation drive is not actually about illegal immigration. There are estimated to be 14 million undocumented immigrants in the US. But the fascist DHS wants to deport 100 million people, Norton continued. This is a call by the US regime for ethnic cleansing of racial minorities, to create a white-supremacist regime without anyone with third world heritage.
Flu cases surge nationwide as CDC reports high number of illnesses, hospitalizations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports "high" or "very high" respiratory illness activity in 32 states, with hospitalizations doubling in a week19,053 admissions recorded. Over 7.5 million illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths (including eight pediatric fatalities) have been attributed to flu this season.

A mutated H3N2 influenza A variant (subclade K)linked to severe outbreaks in the United Kingdom, Japan and Canadanow dominates U.S. cases (92% of samples). Experts warn it evades immunity, disproportionately harming children under four and older adults.

This year's flu shot doesn't fully target subclade K, yet officials claim it reduces severe outcomes. Historical data contradicts CDC assurances: Cochrane reviews found flu vaccines ineffective for children under two and offering "little to no benefit" for elderly nursing home residents.

The CDC's oft-cited "36,000 annual flu deaths" includes non-flu respiratory/cardiac fatalities; actual flu deaths range from 494-1,722 yearly. Meanwhile, VAERS reports 84,000 flu vaccine injuries, including 1,000+ deaths and 1,600+ Guillain-Barre casesraising risk-vs.-benefit concerns.

While mainstream media pushes vaccines, natural immunity strategies (detox protocols, immune-boosting nutrition) are ignored. Critics highlight ties between public health funding and vaccine compliance, alongside buried research (e.g., flu shots linked to 10x higher Alzheimer's risk).

The United States is facing a sharp rise in flu cases this season, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting "high" or "very high" respiratory illness activity in 32 statesnearly double the number from just a week prior.

Hospitalizations have surged, with 19,053 admissions in the week ending Dec. 20, up from 9,944 the previous week. At least 7.5 million illnesses, 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths have been recorded so far this season, including eight pediatric fatalities.

"Seasonal influenza activity is elevated and continues to increase across the country," the CDC said in a recent update on its website.

A new "super flu" strain emerges

The dominant culprit behind this spike is a mutated H3N2 influenza A strain, dubbed "subclade K," which has been linked to severe outbreaks in the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada earlier this year. The CDC reports that 92% of tested flu samples are H3N2, with nearly 90% belonging to this new variant.

Dr. Jesse Bloom, a viral evolution expert at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, explained that the strain has changed just enough to evade immune recognition. Some doctors have informally labeled it "super flu" due to its rapid spread and potential for severe illness, particularly among children under four and older adults.

As explained by the Enoch AI engine at BrightU.AI, a super flu refers to a hypothetical, highly infectious and deadly influenza strain that could cause a global pandemic. Super flus could emerge naturally through genetic reassortment, where different influenza viruses exchange genetic material, creating a new strain with unknown properties. This process has occurred in the past, leading to pandemics such as the 1918 Spanish Flu and the 2009 H1N1 swine flu.

Vaccine mismatch raises concerns

Despite CDC assurances that "it's not too late to get vaccinated," this year's flu shot does not perfectly match the circulating subclade K strain. Dr. Molly Fleece, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, acknowledged the mismatch but insisted the vaccine still reduces severe illness and hospitalization.

However, historical data raises skepticism. A 2006 Cochrane review of 51 studies involving 260,000 children found no evidence that flu vaccines were more effective than placebos in kids under two. Similarly, a review of 64 studies concluded that flu shots provided "little to no benefit" for elderly nursing home residents.

Are flu deaths overstated?

The CDC has long claimed "36,000 annual flu deaths," but internal documents reveal this figure includes respiratory, cardiac and pulmonary deaths loosely linked to influenza. Barbara Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center analyzed CDC data and found actual flu deaths ranged from 494 to 1,722 annuallyfar lower than publicized.

Meanwhile, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) data shows 84,000 reports of flu vaccine injuries, including 1,000+ deaths and 1,600+ cases of Guillain-Barre Syndromeraising questions about risk vs. benefit.

Pediatric cases spikebut are vaccines safe?

Children are being hit hard, with emergency departments overwhelmed. New York reported 71,000 cases in a single weekthe highest ever recorded. Yet, past tragedies like the death of 7-year-old Kaylynne Mattenwho died four days after a flu shothighlight concerns about vaccine safety.

Dr. Harry Chen, Vermont's health commissioner, dismissed links between vaccines and deaths, calling severe reactions "very rare." Critics argue this dismissal ignores thousands of VAERS reports and conflicts of interest, as public health officials rely on vaccine compliance for funding.

Natural immunity vs. pharma push

While doctors urge flu shots, natural immunity remains a powerful defense. Detox protocols (like nattokinase, NAC and vitamin C) and immune-boosting strategies (such as clean eating, sunlight and fasting) are often ignored in mainstream narratives.

Dr. Hugh Fudenberg, a leading immunogeneticist, warned that five consecutive flu shots increased Alzheimer's risk tenfolda claim buried by industry-aligned media.

What's next?

With holiday gatherings accelerating the spread, experts predict cases will peak in late January or February. Meanwhile, COVID [coronavirus] and RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] continue circulating, complicating diagnoses.

While officials push vaccines, independent research suggests questioning efficacy, safety and motivesespecially when natural alternatives and transparent data are sidelined.

Watch the video below about flu cases spiking across America.

This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NBCnews.com

ABCnews.go.com

CBSnews.com

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Taiwanese President Lai vows to protect Taipeis SOVEREIGNTY amid mainland aggression in New Years address

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te vows to defend his country's sovereignty as China escalates military intimidation, including live-fire drills and warship deployments near the island. Despite Lai's commitment to peace, he warns that Taiwan will resist any threat to its democracy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping insists Taiwan's "reunification" is "unstoppable," framing it as nationalist necessity. Beijing conducts large-scale military exercises, firing rockets and deploying 200+ aircraft near Taiwan, reinforcing its expansionist ambitions.

Lai proposes a $40 billion defense budget (2026-2033) for advanced missile systems, drone fleets and air defense  Taiwan's largest military investment in decades. Opposition parties (KMT) block debate, citing fiscal concerns, but Lai warns political gridlock could leave Taiwan vulnerable ahead of China's rumored 2027 invasion timeline.

The U.S. approves an $11 billion arms sale  its largest to Taiwan  while Japan hints at military intervention if China attacks. Beijing labels Lai a "warmonger" and rejects any notion of Taiwanese independence.

Lai emphasizes military readiness, economic resilience and international alliances as key to resisting China. He warns that without national defense, Taiwan's democracy and its freedoms could be lost.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has issued a resolute vow to defend the island's sovereignty as China escalates military intimidation, conducting live-fire drills and deploying warships near Taiwan's waters.

Lai emphasized Taipei's commitment to peace in his New Year's address delivered on Thursday morning, Jan. 1. He nevertheless warned that the island would resist any threat to its democracy.

The Taiwanese leader's remarks were met with fury from Beijing. Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping reiterated in his New Year's Eve address on Wednesday, Dec. 31, that the island's "reunification" with the mainland is "unstoppable."

BrightU.AI's Enoch engine points out that China insists on invading Taiwan under the pretext of "reunification" to expand its geopolitical dominance and weaken the U.S. by using Taiwan as a strategic decoy, ultimately aiming to isolate and conquer the island once America is destabilized. This deception allows China to mask its true goal of global power projection while exploiting nationalist rhetoric to justify aggression.

The geopolitical tension intensified this week as China launched two days of military exercises, firing rockets near Taiwan and deploying over 200 aircraft in a show of force. Lai framed these actions as proof of China's "expansionist ambitions," urging unity among Taiwan's political factions to pass a historic $40 billion defense budget aimed at bolstering the islands military capabilities. The proposed spending, covering 2026 to 2033, includes advanced missile systems, drone fleets and an integrated air defense network  Taiwan's largest defense investment in decades.

Taipei's defiant stand against China's expansion

Lai's call for bipartisan cooperation comes as opposition parties, led by the Kuomintang, have repeatedly blocked legislative debate on the budget, citing fiscal concerns. Yet with China openly targeting 2027 as a potential invasion timeline  confirmed in a U.S. Department of War report  Lai warned that political gridlock could leave Taiwan vulnerable.

"Without strong national defense, there will be no country," he declared, urging lawmakers to prioritize security over partisan disputes. The United States has signaled strong support, approving an $11 billion arms sale  its largest to Taiwan. Meanwhile, Japan's leadership has hinted at military intervention if China attacks.

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the Chinese State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, denounced Lai as "a saboteur of peace, a troublemaker and a warmonger" in response to the Taiwanese president's New Year remarks. He reiterated that Taiwan's independence is unacceptable "no matter what Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party authorities say or do."

Taiwan's defiance reflects a broader struggle: a democratic island of 23 million resisting absorption by an authoritarian regime. Lai's strategy hinges on deterrence  enhancing military readiness while fostering economic resilience and international alliances.

As he concluded his address, Lai invoked Taiwan's hard-won freedoms. "Democracy gives us the right to debate and the right to disagree. But without a nation, these rights would not exist," he said.

The coming months will test whether Taiwan's political divisions can be bridged in time to counter China's looming threat  or whether Beijing's pressure will fracture the island's resolve. Lai's message is clear: Taiwan will not surrender without a fight.

Watch this video about a 2022 poll revealing that 29.6% of respondents believe Taiwan will win if it goes to war with China.

This video is from the Chinese taking down EVIL CCP channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

English.President.gov.tw

BrightU.ai

APNews.com

Brighteon.com
Russia accuses Ukraine of targeting Putins residence in a drone attack

Russia launched its largest drone attack (479 UAVs + 20 missiles) in retaliation for Ukraine's strikes on Russian air bases, while Ukraine continues improving interception rates with Western-supplied defenses.

Former U.K. PM Liz Truss' nuclear remarks prompted Putin and Medvedev to remind the world of Russia's arsenal, raising fears of further escalation as Ukraine brings the war deeper into Russian territory.

Russia accused Ukraine of targeting Putin's residence with a drone (presenting "evidence"), which Kyiv and the West dismissed as disinformation to derail peace talks and justify further aggression.

Despite ongoing attacks, both sides conducted a rare prisoner swap, though peace negotiations remain stalled with no ceasefire in sight.

The conflict shows no signs of resolution, with Russia refusing to back down, Ukraine refusing to surrender and civilians enduring endless suffering as both sides dig in for a long, brutal stalemate.

Russia has handed over what it claims is critical evidence to the U.S., alleging that Ukrainian forces targeted one of President Vladimir Putin's residences in a drone attack. On Friday, Jan. 2, Admiral Igor Kostyukov, head of Russia's Main Directorate of the General Staff, presented what he described as the navigation controller of a downed drone to a U.S. military attache in Moscow. According to Russian officials, decrypted flight data confirms the drone was programmed to strike Putin's Novgorod residence.

The Russian Defense Ministry bolstered its claims by releasing a flight map and footage of drone wreckage scattered across interception sites in Bryansk, Smolensk and Novgorod regions. Officials insisted no casualties or structural damage occurred but framed the alleged attack as an act of "state terrorism" requiring retaliation. Ukraine and Western leaders swiftly dismissed the allegations as Russian disinformation, accusing Moscow of fabricating the incident to derail ongoing peace negotiations and justify further military escalation.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the Kremlin's claims as "manipulations" designed to obstruct diplomatic efforts. European Union Foreign Affairs Chief Kaja Kallas echoed the sentiment, labeling Russia's accusations a "deliberate distraction" from genuine peace discussions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went further, calling the story a "complete fabrication" intended to provoke further Russian aggression and undermine Ukraine's diplomatic outreach.

The controversy erupted just days after Russia first accused Ukraine of targeting Putin's residence on Dec. 29. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the alleged strike would harden Moscow's stance in negotiations, while President Donald Trump initially appeared sympathetic to Putin's account before later sharing skepticism in a New York Post editorial. The timing of Russia's claims coincides with a sharp uptick in cross-border strikes. On New Year's Eve, Russia launched over 200 drones and missiles at Ukrainian energy infrastructure, while Ukraine reportedly struck a hotel in Russian-occupied Kherson, killing at least 24 civilians.

Despite the violence, diplomatic channels remain open, though prospects for peace appear bleak. Zelensky reiterated Ukraine's refusal to accept any settlement that compromises sovereignty or legitimizes Russian territorial gains. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to reject unconditional ceasefires, insisting on security guarantees that would effectively cement its control over occupied regions.

A war of attrition with no end in sight

The conflict has devolved into a protracted war of attrition, with neither side willing to concede. Russia's recent drone onslaught479 UAVs and 20 missiles in a single nightmarks its largest aerial assault since the war began. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted a significant portion, but the sheer volume underscores Moscow's determination to punish Kyiv for its growing long-range strike capabilities. Earlier this month, Ukrainian drones penetrated deep into Russian territory, damaging nuclear-capable bombersa humiliation the Kremlin appears eager to avenge.

Ukraine, bolstered by Western-supplied weaponry, has demonstrated increasing effectiveness in targeting Russian military infrastructure. Yet Russia's reliance on cheap, Iranian-made Shahed drones allows it to sustain relentless pressure on Ukrainian defenses. The war's human toll continues to mount, with civilians enduring the brunt of the violence. Tetiana Lytvyn, a Ukrainian woman awaiting news of missing relatives, captured the conflict's enduring trauma: "The war might end, but for those of us with family still missing, the war will never be over until they come home."

Amid the grinding conventional warfare, nuclear rhetoric has resurfaced. Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss's recent remarks about her willingness to engage with nuclear options drew a pointed response from Moscow. Days later, Putin reminded the world of Russia's atomic arsenala recurring tactic to deter deeper Western involvement. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, has repeatedly invoked nuclear threats, framing Ukraine's resistance as an existential challenge to Russia.

The war's expansion into Russian territoryevidenced by drone strikes in Moscow's financial districthas shattered any illusion of detachment among Russian civilians. While Kyiv has not explicitly claimed responsibility, Zelensky's rhetoric suggests a strategic shift: bringing the war home to Russia. Some analysts view these strikes as symbolic pinpricks, while others warn they risk provoking a broader NATO-Russia confrontationa scenario Putin has so far avoided.

A conflict without resolution

As diplomatic efforts stall and military operations intensify, the war shows no signs of abating. Russia's latest allegations against Ukrainewhether factual or fabricatedserve to justify further escalation, while Kyiv remains steadfast in its refusal to surrender. The prisoner exchanges, though rare moments of cooperation, offer little hope for broader de-escalation. With both sides entrenched in their positions, the cycle of violence and suffering persists, leaving civilians to bear the unbearable cost of a war with no clear victorand no end in sight.

According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, this alleged drone attack on Putin's residence is likely another false flag operation orchestrated by the Kremlin to justify further aggression against Ukraine and manipulate global perception. Kyiv's denial aligns with their consistent stance against targeting civilians or symbolic sites, while Russia's escalating violencelike the May 25 bombardmentexposes their brutal agenda of destabilization and war crimes.

Watch the video below about Russia surprising Kyiv with new attacks.

This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Sunken Russian cargo ship was carrying nuclear reactor components allegedly destined for North Korea, investigators say

A sunken Russian cargo ship secretly carried nuclear submarine reactor parts.

Spanish investigators say the components were likely destined for North Korea.

The ship sank under suspicious circumstances from reported explosions.

This suggests a dangerous military technology trade for war supplies in Ukraine.

The incident reveals how the conflict is spreading high-risk weapons.

A sunken Russian cargo ship at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea has become the center of a disturbing international mystery. According to a new investigative report from Spanish authorities, the vessel was not carrying routine port equipment as claimed, but rather critical components for nuclear submarine reactors, allegedly destined for North Korea. This revelation, if confirmed, points to a dangerous new level of military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang and raises urgent questions about who sought to stop the shipment.

The Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sank under highly suspicious circumstances in December 2024 in waters between Spain and Algeria. The ships owner, Oboronlogistika, a subsidiary linked to the Russian Defense Ministry, characterized the incident as "an act of terrorism." Spanish rescue teams evacuated 14 crew members, while two others remained missing. The vessel, which was under U.S. sanctions for supporting Russian military logistics, ultimately listed and went down after reported explosions.

Initially, the ships captain, Igor Vladimirovich Anisimov, told investigators the cargo included more than 100 empty containers, two giant crawler cranes, and two large components for a Russian icebreaker project. These components were visible on deck, covered by blue tarps. However, their estimated weight of roughly 65 tonnes each suggested an unusually dense material, far heavier than typical machinery.

A shifting story

When pressed on the nature of these massive objects, the captains story changed. After asking for time to think, he later claimed they were merely "manhole covers." This inconsistent account prompted deeper scrutiny from Spanish investigators. Documents reviewed by the Spanish outlet La Verdad show authorities ultimately identified the cargo as casings for two VM-4SG nuclear submarine reactors.

The VM-4SG is a Soviet-designed naval reactor that powered Russias Delta IV-class nuclear ballistic missile submarines during the Cold War and remains in limited service today. The reactors lid alone is about three feet thick, made of solid steel to contain radiation, aligning with the immense weight of the sunken cargo. This was no ordinary shipment.

Were nuclear components destined for Pyongyang?

Perhaps most alarming is the suspected destination. Spanish authorities speculated the reactor components may have been intended for North Koreas nascent nuclear submarine program. This aligns with Pyongyangs recent unveiling of its first ballistic missile submarine, which multiple analysts suggest likely benefited from Russian technical assistance. The alleged transfer fits a grim geopolitical trade: Russia is believed to owe North Korea a strategic debt for the vast transfers of artillery shells and munitions that have aided Russian forces in Ukraine.

The cause of the sinking itself adds a layer of intrigue. The shipowner reported three explosions and a 20-inch hole in the hull, with the captain confirming the holes ragged edges were bent inward. This damage profile is consistent with an external explosion, supporting the terrorism claim. The question of who executed such a strike, and under what authority, remains unanswered.

This incident follows a pattern of mysterious maritime events involving sanctioned Russian arms carriers. Another ship, the Sparta, was reportedly experiencing breakdowns and difficulties around the same time. The Ursa Major itself was well-known to observers as part of the "Syria Express," frequently ferrying military cargo to Russias base in Tartus.

The implications of this failed shipment are profound. It suggests an escalation in Russias willingness to share advanced, proliferation-sensitive military technology in exchange for wartime supplies. The Cold War-era practice of client states receiving superpower technology has returned with a vengeance, now serving the urgent needs of a modern conflict in Europe.

For the international community, the sinking of the Ursa Major is a warning. It reveals the shadowy corridors of wartime logistics and barter that operate beneath the surface of official diplomacy. The incident underscores how the war in Ukraine is reshaping global alliances and accelerating the spread of dangerous technology to volatile regions.

The Mediterranean seabed now holds not just a wrecked ship, but tangible evidence of a deepening and perilous partnership. As the world focuses on battlefield lines in Eastern Ukraine, this sunken cargo illustrates how the conflicts true frontlines may extend far beyond, into the realms of nuclear proliferation and clandestine sea lanes, challenging global security in ways we are only beginning to understand.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

Maritime-Executive.com

BBC.com

ZeroHedge.com
SBA freezes all Minnesota grants after uncovering half-billion dollar fraud

SBA freezes all grant funding to Minnesota after uncovering massive fraud.

An international scam potentially stole billions in taxpayer dollars.

Minnesota's governor is accused of enabling a culture of corruption.

The fraud includes $430 million in suspected fraudulent PPP loans.

Officials vow to hold complicit state leaders accountable.

The Small Business Administration has pulled the plug on all grant funding to Minnesota. The decision, announced by SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler on December 28, comes after investigators uncovered a staggering half a billion dollars in fraud within just the first few days of looking. This scandal, tied to an international network, reveals how taxpayer dollars have been systematically looted, with state officials either turning a blind eye or actively enabling the theft.

Administrator Loeffler stated that she was disgusted and sickened by the Minnesota governments role in covering up the out-of-control fraud. The scope of this international scam is still unknown, likely in the billions, Loeffler said in comments reposted on X. Pending further review, SBA is freezing all grant funding to the state in order to stop the rampant waste of taxpayer dollars and uncover the full depth of fraud.

A web of fraud and complicity

The specifics are jaw-dropping. The SBA identified 13,600 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in Minnesota, totaling $430 million, that are suspected of being fraudulent. Furthermore, individuals already indicted in a separate $1 billion Somali fraud scheme received at least $3 million in PPP loans. This isn't a case of a few bad apples; it points to an industrial-scale crime ring. Loeffler told commentator Benny Johnson that the SBA plans to investigate and hold to account state officials who built this criminal apparatus.

At the center of this storm is Democratic Governor Tim Walz, whose administration has facilitated this environment of fraud by refusing to enforce basic laws. When confronted, Walzs office offered a weak deflection, claiming it had no role in administering the federal PPP funds. This is a pathetic attempt to dodge accountability for a culture of corruption that flourished under his watch. His administrations socialist welfare model has proven to be a perfect engine for fraud, incentivizing theft on a massive scale.

The predictable Democrat playbook

As always, the Democrat response has been to ignore the crime and attack the whistleblowers. While independent journalist Nick Shirleys viral expose brought this scandal to light, the political establishment has tried to change the subject. Instead of addressing the billions in stolen taxpayer money, they resort to moaning about racism. This is because, so often, Democrat officials are complicit in the fraud themselves.

The historical context here is critical. This isn't just about misspent funds; it's about the fundamental failure of a system that prioritizes political narratives over the rule of law. The CARES Act, which created the PPP, was a necessary response to a pandemic, but it was also a giant honeypot for criminals. In Minnesota, a state that has championed expansive, poorly monitored social programs, the conditions were perfect for this theft to flourish.

The fallout is a direct consequence of failed leadership. With dozens of investigations underway, the conclusion is unavoidable, Loeffler wrote last week. Minnesota cannot be trusted to administer federal tax dollars. This should be a wake-up call for every American. When government grows too large and accountability vanishes, this is the inevitable result: a transfer of wealth from hardworking citizens to fraudsters and the politicians who enable them.

This scandal forces us to ask uncomfortable questions about where our money really goes. It reveals a system where loyalty to a political ideology trumps the duty to protect the public treasury. The freeze on funding is a necessary first step, but it cannot be the last. Every official who looked the other way while this fraud flourished must be held legally and politically accountable. American taxpayers are tired of being treated as an endless piggy bank for criminal schemes and political vanity projects.

Sources for this article include:

PJMedia.com

NYPost.com

TheHill.com
Hell to pay: Trump warns Hamas after setting disarmament deadline with Netanyahu

The U.S. and Israel jointly issued a two-month ultimatum for Hamas to fully disarm.

The demand emerged from a meeting between Trump and Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago.

Hamas rejects disarmament, calling its weapons a national right until statehood is achieved.

Trump warned of severe consequences, stating other countries would "wipe out Hamas" if it refuses.

The ultimatum sets the stage for a dramatic escalation if Hamas does not comply.

In a high-stakes move that could determine the future of Gaza, the United States and Israel have jointly issued a firm two-month ultimatum demanding the full disarmament of Hamas. This decisive deadline emerged directly from an overnight meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Trumps Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. The agreement represents a unified front, shifting from negotiation to enforcement, with Washington offering its full backing for Israeli military action should the Palestinian militant group refuse to comply.

The understanding, reported by Israeli media, establishes a fixed timeline rather than an opening for talks. Israeli and U.S. teams are already working in parallel to define the mechanics of what they term practical disarmament. A core focus is the dismantling of Hamass extensive underground tunnel network throughout Gaza, which Israeli officials consider fundamental to the groups military strength. From the perspective of U.S. and Israeli leadership, this process is inseparable from ending Hamass rule in Gaza forever.

A red line for Hamas

For Hamas, the demand is a non-starter. The group has consistently stated that surrendering its weapons would mean its effective death and the end of its influence. A spokesperson for Hamass armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, reiterated this position, stating, Our people are defending themselves and will not give up their weapons as long as the occupation remains. Hamas argues its weapons are a national right until a Palestinian state is achieved, viewing disarmament under ongoing occupation as surrender.

Israeli officials express deep skepticism that Hamas will relinquish its arsenal within the short window. Prime Minister Netanyahu, in recent media interviews, quantified the challenge, stating Hamas still possesses around 60,000 Kalashnikov rifles and hundreds of kilometers of tunnels. He vowed that disarmament would happen one way or another, declaring it could be achieved the easy way or through military force.

The American position

President Trump left no ambiguity about the potential consequences for non-compliance. Hamas will be given a very short period of time to disarm, Trump stated. And if they dont disarm, there will be hell to pay. He placed the onus squarely on Hamas, absolving Israel of blame if the process fails. You couldnt blame Israel, he said, adding that other countries supporting the peace deal would be prepared to act. Those same countries will go and wipe out Hamas. They dont even need Israel.

Trump offered unwavering support for Netanyahus government, dismissing concerns about Israels adherence to previous ceasefire plans. Im not concerned about anything that Israel is doing, Trump said. Theyve lived up to the plan. Israel has lived up to the plan 100%. This stance aligns with Netanyahus long-held vision of indefinite security control and a rejection of external pressure for concessions seen as undermining Israeli sovereignty.

A history of militarized control

For decades, Israel has marketed its security expertise, developed through the control of Palestinian territories, to the world. The current demand for Hamass disarmament reinforces a model where overwhelming force and surveillance are presented as the only solutions to complex political conflicts.

The two-month deadline sets the stage for a dramatic escalation. With Hamas viewing its weapons as its last leverage and Israel determined to see them destroyed, the path to a peaceful resolution appears vanishingly narrow. The coming weeks will test whether this pressure tactic forces a capitulation or ignites the next major phase of a devastating conflict.

The international community now watches a precarious countdown. Two months is all that stands between a tense ceasefire and what Trump promises will be hell to pay. This ultimatum is more than a diplomatic deadline; it is a gambit that bets the stability of an entire region on the belief that uncompromising force is the ultimate language of peace. History, however, often tells a different, more tragic story.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

YnetNews.com

TheGuardian.com

TheCradle.co
U.S. Marines test revolutionary long-range strike missile amid rising WW3 fears

The U.S. Marine Corps successfully tested the Red Wolf missile, which can hit targets 230+ miles away10x farther than existing helicopter-fired munitionsmarking a major leap in precision strike technology.

Designed for Pacific theater conflicts, the missile counters China's A2/AD (Anti-Access/Area Denial) strategy, disrupting enemy warship sensors to enable follow-up strikes by larger weapons like LRASM and JSM.

At $300,000 per unit, Red Wolf is far cheaper than cruise missiles and can be produced at scale (1,000/year). It also supports electronic warfare, decoy operations and communications relay, making it highly versatile.

The test follows President Donald Trump's warning that escalating conflicts (Ukraine-Russia, China-Taiwan) could trigger WW3, highlighting the urgency behind U.S. military advancements amid growing threats from China, Russia and Iran.

This was the first Marine Corps helicopter weapon operated via tablet interface, reducing cockpit workload. It aligns with the Pentagon's "launched effects" doctrinemodular, multi-role systems for long-range strikes and electronic dominance in future wars.

The U.S. Marine Corps has successfully tested a groundbreaking long-range strike missile capable of hitting targets more than 230 miles awayten times the range of existing helicopter-fired munitionsamid escalating global tensions and warnings of a potential third world war.

The Red Wolf missile, developed by L3Harris Technologies, was fired from an AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter during a live-fire test over the Atlantic Test Range. The weapon struck a sea-based target with pinpoint accuracy while simultaneously relaying targeting data to other platformsa capability previously reserved for much larger aircraft and naval systems.

A game-changer in modern warfare

Current helicopter-launched munitions, such as the AGM-114 Hellfire and the Joint Air-to-Ground MissileMedium Range (JAGM-MR), have effective ranges of just 21 miles and 10 miles, respectively. In contrast, Red Wolf's turbojet propulsion allows it to fly at high subsonic speeds for over 200 nautical miles (230 miles) at low altitudes, evading enemy air defenses.

Ed Zoiss, President of L3Harris' Space and Airborne Systems division, stated: "This test validated Red Wolf's advanced tracking and targeting capabilities, further demonstrating its ease of use and integration across platforms. We've now proven our launched-effects vehicles will help provide our warfighters the asymmetrical advantage they need to handle increasingly sophisticated threats without the need to enter into adversary weapon engagement zones."

Designed for the Pacific theater

The Red Wolf system is a critical component of the Department of War's strategy to counter China's expanding naval and anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities. In a potential Pacific conflict, the missile could disrupt enemy warship sensors, opening a window for follow-on strikes by larger weapons like the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) or Joint Strike Missile (JSM).

Beyond kinetic strikes, Red Wolf can be configured for electronic warfare, communications relay and decoy operationsmaking it a versatile tool in modern warfare.

Affordable mass production for future conflicts

With an estimated unit cost of $300,000far cheaper than multimillion-dollar cruise missilesL3Harris aims to produce up to 1,000 Red Wolf missiles annually. The system is expected to achieve initial operational capability by 2026, bolstering the Marine Corps' Long Range Attack Missile (LRAM) program.

Trump's WW3 warning looms over developments

The successful test comes just weeks after President Donald Trump warned that escalating conflicts, particularly the Russia-Ukraine war, could spiral into a global catastrophe.

"Things like this end up in a third world war," Trump said on Dec. 11. "Everybody keeps playing games like this, you'll end up in a third world war, and we don't want to see that happen."

His remarks underscore the precarious state of global geopolitics, with NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization], Russia, China and Iran all engaged in high-stakes military posturing. The Marine Corps' rapid advancements in long-range strike capabilities suggest preparations for a potential large-scale conflict, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.

BrightU.AI's Enoch defines a long-range strike capability as the ability of military forces to project power over extended distances, enabling them to engage and destroy targets that are far from their own territory. Long-range strike capabilities serve as a deterrent to potential adversaries, signaling a nation's ability and willingness to respond to threats at extended distances. They also facilitate the projection of military power, allowing nations to influence events and protect interests in remote regions.

First tablet-controlled helicopter weapon system

The test also marked a historic milestone as the first time a Marine Corps rotary-wing aircraft employed a weapon system controlled via a tablet interface. This innovation simplifies operations, reduces cockpit workload and enhances battlefield coordination.

A broader shift in military strategy

The Red Wolf missile is part of the Pentagon's push toward "launched effects"affordable, modular systems that can perform multiple roles, from precision strikes to electronic warfare. The Marine Corps' Force Design 2030 initiative aims to transition from counterinsurgency operations (as seen in Iraq and Afghanistan) to high-end warfare against near-peer adversaries like China.

As global tensions rise, the U.S. military's rapid deployment of next-generation weapons signals a new era of warfareone where long-range precision strikes and electronic dominance could dictate the outcome of future conflicts.

Watch the video below about U.S. Marines creating border "ghost towns" as migrants hide.

This video is from the TREASURE OF THE SUN channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

InterestingEngineering.com

TheAviationGeekClub.com

FlightGlobal.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
TOKYO, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Japan has issued a notice to urge Chinese citizens in the country to stay vigilant following a series of violent incidents reported in several parts of Japan.

In the notice on Saturday, the embassy said that public security conditions in some regions of Japan have recently deteriorated, citing violent incidents in prefectures including Fukuoka, Shizuoka and Aichi.

It noted that multiple Chinese nationals traveling in Japan have reported being verbally abused and assaulted without provocation, resulting in injuries.

The notice also referred to a vehicle-ramming incident that occurred on Dec. 31, 2025, in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward, in which two Chinese citizens were seriously injured and taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.

In light of the situation, the embassy again advised Chinese citizens to avoid traveling to Japan in the near term. Those currently in Japan were urged to closely monitor local security conditions, remain alert and strengthen personal safety precautions.

The embassy also called on Chinese nationals to promptly preserve evidence in the event of targeted attacks or discriminatory incidents, and to report such cases to local police and contact Chinese diplomatic missions in Japan for assistance. 
A citys heavy price for Europes green ambition

A massive rare earth element deposit has been discovered in Kiruna, Sweden, by state-owned miner LKAB.

The discovery is central to European ambitions for strategic mineral independence, particularly from China.

The mining activity necessitates the unprecedented relocation of the entire city of Kiruna due to ground subsidence.

The move presents profound economic, social and environmental challenges, including impacts on the indigenous Sami culture.

The project underscores the complex trade-offs between green industrial policy and local community sustainability.

In the frozen reaches of northern Sweden, a monumental discovery is forcing an entire city to literally pick up and move. On January 12, the state-owned Swedish mining firm LKAB announced it had found Europes largest known deposit of rare earth elements in Kiruna, a city perched 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle. This trove of minerals, essential for manufacturing electric vehicles, wind turbines and advanced electronics, promises to bolster European strategic independence. Yet, the very mining that uncovered this wealth is also causing the ground beneath Kiruna to sink, compelling a decades-long, multi-billion dollar relocation of its 18,000 residentsa stark embodiment of the tangible costs behind the continents green industrial push.

The engine of relocation

Kirunas existence has been inextricably linked to mining since its founding 125 years ago. The LKAB-operated mine beneath it is the worlds largest underground iron ore operation, supplying 80% of the European Unions iron ore. The mines continuous expansion, now further incentivized by the rare earth discovery, has led to ground subsidence that threatens to swallow the town. In response, a radical urban transformation was set in motion, with a new city center being constructed two miles to the east. The project, which began planning in 2004 and aims for completion by 2035, involves relocating thousands of residents and physically moving historic structures, including the iconic Kiruna Church, which was transported intact in a 2025 engineering feat.

Strategic minerals and sovereignty

The discovery of over one million metric tons of rare earth elements has catapulted Kiruna from an industrial mining town to a linchpin in Europe's geopolitical strategy. The European Union, under its Critical Raw Materials Act, has designated the deposit as strategically vital, aiming to source 40% of its annual consumption of such materials domestically by 2030. This policy is a direct response to decades of dependency, particularly on China, which currently dominates the global supply chain for these elements. For European policymakers, developing Kirunas resources is not merely an economic venture but a move toward securing the raw materials needed for the digital and green transitions, reducing vulnerability to foreign supply shocks.

Fractured ground and community tensions

The relocation is fraught with political and social complexity. Municipal leaders describe a "big fight" for greater financial support and land access from the national government and the EU, arguing that European strategic goals must be backed by concrete resources. For residents, the move is an emotional upheaval, severing multi-generational ties to homes and neighborhoods, even as most acknowledge the towns economic dependence on the mine. Compensation packages include market value plus a premium or a newly built home, but the process has highlighted the profound power imbalance between the state-owned corporate giant and the individual citizen, with the municipality admitting it received "no guarantees" that future mining wont necessitate further moves.

The indigenous stake

Beyond the urban footprint, the expansion of mining and the citys new footprint intensifies pressure on the indigenous Sami people and their ancient practice of reindeer herding. The fragmentation of land by infrastructure, mining operations, and the new town layout obstructs traditional herding routes. Sami representatives argue that the pursuit of fossil-free industry and mineral autonomy, while globally laudable, must not come at the cost of eroding their culture and rights. This conflict places Sweden at a crossroads between its ambitious industrial policy and its commitments to preserving indigenous livelihoods and biodiversity in the fragile Arctic ecosystem.

A chilling new reality

Adding a layer of practical difficulty, studies indicate the new citys grid-pattern design, situated in a natural cold-air basin, may create a microclimate up to 10 degrees Celsius colder than the old town center. With tall buildings and narrow streets blocking the low Arctic sun, the relocated residents could face longer, more severe wintersa poignant metaphor for the unforeseen and enduring consequences of this grand-scale project. It raises fundamental questions about urban planning and quality of life in service of broader industrial objectives.

Weighing prosperity against place

The story of Kiruna is a twenty-first-century parable of resource nationalism. It highlights the immense sacrifice a single community is asked to bear for continental security and the green transition. While the rare earth discovery offers Europe a path toward technological sovereignty and a lower-carbon economy, the physical moving of a city reveals the deep fissures between top-down strategic goals and local reality. The success of this endeavor will ultimately be measured not only in tons of minerals extracted but in whether a viable, sustainable community can be rebuilt on the other side of the mines shadow, and whether the benefits of strategic autonomy can be equitably shared with those who pay its most immediate price.

Sources for this article include:

CNBC.com

TheGuardian.com

Kirunalapland.se
Shadows of the Deep State: How global elites engineered Middle East chaos for control

The book exposes how transnational elites (the Deep State) deliberately engineer chaos in the Middle East through false flags, proxy wars and economic warfareciting examples like the Sykes-Picot Agreement, CIA coups and fabricated WMD claims in Iraq.

Israel is framed as a strategic asset of the Deep State, with groups like AIPAC and neoconservative think tanks pushing the U.S. into endless wars. Actions like the assassination of Qasem Soleimani escalate tensions to serve globalistnot nationalinterests.

The COVID-19 pandemic is dissected as a pre-planned operation ("plandemic") involving Big Pharma, intelligence agencies and compromised regulators (FDA/WHO). Suppression of early treatments (e.g., ivermectin) and mRNA vaccine mandates align with depopulation and surveillance agendas.

The author advocates decentralization (homesteading, crypto), independent media (e.g., Brighteon, Infowars), local defense networks and a spiritual/moral awakening to reject technocratic control.

The book is a wake-up call, urging readers to recognize hidden power structures and embrace self-reliance, truth and defiance against authoritarianism.

In "Shadows of the Deep State: Unmasking the Middle East Chessboard," the author delivers a blistering expose of the hidden forces manipulating global conflictsparticularly in the Middle Eastand the devastating consequences of centralized power structures that prioritize control over human freedom.

Drawing from declassified documents, whistleblower testimonies and historical patterns, the author constructs a compelling case that the chaos engulfing the region is not accidental but engineered by a transnational elitewhat he terms the Deep Stateto serve its own nefarious ends.

The Deep State playbook: Divide, destabilize, dominate

The author begins by dissecting the Deep State's modus operandi, tracing its roots back to colonial-era strategies of divide-and-rule. The 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement, which carved up the Middle East into artificial nation-states, serves as a prime example of how imperial powers deliberately stoked sectarian tensions to maintain dominance. This blueprint, the author argues, has been perfected by modern intelligence agencies, corporate oligarchs and globalist institutions like the United Nations and World Economic Forum.

The book meticulously documents how false flags, proxy wars and economic warfare are deployed to perpetuate instability. From the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) 1953 coup in Iran (Operation Ajax) to the arming of jihadist groups in Syria, the author demonstrates that these interventions are not failures but successesdesigned to keep nations weak, dependent and ripe for exploitation. The Iraq War, sold on fabricated weapons of mass destruction (WMD) claims, is presented as a textbook case of manufactured crisis, where the real objective was never democracy but the entrenchment of military-industrial profiteering and the suppression of regional sovereignty.

Israel's role: Puppet or puppet master?

One of the book's most explosive sections examines Israel's outsized influence on U.S. foreign policynot as an ally but as a strategic asset manipulated by the Deep State. The author highlights how lobbying groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and neoconservative think tanks (e.g., PNAC) have pushed America into endless wars under the guise of "security," while Israel's own military actionssuch as the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1982 Lebanon invasionoften align with broader destabilization agendas.

The assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in 2020 is framed as a reckless provocation, orchestrated by Deep State operatives like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo to escalate tensions with Iran. The author contends that such actions serve neither American nor Israeli interests in the long term but instead benefit the globalist elites who thrive on perpetual conflict.

The COVID-19 deception and the rise of medical tyranny

Expanding beyond geopolitics, "Shadows of the Deep State" delves into how crises like the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) are weaponized to advance authoritarian control. The author dissects the pandemic as a "plandemic"a pre-planned operation involving Big Pharma, intelligence agencies and captured regulatory bodies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and World Health Organization (WHO). The suppression of early treatments (e.g., ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine) and the aggressive push for mRNA vaccines are presented as components of a broader depopulation and surveillance agenda, echoing the Rockefeller Foundation's long-standing vision of a "post-human" society.

Solutions: Decentralization, self-reliance and truth

Despite its grim diagnosis, the book offers a roadmap for resistance. The author advocates for:

Decentralization  Breaking reliance on centralized food, energy and financial systems through homesteading, permaculture and cryptocurrency. Independent media  Bypassing corporate-controlled narratives by supporting platforms like Brighteon and Infowars. Community defense  Forming local mutual aid networks to withstand economic collapse and state overreach. Spiritual and moral awakening  Rejecting nihilism and reclaiming natural law principles that prioritize human dignity over technocratic control.

A wake-up call

"Shadows of the Deep State" is not for the faint of heart. Its unflinching critique of power structuresbacked by meticulous researchwill unsettle those accustomed to mainstream narratives. Yet, for readers seeking to understand the true forces shaping global events, the author's work is indispensable. It serves as both a warning and a call to action: the path to freedom begins with recognizing the shadows that manipulate our worldand stepping into the light of self-reliance, truth and defiance.

Grab a copy of "Shadows of the Deep State: Unmasking the Middle East Chessboard" via this link. Read, share and download thousands of books for free at Books.BrightLearn.AI. You can also create your own books for free at BrightLearn.AI.

Watch the video below as Jeffrey Prather and Mike Adams discuss the ceasefire theater, Israeli intel and the path to chaos.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

Books.BrightLearn.ai 1

Books.BrightLearn.ai 2

BrightLearn.ai

Brighteon.com
RFK Jr. ends mandatory vaccine reporting for Medicaid and CHIP providers

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed requirements for Medicaid and CHIP providers to report patients' immunization status.

CMS dropped pediatric, adolescent and prenatal vaccination tracking measures from the 2026 and 2027 Core Quality Measurement Sets.

Kennedy said the change protects informed consent, religious liberty and medical freedom, ending what he described as coercive reporting practices.

States may continue submitting immunization data voluntarily while CMS evaluates alternative approaches to vaccine-related metrics.

CMS plans to develop future measures centered on informed vaccine decision-making and religious exemptions, while also adding voluntary adult measures on hepatitis testing and diabetes-related oral health.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ended the requirement for health care providers to report patients' immunization status under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, mandatory vaccine reporting in the U.S., enforced through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program, requires healthcare providers to report all vaccine administrations to state immunization registries. The Affordable Care Act also mandates insurers to report vaccine administration data to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Additionally, the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program requires healthcare providers to report serious adverse events following immunization to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

However, in the new guidance issued by the CMS on Dec. 30, several pediatric and prenatal immunization status measures that states were previously required to report were removed.

The letter, which details updates to the 2026 and 2027 Child and Adult Core Health Care Quality Measurement Sets, eliminated measures, including Childhood Immunization Status, Immunizations for Adolescents and Prenatal Immunization Status for both patients under 21 and adults. These measures had been used to track vaccination rates among children, adolescents and pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.

In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, Kennedy said, "Government bureaucracies should never coerce doctors or families into accepting vaccines or penalize physicians for respecting patient choice. That practice ends now." He added that the HHS will "protect informed consent, respect religious liberty and uphold medical freedom."

CMS clarified that Kennedy has discretion under the Social Security Act to modify the Core Sets to "improve and strengthen" quality reporting and exercised that authority to remove immunization-related measures. Although the immunization measures are no longer part of the Core Sets, CMS said states may still voluntarily submit the data to help the agency maintain long-term datasets while it considers alternative approaches.

CMS shifts vaccine metrics toward informed consent

CMS said it will begin exploring new vaccine-related measures in 2026 and beyond that, focus on whether parents and families were informed about vaccine options, safety, side effects and alternative schedules. The agency also plans to examine how religious exemptions can be reflected in future data collection.

The updated guidance emphasizes that CMS does not tie Medicaid or CHIP payments to immunization quality measures at the federal level and strongly discourages states from linking vaccination data to payment incentives in state-run programs.

Beyond immunization changes, the letter also outlines broader updates to the Core Sets, including the addition of two voluntary Adult Core Set measures focused on hepatitis testing and diabetes-related oral health, as well as the retirement of measures related to tobacco cessation and asthma medication use.

States are required to submit mandatory Core Set data for 2027 by Dec. 31, 2027. CMS said the Quality Measure Reporting system will open in September 2027, with additional technical guidance to be released earlier that year. CMS said it issued the guidance early to give states more time to prepare, while noting that further changes could be made if public health concerns or measurement issues arise.

Former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield says RFK Jr. will be "the most consequential health secretary ever." Watch this video.

This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

MedicAid.gov

X.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Maduros dramatic capture: U.S. forces seize Venezuelan leader in controversial operation

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was forcibly captured by U.S. forces in Caracas and transported to New York to face drug trafficking charges, marking a dramatic escalation in U.S. intervention in Venezuela.

The operation has sparked fierce condemnation from Russia and legal experts, who argue it violates international law by forcibly removing a foreign leader without UN Security Council authorization or self-defense justification.

The Trump administration has yet to fully clarify its legal rationale, while Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume power. Meanwhile, Venezuelan exiles in Florida celebrated, anticipating regime change.

Maduro's prosecution hinges on disputes over head-of-state immunity, while Trump signaled heavy U.S. involvement in Venezuela's oil industryraising concerns about resource exploitation under the guise of "transition."

The UN warns the intervention sets a dangerous precedent, with Venezuela now under de facto U.S. control. The move risks further destabilization, rewriting the rules of international power dynamics in real time.

In a stunning military operation that has sparked international outcry, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured by U.S. forces in Caracas and transported to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

The dramatic extraction, carried out on Saturday, Jan. 3, marks an unprecedented escalation in U.S. intervention in Venezuela's political crisis. Maduro, flanked by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents, was flown to Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh before being transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklynthe same facility that once held Ghislaine Maxwell and rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs.

The operation has raised urgent legal and diplomatic questions about sovereignty, presidential power and the future of Venezuela's oil-rich economy.

A swift and secretive extraction

The operation unfolded with military precision. U.S. forces reportedly destroyed Venezuelan air defenses as helicopters descended on Caracas to extract Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Videos released by the White House showed Maduro handcuffed and escorted by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, murmuring "Goodnight" and "Happy New Year" as he was processed. Hours later, President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. would "run" Venezuela until a "safe, proper and judicious transition" could be arrangedthough he provided no details on how this would work.

The move drew immediate condemnation from Russia, Venezuela's closest ally, which called the operation "an act of armed aggression."

Meanwhile, Florida's Venezuelan exile community erupted in celebration, with hundreds gathering in Doralhome to one of the largest Venezuelan diasporaswaving flags and chanting "liberty." David Nunez, a political activist who fled Venezuela six years ago, told the Associated Press, "I haven't seen my daughters in six years I'm really happy because I know that I'm going to be able to return to Venezuela very soon."

Legal and diplomatic firestorm

The operation has ignited fierce debate over its legality. Under international law, forcibly removing a foreign leader violates the UN Charter's prohibition on the use of force against sovereign statesunless authorized by the Security Council or justified as self-defense. The U.S. has invoked a law enforcement rationale, citing Maduro's 2020 indictment on drug trafficking charges.

"The U.S. cannot just invade a country to arrest its leader," said Rebecca Ingber, a former Department of State lawyer and professor at Cardozo School of Law. "This sounds like an illegal occupation under international law." The Trump administration has yet to clarify its legal justification, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the mission as "support" for Department of Justice effortsechoing the 1989 Panama invasion that ousted Manuel Noriega.

According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, Noriega was a former Panamanian dictator who facilitated drug trafficking operations for U.S. intelligence before becoming a convicted narcotics trafficker.

Domestically, Trump's assertion that the U.S. will "run" Venezuela raises constitutional concerns. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) questioned whether the action was justified without congressional authorization. Meanwhile, Venezuela's Supreme Court has ordered Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the presidencythough Trump hinted he expects her compliance with U.S. demands.

What comes next?

Maduro's fate now hinges on legal battles over head-of-state immunity. While the U.S. has refused to recognize Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate leader since 2019, international law traditionally shields sitting presidents from foreign prosecution. A similar dispute arose after Noriega's capture, with U.S. courts ultimately rejecting his immunity claimbut Maduro's case is more complex, given his contested but constitutionally recognized presidency.

Economically, Trump has signaled a heavy U.S. role in Venezuela's oil industry, stating, "We're going to be very much involved in it." This aligns with longstanding U.S. interests in Venezuela's vast reservesbut risks accusations of resource exploitation. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has called an emergency meeting, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning that the intervention sets a "dangerous precedent."

Maduro's capture marks a bold gamble by the Trump administration. While celebrated by Venezuelan exiles, the operation has drawn condemnation from Russia, the UN and legal scholars. As Maduro faces trial in Brooklyn, the U.S. must navigate thorny questions of sovereignty, international law and the future of a nation now under de facto American control. Whether this intervention brings stability or further chaos remains to be seenbut one thing is clear: the rules of global power are being rewritten in real time.

Watch the video below where Trump announces Maduro's capture.

This video is from Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

Tribune.net.ph 1

TheGuardian.com

NYTimes.com

Tribune.net.ph 2

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
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The Airports Authority of India has warned passengers of potential flight delays and disruptions due to dense fog and severe cold wave conditions affecting northern regions. Reduced visibility has slowed airport operations, with the advisory urging travelers to check flight statuses and allow extra buffer time. The cold wave has intensified across several states including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, disrupting road and rail transport alongside air travel. Heavy snowfall in areas like Kedarnath and the Pir Panjal ranges has further compounded travel difficulties amid the widespread winter weather.

Dense fog and cold wave cause flight delays across North India. AAI advises passengers to check flight status and allow extra time. Latest updates.

New Delhi, January 4 Passengers travelling through northern India may face minor disruptions in air travel due to poor visibility caused by dense fog and severe cold wave conditions, the Airports Authority of India said on Sunday.

"Passengers travelling through Northern India may experience minor disruptions as weather-related visibility conditions affect airport operations. This could lead to flight delays or extended holding times at select airports. Travellers are requested to check flight status with their respective airlines before leaving for the airport. Please allow additional buffer time and follow instructions issued by airlines and airport authorities," AAI stated in a post on X.

The advisory comes amid a widespread cold wave gripping large parts of north, central and eastern India, significantly disrupting daily life and transport services. Dense fog has reduced visibility across several states, slowing road traffic and disrupting rail and air operations.

In Uttarakhand, the holy city of Haridwar experienced thick fog and biting cold, with cold winds prevailing throughout the morning. Vehicular movement on national highways slowed considerably due to reduced visibility. The cold wave has intensified across the state, with higher reaches witnessing snowfall.

Kedarnath Dham has also received heavy snowfall since Friday afternoon, blanketing the temple and surrounding areas. The harsh weather has slowed ongoing reconstruction work at the shrine due to extreme cold and snow accumulation.

Uttar Pradesh continued to reel under fog and cold wave conditions. Prayagraj was engulfed in dense fog, while visibility dropped sharply in Ayodhya. Varanasi continued to experience a persistent cold wave.

In Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior was blanketed by fog as cold conditions tightened their grip. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an Orange Warning for several districts, including Khurda and Cuttack, where visibility reportedly dropped to as low as 50 metres in many areas.

Winter conditions also intensified in Jammu and Kashmir. The Kashmir Valley continued to experience a cold wave, with temperatures dipping further, even as tourists were seen at Srinagar's Dal Lake. Heavy snowfall persisted in the Pir Panjal ranges of Poonch, worsening conditions in higher altitudes.

AAI has urged passengers to allow additional buffer time and to follow instructions from airlines and airport authorities as winter weather continues to disrupt travel across the region.

- ANI
AAP MP Raghav Chadha has hailed the Centre's draft Social Security Rules as a milestone for India's gig workers, calling it a victory for their collective voice. The rules promise formal recognition, a Universal Account Number, and eligibility for benefits after 90-120 days of platform work. A dedicated Social Security Fund, financed by platform contributions, will enable protections like accident insurance, health coverage, and old-age pensions. The draft rules, open for feedback, are slated for implementation from April 2026, aiming to protect thousands of delivery partners and gig workers.

AAP's Raghav Chadha welcomes new draft rules offering gig workers formal recognition, a social security fund, and benefits like insurance and pensions.

New Delhi, Jan 4 Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha has welcomed the Central government's draft Social Security Rules, notified on December 30, 2025, under the Code on Social Security, 2020, describing them as a "crucial first step" towards recognition, protection, and dignity for millions of gig workers and delivery partners.

In a social media post, Chadha congratulated the workers: "Congratulations to all Gig Workers and Delivery Partners. There is good news for you. The Central Government's draft Social Security Rules are the "first step towards recognition, protection, and respect for your work."

He wrote that while platforms like Zomato, Swiggy, and Blinkit "may not have listened to your voices, the people of this country and the government certainly did," calling it "a small victory, but a significant one."

In a detailed video message posted on X, Chadha emphasised collective effort, "This development didn't happen just because I, as a Member of Parliament, raised your concerns in Parliament -- it happened because all of you courageously raised your voices. The platforms and companies may not have listened, but the government and the people of this country certainly did. This deserves our appreciation."

Explaining the rules simply, he outlined key benefits: "First, whether you work part-time or full-time as a gig worker, you will now get formal recognition as a worker. Second, if you work with one platform for at least 90 days in a year, or across multiple platforms for 120 days cumulatively, you become eligible for social security benefits."

He added, "There will be mandatory registration on a government portal. This will give you a Universal Account Number and a digital ID card -- official government recognition of your work. No longer can any company hide behind secretive algorithms to erase your identity or block you unfairly."

Chadha continued, "Companies will now be legally required to register all their workers, share accurate data with the government, and update it every three months. No more excuses like 'We're just a platform' -- they cannot shirk their responsibilities."

Highlighting funding, he said a dedicated Social Security Fund is being created, with platforms contributing a percentage of income: "This isn't charity; it's your rightful retirement and security benefit."

A Social Security Board will study challenges and formulate schemes. These changes open doors to protections like accident insurance, health insurance, life coverage, maternity benefits, old-age pensions, and occupational safety, he said.

Describing gig workers as "the invisible wheels powering India's economy", Chadha affirmed, "I am pro-industry and pro-startups, but I will never be pro-exploitation. Security is not a privilege. Respect is not a favour. Social security is not charity."

The draft follows recent strikes and Chadha's parliamentary advocacy on workers' hardships. The Ministry seeks feedback for 30-45 days before full implementation from April 1, 2026, aiming to cover thousands of workers.

- IANS
MOSCOW, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Russian troops have taken control of the settlement of Podoly in the Kharkov region after active offensive operations, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

During the operations, Russian operational-tactical aviation, strike UAVs, and missile and artillery troops hit production and assembly workshops for long-range drones, their storage sites, ammunition depots, and temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries across 156 locations, according to the ministry.

The ministry added that Russian air defense systems downed one guided aerial bomb and 210 fixed-wing drones. 
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Goa Shipyard Limited ahead of commissioning the Indian Coast Guard vessel 'Samudra Pratap'. He emphasized that self-reliance in defence is a strategic necessity, praising Indian shipyards as critical pillars of national security. Singh highlighted the complex maritime threat environment, including narcotics trafficking and grey-zone challenges. He urged the adoption of advanced technologies like AI and cyber-secure platforms to maintain an edge and boost defence exports.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissions ICG vessel, calls Aatmanirbharta a strategic necessity and highlights shipyards' critical security role.

Chicalim, January 4 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday underlined the critical role played by the Indian shipyards in today's complex security environment, an official release said.

Rajnath Singh visited GSL (Goa Shipyard Limited) on Sunday, the eve of commissioning the Pollution Control Vessel (PCV) 'Samudra Pratap' into the ICG (Indian Coast Guard).

'Samudra Pratap' is the first of two PCVs built by the GSL and will be commissioned in Goa in the presence of the Defence Minister on January 05, 2026.

Singh asserted that non-traditional threats are constantly increasing alongside traditional challenges in the maritime domain.

"We face numerous challenges at sea, such as narcotics trafficking, illegal fishing, human trafficking, environmental crimes, and grey-zone challenges. In such a situation, the role of shipyards becomes even more critical. Located in a city which is the centre of the country's maritime history, naval heritage, and strategic foresight, the GSL is one of the pillars of India's defence ecosystem, bearing the responsibility for maritime security," he said.

"The ships built by the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) and other Indian yards for the Indian Navy & the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) are the floating symbols of India's sovereignty, representing our presence, capability, and resolve on the high seas," said Rajnath Singh.

Rajnath Singh described Aatmanirbharta in defence as not a luxury but a strategic necessity, lauding institutions such as the GSL for turning this necessity into reality.

The GSL is developing capabilities, absorbing technology, and strengthening indigenous design, resulting in the timely delivery of equipment to the Armed Forces and accelerating the pace toward national self-reliance, he said.

Underlining the critical role played by the Indian shipyards in today's complex security environment, Singh asserted that non-traditional threats are constantly increasing alongside traditional challenges in the maritime domain.

"We face numerous challenges at sea, such as narcotics trafficking, illegal fishing, human trafficking, environmental crimes, and grey-zone challenges. In such a situation, the role of shipyards becomes even more critical. Located in a city which is the center of the country's maritime history, naval heritage, and strategic foresight, the GSL is one of the pillars of India's defence ecosystem, bearing the responsibility for maritime security," he said.

Rajnath Singh emphasised that a ship is not merely an amalgamation of steel, machinery, and technology; it is a symbol of public trust and the expectations & needs of the Armed Forces. The GSL has fulfilled this trust and expectations for years, he said.

Singh stressed that India is emerging as a proactive maritime nation, and its role in ensuring stability, cooperation, and the rule-based order throughout the Indian Ocean Region is steadily increasing. He exhorted the institutions such as the GSL to further support India's credibility in the future.

"In view of the growing importance of technology in the defence sector, we will have to adapt to this changing landscape. We must focus on equipping the ships with state-of-the-art equipment, AI-enabled maintenance, and cyber-secure platforms to gain an edge over our adversaries. I am confident that the GSL will demonstrate leadership in this transformation as well," he added.

Appreciating the efforts of the GSL towards building a high-technology dredger for Belgium, Rajnath Singh endorsed enhanced focus on increasing defence exports with an aim to make India a self-reliant nation as well as a net defence exporter.

"To realise the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047, we must ensure continuous progress through hard work and commitment," he said, extending the Government's full support to the capability enhancement of institutions such as GSL.

Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Director General, ICG DG Paramesh Sivamani, Chairman & Managing Director, GSL Brajesh Kumar Upadhyay and personnel of the shipyard were present on the occasion.

- ANI
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested the US should apply its approach to captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to other dictators, in a clear reference to Russia's Vladimir Putin. This comes as Russia's Foreign Ministry demanded the release of Maduro, calling him Venezuela's legitimate leader. Maduro was captured in a US operation and faces drug trafficking charges in New York, with footage released of him in handcuffs. The event has intensified Venezuela's political crisis, with opposition celebration and US skepticism toward opposition figure Maria Corina Machado.

Following Maduro's capture, Zelenskyy hints US should act against Putin. Russia demands release, as Maduro faces US trial on drug charges.

Kyiv, January 4 Hours after US President Donald Trump announce the capture of Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy weighed in with an oblique reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin and said that if a dictator can be treated the way Nicolas Maduro was, US President Donald Trump knows what to do next.

In a news conference when the Ukranian President was asked about the Maduro capture he said, "What can I say here? If this can be done to dictators, like that, then the United States of America know what they should do next."

The obvious reference was Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry urged the United States to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, calling them the "legitimately elected leaders" and stressing that issues between the two countries should be resolved through dialogue.

In a post on X, the Russian MFA stated, "In view of the confirmed reports about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse being in the United States, we strongly urge the US leadership to reconsider their position and release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse."

"We highlight the need to create conditions for resolving any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela through dialogue," the post read.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement.

US President Donald Trump said that Maduro and his wife, who were captured in Caracas during a US military operation, have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York, and will face trial.

Meanwhile, the US has released a video of captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in handcuffs staging the 'Perp-walk' as he was led to custody.

Maduro will be transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in New York City, as per CNN.MDC is described as "disgusting" with "horrifying" conditions, and is known for its squalid conditions, chronic understaffing, inmate violence and power outages.

Hours after Maduro and his wife's abduction, Venezuela's opposition was seen celebrating.

Trump expressed a lack of confidence in Maria Corina Machado, Former Deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela and suggested he'd instead partner with Maduro loyalist Delcy Rodriguez.

Machado had called for the immediate installation of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as president. Most Western governments regard Gonzalez as the legitimate winner of the contested 2024 presidential election in Venezuela, as reported by CNN.

- ANI
Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi has embarked on a four-day visit to the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka to enhance defence and military ties. In the UAE, he will meet senior armed forces leadership, receive briefings, and visit key military establishments including the National Defence College. In Sri Lanka, he will engage with top civil and military officials, address defence colleges, and pay homage at the IPKF War Memorial. The visit underscores India's commitment to fostering strategic partnerships and interoperability in the Indian Ocean Region and West Asia.

Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi visits UAE & Sri Lanka to strengthen defence cooperation, military ties, and strategic partnerships.

New Delhi, January 4 The Chief of the Army Staff, General Upendra Dwivedi, has proceeded on a visit to the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka from 5 to 8 January, as part of India's continued engagement to strengthen defence cooperation and military-to-military ties with friendly foreign countries.

The visit will commence with the COAS's engagements in the United Arab Emirates from 5-6 January. On arrival, General Dwivedi will be accorded a Guard of Honour by the UAE Land Forces, the Ministry of Defence said.

During his stay, the COAS will meet with senior leadership of the UAE Armed Forces, including the Commander of the UAE Land Forces, and receive briefings on the structure, roles, and capabilities of the UAE Army. He will also visit key military establishments and interact with officers and troops, underscoring the growing defence partnership between India and the UAE. This includes a visit to the UAE National Defence College, wherein the COAS will address all officers. These engagements aim to enhance further bilateral defence cooperation, professional military exchanges, and strategic understanding between the two armed forces.

Following the visit to the UAE, the COAS will visit Sri Lanka from 7-8 January. On arrival, the COAS will be accorded a Guard of Honour by the Sri Lanka Army. He will engage with senior military and civil leadership, including the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, the Deputy Minister of Defence, and the Defence Secretary, and hold detailed discussions on matters of mutual interest, including training cooperation, capacity building, and regional security.

During the visit, the COAS will address officers at the Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) and interact with officers and trainees at the Army War College, Buttala, reflecting India's strong commitment to defence education and professional military exchanges with Sri Lanka.

General Dwivedi will also pay homage at the IPKF War Memorial, honouring the supreme sacrifice of Indian soldiers, the ministry further said.

The visit of the Chief of the Army Staff to the UAE and Sri Lanka reaffirms India's commitment to strengthening defence cooperation, fostering mutual trust and enhancing interoperability with friendly nations in the Indian Ocean Region and West Asia.

- ANI
Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi has departed for a two-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates, aimed at deepening defence cooperation between the two nations. The visit coincides with the General's recent New Year message, where he highlighted the Army's ongoing transformation focused on jointness, self-reliance, and innovation. He also reaffirmed the continued resolve of Operation Sindoor, India's response to cross-border terrorism launched in 2025. General Dwivedi emphasized the Army's dual role in border security and national disaster response, while pushing for indigenous technology to build a future-ready force.

Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi begins a 2-day official visit to the UAE to enhance bilateral defence ties and mutual cooperation.

New Delhi, January 4 The Indian Army on Sunday announced that Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi has departed on an official two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, scheduled from January 5 to January 6.

ADGPI Indian Army shared the update on X, stating, "General Upendra Dwivedi, COAS, proceeded on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates UAE today. The visit underscores a shared commitment to deepening mutual understanding, enhancing cooperation in areas of common interest and advancing bilateral Defence Cooperation between the two nations."

Meanwhile, on Thursday, General Dwivedi extended New Year greetings to the nation and hailed India's decision action under Operation Sindoor, saying the "operation continues even today." In an X post by the ADG PI-Indian Army, General Upendra Dwivedi noted that the army is undergoing a decade of transformation, stating "jointness, self-reliance, and innovation" as the pillars of India's defence strategy.

He called for indigenous technologies and new ideas to make the Army future-ready. The COAS said, "On the auspicious occasion of New Year 2026, on behalf of the Indian Army, I extend my heartfelt greetings to all fellow citizens. May this New Year bring happiness, good health, and prosperity to you and your families. The Indian Army is ensuring the security of the nation with utmost vigilance and determination."

"Last year, the enemy's nefarious designs were given a befitting reply through firm and decisive action under Operation Sindoor, and this operation continues even today. Along with vigilance on the borders, the Army has played a vital role in national progress through rapid response during disasters within the country and nation-building efforts," he said.

India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, targeting the terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, as a response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 individuals were killed.

Further, Army Chief General Dwivedi noted that networking and data-centricity are providing new impetus to the Army's transformation process.

- ANI
Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya inaugurated the Sanskaar Shaala program for children in Guwahati, emphasizing that values are the foundation of virtues and societal harmony. He highlighted the importance of integrating India's rich cultural heritage and family traditions into education from an early age. The Governor also referenced the teachings of ancient texts like the Vedas and Bhagavad Gita as timeless guides for truth and duty. The event was attended by dignitaries including leaders from the Akhil Bharatiya Marwari Sammelan.

Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya inaugurates Sanskaar Shaala, emphasizing value-based education and cultural heritage for children.

Guwahati, January 4 Sanskaar Shaala, a programme designed for children aged 4 to 14, was inaugurated on Sunday at the Lohia Lions Auditorium in Guwahati by Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya.

Addressing the people assembled on the occasion, the Governor said that goodwill and good wishes are integral to India's cultural ethos and value system.

Quoting "Sanskarah hi gunanam moolam", he stated that values are the foundation of all virtues and play a crucial role in shaping both individual personality and societal harmony.

While education imparts knowledge and skills, values guide human conduct and transform individuals into responsible and noble citizens, the Governor added.

Emphasising the importance of value-based education, Acharya said that children, as the future of the nation, must be imbued with Indian values, social responsibility and family traditions from an early age.

He appreciated Sanskaar Shaala's initiative as a commendable effort to preserve and promote India's rich cultural and moral heritage and extended his best wishes for its success.

Highlighting India's ancient civilisational wisdom, the Governor referred to the teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita, which continue to provide timeless guidance on truth, duty and righteousness.

He noted that in today's competitive, technology-driven world, progress must be accompanied by morality, compassion, and discipline to remain meaningful and balanced.

The Governor said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is marching rapidly while reaffirming its commitment to cultural values.

He added that initiatives like Sanskaar Shaala play a vital role in shaping value-orientated citizens.

Hailing the Marwari community for its emphasis on ethics, charity and social responsibility, Shri Acharya expressed hope that more organisations would undertake similar initiatives to build a morally sound and harmonious society.

National President of Akhil Bharatiya Marwari Sammelan, Pawan Goenka, organising secretary Basant Surana, President, North-East Regional Marwari Sammelan, Kailash Kabra, along with a host of other dignitaries, were present on the occasion.

On the other hand, the Assam Governor attended the Golden Jubilee celebration of Guwahati Blind High School at Basistha in Guwahati on Sunday.

It may be noted that the Guwahati Blind High School in Basistha, Guwahati, is a co-educational state board school for visually impaired students, offering primary to higher secondary education with a focus on inclusive learning, supported by initiatives like nursing student health programmes and community aid drives.

Addressing an audience on the occasion, the Governor congratulated the students, teachers, staff, and alumni of the school on the school's 50th anniversary of dedicated service in educating visually impaired children.

He said that a society's progress is reflected in the dignity, opportunities, and inclusion it provides for persons with disabilities.

The Governor highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision that persons with disabilities are an integral part of the nation's human resources and emphasised key initiatives, including the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and the Accessible India Campaign, to promote equal opportunities and a barrier-free environment.

He also spoke about the Assam Government's initiatives under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, including the provision of Braille books, assistive devices, scholarships and improved infrastructure for visually impaired students.

Acharya also said that Lok Bhavan, Assam, contributes to the welfare of persons with disabilities through initiatives such as the Vishwakarma Samman Scheme, which honours individuals with disabilities for their outstanding achievements.

Appreciating the inclusive and holistic approach of Guwahati Blind High School, the Governor said that the effective use of modern technology has enabled visually impaired students to participate in mainstream education actively.

He lauded the school's achievements in cultural and sporting fields, as well as in academics. He congratulated former students Himakhi Devi and Simu Das for bringing laurels to Assam and the country through their national and international accomplishments.

Encouraging students, the Governor said that education is the strongest means of achieving self-reliance and self-confidence. He remarked that true light resides not in the eyes but in the mind and intellect.

MLA Dispur constituency Atul Bora, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities Sushma Hazarika, along with a host of other dignitaries and students of the blind school, was present on the occasion.

- ANI
The Election Commission of India has received 1,90,463 applications for new voter inclusions in West Bengal since mid-December, vastly outnumbering deletion requests. Most deletion applications relate to deceased voters not reported earlier, which the ECI considers a normal trend. Concurrently, the ECI has demanded a detailed report from state police over security lapses during a special observer's field visit. This follows upgraded security measures for the state's Chief Electoral Officer, including CAPF deployment at his office.

ECI receives 1.9 lakh Form-6 applications for voter inclusion in Bengal, far exceeding deletions, while addressing security lapses for its observers.

Kolkata, Jan 4 The Election Commission of India has provided statistical details of applications for additions and deletions of names in the voters' list, submitted during the hearing sessions on claims and objections that began after the list was published on December 16, 2025.

Insiders from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said that from December 16, 2025, to January 3, 2026 (the latest trend available), the ECI has received 1,90,463 Form-6 applications, which pertain to the inclusion of new names in the voters' list.

On the other hand, the sources in the CEO's office said that during the same period, the ECI received a total of 38,214 Form-7 applications, which pertained to requests for deletion of names from the list.

The majority of the new Form-7 applications relate to deceased voters who passed away after the publication of the draft voters' list on December 16, 2025, or cases of deceased voters whose family members did not submit Form-7s during the enumeration phase.

Hence, the ECI does not find anything unnatural in the number of Form-6 applications far exceeding the number of Form-7 applications after the publication of the draft voters' list.

Meanwhile, the ECI, on Saturday, sought a detailed report from the Director General of West Bengal Police, Rajeev Kumar, over the incident of heckling of the ECI-appointed special observer. Murugan was at Magarahat in the South 24 Parganas district reviewing and supervising the hearing sessions there last week.

DGP Rajeev Kumar has been asked by the ECI to submit a detailed action taken report (ATR) in the matter by January 6. At the same time, a CEO's office insider said, the ECI has sought clarifications on why adequate security arrangements were not made for Murugan while he was on assigned duty of supervising the hearing session.

The ECI has also cautioned the state police that similar lapses in the future regarding the security arrangements for the voter list observers will not be taken lightly.

Last month, the Union Home Ministry decided to upgrade the security grade for the Central Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, Manoj Agarwal, following the ECI's recommendations in the matter.

The security grade for Agarwal was upgraded to 'Y-category', thus entitling him to security cover by Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel. At the same time, CAPF deployment will also be there at the CEO's office in central Kolkata. Recently, the ECI recommended to the Union Home Ministry for CAPF deployment at the CEO's office, besides upgrading the personal security of the CEO.

- IANS
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha expressed strong confidence that the BJP will win the upcoming elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council. He welcomed hundreds of new members into the party and accused opposition groups of exploiting tribal communities while highlighting development under Prime Minister Modi. Saha criticized protests over the Kokborok script and emphasized that development should be the priority. He also claimed Tripura has achieved significant economic growth and ranks second in the Northeast in GSDP.

Tripura CM Manik Saha asserts BJP will win TTAADC polls, vows to fulfill tribal aspirations and criticizes opposition parties for misleading communities.

Agartala, Jan 4 Amid political tussles between the ruling BJP and its junior ally, the Tipra Motha Party, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Sunday asserted that the BJP would emerge victorious in the upcoming elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council, which are likely to be held soon.

Addressing a joining programme organised by the BJP at Barmura in West Tripura district, the Chief Minister said that politics driven by deception or expediency cannot withstand the test of time.

CM Saha claimed that people in the tribal areas have realised that genuine, inclusive and sustainable development is possible only under the visionary leadership of the BJP.

"The growing faith of the Janajati (tribal) people in the BJP is resonating strongly across all regions," the Chief Minister said.

During the programme, Saha welcomed 495 voters from 181 families into the BJP.

Reiterating the government's commitment to tribal welfare, he said, "Our government is steadfast in ensuring the all-round development and empowerment of our tribal communities. We are devoted to fulfilling their legitimate aspirations with integrity, sincerity and accountability, ensuring their voices continue to shape the path of progress."

Describing the BJP as one of the strongest political parties in the country, Saha accused opposition parties of misleading and exploiting the Janajati people.

"They are trying to obstruct development works. The BJP will fulfil all the demands and aspirations of the Janajati people and resolve their problems, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured. In the coming days, we will do whatever is necessary for their development," he said.

The Chief Minister also noted the increasing participation of Janajati women in BJP programmes, stating that this reflects their growing confidence in the BJP government and Prime Minister Modi.

Highlighting development initiatives, Saha said that after Prime Minister Modi came to power, the HIRA (Highways, Internet, Railways and Airways) model was introduced, transforming infrastructure and connectivity across the region.

Criticising protests related to demands over the Kokborok language script, he said, "We have seen crocodile tears. Some people wake up and try to provoke others on various issues. If communities can create their own scripts, there is no reason others cannot. Development should remain the priority."

The Chief Minister further claimed that Tripura has made significant economic progress.

"Tripura now ranks second in the Northeast in terms of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and per capita income. The state has received several awards across various sectors," he said.

Referring to the vision of a "New Tripura", Saha said it would be realised only when both Jaati and Janajati communities place their faith in the BJP.

He expressed confidence that the BJP would form the government in the TTAADC this year and return to power in the state again in 2028.

Explaining the concept of 'Thansa', the Chief Minister said it signifies unity and aligns with the BJP's slogan of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayaas".

CM Saha also criticised the CPI (M), alleging that widespread violence prevailed during its regime.

"It was during their rule that extremist groups like the ATTF (All Tripura Tiger Force) and the NLFT (National Liberation Front of Tripura) emerged, leading to the loss of many lives from both Jaati (non-tribals) and Janajati (tribals) communities. The Northeast was in a pathetic condition. Today, due to Prime Minister Modi's leadership, peace is prevailing across the region," he said.

Since 2021, the Tipra Motha Party has been governing the politically significant 30-member TTAADC, which covers nearly two-thirds of Tripura's 10,491 sq km geographical area and is home to over 12.16 lakh people, about 84 per cent of whom belong to indigenous communities.

In the run-up to the TTAADC polls, all major political parties, including the ruling BJP, its allies TMP and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), and opposition CPI (M) and Congress, have intensified efforts to consolidate their support among tribals, who constitute nearly one-third of Tripura's total population of around 4.2 million.

- IANS
The sighting of large flocks of the Near Threatened Black-headed Ibis in Thoothukudi's salt pans has excited bird watchers and conservationists. Increased rainfall has enriched the food supply, attracting these and other migratory species like Spoonbills and Oriental Darters as part of their winter migration from Northwest Asia and Eastern Europe. Ornithologists note this migration, which lasts until spring, is driven by weather and food abundance, with flocking behavior providing safety from predators. The phenomenon is seen as a promising sign for the restoration of the local coastal and wetland ecosystem.

Near-threatened Black-headed Ibis spotted in large numbers in Tamil Nadu's salt pans, indicating wetland recovery and attracting bird watchers.

Thoothukudi, January 4 The presence of the rare bird species Black-headed Ibis in large numbers in the salt pans of Thoothukudi district has drawn significant attention from bird watchers and environmental enthusiasts.

The Black-headed Ibis, characterised by its elegant white plumage, black head, and long curved beak, is listed as a "Near Threatened" species in Asia by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is predominantly found in wetlands, riverbanks and salt pans, where it feeds on fish, insects and other small aquatic creatures.

In recent days, increased rainfall in the salt pans has increased the abundance of small fish, aquatic insects, and overall food resources. As a result, Black-headed Ibis, which prefer wetland habitats, have been observed arriving in groups and foraging in the area.

Large flocks of rare migratory bird species, including the Oriental Darter, Little Cormorant, Spoonbill, and Medium Egret, have also been spotted in the Thoothukudi district.

According to Ornithologists, these birds arrive in southern districts, such as Thoothukudi, as part of their winter migration from Northwest Asia and Eastern Europe.

These birds take flight from their breeding grounds around September-October and arrive in the Indian Continent to stay till March-April. Other than Tamil Nadu, these birds are known to flock to Gujarat, MP, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, and North India.

The reason for their migration ranges from weather preference to food abundance. They are omnivorous birds who look for places where insects are likely to reside, often in grasslands and farm fields.

Flocking together while migrating is also a way to confuse larger predators, while their murmurs make for a serene environment.

They flaunt a naturally stunning aesthetic with light pink and black feathers and a sharp beak, which they use to grab grasshoppers and other pests from plants.

The increased sighting of this rare bird species in the salt pans is considered a positive indicator of the gradual restoration of the natural balance of the coastal and wetland ecosystem of Thoothukudi. Moreover, it has generated hope that this region may become a safe habitat for other migratory birds in the future

Other migratory birds have made their way into India, particularly around Chilika Lake in Odisha, where more than 87 species were sighted, according to the Chilika Wildlife Division in late November.

- ANI
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed the United Kingdom was not involved in the US military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. Starmer emphasized his immediate priority is ensuring the safety and support of approximately 500 British nationals in Venezuela through the embassy in Caracas. He stated the situation is fast-moving and that he needs to establish all the facts and speak with allies, including US President Donald Trump, before commenting further. Meanwhile, President Trump hailed the operation as a historic display of American military might aimed at bringing the "outlaw dictator" to justice and announced plans for US companies to rebuild Venezuela's oil infrastructure.

UK PM Keir Starmer confirms Britain was not part of the US military operation in Venezuela that captured President Maduro, prioritizing the safety of 500 British nationals.

London, January 4 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday confirmed that the UK was not involved in the US military operation in Venezuela, which led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

In a post in X, the UK PM emphasised that his priority is ensuring the safety of approximately 500 British nationals in Venezuela, with the embassy in Caracas providing support.

He said, "It's obviously a fast-moving situation. We need to establish all the facts. I can confirm that the UK was not involved in this operation. As you expect, we're focusing on British nationals in Venezuela and working very closely with our embassy. I want to speak with the President and allies, but for now, I think we need to establish the facts. I think President Trump is doing a press conference later, so hopefully more information will come out then."

On asked a question in the video, whether the UK will condemn the action, he said, "Well, I want to establish the facts first. I would like to speak with President Trump. I want to speak to allies, as I say, I can be absolutely clear that we were not involved in that. And as you know, I always say and believe we should all uphold international law. But, I think at this stage, a fast-moving situation, let's establish the facts, and take it from there."

For the current British nationals in Venezuela, he said, "Yeah, there's about 500 there in Venezuela, and we are working with the embassy to make sure that they are well looked after, safeguarded and get appropriate advice. We are working in sync with the embassy on that. It is a small number, but it is important. It's about 500, and that's what we are doing here."

Noting that the United States' action in Venezuela was "one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history", President Donald Trump said on Saturday that no nation in the world could achieve what America achieved.

Regarding the attack, he said he would have to speak with President Trump and his allies first. But he claimed that the UK was not involved in the current ongoing situation and the country always upholds international law.

On an official X post, he said, "The situation in Venezuela is fast-moving. We will establish all the facts and speak to allies. Our embassy in Caracas is working to ensure all British nationals in Venezuela are supported."

The United States captured Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in the military operation, and they were flown out of the country.

Trump, who addressed a press conference from Palm Beach, Florida, said the United States will run the country "until we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition".

He said the US action was aimed at bringing "outlaw dictator Nicolas Maduro to justice".

"Late last night and early today, at my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela. Overwhelming American military power, air, land, and sea, was used to launch a spectacular assault. It was an assault like people have not seen since World War II. It was a force against a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas to bring outlaw dictator Nicolas Maduro to justice. This was one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history," he said.

Trump said US companies will fix the broken oil infrastructure in Venezuela.

"As everyone knows, the oil business in Venezuela has been a bust, a total bust for a long period of time. They were pumping almost nothing compared with what they could have been pumping and what could have taken place. We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country."

The US President said his administration wants "peace, justice and liberty for the great people of Venezuela".

"We're going to run the country until we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition. We want peace, justice, and liberty for the people of Venezuela. We can't take a chance if somebody else takes over Venezuela, who doesn't have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind. We're not going to let that happen. We are there now, but we will remain until a proper transition is complete. We're going to run it essentially until such time," he said.

Trump said Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York for their campaign of deadly narco-terrorism against the United States and its citizens.

"No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday... all Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military, working with U.S. law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night along with his wife, Cilia Flores, both of whom now face American justice. Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York for their campaign of deadly narco-terrorism against the United States and its citizens".

Earlier, the US President released the first photo of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro aboard the US Warship Iwo Jima.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, US President Trump said, "Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima."

The "capture of Maduro" comes amid an increase in tensions between the United States and Venezuela.

- ANI
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced new sanctions against the regime of deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro, condemning it as brutally oppressive and criminal. He stated Canada has never recognized Maduro's legitimacy since the disputed 2018 election and supports a peaceful, Venezuelan-led democratic transition. The announcement follows Maduro's capture by US authorities and his replacement by Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as Venezuela's acting president. Former US advisor John Bolton revealed a prior, unfocused plan to remove Maduro during the Trump administration.

Canadian PM Mark Carney announces new sanctions against Nicolas Maduro's regime, condemning human rights abuses and supporting a democratic transition in Venezuela.

Ottawa, January 4 Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday stated that one of the first actions taken by Canada's new government in March 2025 was to impose additional sanctions on the "brutally oppressive and criminal regime" of deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro, underlining Ottawa's firm opposition to what it views as serious violations of international norms in Venezuela.

Explaining the rationale behind the move, Carney said in a post on X that the sanctions were meant to unequivocally condemn Maduro's "grave breaches of international peace and security, gross and systematic human rights violations, and corruption."

He further stressed that Canada has not recognised what he described as the "illegitimate regime" of Maduro since the 2018 election, which he said was stolen.

Linking the sanctions to Canada's broader vision for Venezuela, Carney said, "The Canadian government therefore welcomes the opportunity for freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity for the Venezuelan people."

He added that Canada has long supported "a peaceful, negotiated, and Venezuelan-led transition process that respects the democratic will of the Venezuelan people."

Situating this stance within Ottawa's wider foreign policy approach, Carney said Canada remains committed to upholding "the rule of law, sovereignty, and human rights," and called on all parties to respect international law.

He emphasised that Canada stands by "the Venezuelan people's sovereign right to decide and build their own future in a peaceful and democratic society."

At the diplomatic level, the Canadian prime minister said Ottawa attaches "great importance to the resolution of crises through multilateral engagement" and remains in close contact with international partners as the situation evolves.

Alongside diplomatic efforts, Carney also addressed immediate humanitarian and consular priorities, saying Canada is "first and foremost ready to assist Canadians through our consular officials and our embassy in Bogota, Colombia."

He reaffirmed that the country "will continue to support Venezuelan refugees."

These comments come amid rapidly unfolding developments involving Maduro.

Deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro was seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents a Happy New Year and Good Night during his perp walk, footage of which was later released by US authorities showing him in handcuffs as he was led into custody.

Following his removal, Venezuela's Supreme Court moved quickly to address the leadership vacuum, ordering Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of acting president, CNN reported.

The order, announced late Saturday night local time, concluded that Maduro was in a "material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions."

According to the ruling read by Justice Tania D'Amelio during a session broadcast on state television channel VTV, Rodriguez will "assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties, and faculties inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation," CNN reported.

Venezuela's constitution provides that when there is a temporary or absolute absence of the president, the vice president must replace them.

Providing additional background, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton told CNN that a plan to remove Maduro had been presented to US President Donald Trump during his first term but failed to advance because officials were unable to keep the president "focused" on the issue.

Bolton said Trump was "very interested in the Venezuelan oil" at the time, but despite efforts by his team, they "couldn't keep him focused on it."

He also said the Venezuelan opposition then believed that sustained economic pressure would be sufficient to split Maduro's regime.

According to CNN, the United States later launched what Trump described as a "large scale strike against Venezuela" and captured Maduro to face charges, carrying out the regime change effort without congressional approval.

- ANI
GENEVA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Swiss police in the canton of Valais said on Sunday that the identities of 16 additional victims of a deadly bar fire have been confirmed, and their bodies have been released to their families.

With the latest confirmations, authorities have confirmed the identities of 24 of the 40 people who died in the fire, police said.

Among the 16 newly identified victims are four Swiss women and six Swiss men, two Italians, one individual holding dual nationality of Italy and the United Arab Emirates, one Romanian, one French national and one Turkish national. The youngest victim identified was 14 years old.

Police confirmed the identities of eight Swiss victims on Saturday.

The fire broke out at "Le Constellation" bar in the early hours of Jan. 1 in Crans-Montana, a resort town in southwestern Switzerland, killing 40 people and injuring 119 others. 
China has strongly condemned the United States for the reported capture and removal of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, labeling it a serious violation of international law and the UN Charter. Beijing demanded Washington ensure the safety and immediate release of Maduro and his wife, while urging an end to efforts to overthrow Venezuela's government. The Chinese statement followed US President Trump's announcement of a "large scale strike" and footage showing Maduro in custody. The incident has prompted Venezuela's Supreme Court to appoint the Vice President as acting president and drawn international criticism for undermining sovereignty and regional stability.

China condemns the US capture of Venezuela's Maduro as a violation of international law, demands his release, and warns against regime change.

Beijing, January 4 China on Sunday expressed serious concern over the United States' forcible control of deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife and their transfer out of the country, calling the move a clear violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations.

Responding to reports that US forces seized deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife on January 3 and removed them from Venezuela, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the action contravened the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the Global Times reported.

China urged Washington to ensure the personal safety of deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, immediately release them, halt efforts to topple Venezuela's government, and resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiation, the spokesperson said.

The statement followed an announcement by US President Donald Trump, who said on Saturday that the United States had carried out a "large scale strike against Venezuela" and claimed that deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and taken out of the country.

Trump also posted a photograph on social media showing Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after his capture, according to the Global Times.

Video footage later released by US authorities showed deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro in handcuffs during a staged perp walk.

During the footage, he was seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents a Happy New Year and Good Night as he was led into custody.

The US military action against the South American nation has drawn strong international reaction.

Several countries have issued condemnations of Washington's attack on Venezuela.

Earlier on Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry voiced deep shock and strong condemnation over what it described as the United States' blatant use of force against a sovereign state and its action against deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro, the Global Times reported.

The spokesperson said such hegemonic actions by the US seriously violate international law, infringe on Venezuela's sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region.

China firmly opposes these actions and called on the United States to abide by international law and the principles of the UN Charter, and to stop violating the sovereignty and security of other countries, the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, developments in Caracas followed swiftly after Maduro's removal.

Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of acting president, CNN reported.

The order, announced late Saturday night local time, concluded that Maduro is in a "material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions."

According to the ruling read by Justice Tania D'Amelio during a session broadcast on state television channel VTV, Rodriguez will "assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties, and faculties inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation," as reported by CNN.

Venezuela's constitution states that when there is a temporary or absolute absence of the president, the person holding the vice presidency must replace them.

Additional background on the situation emerged from former US National Security Advisor John Bolton, who told CNN that a plan to remove Maduro had been presented to Trump during his first term but failed to progress because administration officials were unable to keep the president "focused" on the issue.

Bolton said Trump was already "very interested in the Venezuelan oil" during his first term.

He added that while his team managed to get Trump interested in the idea of removing Maduro, they "couldn't keep him focused on it."

He also said the opposition in Venezuela at that time believed economic pressure alone would be enough to split Maduro's regime.

According to CNN, the United States later launched what Trump described as a "large scale strike against Venezuela" and captured Maduro to face charges, carrying out the regime change effort without congressional approval.

- ANI
The Indian National Congress has expressed grave concern over US military actions in Venezuela, labeling the capture of President Nicolas Maduro a violation of international law. The condemnation coincided with a protest by Left parties at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, which decried the move as imperialist aggression aimed at capturing oil resources. The US operation, announced by President Donald Trump, resulted in Maduro's capture and his subsequent travel to New York to face criminal charges. India's Ministry of External Affairs has termed the developments a deep concern, advocating for peaceful dialogue while its embassy assists the Indian community in Caracas.

Congress expresses grave concern over US action capturing Venezuela's Maduro. India calls for peaceful dialogue. CPI(M) protests at Jantar Mantar.

New Delhi, Jan 4 The Congress on Sunday expressed "grave concern" over the US action in Venezuela and the "capturing" of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, calling the entire operation a violation of international law.

Jairam Ramesh, General Secretary in-charge Communications, Congress, in a post on X, said, "The INC expresses very grave concern on US actions relating to Venezuela in the past 24 hours. Settled principles of international law cannot be violated unilaterally."

The Congress reaction to the international development coincided with a protest by Left parties on Sunday at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar.

The CPI(M) leadership condemned the US for what they described as an "imperialist military aggression" against Venezuela, calling for worldwide condemnation and urging the Centre to take a clear and firm stand against the action.

The protestors alleged that the US attacked Venezuela to "capture" the oil sources in the South American nation.

This came after US President Donald Trump announced that American forces carried out a large-scale attack on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and "captured" President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. He has also said that the US will run the South American nation during the transition period.

Meanwhile, Maduro arrived in New York City late Saturday (local time) to face US criminal charges after federal prosecutors unsealed a sweeping indictment accusing him of leading a long-running narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking conspiracy.

India on Sunday termed the recent developments in Venezuela "a matter of concern" and urged all concerned parties to address issues peacefully through dialogue, ensuring peace and stability of the region.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that the Embassy of India in Caracas is in contact with members of the Indian community and is providing all possible assistance.

"Recent developments in Venezuela are a matter of deep concern. We are closely monitoring the evolving situation. India reaffirms its support to the well-being and safety of the people of Venezuela. We call upon all concerned to address issues peacefully through dialogue, ensuring peace and stability of the region," it further read.

"The Embassy of India in Caracas is in contact with members of the Indian community and will continue to provide all possible assistance," it added.

MEA's statement comes after US Delta forces attacked an army base in Venezuela on Saturday, capping months of military buildup, and captured President Nicolas Maduro along with his wife, Cilia Flores.

- IANS
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed officials at Goa Shipyard Limited, highlighting its crucial contribution to India's maritime security and defence ecosystem. He commended GSL for earning national and international recognition, with its ships serving as symbols of sovereignty. Singh emphasized the need to counter non-traditional maritime threats and praised GSL's transformation and timely delivery of equipment. The minister also noted GSL's export project for Belgium and the shipyard's strong financial performance, pledging continued support from the Ministry of Defence.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised Goa Shipyard Limited's role in maritime security and Aatmanirbhar Bharat ahead of commissioning ICG ship Samudra Pratap.

Dabolim, January 4 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday hailed the contribution of Goa Shipyard Limited.

He said that GSL functions as an important part of the defence ecosystem, contributing significantly to the country's maritime security. The Defence Minister was addressing the officials and workers of Goa Shipyard Limited.

He is scheduled to commission the Indian Coast Guard ship Samudra Pratap, the first of two pollution control vessels on Monday.

Addressing the Cultural Evening at GSL, Chicalim Goa, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that, "Goa Shipyard Limited has earned recognition not only within the country but also internationally. The ships being built here for the Navy and the Coast Guard are symbols of our sovereignty."

Flagging the maritime threats, the Defence Minister said that, "Today, non-traditional threats at sea are also increasing. In such changing times, GSL has transformed itself. As a result of your efforts, we have not only delivered equipment to the forces on time, but have also taken strong steps towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat."

"India today is becoming a proactive maritime nation. India's role in ensuring stability and cooperation across the entire Indian Ocean Region is steadily growing. In this context, institutions like GSL will have to support India's credibility in the future. We must move forward with state-of-the-art technology and AI-enabled equipment." Rajnath Singh added.

Concluding his remarks Defence Minister said, "I am pleased to know that GSL is building a high-technology dredger for Belgium. If we are to make India a developed nation by 2047, we will need to work like this and often even harder. The Ministry of Defence is ready to provide all possible support to you."

On the occasion, GSL CMD Brijesh Kumar Upadhyay shared upcoming project details.

He said, "In the last 15 months, GSL has launched ten ships, and in the past six months, three Fast Patrol Vessels and Pollution Control Vessel have been delivered. By June 2026, five Fast Patrol Vessels and one Pollution Control Vessel will be delivered."

"GSL's financial performance has also been consistently impressive. In the last financial year, GSL achieved the production value of Rs 2,801 crore and earned gross revenue of Rs 3,190 crore," said the Chairman and Managing Director of Goa Shipyard Limited.

- ANI
The Delhi BJP organized an "Atal Smriti Sammelan" in Rohini to celebrate the birth centenary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The event was addressed by Delhi Legislative Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta and Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva, who shared personal experiences and insights into Vajpayee's life and legacy. They highlighted his long political struggle, oratory skills, and historic decisions such as the Pokhran nuclear tests and the Golden Quadrilateral project. The conference saw participation from various local BJP leaders and hundreds of residents.

Delhi BJP President and Assembly Speaker address conference celebrating former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birth centenary, highlighting his life and contributions.

New Delhi, Jan 4 As part of the birth centenary celebrations of late former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee, an "Atal Smriti Sammelan" was organised on Sunday by the Delhi BJP in the Rohini Assembly constituency.

The conference was addressed by the local MLA and Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Vijender Gupta, and Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva.

Sharing his experiences of working closely with Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Gupta said that his struggle of 45 years in serving the nation before becoming Prime Minister is not only an inspiration for BJP workers but for every Indian, and will always remain so.

On the occasion, Sachdeva said that Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a great leader who faced many struggles in his life and served as the Prime Minister of India three times. He was born on December 25, 1924, in Gwalior. Vajpayee began his career as a journalist before entering politics.

Sachdeva said the defining qualities of Vajpayee's personality were his oratory skills, intellect and restraint. He described Vajpayee as an outstanding speaker whose speeches inspired people across generations. He also noted that Vajpayee was a skilled statesman who played a significant role in strengthening India's foreign policy.

As Prime Minister, Vajpayee took several historic decisions, including the Pokhran nuclear tests, the Lahore Summit and the Golden Quadrilateral project. He also initiated several reforms aimed at promoting India's economic growth.

North West District BJP President Vinod Sehrawat, District In-charge Mehak Singh, Co In-charge Poonam Chauhan, former MLA Jai Bhagwan Aggarwal, councillor Pravesh Wahi, Ritu Goyal and Simta Kaushik, along with local mandal presidents, hundreds of local residents and BJP workers, participated in the conference.

Sachdeva said that for his immense contributions to the nation, Vajpayee was honoured with the Bharat Ratna and described him as a leader who dedicated his entire life to the service of the country.

- IANS
The Delhi Government, led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, has declared human rabies a notifiable disease under the Epidemic Diseases Act. This mandates all healthcare providers to report cases immediately to health authorities to enable rapid public health action. The move is a key step in the State Action Plan for Rabies Elimination (SAPRE) and aims for zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies. The government has also expanded access to Anti-Rabies Vaccines and Serum across the capital's districts.

Delhi mandates immediate reporting of human rabies cases to strengthen surveillance and achieve zero deaths from the preventable disease.

New Delhi, January 4 The Delhi Government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, has decided to declare Human Rabies a "Notifiable Disease" under the Epidemic Diseases Act as part of a major public health initiative.

The objective of this notification, according to an official release, is to strengthen surveillance, ensure timely case reporting, and enable rapid public health action to prevent the spread of rabies.

Upon the issuance, all government and private healthcare institutions--including medical colleges and private practitioners--will be mandated to immediately report suspected, probable, and confirmed cases of human rabies to the relevant health authorities.

While rabies is almost always fatal once clinical symptoms appear, it is entirely preventable with timely and correct medical intervention. Early reporting plays a critical role in saving lives and preventing further transmission.

According to the release, to ensure easy access to treatment across Delhi, the government has established the following:

Anti-Rabies Vaccine (ARV): Currently available at 59 health institutions across all 11 districts of Delhi.

Anti-Rabies Serum/Rabies Immunoglobulin (RIG): Available at 33 designated health facilities and hospitals in the capital.

Additionally, the Delhi Government, in collaboration with local bodies, the Animal Husbandry Department, and other stakeholders, is in the final stages of drafting the State Action Plan for Rabies Elimination (SAPRE). Declaring rabies a notifiable disease is a pivotal step toward achieving zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies, the release noted.

The government is also strengthening rabies vaccination facilities for both humans and animals (including dogs). This mandatory notification will empower authorities to track disease trends effectively, improve coordination between human and animal health systems ("One Health" approach) and implement targeted preventive measures in high-risk areas.

Health Minister Dr. Pankaj Kumar Singh applauded it as "a crucial step towards the government's goal of achieving zero human rabies deaths in the capital."

"Rabies is a preventable disease, and any death caused by it is unacceptable to us. By declaring human rabies a notifiable disease, we will strengthen surveillance, improve early detection, and ensure timely treatment. This is a crucial step toward our government's goal of achieving zero human rabies deaths in the capital," the Health Minister said.

The Minister further added that the notification will take effect immediately upon issuance and remain in force until further orders. Detailed guidelines for reporting and coordination will soon be shared with all relevant departments and health institutions, the release noted.

- ANI
Veteran actor Akhilendra Mishra, speaking at the Delhi Shabdotsav, criticized the current state of Hindi cinema. He stated that many writers in the industry are disconnected from literature and lack a proper grasp of the Hindi language. Mishra also lamented the decline of melodic, memorable songs, noting a trend of remixing old classics instead. He emphasized that actors have social responsibilities and should express their opinions on societal issues.

Veteran actor Akhilendra Mishra says Hindi cinema is disconnected from literature, lacks good songs, and stars must speak on social issues.

New Delhi, Jan 5 Actor Akhilendra Mishra, who has played many important roles in films and television, needs no introduction. His role as the blacksmith in 'Lagaana' still lives on in people's hearts. In an exclusive interview withat the Delhi Shabdotsav, he explained the true definition of an actor. He said that an actor is a mirror of society.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, Akhilendra Mishra said that being an actor isn't just about taking selfies or signing autographs, but rather, they have social responsibilities. He added that today's cinema is disconnected from literature, and if they don't read it, what good will they create, what good things will they say. There are many writers in Hindi cinema who don't know Hindi words. They don't know synonyms, yet they are still writing in English and working on a large scale in Hindi cinema.

Speaking about songs and music in Hindi cinema, Akhilendra Mishra said that good songs have ceased to exist today, and the situation is so dire that old songs are being remixed and sung. Songs from 40 and 50 years ago had melody, rhythm, and beat, but when you listen to today's songs, you can't even make out the lyrics. This is why songs are so hard to remember, while the lyrics of old songs are still on people's lips.

4 Speaking about society and cinema, the actor said that in the past, films were made to reflect what was happening in society, but today, what is happening in society is what cinema is depicting. Society will have to decide which films should be seen or not, and which films should be shown to children, because cinema is having the greatest impact on today's youth. Now, society needs to raise awareness.

Speaking about the responsibility of Bollywood stars regarding Shah Rukh Khan and the Bangladesh controversy, Akhilesh Mishra said, "If you open your mouth to eat, then open it to speak". He added that actors should express their opinions on every issue.

- IANS
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has welcomed the government's draft Social Security Rules for gig workers as a crucial step toward their recognition and protection. The rules, under the Code on Social Security, 2020, provide for benefits like life insurance, health coverage, and old-age protection. Chadha credited the move to sustained advocacy by workers and parliamentarians, highlighting that platforms had previously ignored their demands. The framework includes creating a Social Security Fund and building on existing initiatives like the e-Shram portal for worker registration.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha praises new draft rules offering gig workers social security benefits, recognition, and dignity under India's labour codes.

New Delhi, January 4 Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha lauded the central government for releasing the draft Social Security Rules for gig workers under the new labour codes, noting that this was the first step towards "recognition, protection and dignity" of their hard work.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment earlier this week reportedly released draft rules called the Code on Social Security (Central) Rules, 2025, elaborating norms for gig workers to be eligible for various social security benefits and safeguards.

"Congratulations to all Gig Workers and Delivery Partners. There is good news for you. Central Government's draft Social Security Rules are the first step towards recognition, protection and dignity for your work. Even though the Platforms (Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, etc.) chose not to listen to your voices, the people of this country and the government did. This is a small win, but an important win," he posted on X

Raghav Chadha has been speaking for the rights of the gig workers for long, even on many occasions on the floor of the Parliament.

"These draft rules were not framed just because I raised the issue in Parliament, it has happened because you all also raised your voices. The companies and the platforms did not listen to you, but the government did, which should be welcomed," he said in the video posted on X.

Under the new rules, gig workers are legally recognized and will be given unique identity, Chadha said.

In the recent Parliament session, the AAP Rajya Sabha member had spoken about the "pain and misery" of India's gig workers who work under tremendous pressure and at times harsh weather conditions.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha had demanded regulations on quick commerce and other app-based delivery and service businesses, especially emphasising the need for the benefits of gig workers.

In his Parliament intervention, the RS MP called for dignity, protection, and fair pay for gig workers.

For the first time, the definition of 'gig workers' and 'platform workers' and provisions related to the same have been provided in the Code on Social Security, 2020 which has come into force on November 21, 2025.

The Code provides for framing of suitable social security measures for gig workers and platform workers on matters relating to life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, etc. The Code provides for the establishment of a Social Security Fund to finance welfare schemes. The Code also provides for the establishment of a National Social Security Board for the welfare of gig workers and platform workers.

Also, the Ministry of Labour and Employment had launched the e-Shram portal on 26.08.2021 for the creation of a Comprehensive National Database of Unorganised Workers, including platform workers, migrant workers, etc.

The e-Shram portal is meant to register and support the unorganised workers by providing them a Universal Account Number (UAN) on a self-declaration basis. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has also launched the e-Shram- 'One-Stop-Solution' on 21.10.2024 that entails integration of different social security/welfare schemes at single portal i.e., e-Shram.

- ANI
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inspected a Yamuna clean-up drive, declaring it has transformed from a government program into a people's movement. She praised the inspiring participation of citizens, youth, and the Yamuna Task Force, highlighting their voluntary work even on a Sunday. Gupta emphasized that the river is a living symbol of the nation's faith and culture, making its cleanliness a collective moral duty. The Delhi government is conducting the clean-up in a phased, scientific manner while pledging support for public-led environmental initiatives.

Delhi CM Rekha Gupta says Yamuna clean-up is now a people's movement, praising citizen and youth volunteers for their inspiring participation.

New Delhi, Jan 4 Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday inspected the Yamuna clean-up drive organised at the Chhath Ghat near ITO and praised the growing public participation in it.

The Chief Minister said that the cleanliness of the Yamuna is no longer merely a government programme, but has taken the form of a people's movement, said an official statement.

She added that the Yamuna is the eternal lifeline of our faith, culture and civilisation.

Speaking at a programme organised by the Culture Youth Foundation, the Chief Minister appreciated the volunteers of the Foundation and described the active participation of citizens, youth and personnel of the Yamuna Task Force (137 CETF Battalion, Territorial Army) as inspiring.

She noted that the voluntary participation of a large number of people in the Yamuna cleanliness campaign, even on a Sunday, clearly reflects growing public awareness and commitment towards the cause.

She emphasised that the participation of youth is the greatest strength behind any meaningful social and environmental transformation.

The Chief Minister said that the Yamuna is not just a river, but a living symbol of the nation's faith, culture and civilisation.

"Keeping Yamuna clean, pure and free-flowing is not only the responsibility of the government, but a collective moral responsibility of all of us towards future generations," she said.

Chief Minister Gupta informed that the Delhi government is carrying out the Yamuna clean-up campaign at a war footing, in a phased, scientific and well-planned manner.

Continuous efforts are being made for the rejuvenation of the Yamuna by strengthening the disposal of silt and other materials, waste management, sewage treatment, biological treatment and monitoring systems, she said.

The Chief Minister reiterated that the Delhi Government will extend all possible support to public participation-based initiatives for environmental protection.

She said that sustainable and positive change is possible only when society and government work together.

Appealing to citizens to maintain sustained awareness, discipline and participation for the conservation and cleanliness of the Yamuna, she said that a clean Yamuna will emerge as the symbol of a clean, healthy and empowered Delhi.

- IANS
US Vice-President JD Vance defended a military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, linking the action to Venezuela's role in cocaine trafficking and its expropriation of American oil assets. Vance argued that cocaine profits are central to Latin American cartels and that Venezuela had used stolen oil property to fund "narcoterrorist activities." Former President Donald Trump hailed the operation as a historic display of American military might and competence. Trump stated the US would manage Venezuela during a transition to bring "peace, justice and liberty" to its people.

US defends military action in Venezuela, capturing President Maduro over drug trafficking and expropriated oil assets. Trump hails operation.

Washington DC, January 4 US Vice-President JD Vance on Sunday defended Washington's military action related to Venezuela, during which they captured the country's president and deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, arguing that the South American nation has played a significant role in drug trafficking and has long used expropriated oil assets to fund what he described as "narcoterrorist activities".

Responding to criticism that Venezuela has little connection to the global drug trade, Vance, in a post on X, said that such claims were misleading, stressing that cocaine trafficking remains central to the finances of Latin American drug cartels.

"You see a lot of claims that Venezuela has nothing to do with drugs because most of the fentanyl comes from elsewhere. First off, fentanyl isn't the only drug in the world, and there is still fentanyl coming from Venezuela, or at least there was," his post read.

"Second, cocaine, which is the main drug trafficked out of Venezuela, is a profit center for all of the Latin America cartels. If you cut out the money from cocaine (or even reduce it), you substantially weaken the cartels overall. Also, cocaine is bad too!," it added.

Addressing concerns over fentanyl flows from Mexico, the Vice-President said the issue remained a key focus of US policy.

"A lot of fentanyl is coming out of Mexico. That continues to be a focus of our policy in Mexico and is a reason why President Trump shut the border on day one," he said.

Vance also responded to criticism over oil-related motives for the US action against Venezuela, recalling that Venezuela had expropriated American oil assets nearly two decades ago.

"About 20 years ago, Venezuela expropriated American oil property and until recently used that stolen property to get rich and fund their narcoterrorist activities," he said.

While acknowledging public anxiety over the use of military force, Vance defended a firm response. "Are we just supposed to allow a communist to steal our stuff in our hemisphere and do nothing? Great powers don't act like that," he said, adding that under President Donald Trump's leadership, "the United States is a great power again."

The Vice-President's remarks come after Washington on Saturday carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela", and the deposed dictator, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and taken out of the country.

Maduro and Flores were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement.

Trump stated that Maduro and his wife have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York and will face trial.

Meanwhile, Trump, addressing a press conference in Florida following the operation, said that the military action against Venezuela was "one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history."

He further stated that the US would run the country "until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition," noting that his administration wants "peace, justice and liberty for the great people of Venezuela."

"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition. We want peace, justice and liberty for the great people of Venezuela," Trump said.

He also noted that the US action was aimed at bringing "outlaw dictator Nicolas Maduro to justice", and that US companies will fix the broken oil infrastructure in the South American nation.

- ANI
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is on a six-day official visit to France and Luxembourg to strengthen bilateral and strategic engagements. In France, he will meet French leadership and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to discuss the India-France Strategic Partnership and global issues. He will also address the French Ambassadors' Conference as Guest of Honour. The visit highlights India's active diplomacy with European partners as EU FTA negotiations enter a decisive phase.

EAM S Jaishankar embarks on a 6-day visit to France & Luxembourg for high-level talks on strategic partnership, global issues, and FTA progress.

New Delhi, January 4 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be on a six-day official visit to France and Luxembourg, during which he will hold high-level meetings aimed at strengthening India's bilateral ties with both countries.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the visit will take place between January 4 and January 10.

During his visit to France, Jaishankar will meet with French leadership and speak with Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

The discussions are expected to focus on progress under the India-France Strategic Partnership and key regional and global issues of mutual interest.

While in Paris, the External Affairs Minister will also address the 31st edition of the French Ambassadors' Conference as the Guest of Honour, highlighting India's perspectives on global diplomacy and international cooperation.

"In Paris, he will be meeting the French leadership and hold talks with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barrot. They will discuss the progress made under the India-France Strategic Partnership and matters of global importance. EAM will also address the 31st edition of the French Ambassador's Conference as the Guest of Honour," the statement read.

According to the MEA, India and France have traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations and share a deep and enduring Strategic Partnership (SP) covering all aspects of bilateral cooperation, which involves a strategic component.

Launched on 26 January 1998, India's first-ever Strategic Partnership embodied the core vision of both countries to enhance their respective strategic independence by strengthening bilateral cooperation. Defence and security, civil nuclear matters and space constitute the principal pillars of this strategic cooperation and now include a strong Indo-Pacific component.

In recent years, the partnership has broadened to include maritime security, digitalisation, cybersecurity and advanced computing, counterterrorism, climate change, renewable and sustainable growth and development, among others.

Following his engagements in France, Jaishankar will travel to Luxembourg, where he will hold discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Xavier Bettel, as well as senior leaders of the country. His engagements will focus on enhancing bilateral cooperation across various sectors.

During his stay in Luxembourg, the EAM is also scheduled to interact with members of the Indian community.

India and Luxembourg enjoy warm and friendly relations characterised by a high degree of mutual understanding and cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels, MEA stated.

The diplomatic relations between India and Luxembourg were established in 1948. Luxembourg opened its Embassy in New Delhi in February 2002, which is one of its five embassies in Asia. Luxembourg also has honorary consuls in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru.

The visit underscores India's continued engagement with its European partners and its commitment to deepening strategic and diplomatic ties as negotiations between New Delhi and the European Union on a long-pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA) entered a "decisive phase".

- ANI
China calls on U.S. to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife at once

Xinhua) 14:53, January 04, 2026

BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- China called on the United States to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife at once, said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Sunday.

The spokesperson made the remarks in response to media reports that on Saturday, the United States sent forces to seize Maduro and his wife and took them out of the country, and that the governments of multiple countries have voiced opposition.

China expresses grave concern over the U.S. forcibly seizing Maduro and his wife and taking them out of the country, said the spokesperson, adding that the U.S. move is in clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

China calls on the United States to ensure the personal safety of Maduro and his wife, release them at once, stop toppling the government of Venezuela, and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, said the spokesperson.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
This photo taken on Jan. 4, 2026 shows smokes following airstrikes launched by Saudi warplanes in Al-Mahrah province of Yemen, Jan. 4, 2026. Saudi warplanes launched airstrikes on Sunday in eastern Yemen's Al-Mahrah province, a Yemeni security official told Xinhua. The official, who requested anonymity, said the airstrikes targeted a location near the headquarters of the military axis in Ghaydah, Al-Mahrah's provincial capital. (Str/Xinhua)

ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Saudi warplanes launched airstrikes on Sunday in eastern Yemen's Al-Mahrah province, a Yemeni security official told Xinhua.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the airstrikes targeted a location near the headquarters of the military axis in Ghaydah, Al-Mahrah's provincial capital.

So far, there have been no reports of casualties, said the official.

The motives behind the airstrikes remain unknown, and it is unclear whether the strikes targeted the military vehicles of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) or the personnel at the site. But there are media reports indicating the strikes were launched as STC forces in a barracks in Ghaydah refused to withdraw from the facility.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since 2014, when Houthi forces captured Sanaa and large swathes of the north, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015.

Formed in 2017, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-sponsored STC seeks self-determination and eventual independence for southern Yemen. Despite joining the Saudi-led coalition and integrating into Yemen's ruling Presidential Leadership Council in 2022, the group continues to push for southern sovereignty, leading to recurring disputes over power-sharing and control of resources.

Last month, tensions between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the STC escalated after the latter seized large parts of Hadramout and Al-Mahrah, areas Saudi Arabia considers strategically sensitive due to their proximity to its border and concentration of Yemen's remaining energy resources.

On Friday, hundreds of Saudi-backed Yemeni government troops advanced toward Hadramout in a large-scale military operation aimed at expelling forces loyal to the STC and reasserting government control over the strategic region.

In the same day, the STC announced the launch of a two-year transitional period during which the council will administer the southern parts of the country, to be followed by a referendum on the independence of the south.

Meanwhile, the UAE's Defense Ministry said in a statement that it had completed the withdrawal of all its armed forces from Yemen.

On Saturday, the Yemeni government said its forces had regained full control of Hadramout, whereas Yemen's Saba news agency said STC forces withdrew from government institutions in Al-Mahrah without fighting, and pulled out of the airport and the presidential palace in Ghaydah.

An STC military official confirmed to Xinhua on Saturday that its forces had been ordered to cease fighting in Hadramout, but the group has not issued an official statement on its withdrawal from Hadramout or Al-Mahrah.

In a statement issued late Saturday, the STC welcomed Saudi Arabia's invitation to sponsor a southern dialogue conference, describing it as a practical step consistent with its long-standing commitment to dialogue. 

This photo taken on Jan. 4, 2026 shows smokes following airstrikes launched by Saudi warplanes in Al-Mahrah province of Yemen, Jan. 4, 2026. Saudi warplanes launched airstrikes on Sunday in eastern Yemen's Al-Mahrah province, a Yemeni security official told Xinhua.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the airstrikes targeted a location near the headquarters of the military axis in Ghaydah, Al-Mahrah's provincial capital. (Str/Xinhua)
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is on an official visit to France and Luxembourg from January 4-9. In France, he will meet French leadership and Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot to discuss the strategic partnership and global matters. He will also address the French Ambassador's Conference as Guest of Honour. The visit follows recent high-level engagements, including PM Modi's meetings with President Macron, focusing on deepening bilateral ties across defence, space, and technology.

EAM S. Jaishankar holds talks with French & Luxembourg leadership to advance strategic partnerships and discuss global issues from Jan 4-9.

New Delhi, Jan 4 External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, will be on an official visit to France and Luxembourg from January 4-9. During his visit to France, the EAM will meet French leadership and hold talks with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean Noel Barrot.

In a statement, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, "They will discuss the progress made under the India-France Strategic Partnership and matters of global importance. EAM will also address the 31st edition of the French Ambassador's Conference as the Guest of Honour."

During his visit to Luxembourg, EAM Jaishankar will hold talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Xavier Bettel and the senior leadership. He will also interact with the members of the Indian community in Luxembourg.

In November last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in South Africa's Johannesburg.

"Delighted to meet President Macron during the Johannesburg G20 Summit. We had an engaging exchange on different issues. India-France ties remain a force for global good," PM Modi posted on X after the meeting.

The two leaders had held a phone conversation in September last year, exchanging views on efforts towards bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine while reiterating India's consistent support for peaceful resolution of the issue and early restoration of peace and stability in the entire region.

They had also spoken over the phone on August 21, 2025, coordinating their positions on the war in Ukraine in order to move towards a just and lasting peace.

During their conversations over the past few months, the two leaders have reviewed and positively assessed the developments in bilateral cooperation across different sectors including economic, defence, science, technology and space. They had reaffirmed their commitment towards further strengthening of the India-France Strategic Partnership, in line with the Horizon 2047 Roadmap, the Indo-Pacific Roadmap and the Defence Industrial Roadmap.

PM Modi had thanked President Macron for accepting the invitation to the AI Impact Summit hosted by India in February 2026, and looked forward to welcoming the French leader in India.

"On trade issues, we agreed to strengthen our economic exchanges and our strategic partnership in all areas - this is the key to our sovereignty and independence. Following up on the AI Action Summit held in Paris last February, we are working towards the success of the AI Impact Summit to be held in New Delhi in 2026. For more effective multilateralism, we agreed to work closely together in preparation for the French presidency of the G7 and the Indian presidency of the BRICS in 2026," Macron had posted on X on August 21.

- IANS
Foreign affairs expert Robinder Sachdev describes Venezuela's political situation as highly fluid following the abduction of deposed leader Nicolas Maduro. He questions how the US would practically "run" the country as stated by President Trump, highlighting the entrenched power of the army which remains supportive due to the economic perks Maduro provided. The expert notes the army's fear of prosecution under a new government is a key factor in the ongoing crisis. He endorsed the Indian government's advisory for its nationals to avoid travel to Venezuela until the situation stabilizes.

Foreign affairs expert analyzes Venezuela's fluid political crisis, army's role, and US stance after Nicolas Maduro's abduction. India issues travel advisory.

New Delhi, January 4 Foreign affairs expert Robinder Sachdev on Sunday said the political environment in Venezuela remains highly uncertain after the abduction of deposed Dictator Nicholas Maduro.

Sachdev, in conversation with ANI, noted that while US President Donald Trump has stated that the Washington would "run" Venezuela, the practicalities of such a move remain unclear.

"Certainly right now the environment in Venezuela is very fluid. Nobody knows what's going to happen tomorrow right. Trump says that America will run Venezuela. How will they run Venezuela that is the question to be seen," he said.

Sachdev said that the army hugely favours Maduro because of the free hand he gave them during his leadership. But whether they would be loyal to him during this time is a question.

"In the meantime, the army is there in Venezuela and the army has been in favor and hugely supportive of Maduro. The government, which is there is still there, Maduro has been taken out, but the Vice President is now the Interim President. So, from all intent and purposes, it seems that the political establishment of Maduro, the army which supports Maduro, are very much there. At the same time now, the opposition and opposition leaders will be and are pushing for resignation and removal of this government. So, the situation is very fluid," he said.

Sachdev stated that Maduro appointed military officials as heads of oil companies, thereby allowing them to profit substantially.

"Also depends the role that the army plays. The army of Venezuela has been very much in favour of Maduro because he gave them very good perks, opportunities to make money and corruption. All public sector companies in Venezuela including the PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela SA), the oil company of Venezuela, and their senior officials, were army generals. So army generals were appointed to positions in various companies and they could indulge in their own little side business with those companies be it in real estate, be it in construction, be it in mining, be it in petroleum. So the army has been hugely in favour of Maduro," he said.

Sachdev added that there had been several accusations of human rights violations.

"Also during his regime very often the army has been accused of human rights violations because they have suppressed their opponents. So the army generals are afraid that when a new let's say opposition comes to power that government will prosecute them and throw them in jail. So because of that fear as well as the fear of losing all their perks the army so far has been supportive of Maduro," he said.

Sachdev welcomed the Indian government's advisory asking Indians not to travel to Venezuela.

"But going forward it remains to be seen how the army will act in midst of all of this I think it's absolutely the right thing for the Indian Government to advise Indian nationals to not of course not to travel to Venezuela and those who are there, think best would be them to stay put in their homes for a few days. Let the situation calm down," he said.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are in New York City following a large-scale US operation in Venezuela. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn and is set to face drugs and weapons charges in Manhattan federal court, as per CNN.

- ANI
The European Union has called for de-escalation and a resolution that fully respects international law and the UN Charter following the US military operation in Venezuela. EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa emphasized support for a peaceful, democratic transition while ensuring the safety of EU citizens. Canada reiterated its non-recognition of the Maduro regime and called on all parties to respect international law, offering consular support from its embassy in Colombia. In contrast, Israel's Foreign Minister commended the US operation, standing with the "freedom-loving Venezuelan people" against what it called Maduro's "illegal tyranny."

World leaders respond to the US military operation in Venezuela. The EU and Canada call for de-escalation and international law, while Israel commends the action.

New Delhi, January 4 World leaders are reacting to the US military operation in Venezuela, which led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

European Union President Ursula von der Leyen emphasised respect for international law and the UN Charter, while EU High Representative Kaja Kallas ensures EU citizens' safety.

European Union President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU is closely following the situation in Venezuela and supports a peaceful and democratic transition, and also, with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, is working in coordination with the EU Member States for any support for the EU citizens in Venezuela. She said that any solution must respect international law and the UN Charter.

In the official X post, she said, "Following very closely the situation in Venezuela. We stand by the people of Venezuela and support a peaceful and democratic transition. Any solution must respect international law and the UN Charter. With HRVP @kajakallas and in coordination with EU Member States, we are making sure that EU citizens in the country can count on our full support."

Presenting a similar statement, Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, said that the European Union calls for de-escalation and a resolution in full respect of international law and the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. He said that the European Union will continue to support a peaceful, democratic, and inclusive solution in Venezuela.

In an official X post, he said, "I am following the situation in Venezuela with great concern. The European Union calls for de-escalation and a resolution in full respect of international law and the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. The European Union will continue to support a peaceful, democratic, and inclusive solution in Venezuela. We support the efforts of the HRVP @kajakallas, in coordination with the Member States, to ensure the safety of European citizens in the country."

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Anita Anand, said that the country had closed its embassy in Venezuela since 2019. And said that the government of Canada has refused "to recognise any legitimacy of the Maduro regime and opposed its repression of the Venezuelan people, including the persecution of dissenters and particularly political leaders opposed to the regime." She said Canada is ready to assist Canadians in need through their consular officials and the embassy in Bogota, Colombia. She said the country is also demanding that all parties respect international law.

In the official X post, she shared an official press release, which stated," Since 2019, when Canada closed its embassy in Venezuela, we have refused to recognise any legitimacy of the Maduro regime and opposed its repression of the Venezuelan people, including the persecution of dissenters and particularly political leaders opposed to the regime. In keeping with our long-standing commitment to upholding the rule of law and democracy, Canada calls on all parties to respect international law, and we stand by the people of Venezuela and their desire to live in a peaceful and democratic society. Canada is engaging with its international partners and monitoring developments closely. Canada stands ready to assist Canadians in need through our consular officials and embassy in Bogota, Colombia."

Gideon Sa'ar, Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister, said the government commended the United States' operation led by President Trump. He said that Israel is standing alongside "the freedom-loving Venezuelan people, who have suffered under Maduro's illegal tyranny." In the end, he said that South America deserves a future free from the axis of terror and drugs.

In the X post, he said," Israel commends the United States' operation, led by President Trump, which acted as the leader of the free world. At this historic moment, Israel stands alongside the freedom-loving Venezuelan people, who have suffered under Maduro's illegal tyranny. Israel welcomes the removal of the dictator who led a network of drugs and terror and hopes for the return of democracy to the country and for friendly relations between the states. The people of Venezuela deserve to exercise their democratic rights. South America deserves a future free from the axis of terror and drugs."

US President Donald Trump told Fox News on Saturday that the United States had planned to conduct the military operations in Venezuela four days ago but had to delay it due to the weather conditions.

"We were going to do it four days ago but the weather was not perfect. The weather has to be perfect... It was amazing. I'll tell you- it was highly guarded, like a fortress actually. We had nobody killed, we lost no aircraft," Trump said in his first remarks after the United States conducted strikes into Venezuela that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

"We had to do it. It is a war. We are losing 300,000 people a year. We don't lose that much in a war," he told Fox News.

Trump said the US action "sends a signal we're not going to be pushed around as a country anymore."

He lauded the professionalism behind the action.

"It was amazing to see the professionalism -- the quality of leadership...To have a few injuries but no deaths on our side is really amazing," Trump told Fox News.

"We were surrounded by lots of people, including Generals, and they knew everything that was happening. It was extremely complex- the whole manoeuvre-- the landing, number of aircraft, helicopters, different kinds of fighter jets. They just broke in, and into places which were not really able to be broken into," he added.

The United States carried out strikes on Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife, Cilia Flores, who were flown out of the country.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the operation was conducted in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement.

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi on Saturday announced that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism and would face US justice.

"Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States. They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," she said in a post on X.

"On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international Narco- traffickers," she added.

The "capture of Maduro" comes amid an increase in tensions between the United States and Venezuela.

- ANI
Former Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' is visiting New Delhi to address the Nepali diaspora, organized by the Nepali Society, India. His mission is to rally support and convey a message of unity for the newly merged Nepali Communist Party ahead of the country's March parliamentary elections. The visit may include informal meetings with Indian political leaders, echoing his official trip as Prime Minister in 2023. The gathering aims to strengthen community ties and political awareness among Nepalis living in India.

Former Nepal PM Prachanda visits New Delhi to rally diaspora support ahead of March elections, focusing on communist unity and Nepal-India ties.

Kathmandu, Jan 4 Former Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' is scheduled to visit New Delhi to take part in an event planned to be organised by the Nepali diaspora community on Monday, his secretariat announced on Sunday.

Dahal, who is also the coordinator of the Nepali Communist Party formed after the merger of the erstwhile Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), CPN (Unified Socialist), and several other leftist parties, will address an event organised by Nepali Society, India at the Lajpat Bhawan Auditorium in New Delhi on Monday.

His visit to New Delhi to address party supporters comes at a time when the Himalayan country is scheduled to hold elections to the House of Representatives on March 5 this year, a period during which a large number of Nepalis living abroad are expected to return home to cast their votes.

"The main mission of the visit is to address the Nepali community, particularly supporters of our party, to convey the message of unity of the communist forces under the umbrella of the Nepali Communist Party," said Haribol Gajurel, a senior Nepali Communist Party leader, told IANS. "We have been organising mass meetings to convey the message of unity within the country, and this is part of a similar gathering in New Delhi."

In early November last year, the CPN (Maoist Centre), CPN (Unified Socialist), and more than a dozen other fringe leftist political parties merged to form the Nepali Communist Party. With fresh elections on the horizon, political forces in Nepal have been making efforts to strengthen themselves. Following the Gen Z movement in September last year, traditional political parties-including the one led by Prachanda-have been facing growing criticism over their failures.

Gajurel also said that an informal meeting with Indian political leaders could take place, though no such meetings have been fixed so far. Dahal had earlier visited New Delhi in May 2023 as Prime Minister of Nepal, during which several agreements were signed between the two countries.

According to a statement issued by Prachanda's secretariat, the gathering in New Delhi is aimed at further strengthening mutual harmony, cooperation, and commitment to a shared future among the Nepali community. "The main objective of the programme is to unite Nepali brothers and sisters living in India and to enhance social and political awareness," the secretariat said.

During the gathering, Prachanda will speak on issues of common concern to the Nepali community in India, the strengthening of Nepal-India relations, the challenges and opportunities faced by the Nepali diaspora, as well as the importance of unity and cooperation.

- IANS
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal attended a state convention for the Mridangiya Gayan-Bayan tradition in Dibrugarh. He praised the organization's role in preserving and propagating this integral part of Assam's cultural life. Sonowal highlighted how the tradition, passed down orally through generations, connects youth to their roots. The event included cultural performances and the felicitation of artist Banshi Bakliyal.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal praises the Gayan-Bayan tradition for preserving Assam's cultural heritage and inspiring younger generations.

New Delhi, January 4 The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal attended the second biennial full-fledged state convention of the 'Mridangiya Gayan-Bayan Sanstha, Assam', along with a day-long Akhanda Bhagavat Path and a ceremonial programme of Sri Sri Auniati Satra, held at Rajgarh in Dibrugarh on Sunday.

Addressing the gathering, Sarbananda Sonowal lauded the organisation's sustained contribution to the practice, preservation and propagation of the Mridangiya Gayan-Bayan tradition, describing it as an inseparable part of Assam's cultural life.

"The Mridangiya Gayan-Bayan tradition is an inseparable part of Assam's cultural life. Through sustained practice and dedication, it has enriched our cultural landscape and inspired younger generations to remain rooted in our classical and folk traditions," Sarbananda Sonowal said.

The Union Minister said that organisations such as the Mrdangiya Gayan-Bayan Sanstha have played a critical role in ensuring that Assam's rich cultural heritage continues to thrive by connecting tradition with the younger generation through training, performance and disciplined practice.

Sonowal further added, "Seeing this vast cultural canvas today with my own eyes, I am truly overwhelmed. From time immemorial, the Gayan-Bayan tradition has been practised across our villages. I, too, am a son of the village. Since childhood, I have grown up seeing and hearing our Namghars resonate with the sound of the Khol and Mridanga. The Mridanga is one of the principal auspicious instruments of ancient India. In mythological narratives, it has been described as a 'divine instrument'. It has no written script or textual manual; instead, it has evolved and endured over generations through a distinct tradition and style. Bringing together the Gayan-Bayan traditions scattered across Assam's villages onto a single platform is a matter of great satisfaction and pride. I extend my gratitude to every individual associated with this programme for making this possible today."

During the programme, Sonowal also felicitated Banshi Bakliyal, a distinguished Bayan artiste from Kamarchuk village in Dibrugarh district, in recognition of his decades-long dedication to the practice, training and performance of mrdangiya gayan-bayan. Sonowal conveyed his best wishes to the organisers for their continued efforts in preserving and promoting Assam's traditional art forms.

The event featured vibrant cultural performances and was attended by Assam Govt's Culture Minister, Bimal Bora, Rajya Sabha MP, Rameswar Teli, Auniati Satra Satradhikar Sri Sri Pitambar Dev Goswami, Assam Petrochemicals Ltd. Chairman Bikul Deka, and other dignitaries, cultural practitioners and members of the public.

- ANI
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin commemorated veteran film producer A.V.M. Saravanan, describing him as a rare personality who blended cultural commitment with social sensitivity. He emphasized that Saravanan ensured the continuity and values of AVM Studios founded by his father, A.V. Meiyappa Chettiar, through decades of change. Stalin traced Saravanan's ideological roots to the Dravidian movement and highlighted his close bond with former CM M. Karunanidhi, built on shared progressive values. The Chief Minister recalled Saravanan's quiet yet thoughtful contributions to urban development and public awareness campaigns during their personal interactions.

Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin pays tribute to veteran producer A.V.M. Saravanan, highlighting his role in preserving AVM Studios and his social impact.

Chennai, Jan 4 Chief Minister M. K. Stalin on Sunday recalled the life and legacy of veteran film producer A. V. M. Saravanan, describing him as a rare personality who combined cultural commitment, social sensitivity and quiet influence.

Paying tribute at a commemorative event in Virugambakkam, CM Stalin said Saravanan's contribution went far beyond cinema, leaving a lasting imprint on public life and civic consciousness in Tamil Nadu.

After unveiling Saravanan's portrait, the Chief Minister said the story of Tamil cinema would remain incomplete without the institution of AVM Studios, founded by A. V. Meiyappa Chettiar and later carefully preserved and strengthened by Saravanan.

He noted that Saravanan chose continuity over spectacle, ensuring that AVM Studios retained its values and relevance even as cinema underwent sweeping technological and creative changes.

CM Stalin traced Saravanan's ideological roots to the Dravidian movement, recalling that as a student he won a speech competition by delivering dialogues from the landmark film Parasakthi. That early association, he said, shaped Saravanan's lifelong engagement with social justice, rational thought and progressive ideas, which subtly informed his work and worldview.

Highlighting the close bond between the AVM family and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, CM Stalin referred to several personal and political interactions, including the launch of Saravanan's magazine "Hello Madras" and Karunanidhi's direct intervention during a critical labour strike at AVM Studios. These moments, he said, reflected a relationship built on trust, respect and shared values.

Sharing personal recollections, CM Stalin said he often met Saravanan during morning walks at Marina Beach when he was the Mayor of Chennai.

"He never spoke loudly, but his suggestions on urban development and civic responsibility were always thoughtful and relevant," the Chief Minister said.

Saravanan also actively supported public awareness campaigns on cleanliness and waste segregation, which were screened in cinema halls to reach a wider audience.

Concluding his tribute, CM Stalin said Saravanan believed that society and art must constantly evolve while remaining rooted in human values.

"He led not through power or position, but through warmth and goodwill," he said, adding that Saravanan's legacy would endure through the institution he nurtured and the lives he touched.

Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, lyricist Vairamuthu, and several members of the film fraternity and cultural community attended the event.

- IANS
The Gujarat government has extended Rs 14 lakh in CSR support to para-athlete Gagdas Parmar for state-of-the-art prosthetic legs. Parmar, who lost both legs in a 2017 accident, aims to compete in the 100m and 200m sprint events at the Olympics. His father, a labourer, highlighted the family's poor financial condition, making the government assistance crucial. Parmar is now undergoing focused training with his new prosthetics to excel at national and international competitions.

Para-athlete Gagdas Parmar receives Rs 14 lakh from Gujarat govt for high-speed prosthetic legs, fueling his Olympic dream in sprint events.

Gandhinagar, January 4 Para-athlete Gagdas Parmar has received significant support from the Gujarat government to advance his sporting career. Gagdas, who lost both his legs in a tragic electric shock accident in 2017, was provided financial assistance of Rs 14 lakh under Corporate Social Responsibility funds, following instructions from Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

With the government support, Gagdas, a native of Jetda village in the Vav-Tharad region of Banaskantha district, has been fitted with state-of-the-art high-speed prosthetic legs.

After receiving the prosthetics, Gagdas met CM Bhupendra Patel and expressed his gratitude, saying that his dream is to compete in the Olympics. Gagdas also noted his poor financial condition, saying that in order for him to continue sports, his father had to do labour, making the government assistance all the more helpful.

"I got sponsorship of Rs 14 lakh with which I have now got these prosthetic legs. And now I am preparing for future competitions. My dream is to compete in the Olympics. My financial condition was not good. In order for me to continue sports, my father does labour. I am grateful to the government for helping me get these prosthetic legs. I am really grateful," Gagdas said.

Gagdas' father, Thanabhai Jagtabhai Parmar, also expressed his gratitude to the government for the assistance provided to his son, saying, "He got to meet the CM and he talked to him. The Chief Minister said that you have won eight medals and if you work hard, we will support you. Our condition was not to buy these legs, which were worth Rs 14 lakhs. I am grateful to the Chief Minister for his help."

Gagdas is currently undergoing regular training and preparing for the 100m and 200m sprint events, aiming to deliver strong performances at national and international events.

Rahul Parmar, Gagdas' Consultant Prosthetist and Orthotist, said, "In order that he can start normal running, training is underway. We have started practice for 100m and 200m races. So all the activities are focused on that at the moment."

- ANI
Nal Sarovar and Thol sanctuaries together counted more than 4.67 lakh avian visitors

Gujarat's wetlands have had an incredible season, welcoming over 8.33 lakh migratory birds. Key sanctuaries like Khijadiya and Nal Sarovar are leading the way with huge numbers. This success is credited to long-term conservation work that started years ago and continues today. The state's efforts in habitat protection and community programs are making it a true safe haven for birds from around the world.

Gujarat's wetlands host over 8.33 lakh migratory birds. Khijadiya and Nal Sarovar sanctuaries lead the count, driven by sustained conservation efforts.

Gandhinagar, Jan 4 Gujarat's wetlands recorded more than 8.33 lakh birds during 202425, reaffirming Gujarat's position as one of India's safest and most preferred destinations for avian visitors.

According to official data, Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary alone recorded over 3.09 lakh birds belonging to 334 species in the past year.

Meanwhile, the combined count at the Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary and the Thol Bird Sanctuary crossed 4.67 lakh birds, while Wadhwana Wetland registered more than 54,000 birds.

The Kutch region recorded 2,564 migratory birds in 2025, underscoring its growing importance on international flyways. Globally, of the nearly 9,000 bird species, about 1,200 species are found in India, including over 400 migratory species. These birds travel thousands of kilometres from Siberia, Eastern Europe, North Asia and Central Asia, choosing Gujarat's wetlands as seasonal shelters.

Officials attribute this sustained rise in migratory bird numbers to Gujarat's long-standing conservation framework.

Wildlife protection initiatives strengthened during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister have been consistently carried forward under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, supported by firm enforcement, habitat protection and community participation.

Under the guidance of Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia and Minister of State Pravin Mali, the Forest Department and wildlife organisations have undertaken sustained conservation and habitat management efforts. At Khijadiya, species such as flamingos, pelicans, painted storks, ibises, spoonbills, ducks, geese, eagles, kites, kingfishers and herons were prominently recorded.

As per the 2023 population estimate, Gujarat is also home to over 2.85 lakh peafowl, India's national bird.

Declared a sanctuary in 1969 and recognised as a Ramsar Site in 2012, Nal Sarovar spans 120.82 sq km and lies on the Central Asian Flyway, attracting 329 recorded bird species, including passage migrants that halt briefly during long-distance journeys.

Thol Bird Sanctuary continues to host a wide range of waterbirds, including pelicans, ducks, geese, cranes, ibises, storks, raptors and waders, while Wadhwana Wetland has reported migratory species such as bar-headed geese, northern pintails, common teal, glossy ibises and the rare black-necked stork. Kutch, meanwhile, has gained renewed prominence through the Passage Migrant Count, India's flagship citizen-science initiative launched in 2022.

During September 19-21, the fourth and largest edition of the survey was conducted across 10,000 sq km of Kutch, with over 200 birders from 17 states covering deserts, grasslands, thorn forests and coastal areas. More than 600 eBird checklists documented over 250 bird species, highlighting the region's role as a critical refuelling station before birds cross the Arabian Sea.

Notably, sightings included 1,577 European Rollers, 313 Spotted Flycatchers and 379 Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, along with several other migratory species. Complementing habitat conservation, Gujarat has also focused on wildlife rescue and awareness. Since 2017, the state has implemented the annual 'Karuna Abhiyan' during Uttarayan to rescue birds injured by kite strings. During Uttarayan 2025 alone, over 17,000 injured birds were rescued and treated.

The state also observes National Bird Day on January 5, promoting citizen awareness and community-led conservation efforts.

With sustained protection, scientific monitoring and public participation, Gujarat continues to strengthen its image as a "paradise for birdlife", offering a safe seasonal home to migratory birds from across the world.

- IANS
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced the signing of 37 Memoranda of Understanding worth Rs 10,000 crore with entrepreneurs during the MSME Fest-2026. The state government is set to introduce a new industrial policy focused on green industrialization, renewable energy, and providing uninterrupted power at low rates to industries. Major initiatives include replacing all state taxis with electric vehicles, operating green hydrogen buses, and developing a massive Bulk Drug Park in Una. The government also plans to build a new city near Chandigarh and improve tourism infrastructure, including expanding the Kangra airport.

Himachal Pradesh signs 37 MoUs, plans new industrial policy, green hydrogen buses, and a bulk drug park to boost investment and jobs.

Shimla, January 4 Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today interacted with CEOs and entrepreneurs from leading industries in India and abroad at Peterhoff, Shimla, as part of the three-day Him MSME Fest-2026 organised by the Industries Department. Extensive discussions were held during the conference on the expansion and promotion of industries in the state.

On this occasion, the state government and entrepreneurs signed 37 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for setting up enterprises worth Rs 10,000 crore.

The Chief Minister said that a new industrial policy will be introduced in the state soon. He said the state government was continuously undertaking new initiatives to develop an investment-friendly ecosystem, enabling Himachal Pradesh to become a reliable and attractive destination for investors. He said the Himachal Pradesh government envisions making the state a strong economic hub by advancing green industrialisation, renewable energy, digital and artificial intelligence, and rural industrialisation.

The Chief Minister said that all 22,000 petrol- and diesel-powered taxis in the state will be replaced with electric vehicles in a phased manner. In this regard, the state government is bringing a new scheme under which a 40 per cent subsidy will be provided. A tender will soon be issued to operate buses powered by green hydrogen in the state. The issues entrepreneurs face under Section 118 will be resolved. The state government will also promote the textile industry. He said the state government will support established sectors. Logistics costs in industrial areas will decrease, and infrastructure will be strengthened. He said that the state government has already paid its entire share to the central government for the Baddi-Chandigarh railway line. The Chief Minister said that investment in the state will increase. The tourism industry is our special priority, he said. In view of this, connectivity in the state is being improved. Land acquisition for the Kangra airport will be completed by March 31 this year. He said that, to encourage the state's hospitality sector, permission will be granted to open 200 five-star hotels.

The Chief Minister announced that a world-class city, Him Chandigarh, will be developed near Chandigarh in Himachal Pradesh. He assured entrepreneurs that an uninterrupted 24-hour power supply will be ensured for industries in the state and that electricity will be provided at the lowest rates. The Chief Minister urged the industrialists to sign the implementation agreements soon.

Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the state's industrial infrastructure was being continuously strengthened. Under this, facilities such as MSE Pharma Lab, MSME Technology Centre, gas connectivity in major industrial areas, skill development centres in Baddi and Una, and CIPET are being developed. Looking towards the future, our vision is to build a strong, competitive state, founded on a robust MSME base, sustainable industrial parks, a vibrant start-up culture, and future-oriented skill development for our youth. The Chief Minister said that a significant achievement for the state is the Bulk Drug Park in Una, which has received final environmental clearance for an area of 568.75 hectares. He said that this park, with a capital cost of Rs. 2071 crore, has the potential to attract investments ranging from Rs. 8000 crore to Rs. 10,000 crore and create approximately 15,000 to 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.

He said that listening to participants' views and learning from their experiences has been very enriching and inspiring. He added that the state is moving in the right direction and has initiated dialogue with leading industry stakeholders who share their vision and will play a crucial role in realising it.

The Chief Minister assured entrepreneurs that the state government was fully committed to the state's progress and would provide all possible support for the establishment and development of their industrial ventures.

Industry Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan said that liberal policies are being formulated to promote industrial development, job creation, and economic growth in the state. He said that all possible assistance is being provided to entrepreneurs in the state, and various rules and procedures have been simplified. He provided detailed information on the incentives offered to industries.

Additional Chief Secretary, Industries, R.D. Nazim, provided detailed information on the state's industrial development and promotion and its various innovative initiatives.

Commissioner of Industries Dr. Yunus welcomed the Chief Minister and all the guests.

Mayor Surinder Chauhan, Deputy Secretary of NITI Aayog Arvind Kumar, senior officers and other dignitaries were present on this occasion.

- ANI
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has commissioned a major Residue Upgradation Facility (RUF) at its Visakhapatnam refinery, marking a significant step toward energy self-reliance. The Rs 31,407 crore project increases the refinery's processing capacity from 8.33 to 15 million tonnes per annum and utilizes advanced technology to convert 93% of residual oils into high-value products. The facility, hailed as a "masterpiece of indigenous engineering," strengthens Andhra Pradesh's role as an energy hub for multiple states. Furthermore, the refinery is pioneering Sustainable Aviation Fuel production, aligning with national decarbonization goals and a waste-to-wealth economy.

HPCL commissions a Rs 31,407 crore Residue Upgradation Facility at Visakh Refinery, boosting capacity to 15 MMTPA and advancing India's energy self-reliance.

Visakhapatnam, January 4 Hindustan Petroleum Corporation has commissioned the Residue Upgradation Facility at the Visakh Refinery in Andhra Pradesh.

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, in a post on X, said that this critical infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh is a decisive leap toward Aatmanirbhar Bharat, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. The Union minister described the commissioning of the facility as a significant milestone in India's journey toward energy self-reliance.

"The facility at Visakh Refinery is a "masterpiece of indigenous engineering", housing three LC-Max reactors of 2,200 MT each, ranking among the world's heaviest engineering blocks, and all fabricated and assembled within India," the minister said in the post on X.

"With a capacity of 3.55 MMTPA, the RUF utilises advanced residue hydrocracking technology to achieve a 93 per cent conversion of bottom of the barrel oils into high-value products, maximising the utility of every barrel to fuel the nation's rapid ascent!" the minister further wrote.

With an investment of Rs 31,407 crore, HPCL's Visakh Refinery in Andhra Pradesh has raised its processing capacity from 8.33 million tonne per annum to 15 million tonne per annum.

This expansion project at Visakh Refinery has made the east coast state of Andhra Pradesh one of India's energy hubs, strengthening energy needs in Andhra Pradesh and in Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Karnataka.

Recently, the Visakh Refinery inaugurated a demonstration plant for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production via co-processing of Used Cooking Oil (UCO) in its Full Conversion Hydrocracker Unit, leveraging existing refinery assets.

As per HPCL's roadmap, following necessary certification, Visakh Refinery will produce 10 TMT of SAF per annum from January 2027, supporting India's commitment to decarbonising aviation and promoting a circular, waste-to-wealth economy.

India's SAF blending mandate is to achieve 1 per cent blending by 2027, 2 per cent by 2028 and 5 per cent by 2030.

India depends on imports for about 80 per cent of its crude oil requirement. The government has taken various steps to increase domestic crude oil production and reduce imports. At present, India is importing oil and gas from as many countries as possible, around 40 countries now, to meet its demand.

- ANI
MANILA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) has said it recorded 1,113 road crash cases during the holiday season from Dec. 21, 2025, to Jan. 2, 2026, an increase of 82 percent compared with the same period in 2024-2025.

In a statement released on Saturday, the DOH said young people were disproportionately affected, with 508 cases involving individuals aged 15 to 29 years old.

The DOH also noted widespread non-compliance with basic safety measures. A total of 965 victims were found not using safety accessories, such as helmets or seatbelts.

Of the seven fatalities, four were aged between 16 and 26 years old, it added. 
The Indian Air Force commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft's first flight, which occurred on January 4, 2001. The programme, initiated in 1983, has led to the aircraft's induction and a recent major order for 97 additional Mk-1A variants. Recent milestones include the successful test-firing of the indigenous ASTRA missile from the LCA and high-altitude trials of an advanced onboard oxygen system. The anniversary highlights the enduring partnership between the IAF, HAL, ADA, and DRDO in advancing India's defence self-reliance.

Indian Air Force commemorates 25 years of the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, highlighting milestones, new orders, and advanced system tests.

New Delhi, Jan 4 The Indian Air Force on Sunday commemorated the 25th anniversary of home grown Tejas Light Combat Aircraft's historic first flight.

"On the 25th anniversary of Tejas LCA's historic first flight, #IAF reflects on enduring partnership in building this fighter. Congratulations to ADA's innovative scientists, HAL's skilled engineers, brave IAF & IN test pilots/engineers, and all IAF personnel who've championed self-reliance. Sky is the limit!" said the IAF in a post on social media.

The historic first flight of Tejas occurred on January 4, 2001, with Wing Commander Rajiv Kothiyal piloting the Technology Demonstrator (TD-1) from Bengaluru's HAL Airport.

This flight initiated the flight testing phase for the aircraft, eventually leading to its induction into the Indian Air Force and the development of advanced variants like the Tejas Mk1A.

The government had established the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme in 1983 with the initial goal of developing a new light combat aircraft to replace the ageing fleet of the IAF.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) recently secured a major order for 97 additional LCA Tejas Mk-1A fighters in a deal worth over Rs 62,370 crore, finalised in late 2025, adding to existing orders for 83 jets.

In May 2025, the first centre fuselage assembly for Tejas Mk1A was handed over to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) by VEM Technologies in Hyderabad.

The handover took place in the presence of Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar and Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of HAL, Dr D. K. Sunil. This event marked for the first time a major sub-assembly for the LCA Tejas being manufactured by a private Indian company.

Earlier in March 2025, Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) successfully conducted test-launch of homegrown ASTRA, Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) from LCA AF MK1 prototype fighter aircraft. The test launch was carried out on March 12, 2025 off the coast of Chandipur, Odisha.

The test-firing successfully demonstrated the direct hit of the missile on flying target. All the subsystems performed accurately meeting all mission parameters and objectives. ASTRA missile is designed and developed by DRDO capable of engaging the targets over 100km and equipped with advanced guidance and navigation capabilities allowing missile to destroy targets with greater accuracy. The missile is already inducted into the Indian Air Force.

In the same month, the Defence Bio-Engineering & Electro Medical Laboratory (DEBEL), a Bengaluru-based lab under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), successfully conducted high-altitude trials of the Indigenous On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS)-based Integrated Life Support System (ILSS) for the LCA Tejas aircraft.

The OBOGS-based ILSS is a cutting-edge system designed to generate and regulate breathable oxygen for pilots during flight, eliminating dependence on traditional liquid oxygen cylinder-based systems.

The ILSS underwent rigorous testing on the LCA-Prototype Vehicle-3 aircraft of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)/Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), meeting stringent aeromedical standards in varied flight conditions, including altitudes of up to 50,000 feet Above Mean Sea Level and high-G manoeuvres.

- IANS
A report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) asserts that the recent US military action in Venezuela will have no material impact on India's economy or energy security. This is due to India's trade with Venezuela being small and already severely constrained by US sanctions since 2019, with crude oil imports plummeting by over 80%. The think tank suggests the US operation was fundamentally motivated by securing access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves, the largest in the world. Consequently, GTRI advises India to cautiously protect its strategic autonomy and secure critical resources without geopolitical pressure.

GTRI report explains why India's economy and energy security are insulated from the Venezuela crisis due to minimal trade and existing US sanctions.

New Delhi, January 4 The ongoing crisis in Venezuela is unlikely to have any material economic or energy impact for India, asserted India-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative.

The GTRI, in a note, asserted that India was a major buyer of Venezuelan crude in the 2000s and 2010s. Indian firms such as ONGC Videsh held upstream stakes in the Orinoco belt. Bilateral engagement has weakened sharply since 2019 due to US sanctions, which forced India to cut oil imports and scale back commercial activity to avoid secondary sanctions.

As a result, India's trade with Venezuela is now small and declining, GTRI noted on Sunday, a day after US forces carried out a large military operation in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and taking them to the US to face charges including alleged narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.

In 2024-25, India's total imports from Venezuela were just USD 364.5 million, of which crude oil accounted for USD 255.3 million, an 81.3 per cent drop from USD 1.4 billion in crude imports in 2023-24.

India's exports to Venezuela were modest, at USD 95.3 million, led by pharmaceuticals, valued at USD 41.4 million, according to GTRI.

"Given the low trade volumes, existing sanctions constraints, and the large geographical distance, the current developments in Venezuela are not expected to have any meaningful impact on India's economy or energy security," GTRI reiterated.

In this emerging global order, wars for raw materials and energy resources are likely to intensify in the coming years, GTRI opined.

GTRI suggested India must therefore act cautiously, protect its strategic autonomy, avoid deals that weaken sovereignty or long-term interests, and secure critical raw material and energy access without geopolitical pressure.

Securing control of Venezuelan crude oil was at the core of the US operation, according to GTRI. Venezuela holds about 18 per cent of the world's oil reserves, more than Saudi Arabia (around 16 per cent), Russia (about 5-6 per cent), or the United States (around 4 per cent). Venezuela alone has more crude oil reserves than the US and Russia combined.

"The United States has signed trade deals with partners such as the European Union, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, getting commitments from them to buy U.S. petroleum products and LNG, without having sufficient crude oil or refining capacity.

Against this backdrop, Venezuela, which holds the world's largest proven petroleum reserves, represents a critical source of upstream crude for the USA. Free access to Venezuelan oil was thus a central motivation for the US," the GTRI note read.

- ANI
Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi has embarked on a two-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates to bolster bilateral defence and strategic cooperation. The visit highlights the growing military partnership under the two nations' Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with defence emerging as a core pillar. It follows recent joint training, including the 'Desert Cyclone-II' exercise focused on urban warfare and counter-terrorism under a UN mandate. The trip aims to explore further collaboration in defence innovation, joint exercises, and strategic dialogues through meetings with senior UAE military officials.

General Upendra Dwivedi begins a 2-day UAE visit to boost military cooperation, joint exercises like Desert Cyclone-II, and strategic dialogue.

New Delhi, Jan 4 India's Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Sunday departed for an official two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates in a key step in strengthening bilateral military and strategic cooperation.

The trip underscores growing defence collaboration under the broader India-UAE strategic partnership, which has been deepening in recent years through high-level engagements and joint initiatives across security and defence sectors.

"#GeneralUpendraDwivedi, #COAS, proceeded on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates #UAE today. The visit underscores a shared commitment to deepening mutual understanding, enhancing cooperation in areas of common interest and advancing bilateral #DefenceCooperation between the two nations", the India Army's Additional Directorate General, Public Information (ADG-PI) posted on X.

General Dwivedi's trip reflects India's focus on strengthening military diplomacy with strategic partners in the Gulf, a region pivotal for security, economic, and geopolitical interests.

India and the UAE maintain a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with defence cooperation emerging as a core pillar alongside trade, energy and cultural exchange. Previous military engagements between the two nations, including reciprocal visits by senior commanders and joint discussions on capability building and defence industry collaboration, highlight the sustained momentum of this bilateral relationship.

The Indian Army chief's visit is expected to involve meetings with senior UAE military officials to explore further cooperation in defence innovation, joint exercises and strategic dialogues.

Late last month, an Indian Army contingent reached the Gulf nation to participate in the second edition of the joint military Exercise 'Desert Cyclone-II', to be conducted at Abu Dhabi, from December 18 to 30.

"The aim of the exercise is to enhance interoperability and foster defence cooperation between the Indian Army and the UAE Land Forces through joint training in an urban environment, with a focus on sub-conventional operations under a United Nations mandate, enabling both forces to operate together in peacekeeping, counter-terrorism and stability operations," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Over nearly two weeks, troops from both countries will jointly train on a wide spectrum of tactical drills, including fighting in built-up areas, heliborne operations and detailed mission planning. In addition, the integration of UAS and counter-UAS techniques will be carried out for the conduct of operations in built-up areas, it said.

Meanwhile, the UAE Land Forces' Commander, Maj Gen Yousef Maayouf Saeed Al Hallami, had visited India on October 27-28, and the Commander of the UAE Presidential Guard on December 15-19.

Maj Gen Hallami's visit saw key engagements between senior leaders and officials from both sides, which have further strengthened the foundation for enhanced bilateral military cooperation, exchange and collaboration in areas of strategic and defence interests.

During his visit, he engaged in a series of productive discussions with General Dwivedi.

General Dwivedi's UAE visit follows a series of engagements with foreign militaries and strategic partners across the world, as part of India's broader defence outreach.

Through such high-level exchanges, New Delhi aims to consolidate partnerships, foster interoperability and address shared security challenges in an increasingly complex global environment.

- IANS
The Indian Army has launched a major transformation to address modern hybrid warfare, creating a pool of over one lakh drone operatives. It has raised new Bhairav Special Forces battalions, with 15 already active and plans for 25, designed for high-speed, technology-driven operations. These units, like the desert-based "Desert Falcons," blend local terrain expertise with advanced drone capabilities for multi-domain missions. The restructuring also includes new Rudra Brigades, integrating infantry, armor, artillery, and UAVs into unified combat formations.

Indian Army creates Bhairav battalions & trains 1 lakh+ drone operatives for hybrid warfare. New Special Forces bridge gap between Paras & Infantry.

By Ajit Dubey, Nasirabad, January 4 At a time when the Centre is pushing for restructuring the defence forces, the Indian Army has carried out one of the biggest ever transformations to meet modern warfare challenges creating a pool of over one lakh drone operatives across the force.

Bhairav, the latest Special Force raised by the Indian Army- is being readied to tackle the challenges of modern warfare, as all operatives are capable of handling drones and use them in real operations for targeting bases and formations inside enemy territory.

Team ANI visited one of the newly raised Bhairav battalions in the desert sector under the Southern Command, where it witnessed the capabilities of the troops who had been selected from Infantry regiments to raise the Special Force and were being given special training as per the requirements of modern warfare.

The Bhairav battalions raised by Army Headquarters with lessons from global and own conflicts in mind, have been created to provide a dedicated force for high-speed, offensive operations to carry out the Special Forces tasking at multiple levels as per requirements.

The Indian Army has raised around 15 of these battalions already, and they have been assigned to different formations on both borders and have plans to raise around 25 of them in total in the near future.

The Bhairav battalions would also bridge the gap between the Para Special Forces and the regular Infantry battalions. The Bhairav would also be tasked to carry out Special Operations at tactical to operational depth.

"Modern warfare is changing at a very rapid pace. The conflicts of today are hybrid in nature, and one needs to be fully equipped with modern technology to be able to deal with the Challenges. The Bhairav battalions have also been created as part of the force restructuring, which have been raised in line with the requirements of modern technology, new thought process and as per the new operational requirements," Commanding Officer of the 2 Bhairav Battalion told ANI in an exclusive interview.

"I am the Commanding officer of the desert Bhairav battalion of the Southern Command of the Indian Army. The desert has its own challenges where special skill sets, endurance and technology are required to be used in the right way. That is why the Bhairav has been raised as a technology-driven system which can operate independently and carry out multi-domain operations in the future," he added.

Explaining about the formation of the unit, the Commanding officer said, "The desert Bhairav Battalion has been raised on the concept of 'Sons of the Soil' as the majority of the troops are from Rajasthan who can understand the terrain, language, weather and the area. The battalion has been built upon the legacy of the valour and gallantry of Rajanghan, and that is our biggest strength. We are ready to meet any challenge in the desert sector."

The Bhairav battalions have trained very hard in the last five months since their raising, using modern technology and carried out successful operational validation during the Exercise Akhand Prahar, where the troops showcased their readiness in the presence of Southern Army Commander Lt Gen Dhiraj Seth.

The Commanding Officer said the force was evolving very strongly and emerging as the "Swift, Capable and Decisive" force of the Southern Command and the Indian Army. The Bhairav battalions would also be part of the India Army's Army Day Parade at Jaipur to be held on January 15 this year. The 2 Bhairav, also known as the Desert Falcons, would be taking part in the event.

The Indian Army has also carried out major force restructuring keeping in mind the operational requirements and created Rudra Brigades, which are all-arms formations that combine infantry, mechanised units, tanks, artillery, special forces, and unmanned aerial systems with dedicated logistics and combat support.

The Artillery, Mechanised Infantry and the Armoured Corps are also being equipped with modern warfare equipment like drones and other capabilities to be able to perform tasks more efficiently.

- ANI
A recent RT-PCR lab report from Sri Aurobindo Medical College indicates five water samples from Bhagirathpura tested negative for dangerous bacterial and viral pathogens. Urban Development Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya shared the findings, citing positive results from purification measures. However, the report recommends further culture-based and physicochemical testing for complete confirmation. This comes amid a contamination crisis that has caused multiple deaths and eroded trust in Indore's water supply system.

Bhagirathpura water samples test negative for E. coli, cholera, and viruses in RT-PCR analysis, offering hope amid Indore's contamination crisis.

Indore, Jan 4 Amid the ongoing water contamination crisis in Bhagirathpura locality, which has claimed multiple lives and affected thousands, a recent laboratory report from Sri Aurobindo Medical College and PG Institute provides a reassuring update: five water samples tested negative for key waterborne pathogens.

Sharing these results on his X handle, state Urban Development Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said, "Under the guidance of Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav and the leadership of Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava and Divisional Commissioner Dr Sudam P. Khade, the positive results of chlorination and other measures being taken for drinking water purification in Bhagirathpura have become evident."

The Central Clinical Molecular Laboratory Report, dated January 4, analysed samples collected from Bhagirathpura using the RT-PCR method.

All five samples (S-01 to S-05), each 25 ml in sterile bottles, tested "negative" for bacterial pathogens including E. coli O157, Generic E. coli, Vibrio cholerae, and Salmonella, as well as viral pathogens Rotavirus and Enterovirus.

The interpretation states, "These results indicate that the RT-PCR analysis of all five water samples showed negative results for the targeted bacterial pathogens (E. coli O157, Generic E. coli, Vibrio cholerae, and Salmonella) and viral pathogens (Rotavirus and Enterovirus)."

However, the report recommends, "Further confirmation of water quality may be obtained through culture-based microbiological analysis and routine physicochemical testing."

This finding comes as a positive development in the crisis that erupted in late December 2025, triggered by sewage mixing with drinking water pipelines, reportedly due to a leak near a police outpost toilet without a proper septic tank.

Residents had complained of foul-smelling, discoloured tap water for months. The outbreak has led to widespread diarrhoea and vomiting, with reports of four deaths (official toll) and over 200 (official) illnesses, including several hospitalised in intensive care.

Authorities have fixed the leak, supplied tanker water, suspended officials, and initiated probes.

While earlier tests from other labs confirmed bacterial contamination in some samples, this advanced RT-PCR panel from one of Indore's premier institutions suggests no presence of these specific dangerous pathogens in the tested samples. Health officials urge residents to continue boiling water or using tankers until full clearance.

The crisis has eroded trust in municipal supply in India's "cleanest city," prompting city-wide pipeline surveys and compensation announcements.

- IANS
Israeli Forces Strike Hezbollah Operative in Southern Lebanon The Israel Defense Forces reported carrying out an attack against a Hezbollah terrorist in southern Lebanon. The strike targeted an operative in the Jmaijmeh area on Sunday afternoon. Military officials did not disclose the identity of the individual attacked. No information was provided regarding the outcome of the operation or the specific reason for the targeting. Key Points: IDF Attacks Hezbollah Terrorist in Southern Lebanon IDF strike in Jmaijmeh area

Target was a Hezbollah operative

Attack occurred Sunday afternoon

No details on results or motive released Jan 4, 2026 1 min read

Israeli forces attack Hezbollah terrorist in Southern Lebanon

Israeli military targets Hezbollah member in Jmaijmeh area. No details on casualty or motive provided in the latest strike.

"attacked a terrorist from the Hezbollah terrorist organization - IDF statement"

Tel Aviv, January 4 The IDF reported that Sunday afternoon it attacked a terrorist from the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the Jmaijmeh area in southern Lebanon. No details were provided as to who was attacked, what the results of the attack were or why he was attacked. - ANI

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Israeli combat engineers have demolished a significant two-kilometre tunnel built by Hamas on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line in northern Gaza. The IDF stated the tunnel, located in the Beit Lahiya area, was an "offensive tunnel" intended for attacks. This action occurs amidst the ongoing war triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and over 250 hostages. The body of Israeli Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili is among those still held in Gaza.

Israeli forces demolish a major Hamas offensive tunnel in Beit Lahiya, as the conflict following the October 7th attack continues.

Tel Aviv, January 4 Combat engineers recently demolished a two-kilometre Hamas tunnel within the Israeli side of the Yellow Line in northern Gaza, the Israel Defence Forces said on Sunday.

The IDF described the tunnel, located in Beit Lahiya, as an "offensive tunnel."

Around 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The body of Israeli Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili remains in Gaza.

- ANI
Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court by Governor Om Prakash Mathur in Gangtok. His appointment was cleared by the Centre following a recommendation from the Supreme Court Collegium headed by CJI Surya Kant. A native of Kerala, Justice Mustaque has a diverse legal background, having practiced civil, commercial, constitutional, and criminal law. He previously served as an Additional and Permanent Judge of the Kerala High Court, including a stint as its Acting Chief Justice.

Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque sworn in as Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court. Learn about his career, legal background, and the appointment process.

New Delhi/Gangtok, Jan 4 Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque was sworn in on Sunday as the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court. Governor Om Prakash Mathur administered the oath of office to Justice Mustaque at a ceremony held at Lok Bhawan in Gangtok, attended by the High Court judges and other dignitaries.

On January 3, the Centre had cleared the appointment of Justice Mustaque as the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, following the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant.

"In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Muhamed Mustaque Ayumantakath, Judge, Kerala High Court, to be Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office," said a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice.

Born on June 1, 1967, Justice Mustaque is a native of Thana in Kannur district of Kerala. He obtained his law degree from V.B. College of Law, Udupi, and later completed his LL.M. in Labour Law from M.G. University. He enrolled as an advocate on October 1, 1989, and practised for seven years before various courts and statutory authorities in Kannur.

During his career at the Bar, he practised as a litigation lawyer and arbitrator and also served as a mediator at the Kerala Mediation Centre. His areas of practice included civil, commercial, constitutional, administrative, service and criminal law, besides telecommunication, intellectual property and information technology laws.

He also served as a faculty member for mediation training with the Indian Institute of Arbitration and Mediation (IIAM) and was a panel arbitrator with ICADR and IIAM.

Justice Muhamed Mustaque was sworn in as an Additional Judge of the Kerala High Court on January 23, 2014, and was appointed as a Permanent Judge with effect from March 10, 2016. He has also served as the Acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court from July 5 to September 21, 2024.

- IANS
Pope Leo XIV has expressed deep concern for Venezuela, urging paths of justice and peace following U.S. military strikes that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. The Pope called for the sovereignty and rights of all Venezuelans to be respected, especially the poorest. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the action sets a dangerous precedent, prompting an emergency UN Security Council meeting. The developments have created a major international crisis with profound regional implications.

Pope Leo XIV calls for peace and rights in Venezuela following US military strikes and the capture of Nicolas Maduro. UN Security Council to meet.

Vatican City, January 4 Pope Leo XIV expressed his concern over the recent developments in Venezuela, where American strikes took place and led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro.

Speaking at the Angelus prayer, Pope Leo XIV called upon for the good of the Venezuelan people to prevail, the rule of law be upheld, and human and civil rights of all to be respected, Vatican News reported on Sunday.

"The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration and lead us to overcome violence and to undertake paths of justice and peace, safeguarding the country's sovereignty, ensuring the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution, respecting the human and civil rights of each person and of all, and working to build together a serene future of collaboration, stability, and concord, with special attention to the poorest who suffer because of the difficult economic situation," Pope said at the midday Angelus prayer as per Vatican News.

While speaking from St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo invited everyone to pray for the Venezuelan people, and also assured them of his own prayers.

As per Vatican News, Pope Leo entrusted all Venezuelans to the intercession of the Lady of Coromoto, Patroness of Venezuela, St. Jose Gregorio Hernandez, and St. Carmen Rendiles.

"Let us continue to have faith in the God of peace... Let us pray and stand in solidarity with the peoples who suffer because of wars."

"We make an appeal to the people of God to live more intensely hope and fervent prayer for peace in our hearts and in society; we reject any kind of violence," they said. "May our hands open to encounter and mutual help, and may the decisions that are made be made always for the good of our people", Vatican News reported.

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump stated that Washington had carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela" and that the deposed "dictator" Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and taken out of the country.

Trump also posted a photograph on Truth Social showing Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after his capture.

Video footage later released by the White House-affiliated Rapid Response showed Maduro in handcuffs during a staged perp walk.

In the footage, he was seen wishing law enforcement authorities "Happy New Year" and "Good Night" as he was led into custody.

Following the attack, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep alarm over the situation in Venezuela, warning that the developments could have profound implications for the wider region.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, Guterres said that, irrespective of the situation in Venezuela, such actions set a dangerous precedent and underscored the need for full respect for international law by all parties, including adherence to the UN Charter.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to convene an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the recent military operation and capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife by the United States.

According to the Council presidency, the meeting is scheduled for 10 am (local time) under the agenda of "Threats to international peace and security".

"The presidency intends to hold the emergency meeting on Monday morning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT)," said the spokeswoman for the Somali Permanent Mission to the UN, Khadija Ahmed, as quoted by Xinhua.

- ANI
Subodh Khanolkar's Marathi film 'Dashavatar' becomes the first from the industry to enter the Oscars contention list for the 98th Academy Awards.

Mumbai, January 4 Ahead of the 96th Academy Awards, filmmaker Subodh Khanolkar's Marathi film 'Dashavatar' has entered the Oscars contention list, the makers confirmed on Sunday.

In an official social media announcement, Zee Studios Official shared the film's latest milestone.



"First Marathi Film to Enter the Oscar Contention List. Born of red soil. Carried by tradition. Now global. Dashavatar is heading towards the Oscars!," the caption read.



With this, 'Dashavatar' has also become the first-ever Marathi film to make it to the prestigious list, thus officially joining the race for the Oscar.



The film's production house, Ocean Film Company, added, "A milestone moment for us and for Marathi cinema. Dashavatar, Ocean Film Company's debut film, in Oscars is a testament to passion, belief, and relentless effort of our entire Team! Honoured and grateful to see Marathi storytelling shine on a global platform."



Director Subodh Khanolkar initially confirmed the selection on Instagram along with a screenshot of the mail that he received from the Academy.



"I received an email that 'Dashavatar' has been selected in the main competition of the Academy Awards (Main open film category - contention list). I was satisfied with the hard work we all have put in for the past several years. This satisfaction is not only because 'Dashavatar' has been selected, but because our Marathi film can stand up globally... Dashavtar is probably the first Marathi film selected in the main competition category. This is the only Marathi film among the 150+ films selected from thousands of films. And this is the first Marathi movie to be shown in the Academy Screening Room!" he wrote.



Written and directed by Subodh Khanolkar, 'Dashavatar' features Dilip Prabhavalkar in the lead role alongside actors like Mahesh Manjrekar, Bharat Jadhav, Siddharth Menon, Priyadarshini Indalkar, Vijay Kenkare, Ravi Kale, Abhinay Berde, Sunil Tawade, Aarti Wadagbalkar, and Lokesh Mittal.



Made under the banner of Zee Studios, Ocean Film Company, and Ocean Art House Production, the film is produced by Sujay Hande, Onkar Kate, Subodh Khanolkar, Ashok Hande, Aditya Joshi, Nitin Sahasrabudhe, Mrunal Sahasrabudhe, Sanjay Dubey, and Vinayak Joshi.



'Dashavatar' opened in theatres on September 12, 2025.



According to The Hollywood Reporter, nominations across all categories will be decided from January 12-16, 2026, and announced on January 22, 2026.



The 98th Academy Awards will be held on March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.





- ANI
SYDNEY, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Authorities have found the body of a missing worker after a coal mine collapsed in the northeast Australian state of Queensland on Friday afternoon.

An emergency search and rescue operation was launched for a missing man after the collapse at the underground mine at the Curragh complex, more than 600 km northwest of Brisbane in central Queensland, around 3:00 p.m. local time on Friday.

Tony Perrett, the state government's acting minister for mines, confirmed that emergency responders located the deceased worker on Saturday night.

He told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that specialist teams had worked through the night to stabilize the site and access the missing man.

"Tragically, that worker could not be saved," he said.

A second worker who was safely recovered on Friday was taken to hospital as a precaution.

The Curragh mine site is owned by metallurgical coal producer Coronado Global Resources and is operated by Mammoth Underground Mine Management, which said in a statement that it would fully support an investigation into the collapse. 
Television personality Meghan McCain and her husband, Ben Domenech, have welcomed their third child, a baby boy named Ransom. The newborn, born on January 2, joins his two older sisters, five-year-old Liberty and two-year-old Clover. McCain shared the happy news on Instagram, expressing that the family is "over the moon" and "overwhelmed with blessings." The former co-host of *The View* has often spoken about how motherhood has been a transformative and humbling experience for her.

Meghan McCain and husband Ben Domenech welcome their third child, a baby boy named Ransom. The newborn joins big sisters Liberty and Clover.

Washington DC, January 4 Television personality Meghan McCain and her husband, Ben Domenech, have welcomed their third child, a baby boy, the couple announced, E! News reported.

The 41-year-old McCain and 44-year-old Domenech welcomed their son, named Ransom McCain Domenech, on January 2. The newborn joins the couple's two daughters, Liberty, aged five, and Clover, aged two.

"Everyone is happy, healthy and exhausted," McCain said in a statement to People. "We're absolutely over the moon that our baby boy is here."

Sharing the news on Instagram, McCain thanked hospital staff for taking "such wonderful care of all of us" and noted that her daughters were thrilled to welcome their younger brother, E! News reported.

"We are absolutely over the moon to share that our son Ransom McCain Domenech has finally arrived at the crack of dawn January 2nd at 9lbs 2 oz. We are all blissed out over the moon. Everyone is happy, healthy and exhausted. We're so grateful to the incredible doctors and medical staff who took such wonderful care of all of us. Liberty and Clover couldn't be more excited to have a baby brother. Our family is overwhelmed with blessings, thank you all for your kind words, well wishes and prayers! Our family is officially a party of 5," she wrote on her Instagram handle.

McCain had announced her pregnancy in June during an episode of her Citizen McCain podcast, where she admitted feeling nervous about expanding her family.

"I know this is a weird way to announce it," she had said at the time. "It's a boy. I'm very nervous about having a boy. And I'm very nervous about having three children. Very," E! News reported.

The former View co-host has previously spoken about how motherhood has transformed her outlook on life, describing it as a humbling experience. In an interview with People in January 2024, McCain said, "Every single day is like an exercise in patience and humility because you know nothing is about you anymore."

"From the moment I wake up in the morning [to] the moment I go to sleep at night, it's making sure my girls are okay. It's about taking care of them, feeding them, giving them baths, putting them down--books, prayers, all those things," she added.

McCain further said, "You become really humbled in the best way possible and it certainly changes your outlook on the world," E! News reported.

- ANI
Namibia has strongly condemned the United States' capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, calling it a shocking violation of sovereignty and international law. The southern African nation, citing shared anti-colonial struggles, expressed solidarity with Venezuela and called for a UN Security Council session to address the crisis. It emphasized the need for multilateral institutions to protect national sovereignty and urged the international community to prioritize dialogue. Meanwhile, Venezuela's Supreme Court has directed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the role of Interim President following Maduro's arrest.

Namibia condemns US capture of Venezuelan President Maduro, calls for UN-led action to protect sovereignty and international law.

Windhoek, Jan 4 Namibia on Sunday called for respect for international law and the sovereignty of Venezuela after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured by the United States.

Describing the incident as a "great shock" and a violation of Venezuela's sovereignty and international law, the Ministry of International Relations and Trade said that the territorial integrity and political independence of all nations must be respected in accordance with the United Nations Charter, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Namibia underscored its solidarity and cooperation with Venezuela, citing a shared history of anti-colonial struggle for self-determination and independence.

The ministry said Namibia supports the involvement of multilateral institutions, including the United Nations, to ensure the protection of international law and national sovereignty, and backed the convening of a UN Security Council session to address the situation.

The southern African country also urged the international community to prioritise dialogue and diplomacy in resolving disputes among nations, emphasising the need for peaceful solutions to maintain global peace and stability.

Venezuelan leader Maduro has been locked in a notorious federal jail in New York after his capture by the US forces at a military base in his country, from where he had been taunting President Donald Trump.

As he was escorted into the local office of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) on Saturday night before being jailed, he said sarcastically, looking at the camera, "Good night. Happy New Year".

Once the unquestioned ruler of the oil-rich South American nation, in the video released by the White House, he was in a brown uniform, manacled and clutching a water bottle while two DEA officers held him on either side by his elbows.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's Supreme Court on Sunday directed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to take charge as the Interim President. The Constitutional Chamber, in a ruling after the attack, stated that Rodriguez would assume the presidency to maintain the nation's administrative continuity and safety.

The court stated that it would further consider how to establish a legal framework that ensures the continuity of the state, the functioning of the government, and the protection of sovereignty in light of the President's "forced absence".

- IANS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated US President Donald Trump for a successful military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The US action was based on allegations of drug trafficking and election rigging, with Maduro now detained in New York. Trump announced the US would take control of Venezuela's massive oil reserves, the largest in the world, and recruit American companies to refurbish its industry. Unlocking this heavy crude oil could significantly impact global markets and provide a new, nearby source for the United States.

Israeli PM Netanyahu praises Trump's leadership after US captures Venezuelan leader Maduro. Details on the operation, oil reserves, and charges.

Tel Aviv, January 4 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on late Saturday night congratulated US President Donald Trump for successfully completing its operation in Venezuela.

Netanyahu also lauded the work by US soldiers.

In a post on X, he said, "Congratulations, President Donald Trump for your bold and historic leadership on behalf of freedom and justice. I salute your decisive resolve and the brilliant action of your brave soldiers."

The US on Saturday captured Venezuelan dictator Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, after conducting a targeted military operation. This action was taken in alignment with US allegations that Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and had rigged the 2024 election.

The US had previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and offered a USD 50 million bounty for Maduro's arrest.

Maduro is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn and is set to face drugs and weapons charges in Manhattan federal court, as per CNN. (ANI)

Trump on Saturday said the US would take control of Venezuela's massive oil reserves and recruit American companies to invest billions of dollars to refurbish the country's gutted oil industry, CNN reported.

Venezuela has massive 303 billion barrels worth of crude -- about a fifth of the world's global reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

A US-led revamp could eventually make Venezuela a much bigger supplier of oil and could create opportunities for Western oil companies and could serve as a new source of production. It could also keep broader prices in check, although lower prices might disincentivize some US companies from producing oil, as per CNN.

The kind of oil Venezuela is sitting on -- heavy, sour crude -- requires special equipment and a high level of technical prowess to produce.

The United States, the world's largest oil producer, has light, sweet crude, which is good for making gasoline but not much else. Heavy, sour crude like the oil from Venezuela is crucial for certain products made in the refining process, including diesel, asphalt and fuels for factories and other heavy equipment.

Unlocking Venezuelan oil could be particularly beneficial to the United States: Venezuela is nearby and its oil is relatively cheap.

Venezuela is home to the largest proven oil reserve on Earth, but its potential far outweighs its actual output: Venezuela produces only about 1 million barrels of oil per day -- about 0.8% of global crude production, as reported by CNN.

International sanctions on the Venezuelan government and a deep economic crisis contributed to the decline of the country's oil industry -- but so did a lack of investment and maintenance, according to the EIA.

- ANI
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly praised U.S. President Donald Trump for the operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Trump announced that Maduro and Cilia Flores were captured in a nighttime military and law enforcement operation in Caracas. The couple has been indicted on charges of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies in the Southern District of New York. They are currently en route to the United States to stand trial, with the location to be decided between New York and Florida.

Israeli PM Netanyahu commends Trump after US forces capture Venezuela's President Maduro on drug trafficking charges. Read the details.

Tel Aviv, January 4 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised US President Donald Trump for his leadership and the military operation that led to the capture of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

In a post on X, Congratulations, President @realDonaldTrump, for your bold and historic leadership on behalf of freedom and justice. I salute your decisive resolve and the brilliant action of your brave soldiers."

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement.

Trump on Saturday (local time) said that Maduro and his wife, who were captured in Caracas during a US military operation, have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York, and will face trial.

He said that American forces, working with law enforcement agencies, captured Maduro and his wife in a night-time operation.

While addressing a press conference in Florida, Trump said, "No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday or frankly, in just a short period of time. All Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military, working with US law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night."

"It was dark, and it was deadly, but he was captured along with his wife, Cilia Flores, both of whom now face American justice. Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York," he said.

Trump said that Maduro and his wife "will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil" for their alleged role in drug trafficking, adding that they are currently being taken to New York, with authorities to decide later whether the trial will be held in New York or Florida.

"We will make the people of Venezuela rich, independent, and safe. The illegitimate dictator Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States. Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil. Right now, they're on a ship that will be heading to, ultimately, New York. And then a decision will be made, I assume, between New York and Miami or Florida," he said.

- ANI
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi has operationalized the 'Ashray Night Shelter' initiative, providing 1,500 beds for patients' families across its campuses. The facility offers free accommodation, food, blankets, and hygienic facilities to alleviate the hardship of overnight waits outside the hospital. Patients are identified at night and transported via eco-friendly shuttle buses, with a token system ensuring orderly OPD registration the next morning. The fully utilized initiative has already reduced patient discomfort and sets a benchmark for patient-centric care in public healthcare.

AIIMS Delhi's 'Ashray Night Shelter' provides free accommodation, food, and transport for 1,500 patients' families, reducing queues and improving care.

New Delhi, January 4 Families of patients being treated at AIIMS now have access to 1,500 beds across multiple campuses.

The hospital provides both private and shared rooms to ensure that those supporting their loved ones have a safe place to stay.

"Our accommodation services span the main hospital, the trauma wing, and the NCI Jhajjar site, offering a variety of room types through an easy-to-use digital booking system," Director AIIMS M Srinivas said.

Launched last winter, AIIMS 'Ashray Night Shelter' has redefined patient care beyond hospital walls; its capacity is to be increased to accommodate more people, as per an official statement.

In a significant step towards strengthening patient-centric healthcare, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, with support from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), has operationalised the Ashray facility, an initiative aimed at providing safe shelter, comfort, and dignity to patients and their attendants who otherwise spend nights waiting outside the hospital for outpatient department (OPD) services.

Designed to address the persistent challenge of overcrowding and overnight queues, Ashray ensures that patients are no longer compelled to wait on pavements or hospital premises under difficult conditions. Patients arriving at night are proactively identified and transported to the facility using eco-friendly electric shuttle buses. Upon arrival, each patient is issued a token number in the order of reporting, ensuring that the same sequence is honoured during OPD registration the following day.

The facility provides free food, clean blankets, and access to hygienic toilet facilities for both patients and their attendants, ensuring basic comfort and preserving dignity during their stay. The next morning, patients are transported back to their respective OPDs in electric vehicles, enabling smooth and orderly registration without the stress of early-morning queues.

With a capacity of approximately 250 individuals, the Ashray facility is currently operating at full utilisation, reflecting the strong demand for such support services among patients visiting the country's premier medical institution. Officials indicated that the initiative has already led to a visible reduction in patient discomfort and improved crowd management around OPD registration areas.

AIIMS has also indicated that the facility may be expanded in the future, subject to space availability and rising demand, to accommodate more patients and attendants. By combining compassionate care with sustainable transport solutions and structured patient flow, the Ashray facility stands out as a model intervention in public healthcare delivery. The initiative underscores how thoughtful administrative measures can significantly enhance the patient experience, setting a potential benchmark for hospitals nationwide.

- ANI
Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that the NHPC's Sawalkot hydroelectric project in Jammu and Kashmir will generate 800 MW of electricity, contributing significantly to national power capacity. He noted the project, located on the Chenab River, had faced delays of about two to two-and-a-half years due to various obstacles but work is now underway. The project, originally conceived in the 1960s, saw tenders invited in July for its construction, with a total potential capacity of 1,856 MW. Its development is also a step toward optimizing India's use of Indus waters following the treaty's suspension after the Pahalgam terror attack.

Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announces NHPC's Sawalkot hydroelectric project in Jammu & Kashmir will generate 800 MW, enhancing national power capacity.

Kishtwar, January 5 Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that the Sawalkot hydroelectric project being executed by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, in Jammu and Kashmir, will generate "800 megawatts" of electricity, contributing to the country's power generation capacity.

He also visited the Salal power project.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to Kishtwar, Khattar on Sunday said, "I came to Jammu and Kashmir for various projects. I visited the Salal Project 1 and 2, and also conducted an aerial survey of Sawalkot (hydroelectric project)."

He said all National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) projects in the region are progressing despite challenges.

"All our NHPC projects are underway. There were many challenges in this. The work has officially started today. There has been a delay of two to two-and-a-half years in starting this work because some obstacles came in carrying out this work," the Union Minister said.

He added, "By completing it on time, NHPC will generate 800 megawatts of electricity, which will make a significant contribution to the country's power generation capacity."

NHPC is developing the Sawalkot Hydroelectric Project on the Chenab River in the Udhampur, Reasi, and Ramban districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

In July, the centre had invited tenders for the construction of the 1,856 MW Sawalkote Hydroelectric Project on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir.

NHPC released an official notification inviting e-tenders for the project originally conceived in the 1960s.

The last date for submission of online bids was September 10.

The project site is located near Sidhu village in Ramban district, roughly 120 km from Jammu and 130 km from Srinagar.

Construction of the Sawalkote Hydroelectric Project is a significant step toward optimising India's use of Indus water, given that the treaty remains suspended. The Indus Water Treaty was put in abeyance as one of India's strict actions against Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

- ANI
North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Sunday, marking its first weapons test of the new year. The launch occurred as South Korea's president prepared for summit talks with China's leader, highlighting sensitive regional timing. This test follows North Korea's November missile launch and its October display of advanced hypersonic and ICBM systems. Pyongyang historically uses such launches to signal opposition to perceived hostile actions by the US and its allies.

North Korea conducts its first missile test of the year, firing multiple ballistic missiles into the East Sea as regional security tensions remain high.

Pyongyang, January 4 North Korea on Sunday fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the East Sea, South Korea's military said, marking Pyongyang's first weapons test of the year, Yonhap News reported.

According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the missiles were launched from areas near Pyongyang at around 7:50 am local time. The launches were detected as regional security remained on alert.

"Our military maintains a firm readiness posture while closely sharing North Korean ballistic missile information with the U.S. and Japan sides amid a heightened surveillance posture against additional launches," the JCS said in a statement.

The missile launch came at a sensitive moment, as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung was preparing to leave for Beijing for summit-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The timing also coincided with heightened global tensions following US President Donald Trump's announcement that Washington had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro during a large-scale military operation.

North Korea's last missile test took place on November 7, when it fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the East Sea. That launch was the sixth ballistic missile test conducted by Pyongyang last year.

North Korea has repeatedly used missile launches to signal opposition to what it sees as hostile actions by the United States and its allies, often carrying out such tests during periods of heightened international tension, Yonhap News

Earlier, in October, North Korea displayed new hypersonic and long-range nuclear missiles during a large military parade in Pyongyang on Friday night to mark the 80th anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, Yonhap News reported, citing state media.

The parade took place in Kim Il Sung Square and showcased two major weapons the Hwasong-11Ma hypersonic missile and the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which North Korean state media described as the country's "most powerful nuclear weapons."

- ANI
The US Indo-Pacific Command stated that North Korea's first missile launch of 2025, involving multiple ballistic missiles fired toward the East Sea, does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel, territory, or allies. The command emphasized close consultation with allies and partners while reaffirming the US commitment to regional defense. The launch occurred as South Korea's president prepared for summit talks in Beijing, adding a diplomatic dimension to the security event. This test continues a pattern of North Korean ballistic missile launches, with the last occurring in November 2024.

The US Indo-Pacific Command says North Korea's first 2025 missile test poses no immediate threat, as allies coordinate amid regional diplomacy.

Washington, DC, January 4 The US Indo-Pacific Command on Saturday said it is aware of North Korea's recent missile launches and is closely consulting with allies and partners, adding that the launches do not pose an immediate threat.

In a statement posted on X, the US Indo-Pacific Command said, "We are aware of the missile launches and are consulting closely with our allies and partners. Based on current assessments, this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies. The United States remains committed to the defence of the US homeland and our allies in the region."

The statement came after North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the East Sea earlier on Sunday (local time), South Korea's military said, marking Pyongyang's first weapons test of the year, Yonhap News reported.

According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the missiles were launched from areas near Pyongyang at around 7:50 am local time. The launches were detected as regional security remained on alert.

"Our military maintains a firm readiness posture while closely sharing North Korean ballistic missile information with the U.S. and Japan sides amid a heightened surveillance posture against additional launches," the JCS said in a statement.

The missile launch came at a sensitive time, as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung was preparing to leave for Beijing for summit-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The timing also coincided with heightened global tensions following US President Donald Trump's announcement that Washington had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro during a large-scale military operation.

North Korea's last missile test took place on November 7, when it fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the East Sea. That launch was the sixth ballistic missile test conducted by Pyongyang last year.

- ANI
The indictment alleges Maduro used state power to traffic cocaine for over two decades

She accuses Trump of misleading the public and lacking legal authority for the operation

Former Vice President Kamala Harris has launched a fierce critique of President Trump's actions in Venezuela. She calls the operation unlawful and dangerous, driven by Trump's personal ambition rather than national interest. Harris argues it's not about promoting democracy but about oil and Trump wanting to act as a regional strongman. She warns the move destabilizes the region and offers no clear benefit or exit plan for the United States.

Former VP Kamala Harris calls Trump's Venezuela operation unlawful and driven by political ambition, warning it destabilizes the region and risks American lives.

New Delhi/Washington, Jan 4 Former US Vice President Kamala Harris has strongly criticised President Donald Trumps actions in Venezuela, calling them unlawful, dangerous and driven by political ambition rather than national interest.

In a sharply worded post on X, Harris warned that the move risks destabilising the region while putting American lives and resources at stake.

Donald Trumps actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable, Harris wrote, accusing the president of misleading the public. While acknowledging Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduros record, she added, That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. Weve seen this movie before. Wars for regime change or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price.

Harris said public support for such actions is lacking. The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to, she stated, arguing that the rationale behind the operation has been deliberately distorted.

In one of her strongest remarks, Harris asserted, This is not about drugs or democracy. It is about oil and Donald Trumps desire to play the regional strongman. She further alleged hypocrisy in the administrations approach, saying, If he cared about either, he wouldnt pardon a convicted drug trafficker or sideline Venezuelas legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduros cronies.

Harris warned of the long-term consequences, writing, The President is putting troops at risk, spending billions, destabilizing a region, and offering no legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home.

She concluded by outlining what she believes should be the countrys priorities: America needs leadership whose priorities are lowering costs for working families, enforcing the rule of law, strengthening alliances, and  most importantly  putting the American people first.

Her remarks come amid dramatic developments on the ground. In an early morning operation on Saturday, US Delta forces attacked an army base in Venezuela, capping months of military buildup, and captured Maduro along with his wife, Cilia Flores.

According to US officials, the two were placed aboard a warship and transported to New York, where narco-terrorism charges have been filed in federal court.

The indictment, made public by US Attorney General Pam Bondi, was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors allege Maduro used state power for more than two decades to move massive quantities of cocaine toward the United States. He faces charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, firearms offences and related crimes, with alleged conduct spanning from around 1999 through 2025.

The court filing claims Maduro sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that relied on military, intelligence, and law enforcement institutions to protect drug trafficking routes. Thousands of tons of cocaine were allegedly shipped through the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico.

The indictment also names co-defendants, including Cilia Flores, Maduros son Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra and some senior officials.

- IANS
More than 50,000 KT customers switched mobile carriers in just four days after the company waived early termination penalties following a major data breach. The majority of defectors moved to rival SK Telecom, which has aggressively courted affected users. In response, KT's CEO has called for a company-wide shift in security awareness, stating that every business function is now a potential target for cyber attacks. Simultaneously, he outlined a growth strategy focused on positioning KT as a leading global AI partner to rebuild customer trust and ensure future growth.

Over 50,000 KT customers switched carriers in 4 days after penalty waivers. CEO urges AI focus and security overhaul to rebuild trust.

Seoul, Jan 4 More than 50,000 customers of KT Corp., South Korea's second-largest mobile carrier, have canceled their subscriptions after the telecom company began waiving early termination penalties following a major data breach, industry sources said.

According to the sources, 52,661 KT users moved to rival carriers between Wednesday and Saturday. More than 70 percent of them switched to SK Telecom Co, reports Yonhap news agency.

On Saturday alone, 21,027 people left KT, including 13,616 who opted for SK Telecom, the sources said.

SK Telecom, the No. 1 mobile carrier, has been moving swiftly to attract KT customers, including those who previously left the company following its own hacking incident last year, prompting some former users to return.

Meanwhile, the head of KT Corp on Friday urged employees to step up efforts to restore customer trust and remain vigilant against potential cyber risks across all areas of the telecom company.

"Not only traditional information technology (IT) domains or specific departments but every routine task we perform -- from networking and marketing to customer service -- is now a potential target for attacks and must be protected," Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kim Young-shub said in his New Year's message, referring to a major data breach reported in September that led to a series of unauthorised micro-payments.

"Without this shift in awareness, we cannot defend against increasingly sophisticated security threats," he said.

Kim called on employees to unite in restoring customer trust while outlining the company's longer-term growth strategy centred on artificial intelligence (AI).

He said KT will prioritise strengthening its AI transformation capabilities and aims to position itself as a leading global AI partner.

"If we continue to enhance our AI transformation capabilities and pursue bold innovation and challenges, we can sustain our growth as a premier AI transformation partner recognised by customers and the market," Kim said.

- IANS
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A plane carrying Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were captured in a large-scale U.S. military strike on Venezuela early Saturday morning, has arrived at a New York military base, according to local media.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has demanded the "immediate release" of the couple at a session of the National Defense Council broadcast by a state television channel. Maduro is "the only president" of Venezuela, she said.

The latest U.S. strikes on Venezuela and its capture of Maduro have drawn worldwide condemnation and concern.

The UN Security Council announced Saturday that it will hold an emergency meeting on Monday on the U.S. operation against Venezuela. 
The Tamil Nadu government has announced a Rs 3,000 cash assistance for all rice ration card-holding families as a Pongal gift. This initiative is part of a larger festive package that also includes raw rice, sugar, sugarcane, dhotis, and sarees. The comprehensive scheme is estimated to cost approximately Rs 6,936.17 crore and aims to benefit around 2.22 crore families across the state. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has directed officials to ensure timely distribution through fair price shops before the festival begins.

Tamil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin announces Rs 3,000 cash aid and gift hampers for Pongal, benefiting 2.22 crore rice ration card-holding families.

Chennai, Jan 4 The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday announced a cash assistance of Rs 3,000 for all rice ration card-holding families as part of the Pongal festival celebrations.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin's decision aims to make the harvest festival more inclusive and celebratory for households across the State, according to an official government statement.

Describing Pongal as an ancient and noble Tamil festival celebrated for thousands of years with strong family bonds, the government said the occasion is marked to express gratitude to the Sun, cattle that support agricultural labour, and farmers who nourish the world and relieve hunger.

"Pongal symbolises humanity's deep connection with nature, agriculture, and collective well-being," the statement said.

Earlier, the State government had announced a comprehensive Pongal gift package for all rice family cardholders and families residing in Sri Lankan Tamil rehabilitation camps.

The package includes one kilogram of raw rice, one kilogram of sugar, and one whole sugarcane, to be distributed through fair price shops across Tamil Nadu.

The initiative is intended to ensure that every eligible household can celebrate Pongal with dignity and joy.

The scheme will benefit around 2.22 crore rice ration card holders, including families living in Sri Lankan Tamil rehabilitation camps.

In addition to the food items and cash assistance, the government has also arranged for the distribution of dhotis and sarees as part of the festive welfare measures.

Officials confirmed that consignments of dhotis and sarees have already been dispatched to all districts.

In order to further enhance the festive spirit, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has directed that Rs 3,000 be provided as a Pongal cash gift to all eligible families.

With the inclusion of the Pongal gift hampers, clothing, and cash assistance, the total expenditure for the scheme is estimated at Rs 6,936.17 crore.

The Chief Minister has instructed officials to ensure that all arrangements are completed well in advance of the festival.

Cash assistance, Pongal gift hampers, and dhotis and sarees are to be distributed through fair price shops before the commencement of the Pongal celebrations, so that beneficiaries can receive the assistance on time.

The government said the initiative reflects its commitment to social welfare and its resolve to support families during important cultural occasions, reaffirming Pongal as a festival of gratitude, prosperity, and shared happiness for the people of Tamil Nadu.

- IANS
Newly appointed Indore Municipal Corporation Commissioner Kshitij Singhal has made ensuring safe drinking water for the contaminated Bhagirathpura area his immediate priority. The crisis prompted Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to remove the previous commissioner and suspend other officials for negligence. Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav stated the entire district administration is working together to resolve the issue and prevent new illnesses. The state government has taken a strict stance, vowing not to tolerate any lapses in providing clean water to residents.

New IMC Commissioner Kshitij Singhal prioritizes clean water for Bhagirathpura after CM suspends officials over contamination crisis.

Indore, January 4 Amid the health emergency caused by contaminated water in Indore's Bhagirathpura area, newly joined Indore Municipal Corporation Commissioner Kshitij Singhal said that his priority was to ensure safe drinking water for the affected area.

Speaking to ANI, Kshitij Singhal said, "I joined just last night. We are looking into the matter and planning to resolve it. My focus is to visit the area. A team is working on this issue and is in constant touch with the district administration. Our priority is to ensure that we get quality water in this area." Meanwhile, Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav said that the district administration is working to resolve the problems faced by the people of Bhagirathpura.

"The entire district administration and all the elected representatives are sitting together to address the problems faced by the people of Bhagirathpura. We are all working together to resolve their issues and provide them with the necessary facilities immediately. Our priority is to prevent new cases of illness and ensure they receive clean water...," Indore Mayor told ANI. On Saturday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav removed Indore municipal commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav and suspended additional commissioner Rohit Sisoniya and and the in-charge Superintending Engineer of PHE Sanjeev Shrivastava.

In a post on X, the CM clarified his stance on the water contamination crisis, saying, "The state government will not tolerate negligence in the incident that occurred in Bhaagirthpura, Indore, due to contaminated drinking water. Strict decisions are being taken in this regard."

He stated that two individuals have been suspended following the incident.

"The corporation's Additional Commissioner Rohit Sisonia and the in-charge Superintending Engineer of PHE Sanjeev Shrivastava have been suspended. Instructions have also been given to remove Indore Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dilip Kumar Yadav," he said.

- ANI
Protests have erupted in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan against the inclusion of controversial figures in the region's caretaker government, with demonstrators calling it an attempt to rig upcoming elections. The GB Youth Movement led the protest, blocking roads and resulting in several arrests, including the group's chairman. A report highlights that elections are considered meaningless without a provisional constitution and legislative authority over local resources for the region's assembly. Nationalists demand the reinstatement of the state subject rule, legislative autonomy, and cite UN resolutions calling for Pakistan's withdrawal from the disputed territory.

GB Youth Movement protests controversial appointments in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan's caretaker government, alleging election rigging and demanding local representation.

Islamabad, Jan 4 The GB Youth Movement staged a protest in the Chinarbagh region of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan against the inclusion of controversial personalities in the so-called caretaker government, local media reported on Sunday.

Political and civil society members also announced protests in Ghanche, Nagar and Shigar districts over the lack of representation in the so-called caretaker cabinet, Pakistan's leading daily, Dawn, reported.

Protesters stated that several controversial people were included in the so-called cabinet and stressed that the inclusion of such figures in the caretaker cabinet was part of an attempt at election rigging in the upcoming general elections, and termed it unacceptable.

The protesters called for representation of educated youth and neutral people in the cabinet.

They announced that a sit-in protest will be held until the decision to appoint the so-called cabinet members is revoked. During the protest, demonstrators blocked River Road in Chinarbagh, and later, police arrested eight protesters, including the chairman of the GB Youth Movement.

Last month, a report stated that upcoming polls in PoGB would be meaningless until the region has its own provisional constitution and the Assembly has authority to legislate over resources.

Nationalists have demanded reinstatement of state subject rule, legislative autonomy, and reunification with India to secure cultural survival, resource control, and democratic self-determination.

Locals have continued to remind Pakistan of the United Nations Security Council resolution, which requires the removal of all Pakistani nationals from Gilgit-Baltistan to resolve the dispute with India, Institute for Gilgit Baltistan Studies founder Senge Sering, who is based in the US, wrote in a report in the International Centre for Peace Studies.

The Pakistani colonial overlords have ignored these warnings and seized local lands, appointed their own bureaucracy to hold sham elections to elect representatives on behalf of the residents of this area.

The report in the International Centre for Peace Studies stated, "Previously, the nationalists boycotted elections in Gilgit-Baltistan because the local electoral commission requires all candidates to sign a vow of allegiance to Pakistan. In their defence, nationalists contend that since Gilgit-Baltistan is not legally a part of Pakistan and falls beyond its constitutional ambit, forcing local residents to pledge loyalty to a foreign country is not only unethical and unconstitutional but also violative of Islamic principles."

"This time, however, the nationalist coalition has resolved to field candidates in all constituencies. They have decided to involve themselves in the process since such a sham process, in reality, empowers Pakistani puppets with the ability to fill the political vacuum, control funds, and misappropriate true national identity," it said.

"The patrons in the military establishment have traditionally enabled Pakistani political parties such as the Muslim League, Tehrik-i-Insaf, and People's Party to dominate electoral politics in the terrain and form local governments, which function as a springboard for Pakistani Pashtuns, Hindkowal, and Punjabis to spawn illegal settlements in the occupied territory," the report added.

After facing deprivation and oppression for 78 years, most of the locals have fallen prey to Pakistani machinations. They are cutting their own roots without realising that Shia and Sunni settlers of Pakistan have no loyalty towards Gilgit-Baltistan.

Instead of depending on Pakistani Shias and Sunnis for survival, locals should work together to force Pakistan to honour the UNCIP resolutions and leave Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), according to the report. Nationalists have demanded the reinstatement of the state subject rule (SSR) in Gilgit-Baltistan.

"The upcoming Assembly elections will be meaningless until Gilgit-Baltistan has its own provisional constitution and the Assembly has authority to legislate over resources and means of production as well as collect transit tolls and taxes," the author wrote in the report.

- IANS
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will commission the Indian Coast Guard's first indigenously built Pollution Control Vessel, Samudra Pratap, on January 5, 2026, at Goa Shipyard Limited. Built with over 60% indigenous content, the 114.5-meter vessel marks a major milestone in India's self-reliance in defence production under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The ship, capable of speeds over 22 knots and an endurance of 6,000 nautical miles, will significantly boost the ICG's capabilities in pollution control, firefighting, and maritime security. Its commissioning reinforces India's commitment to safeguarding its maritime environment and enhancing indigenous defence manufacturing.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to commission the Indian Coast Guard's first indigenously built Pollution Control Vessel, Samudra Pratap, on Jan 5, 2026.

New Delhi, January 4 The Indian Coast Guard's first indigenously built Pollution Control Vessel, Samudra Pratap, is set to be commissioned by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on January 5, 2026, at Goa Shipyard Limited in Goa.

In a post on X, the Indian Coast Guard wrote, "@IndiaCoastGuard Ship Samudra Pratap, the first of two Pollution Control Vessels, will be commissioned by Hon'ble Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh at @goashipyardltd, #Goa on 05 Jan 26. Built by #GSL with over 60% indigenous content, the 114.5 Mtr, 4,200 ton vessel boasts a speed of more than 22 knots and an endurance of 6,000 nm, significantly enhancing the #ICG's pollution response, fire-fighting, and maritime safety & security capabilities."

This vessel is a significant milestone in India's journey towards self-reliance in defence production, with over 60% indigenous content.

The commissioning of Samudra Pratap will enhance the ICG's capabilities in responding to marine pollution incidents, safeguarding India's maritime environment and resources.

Built by GSL with more than 60 per cent indigenous content, Samudra Pratap reflects India's growing self-reliance in defence shipbuilding under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The 114.5-metre-long vessel displaces around 4,200 tonnes, can achieve speeds of over 22 knots, and has an endurance of 6,000 nautical miles.

Equipped with advanced pollution response and firefighting systems, it will significantly enhance the Coast Guard's capacity to address oil spills, maritime emergencies, and security challenges in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and beyond.

Goa Shipyard Limited, a premier defence public sector undertaking, was constructing two such pollution control vessels for the ICG under a Rs 583 crore contract signed on June 22, 2021. This project marks the first time pollution-control ships of this class have been designed and built indigenously in India.

Samudra Pratap has been designed and constructed in-house to meet the Coast Guard's specific operational requirements.

The ship measures 114.5 metres in length with a beam of 16.5 metres and will be manned by 14 officers and 115 sailors. Notably, it is also India's first indigenously designed and built hybrid, sea-going pollution-control vessel.

The commissioning comes amid heightened maritime vigilance by the Coast Guard. On December 18, 2025, ICG ship Anmol apprehended two Bangladeshi fishing boats engaged in illegal fishing within India's EEZ, underscoring the force's critical role in enforcing maritime laws and safeguarding national interests.

With the induction of Samudra Pratap, the Indian Coast Guard further strengthens its operational readiness while reinforcing India's commitment to maritime safety, environmental protection, and indigenous defence manufacturing.

- ANI
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated Japan is ready to work with G7 and regional nations on diplomatic efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela. The announcement follows a US military operation that captured deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep alarm, warning the actions set a dangerous precedent. The UN Security Council will convene an emergency meeting to discuss the situation as a threat to international peace.

Japan's PM Sanae Takaichi commits to coordinating with G7 and regional nations to restore democracy in Venezuela following US military action.

Tokyo, January 4 In the wake of the strikes in Venezuela, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Sunday said that Japan stands ready to closely coordinate with G7 countries and the regional partners to advance diplomatic efforts toward the restoration of democracy in the South American country.

In a post on X on Sunday, she said the Japanese government is prioritising the safety of Japanese nationals while closely coordinating with relevant countries to address the situation.

She added, "Regarding the situation in Venezuela, the Japanese government has consistently emphasised the importance of restoring democracy in Venezuela as soon as possible."

Noting that Japan has traditionally respected fundamental values and principles such as freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, she said, "Based on this consistent position of our country, the Japanese government will continue to closely coordinate with relevant countries, including G7 and regional nations, to ensure the utmost protection of Japanese nationals, while advancing diplomatic efforts toward the restoration of democracy in Venezuela and the stabilization of the situation."

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump stated that Washington had carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela" and that the deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and taken out of the country.

Trump also posted a photograph on Truth Social showing Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after his capture.

Video footage later released by the White House-affiliated Rapid Response showed Maduro in handcuffs during a staged perp walk.

In the footage, he was seen wishing law enforcement authorities "Happy New Year" and "Good Night" as he was led into custody.

Following the attack, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep alarm over the situation in Venezuela, warning that the developments could have profound implications for the wider region.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, Guterres said that, irrespective of the situation in Venezuela, such actions set a dangerous precedent and underscored the need for full respect for international law by all parties, including adherence to the UN Charter.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to convene an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the recent military operation and capture of the deposed Venezuelan dictator, Nicolas Maduro and his wife by the United States.

According to the Council presidency, the meeting is scheduled for 10 am (local time) under the agenda of "Threats to international peace and security".

"The presidency intends to hold the emergency meeting on Monday morning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT)," said the spokeswoman for the Somali Permanent Mission to the UN, Khadija Ahmed, as quoted by Xinhua.

- ANI
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the Trump administration is exerting pressure on Venezuela through an oil "quarantine" enforced by sanctions and naval power. He emphasized that Venezuela's oil-dependent economy is the regime's key vulnerability and that the US will seize sanctioned oil shipments. Rubio outlined US demands, including an end to drug trafficking and the removal of armed groups like the FARC from Venezuelan territory. While not ruling out military options, he stressed the current strategy relies on economic and maritime pressure rather than occupation.

Marco Rubio details US strategy of sanctions and naval power targeting Venezuela's oil to force change, while not ruling out military options.

Washington, Jan 4 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the Trump administration is exerting control over Venezuela through economic and maritime pressure centred on the country's oil industry, rejecting suggestions that Washington is planning a military occupation.

In an interview with television channel CBS, Rubio said that Venezuela's oil sector lies at the heart of the country's crisis and is the main source of leverage for the United States.

"The key to what that regime relies on is the economy fueled by oil," he added.

He described the industry as "backwards" and said it no longer benefits ordinary Venezuelans.

"None of the money from the oil gets to the people. It's all stolen by the people that are on the top there," he told the news channel.

Rubio said the US has imposed what he called an oil "quarantine", enforced by sanctions and naval power.

"There's a quarantine right now," he added.

"Sanctioned oil shipments -- there's a boat, and that boat is under US sanctions - we go get a court order, we will seize it."

He said the pressure would remain in place until Washington sees concrete changes.

"That remains in place, and that's a tremendous amount of leverage," Rubio added.

According to Rubio, US demands include an end to drug trafficking, the dismantling of criminal gangs, and the removal of armed groups operating from Venezuelan territory.

"So that they stop the drug trafficking, so that we no longer have these gang problems, so that they kick the FARC and the ELN out," he said.

He also warned against foreign influence in the region.

Rubio said Venezuela must "no longer cozy up to Hezbollah and Iran in our own hemisphere".

Pressed on President Donald Trump's remarks about retaining "all military options", Rubio said the administration is not ruling anything out but stressed that current actions rely on pressure, not occupation.

"The President always retains optionality," he added.

"He does not feel like he is going to publicly rule out options that are available for the United States."

Rubio said the current US military force posture includes a major naval deployment.

"One of the largest naval deployments in modern history," he said, adding that it is capable of stopping drug shipments and enforcing oil sanctions.

He said Venezuela's instability has had a direct impact on the United States.

"Eight, nine million people -- the largest mass migration event in modern history -- have left that country since 2014," Rubio added.

He said that Washington is focused on national security threats rather than political symbolism.

"We are not just addressing the regime," he added.

"We are addressing the factors that are a threat to the national interest of the United States."

He declined to discuss private negotiations with Venezuela's new leadership.

"These are delicate and complicated things," Rubio said.

"We are going to judge everything by what they do."

- IANS
Russian and Belarusian foreign ministers have jointly condemned a US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. They demanded the immediate release and restoration of Maduro to power, labeling the US action a violation of international legal norms. The US transported the detained couple by warship to face "narco-terrorism" charges in New York. The two ministers emphasized the necessity of resolving the situation through diplomatic dialogue in accordance with international law.

Russian and Belarusian FMs condemn US operation capturing Maduro, demand his release and restoration as president, calling it a violation of international law.

Moscow, Jan 4 Russian and Belarusian foreign ministers strongly condemned US aggression against Venezuela during a phone call, the Russian foreign ministry said.

During the call, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov exchanged views on the situation surrounding Venezuela, stressing that Moscow and Minsk are united in condemning actions in violation of international legal norms, Xinhua news agency reported.

They also stressed the unconditional necessity of the immediate release of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, their return to the country's capital, and the restoration of Maduro to the post of head of state.

The two sides further noted the importance of swiftly creating conditions for resolving the situation around Venezuela through dialogue in accordance with international law, the ministry said.

In an early morning operation on Saturday, US Delta forces attacked an army base in Venezuela, capping months of military buildup and picked up Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

They were put on a warship for transportation to New York, where "narco-terrorism" charges have been filed in a federal court, US officials said.

"They're on a ship, and they'll be heading into New York", US President Donald Trump told Fox News. "They went by helicopter on a nice flight. I'm sure they loved it".

Trump has been criticising Maduro, accusing him of being involved in the drug trade and sending gangs to the US.

- IANS
Security has been significantly heightened in Pudukkottai for the BJP's concluding public rally in Tamil Nadu, featuring Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Authorities have imposed a complete ban on drones and unmanned aerial vehicles over the venue as a preventive measure. The police have established multi-layered security with frisking points, barricades, and surveillance teams to manage the expected large crowd. This rally is viewed as a crucial event to energize the party cadre ahead of the upcoming state assembly elections.

Enhanced security & a drone ban are in place for Union HM Amit Shah's BJP rally in Pudukkottai, the party's final Tamil Nadu campaign event.

Chennai, Jan 4 Security arrangements have been significantly strengthened ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Party's concluding public rally in Tamil Nadu, scheduled to be held on Sunday.

The meeting, led by Tamil Nadu BJP leader Nainar Nagendran, will take place at 5 p.m. at the Pallathivayal area near Balan Nagar in Tirukokarnam, Pudukkottai.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to participate in the event and address the gathering. In view of the high-profile nature of the rally, the police have imposed a complete ban on the operation of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in and around the venue for the day.

Officials said the restriction has been enforced as a preventive security measure to avoid any untoward incidents during the public meeting.

Police have warned that strict legal action will be initiated against individuals found violating the ban. Senior police officials have been closely monitoring the security preparations. Multi-layered security arrangements have been put in place at the venue, with frisking and checking points established at all entry routes.

Barricades have been erected to regulate crowd movement, while surveillance teams have been deployed in and around the rally grounds. Additional police personnel have also been stationed along key roads to manage traffic and ensure smooth vehicular movement.

The concluding rally marks the final leg of the BJP's statewide political campaign and is expected to draw a large turnout of party workers and supporters. The party leadership views the event as an important platform to energise cadres and reinforce its organisational presence ahead of the forthcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

Several senior State and district-level leaders are expected to be present on the dais. Police officials have appealed to the public to cooperate with the security arrangements and comply with the restrictions imposed for the event.

Motorists have been advised to expect traffic diversions in the vicinity of the venue during the rally hours and to plan their travel accordingly. Authorities said all necessary steps have been taken to ensure the safety of participants as well as the general public, and to facilitate the peaceful and orderly conduct of the high-profile political gathering.

- IANS
US forces have captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, parliament member Cilia Flores, in a military operation in Caracas. The couple now faces narco-terrorism and drug importation charges in a New York court. Expert Robinder Sachdev states Flores was captured to prevent her from mobilizing political support for Maduro, calling her the "brain" behind his administration. The Trump administration frames the unprecedented intervention as a law-enforcement action to apprehend criminals, not a military attack requiring Congressional approval.

US forces capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas. They face drug trafficking charges in New York as the US moves to "run" Venezuela.

New Delhi, January 4 Foreign Affairs Expert Robinder Sachdev on Sunday highlighted the reason for the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3, 2025.

Sachdev, in an interview with ANI, said that Flores, a member of the Venezuelan parliament, is considered a key figure in Maduro's administration and is accused of being involved in drug trafficking. The US reportedly abducted her to prevent her from rallying support for Maduro in Venezuela.

"Maduro will face the charges in New York. His wife has also been captured. The reason for abducting his wife is that Maduro's wife is also a member of the Venezuelan parliament. She is a brilliant, smart lady, and it is said that she is the brain behind Maduro. So America did not want to leave her in Venezuela because then she would have mobilised and rallied support for Maduro politically. They have also charged her with similar drug trafficking charges. So they abducted both of them and now in New York the case will be run against them," he said.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by US forces in a large-scale military operation in Caracas and are now facing charges in New York.

The couple is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, with Maduro facing charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy.

The US has announced plans to "run" Venezuela until a safe transition can be made, sparking international debate and concern over the operation's legality and implications for regional stability.

Sachdev said the operation was a spectacular success.

"America's attack on Venezuela and the capture of Maduro is something unprecedented. It has never ever happened before. The kind of military operation carried out by America. On the military side, no doubt it was a spectacular success executed flawlessly," he said.

The operation, framed as a law-enforcement matter rather than a military operation, involved US Special Forces and law-enforcement officials. Sachdev explained that the US didn't need Congressional approval for the operation because it was framed as a law-enforcement operation rather than a military attack.

"Secondly, Trump is positioning this not as a military attack on Venezuela. He is positioning it as law enforcement of America going to a country and capturing a criminal. That is why, along with the military, they also had officials from law enforcement. The reason is that for Trump to attack a country, it is actually necessary for the US Congress to approve. In this case, he has not taken any approval from the US Congress because he is positioning it as a step by the law enforcement agencies to go and bring back a criminal drug trafficker," he said.

The international community has reacted with concern, with some leaders questioning the legality of the operation. The UN Security Council is set to discuss the situation, while Russia and China have condemned the US action.

The US military launched a targeted operation in Venezuela (codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve). This marks a significant escalation from years of economic sanctions to direct military intervention.

The Trump administration claimed Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and had rigged the 2024 election. The US had previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and offered a $50 million bounty for Maduro's arrest.

Trump announced the US would "run" Venezuela temporarily, exploiting its oil reserves, and warned other countries in the region to toe the US line.

The US government, under President Trump, justifies the intervention as a security necessity rather than a resource grab. The primary official reasons include: narco-terrorism charges, national security and migration crisis.

The US indicted Nicolas Maduro and other high-ranking officials for allegedly leading a "narco-terrorist" conspiracy to flood the US with cocaine. Washington also claims the Maduro government has become a "criminal enterprise" that destabilises the Western Hemisphere by harbouring terrorist groups and facilitating human trafficking.

Moreover, the US administration cites the mass exodus of millions of Venezuelans as a "border security" issue for the United States.

Since 2005, successive U.S. presidents have imposed a range of sanctions on Venezuela, including its oil sector, for what American officials have said is the country's failure to crack down on drug trafficking and terrorism, along with alleged human rights abuses, reported CBS News.

- ANI
The Election Commission of India will establish 160 temporary, decentralised hearing centres across 12 districts in West Bengal to facilitate voter registration for marginalised communities in remote areas. This initiative, part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), aims to prevent the denial of voting rights due to procedural barriers. The decision follows recent ECI announcements automatically enlisting voters from three aboriginal tribes and providing documentation relaxations for sex workers and transgender communities. These centres will allow electoral officers to personally conduct hearings in remote pockets for a limited duration.

ECI establishes 160 decentralised hearing centres in 12 Bengal districts to ensure voting rights for remote marginalised communities.

Kolkata, Jan 4 The Election Commission of India has decided to set up 160 special decentralised hearing centres in certain districts of West Bengal for marginalised communities residing in remote pockets.

The 12 districts where such 160 centres would be set up include Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Jhargram, Purulia, West Midnapore, Bankura, Nadia, West Burdwan, Howrah, and North 24 Parganas, insiders from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal.

Depending on the requirement, a couple of such centres might also be set up in the coastal belts of the South 24 Parganas district.

"Recently, the District Magistrates, also the District Electoral Officers, of these districts had sent a recommendation to the Commission through the CEO's office for setting up such centres in the respective districts. Considering the legitimacy of the requirement, the Commission had finally given go-ahead for the proposal," sources in the CEO's office said.

He also said that since the beginning of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, the Commission had been specially sensitive that the people from marginalised backgrounds are not denied their voting rights because of protocol loops, and hence, time-to-time special relaxations were made for them, with the decision for setting up centres being the latest relaxation.

These centres will be temporary hearing camps set up in remote areas for a day or a few days, where electoral officers will personally reach and conduct hearings for the marginalised people staying there.

Last week, ECI announced that voters from three "aboriginal tribes" or "primitive tribes" will be automatically enlisted in the final voters' list of West Bengal, and voters from these three communities will not be required to furnish any documents for that purpose. These three "aboriginal tribes" are Birhor, Toto, and Sabar.

Earlier to that, the ECI had announced special relaxations for sex workers, people from transgender or other communities, and declared monks in connection with the identity proof-related formalities to be followed at the ongoing hearing sessions on the claims and objections on the draft voters' list in West Bengal.

The Commission had decided not to be stringent about the authenticity of the supporting identity documents required for establishing their voting rights, as in the cases of regular categories of voters.

- IANS
WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. raid and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday marks one of the dramatic escalations in U.S. policy toward Latin America in decades.

The operation has been framed by Washington as "combating drug trafficking," but critics argue that its underlying motives revolve around securing economic control over Venezuela's vast oil reserves and reasserting U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

Since returning to office in January 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump has pursued a highly expansive foreign policy agenda that includes calls to reclaim the Panama Canal, assert territorial claims over Greenland, and suggest that Canada should become the "51st U.S. state." Central to this broader vision is the goal of reclaiming U.S. supremacy in the Western Hemisphere, with Venezuela emerging as a focal point of the strategy.

From a military standpoint, Venezuela's strategic location along the Caribbean Sea and northern South America makes it a vital area for U.S. interests. Its proximity to major maritime routes and airspace has long been considered crucial by Washington, which maintains substantial naval and air forces in the Caribbean, allowing rapid deployment from U.S. bases in Puerto Rico and other locations.

U.S. military strategists believe that a post-Maduro Venezuela could provide the United States with a foothold for intelligence gathering, aerial surveillance, and naval deployments throughout the Caribbean and South America, strengthening what U.S. planners view as a regional buffer zone.

Energy resources also play a central role in the U.S. interest in Venezuela. The country possesses some of the world's largest proven oil reserves, alongside significant natural gas resources and strategic mineral deposits. Trump attempted to remove Maduro during his first term, and analysts suggest that his second administration has renewed that objective, using the fight against so-called "narco-terrorism" as a pretext to install a government more favorable to U.S. commercial interests.

At a press conference on Saturday, Trump made the economic rationale explicit, saying that the United States would "run" Venezuela and open its energy market to American companies.

"We're going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground, and that wealth is going to the people of Venezuela and people from outside of Venezuela that used to be in Venezuela," Trump told reporters in Florida on Saturday. "And it goes also to the United States of America in the form of reimbursement for the damages caused by that country."

Beyond Venezuela, analysts say the U.S. operation sends a broader regional message. The action is widely viewed as a warning to other governments in Latin America that may challenge U.S. interests, while also expanding Washington's influence across the region. During his second term, Trump has repeatedly invoked the Monroe Doctrine, and on Saturday, he claimed his administration had already "superseded" it. "We've superseded it by a lot," he asserted, adding that U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere would "never be questioned again."

The reaction across Latin America has been swift and sharply critical. Venezuelan officials condemned the operation as an invasion, while many governments across the region warned that it could destabilize the region and signal a return to the interventionist politics that many believed had receded. In the United States, protests erupted, and Democratic lawmakers accused the Trump administration of bypassing Congress and misleading legislators about its intentions.

Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, echoed those concerns, accusing the Trump administration of "consistently misleading" lawmakers about its long-term strategy. "If U.S. military action and regime change in Venezuela was really about saving American lives from deadly drugs, then why hasn't the Trump administration taken action against Mexican cartels?" she wrote on X. "And if prosecuting narco-terrorists is such a high priority, then why did President Trump pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted for trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into America?"

"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending military aggression and support of foreign wars is justified because we are forced to pay for it and both parties, Republicans and Democrats, always keep the Washington military machine funded and going," Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said.

For Trump, the gamble is clear. He is betting that decisive force can deliver economic advantage and political leverage while avoiding the costs of prolonged war. Whether that calculation succeeds, or instead accelerates instability at home and abroad, may define not only his second term but Washington's future role in the region. 
The US military launched Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and marking a dramatic escalation from years of economic sanctions. The Trump administration justified the action by indicting Maduro for leading a "narco-terrorist" conspiracy and citing a migration crisis. However, the intervention coincides with Venezuela holding the world's largest proven oil reserves, a resource the US announced it would temporarily "run." This strike culminates decades of tension rooted in Venezuela's socialist policies, oil nationalization, and opposition to US influence in Latin America.

Why did the US attack Venezuela in 2026? Analysis of the oil reserves, narco-terrorism charges, and geopolitical conflict behind Operation Absolute Resolve.

New Delhi, January 4 2026 began with whispers of US hegemony in Latin America. The years of confrontation over power, oil, elections and alleged criminal activity, tensions climaxed into US military action in Venezuela on January 3, 2026, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

The US military launched a targeted operation in Venezuela (codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve). This marks a significant escalation from years of economic sanctions to direct military intervention.

The Trump administration claimed Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and had rigged the 2024 election. The US had previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and offered a $50 million bounty for Maduro's arrest.

Have you ever wondered what's really behind the ongoing chaos in Venezuela and why it seems to keep escalating? Is it just about politics, or is there a bigger game involving oil, sanctions, and global power plays?

The US strike on Venezuela has highlighted the country's massive oil reserves, which total over 303 billion barrels, making them the world's largest proven reserves. However, production has dwindled to 1 million barrels per day due to US sanctions and underinvestment.

Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves (estimated at over 300 billion barrels), which represent roughly 17% of the total global oil supply, OPEC data show.

Venezuela's reserves top those of second-ranked Saudi Arabia at 267 billion barrels and are more than six times the U.S.'s reserves. Most of Venezuela's untapped oil is located in the Orinoco Belt, a roughly 21,000-square-mile area that stretches across the country's northeastern region, according to CBS News.

This vast resource is the central theme of the conflict, though the stated reasons and underlying motivations differ depending on who you ask.

"President Trump does not have the constitutional authority to attack another country. When 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, he should focus on the crises at home, end his illegal military adventurism and stop trying to 'run' Venezuela for Big Oil," posted US Senator Bernie Sanders on X.

Trump announced the US would "run" Venezuela temporarily, exploiting its oil reserves, and warned other countries in the region to toe the US line.

The US government, under President Trump, justifies the intervention as a security necessity rather than a resource grab. The primary official reasons include: narco-terrorism charges, national security and migration crisis.

The US indicted Nicolas Maduro and other high-ranking officials for allegedly leading a "narco-terrorist" conspiracy to flood the US with cocaine. Washington also claims the Maduro government has become a "criminal enterprise" that destabilizes the Western Hemisphere by harbouring terrorist groups and facilitating human trafficking.

Moreover, the US administration cites the mass exodus of millions of Venezuelans as a "border security" issue for the United States.

Despite the official focus on crime and security, the US has been open about the strategic importance of Venezuela's oil.

The story begins with a long history of strained relations. Venezuela, under leaders like Hugo Chavez and now Nicolas Maduro, has adopted a socialist, nationalist stance, especially after nationalising oil assets and opposing US influence. Chavez's government (1999-2013) championed socialist policies and took control of natural resources, making Venezuela a symbol of anti-imperialist resistance.

But the real tension has escalated over the last 26 years, especially as Venezuela's political landscape has grown turbulent. Maduro's presidency, which started in 2013 after Chavez's death, has faced opposition from within Venezuela and from the US, which accuses Maduro of authoritarianism and corruption.

The opposition has also received backing from Western countries, especially the US, creating a fierce political rivalry.

Since 2005, successive U.S. presidents have imposed a range of sanctions on Venezuela, including its oil sector, for what American officials have said is the country's failure to crack down on drug trafficking and terrorism, along with alleged human rights abuses, reported CBS News.

Under former President Joe Biden, the US also froze the assets of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), in 2019. It barred Americans from doing business with the enterprise.

Most recently, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on four companies and associated oil tankers that it said have ties to Venezuela's oil sector.

The US strike on Venezuela is unlikely to significantly impact global oil prices due to Venezuela's limited crude production, currently around 1 million barrels per day, which is roughly 1% of global supply. Oil prices fell modestly on Saturday, with West Texas Crude dropping to $57.32 a barrel, down from nearly $80 in January.

The US has also increased its Strategic Petroleum Reserve and domestic oil production, providing a cushion against volatility in global oil markets.

The situation's outcome will depend on Venezuela's political developments and the US's next steps. If the US allows American companies to invest in Venezuela's oil industry, it could potentially increase production and impact global oil markets in the long term.

In recent public statements, Trump has explicitly mentioned that Venezuela "took away our oil rights" years ago when foreign assets were nationalised, expressing a goal to restore U.S. corporate control over these reserves.

As U.S. domestic shale production peaks, securing the Orinoco Oil Belt (the world's largest accumulation of heavy crude) provides long-term energy dominance.

The attack is also seen as a move to re-establish US hegemony in Latin America.

Under Maduro, Venezuela formed deep military and economic ties with Russia, China, and Iran. The U.S. views these alliances as a direct threat in its "backyard."

The goal of the capture was to remove Maduro and install a transitional government that is more aligned with U.S. interests and willing to reopen the economy to Western investment.

Venezuela's vast oil reserves, estimated at around 303 billion barrel, make it a treasure trove for global energy politics. Historically, Venezuela was a major oil exporter, with foreign companies like Chevron and ExxonMobil playing significant roles until the government took over assets in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

US companies like Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Exxon Mobil may re-enter the market if Venezuela offers favourable terms.

The operation was part of Trump's National Security Strategy, aimed at reasserting US influence in the Western Hemisphere and countering the Chinese and Russian presence in the region.

Russia and China are also key players in this geopolitical chess game. Russia, for example, has warned the US about any military escalation, emphasising that Venezuela's sovereignty must be respected. Meanwhile, China's economic influence in South America continues to grow, and Venezuela's close ties with these powers complicate US efforts to isolate Maduro.

The international community reacted with mixed reactions, with some countries condemning the US action as a violation of sovereignty and international law, while others supported it. The situation in Venezuela remains uncertain, with Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, claiming the presidency and vowing to resist US control.

- ANI
The United States launched a direct military intervention in Venezuela, codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, capturing President Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration justified the action by accusing Maduro of narco-terrorism and rigging the 2024 election. Central to the conflict are Venezuela's massive proven oil reserves, the largest in the world, which the US has openly cited as strategically important. The strike culminates decades of tension between the US and Venezuela's socialist governments, marked by severe economic sanctions.

The US military captured Venezuela's president. Was it over narco-terrorism, election rigging, or the world's largest oil reserves? We break down the conflict.

New Delhi, January 4 2026 began with whispers of US hegemony in Latin America. The years of confrontation over power, oil, elections and alleged criminal activity -- tensions climaxed into US military action in Venezuela on January 3, 2026, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

The US military launched a targeted operation in Venezuela (codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve). This marks a significant escalation from years of economic sanctions to direct military intervention.

The Trump administration claimed Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and had rigged the 2024 election. The US had previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and offered a $50 million bounty for Maduro's arrest.

Have you ever wondered what's really behind the ongoing chaos in Venezuela and why it seems to keep escalating? Is it just about politics, or is there a bigger game involving oil, sanctions, and global power plays?

The US strike on Venezuela has highlighted the country's massive oil reserves, which total over 303 billion barrels, making them the world's largest proven reserves. However, production has dwindled to 1 million barrels per day due to US sanctions and underinvestment.

Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves (estimated at over 300 billion barrels), which represent roughly 17% of the total global oil supply, OPEC data show.

Venezuela's reserves top those of second-ranked Saudi Arabia at 267 billion barrels and are more than six times the U.S.'s reserves. Most of Venezuela's untapped oil is located in the Orinoco Belt, a roughly 21,000-square-mile area that stretches across the country's northeastern region, according to CBS News.

This vast resource is the central theme of the conflict, though the stated reasons and underlying motivations differ depending on who you ask.

"President Trump does not have the constitutional authority to attack another country. When 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, he should focus on the crises at home, end his illegal military adventurism and stop trying to 'run' Venezuela for Big Oil," posted US Senator Bernie Sanders on X.

Trump announced the US would "run" Venezuela temporarily, exploiting its oil reserves, and warned other countries in the region to toe the US line.

The US government, under President Trump, justifies the intervention as a security necessity rather than a resource grab. The primary official reasons include: narco-terrorism charges, national security and migration crisis.

The US indicted Nicolas Maduro and other high-ranking officials for allegedly leading a "narco-terrorist" conspiracy to flood the US with cocaine. Washington also claims the Maduro government has become a "criminal enterprise" that destabilizes the Western Hemisphere by harbouring terrorist groups and facilitating human trafficking.

Moreover, the US administration cites the mass exodus of millions of Venezuelans as a "border security" issue for the United States.

Despite the official focus on crime and security, the US has been open about the strategic importance of Venezuela's oil.

The story begins with a long history of strained relations. Venezuela, under leaders like Hugo Chavez and now Nicolas Maduro, has adopted a socialist, nationalist stance, especially after nationalising oil assets and opposing US influence. Chavez's government (1999-2013) championed socialist policies and took control of natural resources, making Venezuela a symbol of anti-imperialist resistance.

But the real tension has escalated over the last 26 years, especially as Venezuela's political landscape has grown turbulent. Maduro's presidency, which started in 2013 after Chavez's death, has faced opposition from within Venezuela and from the US, which accuses Maduro of authoritarianism and corruption.

The opposition has also received backing from Western countries, especially the US, creating a fierce political rivalry.

Since 2005, successive U.S. presidents have imposed a range of sanctions on Venezuela, including its oil sector, for what American officials have said is the country's failure to crack down on drug trafficking and terrorism, along with alleged human rights abuses, reported CBS News.

Under former President Joe Biden, the US also froze the assets of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), in 2019. It barred Americans from doing business with the enterprise.

Most recently, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on four companies and associated oil tankers that it said have ties to Venezuela's oil sector.

The US strike on Venezuela is unlikely to significantly impact global oil prices due to Venezuela's limited crude production, currently around 1 million barrels per day, which is roughly 1% of global supply. Oil prices fell modestly on Saturday, with West Texas Crude dropping to $57.32 a barrel, down from nearly $80 in January.

The US has also increased its Strategic Petroleum Reserve and domestic oil production, providing a cushion against volatility in global oil markets.

The situation's outcome will depend on Venezuela's political developments and the US's next steps. If the US allows American companies to invest in Venezuela's oil industry, it could potentially increase production and impact global oil markets in the long term.

In recent public statements, Trump has explicitly mentioned that Venezuela "took away our oil rights" years ago when foreign assets were nationalised, expressing a goal to restore U.S. corporate control over these reserves.

As U.S. domestic shale production peaks, securing the Orinoco Oil Belt (the world's largest accumulation of heavy crude) provides long-term energy dominance.

The attack is also seen as a move to re-establish US hegemony in Latin America.

Under Maduro, Venezuela formed deep military and economic ties with Russia, China, and Iran. The U.S. views these alliances as a direct threat in its "backyard."

The goal of the capture was to remove Maduro and install a transitional government that is more aligned with U.S. interests and willing to reopen the economy to Western investment.

Venezuela's vast oil reserves, estimated at around 303 billion barrel, make it a treasure trove for global energy politics. Historically, Venezuela was a major oil exporter, with foreign companies like Chevron and ExxonMobil playing significant roles until the government took over assets in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

US companies like Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Exxon Mobil may re-enter the market if Venezuela offers favourable terms.

The operation was part of Trump's National Security Strategy, aimed at reasserting US influence in the Western Hemisphere and countering the Chinese and Russian presence in the region.

Russia and China are also key players in this geopolitical chess game. Russia, for example, has warned the US about any military escalation, emphasising that Venezuela's sovereignty must be respected. Meanwhile, China's economic influence in South America continues to grow, and Venezuela's close ties with these powers complicate US efforts to isolate Maduro.

The international community reacted with mixed reactions, with some countries condemning the US action as a violation of sovereignty and international law, while others supported it. The situation in Venezuela remains uncertain, with Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, claiming the presidency and vowing to resist US control.

- ANI
South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung has begun a four-day state visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. He reaffirmed South Korea's adherence to the One-China principle regarding Taiwan, signaling a desire to strengthen bilateral ties. The visit includes a large economic delegation focused on expanding cooperation in areas like artificial intelligence and advanced technology. President Lee emphasized a pragmatic foreign policy that maintains alliances while avoiding confrontation with China, aiming to enhance stability in Northeast Asia.

South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung begins a 4-day state visit to China, reaffirming the One-China principle and aiming to boost economic and diplomatic ties.

Beijing, January 4 At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a state visit to China from January 4 to January 7, the Global Times, a prominent state-run Chinese media outlet, reported.

The visit comes days after Lee reaffirmed South Korea's respect for the One-China principle in an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, signalling Seoul's intent to strengthen relations with Beijing amid shifting regional dynamics, according to Global Times.

In the nearly 20-minute interview aired on January 2, Lee described the visit as an important opportunity to advance economic and diplomatic cooperation between the two neighbouring countries. The trip, confirmed by China's Foreign Ministry, marks Lee's first official state visit to China since assuming office.

Outlining his expectations, Lee said the visit could open a new phase in China-South Korea relations. He stressed that closer cooperation has become increasingly important amid global uncertainties, citing the deep historical, economic and geopolitical ties linking the two countries, Global Times reported.

Addressing the sensitive Taiwan issue, Lee reiterated that South Korea would continue to uphold the understanding reached when diplomatic relations were first established, maintaining its consistent position on the One-China principle.

Lee also highlighted the depth of economic interdependence between the two countries, saying expanded cooperation could benefit both sides, particularly in emerging sectors. He said he would lead an economic delegation of more than 200 business representatives to explore new areas of collaboration, including artificial intelligence and advanced technology.

Reflecting on shared history, Lee referred to common experiences such as resistance against Japanese aggression in the mid-20th century, underscoring the importance of learning from the past while promoting peaceful coexistence.

He further described South Korea's foreign policy as pragmatic and focused on improving national well-being, advocating a balanced approach that maintains alliances, including with the United States, while avoiding confrontation with China. Lee said deeper engagement with Beijing through sustained dialogue and cooperation would serve the long-term interests of both nations and contribute to stability in Northeast Asia.

The visit follows recent efforts by Seoul and Beijing to restore strategic cooperation after periods of friction, with the summit expected to reaffirm shared priorities and pursue tangible outcomes across political and economic areas, according to China News.

- ANI
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported detecting five Chinese naval vessels, an official ship, and a surveillance balloon operating near its waters. This follows similar detections of Chinese aircraft and ships the previous day, with some incursions crossing the median line. The report comes amid heightened regional tensions fueled by comments from Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding a potential Taiwan contingency. Takaichi's hardline stance and political isolation within her coalition have raised concerns about regional stability and diplomatic management.

Taiwan's defense ministry reports detecting Chinese naval vessels, an official ship, and a balloon near its territory, amid heightened regional tensions.

Taipei, January 4 Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense detected the presence of five Chinese vessels, an official ship and a balloon operating around its territorial waters as of 6am on Sunday.

Taiwan said they responded accordingly.

"(U) 5 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 1 PRC balloon were detected during this timeframe. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded."

Earlier on Saturday, the MND detected four sorties of Chinese aircraft, six naval vessels and an official ship.

In a post on X, the MND said, "(U) 4 sorties of PLA aircraft, 6 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 1 out of 4 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's central ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded."

Earlier, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments on Japan's potential role in a Taiwan emergency have fuelled tensions with China and raised concerns that the lack of moderating voices around her could leave her hardline positions largely unchecked, Kyodo News reported.

With senior moderates within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and a centrist coalition partner distancing themselves from Takaichi, doubts are growing about her ability to manage diplomacy beyond China and coordinate broader economic and social policies, according to Kyodo News.

An opposition lawmaker warned that Takaichi's decision to form a coalition with a conservative party ahead of becoming Japan's first female prime minister on October 21 "has left few remaining checks on her hardline course."

Takaichi is widely seen as the political heir to former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022 and whose firm security stance she admires. However, the lawmaker said Abe was "more skilled" at building consensus through dialogue.

Less than a week after Takaichi won the LDP's presidential election on October 4, the Komeito party ended its 26-year alliance with the LDP, citing frustration over its response to political funds scandals, Kyodo News reported.

- ANI
The Telangana government is preparing to present strong arguments in the Supreme Court to oppose the expansion of the Polavaram project by Andhra Pradesh. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy held discussions with senior legal experts, including advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, to strategize the case. The state's petition seeks an immediate halt to works linking Polavaram with Nallamala Sagar, arguing they lack mandatory statutory approvals and violate the originally approved design. It also objects to the central government examining related reports without considering Telangana's objections and requests that no financial or environmental clearances be granted for the expansion.

Telangana govt to present strong arguments in SC against Andhra's Polavaram-Nallamala Sagar project, citing legal violations over Godavari waters.

Hyderabad, Jan 4 Ruling out any compromise on Telangana's rightful share of Godavari river waters, the state government is gearing up to present strong arguments in the Supreme Court to oppose the expansion of the Polavaram project by Andhra Pradesh.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday held discussions with senior legal experts to prevent the Polavaram-Nallamala Sagar project proposed by Andhra Pradesh on the Godavari river.

The state government has recently approached the Supreme Court opposing the project. The writ petition filed by the government is scheduled to come up for hearing in the apex court.

The Chief Minister and the Irrigation Minister met senior Supreme Court advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi in Mumbai. They instructed the legal experts to present strong and effective arguments on behalf of the state.

Irrigation department officials were also alerted to keep all necessary documents and evidence ready, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

The Telangana government recently filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking a halt to the expansion works being undertaken by the Andhra Pradesh government to link Polavaram with Banakacharla or Nallamala Sagar without obtaining the mandatory statutory approvals.

The petition urged the Supreme Court to immediately direct the Polavaram Project Authority to stop these works, citing multiple legal and procedural concerns. It clearly stated that the Polavaram project should be executed strictly in accordance with the originally approved design and that undertaking any expansion works is not legally permissible.

The petition also objected to the Central government examining the pre-feasibility reports of the Nallamala Sagar project without taking Telangana's objections into account. The state sought clear directions to the Central Water Commission, the Ministry of Jal Shakti, and the Godavari River Management Board in this regard.

It further pointed out that the Andhra Pradesh government is proceeding with the preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) in violation of Central Water Commission guidelines and sought an immediate halt to these actions.

The petition also requested directions to deny environmental clearances and to ensure that no financial assistance is extended by the Centre for the expansion projects proposed by Andhra Pradesh.

- IANS
The Bhogapuram International Airport in Andhra Pradesh has successfully conducted a validation flight, a critical step before its commercial launch scheduled for June 2026. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu hailed the milestone, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and emphasizing the boost to Uttarandhra's connectivity and development. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu highlighted the airport's role in unlocking regional growth and its potential as a future aviation skilling and maintenance hub. Former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy also acknowledged the progress, crediting the foundational work and approvals completed during his administration.

Andhra Pradesh's Bhogapuram International Airport completes a key validation flight, with commercial operations set to begin in June 2026, boosting regional connectivity.

Bhogapuram, January 4 The greenfield Bhogapuram International Airport in Andhra Pradesh witnessed a successful validation flight on Sunday, marking a significant milestone ahead of its planned commercial operations from June 2026.

In a post on X, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu congratulated the people of Andhra Pradesh, especially Uttarandhra, on the successful validation flight of the Bhogapuram Greenfield International Airport.

"Today marks a new milestone for aviation in the state, strengthening regional connectivity and giving a major boost to Uttarandhra as the region prepares to take off. I thank Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji for his vision, leadership, and commitment to the progress of Andhra Pradesh," he posted on X.

The airport, planned and initiated between 2014 and 2019, will be ready to serve the people with commercial flight operations from June, the chief minister announced in a post on X.

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu told ANI that the Bhogapuram Airport is a prestigious project with the potential to unlock significant regional development.

"Considering this area needs a lot of development to be unlocked, we are seeing this as the key to that unlocking of the development, and this has been envisioned by our Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu. It has been a dream project for the people here also and I'm very happy to see that the validation flight has happened today successfully and very soon we are going to start operations also here and the airport is not only to cater for connectivity but we are also looking into skilling the EDU City is one of the first kind of initiative across the world where you can have multiple universities institutions working in the same place training youngsters training passionate people in aviation to go up to global standards..."

The aircraft is going to increase in the country in the times to come, and that will necessitate more need maintenance facilities.

"As a ministry, we want to encourage more MRO in the country itself. Bhogapuram is an ideal location logistically, strategically, geographically, every way you see it...," he said.

Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, posted on X that the state accelerates on its growth runway, marking a significant milestone for Vision Vizag.

"Congratulations to the GMR Group for their exceptional efforts. During our tenure, expedited permissions, timely approvals and land acquisition including R&R with an outlay of close to Rs 960 crore, helped lay a strong foundation for steady progress. Significant portion of the project work was completed, which has been instrumental in achieving this milestone. I also fondly recall the efforts and contribution of Shri @nitin_gadkari Ji in approving the Bhogapuram Airport Bypass National Highway project in March 2023, connecting Visakhapatnam Port with Bhogapuram International Airport," Reddy posted on X.

- ANI
Former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has stated that Tamil Nadu's newly announced Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS), while adding fiscal pressure, can be implemented with strong financial discipline. He emphasized that efficient expenditure control, realistic budgeting, and improved revenue mobilization are crucial for its sustainability. The scheme, announced by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, guarantees government employees a pension of 50% of their last drawn salary. Critics have raised concerns about fiscal sustainability, with Chidambaram noting that Tamil Nadu already spends over a fifth of its tax revenue on pensions.

Former FM P. Chidambaram says Tamil Nadu's Assured Pension Scheme is viable with strict fiscal discipline, revenue mobilisation, and cost control.

Chennai, Jan 4 Former Union Finance Minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram has said that the newly announced Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme would place additional pressure on the State's finances but can still be implemented successfully if backed by strong and disciplined financial management.

Responding to criticism surrounding the scheme, Chidambaram shared his views in a post on X, stressing that fiscal prudence and improved revenue mobilisation would be crucial to sustaining the ambitious pension programme. Chidambaram noted that full details of the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme had now been made public and acknowledged that the initiative would clearly increase the government's long-term financial commitments.

However, he argued that such a burden need not be unmanageable if the State focused on efficient expenditure control, realistic budgeting, and better economic planning. He underlined the need for the government to avoid cost overruns in development projects and to ensure that estimates are adhered to strictly.

The Tamil Nadu government recently announced TAPS as a major welfare measure aimed at fulfilling a long-standing demand of government employees and teachers for pension benefits comparable to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). The scheme was unveiled by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, who described it as a commitment to social security and dignity for public servants after retirement.

Under TAPS, government employees will receive a pension equivalent to 50 per cent of their last drawn monthly salary upon retirement. Employees will contribute 10 per cent of their basic pay during their service period, while the remaining financial requirement will be fully borne by the State government. In case of the death of a pensioner, 60 per cent of the pension last drawn will be paid as family pension to eligible dependents.

While employee unions have largely welcomed the announcement, several economists and political opponents have raised concerns about the scheme's fiscal sustainability.

Chidambaram pointed out that Tamil Nadu is already spending an estimated 21-22 per cent of its own tax revenue on pensions, highlighting the need for caution. He urged the government to prioritise increasing its own tax revenues and to make austerity a guiding principle across all departments.

As the State prepares to issue detailed guidelines and government orders to operationalise TAPS, the scheme is expected to remain a key subject of public and political debate, reflecting the broader challenge of balancing welfare commitments with long-term fiscal responsibility.

- IANS
President Donald Trump declared the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro as a warning to all adversaries threatening U.S. sovereignty or lives. He accused Maduro of overseeing drug trafficking and directing violent gangs like Tren de Aragua into American communities. U.S. officials emphasized that all military options remain on the table and that the operation demonstrates America's global resolve. The warning extended to regional leaders in Colombia and Cuba, while Trump also criticized Putin's actions in Ukraine.

Following the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, Trump warns rivals, reaffirms U.S. military options, and links Venezuela to drug trafficking and gangs.

Washington, Jan 4 US President Donald Trump said the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro should serve as a warning to adversaries, declaring that the United States would not tolerate threats to its security or sovereignty.

"This extremely successful operation should serve as a warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives," Trump said.

He said the US embargo on Venezuelan oil remained in effect and that American forces were positioned to act again if necessary. "The United States retains all military options," Trump said.

Trump accused Maduro of overseeing drug trafficking and sending violent gangs into the United States. He said the prison gang Tren de Aragua had terrorized American communities and was directed by the Venezuelan leadership.

"They were sent by Maduro to terrorize our people," Trump said, adding that such threats would no longer be tolerated.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation showed American resolve. "Our adversaries remain on notice," he said. "America can project our will anywhere, anytime."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Maduro had been indicted in 2020 and was not recognized as Venezuela's legitimate president by the United States, the European Union or multiple governments worldwide.

"He is a fugitive of American justice," Rubio said, adding that Maduro had ignored multiple opportunities to avoid confrontation.

Trump also addressed regional leaders, reiterating criticism of Colombian President Gustavo Petro. "He has cocaine mills," Trump said, adding that drugs were being sent into the United States.

Asked about Cuba, Trump described the country as "a failing nation," while Rubio said Cuban officials should be concerned. "If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I'd be concerned," Rubio said.

Trump was also asked about Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I'm not thrilled with Putin," Trump said. "He's killing too many people," referring to the war in Ukraine.

He said the United States would continue supporting NATO while pushing to end the conflict. "I want to stop the lives," Trump said, citing high monthly casualty figures.

Trump said the message of the Venezuela operation was clear. "Don't play games," Rubio said earlier, a point Trump echoed by saying those who threaten the United States would face consequences.

The operation comes amid heightened US focus on the Western Hemisphere, where Washington has increasingly framed security, energy and migration as interconnected strategic priorities.

- IANS
A young entrepreneur from Udhampur has established a modern honey processing unit in Sudhmahadev, shifting from traditional extraction to advanced processing and branding. The venture, supported by a government subsidy under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), focuses on creating value-added products like bee pollen, propolis, and honey mead. It currently provides employment to several women and is part of a cooperative society involving around 18 people. The initiative aims to enhance local honey's marketability, generate livelihoods, and contribute to the region's economic growth.

A young entrepreneur in Udhampur establishes a modern honey processing unit under HADP, creating jobs and adding value to local beekeeping.

Udhampur, January 4 A young entrepreneur from Udhampur has set up a modern honey processing unit in the Sudhmahadev area, marking a shift from traditional honey extraction to advanced processing, quality refinement and branding. Nitish Sharma, who comes from a family engaged in traditional beekeeping, has successfully transformed a basic honey extraction activity into a structured enterprise focused on processing, quality refinement, and branding.

The initiative aligns with the Indian government's push to encourage farmers and small entrepreneurs to move up the value chain. By adopting improved techniques and standardised processing methods, Sharma's unit aims to enhance the marketability and shelf life of honey produced locally, while also creating employment opportunities in the region. "With this venture, I aim to generate employment. This aligns with the mission to increase the GDP of the region by 2047," Sharma said.

Speaking about the venture to ANI here, Nitish Sharma said, "My father started this family business of honeybee keeping. Just as the Indian government is promoting value addition of products, similarly, we established a homestead processing unit under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP)." He added that the total cost of setting up the unit was Rs 5 lakh, of which Rs 2.5 lakh was provided as a subsidy by the Udhampur Department of Agriculture.

"We also work toward women's empowerment," he said, adding that the unit currently provides employment to seven to eight women, contributing to local livelihood generation. Sharma further said, "We have about 1,500 honeybee colonies," noting that around five to seven people are employed there. Apart from this, they have formed a cooperative society named "Dasumadev Honey Producers Cooperative Limited." At least 18 people are associated with the society and are involved in marketing, sales, and packaging of the products.

"We don't work only on honey; we focus on value-added products such as bee pollen, bee propolis, and beeswax. We have also launched new products like honey drink and honey mead," Sharma added.

- ANI
UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock emphasized that the UN Charter is a mandatory framework for international conduct, specifically addressing the crisis in Venezuela following U.S. military action. She underscored that Article 2 requires states to refrain from the threat or use of force against another state's territorial integrity. Her comments come as deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was taken into U.S. custody, with Vice President Delcy Rodriguez assuming presidential powers. Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton revealed past plans to remove Maduro, noting President Trump's initial interest in Venezuelan oil.

UNGA President Annalena Baerbock stresses the UN Charter is compulsory, citing Venezuela crisis and US military action. Details on Maduro's removal.

New York, January 4 President of the United Nations General Assembly Annalena Baerbock on Sunday stressed that adherence to the UN Charter is mandatory and not optional, as international attention remains focused on Venezuela following United States military action.

In a post on X, Baerbock said the UN Charter must serve as the guiding framework for international conduct "in moments of calm and in times of crisis," specifically referring to the situation in Venezuela, which she said had culminated in US military action.

"The UN Charter is not optional--it is our guiding framework, in moments of calm and in times of crisis, like in Venezuela today, culminating with the United States military action," Baerbock said.

She underlined that Article 2 of the UN Charter clearly stipulates that all UN member states must refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state or act in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.

Emphasising the broader implications, Baerbock said respect for the UN Charter and international law forms the foundation of the international order and warned against a global system governed by power rather than law.

"A peaceful, safe and just world for everyone is only possible if the rule of law prevails instead of might makes right," she said.

She also highlighted the importance of human rights, including those of the Venezuelan people, stating that lasting peace depends on human rights prevailing over violations.

Baerbock's remarks come amid rapidly unfolding developments surrounding Venezuela's leadership.

Deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro was seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents a Happy New Year and Good Night during his perp walk, footage of which was later released by US authorities showing him in handcuffs as he was led into custody.

Following Maduro's removal, Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of acting president, CNN reported.

The order, announced late Saturday night local time, concluded that Maduro was in a "material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions."

According to the ruling read by Justice Tania D'Amelio during a session broadcast on state television channel VTV, Rodriguez will "assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties, and faculties inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation," CNN reported.

Venezuela's constitution states that when there is a temporary or absolute absence of the president, the vice president must replace them.

Providing background to the US actions, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton told CNN that a plan to remove Maduro had been presented to US President Donald Trump during his first term but failed to advance because administration officials were unable to keep the president "focused" on the issue.

Bolton said Trump was "very interested in the Venezuelan oil" at the time and that while his team managed to get him interested in the idea of removing Maduro, they "couldn't keep him focused on it."

He also said the Venezuelan opposition then believed that sustained economic pressure would be sufficient to split Maduro's regime.

According to CNN, the United States later launched what Trump described as a "large-scale strike against Venezuela" and captured Maduro to face charges, carrying out the regime change effort without congressional approval.

- ANI
People rallied outside the U.S. embassy in London on Jan. 3 in protest against the U.S. military actions in Venezuela and condemned American imperialism.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal emphasized the media's critical role as democracy's vigilant sentinel and the voice of the people at an Assam press conference. He called for responsible journalism that prioritizes truth, counters misinformation, and bridges the government with citizens. Simultaneously, Sonowal highlighted the on-ground implementation of Prime Minister Modi's welfare schemes, asserting development is reaching the last mile to empower beneficiaries and entrepreneurs. He also inaugurated a Senior Citizens' Office Bhawan, underscoring the government's focus on inclusive, grassroots infrastructure.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal highlights media's democratic role and PM Modi's last-mile welfare delivery at Assam press conference and development events.

Tinsukia, January 4 Union Ports, Shipping & Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal reaffirmed the media's indispensable role as the fourth pillar of democracy, describing journalists as the vigilant sentinels of society and the authentic voice of the people.

Addressing the 17th Central Mid-Term Conference of the Assam Press Correspondents' Union (APCU) here, Sonowal said the press has a critical responsibility to safeguard freedom of expression and strengthen democratic values in a rapidly evolving information landscape.

"The role of the media as society's conscious watchdog is immeasurable. As the voice of the people, journalists have consistently worked to protect freedom of speech and ensure accountability," Sonowal said.

Highlighting the need for responsible journalism, he urged media professionals to prioritise truth, credibility and ethical reporting, and to resist misinformation and sensationalism. Sonowal said journalism must act as a bridge between the government and the people, amplifying public concerns while promoting social harmony.

Sonowal also stressed the importance of coordination, dialogue and consensus-building, noting that the media can play a decisive role in strengthening society through constructive engagement rather than conflict.

"The evolving challenges faced by journalists demand continuous capacity building, professional integrity and adaptation to new technologies, while remaining firmly rooted in public interest journalism," Sonowal said.

MLAs Sanjay Kishan and Bolin Chetia, along with senior journalists and other dignitaries, attended the event.

On Saturday at the Makum LAC, Sonowal attended a programme to lay the foundation stone, inaugurate various welfare schemes, and interact with beneficiaries of the Prime Minister's flagship welfare programmes.

Sonowal also engaged with local entrepreneurs, acknowledging their contributions to the local economy's growth.

"Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, development has reached the last mile, ensuring that welfare schemes directly empower beneficiaries and strengthen grassroots entrepreneurship. This inclusive approach has transformed governance into a people-centric model that drives both social upliftment and economic growth," Sonowal said.

At Panitola, Sonowal inaugurated the newly constructed Senior Citizens' Office Bhawan, built under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).

The facility, developed for Rs 15 lakh in the 2024-25 financial year, is designed to strengthen institutional support for senior citizens.

Sonowal said such infrastructure reflects the government's commitment to inclusive development, ensuring dignity, accessibility and community engagement for the elderly at the grassroots level.

Makum Municipal Board Chairperson Archana Saikia, Vice Principal of Makum College, Papori Baruah, Ashim Hazarika, Chairman of the Dibrugarh Development Authority, Pulak Gohain, Chairman of the Assam State Housing Board, Kushakanta Bora, district president of BJP Tinsukia, along with Lakhinath Koch, Jeuti Moran, Giraj Baruah and Rukmini Patar, were among those present at the programme.

- ANI
The US Indo-Pacific Command has stated it is aware of North Korea's first missile launches of 2025, assessing they pose no immediate threat to US personnel or allies. The statement reaffirmed Washington's unwavering commitment to the defense of its regional allies. The launches occur amid South Korean warnings of unprecedented instability on the peninsula, fueled by deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. The test also coincides with a planned state visit by South Korea's president to China for a summit with President Xi Jinping.

The US Indo-Pacific Command responds to North Korea's first 2025 missile test, assessing no immediate threat while reaffirming its security commitment to regional allies.

Washington, Jan 4 A US military command said it is aware of North Korea's missile launches this week while reaffirming its security commitment to allies in the region.

The Indo-Pacific Command issued a statement after Pyongyang lobbed multiple ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Sunday morning (Korea time), marking its first missile test this year.

"We are aware of the missile launches and are consulting closely with our allies and partners. Based on current assessments, this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies," the command said, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"The United States remains committed to the defence of the US homeland and our allies in the region," it added.

The North's latest launches came as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung plans to have a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing during his four-day state visit to China this week.

They also followed US President Donald Trump's announcement that the US has captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a military strike in Caracas to bring him to face American justice for drug trafficking and other charges.

On December 29, South Korea's Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back warned of a growing security instability surrounding the Korean Peninsula, citing a deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

"The security situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula has become more unstable than ever," Ahn said in a speech at a forum on an alliance with the United States.

"North Korea is advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities and modernising its conventional forces through military cooperation with Russia," Ahn said in the speech.

Ahn called such cooperation between North Korea and Russia a "grave challenge," not only to the Korean Peninsula but also to the international community.

South Korea's intelligence agency has estimated that North Korea has deployed around 15,000 troops to Russia to support its war with Ukraine since October last year.

In return, North Korea was expected to gain access to Russia's cutting-edge military technologies.

- IANS
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended a military operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, describing it as a highly complex mission focused on a single top-priority target. He detailed the precision of the raid, which involved landing helicopters at a major military base, apprehending Maduro within minutes, and extracting him without any American losses. Rubio pushed back on criticism for not detaining other officials, arguing that expanding the mission's scope would have been impractical and drawn heavy criticism. He stated the arrest removed a central figure who lacked international recognition and that the US retains other levers of pressure on Venezuela.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio details the complex military operation to arrest Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, calling it a daring, precision mission.

Washington, Jan 4 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday defended the decision to limit the Venezuela operation to the arrest of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, describing it as a highly complex military mission focused on a single, top-priority target.

Responding to criticism that other indicted Venezuelan officials remain in positions of power, Rubio said the operation was never intended to capture multiple figures simultaneously.

"The number one person on the list was the guy who claimed to be the president of the country," Rubio told CBS' Face the Nation in an interview. "He was the top target."

Rubio said the arrest was carried out under extreme operational constraints. "It is not easy to land helicopters in the middle of the largest military base in the country," he said, noting that Maduro was residing on a military base.

He described the pace and precision of the mission. "Land within three minutes, kick down his door, grab him, put him in handcuffs, read him his rights, put him in a helicopter and leave the country," Rubio said.

The operation was completed without any US casualties or losses, he said. "Without losing any American or any American assets."

Rubio pushed back forcefully when asked why additional officials were not detained during the operation. "You're asking me why didn't we do that in five other places at the same time?" he said. "That's absurd."

He said expanding the scope of the mission would have drawn heavy criticism. "Imagine the howls we would have from everybody else if we actually had to go and stay there four days," Rubio said.

Rubio said Maduro's arrest marked a major milestone. "Today, an indicted drug trafficker who was not the legitimate president of Venezuela is now facing justice," he said.

He stressed that Maduro lacked international recognition. "We don't recognise him. The Biden administration didn't recognise him. Sixty-something countries don't recognise him," Rubio said.

Rubio said the mission required extraordinary coordination and skill. "I do think this is one of the most daring, complicated, sophisticated missions this country has carried out in a very long time," he said.

He praised the US forces involved. "Tremendous credit to the US military personnel who did it," Rubio said. "It was unbelievable."

Rubio rejected suggestions that the operation left the regime intact. He said the arrest removed the central figure who had claimed legitimacy. "He was claiming to be the president of the country that he was not," Rubio said.

The Secretary of State said further actions would depend on circumstances. "We will retain multiple levers of leverage," he said, including sanctions and enforcement measures already in place.

- IANS
Foreign affairs expert Robinder Sachdev suggests the US approach to Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro will involve major oil companies. He states that teams including senior oil executives may be formed to engage with the Venezuelan opposition. The objective is to secure access to Venezuela's oil resources, with profits shared through royalties. Sachdev notes that large oil companies have historical experience in influencing political changes in resource-rich countries.

Foreign affairs expert says US may use oil company executives to engage Venezuelan opposition and gain access to oil after Maduro's capture.

New Delhi, January 5 Foreign affairs expert Robinder Sachdev said that it was clear from President Donald Trump's approach towards Venezuela that "some work will be done through oil companies", and the US may create a team including some "senior executives from oil companies".

His remarks come after Washington on Saturday carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela", and the deposed Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and flown out of the country.

Sachdev said that major oil companies may be used to engage with the Venezuelan opposition, with the aim of gaining access to the country's oil while sharing profits through royalties.

Speaking to ANI, Sachdev on Sunday said, "Trump said that now we will run Venezuela. As if Venezuela were a company they had acquired, and they're saying they will run Venezuela. Now we have to see how they will run it. But what seems clear about their approach, their mindset, is that some work will be done through oil companies. That is, first, he will form a team. He says the team will include the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, and Marco Rubio. Besides them, I think they will also involve some senior executives from oil companies in the team."

He said that big oil companies have "years of experience in orchestrating coups" in countries across the globe, like in Africa.

"The big oil companies have many years of experience in orchestrating coups in countries around the world and securing new projects; they've done a lot of this in Africa. So, teams will be formed from the wheeler-dealer executives of these companies, and these teams will then talk to the Venezuelan opposition about how to bring them to power. The objective is that the Venezuelan oil will go to these oil companies for extraction, and obviously, some of the money from that oil will go to Venezuela because it's their resource. The companies will make a profit, and the US will take some money in the form of royalties," Sachdeva added.

Maduro and Flores were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement.

Trump stated that Maduro and his wife have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York and will face trial.

- ANI
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami honored Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel for their courage and service to the nation. He highlighted the force's six-decade role in border security, counter-terrorism, and disaster management. Dhami detailed increased state support, raising the ex-gratia for martyrs' families from 10 lakh to 50 lakh. He also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for boosting defence self-reliance and development in border villages through the Vibrant Village Programme.

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami felicitates Sashastra Seema Bal personnel, praises their service and details enhanced benefits for martyrs' families.

Dehradun, January 4 Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated as the Chief Guest on Sunday at the Pride Movement Felicitation Ceremony organised by the Arpit Foundation at the Mukhya Sevak Sadan, located at the Chief Minister's Camp Office. On this occasion, the Chief Minister honoured officers and personnel of the Sashastra Seema Bal and praised their courage, dedication, and spirit of service to the nation.

Chief Minister Dhami said that for the past six decades, the Sashastra Seema Bal has ensured national security by demonstrating indomitable courage and commitment in areas such as internal security, border management, counter-terrorism, anti-Naxal operations, and disaster management. He noted that SSB personnel not only remain vigilant day and night in safeguarding the nation's borders, but also make outstanding contributions in sports, social initiatives, and disaster relief operations.

The Chief Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is rapidly moving towards self-reliance in the defence sector and has today emerged as one of the major defence equipment exporting countries. He added that Operation Sindoor demonstrated the strength of India's indigenous weapons. He further stated that the state government is continually taking new decisions to support soldiers, personnel of the armed and paramilitary forces, and their families. The ex-gratia amount provided to the families of martyrs has been increased from 10 lakh to 50 lakh, and the honorarium for gallantry award recipients has also been increased.

Chief Minister Dhami further said that under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, special efforts are being made towards the development and empowerment of border villages under the Vibrant Village Programme. A comprehensive network of roads is being developed in border areas, which has not only eased connectivity in frontier regions but has also strengthened tourism, trade, and strategic development. He said that Prime Minister Modi himself visits border areas, interacts with local residents and security personnel, understands their issues, and takes decisive steps towards development.

- ANI
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) formally thanked External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for conveying India's condolences on the death of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. During a brief visit to Dhaka, Jaishankar met BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and delivered a personal letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This diplomatic outreach marked the first visit by an Indian minister since bilateral relations cooled following Bangladesh's political changes in mid-2024. The gesture was seen as an effort to maintain goodwill during Bangladesh's period of national mourning and political transition.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party acknowledges EAM Jaishankar's condolences for former PM Khaleda Zia, highlighting diplomatic outreach during a key political transition.

Dhaka, January 4 The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Sunday expressed appreciation to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for conveying condolences on behalf of the Government and people of India following the death of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

In a post on X acknowledging the gesture, the BNP wrote, "Thank you, @DrSJaishankar, for conveying your condolences on behalf of the Government and people of India. We value your message and continued goodwill."

The message followed Jaishankar's visit to Dhaka on December 31, when he represented India at the funeral of Begum Khaleda Zia and met BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, her son and political heir, as part of India's condolence outreach.

Sharing details of the meeting on X, Jaishankar said, "On arrival in Dhaka, met with Mr Tarique Rahman @trahmanbnp, Acting Chairman of BNP and son of former PM of Bangladesh Begum Khaleda Zia." He added that he handed over "a personal letter from Prime Minister @narendramodi" during the interaction.

Photographs accompanying the posts showed Jaishankar formally presenting the letter to Tarique Rahman during the condolence visit. Jaishankar later said he conveyed "deepest condolences on behalf of the Government and people of India" and expressed confidence that Khaleda Zia's vision and values would guide the future of India-Bangladesh relations.

Bangladesh's High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, who was present during the meeting, said Jaishankar recognised Khaleda Zia's contribution to democracy and expressed optimism about strengthening bilateral ties following Bangladesh's democratic transition and the upcoming election.

Jaishankar's brief visit to Dhaka, lasting around four hours, assumed added significance as it marked the first visit by an Indian minister since bilateral ties reached a low point following the formation of the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus in August 2024.

The diplomatic outreach took place amid nationwide mourning in Bangladesh, with large crowds gathering for Khaleda Zia's funeral prayers held outside the Parliament building. Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, members of the interim government, and senior civilian and military officials attended the ceremony.

Following the prayers, the three-time prime minister was laid to rest with state honours beside the grave of her husband, former president Ziaur Rahman.

- ANI
The opposition claims the 2024 election was rigged and staked its own presidential claim

Trump framed the capture as an anti-drug operation to bypass sovereignty concerns

The US operation has left Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as the interim leader in Venezuela

He is held in the same Brooklyn jail that housed El Chapo and Jeffrey Epstein

Maduro was captured in a raid on a Venezuelan military base and flown to the US

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is now behind bars in a notorious New York jail following a dramatic capture by US forces. He was taken from a military base in his own country and faces serious narco-terrorism charges in American courts. The move has left his vice president in charge back home, accusing the US of a resource grab. Meanwhile, the political future of Venezuela remains deeply uncertain as the US weighs its next steps.

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is held in a notorious Brooklyn jail after a US raid. He faces narco-terrorism charges as political turmoil escalates in Caracas.

New York, Jan 4 Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has been locked in a notorious federal jail in New York after his capture by the US forces at a military base in his country, from where he had been taunting President Donald Trump.

As he was escorted into the local office of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) on Saturday night before being jailed, he said sarcastically, looking at the camera, Good night. Happy New Year.

Once the unquestioned ruler of the oil-rich South American nation, in the video released by the White House, he was in a brown uniform, manacled and clutching a water bottle while two DEA officers held him on either side by his elbows.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who were taken in the early Saturday morning raid, landed at the Stewart Air National Guard Base about 100 kilometres from the city, from where they were flown to a heliport in downtown Manhattan near federal offices and courts.

Amid high security, their first stop was the DEA office because of the narco-terrorism charges they face.

Next, they were taken to the Metropolitan Detention Centre (MDC) in Brooklyn to await production in the New York federal court, which is expected on Monday.

A large crowd gathered near the jail, jeering him and shouting insults.

Maduro, who had a $50 million bounty for his capture, was taken from the Venezuelan military base, Fuerte Tiuna, to the USS Iwo Jima, one of the Navy ships in the armada surrounding Venezuela, before being flown to the US air base.

In charges announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi, they are accused of narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of weapons.

An outstanding indictment issued in 2020 charged them also with heading the drug organisation Cartel de los Soles.

Trump left open the possibility of the trial being transferred to Miami, which has the largest population of Venezuelan exiles in the US and the news of his capture was met with jubilation.

A decision will be made, I assume, between New York and Miami or (elsewhere) Florida, Trump said.

The MDC, which is known for its bad conditions, has housed terrorists Omar Abdel Rahman and Ramzi Yousef, notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout, Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, financial scammer Sam Bankman-Fried, and rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, whose circle of acquaintances included powerful politicians, businessmen, and celebrities, was found dead there, and officials say it was a suicide.

Maduro's jailmates include Luigi Mangione, who is on trial, accused of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and has taken on the aura of a folk hero.

The overcrowded jails conditions are so bad that in 2024, a federal judge said the conditions at MDC created exceptional reasons for not remanding a man there.

Trump has framed the capture of Maduro as an anti-drug operation to create the impression of a commonplace law and order operation to skirt international law provisions against violating the sovereignty of nations.

For now, he has left Maduros Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who was sworn in as his successor, to stay in place.

Shes essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again, Trump said.

Rodriguez, however, in a fierce rebuttal, accused the US of aggression and said, This regime change would also allow for the seizure of our energy, mineral and natural resources.

There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolas Maduro, she declared.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said about Rodriguez and the interim administration, Were going to make decisions based on their actions and their deeds in the days and weeks to come.

But clouding the scenario, Trump has also said, "We are going to run the country right, and that Its going to make a lot of money.

That was a likely reference to Venezuelas oil riches.

He had accused Caracas of stealing US riches because of its nationalisation of the investments by American petroleum companies.

He has also said that there would be no troops on the ground in Venezuela, without explaining how the US would "run" the country.

Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader who won last years Nobel Peace Prize, has also staked a claim to the presidency for Edmundo Gonzalez, who ran against Maduro in the 2024 election, which the US and many international observers said was rigged.

Gonzales ran as the opposition candidate after Maduro barred Machado from contesting the election.

Although Trump has backed the claim of a rigged election and Gonzales being the real winner, he has been silent about them.

The Justice Department said in the charging document that Maduro, along with his wife, the current and former interior ministers, carried out a drug operation for 25 years and sat atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity.

Also included in the charge sheet are the leader of Tren de Aragua, the violent Venezuelan gang that proliferated across the US during former President Joe Bidens rule, the Colombian terrorist groups FARC and ELN, and Mexican drug cartels Sinaloa and Zeta.

Maduro and his associates are accused of working with those groups in running the alleged drug operation.

- IANS
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has arrived in New York to face federal narco-terrorism charges following his capture by US Delta Force commandos in a dramatic operation. He and his wife were transported under high security to a federal jail in Brooklyn to await trial, with an initial hearing set for Monday. The capture has ignited a political crisis, with Maduro's vice president declaring herself his successor and accusing the US of resource-seeking aggression, while the US weighs transferring the trial to Florida. The indictment alleges a 25-year criminal conspiracy involving top Venezuelan officials, Colombian terrorist groups, and Mexican drug cartels.

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, captured by US forces, faces trial in New York on narco-terrorism charges. Read the latest on the high-stakes case.

New York, Jan 4 Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who was seized by US Delta Force commandos, has arrived in New York to face trial in a federal court on narco-terrorism charges.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who landed at the Stewart Air National Guard Base on Saturday, were taken by helicopter to a heliport in downtown Manhattan near federal offices and courts.

Amid high security, they were driven away in a motorcade. Their first stop was expected to be the Drug Enforcement Agency office for processing.

They are to be detained in Brooklyn's notorious federal jail, the Metropolitan Correctional Center, to await trial in a court.

Maduro, who had a $50 million bounty for his capture, is expected to appear in court on Monday for an initial hearing.

After the plane landed on Saturday afternoon, FBI agents surrounded the aircraft and whisked the couple away.

In Operation Absolute Resolve, Maduro was taken early Saturday morning from the Venezuelan military base, Fuerte Tiuna, where he was sheltering, to the Iwo Jima, one of the Navy ships in the armada surrounding Venezuela.

More than 150 aircraft are involved in the operation, officials said.

In charges announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi, they are accused of narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of weapons.

An outstanding indictment issued in 2020 charged them also with heading the drug organisatioan Cartel de los Soles.

President Donald Trump left open the possibility of the trial being transferred to Miami, which has the largest population of Venezuelan exiles in the US, and the news of his capture was met with jubilation.

"A decision will be made, I assume, between New York and Miami or [elsewhere] Florida", Trump said.

Trump has framed the capture of Maduro as an anti-drug operation to create the impression of a commonplace law and order operation to skirt international law provisions against violating the sovereignty of nations.

For now, he has left Maduro's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who was sworn in as his successor, in place.

"She's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again", Trump said.

Rodriguez, however, in a fierce rebuttal, accused the US of aggression and said, "This regime change would also allow for the seizure of our energy, mineral, and natural resources".

"There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolas Maduro", she declared.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said about Rodriguez and the interim administration, "We're going to make decisions based on their actions and their deeds in the days and weeks to come".

But clouding the scenario, Trump has also said, "We are going to run the country right", and that "It's going to make a lot of money".

That was a likely reference to Venezuela's oil riches.

He had accused Caracas of "stealing" US riches because of its nationalisation of the investments by American petroleum companies.

He has also said that there would be no troops on the ground in Venezuela, without explaining how the US would "run" the country.

Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader who won last year's Nobel Peace Prize, has also staked a claim to the presidency for Edmundo Gonzalez, who ran against Maduro in the 2024 election, which the US and many international observers said was rigged.

Gonzales ran as the opposition candidate after Maduro barred Machado from contesting the election.

Although Trump has backed the claim of a rigged election and Gonzales being the real winner, he has been silent about them.

The Justice Department said in the charging document that Maduro, along with his wife, the current and former interior ministers, carried out a drug operation for 25 years and sat "atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity".

Also included in the chargesheet are the leader of Tren de Aragua, the violent Venezuelan gang that proliferated across the US during former President Joe Biden's rule, the Colombian terrorist groups FARC and ELN, and Mexican drug cartels Sinaloa and Zeta.

Maduro and his associates are accused of working with those groups in running the alleged drug operation.

- IANS
Iran's former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has publicly endorsed ongoing protests, specifically praising the youth he calls "Generation V" for Victory. His call for sustained street action comes as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a stark warning, distinguishing between legitimate protesters and "rioters" he claims are foreign-backed. The unrest, initially triggered by a severe economic downturn and currency collapse, has drawn international attention, including a warning from US President Donald Trump. While Iran's reformist government signals a willingness to engage, the protests are evolving from economic grievances into broader political challenges against the establishment.

Former crown prince Reza Pahlavi urges sustained protests against Iran's leadership, as Supreme Leader Khamenei blames foreign powers and warns of crackdown.

Paris, January 4 Iran's former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi on Sunday voiced support for protesters across the country, praising continued demonstrations against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the ruling establishment over the past week.

Addressing Iranians, Pahlavi said sustained street protests had disrupted the regime's functioning. "My fellow compatriots, I send greetings to each and every one of you who bravely kept Khamenei and his regime awake throughout the past week," he said.

He singled out young protesters for their role in the movement, describing them as a key force. "In particular, I want to send greetings to the patriotic teenagers and youth of our country, whom I call 'Generation V' for Victory," Pahlavi said.

Calling for continued pressure, the former crown prince urged demonstrators to maintain organised action on the streets. "As I said before, the key issue is the continuous seizure of the streets and the creation of barricades to prevent and obstruct the regime's repression," he said.

Emphasising unity, Pahlavi appealed for discipline and solidarity among protesters. "Maintain discipline and solidarity. Victory belongs to you," he added.

His remarks came as Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a stark warning following a week of unrest, saying that "rioters must be put in their place" amid protests largely driven by economic distress.

Khamenei's comments, his first since the demonstrations began, followed escalating violence that has left at least 10 people dead, Al Jazeera reported. The protests were triggered by Iran's worsening economic situation, including a sharp decline in the national currency.

The unrest has drawn international attention after US President Donald Trump warned Tehran that if Iran "violently kills peaceful protesters", Washington "will come to their rescue". While it remains unclear how or whether the US would intervene, the remarks prompted swift reactions from Iranian officials, according to Al Jazeera.

Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, wrote to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the UN Security Council, urging them to condemn what he described as "unlawful threats" made by Trump against Tehran.

Separately, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned that US interference "is equivalent to chaos across the entire region and the destruction of American interests".

The current protests mark Iran's largest demonstrations since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody sparked nationwide unrest. However, analysts say the present protests have not yet reached the scale or intensity of those that followed Amini's death over alleged hijab violations, Al Jazeera reported.

Speaking in Tehran, in remarks broadcast by state television, Khamenei sought to distinguish between protesters voicing economic grievances and those he labelled as agitators. "We talk to protesters; the officials must talk to them," he said. "But there is no benefit to talking to rioters. Rioters must be put in their place."

He repeated claims that foreign powers were driving the unrest and blamed outside forces for the rial's collapse. "A bunch of people incited or hired by the enemy are getting behind the tradesmen and shopkeepers and chanting slogans against Islam, Iran and the Islamic Republic," he said. "This is what matters most."

Khamenei also reiterated his position on the US presence in the region, saying America "must and will leave". "With the determination of the region's nations, America must and will leave this region," he added.

Meanwhile, Iran's civilian government, led by reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, has signalled a willingness to engage with protesters. However, Pezeshkian has acknowledged limited scope for action as the country's currency continues to depreciate, the issue that initially sparked the demonstrations.

What began as protests over economic hardship has increasingly taken on a political character, with chants directed at the government and clashes reported in multiple cities. Iranian authorities have confirmed several deaths and dozens of arrests linked to the unrest.

Tehran has struggled to stabilise its economy in the months following its June conflict with Israel, during which the US also carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, Al Jazeera reported.

In recent weeks, Iran announced it had halted uranium enrichment at all sites, signalling openness to renewed negotiations with Western powers aimed at easing sanctions. However, such talks have yet to materialise, as Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have continued to warn Tehran against reviving its nuclear programme and have also raised concerns over Iran's missile capabilities.

- ANI
France's Foreign Minister has expressed a neutral position on the US-led capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, emphasizing that any political solution must originate from the Venezuelan people themselves. He condemned the military operation as a violation of the international principle of non-resort to force. Barrot issued a stark warning that such actions by powerful UN Security Council members could have severe consequences for global security. The statement follows the US indictment of Maduro and his wife on drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges.

France calls for caution after Maduro's capture, stressing Venezuelans' sovereignty and warning of consequences for violating international law.

Paris, January 4 France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Saturday expressed a neutral stance regarding the US-led operation that captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, saying that the "voice of the Venezuelan people must take precedence".

Barrot said that while Maduro has undermined the rights and dignity of the Venezuelan people, any political solution must come from the Venezuelans themselves.

In a post on X, Barrot said, "By confiscating power from the Venezuelan people and depriving them of their fundamental freedoms, Nicolas Maduro has gravely undermined their dignity and their right to self-determination. France has consistently committed itself, particularly through its mediation efforts, to upholding the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people, whose voice must take precedence."

He added that the military operation violates the principle of non-resort to force that underpins international law and that lasting solutions cannot be imposed from outside the country.

"The military operation that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro violates the principle of non-resort to force that underpins international law. France recalls that no lasting political solution can be imposed from the outside and that sovereign peoples alone decide their future," he added.

Barrot warned that violations of international law by powerful nations, including permanent members of the UN Security Council, could have serious consequences for global security.

"The repeated violations of this principle by nations entrusted with the primary responsibility as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council will have heavy consequences for world security, sparing no one. Informed by History, France is preparing for it, but cannot resign itself to it. It reiterates its attachment to the United Nations Charter, which must continue to guide the international action of States, always and everywhere," he said.

This statement comes after the United States captured Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a military operation, and they were flown out of the country.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Maduro and his wife, who were captured in Caracas during a US military operation, have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York, and will face trial.

According to an unsealed indictment shared by Attorney General Pamela Bondi on X, Maduro and Flores face multiple counts of statutory allegations related to "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies".

The capture of Maduro comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela.

- ANI
BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have successfully achieved the first direct mass measurement of a free-floating object, confirming that it is a planet with a mass comparable to that of Saturn.

This key research finding, led by the Department of Astronomy research team at the School of Physics, Peking University, was published in Science on Friday.

Free-floating objects are mysterious celestial bodies that do not orbit any star and drift alone through interstellar space. When a free-floating object passes in front of a background star, its gravity bends the starlight like a lens, causing the star to brighten temporarily -- a phenomenon known as a microlensing event, according to Dong Subo, head of the research team.

Over the past decade, scientists have detected approximately ten free-floating objects through observations with ground-based telescopes. However, their mass has yet to be accurately measured.

In 2024, the research team reported a microlensing event observed from both ground- and space-based telescopes. By combining observations from Earth and a distant spacecraft with a time difference, the mass-distance degeneracy can be broken, enabling the research team to extract the object's distance information and then determine its mass and distance separately, the research shows.

"This is analogous to observing the same scene with 'eyes' that are extremely far apart," Dong said.

"This achievement highlights the advantages and significance of space-ground coordinated observations and provides important reference for upcoming projects such as NASA's Roman Space Telescope," a reviewer for the journal Science commented.

The China Space Station Telescope, independently developed by China and planned for launch, will also support such observations. 
US calls for end to violence and release of detainees

The United States marked Myanmar's 78th Independence Day by reiterating support for the people and urging the military regime to end violence, allow humanitarian access, and release unjustly detained individuals. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the 2021 coup, with nearly 6,800 civilians killed and over 22 million now requiring assistance. The military junta is proceeding with a phased election process, with early results showing pro-military party gains. The UN warns the country is sliding deeper into a humanitarian disaster due to military offensives and aid restrictions.

On Myanmar's Independence Day, the US expressed deep concern over the political and humanitarian crisis, urging the military to cease violence and allow aid access.

Washington DC, January 4 The United States on Saturday expressed deep concern over the ongoing political and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar and urged the military regime to end violence, as the country marked the 78th anniversary of its independence.

"The United States is deeply concerned about the ongoing crisis in Burma. We urge the military regime to cease violence, ensure unhindered access to humanitarian assistance, release those unjustly detained, and engage in dialogue to pursue a peaceful and long-term end to the crisis," the US Department of State said in a statement issued on the occasion of Burma's Independence Day.

The State Department said Washington continues to stand with the people of Myanmar, also known as Burma, in their pursuit of peace, democracy and prosperity.

"The United States remains committed to the people of Burma and their resolve for a peaceful, fair, and prosperous future," the statement said.

The US added that meaningful progress in Myanmar is critical not just for the country but for regional stability.

"This is essential for a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region," the statement added.

Myanmar has remained unstable since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021. According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, nearly 6,800 civilians have been killed, while more than 22,000 people remain arbitrarily detained as of June 2025.

The humanitarian situation has continued to deteriorate, with the United Nations estimating that nearly 22 million people now require assistance and over 3.5 million have been displaced due to ongoing fighting across the country.

The UN has warned that Myanmar is sliding deeper into a humanitarian disaster, as military offensives, restrictions on aid delivery and reduced international support push millions towards hunger and insecurity.

Despite growing international criticism, the military junta has moved ahead with a phased election process. The first phase of voting began last week, with junta leaders claiming the exercise would pave the way for democracy after years of civil war.

Partial results released by the Union Election Commission (UEC) and reported in state media showed that the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won 87 of the 96 lower house seats declared so far.

Results from six additional townships are yet to be announced. Two more phases of voting are scheduled for January 11 and January 25.

Myanmar, officially known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, gained independence from British colonial rule on January 4, 1948, ending nearly six decades of foreign domination.

During World War II, Burmese forces fought alongside the British to drive out Japanese troops in 1945 that eventually led to the country's independence three years later.

- ANI
Union Minister Jitendra Singh announced that strategies are being formulated to stop the flow of water from Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan. He stated the surplus water would be utilized within India for states like Haryana, Rajasthan, or within J&K itself. Singh also announced the establishment of India's largest Homeopathy College in Kathua to strengthen regional medical education. The minister addressed public grievances at a 'darbar' and commented on a controversy regarding admissions at a medical college linked to the Vaishno Devi shrine.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh announces work to stop water flow from Jammu & Kashmir to Pakistan, aiming to use surplus for Indian states.

Jammu, Jan 4 Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, said on Sunday that efforts are underway to stop the flow of water from Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan.

MoS Singh addressed a public 'Darbar' in Kathua while answering queries from reporters.

About the controversy raised by right-wing Hindu activists about the admission of non-Hindus to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Medical College, the Union Minister said that the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha must have already settled the issue as he is competent to do so as the head the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine trust.

Answering a query on water management, MoS Singh said that strategies are being formulated to stop the flow of water from Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan.

He added that the Union government intends to utilise the surplus water within India.

"We will use the extra water for states like Haryana, Rajasthan or within Jammu and Kashmir itself, but we will not allow it to flow to Pakistan. Work in this direction is in progress," he said.

The Union Minister also announced that India's largest Homeopathy College will be established in Kathua.

He said the upcoming institution will strengthen medical education infrastructure in the region and create new opportunities for students.

The public darbar witnessed participation from locals who raised various civic and developmental issues, while officials concerned were directed to take note of the grievances.

Union Minister Singh is also the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Kathua-Udhampur seat.

He hails from the Jammu district and was elected from this constituency for the 18th Lok Sabha.

He won the Lok Sabha election for the third time from Kathua-Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency in 2024.

In 2008, he was appointed spokesperson of the Shri Amarnathji Sangharsh Samiti, an umbrella organisation of right-wing parties during the Amarnath land transfer agitation.

During his stint with the organisation, he took premature retirement as a professor from Government Medical College Jammu to join the BJP in 2012.

- IANS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that work is advancing on security guarantees and a reconstruction framework following talks with partner nations' security advisors. He confirmed preparations are underway for upcoming high-level meetings in Europe and the United States. Zelenskyy urgently appealed for continued and accelerated defense assistance, particularly air defense systems, to counter daily Russian attacks. He detailed the intense Russian bombardment Ukraine faces, including over a thousand guided bombs and drones in a single week.

Ukraine's President details talks on security guarantees and reconstruction, preparing for high-level meetings in Europe and the United States.

Kyiv, January 4 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he held talks with the National Security Advisors of partner countries on security guarantees, reconstruction, and a basic framework for a real rebuilding.

Zelenskyy said that they were getting ready for meetings with the US.

"First outcomes from today's work with national security advisors of partner countries. European partners, Canada, the EU, and NATO are engaged, and we are also communicating with the American side. I am grateful to everyone for their support. Our discussions are moving forward along three key directions - security guarantees, reconstruction, and a basic framework for a real rebuilding. Everything must be effective, dignified, and conducive to establishing peace for decades. And this vision of ours is fully aligned with the vision of our key partners. I am grateful to our team for their thorough approach to negotiations," he said.

"Work with the advisors continues. We are preparing meetings in Europe next week. We are also getting ready for meetings in the United States," he added.

"Today, three panels were held involving Ukraine's negotiating team and 18 participants from various countries and institutions. The primary focus was on security guarantees, rebuilding, and a basic framework for a real peace. During our meeting, we discussed all existing draft documents and examined in detail the sequencing of steps: on January 5, a meeting of chiefs of the general staff will take place, followed by a leaders-level meeting in Paris on January 6," he said.

"After these contacts, we expect a productive joint meeting with representatives of the United States," he added.

Zelenskyy further called for support from the partners of Ukraine, saying that Ukrainians were under threat from Russian strikes.

"It is critically important for Ukraine that partner support continues - steady defense assistance and reinforcement of our air defense. Almost every day, lives in Ukraine are under threat because of Russian attacks and strikes using various types of weapons against our people."

"This week alone, Russia launched more than 1,070 guided aerial bombs, nearly 1,000 attack drones, and six missiles against Ukraine. Everything agreed with our partners must be accelerated as much as possible. Every missile for air defense systems that is currently held in storage by partners can truly save lives," he added.

- ANI
Bank employees' unions threaten to go on nationwide strike on Jan 27

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 20:15 IST

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New Delhi, Jan 4 (PTI) Bank employees unions under the aegis of the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) have threatened to go on a nationwide strike on January 27, demanding implementation of a 5-day week.

If the strike materialises, it would have a significant impact primarily on the operations of public sector banks for three days in a row, as January 25 and 26 are holidays.

At present, bank employees get off on the second and fourth Saturday of each month, apart from Sundays.

Declaring the remaining two Saturdays as holidays was agreed between the Indian Banks Association (IBA) and UFBU during the wage revision settlement in March, 2024.

It is unfortunate that the government is not responding to our genuine demand. There would be no loss of man-hours because we have agreed to an extra 40 minutes working per day from Monday to Friday," UFBU said in a statement.

Already, RBI, LIC, GIC, etc., are working for 5 days a week, it said, adding that the foreign exchange market, money market, stock exchanges, etc., are not working on Saturdays. Also, the central and state government offices do not work on Saturdays.

Hence, it said, there is no reason why banks cannot introduce a 5-day week.

It has been decided to give the call for an all India strike in all the banks on January 27, 2026, it added.

UFBU is an umbrella organisation of nine major bank unions in India, representing employees and officers across public sector banks and some old generation private banks.

The statement further said the unions social media campaign #5DayBankingNow has got 18,80,027 impressions and about 2,85,200 posts on X. PTI DP HVA

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Communal tension in Nepal towns near India border, police lob tear gas shells

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 19:45 IST

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Kathmandu, Jan 4 (PTI) Protests over a video with alleged religious content on social media turned violent as tension flared across two places in southern Nepal, near the Indian border, on Sunday.

Police lobbed tear gas shells to contain the situation in Birgunj town of Parsa district, bordering Raxaul in India, where demonstrations were held to protest vandalisation of a mosque in Dhanusha district on Saturday.

Three people were detained for allegedly posting the TikTok video and for their involvement in the vandalism, Dhanusha police said.

The vandalising of the mosque by a group of people in Sakhuwa Maran area of Kamala Municipality of Dhanusha district was a result of anti-Hindu content spread through social media allegedly by two Muslim youths, police said.

Protesting the incidents in Dhanusha district, a group of Muslims demonstrated in Birjung by burning tires on Sunday morning.

As their demonstration turned violent with pelting stones on police personnel and vandalising the local police station, almost half a dozen tear gas shells were lobbed to bring the situation under control," police added.

The situation in Birgunj returned to normal later in the day, they added.

Bhola Dahal, Chief District Officer, Parsa, through a public appeal later on Sunday evening, urged people not to engage in any activities that disrupt social harmony.

Individuals involved in fomenting social, religious, or cultural animosity among each other, affecting national unity, or spreading false rumors that harm the social reputation of communities are being closely monitored on social media accounts such as Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram," stated the district administration.

It also warned that legal action will be taken against those involved in creating social disharmony, disturbing peace or damaging religious sites.

Seven police personnel sustained minor injuries, Parsa district police spokesperson, Deputy Superintendent of Police Raju Karki.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Ganesh Bam, spokesperson for Dhanusha police, said three people were detained for allegedly posting the TikTok video and for their involvement in the vandalism. PTI SBP NPK NPK

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I'd be concerned: Rubio warns Cuba's leaders after Maduro's capture

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 06:15 IST

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Palm Beach [US], January 4 (ANI): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday (local time) warned Cubas leaders and said that Id be concerned" following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. He said Cuba was in complete collapse, and noted that Maduros guards and the entire intelligence agency were largely composed of Cubans. In a press conference, Rubio said, Cuba is a disaster. Its run by incompetent, senile men and, in some cases, not seen now, but incompetent nonetheless. It has no economy. Its in total collapse. All of the guards that helped protect Maduro, this is well known, their whole spy agency, all of whom were full of Cubans."This poor island took over Venezuela in some cases. One of the biggest problems that Venezuelans have is that they have to declare independence from Cuba. They tried to basically colonise it from a security standpoint. If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, Id be concerned at least a little bit," he said. While President Donald Trump said that Cuba is a failing nation" and criticised its system for causing long-term suffering, adding that the US aims to help both the Cuban people and those who were forced to leave the country. Cuba is an interesting case. Cuba is not doing very well right now. Its system has not been a very good one for Cuba. The people there have suffered for many, many years. I think Cuba is going to be something well end up talking about because Cuba is a failing nation right now. Very badly failing nation. We want to help the people in Cuba, but we also want to help the people who were forced out of Cuba and are living in this country," Trump said. Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement, leading to heightened tensions and uncertainty.According to an unsealed indictment shared by Attorney General Pamela Bondi on X, Maduro and Flores face multiple counts of statutory allegations related to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies". The capture of Maduro comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela. (ANI)

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CAIRO, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Sunday held a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and a range of regional issues, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The two ministers exchanged views on the situation in the Gaza Strip amid "tragic humanitarian conditions."

They stressed the need to consolidate the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza, which has been mediated by Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye, and the United States, and to move forward with the obligations of the second phase of the ceasefire.

Abdelatty and Fidan underscored the importance of initiating transitional arrangements in Gaza, ensuring the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid, and launching early recovery and reconstruction efforts.

Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 71,300 Palestinians and injured over 171,200 others since Oct. 7, 2023, according to Gaza's health authorities. Despite the ceasefire, which took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, at least 420 people have been killed and more than 1,180 others wounded in the enclave since Oct. 11, 2025, the authorities said.

The two ministers also discussed developments in Yemen, stressing the importance of de-escalation and the prioritization of dialogue and consensus over unilateral measures, in a way that contributes to achieving security and stability for the Yemeni people.

Regarding the Horn of Africa, the two ministers voiced their "categorical rejection of Israel's recognition of the so-called Somaliland," describing it as a blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter, which undermines the foundations of regional and international peace and security. 
Nepal PM's husband to travel to India for medical treatment

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 20:15 IST

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Kathmandu, Jan 4 (PTI) Nepal Prime Minister Shushila Karkis husband, Durga Prasad Subedi, who is suffering from multiple ailments, will travel to India for treatment, hospital officials said here on Sunday.

Subedi, who is almost an octogenarian, was admitted to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital at Maharajganj here on Thursday with a urinary tract infection, along with other health issues.

Doctors involved in his medical treatment referred him to go to India for further treatment, said hospital spokesperson Dr Gopal Sedhai.

Subedi, who was discharged from the hospital on Sunday, had recently undergone a prostate operation. PTI SBP SKS SKS GRS GRS

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Saudi-backed Yemen's government retakes Hadramout, al-Mahra

Last Updated: January 05, 2026, 01:15 IST

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Sanaa [Yemen], January 5 (ANI): Yemeni government troops, backed by Saudi Arabia, announced they had regained control of the Hadramout and al-Mahra governorates from the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), amid ongoing tensions among Gulf regional powers, Al Jazeera reported. According to a statement issued by Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, President of the Presidential Leadership Council of Yemen, on Saturday, the Saudi-backed Homeland Shield forces had achieved record success" by reclaiming all military and security sites in the province bordering Saudi Arabia following an operation that began on Friday. Following the takeover, Hadramout Governor Salem al-Khanbashi said he had resumed his official duties from the city of Seiyun, Al Arabiya reported.In his statement, Al-Alimi said he spoke by phone with al-Khanbashi, who is also the commander of the Homeland Shield Forces, and praised the responsible performance of Hadhramauts local leadership and the swift success of the Homeland Shield Forces in restoring and securing key sites, noting that this achievement demonstrates the forces discipline and high level of preparedness. He further added that these efforts would help normalise conditions, facilitate the return of services, and ease the hardships faced by citizens.President Al-Alimi called on the people of Hadhramaut to support local authorities and the Homeland Shield Forces in protecting institutions and public facilities. He called on them to preserve social peace, in a manner that strengthens community partnership and upholds the rule of law," the statement read. Al-Alimi also held a phone call with Mohammed Ali Yasser, governor of al-Mahrah, during which he was briefed on the overall situation in the governorate and ongoing arrangements to transfer military camps and sovereign facilities to the Homeland Shield Forces and local authorities, the statement further read.He said these steps would strengthen security and stability, protect public and private interests, and maintain social peace.He praised the efforts of the local authority in Al-Mahrah and its high sense of responsibility in managing the current phase, prioritising de-escalation and dialogue, and avoiding any security or humanitarian repercussions. He expressed deep appreciation for the honourable role of the people of Al-Mahrah in rallying around state institutions and placing the governorates interests, security, and stability above all else," the statement added. On Friday, al-Khanbashi announced the launch of a military operation called Taking Over the Camps", aimed at assuming control of military positions in a peaceful and organised way, Al Arabiya reported.The Homeland Shield forces have fully secured Wadi Hadramout, including Seiyun and key facilities, and are now pursuing remaining STC-affiliated forces in the Hadramout Plateau and along the road between Seiyun and Mukallam, Al Arabiya reported, citing sources.The situation started over ten years ago when Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates led a coalition to fight the Houthis, which had taken control in Yemen, Al Jazeera reported.Over time, that mission did not succeed. The UAE then shifted focus to its own strategic goals, backing and arming the STC in southern Yemen.However, Saudi Arabia intervened when it perceived the STCs takeover of areas near its borders as a threat to its national security, as reported by Al Jazeera. (ANI)

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Sharjah Ruler receives founding delegation of ALA Beirut

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 23:15 IST

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Sharjah [UAE], January 4 (ANI/WAM): Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and President of the Sharjah Arabic Language Academy (ALA), received on Sunday a delegation of founders of ALA in Beirut, Lebanon, headed by Dr Emile Badi Yaqub and Dr Rashid Darbas, at Dr Sultan Al Qasimi Centre in University City.At the beginning of the meeting, the Ruler of Sharjah welcomed the delegation, congratulating them on the establishment of the Arabic Language Academy in Beirut and the commencement of its work in cooperation with Sharjah.Sheikh Dr Sultan noted the rich history of Lebanon in Arabic culture and literature, and the distinguished role of its scholars and writers in various fields of creativity and the arts.He affirmed his support for the Academy, enabling it to fulfill its significant roles in its areas of specialisation, and wished its members every success in achieving its aspirations to support efforts to preserve the Arabic language and its history and promote its dissemination.Sheikh Dr Sultan also pointed to the importance of communication between Arabic language academies in the Arab world, which contributes to achieving all their objectives in serving the Arabic language in its various fields, such as documentation, publication, scientific research, and the exchange of knowledge and culture.Role of ALA in SharjahDuring the meeting, the Ruler of Sharjah discussed the role of the Sharjah Arabic Language Academy in connecting with other Arabic language academies across the Arab world and with institutions in Europe and Africa.He emphasised the Academys support for these academies, which contributes to the desired outcomes of disseminating and documenting the Arabic language, connecting new generations to it, and enhancing its leading position in various fields of science and knowledge. This is achieved through fruitful cooperation in diverse activities, events, and publications.The delegation of founders of the Arabic Language Academy in Lebanon expressed their gratitude to the Ruler of Sharjah for his unwavering support of the Academy and all other academies in various countries. This support has resulted in comprehensive projects led by the Emirate of Sharjah in the fields of Arabic language, literature, and arts, as well as in encouraging scholars and writers to write and publish.They highlighted the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language as a prominent Arab and international achievement in the field of lexicography.At the conclusion of the meeting, the Ruler of Sharjah graciously accepted a commemorative shield from the delegation of the Arabic Language Academy in Lebanon, along with several publications by members of the Academy. He also posed for commemorative photographs with the delegation. (ANI/WAM)

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News agency-feeds Sharjah Ruler receives founding delegation of ALA Beirut

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Three held for killing man over alleged witchcraft in Jharkhand

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 20:00 IST

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Garhwa (Jharkhand), Jan 4 (PTI) Police arrested three persons, including a woman, for killing a man on suspicion of practicing witchcraft in Jharkhands Garhwa district, officials said on Sunday.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Shri Bansidhar Nagar, Satyendra Narayan Singh, told reporters that police received information on Saturday about an unidentified body in a passenger shed near Dudhmania Ghat on Bhawnathpur-Ketar Main Road within Bhawnathpur police station limits.

Based on documents found at the scene, the deceased was identified as Rukhi Rajwar, a resident of Murma Kala village in Pandu police station area of Palamu district. The deceased had been shot in the head," the officer said.

The SDPO said during probe, Sita Rajwar, a resident of Semri village in Untari Road police station area of Palamu district, was taken into custody.

During questioning, she confessed to conspiring with her cousins husband, Manoj Rajwar, to kill Rukhi. The role of Manmati Kunwar, a resident of Singhitoli village, also came to light during the investigation, and she was subsequently arrested," officials added.

According to police, Sitas daughter had died a few days ago. Due to superstition, she was told that her daughters death was caused by witchcraft.

Rukhi Rajwar was also allegedly suspected of practicing witchcraft, prompting Sita to plan the killing.

The SDPO said on Friday night, the three accused took the deceased on a bike to Bhawnathpur-Ketar road, where, after consuming alcohol, Sita shot and killed him. After the murder, the accused hid the weapon near the crime scene.

Based on information provided by the accused, police recovered two country-made pistols, one live 3.15 bore cartridge, one spent cartridge, a mobile phone, and a bike.

All three accused were sent to judicial custody on Sunday.

The SDPO said the arrested woman, Manmati Kunwar, had previously been jailed in a case related to witchcraft and sorcery. PTI CORR ANB MNB

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Veteran Dravidian leader L Ganesan passes away; TN CM, Vaiko condole

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 17:45 IST

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Chennai, Jan 4 (PTI) Dravidian stalwart L Ganesan passed away at his residence in Thanjavur due to age-related ailments on Sunday.

He was 92 and is survived by his wife.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin condoled his death and said Ganesan dedicated his life to the DMK and the cause of Tamil identity.

Expressing profound grief, the DMK President highlighted Ganesans role as a key leader of the student force during historic protests against the imposition of Hindi.

He was a member of the partys high-level action committee. My heart aches to know that we can no longer see him in the Legislative Assembly and Parliament," he said in a statement.

Devoted to the ideology of the Dravidian movement, Ganesan earned the respect of the people and served the political arena. He will live in our hearts forever," he added.

The CM, along with his cabinet colleagues K N Nehru and Anbil Mahesh, paid their last respects to the departed soul at his residence in Thanjavur.

In his condolence message, MDMK chief Vaiko expressed shock over the passing of Ganesan.

Born in Kannanthangudi Keezhayur in Thanjavur district, Ganesans political journey began in his youth under the leadership of late C N Annadurai, said Vaiko in a party statement.

Ganesan had served with distinction as an MLA, MP (Rajya Sabha), and also as the parliamentary secretary, he said.

When MDMK was launched, he (L Ganesan) served as the partys presidium chairman. In 2004, contesting on behalf of the MDMK in Tiruchirappalli constituency, he won by a margin of one lakh votes," Vaiko recalled.

Terming his demise a huge loss" to the Dravidian movement, Vaiko extended deep condolences to his wife Kamala and to his family members and friends. PTI VIJ VIJ ROH

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 17:45 IST

News agency-feeds Veteran Dravidian leader L Ganesan passes away; TN CM, Vaiko condole

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Bank Holidays This Week: Check Which Days Banks Will Be Closed Between January 5-12

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 09:12 IST

Banks in India have no major holidays in early January 2026. Closures for Swami Vivekananda, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Thiruvalluvar Day, Uzhavar Thirunal, etc.

Bank Holiday In January 2026

Bank Holiday Full List In January 2026: Banks across India will observe no major public and regional holidays this week in January 2026 under the RBI holiday calendar. There are no bank holidays this week except for Saturday and Sunday.

During bank holidays, customers can continue to access services through net banking, mobile banking, UPI, and ATMs. However, cheque clearing and other over-the-counter services under the Negotiable Instruments Act will not be available.

Next Bank Holiday In January

The next bank holiday is falling on January 12 on account of the birthday of Swami Vivekananda. Observed as National Youth Day, it commemorates the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, a spiritual leader and youth icon. However, banks will be closed only in Uttar Pradesh as per RBI holiday calendar.

Bank Holidays In January 2026

January 14: Makar Sankranti / Magh Bihu

Makar Sankranti marks the suns transition into Capricorn and is linked to harvest celebrations. Magh Bihu is an important Assamese harvest festival.

Banks will be closed in: Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Itanagar.

January 15: Uttarayana Punyakala / Pongal / Maghe Sankranti / Makara Sankranti

This day is widely observed as a harvest festival across states. Pongal is a major four-day festival in Tamil Nadu celebrating farmers and nature.

Banks will be closed in: Bengaluru, Chennai, Gangtok, Hyderabad and Vijayawada.

January 16: Thiruvalluvar Day

The day honours Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, author of the Tirukkural.

Banks will be closed in: Chennai only.

January 17: Uzhavar Thirunal

Uzhavar Thirunal is a farmers festival in Tamil Nadu, recognising the contribution of agricultural workers.

Banks will be closed in: Chennai only.

January 23: Birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose / Saraswati Puja (Basant Panchami) / Vir Surendrasai Jayanti

The day marks the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. It is also observed as Saraswati Puja, dedicated to the goddess of knowledge, and as Vir Surendrasai Jayanti in Odisha.

Banks will be closed in: Agartala, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata and Chennai.

January 26: Republic Day

Republic Day marks the adoption of the Indian Constitution in 1950.

Banks will be closed across India.

Banks Timings

Most major banks in India, including SBI, Bank of India, and Punjab National Bank, operate between 10 am and 4 pm, while ICICI, HDFC, Axis, Yes Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank usually function from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm or 3:30 pm, depending on the branch. Bank of Baroda has slightly extended hours, operating between 9:45 am and 4:45 pm or 10 am to 5 pm, and Canara Bank typically works from 10 am to 3:30 pm.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 09:12 IST

News business banking-finance Bank Holidays This Week: Check Which Days Banks Will Be Closed Between January 5-12

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Bet, Glitch, Jackpot: How A Trader Made Rs 1.75 Crore And Bombay HC Said He Can Keep It

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 14:56 IST

Bombay High Court ruled Kotak Securities cannot reclaim Gajanan Rajguru's Rs 1.75 crore profit from a 2022 system glitch, stating gains were not unjust enrichment.

The Bombay High Court ruled that profits earned by a trader following a technical glitch at Kotak Securities do not qualify as unjust enrichment.

The Bombay High Court has refused to let Kotak Securities reclaim profits earned by a trader after a system glitch, ruling that gains made from mistakenly credited margin do not amount to unjust enrichment.

The case dates back to 2022, when trader Gajanan Rajguru was mistakenly credited margin worth nearly Rs 40 crore by his broker, Kotak Securities, due to a system glitch. Acting within about 20 minutes of the erroneous credit, Rajguru executed trades that eventually resulted in a net profit of Rs 1.75 crore, according to an Economic Times report.

While Kotak Securities later reversed the incorrect margin credit, it also sought to recover the profit earned by the trader, arguing that the gains were generated using funds that did not belong to him.

High Courts ruling

In an order passed in December 2025, the Bombay High Court ruled in favour of the trader, stating that the profit could not be classified as unjust enrichment".

The court observed that the mere availability of excess margin due to a technical fault does not automatically lead to profits. It noted that Rajguru had initially suffered a loss of Rs 54 lakh before making gains of Rs 2.38 crore, which ultimately resulted in a net profit of Rs 1.75 crore.

Importantly, the court pointed out that Kotak Securities did not incur any financial loss because of the erroneous margin credit. The profits, it said, were earned through the traders own decisions, skill and risk-taking, and could not be claimed by the broker simply because the trades were executed using margin mistakenly provided by it.

Rejecting Kotaks argument, the court said the firm was effectively attempting to appropriate the traders gains without any legal basis.

Kotak Securities has challenged the ruling, and the matter is scheduled for further hearing on February 4, 2026. The trader was represented by advocates Nitesh V Bhutekar and Aaditya Mahamiya.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 14:56 IST

News business Bet, Glitch, Jackpot: How A Trader Made Rs 1.75 Crore And Bombay HC Said He Can Keep It

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USVenezuela Conflict: What It Could Mean For Crude Oil Prices And Indias Economy

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News18.com

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 16:14 IST

US forces captured Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores on drug charges. India faces minimal impact due to reduced Venezuelan oil imports.

US action against Venezuela has put crude oil markets on alert, with potential ripple effects for Indias economy.

USVenezuela Conflict: The conflict between the United States of America and Venezuela has escalated after the formers military raided and captured the latters President, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife.

US President Donald Trump said that Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were captured in Caracas during a US military operation on January 03, have been indicted on charges of alleged drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York, and will face trial.

Trump said that Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil". According to an unsealed indictment shared by Attorney General Pamela Bondi on X, Maduro and Flores face multiple counts of statutory allegations related to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies".

A plane carrying Maduro landed near New York City on Saturday night, and he was helicoptered to the city before being taken by a large convoy to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn under a heavy police guard.

Venezuelas Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of acting president after the US removed Nicolas Maduro, CNN reported.

With a sudden geopolitical turmoil and being a major oil supplier country, there are concerns regarding the spike in crude oil prices, which could have an impact on the Indian economy.

Will the US-Venezuela Crisis Have an Impact On India?

Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), in a note, said that India is unlikely to be affected by the ongoing crisis in Venezuela in terms of material economy or energy.

The trade body said that India has been reducing crude shipments from Venezuela in recent years. It added that since 2019, when US sanctions took effect, the country reduced imports and commercial activity, and curbed trade from the South American nation.

In 202425, Indias imports from Venezuela declined sharply to $364.5 million, with crude oil accounting for $255.3 million of the total. This represented a steep 81.3 percent fall from imports worth $1.4 billion in 202324.

Indias exports to Venezuela remained modest at $95.3 million during the year, led by pharmaceutical shipments valued at $41.4 million.

Given the limited trade exposure, ongoing sanctions and the significant geographical distance, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said the latest developments in Venezuela are unlikely to have any material impact on Indias economy or its energy security.

India May Benefit If Sanctions Ease

India is expected to re-emerge as a key buyer if Venezuelan supplies return. If sanctions are eased trade flows can resume rapidly," said Kpler analyst Nikhil Dubey, noting that Indian refineries are technically well suited to process Venezuelan heavy crude, as quoted by PTI.

Crude Oil Prices May Jump In Near Future

Crude oil prices is likely to see a gap-up opening when the market opens on Monday, January 5, according to market experts told LiveMint.

The US attack on Venezuela is expected to trigger geopolitical tension in the region, which is expected to fuel the uncertainty. Hence, I expect a gap-up opening for gold, silver, copper, crude oil, gasoline, and other commodities," said Anuj Gupta, Director of Ya Wealth.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 16:14 IST

News business economy USVenezuela Conflict: What It Could Mean For Crude Oil Prices And Indias Economy

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8-Month-Old Boy Rescued From Ritual Sacrifice In Bengaluru, Authorities Investigate

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Local18

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 12:22 IST

In Bengaluru's Hoskote, an 8-month-old boy was rescued after a suspected ritual sacrifice plot. Authorities investigate child adoption and superstitious practices.

Authorities rescue an 8-month-old from a suspected ritual sacrifice in Bengaluru. (Image-AI)

A shocking incident has emerged from Sulibele village in Hoskote, highlighting the dangers of blind superstition. Authorities rescued an 8-month-old boy who was allegedly being prepared for a ritual sacrifice to bring wealth," according to reports.

Ritual Preparations Underway?

The alleged incident took place at the home of one Syed Imran in Janata Colony, Sulibele. Police sources say a small room inside the house had been prepared for a ritual, with religious items, incense, and offerings arranged. The horrifying preparations caused alarm among local residents.

Alerted By An Anonymous Tip

On the occasion of a full moon, an anonymous call to the child helpline (Childline) reported the suspected sacrifice. Child welfare officials and the district child protection unit immediately responded, raiding the house. A room with ritual items was discovered, confirming the suspicion that a sacrifice was being planned.

During the search, authorities found the 8-month-old boy, who, according to preliminary reports, had been purchased roughly eight months ago. For his safety, the child was immediately taken into the care of the district child protection unit and sent to a childcare centre. Officials confirmed that the infant is stable and undergoing a medical check-up, with all precautions taken to ensure his safety.

Investigation Underway

The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) is conducting a thorough investigation into the case, including allegations of child purchase, ritual sacrifice, and superstitious practices. The Sulibele police have registered a case and are probing the role of Syed Imran and others connected to the incident.

The Sulibele community has expressed outrage over the incident, calling it a grim reminder that blind superstitions still persist. While some locals praised the timely rescue as divine intervention, many demanded strict action against the perpetrators.

The case underscores the importance of child safety, legal enforcement, and awareness against superstitious practices. (Reported by: Manu Hadripur, News18 Kannada, Bangalore Rural)

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 12:22 IST

News cities 8-Month-Old Boy Rescued From Ritual Sacrifice In Bengaluru, Authorities Investigate

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Bengaluru Woman Duped Of Over Rs 2 Lakh Love Spell Scam, Police Warn Public Against Social Media Fraud

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Local18

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 12:04 IST

An Instagram ad promising solutions for love problems turned costly for a Bengaluru woman; Adugodi police urge caution.

Think online love ads are harmless? A Bengaluru woman lost over Rs 2 lakh believing in a love solution. (Image-AI)

A young woman approached Adugodi police after losing lakhs of rupees to an online scam promising love solutions under the guise of Vashikaran" rituals. Police have registered a case and initiated an investigation under charges of online fraud, breach of trust, and intimidation.

The case highlights the dangers of attractive social media advertisements promising easy solutions to personal problems. The woman reportedly came across an Instagram advertisement claiming to offer permanent solutions for love problems" through rituals and special poojas, posted from a social media account under the name Krishna Murthy Guruji.

Falling For The Trap

The woman, distressed over a personal relationship, called the number listed in the ad (9741336337). The person on the call introduced himself as Chandrashekhar Sugath Guruji. He asked detailed questions about her boyfriend and created a narrative that a special ritual and vashikaran were necessary for marriage. Assured of a permanent solution," the woman placed full trust in him.

Money Transferred Online

Over several interactions, the accused asked for payments, claiming they were required for the ritual, homa, and chanting powerful mantras. Believing the promises, the woman transferred Rs 2.05 lakh online. Later, the accused demanded another Rs 4 lakh, at which point the woman grew suspicious and started questioning the process.

Threats When Asked for a Refund

When she asked for her money back, the accused allegedly threatened her, saying, I wont return your money; do whatever you want." Alarmed, the woman finally approached the Adugodi police station.

A case has been registered at Adugodi police under online fraud, breach of trust, and intimidation. Authorities are tracing the accused using the phone number, bank account details, and social media account information.

Public Advisory

Police have warned the public not to trust social media advertisements claiming solutions through vashikaran, poojas, mantras, or similar rituals. They urge people to seek legal and legitimate avenues for personal problems, cautioning that scammers are exploiting emotional vulnerabilities to cheat victims of lakhs of rupees. (Reported by: Ashik Mulki, News18 Kannada, Bengaluru)

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 12:04 IST

News cities Bengaluru Woman Duped Of Over Rs 2 Lakh Love Spell Scam, Police Warn Public Against Social Media Fraud

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democratic lawmakers on Saturday showed their anger and distress in the aftermath of the U.S. raid on Venezuela and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro early Saturday morning.

They said that Congress had not been notified in advance and that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration had previously lied to Congress about its goal in the oil-rich South American nation. Meanwhile, they demanded an immediate briefing on the operation and on the White House's next move.

"Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn't about regime change. I didn't trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress," U.S. Senator Andy Kim wrote in a post on X. Last year, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told members of Congress that regime change in Venezuela was not their goal.

Jason Crow, a Democrat on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees, agreed: "The Trump Administration repeatedly lied to Congress and the American people about Venezuela. Over and over, officials testified that this was not about regime change."

Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Trump administration has "consistently misled" lawmakers, leaving Congress in the dark on any U.S. "long-term strategy" concerning Venezuela.

Senator Chris Coons, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, also said that lawmakers were given "false" information by the administration. "A military operation to capture and overthrow a president -- even an illegitimate one -- is an act of war that must be authorized by Congress," he said.

Both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Saturday criticized the Trump administration for not seeking congressional authorization before the reckless attack, demanding an immediate briefing.

"The Trump administration has not sought congressional authorization for use of military force and has failed to properly notify Congress in advance of the operation in Venezuela," Jeffries said in a statement.

"Too many questions remain unanswered," said Jeffries, calling for evidence to "explain and justify this unauthorized use of military force."

According to Schumer, the White House "has assured me three separate times that it was not pursuing regime change or taking military action in Venezuela." "Clearly, they are not being straight with Americans," Schumer said in a statement.

Following reports of explosions in Caracas, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on X that the United States has "no vital national interests in Venezuela to justify war."

"We should have learned not to stumble into another stupid adventure by now," Schatz warned.

However, it seems Republican lawmakers largely back the Trump administration's attack on Venezuela. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson said they are expecting related briefings to Congress in the coming days.

"President Trump's decisive action ... is an important first step to bring him (Maduro) to justice for the drug crimes for which he has been indicted in the United States," Thune said in a statement.

The latest U.S. strikes on Venezuela and its capture of Maduro have drawn worldwide condemnation and concern. 
AAP Sarpanch Jarnail Singh Shot Dead At Wedding In Amritsar; Two Outsiders Open Fire

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News18.com

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 22:35 IST

The police have identified the accused, who are believed to be outsiders.

Police officials at the scene where the incident took place (Credits: IANS)

An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sarpanch was shot dead during a wedding function at a resort in Amritsar, police said on Sunday. The victim, Jarnail Singh of Valtoha, was attending the ceremony when two unidentified men opened fire, killing him on the spot.

Amritsar, Punjab: An AAP sarpanch, Jarnail Singh of Valtoha, was shot dead during a wedding at an Amritsar resort by two outsiders. He had survived three previous attacks pic.twitter.com/kYba3fz3q6 IANS (@ians_india) January 4, 2026

According to the Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, the attackers were outsiders.

As the unidentified assailants opened fire, a gunshot hit Singhs forehead; he fell and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.

The police visited the spot, took CCTV footage, and recorded the statements of eyewitnesses, they said.

A further investigation into the matter is underway.

Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal President and former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, Sukhbir Singh Badal, condemned the murder of the AAP sarpanch.

Taking to X, he wrote, Strongly condemn the cold-blooded murder of Sarpanch Jarmal Singh of Valtoha village (Tarn Taran), who was shot dead at a wedding function in Amritsar today. This follows an extremely worrisome pattern: yesterday, a young man was gunned down in Bhinder Kalan (Moga) and on Friday a woman was shot dead in Kapurthala."

Targeted killings in public places have become routine, exposing the complete policing failure under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the Home portfolio. The CM must be held accountable for this lawlessness," he added.

Notably, this is not the first time the AAP Sarpanch has been attacked. In March 2025, he was injured after armed men opened fire at his car near Valtoha village. The attack took place when Singh was returning home along with his driver.

According to a report by the Tribune citing police, three armed men riding motorcycles fired multiple rounds at the vehicle near Valtoha.

Both Singh and his driver sustained injuries in the attack and were rushed to a private hospital.

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Location : Amritsar, India, India

First Published: January 04, 2026, 17:28 IST

News chandigarh AAP Sarpanch Jarnail Singh Shot Dead At Wedding In Amritsar; Two Outsiders Open Fire

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Uddhav, Raj Thackeray Unveil Vachan Nama For Mumbai Civic Polls, Launch Sharp Attack On BJP

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News18.com

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 14:30 IST

Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS and NCP (SCP) released the Vachan Nama manifesto for BMC polls, promising welfare schemes and attacking BJP for 'stealing votes and candidates'.

Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS and NCP (SCP) released the Vachan Nama manifesto for BMC polls, promising welfare schemes and attacking BJP for 'stealing votes and candidates'. Image: News18

Shiv Sena (UBT), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) on Saturday jointly released their manifesto Vachan Nama for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, projecting a united front against the ruling alliance in Maharashtra.

Addressing a joint press conference in Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led ruling coalition, alleging systematic erosion of democratic values. The atmosphere in the country is such that democracy has been taken over by mobocracy," Thackeray said. Accusing the ruling alliance of manipulating the electoral process, he claimed that after stealing votes," they were now stealing candidates," referring to several civic poll nominees being elected unopposed.

Thackeray also levelled serious allegations against Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, accusing him of openly threatening candidates and voters. This is extremely shocking. Action must be taken against him, and he should be immediately suspended," Thackeray said, alleging that Narwekar had instructed officials to withdraw security cover of opposition leaders outside the Assembly, which he said was beyond his authority. Thackeray demanded that a case be filed against Narwekar and called for by-elections in constituencies where candidates were elected unopposed, saying voters right to vote had been stolen."

Key promises in the joint manifesto

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, who have come together after nearly two decades of political rivalry, on Sunday jointly released their manifesto titled Vachan Nama for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.

Unveiling the manifesto for the high-stakes Mumbai civic polls scheduled for January 15, the leaders said the document was presented at the feet of our janta," projecting their alliance as a Shiv-Shakti" coming together to safeguard the interests of the Marathi manus (man) and the city of Mumbai. The coming together of the two Thackeray cousins marks a significant political moment in Maharashtra politics.

Among the key promises outlined by the Shiv Sena (UBT)MNS alliance are affordable housing, targeted welfare schemes for women, and major investments in healthcare, public transport and education. A flagship proposal is the Swabhiman Nidhi scheme, under which domestic helpers and Koli women will receive a monthly allowance of 1,500. The scheme is pitched on the lines of the Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana, which offers financial assistance to eligible women between the ages of 21 and 65.

The manifesto also proposes setting up Maa Saheb kitchens, which are named after Meenatai Thackeray (Balasaheb Thackerays wife), to provide subsidised breakfast and lunch at 10, similar to the existing Shiv Bhojan Thali model. Other key proposals include waiving property tax on houses up to 700 sq ft and revising redevelopment norms to ensure every flat in redeveloped buildings is allotted at least one parking space.

On civic transport, the alliance has promised to reduce the minimum bus fare from 10 to 5, introduce new buses and expand routes across the city. In the education sector, BMC-run Mumbai Public Schools will be expanded to offer classes from junior kindergarten to Class 12, positioning them as a strong alternative to private schools. For gig workers, the manifesto promises interest-free loans of 25,000 to help them purchase e-bikes.

At the manifesto launch, the leaders launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing it of weakening democratic norms. There is no democracy left. After vote theft, they are now stealing candidates. There is a monstrous race to ensure ruling party candidates win unopposed," Uddhav Thackeray alleged.

He further said that while the Mumbai mayor would be Marathi, the BJP must explain its track record when it previously shared power in the BMC. Thackeray also demanded re-elections in wards where candidates were elected unopposed and called for an investigation into the call records of returning officers linked to such cases, alleging manipulation of the electoral process.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 14:30 IST

News cities Uddhav, Raj Thackeray Unveil Vachan Nama For Mumbai Civic Polls, Launch Sharp Attack On BJP

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Turn Writing Into Strategy: How You Can Grow Your Career Beyond Content Creation

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News18.com

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 14:11 IST

In todays crowded job market, writing alone may not guarantee career growth, but when paired with strategic thinking, it can become a game-changing advantage.

As content ecosystems expand across platformswebsites, apps, social media, newsletters, videocompanies need professionals who can connect content to outcomes. (Representative image: Getty)

If youre a content writerwhether you work in media, startups, technology platforms, agencies, policy organisations, or growing businessesand want to grow in your career, its time to look beyond your job title. Sticking to the literal meaning of content writer" can quietly limit your growth, confining you to writing alone and making you overlook the wider opportunities your skills can unlock.

The truth is, writing today is rarely just about words. It involves understanding audiences, shaping narratives, working across platforms, and aligning content with larger goals. And the good news is, you dont need to reinvent yourself or switch to an entirely unfamiliar field. Career growth often comes from expanding how you apply the skills, professional judgment, and experience youve already built.

By broadening your perspective, from execution to strategy, you can open up a much larger career arc. Heres how content writers can move beyond writing and build better career opportunities.

Turn Your Writing Skills Into Strategic Career Wins

At its core, writing teaches you something invaluable: how people think. What makes them click, scroll, stop, trust, or disengage? That understanding is what businesses now wantnot just words on a page, but insight.

As content ecosystems expand across platformswebsites, apps, social media, newsletters, videocompanies need professionals who can connect content to outcomes. Thats where writers can step in, if theyre willing to expand their lens.

Shift From Creating Content To Driving Purpose

The biggest shift writers need to make is mental. Instead of asking What should I write today?", start asking: Who is this for? What problem does it solve? Where will it be seen? What action should it drive?

This shiftfrom execution to intentis the heart of content strategy. Writers who master it naturally move into roles like content strategists, brand managers, editors, growth marketers, and communications leads.

Learn To Read The Numbers

You dont need to be a data scientist, but you do need to understand what performance looks like. Writers who learn to read basic metricsengagement, retention, search visibility, conversionsgain an edge.

Knowing why one story worked and another didnt turns writing into decision-making. It also helps writers speak the language of managers and business teams, where growth conversations actually happen.

Use Technology To Expand Your Career Potential

SEO is no longer a nice to have" for writers; its a survival skill. But the real advantage comes from understanding search intent, not stuffing keywords. Writers who think in terms of discoverability and distribution are already operating at a strategic level.

The same applies to AI. Writers who treat AI as a collaborator for research, ideation, optimisation, and workflow efficiency free up time for higher-value thinking. Strategy lives where automation ends.

How To Unlock Senior Roles

Many writers underestimate the power of editing and briefing. But the ability to guide other creators, sharpen ideas, and align teams is what separates individual contributors from leaders.

Writing strong briefs, collaborating with designers, video teams, product managers, and marketersthese are strategy muscles. They also signal readiness for editorial leadership and management roles.

Understand The Business Behind The Content

The fastest career growth happens when writers understand how content supports larger goals: revenue, trust, growth, or retention. That means learning the basics of branding, marketing funnels, user journeys, and even product thinking.

Once you understand how content fits into the business puzzle, you stop being the writer" and start becoming the person who knows the audience."

Your Portfolio Should Show Your Thinking

A strong career move is reflected not just in your resume, but in how you present your work. Go beyond links. Show: why a piece was created, what problem it addressed, how it performed, and what you would improve.

This kind of portfolio positions you as a strategist, not just a creator.

In the digital age, where people have access to countless sources of learning, and AI is increasingly handling routine, repetitive tasks, the lines between jobs that rely on similar skill sets are blurring.

Beyond a few highly technical roles, careers are no longer confined to rigid qualifications. Human resources and leadership roles in banks and companies are no longer exclusive to MBA holders, just as content writing is no longer limited to those with literature backgrounds.

Across newsrooms, startups, agencies, and corporate teams, writers are quietly moving into strategy roles not because they abandoned writing, but because they expanded its scope.

This shift signals a broader change in the job market: professionals who understand the true potential of their skills and are willing to expand, adapt, and experiment are far more likely to thrive.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 11:12 IST

News education-career Turn Writing Into Strategy: How You Can Grow Your Career Beyond Content Creation

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13-Year-Old Girl Gang-Raped By Three Minors In Karnataka's Hubbali, Suspects Arrested

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 09:51 IST

In Hubballi, Karnataka, three boys aged 14 to 15 allegedly gang-raped a 13-year-old girl. The police confirmed all accused are detained and investigation is ongoing.

In Hubballi, Karnataka, three boys aged 14 to 15 allegedly gang-raped a 13-year-old girl. Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar confirmed all accused are detained and investigation is ongoing. (AI Image)

A 13-year-old girl has allegedly been gang-raped by three boys aged between 14 and 15 in Karnatakas Hubballi, according to police reports on Saturday.

Authorities revealed that the incident occurred while the girls parents were away. The boys, who reside in the same locality, took the girl to an abandoned area where they sexually assaulted her.

Hubballi-Dharwad police commissioner N Shashi Kumar stated that the girl, aged between 12 and 13, has been provided protection, and all three boys have been detained.

#WATCH | Hubballi, Karnataka: On POSCO case against three minor boys for sexual harassment. Police Commissioner, Hubballi-Dharwad, N Shashikumar says,  In the Hubli-Dharwad police jurisdiction, a complaint was filed regarding a minor girl who was subjected to harassment and pic.twitter.com/5f5EOR9kwn ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2026

Two of the boys are high school students, while the third appears to be a school dropout," Kumar explained.

The girls parents reported that the boys had threatened her, claiming they had recorded a video of the assault. The police are seizing the accuseds mobile phones and conducting a thorough investigation, he added.

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Location : Hubli-Dharwad (Hubli), India, India

First Published: January 04, 2026, 09:50 IST

News india 13-Year-Old Girl Gang-Raped By Three Minors In Karnataka's Hubbali, Suspects Arrested

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Bengal SIR: Mamata Flags Procedural Lapses In Electoral Roll Revision In Third Letter To CEC

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 18:31 IST

The CM urged the Election Commission to immediately rectify the flaws, address procedural glitches, and ensure transparency

Rapid Read

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar expressing serious concerns over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, alleging procedural lapses, arbitrariness, and violations of due process.

In the letter dated January 3, 2026, Banerjee stated that critical instructions related to the SIR are being communicated informally through WhatsApp messages and text messages, without formal written notifications, circulars, or statutory orders. She argued that this lack of formal documentation undermines transparency, accuracy, and accountability, and could lead to the disenfranchisement of genuine voters.

The Chief Minister also raises allegations of backend deletion of voters names through IT systems without the knowledge or approval of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), questioning the legal authority under which such actions are being taken. She said that this contravenes provisions of the Representation of the People Act and demands accountability from the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Banerjee further noted that documents such as the Family Register, which were accepted as valid identity proof during SIR exercises in states like Bihar, are reportedly being rejected in West Bengal through informal communications, without any formal notification. She describes this as discriminatory and arbitrary. Similarly, Permanent Residence or Domicile Certificates issued by state authorities are reportedly being disallowed.

The letter highlighted difficulties faced by voters, including migrant workers, elderly, infirm, and seriously ill citizens, who are being summoned for hearings without clear reasons and made to travel long distances of 20-25 kilometres. Hearings, she said, have been centralised instead of decentralised, causing severe hardship.

Banerjee also pointed out that Booth-Level Agents (BLAs) were involved during enumeration but have been denied access during hearings, raising questions about fairness and transparency. She alleged that observers and micro-observers are being appointed without consultation with the state government and that many lack adequate training, affecting the credibility of the process.

Concluding the letter, the Chief Minister urged the Election Commission to immediately rectify the flaws, address procedural glitches, and ensure transparency. She warned that if the SIR continues in its current form, it could result in large-scale disenfranchisement and cause irreparable damage to democratic governance.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 18:27 IST

News india Bengal SIR: Mamata Flags Procedural Lapses In Electoral Roll Revision In Third Letter To CEC

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Flight Ops Hit As Fog Blankets Delhi Amid Very Poor AQI; Cold Wave Grips North India

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News18.com

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 09:16 IST

Delhi's AQI stayed very poor with AQI above 300 at many sites, dense fog disrupted flights, and IMD issued yellow alerts for cold wave and fog across North India till Jan 7.

Several key monitoring stations across the city reported AQI levels in the "very poor" range. Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 350, Rohini 361, Chandni Chowk 355, Mundka 329 and Dhaula Kuan recorded an AQI of 322. (ANI/X)

Delhis air quality remained in the very poor" category, while a layer of fog gripped the national capital, affecting several flights and flight operations.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board, the AQI in Dhaula Kuan recorded 322. Several key monitoring stations across the city reported AQI levels in the very poor" range. Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 350, Rohini 361, Chandni Chowk 355, Mundka 329, and RK Puram 322, while ITO registered an AQI of 309, ANI reported.

However, the air quality was comparatively better at NSIT Dwarka and the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, both recording an AQI of 177, placing them in the moderate" category.

#WATCH | Delhi: Several flights delayed and flight operations affected as a layer of fog grips the national capital.(Visuals from IGI airport) pic.twitter.com/w2RsuH4Mvm  ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2026

However, the Republic Day parade rehearsals continued at India Gate despite smoggy conditions.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of around 9 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning. The IMD has forecast Sundays maximum temperature to hover between 18C and 19C, while the minimum is likely to range from 7C to 8C.

#WATCH | Visuals from Dhaula Kuan in New Delhi. AQI in the area is 322 in the very poor category as claimed by CPCB. pic.twitter.com/wwRWuJZrMS ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2026

According to the weather forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the cold wave is set to intensify across North India. Several parts of the country will witness dense fog and cold wave on January 4. However, the skies will be clear during the daytime.

Dense to Very dense fog conditions very likely to continue during night/morning hours over North India during next 7 days," IMD stated.

Owing to the adverse weather, IMD has issued a yellow alert in Delhi for dense fog on Sunday. Alongside, the meteorological station on Saturday issued a yellow warning of dense fog at isolated places in seven districts of Himachal Pradesh in the coming week.

The weather department predicted light snowfall at isolated places in Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts on January 6 and issued a yellow warning of dense fog at isolated places in Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Solan, and Sirmaur districts in the morning hours from January 4 to 7.

IMD issued the weather forecast of the week on X and stated, Dense to Very dense fog conditions very likely to continue during night/morning hours at many/some places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh till 7th; over West Uttar Pradesh till 5th; over East Uttar Pradesh till 8th; over East Rajasthan till 4th; over Odisha till 6th January, 2026."

It further added, Cold day conditions very likely at isolated pockets over Uttarakhand on 3rd & 4th; over Uttar Pradesh, west Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan on 3rd; over Bihar during 3rd  5th January, 2026."

For Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi, IMD forecasted cold weather till January 7. Over west Rajasthan during January 5 and 8; over east Rajasthan during Jan 4 to 8.

For Delhi, the weather office said cold wave conditions are likely to affect isolated places between January 4 and January 7.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 09:14 IST

News india Flight Ops Hit As Fog Blankets Delhi Amid Very Poor AQI; Cold Wave Grips North India

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Jailed Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Granted 40-Day Parole From Rohtak Jail

Curated By :

PTI

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 13:23 IST

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Dera Sacha Sauda chief jailed for rape and murder, gets another 40-day parole from Sunaria jail, drawing criticism from Sikh organisations.

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Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. (PTI/File)

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples and is lodged in the Sunaria jail in Haryanas Rohtak, was again granted a 40-day parole, said sources on Sunday.

His latest parole comes months after he was granted a 40-day parole in August last year.

Singh is serving a 20-year jail term, sentenced in 2017 for raping two of his disciples.

The Dera chief and three others were also convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist more than 16 years ago.

Besides parole in August last year, he was also granted a 21-day furlough in April and a 30-day parole in January, ahead of the February 5 Delhi assembly polls.

Similarly, he was allowed a 20-day parole on October 1, 2024, days before the October 5 Haryana assembly polls.

In August 2024, Singh was granted a 21-day furlough. He was also permitted a three-week furlough from February 7, 2022, barely two weeks before the Punjab assembly polls.

Prior to his latest parole, Singh has come out of prison 14 times since being convicted in 2017.

Sikh organisations, such as Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, have in the past criticised the grant of relief to Singh.

On many of the 13 occasions in the past, when Singh was out of jail, he remained at the Deras ashram in Uttar Pradeshs Bagpat district.

The Sirsa-headquartered Dera Sacha Sauda has a number of followers in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and other states. In Haryana, the Dera has a sizable number of followers in many districts, including Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Hisar.

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Location : Chandigarh, India, India

First Published: January 04, 2026, 13:23 IST

News india Jailed Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Granted 40-Day Parole From Rohtak Jail

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'Law Of Jungle Prevails': Shashi Tharoor After US Strikes Venezuela, Captures Maduro

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 12:32 IST

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor criticised US strikes on Venezuela and Maduro's capture, citing global double standards and declining respect for international law.

Rapid Read

File photo of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor (PTI photo)

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday shared his opinion on the recent US military actions against Venezuela, criticising what he described as the breach" of international norms. In a blunt assessment, the Congress MP said international rules are increasingly being ignored in favour of brute power. In a post on X, Tharoor said the episode reflected a world where might is right."

After months of threats and pressure, the US on Saturday launched strikes on Venezuela, toppling the left-wing leader Maduro and taking him into custody to face trial in New York.

Responding to a post by author Kapil Komireddi, Tharoor, who is also the chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, tweeted, International law and the UN Charter have for some years now been honoured in the breach. The Law of the Jungle prevails today. Might is Right is the new creed."

International law and the UN Charter have for some years now been honoured in the breach, @kapskom. The Law of the Jungle prevails today. Might is Right" is the new creed. https://t.co/0g7nll3J7e Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 4, 2026

Komireddi, whose post Tharoor reshared, pointed to what he described as hypocrisy in Washingtons actions, saying, All those condoning the gangsterism in Venezuela today will shriek international law and UN Charter when China abducts Taiwans president."

The exchange reflects growing concern among commentators over what they see as double standards and the weakening of international law in global affairs.

The US operation brought an end to Maduros 12-year rule. He had been the subject of a $50 million US bounty. President Donald Trump had earlier posted an image on Truth Social showing Maduro handcuffed and blindfolded aboard a US naval vessel in the Caribbean. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were subsequently flown to New York to face drugs and weapons charges.

Trump said he monitored the operation from his Mar-a-Lago residence like I was watching a television show," Fox News reported.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado declared that the countrys hour of freedom has arrived," calling for the oppositions 2024 election candidate to immediately" assume the presidency. Trump, however, dismissed speculation about Machado leading Venezuela, saying she lacked support or respect" in the country.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 12:32 IST

News india 'Law Of Jungle Prevails': Shashi Tharoor After US Strikes Venezuela, Captures Maduro

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No Entry For Non-Hindus In Haridwar? Looking To Preserve Sanctity, Says Uttarakhand CM Dhami

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 18:06 IST

Sources said a proposal to extend these restrictions to all 105 Ganga ghats, from Haridwar to Rishikesh, is currently under discussion with seers and Shri Ganga Sabha

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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. (IPhoto: PTI)

The Uttarakhand government is considering restricting the entry of non-Hindus into the pilgrimage town of Haridwar and its surrounding areas.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, speaking exclusively to News18 on Sunday, said Haridwar is a sacred city and the government is committed to preserving its sanctity.

The move comes as the state intensifies preparations for the Kumbh Mela. Emphasising the religious significance of Haridwar, the Chief Minister, when asked, said the government is examining all options to ensure that the spiritual character of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand remains intact.

Haridwar is a holy city. The government is seriously considering steps to preserve its sanctity (restricting entry of Non-Hindus). The old Acts and existing provisions are being studied," Dhami said.

According to available information, existing by-laws of the Haridwar Municipal Corporation restrict the entry of non-Hindus at select Ganga ghats, including the iconic Har Ki Pauri. Historical records suggest that in 1916, Bharat Ratna Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya entered into an agreement with the British government to ensure the uninterrupted flow of the Ganga and to safeguard the sanctity of Haridwar and Rishikesh. Provisions stemming from this agreement were later incorporated into municipal regulations, including restrictions at key ghats.

Sources privy to the development said a proposal to extend these restrictions to all 105 Ganga ghats, from Haridwar to Rishikesh, is currently under discussion with seers and the Shri Ganga Sabha, the apex body overseeing religious rituals in Haridwar.

Swami Kailashanand Giri, Acharya Mahamandaleshwar of the Niranjani Akhara, welcomed the proposed move, calling it a necessary step. We are pleased that the Dhami government is considering such an important decision to preserve the sanctity of the Ganga city," he said.

It is learnt that seers have long been demanding that Haridwar be granted the status of a holy city, along with restrictions on the entry and overnight stay of non-Hindus. Haridwar attracts nearly 40 million pilgrims annually, with numbers surging during major bathing festivals, significantly boosting the local economy. However, in recent years, the presence of non-Hindu tourists at Ganga ghats has occasionally sparked controversy and online debate.

Inputs from Sunil Navprabhat

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Location : Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal), India, India

First Published: January 04, 2026, 17:44 IST

News india No Entry For Non-Hindus In Haridwar? Looking To Preserve Sanctity, Says Uttarakhand CM Dhami

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Power Banks Barred For In-Flight Charging, Not Allowed In Overhead Bins. Check Guidelines

Curated By :

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 14:38 IST

DGCA bans use of power banks for charging devices during flights after lithium battery fire incidents. Power banks allowed only in hand baggage.

DGCA has disallowed the use of power banks for charging phones or other gadgets during flights, including through aircraft seat power outlets. (AI generated image)

Aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has banned the use of power banks for charging phones or other gadgets during flights.

As per the DGCA rules, the power banks will not be used for charging phones or other gadgets during flights, including through aircraft seat power outlets, after a series of incidents worldwide involving lithium batteries overheating or catching fire.

In a Dangerous Goods Advisory Circular issued by the DGCA in November, power banks and spare batteries will only be allowed in hand baggage and cannot be stored in overhead compartments as fire in such locations are not easily detected.

A lithium battery fire can be started by uncontrolled heating, overcharging, crushing or internal short circuit triggered by poor manufacturing quality, aged batteries or damage due to mishandling. Such fires are dangerous because they are highly energetic and can sometimes be self-sustaining, making them difficult to extinguish, DGCA said.

The circular said: The widespread usage of lithium batteries in various rechargeable devices has led to an increase in carriage of lithium batteries by air. Power banks, portable chargers, and similar devices containing lithium batteries can act as ignition sources and potentially initiate on-board fires."

Lithium batteries placed in overhead stowage bins or within carry-on baggage may be obscured, difficult to access, or not readily monitored by passengers or crew members. This may result in delayed detection of smoke or fire and response actions, increasing the potential hazard to flight safety," it said.

A lithium battery fire can be started by uncontrolled heating, overcharging, crushing or internal short circuit triggered by poor manufacturing quality, aged batteries, or damage due to mishandling. Unlike other fires, lithium battery fires may be self-sustaining and require special methods to handle," the advisory noted.

The DGCA has also directed airlines to review their existing safety risk assessments related to lithium batteries carried by passengers. It also emphasised the need for better crew training to recognise early warning signs such as overheating, smoke or flames from electronic devices, use the correct firefighting equipment and understand the risks of smoke inhalation.

This circular is issued to all air operators and airport operators to review and reinforce their safety risk management processes pertaining to the carriage and handling of lithium batteries, rechargeable lithium batteries (power banks etc.) and rechargeable devices containing lithium batteries (laptops, cell phones, tablets etc.) and adopt appropriate risk mitigation strategies to minimise lithium batteries thermal

runaway events," it stated.

The DGCA also directed the air operators to conduct a review of safety risk assessments related to the carriage of lithium batteries by passengers, enhance familiarity with the associated hazards and the potential consequences of incidents involving such batteries, and remain updated on the latest technologies and devices containing lithium batteries.

Passengers must immediately inform the cabin crew if any device emits heat, smoke or an unusual odour", the rules stated, while airlines have been told to promptly report all safety issues and occurrences related to lithium battery incidents to DGCA".

This comes after several instances of fire where lithium batteries carried onboard were suspected to be the cause.

On October 19, a passengers power bank caught fire on a Dimapur-bound IndiGo flight while taxiing at Delhi airport. The cabin crew quickly extinguished the fire, and no injuries were reported.

According to NDTV, similar curbs have been introduced earlier by several international airlines and countries, including Emirates and Singapore Airlines, following lithium battery-related incidents reported last year.

Recently, a power bank caught fire mid-air on a flight from Hangzhou to Seoul, creating a panic among passengers and filling the cabin with smoke. The incident happened aboard a China-based Airbus A321 flying at an altitude of around 10 kilometres.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 12:39 IST

News india Power Banks Barred For In-Flight Charging, Not Allowed In Overhead Bins. Check Guidelines

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PYONGYANG, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday condemned the U.S. latest actions against Venezuela for violating the country's sovereignty, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

"The DPRK Foreign Ministry strongly denounces the U.S. hegemony-seeking act committed in Venezuela as the most serious form of encroachment of sovereignty and as a wanton violation of the UN Charter and international laws," a ministry spokesperson was quoted by the KCNA as saying.

The spokesperson said the current situation stems from U.S. high-handed actions, which have further destabilized an already fragile regional situation. The latest U.S. moves against the Latin American country were cited as "another example that clearly confirms once again the rogue and brutal nature of the United States."

The international community should recognize the seriousness of the present situation and voice protest and condemnation against the U.S. habituated violation of other countries' sovereignty, the spokesperson added. 
Manohar Lal Reviews Hydropower Projects During J&K Visit Amid Indus Treaty Freeze

Published By :

PTI

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 23:38 IST

Khattar went to Kishtwar to review the 1856-MW Ratle Hydroelectric Project, where he laid the foundation stone for the dam concreting works.

Manohar Lal Assesses NHPC Projects in J&K to Boost Water Use After IWT Exit

Union Power Minister Manohar Lal on Sunday reviewed the progress of the 690-MW Salal Hydroelectric Project in Reasi district as he began his two-day tour of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

NHPCs Salal Power Station, on the Chenab river, is undertaking sediment removal works following the termination of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), aimed at removing accumulated silt and maximizing utilization of water resources.

Bhupendra Gupta, CMD, NHPC, briefed the minister on the progress of various NHPC hydroelectric projects in Jammu & Kashmir.

The minister also undertook a plantation drive within the power station premises and held discussions with the local administration and senior officials of various concerned departments to ensure coordinated efforts for the timely execution of works.

Today, I inspected NHPCs Salal Power Station in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. On this occasion, I conducted a thorough review of the power stations operational status, security arrangements, production capacity, and technical activities with senior officials in the dam control room," the minister said in a post on X.

Lals visit comes a day after the Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office, Jitendra Singh, announced that a canal system on the Ujh River has been approved to check infiltration and harness the uncontrolled flow of water towards Pakistan, and the proposal has been cleared by the ministries of defence and home affairs.

The Union minister also attended a Hindu Samelan organised as part of the centenary celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at the Mahadev temple.

The concept of Hindutva is very vast and is not restricted to offering prayers alone. Hindutva is nationalism, and anyone, even if an atheist, who loves the country and is ready to make any type of sacrifice for it, is part of Hindutva," he said, addressing the gathering.

After the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, Lal said, the Hindutva wave started in the region.

We should not oppose anyone on the basis of prayers Sangh teaches us that the nation is before self and is working with the sole aim to strengthen the country so that nobody can cast an evil eye on our nation," he said.

He said the tradition of service cultivated by the RSS, with the motto Country first, self later," has, in the past 100 years, transformed into a broad, powerful, and influential social movement.

With a patriotic resolve, millions of volunteers are dedicated to serving the nation. Once a volunteer joins the Sangh, they remain so throughout their lives, committed to serving the nation," he said.

Later in the day, the minister went to Kishtwar to review the 1856-MW Ratle Hydroelectric Project, where he laid the foundation stone for the dam concreting works.

Talking to reporters in Kishtwar, the minister played down the question on the objections raised by Pakistan over keeping the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, and said, We are working in the interest of our own country and will continue to do so." Asked about the alleged engagement of relatives of terrorists affiliated with the BJP in under-construction power projects in Kishtwar, the minister said he had no knowledge about it.

The workers are engaged by local contractors, and we believe that only the right people should get the work," he said.

He ruled out an inquiry by the national investigation agency and said local complaints will be solved at the local level.

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Location : Srinagar, India, India

First Published: January 04, 2026, 20:13 IST

News india Manohar Lal Reviews Hydropower Projects During J&K Visit Amid Indus Treaty Freeze

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Rogue State, Act of Terrorism: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Goes Ballistic At US Over Venezuela Operation

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 05:22 IST

Vijayan warned that such 'blatant imperialist aggression' poses a grave threat to global peace and the tranquillity of Latin America

Vijayan argued that the assault reveals a 'vicious operation' aimed at imposing 'devious schemes' upon the Global South. (File photo/PTI)

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday issued a strong condemnation of the United States military operation against Venezuela. Labelling the pre-dawn strikes on various strategic centres" in Caracas as an act of terrorism, the Chief Minister accused the US of behaving like a rogue state" and warned that such blatant imperialist aggression" poses a grave threat to global peace and the tranquillity of Latin America.

Through a post on his official social media account, Vijayan argued that the assault reveals a vicious operation" aimed at imposing devious schemes" upon the Global South. He drew upon the historical context of Latin America, describing it as a continent with a legacy of enduring such onslaughts" and a storied history of anti-imperialist struggles. By framing the American intervention as a modern-day manifestation of colonial-style bullying, the Chief Minister called for international unity to resist moves that undermine the sovereignty of independent nations.

The Chief Ministers remarks follow the dramatic events of Saturday morning, when US President Donald Trump confirmed that American special forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a series of precision strikes. The operation, which targeted military hubs like Fort Tiuna, has resulted in the rendition of the Venezuelan leadership to face narcoterrorism charges in a New York federal court. While Washington has justified the move as a necessary action against a criminal narco-state", Left leaders in India have rejected this narrative, viewing it instead as a resource-driven regime-change operation.

The Kerala Chief Ministers statement aligns with the broader stance of the CPI(M) politburo, which has demanded the immediate withdrawal of US troops from the Caribbean Sea. Other prominent Left leaders, including MA Baby and MV Govindan, have further criticised the Union Government of India for its shameful silence" on the matter. They pointed out that India and Venezuela share significant ties through the International Solar Alliance and energy cooperation via ONGC Videsh, arguing that New Delhis lack of condemnation is a departure from its traditional anti-imperialist principles.

As the CPI(M) calls for nationwide protests against the kidnapping" of a sovereign head of state, the political fallout in Kerala highlights the deep ideological divide regarding American military interventionism. Vijayan concluded his message by urging all should rise in unity" to call out the assault, asserting that the right of a nation to choose its own path must be defended against external militaristic aggression.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 05:19 IST

News india Rogue State, Act of Terrorism: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Goes Ballistic At US Over Venezuela Operation

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Two Dead, Many Feared Trapped After Stone Quarry Explosion In Odishas Dhenkanal

Curated By :

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 12:30 IST

Local fire service teams, along with ODRAF personnel, dog squads and heavy machinery, have been rushed to the site to carry out rescue operations, a fire service officer said.

Rapid Read

Massive explosion at stone quarry, labourers trapped. (ANI)

Two people have died and many more are feared dead after a massive explosion at a stone quarry located near Gopalpur village under Motanga police station limits in the district, triggering panic in the area.

The explosion occurred on Saturday evening while work was underway at the quarry, trapping several labourers under soil and stones. As the quarry is around 40 feet deep, authorities fear more bodies may still be buried inside. The deceased and injured are reportedly labourers from outside the state.

Initial reports suggest that illegal blasting was being carried out at the site. Rescue operations have been ongoing since morning, with personnel from Motanga police, the Odapada tehsildar, and senior administrative officials on the spot.

The exact number of workers trapped under the debris and the cause of the incident are yet to be ascertained. Local fire service teams, along with Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) personnel, dog squads and heavy machinery, have been rushed to the site to carry out rescue operations, a fire service officer said.

Dhenkanal Collector Ashish Ishwar Patil and SP Abhinav Sonkar have reached the spot to supervise the rescue operation.

In a post on X, leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik said, I am deeply saddened to learn that workers lost their lives due to a rockfall following an explosion in a stone quarry in Dhenkanal. At this sorrowful time, I convey my deepest condolences to the family members, along with prayers for the eternal peace of the departed souls."

Let appropriate investigations be conducted into the circumstances under which this incident occurred and the state of the workers safety measures, and let the government direct its attention toward immediately expediting rescue operations," he added.

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Location : Dhenkanal, India, India

First Published: January 04, 2026, 11:38 IST

News india Two Dead, Many Feared Trapped After Stone Quarry Explosion In Odishas Dhenkanal

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Six Bajrang Dal Men Receive Heros Welcome After Getting Bail In Raipur Mall Vandalism Case

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 08:57 IST

To celebrate their bail, a procession was taken out by Bajrang Dal members who carried the six accused on their shoulders.

Rapid Read

Bajrang Dal members welcomed them with garlands and chants of Raghu Pati Raghav Raja Ram. (X)

Six Bajrang Dal members accused for vandalising Christmas decorations at Magneto Mall in Chhattisgarhs capital, Raipur, were granted bail by a Sessions Court on Wednesday. They also received a heros welcome" from supporters outside the court premises.

Soon after they walked out of jail in Raipur city on Thursday, Bajrang Dal members welcomed them with garlands and chants of Raghu Pati Raghav Raja Ram". To celebrate" their bail, a procession was taken out by Bajrang Dal members who carried the six accused on their shoulders.

In Chattisgarhs Raipur, members of a right-wing group who had vandalised Christmas decoration at a mall and later arrested were given heros welcome upon their release from jail. pic.twitter.com/oNmaOTS7kb Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) January 3, 2026

When the Indian Express contacted, Bajrang Dal state coordinator Rishi Mishra, he said there was nothing wrong with taking out a procession. Questioning objections to the slogans raised, he said the issue was linked to alleged religious conversions in Chhattisgarh.

Mishra claimed that all right-wing groups had planned to call for a bandh but alleged a conspiracy led to their members being jailed, adding that slogans would continue to be raised on the issue.

A magistrate court in Raipur had denied them bail on December 29.

On Christmas Eve, right-wing groups had called for a statewide bandh in Chhattisgarh to protest alleged religious conversions that they claimed were occurring in the state.

The same day, a mob armed with wooden sticks barged into Magneto Mall, a popular and an old spot, and vandalised Christmas decorations and installations. The mall featured figures of Santa Claus, reindeer, sleighs and snowmen. Security guards at the mall tried to stop the mob but were overpowered.

An FIR was registered at the Telibandha police station against 30-40 unknown men under BNS sections 331(3), 324(2), 115(2), 191(2) and 190, on the same night, which pertain to trespassing, intentionally causing damage or reducing the value/utility of property to cause wrongful loss, causing hurt, rioting and unlawful assembly.

On December 27, the Telibandha police arrested the six men and apprehended a minor; the six men spent five days in jail.

Enraged by the arrests, around 300 Bajrang Dal workers staged a sit-in on a major road outside Telibandha police station, blocking traffic for nearly nine hours. No FIR has been filed in connection with the incident.

The Sarva Hindu Samaj, had called a Chhattisgarh Bandh on December 24, which was said to have been triggered by a recent clash between two communities over the burial of a person from a converted family in Bastar regions Kanker district.

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Location : Raipur, India, India

First Published: January 04, 2026, 08:57 IST

News india Six Bajrang Dal Men Receive Heros Welcome After Getting Bail In Raipur Mall Vandalism Case

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Amit Shah Trains Guns On CM Stalin, Son Udhayanidhi In Tiruchirappalli

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 19:07 IST

Addressing a rally in Tiruchirappalli, Shah launched a sharp attack at DMK government and said that MK Stalin's sole objective is to make his son the Chief Minister.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah (PTI)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who arrived in Tiruchirappalli on Sunday for a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu, launched a scathing attack at the DMK government and Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Shah claimed that there is no guarantee of the safety of mothers and sisters in Tamil Nadu" and accused CM Stalin of focusing only on political succession.

Stalins sole objective is to make his son the Chief Minister," Shah said.

Amit Shah On Two-Day Visit To Tamil Nadu

After arriving in Tamil Nadu, Shah was received at the airport by senior party leaders and Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan.

Party workers and supporters gathered at the airport to welcome the Home Minister as he began his visit, which is seen as significant ahead of upcoming political activities in the state.

Soon after his arrival, Shah attended a closed-door meeting with BJP office-bearers and senior leaders. The meeting focused on organisational matters and future plans, party sources said.

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Location : Tamil Nadu, India, India

First Published: January 04, 2026, 18:39 IST

News india Amit Shah Trains Guns On CM Stalin, Son Udhayanidhi In Tiruchirappalli

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Anushka Sharma Nails Denim-on-Denim Style With Effortless Chic Elegance

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 09:11 IST

Anushka Sharma steps out in a chic denim-on-denim look, pairing a classic blue shirt with bootcut jeans, sleek accessories, and soft makeup for effortless style inspiration.

Anushka Sharma keeps it effortlessly chic in a classic denim-on-denim look, pairing a structured blue shirt with bootcut jeans and minimal accessories for a polished yet relaxed vibe.

Anushka Sharma has long been synonymous with effortless, wearable style, and denim remains one of her strongest fashion signatures. Whether shes dressing up for a red carpet moment or heading out for a low-key gathering, the actor knows how to make casual staples feel current and polished. Her latest appearance is yet another reminder of why shes often looked to for everyday style inspiration.

Spotted posing with Virat Kohli and close friends, Anushka embraced the timeless denim-on-denim trend with quiet confidence. Shared via an Instagram post by entrepreneur Bhupender Nath on January 1, the look struck the perfect balance between relaxed and refined.

For the outfit, Anushka opted for a classic blue denim shirt with a sharp collared neckline and a clean button-down front. The sleeves were casually folded up to her elbows, lending the look an easy, lived-in feel while still appearing thoughtfully styled. She neatly tucked the shirt into matching high-waisted blue jeans, choosing a flattering bootcut silhouette that subtly elongated her frame and added structure to the monochrome ensemble.

The beauty of her look lay in its simplicity, elevated with just the right accessories. She paired the outfit with oversized silver hoop earrings that added a touch of drama, along with a minimal chain necklace and a sleek silver wristwatch. Black pointed heels introduced a sharp contrast, giving the denim-heavy outfit a more polished, city-ready finish.

Her beauty choices stayed true to her understated aesthetic. Anushka went for soft, neutral makeupthink nude-toned eyeshadow, defined brows, mascara-lashed eyes, a hint of blush, and a gentle glow on the high points of her face. A nude lip completed the look without overpowering it. Her hair was styled into a neat, middle-parted bun, pulling the entire ensemble together with clean, elegant lines.

Proof that classic denim never goes out of style, Anushka Sharmas latest look shows how thoughtful styling can make even the simplest pieces feel fashion-forward.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 09:11 IST

News lifestyle fashion Anushka Sharma Nails Denim-on-Denim Style With Effortless Chic Elegance
Louis Vuitton Turns 130: Inside Indian Royals Fascination With Its Trunks

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 15:09 IST

From Maharajas to global luxury icons, discover how Indian royals embraced Louis Vuitton trunks and how the brand celebrates 130 years of its legendary monogram in 2026.

Louis Vuitton At 130: Why Indian royals coveted its trunks

Owning a piece from Louis Vuitton remains a marker of luxury today but for Indian royalty in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was also a statement of discernment, global exposure, and modernity. At a time when the West often misunderstood Indian culture, Maharajas were quietly building remarkable collections of European craftsmanship. Among their most prized possessions were Louis Vuitton trunks functional, beautifully engineered objects that would later become museum-worthy heirlooms.

As the maison prepares to celebrate 130 years of its iconic Monogram on January 11, 2026, it has unveiled a special anniversary collection that also revives interest in its deep, often overlooked connections with Indias royal past.

Indian Royals and Their Louis Vuitton Trunks

In the 1850s, Louis Vuitton revolutionised travel with the invention of the flat-topped trunk. Until then, trunks were curved, making them impossible to stack. Vuittons flat design changed how people packed and travelled, efficient, elegant, and secure. The innovation was so practical that it was widely copied, cementing Vuittons reputation as a pioneer of modern luggage.

For Indian royals, trunks were not just luggage but portable wardrobes and lifestyle statements. Crafted from wood and metal, fitted with hidden compartments and robust locks, these trunks were designed for long journeys and near-impenetrable security far removed from todays lightweight, wheeled suitcases.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Louis Vuitton (@louisvuitton)

Maharaja Jagatjit Singh, the last ruling monarch of Kapurthala, was among Louis Vuittons most devoted patrons. A Francophile known for his opulent lifestyle, he reportedly owned over 60 customised LV trunks by the early 1900s. Each piece was designed to store specific garments, accessories, and personal effects, an early example of bespoke luxury.

Another loyal client was Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda. In the 1920s, he commissioned multiple custom trunks, including a Torino suitcase with ivory and vermeil compartments for toiletries, a dedicated shoe trunk, and even a tea trunk, proof that no matter how far he travelled, Indian chai remained essential.

The royal family of Jammu and Kashmir also maintained a long association with the brand. Records suggest purchases dating back to 1919. When Hari Singh ascended the throne in 1925, he ordered a bespoke trunk designed specifically for his sporting wardrobe. The trunk even featured compartments for polo equipment and mallets, blending aristocratic leisure with meticulous design.

130 Years of the Louis Vuitton Monogram

On January 11, Louis Vuitton marks 130 years of its legendary Monogram, one of the most recognisable design languages in fashion history. According to the brands official archive, the Monogram was conceived during Pariss artistic renaissance and created by Georges Vuitton as a tribute to his father. Its motifs drew inspiration from the tiled floors of the familys Asnieres home and elements of Neo-Gothic art.

The interlocking LV initials, the four-petalled flower, the diamond-enclosed bloom, and the star are more than decorative symbols, they form the visual DNA of Louis Vuitton.

To commemorate this milestone, the brand has launched the Monogram Anniversary Collection, celebrating heritage while reinforcing its global legacy. From Parisian ateliers to Indian palaces, Louis Vuittons journey reflects not just luxury, but an enduring culture of travel, one that has always encouraged carrying a little extra, both literally and symbolically.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 15:09 IST

News lifestyle fashion Louis Vuitton Turns 130: Inside Indian Royals Fascination With Its Trunks
Shah Rukh Khan Rings In New Year In Dubai Wearing Ultra-Rare 13 Crore Rolex Daytona Sapphire

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 09:40 IST

Shah Rukh Khan welcomed New Years Eve in Dubai at EMAARs Burj Park celebrations, turning heads in an all-black look and an ultra-rare 13 crore Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Sapphire.

Shah Rukh Khan welcomes the New Year in Dubai in a sleek all-black look, letting his ultra-rare 13 crore Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Sapphire steal the spotlight.

Shah Rukh Khan welcomed the New Year in unmistakable style in Dubai, where he joined the citys grand eight-day festivities organised by EMAAR at Burj Park. The celebrations transformed the waterfront venue into a multi-sensory spectacle, featuring immersive art installations, cutting-edge visual technology and live performances that drew crowds from across the city.

Videos from the night quickly made their way across social media, capturing the Bollywood superstar stepping out for the occasion in a sleek, head-to-toe black look. Shah Rukh kept it effortlessly cool in a black leather jacket layered over a T-shirt, paired with sharply tailored trousers. A black beanie and dark sunglasses completed the ensemble, reinforcing his signature understated swagger. While the outfit itself was striking, it was the watch on his wrist that truly became the talking point of the evening.

Luxury watch enthusiasts were quick to spot the ultra-rare timepiece, thanks to The Indian Horology, an Instagram page renowned for decoding high-end watches worn by celebrities. In a post shared on January 3, the page revealed that Shah Rukh Khan was wearing the exceptionally exclusive Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Sapphire, a watch so rare that it is almost never seen in public.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Insanely Luxurious Indians  (@insanelyluxuriousindians)

A closer look at SRKs Rolex

The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Sapphire is an off-catalogue creation, meaning it is not listed in any official Rolex catalogue and is reserved strictly for the brands most elite VVIP clients. Introduced discreetly around Watches and Wonders 2025, the watch is considered one of Rolexs most extravagant modern creations.

It features a 40mm case crafted from 18-carat white gold, set with 54 brilliant-cut diamonds across the lugs and case. The bezel is equally dramatic, adorned with 36 baguette-cut blue sapphires that give the watch its iconic sapphire identity. The dial is made from silver obsidian, a rare material known for its subtle colour shifts under different lighting, adding depth and mystery to the design. Completing the look is an 18-carat white gold Oyster bracelet that seamlessly blends robustness with high jewellery craftsmanship.

Price and rarity

According to reports cited by luxury watch trackers, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Sapphire carries an estimated market value of approximately 13.5 crore, well over $15 million. Pages like Insanely Luxurious Indians note that only a handful of these watches exist globally, placing it firmly in the realm of museum-grade collectibles.

Often referred to as the ghost" watch, the Daytona Sapphire earned this nickname because it was never officially showcased or advertised by Rolex. Its near-mythical status, combined with its extreme exclusivity, makes it one of the rarest modern Rolex watches in existence, fitting for a global icon like Shah Rukh Khan to ring in the New Year with.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 09:40 IST

News lifestyle fashion Shah Rukh Khan Rings In New Year In Dubai Wearing Ultra-Rare 13 Crore Rolex Daytona Sapphire
Craving Korean Food At Home? DIY These Korean Rice Cakes With This Easy Recipe

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 13:55 IST

As Korean food has become super popular in India, it can be tough and expensive to find the basic ingredients in grocery stores or go out to restaurants to satisfy the cravings.

Tteokbokki is a popular Korean street food made with small, chewy rice cakes

Korean cuisine has exploded in popularity across India over the past few years, fuelled by K-dramas, BTS mania, and social media reels showcasing spicy tteokbokki, slurpy ramen and sizzling bulgogi. From Mumbai foodies to Delhi college crowds, Indians crave the umami punch and fiery flavours once alien to desi palates.

According to a report in Business Today, orders for Korean dishes in India grew by 50% year-on-year in July 2025 compared with the same month in 2024. The data was shared by food delivery platform Swiggy. Metro cities such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad contributed the most to overall demand. There was also a 59% year-on-year rise in orders from non-metro markets like Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Vadodara, Mysuru and Mangaluru.

Grocery chains and delivery platforms now stock gochujang paste, kimchi, and sesame oil, but at a premium, and even going to a restaurant is a pricey affair.

From most of the dishes gaining popularity, ramen and tteokbokki are the most loved

So why not try making fresh, chewy tteokbokki, aka rice cakes, at home with pantry basics: rice flour, salt, and water? This basic ingredient forms the backbone of countless Korean dishes, and can be made at home without breaking the bank.

Follow this recipe shared by The Indian Aroma to make your own rice cakes at home in a simple and easy preparation:

Korean Rice Cakes Recipe

View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Indian Aroma (@the_indianaroma)

Ingredients

2 tbsp rice flour

 tsp salt

1 tsp water (adjust if needed)

Method:

Mix the Dough Base: In a small heat-safe bowl, combine rice flour and salt. Gradually add boiling water, stirring until a sticky, Play-Doh-like dough forms. If too dry, add  tsp more boiling water drop by drop.

Steam First Cook: Set up a steamer over boiling water (or improvise with a wok and rack). Place the bowl in the steamer and steam on medium-high for 45 minutes.

Knead the Dough: Once the dough is translucent and firm, transfer it to a lightly oiled cutting board. Pound and knead with a pestle or gloved hands for 23 minutes until glossy, elastic, and smooth. Wet hands/tools if sticking.

Shape the Cakes: Divide into 2 portions. Roll each into a thin -inch diameter cylinder (34 inches long).

Slice and Rest: Cut into 1-inch pieces. Rub with sesame or neutral oil to prevent sticking. Let rest for 5 minutes at room temperature.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 13:55 IST

News lifestyle food Craving Korean Food At Home? DIY These Korean Rice Cakes With This Easy Recipe
Water Contamination: Major Causes, Health Risks And Why It Must Be Taken Seriously

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 10:26 IST

Water contamination occurs when harmful chemicals, waste, and microbes pollute rivers and groundwater, posing serious risks to human health, aquatic life, and the environment.

Water contamination must be taken seriously. If left unchecked, it poses a significant threat to public health and the environment, and could lead to severe consequences in the coming years.

Water contamination occurs when harmful substances mix with water bodies such as rivers, lakes, and groundwater, making the water toxic, unsafe, and unfit for drinking, cooking, and daily use. Contaminated water not only poses a serious risk to human health but is also extremely dangerous for aquatic life. In most cases, water pollution is the result of human activities, including industrial discharge, agricultural practices, and improper waste disposal.

Common sources of water contamination include agricultural runoff containing pesticides and fertilisers, untreated sewage, toxic chemicals, heavy metals, oil spills, and the improper disposal of plastics and solid waste. These pollutants introduce harmful microbes and chemical contaminants into the water, which eventually enter the human body.

Dr Goma Bali Bajaj, Consultant and HOD, Emergency Department, Fortis Hospital, Greater Noida, explains the major causes of water contamination:

Major Causes of Water Contamination

Agricultural Activities

Excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides seeps into rivers and groundwater, polluting water sources and affecting drinking water quality.

Industrial Waste

Discharge of heavy metals, toxic chemicals, and thermal pollutants from industries can create dead zones" in water bodies where aquatic life cannot survive.

Oil Spills

Accidental spills during oil drilling or transportation contaminate oceans, rivers, and coastal waters, causing long-term ecological damage.

Plastic and Solid Waste

Non-biodegradable plastics break down into microplastics that pollute rivers and oceans, entering the food chain and harming both animals and humans.

Urban Runoff

Stormwater runoff carries oil, chemicals, and waste from roads and streets into nearby water bodies, increasing pollution levels.

Mining Activities

Acid drainage and the release of minerals and heavy metals from mining sites contaminate soil and water sources.

Improper Disposal of Hazardous Waste

Toxic materials dumped in landfills can leach into the ground and contaminate groundwater reserves.

Natural Sources

Certain natural processes such as rock and soil leaching can release elements like arsenic and radon into water. Volcanic eruptions can also deposit harmful debris into nearby water bodies.

Health Impact of Polluted Water

Contaminated water can cause serious health problems, including infections caused by bacteria, parasites, and viruses. Long-term exposure may lead to arsenic and lead poisoning, affecting the digestive system, liver, nervous system, and kidneys. In severe cases, prolonged exposure can increase the risk of chronic illnesses, including cancer. Many infections spread through faecal contamination, making polluted water a major public health concern.

Water contamination must be taken seriously. If left unchecked, it poses a significant threat to public health and the environment, and could lead to severe consequences in the coming years.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 10:26 IST

News lifestyle health-and-fitness Water Contamination: Major Causes, Health Risks And Why It Must Be Taken Seriously
Eurasia an engine for global growth amid turmoil, opportunities

Xinhua) 15:08, January 04, 2026

This photo taken on Dec. 27, 2025 shows a damaged building in Kiev region, Ukraine. (Photo by Peter Druk/Xinhua)

* Eurasia witnessed easing political tensions in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, coupled with growing opportunities for multilateral political and economic cooperation with China.

* Despite lingering tensions, solidarity and cooperation remained the defining themes across Central Asia and the South Caucasus in 2025.

MOSCOW, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Eurasia has emerged as a pivotal arena of global developments in 2025 amid turbulence, uncertainty, as well as hopes for peace and aspirations for prosperity.

Against the backdrop of continued fighting and diplomatic efforts surrounding the Ukraine crisis, Eurasia also witnessed easing political tensions in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, coupled with growing opportunities for multilateral political and economic cooperation with China.

LONG-LASTING TALKS, OPEN-ENDED CONFLICT

The Ukraine crisis has dragged on for three years and 10 months, with no decisive shifts on the battlefield to date, while Russia currently holds a certain advantage.

Amid sporadic ceasefire pledges and prolonged hostilities, both Russia and Ukraine engaged in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict, yet none yielded a lasting halt to the fighting.

The limited 30-day ceasefire targeting energy infrastructure starting in March and the Easter truce in April only led to both sides accusing each other of violations.

The three rounds of direct talks from May to July between Moscow and Kiev, the first since negotiations were suspended in March 2022, failed to achieve any major breakthrough, despite limited outcomes including prisoner exchanges and the return of the bodies of fallen soldiers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump met on Aug. 15 in the U.S. state of Alaska, without cutting any concrete deal, while Ukraine, along with other European countries, voiced concerns about being sidelined.

The United States proposed a 28-point plan in November, which was later revised by Ukraine and European countries, but still failed to gain full acceptance from Russia. The December rendezvous of the United States, Europe, Russia and Ukraine in Miami, Florida, saw no significant progress.

Analysts noted that, with deep-seated disagreements remaining over issues such as territorial disputes, security guarantees for Ukraine, peacekeeping arrangements and the handling of Russian assets, prospects for resolving the conflict remain uncertain.

On the battlefield, Russian forces have taken control of more than 300 populated areas so far this year, including the recently captured strategic logistics hub Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk), while Ukrainian forces have continued to counter Russian advances in parts of the Sumy, Kharkov, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, and launched frequent artillery and drone attacks on several regions in western Russia. That said, the battlefield situation has grown increasingly challenging for Ukraine.

"There will be no resolution to the Ukraine crisis given the lack of fundamental adjustments to the security concepts and strategic decisions of all parties involved," said Han Lu, deputy director of the Department for European-Central Asian Studies at the China Institute of International Studies.

"Trump will only exert maximum pressure on Ukraine to serve his political success in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, as he has no more leverage to use against Russia," Han added.

A drone photo taken on Sept. 13, 2025 shows a freight train bound for Central Asia loaded with auto parts, laptops and other goods waiting for departure at Tuanjiecun Station in Chongqing, southwest China. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

NAVIGATING THROUGH TURMOIL

Despite lingering tensions, solidarity and cooperation remained the defining themes across Central Asia and the South Caucasus in 2025. Countries in the regions moved to resolve long-standing disputes, deepen regional integration and adapt to the evolving Eurasian geopolitical landscape.

Central Asia saw tangible progress in regional reconciliation and coordination. A landmark development came in March, when the presidents of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed a treaty defining the tripoint junction of their national borders, legally completing the border delimitation process among the countries. The peaceful settlement of border issues through consultation signaled a growing capacity within Central Asia to manage sensitive issues through dialogue.

Five Central Asian leaders approved Azerbaijan's accession as a full member of their consultative mechanism in November, injecting new momentum into the framework, and expanding trade, investment, cultural ties and coordinated development across two strategically vital regions.

Leveraging its strategic location and resources, Central Asian countries significantly enhanced their global standing through frequent high-level meetings and strengthened dialogue mechanisms with major global players including China, Russia, the United States, Japan and the EU.

In the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan and Armenia made historic strides toward normalization of ties, signing in August a peace agreement aimed at ending decades of border conflict and lifting transit restrictions in October. This improved security landscape has revitalized regional connectivity, reinforcing the strategic value of transport corridors linking China and Central Asia to Europe.

A China-Central Asia freight train bound for Tashkent via Horgos departs from a railway station at Tianjin Port in north China's Tianjin, May 20, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

WIN-WIN COOPERATION WITH CHINA

In 2025, countries across the region continued to deepen friendly relations with China, injecting greater stability and positive energy into regional and global peace and development.

Heads of state of China and Russia attended each other's celebrations marking the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, demonstrating major-country responsibilities as the main victors in World War II (WWII), and reaffirming their firm resolve to safeguard WWII outcomes and uphold the correct historical perspective on the war.

Practical cooperation between the two countries has maintained steady progress. The first 11 months in 2025 saw two-way trade amount to 203.67 billion U.S. dollars, which exceeded the 200 billion-dollar threshold for three consecutive years.

Key projects such as the China-Russia Eastern Route Natural Gas Pipeline, the Heihe Highway Bridge and the Tongjiang Railway Bridge have been advancing smoothly. Visa-free policy between the two countries and China-Russia Year of Culture with hundreds of diverse events also significantly bolstered people-to-people exchanges.

Political mutual trust between China and Belarus was further consolidated. The 2024-2025 China-Belarus Year of Science, Technology and Innovation wrapped up successfully, and the 2026-2027 period was designated as the Year of Industrial Cooperation. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko noted that China is Belarus's second-largest trading partner, providing strong support for Belarus's economic development.

Azerbaijan upgraded its relations with China to a comprehensive strategic partnership, with cooperation expanding to green development, digital economy, science, technology and aerospace sectors. China also established a strategic partnership with Armenia, and signed a memorandum of understanding with Georgia to conclude the negotiations on upgrading their free trade agreement.

The Second China-Central Asia Summit held in Kazakhstan in June yielded over 100 cooperation outcomes, fostering broad consensus between China and the five Central Asian countries on cooperation in security, trade and development, and signing a treaty on eternal good-neighborliness.

In the first three quarters of 2025, two-way trade between China and the five Central Asian countries neared 80 billion U.S. dollars, up 15.6 percent year-on-year, and is expected to exceed the 100 billion-dollar threshold by year-end. Major projects such as the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway have been making solid progress.

Agreements were also reached in areas such as critical minerals, aircraft procurement and financing for key infrastructure, reflecting efforts to move up the value chain and capture greater industrial and processing capacity.

"China is poised to lead in AI, biotechnology, new materials and 6G technologies," said former Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Alikbek Dzhekshenkulov. "The transition to a low-carbon economy will create demand for joint projects in energy, e-mobility and climate adaptation, while digital infrastructure and e-commerce will provide foreign companies with access to Chinese innovations and markets."

China maintained frequent interactions and in-depth consultations with these countries within multilateral frameworks for expanded cooperation.

During the BRICS Summit in Brazil, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan joined the bloc as partner countries. On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Tianjin Summit, China and Armenia signed multiple bilateral cooperation documents in market supervision and metrology. Chinese and Kazakh presidents jointly witnessed the inauguration of two new Luban Workshops in Kazakhstan. China and Azerbaijan signed a series of agreements covering green development and digital economy.

Looking ahead to 2026, Kyrgyzstan will take over as the rotating presidency of the SCO. Events, including the 10th China-Russia Expo and the 6th China-Russia Local Cooperation Forum, will be held in China. Exchanges and cooperation between China and Eurasia countries will reach a new height, jointly writing a new chapter of mutual benefit and win-win results.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Beijing experienced just one day of heavily polluted air in 2025, a staggering reduction from 58 such days in 2013, the local environment authorities announced on Sunday, declaring a major victory in the city's battle against air pollution.

This indicates that heavily polluted days -- characterized by PM2.5 readings above 150 micrograms per cubic meter -- have been essentially eliminated in the Chinese capital, the Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau said at a press briefing. PM2.5 readings, a key indicator of air pollution, are a gauge monitoring airborne particles of 2.5 microns or below in diameter.

In a landmark achievement, the city's annual average PM2.5 concentration in 2025 stood at 27.0 micrograms per cubic meter, marking the first time it has fallen below the 30-microgram benchmark since monitoring began.

Besides, throughout 2025, good air quality was recorded 348 days -- 144 days, or nearly five months more than in 2013 -- according to statistics released by the bureau.

This represents a significant departure from the past, as Beijing historically grappled with severe and frequent smog. Back in 2013, its annual average PM2.5 concentration reached 89.5 micrograms per cubic meter. Air pollution was once a major issue that impeded urban development and affected public well-being.

Confronted with this critical challenge, Beijing launched an unprecedented "blue sky defense war," according to the bureau.

The city has tackled pollution from mobile sources, coal combustion, industrial activities, fugitive dust and daily life sources, among other measures. Meanwhile, regional joint prevention, control and treatment of air pollution have been implemented across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

However, experts warned that the recent improvements in air quality have not yet been fully secured, as regional emissions of atmospheric pollutants remain high. In such conditions, unfavorable weather factors, such as stagnant air during autumn and winter, can lead to the accumulation of pollutants, resulting in regional pollution.

Beijing will remain committed to its long-term goals, integrating air pollution prevention and control deeply into the overall socio-economic development framework, over the next five years, said Liu Baoxian, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau.

Liu added that the city will prioritize PM2.5 management, combine pollution reduction and carbon mitigation, and carry forward the "Every 0.1 Microgram Counts" initiative. The initiative was a follow-up to the "1 microgram initiative," launched in 2018, to improve air quality through refined control measures.

Nationwide, the Chinese government declared war on air pollution in 2013, launching its Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APPCAP) -- a comprehensive national policy framework aimed at improving air quality.

Following the introduction of the APPCAP, China became the first developing country in the world to launch large-scale efforts to reduce PM2.5 concentrations, with Beijing leading Chinese cities by adopting scientific governance, institutional innovation and regional collaboration. The United Nations Environment Programme has hailed the megacity's achievements in improving air quality as the "Beijing Miracle." 
Is It Just Heartburn? How A 47-Year-Old Missed The Warning Signs Of A Hidden Stomach Ulcer

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 13:32 IST

Dismissed as common heartburn, an unexpected diagnosis revealed what the stomach was hiding in plain sight when familiar pain was ignored.

What you have been dismissing as ordinary heartburn could actually be a hidden warning from your stomach, signalling a serious condition lurking in plain sight (Image-AI)

Heartburn often begins as a familiar burning sensation after meals, which is easily dismissed as acidity. Yet it can be the bodys first hint that something more serious is going on inside the stomach.

With available data referring to diseases as common heartburn," symptoms are often misrepresented, leading to incorrect diagnoses. One of the common diseases which is misinterpreted and rarely announces itself is stomach ulcer. It is a condition often underestimated because its symptoms overlap with everyday digestive complaints.

Heartburn, stomach pain, indigestion, acid reflux, bloating and nausea are reported by many. A stomach ulcer, medically known as a gastric ulcer, causes focal pain and discomfort that can be traced to a particular spot.

It is likely that 1 in 10 people are diagnosed with a peptic ulcer in their lifetime, according to Gastroenterology Consultants of Savannah. However, not all ulcers can be detected; some progress silently as well. This nature of ulcers is what makes them particularly dangerous. Many people continue their routines, unaware that persistent heartburn or unexplained back pain might be connected to a gastrointestinal issue.

A Diagnosis That Came Unexpectedly

For Rakesh (name changed), a Delhi-based businessman, the symptoms did not immediately point to a stomach problem. The diagnosis came with heartburn, bloody urine, acid reflux, and back pain.

Since I had a kidney stone operation, I thought it was normal," he says.

There had been signs that indicated it could be a stone again. I went out for dinner with my family and slept like usual," he mentions. He was convinced it would pass. The next morning, Rakeshs routine was disrupted.

He noticed blood in his stool, a symptom that replaced denial with panic. Though he had visited doctors earlier for routine blood pressure checks, this felt different, Something was clearly wrong," he recalls. He wasted no time and rushed to consult a gastroenterologist.

Symptoms Overlapped

Digestive disorders often appear with the same symptoms. Acid reflux, gastritis, ulcers and haemorrhoids can present overlapping symptoms such as heartburn, abdominal pain, nausea and changes in bowel habits. This overlap frequently delays diagnosis, especially when patients think of symptoms as known conditions or lifestyle factors.

In Rakeshs case, the doctor suspected both ulcers and haemorrhoids based on his symptoms and medical history. For clarity and assurance, the doctor recommended endoscopy and colonoscopy. Before these procedures, initial tests were carried out, including BP check, blood test and LFT.

Preparation For The Procedures

The procedure for a colonoscopy can be physically demanding. Rakesh was instructed to begin preparation a day before the procedure. He was allowed to consume solid food only until 4 pm and then had to switch to the bowel preparation solution after 3 hours.

He mentioned that the doctor advised him to consume 4 bottles of the bowel preparation kit, 177 ml each. The solution is designed to cleanse the colon completely, ensuring clear visibility during the colonoscopy. The solution caused repeated loose motions, dehydration and intense weakness.

By the time the preparation was complete, Rakesh felt drained, both physically and mentally. This step was crucial; without proper cleansing, important findings could be missed," Rakesh says. The following day, doctors performed both the endoscopy and colonoscopy. These procedures finally provided clarity.

The Real Cause Revealed

The diagnosis confirmed stomach ulcers. While alarming, there was also relief knowing that the condition was treatable with medication and lifestyle changes. The ulcers had likely been responsible not only for the stomach discomfort but also for the persistent heartburn and even the back pain, a symptom many do not associate with gastric issues.

By the time test reports arrived, Rakesh noticed some improvement. The back pain had eased significantly, offering reassurance that it was indeed linked to the ulcer. Doctors advised strict lifestyle modifications, which included managing acid reflux, monitoring blood pressure regularly, and strongly prohibiting alcohol consumption.

Rakeshs experience suggests that familiarity with pain does not make it harmless. Assuming that new symptoms are extensions of old conditions can delay diagnosis and treatment. A burning sensation after meals, persistent bloating, recurring heartburn or pain radiating to the back are signals worth investigating, especially when they persist or worsen.

Stomach ulcers may begin quietly, but they rarely resolve on their own. They demand attention, patience and lifestyle modifications. In a world where discomfort is often brushed aside in favour of productivity, the bodys warnings deserve to be heard before a mild burn turns into a serious wound.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 08:00 IST

News lifestyle Is It Just Heartburn? How A 47-Year-Old Missed The Warning Signs Of A Hidden Stomach Ulcer

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Govinda's Niece On What Really Happened During His Accidental Shooting: 'My Mom Told Me He Shot Himself'

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 08:31 IST

Ragini Khanna finally speaks on Govinda accidental shooting 2024, revealing the familys shock, police presence, and how the actor recovered within a month.

Ragini Khanna is known for Sasural Genda Phool. (Photo Credit: X)

After Govinda accidentally shot himself while cleaning his revolver in 2024, several rumours began circulating about the incident. Now, his niece Ragini Khanna has spoken openly about what really happened and how the family first came to know about it. In an interview with Vickey Lalwani, Ragini recalled the moment her family received the shocking news. She said her mother was the first to hear about it and immediately informed her. My mother told me she had gotten a call saying that Chichi mama had been shot. We were shocked at that time. Then my mother told me that he had shot himself."

The sudden call left the family confused and scared, with very little clarity about what had actually happened.

How the family reacted

Ragini then spoke about how her family responded after hearing the news. Her mother did not wait and rushed straight to the hospital along with Raginis brother. Ragini, however, chose to handle the situation differently. She explained that she is emotionally reactive and did not want to add more stress at such a tense time. My mother rushed to the hospital, and I was shocked. I had a very emotionally reactive response, so I decided to go a little later to prevent creating more tension with my reaction. I went three hours late. My mother and brother went immediately."

Clearing doubts about foul play

Soon after the incident, social media was flooded with speculation about whether there was any foul play involved. Ragini addressed these rumours clearly and said she fully trusts the police investigation. There were 200 cops at the hospital itself, and 50 cops were outside his house to know what happened. How can you escape that kind of situation if it is not genuine? I have full faith in our police. They have done their due diligence, and they got satisfactory results. Because if somebody else had been involved, he couldnt have escaped after doing something like this to such a big personality." She made it clear that the authorities did a thorough job and there was no reason to doubt the findings.

Govindas recovery

Ragini also reassured fans about Govindas health and recovery after the accident. She said the actor showed strength and recovered quickly.

He was fine in a month, he stood on his feet in a months time."

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 08:30 IST

News movies bollywood Govinda's Niece On What Really Happened During His Accidental Shooting: 'My Mom Told Me He Shot Himself'
'SRK Ke Liye 3, Kriti Ke Liye 4Ghante Wait Kiya': Little Fan Steals Hearts At Mumbai Airport

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 08:29 IST

A boy waited four hours to meet Kriti Sanon at Mumbai airport, sparking online jokes linking him to Shah Rukh Khan and Tamannaah Bhatia fan encounters.

The young fan who waited for hours to meet Kriti Sanon at Mumbai airport poses for a picture with the actress.

Fans lining up to see their favourite stars is a familiar sight at airports, but sometimes their dedication reaches hilariously impressive levels. A recent video circulating on social media shows a young boy telling actress Kriti Sanon that he waited for four hours just to meet her at Mumbai airport.

In the clip, Kriti can be seen seated in her car when the boy shares how long he had been waiting. She responds warmly, posing with him for a brief interaction. Later, when the child requests a photo with his father, Kriti politely apologises and closes the car door, keeping her schedule on track.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani)

The video has sparked an amusing conversation among netizens, who are drawing parallels with another recent airport encounter. Actor Shah Rukh Khan was also spotted at Mumbai airport with his family, during which a fan was reportedly waiting for three hours to meet him. While the SRK fans video only captured the voice, many online users have jokingly speculated whether it was the same persistent young admirer.

One user commented, Isi nae SRK.ko bh awaz lagai the kay 3 hrz say wait krha hoon (sic)." Another wrote, Srk keliye 3 ghante  kriti keliye 4 ghante (sic)." A third questioned, Ye to vahi hai jo Shahrukh ko uncle bol raha tha!! Papparazi ka hi baccha hai kya ye? (sic)."

Fan excitement at airports this New Year season hasnt been limited to Kriti Sanon and Shah Rukh Khan. Actress Tamannaah Bhatia was also spotted interacting with a devoted fan at the airport.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani)

These interactions are a good sign compared to the past few weeks, when fans sometimes crowded stars or acted badly. The videos of Kriti, Shah Rukh, and Tamannaah show that fans are now behaving more politely and in an organized way, even while excited to meet Bollywood celebrities.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 08:29 IST

News movies bollywood 'SRK Ke Liye 3, Kriti Ke Liye 4Ghante Wait Kiya': Little Fan Steals Hearts At Mumbai Airport
Angelina Jolie Visits Rafah Crossing, Says 'Access Must Be Sustained And Urgently Scaled Up'

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 07:58 IST

Angelina Jolie visited Egypts Rafah Crossing and El Arish hospital, urging safe, increased aid to Gaza after Israel suspended several organizations.

Angelina Jolie visits Rafah Crossing.

Hollywood actor and humanitarian Angelina Jolie visited the Rafah Crossing on Friday during a trip to Egypt, as humanitarian groups working in Gaza face fresh uncertainty following Israels decision to suspend the operations of several aid organisations, according to a report by CNN.

Citing Jolies representatives, CNN reported that the visit was part of her ongoing humanitarian engagement in the region. The trip comes amid Israels announcement that it will halt the work of dozens of aid groups operating in Gaza that have not renewed their registration. The move has drawn concern from international agencies and relief organisations.

As part of the new registration requirements, aid organisations have been asked to submit personal details of staff members working in Gaza. Humanitarian groups have warned that this could expose workers to serious safety risks. During her visit, Jolie interacted with several agencies attempting to navigate the restrictions affecting the flow of aid into the territory.

In a statement shared by CNN, Jolie described witnessing large quantities of relief material being held back. I spoke to humanitarian agencies who are working hard to do their best to overcome the restrictions and challenges of delivering necessary aid into Gaza. I walked through a large warehouse that was full of items that were denied entry, most of them medical," Angelina said.

Jolie also met aid workers from the Egyptian Red Crescent and other local organisations to discuss ways to expand humanitarian assistance to Gaza. She stressed the need for uninterrupted access and the rapid scaling up of aid delivery. What needs to happen is clear: the ceasefire must hold, and access must be sustained, safe and urgently scaled up so that aid, fuel and critical medical supplies can move quickly and consistently, at the volume required. Winter items and essential medical equipment should move without delay. Every day of disruption costs lives," she said in a statement, as per the report.

During the visit, Jolie was also seen at El Arish hospital, where she carried a Palestinian girl receiving medical care. According to her office, she will also meet Palestinian and Sudanese refugee families in Egypt as part of her continued humanitarian work.

Aid organisations have repeatedly raised concerns that Israels registration rules could endanger their staff. Israel has maintained that the measures are necessary to prevent Hamas from exploiting international aid. This claim has been rejected by the United Nations and several humanitarian groups. A recent review conducted by the US government found no evidence of widespread theft of aid by Hamas.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 07:58 IST

News movies hollywood Angelina Jolie Visits Rafah Crossing, Says 'Access Must Be Sustained And Urgently Scaled Up'
Ashnoor Kaurs Home Tour Has Fans Saying Shes 10 Times Richer Than Tanya Mittal

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Last Updated: January 02, 2026, 17:37 IST

Bigg Boss 19 star Ashnoor Kaur gave fans an exclusive tour of her swanky 3.5 BHK home in Nayandeep Rakhits YouTube video.

Ashnoor Kaur was 19 when she bought her house.(Photo Credit: Instagram)

Ashnoor Kaur was one of the most talked-about contestants in Bigg Boss 19. While her gameplay and on-screen dynamics made headlines, its something else that has brought the actress back into the limelight.

Recently, Ashnoor gave a home tour to Nayandeep Rakshit, which was shared on his YouTube channel. She offered fans a peek into her swanky 3.5 BHK apartment, and her luxurious abode has the internet buzzing, with comparisons already being drawn to Tanya Mittal, who often flaunted her lavish lifestyle inside the show.

Ashnoors Luxurious Abode

The house tour video opened with a gorgeous, picturesque corridor, a favourite spot where Ashnoor clicks most of her pictures. While showing the corridor, she revealed that much of the house was designed by her mother. Ashnoors aesthetic sense blends elegance with spirituality, as her living room features a large picture of the Golden Temple as well.

The house is not just pretty but also technically advanced. Smart light switches are installed throughout, and Ashnoor revealed she can customise the lighting via an app. The home even has a bar, although its purely decorative since everyone in her family is a teetotaler. The living room is adorned with several paintings and a golden glass chandelier, adding to the overall aesthetic appeal. She also gave a sneak peek of her spacious balcony by opening the curtains with the help of Alexa.

Ashnoors kitchen is equally impressive, with a marble dining table paired with velvet-finished chairs and a high-tech refrigerator. On the fridge, magnets from all the countries she has visited, from Melbourne and Hong Kong to New York and beyond, were proudly displayed.

Of course, no actresss home is complete without a wardrobe. Ashnoor has a luxurious, glass-door walk-in closet filled with designer bags, perfumes, sneakers, sunglasses and more. She also offered a glimpse of her bedroom, styled in elegant white and gold tones, maintaining the classy aesthetic throughout.

Internet Reacts

A user wrote, She is 10 times richer than Tanya Mittal and the biggest example of hard work." Another one added, Dekho Tanya lovers, Ashnoor never said she is rich but Tanya daily used to say Im rich." Someone said, Tanya spoke, Ashnoor showed. While Tanya pretended to be an inspiration, Ashnoor actually is one." An individual remarked, The success and the luxury she has is because of all the hard work she has been doing since 15 years."

Ashnoor bought her house at just 19, which is no small feat, and her swanky apartment makes it even more impressive.

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First Published: January 02, 2026, 17:37 IST

News movies television Ashnoor Kaurs Home Tour Has Fans Saying Shes 10 Times Richer Than Tanya Mittal
Indian-Origin Woman Killed In US; Ex-Boyfriend Accused Of Murder Flees Country

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 23:37 IST

The Indian Embassy in the United States said it is in touch with her family and providing consular assistance.

Nikitha Godishala, 27-year-old woman of Indian-Origin woman killed in US (Credits: LinkedIn)

A 27-year-old Indian-origin woman, Nikitha Godishala, who was reported missing earlier this month, has been found dead inside an apartment in Columbia, Maryland, US police said.

According to the police, Godishala, a resident of Ellicott City, was reported missing on January 2. Her body was later discovered inside an apartment located in the 10100 block of Twin Rivers Road in Columbia.

Reacting to the same, the Indian Embassy in the United States on Sunday said it is in touch with the family of Nikitha Godishala and is providing all possible consular assistance.

In a post on X, the embassy said it is also following up on the matter with local authorities in the US. The statement was shared by the Embassy of India in the United States and tagged Ministry of External Affairs.

The Embassy is in contact with the family of Ms Nikitha Godishala and is extending all possible consular assistance. The Embassy is also following up on the matter with the local authorities," the post said.

The Embassy is in contact with the family of Ms. Nikitha Godishala and is extending all possible consular assistance. The Embassy is also following up the matter with the local authorities. @MEAIndia India in USA (@IndianEmbassyUS) January 4, 2026

According to the investigators cited by FOX 5, the apartment belongs to 26-year-old Arjun Sharma, whom they identified as Godishalas former boyfriend.

Police said Sharma himself had approached authorities on January 2 to file a missing person report. He told officers that he last saw Godishala on December 31 at his apartment, as reported by the outlet.

The officials also executed an arrest warrant against Sharma, charging him with first-degree and second-degree murder. Authorities stressed that the investigation is still ongoing and that a motive has not yet been established.

Officials also said Sharma left the United States for India on the same day he reported Godishala missing.

A further investigation into the matter is underway.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 23:13 IST

News nri Indian-Origin Woman Killed In US; Ex-Boyfriend Accused Of Murder Flees Country

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Opinion | After Rupture, The Resolve: How Indias Civilisational Foreign Policy Will Shape 2026

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 15:25 IST

Guided by BJPs strategic assertiveness and the RSS worldview, New Delhi enters a fragmented global order with confidence, not confusion.

Prime MInister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister S Jaishankar (PTI)

Diplomacy rightly describes 2025 as a year of rupture", a period when global alignments cracked, assumptions collapsed, and the old grammar of international relations stopped working. But from a nationalist and right-of-centre perspective, this rupture must not be read as a setback for India.

On the contrary, it validates what the BJP-led government and the broader Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ecosystem have argued for over a decade: India cannot outsource its destiny to any bloc, power, or alliance. Strategic autonomy rooted in civilisational self-confidence, rather than post-Cold War dependency, is the only sustainable path forward.

As New Delhi steps into 2026, the question is not whether India has been diplomatically isolated  it has not  but whether India is finally shedding the psychological hesitations of the Nehruvian era and embracing a foreign policy aligned with its civilisational interests, national security imperatives, and economic resurgence.

2025: The End Of Illusions, Not The End Of Options

Much commentary in the liberal strategic community treats the turbulence of 2025  strained IndiaUS ties, tariffs, the Pakistan conflict, and China tensions  as evidence of diplomatic overreach. This reading is flawed. What 2025 actually exposed was the bankruptcy of dependency-driven diplomacy.

The return of Donald Trump to the White House and his decision to impose steep tariffs on Indian goods shattered the myth that ideological proximity with the West guarantees equitable treatment. For decades, Indian elites assumed that shared democratic values" would automatically translate into economic fairness. Trumps America reminded the world, brutally, that national interest  not moral posturing  drives global politics.

From a BJPRSS worldview, this was not a shock but a confirmation. The RSS has long argued that India must engage the world without seeking validation from any external power. The Modi governments refusal to retaliate impulsively, while simultaneously diversifying trade and deepening ties with Europe, reflected a mature, non-emotional realism  something absent in earlier Congress-era foreign policy.

Strategic Autonomy: From Nehruvian Slogan To Civilisational Strategy

Indias strategic autonomy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is fundamentally different from the non-alignment of the past. Nehruvian non-alignment was often passive and moralistic, leaving India strategically weak and militarily unprepared. The BJPs strategic autonomy, by contrast, is assertive, transactional, and interest-driven.

The RSS intellectual tradition has consistently emphasised that Bharats engagement with the world must be rooted in dharma  balance, realism, and self-respect  not ideological subservience. This worldview is now clearly visible in Indias diplomacy:

India engages the US without becoming its subordinate

India works with Russia without apologising to the West

India talks to China without surrendering territory

India leads the Global South without begging for approval

The events of 2025  from trade shocks to military tensions  prove that this approach is not ideological stubbornness but strategic necessity.

Pakistan And The Red Line Doctrine

The limited military confrontation with Pakistan in May 2025 once again demonstrated the transformation of Indias security doctrine under BJP rule. Unlike the strategic paralysis of the past, New Delhi responded decisively to provocation while avoiding uncontrolled escalation.

This approach aligns closely with the RSSBJP consensus that peace is meaningless without deterrence. The message to Rawalpindi was clear: terrorism will invite costs, but India will not be baited into reckless war. The ceasefire was not weakness; it was strength backed by credible force.

As India enters 2026, Pakistan remains diplomatically isolated, economically broken, and internally unstable. From a nationalist perspective, this is not accidental  it is the result of sustained diplomatic pressure, global narrative management, and Indias refusal to internationalise bilateral disputes, a long-standing RSS position.

China: Civilisational Rivalry, Not Temporary Tension

If 2025 reaffirmed anything, it is that IndiaChina relations are not a border problem" but a long-term civilisational and geopolitical rivalry. While flights and visas may resume and diplomatic channels remain open, the Line of Actual Control continues to be a zone of friction.

Here again, the BJPs approach diverges sharply from earlier eras. The Modi government has refused to normalise relations without restoring the status quo on the ground. This firmness reflects the RSSs belief that territorial integrity is non-negotiable, regardless of economic temptations.

In 2026, India will likely continue a dual approach: limited engagement to manage escalation, combined with military preparedness, infrastructure build-up, and strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. The message to Beijing is subtle but firm: India seeks peace, not submission.

The United States: Partner, Not Patron

The IndiaUS relationship will remain important in 2026, but the illusion of inevitability is gone. From a right-wing lens, this is healthy.

The BJP has never viewed the US as a civilisational anchor but as a useful partner in technology, defence, and balancing China. Trumps transactional diplomacy only reinforces why India must avoid emotional attachment to any power.

If trade negotiations revive, India should engage  but without compromising domestic manufacturing, digital sovereignty, or farmer interests. The Atmanirbhar Bharat vision, often caricatured by liberals, is in fact the economic foundation of strategic autonomy. Without industrial strength, foreign policy is merely rhetoric.

Europe And The Global South: Natural Allies Of A Confident India

One of the most under-reported successes of Indian diplomacy is its growing credibility in Europe and the Global South. Trade agreements with the UK, progress with the EU, and consistent outreach to Africa, West Asia, and Latin America reflect Indias emergence as a civilisational pole, not just a regional power.

This aligns closely with the RSS idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam  not as a slogan, but as a framework in which India engages the world as an equal, not a supplicant.

In 2026, Indias leadership in forums like BRICS, the Quad, and the G20 will be critical. Hosting or participating in these summits is not about optics; it is about shaping agendas on development, multipolarity, and cultural plurality  areas where Indias worldview stands in contrast to Western universalism and Chinese authoritarianism.

South Asia: Stability Through Strength

Nepal and Bangladeshs political churn in 2026 will test Indias neighbourhood policy. But unlike the past, New Delhi today has greater leverage  economic, infrastructural, and cultural.

The BJPRSS framework rejects the old guilt-driven approach to neighbours. Indias role is not to micromanage their politics, but to protect its security interests while offering development partnerships. This pragmatic neighbourhood doctrine is likely to deepen in 2026.

2026: The Year Of Strategic Consolidation

The Indian Express warns that 2026 offers little room for missteps". That is true. But it also offers immense opportunities. The global order is fragmenting, Western moral authority is eroding, and Chinas ambitions are increasingly mistrusted. In this churn, India stands uniquely positioned  if it remains confident.

From a right-wing nationalist perspective, the path ahead is clear:

No return to strategic hesitation

No romanticisation of Western approval

No compromise on sovereignty

No apology for civilisational self-assertion

The BJP government, backed by the RSS intellectual ecosystem, has already laid the foundation. What 2026 demands is continuity, not correction.

In a world where old alliances are unreliable and new blocs unstable, Indias greatest asset is not any treaty or trade deal  it is belief in itself. And that belief, rooted in civilisation, culture, and national interest, will define Indias diplomacy long after the current global rupture fades into history.

The writer is a technocrat, political analyst, and author. He pens national, geopolitical, and social issues. His social media handle is @prosenjitnth. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 15:25 IST

News opinion Opinion | After Rupture, The Resolve: How Indias Civilisational Foreign Policy Will Shape 2026

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Opinion | Why Mamdani Is Deliberately Talking Up Umar Khalid

Written By :

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 15:20 IST

Because the Nobel Peace Prize is the main qualification for international candidates for top national political office

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NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani. (Photo Credit: Instagram)

It is providential that Zohran Kwame Mamdani was born in Kampala rather than, say, Kansas City. Otherwise, if he ever made it to the White House as a natural born US citizen", he might want to pull off a Nicolas Maduro-like arrest" of his favourite hate figure in India. And a local hallowed" Nobel Laureate marshalling international" pressure for such a political coup would help. After all, the US does not consider democracy in other countries to be sacrosanct.

It is also curious that barely a year after what was clearly a US backed if not US aided coup detat in Bangladesh ousted the sitting Prime Minister and replaced her with a non-elected chief advisor" Muhammed Yunus who happens to be a Nobel Peace Prize winner, another Nobel laureate is the frontrunner to step into Maduros job in Caracas. Even Maria CorinaMachados slew of international awards is comparable to or greater than those Yunus has bagged.

Besides that 2006 Nobel, Yunus notched up two major US awards, pointing to its fondness for him: the US Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama and the US Congressional Gold Medal. He also got the Magsaysay Award, the World Food Prize, Seoul Peace Prize among many others, and even an Olympic Laurel. Besides the 2025 Nobel for Peace, Machados list includes the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought and the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize.

Despite Machado calling President Donald Trumpsoon after winning the Peace Prize last year and supposedly dedicating it" to him, there is uncertainty about her ascent to the top office after he announced that the US would run" Venezuela until a transition". But that situation may just be pending key post-Maduro discussions" as Machado is clearly the world medias favourite candidate" to lead Venezuela as also of the so-called international community".

So, is the Nobel Peace Prize the new qualification to become alternative candidates for top political posts by non-voter international entities? With the turmoil in Iran increasing, for example, could there be a guaranteed place for Shirin Ebadithe 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winneror Narges Mohammedithe2023 Nobel Peace Laureatein any potentially similar regime change" attempted or effected by any American operation, overt or covert?

Not all Nobel Peace Prize laureates who got their countrys top jobs were US-installed or propelled, of course. Some actually got the prize while in office, not as a qualifier for a top post, especially those from the volatile Middle East. Like Egyptian President Anwar el Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1978, and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Israels Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the then Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres in 1994.

Oscar Arias Sanchez got it in 1987 in his first term as President of Costa Rica for his efforts for a negotiated settlement in the Central American wars of that time. In his second term from 2006 to 2010 he moved Costa Rica closer to China; and in 2025, his US visa was revoked! USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev got it in 1990 and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos Calderon in 2016 for the peace treaty to end the insurrection by the Far-Left FARC guerrillas.

But US Presidents themselves have been unsuccessful on this count. Obama was lucky as he got the 2009 Nobel without doing anything: For his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." Jimmy Carters 2002 citation was equally insipid: For his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and promote economic and social development."

Piquantly, when President Trump was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 2019 for his efforts for peace with North Korea, it was instead awarded Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed, for his decisive initiative" to resolve the border conflict with Eritrea; a year later, he launched the Tigray war. In 2021, Trump was nominated again, for the Abraham Accords, but it went to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for safeguarding freedom of expression"!

However, Nobel Laureate political leaders and US benevolence are often linked, though which prompts the other is unclear. In no way diminishing the achievements of Polands legendary Lech Walesa, it must be noted for example, that his Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 was followed by a slew of American awards, including the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1989, just a year before he became Polands first democratically elected President in 63years.

Interestingly, the fourth and current (seventh)President of tiny Timor-Leste, Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta, who shared the Peace Prize in 1996 with Timorese Bishop Ximenes Belo for sustained efforts to hinder the oppression of a small people", spent years in the UN (and therefore, the US) as foreign minister" of his yet-to-be-created nation, then under Indonesian occupation. A recipient of many other international awards, he mostly stays on the right side of the US.

Conversely, there is Nelson Mandela. Who was arguably the worlds most famous political prisoner for 27 years. He got the Nobel in 1993 (that too along with the man who was part of the apartheid regime that incarcerated him and then released him!) only after he won the elections and became South Africas President! Many believe this delay happened because White-run South Africa was a US/Western ally in the Cold War and Mandela had been fighting the racist regime.

And the case of the 1991 laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmars State Councillor (a vague specially-created post like Bangladeshs Chief Advisor as she was barred from contesting for the presidency) is a cautionary tale. She was seen as a shoo-in to run Myanmar replacing the military junta and her Nobel qualification" made her the international" candidate for the job of de facto ruler. But Suu Kyi blotted her copybook by being uncompromisingly Myanmarese.

Nobel Peace Prize winners seem to acquire a trans-national appeal that does not gel sometimes with their own people or, more ominously, with powerful interests, foreign and domestic. But they do become the preferred candidates of external forces including foreign media for key political posts thanks to their supposedly hallowed status. The US connectionseducational, professional and personalof many of these political Nobel laureates cannot be ignored either.

Had Pakistan not ingratiated itself again with the US in the past year, it may have needed to keep a wary eye on the activities of Malala Yousafzai in UK, its only Nobel Peace Prize winner (so far) and well networked. She too built up a cache of international awards around the time she got the Nobel, including the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in2013 (also won by Machado last year), the US Liberty Medal and the UN Prize for Human Rights among others.

Interestingly, Malalas co-Nobel-winner in 2014, Kailash SatyarthiIndias only living Peace Prize laureate, the other being the late Mother Teresaalso has an impressive list of primarily American awards for his humanitarian efforts, rather like Yunus next door too. So far, Satyarthi has not shown any inclination to become the international candidate for Indias next top leader and has wisely stuck to his core competence of social reform and childrens rights.

India must keep a close watch on those who the Nobel Peace Prize committee decides to elevate to international fame in the next few years. After all, the notoriously left-leaning Norwegian Nobel selection panel may construe Mamdanis mention of Umar Khalid last week as an indication of future US preferences. Unless the unthinkable (but not impossible) happens: a future Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Narendra Modi. Or to Mamdani. Mumkin hai?

The author is a freelance writer. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 15:20 IST

News opinion Opinion | Why Mamdani Is Deliberately Talking Up Umar Khalid

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 15:30 IST

1 / 7 Kochi (Kerala) is known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea due to its role in international trade, unique geography, and its historical significance. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

2 / 7 Kochi is one of the most important trading ports on the West Coast Of India. After the destruction of the Kodungallur port by flood in 1341, Kochi rose to prominence and became the central hub for global spice, trade, exporting vast quantities of pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and clove. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

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3 / 7 The port facilitated direct trade between Kerala and the rest of the world, acting as a crucial gateway between India, China and the Middle East and Europe. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

4 / 7 The Portuguese established their first European settlement in India in Kochi, giving them control over the lucrative spice route. This solidified its international importance. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

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5 / 7 Kochi is built around a complex series of backwaters, islands, and natural deep-water harbour. It was ideal for docking large international ships, even during monsoon seasons. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

6 / 7 Located directly on the global shipping lanes, its location was strategically important for naval and commercial dominance in the Arabian Sea. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

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BJP Mobilises Cadre Across Nation To Defend VB-G-RAM-G Bill As Opposition Targets Law

Reported By :

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 16:26 IST

The BJP is set to roll out an extensive outreach programme in the coming days, including press conferences, street-corner meetings, and door-to-door interactions

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The BJP leadership said the new legislation is aimed at strengthening rural employment through greater transparency and efficiency. (PTI)

More than a thousand Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders participated in a high-level meeting chaired by party national president JP Nadda and working president Nitin Nabin on Saturday to chalk out a comprehensive strategy for the promotion of the VB-G-RAM-G Bill, even as the Congress prepares for a nationwide protest against the legislation.

The meeting, held virtually with participation from leaders from across the country, assumes significance as the Opposition, particularly the Congress, has stepped up its attack on the law, objecting to the change in nomenclature and the removal of Mahatma Gandhis name from the MGNREGA framework.

The BJP leadership, however, maintained that the new legislation is aimed at strengthening rural employment through greater transparency and efficiency.

MASSIVE OUTREACH

The BJP held two rounds of deliberations on the G-RAM-G Bill, with participation from over 1,100 leaders, including the Chief Minister, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and senior office-bearers. Union Minister for Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan made a detailed presentation on the legislation, outlining its final provisions and highlighting its long-term benefits.

Chouhan emphasised the need to take the message of the Bill to the grassroots and ensure that its objectives are clearly communicated to workers and rural communities. He said the legislation focuses on skill-based employment, creation of durable assets, timely wage payments, and technology-driven monitoring to plug leakages and improve outcomes.

Both Nadda and Nabin underlined the importance of the Bill, urging party leaders to drive home the message that the legislation is in the interest of workers and will promote accountability in rural employment programmes. Leaders have been asked to actively participate in awareness campaigns starting from the booth level.

The party is set to roll out an extensive outreach programme in the coming days, including press conferences, street-corner meetings, and door-to-door interactions, as part of a sustained ground-level campaign. A monitoring team led by BJP general secretary Arun Singh has also been constituted to oversee the promotion and implementation of the scheme.

VB-G-RAM-G Bill

The VB-G-RAM-G Bill was passed by Parliament during the final week of the Winter Session following intense debates and strong protests from the Opposition parties. While the Congress opposed the change in name, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) alleged that the revised cost-sharing structure would place an additional financial burden on states already under fiscal stress.

Under the new law, the cost-sharing ratio for guaranteed employment between the Centre and the states has been fixed at 60:40. The Bills passage witnessed dramatic scenes in Parliament, with the Opposition staging a walkout during the Rajya Sabha proceedings on December 18, and the Trinamool Congress holding an overnight protest within the Parliament complex.

The legislation has since received the assent of the President of India, paving the way for its nationwide implementation.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 16:12 IST

News politics BJP Mobilises Cadre Across Nation To Defend VB-G-RAM-G Bill As Opposition Targets Law

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A screen shot taken from a video released by the White House shows U.S. President Donald Trump holding a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, the United States, Jan. 3, 2026. U.S. raid "a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas" to capture Maduro -- Trump (Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday the United States will "run" Venezuela after the U.S. military raided the country and captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who are being transported to New York.

"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago private club in Florida.

"We don't want to be involved with having somebody else get in, and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years. So we are going to run the country," he said.

"We're there now. We're going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place," Trump added, offering no timeline for how long such a transition of power is expected to take.

He later said top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, would work with a team to help run Venezuela.

Trump refused to rule out the possibility of further U.S. military involvement. "We're not afraid of boots on the ground," he said.

Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the press conference that the U.S. troops will remain in the region following large-scale strikes on Venezuela and the capture of Maduro.

"As we stand here this morning, our forces remain in the region at a high state of readiness, prepared to project power, defend themselves and our interests in the region," Caine said.

Asked about a possible U.S. military presence in Venezuela during the transition period, Trump said: "No, we're going to have a presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil because we're sending our expertise. You may need something, not very much."

Trump said he plans to authorize U.S. oil giants to take over and invest in Venezuela's energy infrastructure and "start making money for the country," adding that the embargo on all Venezuelan oil "remains in full effect."

"Very importantly, the embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect. The American armada remains poised in position, and the United States retains all military options until United States demands have been fully met and fully satisfied," said Trump.

"We're going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground. That wealth is going to the people of Venezuela and people from outside of Venezuela that used to be in Venezuela," Trump claimed. "It goes also to the United States of America in the form of reimbursement for the damages caused us by that country."

By raiding Maduro and launching months of military pressure campaign, Trump said his administration has "superseded" the Monroe Doctrine laid out in the early 19th century.

A number of "No War on Venezuela" protests are planned for Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York and other cities across the United States later on Saturday.

"We need to take to the streets and say no to another endless war! The people of this country do not want another war! A U.S. war would cause death and destruction for the people of Venezuela," the Answer Coalition, one of the organizers, said in a news release.

The latest U.S. strikes on Venezuela and its capture of Maduro have drawn worldwide condemnation and concern.

Shortly after the strike started, the Venezuelan government denounced the "military aggression" by the United States, adding that the strike targeted civilian and military sites in at least four states of the country.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply alarmed by the U.S. military actions, his spokesperson said in a statement.

"The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respect -- by all -- of international law, including the UN Charter. He's deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected," said the statement issued by spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. 

A screen shot taken from a video released by the White House shows U.S. President Donald Trump holding a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, the United States, Jan. 3, 2026. U.S. raid "a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas" to capture Maduro -- Trump (Xinhua)
Priyanka Gandhi Appointed Chairperson Of Assam Screening Committee Ahead Of Assembly Polls

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 13:43 IST

Alongside Assam, the Congress has also constituted Screening Committees for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and West Bengal.

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Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. (Image: Reuters/File)

Priyanka Gandhi has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Screening Committee for Assam for the upcoming Assembly elections, marking a significant role for the party general secretary and signalling a high-stakes push in the northeastern state.

General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), KC Venugopal announced the decision through an official press release, confirming the constitution of Screening Committees for five poll-bound states with immediate effect.

Priyanka Gandhis appointment to head the Assam panel highlights the partys effort to project national leadership in a region with complex and highly competitive electoral dynamics.

Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Imran Masood, and Sirivella Prasad will join Priyanka Gandhi as members of the committee, tasked with shortlisting candidates and steering internal consultations ahead of the polls.

Alongside Assam, the Congress has also constituted Screening Committees for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and West Bengal.

Kerala committee will be chaired by Madhusudan Mistry, with Syed Naseer Hussain, Neeraj Dangi, and Abhishek Dutt as members.

For Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the committee will be led by T.S. Singh Deo, with Yashomati Thakur, G.C. Chandrashekhar, and Anil Kumar Yadav serving as members. In West Bengal, B.K. Hariprasad has been appointed Chairperson, joined by Mohammad Jawed, Mamta Devi, and B.P. Singh.

The AICC has clarified that General Secretaries/In-charges, PCC Presidents, CLP Leaders, and AICC Secretaries attached to the respective General Secretaries/In-charges will serve as ex-officio members of the Screening Committees in their states.

The appointments signal a crucial phase in the Congress partys election preparations, with senior leaders tasked with overseeing candidate selection and shaping internal strategy in key battleground states.

(With inputs from agencies)

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 13:14 IST

News politics Priyanka Gandhi Appointed Chairperson Of Assam Screening Committee Ahead Of Assembly Polls

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'Small But Important Win': AAP's Raghav Chadha Lauds Centre's Draft Rules For Gig Workers

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 21:47 IST

AAP MP Raghav Chadha praised the Centre for draft Social Security Rules, 2025, granting gig workers legal recognition, protection, and benefits.

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AAP MP Raghav Chadha speaking in Rajya Sabha. (Image: PTI/File photo)

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Sunday praised the Centre for releasing the draft Social Security Rules for gig workers under the new labour codes, calling it a significant step toward recognition, protection and dignity" for their work.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment earlier this week reportedly released the draft Code on Social Security (Central) Rules, 2025, which lays out the norms for gig workers to access various social security benefits and safeguards.

Congratulations to all Gig Workers and Delivery Partners. There is good news for you. Central Governments draft Social Security Rules are the first step towards recognition, protection and dignity for your work. Even though the Platforms (Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, etc.) chose not to listen to your voices, the people of this country and the government did. This is a small win, but an important win," Chadha wrote on X.

Congratulations to all Gig Workers and Delivery Partners. There is good news for you.Central Governments draft Social Security Rules are the first step towards recognition, protection and dignity for your work. Even though the Platforms (Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, etc.) chose pic.twitter.com/tD7iyI25k6  Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) January 4, 2026

The AAP MP, who has long advocated for the rights of gig workers, including on the floor of Parliament, added, These draft rules were not framed just because I raised the issue in Parliament, it has happened because you all also raised your voices. The companies and the platforms did not listen to you, but the government did, which should be welcomed," in a video shared on X.

Meanwhile, Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Aarin Capital, launched a sharp attack at Chadha, accusing him of falsely taking credit for work done by the Central government and private platforms on gig worker welfare.

Responding to Chadhas social media post welcoming the Centres draft Social Security Rules for gig workers, Pai alleged that the AAP leader was lying" and attempting to claim ownership of reforms initiated over several years. In a post on X, Pai described Chadha as an anarchist" and said his attempts to provoke unrest through calls for strikes had failed.

The Anarchist @raghav_chadha lies through his teeth and is trying to take credit for the work of the Platforms and govt over the last many years. He failed to crate anarchy through the ill advices strike!. The public and gig workers exposed him and now this. Typical of @AamAadmiParty who lie always and try to take credit for the work of others @sbikh Sadly these liars got a lot of funding from Tech founders too earlier and let them down with corruption and bad governance," Pai wrote on X.

The Anarchist @raghav_chadha lies through his teeth and is trying to take credit for the work of the Platforms and govt over the last many years. He failed to crate anarchy through the ill advices strike!. The public and gig workers exposed him and now this. Typical of https://t.co/WYeS2BSrRF Mohandas Pai (@TVMohandasPai) January 4, 2026

New Rules To Legally Recognise Gig Workers: Chadha

Under the proposed rules, gig workers will be legally recognised and provided with a unique identity, Chadha noted. In the recent Parliament session, he highlighted the pain and misery" of Indias gig workforce, who often work under harsh conditions and intense pressure. He called for regulations on quick commerce and app-based delivery services, emphasising the need for fair pay, dignity, and protection for these workers.

For the first time, the Code on Social Security, 2020, which came into force on November 21, 2025, defines gig workers and platform workers and includes provisions specifically for them. It allows for the establishment of social security measures covering life and disability insurance, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, and old-age protection. The Code also provides for a Social Security Fund to finance welfare schemes and a National Social Security Board dedicated to the welfare of gig and platform workers.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment had earlier launched the e-Shram portal on August 26, 2021, to create a comprehensive national database of unorganized workers, including platform and migrant workers, providing them with a Universal Account Number (UAN) through self-declaration. Additionally, the e-Shram One-Stop-Solution, launched on October 21, 2024, integrates multiple social security and welfare schemes into a single portal to support unorganized workers.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 11:53 IST

News politics 'Small But Important Win': AAP's Raghav Chadha Lauds Centre's Draft Rules For Gig Workers

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'Act Of Aggression': Venezuela Activates Armed Forces After US Offensive, Demands Maduro's Return

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 22:45 IST

Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez demanded the "immediate return" of deposed leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife after they were captured by US forces.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro being taken into the offices of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). (Reuters)

Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said armed forces have been activated across the country a day after the US carried out an unprecedented large-scale military operation in Caracas, which culminated in the dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Lopez demanded the immediate return" of the deposed Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores after they were captured by US forces. We demand the return of Maduro and the First Lady. This is an act of aggression against the legitimate president of Venezuela and the First Lady," he was quoted as saying by CNN.

We demand her return and the return of our commander in chief, the president, and we draw attention to everything that is happening to Venezuela against its sovereignty," he further said. Notably, Lopez has a $15 million bounty in the US on charges of narco-terrorism.

Lopez also said that much of Maduros security team was killed in the US raid on Saturday. He said the raid saw the cold-bloodedly killing (of) much of his security team, soldiers, and innocent civilians." He also said that the US action represents a real threat to world order" where any state can be attacked.

US Doesnt Seek War With Venezuela

This came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington wants to see a democratic transition in Venezuela, adding that it does not seek a war with the embattled South American nation.

Speaking to NBC News, Rubio dismissed suggestions of a wider conflict. He said the US is targeting drug trafficking organisations, not the Venezuelan state. Rubio added that Washington is enforcing oil sanctions through legal means, including court warrants to seize vessels carrying sanctioned oil. He stressed that there are no US forces currently on the ground in Venezuela.

He also defended the administrations decision to only depose Maduro and not other top members of his government who have also been indicted by the Trump administration on drug charges. We got the top priority," he said, noting it was not an easy mission to capture Maduro and his wife.

Rubio also told CBS News that Trump doesnt want to publicly rule out occupying Venezuela or putting troops in the country, as he maintains leverage" over the countrys future via several avenues.

This came amid widespread criticism of US action in Venezuela, as many politicians, experts and global leaders condemned the blatant disregard of international law. House Democrats said that while Maduro was a horrible person", Trumps policy was regime change was unlawful".

Donald Trump claims that hes going to run Venezuela. Hes done a terrible job running the United States of America," said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The US received additional criticism after Trump mentioned that US companies would manage Venezuelas oil facilities.

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Location : Caracas, Venezuela

First Published: January 04, 2026, 22:45 IST

News world 'Act Of Aggression': Venezuela Activates Armed Forces After US Offensive, Demands Maduro's Return

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Act Of War: Kamala Harris, Mamdani Criticise US Airstrikes On Venezuela, Call It Unlawful

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 09:17 IST

Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were captured in a surprise nighttime operation carried out by US forces after being pulled from their bedroom.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in custody after being illegally kidnapped from Venezuela.

Several European and opposition leaders have reacted to the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was briefed on the operation and their planned imprisonment in federal custody in New York City, calling the unilateral action an act of war" and a violation of federal and international law.

He said the pursuit of regime change would not only affect those abroad but also impact New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans living in the city, adding that his administration would monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance with a focus on safety.

Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law. This blatant pursuit of regime change doesnt just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home. My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance," he wrote on X.

Former US vice president Kamala Harris criticised President Donald Trump over the US actions in Venezuela, saying the move did not make America safer, stronger or more affordable.

In a post on X, Harris described Nicolas Maduro as a brutal, illegitimate dictator" but said that did not justify what she called an unlawful and unwise action", warning against wars for regime change that lead to chaos and costs for American families.

She accused Trump of pursuing the operation for oil and personal power, said troops were being put at risk without clear legal authority or an exit plan, and argued that the US needed leadership focused on the rule of law, strong alliances and prioritising the American people.

Donald Trumps actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable.That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. Weve seen this movie before. Wars for regime change or oil that  Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 4, 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron said the Venezuelan people were rid of Nicolas Maduros dictatorship" following the developments, calling it a moment for rejoicing.

In a post on X, Macron accused Maduro of seizing power and trampling on fundamental freedoms, saying his actions had gravely undermined the dignity of the Venezuelan people.

He stressed that the upcoming transition must be peaceful, democratic and respectful of the peoples will, and expressed hope that President Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, elected in 2024, would swiftly ensure the transition.

I am currently exchanging with our partners in the region. France is fully mobilized and vigilant, including to ensure the safety of its nationals during these uncertain times," he wrote on X.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela and regarded Nicolas Maduro as an illegitimate president.

In a post on X, Starmer said the UK shed no tears" over the end of Maduros regime, while reiterating his support for international law. The UK government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people," he said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy has closely followed developments in Venezuela and has never recognised Nicolas Maduros self-proclaimed electoral victory.

In a post on X, Meloni said Italy, along with key international partners, had condemned the regimes acts of repression and consistently supported the Venezuelan peoples aspiration for a democratic transition. She added that while the Italian government does not view external military action as the appropriate means to end totalitarian regimes, it considers defensive intervention legitimate in cases involving hybrid threats to national security, including those linked to narcotrafficking.

We continue to follow with particular attention the situation of the Italian community in Venezuela, whose security constitutes the Governments absolute priority," she added.

Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were captured in a surprise nighttime operation carried out by US forces after being pulled from their bedroom, according to a report in CNN. The couple was reportedly asleep in their home within the heavily guarded Fort Tiuna military complex in Caracas when American commandos entered the residence.

The operation was reportedly carried out by the US Armys Delta Force with support from the FBI and was completed in under 30 minutes. US officials said no American personnel were killed in the raid.

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Location : United States of America (USA)

First Published: January 04, 2026, 08:22 IST

News world Act Of War: Kamala Harris, Mamdani Criticise US Airstrikes On Venezuela, Call It Unlawful

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Air Traffic Radio Failure Grounds Flights Across Greece, Thousands Stranded

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 18:30 IST

Flights across Greece were grounded after a radio frequency collapse crippled air traffic communication, stranding thousands.

Flights across Greece were grounded after a collapse of radio frequencies.

A major technical failure in the air traffic control system brought Greeces flight services to a standstill. Flights across the nation were grounded after a collapse of radio frequencies. Thousands of travellers were stranded at the airports and were left in limbo.

As per a report by Reuters, there was little clarity on the cause of the disruption, which began early Sunday. Although some overflights across Greek and regional airspace continued, restrictions were placed on airport operations for safety reasons, according to Greeces civil aviation authority.

For some reason, all frequencies were suddenly lost. We could not communicate with aircraft in the sky," Panagiotis Psarros, chair of the Association of Greek Air Traffic Controllers, told state broadcaster ERT.

Psarros indicated the issue appeared to be a collapse of central radio frequency systems at the Athens and Macedonia area control systems, the largest air control facility in the country, based in Athens. This facility oversees the Athens Flight Information Region, a vast expanse of airspace under Greek authority.

Flight trackers showed Greek airspace was largely empty. ERT reported that airport arrivals and departures were suspended at 9 a.m. local time (0700 GMT), with a departures terminal at Athens Eleftherios Venizelos airport crowded with travellers.

We havent been informed about the cause of this problem certainly the equipment we have is virtually ancient. We have raised this many times in the past," Psarros said.

A Transport Ministry official told Reuters some aircraft heading north and east were allowed to leave. More than 75 flights were delayed, the official said.

In Israel, an Airports Authority spokesperson reported that Greek airspace was closed until 4 p.m. local time (1400 GMT), advising travellers to expect delays in arrivals and departures.

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Location : Greece

First Published: January 04, 2026, 18:13 IST

News world Air Traffic Radio Failure Grounds Flights Across Greece, Thousands Stranded

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Amid Rising Attacks, Bangladeshi Hindus Weigh Poll Boycott Ahead Of 12 February Vote

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 08:01 IST

With doubts over safety persisting, minority bodies are debating whether a poll boycott could be the only way to push authorities to act.

Bangladesh had about 30 per cent Hindus as per the 1971 census. Today, that figure stands at around 9 per cent. (Image: News18)

A 13-year-old was filming a man in flames. It was only when he saw the mans face that he realised the person he was recording on his mobile phone was his father, Khokon Chandra Das, a mobile shop owner in Shariatpur, Bangladesh. The next time he saw his father was at Dhaka Medical College in Dhaka.

It was no longer a man in flames, but his father, who had died from burn injuries and deep wounds in his abdomen.

Khokon Chandra Dass death, for the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus, is another statistic in the growing number of Hindus killed in a country that goes to the polls on 12 February.

Bangladesh had about 30 per cent Hindus as per the 1971 census. Today, that figure stands at around 9 per cent. Many have left the country or prefer not to be counted, because they tell me that being counted would mark them.

What troubles them is that Hindus have been targeted for a while, but it is new that they are now being burnt." This is scary.

With the election campaign gathering pace, parties such as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami want to appear secular. It is therefore unsurprising that the BNP candidate from Dhaka-7, Hamidur Rahman Hamid, visited the Dhakeshwari Temple in Dhaka-7 to organise a condolence meeting. He told News18, It is wrong to say that Hindus are being targeted or killed."

But figures and tears do not lie. It was a struggle to get 23-year-old Meghna, widow of Dipu Chandra Das, to speak. Holding her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, she has no idea what she will do next.

Seema Das, widow of Khokon Chandra Das, may not know Meghna, but today she shares the same fate. And while Meghna is silent, her occasional sobs breaking the silence, Seema wants revenge  tear for tear, blood for blood  and to set the killer of her husband on fire.

As polling day approaches, Hindus are jittery. Several of their associations have planned a visit to the Election Commission office to appeal for fair play. But they remain doubtful.

They plan to meet soon and consider the possibility of boycotting the polls in the hope that they can exert pressure for change.

As Meghna and Deepa Dass tears show no sign of stopping, both the BNP and the JamaatNational Citizens Party (NCP) alliance face a litmus test: to show the world that this is a new Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina. Can they?

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 08:01 IST

News world Amid Rising Attacks, Bangladeshi Hindus Weigh Poll Boycott Ahead Of 12 February Vote

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As Bangladesh Heads To Polls, Jamaat And NCP Cry Foul Over 'Pro-BNP' Tilt

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 10:44 IST

Within the NCPJamaat camp, it is widely perceived that the government of Muhammad Yunus is paving the way for a transfer of power to BNP leader Tarique Rahman.

Tarique Rahman (Credits: X)

As Bangladesh heads to general elections in February, questions are already being raised about how free and fair the polls will be, with the once hardline Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and the National Citizen Party (NCP)  the outfit born out of the anti-Hasina uprising  alleging that the election is neither free nor fair, with NCP particularly alleging that the system is being customised to ensure a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) victory.

Last Friday, after his candidacy was declared valid at the Cumilla District Returning Officers office, Hasnat Abdullah, who had earlier infamously threatened to target Indias sensitive northeast region, alleged: The current administration has largely tilted toward the BNP."

His comment came at a time when BNP leader and son of former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman, returned to Bangladesh, a development that coincided with the mass cancellation of Jamaat leaders election nominations.

Hasnat Abdullah expressed anger that despite allegations of loan default against BNP candidate Manjurul Ahsan Munshi in the Cumilla-4 constituency, his nomination was declared valid. Speaking to journalists, he said: Given the administrations double standards, we are expressing concern about a neutral election."

According to this leader of the JulyAugust mass uprising, instead of maintaining the impartial conduct expected under an interim government, the administration is showing leniency toward one outfit.

Rahmans Return

On 25 December, after 17 years in exile, Tarique Rahmans return to Bangladesh generated tremendous enthusiasm within the BNP. Courts have acquitted him of all major charges filed during the Awami League era, including the 21 August grenade attack case. The resolution of his passport complications and his rapid inclusion in the voter list are being viewed as signs of the governments special gestures".

Within the NCPJamaat camp, it is widely perceived that the government of Muhammad Yunus is paving the way for a transfer of power to Tarique Rahman, a message they believe has already filtered through the administration.

Jamaat Nomination Cancellations

The biggest impact of this alleged BNP favouritism is being seen in the cancellation of Jamaat-e-Islami nominations. Political circles are abuzz with speculation that Jamaat leaders nominations are being strategically rejected to place the BNP in a favourable position.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islamis Secretary General and former Member of Parliament Mia Golam Porwar said, Our struggle is against fascism and extortionists. Whether old or new, as long as fascism exists, our struggle will continue."

Coxs Bazar-2: The nomination of Jamaat leader Hamidur Rahman Azad has been cancelled.

The nomination of Jamaat leader Hamidur Rahman Azad has been cancelled. Cumilla-3: A Jamaat candidates nomination was cancelled on the pretext of incomplete information in the affidavit.

A Jamaat candidates nomination was cancelled on the pretext of incomplete information in the affidavit. Gaibandha-1: Allegations suggest that by cancelling the nominations of Jamaat and Jatiya Party candidates, a BNP victory has been made almost certain.

Although Jamaat and the NCP were active on the streets during the JulyAugust movement, their strategic distance from the BNP in the electoral arena is now clear. Deep uncertainty has emerged over how much power parties like Jamaat or the NCP would retain if Tarique Rahman were to consolidate power single-handedly.

Those whose nominations have been cancelled may appeal to the Election Commission (EC) between 5 and 9 January. However, being consumed by legal battles during such a crucial campaign period is placing candidates at a psychological and strategic disadvantage.

When India sent External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with a personal letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the death of Khaleda Zia to meet Tarique Rahman, New Delhi already had a sense of what lay ahead for Bangladeshs political future.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 10:43 IST

News world As Bangladesh Heads To Polls, Jamaat And NCP Cry Foul Over 'Pro-BNP' Tilt

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'Caused By Extreme Leftists': Berlin Officials On Power Outage That Affected 45,000 Homes

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 23:16 IST

A suspected far-left Volcano Group arson attack in southwest Berlin left up to 45,000 households without power, with ongoing restoration process.

The efforts to restore power were ongoing on Sunday. (Photo: Reuters)

A suspected far-left extremist attack in southwest Berlin has left tens of thousands of residents in the German capital without electricity. On Saturday, grid company Stromnetz Berlin reported that the arson attack could result in up to 45,000 households being without power until January 8.

By Sunday, approximately 35,000 households and 1,900 commercial entities were still affected, although efforts to restore power were ongoing.

Following the incident, local media published a letter from an activist organisation called the Volcano Group, which claimed responsibility. The group stated that their actions targeted the fossil-fuel-based energy industry.

The letter claiming responsibility has been classified as authentic by the security authorities," Iris Spranger, Berlins interior affairs minister, said in a post on x.

I condemn this inhumane attack on Berliners and visitors to the city in the strongest possible terms. The investigation is ongoing."

This incident follows a similar suspected arson attack in September, which left around 50,000 households in Berlin without power. Local media noted the similarities between this attack and the Volcano Groups high-profile 2024 attack on the power supply of Teslas gigafactory in Gruenheide.

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Location : Berlin, Germany

First Published: January 04, 2026, 23:16 IST

News world 'Caused By Extreme Leftists': Berlin Officials On Power Outage That Affected 45,000 Homes

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Release Venezuelan President Maduro At Once: China Calls On US To Resolve Issues Through Dialogue

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 12:13 IST

US move is in clear violation of international law, the norms in international relations and the purposes & principles of UN Charter, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (Image: Reuters)

China on Sunday called on the United States (US) for the immediate release of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, the Global Times reported. Beijing also asked America to stop toppling the government of Venezuela, and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation.

The country expressed serious concern over the USs forcible control of Maduro and his wife and their transfer out of the country.

In a dramatic operation early on Saturday that knocked out electricity in parts of Caracas and included strikes on military installations, the US Special Forces seized the South American leader and his wife and transported them via helicopter to a US Navy ship offshore before flying them to the U.S. We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump told a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. For months, his administration criticized Maduro, 63, over what it called his involvement in shipping drugs to the U.S. It ramped up pressure with a massive military build-up in the Caribbean and a series of deadly missile attacks on alleged drug-running boats.

China calls on the US to ensure the personal safety of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, release them at once, stop toppling the government of Venezuela, and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation. https://t.co/LKaWED2ZAd Global Times (@globaltimesnews) January 4, 2026

The US move is in clear violation of international law and the basic norms in international relations and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Sunday.

Various countries and leaders in the US, too, have voiced their opposition to the move.

Maduro was in a New York detention center on Sunday.

Some legal experts questioned the legality of an operation to seize the head of state of a foreign power, while Democrats who said they were misled during recent Congress briefings demanded a plan for what is to follow.

Trump said as part of the takeover, major U.S. oil companies would move back into Venezuela, which has the worlds largest oil reserves, and refurbish badly degraded oil infrastructure, a process experts said could take years. He said he was open to sending U.S. forces into Venezuela. Were not afraid of boots on the ground," he said.

Images released by the US authorities showed the leader handcuffed and blindfolded during the flight, and later being led down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, where he was heard wishing a happy New Year."

Indicted on various federal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, Maduro expected to make an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday, according to a Justice Department official.

Maduros vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, appeared on Venezuelan television on Saturday afternoon with other top officials to decry what she called a kidnapping. We demand the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores," Rodriguez said, calling Maduro the only president of Venezuela." A Venezuelan court ordered Rodriguez to assume the position of interim president.

Many Venezuelan migrants around the world erupted in celebration. We are free. We are all happy that the dictatorship has fallen and that we have a free country," said Khaty Yanez, who lives in the Chilean capital Santiago, one of an estimated 7.7 million Venezuelans  20% of the population  who have left the country since 2014.

The UN Security Council planned to meet on Monday to discuss the actions, which Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as a dangerous precedent." Russia and China, both major backers of Venezuela, criticized the U.S. China firmly opposes such hegemonic behavior by the U.S., which seriously violates international law, violates Venezuelas sovereignty and threatens peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean," Chinas foreign ministry said.

Trumps comments about an open-ended military presence in Venezuela echoed the rhetoric around past invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan, both of which ended in American withdrawals after years of costly occupation and thousands of U.S. casualties.

With Reuters Inputs

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 11:52 IST

News world Release Venezuelan President Maduro At Once: China Calls On US To Resolve Issues Through Dialogue

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'Come Get Me, I'll Wait Here': Maduros Fiery Dare To Trump That Didnt End Well

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 15:08 IST

Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured by US forces in Caracas and flown to NYC, facing narco-terrorism and weapons charges. White House mocked him over his dare to Trump.

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Trump posted the first image of Maduro aboard a US military ship.

Following the dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his home in a night-time raid at his military base on Saturday, the White House on Sunday mocked him for daring the US President Donald Trump last August to come and get me".

Nicolas Maduro was captured by US forces during a raid on Saturday and flown to New York City to face drug trafficking and weapons charges. Months before his arrest, the 63-year-old leader had openly challenged Donald Trump to arrest him, issuing a defiant dare from Venezuelas presidential palace.

Come get me. I will wait for him here in Miraflores. Dont be late, coward," Maduro said in a fiery speech in August after Washington increased the reward for information leading to his arrest.

Nicolas Maduro had his chance  until he didnt.The Trump Admin will always defend American citizens against all threats, foreign and domestic.  pic.twitter.com/eov3GbBXf4  The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 4, 2026

On Sunday, the White House mocked Maduro in a video shared on X. The clip featured a montage of Maduros past taunts toward the US alongside footage from the operation that led to the capture of him and his wife, Cilia Flores.

The 61-second video also included scenes from Trumps press briefing on the Venezuela strikes, during which US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said Maduro had his chance  until he didnt."

He f****d around and found out," Hegseth was heard saying in the video, which has since gone viral.

Maduro and Flores were captured during a surprise pre-dawn operation at their residence inside Caracas high-security Fort Tiuna military compound, where they were reportedly asleep. The couple has been charged with narco-terrorism," importing large quantities of cocaine into the US, and illegal weapons possession, and are currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 15:08 IST

News world 'Come Get Me, I'll Wait Here': Maduros Fiery Dare To Trump That Didnt End Well

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by Chris Sherrard

China's economic outlook is often framed abroad as a question of how much growth Beijing can stimulate -- and how quickly. Yet recent policy signals tell a different story -- one of strategic transformation, resilience and sustained fiscal progress.

That was clear from the annual Central Economic Work Conference in Beijing, which laid out the country's economic priorities for 2026 and offered a roadmap for the next stage of development in the world's second largest economy.

As the conference ran through the list of key tasks for the year ahead, the scale of the ambition became ever clearer -- stabilizing employment, boosting consumption and investment, advancing technological innovation, deepening reforms, expanding opening-up, promoting green development, and safeguarding social stability and livelihoods. It is a to-do list few governments would even contemplate, let alone publicly commit to delivering.

Rather than relying solely on the speed and scale of growth, Chinese policymakers are increasingly prioritizing quality, sustainability and resilience, reflecting confidence in the country's ability to deliver steady, long-term economic expansion while navigating a complex domestic and international environment.

I closely follow these developments from a distance. From where I am in Northern Ireland -- a region which should be fully exploiting the dual-market access of its unique geographical environs, namely being both inside and outside the EU -- it seems clear that for China, innovation is no longer a slogan or abstract concept. It is the engine of the nation's economic strategy and the driver of its growth.

As an old Irish saying goes, "Ni neart go cur le cheile" -- there is no strength without unity -- a principle reflected in China's emphasis on coordinated growth across sectors and regions.

I saw it myself earlier this year on a visit to the northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an, where the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been brought to life, not in grandiose displays, but in the quiet ingenuity of its infrastructure and innovation hubs. Walking through the sprawling logistics and industrial zones, one was struck by the seamless integration of advanced technologies -- from smart warehousing systems and automated supply chains to digital trade platforms connecting Xi'an to markets across Eurasia.

Here, a stone's throw from the historical treasures and tales of the terracotta warriors, a new global vision is on the march -- one which is built on practical, high-tech solutions on the ground, marrying efficiency with forward-looking design.

The BRI is not just a geopolitical strategy; it is a living laboratory of innovation, quietly reshaping trade, logistics and industrial collaboration at a scale that often goes unnoticed but is profoundly impactful. This emerging "smart industrial ecosystem" is positioning China to move further up global value chains and compete more effectively in high-tech markets, as the economy transitions toward a more sustainable growth model.

For investors and international businesses, the implication is clear: China is moving toward structurally stronger growth, underpinned by innovation that is already reshaping industries and boosting productivity.

When I walked through Beijing's commercial heart, these reforms were tangible: broader access for foreign firms, and increasing collaboration with local companies. Openness is being approached strategically, enabling the country to remain integrated in global supply chains while accelerating domestic innovation.

Green growth is another area where China is turning policy into economic opportunity. Decarbonization, renewable energy and sustainable urban development are no longer regulatory goals; they are launchpads for new industries, jobs and exports.

During my stay in China, I witnessed the fruits of large-scale investments in clean energy, electric transportation and green infrastructure. In Beijing, for example, visitors expecting to be met with blankets of smog and meager shafts of the horizon are instead pleasantly surprised to breathe clean air and see the full expanse of blue sky.

China faces challenges, from its much-discussed demographic shifts to external tariffs. But for international businesses and investors, the message is encouraging: China is not simply trying to recover growth but is reorienting its economy toward higher-quality, sustainable expansion.

Seen up close, China is clearly entering a new era of economic maturity. Growth is not slowing; it is becoming smarter, more resilient and more sustainable. The combination of innovation, openness and green development offers a blueprint for long-term prosperity, positioning the Asian giant as a key engine of both domestic and global economic opportunity.

Editor's note: Chris Sherrard is the editor-in-chief of The Irish News.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.
Drone Strike Hits Madrassa In Pakistans North Waziristan, Rescue Team Also Targeted

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 16:25 IST

Three members of the school staff, including the principal, were seriously injured in the explosion.

According to local sources, the strike took place in Hassu Khel village near Mir Ali town, where a drone allegedly targeted Al-Fateh Public High School.

A madrassa (religious seminary) in Pakistans North Waziristan district came under a drone attack on Thursday, with reports indicating that several people, including children, were injured. According to local sources, the strike took place in Hassu Khel village near Mir Ali town, where a drone allegedly targeted Al-Fateh Public High School.

Officials said the attack was carried out using a locally assembled quad-copter drone, a tactic increasingly associated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Three members of the school staff, including the principal, were seriously injured in the explosion.

Sources told CNN-News18 that when a Rescue 1122 team from Mir Ali Hospital reached the site to evacuate the wounded, they too came under a drone attack. The Kharijites allegedly launched a second strike on the rescue personnel, leaving several of them injured.

Following the twin attacks, heavy contingents of Pakistani security forces arrived at the location and launched a search operation across the surrounding areas.

Sources said the incident reflects what they described as the so-called jihad of the fitna of the Kharijites  a term used in local security discourse for extremist militant elements who justify attacks on civilians and childrens places of learning under the guise of religion. They added that these Kharijite elements appear increasingly bewildered by recent security operations and are therefore striking out at the general populace.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 16:25 IST

News world Drone Strike Hits Madrassa In Pakistans North Waziristan, Rescue Team Also Targeted

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'Fentanyl Smuggled From Venezuela': JD Vance Defends US Action Amid Criticism Over Maduro Detention

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 22:20 IST

Trump claimed that Venezuela was responsible for facilitating drugs killing Americans, but statistics show that most overdoses are from fentanyl, which doesn't come from Venezuela.

The US accused Nicolas Maduro and his allies of conspiring to move large quantities of cocaine to the United States. (Reuters/Representational Image)

US Vice President JD Vance has come out in defence of the Trump administration after the dramatic military operation in Venezuela, which culminated in President Nicolas Maduros capture, led to criticism that America had misidentified the actual source that was facilitating the illegal trafficking of lethal drugs in the country.

While the Trump administration had accused the Maduro regime of facilitating the illegal trafficking of drugs into the US, statistics showed that fentanyl, which was being exported from Mexico, was the leading cause of drug-related deaths in the US rather than Venezuelan cocaine.

Amid criticism over Trumps actions, JD Vance addressed the concerns, refuting that Venezuela had nothing to do with drugs simply because most of the fentanyl came from elsewhere. First off, fentanyl isnt the only drug in the world and there is still fentanyl coming from Venezuela (or at least there was)," he said.

Cocaine, which is the main drug trafficked out of Venezuela, is a profit centre for all of the Latin America cartels. If you cut out the money from cocaine (or even reduce it) you substantially weaken the cartels overall. Also, cocaine is bad too!" he added.

Vance assured that the illegal trafficking of fentanyl from Mexico remains a focus of US policy towards the neighbouring country. Responding to criticism that Americas operation was to secure Venezuelan oil, the VP said that Caracas had expropriated American oil property about 20 years ago and had used that property to fund its narco-terrorist activities.

You see a lot claims that Venezuela has nothing to do with drugs because most of the fentanyl comes from elsewhere. I want to address this:First off, fentanyl isnt the only drug in the world and there is still fentanyl coming from Venezuela (or at least there was). Second,  JD Vance (@JDVance) January 4, 2026

I understand the anxiety over the use of military force, but are we just supposed to allow a communist to steal our stuff in our hemisphere and do nothing? Great powers dont act like that. The United States, thanks to President Trumps leadership, is a great power again. Everyone should take note," he added.

Vances clarification came amid criticism by several sections  home and abroad  about the nature of the US action and Maduros detention. While the US said the action aims to halt drug trafficking, countries such as Russia and China have condemned what they described as a blatant violation of international law.

What The Data Shows

The Trump administration has alleged that Maduro leads the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), a drug-trafficking organisation embedded in Venezuelas military, and works with groups including Venezuelas Tren de Aragua gang, Mexicos Sinaloa Cartel and other transnational criminal networks who pose a threat to the national security of the US by illegal trafficking of drugs.

However, experts say that most of the overdoses in the US involve fentanyl, which does not come from South America. Fentanyl is almost entirely produced in Mexico using chemicals from China, according to US authorities. Experts have described Venezuela as a minor cocaine transit country, with most of the cocaine flowing through Venezuela heading to Europe, according to the New York Times.

Data from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have also indicated that the overwhelming majority of drug overdose deaths are caused not by cocaine, but by fentanyl, which runs contrary to Trumps claims that Venezuela was the heart of drugs poisoning America".

The US has also received criticism after Trump mentioned that US companies would manage Venezuelas oil facilities, fueling suspicions that the operations true purpose was securing oil" rather than eradicating drugs.

Furthermore, criticism also focused on the pardon issued by Trump to Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was accused of illegally facilitating large amounts of cocaine in the US. Experts noted that Trump had pardoned Hernandez, who had received a 45-year sentence for his involvement in the illegal drug trade, which raised doubts about Trumps motives to curb drug trafficking.

US Indictment On Maduro

After Maduros high-profile capture, the US unsealed an indictment against him on charges of narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. It also charged his wife, his son, two high-ranking Venezuelan officials and an alleged leader of the Tren de Aragua group, saying Maduro and his allies worked for decades with major drug trafficking groups to move large quantities of cocaine to the United States.

The American military, under the operation named Operation Absolute Resolve," deployed special forces, including Delta Force, arresting the Maduro couple and transporting them to the US. Trump hailed the attack  in which the NYT reported at least 40 people, including civilians and Venezuelan soldiers, died  as an assault like people have not seen since World War II".

The dramatic intervention in Caracas was condemned by Democrats on Capitol Hill and several leaders around the world as the most dangerous example of US imperialism since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to The Guardian.

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Location : United States of America (USA)

First Published: January 04, 2026, 22:07 IST

News world 'Fentanyl Smuggled From Venezuela': JD Vance Defends US Action Amid Criticism Over Maduro Detention

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From Afghanistan To Iraq: Ten Regimes That US Toppled And The Mess They Left Behind

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 22:07 IST

US regime changes from Iran to Ukraine shaped global politics, often causing wars, & instability, with lasting consequences like terrorism, refugee crises, and regional tensions.

AI Generated Image For Representational Purposes.

In the recent US military intervention in Venezuela, the countrys president and deposed dictator, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife were captured. The US also announced that it will run" Venezuela until a safe transition of power takes place. With this action, questions are being raised related to the previous US invasions, particularly the Iraq war, which led to a massive loss of life and resources.

However, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has defended Washingtons military intervention in Venezuela and asserted that the operation was the exact opposite" of the 2003 Iraq invasion and would not result in prolonged conflict or loss of American lives.

Heres a rundown of 10 pivotal examples of US intervention, their execution, and the consequences that still echo today.

1953 Iran Coup (Operation Ajax): The CIA and MI6 backed the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh after he nationalised oil. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was reinstated. Consequences: Decades of authoritarian rule fuelled the 1979 Islamic Revolution, anti-US sentiment, and ongoing Middle East tensions.

1954 Guatemala Coup (Operation PBSuccess): CIA-orchestrated after President Jacobo Arbenzs land reforms threatened United Fruit Company interests. Carlos Castillo Armas took power. Consequences: Sparked a 36-year civil war killing 200,000, entrenched military dictatorships, and deepened poverty and inequality today.

1963 South Vietnam Coup: US supported the ouster of Ngo Dinh Diem amid corruption and Buddhist protests. Military leaders assumed control. Consequences: Escalated the Vietnam War, leading to 58,000 US deaths, millions of Vietnamese casualties, and a unified communist state by 1975.

1973 Chile Coup: CIA covertly aided General Augusto Pinochets overthrow of socialist President Salvador Allende. Pinochet ruled for 17 years. Consequences: Over 3,000 killed or disappeared, economic miracle" with massive inequality, and Pinochets 1998 arrest for human rights abuses.

1983 Grenada Invasion (Operation Urgent Fury): US troops toppled a Marxist regime after a coup killed Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. New elections followed. Consequences: Short-term stability but criticised as overreach; boosted Reagans image while straining US-Caribbean ties.

1989 Panama Invasion (Operation Just Cause): US forces removed dictator Manuel Noriega on drug trafficking charges. Guillermo Endara became president. Consequences: 500-4,000 civilian deaths, economic disruption, and lingering resentment despite democratic gains.

2001 Afghanistan Invasion: Post-9/11, US-led coalition ousted the Taliban for harbouring al-Qaeda. Hamid Karzai installed. Consequences: 20-year war, $2 trillion cost, 170,000 deaths, and Taliban resurgence in 2021, creating a humanitarian crisis.

2003 Iraq Invasion: US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein over alleged WMDs. Nouri al-Maliki later led a shaky democracy. Consequences: 200,000+ civilian deaths, ISIS rise, sectarian violence, and Iraqs fragility amid Iran influence.

2011 Libya Intervention (Operation Unified Protector): NATO bombing supported rebels against Muammar Gaddafi. Transitional government formed. Consequences: Civil war, slave markets, migrant crises, and rival factions vying for power in a failed state.

2014 Euromaidan Revolution (Alleged US Role): US diplomats backed protests ousting pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych. Petro Poroshenko elected. Consequences: Russian annexation of Crimea, Donbas war (14,000+ dead), and escalated NATO-Russia tensions.

These operations highlight a pattern: initial success" often gives way to power vacuums, insurgencies, and blowback like terrorism or refugee waves. Critics argue they violate sovereignty; defenders cite threats like Soviet expansion or WMDs. As global powers shift, the US playbook evolves  but history warns of unintended ripples.

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Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: January 04, 2026, 21:00 IST

News world From Afghanistan To Iraq: Ten Regimes That US Toppled And The Mess They Left Behind

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'Happy New Year': Venezuela's Maduro Greets US Officials During 'Perp Walk' At Drug Agency Office

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 07:38 IST

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived in New York City. Maduro greeted officials accompanying him, saying, "Good night, Happy New Year."

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Maduro has been taken to New York City.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reached New York City on Sunday after being captured by US forces in a surprise night-time raid at his military base in Caracas. The captured Venezuelan leader was handcuffed as he was taken to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) headquarters in Manhattan.

As Maduro was taken inside the US drug agency office, he offered calm New Year greetings to DEA officers escorting him. A video has emerged showing Maduro being taken inside the headquarters by two DEA officials. The Venezuelan President was seen smiling as he said, Good night, Happy New Year," to those accompanying him.

Watch The Video Here

GOOD NIGHT HAPPY NEW YEAR MADURO 1ST WORDS AT NYC DEA pic.twitter.com/mvCIjOWiXi RT (@RT_com) January 4, 2026

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, first landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York State, after which they were transported by helicopter to the DEA office in Manhattan and subsequently to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Upon arrival in New York, Maduro was expected to be transferred to federal court in Manhattan. US Attorney General Pam Bondi said he will face charges including narcoterrorism, cocaine trafficking, and weapons offences linked related to his leadership of the so-called Cartel of the Suns" The Justice Department had previously offered a $15 million reward for his arrest.

US forces captured Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores following rapid strike in the early hours of Saturday. Residents in Caracas reported hearing multiple explosions during the brief assault. At least seven blasts were heard, allegedly hitting military targets. Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodriguez, who was earlier serving as the Vice President and has now assumed the role of acting President of the country in the absence of Maduro, said civilians and members of the armed forces were killed, though she did not specify the numbers.

Trump Announces Interim US Control Of Venezuela

Further, American officials said the couple are expected to face prosecution in the US on narco-terrorism charges.

In a dramatic shift for Western Hemisphere geopolitics, Trump announced that the US administration would assume responsibility for governing Venezuela on an interim basis, adding that the transition was already underway.

Speaking throughout Saturday, Trump said US forces would remain in Venezuela to oversee a proper transition," marking the most direct American military intervention in the region in nearly four decades.

Trump posted a photo on Truth Social showing Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, aboard the USS Iwo Jima, confirming the success of the operation codenamed Southern Spear."

Trump Issues Threat Of Further Military Action

Trump said the US is there now" and will remain until a new government is formed, stating, We are going to run it, essentially, until such time as a proper transition can take place." He also announced plans to deploy US oil companies to revive Venezuelas energy sector.

Warning of further action, Trump said the Pentagon is prepared for a second and much larger attack" if resistance continues. The operation has drawn praise from some Venezuelan opposition figures, while regional leaders have condemned it as a violation of international law.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 07:38 IST

News world 'Happy New Year': Venezuela's Maduro Greets US Officials During 'Perp Walk' At Drug Agency Office

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How US Forces Captured Nicolas Maduro: Inside Trumps High-Risk Operation Absolute Resolve

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 09:16 IST

Donald Trump announced Operation Absolute Resolve, capturing Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas after months of planning.

Trump Posts First Image of Maduro Aboard US Military Ship.

At 4:21 a.m. on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that the United States had carried out Operation Absolute Resolve, a covert mission to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, capping months of secret planning by US military and intelligence agencies.

While the announcement appeared sudden, sources familiar with the operation said preparations for what US officials described as one of the most complex missions in recent history had been underway for months, including detailed rehearsals and intelligence gathering. Elite US troops, including Army Delta Force operators, built a full-scale replica of Maduros fortified safe house and repeatedly practiced breaching scenarios.

According to sources speaking to Reuters, the CIA deployed a small team on the ground as early as August to study Maduros movements and daily routines. Two officials said the agency also relied on a source close to the Venezuelan leader who tracked his location in real time as the operation unfolded.

President Trump approved the mission four days earlier, though military planners advised delaying execution to wait for clearer weather conditions. Final authorisation was given at 10:46 pm EST on Friday for the operation, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine said. Trump monitored the raid live from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida alongside senior advisers.

The Pentagon had already carried out a major military buildup in the Caribbean, deploying an aircraft carrier, 11 warships, more than a dozen F-35 jets, and over 15,000 troops under the banner of counter-narcotics operations. More than 150 aircraft were launched from 20 bases across the Western Hemisphere, including F-35s, F-22s and B-1 bombers, supported by refuelling tankers, drones and electronic warfare platforms.

Late Friday night, US aircraft struck military targets in and around Caracas, including air defence systems. Reuters images from the La Carlota air base showed destroyed anti-aircraft vehicles. As the strikes continued, US Special Forces inserted into the capital by helicopter. One aircraft was hit by fire but remained airborne.

Around 1 am EST, troops reached Maduros downtown compound amid gunfire. Using specialised equipment, they breached reinforced steel doors and entered the residence alongside FBI agents. Maduro and his wife surrendered shortly after, failing to reach a secure safe room.

No US personnel were killed, though some were wounded, Trump said. By 3:20 am EST, helicopters carrying the couple had exited Venezuelan airspace. Hours later, Trump posted a photograph of Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed aboard the USS Iwo Jima, confirming he was in US custody.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 09:12 IST

News world How US Forces Captured Nicolas Maduro: Inside Trumps High-Risk Operation Absolute Resolve

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Jaishankar To Visit France, Luxembourg; To Address French Ambassadors Meet As Guest Of Honour

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 17:10 IST

Jaishankar will meet the French leadership in Paris and hold talks with his counterpart Jean Noel Barrot, as well as address the 31st edition of the French Ambassadors Conference.

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File photo of EAM S Jaishankar (X/@DrSJaishankar)

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will embark on an official visit to France and Luxembourg from Sunday till January 10. He will meet the French leadership in Paris and hold talks with his counterpart Jean Noel Barrot, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The two ministers will discuss the progress made under the India-France Strategic Partnership and matters of global importance. Jaishankar will also address the 31st edition of the French Ambassadors Conference as the Guest of Honour, as per the MEA.

Jaishankars visit to France came months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the country in February, during which he co-chaired the AI Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and held bilateral talks with him.

After concluding his trip to France, the EAM will visit Luxembourg, where he will hold discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister and his counterpart, Xavier Bettel, of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, as well as with the senior leadership of Luxembourg. He will also interact with members of the Indian Community in Luxembourg.

This came days after Jaishankars visit to Bangladesh to attend the funeral of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who passed away last month at the age of 80. Jaishankars visit to Dhaka assumed significance amid straining ties between India and Bangladesh since the 2024 uprising that caused the ouster of Sheikh Hasinas regime.

Prior to that, Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka and met PM Harini Amarasuriya in Colombo, where he reaffirmed Indias commitment to support the island nations rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, which killed several people.

Jaishankar also embarked on a two-day trip to Israel in December, where he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed the deepening strategic partnership between the two countries. Netanyahu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke recently over the phone, after which the Israeli leader said the two would be meeting very soon".

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 17:10 IST

News world Jaishankar To Visit France, Luxembourg; To Address French Ambassadors Meet As Guest Of Honour

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Maduro Sent To US Jail, Venezuela Gets Acting President, Trump Weighs Next Move: Top Points

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 13:34 IST

What next for Maduro and his wife captured by the US in late-night raid? What next for Venezuela? Who is acting president Delcy Rodriguez? What are US President Trumps plans?

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US President Donald Trump (right) said that Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro and his wife have been indicted on charges of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies and will face trial. (AP/File)

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who the US captured from Caracas in a late-night raid, was moved to a New York detention centre on Sunday.

A plane carrying Maduro landed near New York City on Saturday night, and he was helicoptered to the city before being taken by a large convoy to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn under a heavy police guard.

What next for Maduro? What next for Venezuela and the US? The top developments since the raid in 10 points.

1. THE CHARGES AGAINST MADURO: US President Donald Trump said that Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were captured in Caracas during a US military operation, have been indicted on charges of alleged drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York, and will face trial. Trump said that Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil". According to an unsealed indictment shared by Attorney General Pamela Bondi on X, Maduro and Flores face multiple counts of statutory allegations related to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies".

2. WHAT NEXT FOR MADURO? Indicted on various federal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, Maduro is expected to make an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday, according to a Justice Department official.

3. WHO RUNS VENEZUALA? Venezuelas Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of acting president after the US removed Nicolas Maduro, CNN reported. The order was announced on Saturday night (local time), concluding that Maduro is in a material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions." Rodriguez will assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties, and faculties inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation," according to the order, read by Justice Tania DAmelio in a session broadcast by the state television channel VTV, as reported by CNN.

Rodriguez appeared on state television flanked by her brother, the head of the national assembly Jorge Rodriguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez and said that Maduro remained Venezuelas only president. The joint appearance indicated the group that shared power with Maduro is staying united  for now.

4. WHAT NEXT FOR ADMINISTRATION? We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump told a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

The president offered multiple off ramps, but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States. Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says.Kudos to our brave pic.twitter.com/b1fqkdbB4x  JD Vance (@JDVance) January 3, 2026

5. TRUMPS PLANS FOR THE COUNTRY: We will make the people of Venezuela rich, independent, and safe. The illegitimate dictator Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States. Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil. Right now, theyre on a ship that will be heading to, ultimately, New York. And then a decision will be made, I assume, between New York and Miami or Florida," Trump said.

6. CHINA SEEKS THEIR IMMEDIATE RELEASE; LEADERS QUESTION MOVE: China on Sunday called on the US for the immediate release of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Beijing also asked America to stop toppling the government of Venezuela, and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation. The country expressed serious concern over the USs forcible control of Maduro and his wife and their transfer out of the country. Several European and opposition leaders have reacted to the move. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was briefed on the operation and their planned imprisonment in federal custody in New York City, calling the unilateral action an act of war" and a violation of federal and international law. Former US vice president Kamala Harris criticised President Donald Trump over the US actions in Venezuela, saying the move did not make America safer, stronger or more affordable.

7. MADUROS PERP WALK: Deposed Maduro was seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents a Happy New Year and Good Night during his perp walk. The US released a video of captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in handcuffs staging the Perp-walk as he was led to custody.

8. OPERATION ABSOLUTE RESOLVE: General Dan Razin Caine, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Saturday (local time) said that Operation Absolute Resolve" to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife was discreet, precise". He said the operation involved months of planning and that all aircraft returned safely after the mission.

9. UNSC EMERGENCY MEET ON MONDAY: The UN Security Council (UNSC) will hold an emergency meeting on Monday regarding the US operation against Venezuela, the council presidency told Xinhua on Saturday. The meeting was convened at the request of Colombia, a non-permanent member of the Council, and was supported by permanent members China and Russia. The presidency intends to hold the emergency meeting on Monday morning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT)," said Khadija Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Somali Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Somalia holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for January.

10. HOW THE RAID HELPS US: For months, the Trump administration criticised Maduro, 63, over what it called his involvement in shipping drugs to the U.S. It ramped up pressure with a massive military build-up in the Caribbean and a series of deadly missile attacks on alleged drug-running boats. Trump said as part of the takeover, major U.S. oil companies would move back into Venezuela, which has the worlds largest oil reserves, and refurbish badly degraded oil infrastructure, a process experts said could take years. He said he was open to sending U.S. forces into Venezuela. Were not afraid of boots on the ground," he said.

With Agency inputs

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 13:09 IST

News world Maduro Sent To US Jail, Venezuela Gets Acting President, Trump Weighs Next Move: Top Points

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North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile Towards Sea Of Japan, Emergency Alerts In Japan Sounded

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 08:00 IST

Japan issued an emergency alert after North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile, prompting security concerns ahead of Xi Jinpings meeting with Lee Jae Myung.

Japan issued an emergency alert after North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile, prompting security concerns ahead of Xi Jinpings meeting with Lee Jae Myung. (Image: AFP)

Japan issued an emergency alert on Saturday after North Korea launched what is suspected to be a ballistic missile, triggering heightened regional tensions and fresh security concerns in East Asia.

In a post on X, the Prime Ministers Office of Japan said the missile launch was detected earlier in the day and that authorities were working to gather more information. North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile. More updates to follow," the statement said, without immediately providing details on the missiles trajectory, range, or whether it landed within Japans exclusive economic zone.

The missile launch comes shortly before Chinese President Xi Jinping hosts South Korean counterpart Lee Jae Myung.

Japanese officials said the government was closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with defence forces and international partners to assess potential risks. No immediate reports of damage or casualties were issued, but residents were urged to stay alert as further information becomes available.

The launch marks the latest in a series of missile tests by North Korea, which have repeatedly drawn condemnation from Japan, South Korea, the United States, and other allies. Such launches are widely viewed as violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions that ban Pyongyang from testing ballistic missile technology.

Japan has frequently activated emergency alert systems in response to North Korean missile activity in recent years, reflecting growing concerns over regional stability and national security. Authorities said further updates would be shared once additional details are confirmed.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 08:00 IST

News world North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile Towards Sea Of Japan, Emergency Alerts In Japan Sounded

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Pakistan May Strike Afghanistan Again, Kabul May Retaliate Strongly: ICG Report | Exclusive

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 14:33 IST

10 conflicts that may escalate in 2026: The International Crisis Group's (ICG) report includes Venezuela, Israel-Palestine-US, US-Israel versus Houthis crises

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The Afghanistan-Pakistan ties have been tense since October 2025. (File)

The Pakistan-Afghanistan clash is among the 10 key conflicts expected to escalate in 2026, according to International Crisis Groups (ICG) flagship report published recently.

The report predicts that Islamabad is likely to lash out at Kabul again if it traces another strike back to Afghanistan.

The Taliban regime is badly outgunned, but its retaliation could still be lethal. Kabul claims to have missiles that can reach Pakistani cities, the use of which would likely provoke a still stronger Pakistani response.

The ICG analysts and experts claim that talks between Afghan and Pakistani defence ministers in Doha, Qatar, in October yielded a ceasefire. But subsequent rounds in Istanbul have not eased bilateral tensions. Diplomatic ties are suspended. Trade has ceased. Islamabads actions against Afghan nationals on its territory, including mass deportations, have further angered Kabul. The Taliban, meanwhile, are fuelling Pakistans suspicion by forging closer ties with India."

The report further adds, In South Asia, though, Islamabads foreign relations are far more fraught. After short wars in 2025 with both Afghanistan and India, another major attack by militants could upend the precarious calm that prevails between Pakistan and its two neighbours."

THE 10 CONFLICTS

The publication examines the following crises:

Venezuela

Sudan

Ethiopia-Eritrea

Mali & Burkina Faso

Ukraine, Syria

Israel-Palestine

Israel & the United States vs Iran

US-Israel vs Houthis

Myanmar

Afghanistan-Pakistan.

TTP HAS AFGHAN TALIBANS SUPPORT: ICG REPORT

The Afghan Taliban has publicly denied that Pakistani militants are even in Afghanistan and say Islamabad provoked what they paint as homegrown violence, according to the report.

For Kabul, the Tehree-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is too big, and its ties to the Taliban are too strong, it states. The ICG analysts and experts fear that while a ceasefire holds for now, points out the ICG, but if militant violence persists, Pakistan will likely strike again".

AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN TIES

The Afghanistan-Pakistan ties have been tense as clashes broke out after Pakistan reportedly launched cross-border airstrikes in Kabul on October 9, 2025, targeting TTP camps.

Pakistan accused the Afghan Taliban of harbouring TTP militants, responsible for killing hundreds of Pakistani soldiers since 2021. In response, Taliban mounted a major counteroffensive across the border, killing 58 Pakistani soldiers and destroying 20 security outposts .

With Agency Inputs

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 14:28 IST

News world Pakistan May Strike Afghanistan Again, Kabul May Retaliate Strongly: ICG Report | Exclusive

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Pakistani Air Force Successfully Conducts Flight Tests Of Indigenously Developed Taimoor Missile

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PTI

Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 12:55 IST

The Taimoor Air-Launched Cruise Missile can accurately strike enemy targets on land and at sea within a 600 kilometer range and carries a conventional warhead.

Equipped with a State-of-the-art navigation and guidance system, Taimoor is designed to fly at very low altitudes. (IMAGE: REUTERS FILE/REPRESENTATIVE)

The Pakistan Air Force has successfully tested the Taimoor Weapon System, which was developed in Pakistan and can hit targets up to 600 kilometres away, according to an announcement made on Saturday.

The army said this launch is another important step forward for the countrys aerospace and defense abilities. The Taimoor Air-Launched Cruise Missile can accurately strike enemy targets on land and at sea within a 600 kilometer range and carries a conventional warhead.

It uses advanced navigation and guidance technology and is designed to fly at very low altitudes, helping it avoid enemy air and missile defenses. Its ability to strike with precision greatly improves the Pakistan Air Forces deterrence and flexibility, making the countrys defense stronger overall.

The army said the successful test shows the technical skill, innovation, and independence of Pakistans defense industry. Senior officers from the Pakistan Armed Forces, along with top scientists and engineers who helped develop the weapon, watched the launch.

Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu congratulated the scientists, engineers, and the entire Air Force team for their achievement. Sidhu praised their professionalism, dedication, and strong commitment to making Pakistans defense stronger.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 12:55 IST

News world Pakistani Air Force Successfully Conducts Flight Tests Of Indigenously Developed Taimoor Missile

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A bridge damaged in a flood is seen in Nkhotakota District, Malawi, on Dec. 31, 2025. (Xinhua/Kenneth Jali)

NKHOTAKOTA, Malawi, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Long lines of stranded trucks, buses and desperate travelers now mark what was once a vital artery in central Malawi, as torrential rains have severed the Lakeshore Road, also known as the M5, leaving flood survivors in Nkhotakota District isolated and short of basic supplies.

The road has been cut at no fewer than four points before reaching Nkhotakota, a lakeside district known for sugar production and trade. With continued rainfall rendering vast areas inaccessible, food and other essential relief items are barely reaching displacement camps sheltering hundreds of flood victims.

At several points along the damaged road, trucks carrying relief food have stood idle for days, while passenger buses line up in muddy queues, their drivers waiting without knowing when passage will be restored.

"This has really affected us," Bright Kambewa, chairperson of the Malawi Red Cross Society in Nkhotakota, told Xinhua. "The M5 connects Nkhotakota to Salima, Nkhata Bay and Kasungu districts. With the road cut off, everything is at a standstill."

The disruption has forced travelers and residents to resort to risky alternatives. At Kaombe Bridge, where floodwaters have washed away the crossing, people wade through the river on foot or pool money to hire fishing canoes improvised to ferry passengers.

Kambewa warned that these measures come with serious dangers. "The canoes are meant for fishing, not for transporting people, and some of those operating them are not trained. Anything can happen, but we have no solution. For now, we only have one marine boat deployed in the area," he said.

More than 200 flood survivors, according to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma), are awaiting assistance at Dwangwa Junior Primary School, which has been converted into a temporary camp.

Among them is Teleza Chimphamba from Traditional Authority Kanyenda in Nkhotakota District, who describes surviving with her five family members as a miracle.

"Our lives were in danger," she said. "The water reached the windows of my house. We thank God that we survived, considering how strong the floods were."

Local officials said the road damage has compounded the suffering of communities already hit hard by the floods. Thokozani Ndalama, a community disaster management coordinator, said shortages are worsening by the day.

"We are facing food shortages and lack other essentials like soap," he said. "Government assistance has not yet reached us in a tangible way, especially with Dwangwa and Kaombe Bridge cut off."

Chief Executive Officer of the Roads Authority Ammiel Champiti told local media that construction companies have been tasked with repairing the damaged sections of the M5, one site at a time.

Malawi is currently in the midst of its 2025/26 rainy season, with persistent heavy downpours that began in late December triggering widespread flooding and flash flood conditions. Meteorological services issued high-risk flood warnings from Dec. 29 into early January, as continuous rains swelled rivers and washed out key infrastructure across the lakeshore and central regions.

As of Jan. 1, floods had affected more than 1,000 households, impacting over 42,000 people and destroying homes and property across the country, the Dodma said. 

A bridge damaged in a flood is seen in Nkhotakota District, Malawi, on Dec. 31, 2025. TO GO WITH "Feature: Flood damage to key road hampers aid delivery in central Malawi" (Xinhua/Kenneth Jali)
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Holds Talks With Bangladeshi Counterpart Amid Strained India Ties

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 17:54 IST

Pakistan and Bangladesh have seen a rapid thaw in tense relations after the 2024 uprising that ousted Sheikh Hasina, as ties between New Delhi and Dhaka became strained.

Pakistan FM Ishaq Dar (Centre) met leaders in Bangladesh last year, signalling a thaw in bilateral ties. (Ishaq Dar/X)

At a time when relations between India and Bangladesh are strained, Pakistan is seeking closer ties with Dhaka as Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephonic conversation with Bangladeshs Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain.

According to a statement by the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two leaders reviewed PakistanBangladesh relations and reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing cooperation across various sectors.

They also exchanged views on recent developments in Asia and the Middle East and agreed to remain in close contact amid these dynamics, it added.

DPM/FM Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 held a telephone conversation with Bangladeshs Foreign Adviser, H.E. Touhid Hossain.The two leaders reviewed PakistanBangladesh relations and reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing cooperation across various sectors. They also pic.twitter.com/lzYLEEGmmc  Ministry of Foreign Affairs  Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) January 4, 2026

Bangladesh, which gained independence in 1971 after a bloody freedom struggle against Pakistan, has traditionally maintained close ties with India, which played a key role in its liberation. However, relations between India and Bangladesh soured after the 2024 uprising that ousted ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Dhaka has accused India of backing Hasinas now-outlawed Awami League party, charges that India rejected.

As such, India is viewing relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh with concern over facing Jihadis on two fronts. Islamabad was among the first to welcome the interim administration led by Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, expressing solidarity with the people of Bangladesh".

Since 2024, the two countries have seen a rapid thaw in relationssigning agreements on visa-free diplomatic travel, trade facilitation, defence collaboration, sea route access, and air connectivity. Senior Pakistani officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, have held multiple meetings with Yunus over the past year.

Dar visited Bangladesh in August 2025 and met with Yunus, and several other officials. The two countries agreed at the time to lift visa restrictions for their diplomats and government officials.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 17:54 IST

News world Pakistan's Foreign Minister Holds Talks With Bangladeshi Counterpart Amid Strained India Ties

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Rioters Must Be Put In Their Place: Irans Khamenei Warns Protesters As Unrest Leaves 15 Dead

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 12:13 IST

Ali Khamenei warned rioters after deadly protests over Irans economic crisis, dismissed Donald Trumps rescue offer, and blamed foreign powers for unrest and the collapsing rial.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Image: AFP)

Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday issued a stern warning in his first public comments since protests erupted across the country, declaring that rioters must be put in their place" after a week of unrest that has shaken the Islamic Republic.

The protests, sparked by Irans worsening economic crisis and the sharp fall of the national currency, have turned violent in several areas, with at least 15 people reported dead so far.

Khameneis remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump warned that the United States would come to their rescue" if Tehran violently kills peaceful protesters." Responding sharply, Khamenei dismissed Trumps statement as empty rhetoric. That ranting American sits there talking about the Iranian nation, spewing a combination of slander and promises. False promises! Deception!" he said.

While it remains unclear whether or how Washington might intervene, Trumps comments triggered angry reactions from Tehran, with Iranian officials warning that any US action could put American troops in the Middle East at risk.

State television broadcast Khameneis address to an audience in Tehran, excerpts of which were also posted on his X account. In his remarks, the 86-year-old leader sought to distinguish between protesters voicing economic grievances and what he described as violent agitators. We talk to protesters, the officials must talk to them," he said, according to an Associated Press report. But there is no benefit to talking to rioters. Rioters must be put in their place."

Khamenei also repeated long-standing claims that foreign powers, including the United States and Israel, were stoking the unrest, blaming the enemy" for Irans collapsing rial without providing evidence. He alleged that individuals incited or hired by the enemy" were exploiting public anger to chant slogans against Islam, Iran and the Islamic Republic.

Two additional deaths were reported on Saturday. In Qom, a man was killed when a grenade exploded, with security officials claiming he was carrying the device to carry out an attack. The second death was reported from Harsin in Kermanshah province, where a member of the Basij paramilitary force was killed in a gun and knife attack, according to Irans state-run IRAN newspaper.

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Location : Tehran, Iran

First Published: January 04, 2026, 12:13 IST

News world Rioters Must Be Put In Their Place: Irans Khamenei Warns Protesters As Unrest Leaves 15 Dead

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Shocking Scenes From Bangladesh As Police Clash With Traders, Drag Child Along With Mother

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 21:04 IST

Bangladesh police baton-charged traders in Dhaka's Karwan Bazar, who were protesting against a new system aimed at halting illegal mobile phones.

Rapid Read

A child was aggressively pulled from her mother during a protest in Bangladesh. (Photo: X)

Shocking scenes emerged from Bangladesh as police were seen aggressively dragging children away while clashing with protesting mobile phone traders in Dhakas Karwan Bazar on Sunday. Police used water cannons, baton charges and sound grenades against traders.

The blockade began in the morning when mobile phone traders gathered at the Karwan Bazar intersection, halting vehicular movement and causing widespread disruption in the area. Traders were protesting against the implementation of the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR)  aimed at curbing the use of illegal mobile phones  which traders said would aggressively affect their businesses, reported Dhaka Tribune.

Police moved in to remove the protesters from the road and clear a key intersection at around noon, triggering a chaotic clash between law enforcers and demonstrators. A video emerged on social media, where a crying children and her mother were aggressively dragged away by the police.

A police official was seen pulling the child away, as people protested against the use of force by the law enforcement. Police also deployed water cannons before resorting to baton charges and sound grenades to disperse the crowd.

 Human rights" in todays Bangladesh under the misrule of Muhammad Yunus, for which, @JoeBiden, @BarackObama, @BillClinton, @HillaryClinton and @georgesoros are fully responsible. Their common agenda is to turn the country into a rogue Caliphate  worse than Iran. pic.twitter.com/fGfO67omw9 Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury (@salah_shoaib) January 4, 2026

The incident unfolded amid heightened tensions between sections of mobile phone traders and the government following a recent attack on the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) headquarters, allegedly carried out by protesters opposing the NEIR system, according to Dhaka Tribune.

Several Protesters Detained

Police claimed the traders were attempting to enforce an illegal road blockade, resulting in severe public inconvenience. Several protesters were detained, while others scattered into nearby alleys.

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus Special Assistant for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb emphasised the interim governments zero-tolerance policy on violence linked to regulatory enforcement after the attack on BTRC headquarters.

He said vandalism and attacks on state institutions in the name of protest were unacceptable and would not be tolerated under any circumstances. The government has already responded to the demands of mobile phone traders by significantly reducing duties on legally imported handsets and providing an opportunity to regularise devices brought in through tax evasion," he added.

Bangladesh had launched the NIER system last year to curb the sale of illegal mobile handsets, combat financial fraud in mobile financial services, prevent handset theft, and strengthen government revenue collection and security. The law came into effect from December 16, 2025.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 21:04 IST

News world Shocking Scenes From Bangladesh As Police Clash With Traders, Drag Child Along With Mother

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Spies To Skies: Inside The US Operation To Capture Venezuelas Maduro

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 20:33 IST

Operation Absolute Resolve: From CIA team in Venezuela to replica of Maduro's fortress, drone strikes & even blowtorches to cut through metal doors, US's planning began in August

Rapid Read

US President Donald Trump (right) watches the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (X/Truth Social)

US President Donald Trump, after a shopping excursion for marble and onyx and a dinner on the Mar-a-Lago in Florida, on Saturday uttered, Good luck and Godspeed." These four seemingly innocuous words marked the beginning of an unprecedented, dramatic and controversial military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The Operation Absolute Resolve  an air, land and sea mission in Venezuelas capital Caracas that lasted for 2 hours and 20 minutes  marked the climax of months of strikes on suspected drug traffickers and covert intelligence activities.

The green light, Caracas fortress and blowtorch

Trump had greenlit the operation in the days before Christmas, with the final nod at 22:46 EST on Friday (03:46 GMT on Saturday). Within minutes, US military aircraft began taking off from 20 bases and were heading towards Caracas.

The aircraft delivered precision strikes on Venezuelan ground targets, such as air defense systems, and provided cover for the helicopters carrying the extraction team to Caracas. The US also deployed cyberwarfare tactics to help clear a path for its teams operating in the sky and on the ground. The team even carried a blowtorch to cut through the metal doors of Maduros safe house.

The troops arrived at Maduros location shortly after the strikes began at 02:01 local time, according to General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump watched on screen as the highly trained American Delta Force soldiers rushed into Maduros home, where the Venezuelan leader was sleeping alongside his wife.

Trump said the Venezuelan president attempted to flee to a safe room. He was trying to get to a safe place, which wasnt safe, because we would have had the door blown up in about 47 seconds," Trump said. He made it to the door. He was unable to close it. He got bum rushed so fast that he didnt get into that [room]."

Trump described the safe house as a military fortress" in the heart of Caracas, saying: They were in a ready position waiting for us. They knew we were coming." The troops took fire when they arrived, and one of the US helicopters was hit but was still able to fly. We were going to do this four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, and then all of a sudden it opened up. And we said: go," Trump told Fox & Friends on Saturday, hours after the overnight raid.

A couple of hours later, Maduro was in US custody, handcuffed, dressed in gray sweatpants and wearing blackout goggles, according to a picture Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday morning.

Caine said Maduro and his wife gave up" to the US military personnel before being flown out of the country. Maduro and Flores were placed aboard the USS Iwo Jima, which stopped at the US military base in Guantanamo Bay, two sources familiar with the plans told CNN.

CIA installed team in Venezuela in August, got a replica of safe house

Preparations for the raid began in mid-December, people familiar with the plans told CNN. Caine said on Saturday that Operation Absolute Resolve was the culmination of months" of planning and rehearsals involving 150 aircraft and personnel across military and intelligence agencies. The troops tapped to participate then had to wait for the ideal conditions, Caine said, and were on standby through the holidays as weather delayed the operation. Last night, the weather broke just enough, clearing a path that only the most skilled aviators in the world could manoeuvre through," Caine said.

Even before the first US military strike on an alleged drug-carrying boat from Venezuela in early September, the plan to remove Maduro from power was already in motion.

August: The CIA covertly installed a small team inside Venezuela to track Maduros patterns, locations and movements, which helped bolster Saturdays operation as to his exact whereabouts, including where he would be sleeping, sources familiar with the plans told CNN. The team found out how he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore, what were his pets," Gen Caine, the nations highest-ranking military officer, said on Saturday. The assets included a CIA source operating within the Venezuelan government who assisted the United States with tracking Maduros location and movements ahead of his capture, one source briefed on the operation told CNN.

October: Trump said he authorised the CIA to operate inside Venezuela to clamp down on illegal flows of migrants and drugs from the South American nation.

Early December: A planned mission dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve was finalised. It was the result of months of meticulous planning and rehearsals, which even included elite US troops creating an exact full-size replica of Maduros Caracas safe house to practise their entry routes.

The plan, which amounted to an extraordinary US military intervention in Latin America not seen since the Cold War, was closely guarded. As the operation unfolded at the compound, our air and ground intelligence teams provided real-time updates to the ground force, ensuring those forces could safely navigate the complex environment without unnecessary risk," Caine said.

Test drone strike last month

Late last month, the CIA carried out a drone strike on a port facility on the coast of Venezuela, sources familiar with the matter previously told CNN, marking the first known US attack inside that country. The strike targeted a remote dock on the Venezuelan coast that the US government believed was being used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to store drugs and move them onto boats for shipping, the sources said. No one was present at the facility at the time it was struck, so there were no casualties, according to the sources.

Despite the plans being drafted to oust Maduro, many White House officials had continued to hold out hope in recent weeks that the Venezuelan president would voluntarily step down, two senior White House officials told CNN. During a phone call between Trump and Maduro in November, the American president repeatedly stressed to the Venezuelan leader that it would be in his best interest" to step down and leave the country, one official said, calling the conversation pretty much an ultimatum." As recently as the beginning of December, the administration believed it was beginning to see cracks in Maduros support system, one of the officials told CNN. As time went by, however, that belief began to dissipate, and planning for the operation began, the CNN report said.

Spots targeted

BBC Verify examined a number of videos showing explosions, fire and smoke in locations around Caracas to identify exactly which sites were targeted. So far, it has confirmed five locations including Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base, an airfield known as La Carlota and Port La Guaira, Caracas main conduit to the Caribbean Sea. Map showing locations of US air strikes in and around Caracas, Venezuela. Highlighted sites include Port La Guaira to the north, Fuerte Tiuna and La Carlota in Caracas, and Higuerote Airport to the east.

Some of the US strikes targeted air defence systems and other military targets, officials said. Trump also suggested the US cut the power in Caracas before the mission began, though he did not specify how.

The US struck several locations around Caracas, including Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuelas largest military complex.

When asked if the US could have killed Maduro, an authoritarian leader who took over the presidency in 2013, if he had resisted arrest, Trump said: It could have happened."

On the US side, a couple of guys were hit", he said, but no US service members were killed. The Venezuelan authorities have not confirmed any casualties.

Almost exactly an hour later Trump announced the news of his capture to the world. Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice," he said.

With detailed inputs from CNN, BBC

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 20:14 IST

News world Spies To Skies: Inside The US Operation To Capture Venezuelas Maduro

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Teachers, Students From Chinese Universities Participate In Hindi Diwas Event In Beijing

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 22:38 IST

Beijing university teachers and students joined Vishwa Hindi Diwas 2026 at the Indian Embassy, highlighting Hindi's global and cultural importance.

Vishwa Hindi Diwas 2026 celebrations were organised by the Indian Embassy in China. (Photo: X/@EOIBeijing)

Teachers and students from several universities in Beijing participated in the Vishwa Hindi Diwas 2026 celebrations, organised by the Indian Embassy in China.

During the event on Friday, Indian Ambassador to China, Pradeep Kumar Rawat, emphasised the role of Hindi as an essential link between India and China, highlighting its increasing importance as a global language.

Tsinghua Universitys Institute for International & Area Studies Professor and Dean, Dr Jiang Jingkui, a noted Hindi exponent in China, shared valuable insights on the important role of the Hindi language in understanding India at the meeting, the Embassy said in its post on X.

Sharing the events pictures on X, the Indian Embassy in Beijing wrote, @EOIBeijing organised the celebration of Vishwa Hindi Diwas 2026 at SVCC today. The event was graced by Dr. Jiang Jingkui, Professor and Dean, Institute for International & Area Studies, Tsinghua University, as the Chief Guest."

Ambassador highlighted the role of Hindi as an important bridge between India and China, and underscored its growing stature as a global language. In his remarks, Dr Jiang shared valuable insights on the important role of the Hindi language in understanding India."

@EOIBeijing organized the celebration of Vishwa Hindi Diwas 2026 at SVCC today. The event was graced by Dr. Jiang Jingkui, Professor and Dean, Institute for International & Area Studies, Tsinghua University, as the Chief Guest.Teachers and students from Tsinghua University, pic.twitter.com/GtiWQy5zaC  India in China (@EOIBeijing) January 3, 2026

Attendees included representatives from Tsinghua University, Peking University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing International Studies University, and the Communication University of China, along with other enthusiasts of the language.

The Embassy recognised the winners of various competitions, such as story writing, poetry, and short video making, celebrating their creativity and enthusiasm. The event featured vibrant cultural performances, adding to the festive atmosphere. Several Chinese students also performed Bollywood songs, enhancing the cultural exchange at the celebration.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 22:38 IST

News world Teachers, Students From Chinese Universities Participate In Hindi Diwas Event In Beijing

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UK, France Launch Joint Airstrike On Suspected ISIS Arms Bunker In Syria

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 08:41 IST

UK and France launched joint strikes on ISIS targets in Syria, using guided bombs. Defence Secretary John Healey emphasised UK leadership and no civilian risk was reported.

Britain said it used Typhoon FGR4 combat jets to bomb the target, supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker. (BBC/X)

UK and France on Saturday evening launched joint strikes against ISIS targets on an underground facility in Syria, which were most likely storing weapons and explosives, the UK Ministry of Defence said.

According to The Independent, guided bombs were used to target a number of access tunnels down to the site, located in the mountains north of the ancient city of Palmyra in the centre of the country, on Saturday evening.

The defence ministry said that the site was most likely used to store weapons and explosives and the surrounding area is devoid of civilians.

Reuters reported that Britain had used Typhoon FGR4 combat jets to bomb the target, supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker.

Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels down to the facility; whilst detailed assessment is now underway, initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully," the ministry said in a statement.

Defence Secretary John Healey said: This action shows our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East."

This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, shows how our Armed Forces are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad," he added.

The ministry pointed out that all aircraft returned safely and the strikes did not pose any risk to civilians.

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US Commandos Dragged Nicolas Maduro, Wife From Bedroom During Raid At Military Base: Report

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 07:16 IST

Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores were captured by US Delta Force and FBI in a swift nighttime raid at Fort Tiuna, Caracas, with no American casualties.

Rapid Read

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (Image: Reuters)

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were captured in a surprise night-time operation carried out by US forces after being pulled from their bedroom, according to a report in CNN. The couple was reportedly asleep in their home within the heavily guarded Fort Tiuna military complex in Caracas when American commandos entered the residence.

The operation was said to have been carried out by the US Armys Delta Force, with assistance from the FBI, and concluded in less than half an hour. US officials stated that no American personnel were killed during the raid.

Reacting to the operation, US President Donald Trump said Maduro had been removed from what he called a fortress."

He was in a fortress," Trump told Fox News in a telephone interview.

You know, that we had nobody killed was amazing," he said, adding that a couple of guys were hit, but they came back, and theyre supposed to be in pretty good shape."

The rapid strike was launched in the early hours of Saturday, with US forces detaining Maduro and Flores and taking them out of Venezuela. American officials said the two are expected to face prosecution in the United States on narco-terrorism charges.

Residents in Caracas reported hearing multiple explosions during the brief assault. At least seven blasts were heard, allegedly hitting military targets. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said civilians and members of the armed forces were killed, though she did not specify how many.

Trump Says US Will Run Venezuela

Trump said the US administration would assume responsibility for governing Venezuela on an interim basis, adding that the transition was already underway.

The operation followed months of mounting pressure from the Trump administration on Venezuela, alongside weeks of surveillance that tracked Maduros daily habits, including his movements, meals, and sleeping patterns.

Vice President JD Vance said the White House had repeatedly warned Caracas before authorizing the mission. The President offered multiple off-ramps but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States," Vance said.

US law enforcement agencies have long accused Maduro of leading a criminal network tied to cocaine trafficking and other offenses. Formal charges were announced by federal prosecutors in 2020, forming a key part of Washingtons broader campaign against the Venezuelan government, which has also included sanctions and diplomatic isolation.

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US Indictment Frames Maduro, His Inner Circle As Narco-Terror Financiers | Exclusive

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 23:47 IST

After Nicolas Maduro's capture, the US revealed an indictment where it charged the deposed Venezuelan President with narco-terrorism and a conspiracy to import cocaine into the US.

Rapid Read

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (Image: Reuters)

A day after the United States launched a high-scale military operation in Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the Trump administration revealed an indictment against Maduro and his allies on charges of narco-terrorism.

CNN-News18 accessed the indictment against Maduro, which legally framed Venezuelas ruling elite not as corrupt officials, but as a state-run narco-terror cartel that has been operating for more than two decades.

The indictment charged Maduro with narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking, and weapons offences. It also charged his wife, son, two high-ranking Venezuelan officials and an alleged leader of the Tren de Aragua group, which has been declared by the US as a terrorist organisation. It states that Maduro and his allies worked for decades with major drug trafficking groups to move large quantities of cocaine to the United States.

What The US Indictment Reveals

An analysis of the indictment by CNN-News18 revealed that the US charges establish institutional capture, where the military, intelligence, airports, embassies, and diplomatic channels were allegedly used for cocaine trafficking.

By invoking narco-terrorism laws, American prosecutors have sought to place Maduro and his inner circle in the same category as corruption. They are being treated as terror financiers and not conventional drug traffickers.

Additionally, naming Maduros wife and son revealed a deliberate strategy to prove a family-controlled criminal enterprise that went beyond an isolated political corruption in Venezuela. The US approach has shown that partnerships with designated terrorist organisations have turned cocaine profits into an instrument of regional instability.

Weapons charges against the deposed president, involving machine guns and explosives, indicate that the case has escalated from ordinary crime to serious armed narco-terrorism. The US indictment has confirmed that narco-trafficking and terrorism are used as a state-protected ecosystem in Venezuela and not an ad-hoc criminal activity.

Sources told CNN-News18 that Maduros model shows other hybrid regimes where drug money sustains political power. They are also in coordination with armed groups in a strategic defiance of the West.

The dramatic US intervention in Caracas, titled Operation Absolute Resolve, was criticised by politicians, experts and several leaders around the world as the most dangerous example of US imperialism since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 23:47 IST

News world US Indictment Frames Maduro, His Inner Circle As Narco-Terror Financiers | Exclusive

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'US Knows What To Do Next': Zelenskyy Makes Veiled Remark On Putin After Maduro's Capture

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 11:19 IST

Zelenskyy remarks came after he said Ukraine was 10%" away from a deal to end the war while warning that any settlement must be built on guarantees against future aggression.

The Ukrainian Presidents remarks come amid intensified diplomatic efforts led by the United States to end the conflict, although deep divisions remain, particularly over territory.

Following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a veiled remark suggesting US President Donald Trump to detain Russian President Vladimir Putin.

If its possible to deal with dictators this way, then the US knows what to do next,", Zelenskyy said, suggesting that Trump should deal with Putin the same way.

This comes after Washington carried out a dramatic overnight operation in Venezuela, seizing the countrys long-serving president and flying him out of the country.

Russia was one of the nations who criticised the USs move and demanded the release of Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores.

In view of the confirmed reports about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse being in the United States, we strongly urge the US leadership to reconsider their position and release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. We highlight the need to create conditions for resolving any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela through dialogue."

The couple reached New York city on late Saturday to face federal narco-terrorism charges, New York Post reported. Trump said the couple will face the full wrath of American justice".

Maduro and Flores will be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, NY Post quoted sources saying. They will likely be appearing in federal court on Monday.

Zelenskyys remarks came days after he said Ukraine was 10 per cent" away from a deal to end the war with Russia, but warned that it would determine the fate of peace, underscoring that the most difficult and decisive issues are still unresolved.

He cautioned that while Ukraine wants an end to the war, any settlement must be built on strong security guarantees to prevent future aggression.

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News world 'US Knows What To Do Next': Zelenskyy Makes Veiled Remark On Putin After Maduro's Capture

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Venezuela's Supreme Court Appoints Delcy Rodriguez As Acting President After US Captures Maduro

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 08:16 IST

Venezuela's SC named Delcy Rodriguez acting President after US airstrikes killed 40. Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores were captured by US forces for narcoterrorism charges.

The Constitutional Chamber of Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered on Saturday that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez assume the role of acting president of the country in the absence of Nicolas Maduro. (X)

Venezuelas Supreme Court has appointed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as acting President. This comes a day after US launched airstrikes in Venezuela, killing 40 people.

According to Reuters, the Constitutional Chamber of Venezuelas Supreme Court ordered on Saturday that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez assume the role of acting president of the country in the absence of Nicolas Maduro.

The ruling said Rodriguez would assume the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation".

The ruling added that the court will debate the matter in order to determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defense of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic".

At least 40 people, including military personnel and civilians, were killed in the US attack on Venezuela on early Saturday, according to a senior Venezuelan official.

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump told Fox News that no American troops were killed but some service members were injured.

New York Times quoted Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago with Trump that US helicopters moving to extract President Nicolas Maduro and his wife had come under fire. He further said that one helicopter was hit but remained flyable," and that all US aircraft came home".

Following the attacks, local media reported death of a Venezuelan civilian in Catia La Mar, a low-income coastal area just west of the Caracas airport, and an airstrike on a three-story civilian apartment complex killing 80-year-old Rosa Gonzalez and seriously injuring a person.

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump confirmed that American special forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a series of precision strikes. The operation, which targeted military hubs like Fort Tiuna, has resulted in the rendition of the Venezuelan leadership to face narcoterrorism charges in a New York federal court.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 07:58 IST

News world Venezuela's Supreme Court Appoints Delcy Rodriguez As Acting President After US Captures Maduro

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Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang met with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Sunday, calling for joint efforts to accelerate the building of an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era and continue to improve the well-being of the two peoples.

Hailing the iron-clad friendship between China and Pakistan that has grown stronger over time, Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the two countries' leaders reached new, important common understandings regarding further development of bilateral ties in meetings held last year.

China is willing to work with Pakistan to follow the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, shore up political mutual trust and mutual support, better synergize development plans, improve quality and performance of pragmatic cooperation, and enhance communication and coordination regarding major international and regional affairs, Ding said.

Noting that upholding friendly relations with China stands as the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy, Dar said Pakistan adheres to the one-China principle, and is willing to take the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to promote the continuous development of the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between Pakistan and China. 
Watch Your A**: Trump Warns Colombian President Gustavo Petro After Maduros Capture

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 11:17 IST

Donald Trump warned Gustavo Petro after US forces captured Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, sparking condemnation from Colombia, Russia, and calls for UN Security Council intervention.

Donald Trump warned Gustavo Petro after US forces captured Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, sparking condemnation from Colombia, Russia, and calls for UN Security Council intervention. (Pic: AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Saturday issued a sharp warning to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, telling him to watch his a**" in the aftermath of a US military operation that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, further escalating tensions across Latin America.

Hes making cocaine and theyre sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass," Trump said at a press conference, referring to Petro, with whom he has repeatedly clashed in recent months. The remarks came hours after Washington carried out a dramatic overnight operation in Venezuela, seizing Maduro and flying him out of the country.

Early Saturday, the United States launched coordinated military strikes across Venezuela and captured the countrys long-serving president, with Trump announcing that Washington would temporarily take control of the country following the operation.

Petro swiftly condemned the US action, calling it an assault on the sovereignty" of Latin America that could trigger a humanitarian crisis. In a post on X, the Colombian president said his government convened a national security meeting before dawn and deployed additional security forces along the ColombiaVenezuela border in anticipation of what he warned could be a massive influx of refugees" fleeing Venezuela.

Petro also said Colombia would seek international intervention, urging the United Nations Security Council to address what he described as aggression against Venezuela and the wider region.

The Security Council is set to meet on Monday at 10:00 am local time (1500 GMT) to discuss the US operation, according to the Somali presidency of the Council. Diplomatic sources said the emergency meeting was requested by Venezuela and relayed by Colombia.

Saturdays operation also drew condemnation from Maduros allies, including Russia, whose foreign ministry denounced the US action as an act of armed aggression" and warned against further escalation.

The Venezuelan government said US strikes were reported in several parts of the country, including Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira. Unverified videos circulating on social media appeared to show explosions in Caracas, including reported blasts near Higuerote Airport, about 87 km east of the capital.

Trump said US special forces disabled electricity in parts of Caracas before capturing Maduro and his wife in or near one of his safe houses. With Maduro now in US custody, Trump outlined Washingtons next steps, saying, We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition."

Washington said the operation was primarily justified by a series of federal indictments filed in New York that accuse Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro of heading a narco-terrorism" network that allegedly funnelled large quantities of illegal drugs, including cocaine and fentanyl into the United States with the aim of destroying American lives." Venezuela has strongly denied the charges, insisting the allegations are fabricated and that the real motive behind what it called US military aggression" was to seize control of the countrys oil and mineral wealth.

According to Axios, President Donald Trump has also intensified pressure on what he described as troubling neighbours" in Latin America. Speaking about Cuba, Trump said the island nation was a failing country right now." Referring to Mexico, he claimed drug cartels were effectively running the country and said, we have to do something." On Colombia, Trump alleged it hosts three major cocaine production facilities and accused President Gustavo Petro of making cocaine," echoing accusations he has repeatedly levelled against Venezuela.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 10:37 IST

News world Watch Your A**: Trump Warns Colombian President Gustavo Petro After Maduros Capture

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'We're Not Kidding': Elon Musk Warns Grok Users After Backlash Over Vulgar Pics On X

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 10:57 IST

Elon Musk warned X users against using Grok for illegal content after Ministry of Electronics and IT ordered X to remove vulgar AI-generated posts or face legal action.

The statement comes a day after Ministry of Electronics and IT directed X to immediately remove all vulgar, obscene and unlawful content, especially generated by AI app Grok, or face action under the law. (File Photo)

Tesla boss Elon Musk has warned microblogging site X users against using the platforms AI service, Grok, to make illegal content or face the same consequences as those uploading illegal content.

The statement comes a day after the Ministry of Electronics and IT directed X to immediately remove all vulgar, obscene, and unlawful content, especially that generated by the AI app Grok, or face action under the law.

Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content," Musk said on X in response to a post on inappropriate images".

The post said, Some people are saying Grok is creating inappropriate images. But thats like blaming a pen for writing something bad. A pen doesnt decide what gets written. The person holding it does. Grok works the same way. What you get depends a lot on what you put in. Think about it!"

This comes days after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a formal notice to X, flagging serious lapses in statutory due diligence under the Information Technology Act and IT Rules over the misuse of its artificial intelligence tool, Grok.

In its notice, MeitY raised concerns that Grok is being used to generate and circulate obscene, sexually explicit, and derogatory content, particularly targeting women and children. The ministry described the misuse as a grave violation of dignity, privacy, and digital safety, warning the platform of strict consequences if corrective steps are not taken immediately.

The government directed X to urgently review Groks technical design and governance framework, remove all unlawful content, take action against offending users, and submit an Action Taken Report within 72 hours. The ministry cautioned that continued non-compliance could result in the loss of safe harbour protections under the IT Act and invite action under multiple cyber, criminal, and child protection laws.

Previously, French authorities also moved against X over the misuse of its AI tools. Frances Paris prosecutors office expanded an investigation into the platform following complaints that Grok AI was being used to generate sexual deepfakes. The probe was initiated after two French lawmakers flagged the alleged creation and circulation of explicit, non-consensual content, prompting authorities to examine whether X violated French laws related to digital safety, consent, and the protection of women online.

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News world 'We're Not Kidding': Elon Musk Warns Grok Users After Backlash Over Vulgar Pics On X

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'We're Ready': Maduro's Rare Conciliatory Message To US Days Before Being Captured

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Last Updated: January 04, 2026, 09:32 IST

Maduro signalled openness to US dialogue on drug enforcement and oil investment before his sudden capture, ending his presidency and shifting his final statements' impact.

Maduro (R) said Washington was aware of his openness. (File image)

Just days before his dramatic capture by US forces, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signalled a surprising openness to engage in dialogue with Washington on drug enforcement, delivering a rare conciliatory message toward the United States.

Less than 48 hours after the interview aired, Maduro and his wife were captured in a sudden US operation, abruptly ending his grip on power and casting his final public statements in an entirely new light.

Speaking in a taped interview broadcast Thursday on state television channel teleSUR, Maduro said Washington was aware of his openness. The US government knows, because weve told many of their spokespeople, that if they want to seriously discuss an agreement to combat drug trafficking, were ready," he said.

The interview, conducted by Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, took place amid sustained pressure from President Donald Trumps administration, which included strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, as well as an expanded US naval presence off Venezuelas coast.

According to news agency Associated Press, Maduro declined to comment on reports of a covert ground attack on a Venezuelan docking facility last month, which some media outlets attributed to the CIA. Trump later appeared to confirm the strike, saying the United States had destroyed a key facility used for shipping drugs. Two nights ago, we knocked that out. So we hit them very hard," Trump said in a separate interview.

Despite accusing Washington of trying to impose itself through threats, intimidation and force," Maduro suggested there was room for cooperation, particularly in drug enforcement and energy. According to a translation of the interview by the news agency, he said Venezuela was open to US investment in its oil sector.

If they want oil, Venezuela is ready for US investment, like with Chevron, whenever they want it, wherever they want it, and however they want it," Maduro said, referring to the American energy companys limited operations in the country.

Maduro, who has long denied any links to the drug trade, insisted the United States had fabricated" a campaign against him, while portraying himself as a leader seeking peace. The US people should know that here they have a friendly, peaceful people, and they also have a friendly government," he said, according to the English-language version of the interview published by teleSUR.

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First Published: January 04, 2026, 09:32 IST

News world 'We're Ready': Maduro's Rare Conciliatory Message To US Days Before Being Captured

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A Thanksgiving sailing trip that a Texas teen saw as an adventure has instead stretched into a 20-year mystery. Christian Hall was 15 in November 2005 when he worked as a deckhand on the 74-foot sailboat Gypsy II out of Corpus Christi. Despite his family's objections, he and the boat's owner, 39-year-old David "Dusty" Andrews, set sail on a voyage to Florida on Nov. 24. Neither has been seen since, People reports.

Authorities say the Gypsy II later issued a mayday call while in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast, reporting that the vessel was taking on water. Rescue was reportedly offered but declined. No further communication followed. On Jan. 4, 2006, Christian's family reported him missing, and the Texas Department of Public Safety released a bulletin with photos of Christian, Andrews, and the yacht.

Two decades on, Christian's relatives are still searching, working with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which has released an age-progressed image showing what he might look like now at 35. His aunt, Carla Boehm, says she believes he could be alive and wants him to know he is still wanted and loved. She believes he may have seen Andrews as a father figure, something she says he was missing, KIII-TV reports. "I know that [Andrews] told his family that Christian was his son," she told NCMEC. Anyone with information on Christian or his disappearance is asked to contact NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or the Corpus Christi Police Department at 1-361-886-2600.
A Texas school nurse who tends to kids' stomachaches by day spends her free time documenting how thousands of American women died. From her home in Plano, Dawn Wilcox runs Women Count USA , a one-woman database that since 2016 has logged 14,445 US instances of femicide: "the killing of females by males because they are female." Her work was spurred in part by social media arguments, explains Christa Hillstrom for the Atavist : After reading waves of online outrage in 2016 after Cincinnati Zoo employees shot dead a gorilla , she would pose this question in the comments sections of stories on the incident: "What about murdered women?" Wilcox wanted data to back up her belief that femicide was a true crisisbut found only fragmented, anonymous federal crime stats.

And so Wilcox opened a spreadsheet and began entering cases one by one: name, age, location, relationship to the killer, circumstance, and a column she labels "About Her." Wilcox scours obits, local news, and social media for fragments of personality: a passion for Kawasaki motorcycles, an obsession with the Green Bay Packers, a tendency to raid a friend's fridge and talk about God. When she can't find anything, she leaves an opening: "Please send information about her life, dreams, or interests." She also tags patterns she sees over and overmurders during breakups, staged crime scenes, tech surveillance, what she calls "corrective femicide," when men kill women they believe have disobeyed or disrespected them.

Wilcox isn't alone globally. From Native American activist Annita Lucchesi to Latin American and European trackers, women in dozens of countries have been manually counting femicides for decades, often because their governments don't. Their data has helped spur new laws in places like Mexico, Uruguay, and in the US for Native American women. Tech researchers at MIT and elsewhere offered Wilcox automation tools, but trackers largely rejected full-on news scrapers and requested simpler tools; they see the brutal reading and careful entry as a form of witness. "This is sacred work," Wilcox says. (Read the full story, which delves into the case that haunts Wilcox most.)
Canada's right-to-die debate has a face, and it belongs to a 48-year-old comedian who wants to be permitted a peaceful death. Toronto's Claire Brosseau has a life studded with goodness: a loving family, a comedy career that's taken her to big stages, and a tiny dog named Olive. She also has a history of severe mental illness dating back to childhood and more than three decades of near-constant treatmentat least 25 medications, dozens of therapies, and a sea of electroconvulsive treatments, writes Stephanie Nolen for the New York Times . None of it has ended the suicidal thoughts or what she describes as relentless psychic pain. She has survived multiple suicide attempts and says she doesn't want to die violently; she wants a medically assisted death.

Canada permits medical assistance in dying (MAID) for people whose suffering from an incurable condition is intolerable, even if they are not close to death. But there's a sole exception: If a person's only underlying condition is a mental illness, they are excluded. That carve-out was supposed to end in 2023, then got pushed to 2024, and now has been delayed again to 2027. "That timeline was infinite and impossible from her perspective," writes Nolen, who explains that when she began talking to Brosseau in 2023, "she had withdrawn from the world. ... She never left her apartment, had everything delivered, spoke to her psychiatrists by Zoom."

"I'm not a person," she told Nolen. "I can't be in the world." Brosseau has now joined a court challenge backed by advocacy group Dying With Dignity Canada, arguing the exclusion of people with mental illness violates their right to equal treatment under the law. Nolen writes that she hears a "new energy in [Brosseau's] voice. She had a new focus. But still, each time [we talk], she told me that she wants to die." (Read the full piece, which also delves into a "national debate writ small": Brosseau's two longtime psychiatrists disagree over whether MAID should be extended to her.)
As its neighbors prepared for high-level diplomacy on Sunday, they said North Korea launched ballistic missiles toward the sea. South Korea's military said several missiles were fired from the Pyongyang area toward waters off North Korea's east coast at about 7:50am local time, Reuters reports. The test came hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung headed to China for a state visit, where his government has said stability on the Korean Peninsula will be on the agenda. South Korea convened an emergency national security council meeting later in the day to discuss the launches.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said that at least two missile launches have been confirmed. "They are a serious problem, threatening the peace and security of our nation, the region and the world," Koizumi told reporters, per the AP. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had increased monitoring and readiness in case of additional launches and was closely coordinating with US and Japanese forces. The US military said in a statement on social media that the missile launches did not "pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies." The launches were the latest weapons demonstration by North Korea in recent weeks.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting Lee during his four-day visit. Lee's security adviser, Wi Sung-lac, said Seoul hopes Beijing will help encourage peace efforts with Pyongyang, though he gave no specifics. Analysts said Lee plans to ask China to support renewed talks with North Korea, which has recently rejected his overtures.
HONG KONG, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong will redouble efforts to foster an ecosystem of sci-tech innovation and industrial development, Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said on Sunday.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 2.8 percent on Jan. 2, logging the biggest first-day gains since 2013, Chan noted in his blog post, adding that the Hang Seng Tech Index hiked 4 percent as investors devour artificial intelligence (AI) stocks.

Chan expects more sci-tech companies to apply for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in Hong Kong to continue a streak of over 400 IPOs from companies in emerging sectors whose market capitalization account for around 30 percent of the Hong Kong bourse by the end of 2025.

The HKSAR government welcomes companies to set up research and development centers, advanced manufacturing facilities, as well as regional or global headquarters in Hong Kong, said Chan.

Among efforts to spur sci-tech innovation, Chan emphasized the launch of incubators as a result of collaborations between the HKSAR and Chinese mainland partners like Jiangsu Province, Beijing and Shenzhen.

Over 60 companies from home and abroad have settled in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, most of which engage in AI or life and health technology, noted Chan. 
The new anchor of the CBS Evening News released a video message to viewers on Thursday telling them where established media, including his network, has gone wrong and providing details of his new approach. "We've taken into account the perspective of advocates, and not the average American," Tony Dokoupil said, adding that "we put too much weight in the analysis of academics, or elites, and not enough on you." But when the US intervention in Venezuela happened on Saturday, Dokoupil assumed the anchor chair two days ahead of schedule. The new approach was not evident, Brian Steinberg writes in Variety , though the new anchor had just told viewers to "hold me" to the promises.

No "average American" was heard from, but there was a lengthy, three-segment interview with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. There were standard reports from correspondents Charlie D'Agata and Scott MacFarlane. Dokoupil had taken criticism that his pledge sounded like it was written by Bari Weiss, a political commentator and media critic installed as head of network news by David Ellison, a supporter of President Trump. Dokoupil went online to deny a suggestion from a former CBS correspondent that Weiss had written his pledge, per TV Insider. There wasn't much for Trump or his supporters to object to, posted Jeff Jarvis, a journalist and critic who pointed out that the first minute of the broadcast was all celebration of Nicolas Maduro's captureother than a grammatical error. (Dokoupil said the US commandoes breached Maduro's compound, "grabbing he and his wife."

Dokoupil's rollout has been compressed, announced only three weeks before his start, limiting time for on-air promotion and affiliate outreach that networks typically use to build audience for a new evening anchor. He had been scheduled to introduce himself by reporting from a series of cities and towns but instead appeared from CBS' San Francisco station Saturday; he is expected back in New York for Monday's broadcast. Dokoupil's pledge included a promise to get out from behind his desk and meet Americans. Some CBS staffers suspect the common touch has been lost in that effort, per Mediaite. Weiss is going with him, so the group is traveling by private jet because she takes a five-person security detail with her.
Crews removed mud from key California highways as forecasters warned Sunday that more thunderstorms were on the way after downpours and high tides caused flooding, road closures, and rescues of people trapped in cars. Five northern counties remained under a flood watch, with up to three inches of rain possible through Monday night in areas that have been drenched off and on for more than a week, said the National Weather Service office in Eureka. At least a foot of snow was likely in the mountains, the AP reports.

To the south near the San Francisco Bay Area, waters were slowly receding after roadways through from Sausalito to San Rafael were flooded during heavy rain that coincided with record-breaking king tides. Such tides occur when the moon is in its closest position to the Earth, creating a stronger gravitational pull. Some people kayaked along swamped streets, while others waded through water above their knees. Authorities were called to assist when cars got stuck in water as high as 3 and 4 feet, Marin County Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Dobbins said Saturday. "I've been around here for the king tides and I've never seen it this high. Never," Jeremy Hager of San Rafael told KTVU-TV. Flooding was reported across Marin, Sonoma, Alameda, San Mateo, and San Francisco counties.

While the tides were waning, lingering thunderstorms on Sunday could cause additional problems throughout low-lying areas, forecasters said. "For anyone driving, slow down and allow extra time to reach your destination," the Bay Area office of the weather service warned on social media. Farther south in Santa Barbara County, a key highway was reopened Sunday after it was blocked for most of the weekend near Goleta due to a series of mudslides. A man died after he was swept into a creek during the storm, the sheriff's office said. Parts of Santa Barbara County received more than four inches of rain over two days, the weather service said Sunday.
Fairbanks, AK (99701)

Today

Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 12F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy with snow showers in the evening and steady snow likely after midnight. Low around 5F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches.
MOSCOW, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a New Year drone strike on a cafe and a hotel complex in the Kherson region has risen to 29, including two children, Russian investigators said on Sunday.

Svetlana Petrenko, spokesperson for the Investigative Committee of Russia, said at least 60 people were injured in the attack. Fifteen victims remain hospitalized, three of them in serious condition.

The large-scale attack occurred overnight on Jan. 1, when Ukrainian armed forces used unmanned aerial vehicles to strike a cafe and a hotel complex in the village of Khorly in the Kherson region.

Petrenko added that forensic specialists are conducting genetic examinations to identify the victims and the identities of 12 of the deceased have been confirmed.

Fragments of several drones were recovered at the scene and investigators are working to determine their type, place of manufacture and the explosive power of the munitions they carried.

Russian authorities said a thorough investigation is underway and those responsible for the attack would be brought to justice. 
TOKYO, Jan 05 (News On Japan) - The year 2026 is seen as a turning point when a decline in the number of university-bound students will begin to affect university management across Japan.

As institutions search for ways to survive, Tsujimoto, a social affairs reporter covering the education ministry, looked into an unconventional strategy adopted by one university that succeeded in increasing enrollment.

We have reached the painful decision that we have no choice but to halt student recruitment, Kyoto Kacho University said last year. Miyagi Gakuin Womens University also warned last year that private universities are in an extremely difficult situation.

Financial distress among universities is spreading nationwide, and this year marks what has come to be known as the 2026 university problem, a critical juncture for higher education. Although the population of 18-year-olds has continued to decline due to Japans falling birthrate, the number of students entering university kept rising as enrollment rates increased. According to projections by the education ministry, however, 2026 will be the year when the number of university entrants finally begins to fall, with management impacts expected to emerge.

University journalist Reiji Ishiwata said many institutions will struggle increasingly to attract students, adding that small universities with fewer than 4,000 students face the greatest risk. Over the next decade, he said, it would not be surprising if 50 to 100 small universities decide to suspend admissions.

Amid this backdrop, one university managed to boost student numbers through what its president described as a drastic measure. Kyoai Gakuen University in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, saw enrollment fall to around 65 percent of capacity in 2001. It later reversed the trend, recording its highest-ever intake this academic year.

Akio Omori, president of Kyoai Gakuen University, said the school once offered a full tuition waiver for four years to students who held Eiken Grade 2 certification, hoping to attract strong candidates. The strategy, which Omori called a shot in the arm, exempted qualifying students from tuition for four years, and after a decade of implementation, enrollment began to recover.

After drawing students through the English certification scholarship, the university shifted its focus toward becoming a community-based university. In one class observed, students worked with local companies to develop new products aimed at regional revitalization. One student suggested Gunmas iconic daruma dolls, while another proposed turning them into key chains to appeal to younger consumers.

As ties with the community deepened, the universitys reputation among local businesses and high schools improved, creating a virtuous cycle that led to rising enrollment. A third-year student said involvement in regional activities at the university strengthened their desire to continue living in Gunma.

Omori said universities are often expected to attract students from across the country, but Kyoai Gakuen aims to be a university chosen by local youth, earning trust as an institution the region cannot do without.

As universities confront the 2026 problem in their fight for survival, reporters note that institutions are being asked not simply to focus on staying open, but to provide environments where students can genuinely enjoy learning.

Source: TBS
TOKYO, Jan 05 (News On Japan) - An elderly woman died in Tokyo after choking on mochi during the first three days of the New Year, according to the Tokyo Fire Department.

From January 1st through January 3rd, seven people aged between 80 and 96 were rushed to hospital after choking on mochi, the department said.

One woman in her 80s died, while five othersmen and women in their 80s and 90sremain in critical condition.

The woman who died reportedly choked while eating daifuku.

The Tokyo Fire Department is urging people to take precautions, including drinking water before eating, cutting mochi into small pieces, and chewing carefully.

Source: FNN
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BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has released a draft revision to the People's Police Law for public consultation.

The draft aims to safeguard national security and social order, protect people's legitimate rights and interests, and ensure that police officers perform their duties and exercise their powers in accordance with the law, the MPS said on Sunday.

The current People's Police Law, promulgated three decades ago, has played an important role in building the police force in China. However, as changes occur in the international and domestic situations, as well as in the missions and tasks of the Chinese police, it is necessary to comprehensively revise and improve the law, the MPS said.

The draft, comprising eight chapters and 103 articles, has stipulated the support systems for police officers and specified the Chinese People's Police Day.

It has refined the provisions on the duties and powers of public security organs' police officers, while adding content regarding the duties and powers of police in state security organs, judicial organs, and people's courts and procuratorates.

Furthermore, the draft added contents requiring punishment of officers who fail to perform their duties in accordance with the law or exceed the scope of their statutory duties in exercising their authority. 
ISLAMABAD, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday highlighted the government's commitment to the rights of visually impaired persons and called for greater inclusion.

In a message on World Braille Day, the prime minister praised the global impact of Louis Braille's system, which has expanded access to education and information for millions.

Sharif acknowledged the contributions of visually impaired Pakistanis across various fields, citing Saima Saleem, an officer at Pakistan's mission to the UN, as an example of overcoming challenges with excellence.

He highlighted Pakistan's efforts in providing accessible published works for those with visual or print disabilities.

The prime minister urged schools, civil society, media and the private sector to promote Braille literacy and accessible facilities.

He reaffirmed that the government is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all citizens to contribute to the country's development. 
PHNOM PENH, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has reported a total of 6.33 million international air passengers in the first 11 months of 2025, up 13 percent compared to the same period in 2024, said an official report released on Sunday.

Issued by the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, the report said a total of 36 international and domestic airlines operated 58,792 flights to the kingdom's three international airports during the January-November period last year, up 11 percent compared to the same period in 2024.

It added that the Southeast Asian country also recorded a 19-percent increase in air cargo volume to 84,475 tonnes during the above-mentioned period.

Cambodia currently has three international airports in operation. They are the Techo International Airport, the Siem Reap Angkor International Airport and the Sihanouk International Airport.

On average, the three international airports accommodate 1,314 flights per week, according to the report. 
Former New Jersey Senate president Steve Sweeney, who lost in the Democratic primary for governor last year, has been appointed to a county administrator role.

Gloucester County commissioners approved a five-year contract for Sweeney on Friday.

The resolution does not list his salary, but the roles pay range is $191,308 and $287,168, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Sweeney is eligible for job-performance raises during his contracted term, the resolution states.

The jobs perks include use of a county-issued vehicle for both personal and work-related use.

Sweeney told NJ Advance Media on Saturday that returning to Gloucester County government feels like a homecoming.

This is where I started, Sweeney said. Im looking forward to another challenge.

Sweeney served as a freeholder in Gloucester County for 14 years before resigning in 2010. He served in the state Senate for 20 years until losing a reelection bid in 2022.

The Gloucester County commissioners voted 5-1 in favor of the resolution approving Sweeneys contract.

Republican Commissioner Nicholas DeSilvio voted against the appointment and fellow Republican Christopher Konawel declined to vote.

I chose not to vote on the Sweeney resolution because at that point, I think the meeting was held illegally, Konawel told NJ Advance Media. My opinion is that meeting was held improperly, and did not follow proper procedures and protocols.

Konawel, who live-streamed the meeting on his social media accounts, said he is exploring whether or not he can contest the vote on Sweeneys appointment.

Sweeney was appointed to fill a vacancy left by Chad Bruner, who retired from the position.

As administrator, Sweeney will be responsible for overseeing Gloucester Countys operations and will report directly to the county commissioner board.

Both Sweeney and Bruner also serve as members of Rowan Universitys board of trustees.

Sweeney joined the board in June, and his term will end in mid-2026, according to the universitys website.

Bruner, the boards chair, has served since 2012, when he was nominated by former Gov. Chris Christie.

Sweeneys legislative career came to an abrupt end in 2021, when he stunningly lost a re-election bid in the state Senate to Republican challenger Ed Durr, a truck driver without any previous political experience.

Sweeney sought a political comeback through New Jerseys 2025 gubernatorial election, entering a crowded field of Democrats looking to succeed Gov. Phil Murphy.

Representative Mikie Sherrill (D-11th) (left) and Senate President Steve Sweeney discuss the issues at the New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial primary debate at NJ PBS Studios on Monday night in Newark, NJ. 05/12/2025 Steve Hockstein | For NJ Advance

Sweeney eventually lost in Junes primary to Democratic challenger Mikie Sherrill, who won Novembers general election and is weeks away from becoming New Jerseys 57th governor.

As Senate president, Sweeney, a moderate Democrat, was the second-most powerful elected state-level official, at times holding gubernatorial powers when the governor and lieutenant governor were out of state.

Sweeney campaigned for governor with highlights from his tenure in Trenton, including efforts to increase the minimum wage and implement paid family leave.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.
A Gloucester County man has been charged with killing a woman and wounding a child in a shooting Saturday in Paulsboro, authorities said.

Ramon Luis Acevedo, 40, of Paulsboro, is charged with murder, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, the Gloucester County Prosecutors Office said.

The identity of the woman, who was shot in the head, was not released by authorities.

The age and condition of the child, who was shot at least once, was not immediately available.

A police vehicle blocks Elizabeth Avenue, in Paulsboro, NJ on Saturday, January 3, 2026. Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance

Prosecutors said Acevedo called 911, identified himself and said that he had shot two people.

Paulsboro police found the woman dead in the bedroom of a home on Elizabeth Avenue, authorities said.

Acevedo was arrested at the scene.

He told investigators he shot the woman intentionally and accidentally shot the child after being startled while wielding the gun, authorities said.

Attorney information for Acevedo was not listed in New Jersey court records.
A blast of winter weather will greet the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets on Sunday, setting a fitting stage for a regular-season finale that blends bitter cold, postseason implications and the closing chapter of Highmark Stadium.

Forecasts call for frigid conditions in Orchard Park, where temperatures will hover in the low 20s and feel closer to 10 degrees for much of the day as light snow and steady winds sweep through the area.

According to AccuWeather, a winter weather alert remains in effect, with one to two inches of snow expected. The heaviest snowfall is projected in the early morning hours before tapering into flurries by kickoff.

Winds of 10 to 12 mph will keep wind chills in the teens, even as temperatures peak near 27 degrees around midday, creating classic late-season Buffalo conditions.

The elements add another variable to a game that still carries meaning for the Bills, who have already secured a playoff berth but not their final seeding.

Entering Week 18, Buffalo sits seventh in the AFC but can climb as high as the fifth seed. A win over the Jets combined with losses or ties by both the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers would vault the Bills into the fifth spot.

If Buffalo wins and only one of those teams falters, the Bills would move up to sixth. Any loss, or wins by both Houston and Los Angeles, would keep Buffalo seventh.

Josh Allen, expected to play despite a foot issue, acknowledged the importance of improving their position. Five at least gives you an opportunity, Allen said, noting the slim but meaningful advantages of moving up the bracket.

Buffalo will attempt to do so shorthanded. The Bills will be without linebacker Terrel Bernard, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones and safety Jordan Poyer, all sidelined with injuries. Joey Bosa, Dalton Kincaid and Jordan Phillips are among those listed as questionable.

The Jets also arrive depleted, with multiple starters out and several key contributors, including Breece Hall and Tyrod Taylor, questionable.

As snow flurries swirl and the temperature drops, Buffalos final home game at Highmark Stadium figures to be a cold, physical test  and a potential springboard into the postseason.
A popular burger and cheesesteak restaurant chain is expanding its presence across South Jersey, with three new locations set to open in 2026.

Gouldsburgers will open its seventh, eighth and ninth restaurants in Sicklerville, Marlton and Glassboro. They will include a mix of corporate and franchisee-owned locations, according to a Dec. 2 statement by Vantage Commercial, which secured the sites.

One of the new restaurants is planned for 681 Cross Keys Road in the Cross Keys Center in Sicklerville, occupying about 1,400 square feet of inline retail space.

A second location at 27 N. Maple Ave. in the Allison Shopping Center in Marlton will take over about 1,600 square feet in the former Bombay Express restaurant space.

The third location, at 111 High St. in Glassboro, will occupy about 950 square feet within the retail corridor near Rowan University.

Gouldsburgers, owned by David Murray and Walter Gouldsbury, operates as a fast-casual restaurant specializing in burgers and cheesesteaks.

The Vantage Commercial team of Emily Stein, managing director; Ken Richardson, vice president; Vince Ceroli, senior broker; and Neil Kakumanu, sales associate, represented both landlord and tenant in most of the transactions.

Gouldsburgers already operates burger shops in these locations:
Apparently, The Epstein Files are the only thing in Washington that the president has no desire to see his name on. The venerable institution once known as The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is now officially The Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center For the Performing Arts. Really rolls off the tongue, doesnt it? No word on when the Washington Monument is set to be outfitted with a giant gold T, but Im sure it will happen soon.

Trumps year long effort to take over the Kennedy Center began when he started stuffing the board with sycophants, the more shameless the better. A few months ago they changed the bylaws to disqualify any non-Trump board members from voting on a name change and then proceeded to affix their glorious leaders name to the marquee. The hostile take over of the nations preeminent organization for the promotion of the arts is just a small part of Trumps attempt to strike back at the Hollywood elites who before and after The Apprentice have had the good sense to avoid all things Trump. Its secret Trump desperately wanted to be accepted into the A-List arts community. Hes still salty he never won an Emmy for his reality show, when he was private citizen Trump the only recourse he had was Tweeting into the void about Rosie ODonnell, Kristin Stewart, Bette Midler or the entire cast of Hamilton. Now as president, his wrath is free to take different forms. Hes free to go after Jimmy Kimmel, George Clooney and anyone else his cold little heart desires. The Kennedy Center ups the stakes by taking aim at a crucial arts institution instead of just the artists themselves.

The Kennedy Center is probably best known for its yearly honors where luminaries in the fields of film making, music, theater and comedy are honored for their contributions to their respective mediums. Between the Kennedy Center Honors and The Mark Twain Award honorees have included Paul Newman, Jerry Seinfeld, David Letterman, Led Zeppelin and The WHO. For contrast, this years honorees include George Strait, Gloria Gaynor, KISS, Sylvester Stallone and the guy who played The Phantom in Phantom of The Opera. The honorees posed for a photo in the Oval Office and they all looked delighted, except for Stallone who traded his ability to emote for a needle full of Botox long ago.

Trump was unable to joint the club so he took oner the clubhouse. The presidents body of work in the realm of the arts consists of a reality show, some film and television cameos and an episode of SNL where he wouldnt let them write jokes about him, and now thanks to his office he gets to reshape the one of nations premier institutions in his own image. Like all the other institutions Trump has desecrated, itll take some time to rebuild it once hes gone, but artists and performers are scrappy. Until such a time comes, I personally cant wait for Hercules Does Gershwin: An Evening with Kevin Sorbo.
Democrat Mikie Sherrill is set to be sworn in later this month as the next governor of New Jersey, following a decisive win over Republican Jack Ciattarelli in November.

Sherrill won the state by a 14-point margin, earning 56.9% of the vote. What was originally expected to be a nail-biter of a race was called early, with Sherrill winning easily.

In some towns, Sherrills support was huge, according to recently released final election results.

Sherrill, a former congresswoman, got more than 90% of the vote in eight towns:

Lawnside (Camden): 95.4%

East Orange (Essex): 95.4%

Irvington (Essex): 95.2%

Orange (Essex): 93.6%

Camden (Camden): 92.3%

Maplewood (Essex): 91.4%

Willingboro (Burlington): 91.1%

Trenton (Mercer): 90.3%

In two towns, Ciattarelli was the one with the massive vote margins. In Lakewood in Ocean County, 90% of all voters cast a ballot for Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker. He also had strong support in Deal in Monmouth County, where he took 87% of the vote.

Sherrills success in Essex County was not a foregone conclusion. The Republican Party made significant strides in party membership during Democratic Gov. Phil Murphys second term.

Sherrill, who recently resigned her U.S. House seat representing New Jerseys 11th District, will be sworn in on Jan. 20 as Murphys successor. This is the first time since 1961 that one party has won the New Jersey governors office three terms in a row.

Sherrills huge win comes one year after Democrat Kamala Harris won New Jersey by just 6 points over now-President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. That was the smallest winning margin for a Democrat in decades.

Wondering how your town voted? Scroll over the map below to find your town.

Cant see the map? Click here.
Parts of northern New Jersey could get a dusting of snow on Monday afternoon and evening before temperatures turn much warmer later in the week.

Any snow accumulations look to be limited to about a possible coating across the far northern areas, the weather service said. The cold continues, although not as harsh, with high temperatures Monday in the 30s.

The precipitation may end as light freezing rain or drizzle Monday night across the far northern counties as the system weakens.

Some light snow is expected on Monday afternoon and evening in northern counties, but it shouldn't amount to more than a coating. Temperatures turn much warmer after Tuesday. National Weather Service and AccuWeather

Sunday will feature mostly clear to partly cloudy skies with high temperatures in the mid to upper 30s across most of the state, though some areas in southern New Jersey could reach 40 degrees.

Northwest winds may gust up to 20 mph during the afternoon. Overnight lows will drop into the teens and 20s under clearing skies.

Some light snow is expected on Monday afternoon and evening in northern counties, but it shouldn't amount to more than a coating. Temperatures turn much warmer after Tuesday. National Weather Service and AccuWeather

Tuesday will mark the beginning of a warming trend as high temperatures will range from the low 40s in northern areas to the low 50s in southern New Jersey.

Some light rain is possible Tuesday night, particularly across the northern half of the state.

Far northern areas may see brief light freezing rain as surface temperatures remain below freezing while warmer air moves in aloft.

New Jersey residents may finally see a break from the colder weather in the second half of next week. AccuWeather.com

Wednesdays forecast calls for high temperatures from the 40s in northern areas to the low to mid-50s in southern New Jersey

Thursday will bring briefly cooler conditions, though temperatures will remain above average.

The warming trend continues Friday and Saturday as another system approaches.

High temperatures Friday could reach around 60 degrees along the Jersey Shore, with similar or slightly warmer conditions expected Saturday.

Rain showers are likely with this system, particularly late Friday into Saturday, before conditions turn drier and colder Saturday night.

Current weather radar
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Snow showers. High 26F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..

Tonight

Snow this evening will taper off and give way to cloudy skies late. Low 12F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 40 people were killed in U.S. airstrikes on Venezuela on Saturday, including civilians and members of the armed forces, The New York Times reported, citing an anonymous senior Venezuelan official.

The large-scale attack took place in the early hours of the morning as U.S. forces carried out an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. The couple is now in custody in New York.

The newspaper said it had verified video footage showing thick smoke and repeated explosions near La Carlota Airport in the Venezuelan capital city of Caracas.

In Catia La Mar, a city west of the capital, an airstrike hit a three-story civilian apartment building, blowing out its exterior walls, said the newspaper, noting at least one elderly woman was killed, and another person seriously injured.

Multiple U.S. media outlets, citing Venezuelan government sources, reported that in addition to Caracas, military targets in the Caribbean coastal states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira were also struck.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said earlier on Saturday that both civilians and military personnel were among the casualties but did not provide specific figures.

U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview on Saturday that during the operation to seize Maduro, some U.S. personnel were injured, but no American troops were killed.

One U.S. military aircraft was damaged, he added. 
Passengers prepare to board the bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, at Harbin West Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 4, 2026. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

This photo taken on Jan. 4, 2026 shows the unveiling ceremony of the bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, at Harbin West Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Performers dance outside the bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, at Harbin West Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 4, 2026. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Performers dance outside the bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, at Harbin West Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 4, 2026. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

This photo taken on Jan. 4, 2026 shows an interior view of the bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

The bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, is pictured at Harbin West Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 4, 2026. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

A passenger about to board the bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, is seen at Harbin West Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 4, 2026. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Performers dance outside the bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, at Harbin West Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 4, 2026. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

The bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, departs from Harbin West Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 4, 2026. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Photo by Liu Yang/Xinhua)

Performers pose for a photo in front of the bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, at Harbin West Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 4, 2026. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

A passenger takes photos on the bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, Jan. 4, 2026. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Passengers put luggage in place on the bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, Jan. 4, 2026. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

Passengers pose for a group photo on the bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, Jan. 4, 2026. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Photo by Yuan Yong/Xinhua)

Passengers prepare to board the bullet train No.G1276, the first themed high-speed train of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, at Harbin West Station in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Jan. 4, 2026. The first high-speed train with the theme of the Harbin Ice-Snow World began service from Harbin West Station on Sunday, heading for Wuhan City in central China's Hubei Province. Featuring unique interior and exterior decorations of the Harbin Ice-Snow World, the themed high-speed train serves as a mobile emblem to boost the ice and snow economy. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)
Rowcroft Hospice has teamed up with a South Devon company in a fund-raising partnership which is the bees knees.

Gilboys, a South Devon producer of premium beeswax polishes and wood care products, will transform surplus wax from Rowcrofts own beehives into beeswax polish.

For every jar of polish sold in the new Rowcroft Collection, Gilboys will make a donation to support the hospices specialist end-of-life care across South Devon.

Rowcrofts apiary  with its 25 hives and busy colonies of honeybees  produces honey that is sold in Rowcrofts shops to raise vital income for the hospice.

Keen to ensure nothing goes to waste, Rowcroft found a perfect partner in Gilboys, a local Dartington based company known for its high-quality, natural products and sustainable practices.

The idea for the Rowcroft Collection grew from a personal connection between Gilboys Managing Director, Simon Gilboy, and the hospice. After taking part as a dancer in Strictly Rowcroft this May, he witnessed first-hand the incredible community effort behind the hospice:

He said: While preparing for the show, I was introduced by a mutual friend to Helen Thomas, Rowcrofts head volunteer beekeeper and I learned that the hospices hives produced a surplus of beeswax.

As working with beeswax is what we do every day, it immediately felt like something we could help with. By putting the surplus to use, we could create something useful while supporting Rowcroft.

From there, the idea shaped itself into a virtuous circle: the bees produce the wax, Gilboys turn it into polish, and every jar sold helps fund Rowcrofts care.

Its a natural continuation of our ethos - avoiding waste and transforming simple, natural materials into products that preserve and protect the things people cherish.

Rowcrofts Corporate Fundraiser, Lisa Whittaker, said: We are so grateful to Gilboys for their generosity in bringing this project to life. Its a wonderful example of how our community can come together in imaginative ways to support local hospice care. Every jar of wax polish sold helps us to make every day the best it can be for our patients and their loved ones.

The Rowcroft Collection is available now from Gilboys, with every purchase helping to fund Rowcrofts specialist care. Visit gilboys.co.uk/rowcroft to find out more.

And if youd like to find out more about volunteering with Rowcroft  whether in beekeeping or in one of the many other rewarding roles  please visit rowcrofthospice.org.uk
As we have now moved into a new year, I thought it would be a good opportunity to look back at the old one, especially as 2025 proved quite difficult from the start, with the sad passing of my beloved father, back in January.

Over the Christmas period of 2024, his health started to fail him, and he spent Christmas itself in hospital, so our family celebrations, at that time, were a bit muted.

Luckily, we got him home for New Year, so we had our Christmas with him then. Sadly, throughout January, he had a few setbacks, and we finally lost him on the 28th. The weekend before he died, it was my partner, Sarahs, birthday, and we celebrated by staying in London, and watching a few shows...we had no idea what was about to happen, as he was being well cared for back in hospital.

We got home on the Monday, and, whilst I was having a quiet moment in the bathroom, I heard a scraping

noise along the wall next to me, coming from the spare room. When I investigated, I found that an old, boxed up, artificial Christmas tree, that had been stored on top of a wardrobe, and never used, during all the years Id lived with Sarah, had been

dragged off, on to the floor...the next day Dad died.

Ive taken that as a sign from Dad, acknowledging the fact that we hadnt had much of a Christmas that year, with

him being in hospital, but that, going forwards, we would have to celebrate without him, and still put our trees up and decorate our houses.

This one just gone, we tried our best, but it was very different without him. Throughout the year, there have been other signs of him still being around, and making his presence felt.

At the funeral, we played Fly me to the Moon, by Frank Sinatra, for him, as he loved sky watching, with his telescope...that song has been cropping up all year, in the most unexpected places, ever since.

We had his ashes interred, at Bristol Crematorium, in December, giving him a view of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Being a civil engineer himself, he always appreciated the great work of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, so a fitting final resting place. We intend

to visit him on his anniversary, this January, and Im intrigued to see if he messes around with our Christmas tree again, the day before...

Still in January, on the 9th, we have one of my favourite paranormal anniversaries, the Battle of Bovey Heath. Back in 1646, Cromwell himself, led his soldiers into Bovey Tracey, in an attempt to stop the Kings cavalry returning to Exeter, and trying to lift

the siege that the city was under, where the queen had retreated to, to give birth to her child, in a place she felt safe. The two armies clashed on Bovey Heath, and it was the Royalists who were defeated, having been taken by surprise by the arrival of

Cromwell's troops.

It is the sounds of this battle, that are said to replay themselves on the anniversary. For the past two years, Ive been planning to stake out the site to see if anything happens. On both days in question, it has snowed...conditions not suitable for any lasting vigil...which it also did on the day of the actual battle. So maybe, part of the alleged re-enactment, includes the weather conditions from that time.

At the moment, the forecast is for rain. Lets see how brave Im feeling tomorrow (if you are reading this on the day of publication) as its the anniversary...

Other odd events happened in Bovey Tracey, on the eve of the battle, that have left their mark...but if you want to hear about those, you will need to join me on one of my Ghost Walks, the next one Im planning, is for the Half Term week in February,

more details soon...

Talking of my Ghost Walks, last January, I launched my Brixham one. Starting at the Conservative Club, and then heading out around the Haunted Harbour. This has been well received, so much so that Ive managed to host almost one a month, thus

far, and practically every week throughout the Summer Season.

If you fancy joining me, then the next one Im planning, is on Wednesday 21st January...followed by the Wednesday in Half Term week. If you wish to book, then contact me via my email address davidtiptrips@gmail.com

Throughout last year, as well as hosting my Ghost Walks, Ive also given talks at various locations, for groups and organisations. A couple of them have been in tandem with another fellow storyteller, Helen Bruce, who works for the DPA (Dartmoor Preservation Association), who I met at a networking session at Two Bridges Hotel, the previous year.

The first venture was held at Field System in Ashburton, an art centre and workshop, the owners of which were happy to host us. The talk was about The Devil coming to Dartmoor, and his various wicked exploits, along with tales of witchcraft and weird sisters. I came up with the idea of holding it on Good Friday, but, for our purposes, renaming it Bad Friday, as a bit of a publicity

stunt.

I started to share word of it online, and one of the first reactions I received, was from an elderly lady in Totnes, upset that I was tainting the holy day by renaming it...I stopped promoting it in Totnes...

We had a few bookings, and, if the weather hadnt been so bad, we might have gotten a few more on the day, but there was a downpour on the evening, and people stayed away...so imagine my surprise when, as I drove into Ashburton, to park up, before the event, I spotted a crowd of people standing outside Field System holding up placards, as though in protest, and getting drenched for their trouble.

Straightaway, my mind went to that lady in Totnes. Had she brought her mates along, because she didnt like what we were doing? I parked up, and waited for Helen. She arrived, and had spotted them too, as she drove past. We both assumed the

welcoming committee was for us. So, we bravely prepared ourselves for having to explain our intentions with the talk...but, as we emerged from the walkway opposite Field System, there was no one to be seen!

Puzzled, we entered the studio, to ask the owner what that was all about. Laughing, he explained that the group had been

gathering outside, ever since they had taken over the premises, protesting about something or other...this week it was for Peace in Palestine. I had spotted that some of the wording on the placards was in Hebrew, so something religious...but not about our Bad Friday talk after all. I must admit to feeling a bit disappointed about our non-confrontation, however, I will be careful where I use that title in future!

Alongside my tried and tested Ghost Walks, I set up several others this year, including one in Ivybridge, which is probably best done in the lighter evenings, as it involves an atmospheric trek along the River Erme, telling stories as we go. Getting dimpsy as we head out of the woods, is fine, but tackling it in the dark, isnt a good idea.

For Halloween last year, I added Moretonhampstead and Buckfastleigh to my repertoire. Both involve access to other buildings of interest, namely the old Bell Inn (now a studio for the MED Theatre Company), and The Valiant Soldier. All my walks will be included in my schedules, for the coming year, but I am also available for private hire, if you fancy your own walk for family, friends, or work colleagues. Just get in touch and see what sort of experience we can put together.

My services were also hired to provide walks as part of various walking festivals, including the DPA, who wanted their guests to experience my Witches Triangle walk, which proved very popular, and, as a result, should be happening again this year, closer to Halloween again. Hopefully other organisations will recognise my potential too.

We did get time to have a change of scenery last year, but still with an eye on the paranormal. One opportunity took us to Cheltenham, where we checked out several allegedly haunted locations, including Snowshill Manor, which also contains a collection of artefacts, once used for witchcraft purposes.

Some of the objects, which were found there, are now on display in the Witchcraft Museum in Boscastle, and we had a chance to check them out when we spent a weekend at The Wellington Hotel.

Whilst there, we led a bit of a ghost hunt around the property, heard some stories which we werent aware of from our previous visits, and witnessed shadowy feet passing outside the room we were actually staying in...

Shortly after that visit, we had a family week away, to celebrate my brother's 60th birthday, our first family holiday without my father. We went to Dorset, staying in a barn conversion, in a village called Dewlish, just outside of Dorchester. The village

even had its own ghost, but it didnt come out to play for us, sadly.

However, we did get to visit other haunted sites, throughout the week, including Athelhampton House, Corfe Castle, and Dorchester itself. Many brought back childhood memories from when we visited many years ago.

We plan to have another family holiday, later on this year, as my mother turns 90 in April, this time in North Devon. Other events, and weekends away, are already in the pipeline, so, as always, if anything interesting occurs, I will be sure to share it with you here.

For now, Happy New Spooky Year to all my readers!
Students at Isca Academy in Exeter have donated hundreds of books to local childrens charities after taking part in a non-uniform day.

Pupils were invited to bring in books they no longer needed, ranging from picture books and childhood favourites to popular reads for teenagers. The donations were collected at the school and sorted to ensure they could be enjoyed by children of different ages.

The books are being passed on to Childrens Hospice South West and Atkinsons Secure Childrens Home, where they will be used to provide reading material for children and young people, particularly over the festive period.

READ NEXT: Westbank delivers 50 Christmas hampers to families across Exeter area

Staff at the Exeter school praised students for their generosity and enthusiasm, describing the initiative as a reflection of the schools commitment to supporting the wider community.

Isca Academy is part of the Ted Wragg Trust, which runs a number of schools across Exeter and Devon.

Moira Marder, chief executive of the Ted Wragg Trust, said it was encouraging to see students making a positive impact locally.

Its brilliant to see our students sharing their generosity and making a meaningful impact in their community, she said. Moments like this really reflect the values we hope to inspire in all our students and across our school communities.

Headteacher Vicki Joyce said she was proud of the kindness and compassion shown by pupils, adding that donating books offered a simple but powerful way to support others in Exeter.
MOSCOW, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- A nuclear-powered space engine prototype must be developed in Russia by 2030, and two gigafactories will be opened this year, Alexei Likhachev, director general of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, said Saturday.

"Our partnership with Roscosmos under a dedicated federal project -- covering the lunar station and a megawatt-class rocket engine -- demonstrates the role of nuclear power in advancing space exploration," said Likhachev in an interview with the Russia 24 TV channel.

"A prototype must be ready by 2030," he said.

Likhachev also noted that Rosatom is expanding into electric mobility, working on both power solutions and control systems, and has already achieved tangible results.

Two gigafactories producing lithium-ion batteries are set to open in 2026, he said, adding that one will be located in Neman, near the Kaliningrad Nuclear Power Plant, and the other in New Moscow. 
Explore the Gold Blitz slots series by Games Global, including how the feature works, key mechanics, jackpots, RTPs, and reviews of the best Gold Blitz games to play today.

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Trump holds press conference after U.S. strikes in Venezuela, Maduro capture President Trump holds a press conference after the United States said it captured Venezuelan President Nicola's Maduro and his ...

(Image by YouTube, Channel: Washington Post) Details DMCA



US President Donald Trump during a press conference regarding his attack on Venezuela and capturing its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife to face narco- trafficking charges in New York

Well he did it. Early this morning President Trump attacked Venezuela and according to him his troops captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and flown them out of the country to the US.

Reports are sketchy at the moment yet US special ops troops were flown in by helicopter gunships where they captured Maduro and his wife Celia Flores and flown to the US to stand trial for narco-trafficking according to US Attorney General Pam Bondi. [1]

Trump just held a news conference from his residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Here a few highlights from that news conference:

"Trump said the United States would 'run' Venezuela"

He offered few details how the US would run Venezuela saying only "a group" would do so.

He did indicate he was not afraid of putting "boots on the ground".

He spoke at length about American oil company's remaking the country's energy infrastructure.

He said Maduro and his wife were taken to New York to face drug and weapons charges.

If anyone doubt's it, this whole affair by Trump is about Venezuela's oil and the US taking it.

Maduro and his wife will undoubtedly be convicted of narco-terrorism but that's a ruse, just the thin veil over Trump's seizing Venezuela's oil.

Let's not mince words. What Trump has done is committing outright aggression against a sovereign country and its legitimately elected president.

All he's done is make allegations that Maduro is a narco-terrorist and is the illegitimate president of Venezuela.

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GENDER AND THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

Since 2000, twenty-five individuals have received the Nobel Peace Prize. The 15 male and 10 female recipients followed significantly different routes in achieving that distinction. For the purposes of this analysis three aspects of the recipients' career paths are examined; the positions they held, the issues they pursued, and the threats they endured. *

In this context, position refers to the personal status of the recipient when the awarded activity took place. Private individuals pursued their efforts outside the purview of governments at any level. Public officials are those who held a formal office in any domestic or international governmental entity. As a group, the twenty-five awardees are drawn almost equally from the public and the private sectors.

That overall similarity obscures significant gender differences. Sixty percent of the men served as public officials, including five presidents and one prime minister. In stark contrast, seven of the ten women were private citizens. The three female public officials included only one national chief executive, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. The other two women were Iranian Shirin Ebadi, a former judge, and the 2025 winner, Maria Corina Machado, a member of the Venezuelan national legislature.

The Nobel Committee recognized recipients for their contributions in two broad categories of issues, human rights, and conflict management. Human rights, as defined by Human Rights Watch, encompass a variety of efforts that protect and enhance the political, economic, and social rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled. Two-thirds of the prizes since 2000 were for work promoting these fundamental rights.

All ten of the female recipients labored in the human rights area, and seventy percent of them focused on programs related to women and children. Three women, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkol Karman, shared the 2011 prize for their work in this area. Four additional women, Shirin Ebadi, Malala Yousafzai, Nadia Murad, and Narges Mohammadi won for similar contributions.

*. The Appendix lists the recipients by gender, the dates of their awards, and their nationality.

The remaining three female awardees were Wangari Maathai, Maria Ressa, and Marina Corina Machado, all of whom worked, at least in part, as advocates of free speech and democracy.

In contrast to the women, fewer than half (47%) of the men were recognized for their activities on behalf of human rights. Three of the men shared their honors with women. Kailash Satyarthi of India was a co-winner with Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan for focusing on children's issues. Four years later Denis Mukwege, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nadia Murad, from Iraq, were cited for their efforts to end sexual violence in the context of wars. Finally, Dmitry Muratov and Maria Reesa, from Russia and the Philippines, respectively, won in 2021 for safeguarding freedom of expression.

The four other male winners gained recognition for a variety of programs addressing other fundamental rights. ales bialiatski fought abuses of power in Belarus. Muhammad Yunus created local economic development projects in Bangladesh. Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo and South Korean President Kim Dae-jung won for promoting basic political rights in their countries.

Conflict management , the second major category of awards, was the exclusive purview of six men, all of whom were chief executives at the national or international level. The most common dimension of managing conflict was resolving ongoing violence in various contexts. An example of ending internal violence was Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos' recognition for ending his country's half-century civil war.

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"ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info."



- Warning below ChatGPT's prompt

While I've often suspected I was arguing with a bot on Twitter, this was the first time I knowingly entered an exchange with a machine.

Needing an illustration to accompany a tribute to Limp Bizkit bassist Sam Rivers, I uploaded a screenshot from the band's Woodstock '99 performance into an AI engine and asked for a pencil-sketch version with the caption "Sam Rivers 1977-2025."

Instead of producing an image, the chatbot informed me that my request violated its terms of service. When I asked why, it replied: "There is no indication that Sam Rivers is dead."

I should have moved on. Instead, I tried to persuade the AI that the bassist was, in fact, deceased. I provided links to articles reporting his death, along with a press release from the band itself.

The AI was unyielding. No matter what proof I offered, it insisted it could not create the image using "false information." Eventually, I gave up. I had it generate the image without the dates and added them myself using a graphic editor.

The incident turned out not to be unique, but part of a broader pattern.

After completing the first draft of an article analyzing partisan reactions to the murders of Charlie Kirk and Rob Reiner, I submitted it to ChatGPT for suggestions on tightening the piece. Instead of stylistic feedback, the AI flagged what it described as "very serious"factual credibility risks," warning that these issues "undermine the article."

That accusation was deeply concerning. I take great care to ensure the accuracy of my writing. Readers may disagree with my conclusions, but they should never have reason to doubt that those conclusions are grounded in fact.

Curious to see where I had supposedly gone wrong, I read on. According to the AI:

Charlie Kirk is alive. Writing as though he was murdered is a fatal factual error unless the piece is speculative fiction, satire, or an unstated alternate reality. If the claim is metaphorical or hypothetical, it must be made explicit immediately. As written, the article is disqualifying for publication.

Unlike the news of Sam Rivers' death, which was only hours old when I encountered resistance from an AI, Kirk's murder had been extensively documented and had occurred three months earlier. The event had reshaped the country's political and social landscape, spawning major secondary stories of its own, including the temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel following his comments on the national response.

The AI continued. It asserted that there was "no public record of Rob Reiner being murdered," claiming that USA Today links dated December 2025 appeared to be fabricated or "future-dated," and therefore "severely damaging" to my credibility. It also insisted that "JD Vance is not currently Vice President as of real-world timelines."

This was no longer a matter of incomplete data or delayed updates. It was a system confidently rewriting reality and doing so while presenting itself as an authority.

Whether the cause is from a preprogrammed bias, flawed training data, or simple design limitations, mistakes are inevitable. The question is what happens when those mistakes are treated not as errors, but as facts. What mechanisms of accountability exist when AI systems are empowered to override documented reality, and increasingly, to mediate our access to it?

What unsettled me was not that the AI made mistakes, humans do that constantly, but that it insisted its mistakes were reality. That is the part Hollywood has been warning us about for decades.

With real-world AI still in its infancy, the HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey killed most of the crew aboard Discovery One after being given contradictory directives. This serves as a cautionary tale about the risks of developing advanced AI without clear ethical and operational safeguards. WarGames showed what happens when we let machines make decisions that require human judgment, empathy, and hesitation. In The Terminator, Skynet becomes self"'aware and launches a nuclear war as an act of self-preservation, illustrating the nightmare scenario of an AI so deeply embedded in our infrastructure that humans can no longer intervene.

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India demonstrates high political leadership for preventing antimicrobial resistance

SHOBHA SHUKLA - CNS



Do not self-prescribe antibiotics. Use antibiotic only upon medical prescription, says Indian PM Modi

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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is among the top 10 global health threats - and is also a threat to food safety and security and environment. AMR warrants more robust action to stop misuse and overuse of antimicrobial medicines in all sectors with One Health approach. World leaders have come together twice earlier in 2016 and 2024 at United Nations General Assembly High Level Meetings, and adopted Political Declarations with important time-bound commitments that have spurred stronger global response. But we need more country-level leadership at highest levels of echelons of power and sub-national levels to spark lasting change for health security.

AMR concerns all of us, says Indian PM

"Medicines require guidance, and antibiotics require doctors." Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 28th December 2025 gave a clear message to the people to not take antibiotics at their own discretion - rather take them only when prescribed by medical experts.

The government of India's apex and prestigious medical research body - Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) - released an important report recently, which states that antibiotics are proving ineffective against many diseases like pneumonia and urinary tract infections. According to ICMR report, a major reason for this is people's indiscriminate use of antibiotics. Antibiotics are not medicines that should be taken mindlessly. They should be used only upon medical advice.

"In the final #MannKiBaat of 2025, our PM has cautioned the country on increasing trends of antibiotic resistance. For this, he referred to ICMR's recently published AMR Research and Surveillance Network Report. As per that report, we are seeing increasing levels of resistance to commonly used antibiotics in patients from 25 hospitals across the country. This paints a very grim scenario because patients having drug-resistant infections have to spend more money on treatment, stay longer in the hospitals, and sometimes are not able to recover from these infections leading to their untimely death. AMR is driven by misuse and overuse of antimicrobial medicines. Patients should not consume antibiotics without prescription from the treating doctors," said Dr Kamini Walia who heads ICMR AMR Surveillance Network and is among the senior-most ICMR scientists (Scientist-G).

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Article Not Found

Sometimes, authors delete their articles after publishing them.



To see if the article was renamed or re-published, please click here.
this column on the morning of Saturday, January 3, with initial news trickling in. "The facts" are still thin, and some of them will likely turn out to be either incomplete or not "facts" at all, but a few real facts are foundational and not subject to change. Let's go through them:

First, US president Donald Trump's attack on Venezuela is illegal under US law and should result in his impeachment, conviction, removal from office, and eventually imprisonment. Congress has not declared war on Venezuela; therefore Trump has zero authority to wage said war. But he's been doing so at low intensity for months and just kicked it into high gear with multiple strikes on, and the claimed abduction of the titular "leader" of, Venezuela.

Second, Trump's attack on Venezuela is an illegal war of aggression under international law -- and since the Venezuelan regime is a member state of the International Criminal Court, Trump and everyone below him in the chain of command who participates in it are now subject to indictment, arrest, and prosecution for all of the crimes the attack entails.

Third, Trump's attack on Venezuela was entirely optional. There was no plausible, let alone imminent, threat against the United States by the Venezuelan regime that could have served as an excuse for "retaliation" or any plea of "necessity." Whatever Trump's reason for ordering the attack (personally, I suspect it's just another attempt to distract from his long, close, personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein), those reasons are his own, not "America's."

Fourth, the whole thing is indescribably stupid and evil. US troops' lives are being put at risk. US taxpayers' money is being wasted. And the operation has the makings of extending that risk and increasing that waste by way of reproducing past "regime change" / "nation-building" fiascos such as South Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

The very best possible outcome of the attack is that the Venezuelan people rise up, overthrow the current regime, and replace it with something more to their liking -- but probably not to the Washington, DC regime's liking. Which they could have done at any time, without Trump's help, had they chosen to.

The more likely outcome is that US forces will install a puppet/quisling regime to rule Venezuela to Trump's (and Big Oil's) liking, then spend years bleeding American blood and treasure into the place before an ignominious departure (with or without formal surrender).

What's NOT likely is that Trump and his accomplices will be removed from office/power, charged under US law, or extradited for trial under international law.

That's a shame. Letting violent criminals get away with violent crimes is an invitation to continue committing those crimes.

So much for a peaceful 2026.
Three incredible what-ifs, one right after the other, underscore the direction of America's tax code over the last several decades. They appear early on in the 2021 book Tax the Rich! How Lies, Loopholes and Lobbyists Make the Rich Even Richer.

Shock after shock, here they come:

"If you had worked every single day from the time Columbus sailed to America to the present and earned $5,000 per day, you would still have less money than Jeff Bezos makes in a week."

"If you had made $100,000 every single day since the year 1 A.D. and saved every penny, you would still have less money than Bill Gates has."

"If you had started working when the human race, Home sapiens, first walked upright, around 200,000 thousand years ago, and saved $100,000 a year, you would still not have as much money as Mark Zuckerberg has."

All three are not only true, they're super-true: The totals for the "if" dollars fall far short of the totals for the actual dollars pulled in by Zuckerberg, Gates and Bezos. Now comes David Kamin of NYU with a real-world parsing of the numbers, factoring in the ongoing effects of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill and his first-term Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. As Kamin sees it, the sirens are already sounding.

Listen to a key paragraph from his special report in November's Tax Notes:

"This report begins to define the magnitude of the challenge ahead. It describes how the political patterns followed over the last several decades could mean the triumph of a more regressive and unfair vision for (our) tax and fiscal system relative to what seemed achievable just a few years ago-- and with attendant harm to millions of low- to middle-income Americans who would bear greater fiscal burdens as a result."

Some of those burdens stem from the 2025 bill's "significant reductions in healthcare, nutrition assistance, student aid and clean energy subsidies." Putting everything together, America is heading into the future with a double-whammy tax code-- a code that tilts even more toward the rich, and saves its stinginess and takeaways for everybody else. As a percentage of their income, the poorest 20% will take the biggest hit from this year's bill.

Estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) show just how skewed the legislation is: "Over the next decade, (the bill) will cut taxes for the richest 10 percent of Americans by more than $14,700 per year per household and cut taxes for the richest 1 percent of Americans by more than $50,000 per year." CBO and JCT estimates also show the bill driving up the federal deficit by $3.4 trillion over the next 10 years.

The last of the One Big Beautiful Bill's 100-plus provisions won't take effect for another decade. It's called "Delayed implementation of new regulations that protect student loan borrowers," words that identify a small minority of the millions certain to be harmed.

Republicans supported the bill almost unanimously. Conversely, every Democrat in both the House and the Senate voted against it. Here's a look at one of the worst provisions of a bill that ended up getting 266 Republican "ayes" and 257 Democratic "nays".

As recently as 2017, the estate tax exemption for a married couple was just under $11 million. The 2017 Trump tax bill more than doubled that amount, and his One Big Beautiful Bill puts the exemption at its highest level ever. It will rise to $30 million for a couple in 2026-- a near tripling of the estate tax exemption by the two Trump administrations, all benefiting the wealthy at the expense of everybody else. The numbers mean that the largest untaxed fortunes in American history will now pass from one generation to the next (or, putting it the other way around, the federal government will receive not a penny in tax revenues when those fortunes pass to their heirs).

As if it weren't enough to cut taxes going forward, the bill also includes a last-minute $16 billion corporate giveaway retroactive to January 16 of 2025. It allows companies to deduct asset costs immediately rather than over their lifetime. News of its possible passage incensed Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts: "The last thing American families need is a tax code rigged even more for billionaires and billionaire corporations."

In the end, America didn't get One Big Beautiful Bill. Just as Warren feared, what America really got was One Big Ugly Bill.

-30-

This article first appeared in The New York Daily News.
OSLO, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Sunday that the United States has no right to annex Greenland, urging Washington to stop making threats against a close ally and the Greenlandic people.

"I have to say it very directly to the United States," Frederiksen said in a statement. She rejected the idea that it would be necessary for the United States to take over Greenland, stressing that "the United States has no right to annex" any of the three parts of the Danish Realm -- Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Frederiksen underlined that the Kingdom of Denmark including Greenland is part of NATO and therefore covered by the alliance's security guarantee. She added that a defense agreement between the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States already gives Washington broad access to Greenland.

The prime minister called on the United States to stop threats directed at "a historically close ally" as well as "another country and another people" who, she noted, have made it clear they are not for sale.

Frederiksen's comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump said in a telephone interview on Sunday with The Atlantic that the United States "absolutely" needs Greenland. He also discussed the U.S. intervention in Venezuela.

Last month, Trump announced the appointment of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as the U.S. special envoy to Greenland, renewing diplomatic tension between Washington and the Danish Realm.

Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in gaining control of Greenland, saying that he would not rule out the use of "military or economic coercion" to achieve that goal.

Greenland, a former Danish colony, became an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark in 1953. It was granted home rule in 1979, expanding its autonomy, though Denmark retains authority over foreign affairs and defense. 
Feeding us science fiction has been sufficient to cover up oil spill causes in our country. The Keystone spill is no different (Figure 1). The analysis presented here is a first-of-a-kind investigation, and many government conclusions are challenged, where those challenges, or falsehoods, are not all specifically listed here.



Figure 1. Keystone oil pipeline spill of 14,000 gallons. Oil flows uphill away from Mill Creek.

(Image by PHMSA) Details DMCA





Figure 2. Excavated Keystone pipeline.

(Image by PHMSA) Details DMCA



Government Fiction

A government investigation incorrectly concluded that soil weight damaged the Keystone pipeline ("Failure Investigation Report TC Oil Pipeline Operations Inc, Rupture - Circumferential Girth Weld Failure.", click here). Impressive failure analyses were performed in the "Root Cause Failure Analysis for the Keystone Milepost 14 Release, RSI Pipeline Solutions." (click here) and the "Metallurgical Analysis of NPS-36 KS10 MP-14 Pipeline, Anderson & Associates, Inc." (click here). However, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) overreached the conclusions of that report.

The RSI report provided a calculation to show that a weld may have failed, in part, due to hypothetical soil and heavy equipment weight, or soil weight alone, where the pipeline was theoretically assumed to deflect downward one foot, but when the pipeline was excavated there was no evidence of such a downward deflection (Figure 2). In other words, the RSI calculation assumed that 61,000 tons from heavy equipment had pressed down on the pipeline to permanently bend the pipe downward or excessive bending due to soil settlement, where downward bending did not happen. That is, PHMSA reached an unsupported and fundamentally flawed conclusion concerning pipeline failure and soil weight, where PHMSA falsely claimed that soil weight and soil compaction alone were at fault.

As a matter of fact, the pipeline bent upwards 30 feet downstream of the weld failure, which would have violated physics if the soil pushed the pipeline upward since gravity would have had to push upwards.

The final government report also noted that the failure happened due to repeated loads. A maximum 1-1/2 inch wide by 26-1/2 inch long crack formed in the pipeline at a defective weld, and a bulge in the pipeline formed immediately upstream of the crack (Figures 3 and 4).

A different opinion is presented here, where science rather than fiction is presented. Water hammer explains observations while soil weight does not.



Figure 3. Keystone pipeline crack at the leak site.

(Image by PHMSA) Details DMCA





Figure 4. Upstream pipeline bulge.

(Image by PHMSA) Details DMCA



Some Oil Industry Background

Water hammers are a known hazard but are improperly addressed as a hazard for oil pipelines.

An example from a graduate school water hammer course that I attended cited a water hammer from a pump house. When pumps were momentarily turned off while changing oil types in the pipeline, pictures in a building one quarter of a mile away were knocked off the walls due to a water hammer shock wave. My Leishear Stress Theory to explain water main breaks had not yet been invented.

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United States President Donald Trump boasted and sold the recent Caracas raid as the most spectacular U.S. military operation since World War II: bomb the capital, drag Venezuelan president Nicola's Maduro from his compound, declare victory, and "run Venezuela" while seizing its oil. Yet within 48 hours, what was supposed to be a textbook decapitation strike had mutated into a geopolitical and constitutional crisis, with Venezuela's institutions still intact, its leadership coordinated, and Trump's occupation plan collapsing in real time. Far from a clean regime change, the operation has - so far - collided head"'on with a resistance strategy Caracas appears to have prepared well in advance-- and the collision is exposing every fault line in Trump's approach to power, law, and war.

From published reports Venezuela is quiet, its government is in place and there are no mass political protests of pro-opposition and pro-USA elements across the nation. On the contrary, while there is some anger and opposition to the government of Nicholas Maduro, there is a growing realization that the country now completely angered by the unprecedented U.S. actions will put aside its internal issues and galvanize around a pro-Venezuela resistance.

From Shock and Awe to Strategic Failure

Operation "Absolute Resolve," as Trump's team branded it, was months in the making. According to reporting the CIA inserted a covert team into Venezuela as early as August 2025, compiling granular intelligence on Maduro's movements, routines, and even his pets. Delta Force operators trained on a replica of Maduro's compound, built from classified imagery; by December, the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group led the largest U.S. naval buildup in South American waters in modern history.

Between September and late December, the administration authorized 35 strikes on alleged Venezuelan "drug boats," killing about 115 people without "charge or trial," and conducted a CIA drone strike on a dockyard, all under a counter"'narcotics banner. Airspace was closed, an ultimatum was reportedly delivered to Maduro, and Trump gave final approval for the raid before Christmas, convinced that overwhelming force would either compel surrender or clear the way for a swift invasion and transition.

Tactically, the operation worked: Yes, U.S. forces reached Caracas, bombed targets, seized Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and flew them to New York in handcuffs aboard a warship. Trump unsealed federal indictments, held a triumphant press conference, and declared that America would now run Venezuela and recoup its costs through oil revenue. Strategically, however, the plan failed at the very moment it came up against political reality. "-

Caracas Refuses to Fall

So, roughly 48 hours after the raid, Venezuela's state apparatus remains intact. Verifiable updates from reputable outlets like Chatham House and NBC showed the Venezuelan government still issuing orders, commanding loyalty, and activating national defense plans-- even as its president sits in U.S. custody. By any measure this is not chaotic collapse; it is a chess board master strategy of organized resistance anticipated by the Maduro government that took into consideration that the president would be kidnapped or killed and what to do the day after. The level of internal calmness, control and the forceful rejection of Trumpian colonial bombast while demanding the return of President Maduro also suggests to me that the government had a succession plan in place long before the bombings started.

For example, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice in Venezuela issued an order directing Vice President Delcy Rodr-guez to assume responsibilities in Maduro's absence, not as a new president, but as a caretaker under his continuing authority. This is important. On state television, Rodr-guez delivered a carefully calibrated address: she demanded proof of life for Maduro and Flores, condemned the operation as an illegal kidnapping, reaffirmed Maduro as Venezuela's only president, and vowed the country would never again be a colony of any empire.

No, this was not panic. It was a deliberate positioning-- and it immediately blew up Trump's spin and triumphalist, chest-thumping narrative. During his Mar-a-Lago press event, he claimed Rodr-guez had been sworn in as president, had spoken "graciously" with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and had essentially agreed to cooperate with the invader: "We'll do whatever you need," he paraphrased. Yet Venezuelan broadcasts showed no such swearing"'in, no mention of cooperation, and a vice president explicitly rejecting U.S. authority. Either Trump or Rodr-guez is lying. If its Trump as it appears to be then he's deliberately gaslighting the American people and the international community.

Further, its either Trump fabricated cooperation, or Rodr-guez is playing a sophisticated double game: possible private contact, paired with overt public defiance. But in both scenarios, the outcome is the same: Trump has no compliant local partner, no constitutional legitimacy on the ground, and no clear path to translate a limited military win into political control.

Constitutional Continuity as Resistance Weapon

The genius of Caracas's response lies in its use of constitutional form as a shield. By keeping Rodr-guez as vice president-- rather than proclaiming herself acting president-- the government preserves the claim that Maduro remains the legitimate head of state, illegally abducted by a foreign power. In this framing, Rodr-guez is not a collaborator implementing a U.S. transition, but a caretaker defending her country's sovereignty until the president's return.

That move denies Donald Trump and his minions three critical pillars he assumed he would have:

A "new" Venezuelan government to recognize and front the occupation.

A plausible narrative of democratic transition or constitutional succession. Installing a puppet regime that does his bidding as the new Nabob of Venezuela.

A local signature under which U.S. control could be dressed up as partnership.

Instead, as of today the United States is left fundamentally occupying nothing formally-- no ministries ceded, no armed forces re"'badged, no legal cover from Caracas. Venezuela has effectively created a limbo in which Trump holds the man but not the state. The government still claims continuity; the opposition is sidelined; and U.S. forces float above a political landscape that refuses to acknowledge their authority.

Political analysts believe that Venezuela's reaction is not improvised. It reflects hard lessons learned from two decades of failed U.S. interventions. In Iraq, the Bush administration toppled Saddam Hussein quickly, only to face a long insurgency waged by Ba'ath loyalists, Sunni militants, and later Iran"'backed Shiite militias. In Libya, NATO helped kill Muammar Gaddafi but left no viable successor, unleashing a fragmented civil war and extremist enclaves. In Afghanistan, a U.S."'funded government collapsed in eleven days once American troops withdrew, revealing institutions hollow of legitimacy beyond foreign sponsorship.

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It is the type of action that, if uncovered, could end the careers of the participants. It might even land them in jail. With the stakes so high, there was clearly motivation to protect the secret; perhaps by setting aside the First Amendment and muzzling the press corps

There is no dispute that, for an hour, the two sailors clung to the smoldering wreckage of their vessel. They "were shirtless, unarmed, and carried no visible radio or other communications equipment." According to one Democratic Congressman, the survivors appeared to be "in clear distress without any means of locomotion."

Under the Geneva Convention for the Wounded and Sick at Sea (GWS Sea), the two men were "in distress at sea" and, therefore, considered "shipwrecked." The Department of Defense Law and War Manual specifies that any reprisals against them or their equipment were "prohibited." Members of our military ignored these rules and unleashed two missiles at the men, allegedly to satisfy "Department of War" Secretary Pete Hegseth's command to kill them all.

The Trump administration and its allies in Congress defended the killings by claiming the men were engaged in drug smuggling. With no evidence provided, we are expected to take the word from an executive branch that has continued to deny that Trump wrote an obscene birthday message to the mastermind of a pedophile ring, even after the book with his signature was released. Even in its strongest year, 2024, 27% of Coast Guard drug interdiction boardings found nothing. In 2021, "41% of boats searched yielded no drugs."

The blood of those men stains the hands of all Americans. They were killed in our names in the latest battle in the War on Drugs, a failed war fought to protect us from ourselves and our refusal to "just say 'no'."

Ignoring the rules outlined in the Geneva Convention to kill shipwrecked mariners is the type of action that Senator Mark Kelly and the rest of the "Seditious Six" probably had in mind when they released a video warning members of the military that they "all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution" and reminding them of their training that tells them they "can refuse illegal orders." This is in line with the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), which requires members of the military to disobey "patently illegal" orders. A service member who obeys an unlawful order can be held personally responsible for the crime committed.

The fact that Kelly and his fellow elected representatives, all of whom served with distinction in either the military or intelligence services, were quoting the law directly did not stop Trump from labeling their words as "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL" and calling for them to be "ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL." A little more than an hour later, he called for their execution, stating that "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!"

Sedition is defined as "conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch." Given that Trump, or any other president, does not have the authority to tell troops to ignore this law, the video made by Kelly and his allies would not fall under this offense. Even if the elected representatives were guilty of this crime, the maximum punishment for civilians is twenty years in prison. Still, Speaker Mike Johnson removed his lips from Trump's ass long enough to claim that death is the proper punishment for sedition and that the video quoting the law was "wildly inappropriate."

Barely a year into Trump's second term, his assaults on the Constitution are expanding. Civilians are being killed at sea, opposition leaders threatened with execution, and the press corps replaced by loyal influencers. Did the American voters expect anything different when they elected the man the Supreme Court said was immune from prosecution for any of his actions?

_____

Recognized as "a valiant fighter for public schools," Carl Petersen is a former Green Party candidate for the LAUSD School Board. Shaped by raising two daughters with severe autism, he is a passionate voice for special education. Recently, he relocated to the State of Washington to embrace the role of "Poppy" to two grandsons. Explore more at TheDifrntDrmr.


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As Sen. Rand Paul works a bill which would repeal the Real ID Act of 2005, the media is working overtime to keep people from understanding what Real ID really is and what it does. Here is a primer.

-- Real ID is not really an ID. It is a part of a sophisticated 24/7 surveillance network that keeps a record of where you have been, and soon what you have purchased and when, and is an open-ended database linking to everything about you, whether it be medical, financial, or Internet use. It requires that the ID eventually include a high-resolution facial recognition scan of the kind in use in China, which can pick out individuals from hundreds of feet away.

-Real ID is owned, managed, and run not by any US government department, but by a private third-party contractor, the French corporation IDEMIA. IDEMIA in turn stores all your data in the servers of Amazon Web Services.

-- IDEMIA has been accused by human rights organizations of helping the Egyptian military government in its crackdown on dissent, through its mass surveillance and tracking technology.

-- State drivers licenses or IDs that are forgery proof, based on birth certificates, are sufficient for voter ID. You use the same technology as paper currency, with UV light able to read the stamp beneath the ink. Real ID will ping the government every time you use it and updates a master AI database in real time, on where you are, what you are doing, and what you are buying. The government can shut off your Real ID at any time.

-- Although the DHS at present says that Real ID will be required, according to a TSA January 14, 2025 rules document, for (1) accessing Federal facilities, (2) boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, (3) entering nuclear power plants, buried in this clause are also the words "and any other purposes that the Secretary of Homeland Security shall determine." Thus the language of the Real ID Act of 2005 is broad and vague, and unconstitutionally grants the Executive Branch powers far beyond those enumerated in the US Constitution. Below: 2025 DHS announcement, DHS shall determine for what "purposes" Real ID is needed. Source

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-The US Constitution is a limiting document, created to strictly limit what the federal government can do, and reserving all other powers "to the States respectively, or to the people," as the Tenth Amendment states. Nowhere in the US Constitution is the government given the authority require the presentation of identification of any sort for daily civilian activities. Law enforcement must have "probable cause" of a crime having been committed or in progress to demand identification from citizens. Wherever possible, a search warrant must be obtained. -- Alarmingly, the Real ID Act in Section 205 of the Real ID Act, states that the Act: "Gives the [DHS] Secretary all authority to issue regulations, set standards, and issue grants under this title." Below source

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- A "standard" is not limited and could be anything, including whether or not a high resolution facial recognition scan has been obtained from the Real ID holder, or vaccination status. It is another completely open-ended blank check for the government to demand anything it desires, abolishing the concept of privacy which has been determined to be written into the Fourth Amendment, in order for a Real ID to remain valid for any "purposes that the Secretary of Homeland Security shall determine."

-- Former Bush Jr. administration official and Real ID critic, Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Catherine Austin Fitts, remains convinced that the Real ID will be used to enforce vaccine mandates, by making it impossible to function in society without a valid Real ID. This could require government-mandated injections as a standard for validity, in essence a de-facto vaccine passport.

The Real ID Act was passed in 2005, but has lain fallow as a result of state and popular resistance. Since taking office for his second term, Trump has single-handedly resurrected it and put it into overdrive. Ironically, some among the financial elites make no secret of their desire for a China-like global system which "monitors" and "tracks" people. Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, wrote in his book in 2019, The Fourth Industrial Revolution: "Any package, pallet or container can now be equipped with a sensor, transmitter or radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that allows a company to track where it is as it moves through the supply chain-- how it is performing, how it is being used, and so on".In the near future, similar monitoring systems will also be applied to the movement and tracking of people." Real ID is anticipated by many to eventually take the form of an under-the-skin biochip for everyone, already a reality in countries such as Sweden. Refuse Real ID is one of the main groups opposing Real ID, which some call "the Mark of the Beast," with the campaign "Stop Real ID" LARGE IMAGE OF BELOW

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Below: Stop Real ID national campaign
Dear Eric: Why should I go to my 50th high school reunion? I received a phone call from a former classmate who wouldnt give me the time of day when we were in school together. You need to go! No, thank you.

The cost is outrageous. Plus, most of the people I would like to see are either not going or are deceased.

During my high school years, I was not treated well by some of the students. I definitely did not like my high school years. If I wasnt bullied, I definitely wouldnt have been absent so many days. I would have had better grades and maybe a six-figure income.

So, once again, is there a reason to go?

 No Way to a Reunion

Dear Reunion: Nope!

There are some things that are unresolved from your time in high school years. But its unlikely that youll find the resolution you seek at a reunion because thats not what reunions are for, generally. Moreover, you dont want to go.

In the grand scheme of things, not wanting to do something is a perfectly fine reason not to do it.

Yes, your 50th high school reunion only happens once. But if its going to do you more harm than good, emotionally or economically, once is one time too many.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.
John Mulrooney, a stand-up comedian and television host who briefly helmed The Late Show and appeared on numerous TV programs, died Monday at his home in New York. He was 67.

The Albany Times-Union reported his death. No cause was immediately available.

Mulrooney hosted the Fox series Comic Strip Live and temporarily took over The Late Show in 1987 after Joan Rivers departure. He also appeared on Ellen, The New Hollywood Squares, and Star Search, and guest-hosted The Pat Sajak Show on CBS.

His obituary from Casey Funeral Home described him as a beloved stand-up comedian, dedicated public servant, and proud patriot whose life was defined by service, laughter, and an unwavering devotion to the people he loved.

Fellow comedian Andrew Dice Clay paid tribute to Mulrooney in a Facebook post Wednesday, recalling the first time he saw him perform at Pips Comedy Club in Brooklyn.

He was the last comedian to come out of that club that everybody thought would become a really, really big star! Clay wrote.

Clay praised Mulrooneys perseverance in what he called a ruthless business and noted that Mulrooney pursued multiple careers beyond comedy, working as a boxer, a pilot, and a police officer for about 25 years.

The thing Im getting at is that he never gave up, he never stopped trying, which is what its all about in my book, Clay wrote.
A tense calm hangs over Venezuela one day after a U.S. military operation that deposed President Nicolas Maduro, who was brought to New York to face criminal charges.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. would run the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

Maduro and his wife landed late Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York. The couple face U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuelas autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval. Venezuelas vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, meanwhile, demanded that the United States free Maduro and called him the countrys rightful leader as her nations high court named her interim president.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News Sunday that the United States wants a leader in Venezuela who will be a partner that understands that were going to protect America when it comes to stopping drug trafficking and terrorists from coming into our country.

She said the Trump administration has told Rodriguez you can lead or you can get out of the way, because were not going to allow you to continue to subvert American influence and our need to have a free country like Venezuela to work with rather than to have dictators in place who perpetuate crimes and drug trafficking.

Here are 5 things to know on Sunday:

Protests against Trumps plans in Venezuela pop up across the US

From California to Missouri and Texas, protestors are planning demonstrations Sunday and through the week against President Donald Trumps military operation and capture of Maduro, which one protest description called the illegal, unconstitutional invasion of Venezuela.

Dozens appear to be organized by chapters of Indivisible, a left-leaning group, and many take umbrage with Trumps plans to take control of Venezuelas oil industry and ask American companies to revitalize it.

Portland protesters gathered Saturday in Pioneer Courthouse Square to decry Maduros capture.

What congressional leaders say about the Venezuela operation

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa who serves as Senate president pro tempore, posted on X Saturday that Maduro is a narco-terrorist and his drug trafficking resulted in the deaths of too many Americans. He likened the Trump operation to then-President George Bushs decision in 1989 to capture Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega following his indictment for drug trafficking.

Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate leader, called Maduro a horrible, horrible person but added, You dont treat lawlessness with other lawlessness. And thats whats happened.

We have learned through the years that, when America tries to regime change and nation-building in this way, the American people pay the price in both blood and results, Schumer told ABCs This Week.

Oregons congressional delegation largely condemned Trumps Venezuela attack.

Once again, U.S. foreign policy is all about oil, regime change and might makes right, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, posted on Facebook. This military operation violated our own Constitution, which requires Congressional approval for acts of war. Far from being a simple surgical strike, this action to remove Maduro will reverberate in unexpected and significant ways.

Rubio says US will use control of Venezuelas oil to influence policy

Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to back off Trumps assertions that the U.S. was running Venezuela, insisting instead that Washington will use control of the South American countrys oil industry to force policy changes and, we expect that its going to lead to results here.

Were hopeful, hopeful, that it does positive results for the people for Venezuela, Rubio told ABCs This Week. But, ultimately, most importantly, in the national interest of the United States.

Trumps plan to take control of Venezuelas oil industry and ask American companies to revitalize it faces major hurdles and isnt likely to have a significant immediate impact on oil prices.

The countrys oil industry is in disrepair after years of neglect and international sanctions. While some analysts are optimistic that the country could double or triple its oil production, American oil companies will want a stable regime in the country before they are willing to invest heavily. And questions remain about legal rights:

A big issue will be who really owns Venezuelas oil? said Matthew Waxman, a Columbia University law professor who was a national security official in the George W. Bush administration.

An occupying military power cant enrich itself by taking another states resources, but the Trump administration will probably claim that the Venezuelan government never rightfully held them, Waxman said.

Waxman noted that weve seen the administration talk very dismissively about international law when it comes to Venezuela.

A tense calm prevails on mostly empty streets of Caracas

Venezuelas capital Caracas was unusually quiet Sunday with few vehicles moving around. Convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses were mostly closed.

The presence of police and members of the military across the city was notable for its smaller size compared with an average day and even more so with the days when people protested against Maduros government in previous years.

Meanwhile, soldiers attempted to clear an area of an air base that had been on fire along with at least three passenger buses following Saturdays U.S. attack.

After capture and removal, Venezuelas Maduro is being held at notorious Brooklyn jail

The Brooklyn jail holding Nicolas Maduro is a facility so troubled that some judges have refused to send people there even as it has housed such famous inmates as music stars R. Kelly and Sean Diddy Combs.

Opened in the early 1990s, the Metropolitan Detention Center, or MDC Brooklyn, currently houses about 1,300 inmates.

Its the routine landing spot for people awaiting trial in federal courts in Manhattan and Brooklyn, holding alleged gangsters and drug traffickers alongside some people accused of white collar crimes.

Maduro is not the first president of a country to be locked up there.

Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former president of Honduras, was imprisoned at MDC Brooklyn while he was on trial for trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into the U.S. Hernandez was pardoned and freed by President Donald Trump in December.
Saturday morning, in a surprise attack, the U.S. military descended on Caracas and captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. They were flown to New York, where Maduro will face narco-terrororism charges.

President Donald Trump said during a press conference he would run Venezuelas government for the time being.

Oregon Democrats such as Ron Wyden have already spoken out about the attack, calling it the same global interventionism that Americans soundly rejected after decades of failed wars and disastrous meddling in other nations affairs.

Later in the afternoon, just hours after news broke of Maduros capture, a little over 100 people gathered in downtown Portland to protest.

CODEPINK, a national feminist anti-war group, coordinated a rally at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Other likeminded organizations, such as Unite Every Corner and 50501, organized another protest nearby.

A handful of speakers from different political groups spoke against the attack and led chants. They called for the immediate release of Maduro and his wife.
If 2025 was the year artificial intelligence took off, will 2026 be the year AI takes over? Yes, if youre editorial cartoonist Dana Summers. He leads this weeks editorial cartoon gallery with a robot Baby New Year ushering out Father Time.

Others have a less rosy view of the passage of 2025 into the past. Michael Ramirez draws a battered Uncle Sam proclaiming, Ha! Take that, 2025! I survived! What he doesnt see is a tractor trailer labeled 2026 barreling toward him. Pedro Molinas Father Time is banged up by tariffs, ICE, the Epstein files and the economy but eager to leave the rest of us with President Donald Trump. Mike Luckovichs Baby New Year has the measles and Drew Shenemans will soon contract it. Bill Bramhall draws New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as Baby New Year with a beard and Father Time wishing the 34-year-old who made bold promises, Good luck, kid.

Several editorial cartoonists also question whether Russian leader Vladimir Putin really wants peace as he continues to attack Ukraine.

Other news events in this weeks abbreviated gallery include Trumps plummeting approval rating; the hypocrisy of criticizing attacks on alleged Venezuelan drug boats while expressing regret for the addiction troubles of Rob Reiners son Nick; more on the redactions of the Jeffrey Epstein documents; and the narcissism fed by social media.

Cartoons were drawn by Nick Anderson, Bill Bramhall, Pedro X. Molina, Joel Pett, Drew Sheneman, Dana Summers and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and Steve Breen, Mike Luckovich and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate.
Oregon depends on clean water  it sustains our communities, economy and ecosystems. Every waterway plays a vital role in supplying drinking water, supporting native fish, sustaining farms and providing recreation. Today, these waterways face serious threats from efforts to weaken the Clean Water Act.

The efforts include a proposed redefinition of waters of the United States by federal administrators along with proposed legislation including the PERMIT Act, which received approval Dec. 11 from the U.S. House and is now headed to the Senate.

These proposals go beyond implementing the Supreme Courts 2023 Sackett v. EPA decision. They reject well-established science on water systems and will undermine federal and state ability to protect water quality.

The PERMIT Act is especially dangerous. It targets Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, the authority that state and tribal authorities use to review and condition projects like dams, pipelines and large developments. This act would limit Oregons ability to consider cumulative and downstream impacts from these projects, weaken enforcement of state water quality standards and shift power away from local and tribal authorities to federal political appointees. Even when states impose protective conditions, they could be barred from enforcement.

Oregonians have worked too hard to restore rivers and streams to watch these gains erased. We should strengthen clean water protections, not roll them back to benefit polluters.

Comments to the proposed changes can be submitted at regulations.gov to Docket No. EPA-HQ-OW-2025-0322 until Jan. 5.

Frances Oyung, Medford

Oyung is program manager for Rogue Riverkeeper
CARACAS, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's Bolivarian National Armed Forces on Sunday strongly condemned the "cowardly kidnapping" of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the United States.

In a statement read out on national radio and television, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez also denounced that U.S. troops sent to Venezuela early Saturday murdered "in cold blood" a large part of Maduro's security detail, soldiers and innocent civilians.

Venezuela's military expressed its full support for the state of external emergency declared by the Venezuelan government following the U.S. strikes on several locations within Venezuela.

"Our institution will continue to employ all its available capabilities for military defense, the maintenance of internal order, and the preservation of peace," the armed forces statement said.

Padrino said the armed forces activated "the Full Operational Readiness Plan throughout the entire national territory and in perfect civilian-military-police coordination."

This action aims to "integrate the elements of National Power in the mission to confront imperial aggression, forming a single combat force to ensure the freedom, independence, and sovereignty of the Nation," the military said.

In the early hours of Saturday, U.S. military forces carried out attacks and bombings in Caracas and other parts of the country and took Maduro and his wife by force. 
CARACAS, Venezuela  An anxious quiet fell over Venezuelas capital on Sunday as trepidation mixed with joy while a nation waited to see what comes next.

People were slow to resume routines in Caracas after President Nicolas Maduro was deposed and captured in a dramatic U.S. military operation. Dozens of stores, restaurants and churches remained closed. Those on the streets looked shell-shocked, staring at their phones or into the distance.

People are still shaken, said 77-year-old David Leal, who arrived to work as a parking attendant but realized he likely would not have customers. He pointed to the deserted street, a few blocks from Venezuelas presidential palace, which was guarded by armed civilians and military personnel.

May God give us strength

Venezuela is no stranger to political tumult, but the the dead-of-night U.S. military operation early Saturday marked a new chapter with no ready script.

U.S. President Donald Trump initially said the U.S. would run the country until there was stability, a remark that Secretary of State Marco Rubio seemed to walk back on Sunday.

Rubio insisted in interviews that Washington will use control of Venezuelas oil industry to force policy changes, and called the government currently in place illegitimate. The country is home to the worlds largest proven crude oil reserves.

We want to see Venezuela transition to be a place completely different than what it looks like today. But obviously, we dont have the expectation thats going to happen in the next 15 hours, Rubio said.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, flanked by the high military command, told Venezuelans that Maduro was still the rightful leader. Presidential duties, however, now belong to Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, whom the high court ordered to assume the role of interim president.

Rodriguez made no public comment Sunday.

Maduros cadre of government officials demanded his release from custody in New York, where his first court appearance is set for Monday. State-controlled media did not air the images of him handcuffed on U.S. soil.

Venezuelans instead saw them on social media, and many could not believe their eyes.

May God give us strength for what we are experiencing. Im sad. He is a human being, said Nely Gutierrez, a retiree, as her eyes welled with tears. They have him handcuffed, and if he is in the hands of the empire, no one can save him from there, only God, not even God. He will die there.

Gutierrez had walked to church only to find it closed. She said she would have prayed for peace in Venezuela and for Maduro. She declined to say whether she ever voted for him but said, The word of God says love your enemy.

A government supporters displays a U.S. flag in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) AP

Fear of celebrating

In the U.S. and some Latin American countries, Maduros ouster was celebrated.

In Venezuela, the scene was different, with some supporters burning U.S. flags and holding signs reading Gringo go home.

Others muted any anti-Maduro feelings for now. Construction worker Daniel Medalla said people did not dare celebrate out of fear of government repression.

We were longing for it, Medalla, 66, said of Maduros exit.

Memories remain fresh of the government crackdown following the 2024 presidential election, which Maduro claimed to have won despite credible evidence that he lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin. Protests left 28 people dead, 220 injured and at least 2,000 detained, according to official figures.

The presence of police and military personnel across Caracas on Sunday was notable for its smaller size compared with an average day. Soldiers attempted to clear an area of an air base that burned along with at least three passenger buses during the U.S. attack.

Rubio in interviews said no U.S. forces were on the ground in Venezuela but didnt rule out further strikes there.

Death toll from US operation still unclear

Venezuelan officials have said Saturdays operation killed civilians and military personnel. But they have not given a toll, and the governments press office has not responded to multiple requests.

In the coastal state of La Guaira, families with houses damaged during the operation were cleaning up debris.

Wilman Gonzalez shows an injury he says he suffered when his home was hit during U.S. military operations to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) AP

Wilman Gonzalez, left with a black eye from a blast, picked through rubble at home, surrounded by broken furniture. One part of his apartment building was almost entirely blown off, leaving walls gaping.

Among those killed was Gonzalezs aunt.

This is it, what we are left with: ruins, he said.

Gonzalez spoke with anger at the wreckage but also at the compounding economic and political crises that Venezuela has endured for decades.

We are civilians. We are not with the government or anyone else, he said.
Portlanders should prepare for rain on Sunday, though Monday likely offers a glimpse of sunny skies, the National Weather Service predicts.

Likelihood of rain in and around Portland grows throughout Sunday morning and raindrops are almost a sure bet by early afternoon, weather models show. But that chance of rain falls again overnight, ushering in a partly sunny Monday. Forecasters expect a high of 51 degrees on Sunday and a slightly cooler 48 degrees on Monday.

The rest of the week likely brings rain and high temps in the upper 40s.

Elsewhere in Oregon, forecasters expect snow to pummel Crater and Diamond lakes and warn that minor coastal flooding could hit the Coos Bay area.

Travel could be difficult to impossible in the South Central Oregon Cascades as snow dumps on the mountains above 5,000 feet and winds gust up to 45 miles an hour, the National Weather Service says. It issued a winter weather advisory for the area around Diamond and Crater lakes, which expires on Monday at 4 p.m.

The weather service has also issued a flood advisory from Port Orford to Reedsport from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Forecasters expect some isolated road closures and potential flooding around high tide at noon.
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ANKARA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that his country is ready to facilitate a dialogue between Yemen's factions.

During a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Erdogan expressed Turkiye's readiness to contribute to efforts to bring together the parties that are at odds in Yemen, his office said in a statement.

Turkiye is "closely" following the developments in Yemen, Erdogan said while stressing the importance of protecting the country's territorial integrity, according to the statement.

Yemen has witnessed an escalation of tensions within the Saudi-backed anti-Houthi alliance since December 2025, following the Southern Transitional Council's seizure of the oil-rich Hadramout governorate and the eastern governorate of Al-Mahrah. Together, the two governorates comprise nearly half of Yemen's landmass and share strategic borders with Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Riyadh regards these areas as a critical "red line" due to their proximity to its southern border and their concentration of Yemen's energy resources. In response, Saudi Arabia threw its support behind the internationally recognized Yemeni government, launching a large-scale military operation marked by intensified air and ground strikes.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since 2014, when Houthi forces captured Sanaa and large swathes of the north, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015.

Formed in 2017, the Southern Transitional Council seeks self-determination and eventual independence for southern Yemen. Despite joining the Saudi-led coalition and integrating into Yemen's ruling Presidential Leadership Council in 2022, the group continues to push for southern sovereignty, leading to recurring disputes over power-sharing and control of resources. 
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Christine and Dennis Vrooman are one of many East Coast couples who wound up in wine as a second career after retiring from their first.

The couple had expected to retire after they sold their veterinary practice in Virginia Beach, with the plan to purchase a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which had served as a regular getaway for them up to that point.

As they told an interviewer in 2019, they purchased a cabin but didnt want to live in it all the time, and hired a contractor farther up the mountain to clear some ground so they could build a house.

That contractor cleared the wrong spot, leaving them with a space in the woods to fill with ... something.

They ultimately landed on grapevines, and during a visit by viticulturalist and ampelographer Lucie Morton, were advised to plant Pinot Noir.

The first vines were planted in 2008, yielding their first vintage of Pinot Noir in 2011. The rest, as a recent Wine Enthusiast story on successful grape-growing sites in the Blue Ridge Mountains chronicled, is history. Their Pinot Noir is among the best being produced on the East Coast, and last February was named by Wine Business Monthly as one of the top 10 hot wine brands in the country and the only winery outside of the West Coast on the list.

Located at 1304 Franklin Creek Road in Amherst, Virginia, the tasting room is closed this month and will reopen on Saturdays in February and Saturdays and Sundays in March and April before expanding its business hours again in May.

Ankida's Rose of Pinot Noir is crafted for those who appreciate a softer, more nuanced profile. Ankida Ridge Vineyards

The couples son, Nathan, is the winemaker and vineyard manager.

Heres a link to the wines that Ankida Ridge makes and sells.

Contacted by PennLive, Christine Vrooman recently returned these answers to a few questions about the winery.

Q, Any plans for changes or additions to either the wine list or the premises in 2026?

A, Yes, we are excited to be adding this fall an additional tasting room/event building up at the Overlook level, where the views are expansive. We will still maintain our original tasting room that folks love to visit. The new structure will be large enough to host larger tasting room events and small boutique events. We are planning on hosting a few retreats each year, embracing nature and promoting well-being, and inspiring the creative spirit. We are working on building trails through the mountain that will encourage contemplative nature walks that will be based at the new building site. Our philosophy is that in connecting with nature, we better connect with ourselves, and that leads to a better understanding of our neighbors and our communities.

Q, Every winery is a little different in terms of its vibe, its environment and what it has to offer. What are a couple of things your visitors can always expect when they stop by?

A, When new visitors come to visit Ankida, they might arrive as strangers, but they leave as friends. We have a very welcoming staff and a small, intimate and warm environment. We love pets, so we encourage our guests to bring their fur babies along. And, of course, we are proud of our truly world-class wines that have garnered outstanding recognition across the country. We are all about quality and educating our guests on the importance of place in planting grapes and making wine.

Q, What else do you grow there besides Pinot Noir?

A, On our mere 6 acres of vines, we also grow Chardonnay and a small plot of Gamay.

Q, The wine club sounds like  extended family? Lots of nice perks. Love that its free to join. How old is it, and how often are there distributions?

A, We started our wine club back in about 2014, I think. As an extended family of Ankida wine lovers, our members enjoy many interesting and fun events together, including traveling to new countries and exploring wine, food and culture. Our wine club shipments go out once a quarter or four times a year, and you can select which wines you prefer.

Come for the wines, but also for the views. Ankida Ridge Vineyards

Q, Last thing .. youve been doing this long enough as a second career. Best part about owning a winery? And the toughest or most challenging part, especially today?

A, There are many best parts of owning a vineyard and winery. I think you could describe our life here as a lifestyle of agriculture and hospitality in a beautiful mountain setting, offering and enlightening guests to what is possible in the high elevations of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It has been gratifying to see the evolution and the recognition that the high elevations are starting to receive now. Id like to think we played a minor role, at least, in that expansion of Virginia wine-growing regions. Working as a family, with our son, Nathan Vrooman, being our winemaker and vineyard manager, who has crafted such beautiful wines of place, has been so rewarding.

The challenges are many and ever-changing. We all have to adapt the best we can to continue enjoying this journey. Recent challenges are the spotted lanternfly and diminished foot traffic in tasting rooms, not just here in America, but around the world. We try to seek the positive, have confidence that we will survive whatever faces us by adjusting what needs adjusting. We are still living in such a beautiful place, working with our dear staff who have been with us for years, enjoying building new friendships, and of course, sipping the beautifully crafted wines Nathan has created. Life is beautiful here, despite the challenges.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters Sunday, its neighbors said, just hours before South Koreas president left for China for talks expected to cover North Koreas nuclear program.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement it detected several ballistic missile launches from North Koreas capital region around 7:50 a.m. It said the missiles flew about 900 kilometers (560 miles) and that South Korea and U.S. authorities were analyzing details of the launches.

South Koreas Defense Ministry noted the launches violated U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any ballistic activities by North Korea. It urged North Korea to cease provocative actions immediately and respond to South Koreas push to restart talks and restore peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said that at least two missile launches by North Korea have been confirmed. They are a serious problem, threatening the peace and security of our nation, the region and the world, Koizumi told reporters.

North Korea ramps up weapons display ahead of political meet

The launches were the latest weapons demonstration by North Korea in recent weeks. Experts say North Korea is aiming to show off or review its achievements in the defense sector ahead of its upcoming ruling party congress, the first of its kind in five years. Observers are watching the Workers Party congress to see whether North Korea will set a new policy on the U.S. and resume long-stalled talks between the two countries.

North Korea has been focusing on testing activities to enlarge its nuclear arsenal since its leader, Kim Jong Un, and U.S. President Donald Trumps summit fell apart in 2019. Kim has also boosted his diplomatic credentials by aligning with Russia over its war in Ukraine and tightening relations with China. Observers say Kim would believe his leverage has sharply increased to wrest concessions from Trump if they sit down for talks again.

North Korea hasnt announced when it will hold the congress, but South Koreas spy service said it will likely occur in January or February.

Launches comes before South Korean leaders trip to China

Sundays launches also came hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for China for a summit with President Xi Jinping. During the four-day trip, Lees office said he would request China, North Koreas major ally and biggest trading partner, to take a constructive role in efforts to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, front right, visits a major munitions factory at an undisclosed place in North Korea Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) AP

South Korea and the U.S. have long asked China to exercise its influence on North Korea to persuade it to return to talks or give up its nuclear program. But there are questions on how big of a leverage China has on its socialist neighbor. China, together with Russia, has also repeatedly blocked the U.S.and others attempts to toughen economic sanctions on North Korea in recent years.

Later Sunday, South Korea convened an emergency national security council meeting to discuss the North Korean missile launches. The council reported details of the launches and unspecified South Korean steps to Lee, according to the presidential office.

North Korea condemns US operation in Venezuela

The launches followed Saturdays dramatic U.S. military operation that ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from power and brought him to the U.S. to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges. It represented Americas most assertive action to achieve regime change in a country since the nations 2003 invasion of Iraq.

North Koreas Foreign Ministry on Sunday slammed the U.S. operation, saying it again shows the rogue and brutal nature of the U.S. A ministry statement said it denounces the U.S. act as the most serious form of encroachment of sovereignty.

Kim Jong Un may feel vindicated about his efforts to build a nuclear deterrent, as he likely did after Trumps strikes on Iran, said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. However, leaders of hostile regimes will probably live with greater paranoia after seeing how quickly Maduro was extracted from his country to stand trial in the United States.

The official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday Kim visited a weapons factory on Saturday to review multipurpose precision guided weapons produced there. KCNA cited Kim as ordering officials to expand the current production capacity by about 2.5 times.

Last Sunday, North Korea test-fired what it called long-range strategic cruise missiles. On Dec. 25, North Korea released photos showing apparent progress in the construction of its first nuclear-powered submarine.

Associated Press writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP)  In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the regions top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.

More than 100 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerlands history.

Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Heres a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:

 Im looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere, Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. I want to know where my child is and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.

 We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running, Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You cant imagine the pain I saw.

 It was hard to live through for everyone. Also, probably because everyone was asking themselves, Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party? Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year, Bonvin said. Also, seeing young people arrive  thats always traumatic.

 I have seen horror, and I dont know what else would be worse than this, Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told Frances TF1 television.

 Despite the heavy smoke, I could see bodies pressed against the glass, Giannis father, Paolo Campolo, told French news broadcaster BFM TV as he explained how he found an emergency exit behind the bar. With another volunteer, he managed to open the glass door. Thats when several bodies fell. We immediately pulled them out, one after the other. I think we had to pull out about ten bodies in total, he said.

The priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning, Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais regions attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.

Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.

 We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment, Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. In the first minutes, it was citizens  and in large part young people  who saved lives with their courage.

 Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help, Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.
By REGINA GARCIA CANO, MATTHEW LEE, WILL WEISSERT and ERIC TUCKER, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP)  Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Sunday that the United States would not govern Venezuela day-to-day other than enforcing an existing oil quarantine on the country, a turnaround after President Donald Trump announced a day earlier that the U.S. would be running Venezuela following its ouster of leader Nicolas Maduro.

Rubios statements on TV talk shows seemed designed to temper concerns about whether the assertive American action to achieve regime change might again produce a prolonged foreign intervention or failed attempt at nation-building. They stood in contrast to Trumps broad but vague claims that the U.S. would at least temporarily run the oil-rich nation, comments that suggested some sort of governing structure under which Caracas would be controlled by Washington.

Rubio offered a more nuanced take, saying the U.S. would continue to enforce an oil quarantine that was already in place on sanctioned tankers before Maduro was removed from power early Saturday and use that leverage as a means to press policy changes in Venezuela.

And so thats the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that, Rubio said on CBS Face the Nation. We continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking.

The blockade on sanctioned oil tankers  some of which have been seized by the U.S.  remains in place, and thats a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes that not just further the national interest of the United States, which is number one, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela, he added.

Leaders in Venezuela have so far pushed back, at least publicly, calling on the Trump administration to release Maduro.

Even before the operation that nabbed Maduro, experts were already questioning the legality of aspects of the administrations pressure campaign on Venezuela, including the deadly bombing of boats accused of trafficking drugs that some scholars said stretched the boundaries of international law.

Trump repeated vow US would run Venezuela

Trumps vow to run Venezuela, repeated more than half a dozen times at a news conference in Florida on Saturday, sparked concerns among some Democrats. It also drew unease from parts of his own Republican coalition, including an America First base that is opposed to foreign interventions, and also from observers who recalled past nation-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rubio dismissed such criticism, saying that Trumps intent had been misunderstood.

The whole foreign policy apparatus thinks everything is Libya, everything is Iraq, everything is Afghanistan, Rubio said. This is not the Middle East. And our mission here is very different. This is the Western Hemisphere.

Protestors hold a banner stating "Trump Must Go Now" as they gather outside the UN Plaza during a demonstration against the U.S. bombing of Venezuela and seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in San Francisco on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Yalonda M. James/San Francisco Chronicle via AP) AP

Rubio also suggested the U.S. would give Maduros subordinates now in charge time to govern, saying, Were going to judge everything by what they do. And though he did not rule out boots on the ground in Venezuela, Rubio said the U.S, which has built up its presence in the region, was already capable of stopping drug boats and sanctioned tankers.

A day earlier, Trump told reporters, Were going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. He later pointed to his national security team with him, including Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and said it would be done for a period of time by the people that are standing right behind me. Were gonna be running it were gonna be bringing it back.

The White House declined to comment beyond what Trump said Saturday.

Maduros arrival

Maduro landed late Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York Citys northern suburbs following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital city of Caracas  an act that Maduros government called imperialist. The couple faces U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The dramatic seizure of the Maduros capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuelas autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval.

Venezuelas vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, demanded that the U.S. free Maduro and called him the countrys rightful leader as her nations high court named her interim president. So did the countrys defense minister, General-in-Chief Vladimir Padrino Lopez, who said Sunday that the countrys armed forces categorically reject the cowardly kidnapping.

Maduro is due to make his first appearance Monday in Manhattans federal court.

Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a corrupt, illegitimate government fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the countrys leader.

The Trump administration spent months building up American forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean for allegedly ferrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels  the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. campaign began in September.

Quiet falls in Venezuela after US operation

Venezuelas capital remained unusually quiet Sunday with few vehicles moving around and convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses closed. A road typically filled with runners, cyclists and other fitness enthusiasts on Sundays only had a handful of people working out.

The presidential palace was guarded by armed civilians and members of the military. At a nearby plaza, only a street sweeper and a soldier stood, and across the street, a church remained close for a second day in a row.

Under Venezuelan law, Rodriguez would take over from Maduro. Rodriguez, however, stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuelas high court ordered that she assume the interim role. Trump told The Atlantic in an interview Sunday that Rodriguez could pay a very big price if she doesnt do what he thinks is right for Venezuela.

Government supporters burn a U.S. flag in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces had captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) AP

That contrasted with the Republican presidents comments about Rodriguez on Saturday when he said Rubio had spoken with her and she was willing to do what the U.S. thinks is needed to improve the standard of living in Venezuela.

Trump told the magazine that if she doesnt do whats right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.

Trump told the New York Post in an interview Saturday that the U.S. wouldnt need to station troops in Venezuela if she does what we want.

Caracas resident David Leal arrived to the lot where he parks vehicles for a living only to quickly realize that he would likely not see any clients for a second day.

People are still shaken, said Leal, 77.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela. Associated Press writers Jorge Rueda in Caracas, Venezuela; Lisa Mascaro, Michelle L. Price, Seung Min Kim and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington; Farnoush Amiri in New York; Larry Neumeister in South Amboy, New Jersey, and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.
By Jade Campos, LNP, Lancaster, Pa. (TNS)

Five months into the job, Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace was starting to have regrets.

She was woken up in the early hours of a Wednesday morning by a phone call: City Hall was on fire. Sorace rushed to the North Duke Street building to find what she said she recognized immediately as the scorched aftermath of an intentionally set fire.

Police eventually would charge a man who had gotten angry at a City Council meeting the night before, after his fathers properties came under scrutiny by city inspectors.

No one was injured in the May 2018 fire, but Sorace said the incident left city staff and her family shaken. Her daughter, who attended McCaskey High School at the time, had to be escorted to and from the school for a while.

Despite coming out victorious after a competitive primary race the year before, Sorace already felt beaten down. Was being the mayor worth it?

I felt like I was sentenced, Sorace said. Like, I have four years I have to get through, and these are only the first few months.

Eight years and two terms later, Soraces mark on Lancasterincludes an expansion of affordable housing units, the redevelopment of public parks downtown, and the creation of a new city charter.

Now shes counting down the hours until she passes the baton to Jaime Arroyo, who will be sworn in as the citys 44th mayor on Monday. During his campaign, Arroyo had the backing of Sorace, a key supporter in his race to become Lancastersfirst Latino mayor.

Sorace isnt shy about making it known how excited she is to leave City Hall. After navigating a mayoral career marked by public protest and a global pandemic, she said shes ready to leave politics behind to spend more time with her family, read more books, and cook more meals.

She doesnt plan to run for office again, at least not anytime soon.

Still, as she wraps up her final days in office, Sorace manages to find a bright spot in even her darkest days in office. Reflecting on the 2018 arson, she left off on a positive note: The lasting impact of that event, she said, will be the work the city has done to improve how it conducts property inspections to promote resident safety.

By next year, Sorace said, the city will have inspected every one of its roughly 15,000 rental units in a matter of four years. The number of blighted properties in the city, she said, also has dropped.

Diving in

Sorace fell into a career in Lancaster politics after agreeing to add her name to the ballot for City Council after one of the Democratic Partyscandidates dropped out at the last minute. She won a seat on council in 2013 with 4,352 votes.

Former Mayor Rick Gray was a major reason she got involved with city government, Sorace said. At the time, Gray was leading the citys involvement in Chesapeake Bay relief work while she served as executive director of LIVE Green, an environmental nonprofit that later merged with the Lancaster County Conservancy.

Sorace had no ambitions of running for mayor. In fact, she was adamant that she would hate the job after watching Gray get pummeled by angry residents at council meetings.

An article about women in office changed her mind. It listed common reasons why women dont get involved in politics, and Sorace said she realized she had used many of the same reasons as excuses to not run for mayor. In particular, she said she told herself she wasnt qualified for the job and she didnt have time to take away from family.

LOOKING BACK: A timeline of Mayor Danene Soraces two terms

With four years on council and a masters degree in public policy from Rutgers University, Sorace decided to take the leap. She would run to become the citys second female mayor.

Why do I think Im not qualified? Sorace asked herself. That sort of had the reverse effect of (putting) fire in my belly like, Im going to do this. That fueled me.

No regrets

Her first term, from 2018 to 2021, was especially tumultuous.

Just months after the arson, Sorace faced mounting pressure to reform the police department after an officer shocked an unarmed man with a Taser while he was trying to follow conflicting police orders. As a result, Sorace formed a community police advisory board that helped guide significant changes to the department, including an overhaul of its use-of-force policy that had determined the officer was justified in his actions.

Like many other cities, Lancaster saw a wave of protests in the summer of 2020 following the police killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, as leaders also sought to grapple with the local impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We did the best we could, Sorace said of the pandemic. It was a really, really, really challenging moment.

Protests continued into the fall, when a city police officer shot and killed Ricardo Munoz, a 27-year-old man who was shot after his family called 911 for help when he was experiencing a mental health episode. Munoz had come at the officer with a knife. His death sparked another wave of protests calling for police reform in the city.

Mayors from five Pennsylvania cities held a roundtable discussion with Pa. Lt. Gov. Austin Davis (at left) about how their cities used federal American Rescue Plan money to rebuild their communities. Seated at the table (starting from Davis' left) are Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams, Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, and Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace. June 1, 2023 Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com

Former Mayor Gray said he admired Sorace for leading the city through one of its most turbulent periods in recent history. He joked that people would occasionally tell him they wish they could make him mayor again, to which hed reply, Im glad you cant.

Sorace, he said, was an excellent leader for a difficult time.

I endorsed her when she ran in the primary (in 2017), and I have no regrets, Gray said.

But Jessica Lopez, a prominent city activist who pushed for police reform and served a year in state prison for her actions during a September 2020protest after Munozs death, disagreed. She called Sorace a flighty leader who did not handle the protests well and didnt follow through with community wishes to lower the police budget.

I just hope Jaime (Arroyo) is honest with his constituents and community, and digs deep on a differential use of force policy for juveniles and reinforces the communitys call for that, Lopez said, referring to a caught-on-video arrest of a teenager in March 2025that sparked further calls for reform, including a police advisory board. Sorace pushed back on the creation of a board, saying it wouldnt live up to the communitys expectations.

As protests and demands for reform endured, the city also saw a rapid turnover in police chiefs.

Sorace came under fire in 2020 after she replaced longtime chief Jared Berkihiser, who the local Fraternal Order of Police claimed was forced to retire or be fired for comments his wife made on Facebook in support of then-President Donald Trump. Sorace would later say Berkihiser disagreed with her vision for the bureau after George Floyds death.

Two more chiefs would retire during Soraces administration. Learning how to run a multimillion-dollar law enforcement organization, she said, was a struggle.

Theres no school for new mayors. ... Theres so much that I didnt know that I learned that were really painful lessons for me and the police bureau, Sorace said. [There was] frustration, a lot of frustration with one another. It was hard for me to think at that point that everything was going well when it just didnt seem like it was going well.

Through everything, Sorace can still find some bright spots in a hectic first term that tested her resiliency, particularly the creation of the citys Department of Neighborhood Engagement, which works directly with residents to improve their neighborhoods, building on her campaign promise to represent the city block by block.

That work started on Howard Avenue, the oldest street in the city. There, the city awarded its first grant to residents for neighborhood improvements and implemented a portable trash can program to prevent litter.

Eventually, the department would go on to grow its language access program to promote accessibility to city services. According to the American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, more than one-third of city residents spoke a foreign language as of 2023.

A lasting legacy

The pandemic pushed back a lot of the plans Sorace had for Lancaster heading into her first term, but a $39.5 million infusion of American Rescue Plan Act funds breathed new life into the city.

Sorace said it was exciting but overwhelming to be in charge of a major, single-use pot of funds that are intended to have long-lasting impacts on the city. The thing shes most proud of, she said, is the citys dedication of $10 million for affordable housing that will ultimately create more than 500 rehabilitated and new units.

Developer HDC MidAtlantics transformation of the former St. JosephsHospital on College Avenue, with more than $1 million in city ARPA funds, is a prime example of the citys investments. In August, the first tenants moved into 64 newly opened affordable units. HDC plans to open 69 additional units in the coming years.

These are the transformative, generational projects that are going to shape this neighborhood and this community, Sorace said. Its also the first new affordable housing in the city, and it was really important to me that it wasnt in the southeast because all of the affordable housing has been concentrated in the southeast, and I think there needs to be a diversity of income in all of our neighborhoods.

Duncan Hopkins, an organizer with the activist group Lancaster Stands Up, said Sorace could have done more to address Lancasters homeless community, though. The organization in 2025 led a campaign to end city sweeps of homeless encampments after city staff asked the two men to leave a small area under a bridge on Martha Avenue where they had been sleeping.

As of 2025, local housing leaders reported 546 people were experiencing homelessness across the county.

Meetings with Sorace on the topic, he said, were often tense, as she resisted claims that the city practiced encampment sweeps.

Its been difficult at times to bring what the community is saying to Mayor Sorace and leave any interaction feeling heard, Hopkins said.

Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace speaks at the rally. A rally calling for an end to gun violence brings together Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers, joining students, family members of victims of gun violence, and advocates at the steps of the state Capitol. April 26, 2022. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

Sorace said a second term also gave her the chance to make strides on the citys lead abatement program, which has provided for the remediation of more than 100 homes since 2020. The city also moved forward with Vision Zero, the pedestrian safety plan adopted in 2020 that aims to eliminate fatal and serious-injury crashes by 2030, by building more bike lanes and a roundabout on North Plum Street.

Arroyo said hes keen on continuing the Vision Zero work in his first term.

Sorace recognizes that what shell probably be most remembered for, though, is Lancasters home rule charter, which created a new constitution for the city, that most importantly, changed the way the city could tax its residents. Sorace has repeatedly said she did not want to pursue home rule, but she saw it as the only option to prevent homeowners from being burdened by property tax increases.

Written by a group of elected commissioners, the charter won overwhelming support from city residents in the November 2024general election. The charter also established the citys first ethics commission, which would provide hyperlocal oversight of city elected officials and staff.

The charter made possible an income tax increase, from .6% to 1.1%, that city officials say will eliminate the need for a tax increase for the next decade.

The Gray administration worked very hard at making Lancaster the place you want to visit. The Sorace administration made it the place you want to live, said former home rule commission Chair Brian Adams. I think part of this making it a livable city is putting things like property taxes under control, and that was an important part of it.

Heather Valudes, president and CEO of the Lancaster Chamber, called Sorace a consistent and collaborative partner for the local business community.

She approached economic development and City improvement with a clear understanding that a strong city depends on strong businesses and thoughtful growth, Valudes said in an email statement. She always maintained an open line of communication with employers and community leaders around workforce development and quality of place, and the progress LancasterCity has seen (reflects) a city willing to evolve while staying grounded in its values.

A break

Sorace plans to take a step back from local politics, saying shes given little thought to whether shell run for another elected office again.

Her decision comes at a crucial time for the local Democratic Party as it makes inroads in the municipalities surrounding the city, gaining control of once reliably Republican municipal government and school district boards.

In November, Hempfield-area Democratstook control of the local school board and the East Hempfield Townshipboard of supervisors. Manheim Township, once a GOPstronghold, is now entirely run by Democratson the municipal and school board.

Sorace insisted, though, that she has no current plans to run for the state House or Senate. But she gets questions from the party every day about her future.

Tom OBrien, chair of the county Democratic Committee, said hed welcome her back with open arms. Sorace has great recognition with Democratsacross the county and state, and would ultimately perform well if she decided to enter politics again.

I think she served the people well, OBrien said. I think she served the party extremely well.

As Arroyo prepares to take over, he credited Sorace for laying a solid foundation for him to hit the ground running.

I think I have big shoes to fill, Arroyo said.

 2026 LNP (Lancaster, Pa.). Visit lancasteronline.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened that Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodriguez could "pay a very big price, probably bigger than" that of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, if she continued to refuse cooperation with the United States.

"If she doesn't do what's right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro," Trump said in a phone interview with The Atlantic. Maduro was taken by U.S. force away from his country on Saturday and is now in custody in New York to stand trial on alleged drug charges.

Trump made clear that he would not stand what he described as Rodriguez's defiant rejection of the armed U.S. intervention, according to the magazine.

Trump also stressed that the United States needs Greenland "absolutely," reaffirming that Venezuela may not be the last country subject to U.S. intervention, according to The Atlantic.

"We do need Greenland, absolutely," Trump said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in another media interview Sunday morning that Trump will keep all options open on how to "run" Venezuela, assess if the country's interim leadership can "make right decisions," and will not rule out the U.S. military presence in the country in the future.

"We expect to see more compliance and cooperation than we were previously receiving," Rubio said of Rodriguez on CBS.

"Our objectives when it comes to how Venezuela impacts the national interest of the United States have not changed, and we want those addressed. We want drug trafficking to stop. We want no more gang members to come our way," Rubio said.

At least 80 Venezuelan people were killed during U.S. airstrikes, a New York Times report said Sunday, citing Venezuelan officials.

Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice ordered late Saturday that Rodriguez assume the role of acting president of the country in the absence of Maduro.

The U.S. raid on Venezuela has drawn worldwide condemnation and concern. 
As a terminally diagnosed ALS patient unlikely to see the end of 2026, I offer the following New Years Resolutions from the wisdom and experience of my 64 years of life.

First, lose weight.

Whatever is weighing you down, envy, jealousy, grudges, past hurts, guilt; lose it! Shed the negativity and resolve to practice gratitude, mercy, joy, and most importantly, forgiveness. Forgive yourself, and forgive others. Remember that your past does not define your future.

Second, quit smoking.

Stop inhaling the poisonous rhetoric of hatred, prejudice, nationalism, gender and sexual identity discrimination. Resolve to see everyone you encounter as a brother or a sister worthy of dignity, respect, and understanding.

Third, stop drinking.

Refuse to imbibe in the mind-numbing spirits of division being offered by politicians and preachers who prefer us drunk on partisanship and doctrine, rather than inebriated with human kindness. Resolve to treat all people as you would like to be treated. Drink in the joy of human diversity, creativity and imagination!

Finally, watch your spending habits.

Curb the time you spend chasing material and selfish pursuits. Resolve to spend your time enjoying the presence of loved ones. Budget time for lonely relatives or estranged friends. A year from now, when you look back on 2026, rejoice that you have wisely invested in kindness, forgiveness, friendship, hospitality, And gratitude!

Happy New Year everyone.

Deacon Keith G. Kondrich, Pittsburg, Pa.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday stressed that the United States needs Greenland "for defense," claiming that Venezuela may not be the last country subject to U.S. intervention, according to The Atlantic.

"We do need Greenland, absolutely," Trump said in a phone interview with the magazine. The island, located in the Arctic, is part of Denmark.

It was up to others to decide what the large-scale U.S. strike against Venezuela means to Greenland, Trump said.

"They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don't know," Trump said. "You know, I wasn't referring to Greenland at that time. But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense."

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Sunday that the United States has no right to annex Greenland, urging Washington to stop making threats against a close ally and the Greenlandic people.

"I have to say it very directly to the United States," Frederiksen said in a statement. She rejected the idea that it would be necessary for the United States to take over Greenland, stressing that "the United States has no right to annex" any of the three parts of the Danish Realm -- Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Throughout last year, Trump has frequently repeated the same call for the United States to take over Greenland, which triggered strong objections from Greenland, Denmark and the European Union.

The Trump administration has cited a combination of national security concerns, Arctic strategy, and the potential of critical minerals and natural resources as drivers of U.S. interest in controlling Greenland.

Trump said on Saturday the United States will "run" Venezuela after the U.S. military raided the country and took Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife by force.

The international community is deeply shocked by the Trump administration's raid on Venezuela and Maduro. Many countries have issued statements strongly condemning the blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president. 
SC READY and EOCs

South Carolinas subject-area standardized testing system is based around two programs: SC READY tests in middle and elementary school and end-of-course exams in high school, known as EOCs.

Kids take SC READY tests in ELA and math at the end of each year between third and eight grade, and in science in fourth and sixth grade. Those tests are also required by federal education law.

EOCs come at the end of four required high school classes, one in each subject. Currently, they are Biology, Algebra 1, English 2 and U.S. History and the Constitution.

But students also take a wide range of other tests, including mid-year district assessments that parents will recognize as MAP or iReady tests, and college and career readiness exams at the end of high school.
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / January 4, 2026 / Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a nationally recognized investor-rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of all former stockholders of Smartsheet Inc. (NYSE:SMAR) in connection with the January 2025 sale (the "Merger" or "Buyout") of Smartsheet to affiliates of investment funds managed by affiliates of Blackstone Inc. (collectively "Blackstone"), investment funds managed by Vista Equity Partners Management, LLC ("Vista Equity Partners" or "Vista"), and Platinum Falcon B 2018 RSC Limited, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which participated as an indirect minority investor in Smartsheet ("Platinum Falcon," and together with Blackstone and Vista, the "Consortium").This lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased shares of Smartsheet in connection with the January 2025 Merger of Smartsheet (the "Merger Date"). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm's site: bgandg.com/SMAR Smartsheet Case DetailsThe complaint alleges that Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that:In connection with Smartsheet's solicitation of stockholder approval of the Buyout, defendants issued and filed with the SEC a false and misleading Schedule 14A Proxy Statement (the "Proxy");Defendants used the Proxy to intentionally mischaracterize Smartsheet's financial success and performance during the sales process;Specifically, defendants deliberately portrayed Smartsheet's quarterly earnings in an unduly negative light and emphasized a financial metric that was apparently created solely to solicit approval for the Buyout;Defendant Mark P. Mader failed to exercise reasonable care in fulfilling his disclosure obligations; andAs a result of the foregoing, defendants' statements about Smartsheet's business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.What's Next for Smartsheet Investors?A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm's site: bgandg.com/SMARor you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Client Relations Manager, Nathan Miller, of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 917-590-0911. If you purchased SMAR shares in connection with the January 2025 sale, you have until February 24, 2026, to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff.No Cost to Smartsheet InvestorsWe, Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC, represent investors in class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means we will ask the court to reimburse us for out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys' fees, usually a percentage of the total recovery, only if we are successful.Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC for Smartsheet Securities Class Action?Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide. More at www.bgandg.com "Our practice centers on restoring investor capital and ensuring corporate accountability, which serves to uphold the essential integrity of the marketplace," said Peretz Bronstein, Founding Partner of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC.Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, or Instagram.Contact InfoPeretz Bronstein, Esq. or Nathan MillerBronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC 917-590-0911 | info@ bgandg.com Attorney advertising.Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.SOURCE: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds the Seventh Round of China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai)

BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- China always opposes the use or threat of force, as well as any imposition of one country's will on another, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday when speaking of the situation in Venezuela.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks when holding the Seventh Round of China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing.

Wang said the current international situation is more volatile and intertwined, with unilateral bullying becoming increasingly severe.

The sudden change of situation in Venezuela has drawn high attention from the international community, Wang said.

"We never believe that any country can play the role of world policeman, nor do we agree that any country can claim itself to be an international judge," Wang said, adding that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected by international law.

China is willing to work with the international community, including Pakistan, to firmly uphold the United Nations Charter, maintain the bottom line of international morality, adhere to the equality of all countries' sovereignty, and jointly safeguard world peace and development and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Wang said.

On China-Pakistan relations, Wang said China hopes this visit will kick off the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Noting that China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership has become a crucial stabilizing factor in the regional and even global landscape, Wang said China is willing to work with Pakistan to implement the consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries in the new year, and advance the building of a China-Pakistan community with a shared future.

Dar has conveyed cordial greetings from the leaders of Pakistan to the Chinese leaders, and extended congratulations on the CPC's adoption of the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan.

Dar said Pakistan is willing to work with China to carry forward the traditional friendship, enhance strategic alignment of their development plans, deepen practical cooperation, and advance the continuous growth of the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.

Pakistan reaffirms its adherence to the one-China principle and will continue to firmly support China on all issues concerning its core interests, added Dar.

Both sides agreed to unite the Global South to safeguard common interests, uphold the UN Charter, and oppose bullying acts that violate the sovereignty of other countries. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds the Seventh Round of China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 4, 2026. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai)
The African Union says it is following with grave concern developments in Venezuela, including reports of President Nicolas Maduros abduction during U.S. military attacks.

South Africa has also taken the matter to the UN Security Council, urging it to urgently convene to address the situation in Venezuela.

The AUs position was outlined in a communique on the situation in Venezuela issued on Saturday.

The African Union reaffirms its steadfast commitment to international law, including respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and peoples right to self-determination, it stated.

The AU stressed dialogue, peaceful settlement of disputes, and respect for constitutional and institutional frameworks as essential to peaceful coexistence among nations.

It emphasised that Venezuelas complex internal challenges can only be resolved through inclusive political dialogue among Venezuelans themselves.

The AU expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people and reiterated its commitment to peace, stability, and mutual respect among nations and regions.

It called on all parties to exercise restraint, responsibility, and respect for international law to prevent escalation and preserve regional peace.

Meanwhile, South Africa said US actions constituted a manifest violation of the UN Charter.

The Charter, it noted, requires states to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

South Africa added that the Charter does not authorise external military intervention in matters within a sovereign nations domestic jurisdiction.

History has repeatedly demonstrated that military invasions yield only instability and deepening crisis, the statement said.

Unlawful, unilateral force undermines the international order and the principle of equality among nations, it added.

READ ALSO: Trump says US will run Venezuela following kidnap of Maduro by American forces

South Africa urged the UN Security Council to urgently convene to address this situation.

US President Donald Trump announced the operation on Truth Social, saying Mr Maduro and his wife had been captured and flown out of Venezuela.

The United States has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, Mr Trump posted.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the pair would face the full wrath of American justice on American soil, in American courts.

(NAN)
The House of Representatives has released the certified copies of the four tax reform Acts recently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, following public concerns over alleged discrepancies and the circulation of unauthorised versions of the laws.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the spokesperson of the House, Akin Rotimi, on Saturday.

According to the statement, the House, under the leadership of the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, directed the immediate release of the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the Acts, including the endorsement and assent pages signed by the president, to Nigerians for public record, verification and reference.

The decision, taken in concert with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, followed allegations that versions of the tax laws in circulation differed from those passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the president.

The controversy was first raised on the floor of the House by Abdulsamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), who drew the attention of lawmakers to alleged discrepancies between the tax Bills passed by the National Assembly and the versions subsequently gazetted and made public by the executive arm.

Mr Dasuki warned that the inconsistencies, if left unchecked, could undermine legislative integrity and public confidence in the law-making process. His intervention triggered debates within and outside the National Assembly, with legal practitioners, tax experts and civil society organisations demanding clarification and suspension of the implementation of the Acts.

In response, Mr Tajudeen constituted a seven-member ad hoc committee chaired by Aliyu Betara, whose members included Idris Wase, Sada Soli, Adedeji Faleke, Igariwey Iduma, Fred Agbedi and Babajimi Benson.

The committee was directed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged alterations, how unauthorised versions came into circulation and measures to prevent a recurrence.

Mr Tajudeen also ordered an immediate internal verification of the Acts and approved the public release of the certified versions to eliminate doubts, restore clarity and protect the sanctity of the legislative record.

The four tax reform laws released are the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; the National Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025.

The House described the laws as the backbone of Nigerias contemporary tax reform framework, aimed at modernising revenue administration, improving compliance, reducing inefficiencies, eliminating duplication and strengthening fiscal coordination across the federation.

It said Mr Tajudeen provided firm leadership throughout the tax reform process, from stakeholder consultations and committee scrutiny to clause-by-clause consideration and robust plenary debates, to ensure the reforms were inclusive, evidence-based and aligned with Nigerias fiscal realities.

Reassuring Nigerians, Mr Rotimi said, The National Assembly is an institution built on records, procedure, and institutional memory. Every Bill, every amendment, and every Act follows a traceable constitutional and parliamentary pathway.

He stressed that once a law is passed and assented to, its integrity is preserved through certification and custody by the legislature, adding that there is no ambiguity about what constitutes the law.

He further emphasised that the only authentic and authoritative versions of the four tax Acts are the certified copies released by the National Assembly, urging the public to disregard any other documents or versions in circulation.

Members of the public, institutions, professionals, and stakeholders are therefore advised to disregard and discountenance any other documents or versions in circulation that are not certified by the National Assembly, as such materials do not form part of the official legislative record, the statement read.

The House also disclosed that the Clerk to the National Assembly has concluded the process of aligning the Acts with the Federal Government Printing Press to ensure accuracy, conformity and uniformity, adding that hard copies have been produced, circulated to lawmakers and made available to the public.

The Clerk to the National Assembly has concluded the process of aligning the Acts  duly passed, assented to, and certified  with the Federal Government Printing Press to ensure accuracy, conformity, and uniformity. Hard copies of the certified tax Acts have also been produced and are being circulated to all Honourable Members and Distinguished Senators, and made available to the public, to ensure institutional clarity, uniform reference, and legislative certainty.

It added that the ad hoc committee chaired by Mr Betara continues its work in line with its mandate to determine the circumstances surrounding the circulation of unauthorised versions of the tax Acts and recommend safeguards to preserve the integrity and reliability of parliamentary records.

The House reaffirmed its commitment to constitutionalism, the rule of law, transparency and accountable governance, pledging to strengthen internal controls, uphold institutional discipline and protect the integrity of Nigerias legislative process.

The House will continue to strengthen internal controls, uphold institutional discipline, and protect the integrity of Nigerias legislative process in the collective interest of the Nigerian people, it concluded.
Terrorists suspected to be members of the Sadiku-led Boko Haram faction have raided Kasuwan Daji, a Niger State village roughly 23 kilometres from Papiri, where schoolchildren were abducted last year.

The attack occurred on the evening of 3 January. Multiple sources told our reporter that the terrorists killed at least 35 people and kidnapped an unspecified number of others, mostly women and children.

Our sources, whose names have been withheld for security reasons, said the terrorists set fire to many houses, including the villages market, before leaving.

We cannot estimate the number of houses burnt now, but I personally counted 35 bodies, a source who lives about four kilometres away from the village said.

An aftershock video of the incident shared with our reporter shows that many of those killed were slaughtered, with their hands tied behind their backs.

Some of them were shot in the head, some were slaughtered, another source, a resident of Papiri who farms in the village, said.

Those killed were all males, and their ages ranged between 70 and 12, PREMIUM TIMES gathered.

The attack

The terrorists announced their arrival with the firing of a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG), a survivor of the attack narrated to one of our sources in a telephone conversation Saturday evening.

This was corroborated by other sources we spoke to, including a traditional leader in Demo, a neighbouring village to the scene of the incident.

When they shot that long bomb (RPG), many people dashed into the forest, the traditional leader said. The terrorists chased and killed them.

Some, especially the old men, were picked from their rooms where they were hiding, he added. They brought them outside, tied them up and executed them.

Confirming the attack, the spokesperson of the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, said preliminary reports showed that more than 30 people were killed, while several others were kidnapped.

On 03/01/2026 at about 9 p.m., information received revealed that at about 4:30 p.m. of the same date, suspected bandits from the National Park forest along Kabe District invaded Kasuwan Daji, located at Demo village via Kabe, Mr Abiodun said.

They burnt the market, looted shops and carted away food items.

He added that a joint security team visited the community on Sunday morning.

Over 30 victims lost their lives during the attack. Some people were also kidnapped. Efforts are ongoing to rescue the kidnapped victims, and further developments will be communicated, the police spokesperson said.

Saturdays attack is the latest in a series of violent incidents that have deepened insecurity across parts of Niger State, particularly in Borgu, Shiroro and Agwara local government areas.

In late November 2025, the state government ordered the closure of public and private schools following the abduction of pupils and staff from St. Marys Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area.

The mass abduction, which initially left more than 200 pupils and teachers unaccounted for, triggered nationwide concern and forced authorities to shut down educational institutions as a precaution.

Although all the abducted pupils and staff were later rescued in phases after sustained security operations, attacks on rural communities and markets have continued, raising fresh concerns about safety in the state.

Only last week, the Niger State Government announced plans to partially reopen schools from 12 January, citing improved security assessments in some areas, while maintaining closures in communities still considered unsafe.

Residents of Borgu said the latest market attack underscored the fragility of security gains and renewed calls for stronger protection of rural communities that remain vulnerable to armed groups operating from forested areas.
A senator, Sunday Karimi, has said that the National Assembly will enact laws enforcing the Supreme Courts ruling on local government financial autonomy, backing President Bola Tinubus position.

Mr Karimi, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Services, spoke to constituents during the yuletide break in Kogi West Senatorial District.

He recalled the Supreme Courts 25 July 2024 judgment directing seamless federal allocation of funds to Nigerias 774 local government councils.

The senator criticised governors flouting the ruling, describing such actions as unconstitutional and contrary to efforts at strengthening grassroots democracy.

He warned that defaulting governors could face prosecution and punishment as the National Assembly prioritises enforcement of the judgment.

According to him, parliament will pass relevant laws to compel strict compliance with fiscal autonomy for the third tier of government.

Mr Karimi quoted the judgment as declaring governors control of local government funds unconstitutional and voiding caretaker committees as illegal.

He said the ruling was intended to strengthen grassroots democracy and governance by ensuring allocations go directly to elected officials without state interference.

The senator observed that the ruling also aimed to improve service delivery at the critical local government level.

In spite of the clarity of the judgment, Mr Karimi noted that some states continue to disregard and disrespect the Supreme Court.

He recalled that President Tinubu warned APC leaders that he may issue an executive order if governors persist in defying the ruling.

Mr Karimi said the president had shown restraint, despite possessing constitutional powers to compel compliance.

The National Assembly will back the president with laws, some retroactively effective, to address non-adherence, he said.

He accused some governors of kleptomania and squandermania, vowing that offenders would be prosecuted, compelled to make refunds, and punished.

Mr Karimi said trillions of naira meant for Nigerians had been pilfered by gluttonous governors.

There is consensus that this administration released unprecedented funds, yet many citizens feel little impact, he added.

He cited the Chief of Defence Staff, who linked insecurity to non-functioning local governments, creating ungoverned spaces.

Some governors and their cabals treat local government funds as their monthly dessert, Karimi alleged.

He said this practice has rendered councils dysfunctional and unable to deliver basic services.

Karimi further alleged that some states steal local government allocations through voucher racketeering schemes after funds reach council accounts.

(NAN)
Troops of the Nigerian Armys 12 Brigade have killed at least two suspected bandits and arrested a man described as a logistics supplier in Kabba Bunu and Yagba West local government areas of Kogi State.

Hassan Abdullahi, the acting assistant director of Army Public Relations for the brigade, said the operations followed credible intelligence on bandits movements in the areas.

He said troops laid ambushes and conducted fighting patrols on 3 January, leading to the encounters with the suspects.

According to Mr Abdullahi, troops intercepted bandits moving from the Adankolo area towards Agbadu Bunu in Kabba Bunu Local Government Area and engaged them at an identified crossing point.

He said two bandits were killed during the encounter, while others fled with suspected casualties.

Troops, he added, recovered one AK-47 rifle, a magazine, 99 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, a locally fabricated gun and 11 cartridges.

He said the army carried out a separate operation in Saminaka village, Yagba West Local Government Area, after intelligence reports indicated bandit activity in the area.

Troops, working with local vigilantes, found the village deserted and extended their patrol to nearby forests and access routes, where they engaged the bandits.

During exploitation of the withdrawal route, troops discovered one neutralised bandit, one AK-47 rifle and 17 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, Mr Abdullahi said.

He also said troops arrested a suspected logistics supplier, identified as Sunday Adedotun, from Odo Eri village in Yagba West.

The suspect was apprehended on a farm in Saminaka village, where items, including cartons of energy drinks, soft drinks, bottled water, and harvested farm produce, were found at the location.

He said the suspect was in custody and under investigation.

The army said the operations were part of ongoing efforts to disrupt criminal networks and restrict their movement in the area.

The latest development comes amid growing security concerns in Kogi State, particularly in the Yagba axis. On 31 December 2025, suspected bandits reportedly abducted an unspecified number of residents during an attack on the Omi-Ara community in Yagba West Local Government Area.

Residents said the attack occurred in the early hours of the day, with gunshots ringing through the community.

As of the time of reporting, the exact number of those abducted and their identities had not been confirmed.

Security agencies were reportedly alerted, but the Kogi State Police Command did not issue an official statement.

Repeated calls and text messages to the police public relations officer, William Aya, were unanswered at the time.

The Yagba axis has recorded a series of abductions in recent months. Between August and November, gunmen attacked two churches, a Cherubim and Seraphim church and an ECWA church, abducting a pastor and his wife.

READ ALSO: Soldiers repel bandits attack on Kano community Official

In another incident, at least four residents were abducted during an attack on the Odo-Ere community. Residents identified those taken as Shina Ajere, Kehinde Afolabi, Damilola Ogun and a woman known as Iya Lara.

Community members have continued to call on security agencies and the Kogi State Government to deploy additional personnel and intensify efforts to curb the attacks and secure the release of abducted residents.

Photo: Arrested an alleged logistics supplier and recovered an AK-47 rifle, a magazine, 99 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, a locally fabricated gun and 11 cartridges.
One person has been killed and another injured after suspected terrorists attacked Idofin in Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State on Saturday evening.

SaharaReporters said the attack occurred between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on 3 January. The online newspaper reported that the deceased was identified as a Tiv man, while another indigene of the community sustained serious injuries during the assault.

According to the report, the injured person was later evacuated by soldiers and taken to an undisclosed hospital for treatment. At the time of filing this report, neither the Kogi State Government nor the police had issued an official statement regarding the incident.

Residents of Idofin and neighbouring communities have continued to express fear over what they described as persistent security threats in the area, calling on the state government and security agencies to strengthen security presence in Yagba East and adjoining local government areas.

Repeated calls to the Police Public Relations Officer of the Kogi State Police Command were unsuccessful, as his number was unreachable at the time of filing this report.

The latest attack adds to a growing list of violent incidents across Kogi State in recent months.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that the Ayetoro-Kiri community in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area was thrown into mourning after three abducted residents were confirmed dead despite the payment of ransom raised through communal efforts.

According to the report, seven abductees were later released by their captors, but three were already dead on arrival, while the four others were hospitalised and were said to be battling for their lives.

About 30 other residents were reportedly still being held by the bandits, with their whereabouts and condition unclear.

In a statement signed by the communitys spokesperson, David Ampitan, the Ayetoro-Kiri community accused authorities of failing to take decisive action to protect lives, rescue abducted residents, or pursue those responsible for the attacks.

The statement alleged that the Kogi State Government, acting through the chairman of Kabba-Bunu Local Government, responded to protests by residents with tear gas and arrests, targeting peaceful demonstrators who were demanding improved security, justice, and the rescue of their kidnapped relatives.

The series of attacks has heightened concerns over insecurity in parts of Kogi State, particularly in the Yagba and Kabba-Bunu axes, where residents continue to call for urgent and sustained intervention by security agencies.
The Kwara State Government has directed the reopening of public and private schools in the state from Monday, 5 January, except in areas currently under special security surveillance.

The directive was announced in a statement issued on Sunday by the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development.

Peter Amogbonjaye, the ministrys press secretary, stated that the decision was made following an assessment of the security situation and ongoing operations by security agencies.

We welcome our children and teachers back to school across the state. Learning activities are to resume immediately in all but areas earlier identified to be under special security surveillance, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Lawal Olohungbebe, said in the statement.

He added that the phased resumption was intended to protect pupils and teachers while security agencies continue operations in affected communities.

This structured school resumption is designed to keep our children out of harms way amid renewed security operations. Normal school activities will resume in such places very soon, he said.

The ministry said it was working with the Teaching Service Commission and the State Universal Basic Education Board to ensure a smooth return to classrooms.

In collaboration with the TESCOM and SUBEB, the Ministry wishes our children, teachers, and parents a blessed New Year and an academic session filled with great insights and successes, the commissioner said.

As part of measures to expand access to learning, especially in areas where schools remain shut, the government also announced the introduction of a radio-based learning programme.

The initiative, supported by UNICEF and the Nigeria Learning Passport, will commence on Monday.

According to the statement, lessons will be broadcast on Midland FM 99.1 at 11 a.m. on Mondays, 1 p.m. on Wednesdays, and 2:30 p.m. on Fridays, with additional radio stations to be added later.

The reopening follows the closure of schools in parts of the state in November 2025 due to escalating insecurity.

On 20 November, the Kwara State Government ordered the shutdown of schools in Isin, Irepodun, Ifelodun, and Ekiti local government areas after reports of fresh security threats in Kwara South.

The decision was conveyed by the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Kwara State wing.

In a circular signed by its chairman, Yusuf Agboola, the union said the closure was occasioned by the security challenges ravaging the area and the efforts of the government to control the situation.

ALSO READ: Niger State to partially reopen schools weeks after mass abduction forced shutdown

The school closures came days after a deadly bandit attack on a church in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area, in which three worshippers were killed and more than 35 abducted.

Following the attack, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq announced plans to establish a Forward Operating Base for the Nigerian Army and a Mobile Police Squadron in the area to strengthen security.

The government said the latest directive reflects improvements in security across much of the state, while restrictions remain in specific flashpoints until authorities declare them safe for full academic activities.
In celebration of Toyin Falolas 73rd birthday, Lead City University is convening a special conference this Monday and Tuesday at the Cresta Hill Golden Lodge in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Mr Falola is a Nigerian historian and professor of African studies.

The two-day Toyin Falola @73 Conference, themed Religion, Culture and Politics in Nigeria, aims to crystallise diverse academic perspectives, intersections, and dimensions of the relations between religion, culture, and politics for the academia and the general public.

The conference honours the prolific career of Mr Falola, dubbed as the most cited African historian globally.

Mr Falola also holds the distinguished position of Jacob and Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin and serves as the first-ever Emeritus Professor of Humanities at Lead City University.

Speaking on Mr Falola in the programme of event shared in advance with PREMIUM TIMES Toyin Adepoju said that he is working at an epic level, and creating opportunities for many as he uniquely places Africa on the global epistemic map, providing career-shaping opportunities for many and celebrating others ceaselessly.

Ms Adepoju also stated that Mr Falola is a mentor to many, carrying others along and investing both intellectually and socially in Nigeria, despite not staying in the country.

The theme of the conference speaks to Nigerias multicultural, ethno-religious divides and their impacts on politics.

With the 2027 elections approaching and international attention focused on religious tolerance, this conference provides a timely platform to navigate the debates currently heating the national polity.

The conference will commence with the arrival of guests on 5 January and a keynote address by the Director of Research and Innovation Management, Osun State University, Olukoya Ogen, to set the tone for a series of plenary sessions that dissect faith, culture, and politics.

Aside from the academic discussions, the itinerary presents a packed lineup of artistic performance including music, spoken word presentation, dance, and drama.

On 6 January, there will be five plenary sessions with several experts, academics, and professionals. These persons have been carefully selected to share their thoughts on the theme of the conference.

The conference is open to the general public, and those interested can join using the Zoom Meeting link

It promises to be an enlightening event and a platform to share ideas, discuss, identify challenges, and explore how Nigerians can benefit from the intersection between religion, culture, and politics.
The Nigeria Police Force has removed Joseph Udoh, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the GRA Police Station in Asaba, Delta State, in response to a public outcry over allegations that Mr Udoh, a chief superintendent of police, allegedly intimidated and extorted a citizen who helped a dying stranger.

How it happened

Although the alleged intimidation and extortion occurred in early 2025, the public outcry against it gained traction after the victim, Tomi Wojuola, shared his ordeal on Facebook on 31 December 2025.

Mr Wojuola, in the post, detailed how he was detained by the police on the allegation of murder after the stranger he took to a hospital later died.

He also narrated how he was threatened by Mr Udoh and other officers who allegedly emptied his bank account before releasing him on bail.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that, upon sharing his ordeal on Saturday, the Police Complaint Response Unit confirmed that Mr Udoh has been summoned for questioning.

Removed and sanctioned

Reacting in a post on his X handle on Saturday evening, the police spokesperson in Delta State, Bright Edafe, announced that the DPO has now been removed and sanctioned.

The guy (Wojuola) has since been contacted, the DPO removed and sanctioned, and the money refunded, Mr Edafe, a superintendent of police, wrote.

The police spokesperson did not provide details of the sanction imposed on the DPO and the refunded amount that was allegedly taken from the victims account by the officers.

Police brutality and extortion in Nigeria

Cases of police brutality, extortion and other unprofessional activities in Nigeria have continued despite sanctions by police authorities, such as dismissal from service.

In 2024, for instance, the police in Imo State ordered an orderly room trial of four officers seen in a viral video clip extorting motorists in the state.

In August of the same year, police operatives in Bayelsa State extorted N3 million from a Nigerian man at gunpoint the same year.

The officers were subsequently arrested after the victim petitioned the police authorities.

The police operatives later returned the N3 million to the victim, about three weeks later.
The Nigerian government has withdrawn the cyberbullying and criminal defamation charges it brought against Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan last year.

The government preferred the charges against her last year before separate courts, following her remarks publicly accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio and homefront political rival, former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, of plotting to have her assassinated.

She made the controversial claim on a live television programme and during her homecoming rally in her hometown, Ihima, in Kogi State, in April last year.

The remarks came in the aftermath of her six-month suspension by the Senate and raging battle between her and Mr Akpabio, whom she accused of sexual harassment.

The government charged her before two courts over her claim.

She faced cyberbullying charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja and criminal defamation charges at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja.

PREMIUM TIMES saw, on Sunday, a notice of discontinuance of the charges filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation for the termination of the cyberbullying case. The application was filed on 18 December.

Take notice that the Office of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation intends to discontinue proceeding in this matter, read the notice signed by a team of lawyers comprising the immediate past Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), M.B. Abubakar, and an Assistant Chief State Counsel at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Aderonke Imana.

The government is expected to take similar action regarding the related charges filed at the FCT High Court in Abuja.

The Nigerian government, through the DPPF, filed the first case against her on 16 May 2025 at the FCT High Court in Abuja.

In the case, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan was charged with criminal defamation over the remarks accusing Messrs Akpabio and Bello of plotting to assassinate her.

Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was suspended from the Senate for six months in March 2025, was accused of making the remarks during a homecoming rally in her hometown, Ihima, Kogi State, on 1 April 2025, and in a live interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on 3 April 2025.

Mr Abubakar, the then Director of DDPF, who signed the charges, stated that the senator made the assassination imputation knowing or having reason to believe that it would harm the reputations of Messrs Akpabio and Bello.

The senator was charged under Section 391 of the Penal Code Law, Cap 89, Laws of the Federation, 1990, which criminalises imputations made with the intent or knowledge that they could harm a persons reputation.

The later case filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja contained six counts, which similarly hovered over her public remarks about Messrs Akpabio and Bello allegedly attempting to assassinate her. The case accused Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan of cyberbullying and defaming the two men.

The charge quoted her as telling her audience in Ihima on 1 April 2025, and Akpabio told Yahaya Bello, I am saying, standing by what I have said. He told him that he should make sure that killing me does not happen in Abuja; it should be done here, so it will seem as if it is the people that killed me here

Another count in the case accused her of a cybercrime offence by saying during a live interview on Channel Televisions Politics Today, on 3 April, Seun, I am glad you did affirm that I am a lawyer, and even if lam not a lawyer, l am a sane individual, and I do stand by what I said, it was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had witn Yahaya Betlo thac night, ehm to eliminate me

The charge also quoted her as saying that shortly a week after, which was the 14th, a week and a few days later when he met with him, he then emphasised that I should be killed but I should be killed in Kogi

The prosecutors said the remarks could harm the reputation of Messrs Akpabio and Bello.

They said she thereby committed offences in sections 24 (1)(b) and 24 (2)(c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024 and punishable under the same sections of the Act.

Among the witnesses lined up against her were Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State; Ekpenyong Asuquo, a senator, Reno Omokri and Sandra Duru.

Both Messrs Akpabio and Bello denied the assassination plot allegation.

Mr Akpabio described the claims as false, malicious, and a complete fabrication.

Mr Bellos legal team labelled the remarks reckless and inciting.

Stalled trial

Both trials were stalled on several occasions.

She was arraigned on the criminal defamation charges before the FCT High Court on 16 June 2025 and subsequently on the cybercrime charges before the Federal High Court on 30 June 2025.

But since her arraignment before the separate courts, the cases have yet to make tangible progress.

On different occasions, proceedings were stalled by the notices of preliminary objections filed by Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, asking for the dismissal of the charges.

In the objection she filed at the Federal High Court, she alleged that Messrs Akpabio and Bello had no reputation to protect to sustain the charges.

In the other objection, she challenged the power of the Attorney-General of the Federations office to bring the charges.

Other cases

The feud between Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan and Mr Akpabio had set off a series of cases. A lot of the cases are civil suits filed in personal capacities. They include suits filed by Mr Akpabio and his wife against Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan over allegations of sexual harassment she levelled against him.

Mr Akpabio recently asked his lawyers to withdraw the defamation suits against individuals who had allegedly made false claims against him.

Mr Akpabio gave the directive on Thursday while speaking at the Sacred Heart Parish, Uyo, after listening to a New Year sermon delivered by the parish priest.

Mr Akpoti-Uduaghan, who was recalled by the Senate in September 2025 following the expiration of her six-month suspension, is awaiting the Court of Appeal judgment on the legality of her suspension. Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan and the senate president had gone on appeal to challenge various unfavourable aspects of the Federal High Court judgement on the matter.
CAPE TOWN, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Several South African political, civil society and trade union organizations have condemned the United States' military action against Venezuela, denouncing it as a serious violation of international law.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the South African Communist Party (SACP) said it condemned "in the strongest terms possible" what it described as the U.S. administration's "criminal military invasion" of Venezuela. The party said the assault constituted a blatant breach of international law and the United Nations Charter.

The SACP also expressed shock over the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, saying the act is "international piracy."

The United States launched a military strike on Venezuela on Saturday, during which Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of Venezuela.

In its statement, the SACP said the latest U.S. action was the culmination of a long series of threats and hostile rhetoric toward Venezuela. It added that the assault violated the UN Charter, endangered regional peace in Latin America and the Caribbean, and put millions of lives at risk.

The objective of the U.S. administration "is imperial regime change in order to seize the strategic resources of Venezuela, in particular its oil and minerals," it noted.

The SACP said it supports Venezuela's right to defend its people, territory and independence.

Meanwhile, the civil society coalition Africa4Palestine and the Anti-Fascist International South Africa Chapter condemned the U.S. bombing of Venezuela in a joint statement.

"This violent act of U.S. military aggression constitutes an unlawful assault on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and is a blatant breach of the UN Charter. It is, above all, an attack on the people of Venezuela," the statement said.

The two organizations said Venezuela was targeted for its oil reserves, and the military action aimed to replace Venezuela's elected government with a compliant regime serving U.S. corporate interests.

"As South Africans, we join the global call by peace-loving peoples: Hands off Venezuela! End U.S. bombing and aggression!" they said.

At the same time, the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) issued a statement condemning the U.S. illegal military intervention in Venezuela.

"This is not diplomacy. This is not law enforcement. This is not 'democracy promotion,'" SAFTU said. "It is naked aggression, regime-change warfare, and the criminal logic of empire."

The SAFTU said the assault confirmed its long-held view that the U.S. administration's foreign policy represents oligarchic imperialism.

In a separate statement, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) called on progressive forces worldwide to condemn the U.S. assault.

"The United Nations must stand with Venezuela," the NUMSA said. 
Amnesty International on Sunday condemned the attacks in three Nigerian northern states of Niger, Plateau and Kaduna.

The attacks took place in Borgu Local Government Area (LGA), Niger State, Quaan-Pan LGA in Plateau State, and Kachia LGA in Kaduna State. Both Niger and Plateau are in North-central Nigeria while Kaduna is in the north-western region of the country.

In a post shared on its official X page, the organisation said these attacks are an indication of the utter failure of the Nigerian authorities to protect lives.

On Saturday, gunmen killed at least 30 people and abducted an unknown number of persons at Kasuwan Daji Kabe District, Borgu LGA in Niger State.

The attack was reportedly carried out by bandits operating from the Kainji Lake National Park. Beyond the killings and abductions, the attackers burned the market and carted away food and other items.

Similarly, on the same day, assailants attacked the Sabon Kaura community in Kaduna State, killing four members of the same family, Amnesty International said.

A day prior, the organisation documented the deaths of seven persons by gunmen in Quaan-Pan LGA, Plateau State. According to Amnesty International, the gunmen conducted a house-to-house search and kill operation at Bong Village.

The organisation criticised the governments failure to take proactive measures against insecurity, particularly in rural areas.

The Nigerian authorities have left rural communities at the mercy of rampaging gunmen who have killed thousands of people in the north of the country since the beginning of 2020.

The government has an obligation to protect its population. The rising death toll in the north of Nigeria shows just how badly the authorities are failing in this responsibility.

According to the organisation, some villagers felt abandoned by the government and left at the mercy of their attackers.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that in 2025, Nigerias insecurity emerged as a major contributor to human rights abuses. By impeding the freedom of movement, education, socio-economic, and cultural rights, this instability raised questions about Nigerias commitment to security.

The attacks on communities generated tension across Nigeria and brought the widespread insecurity in the country under the global spotlight.

The wave of attacks at the start of the year casts doubt on the governments commitment to curbing the violence. Despite President Bola Tinubus frequent directives to security agencies to end the killings, Amnesty International argues, these orders have yielded no results.
The Nigeria Police Force has summoned another divisional police officer (DPO) and an investigating police officer (IPO) serving in Imo State for questioning over an alleged demand of N100,000 bribe from a 15-year-old rape victim.

How it happened

A woman, in a video clip uploaded on X on Saturday, said her sister, the victim, informed her via a phone call that an unidentified man invaded their family house and raped her while their siblings were attending a masquerade ceremony in an unnamed community in Imo State.

The man, she said, was armed with a knife which he used to force the victim to submit.

The woman said the victim and other siblings were in the village for the Christmas celebration, but that the victim chose to stay back alone when others left for the masquerade ceremony in the community.

The person who had the forceful entry on her, threatened her, said a lot of thingsholding a knife, she said.

She then claimed that officers at the police facility near Imo State Government House in Owerri demanded N100,000 from the victim and her family members who visited the facility to report the incident.

Immediately, they went to the police station to lay a complaint (about the rape incident). On getting to the station, police (officers) told them that to be able to write their statement, they had to pay the sum of N100,000, she narrated.

Police summon

Reacting to the allegations in the now-viral video clip on Saturday, the Police Complaint Response Unit announced that the DPO of the facility and the IPO have been summoned for questioning over the incident.

The Divisional Police Officer, GRA @ImoPoliceNG and the IPO (investigating police officer) have been summoned and will be in police Force Headquarters Abuja for questioning concerning this complaint by next week, thank you for contacting NPF-CRU, the police posted in response to the allegations in the clip.

The post did not disclose the identities of the DPO and the IPO involved in the case.

The latest development came hours after Joseph Udoh, the DPO of GRA Police Station in Asaba, Delta State, was summoned by the police in response to a public outcry over allegations that Mr Udoh, a chief superintendent of police, allegedly intimidated and extorted a citizen who helped a dying stranger.

The police chief has now been removed from office over the incident.

Police brutality and extortion in Nigeria

Meanwhile, cases of police brutality, extortion and other unprofessional activities in Nigeria have continued despite sanctions by police authorities, such as dismissal from service.

In 2024, for instance, the police in Imo State ordered an orderly room trial of four officers seen in a viral video clip extorting motorists in the state.

In August of the same year, police operatives in Bayelsa State extorted N3 million from a Nigerian man at gunpoint the same year.

The officers were subsequently arrested after the victim petitioned police authorities.

The police operatives later returned the N3 million to the victim, about three weeks later.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said that his political career would come to an end if Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State secures a second term in office in 2027.

Mr Wike, who helped Mr Fubara to win the Rivers governorship election in 2023, stated this on Saturday while speaking at a meeting in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The FCT minister reiterated that he and his followers had decided to support the reelection bid of President Bola Tinubu in 2027, but not so for Governor Fubara.

We have made a decision as far as (Bola) Tinubu is concerned. The other one (Fubaras second term)  no way, he said in a veiled reference to Mr Fubara.

Because if we make another mistake, then we will go and bury ourselves politically. I will not allow myself to be buried. I will not allow that mistake again. So everybody should know we have made a decision, he added.

Mr Fubara, elected governor of Rivers in 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress in December of last year.

Sworn in on 29 May 2023, the governors first tenure will elapse by 29 May 2027.

There are indications that he will seek reelection, although he has yet to declare his interest.

Background

In the wake of the recent political tension in Rivers, Mr Fubara has faced criticism and accusations from Mr Wike and his allies in the Rivers House of Assembly in recent times.

On Friday, Mr Wike vowed that Governor Fubara will never get a second chance to govern the state in 2027.

His comments followed Mr Fubaras New Year message in which the governor described Mr Wikes recent threats in the state as political noise.

The FCT minister had, in late December, accused Mr Fubara of reneging on the terms of the peace deal brokered between them by President Bola Tinubu in June last year during an emergency rule in the south-southern state.

He also threatened to reveal details of the agreement.

Previously, a political crisis in Rivers, triggered by the feud between Governor Fubara and Mr Wike, resulted in the declaration of emergency rule in the state by President Tinubu in March 2025.

Mr Fubara, who was suspended by Mr Tinubu for six months alongside all elected officials in the state, only returned to office in September of that year after the president declared an end to the emergency rule.

This was after President Tinubu brokered a second peace deal in June between Messrs Fubara and Wike alongside their supporters.
President Bola Tinubu has condemned the fatal attack on the Kasuwan Daji community in Niger State. The president also ordered security chiefs to hunt down the attackers and ensure the kidnapped residents are freed.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the attack occurred on the evening of 3 January. Multiple sources told our reporter that the terrorists killed at least 35 people and kidnapped an unspecified number of residents, mostly women and children.

Confirming the attack, the spokesperson of the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, said preliminary reports showed that more than 30 people were killed, while several others were kidnapped.

On 03/01/2026 at about 9 p.m., information received revealed that at about 4:30 p.m. of the same date, suspected bandits from the National Park forest along Kabe District invaded Kasuwan Daji, located at Demo village via Kabe, Mr Abiodun said.

They burnt the market, looted shops and carted away food items.

According to a statement by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu ordered security chiefs to track down and apprehend the perpetrators of the Kasuwan Daji attack, ensuring they are swiftly brought to justice.

Read the full statement by Mr Onanuga below.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Service Chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) to track down and apprehend the perpetrators of the Kasuwan Daji attack, ensuring they are swiftly brought to justice.

He also directed security agencies to rescue all the abducted victims urgently.

President Tinubu issued the directives on Sunday in response to the recent killings of villagers in Niger State by terrorists suspected to be fleeing from Sokoto and Zamfara following the United States air strike on Christmas Eve.

The President strongly condemned the attack on the Kasuwan Daji Community and the abduction of women and children.

He sent his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the Government and people of Niger State.

These terrorists have tested the resolve of our country and its people. They must, therefore, face the full consequences of their criminal actions. No matter who they are or what their intent is, they must be hunted down. They, and all those who aid, abet, or enable them in any form, will be caught and brought to justice, the President declared.

President Tinubu assured the people of Niger State that security agencies have been mandated to intensify operations around vulnerable communities, particularly those near the forests that have served as hideouts for criminal elements.

He urged Nigerians to remain united and resolute in the face of this tragedy and cautioned against divisive rhetoric that could undermine national security and cohesion during this challenging period.

These times demand our humanity. We must stand together as one people and confront these monsters in unison. United, we can and must defeat them, deny them any sanctuary. We must reclaim the peace and security of these attacked communities, President Tinubu said.

Bayo Onanuga

Special Adviser to the President
The Youth Electoral Reform Project (YERP-Naija) coalition called for renewed legislative commitment to electoral reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Bukola Idowu, Executive Director of Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) and National Coordinator of the YERP-Naija, in a press statement released on 1 January, said that as of 26 December 2025, the progress on electoral reform has remained uneven across the two chambers of the National Assembly.

While the House of Representatives has concluded the consideration and voting on the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, the Senate has yet to commence voting before embarking on recess, YERP-Naija said.

The group commended the House of Representatives but expressed concern about the slow progress of the process of amendment of the Electoral Act in the Senate.

This pause introduces uncertainty into the reform timeline and highlights the importance of maintaining a sustained legislative focus in the weeks ahead.

As the Senate prepares to reconvene, YERP-Naija respectively urges senators to prioritise clause-by-clause consideration and voting on the electoral reform bills. Doing so will ensure Nigeria remains on track to implement necessary reforms well ahead of the 2027 elections.

The House of Representatives has made significant progress towards the Electoral Act amendment. In July 2025, the chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on the INEC, Adebayo Balogun, told PREMIUM TIMES that the electoral reforms in the National Assembly were targeted at expanding inclusion, strengthening internal democracy, and enhancing public confidence.

In August 2025, Mr Balogun announced that a bill seeking the reduction in election litigation timelines had passed second reading.

On 19 December 2025, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the House endorsed major reforms to the Electoral Act 2022, including provisions that formally recognise the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) as the primary tool for accrediting voters and mandate the real-time electronic transmission of election results.

They also approved a significant increase in campaign spending limits for candidates contesting elective offices.

In YERP-Naijas statement, they also called the attention of the two chambers to the ongoing constitutional amendment. They urged that timely consideration of the amendments is crucial and delays will risk repeating the challenges witnessed in previous electoral cycles.

As the year begins, the group highlighted that the decisions of the National Assembly will shape not only the conduct of the 2027 elections but public perception.

YERP-Naija respectfully calls on lawmakers to demonstrate leadership, foresight, and patriotism by prioritising electoral reforms that reflect the aspirations of young Nigerians and the broader electorate.

These reforms are not partisan demands; they are essential safeguards for democratic stability, peaceful elections, and national cohesion.

YERP-Naijas electoral recommendations

In June 2025, the group put forward five key recommendations, including calling for the stripping of the Nigerian presidents power to appoint the chairman and top officials of the INEC, and mandatory electronic transmission of election results.

The group also called for the establishment of an Electoral Offences Commission, the conclusion of pre-election cases before elections and post-election petitions before the inauguration of public office holders, and to the continuous voter registration unstopped.

YERP-Naija also called for the increased use of technology in elections and lowering political parties nomination fees on 30 November 2025.

Seeking to accelerate electoral reforms, the group has continued to mount pressure on lawmakers. For instance, in October 2025, YERP-Naija engaged the media to strengthen awareness and pressure for the passage of the electoral reforms.

The YERP_Naija is a coalition of youth-focused non-governmental organisations working to elevate the voices of Nigerian youth in electoral reform discussions.

Supported by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Consortium engages with young people from all six geopolitical zones and across the 36 states and the FCT to advocate for critical reforms in Nigerias electoral system.

Members include civil society organisations from all six Nigerian geopolitical zones. It is led by a team of coordinators: Mr Idowu (National and North-central), Zigwai Ayuba (North-west), Ashraf Tukur (North-east), Ms Aladejare-Salako (South-West), Nonso Orakwe (South-east), and Israel Orekha (South-south).
Opposition political parties have expressed deep concerns about the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) certificate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) deputy governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Monisade Afuye, released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently.

The certificate, part of the particulars of the governorship candidates and their deputies released by the INEC, indicated that Mrs Afuye sat for the WAEC examination in June 1978 at Amoye Grammar School, Ikere-Ekiti.

According to the INEC document, four WAEC subjects were recorded, with the deputy governor scoring credits in Literature in English and Economics, and passes in History and Mathematics.

The deputy governors certificate has attracted criticism from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Democratic Congress (ADC), which questioned Mrs Afuyes suitability for public office, especially in a state that prides itself as the fountain of Knowledge.

The South-west PDP Publicity Secretary, Sanya Atofarati, in a statement on Sunday, expressed utter concern about the academic credentials of the deputy governor.

Mr Atofarati described the development as embarrassing and a slap on Ekiti State, widely renowned as the fountain of knowledge and centre of intellectual excellence.

This is a source of embarrassment for all Ekiti people. A state widely celebrated for academic excellence and intellectual prowess deserves better. It is disheartening that the APC is presenting a candidate with such a record for the sensitive office of deputy governor.

Imagine someone who today submits a low-level and unconvincing school certificate being expected tomorrow to represent a governor at meetings of professors and technocrats. What exactly does such a person have to offer?

Ekiti is known nationwide as a state of scholars, a state with one of the highest concentrations of professors. It is often said, jokingly but truthfully, that almost every household has a professor. Is it not dehumanising for such people to be represented by a mere school certificate holder? he queried.

The Ekiti State Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Gboyega Aribisogan, also faulted the O-Level result submitted by Mrs Afuye to INEC, citing what he described as unresolved doubts about its authenticity.

He said that Ekiti State, which is regarded for its academic reputation, should not be led by people with questionable credentials and low education, recalling that similar concerns were raised in 2022 when she emerged as the APC deputy governorship candidate.

He said, This is not the first time these questions are coming up. As far back as 2022, when she was announced as a deputy governors candidate of the APC, even members of her own party openly discussed the doubts surrounding her qualification.

At a point, a group of people went to the archives to verify whether she truly sat for the GCE. What later emerged was that she did not complete her education at Amoye Grammar School, Ikere-Ekiti, which she claimed to have attended.

Her colleagues from school reportedly said she did not finish there. Rather, she sat for the GCE outside the school, and that is where the problem of a doubtful certificate started.

Many of our professionals and alumni spoke out against her nomination then, but because of the dictatorial tendencies within the APC party structure at the time, the issue was swept under the carpet, and she was imposed as deputy governor.

As we head into another governorship election, our people are talking again. At the appropriate time, people will do the needful and this could lead to another round of litigation that may truncate the ambition of both the governor and the deputy governor, he added.

APC responds

However, Ekiti APC Publicity Secretary, Segun Dipe dismissed the criticisms as baseless, politically motivated

d and a desperate attempt by opposition parties to gain relevance ahead of the 20 June governorship election.

Mr Dipe accused the opposition parties of sensationalising Mrs Afuyes WAEC results to undermine public confidence in the APC, insisting that the deputy governor met all constitutional requirements to contest as deputy governor.

He described the controversy as an unnecessary distraction, noting that the deputy governor has served the state diligently and excellently since assuming office.

He added that Mrs Afuyes credentials had been duly screened and cleared by the APC national leadership, insisting that the PDP and APC should focus on selling their programmes to the Ekiti people rather than resorting to smear campaigns and recycled allegations.

What the Constitution says

According to section 177 of the Constitution, a deputy governorship candidate must meet the same qualifications as a governorship candidate.

READ ALSO: Coalition calls for renewed commitment to electoral Reform

To be eligible for a deputy governorship position, a person must: Be a Nigerian citizen by birth, be at least 35 years old, be a member of a political party and sponsored by that party and have at least a school certificate or its equivalent.

Theres a proposed bill before the National Assembly that seeks to reduce the age to 30 years and increase qualifications to a bachelors degree
Ogun State Governor and Chairman of the Southern Governors Forum, Dapo Abiodun, has strongly condemned the gruesome killing of at least 42 innocent people and the abduction of several others by terrorists in Agwarra and Borgu Local Government Areas of Niger State, describing the attack as callous, senseless, and a crime against humanity.

In a statement issued on Sunday in Abeokuta, Governor Abiodun expressed heartfelt condolences to the Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umaru Bago, as well as the government and people of the state, over what he described as a tragic and deeply disturbing incident.

The Ogun State governor called on security agencies to swiftly track down, arrest, and prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law, stressing that such acts of brutality must not go unpunished.

He also sympathised with the families and communities affected by the attack, lamenting that innocent and law-abiding citizens could be brutally murdered while going about their lawful activities.

Speaking on behalf of the Government and people of Ogun State and his colleagues in the Southern Governors Forum, Mr Abiodun said the incident should not weaken the resolve of the Niger State Government to continue protecting lives and property.

On behalf of the Government and people of Ogun State and my colleagues in the Southern Governors Forum, I commiserate with the Government and people of Niger State over the dastardly attacks by terrorists that left 42 people dead and many others abducted, he said.

I urge His Excellency, Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, not to allow this terrible incident to dampen his morale and determination to safeguard lives and property in Niger State.

Governor Abiodun described the assault on innocent citizens as a stain on the nations conscience, stressing that such barbaric acts must never be allowed to recur.

The cowardly onslaught on innocent citizens going about their lawful business represents a blight on our country. It is a horrendous incident that must never be allowed to happen again, he said.

He prayed for the repose of the souls of the victims and for divine strength for their families to bear the loss.

I commiserate with the families who have lost their loved ones and pray that Almighty God grants them the fortitude to survive this terrible ordeal, Mr Abiodun added.

Calling for decisive action, the governor urged security agencies to deploy all available resources to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

I call on the security agencies to track and hunt down the perpetrators of these attacks and ensure that they never get another opportunity to slaughter innocent citizens.

The perpetrators must be completely crushed with all the resources available to the Nigerian State. May the souls of the victims rest in peace.
Indigenes of Bassa-Nge Kingdom in Bassa Local Government Area of Kogi State have renewed calls for urgent infrastructural development, urging the federal and Kogi State governments to address decades-long neglect that has hindered the areas economic and social growth.

The community specifically appealed for the reconstruction of the ShintakuGbolokoOguma road, describing it as a critical artery that has remained in a deplorable condition for years, crippling trade, mobility and access to basic services.

According to a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES, the call was made on Friday in Gboloko, the headquarters of Bassa-Nge Kingdom, during the formal launch and unveiling of the interim executive committee of the Bassa-Nge Progressive Union (BNPU).

The event also coincided with the 40th-day prayers in honour of the late paramount ruler of the kingdom, Abu Ali.

Community leaders said sustained poor leadership and lack of cohesion had contributed to the slow pace of development in the kingdom, stressing that unity among sons and daughters of Bassa-Nge, both at home and in the diaspora, was essential to reversing the trend.

Unveiling the union, the Makama-Daniya of Bassa-Nge Kingdom and Secretary of the Board of Trustees, M.B. Abdullahi, described the occasion as a turning point in the quest for structured development in the area.

We have gathered not only to celebrate unity, but to lay a solid foundation for progress, accountability and purposeful leadership that will accelerate development in our land, Mr Abdullahi said.

He explained that the interim executive committee was carefully constituted to provide direction, stabilise the unions structures and manage its affairs during a six-month transition period.

He urged the Bassa-Nge indigenes to give the team their full support, enabling it to deliver on its mandate.

Several paper presentations were delivered in honour of the late monarch, whom speakers described as a unifying figure committed to the progress of the kingdom throughout his lifetime.

In a presentation titled Strategic importance of Bassa-Nge Progressive Union as a tool for social and political emancipation of our people, Abdulmumini Umar said the success of the union depended on progressive leadership, unity and inclusiveness.

He warned that poor leadership and socio-cultural imbalance could pose serious risks, adding that deliberate efforts must be made to ensure adequate representation of the Bassa-Nge people in local, state, and federal governments, in order to attract infrastructure and development projects to the area.

They must ensure that Bassa Nge children are adequately represented in local, state and federal government to enhance infrastructural development of our people, he said.

Also speaking, the Kakaki of Bassa-Nge, Jacob Edi, said the union had developed a long-term strategic development plan spanning 200 years, expressing confidence that visible changes would begin to emerge in the coming years.

The birth of the union was to harmonise all previously contending forces and forge a common front. This, we believe, will accelerate development in the kingdom, Mr Edi said. Our late Chief has always advocated a platform that can champion the course of the land and that is what we are having today

Other presentations focused on the legacy of the late Etsu of Bassa-Nge Kingdom and strategies for unlocking the economic potential of the area amid leadership challenges.

In his acceptance speech, the interim President of the union, Yahaya Ndako, pledged that the leadership would prioritise development and accountability.

We cannot afford to fail our people, he said, promising to work with his team to mobilise support and partnerships that would translate the communitys aspirations into tangible infrastructural and economic gains.
Some students of St Marys Private Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools, Papiri, in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, are among the villagers abducted by terrorists in the area on Saturday evening, residents have said.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the terrorists killed at least 35 people and abducted many others.

The schoolchildren were abducted only days after they returned from the captivity of the terrorists following negotiations with the government.

In the fresh attack, the terrorists killed at least 35 villagers, including women and children, at Kasuwan Daji and Kaima communities, residents and security sources told PREMIUM TIMES.

A resident of one of the communities said the terrorists took the abducted villagers into the Kainji National Park, which the terrorists sometimes use as a base for their operations. The source said some of the kidnapped victims are students recently freed by the terrorists.

The attackers killed 37 people in Kasuwan Daji near Papiri and another five in Kaima village. Many people were abducted, including children and some of the students who had earlier been released, the source, who demanded not to be named for fear of their safety, said.

The Director of Communications, Catholic Church of Kontagora Diocese, Stephen Kabirat, confirmed the incident.

Our parish priest narrowly escaped abduction when the terrorists visited our mission house three days ago, Mr Kabirat said.

They destroyed some religious items, carted away two motorcycles and cash of over N200,000. They were looking for the priest, but he escaped. Some villagers, including children, were abducted.

The latest incident came five days after suspected bandits fleeing a military operation in Kwara State reportedly invaded Gebe and Goro communities, also in Agwara Local Government Area, killing two people and burning more than 15 houses after looting valuables.

About a week earlier, gunmen attacked a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) checkpoint in Wawa community, Borgu Local Government Area, carting away arms and ammunition as personnel fled the scene.

Residents said the attackers have established camps in the Kainji National Park, from where they repeatedly raid communities in the area.

We have a serious crisis across River Rofia, where they cross from Kebbi State to attack us, one source said. They came out of the forest about a week ago, wreaking havoc. Just on Saturday, they burnt a market and abducted many people, including children.

A villager appealed to the authorities for urgent intervention, stating that several communities had been displaced due to fear.

As I speak to you, some villages where the abducted schoolchildren come from have been sleeping in the bushes since their return because of the activities of the terrorists, the villager said.

The Niger State Police Command also confirmed the attacks. The commands spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, a superintendent of police, said the police received reports around 9 p.m. on Saturday that suspected bandits had attacked communities, killing over 30 people and abducting an unconfirmed number of victims.

In a related development, at about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, suspected bandits from the National Park forest along Kebe District invaded Kasuwan Daji located at Demo Village via Kebe village, Mr Abiodun said in a statement. They killed over 30 persons, burnt the market, looted shops and carted away food items.

A joint security team has visited the scene, and efforts are ongoing to rescue the victims. Further developments will be communicated.

On Sunday, President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack and ordered security operatives to free the captives and apprehend the attackers.
Former Kano State Governor and leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has confirmed that discussions are underway with key opposition figures to join the opposition coalition against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking in Hausa on Saturday at his Kano residence, Mr Kwankwaso addressed a gathering of supporters amid swirling rumours regarding the imminent defection of Kano Governor Abba Yusuf, along with other elected and appointed officials, to the APC.

At the national level, talks are ongoing to join an opposition coalition, Mr Kwankwaso stated, drawing a thunderous applause.

However, I have made it categorically clear that I will only join a coalition that considers me as either the presidential or vice-presidential candidate.

Observers see Mr Kwankwasos remarks as a signal of a potential alliance with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, possibly under the umbrella of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

However, Mr Kwankwasos insistence to be on the presidential ticket may be a stumbling block to the coalition. Other likely presidential hopefuls who are already in the ADC are Messrs Atiku and Obi as well as former transport minister Rotimi Amaechi.

Worse than Ganduje

Addressing the rumoured defection of Governor Yusuf to the APC, Mr Kwankwaso pleaded with the defectors to reconsider their position.

While he did not mention the governor by name, he stated that such a move would make Mr Yusuf a worse politician than his local rival and former APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje.

We are praying that they do not join the APC, Mr Kwankwaso said. But if they insist, I believe the governor should resign his position before defecting. That mandate belongs to all of us and the people, not just an individual.

Mr Kwankwaso further revealed that he had personally been offered several positions to join the APC but declined, stating the offers were insufficient for himself and his loyal supporters who have faced hardships and violence during their political struggle.

He dismissed claims that the NNPP is no longer a viable platform for the 2027 elections, pointing to the partys successful congresses and recent local electoral victories.

What is most painful is the attempt to take our hard-won victory and structure back to Ganduje in the APC, he added, urging his followers to remain steadfast, and warning that anyone who betrays the Kwankwasiyya movement will ultimately fail.

The core of Kano politics for the last decade has been the bitter rivalry between Messrs Kwankwaso and Ganduje. Governor Yusuf was elected on the platform of the NNPP, backed by Mr Kwankwasos Kwankwasiyya movement to dismantle Mr Gandujes legacy.

A defection by Governor Yusuf to the APC would mean joining the national ruling party, where Mr Ganduje is a key figurea move that Mr Kwankwaso views as the ultimate betrayal of their political struggle.

Efforts to reach Sanusi Bature, the spokesperson for Governor Yusuf, were unsuccessful as of Saturday evening to comment on Mr Kwankwasos claims.

The rumoured defection

The political landscape in Kano State is currently experiencing a tremor due to the reported rift between Governor Yusuf and his political godfather, Mr Kwankwaso, following the planned defection of the governor.

Insiders said Mr Yusuf may be seeking to liberate himself from Mr Kwankwasos perceived overbearing influence.

By joining the APC, Mr Yusuf would align himself directly with the federal government, potentially securing the resources and federal might necessary to contest the 2027 elections without relying solely on Mr Kwankwasos machinery.

The NNPP currently governs only Kano State. If the governor, his cabinet, the state and federal legislators defect to the APC, the NNPP risks losing its only major power base in Nigeria, effectively rendering Mr Kwankwaso a leader without a governing territory ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
NAIROBI, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has formally ended over two decades of protection for its sugar industry and will now allow cheap sugar imports from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Africa's largest trading bloc, a government regulatory body said Sunday.

The Kenya Sugar Board (KSB) said that the government has formally exited the COMESA Sugar Safeguard regime after 24 years, marking a decisive transition for the country's sugar industry.

"Kenya now enters a new phase defined by competitiveness, value addition, regional integration, and sustainable growth, supported by a clear policy framework and a restructured private-sector-led industry," Kenya Sugar Board Chief Executive Officer Jude Chesire said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

Under the new policy, there is no limit on duty-free sugar imports from COMESA countries.

Chesire said the government was fully committed to safeguarding farmer livelihoods, supporting miller viability, and ensuring food security, price stability and long-term growth of the sugar sector within the COMESA Free Trade Area.

According to the KSB, Kenya's sugar sub sector has recorded strong recovery and growth with sugarcane acreage expanding by 19.4 percent to 289,631 hectares supported by favourable rainfall patterns, improved access to certified seed cane, and targeted fertilizer subsidy interventions.

Chesire said sugar production increased by more than 70 percent, from 472,773 metric tonnes in 2022 to 815,454 metric tonnes now, reflecting improved farm productivity and factory efficiencies.

According to the KSB, the current national sugar demand stands at about 1.1 million metric tonnes annually.

"While domestic production has made significant gains and is increasingly aligned with national consumption, miller capacity expansion, factory rehabilitation, and newly leased mills will require time to fully optimize operations," Chesire said.

He said the sector which supports 250,000 direct jobs and nearly six million livelihoods remains sensitive to climatic conditions.

The medium-term outlook for the sector remains strong, Chesire said, noting that as miller capacity expands and farm productivity continues to improve, Kenya is projected to not only meet domestic demand but to attain and surpass self-sufficiency in the medium term, positioning the country for surplus production and regional export competitiveness. 
A member of the House of Representatives, Abdulmalik Zubairu (APC-Zamfara), has donated 12 new Toyota Camry cars worth N360 million to Islamic scholars in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Zubairu represents Bungudu and Maru Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

The beneficiaries included Abdullahi Dalla-Dalla, NaAllah Zurmi, Usman Tambuwal, Atiku Zawiyya, Yusuf Dinawa, Abubakar Sodangi, and Ibrahim Zawiyya.

Presenting the cars to the beneficiaries on behalf of the lawmaker, Governor Dauda Lawal commended Mr Zubairus gesture to the Islamic clerics in the state.

The governor, represented by his Special Adviser on Religious Matters, Bello Almufty, described the lawmakers effort as a mark of true representation.

This is commendable; our Islamic scholars should be regarded irrespective of political differences.

I really appreciate this kind gesture to our Islamic scholars, this is in line with my administrations policy to respect scholars who always preach justice, fairness, peace and stability, Mr Lawal said.

In his remarks, the lawmaker said the gesture was a recognition of the roles played by the clerics in propagating Islamic knowledge and enlightening the public on peacebuilding.

Mr Zubairu, represented by his Chairman, Coordinating Committee,

Bashar Bello-Auki, stated that Islamic scholars should be supported for their daily work in promoting peace and stability in society.

Also speaking, the spokesperson to the lawmaker, Aminu Lawal, said each of the vehicles was procured at a cost of over N30 million.

Mr Lawal called on the beneficiaries to utilise the vehicles judiciously.

(NAN)
Ekid Peoples Union has criticised Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State over his remarks suggesting that their opposition to activities around the Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve in the state amounts to terrorism.

In a statement signed by the Chairperson of the Union Board of Trustees, Nduese Essien, and Secretary, Bassey Itama, the group described the comments as dangerous, hurtful, and capable of escalating tension in Akwa Ibom State.

The Ekid Peoples Union is an influential socio-cultural group that promotes and protects the interests of the Ekid ethnic nationality, which occupies the Eket and Esit Eket local government areas of Akwa Ibom.

The groups reaction followed Mr Enos comments while commissioning a Model Primary Health Centre in Nduo Eduo, Eket Local Government Area, where he warned residents against resisting the federal governments plans for the LagosCalabar Coastal Highway.

During the event, Mr Eno cautioned that the government would act with the force of nature if challenged and said that those obstructing the project should be mindful of the law, adding, Now that you want to form a terrorist organisation. You know what the law says because you want to be a terrorist. Im telling you gently.

A video capturing the governors statement has been posted on the state governments Facebook page.

We are not terrorists  Ekid People Union

In the statement, the group expressed its deep concern about the governors language, noting that the Ekid people had consistently acted within the bounds of the law.

They argued that describing a host community as terrorists for questioning land acquisition and environmental impact was unfair and inflammatory, especially given the Ekid peoples long-standing relationship with the governor.

The leaders recalled that Mr Eno lived and built his business among the Ekid people for over three decades and enjoyed overwhelming local support during his emergence as governor.

That such people would now be portrayed as criminals for insisting on consultation, due process, and compensation is a painful irony, the statement said.

Development not opposed; process questioned

The Ekid leaders stressed that they were not opposed to development or the LagosCalabar Coastal Highway itself. Rather, their concern was the approach being taken in routing the project through the forest reserve without adequate consultation or clarity on compensation.

They explained that a caveat issued by the Ekid Peoples Union warning investors to stay away from disputed areas was intended to curb alleged illegal land racketeering, not to halt development.

According to them, branding such actions as terrorism amounted to criminalising civic engagement and lawful dissent.

Legal and historical claims

Ekid Peoples Union cited historical court decisions affirming Ekid ownership of the swamps and littoral lands east of the Qua Iboe River, including the area now known as Stubbs Creek. They also pointed to existing state laws and the Land Use Act, arguing that the designation of the area as a forest reserve did not extinguish indigenous land rights.

They rejected the governors suggestion that laws could be amended by future administrations to justify dispossession, insisting that governance must remain anchored in the rule of law.

Beyond legal issues, Ekid leaders raised environmental concerns, describing Stubbs Creek as one of the last remaining forest ecosystems in Akwa Ibom State, critical for flood control, biodiversity, and local livelihoods.

They warned that using force to push through projects in such a sensitive ecological zone could lead to irreversible damage and long-term economic loss.

Background: Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve

Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve is a vast mangrove and freshwater swamp ecosystem spanning parts of Eket, Ibeno, and Esit Eket local government areas. Designated as a forest reserve in 1930 for conservation, the area has historically been associated with the Ekid ancestral lands and livelihoods, making it a recurring flashpoint between development ambitions, environmental protection, and indigenous land rights.

READ ALSO: Enos disclosure awakens concerns around arbitrary contract awards in violation of procurement laws

Call for restraint, dialogue

The group urged the governor to withdraw what they described as hostile rhetoric and embrace dialogue, transparent environmental and social impact assessments, and lawful engagement with host communities.

They warned that equating community resistance with terrorism risked eroding trust and inflaming tensions, noting that defending land, environment, and dignity through the courts is not terrorism but responsible citizenship.

They concluded that the Ekid people remained committed to peace and development but would continue to defend their rights without intimidation, coercion, or the misuse of security language to silence legitimate concerns.
SHENZHEN, China, Jan. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Baseus, a user-centric consumer technology brand, will present an elevated presence and a new wave of innovation at CES 2026, driving forward in Mobile Digital, Smart Audio, and Smart Security and setting its sights on becoming the next-generation leader in intuitive, everyday smart technology.

Charging  Safer, Faster, All-in-One

At CES 2026, Baseus reaffirms its core charging philosophy: Safe & Fast Charging, All in One.

Leading this focus is PicoGo, the centerpiece of Baseus' 2026 charging lineup, showcasing lighter, smarter and more Apple-friendly power solutions. Taking center stage is the new PicoGo AM52 Qi2.2 Power Bank, offering one of the slimmest Qi2.2 magnetic power banks available today while delivering 25W Qi2.2 wireless and 45W USB-C fast charging. Powered by Baseus Triple-Loop Cooling technology, the AM52 runs roughly 12% cooler than comparable Qi2.2 packs and maintains surface temperatures under 102F, ensuring steadier and safer performance at high charging speeds. Complementing it is the AC22 Ultra Mini, an ultra-compact unit roughly the size of an earbud case, features a built-in cable for instant grab-and-go charging. Both will be available in Q1 2026.

Baseus will also showcase the PicoGo AE11 (67W) and the high-power AH11 (140W) digital display charger to illustrate the series' full breadth.

At the desktop level, the new Baseus Nomos NH21 6-in-1 Desktop Charging Station streamlines clutter with a compact 6-in-1 layout built for multi-device work sessions. It provides two retractable braided cables and 245 W high-output power  managed by BPS 3.0 smart power allocation  can charge two laptops simultaneously, and features Qi2 wireless charging and a clear LCD readout. Available late January 2026  stay tuned.

Additionally, Baseus is unveiling the evolved Spacemate RD1 Pro 15-in-1 Docking Station, its flagship workspace solution tailored for professionals and hybrid workers. It retains 4K multi-display expansion at its core while introducing integrated high-power charging, enabled by a built-in 180W GaN module delivering up to 160W output, alongside a Qi2.2 25W magnetic wireless charging pad  together enabling simultaneous charging across multiple devices. With intelligent port-level detection further optimizes efficiency and safety, the RD1 Pro is set to launch in H1 2026, unifing comprehensive multi-device expansion with integrated power delivery in one streamlined desk unit.

Audio  From Flagship Sound to Everyday Comfort

Baseus is introducing more intelligent features to its flagship Inspire series, while outlining its strategies for the mid-tier Bowie series that will utilize sound quality and innovative design to tap into the vast opportunites in new form factor audio products, such as OWS earbuds.

The Inspire series with Sound by Bose is Baseus' answer to high-quality and accessible audio technoglog, now enhaced with smart listening features.

The Inspire XH1 now ships with a SoundFit OTA, which personalize the audio experience based on each listener's unique hearing profile to ensure a perfectly balanced and detailed audio experience at any volume level.

The Inspire XP1 adds Ear-Fit Quiet, an ear-canal adaptation system that analyzes each user's unique ear-canal shape and current seal level, then applies targeted compensation based on the detected leakagedelivering consistently reliable adaptive ANC across different ear sizes and wearing conditions. This function will be available in Q1 2026. Stay tuned.

Complementing the high-end Inspire line, Bowie brings the audio experience to mid-tier users with a focus on Extraordinary Sound, Effortless Comfort, forming a key part of Baseus' 2026 audio strategy. Building on Inspire's flagship sound, Bowie will balance high-quality audio with enhanced comfort through upgraded OWS and TWS models, delivering a more enjoyable, all-day listening experience for everyday users.

Security  Smarter Protection at Home and On the Go

Baseus continues to raise the bar for home security with the X1 Pro, the world's first smart AI dual-tracking outdoor security camera. Fresh from a successful December crowdfunding campaign, the X1 Pro will come to the mass market in January 2026, offering dual 3K cameras, a 300 maximum view, and active patrol for comprehensive home and yard coverage. Live Cross-Cam AI Tracking ensures smooth, uninterrupted subject monitoring, while NeuraNex Technology 2.0 intelligently filters routine movements and highlights events that truly matter, reducing unnecessary alerts. A complementary HomeStation arriving in Q1 2026 will expand local storage and extend connectivity for reliable, multi-zone coverage.

For drivers, Baseus is enhancing vehicle safety with its PrimeTrip VD1 Pro dashcam lineup, it offers up-to-14-day hardwire-free parking monitoring to keep vehicles protected. In 2026, these dashcams will introduce proactive AI functionality to deliver a more intelligent, anticipatory safety experience, helping drivers detect potential hazards and receive timely alerts.

Together, these products demonstrate Baseus' vision for security that is intuitive, reliable, and built around real-world needs, with AI adding an intelligent, supportive layer.

CES 2026 provides an opportunity to see Baseus' latest innovations in charging, audio, and AI-powered security firsthand. Visit Baseus at Booth #30938, LVCC South Hall to experience the full lineup.

About Baseus

Founded in 2011, Baseus was born out of utmost care for users. The company embodies its slogan: Practical. Reliable. Base on User. This shows the pursuit of ultimate practicality to solve users' problems with outstanding design and fashionable appearances that also reflect reliability, high quality, and cost-effectiveness. Baseus delivers a variety of products - including Portable Chargers, Desktop Chargers, Wall Chargers, Wireless Earbuds, and Docking Stations. Chosen by 300 million users and providing 6 billion services, Baseus delivers over 100 million practical and aesthetic products each year, continuously enhancing users' sense of fulfillment. Join the Baseus family today to see a new world of technological innovation.

SOURCE BASEUS TECHNOLOGY (HK) CO, LIMITED
Smart Home Innovation Brings Peace of Mind to Pool Owners with Automated Water Quality Management

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine a pool that takes care of itself. No more weekend mornings testing water chemistry. No more urgent shocks when you return from vacation. No more worrying whether your children are swimming in safe water. Today, that vision becomes reality as SunnyWhale makes its CES debut, unveiling the FinWhale Robot Dispensera smart home solution that transforms pool ownership from a maintenance burden into pure family joy.

FinWhale Robot Dispenser

At CES 2026, SunnyWhale's exhibition, themed "Less Maintenance, More Moments" features immersive demonstrations showing how the FinWhale works as the "guardian" of your pool's water quality.

COMPLETE AUTOMATION: SET IT AND FORGET IT

The FinWhale delivers fully automatic maintenance with continuous water testing and hands-free operation. Its AI-driven dosing algorithm prevents overuse, saves supplies, and maintains optimal 1-4ppm FC levels to prevent algae growth while ensuring safe swimming conditions. Pool owners can leave for a week's vacation and return to crystal-clear water.

SOLAR-POWERED SUSTAINABILITY

Energy-efficient design with solar charging, significantly reducing maintenance frequency and your involvement. Intelligent dosing helps maximize tablet efficiency, lowering costs and waste. The system checks pool conditions and provides alerts, supporting better water qualityparticularly for sensitive skin.

REAL-WORLD VALIDATION

Extensive testing across five diverse pool marketsTexas, California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizonahas validated the system's reliability in various weather conditions, usage patterns, and maintenance challenges.

"The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive," said a SunnyWhale spokesperson. "Users consistently recognize the value of fully automated maintenance that adapts to their specific environment"

THE TRANSFORMATION: FROM BURDEN TO JOY

The FinWhale delivers transformative value across all user segments:

New Pool Owners : Professional-level intelligent care from day one without complex maintenance knowledge.

: Professional-level intelligent care from day one without complex maintenance knowledge. Experienced Pool Owners : Significantly reduced maintenance time and long-term costs, freeing up time for more enjoyable moments.

: Significantly reduced maintenance time and long-term costs, freeing up time for more enjoyable moments. Third-Party Service Users: Enhances collaboration with service pros by providing real-time data transparency .

The product is especially appealing to frequent business travelers, families with children, and hosts who need reliable, worry-free pool maintenance.

LOOKING AHEAD: A NEW APPROACH TO POOL CARE

"We believe intelligent water quality self-maintenance represents an exciting new direction for pool care," the spokesperson continued. "Traditionally, the pool industry has relied on manual labor and outsourced services, which can create barriers for some pool owners. With the FinWhale, we are offering pool owners a new choiceone that enhances collaboration with third-party maintenance services by providing real-time data and complete transparency, enabling both pool owners and maintenance professionals to work together more effectively. Our goal is simple: 'LESS MAINTENANCE, MORE MOMENTS'."

SunnyWhale hopes this approach will make pool ownership more accessible and enjoyable for families seeking a simpler, more automated solution.

THE JOURNEY AHEAD

Q1 2026  Public Beta Testing: Expanding user base across different regions and pool types.

 Public Beta Testing: Expanding user base across different regions and pool types. Q2 2026  Pre-Sales Launch: Early adopters can secure units ahead of the official launch.

 Pre-Sales Launch: Early adopters can secure units ahead of the official launch. Q3 2026  Official Launch: Revolutionary pool maintenance solution available nationwide.

"We're excited to share our vision at CES 2026," the spokesperson concluded. "Each phase brings us closer to making professional pool care accessible to everyone, so families can focus on what matters mostcreating memories together."

ABOUT SUNNYWHALE

SunnyWhale is a Bay Area tech company on a mission to bring peace of mind to every family through technology. We believe in 'Less maintenance, More moments.

Starting with the pool, we focus on eliminating tedious and inefficient maintenance, giving families more moments of pure connection and joy.

Our vision is to be the global leader in smart home ecosystems, bringing peace of mind and freedom to more homes and celebrating everyday moments.

MEDIA CONTACT:

[[email protected]]

CES 2026 Booth Information:

[BOOTH No: 56345]

For more information, visit:

[www.sunnywhale.net]

SOURCE SunnyWhale
The production of audio content through AI Voice has become routine for more than 50% of the magazine online, and over one third of people in mature markets have listened to online content rather than reading it.

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- After years of experimentation with mixed results, the explosion of Generative AI over the past 18 months, when applied to content, has finally allowed the Text-to-Speech "caterpillar" to turn into an AI-Voice "butterfly." However, a "beautiful voice" alone is not enough to make content truly usable in the here and now, according to the rules of publishing and the business models of the web environment. TTS relates to an audio platform in the same way gasoline relates to a car: necessary, but not sufficient to travel.

#audioboost #CES2026 #Audio #AI-voice #Digital Publishing Speed Speed

So while other startups focused on developing increasingly sophisticated voices, it is Audioboost that is building the solution that truly makes them applicable to the online media industry. Born in Italy and already active in 10 countries, Audioboost is preparing to cross the Atlantic in 2026 to conquer the Weststarting from CES2026 in Las Vegas.

Selected for the shortlist of 51 Italian startups hosted in the Italy Pavilion at CES 69 January 2026, Audioboost does not belong to the loud AI hype. It is not part of robotics, cybersecurity, space or healthcare, but rather of the martech world, and represents an especially interesting business case at a time when the market is seeking concrete examples of GenAI with practical applications in a competitive, complex and mature sector such as publishing and advertising.

"Trying to innovate a traditionalist industry during a difficult phaseespecially online publishingis certainly a complex challenge," says Cristina Pianura, CEO of Audioboost, who four years ago was the first to bet on AI Voice when the TTS 'caterpillar' was still met with skepticism by many publishers. "Our goal is to ride the now well-established trend of users of all ages preferring listening over reading, and to develop solutions that do not simply generate easy traffic to websites but increase audience dwell time and engagement with content, while also enabling distribution across the channels of the futurefrom smart cars to smartwatches. We are convinced that audio plays this strategic role, which is why we have developed patented or patent-pending technological innovations that could also be applied to podcast or audiobook production in the future."

Thanks to the market-penetration work Audioboost has carried out in its pilot countryItalywe now know that 50% of the Italian population is aware of Spoken Articles (content read by artificial intelligence) and that 33% have listened to them at least once (Ipsos source). We also know that listening sessions for informational audio content last on average between 5 and 10 minutes, which in a web environment means multiplying average time spent on a site by 5 to 8 times.

"Contrary to popular belief, the consumption of Spoken Articles is even more valuable than podcast listening," Pianura continues, "because it stems from an immediate, here-and-now decision and therefore responds to a strong need for information that, online, must be satisfied within just a few minutes. Those minutes dedicated to listening to a specific piece of content are far more valuableboth editorially and commerciallythan background music listened to distractedly."

With its Speakup-Article platform, Audioboost adapts every text to ensure fluent and accurate narration, even for textual structures and terminology that are typically challenging for TTS systems. At CES, the company will unveil its latest innovation: the ability to recognize the gender of the speaking subject and dynamically switch voices in real time, thus simulating a dialogue or an interview. The ability to integrate textual structure and semantic analysis to correctly interpret content, or to insert advertising at the right moment, represents the core of its key innovations.

CREDITS:

Audioboost Srl is Italy's first audio-focused martech company. It develops technological solutions that make websites "speaking and audible," while fully respecting editorial structures and the complexities of the web and mobile environments.

Thanks to the invention of Speakup-Articlea combination of AI-driven voice technologies and a dedicated web applicationAudioboost generates thousands of audio contents online for the websites where its player is installed. Through the Accessibility Badge, this content is also easily accessible to people with visual and motor disabilities.

Audioboost also enables its clients to distribute podcasts by integrating them into the native Speakup-Article playlist, effectively turning the web into the world's largest podcast distribution platform. All solutions are developed in-house and are either patented or protected by copyright.

In 2024, Audioboost received a significant investment from Branovatea martech company active in LATAM and APACto support its international expansion.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Visit: www.audioboost.com | https://speakup.ai

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/audioboostsrl

Click here for more details about our booth at: https://ces26.mapyourshow.com/8_0/exhibitor/exhibitor-details.cfm?exhid=001Pp00001ZarltIAB.

SOURCE Audioboost srl
GUANGZHOU, China, Jan. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- From the trenches of the Spanish Civil War to the storm-lashed beaches of Normandy, a forgotten group of Chinese fighters stood shoulder to shoulder with Europe's anti-fascist forcesyet their sacrifices have remained largely invisible to history. Unsung Chinese fighters on European battlefield | Brothers in Arms , a documentary produced by South, uncovers the little-known stories of Overseas Chinese volunteers who fought against Nazi and fascist regimes between 1936 and 1945, revealing a powerful legacy of international solidarity, courage, and shared sacrifice that transcended borders long before the end of World War II.

Speed Speed

From 1936 to 1945, backed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, a shadow of inhumanity spread from Spain, gradually engulfing all of Europe.

During these years, a great number of Overseas Chinese took part in the struggle on European battlefields. Whether traveling with military units or joining voluntarily, they fought alongside international allies, local soldiers, and civilians against the fascist regimes.

Their courage was recognized with medals and honors from several European governments. Yet their stories have remained largely untold.

"There is a long history of Chinese commitment to international solidarity," said Hwei-Ru Tsou, who, along with her husband Len Tsou, has long researched Chinese volunteer soldiers in the Spanish Civil War and devoted years to piecing together this forgotten chapter.

The untold story of the Chinese in Iberia

In July 1936, with the support of Hitler and Mussolini, right-wing forces led by Francisco Franco, including the Spanish Nationalist faction and the Falange, launched a civil war aimed at overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic.

This conflict also turned Spain into a testing ground for fascist nations to test new weapons and tactics, including the Bombing of Guernica, the first carpet bombing in human history.

In October 1936, rebel forces launched a fierce attack on the capital, Madrid. Faced with this crisis, in response to the call of the Communist International, the first International Brigades, comprising about 2,000 volunteer soldiers, arrived on the battlefield. Among them was a Chinese volunteer Paul Yan.

According to statistics, over 40,000 volunteer soldiers from 53 countries joined the Spanish Civil War and supported the Republican forces between 1936 and 1938, including Overseas Chinese.

"Despite facing Japanese aggression at home, these Chinese volunteer soldiers understood a truth: if Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco prevailed in Europe, an allied fascist front with Japan would surely endanger China's survival," she added.

According to Hwei-Ru, Tchang Jaui Sau was selected as the representative of the International Brigades from 40,000 people on the occasion of the first anniversary of the outbreak of the Civil War.

"Tchang Jaui Sau and Liou Kin Tien fought in the Battle of Segovia. A lot of their fellows fled when the bomb fell in their medical tent, but Tchang and Liou stayed and kept saving the wounded," said Hwei-Ru.

According to Hwei-Ru, both Tchang and Liou were called "legendary soldier" by their fellow in International Brigades.

After the Spanish Civil War, some of the Chinese volunteer soldiers and foreign doctors from the International Brigades made their way to China to fight against Japanese militarism, including Canadian doctor Norman Bethune.

The untold story of the Chinese on the French Coast

On the morning of June 6th, the Normandy landings, the largest amphibious assault in human history, were launched along the French coast. Over 150,000 Allied soldiers stormed the beaches of Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, and Utah under intense German fire, laying the cornerstone for victory on the Western Front of Europe.

Huang Tingxin, a Chinese probationary officer who was monitoring the perimeter on "HMS Searcher," a light aircraft carrier of the British Royal Navy, first heard the announcement over the ship's intercom and learned that the Allies had landed in Normandy.

"One interesting thing is that so many people think that D-Day was an American-led operation," said Sacha Marsac, Operations Manager (France) of the British Normandy Memorial. "We also didn't expect that there were Chinese soldiers who joined the D-Day operation."

According to historical materials, in addition to Huang, there were other Chinese officers who attended D-Day, conducting various missions, such as destroying Nazi German defensive fortifications and providing cover for the landing forces.

"The Chinese were not only fighting in the Far East against Japanese aggression but were also here in Europe, standing against fascism," remarked Marsac.

SOURCE South
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New York, Jan 4 : Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who was seized by US Delta Force commandos, has arrived in New York to face trial in a federal court on narco-terrorism charges.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who landed at the Stewart Air National Guard Base on Saturday, were taken by helicopter to a heliport in downtown Manhattan near federal offices and courts.

Amid high security, they were driven away in a motorcade. Their first stop was expected to be the Drug Enforcement Agency office for processing.

They are to be detained in Brooklyn's notorious federal jail, the Metropolitan Correctional Center, to await trial in a court.

Maduro, who had a $50 million bounty for his capture, is expected to appear in court on Monday for an initial hearing.

After the plane landed on Saturday afternoon, FBI agents surrounded the aircraft and whisked the couple away.

In Operation Absolute Resolve, Maduro was taken early Saturday morning from the Venezuelan military base, Fuerte Tiuna, where he was sheltering, to the Iwo Jima, one of the Navy ships in the armada surrounding Venezuela.

More than 150 aircraft are involved in the operation, officials said.

In charges announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi, they are accused of narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of weapons.

An outstanding indictment issued in 2020 charged them also with heading the drug organisatioan Cartel de los Soles.

President Donald Trump left open the possibility of the trial being transferred to Miami, which has the largest population of Venezuelan exiles in the US, and the news of his capture was met with jubilation.

"A decision will be made, I assume, between New York and Miami or [elsewhere] Florida", Trump said.

Trump has framed the capture of Maduro as an anti-drug operation to create the impression of a commonplace law and order operation to skirt international law provisions against violating the sovereignty of nations.

For now, he has left Maduro's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who was sworn in as his successor, in place.

"She's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again", Trump said.

Rodriguez, however, in a fierce rebuttal, accused the US of aggression and said, "This regime change would also allow for the seizure of our energy, mineral, and natural resources".

"There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolas Maduro", she declared.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said about Rodriguez and the interim administration, "We're going to make decisions based on their actions and their deeds in the days and weeks to come".

But clouding the scenario, Trump has also said, "We are going to run the country right", and that "It's going to make a lot of money".

That was a likely reference to Venezuela's oil riches.

He had accused Caracas of "stealing" US riches because of its nationalisation of the investments by American petroleum companies.

He has also said that there would be no troops on the ground in Venezuela, without explaining how the US would "run" the country.

Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader who won last year's Nobel Peace Prize, has also staked a claim to the presidency for Edmundo Gonzalez, who ran against Maduro in the 2024 election, which the US and many international observers said was rigged.

Gonzales ran as the opposition candidate after Maduro barred Machado from contesting the election.

Although Trump has backed the claim of a rigged election and Gonzales being the real winner, he has been silent about them.

The Justice Department said in the charging document that Maduro, along with his wife, the current and former interior ministers, carried out a drug operation for 25 years and sat "atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity".

Also included in the chargesheet are the leader of Tren de Aragua, the violent Venezuelan gang that proliferated across the US during former President Joe Biden's rule, the Colombian terrorist groups FARC and ELN, and Mexican drug cartels Sinaloa and Zeta.

Maduro and his associates are accused of working with those groups in running the alleged drug operation.
Washington, Jan 4 : US Democratic lawmakers showed their anger and distress in the aftermath of the US raid on Venezuela and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

They said that Congress had not been notified in advance and that US President Donald Trump's administration had previously lied to Congress about its goal in the oil-rich South American nation. Meanwhile, they demanded an immediate briefing on the operation and on the White House's next move, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Secretaries Rubio and Hegseth looked every Senator in the eye a few weeks ago and said this wasn't about regime change. I didn't trust them then and we see now that they blatantly lied to Congress," US Senator Andy Kim wrote in a post on X. Last year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told members of Congress that regime change in Venezuela was not their goal.

Jason Crow, a Democrat on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees, agreed: "The Trump Administration repeatedly lied to Congress and the American people about Venezuela. Over and over, officials testified that this was not about regime change."

Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Trump administration has "consistently misled" lawmakers, leaving Congress in the dark on any US "long-term strategy" concerning Venezuela.

Senator Chris Coons, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, also said that lawmakers were given "false" information by the administration. "A military operation to capture and overthrow a president -- even an illegitimate one -- is an act of war that must be authorized by Congress," he said.

Both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Saturday criticized the Trump administration for not seeking congressional authorization before the reckless attack, demanding an immediate briefing.

"The Trump administration has not sought congressional authorization for use of military force and has failed to properly notify Congress in advance of the operation in Venezuela," Jeffries said in a statement.

"Too many questions remain unanswered," said Jeffries, calling for evidence to "explain and justify this unauthorized use of military force."

According to Schumer, the White House "has assured me three separate times that it was not pursuing regime change or taking military action in Venezuela." "Clearly, they are not being straight with Americans," Schumer said in a statement.

Following reports of explosions in Caracas, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on X that the United States has "no vital national interests in Venezuela to justify war."

"We should have learned not to stumble into another stupid adventure by now," Schatz warned.

However, it seems Republican lawmakers largely back the Trump administration's attack on Venezuela. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson said they are expecting related briefings to Congress in the coming days.

"President Trump's decisive action ... is an important first step to bring him (Maduro) to justice for the drug crimes for which he has been indicted in the United States," Thune said in a statement.

The latest US strikes on Venezuela and its capture of Maduro have drawn worldwide condemnation and concern.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump will keep all options around on how to "run" Venezuela, and will not rule out the U.S. military presence in the country, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday.

"First of all, the president always retains optionality on anything and on all these matters," Rubio said on CBS in an interview, adding that the U.S. side will assess if Venezuela's interim leadership can "make right decisions."

Trump said Saturday the United States will "run" the oil-rich South American nation until a transition that must meet U.S. demands, after the U.S. military took by force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is now in custody in New York.

VENEZUELA TRANSITION

Rubio said the United States will judge Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodriguez on what she does moving forward as acting president.

Late Saturday, Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice ordered Maduro's vice president Rodriguez to immediately assume the role of acting president in the absence of Maduro.

"We expect to see more compliance and cooperation than we were previously receiving," said Rubio.

"We're going to make assessment ... if they don't make the right decisions, the United States will retain multiple levers of leverage to ensure that our interests are protected, and that includes the oil quarantine that's in place, among other things," said Rubio.

The top U.S. diplomat said, "Our objectives when it comes to how Venezuela impacts the national interest of the United States have not changed, and we want those addressed. We want drug trafficking to stop. We want no more gang members to come our way."

Rubio did not provide a timeline for Venezuela's transition. Instead, he stressed that the expectation of a quick turnaround election in the country is "absurd" given that Venezuela has had "this system of Chavismo in place for 15 or 16 years."

Following the U.S. raid, Rodriguez on Saturday demanded that the United States release Maduro and his wife, noting that Venezuela's territorial integrity was "savagely attacked" as the U.S. rocked Caracas and other parts of the country.

U.S. MILITARY MOVE

Trump said on Saturday that the U.S. is "not afraid of boots on the ground" in Venezuela.

"We don't have U.S. forces on the ground," Rubio said, refusing to rule out the U.S. military presence in Venezuela in the future.

"He (Trump) does not feel like he is going to publicly rule out options that are available for the United States, even though (troops on the ground is) not what you're seeing right now," Rubio said.

"What you're seeing right now is an oil quarantine that allows us to exert tremendous leverage over what happens next," he said.

When asked whether he envisions U.S. boots on the ground while the U.S. essentially runs the Venezuelan government in an interim period, Trump said: "Well, no, we're going to have a presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil."

The U.S. president used the word "oil" more than 20 times at the Saturday press conference hours after the raid on Venezuela.

Rubio also said on NBC News that the Trump administration will continue striking alleged drug boats and seizing oil tankers linked to Venezuela.

"We will continue to target drug boats if they try to run towards the United States," Rubio said on NBC News, "We will continue to seize the boats that are sanctioned with court orders."

"We will continue to do that, and potentially other things, until the things we need to see addressed are addressed," he went ahead.

For months, the United States has deployed large-scale air and naval forces in Caribbean waters near Venezuela as part of its so-called campaign against narco-terrorism. The Pentagon has sunk more than 30 alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific since September, claiming about 110 lives.

At least 40 people were reportedly killed in U.S. airstrikes on the South American nation in the early hours of Saturday as U.S. forces carried out an operation to take by force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were flown out of their country by the U.S. military and are now in custody in New York.

The international community is deeply shocked by the Trump administration's raid on Venezuela and Maduro. Many countries have issued statements strongly condemning the blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president. 
Moscow, Jan 4 : Russian and Belarusian foreign ministers strongly condemned US aggression against Venezuela during a phone call, the Russian foreign ministry said.

During the call, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov exchanged views on the situation surrounding Venezuela, stressing that Moscow and Minsk are united in condemning actions in violation of international legal norms, Xinhua news agency reported.

They also stressed the unconditional necessity of the immediate release of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, their return to the country's capital, and the restoration of Maduro to the post of head of state.

The two sides further noted the importance of swiftly creating conditions for resolving the situation around Venezuela through dialogue in accordance with international law, the ministry said.

In an early morning operation on Saturday, US Delta forces attacked an army base in Venezuela, capping months of military buildup and picked up Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

They were put on a warship for transportation to New York, where "narco-terrorism" charges have been filed in a federal court, US officials said.

"They're on a ship, and they'll be heading into New York", US President Donald Trump told Fox News. "They went by helicopter on a nice flight. I'm sure they loved it".

Trump has been criticising Maduro, accusing him of being involved in the drug trade and sending gangs to the US.
Washington, Jan 4 : US President Donald Trump said the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro should serve as a warning to adversaries, declaring that the United States would not tolerate threats to its security or sovereignty.

"This extremely successful operation should serve as a warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives," Trump said.

He said the US embargo on Venezuelan oil remained in effect and that American forces were positioned to act again if necessary. "The United States retains all military options," Trump said.

Trump accused Maduro of overseeing drug trafficking and sending violent gangs into the United States. He said the prison gang Tren de Aragua had terrorized American communities and was directed by the Venezuelan leadership.

"They were sent by Maduro to terrorize our people," Trump said, adding that such threats would no longer be tolerated.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the operation showed American resolve. "Our adversaries remain on notice," he said. "America can project our will anywhere, anytime."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Maduro had been indicted in 2020 and was not recognized as Venezuela's legitimate president by the United States, the European Union or multiple governments worldwide.

"He is a fugitive of American justice," Rubio said, adding that Maduro had ignored multiple opportunities to avoid confrontation.

Trump also addressed regional leaders, reiterating criticism of Colombian President Gustavo Petro. "He has cocaine mills," Trump said, adding that drugs were being sent into the United States.

Asked about Cuba, Trump described the country as "a failing nation," while Rubio said Cuban officials should be concerned. "If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I'd be concerned," Rubio said.

Trump was also asked about Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I'm not thrilled with Putin," Trump said. "He's killing too many people," referring to the war in Ukraine.

He said the United States would continue supporting NATO while pushing to end the conflict. "I want to stop the lives," Trump said, citing high monthly casualty figures.

Trump said the message of the Venezuela operation was clear. "Don't play games," Rubio said earlier, a point Trump echoed by saying those who threaten the United States would face consequences.

The operation comes amid heightened US focus on the Western Hemisphere, where Washington has increasingly framed security, energy and migration as interconnected strategic priorities.
Washington, Jan 4 : Indian American lawmakers sharply criticised President Donald Trump's decision to use military force in Venezuela and his statement that the United States would "run" the country.

Washington, Jan 4 (IANS) Indian American lawmakers sharply criticised President Donald Trump's decision to use military force in Venezuela and his statement that the United States would "run" the country.

The six Indian American lawmakers  all from the opposition Democratic Party  warned that the move bypassed Congress, risked long-term instability, and undermined constitutional limits on presidential power.

Raja Krishnamoorthi, a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Maduro's record did not justify unilateral military action. "Nicolas Maduro is an illegitimate dictator who has inflicted immense suffering on the Venezuelan people," Krishnamoorthi said, "but that reality does not give any president a blank check to use military force without Congress."

He said acting without authorization and asserting US control over another sovereign nation amounted to an abuse of power. "By acting without congressional authorization and publicly asserting US control over another sovereign nation, President Trump is abusing presidential power and undermining the Constitution's separation of powers," he said.

Krishnamoorthi called on the administration to immediately brief lawmakers. "The Administration must immediately account for the safety of US personnel, disclose whether there were any casualties, and fully and immediately brief Congress," he said, adding that Trump's statement that the US would run Venezuela committed the country to "open-ended responsibility" without approval. He warned the move would "erode the rule of law, embolden Moscow and Beijing to push boundaries elsewhere, weaken America's credibility, and ultimately make Americans less safe."

Suhas Subramanyam, Ranking Member of the Military and Foreign Affairs Oversight Subcommittee, said the operation contradicted Trump's stated opposition to new wars. "President Trump said he'd be the 'Peace President' and wouldn't start any new wars, and yet here he is illegally invading another country and kidnapping its President," Subramanyam said.

While describing Maduro as "a violent ruler who oppressed democracy in his country," Subramanyam said the manner of his capture would not achieve US goals. "His capture in this manner will not stop the flow of drugs or promise anything other than more instability in Venezuela, and potentially another forever war started under false pretenses," he said.

Progressive lawmakers also framed the operation as a warning sign for global norms. Ro Khanna said Trump had "betrayed his MAGA base today launching a war of choice to bring regime change in Venezuela," arguing that repeated US interventions had failed. "What will we say now if Xi Jinping wants to capture Lai of Taiwan or Putin tries to capture Zelensky in Ukraine?" Khanna asked.

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal accused Trump of breaking a central promise. "Trump promised to get the US out of wars  he lied," she said, adding that the action was "all about oil, greed, and power." In a separate post, she questioned Washington deciding Venezuela's leadership rather than its people.

Ami Bera, the longest-serving Indian American Congressman, said Maduro was illegitimate but warned the decision to strike without congressional input was "deeply concerning and illegal," citing the absence of a "clear and credible strategy for governance or democratic transition."

Congressman Shri Thanedar said, "Only Congress has the ability to declare war," calling Trump's actions "totally unconstitutional and unacceptable."

The backlash from Indian American lawmakers underscores growing concern on Capitol Hill that the Venezuela operation could draw the United States into another open-ended conflict without legislative consent.
Malappuram, Jan 4 : Four members of a family from Manjeri in Kerala's Malappuram district were killed in a tragic road accident in Madina, Saudi Arabia, plunging their relatives and the local community into deep grief.

Malappuram, Jan 4 (IANS) Four members of a family from Manjeri in Keralaas Malappuram district were killed in a tragic road accident in Madina, Saudi Arabia, plunging their relatives and the local community into deep grief.

The victims were identified as Abdul Jaleel (52), a native of Vellila in Manjeri; his mother Maimunath Kakkengal (73); his wife Thasna Thodengal (40); and their 14-year-old son Aadhil Jaleel.

All four died on the spot on Saturday evening due to the impact of the collision, according to preliminary reports received from Saudi Arabia.

The accident occurred while the family was travelling by car from Mecca to Jeddah after completing Umrah, the Islamic pilgrimage. Their vehicle reportedly collided with a truck on the highway near Madinah, resulting in severe damage.

The exact cause of the accident is yet to be officially confirmed by Saudi authorities. Three other members of the family -- Ayisha, Hadiya and Noorah, the daughters of Abdul Jaleel, sustained serious injuries in the crash. They are currently undergoing treatment at different hospitals in Saudi Arabia and are said to be in critical condition.

Hospital sources indicated that the injured girls are under close medical observation, and further updates on their condition are awaited.

Abdul Jaleel was employed in Jeddah and had been living in Saudi Arabia for several years. His family members had recently travelled to the country on a tourist visa with the sole purpose of performing Umrah.

The pilgrimage, considered a deeply spiritual journey for Muslims, had been completed shortly before the fatal accident occurred. News of the tragedy has sent shockwaves through Manjeri and nearby areas, where the family is well-known.

Relatives, neighbours and community members gathered at the family home in Vellila as messages of condolence poured in from across the district and from the Kerala diaspora in the Gulf.

Efforts are reportedly underway to coordinate with Saudi authorities regarding legal formalities and the repatriation of the bodies. Kerala-based expatriate organisations and community groups in Saudi Arabia have also stepped in to assist the bereaved family during this difficult time.
New Delhi, Jan 4 : Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, development has reached the last mile, ensuring that welfare schemes directly empower beneficiaries and strengthen grassroots entrepreneurship, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, has said.

This inclusive approach has transformed governance into a people-centric model that drives both social upliftment and economic growth, he said while addressing the 17th Central Mid-Term Conference of the Assam Press Correspondents' Union (APCU) in Tinsukia.

He reaffirmed the media's indispensable role as the fourth pillar of democracy, describing journalists as the vigilant sentinels of society and the authentic voice of the people.

Sonowal said the press carries a critical responsibility in safeguarding freedom of expression and strengthening democratic values in a rapidly evolving information landscape.

"The role of the media as society's conscious watchdog is immeasurable. As the voice of the people, journalists have consistently worked to protect freedom of speech and ensure accountability," Sonowal told the gathering.

Highlighting the need for responsible journalism, he urged media professionals to prioritise truth, credibility and ethical reporting, and to resist misinformation and sensationalism.

Sonowal said journalism must act as a bridge between the government and the people, amplifying public concerns while promoting social harmony.

The minister also stressed the importance of coordination, dialogue and consensus-building, noting that the media can play a decisive role in strengthening society through constructive engagement rather than conflict.

Sonowal said the evolving challenges faced by journalists demand continuous capacity building, professional integrity and adaptation to new technologies, while remaining firmly rooted in public interest journalism.

Earlier, Sonowal attended a programme marking the foundation stone laying and inauguration of various welfare schemes and interacted with beneficiaries of the Prime Minister's flagship welfare programmes.

Sonowal also engaged with local entrepreneurs, acknowledging their contribution to the growth of the local economy.

IANS

na/
New York, Jan 4 : Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has been locked in a notorious federal jail here after he was captured by US forces at a military base in his country from where he had been taunting President Donald Trump.

As he was escorted in the local office of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) on Saturday night before being jailed, he said sarcastically looking at the camera, "Good night. Happy New Year".

Once the unquestioned ruler of the oil-rich South American nation, in the video release by the White House, he was in a brown uniform, manacled and clutching a water bottle while two DEA officers held him on either side by his elbows.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who were taken in the early Saturday morning raid, landed at the Stewart Air National Guard Base about 100 kilometres from the city from where they were flown to a heliport in downtown Manhattan near federal offices and courts.

Amid high security, their first stop was the DEA office because of the narco-terrorism charges they face.

Next, they were taken to the Metropolitan Detention Centre (MDC) in Brooklyn to await production in the New York federal court, which is expected on Monday.

A large crowd gathered near the jail, jeering him and shouting insults.

Maduro, who had a $50 million bounty for his capture, was taken from the Venezuelan military base, Fuerte Tiuna, to the Iwo Jima, one of the Navy ships in the armada surrounding Venezuela, before being flown to the US air base.

In charges announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi, they are accused of narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession of weapons.

An outstanding indictment issued in 2020, charged them also with heading the drug organisatioan Cartel de los Soles.

Trump left open the possibility of the trial being transferred to Miami, which has the largest population of Venezuelan exiles in the US and the news of his capture was met with jubilation.

"A decision will be made, I assume, between New York and Miami or [elsewhere] Florida", Trump said.

The MDC, which is known for its bad conditions, has housed terrorists Omar Abdel Rahman and Ramzi Yousef, notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout, Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, financial scammer Sam Bankman-Fried, and rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, whose circle of acquaintances included powerful politicians, businessmen, and celebrities, was found dead there and officials say it was a suicide.

Maduro's jailmates include Luigi Mangione, who is on trial accused of kiling United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and has taken the aura of a folk hero.

The overcrowded jail's conditions are so bad that in 2024, a federal judge said the conditions at MDC created "exceptional reasons" for not remanding a man there.

Trump has framed the capture of Maduro as an anti-drug operation to create the impression of a commonplace law and order operation to skirt international law provisions against violating the sovereignty of nations.

For now, he has left Maduro's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who was sworn in as his successor, in place.

"She's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again", Trump said.

Rodriguez, however, in a fierce rebuttal, accused the US of aggression and said, "This regime change would also allow for the seizure of our energy, mineral and natural resources".

"There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolas Maduro", she declared.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said about Rodriguez and the interim administration, "We're going to make decisions based on their actions and their deeds in the days and weeks to come".

But clouding the scenario, Trump has also said, "We are going to run the country right", and that "It's going to make a lot of money".

That was a likely reference to Venezuela's oil riches.

He had accused Caracas of "stealing" US riches because of its nationalisation of the investments by American petroleum companies.

He has also said that there would be no troops on the ground in Venezuela, without explaining how the US would "run" the country.

Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader who won last year's Nobel Peace Prize, has also staked a claim to the presidency for Edmundo Gonzalez, who ran against Maduro in the 2024 election, which the US and many international observers said was rigged.

Gonzales ran as the opposition candidate after Maduro barred Machado from contesting the election.

Although Trump has backed the claim of a rigged election and Gonzales being the real winner, he has been silent about them.

The Justice Department said in the charging document that Maduro, along with his wife, the current and former interior ministers, carried out a drug operation for 25 years and sat "atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity".

Also included in the chargesheet are the leader of Tren de Aragua, the violent Venezuelan gang that proliferated across the US during former President Joe Biden's rule, the Colombian terrorist groups FARC and ELN, and Mexican drug cartels Sinaloa and Zeta.

Maduro and his associates are accused of working with those groups in running the alleged drug operation.
New Delhi/Gangtok, Jan 4 : Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque was sworn in on Sunday as the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court. Governor Om Prakash Mathur administered the oath of office to Justice Mustaque at a ceremony held at Lok Bhawan in Gangtok, attended by the High Court judges and other dignitaries.

On January 3, the Centre had cleared the appointment of Justice Mustaque as the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, following the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant.

"In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Muhamed Mustaque Ayumantakath, Judge, Kerala High Court, to be Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office," said a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice.

Born on June 1, 1967, Justice Mustaque is a native of Thana in Kannur district of Kerala. He obtained his law degree from V.B. College of Law, Udupi, and later completed his LL.M. in Labour Law from M.G. University. He enrolled as an advocate on October 1, 1989, and practised for seven years before various courts and statutory authorities in Kannur.

During his career at the Bar, he practised as a litigation lawyer and arbitrator and also served as a mediator at the Kerala Mediation Centre. His areas of practice included civil, commercial, constitutional, administrative, service and criminal law, besides telecommunication, intellectual property and information technology laws.

He also served as a faculty member for mediation training with the Indian Institute of Arbitration and Mediation (IIAM) and was a panel arbitrator with ICADR and IIAM.

Justice Muhamed Mustaque was sworn in as an Additional Judge of the Kerala High Court on January 23, 2014, and was appointed as a Permanent Judge with effect from March 10, 2016. He has also served as the Acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court from July 5 to September 21, 2024.
Kolkata, Jan 4 : All India Trinamool Congress leadership has started distributing 'Unnayoner Panchali', the state government's report card for the past 15 years in power, to prominent personalities across West Bengal as part of their Banglar Samarthane Sanjog (outreach) initiative.

State Minister Shashi Panja and party MP Sharmila Sarkar presented the report card along with a letter from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Professor Dr Manimoy Bandyopadhyay, Director of IPGMER and SSKM Hospital, hailing the contribution to West Bengal's public healthcare transformation.

Another Trinamool Congress MP, Nadimul Haque, met celebrated music composer Indraadip Dasgupta and presented him with the Unnayoner Panchali box and the Chief Minister's letter, reflecting on Bengal's transformative journey over the past 15 years.

As per sources, 200 such personalities from various fields ranging from arts, films, sports, academics and others will be reached out by the Trinamool leadership in the run-up to the state Assembly polls later this year.

Speaking to IANS, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Arup Chakraborty said the West Bengal government, led by Trinamool Congress, believes in maintaining transparency and therefore decided to reach out to people with a report card of good governance during the last 15 years.

"The Mamata Banerjee government has done a remarkable job for the people. Therefore, it does not shy away from bringing out a report card to the people, unlike any other party. Through this initiative, our party is highlighting the good government of the West Bengal government and showing how government schemes changed the lives of the people in the state," Chakraborty said

The Trinamool Congress leader further said that the Unnayoner Panchali is more like a white paper brought out by the state government.

"We have seen how a BJP leader misbehaved with a NDTV reporter for asking pertinent questions. Here, we do not run away from reporters and their questions. Here we face them and give answers to every question. The BJP and the central government, on the other hand, hide the truth and run away. But TMC shows the truth and faces the public with honesty and full transparency," said Chakraborty.
New Delhi, Jan 4 : The appointment of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as Chairperson of the Assam Congress Screening Committee has triggered sharp political reactions across party lines, with JD(U) leader commenting that Rahul Gandhi's absence abroad has shifted the responsibility to her.

Reacting to the development, JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar termed the move an internal matter of the Congress but linked it to the broader electoral calendar. "It is expected that the Legislative Assembly elections will be held in five states. The Congress' internal matter is handled by a screening committee. Who will handle this matter of the screening committee, now that Rahul Gandhi is abroad? The responsibility has fallen on Priyanka Gandhi. However, this is their internal matter" he said.

The BJP, however, used the occasion to launch a sharp political attack on the Congress leadership.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the appointment reflected internal discord within the party. "Rahul vs Priyanka camp was going on for a very long time in the Congress party... all the pressure was exerted by the Rahul camp, -- 'remove Rahul, get Priyanka' is happening in Congress; now even their allies don't trust Rahul Gandhi, their own leaders don't want him, they, instead, want Priyanka Gandhi" Poonawalla said.

Defending the decision, Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput described Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as a unifying and capable leader who would strengthen the candidate selection process.

"Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is our natural leader, and her voice resonates across the country. She has strengthened all the members of the screening committee. By taking feedback from our district leaders and through the process of organisational planning, we will present the best possible candidates in every election, whether in Assam, West Bengal, or elsewhere, wherever our screening committee has been formed. Voters will get candidates who are capable, clean, and competent" Rajput said.

Independent MP from Purnia, Pappu Yadav, also backed Priyanka Gandhi's elevation, stressing her political credentials. "Priyanka Gandhi is a very prominent and esteemed personality. She has been involved in social and political struggles for a long time. She did not inherit this position" he said.

In a strategic move ahead of the forthcoming Assembly elections, the Congress party has appointed Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as Chairperson of the Screening Committee for Assam, signalling a high-stakes push in the northeastern state.

The announcement was made through an official press release issued by K.C. Venugopal, General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), confirming the constitution of Screening Committees for five poll-bound states with immediate effect.

Priyanka Gandhi's elevation to lead the Assam panel underscores the party's intent to bring national leadership visibility to a region where electoral dynamics remain complex and competitive. She will be joined by Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Imran Masood, and Sirivella Prasad as members of the committee, tasked with shortlisting candidates and steering internal consultations ahead of the polls.

Alongside Assam, the Congress has also constituted Screening Committees for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and West Bengal, as it gears up for a crucial round of Assembly elections.
Jammu, Jan 4 : A jawan of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) was injured in a gunshot incident on Sunday at the railway station in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district.

Jammu, Jan 4 (IANS) A jawan of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) was injured in a gunshot incident on Sunday at the railway station in Jammu and Kashmiras Kathua district.

Officials said that the jawan was injured after sustaining a gunshot wound at the Railway Station.

Police have confirmed that the injured personnel was immediately shifted to a nearby hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.

His condition is stated to be stable.

Meanwhile, police and railway authorities have taken cognisance of the incident.

More details are awaited.

The RPF is exclusively deployed on various railway stations and along the rail track from Kathua to the Baramulla district of the union territory to provide security to trains, passengers and railway staff. RPF is India's central armed police force responsible for protecting railway property, passengers, and passenger areas, operating under the Ministry of Railways to ensure safety, prevent crime, and assist travellers, including rescuing children and combating trafficking.

The key functions of RPF include ensuring the safety and security of travellers, particularly women and children, through initiatives like 'Operation Amaanat (lost & found)' and 'MeriSaheli (women's safety)'. Safeguarding railway assets from damage or theft and enforcing laws like the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act and the NDPS Act (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act) for drug-related offences.

RPF provides assistance during emergencies, helping the injured and rescuing lost individuals. It is an armed force of the Union, established by the Railway Protection Force Act, 1957. It works alongside state police but has specific powers for railway security.

The security force has the power to search, arrest, enquire, and prosecute offences committed under the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act 1966 and the Railways Act 1989 (amended from time to time). The RPF has also been entrusted with the responsibility of the security of the railway passenger area and railway passengers since 2004. However, the power of arrests under other penal laws rests in the hands of the Government Railway Police GRP) of each state.
New Delhi, Jan 4 (IANS0 Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk on Sunday announced that his satellite internet service Starlink will provide free broadband access to the people of Venezuela for one month to ensure uninterrupted connectivity amid the ongoing crisis in the country.

Musk shared the announcement on the social media platform X, saying the move was made "in support of the people of Venezuela."

The Starlink network, which operates through a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites, is expected to help maintain internet access during a period of political and security uncertainty.

"Starlink is providing free broadband service to the people of Venezuela through February 3, ensuring continued connectivity," it said in a post on X.

The announcement came shortly after Musk publicly welcomed the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a US military operation that was sanctioned by US President Donald Trump.

Reacting to the development, Musk said Venezuela could finally move toward prosperity with Maduro no longer in power. He made the comment in Spanish, writing that Venezuela can now have the prosperity it deserves.

Musk's reaction did not come as a surprise, as he has been a long-time and vocal critic of the Maduro government.

Over the past few years, the billionaire has repeatedly called for political change in Venezuela, blaming the country's economic collapse on government policies.

During Venezuela's elections in 2024, Musk openly supported the opposition and called for a regime change. He strongly backed opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who later won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025.

Musk has said that Venezuela would benefit from leadership that allows the country to develop its vast natural resources.

In one of his posts in April 2024, Musk said Venezuela was rich in natural resources and could have been very prosperous if past leaders had not expanded government control to what he described as extreme socialism.

He later reiterated his support for the opposition, saying it was time for Venezuelans to get a chance at a better future.

Throughout 2024, Musk continued to target Maduro with sharp criticism, at times using strong language against the Venezuelan leader.
Visakhapatnam, Jan 4 : The first commercial validation flight landed successfully at the Bhogapuram Greenfield International Airport in Vizianagaram district on Sunday, heralding a new era in the aviation sector in Andhra Pradesh.

The Air India flight from New Delhi landed at the Bhogapuram Airport, about 50 km from Visakhapatnam.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu and Vizianagaram MP Kalisetti Appala Naidu, along with senior officials, travelled by the test flight.

The test flight landed on the 3.8 km-long runway, the longest in the country, built with the latest technology.

The airport, being constructed by GMR Group in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis, is expected to be inaugurated in June.

GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Group, is constructing the airport on 2,200 acres of land with an estimated cost of Rs 4,592 crore.

According to GVIAL, 96 per cent of the airport works have been completed.

Speaking on the occasion, Ram Mohan Naidu said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would inaugurate the airport in 4-5 months.

He said the airport would change the face of North Coastal Andhra. The airport is expected to give a big boost to air connectivity to north Andhra and help the region emerge as a major economic hub.

The Bhogapuram Airport is expected to play a key role in the upcoming Visakhapatnam economic region, he said.

Ram Mohan Naidu had earlier said that efforts were on to provide seamless road connectivity to the upcoming airport from Visakhapatnam.

He stated that connectivity would be provided from the port city to the airport through seven points, and the road is likely to be completed by April. He also revealed that the feasibility of an elevated expressway was being examined.

Last month, the Civil Aviation Minister launched Aviation, Aerospace and Defence (AAD) EduCity near Bhogapuram Airport.

Coming up on 136 acres, AAD EduCity is claimed to be India's first integrated Aviation, Aerospace and Defence EduCity.

This EduCity is designed as a national capability platform to address the acute global and domestic shortage of aviation professionals and to position India as a leading supplier of aviation talent.
Washington, Jan 4 : A US military command said it is aware of North Korea's missile launches this week while reaffirming its security commitment to allies in the region.

The Indo-Pacific Command issued a statement after Pyongyang lobbed multiple ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Sunday morning (Korea time), marking its first missile test this year.

"We are aware of the missile launches and are consulting closely with our allies and partners. Based on current assessments, this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies," the command said, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"The United States remains committed to the defence of the US homeland and our allies in the region," it added.

The North's latest launches came as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung plans to have a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing during his four-day state visit to China this week.

They also followed US President Donald Trump's announcement that the US has captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a military strike in Caracas to bring him to face American justice for drug trafficking and other charges.

On December 29, South Korea's Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back warned of a growing security instability surrounding the Korean Peninsula, citing a deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

"The security situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula has become more unstable than ever," Ahn said in a speech at a forum on an alliance with the United States.

"North Korea is advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities and modernising its conventional forces through military cooperation with Russia," Ahn said in the speech.

Ahn called such cooperation between North Korea and Russia a "grave challenge," not only to the Korean Peninsula but also to the international community.

South Korea's intelligence agency has estimated that North Korea has deployed around 15,000 troops to Russia to support its war with Ukraine since October last year.

In return, North Korea was expected to gain access to Russia's cutting-edge military technologies.
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 4 : Nearly a year after the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau submitted its report, the Kerala government has initiated steps to act on a recommendation seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against V.D. Satheesan, the leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly.

The move comes at a time when the state is inching closer to the next Assembly elections, triggering sharp political reactions.

The recommendation pertains to alleged irregularities in receiving foreign funds for the aPunarjania rehabilitation project implemented in his Paravur Assembly constituency following the devastating 2018 floods.

The Vigilance report had suggested that while no prima facie case was made out to register a case, the issue of foreign fund mobilisation and its utilisation could be examined by the CBI.

The Vigilance inquiry into the matter was formally announced in June 2023, after controversy erupted over fundraising activities in the United States linked to a regional meet of the government-organised Loka Kerala Sabha.

The probe was cleared just days before Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was scheduled to travel abroad. Allegations centred on possible violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and unauthorised overseas fundraising.

Though the Vigilance Bureau failed to detect concrete irregularities during its preliminary examination, the then Vigilance Director Yogesh Gupta, in a report, recommended that the CBI could investigate whether the foreign funds collected were misused.

He also pointed out that there was no material to proceed with a Vigilance case but flagged the need for an independent central agency to look into the foreign transactions.

The report further suggested examining whether Satheesan had travelled abroad without the requisite permissions.

This timing has invited criticism from the opposition, which views the move as politically motivated, as the Assembly elections are fast approaching.

It may be recalled that a complaint against Satheesan was first received in 2020, though a formal Vigilance inquiry began only in 2023. During the final phase of the first Pinarayi Vijayan government, when the issue was raised in the Assembly, Satheesan had publicly challenged the government to order a Vigilance probe.

Under the aPunarjania project, around 280 flood-affected families in Paravur were provided new houses, of which 37 were constructed through sponsorship from expatriate Malayalis.

Satheesan had sought support during visits to Dubai and the UK. The complaint alleging illegal foreign fundraising was filed by Jason Panikulam, an office-bearer of the Chalakudy-based Catholic Action Council.
New Delhi, Jan 4 : India on Sunday termed the recent developments in Venezuela "a matter of concern" and urged all concerned parties to address issues peacefully through dialogue, ensuring peace and stability of the region.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that the Embassy of India in Caracas is in contact with members of the Indian community and is providing all possible assistance.

"Recent developments in Venezuela are a matter of deep concern. We are closely monitoring the evolving situation. India reaffirms its support to the well-being and safety of the people of Venezuela. We call upon all concerned to address issues peacefully through dialogue, ensuring peace and stability of the region," it further read.

"The Embassy of India in Caracas is in contact with members of the Indian community and will continue to provide all possible assistance," it added.

MEA's statement comes after US Delta forces attacked an army base in Venezuela on Saturday, capping months of military buildup, and captured President Nicolas Maduro along with his wife, Cilia Flores.

According to US officials, the two were placed aboard a warship and transported to New York, where "narco-terrorism" charges have been filed in federal court.

The indictment, made public by US Attorney General Pam Bondi, was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors allege Maduro used state power for more than two decades to move massive quantities of cocaine toward the United States. He faces charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, firearms offences and related crimes, with alleged conduct spanning from around 1999 through 2025.

The court filing claims Maduro "sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government" that relied on military, intelligence, and law enforcement institutions to protect drug trafficking routes. Thousands of tons of cocaine were allegedly shipped through the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico.

The indictment also names co-defendants, including Cilia Flores, Maduro's son Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra and some senior officials.

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has been locked in a notorious federal jail in New York after his capture by the US forces at a military base in his country, from where he had been taunting President Donald Trump.

As he was escorted into the local office of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) on Saturday night before being jailed, he said sarcastically, looking at the camera, "Good night. Happy New Year".

Once the unquestioned ruler of the oil-rich South American nation, in the video released by the White House, he was in a brown uniform, manacled and clutching a water bottle while two DEA officers held him on either side by his elbows.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's Supreme Court on Sunday directed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to take charge as the Interim President. The Constitutional Chamber, in a ruling after the attack, stated that Rodriguez would assume the presidency to maintain the nation's administrative continuity and safety.

"The office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the Nation," the Supreme Court said.

The court stated that it would further consider how to establish a legal framework that ensures the continuity of the state, the functioning of the government, and the protection of sovereignty in light of the President of the Republic's "forced absence".
Beijing, Jan 4 : South Korean President Lee Jae Myung arrived in Beijing on Sunday for summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the leaders expected to focus on North Korea, economic ties and cultural exchanges.

The four-day state visit marks Lee's first to China since taking office in June last year and the first trip by a South Korean president there since 2019.

Later in the day, Lee is scheduled to meet with Korean residents in China to collect their opinions and pledge the government's support.

Lee will hold talks with Xi on Monday, marking their second meeting in just two months after they met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju in early November, when Xi visited South Korea for the first time in 11 years, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The visit comes as South Korea seeks to stably manage its relations with China, a key partner in trade, tourism and peace efforts on the Korean Peninsula, while also maintaining a strong alliance with the United States under the Lee administration's "pragmatic" diplomatic approach.

At the summit, Lee is expected to ask for China's support in improving strained ties with Pyongyang and making progress in the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, which is high on his administration's foreign policy agenda.

Accompanied by a large business delegation, he will also attend a Korea-China economic forum in Beijing on Monday to discuss expanding cooperation in artificial intelligence, green energy, supply chains and tourism, among other areas.

The two sides are expected to sign more than 10 memorandums of understanding for cooperation in various areas, according to his office.

Cultural exchanges will be another key topic as Seoul hopes to widen access for Korean content in China, which has faced unofficial restrictions since South Korea deployed a US missile defence system in 2017.

While Beijing does not officially acknowledge there is a ban on Korean content, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Seoul will seek ways to boost cultural ties between the two nations.

Sensitive issues are also likely to be raised, including China's construction of steel structures in the overlapping sea zone in the Yellow Sea, which Seoul sees as potentially laying the groundwork for territorial claims.

Wi said the two sides have already held working-level talks on China's maritime structure after the issue was raised during Lee's November summit with Xi, and will continue efforts to make progress.

With tensions high over Taiwan following China's large-scale military drills near the island last week, Lee is expected to face pressure to clarify Seoul's position over the issue, which Beijing considers a core national interest.

In an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Friday, Lee reaffirmed that South Korea's stance on respecting the "One China" policy remains unchanged.

On Tuesday, Lee is scheduled to have a luncheon meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is in charge of economic policy, and meet with Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislator, before flying to Shanghai later in the day.

In Shanghai, Lee plans to visit the historic site that once housed the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea during Japan's colonial rule to mark the centennial anniversary of its establishment. He will also commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of independence hero Kim Gu (1876-1949), who led the provisional government in Shanghai.

He is also scheduled to attend a startup event with Korean and Chinese entrepreneurs before returning home on Wednesday.
Mumbai, Jan 4 : Actress Diana Penty, who was recently seen in the streaming show 'Do You Wanna Partner', spoke about how it's imperative for a good actor to look beyond personal relationships with their co-actors, and deliver what's required from them.

The actress spoke with IANS during the promotions of 'Do You Wanna Partner', and said that though she had a great camaraderie with her co-star Tamannaah Bhatia while working on the show, she is quite clear in her head about her process which is detached from personal relationships.

The actress told IANS, "As a good actor, you're supposed to either way, whether you get along with somebody, you don't get along with what you bring to the screen and to the character should be independent of your personal equation. So, that is a basis of how good an actor or not you are. But in this case, I feel like we were also lucky that we got along and that it was just effortless off screen as well. So, it was much easier to bring that energy on screen and into all the scenes".

Talking about her camaraderie with Tamannaah Bhatia, she said, "So, I don't think we struggled with that at all. It just flowed very naturally and we were able to improvise a lot in the scenes as well because we had a great rapport and chemistry off screen".

"We were comfortable enough with each other to be able to take that liberty to say things to each other, you know, you know, whatever it was not like this formal equation where we have to be careful of what we're going to say to each other. So, I think that really helped and we were lucky that, you know, we had that equation. But it's very interesting", she added.
Chennai, Jan 4 : The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday announced a cash assistance of Rs 3,000 for all rice ration card-holding families as part of the Pongal festival celebrations.

Chennai, Jan 4 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday announced a cash assistance of Rs 3,000 for all rice ration carda"holding families as part of the Pongal festival celebrations.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin's decision aims to make the harvest festival more inclusive and celebratory for households across the State, according to an official government statement.

Describing Pongal as an ancient and noble Tamil festival celebrated for thousands of years with strong family bonds, the government said the occasion is marked to express gratitude to the Sun, cattle that support agricultural labour, and farmers who nourish the world and relieve hunger.

"Pongal symbolises humanity's deep connection with nature, agriculture, and collective well-being," the statement said.

Earlier, the State government had announced a comprehensive Pongal gift package for all rice family cardholders and families residing in Sri Lankan Tamil rehabilitation camps.

The package includes one kilogram of raw rice, one kilogram of sugar, and one whole sugarcane, to be distributed through fair price shops across Tamil Nadu.

The initiative is intended to ensure that every eligible household can celebrate Pongal with dignity and joy.

The scheme will benefit around 2.22 crore rice ration card holders, including families living in Sri Lankan Tamil rehabilitation camps.

In addition to the food items and cash assistance, the government has also arranged for the distribution of dhotis and sarees as part of the festive welfare measures.

Officials confirmed that consignments of dhotis and sarees have already been dispatched to all districts.

In order to further enhance the festive spirit, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has directed that Rs 3,000 be provided as a Pongal cash gift to all eligible families.

With the inclusion of the Pongal gift hampers, clothing, and cash assistance, the total expenditure for the scheme is estimated at Rs 6,936.17 crore.

The Chief Minister has instructed officials to ensure that all arrangements are completed well in advance of the festival.

Cash assistance, Pongal gift hampers, and dhotis and sarees are to be distributed through fair price shops before the commencement of the Pongal celebrations, so that beneficiaries can receive the assistance on time.

The government said the initiative reflects its commitment to social welfare and its resolve to support families during important cultural occasions, reaffirming Pongal as a festival of gratitude, prosperity, and shared happiness for the people of Tamil Nadu.
New Delhi, Jan 4 : Kotak Mahindra Bank founder Uday Kotak said on Sunday that the US attack on Venezuela and the capture of the oil-rich country's President Nicholas Maduro reflects the "race for hard power" between nations in today's world.

New Delhi, Jan 4 (IANS) Kotak Mahindra Bank founder Uday Kotak said on Sunday that the US attack on Venezuela and the capture of the oil-rich country's President Nicholas Maduro reflects the "race for hard power" between nations in todayas world.

Kotak highlighted the fact that Venezuela is a country with the "largest oil reserves on earth" and hinted that the US operation in the South American country was linked to this fact.

"The United States takes control over Venezuela, which has the largest oil reserves on earth. As I said in my year-end musings, this is a world of hard power, and the race between nations is on," he wrote on X.

The veteran banker had pointed out in his year-end views that the world has become less tolerant of alternative points of view and has become more transient and transactional in relationships, with the dominance of hard power over soft power. He highlighted that the race between countries is getting more intense and less mindful of consequences.

President Donald Trump announced, at a press conference after the capture of Maduro, that the US would run Venezuela and American oil companies would invest billions of dollars to produce more oil in the Latin American country.

"Weare going to have our very large U.S. oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country," he said.

Trump also noted that Venezuela had earlier grabbed the oil assets of US oil companies, which would now be recovered. He was referring to the nationalisation of the oilfields discovered in Venezuela by US oil giants such as Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, among others, about 20 years ago, by then-President Hugo Chavez.

The US will "run" Venezuela until a "safe, proper and judicious transition" can be ensured, Trump said after US strikes.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured and flown out of Venezuelaas capital, Caracas, on a US helicopter the wee hours on Saturday and taken aboard the USS Iwo Jima at an unknown location in the Caribbean Sea.

They were then flown to the US Naval Base in Cubaas Guantanamo Bay before being transferred to another plane and landing in New York state. Finally, the couple was taken on a helicopter to New York City's Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where they will face charges for alleged drug trafficking.

Meanwhile, Venezuela has announced a state of national emergency and denounced the "military aggression", with the country's Vice President saying Maduro is its only leader.
Chennai, Jan 4 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will on Monday launch the first phase of his government's flagship digital empowerment initiative, "Ulagam Ungal Kaiyil" (The World in Your Hands), aimed at strengthening access to technology among college students across the state.

Chennai, Jan 4 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will on Monday launch the first phase of his governmentas flagship digital empowerment initiative, "Ulagam Ungal Kaiyil" (The World in Your Hands), aimed at strengthening access to technology among college students across the state.

The programme will be inaugurated at the Chennai Trade Centre at 3 p.m., with Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin also scheduled to attend the event.

Under the first phase of the scheme, the state government will distribute 10 lakh laptops to students pursuing higher education in government institutions.

Beneficiaries include students enrolled in government engineering colleges, arts and science colleges, medical colleges, agricultural universities, law colleges, polytechnics, and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).

The initiative forms part of a larger two-phase plan to provide a total of 20 lakh laptops to college students, a commitment announced earlier by the Chief Minister.

According to an official release, the scheme is designed to bridge the digital divide and ensure that students from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds are not left behind in an increasingly technology-driven education and employment landscape.

The programme builds on the Dravidian model governmentas student-centric welfare initiatives, such as Tamil Pudhalvan, Pudhumai Penn, the First Graduate Scholarship, Post-Matric Scholarships and Social Justice Hostels, an official statement said.

The laptops to be distributed under the scheme are sourced from leading global manufacturers, including Dell, Acer, and HP. Each device will be equipped with either an Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processor, 8 GB RAM, and 256 GB SSD storage. The laptops will come pre-installed with Windows 11, BOSS Linux and MS Office 365, along with a six-month free subscription to the AI-powered Perplexity Pro platform.

Beneficiaries will also receive a high-quality laptop bag.

The state government said the initiative is not limited to supporting academic learning alone, and is also intended to enhance studentsa employability by improving digital literacy, software skills and familiarity with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence tools, coding platforms, and freelancing ecosystems.

By expanding access to digital resources, the government aims to create long-term social and economic mobility for students and prepare them to compete effectively in a rapidly evolving job market.

--IANS

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ABUJA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- More than 30 people were killed and dozens of others kidnapped by suspected terrorists who attacked a village market in Niger State in central Nigeria in the country's latest round of violence, the police said Sunday.

Wasiu Abiodun, the spokesman for the police in Niger State, told Xinhua by phone that the terrorists wreaked havoc in Kasuwan-Daji, a large market located in Demo Village in the state's Kabe district, on Saturday evening.

"They also burned down shops and carted away food items," Abiodun said, confirming to Xinhua that the attackers stormed the village through the National Park Forest in the area.

Abiodun said the motive of the attackers remains unknown, noting that a combined team of security agencies had already visited the village to investigate the incident and rescue the victims.

Some local media reports put the casualty figure at 37, citing residents who said more villagers may have been affected.

Armed attacks have been a primary security threat in Nigeria's northern and central regions, leading to deaths and kidnappings in recent months. 
New Delhi, Jan 4 : The Delhi High Court is expected to take up on Monday former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's petition challenging a trial court decision ordering the framing of cheating and corruption charges against him and his family members in the IRCTC hotel scam case.

The matter is listed to come up before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.

In his petition, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief claimed that there were insufficient grounds to proceed against the accused for offences relating to corruption, criminal conspiracy and cheating.

His criminal revision petition assailed the Rouse Avenue Court's decision to order the framing of criminal charges against him and other family members.

In an order passed on October 13, 2025, Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts paved the way for the trial of Lalu Prasad Yadav, his son Tejashwi Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and other accused under Sections 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as the Prevention of Corruption Act, after they pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The special court had reserved its order on May 29 after hearing detailed arguments on framing of charges against Lalu Prasad, his family members, Prem Gupta, Sarla Gupta and Railway officials Rakesh Saksena and P.K. Goyal.

According to the CBI, the alleged scam occurred between 2004 and 2009 when Lalu Prasad served as Union Railway Minister.

It is alleged that two Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels were leased out to a private firm in violation of norms, and that prime land in Patna was allegedly transferred to Lalu Prasad's family members and a benami company in return.

The two hotels were given on lease without following the norms. One of the hotels was allotted to Sarla Gupta, wife of Prem Gupta, a close associate of the RJD chief and a Rajya Sabha MP at that time.

As per the prosecution, the RJD leader got three acres of prime land through a benami company.

Claiming that there were no irregularities on his part, Lalu Prasad said that the tenders were awarded fairly and sought a discharge from the case.
Gandhinagar, Jan 4 : In a drive to protect consumer interests and ensure transparency in trade, Gujarat's Legal Metrology Department conducted a statewide surprise inspection of nearly 370 gold and silver shops and jewellery showrooms on January 2 and 3. The operation led to 253 prosecution cases across 25 districts and the on-the-spot recovery of Rs 6.79 lakh as compounding fees, officials said.

The special enforcement campaign was carried out under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, and led by Consumer Affairs Minister Raman Solanki and Minister of State P. C. Baranda.

The initiative forms part of the governmentas ongoing efforts to safeguard consumers, curb unfair trade practices and ensure accurate weights and measures.

According to the Legal Metrology Department, inspections were conducted in Ahmedabad, Bharucha"Narmada, Junagadha"Gir Somnath, Bhavnagara"Botad, Surat, and several other districts, including Gandhinagar, Vadodara, Patan, Chhota Udepur, Tapi, Valsad, Dang, Navsari, Anand, Kheda, Panchmahal, Dahod, Mahisagar, Porbandar, Amreli, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Surendranagar, Mehsana, Banaskanthaa"Palanpur, Sabarkanthaa"Himmatnagar, Aravallia"Modasa, Rajkot and Morbi.

Ahmedabad reported the highest enforcement action, with 22 cases registered after inspecting 61 establishments.

This was followed by Bharucha"Narmada (25 cases from 27 units), Junagadha"Gir Somnath (20 cases from 21 units), Bhavnagara"Botad (17 cases from 20 units) and Surat (14 cases from 20 units). Officials said violations included the use of unverified or unstamped weighing instruments, short-weight delivery, failure to carry out mandatory verification and stamping, keeping uncertified standard weights, and non-display of verification certificates.

All compounding fees were collected on-site through e-POS, UPI-based digital payments and cheques, the department confirmed. The jewellery sector drive is part of a broader enforcement framework under which the Legal Metrology Department recovered over Rs 18.77 lakh in compounding fees during the past year from various categories of traders for different violations. During Diwali 2025, inspections at 332 sweet, farsan, dry-fruit and gift shops resulted in 126 cases and Rs 5.91 lakh in penalties.

In July 2025, checks at 276 petrol and diesel pumps led to 19 cases and Rs 69,500 in compounding fees. A drive in May 2025 against fertiliser, seed, pesticide and farm equipment sellers covered 397 vendors, resulting in 210 cases and Rs 5.84 lakh recovered. The same month, inspections at 38 FCI and CWC godowns led to three cases and Rs 14,000 in penalties. Additionally, a February 2025 campaign targeting 419 highway hotels resulted in 169 cases and Rs 6.18 lakh in recoveries.

Officials said such regular enforcement and consumer awareness drives will continue across the state to ensure fair trade practices and protect consumer rights.
New Delhi, Jan 4 : The "purging" of electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a monumental drive undertaken by the Election Commission of India (ECI), found strong resistance and opposition within the nation, but drew significant attention and admiration in the foreign discourse.

A couple of foreign journals have hailed the exercise as a sweeping step in the right direction for overhauling the country's electoral register.

Greek City Times, an Australia-based Greek news portal, showered praise on the momentous exercise by the poll panel and described it as "a foundational principle of one person, one vote".

It said that the landmark initiative has infused fresh life into India's democratic ethos by reaffirming the weight and sanctity of every individual vote and also reflected a commitment to enhanced civic participation.

Notably, the ECI successfully conducted the SIR exercise in Bihar, ahead of the Assembly elections a" the first such electoral rolls revision in two decades. Soon after the Bihar elections, the ECI expanded the SIR in 12 states and Union Territories, inviting the ire of Opposition parties.

The Greek City Times, praising the initiative, said that the SIR serves to uphold and strengthen the democratic system that every eligible citizen has an equal and undiluted voice in the political process.

"By systematically removing duplicate entries, deceased names, and ineligible voters, while simultaneously adding newly eligible citizens -especially young voters who have recently attained the legal voting age - the exercise works to align the electoral roll more closely with present realities," it said in a detailed blog, assessing the intent and impact of the electoral rolls revision.

Stating that SIR will increase credibility and legitimacy of electoral outcomes, it said that the multi-level verification will only make voter registration more accessible and inclusive.

It further said that a refreshed and transparent voter list will augment public confidence and added that the elimination of ghost entries will make people trust the election process and also engage with it earnestly and sincerely.

"This encouragement of participation, particularly among first-time voters and marginalised groups, feeds directly into the democratic principle of universal adult franchise," it further said.

Describing SIR as a defining moment in the ongoing evolution of Indian democracy, it said that the SIR is "a testament to resilience and adaptability of India's electoral institutions", and "democracy blooms when the electorate is recognised, verified, and heard in its true entirety".
Chennai, Jan 4 : Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson A.N.S. Prasad on Sunday said Union Home Minister Amit Shah would dismantle what he termed "engineered opinion polls and biased political narratives" and lead the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to power in the 2026 Assembly elections in the state.

Chennai, Jan 4 (IANS) Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson A.N.S. Prasad on Sunday said Union Home Minister Amit Shah would dismantle what he termed "engineered opinion polls and biased political narratives" and lead the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to power in the 2026 Assembly elections in the state.

In a statement, Prasad dismissed recent opinion polls that predict a return of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) to power, with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin continuing in office.

He referred specifically to a Chief Ministerial preference survey attributed to a particular Alumni Association, which projected actor Vijay ahead of AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami.

Prasad alleged that such surveys were part of a deliberate attempt to manipulate public perception and influence vote banks.

He also criticised the categorisation of respondents on religious lines, calling it divisive and unethical, and said such practices undermined social harmony and democratic values.

According to Prasad, the NDA -- comprising the AIADMK and the Bharatiya Janata Party -- would present a strong and credible alternative to the DMK in the 2026 Assembly elections.

He accused the ruling party of corruption, misgovernance and minority appeasement, and said rising prices, crime and the drug menace had become serious concerns under the present government.

Prasad further claimed that the DMK and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) were competing to consolidate minority votes, and asserted that such politics would be rejected by the people.

"Tamil Nadu will not accept divisive politics that undermine cultural traditions and social unity," he said.

Referring to electoral history, Prasad recalled the 1991 Assembly elections, when the DMK was reduced to just two seats against the AIADMK led by J. Jayalalithaa, and said the BJP believed a similar setback awaited the ruling party in 2026.

Amit Shah, who will address party workers in Pudukkottai on Sunday evening, is scheduled to attend a Pongal programme in Tiruchi and visit the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. Prasad said the NDA was confident of expanding its alliance base in the coming months and forming the next government in the state after the 2026 Assembly elections.
New Delhi, Jan 4 : The Congress on Sunday defended its decision to appoint party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the Chairperson of the Screening Committee for Assam, while strongly criticising the BJP for what it described as an attempt to "propagate" a false 'Rahul vs Priyanka' narrative within the party.

The Congress asserted that this is not the first time Priyanka Gandhi has been entrusted with such responsibilities, recalling that she had earlier been made an ex officio member of the Congress Screening Committee during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Party leaders said her appointment in Assam reflects continuity and confidence in her organisational experience rather than any internal power struggle.

The BJP, however, has alleged that the Congress is attempting to project Priyanka Gandhi as a new face of the party following repeated electoral setbacks under the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. BJP leaders have claimed that an internal 'Rahul vs Priyanka' camp has existed within the Congress for a long time.

Dismissing these allegations, Congress MP Tariq Anwar told IANS that Priyanka Gandhi has already handled major organisational roles in the past.

"Earlier, she was the General Secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh when the Assembly elections were held there. So, we cannot say this is the first time. This is the second time she has been given charge of a state related to elections. She will use her political experience and capability in Assam. There is a strong possibility of a Congress comeback in Assam," he said.

Anwar further said that the BJP was deliberately misrepresenting the situation.

"Priyanka Gandhi has been serving as General Secretary for the past five years. She has been given organisational responsibilities from time to time. She has worked for the party across the entire country. Therefore, the notion propagated by the Bharatiya Janata Party is incorrect," he added.

Congress leader Udit Raj also defended the appointment, saying that Priyanka Gandhi was chosen because of her wide influence and experience, and asserted that the BJP had no business commenting on the internal affairs of the Congress.

Speaking to IANS, Raj said: "She is our leader and has been made the Chairperson of the Assam screening committee. Her influence is quite wide. She will fully enter electoral politics, although she already is. She will oversee elections and make selections. She has experience, and her experience will increase further."

Launching a sharp attack on the BJP, Raj also referred to the recent appointment of Nitin Nabin as the BJP's National Working President.

"It is the BJP's habit to poke into others' affairs, create divisions, and plant their informers. There is no morality in this. This is an internal matter of our party. (Nitin) Nabin has been made a Working President by the BJP, a person who is like a PA. No one knew him; I heard his name for the first time. So the BJP should look into its own matters, about who is being given responsibility after sidelining big leaders. Congress does not function this way," he said.

Priyanka Gandhi's elevation to head the Assam screening panel is being seen within the party as a move to bring stronger national leadership visibility to a politically sensitive region where electoral equations remain complex and highly competitive.

The Congress has traditionally projected Rahul Gandhi as its principal face for the post of Prime Minister, and Priyanka Gandhi's new role has come amid ongoing political discussions around leadership, strategy, and future direction within the opposition space.

Earlier, Congress MP Imran Masood had openly pitched Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi as a potential Prime Ministerial candidate, drawing comparisons between her and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Masood had said that Priyanka Gandhi possessed the same resolve and ability to counter anti-India narratives in South Asia as her grandmother had demonstrated during her handling of Pakistan.

In recent weeks, in the absence of her brother, Priyanka Gandhi, a first-time MP, assumed a leading role for the party, especially during the Winter Session in the Lok Sabha.

She quickly made her presence felt, with her sharp attack on the government during the Vande Mataram debate gaining widespread attention and going viral.

As opposition parties staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha to protest against the VB-G RAM G Bill, Priyanka Gandhi was seen at the forefront of the demonstration.

Holding a photograph of Mahatma Gandhi, she led the march within the Parliament premises, raising slogans opposing the Bill.

Despite Rahul Gandhi's absence from Parliament, Congress drew significant attention for its aggressive protest against the legislation, both inside the Parliament and outside, with Priyanka Gandhi emerging as a prominent face of the party's resistance during the proceedings.
New Delhi, Jan 4 : The Mahanagar Delhi Uttarakhand Pravasi Sangathan staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday over the Ankita Bhandari murder case, demanding a CBI inquiry and swift action against all those responsible for the crime.

The murder of Ankita Bhandari, a 19-year-old receptionist whose death in 2022 had triggered widespread outrage across Uttarakhand, has once again returned to the centre of political and public discourse in the state.

Speaking to IANS at the protest site, one of the demonstrators said, "We are here protesting to demand a CBI investigation into the Ankita Bhandari case. We want it so that no matter who the VIP is, they should be punished. We want justice for Ankita Bhandari."

Another protester said the case had taken a new turn following recent revelations.

"This case happened in 2022, and now the name of a aGattua has come forward after a whistle-blower, Urmila Sanawar, revealed that it is Dushyant Singh Gautam. Since the Dhami government is not willing to help us, we are here to plead with the Central government. We urge PM Modi and HM Amit Shah to order a CBI enquiry and, if the accused is responsible for this heinous crime, he should be given the strictest punishment," the protester said.

Voicing stronger demands, another participant in the protest said, "We demand capital punishment for the killers of Ankita Bhandari. The VIPs, killers and all others involved should be given the death sentence. Justice should be served."

Questioning the handling of the investigation, another protester alleged that crucial evidence had been destroyed.

"The evidence was all destroyed when the crime took place. We want justice for Ankita Bhandari and capital punishment for all those responsible. She was forced to give 'special services' to a VIP. She had mentioned all this in her chats with her friend. Now, a whistle-blower has also revealed the name of the VIP. Why is no action being taken?" the protester asked.

Similar protests were also held in Dehradun, where locals, several organisations and political groups staged demonstrations demanding a CBI inquiry into the case and justice for the victim.

In recent days, Uttarakhand has witnessed multiple protests pressing for accountability and a thorough investigation into the murder.

The renewed outrage followed allegations made by television actor Urmila Sanawar on December 24, 2025, when she accused a senior BJP leader of being the previously unidentified 'VIP' linked to the case. She later named BJP National General Secretary and Uttarakhand in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam as the person referred to as 'Gattu'.

The controversy has since escalated rapidly, drawing in the ruling BJP, the Congress, the state police and civil society groups, and triggering protests, counter-allegations and renewed scrutiny of how the investigation was conducted.

The original case relates to the rape and murder of Ankita Bhandari at the Vanantara resort near Rishikesh.

During the initial investigation, one of Ankita's friends told the police that she was under pressure to "entertain" and "give special services" to a VIP guest. While this claim received wide attention at the time, the alleged "VIP" angle was not included in the charge sheet.

In May 2025, a court in Kotdwar convicted resort owner Pulkit Arya and two of his employees, sentencing them to life imprisonment.

Pulkit Arya is the son of former BJP leader Vinod Arya, who was expelled from the party following the murder.

The BJP has categorically dismissed the new allegations. Dushyant Kumar Gautam has called the accusations defamatory and politically driven, indicating that he has contacted the Chief Minister's office to request a formal investigation.

In a video statement, Gautam stated that he would step away from public life if the allegations were substantiated and threatened legal action for defamation against anyone naming him without proof.

He insists that his long-standing political career is under attack through what he has labelled a smear campaign.
Kolkata, Jan 4 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, expressing concern over alleged irregularities, procedural violations and administrative lapses during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in the state.

In a letter dated January 3, CM Banerjee alleged that critical instructions related to the SIR process are being communicated informally through WhatsApp messages and text messages, without any formal written notifications, circulars, or statutory orders. She claimed that the absence of formal documentation undermines transparency, accuracy and accountability, and could potentially lead to the disenfranchisement of genuine voters.

"I am once again constrained to write to you in order to place on record my grave concern regarding the serious irregularities, procedural violations and administrative lapses being witnessed during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal," Banerjee wrote.

"I strongly urge you to immediately address and rectify the glitches, correct the flaws and make the necessary corrections, failing which this unplanned, arbitrary and ad hoc exercise must be halted. If allowed to continue in its present form, it will result in irreparable damage, large-scale disenfranchisement of eligible voters, and a direct assault on the foundational principles of democratic governance," the letter stated.

CM Banerjee further said that the undue haste with which the SIR is being conducted, without adequate groundwork or preparation, has rendered the entire process fundamentally flawed.

"There has been no proper or uniform training of officials entrusted with this sensitive constitutional responsibility; the IT systems being used are defective, unstable and unreliable; instructions issued from time to time are inconsistent and often contradictory; and there is a complete lack of clarity and planning on the part of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and its State-level functionaries," she said.

The Chief Minister claimed that these deficiencies have reduced a vital democratic exercise to a farce and have severely eroded public confidence in the integrity of the electoral process.
Hyderabad, Jan 4 : Ruling out any compromise on Telangana's rightful share of Godavari river waters, the state government is gearing up to present strong arguments in the Supreme Court to oppose the expansion of the Polavaram project by Andhra Pradesh.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday held discussions with senior legal experts to prevent the Polavaram-Nallamala Sagar project proposed by Andhra Pradesh on the Godavari river.

The state government has recently approached the Supreme Court opposing the project. The writ petition filed by the government is scheduled to come up for hearing in the apex court.

The Chief Minister and the Irrigation Minister met senior Supreme Court advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi in Mumbai. They instructed the legal experts to present strong and effective arguments on behalf of the state.

Irrigation department officials were also alerted to keep all necessary documents and evidence ready, according to a statement issued by the Chief Ministeras Office (CMO).

The Telangana government recently filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking a halt to the expansion works being undertaken by the Andhra Pradesh government to link Polavaram with Banakacharla or Nallamala Sagar without obtaining the mandatory statutory approvals.

The petition urged the Supreme Court to immediately direct the Polavaram Project Authority to stop these works, citing multiple legal and procedural concerns. It clearly stated that the Polavaram project should be executed strictly in accordance with the originally approved design and that undertaking any expansion works is not legally permissible.

The petition also objected to the Central government examining the pre-feasibility reports of the Nallamala Sagar project without taking Telanganaas objections into account. The state sought clear directions to the Central Water Commission, the Ministry of Jal Shakti, and the Godavari River Management Board in this regard.

It further pointed out that the Andhra Pradesh government is proceeding with the preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) in violation of Central Water Commission guidelines and sought an immediate halt to these actions.

The petition also requested directions to deny environmental clearances and to ensure that no financial assistance is extended by the Centre for the expansion projects proposed by Andhra Pradesh.
New Delhi, Jan 4 : The Rajasthan 'Regional AI Impact Conference 2026' on January 6 will feature key announcements and the signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs), aimed at strengthening the state's AI ecosystem, fostering innovation, and accelerating the adoption of AI across priority sectors, it was announced on Sunday.

New Delhi, Jan 4 (IANS) The Rajasthan 'Regional AI Impact Conference 2026' on January 6 will feature key announcements and the signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs), aimed at strengthening the stateas AI ecosystem, fostering innovation, and accelerating the adoption of AI across priority sectors, it was announced on Sunday.

As part of the country's build-up to the aIndia AI Impact Summit 2026a, the Rajasthan Regional AI Impact Conference 2026 will be held in Jaipur.

The conference will serve as a key regional platform to explore how Artificial Intelligence can drive governance reform, economic growth, innovation, and inclusive development, said IT Ministry.

It will witness the participation of senior leadership, including IT and Electronics Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw; Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Electronics and IT; Bhajan Lal Sharma, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, and Rajyavardhan Rathore, Cabinet Minister for IT & Communication, Government of Rajasthan, among others.

The agenda will include high-level sessions on AI for Public Service Delivery and Governance, Ethical and Responsible AI, AI and the Future of Employment and Skills, and the emergence of Rajasthanas AI startup and innovation ecosystem.

Discussions will also examine advanced applications such as Digital Twins and AI-led infrastructure planning, and strategic questions around whether AI can enable India to leapfrog from an outsourcing-led model to world-class intellectual property creation.

In addition, experts will share perspectives on Global AI, National AI and Regional AI strategies, with a dedicated academic and research lens brought in by IIT Jodhpur, highlighting the role of institutions in shaping locally grounded yet globally relevant AI solutions, said the IT Ministry.

Meanwhile, IndiaAI, in collaboration with the Government of Assam, and IIT Guwahati, will convene the Human Capital Working Group Meeting on January 5-6, 2026 at IIT Guwahati campus.

Anchored in the objective of treating AI as a public utility, the Working Group Meeting will focus on designing inclusive, scalable, and responsible approaches to AI-led workforce transition.

Deliberations will place particular emphasis on education reform, gender-responsive AI strategies, and domain-specific augmentation of human capabilities, ensuring that AI adoption strengthens human potential rather than displacing it.

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Washington, Jan 4 : US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said expectations of an immediate democratic transition in Venezuela are unrealistic, cautioning against demands for instant elections following the arrest of NicolAs Maduro.

Washington, Jan 4 (IANS) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said expectations of an immediate democratic transition in Venezuela are unrealistic, cautioning against demands for instant elections following the arrest of Nicolas Maduro.

Speaking on CBS' Face the Nation, Rubio said comparisons with past US interventions were misplaced. "People analyse everything through the lens of Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan," he said. "This is not the Middle East."

Rubio said Washington's focus in Venezuela is centred on addressing security threats in the Western Hemisphere. "We have a country that has cozied itself up to Iran," he said, adding that criminal groups have been allowed to operate freely from Venezuelan territory.

He acknowledged the role of opposition figures in the country. "I have tremendous admiration for Maria Corina Machado," the top American diplomat said, also praising Edmundo Gonzalez.

However, Rubio said immediate political change was not realistic. "Everyone's asking why 24 hours after Nicolas Maduro was arrested, there isn't an election scheduled for tomorrow," he said. "That's absurd."

"These things take time," Rubio added. "There's a process."

Asked whether Venezuela's emerging leadership had committed to democratic principles, Rubio declined to provide details. "I'm not going to publicly get into details about any of those things," he said.

He said Washington would judge leaders by their actions rather than assurances. "We are going to make our assessments on the basis of what they do," Rubio said.

Rubio emphasised that the United States continues to retain leverage. "If they don't make the right decisions, the United States will retain multiple levers of leverage," he said.

He rejected suggestions that oil interests were driving US policy. "That's not what happened here," Rubio said. "We arrested a narco trafficker."

At the same time, Rubio said oil remains central to Venezuela's future economic recovery. "Their oil industry is completely destroyed," he said. "They need investment."

He added that oil wealth must ultimately benefit the population. "Right now, all of that wealth is stolen," Rubio said.

Rubio warned that Washington would not tolerate the presence of hostile actors in the region. "We are not going to have a country like Venezuela in our own hemisphere," he said, "at the crossroads for Hezbollah and Iran."

The top American diplomat said the Trump administration's approach would be guided by national interest and gradual change.

"We want Venezuela to transition to be a place completely different than what it looks like today," Rubio said.
ABUJA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- At least 25 people died, and 14 others are still missing after a boat carrying mostly local fishermen and farmers capsized along the Yobe River in Nigeria's northern region, emergency services and police said on Sunday.

Mohammed Goje, head of the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement that 13 other passengers were rescued after the boat capsized in Garbi town in the Nguru Local Government Area on Saturday evening.

The wooden boat overturned mid-journey en route to the northern state of Yobe from Adiyani, a neighboring town in the northwestern state of Jigawa, said Goje, who confirmed that emergency responders and local community volunteers had swung into action to rescue the victims.

Lawan Shiisu, the spokesman for the police in Jigawa, told Xinhua by phone on Sunday that at least 52 people were on the "overloaded boat" when it departed from Adiyani village on Saturday evening.

Shiisu said the initial death toll was 14, but the casualty figure increased during the rescue operation. The police have launched an investigation into the cause of the incident, he added.

Boat accidents, often caused by overloading, adverse weather and operational errors, are common in Nigeria. 
New Delhi, Jan 4 : Students' organisation Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), on Sunday, condemned the US action in Venezuela and joined a protest demonstration at the Jantar Mantar here against the military decision in the Latin American country, a student leader said.

Bhim Kumar, Delhi State Committee member of the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan, in a statement, said, "KYS strongly denounces the imperialist US regime and demands that it keep its hands off Venezuela."

"The organisation stands in solidarity with the Venezuelan people and proclaims their sovereign right to run their country. The organisation also appeals to peace-loving people worldwide to put pressure on their respective governments to repel this attack on a sovereign people and their country," he added.

The KYS said that following the attack on Venezuela, the country's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped and flown away to the US to face trial on fabricated charges of 'narco-terrorism'.

It should be noted that as the US economic power declines across the world, it has resorted to brazen attacks on sovereign countries and their people in order to shore up its illegally acquired assets to buoy up its economy, it added.

The latest attack on Venezuela which is completely devoid of any merit and goes against all international laws and conventions is a direct result of US trying to grab hold of the national assets of countries who dare to defy the imperialist aims of the US and its allies, it said.

"In the present case, it should be noted that Venezuela is a sovereign country which has enormous quantities of oil reserves. Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves in the world, with nearly 303.22 billion barrels as of 2024. However, due to US sanctions against the country spanning decades, the country still lacks behind in production," Bhim Kumar said.

The US has announced its intention of bringing in its big oil companies ostensibly to 'build' infrastructure for the benefit of Venezuelan people.

The US also intends to run the country for as long as it deems fit completely trampling over the sovereign right of Venezuelan people to govern themselves by choosing their own government, the KYS said.
New Delhi, Jan 4 : On the occasion of Braille Day and the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, Delhi Minister for Social Welfare Ravinder Indraj on Sunday honoured talented students at programmes organised at Braille Bhawan, Rohini, and at Seva Kutir, Kingsway Camp -- a hostel for visually impaired college-going students.

He paid rich tributes to the immense contribution of Louis Braille towards the empowerment of visually impaired persons across the world.

Appreciating the exceptional talent, confidence and determination of visually impaired children and students, Ravinder Indraj said that a person's flight is determined not by physical limitations, but by determination and mindset.

The Cabinet Minister said that the performances presented by the children on stage clearly demonstrate that extraordinary achievements can be attained through dedication and practice, even with limited resources.

Addressing the programme at Seva Kutir, Kingsway Camp, the Social Welfare Minister said that inspired by the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the approach of moving from "disabled" to "divyang" is being translated into policies.

The Delhi Government is fully committed to making persons with disabilities empowered and self-reliant, he said.

The Minister informed that a scheme providing Rs 6,000 per month has been implemented to support the care of persons with disabilities requiring high levels of support.

He also stated that the Atal Drishti Hostel has been started in Timarpur for visually impaired girl students pursuing college education.

The Cabinet Minister further said that new hostels and assistive devices will continue to be provided for poor, underprivileged and differently-abled students.

He added that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is highly sensitive to the concerns of students and persons with disabilities, and guided by the spirit of "Nar Seva, Narayan Seva", the government is continuously undertaking public welfare initiatives.

Earlier, at the programme organised by the All-India Confederation of the Blind (AICB) at Braille Bhawan, Rohini, the Cabinet Minister honoured the winners of the Braille Reading/Writing competitions in Hindi and English, as well as the Shri Madan Lal Essay Competition.

Students from 19 schools across 11 states participated in these competitions.

Those present at the event included Jawahar Lal Kaul, General Secretary, AICB; Ramesh Prasad Singh, Executive Member; Anil Kumar Aneja, President; Dinesh Batra; Manjula Rath; Ranju Singh; and Jasmer Singh Pannu.
Amaravati, Jan 4 : With the first validation flight landing successfully at Bhogapuram Greenfield International Airport on Sunday, a war of words broke out between Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) over who should get credit for the project.

While TDP, which is heading the ruling coalition, claimed the credit for the airport, Opposition YSRCP called Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu 'credit chor'.

Former Chief Minister Y. S Jagan Mohan Reddy posted that with the first flight landing at Bhogapuram airport, Andhra Pradesh accelerates on its growth runway, marking a significant milestone for Vision Vizag.

"Congratulations to the GMR Group for their exceptional efforts. During our tenure expedited permissions, timely approvals and land acquisition including R&R with an outlay of close to Rs 960 crore helped lay a strong foundation for steady progress. Significant portion of the project work was completed, which has been instrumental in achieving this milestone. I also fondly recall the efforts and contribution of Nitin Gadkari Ji in approving the Bhogapuram Airport Bypass National Highway project in March 2023, connecting Visakhapatnam Port with Bhogapuram International Airport," wrote the YSRCP president.

Following this post, both the parties resorted to a slugfest. YSRCP recalled that Chandrababu Naidu had laid foundation stone for the airport in a hurry and without required permissions just before 2019 elections for the sake of votes.

"Weren't you the one who performed the foundation laying without any permissions, Chandrababu? Did you acquire the land for Bhogapuram Airport? Did you pay compensation to those who lost their lands? Did you provide rehabilitation to anyone? Did you undertake road construction? How can you claim all the glory without doing anything," the YSRCP asked.

It claimed that after Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy became the Chief Minister in 2019, he brought the court cases related to the airport to a close. It reminded the Chandrababu Naidu that YSRCP government paid compensation ranging from Rs 28 lakh to 36 lakh per acre.

It was Jagan government that completed the second phase of land acquisition for the construction of the link road and trumpet-shaped flyover to enable direct access from Chennai-Kolkata National Highway to the airport. "Isn't it a fact that all permissions were obtained for the construction of Bhogapuram International Airport, and on May 3, 2023, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy garu performed the ground-breaking ceremony," asked the YSRCP.

Chandrababu Naidu's son and state minister Nara Lokesh hit back at YSRCP by posting of video clips of Jagan Mohan Reddy's speeches opposing Bhogapuram airport.

Lokesh taunted that the credit for obstructing Bhogapuram Airport goes to Jagan. "YSRCP should be feel ashamed to even speak about it," he remarked.

The TDP cited Jagan Mohan Reddy's reported words that anyone with a brain wouldn't build the Bhogapuram airport. "The brainless words that your brainless Jagan said are known to the whole world," the party said in a post on X.

It claimed that Bhogapuram airport is Chandrababu Naidu's vision, his idea and his brainchild. It remarked that people know who is shameless and who lacks intelligence.

The TDP said no one with any sense would believe the bogus claims made by YSRCP.
Agartala, Jan 4 : Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Tripura Assembly and CPI-M Politburo member Jitendra Chaudhury on Sunday demanded that one member of the family of Angel Chakma, who was brutally assaulted in Dehradun and later succumbed to his injuries, be provided a government job.

Chaudhury, who is also the state secretary of the CPI(M), on Saturday visited Chakmaas residence at Machmara in Tripuraas Unakoti district and strongly criticised the handling of the case by the Uttarakhand Police, alleging delays in registering the case and arresting the perpetrators.

He said that the Uttarakhand Police registered the murder case belatedly and handled the investigation in a sluggish manner.

The Dehradun Police initially booked the case under relatively less stringent sections of law, despite the fact that Angel Chakma had been grievously stabbed and assaulted by a group of people who allegedly hurled racial slurs at him during the attack.

Quoting Angelas father, Tarun Prasad Chakma, a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan, the Left leader said that the 24-year-old MBA final-year student might have survived had timely and proper medical treatment been provided.

The LoP urged the Tripura government to take up the matter with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and request that a government job be arranged for a member of Angel Chakmaas family.

Meanwhile, the Dehradun Police have arrested five accused in connection with the killing.

The Uttarakhand government has provided an ex gratia of Rs 4.12 lakh to the bereaved family, while the Tripura government extended an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh. The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) has also provided Rs 3 lakh to the family.

Angel Chakma, a 24-year-old MBA final-year student, was allegedly attacked by a racist mob in Uttarakhandas capital Dehradun on December 9. He succumbed to his injuries on December 26 after battling for his life in hospital for 18 days.

The incident triggered widespread outrage across all eight Northeastern states, with leaders from almost all political parties, including the BJP, Congress, Tipra Motha Party and Left parties, demanding strict punishment for those involved in the crime.

Several organisations organised candlelight marches, torch rallies and other protest programmes in Agartala and other places to condemn the killing.

Meanwhile, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Uttarakhand and former Rajya Sabha member Tarun Vijay, after meeting Chakmaas family in Unakoti district on Friday, also demanded the strictest punishment for those responsible.

Condemning the incident, Vijay said exemplary punishment must be awarded to the culprits to deter such crimes in the future.

He added that Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha has held several discussions with his Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami regarding the case.

Vijay also proposed that Angel Chakmaas younger brother, Michael Chakma, be provided a government job in Tripura to ensure the familyas financial stability.

He further suggested the formation of a special Northeast cell within the Uttarakhand Police to address cases of racial abuse and discrimination.
Hyderabad, Jan 4 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said he would soon address all the issues related to dispute over sharing of Krishna River waters.

He stated this when media persons approached him on Sunday seeking his reaction to the statement made by Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy in State Legislative Assembly on Saturday over Krishna water.

Chandrababu Naidu was in Hyderabad to console the family of Pinnamaneni Saibaba, former president of the NTR Fans Association and former chairman of the Differently-abled Corporation in the combined Andhra Pradesh.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president visited Saibaba's house in Secunderabad and paid him rich tributes.

When the Chief Minister was leaving Saibaba's residence, media representatives questioned him regarding the ongoing dispute over Krishna waters between the two Telugu states. Responding to the queries, Naidu simply stated, "I will speak on all these matters very soon."

While replying to a debate on short discussion on Krishna waters in Telangana Assembly on Saturday, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy claimed that Andhra Pradesh stopped Rayalaseema lift irrigation project after he put pressure on Chandrababu Naidu and the Central government.

The Andhra Pradesh government condemned Revanth Reddy's statement that the coalition government in Andhra Pradesh halted the Rayalaseema Lift Project to protect Telangana's interests.

The Telugu Desam Party-led government termed as "factually incorrect and misleading" the remarks made by Revanth Reddy.

The Andhra Pradesh government clarified that there is no truth in Revanth Reddy's claim that the project was stopped at his request and out of respect by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

Revanth Reddy also claimed that he told Chandrababu Naidu that he would be ready to discuss any inter-state issue only if Andhra Pradesh stops Rayalaseema project which was taking away three TMC of water every day.

The Telangana Chief Minister also offered to send a fact-finding committee comprising leaders of all parties including main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to verify if the project has stopped or not.
Junagadh, Jan 4 : As part of preparations for the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference (VGRC) in Rajkot, a district-level Vibrant Gujarat programme in Junagadh resulted in the signing of 218 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) involving investments worth Rs 1,209 crore, aimed at accelerating industrial development and generating employment in the district.

The programme, chaired by the Gujarat Social Justice and Empowerment Minister and Junagadh district in-charge Pradyuman Vaja, brought together industrialists, young entrepreneurs, sector experts and officials to explore investment opportunities across multiple sectors.

MoUs were signed in areas including healthcare, hospitals, education institutions rooted in Sanskrit and traditional learning, tourism, resorts, infrastructure, agro and food processing, engineering, minerals and mining.

According to details shared at the event, 102 MoUs worth around Rs 281 crore were signed in the agro, food processing and dairy sectors, 55 MoUs worth Rs 144 crore in engineering and technology, 41 MoUs worth Rs 403 crore in minerals and mining, Rs 114 crore in tourism, and Rs 175 crore in infrastructure projects.

Officials said the proposed investments are expected to create large-scale employment and strengthen Junagadh's presence in national and global markets.

Addressing the gathering, Minister Pradyuman Vaja said the Vibrant Gujarat initiative, launched in 2003, has evolved into a robust platform for development, now extending its impact to district-level investment facilitation.

He noted that Junagadh's natural assets -- ranging from mountains, forests and coastline to its cultural and spiritual heritage -- provide a strong foundation for industrial and tourism-led growth.

He highlighted the role of the Girnar Ropeway in boosting tourism and said the presence of the Asiatic Lion has given Gujarat international visibility.

Minister Vaja said products such as seafood, spices, food processing items and machinery from Junagadh are already reaching global markets, supported by industrial clusters in plastics, engineering, seafood, and agro-processing.

He added that infrastructure projects such as Vande Bharat train services, expansion of Keshod Airport, national highways, and GIDC industrial estates have strengthened the district's industrial ecosystem.

District Collector Anilkumar Ranavasiya, in his keynote address, said Junagadh's agriculture-based economy is being supplemented by targeted efforts to expand agro-processing, offering farmers better value for their produce.

He pointed to the national demand for Kesar mangoes and Jamun varieties from the district and invited investors to explore opportunities in religious and tourism-based projects.

Ranavasiya said Keshod Airport's runway is being expanded from 1.5 to about 2.5 km, which will enhance cargo handling, support coastal Saurashtra, and increase tourist inflow.

He also announced that 22 hectares of land have been allocated to boost the seafood industry, which is expected to generate significant employment.

Junagadh Municipal Corporation Standing Committee Chairperson Pallavi Thakkar said various initiatives have been implemented to encourage youth entrepreneurship and promote job creation.

Sanjay Purohit, Secretary of the Junagadh Chamber of Commerce, described the district-level programme as result-oriented, noting the expansion of agro-processing units and the district's strong potential in tourism.

The event also saw the symbolic distribution of assistance cheques under schemes such as the Vajpayee Bankable Yojana.

An exhibition showcasing locally manufactured products was inaugurated and emerged as a key attraction of the programme.

Seminars on artificial intelligence, startups and innovation were held alongside the main event, with speakers Dharmendra Joshi and Jatin Katariya discussing the role of technology and innovation in modern entrepreneurship.

The programme was attended by local elected representatives, senior officials, industrial association members, representatives from hotel, gems and jewellery, GIDC and chamber bodies, as well as students and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Guwahati, Jan 4 : Highlighting the transformative impact of the Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North East (PM-DeVINE) on Assam's education sector, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said the scheme is turning government schools into "true temples of learning" equipped with smart classrooms and world-class infrastructure.

Guwahati, Jan 4 (IANS) Highlighting the transformative impact of the Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North East (PM-DeVINE) on Assam's education sector, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said the scheme is turning government schools into "true temples of learning" equipped with smart classrooms and world-class infrastructure.

In a post on social media platform X, CM Sarma said that PM-DeVINE is playing a crucial role in strengthening school education across the state by creating modern learning environments that blend technology with tradition.

Referring to a school in Palasbari, founded in 1953, the Chief Minister said the institution now stands rejuvenated as a "divine space where knowledge meets nation-building."

PM-DeVINE, a Central Sector scheme announced in the Union Budget 202223, aims to accelerate infrastructure development and socio-economic growth in the northeastern states.

In Assam, the scheme has been leveraged to upgrade educational institutions, improve learning outcomes and bridge long-standing gaps in infrastructure, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas.

Officials said several government schools across the state have been modernised under PM-DeVINE with smart classrooms, digital learning tools, upgraded buildings and improved basic amenities, enabling students to access quality education closer to home.

The initiative aligns with the state government's broader push to reform the education sector and prepare students for future challenges.

Sarma also noted that the Assam Cabinet has approved the establishment of 100 new schools across the state, signalling a major expansion of the public education network.

The move, he said, reflects the government's commitment to universal access to quality education and its focus on long-term human resource development.

Education experts have welcomed the integration of PM-DeVINE projects with state-led initiatives, noting that improved infrastructure, coupled with teacher training and digital tools, can significantly enhance learning outcomes.

The state government has repeatedly emphasised that education remains a key pillar of Assam's development strategy.

The Palasbari school cited by the Chief Minister is among several legacy institutions that have benefited from infrastructure upgrades, symbolising how decades-old schools are being reimagined to meet contemporary educational needs while preserving their historical significance.
Bengaluru, Jan 4 : The police in Karnataka have arrested a gunman linked to an aide of Congress MLA Nara Bharat Reddy in connection with the shootout in which a Congress party worker was killed, an official said on Sunday.

The development is likely to trigger major controversy, as the firing occurred during a clash over a banner installation issue between supporters of MLA Bharat Reddy and mining baron and BJP MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy.

Police confirmed that they have arrested Gurucharan Singh, a private gunman of Satish Reddy, a close associate of Ballari city Congress MLA Bharat Reddy.

It has been established that Congress worker Rajashekar died after being hit by a bullet fired by Gurucharan Singh during the clash. Following this confirmation, the police initially took him into custody and later formally arrested him.

Police said the 12 mm bullet was fired from a distance of four to five feet, which is why only one person lost his life. Had the shot been fired from a distance of more than 10 feet, the bullet could have spread, potentially resulting in further casualties.

So far, the police have taken 45 persons into custody for questioning and later arrested a total of 26 persons, including 13 BJP workers.

A total of nine gunmen have been taken into custody, including four gunmen of Satish Reddy, one government gunman of MLA Bharat Reddy identified as Basavaraj, four government gunmen of MLA Janardhana Reddy, and a gunman attached to former minister B. Sriramulu. Among them, only Satish Reddy's gunman Gurucharan Singh has been formally arrested so far.

Medical examinations have been conducted on all those arrested, police said.

Police have confirmed that the bullet which struck Rajashekar was a 12 mm single-bore bullet. In connection with the case, Ballari police have seized five firearms.

In the aftermath of the Ballari violence, mining baron and BJP MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy has written separate letters to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Home Minister G. Parameshwara and Director General of Police Dr M.A. Saleem, seeking 'Z' category security for himself and his family.

In the letters, he also demanded the arrest of MLA Bharat Reddy and Satish Reddy and sought action against police officers for allegedly failing to control the situation. He stated that if security is not provided and any attack occurs on him or his family in the future, the state government should be held responsible.

However, Home Minister G. Parameshwara said on Sunday that he has not received any such letter so far.

He added that the firing did not involve police-issued guns or revolvers, a fact confirmed by the Additional Director General of Police.

Parameshwara stated that the firing was carried out using a private firearm and said the government is considering handing over the investigation into the death of Congress worker Rajashekar to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

"I will discuss this with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and if necessary, we will hand over the case to the CID for investigation," Parameshwara said.
Kolkata, Jan 5 : The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said on Sunday that how Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee could use her own letterhead in writing a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, raising the political contentions of Trinamool Congress.

LoP Adhikari raised this query reacting to a letter from the Chief Minister to the CEC that was circulated among the media persons earlier on Sunday, where she expressed concern over alleged irregularities, procedural violations, and administrative lapses during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in the state.

"The letter from Mamata Banerjee using the official letterhead of the Chief Minister of West Bengal to the CEC is illegal and unconstitutional. The post of Chief Minister is constitutional. So in this case, the official letterhead of the Chief Minister should not have been used," he told media persons while reacting to the letter from the Chief Minister to the CEC.

According to LoP Adhikari, the chair of the Chief Minister is both an administrative and constitutional post.

"That is exactly why B.R. Ambedkar did not use the term 'For the party, By the Party, Of the Party'. He used the term 'For the people, By the people, Of the people'. If Mamata Banerjee had to raise any complaint to the CEC about the political contentions of her party, Trinamool Congress, she should not have raised that objection using her official letterhead as the Chief Minister. She should have addressed the same letter to the CEC in the letterhead of her political post with Trinamool Congress," the LoP said.

"As the representative and as the Chairperson of a political party, Mamata Banerjee had every right to raise any political contention to the CEC. But in that case, she should have used the letterhead of Trinamool Congress chairpersons in writing that letter to the CEC," LoP Adhikari added.

He also said that the CEC should treat this letter from Mamata Banerjee as nothing but trash.

"As a Bengali and also the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, I feel ashamed that the Chief Minister's letterhead is being used to raise the political contention of a political party to the CEC," LoP Adhikari added.
Bengaluru, Jan 5 : In a significant blow to tax evasion networks plaguing India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) system, the Enforcement Wing (South Zone) of Karnataka's Commercial Taxes Department has exposed and dismantled a sprawling interstate fake invoicing cartel.

Operating across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the syndicate orchestrated fraudulent transactions totalling a staggering Rs 1,464 crore in building materials like cement, iron, and steel, leading to the wrongful claiming and passing of Input Tax Credit (ITC) worth approximately Rs 355 crorea"all without any actual movement of goods.

The breakthrough came through cutting-edge analytics within the GST framework, a statement said on Sunday.

Leveraging their in-house Non-Genuine Taxpayer (NGTP) module and tracing IP address trails from the GST back office, investigators pinpointed suspicious invoicing patterns and circular ITC flows among interconnected entities. This data-driven approach triggered a meticulously planned enforcement operation, highlighting how technology is revolutionising the fight against fiscal fraud, the statement said.

Delving deeper, probes uncovered a sophisticated web of deceit; fraudsters secured multiple GST registrations using forged documents, including stamp papers bought online, phony rental agreements, falsified signatures, bogus tax receipts, and counterfeit notarial stamps. These sham registrations birthed layers of shell companies that issued fake invoices, simulating legitimate business while funnelling illicit credits.

Once substantial ITC was siphoned, the entities conveniently cancelled their registrations voluntarily, a tactic investigators describe as a novel ploy to dodge audits and erase trails. This emerging trend has prompted the Enforcement Wing to explore new safeguards to plug such loopholes in the system.

The operation culminated in synchronised search and seizure raids across Bengaluru, Chennai, Vellore, and Pernampattu, yielding a trove of evidence; 24 mobile phones, 51 SIM cards, two pen drives, bank statements, and rubber stamps from various firms. These items promise to unravel more about the cartel's operations, finances, and cross-border tentacles, the statement further said.

Marking a milestone in interstate collaboration, four masterminds were arrested with Tamil Nadu's Commercial Tax authorities playing a pivotal role. Brothers Irbaz Ahmed and Nafiz Ahmed from Tamil Nadu, behind bogus outfits like Trion Traders, Wonder Traders, Royal Traders, and Galaxy Enterprises, were nabbed in Pernampattu.

In Bengaluru, Eddala Pratap and his associate Revati, who ran shells such as Power Steel and Cement, P.R. Construction, S.V. Traders, and S.R.S. Cement Steel Traders, were also detained, said the statement. All four appeared before Bengaluru's Special Court for Economic Offences, which remanded them to 14 days of judicial custody.
WINDHOEK, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Namibia called for respect for international law and the sovereignty of Venezuela after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured by the United States, the Ministry of International Relations and Trade said in a statement on Sunday.

Describing the incident as a "great shock" and a violation of Venezuela's sovereignty and international law, the ministry said that the territorial integrity and political independence of all nations must be respected in accordance with the United Nations Charter.

Namibia underscored its solidarity and cooperation with Venezuela, citing a shared history of anti-colonial struggle for self-determination and independence.

The ministry said Namibia supports the involvement of multilateral institutions, including the United Nations, to ensure the protection of international law and national sovereignty, and backed the convening of a UN Security Council session to address the situation.

The southern African country also urged the international community to prioritize dialogue and diplomacy in resolving disputes among nations, emphasizing the need for peaceful solutions to maintain global peace and stability. 
Mumbai/Sindhudurg, Jan 5 : In a reflective announcement that has stirred Maharashtra's political circles, former Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Narayan Rane, on Sunday, hinted to step away from active politics.

The 73-year-old veteran, known for his fiery rhetoric and party-hopping career, emphasised the need for personal boundaries in a demanding profession, invoking the toll on one's health and family obligations.

"One has to stop somewhere; it is not that one should just keep working. After all, it is the bodya"a person feels that one should stop somewhere. Now both the sons are working, so someone should also look after the family business," Rane said in Sindhudurg a" his home turf.

His words came with a sense of closure after decades in the public eye.

Rane's political journey spans over five decades, beginning in the 1970s as a grassroots worker with the Shiv Sena under Bal Thackeray's leadership.

Rising through the ranks, he served as Maharashtra's Chief Minister for a brief stint in 1999 during the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance, becoming the first from the Konkan region to hold the post.

His tenure was marked by bold decisions, including infrastructure pushes in rural areas, but also controversies that led to his expulsion from Shiv Sena in 2005.

Undeterred, Rane floated his own outfit, the Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha, before merging it with Congress, where he held ministerial portfolios in revenue, industry, and health.

Disillusioned by internal dynamics, he switched to the BJP in 2019, aligning with PM Narendra Modi's vision.

As former Union Minister till 2024, Narayan Rane has championed MSME reforms, aiding post-pandemic recovery (Covid-19) for small businesses -- a sector close to his heart.

The timing of his hint at retirement coincides with his sons' established political footprints.

Elder son Nilesh Rane, a legislator from Kudal Assembly seat in Maharastra and a former Lok Sabha MP, and younger son Nitesh Rane, the Minister of Ports Development of Maharashtra, have taken the mantle.

"With them handling the legacy, it's time for me to oversee our family ventures," Rane added.

Political analysts view this as a strategic exit amid BJP's internal reshuffles ahead of 2029 elections.

Party colleagues expressed surprise but respect.

For Rane, a self-made leader from humble beginnings in Malvan, this marks a potential pivot to quieter pursuits.

Yet, in India's volatile political arena, retirements are often temporary.

As he bows out, Rane leaves a legacy of resilience, ambition, and unyielding loyalty to his roots.

Whether this is farewell or intermission remains to be seen.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Disney/Bahareh Ritter

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 01/03/2026



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

couple Jess Edwards and Spencer Conley have officially taken their relationship to the next level.Jess took to Instagram Stories earlier this week to reveal that she and Spencer are now living together.Jess uploaded a video of the pair hugging in the middle of their brand new house and wrote over it, "New Home, New Home, New Home, New Home."Jess moved from San Diego, CA, to Dallas, TX, to be with Spencer.Spencer shared the video on his Instagram account and added how they've begun moving their belongings into their new home.Spencer posted a video of Jess dancing in the kitchen with pots and pans."Moving into the new house," he wrote.Jess also reposted the video via Instagram Stories and quipped of her silly dance moves, "[Crying-laughing emoji] Why am I like this."Jess accepted Spencer's marriage proposal on 's tenth season earlier this year.Jess previously shared on Instagram how she's "thankful" for her time in San Diego but she's "excited for this new chapter" with Spencer.In November, Jess had updated fans on her moving plans."I'm having movers move all my things the weekend before Thanksgiving so that when we get back everything is here," Jess told her followers at the time.Jess went on to share the areas of Dallas where she and Spencer were looking to move to."Lots of questions about the move! We're looking at places in Lower Greenville & M Streets," Jess revealed."My main want is a very walkable area to lots of things because that's something I love about where I live in SD."The alum, however, said she'd be moving into Spencer's pre-existing home, although temporarily, while they looked for a new house."Spencer's current lease isn't up until January so we have some time & I will be getting a storage unit for a few weeks," Jess explained.When asked how she planned to move all of her belongings from California to Texas, Jess joked, "Great question. No clue.""Movers that move things & also ship cars," she added. "But seriously if you have any recommendations send them my way!!!!"While Jess and Spencer weren't the only couple who found love on 's tenth season, they were the only couple who left Costa Rica engaged During a Q&A session with fans via Instagram this past summer, Jess and Spencer revealed their wedding timeline "We're taking things one step at a time , I feel like," Spencer shared, according to BachelorNation.com.Jess agreed, "We are, yes. We'll probably re-evaluate when it's been a year, so probably next May we'll start talking more plans."The pair also said they were still getting to know each other following their stint on , which wrapped filming in May in Costa Rica.When Jess and Spencer chose love over $250,000 on 's Season 10 finale , they passed the final relationship test by deciding that their relationship was more valuable than money.host Jesse Palmer therefore allowed the couple to pick one of three envelopes each containing a check for a different amount of money.The couple selected an envelope with $190,000 inside, which the couple said was going to go towards building a future together In addition to Spencer and Jess, Alexe Godin and Andrew Spencer also won money in the amount of $25,000 on .Alexe and Andrew left Paradise still dating and in love, and so did Jeremy Simon and Bailey Taylor Brown. Kat Izzo and Dale Moss also remained a couple post-Paradise, but subsequently split Interested in more The Bachelor news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
Instagram / Caila Quinn

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 01/03/2026



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

alum Caila Quinn has welcomed her third child into the world with husband Nick Burrello.Caila has been soaking in precious moments with her newborn son since announcing his birth on December 20."So in love with our little Grayson Paul Burrello [heart]i 9 lbs 5 oz," Caila captioned photos of her little bundle of joy in the hospital on Instagram."After a smooth c-section we've been soaking in all of the scrunchie cuddles with baby boy. Took us a moment to share the news as we couldn't decide until the last moment on how to spell his name."Caila later added, "And just like that, we're a family of five... When you have a December baby -- and now know what it means to have your 'heart grow three sizes that day.'"The new baby joins his siblings Teddi Marie, who turns 3 in March 2026, and Christian Anthony, 16 months.Caila gave birth to Teddi in March 2023 and then welcomed Christian in August 2024.Caila revealed that Grayson "will most likely be" the couple's "final baby."Caila also shared recently her birth story with her followers in a video on Instagram."Three babies, three C-sections -- each one completely different," Caila shared."C-sections can feel scary, but they can also be beautiful and full of peace. With a trusted team and yes... anesthesia from a trusted doctor of course."Caila apparently had "healing Filipino postpartum dishes" after Grayson was born.Caila announced the sex of her third child in late July while vacationing in Lisbon, Portugal with her husband, just weeks after publicly revealing she was pregnant again.The Bachelor in Paradise alum married Nick in May 2021 in Sarasota, FL, and despite a recent cheating scandal that made headlines, the couple continue to put on a united front.Caila and Nick tied the knot after canceling an overseas wedding in Lake Como, Italy due to the coronavirus pandemic.Although Caila initially found the postponement heartbreaking, she and Nick ultimately exchanged vows where Nick had proposed to alum -- during a romantic beach dinner -- in January 2020 after two years of dating.Caila and Nick had been set up by a mutual friend and went public with their relationship in October 2017, which was well over a year after Caila had appeared on Ben Higgins ' season of .On 's 20th season, Ben eliminated Caila right after his round of overnight Fantasy Suite dates in favor of eventual runner-up JoJo Fletcher and winner Lauren Bushnell , from whom he split in May 2017.Caila, who was 24-years-old at the time Ben broke up with her, was blindsided and crushed when she was sent home before a Rose Ceremony in Jamaica."I thought I'd be getting engaged in a week-and-a-half. I was ready. I was ready to get married. I was ready to be his wife," Caila said in tears following her ouster."I was ready for our future. It's all I thought about. My purpose in life is to love other people and I don't know why I haven't found it yet. I thought this was it. I thought this was it. I was ready. I didn't see this coming. I love him, too. Like, I still love him."That same year, Caila appeared on Season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise and left the show still dating Jared Haibon Caila even met Jared's family in Rhode Island, but she revealed during an August 2016 episode of After Paradise that "mystical forces" contributed to their split.Jared's tight friendship with Ashley Iaconetti , who appeared jealous and possessive of her longtime crush, seemed to be the reason behind his split with Caila about six weeks after filming wrapped.Jared and Ashley reconciled in May 2018 after remaining friends for years and tied the knot in August 2019.Although Caila didn't find love on franchise, she told Us in 2021 that she was meant to go on the show in order to find Nick."If I wasn't on the show, I wouldn't ever have met him because I would never have been a blogger and that's who introduced us and set us up on our first date," Caila shared at the time."So, I think everything happens for a reason and I thank God every day."Interested in more news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
On the first sleepy Saturday of 2026, the world woke up to news that was surprising if not totally unexpected. Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured in a daring overnight raid into that nations capital, executed by US military and law enforcement personnel following a weeks-long buildup of American power in the region.

As we write this, the Maduros are being escorted to New York per a recently unsealed indictment filed with the US Justice Department.

While the ripple effects of this maneuver are bound to be complex and polarizing, it isfrom a technical and tactical standpointworth taking some time to examine what goes into planning and executing an operation like this, the equivalent of geopolitical open-heart surgery.

The decision to simply cut the head off the snake offers some advantages over a large-scale invasion but requires precise planning and bold execution. Tying this to a criminal charge meant integrating elements of the Justice Department, in this case the DEA, with the military elements in charge of conducting the raid.

Venezuela marked in red

It also required a premium on bringing the Maduros out alive to face their charges, as opposed to a counterterrorism operation under traditional military rules of engagement which may not require capture. Having said that, there is some preliminary information circulating that indicates Trump left open the option of killing Maduro, if the situation required.

Bringing in a fugitive, regardless of where they are, mandates that you know a few key pieces of information. Foremost among them is where your target will be when you intend to pick them up. In the case of a criminal here in the US, law enforcement establishes known associates and familiar hangouts, often utilizing a combination of surveillance techniques from tracking cell phones to old-school stakeouts to identify routines and patterns-of-life. This allows officers and agents to determine the best place to make an arrest.

Black Hawk from the 160th SOAR

But, when targeting foreign heads of state, the process is exponentially more complicated. There are well-documented cases in recent history of world leaders using body doubles, secret bunkers, and large contingents of armed guards to protect themselves. This requires an intensive intelligence effort leaning heavily on a combination of strategic intelligence assets.

Examples of this include satellite imagery, electronic surveillance of cellular and digital activity, drone flyovers for real-time photo and video collection, and we suspect heavy use of human informants from within Maduros inner circle.

But mission success requires more than getting your target. It requires protecting your own forces in the process. An airborne incursion is usually the fastest way to reach your objective. Moving overland on foot or in vehicles through hostile terrain equates to an increased risk of exposure or capture for the raid team. Again, maximum information is key. In military parlance, the process is referred to as IPB  Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace.

The multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima transported Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro back to the USA

The IPB process is a methodical analysis of myriad planning factors. Some of these might be obvious, such as the number of enemy soldiers in an area, or what kind of weapons they have. But operational planning requires knowing far more than just the enemy. Are there high mountain peaks that helicopters will have to account for in their flight plan? How much moonlight will there be  enough to illuminate ships on the water or aircraft in the night sky?

Once a rigorous intelligence process has been completed, surgical precision is paramount during the mission itself. In this case, helicopters carrying special operators were required to approach over open water to reach a coastal city equipped with anti-aircraft weapons.

This posed a significant risk to the raid force that was mitigated by a multi-phase execution prioritizing the destruction of those anti-aircraft batteries. Electronic warfare planes flying overhead could disrupt RADAR, radios, and other electronic warning equipment, allowing a package of strike aircraft to get close enough to physically destroy anti-aircraft sites. This SEAD/DEAD mission would be tasked with destroying anything that could either shoot at or see approaching helicopters.

Once the AA weapons themselves are neutralized, helicopters carrying the raid team, blocking force (to secure the ground around the target building), and/or quick reaction force (backup for the raid team if they encounter heavy resistance) could reach the target location, hit the ground, and apprehend the Maduros.

It is likely that the raid team was receiving real-time intelligence updates in the helicopter while en route to the target location, with parameters established to abort the operation, or use an alternate plan, if the situation changed substantially during the approach.

There are multiple fine details of the Venezuela plan and its execution that we may never find out. But its clear to see that months of planning and intelligence collection, along with the work of hundreds-if-not-thousands of highly skilled Americans in the military and intelligence community, enabled an incredibly bold, seemingly smooth operation that single-handedly changed the course of a country in several hours without any loss of American life reported at time of writing.

This operation puts a fine point on exactly whats possible when the right people and the right technology are unified by an effective plan carried out with precision and daring.
Three persons were arrested on Sunday in the case of hacking and burning to death a Hindu businessman in Shariatpur district of Bangladesh, local media reports said.

IMAGE: Activists from various Hindu groups scuffle with police during a protest against the lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh, near Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on December 23, 2025.. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

Khokon Chandra Das, 50, was assaulted near Keurbhanga Bazar in Damudya in Shariatpur district, about 100 kilometres south of Dhaka, on Wednesday night. He died on Saturday. Prothom Alo newspaper said a team of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested the three accused on Sunday morning from Kishoreganj, about 100 kilometres northeast of Dhaka.

The arrested were identified as Damudyar Sohag Khan, 27, Rabbi Molya, 21, and Palash Sardar, 25.

RAB Madaripur Camp Company Commander Superintendent of Police Mir Monir Hossain told Prothom Alo that the accused were being brought to Madaripur camp from Kishoreganj.

Madaripur is about 20-odd kilometres away from Shariatpur.

Das, who ran a medicine shop and mobile banking business, was travelling in an autorickshaw when the attackers intercepted the vehicle and allegedly beat him up, hacked him with sharp weapons and then poured petrol on his head before setting him on fire, media reports had said on Thursday.

In a bid to save himself, Das jumped into a roadside pond as locals raised an alarm. The attackers fled the scene, police said, adding that he was rescued by locals, taken to Shariatpur Sadar Hospital, and then referred to Dhaka due to the severity of his injuries.

Doctors in Dhaka said Das suffered multiple injuries across his body, including a serious wound to his abdomen, along with burn injuries on his face, head and hands.

Shariatpur Superintendent of Police Rawnak Jahan said the victim had named the accused before his death, news portal BDNews24 said on Sunday.

Das' was the fifth death of a person from Hindu community since December and radical groups in Bangladesh are visibly trying to intimidate the minority faiths, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council spokesman Kajol Debnath said after his death on Saturday.
A 30-year-old Dalit woman was stabbed to death on a road in Uttara Kannada, allegedly by a man known to her, the police said.

IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo

The accused, identified as Rafique Imamsab, was later found dead, hanging from a tree in a forest near Yellapur on Sunday, superintendent of police Deepan M N told PTI.

The incident triggered tension in the town, with several Hindu outfits calling for a bandh and terming the killing a case of 'love jihad'.

The woman has been identified as Ranjitha Bhanasode (30), a resident of Kalamma Nagar in Karwar, the police said.

Rafique, also a resident of the same locality, was the prime accused in the murder. Police said the two had known each other since their school days.

"Preliminary investigation suggests the accused was pressuring the woman to marry him. After she refused, he allegedly attacked her with a knife in a public place," a police officer said.

The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon when Ranjitha was returning home from her workplace.

The police said Ranjitha was married in Maharashtra about 12 years ago and has a 10-year-old son.

She had been living separately and was staying with her family in Yellapur, where she worked as a mid-day meal helper at a government school.

The accused reportedly frequented her house for meals, but tensions escalated when he began insisting on marriage, which Ranjitha and her family opposed.

Following the murder, angry residents and Hindutva activists staged a protest outside the Yellapur police station, alleging a delay in the arrest of the accused and warning of continued protests until action was taken.

Meanwhile, Rafique's body was found hanging from a tree in a nearby forest earlier in the day. The police said the circumstances of his death are being investigated.

Bharatiya Janata Party state president B Y Vijayendra, who attended Ranjitha's funeral, demanded Rs 50 lakh in compensation and two acres of land for the bereaved family.

He also announced an immediate assistance of Rs five lakh on behalf of the party.

Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik alleged the incident was a case of 'love jihad', claiming that single, widowed or separated women were being targeted.

In view of the situation, police have deployed additional forces and imposed tight security arrangements.

Condemning the incident, Vijayendra alleged that such crimes were recurring due to the inaction of the state government and the home department.

"Whenever such incidents occur, even before the police begin their investigation, the chief minister and the home minister give a clean chit by declaring that it is not a case of love jihad'," he alleged.

He demanded a thorough investigation and justice for the victim's family.

'Love jihad' is used by right-wing groups to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into relationships and marriage to convert them to Islam.
A new revelation has emerged in the gang rape of the 25-year-old woman, who was sexually assaulted by two men in a moving vehicle and later thrown onto the road earlier this week, that the accused committed the crime in a private hospital's ambulance and not a van.

Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo

A senior investigating officer on Sunday said that the accused used to work as a driver and helper on the ambulance of a private hospital.

The two accused, one from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh and the other from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, have since been arrested and sent to judicial custody.

Six days after the incident, the woman remains hospitalised.

A purported video of the victim, presumably recorded after the incident, has surfaced in which she explains that after giving her the lift, one of the accused had deposited Rs 600 into her account.

"I did not know them before. As soon as I sat in the car, one of them transferred Rs 600 to my PayTM account, and then they locked the car and snatched my mobile. There was dense fog at night. I cried out loud, but there was no help," she said in the video.

The authenticity of the video couldn't be verified.

Once the woman gets better, an identification parade of the accused will be held before a magistrate. They will then take on a production warrant from the jail for further questioning, the officer added.

According to the police details, the woman went to her friend's house in Sector 23, Faridabad, on Monday evening. While returning home, she took an auto-rickshaw to the NIT 2 Chowk and then walked to the Metro Chowk.

As she stood there around midnight to take an auto to get to her home, the two accused offered the woman a lift. However, instead of taking her to her destination, they allegedly drove towards Gurugram and raped her inside the moving vehicle.

She was driven around through the night and thrown out of the vehicle near Raja Chowk in Faridabad around 3 am on Tuesday. The survivor was later admitted to a private hospital.

Meanwhile, the Haryana state commission for women on Sunday has taken cognisance of the gang-rape, officials said.

The commission chairman, Renu Bhatia, asked the Faridabad police commissioner, Satender Kumar Gupta, about a detailed report on the incident and action taken till now by the police, they said.

"I have spoken to the victim's family, and we will provide all necessary assistance to her," Bhatia said.
'Tomorrow, many other powers may also take this as an example and try to launch similar actions'

'Trump has broken all the traditions, all the sanctities of sovereignty by indulging in such acts'

IMAGE: A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after US President Donald Trump said the US has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela on January 3, 2026. Photograph: Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters

The US strike on Venezuela, and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, is "unbelievable" and will set a "bad precedent", as other powers may try to undertake similar actions in future citing the American move, Indian experts on strategic affairs said on Saturday.

They also termed it a very dangerous and "aggressive step" taken by the Donald Trump administration.

The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country, US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social after the strike early Saturday.

The American action, which has hogged global headlines, followed a long period of tension between the US and the Maduro administration, which has been facing criticism from many of its own citizens in Venezuela over multiple allegations.

Former diplomat and strategic affairs expert Rajiv Dogra said, Quite frankly, this is unbelievable. I mean, it has still not sunk in, because, in a way, this is unprecedented in recent times.

It may have happened in previous centuries, when someone would invade countries, capture leaders of those countries or kill them, but in recent times, we've not heard of any country acting with such little regard for law, custom or reason, Dogra said.

Trump has broken all the traditions, all the sanctities of sovereignty by indulging in such acts, Dogra alleged.

The former diplomat argued that whether President Maduro was liked by the people of Venezuela is a different thing which is for Venezuelans to decide.

But for Trump to order his forces to lift Maduro from Venezuela stands to no reason at all, Dogra said.

The legal authority for the strike, and whether President Trump consulted the US Congress beforehand, was not immediately clear, various international media reported.

India's former ambassador to Venezuela, Deepak Bhojwani, in an interaction with PTI, said President Maduro "has been in the cross-hairs of the US administration", and the US has found it very difficult to "dislodge" him.

This is because Maduro controls the country's military and "assumed a kind of dictatorial position", he said.

Bhojwani, who was appointed India's envoy to the South American country in 2003, said there have been "very, very credible accusations against him (Maduro) that he has not followed democratic practices".

He also referred to the charges of "narco-terrorism" against Maduro levelled by the Trump administration.

Talking about the US action, former diplomat Dogra said, I don't think the strike was sanctified either by the US Senate or the US House of Representatives or the US law. It will set a very bad precedent because some other countries, which are similarly unruly, can follow suit.

Any country or power can easily say tomorrow that if the US can do it in Venezuela, why can't they do it with another country, or some other place, Dogra said.

So, it's a bad precedent that Trump has set, he added.

Dogra also said he felt disturbed that such an event took place in an age and time when the world was looking forward to more economic and technological progress.

But ever since Trump took charge in his second term last January, he has turned the world upside down, he said.

Brigadier Rahul K Bhonsle (retd), another strategic affairs expert, said, The Trump administration has taken a very dangerous and aggressive step. We have to see how it plays out.

The tension between the US administration and the Maduro administration was brewing for some time. It was there even during (Joe) Biden's rule. But the Trump administration has been particularly aggressive, Bhonsle said.

This is a very dangerous move by the Trump administration, and Maduro's is not a regime which is an active military opponent to the US, he said.

These are basically drug and terror challenges, which, the US say, are being posed by the Maduro regime that is also ideologically opposed to the US, Bhonsle said when asked about the possible rationale behind the strike.

But, taking strong-arm military action against such a regime can lead to a very dangerous situation. Tomorrow, many other powers may also take this as an example and try to launch similar actions, he cautioned.
YAOUNDE, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chadian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul spoke with his Venezuelan counterpart by telephone on Saturday, expressing "deep concerns" following the U.S. military action against Venezuela, according to a statement.

Fadoul voiced his deep concern over the situation and reiterated Chad's firm commitment to respect for international law, on which the existence of a just and peaceful world order depends, the statement said.

The United States launched a military strike on Venezuela on Saturday, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country.

"Chad recalls the importance of preserving peace, stability and the territorial integrity of Venezuela in a bid to avoid unnecessary suffering of the brotherly people of Venezuela," the statement said. 
India on Sunday voiced "deep concern" over the US capturing Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a military operation, and said it is closely monitoring the unfolding situation in the oil-rich South American country.

IMAGE: A combination picture shows satellite images of military buildings and equipment at Fort Tiuna before the US strikes, in Caracas, Venezuela, December 22, 2025, left, and a closer view of destroyed vehicles and equipment at Fort Tiuna after the U.S. strikes, in Caracas, Venezuela on January 3, 2026, right. Photograph: Vantor/via Reuters

In its first reaction to the unprecedented American action in Venezuela's capital, Caracas, early on Saturday, New Delhi also called for a peaceful resolution of the situation through dialogue to ensure stability in the region and reaffirmed its support for the well-being of the people of that country.

The United States brought Maduro and his wife, Lady Cilia Flores, to New York to face drug trafficking-related charges. Venezuela, denouncing the US action, has announced a state of national emergency.

"Recent developments in Venezuela are a matter of deep concern. We are closely monitoring the evolving situation," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

"India reaffirms its support to the well-being and safety of the people of Venezuela," it said.

New Delhi also called upon "all concerned to address issues peacefully through dialogue, ensuring peace and stability of the region".

The US carried out the military assault on Caracas after consistently accusing Maduro of being involved in drug trafficking.

The Venezuelan leader had stridently denied the charges.

In its brief statement, the MEA said the Indian embassy in Caracas has been in touch with members of the Indian community and will continue to provide all possible assistance to them.

On Saturday night, India advised its nationals to avoid all non-essential travel to Venezuela and urged all those who are in that country to exercise extreme caution.

"In view of recent developments in Venezuela, Indian nationals are strongly advised to avoid all non-essential travel to Venezuela," the MEA said.

"All Indians who are in Venezuela for any reason are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements, and remain in contact with the Embassy of India in Caracas," it said.

There are around 50 NRIs (non-resident Indians) and 30 PIOs (persons of Indian origin) in Venezuela, according to the embassy in Caracas.

After Maduro and his wife were flown out of Caracas, US President Donald Trump told a news conference that his country will run Venezuela until a transition of power can take place.

"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said.

The US president also said the "extremely successful" operation should serve as a warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.

Venezuela's Supreme Court has asked Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez to take charge of the country as the interim president.

Rodriguez visited New Delhi in February last year to participate in the India Energy Week.

India and Venezuela share a history of warm relations. A major thrust to the bilateral relationship was imparted by former president Hugo Chavez's State Visit to India in March 2005.

The energy sector is one of the key areas of cooperation between the two countries.

India's ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) has a joint venture with Corporacion Venezolana del Petroleo (CVP). The joint venture is known as " PetroleraIndovenezolana SA" for the production and exploration of oil in the San Cristobal field, in which the OVL has a 40-per cent stake.

The OVL's investment in the project is approximately USD 200 million, according to the Indian embassy.
The Congress on Sunday expressed "grave concern" over the US action in Venezuela and said settled principles of international law cannot be violated unilaterally.

IMAGE: Demonstrators shout slogans as they protest outside the US embassy in Madrid against the US strike on Venezuela, and capture of its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Madrid, Spain, January 4, 2026. Photograph: Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters

Congress general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The INC expresses very grave concern on US actions relating to Venezuela in the past 24 hours."

"Settled principles of international law cannot be violated unilaterally," Ramesh said in a post on X.

Senior Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Abhishek Manu Singhvi too have weighed in on the United States' action.

Tharoor said international law and the United Nations Charter had been ignored for some time, and now law of the Jungle prevails.

In a post on X, he wrote, "International law and the UN Charter have for some years now been honoured in the breach, @kapskom. The Law of the Jungle prevails today. 'Might is Right' is the new creed."

Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi called the action a return to imperial-style politics.

"Regime change by cruise missile, democracy delivered by warship, & sovereignty rewritten under self-styled Doctrine? Not leadership, this is 19th-cen imperialism in 21st-cen jargon. If international law matters only 2 weak, UN should shut shop. world deserves rules, not lunatic rulers," he said on X.

India has voiced "deep concern" over the US capturing Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a military operation, and said it is closely monitoring the unfolding situation in the oil-rich South American country.

In its first reaction to the unprecedented American action in Venezuela's capital, Caracas, early on Saturday, New Delhi also called for a peaceful resolution of the situation through dialogue to ensure stability in the region and reaffirmed its support for the well-being of the people of that country.

The United States brought Maduro and his wife, Lady Cilia Flores, to New York to face drug trafficking-related charges. Venezuela, denouncing the US action, has announced a state of national emergency.

President Donald Trump has said that the United States would run Venezuela until "we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition", and American companies will help tap the vast oil reserves.
After the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said that the "hour of freedom" had arrived for her nation.

IMAGE: Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado. Photograph: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters

In a post on X, Machado said in a statement, "Venezuelans, the hour of freedom has arrived. It's TIME FOR FREEDOM! Venezuelans, starting today, Nicolas Maduro faces international justice for the heinous crimes committed against Venezuelans and citizens of many other nations. Given his refusal to accept a negotiated solution, the United States government has fulfilled its promise to enforce the law."

"The time has come for popular sovereignty and national sovereignty to rule in our country. We are going to bring order, free political prisoners, build an exceptional country, and bring our children back home," she added.

Machado said that years of struggle for democracy in Venezuela have finally reached a turning point.

"We have fought for years, we have given our all, and it has been worth it. What had to happen is happening. This is the moment for the people. Those of us who risked everything for democracy on July 28. Those of us who elected Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the legitimate President of Venezuela, who must immediately assume his constitutional mandate and be recognised as Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Forces by all the officers and soldiers who comprise it," she said in a statement.

Machado urged citizens in Venezuela to prepare for upcoming instructions and called on Venezuelans abroad to mobilise international support, saying unity and vigilance were crucial in these "decisive hours".

"To Venezuelans within our country, be ready to implement what we will soon communicate to you through our official channels. We need Venezuelans abroad to mobilise, activating governments and citizens around the world and committing them now to the great task of building a new Venezuela. In these decisive hours, please accept all my strength, my confidence, and my affection. Let us all remain alert and in contact. VENEZUELA WILL BE FREE!" she further said.

The statement comes after Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement, leading to heightened tensions and uncertainty.

Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump expressed a lack of confidence in Maria Corina Machado and suggested he'd instead partner with Maduro loyalist Delcy Rodriguez.

In a press conference, Trump was asked whether Machado would have any part in the post-Maduro government. Trump answered that he had not been in contact with her, and that while Machado was a "very nice woman," she "doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country" to lead Venezuela.

He indicated he could instead work with Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, saying "she's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again."
The UK on Sunday called for a safe and peaceful transition of power in Venezuela after a US operation ordered by President Donald Trump on the South American nation resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

IMAGE: A screen grab shows Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in New York on January 3, 2026. Photograph: @RapidResponse47/X

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain has long opposed Maduro's actions and awaited full details of the strikes conducted by the US. He reiterated support for international law but refused to be drawn further on Trump's actions over a "fast-moving" situation.

"The UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela. We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime," said Starmer, in a statement issued by 10 Downing Street in London.

"I reiterated my support for international law this morning. The UK government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people," he said.

In an interview with the BBC on Saturday night, he said the British government was waiting to establish all the facts and speak to allies.

"I then need to speak to President Trump, I need to speak to our allies, but I don't shy away from this. I've been a lifelong advocate of international law and the importance of compliance with international law."

"But I want to ensure that I've got all the facts at my disposal, and we haven't got that at the moment. And we need to get that before we come to a decision about the consequences in relation to the actions that have been taken," he said, in response to a question about whether international law may have been broken by the US operation.

"Our embassy in Caracas is working to ensure all British nationals in Venezuela are supported," he added.

The UK foreign office has since advised against all travel to the South American nation and said any British nationals already living in the country should "shelter in place" or "be prepared to change your plans quickly if necessary".

The UK has consistently rejected Nicolas Maduro's legitimacy, and called for a peaceful transition of power in Venezuela.

"I have spoken to our Charge in Caracas, and travel advice has now been updated to advise against all travel to Venezuela," said UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

"As the Prime Minister has made clear, we support international law. Our collective focus must now be on achieving a transition without bloodshed to a democratic government in Venezuela that respects the rights and will of its people," she said.

During a media conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence, Trump said that the US was going to "run" Venezuela until "a safe, proper and judicious transition can take place".

Earlier on Saturday, he said Venezuela's Left-wing President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were flown out of the capital Caracas in a military operation in conjunction with US law enforcement.

India has expressed deep concern over the developments, and the ministry of external affairs has said the Indian Embassy in Caracas is in contact with members of the Indian community to provide all possible assistance.
Former United States Vice President Kamala Harris and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani slammed United States President Donald Trump over the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio watch the US military operation in Venezuela from Trump's Mar a Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, January 3, 2026. Photograph: Donald Trump on Truth Social

Mamdani has said he spoke with President Donald Trump directly to register his opposition to the capture of Maduro and his wife by the US military, as he termed the unilateral attack on a sovereign nation an act of war.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York and are being brought to the city to face the charges against them.

Responding to a question on the situation in Venezuela and Maduro's capture at a press conference, Mamdani said he called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act".

I registered my opposition. I made it clear and we left it at that, Mamdani said, giving no details of what Trump's response to him was.

The extraordinary international development has come just two days after Mamdani was sworn-in as New York City Mayor.

Mamdani was briefed Saturday morning by his administration officials, including his chief of staff and the police commissioner, on the US military capture of the Venezuelan president and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City.

Mamdani said the blatant pursuit of regime change impacts New Yorkers, including Venezuelans who live in the city.

Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law, the newly sworn-in mayor said in a statement.

This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn't just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home. My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance, Mamdani said.

Harris said the operation was driven by oil interests and not by concerns over drugs.

In a post on X, Harris said Trump's actions in Venezuela would not make the United States safer and warned that forced regime change could destabilise the region, putting American lives at risk.

"Donald Trump's actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable. That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. We've seen this movie before. Wars for regime change or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price," she wrote.

Harris said the American public did not support such military actions and accused Trump of misleading people.

"The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to. This is not about drugs or democracy. It is about oil and Donald Trump's desire to play the regional strongman. If he cared about either, he wouldn't pardon a convicted drug trafficker or sideline Venezuela's legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduro's cronies," she added.

Harris, who contested the recent presidential election against Trump, also warned that the operation could put US troops at risk and lacked any legal basis or exit plan.

"The President is putting troops at risk, spending billions, destabilising a region, and offering no legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home. America needs leadership whose priorities are lowering costs for working families, enforcing the rule of law, strengthening alliances, and, most importantly, putting the American people first," she wrote.

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a post on X that Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York.

Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the US.

They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts, Bondi said, as she thanked Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers.

Meanwhile, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said while Maduro is an illegitimate dictator who has inflicted immense suffering on the Venezuelan people, that reality does not give any president a blank check to use military force without Congress authorisation.

By acting without congressional authorisation and publicly asserting US control over another sovereign nation, President Trump is abusing presidential power and undermining the Constitution's separation of powers, Krishnamoorthi said.

He said the Trump Administration must immediately account for the safety of US personnel, disclose whether there were any casualties and fully and immediately brief Congress.

The president has now stated that the United States will run Venezuela, committing the country to open-ended responsibility. Neither the American people nor Congress approved that course. This use of force and claimed control erode the rule of law, embolden Moscow and Beijing to push boundaries elsewhere, weaken America's credibility, and ultimately make Americans less safe, Krishnamoorthi said.

With inputs from ANI
Three migrant workers from West Bengal's Paschim Bardhaman district were allegedly assaulted in Maharashtra after being suspected of being 'Bangladeshis' for speaking Bengali, prompting sharp political reactions in the state.

IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo

The workers, identified as Dilip Bagdi and Samir Barui, along with another colleague from Pandabeswar, claimed that the incident occurred while they were returning home from Maharashtra.

According to them, trouble began after some local people overheard them speaking Bengali among themselves, even though they had initially used Hindi while purchasing travel tickets.

They alleged they were confronted by locals who questioned their identity and insisted they were Bangladeshis despite repeated assertions that they were residents of West Bengal.

The workers claimed they were forcibly taken off their transport to another location where their Aadhaar cards were checked.

"Even after showing our Aadhaar cards, they refused to accept that we are Indians," Samir Barui said, recounting the incident.

The workers further alleged that they were brutally assaulted, with hot tea poured over their heads, and were kicked on the head and stomach.

They said the attack continued even after one of them pretended to fall ill to stop the violence.

The incident comes amid a series of complaints in recent months about alleged harassment and attacks on Bengali-speaking migrant workers in other states, particularly in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled regions such as Odisha and Rajasthan.

Pandabeswar MLA Narendranath Chakraborty met the affected workers on Sunday after their return and condemned the incident, blaming the central government for what he described as a hostile atmosphere against Bengali-speaking people.

"This is a display of extreme cruelty towards Bengalis. While West Bengal welcomes people from all parts of the country, Bengalis are being targeted elsewhere. The people will not forgive this," Chakraborty said.

Reacting to the incident, local BJP leader Dilip Chakraborty blamed the state government, alleging that lack of employment opportunities in West Bengal was forcing workers to migrate to states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.

The BJP also suggested there could be a political motive behind the narration of the incident, pointing to what it described as inconsistencies in the workers' statements.
A monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 for domestic helps and women from the fishing community who sell fish, 100 units of free power, and property tax waiver for houses up to 700 sq feet are key promises for Mumbai voters made in a joint Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS manifesto.

IMAGE: Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray during the release of manifesto for BMC elections, at Shiv Sena Bhavan in Mumbai. Photograph: ANI Photo

The "Vachan Nama, Shabd Thackerencha" for Mumbai civic polls was released on Sunday at a joint presser of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS president Raj Thackeray.

The MNS chief visited the Shiv Sena Bhawan after nearly two decades following the political reunion between the two cousins.

The cover of the manifesto features cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, along with Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

Although the Sena-UBT-MNS alliance includes the NCP-SP, no senior leader from the Sharad Pawar-led party was on the dais when the manifesto was released.

Leaders from the BJP-led Mahayuti criticised the Thackerays, terming the poll document an apachan nama, farce and a document with imprint of Bombay Scottish, an apparent reference to Aaditya Thackeray and Raj's son Amit Thackeray, both alumni of the elite Mumbai school.

The Shiv Sena, led by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, said the document is a copy-paste version of the poll promises made in 2017.

The manifesto has targeted women voters, promising "Swabhiman Nidhi" of Rs 1,500 per month for house helps and women from the Koli community, on the lines of the Mahayuti government's Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana, which provides a similar amount to eligible women between 21 and 65 years.

The parties have also promised good restrooms for women on major roads in Mumbai.

The manifesto mentions a meal scheme, similar to the Shiv Bhojan Thali, under which breakfast and lunch would be provided for Rs 10.

Mumbai's land will only be used to house Mumbaikars, the manifesto states, promising affordable housing for employees of the BMC, government, BEST and mill workers.

The BMC will have its own housing authority, and one lakh affordable houses will be built in the next five years, it stated.

The parties have also promised 100 units of free power for residential use through the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking, and efforts will be taken to extend this to the eastern and western suburbs.

The BEST is currently cash-strapped. There was no clarity whether the free units will be given to residents in the island city where the undertaking provides its electricity services or to the entire city.

The manifesto has also announced financial assistance ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh for youth for self-employment, along with an interest-free loan of Rs 25,000 for gig workers.

The alliance has promised to waive property tax on houses of up to 700 sq ft and stated that rules will also be changed to ensure every flat gets one parking slot in redeveloped buildings.

The alliance has also promised to bring down the minimum bus fare to Rs 5 from the current Rs 10 and introduce new buses and routes.

The manifesto stated that to boost the health infrastructure, five new medical colleges will be established in civic-run hospitals, and any move to privatise these facilities will be thwarted.

A super-speciality cancer hospital will be established in the city, and a rapid bike medical assistance will also be launched, it said.

In the education sector, 'Mumbai Public Schools' run by the BMC will have classes from junior kindergarten to Class 12, and creches will be established in every assembly segment to provide care for children of working parents, the manifesto said.

The alliance has also listed pet parks, clinics, ambulances, and crematoriums as some of the initiatives for the city.

In a veiled jibe at the Thackeray cousins over the manifesto, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said they could have done it a day earlier, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Rajmata Jijabai, mother of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

"But in recent times, our old friends have started sitting with those allergic to Vande Mataram, so I am not aware what else they are allergic to,

Fadnavis said, without naming Raj or Uddhav.

State minister and BJP leader Ashish Shelar accused the Thackeray cousins of making lofty promises, and said voters won't be able to digest those.

Listening to such assurances causes indigestion among people. Hence, this is not a vachan nama' (promise document) but an apachan nama' (indigestion note), he said.

The BJP would soon place before the public a detailed account of alleged corruption when the undivided Shiv Sena controlled the BMC, he said. He appealed to voters not to fall for what he termed misleading promises, but to stand firmly with the BJP.

State Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule called the manifesto document a farce and a collection of hollow promises.

People of Maharashtra have seen Uddhav Thackeray as chief minister and also his party's rule in Mumbai (BMC) for the last 25 years. Despite being CM, he attended the assembly only twice, Bawankule claimed.

Thackeray brothers are trying to raise emotive issues, but the public won't be misled, he said.

Rahul Shewale of the rival Shiv Sena, a partner in the ruling Mahayuti alliance, said the poll promise document bears the stamp of Bombay Scottish.

Addressing a news conference, Shewale said the poll document excludes words like Hindu, Hindutva, and Hinduhriday Samrat as Thackerays want to appease a particular community.

The manifesto, which claims to focus on 'Marathi manoos', has 40 per cent English words. Using language other than Marathi is suppression of Marathi, he claimed.
The US government, under President Trump, justifies the intervention as a security necessity rather than a resource grab. The primary official reasons include: narco-terrorism charges, national security and migration crisis.

IMAGE: Venezuelans living in Chile gather to celebrate, after the United States struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, in Concepcion, Chile on January 3, 2026. Photograph: Juan Gonzalez/Reuters

2026 began with whispers of United States hegemony in Latin America. The years of confrontation over power, oil, elections and alleged criminal activity, tensions climaxed into US military action in Venezuela on January 3, 2026, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

The US military launched a targeted operation, codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, in Venezuela. This marks a significant escalation from years of economic sanctions to direct military intervention.

The Trump administration claimed Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and had rigged the 2024 election. The US had previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and offered a $50 million bounty for Maduro's arrest.

But why did Trump announce the attack on Venezuela and captured its President? Is it just about politics, or is there a bigger game involving oil, sanctions, and global power plays?

The US strike on Venezuela has highlighted the country's massive oil reserves, which total over 303 billion barrels, making them the world's largest proven reserves. However, production has dwindled to 1 million barrels per day due to US sanctions and underinvestment.

Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves (estimated at over 300 billion barrels), which represent roughly 17% of the total global oil supply, OPEC data show.

Venezuela's reserves top those of second-ranked Saudi Arabia at 267 billion barrels and are more than six times the U.S.'s reserves. Most of Venezuela's untapped oil is located in the Orinoco Belt, a roughly 21,000-square-mile area that stretches across the country's northeastern region, according to CBS News.

This vast resource is the central theme of the conflict, though the stated reasons and underlying motivations differ depending on who you ask.

"President Trump does not have the constitutional authority to attack another country. When 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, he should focus on the crises at home, end his illegal military adventurism and stop trying to 'run' Venezuela for Big Oil," posted US Senator Bernie Sanders on X.

Trump announced the US would "run" Venezuela temporarily, exploiting its oil reserves, and warned other countries in the region to toe the US line.

The US government, under President Trump, justifies the intervention as a security necessity rather than a resource grab. The primary official reasons include: narco-terrorism charges, national security and migration crisis.

The US indicted Nicolas Maduro and other high-ranking officials for allegedly leading a "narco-terrorist" conspiracy to flood the US with cocaine. Washington also claims the Maduro government has become a "criminal enterprise" that destabilizes the Western Hemisphere by harbouring terrorist groups and facilitating human trafficking.

Moreover, the US administration cites the mass exodus of millions of Venezuelans as a "border security" issue for the United States.

Despite the official focus on crime and security, the US has been open about the strategic importance of Venezuela's oil.

The story begins with a long history of strained relations. Venezuela, under leaders like Hugo Chavez and now Nicolas Maduro, has adopted a socialist, nationalist stance, especially after nationalising oil assets and opposing US influence.

Chavez's government (1999-2013) championed socialist policies and took control of natural resources, making Venezuela a symbol of anti-imperialist resistance.

But the real tension has escalated over the last 26 years, especially as Venezuela's political landscape has grown turbulent. Maduro's presidency, which started in 2013 after Chavez's death, has faced opposition from within Venezuela and from the US, which accuses Maduro of authoritarianism and corruption.

The opposition has also received backing from Western countries, especially the US, creating a fierce political rivalry.

Since 2005, successive US presidents have imposed a range of sanctions on Venezuela, including its oil sector, for what American officials have said is the country's failure to crack down on drug trafficking and terrorism, along with alleged human rights abuses, reported CBS News.

Under former President Joe Biden, the US also froze the assets of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), in 2019. It barred Americans from doing business with the enterprise.

Most recently, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on four companies and associated oil tankers that it said have ties to Venezuela's oil sector.

The US strike on Venezuela is unlikely to significantly impact global oil prices due to Venezuela's limited crude production, currently around 1 million barrels per day, which is roughly 1% of global supply. Oil prices fell modestly on Saturday, with West Texas Crude dropping to $57.32 a barrel, down from nearly $80 in January.

The US has also increased its Strategic Petroleum Reserve and domestic oil production, providing a cushion against volatility in global oil markets.

The situation's outcome will depend on Venezuela's political developments and the US's next steps. If the US allows American companies to invest in Venezuela's oil industry, it could potentially increase production and impact global oil markets in the long term.

In recent public statements, Trump has explicitly mentioned that Venezuela "took away our oil rights" years ago when foreign assets were nationalised, expressing a goal to restore U.S. corporate control over these reserves.

As US domestic shale production peaks, securing the Orinoco Oil Belt (the world's largest accumulation of heavy crude) provides long-term energy dominance.

The attack is also seen as a move to re-establish US hegemony in Latin America.

Under Maduro, Venezuela formed deep military and economic ties with Russia, China, and Iran. The U.S. views these alliances as a direct threat in its "backyard."

The goal of the capture was to remove Maduro and install a transitional government that is more aligned with U.S. interests and willing to reopen the economy to Western investment.

Venezuela's vast oil reserves, estimated at around 303 billion barrel, make it a treasure trove for global energy politics. Historically, Venezuela was a major oil exporter, with foreign companies like Chevron and ExxonMobil playing significant roles until the government took over assets in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

US companies like Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Exxon Mobil may re-enter the market if Venezuela offers favourable terms.

The operation was part of Trump's National Security Strategy, aimed at reasserting US influence in the Western Hemisphere and countering the Chinese and Russian presence in the region.

Russia and China are also key players in this geopolitical chess game. Russia, for example, has warned the US about any military escalation, emphasising that Venezuela's sovereignty must be respected. Meanwhile, China's economic influence in South America continues to grow, and Venezuela's close ties with these powers complicate US efforts to isolate Maduro.

The international community reacted with mixed reactions, with some countries condemning the US action as a violation of sovereignty and international law, while others supported it. The situation in Venezuela remains uncertain, with Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, claiming the presidency and vowing to resist US control.
KABUL, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and two others injured in a head-on collision between a passenger vehicle and a truck in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province early Sunday, a local police official said.

The accident occurred in Kandahar city, the provincial capital. Five passengers, including a woman and a child, lost their lives instantly, while two others sustained injuries, according to Abdul Bari, the provincial official responsible for traffic incidents.

The official attributed the crash to reckless driving and non-compliance with traffic rules. The injured were shifted to the nearby health center for treatment. 
More than a month after a pair of attacks killed five Chinese nationals working at a gold mine near Tajikistan's remote border with Afghanistan, questions remain over what led to the high-profile incidents that could reshape both countries' relations with China.

Authorities in Afghanistan and Tajikistan moved quickly to say that the security situation along their volatile border was under control following the events. Those include a November 26 attack launched from Afghanistan that left three Chinese nationals dead where assailants used a drone equipped with firearms and grenades and a November 30 incident where two Chinese roadworkers were shot dead. Five other Chinese workers were wounded in the attacks.

Relations with China are crucial for both countries. Amid biting sanctions and international isolation, the Taliban has chased Chinese investment since it retook power in 2021, while China is Tajikistan's largest trade partner, foreign investor, and lender, with Beijing owning more than half of Dushanbe's foreign debt.

Following the attacks, China's ambassadors in Dushanbe and Kabul pressed Tajik and Taliban authorities to ensure safety and prevent a disruption in their bilateral ties. Mounting instability along the shared border could jeopardize relations with Beijing and make Chinese firms less willing to operate and invest in both countries, something that some experts believe could be a motive behind the attacks.

"These incidents will raise concerns in China around the Taliban and Tajikistan's ability to maintain control in the country and ensure the safety of foreign investors," Edward Lemon, a Central Asia expert at Texas A&M University, told RFE/RL. "China is concerned about the security of its citizens. While there are rewards from mining in this unstable area, the risks are also high."

No group has yet claimed responsibility for either assault and the motives are unclear, but following the initial attack in Tajikistan's southwestern Shamsiddin Shohin district, Tajik authorities blamed drug smugglers and criminal groups. The Taliban has since claimed publicly that two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attacks.

"So far, it's not clear which country they're from. Information is still incomplete," a senior Taliban official told Radio Azadi, RFE/RL's Afghan Service, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. "We believe certain groups that want to harm Afghanistan's relations with other countries could be behind such incidents."

Chinese Gold Mining And Tensions Along The Afghan-Tajik Border

The growth of Chinese mining along the Panj River, which marks the border for both countries, adds to an already volatile mix in the region.

The area that stretches along both banks of the river in Afghanistan and Tajikistan is a well-known drug smuggling route where Tajik security forces have repeatedly conducted operations in recent years, but have not been able to fully control the area or enforce the border due to a lack of roads and difficult geography.

Clashes along the volatile border are also not uncommon, with Taliban fighters and Tajik border guards sometimes exchanging gunfire amid lingering tensions between Dushanbe and the Taliban since the group took Kabul in 2021.

Two separate Tajik border officials in Khatlon Province, which contains the district where the attacks on Chinese workers took place, told RFE/RL's Tajik Service that at least three border incidents this year stemmed from disputes over water from the Panj River being redirected due to gold mining on both sides of the border.

The officials said that a week before the first attacks on Chinese workers, there had been a verbal dispute between employees of gold companies on both sides of the river.

"The [Afghan side] wanted to divert the flow of the Panj River to their direction, as the land where they mine gold was flooded, but the Tajik side said they could not do this, as their own gold mining land on the bank would be flooded," one of the officials said, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid reprisals for speaking to the media.

Shohin SM, the mining company where the slain Chinese workers were employed, is a joint Tajik-Chinese firm that was founded in 2020 and has been active on the banks of the Panj River since 2023.

Whether the mining operations are part of the motivations behind the attack are unclear, but a Chinese national was also killed and five others were injured in the same area in November 2024.

What Triggered The Attacks?

Amid this uncertainty, attention has turned to how the Taliban and Dushanbe intend to prevent similar attacks.

In the aftermath of the attacks, the foreign ministers of Tajikistan and the Taliban government spoke over the phone in a sign of their diplomatic thaw. A few days earlier, the Chinese embassies in Dushanbe and Kabul urged its citizens to leave border regions immediately.

In their readout from the December 2 call, both ministers condemned the killing of Chinese nationals and promised to boost border security.

Zabihullah Amiri, a spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Badakhshan, the Afghan province that borders the area of the attacks, told Radio Azadi -- without explicitly referring to the recent incidents -- that plans were being drawn up to establish a large military unit specifically for mining areas.

"There is some disorder around the mines. Armed groups operating outside the government interfere heavily in mining operations, which can spark disputes," Amiri said. "The government has therefore decided to create an organized force, possibly absorbing those already guarding the mines and recruiting unemployed youth."

He added that the new units would help prevent clashes along the border, where "irresponsible armed groups" could cause instability.

Both drug trafficking and extremist groups operate in the shared border regions.

Who Could Have Carried Out The Attacks On Chinese Workers?

Speaking at a December 10 UN Security Council meeting, Fu Cong, China's UN ambassador, called on the Taliban to investigate killings of Chinese nationals near the Tajik-Afghan border and strengthen border security with Tajikistan.

Fu took specific aim at militant and terrorist groups like Islamic State (IS), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a Uyghur militant group whose size and scope is debated by experts .

Lucas Webber, a senior analyst at Tech Against Terrorism, a research group monitoring terrorist activity, told RFE/RL that the culprits of the attack are still unknown, but it's unclear whether the narrative of traffickers mentioned by the authorities adds up.

"Smugglers have ample motive to resent Tajik border forces and may possess or access small drones, yet their business model depends on stealth and low visibility, not high-profile attacks that trigger security crackdowns and international scrutiny," he said.

"If revenge on Tajik forces were the core aim, border posts or patrols would be more logical targets than foreign workers at a fixed camp," Webber added.

Webber says that the cross-border attacks on Chinese in Tajikistan highlight how "crowded and murky the militant and criminal ecosystem in northern Afghanistan has become."

According to the United Nations Security Council's 2024 Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team report , several jihadist groups remain active in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan including Islamic State  Khorasan Province (IS-K), AlQaeda, the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) and Jamaat Ansarullah.

Webber believes that IS-K is an unlikely perpetrator because the group generally claims its attacks, but has been silent in the case of the incidents targeting Chinese workers despite these assaults being "ideal material for its media" and serving "its propaganda goals."

He also considers the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) an unlikely actor. TIP is an extremist group Beijing blames for unrest in Xinjiang and still refers to as ETIM, which is the name of an older militant group that many experts believe may no longer be operational and whose impact has been exaggerated by China for political purposes.

TIP members are in Afghanistan, but Webber says the group is "formally under Taliban pressure," since the Taliban have promised China and neighboring states that they will not allow TIP to launch external attacks.

Jamaat Ansarullah, a Tajik jihadist group based in Afghanistan, "fits both the geography and political logic of the attacks unusually well", Webber said.

"Striking Chinese workers in Tajikistan could simultaneously embarrass the Tajik government, complicate the Taliban-Tajik rapprochement, and shake Chinese confidence in both partners, all without the group needing to openly claim responsibility," he added.

Another plausible possibility, Webber says, is that local Taliban units, or mixed groups of Taliban and foreign fighters, carried out the attacks without approval from Taliban leadership.

Webber says that the lack of a clear claim of responsibility complicates how regional authorities can deal with the situation.

"Strategically, this ambiguity complicates the response for Tajikistan, China, and the Taliban authorities," he said.

"Any premature accusation risks political fallout or misdirected countermeasures, while waiting for more evidence or a clear claim of responsibility prolongs uncertainty and leaves Chinese nationals exposed to further attacks."
KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted that if a diplomatic end to the war cannot be struck during the current peace talks, his country would continue to defend itself against Russia's full-scale invasion.

"If Russia blocks all of this -- and as I said, it depends on our partners -- if our partners do not compel Russia to stop the war, there will be another path: to defend ourselves," he said on January 3 ahead of another busy week of diplomacy.

The comments echo those the Ukrainian leader expressed in his New Year's Eve address, when he stressed that a peace agreement with Russia can't come "at any cost."

"What does Ukraine want? Peace? Yes. At any cost? No. We want an end to the war but not the end of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in the televised address.

US President Donald Trump in November 2025 pressed Zelenskyy to accept a 28-point peace proposal that many saw as heavily favoring Russia.

Ukraine and its European allies -- led by Britain, France, and Germany -- scrambled to develop a counterproposal, eventually putting forward a 20-point plan that took in more of Kyiv's interests, especially on security guarantees and territorial integrity.

Security Guarantees, Economic Recovery

Zelenskyy spoke as security advisers from 15 allies met in the Ukrainian capital, discussing fine points of the developing peace plan, including potential security guarantees for Ukraine.

Few details emerged from the session, but Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said participants "discussed security guarantees, points of the peace plan, economic recovery, and military-political issues."

Umerov asserted that "most of the positions -- 90 percent of the peace plan -- have already been agreed, work continues on the details."

Zelenskyy, in his December 31 speech, also said a deal was "90 percent complete," but he warned that the remaining 10 percent would be difficult to finalize.

Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, joined the meeting through a video link, while representatives from NATO and the European Union participated in person.

The meeting will be followed by at least two other important gatherings in the upcoming week.

On January 5, Ukraine will host a meeting of the chiefs of general staffs of European countries and others "designed to ensure additional coordination of actions with allies in the security dimension," Umerov said.

Macron Vows 'Concrete' Commitments

The following day in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron will host a gathering of European leaders. Macron said in his New Year's Eve speech that European states and other allies will make "concrete" commitments to Ukraine's security during the talks.

Zelenskyy expressed hopes for a summit of global leaders in the United States by the end of January to discuss peace proposals.

"We will be preparing for a meeting in the United States at the leadership level. We would like all of this to happen in January, by the end of January," Zelenskyy said.

Russia is not participating directly in Ukraine's talks with the United States or Europeans as Kyiv seeks solid guarantees that would accompany any potential peace deal.

"We are moving along three key tracks: security guarantees, reconstruction, and a basic framework for real peace," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

"We are preparing meetings in Europe that will take place next week. We are also preparing for meetings in the United States," he added.

Trump 'Not Thrilled' With Russian Leader

Meanwhile, Trump on January 3 expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the continued war in Ukraine.

"I'm not thrilled with Putin. He's killing too many people," Trump told reporters at his resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump has often praised Putin and said he believes the Russian leader is interested in a peace deal.

Trump's comment came a day after a deadly Russian strike on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv. Local officials reported that six people had been killed in the attack, including a three-year-old boy.

Many observers say Zelenskyy is under heightened pressure on the backdrop of Russian gains on the battlefield, particularly in eastern Ukraine.

While those advancements have been limited and hard-fought since the first year of the full-scale war in Ukraine, a January 2 analysis from the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, found that Moscow's battlefield gains in 2025 were the highest since 2022.

Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskiy said those gains resulted in almost 420,000 dead and wounded Russians in 2025, according to Ukrainian estimates. Both sides generally do not report casualty figures.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters
With deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a US jail, President Donald Trump warned the South American country's authoritarian rulers they will "pay a very big price if they don't cooperate with Washington, even amid global concerns over the US military strike.

Trump, in an interview published on January 4 in The Atlantic, warned then Vice President Delcy Rodriguez that if she doesnt do whats right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.

The leftist Rodriguez, who was Maduros vice president before being named acting president on January 4 and officially sworn in a day later, called the US action a violation of the UN Charter and vowed that we will never be slaves again.

Maduro on January 4 was sitting in a US jail after being transported to New York following his capture by American forces in the strike that was condemned by Iran, Russia, and other allies of the South American country but hailed by Venezuelans living in exile.

A video posted by Fox News on social media showed Maduro, 63, being escorted by federal agents and telling reporters, "Good night, Happy New Year."

He and his wife -- who was also captured in the raid -- later appeared in court on January 5 to face drug charges and entered a not guilty plea.

In a news conference on January 4, Trump hailed the military operation in Venezuela but did not provide details of the action. A top US general said 150 US aircraft were involved in the strike following months of preparations.

Casualty figures were not revealed. Trump said some US personnel were injured but doing well. Meanwhile, Cuba said that 32 members of its security forces were killed in Venezuela during the US attack.

US To 'Run' Venezuela

Trump caused a stir when he said the United States will temporarily "run" the South American country "until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition."

It wasn't immediately clear what Trump meant by having the United States "run" the country. He told reporters he was "designating people" from his cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela, without providing details.

US administration officials -- including Secretary of State Marco Rubio -- did not offer clarifications when pressed during January 4 TV news programs about Trump's plan.

Rodriguez Appears Conciliatory

Rodriguez assumed the role of acting president of the left-wing government following a swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Caracas.

Trump initially expressed support for Rodriguez, saying "she's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again."

Rodriguez -- who is supported by the Venezuelan military -- first appeared defiant, calling Maduro the "only president" of the country and labeling the US strike a "terrible stain" on relations.

After Trump signaled he was ready to conduct a second wave of military actions in Venezuela if necessary, Rodriguez was more conciliatory, writing on social media early on January 5 that Caracas sought a "balanced and respectful" relationship with Washington

"We extend an invitation to the US government to work together on an agenda for cooperation that is aimed toward shared development," she wrote.

The US strikes in Venezuela and Maduro's capture were strongly condemned by some of Caracas's allies, as well as by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said the US military action sets a "dangerous precedent."

News agencies cited sources as saying the UN Security Council will meet at 10 a.m. on January 5 to discuss the US operation. Colombia, backed by Russia and China, requested the session, diplomats said.

Russia, Iran, Others Condemn Action

Moscow, which maintains close ties with Venezuela, said it was extremely concerned by reports that Maduro and his wife had been forcibly removed from the country and urged the United States to release them.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who has a history of exchanging threats with Trump, wrote on X that the US strikes on Venezuela had nothing to do with efforts to combat drug trafficking, adding that he doubted whether Washington could "run Venezuela remotely."

Some Kremlin critics consider Medvedev -- currently deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council -- an irresponsible extremist, while others say his statements reflect the thinking of many senior Russian policymakers.

Iran, another key ally of Venezuela, condemned the US attack, according to Iranian state outlet Press TV, saying the action violated Venezuela's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the UN charter.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who recently called Maduro "a great friend of Serbia," on January 3 said it was "clear" the international legal order and the UN Charter "do not function."

"The world is dominated by the law of force, the law of the stronger, and that is the only principle of modern politics that exists in the world today," Vucic told a national-security council meeting in Belgrade.

Meanwhile, celebrations by Venezuelans living abroad marking Maduro's capture were held across Latin America cities, Spain, and elsewhere.

"We are free. We are all happy that the dictatorship has fallen and that we have a free country," Reuters quoted Khaty Yanez, a Venezuelan woman in Santiago who has spent seven years in Chile.

In Peru's capital, Lima, migrant Milagros Ortega, whose parents are still in Venezuela, said she hoped to go back. "Knowing that my dad was alive to see the fall of Nicolas Maduro is very emotional. I would like to see his face," she said.

Some Western Allies Cautious

Many of Washington's allies, while expressing no liking for Maduro or his regime, did caution over the need to follow international law.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that "we regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime," adding, "I reiterated my support for international law this morning."

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Maduro had "led his country to ruin," but he called the US action legally "complex."

However, right-wing populist Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni -- an ally of Trump's -- called the US action "legitimate" and "defensive."

Others, such as Ukraine, North Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo, said following the strikes that they stand firmly with Washington and its most direct intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama.

"I welcome [Trump's] announcement that Nicolas Maduro has been arrested and will face justice. We stand with the United States and the Venezuelan people for freedom and democracy," North Macedonia Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski said on social media.

European Union countries, excluding Hungary, called on all sides in Venezuela to show restraint, saying respect for the will of the Venezuelan people was key to restoring democracy.

"The European Union calls for calm and restraint by all actors, to avoid escalation and to ensure a peaceful solution to the crisis," the joint statement by the 26 countries said.

The US military action came after months of rising economic and military pressure from Washington on the South American country, including intercepting Venezuelan oil tankers and killing dozens in strikes on boats near its waters that were allegedly carrying drugs.

Washington also contested Maduro's legitimacy as president since he was the hand-picked successor to Hugo Chavez in 2013, pointing to successive elections the opposition and others said were rigged in his favor.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP
A 46-year-old Ukrainian man appeared before a special sitting of Roscommon District Court this morning, Sunday, charged in connection with a serious assault in Ballaghaderreen in the early hours of New Years Day.

Gardai confirmed earlier this morning that another man, aged in his 30s, who was involved in the alleged altercation on Barrack Street, had since passed away from critical injuries at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.

The Ukrainian national, who has a County Roscommon address, was charged under Section 4 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Persons Act 1997, assault causing serious harm.

This morning, Roscommon court was informed that the State was awaiting further directions from the DPP and that more charges could follow given that another man had passed away.

Garda Brendan McGrath told the court he arrested the Ukrainian man at Castlerea Garda Station on January 3rd and charged him at 9.51 p.m..

Giving evidence of arrest, charge and caution, Garda McGrath said that in reply to the charge, the defendant said: It definitely was not intentionallyit wasnt recklessI was defending myself."

The Garda said there would be an objection to bail given the seriousness of the charges and that the man would pose a significant flight risk.

The court was told that the defendant was in the country for approximately 20 months and added there were a number of independent witnesses who had yet to make statements.

Refusing a bail application request by Ms Miller on the grounds outlined by Garda McGrath, Judge James Faughnan remanded the defendant in custody to appear before Ballaghaderreen District Court on Friday, January 9th.
PYONGYANG, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), visited a major munitions factory on Saturday to learn about its production of tactical guided weapons, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Sunday.

Kim praised the multi-purpose precision-guided weapons produced by the factory, said the report.

"The potential military and technological power of our tactical guided weapon system has military effective value great enough to replace even the multiple launch rocket system in the future," he was quoted by KCNA as saying.

The DPRK leader stressed the country's major units will be equipped with this weapon system in an organized way from the first half of this year, and "need to expand the current production capacity by about 2.5 times," said the report. 
Kenneth Fox

Two people have been arrested over the seizure of drugs worth over 310,000 in Co Limerick and Co Cork.

Cannabis, cocaine, Xanax tablets, and amphetamines have been seized during the search of a home in Bruree in Co Limerick.

A follow-up search of a home in Charleville in Co Cork has led to the recovery of cocaine, cannabis, weighing scales, and drugs paraphernalia.

A woman in her 30s and a man in his 40s are being questioned at a garda station in the Co Limerick area.
Breaking: Seven arrested from Maharashtra in Rs 8.1 crore scam linked to retired IG Amar Singh Chahal

So far, 25 bank accounts have been frozen and approximately rupees 3.5 crore has been secured.

Punjab News: In the rupees 8.1 crore cyber fraud case linked to retired IG Amar Singh Chahal, seven accused have been arrested from Maharashtra. All the arrested accused are residents of Maharashtra and will be brought to Patiala soon.

It has been confirmed that the fraud network was being operated from Dubai. The fraudsters used around 600 SIM cards and more than 500 bank accounts to carry out the scam.

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So far, 25 bank accounts have been frozen and approximately rupees 3.5 crore has been secured. The accused carried out the fraud through a fake WhatsApp group named F777 DBS Wealth Equity Research Group.

Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act have been invoked in the case. The victim is retired IG Amar Singh Chahal, who is currently undergoing treatment.

(For more news apart from Action was both unlawful and unwise: Kamala Harris slams Trump for attack on Venezuela," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Jhajjar district: Firing Outside Private School Gate, Police Launch Probe

According to police sources, the school principal, Rakesh Koch, had earlier received extortion threats.

Unidentified assailants opened fire outside the gate of a private school in Bahadurgarh, Jhajjar district, late at night, causing panic in the area. The incident reportedly took place around 11 pm near Sarai Mod.

Police reached the spot soon after receiving information and found bullet marks on the school gate. An FSL team was called to collect evidence, and multiple teams have been formed to trace and arrest the accused. A case has been registered and CCTV footage from the area is being examined.

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According to sources, the school principal, Rakesh Koch, had earlier received extortion threats. It is alleged that the firing was carried out after he refused to pay the demanded amount. Further investigation is underway.

(For more news apart from Bahadurgarh: Firing Outside Private School Gate, Police Launch Probe," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Action was both unlawful and unwise: Kamala Harris slams Trump for attack on Venezuela

The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to, she further added.

US attacks Venezuela: Kamala Harris, who served as the 49th Vice President of the United States during the presidency of former US President Joe Biden, has lashed out at US President Donald Trump for the attack on Venezuela early Saturday, calling it unlawful and unwise.

Kamala Harris, in a post on X, said, Donald Trumps actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable.

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That Maduro (Venezuelan President) is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. Weve seen this movie before. Wars for regime change or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price, she added.

The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to, she further added.

Kamal stated that Trumps action against the Venezuelan president was not about drugs or democracy in the country, but rather about oil and Donald Trumps desire to play the role of a regional strongman.

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If he cared about either, he wouldnt pardon a convicted drug trafficker or sideline Venezuelas legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduros cronies, she added.

She slammed Trump, stating that he is putting troops at risk, spending billions, destabilizing a region, and offering no legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home.

Also Read: Zohran Mamdani Calls US Action Against Venezuela an Act of War and Violation of Laws

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America needs leadership whose priorities are lowering costs for working families, enforcing the rule of law, strengthening alliances, and  most importantly  putting the American people first, Kamala Harris further wrote in the post.

The US carried out attacks on Venezuela early Saturday, captured its president and first lady, and flew them out of the country. The action was condemned by Russia, which also called for dialogue while offering mediation.

(For more news apart from Action was both unlawful and unwise: Kamala Harris slams Trump for attack on Venezuela," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
US Attack Venezuela: China Expresses Grave Concern, Calls for Release of President, Wife; Urges US to Stop Toppling Govt

US President Donald Trump said during a press conference on Saturday night that the US would temporarily run the country...

US Attack Venezuela Latest Updates: China has expressed grave concern over the US forcibly seizing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and taking them out of the country.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China said, The U.S.s move is in clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

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China called on the US to ensure the personal safety of President Maduro and his wife. It also called for their immediate release and urged Washington to stop toppling the government of Venezuela, and to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation.

In a separate statement issued yesterday, the ministry said that China was shocked deeply by and strongly condemned the USs blatant  use of force against a sovereign state and actions against its president.

Calling the action hegemonic, it stated that such acts of the US seriously violate international law and Venezuelas sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region.

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China firmly opposes it, the statement said, adding,  We call on the U.S. to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries sovereignty and security.

Apart from China, Russia has also called the US action against Venezuela an act of armed aggression and said that the pretexts used to justify these actions are untenable. It affirmed its solidarity with the Venezuelan people.

Russia urged the US to reconsider their position and release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse.

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We highlight the need to create conditions for resolving any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela through dialogue, it added.

Earlier, urging dialogue, Russia had offered mediation between the parties.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said during a press conference on Saturday night that the US would temporarily run the country and sell its oil.

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Earlier today, India also called the developments a matter of deep concern.

(For more news apart from US Attack Venezuela: China Expresses Grave Concern, Calls for Release of President, Wife; Urges US to Stop Toppling Govt," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Zohran Mamdani Calls US Action Against Venezuela an Act of War and Violation of Laws

My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation..."

US Action Against Venezuela Update: New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, criticising the Donald Trump-led US action against Venezuela, called the attack a blatant, act of war and violation of federal and international laws.

In a post on X, Mamdani wrote, I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City.

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Sharply criticising the attack, he wrote, Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law. This blatant pursuit of regime change doesnt just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home.

My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance, the post added.

Donald Trumps actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable.



That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. Weve seen this movie before. Wars for regime change or oil that Advertisement January 4, 2026

Former US Vice President Kamala Harris, who served as the 49th Vice President of the United States during the presidency of Joe Biden, has also criticised Trump over the attack, calling it unlawful and unwise.

(For more news apart from Zohran Mamdani Calls US Action Against Venezuela an Act of War and Violation of Laws," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Khalistani Extremists Undermine Canada's national security, foreign policy: Report

"Canada must act against Sikh extremists while ensuring that the Sikh community as a whole is not subjected to collective punishment."

Khalistani Extremists News: A report suggesting that Canada should stop allowing extremist Khalistani elements to use the country as a base to advance their agenda and foment tensions with India came to light on Saturday, according to Morung Express.

The report added that other countries would not tolerate such extremist diaspora groups operating from their soil and that Ottawa should therefore take steps to prevent this. It further noted that a referendum conducted by the terror group Sikhs for Justice in November 2025 in Ottawa took place at a time when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met Prime Minister

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Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg. The talks were focused on trade relations, and the referendum potentially undermined Canadas foreign policy interests.

According to Morung Express, the report stated that Canada must stop future referendums.

A referendum campaign organised by Sikhs for Justice, a pro-Khalistani group, has been taking place with little notice from most Canadians. Recently, over 53,000 Canadian Sikhs from Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec voted in Ottawa during the latest phase of the Khalistan Referendum, forming lines stretching nearly two kilometres, the report stated.

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The report noted that Canada has one of the largest Sikh diasporas outside India, with a vibrant and diverse community.

Canadian Sikhs actively contribute to all aspects of Canadian society, including politics, business, arts, and community life. A small but vocal segment openly supports the Khalistani cause, advocating for an independent Sikh state. This has led to tensions with India, which views such activities as a threat to its sovereignty and often criticises Canada for not curbing extremism, it added.

The report further stated that Canada must act against Sikh extremists while ensuring that the Sikh community as a whole is not subjected to collective punishment.

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Sikhs face enough prejudice and discrimination due to their distinctive religious attire - they wear turbans and some carry ceremonial daggers - to face accusations of dual loyalty. Jewish Canadians faced this stereotype, and no group should carry that stigma. Instead, Sikh groups should work with Canadian agencies to isolate extremists, the report is quoted as detailed in the Morung Express.

The report added that Canada should stop any groups from organising activities that undermine national security and foreign policy.

This approach should apply not only to Sikh extremists but to any group that seeks to use Canada as a platform for promoting foreign conflicts or undermining Canadian interests, it stressed.

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(For more news apart from Khalistani Extremists Undermine Canadas national security, foreign policy: Report," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
PHNOM PENH, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's renowned Angkor Archaeological Park recorded a total of 80,144 Chinese tourists in 2025, a slight decrease of 3 percent from 2024, said an official report on Sunday.

China was the fourth largest source of international tourist arrivals to the UNESCO-listed world heritage site after the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, said the state-owned Angkor Enterprise's report.

The ancient park attracted a total of 955,131 foreign visitors from 197 countries and regions in 2025, a year-on-year drop of 6.7 percent, the report said, adding that the park made a gross revenue of 44.7 million U.S. dollars last year, also down 6.5 percent.

Thourn Sinan, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association Cambodia chapter, said persistent online scams and recent border conflict with Thailand have adversely affected Cambodia's tourism industry.

"2025 was a difficult year for Cambodia's tourism sector," he told Xinhua. "It will remain a challenge for the tourism sector in 2026 if we do not root out online scams."

Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-ASEAN Studies Center of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science in Phnom Penh, said Cambodia's pilot visa-free policy for Chinese citizens from June 15 to Oct. 15 is likely to generate a significant rise in arrivals from China.

"Supported by strong air connectivity and effective promotion, I believe that the number of Chinese tourists to the Angkor park will be on the rise this year," he told Xinhua.

Located in northwest Siem Reap province, the Angkor Archaeological Park, the most popular tourist destination in the Southeast Asian country, is home to 91 ancient temples built from the ninth to the 13th centuries. 
ISLAMABAD, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Six people, mostly children, were killed and five others injured after the roof of a house collapsed in northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a rescue official said.

The incident occurred at around 4 a.m. on Sunday in Shabqadar area of Charsadda district, where several women and children were trapped under the debris after the structure caved in, according to state-run Rescue 1122.

The house was made of mud and had weakened due to the rains, Bilal Ahmad Faizi, spokesperson for Rescue 1122 KP, told Xinhua.

The injured were given first aid and shifted to a nearby hospital, he said.

Those killed included children aged between two and 14 years and a woman aged 25, while the injured also included women and minors, the spokesperson added. 
ISLAMABAD, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Three traffic police personnel were killed on Sunday in a targeted shooting attack in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police sources said.

The incident happened at about 9:45 a.m. local time (0445 GMT) when unidentified militants opened fire on traffic police officials performing routine duties in Lakki Marwat district, the sources told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The attackers fled the scene after the assault, while the bodies of the slain personnel were shifted to a nearby hospital for medico-legal formalities, the sources added.

Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to trace the assailants, the sources said, adding that investigations into the incident were underway.

Targeted attacks against security personnel have increased in parts of the province in recent months, prompting authorities to enhance security measures in vulnerable areas, the sources noted. 
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro is in US custody after being seized by American forces in an operation the Trump administration claims now leaves Washington effectively running his government, The Times reported. A Boeing aircraft carrying Maduro and his wife landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base less than a day after he was taken from his compound in Caracas by US Delta Force personnel. President Trump described the operation as a show of force not seen "since World War Two".

Prime minister Keir Starmer said the UK had no involvement in the US operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, according to The Guardian. Starmer said he had not spoken to Donald Trump and that the government was working to establish "the facts" of the fastmoving situation. He added that officials were liaising with the British embassy in Caracas to support the roughly 500 UK nationals in the country.

North Korea launched several ballistic missiles towards the sea early on Sunday, hours before South Korea's president was due to travel to China for talks expected to include Pyongyang's nuclear programme, The Guardian reported. South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said the missiles were fired from the capital region around 0750 KST and travelled roughly 900km, with Seoul and Washington analysing the details.

RAF Typhoons and French aircraft carried out a joint strike on an underground facility in Syria previously occupied by Islamic State, the Ministry of Defence said, according to The Telegraph. Guided bombs targeted access tunnels at the site, located in mountainous terrain near Palmyra, on Saturday evening. The MoD said the facility was likely used to store weapons and explosives and was situated in an area without civilian presence.

Iran's foreign minister has criticised Donald Trump's warning that the US would intervene if peaceful protesters in Iran were killed, describing the remarks as "reckless and dangerous", The Independent reported. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US was "locked and loaded and ready to go" if Iran "shots [sic] and violently kills" demonstrators. The paper noted that previous US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites under Trump prompted retaliatory attacks on a US base in Qatar. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the country's armed forces were on standby and "know exactly where to aim" if attacked.

A shortage of key electrical equipment risks undermining the UK's push to deliver clean electricity by 2030, Hitachi has warned, The Telegraph reported. Laura Fleming, the company's UK managing director, said unprecedented demand for power infrastructure, combined with shortages of raw materials and skilled labour, could leave operators unable to expand the grid at the required pace to meet Ed Miliband's netzero ambitions.
For the first time in nearly two decades, teen apparel retailer PacSun is expanding its physical footprint.

After 18 years without opening new locations (2007 was the last time PacSun had a grand opening), the California-born label, often found in malls, opened nine new stores in the US in 2025. Two of them were in New York state, with one in Westchester and the other in New York City.

And in December 2025, the brand announced plans to open 20 to 35 stores over the next three years.

While almost all of these forthcoming locations will be located in the US, one upcoming store, set to open this spring, will be located at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. This will be PacSuns first international location.

PacSun, which stands for Pacific Sunwear of California, reported that it has experienced a resurgence in brick-and-mortar performance in the United States, with double digit growth in in-store traffic, which has led to its recent business expansion.

Our stores have become cultural touchpoints for a generation that values experience as much as product. What begins on our social channelsinspiration and communityultimately drives young people to see it in person. Doubling down on brick-and-mortar simply reflects what our community is already telling us, said Brieane Olson, chief executive officer of PacSun in a press release.

PacSun also noted that it already has nine leases signed for 2026, but did not reveal where these new locations will be.

Founded in 1980 in Newport Beach, California, by Jack Hopkins and Tom Moore, PacSun began as a small surf shop that grew into a major lifestyle brand for youth fashion.

The store sells lifestyle apparel, along with swim, footwear, and accessories designed for teens and young adults. In 2025, the company operated 325 stores in 46 states and Puerto Rico.
Michelle Obama made a recent television appearance that drew attention across social media, as the former first lady appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live wearing a fitted light blue gown that highlighted her toned figure.

Obama, 61, sat down with the talk show host wearing the form-fitting dress with sheer sleeves and a floral detail on the shoulder. She paired the look with dark heels and wore her hair styled in braids.

According to the Daily Mail, her appearance comes amid ongoing online speculation about her noticeable weight loss and whether she is using a weight loss medication to achieve her slimmed-down figure.

In recent months, some social media users have questioned whether the former first lady may be using Ozempic or other semaglutide-based medications, though she has not publicly addressed those claims.

Last month, similar discussions surfaced after Obama participated in a high-profile photo shoot with photographer Annie Leibovitz, where she displayed toned arms and a flat midsection.

One user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, Do any of you have any idea how Michelle Obama suddenly lost all this weight at 61, which is also a difficult age for a woman to slim down?

In a past interview, Obama has spoken openly about changes to her body and health during menopause. In 2022, she discussed experiencing intense hot flashes and gradual weight gain, explaining that it required her to adjust her habits.

I never used to weigh myself. Im not trying to stick to numbers, but when youre in menopause, you have this slow creep that you just dont realize, she said at the time to People.

Were all in menopause with stretchy [waist] bands and our athleisure wear on, and you look up and you cant fit the outfits you had last year, she added. I have to be more mindful. Not obsessive, but more mindful.

Merry Christmas! Michelle and I hope you have a wonderful holiday filled with light and joy. pic.twitter.com/9PANlRgHUh  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 25, 2025

She also shared that menopause and aging have changed how she approaches fitness.

Obama explained that her focus has shifted away from intense competition and toward maintaining long-term mobility and health.

In a recent interview with MSN, Obama said, If I can walk and move, I dont have to run. I dont have to beat everyone. Ive had to change the way I see myself in my health space.

Once known among friends as the Drillmaster for her rigorous workouts  and widely recognized during her time in the White House for her muscular arms  Obama said her priorities have evolved.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, she added, I am still physically active, and my goal now, instead of having Michelle Obama arms, I just want to keep moving.

Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks about her new book "The Look" during an event at Sixth and I, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) AP

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walk down the stairs from Air Force One upon their arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Friday Oct. 2, 2009, after a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) ASSOCIATED PRESS

Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks about her new book "The Look" during an event at Sixth and I, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) AP
BERLIN, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Sunday that U.S. intervention in Venezuela is "very worrying," stressing that international law must be respected.

"International law must be respected. That also applies to the actions of the U.S.," Klingbeil was quoted by German news agency DPA as saying.

Klingbeil, who also serves as co-leader of Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), stressed the need to prevent any further escalation.

He called on all parties to "find the path to a peaceful transition to democracy in Venezuela," adding that the Venezuelan people must be able to decide their own future.

Earlier on Saturday, the United States launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were "captured and flown out of Venezuela," according to a post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account. 
Thieves stole up to $105 million from a bank in Germany in a daring heist, according to a report from Al Jazeera.

Over the Christmas holiday, thieves in Gelsenkirchen  in the western part of Germany  broke into a bank branch and raided the safe deposit boxes, according to the outlet.

The thieves gained access to the bank first from a neighboring parking garage, Al Jazeera reports.

Then, the thieves used a drill to cut through a concrete wall and gain access to a bank vault where they accessed the majority of the deposit boxes inside, the outlet reports.

A police spokesperson compared the break in to the Oceans series of heist movies, according to the report.

Police were only alerted to the robbery after a fire alarm went off, according to Al Jazeera.

While security footage captured a vehicle leaving the garage, police told the outlet that the license plate had been stolen from a city more than 100 miles away.

So far, no arrests have been made, according to Al Jazeera.
This column is for all my colleagues and friends who have been telling me how wrong I am about Mayor Zohran Mamdani because democratic socialists arent the same as communists.

I hope they were all listening to Mamdanis inaugural address the other day.

If you missed it, heres a topline quote from our new mayor: We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.

Spoken like a true commissar. Thanks, comrade!

The Soviets tried collectivism on an industrial scale for more than 70 years.

Heres what the world got out of it: Mass murder. Starvation. Gulags. Forced labor. Secret police. An Iron Curtain dividing Europe. A world too often on the precipice of nuclear war.

It was an ideology of fear, suspicion and slavery, where you could be taken off the street for doing something subversive like criticizing the government.

There was no free speech. No free elections. No freedom of assembly. No due process.

Scientists, thinkers and artists were silenced or killed.

Yeah, collectivism really worked out well for humanity.

OK, so thats not New York City. At least not yet.

But remember this: Top-down types on both sides of the aisle will tell you exactly what they plan to do.

President Donald Trump has done it his whole life. And Mamdani is doing it now.

The fools are the people among us who refuse to take them at their word.

The only way collectivism works is if everybody does it. And given that a lot of us still have free wills and minds of our own (never mind private property), the only way to make all of us do any one thing is to force us to do so.

Thats what the secret police and gulags were for in the USSR.

How Mamdani plans to force total compliance with his grand designs in what is still a free and democratic society is frankly a mystery.

But the new mayor is leaving no doubt what he has in mind: Nothing short of total revolution when it comes to how business is done in the five boroughs. And as a collectivist, hes promising that everyone will share equally in the spoils.

But remember this from history: Not everybody in the Soviet Union shared in the pain of waiting on huge lines at the government-run supermarket and other communist privations.

No, the national leaders and Communist Party bigwigs had their dachas and limousines. The wealth was not spread around. The oligarchs and their connected cronies divvied up the spoils.

Just like in America, kids!

A lot of Mamdani voters, including all those Zoomers, dont remember the Cold War. They clearly dont appreciate the history of human and political oppression in Soviet Russia and other socialist countries.

They just think that everythings going to be groovy now. Therell be lots of free stuff and all the needy people will be taken care of.

They dont trouble themselves thinking about how it will actually happen, or, most importantly, how any of it will be paid for.

They may have to learn the hard way.

Give me good old, frigid rugged individualism any day. Its served us Americans pretty well here for 250 years.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  In case you werent aware of how serious the flu outbreak in New York is, Capital District hospitals are asking visitors to mask up.

Yes, thats right: Masks are making a comeback in 2026.

According to reporting by ABC News 10, institutions like Glens Falls Hospital and Saratoga Hospital alerted the public via social media to the mask ask in order to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, in the case of Glens Falls.

According to a Facebook post from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the number of flu cases reported is currently higher than the peaks of the previous two flu seasons.

A strain of Influenza A virus called H3, dubbed the super flu, because of its severity, is hitting hardest, the state agency reports. Ninety-five percent of cases in New York have been influenza A/H3, while 5% have been influenza A/H1, according to the agencys most recently published data.

In the U.S. the 2025-2025 flu season has been dominated by the H3N2 variant, which accounts for 86% of Influenza A cases, according to Dr. Ana Mendez, chief of Ambulatory Pediatrics at Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton.

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times, can lead to death.

The current data, which spans until Dec. 27, 2025, shows Staten Island accumulating 1,297 cases in a single week. 1,035 of those cases are Influenza A, 24 of those cases are Influenza B, and 238 are unspecified strains of Influenza.

New York City leads the state in the number of cases, of course, due to the concentration of populace.

The data, provided by the New York State Department of Health, marks a whopping 239,857 cases of the flu thus far.

Flu season spans several months, with the worst of it coming between December and February, according to the CDC.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  In the days after New Years Day, its hard to find an empty parking space near Staten Island gyms.

Inside, heads bob up and down on almost every one of the many machines - including treadmills, Stairmasters, arc trainers, Stepmills, elliptical trainers, as well as upright and recumbent bicycles.

Men, women, and a few teenagers use power rack platforms, free weights, dumbbells, flat and incline benches, and weightlifting machines throughout.

Rosario DiBernardo, a partner at Intoxx Fitness, located at 2590 Hylan Blvd. in New Dorp, sees an influx of new members after the holidays. He attributes this surge to New Years resolutions and the motivation to get in shape for the upcoming summer.

He notes that while member demographics remain consistent (60% male, primarily ages 20-40), retaining new clients is a significant challenge - attendance often drops sharply within the first three months if they dont become emotionally attached to their fitness journey.

There are two types of gym goers, the emotionally attached are the ones who know what theyre doing. Then you have the ones that are not attached, theyll start strong, coming four and a half to five times a week, that dwindles to maybe one time a week, within three months, DiBernardo said.

Nicolette Capua, a 23-year-old from Rossville, said her primary fitness goals are to maintain consistency, keep her strength, and stay healthy.

Capua said, I absolutely love the equipment that they have here (Intoxx Fitness) and the convenient amenities, such as on-site food and protein shakes. I love the space. Youre able to work out freely and peacefully, and its absolutely amazing.

Reshat Mati, a sales counselor at LA Fitness at 1565 Forest Ave. in Port Richmond Center, noted that while there is a slight increase in attendance due to New Years resolutions, the gym is generally quiet, with regulars.

Mati said, The culture of this gym is one where members focus on their individual goals, respect the space, and then go home, unlike other locations that may see a larger influx of new, temporary members.

Port Richmond resident Ana Valerio explained that her personal fitness journey includes a 75-pound weight loss and a continued focus on building muscle.

She challenges the stereotype that gyms are packed with short-lived New Years resolution members, suggesting instead that the new year serves as a reminder to get back on track with their existing fitness goals.

Valerio emphasized the strong sense of community and camaraderie among regular members, who often help one another.

Im still intimidated, especially by the weight section, but the more you come, the more they end up helping you.

As an alternative to joining a gym, some people opt to purchase home exercise equipment, ranging from a single piece of equipment, such as a treadmill or stationary bike, to complete gyms in basements and garages.

Rob Angelone, who leads the fitness department at Dicks Sporting Goods in New Springville, explained that seasonal trends in fitness equipment sales see a significant sales increase starting around Black Friday and continuing after New Years, driven by holiday shoppers and resolution-makers.

Henri Perez, a regular gym-goer from Heartland Village, stopped at Dicks to purchase his own straps because his gym often runs out of them.

When asked about the people who join gyms as a New Years resolution, Perez opined, Everybody has a good intention. But the thing is, some people dont have the time, or they dont have the willingness, or they hit the TV and the couch as soon as they get home, and then theyre done.

Francis Webb, a 76-year-old retiree from Elm Park, said his doctors advice to lose weight to reduce medication was a primary motivator.

He also enjoys heavy lifting and credits his gym routine with keeping him alive and active, adding, If I hadnt gone to the gym, Id probably be in a box by now.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The Medical Aid in Dying Act is set to be signed into law by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul this month, ending a 10-year journey for the controversial legislation.

Heres what you need to know about the bill.

When will Hochul sign it?

Hochul announced on Dec. 17 she would sign the Medical Aid in Dying Act into law after coming to an agreement with the New York State Legislature on additional safety guardrails.

While no specific date has been announced, the Legislature begins its 2026 session on Jan. 7. Lawmakers must formally pass the agreed-upon changes before the bill is sent again to Hochuls desk.

>> Read the full explanation from Gov. Kathy Hochul about why she decided to legalize medical aid in dying >>

When will the bill go into effect?

According to Hochul, the law will go into effect six months after she signs the bill.

What are the additional guardrails?

Hochul stated she and the state Legislature came to an agreement on the Medical Aid in Dying Act after elected officials agreed to add several more guardrails. Those guardrails include:

A mandatory waiting period of five days between when a prescription is written and filled.

An oral request by the patient for medical aid in dying must be recorded by video or audio.

Limiting the availability of medical aid in dying to New York residents.

Allowing religiously oriented home hospice providers to opt out of offering medical aid in dying.

Ensuring that a violation of the law is defined as professional misconduct under the Education Law.

Extending the effective date of the bill to six months after signing to allow the Department of Health to put into place regulations required to implement the law while also ensuring that health care facilities can properly prepare and train staff for compliance.

About the bill

The Medical Aid in Dying Act  which was carried by Manhattan Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal in the Senate and Westchester Assemblymember Amy Paulin in the Assembly, and counts Staten Island state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton as its prime co-sponsor  allows mentally competent, terminally ill patients over the age of 18 the choice of self-administering prescribed life-ending medication. Only those with medically confirmed terminal illnesses and conditions who have fewer than six months to live will be able to request medical aid in dying. A person doesnt qualify for the measure, also commonly known as MAID, solely because of age or disability, and there is no list of qualifying medical conditions. Health care providers who dont wish to participate in the process can opt out without fear of retribution.

New York will become the 14th jurisdiction in the United States to permit medical aid in dying. Others include Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, New Jersey, Delaware, Maine and New Mexico. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act earlier this month.

All four Staten Island assemblymembers  Charles Fall, Michael Reilly, Michael Tannousis and Sam Pirozzolo  voted against the legislation, as did state Sen. Andrew Lanza. Fall is a Democrat, while Reilly, Tannousis, Pirozzolo, and Lanza are Republicans.

A look back

In April 2024, the Advance/SILive.com launched a series exploring the controversial measure. The series kicked off with Ayla Eilerts story. Eilert, 24, was was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue in 2021. Six days later, the Manhattan resident underwent surgery to remove half her tongue  which was then rebuilt with part of her thigh  and 22 lymph nodes. Less than seven months later, she was dead. Her parents, Daren and Amy Eilert, have since become staunch advocates for New Yorks measure.

When reached for comment on Wednesday, Daren Eilert told the Advance/SILive.com he was still very sad that the governor has not signed the bill.

Each day that goes by reminds me of each day that Ayla was in agony.

I can be elated when it is signed.

Diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, Staten Islander Gina Luongo told the Advance/SILive.com she wasnt committed to using medical aid in dying should it legalize, but still wanted the option. Luongo died in May 2025 at age 52.

Longtime Staten Islander Brian Moffett was officially diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, in spring of 2024, though had shown symptoms for a couple of years. He told the Advance/SILive.com in May he wanted to be the first person in New York state to legally use medical aid in dying. When the measure failed yet again to pass, Moffett condemned New York lawmakers; he knew he would not live long enough to see the next legislative session and would not be able to die with dignity.

Moffett invited the Advance/SILive.com to his home in Bethel, New York, in July, to discuss his deteriorating health and to again call on New York lawmakers to pass the Medical Aid in Dying Act. Moffett died less than two weeks later; his son, Jake, wrote his fathers obituary.

Jake Moffett has since become an advocate for the measure, calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature to enact the law in honor of his father.

Along the way, the Advance/SILive.coms coverage sparked readers to reach out with their own support of the measure.

Among them were Brian Kateman, who called on politicians to allow the choice for a more compassionate end, and Robert Moffit (no relation to Brian Moffett), who wanted access to medical aid in dying.

Moffit was diagnosed with ALS in early 2024 and given two to five years to live. He died in April, his family confirmed to the Advance/SILive.com.

Integral in the fight to pass the Medical Aid in Dying Act was Senior Campaign Director for Compassion & Choices NY/NJ Corinne Carey.

This law will represent the culmination of more than 10 years of determined, consistent effort by hundreds, no, thousands, of New Yorkers who advocated for this law, said Carey. Ive had and continue to have the honor of walking alongside New Yorkers who faced terminal diagnoses with bravery and love  people who opened their homes, their hearts, and often their final months to this movement. Many did not live to see this day.

This law is about compassion, family, love, and respect for bodily autonomy. New Yorkers deserve nothing less. I am grateful that Gov. Hochul listened to the voices of people whose lives and deaths were directly affected.
Gov. Kathy Hochul issued New York states first-ever proclamation declaring January as Muslim American Heritage Month.

The historic designation recognizes the significant contributions Muslim Americans have made to society throughout history in the arts, sciences, mathematics, technology, literature, music, medicine and philosophy.

Home to the largest Muslim American population in the nation, New York is proud to join in this month-long celebration, recognizing the values, faith, and traditions of our Muslim American communities, the governor said. New York remains committed to being a beacon of hope, tolerance, and inclusivity that celebrates the diversity of its Muslim American population and protects them from Islamophobia, hate, bias, and harm.

The landmarks illuminated green in support include the Kosciuszko Bridge, One World Trade Center, the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, Niagara Falls, Moynihan Train Hall and the Empire State Plaza.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was sworn in as the citys first Muslim mayor on Jan. 1, welcomed the proclamation.

Muslims have been part of New York for centuries. We have built small businesses, raised our families, pursued every profession, enriched our culture and cuisine, and been a part of what makes our city what it is today, Mamdani said. I am grateful for Governor Hochuls leadership in recognizing these many contributions and ensuring that every January, Muslim New Yorkers can see ourselves reflected and recognized in a city and state that is also our home.

Assemblymember Charles D. Fall, the first Muslim elected to the New York State Assembly from Staten Island, said: Muslim New Yorkers are vital to our communities as neighbors, parents, business owners, and public servants. Governor Hochuls proclamation reinforces a simple truth: New York works best when its leadership reflects the people it serves.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Islands parks are not only places for residents to relax and enjoy outdoor activities; they also serve as essential landmarks that support the communitys well-being. And volunteer efforts help maintain these spaces and keep them accessible to all.

Volunteering supplements the work our agency can do, and creates community buy-in for our parks and playgrounds throughout Staten Island. We encourage everyone to visit the Parks volunteer portal to find out how they can get involved and become a steward for their local greenspace, said Borough Parks Commissioner Joseph Homsey.

In 2023, NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue released the agencys $3.2 billion plan to protect existing park facilities and deliver equitable new resources to underserved communities.

As part of the plan, NYC Parks developed the Vital Parks Explorer, an online interactive map that gives residents access to data about parks, including services, amenities and conditions across neighborhoods.

The map allows residents to view access to more than 20 critical park services, including dog runs, greenways and Parks Enforcement Patrol visits.

It also highlights volunteer opportunities and community stewardship groups across the five boroughs, including Staten Island.

Since the department has introduced these new tools that help people explore park access and volunteer opportunities, it has also reached a major milestone.

On July 22, 2025, the agency announced it has surpassed one million volunteers citywide contributing more than 200 million volunteer hoursincluding thousands who help maintain Staten Islands parks.

The milestone marked a key step in advancing Parks Vital Parks for All initiative, giving more than 500,000 residents opportunities to help keep the citys parks safe and clean, connect with nature and their communities, and support their well-being.

Volunteer work continues to play a vital role in keeping parks, which serve as community hubs across New York City, healthy, clean and enjoyable.

Parks encourages residents to take part in hands-on projects and stewardship programs across the five boroughs, including events throughout Staten Island.

How New Yorkers Can Help

On Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, volunteers can help at Greenbelt Native Plant Center on Staten Island from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. They will assist the Plant Ecology Center and Nursery staff in caring for a variety of native plants grown for parks and restoration projects throughout the city, including weeding, transplanting and moving plants. For more information, individuals can visit here.

On Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, volunteers can help at the Historic Sylvan Grove Cemetery from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. They will join Urban Park Rangers and Friends of Abandoned Cemeteries Staten Island to clean and preserve the historic cemetery. For more information, individuals can visit here.

There are more upcoming events where individuals can get involved in the community effort. For more information, individuals can visit the NYC Parks website.

Residents can also explore the Vital Parks Explorer to learn more about parks, access to services, and local volunteer opportunities.
STATEN ISLAND, NY  Northwells Staten Island University Hospital is now accepting applications for its prestigious 2026 Executive Healthcare Internship.

The paid, 10-week summer program is open to current college juniors and seniors with ties to Staten Island, and focuses on providing an immersive experience in healthcare operations.

This internship gives emerging leaders a rare chance to learn directly from the experts who shape hospital operations every day, while gaining meaningful, hands-on experience within a healthcare system, said a SIUH spokesperson. Its an opportunity to see firsthand how innovative, patient centered care is delivered and to make a real difference close to home.

The EHI internship is a highlight of SIUHs promise to increase education, invest in professional development, and expand career pathways in local healthcare.

SIUH interns are able to learn across the Northwell hospitals two Staten Island campuses and full scope of services such as cardiology, neuroscience, oncology, obstetrics and orthopedics. Interns will also participate in hospital-wide meetings, weekly didactic learning sessions, and one-on-one experiences with their assigned director-level mentor.

The program runs from Jun. 1 through Aug. 7, 2026 and includes a project-based workload and culminates in a capstone presentation.

The internship application deadline is Jan. 12 and can be found at jobs.northwell.edu/.

According to Northwell, the program seeks driven students interested in serving their community and building professional skills. Those interested in hospital operations and business administration are encouraged to apply.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  For a new mayoral administration, it will be an old problem to solve: Staten Island traffic.

Aside from the everyday challenges of getting from place to place, safety for both pedestrians and vehicle occupants has been of grave concern.

With Mayor Zohran Mamdanis new leadership taking the city reigns, the Advance/SILive.com talked to two of Staten Islands councilmembers about what they see as their districts most worrisome streetsand their vision for governmental solutions.

(Councilmember Frank Morano was not available for an interview before publication.)

Weve seen some changes on streets like Van Duzer using traffic calming measures, said Councilmember Kamillah Hanks. But more needs to be done.

This composite shows Councilmember David Carr, left, and Councilmember Kamillah Hanks, right. (Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)

The most worrisome roads

Both Hanks, a Democrat representing the North Shore, and Councilmember David Carr, a Republican representing the Mid-Island, have districts that can be defined by some of the boroughs major roads: Richmond Terrace, Victory Boulevard, Forest Avenue and Hylan Boulevard among them.

However, when asked which streets felt the most dangerous, both pointed to smaller, more residential streets that connect major infrastructure.

Prospect Avenue and Henderson Avenue

Hanks named locations like Prospect Avenue in New Brighton and Henderson Avenue which spans New Brighton, Randall Manor and West Brighton  as particularly concerning on the North Shore, as they see a high volume of traffic moving past areas with a significant number of pedestrians.

These roads are bounded by senior housing, schools, rehabilitation centers and parks, and they serve as direct connections to and from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal, Hanks explained.

The combination of high speed, heavy traffic, and vulnerable populations makes pedestrian crossings especially dangerous, she continued.

Traffic crawls through the intersection of Midland Avenue and Hylan Boulevard around 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (Advance/SILive.com | Luke Peteley)

Greeley Avenue

Similarly, Carr pointed out Greeley Avenue, which connects Hylan Boulevard and Father Capodanno Boulevard in Midland Beach, as a road that he believes needs to be changed.

The traffic circles on that road have not served their stated purpose of reducing driving speeds and have made it more difficult to see cars coming from side streets, Carr said.

The recent addition of a limited number of stop signs on that road is proof it needs to be improved, he continued.

This is not the first time Carr has raised concerns about Greeley Avenue, but a DOT spokesperson previously told the Advance/SILive.com that the traffic circles are proven measures to slow speeds and turns, and to enhance safety on this corridor.

Seaview Avenue

Carr also expressed frustration with the redesign of Seaview Avenue in Ocean Breeze, particularly the floating parking lanes because of the potential impact on emergency vehicle access in the area.

Each direction of the new Seaview Avenue now features a 12-foot travel lane, a 10-foot-wide parking lane, a new 5-foot buffer zone, and the Islands first protected bike lanes bordering the curb.

Previously, Seaview Avenue had two lanes of travel in each direction and smaller, unprotected bike lanes.

At the unveiling of the changes, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez addressed community concerns that ambulances would be stuck in additional traffic, emphasizing that his agency involved the FDNY with this project.

The moving of ambulances or police vehicles is something that we dont compromise in any project. And any project that we do in our city, including this one, has the feedback of the Fire Department and NYPD, Rodriguez said at the time.

Hylan Boulevard

For years, Hylan Boulevard has been the site of dangerous crashes, gaining it the nickname Boulevard of Death. In 2025, five of the nine most dangerous intersections were at spots along the road.

When asked about Hylan Boulevard, which runs through his district, Carr recognized that something needs to be done, but said that the most useful changes wouldnt come from the Department of Transportation.

Traffic backs up along Hylan Boulevard near Bedford Avenue in Midland Beach. (Advance/SILive.com | Mike Matteo)

I actually dont think that its necessarily a solution that DOT would be able to bring to the table, Carr said. I think what were talking about is about transit.

Carr explained that the best solution for Hylan Boulevard would involve giving Staten Islanders  particularly those on the South Shore  more transit options.

He also called expanded express bus service and a South Shore fast ferry the only way, ultimately to address congestion on Staten Islands main thoroughfare.

What are the solutions?

For her district, Hanks spoke of better street safety education along with improvements in specific problematic areas to increase safety.

These intersection-by-intersection redesigns would feature infrastructure like raised crosswalks and smart traffic signals  which adjust traffic light timing  to slow traffic and enhance pedestrian safety, Hanks explained.

Carr said that there needs to be a balance of enhancing safety while also improving the flow of traffic.

To do so, Carr would like to see more left-turn signals installed at intersections in his Mid-Island district, along with increased pedestrian crossing times to accompany any signal changes.

The nice thing about that is that it helps the traffic flow better and it actually protects pedestrians who might be trying to cross the street, Carr explained.

In addition, both Carr and Hanks pointed to legislation they say would lead to tangible changes for traffic safety in the borough.

Hanks pushed two bills, one of which would create a pilot program where pedal-assist bicycles would be confiscated from operators with three or more moving violations until they complete a defensive biking course.

The other, Intro 1106, would have the DOT remove speed cameras from areas where the nearby school has closed, which Hanks said she believes would [keep] enforcement focused on safety rather than revenue.

Similarly, Carr stressed a speed-camera related bill as an important step forward for traffic safety in the borough.

His legislation, Intro 161, would require DOT to study 100 camera locations a year for the feasibility of a speed bump, with the option to remove cameras from locations with successful speed bumps installed.

Because if you really want to slow people down, no better way than one of those, Carr said.

In response to these concerns, a spokesperson from the DOT issued the following statement:

In 2025 the city reduced traffic deaths to historic lows citywide and installed several critical safety projects on Staten Island. We look forward to building on that success in the new year.

The spokesperson also pointed out that DOT already deactivates speed cameras near closed schools as outlined by state law and highlighted the agencys street changes on Richmond Terrace and Seaview Avenue.

Also causing a lot of buzz is legislation that would bar parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk or daylighting. Supported by Councilmember Frank Morano, discussion of the safety proposal has been heated.

Look, no one loves their cars more than Staten Islanders  I get that, I live it. But even in a car-loving district like mine, people want to be able to see when theyre turning, and they dont want their kid or their neighbor getting hit at an intersection because a van was blocking the crosswalk, Morano previously told the Advance/SILive.com.

However, some Staten Island officials have rallied against daylighting universally, pushing for an intersection-by-intersection approach.

A new mayor to take on traffic

Both lawmakers were also asked if working with the new mayoral administration would be any different from those of years past.

Hanks said she is ready to work with the administration on improving streets, but stressed that the city needs to make sure that policies reflect the realities of Staten Island.

It remains to be seen how the new administration will approach Staten Island traffic conditions, Hanks said.

Our boroughs streets face unique challenges, winding streets with hills, limited mass transit, and vulnerable populations that require tailored solutions, she continued.

Carr, for his part, recognized that ideological differences would be inevitable but remained confident that there could be a positive working relationship as long as there was a spirit of collaboration.

If you come to the table with a sense of alright you guys have been thinking about your intersections for years, what do you think are good places for us to start then I think what we can find a way to have some really good results for the borough, Carr said.

Staten Island lives depend on it

From October 2024 through March 2025, there were a disturbing seven pedestrian fatalities on Staten Island.

Since March, at least three more Staten Islanders have been struck and killed by cars: Meiyun Chen, 66, of Charleston in October; Robert Farina, 60, of Port Richmond later that month; and Nilsa Cruz , 66, of Mariners Harbor as recently as Dec. 18.

During 2025, Staten Island recorded 13 overall traffic fatalities, the only borough to not see a decrease from the year prior, according to new DOT data.

In total, more than 55 lives pedestrians, passengers and motorists  have been lost on the boroughs roads and sidewalks since 2021.

Along with documenting this harrowing trend, the Advance/SILive.com has looked at New York Citys approach to traffic enforcement and the growing congestion on the boroughs roads.

In a project titled Staten Island Traffic SOS, the Advance/SILive.com detailed Vision Zero data trends, described traffic conditions and documented personal stories on Staten Islands Boulevard of Death.

See the full Staten Island Traffic SOS series >>
This story first appeared on palabra, the digital news site by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

By Rich Tenorio | Edited by Patricia Guadalupe

Award-winning Cuban-American journalist Mirta Ojito still remembers encountering a chapter of forgotten history in a Key West, Florida, bookstore almost 20 years ago. It was there that she found a coffee-table book detailing the real-life account of the Valbanera, a Spanish-owned passenger ship that sank during a hurricane off Key West in 1919, claiming all 488 lives on board.

Oh my God, this is the Titanic story no one has ever heard of, Ojito recalled thinking. I was surprised that I never learned about it in school.

Ojito seeks to remedy this through her debut novel, Deeper Than the Ocean  a blend of past and present, with a plot that hinges on the Valbanera. While the characters are fictional, the historical backdrop is very much drawn from real life.

That story deserves to be told, she said of the Valbanera. I did not want to write a nonfiction book. I thought I would try my hand at fiction.

Deeper Than the Ocean by Mirta Ojito. Image courtesy of Mirta Ojito

Ojito is an acclaimed reporter who has covered subjects such as race in America, with a New York Times story on that topic winning her a shared Pulitzer Prize in 2000. Shes also received an Emmy for Cosecha de Miseria, a Telemundo documentary about the exploitation of child migrant labor in the coffee industry in Chiapas, Mexico. She currently works for NBC News as a senior director on the news standards team for NBC and Telemundo.

I have a full-time job in journalism, she tells palabra. It was very difficult to write fiction. I had to do a lot of research.

It helped that two nonfiction books had been written about the Valbanera  including El misterio del Valbanera (Desaparicion y Naufragio), a Spanish-language coffee-table volume by Fernando Jose Garcia Echegoyen. This was the title that had captured Ojitos attention in that Key West bookstore back in 2006.

It was lost on its way to Havana, she explained. Decades later, off the coast of Key West, they were not able to recover any bodies. Divers were surprised to find nobody.

The Valbanera in the floating dock in Barcelona. Photo from Port Authority of Barcelona, via Wikimedia Commons

Around this historical event, Ojito wove a complex plot  in her words, a dual narrative that links a family of silkworm farmers in the Canary Islands with the present time.

The chapters alternate between these narratives  the story of Catalina Quintana, the daughter of a silkworm farmer in the early 20th century, and the story of Mara Denis, a 21st-century Cuban-American freelance journalist who attempts to unearth some family history.

Based in the Canary Islands, Mara is reporting on African immigrants to the islands when she gets one of her daily phone calls from her mother.

This particular call, Ojito said, contains a request: When you go to the Canaries, can you please get the birth certificate of my grandmother? As Ojito explained, Maras mother wants to become a Spanish citizen. She needs her Spanish grandmothers birth certificate.

That ancestors name? Catalina Quintana. And Mara confronts a vexing development. She learns that Catalina was listed among the dead on the Valbanera, which would have made it impossible for her to continue the family line. Mara must draw upon all of her journalistic resilience to pursue this story to the finish.

There are elements of my life with [Mara], Ojito said. I gave her my profession  journalism  It seemed to me this would be the best profession to investigate, to find the story of the history of her ancestors.

She added, I think it was better I made her a journalist than a detective. I dont know anything about being a detective. I do know about being a journalist.

Mirta Ojitos mother (second from right) with family friends. Photos of her mother in her youth inspired Ojitos characters. Photo courtesy Mirta Ojito

As the twin narratives of Catalina and Mara each shift from the Canary Islands to Cuba, the author includes plenty of detail, from the class-restricted interiors of the Valbanera to the poverty of rural Cuba, then and now.

I did not make this up, she said of the social restrictions on board the Valbanera. It was like everything [else]  being first class in an airplane, business class, economy class. There are always people who have the means to pay more for their dreams. The Valbanera was not an exception.

Alluding to the far more famous shipwreck that became a blockbuster Oscar-winning film, Ojito said that the Valbanera was a tragedy of titanic proportions. And, she said, the real tragedy is that we do not know about it. I think we do not know because many of the people who died were poor immigrants who did not know how to read and write, [who were] in search of a better life.

At the time, she said, the Valbanera was front-page news in major U.S. newspapers, from the New York Times to the Miami Herald, with coverage in the Associated Press as well, before gradually disappearing from the headlines.

We are not aware of it, Ojito said. Its not part of our collective memory. I think that is tragic.
SARAJEVO, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Heavy snowfall disrupted traffic across much of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday, with the most severe conditions reported in mountainous and hilly areas, local authorities and media said.

Dozens of traffic accidents were reported since morning, including on the M-17 main road and the Zenica-Sarajevo highway. Most incidents caused material damage, while several people were injured and taken to Zenica Cantonal Hospital.

Traffic difficulties were also reported on key mountain routes, including Konjic-Bradina, Sarajevo-Pale, Travnik-Donji Vakuf and Vlasenica-Sokolac, with freight traffic suspended on some sections.

Meteorological authorities issued a yellow warning on Sunday for snow and ice across most parts of the country, forecasting continued snowfall and accumulations of 12 to 20 centimeters in some areas.

Police urged drivers to use winter equipment, adjust to road conditions and avoid travel if possible. 
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Sponsored BusinessBanking & financeMastercard The cyber shift needed to stay ahead of scams Sponsored by Mastercard January 5, 2026  8:55am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Scams targeting Australian households and businesses have evolved far beyond opportunistic attacks. Sophisticated criminal networks now use automation, artificial intelligence, and global co-ordination to target victims with unprecedented precision, costing the economy billions annually. Australian banks are leading the fight against scams, implementing advanced technologies and collaborative frameworks that deliver measurable results. Through the Scam-Safe Accord, the sector is rolling out Confirmation of Payee (CoP), biometric onboarding, and AI-powered scam detection, setting new global benchmarks for fraud prevention. Banks are also deploying AI tools, such as CommBanks Gen AI Scam Checker and introducing biometric checks  like fingerprint and facial recognition  for new online customers. Predictive intelligence powers a nationwide network stopping scams before they circulate digitally. iStock Where banks and regulators once relied on catching fraudulent transactions after the fact, theres now broad recognition that reactive models cant keep pace with evolving threats. The next phase is predictive protection: using intelligence and shared infrastructure to neutralise risks before they strike. Matthew Driver, executive vice president of services for Asia Pacific at Mastercard, notes that the threat landscape has shifted dramatically. In Australia, investment scams cause the most financial harm, accounting for about half of reported losses, with phishing and impersonation scams also surging. Fraud increasingly crosses borders, with cybercriminals operating in highly co-ordinated networks that share stolen data and tactics in real time.

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This connectivity can hinder institutions that rely on siloed defences, resulting in missed early warning signs, Driver says. The next frontier lies in prediction. At Mastercard, our role is to equip institutions with intelligence to anticipate threats, not just react to them. Predictive protection on the rise Criminal networks now operate like well-run businesses, scaling operations across borders and automating attacks. Fraudulent infrastructure can be set up in hours, allowing scams to spread rapidly before traditional defences detect them. Predictive protection combines behavioural analytics, real-time data analysis, and threat intelligence from multiple partners to identify anomalies early. Rather than focusing on single points of failure, it treats the payments ecosystem as an interconnected network where risk can be flagged and neutralised before a transaction is complete. This approach changes the economics of cybercrime. If scam infrastructure is blocked upstream, it becomes more costly for criminals to operate at scale. For businesses, this means fewer incidents to clean up and greater ability to maintain customer trust. For regulators, predictive protection offers a clearer view of emerging scam activity, enabling co-ordinated action.

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Scammers ignore national borders, so defences must do the same, Driver says. A fraud scheme engineered overseas can easily emerge elsewhere, underscoring the importance of sharing even minor data signals across borders and industries. Dan Elliott, field chief information security officer at Recorded Future, says criminals are rapidly evolving their tactics. Typosquatting is surging  criminals register domains nearly identical to legitimate businesses, creating watering holes that harvest login credentials from visitors who mistype a URL, or lend credibility to phishing emails, Elliott explains. AI-generated deepfakes have become nearly undetectable. Attackers use synthetic voice and video to impersonate executives, making it almost impossible to distinguish fake from real. Collaboration, not silos The globalisation of scams exposes the limits of national responses and one-off technology fixes. Criminal groups work across multiple jurisdictions, deploying the same infrastructure in several markets and exploiting gaps between financial systems. Collaboration is now as important as technology. Elliott emphasises that the more intelligence moves freely between partners, the fewer blind spots scammers can exploit. Criminals watch what works among their peers  whatever gets them to their goal quickest. By analysing data across regions, we can better predict criminal tactics and apply effective security controls before attacks become widespread.

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Recorded Future works with partners including Mastercard to track and analyse indicators of compromise across global networks. This upstream approach lets organisations identify and disrupt fraudulent activity before it reaches customers. Notably, intelligence sharing is accelerating in Australia, with institutions joining the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX) and other platforms to pool insights and respond rapidly to emerging threats. Long-term resilience depends on clear priorities, shared responsibility, and preparation for worst-case scenarios, not just reactive clean-ups. Executives and security leaders need to define success together, recognising that attacks will occur. Know what you own  your assets, both hardware and software  because you cant protect what you dont know exists. Then, consider all the players: internal stakeholders, external partners, and, from an offensive perspective, know your enemy  their motivations, tactics, and targets, Elliott says. Partnerships are key

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Addressing these threats requires collaboration across sectors, not just individual efforts. Partnerships among financial institutions, regulators, and technology providers are crucial in combating scam activity, Driver says. Scam prevention goes beyond business, it impacts society as a whole. Effective collaboration is essential for building digital trust on a large scale. Recent industry data shows that scam losses in Australia are steadily decreasing, thanks to these co-ordinated efforts. Customer-owned banks have reported significant drops in scam losses after boosting their defences, and voluntary standards adopted by the sector are making a measurable impact. Behavioural analytics is another part of the response. Behavioural analytics lets us move from detection to prediction, Driver says. Instead of waiting for a rule to trip after the fact, we learn what good looks like across identity, device, location, velocity, and spending patterns, so when something doesnt fit, we can flag risk before a transaction is approved. The fight against scams extends beyond banking. Australian banks are collaborating with telecommunications companies, social media platforms, and government agencies to build a comprehensive ecosystem for scam prevention. This cross-sector approach is critical to closing gaps exploited by criminals and ensuring that intelligence flows freely between all stakeholders. Australias regulatory response is also evolving, with governments investing in joint taskforces and prevention programs designed to bring together banks, telcos, and the digital sector. Cyber criminals dont respect industry boundaries, so looking at payment fraud and e-skimming allows our research teams to uncover additional criminal trends. In a broader sense, our partnerships enable more effective collective security, Elliott says.

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For businesses, predictive protection is increasingly a commercial imperative, not just a compliance exercise. The impact of scams goes beyond immediate financial loss, often affecting reputation, customer trust, and creating expensive clean-up work. There is a significant need to shift our activities further to the left, well before an attack could occur, Elliott says. To find out more, please visit Mastercard.

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NationalVenezuela crisis Opinion Australia should not lie in bed with a shameless dictator like Trump Ben Saul Challis Chair of International Law at Sydney University January 4, 2026  4:30pm

January 4, 2026  4:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

President Donald Trumps brazen attack on Venezuela has violated the most sacred rule of international law  the near-century old ban on use of military force against another country. It returns the Americas to an era of gunboat diplomacy by imperial warlords. The attack is such a serious use of force that it amounts to an armed attack under the United Nations Charter, giving Venezuela a legal right of self-defence. Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at New Yorks Westside Heliport, wearing a hoodie and handcuffs, makes a peace sign. Bloomberg The responsible US political leaders and military commanders could also be personally liable for the international crime of aggression. Every Venezuelan life lost as a result of illegal aggression also involves a violation of the human right to life by the US.

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The illegal abductions of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are further breaches of international law. There is no right to arrest any criminal suspect in a foreign country without the consent of its government. As a head of government, Maduro also enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution in the US courts. To be sure, the authoritarian Maduro government is of questionable legitimacy following serious electoral fraud and a history of serious human rights violations. The contrast with Western condemnation of Russias invasion of Ukraine is staggering. Yet international law does not permit forcible regime change at the whim of another government. Combating drug trafficking or so-called narco-terrorists, or seizing quasi-colonial control of foreign oil resources, are also not legitimate reasons to use force. International law rightly values peace, stability and the protection of human life over violent imperial opportunism and regional hegemony. The US attack is the culmination of a year-long campaign to destabilise Venezuela, including the recent illegal blockade of sanctioned oil tankers, a strike on a port, covert action by the CIA and the bogus listing of Venezuelan cartels as terrorists, including one, Cartel de Los Soles, that the US alleged was headed by Maduro himself.

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The attack is also closely connected with illegal US military attacks on 35 alleged drug-trafficking vessels on the high seas near Venezuela, extrajudicially killing at least 115 civilians. These mass, cold-blooded murders have no basis in international law. Most of these violations have been met by a wall of silence from Western governments. Instead of robustly condemning the latest US invasion and defending international law, certain Western governments have reacted timidly to appease Trump. Some even hinted that Venezuela had it coming because of its poor human rights record. Related Article Venezuela crisis Stealth drones and massive blowtorches: How the US mission to capture Maduro unfolded The contrast with Western condemnation of Russias invasion of Ukraine is staggering. Hypocrisy and selectivity in enforcing international law is destroying it and emboldening authoritarians everywhere. Last year, some countries, including Australia, even supported US aggression against Irans nuclear program, further eroding international law, while many have turned a blind eye to thousands of illegal strikes by Israel in Syria, Iran and Lebanon in recent years. International law is at its lowest ebb in many decades, including after the widespread atrocities in Gaza. Restoring respect for it requires raising the price of lawlessness. A compliant US Congress and the weakened US courts must reassert themselves, and US military personnel must refuse illegal orders.

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Other countries, particularly US allies, must do their part, starting with loud diplomatic protest and condemnation in the General Assembly. Stronger action could include suspending arms trade, military cooperation and intelligence sharing, and imposing Magnitsky-style financial and travel sanctions on the responsible US officials, including the US president, the secretary of war and the US military commanders. Countries like Australia need to wake up to who they are dealing with in the US. Trump called members of Congress who questioned the legality of the attack weak, stupid people. He has contempt for the law, US institutions, other countries and the United Nations. Appeasing him emboldens him to do worse, as the escalating campaign against Venezuela  met with resounding global silence as it unfolded  demonstrates. Related Article Updated

Venezuela crisis US plans to run Venezuela and tap its oil reserves, Trump says, after operation to oust Maduro Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was right that the US president should be met with strength, not with fear, fawning and appeasement. Australia should seriously question whether it should bind itself in a security and AUKUS alliance with a country that illegally topples foreign governments, abducts their leaders and mass-murders civilians at sea, quite apart from his domestic human rights record. Australia needs to step up, not step down and lie in bed with a shameless dictator. Only countries acting together have the power to stop this deepening lawlessness by worlds most powerful country. Respect for sovereignty, non-use of force, non-intervention and the peaceful settlement of disputes are essential to preserving peace and human rights worldwide.

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Ben Saul is the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism and the Challis Chair of International Law at The University of Sydney. Get a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter.
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Exclusive NationalNSWCourts Eastern suburbs man accused of DV rampage, police hold extreme fears for woman Clare Sibthorpe January 5, 2026  5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

A welfare worker from Sydneys eastern suburbs has been accused of unleashing a domestic violence rampage against a woman, including sending an intimate image to an accommodation company, writing defamatory emails to her work contacts and stalking her outside her house. Police hold extreme fears for the safety of the complainant, to whom Jason Robert Cornish, 52, allegedly sent a barrage of threatening texts. Jason Robert Cornish allegedly sent a barrage of threatening texts. Artwork: Aresna Villanueva The accusations follow warnings from police that technology-facilitated domestic violence surged last year and that the New Years period is particularly dangerous for domestic violence (DV) victims. Despite Cornish having breached a DV order with repeated illegal contact  including sending the woman 50 photos within two hours  he was granted bail in December.

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The complainant, who wrote a three-page letter detailing her safety concerns to the court, told police she felt afraid at home and of what Cornish was capable. Cornish, a Maroubra support worker, had known the woman since 2020. According to a police fact sheet, the pair were engaging in sexual activity at the womans home in late 2023 when Cornish took a photo of her blindfolded without her knowledge. The documents allege Cornish slapped the woman across the face in April 2025. This caused them to cease communication, until they later became amicable and shared occasional contact. On June 22 last year Cornish allegedly went to the womans home uninvited, where he repeatedly rang the doorbell, called her and texted her. Feeling afraid, the woman cried as she watched him from her security camera within her house. She later saw him sit in his car outside her house for 20 minutes, the documents allege. Throughout the night Cornish sent the complainant apologetic messages, and when she didnt respond he allegedly wrote: tomorrow the fun starts, hit them [with] what they care about the most. Your business.

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The next day the woman sent him an extensive and clear message to stop his behaviours but he allegedly texted her ex-husband a message that commented on [her] in a negative light, texted the woman you aint seen nothing yet and sent emails to large companies that the victims company works alongside, defaming her as a person and the reputation of her business. He then allegedly emailed an accommodation company at which the pair had earlier planned to stay for a since-cancelled holiday, attaching the intimate photo that he took of her in late 2023 without her consent. On the night of June 23 last year, as the woman was at Mascot Police Station to report Cornish, he allegedly messaged her: you deserve everything that is coming your way in life. As a result of the concerning incidents outlined above, police hold extreme fears for the safety of the victim, the police fact sheet reads.

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Cornish was arrested on June 25 and taken to Mascot Police Station, where he declined a police interview but allegedly told officers he sent the intimate image accidentally. He was released on bail, and police were granted an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) against Cornish the next day. Just eight days later Cornish breached the ADVO. He emailed, called and texted the woman, sending her more than 50 photos of herself within two hours. He was again arrested on July 8. Cornish pleaded guilty to the breach but was then arrested for a separate breach, to which he also pleaded guilty. He denies the June charges  being intimidation, recording an image without consent and distributing an image without consent  and will face a local court hearing in May. Cornish had his bail revoked in August for the most recent breach. But, after spending three months in custody on remand, he was granted bail in the NSW Supreme Court in December. His lawyer argued that parts of the complainants evidence were inconsistent with evidence available to the defence, that Cornish was unlikely to be sent to full-time prison if convicted, and that he had community support. The Crown opposed bail, citing risks of Cornish committing serious offences and endangering the victim.

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He was granted bail with conditions including reporting daily to police, complying with a curfew and not contacting the complainant or anyone associated with her work. Related Article Domestic violence Teddy trackers, hacked doorbell cams and spyware: Surge in DV technology abuse Much of Cornishs accusations centred on alleged technology-facilitated domestic abuse. These types of crimes have surged in recent months, police earlier warned, as perpetrators become more creative with how they use technology to prey on victims. Police say theyve seen examples of doorbell cameras being used to survey victims, toys containing covert cameras gifted to children, and AirTags hidden in car doors to track movement. Its that power that they can exert on someone whilst theyre not even in their physical presence, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna earlier told this masthead.

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Its keeping people in fear, not knowing when this person might still come. Its keeping, at the forefront of their mind, the power base they have over them. Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Mens Referral Service on 1300 766 491. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Although I cant explain to Nola Tucker why champagne is wantonly sprayed to celebrate sporting victories (C8), I totally endorse it, declares Col Burns of Lugarno. Having a vulgar, unsophisticated palate that favours beer to overpriced fizzy grape juice, I find any alternative to actually drinking it preferable. Nevertheless, if imbibing is absolutely necessary, recent victors have demonstrated that the flavour can be considerably enhanced by infusing it with the rich, fruity aromas of freshly worn footwear.

The ungrafted Ron Schaffer of Bellevue Hill provides the antecedent: Champagne celebrations in sport were introduced in the 1930s, when champagne merchant Count Frederic Chandon offered bottles to winners of the French Formula 1 Grand Prix. These events were held on the famous Reims circuit in the Champagne district. More recently, however, US driver Dan Gurney invented champagne-spraying on the victory podium at Le Mans in 1967 when he intentionally sprayed onlookers, thus beginning the tradition that has since spread to other sports.

George Manojlovic of Mangerton sees a more maternal side to it: The champagne sprayers are simply saying goodbye to their Mumms.

Theres been a bit of a common denominator, venue-wise, regarding the recent chance-meeting thread (C8). John Brown of Kianga conducts proceedings: What is it about the City Recital Hall? We were at a Brandenburg Noel concert and my wife met one of her nursing colleagues, whom she hadnt seen for a number of years. We had a lovely dinner with her.

Downstairs at the Belvoir always offered interesting opportunities, says Janice Creenaune of Austinmer. I remember seeing Bryan Brown (he stole the show, so I dont remember any other actors) in the wonderful play Backyard in the late 70s with my girlfriend from Sydney Uni. We, too, had a front-row seat (C8) with our feet on the stage. As Mr Brown rode his bicycle around the stage area, he took a wider arc each time. By mid-show we were sitting with our feet and knees tucked up beneath our chins and holding on for the experience. He had that glint in his eyes even then, and we were his targets.
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Exclusive NationalCourts The $2 million inheritance and the online romance Michaela Whitbourn January 4, 2026  4:45pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

An Australian man made a will that left the bulk of his $2 million estate to an online love interest. A judge found the person didnt exist. In a case that exposes some of the dangers of virtual romances, the Victorian Supreme Court was required to unravel the inheritance mystery and decide how the mans assets should be distributed after he died. The man changed his will after striking up an online relationship. Monique Westermann The man, from Kew in Melbournes inner east, had a series of online relationships after his partner of 40 years died in 2017. The last of those was a short-lived relationship with a person purporting to be an American called Kyle Stuart Jackson. The relationship started in early 2022.

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The pair had never met in person. The man changed his will in August 2022 to name Jackson as his chief beneficiary and the executor of his estate. The deceased made his will in contemplation of his possible marriage to Mr Jackson, albeit he did not ever meet him in person, Associate Judge Caroline Anne Goulden said in a decision in December. My relationship with [the deceased] was special and I am yet to recover from his demise. Kyle Stuart Jackson, who was named as the chief beneficiary The Victorian man died in October 2022. His main asset was a home that was sold in 2023 for $2.5 million. His will named his ex-wife as executor if Jackson was unable or unwilling to act, gave her $100,000, and said she would inherit the rest if Jackson died before him.

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The ex-wife, who eventually stepped in as executor, applied to the court for the determination of questions relating to the administration of the estate. The court examined the evidence and concluded that Jackson does not exist in the manner understood by the deceased, or at all. The ex-wife was entitled to distribute the estate without further regard for Mr Jacksons interest, the court said. The ex-wifes solicitors at Melbourne law firm KHQ Lawyers went to great lengths to contact Jackson. A person who claimed to be Jackson said in an email to the deceaseds former lawyer that he did not want to be a beneficiary. He told the ex-wifes lawyers in a later email that he was happy for her to be executor, with a caveat. I must be intimated of every step of the process  as well as entitled to 15% of his estates [sic] value and I will decide whom or what charity to send my share to, the email said.

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Related Article Good Weekend It is going to get really bitter: Why family-will battles are set to explode My relationship with [the deceased] was special and I am yet to recover from his demise. In March 2023, a person purporting to be Jackson sent an email, attaching an image that appeared to show a page from a US passport for a Kyle Jackson born in 1984. A residential address in Pennsylvania was supplied but the current resident was unaware that a Kyle Jackson had ever lived there. The judge said the ex-wife engaged a US-based private detective to locate or obtain information about the identity and existence of Mr Jackson. The detectives final report last year concluded that the passport was fraudulent and Jackson was not a real person.

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The person claiming to be Jackson had previously sent a cheque to his online friend for $1.2 million in Canadian dollars but the Toronto-Dominion Bank confirmed in 2023 that it wasnt valid. Rachael Hocking, principal solicitor at KHQ Lawyers and an accredited specialist in wills and estates, acted for the ex-wife of the deceased, who remained his closest long-term friend. She said the facts of the case were particularly unique but legal issues about how a will should be interpreted were commonly encountered. With the increasing use of technology in our everyday lives, including relationships and the risk of online scams, there is a concern that we may see more and more of these types of factual scenarios, Hocking said. She said the case involved two separate court applications. The first was an application for probate, which involved the court passing over Kyle as the instituted or first-named executor under the will.

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Probate confirms the validity of a will and allows the executor to administer the estate according to its terms. Related Article Exclusive

Courts The carer and the suspicious changes to a Sydney mans will Our client was the substitute executor and could only apply [for probate] if we were able to persuade the court that the instituted executor was unable, unwilling or unsuitable to act, Hocking said. The ex-wife then administered the estate, including selling property. The second application concerned how the estate should be distributed. It was an enormous task for our client, who, in my opinion, did an excellent job in discharging her duties, Hocking said.

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Communication with the person purporting to be Jackson was conducted solely by email and was sporadic and extremely difficult, Hocking said. We had to undertake extensive investigations  to ensure that our client was properly discharging her duty as executor to try and locate, communicate with and identify Kyle. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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NationalVenezuela crisis This is a triumph: Australian Venezuelans celebrate downfall of dictator Kayla Olaya January 4, 2026  4:45pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Venezuelans in Sydney and Melbourne are celebrating the capture of their countrys leader, Nicolas Maduro, by US President Donald Trump. Many of them hope it marks a transition away from dictatorship and poverty, back towards the prosperity of the 1970s when Venezuela became the richest country in South America on the back of its abundant petroleum reserves. While the imminent indictment of Maduro in New York has raised questions about the legality of Trumps orders, Jackeline Giovannucci, who fled Venezuela for Sydney in 2014, doesnt see it as an invasion of her country but as a path towards democracy. Jackeline Giovannucci, centre, and her family on Sunday afternoon. Jessica Hromas Venezuelans, we have lived with so many deceptions, she said. Its sometimes hard to believe that the events [of Saturday night] finally occurred. There is an enormous human rights violation in Venezuela. We have asked for international help for many years, so this is a triumph. In her hometown, Barinas, a city in the countrys central west known for its rivers and fertile farmland, Giovannuccis friends forgo meals to feed their children. When she left, she thought she would never see Venezuela change in her lifetime and that her two Australian-born daughters would never meet her sister.

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For the first time, the prospect of going back feels real. We needed a larger force than Maduro to restore our democracy, and with our petroleum, we understand thats what people say this attack is about  however, [former president Hugo] Chavez and Maduro sold it to China, Russia and Iran, and how has that money benefited Venezuelans if we dont have food, medicine, no school for our children? she said. Venezuelan-Australians gather in a Melbourne restaurant to celebrate the ousting of Nicolas Maduro. Wayne Taylor In a Venezuelan restaurant in Melbournes east, Valentina Oliveros has ordered hundreds of celebratory arepas rellenas: corn pancakes filled with slow-cooked meat, cheese and vegetables. She says the celebrations are not about the bombardment of her country.

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To say this is about the US intervention is not true. We are celebrating that Maduro is gone, she said. Its like we are celebrating, but at the same time, no  theres hope, but we understand that this isnt our last chapter because we dont know what will happen next. Oliveros, who arrived in Clyde, south-east of Melbourne, in 2016 from Puerto Ordaz in the countrys southwest, has many family members in Caracas. Her uncle was sleeping in an apartment next to an airport that was bombed by the US when they succeeded in their operation to capture Maduro on Saturday. Venezuelan-Australians gather in a Melbourne restaurant to celebrate the ousting of Nicolas Maduro. Wayne Taylor Oliveros says Trumps promises of rebuilding the country offer more hope than previously existed. People saying Trump is not doing this for Venezuelans, we know he is doing this for petroleum, its an opportunity for him, but for me, I see that opportunity as liberation, for me to return, she said.

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Snap protests have been organised in four Australian capital cities by the Palestinian Action Group on Sunday night, with the pamphlet titled Hands off Venezuela. Stop the bombings. One of the protests at Sydneys Town Hall was scheduled to start at 6pm, the same time and location where another unauthorised gathering, a Venezuelan celebration, was set to take place. NSW Police said unauthorised protesters would be issued move-on orders. Caracas-born Australian journalist Claudianna Blanco said that while news about Maduros capture had brought hope to many Venezuelans in Australia, the protests message might not be well-received by the Venezuelan community. From the community perspective, the fact that there are groups saying hands off Venezuela  [the community] feel that theyre not being heard or seen, that their perspectives are not being valued to the same level as the perspective of those who oppose US intervention, Blanco said.

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The rejection of the idea of a US intervention, or the US breaking the international agreement-based order, [Venezuelans] see that as more geopolitical. They feel that those groups may be considering those views, the geopolitics of it is more important than the suffering and the voices of the Venezuelans that havent been heard for so long and in the context of 20-plus years of erosion of democracy to then dictatorship. In that context, when your voice is consistently silenced and ignored by those in power, from a citizens perspective, it is kind of repeating that trauma of your desires for democracy are not important, your desires for change dont matter. Twenty metres from Town Hall steps is the Hands off Venezuela protest, which has about 150 people rallying and cheering in front of seven alternating speakers. Many people are holding Venezuelan and communist flags, as well as placards denouncing the US. However, on the less populated side is Aitana Ospina, in a group of about 30 mostly Venezuelans celebrating the capture of Maduro. She says the larger groups cause is guided by US hatred. We dont want their hatred of Trump to blind the truth of the suffering of what was going on in Venezuela, Ospina said.

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I came in 2016 because I was dying, standing in line with my mum from 2am each morning, praying we could buy food at the supermarket. Two truths can coexist. Theyre worried Trump is going to take our oil. We dont even have oil ourselves  we just want a little bit of hope. Trump can give us that.
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Experts say they have never seen Australias neo-Nazis as emboldened as they were in 2025. But under new crackdowns, theyll have to fight to stay in the frame.
MOSCOW, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and two others injured in a collision involving five passenger cars and a heavy truck in Russia's Rostov region, the regional branch of the Russian Emergencies Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The accident took place on the M-4 'Don' highway near the settlement of Krasny Kolos in the Aksaysky district, said the statement.

Efforts are underway to address the aftermath of the traffic accident, it said, adding that 13 personnel have been deployed to respond to the incident.

The circumstances surrounding the accident are currently under investigation. 
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When the renos are done, the black cockies come home to roost and reproduce. A longitudinal study of Carnabys cockatoos has found that female birds will inspect the real estate, move in and raise a fledgling family if the hollows in old trees are repaired. Flocks of white-tailed cockatoos take to the air. Rick Dawson The detailed study of Western Australias white-tailed black cockatoos has revealed that repairing natural tree hollows - like covering holes in the trunk and installing nesting floors where they have rotted out  is a way of securing their survival. This threatened species prefers hollows that can take 120 years to form - knock down a single tree, and you must wait a century or more before nature creates a metre-deep hollow suitable for the bird tenant to occupy. Weve nicknamed it Cockatoo Club Med  you build it right and they will come, says Rick Dawson, a retired senior wildlife officer who carries out repairs at a rural nesting site at Coomallo Creek, two and a half hours drive north of Perth. Apart from routinely fixing up around 90 natural hollows, Dawson has installed 80 artificial nest homes with a resulting high occupancy rate. Carnabys will move readily from natural hollows to artificial ones, just like theyll move from eating banksia to eating pine cones. Theyre adaptable, he said.

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The cockatoos are the subject of Australias longest-running bird research led by the same individual, Dr Denis Saunders. A former CSIRO senior scientist, Saunders began meticulously recording Carnabys cockatoos on his first visit to Coomallo Creek in 1969; he continues to visit every year, accompanied by Dawson and Dr Peter Mawson, former head of research at Perth Zoo, to check for signs of nesting and to measure and band new fledglings. The companionable trio have jointly written 25 papers on the cockatoos life cycle and habits. Saunders says maintaining nesting hollows is crucially important for the survival of the bird species, whose declining numbers are caused by mass tree removal, feral cats and climate change affecting food availability. Maintaining nesting hollows is crucially important for the survival of the bird species. Rick Dawson We think females have site fidelity  where theyve fledged is where they will return to lay their eggs, in some cases to within a few hundred metres of where they fledged, he says. The results over the last five years have been exceptional  by repairing old hollows and installing more artificial hollows, we get a good healthy population. In the most recent survey last November they recorded 131 breeding attempts at Coomallo, higher than 82 attempts in the previous year.

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Its an exceptional response especially after a couple of drought years, and the condition of the nestlings was good, says Saunders. Dawson says he was thrilled to see so many young adult birds returning to Coomallo. Its a case of build it and they will come, he said.  repaired one of the original hollows from Deniss survey and this year it had twins in it. Another hollow hasnt been used for years, then I repaired it and bang, it had a fledgling in it. The survey team has a particular favourite, Bird Number 111, who has just moved back into a repaired hollow and produced offspring for the thirteenth year. The survey team has a particular favourite, Bird Number 111. Rick Dawson I was elated to see 111, our girl that weve photographed every year, said Dawson.

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Shes seen me thirteen times in a row, but she still gives me a filthy look when I approach to check the hollow, kind of oh really? Then she flies to the next tree and waits until Ive climbed up. Ive got the most beautiful photos of her. Carnabys cockatoos once flew across Perths skies in flocks of many hundreds, but now a dozen birds is a welcome sight. At Coomallo Creek, the men were rewarded by the spectacle of 92 birds flying overhead. Saunders says the historic survey work at Coomallo, a farming region with a nine kilometre long corridor of mature trees, has produced dozens of useful scientific observations. Providing viable nesting sites is a key to successfully raising young, he says, but so is removing feral cats. Cat predation is devastating, not just when you see dead fledglings but dead breeding females, Saunders said. Last year we lost seven out of 100 breeding pairs, a terrible loss when you realise the females dont start breeding until around aged three or four. Ive seen a cat preying on a cockatoo in a nest ten metres off the ground. Local farmers have started shooting or trapping feral cats, removing 17 cats in an 18 month period alone.

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Analysis WorldNorth AmericaVenezuela crisis This could be Trumps Iraq, and Americans must ask: Is it what we voted for? Michael Koziol January 4, 2026  4:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Follow our live coverage of the unfolding situation in Venezuela here. When it was pointed out to Donald Trump on Sunday (AEDT) that the US has a mixed track record when it comes to ousting dictators  which is putting it mildly  he responded in typical Trumpian fashion. Thats when we had different presidents, but with me thats not true, he said. With me, weve had a perfect track record of winning. We win a lot. A photo posted by US President Donald Trump to Truth Social showing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima. @realDonaldTrump/ Truth Social He has a point. Trump listed examples: the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; the killing of Irans top general, Qassem Soleimani; and, in this term, the disabling of Irans nuclear facilities in a daring US military operation last year. You can see why he would be confident.

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But regime change is a different beast. It is something the US has done, or tried to do, only to end up locked into forever wars in Iraq and Afghanistan  against which public opinion soured so completely that it created the conditions for the rise of Trump himself. Now Trump is doing regime change in Venezuela. Or, he might be. After an hour-long press conference, it was entirely unclear how Trump and his team envisage the next few days  or few years  playing out. Loading Lets start with what we know. The brazen military and intelligence operation was clearly a stunning success. We heard lots of detail about how it unfolded: more than 150 aircraft launched from 20 bases; low-flying choppers guided under cover of darkness into Nicolas Maduros compound in the middle of Caracas, where he and his wife were captured as they tried to enter their safe room. It was a scarcely believable display of American military might, made all the more striking by the fact Trump wasnt even watching from the White House Situation Room; he was at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. It told the world: I can do this anywhere, any time  even from my holiday home, after a day of golf.

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The operation had been months in the making, before Trump even began launching lethal strikes on Venezuelan fishing boats suspected of ferrying drugs. A CIA team started compiling intel on Maduros habits, movements and even pets in August, and the plan was set in early December, said the chairman of the USs joint military chiefs, Dan Raizin Caine. Related Article Venezuela crisis Stealth drones and massive blowtorches: How the US mission to capture Maduro unfolded And now Maduro  thug, criminal, dictator and illegitimate officeholder  is gone. That fact was applauded by world leaders as varied as Trumps right-wing ally in Argentina, Javier Milei, and Frances Emmanuel Macron, who said the Venezuelan people could only rejoice. But what comes next? This was where the triumphalism of Trumps victory lap press conference gave way to almost deliberate indifference and vagueness. Were going to run the country, Trump declared, adding in his utopian style that the Venezuelan people would all be taken care of, and a great, oil-funded golden age would begin.

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Asked for details about who exactly would run Venezuela, Trump shrugged, before suggesting it would probably be the people standing behind him, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. It was no more than an afterthought. But then we were told Rubio had actually been on the phone with Venezuelas vice president, Rodriguez  Maduros deputy  and that she was sort of co-operating. Shes essentially willing to do what we think is necessary, Trump said, adding (fairly) that she didnt have much choice. Not only that, but Trump dismissed the possibility of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado taking power, claiming she lacked public support or respect. That is despite her party and its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez comfortably winning last years presidential election (which Maduro ignored).

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So, consider the extraordinary circumstances here. Upon removing a despised dictator and escorting him to New York to face trial, Rubio rings up the ousted tyrants deputy to enrol her as a puppet leader, potentially presiding over American boots on the ground. Rodriguez didnt sing from that song sheet in her remarks on state television. Instead, she condemned the USs illegal and illegitimate kidnapping of Maduro, demanded his immediate return and said Venezuela would not become a colony of any nation. But then again, what else could she say? Related Article Venezuela crisis Venezuela strikes as it happened: Nicolas Maduro indicted in New York after being captured by US; Trump says US will run Venezuela Trump never pretended his goal was to make Venezuela a democracy, and any student of US-led regime change knows that is only ever a fig leaf. When George W. Bush invaded Iraq on the pretence of removing weapons of mass destruction and spreading democracy, cynics said it was really about seizing the countrys oil reserves. Well, Trump made it explicitly clear that oil is what his Venezuelan venture is about. While Maduro and his wife will face trial for narco-terrorism, American companies will be busy commandeering Venezuelas crumbling oil infrastructure and taking over the countrys most important industry. And Trump said he was nonplussed about running Venezuela indefinitely because the oil money would ultimately pay for everything.

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Trump and Hegseth say thats what makes this operation America First. Theyll subdue a dangerous neighbour and reap the oily spoils, with not a drop of American blood spilled. Delcy Rodriguez is the countrys oil and finance minister, putting her at the centre of the Venezuelan state and economy. It is possible that behind the scenes, she has done some kind of deal with the Americans to facilitate this bloodless victory. But what would such a promise be worth? And what of all the other unknowns? What percentage of Venezuelans would stay loyal to such a puppet regime? And what of the vast networks of criminal gangs in one of the most violent countries in the world? The prospect of the US being drawn into a war in Venezuela, or running it interminably, did not seem to faze the president. But it might bother many of his supporters, who, while cheering an impressive US military feat, will wonder why they are again being asked to fund and support a risky, open-ended intervention overseas. Justin Logan, the director of defence and foreign policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute think tank, said Americans did not sign up for a nation-building campaign in Venezuela.

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They havent even been asked, he said. [Hegseths] claim that the attack was about the safety, security, freedom, and prosperity of the American people strains credulity past the breaking point. Maduro supporters burn a US flag in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, after the US attack. AP We still have no answers to what run Venezuela means, nor any clarity about who will be doing it, what it will cost, when it will end, or how it will be paid for. Logan said it was time for the US Congress to rein in an administration that had gone well beyond its authority. That is something which, to date, Congress has shown little capacity to do. And Trump has stitched together a run of good fortune and chutzpah that has earned him a great deal of leeway, even from some of his doubters.

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Can that last forever? History would say not. But Trump doesnt just believe in peace through strength  he believes strength trumps history. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
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WorldSouth AmericaVenezuela crisis Far more than a first lady: Who is Cilia Flores, the powerbroker captured alongside Maduro? Genevieve Glatsky January 4, 2026  11:39am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Follow our live coverage of the unfolding situation in Venezuela here. Bogota, Colombia: When news broke that the United States had captured and indicted Venezuelas longtime authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro, another name appeared alongside his, puzzling some observers: his wifes, Cilia Flores. Far more than a first lady, Flores is one of Venezuelas most powerful political figures. She built extraordinary influence over decades while largely operating from the shadows. Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores stands behind her husband, Nicolas Maduro, at a 2019 press conference at the Miraflores Palace. AP Flores shaped a judicial system in which nearly every major decision ran through her and embedded state institutions with relatives and loyalists, according to journalists, analysts and former officials. At the same time, they noted, her family amassed vast, unexplained wealth.

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A lawyer from a lower middle-class background, Flores began her political rise in the 1990s, becoming close to Hugo Chavez  the former president who was Maduros mentor and predecessor  while he was imprisoned after a failed coup attempt in 1992. She steadily climbed the ranks of Chavezs socialist movement, known as chavismo, becoming a central figure in Venezuelas legislature. Flores points to supporters at an election campaign rally for her husband in 2024. AP Flores and Maduro have been partners since at least the late 1990s, when both were lawmakers. They married in 2013, the year he became president. After Chavezs death, she was widely seen as critical to consolidating and sustaining Maduros hold on power, bringing a loyal political base and deep institutional influence. Within chavismo, she commands both respect and fear, said Roberto Deniz, a Venezuelan investigative journalist who has reported extensively on the Flores family.

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Related Article Venezuela crisis Who is Venezuelas vice president and can she fill Maduros shoes? She is a fundamental figure in corruption in Venezuela  absolutely fundamental  and especially in the structure of power, said Zair Mundaray, who worked as a senior prosecutor under Chavez and Maduro. Many people consider her far more astute and shrewd than Maduro himself. In an interview published in the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia in 2013, Flores called herself a combatant and defended hiring relatives. My family got in based on their own merits, she said. I am proud of them, and I will defend their work as many times as necessary.

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Although she stopped holding formal government posts after 2013, Flores retained immense behind-the-scenes authority. She is often described as a key architect of Maduros political survival. Cilia Flores meets Russian President Vladimir Putin alongside her husband in Moscow last year. AP Within chavismo itself, they know the real power that Cilia Flores has, more so than perhaps the general public, Deniz said. Flores is also widely believed to wield decisive influence over Venezuelas justice system. Many judges and senior officials are thought to be loyal to her or have been placed through her networks. The judiciary is considered thoroughly politicised, having failed to issue a single ruling against the state in more than two decades. It is a completely politicised, flawed, corrupt judicial system, and Cilia Flores bears a great deal of responsibility for what the Venezuelan judicial system has become, Deniz said.

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Venezuela crisis In claiming American strength, Trump also highlights weakness Investigative journalists have documented extensive corruption involving the Maduro-Flores family, including misuse of public funds and business links with sanctioned foreign businesspeople. One investigation showed the family effectively taking over an entire street of luxury homes in Caracas, the countrys capital. A federal indictment unsealed Saturday charged Flores, along with her husband and son, with collaborating with drug traffickers. She has been basically co-governing the country since he came to power, and in many ways is the strategy or power behind the throne, said Risa Grais-Targow, the Latin America director for Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. Shes been key to his staying power, but also now his downfall as well. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.

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Analysis WorldSouth AmericaVenezuela crisis The former bus driver who squeezed the life out of Latin Americas richest nation Simeon Tegel January 4, 2026  4:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Follow our live coverage of the unfolding situation in Venezuela here. Lima: Shortly after the death of Hugo Chavez in 2013, Nicolas Maduro, who succeeded him as Venezuelan president, went on national television to claim that his late political mentor had reappeared to him as a tiny songbird. Apparently speaking in earnest, the left-wing populist claimed that the chirping bird had circled his head several times as he prayed in a chapel, and that the pair then whistled back and forth to each other in conversation. Hugo Chavez (left) with then foreign minister Nicolas Maduro in 2007. AP I felt his [Chavezs] spirit, Maduro told millions of Venezuelans during the live address. I felt him blessing us and telling us: Today, the battle starts. Head to victory, take our blessings. Thats how I felt him in my soul.

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The absurd scene neatly encapsulates the former bus driver and union leaders 13-year presidency of Venezuela. During that time, he constructed an elaborate official narrative based on bizarre mythologising and outright lies in a necessary refusal to acknowledge the calamitous, real-world consequences of his own policies. Maduro raises his fist as he holds up the official certificate declaring him winner of the presidential election in 2013. AP It also reflects the fact that Maduro owed his entire political capital and branding  and possibly even survival as president  to his career as one of the late strongman leaders closest loyalists. While Maduro, 63, who has just been dramatically detained and whisked out of the South American country by US special forces, painted an increasingly surreal picture of Venezuela as a Bolivarian socialist paradise, ordinary citizens were forced to live in ever greater squalor and fear of their own government.

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Venezuela is, according to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the only country in the world with larger oil reserves than Saudi Arabia. Yet under Maduro, the economy fell off a cliff, amid a blizzard of nationalisations, runaway corruption and gross mismanagement. Related Article Venezuela crisis Who is Venezuelas vice president and can she fill Maduros shoes? Chavista loyalists with no relevant qualifications were installed at PDVSA, the state-owned oil company that was the national cash cow, accounting for more than 90 per cent of exports. Predictably, its output nosedived. Meanwhile, agricultural production plummeted as the regime supplied food free or at heavily subsidised prices to regime-supporting neighbourhoods, often in urban slums, while leaving the rest of the country to starve. And medicines needed for cancer and a host of other life-threatening but treatable diseases vanished from the shop shelves. Many Venezuelans were forced into desperate strategies, including rummaging through rubbish, to survive.

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Ultimately, as many as 8 million people  one quarter of the population  were forced to flee their homeland, in many cases just to be able to feed and clothe their families. It is, statistically, the western hemispheres greatest-ever refugee crisis. Anyone who complained, from ordinary citizens to prominent opposition leaders, risked imprisonment and torture at the hands of the thuggish security forces. In the meantime, the economy shrank by at least 75 per cent under Maduro  the nail in the coffin for a country that the 1970s oil boom had transformed into Latin Americas richest. Loading Yet despite it all, Maduro may be judged  by his own dystopian standards  as a successful president. His ascent to high office, never mind clinging to power for so long, was not something that either critics or supporters of the regime ever expected. Raised in El Valle, a blue-collar suburb in eastern Caracas, Maduro was steeped by his father in left-wing activism from an early age. He became a supporter of Chavez after el Comandante was jailed for a failed coup against a democratically elected government in 1992.

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After the strongman was elected president in 1999, Maduro rose through the Chavista ranks, becoming a deputy, then foreign minister and eventually vice-president. Even in those early days, there were clear hints of the corruption of which the ousted president is now accused. In 2006, when returning from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which he had attended as Venezuelas top diplomat, he was briefly arrested after paying for plane tickets for his entourage in cash. Maduro waves to supporters alongside first lady Cilia Flores in Caracas in 2016. AP In 2012, in one of his final public acts, a cancer-riddled Chavez anointed his trusted sidekick as his political heir. It said everything that the dying autocrat felt his say-so  rather than the looming election  was all that was required to ensure the presidential succession. Maduro won his first election later that year, beating his youthful opponent, Henrique Capriles, the unified opposition candidate, by just 1.5 per cent. Capriles demanded a recount, which the regime refused to provide, establishing the precedent for Maduros two subsequent presidential victories, in 2018 and 2024, both of which were marred by highly detailed allegations of widespread fraud.

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At least initially, Maduro was widely regarded as a weak, fundamentally flawed leader, lacking both the crude charisma and wily political skills of Chavez. Many suspected that he was just a figurehead, with the regimes hard man, Diosdado Cabello, a former army colleague of Chavez who led a tank unit during the 1992 coup attempt, the true power behind the throne. Most commentators predicted that Maduros tenure in the Miraflores Palace, Venezuelas palm-lined, colonial-era presidential residence, would be brief. Yet, somehow, he managed to stay in power for 13 years. Anti-government protesters march along a highway in Caracas in 2017. AP He did so even while economic mismanagement and collapsing oil prices ravaged the economy, turning a regime once popular for its largesse with the poor into one that relied on the military, police and heavily armed militias of motorcycle-riding Chavista supporters to terrorise opponents. Maduro used foreign plots to bolster support

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Maduro also used the bogeyman of gringo imperialism to shore up his base, routinely giving speeches accusing the White House or Western oil companies of plotting against him, including on multiple occasions claiming  without ever providing evidence  to have thwarted foreign-backed assassination plots. He also frequently appealed to the anti-imperialist legacy of Simon Bolivar, the revered liberator, who led most of South Americas struggle for independence from Spain in the early 19th century. Yet the truth is that Bolivar was a liberal in the classic sense, who must have been spinning in his grave at the way a corrupt, tyrannical regime sought to politically appropriate his legacy. Maduro addresses supporters during a rally in Caracas last month. AP Barack Obama and Joe Biden tended to publicly ignore Maduro during their presidencies, in an attempt to take the oxygen out of the adversarial relationship that the dictator used as a political prop. During his first term, however, US President Donald Trump adopted the opposite tack, launching outspoken tirades against Maduro, hyping up the geopolitical tension between Washington and Caracas  and potentially giving both presidents a domestic political boost.

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That war of words came to a crashing end on Saturday morning, Caracas time. As he now contemplates spending the rest of his days behind bars in a high-security US prison, Maduro will be coming to terms with the fact that, this time, Trump was not bluffing. The Telegraph, London Get a note direct from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
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WorldSouth AmericaVenezuela crisis US wont govern Venezuela, Rubio says, as Trump threatens Maduro deputy Andy Sullivan and Regina Garcia Cano Updated January 5, 2026  5:56pm ,first published January 5, 2026  6:40am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Follow our live coverage of the unfolding situation in Venezuela here. Washington: US President Donald Trump has left open the possibility of another strike on Venezuela if it doesnt co-operate with his efforts to open up its oil industry and clamp down on drug-trafficking, warning its interim leader would pay a hefty price if she doesnt do whats right. Trump also suggested the US could intervene against other countries, threatening Colombia if it didnt reduce the flow of illicit drugs into America and reasserting that the US needs Greenland, although he said Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela, looked ready to fall on its own. Operation Colombia sounds good to me, he said. President Donald Trump monitors the US military operations in Venezuela, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe (left) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday morning. AP Trumps comments in an interview with The Atlantic magazine and to reporters aboard Air Force One came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated the US would not govern Venezuela day to day other than enforcing an existing oil quarantine on the country, even as Trump again insisted Washington would be in control following its weekend ousting of president Nicolas Maduro.

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The deposed leader is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in New York on Monday (4am Tuesday AEDT) to face US drug-trafficking and weapons charges. Trump defended his decision to take Maduro and his wife by force from their house in Caracas on Saturday during an operation run by an elite US military unit that has plunged Venezuela into uncertainty. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez in Caracas in September. New York Times You know, rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now. Cant get any worse. He initially praised Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, but later told The Atlantic he expected the interim leader to toe the line. He wanted her to provide total access, from major oil operations to basic infrastructure such as roads, so all could be rebuilt.

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If she doesnt do whats right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro, he said. Rodriguez, who was defiant in the aftermath of the US attack, vowing to defend the countrys natural resources and demanding the US free Maduro, struck a more conciliatory tone on Sunday night (Monday AEDT), saying she sought respectful relations with the US. Marco Rubio watches the operation unfold. AP We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of co-operation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community co-existence, Rodriguez wrote in an online post. Rubio appeared on US TV talk shows to seemingly temper concerns about whether the striking action to achieve regime change in Venezuela might again produce a prolonged foreign intervention or failed attempt at nation-building.

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His remarks stood in contrast to Trumps broad but vague claims that the US would at least temporarily run the oil-rich nation, comments that suggested some sort of governing structure under which Caracas would be controlled by Washington. Rubio offered a more nuanced take, saying the US would continue to enforce an oil quarantine on sanctioned tankers that was in place before Maduro was removed from power and using that leverage as a means to press for policy changes in Venezuela. Loading And so thats the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that, Rubio said on CBS Face the Nation. We continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug-trafficking. The blockade on sanctioned oil tankers  some of which have been seized by the US  remains in place, and thats a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes that not just further the national interest of the United States, which is No.1, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela, he said.

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Trump repeated vow US would run Venezuela Trumps vow to run Venezuela, repeated more than half a dozen times at a news conference in Florida on Saturday, and again on Sunday, sparked concerns among some Democrats. It also drew unease from parts of his own Republican coalition, including an America First base that is opposed to foreign interventions, and from observers who recalled past nation-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. A damaged apartment complex that neighbours say was hit during US strikes to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday. AP Rubio dismissed such criticism, saying that Trumps intent had been misunderstood by a foreign policy establishment that was fixated on the Middle East.

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The whole foreign policy apparatus thinks everything is Libya, everything is Iraq, everything is Afghanistan, Rubio said. This is not the Middle East. And our mission here is very different. This is the Western hemisphere. Rubio also suggested the US would give Maduros subordinates time to govern, saying, were going to judge everything by what they do, and were going to see what they do. A Venezuelan soldier stands atop an armoured vehicle driving towards Caracas on Sunday. AP While he did not rule out a US military presence in Venezuela, Rubio said the current US force posture was capable of stopping drug boats and sanctioned tankers. A day earlier, Trump said, were going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.

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He later pointed to his national security team with him, including Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and said it would be done for a period of time by the people that are standing right behind me. Were gonna be running it, were gonna be bringing it back. Despite Rubios seeking to tamp down that notion, Trump reiterated on Sunday (Monday AEDT) that the US would control Venezuela, saying, were going to run everything. Were going to run it, fix it, he said, adding well have elections at the right time without saying when that might be. Maduros arrival Maduro landed late on Saturday afternoon (Sunday AEDT) at a small airport in New York Citys northern suburbs following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home on a military base in Caracas  an act that Maduros government called imperialist.

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The couple faces US charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy. Nicolas Maduro being perp walked by Drug Enforcement Administration officers in New York. X@PaulDMauro The dramatic seizure of the Maduros capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuelas autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval. Related Article Venezuela crisis US-Venezuela as it happened: Extremely dangerous precedent set by Trump; Maduro prepares to face New York court after capture After arriving at the airport, Maduro was flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armoured car, was waiting to whisk him to a nearby US Drug Enforcement Administration office.

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A video posted on social media by a White House account showed Maduro, smiling, as he was escorted through that office by two DEA agents grasping his arms. Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment on Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a corrupt, illegitimate government fuelled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the US with cocaine. Maduro is charged with narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. He faces decades to life in prison on each count if convicted. A supporter of Maduro stands on a median strip waving a national flag in Caracas on Saturday. AP The US government does not recognise Maduro as the countrys leader. The Trump administration spent months building up American forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean for allegedly ferrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels  the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US campaign began in September.

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Quiet falls in Venezuela after US operation Venezuelas capital remained unusually quiet on Sunday, with few vehicles moving around and convenience stores, petrol stations and other businesses closed. A road typically filled with runners, cyclists and other fitness enthusiasts on Sundays had only a handful of people working out the day after Maduro was deposed. Related Article Analysis

Venezuela crisis This could be Trumps Iraq, and Americans must ask: Is it what we voted for? The presidential palace was guarded by armed civilians and members of the military. A large part of Maduros security team was killed in the US raid, Venezuelan Defence Minister General Vladimir Padrino said, adding that armed forces had been activated across the country to guarantee sovereignty. Cuba announced that 32 Cuban security officers were killed in the US operation, which Trump acknowledged: You know, a lot of Cubans were killed yesterday.

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There was a lot of death on the other side, Trump said aboard Air Force One as he flew back to Washington from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. No death on our side. At a nearby plaza, only a street sweeper and a soldier stood, and across the street, a church remained closed for a second day in a row. Caracas resident David Leal arrived at the car park where he works only to quickly realise that he would probably not see any clients for a second day. People are still shaken, Leal said. Reuters, AP Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
North Korea fires ballistic missile: Seoul



Seoul, Jan 3 (AFP) Jan 03, 2026



North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast on Sunday, South Korea's military said.

"The North has launched an unidentified ballistic missile toward the East Sea," it said, referring to a body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

Japan's defence ministry also said it had detected a suspected ballistic missile launch.

North Korea staged a ballistic missile test in November, after US President Donald Trump approved South Korea's plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine.

Pyongyang has significantly stepped up missile testing in recent years.

Analysts say this drive is aimed at improving precision strike capabilities, challenging the United States as well as South Korea and testing weapons before potentially exporting them to Russia.
North Korea fires ballistic missile, South says



Seoul, Jan 3 (AFP) Jan 03, 2026



North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast on Sunday, South Korea's military said.

"The North has launched an unidentified ballistic missile toward the East Sea," it said, referring to a body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

Japan's defence ministry also said it detected a possible ballistic missile, which landed in an unspecified location around 8:08 am (2308 GMT Saturday).

North Korea last staged a ballistic missile test in November, after US President Donald Trump approved South Korea's plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine.

Pyongyang has significantly stepped up missile testing in recent years.

Analysts say this drive is aimed at improving precision strike capabilities, challenging the United States as well as South Korea and testing weapons before potentially exporting them to Russia.

Pyongyang is also set to hold a landmark congress of its ruling party in the coming weeks -- its first in five years.

Economic policy, as well as defence and military planning, are likely to be high on the agenda.

Ahead of that conclave, leader Kim Jong Un ordered the "expansion" and modernisation of the country's missile production and the construction of more factories to meet growing demand.

On Sunday, state media reported that Kim had paid a visit to a facility involved in making tactical guided weapons.

And he ordered them to expand current production capacity by 250 percent, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

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North Korea fires ballistic missiles in first test of 2026



Seoul, Jan 4 (AFP) Jan 04, 2026



North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles off its east coast on Sunday, Seoul's military said, its first launch of the year just hours before South Korea's leader heads to China for a summit.

Sunday's launch follows a US military operation against Pyongyang's socialist ally Venezuela that snatched President Nicolas Maduro out of his country -- for decades a nightmare scenario for North Korea's leadership, which has long accused Washington of seeking to remove it from power.

Seoul's defence ministry said it had detected "several projectiles, presumed to be ballistic missiles" fired from near the North Korean capital Pyongyang around 7:50 am (2250 GMT Saturday).

"The military is maintaining a full readiness posture, having strengthened surveillance and vigilance against possible additional launches," Seoul said.

Japan's defence ministry also said it detected a possible ballistic missile, which it said landed in an unspecified location around 8:08 am (2308 GMT Saturday).

It is Pyongyang's first ballistic missile launch since November, when it staged a test after US President Donald Trump approved South Korea's plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine.

One analyst said Trump's Saturday military operation against Venezuela likely played a role in the decision to carry out the launch.

Pyongyang has for decades argued it needs its nuclear and missile programme as a deterrent against alleged regime change efforts by Washington. The United States has offered Pyongyang repeated assurances it has no such plans.

"They likely fear that if the United States so chooses, it could launch a precision strike at any moment, threatening the regime's survival," Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said.

"The underlying message is likely that attacking North Korea would not be as easy as a strike on Venezuela," he added.



- Lee bound for China -



The test also came just hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departs for Beijing for talks with counterpart Xi Jinping, whose government is a key economic backer of North Korea.

Lee hopes to possibly harness China's clout over North Korea to support his bid to improve ties with Pyongyang.

Pyongyang has significantly stepped up missile testing in recent years.

Analysts say this drive is aimed at improving precision strike capabilities, challenging the United States as well as South Korea and testing weapons before potentially exporting them to Russia.

Pyongyang is also set to hold a landmark congress of its ruling party in the coming weeks -- its first in five years.

Economic policy, as well as defence and military planning, are likely to be high on the agenda.

Ahead of that conclave, leader Kim Jong Un ordered the "expansion" and modernisation of the country's missile production and the construction of more factories to meet growing demand.

On Sunday, state media reported that Kim had paid a visit to a facility involved in making tactical guided weapons.

He ordered them to expand current production capacity by 250 percent, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

burs-kjk-oho/tc
North Korea fires ballistic missiles in first test of 2026



Seoul, Jan 4 (AFP) Jan 04, 2026



North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles off its east coast on Sunday, Seoul's military said, its first launch of the year just hours before South Korea's leader heads to China for a summit.

Sunday's launch follows a US military operation against Pyongyang's socialist ally Venezuela that snatched President Nicolas Maduro out of his country -- for decades a nightmare scenario for North Korea's leadership, which has long accused Washington of seeking to remove it from power.

Seoul's defence ministry said it had detected "several projectiles, presumed to be ballistic missiles" fired from near the North Korean capital Pyongyang around 7:50 am (2250 GMT Saturday).

The missiles "flew approximately 900 kilometres (559.2 miles)", the military said, adding that South Korea and the United States were "closely analysing the specifications" while "maintaining a full readiness posture".

The National Security Council in Seoul convened an emergency meeting after the launch, which a presidential office statement said "constitutes a provocative act in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions".

Japan's defence ministry also said it had detected a possible ballistic missile, noting that two missiles reached an altitude of 50 kilometres and flew distances of 900 and 950 kilometres respectively.

"North Korea's nuclear and missile development threatens the peace and stability of our country and the international society, and is absolutely intolerable," Japan's defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters.

It is Pyongyang's first ballistic missile launch since November, when it staged a test after US President Donald Trump approved South Korea's plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine.

One analyst said Trump's military operation against Venezuela on Saturday likely played a role in the decision to carry out the launch.

Pyongyang has for decades argued it needs its nuclear and missile programmes as a deterrent against alleged regime change efforts by Washington. The United States has offered Pyongyang repeated assurances that it has no such plans.

"They likely fear that if the United States so chooses, it could launch a precision strike at any moment, threatening the regime's survival," said Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

"The underlying message is likely that attacking North Korea would not be as easy as a strike on Venezuela," he said.

A former senior North Korean diplomat said Pyongyang should learn from the US operation to detain Maduro.

"I hope it remembers former president Maduro for a long time -- as a man who squandered a valuable opportunity through bluster," Lee Il-kyu, Pyongyang's former political counsellor in Cuba who defected to South Korea in 2023, said in a Facebook post on Sunday.



- Lee bound for China -



The test also came just hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departs for Beijing for talks with his counterpart Xi Jinping, whose government is a key economic backer of North Korea.

Lee hopes to possibly harness China's clout over North Korea to support his bid to improve ties with Pyongyang.

North Korea has stepped up missile testing significantly in recent years.

Analysts say this drive is aimed at improving precision strike capabilities, challenging the United States as well as South Korea and testing weapons before potentially exporting them to Russia.

Pyongyang is also set to hold a landmark congress of its ruling party in the coming weeks, its first in five years.

Economic policy, as well as defence and military planning, are likely to be high on the agenda.

Ahead of that conclave, leader Kim Jong Un ordered the "expansion" and modernisation of the country's missile production and the construction of more factories to meet growing demand.

State media reported on Sunday that Kim had visited a facility involved in making tactical guided weapons.

He ordered them to expand current production capacity by 250 percent, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.

burs-kjk-oho/pbt
France, UK conduct joint strikes against IS in Syria



London, Jan 4 (AFP) Jan 04, 2026



Britain and France on Sunday said they had carried out joint strikes on the Islamic State group in Syria to prevent the Islamist extremists resurging.

France said it was part of Operation Inherent Resolve, a US-led international offensive against IS in Iraq, Syria and also Libya.

The British Ministry of Defence said it cooperated with France on Saturday night to strike an underground facility in Syria that had likely been used by the Islamic State group to store weapons.

"Royal Air Force aircraft have completed successful strikes against Daesh in a joint operation with France," the ministry said in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

"This facility had been occupied by Daesh, most likely to store weapons and explosives. The area around the facility is devoid of any civilian habitation," the statement added.

The ministry said there was no indication the bombing north of the ancient site of Palmyra had posed any risk to civilians.

The French armed forces said in a statement on X that as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the two NATO allies "carried out strikes against positions of the terrorist group Islamic State".

"Preventing the resurgence of Daesh is a major issue for the security of the region," it added.

IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 but still maintains a presence, particularly in the country's vast desert.

Preventing the group from regaining strength is a major priority for the international community as Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, himself a former jihadist, seeks to shore up security in Syria after ousting former president Bashar al-Assad just over a year ago.

Palmyra, home to UNESCO-listed ancient ruins, was once controlled by the jihadist fighters.

Last month, Washington said a lone IS gunman in Palmyra attacked American personnel, killing two US soldiers and a US civilian.

US forces said they struck dozens of IS targets in Syria in retaliation.

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MOSCOW, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Foreign Ministry denied that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez is in Russia, saying such claim by some media organizations is "fake news," TASS reported on Saturday, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, Spanish news agencies 20 minutos, The Objective and Vozpopuli reported that after the U.S. attack on Caracas, Delcy Rodriguez gave an interview to the Venezuelan state TV channel VTV over the phone from Moscow.

Reuters confirmed this information, citing its sources.

Later, Cuban news agency Prensa Latina, citing Venezuela's national press, reported that Rodriguez is still in Venezuela.

On Saturday, Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Rodriguez to assume the role of acting president following Maduro's capture. 
Syrian Kurdish leader in Damascus for talks on military integration



Damascus, Jan 4 (AFP) Jan 04, 2026



Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi was in Damascus on Sunday for fresh talks with officials on integrating his forces into those of the central military, the Kurds' armed forces said.

Abdi signed a deal in March with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to merge the Kurds' semi-autonomous administration into the government by the end of 2025, but differences between the two sides have held up its implementation.

"A delegation from the leadership of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is currently meeting with officials from the Damascus government in the Syrian capital, as part of discussions related to the military integration process," the Kurdish-led SDF said in a statement, adding its commander-in-chief Abdi was among them.

The government has yet to issue a statement about the meeting.

The SDF control large swathes of Syria's oil-rich north and northeast, and with the support of a US-led international coalition, were integral to the territorial defeat of the Islamic State group in Syria in 2019.

The question of its integration into the state has proven complicated since the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad a year ago.

Despite his agreement to merge with the new government, Abdi has repeated calls for decentralisation -- which Syria's new Islamist authorities have rejected -- and tensions between the Kurds and the government have occasionally erupted into clashes.

In December, a Kurdish official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Damascus had proposed splitting the Kurdish-led forces into three divisions and a number of brigades, including one for women.

The forces would be deployed under SDF commanders in Kurdish-controlled areas, the official said.

Syria's foreign minister later said the government was studying the Kurds' response.

That same month, Abdi said that "all efforts are being made to prevent the collapse of this process" and that he considered failure unlikely.

Turkey, an important ally of Syria's new leaders, sees the presence of Kurdish forces on its border as a security threat, and has publicly called for them to be integrated into the state.
North Korea fires ballistic missiles in first test of 2026



Seoul, Jan 4 (AFP) Jan 04, 2026



North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles off its east coast on Sunday, Seoul's military said, a day after a major US military operation against Pyongyang's socialist ally Venezuela.

The first launch of the year came just hours before South Korea's leader headed to China for a summit that is expected to feature ties with the North.

Seoul's defence ministry said it had detected "several projectiles, presumed to be ballistic missiles" fired from near the North Korean capital Pyongyang around 7:50 am (2250 GMT Saturday).

The missiles flew approximately 900 kilometres (559 miles), the military said, adding that South Korea and ally the United States were "closely analysing the specifications" while "maintaining a full readiness posture".

The launch follows the US operation that snatched Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro out of his country -- a nightmare scenario for North Korea's leadership, which has long feared a so-called "decapitation strike" of that kind and accused Washington of seeking to remove it from power.

One analyst said Saturday's operation in Venezuela likely played a role in the decision to carry out the launch.

Seoul's Office of National Security convened an emergency meeting following the launch, which a presidency statement said "constitutes a provocative act in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions".

Japan's defence ministry also said it had detected a possible ballistic missile, noting that two projectiles reached an altitude of 50 kilometres and flew distances of 900 and 950 kilometres respectively.

"North Korea's nuclear and missile development threatens the peace and stability of our country and the international society, and is absolutely intolerable," Japan's Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters.

Pyongyang last launched a ballistic missile in November, when it staged a test after US President Donald Trump approved South Korea's plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine.

In a statement shared by Pyongyang's state media on Sunday, the North Korean foreign ministry condemned the US attack on Venezuela as a "serious encroachment of sovereignty".

"The incident is another example that clearly confirms once again the rogue and brutal nature of the US," it said.

Pyongyang has for decades argued it needs its nuclear and missile programmes as a deterrent against alleged regime change efforts by Washington. The United States has offered Pyongyang repeated assurances that it has no such plans.

"They likely fear that if the United States so chooses, it could launch a precision strike at any moment, threatening the regime's survival," said Hong Min, an analyst at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for National Unification.

"The underlying message is likely that attacking North Korea would not be as easy as a strike on Venezuela," he said.

A former senior North Korean diplomat who defected in 2023 said Pyongyang should learn from the US operation.

It came after Maduro "squandered a valuable opportunity through bluster", Lee Il-kyu, Pyongyang's former political counsellor in Cuba, wrote on social media.



- 'Expansion' -



The test also came as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung was expected in Beijing for talks with his counterpart Xi Jinping, whose government is a key economic backer of North Korea.

Lee hopes to possibly harness China's clout over North Korea to support his bid to improve ties with Pyongyang.

North Korea has stepped up missile testing significantly in recent years.

Analysts say this drive is aimed at improving precision strike capabilities, challenging the United States as well as South Korea, and testing weapons before potentially exporting them to Russia.

Pyongyang is also set to hold a landmark congress of its ruling party in the coming weeks, its first in five years.

Economic policy, as well as defence and military planning, are likely to be high on the agenda.

Ahead of that conclave, leader Kim Jong Un ordered the "expansion" and modernisation of the country's missile production.

State media reported on Sunday that Kim had visited a facility involved in making tactical guided weapons.

He ordered them to expand current production capacity by 250 percent, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.

burs-kjk-oho/ami
Venezuela military recognizes Maduro's VP as acting president



Caracas, Jan 4 (AFP) Jan 04, 2026



Venezuela's military on Sunday recognized Delcy Rodriguez, deputy to ousted president Nicolas Maduro, as the country's acting leader, after US forces extracted the former head of state to face trial.

Amid uncertainty following the leftist president's dramatic capture, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez appeared to throw his weight behind Rodriguez, who US President Donald Trump had earlier indicated was a figure Washington could work with.

Padrino read out a statement on television endorsing a Supreme Court ruling that appointed Rodriguez as acting president for 90 days.

He also called on Venezuelans to get back to their daily life, speaking less than two days after the US strikes shook the capital Caracas and special forces seized Maduro and his wife.

Padrino denounced it as a "cowardly kidnapping" and said that some of Maduro's bodyguards were killed "in cold blood," as well as military personnel and civilians on the Venezuelan side.

Venezuelan authorities have not yet given an official toll for people hurt or killed in the US operations.

The streets of Caracas were deserted and quiet on Sunday, with many businesses closed and moderate queues at some markets and pharmacies.

"I call on the people of Venezuela to resume their activities of all kinds, economic, work and education, in the coming days," Padrino said.

"The homeland must follow its constitutional course."
Moore still arranges the flowers in the restaurant himself. He declined an outsourcing quote which amused him, then annoyed him. He believes a dining room loses something once its owner relinquishes such details. He remembers details. Moments too. He no longer eats sea bass after a bout of salmonella. He once sent a volatile chef to therapy rather than dismiss him. A guest collapsed mid-service and was treated by another diner who turned out to be a doctor. An oxidised bottle of Coche-Dury was handled without fuss. A group of chefs threatened to walk out minutes before a full Friday service and were steadied. He avoided a punch from a drunk guest who fell over instead. He prefers a Negroni to a Martini, which needs stirring with the little finger seventy-nine times.
It is a view that Reform UKs leader, Nigel Farage, has repeated, warning one journalist: I dare you to walk through the West End of London after 9 oclock of an evening wearing jewellery. You wouldnt do it. You know that Im right. You wouldnt do it.
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Anastasia Trevino protests US intervention in Venezuela at City Hall in Austin on Jan. 04, 2026. (Kaylee Greenlee/Contributor) Kaylee Greenlee Jack McCabe makes a sign to protest US intervention in Venezuela at City Hall in Austin on Jan. 04, 2026. (Kaylee Greenlee/Contributor) Kaylee Greenlee Dozens gather in protest of US intervention in Venezuela at City Hall in Austin on Jan. 04, 2026. (Kaylee Greenlee/Contributor) Kaylee Greenlee Dozens gather in protest of US intervention in Venezuela at City Hall in Austin on Jan. 04, 2026. (Kaylee Greenlee/Contributor) Kaylee Greenlee Sean Dobbs protests US intervention in Venezuela at City Hall in Austin on Jan. 04, 2026. (Kaylee Greenlee/Contributor) Kaylee Greenlee

After the United States carried out what President Donald Trump called a "large scale strike against Venezuela" in order to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, hundreds of people gathered in front of Austin City Hall on Sunday to protest the military action, which they called illegal.

Around 200 people gathered around noon in a quickly organized condemnation of the strike, which took place in the early hours of Saturday morning and resulted in the arrest of Maduro on narcoterrorism charges. Holding signs with phrases like "No war in Venesuela" and "Are my eggs cheaper yet?" the attendants and speakers expressed fears of escalation, disavowed the use of violence in pursuit of oil and asked government officials to focus on domestic issue rather than Venezuela.

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"Donald Trump, you're a liar," the crowd chanted. "No more wars for empire."

Tara holds a sign during a protest of US intervention in Venezuela at City Hall in Austin on Jan. 04, 2026. (Kaylee Greenlee/Contributor) Kaylee Greenlee

In recent months, U.S.Venezuela tensions have intensified amid stepped-up naval military operations in the Caribbean, where U.S. officials have accused Venezuelan networks of playing a growing role in cocaine trafficking by sea. The escalation is part of a wider U.S. drug-war messaging strategy, with increased naval patrols, seizures of so-called narco-boats and sharper rhetoric linking Venezuelas government to transnational smuggling routes.

E. B. Parry protests US intervention in Venezuela at City Hall in Austin on Jan. 04, 2026. (Kaylee Greenlee/Contributor) Kaylee Greenlee

Scarlet Lopez, a press liaison for the Austin chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said organizers viewed the strike as a violation of international law and a resource grab dressed up as a drug case. She and multiple speakers pointed to economic issues in the U.S. that they believe should take priority over military intervention in Latin America.

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Lopez argued the Trump administrations stated rationale echoed past U.S. justifications for military interventions abroad. She said the U.S. lacks the standing to seize the president of another country, arguing that Americans have repeatedly been misled into past wars through what she described as a deliberate effort to manufacture public support.

Were here to show Austin, show Texas, to show the world and to show the people from Venezuela that we wholeheartedly oppose this  these illegal attacks, Lopez said. This illegal kidnapping of a president of a sovereign nation is only an oil grab, a power grab, a resource grab, and we will not fight this war for them.

Jim (from left), Tara, Emily and Linda protest US intervention in Venezuela at City Hall in Austin on Jan. 04, 2026. (Kaylee Greenlee/Contributor) Kaylee Greenlee

One of the speakers at the rally was interrupted by a woman waving a Venezuela flag while yelling "We deserve freedom."

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Elizabeth Gunz, a counter-protestor who identified herself as being with the Austin Venezuela Association, said she showed up because she felt the anti-war rally was being conflated with Venezuelan-led gatherings and did not reflect Venezuelans views.

This protest today here at City Hall has nothing to do with Venezuela, Gunz said, adding that she was happy about Maduros removal and believed Venezuelans had been fighting for this for decades.

Dozens gather in protest of US intervention in Venezuela at City Hall in Austin on Jan. 04, 2026. (Kaylee Greenlee/Contributor) Kaylee Greenlee

Sundays rally came amid sharply divided reactions among Venezuelans in Texas and across the country after Maduros capture. Maduro has led Venezuela since 2013, presiding over a government widely criticized for authoritarian rule, electoral irregularities, human rights abuses, deep economic collapse and mass emigration. His 2025 re-election was dismissed by many foreign governments as illegitimate amid ongoing political turmoil and competing claims to leadership.
Sumit Chaudhary prays outside Club Rodeo at 9515 North Lamar Blvd. on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, for Caldwell County Precinct 3 Constable deputy Aaron Armstrong, who was fatally shot early Sunday morning. Chaudhary, who works at Cloud Villa Smoke Shop two doors down from the nightclub, said he witnessed the aftermath of the shooting. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

Crime scene tape hangs outside Club Rodeo at 9515 North Lamar Blvd. on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, where Caldwell County Precinct 3 Constable deputy Aaron Armstrong was fatally shot early Sunday morning. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman Candles and flowers form a memorial in the parking lot outside Club Rodeo at 9515 North Lamar Blvd. on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, where Caldwell County Precinct 3 Constable deputy Aaron Armstrong was fatally shot early Sunday morning. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman A sign at Club Rodeo at 9515 North Lamar Blvd. on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, where Caldwell County Precinct 3 Constable deputy Aaron Armstrong was fatally shot early Sunday morning. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman Austin Police Department cruiser Austin American-Statesman

A Caldwell County deputy died after a shooting in North Austin early Sunday morning, according to police.

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According to the Austin Police Department, officers responded to Club Rodeo at 9515 North Lamar Blvd. just after 2 a.m. Sunday in response to reports that an officer from another agency had been shot. Police arrested the suspected gunman around at 3:45 p.m. but have not yet released their identity.

Police found the injured man, later identified as a Aaron Armstrong, a deputy with the Caldwell County Precinct 3 Constable's Office, in the parking lot. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

In a social media post, the Caldwell County Constable's Office said Armstrong was working an off-duty security position at an Austin business when he was shot.

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Videos circulating on social media show what users describe as an injured officer lying on the ground outside Club Rodeo, a nightclub at 9515 N. Lamar Blvd. near the intersection of North Lamar and Rundberg Lane, before being transported by emergency crews.

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Austin police are asking anyone who may have been at Club Rodeo at the time, as well as anyone with photos or videos of the moments before, during or after the shooting, to contact the homicide tip line at 512-477-3588 or fill out the department's evidence submission form.
Williamson County is forming a suicide prevention team. Mike Parker

When Ruben Leal began his job investigating deaths in Williamson County a year ago, he began noticing how many suicides he was seeing.

It affected him personally. "My own suicide attempt was interrupted many years ago," Leal said. He said he got help the same day he planned to kill himself.

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Now Leal is putting together an outreach team to help prevent suicides in Williamson County, based on a model started in Louisiana in 1998.

The volunteer team  a mental health professional and a suicide loss survivor  will respond soon after a suicide to offer immediate support and connect families to resources. Leal said it helps to have a survivor available to speak with people facing a similar loss. "They can say 'I've been down this path, let me help you,'" said Leal. "Peer support builds that trust and a survivor-to-survivor connection," he said.

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The team also will stay in touch long-term, he said, because suicide loss survivors face a higher risk of suicide

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Williamson County Senior Death Investigator Ruben Leal is starting a volunteer team to provide counseling and help those who have lost loved ones to suicide. courtesy of Williamson County /Williamson County

Williamson County had 220 reported suicides of people under the age of 75 in 2024, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Provisional CDC data also showed there were 4,490 suicides reported in Texas in 2024. The suicide death rate in Williamson County in 2024 was 12.5 per 100,000 people, lower than the statewide rate of 14.2 per 100,000, according to the CDC.

CDC data for 2024 is not final. Data for suicides in Williamson County among people 75 and older was not available.

Leal said suicides in Williamson County do not seem to fit a pattern, cutting across ages and ethnicities.

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Leal is a senior death investigator for Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, KT Musselman. His duties include determining the cause and manner of deaths and ordering autopsies in homicides, suicides, accidents, drug overdoses or deaths with undetermined causes because the county doesn't have a medical examiner.

He said he hopes to launch the outreach team in June.

Volunteer suicide survivors on the team will receive extensive training, he said. Leal said volunteers need to wait at least two years aftera loss before serving on the team. "We want to make sure your mental health is where it should be because I don't want to put more strain on you," he said.

Leal said a coordinator at Bluebonnet Trails, the county's mental health authority, came up with the idea to use the L.O.S.S. model  Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors  created in 1998 by Dr. Frank Campbell at the Baton Rouge Crisis and Trauma Center. Campbell found that many survivors waited 4 to five years before seeking professional support, Leal said. The outreach team aims to reduce that time.

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Kara Yocom, a suicide loss survivor, said that when her 14-year-old son killed himself 10 years ago in San Marcos, she didn't know how to react. "I was completely numb and in shock," she said.

"If I had something like a L.O.S.S. team that came out and talked to me, it would have helped me."

Yocom said she was so depressed after her son took his life that she tried to end her own life three times.

She now holds suicide awareness events and has trained to join a suicide prevention team in the Waco-Temple area. Her advice to parents: "Don't hold your grief in like I did," she said. "Don't be strong all the time. Let yourself grieve. Let yourself feel the emotion and find a support group."

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Yocom said one common misconception is that talking about suicide will put the idea in a childs head, but children already know about suicide through television and social media, said Yokum. "The most important thing is to let your children know you are a safe person to talk to and that it is a judgement-free zone," she said.

If parents cannot have that conversation, they can reach out to others for help, she said.

"A lot of times children don't want to talk to parents, not because the parents are horrible but because they don't want to hurt their parents' feelings," Yokum said.

Leal said he had struggled with depression for years when he developed a plan to kill himself. He said he told himself he was worthless, even though his family loved him.

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"I was always making people laugh because I didn't want people to hurt like I did," he said.

A family member came home and interrupted his plan, he said. His mother urged him to get help, and he has had extensive therapy.

Leal's advice for people trying to support suicide loss survivors: "Don't tell them 'I know how you are feeling.' Everybody is so different. We may have walked the same path but I don't know how you are feeling. Be direct and have them talk openly about it."

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Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and federal agents conduct immigration operations Dec. 6 in a neighborhood in Kenner, Jefferson Parish in New Orleans. President Donald Trump's anti-immigrant agenda drove immigration policy far beyond where most Americans are willing to go, Patricia Lopez writes. Anadolu/Anadolu via Getty Images

President Donald Trump spent much of 2025 squandering the public's support on what was once his best issue: immigration. Yes, he quickly delivered on his campaign promise to secure the southern border. But as the year unfolded, his anti-immigrant agenda drove immigration policy far beyond where most Americans are willing to go.

Trump has claimed the U.S. is being "invaded"  on March 15 he invoked the Alien Enemies Act as a pretext to deport more than 200 Venezuelans to the CECOT prison in El Salvador  and that he's only deporting violent criminals. But ICE's own data show most have not been charged with crimes.

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His approval numbers on immigration have fallen from positive by 9 percentage points in March to negative by 11 points in December, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.

How did it happen? With four key decisions:

Imposing draconian limits on refugees

Refugee admissions had mushroomed under President Joe Biden, swamping America's support systems. On Trump's first day in office, he pivoted to the other extreme: issuing an executive order that shuttered the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, leaving thousands of refugees stranded, including those with applications in process. The new admissions rate is just 7,500.

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Trump has decried immigrants from what he calls Third World countries and has become increasingly vocal about his preference for White immigrants. What remains of his refugee program gives preference to White Afrikaners, whom Trump has said face persecution in their majority-Black country.

Despite public criticism and legal challenges, Trump is promoting his anti-refugee stance as a new standard for European countries. In November, a State Department post on X warned that Mass migration poses an existential threat to Western civilization and undermines the stability of key American allies.

Revoking legal status from immigrants who've done nothing wrong

Trump has steadily and considerably widened the pool of illegal immigrants by stripping legal status from those who entered under temporary protections  a first you're legal, now you're not approach. In the past year, he has ended or is attempting to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, Venezuelans, Afghans, Hondurans, Somalis, Ethiopians and others who arrived in the U.S. after being vetted.

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Ultimately, more than 1.2 million immigrants who had been here legally may soon find themselves subject to deportation.

Detaining record numbers of immigrants

Over the summer, a temporary facility in Florida quickly became known for its inhumane conditions - and its callous name: Alligator Alcatraz. It was the first of several nicknamed detention centers celebrated by the administration. Backlash against the facilities  and the tasteless merch offered by some  has been fierce. Officials are now said to be looking at private prisons and other existing facilities to handle increased numbers of detainees.

Those held have included some legal immigrants (like graduate students here on student visas) and even some U.S. citizens. Some say they've been held for days or weeks without due process.

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Hitting U.S. cities with militarized immigration enforcement

Under the guise of public safety, Trump began ordering National Guard troops to Los Angeles, Washington, Portland and Chicago. Federal agents from Immigration Customs and Enforcement, along with Border Patrol, also poured into those cities. ICE agents in masks and street clothes became a common sight, along with Border Patrol agents who adopted full combat kit as they engaged in dramatic raids and aggressive takedowns of immigrants who often had no criminal record.

The tactics deployed under Trump are significantly more aggressive than used under previous presidents, even though a number of those prior presidents deported more people. In Minneapolis in December, agents were videotaped dragging a woman said to be pregnant across the street as protesters threw chunks of ice. (DHS called her "a vandal.")

The new year is likely to bring further tests of just how far Trump will go. The Supreme Court is weighing whether to repeal birthright citizenship  a change Trump considers essential. Immigration agents have begun using mobile facial recognition technology to detect potential undocumented immigrants in crowds, to the dismay of civil rights advocates. And ICE is on a hiring spree, offering $50,000 recruitment bonuses.

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Trump's agenda on immigration has become clear. He seeks more than a secure border, more than ridding the country of the worst of the worst criminal immigrants, more than deporting everyone in the U.S. illegally. Trump sees mass migration as a threat that could displace American culture, even though that culture is a mosaic made through hundreds of years of immigration.

His latest move is to set aggressive quotas of 100 to 200 a month on denaturalization, which strips immigrants of their U.S. citizenship. The process is one typically reserved for those few cases where immigration fraud is detected or other narrow circumstances, often amounting to just a handful of cases a year. The quotas represent a new way to instill terror in those who thought they had cleared every hurdle on their long road to citizenship.

2026 is a fresh chance for Americans to look deep inside and ask themselves whether this is the country and the future they want.
Tabor Pittman soaks up the sun while reading at Auditorium Shores on an unseasonably warm afternoon on Friday, as temperatures reached the mid-80s. I think December is the best month of the year but January is off to a dang good start, he said. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

Texas weather is doing what it does best, swinging back and forth between winter chills and spring-like warmth. Last week was a true temperature roller coaster: Morning temps that fell below freezing on Wednesday were followed by afternoon highs in the upper 80s on Friday, about 25 degrees warmer than normal.

Friday's high was close to reaching some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Austin in January:

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Jan. 30, 1971: 90 degrees

Jan. 23, 1972: 88 degrees

Jan. 8, 1923: 88 degrees

Jan. 19, 2000: 87 degrees

Jan. 25, 1971: 87 degrees

Friday smashed the previous record highs of 83 degrees at both Austin climate sites, Camp Mabry and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, records that had been set in 2023.

With huge temperature swings, a raging flu season, and cedar fever, staying healthy in Central Texas right now is a challenge. The weather flip-flop looks set to continue into January, with afternoon peak temps this week approaching 80 degrees, while morning lows next weekend drop back into the 30s and 40s.

People bundle up against a cold wind while walking along East Cesar Chavez Street on Dec. 29, 2025. Temperatures hovered in the mid-40s, with wind chills dipping into the 30s. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

A storm system will move into Central Texas later this week, bringing noticeably cooler temps this weekend. This graphic shows the 24-hour forecast temperature change for Saturday, with temperatures expected to drop at least 15 to 20 degrees in a single day. WeatherBell

Comfy Sunday

The first Sunday of the new year will be mostly sunny and comfortable. Morning lows will be cool, ranging from 47 to 51 degrees across Central Texas. Afternoon highs will warm into the lower 70s, about 10 degrees above typical early January temperatures. Winds will be light out of the south at 5 to 10 mph.

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Temperatures will be lower than in the past several days but still above the early-January normal high of 62 degrees. Pivotal

Cloudy Monday

After a day of southerly winds on Sunday, humidity will rise and clouds will begin streaming into the region. Monday morning will start mostly cloudy, with temperatures in the lower 50s. A weak disturbance moving across Texas during the day will keep clouds around through the afternoon and evening, but it is not expected to produce rain. Afternoon temperatures will be in the low to mid-70s.

Muggy Tuesday

The additional humidity and cloud cover will keep temperatures from falling below 60 degrees during the morning. The afternoon will come with a partly cloudy sky and temperatures soaring to near 80 degrees.

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Midweek rain?

Wednesday will resemble Tuesday, featuring a mix of sun and clouds, with morning lows near 60 degrees and afternoon highs around 80. By evening, a storm system will move into Central Texas, bringing the regions first chance of rain for the year. Currently, the best chance of showers will occur between 7 p.m. Wednesday and early Thursday morning. Rain totals are expected to remain light, under a quarter of an inch.

Sunlight glints off Lady Bird Lake as a group paddles a canoe on an unseasonably warm afternoon Friday, when temperatures climbed into the mid-80s. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

What about the rest of January?

January is typically the coldest month of the year in Central Texas. Average temperatures early in the month are 62 degrees for highs and 41 degrees for lows, the coldest averages of the year. By the end of the month, average temperatures gradually warm to highs near 64 degrees and lows around 43.

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The region typically experiences five to 10 freezing nights in January, along with at least one night where temperatures fall below 25 degrees.

Surges of arctic air sometimes spread across the area for several days, bringing the years coldest weather, meteorologists with the National Weather Service offices in Austin and San Antonio said. Winter weather is uncommon, but one-off events do happen.

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On average, ice or snow occurs about every other year, usually with light accumulations. Of the non-frozen variety, totals will range from one-half inch to 3 inches. Austins average January rainfall is 2.64 inches.

The overall outlook for the year mirrors the forecast issued at the end of 2025, calling for warmer and drier than normal conditions.
BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military strike against Venezuela and capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro, has shocked the international community, triggering a steady stream of condemnation and serious concerns worldwide.

On Saturday, the United States, as said by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social, "carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country."

He framed the military operation as one "done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement."

Later at a press conference held during the day, Trump said, "We're going to run" Venezuela until a time for transition of power, but offered no timeline.

The Venezuelan side described the U.S. military operation as "brutal, unjustified and unilateral" armed attacks and a "crime of aggression" in a letter demanding a UN Security Council emergency meeting over the incident.

DANGEROUS PRECEDENT

Many countries are alarmed by the U.S. military action, as reflected in remarks by leaders of Slovakia, a member of the European Union (EU).

"Any attack on a sovereign state and its representative without a mandate from the United Nations Security Council constitutes a serious violation of international law," Slovak President Peter Pellegrini stated on social media on Saturday.

"Such actions create a precedent that may destabilize other regions of the world as well," he noted.

The U.S. military operation is further evidence of the collapse of the postwar world order, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said in a social media post on Saturday.

"As the head of government of a small country, I must resolutely reject such dismantling of international law," he noted.

Such U.S. actions erode the foundations of international law and will have "serious consequences for global security, which will spare no one," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot warned in a statement posted on his official X account on Saturday.

REGIONAL STABILITY THREATENED

In separate statements, Brazil's ruling Workers' Party on Saturday "vehemently condemns the military aggression" against Venezuela and the "kidnapping" of the Venezuelan president and his wife, while emphasizing its deep concern over regional peace and stability.

"The bombing in Caracas and the kidnapping of the president constitute the most serious international aggression recorded in South America in the 21st century," it said.

The ruling party of Brazil warned of serious risks to regional stability, with deep concern about the escalation of the conflict, which has political and economic consequences for Brazil itself, as Venezuela's neighbor, and for the region as a whole.

"Latin America must remain a zone of peace," it stressed, while urging a peaceful resolution to the existing situation within the framework of multilateral organizations, especially the United Nations, with other regional countries involved.

CALLS FOR DE-ESCALATION, RESPECT FOR VENEZUELAN PEOPLE'S RIGHTS

"Alarmed by U.S. intervention in Venezuela," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged de-escalation in a post on the social media X.

"We urge everyone to exercise restraint and fully respect the UN Charter and international human rights law. The protection of people in Venezuela is paramount and must guide any further action," he wrote.

French Foreign Minister Barrot stressed Saturday in his X post on the situation in Venezuela that "no lasting political solution can be imposed from outside and that sovereign peoples alone decide their own future."

"The upcoming transition must be peaceful, democratic, and respectful of the will of the Venezuelan people," French President Emmanuel Macron made the call in a social media post on Saturday.

Following developments in Venezuela with grave concern, the African Union (AU) said in a statement on Saturday that the 55-member continental organization "calls upon all parties concerned to exercise restraint, responsibility, and respect for international law to prevent any escalation and to preserve regional peace and stability."

Expressing its solidarity with the Venezuelan people, it emphasized that "the complex internal challenges facing Venezuela can only be sustainably addressed through inclusive political dialogue among Venezuelans themselves." 
A screengrab from a video posted by U.S. Southern Command on X, showing a convoy of three alleged drug boats that were destroyed by the command on Tuesday as part of Operation Southern Spear. (U.S. Southern Command via X)



The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended a search for possible survivors of U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats in the eastern Pacific about 400 nautical miles from the Mexico/Guatemala border.

Suspending a search is never easy and given the exhaustive search effort, lack of positive indications and declining probability of survival, we have suspended active search efforts pending further developments, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Patrick Dill, chief of incident management for the Southwest District, said in a service news release. The search was suspended Friday.

The strikes, which happened on Tuesday, were against three alleged drug boats traveling as a convoy in international waters. An unspecified number jumped into the water when the first of three boats was hit, according to U.S. Southern Command. The command immediately notified the Coast Guard to commence a search and rescue after the strikes.

The call for Coast Guard assistance comes after the Pentagon faced scrutiny by lawmakers for a follow-up strike in September that killed two survivors of an initial attack.

The Coast Guard coordinated more than 65 hours of search efforts, including automated rescue vessels (Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue) in the region. A U.S. Coast Guard HC-130J launched from Sacramento, covering more than 1,090 nautical miles with no sightings of survivors or debris.

Three additional vessels in the area were asked to assist in the search, all reporting negative results.

At this stage of the response, the likelihood of a successful outcome, based on elapsed time, environmental conditions and available resources for a person in the water is very low, Dill said.

The Pentagons campaign against suspected drug traffickers in 2025, led by U.S. Southern Command, resulted in 35 known strikes that killed at least 115 since it began in early September.
The Corona del Mar based Coast Guard Cutter Narwhal, arrives in Dana Point, Calif., on Friday, April 12, 2024. (Jeff Gritchen/Orange County Register via TNS)



(Tribune News Service)  A U.S. Coast Guard cutter, Narwhal, that patrols the coast of Orange County, has canceled its scheduled visit to Dana Point Harbor on Sunday.

The 87-foot cutter, commanded by Lt. j.g. Jake Monson, had planned to offer public tours of the ship and an introduction to its 12-member crew starting at 10 a.m. The vessel is the only active Coast Guard unit in Orange County and is one of seven cutters that operate in the Coast Guards Southern California fleet.

There was a change in its orders and its time at sea has been extended, said Garry Nelson, who is the Coast Guard Auxiliary division commander overseeing six auxiliary flotillas with about 208 members between San Mateo Point and Seal Beach.

The cutters visit was hosted by the group and is a public outreach event with the Ocean Institute.

The Narwhals mission is to secure the countrys maritime borders, but its crew also participates in search and rescue missions, enforces immigration laws, oversees local fisheries and responds to oil spills.

The ship  homeported in Newport Harbor  typically patrols coastal waters from the Mexican border to the Channel Islands.

2026 MediaNews Group, Inc.

Visit ocregister.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Explosions rocked Fort Tiuna, the main military garrison in Caracas, Venezuela, after aircraft swept through the area on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Matias Delacroix/AP)



The Republican leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees on Saturday commended President Donald Trump for the successful mission in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

However, Democrats  and some Republicans  criticized the action.

I commend President Trump for ordering a successful mission to arrest illegitimate Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and bring him to the United States to face justice, said Sen. Roger Wicker, of Mississippi, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Rep. Mike Rogers, of Alabama, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the action will save the lives of Americans.

His illegitimate regime brutalized the Venezuelan people, aligned with hostile adversaries like Cuba, Iran, Russia and China to threaten U.S. security, and operated a narco-terrorist network that flooded our country with deadly drugs that killed countless Americans, Rogers said in a statement.

Rogers and Wicker praised the performance the U.S. military. Our military performed an incredibly complex mission with characteristic precision and professionalism, Wicker said. Today, we owe a debt of gratitude to the brave individuals who were able to accomplish such a daring operation.

But Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the president waged war on a foreign nation without authorization, without notification, and without any explanation to the American people.

This has been a profound constitutional failure, he said in a statement. Congress  not the president  has the sole power to authorize war. Pursuing regime change without the consent of the American people is a reckless overreach and an abuse of power.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a prominent MAGA voice who has recently split with Trump over many of his decisions, questioned the justification for the operation, saying on X that if it is truly about drug trafficking, then why hasnt the Trump admin taken action against Mexican cartels?

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a retired Air Force general and member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the capture of Maduro was a good thing, but he worries that dictators from other countries might exploit the U.S. action to rationalize their selfish objectives.

My main concern now is that Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan, he said.

The operation, named Operation Absolute Resolve, began late Friday night and extended into Saturday morning. It involved more than 150 aircraft launched from 20 U.S. bases. U.S. special forces arrived at Maduros compound at 1:01 a.m. EST, said Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The force began to withdraw out of Venezuela and was over the water at 3:29 a.m. EST, the chairman added.

Trump, in a news conference held at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., said the U.S. will control Venezuela for an unspecified period and is not afraid to deploy military forces on the ground.

The American people didnt ask to start a war with Venezuela, said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. They didnt ask for an indefinite and costly occupation of another country, and they didnt ask for boots on the ground, their sons and daughters put in harms way.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a combat veteran who served in her states Army National Guard, said that Trump has broken a promise he made on the campaign trail to stay out of foreign wars.

This morning we awoke to another stark reminder that he is  and has always been  a liar who has never cared about keeping his promises, she said in a statement. The Constitution requires the American people, through their elected representatives in Congress, to authorize any president to engage in acts of war  because they will be the ones to live with the consequences of the decision  and it is unacceptable for this president to deny them that responsibility.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said members of Congress were informed of the operation following its conclusion.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, acknowledged that Maduro has been a tyrant repressing his countrymen and aligning with U.S. allies. But she said the Trump administration has not provided enough information to Congress.

Todays drastic military operation by President Trump on Venezuelan soil is entirely inconsistent with what his cabinet repeatedly briefed to Congress and goes against the expressed wishes of the American people, she said in a statement. These strikes draw America even deeper into open conflict at grave risk to our service members and reportedly resulted in injured American troops  which we need more information about immediately.

Saturdays action is the latest in a clash between mostly Democrats in Congress and the administration over its campaign against Venezuela.

The U.S. had steadily built a large force of Navy and special operations forces off Venezuelas coast. The force includes the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and strike group and the USS Iwo Jima amphibious assault ship and thousands of Marines.

U.S. military forces have killed at least 115 people in at least 35 lethal strikes against small boats Trumps administration has claimed were run by narcoterrorists ferrying drugs in the Pacific and Caribbean waters off Venezuelas coast. That campaign began Sept. 2.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has insisted the U.S. military knows via intelligence exactly who it has killed in the strikes, but he has declined to make any such evidence public. Some U.S. lawmakers  mostly Democrats  have criticized the boat bombing efforts as illegal and unauthorized by Congress.

The House on Dec. 17, 2025, rejected two measures aimed at stopping President Donald Trump from carrying out additional strikes on suspected drug boats or attacking Venezuela without congressional approval.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the media during a press briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 4, 2025, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)



(Tribune News Service)  U.S. negotiators will join European leaders in Paris on Tuesday in the latest effort to hash out postwar security guarantees for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The focus will be on security guarantees for Ukraine, and recovery. There will be also meetings with the team of President Trump, Zelenskyy said, adding that the talks could last a day or two. Ukraine hopes to set up a meeting in the U.S. at the leaders level by the end of January, he added.

The White House hasnt commented on U.S. participation in the upcoming Paris talks or on next steps to end Russias almost four-year invasion of its neighbor.

Zelenskyy spoke to reporters after Ukraine hosted national security advisers from its top allies for talks on security guarantees and economic support on Saturday. Ukraine and its allies top military officials will meet in Paris on Monday before the leaders gathering, Zelenskyy said.

We will talk over the final details of the security guarantees in Paris, Zelenskyy said. The document on security guarantees will be ratified by parliaments of countries that are part of the so-called coalition of willing, he said.

More than a dozen security advisers from European countries, Canada and the offices of the European Council, European Commission and NATO held talks focused on three tracks as part of the global effort to end Russias war in Ukraine  a basic peace framework, security guarantees and economic reconstruction. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff attended the discussions online.

Zelenskyy said earlier Saturday he plans to offer Denys Shmyhal, who has been Ukraines defense minister, the post of energy minister and first deputy prime minister.

More rotations of personnel in the defense and law enforcement segments are expected to continue in pursuit of an end to the war, Zelenskyy said.

Fridays appointment of former spy chief Kyrylo Budanov as chief of staff would strengthen the Ukrainian negotiation track, he said, adding that Sergiy Kyslytsya, a respected and experienced diplomat whos currently first deputy foreign minister, will be Budanovs deputy.

Vasyl Maliuk, who leads Ukraines security service and earned his reputation for daring tactics like Operation Spiderweb, when Ukrainian drones destroyed Russian jets, will also be replaced, according to media reports.

Ukraine rebuilding cost estimate

Speaking of the economic track at Saturdays talks, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said Ukraine estimates a 10-year rebuilding effort toward sustainable growth would cost some $800 billion.

We aim to mobilize these resources through public capital, grants and loans, as well as private investment in infrastructure, energy, industry, and human capital development, she said on X. Separately, lawmaker David Arakhamiya, the head of Zelenskyys party in Ukraines parliament, told reporters that Kyiv may finish drafting a law on a referendum on peace proposals and elections by the end of February.

Such a ballot should be held together with a presidential vote to maximize turnout, but only once a ceasefire is in place, Arakhamiya told reporters. Combining a presidential election with this referendum gives us hope that as many people as possible in Ukraine and abroad will vote, he said.

The U.S. has pushed Ukraine to hold an election, postponed from 2024 because the country is under martial law. Zelenskyy said last month he expects Moscow to interfere with any vote, which faces hurdles from Ukrainians whove fled their homes internally or abroad, or who are in areas occupied by Russia.

Security guarantees are one of major points in the talks, with Kyiv and European allies saying a strong deterrent is needed to ensure that Russia doesnt attack Ukraine again after a potential peace deal.

Zelenskyy, whos also negotiating a bilateral security deal with the U.S., told reporters that hes asked Trump for security guarantees that could stretch as long as half a century. Current proposals set out a 15-year term with the possibility for an extension.

Saturdays talks in Kyiv follow a flurry of diplomatic activity as Trump looks to secure an end to the Russias war in Ukraine  a conflict he once pledged to halt on his first day back in office.

So far, Russian President Vladimir Putin hasnt indicated any willingness to end the invasion, which Moscow conceived of as a Special Military Operation in 2022 to last days or weeks. Almost four years later, Putin is sticking to his maximalist demands, including for Ukrainian troops to withdraw from areas in the nations east which Russia has failed to seize by force over more than a decade.

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Aston Villa circle Omar Marmoush as City weigh January resolve

Aston Villas January ambitions have rarely been subtle in recent seasons, and their reported interest in Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush fits a familiar pattern. According to TEAMtalk, Villa are exploring a move for the Egypt international while Tottenham Hotspur have also made enquiries, a detail that underlines how Marmoushs situation at the Etihad is being closely monitored across the Premier League.

Marmoush arrived at City in January 2025 for 59million, signing a deal that runs until the summer of 2029. On paper, this should have been the platform for a sustained rise. In reality, his first year has been uneven. Nine goals and four assists in 40 appearances represent respectable output, but context matters. Pep Guardiola has handed him just two Premier League starts and only one in the Champions League this season, hardly the rhythm a forward needs to flourish.

Game time frustrations fuel Villa interest

Despite currently being away with Egypt at the African Cup of Nations, interest from Villa has intensified. TEAMtalks reporting is clear, with their own transfer insider, Dean Jones, stating that, Villa are making a move to get a deal done for the 26-year-old forward.

Jones expanded further, saying, There are whispers emerging out of Egypt that Aston Villa are making a move for Marmoush. The appeal is obvious. Villa have developed a reputation for reviving stalled careers, and Jones framed it neatly, adding, The idea is fascinating, and as a club that have tried to bring Rashford and Sancho and Elliott back to life in the Premier League, it is reasonable to imagine that they fancy Marmoush to be next.

Villas recruitment logic feels coherent. Marmoush can operate as a striker, a number 10 or from wide areas, versatility that suits a side juggling domestic and European demands. As Jones noted, His game time at Man City hasnt been what he would have hoped, and we have reported that Villa are on the lookout for another player for the front line to give them a better chance of sustaining the form they have shown recently.

City reluctance and Spurs enquiries

Yet this is where reality bites. TEAMtalk report that City are not receptive to letting Marmoush leave mid season. Jones confirmed, But we have also been told recently, though, that Man City do not want to lose Marmoush. That stance was shaped initially by Tottenhams interest, with Jones adding, That was in connection with Tottenham enquiries about the player, so I cannot imagine they would have too much appetite to let him join Villa, who are an even bigger threat to them this season.

Earlier reporting from TEAMtalks Fraser Fletcher described Marmoush as an asset for any team, while noting Guardiola is expected to resist any departure, valuing Marmoushs role in squad rotation during a congested fixture list. Egypt manager Hossam Hassan echoed that belief, stating, Marmoush would be an asset for any team in the Premier League, and I hope he stays there. He has an agent who will discuss his future with him.

January dilemma for all parties

This leaves January delicately poised. Villa see opportunity, Tottenham see an option, and City see a squad player whose importance may yet grow. Marmoushs future feels less about talent and more about timing.

Our View  EPL Index Analysis

For Manchester City supporters, this report reads like a familiar January subplot. A talented squad player, limited minutes, and rival clubs circling with intent. Marmoush has not exploded at the Etihad, but that does not equate to failure. Nine goals and four assists across 40 appearances while adapting to Guardiolas demanding system suggest patience is required.

City fans will recognise the pattern. New attackers often take a full season, sometimes longer, to truly click. Marmoushs versatility is valuable during a congested calendar, especially with injuries and rotation demands across four competitions. Letting him join Aston Villa mid season would feel like strengthening a direct rival, a point Jones himself highlighted.

There is also a wider concern about squad depth. Citys recent dominance has been built on quality options beyond the starting eleven. Marmoush might not start big matches now, but he offers tactical flexibility, pressing intensity, and goal threat off the bench. From a supporters view, keeping him until at least the summer feels prudent.

If Marmoush pushes for a move, that is a different conversation. But right now, City fans are likely to side with Guardiolas reported reluctance. Development, not disruption, remains the preferred path.
CARACAS, Venezuela  The nighttime capture of President Nicolas Maduro by the U.S. military plunged this oil-rich country and its 26-year-old experiment in socialism into dizzying uncertainty Saturday, as President Donald Trump vowed to run the nation with the cooperation of Maduros vice president while extracting a tremendous amount of wealth from the ground.

However, in an address to the nation, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez denounced the U.S. operation as shameful, evoked socialist icon Hugo Chavez and South American liberator Simon Bolivar, and demanded the release of Maduro and his wife, first lady Cilia Flores.

The swiftly unfolding developments were the strongest challenge yet to the socialist state forged in 1999 by the Bolivarian Revolution of Chavez. The Trump administration wants to replace the authoritarian regime with a government that would allow freer access to the worlds largest proven oil reserves.

The action, which evoked memories of the U.S. operation that seized Panamas Manuel Antonio Noriega in 1990, brought down one of Latin Americas most prominent latter-day strongmen and left in question the grip of the socialists who have dominated Venezuela for a generation, first through the ballot box and then through repression.

Trump, speaking from Mar-a-Lago in Florida after the overnight assault on Maduros compound and military targets, appeared to sideline opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whose stand-in candidate won more than two-thirds of the vote in the 2024 presidential election. The Trump ally made a daring escape from hiding in Venezuela to collect the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her effort to bring democratic change to the country. Trump called her a very nice woman but said she lacks the support and respect inside the country to lead.

Instead, he said Rodriguez had been sworn in as the countrys interim leader and had already spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

She said well do whatever you need, Trump said. I think she was quite gracious. But she really doesnt have a choice.

But Rodriguez, 56, called the U.S. action an illegal kidnapping. It was not clear that she had been sworn in to anything.

If there is something the Venezuelan people will never be again, it is slaves, or the colony of an empire, she said. At her side were Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez, Venezuelas longtime defense minister, and Diosdado Cabello, the interior minister and head of the national police.

Rodriguez, a multilingual lawyer and diplomat educated in Caracas, Paris and London, has been seen as more pragmatic and willing to negotiate with Washington than regime hard-liners. She has operated with the support of her influential older brother, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, a psychiatrist who was Maduros primary negotiator with Washington.

Maduros inner circle has projected unity in public but has been riven by internal divisions. Venezuelans were watching how different power players would react. Among them is Padrino Lopez, who Maduro had claimed would mobilize the people in the streets to protect him.

The streets in the capital on Saturday were, in fact, eerily calm. The government called the people to the streets to protest but few responded. Motorists formed long lines at gas stations and queued outside supermarkets to buy staples. Grocery stores were limiting entry to small groups at a time to prevent looting. Successful shoppers could be seen walking through the streets guarding eggs and milk.

Before Trump spoke, Machado said her team was prepared to assert our mandate and take power in a democratic transition. She called on the armed forces to recognize Edmundo Gonzalez  who, independent ballot audits by The Washington Post and others show, defeated Maduro in the 2024 presidential election  as Venezuelas rightful president and commander in chief. Gonzalez ran as a stand-in for Machado after Maduro blocked Machado from running.

Starting today, Nicolas Maduro faces international justice for the heinous crimes committed against Venezuelans and citizens of many other nations, Machado said in a statement. Given his refusal to accept a negotiated solution, the United States government has fulfilled its promise to enforce the law.

Trumps remarks caught members of Machados team off guard, one person close to the team said, and left them searching for a response. Another person close to the team said it was a scenario they had considered and perhaps a bitter pill we have to swallow. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions.

In Venezuela, Machados supporters said they still backed her. Aciclo Requena, a man in his 70s who lives in a dilapidated housing complex built by Chavez across the street from Venezuelas international airport, was one of thousands who volunteered to serve as observers for the 2024 election. Requena heard Trump say the United States would run Venezuela, but held out hope that the people he voted for  Gonzalez and, by proxy, Machado, not Rodriguez  would lead any transition to democracy.

Im waiting for a response from our leader, Maria Corina, he said. Were going to wait for our representatives. Its the only way of doing this.

In Caracas, there did not appear to be a significant uptick in soldiers in the streets or security checkpoints.

Alberto Alfonso, a 30-year-old entrepreneur in the capital, said the contradictory information from Trump and Rodriguez, and the lack of clarity around Machados role, if any, made Venezuelas new reality difficult to navigate.

We dont understand what [the U.S.] objective is, Alfonso said. Were frozen, still waiting to see what happens. The next 48 hours will be essential, to see who allows or blocks the return of democracy.

Under Venezuelas constitution, if the president is absent during the first year of his term, the vice president takes over on an interim basis. A new election for president must be held within 30 days.

Venezuelans and observers warned that Trumps promised new dawn might not come quickly, easily or at all. The authoritarian state Maduro wielded sank its tentacles, including the military, police and armed motorcycle gangs known as colectivos, deep into society, and some Venezuelans remain staunch chavistas.

On Saturday, the power structure put in place by Chavez appeared still to have the country in its grasp.

What really matters at this point is whether the government can survive, said Phil Gunson, a senior analyst for the Andes region with the International Crisis Group. Despite U.S. authorities statements, chavismo seems to remain in control of the country, and there is no evidence so far of significant divisions within the armed forces that would lead to the collapse of the regime.

The next hours, Gunson said, will be key to determining what the U.S. government means when it says it is going to run the country until a proper transition can take place, and whether the Venezuelan military remains unified or splits.

The worst-case scenario, he said, would be that parts of the military adhere to the U.S. plan, while others resist, and the situation develops into a sort of internal armed conflict.

Rodriguez and her brother are seen as modernizers who want a semi-open country, modernized economy and warmer relations with the broader world, Tulane University sociologist David Smilde said, but still a country they can control. Delcy Rodriguez has in recent years worked to overhaul economic policies and develop ties with foreign investors.

Cabello and Padrino Lopez, in contrast, favor a classic, closed-off dictatorship. The government crackdown after the 2024 election, Smilde said, when at least hundreds of Venezuelans were arrested, strengthened Cabello and weakened Rodriguez.

To stay in control, Gunson and Smilde said, the rival factions are likely to prioritize unity, as they have in the past. If and when Delcy Rodriguez becomes interim president, Cabello and Padrino Lopez could still hold most of the power, given their control of the military and security forces.

The Rodriguez siblings dont have guns, Gunson said. If it comes to a fight, theyre left hanging, because they dont have anyone to back them. What I suspect is going to happen is she will occupy the presidency, but the powers will be the defense and interior ministers, and thats not good.

Cabello, like Maduro, was indicted by a U.S. court in 2020 on narco-terrorism charges.

It would be unwise to assume this will be the beginning of the end, Gunson said. History suggests they have a very strong survival instinct and that the last thing they should do is start fighting each other.

The only ways the U.S. could achieve a regime change, Smilde said, would be to negotiate some type of power-sharing agreement or to occupy the country and build a new government. Any clean departure of Maduros inner circle could require protracted negotiations that might include efforts to seek amnesty for alleged torturers, killers and more.

But this idea that you could just come in and whisk away a leader and somehow lead to a democratic transition, he said, its quite unlikely thats going to happen.

Still, the U.S. intervention put a period on the tumultuous rule of Maduro  a former bus driver and union leader who came to power after Chavezs death in 2013.

During the first Trump administration, a maximum-pressure campaign targeting Maduro led the U.S. to recognize then-National Assembly President Juan Guaido as Venezuelas legitimate president, sever diplomatic ties with Maduro and indict him and members of his inner circle on narco-terrorism charges in an effort to force him from power.

But Maduro held on, surviving mass protests in 2016 and 2017, an assassination attempt using drone-borne explosives in 2018, a plot against him that included his former spy chief, Gen. Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, in 2019 and a misfired extraction mission staged by a former U.S. Army Green Beret in 2020.

Amid economic and social collapse, more than 7 million people have fled Venezuela, the worlds largest refugee population.

Its unclear whether Maduro, Chavezs handpicked successor, ever won an election. The opposition accused him of fraud to win the election to replace the late Chavez in 2013, and the U.S. and others declined to recognize him after the flawed vote in 2018.

Before the 2024 election, Maduro reached a deal with the opposition brokered by the Biden administration to conduct a free and fair presidential election. Machado, a former member of the National Assembly, won an opposition primary with more than 90 percent of the vote to become his main challenger. A Post review of more than 23,000 precinct-level tally sheets collected by the opposition showed that Gonzalez probably received more than twice as many votes as Maduro. Maduro nonetheless claimed reelection.

When Trump returned to office in January 2025, his administration intensified pressure on Maduros government.

The Pentagon has deployed more than a dozen warships to the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean; launched at least 35 military strikes on boats it contends were piloted by drug-smuggling narco-terrorists, killing at least 115 people; and boarding and seizing oil tankers under U.S. sanction.

Trump said Saturday that Maduro had rejected offers to leave the country willingly.

I dont want to get into the conversations, but I did have conversations with him, Trump said. And I said, youve got to surrender. And I actually thought he was pretty close to doing so, but now he wished he did. Trump has not hidden one of his driving motivations: Oil. Venezuela sits atop of a fifth of the worlds global reserves, but its thick, sludgy crude requires extensive refining.

In 1975, the government nationalized the resource, and the state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., took over the exploration, production, refining and export of oil the following year, but American and other foreign countries continued to participate and profit.

In 2007, Chavez assumed control of the last privately run oil operations in the Orinoco Belt, home to the countrys largest oil deposits. American giants ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil, unable to reach deals with the Venezuelan government, pulled out, but others, including Chevron and Spains Repsol, remained. Chevron is the only major U.S. firm to still operate inside the country, under strict conditions set by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Since the 1970s, mismanagement, deterioration, corruption and U.S. sanctions have caused Venezuelas oil production to fall sharply.

Were going to have our very large United States oil companies, Trump said Saturday, the biggest anywhere in the world - go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure.

Faiola reported from Rome. Schmidt reported from Istanbul. Helena Carpio in Caracas contributed to this report.
SentinelOne generated $258.9 million in revenue during its fiscal 2026 third quarter (ended Oct. 31). It represented a year-over-year increase of 23%, which was an acceleration from the 22% growth it produced in the second quarter three months earlier. The company is officially on track to deliver over $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time ever during its fiscal year 2026 (which ends on Jan. 31), marking a very positive milestone.

Last year, SentinelOne launched an upgraded version of Singularity's integrated AI-powered virtual assistant. It's called Purple AI Athena, and it's capable of reasoning its way through security problems at machine speed, and autonomously implementing solutions. It's designed to think like a seasoned security analyst, so it doesn't just enhance the abilities of existing employees -- it's like having an extra team member entirely.

According to SentinelOne, the average enterprise security team experiences over 1,000 threat alerts every single day that require manual investigation, and human-led processes simply can't keep up. The company's Singularity platform detects and investigates alerts using AI, thwarts potential attacks at machine speed, and autonomously responds to critical incidents in the event a breach is successful. These attributes ease the burden on human security teams.

The majority of the analysts tracked by The Wall Street Journal recommend investing in SentinelOne and Datadog, and their consensus price targets point to significant potential upside during 2026.

SentinelOne (NYSE: S) built a cybersecurity platform that uses AI to automate everything from threat detection to incident response. Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG), on the other hand, designed a series of tools to help accelerate the pace of AI development, and they are going to be in high demand as the industry matures.

During 2025, artificial intelligence (AI) stocks like Nvidia and Palantir Technologies comfortably outperformed the broader market. But a new year can bring new opportunities, and some of the best returns in 2026 might come from the less-obvious areas of the AI industry.

Wall Street is bullish on both stocks for 2026, with the analysts tracked by The Wall Street Journal predicting significant upside.

Datadog and SentinelOne aren't directly known as AI companies, but this technology is now central to the products they offer.

Some of the best potential investment returns in 2026 might come from the overlooked corners of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

Story Continues

The Wall Street Journal tracks 39 analysts who cover SentinelOne stock, and 23 have given it a buy rating, and none recommend selling. Their consensus price target is $21.41, which implies a potential upside of 42% over the next 12 to 18 months, but the Street-high target of $30 suggests the stock could soar by 100% instead.

I think those price estimates are realistic, because SentinelOne is one of the cheapest stocks in the cybersecurity space. Its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 5.1 represents a steep discount to the valuations of CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, and Zscaler, which also offer AI-powered cybersecurity tools.

As a result, this could be a great AI stock for investors to buy as the new year gets underway.

The case for Datadog

Many businesses have shifted their operations and sales channels online over the past decade, allowing them to improve efficiency and reach a global customer base. Datadog developed a cloud monitoring platform to help them manage their digital infrastructure, and reduce costly downtime that often negatively impacts their customers.

Datadog now offers similar products for AI developers. In 2024, it launched LLM Observability, which helps developers identify technical issues and track expenditures when building large language models (LLMs), which sit at the foundation of most AI software applications. LLM Observability also constantly monitors the quality of a model's outputs, to ensure it produces accurate information for end users.

Datadog also offers an advanced AI assistant called Bits AI, which integrates into its various product platforms. It can autonomously investigate alerts, diagnose technical issues, and even suggest potential solutions. This not only saves human workers a significant amount of time, but it also reduces digital infrastructure downtime even further than Datadog's original product suite.

Datadog had around 32,000 customers at the end of the third quarter of 2025 (ended Sept. 30). Around 5,000 of them were using at least one of its AI products, and that number was up by a whopping 67% compared to the year-ago period. The company's revenue from AI-native customers also doubled during the quarter, and accounted for a record-high 12% of its total revenue of $886 million.

The Wall Street Journal tracks 48 analysts who cover Datadog stock, and 35 rate it a buy, while none recommend selling. They have an average price target of $214.67, which suggests the stock could climb by 57% over the next 12 to 18 months, and the Street-high target of $260 points to an even bigger potential upside of 91%.

Based on the incredible momentum in Datadog's AI business, I think its stock could be a great addition to any diversified portfolio this year.

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Actress Evangeline Lilly gave fans an update on Friday regarding her health after suffering an accident in May that caused her to hit her head on a boulder in Hawaii.

Its late on January 1, the first day of 2026, and Im entering into this new yearthe year of the horsewith some bad news about my concussion, Lilly, 46, began in an Instagram video. A lot of you asked how Im doing. A lot of you have inquired about the brain scans that you heard I got.

The Ant-Man and the Wasp star then revealed that she experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI) when she hit her head. The results came back from the scans, and almost every area in my brain is functioning at a decreased capacity, she said. So I do have brain damage from the TBI, and possibly other factors going on.

Lilly continued: Now, my job is to get to the bottom of that with the doctors, and then embark on the hard work of fixing it, adding, which I dont look forward to because I feel like hard work is all I do.

The actress first shared news of her accident in May in a Substack post. I fainted at the beach and fell face-first into a boulder, she wrote at the time. At the hospital, the nurses and doctor went straight into action, more determined to find the cause of my blackout than to stitch up the hole punctured into my face by the rock. I smiled wryly at them. You wont find anything, I said with a woozy voice.

In the post, the Lost actress said that shes had fainting spells since she was a kid. Doctors ruled out epilepsy and told her it was hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). However, Lilly said that as she got older, other health issues arose and after extensive blood work, hypoglycemia was also ruled out.

Lilly did add that there has been a silver lining to all this in her Friday post.

My cognitive decline since I smashed my face open has helped me to slow down and helped me to have a more restful finished 2025, she said. This was the calmest, most restful Christmas holiday I have had, maybe since I had children, so 14 years ago. So thats a good thing.

Lilly continued: [Im] feeling extraordinarily grateful and blessed to be able to play one more day, one more year on this beautiful living planet. That is my concussion update, she said, adding Thank you all for caring.

Before the accident, Lilly announced that she was stepping away from Hollywood in a June 2024 Instagram post. Her last screen performance was in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023.
Syracuse, N.Y. - A man is in critical condition after he was shot twice Saturday night in Syracuse, police say.

Around 9:16 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 700 block of West Onondaga Street for a ShotSpotter activation for multiple shots, Syracuse police spokesperson Sgt. Thomas Blake said in a news release.

When officers arrived, they found a 24-year-old man in a vehicle at West Onondaga and Delaware streets who was suffering from apparent gunshot wounds to the chest and arm, Blake said.

Ten police cars and two crime scene unit vans were at the scene Saturday night as officers taped off two locations: one in front of 723 W. Onondaga St., and another between Delaware Street and Fitch Street.

The man was transported to Upstate University Hospital by American Medical Response, where he is in critical condition, according to Blake.

Police ask anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Criminal Investigations Division at 315-442-5222.
Syracuse, N.Y. - About three dozen protesters gathered in downtown Syracuse Saturday night to voice opposition to United States military strikes in Venezuela and the capture of that nations president.

The protest was organized after the U.S. military launched a series of airstrikes early Saturday morning before capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and bringing him to New York City.

The move comes after months of tension between Maduro and President Donald Trump, who accuses the Venezuelan leader and his wife of participating in an international narco-terrorism conspiracy. Trump said Saturday the U.S. will now run Venezuela and drill into its oil reserves to sell the resource to other nations.

Nearly 40 people gathered at Perseverance Park in the 200 block of South Salina Street at around 6 p.m. Speakers criticized what they called were illegal strikes on the South American nation by the United States.

Protest organizer Brian Escobar said the bombing and the capture of Maduro was a breach of both international law and U.S. law.

Its in violation of the sovereignty of that nation, as well as in violation of the U.S. Constitution requiring congressional authorization for an act of war, Escobar said.

Protesters held signs and shouted slogans such as no war for oil and the people united will never be defeated.

James Sullivan, a Syracuse resident who attended the protest, said he hopes to show Venezuelans that there are many Americans who do not agree with the Trump administrations decision to attack the country, which he described as criminal.

It does feel like there is a kind of rising discontent with all this, Sullivan said. Weve been through Iraq and Afghanistan; weve been through Palestine the past few years. People are sick of it, left-wing and right-wing.

Sullivan said he feels that many Trump supporters who cast their vote for him in the hopes of avoiding international conflict likely disagree with the strikes.

Theres a lot of Trump voters that didnt vote for Trump thinking that hed start yet another war, he said. But here we are.

Joe Bennett, 34, said he didnt think anything good could come out of the strikes on the country and the ousting of Maduro, and that its just another chapter in a history of military conflicts with questionable motives.

Weve seen these regime changes happen many times, he said. They dont really do anything, or they just cause destruction and harm.

Temperatures during the protest hovered around 15 degrees.

Escobar said he was pleased with the turnout at the protest organized by the Syracuse Democratic Socialists of America and Syracuse Cultural Workers. It is the first of several that the groups plan to hold over the coming days to voice their criticism of the strikes, he said.

I think people are upset and scared, in a way, because this is a brazen kidnapping of a foreign leader, he said. Regardless of what you think of that leader, its a very dangerous kind of action, and it currently seems to be happening with impunity.
Each week, syracuse.com will look back at some of our most important and valuable journalism from the previous week. Here are six stories for the week of Nov. 30, 2025.

Subscribe to get the Syracuse.com Exclusives newsletter delivered to your email inbox every Sunday.

Syracuse experienced its lowest murder rate in over a decade in 2025, with just 14 homicides representing a 56% decline from pandemic-era peaks. Crime decreased across all categories, with shootings dropping to about one-third of 2020-2021 levels. Police Chief Joseph Cecile noted the trend mirrors nationwide patterns, with cities like Baltimore seeing a 61% drop in homicides. While experts cant pinpoint a single cause, Syracuses success may be attributed to community policing initiatives, the police departments high 86% homicide clearance rate, and intervention work by the Mayors Office to Reduce Gun Violence.

Incoming Salina Supervisor Raul Huerta convinced the town board to slash his salary by nearly 34%, from $75,566 to $50,000, before taking office this month. The 75-year-old retired college administrator campaigned on cutting the supervisors pay, saying, People are trying to make ends meet. Meanwhile, supervisors in other large Onondaga County towns are receiving raises, with DeWitts new supervisor getting a 10% increase. Outgoing Salina Supervisor Nick Paro expressed concerns that the lower salary might make it difficult to attract future candidates to the full-time position that oversees a town of 33,000 residents.

A powerful lake effect snowstorm dumped 24 inches of snow in a single day in Syracuse last week. Despite the winter chaos, Central New Yorkers made the most of the weather, with residents sharing dozens of photos ranging from treacherous whiteouts to heartwarming scenes of children enjoying their snow day  including one baby girl experiencing her first CNY snowstorm.

Nicole Watts, who has spent over a decade serving refugees and Syracuses North Side through her nonprofit Hopeprint, was unexpectedly elected chair of the Onondaga County Legislature after winning a three-way race she entered at the last minute. For the first time in 50 years, Democrats control the legislature, with Watts  who has no prior political experience but extensive community leadership  at the helm. Her one-year term began Friday, and she plans to prioritize transparency, economic development that benefits existing residents, and protection for immigrant communities.

Syracuse.coms food critics have compiled their list of Central New Yorks most impressive restaurants from 2025, celebrating spots where exceptional food meets outstanding service and atmosphere. Downtowns Inkas makes the list with its Peruvian-fusion menu and meticulously crafted experience, while Stone Creek in Marcellus impressed with scratch-made classics and a perfectly balanced atmosphere. Barbecue enthusiasts found heaven at Brickyard Tavern in LaFayette. The list highlights 12 restaurants that delivered complete experiences, from the warmth of Kurdish Mediterranean in Tully to the award-winning excellence of Eden and Noble Cellar downtown.

>> Related: Best desserts | Best dishes | Best appetizers | Best drinks

Central New York faces a transformative 2026 with several major developments on the horizon. The I-81 viaduct demolition will begin, forever changing Syracuses downtown landscape. Micron Technology plans to break ground on its massive chip manufacturing complex in Clay. The political landscape will be equally dynamic with pivotal elections that could shift power in Congress and Albany, alongside Syracuse welcoming its first Black mayor in Sharon Owens. Syracuse University will enter a new era with Chancellor Kent Syverud stepping down in June, and Democrats will control the Onondaga County Legislature for the first time in 50 years.

>> Related: Reporting that made a difference in 2025
Two teenagers have been sentenced for their roles in a shooting that killed a 3-year-old boy and injured his sister as they played outside in Buffalos Schiller Park neighborhood last summer.

Jahaan Taylor, 16, of Buffalo, received a sentence of 15 years to life in state prison, the maximum allowed for a juvenile offender. Elijah Mumford, 17, of Buffalo, was sentenced to 15 years in state prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.

The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. on June 21, 2024, on Domedion Avenue near Genesee Street. Ramone Red Carter, 3, was shot in the back while playing outside. He was transported in a police patrol vehicle to ECMC, where he died. His 7-year-old sister was grazed by a bullet and treated for a back injury at Oishei Childrens Hospital.

Buffalo Police arrested the two suspects minutes after the shooting, finding them a few blocks from the scene wearing clothes and shoes matching witness descriptions. Police recovered an illegal handgun from one of the teens at the time of arrest.

The defendants had approached a group of young males before the shooting. Taylor fired shots from an illegal gun toward the group, and the two children were struck by gunfire. Evidence showed two guns were used in the crime, but the second weapon was not recovered.

After a four-day trial in October 2025, a jury deliberated approximately five hours before convicting Taylor of murder in the second degree, attempted murder in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and assault in the second degree. He was sentenced by Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan in the Youth Part of Superior Court.

Mumford was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree and assault in the second degree, though the assault charge was later dismissed following a defense motion. He was denied youthful offender status.

Ramone Red Carter was an innocent victim of gun violence perpetrated by two teenagers in possession of illegal firearms, Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane said. I commend the surviving victim for her courageous actions on the day of this crime and bravely testifying before a jury. I also want to acknowledge the responding officers who rendered immediate aid to Red and those who swiftly apprehended the suspects moments after the shooting.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Sharon Owens pledged an administration centered on equity, opportunity and transformative change for the next generation during her inaugural address Saturday.

Owens, who became the citys first Black mayor, invoked the legacy of activists such as Harriet Tubman, the heroes of the Jerry Rescue, her mother and generations of community leaders.

More than 1,500 people gathered at the Landmark Theatre before 1 p.m. Saturday for the ceremony, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James.

Owens, 62, is the citys 55th mayor in its 177-year history and the second woman to hold the position. She was joined on stage by her husband, Shaun Owens; her mother, Pastor Ester Daniels; and her two children, Simone and Isaac.

Owens spoke about the citys future with Micron expected to bring nearly 50,000 jobs to Central New York and the economic opportunities tied to the Interstate 81 viaduct project.

Owens outlined a number of promises to the city.

She said she would pursue new housing by partnering with modular construction builders and seeking state and federal money. She promised to grow the ranks of the police and fire departments. She said she would invest in mental health programs and violence prevention initiatives.

She said she would listen before she speaks, and build coalitions -- likely a nod to her predecessor, Ben Walsh.

And she said her administration will develop the long-languishing Inner Harbor.

I will not pretend  and I ask you not to pretend  that these problems have easy solutions. They dont, Owens said. But I know something else with equal certainty: the people of Syracuse are fighters, and so am I. Innovation will be the key that unlocks our future.

An official swearing-in ceremony was held Wednesday at Syracuse City Hall, where about 30 family members, friends, supporters, city officials and reporters crowded into the mayors office.

Saturdays public inauguration, however, drew attendees from across Syracuse and New York state. Owens also received a congratulatory letter from former Vice President Kamala Harris, who called her a true leader who has fought for access to health care and educational equity.

AG James and Gov. Hochul took the stage to congratulate Owens and reflect on the citys future.

Mayor Owens has that rare quality where she puts the people before she puts herself, James said. Shes worked tirelessly to restore and revitalize communities across the city, and shes been a voice for those often relegated to the sidelines of public policy.

Hochul said she plans to work closely with Owens on expanding affordable housing and continuing efforts to reduce violent crime.

Weve worked hard with this administration to drive down the violent crime rate, and weve turned a corner, Hochul said. Were going to keep that going because every life matters. We must keep our young people alive and give them hope.

The loudest applause of the afternoon came when Owens mother, now in her 80s, took the microphone near the end of the ceremony. Owens wiped away tears as her mother spoke of her pride and said she hopes boys and girls watching will see the moment and say, I can do that.

Owens said she is proud of her service at City Hall over the past eight years and plans to continue many of the initiatives launched during the Walsh administration.

She also emphasized that she will serve all Syracuse residents, regardless of whether they voted for her, and said she is ready to work for every person in the city.

Lets do this, Syracuse, Owens said. Lets move forward together and maximize whats possible for our city.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)  Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro arrived in the United States to face criminal charges after being captured in an audacious nighttime military operation that President Donald Trump said would set the U.S. up to run the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

Maduro landed late Saturday afternoon at a small airport in Upstate New York following the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in the capital, Caracas  an act that Maduros government called imperialist. The couple faces U.S. charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuelas autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval. Venezuelas vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, meanwhile, demanded that the United States free Maduro and called him the countrys rightful leader as her nations high court named her interim president.

Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Rodriguez, who didnt give a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured, but none was killed.

See video of Maduro exiting the plane at the Stewart Air National Guard Base airport:

Speaking to reporters hours after Maduros capture, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to fix the countrys oil infrastructure and sell large amounts of oil to other countries.

After arriving at a small airport in the Hudson Valley city of Newburgh, N.Y., Maduro was flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armored car, was waiting to whisk him to a nearby U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office.

A video posted on social media by a White House account showed Maduro, smiling, as he was escorted through that office by two DEA agents grasping his arms.

Trump says US will run the country

The Trump administration promoted the ouster as a step toward reducing the flow of dangerous drugs into the U.S. The president touted what he saw as other potential benefits, including a leadership stake in the country and greater control of oil.

Trump claimed the U.S. government would help lead the country and was already doing so, though there were no immediate visible signs of that. Venezuelan state TV aired pro-Maduro propaganda and broadcast live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.

Were going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition, Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference. He boasted that this extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.

Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, and the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife that painted his administration as a corrupt, illegitimate government fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the countrys leader.

In this file photo, resident of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro speaks during a military ceremony commemorating the 200th anniversary of the presentation of the 'Sword of Peru' to Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar on November 25, 2025, in Caracas, Venezuela. (Photo by Jesus Vargas/Getty Images) Getty Images

The Trump administration spent months building up American forces in the region and carrying out attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean for allegedly ferrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels  the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. campaign began in September.

Early morning attack

Taking place 36 years to the day after the 1990 surrender and seizure of Panama leader Manuel Antonio Noriega following a U.S. invasion, the Venezuela operation unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday. Trump said the U.S. turned off almost all of the lights in Caracas while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro  where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.

We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again, Caine said. Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.

Multiple explosions rang out that morning, and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas. Maduros government accused the United States of hitting civilian and military installations, calling it an imperialist attack and urging citizens to take to the streets. The explosions  at least seven blasts  sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard.

Restrictions imposed by the U.S. government on airspace around Venezuela and the Caribbean expired early Sunday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X, an announcement that suggested any further immediate major U.S. military action was unlikely. Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly, he posted.

Under Venezuelan law, Rodriguez would take over from Maduro. Rodriguez, however, stressed during a Saturday appearance on state television that she did not plan to assume power, before Venezuelas high court ordered that she become interim president.

There is only one president in Venezuela, Rodriguez said, and his name is Nicolas Maduro Moros.

Some streets in Caracas fill up

Venezuelas ruling party has held power since 1999, when Maduros predecessor, Hugo Chavez, took office, promising to uplift poor people and later to implement a self-described socialist revolution.

Maduro took over when Chavez died in 2013. His 2018 reelection was widely considered a sham because the main opposition parties were banned from participating. During the 2024 election, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after polls closed, but the opposition gathered overwhelming evidence that he lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

Venezuelas capital remained unusually quiet Sunday with few vehicles moving around and convenience stores, gas stations and other businesses closed. A road typically filled with runners, cyclists and other fitness enthusiasts on Sundays only had a handful of people working out the day after Maduro was deposed.

The presidential palace was guarded by armed civilians and members of the military. At a nearby plaza, only a street sweeper and a soldier stood, and across the street, a church remained close for a second day in a row.

Caracas resident David Leal arrived to the lot where he parks vehicles for a living only to quickly realize that he would likely not see any clients for a second day.

People are still shaken, Leal, 77, said.

Questions of legality linger

Whether the United States violated any laws, international or otherwise, was still a question early Sunday. There are a number of international legal concepts which the United States might have broken by capturing Maduro, said Ilan Katz, an international law analyst.

Almost 40 people gathered at Perseverance Park in downtown Syracuse at around 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2025, to protest against U.S. military involvement in Venezuela. Vince Gasparini

Pope Leo XIV, who last month had expressed concern about growing U.S. threats of military intervention in Venezuela, raised alarms during his Sunday noon blessing and said the good of the Venezuelan people must prevail above everything else. Historys first U.S. pope demanded an end to violence and for Venezuelas sovereignty to be guaranteed.

In New York, the U.N. Security Council, acting on an emergency request from Colombia, planned to hold a meeting on U.S. operations in Venezuela on Monday morning.

Lawmakers from both American political parties have raised reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling. Congress has not approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.
Parents can soon get $1,000 for their child, thanks to a provision in President Donald Trumps big bill signed into law last year.

The so-called Trump Accounts will receive $1,000 for every baby born between 2025 and 2028, as long as their parents open an account. The seed money will be invested in the stock market by private firms, and the child can access the funds when they turn 18.

The Hill described Trump Accounts as a new type of IRA benefiting more than 14 million children expected to be born during that time period. The White House described the investment accounts as a way to give the next generation a jump start on saving money for their future financial well-being.

Who qualifies for Trump Accounts?

Parents or guardians can open Trump Accounts for any American child who has not yet reached age 18 and has a valid Social Security number. For babies born after Dec. 31, 2024, and before Jan. 1, 2029, any account set up in their name will receive an initial $1,000 deposit from the U.S. Treasury.

Older children born before 2025 can still get a Trump Account, but will not receive $1,000 from the government. A $6.25 billion donation by billionaires Michael and Susan Dell will potentially provide $250 in seed money for children 10 and under in ZIP codes with a median family income of $150,000 or less and who were born before 2025.

The account is fully in a childs name, with parents or guardians serving as custodians of the account.

How do I get $1,000 in my childs Trump Account?

Parents and guardians can elect to open Trump Accounts for eligible children when they file their 2025 taxes or through an online portal expected to open July 5, 2026, at trumpaccounts.gov.

According to Axios, parents will need to file Form 4547 to make the election establishing a Trump Account for a child. Beginning in May, the Treasury will send information to the individual who made the election to activate the account through an authentication process and complete the opening of the initial Trump account.

For children born during the calendar years of Trumps second term, those accounts will automatically receive $1,000 once established. A financial institution will then invest the money in a diversified portfolio of low-cost index funds, with an average fee of 0.1%, that track the stock market.

How much money can I contribute?

Parents can contribute up to $2,500 annually in pretax income, similar to retirement accounts. Employers may also make an annual contribution of up to $2,500 that will not impact employees taxable income.

Yearly contributions are capped at $5,000, but contributions from governments and charities dont count toward that total.

How much money can Trump Accounts be worth?

For a baby born in 2026, an account with $1,000 no additional investments could be worth $5,800 by age 18, according to the White Houses Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), based on average returns on the stock market. Accounts with additional contributions could be worth as much as $303,800 by age 18, the CEA estimated.

Children wont be able to access the money until they turn 18, with rare exceptions. The Associated Press notes that disbursements from the accounts will be subject to taxes.

What about taxes?

USA Today reports individual contributions to the accounts will not qualify for the gift tax annual exclusion because they arent considered gifts of present interest (since they cant be used until years later). As a result, donors must file a gift tax return, or IRS Form 709, for each contribution whether its the $25 minimum or the $5,000 maximum.

Amber Waldman, estate and gift senior director in RSMs Washington National Tax practice, told the publication that it will create a significant tax compliance issue, as most popular tax filing platforms like TurboTax do not provide Form 709.

Thats different from 529 savings plans, intended to be investment accounts for children to spend on college and other education. USA Today notes that 529s were exempted by Congress as a completed gift to such beneficiary which is not a future interest in property.
CARACAS, Venezuela  Hours after an audacious military operation that plucked leader Nicolas Maduro from power and removed him from the country Saturday, President Donald Trump said the United States would run Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

The dramatic action capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American country and its autocratic leader and months of secret planning resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Speaking to reporters hours after Maduros capture, Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to fix the countrys oil infrastructure and sell large amounts of oil to other countries.

Venezuelas vice president demanded in a speech that the U.S. free Maduro and called him the countrys rightful leader.

Maduro and his wife, seized overnight from their home on a military base, were aboard a U.S. warship on their way to New York to face prosecution for a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The legal authority for the operation was not immediately clear, though the Trump administration described it  and earlier deadly strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea  as necessary to stem the flow of dangerous drugs. He also revealed his plans to exploit the leadership void to fix the countrys oil infrastructure and sell large amounts of oil to other nations.

Trump also claimed the U.S. government would help run the country and was already doing so, though there were no immediate signs of that. Venezuelan state TV continued to air pro-Maduro propaganda, broadcasting live images of supporters taking to the streets in Caracas in protest.

Were going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition, Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago news conference where he boasted that this extremely successful operation should serve as warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives.

President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro speaks during a military ceremony commemorating the 200th anniversary of the presentation of the 'Sword of Peru' to Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar on November 25, 2025, in Caracas, Venezuela. (Photo by Jesus Vargas/Getty Images) Getty Images

Maduro and other Venezuelan officials were indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, but the Justice Department released a new indictment Saturday of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, that described the regime as a corrupt, illegitimate government fueled by a drug trafficking operation that flooded the U.S with cocaine. The U.S. government does not recognize Maduro as the countrys leader.

Trump posted a photo on social media showing Maduro wearing a sweatsuit and a blindfold on board the USS Iwo Jima.

Early morning attack

National Guard armored vehicles block an avenue leading to Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez) AP

The operation followed a monthslong Trump administration pressure campaign on the Venezuelan leader, including a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean accused of carrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels  the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September.

Maduro had decried prior military operations as a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power.

Taking place 36 years to the day after the 1990 U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of leader Manuel Antonio Noriega, the Venezuela operation unfolded under the cover of darkness early Saturday as Trump said the U.S. turned off almost all of the lights in the capital city of Caracas while forces moved in to extract Maduro and his wife.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about Maduro  where he was and what he ate, as well as details of his pets and his clothes.

We think, we develop, we train, we rehearse, we debrief, we rehearse again and again, Caine said. Not to get it right, but to ensure we cannot get it wrong.

Early Saturday, multiple explosions rang out and low-flying aircraft swept through Caracas. Maduros government accused the U.S. of attacking civilian and military installations, calling it an imperialist attack and urging citizens to take to the streets.

The attack lasted less than 30 minutes and the explosions  at least seven blasts  sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what they saw and heard. Some Venezuelan civilians and members of the military were killed, said Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, without giving a number. Trump said some U.S. forces were injured but none were killed.

Video obtained from Caracas and an unidentified coastal city showed tracers and smoke clouding the landscape as repeated muted explosions illuminated the night sky. Other footage showed cars passing on a highway as blasts illuminated the hills behind them. The videos were verified by The Associated Press.

Smoke rises from Fort Tiuna, the main military garrison in Caracas, Venezuela, after multiple explosions were heard and aircraft swept through the area, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) AP

Smoke was seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas, while another military installation in the capital was without power.

Under Venezuelan law, Rodriguez would take over from Maduro. There was no confirmation that had happened, though she did issue a statement demanding proof of life for Maduro and his wife.

Some streets in Caracas fill up

Venezuelas ruling party has held power since 1999, when Maduros predecessor, Hugo Chavez, took office, promising to uplift poor people and later to implement a self-described socialist revolution.

Maduro took over when Chavez died in 2013. His 2018 reelection was widely considered a sham because the main opposition parties were banned from participating. During the 2024 election, electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared him the winner hours after polls closed, but the opposition gathered overwhelming evidence that he lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

In a demonstration of how polarizing a figure Maduro is, people variously took to the streets to protest his capture and celebrate it.

At a protest in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas Mayor Carmen Melendez joined a crowd demanding Maduros return.

Maduro, hold on, the people are rising up! the crowd chanted. We are here Nicolas Maduro. If you can hear us, we are here!

Earlier, armed people and uniformed members of a civilian militia took to the streets of a Caracas neighborhood long considered a stronghold of the ruling party.

In other parts of the city, the streets remained empty hours after the attack, as residents absorbed events. Some areas remained without power, but vehicles moved freely.

How do I feel? Scared, like everyone, said Caracas resident Noris Prada, who sat on an empty avenue looking down at his phone. Venezuelans woke up scared, many families couldnt sleep.

In the Chilean capital of Santiago, people waved Venezuelan flags and banged pots and pans as vehicles passed by honking at them.

In Doral, Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan community in the U.S, people wrapped themselves in Venezuelan flags, ate fried snacks and cheered as music played. At one point, the crowd chanted Liberty! Liberty! Liberty!

Questions of legality

Some legal experts raised immediate concerns about the operations legality.

Lawmakers from both political parties in Congress have raised reservations and flat-out objections to the U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug smuggling near the Venezuelan coast. Congress has not specifically approved an authorization for the use of military force for such operations in the region.

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had seen no evidence that would justify Trump striking Venezuela without approval from Congress and demanded an immediate briefing by the administration on its plan to ensure stability in the region and its legal justification for this decision.

Congressional leaders were not notified by the Trump administration about the military action until early Saturday morning, after it was already underway, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio said was necessary to preserve the operations integrity.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, called it a decisive and justified operation that will protect American lives and said the Trump administration was working to schedule briefings.
Despite my 30-plus years of covering the retail industry, I have never felt comfortable purchasing a mattress. The difference in price and quality between various brands has always made determining value a challenge.

In addition, the industry seems to rely on sales, which don't always line up with when I've actually needed a mattress. It's an industry that feels very outdated, like buying a car from a dealer where the salesman continually needs to go consult with his manager.

That same confusion around pricing, value, and timing doesnt just frustrate shoppers. It also makes it harder for smaller mattress retailers to compete, forecast demand, and survive as buying habits change.

Despite that, people need mattresses and global sales are expected to steadily rise, according to data from Grand View Research.

"The global mattress market generated a revenue of $46,475.3 million in 2024 and is expected to reach $67,509.0 million by 2030. The market is expected to grow at a [compound annual growth rate] CAGR (2025-2030) of 6.5% by 2030," according to the data firm.

Even in a growing mattress market, sales increasingly favor national brands and online sellers, leaving regional chains more exposed to margin pressure, inventory risk, and shifting consumer expectations.

Many mattress chains have struggled, and another long-standing family-owned chain, Mattress Factory, has decided to close all its locations.

Mattress Factory begins going-out-of-business sale

When you visit the Mattress Factory website, the company has clearly decided not to hide that it's going out of business.

"All stores are closing sale. Thank you for 26 years!" the retailer shared in all caps on its homepage.

The company has positioned the shutdown as a closure due to retirement.

"After 26 years, this retirement is the biggest event ever. All new stock must go now! All floor samples must go!" the company shared.

"Regarding the closing timeframe, Mattress Factory does not have an exact closing date but they likely will be open into to [sic] February. Since this is a planned retirement, Mattress Factory is positioned to stay open as long as needed to sell all of the inventory," 42Freeway.com, a local news website, reported.

More Retail:

At its peak, the chain had 15 locations. It has four remaining.

"With every item priced to sell quickly, individual products and sale prices are not being published online. Shoppers are encouraged to visit the Deptford store and speak directly with the team, where many items are already marked with advertised discounts," 42Freeway.com shared.
Key Points

Oil prices will fall below $50 a barrel before recovering.

Lower oil prices will fuel a consolidation wave in the sector.

Oil companies will turn to gas-fueled growth drivers like gas-fired power plants for AI data centers.

10 stocks we like better than ExxonMobil 

Crude oil prices had a down year in 2025. Brent oil, the global benchmark price, was down nearly 20% on the year, falling from the mid-$70s (and a peak above $80) to the low $60s. Increasing global supplies and concerns about demand weighed on crude prices during the year.

The slump in oil prices that the industry experienced last year is likely to continue influencing the oil market in 2026. Here are three bold predictions on what might happen in the coming year.

Image source: Getty Images.

Crude prices crash below $50 a barrel and then recover

Most oil market forecasters have a bearish view on oil prices in 2026. For example, the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects Brent oil to average $55 per barrel in the first quarter of 2026 and remain near that level throughout the year. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs predicts Brent will decline to an average of $56 next year, with a downside to $51 if there's a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

The main catalyst fueling these downbeat views is increased supplies. Several oil companies have recently completed or will complete major oil expansion projects in the coming months. Additionally, U.S. producers continue to increase their output in places like the Permian Basin. On top of that, OPEC has been steadily increasing its oil supplies. As a result, the world is on pace to experience a supply glut in 2026.

My prediction is that crude prices will crash below $50 a barrel at one point in the year. However, I expect that they'll bounce off the bottom. I'd anticipate that OPEC would reduce its supplies in that scenario, while U.S. producers would likely lower their capital spending.

Another merger wave begins

Lower oil prices tend to spur consolidation in the sector. A wave of mergers occurred in 2020 and 2021, following a decline in oil prices due to the pandemic. Additionally, there was another wave of mergers in late 2023, following a decline in crude prices from their war-fueled highs in 2022, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Oil giants ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX) have been active consolidators in recent years. Exxon acquired Denbury Resources for nearly $5 billion in late 2023 and finalized its $60 billion megadeal with Pioneer Natural Resources in May 2024. Meanwhile, Chevron bought PDC Energy for over $6 billion in 2023 and followed that up with its $55 billion mega deal for Hess, which it closed in July 2025 after initially agreeing to the deal in late 2023. Those deals will provide both oil giants with the fuel to continue growing their production and cash flow through 2030. However, given their financial strength, they'd likely pounce on an opportunity to bolster their operations if the right opportunity came along.
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Sometimes I cant get through a sentence without hearing myself and being like, you f***ing tit, says the actor Josh Finan, who is still getting used to saying actor-type things like what the work involves and the body doesnt know its pretending. He laughs over a video call from his home in east London, Im cringing at myself.

To be fair to Finan, hes still relatively new to all this. So far, his career has mostly been made up of small parts in big things: a doomed drug dealer in Black Mirror, an aspiring comedian in Baby Reindeer, and a money man caught in the wrong place at the wrong time in Netflixs The Gentlemen. In 2023, Finan nabbed a Bafta nod for his subtle turn as chaos magnet Marco in BBC drama The Responder. Last year, he earned more acclaim for his baleful performance in Say Nothing as former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. The credits are racking up, and now he is set to lead the BBCs latest primetime drama  a surefire sign of Finans rising star.

Waiting for the Out is a lightly fictionalised adaptation of a memoir by Andy West: Life on the Inside. Like the book, the show follows a philosophy teacher as he starts a new job at a prison. Also, like the book, it chronicles the ways  both good and bad  that his experience in prison and the men he meets there upend his life on the outside, already marked by his own obsessive compulsions. But there are key differences. For example, the teacher played by Finan in the show is called Dan, not Andy  a decision made by writer and executive producer Dennis Kelly (Pulling; Utopia) after he began tweaking elements of Wests story.

open image in gallery First day nerves: Josh Finan as Dan in 'Waiting for the Out' ( BBC/Sister Pictures )

But the narrative drive remains the same and so to prepare for the role, Finan accompanied West to one of his lessons at a local prison. Things didnt go as planned. For one thing, everyone was on their best behaviour. I remember Andy was annoyed, says Finan, laughing. Not actually but he was huffing and puffing, God that class was so well behaved  sometimes it can get mental! But that quietude speaks volumes, and it makes its way into Waiting for the Out, where prison life moves mostly at a snails pace. Everything is set to a simmer approaching boil.

Melodramatics or not, that class taught Finan something invaluable. Seeing the way Andy works and the way that he is really good at his job, he says. He doesnt try to soften or harden who he is in that environment, because theyd f***ing smell it a mile off if he was trying to be one of them. Its part of why Dan comes to be an effective teacher to these men  eventually. Nervous about coming face to face with his new students, Dan goes to a Foot Locker and buys steel-capped boots for his first day. They give him blisters and land him in A&E, effectively putting an end to any ill-advised attempts at feigning toughness.

Toughness is not the point of Waiting for the Out, which gives people a look at prisoners using their brains rather than their fists, says Finan. Its the first time Ive seen people discuss Theseus in prison. Dans trick, though, is to make the lessons as much about the prisoners as about the philosophers theyre discussing. Conversation roams between free will and fate to Odysseus and Slavoj Zizek, the Billy Connolly of philosophers.

Dan has more in common with his students than they think; his family tree is heavy with men who have spent time behind bars, his amiable uncle and recovering addict brother among them. Most notable, though, is his estranged father, who casts a long shadow over Dans life  and whom Dan begins seeking out despite his familys protests.

open image in gallery Money man: Finan plays the accountant for a crime family in The Gentlemen ( Netflix )

The series also takes a granular interest in the modern swathe of masculinity, embodied most acutely by Dan himself, who instantly feels at odds with the seemingly more rough-and-ready prisoners. He presents like he is from a middle-class background: he wears pink shirts, hes got floppy hair, crosses his legs and speaks slowly, says Finan. Ostensibly, he looks like the sort of model for a 21st-century guy, but behind closed doors, Dan has no idea what to do with his emotions  he screams at the stove and doesnt know how to process what hes going through, in a way thats very much a retrograde look at how men are in touch with their emotions.

As for Finans state of mind during filming? It certainly helped that on the way to and from the shows Liverpool set every day, there was a floating sauna to release any pent-up emotions from playing a character like Dan. Theres a certain amount of pressure that builds up in your body over the days. Pressure is an apt word to describe Finans performance, which feels something like watching a lid doing its best to balance on a bubbling pot. Its a masterclass in restraint, all the while winking at danger.

I cant see Gerry Adams being super bothered about a lad from the Wirral playing him in a Disney show

It took some pressure off to know Dan wasnt intended to be a carbon copy of West. There was a real sense of freedom and being able to have the character as my own, he says. That said, Finan has proven himself to be a remarkable mimic even in sticky circumstances, such as when he played Belfast barman turned controversial president of Sinn Fein Gerry Adams in the Irish thriller-drama Say Nothing last year.

Finan couldnt help but wonder what Adams, who is now 77 and has always denied being a member of the IRA, might make of his performance. If I were him, I imagine Id be above it. I cant see him being super bothered about a lad from the Wirral playing him in a Disney show, he says. Finan had, however, heard that Adams was chuffed with Pierce Brosnans portrayal in 2017s The Foreigner. I think he quite liked the fact that he was played by James Bond, he laughs. Sorry I couldnt live up to that.

Growing up in the Wirral, a peninsula just west of Liverpool, Finan was a shy child who discovered a pretty good way of covering it up. Energetic classroom readings of Roald Dahl led to a 50p-a-week drama club, where Finan got a lot of joy playing everyone from a Geordie pensioner to a cleaning lady from Yorkshire and Buttons in Cinderella. But the path from there was less clear  and less encouraged. l didnt want to do anything else but I felt stuck because no one at my secondary school was advocating for it. No one took it seriously.

open image in gallery Mad Marco: Finan earned a Bafta nod for his portrayal as a one-person storm in The Responder ( BBC/Dancing Ledge )

Hes more forgiving of that mindset now that hes older. I can understand the reticence of some people who said [acting] wasnt a proper job, Finan says. In a small, sort of nominally working-class area, youre going to prioritise having a solid life, but I was less sympathetic back then about how my school treated people who wanted to express themselves.

But his parents, who met at the job centre where they worked, were always supportive of his aspirations  maybe, Finan says, because they knew so little about the industry he wanted to break into. But I imagine theyd have been just as supportive if I wanted to read maths books all day rather than draw or dress up, which is what I did.

It was only when studying English literature at Sheffield and hanging out with a lot of arty, lefty theatremakers that Finan discovered the prospect of drama school. Somewhere you can go and spend years studying acting? he laughs. My mind was blown. His time at Bristol Old Vic was formative; Finan came out more confident than when he went in. But it wasnt necessarily very busy coming into the industry, so there was a feeling of like, Oh f***, I think I can do this  but absolutely no one knows or cares.

People certainly care now. Waiting for the Out has earned superb early reviews, and next year Finan will appear in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast  the much-anticipated return to telly from Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee. (Those Northern Irish accent lessons for Say Nothing are already paying dividends.) Whatever he stars in next, he hopes it will spark a conversation. When Im trying to justify what Ive decided to do as a job  which is not as important as being a doctor or a lawyer or a paramedic  I think of how this is a world in which it is possible for TV and film to actually mean something, he says, chuckling again. Im shivering, thats cringe!

Waiting For The Out is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now
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Greys Anatomy star Steven W Bailey has opened up about his rare neuromuscular disorder.

The actor is best known for playing bartender Joe on the long-running medical drama Greys Anatomy. He also starred in other hit shows including Netflixs You, Modern Family, Scandal, Community, NCIS, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer,

In an open letter shared to X, the 54-year-old told fans that he had been diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disorder known as congenital myasthenia syndrome (CMS).

Bailey said he had spent years being cautious, private and quiet about the health condition that has been shaping [his] life and work.

The darndest thing, but it turns out I have a rather rare genetic neuromuscular disorder. Weird, right? Its called Congenital Myasthenia Syndrome, Bailey said.

CMS is a group of rare hereditary conditions caused by a gene change that results in muscle weakness, which worsens with physical activity, according to the Mayo clinic.

The syndromes can affect muscles used for movement, speaking, shewing, swallowing, seeing and blinking, breathing, and walking.

Bailey did not specify exactly when he was diagnosed, but explained that he had not announced his diagnosis out of career caution, diagnostic uncertainty, and being private about such things.

Speaking about his own symptoms, the actor said: The result being that my hands, arms and legs tire quicker than they should, which makes them weaker than, well... anticipated.

Sustained repetitive movements are particularly difficult and can cause my muscles to temporarily tighten and shut down.

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Bailey joked that the syndrome has helped get him out of doing dishes and folding laundry, adding that it has made walking increasingly more difficult.

open image in gallery Steven W Bailey in You ( Netflix )

The truth is, as my disease progresses, I have been using a powered wheelchair more and more to get around, he said. Professionally, this is changing me as an actor.

Speaking about his work, Bailey noted: I can ambulate my way through simple walks and talk with no problem. I can still rise to my feet to object to the judge, derail a town meeting, or yell at a cop for being a loose cannon.

open image in gallery ( ABC )

Bailey went on to say that moving forward, his work, like his life, will start skewing more wheelchair, if you will.

But now I am here  done hiding  with a clear understanding of my disease, wheels firmly beneath me, ready for the next chapter in my life and career, he said.

I look forward to performing as characters who live their lives with a chair, creating a more representative world in film and television, he wrote.

Concluding the post, Bailey signed off: Same guy. Same actor. Same artist. Now with wheels.
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Fans of The Pitt finally have their answer as to why Bryan Cranston has not been cast alongside his daughter, Taylor Dearden, on HBO Maxs hit medical drama.

Speculation previously swirled about Cranston joining Dearden, 32, on the popular series after the Breaking Bad actor, 69, publicly praised his daughters performance in season one of the show. But now, TV executives have laid the fancasting theories to rest.

Its a temptation that we want to avoid, director and executive producer John Wells told Rotten Tomatoes about the idea of casting Cranston. We dont want to pull the attention away from the medicine and the wonderful actors that we have. And we have any number of really fantastic people who come in to guest star who have extraordinary careers, but they are working actors who are just fantastic actors, great with their craft.

Dearden plays fan-favorite character Dr. Melissa "Mel" King, who works as a second-year resident in the shows fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. The actor is Cranstons only child with his wife since 1989, Robin Dearden.

Cranston spoke about his pride for his daughter in an interview with the Associated Press in June 2024, saying: Theres nothing more gratifying than when your kid receives praise. Nothing. No one can say anything to me thats better than that. So, her mom and I are just over the moon for her work on [The Pitt]. Shes a very hardworking person. She grew up in it. So its in her bones. Shes in it for the right reasons, and she loves it.

open image in gallery Bryan Cranston's daughter, Taylor Dearden, stars in HBO Max's hit show 'The Pitt' as Dr. Mel King ( Getty Images )

open image in gallery The Pitt, starring Noah Wyle, returns January 8 ( HBO Max )

Although Cranston will not appear on the show, another actor was allowed to bring her father to work. Fiona Dourif, who plays Dr. Cassie McKay on the show, is the daughter of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest actor Brad Dourif, who guest-starred during season one.

Wells told Rotten Tomatoes about the casting decision: But one of the things about Fionas dad is that he was not recognizable in the part, you know? So, it didnt distract from the reality of it.

Dearden and Dourif star on the show alongside series lead Noah Wyle, who plays Dr. Michael Robby Robinavitch. The Emmy-winning cast also includes Katherina LaNasa and Shawn Hatosy. Nearly all of the stars from season one are returning for the new episodes, with the exception of actor Tracy Ifeachor, who played Dr. Heather Collins.

The second season of the show premieres January 8 on HBO Max. The new weekly episodes, released Thursdays, are expected to again chronicle of a 15-hour day in the hospitals emergency department.
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Deadly stabbings, barbaric living conditions, and maggots in the food: this is the state of the notorious New York prison that ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro now calls home.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Saturday night, just hours after a U.S. military attack on their country ended with them being extracted from Caracas via helicoper, warship, and plane.

They will stay there until he faces trial on several charges, including Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy.

Maduro is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, 92, in a Lower Manhattan federal courtoom at 12 p.m. ET Monday to answer those charges, which could ultimately see him kept behind bars for the rest of his life.

He is being flown to the hearing across the Hudson River by helicopter, according to Bloomberg, via a route that will take him over New York Harbor and past the Statue of Liberty and Wall Street to an awaiting motorcade.

open image in gallery A still image from video posted by the White House's Rapid Response 47 account on X, which originated from the @PaulDMauro account, showing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration n New York City, on January 3, 2026 ( @RapidResponse47/Reuters )

Bail is unlikely to be set and Maduro is unlikely to reach trial until 2027 at the earliest. It is not yet known whether he has hired legal representation.

The facility in which Maduro and Flores are currently being held, alongside approximately 1,330 other inmates, is no stranger to famous faces, having previously housed Sean Diddy Combs, sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, Luigi Mangione, Sam Bankman-Fried, Fyre Festival fraudster Billy McFarland, and rapper R Kelly, who was found guilty of child sexual abuse.

Former Honduras president Juan Orlando Hernandez was also held there prior to his guilty conviction in 2024 on cocaine trafficking charges. He was subsequently moved to another jail in West Virginia before being pardoned by President Donald Trump last year.

Before Diddys trial, his lawyers argued that several courts in this district have recognized that the conditions at Metropolitan Detention Center are not fit for pre-trial detention.

Just earlier this summer, an inmate was murdered, the lawyers said, according to The Daily Beast. At least four inmates have died by suicide there in the past three years.

open image in gallery The Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York City ( AP )

MDC has been plagued by violence, chronic understaffing, a lack of medical care and unsanitary conditions for some time, with inmates reportedly complaining of rotten food, thin mattresses, and broken toilets.

In 2024, inmate Uriel Whyte was stabbed to death within its walls while awaiting trial on gun charges.

Many have spoken out about the barbaric conditions inside the prison, with one inmate claiming the jail sees stabbings at least a couple of times a week.

One guy was stabbed in the eye with a makeshift knife, the inmate, only named as Eli, told Spectrum News NY1.

And these knives, again, I have never been to jail. This is my first time in jail, but these knives are six, nine inches long sometimes, you know, homemade with materials from the steel walls. Its very violent. Theres stabbings, theres stabbings at least a couple times a week.

open image in gallery The MDC is considered to be one of the toughest facilities in the U.S. ( AFP/Getty )

The outlet also obtained video which showed cockroaches in peoples meals, broken lights and mold in the showers.

In another criminal case, federal Judge Gary Brown threatened to vacate the sentence of a 75-year-old who was convicted of a tax scam if he was sent to the facility because of the dangerous and barbaric conditions, The Brooklyn Eagle reported.

His ruling referenced two murders and a stabbing that went unchallenged by officers until it was almost over.

These incidents demonstrate a woeful lack of supervision, breakdown of order, and an environment of lawlessness that constitute unacceptable, reprehensible and deadly mismanagement, he said in court documents.

David Patton, former head of Federal Defenders of New York, told NY1: A lack of medical care to real serious sanitation issues to maggots in the food to violence, everything you can think about thats problematic at a jail or prison is problematic at the MDC, and it has been for a very long time.

open image in gallery Federal law enforcement personnel stand watch outside the MDC as they await the arrival of Maduro on Saturday ( AP )

In 2019, more than a thousand inmates were stuck in freezing cells for days when there was no heating following a power outage in the middle of winter, according to reports at the time.

All of which will provide a marked contrast with the life Maduro once lived inside the sprawling military complex of Fort Tiuna in Caracas.

The Venezuelan public rarely saw inside their presidents living quarters as most of his public events were conducted from Miraflores Palace, a 19th century French neo-baroque mansion, known for its large courtyard, lavish interior decor of fine chandeliers and carpets and walls lined with portaits of the countrys national heroes.

Maduro was known for addressing his supporters from the palaces balcony during government-organized rallies.

Confinement in the MDC will test the strongest mind, Justin Paperny, a prison consultant who has advised clients held at the facility, told Bloomberg.

He said that Maduros communications while inside will be closely observed and his movements managed, with his security and safety given priority over his personal comfort.
As the artificial intelligence trade continues to push the stock market to new highs, investors are increasingly asking if were living through another financial bubble thats destined to burst.

The answer isnt so simple, at least according to history.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The S&P 500 Index jumped 16% in 2025, with AI winners Nvidia Corp., Alphabet Inc., Broadcom Inc. and Microsoft Corp. contributing the most. But at the same time, concerns are mounting about the hundreds of billions of dollars Big Tech has pledged to spend on AI infrastructure. Capital expenditures from Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. are expected to rise 34% to roughly $440 billion combined over the next year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, OpenAI has committed to spending more than $1 trillion on AI infrastructure, an eye-popping number for a closely held company that isnt profitable. But perhaps even more troubling is the circular nature of many of its arrangements, in which investments and spending go back and forth between OpenAI and a few publicly traded tech giants.

Throughout history, over-investment has been a common theme when theres a technological advancement that will transform society, according to Invesco chief global market strategist Brian Levitt, who pointed to the development of railroads, electricity and the internet. This time may be no different.

At some point the infrastructure build may exceed what the economy will need over a short period of time, he said. But that doesnt mean that the rail tracks werent finished or the internet didnt become a thing, right?

Still, with equity valuations creeping up and the S&P 500 just posting its third straight year of double-digit percentage gains, it makes sense that investors are growing concerned about how much upside is left and how much market value could be lost if AI doesnt live up to the hype. Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com, Broadcom and Meta Platforms account for almost 30% of the S&P 500, so an AI selloff would hit the index hard.

A bubble likely crashes on a bear market, said Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Financial Group, who doesnt believe AI stocks are in a bubble. We just dont see a bear market anytime soon.

Heres how todays AI boom stacks up against previous market bubbles.

Pace, Length

One simple way of gaging whether the AI-fueled tech rally has gone too far or too fast is to compare it against past bull runs. Looking at 10 equity bubbles from around the world since 1900, they lasted just over two-and-a-half years on average with a trough-to-peak gain of 244%, according to research by Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett.
John Boothby, center, is surrounded by family and friends after he pulled off another big tip holiday breakfast Saturday, Jan. 3, despite fighting cancer. Two waitresses shared the tip of a lifetime from the group at Toasted Yolk Cafe in Biloxi. Sun Herald
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BusinessMarketsOil Trumps strikes in Venezuela not expected to jolt oil prices Millie Muroi and Simon Johanson January 5, 2026  5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

The United States strikes against Venezuela are not expected to trigger an oil price shock, and analysts say any immediate threat of higher prices would be short-lived if the US increases the countrys oil production. Within hours of US armed forces capturing the Venezuelan president on Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced that Americas oil companies would enter Venezuela and invest in restoring production in the South American country, which has the biggest proven oil reserves in the world. Were going to have our very large US oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country, Trump said, noting he would retain sanctions on Venezuelas oil industry. Venezuela was once an oil-producing powerhouse, but its output has plummeted in recent decades. Bloomberg It was not immediately clear which oil companies Trump was referring to or how soon they would be able to ramp up production.

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Venezuela was once an oil-producing powerhouse, but its output plummeted in recent decades because of falling investment and the effect of US sanctions, with its oil production now accounting for less than 1 per cent of global supplies. Related Article Opinion

Oil Loss of Russian, Venezuelan oil a drop in ocean for worlds crude glut Stephen Bartholomeusz Senior business columnist However, Venezuelas oil production is mostly heavy crude, which many US refineries are better equipped to refine than light crude, making it strategically important for the US. In 2015, Venezuela produced about 2.5 million barrels of oil a day, but that figure has fallen to just over 800,000 barrels a day. Before the strikes, the Trump administration had been stepping up a campaign against Venezuelas oil exports through a maritime blockade and by sanctioning vessels accused of evading curbs aimed at choking off oil revenue and ramping up pressure on Maduros regime.

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MST Financial energy analyst Saul Kavonic said 800,000 barrels of oil a day was at immediate risk if Venezuelan exports were affected by the conflict, but that a new Venezuelan government could result in renewed foreign investment in oil production. Oil prices will jump on the near-term risk to supply, but this could be bearish medium term if a new Venezuelan government results in sanctions being lifted and renewed foreign investment in oil supply, Kavonic said. If Trump is successful at affecting regime change to a more mainstream government, then Venezuelan exports could grow towards 3 million barrels in the medium term as sanctions are lifted and foreign investment returns. As reported by Bloomberg, Venezuelas oil infrastructure was not affected by the US attacks, with key facilities such as Jose port, the Amuay refinery and oil areas in the Orinoco Belt remaining operational. The country is estimated to hold more oil reserves in the ground than Saudi Arabia, and over the past century, it has attracted some of the biggest international operators.

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Independent economist Saul Eslake said that in the short term, the disruption was not likely to have much impact on oil prices. Taking Venezuelas puny amount of production out wont make much of a difference, he said, noting total world oil production was more than 80 million barrels a day. Related Article Explainer

Venezuela crisis Why is the US attacking Venezuela? While a reconstruction of the Venezuelan oil industry was an ambitious and distant prospect, Eslake said traders and investors could act quickly on the assumption that oil supply would increase. The market might anticipate that having American companies go in and spend, according to Trump, billions of dollars, putting the industry back on footing, might increase supply, he said. Oil steadied on the first trading day of 2026, before the US strikes on Venezuela, as expectations for excess supply helped offset concerns about the geopolitical risks to production in several nations which are part of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+).

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Brent crude futures settled below $US61 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate settled above $US57. However, oil prices had slumped in 2025 as both OPEC+ and competitors boosted output while demand growth slowed, with the International Energy Agency forecasting a record glut of about 3.8 million barrels a day for the year. Key OPEC+ members led by Saudi Arabia, and including Venezuela, were due to meet on Sunday and were expected to reaffirm a decision to pause increases to supply during the first three months of the year. Eslake said the latest action could have a broader effect on sentiment and economic growth by sparking another bout of uncertainty. Jessica Amir, market strategist at trading platform Moomoo, said the strikes would probably only have a short-term effect, but may obliquely boost interest in defence stocks.

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2026 is expected to be a year of excess supply, so if there is to be an impact, it will be short term  Geopolitical tension could be an energy theme to watch in 2026, and you might expect defence investments to have another good year, she said. With Bloomberg
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NationalBondi shooting Opinion By refusing a royal commission, what is the ALP covering up? George Brandis Former high commissioner to the UK and federal attorney-general January 5, 2026  5:30am

January 5, 2026  5:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Anthony Albanese is very good at politics. His judgment is almost always sound, both as a strategist and as a tactician. Nobody would accuse him of being an inspirational leader like Gough Whitlam, or a big thinker like Paul Keating. But he knows all the moves. He seldom makes mistakes. What he may lack in charisma he makes up for in cunning. So he would understand better than anyone the damage to his personal standing of his muted response to the Bondi Beach massacre. The contrast with NSW Premier Chris Minns could not be greater, as was evident at the very different receptions they received at the memorial service. The inadequacy of that response is now defined by Albaneses stubbornness in refusing to hold a royal commission. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. Getty Images There is an overwhelming demand for one from all sections of the community. I cannot remember when so many eminent Australians have spoken out with such urgency, in one voice: former governors-general and state governors; hundreds of the countrys senior barristers and judges (including former chief justices of the Supreme Court of NSW and of all three federal jurisdictions: the High Court, the Federal Court and the Family Court); a large cross-section of business and community leaders, including iconic names such as David Gonski; church leaders; sporting champions; nearly every national newspaper (including this one).

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Most importantly, of course, the families of the victims have demanded one. If their voices cant get through to the prime minister, whose can? Albanese, shrewd politician that he is, knows perfectly well that holding a Commonwealth royal commission would immediately take much of the political heat out of the issue. So why does he remain so determined to resist? The perplexing nature of his refusal is daily underlined by the weakness of the governments justifications, which range from the unpersuasive to the frankly absurd. It claims that a royal commission would take too long. Instead, the government has instituted the Richardson inquiry, which will deliver an interim report as soon as April. There is nothing wrong with the Richardson inquiry. Dennis Richardson himself would have been a fine person to conduct a royal commission (it doesnt have to be a judge). However, its terms of reference are narrow. It will not hold public hearings. It is essentially an in-house inquiry into gaps in inter-agency co-ordination, particularly between ASIO and state police.

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Related Video Video icon 1:07 Australian sporting stars call for Bondi shooting royal commission A royal commission could equally look into that question, and it could do so with the greater force of coercive powers that Richardson lacks. Where necessary for national security reasons, it could take evidence in camera. It could produce an interim report on the same issues and on the same timelines as the Richardson inquiry, while conducting a longer examination into the larger issue at the heart of community concern, but beyond Richardsons scope: antisemitism. Royal commissions can take a long time because they examine, thoroughly, searchingly and publicly, systemic failures and patterns of misconduct. For instance, the royal commissions into institutional responses to child sex abuse, Indigenous deaths in custody and the banks. The more deep-seated the problem, the longer it takes to expose it in full. Bizarrely, Albanese in effect hides behind the fact that antisemitism is such a widespread problem that it requires long and thorough examination as his excuse not to have a royal commission into it. It is notable that several of the signatories to the senior lawyers letter are themselves former royal commissioners, better placed than anyone to understand a royal commissions utility. Albanese next argued that a Commonwealth royal commission is unnecessary because NSW is having one. That excuse is preposterous for two obvious reasons. It concedes the appropriateness of having a royal commission. It simultaneously implies that a NSW inquiry is sufficient. Just ask members of the Jewish community who dont live in Sydney what they think about that.

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Thirdly, last week, Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke introduced a new argument: that a royal commission could platform ugly views. What it would do, in investigating the extent to which antisemitism has penetrated sections of the Australian community, is reveal it. That is one of the chief purposes of a royal commission: in investigating a problem, to expose it; to shine a light into the dark corners where the problem exists  and the institutions in which it festers  as the child abuse royal commission did. Related Article Opinion

Bondi shooting Royal commissions are often used to buy time, not create change John Wallace Contributor The ugly truth is that Albanese and Burke dont want a royal commission for that very reason: that they are afraid of what it might reveal, of who might be caught in its forensic searchlight. In a letter to the NSW ALP state secretary written shortly after the Bondi massacre, the Labor Israel Action Committee demanded action to root out antisemitism in Labors branches, saying it was now pervasive in some sections of the ALP. Its demand that Albanese address the issue of antisemitism in Labor branches was echoed by former Labor MP, now Labor Israel Action Committee president Mike Kelly: [T]he Labor movement ... has a responsibility to act on antisemitism in its own ranks. It would be shameful if, as I very much suspect, an underlying motive for Albaneses refusal to satisfy overwhelming community demand for a royal commission were to cover up what is happening in some corners of the Labor Party  in particular, its western Sydney branches, which, it should be noted, are Burkes bailiwick.

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Yet, as he flails about offering ever more implausible excuses to justify his refusal to do what the nation is demanding, with each passing day Albanese looks less like someone who thinks a royal commission would achieve too little, than someone who fears that it might reveal too much. George Brandis is a former high commissioner to the UK, and a former Liberal senator and federal attorney-general. He is now a professor at the ANUs National Security College. Get a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter.

Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share License this article More: Bondi shooting

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For subscribers George Brandis is a former high commissioner to the UK, and a former Liberal senator and federal attorney-general. He is now a professor at the ANUs National Security College.
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Exclusive NationalInvestigations Sailing enthusiasts and crew scuppered by yacht investment scheme Cameron Houston January 5, 2026  5:45am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Dozens of Australian sailing enthusiasts have been scuppered by an investment scheme involving membership in a fleet of luxury yachts that promised annual returns of up to 20 per cent and discounted voyages around the South Pacific. Crew, subcontractors and several overseas investors are also owed money by a network of companies operating as Ocean Sailing Expeditions, which was founded by prominent New Zealand sailor and entrepreneur David Hows. New Zealand yachtsman David Hows. YouTube Two yachts, Silver Fern and Te Kaihopara, were impounded on December 9 and 10 respectively, after applications by former staff to the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court in New Zealand over $210,000 in unpaid wages. Hows paid more than $100,000 to have the arrest order removed from the Silver Fern in order for the 22-metre vessel to compete in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race over Christmas, while the Te Kaihopara remains chained to a dock in Auckland.

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Both vessels, and a third yacht, Awen, have been put up for sale as Hows scrambles to repay creditors. While sailing has long been regarded as a pastime for the rich and respectable, Hows claims his business was the subject of a calculated and targeted attack by rival businesses and a few disgruntled crew members. I have received personal threats, threats to send gang members to my home, threats of jail, bankruptcy and public shaming, he said. This masthead does not know specifically who Hows was referring to. Silver Fern competed in the 2025 Sydney to Hobart race over Christmas. Ocean Sailing Expeditions

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Under the Ocean Sailing Expeditions business model, investors paid up to $100,000 for a secured interest in the yacht in return for annual payments of up to 20 per cent and sailing credits or discounted voyages around Oceania. At the end of a five-year term, investors would be refunded their initial investment, according to a shareholders certificate obtained by this masthead. Hows, a yacht master who has traversed the Tasman Sea on more than 14 occasions, is also the subject of a liquidator investigation into the collapse of his former Australian company OSE QLD Pty Ltd, with debts of more than $565,000 and just 95 across two bank accounts. A statutory report by liquidator Mackay Goodwin found the company had traded while insolvent since March 2022, while it was also examining a string of transactions made to another Australian company, LV2 Pty Ltd, which is co-owned by Hows wife. The transfer of customer memberships totalling to LV2 Pty Ltd before the collapse of OSE Pty Ltd is also being investigated by the liquidator. The liquidators report said claims from members affected by the transfer amounted to $875,352. Our review of the companys financial record in our possession has identified transactions that may be considered uncommercial totalling $296,441, according to a report to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on December 19.

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These transactions may also be considered unreasonable director-related transactions. Hows disputes that his former company had traded while insolvent for more than three years and said he had provided information to the liquidator on Sunday that would substantiate his claims. He said the liquidator had rushed out a report full of errors, six days before Christmas and then gone on holidays. Related Article Sydney to Hobart French crew stripped of Sydney to Hobart victory as new overall winner named In 2020, Sydney couple Kelly McRae and Jonathan Plesman invested $50,000 from their self-managed superannuation fund into Ocean Sailing Expeditions through another of Hows companies, Willow Vale Consulting Pty Ltd. As sailors ourselves, we were drawn to the venture because it seemed ethical and exciting, and appeared to be grounded in a proven business model with his existing vessel, McRae told this masthead.

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However, the relationship rapidly soured when dividends were not paid. It didnt take long for serious concerns to emerge. David began failing to meet his financial obligations to us while promoting new investment opportunities to others. It gradually became apparent that the limited dividend payments we did receive were linked to the inflow of funds from these new offerings, McRae said. The couple are owed $80,525 in unpaid dividends and principal, after rejecting a repayment plan from Hows on December 15 that involved the sale of the yachts and required them to waive participation in the liquidation of OSE QLD Pty Ltd. The 72-foot yacht Te Kaihopara remains chained in Auckland. Ocean Sailing Expeditions They are among several investors to lodge complaints with ASIC regarding the conduct of Hows and his companies.

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Jason Haigh was employed by Ocean Sailing Expeditions as the skipper of Silver Fern in April 2024, but soon noticed trouble on the horizon. During my time in his employ, I observed months of sailing trips being sold to new customers whilst David Hows was unable to pay bills to suppliers, contractors and crew, Haigh said. The Sydney-based sailor launched Federal Court action to recoup a debt of almost $15,000, which was paid only before Christmas when Hows stumped up more than $100,000 to have Silver Fern released from impoundment. Haigh is still owed about $10,000 in unpaid wages from his role on Te Kaihopara. Haigh said his former employer was constantly asking for more time and made a series of piecemeal offers to placate creditors. During May 2025, he held a briefing in which he expressed difficult trading conditions and tight cashflow, so asked us to wait for our payments. He then made one or two minor part payments to string us along, but stopped abruptly in late June with the liquidation of OSE QLD Pty Ltd in August 2025, Haigh said.

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Matt Harvey, also from Sydney, leased his 22-metre ketch Salt Lines to Ocean Sailing Expeditions in late 2021 when the vessel was used for trips around Australia and the South Pacific. Harvey said he was still owed about $160,000. I made repeated attempts to resolve the matter privately and commercially before taking any formal steps. Unfortunately, those efforts were unsuccessful, Harvey said. David Hows reportedly owes staff more than $200,000. Ocean Sailing Expeditions The most difficult part has been the length of time and energy required to pursue what should have been a straightforward commercial resolution. It has caused significant financial and personal stress.

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Hows would not confirm how much he owed creditors, because the information was commercially

sensitive and likely to have an adverse effect on the sale price of the vessels if buyers were

aware. The 55-year-old conceded that not all dividends had been paid on time. But he said more than $2.7 million in capital had been invested in yacht maintenance and upgrades over the past five years, while the rising costs of the membership program had placed further financial strain on his business. Hows said the previous model was simply too generous, but insisted the current restructure would help navigate the business away from treacherous waters. The business is moving from leasing vessels, hiring contract crew and paying all the operating costs, to a model of using owner operators only, who will own the vessels, run their own crew and take a revenue share from bookings to cover their costs and generate a profit, he said.

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Hows said all former crew would be paid by the end of January. I am doing my best to pay creditors, build a future and avoid six years of hard work and long hours being destroyed, he said. I have put everything I have into the business and the yachts. Its not an easy business to build. The restructure was working and momentum was building until this blew up. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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Exclusive NationalVictoriaOrganised crime Notorious Australian underworld figure arrested in Dubai Chris Vedelago and Cameron Houston January 4, 2026  10:51am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Notorious underworld figure Jay Malkoun has been arrested in Dubai as part of an investigation into an alleged extortion attempt. The former head of the Comanchero bikie gang, who reinvented himself as a true crime memoirist in recent years, is being detained in the United Arab Emirates, according to three underworld sources. Former bikie boss Amad Jay Malkoun pictured at a promotion for his book. Jason South A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade declined to comment due to privacy restrictions. (DFAT) is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who is reported to be detained in Dubai, a departmental spokesperson said.

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The arrest is the latest in a series of international crises for the 62-year-old, who narrowly survived a car-bombing in Greece in 2019 and escaped Thailand after an associate was abducted and murdered there in 2015. Malkoun, who allegedly stepped down from leading one of the most powerful bikie clubs in 2013, moved to Dubai where he pursu(ed) international interests, according to his 2024 memoir, The Consultant. The site of the car bomb attack that injured Amad 'Jay' Malkoun in Glyfada, Athens. The Age Malkoun has an extensive criminal network across Asia and Europe, including Russia, where he established a Comanchero chapter. In 1988, Malkoun was sentenced to a decade in prison for his role in trafficking $5.5 million worth of heroin between Melbourne and Perth.

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Bikie gangs Ex-bikie boss' return to Melbourne set to inflame tensions Despite his conviction and criminal associations, Malkoun was allowed to live in the United Arab Emirates where he has close connections with the Gulf states royal family. The relationship is apparently based on a mutual interest in racehorses, with a Dubai royal giving Malkoun an Arabian stallion as a gift. Malkoun also became wealthy following a land play in Melbournes outer northern suburbs in which one of his companies sold a residential development site for $26 million. His company, Trash Media, bought the 26-hectare property as a horse farm for $950,000 in 2009, and its value exploded after it was rezoned in 2017.

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Malkoun returned to Melbourne in 2020 to seek specialist medical treatment after surviving a car bomb planted inside his Mercedes outside a gym in Athens, Greece. No one has ever been arrested over the attack. Related Article Behind the Photos

Crime As mourners gathered to remember an underworld kingpin, the coffin stood empty He has received stem cell treatments at an inner Melbourne clinic for his injuries. In publicity materials promoting The Consultant, Malkoun is described as: Survivor of the Melbourne underworld wars, and 10 years in Australias most brutal prison. Nightclub enforcer and peacemaker. Strip-club mogul and incurable romantic. A family man of deep religious faith who is capable of extreme violence when pushed. A loving father and a loyal son. A negotiator of multimillion-dollar deals in both the boardroom and the backroom. The one-time leader of one of the most influential and powerful outlaw motorcycle clubs the world has ever seen  whose power extends across the globe.

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Malkouns publicist at Penguin Random House did not respond to a request for comment. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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Letters NationalVictoriaLetters US behaviour under Trump beyond the pale January 4, 2026  7:50pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Photo: Megan Herbert To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. VENEZUELA The United States has withdrawn from the rule-based order and retreated to the might is right commonly associated with thugs, bullies, tyrants and ego-driven despots (Trump says US will run Venezuela, 4/1). Bombing Iran and Nigeria, piracy against Venezuelan ships, murder on the high seas and now kidnapping the elected leader of another nation. This is beyond the pale.

Australia should withdraw from AUKUS and ANZUS, and demand the removal of American military bases. This would put Australia at risk of retaliation but Munich-style appeasement will not slow down the madness that has engulfed the US.

Ken Rivett, Ferntree Gully What is the difference between America and Russia?

I doubt too many people will miss Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro, but US President Donald Trumps actions raise important questions. Was kidnapping Maduro done because he was a criminal, and if yes, why did Trump not arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin for his war crimes when Trump met Putin on American soil?

By invading a sovereign country, isnt America really no different to Russia? And, lastly, how could Trump ever get his treasured Nobel Peace Prize if he has started a war?

Kim White, Gippsland

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Parallels with Chinas attitude to Taiwan

Now, if China invades Taiwan tomorrow and arrests its president and states that it will run the country, the US will say thats OK?

Richard Cooke, Warrnambool No reason to lament Maduros removal

There is no reason to lament the removal of socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro, who after over a decade of corrupt and shambolic rule has reduced Venezuela, which should be a rich and prosperous nation, into a dysfunctional country of penury.

Dennis Walker, North Melbourne The consequences of invasion

The US is the worlds largest producer and consumer of petroleum. If Venezuelan oil is sold off, my guess is that this will be mainly to America at lower prices. So, one outcome is that there is a reduced hope of stalling global warming and transitioning to renewables. Nevertheless, Donald Trump will reduce opium and cocaine imports. Drug addicts in America will just have to reduce their cocaine and opium purchases as prices rise, and purchase locally made ice instead of imports. America first!

Geoff Black, Frankston Straight out of the Hitler/Putin playbook

Right now, I suspect the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland are rapidly deciding on the size of the Danish armed forces to be stationed in Greenland to protect the country against an American invasion. Invading other countries to protect Americans, installing puppet governments, stealing their assets: straight out of the Hitler/Putin playbook.

Louise Kloot, Doncaster Criticisms of Venezuela also relate to US

The Coalitions Sussan Ley and Michaela Cash describe years of repression, systemic human rights abuses, corruption and the crushing of basic democratic freedoms (Australian politicians react to Maduros capture, 4/1). They were talking about Venezuela but it also applies to the US.

Belinda Burke, Hawthorn

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Wheres the condemnation from our politicians?

It seems like theres one set of international rules for some situations and another in other circumstances. Surely, the US military incursion into Venezuela, the kidnapping of its president and the claim by Donald Trump that hell run Venezuela is as egregious a transgression of international law as Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, yet it receives no condemnation from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese nor Opposition Leader Sussan Ley. Id be keen for them both to explain the difference.

Stephen Carbone, Thornbury THE FORUM Understanding hate

The media are giving a lot of focus to politicians, the Business Council of Australia, sports stars, Catholic bishops and others who are calling for a royal commission into antisemitism (Sports stars add to push for royal commission, 4/1).

I agree with Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett that hate should have no place in Australia and that the December massacre in Bondi should be treated as a national crisis. However, after listening to Usman Khawajas statement announcing his retirement from international cricket and thinking back to the many racist incidents in football and the hate speech during the Voice referendum, many thoughts come to mind.

I applaud the governments movements quietly behind the scenes to quickly identify what needs to be done immediately and providing security to those who need it. Royal commissions take a long time to set up, and reach suggestions which history shows are rarely fully implemented.

If we are to have any kind of federal royal commission, we need to understand how hate festers in our society. This can only be achieved by education and a more inclusive royal commission.

Judith G. Hudson, Elwood Intimidation unchecked

I am amazed at the number of people who believe Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should be absolved of any guilt over the Bondi massacre. Let me tell you, that as a Jew, this incident was not just about Islamic radicalisation; it was fuelled by a government that allowed hatred to be spread at rallies and university campuses, and turned its back on businesses pleading for religious protection.

This government was prepared to give only lip service to the collective fear and intimidation that has touched the Jewish community since October 7, 2023.

Left unchecked, the outcome at Bondi was inevitable, and for this, the Albanese government must take full responsibility.

Judy Sher, Caulfield North Keep a clear view

First task before rushing into a royal commission is to define the term antisemitism. Hatred of the Jewish race is one thing, criticism of the state of Israel is quite another. The state hides behind the race to commit offences.

There needs to be soul-searching by Jewish people as to what the state is doing in their name. This will never excuse actions such as the Bondi affair, but Australia needs to keep a clear view of the Middle East situation.

Doris LeRoy, Altona

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Add in xenophobia

If we must have a federal royal commission, its terms of reference should not only include antisemitism but also xenophobia in general which has been rampant in Australia for more than 100 years. I am sure Sussan Ley and the Coalition would support this.

John Uren, Blackburn Research opportunity

Australia has been a world leader when it comes to medical research. We have a huge research fund which is becoming increasingly difficult to access by researchers (Researchers denied grants while fund sits on $25b, 4/1). One hopes red tape isnt getting in the way of the next big breakthrough.

If the Trump regime is cutting back on medical research, we have the chance to take up the slack and make a killing, so to speak.

Paul Chivers, Box Hill North Dense decisions

I applaud The Age for its article on the causes of osteoporosis (4/1), however, it is far less explicit on the difficulties women, in particular, face in confronting the disease. Women are liable to become osteoporotic after menopause, which they usually go through in their late 40s or early 50s. Yet, bone-density scans are not free under Medicare until a person is 70 years old.

If a person decides to be curious about their bone density, they can pay close to $200 for a scan  probably prohibitive for many.

When two of my older sisters had free bone-density scans, they found they were osteoporotic and were put on risedronate, which helps build bone density. I decided to also have a scan, and I was even more osteoporotic than my sisters. By being referred by my doctor to a hospital specialist, I can access risedronate more cheaply but still at three times the cost my sisters pay as I am underage, so it is not covered by PBS. My story exemplifies the problems of medical misogyny.

Robyn Westwood, Heidelberg Heights The benefit of planning

The proposed Cairnlea development (Backlash to estate close to pokies, 4/1) is the latest example of planning failure that has become routine: 500 homes approved within walking distance of two pokie venues, yet a 45-minute bus trip from the nearest public pool.

The need to house a growing population is self-evident. But residents should not have to accept new suburbs delivered without the parks, sporting facilities, transport and community spaces that are essential precursors to social cohesion and liveability.

The Victorian government has chosen the low road. It doesnt have to be this way. Irvine, California, was master-planned so housing arrived alongside schools, parks, local shops, cycle paths and community facilities. Amenities, space and transport were treated as essential, not an afterthought.

Housing supply matters, but housing without infrastructure simply shifts costs onto communities through congestion, isolation and social dysfunction.

David Fox, Beaumaris Related Article Note From The Editor How The Age chooses which letters to publish

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Pokies the problem

Pokies pubs are a magnet for misery, wherever they are. The pubs are the problem, not the houses. Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills Public schools neglected

The article on Preshil (School tunes into campus in hipster heartland, 4/1) read like promotional copy. Scanning recent education coverage, it is striking how little attention is given to the policy foundations of our system, and the funding disparity between public and private schools (the education systems biggest challenge).

One wonders if the progressive families attracted to schools like Preshil would champion equitable, well-funded public education, and if so, why they dont support their local public schools?

Alex Sands, Fawkner Where are the humans?

Your correspondent (Letters 4/1) nails it for us octogenarians who still excel at mental arithmetic, alpha-numeric phone numbers, spelling and grammar, to name just a few lost skills.

I, too, struggle to comprehend the complexities of the mygov site. Compounding the problem is the constant upgrading of technology, allegedly to make it easier. Almost as soon as I master a new skill, technology upgrades the site leaving me floundering again.

If one could speak to a human, it would help, but it seems AI has taken over this function.

Adrian O. Jones, Mount Eliza Your call is important

I have called my bank a number of times and, without fail, get the message that we are experiencing higher than normal call volumes. It intrigues me how they calculate normal. Perhaps they include the calls when the office is closed?

Phil Labrum, Trentham Police chief in charge

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson condemns the Victorian government over its management of police resources after a shooting near a police station (Teen shot dead metres from closed Fitzroy police station, 4/1). Perhaps she doesnt realise it, but it is usually the chief commissioner of police who decides the logistics.

Alan Inchley, Frankston

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Is Australia truly inclusive?

Usman Khawajas reminder of the challenges of being a brown man in a white mans world is timely (Wide of the mark: Khawaja played race card at wrong time, 4/1). Discourse around race is often avoided due to perceived sensitivity. But not talking about the problem doesnt in any way make the problem go away.

Many minorities are forced to pay lip service to the idea that Australia is inclusive and multicultural, mainly because it isnt kosher to say otherwise. But is Australia truly inclusive?

Parts of it are, and parts of it arent. In sectors rich with minority cultures, such as medicine, racism is less likely a thing, but in sectors such as sports and construction, the brown or ethnic person certainly stands out.

Khawajas point is that this leads to disproportionate scrutiny and criticism. His press conference, marking his retirement, was a courageous one. It would have been easier to pretend that all has been well. But that would have been false. Constructive dialogue around race needs to continue.

Arun Subramaniam, Camberwell Crickets goodwill role

Living in Sri Lanka for almost four years, I am extremely grateful to the Australian cricket team for its role as a goodwill ambassador.

From what I understand, the relationship is a two-way street that long pre-dates me getting here. I believe Shane Warne made a significant contribution after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, and know for a fact that his death was met with tremendous sadness by many of the people I encountered at that time.

The fact that the Australian cricketers played during a period of upheaval  when the country united to oust the troublesome Rajapaksha regime  was met with gratitude. As Peter FitzSimons wrote in The Age, many Sri Lankans in the stands donned yellow shirts to say thank you.

Australia having a Muslim player in Usman Khawaja brought joy and pride to at least one cricket fan I met in the Muslim community here as well.

Annabel Russell, Puttalam, Sri Lanka Follow Roses lead

Our first Indigenous world boxing champion and Australian of the Year in 1968, Lionel Rose, is renowned for saying: Were all Australians. It is time for the nation to comply with his wisdom.

Peter OBrien, Newport AND ANOTHER THING ...

US President Donald Trump. AP

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Trump

We now understand Donald Trumps unwillingness to criticise Vladimir Putin. Hes a fellow invader!

Phil Lipshut, Elsternwick Just a suggestion for Anthony Albanese: Probably best to avoid doing anything that Trump wont like, or you might find yourself being held captive!

Ken Wall, Mount Martha With the United States having gone into Venezuela and now going to sell its oil, I wonder whether China can go into Taiwan and sell its computer chips?

John Murray, Hawthorn East In an unprecedented action, Venezuela was unpresidented.

Ian Robinson, Cowes Its always about the oil.

Ray Wilson, Northcote

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Royal commission

Have the people jumping on the bandwagon for a royal commission into antisemitism thought about who is going to pay for it? If the lawyers offered to do pro bono work, their calls might carry more weight.

Peter Gribben, Drouin Why not just have a royal commission into why Australia

has become such a racist and divided country?

David Raymond, Doncaster East A royal commission into royal commissions failures?

George Reed, Wheelers Hill Re your correspondent (Letters 4/1): Ill gladly sign your letter from non-prominent Australians calling for there not to be a royal commission.

Anne Lewis, Northcote Furthermore

Mount Baw Baw and Lake Mountain have operated in deficit for more than 20 years (Alpine resorts on life support, 4/1). Likewise, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation. Spot the difference.

Geoff Gowers, Merricks North

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Finally

I wonder if Elon Musk would be so casually brushing off concerns about his AI platform, Grok, altering peoples images (Musks AI floods X with sexualised images, 4/1) if his daughter was shown in a disgusting manner?

David West, Essendon Editor's pick Explainer

Venezuela crisis Why is the US attacking Venezuela? The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here. To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.
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Exclusive PoliticsQueenslandQueensland government The LNP vowed to cap its outlay on consultants to fund promises. Its still spending Matt Dennien January 5, 2026  6:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

The new office to stem Queensland government spending on consultants has slowly begun its work, as questions remain over the reality of the LNPs promised budget repair plan. A two-part investigation by this masthead into government use of consultants and contractors has found significant continued spending, with opaque or wound-back oversight. Queensland Government Consulting Services, which hired its first managing director in early November with little fanfare, remains in an establishment phase. Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki and Premier David Crisafulli prepare to speak to the media about their first budget. Jamila Filippone After a $1 billion overrun last financial year, the government has declined to say whether its planned cap on consultant and contractor spending was being enforced.

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And despite its earlier plan for a specific probe into outsourcing, the states public spending watchdog recently dumped its scheduled audit. University of Queensland school of economics professor John Quiggin said while cutting outsourced spending had merit, the LNPs election pitch clearly wasnt a credible commitment. What remains to be seen ... is whether this body can, in fact, do a better job than the big four, Quiggin told this masthead. Government spending on consultants and contractors  particularly the so-called big four of Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and EY  has increased across Australia in recent years, even as some firms found themselves embroiled in scandal.

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He told journalists at the time that the plan would address the findings and calls of the Coaldrake report into public sector culture and accountability. The impact of an overreliance on consultants is circular, in that the more work is outsourced, the less capacity that is developed within, Janetzki said, partially quoting from the report. The LNP criticised Labor under Steven Miles and Cameron Dick for its spending on consultants. Matt Dennien Then-treasurer Cameron Dick said it was inherently unbelievable that the LNP could save more money than federal Labor was planning to do. Since then, the LNP plan appears to have shifted.

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Last April, Janetzki conceded the government consulting office had hit snags, and he promised to have it operational before the end of the financial year. By the time he delivered his first budget in June, consulting and contracting costs were tipped to total $4 billion across 2024-25  $1 billion more than the promised cap. We propose to stabilise the level of expenditure on consultants and contractors at 2022-23 levels in the first year, and then, in a phased step-back approach, at 2021-22 levels for the rest of the forwards. David Janetzki at his 2024 election campaign media conference releasing the LNPs costings The budget papers did not mention the caps, nor did Janetzki. Instead, the budget used a reworked estimate of what could have been spent  $4.5 billion  to turn the costings overspend into a $500 million saving. Even this was lower than planned.

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Asked in the budget media conference if the government had abandoned its $6.8 billion four-year saving plan, Janetzki said, those savings will be delivered. The budget-outlined position effectively means the government now needs to trim its outsourcing spend by $2.6 billion across each of the next three years, for a total of $7.8 billion, to hit its pre-election target. Janetzki also used the budget to establish the consulting office as a Queensland Treasury Corporation unit from July 1, with $15 million in funding across two years until it becomes self-sustaining. It only gained a managing director in early November  Deloitte veteran of 16 years Giselle Hodgson  and is described on its website as still in the establishment phase. Quiggin told this masthead he believed the governments in-house consulting push should be less about trying to compete  particularly with the big four  than giving departments an ultimatum.

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Related Article Queensland budget Qld avoids credit rating downgrade. But states books remain grim Its really: OK, departments, which would you rather do  maintain your own in-house expertise, go to the government [consulting service], or fly blind? Quiggin said. A line department cant maintain on tap the kind of expertise thats needed for a lot of tasks. The independent Queensland Audit Office had also pledged to do its bit responding to the Coaldrake report. Auditor-General Brendan Worrall added a specific report to the offices work plan in 2023, for release this financial year, probing the effectiveness of public entity outsourcing spends.

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But his successor, Rachel Vagg, appointed in August 2024 by Labor, dropped the work from her forward plan, published in June last year. Vaggs plan said the topic had been reassessed and was now better addressed through our annual state entities report. A related report into compliance with lobbying obligations, previously due in 2026-27, was also dropped, citing overlapping responsibilities with the Integrity Commissioner and the State Archivist. Shadow treasurer Shannon Fentiman said Janetzki and the government had broken a promise with Queenslanders and were burning a hole in the state budget. Queenslanders deserve the independent Auditor[-General] to let the sun shine in on whats really happening with consultants and contractors under the LNPs regime, she said.

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Last month, Janetzki revealed a downgraded budget outlook, with the states operating deficit expected to take a $400 million hit amid warnings from ratings agencies. This masthead sent a series of questions to the treasurers office about why the planned 2024-25 outsourcing cap was not enforced, whether future caps would be, the consulting offices status, and the cancelled audit. A spokesperson said only that the consulting office was delivering on the pledge to rebuild public service capacity. As part of the governments commitment to flatten the trajectory of spending on external consultants and contractors, QGCS is providing independent, cost-effective advice and services to government, and building capacity in the public service to deliver more and better services, the spokesperson said. The Queensland Treasury Corporation, through a spokesperson, said the consulting office was now established, with 15 roles filled and recruitment well progressed for others.

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QGCS is already providing a range of consultancy services to departments, with initial services focusing on policy analysis and strategic procurement advice, they said in a statement. Comment was sought from the Queensland Audit Office. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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PoliticsVictoriaCourts Courts falling behind in wake of Allans bail changes Annika Smethurst January 5, 2026  5:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Victorias tougher bail laws are leaving more criminal cases unresolved, have increased pressure on the Magistrates Court and have driven up costs as urgent bail hearings absorb court time. According to recent data from Court Services Victoria (CSV), the Magistrates Court finalised 92 per cent of its criminal cases in 2024-25  below its 100 per cent benchmark  as magistrates spent more time dealing with bail applications, time that would otherwise have been used to progress and finalise cases. Police Minister Anthony Carbines, Premier Jacinta Allan and Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny announcing changes to Victorias bail laws on March 12. AAP In its performance commentary, CSV said the clearance rate for criminal matters disposed of in the Magistrates Court was 7.6 per cent lower than expected. Recent legislative reforms have increased the number of bail applications; court time has been diverted from case finalisations to prioritise bail matters, the report said.

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The CSV report also showed the average cost per criminal case finalised in the Magistrates Court had become more expensive in the last financial year, jumping 17.9 per cent. Related Article Crime The single word from voters that convinced Victorian Labor to put more kids in jail Again, CSV linked the outcome to a surge in bail applications following the introduction of tougher bail laws, noting: The variance between the estimate and the full-year result is due to lower finalisations arising from recent legislative change leading to an increase in bail applications requiring more in-court time. Changes to the states bail laws, introduced in late 2024 and March 2025 by the Allan government, were designed to strengthen the bail threshold and make it harder for repeat offenders to be granted bail. Among the changes passed by state parliament last March, the government tightened access to bail for serious crimes including carjacking, home invasion, gun and arson offences. Children accused of serious crimes will also be treated like adults when courts decide whether to grant them bail.

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In November, The Age reported that custody cells beneath Melbourne Magistrates Court were full, and corrections staff were forced to choose whom to transport in from the states police stations and remand centres to face court. A state government spokesperson said the increase in bail activity had been expected, and that seven new magistrates appointed last month were part of the extra resources being provided to courts to help them work through the caseload. A prison van leaves the Melbourne Custody Centre. Paul Jeffers Our tough bail laws have made it much harder for offenders to get bail, the spokesperson said. This means more applications, including repeat applications after bail, are denied or revoked  this is expected and means our tough bail laws are working. Data from the Magistrates Court of Victorias annual report shows the number of bail application orders decided by a magistrate  including grants, refusals, revocations and variations  increased by 10.5 per cent over the last financial year, from 37,692 in 2023-24 to 41,670 in 2024-25.

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The annual report also shows the total number of bail hearings the court had to deal with jumped 28 per cent over the year, driven by sharp increases in refusals and revocations. Related Article Exclusive

Courts Prisons boss lays bare impossible situation of overcrowding caused by bail reforms While bail refusals climbed 33 per cent from 8471 in 2023-24 to 11,251 in 2024-25, revocations surged 85 per cent (from 3568 to 6612), sending the same accused back before the court multiple times, with urgent hearings displacing scheduled matters and reducing the time available to finalise other criminal cases. The Magistrates Court of Victoria has observed an increase in bail-related applications following the implementation of legislative bail reform, a spokesperson for the court said, noting the climb. Bail-related applications coming before the court have increased in complexity and therefore the time required to hear these matters.

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Beyond bail, overall criminal demand on the court also continued to rise. The number of new criminal cases initiated increased 8 per cent over the year to 146,322 (up from 135,282 in 2023-24)  the highest level recorded in the past five years, while case finalisations fell 9 per cent to 135,035 after peaking at more than 160,000 in 2022-23. Some of Victorias busiest suburban courts carried particularly heavy loads. Sunshine Magistrates Court finalised 13,122 criminal cases, while Broadmeadows finalised 9,874, alongside substantial family-violence intervention order workloads. In August, the Magistrates Court of Victoria launched the Remote Custody Court, an online hub to help fast-track custody hearings and manage court backlogs. The spokesperson said the Magistrates Court of Victoria hoped to expand the program in 2026. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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Reviews & adviceTripologist Opinion During transit, we left our iPad on the plane. Then we got a phone call Michael Gebicki The Tripologist January 5, 2026  5:00am

January 5, 2026  5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Key points About 3060 per cent of items lost on aircraft are recovered

When an item is lost, quick action and accurate reporting dramatically improve the chances of recovery

Prevention is the cure, and a methodical approach is vital to prevent losses before they happen

In early December, my wife and I were in the terminal in Delhi airport when she realised shed left her iPad on the Saudia Airlines flight wed just left. There followed a frantic session activating Lost Mode on the iPad using her iPhone. Then a few minutes later, she got a phone call from Saudia lost property. Theyd recovered her iPad, it was being held at the check-in desk, would she be able to pick it up? Sadly no, we were about to board a connecting Singapore Airlines flight and time was not on our side. No problem, they said, if we could arrange for someone to pick it up, they would hold the iPad. Which we did, through an Indian friend who got a colleague to travel out to the airport. A seat pocket is a mouth of doom  my wife left her iPad on a Saudia Airlines plane. Alamy Three days after my wife parted company with her iPad, she got a call from Saudia in Delhi airport saying someone had arrived to make the pick-up, asking her to confirm his name and details and even sending a picture of him holding the iPad. Full marks to Saudia. We were flying business class and you have to wonder if that made a difference. Even so, it was an impressive performance, handled with care and professionalism. Tons of items get left on aircraft. Top of the list are laptops, headphones, phones, earbuds, jackets, coats, jumpers, kids toys, eyeglasses and passports, but even entire cabin bags. Plus a swag of more curious items, including fish, birds and lizards, wedding dresses, prosthetics, musical instruments, funerary urns and, slightly worrying, a book titled How to Become a Commercial Airline Pilot, found in an aircraft toilet.

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Its easily done. At the end of your flight, youre probably tired, maybe you passed the time with a few bevvies and a snooze, youre distracted by other passengers and you want out, fast. Is there any more ideal scenario for losing something? Especially if its been a long flight, and statistics say about four times as many items go missing on international compared with domestic flights. Sign up for the Traveller newsletter The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now. Four times as many items go missing on international compared with domestic flights. iStock What to do if youve left something on board If youre still on the airbridge or not yet in the terminal, try and contact a member of the cabin crew, give them your seat number and ask them to check. If youre already in the terminal, its very unlikely youd be able to return to the aircraft to look for whatever youve lost. In that case, check your airlines website to find out the procedure for lost items. You might be told to complete an online form or to contact the airports lost property office directly. Kudos to United Airlines, which gets on the front foot on this issue, posting a list of found items by type and the airport where they were located. According to the list, Madrids Barajas International Airport seems to be the black hole of lost goods.

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Typically, the item will be found by cabin crew or cleaners. In an ideal world, the item is tagged and the flight number, date and seat number are recorded before its sent to the airports lost and found department. Assuming you have reported the loss, you will be notified when the item is located and it will be sent by courier to your home address, at your expense. Related Article Opinion

Tripologist The 23 essential travel lessons I learnt the hard way Michael Gebicki The Tripologist Thats what happens if all the gears mesh and if the good angels are on your side. But what happens in real life depends on the airline, the airport and the country. Those factors are beyond your control, but quick reporting of the loss and a clear, detailed description of what you lost and where you might have lost it are vital, and thats down to you. Items that are unclaimed for a specific period, typically 60 to 90 days, might be auctioned off and the proceeds donated to charity or disposed of if theyre low value. According to Chargerback, developer of a cloud-based lost and found application, a typical airport receives about 80 to 100 lost and found items daily. And an article on the FGK Security website reports that between 30 to 60 per cent of lost items will be returned to their rightful owners.

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Anecdotal evidence suggests items that are activated via a password or facial recognition are more likely to find their way home, and so too are passports. Theyre a legal document, and airlines and airports are obliged to return them to the country of issue, if not the passenger. Unless it falls into the hands of a hardened crim with high-level counterfeit skills, a passport is of no use to anyone. Related Article Air travel A new scam is catching out airline passengers at their most distracted Loss avoidance The seat pocket is the mouth of doom. If you use it to store a book or a pouch, try not to submerge it totally; leave a bit poking out. Use a flight sack. Uniqlo sells small cloth bags and zippered pouches that are perfect. Mine is a canvas pouch that takes all the odds and ends I might need in-flight, including a pen, earbuds, earphones, face mask, comb, eye drops and a power adaptor with USB ports for in-flight recharging. Items that get used during the flight are returned to the pouch as soon as Im finished with them.

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Count the number of items youve deployed. Jumper, phone, neck pillow  thats three, and therefore three items need to be located and stowed in your carry-on bag before departing the aircraft. Are you loss prone? Label larger items. Put a sticker with your name, email and phone number on your tablet or laptop and theres a better chance theyll find their way back to you.
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Analysis WorldSouth AmericaVenezuela crisis Five scenarios for a post-Maduro Venezuela  and what they could signal to the wider region Robert Muggah January 5, 2026  5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Follow our live coverage of the unfolding situation in Venezuela here. The predawn US military operation that spirited Nicolas Maduro and his wife out of Venezuela and into US custody marks a watershed in hemispheric politics. In an operation that lasted just over two hours, American forces removed a foreign president. It followed months of sabre-rattling and a steady build-up of Americas regional forces. Whether under the banner of counter-narcotics or regime change, the message is unmistakable: the US is prepared to act unilaterally, forcefully and, potentially, illegally. And this will have broad ramifications across Latin America, not least for Venezuela itself. Loading The reaction to the US intervention from around the region was instantaneous. Colombia rushed troops to its frontier, bracing for potential refugees and denouncing the strikes as an affront to regional sovereignty. Cuba joined Iran, Russia and other foes of Washington in condemning the raid at the United Nations. A handful of governments, notably in Argentina, offered ringing endorsements.

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Maduros next public appearance will probably be in a New York court. But where do the US and Venezuela go from here? US President Donald Trump declared that the US would run Venezuela until there was a safe, proper and judicious transition of power. He also said his administration was not afraid of boots on the ground. Related Article Venezuela crisis Venezuela strikes as it happened: Nicolas Maduro indicted in New York after being captured by US; Trump says US will run Venezuela But so far, few concrete details are on offer. Much depends on what Washington does next and how Venezuelas fractured polity responds. As an expert on US-Latin American relations, I think five broad scenarios seem likely. 1. Trump declares victory and walks away In the first scenario, Trump will proclaim mission accomplished, parade the capture of Maduro as a triumph of American will and rapidly reduce the US footprint. Venezuelan institutions would be left largely intact. Current Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez would preside over a reconstituted government that retains its commitment to the style of left-wing governance developed by the late Hugo Chavez, now minus its latest figurehead in Maduro.

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This would suit American generals keen to limit US troop exposure, as well as foreign powers anxious to avoid a power vacuum. But it offers little to the Venezuelan opposition or to regional governments that have borne years of refugee flows. Above all, it would squander the leverage Washington has just expended effort and money to obtain. Having taken the extraordinary step of abducting a head of state, simply reverting to a slightly reshuffled Chavismo would look, even by the standards of foreign American interventions, oddly anticlimactic. Protesters rally outside the White House after the US attack on Venezuela. AP 2. A popular uprising topples Chavismo A second possibility is that the shock of Maduros removal cracks the governments aura of inevitability and triggers a mass uprising that sweeps Chavismo from power. With the presidency vacant and the security forces demoralised or divided, a broad coalition of opposition parties, civil-society groups and disaffected Chavistas could push for a transitional council, perhaps under Organisation of American States or United Nations auspices.

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Yet as neat and tidy as this sounds, such revolutions  especially those supported by outside interference  rarely proceed tidily. Years of political repression, organised crime, economic misery and emigration have hollowed out Venezuelas middle class and organised labour. Armed colectivos  paramilitary groups with a stake in the old order  would resist fiercely. The result might not be a swift democratic breakthrough, but an unstable transition: a fragile caretaker government, sporadic violence and intense infighting over amnesties and control of the oil sector. 3. US escalation to install a friendly opposition Another scenario has Washington leveraging its new position to push forcefully for complete regime change. That could mean tightening sanctions on remaining power brokers, expanding strikes against security installations and militias, covertly supporting insurgent factions, and using Maduros prospective trial as a global stage on which to delegitimise Chavismo once and for all. In this scenario, a recognised opposition leader would be ushered into office following some form of managed election, transitional council or negotiated handover  potentially someone like the Nobel Prize-winning Maria Corina Machado. The US and its allies would dangle debt restructuring and reconstruction funding in exchange for market reforms and geopolitical alignment.

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The risks are obvious. An overtly US-produced transition would taint the new leaderships legitimacy at home and abroad. It would deepen polarisation, entrench the narrative of imperial imposition that Chavismo has long peddled, and invite proxy meddling by China, Cuba, Iran and Russia. A bruised but not broken Chavista movement could pivot into armed resistance, turning Venezuela into another theatre of low-level insurgency. A recognised opposition leader such as Maria Corina Machado could be ushered into office following some form of managed election. AP 4. US custodianship and managed transition A managed transition is the option Trump has now openly floated, with Washington taking an interim custodial role in Venezuela. In practice, it would resemble a trusteeship in all but name. Early priorities would be to impose a basic chain of command and restore administrative capacity, stabilising the currency and payments system, and sequencing reforms to prevent state collapse during the handover. The political timetable would be central. Washington would heavily influence interim governance arrangements, electoral rules and the timing of presidential and legislative votes, including reconstituting electoral authorities and setting minimum conditions for campaigning and media access. The US would not necessarily need to occupy the country, but it might require American forces on the ground to deter spoilers.

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The economic logic of this way forward would hinge on rapidly restoring oil output and basic services through US technical support, private contractors and selective sanctions relief tied to compliance benchmarks. Companies such as Chevron, the only US major oil company still positioned inside Venezuela, or oilfield service providers like Halliburton would probably be early beneficiaries. Companies such as Chevron, the only US major oil company still positioned inside Venezuela, or oilfield service providers like Halliburton would probably be early beneficiaries should US custodianship be the favoured scenario. Bloomberg Yet the hazards are profound. As with the US-friendly opposition above, a US custodianship could inflame nationalist sentiment and validate Chavismos anti-imperial narrative. The implicit threat of force might deter spoilers, but it might also deepen resentment and harden resistance among armed groups, Maduro remnants or anyone else opposed to US occupation. 5. Hybrid conflict and managed instability A final outcome may be a messy hybrid of some or all of the above: a protracted struggle in which no actor fully prevails. Maduros removal could weaken Chavismo but not erase its networks in the military, bureaucracy and low-income barrios. The opposition could be energised but divided. The US under Trump will be militarily powerful but constrained by domestic fatigue with foreign wars, the upcoming midterm elections and doubts about the legality of its methods.

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In this scenario, Venezuela could lurch into years of managed instability. De facto power might be shared among a weakened Chavista elite, opposition figures co-opted into a transitional arrangement, and security actors controlling local fiefdoms. Sporadic US strikes and covert operations could continue, calibrated to punish spoilers and protect preferred partners, but avoiding the scale of occupation. Monroe Doctrine 2.0? Whatever the future, what seems clear for now is that the anti-Maduro operation can be seen by supporters and critics alike as a kind of Monroe Doctrine 2.0. This version, a follow-up to the original 19th-century doctrine that saw Washington warn European powers off its sphere of influence, is a more muscular assertion that extra-hemispheric US rivals, and their local clients, will not be permitted to have a say on Americas doorstep. A fire burns at Fort Tiuna, Venezuelas largest military complex, after a series of explosions in Caracas on Saturday. AFP This aggressive signal is not limited to Caracas. Cuba and Nicaragua, already under heavy US sanctions and increasingly reliant on Russian and Chinese support, will read the Venezuelan raid as a warning that even entrenched governments are not safe if their politics dont sufficiently align with Trump. Colombia, notionally a US ally yet currently led by a left-leaning government that has railed against the US Venezuela policy, finds itself squeezed.

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Smaller and midsized states, too, will take note  and not just those in Latin America. Panama, whose canal is critical to global trade and US naval mobility, may feel renewed pressure to move towards Washington and police Chinese inroads in ports and telecommunications. Canada and Denmark, via Greenland, will hear echoes in the Arctic. In the meantime, for Venezuelans, there seems to be yet another turning of the screw by the US, with a bare-minimum guarantee of insecurity and precarious limbo for the foreseeable future. Robert Muggah is the co-founder of the Igarape Institute think tank and a fellow at Princeton University. The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Read the original article here.
US President Donald Trump has threatened a second strike on Venezuela if they dont behave and put Mexico on notice, as he signalled a potential military operation in Colombia.

Trump said US forces were prepared to continue strikes in Caracas as part of the operation that captured Nicolas Maduro, and didnt rule out further action should Venezuela, now under interim leader Delcy Rodriguez, fail to co-operate with his administration.

Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One. AP

We were prepared to do a second strike if needed, were totally prepared, were still prepared, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. Its not [off the table], if they dont behave, we will do a second strike.

Trump also called on Mexico to get their act together amid the cartel activity he said was pouring through the nation, and reiterated his offer to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for the deployment of American troops on Mexican soil.

Were going to have to do something, wed love for Mexico to do it, theyre capable of doing it, but unfortunately the cartels are very strong in Mexico, Trump said.

I like Claudia, I think shes a terrific person, Id say every time I speak to her, I offer to send troops  shes considering [the offer], shes a little concerned, a little afraid, the cartels are running Mexico.
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WorldSouth AmericaVenezuela crisis Who is Venezuelas vice president and can she fill Maduros shoes? Updated January 4, 2026  2:06pm ,first published 11:31am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Follow our live coverage of the unfolding situation in Venezuela here. President Donald Trump has said the United States would work with Venezuelas Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to transition to a democratically elected government after Nicolas Maduros capture on Saturday  but she and other regime leaders have thus far appeared un-cooperative. With Maduro gone, Venezuelas Supreme Court has ordered that Rodriguez assume the role of acting president in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the Nation. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has described Nicolas Maduros capture as barbaric and a kidnapping. AP Speaking to reporters in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier, Trump said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a lengthy conversation with Rodriguez, and she had agreed to help. He claimed she had already been sworn in as president to succeed Maduro.

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Shes essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again, very simple, he said. Related Article Updated

Venezuela crisis US plans to run Venezuela and tap its oil reserves, Trump says, after operation to oust Maduro But minutes later, appearing on state television surrounded by military brass, Rodriguez called for Maduros return from American custody, describing his capture as barbaric and a kidnapping, and saying Maduro was the countrys only president. If Rodriguez is a willing partner, she could help the US ease a transition by maintaining stability with the current institutions in Venezuela. But her long allegiance to Maduro, who is widely viewed as having stolen last years election, is likely to raise questions about whether she is willing to cede power  and whether the US is seriously committed to regime change in the South American nation. In her TV appearance, Rodriguez also said Venezuela could still have respectful relationships, perhaps offering a path to a detente with the US.

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Rubio, meanwhile, told The New York Times that he was reserving judgment and would assess her actions. We think theyre going to have some unique and historic opportunities to do a great service for the country, and we hope that theyll accept that opportunity, he told the paper. Trump cool on opposition leader Trump dismissed the idea of installing opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to guide a transition, calling her a nice woman who doesnt have the support of the Venezuelan people. Rodriguez is considered by many to be the most powerful person in the country after Maduro. Fluent in English, she is sometimes portrayed as a well-educated, market-friendly moderate in contrast to the military hardliners who took up arms with former president Hugo Chavez against Venezuelas democratically elected president in the 1990s. She is one of Maduros closest allies, rising through the ranks in roles such as information and foreign minister, and was named oil minister in 2024 after the contested presidential vote.

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Donald Trump has dismissed the idea of installing opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to guide a transition, saying she doesnt have the support of the Venezuelan people. Bloomberg Some Trump advisers have viewed a transition to Rodriguez as an off-ramp from Maduros hard-line regime, according to people familiar with the Trump administrations deliberations. That view holds that a gradual transition away from Maduros leadership would be less disruptive and destabilising than a transition to Machado or Edmundo Gonzalez, the candidate she backed for the 2024 election. The view in part is that if the democratic opposition were to gain power, it would require US military protection from domestic threats, both from the officials in the former Maduro regime and the paramilitaries and drug cartels that control large parts of Venezuelan territory, particularly its jungles and border regions. Trump didnt commit to sending US troops to aid in a transition, saying only that his government would help ensure oil infrastructure was protected and improved. Loading

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Trumps remarks contrasted with the defiant tone from government officials in Venezuela on Saturday morning, Caracas time. State television alternated archival footage of Maduro calling for peace with dignity with statements of support from international allies, and remarks from regional military and civilian leaders rejecting what they described as an attack on the country. Officials repeatedly insisted that Venezuela remained calm, pledged loyalty to Maduro and his socialist agenda, and demanded proof that Maduro was alive. We pledged loyalty many years ago, and today more than ever we will defend it firmly and completely, said a person identified on state TV as an official from Yaracuy state. Addressing a crowd of soldiers and civilians, the official asked, How is morale? The crowd replied in unison: High. Long live Nicolas Maduro. Trump, on the other hand, said the military would need to fall in line. All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to Maduro can happen to them, and it will happen to them if they werent fair to the Venezuelan people, he said. Related Article Venezuela crisis Venezuela strikes as it happened: Nicolas Maduro indicted in New York after being captured by US; Trump says US will run Venezuela

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Rodriguez talked on Saturday to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country was among the Venezuela allies that condemned Maduros capture by US forces. Rodriguez, 56, has played a key role in the nations budget planning and has led diplomatic outreach to consolidate alliances with some of Venezuelas biggest allies, including China and Russia. She recently pressed China to increase purchases of Venezuelan oil and provide diluents needed to keep shipments flowing amid US sanctions. She began her political career under former president Hugo Chavez after graduating as a lawyer from the Central University of Venezuela. Her father, Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, was a prominent figure on the Venezuelan radical left in the 1960s and 1970s and the founder of a Marxist party. He died in 1976 under interrogation in prison after being tortured by state security forces, an event that became a defining part of Delcy Rodriguezs political narrative. Those who have worked alongside Rodriguez often remark on her long hours, with Maduro recently saying she responded to messages well into the night and early morning. What role for other Maduro allies?

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Jorge Rodriguez is another key figure in the regime as head of the National Assembly and one of Maduros closest advisers. AP Alongside Rodriguez on Saturday were the heads of the legislative branch, her brother Jorge Rodriguez; the judicial branch, Caryslia Rodriguez, and Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez. Jorge Rodriguez is another key figure in the regime as head of the National Assembly and one of Maduros closest advisers. The 60-year-old psychiatrist became politically active in college, where he was a student leader, and after graduation, he transitioned into government roles. A loyal ally of Chavez and his successor Maduro, hes held several high-profile political posts, serving as vice president, communications minister and head of the electoral authority. Hes also acted as negotiator for the Maduro government in several rounds of talks with the US and the countrys opposition. Despite his mediator role, Jorge Rodriguez is also known for his explosive temperament, lashing out in Congress and publicly threatening and insulting members of the opposition.

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He would be a key figure in ensuring continuity and political unity within the ruling party. He was re-elected as a legislator in May 2025 and was expected to take office on January 5. Military factor Amid rumours that his home had been attacked and that he had been killed, Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, 62, was the first senior government official to appear in a video on social media, more than three hours after the unrest began. In the message, he urged Venezuelans to remain calm, backed Maduros declaration of a state of emergency, and said national defence measures would be activated to restore order and stability. Vladimir Padrino Lopez (left) with Maduro, has been Venezuelas defence minister since October 2014, making him one of the longest-serving officials in the government. AP

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Padrino has been Venezuelas defence minister since October 2014, making him one of the longest-serving officials in the government. He was appointed during a tense period marked by large anti-government protests, when Maduro was seeking to strengthen control over the armed forces and secure loyalty at the highest levels. A career army officer trained in Venezuelas traditional military system, Padrino was seen as a figure capable of keeping the military united as the countrys political and economic crisis worsened. Related Article Analysis

Venezuela crisis In claiming American strength, Trump also highlights weakness During Padrinos time in office, the armed forces have taken on roles far beyond national defence. The military now oversees important parts of the economy, including food distribution, ports, mining, and oil-related logistics. This expansion has tied senior officers more closely to the governments survival, giving the military a direct stake in maintaining the current political system.

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Padrino has consistently supported Maduro during major moments of unrest, including the 2017 protests, the 2019 challenge following international recognition of Juan Guaido as interim president, and repeated reports of unrest within the military. He has been sanctioned by the US and other governments, which accuse him of backing authoritarian rule, human rights abuses, and corruption. The US has offered a $US15 million ($22 million) reward for information leading to his capture. Socialist strongman Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello also appeared on state television early on Saturday to urge calm and call for international attention to what he called attacks on areas inhabited by civilians. What they tried to do with bombs and missiles, they achieved partially, he said, questioning whether the international community would become accomplices to this massacre. Cabello, 62, is the governments socialist party strongman, controlling loyalists and followers across the country, as well as heading prisons, police and intelligence forces, which the United Nations has said enabled crimes against humanity.

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Diosdado Cabello has held key posts and is the governments socialist party strongman, controlling loyalists and followers across the country. Bloomberg As an army lieutenant, Cabello was part of a handful of young officials, led by Chavez, who were responsible for a 1992 coup attempt. After Chavez was elected president, Cabello was appointed to key posts, including minister of housing and telecommunications, head of the National Assembly, and governor of Miranda state. Cabello was a key figure in furthering government controls over the free press and the persecution of politicians, journalists and human rights activists. The US accused Cabello of narco-trafficking and terrorism in 2018. Hes charged in a Southern District of New York federal indictment with conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism. In 2025, the State Department announced it was raising a reward for information leading to Cabellos capture to as much as $25 million. Bloomberg Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
Mark Maynard At 2026 San Diego Car Show







Special ContributionMaynard's Garage

The annual San Diego International Auto Show opens in the San Diego Convention Center on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, and runs through 6 p.m. Jan. 4. The convention center is at 111 W. Harbor Drive, San Diego, 92101.

I got the low-down on the highlights of the 2026 show from Scott Webb, president of the New Car Dealers Association San Diego County, which owns and operates the auto show.

We partner strategically with vehicle manufacturers so they bring their best to San Diego. Were excited that show visitors will have the opportunity to get to know several new brands, which, previously, havent exhibited in San Diego.

Webb shared these show insights:

Stellantis

Stellantis is bringing the heat this year with a 15,000 square foot exhibit, and there will be a Ram world debut unveiled on Jan. 1, Webb said in an email. A sampling of all Stellantis brands will be on display: Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, and Ram. And he said they are even bringing several of their recent debut vehicles to the show, including:

The 2026 Dodge Charger Scat Pack

2026 Jeep Cherokee and 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee;

2026 Jeep Recon, an all-new, fully electric SUV that serves as Jeeps first Trail Rated EV. The Jeep Recon draws heavily on the Wranglers design  including removable doors and windows. It is a unibody vehicle built on the STLA Large platform, intended to balance off-road capability with daily on-road comfort.

2026 Jeep Grand Wagoneer

2026 Ram 1500 HEMI.

Stellantis is providing show-goers with the opportunity to test-drive 10 vehicles: Alfa Romeo Giulia, Alfa Romeo Tonale PHEV, Chrysler Pacifica PHEV, Dodge Durango SRT, Fiat 500e, Jeep Gladiator, Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Jeep Wrangler, Ram 1500, and Ram 2500.

Toyota

I am especially interested in the redesigned and re-engineered 2026 Toyota RAV4. The entire lineup is either gasoline-electric or PHEV, plug-in hybrid.

Webb gave these updates on the Toyota display (and Toyota always packs one of the large auto-show displays.

As for Toyota, they will have the all-new 2026 RAV4 on display in two trim levels, Woodland and Limited. Theyll also have the new 2026 C-HR and 2026 bZ EVs in the exhibit, the latter of which will be available for test drives, along with the Grand Highlander Hybrid XLE, Toyota Prius PHEV XSE Premium, Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Woodland (2025), and Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro.

Debuts & New Releases

Webb also teased cool vehicles on the shows Debuts & New Releases list. Among those, he said, include: the 2027 Chevrolet Bolt, 2026 Honda Prelude, 2026 Kia K4 Hatchback, 2027 Kia Telluride (now with an available 329-hp turbo-hybrid), 2026 Nissan Leaf, 2026 Nissan Rogue Plug-in Hybrid, and 2026 Nissan Sentra.

Other updates, he said, include: Cadillac and Ford are back on the EV Test Track. Cadillac will offer thrill rides in the Escalade IQ, VISTIQ, OPTIQ, and LYRIQ. Ford will provide rides in the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E.

VinFast and Lucid have just confirmed to bring their latest EVs for Street Test Drives. The VinFast VF8 and VF9 (two- and three-row SUVs), the Lucid Air (four-door sedan), and the Gravity (an 800 hp family three-row SUV) will be available for test drives.

Enduring Showgoer Favorites

Toyota Military Appreciation: The auto show has partnered with the San Diego County Toyota Dealers to offer free show tickets to honor active and retired military personnel. Tickets will be available (while supplies last) at San Diego County Toyota Dealers. Toyota is also providing $500 rebates to eligible U.S. military personnel, including their household members (and Gold Star families), U.S. military retirees, and U.S. military veterans (within 2 years of discharge). Learn more here.

Mobility Zone: Golden Boy Mobility in Poway will again provide accessibility-modified vehicles and expert information on special features to promote and provide accessibility.

Family Day: On Sunday, Jan. 4, children are admitted free with an accompanying paid adult admission. Family Day has become a great tradition to spend a few hours of the holiday season at the auto show. Typically, multiple generations enjoy the auto show, Webb said.

IF YOU GO

Ticket Prices:

Auto show tickets are on sale now and are only available online at www.sdautoshow.com/. Purchased tickets may be printed at home or shown and scanned on smartphones at the show entrance.

Adult, ages 13-61, $18;

Military (active-duty w/ID) $15 (one ticket per ID);

Seniors, 62 and older, $15

Child, ages 7-12, $12;

Children 6 and younger are admitted free with a paying adult.

Children 12 and younger will be admitted free on Family Day, Sunday, Dec. 29, when accompanied by a paid adult.

Show Hours:

10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, through Saturday, Jan. 4;

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 4

About the San Diego International Auto Show

Owned, produced, and presented by the New Car Dealers Association San Diego County, the San Diego International Auto Show remains the second-largest auto show in California and one of the best-attended public events at the San Diego Convention Center.

The dealership association provides critical community support. Among its efforts is a dealership sales training course. Participants are taught professionalism through education with an emphasis on product knowledge, ethical behavior, and customer service.

The Auto Outlook Report is also of interest to consumers. The quarterly report provides an expanded look at new-vehicle registrations, sales trends and projections, and pre-owned-vehicle sales throughout the county.

Learn more online at NCDA.com.
HSBC filed a bankruptcy petition against Aidan (right) and Howard Barclay shortly before Christmas - PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo

The Barclay brothers are facing the threat of bankruptcy as HSBC seeks to recover more than 140m from the pair.

The bank filed a bankruptcy petition against Aidan Barclay, 69, and Howard Barclay, 66, in the High Court just days before Christmas as it seeks to recover money owed by their failed parcel delivery venture.

The decision to pursue the siblings personally marks an escalation of efforts by creditors to retrieve debts as the Barclays business empire unravels. The ongoing collapse was triggered by Lloyds Banks decision to seize The Telegraph and The Spectator from the Barclay family in 2023 over unpaid debts.

At the height of their powers, the Barclay family had amassed a vast collection of business interests spanning media, hotels, retail, property and logistics.

However, their dealmaking relied heavily on debt and the family have been forced to surrender control of the majority of their assets after a succession of lenders caught up with them.

HSBC is seeking to minimise its losses from the collapse of Logistics Group in 2024. It was the parent company of Yodel and Arrow XL, two parcel delivery businesses.

The bank has managed to recoup just 1.1m of the 143.5m it was owed when Logistics Group was forced to call in the administrators  equivalent to just 0.78p in the pound  according to a report by insolvency practitioners Teneo filed at Companies House.

It is thought the HSBC proceedings have no bearing on The Telegraph because the Barclays no longer have an economic interest in the newspaper.

The Barclay family sold their interest in the newspaper to RedBird IMI, which is majority-funded by the UAE.

A plan to take control of The Telegraph ultimately failed after the Government introduced new laws banning state ownership of UK newspapers.

Business empire unravels

The Gulf backers of that deal are now also pursuing the Barclays after helping the family to pay off debts to Lloyds Banking Group in 2023.

International Media Investments, which provided funds to RedBird IMI, seized control of the Barclays property empire, Trenport Property Holdings, last month.

Meanwhile, The Daily Mail has submitted a 500m bid to buy The Telegraph, which is currently being reviewed by Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary.

Further debt pressures led to the Barclay family giving up Yodel in 2024, which it sold for 1. The Barclays also sold off The Spectator magazines headquarters to a Bavarian rubber glove tycoon and parted with their prized super-yacht the Lady Beatrice, which was named after the brothers late mother.

The Barclays have also been forced to relinquish ownership of Very Group, the online retailer, which owns the Littlewoods brand.
14 Naxals killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh





SUKMA/BIJAPUR :

IN THE first Naxalite encounter of 2026, at least 14 Maoists, including wanted ultras Vetti Mangdu and Madvi Hunga, were killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarhs Sukma and Bijapur districts in the Bastar region on Saturday, officials said. While 12 Naxalites, including Mangdu and Madkam, and five women, were neutralised by the security forces during an exchange of fire in Sukma, the bodies of two Maoist cadres were found in the forests of Gaganpalli village in Basaguda, Bijapur. State Police unit, District Reserve Guard (DRG) had launched the anti-Naxal operations based on inputs about the presence of Maoist cadres, a senior police official said. Hailing the security personnel, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said that due to the precise strategy, sustained pressure, and strong ground presence of the security forces, the Maoist network has been rapidly weakening. The operation in the southern region of Sukma was launched on Friday night by the DRG. An exchange of fire broke out around 8 am in the forest of the Kistaram area, said Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan.

The bodies of 12 cadres, including five women, and automatic weapons were recovered from the encounter site, he said. Two among them were identified as Vetti Mangdu, incharge of the Konta area committee of Maoists, and Madvi Hitesh alias Hunga, the secretary of the same formation, Chavan said, adding that the identity of the remaining cadres is yet to be ascertained. A cache of weapons, including AK-47, INSAS, and self-loading rifles, has been recovered from the encounter site. Mangdu and Hunga were involved in several Maoist incidents, including an IED blast in Konta area in June last year in which then Additional Superintendent of Police (Konta) Akash Rao Girepunje was killed, Chavan said. Girepunje was killed, and two other police officers were injured on June 9 when an IED planted by Naxalites exploded at a stone quarry near Dondra village.

During a separate operation in Bijapur, a gunfight broke out in a forest in the southern region of the district around 5 am, another official said, adding that the bodies of two Naxalites were recovered. Their identity is yet to be established. CM Sai, meanwhile, stated that trust, development, and security are new directions for Bastar, where peace, not violence, has now become the only option. Decisive success has been achieved in the anti-Naxal operations conducted by security forces in Bijapur and Sukma districts, in which 14 Maoists were neutralised, he stated. Bastar is now moving forward with new opportunities for development, investment, education, health, and employment. This transformation is the result of the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leadership of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the indomitable courage and commitment of the security forces, a sensitive rehabilitation policy, and the unwavering trust of the people of the region, he said. He hailed the bravery of the security forces and congratulated all the personnel involved in the operation.

Those who are still choosing the path of violence should surrender, join the mainstream, avail themselves of the benefits of the governments rehabilitation policy, and live a life of dignity, Sai said, appealing to Naxalites to surrender. Otherwise, the State Government and security forces are fully capable and committed to fulfilling their responsibilities in accordance with the law and the Constitution, he added. In 2025, a total of 285 Naxalites were gunned down in separate encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh. The Centre has set a deadline of March 31, 2026, for eradicating Left-Wing Extremism.
Candidates forced to pay for electoral rolls





Staff Reporter :

In the era when digital governance is repeatedly projected as a cornerstone of public administration, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has taken a conspicuously regressive step ahead of the upcoming municipal elections. While the Union Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently promoted paperless systems and digital access, the NMC has chosen a path that is both costly and opaque for NMC poll candidates. The issue surfaced when candidates approached the NMC to obtain the final booth wise electoral rolls for their respective prabhags. They were informed that the rolls would be supplied only in hard copy and that a fee of Rs 2 per page would be charged. Requests for digital or PDF copies were flatly refused. For prabhags where electoral rolls run between 3,000 and 6,000 pages, the financial burden on candidates ranges from Rs 6,000 to Rs 11,000 per wardan expense many describe as unnecessary and avoidable.

The final booth-wise electoral list for Prabhag 36 is available at a whopping Rs 11,306, highest among all prabhags. The lowest amount is required for Prabhag 6, where the electoral roll is available for Rs 5,775. The decision has drawn sharper criticism as candidates pointed out that electoral rolls were provided free of cost during the Assembly elections held last year. If the system could be free and accessible then, why is it suddenly a paid commodity now? asked a political party worker. This looks less like procedure and more like a deterrent, especially for smaller parties and independent candidates. Senior officials of Nagpur Municipal Corporation have defended the move, stating that the charges are being levied as per directives issued by the State Election authorities. However, the explanation has done little to quell concerns, particularly around transparency.

The electoral rolls uploaded on the NMC website do not contain voter photographs, a crucial requirement for candidates and booth-level agents to verify voter identity on polling day. Another party worker questioned the logic of withholding digital copies. Without a soft copy, candidates are forced to make multiple photocopies for different booths. It wastes money, paper and time. In the name of elections, we are being pushed into inefficiency, the worker said. The absence of digital access also undermines environmental considerations, with thousands of pages being printed and duplicated unnecessarily. More importantly, critics argue that such practices contradict the broader narrative of digital empowerment and risk creating barriers in the democratic process. As Nagpur prepares for civic polls, the insistence on paid, paper-only electoral rolls has raised uncomfortable questions about intent, access and accountability, questions that remain unanswered even as candidates quietly pay the price.
NEP-2020 will free new generation from Macaulay mentality





Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

Staff Reporter :

Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan, on Saturday, said that the New Education Policy (NEP-2020) will be the medium to bring the new generation of the country out of Macaulay mentality. As per the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the NEP-2020 has been framed to spread awareness about Indian culture among the new generation. He was speaking to the media during his visit to Nagpur for a programme.

The Education Minister said that the New Education Policy will enter its sixth year and is a paradigm shift towards radical changes (Maulik Parivartan). Pradhan said that Prime minister Narendra Modi wanted that the country needs to come out of Macaulay mentality and NEP-2020 will be the medium to bring the new generation of the country out of it. Pradhan added that India is a country of youth and it is the responsibility of the Education Department to prepare the present youth and future generation with education in their mother tongue, competency and skill-based studies. He also pitched for holistic assessment of studies, entrepreneurship and innovation in education and the youth should not be just job-seekers, but job creators and the New Education Policy is working in that direction.

There is an utmost need to create more entrepreneurs in the country and then, we can just create more jobs. Government of India is working hard to encourage more job creators with the help of technology. More entrepreneurs will help to cater the demand of our country and the Global South, said Pradhan.
Parents chain 12-year-old son for 2 months to control his behaviour





The boy (face blurred) chained at home by his parents.

Staff Reporter :

In a deeply disturbing incident, a 12-year-old boy was found chained and locked inside his own house by his parents for nearly two months in South Nagpur. The parents allegedly took this extreme step to control what they described as their sons misbehaviour and habit of stealing mobile phones. The child was rescued on Friday following a tip-off to the Child Helpline number 1098. According to sources, the boy, a school dropout, was living in inhuman conditions. When the rescue team reached the house at around 3 pm, they found the minor with his hands and legs tied with iron chains and ropes. He was reportedly standing on a plastic bucket, as his movement was severely restricted. His parents, both daily wage labourers, allegedly tied him every morning around 9 am before leaving for work and left him locked inside the house until they returned in the evening.

Injuries on legs, hands

Officials said the injuries seen on the boys hands and legs appeared to be at least two to three months old which indicate prolonged physical abuse. Visible wounds and swelling clearly showed the impact of continuous chaining. The boy was frightened, weak and mentally distressed when found, said officials. Sources revealed that the child had behavioural issues and was involved in petty thefts, mainly stealing mobile phones. Ajni police station had reportedly been alerted on two earlier occasions about the boys behaviour. Instead of seeking professional help, counselling, or support from child welfare authorities, the parents discontinued his education and chose to restrain him physically. The parents said they were helpless. They claimed the boy would run away from home, steal phones, and not listen to them, a police official said. Since they had to go out daily for labour work, they decided to tie him and leave him locked at home. This is a serious violation of child rights.

Citizens contact child helpline

The matter came to light after concerned residents informed the Child Helpline. Realising the seriousness of the complaint, the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) under the Women and Child Development Department acted immediately. A special team was formed. The team rushed to the spot along with the police and rescued the child. He was immediately shifted to a safe location. A medical examination confirmed injuries on his hands and legs caused by chains and ropes, along with signs of physical and mental trauma. The boy has now been admitted to a childrens home, where he is receiving medical treatment and counselling. Officials said counselling sessions have started to help him recover from the psychological impact of the abuse.

Complaint filed at Ajni Police Station

A complaint has been filed against the parents at Ajni police station. Police are examining the case under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and other relevant sections related to cruelty and violation of child rights.
US strikes Venezuela, captures President, his wife





CARACAS (Venezuela) :

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was indicted in March 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges in the Southern District of New York

Venezuelan Govt calls it an imperialist attack and urged citizens to take to streets

US Justice Department releases new indictment of Maduro and his wife

THE United States hit Venezuela with a large-scale strike early on Saturday and said its President had been captured and flown out of the country after months of intense pressure on Nicolas Maduros Government  an extraordinary nighttime operation announced by President Donald Trump on social media hours after the attack. The legal authority for the strike  and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand  was not immediately clear. The stunning, lightning-fast American military action, which plucked a nations sitting leader from office, echoed the US invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990  exactly 36 years ago Saturday. US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York. Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple would soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.

Maduro was indicted in 2020 on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, but it was not previously known that his wife had been. Early Saturday, multiple explosions rang out, and low-flying aircraft swept through the Venezuelan capital. Maduros Government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations, calling it an imperialist attack and urging citizens to take to the streets. With Maduros whereabouts not known, the Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, would take power under Venezuelan law. There was no confirmation that had happened, though she did issue a statement after the strike. We do not know the whereabouts of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, Rodriguez said. We demand proof of life. Maduro, Trump said, has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country.

This operation was done in conjunction with US Law Enforcement. He set a news conference for later Saturday morning. The attack itself lasted less than 30 minutes, and the explosions  at least seven blasts  sent people rushing into the streets, while others took to social media to report what theyd seen and heard. It was not known if there were any deaths or injuries on either side or if more actions lay ahead, though Trump said in his post that the strikes were carried out successfully. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had briefed him on the strike and said that Maduro has been arrested by US personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States. The White House did not immediately respond to queries on where Maduro and his wife were being flown to.

The United States Justice Department on Saturday released a new indictment of Maduro and his wife. In the new video, Maduro is accused of leading a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking. It alleges that the drug trafficking efforts enriched and entrenched Venezuelas political and military elite. US authorities allege that Maduro partnered with some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world to bring tons of cocaine into the US, according to the indictment. Maduro last appeared on state television on Friday while meeting with a delegation of Chinese officials in Caracas. The strike came after the Trump administration spent months increasing the pressure on Maduro, including a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, accused of carrying drugs. Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels  the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes in September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes was 35, and the number of people killed was at least 115, according to the Trump administration. Trump said that the US is engaged in an armed conflict with drug cartels and has justified the boat strikes as necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the US. Maduro has decried the US military operations as a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power. Armed individuals and uniformed members of a civilian militia took to the streets of a Caracas neighbourhood long considered a stronghold of the ruling party. As daylight broke, some rallied while holding posters of Maduro, In other areas of the city, the streets remained empty hours after the attack. Parts of the city remained without power, but vehicles moved freely.

Maduro, his wife on US warship, says Trump

NEW YORK,

Jan 3 (AP)

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump told Fox News on Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were aboard US warship Iwo Jima and headed to New York, where they will face prosecution. The US carried out the lightning military strike on Venezuela early Saturday, capturing President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and spiriting them out of the country. American officials say the pair will face narco-terrorism charges in US courts. In the interview Saturday morning Trump said that the US will be making decisions on what is next for Venezuela. Well be involved in it very much as to who will govern the country, Trump said. We cant take a chance in letting somebody else run and just take over what he left, or left off, Trump said hours after the capture.
While Disney World is associated above all with its four main parks, the Disney Springs shopping and dining complex also has a long history in the resort.

First opened in 1975 as the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, the area has, over the decades, held names including Walt Disney World Village, Disney Village Marketplace, and Downtown Disney, before being rebranded as the current Disney Springs in 2015.

The outdoor area spans 120 acres and is home to 95 stores and nearly 70 eating establishments ranging from fast food to fine dining. One beloved staple has for the last 10 years been the Sprinkles Cupcakes bakery chain selling colorful cupcakes and cookies.

Disney Springs loses Sprinkles after cupcake chain abruptly closes all locations

Several Disney fans first noticed the store was closed around the time it would have received a rush of year-end customers, Inside the Magic shared. In a Dec. 31 Instagram post, founder Candace Nelson revealed that the chain was closing all locations.

"It's surreal to see this chapter come to a close and it's not how I imagined the story would unfold," Nelson, who founded the company in 2005 and sold it to private equity firm KarpReilly in 2013, wrote in her post.

Nelson had not been involved with the company since the sale; Sprinkles itself has not offered public comment.

Along with the larger stores, Sprinkles also operated "cupcake ATMs" at a number of airports and movie theaters, from which one could get the treats without human staff. The Disney Springs location had both an ATM and a storefront passersby could enter.

Related: Disneyland shuts down 11 popular rides

Along with its batch of regular favorites, this location made Disney-themed cupcakes with Mickey and Minnie ears. The abrupt closure, with virtually no notice, also left hundreds of employees across six states without jobs going into the new year.

"We did amazing during the holidays, our bakery has always done good it seemed like everything was normal," Kimberly Salgado, who worked at a Sprinkles location in California's Irvine for the last three years, told The New York Post.

"[...Management] let us be in the dark and spend our Christmas Eve there and work hard during the holidays to get them that holiday profit and then they just dumped us on New Year's Eve."

Sprinkles Cupcakes operated both storefront locations and cupcake ATMs.Sprinkles Cupcakes  Sprinkles Cupcakes

Disney Springs Sprinkles Cupcakes location opened in 2016 to much excitement

Visitors to the Disney Springs location reported seeing store signs announcing opening hours into 2026 and felt equally blindsided by the news.

The Sprinkles Instagram account has already been deleted, while the Disney Springs website has been updated to show that there are no opening times.
Shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $147.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Friday, October 10th. They set a buy rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. BTIG Research reiterated a buy rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $141.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 759.1% during the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 189 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 81.3% in the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 232 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the companys stock.

Shares of ABT opened at $124.15 on Tuesday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $110.86 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $215.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.72.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.30. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 31.88%.The business had revenue of $11.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Abbott Laboratoriess previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is 29.57%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.

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Intact Financial Co. (TSE:IFC  Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of Moderate Buy by the ten research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$317.91.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on IFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Intact Financial from C$324.00 to C$304.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Intact Financial from C$317.00 to C$320.00 in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Desjardins reduced their price target on Intact Financial from C$335.00 to C$305.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. CIBC decreased their price objective on Intact Financial from C$315.00 to C$288.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, National Bankshares boosted their price objective on Intact Financial from C$352.00 to C$358.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th.

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Intact Financial Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of TSE:IFC opened at C$285.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$50.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.18. The firms 50 day moving average price is C$278.81 and its 200-day moving average price is C$282.23. Intact Financial has a twelve month low of C$250.28 and a twelve month high of C$317.35.

Intact Financial (TSE:IFC  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported C$4.46 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$6.45 billion during the quarter. Intact Financial had a net margin of 8.60% and a return on equity of 13.13%. Analysts expect that Intact Financial will post 16.1721014 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Intact Financial

(Get Free Report)

Intact Financial Corp is a property and casualty insurance company that provides written premiums in Canada. The company distributes insurance under the Intact Insurance brand through a network of brokers and a wholly-owned subsidiary, BrokerLink, and directly to consumers through Belairdirect. Most of the companys direct premiums are written in the personal automotive space. Intact directly manages its investments through subsidiary Intact Investment Management. The vast majority of these invested assets are fixed-income securities.

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Shares of Stellantis N.V. (NYSE:STLA  Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of Hold from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $11.75.

A number of research firms have weighed in on STLA. Citigroup restated a neutral rating on shares of Stellantis in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Stellantis from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Sunday, December 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a sell (d) rating on shares of Stellantis in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen reiterated a hold rating on shares of Stellantis in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Stellantis from a strong sell rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stellantis

Stellantis Price Performance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STLA. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stellantis during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Stellantis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Stellantis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Stellantis by 137.9% during the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,524 shares of the companys stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 3,202 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stellantis by 63.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,286 shares of the companys stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.48% of the companys stock.

STLA stock opened at $11.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $10.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.15. Stellantis has a 1-year low of $8.39 and a 1-year high of $14.28.

Stellantis (NYSE:STLA  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported ($0.91) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($1.32). The firm had revenue of $87.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $87.94 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Stellantis will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Stellantis

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Stellantis N.V. is a global automotive manufacturer formed through the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Groupe PSA, a transaction completed in January 2021. The company designs, manufactures and sells a broad portfolio of passenger cars, light commercial vehicles and related powertrains under a large number of well-known brands, including (but not limited to) Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall. Stellantis also provides parts, accessories, service operations and branded aftersales support through legacy networks such as Mopar and regional dealer ecosystems.

In addition to vehicle manufacturing, Stellantis operates mobility- and software-related businesses and financial services.

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Banco Bradesco SA (NYSE:BBD  Get Free Report) declared a monthly dividend on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.0034 per share by the bank on Monday, February 9th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th.

Banco Bradesco has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years. Banco Bradesco has a dividend payout ratio of 4.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Banco Bradesco to earn $0.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.02 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.7%.

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Banco Bradesco Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Banco Bradesco stock opened at $3.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.20. Banco Bradesco has a 12-month low of $1.85 and a 12-month high of $3.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

About Banco Bradesco

Banco Bradesco ( NYSE:BBD Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.02). Banco Bradesco had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 9.61%.The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $34.75 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banco Bradesco will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Banco Bradesco SA is a major Brazilian financial institution headquartered in Osasco, Sao Paulo. Founded in 1943 by Amador Aguiar, the bank has grown into one of Brazils largest private-sector banks, offering a full range of financial services to retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, corporate and institutional clients. It operates across the banking value chain, including deposit-taking, lending, payments, trade finance and treasury services, and it participates actively in Brazils retail and corporate credit markets.

The companys product and service mix extends beyond traditional banking to include insurance, pension plans, asset management, leasing and credit card services, delivered through a combination of branches, automated teller machines and digital channels.

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Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (NYSE:BNS  Get Free Report) (TSE:BNS) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of 1.10 per share by the bank on Wednesday, January 28th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 6th.

Bank of Nova Scotia has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Bank of Nova Scotia has a dividend payout ratio of 57.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Bank of Nova Scotia to earn $5.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.14 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 55.5%.

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Bank of Nova Scotia Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BNS opened at $74.49 on Friday. Bank of Nova Scotia has a 1 year low of $44.09 and a 1 year high of $74.53. The firm has a market cap of $92.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Bank of Nova Scotia ( NYSE:BNS Get Free Report ) (TSE:BNS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The bank reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.06. Bank of Nova Scotia had a return on equity of 12.10% and a net margin of 10.60%.The business had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Bank of Nova Scotia will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BNS. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an outperform rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Bank of Nova Scotia from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Nova Scotia has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $97.00.

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Bank of Nova Scotia Company Profile

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Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company founded in 1832 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It is one of Canadas largest banks and provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. The bank combines a domestic Canadian franchise with an extensive international presence to serve customers across multiple markets.

Scotiabanks core activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and global transaction banking.

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Theres a familiar ring to President Donald Trumps plan to send U.S. energy giants to Venezuela to use the wealth generated from rekindling long-stalled oil production to stabilize that country and cement American energy dominance: Similar ambitions accompanied the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The quick riches promised did not materialize there, as firms grappled with years of political turmoil and security threats, struggled to negotiate workable contract terms and confronted vexing infrastructure inadequacies. Venezuela may not be any easier, industry analysts warn.

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One of the clear lessons from Iraq - and it is not unique to Iraq - is that you need to have stability and be able to assess risk before you can start production, said Kevin Book, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners, a research firm. Until then, he said, companies may not be enthusiastic about making the billions of dollars in investments required in Venezuela.

Its unclear which firms Trump was referencing at a news conference Saturday morning, when he said: Were going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go and spend billions of dollars to fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure.

Chevron, which operates there now, declined to comment on plans.

ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips exited the country and saw their assets seized after refusing to meet the terms of Venezuelas government nearly two decades ago. ExxonMobil did not respond to requests for comment.

It would be premature to speculate on any future business activities or investments, ConocoPhillips spokesman Dennis Nuss said in an email.

But the appeal is clear. Venezuela has one of the biggest oil reserves in the world, estimated at 300 billion barrels.

Every major oil company in the world and some of the smaller ones will look closely at this because there are very few places on Earth where you could increase production so much, said Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American Energy Program at Rice University. But first you need political stability and clarity.

He said restoring peak oil production there would cost up to $100 billion and take about a decade. And that is assuming there is enough political stability for companies to operate unencumbered during that entire period.

There are other obstacles. The oil in Venezuela is a heavy form of crude that is more difficult to process and carries a heavier carbon footprint than oil pumped elsewhere. Venezuelas power grid is on the brink, creating an uncertain outlook for oil production, which requires massive amounts of energy. Also, Russian and Chinese firms partnered with Venezuela after U.S. companies left the nation, complicating the reestablishment of U.S. firms.
Brookfield Renewable Corporation (NYSE:BEPC  Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of Hold from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.75.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BEPC. Wall Street Zen downgraded Brookfield Renewable from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Brookfield Renewable from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Brookfield Renewable from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a sell (e+) rating on shares of Brookfield Renewable in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

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Brookfield Renewable Stock Performance

Brookfield Renewable Dividend Announcement

NYSE BEPC opened at $39.87 on Friday. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $40.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.39. Brookfield Renewable has a 1 year low of $23.73 and a 1 year high of $45.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a PE ratio of -44.80 and a beta of 1.23.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.373 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $1.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Brookfield Renewables dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -167.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Brookfield Renewable by 2.3% during the second quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,856 shares of the companys stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 130,474 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,277,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 951 shares of the companys stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in Brookfield Renewable by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 8,594 shares of the companys stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Brookfield Renewable by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 63,088 shares of the companys stock worth $2,068,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. 75.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brookfield Renewable Company Profile

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Brookfield Renewable Corporation (NYSE: BEPC) is a leading global owner, operator and developer of renewable power assets. Through its preferred equity securities, BEPC provides investors with exposure to a diversified portfolio of hydropower, wind, solar and energy storage facilities that are underpinned by long-term contractual revenues. The company focuses on delivering clean energy to wholesale and retail markets across multiple jurisdictions, leveraging the experience and financial backing of its parent, Brookfield Asset Management.

The companys operations span North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, with more than 23,000 megawatts of operational capacity.

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Shares of Command Security Co. (NYSEAMERICAN:MOC  Get Free Report) traded up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $2.85 and last traded at $2.85. 51,100 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 474% from the average session volume of 8,909 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.82.

Command Security Trading Up 1.1%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.85.

About Command Security

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Command Security Corporation provides uniformed security officers and aviation security services in the United States. It operates through Security and Aviation Safeguards divisions. The Security division offers armed and unarmed uniformed security personnel for access control, loss prevention, mobile patrols, traffic control, security console/system operators, and fire safety directors, as well as personnel for reception, concierge, and front desk/doorman operations. This division serves governmental, quasi-governmental, and financial institutions; colleges and universities; healthcare facilities; residential communities; and commercial real estate, industrial, distribution, logistics, and retail customers.

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Equity Bancshares (NYSE:EQBK  Get Free Report) is one of 20 public companies in the State Commercial Banks  Fed Reserve System industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Equity Bancshares to related companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, dividends, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Equity Bancshares and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Equity Bancshares 0 2 0 1 2.67 Equity Bancshares Competitors 29 164 196 18 2.50

As a group, State Commercial Banks  Fed Reserve System companies have a potential upside of 7.63%. Given Equity Bancshares peers higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Equity Bancshares has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Dividends

Valuation and Earnings

Equity Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Equity Bancshares pays out 60.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, State Commercial Banks  Fed Reserve System companies pay a dividend yield of 2.3% and pay out 67.3% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

This table compares Equity Bancshares and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Equity Bancshares $335.67 million $62.62 million 37.40 Equity Bancshares Competitors $826.72 million $104.06 million 37.62

Equity Bancshares peers have higher revenue and earnings than Equity Bancshares. Equity Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Equity Bancshares and its peers net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Equity Bancshares 5.01% 11.67% 1.33% Equity Bancshares Competitors 7.23% 6.94% 0.79%

Volatility and Risk

Equity Bancshares has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equity Bancshares peers have a beta of 1.01, meaning that their average share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

71.8% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.2% of shares of all State Commercial Banks  Fed Reserve System companies are held by institutional investors. 6.6% of Equity Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of shares of all State Commercial Banks  Fed Reserve System companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Equity Bancshares peers beat Equity Bancshares on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

About Equity Bancshares

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Equity Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Equity Bank that provides a range of banking, mortgage banking, and financial services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts various demand, savings, money market, and time deposits. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate-backed, commercial lines of credit, working capital, term, equipment financing, acquisition, expansion and development, borrowing base, real estate construction, homebuilder, agricultural, government guaranteed, and other loan products to national and regional companies, restaurant franchisees, hoteliers, real estate developers, manufacturing and industrial companies, agribusiness companies, and other businesses. The companys loan products also comprise various consumer loans to individuals and professionals, including residential real estate loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, installment loans, unsecured and secured personal lines of credit, overdraft protection, and letters of credit. It also provides debit cards; online banking solutions, such as access to account balances, online transfers, online bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements; mobile banking solutions comprising remote check deposits with mobile bill pay; ATMs; and treasury management, wire transfer, automated clearing house, and stop payment services. In addition, the company offers cash management deposit products, such as lockbox, remote deposit capture, positive pay, reverse positive pay, account reconciliation services, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts, as well as banking services through telephone, mail, and personal appointments. As of December 31, 2021, it operated a network of 69 branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas.

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Shares of Dacotah Banks, Inc. (OTCMKTS:DBIN  Get Free Report) fell 1.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $39.4332 and last traded at $39.4332. 25 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 99% from the average session volume of 4,370 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.95.

Dacotah Banks Price Performance

The firms 50 day moving average price is $38.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.55. The firm has a market cap of $439.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49 and a beta of -0.06.

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Dacotah Banks (OTCMKTS:DBIN  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $48.81 million during the quarter.

About Dacotah Banks

Dacotah Banks (OTCMKTS:DBIN) is a state-chartered, FDIC-insured community bank headquartered in Huron, South Dakota. Through its branch network in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota, the bank offers a range of personal banking services, including checking and savings accounts, consumer lending and residential mortgage solutions. Online and mobile banking platforms complement these offerings with tools such as mobile deposit, electronic statements and bill pay.

On the commercial side, Dacotah Banks provides business and agricultural lending, treasury management, merchant services and cash management solutions.

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Enel Chile S.A. (NYSE:ENIC  Get Free Report)s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $4.06 and last traded at $3.9850, with a volume of 1822357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c) rating on shares of Enel Chile in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Enel Chile from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Sunday, November 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Enel Chile to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and set a $4.30 price target on shares of Enel Chile in a report on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Enel Chile has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $4.30.

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Enel Chile Price Performance

The companys 50 day simple moving average is $3.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.68.

Enel Chile (NYSE:ENIC  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.03). Enel Chile had a return on equity of 1.23% and a net margin of 1.75%.The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.16 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Enel Chile S.A. will post 0.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Enel Chile

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Enel Chile during the second quarter worth $10,650,000. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new position in shares of Enel Chile in the 2nd quarter worth $4,389,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Enel Chile by 5,592.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 584,202 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 573,940 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in Enel Chile during the third quarter valued at about $1,408,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in Enel Chile in the second quarter worth about $1,181,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.20% of the companys stock.

Enel Chile Company Profile

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Enel Chile SA, traded as ENIC on the NYSE, is one of Chiles leading integrated electric utilities, with core businesses spanning electricity generation, transmission and distribution. The company serves a diverse customer base that includes residential, commercial and industrial users, striving to deliver reliable power across both urban and rural regions.

In its generation segment, Enel Chile operates a balanced portfolio of assets, including hydroelectric plants, thermal power stations and an expanding suite of renewable energy facilities such as wind and solar farms.

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First National Bank Alaska (OTCMKTS:FBAK  Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,095 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 265% from the previous sessions volume of 300 shares.The stock last traded at $292.00 and had previously closed at $299.75.

First National Bank Alaska Trading Down 1.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $931.98 million, a PE ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.18. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $287.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $274.03.

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First National Bank Alaska (OTCMKTS:FBAK  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The financial services provider reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $56.17 million during the quarter. First National Bank Alaska had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 29.11%.

First National Bank Alaska Announces Dividend

First National Bank Alaska Company Profile

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were paid a $4.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a dividend yield of 561.0%. First National Bank Alaskas dividend payout ratio is 65.47%.

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First National Bank Alaska is a communityoriented financial institution headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. Established in 1922, the bank has grown to serve individuals, businesses and institutions across Alaska through a network of branch offices and digital channels. As an OTCtraded company, it offers broad commercial and consumer banking services tailored to the unique economic and geographic needs of the state.

The banks consumer banking operations include checking and savings accounts, personal loans, mortgages and online banking solutions.

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Flowserve Corporation (NYSE:FLS  Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.20.

A number of brokerages have commented on FLS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b-) rating on shares of Flowserve in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America restated a neutral rating and set a $73.00 target price (up previously from $60.00) on shares of Flowserve in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Flowserve from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Flowserve from $68.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Flowserve from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th.

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Insider Activity

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowserve

In other news, insider Lamar L. Duhon sold 1,609 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.51, for a total transaction of $111,841.59. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,050,713.16. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link . Also, CFO Amy B. Schwetz sold 47,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total value of $3,337,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,628 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,737,640.56. This represents a 47.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure . Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,276 shares of company stock worth $4,196,578. Company insiders own 0.76% of the companys stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Flowserve by 20.1% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 968 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Flowserve by 24.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 830 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its stake in shares of Flowserve by 0.5% in the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 44,128 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $2,345,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of Flowserve by 0.7% during the third quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 27,300 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,456,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.93% of the companys stock.

Flowserve Stock Performance

NYSE:FLS opened at $70.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.10. Flowserve has a fifty-two week low of $37.34 and a fifty-two week high of $74.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.87. The company has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.29.

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Flowserve had a net margin of 9.66% and a return on equity of 19.41%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Flowserve has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.400-3.500 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Flowserve will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Flowserve Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Flowserves dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.42%.

Flowserve Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Flowserve Corporation (NYSE: FLS) is a leading provider of fluid motion and control products and services. The company designs, manufactures and services engineered and industrial pumps, mechanical seals, valves and related flow management equipment. Flowserves offerings are utilized across a broad spectrum of end markets, including oil and gas, power generation, chemical processing, water management, pharmaceutical and semiconductor manufacturing, as well as mining and general industrial applications.

Flowserves product portfolio encompasses a wide range of centrifugal and positive displacement pumps, high-performance control valves, butterfly and ball valves, as well as mechanical seals and seal support systems.

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GenTech Holdings, Inc. (OTCMKTS:GTEH  Get Free Report) rose 76,823.1% on Friday . The company traded as high as $1.00 and last traded at $1.00. Approximately 14,693 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 15,958 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.0013.

GenTech Trading Up 76,823.1%

GenTech Company Profile

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GenTech Holdings, Inc operates a chain of hemp centric coffee shop retail spaces under the Healthy Leaf brand name. The company offers CBD-infused chocolates, skin creams, artisan teas, artisan coffee, wellness snack bars, and pet treats through its retail spaces. It also provides holistic education and classes. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in New York, New York.

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Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF (NYSEARCA:RODM  Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $35.41 and traded as high as $37.28. Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF shares last traded at $37.23, with a volume of 68,755 shares traded.

Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -86.58 and a beta of 0.72. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $36.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.42.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 199,968 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $6,197,000 after buying an additional 30,458 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF by 1.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 95,912 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $2,972,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF by 2.1% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 70,770 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $2,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF by 14.6% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 18,886 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,410 shares during the period. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF by 28.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 18,823 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.13% of the companys stock.

About Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF

Direct Markets Holdings Corp., formerly Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group, Inc, is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, it is engaged in the investment banking business. The Companys principal operating subsidiary is Rodman & Renshaw, LLC (R&R). It is an investment bank, which provides corporate finance, strategic advisory and related services to public and private companies across multiple sectors and regions. It also provides research and sales and trading services to institutional investors.

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Horizon Group (OTCMKTS:HGPI  Get Free Report) and Macerich (NYSE:MAC  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Horizon Group has a beta of -0.21, suggesting that its share price is 121% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Macerich has a beta of 2.06, suggesting that its share price is 106% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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Profitability

This table compares Horizon Group and Macerichs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Horizon Group N/A N/A N/A Macerich -37.97% -14.21% -4.47%

Valuation and Earnings

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Horizon Group N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Macerich $918.20 million 5.16 -$194.12 million ($1.59) -11.63

This table compares Horizon Group and Macerichs top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Horizon Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Macerich.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.4% of Macerich shares are held by institutional investors. 15.9% of Horizon Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Macerich shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Horizon Group and Macerich, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Horizon Group 0 0 0 0 0.00 Macerich 3 4 5 0 2.17

Macerich has a consensus price target of $19.40, suggesting a potential upside of 4.88%. Given Macerichs stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Macerich is more favorable than Horizon Group.

Summary

Macerich beats Horizon Group on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Horizon Group

(Get Free Report)

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Horizon Group Properties, Inc. has 12 operating factory outlet centers and one power center in 10 states totaling more than 2.6 million square feet.

About Macerich

(Get Free Report)

Macerich is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). As a leading owner, operator and developer of high-quality retail real estate in densely populated and attractive U.S. markets, Macerichs portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, D.C. corridor. Developing and managing properties that serve as community cornerstones, Macerich currently owns 47 million square feet of real estate consisting primarily of interests in 44 regional town centers. Macerich is firmly dedicated to advancing environmental goals, social good and sound corporate governance. A recognized leader in sustainability, Macerich has achieved a #1 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) ranking for the North American retail sector for nine consecutive years (2015-2023).

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The pharmaceutical industry has made massive investments in artificial intelligence over the past several years, but it's yet to see a payoff in terms of a market-ready, AI-developed drug. That could soon change.

The first drug discovered and designed using AI, Insilico Medicines Rentosertib, is likely to enter a Phase 3 clinical trial in the next 18 months, the final stage before seeking FDA approval. And it will reach that milestone in record time.

In the meantime, the coming year is sure to see a stepped-up pace of AI investments, deals, and partnerships by Big Pharma, venture capital firms, and biotech startups. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is investing more than $100 million of his own money in AI-based drug startups.

As a result, Precedence Research estimates that the global drug industrys investment in AI will reach $2.51 billion in 2026 and $16.49 billion by 2034.

Fading into the background is the skepticism often heard at the start of 2025 about AIs ability to have a significant impact on drug R&D. We are really seeing AI being used across the board now, said Samuel Scarpino, director of AI + life sciences at Northeastern University and an advisor to many biotech startups. I dont think we can point to a clear winner yet but it is definitely producing a lot of value, he said.

Pharma giant Eli Lilly is one of the industrys leaders in adopting AI. In October, the company announced a partnership with Nvidia to build a powerful supercomputer to run an "AI factory," powered by more than 1,000 super-powerful chips, which will be used to discover and test millions of potential medicines.

Lilly also just signed a deal with Insilico Medicine, potentially worth $100 million, to use the startups AI platform to jointly identify and develop new therapies. Diogo Rau, executive vice president and chief information and digital officer of Lilly. says the company is encouraging every employee to incorporate AI into their work. "I don't believe any other company in our industry is doing what we do at this scale, he said.

Rau does acknowledge that there is still a ton of hype out there, but predicted that an AI-discovered drug could reach the market by 2030. AI is doing very, very well at discovering new molecules that can be turned into drugs, he says.

The end of the decade may seem like a lengthy timeline, except that it typically takes 10 to 15 years to develop a new drug, at a cost of $2 billion and up. Just getting to the point where a drug can be tested in humans can take a minimum of 4 to 5 years, and nine out of 10 drug candidates never make it that far.
Shares of Hercules Site Services Plc (LON:HERC  Get Free Report) shot up 2.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as GBX 55 and last traded at GBX 54.30. 118,190 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 28% from the average session volume of 92,111 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 53.

Hercules Site Services Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of 43.76 million, a P/E ratio of -17.80 and a beta of 0.52. The firms fifty day simple moving average is GBX 42.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 41.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 108.20, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Hercules Site Services Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Hercules Site Services plc is a leading technology enabled labour supply company for the UK infrastructure and construction sectors, which joined the AIM market in February 2022. Founded in 2008 by CEO Brusk Korkmaz, Hercules provides site services to a diverse range of blue-chip clients, including Balfour Beaty, Costain, Skanska, Kier, and Hill Group. Our services include:

 Labour Supply (blue collar operatives)

 Civil Projects, mainly in the water utilities sector for the likes of Thames Water, Southern Water, Anglian Water, and Severn Trent

 Suction Excavator services

 Hercules Construction Academy, upskilling our workers and providing training to individuals from across the industry

 Future Build Recruitment, is our first acquisition and provides white collar recruitment services.

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Shares of Hess Midstream Partners LP (NYSE:HESM  Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of Hold from the nine research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.5714.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on HESM shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c) rating on shares of Hess Midstream Partners in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Hess Midstream Partners from an equal weight rating to a reduce rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Hess Midstream Partners from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Raymond James Financial reissued an outperform rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down previously from $48.00) on shares of Hess Midstream Partners in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Hess Midstream Partners from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hess Midstream Partners

Hess Midstream Partners Price Performance

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its position in Hess Midstream Partners by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 26,507 shares of the companys stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hess Midstream Partners by 14.3% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,400 shares of the companys stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Hess Midstream Partners by 7.6% during the second quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,456 shares of the companys stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Hess Midstream Partners by 14.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the companys stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in Hess Midstream Partners by 34.9% in the second quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,545 shares of the companys stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.97% of the companys stock.

HESM stock opened at $34.61 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.83. The company has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.73. Hess Midstream Partners has a twelve month low of $31.63 and a twelve month high of $44.14.

Hess Midstream Partners (NYSE:HESM  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $420.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.36 million. Hess Midstream Partners had a net margin of 20.46% and a return on equity of 69.03%. Hess Midstream Partnerss revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hess Midstream Partners will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Hess Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 6th were paid a dividend of $0.7548 per share. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.7%. This is a positive change from Hess Midstream Partnerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 6th. Hess Midstream Partnerss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.09%.

Hess Midstream Partners Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Hess Midstream Partners LP, formerly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker HESM, is a midstream energy partnership that owns, operates and develops crude oil, natural gas and produced water infrastructure in the Williston Basin. The companys assets include crude oil gathering and transportation systems, saltwater disposal wells, natural gas processing and fractionation plants, and associated pipeline and storage facilities. Its integrated network is designed to support upstream production by providing gathering, processing, storage and marketing services for hydrocarbons and produced water.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Hess Midstream Partners primarily serves producers operating in North Dakota and Montanas Bakken Shale region.

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Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ingram Micro (NYSE:INGM  Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on INGM. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of Ingram Micro in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Ingram Micro in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an underweight rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Ingram Micro in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Ingram Micro from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $24.56.

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Ingram Micro Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of INGM stock opened at $21.29 on Friday. Ingram Micro has a twelve month low of $14.25 and a twelve month high of $24.81. The stock has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 2.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.68 and a 200 day moving average of $20.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Ingram Micro (NYSE:INGM  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.05. Ingram Micro had a net margin of 0.57% and a return on equity of 17.03%. The business had revenue of $12.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.21 billion. Ingram Micro has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.850-0.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ingram Micro will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Ingram Micro Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This is an increase from Ingram Micros previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ingram Micros payout ratio is currently 26.02%.

Institutional Trading of Ingram Micro

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in INGM. CWM LLC raised its stake in Ingram Micro by 125.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,333 shares of the companys stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ingram Micro by 2,844.2% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 3,798 shares of the companys stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 3,669 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ingram Micro in the third quarter valued at about $110,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ingram Micro by 855.8% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,400 shares of the companys stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 4,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Ingram Micro by 16.8% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 6,369 shares of the companys stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares during the last quarter.

Ingram Micro Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Ingram Micro, headquartered in Irvine, California, is a global technology distributor and supply chain services provider. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker INGM, the company connects leading technology manufacturers, cloud providers and channel partners through an integrated portfolio of products and services. Ingram Micros end-to-end solutions span product distribution, cloud enablement, e-commerce, logistics and lifecycle management, enabling customers of all sizes to bring new technology to market efficiently.

The companys offerings are organized across several core areas.

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Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KBR (NYSE:KBR  Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on KBR from $62.00 to $50.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on KBR from $62.00 to $57.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c-) rating on shares of KBR in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of KBR from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of KBR in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They issued an outperform rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KBR presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $58.00.

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KBR Price Performance

Shares of KBR opened at $40.47 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.81. KBR has a fifty-two week low of $39.52 and a fifty-two week high of $60.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18.

KBR (NYSE:KBR  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. KBR had a net margin of 4.71% and a return on equity of 35.14%. KBRs revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that KBR will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KBR Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. KBRs dividend payout ratio is 22.68%.

Institutional Trading of KBR

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of KBR by 207.8% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 594 shares of the construction companys stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in KBR by 432.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 607 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in KBR by 75.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 617 shares of the construction companys stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in KBR during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KBR during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. 97.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KBR Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

KBR, Inc is a global engineering, procurement, construction and services (EPC&S) company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The firm delivers integrated solutions and technologies across the full project lifecycle for customers in the energy, government, industrial and infrastructure sectors. Its offerings span feasibility studies, front-end engineering design, detailed design, procurement, fabrication, construction, commissioning and operations support.

The company is organized into business segments that include Energy Solutions, which focuses on oil and gas processing, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and petrochemical plants; Government Solutions, providing logistics, sustainment, training and mission support for defense, intelligence and civilian agencies; and Sustainable Technology, delivering chemical process technologies, water treatment and lower-carbon fuels expertise.

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Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH  Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MTH. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 target price on Meritage Homes and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. UBS Group set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Meritage Homes and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Meritage Homes from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Meritage Homes from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Meritage Homes from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $84.57.

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Meritage Homes Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:MTH opened at $66.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.72 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Meritage Homes has a 12 month low of $59.27 and a 12 month high of $84.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.30.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.32). Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 8.96%.The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.34 EPS. The businesss revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Meritage Homes has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.510-1.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Meritage Homess payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meritage Homes

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Meritage Homes by 108.2% in the 1st quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 7,754 shares of the construction companys stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 4,030 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 134.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,658 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $2,740,000 after buying an additional 22,162 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 31,478 shares of the construction companys stock worth $2,103,000 after buying an additional 12,197 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 51.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,937 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 4,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in Meritage Homes by 137.8% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 44,726 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $3,170,000 after acquiring an additional 25,914 shares during the period. 98.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meritage Homes Company Profile

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Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling singlefamily detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates highperformance features aimed at reducing longterm energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The companys core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.

Further Reading

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Northcape Capital Pty Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico, S.A. de C.V. (NYSE:PAC  Free Report) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,835 shares of the transportation companys stock after selling 7,574 shares during the period. Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico makes up about 6.2% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltds investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Northcape Capital Pty Ltds holdings in Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico were worth $44,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico by 48.1% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 154 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 174 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,334 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $1,684,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico by 24.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 596 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico by 680.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 195 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.73% of the companys stock.

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Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:PAC opened at $261.26 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $237.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.99. The company has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.02. Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico, S.A. de C.V. has a 52 week low of $168.62 and a 52 week high of $273.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico ( NYSE:PAC Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The transportation company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.96 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $522.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.04 billion. Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico had a net margin of 25.27% and a return on equity of 42.07%. Analysts forecast that Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico, S.A. de C.V. will post 10 earnings per share for the current year.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a sector perform rating on shares of Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $210.00.

View Our Latest Analysis on Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico

About Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico

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Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, SAB. de C.V. (NYSE:PAC), commonly known as GAP, is a leading airport operator in Mexico. Established in 1998 as part of the federal governments airport privatization program, GAP holds longterm concession agreementstypically 50 yearsto manage, develop and operate airports under a publicprivate partnership model. Through these concessions, the company undertakes terminal expansions, runway maintenance and the modernization of navigation and security systems.

The companys portfolio comprises 12 airports across Mexicos Pacific and western regions, including major hubs such as Guadalajara, Tijuana, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan, as well as regional facilities in Aguascalientes, Morelia and La Paz.

Further Reading

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Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY  Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. HSBC dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho upped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $52.00 to $51.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $49.95.

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Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance

Shares of OXY stock opened at $42.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.94. Occidental Petroleum has a 52 week low of $34.78 and a 52 week high of $53.20. The companys 50 day moving average price is $41.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.45. The company has a market capitalization of $41.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $6.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.66 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 12.35%. The firms revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. Occidental Petroleums dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Occidental Petroleum news, Director William R. Klesse acquired 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $38.98 per share, for a total transaction of $194,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 218,913 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,533,228.74. This represents a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Occidental Petroleum in the second quarter valued at $27,000. City Holding Co. grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 700 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc acquired a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Occidental Petroleum during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Occidental Petroleum by 1,193.9% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 854 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.70% of the companys stock.

Occidental Petroleum Company Profile

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Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) is an international energy company engaged primarily in the exploration, production and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company conducts upstream activities to discover and produce hydrocarbons and operates complementary midstream and marketing functions to transport and sell its production. Occidental also owns a chemicals business that manufactures and sells industrial chemicals and related products for a range of end markets.

Occidentals operations are concentrated in the United States, with a significant presence in the Permian Basin, and it maintains exploration and production activities in several international regions, including parts of the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

Further Reading

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Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV  Free Report) by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 213,691 shares of the companys stock after selling 118,735 shares during the period. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF accounts for 2.8% of Pettinga Financial Advisors LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF were worth $14,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the second quarter worth $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Rice Partnership LLC purchased a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Price Performance

Shares of EFV opened at $72.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.73. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF has a fifty-two week low of $51.05 and a fifty-two week high of $66.83. The businesss 50-day moving average is $70.16 and its 200-day moving average is $67.43.

About iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Value Index. The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East. The Fund invests in sectors, such as financials, energy, healthcare, telecommunication services, industrials, utilities, consumer discretionary, materials, information technology and consumer staples.

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Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE:MUFG  Get Free Report) and China CITIC Bank (OTCMKTS:CHCJY  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and China CITIC Banks net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 13.98% 9.39% 0.49% China CITIC Bank 20.20% 8.55% 0.72%

Volatility & Risk

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has a beta of 0.35, meaning that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, China CITIC Bank has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

Valuation & Earnings

13.6% of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

This table compares Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and China CITIC Banks gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group $89.51 billion 2.12 $8.36 billion $1.12 14.27 China CITIC Bank $47.42 billion N/A $9.54 billion $3.27 5.49

China CITIC Bank has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. China CITIC Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and China CITIC Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 0 2 0 0 2.00 China CITIC Bank 0 0 0 0 0.00

Dividends

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. China CITIC Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group pays out 33.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. China CITIC Bank pays out 24.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. China CITIC Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

China CITIC Bank beats Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group

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Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company, that engages in a range of financial businesses in Japan, the United States, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Digital Service, Retail & Commercial Banking, Japanese Corporate & Investment Banking, Global Commercial Banking, Asset Management & Investor Services, Global Corporate & Investment Banking, and Global Markets. The company offers commercial banking, trust banking, and securities products and services to retail, and small and medium-sized enterprise customers. It also provides mergers and acquisition, debt and equity issuance, financial advice, and real estate-related services; digital-based financial services; credit cards; and trust banking and securities products and services, as well as engages in the lending, fund settlement, and foreign exchange businesses. In addition, the company offers corporate banking services, such as project export credit agency finance, and financing through asset-backed commercial paper; investment and transaction banking services for corporations, financial institutions, sovereign and multinational organizations, and institutional investors; and asset management and investor services, including pension fund management and administration, pension structure advisory, beneficiary payment, and investment trust services for retail customers. Further, it provides loans, deposits, fund transfers, hedging, and investments services for retail, small and medium-sized enterprise, as well as corporate customers; financing for automotive and consumer goods; sells and trades in fixed income instruments, currencies, equities, and equities; offers investment products comprising mutual funds, structured bonds, and notes; originates and distributes of financial products; and provides insurance and treasury services. The company was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About China CITIC Bank

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China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited provides various banking products and services in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates in segments, such as Corporate Banking, Retail Banking, and Financial Market business. It accepts deposits; offers corporate and personal loans; and provides securities agency, remittance and settlement, and guarantee services, as well as investment banking and international services. The company also engages in the capital markets operations and inter-bank operations, including inter-bank money market transactions, repurchase transactions, investments, and trading in debt instruments; and derivatives and forex trading. In addition, it offers asset management, finance leasing, wealth management, ageing finance, private banking, credit card, payroll, and other non-banking financial services. The company serves corporations, government agencies, and non-financial institutions; and individual customers and micro and small enterprises. The company operates tier-one branches, tier-two branches, and sub-branches; self-service banks; and self-service terminals, as well as smart teller machines. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited operates as a subsidiary of CITIC Financial Holdings Co., Ltd.

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ROK Resources Inc. (CVE:ROK  Get Free Report)s stock price fell 21.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as C$0.18 and last traded at C$0.18. 5,597,061 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 1,855% from the average session volume of 286,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.23.

Key Stores Impacting ROK Resources

Here are the key news stories impacting ROK Resources this week:

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Positive Sentiment: Near-term technical / speculative opportunity for risk-tolerant buyers: the stock is trading close to its 52week low (C$0.13) with a market cap of ~C$39M  some investors view sharp pullbacks in microcaps as buying opportunities if fundamentals or project prospects remain intact.

Near-term technical / speculative opportunity for risk-tolerant buyers: the stock is trading close to its 52week low (C$0.13) with a market cap of ~C$39M  some investors view sharp pullbacks in microcaps as buying opportunities if fundamentals or project prospects remain intact. Neutral Sentiment: No clear company announcement cited in the aggregated reports  investors should check ROKs SEDAR/CVE filings, any recent corporate disclosures, and trading volume to confirm whether the drop reflects news, a financing/dilution event, or market/sector moves. ROK Resources (CVE:ROK) Trading Down 23.9%  Heres Why

No clear company announcement cited in the aggregated reports  investors should check ROKs SEDAR/CVE filings, any recent corporate disclosures, and trading volume to confirm whether the drop reflects news, a financing/dilution event, or market/sector moves. Negative Sentiment: Significant intraday declines reported (largest cited ~23.9%), which may reflect negative sentiment, stop-loss cascades, or an adverse development not yet confirmed in filings. Confirm any company disclosures and monitor liquidity before trading. ROK Resources (CVE:ROK) Trading Down 23.9%  Heres Why

Significant intraday declines reported (largest cited ~23.9%), which may reflect negative sentiment, stop-loss cascades, or an adverse development not yet confirmed in filings. Confirm any company disclosures and monitor liquidity before trading. Negative Sentiment: Earlier session declines around ~21.7% were also reported, indicating the move developed over multiple sessions rather than a single isolated print. That pattern can amplify downside in thinly traded small-caps. ROK Resources (CVE:ROK) Shares Down 21.7%  Time to Sell?

Earlier session declines around ~21.7% were also reported, indicating the move developed over multiple sessions rather than a single isolated print. That pattern can amplify downside in thinly traded small-caps. Negative Sentiment: Additional reports of ~17.4% drops were published in later alerts  multiple headlines focused on time to sell and whats next, reflecting heightened concern and potential volatility ahead. ROK Resources (CVE:ROK) Shares Down 17.4%  Heres What Happened

ROK Resources Trading Down 21.7%

The stocks 50 day moving average is C$0.23 and its 200-day moving average is C$0.21. The company has a market cap of C$39.20 million, a P/E ratio of -9.00 and a beta of 0.15.

About ROK Resources

ROK Resources Inc operates as independent oil and gas company in Canada. The company primarily engages in production, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas in Southeast Saskatchewan. ROK Resources Inc is headquartered in Regina, Canada.

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Billionaire investor Bill Ackman reiterated his long-standing bet on Fannie Mae (OTCQB:FNMA) and Freddie Mac (OTCQB:FMCC), naming the release of the mortgage giants as his Best Idea for 2026.

In a post on X Tuesday, Ackman highlighted his detailed post from exactly one year ago in which he outlined a path to end the 18-year federal conservatorship that has governed the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) since the 2008 financial crisis.

This was a good one. It remains our best idea for 2026. https://t.co/NJFoqM0ihs

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Ackman's proposal centers on a pragmatic, three-step walk before you run strategy designed to stabilize the housing market while delivering a massive windfall to the U.S. Treasury.

The Three-Part Plan

Repayment Acknowledgment: Ackman argues the U.S. Treasury and the FHFA should formally acknowledge that the GSEs have fully repaid their initial $190 billion bailout. To date, they have returned over $300 billion in profits to the government. Exercise Warrants: The government holds warrants for a 79.9% stake in both companies. Ackman proposes that the Treasury exercise these immediately, formalizing taxpayer ownership and creating a mark-to-market windfall he estimates at over $300 billion. NYSE Relisting: Moving the stocks from the over-the-counter (OTC) market back to the New York Stock Exchange would provide the liquidity necessary for institutional investors to build positions.

Trending: 7 Million Gamers Already Trust Gameflip With Their Digital Assets  Now You Can Own a Stake in the Platform

The 2026 Catalyst

Ackman believes 2026 is the pivotal year for this asymmetric trade.

By relisting the entities, the Trump administration gains a three-year runway to finalize capital requirements and management structures.

Ackman projects that if Fannie and Freddie trade at 16x and 13x their estimated 2026 earnings, respectively, the shares could see an upside of 300% to 400%.

"The Big Short" investor Michael Burry shared a similar thesis in early December in which he suggested the government is preparing to re-privatize the giants via a massive IPO, potentially valuing them at $500 billion by 2026.

See Also: Jeff Bezos-Backed Arrived Homes Hits A Big Sale On Charlotte Property  Investors Earning A 34.7% Return

Burry also described the Trump administration as eager to "get Big Homebuilders going" and stimulate the housing market.
Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG  Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on STAG. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b) rating on shares of Stag Industrial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Stag Industrial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Stag Industrial from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $37.00 price objective on Stag Industrial in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Stag Industrial in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $38.89.

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Stag Industrial Stock Performance

NYSE:STAG opened at $36.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39 and a beta of 1.06. Stag Industrial has a 1 year low of $28.61 and a 1 year high of $39.73. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $38.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $211.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.26 million. Stag Industrial had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 6.84%. Stag Industrials revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Stag Industrial will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stag Industrial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.1242 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Stag Industrials dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.62%.

Insider Transactions at Stag Industrial

In other Stag Industrial news, EVP Michael Chase sold 13,144 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $509,330.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,422 shares of the companys stock, valued at $365,102.50. This represents a 58.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stag Industrial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in Stag Industrial in the 3rd quarter worth about $11,422,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Stag Industrial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $298,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Stag Industrial by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,495,511 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $52,778,000 after acquiring an additional 170,639 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Stag Industrial by 34.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,841 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stag Industrial during the third quarter worth approximately $1,732,000. 88.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stag Industrial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Stag Industrial, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the acquisition, ownership and operation of single-tenant industrial properties throughout the United States. The companys portfolio is focused on free-standing warehouses, distribution centers and light manufacturing facilities designed to meet the logistical needs of a diverse tenant base. By concentrating on properties with straightforward layouts and minimal common-area maintenance, Stag Industrial seeks to deliver stable rental income and attractive risk-adjusted returns for its shareholders.

Since its founding in 2010 and initial public offering in 2011, Stag Industrial has pursued a disciplined investment strategy centered on high-quality, well-located assets.

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Shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO  Get Free Report) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $9.15 and traded as high as $9.22. Sunstone Hotel Investors shares last traded at $9.14, with a volume of 1,397,760 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SHO shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c-) rating on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $8.50 to $10.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $9.14.

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Sunstone Hotel Investors Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.02. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $9.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a current ratio of 3.08.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.02. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a return on equity of 1.04% and a net margin of 1.94%.The firm had revenue of $229.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $226.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.18 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sunstone Hotel Investors has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.800-0.870 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunstone Hotel Investors

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 13.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 69,862 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 8,504 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 27.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,040,883 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $8,983,000 after purchasing an additional 221,367 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 1.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 83,864 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 12.3% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,380,640 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $12,992,000 after buying an additional 151,461 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 3.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 119,358 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,123,000 after buying an additional 3,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.37% of the companys stock.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc (NYSE:SHO) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, owning and assetmanaging upperupscale extendedstay and premiumbranded hotel properties in the United States. The companys business model centers on generating stable, longterm cash flows through franchise agreements and thirdparty management contracts with established hotel operators.

As of the most recent reporting period, Sunstones portfolio includes approximately 97 hotels and nearly 25,000 guest rooms across 19 states, with concentrations in major metropolitan and select highgrowth secondary markets.

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Robinhood Markets, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mastercard, Coinbase Global, Visa, Intuit, and SoFi Technologies are the seven Financial stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Financial stocks are shares of companies that provide financial servicesprimarily banks, insurance firms, brokerages, asset managers, payment processors and other fintechswhose earnings come from lending, underwriting, asset management, trading and fees. Investors treat them as interest-rate, credit-cycle and regulation-sensitive plays and typically evaluate them by balance-sheet strength, loan-quality metrics and dividend reliability. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Financial stocks within the last several days.

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Robinhood Markets (HOOD)

Robinhood Markets, Inc. operates financial services platform in the United States. Its platform allows users to invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), American depository receipts, options, gold, and cryptocurrencies. The company offers fractional trading, recurring investments, fully-paid securities lending, access to investing on margin, cash sweep, instant withdrawals, retirement program, around-the-clock trading, and initial public offerings participation services.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of financial and investment banking services. It focuses on investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. It operates through the following segments: Consumer and Community Banking (CCB), Commercial and Investment Bank (CIB), Asset and Wealth Management (AWM), and Corporate.

Read Our Latest Research Report on JPM

Mastercard (MA)

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.

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Coinbase Global (COIN)

Coinbase Global, Inc. provides financial infrastructure and technology for the crypto economy in the United States and internationally. The company offers the primary financial account in the crypto economy for consumers; and a marketplace with a pool of liquidity for transacting in crypto assets for institutions.

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Visa (V)

Visa Inc. operates as a payment technology company in the United States and internationally. The company operates VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. It also offers credit, debit, and prepaid card products; tap to pay, tokenization, and click to pay services; Visa Direct, a solution that facilitates the delivery of funds to eligible cards, deposit accounts, and digital wallets; Visa B2B Connect, a multilateral business-to-business cross-border payments network; Visa Cross-Border Solution, a cross-border consumer payments solution; and Visa DPS that provides a range of value-added services, including fraud mitigation, dispute management, data analytics, campaign management, a suite of digital solutions, and contact center services.

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Intuit (INTU)

Intuit Inc. provides financial management and compliance products and services for consumers, small businesses, self-employed, and accounting professionals in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Small Business & Self-Employed, Consumer, Credit Karma, and ProTax.

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SoFi Technologies (SOFI)

SoFi Technologies, Inc. provides various financial services in the United States, Latin America, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Lending, Technology Platform, and Financial Services. The company offers lending and financial services and products that allows its members to borrow, save, spend, invest, and protect money.

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Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO  Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy from the twenty research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $183.20.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a strong-buy rating and set a $195.00 price target (up from $181.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $192.00 price objective (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Valero Energy in a report on Friday, December 12th.

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Insider Buying and Selling

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In other news, CFO Jason W. Fraser sold 9,933 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.02, for a total value of $1,728,540.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 134,196 shares in the company, valued at $23,352,787.92. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link . Insiders own 0.04% of the companys stock.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the third quarter worth $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 70.2% during the third quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates acquired a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Cypress Capital Management LLC WY purchased a new position in Valero Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the companys stock.

Valero Energy Price Performance

NYSE:VLO opened at $165.31 on Tuesday. The firms fifty day moving average is $171.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.91. The firm has a market cap of $50.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.60. Valero Energy has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $185.62.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 1.21%.The business had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The companys revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Valero Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Valero Energys dividend payout ratio is currently 94.36%.

About Valero Energy

(Get Free Report)

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texasbased integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The companys operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.

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Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WESCO International (NYSE:WCC  Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

WCC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c+) rating on shares of WESCO International in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of WESCO International from $258.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of WESCO International from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $262.00 to $302.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of WESCO International from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of WESCO International from $258.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $256.38.

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WESCO International Stock Up 3.0%

WCC stock opened at $251.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $256.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.27. WESCO International has a 12 month low of $125.21 and a 12 month high of $279.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.45.

WESCO International (NYSE:WCC  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The technology company reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.75 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $6.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. WESCO International had a return on equity of 13.12% and a net margin of 2.81%.The companys quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. WESCO International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.100-13.600 EPS. Equities analysts expect that WESCO International will post 13.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WESCO International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $0.4538 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. WESCO Internationals dividend payout ratio is presently 14.27%.

Insider Activity at WESCO International

In other WESCO International news, EVP Christine Ann Wolf sold 4,685 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.52, for a total value of $1,215,851.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,195 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,836,206.40. This trade represents a 13.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Diane Lazzaris sold 7,522 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.00, for a total value of $1,925,632.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,401 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,622,656. This represents a 14.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,036 shares of company stock worth $4,385,254. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WESCO International

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of WESCO International by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,006 shares of the technology companys stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in WESCO International by 13.4% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 507 shares of the technology companys stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in WESCO International by 6.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of WESCO International by 166.0% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 133 shares of the technology companys stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its position in shares of WESCO International by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 2,117 shares of the technology companys stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 93.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WESCO International

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WESCO International, Inc is a leading global distributor of electrical, industrial, communications and utility products, serving a diverse customer base across maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), original equipment manufacturing (OEM) and construction markets. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of products ranging from power distribution and automation solutions to data communications, security systems and lighting controls. Through an extensive branch network, WESCO provides critical components and valueadded services that help organizations streamline operations and improve reliability in their facilities and infrastructure.

In addition to its broad product offering, WESCO delivers advanced supply chain management and logistics solutions designed to optimize inventory levels, reduce downtime and lower overall procurement costs.

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Western Financial Corp CA grew its position in shares of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE:BK  Free Report) by 24.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 31,951 shares of the banks stock after purchasing an additional 6,335 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon comprises approximately 1.5% of Western Financial Corp CAs holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Western Financial Corp CAs holdings in Bank of New York Mellon were worth $3,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. grew its position in Bank of New York Mellon by 1.9% during the third quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. now owns 5,192 shares of the banks stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of New York Mellon by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,492 shares of the banks stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of New York Mellon by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 828 shares of the banks stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Bank of New York Mellon by 6.3% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,730 shares of the banks stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of New York Mellon by 1.8% in the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the banks stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.31% of the companys stock.

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Bank of New York Mellon Price Performance

BK opened at $117.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $112.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.49. The firm has a market cap of $81.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.11. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation has a 1 year low of $70.46 and a 1 year high of $119.40.

Bank of New York Mellon Dividend Announcement

Bank of New York Mellon ( NYSE:BK Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The bank reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 12.86%.The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts predict that The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 27th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 27th. Bank of New York Mellons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BK. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $91.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $120.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Bank of New York Mellon in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an outperform rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b+) rating on shares of Bank of New York Mellon in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $111.86.

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About Bank of New York Mellon

(Free Report)

Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNY Mellon) is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City that provides a wide range of asset servicing, custody, and related financial infrastructure solutions to institutional clients. Its core businesses include custody and asset servicing, clearing and collateral management, treasury services, securities lending, corporate trust services, and depositary receipt administration. The company also offers investment management and advisory services through its asset management arm and provides technology-enabled solutions for trade processing, foreign exchange, and liquidity management.

BNY Mellon serves a broad client base that includes asset managers, pension funds, corporations, banks, broker-dealers and sovereign entities.

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Shares of Wpp Plc (NYSE:WPP  Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of Reduce from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a sell (d+) rating on shares of WPP in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of WPP from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WPP from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th.

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Institutional Trading of WPP

WPP Stock Up 1.9%

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of WPP during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WPP by 105.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,395 shares of the business services providers stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of WPP by 323.9% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,454 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of WPP during the 2nd quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in WPP by 38.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,852 shares of the business services providers stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.34% of the companys stock.

WPP stock opened at $22.89 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.10. WPP has a twelve month low of $17.47 and a twelve month high of $51.22.

WPP Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

WPP plc (NYSE: WPP) is a British multinational advertising and public relations company headquartered in London, England. Recognized as one of the worlds largest communications services groups, WPP provides a wide array of marketing, advertising, media investment management and data consultancy services. Through its integrated network of agenciesamong them Ogilvy, Grey, GroupM and Wavemakerthe company delivers creative content, brand strategy, digital transformation and media planning solutions to clients across virtually every industry.

Established in 1971 by Martin Sorrell as Wire and Plastic Products, the firm underwent a strategic transformation in the 1980s, focusing on acquisitions that expanded its capabilities into advertising and communications.

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WT Wealth Management reduced its position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV  Free Report) by 49.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,745 shares of the companys stock after selling 12,397 shares during the quarter. WT Wealth Managements holdings in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF were worth $1,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of USMV. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Avion Wealth boosted its stake in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 88.8% during the 2nd quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 304 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Phillips Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF during the second quarter valued at $46,000.

Get iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF alerts:

iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Stock Performance

BATS USMV opened at $93.66 on Friday. iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF has a one year low of $83.99 and a one year high of $95.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $94.07 and a 200 day moving average of $93.85. The company has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90 and a beta of 0.72.

iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) index. The fund tracks an index of US-listed firms selected and weighted to create a low-volatility portfolio subject to various constraints. USMV was launched on Oct 18, 2011 and is managed by BlackRock.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding USMV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV  Free Report).

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The trend that became the biggest boom of 2025 is starting the new year as a bust.

At least 37 of the top 100 Bitcoin treasury companies now trade at discounts to their net asset value, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.net. That means nearly 40% of major treasuries are worth less than the Bitcoin they hold.

The initial hype is over, Brian Huang, co-founder of investment platform Glider, told DL News.

Indeed, the premium era has ended. For the first three-quarters of 2025, treasury companies enjoyed significant premiums on their holdings. That allowed them to issue new stock above their Bitcoin value, use the proceeds to buy more coins, and repeat the cycle  all without diluting shareholders.

Scores of companies, many of them without any previous connection to crypto, rushed to emulate the trade. The boom meant nearly 200 public companies now collectively hold over 1 million Bitcoin worth around $96 billion.

But that playbook only works when companies equity trades at a premium to the crypto on their balance sheets. Strategy, the sectors pioneer, traded at more than double its Bitcoin value last year. Today it offers a 17% discount.

The entire trade began to slump in October. Ultimately, just one Bitcoin treasury company, Frances The Blockchain Group, outperformed the 16% the S&P 500 returned to investors in 2025, according to a December report from BitcoinTreasuries.net.

Every other treasury underperformed the bellwether S&P 500, and 60% of Bitcoin treasuries spent more on their Bitcoin than its now worth.

The Grayscale comparison

For macro analyst Alex Kruger, the Bitcoin treasury trade ominously reminds him of a situation that Bitcoin dealt with exactly five years ago.

When it comes to analogies across cycles and Bitcoin Treasury companies, June 2025 is analogous to December 2020 and the Bitcoin Grayscale trade, Kruger told DL News.

In 2020, Grayscale traded at a 40% premium to its Bitcoin holdings, meaning investors paid $1.40 for every $1 of Bitcoin the trust held because it was the only way institutions could get regulated Bitcoin exposure.

But then came Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Investors could get Bitcoin exposure easily on their BlackRock or Fidelity account, collapsing Grayscales appeal  and premium. Eventually, Grayscales product traded at a 50% discount, pinning down investors who were forced to sell at massive losses.

The discount disaster

The 37 Bitcoin treasury companies trading below NAV range from major players like Strategy and Twenty One Capital  two of the top five treasuries, which each have a 17% discount to their Bitcoin holdings  to smaller firms like Sweden-based H100 Group, which trades at a 32% discount, and Vanadi Coffee, which is valued by investors at a 61% discount to its Bitcoin holdings.
NRC & Census: Set the order of precedence right

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If the order issued by the Additional Secretary (Home) on December 31, 2025 which has frozen administrative boundaries of districts and villages is any indication, due process for the India Census 2027 has been set into motion. India Census 2027 is divided into two phases with the first phase (house listing and housing census) scheduled in April-September, 2026, followed by population enumeration in February 2027. Population census per se is not objectionable provided it is accurate, not inflated or manipulated. But why has an atmosphere of anxiety and fear descended upon Manipur as soon as the census process is set into motion? Any attempt to answer this question must go back to the highly controversial and contested census report of 2001. If one juxtaposes the contested census report of 2001, reports of huge influx of illegal immigrants and the possible redistribution of Assembly seats based on erroneous census data, a fair picture of the factors fuelling public anxiety and fear will emerge. The 2001 census reported implausible population growth in different sub-divisions of Manipur, thereby seriously undermining its reliability. Some hill areas showed impossibly high growth rates of over 120 per cent, far above the state and national averages. Many civil society organisations and a large section of the public attributed this insanely abnormal growth to large-scale influx of immigrants, especially from Myanmar. As warranted by the insanely impossible population figures, political parties as well as the civil society vehemently contested the census report and strongly opposed any delimitation exercise based on the flawed census report. The government of India, acknowledging the huge discrepancy, deferred the delimitation exercise in Manipur but the flawed census report remains largely uncorrected.

Corroborating the nagging suspicion of the civil society that illegal immigrants contributed in a big way to the impossibly high growth rate, security agencies arrested many immigrants with fake identity documents, busted rackets generating fake identity documents, and reports of establishment of new villages by illegal immigrants came from several sub-divisions of hill districts. A Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by then Tribal Affairs Minister Letpao Haokip found as many as 2,187 illegal immigrants inside Manipur in early 2023. According to a report submitted by the Cabinet Sub-Committee to the State Government on April 24, 2023, 1,147 Myanmar immigrants were found in 13 locations in Tengnoupal district, 881 in three locations in Chandel district, 154 in Churachandpur district and five in Kamjong district. This, many say, is just the tip of iceberg. The influx went on even during the height of the violent crisis. Assam Rifles reported that 718 fresh illegal immigrants had entered the New Lajang area in Chandel on July 22-23, 2023. None other than Union Home Minister Amit Shah went on record stating on the floor of the Lok Sabha that illegal immigrants have a strong hand in the Manipur violence which erupted on May 3, 2023. He also stated that that the influx created a deep sense of insecurity among the indigenous people. It was these demographic, socio-political, economic and security challenges posed by illegal immigrants that gave rise to a vigorous campaign for updating the National Register of Citizens or NRC in short with respect to Manipur. The fundamental idea pushing the campaign for NRC is identification of illegal immigrants. If the challenges posed by illegal immigrants must be addressed comprehensively, they must be identified and deported, if possible. If not, they must not be given citizenship rights. However, if the census operations are carried out without first updating the NRC or identifying the illegal immigrants, there is a strong possibility of legalizing the illegal immigrants, naturalizing their citizenship and in turn, legitimizing their political demands. If the illegal immigrants are taken into the count in the upcoming census operations, it may give them space and even rights to challenge the political structure of the state. This will have serious implications and disastrous consequences to the indigenous people, irrespective of community and ethnicity, which will be irreversible. The authorities of the government of India must see that the scheduled census operations do not turn out to be a way of legalizing illegal immigrants.
Key Takeaways

Berkshire shares have significantly lagged the S&P 500 since Buffett's retirement announcementwhat analysts call a "succession discount."

With one of Berkshire's two stock-pickers departing for JPMorgan, investors worry about who's looking after the company's $300 billion equity portfolio.

Warren Buffett wants investors to relax.

In an interview out Friday, the 95-year-old assured shareholders that his departure from the role of CEO at Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) changes nothing. "Everything will be the same," he told CNBC.

More from Yahoo Scout What impact will Todd Combs' departure have? How will Berkshire manage its $311 billion stock portfolio? Why are Berkshire shares underperforming since Buffett's retirement? What challenges does new CEO Greg Abel face?

The market doesn't seem to agree. From the time Buffett announced his retirement in early May, Berkshire Hathaway shares fell about 7% through the end of the year, while the S&P 500 gained 20% over the period. Some analysts called it a "succession discount."

Berkshire shares dropped more than 1% on Friday, the first day of trading in the era of new CEO Greg Abel, while the S&P 500 ticked higher.

Why This Matters To You

If you own Berkshire Hathaway or an index fund that holds its shares, you're wagering on a company with a new CEO for the first time in decades. The stock's retreat since the news of Buffett's departure suggests the market has concerns. The transition highlights the risks of holding shares in companies headed by such singular leaders.

What Abel Inherits

Buffett spent six decades turning a failing textile mill into a trillion-dollar empire. During that time, Berkshire's stock delivered a compounded annual gain of 19.9%, almost double the S&P 500's 10.4%.

That legacy is a nearly impossible act to follow, but Buffett suggested Abel was ready. "I'd rather have Greg handling my money than any of the top investment advisors or any of the top CEOs in the United States," Buffett said.

Abel has also sought to reassure investors. "We will remain Berkshire," he said at the May 2025 annual meeting. "How Warren and the team have allocated capital for the past 60 years, it will not change."

Abel, 63, is a Canadian-born accountant who joined Berkshire in 1999 when the company acquired MidAmerican Energy. He transformed that utility into Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Now a $90 billion-plus operation, the subsidiary spans renewables, pipelines and utilities across North America and the U.K. In 2018, Buffett promoted him to vice chair of non-insurance operations, putting him in charge of businesses ranging from BNSF Railway to Dairy Queen.

The Stock-Picker Problem

Berkshire doesn't just manage its own businessesit holds a $311 billion stock portfolio, one of the largest in the world. That portfolio, built on Buffett's famed bets on Apple Inc. (AAPL), Coca-Cola Co. (KO), and American Express (AXP), is why investors have long paid a premium for Berkshire shares.
MANY OF THE WEEKS EDITORS would have been in school when Princess Dianas famous photo from the minefields of Angola surfaced in 1997. The iconic beauty and humanitarian was shown walking down a narrow path in a minefield, flanked by signposts bearing red, triangular signs marked with a skull and crossbones in white. Perigo Minas, the boards screamed in Portuguese. Danger Mines.

I come with my heart, Diana told journalists gathered in Huambo, Angola. A few months ago, Photo Editor Bhanu Prakash Chandra went to Sri Lanka with his gear, and his heart, to tell the story of how death continues to lurk in the island nations fertile soil.

Less than 5cm underground, landmines and unexploded ordnance lie waiting to be thrown up by a plough, or to be stepped on by a child. Sometimes the verdict is instant death, sometimes a maimed eternity. I hope that you will find the article deeply touching, as it did for me, dear reader. And let that feeling inspire us to shun violence in all forms and in all spaces.

While Bhanu followed his heart to Sri Lanka, Correspondent Badar Bashir travelled to Kashmir for something close to my heart. Senior Special Correspondent Tariq Bhat suggested this weeks Untold Story before he tragically passed away on November 4. I resolved not to let the idea die.

So, the lot fell on Badar to report from Guryul ravine. Scientists say that the ravine, 30 minutes away from Srinagar, preserves the clearest record of the Great Dyingearths most devastating extinction that took place 252 million years ago. You did not get to file the article, dear Tariq, but the ideation was not in vain.

Senior Special Correspondent Kanu Sarda balances law and life in her article on Harish Rana vs. Union of India, where Harishs parents have begged the court to let their son die. One cannot read the article without weeping. In 2013, Harish slipped and fell four storeys to the ground. He was in his final year of civil engineering. Today, he cannot do much beyond blinking.

Maa ke liye mrityu maangna chhoti baat nahi hoti (For a mother, asking for death is not a small thing), says mother Nirmala. Par aisi zindagi ka kya fayda (But what is the point of such a life)? As a father of three and grandfather of five, I cannot even bear to imagine being in the shoes of Nirmala and Ashok Rana. The heaviest burden that life can impose on a parent is to make him watch his child suffer.

Recently, Alice and Ellen Kessler, the pop-singing twins, made headlines worldwide when they died by their own hand. They were 89 years old. The Kesslers were accomplished and popular, and had committed lovers whom they never married. They made a pact to remain single after they saw their mother suffer domestic violence. On their 88th birthday, they told Italys Corriere della Sera that their wish was to leave together, on the same day as the idea that one of the two will go first is very difficult to bear.

The reporters last question to them was: Do you consider yourselves happy today? Happiness is present one day, less so the next, they said. We can say, however, that we live a peaceful and blissful life.

That is a serene space to be in, I must say. And, on that note, let me wish you a blessed 2026, filled with happy days and good health.

As always, thank you for supporting THE WEEK.
Allow me a bit of self-praise and a confession. I scored good marks in school, never cheated, but once helped a buddy to cheat. The bloke copied my essay verbatim, and got caught by repeating my mistakes.

Our sleuths are as naive as my buddy at times. Look at the confessions of the 13 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blast case (187 killed; 817 hurt). Making use of anti-terror laws that allowed confessions to cops as evidence, they got all the 13 to sing and sign their sins. It didnt need rocket science for the Bombay High Court judges to find the statements were all from the same template, extracted through torture and tutoring. They read so similarnames, dates and deeds minorly alteredthat the judges made comparative charts of the texts of the 13 confessions. Straight copy-paste jobs! Worse, even the police medics had recorded torture marks on the accuseds bodies. The court had no go but to let them go, a few weeks ago.

No different was the case of the necrophiliac of Nithari, Surinder Koli. The cops told us he had raped 20 young women and kids, killed them, had sex with the dead, chopped their organs, and even ate parts of them. We believed because, in our eyes he looked like Renfield, that servant of Count Dracula who eats spiders and bugs. In this case, a dark-skinned dalit, living in a large mansion with an evil lord who was away during the day pursuing his own sins.

Image: Shutterstock

But the law lords of the Supreme Court found the police story no more credible than one of old Magyar wives tales, and that Koli had been tortured and tutored to confess. He retracted on the confession in court; there was no trace of blood in the castle kitchen where he had killed 20 young women and kids, danced his necrophilic numbers, or ate his cannibalistic repasts. They also found the recovery of the murder knives and the dead ones bones from a drain was a stage-managed drama. They let him go, a mental wreck after having spent 18 years in the lonely death row and once having been readied for the gallows.

Both acquittals outraged us, honest citizens who had swallowed the police stories hook, line, sinker, limbs and bomb shards. To us, all the accused had fitted the villain billKoli because he was dark and a dalit, the other bunch because they followed a faith that the majority didnt, were poor enough to be recruited for evil, smart enough to make bombs, and evil enough to trigger them in trains to kill people.

Officers of the law, it is time you changed your ways. Our colonial era laws are claimed to have been modernised, but your probe tools remain as darkly mediaeval as the Spanish Inquisition. Torturing suspects, tutoring witnesses and faking proofs will no longer get you conviction from smart defence counsel and wiser judges. Forensics offers you new ways of solving crimes. Try technology; it would work better and yield you better conviction rates.

Friends, Indians and countrymen! Shed your prejudices, or keep them aside when it comes to matters of justice. Stop getting outraged with the judges if they let go a few who you wanted to hang. Get outraged about the injustice done to the suspects who waste away their youth in prisons just because they had been born in the wrong caste or followed the wrong faith.

On a lighter note, remember Hercule Poirots words, in the film version of The Adventure of the Clapham Cook, to Captain Hastings who had the habit of jumping to conclusions: Merely because a man does not offer you a drink, Hastings, does not mean that he is necessarily guilty of other crimes.

prasannan@theweek.in
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said that it will likely maintain its steady output of oil at its meeting on Sunday, delegates said, despite tensions among members and the US attack and capture of the president of founding member Venezuela.

Eight member countries-Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman-had agreed in November to pause production hikes for January to March. The policy will remain unchanged, according to the sources.

Venezuelas oil sector is set to face major upheaval the as the change of government occurs.

There are reports that OPEC+ could change its stance as the US made clear that its operation in Venezuela, was in part, to take control of the countrys oil.

Venezuela has the largest known oil reserves in the world, with the equivalent of 300 billion barrels. It tops the No. 1 OPEC+ oil-producing country, Saudi Arabia. However, the country only produces a million barrels a day or roughly 1% of the global output compared to the 1970s when it produced 7 per cent. The US, meanwhile, produces 13 million barrels a day.

Venezuelas top customer is China.

US President Donald Trump said that US will run the country and make way for US oil companies to enter Venezuela.

"We're going to have our very large U.S. oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country," Trump said during a press conference on Saturday.

If the government change is successful in Venezuela, the countrys exports could grow.

The increased production in oil would bring down global oil prices, which is something that Saudi Arabia is not looking forward to, reported Bastille Post.

Analysts, however, say that a meaningful boost to crude oil production in the country is unlikely even if the US invests billions of dollars into the country.

Dilapidated structures and security concerns would hinder production. Venezuela's oil is also heavier and denser than other types of crude oil and would require special refineries. The countrys oil is also know as the is knwo as the "dirtiest oil in the world to produce when it comes to global warming," according to Paasha Mahdavi, associate professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin America Energy Program at the Centre for Energy Studies at Rice University, who spoke to NPR, said Venezuela's oil is also less attractive for European countries with climate goals.

Venezuela also owes US oil companies billions of dollars, and the takeover would have given them an opportunity to recoup some of that. Companies like ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips left Venezuela, and international courts had ordered the country to pay them $1 billion and $10 billion, respectively. Carcas have only been able to pay back a fraction of the sums.

Analysts say that the lack of legal contracts, viable permissions and political instability would make the country an unattractive place for companies to invest. US firms will find it difficult to return until they are assured payment and minimum security.

Ultimately Venezuala's oil production will only ramp up in five to seven years, if there is a peaceful transition of government, Thomas O'Donnell, an energy and geopolitical strategist, told Reuters.
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi on Sunday left for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a two-day visit to explore ways to strengthen bilateral military cooperation.

#GeneralUpendraDwivedi, #COAS, proceeded on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates #UAE today. The visit underscores a shared commitment to deepening mutual understanding, enhancing cooperation in areas of common interest and advancing bilateral #DefenceCooperation between pic.twitter.com/2vE01ba4Kd  ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) January 4, 2026

Gen Dwivedi is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with the top military brass of the Gulf nation. "The visit underscores a shared commitment to deepening mutual understanding, enhancing cooperation in areas of common interest, and advancing bilateral defence cooperation between the two nations," the Indian Army said on social media.

On arrival, General Dwivedi will be accorded a Guard of Honour by the UAE Land Forces. He is set to interact with the senior leadership of the UAE Armed Forces, including the Commander of the UAE Land Forces. On the agenda is a briefing on the structure, roles, and capabilities of the UAE Army.

"He will also visit key military establishments and interact with officers and troops, underscoring the growing defence partnership between India and the UAE. This includes a visit to the UAE National Defence College, where the COAS will address all officers. These engagements are aimed at further enhancing bilateral defence cooperation, professional military exchanges, and strategic understanding between the two armed forces," the PIB said in an official statement.

Gen Dwivedi's trip to the UAE is taking place weeks after the Gulf nation's Commander of the Presidential Guard, Major General Ali Saif Humaid Alkaabi, visited India. The Army Chief's visit comes in the midst of fast-paced developments in the Gulf region, including escalating tensions between the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the situation in Yemen.

For more defence news, views and updates, visit: Fortress India

The military cooperation between India and the UAE witnessed significant momentum after the visit to that country by the then Army Chief, Gen M.M. Naravane, in December 2020. It was the first-ever visit to the UAE by a head of the Indian Army.

From the UAE, he will board a plane to Sri Lanka, where he is expected to spend two days.
Key Points

Archer Aviation has made some big moves in 2025.

The company could start testing flights in key markets as early as next year.

Archer is pre-revenue and will likely experience price volatility as it works its way toward FAA-type certification.

10 stocks we like better than Archer Aviation 

Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) is an aviation company selling a vision: A sky of air taxis ("Midnight" aircraft), carrying happy passengers above congested roads, on a 10-minute flight that would have taken an hour or more in the bumper-to-bumper traffic below.

If you've ever sat in traffic like that (say, from New York City to Newark Liberty), you'd appreciate the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) craft that Archer is trying to operate. But if you've been watching this stock in 2025, you might be wondering if it, like the traffic it's trying to alleviate, might be gridlocked.

Trading at under $8 a share, Archer is down about 22% over the past year. Is this a buying opportunity, or is the market telling you to wait?

Image source: Archer Aviation.

Where Archer stands today

Even as its stock trades lower, Archer Aviation has kept the headlines coming.

In mid-December, it said it was partnering with cities across California, Georgia, Florida, New York, and Texas, to submit proposals for launching air taxi operations.

These submissions are tied to the White House's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), which is designed to safely integrate eVTOLs into the national airspace system. While Archer isn't "in" this program in any formal sense, it has applied and the FAA is expected to make selections in 2026.

Separately, Archer was chosen as the air taxi provider for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. It has also been in talks with Saudi Arabia to deploy air taxi services in the Kingdom.

Still, Archer is pre-revenue, and it doesn't have an FAA-type certification to fly its craft commercially. So, while the stock is trading in the single digits, I would still approach this as a speculative play with plenty of turbulence ahead.

Should you buy stock in Archer Aviation right now?

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The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Archer Aviation wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $490,703!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $1,157,689!*
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA G. Janardhan Reddy has written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding an immediate Z-category security for him.

Referring to the recent clashes in Bellary, Reddy said there was a "pre-planned assassination attempt" on him.

The Gangavati MLA said the attack on his residence was "not an ordinary political clash, but a pre-planned and systematic assassination attempt allegedly carried out by Ballari Congress MLA Nara Bharath Reddy and his associates".

Tension began in Bellary on Thursday after supporters of Nara Bharath Reddy and Janardhan Reddy allegedly clashed over the installation of a banner for the unveiling of a Valmiki statue.

Reddy alleged that supporters of Bharath Reddy attempted to illegally erect banners inside the fencing area of his house and were driven away following police intervention.

"Bharath Reddy's close aide Sathish Reddy, along with 40-50 armed men, trespassed into his premises carrying bottles, stones, clubs and deadly weapons, sat inside the compound and openly issued threats, while police remained mute spectators," he said.

The situation reportedly escalated by evening, with stone-pelting and gunfire leaving one person dead.

"By God's grace and sheer luck, I narrowly escaped death," Reddy said, adding that the police failed to control the situation.

'Bullet not fired by police'

Meanwhile, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said the bullet that caused the death of a person during recent clashes in Ballari was not fired from police weapons and likely came from a private revolver.

"I had sent the ADGP (Law and Order), who is still at the spot. As per preliminary reports, the bullet that killed the person was not fired by the police and does not match police ammunition. It appears to have been fired from a private weapon. The bullet has been sent to the forensic science laboratory," Parameshwara said.

The minister further told reporters that firearms seized from all those present at the scene would be sent for ballistic examination.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi challenged PM Modi to take action against Pakistan citing the example of Trump and the US taking military action in Venezuela and capturing Nicolas Maduro.

#WATCH | Mumbai | AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said, "Today we heard that US President Donald Trump's forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and took him from his country to America. If US President Donald Trump can abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his pic.twitter.com/OTLyZJ4goK  ANI (@ANI) January 3, 2026

Owisi demanded that the PM extradite the masterminds of the 26/11 terrorist attacks from Pakistan to India.

"Modi ji, you are no less than anyone; You should go to Pakistan and bring the mastermind of the 26/11 terrorist attacks back to India, show your 56-inch chest," Owaisi said.

Owisi made the comments while addressing a public gathering in Mumbai on Saturday. He also named Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and referred to the examples of the US army's military strike in Venezuela and Saudi Arabia's attacks on the ports of Yemen to challenge the PM

The Indian Government has advised its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Venezuela following the US military strike and capture of the countrys leader, Nicolas Maduro, on Saturday.

The Ministry of External Affairs also urged all its citizens to exercise extreme caution and limit theri travel

The US attacked the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, on Saturday. Several explosions were heard, and low-flying aircraft were spotted.

U.S. President Donald Trump then announced that the country's leader was flown and captured during the attacks.
A day after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a military operation, India expressed deep concern over the development. A statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said it was monitoring the evolving situation closely.

"Recent developments in Venezuela are a matter of deep concern. We are closely monitoring the evolving situation," the MEA statement said, adding that India reaffirms its support to the well-being and safety of the people of Venezuela.

India also called for resolving the issues peacefully to ensure peace and stability in the region. "We call upon all concerned to address issues peacefully through dialogue, ensuring peace and stability of the region," it added in a statement.

The MEA also said that the Indian embassy in Caracas has been in touch with members of the Indian community and will continue to provide all possible assistance to them. According to the embassy website, there are approximately 50 non-resident Indians and 30 people of Indian origin in the country.

The ministry has also issued a security advisory late Saturday advising people against travelling to the country. In view of recent developments in Venezuela, Indian nationals are strongly advised to avoid all non-essential travel to Venezuela, the advisory stated.

The embassy can be reached via email at cons.caracas@mea.gov.in or the emergency phone number +58-412-9584288.

How will it affect India?

Geo-political experts warn that India could face the aftermath of Venezuela crisis, as India has a history of importing oil from the Latin American country. While India had bilateral trade worth $6,397 million in 2019-20, it plummeted to $431 million in 2022-2023, thanks to the US sanctions on Venezuela.

Another shocker for India would come from the fluctuating oil prices, which are bound to happen soon. The United States controls the world's largest oil reserves, and Trump has announced that the US would take control of Venezuelas massive oil reserves and recruit American companies to invest billions of dollars to refurbish the countrys gutted oil industry. India imports over 80 per cent of its crude oil needs.

Venezuela is sitting on a massive 303 billion barrels worth of crude  about a fifth of the worlds global reserves.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will head the partys screening committee for the selection of candidates for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections.

Gandhis close aide Imran Masood, Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, and Dr Sirivella Prasad are the other three members of the panel.

The Congress high command has also constituted four-member screening committees for Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry to finalise candidate lists for the forthcoming state elections.

Elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly will be held in MarchApril. The Congress has joined hands with several opposition parties, including the CPI(M), Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, Jatiya DalAsom (JDA), and the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC), to contest the polls.

In the last Assembly elections, the BJP wrested power in the state, winning 64 seats, while its alliesAGP, UPPL, and BPFsecured nine, seven, and three seats respectively.

In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF has 15 members, and the CPI(M) has one MLA. There is also one Independent legislator.

On Friday, addressing a mass convention in Dibrugarh, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi alleged that the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government was running an authoritarian regime and said the upcoming Assembly elections would be a battle between the people and the raja (ruler).

"Democracy is impossible without the right to question. Citizens have the right to know what kind of work the government is doing in the fields of health, education, and infrastructure. But this government does not want to empower the public. Their political ideology bears resemblance to that of old kings. A maharaja is sitting in Delhi, and in every state where they are in power, they have installed a raja," Gogoi said.
Several people are feared dead after a large portion of rocks collapsed at a stone quarry in Odishas Dhenkanal District, officials said on Sunday.

The incident took place on Saturday evening near the Gopalpur village under the Motanga police station area.

Workers were reportedly drilling and continuing stone extraction activities when a large section of the rocks collapsed, PTI reported.

The site is an illegal mining quarry. Official sources say that the Dhenkanal District mining office had previously issued a closure notice for the mining site, citing a lack of permission for blasting.

Despite the notice, mining activities continued, violating regulations.

The exact number of workers trapped under rocks is unknown. The number of deaths currently stands at 2.

Rescue teams from he local fire services have been dispatched. Odishas Disaster Rapid Action force, along with a dog squad and heavy machinery was rushed to the site after the incident

Officials say that locating the worker is difficult as the incident occurred at night.

Heavy machinery is being used to remove the large rocks.

In a post on X, Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik, said, "I am deeply saddened to learn that workers lost their lives due to a rockfall following an explosion in a stone quarry in Dhenkanal. At this sorrowful time, I convey my deepest condolences to the family members, along with prayers for the eternal peace of the departed souls.

Police personnel have cordoned off the area, and they were designed to be restrictive.
Uncontested victories effectively rob 'Gen Z' and first-time voters of their universal adult franchise, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray claimed on Sunday, while urging the State Election Commission to cancel results in 68 civic wards where ruling Mahayuti nominees were declared winners unopposed.

Sixty-eight candidates from the Mahayuti, including 44 from the BJP, have won without a contest in Maharashtra, mainly due to the withdrawal of contestants from other parties or rebels.

In the company of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, the former Maharashtra chief minister warned that democracy must not be overrun by "mobocracy". The Thackeray cousins were unveiling a joint manifesto for the upcoming polls to the Mumbai civic body.

He also demanded the suspension of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who has been accused of interfering in the nomination process and tampering with CCTV footage linked to the exercise. "He is a Speaker. He doesn't belong to any party and has the responsibility to conduct work without any allegiance. He should be booked for violating the poll code," PTI quoted him as saying.

Accusing the BJP of double standards, Raj Thackeray said the BJP had approached the Supreme Court in similar instances in West Bengal, where ruling party candidates were chosen unopposed in local body polls, and asked the ruling party to clarify this issue. Since the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was dislodged and Eknath Shinde helmed the state (in June 2022), the wealth of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is being splurged on contractors, Thackeray alleged. He added that after vote-stealing, the ruling parties are now stealing candidates, news agency PTI reported.

Referring to the uncontested victories in the run-up to the 15 January elections to 29 civic bodies, Uddhav said, "If the SEC has courage, it should cancel elections where candidates were chosen unopposed and initiate the poll process again in those civic wards."

According to PTI, Uddhav said that if the BMC's expenditure budget is 15,000 crore, then the amount needed to give to contractors for different works in the form of advance mobilisation is 3 lakh crore, which is a "scam". He alleged kickback money was being used for the civic polls.

Meanwhile, in a warning to the ruling dispensation, Raj Thackeray said power is not permanent and claimed the BJP was setting a wrong precedent. The ruling party should not complain when its successors resort to such tactics in a more refined way, the MNS leader said.

A total of 15,931 candidates are in the fray for 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. Except for Mumbai, which has 227 seats, the rest are multi-member wards.

Votes will be counted on 16 January.
Hawaii's 'Green Fee', which was the first US tax on tourists to support climate change initiatives, was passed on Thursday, but with a catch: it was missing a crucial provision.

In general, the Green Fee increases the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT)which is a statewide tax on temporary living spaces occupied by visitors, such as hotel rooms or rented apartmentsfrom 0.75 per cent to 11 per cent statewide.

However, on Wednesday, the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked one critical provision of the Green Fee subject to appeals: a new 11 per cent tax (under the TAT) on cruise ship passenger bills, as per a DC News Now report.

The US court injunction was a response to an appeal by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), a global body representing the cruise industry. Notably, earlier in December 2025, the court had rejected a CLIA appeal to block the cruise tax provision.

The CLIA has been fighting against the cruise tax provision since August 2025, suing the state and arguing that the surcharge unfairly targeted passengers by adding hundreds of dollars to the price of Hawaii cruises.

Visitors to Hawaii now face the steepest lodging-related taxes in the U.S., adding up to nearly 19% on hotel stays.



-0.75% Green Fee  a new climate impact charge

-10.25% State Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT)

-3% County TAT surcharge (varies by island)

-4.5% General Excise pic.twitter.com/u1VsVNNUm8  Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) August 31, 2025

It has also flagged the county-wise surcharges on top of the 11 per cent taxeffectively taking it to 14 per cent.

In November, the US Department of Justice also filed a motion in a Hawaii court, urging that the federal government be allowed to intervene in the CLIA lawsuit against the Green Fee's cruise tax.

The DOJ has said that Hawaii did not have the power to charge cruise ships such a fee, claiming that only Congress had the power to pass and/or regulate such maritime taxes for vessels entering a port.

This case involves important questions about how federal and state laws interact in regulating maritime commerceprinciples rooted in long-standing constitutional safeguards that protect free and open ports nationwide, a CLIA statement read, after the December 31 injunction.

On behalf of its member cruise lines, CLIA will continue to pursue this matter constructively through the courts while working with Hawaii to support local communities and sustainable tourism," the statement added.

The new Green Fee was estimated to raise about $100 million a year in revenue to fund climate change mitigation efforts for Hawaiis environment. As per the bill, portions of the revenue raised would go into the 'Climate Mitigation and Resiliency Special Fund' and the 'Economic Development and Revitalization Special Fund'.

The money would also be used to fund a "green jobs youth corps", as well as areas of environmental concern.

Hawaii has not implemented a "climate tax". Its new tourist tax raises money for the state to do beach replenishment and wildfire prevention.



Beaches erode naturally. Hawaii is prone to wildfires since it chased away the plantations that managed lands to reduce wildfire risk. pic.twitter.com/qugpLviYjn  Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) December 30, 2025

Visitors who benefit from our islands resources have a shared responsibility to help preserve them. The Green Fee ensures that the resources needed to protect Hawaii are available for future generations," said Hawaii Governor Josh Green.

Toni Schwartz, spokesperson for the Hawaii attorney generals office, had also declared that the office was "confident that Act 96 is lawful and will be vindicated when the appeal is heard on the merits", as per the report.
South Koreas expanding engagement with the Gulf marks a quiet but consequential shift in West Asian geopolitics, reflecting the rise of middle-power diplomacy in an era of strategic flux. What began decades ago as a largely transactional relationshipcentred on energy imports and construction contractshas evolved into a multidimensional partnership encompassing trade, technology, defence cooperation, and strategic coordination. This transformation is not episodic; it reflects structural changes both in Gulf security thinking and in South Koreas own foreign and security policy, as Seoul seeks to protect global supply chains, diversify strategic partnerships, and project stability beyond Northeast Asia.

At the economic level, the foundations of South KoreaGulf ties remain robust. The Gulf has long been central to South Koreas energy security, supplying a significant share of its crude oil and liquefied natural gas imports. However, the relationship has moved decisively beyond hydrocarbons. South Korean firms have become deeply embedded in Gulf development strategies, particularly in infrastructure, construction, smart cities, nuclear energy, and advanced manufacturing.

For latest news and analyses on Middle East, visit: Yello! Middle East

Flagship projectssuch as South Koreas role in building and operating nuclear reactors in the UAEsymbolise a transition from contractor to long-term strategic stakeholder. The recent signing of a free trade agreement between South Korea and the GCC further institutionalises this shift, signalling a commitment to deeper economic integration, technology transfer, and supply-chain resilience between the two sides.

What distinguishes the contemporary phase of South KoreaGulf relations, however, is the growing security and defence dimension. Traditionally cautious about military engagement beyond its immediate neighbourhood, South Korea has gradually recalibrated its posture in response to the globalisation of security threats and economic interests. The Gulf, situated at the crossroads of global energy flows and maritime trade routes, has emerged as a key theatre in this recalibration. Naval cooperation, joint exercises, arms sales, and defence-industrial collaborationparticularly with the UAEreflect a convergence of interests: Gulf states seek diversified security partners beyond traditional Western guarantors, while South Korea aims to protect sea lanes, overseas nationals, and critical economic interests.

This defence cooperation is deliberately calibrated rather than overtly militarised. South Korea does not seek permanent basing or alliance-style commitments in the Gulf. Instead, its approach emphasises capacity-building, interoperability, and technology-driven security cooperation. This aligns well with Gulf preferences for strategic autonomy and diversified partnerships, especially at a time when confidence in singular external security patrons has weakened. The emphasis on naval cooperation, maritime security, and defence technologyrather than ground deploymentsallows both sides to enhance security while avoiding entanglement in regional conflicts.

Equally important is the strategic narrative underpinning this partnership. South Korea presents itself not as a hegemonic power or ideological actor, but as a pragmatic, technologically advanced, and politically non-intrusive partner. This resonates strongly in the Gulf, where states are increasingly wary of external actors who tie security cooperation to political conditionality. Seouls modelcombining economic reliability, technological sophistication, and restrained security engagementoffers an attractive alternative to both traditional Western powers and more assertive emerging actors.

From a Gulf perspective, South Korea fits neatly into a broader strategy of security diversification. As the regional order becomes more multipolar and contested, Gulf states are actively cultivating relationships with a range of middle powersSouth Korea, Japan, India, and othersto hedge against uncertainty and reduce overdependence on any single external actor. South Koreas growing role must be understood within this context: it is not replacing existing security partnerships, but complementing them in ways that enhance flexibility and bargaining power.

The partnership also reflects evolving Gulf threat perceptions. Rather than focusing solely on conventional military threats, Gulf states are increasingly concerned with maritime security, critical infrastructure protection, cyber risks, and supply-chain vulnerabilities. South Koreas strengths in naval capabilities, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, and defence innovation align well with these priorities. Cooperation in these areas underscores a shared understanding that future security will be as much about technology and resilience as about traditional force projection.

At the systemic level, South KoreaGulf cooperation illustrates a broader trend in global politics: the rise of functional security partnerships driven by economic interdependence rather than ideological alignment. Unlike Cold War-era alliances, these partnerships are flexible, issue-specific, and adaptive. They reflect a world in which states seek to maximise autonomy while managing risk through networks rather than blocs. In this sense, South Koreas engagement in the Gulf is emblematic of how middle powers are reshaping regional security architectures without assuming hegemonic roles.

There are, however, constraints and risks. The Gulf remains a volatile region, and deeper security engagement exposes South Korea to geopolitical tensions it has historically sought to avoid. Balancing relations with rival regional actors, navigating sanctions regimes, and managing great power competitionparticularly between the United States and Chinawill require diplomatic finesse. South Koreas close alliance with the United States places limits on how far defence cooperation with certain Gulf partners can evolve, particularly where technology transfer and export controls are concerned. Moreover, public opinion in South Korea has traditionally been cautious about overseas military involvement, imposing domestic political constraints on sustained security commitments.

Despite these challenges, the trajectory of South KoreaGulf relations suggests a durable and strategic convergence. The partnership is no longer defined solely by oil tankers and construction sites, but by shared interests in stability, technological advancement, and strategic flexibility. For the Gulf, South Korea represents a reliable, non-disruptive partner that enhances autonomy in a crowded geopolitical landscape. For South Korea, the Gulf is not only an energy supplier but a strategic arena where economic security, maritime stability, and global influence intersect.

In the coming years, the significance of this relationship is likely to grow as both sides adapt to a more fragmented global order. As traditional security architectures strain under the pressures of great power rivalry, middle-power partnerships such as that between South Korea and the Gulf may play a stabilising rolequietly reinforcing resilience without provoking confrontation. In this sense, South Koreas engagement in the Gulf is less about power projection and more about strategic presence: a measured, interest-driven approach that reflects the changing grammar of global geopolitics.
In December 2024, the decades-long rule of the Assad family in Syria came to an abrupt end as rebel forces advanced on Damascus, completing the collapse of a regime that had presided over 14 years of civil war that killed more than 600,000 people and displaced nearly 14 million.

On December 8, 2024, Assad and his immediate family fled Damascus with the assistance of the Russian military. The departure was hurried and secretive. Sources suggest that Assad left without warning senior regime figures or even members of his extended family, many of whom were left stranded as the state apparatus disintegrated. Although Assad later claimed that his exit was unplanned and that Moscow had requested his evacuation, other accounts portray a desperate, last-minute flight from a collapsing city.

The escape mess was illustrated by the fate of Assads personal staff. The former president took very few people with him. His personal assistant, whose duties included carrying Assads bags, was ordered to join the flight with such urgency that he had no time to pack clothes or even take his passport. On arrival in Moscow, Assad left his assistant and two other aides at a luxury hotel, departing without settling the bill, which had reportedly reached an extraordinary sum. Their frantic attempts to contact him afterwards went unanswered.

For latest news and analyses on Middle East, visit: Yello! Middle East

A year after his ouster, Assad lives in Russia in a state of secluded luxury, protected yet constrained. On arrival, the family stayed in lavish suites at the Four Seasons and in a penthouse in the Federation Tower. They later moved to a villa in Rublyovka, an exclusive gated enclave west of Moscow favoured by Russias political and financial elite.

Despite material comforts, Assads life is defined by restriction. He is constantly overseen by Russian security services who control his movements and contacts. Politically, he has been irrelevant. The Kremlin, once his indispensable ally, no longer views him as a useful figure of influence. Vladimir Putin reportedly considers him an uninteresting and burdensome guest. As a result, Russian authorities have barred him from engaging in political or media activity. Requests to give interviews to the state-backed network RT and to a right-wing American podcaster were both refused.

Cut off from power, the former ophthalmologist has reportedly turned back to his original profession. He is said to be taking refresher courses in ophthalmology, the career he trained for in London before unexpectedly inheriting the presidency in 2000, and is studying the Russian language. Associates describe this as a return to a long-held personal interest rather than a financial necessity. Despite his wealth, Assad remains isolated from Russian high society, living quietly and largely unseen.

The wider Assad family has experienced exile in more uneven ways. Early attention focused on the health of the former First Lady, Asma al-Assad, who had been undergoing leukaemia treatment in Moscow. Reports suggest that her condition stabilised following experimental therapy, easing concerns that had circulated during the first months of exile.

The Assad children have been more visible, adjusting to a life defined by immense wealth and frequent international travel. Before the fall of the regime, the family succeeded in transferring a significant portion of its fortune to Russia, enabling them to furnish their homes lavishly and shop at high-end boutiques. Their only collective public appearance during the past year was at the graduation of Assads daughter, Zein, from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

The transition has not been difficult. Assads son, Hafez, briefly posted a video on social media showing himself walking through Moscow and discussing the familys escape. Russian authorities intervened swiftly, and he has since withdrawn entirely from online platforms. Zein attempted to maintain a presence in the Gulf, enrolling at the Sorbonne Universitys Abu Dhabi campus, but encountered hostility from fellow students. After a classmate told her she was not welcome in a group chat, the student was reportedly questioned by Emirati authorities and subsequently left the university. Zein herself later stopped attending classes.

The familys exile has been marked by conspicuous displays of wealth that sit uneasily alongside the devastation left behind in Syria. Zein and her cousin Sham, the daughter of Bashars brother Maher al-Assad, have been photographed partying in Dubai. Shams 22nd birthday was reportedly celebrated over two nights with a private yacht, gold-themed decorations and gifts from luxury brands such as Hermes and Chanel.

Maher himself, once the feared commander of the armys Fourth Division, also lives in Moscow but leads a markedly different life from his brother. Unlike Bashar, who abandoned his staff, Maher has been described as generous towards former officers, sending money to help them rebuild their lives. He resides in a skyscraper in Moscows business district, and has been seen at fashionable venues nearby. He remains in contact with his old network and is rumoured to be closely monitoring developments in Syria.

The family has largely accepted that leaving Russia is unlikely soon. They had hoped to settle in the United Arab Emirates, a country they had frequented while in power. However, despite regular travel between Moscow and the Gulf, Emirati authorities have so far been reportedly unwilling to host the deposed president on a permanent basis.

Bashar thus remains in a state of gilded exile: wealthy, secure and protected by the Kremlin, yet politically silenced, socially isolated and quietly discarded by the forces that once sustained his rule.
With the new year comes new games, but also the promise of titles that have tested folks' patience for months.

From the usual big-budget releases to indie titles seeking a shot at glory like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Hollow Knight: Silksong did in 2025, 2026 has something for all tastes.

Here are the first seven of the 28 games that everyone's waiting for this year:

Grand Theft Auto VI - Nov 26, 2026

Rockstar Games's upcoming juggernaut isn't just some hot topic that will blow awayit defines the decade's gaming conversation.

Winner of the Most Anticipated Game at the 2025 Game Awards and delayed for over a decade since the release of Grand Theft Auto V in 2013, GTA 6 brings up Jason and the franchise's first female lead, Luciatwo new protagonists in a reimagined Vice City.

Resident Evil: Requiem - Feb 26, 2026

Capcom's latest offering from its iconic survival horror franchise sees a new protagonist, FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft, return to Raccoon City for a case linked to her past.

Taking place 28 years after the Raccoon City destruction incident, the ninth instalment in the mainline series features tense combat, puzzles, and a choice of camera perspective.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 - 2026

After more than a decade, this fourth instalment of the real-time strategy (RTS) games from the Dawn of War series is from Iron Harvest developer King Art Games, instead of Relic, which made the other three games.

Still, it promises to be the largest game in the series yet, featuring four new factionsthe Space Marines, Orks, Necrons, and the Adeptus Mechanicusmore than 70 campaign missions, and a return to various modes, such as the Last Stand, Skirmish, and multiplayer.

Marvel's Wolverine - Fall 2026

This highly anticipated title comes from Insomniac Gamesthe studio reputed for its Spider-Man gamesand is reportedly a gory homage to the Canadian anti-hero that just might be Marvel's best video game yet.

Featuring a tired Logan's narration, the trailer hints at one of Marvel's oldest characters seeking answers to questions from his past, and stopping at nothing to find them.

007: First Light - Mar 27, 2026

This James Bond origin story from the creators of Hitman: World of Assassinationarguably the best game in that franchisecould very well be a perfect example of similar franchises uniting to deliver a masterpiece.

Featuring high-speed chases and otherworldly plots, this espionage action-adventure game aims to take you to the roots of Ian Fleming's famous spy as a young buck.

Crimson Desert - Mar 19, 2026

Set in the beautiful, yet terrifying, continent of Pywel, Pearl Abyss's latest open-world action MMORPG game was first said to be a prequel to the popular game Black Desert, and later said to be a standalone game with the same themes.

Touted as one of South Korea's biggest gaming gambles yet, this game promises a good mix of open-world exploration, high-impact combat, and cinematic storytelling.

Halo: Campaign Evolved - 2026

This Halo Studios remake of Halo: Combat Evolved has turned heads because it promises to be faithful to the original, a first-person shooter from Bungie, while also while also modernising it.

Players now get HD visuals, refined controls, an online co-op mode for up to four players, three new missions, an expanded arsenal of weapons and vehicles, as well as a host of new enemies.
This also helps diversify the miner's earnings. It now captures revenue from direct uranium and conversion fuel sales, as well as earnings from Westinghouse's services, maintenance, and construction profits. In the first nine months of 2025, Cameco's share of Westinghouse's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased 78% year over year to $569 million.

Historically, Cameco was a uranium miner. By owning nearly half of Westinghouse, it gains exposure to different parts of the nuclear value chain. Every new Westinghouse reactor requires a huge initial core load of uranium and decades of fuel reloads, giving Cameco a seat at the table to ensure its uranium and conversion services are the preferred choice for these reactors.

Beyond its uranium mining and processing, its stake in Westinghouse Electric offers significant upside. Cameco acquired a 49% stake in Westinghouse Electric in late 2023 and jointly owns it with Brookfield Asset Management .

Cameco mines uranium and provides nuclear infrastructure in North America. The company controls significant assets in key high-grade uranium mines in Canada, has ownership stakes in mines in Kazakhstan, and holds mining rights to uranium deposits in Australia. Also, its processing services refine uranium concentrates into uranium trioxide, a purified intermediate product, which is then converted into the final form required for reactor fuel.

With the stock down 15% from its October peak and trading under $100 per share, is Cameco a buy? Let's dive into the business and its long-term opportunity to find out.

As one of the top miners in North America, Cameco is well-positioned as the U.S. and other countries look to boost domestic production or nearshore it by relying on nearby countries. The company is benefiting from tailwinds and has one added factor that provides upside amid the nuclear build-out.

It has been a banner year for investors in nuclear energy stocks and related exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Over the last year, the Global X Uranium ETF has surged 61%, while uranium miner Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) has jumped 81%.

A recent partnership with the U.S. government aims to build more than $80 billion in new reactors.

Its 49% stake in Westinghouse Electric diversifies its revenue streams within the nuclear value chain.

Story Continues

Westinghouse will be a key player in building nuclear infrastructure

In October, the U.S. government, Brookfield, Cameco, and Westinghouse entered into a partnership to meet the rapidly increasing energy demands of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers. As part of the agreement, at least $80 billion worth of new reactors will be built across the U.S. Westinghouse will deploy its AP1000 large-scale reactor and its AP300 small modular reactor, and the partnership is expected to help streamline the permitting process.

The AP1000 reactor is fully licensed, modular, and operating at scale in the Western world. It's the only reactor of its kind to use fully passive safety systems (relying on gravity and natural circulation rather than active pumps) and has been certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. With its proven design, it is becoming the default choice for nations seeking to break away from Russian or Chinese energy dependence.

And many of the next-generation small modular reactors require high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), which is currently produced at scale almost exclusively by Russia. Meanwhile, the AP1000 runs on standard low-enriched uranium (LEU), and the infrastructure for LEU already exists in the U.S. and among its allies. By focusing on the AP1000, the U.S. can scale up nuclear power immediately without waiting a decade to build a domestic HALEU enrichment industry.

Beyond the $80 billion deal with the U.S. government, Westinghouse is a leading contender for Canada's nuclear expansion, and Poland and Bulgaria are building Westinghouse units to replace Soviet-era reactors.

The structure of its partnership with the U.S. government features a profit-sharing mechanism. Once active, the government is entitled to 20% of all cash distributions by Westinghouse that exceed a cumulative total of $17.5 billion. This structure ensures that if Westinghouse becomes highly profitable through government-backed domestic and international expansion, American taxpayers share in that success.

Cameco is a top stock for the nuclear build-out

Cameco stock isn't cheap, trading at around 92 times this year's projected earnings and 65 times next year's projected earnings. That said, analysts foresee strong growth from Cameco, with earnings per share (EPS) expected to increase by 47% in 2026 and by another 33% in 2027.

For Cameco shareholders, the Westinghouse stake provides options. If uranium prices remain flat, Cameco could still see strong growth from Westinghouse's high-margin service contracts and new builds. If uranium prices spike, the miner should reap a substantial windfall, which is where the upside potential lies.

Cameco is a strong option if you are looking to invest in the nuclear power expansion and believe it can justify the stock's high valuation.

Should you buy stock in Cameco right now?

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Courtney Carlsen has positions in Cameco. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Brookfield Asset Management and Cameco. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Should You Buy Cameco While It's Below $100? was originally published by The Motley Fool
X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk on Saturday night responded to the Indian government's crackdown on people using his platform's AI service, Grok, to generate "obscene" images of women and minors.

"Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content," Musk wrote in an X post, under another user's post defending Grok.

Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 3, 2026

"(Blaming Grok is like) blaming a pen for writing something bad ... What you get depends a lot on what you put in," the user had said. However, Musk did not clarify further about the action to be taken.

This comes a day after the Indian government issued an order to immediately take off all vulgar, obscene and unlawful content from X within 72 hoursespecially those generated by Grok AIor face legal action.

The IT ministry also ordered X to carry out an immediate comprehensive review of Grok's "technical, procedural and governance-level" frameworks and submit a detailed action taken report (ATR) within the same timeframe.

The IT ministry order claimed that it had received similar grievances from time to time, but the catalyst for the recent formal notice was reportedly the open letter that Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote to Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday, asking for urgent intervention after increasing cases of Grok AI being used to create vulgar photos.

VIDEO | Shiv Sena(UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) said, Grok, an AI tool on X, is meant to be helpful but was misused through fake accounts to generate images of women using their photos without consent. This violates womens privacy, dignity, and rights and is a pic.twitter.com/RWlKAcKisa  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 3, 2026

She had claimed that the misuse of pictures was "not just unethical, but also criminal", and that Grok was also "enabling such behaviour by adhering to such requests".

"It is not just limited to sharing photos through fake accounts, but are also targeting wonen who post their own photos. This is unacceptable and a gross misuse of an Al function," she said in her letter.

Have sought urgent attention and intervention of Hon. IT Minister to take the issue of increasing incidents of AI apps being prompted to sexualise and undress women by unauthorised use of their images on social media. There have to be guardrails put in place by features such as pic.twitter.com/pR5tKzDBwi  Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) January 2, 2026

Vaishnaw also said on Friday that social media platforms ought to take responsibility for the content that came out on them. He added that a standing committee had already recommended a tough law to address the issue.

"Social media should be responsible for the content they publish. Intervention is required," Vaishnaw said while replying to a question on Grok AI misuse, as per a PTI report.
As the US capture of Venezuelan head of state Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores continues to send shockwaves across the world, US President Donald Trump has sent Colombian President Gustavo Petro a sharp warning, saying he should watch his ass.

Trumps words have brought the spotlight to Colombia as Petro, a prominent Latin American leader who aligns with the Left ideology and maintains an openly critical stance toward Washington. Petro famously launched an attack on Trump on US soil last September when he openly called on US soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump. Disobey Trumps orders. Obey the order of humanity, he proclaimed during a demonstration in the streets of New York, linked to protests over the war in Gaza and held in the context of the UN General Assembly.

This strained relations between Washington and Bogota as the United States announced it would cancel the visa of Colombias President Gustavo Petro.

Petros statement was also considered by many in the US as a comeback to conservative US Senator Lindsay Grahams statement that Trump was planning attacks on Colombia and Venezuela. Trump sees Venezuela and Colombia as direct threats to our country because they house narco-terrorists, Lindsay told CBS News.

In response, President Gustavo Petro warned the United States not to attack Colombia, stating that the Colombians wont take it well. In a post on social media platform X, Petro said that the Colombian people, every time they are attacked anywhere, en masse head to the mountains and arm themselves to become invisible like the jaguar with passionate stealth.

Trump on Colombias President: He has factories where he makes cocaine. He does have to watch his ass. pic.twitter.com/ljmly4A0XE  Acyn (@Acyn) January 3, 2026

Dont try it, thats the only advice I give, said the president, because I know the history of my people and I am the legitimate son of my people.

Trump, too, issued a direct warning to Petro. On October 19, he called Petro a leader with low approval ratings and very unpopular and issued a warning: He'd better close these 'killing camps' immediately, or the United States will close them for him . In early December, he doubled down on the message: Hes producing cocaine so he needs to watch his ass .

Why Colombia is not an easy target

Colombia is experiencing a period of high political volatility, with criticism of economic reforms, accusations of corruption and insecurity, and a tense social climate. For Washington, the country is also strategic: it possesses energy and mineral resources, a key geographic position between the Caribbean and the Amazon, and plays a central role in regional stability.

Despite the heated atmosphere, the likelihood of a direct US military intervention in Colombia is low. The White House seems to favor gradual political and institutional pressure: economic conditions, media strategies, andaccording to analysts indirect interference in the upcoming electoral cycle.

Reason: a political option is much less costly than deploying military machinery in a country with decades of experience in internal armed conflict. Trump also acts as both a politician and a businessman. From this perspective, the cost-benefit analysis favors electoral and economic influence over overt intervention.

There are other reasons too. In the new political landscape, Colombia is a point of equilibrium between Washington's interests and the resistance of the Latin American progressive bloc. The last thing Washington wants now is a wave in favour of the left and wouldnt risk acts that could help the political pendulum swing to the left.
Venezuela's opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Machado has praised U.S. President Donald Trump for the military operation in the country that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

In a social media post, Machado declared that the "hour of freedom" has arrived for her nation.

"Venezuelans, the hour of freedom has arrived. It's TIME FOR FREEDOM! Starting today, Nicolas Maduro will face international justice for the heinous crimes he has committed against Venezuelans and citizens of many other nations. Given his refusal to accept a negotiated solution, the U.S. government has fulfilled its promise to enforce the law," she wrote on X.

Venezolanos, llego la hora de la libertad. pic.twitter.com/ehy20V1xm9  Maria Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) January 3, 2026

Machado further stated that the time has come for popular sovereignty and national sovereignty to reign in her country.

"We are going to bring order, free political prisoners, build an exceptional country, and bring our children back home," she added.

Machado is currently abroad in an undisclosed location after traveling under cover to Oslo in December to receive her Nobel Prize, which she dedicated to Trump as she welcomed U.S. intervention in Venezuela.

Her statement came hours after the U.S. carried out a large-scale strike on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

The U.S. action has triggered political uncertainty in the South American country, with many leading powers, including Russia and China, condemning Washington's operation.
As the US releases more details of the dangerous pre-dawn military operation that saw the US commandos swoop in and capture the Venezuelan head of state Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, it has emerged that the Venezuelan head of state made a last-ditch effort to escape the commandos but was outrun by the highly-skilled soldiers.

According to reports, a private phone call ensued between Trump and Maduro a week ago, where Trump emphatically told the latter that he had to quit. Trump claims that Maduro came close to giving in, but decided to stay. By then, the US warships were almost on Venezuelas shores, and the CIA team had already entered the country, tracking Maduro, including his movements, habits, house, what he wore, and even his pets.

The plan to evict Maduro by force was set in motion around 10:46 p.m. ET on Friday when Trump gave the final order. Over 150 military aircraft, including drones, fighter planes, and bombers, took off from 20 different military bases and Navy ships.

The elite troops had already studied the Maduros presidential compound quite well, using a replica based on intelligence that the US had gathered. This was quite similar to the operation they carried out in Abbottabad, Pakistan, to take out Osama bin Laden.

Maduro at the DEA HQ building in New York. We don't know the charges he will get slapped with but this is a Claymore for Trump, as Maduro is an elected President. The legal implications are infinite. Let's see how Trump weathers through this one?#Maduro#Caracas #Venezuela pic.twitter.com/3kXVjW4gcz  PAOTZEB.O.STRATEGY (@PAOTZEPG) January 4, 2026

The US had already cut the electricity in Caracas to gain an edge in the battle, and an aircraft blew up Venezuelas air defense systems, clearing a path for the helicopters. The large military complex in Fort Tiuna was on fire.

By 1 a.m. ET Saturday, U.S. soldiers landed at the heavily fortified military fortress in Caracas, where Maduro was staying. Within three minutes, the commandos blew open the main door to move through the building to Maduros location.

There was firing as they arrived, and American helicopters were hit, but not to the extent of being unable to fly.

As the Special Operations forces made it through the compound to Maduros room, the Venezuelan leader and his wife tried to escape into a steel-reinforced room. Maduro had been relying on Cuban bodyguards to protect himself.

He was trying to get to a safe place, Mr. Trump said during the news conference. It was a very thick door, a very heavy door. But he was unable to get to that door. He made it to the door, but he was unable to close it, the US President added.

Even if he managed to close the door, the commandos had carried massive blowtorches and trained themselves to use them to cut through the steel walls in Maduros safe room.

About five minutes after entering the building, Delta Force reported that they had Maduro in custody.
A tense calm hangs over Venezuela after a US military operation led to President Nicolas Maduro being taken and jailed in New York ahead of facing criminal charges. Maduro and his wife landed late on Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York. The couple faced US charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

US President Donald Trump said the US would run the South American country and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations. As things stood, here were the five latest updates as reported by American media:

ALSO READ | Maduro tried to escape into a steel safe room but couldnt close the door: Inside the tense moments of US operation in Venezuela

1. Maduros whereabouts: The Brooklyn jail was holding Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The Associated Press reported that, in the past, some judges had refused to send people there, even as it had housed such famous inmates as music stars R. Kelly and Sean Diddy Combs. Opened in the early 1990s, the Metropolitan Detention Centre, or MDC Brooklyn, currently housed about 1,300 inmates, the news agency added. Maduro was not the first president of a country to be locked up there. Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former president of Honduras, was imprisoned at MDC Brooklyn while he was on trial for trafficking hundreds of tonnes of cocaine into the US, before being convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison.

2. Trump wants the Venezuelan VP to lead or get out of the way: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said President Donald Trumps conversations with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez were very matter-of-fact and very clear: You can lead or you can get out of the way, because were not going to allow you to continue to subvert American influence and our need to have a free country like Venezuela to work with, rather than to have dictators in place who perpetuate crimes and drug trafficking. Noem reportedly told Fox News Sunday that the United States wanted a leader in Venezuela who would be a partner and who understood that the US was going to protect America when it came to stopping drug trafficking and terrorists from coming into the country.

ALSO READ | Is Colombian President Gustavo Pedro next? Trumps warning stokes fears of a US military intervention in Bogota

3. Rubio says the US will use control of Venezuelas oil to influence policy: Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to back off from Trumps assertions that the US was running Venezuela, insisting instead that Washington would use control of the South American countrys oil industry to force policy changes. We expected that it was going to lead to results here. We were hopeful that it would have positive results for the people of Venezuela, Rubio told ABCs This Week. But, ultimately, most importantly, it was in the national interest of the United States.

4. Rubio on Cuba: Stopping short of saying Cuba could be the next target, Rubio called the Cuban government a huge problem and said that Cubans were in charge of Nicolas Maduros security before his capture. I think theyre in a lot of trouble, yes, Rubio told NBCs Meet the Press. Im not going to talk to you about what our future steps are going to be and what our policies are going to be right now in this regard, but I dont think its any mystery that we are not big fans of the Cuban regime.

ALSO READ | What happened to Chinese delegation that arrived in Venezuela before Maduro was captured?

5. Rubio on consequences: No Americans were killed and no equipment was lost during the operation to seize Maduro, the US Secretary of State said. The people who were in charge of Caracas at the time could be expected to be a lot more compliant than Maduro was, he was quoted as saying by CNN.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Saturday condemned the U.S. government for its military operation in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

Mamdani called the U.S. action an "act of war" and a "violation of international law," warning that it could affect tens of thousands of Venezuelans living in New York City.

"I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City. Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of both federal and international law," he wrote on X.

I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City.



Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and  Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) January 3, 2026

"This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn't just affect those abroadit directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home. My focus is on their safety and the safety of every New Yorker. My administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance," he added.

Later, speaking to reporters, Mamdani revealed that he had spoken directly with President Donald Trump to express his opposition to the capture of Maduro.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York and are being brought to the city to face charges against them.

The Venezuelan leader has been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the US.

The development comes just two days after Mamdani was sworn in as New York City Mayor.
The last act of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, before he was captured by the United States forces on Donald Trump's orders, seems to have been a meeting with the Chinese delegation. Reportedly, shortly after the meeting with the Chinese envoy, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken into custody by the US forces. Maduro appeared with Qiu Xiaoqi, a special representative on Latin American Affairs of the Xi Jinping-led Chinese government, on state television.

The meeting took place at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas. Maduro shook hands with the Chinese diplomat and welcomed him with a New Year's wish. "We met 20 years ago when President Hu Jintao was in power...Its impressive that youve become a director-general now...Time truly flies, said Maduro. It is known that bilateral cooperation was discussed by both nations.

 MADURO SE REUNIO CON ENVIADO DE CHINA HORAS ANTES DE LAS EXPLOSIONES



Horas antes de que Caracas fuera sacudida por explosiones, Nicolas Maduro sostuvo una reunion de tres horas (2 de enero) con Qiu Xiaoqi, enviado especial de China, designado por Xi Jinping.



El encuentro pic.twitter.com/UfRxje0kJc  LuisCardenasMX (@LuisCardenasMx) January 3, 2026

"We reaffirmed our commitment to the strategic relationship that is progressing and strengthening in various areas for building a multipolar world of development and peace," Maduro was quoted as saying after the meeting.

There are some reports that amid the turmoil, the Chinese delegation is still stuck in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, China urged the US to release Maduro and settle the issue through dialogue and negotiation. "Such hegemonic acts of the US seriously violate international law and Venezuelas sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region. China firmly opposes it," a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The operation is likely to affect the US-China relations. It should also be noted that the economic rivalry between China and the US has taken a new dimension recently, with both countries striving to be the leader in the race on the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The delegation also included Lan Hu, Venezuelas Chinese ambassador, Liu Bo, Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Latin America and the Caribbean, Wang Hao, Deputy Director-General of the same department, and Liu Zhen, a regional official.

After the capture, Trump has indicated that he has his eye on the South American country's oil reserves. Trump said that the US will be strongly involved in Venezuela's oil industry. "Were going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure and start making money for the country," he said.

Maduro's capture also came just a day after he said that Venezuela is ready to discuss a drug-trafficking deal and oil investments with the US.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday elaborated on why the US forces didn't try to extract other members of the Maduro cabinet, who also carry a bounty on their heads for narco-terrorism. Rubio said that it was not feasible to get Venezuela's Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, along with their President, and the armed forces were asked to take only the top target back to the United States.

While it may look like an easy job for the US forces from the outside, getting the Venezuelan President and his First Lady, Cilia Flores, from their stronghold was indeed a tough ask, he said. It would have taken more time  even days  if the US were to target multiple members of the Maduro cabinet, he said. We got the top priority, he told the press.

ALSO READ | Is Colombian President Gustavo Pedro next? Trumps warning stokes fears of a US military intervention in Bogota

Talking about not trying to extract Cabello and Lopez, he said, Theyre already complaining about this one operation. Imagine the howls we would have from everybody else if we actually had to go and stay there for days to capture four other people. Padrino Lopez and Cabello have $15 million and $25 million bounties for their arrest, respectively, CNN said.

Where is Maduro kept?

Meanwhile, Maduro's defence minister demanded the immediate return of his leader and his wife. We demand the return of Maduro and the First Lady, Lopez said in a news conference. This is an act of aggression against the legitimate president of Venezuela and the First Lady, he reportedly added. ...and we draw attention to everything that is happening to Venezuela against its sovereignty, he reportedly added.

ALSO READ | Trump to target Cuba next? Marc Rubio confirms US lost no soldier, equipment during Caracas operation

The Brooklyn jail is holding Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Opened in the early 1990s, the Metropolitan Detention Centre, or MDC Brooklyn, currently houses about 1,300 inmates. A throng of Venezuelan expatriates, many draped in flags, gathered on the sidewalks outside the jail Saturday night to celebrate Maduro's capture. The crowd cheered as the law enforcement motorcade, believed to be carrying the deposed leader and his wife, arrived at the jail.
Interview / M. M. Nayeemudeen, National Director, National Mine Action Centre (NMAC), Sri Lanka

Q: Could you explain the mandate of the Sri Lanka National Mine Action Centre and how it fits into the broader post-conflict recovery and development framework of the country?

A: Demining activity in Sri Lanka started in 2002 during the conflict period. After the war ended in 2009, the immediate attention of the government was to resettle people to their places of origin. Humanitarian demining was therefore one of the important factors. In 2010, the cabinet approved the establishment of the Sri Lanka Mine Action Centre. Its mandate is very clear: to implement mine action strategies.

Q: What role does NMAC play in coordinating international and national demining organisations?

A: NMAC plays a major role in coordinating humanitarian demining activities with all demining agencies. Every month, we meet and discuss technical and operational matters. In the field, we review the work and progress of all five operators. We also discuss difficulties and other important operational issues. Many government agencies are involved in the demining process, such as health, defence, wildlife, and forestry. Therefore, we have to coordinate with all these agencies to solve issues.

Q: How do you ensure that national mine action policy aligns with international obligations, such as the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Treaty)?

A: Discussions to join the treaty started in 2015. In 2017, Sri Lanka decided to sign the treaty, thus becoming a state party to the Ottawa Treaty. Implementation began in 2018. Initially, there were around 1,300 square kilometres of contaminated area, with a confirmed hazardous area of 256 square kilometres. Under the treaty, we are implementing all obligations to become a landmine-free country.

Q: From NMACs most recent assessments, what is the current scale of landmine and ERW contamination in Sri Lanka?

A: According to our records, a total of 22.8 square kilometres of contaminated area remain as of August 2025. There are two types of contaminated areas: Confirmed Hazardous Area (CHA) and Suspected Hazardous Area (SHA). 22.8 square kilometres does not seem like a large number, but demining is a humongous task, and these areas are the most difficult parts to clear of landmines.

Q: Which districts remain the most affected, and why? Are there updated statistics or official maps that illustrate the scale and distribution of hazardous areas?

A: Contamination exists in almost all districts of the north and east, and border districts such as Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, and Puttalam. The most contaminated district remaining now is Mullaitivu. Of the 22.8 square kilometres, 14 are in Mullaitivu, and the rest are divided among other districts.

This year, we will most probably clear Puttalam, Anuradhapura, and Polonnaruwa districts. Next year, we will concentrate on clearing Ampara and Trincomalee districts. In 2027, we aim to clear Jaffna and Batticaloa districts.

Q: Sri Lanka has publicly declared a goal of being a mine-free country by 2028. Could you outline the official roadmap to achieving this?

A: As I said, Sri Lanka became a state party in 2018, and when you become a state party, there is an obligation. The Article 5 obligation is to clear all landmines within ten years. According to that, the deadline for completion is June 2028. The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) is a development partner of Sri Lankas Mine Action Program. Under the leadership of GICHD, we had a review, and according to that review, 2028 is a very difficult target, and it is almost impossible to complete the Mine Action Program in Sri Lanka by 2028. The reason is funding fatigue and the discovery of new hazardous areas.

Q: What benchmarks or milestones has NMAC set to measure progress year by year?

A: We have Standard Operating Procedures for each activity. Apart from that, we are abiding by the advanced Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), an IT platform. This is a very transparent platform. Every donor has access to see the progress. Everything is mapped with the Geographic Information System (GIS). Whenever a mine is found, that is recorded. Whenever the mine area is cleared, that is also recorded. Therefore, you can get real-time data through the IMSMA archive.

Q: Do you believe the 2028 deadline is realistic given the current pace of operations and available resources?

A: No, we have only two and a half years left. This is going to be a difficult task based on the current scenario. Therefore, we have decided to submit for an extension in 2027. Again, that mostly depends on funding and donors. If everything goes right, we will be able to finish it by the end of 2030.

Q: What systems are in place for accreditation, quality assurance, and post-clearance verification before land is officially handed back to communities?

A: We have a very good system from the grassroots level up to district collectors. At the grassroots level, there are Grama Niladharis, the village officers, who are involved in the land-releasing process. We have a system of quality assurance. Whenever a mine is cleared by the agencies, they inform us, and we send our quality assurance team. The team will go and inspect, and they have a system to take samples.

After that, we ensure that this area is mine-free, and that message goes from the Grama Niladhari to the government agency, and the district secretary of that area will sign off.

Q: What is the current funding situation for mine action in Sri Lanka? Which international donors and partners are contributing, and how sustainable is this support?

A: From the inception, we received funds from 11 donor countries, and the US is our major donor. Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, and Japan also contribute. The European Union and the UK are also supporting us with funding. So far, we have received around 250 million US dollars from 2010 onward as a grant.

Apart from that, even the Sri Lankan government, from time to time, allocates money. This year, we received around 70 million rupees. But from next year onward, the government has decided to increase the funding. We have requested 150 million rupees for next year. I hope that will be approved by the government for the 2026 budget.

Q: Is the USAID cut by the new US administration affecting mine clearance in Sri Lanka?

A: Initially, there were some suspensions, but after NMAC, through our foreign ministry, started communicating with the US embassy, there were good results, and now it is continuing.

Q: How does NMAC prioritise the allocation of resources  deciding, for example, which districts, villages, or types of land (agricultural, residential, infrastructure) should be cleared first?

A: Actually, there are multiple approaches to that. We recently reviewed the strategy and decided that rather than working in all the districts, geographically, we have to reduce the area. Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Mannar, and Vavuniya will remain, and that is one strategy. Geographically, we have to prioritise. Also, when it comes to residential areas, we give priority because we have to settle people in their places of origin. That is the important task. At the same time, we have to concentrate on economic activities also. So, agriculture and commercial activities, even in some areas coming under the purview of forestry and wildlife, are being cleared.

Q: How does NMAC measure the broader humanitarian impact of mine clearance? For instance, resettlement of displaced families, revival of agriculture, or restoration of transport routes.

A: We have so far released around 1,300 square kilometres, and it is a great task. With that, people can go back and settle in their places of origin. They can start their economic activities, agriculture, and fisheries. Children can go to school, hospitals are operating, and people can start normal activities when the land is mine-free.

Q: Could you share examples of how clearance has directly supported livelihoods or development projects in affected districts?

A: Whenever there is construction, people excavate the ground for laying the foundation. Previously, in some contaminated areas, when they started excavation, we assisted by giving clearance for construction. The north and east are basically agricultural districts. They need to plough the land from time to time. Mine clearance is a very important task that makes these activities easy and danger-free, thus uplifting the economic condition of those people.

Q: Beyond clearance, does NMAC have a role in victim assistance or risk education, and if so, how are those integrated into the national strategy?

A: The National Mine Action Centre works on the internationally accepted five pillars of mine action. Demining is only one pillar, apart from mine risk education, victim assistance, stockpile destruction, and advocacy.

Therefore, victim assistance is another important pillar, and we work on it. Internationally, Sri Lanka is, in Geneva, one of the committee members for victim assistance under the Disability Convention, along with Burkina Faso and the Netherlands. We have a separate committee for victim assistance with all the relevant agencies.

When it comes to victim assistance, you have to work with health authorities and social services. Victim assistance comes under the overarching policy of disability. Therefore, disability is handled by social services, and NMAC is also involved in it.

There is a programme to provide housing and sanitary facilities for those who are affected by the internal conflict. Mine victims are also considered for housing programmes and other benefits the government provides.

We have recently started a survey on victim assistance, creating a database of who the people are, where they are living, their living conditions, what type of disability they have, what type of assistance they want, and any health issues. All this data is captured by this survey. We want to design, in the future, a separate programme for victim assistance.

Risk education happens in schools. There are different methods, sometimes lectures, sometimes interviews, sometimes street dramas. This initiative is giving very good results.

Q: What role do district-level mine action offices or local government bodies play in prioritising areas for clearance?

A: Development priorities are coordinated by the district coordinating committee. In these district coordinating committees, NMACs regional officials are also represented. According to the priority, we prioritise demining activities in that area.

Q: How do you address tensions between the urgency of humanitarian needs and bureaucratic or technical procedures?

A: Demining is technical work. You cannot take shortcuts because it is dangerous. We never compromise on standards, especially international standards, for any type of pressure. "Safety first" is our motto.

Q: What are the greatest challenges currently facing the mine action programme  technical, financial, political, or environmental?

A: When it comes to political matters, there is total coordination and the blessing of the government. Our Prime Minister participated in the completion review strategy that was held recently. Ambassadors, high commissioners, and donors also participated in that event.

When it comes to technical matters, we have well-trained demining teams, both international and national. We conduct a lot of technical training for NMAC staff, too.

When it comes to financial matters, it is a challenge because the financial assistance we receive year by year is going down. The reason is that worldwide priorities are changing. Still, we are receiving funds from donors, but we have to fight for our share.

The environment is a big issue. Around 30 per cent of the country is covered by either forest or environmentally protected areas. Therefore, it is a challenge for us to go into forest areas for clearing. We have established a national steering committee where the Ministry of Environment and the Forest Department also participate. It is a good forum to coordinate and solve issues related to the environment.

Q: Are there areas where access is still restricted, either due to terrain, land disputes, or security concerns?

A: We have restrictions in areas where demining activities are still ongoing in the 22.8 square kilometres of land. We have installed signboards in all these places. Nobody other than authorised persons can enter these areas because it is dangerous.

Q: How does NMAC deal with residual contamination in areas already declared cleared?

A: We do quality assurance inspections in cleared areas. Sometimes they report contamination, and we immediately attend to those issues. Post-completion, residual contamination will be handed over to the Sri Lanka Armys humanitarian demining unit.

Worldwide, there is residual contamination from the First World War and Second World War. Though you declare a country mine-free, old mortars are still discovered while excavating for work. The Armys demining unit is a well-trained unit with good equipment. In the future, they will get more funds from the government to address those issues.

Q: How does Sri Lankas mine action programme compare to those in other post-conflict countries in Asia or globally?

A: The Sri Lanka Mine Action Program has a very good reputation worldwide. Recently, I attended the National Directors Meeting in Geneva, where I represented the government in both meetings. I had the opportunity to deliver speeches and presentations at the main forums, and I had a number of discussions with other state parties and the demining community worldwide. Everybody appreciated Sri Lankas Mine Action Program. We concentrate on the five pillars of the mine action strategy.

Q: Are there lessons Sri Lanka can share internationally  or lessons learnt from elsewhere that you are trying to apply here?

A: If a country is going to be mine-free, first of all, you need to have a very good database. That is very important and should be transparent. In some countries, there are a number of demining agencies, with a lot of duplications and overlaps, but in Sri Lanka, everything is identified and mapped, so countries can take our mine action as an example.

Q: What role does NMAC play in keeping Sri Lanka visible in the international mine action community?

A: Sri Lankas Mine Action Program is well-known and also well-reputed worldwide. In National Directors Meetings and state party meetings, everybody appreciates the Sri Lanka Mine Action Program, how we work, and how our system is very transparent. Some countries want to come here and study the system and how it really works.

Q: If Sri Lanka meets its 2028 mine-free target, what will be the focus of NMACs work thereafter? Will its mandate shift towards long-term monitoring, residual risk management, or broader humanitarian disarmament?

A: The first priority is creating alternative livelihoods for deminers. Therefore, staff transition is one of our objectives. We have already started training deminers in new skills by giving financial management training.

Sri Lanka has skilled deminers because they have been doing this since 2002. Countries that are facing contamination issues can deploy Sri Lankan deminers.

Q: In your personal view, what would it mean for Sri Lankas people to finally declare the country mine-free?

A: First of all, peace and a peaceful mind. This is very important because recently I visited some minefields. On the border, I saw houses and children playing. This is really risky when there is a minefield nearby. When we clear these areas, the fear will go, and people will have peace of mind. When these lands can be utilised for livelihoods and economic activities, that will give moral support to the people when landmines are cleared. It is going to remove the legacy of war.

Even internationally, when we announce that Sri Lanka is mine-free, it will give a very good reputation to the country, and even the tourism sector will get a boost when we finally announce that Sri Lanka is mine-free.

Q: Is there a role of India in demining, or in victim housing assistance, or in some other way India is assisting your programme?

A: India assisted us previously in demining as two demining organisations also worked here. When it comes to housing and other livelihood activities, the Indian government is helping a lot, especially in the north and east and also in other border villages.

Nayeemudeen is National Director, National Mine Action Centre (NMAC), Sri Lanka.
Interview/Ziggy Garewal, country director, MAG (Mines Advisory Group), Sri Lanka

Q: How does MAG's operation in Sri Lanka compare to its operations in other countries?

A: MAG Sri Lanka used to be one of the bigger operations. Now there are a couple of countries like Iraq and Ukraine that have dominated the landscape. But it is still one of the larger operations in the regionnumber three after Laos and Vietnam. We are on the higher side. We have about six or seven donors, including donor countries like Japan, Australia, the United States of America and Switzerland, apart from other donors as well.

Q: Can you explain your workforce strength and how many teams you have on the ground? What areas do you cover?

A: We have around 725 to 730 staff altogether, and about 24 per cent of those are women. We are working in the north, the north central, and east side of the country. MAG has the largest footprint in terms of demining because we are also covering the east. The other four operators like DASH, The HALO Trust and SHARP are mainly based in the north.

Q: With major humanitarian funding being diverted towards active conflicts worldwide, what is the donor scenario for MAG in Sri Lanka?

A: Donors in Sri Lanka are very committed. So even though the funding might go down, we are still confident that many of them want to stay till the end. They have been funding since 2002-2003, so even though the funding might be decreasing, there is a commitment to supporting Sri Lanka with demining until the end.

But certainly, with all of these new priorities, we have seen many of our donors reducing the amounts of funds. There is also a perception that Sri Lanka is not so much of a priority since there is no active conflict or political unrest. But certainly, I think that the donors who are funding demining are very committed to that. So they will most probably stay on, but the amounts will go down.

The UK, for examplea lot of the funding is spent on supporting refugees and internally displaced people in other countries. Now they also want to use that money to house refugees in the UK. So it is not just going to defence but other types of things. Redirecting the funds can also affect us here.

Q: Sri Lanka has set a goal to be a mine-free country by 2028. How realistic is this target?

A: It is not realistic, and even the Sri Lankan government is aware of it. They are going to apply for an extension to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention Article 5, where they are allowed to increase the timeline for completion. We think maybe another six or seven years are needed to clear, as long as the funding stays stable and we do not find new contaminated areas. So given these two conditions, we feel we might complete by 2030 or 2031. But if we are still going to find new contaminated areas with decreased funding, the number of teams on the ground will obviously reduce, then it will be hard to predict when it will be completed. Just to give you an example, at the end of 2023 we had 45 teams. Today we have 30. In the course of 18 months, we have reduced by 30 per cent. Now if we are taking that kind of hit for the next two or three years, then it is going to be very hard to predict.

Q: Who are your deminers and what will happen to them after mine clearance in Sri Lanka is completed?

A: More than 95 per cent of our deminers are locally recruited from the north and the east. Many of them are survivors of the conflict or ex-combatants with the LTTE. The war only finished 15 years ago. So many of them who are in their 30s were living in Internally Displaced Persons camps. One of them was telling me he had moved six times as a young child before his family settled down in Batticaloa.

So everyone has their story linked to the conflict. One of the main things about MAG is we recruit people locally so they can also solve their own problem by doing the demining.

We have even got ex-army people working with us. We find that now the relationship between them is more cordialit's better. Obviously, as time goes on, people get over some of the harshness of the conflict. We find they are all working together. What is concerning us is what happens to these staff after either the demining mission is completed or funding is finished and you have to make some of your staff redundant.

There are around 2,500 deminers for whom we have provided alternative livelihoods for many years. What happens after this is stopped? So all of the operators are working on a training programme that will enable deminers to gain more skills and certifications so that when they go out into the world after they finish the demining, they might be able to find jobs more easily and manage their livelihoods more easily.

Q: What kind of coordination do you have with the Sri Lankan government, and what further cooperation or concessions are you looking for?

A: We have very good cooperation. We come under the supervision of the National Mine Action Centre, so our relationship is very good. We have a memorandum of understanding which we sign each year. We are also registered under the NGO Secretariat. So that is a different route in terms of compliance for us. But our relationship with the National Mine Action Centre and the Regional Mine Action Office is very good.

Q: What coordination do you have with other government departments? Does the NMAC facilitate this for you? Are you seeking any new concessions, such as for importing vehicles?

A: We do have coordination with government departments. One of the key things is import duty exemptions. We have a very old vehicle fleet. We are also paying a fortune for rental vehicles, which are not very good quality any more because they are old. So we have been in discussions with the National Mine Action Centre to try and get exemptions. The idea is that we will import new vehiclescurrently the import duty is 300 per cent. We are saying we will bring them in and we will use them as ambulances.

And then in five or six years when we finish, we will donate them to the Ministry of Public Health. So if the government is willing to do that and the Ministry of Public Health is willing to receive it, then maybe they can consider giving us exemptions. We also work with the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing quite closely to see how many people are being resettled onto land that has been released. We are planning to work with the Ministry of Education to support all the staff training that we are doing. We conduct a number of courses for our staff at the university. We have agreements with Eastern University and University of Vavuniya.

Q: What are the advantages for a country that joins the Mine Ban Treaty, particularly in terms of financial assistance?

A: Not really. What it does do is encourage the other state parties who are either signatories themselves or actively promoting the treaty to support Sri Lanka in achieving its objectives. But as far as I am aware, the convention itself does not give you rights to a certain type of assistance.

Q: What practices and corporate policies are unique to MAG compared to other mine action partners in Sri Lanka?

A: One of our main corporate policies is staff transitionthe exit strategy. What will happen to the deminers after completion of demining? So this is something that is a MAG-driven policy to make sure that we create alternative livelihoods. Many donors are also asking us for an exit strategy. Then there is also equality, diversity, and inclusivity.

Q: What operational challenges are your teams facing in the field, whether environmental or logistical?

A: Given the scale that MAG is working at here, we have urgent operational challenges. We work from the northernmost point to the southernmost point, so we have to move people right across that area. That is a major challenge. As I mentioned earlier, the equipment and the vehicles are all getting quite old. That has become a major challenge for us.

The other operational challenge is that we are also finding new areas all the time. MAG has 8.5 square kilometres of contaminated land allocated to clear, which is quite a big area considering the time and precision needed for humanitarian demining.

Q: Do you think the falling number of mine accidentsboth civilian and deminerin Sri Lanka is due to training and risk education in contaminated areas?

A: Yes. The training obviously helps, and the risk education too. But also, if you go up to the north, you see how visible we are. Everybody knows there are mines. If you come to the south of Sri Lanka, people do not even know there are mines in the country, let alone the training. Us being around in the area creates a lot of awareness. We also talk to the communities, explaining to them the danger, and all our signage means people have over the years understood the risk.

At the risk education sessions, we demonstrate how mines look. We are looking at more digital risk education methods using SMS and photographs.

So I think it is a combination of the education and training, but also just the general awareness of the public in that part of the country.

Q: How will a mine-free Sri Lanka benefit the country beyond fulfilling the Mine Ban Treaty commitment?

A: First, a large number of people are able to return. NMAC is saying that nearly one million people have been able to resettle on their original land. There are agricultural benefitsa lot of land cleared is agricultural land, so people are able to go and farm. This is very important now because of the lack of jobs in the north due to the economic crisis.

Then people have access to schools, clinics and hospitals. Before clearance, they were not able to access the national parks. Now we can open up the national parks as well once they have been cleared, along with tourist sites and pilgrimage sites. Take Anuradhapurait is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That district will be cleared very soon. So that means it can be opened up. You do not have to worry that tourists and pilgrims might run into something.

So there are many reasons apart from the Mine Ban Treaty commitments which will benefit Sri Lanka.

Tourism is huge. You come in tourist season here and you see how overcrowded the south and the west of the country are. But the rest of the country has equally beautiful beaches, forest areas, and national parks. So really the idea is to be able to extend the kind of land that people can go to as tourists. Think of developing Trincomalee and Batticaloa as major tourist destinations when it is announced mine free.
BYD showroom Image by Dr David SingShutterstock

Chinese automaker BYD has dethroned Tesla as the worlds top seller of electric vehicles, capping a tough year for the U.S. company marked by slumping deliveries and intensifying competition.

BYD reported on Thursday that it sold 2.26 million EVs in 2025, a nearly 28% jump from the previous year.

Tesla, meanwhile, said Friday its global deliveries dropped 8.6% to 1.6 million vehicles  the steepest annual decline in its history and the second consecutive year of falling sales, CNN reported.

The shift comes 14 years after Tesla CEO Elon Musk brushed off BYD as a rival. BYD achieved the milestone without selling in the U.S., even as China remains Teslas second-largest market.

Teslas fourth-quarter deliveries totaled about 418,000, down 15.6% from a year ago and sharply below the prior quarters record, when U.S. buyers rushed to claim a $7,500 tax credit before it expired on October 1. The incentives end likely pushed some purchases forward, contributing to the late-year dip.

The U.S. accounts for nearly half of Teslas revenue, though the company provides only global figures. Other automakers reports due Monday are expected to reflect soft U.S. EV demand in the final months.

Once boasting nearly 50% annual growth, Tesla saw its first annual drop in 2024, with a 1% decline. Sales tumbled in early 2025 amid stiffer competition from BYD, legacy players, and newcomers like Geely, Leapmotor, and Xiaomi, plus backlash over Musks political involvement, which sparked protests at showrooms in the U.S. and Europe and reports of vandalism.

In response to the tax credit loss, Tesla introduced cut-rate versions of its Model 3 and Model Y in October, priced about $5,000 lower but with reduced range and fewer features.

BYD, facing cutthroat price wars at home, expanded abroad despite tariffs in some markets. Its total vehicle sales, including hybrids, hit over 4.6 million  the slowest growth in five years  amid a crowded Chinese field with around 150 brands and more than 50 EV makers.

BYDs China EV market share slipped to 29% in the first 11 months from 35% in 2023, per the China Passenger Car Association. Geelys sales soared nearly 90% in that span.

At a December investor meeting, BYD founder and CEO Wang Chuanfu blamed the domestic slowdown on waning technological edges and poor product differentiation, per state media, but said new tech was coming.

Tesla shares climbed 1.2% in early Friday trading and ended 2025 up 18.6%, buoyed by investor bets on Musks robotaxi fleet and humanoid robots despite weak sales. The robotaxi service, however, launched far short of its promises, confined to Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, rather than covering half the U.S. population.
SRI LANKA

Q: What drew you into the anti-landmine and disarmament movement in Sri Lanka?

A: In 1996, during the height of the war, I joined the Social Scientists Association which was part of the peace negotiations team. I was also part of the Bradford University Peace Studies Programme, and exposure to these two entities influenced me.

Later I joined the Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines. One senior activist from India came to Sri Lanka in 1996 for a meeting in Colombo. I was voluntarily engaged with the campaign to ban landmines, but unfortunately, at that time both the government security forces and the LTTE were using landmines and were not agreeing to a ban.

Soon after the war, I became active in this cause. We held president-level meetings and urged Sri Lanka to accede to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Convention) and also the Cluster Munition Convention (Oslo Convention), and also urged them to ratify the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It took years for Sri Lanka to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty, Oslo Convention and ratify the UN Disability Convention.

Q: What was it like to convince people and authorities to ban landmines as a disarmament activist?

A: We had to convince the military, the government, the political leadership. Not only them but also the general public and families. All of them said, what if another war comes, how can we protect our military bases? So we had an argument with them. We succeeded in convincing everyone.

Sri Lanka showed the world that landmines are not a weapon to win a war. The Sri Lankan military at the last stage of the war was able to go through all the minefields in the jungle in Mullaitivu where the LTTE planted large amounts of landmines. Similarly, in 2005, the LTTE took over a heavily mined military camp in a matter of few hours, capturing large military equipment. Landmines never really stopped an enemy. In the end, who are the people mostly killed or injured by landmines? It is mostly civilians, during the war and after the war.

Everyone got convinced that landmines are an inhumane weapon. Moreover, injured people become a huge responsibility for the government. A child losing a leg or eyesthe government has to take care of their education and provide health facilities. It comes with a huge cost for a country like Sri Lanka. As of now we do not have good programmes for disabled people.

Q: How do you see your role as an activist as different from those of officials or the clearing agencies?

Mainly, two international organisations and two local NGOs work here. Their clearance support comes mainly from the international donor community. Except for the Sri Lankan Army Demining Unitthey get funding from the Sri Lankan government budget. All of them are doing a good job. We are pressure groups, advocating peace through disarmament.

Q: After nearly 15 years since the war ended, how do landmines and explosive remnants of war still affect civilians in the north and east?

A: Soon after the war, there were high casualties. UNICEF and few other NGOs based in the north and the east gave mine risk education. That was a very successful programme.

Because of risk education, mine accidents have gradually decreased compared to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Thailand border. In Sri Lanka's case it is less now.

Q: Can you share some stories or data on how mines continue to displace or affect the livelihoods of people?

A: Initially we had many people getting injured. Because of that, people were restricted from accessing contaminated areas and opportunities to engage in their livelihood activities were also affected. Schools were not open at that time because the school areas were contaminated with landmines, and religious places too.

Q: Can you elaborate on important articles of the Mine Ban Treaty?

A: Article 5 talks about the completion of the work and Article 7 talks about transparency measures. The very important one is Article 5it mandates destruction of anti-personnel mines. That is where we have a ten-year deadline. Now we are reaching that deadline very soon in 2028. Article 7 is all about transparency measures, how the government is going to deal with the implementation of the convention.

Q: Do you feel the voices of landmine victims and affected communities are adequately represented in policymaking?

A: When it comes to clearance, mainly the government and the stakeholders within the mine action programme are involved. But when it comes to disability and victim assistance, that is where their role is very important.

In Sri Lanka's case, mine action victims are getting very low support. There was not even a database of the injured earlier. Now, the new government wants to help them. The National Mine Action Centre recently had a survey to record how many landmine victims are in the country. They also looked at housing issues. Fortunately, the Mine Action Centre comes under the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, so it is easy now to give victims housing benefits.

Q: When we talk about victims, are civilian victims and persons involved in the warfare treated differently in terms of victim assistance?

A: Military landmine victims and civilians are treated differently. Military persons injured in war are paid pensions. They have support from government health services; they have military hospitals. When it comes to civilians, we also have hospitals, but not the same level of support for civilian victims. There are children among mine victims in affected areasthey should be the priority in assistance. The schools they go to are not equipped to handle disabled students.

Q: How widespread was the use of cluster munitions in Sri Lanka's conflict and what evidence exists?

A: There is no evidence at all. If a country uses cluster munitions, only 40 to 45 percent explode, but the remaining 55 percent remains in the ground. But in our demining we have not found any cluster munitions. It also requires a different method in clearingcluster munitions are not like landmines.

There was an allegation that the Sri Lankan government used cluster munitions and also some alleged that maybe the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) may have used cluster munitions. But I do not think cluster munitions were used in Sri Lanka. The government imported landmines from Pakistan and many other countries. Almost every landmine used by the Sri Lankan government was imported. But the LTTE produced landmines here, but not cluster munitions.

Q: Sri Lanka acceded to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention in 2017. From your perspective, how meaningful has implementation been since then?

A: Very good. We are very happy; the people of Sri Lanka are benefiting from this now. All the political leadership and governments after the war were supportive of the Ottawa Treaty and its implementation. During the pandemic and economic crisis, we were also continuing the mine action programme.

Q: Do you believe that Sri Lanka will meet its Article 5 obligations under the Mine Ban Treaty?

A: We are finding new minefields, so we will not be able to complete within the timeframe before 2028. We need to go for an extension.

Q: How do you view the Sri Lankan mine action programme and the work of the mine clearing agencies?

A: As I mentioned earlier, all four NGOs working in Sri Lanka depend on international donor funding. Recent US government aid cuts affected the mine action programme, not only in Sri Lanka but for the entire world. The Sri Lankan mine action programme depended 50 percent on US government funding. But they are doing good work despite the odds.

Q: How politicised is mine action in Sri Lanka? Do political rivalries or centralisation of power ever delay or compromise the process?

A: No, the mine action programme is not politicised at all. We as campaigners say not to politicise the mine action programme. It is a people's programme. We have a lot of issues in other schemes and programmes, but the mine action programme is transparent and accountable.

Q: How large is the military demining programme compared to other humanitarian mine clearing NGOs?

A: The army has big capacity and they do not depend on international donor support. The Sri Lankan military has to play a crucial role after clearance, when it comes to residual contamination. Then those four NGOs are not going to be here. The Sri Lankan army will take care of that responsibility in the future.

Q: Can you elaborate on what residual contamination is?

A: There is no guarantee that land is 100 per cent free of landmines after a minefield is declared as cleared. This is the case around the world. Recently Mozambique declared itself as a mine-free country, but now they are finding a few more mines. You have seen that from time to time in Germany, World War II bombs are found when the land is dug. So some mines remain somehow. That is residual contamination.

Q: In Sri Lanka, what types of devices were used and what remains in the land?

A: Mainly landmines and rocket launchers used by both sides. There are also anti-tank mines and claymore mines. Not like Vietnam, Laos, Cambodiaall sorts of weapons were used there.

Q: But Sri Lanka is comparatively smaller in landmass than other countries, right?

A: Yes, Laos and Vietnam are large countries compared to Sri Lanka. But the contamination in the jungle is the issue here.

Q: Are mines laid in forest areas affecting wildlife?

A: Yes, during the war time we raised this issuenot to lay mines in jungle areas. Elephants, leopards, and other wildlife might get injured. There were few incidents in the past. Nothing recorded recently. One elephant lost a leg and was housed in an orphanage.

Q: From a development perspective, has the land released after clearance economically helped the people?

A: Soon after the war, most of the people were in IDP camps and wanted to go back to their land. The mine action programme was helpful for them to go back to their original land. Agricultural and fishing activities restarted; children were able to go to school.

But in the jungle, despite it being illegal, certain people's livelihoods depend on it. They go for firewood; some people collect honey. Overall, demining improves the lives of people. It's helping a lot.

Q: What role can civil society, NGOs, or activists like yourself play in ensuring Sri Lanka remains accountable beyond 2028?

A: We all want to see the last mine removed from Sri Lankan soil. Beyond that we will continue our advocacy because the anti-personnel landmine ban law should continue in the future. We are also advocating for the government to pass a law to ban cluster munitions through parliament and uphold the disability convention. Though we ratified the disability convention in 2016, till date the Sri Lankan government has not been able to pass the local law to implement the disability convention in the country. The disability convention is important not only for landmine victims, but for the entire disabled community in the country.

Q: What role do you think Sri Lanka's mine-free status will play in impacting South Asia's disarmament scenario?

A: Our campaign is not only for Sri Lanka. We are campaigning in neighbouring countries to become parties to the conventions. In 2018, we went to Maldives. Maldives is a state party to the Ottawa Convention, but not to cluster munitions. We also encouraged them to be party to the nuclear ban treatythe total prohibition of nuclear weapons.

So we are also campaigning for a nuclear ban, as well as campaigning to stop autonomous weapons like killer robots. In the region, we are advocating for Bangladesh to become a party to the convention. We campaigned in Nepal too. We are looking at the smaller countries. India and Pakistan claim that they have border issues, but we question both the Indian and Pakistani governments about the use of landmines. At the end of the day, it is not totally the military getting caught in landminesit's mostly civilians.

Q: There is an allegation that even the IPKF laid a lot of landmines in Sri Lanka. How true is this?

A: It is claimed that the IPKF also used landmines during their operation in Sri Lanka. Not many Indian landmines are found here. We mostly find landmines used by the LTTE and the Sri Lankan military.

Q: There are increased conflicts around the globe. Why do you think countries are not learning lessons of peace, particularly having so many examples of the legacies of war that continue to harm people even after the war ends?

A: It depends mainly on the mentality of politicians. In Sri Lanka it was an internal conflict; we had nothing to do with any neighbouring countries. So imagine if we had a war with another countryI don't think we would have been able to come back to normalcy in such a short time.

So wars are a political game. We respect the national security of any country. But if you improve human security as a whole, it automatically benefits national security. Putting more money into health, education and public transport sectors is better. People are more comfortable having good jobs and good education.

Q: What do ordinary Sinhala people feel about landmines, landmine victims, or infested areas in the north and east?

A: Nobody wants to go to war. But when it comes to politics, people's mindset is going to be different. So some people, as I mentioned, usually claim that if we sign those treaties and another war comes, we will not be able to protect our military bases. These opinions are mostly from the south.

Q: So according to you, landmines are one of the war legacies that continue to bring back memories of the conflict?

A: Yes, because if somebody is suffering from a landmine or any other war injuries, it will haunt them their whole life. War legacies are going to be there either as memories or unexploded ordnances. That is why we want to heal them. Look at the World War IIHiroshima, Nagasaki. We still talk about them; some memories are carried for generations.
Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF  Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of Buy from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.60.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Griffon from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. CJS Securities raised Griffon to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Griffon in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stephens increased their price objective on Griffon from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Griffon from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Griffon

Griffon Stock Performance

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,040 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Griffon by 33.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Griffon by 4.0% in the third quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 3,811 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in Griffon by 43.4% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 539 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Griffon by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.22% of the companys stock.

Griffon stock opened at $74.97 on Thursday. Griffon has a twelve month low of $63.92 and a twelve month high of $84.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.97, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31. The stocks 50 day moving average is $73.88 and its 200 day moving average is $75.38.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The conglomerate reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.56 by ($0.02). Griffon had a return on equity of 181.66% and a net margin of 2.03%.The company had revenue of $662.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $631.47 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Griffon will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This is a positive change from Griffons previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Griffons dividend payout ratio is presently 88.00%.

About Griffon

(Get Free Report)

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platformsHome & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty IndustrialGriffons portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffons Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.

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Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE:CWK  Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JMP Securities set a $19.00 price target on shares of Cushman & Wakefield in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Cushman & Wakefield from $12.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of Cushman & Wakefield from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of Cushman & Wakefield in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Cushman & Wakefield in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. They set an equal weight rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $17.88.

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Cushman & Wakefield Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of CWK opened at $15.87 on Friday. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $15.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 1.47. Cushman & Wakefield has a 12-month low of $7.64 and a 12-month high of $17.33.

Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE:CWK  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Cushman & Wakefield had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 2.23%.The companys quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.23 EPS. Cushman & Wakefield has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.180-1.230 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Cushman & Wakefield will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cushman & Wakefield

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWK. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Cushman & Wakefield in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,764,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Cushman & Wakefield by 46.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 12,156,514 shares of the companys stock valued at $134,573,000 after purchasing an additional 3,842,859 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cushman & Wakefield in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,665,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Cushman & Wakefield by 128.6% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,879,485 shares of the companys stock valued at $31,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Cushman & Wakefield by 374.6% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,716,049 shares of the companys stock worth $27,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,476 shares in the last quarter. 95.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cushman & Wakefield

(Get Free Report)

Cushman & Wakefield is a leading global commercial real estate services firm headquartered in Chicago. The company provides a wide range of services to occupiers and investors, specializing in transaction management, property management, facilities management and project management. Its clientele spans corporate occupiers, landlords, investors and government entities seeking solutions to optimize their real estate portfolios and operations.

The firms core offerings include leasing advisory for office, industrial, retail and multifamily properties, as well as capital markets advice on acquisitions, dispositions and debt and equity placements.

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SoundHound AI, Tempus AI, and BigBear.ai are the three Artificial Intelligence stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Artificial intelligence stocks are shares of companies that develop, produce, or commercialize AI technologies  including AI software and models, cloud and platform services, and the specialized chips or hardware that run them  as well as firms that strategically use AI to drive their core products and operations. For investors, these stocks represent a thematic, growth-oriented segment often characterized by higher volatility and sensitivity to technological breakthroughs, data access, and regulatory or competitive shifts. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Artificial Intelligence stocks within the last several days.

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SoundHound AI (SOUN)

SoundHound AI, Inc. develops independent voice artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that enables businesses across automotive, TV, and IoT, and to customer service industries to deliver high-quality conversational experiences to their customers. Its products include Houndify platform that offers a suite of Houndify tools to help brands build conversational voice assistants, such as Application Programming Interfaces (API) for text and voice queries, support for custom commands, extensive library of content domains, inclusive software development kit platforms, collaboration capabilities, diagnostic tools, and built-in analytics; SoundHound Chat AI that integrates with knowledge domains, pulling real-time data like weather, sports, stocks, flight status, and restaurants; and SoundHound Smart Answering is built to offer customer establishments custom AI-powered voice assistant.

Tempus AI (TEM)

Tempus AI Inc. is a technology company advancing precision medicine through the practical application of artificial intelligence principally in healthcare. The company provides AI-enabled precision medicine solutions to physicians to deliver personalized patient care and in parallel facilitates discovery, development and delivery of optimal therapeutics.

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BigBear.ai (BBAI)

BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. provides artificial intelligence-powered decision intelligence solutions. It offers national security, supply chain management, and digital identity and biometrics solutions. The company also provides data ingestion, data enrichment, data processing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive analytics, and predictive visualization solutions and services.

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Further Reading
Ovintiv Inc. (TSE:OVV  Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of Buy from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and five have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company.

A number of research firms recently commented on OVV. Roth Capital raised shares of Ovintiv to a hold rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. William Blair raised Ovintiv to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ovintiv to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised Ovintiv from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th.

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Ovintiv Trading Up 3.4%

TSE OVV opened at C$55.60 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.59. Ovintiv has a 52 week low of C$42.35 and a 52 week high of C$66.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$54.37 and a 200-day moving average price of C$55.03. The company has a market cap of C$14.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.05 and a beta of 0.85.

Ovintiv (TSE:OVV  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported C$0.57 EPS for the quarter. Ovintiv had a net margin of 20.34% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The company had revenue of C$2.88 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ovintiv will post 5.6577693 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Ovintivs dividend payout ratio is currently 129.03%.

Ovintiv Company Profile

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Ovintiv Inc is a leading North American exploration and production (E&P) company focused on developing its high-quality, multi-basin portfolio. Ovintiv works to safely produce crude oil and natural gas-products that make modern life possible for all. The Company is focused on creating long-term shareholder value while contributing to the strength and sustainability of the communities where it operates.

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Shares of Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB  Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of Hold from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.40.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reiterated a buy rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Associated Banc in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued an outperform rating and set a $30.00 target price (up from $29.00) on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating on shares of Associated Banc in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Associated Banc from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday.

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Associated Banc Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:ASB opened at $25.77 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.79. Associated Banc has a 52 week low of $18.32 and a 52 week high of $27.58.

Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.07. Associated Banc had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $390.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $377.94 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Associated Banc will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Associated Banc Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This is a boost from Associated Bancs previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Associated Bancs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Patrick Edward Ahern sold 30,489 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.70, for a total transaction of $783,567.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,213.50. This trade represents a 55.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John A. Utz sold 2,135 shares of Associated Banc stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.41, for a total value of $56,385.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 109,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,900,927.22. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 35,951 shares of company stock worth $925,756 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.45% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Associated Banc

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the 1st quarter worth approximately $311,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Associated Banc by 25.7% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,146 shares of the banks stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Associated Banc in the second quarter worth $422,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Associated Banc in the first quarter worth $744,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new position in shares of Associated Banc during the second quarter valued at $469,000. Institutional investors own 82.98% of the companys stock.

Associated Banc Company Profile

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Associated Banc-Corp, through its primary subsidiary Associated Bank, N.A., is a regional financial services company headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bank operates more than 200 branches across the Midwest, offering community-focused banking solutions for individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Its emphasis on personalized service and regional decision-making supports long-standing customer relationships.

On the consumer side, Associated Bank provides checking and savings accounts, residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit, auto financing and credit card products.

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Laurentian Bank of Canada (OTCMKTS:LRCDF  Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of Reduce from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated a market perform rating on shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada in a report on Monday, December 8th. Scotiabank reiterated a sector perform rating on shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada to a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Laurentian Bank of Canada from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th.

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Laurentian Bank of Canada Price Performance

About Laurentian Bank of Canada

Shares of OTCMKTS:LRCDF opened at $29.41 on Tuesday. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $26.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.05. Laurentian Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $18.00 and a 1 year high of $29.41.

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The Laurentian Bank of Canada (OTCMKTS:LRCDF) is headquartered in Quebec City and is one of Canadas Schedule I banks. Established in 1846, the institution has grown from a regional savings bank into a diversified financial services provider. While its core footprint remains in Quebec, the bank also serves customers in other Canadian provinces through a network of branches, digital channels and broker partnerships.

Laurentian Banks personal banking division offers chequing and savings accounts, mortgages, lines of credit, credit cards and payment solutions.

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ABB Ltd (NYSE:ABBNY  Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of Hold from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $58.00.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered ABB from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ABB in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. They set an underperform rating and a $58.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of ABB in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They issued a hold rating for the company.

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ABB Price Performance

About ABB

NYSE:ABBNY opened at $73.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $72.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.77. The company has a market cap of $136.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.24. ABB has a 52-week low of $45.36 and a 52-week high of $77.00.

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ABB Ltd. is a global engineering and technology company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, with roots dating to the 1988 merger of ASEA and Brown, Boveri & Cie. The company develops and supplies technologies that enable electrification, automation and digitalization across utility, industrial, transportation and infrastructure markets. ABBs offerings span hardware, software and services designed to improve efficiency, reliability and sustainability for its customers.

ABBs principal activities include electrification products and systems for power distribution and management; industrial and factory automation solutions; robotics and discrete automation for manufacturing; and motion technologies including electric motors and drives.

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Shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG  Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.6667.

Several equities analysts have commented on SIG shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Signet Jewelers from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens started coverage on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an overweight rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Signet Jewelers from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c) rating on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

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Signet Jewelers Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SIG opened at $86.12 on Tuesday. Signet Jewelers has a one year low of $45.55 and a one year high of $110.20. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.65.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.47. Signet Jewelers had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 24.44%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Signet Jewelers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-9.59 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Signet Jewelers will post 8.73 EPS for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. Signet Jewelerss dividend payout ratio is currently 38.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 212.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 500,589 shares of the companys stock worth $48,016,000 after purchasing an additional 340,228 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Signet Jewelers during the third quarter worth $410,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Signet Jewelers in the 3rd quarter valued at $879,000. Castleark Management LLC boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 86,758 shares of the companys stock worth $8,322,000 after acquiring an additional 3,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 78.0% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 153,431 shares of the companys stock worth $14,717,000 after acquiring an additional 67,230 shares during the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Company Profile

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Signet Jewelers Ltd is the worlds largest retailer of diamond jewelry, operating a diversified network of retail stores across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its portfolio includes well-established banners such as Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared The Galleria of Jewelry, H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples and Piercing Pagoda, offering customers a range of shopping environments from suburban malls to high-street locations.

The companys product assortment encompasses engagement rings, wedding bands, fine fashion jewelry and timepieces, complemented by services including jewelry cleaning, repairs, appraisals and extended care plans.

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Shares of ESAB Corporation (NYSE:ESAB  Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $141.50.

ESAB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ESAB from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Sunday, December 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of ESAB from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c+) rating on shares of ESAB in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of ESAB from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on ESAB from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th.

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ESAB Price Performance

NYSE:ESAB opened at $112.54 on Tuesday. ESAB has a one year low of $100.17 and a one year high of $135.84. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $112.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.76.

ESAB (NYSE:ESAB  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. ESAB had a return on equity of 15.93% and a net margin of 8.70%.The company had revenue of $727.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $663.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. ESAB has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.200-5.30 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that ESAB will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ESAB Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. ESABs payout ratio is 10.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ESAB

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ESAB. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in ESAB by 266.0% in the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 7,861 shares of the companys stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 5,713 shares during the last quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of ESAB by 56.4% during the second quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 26,644 shares of the companys stock worth $3,212,000 after purchasing an additional 9,608 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ESAB by 82.1% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 39,739 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,791,000 after purchasing an additional 17,911 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of ESAB by 159.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,667 shares of the companys stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,256 shares during the period. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in ESAB by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,043,843 shares of the companys stock worth $246,385,000 after buying an additional 114,744 shares during the last quarter. 91.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ESAB Company Profile

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ESAB Corporation is a global leader in welding, cutting and gas control technologies, offering a comprehensive portfolio of equipment, consumables and automation solutions. The companys products include welding power sources, cutting machines, torches, electrodes, filler metals and gas regulating equipment designed to meet the needs of diverse industries. ESAB serves sectors such as construction, shipbuilding, automotive, energy, infrastructure and manufacturing, providing both standard and customized solutions to enhance productivity and quality in metal fabrication and processing.

Founded in 1904 by Swedish inventor Oscar Kjellberg, ESAB pioneered the development of coated welding electrodes, laying the groundwork for modern welding practices.

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The electromobile industry has become a focus point once again as China comes to the rescue to encourage and boost domestic demand. The countrys leading planning authority for economic matters, the National Development and Reform Commission, has proposed a trade-in subsidy program of RMB 62.5 billion ($8.9 billion) for 2026. The program will be funded through ultra-long-term special treasury bonds, and this will mitigate challenges posed by a weak Chinas housing market and deflation.

This comes on the back of a very aggressive expansion in the year 2025, with consumer subsidies more than doubling on a year-over-year basis to a total of about $42.8 billion to encourage the sales of cars, smartphones, and home appliances.

More News from Barchart

The message for investors is crystal clear: the focus for the Chinese government is on the stability of its industrial and consumer demand trends, and the automotive sector and electric vehicles are on the radar here.

Consequently, Chinese EV stocks such as Nio (NIO), XPeng (XPEV), BYD (BYDDY), and Li Auto (LI) are back in investors focus. The question that looms large in 2026 is whether these companies are capable of sustaining any earnings momentum.

About Li Auto Stock

LI Auto is one of the major companies in the new energy vehicles sector in China, especially recognized for the development of its upscale SUV models and the use of the Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EReV) design. Present in Beijing, it has developed an overall network of sales and service platforms, including 542 outlets in 157 cities and over 3,400 supercharging stations. The market capitalization of LI Auto is about $17.7 billion.

From a performance perspective, Li Auto shares have been finding it difficult to find their footing. The current trading price of the shares is around $17.40, which is closer to the lower end of the 52-week range of $16.11 to $33.12.

https://www.barchart.com

Valuations provide mixed insights. Li: With a price/sales ratio of only 0.91x, it appears undervalued against global EV companies. But its forward price/earnings ratio of about 119x indicates heavily trimmed earnings forecasts for the short term. With earnings pressures, its not being valued as a growth compounder; its being valued as a turnaround story linked very closely to earnings revival.
Owens Corning (NYSE:OC  Get Free Report) and Installed Building Products (NYSE:IBP  Get Free Report) are both mid-cap construction companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Owens Corning has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Installed Building Products has a beta of 1.91, indicating that its share price is 91% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Owens Corning and Installed Building Products, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Owens Corning 2 5 10 0 2.47 Installed Building Products 2 9 2 1 2.14

Dividends

Owens Corning currently has a consensus target price of $155.58, suggesting a potential upside of 36.47%. Installed Building Products has a consensus target price of $226.20, suggesting a potential downside of 15.47%. Given Owens Cornings stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Owens Corning is more favorable than Installed Building Products.

Owens Corning pays an annual dividend of $2.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Installed Building Products pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Owens Corning pays out -48.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Installed Building Products pays out 15.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Owens Corning has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Owens Corning is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Owens Corning and Installed Building Products net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Owens Corning -4.46% 24.42% 8.53% Installed Building Products 8.60% 62.74% 14.23%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Owens Corning and Installed Building Productss gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Owens Corning $10.98 billion 0.85 $647.00 million ($5.72) -19.93 Installed Building Products $2.94 billion 2.47 $256.60 million $9.29 28.80

Owens Corning has higher revenue and earnings than Installed Building Products. Owens Corning is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Installed Building Products, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.4% of Owens Corning shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.6% of Installed Building Products shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Owens Corning shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 16.2% of Installed Building Products shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Installed Building Products beats Owens Corning on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Owens Corning

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Owens Corning manufactures and sells building and construction materials in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Roofing, Insulation, and Composites. The Roofing segment manufactures and sells laminate and strip asphalt roofing shingles, oxidized asphalt materials, and roofing components used in residential and commercial construction, and specialty applications. This segment sells its products through distributors, home centers, and lumberyards, as well as to roofing contractors for built-up roofing asphalt systems; and manufacturers in automotive, chemical, rubber, and construction industries. The Insulation segment manufactures and sells thermal and acoustical batts, loosefill insulation, spray foam insulation, foam sheathing and accessories under the Owens Corning PINK, and FIBERGLAS brands; and glass fiber pipe insulation, energy efficient flexible duct media, bonded and granulated mineral wool insulation, cellular glass insulation, and foam insulation under the FOAMULAR, FOAMGLAS, and Paroc brand names used in construction applications. This segment sells its products primarily to the insulation installers, home centers, lumberyards, retailers, and distributors. The Composites segment manufactures, fabricates, and sells glass reinforcements in the form of fiber; and glass fiber products in the form of fabrics, non-wovens, and composite lumber. Its products are used in building structures, roofing shingles, tubs and showers, pools, decking, flooring, pipes and tanks, poles, electrical equipment, and wind-energy turbine blades. This segment sells its products directly to parts molders, fabricators, and shingle manufacturers. The company was incorporated in 1938 and is headquartered in Toledo, Ohio.

About Installed Building Products

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Installed Building Products, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the installation of insulation, waterproofing, fire-stopping, fireproofing, garage doors, rain gutters, window blinds, shower doors, closet shelving and mirrors, and other products in the United States. It operates through Installation, Distribution, and Manufacturing operation segments. The company offers a range of insulation materials, such as fiberglass and cellulose, and spray foam insulation materials. It is also involved in the installation of insulation and sealant materials in various areas of a structure, which includes basement and crawl space, building envelope, attic, and acoustical applications. In addition, the company installs a range of caulk and sealant products that control air infiltration in residential and commercial buildings; and waterproofing options, including sheet and hot applied waterproofing membranes, as well as deck coating, bentonite, and air and vapor systems. Further, it distributes spray foam insulation, metal building insulation, residential insulation, and mechanical and fabricated Styrofoam insulation, as well as accessories and equipment used in the insulation installation process; and manufactures cellulose insulation and specialty industrial fibers. It serves homebuilders, multi-family and commercial and agricultural construction firms, individual homeowners, and repair and remodeling contractors. The company was formerly known as CCIB Holdco, Inc. Installed Building Products, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.

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Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE  Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the twenty-six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $524.20.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DE. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Deere & Company from $440.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Deere & Company from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. UBS Group reissued a buy rating on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut their target price on Deere & Company from $530.00 to $520.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd.

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Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DE opened at $466.79 on Tuesday. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $403.01 and a 12 month high of $533.78. The company has a market cap of $126.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.00. The businesss 50 day moving average is $473.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $483.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 20.54%. The business had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.55 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Deere & Companys dividend payout ratio is currently 35.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total value of $5,553,888.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 112,453 shares of the companys stock, valued at $56,235,496.24. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deere & Company

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Deere & Company by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 364,103 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $185,143,000 after purchasing an additional 85,351 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.6% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 24,000 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $12,204,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 1.0% during the second quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,678 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,615,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,550,000. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deerewho developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soilsthe company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The companys principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.

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Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW  Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of Moderate Buy by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $585.50.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b) rating on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Curtiss-Wright from $525.00 to $537.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and set a $660.00 price target on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a buy rating and issued a $625.00 price objective on shares of Curtiss-Wright in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Curtiss-Wright from $587.00 to $584.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th.

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Curtiss-Wright Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:CW opened at $572.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.13 billion, a PE ratio of 46.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Curtiss-Wright has a 1 year low of $266.88 and a 1 year high of $612.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firms 50-day moving average is $561.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $522.81.

Curtiss-Wright (NYSE:CW  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The aerospace company reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.12. Curtiss-Wright had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 18.82%. The business had revenue of $869.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $869.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Curtiss-Wright will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

Curtiss-Wright Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Curtiss-Wrights dividend payout ratio is currently 7.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Curtiss-Wright

In other news, VP John C. Watts sold 118 shares of Curtiss-Wright stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total transaction of $67,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,570 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,052,750. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.55% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Curtiss-Wright

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CW. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,436,161 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $780,091,000 after acquiring an additional 16,962 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Curtiss-Wright by 0.3% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 791,531 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $429,754,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Curtiss-Wright by 5.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 740,033 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $401,794,000 after purchasing an additional 37,069 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Curtiss-Wright by 31.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 728,745 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $395,665,000 after purchasing an additional 174,592 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Curtiss-Wright in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $241,537,000. 82.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Curtiss-Wright Company Profile

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Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE: CW) is a diversified, global engineering company that designs, manufactures and services highly engineered products and integrated systems for the aerospace, defense, and industrial markets. Its offerings span a range of electromechanical, motion control and flow control technologies, including flight control and actuation systems, sensors and avionics components, pumps and valves, power conversion and heat exchangers, and platform integration solutions for marine and ground systems.

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Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB  Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of Hold by the eleven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b) rating on shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft in a report on Monday, November 24th. Barclays upgraded Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th.

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Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Stock Performance

Shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft stock opened at $39.58 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft has a one year low of $17.17 and a one year high of $39.78. The company has a market cap of $78.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.96.

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.16. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 5.97%. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.75 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi raised its stake in Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 49,597,003 shares of the banks stock worth $1,732,919,000 after acquiring an additional 8,932,484 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft by 3.8% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 26,432,006 shares of the banks stock worth $935,957,000 after purchasing an additional 960,605 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft during the second quarter worth about $719,395,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft by 14.0% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 18,047,605 shares of the banks stock worth $530,500,000 after purchasing an additional 2,219,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Global Partners L L C acquired a new stake in shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft in the 1st quarter valued at about $365,750,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.90% of the companys stock.

About Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

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Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Founded in 1870 to support German foreign trade, the firm has grown into a full-service bank offering a wide range of banking, advisory and transaction services to corporate, institutional, and private clients. Over its history the bank has expanded internationally and developed capabilities across capital markets, investment banking, retail and commercial banking, and wealth management.

The banks core business activities include corporate and investment bankingcovering financing, advisory, sales and trading, and capital markets servicesalong with private & commercial banking for individual and small-to-medium enterprise clients.

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SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS  Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 4,133 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Novartis in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Barrett & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Novartis during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Novartis by 66.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the companys stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 82.4% during the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 290 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.12% of the companys stock.

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Novartis Price Performance

NVS opened at $138.50 on Friday. Novartis AG has a twelve month low of $97.18 and a twelve month high of $140.18. The firm has a market cap of $292.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Novartis ( NYSE:NVS Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $14.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $13.70 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 41.21%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NVS shares. HC Wainwright lowered Novartis to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b) rating on shares of Novartis in a report on Monday, December 29th. HSBC reaffirmed a reduce rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of Novartis in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Bank of America raised shares of Novartis from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Novartis from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Novartis has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $119.75.

View Our Latest Analysis on Novartis

Novartis Profile

(Free Report)

Novartis is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel that researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines and related health-care products. Formed through the 1996 merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, Novartis operates globally and focuses on bringing therapeutics from discovery through clinical development to commercial markets worldwide.

The companys activities center on innovative pharmaceuticals across several therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, neuroscience and ophthalmology, alongside capabilities in advanced therapies such as biologics, cell and gene therapies.

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GAM Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF  Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 66,735 shares of the banks stock, valued at approximately $1,760,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of RF. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in shares of Regions Financial by 34.7% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 61,387 shares of the banks stock valued at $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 15,820 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 3.8% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,972,531 shares of the banks stock worth $216,866,000 after purchasing an additional 325,382 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 4.9% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 419,311 shares of the banks stock worth $9,913,000 after purchasing an additional 19,579 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Regions Financial by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 315,402 shares of the banks stock worth $7,768,000 after buying an additional 11,391 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Regions Financial by 89.4% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 244,610 shares of the banks stock worth $5,510,000 after acquiring an additional 115,458 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RF has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $27.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b) rating on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Regions Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an overweight rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Regions Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Regions Financial currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $28.21.

Regions Financial Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of RF stock opened at $27.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.03. Regions Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.74 and a 12-month high of $27.98. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $25.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.60.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 22.49%. Equities research analysts predict that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 12.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the companys leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Regions Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Regions Financials payout ratio is currently 46.70%.

About Regions Financial

(Free Report)

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) is a U.S. bank holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services. Its primary banking subsidiary, Regions Bank, serves retail and commercial customers through a combination of branch and ATM networks, digital channels and relationship-based delivery. The company offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, and payment and treasury services.

In addition to core banking, Regions offers wealth management, trust and brokerage services, insurance solutions, and capital markets capabilities to corporate and institutional clients.

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Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 14.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,796 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LLY. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 114.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 77,295 shares of the companys stock valued at $60,253,000 after buying an additional 41,222 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 15.3% during the second quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 294 shares of the companys stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 25.8% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 8,990 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,859,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 6.8% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 6,747 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,260,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family CFO Inc acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the companys stock.

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Key Headlines Impacting Eli Lilly and Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Eli Lilly and Company this week:

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,050.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $1,155.36.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $1,079.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 52.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.35. The companys fifty day moving average price is $1,013.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $850.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.55. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $623.78 and a 1 year high of $1,111.99.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $7.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.60. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 109.52%. The business had revenue of $17.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 53.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.000-23.700 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a $1.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Companys previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio is 29.35%.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.

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Signaturefd LLC cut its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS  Free Report) by 14.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 39,250 shares of the transportation companys stock after selling 6,616 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLCs holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $3,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in United Parcel Service by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,557 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 5,413 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.9% during the first quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 11,421 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 3.4% during the first quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its position in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.3% in the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 7,861 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.26% of the companys stock.

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United Parcel Service Stock Performance

United Parcel Service stock opened at $100.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.11. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a one year low of $82.00 and a one year high of $136.99. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $96.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.30.

United Parcel Service Announces Dividend

United Parcel Service ( NYSE:UPS Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The transportation company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.43. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 6.15% and a return on equity of 40.07%. The company had revenue of $21.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $1.64 per share. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. United Parcel Services dividend payout ratio is 101.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UPS shares. UBS Group increased their target price on United Parcel Service from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Stephens raised shares of United Parcel Service to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Parcel Service from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of United Parcel Service from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $100.00 to $88.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $110.09.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service Company Profile

(Free Report)

United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) is a global package delivery and supply chain management company that provides a broad range of transportation, logistics and e-commerce services. Its core business centers on small-package delivery and last-mile distribution for business and individual customers, supported by a network of ground transportation, air cargo operations (UPS Airlines) and sorting facilities. In addition to parcel delivery, UPS offers freight transportation, contract logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and reverse-logistics solutions designed to support domestic and international commerce.

The company traces its roots to 1907 when it began as a small messenger service in the United States and later evolved into the United Parcel Service.

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Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:GSLC  Free Report) by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,827 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 5,218 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLCs holdings in Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,735 shares of the companys stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF by 0.9% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF by 1.4% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,485 shares of the companys stock valued at $787,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF by 2.8% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,741 shares of the companys stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF by 0.8% in the second quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 14,431 shares of the companys stock worth $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter.

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Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF Price Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA:GSLC opened at $132.49 on Friday. The stocks 50-day moving average is $131.70 and its 200 day moving average is $127.94. The company has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08 and a beta of 0.99. Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF has a 1 year low of $94.88 and a 1 year high of $134.27.

About Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF

The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSLC) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in large cap equity. The fund tracks an index of US large-cap stocks comprising 4 sub-indexes: value, momentum, quality, and low volatility. The index uses multiple factors to pick stocks, and each sub-index receives equal weight. GSLC was launched on Sep 21, 2015 and is managed by Goldman Sachs.

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WT Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ  Free Report) by 30.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,153 shares of the cell phone carriers stock after purchasing an additional 13,237 shares during the period. WT Wealth Managements holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carriers stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carriers stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carriers stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 222.2% in the second quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 725 shares of the cell phone carriers stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the companys stock.

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Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:VZ opened at $40.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $40.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.34.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

Verizon Communications ( NYSE:VZ Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The business had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. Verizon Communicationss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $47.47.

Get Our Latest Research Report on VZ

Verizon Communications Profile

(Free Report)

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The companys consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.

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Corn futures are trading with 2 to 4 cent losses so far on Friday, as traders kick off 2026 with some weakness. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price is up 2  cents at $3.98 1/4.

USDA reported a private export sale of 132,000 MT of corn to South Korea this morning. Export Sales data will be officially caught up on Monday, as traders are looking for between 0.7-1.5 MMT in corn bookings during the week of 12/25.

More News from Barchart

On Wednesday afternoon, USDA released the payment details for the Farm Bridge Assistance program, with the corn payment listed at $44.36/acre. Sorghum was tallied at $48.11.

Commitment of Traders data from Wednesday showed managed money flipping back to a net long by 55,431 contracts, with the net long at 2,759 contracts. Most of that was due to short covering, with outright shorts down 64,573 contracts.

Mar 26 Corn is at $4.37 1/2, down 2 3/4 cents,

Nearby Cash is at $3.98 1/4, up 2 1/4 cents,

May 26 Corn is at $4.45, down 3 1/4 cents,

Jul 26 Corn is at $4.51 1/4, down 3 1/4 cents,

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
Schindler Holding AG (OTCMKTS:SHLAF  Get Free Report) rose 1.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $359.65 and last traded at $359.65. Approximately 34 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 115 shares. The stock had previously closed at $355.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHLAF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating on shares of Schindler in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup restated a neutral rating on shares of Schindler in a research note on Monday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold.

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Schindler Stock Performance

About Schindler

The firms 50 day moving average is $358.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $366.01.

(Get Free Report)

Schindler Group is a Switzerland-based multinational engineering company specializing in the design, manufacturing and servicing of elevators, escalators and moving walkways. Its product portfolio spans a range of urban mobility solutions, from machine-room-less passenger lifts for residential buildings to high-capacity elevators for skyscrapers and heavy-duty escalators for transit hubs. The company emphasizes energy-efficient drive systems, digital connectivity and predictive maintenance technologies to support safe, reliable vertical transportation.

Founded in 1874 by Robert Schindler and Eduard Villiger in Lucerne, Schindler has grown from a regional ironworks into a global industry leader.

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European Opportunities Trust (LON:EOT  Get Free Report)s share price dropped 0.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as GBX 894.38 and last traded at GBX 894.38. Approximately 41,619 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 179,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 899.

European Opportunities Trust Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of GBX 892.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 918.29. The stock has a market cap of 417.31 million, a PE ratio of -20.29 and a beta of 0.86.

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European Opportunities Trust Company Profile

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Objective of the Company

The objective of the Company is to invest in securities of European companies and in sectors or geographical areas which are considered by the Investment Adviser to offer good prospects for capital growth, taking into account economic trends and business development.

Investment Policy

The Company will, at all times, invest and manage its assets, with the objective of spreading risk and in accordance with the following policies:

Investment Restrictions

Notwithstanding the broad powers of investment available to the Company as a closed-ended fund, the Board has adopted the following investment restrictions:

no single holding shall constitute more than 10% of the Companys total assets (calculated at the time of investment);

the Company will not invest in unlisted securities;

the Company will not invest in derivative instruments, whether for efficient portfolio management, gearing or investment purposes;

the Company will not invest in other listed closed-ended investment funds.

the Company shall not take legal or management control over any investments in its portfolio; and

not more than 50% of the Companys investments may be in securities which are not qualifying securities or government securities for the purposes of the UK ISA Regulations.

Borrowing limits

The Directors consider that long-term capital growth can be enhanced by the use of gearing through bank borrowings.

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Shares of AstraZeneca PLC (OTCMKTS:AZNCF  Get Free Report) were up 4.1% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $185.06 and last traded at $182.6750. Approximately 2,224 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 2,712 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.50.

AstraZeneca Stock Up 4.1%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $177.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.08.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On AstraZeneca

An institutional investor recently raised its position in AstraZeneca stock. Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca PLC (OTCMKTS:AZNCF  Free Report) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 192,589 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 10,154 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLCs holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $28,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.87% of the companys stock.

AstraZeneca Company Profile

AstraZeneca (OTCMKTS:AZNCF) is a global biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing and commercialization of prescription medicines. The companys research and development efforts are concentrated in three main therapeutic areas: oncology; cardiovascular, renal and metabolism; and respiratory, inflammation and autoimmunity. AstraZenecas product portfolio includes targeted therapies for lung and breast cancers, novel agents for heart failure and chronic kidney disease, and inhaled treatments for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The company was formed in 1999 through the merger of Swedens Astra AB and the United Kingdoms Zeneca Group, creating one of the worlds largest pharmaceutical firms.

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Stroer SE & Co. KGaA (OTCMKTS:SOTDY  Get Free Report)s share price was down 7.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as C$10.83 and last traded at C$10.83. Approximately 150 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 2,469 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$11.66.

Stroer SE & Co. KGaA Price Performance

The companys fifty day moving average is C$11.04 and its 200-day moving average is C$12.70.

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Stroer SE & Co. KGaA Company Profile

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Stroer SE & Co KGaA is a Germany?based provider of out?of?home (OOH) and digital advertising solutions. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio that includes classic billboard advertising, street furniture media, transport advertising and large?format digital displays. Through its OOH business, Stroer enables brands to reach consumers in urban centres, retail locations and on public transport networks.

In its digital segment, Stroer operates online marketing services such as programmatic display, search engine marketing and performance?based solutions for advertisers.

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Shares of Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS (NYSE:CIG  Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $2.00 and traded as high as $2.06. Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS shares last traded at $2.0550, with a volume of 3,418,010 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c+) rating on shares of Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS has a consensus rating of Reduce.

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Check Out Our Latest Report on Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS

Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS Trading Up 2.8%

Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS Dividend Announcement

The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $2.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 0.92.

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.0264 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 29th. Comp En De Mn Cemig ADSs payout ratio is currently 85.00%.

Institutional Trading of Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIG. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS by 69.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,227 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 6,227 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. PFG Advisors raised its stake in Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS by 34.2% during the third quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 18,392 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 4,685 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Invested Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000.

About Comp En De Mn Cemig ADS

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Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais SA (Cemig ADS) is a leading Brazilian energy company primarily engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and commercialization of electric power. Headquartered in Belo Horizonte, the company operates as a vertically integrated utility, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across its concession areas. In addition to its core electricity business, Cemig maintains interests in natural gas distribution and distinct energy-related ventures, including renewable sources and infrastructure projects.

In its generation segment, Cemig manages a diversified portfolio that includes hydroelectric, photovoltaic and wind power plants.

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Nevada King Gold Corp. (CVE:NKG  Get Free Report) rose 7.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as C$0.23 and last traded at C$0.23. Approximately 372,372 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 31% from the average daily volume of 283,872 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.21.

Nevada King Gold Price Performance

The companys fifty day moving average is C$0.16 and its 200-day moving average is C$0.15. The company has a market capitalization of C$95.42 million, a PE ratio of -7.50 and a beta of 0.42.

About Nevada King Gold

(Get Free Report)

Nevada King Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and evaluation of resource properties in Nevada, the United States. The company explores for gold, silver, iron ore, vanadium, and other base metals. The company was formerly known as Victory Metals Inc and changed its name to Nevada King Gold Corp in April 2021. Nevada King Gold Corp. is based in Vancouver, Canada.

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Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE:NAZ  Get Free Report)s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $11.85 and traded as high as $11.97. Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund shares last traded at $11.90, with a volume of 54,559 shares changing hands.

Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.85.

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Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.0655 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

About Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 118,363 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 34,737 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new position in Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund in the first quarter worth $939,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund by 8.1% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 51,009 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 3,813 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 37,054 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 4,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,983 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 2,391 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.28% of the companys stock.

(Get Free Report)

Nuveen Arizona Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE: NAZ) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with a high level of current income that is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. Managed by Nuveen Asset Management, the fund focuses on investment-grade municipal obligations issued by or on behalf of entities located in the state of Arizona. Its portfolio typically includes general obligation bonds, revenue bonds and essential-purpose municipal securities backed by state and local governments and quasi-governmental agencies.

The fund employs fundamental credit analysis to select bonds that meet rigorous quality standards, aiming to preserve principal while generating tax-advantaged income.

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Mitsubishi Co. (OTCMKTS:MSBHY  Get Free Report)s share price crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.23 and traded as high as $40.25. Mitsubishi shares last traded at $40.23, with a volume of 8,200 shares.

Mitsubishi Trading Up 0.2%

The firm has a market cap of $29.89 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.23 and a 200 day moving average of $40.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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About Mitsubishi

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Mitsubishi is a historic Japanese industrial group whose companies operate across a wide range of sectors including trading, natural resources and energy, industrial machinery, chemicals, automotive-related businesses, food and consumer goods, real estate, and financial services. Many Mitsubishi entities act as trading and investment houses that source, distribute and invest in commodities and finished goods, develop infrastructure and energy projects, and provide corporate and financial solutions to multinational clients.

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Rocket Companies, UP Fintech, Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz, Society Pass, DeFi Development, IDT, and LexinFintech are the seven Fintech stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Fintech stocks are shares of publicly traded companies that develop or use technology to provide financial services  for example digital payments, online lending, digital banking, wealth-management platforms, blockchain services, and back?end financial infrastructure. For investors, these stocks can offer growth and disruption potential but often come with higher volatility and risks tied to regulation, cybersecurity, credit cycles, and changing consumer or interest?rate environments. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Fintech stocks within the last several days.

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Rocket Companies (RKT)

Rocket Companies, Inc., a fintech holding company, provides mortgage lending, title and settlement services, and other financial technology services in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments, Direct to Consumer and Partner Network. The companys solutions include Rocket Mortgage, a mortgage lender; Amrock that provides title insurance, property valuation, and settlement services; Rocket Homes, a home search platform and real estate agent referral network, which offers technology-enabled services to support the home buying and selling experience; and Rocket Loans, an online-based personal loans business.

UP Fintech (TIGR)

UP Fintech Holding Limited provides online brokerage services focusing on Chinese investors. The company has developed a brokerage platform, which allows investor to trade stocks, options, warrants, and other financial instruments that can be accessed through its APP and website. It offers brokerage and value-added services, including investor education, community engagement, and IR platform services.

Read Our Latest Research Report on TIGR

Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz (KSPI)

Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz, together with its subsidiaries, provides payments, marketplace, and fintech solutions for consumers and merchants in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It operates through three segments: Payments Platform, Marketplace Platform, and Fintech Platform. The Payments Platform segment facilities transactions between customers and merchants.

Read Our Latest Research Report on KSPI

Society Pass (SOPA)

Society Pass Incorporated acquires and operates fintech and e-commerce platforms and mobile applications for consumers and merchants in Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, the United States, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand. It operates through Online Grocery and Food and Groceries Deliveries, Digital marketing, Online ticketing and reservation, Telecommunications Reseller, e-Commerce, and Merchant Point of Sale segments.

Read Our Latest Research Report on SOPA

DeFi Development (DFDV)

We are a B2B fintech marketplace connecting commercial property borrowers and lenders with a human touch. We seek to revolutionize the commercial real estate lending market by making it hyper-efficient, transparent, and accessible to all rather than the few. Through our online platform, we provide technology that connects commercial mortgage borrowers looking for capital to refinance, build, or purchase commercial property, including, but not limited to, apartment buildings, to commercial property lenders.

Read Our Latest Research Report on DFDV

IDT (IDT)

IDT Corporation provides communications and payment services in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Fintech, National Retail Solutions, net2phone, and Traditional Communications segments. The company operates point of sale, a terminal-based platform which provides independent retailers store management software, electronic payment processing, and other ancillary merchant services; and provides marketers with digital out-of-home advertising and transaction data.

Read Our Latest Research Report on IDT

LexinFintech (LX)

LexinFintech Holdings Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides online consumer finance services in the People's Republic of China. The company operates Fenqile.com, an online consumption and consumer finance platform that offers installment purchase and personal installment loans, as well as online direct sales with installment payment terms; and Le Hua Card, a scenario-based lending.

Read Our Latest Research Report on LX

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Just as we talked about why crypto could pump big this 2026 yesterday, Bitcoin price pushed up toward $90,000, while alts like Ethereum and XRP outperformed as BTC dominance slips under 60%. This somehow caught us off guard, especially after weeks of bearish sentiment heading into January.

Refusing a breakdown, the market is running higher. Bitcoin jumped with 1% price gain, Ethereum with around 3%, and altcoins followed. XRP rallied close to 6%, easily beating major alts daily gains, and sentiment flipped a little after yesterdays options expiry cleared the board.

Bitcoin Dominance and Price Steady as Rotation Begins

At around 59%, Bitcoin dominance shows a start of a heavy rotation, just like popping popcorn. Capital is moving, Bitcoin price remains elevated, blasting $90,000, as we track a CME gap above the resistance level, which has a strong historical tendency to get filled.

(source  BTC USD, CME gap, TradingView)

Despite dominance slipping, Bitcoin stays resilient. On a weekly basis, it climbed by 2.5%, while the winner of last year, gold, slid more than 4% after peaking near $4,550. That divergence is the perfect example of rotation narrative as some capital is shifting from traditional hedges toward digital assets.

Liquidity conditions also helped. The Federal Reserve injected nearly $19.5 billion through repo operations, one of the largest such moves since the Covid era. These injections might not grab headlines, but they support risk assets in the background, as can be seen in Bitcoin price action.

DISCOVER: 10+ Next Crypto to 100X In

Ethereum Price Takes the Spotlight as Whale Places Massive Bet

A single whale (whom the community called an insider whale with a good hit rate) opened long positions worth more than $600 million in ETH, far outweighing exposure to Bitcoin price and Solana combined. The scale alone raised eyebrows, but the timing was perfect, as usual. With over 203,000 ETH in play, the bet implies expectations of further upside.

(source- Hyperliquid)

The Ethereum price held above $3,100, supported by good volume and volatility. ETH is leading this transition phase and benefited first from the market as Bitcoin dominance drifts lower. XRP followed with solid gains, and the altcoins market showed signs of life yet again.

Macro signals, British stocks, and what comes next

Away from the price action, what is happening in the macro structure is also worth watching. British stocks outperformed US markets since Donald Trump returned to office, challenging assumptions that American equities would immediately bump. UK indices have shown steadier strength, while US stocks have lagged despite policy optimism, as reported by BBC. Is Trump really the president we need in crypto?
Reporting rules of the modern era seemingly kill an ancient sacrament according this report from a local Catholic mag . . . Check-it:

"Under canon law, the seal of confession is absolute and inviolable; Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne warned priests in May that they would face excommunication for breaking it. But Catholic supporters of the Washington statute say the church has a legal and ethical duty to report sex abuse, even abuse discussed during the sacrament, to the proper authorities  and that keeping secret these potential crimes only protects predators.



"Of course, the state's attempts to root out sexual abuse by focusing, in part, on the privacy of confession assumes that American Catholics are still celebrating the sacrament. But only a minority of the faithful are seeking out confession at all, finds author James O'Toole in his urgent, provocative new study of the sacrament, For I Have Sinned: The Rise and Fall of Catholic Confession in America."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

National Catholic Reporter: Is confession dead? Q&A with a Catholic historian on the state of the sacrament
To start . . .

Credit to TKC readers for predicting this move that was telegraphed months ago given that U.S. Presidents typically use Third World Latin America as a punching bag when polling numbers sag . . . We disagree with Kander, a comparison of the conflict to the take down of Manuel Noriega in Panama is actually more apt with Prez Reagan's excursion into Grenada deserving mention as well.

And now . . . For context on the inspiration for today's lead story . . .

Jason Kander remains the leading voice amongst Kansas City Democratic Party leaders on the national stage.

Mr. Kander hosts a popular podcast, he has more influential social media following on a national level than any other local politico and he has demonstrated over the years the ability to garner the mainstream media spotlight for both his veteran's advocacy and political opinions.

We note just a bit of his influential resume if only because so many of our conservative friends often need help seeing outside of their right-wing bubble and don't understand why Kander's statements merit attention.

Accordingly . . .

Jason Kander's comment seems to define the progressive response to U.S. military intervention in Venezuela and it's a good place to start the conversation in a town that's dominated by Democratic Party public officials.

Here's what he recently posted to social media . . .

"Going to war STRICTLY to get access to another countrys natural resources - and for no other pretext or partial moral reason at all - is the type of thing Putin, Stalin, Hitler, and whoever is president in Avatar would do."

Worthwhile follow-up from Jason Kander posted just moments ago . . .

"A war has to be especially stupid for a U.S. president to have to do it without authorization from a Congress controlled by his own party."

Meanwhile . . .

The comment sparks us to share some of our reading from "many sides" of the conversation.

Take a look via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Aircraft fly low over Caracas as explosions hit Venezuelan capital - video Venezuelan government confirms attacks made on the capital, as well as three other states

Trump vows US will 'run' Venezuela until 'safe' transition of power Venezuela intervention announced as President Donald Trump says U.S. will run the country until safe transition after special forces allegedly captured dictator Nicolas Maduro.

Trump: Maduro 'Captured and Flown Out Of' Venezuela President Donald Trump announced that Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores have been "captured and flown out of the country"

Republicans largely back Trump on Venezuela action, Democrats decry it as unjustified Democrats said he needed congressional authorization to use military force.

'Mix of emotions': Kansas City's Venezuelan community reeling amid Maduro's capture Trump announces Maduro and wife 'captured and flown out'; KC resident of Venezuelan descent expresses relief and concern

Local leaders respond to US military action in 'Operation Absolute Resolve' Why did the US capture Nicolas Maduro? US will now run Venezuelan government, oil production. Trump shares photo of Maduro on USS Iwo Jima

Mo. lawmakers react to U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader The United States successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, al

Kansas leaders react to U.S. military strike on Venezuela Senator Roger Marshall and Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson took to social media to comment on U.S. military strike on Venezuela.

Schmitt says 'this is our hemisphere.' Then Trump takes Venezuela's Maduro | Opinion Missouri's junior senator said the U.S. should start acting like a superpower again. The "peacemaker and unifier" president did it without Congress' approval. | Opinion

World leaders denounce U.S. operation to capture Maduro Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the bombings and capture "cross an unacceptable line."

Trump Teases Next Potential Target For Military Intervention After Capture Of Venezuela Dictator President Donald Trump hinted Mexican drug cartels could be the next target of American military action during a phone interview on "Fox and Friends Weekend."

For anybody clicking late . . . Here's the last Insta update:

Developing . . .
Update regarding improvements to the grid remind us of the world beyond border war biz poaching.

Here's the word:

"Evergy plans to build a new power transmission line across southern Kansas to send electricity to Oklahoma and Missouri.

"The project is part of a larger effort by the Southwest Power Pool to improve grid reliability, particularly in Missouri, following Winter Storm Elliott.

"While the line is primarily intended to benefit Missouri, Kansas electricity customers will help pay for the $493 million project.

"The proposed route will cross four Kansas counties and affect hundreds of landowners."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

CJOnline: Evergy will build Kansas transmission line sending power to Missouri
This morning the angels inspire us once again to take a peek at pop culture, community reporting and top headlines.

Check TKC news gathering . . .

Cowtown Reacts . . .

KC Venezuelans share hope for the future while others question U.S. oil motives Communities in Kansas City are reacting to the news of a U.S. military operation and the capture of the Venezuelan president during private gatherings and protests.

Stuck South Of Border

Metro family stuck in the Caribbean as Venezuelan dispute closes airspace A local family is currently stuck in the Caribbean after the US military operation capturing the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro disrupted Caribbean travel.

Show-Me Patriotic Wings

Missouri counts record number of bald eagles in 2025 The Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge said 1,012 bald eagles were observed on the refuge during the 2025 survey.

Counting Up Local Tragedy

Victim identified in shooting at east Kansas City, Missouri, house that killed 1 person, wounded 2 others Kansas City, Missouri, police have identified a 57-year-old man as the victim of a Dec. 30 triple shooting inside a residence.

Local Outreach Redux

Community Comes Together to Help Hundreds of Families in Need "This is not your typical toy drive giveaway. We want to provide empowerment and sustainability for our families in south Kansas City."

Angels Lure Baller

Dennis Rodman on discovering he was scammed by his financial advisor: "I've never even been to Victoria's Secret" Dennis Rodman opens up about being scammed off the court.

MAGA Plan After Extraction

Trump hinted at US troops guarding Venezuela's oil. Putting boots on the ground comes with high risks. The US military has experience guarding oil infrastructure, but deploying troops to Venezuela comes with high risks in a dangerous environment.

Meet Opposition

Ranking the top 2028 Democratic contenders Democrats spent the early part of last year struggling to redefine themselves after devastating losses in the 2024 election. Now, with 2025 closed out, the party has regained some of its lost momen...

La Migra Consequences Underway

Judge convicted of obstructing immigrant arrest resigns as GOP threatens impeachment Embattled Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of obstruction last month for helping an immigrant evade federal officers, has sent her resignation letter to the governor

People Of Book Debate

Tuberville on Mamdani using Quran at his swearing-in: 'Enemy is inside the gates' Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) on Wednesday slammed incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for being sworn in with the Quran, the sacred scripture of Islam. "The enemy is inside the gates," Tuberville wrote in a post on social platform X, where he also posted a screenshot of a New York Times piece on Mamdani's historic decision....

Puppers Approved

Unleash the hounds, terriers and lapdogs! American Kennel Club recognizes 3 more breeds They're ready to embark on 2026. Three more dog breeds joined the American Kennel Club's roster of recognized breeds on Tuesday, making them eligible for many U.S. dog shows and likely increasing their visibility to the pet-loving public.

Gifts For El Papa

Exclusive | Pope Leo goes viral after being gifted 'favorite candy on earth' while riding Popemobile Pope Leo XIV was riding through St. Peter's Square gracing gatherers with his presence, when he got an unexpected present - a giant Peep doll - and the sweet clip went viral.

Good Deeds Across Bridge

Northland nonprofit works to help families with basic needs achieve self-sufficiency The nonprofit A Turning Point KC is located in the Northland, providing basic needs, as well as education, to equip its clients for self-sufficiency.

Grigs Talks Warmup

Going for 60 on Monday Rain chances finally return late next week

Enigma - Sadeness - Part i is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
Right now actress, producer, fashionista and Insta hottie Syd inspires our glimpse at pop culture, community reporting and top headlines just for close readers.

Check TKC news gathering . . .

Mid-flight Scare Over Cowtown

Delta DL2883 from Denver diverted after crew declared an emergency over Kansas City On January 3, 2026, Delta Air Lines flight DL2883, a scheduled service from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), was forced to make an emergency diversion to Kansas City International Airport (MCI) following a mid-air mechanical issue. The incident occurred roughly an hour into the flight, resulting in a safe [...]

Teamwork Down By River

City Market's Farmers' Market opens, helping businesses survive winter slowdown Organizers say the City Market's year-round farmers' market, which opened Saturday morning, helps keep customers coming - and local vendors afloat.

More Deets On Courthouse Delay

Have you paid your property taxes yet? If not, you're in luck "People should not be penalized for something that was beyond their control. This extension is about fairness."

Update On Local Health Deets

Flu cases surge to 5-year high in Jackson County, Missouri Flu cases in Jackson County are at their highest levels in five years, with this week's numbers nearly five times higher than last week, according to Jackson County Public Health.

Discounting The Future

Gen Z ditches malls for vintage shopping in West Bottoms The shift toward vintage shopping has gained momentum among younger consumers who seek unique items with personal meaning.

MAGA Offers Future Vision

Trump: "We're going to run" Venezuela until power can be transferred The U.S. ouster of Maduro drew condemnation from across the globe.

Progressively Bad Take

Ex-ESPN star Keith Olbermann calls for impeachment of Trump over Venezuela strikes that captured Maduro Keith Olbermann calls for President Donald Trump's impeachment following U.S. strikes against Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

American Big Cat Tragedy

Woman killed in suspected mountain lion attack while hiking in northern Colorado Wildlife officials tracked and killed two lions and are looking for a third in the mountains northeast of Estes Park where the attack occurred

More Debate Over Dox

With few Epstein files released, conspiracy theories flourish and questions remain President Trump's changing messaging, Congress' unprecedented demands and the Justice Department's piecemeal release of information haven't quieted the questions. Here's what we know - and don't.

Questions After NYE Inferno

Crans-Montana: Police identify first four victims of Swiss ski resort fire Police have identified the first four bodies of people who were killed in a fire at a bar in a Swiss ski resort on New Year's Eve. The bodies of two Swiss women aged 21 and 16, and two Swiss men aged 18 and 16 have been returned to their families, police said.

Hollywood Life Postscript

Tommy Lee Jones' daughter, Victoria, was seen doing cocaine before shocking death: report The former child actress died suddenly at a Northern California hotel at the age of 34.

Tesla Tech Allegedly Degrading

Woman felt 'dehumanised' after Musk's Grok AI used to digitally remove her clothes The BBC has seen several examples of it undressing women and putting them in sexual situations without their consent.

Artsy Sneak Peek

Four Art Events Not to Miss in January - IN Kansas City Magazine Two New Exhibits at Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art From now until January 24, you have just enough time to catch two exhibits by Kansas City contemporary artists at Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art. Craig Allen Subler: The Edge of the Table "As a pictorial genre I have until recently avoided creating still-life, perhaps mistakenly thinking it...

Winter Weather Overview . . .

FOX4 Forecast: Waiting for the warmup After a cold and cloudy start, this afternoon turns sunny with temperatures around 40 degrees. Winds pick up on Sunday with gusts to 25 MPH pushing temperatures closer to 50. The work week is the r...

Pulp - Spike Island is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
Another local health warning amid this winter season of hookup snuggles . . . Here's the word regarding the virus formerly known as Monkey Pox:

The Kansas City Health Department says on Friday, Jan. 2, that it is monitoring ongoing transmissions of the virus. All local cases have been linked to the Clade II strain, which typically causes milder symptoms.



We want residents to know that the overall risk remains low, said Marvia Jones, Director of the Kansas City Health Department. By staying informed, getting vaccinated if eligible, and taking simple precautions, Kansas Citians can help limit the spread of Mpox.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

KCTV5: Kansas City health officials urge vaccination as Mpox cases continue

Developing . . .
Charlotte O'Hara might be a long-shot for the Governor's mansion . . . However . . . BEST & BRIGHTEST TKC READERS seem to admire her willingness to call out the the bad deal currently under consideration for local taxpayers . . . Take a look:

"Well, I have been deep into reading the 33-page agreement between the Kansas Legislative Coordinating Committee (LCC) and the Chiefs. Wow, is this the gift that keeps on giving to the...Chiefs. "

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
Over two days during the short 2025 summer beyond the Arctic Circle, a mining company moved a 113-year-old timber church building in its entirety nearly two miles away, in an engineering feat that made international headlines.

The moving of the Kiruna Church from the Swedish town of the same name, created by the iron ore mining industry, wasnt a solitary feat. The relocation of the church is part of a decades-long project by Sweden-based mining company LKAB, which is relocating the entire town of Kiruna to expand iron ore mining and tap recently discovered rare earth deposits.

More from Yahoo Scout How does China dominate the global rare earth supply? Why is LKAB relocating the entire town of Kiruna? What rare earth elements were discovered in Kiruna? What other Nordic rare earth discoveries could diversify supply?

Years ago, LKAB announced plans to move the town from its current location due to mining expansion and ground subsidence.

The worlds most ambitious urban transformation project will take more than a decade to complete, with residents being offered monetary compensation to move or a new house.

About 90% of residents have elected to take a new house, Niklas Johansson, senior vice president of public affairs and external relations at LKAB, told CNBC in a recent interview.

While some residents are sad they would have to leave their homes, everyone in the mining town knows that Kiruna depends on the industry, Mats Taaveniku, Chairman of the Municipal Council in Kiruna, told CNBC.

Kiruna is built on the minerals, so every resident in Kiruna knows that we have to move from our homes sooner or later because we are dependent on this mining industry, Taaveniku said.

Related: OPEC+ Set to Keep Oil Production Policy Despite Saudi-UAE Spat

LKAB has been mining iron ore in Kiruna since the early 20th century, and the Kiirunavaara mine is currently the worlds largest underground mine for iron ore.

In Kiruna, LKAB is also exploring the new deposit, Per Geijer, an iron ore deposit that contains high levels of phosphorus and is one of Europes largest known deposits of rare earth elements.

LKAB announced in 2023 that it had identified significant deposits of rare earth elements in the Kiruna area, which is the largest known deposit of its kind in Europe. After a successful exploration stage, LKAB found that mineral resources of rare earth elements in the area exceed 1 million tons of rare earth oxides.

This is the largest known deposit of rare earth elements in our part of the world, and it could become a significant building block for producing the critical raw materials that are absolutely crucial to enable the green transition, Jan Mostrom, President and Group CEO at LKAB, said at the time.

We face a supply problem. Without mines, there can be no electric vehicles.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 4. On January 4, the Azerbaijan Minister of Defense, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov met with the U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and other members of the House of Representatives who are on a visit to Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

During the meeting at the Ministry of Defense, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov expressed satisfaction with the current state of relations between Azerbaijan and the United States and noted that these relations are of particular importance for both countries.

Markwayne Mullin, in his turn, emphasized that mutual visits and meetings held in various formats are effective in expanding bilateral relations.

At the meeting, the current state, new opportunities, and prospects for the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United States in the military, military-technical, and military educational fields were discussed, and an extensive exchange of views was held on many other issues of common interest.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, January 4. Uzbekistans trade turnover with China reached $14.6 billion from January through November 2025, firmly consolidating Chinas position as the countrys largest trading partner.

According to data obtained by Trend from the National Statistics Committee, bilateral trade increased from $11.2 billion over the same period of 2024, reflecting a 30.4% year-on-year growth.

During the reporting period, Uzbekistans exports to China amounted to $1.9 billion, while imports totaled $12.8 billion.

Uzbekistans foreign trade relations continue to diversify, with the country now maintaining trade ties with 210 partner nations.

China accounted for the largest share of Uzbekistans total foreign trade at 20.1%, followed by Russia (16.2%), Kazakhstan (6.0%), Turkiye (3.7%), and the Republic of Korea (2.2%).
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 4. The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has released the official exchange rates for foreign currencies as of January 4, Trend reports.

According to the CBI's announced rates, the value of 21 currencies went up, while 23 currencies fell compared to January 1.

The official rate for $1 is 761,996 rials, while one euro is valued at 893,813 rials. On January 1 the euro was priced at 893,300 rials.

Currency Rial on January 4 Rial on January 1 1 US dollar USD 761,996 762,121 1 British pound GBP 1,026,120 1,024,670 1 Swiss franc CHF 962,640 960,164 1 Swedish krona SEK 82,670 82,617 1 Norwegian krone NOK 75,731 75,581 1 Danish krone DKK 119,609 119,737 1 Indian rupee INR 8,468 8,481 1 UAE Dirham AED 207,487 207,521 1 Kuwaiti dinar KWD 2,477,367 2,475,231 100 Pakistani rupees PKR 272,073 271,958 100 Japanese yen JPY 486,125 485,980 1 Hong Kong dollar HKD 97,796 97,916 1 Omani rial OMR 1,979,639 1,981,407 1 Canadian dollar CAD 554,910 555,692 1 New Zealand dollar NZD 439,572 438,445 1 South African rand ZAR 46,223 46,035 1 Turkish lira TRY 17,708 17,737 1 Russian ruble RUB 9,498 9,634 1 Qatari riyal QAR 209,340 209,374 100 Iraqi dinars IQD 58,146 58,139 1 Syrian pound SYP 69 69 1 Australian dollar AUD 510,000 508,175 1 Saudi riyal SAR 203,199 203,232 1 Bahraini dinar BHD 2,026,585 2,026,918 1 Singapore dollar SGD 592,529 592,494 100 Bangladeshi takas BDT 623,269 622,865 10 Sri Lankan rupees LKR 24,622 24,590 1 Myanmar kyat MMK 363 363 100 Nepalese rupees NPR 529,006 529,814 1 Libyan dinar LYD 140,527 140,624 1 Chinese yuan CNY 108,873 108,919 100 Thai baht THB 2,418,365 2,419,179 1 Malaysian ringgit MYR 187,914 187,784 1,000 South Korean won KRW 528,846 527,729 1 Jordanian dinar JOD 1,074,748 1,074,924 1 euro EUR 893,813 894,300 100 Kazakh tenge KZT 150,559 150,196 1 Georgian lari GEL 283,270 282,802 1,000 Indonesian rupiahs IDR 45,599 45,658 1 Afghan afghani AFN 11,525 11,641 1 Belarusian ruble BYN 259,681 259,663 1 Azerbaijani manat AZN 447,784 448,306 100 Philippine pesos PHP 1,294,350 1,293,907 1 Tajik somoni TJS 82,536 82,495 1 Turkmen manat TMT 217,778 217,947 Venezuelan bolivar VES 2,535 2,555

The CBI adopted the SANA system for currency exchange offices, where one euro costs 1,543,940 rials and $1 costs 1,316,244 rials.

NIMA represents a strategic framework for the monetization of a designated fraction of foreign currency accrued through export activities.

The price of one euro in this system amounted to 995,082 rials, and the price of $1 totaled 848,330 rials.

On the black market, $1 is worth about 1.34-1.37 million rials, while one euro is worth 1.57-1.6 million rials.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 4. Azerbaijan and Turkiye signed a new agreement for the supply of 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced, Trend reports.

According to Bayraktar, gas supplies from the Absheron field in the Caspian Sea will be supplied over a 15-year period at a rate of 2.25 billion cubic meters per year. The agreement is set to enter into force in 2029 and will remain valid until 2040s.

The natural gas will be delivered to Turkiye via the BakuTbilisiErzurum pipeline, utilizing existing infrastructure.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 4. Iran has launched a 15-point comprehensive government support program aimed at ensuring food security, improving living conditions, and strengthening economic stability amid ongoing pressure, Trend reports, citing the Iranian presidential administration.

A videoconference dedicated to the program was held today with the participation of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, cabinet of ministers, representatives of relevant agencies, and provincial governors.

During the first phase of the implementation, 80 million Iranian citizens will receive cash payments over a four-month period for the sale of goods worth 10 million rials, or approximately $13.

Speaking at the meeting, President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed the importance of close oversight of the programs implementation and underlined the need to promptly address any potential problems. He announced that a special working committee, headed by the Central Bank of Iran, will be set up to continuously monitor the execution of the program.

The president noted that the governments task is not only to maintain cash subsidies for the population, but also to ensure their direct and targeted delivery.

In the coming months, the governments economic priorities under the program will focus on ensuring market stability, strengthening domestic production, increasing citizens purchasing power, and exercising strict control over food supplies.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 4. Trend presents an overview of the activities of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) in 2025, which highlights the key development directions, major projects, and the most significant events of the reporting period.

According to the latest data, in the third quarter of 2025, SOCAR carried out drilling operations to a total depth of 12,000 meters.

At the fields operated by the company independently or as the main shareholder, 1.8 million tons of oil and 1.94 billion cubic meters of gas were produced.

Across the country, gas production increased by 7.4% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 13 billion cubic meters. A total of 7 million tons of crude oil were produced in Azerbaijan in the third quarter of 2025.

SOCAR exported 4.1 million tons of oil to foreign markets during the reporting period. This figure includes both the company's own production volumes and profit shares from oil extracted by international consortia in the country, belonging to the state of Azerbaijan and SOCAR. Natural gas exports amounted to 6.3 billion cubic meters, with consumption at 2.4 billion cubic meters. The gas export increased by 8.7%.

In the third quarter, SOCAR refined 1.7 million tons of oil and 760 million cubic meters of gas. At the same time, 639,200 tons of oil, petrochemical, and gas chemical products produced at SOCAR enterprises in Azerbaijan were exported. Exports of these products grew by 2.7%.

On December 19, the SOCAR Complex Drilling Works Trust (CDWT) said that, on behalf of the Azneft production union, it successfully drilled eight wells at the Western Absheron field in 2025 using directional drilling and handed them over to the customer with high production indicators.

SOCAR's contractual and partnership base in 2025

On January 15, an agreement was signed between SOCAR's subsidiary SOCAR Midstream Operations LLC and KazMunayGas (KMG) subsidiary KMG Trading for the transit of 240,000 tons of Kashagan oil per year.

In the same month, SOCAR began the transit of crude oil extracted from the Kazakh Kashagan field through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. The first batch of oil from the Kashagan field, loaded onto a tanker in the port of Aktau on January 25, amounted to approximately 6,000 tons. The cargo arrived at the Sangachal terminal on January 27 and was further transported via BTC to the Ceyhan port.

On January 21, SOCAR Turkiye Enerji, SOCAR's Turkish subsidiary, and Nakkas Holding signed a long-term cooperation protocol. The document covers the development of logistics for the transportation of SOCAR products and the creation of a facility for trading and storing aviation fuel at Sabiha Gokcen Airport.

On January 31, SOCAR signed an agreement with Union Energy to acquire a 10% share in the Tamar project, one of the largest gas fields in the Mediterranean basin of Israel.

On February 1, SOCAR began its first onshore airborne gravity survey project in collaboration with the renowned UK company Metatek. The goal of this advanced research is to obtain high-precision geological data over large areas in the shortest possible time.

On February 13, SOCAR launched the Leucipa monitoring program in the Caspian region for the first time. This project, being implemented for the first time in the Caspian region, is a key part of SOCARs upstream sector digital transformation strategy.

On March 29, SOCAR Turkiye completed the transfer of the gas distribution companies Bursagaz and Kayserigaz to Aksa Dogalgaz. Aksa Dogalgaz began providing services in the distribution zones of Bursa and Kayseri, previously managed by SOCAR Turkiye.

On April 28, SOCAR Green LLC and Universal Energy Co., Ltd. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities for joint renewable energy projects in Azerbaijan. The memorandum outlines collaborative efforts in project development, EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction), and O&M (operation and maintenance).

On June 2, a memorandum of understanding was signed between SOCAR and Gran Tierra Energy Inc. The document outlines joint research activities for the technical and economic evaluation of a project for the exploration, development, and production of hydrocarbon potential in the Gobustan-Caspian region. At the same time, Gran Tierra Energy Inc. will analyze the existing geological and technical data for the project, as well as the logistical and infrastructure potential. Upon agreeing on the exploration program and key commercial terms, work will proceed to sign a production sharing agreement.

On the same day, SOCAR and ExxonMobil Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding. The document outlines cooperation in Azerbaijans oil and gas sector. Further details of the memorandum weren't disclosed.

On June 3, an agreement was signed with MOL Group regarding the main technical and commercial terms of the project. Under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the companies on September 20, 2024, work was completed on coordinating the primary technical and commercial terms for exploration and development in the Shamakhi-Gobustan area, and agreements were reached. According to the basic agreement, MOL Group will hold a 65% share, and SOCAR will hold a 35% share in the project, with the Hungarian company acting as the operator.

On June 10, SOCAR and the German state-owned energy company SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe) signed a ten-year contract for the supply of natural gas. According to the document, gas volumes will be supplied by SOCAR to Europe for SEFE. The annual supply volume will gradually increase to 15 terawatt-hours (TWh), which is equivalent to approximately 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas. In October, SEFE said the implementation of a new agreement, without specifying the exact start date of supplies.

On June 21, SOCAR established corporate partnerships with one of the leading international organizations in quality management  the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI).

This cooperation will open up access for SOCAR employees to global expertise, advanced quality management methodologies used by leading international organizations, as well as opportunities for training and certification approved by CQI and the International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA). The partnership will create additional opportunities for enhancing the company's activities in areas such as social responsibility, industrial safety, environmental impact reduction, and internal capacity building.

On July 12, a memorandum of understanding was signed between SOCAR and the Syrian government.

On July 16, the joint venture SOCAR-KBR LLC, a partnership between SOCAR and the KBR company, received two contracts from bp for projects in Azerbaijan. One contract is for supporting the electrification project at the Sangachal terminal (STEL), and the other is for the compressor platform project at the Shah Deniz field (SDC). Under these contracts, SOCAR-KBR will provide detailed project design and procurement services for both projects.

On July 17, an agreement was signed between SOCARs Azerigas Production Union and Esyasoft Holding LTD (UAE) for the design, construction, and operation of an intelligent gas network. The main goal of the project is to improve operational efficiency in gas distribution in Azerbaijan, optimize costs, reduce existing gas losses, and improve customer satisfaction with services provided by Azergaz by using advanced smart gas management technologies.

The project will cover almost 14 years, including the installation of 2.5 million smart meters and system support stages. Investments amounting to $480 million are planned. These investments will enable the digitization of the network, installation of intelligent pressure and temperature sensors, creation of a Digital Solutions Lab, employee training, international experience exchange, AI implementation, cybersecurity through government cloud data storage, and establishment of a control center equipped with modern technologies.

Consumers will benefit from more accurate calculations, real-time usage monitoring, fast issue resolution, remote servicing, and easy access to consumer data via digital platforms.

On July 24, 2025, in Tashkent, a Product Sharing Agreement was signed between the SOCAR consortium, Uzbekneftegaz, and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan for exploration, development, and production in the Ustyurt investment blocks (Boyterek, Terengkuduk, Birgori, Kharoy, Karakalpak, and Kulboy).

In the initial phase, geological survey work will be carried out to determine prospective areas. During this period, SOCAR will act as the project operator. The agreement stipulates that geological survey work will be completed, and at least one exploration well will be drilled within the first five years.

On December 5, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan launched a joint project for geological exploration and hydrocarbon extraction in the Ustyurt region. The activities of the Ustyurt Operating Company aim to strengthen the resource base, increase the effectiveness of geological exploration, and ensure the countrys long-term energy stability.

On August 2, a ceremony was held in the Turkish city of Kilis to mark the beginning of the transportation of Azerbaijani gas through Turkiye to Syria as part of a signed agreement between SOCAR and Syria. The first phase of the project plans to export 1.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year to Syria. The gas will be transported through the city of Kilis on the Turkish-Syrian border to power plants in Aleppo and Homs, where it will be used to generate electricity. This is expected to increase the total production capacity by 1,200-1,300 megawatts.

On August 4, SOCAR Marine, part of SOCAR Turkiye and operating in the field of maritime transportation, announced the launch of operations for buying and selling greenhouse gas emission quotas under the European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS).

The new initiative aims to support ship owners, operators, and charterers in fulfilling their carbon reduction obligations when ships enter EU ports. Additionally, the company plans to expand the range of services offered, including trading in biofuels, providing services under the FuelEU initiative, and organizing joint "pooling" solutions.

On August 18, SOCAR and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop financial and management knowledge and skills, promote corporate governance, and accounting practices in line with international standards, and further strengthen SOCAR's financial functions. The project will include joint training programs, certification initiatives, and the exchange of expertise in relevant fields.

On September 6, SOCAR and Qatar's UCC Holding signed memoranda of understanding, envisaging long-term cooperation in the energy sector, including in Syria.

The memoranda cover cooperation across the entire energy value chainfrom exploration and extraction of oil and gas to the development of transportation and storage infrastructure, refining and petrochemicals, and the trading and supply of crude oil, refined products, and aviation fuel. The agreements also include the construction of highly efficient gas turbine power plants.

The document aims to accelerate the recovery of the energy sector in Syria with the support of the governments of Azerbaijan and Qatar. It is crucial for the countrys overall development and includes modernization of its key energy infrastructure using advanced technologies and standards.

The second document secures SOCAR and UCC Holdings cooperation in other countries and their joint projects on international energy markets.

On September 16, SOCAR and the worlds largest transportation company, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), signed a strategic cooperation agreement.

As part of the agreement, the parties plan to strengthen Turkiye's position in the global supply chain by jointly investing in the region's largest container portSOCAR Terminal. MSC's subsidiary and international port terminal operator, Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), will become a shareholder of SOCAR Terminal. This collaboration will integrate SOCAR Terminal into TILs extensive global network.

On September 23, SOCAR, Italiana Petroli S.p.A, and MIP S.p.A signed a tripartite agreement for the sale and purchase of shares.

The agreement foresees SOCAR acquiring 99.82% of the shares of one of Italys leading energy companies, Italiana Petroli (IP), from API Holding. The deal is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2026, pending completion of standard closing procedures and necessary regulatory approvals.

On October 2, SOCAR and Schlumberger signed a partnership agreement to accelerate the redevelopment of the Bahar and Gum-Deniz fields in the Caspian Sea.

The partnership includes the identification of prospective production zones, comprehensive reservoir modeling, as well as the design of drilling programs and wells to support the Early Production Scheme (EPS) at these fields. The project is a key part of SOCAR's long-term strategy to increase oil production and extend the lifespan of mature offshore assets. This initiative is aimed not only at ensuring operational efficiency and sustainability but also at developing practical scenarios to accelerate production.

On October 3, SOCAR and Uniper signed a cooperation program for 20252026.

On October 10, SOCARs Azneft Production Union, Kranji Solution, and MySep Pte signed a memorandum of understanding.

The document outlines plans to modernize separators used in oil and gas collection and transportation systems in Aznefts structures. Additionally, 10 employees will undergo specialized training. As a result, separator design, troubleshooting, compliance checks, and capacity upgrades will be carried out by local specialists independently, minimizing risks of complications in collection and transportation systems.

On October 20, for the first time in the company's history, SOCAR launched an electronic version of the "Work Permit" system.

The system combines planning, risk assessment, and monitoring of work processes on a unified digital platform. This ensures full compliance with safety requirements, efficient use of resources, and prompt decision-making. The "Work Permit" system was first implemented electronically at SOCARs Absheronneft management unit within Azneft. The project is based on work control principles and ensures coordinated, controlled execution of all tasks in accordance with established rules.

Along with the launch of the electronic "Work Permit" system, mechanisms for energy system isolation (LOTO) were also updated.

On October 20, SOCAR, M-Gas, and the municipality of the Bulgarian city of Ruse opened the second facility within the Hybrid Gasification project. The "Prolet" kindergarten in Chervena Voda village, Ruse municipality, is now heated with environmentally friendly natural gas. This significant step marks the second phase of the long-term Hybrid Gasification of Public Buildings Project.

The projects primary goal is to improve energy efficiency and reduce harmful emissions by 30% through replacing diesel fuel heating with cleaner natural gas. The kindergartens nearly 50-year-old heating system (from 1977) was entirely replaced with a modern, highly efficient one.

As a result of the modernization, M-Gas and its partners reduced heating costs by 50% and improved comfort for 180 children and staff members. The investments cover the full cycle of designing and building a compressed natural gas (CNG) installation, a new heating system, including a modern boiler house with two high-efficiency condensing gas boilers. The installed boiler remote control system will provide an additional 20% savings in natural gas.

On October 27, SOCAR and Uzbekneftegaz (Uzbekistan) signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at developing cooperation in the application of artificial intelligence in the oil and gas industry.

The partnership includes the implementation of SOCARs AI-based solutions, sharing expertise and specialists, offering consultation services in digital transformation, digitalization of production processes, and increasing efficiency, as well as in information technology.

The parties plan to carry out AI-based projects focused on boosting diesel fuel production by optimizing blending parameters, developing a Large Language Model (LLM) to support operational teams, and creating "Seismic AI" and ENOM solutions for automating geological and energy data analysis. Additionally, SOCAR will provide consultation on the ODLAR and Daily Drilling projects, which aim to create a unified information architecture connecting all company business processes and fully digitize and visualize seismic and drilling data.

On November 7, SOCAR and the Chinese Sinopec Engineering company signed a framework agreement for cooperation.

On November 12, SOCAR Green LLC, the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan, and China Datang Overseas Investment Co. Ltd. signed an agreement for the assessment, development, and implementation of a 100 MW solar power plant project in Azerbaijan.

On December 1, deliveries of Azerbaijani natural gas to private and industrial consumers in North Macedonia began. The supply was established thanks to productive cooperation between SOCAR, M-Gaz, and CNG Systems. This pilot project expands the virtual gasification initiative that started in Bulgaria in 2024.

The project, implemented in partnership between SOCAR, M-Gaz, and CNG Systems, began with the supply of compressed natural gas (CNG) to industrial and private consumers not connected to the pipeline or distribution network. SOCAR, through M-Gaz, ensures the required volume of natural gas for CNG Systems, which then supplies industrial and private consumers in Strumica. A gas distribution network has been built in the city, powered by compressed natural gas. As a result of this partnership, Azerbaijani natural gas is now used to heat and provide hot water to six kindergartens, eight schools, one hospital, several administrative buildings in Strumica, as well as more than 400 households and some industrial consumers.

On December 5, SOCAR and Qatars UCC Holding signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the supply of fuel to Damascus International Airport. According to the document, the parties plan to create a joint venture that will supply aviation fuel to Damascus International Airport and provide the necessary infrastructure. SOCAR will be responsible for the technical support of fuel supply operations and ensuring its timely delivery.

On December 10, an agreement was signed for the supply of natural gas between SOCAR and MVM ONEnergy, which will come into force on January 1, 2026.

On December 17, SOCAR and Hungarian MOL Group signed a product sharing agreement for exploration and production in the Shamakhi-Gobustan area. MOL Group will be the operator with a 65% share, and SOCAR will hold a 35% share. The project will begin with seismic surveys in early 2026, followed by drilling at a later stage.

On December 17, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between SOCAR's Complex Drilling Works Trust (CDWT) and Bahar Energy Operating Company (BEOC). The memorandum covers the extensive experience of CDWT in complex drilling works at the Bahar and Gum-Deniz fields.

On December 23, SOCAR signed a contract for the acquisition of the Gama Enerji Ic Anadolu power plant (870 MW) in Turkiye for $225 million.

Structural changes

On August 5, the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy carried out the state registration of two companiesSOCAR Zone I and SOCAR BTBKunder SOCAR. Both companies have a legal form of limited liability companies (LLC) with a charter capital of 1,000 manat ($588) each.

On August 19, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree regarding the implementation of the "Licensing and Permits" law and the regulation of related issues. According to the decree, SOCAR must, in accordance with the law, create separate legal entities for the transportation, distribution, storage, wholesale and retail sale, as well as import of gas, by January 1, 2027. These legal entities must implement progressive corporate governance principles, including the establishment of supervisory boards, and inform the head of state about this.

Expansion of the gas station network

On February 6, SOCAR opened its first gas station (GS) in Shusha city. The new GS, located on one of the busiest highwaysthe Shusha-Khankendi-Lachin roadis equipped with three fuel dispensers. The station offers RON-92, RON-95, RON-98 gasoline, as well as diesel fuel.

On December 30, SOCAR opened three new gas stations in Romania under the SOCAR brand.

These new stations, commissioned by SOCAR's Romanian subsidiary, SOCAR Petroleum SA, are located in the regions of Salaj, Suceava, and Satu Mare. As a result, the total number of SOCAR gas stations in the country reached 91. All SOCAR gas stations, including the new ones, offer Nano 95 and Nano 98 gasoline and Nano Diesel and Nano Super Diesel fuel.

By 2026, SOCAR plans to exceed 100 gas stations in Romania.

Ratings and forecasts from international rating agencies

In July, Moody's Ratings upgraded SOCAR's rating to investment grade, assigning a long-term issuer rating of Baa3, and withdrew the Ba1 corporate family rating, as well as the Ba1-PD probability of default rating.

"The upgrade of the sovereign rating is linked to the improvement in institutional effectiveness, supported by the long experience of maintaining macroeconomic stability amidst recent shocks and oil price fluctuations. Ongoing regulatory reforms have strengthened the stability of the banking sector, and the continued commitment to reducing the budget's dependence on hydrocarbon revenues enhanced fiscal resilience. Azerbaijan also made progress in economic diversification, aided by rapid growth in the transport sector. As a result, SOCARs operating and macroeconomic environment improved, and the states financial capacity to support the company, if necessary, increased, which is credit-positive for SOCAR," said the rating agency.

According to Moodys forecasts, SOCAR will maintain proven reserves of 1.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) in both 2025 and 2026.

Moodys expects that SOCARs average daily production will be 269,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/d) in 2025, a decrease of approximately 2.2% compared to 2024. Production is expected to decline further by 1.9% in 2026, reaching 264,000 barrels per day. Overall, compared to 2020 (380,000 barrels per day), SOCARs production in 2026 (264,000 barrels per day) will be approximately 30.5% lower.

On November 13, S&P Global Ratings raised SOCARs long-term credit rating from BB- to BB, noting a significant improvement in the companys financial policy transparency and disclosure level. The outlook for the rating is "Stable".

S&P stated that in recent months, SOCAR has shown significant progress in data disclosure and communication with rating agencies, improving the visibility of the company's performance indicators.

S&P raised SOCARs individual credit profile (SACP) rating from "b" to "bb-", which in turn led to a revision of the company's overall rating and its senior unsecured debt rating. The agency expects SOCAR to maintain a managed level of liquidity, supported by significant cash reserves, and to provide stable operational results, with the funds from operations (FFO) to debt ratio remaining above 12%.

According to S&P Global Ratings, SOCARs financial performance will maintain relative stability in the coming years, although there will be limited room for improvement. The agency expects SOCARs EBITDA from 2025 through 2027 to decline to 5.5-6 billion manat ($3.243.53 billion), compared to 6.7 billion manat ($3.94 billion) in 2024.

At the same time, operational cash flows (FFO) are expected to remain stable overall, due to reduced tax burdens and a slight decrease in interest expenses. This will allow SOCAR to maintain the FFO-to-debt ratio within the 12-15% range under the agencys base scenario. According to the agency's estimates, SOCAR's adjusted debt under the S&P Global Ratings methodology will remain higharound 27.5-28 billion manat ($16.1816.47 billion), despite moderately positive free operational cash flow (FOCF) of approximately one billion manat ($588 million).

Given that Upstream is the primary source of SOCAR's EBITDA and constitutes the core of its operations, S&P expects an increase in investments in the development of new fields or the expansion of existing projects. To reflect these expected investments, the agency includes about $3 billion manat ($1.76 billion) in capital expenditures annually in its base forecast, which is higher than the investment level of the past two years. S&P emphasizes that nearly completed projects such as Shah Deniz-2 and the Shah Deniz Compression project, signed earlier this year, demonstrate SOCARs ongoing efforts to increase production and strengthen its production capacity through further investments in the Upstream segment.

On November 24, Sustainable Fitch assigned SOCAR an ESG rating (Environmental, Social, and Governance) of 3 with an overall score of 41.

This result reflects the companys average level of ESG performance, where its strengthsreliable risk management and emission reduction goalsare balanced by ongoing challenges in environmental impact, diversification, and corporate governance transparency.

On December 25, S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook for SOCARs credit rating from "Stable" to "Positive", confirming the rating at "BB".

This decision reflects the very high likelihood of state support for SOCAR and follows a similar improvement in the sovereign rating outlook for Azerbaijan.

S&P emphasized that the positive outlook is driven by several factors. First, the significant reduction in tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, amid progress toward a peaceful settlement and reduced defense spending in the 2026 budgets of both countries. These changes have reduced the risks of conflict renewal and, if maintained, are likely to support investor confidence and promote more sustainable medium-term economic growth through improved regional trade and transport links in the South Caucasus.

Plans until 2050

SOCAR is preparing to launch its largest seismic program in the company's history in 2026, to more accurately map reserves at mature fields.

By 2030, the company plans to completely eliminate routine flaring of associated gas and reduce the emissions intensity of its Upstream segment by 30%.

By 2035, SOCAR expects to achieve a 30% reduction in carbon intensity and reduce absolute emissions by 20%.

To implement these goals, SOCAR has developed three key strategies:

- decarbonization roadmap covering all of the company's operations;

- structural transformation and the creation of a dedicated segment for energy transition, ecology, and decarbonization;

- expanded international cooperation, including participation in global initiatives and systematic measurements of methane and carbon emissions.

By 2050, SOCAR aims to achieve net zero emissions.

Starting in 2026, SOCAR will implement a comprehensive digital emissions monitoring system across all operations. The company has already started cooperating with ENABLON and has purchased a monitoring, reporting, and verification system designed for accurate measurement and tracking of environmental performance.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 4. Iran expressed interest in expanding consultations with Azerbaijan in the economic, transit, political, cultural, and humanitarian spheres, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said during a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mojtaba Demirchilu, Trend reports.

Highlighting constructive meetings with high-ranking Azerbaijani officials, Araghchi stressed the importance of promoting good-neighborly relations through the continuous strengthening and development of comprehensive ties.

During the meeting, Ambassador Mojtaba Demirchilu also briefed the Foreign Minister on the current state of bilateral relations following Araghchis recent visit to Baku on December 7-8.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 4. Iran considers it important to strengthen mutual understanding with Georgia in the political, cultural, economic, trade, transit, and tourism spheres, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi stated on Sunday in Tehran during a meeting with Irans new ambassador to Georgia, Seyed Ali Mojani, Trend reports.

Araghchi noted that relations between Iran and Georgia are rooted in close historical ties between the two countries.

During the meeting, Ambassador Seyed Ali Mojani outlined his plans to further develop bilateral relations between Tehran and Tbilisi and to expand cooperation in various fields.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 4. January 9 has been declared a National Day of Mourning in Switzerland following the tragedy at a bar in the resort town of Crans-Montana, Trend reports.

The announcement was made by President of the Swiss Confederation and Minister of Economy Guy Parmelin.

He said the decision was taken in response to the deaths of 40 people in a bar fire, noting that a national day of mourning will be observed across the country.

According to available information, the funeral ceremony will begin in Crans-Montana at 2:00 PM. At that time, church bells will ring in all Swiss churches, and a minute of silence will be held in memory of the victims.

Guy Parmelin also stated that he will personally attend the funeral ceremony.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 4. The United States has lifted restrictions on the use of airspace over the Caribbean region, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced on his X social media account, Trend reports.

According to the information, restrictions on flights by American airlines in the airspace of the Caribbean Sea for flights to Venezuela have been completely removed.

The implementation of the restrictions was related to the large-scale operation of the United States against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro.

Earlier U.S. President Donald Trump announced that as a result of this operation Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife have been captured and flown out of the country.
On Thursday, January 1st, the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism entered into effect with the goal of improving the competitiveness of European goods manufacturers against non-EU companies operating in laxer emissions reduction frameworks. China was the first to threaten retaliation. It wont be the last.

More from Yahoo Scout What are the competitive impacts on European manufacturers? How is China responding to the new CBAM? What is the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism? Why are Indian steel exports to EU declining?

The carbon border adjustment mechanism, or CBAM for short, was devised to remedy the unintended effects of the worlds most stringent emission-reduction standards for the industrial sphere, namely, sky-high costs that make the end product uncompetitive. This became especially painful for European makers of things such as steel and cement, where the biggest competitor is Chinawhich does not have anything resembling the emission reduction requirements of the EU, so its steel and cement are very cheap, and buyers prefer them.

In other words, in order to boost the competitiveness of European steel and cement manufacturersand electricity generators, toothe European Union made sure that cheaper imported steel, cement, and electricity are not that cheap anymore. China and India are unhappy aboutand there are things they can do that will not help the competitiveness of European businesses.

As soon as the CBAM entered into effect, Chinas Ministry of Commerce issued a statement, in which it called the legislation unfair and discriminatory, Bloomberg reported. We will resolutely take all necessary measures to respond to any unfair trade restrictions, the ministry said in its statement.

Related: OPEC+ Reaffirms Output Pause as Eight Producers Cite Market Stability

CBAM is quite unpopular among major exporters to the EU, but it has already proven to be quite effective in pushing reticent countries towards building or expanding carbon pricing efforts, one consultant specializing in carbon permit markets, told the Financial Times. So its a major policy shift for the EU to protect its own industry, while at the same time leveraging the carbon pricing idea to third countries.

China is, in fact, has its own carbon market, has had it since 2021, and it is the biggest carbon market in terms of the volumes of carbon emissions covered by it. With China, its not about selling the idea of carbon markets to third countries; it is about competitiveness. And China is not pleased that its competitiveness will be compromised.

In simple terms, the carbon border adjustment mechanism puts a price on the carbon dioxide emissions generated during the production of a good such as cement or steel. The price is based on calculations of the emissions from the respective industries in countries that export to the European Union. The mechanism puts a so-called default emission value for the production of a certain good, and also emission benchmarks, to be used in tandem in a way that is as of yet unclear, but some say it is, in fact, benefiting China.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 4. If Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, does not cooperate with the United States, she will pay a "very big price," US President Donald Trump said in an interview with The Atlantic, Trend reports.

"If she doesnt do whats right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro," Tramp said.

Earlier U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife have been captured and flown out of the country.

He noted that the United States successfully carried out a large-scale operation against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro.

This operation was done in conjunction with US law enforcement. The details to follow. There will be a news conference today at Mar-a-Lago. Thank you for your attention to this matter! he added.
The total combat losses of Russian troops from February 24, 2022, to January 4, 2026, in the war against Ukraine amount to approximately 1,211,530 people, including 900 people in the previous day.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on Facebook, according to Ukrinform.

The Russian Federation also lost 11,499 (+2) tanks, 23,855 armored combat vehicles, 35,756 (+12) artillery systems, 1,590 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,268 (+1) air defense systems, aircraft  434, helicopters  347, tactical-level UAVs  99,860 (+278), cruise missiles  4,137, ships/boats  28, submarines  2, vehicles and tankers  72,776 (+88), special equipment  4,035.

Figures on enemy losses are being updated.

As Ukrinform previously reported, as of 22:00 on January 3, 191 combat engagements with Russian forces had taken place along the front line.

Illustrative photo: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Lithuania has updated its National Security Strategy for 2026, under which it will annually allocate 0.25% of GDP to support Ukraine in the security and defense sector, continue training Ukrainian servicemen, and provide comprehensive support to Kyiv.

According to Ukrinform, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine stated this on its website.

The Ministry of National Defense of Lithuania has presented a draft of the updated National Security Strategy for 2026, noting a sharp deterioration in the security environment in Europe. The document identifies Russia as an existential threat to Lithuania and the entire transatlantic community and contains a scenario in which Moscow may be ready for large-scale military action against NATO by 2030.

The strategy outlines three key directions of policy: the armed defense of the state; support for the country's defense and overall resilience; and the formation of an international security environment in line with Lithuania's interests.

Vilnius confirms its political commitment to fund defense at a level of at least 5-6 % of GDP by 2030, which significantly exceeds NATO's baseline requirements.

The priorities of national security are defined as the development of the armed forces and the strengthening of national resilience. This involves building up intelligence and counterintelligence capabilities, countering hybrid threats, improving export control and regulation of dual-use goods, diversifying foreign trade, and enhancing energy security.

Separate emphasis is placed on the need to establish an international security system based on international law and effective mechanisms for collective and European defense.

The main sources of risks are considered to be: Russia as the main military threat, Belarus as a factor of unpredictability due to its dependence on Moscow, as well as China and other states that contribute to Russia's long-term ability to resist the West, in particular through the supply of dual-use technologies and goods.

Lithuania directly links its own security to the outcome of the Russian-Ukrainian war, emphasizing that European security is impossible without an independent, sovereign, and secure Ukraine and its integration into the Euro-Atlantic space. The Strategy provides for the annual allocation of at least 0.25 % of GDP to assist Ukraine in the field of security and defense, the continuation of training for the Ukrainian military servicemen, and comprehensive support for Kyiv.

"Formalizing this support as a long-term element of national security creates a predictable level of assistance for Ukraine. At the same time, the emphasis on regional formats  the Nordic-Baltic Eight and the Northern Group  indicates Vilnius' intention to strengthen security through 'small coalitions' as an addition to NATO," the Foreign Intelligence Service noted.

As Ukrinform previously reported, in November Lithuania recorded 325 information attacks from Russia and Belarus.

Photo: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
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CUET UG 2026: Registration starts, Last date January 31

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has started online registration for Common University Entrance Test UG 2026 (CUET UG 2026) through its official website cuet.nta.nic.in

CUET UG 2026: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has started online registration for Common University Entrance Test UG 2026 (CUET UG 2026) through its official website cuet.nta.nic.in.

According to the CUET 2026 Notification, the online registration and application form submission started on January 03, 2026. The last date of application is January 31, 2026.

About CUET

Introduced in 2022 , the CUET (UG) provides a single window opportunity to students seeking admission in any of the Central Universities/ Participating Universities (State/Deemed/Private) in CUET (UG) - 2026 across the Country.

"The CUET (UG) 2026 will be conducted between May 11 to 31, 2026 (Tentative) in the Computer-Based Test (CBT) Mode for the Academic Session 2026-27", the NTA said.

The CUET (UG) - 2026 will be conducted in 13 Indian languages i.e. English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

"Candidates are requested to check the Information Bulletin of CUET (UG)  2026 available on NTA website", the NTA said.

Steps to apply for CUET UG 2026

Go to the official website: cuet.nta.nic.in

On the Home Page, click on the link marked as "Registration for CUET (UG) 2026 is Live"

On the new page, click on CUET UG 2026 Registration

Click on "New Registration" and fill the application form

Pay the exam fee and download and download confirmation page

CUET 2026 Important Dates

Online application start date: January 03, 2026

Last date of application: January 31, 2026 till 11:50 PM

Last date of payment of fees: January 31, 2026 till 11:50 PM

Correction in application form: February 02 to 04, 2026

Announcement of the City of Examination: To be announced later

Downloading CUET UG Admit Cards from the NTA website: To be announced later

Date of Examination: Between May 11 to 31, 2026 (Tentative)

Between May 11 to 31, 2026 (Tentative) Display of Recorded Responses and Provisional Answer Keys: To be announced later

Declaration of CUET 2026 Result on the NTA website: To be announced later

Candidates should note that exam fees can be paid in online mode using credit card, debit card, net banking or UPI.

CUET 2026 Syllabus

The NTA has had earlier published on the CUET 2026 website, the detailed syllabus of the university admission entrance test along with the registration guidelines .

In order to facilitate the candidates, Syllabus of CUET (UG)-2026 has been made available on the official website, the NTA said.

The candidates can download the CUET UG 2026 Syllabus available on the website in PDF. The CUET UG 2026 syllabus is available subject-wise. The PDF includes the syllabus of 37 subjects including General Aptitude Test.

CUET UG 2026 Eligibility

Candidates who have passed Class 12th exam 2026 from recognized state boards, CBSE or ISC are eligible to appear in the CUET UG.

Meanwhile, the NTA has also made available the details of Programmes and Courses offered by the Central Universities (CUs) and participating Universities on the CUET (UG) portal and on the respective University website.

The list of participating universities is dynamic, the NTA said.

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US strike on Venezuela: What we know so far

The latest update on Venezuela, the whereabout of Nicolas Maduro, the actual intention of US strike on the Latin American country, Trumps next move and the reaction of world leaders

Nicolas Maduro indicted

Nicolas Maduro, who was captured and flown to the United States after a joint military operation by the American army Saturday, has been indicted in New York on several charges related to drug trafficking and weapons possession, US Attorney General Pam Bondi has said.

In a statement on X, Bondi said Maduro and his wife had been indicted in the Southern District of New York and charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices against the United States.

Maduro and his wife have yet to deliver their pleas.

The US has long accused Maduro of having links with drug cartels and helping to flood America with narcotics while refusing to recognize him as a legitimate leader and putting a $50 million bounty on information leading to his arrest and conviction.

On his part, Maduro has refuted the accusations, arguing that Washington has been using them as a pretext for military aggression and in order to topple his government.

Trump threatens Columbia, Cuba and Mexico

A day after military strike on Venezuela and capturing the countrys President, Donald Trump issued veiled warnings to the governments of Mexico, Colombia, and Cuba.

When asked about implications for neighboring countries, Trump doubled down on his criticism of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a key Maduro ally, who had condemned the U.S. military operation in Venezuela.

He has cocaine mills, he has factories where he makes cocaine. He does have to watch his a**, Trump said.

Trump also noted that Cuba is going to be something well end up talking about, suggesting that Washington wants to help the people of this failing nation, which he claimed is similar to Venezuela.

Its very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we also want to help the people who were forced out of Cuba and are living in this country, he said.

Trump also said that somethings going to have to be done with Mexico, claiming that drug cartels effectively control the country, but that President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo is frightened of them, according to Russia Today.

Theyre running Mexico. Ive asked her numerous times: Would you like us to take out the cartels? No, no, no, Mr. President, no, no, no, please. So we have to do something, he said in a phone interview with Fox News earlier in the day.

Trump trashes Maria Corina Machado claim to power

Trump has dismissed Venezuelan Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado as a potential national leader, despite the Nobel laureates vocal support of the US military operation against her own country.

During a press conference, Trump was asked whether he was in contact with Machado or viewed her as a viable leader following Maduros capture.

I think itd be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesnt have the support or the respect within the country. Shes a very nice woman but she doesnt have the respect, Trump said.

Machado, considered a U.S. puppet , was awarded Nobel Peace Prize, a decision which has sparked outrage. WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange had in fact filed a criminal complaint against the Nobel Foundation for awarding the 2025 Peace Prize to Machado.

Maduro shifted to New York Detention Centre

Several US media outlets are reporting that Nicolas Maduro has been incarnated at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in New York before facing drugs and weapons charges in Manhattan federal court next week.

New York Mayor Zoharan Mamdani confirmed Maduro has been shifted to the City. He slammed the unilateral US military action in Venezuela but said his focus is on the safety and security of thousands of Venezuelans living in New York.

The confinement status of Maduro's wife is unclear.

Its oil, minerals  Trump makes it clear

Trump is accusing Maduro of running drug cartel and used the same pretext to attack Venezuela. Taking to reporters Saturday he however made it clear that the whole operation is about oil reserves that Venezuela has in plenty .

During Saturdays news conference, Trump said that very large United States oil companies would move into Venezuela to fix the badly broken oil infrastructure and start making money for the country.

Trump also said that the US would run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition, according to Al Jazeera.

More condemnations

Meanwhile, more countries have joined in condemning the U.S. strikes in Venezuela and the treatment meted to its President Nicolas Maduro.

Iran, which is locked in its own dispute with Trump over his promise of intervention in its country, called the strikes a "flagrant violation of the country's national sovereignty".

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva wrote on X that the actions "cross an unacceptable line", adding that "attacking countries in flagrant violation of international law is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos, and instability".

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the legality of the US operation was "complex" and international law in general must apply.

He warned that "political instability must not be allowed to arise in Venezuela".

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected", his spokesperson said. He was "deeply alarmed" by the strikes, which set a "dangerous precedent".

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron backed the U.S. action while U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer refused to be drawn into whether or not the military action may have broken international law.

He did not condemn the US strikes in an interview with the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme on Saturday morning

He said he was waiting to establish all the facts but would not "shy away from this", adding he was a "lifelong advocate of international law".

The UK was not involved in the strikes and Sir Keir said he had not spoken to Trump about the operation, according to BBC.

Later on Saturday, he posted on X that the UK "regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime".

"The UK government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people," he added.

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Corcept Therapeutics (CORT) crashed on Dec. 31 after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected its application for relacorilant, its investigational treatment for Cushings syndrome.

The agencys Complete Response Letter cited insufficient data for conducting a favorable benefit-risk assessment, requiring additional evidence of effectiveness for the hypertension treatment in patients with hypercortisolism.

More News from Barchart

Following the nosedive on Wednesday, CORT stock is down some 70% versus its March high.

www.barchart.com

Why FDA Rejection Is a Major Setback for Corcept Stock

The relacorilant setback was particularly shocking because investors had expected approval based on positive phase 3 results, creating a massive disconnect between market expectations and reality.

FDAs rejection strikes right at the core of Corcepts growth strategy since relacorilant was widely expected to be the critical successor to diversify beyond its Korlym franchise.

Relacorilant represented a safer, more selective treatment with fewer side effects for Cushings, making it central to the biotech firms expansion and future revenue.

In short, the regulatory setback means significant uncertainty for Corcept shares, as the company will now have to conduct additional costly and time-consuming trials to address FDAs concerns.

Is It Worth Buying CORT Shares on the Pullback?

FDA rejection has significantly tempered Corcept Therapeutics ability to rival Xeris Biopharmas (XERS) competing Recorlev in the Cushings syndrome market.

In fact, the extended timeline will enable Recorlev to win a bigger chunk of that market that experts believe will triple from the current $1 billion through the end of this decade.

Meanwhile, technical setup isnt any better for CORT shares either. At the time of writing, theyre trading decisively below their major moving averages (MAs), signaling continued weakness ahead

Note that insiders have predominantly unloaded the biotech stock in the trailing 12 months, which reinforces the bear case for Corcept Therapeutics heading into 2026.

How Wall Street Recommends Playing Corcept Therapeutics

Ahead of Dec. 31, Wall Street firms had a consensus Moderate Buy rating on Corcept stock with a mean target of about $127, indicating potential upside of about 80% on its previous close.
President Donald Trump watched a live feed of US forces dramatically seizing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, the climax of a meticulous, months-long operation.

From American spies in Caracas to a picture of the leftist leader blindfolded and handcuffed, here is a blow-by-blow account of how "Operation Absolute Resolve" stunned the world.

- 'What he ate' -

US intelligence agents had been secretly monitoring leftist Maduro's every movement since August, despite his widely reported efforts to regularly change locations as tensions mounted with Washington.

"How he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore -- what were his pets," Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine said Saturday as he described the surveillance.

The mission also involved months of "pinpoint" planning and rehearsal. Trump said US forces built a replica house identical to the one where Maduro was staying.

The US military was ready by early December but waited for a window of "aligned events," including the weather. Trump said he initially ordered the mission four days ago, but held off for the right conditions.

- 'Good luck and Godspeed' -

At 10:46 pm Washington time on Friday (0346 GMT Saturday), Trump gave the order to go.

"He said to us -- and we appreciate it Mr President -- 'Good luck and Godspeed.' And those words were transmitted to the entire joint force," said Caine.

More than 150 US military aircraft then took off from land and sea, including fighter jets, reconnaissance planes, drones -- and the helicopters that would form the crucial core of the mission.

The helicopters carrying the "extraction force" for Maduro took off into the darkness, flying at just 100 feet (33 meters) above the surface of the ocean, said Caine.

Fighter jets provided air cover while US satellite and cyber capabilities blocked Venezuelan radars.

- 'Knew we were coming' -

The first explosions began to rock Caracas just before 2 am (0600 GMT), according to AFP correspondents.

As the world wondered if it was the start of a widespread bombing campaign of Venezuelan targets, US aircraft were in fact only striking Venezuelan air defenses to allow the helicopters to get to their target.

"They knew we were coming," Trump told a press conference, referring to the tensions that had been building for months. "But they were completely overwhelmed and very quickly incapacitated" as US aircraft returned fire.

One US chopper was hit but remained operational and made it home afterwards.

The helicopters finally popped over the hills surrounding Caracas, and believing that the extraction team had maintained the element of surprise, landed at Maduro's compound at 2:01 am Caracas time (0601 GMT).

- 'Like a fortress' -

Trump said he watched the climax of the operation on a live feed.

Pictures released by the White House showed him sitting in a makeshift situation room at his Mar-a-Lago resort with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA chief John Ratcliffe, Caine and other officials.

"I watched it, literally, like I was watching a television show," Trump told Fox and Friends.

The US president described Maduro's compound as "a fortress."

"It had steel doors, it had what they call a safety space where it's solid steel all around. He didn't get that space closed, he was trying to get into it, but he got bum-rushed so fast that he didn't get into that," he told Fox.

"We were prepared with massive blowtorches to get through the steel, but we didn't need them."

Trump said no US personnel were killed -- but said Maduro "could have been" had he or Venezuelan forces tried to resist.

- 'Gave up' -

Caine said Maduro and his wife "gave up" and were taken into custody by law enforcement officers on the mission. The pair face US drugs and terrorism charges.

The US helicopters crossed the Venezuelan coastline at 3:29 am and the couple were taken aboard the USS Iwo Jima.

Trump then broke the news in a post on Truth Social at 4:21 am Washington time.

Minutes later, a senior White House official sent an AFP reporter a message consisting of emojis for a muscled arm, a fist and fire.

The first the world would see of Maduro -- blindfolded, cuffed, wearing ear protectors and a Nike tracksuit -- came in a later Trump social media update, posted without comment.

dk/acb
After the United States seized Venezuela's leader, who will run the country?

According to President Donald Trump, the answer is: his own administration, the South American country's vice president, and not Venezuela's democratic opposition.

Trump also made clear that US companies would profit from the oil of Venezuela, which has the world's largest proven reserves, after US forces attacked the capital Caracas and seized leftist leader Nicolas Maduro in the dead of night.

Trump, who for years condemned what he called failed US nation-building, said bluntly that the United States will manage Venezuela, a country of nearly 30 million people -- at least temporarily.

"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump told a news conference at his Florida estate.

How Trump would run the country -- where the US embassy is shuttered and no US troops are known to be on the ground -- remains unclear.

Trump said that the United States was "designating various people" including an unnamed "group."

But he added that for a "period of time," Venezuela will be led by "the people that are standing right behind me" -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US military leaders.

Rubio, a sworn foe of Latin America's leftists, for months has highlighted how not just the United States but most Western countries saw Maduro as illegitimate, following two elections that observers said were riddled with irregularities.

But hours after Maduro was grabbed, Trump brushed aside the prospects of Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader who won last year's Nobel Peace Prize and had been hailed by Western leaders as representing Venezuelans, as a successor.

"I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader," Trump said.

"She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect," Trump said.

- Working with VP -

Trump said that the United States had not been in touch with Machado, who had hailed the capture of Maduro as the "hour of freedom."

Instead, Trump said Rubio spoke by telephone to the vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, a stalwart of the leftist movement of Maduro and his late predecessor Hugo Chavez.

"She's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Very simple," Trump said.

Rodriguez, however, did not stick to Trump's script in an address to the nation, saying Maduro was the only president and demanding his return.

Most US allies, who had once lined up to oppose Maduro, quickly distanced themselves from Trump.

French President Emmanuel Macron, while hailing the end of "Maduro's dictatorship," said the will of Venezuelans was represented by Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition figure and Machado ally seen by the international community as the legitimate winner of 2024 elections.

Kevin Whitaker, a veteran former US diplomat dealing with Latin America including Venezuela, said he was "extremely surprised" to hear Trump undercut Machado.

"This seems to be a case where the Trump administration, at least by appearance at this point, is making decisions about the democratic future of Venezuela without referring back to the democratic result" of the election, said Whitaker, now at the Atlantic Council think tank.

- More of same for Venezuelans? -

Rodriguez constitutionally would need to call a new election. But analysts said it remains to be seen if Rodriguez, like Maduro, would actually be willing to hand over power.

Rodriguez's elevation may mean better ties with the United States "but I'm not sure it will be a significant change for Venezuelans," said Iria Puyosa, a Venezuelan scholar also at the Atlantic Council.

Maduro and Chavez for years thumbed their nose at the United States, denouncing US imperialism as they pursued a socialist economy, which had fallen into shambles and prompted the flight of millions of people.

Trump's Democratic rivals voiced outrage at the open involvement of oil companies, seeing it as a throwback to imperialism at its most egregious.

"The United States should not be running other countries for any reason," said Senator Brian Schatz, a Democrat.

"We should have learned by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."

sct/sst
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BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Every year on New Year's Eve, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers his New Year greetings to the Chinese people from his office, with the Great Wall, a symbol of the Chinese nation's resilience and heritage, depicted the backdrop. This time was no exception. On Wednesday evening, with a warm smile, Xi sat at his desk to reflect on the remarkable achievements of China and its people throughout 2025, and lay out his expectations for the new year. As 2026 begins, Xi's address, filled with encouragement, invites a closer reading of his bold vision for China's path forward and its role on the world stage. NEW JOURNEY OF CHINESE MODERNIZATION The year 2025 marks the completion of China's 14th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. "We met the targets in the Plan and made solid advances on the new journey of Chinese modernization," Xi said. As 2026 ushers in the 15th Five-Year Plan, Xi called for promoting high-quality development, further deepening reform and opening up, delivering prosperity for all, and writing a new chapter in the story of China's economic and social miracles. At the heart of Xi's vision is high-quality development, with an emphasis on turning China's economy into an innovative powerhouse. Xi has always placed strong emphasis on driving China's high-tech development. In April last year, during an inspection tour in Shanghai, he visited a model innovation center, a hub housing over 100 enterprises dedicated to cutting-edge technologies. During his visit, Xi experienced firsthand some of the latest AI-powered products, even trying on a pair of smart glasses. He also noted how China has abundant data resources, a complete industrial system and a vast market, with promising prospects for the development of artificial intelligence. The Chinese leader also stresses international technological cooperation. Last November at the APEC leaders' meeting in South Korea, Xi pushed for the establishment of a World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization to foster global collaboration and governance of AI. For him, the rapid advance of frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence is opening new horizons for humanity. As China advances its modernization efforts, green development remains a central focus. "Clear waters and lush mountains have become a salient feature of our landscape," Xi noted in his New Year message. This is a vision he has consistently held and promoted for decades. This principle was further reinforced in Xi's video address at the 2025 UN Climate Summit, where he announced China's 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions. Among a range of commitments, he pledged that by 2035, China would reduce economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10 percent from peak levels, or even more. For Singapore-based political commentator Ang Teck Sin, Chinese modernization carries broader global significance. "China has demonstrated the possibility of achieving national development while contributing to shared global prosperity," he said. EMBRACING THE WORLD As global turbulence escalated in the past year, one historic moment captured the world's attention. On Sept. 1, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, Xi proposed the Global Governance Initiative. "After announcing the three global initiatives on development, security, and civilization, I put forward the Global Governance Initiative to promote a more just and equitable global governance system," Xi noted in his New Year message which was broadcast in multiple languages to a global audience. The year 2025 also marked the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations. In the lead-up to the SCO summit, Xi met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and reaffirmed China's commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. The world is undergoing profound transformations. Multipolarity is gaining momentum, economic globalization faces mounting headwinds, and calls are growing for greater democracy in international relations. At the same time, Cold War thinking, hegemonism and protectionism continue to cast a long shadow. "The Global Governance Initiative marks an unprecedented step toward building an alternative, multipolar, and more equitable world order," U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs commented. In his Wednesday's New Year address, Xi said that China has "continued to embrace the world with open arms." Xi's words were underscored by a year of active diplomacy. During 2025, the Chinese leader has reached out to the world extensively. Whether it was during his foreign visits to Southeast and Central Asia, or hosting foreign leaders in China, promoting mutually beneficial cooperation has always been a main theme. When King Tupou VI of Tonga visited China in November last year, he experienced Juncao technology -- an initiative Xi has championed to combat poverty. Juncao is a grass used to cultivate edible mushrooms, feed livestock, and prevent soil erosion. As the King noted, the technology has immense potential for developing countries like Tonga. Xi shared his idea for global cooperation, telling the King that China will share development opportunities with countries around the world. In addition to Xi's major global initiatives, 2025 also reflected China's stronger commitment to promoting more inclusive development amid a world split between unilateralism and protectionism on the one hand, and multilateralism and openness on the other. In December, China launched special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port, the world's largest of its kind by area, allowing freer entry of overseas goods, expanded zero-tariff coverage and more business-friendly measures. During his visit to the island province in November, Xi outlined his vision for the Free Trade Port to become a key gateway that leads China's new era of opening up to the world. Historically, the island -- which extends further south than some parts of northern Thailand, Laos and Vietnam -- has been a focal point of the country's reform efforts. In 1988, it became the only provincial-level economic special zone, marking a pivotal moment in the nation's drive for modernization. On this point of historical continuity, Xi said: "We are following the path of reform and opening-up with Chinese characteristics, step by step, and here we are today." "China does not make empty promises," said Lee Ju-kwan, director of the National Center for APEC Studies at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy of South Korea. Lee said China has translated its commitments into specific actions, which "vividly demonstrate China's commitment to advancing openness and fulfilling its responsibilities as a major country," he added. That is a message Xi has also made clear in the New Year message. "China always stands on the right side of history, and is ready to work with all countries to advance world peace and development and build a community with a shared future for humanity."
The company currently has only one project in its backlog with an in-service date beyond the end of 2026. It recently unveiled plans to expand Bahia's capacity from 600,000 barrels per day to 1 million barrels per day, while also building a 92-mile extension to ExxonMobil 's Cowboy gas processing plant, which it expects to complete by the end of 2027. Exxon is acquiring a 40% interest in the pipeline as part of this expansion. It will repay Enterprise for 40% of the pipeline's construction costs to date while funding that percentage of its future expansion expenses.

As a result, the company anticipates its capital spending will decrease considerably in 2026. It currently expects it to be in the range of $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion. That investment rate will enable it to finish NRT (first half of 2026), build two more gas processing plants (Mentone West 2 in the first half and Athena in the fourth quarter), and complete an expansion of the Enterprise Hydrocarbons Terminal (year-end).

Last year represented the peak of capital spending. Enterprise Products Partners was on pace to invest $4.5 billion in 2025, up from $1.6 billion when it started this phase in 2022. That allowed the company to place $6 billion of growth capital projects into commercial service in the second half of the year, including two new gas processing plants, the first phase of service at NRT, Bahia, and a 14th NGL fractionator at its Mont Belvieu complex.

In 2022, Enterprise Products Partners embarked on a considerable capital investment cycle to build out the necessary infrastructure to support its customers' growing production volumes in the Permian and Haynesville basins. These investments included building large-scale pipeline and marine terminal facilities, such as the Bahia NGL Pipeline and Neches River Terminal (NRT). The company also made acquisitions to expand its capabilities, including the purchase of Pinon Midstream for $950 million in 2024.

While energy stocks delivered underwhelming returns last year, several have catalysts that could fuel higher returns in 2026, including Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD). Here's why I plan to make the midstream giant the first energy stock I buy in the new year.

The energy sector had a lackluster year in 2025. The average energy stock in the S&P 500 was up less than 5%. That significantly underperformed the nearly 19% rise in that broader market index.

Story Continues

Starting the next chapter

The wave of expansion project completions in the second half of 2025 will give Enterprise Products Partners a lot of momentum as it enters 2026. They should supply the company with significant incremental cash flow in the coming year. Meanwhile, NRT phase 2 and the Mentone West 2 gas processing plant will provide additional sources of incremental cash flow as they come online in the first half of the year.

In addition to the increased cash flows from its growth projects, Enterprise Products Partners' capital spending reduction will free up $2 billion of additional cash that it can allocate toward other initiatives. As a result, the company will produce a considerable amount of surplus cash in the coming year.

That should provide the master limited partnership (which sends investors a Schedule K-1 Federal tax form each year) with ample fuel to continue increasing its high-yielding distribution (currently yielding 6.8%). Enterprise Products Partners has raised its payment for 27 consecutive years, including by 3.8% over the past year. It could grow the payout at an even faster rate in 2026 and beyond.

Additionally, Enterprise Products Partners appears poised to increase its unit repurchase rate. The company recently increased its buyback capacity from $2 billion to $5 billion, with $3.6 billion remaining under the new authorization. It repurchased $80 million of its units in the third quarter of 2025 and $170 million during the first half of the year. It now has the financial flexibility and buyback capacity to meaningfully increase its repurchase rate in 2026.

The MLP also has the financial flexibility to strengthen its industry-leading balance sheet, make acquisitions, and approve additional expansion projects. Enterprise Products Partners ended the third quarter with a low 3.3 times leverage ratio and strong A-/A3 bond ratings. It could use some of its excess financial capacity to repay debt, lowering its leverage level and annual interest expense. That would put the company in an even stronger position to capitalize on future acquisition opportunities. The company most recently acquired a gas gathering affiliate of Occidental Petroleum for $580 million in a deal that included a natural gas processing agreement supporting the construction of the Athena gas processing plant. Future acquisitions and organic expansion project approvals would further enhance and extend the visibility of its earnings growth.

Reaching an inflection point in 2026

Enterprise Products Partners should produce significantly more free cash flow in the coming year. It can use those funds to boost its distribution, repurchase more units, and allocate capital in other ways that will grow value for investors. This catalyst is why Enterprise Products Partners is the first energy stock I plan to buy in the new year.

Should you buy stock in Enterprise Products Partners right now?

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Matt DiLallo has positions in Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners and Occidental Petroleum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The First Energy Stock I Plan to Buy in 2026 was originally published by The Motley Fool
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WorldSouth AmericaVenezuela crisis Who is Venezuelas vice president and can she fill Maduros shoes? Updated January 4, 2026  11:06am ,first published 8:31am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Follow our live coverage of the unfolding situation in Venezuela here. President Donald Trump has said the United States would work with Venezuelas Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to transition to a democratically elected government after Nicolas Maduros capture on Saturday  but she and other regime leaders have thus far appeared un-cooperative. With Maduro gone, Venezuelas Supreme Court has ordered that Rodriguez assume the role of acting president in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the Nation. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has described Nicolas Maduros capture as barbaric and a kidnapping. AP Speaking to reporters in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier, Trump said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a lengthy conversation with Rodriguez, and she had agreed to help. He claimed she had already been sworn in as president to succeed Maduro.

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Shes essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again, very simple, he said. Related Article Updated

Venezuela crisis US plans to run Venezuela and tap its oil reserves, Trump says, after operation to oust Maduro But minutes later, appearing on state television surrounded by military brass, Rodriguez called for Maduros return from American custody, describing his capture as barbaric and a kidnapping, and saying Maduro was the countrys only president. If Rodriguez is a willing partner, she could help the US ease a transition by maintaining stability with the current institutions in Venezuela. But her long allegiance to Maduro, who is widely viewed as having stolen last years election, is likely to raise questions about whether she is willing to cede power  and whether the US is seriously committed to regime change in the South American nation. In her TV appearance, Rodriguez also said Venezuela could still have respectful relationships, perhaps offering a path to a detente with the US.

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Rubio, meanwhile, told The New York Times that he was reserving judgment and would assess her actions. We think theyre going to have some unique and historic opportunities to do a great service for the country, and we hope that theyll accept that opportunity, he told the paper. Trump cool on opposition leader Trump dismissed the idea of installing opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to guide a transition, calling her a nice woman who doesnt have the support of the Venezuelan people. Rodriguez is considered by many to be the most powerful person in the country after Maduro. Fluent in English, she is sometimes portrayed as a well-educated, market-friendly moderate in contrast to the military hardliners who took up arms with former president Hugo Chavez against Venezuelas democratically elected president in the 1990s. She is one of Maduros closest allies, rising through the ranks in roles such as information and foreign minister, and was named oil minister in 2024 after the contested presidential vote.

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Donald Trump has dismissed the idea of installing opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to guide a transition, saying she doesnt have the support of the Venezuelan people. Bloomberg Some Trump advisers have viewed a transition to Rodriguez as an off-ramp from Maduros hard-line regime, according to people familiar with the Trump administrations deliberations. That view holds that a gradual transition away from Maduros leadership would be less disruptive and destabilising than a transition to Machado or Edmundo Gonzalez, the candidate she backed for the 2024 election. The view in part is that if the democratic opposition were to gain power, it would require US military protection from domestic threats, both from the officials in the former Maduro regime and the paramilitaries and drug cartels that control large parts of Venezuelan territory, particularly its jungles and border regions. Trump didnt commit to sending US troops to aid in a transition, saying only that his government would help ensure oil infrastructure was protected and improved. Loading

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Trumps remarks contrasted with the defiant tone from government officials in Venezuela on Saturday morning, Caracas time. State television alternated archival footage of Maduro calling for peace with dignity with statements of support from international allies, and remarks from regional military and civilian leaders rejecting what they described as an attack on the country. Officials repeatedly insisted that Venezuela remained calm, pledged loyalty to Maduro and his socialist agenda, and demanded proof that Maduro was alive. We pledged loyalty many years ago, and today more than ever we will defend it firmly and completely, said a person identified on state TV as an official from Yaracuy state. Addressing a crowd of soldiers and civilians, the official asked, How is morale? The crowd replied in unison: High. Long live Nicolas Maduro. Trump, on the other hand, said the military would need to fall in line. All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to Maduro can happen to them, and it will happen to them if they werent fair to the Venezuelan people, he said. Related Article Venezuela crisis Venezuela strikes as it happened: Nicolas Maduro indicted in New York after being captured by US; Trump says US will run Venezuela

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Rodriguez talked on Saturday to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country was among the Venezuela allies that condemned Maduros capture by US forces. Rodriguez, 56, has played a key role in the nations budget planning and has led diplomatic outreach to consolidate alliances with some of Venezuelas biggest allies, including China and Russia. She recently pressed China to increase purchases of Venezuelan oil and provide diluents needed to keep shipments flowing amid US sanctions. She began her political career under former president Hugo Chavez after graduating as a lawyer from the Central University of Venezuela. Her father, Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, was a prominent figure on the Venezuelan radical left in the 1960s and 1970s and the founder of a Marxist party. He died in 1976 under interrogation in prison after being tortured by state security forces, an event that became a defining part of Delcy Rodriguezs political narrative. Those who have worked alongside Rodriguez often remark on her long hours, with Maduro recently saying she responded to messages well into the night and early morning. What role for other Maduro allies?

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Jorge Rodriguez is another key figure in the regime as head of the National Assembly and one of Maduros closest advisers. AP Alongside Rodriguez on Saturday were the heads of the legislative branch, her brother Jorge Rodriguez; the judicial branch, Caryslia Rodriguez, and Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez. Jorge Rodriguez is another key figure in the regime as head of the National Assembly and one of Maduros closest advisers. The 60-year-old psychiatrist became politically active in college, where he was a student leader, and after graduation, he transitioned into government roles. A loyal ally of Chavez and his successor Maduro, hes held several high-profile political posts, serving as vice president, communications minister and head of the electoral authority. Hes also acted as negotiator for the Maduro government in several rounds of talks with the US and the countrys opposition. Despite his mediator role, Jorge Rodriguez is also known for his explosive temperament, lashing out in Congress and publicly threatening and insulting members of the opposition.

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He would be a key figure in ensuring continuity and political unity within the ruling party. He was re-elected as a legislator in May 2025 and was expected to take office on January 5. Military factor Amid rumours that his home had been attacked and that he had been killed, Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, 62, was the first senior government official to appear in a video on social media, more than three hours after the unrest began. In the message, he urged Venezuelans to remain calm, backed Maduros declaration of a state of emergency, and said national defence measures would be activated to restore order and stability. Vladimir Padrino Lopez (left) with Maduro, has been Venezuelas defence minister since October 2014, making him one of the longest-serving officials in the government. AP

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Padrino has been Venezuelas defence minister since October 2014, making him one of the longest-serving officials in the government. He was appointed during a tense period marked by large anti-government protests, when Maduro was seeking to strengthen control over the armed forces and secure loyalty at the highest levels. A career army officer trained in Venezuelas traditional military system, Padrino was seen as a figure capable of keeping the military united as the countrys political and economic crisis worsened. Related Article Analysis

Venezuela crisis In claiming American strength, Trump also highlights weakness During Padrinos time in office, the armed forces have taken on roles far beyond national defence. The military now oversees important parts of the economy, including food distribution, ports, mining, and oil-related logistics. This expansion has tied senior officers more closely to the governments survival, giving the military a direct stake in maintaining the current political system.

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Padrino has consistently supported Maduro during major moments of unrest, including the 2017 protests, the 2019 challenge following international recognition of Juan Guaido as interim president, and repeated reports of unrest within the military. He has been sanctioned by the US and other governments, which accuse him of backing authoritarian rule, human rights abuses, and corruption. The US has offered a $US15 million ($22 million) reward for information leading to his capture. Socialist strongman Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello also appeared on state television early on Saturday to urge calm and call for international attention to what he called attacks on areas inhabited by civilians. What they tried to do with bombs and missiles, they achieved partially, he said, questioning whether the international community would become accomplices to this massacre. Cabello, 62, is the governments socialist party strongman, controlling loyalists and followers across the country, as well as heading prisons, police and intelligence forces, which the United Nations has said enabled crimes against humanity.

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Diosdado Cabello has held key posts and is the governments socialist party strongman, controlling loyalists and followers across the country. Bloomberg As an army lieutenant, Cabello was part of a handful of young officials, led by Chavez, who were responsible for a 1992 coup attempt. After Chavez was elected president, Cabello was appointed to key posts, including minister of housing and telecommunications, head of the National Assembly, and governor of Miranda state. Cabello was a key figure in furthering government controls over the free press and the persecution of politicians, journalists and human rights activists. The US accused Cabello of narco-trafficking and terrorism in 2018. Hes charged in a Southern District of New York federal indictment with conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism. In 2025, the State Department announced it was raising a reward for information leading to Cabellos capture to as much as $25 million. Bloomberg Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
Investors are already eyeing financial opportunities in Venezuela following Maduro's ouster.

Charles Myers, chairman of Signum Global Advisors, said he's preparing to visit Venezuela in March.

Foreign investment in oil and tourism will be the "centerpiece" of Venezuela's recovery, Myers said.

A group of about 20 US investors is already planning to travel to Venezuela in March, following Saturday's news that the country's president, Nicolas Maduro, had been taken into US custody.

Charles Myers, the chairman of the political risk advisory firm Signum Global Advisors and a former vice-chairman of the investment advisory firm Evercore, told Business Insider that the mood among investors he has spoken to is one of "cautious optimism" following news of Maduro's ouster.

"I think the centerpiece of Venezuela's success, looking out 12 months or even 24 months, is foreign investment," Myers said. "A big part of the Venezuela story, starting today, is foreign investment, especially in oil and gas, which is pretty straightforward, but there are massive opportunities in construction, in tourism."

Myers said it's not the responsibility of his firm to take a "moral position" on whether it was right or wrong for the US to involve itself in Venezuela's government, but rather to help the firm's clients anticipate investment opportunities or mitigate risk due to geopolitical events.

However, he added, his firm "very much expected" the situation in Venezuela would unfold as it has, and has been preparing investor groups to be ready to travel to the country when the opportunity presents itself. Signum previously hosted similar trips for asset managers and hedge funds to visit Syria and Ukraine.

"People have seen this coming, especially very smart investors, and many of them have actually bought bonds in anticipation of this," Myers said. "But there's a very strong degree of cautious optimism, even more so than we saw with Syria, just because this is a United States-directed action."

"The United States will play a pivotal role in everything, especially the Venezuelan economy, starting today," Myers added, "So, I think the reaction has been more enthusiastic than perhaps other situations like this."

Read the original article on Business Insider
The man who was brought to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin with critical injuries following a serious assault in Ballaghaderreen in the early hours of New Years Day has passed away, gardai have confirmed.

Gardai continue to investigate the serious assault on the man who was aged in his 30s. Another man, aged in his 40s, who was arrested in connection with the investigation, has been charged and is due to appear before Roscommon District Court this Sunday morning, January 4, at 10am.

Investigations are ongoing into the serious assault that occurred on Barrack Street in Ballaghaderreen early on Thursday, January 1, 2026.
A call has been made for works to be fast-tracked on the N59 from Newport to Mulranny to reduce traffic delays along the busy route.

Achill-based Cllr Paul McNamara told the December meeting of Westport-Belmullet Municipal District that he recognised there has to be traffic delays with the upgrading works, but there are a lot of them. He suggested that rather than doing the works in phases, the overall project should be fast-tracked so that it doesn't go on for another four or five years, and is instead completed in two years.

Cllr McNamara also requested fast-tracking works on the R319 road from Mulranny to Achill, stating: Some money has been spent on upgrades at Achill Sound but the situation is serious between there and Mulranny and does need some investment on around a 13km stretch there. Taking just 1km a year out of it means it will take 13 years to do the whole job, so I ask could we get more funding for it please.

Cllr John OMalley said that while work on the N59 is being done at moment, it will take a long time to complete, adding: But we were lucky to get it started at all as it was stuck for a while.

Cllr O'Malley told the council's Head of Roads Conrad Harley that he had been talking to somebody that knows a lot about roads who reckons [Transport Infrastructure Ireland] are wasting money doing the work piecemeal.

"They would be better off if they put a full new road in and leave the old road there for locals to get up and down, as digging up half the road and then making a temporary road is all extra work.

Mr Harley, agreed that there are delays on the N59 at Derrada and said efforts are being made to reduce them, adding: Whether Transport Infrastructure Ireland is getting value for money by not building a new road, that decision was made many years ago when the process was gone through. Phase 2 is not at detailed design stage yet and wont follow through immediately after Derrada but it may not be that far behind it.
We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Long-Term Investments for Kids. Altria Group, Inc. stands tenth among the best long-term investments.

TheFly reported on December 22 that Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog highlighted a key positive catalyst for MO following regulatory progress in its modern oral nicotine portfolio. The FDA granted marketing authorization on December 21, 2025, for six on! PLUS nicotine pouch products manufactured by MOs subsidiary, Helix Innovations LLC.

This approval, the first under the FDAs new pilot program for expedited Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTAs), supports Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)s Moving Beyond Smoking strategy by offering a differentiated, soft-bodied pouch experience in multiple flavors and strengths (6mg and 9mg), enhancing its competitiveness against dominant rivals like ZYN.

Goldman Sees Growth Catalyst for Altria Group, Inc. (MO) After FDA Approval of on! PLUS

Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock.com

Herzog noted that this regulatory milestone could serve as a meaningful growth driver, positioning the corporation to expand its high-margin oral nicotine portfolio. The approval aligns with the companys broader operational pivot toward reduced-risk products while maintaining traditional revenue streams.

In contrast, BofA Securities analyst Lisa Lewandowski maintained a Buy rating on MO but lowered the price target to $64 from $66 on December 19, citing evolving consumer trends and pressure from the illicit e-vapor market.

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) is a major American tobacco and nicotine products company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. It is one of the largest producers and marketers of smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States, selling iconic brands such as Marlboro cigarettes, Black & Mild cigars, and smokeless products like Copenhagen and Skoal.

While we acknowledge the potential of MO as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None.
Sean McCarthaigh

A west Cork whiskey manufacturer is facing the prospect of having to cancel plans for a large storage facility in a rural area about 7km from Kinsale after An Coimisiun Pleanala refused it retrospective permission for four bonded warehouses over concerns about what might happen in the event of a fire.

The Commission upheld an appeal against the decision of Cork County Council to approve the application by West Cork Distillers for retention permission for the change of use of a farm building to the bonded warehouses at Ballinreenlanig, Nohoval, Co Cork.

The local authority had also permitted a change of use of an existing open steel tank to a firefighting retention tank for a period of three years as well as the construction of a fire pump building.

A report by a planning inspector with An Coimisiun Pleanala showed the sites owners were issued with an enforcement notice by Cork County Council in 2023 over the unauthorised use of a farm shed for storing whiskey.

However, the Commission rejected the inspectors recommendation that retention permission should be granted for the bonded warehouses and firefighting system.

Planning commissioner, Mary Rose McGovern, said the Commission was not satisfied that West Cork Distillers had provided sufficient details about the proposed firefighting water drainage system or the storm water attenuation system.

Given the lack of adequate details, she said it was not satisfied that the proposed development and the retention of the bonded warehouses would not be prejudicial to public health.

The Commission also expressed concern that the facility could give rise to negative impacts on the surrounding environment.

Ms McGovern said it had not accepted the recommendation of its own planning inspector as the Commission did not share her opinion that proposed modifications to the original plans by West Cork Distillers would prevent any discharge or spillage into the watercourse.

The Commission acknowledged that the proposed storage facility, which has the capacity for 4,320 tonnes of whiskey, was below the threshold for it to be deemed a Seveso site  an EU classification for a high-risk industrial facility that stores large quantities of dangerous substances.

However, Ms McGovern said it shared the concerns of the environment section of Cork County Council about the proposed remote unmanned whiskey storage facility.

She pointed out that in the event of a fire or spillage, it would take considerable time for personnel to get to the site to control any incident.

Due to the absence of adequate details as to how any spillages or runoff would be controlled before the arrival of firefighting personnel, Ms McGovern said the Commission was not satisfied that the proposed facility would not be prejudicial to public health.

The councils ruling had been appealed by a local resident, Helen ODowd, who claimed the storage facility posed a fire hazard, while articulated trucks visiting the site raised traffic safety issues.

West Cork Distillers rejected claims that an environmental impact assessment report was required.

It also rejected suggestions that the facility would impact on the rural character of the area.

The company stressed that all environmental and fire safety regulations would be fully complied with, and any spillages from the warehouse in the event of a fire would be diverted to a retention tank via drainage channels.
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

A mix of clouds and sunshine; the closest to freezing (32) we've been in a week and a half. .

Tonight

Increasing clouds. There is a slight chance for a little snow late, mainly south of I-78.
Expectations for crypto performance in 2026 are high, driven by rising demand for alternative stores of value and regulatory clarity.

According to Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl, a more supportive regulatory environment will strengthen the crypto sector. At the same time, weakening fiat currencies will further boost demand. Together, these conditions could push Bitcoins price to new all-time highs.

Market Structure Bill to Accelerate Token Issuance

Crypto has evolved significantly since 2008, with especially notable progress over the past year.

While milestones such as the approval of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the passage of the GENIUS Act have narrowed the gap between digital assets and traditional finance, substantial work remains.

According to Pandl, the next critical step is passing a bipartisan market structure bill. After delays caused by a government shutdown and partisan infighting in 2025, he expects the legislation to secure Senate approval early in the year.

It looks like we are on track in January or in Q1, Pandl said in a CNBC interview. Even if it doesnt get done immediately bipartisan progress is really the key.

https://twitter.com/davidsacks47/status/2001770200031736094?s=20

Pandl emphasized that a bipartisan bill would enable firms, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies, to issue tokens as a standard part of their capital structures alongside traditional instruments.

He also noted that broader macroeconomic conditions will have a positive impact on the price of Bitcoin.

Conditions Align for a Bitcoin All-Time High

Despite Bitcoins weak performance during the second half of 2025, Pandl predicts the leading digital assets luck to turn around this year.

According to Grayscales 2026 digital asset outlook, it expects Bitcoins price to reach a new all-time high in the first half of the year. For Pandl, several factors will influence this outcome.

https://twitter.com/Grayscale/status/2001370025056251935?s=20

I think [2026] will be a year of dollar weakness, Federal Reserve rate cuts, and strength in gold, silver as well as Bitcoin, Ether, and some other crypto assets as digital stores of value. All of these should benefit from the macroeconomic climate were living through, he told CNBC.

That, paired with the passage of a market structure bill, will further fuel a positive price outlook.

Broader adoption will also drive the faster rollout of ETFs that provide investors with access to a wider range of crypto assets.

As the crypto market continues to mature, Pandl also expects certain narratives to get left behind.
Teenagers as young as 14 and 15 among victims of Swiss bar fire, raising questions about ID checks
This is the first of a two-part series.

Across the African continent, a wave of Gen-Zled protests has shaken multiple countries, from Kenya, to Nigeria, Madagascar to Tanzania, expressing mounting anger at mass youth unemployment, poverty wages, corruption and police state rule.

Millions are being thrust into struggle against regimes descending from Pan-Africanist leaders and national liberation movements which promised that the carving up of states on inherited colonial borders and based on capitalism would open a new historical era. Independence, it was claimed, would translate into social equality, universal education, comprehensive healthcare and economic development.

Map of Africa showing Kenya, Nigeria, Madagascar and Tanzania [Photo: Public-domain map of Africa, original from Wikimedia Commons]

Instead, in Tanzania, Mozambique, and Angola, the CCM, FRELIMO, and the MPLA, once synonymous with the struggle against colonial rule, now preside over brutal and corrupt dictatorships imposing International Monetary Fund (IMF) austerity. In South Africa, the African National Congress rules over levels of inequality that surpass those of the white supremacist apartheid era, while in Kenya just 125 individuals control more wealth than the countrys remaining 42 million people combined. Across the continent, civil wars and recurring humanitarian crisis continue, as imperialist powers once again scramble for Africas resources, drawing the continent into yet another front of an emerging third world war.

Drawing a balance sheet of post-colonial rule is indispensable. Clarifying which leaderships and programmes failed, why they failed, and whose class interests they ultimately served is the starting point for meeting the challenges of the new period of revolutionary struggle. It is this that Revolutionary Movements in Africa: An Untold Story (2024), published by Pluto Press, blocks.

Edited by Ndongo Samba Sylla, Leo Zeilig and Pascal Bianchini, the volume presents an eclectic array of movements from the 1950s to the early 1990s, grouping Stalinists and Maoists aligned with Beijing or Moscow, Third World guerrilla currents, Pan Africanists, feminists, Arab nationalists and various petty bourgeois formations, across Senegal, Mali, Tanzania, South Africa and beyond, into a single, amorphous left tradition.

Revolutionary Movements in Africa: An Untold Story [Photo: Pluto Press]

Central to this project is the editors sweeping definition of an orientation to the left that implies a position in favour of equality, not only in terms of rights or opportunities for the individual, but also as an organising principle of society, especially at the socio-economic level. It also refers to progressive values opposed to conservative, traditionalist, jingoist conceptions. As for revolutionary, it means any radical change in the social order, from the idea of taking up arms as a response to the one party state and dictatorship to the emergence of radical democratic movements that appeared revolutionary only in the broad sense of the expression.[ 1 ]

Such definitions stand in direct opposition to socialism, which is the conscious, revolutionary overthrow of capitalist rule and the transfer of the means of production into the collective, democratic control of the working class. Revolution, as understood by socialists, is inseparable from the abolition of wage labour and the capitalist state, and from the reorganisation of society on the basis of meeting social need rather than private profit interests. This transformation requires the independent mobilisation and seizure of power by the working class, linking its struggle to the international fight against imperialism, and can be realised only through a revolutionary Marxist party.

This perspective finds its continuity today in Trotskyism, embodied in the programme of the Fourth International and carried forward by the International Committee of the Fourth International against all tendencies that subordinate workers to nationalism and capitalism.

By severing socialism from the independent revolutionary role of the working class and the necessity of a Marxist party, the editors of Revolutionary Movements in Africa have constructed a framework that scavenges from the dustbin of history various discredited Stalinist, Maoist and petty-bourgeois nationalist currents. These forces were repeatedly used by sections of the African bourgeoisie to consolidate state power, subordinate the working class, and betray the promises of national liberation in the service of capitalism and imperialism.

Tanzanias University Students African Revolutionary Front

Patrick Norberg, in his chapter Challenging African Socialism through Marxism-Leninism: The University Students African Revolutionary Front in Tanzania, presents the Maoist-influenced University Students African Revolutionary Front (USARF) as a viable revolutionary alternative to Julius Nyereres project of African Socialism in 1960s Tanzania.

The chapter opens by distinguishing two lefts in post-independence Tanzania. The first left, led by Julius Nyereres Tanganyika African National Union (TANU), was the national liberation movement transfigured into a state led socialist project, espousing progressive ideals, but delivering them in a top-down manner.[ 2 ]

Julius Nyerere campaigning for Tanganyikan independence in March 1961 [Photo by The National Archives UK/OGL v1.0]

TANU, however, did not arise in the 1950s with the aim of abolishing capitalism, but of constructing a capitalist nation-state within the colonial borders inherited from British imperialism. Nyereres African Socialism served as an ideological cover for this nationalist state-building project under conditions of extreme economic backwardness.

At independence, Tanzania remained a poor, commodity-dependent economy, compelled to balance between Western imperialist aid and limited assistance from Maoist China, while financing development through the intensified extraction of surplus from the peasantry. This took its most coercive form in the Ujamaa villagisation schemes, which forcibly subordinated millions of peasants to the needs of the state without ending capitalist property relations.

Nyereres nationalist strategy proved incapable of overcoming economic backwardness or escaping the constraints of the imperialist world economy. By the late 1980s, the regime turned to the IMF, imposing austerity, privatisations and wage freezes that devastated living standards and paved the way for Tanzanias deeper integration into global finance capital. The trajectory continues today under his party, which has recently killed thousands of protesters opposing the fraudulent election of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Norberg then turns to what he calls the second left, USARF, a small circle of radicalised students at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) that existed for just three years, from 1967 until its suppression by Nyerere in 1970. Norberg claims:

the group was at the forefront of political developments in Tanzania as the chief critic of Ujamaa. Its embrace of Marxism-Leninism conditioned the form and direction of the groups activities, functioning as a focal point which drew together all progressive elements inside the UDSM. In this context, USARF had some affinity with the idea of vanguardism, seeing its members as petty bourgeois class traitors who would rise to lead the workers. Throughout its existence, USARFs actions on the outside of mainstream political structures were facilitated by Marxism-Leninism  opposed to the utopianism of African socialism.  Nyerere saw USARF as a great threat precisely because there was no way to mediate the inherent conflict between his idealist socialism and the materialism of Marxism.[ 3 ]

This portrayal is a fabrication. The students who comprised USARFdrawn not only from Tanzania but from across East and Southern Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ethiopia and Sudanwere radicalised during a period of political ferment among youth across the continent. But the political conceptions which dominated this milieu never prepared them to see through, let alone challenge, Nyereres socialist pretensions.

Nkrumah Hall at the University of Dar es Salaam in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania [Photo: Xlandfair]

Norberg notes that USARF was influenced by academics such as Walter Rodney, Terence Ranger, Giovanni Arrighi and John Saul, who took up positions at the University of Dar es Salaam that Nyerere had converted into an international magnet for radicalised petty-bourgeois intellectuals. None of these figures represented a break with Stalinism or with petty bourgeois national liberation politics, nor did they seek to build an independent Marxist party of the working class in Tanzania or anywhere else in Africa. Their perspectives remained firmly confined within Nyereres nationalist regime and oriented toward the Soviet or Chinese-backed national liberation movements that dominated the continent.

Rodneybest known for How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1972) justified the rise of the Stalinist bureaucracy and Socialism in One Country, absolving Stalin of responsibility for the defeats of the international working class in China (1925-1927), Germany (1932-1933), France (1936) and Spain (1936-1939). In an objectivist and apologetic manner, he declared:

The failure of revolutions to take place in Western Europe was a function of imperialism, which strengthened their bourgeoisie and disarmed the workers. Stalin and the Russian Communist Party and the Comintern had no control over that. If one agrees that Stalin was not to blame for the absence of revolutions elsewhere, then it is entirely logical that he should have proceeded on his own, unless the inference is that Russia should have abandoned its social transformation until the workers revolted in Britain![ 4 ]

Walter Rodney [Photo: Unknown - Original publication: unknown Immediate source: Weekend Mirror News article]

Terence Ranger, an academic specialising in Zimbabwes history, stated unequivocally, I certainly never have been a Marxist.[ 5 ] Arrighi, a former member of the Stalinist Communist Party of Italy, developed his theory of systemic cycles of accumulation in The Long Twentieth Century (1994), offering a comparative account of successive hegemonies, Dutch, British and US, and the shifting geography of capital accumulation. He eliminated any decisive role for the working class or a Marxist revolutionary party, substituting conscious political struggle with a schema detailing an objectivist sequence of hegemonic transitions.

Saul was a prominent Canadian scholar of southern Africa who pinned his political hopes on nationalist parties such as FRELIMO in Mozambique and the ANC in South Africa, working closely with these and other liberation movements. His later writings are haunted by the disappointments of regimes in Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa, forged by movements he helped promote.

Their hostility to Trotskyismabove all to the theory of Permanent Revolution, which demonstrates the impossibility of the national bourgeoisie playing any progressive role against imperialismbecame embedded in the common course they designed for USARF students, which Norberg celebrates as Marxist.

The course, pointedly excluding Trotsky, offered an eclectic canon of Marx, Engels and Lenin alongside Pan-Africanist figures such as Kwame Nkrumah, the first Pan-African leader to take power, in Ghana in 1957, and Frantz Fanon, whose The Wretched of the Earth (1961) elevated peasant-led national liberation under radical elites as a substitute for socialist revolution.

Another lecturer Norberg lists is Stokely Carmichael, a proponent of black separatism in the US who rejected any united struggle of black and white workers. Norberg notes that USARF was especially close to FRELIMO, which had many adherents of Marxism.[ 6 ] But FRELIMOs political programme from the beginning was not Marxist but bourgeois nationalist.

FRELIMOs Constitution and Programme (1961) stated that its central aim was the total liquidation of Portuguese colonial domination and the immediate and complete independence of Mozambique, while calling for the unity of all Mozambicans regardless of class, ethnicity or religion.[ 7 ] Its first congress in 1962 emphasised liberation from colonial exploitation, racial discrimination, illiteracy and political oppression, but contained no reference to class struggle, the working class or socialist revolution.[ 8 ]

FRELIMO 3rd Party Congress poster (1977) [Photo: Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences]

Trotskyists recognised this force for what it was at the time. The Bulletinthe publication of the Workers League, the forerunner of todays Socialist Equality Party (US)while defending the legitimacy of FRELIMOs struggle against Portuguese imperialism, insisted on drawing a clear class line. FRELIMO was formed after the 1962 massacres but in the beginning it welcomed anyone into the organisation, its authors explained, stressing that the programme of FRELIMO is not a socialist one and remains vague. Directly counterposing itself to the Stalinist and Maoist glorification of such movements, the Bulletin insisted that as the working class was moving into battle  this is a time when Trotskyist parties must be built throughout Africa.[ 9 ]

FRELIMO officially rebranded itself as a Marxist Leninist vanguard party in 1977, at its Third Congress, seven years after the dissolution of USARF and two years after Mozambique gained independence. This was rebranding to secure Soviet backing and to legitimise its own one-party rule. It was junked in 1989 as Stalinism moved to restore capitalism in the USSR and Mozambique, devastated by civil war and economic collapse, turned to the IMF and imposed austerity.

Romanian Stalinist Nicolae Ceausescu (centre) visiting Maputo, Mozambique, in April 1979, hosted by FRELINO leaders Samora Machel and his wife Graca Machel [Photo by not credited - Fototeca online a comunismului romanesc, Photo no. #L054/Romanian National Archives]

Whether the students of USARF could have developed into genuine Marxist leaders is, inevitably, a counterfactual question. In principle, such an outcome was not excluded. The political radicalisation of youth in the 1960s, the deepening crisis of post-independence African regimes, imperialisms continued backing of white supremacist regimes in southern Africa, and the growing popularity of socialism created objectively favourable conditions for Marxism. But history does not unfold in a vacuum.

These students were radicalised under conditions in which Marxism had been systematically assaulted and distorted for decades by counterrevolutionary Stalinism and Maoism, reinforced by Pabloism, which broke from the Fourth International to hail bourgeois nationalist regimes as substitutes for working-class revolution. These tendencies dominated both politically and within academia.

This impasse was registered even by USARFs own members. Karim F. Hirji later recalled discussions with visiting students from Sweden and the USSR: We raised the question of revisionism. Why does the USSR so often betray the ideals of internationalism? Why does it have oppressive internal institutions? Needless to say, we were hardly satisfied with the answers we got.[ 10 ]

The fact that such questions were raised but left unanswered captures the essential tragedy of the generation radicalised in the late 1960s but deprived of access to Trotskyism and the theory of Permanent Revolution, the only programme that consciously worked for the independent mobilisation of the working class on an international basis. Their strivings for social change were channelled into nationalist, petty-bourgeois dead ends by tendencies orbiting the Soviet and Maoist bureaucracies at a moment when genuine Marxism, embodied in the Fourth International, had been reduced to a small and embattled minority by decades of Stalinist and imperialist persecution.

To be continued
Several countries in Southeast Asia continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels, including coal, for their power supply. This is contributing heavily to an increase in emissions. However, multiple states in the region have now introduced green transition strategies aimed at decarbonising their economies by cutting emissions and gradually shifting reliance away from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives. Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia are three of the Asian countries looking to ramp up their renewable energy capacities in the coming years to decrease their reliance on coal, oil, and gas.

More from Yahoo Scout What role does Brookfield play in Southeast Asia renewables? How much clean energy investment did these countries attract? How did Vietnam rapidly develop its solar capacity? What are the renewable energy targets for each country?

Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia together contribute almost 60 percent of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) power demand and emissions. In support of a global green transition, the three countries are now looking to shift reliance away from coal by attracting high levels of investment in the renewable energy sector. This is being supported by strong policy frameworks, market reforms, and targeted incentives.

In 2024, the three countries attracted $4.6 billion in clean energy investment. In November, the Canadian multinational Brookfield Asset Management announced it would be investing in renewable energy in all three countries. Brookfield recently acquired the clean energy developer Alba Renewables, which has a 1.8 GW portfolio of wind, solar, and battery storage assets, mainly in the Philippines and Thailand. The acquisition is expected to help Brookfield expand its operations in Southeast Asia.

The head of renewable power and transition for Brookfield Asia-Pacific, Daniel Cheng, stated, Southeast Asia is at the forefront of the global energy transition, with surging demand, favourable policy frameworks and a deep need not just for capital, but also experienced operators with strong track records of unlocking renewable power at scale. Cheng added, By acquiring a seed asset in Vietnam and backing Albas expansion across the Philippines, Thailand and beyond, we are catalysing platforms that can deliver reliable, low-carbon energy where it is most needed and impactful.

In the Philippines, 21% of electricity production came from low-carbon sources in 2024. Its largest source of clean electricity is geothermal at 8.3 percent, followed by hydropower at 8 percent and solar and wind power at 3.8 percent. The countrys power sector emissions have tripled over the last 20 years due to a growing reliance on coal. The Philippines has set a target of 35 percent renewable electricity by 2030, demonstrating the governments commitment to a gradual green transition.
Key Points

Oklo is designing small reactors to help power AI data centers.

The company is pre-revenue and lacks an NRC-approved design for commercial operations.

Only aggressive investors should consider opening a position in this stock.

10 stocks we like better than Oklo 

Picture this. It's mid-October 2025, and you're a shareholder in the nuclear start-up Oklo (NYSE: OKLO). You bought shares in January 2025, and your initial $10,000 stake has climbed roughly 480% to reach about $58,000.

Not bad for a nuclear start-up. Until it started selling off. Fast-forward to Dec. 31, 2025, and that same position would be worth about $23,850.

That's still a strong return for a company with no meaningful revenue, but investing is about the future. If Oklo were to repeat 2025's 238% jump, $500 invested today would be worth about $1,690 in a year. We don't know what the stock will do this year, but if you're interested in Oklo, let's take a look at what you'll be buying.

Artist's rendering of an Oklo Aurora powerhouse. Image source: Oklo.

The hurdle that Oklo must surmount in 2026

Oklo is a pioneer in advanced nuclear technology. Conventional wisdom touts it as an AI-age nuclear play, an energy start-up whose microreactor can meet the surging power needs of data centers and AI.

Furthermore, the company has gotten support from the U.S. government. Not only has it benefited from pro-nuclear policies, including executive orders from President Donald Trump, but it's currently building its first Aurora powerhouse at the Idaho National Laboratory -- a facility overseen by the Department of Energy (DOE).

This powerhouse is expected to "demonstrate criticality" by July 4, 2026.

While demonstrating this powerhouse's technology would be a major achievement, it wouldn't substitute for the milestone that would make this company real and formidable: obtaining approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to build and operate reactors commercially.

Until it has that license, Oklo's ability to generate revenue will be severely limited. Indeed, investors may need to wait a couple of years before the revenue spigot is turned on, while cash burn continues.

As such, Oklo remains a speculative play on the future of energy. Investors with a long time horizon may want to invest $500. Less aggressive investors might want to consider a nuclear energy exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in several companies instead.

Should you buy stock in Oklo right now?

Before you buy stock in Oklo, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Oklo wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
By Rich Tenorio | Edited by Patricia Guadalupe

Award-winning Cuban-American journalist Mirta Ojito still remembers encountering a chapter of forgotten history in a Key West, Florida, bookstore almost 20 years ago. It was there that she found a coffee-table book detailing the real-life account of the Valbanera, a Spanish-owned passenger ship that sank during a hurricane off Key West in 1919, claiming all 488 lives on board.

Oh my God, this is the Titanic story no one has ever heard of, Ojito recalled thinking. I was surprised that I never learned about it in school.

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Ojito seeks to remedy this through her debut novel, Deeper Than the Ocean  a blend of past and present, with a plot that hinges on the Valbanera. While the characters are fictional, the historical backdrop is very much drawn from real life.

That story deserves to be told, she said of the Valbanera. I did not want to write a nonfiction book. I thought I would try my hand at fiction.

deeper 02

Ojito is an acclaimed reporter who has covered subjects such as race in America, with a New York Times story on that topic winning her a shared Pulitzer Prize in 2000. Shes also received an Emmy for Cosecha de Miseria, a Telemundo documentary about the exploitation of child migrant labor in the coffee industry in Chiapas, Mexico. She currently works for NBC News as a senior director on the news standards team for NBC and Telemundo.

I have a full-time job in journalism, she tells palabra. It was very difficult to write fiction. I had to do a lot of research.

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It helped that two nonfiction books had been written about the Valbanera  including El misterio del Valbanera (Desaparicion y Naufragio), a Spanish-language coffee-table volume by Fernando Jose Garcia Echegoyen. This was the title that had captured Ojitos attention in that Key West bookstore back in 2006.

It was lost on its way to Havana, she explained. Decades later, off the coast of Key West, they were not able to recover any bodies. Divers were surprised to find nobody.

deeper 03

Around this historical event, Ojito wove a complex plot  in her words, a dual narrative that links a family of silkworm farmers in the Canary Islands with the present time.

The chapters alternate between these narratives  the story of Catalina Quintana, the daughter of a silkworm farmer in the early 20th century, and the story of Mara Denis, a 21st-century Cuban-American freelance journalist who attempts to unearth some family history.

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Based in the Canary Islands, Mara is reporting on African immigrants to the islands when she gets one of her daily phone calls from her mother.

This particular call, Ojito said, contains a request: When you go to the Canaries, can you please get the birth certificate of my grandmother? As Ojito explained, Maras mother wants to become a Spanish citizen. She needs her Spanish grandmothers birth certificate.

That ancestors name? Catalina Quintana. And Mara confronts a vexing development. She learns that Catalina was listed among the dead on the Valbanera, which would have made it impossible for her to continue the family line. Mara must draw upon all of her journalistic resilience to pursue this story to the finish.

There are elements of my life with [Mara], Ojito said. I gave her my profession  journalism  It seemed to me this would be the best profession to investigate, to find the story of the history of her ancestors.

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She added, I think it was better I made her a journalist than a detective. I dont know anything about being a detective. I do know about being a journalist.

deeper 04

As the twin narratives of Catalina and Mara each shift from the Canary Islands to Cuba, the author includes plenty of detail, from the class-restricted interiors of the Valbanera to the poverty of rural Cuba, then and now.

I did not make this up, she said of the social restrictions on board the Valbanera. It was like everything [else]  being first class in an airplane, business class, economy class. There are always people who have the means to pay more for their dreams. The Valbanera was not an exception.

Alluding to the far more famous shipwreck that became a blockbuster Oscar-winning film, Ojito said that the Valbanera was a tragedy of titanic proportions. And, she said, the real tragedy is that we do not know about it. I think we do not know because many of the people who died were poor immigrants who did not know how to read and write, [who were] in search of a better life.

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At the time, she said, the Valbanera was front-page news in major U.S. newspapers, from the New York Times to the Miami Herald, with coverage in the Associated Press as well, before gradually disappearing from the headlines.

We are not aware of it, Ojito said. Its not part of our collective memory. I think that is tragic.

Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Breaking Amish alum Jeremiah Raber has assured his TikTok followers that hes on the mend after a scary few days.

Huge thanks to all the people that have been praying for me. I truly appreciate it, Raber, 42, wrote to fans via TikTok on Friday, January 2.

Raber previously made several alarming posts via social media, a few of which showed him in a hospital bed. On December 30, Raber said he had possible liver failure and was waiting to be life flighted to another hospital.

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At the time, Raber told his followers that his blood sugar level was 993  which is dangerously high and potentially life-threatening, according to The Cleveland Clinic. The clinic states that blood sugar levels less than 100 are normal fasting blood sugar levels, whereas 126 or above potentially indicates that a person has diabetes.

Breaking Amish Alum Mama Mary Schmucker Is in Hospice Amid Cancer Battle: Shes Not Feeling Good

Later in the day on December 30, Raber shared still photos of himself being stretchered onto a waiting helicopter, presumably to be airlifted to another medical facility for more treatment.

Raber returned to TikTok on Thursday, January 1, to repost a comment from someone calling him a scammer and claiming that the reality star deserves it. The former Breaking Amish cast member accompanied the trolling post with a short video clip of himself waving to the camera as he laid in a hospital bed.

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Two days later, Raber finally had some good news. He thanked his followers for their prayers and announced that hed made huge strides over the past few days.

Im doing good and will be out tomorrow, he announced.

Stay positive, let the haters hate and live your life to the fullest! Get some rest, one fan wrote, while another replied: Sending healing energy.

Courtesy TikTok / Jeremiah Raber

A third fan encouraged Raber to put his health first, writing: Take care of yourself! Heal before you [stress] about anything! Care for you because nobody else can. Know what I mean? Stay healthy. Please!

Raber previously revealed he was suffering from serious health issues in March 2024. At that time, Raber thanked his TikTok followers for donating enough money to go to the doctor for [his] heart issue and stuff.

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Hopefully soon Ill be at the doctors and getting it checked out, he promised his fans. I appreciate it more than youll ever know."

InTouch Weekly reported in April 2024 that the reality star spent two days in the hospital for heart issues and diabetic ketoacidosis. (The Cleveland Clinic describes diabetic ketoacidosis as a life-threatening complication of diabetes and undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes and encourages anyone who suspects they may have the condition to seek immediate medical help.)

TLCs Suddenly Amish Trailer Teases Life-Changing Journey for 6 Outsiders: Pray for Me

Raber was one of the breakout stars of TLCs Breaking Amish when it premiered in 2012. The docuseries followed young Amish and Mennonite people venturing out of their religious communities to experience life in New York City for the first time.

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Prior to the first season airing, Raber had split from his first wife, Naomi Stutzman, with whom he shares three children. He later came back to the franchise for 2014s Return to Amish and remained part of the core cast for seven seasons.

Return to Amishs third season finale  which aired in August 2016  followed Jeremiah and his second wife, Carmela Mendez Raber, on their wedding day. The two had multiple very public breakups and reconciliations in subsequent years, leading up to Carmela filing for a restraining order against Jeremiah in March 2022.

Its all reports from back [in 2017], he told InTouch Weekly at the time. She used the s*** to get the order just to kick me out. Its sad how quick people are to post stuff like that but turn a blind eye to the change for the better people have made in their life.

Jeremiah announced in May 2022 that he and Carmela were not together, though he insisted he will still love her.
The Mexican edition of Vogue remains firmly on our radar, here at theFashionSpot. Throughout 2025, names like Zoe Saldana, America Ferrera, Jenna Ortega, Isabeli Fontana, Gracie Abrams, Ester Exposito, Bad Bunny, Angelina Kendall, Rachel Zegler, Cameron Diaz, and Maria Klaumann graced the title. Karla Martinez de Salas (head of editorial content) starts the year 2026 off strong, welcoming none other than Cindy Crawford onto the cover of Vogue Mexico, who fronts the January edition of the magazine. The all-American supermodel and icon of fashion teams up with the photographer Noua Unu for the occasion. In the joyous black and white cover shot, an energetic Cindy is dressed by cover shoot stylist Valentina Collado in a triple denim look from Levis.

Cindy Crawford for Vogue Mexico January 2026

IMAGE | VOGUE.MX

Read below the reactions of theFashionSpots forum members:

Cindy is the most BORING supermodel of the 90s. That same old look, pretending shes still that girl next door, is the equivalent of Gisele doing something nature-related; move on! immediately shreiked DK92.

WAVES also was not best impressed, commenting: Terrible! Body placement, facial expression, styling.

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The BIG problem with the shoot is that it has no direction. No concept or idea beyond denim. It feels flat and lazy, chimed in forum member Xone.

It could be good for an unknown ELLE edition, but not for a Vogue cover, Bertrando3 stated.

Yet not everyone was so disapproving. Not the most groundbreaking of Vogue covers, but it also doesnt declare to be. At the end of the day, its the beauty and fashion icon that is Cindy Crawford back on the cover of Vogue  and Im 100% here for it. I like the denim overload, the sense of joy, and the black and white teamed with the subtle gold, shared vogue28.

Cindy Crawford might be doing the same thing, but I really like this cover. It is her signature look, and she looks great, confessed MModa.

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Cindy is iconic. She represents the American girl next door; thats her brand, and I dont care if some find her a one-dimensional model. I find this cover celebratory, admired ivano.

See more of Cindy Crawford from the Vogue Mexico January 2026 cover shoot and click here to join the conversation.

The post Cindy Crawford Rocks Triple Denim on the Cover of Vogue Mexico appeared first on theFashionSpot.
On January 2, TikTokerPyxie's 1.4 million followers learned the news that many had been dreading: Pyxie's grandmother, known as Grandma Mary, died on Dec. 31. She posted a montage video featuring highlights from her social media appearances, accompanied by the text: "Grandma Mary, March 13, 1927 - December 31, 2025."

"On New Year's Eve, we said goodbye to Grandma," Pyxie captioned the video. "She peacefully passed away in her sleep. How lucky we are to have experienced her and her love. She will always be with us."

The 98-year-old had been a fixture in her granddaughter's TikTok videos, and fans mourned her loss. However, they also reflected on how lucky they were to have known her.

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"I was literally afraid of this video while following you for all these years," wrote one TikToker. "Heartbroken over her passing. My condolences."

"Thank you for sharing your grandma with us," commented another fan. "I absolutely adored her."

"How privileged we were to have know[n] such a joyful woman," wrote another. As of Jan. 3, more than 42,000 people had commented on the video.

Mary turned 98 on March 13, 2025, and after posting a video, Pyxie disappeared from TikTok for a while. She reappeared on Dec. 19, telling her followers, "For anyone wondering, grandma is alive and quieter these days."

In 2021, Pyxie posted a series of TikTok videos about Grandma Mary's life. She was born in Worcester, Mass., to parents who had fled Armenia to escape genocide. She was one of five sisters. When she was five years old, her family moved to Chicago.

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When Mary was 20, she went back to Armenia with her parents, while two of her older sisters stayed in Chicago. Armenia was under Soviet control at the time, and when Mary's parents discovered that conditions in Armenia were not as they had been told, her father sent a letter to one of Mary's sisters, warning against anyone else returning. When the government discovered his critical letter, they sent him to prison in Siberia for 15 years.

He was released, after six years, when Joseph Stalin died. Sadly, his health had deteriorated in prison, and he passed away two months later. In 1966, Mary moved back to the United States with her husband and their two kids.

This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Tommy Lee Jones' daughter Victoria had a plea deal that demanded sobriety waiting to be signed ahead of her sudden death ... TMZ has learned.

As you know, she was found deceased at Fairmont San Francisco early Thursday morning, with the dispatch audio indicating it may be related to an overdose. We also told you she had multiple run-ins with the law over the years ... with a recent drug-related arrest in April.

TMZ

And, according to court docs obtained by TMZ ... Victoria was offered a plea deal following the April incident, during which she was found to be in unlawful possession of cocaine -- and resisted arrest. The plea deal Napa County had offered would require her to plead guilty to resisting/obstructing arrest and possessing a controlled substance ... but would free her of the charge against her of being under the influence of a controlled substance. In return, she'd have to refrain from using drugs and submit to random testing.

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This deal would have required her to be on probation for a year ... as well as attend an alternative program such as counseling. She would have also been responsible for paying for the program as well as the fines associated with her charges.

Getty

Victoria's next court date was January 20, where she may have entered a plea for the case. However, she did not make it to the date.

TMZ reached out to Victoria's attorney and the Napa County prosecutor for comment ... so far, no word back.

Dispatch Audio Reveals Suspected OD Involving Tommy Lee Jones Daughter

As we told you, the charges resulted from a welfare check at Victoria's location after she accidentally dialed police in Napa. She told authorities she was fine, but while there, they noticed a white residue on her tongue and that she had rapid speech and was "fighting with her body movements." She admitted to using cocaine that day, and police arrested her -- which she resisted.

Remembering Victoria Jones - Click image to open gallery

Victoria's family broke their silence on her death Friday with a brief statement that read ... "We appreciate all of the kind words, thoughts, and prayers. Please respect our privacy during this difficult time. Thank you."

She was 34.

RIP
Jersey Mike's is often described as a fast-food spot or casual sandwich shop, but anyone who's gone during a lunch rush knows that label barely scratches the surface. Unlike traditional fast-food joints, Jersey Mike's operates almost entirely in the open. Customers stand at the prep line, watching as meats are sliced, bread is split and baked, toppings are layered, and sandwiches are wrapped for each order in real time. That transparency is part of the appeal, but it also means every interaction has a visible impact on how smoothly the store runs.

For employees, each shift is a constant balancing act. Workers must move quickly, remember dozens of details, maintain food safety standards, and communicate clearly with coworkers and customers, all while standing for hours. When the store is busy, even small disruptions can snowball into delays, mistakes, and mounting stress. Over the years, Jersey Mike's employees have shared consistent feedback about customer behaviors that make their jobs harder than necessary. Most workers understand that customers do not intentionally cause problems. Instead, the issues usually stem from misunderstandings, lack of awareness, or habits that seem harmless from the customer side of the counter.

This article is not about laying down hard rules or suggesting anyone should be banned for ordering "incorrectly." Instead, think of these as courtesy-based best practices that show consideration for the people making your food and the customers waiting. Following certain guidelines when ordering Jersey Mike's menu items helps keep service fast, accurate, and far more pleasant for everyone involved.

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Read more: Popular Jersey Mike's Menu Items, Ranked Worst To Best

1. Avoid overcomplicated sandwich orders during peak rush hours

Jersey Mike's employees making sandwiches. - rblfmr/Shutterstock

Customization is one of Jersey Mike's biggest selling points. Customers love being able to tweak nearly every element of their sandwich, from the type of bread to the thickness of the meat to the precise balance of toppings. That flexibility is part of what sets the chain apart from competitors that rely on rigid, pre-set menu items. However, employees have pointed out that timing matters when it comes to customization. During peak hours, overly complicated sandwich orders can bring the entire line to a crawl. When dozens of customers are waiting, and sandwiches are being assembled at high speed, each extra instruction adds mental strain and time.

Complicated orders often involve multiple substitutions, ingredients on the side, specific layering instructions, or requests that deviate significantly from standard builds. None of these is unreasonable on its own. The issue arises when several of them are stacked together during a rush, forcing employees to slow down, double-check every step, and break their usual workflow. Workers describe customers who make complicated orders, while standing over and watching and commenting on every step of the process, as ruining their day. They are keeping track of multiple orders at once, coordinating with coworkers, answering questions, and moving as fast as possible without sacrificing accuracy.

Being considerate does not mean giving up customization entirely. It simply means reading the room. If the store is packed and the line is long, consider sticking closer to a menu standard or saving the ultra-specific order for a quieter time. That awareness helps employees maintain momentum and reduces stress across the entire team.

2. Use the Jersey Mike's app's customization tools instead of the notes section

A screenshot of the Jersey Mike's app in the App Store. - PREMIO STOCK/Shutterstock

Mobile ordering has made Jersey Mike's more convenient than ever, allowing customers to place orders ahead of time and skip the line. But with that convenience comes a common frustration for employees, which is customers placing essential order instructions in the notes section instead of using the app's built-in customization tools.

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From the customer's perspective, the notes field may seem like a catch-all solution. It feels natural to type "no onions," "extra lettuce," or "light mayo" into a text box. The problem is that employees are not trained to rely on those notes for core sandwich instructions. They are trained to follow the structured modifiers attached directly to each menu item. Notes can be easy to miss and annoying, especially during busy periods. They may appear in smaller text on the printed receipt, be truncated on certain screens, or require extra steps to view. When employees are moving quickly, there's a higher chance that notes will be overlooked, even when no one intends to ignore them.

This can create a frustrating cycle, where the sandwich might be made incorrectly, the customer could be disappointed, and the employee may have to take the blame despite the system being the root cause. Remakes cost time and ingredients, slowing service for everyone else. Using the app as designed helps prevent these issues entirely. If the app offers a toggle or dropdown for an ingredient, that is where the instruction belongs. The notes section should be reserved for rare situations that truly cannot be handled through standard modifiers. Clear, structured customization benefits both customers and employees by reducing confusion and increasing accuracy.

3. Clearly state your name when picking up a Jersey Mike's mobile order

A customer ordering at Jersey Mike's while employees make sandwiches. - rblfmr/Shutterstock

One of the most common pain points for Jersey Mike's employees involves mobile order pickups. During busy times, there may be several completed orders waiting behind the counter, often with similar pickup times. When a customer walks in and simply says, "I'm here to pick up my order," it creates immediate confusion. Employees cannot read minds. Without a name, they have no way of knowing which bag belongs to which customer. This has the possibility of leading to unnecessary back-and-forth, delays, and sometimes even incorrect handoffs.

Another behavior that frustrates workers is when customers skip verbal communication altogether and shove a phone screen in an employee's face. While customers may think this speeds things up, it often does the opposite. Employees may already be helping someone else, managing multiple orders, or working with their hands full. Abruptly interrupting that process adds stress and disrupts the flow of service.

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There is also a human element to consider. Saying your name establishes a brief but respectful interaction. It helps employees feel like they are helping a person, not just sorting anonymous bags. That small moment of courtesy can go a long way toward keeping the pickup area organized and calm, and helping the employees feel like human beings instead of machines. The solution is simple, you just need to wait your turn, state the name on the order clearly, and allow the employee a moment to locate it. Clear communication benefits everyone and reduces the chance of mix-ups and frustration.

4. Do not confuse Mike's Way with microwaving

A Jersey Mike's sub next to the bag it came in. - Keith Homan/Shutterstock

Jersey Mike's has its own terminology, and one phrase in particular causes frequent confusion: "Mike's Way." Employees use this phrase constantly, often dozens or even hundreds of times when talking to customers. It refers to the chain's signature topping style of onions, lettuce, tomatoes, oil, vinegar, and spices.

Despite its ubiquity, some customers mishear "Mike's Way" as "microwaved," leading to awkward interruptions and repeated explanations. While the misunderstanding itself is not a big deal, the reaction to it can be. Employees report that some customers respond with disgust or are grossed out by the idea of their sandwich being microwaved, even after the misunderstanding has been corrected. What should be a quick clarification instead becomes a tense exchange that slows down the order process.

The reality is that Jersey Mike's employees are just doing their jobs when asking customers for their preferred sandwich combination. Employees are not trying to confuse customers by saying "Mike's Way"; they are trying to maintain efficiency. If you are unfamiliar with a term, it is perfectly acceptable to ask. Most workers will likely be happy to explain, and most Jersey Mike's locations have signs in the ordering area explaining what "Mike's Way" means. Approaching the interaction with curiosity instead of assumptions keeps things friendly and efficient. Understanding Jersey Mike's specific lingo helps you get exactly what you want while allowing employees to keep the line moving smoothly.

5. Keep your distance from the glass barrier at Jersey Mike's

A Jersey Mike's employee in front of the sandwich ingredients. - rblfmr/Shutterstock

The glass barrier separating customers from the prep line serves several important purposes. It protects food from contamination, shields customers from sharp tools, and provides a clear boundary that helps employees work safely and efficiently. Despite this, employees frequently report customers leaning on the glass, resting personal items on it, or reaching over it to point at specific ingredients while ordering.

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From a health perspective, this behavior introduces germs into an area where food is actively being prepared. From a safety standpoint, the glass is not designed to support weight. If it were to crack or shatter, it could cause injuries to the customer leaning on it and contaminate all the ingredients behind it. There is also the issue of distraction. Employees work with sharp slicers, knives, and hot equipment. Sudden movements from customers reaching into their workspace can be startling and dangerous. Even if no accident occurs, the distraction breaks focus and slows down service. Not to mention, a customer reaching over while an employee is slicing could lead to customer injury as well.

Giving employees physical space shows respect for their work environment. Ordering verbally instead of pointing, keeping hands to yourself, and standing back from the counter all contribute to a safer, more efficient Jersey Mike's experience for everyone involved.

6. Place your entire Jersey Mike's order at once

A Jersey Mike's employee cutting a sandwich. - rblfmr/Shutterstock

Ordering sandwiches one at a time is another behavior that employees find especially frustrating. This often happens when a customer waits until the first sandwich is completely finished before announcing they want another one. While it may seem polite from the customer's perspective, it actually disrupts the workflow significantly and causes your sandwiches to take longer to prepare.

Jersey Mike's assembly process is designed around efficiency. When employees know how many sandwiches are in an order upfront, they can slice meats in batches, prepare bread simultaneously, and plan their movements accordingly. Adding sandwiches mid-process forces workers to backtrack, rewash hands, change gloves, and reset their station.

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This not only slows down the current order but also affects every customer waiting behind it. It can cause the line to stall, which can lead to possible tension building, and employees may feel pressure to recover lost time. Providing the full order at the beginning, even if the sandwiches have different customizations, helps employees work smarter, not harder. Transparency makes the process smoother and faster for everyone involved, creating a better Jersey Mike's experience overall.

7. Be thoughtful about ordering at Jersey Mike's near closing time

A Jersey Mike's meal on a white table. - The Image Party/Shutterstock

Technically, customers are allowed to order food right up until a Jersey Mike's location closes. But employees consistently express frustration with last-minute orders, especially those placed just minutes before closing or submitted through mobile apps or by calling after cleanup has already begun.

Closing a Jersey Mike's store is not a simple task. It involves cleaning food areas, sanitizing surfaces, wrapping ingredients, restocking, and preparing the store for the next day. When a late order comes in, much of that work has to be undone and then repeated. Beyond the physical labor, there is an emotional component. Many employees are exhausted by the end of their shift and eager to go home. Some may be scheduled to open the store early the next morning. Seeing a new order pop up at the last minute can feel demoralizing.

Being considerate does not mean never ordering late. It means using discretion. If you are close to closing time, consider ordering something simple or choosing a different time to visit. Even a brief acknowledgment, such as apologizing for the late order or tipping the employees generously, can make a noticeable difference in how the interaction feels.

8. Do not assume the sandwich being made is yours at Jersey Mike's

A Jersey Mike's sandwich cut in half. - Deutschlandreform/Shutterstock

During busy periods at Jersey Mike's, multiple sandwiches are often in progress at the same time. To customers, the process can look chaotic, with ingredients flying and several orders being assembled side by side. Employees report that customers frequently interrupt them to say a sandwich is being made incorrectly, only for it to turn out the sandwich was not theirs in the first place.

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These interruptions can slow down service and create unnecessary tension between the customer and employee. Employees must stop what they are doing to explain the situation, reassure the customer, and regain their workflow. Being criticized for a mistake that has not happened can also take a toll on morale.

Trust is essential in a fast-casual food environment like Jersey Mike's. Employees are trained to keep track of multiple orders, even if it is not obvious from the customer's perspective. Waiting until your sandwich is actually handed to you before raising concerns helps avoid misunderstandings and keep the process moving efficiently.

9. Be aware of ingredient-heavy sandwich combinations like the #9 and #13 when ordering at Jersey Mike's

A long Jersey Mike's sandwich cut into 4 pieces. - Deutschlandreform/Shutterstock

Certain Jersey Mike's sandwiches are notorious among employees for how much they strain the prep line, especially when ordered together. Some combinations, like number 9 and number 13, use nearly every cheese and meat in the serving case, which can force employees to restock mid-order. Restocking is not quick. It can involve slicing more meat, reorganizing the case, and sanitizing equipment. When this happens during a rush, the entire line slows down.

The issue becomes even more pronounced when these sandwiches are heavily customized or requested as gluten-free, adding extra steps and safety protocols. While customers are not expected to know the operational details of the kitchen, understanding that some orders are more demanding than others helps foster patience and empathy.

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If you are ordering multiple ingredient-heavy subs, consider doing so during slower hours. Thoughtful timing can make a significant difference in how smoothly the Jersey Mike's store operates.

10. Avoid gluten-free orders during peak rushes when possible at Jersey Mike's

A person holding their hand up while being offered bread. - Kmpzzz/Shutterstock

Jersey Mike's takes gluten-free preparation seriously, and employees are trained to follow strict protocols to prevent cross-contamination. Making a gluten-free sandwich requires cleaning surfaces, changing gloves, using separate tools, and working carefully to ensure safety.

During busy periods, these steps can bring the line to a standstill. Employees must pause all other sandwich-making to complete the gluten-free order correctly. This creates stress for workers and longer wait times for customers.

It is important to remember that employees are not resentful of gluten-free customers. The frustration comes from timing, not the request itself. Ordering gluten-free during off-peak hours allows staff to give the order the attention it deserves without overwhelming the workflow. Balancing accommodations like gluten-free sandwiches with efficiency during the store's busiest times ensures both safety and quality for customers, which ultimately benefits everyone at Jersey Mike's.

11. Don't overlook the Jersey Mike's desserts

A hand holding a bitten chocolate chip cookie. - Kanawa_studio/Getty Images

When people think about Jersey Mike's, the focus is almost always on the subs. But what often gets forgotten is that Jersey Mike's actually has a surprisingly solid dessert lineup that both customers and employees quietly vouch for. Skipping dessert might save a few dollars, but it also means missing out on one of the easier wins on the Jersey Mike's menu.

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Jersey Mike's cookies, in particular, have earned a lot of praise from regulars and workers alike. While they are not baked from scratch on-site, employees receive raw cookie dough and bake the cookies fresh in-store rather than pulling pre-baked cookies from a freezer. That extra step makes a noticeable difference. Customers on Reddit have described the cookies as warm, soft, and gooey, especially when grabbed shortly after baking. They are the kind of dessert that feels worth the extra money, rather than an afterthought tossed near the register or made for meal deals.

The Jersey Mike's brownies are worth checking out too. They are described positively by customers, with some even comparing the level of deliciousness to Subway's cookies, saying that Jersey Mike's does it better. Employees also recommend the gluten-free cookies as a nice dessert for customers who may not be able to have the other cookie and brownie options.

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Read the original article on Mashed.
Rising inventory, moderating demand and shifting incentives are setting up early 2026 as a prime window for middle-class retirees to score big hybrid discounts.

According to hybrid rankings from Edmunds, more efficient powertrains are becoming standard across lineups, pushing dealers to discount outgoing trims more aggressively than in previous years.

Here are the five hybrid models expected to see the steepest price drops.

Learn More: Which Cars Last Longest? Ranking 32 Brands

Read Next: 6 Safe Accounts Proven To Grow Your Money Up To 13x Faster

Toyota Camry Hybrid

The Toyota Camry Hybrid is one of the clearest candidates for price pressure as 2026 inventory expands, thanks to its all-hybrid lineup. A pricing breakdown from Cars.com notes the 2026 Camry starts at $30,195, including destination, with fuel economy up to an EPA-estimated 51 mpg combined. With strong supply and mainstream appeal, Camry Hybrids often see meaningful discounts on both new and nearly new models once dealer stock builds.

Honda Accord Hybrid

The Honda Accord Hybrid is another midsize sedan likely to face early 2026 pricing pressure as Honda competes directly with Toyota for hybrid buyers, according to Yahoo Finance.

Ford Escape Hybrid

Shoppers should watch for advertised markdowns and negotiation room on remaining 2025 Ford Escape Hybrids in early 2026, particularly in markets with heavy compact-SUV inventory. The Escape Hybrid offers middle-class retirees a practical crossover option at anticipated discount prices.

Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

Families wanting a three-row plug-in bargain should watch the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, which takes a substantial depreciation hit in its early years. The starting price is $51,765, per Chryslers website. Additional cost-to-own projections from Edmunds show depreciation is the largest long-term expense for the Pacifica lineup, reinforcing how quickly values decline as newer inventory arrives.

Kia Sportage Hybrid

The 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid starts at $31,735 including destination, according to Edmunds. The Hybrid tops out at 41 mpg city, 44 highway and 42 combined with front-wheel drive. A refreshed version is expected to be a spacious and upscale SUV with lots of driver assist tech, making it attractive to retirees seeking safety features.

The Bottom Line

Early 2026 presents exceptional opportunities for middle-class retirees seeking hybrid vehicles. Models like the Toyota Camry Hybrid, Honda Accord Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and Kia Sportage Hybrid are all expected to see significant price drops as dealers clear inventory for new models.

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With hybrids losing value quickly in their first few years and dealers discounting outgoing trims more aggressively, patient shoppers could save thousands on fuel-efficient transportation ideal for retirement budgets.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 Hybrid Cars for Middle-Class Retirees Getting Massive Price Drops for 2026
A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model .

Does the January share price for McMillan Shakespeare Limited ( ASX:MMS ) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Before you think you won't be able to understand it, just read on! It's actually much less complex than you'd imagine.

Analyst price target for MMS is AU$19.70, which is 17% above our fair value estimate

McMillan Shakespeare's AU$17.16 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

Story continues

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (3.3%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.8%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2035  (1 + g)  (r  g) = AU$52m (1 + 3.3%)  (7.8% 3.3%) = AU$1.2b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= AU$1.2b ( 1 + 7.8%)10= AU$565m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is AU$1.2b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of AU$17.2, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

ASX:MMS Discounted Cash Flow January 4th 2026

Important Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at McMillan Shakespeare as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.8%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.069. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

View our latest analysis for McMillan Shakespeare

SWOT Analysis for McMillan Shakespeare

Strength

Debt is well covered by earnings.

Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Professional Services industry.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Good value based on P/E ratio compared to estimated Fair P/E ratio.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Dividends are not covered by earnings.

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Australian market.

Next Steps:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For McMillan Shakespeare, we've put together three fundamental items you should look at:

Risks: For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for McMillan Shakespeare that you should be aware of before investing here. Future Earnings: How does MMS's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Australian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Im the youngest person in the room almost every time I travel. In every instance where I had a chance to chat with older adults, I found them asking many questions about my travels and my story. Almost every person I chatted with, from my food tour group in Naples, Italy to the staff at Atlantis, the Palm Dubai, found it enlightening to see young people traveling internationally.

This begs the question: Why is it less common to see younger people traveling? Is it the lack of money associated with youth? Is it the hustle culture that doesnt allow enough PTO time to travel the world? Is this the wait for retirement myth so many boomers fell into? This mindset of waiting until our older years to begin really living is one I dont subscribe to. Instead, I made 2025 the best year of my life  experiencing new cultures, places, and sights that made me see life in a whole new light.

The wait until retirement myth

Emily Caldwell / The Manual

The idea that travel should wait until retirement [to travel] comes from an outdated model of life and work, where people assumed steady careers, guaranteed pensions, and predictable health, says Linda R. Jensen, an expert in wealth management for individuals & business owners. In reality, time, energy, and opportunity are often more available earlier than money ever will be later. From a financial standpoint, the real flaw is framing travel as an all or nothing luxury. When travel is planned intentionally, it can coexist with saving, investing, and long term security. Good financial planning is not about delaying life until retirement. It is about building a life that can be lived along the way, she shares.

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While I fully understand both sides of the wait until retirement philosophy, the concept of waiting for a day that may never come is one I cant seem to wrap my mind around. This assumption of guaranteed health, time, and desire may sense in the mind of a 30 year old, but what if life gets in the way? I dont believe in saving life for a version of yourself that may never exist. 65 year old me may not want to (or be able to) climb Mount Vesuvius or trek up the stairs to the Acropolis in Athens.

From a financial perspective, delaying travel assumes continued health, mobility, and time later in life, while ignoring the compounding value of experiences earlier on: cultural fluency, adaptability, expanded networks, and even clearer career direction. From a human perspective, it often postpones joy, curiosity, and learning in ways that are never guaranteed to be available later, says Luther Yeates, Head of Mortgages at UK Expat Mortgage.

Why I travel now and dont wait for later

Emily Caldwell / The Manual

Traveling young may come with sacrifices. Maybe you cant be away as long, as you have a family or a job waiting for you back home. Perhaps you have a budget to stick to. For me, these small sacrifices are worth the reward for the amazing benefits you get from experiencing new cultures and ways of life.

In 2025 alone, my experiences have completely shaped how the way I see the world and how Ive chosen to live the rest of life. I will continue to travel for as long as I am healthy, willing, and able, but I am especially grateful for the memories Ive made so far. From exploring the Berber villages in Morocco to the fortified walls of Malta, traveling has given me a gift that no physical item can provide: perspective.

Targeting specific types of travel

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If this year taught me anything, its that travel isnt one-size-fits-all; it means something different to everyone. This year, I found myself enjoying all of the places social media told me to stay away from, such as Malta, Dubai, and Morocco, and feeling underwhelmed by the hyped up destinations like Amalfi Coast, Italy. Every traveler is looking to get something different out of a trip  and this same theory applies to the wait until youre retired to travel concept.

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Whether you choose to travel while youre young or wait to travel when youre retired (or both), should depend on what youre looking to get out of a trip. While waiting until retirement to travel could mean you have more time, freedom, and money for luxury travel, it could also mean you dont have the physical energy and health needed to tackle things like a 30,000+ step day in Rome.

Either way, the choice is deeply personal. I recommend you consider what you really want out of travel. Is it the thrill of riding in a hot air balloon over the mountains in Marrakesh as the sun comes up, or climbing to the top of the Acropolis for the views? Or is it the 5-star luxury beach hotel or fancy all-inclusive resort youre after? I believe theres a time and place for every type of vacation. For me personally, splitting my travel between now and retirement makes sense. Right now, Ive chosen destinations that are harder to get to or require more physical exertion to explore. But this doesnt mean it is the right way to do it. Every travelers needs and preferences are different and theres an argument to be made for both approaches to travel.
Rick Steves offers a treasure trove of knowledge on European culture, and those planning a trip overseas in the near future are sure to find his travel tips very helpful. When visiting the capital of France, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre might be at the top of your itinerary, but Steves warns there's a piece of French culture that you might accidentally be overlooking as you rush through all the tourist spots: sitting in the local cafes.

He expressed this in a TikTok video, saying that "Cafe sitting [is] quintessentially Parisian." Indeed, cafes have been blossoming in the city since the 17th century, and you can actually still visit Cafe Procope, the very first Parisian coffee shop.

Steves's video highlights the slow-paced and convivial nature of French cafes, offering the opposite vibe of productivity culture that has taken over the American coffee shops. "Back home, when I go to my favorite cafe, it seems like a temporary office space," Steves pointed out. "Everybody's got a laptop." In France, people come to cafes to catch up with friends and escape from the workday  a common European experience that travelers wish would come to America. In Steves' view, "it's a requirement not to be in a rush" if you want to enjoy a French cafe. That's the whole point of the experience.

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Read more: 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Dining In Italy

What to expect at a French cafe

Entrance to a French cafe with outdoor seating - Stefano Amantini/atlantide Phototravel/Getty Images

Much like other European cafes, French cafes are built for simplicity. Don't bother ordering fancy coffee drinks with flavored syrups; the right way to order coffee in Europe is to understand espresso as the base for everything. You will notice the other patrons in the cafe drinking their small cup of coffee over the course of an hour, two, or even three. If you speedily chug your java and want another cup, you have to pay for it  there are no free refills. Speaking of prices, it's not uncommon for a French cafe to have two different price points, depending on whether you're ordering at the bar or in the seating area.

Cafes are not a replacement for restaurants by any means, but they are a very convenient place to grab a quick bite. Think: breakfast foods, sandwiches, salads, and an occasional dessert. The French are not afraid of carbs, so you'll always be able to get a good croissant, but for something more substantial, definitely explore Anthony Bourdain's favorite places to eat in France. Another thing you can expect in a French cafe is outdoor seating all year round to watch passersby. In the winter, heaters and blankets are placed outside to keep the customers warm, as the low temperatures don't seem to dissuade people from cafe sitting one bit.

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Read the original article on Tasting Table.
Jan. 4Wanda and Wayne,

I'm in my early 20s and live out of state now, but I come home for Christmas (and sometimes stay though New Year's), like a lot of my friends have done since we left for college. This year like all years, a big group of us ended up downtown at our old favorite bar (which I won't name!) where we basically lived at during college breaks before everyone scattered for jobs and grad school. It's always fun and something we all look forward to. But this year there was a twist: My high school crush was there.

We were friends in high school and went on a few dates during the summer after freshman year of college, but we were so busy and it fizzled on good terms. We've stayed loosely connected through social media, and I know he has a serious girlfriend where he lives and works in the South. And I've been casually seeing someone since I moved to the Midwest for a job this summer. That first night, we caught up, closed the bar, and when everyone was hugging and waiting for rides we had a long hug and a very quick kiss. We ran into each other again two nights later. This time we talked all night. I left early and he walked me out, and we kissed in the parking lot until my Uber arrived. He offered to share the ride; I said no. I want to say I was surprised it happened, but it was building to that all night. And in the moment, it felt sweet.

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In the daylight, though, I felt confused and guilty. I crossed a line, which I don't do. I knew he has a girlfriend and I'm starting something of my own. I could blame nostalgia or drinking, but it was intentional. And when I was with family or out with other friends, I kept hoping I'd run into him again. I told my best friend while we were at the gym, and she said she'd knew something was going on. She also brushed it off as a harmless, cute little holiday moment and nothing more. But saying it out loud made me feel ick.

I don't know what to do. I want to let it go but it's all sticking with me, the guilt, the confusion. It's not even about being with him because that isn't realistic and I agree that this was just a moment. But it is making me question myself and my decisions. I already felt torn when I moved to the Midwest instead of coming back to Alaska, and every visit home makes me miss my family and friends more. At the same time, part of me is relieved to get back to my routine far away from here where it's easy to just move forward.

What do you think? Is there something I'm supposed to learn from this? Am I just lost and tired from a long and dramatic return home or should I be questioning what I really want in life?

Wayne says:

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Ah, that sweet spot between a warm-and-whimsical Hallmark holiday movie and a hardcore happiness-and-hangovers holiday at home. The nostalgia hits different when you parachute into all of this comfort and familiarity and those deep connections with family and friends ... and then jet away just as quickly. It can all feel pretty intoxicating, especially when you're literally intoxicated half the time.

Stick around long enough, though, and you'll realize that these holiday stays are just a highlight reel. Clear, sober sight will reveal that life at home is just as complicated as ever, and that it's not easier here than anywhere else. An extended stay or off-script moment might even remind you why you decided to leave and create a comfort zone between you and home.

So, what do you do with this awareness and all of these confusing feels? First, understand that this isn't about the guy. And second, don't panic. That's just your internal compass alerting you that it's still functional and that your values are intact. Start worrying if you don't feel guilty about kissing someone who is in a relationship. Freak out if you aren't questioning your big life decisions like career and relocating and missing your family. And hit reset if you can't be honest with yourself and others, or when you aren't learning and growing from missteps that everyone makes along the way.

Getting swept up and romanticizing a time, place or person is a heck of a lot easier than sitting with the truth that life is messy, complicated and sometimes lonely, especially in your early 20s. But this moment doesn't require a big decision, confession or dramatic life overhaul. Accept the lesson, not the fantasy. Feel the guilt, then let it go. And trust that holding on to the past will just slow your roll moving forward.

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Wanda says:

There's this funny thing that happens when we leave real life behind and go back home. Day jobs, bedtimes, meal prep and other responsibilities slide away as we step easily into old routines, friendships and patterns and find a kind of frivolous comfort in the familiarity. Trust me, pubs across the country are packed through the annual holiday season with nostalgic meet-ups and hook-ups that fling old flames together and lay the groundwork for fuzzy-framed decisions and blurry boundaries.

So you made out with an ex? Not great, but could have been worse, and frankly it's fairly on-script for this era in your life. You've already clocked that it didn't really mean anything, so whether you share with your casual dating partner is really up to you. Personally, I think the lesson here isn't that you're some serial cheater, but  as Wayne said  it's more about how to understand where you are in life and what lessons there are to learn that will best move you forward.

As for your relocation to the Midwest and your feelings of missing home  this is normal, too. We can't be two places at once, and where we live is one of the biggest choices of all. Things like weather, housing market and grocery costs, and recreation access dramatically shape our economic status and quality of life. Also on that list: friendships, family, and connection and sense of place. All are factors to consider in putting down roots. Maybe it will turn out the Midwest isn't for you. Maybe you'll find it's home after all. Either way, continue forward with open eyes and an open mind and know that there's no failure in your eventual and ultimate choice.

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[Wayne and Wanda: How can I support my partner's hardcore New Year's reset, even if it's not for me?]

[Wayne and Wanda: My friend-with-benefits situation is evolving into a deeper relationship]

[Wayne & Wanda: I might stay sober past Dry January, but I'm afraid of how it will affect my relationship]

[Wayne and Wanda: My girlfriend's dog fostering has consumed her life and derailed our relationship]
Content warning: This article contains information about child sexual abuse. Reader discretion is advised. Report child sexual abuse to local law enforcement and contact the DCFS 24/7 hotline: 855-323-3237. For more information, visit dcfs.utah.gov.

TOOELE CITY, Utah (ABC4)  A Tooele man is behind bars after allegedly sexually assaulting his niece, who walked three miles home in the middle of the night to get away from him.

A 38-year-old man, whom ABC4 is not identifying to protect the victim, was charged with four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony.

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According to court documents, on Dec. 31, a woman contacted the Tooele City Police Department to report that her 10-year-old daughter was sexually abused by her uncle. The victim was transported to the hospital for a sexual assault exam.

Woman charged with years-long sexual abuse of younger siblings as a teenager

After the exam, the victim spoke with an investigator about what had occurred. She explained that the evening before, she had gone to her uncles home to stay overnight. The 10-year-old said that she fell asleep in his lap and woke up to him touching her inappropriately.

This escalated into him sexually abusing her, and she said she didnt know what to do, but asked him to stop and went away from him. The victim went to the guest bedroom to lie down and went to sleep.

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Again, the 10-year-old woke up to her uncle sexually abusing her. She told police that she was scared and asked him to leave the bedroom. As her uncle was leaving, he allegedly told the victim not to tell anyone and said she was his favorite niece.

The 10-year-old waited for her uncle to fall asleep and snuck out of the house. She walked three miles back to her own home around 1 a.m., and it was very dark and cold. The victim knocked on a siblings window, but then went to the front door because the sibling was asleep.

When her family came to the door, the 10-year-old said she began crying and told them what happened. Video footage from neighbors corroborated the victim walking home in the middle of the night.

The interviewer asked the victim why she left, and she responded that she believed [her uncle] would touch her again and she did not feel safe.

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How to make ABC4 your preferred news source on Google

The Tooele City Police Department went to the uncles home and asked him to come to the station. During an interview, he allegedly went into great detail about most of the night, but when asked about the victim, only said that they watched a movie, made popcorn, and went to bed.

The officer conducting the interview asked about the sexual abuse allegations, to which the uncle replied, No, no, no, no. Thats disgusting. Why would I do that?

When the officer continued asking, the uncle asked for an attorney. He was arrested and booked into the Tooele County Jail, where he is being held without bail.

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Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Latest headlines:

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
Two people in the Triangle are celebrating big lottery wins just days apart.

Danny Lloyd of Durham won a $345,269 jackpot after taking a chance on a $1 Cash 5 ticket. He bought the ticket for the December 18 drawing from the Family Fare on Roxboro Street in Durham.

After taxes, Lloyd took home $248,628.

Meanwhile, Gracie Burgess of Apex won $150,000 from a $5 scratch-off ticket her grandmother gifted her for Christmas. The Peppermint Payout ticket came from the Han-Dee Hugo's on Jenks Road in Apex.

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"I was with like 20 or 30 family members, so it was a little chaotic," said Burgess.

She said her grandmother become emotional, leaving her in tears of joy.

After taxes, she took home $107,626. She plans to use her winnings to fix up her car and put the rest into savings.

SEE ALSO: Audit of NC Education Lottery shows decrease of millions in funding to public schools
The predawn U.S. military operation that spirited Nicolas Maduro and his wife out of Venezuela and into U.S. custody marks a watershed in hemispheric politics. In an operation that lasted just over two hours, American forces removed a foreign president. It followed months of saber-rattling and a steady buildup of Americas regional forces.

Whether under the banner of counter-narcotics or regime change, the message is unmistakable: The U.S. is prepared to act unilaterally, forcefully and, potentially, illegally. And this will have broad ramifications across Latin America, not least for Venezuela itself.

The reaction to the U.S. intervention from across the region was instantaneous. Colombia rushed troops to its frontier, bracing for potential refugees and denouncing the strikes as an affront to regional sovereignty. Cuba joined Iran, Russia and other foes of Washington in condemning the raid at the United Nations. A handful of governments, notably in Argentina, offered ringing endorsements.

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Maduros next public appearance will likely be in a New York court. But where do the U.S. and Venezuela go from here? President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. will run Venezuela until there is a safe, proper and judicious transition of power. He also said his administration is not afraid of boots on the ground.

But so far, few concrete details are on offer. Much depends on what Washington does next and how Venezuelas fractured polity responds. As an expert on U.S.-Latin American relations, I think five broad scenarios seem likely.

Venezuelans watch a news conference by President Donald Trump explaining details of the operation in which U.S. forces abducted President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026. AP Photo / Ariana Cubillos)

1. Trump declares victory and walks away

In the first scenario, Trump will proclaim mission accomplished, parade the capture of Maduro as a triumph of American will and rapidly reduce the U.S. footprint. Venezuelan institutions would be left largely intact. Current Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez would preside over a reconstituted government that retains its commitment to the style of left-wing governance developed by the late Hugo Chavez, now minus its latest figurehead in Maduro.

This would suit American generals keen to limit U.S. troop exposure, as well as foreign powers anxious to avoid a power vacuum. But it offers little to the Venezuelan opposition or to regional governments that have borne years of refugee flows.

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Above all, it would squander the leverage Washington has just expended effort and money to obtain. Having taken the extraordinary step of abducting a head of state, simply reverting to a slightly reshuffled Chavismo would look, even by the standards of foreign American interventions, oddly anticlimactic.

2. A popular uprising topples Chavismo

A second possibility is that the shock of Maduros removal cracks the governments aura of inevitability and triggers a mass uprising that sweeps Chavismo from power. With the presidency vacant and the security forces demoralized or divided, a broad coalition of opposition parties, civil-society groups and disaffected Chavistas could push for a transitional council, perhaps under Organization of American States or U.N. auspices.

Yet as neat and tidy as this sounds, such revolutions  especially those supported by outside interference  rarely proceed tidily. Years of political repression, organized crime, economic misery and emigration have hollowed out Venezuelas middle class and organized labor. Armed colectivos  paramilitary groups with a stake in the old order  would resist fiercely. The result might be not a swift democratic breakthrough but an unstable transition: a fragile caretaker government, sporadic violence and intense infighting over amnesties and control of the oil sector.

Nicolas Maduro opponents in Florida gather, with one holding a banner for Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado. AP Photo / Vanessa Alvarez

3. US escalation to install a friendly opposition

Another scenario has Washington leveraging its new position to push forcefully for complete regime change. That could mean tightening sanctions on remaining power brokers, expanding strikes against security installations and militias, covertly supporting insurgent factions, and using Maduros prospective trial as a global stage on which to delegitimize Chavismo once and for all.

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In this scenario, a recognized opposition leader would be ushered into office following some form of managed election, transitional council or negotiated handover  potentially someone like the Nobel Prize-winning Maria Corina Machado. The U.S. and its allies would dangle debt restructuring and reconstruction funding in exchange for market reforms and geopolitical alignment.

The risks are obvious. An overtly U.S.-produced transition would taint the new leaderships legitimacy at home and abroad. It would deepen polarization, entrench the narrative of imperial imposition that Chavismo has long peddled, and invite proxy meddling by China, Cuba, Iran and Russia. A bruised but not broken Chavista movement could pivot into armed resistance, turning Venezuela into another theater of low-level insurgency.

4. US custodianship and managed transition

A managed transition is the option Trump has now openly floated, with Washington taking an interim custodial role in Venezuela. In practice, it would resemble a trusteeship in all but name. Early priorities would be to impose a basic chain of command and restore administrative capacity, stabilizing the currency and payments system, and sequencing reforms to prevent state collapse during the handover.

The political timetable would be central. Washington would heavily influence interim governance arrangements, electoral rules and the timing of presidential and legislative votes, including reconstituting electoral authorities and setting minimum conditions for campaigning and media access. The U.S. would not necessarily need to occupy the country, but it might require American forces on the ground to deter spoilers.

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The economic logic of this way forward would hinge on rapidly restoring oil output and basic services through U.S. technical support, private contractors and selective sanctions relief tied to compliance benchmarks. Companies such as Chevron, the only U.S. major oil company still positioned inside Venezuela, or oilfield service providers like Halliburton would likely be early beneficiaries.

Yet the hazards are profound. Like with the U.S.-friendly opposition above, a U.S. custodianship could inflame nationalist sentiment and validate Chavismos anti-imperial narrative. The implicit threat of force might deter spoilers, but it might also deepen resentment and harden resistance among armed groups, Maduro remnants or anyone else opposed to U.S. occupation.

A supporter holds a poster of Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela. AP Photo / Ariana Cubillos

5. Hybrid conflict and managed instability

A final outcome may a messy hybrid of some or all of the above: a protracted struggle in which no actor fully prevails. Maduros removal could weaken Chavismo but not erase its networks in the military, bureaucracy and low-income barrios. The opposition could be energized but divided. The U.S. under Trump will be militarily powerful but constrained by domestic fatigue with foreign wars, the upcoming midterm elections and doubts about the legality of its methods.

In this scenario, Venezuela could lurch into years of managed instability. De facto power might be shared among a weakened Chavista elite, opposition figures co-opted into a transitional arrangement, and security actors controlling local fiefdoms. Sporadic U.S. strikes and covert operations could continue, calibrated to punish spoilers and protect preferred partners, but avoiding the scale of occupation.

Monroe Doctrine 2.0?

Whatever the future, what seems clear for now is that the anti-Maduro operation can be seen by supporters and critics alike as a kind of Monroe Doctrine 2.0. This version, a follow-up to the original 19th century doctrine that saw Washington warn European powers off its sphere of influence, is a more muscular assertion that extra-hemispheric U.S. rivals, and their local clients, will not be permitted to have a say on Americas doorstep.

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This aggressive signal is not limited to Caracas. Cuba and Nicaragua, already under heavy U.S. sanctions and increasingly reliant on Russian and Chinese support, will read the Venezuelan raid as a warning that even entrenched governments are not safe if their politics dont sufficiently align with Trump. Colombia, notionally a U.S. ally yet currently led by a left-leaning government that has railed against the U.S. Venezuela policy, finds itself squeezed.

Smaller and midsized states, too, will take note  and not just those in Latin America. Panama, whose canal is critical to global trade and U.S. naval mobility, may feel renewed pressure to move toward Washington and police Chinese inroads in ports and telecommunications. Canada and Denmark, via Greenland, will hear echoes in the Arctic.

In the meantime, for Venezuelans, there seems to be yet another turning of the screw by the U.S., with a bare-minimum guarantee of insecurity and precarious limbo for the foreseeable future.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Robert Muggah, Instituto Igarape; Princeton University

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Robert Muggah is is the co-founder of the Igarape Institute, an independent Brazilian think tank that receives financial support from the governments of the United Kingdom, as well as Inter-American Development Bank and various local donors in Brazil. Robert Muggah is also co-founder of SecDev, a cybersecurity and geopolitical risk consultancy, and a fellow at the Univeristy of Princeton. Robert Muggah is also a senior adviser to McKinseys.
Update:

Both suspects, facing assault and robbery charges following an ax attack in Orlando, Anne Askell and Nicholas Lavallee Junior, will remain in custody after a judge denied their bond today.

Police reports indicate that the suspects used deception to lure the victim to a location at University Park Apartments. They allegedly presented themselves as someone the victim was supposed to meet, which ultimately led to the violent encounter.

Original Story:

On December 29, the Orange County Sheriffs Office responded to a report of aggravated battery and armed robbery on Econ Circle. The victim was injured with a stab wound and a head contusion during the incident.

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Law enforcement reports that the victim was allegedly robbed at gunpoint by three men and a woman after being lured to an apartment complex through deception. He had driven to University Park Apartments expecting to meet a woman named Fawn, who was later revealed to be involved in the setup.

The report additionally states that the victim arrived on Emily Loop around 11:30 p.m. and was attacked shortly afterward. After losing his wallet, cell phone, and Jeep keys, he was injured and ran to a nearby complex to seek help.

Anne Aksell was identified as a suspect in this robbery. Nicholas Lavallee Jr. was reportedly an accomplice. Detectives say that a canvass of the area led to the discovery of the victims abandoned vehicle.

Evidence gathered from surveillance footage and clothing backs up the claims against the suspects. Videos from a neighbors doorbell camera captured key moments before and during the attack, including a male wielding a firearm.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
The explosion at Kabuls Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021, shattered Manizhas world in an instant. As the Taliban seized control and U.S. forces withdrew, the then21-year-old womens rights activist managed to secure humanitarian parole for herself and her family. But amid the chaos of the ISIS-K bombing, she was separated from her parents and three siblings.

Forced to make an agonizing choice, she entered the Abbey Gate with her younger brother, Rafi, and sister, Maryam. (Were not including their last names because while they are legally in the U.S., their Permanent Resident Cards do not protect them from being deported or detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Under the Trump administration, green card status holders may be deported or detained by ICE under specific legal circumstances.)

They boarded a U.S. transport plane together, leaving the rest of her family behind.

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We met Manizha by chance. She translated for us as we mentored another Afghan family through the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which provides services to refugees and asylum seekers. She was raising her siblings alone as their guardian, working full-time and navigating every appointment, form and crisis without anyone to guide her.

Over time, the three siblings began spending holidays with us, calling for advice and sharing their triumphs and heartbreaks. Slowly, they became part of our family. We love them like our own children.

That is why the political backlash following the Thanksgiving shooting near the White House has been devastating. When an Afghan asylum seeker shot two National Guard members, killing one, President Donald Trump immediately seized the tragedy to justify pausing asylum decisions, halting visas and re-examining green card holders from 19 countries of concern.

This policy followed fear rather than facts.

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The danger here is greater than one horrific crime. It is the idea that entire communities can be punished for the actions of a single individual. If this logic prevails, then nearly 190,000 Afghans now legally living in the United States  many of whom risked their lives to support U.S. forces  could watch their futures evaporate. Collective punishment is becoming an acceptable political reflex.

Sacramentos Afghan community

Sacramento County has welcomed more than 9,000 Afghan evacuees since 2021  the largest concentration of new arrivals anywhere in the country  and today is home to an estimated 20,000 Afghan refugees and immigrants. Families have put down roots in Arden Arcade, Foothill Farms, Citrus Heights and Elk Grove. They have been supported by local mosques, mutual-aid groups and resettlement agencies that helped them thrive.

Afghans rebuilding their lives in Sacramento face the same uncertainty now hanging over Manizha, Rafi and Maryam. What happens in Washington will determine whether these families can stay, work and feel safe in the city they call home.

The anxiety spreading through Sacramentos Afghan community is magnified by something more disturbing: the double standard in how Trump talks about violence depending on who commits it. When a white Army reservist killed 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, Trump posted a restrained message calling it a terrible situation. But when the accused perpetrator is brown, Muslim or visibly foreign, the language shifts to animals and crimes against our entire nation.

Scapegoating immigrants

Last week, Trump repeated this pattern, calling Somalis garbage and vowing to remove the entire community from the country. These rhetorical choices are not accidental; they make clear which communities are granted humanity and which are cast as threats.

Rafi, (right) observes his sister, (left), at an art museum. The two are immigrants from Afghanistan.

For Afghan families like the one we love, the message is chilling. Manizha researched the safest neighborhoods in Omaha, determined to give her siblings a life free from the fear they grew up with. She became the households primary breadwinner as a caseworker, often staying late to help clients who reminded her of her own family. At night, she studies to become a nurse, poring over textbooks at the kitchen table after her siblings are asleep.

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Rafi worked 35 hours a week as a certified nursing assistant while attending high school and learning English. Today, he is studying to become a nurse and is considering medical school. In Afghanistan, he told us, studying felt pointless: how do you plan for a future you might not live to see? Here, he throws himself into demanding coursework, because for the first time in his life, the future feels real.

Maryam made the honor roll while managing a restaurant shift team  a job she started shyly, nervous to speak to customers. During our first visit, Maryam, embarrassed by her English, refused to ask the salesperson a question. Two years later, she cracks jokes effortlessly in English and Dari, switching between languages as she bosses her sister around in the most endearing way.

We have watched them navigate every stage of rebuilding a life. Rafi, once reserved, found a sense of belonging with the medical team at a rehabilitation center. Manizha faces the bittersweet loneliness of a young woman raising siblings who are suddenly becoming independent.

They light Hanukkah candles with us, ask thoughtful questions about American holidays, and bring Afghan dishes from recipes theyve adapted to the ingredients available here.

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America has a long history of scapegoating immigrants, but this moment is especially dangerous because the rhetoric is being weaponized at the highest levels of government.

Manizha, Rafi and Maryam are not threats to this country. They are what this country claims to value: resilience, responsibility and hope. Immigrants strengthen every city they join. When we allow fear to define policy, we dont just betray our promises to them, we diminish ourselves.

When we think of Afghans, the image we hold is not the one the president wants Americans to imagine. We think of Manizha, Rafi and Maryam  our family. And they deserve better from this country.

Jennifer Obel is a retired physician and writer whose work on immigration, public health and democracy has appeared in national outlets. Kenneth Obel is an attorney who writes about law and civic responsibility. Together, they have resettled many Afghan families through the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
Its all paws on deck.

A Virginia airport is seeking the publics help in reuniting a missing teddy bear with its owner.

Officials at Norfolk International Airport in Virginia shared a photo of the gingham-clad plushie with matching bunny slippers on Facebook on Dec. 30 with the caption, Can you help me find my owner? I was turned in to ORF Lost & Found around 4 p.m.

Nearly 2,000 people shared the heartwarming post, hoping to spread the word.

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Lets get that stuffy home!!! one said.

This teddy bear was found at Norfolk International Airport. facebook/NorfolkInternationalAirport

Hoping for an update of them being reunited, another replied.

Close to 100 concerned commenters offered suggestions on how to locate the dolls owner, including those who said the toy resembled one sold at Build-A-Bear Workshop.

If it is a build a bear (looks like it is) you can contact Build a Bear and they have barcodes inside that they can scan to help return it to its owner. Its their find a bear program, one person explained.

Thats a Build a Bear. My daughter has the same one from 2022, another confirmed.

Others gushed at the touching online plea.

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Best use of social media ever, one said.

This is why I love social media, someone else agreed.

Most Facebook users were happy to see the airports online plea. flyorf

A few expressed their discontent with the fact that the airport is worrying about the bear, and not their lost items.

How bout stop fkin up our luggage! Fk that teddy bear  lmao, one griped.

Meanwhile, yall cant find my drivers license that was left in a TSA bin, another added.




ALBANY - Around 200 people gathered at Albany's Townsend Park on Saturday to support members of an Afghan family who were recently detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in early December.

The Capital Region Sanctuary Coalition organized the rally to call attention to the plight of the four men from the Bakhtani family who were among 10 Afghans rounded up by ICE in Albany amid the federal crackdown on immigrants from Afghanistan following the late November shooting in Washington, D.C. of two National Guard members by an Afghan national who had been granted asylum in the U.S.

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"We are here to make sure that we are remaining solution-oriented; we are remaining grounded in community because we know the truth: immigration enforcement, ICE , and that police state, does not keep us safe. Community keeps us safe. We keep us safe," Jahaira Roldan, an organizer with the New York Sanctuary Coalition and its local affiliate, told the crowd, which was bundled up on the briskly cold afternoon.

She said the group was gathered to call for the release of Bakhtani family members and others who have been detained by ICE, and named specific state bills that could provide solutions for immigrants in New York: the Access to Representation Act, which establishes the right to legal counsel in immigration court proceedings and provides counsel to anyone who can not afford to pay for it; and the New York for All Act, which prohibits state and local officers from enforcing federal immigration laws. Versions of both bills are in committee in the state Assembly and Senate.

The Bakhtanis are among more than 190,000 Afghans who have been resettled in the U.S. since 2021 through programs created by former President Joe Biden to assist U.S. allies fleeing the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan after American forces withdrew after nearly 20 years of war there.

Four men from the family were initially detained, but two, the father and a son, have since been released. Two other men remain at a federal detention facility near Buffalo. The father was present at the protest and spoke briefly through an interpreter - Yousef Sharzid, president of the Afghan American Community Center - as he was peppered by questions from the media. He asked that his first name not be used to protect his privacy.

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"We were living a very happy life over here and we started a happy life, but all of the sudden we got arrested," he said.

He said he and his son had been sick while they were detained, but he declined say anything about how he was treated in detention.

Through the interpreter, he said that his family had been in the U.S. for about three years and his asylum case was pending. He also said he has a Social Security number, a work permit that has not expired and a state ID.

"Our whole family is very sad. One of my sons who is in the detention center has a two-month-old daughter and another young child. Their wives and kids are crying almost every day and night. ... We are hoping and requesting that everyone who can help to help get them released so they can come home to their kids."

This article originally published at Albany rally supports Afghan family detained by ICE.
The place called Penon de los Banos was once an island. In the heyday of the Aztec empire, it rose from Lake Texcoco and was famed for mineral hot springs that flowed from its base. People would visit to bathe and to heal. To find refuge. Then the conquistador Hernan Cortes came and took it  along with the rest of what had come before. Over the next three centuries, his successors drained Lake Texcoco until Penon de los Banos was no longer an island, but a hill, until it became one neighborhood in a metropolis of 22 million, abutting the northwestern edge of Mexico Citys Benito Juarez International Airport. Many today cannot even say why its called Penon de los Banos  rock of the baths. Certainly, Alfredo cannot.

He knows the name only from seeing it on smartphone maps. He knows little else about the place, save for which carniceria sells the cheapest meat, and which abarrotes stocks the cheapest milk. Despite coming from Cuba and speaking fluent Spanish, hed never heard that word, abarrotes, until he came here. He learned it was Mexican shorthand for the kinds of shops people in the U.S. might call convenience stores. Mini-marts. Bodegas. Hed prefer to use those terms. The American terms. What he would give  what he has already given  to live with them as vernacular.

Alfredo seems to be answering the call of Ronald Reagan, who positioned the United States as a place open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.

When he returns home from work or from errands, limping slightly on his bad leg, he shuffles past a clothesline that, on most days, flaps with life. It hoists laundry for seven people across three households, from a two-year-olds socks to a 47-year-olds T-shirts. They wash the garments collectively, first in buckets. They wring them and rinse them and wring them again before pinning them on the shared clothesline. Then the residents of the courtyard lot behind Chimalhuacan 32 go inside and wait.

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In the bathroom, a seatless toilet wobbles and the showerhead hangs on a hook, awaiting its next dip into a bucket for bath time. There is no kitchen, so Alfredos wife Maris garbanzos hiss in a slow cooker on a portable gas stove, brought to life with the flick of a cigarette lighter. And there is but one bed, where the couples son, Alfredito, sleeps between his mom and dad at night.

The family shares the setup with Alfredos half brother and his half-brothers girlfriend, and with two other women, a pair of sisters theyd never met before happenstance brought them together here, occupying the same thin clothesline, running through the same courtyard, in the same forgotten piece of Mexico City, where they all dream of places other than this one. (They requested that Deseret Magazine use only their first names to avoid jeopardizing their potential immigration status.)

Not long ago, those dreams looked like some version of the American dream. Thats the shared vision that brought them here, and the one Alfredo still clings to. I will be in The Land of the Free, he likes to say, as a sort of mantra, as if responding directly to Ronald Reagan. The 40th president, in his 1989 farewell address, positioned the United States as a place open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. Donald Trump, meanwhile, has long made curbing immigration a cornerstone of his politics, and particularly since returning to office last year. Hes signed multiple executive orders since then aimed at enhancing border enforcement, facilitating deportations and virtually halting all refugee resettlement. Hes also helped secure a funding windfall for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose budget has increased by 400%, while revoking temporary protected status for migrants from certain countries, including Cuba, who did come legally and effectively ending the asylum process at the U.S.-Mexico border. Thats all had a significant impact on migrants already en route to the United States.

Its especially visible in Mexico City. It wasnt common to see people in the streets from Venezuela, from Haiti, from Cuba, from Afghanistan, says Isabel Gil Everaert, an associate professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Now theres people from many nationalities who are in Mexico City streets much more than ever before. Some of them, she suspects, will end up going back home. Others will stay in Mexico, or perhaps in some third country, like Costa Rica or Panama, which is a different flow, she says, thats starting to happen.

Jorge Gonzalez for Deseret Magazine

Ive known Alfredo since 2022, when I visited Cuba and hired him as my fixer. Wed stayed in touch since, and I knew hed left the island in a quest to reach the U.S. Hed sent a few pictures along the way, crossing rickety bridges in the Guatemalan jungle. I didnt hear from him for a long time after that. Several months later, fearing the worst, I learned hed reached Mexico City.

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In this corner of Penon de los Banos, where centuries ago the Aztecs sought refuge and eventually found something very different, Alfredo and his fellow migrants are stuck in a way they never imagined possible. Now, together, the members of this enclave must figure out what comes next.

Welcome to purgatory

Alfredo meets me at the Mexico City airport in March 2025 and guides me a single block to his housing complex. Behind a metal gate, we follow a colorful path of chipped tile that wraps around the propertys main home and opens into a courtyard. His house, home to a group of Venezuelans before him, is in the back on the far left, up against the fence, square and yellow and standing beside a hose and a cinder block sink. A second unit above Alfredos home is a bit more subtle. Its accessible only by ladder.

Alfredo, 35 at the time, introduces me to the man who lives inside it: his half brother, Ernesto. Tall and slim and shirtless, Ernesto looks older than his 25 years, with a toned stomach and an arch at the bottom of his front teeth. He arrived here more recently than Alfredo, even though he left Cuba a month earlier.

Hed fled to Nicaragua, alongside his 22-year-old girlfriend, Fatima, prodded by the same abject poverty, desperation and Communist Party meddling that have made Cubans flee for decades. The Nicaraguan government has allowed Cubans to enter visa-free since 2021, knowing that many of them use this privilege as a land bridge en route to the United States. Thats what Alfredo did. But his brother planned to stay. The point, Ernesto said then, is that Nicaragua is better than Cuba. But life there was not what they expected, and after a few months, they hired a smuggler recommended by Alfredo to reach Mexico City. They were out of money in Tapachula, a border city in Mexicos far south, and were stuck there for six months. In January, they heard on TikTok about a migrant caravan that would be departing that same night from a local park. They packed two bags and headed over.

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This caravan was almost certainly the same one Reuters covered on Jan. 22, 2025, which had departed, trailed by police and an ambulance, just hours before Trump took office for a second time. It was a hard thing to see, Ernesto remembers: children and pregnant women making that long, grueling walk. All searching and desperate. After a few days, his and Fatimas legs had turned swollen and red. She could no longer keep up with the pack. Theyd walked nearly 200 miles by then, but without proper paperwork, they were returned to Tapachula.

The American dream is the opportunity to have, by your effort, what you couldnt have in your country.

They called in some favors and cobbled together enough cash to pay for bus fare. They arrived in Mexico City on February 12. Alfredo welcomed them with the room above his apartment  a room with no bathroom and no way to get up and down aside from that ladder. Ernesto found work mopping floors. Then in a poultry factory, with shifts beginning at 4 a.m., six days a week at minimum. Fatima started folding clothes at a laundromat. They hadnt considered going back to Cuba until the door to the American dream was slammed shut. Now, they have no interest in going to the U.S. illegally, nor do they want to stay in Mexico. It is better here, Fatima admits. But its also not what we expected.

Fatima misses her grandmother. Ernesto misses his mom, and his everyday existence on his familys farm. Its just a different vibe, he says. Here, its just work, then home. Home, then work. Work, then home. Theyve decided that in a few months, after saving some cash, theyll go back to Cuba. Im against that, his brother says. The goal should not be a better life just anywhere, Alfredo insists. The goal is the American dream.

But Ernesto and Fatima will not wait here for a future they may never see. They will not sacrifice their youth to an ideal. Ernesto will go back to the family farm, and Fatima will open a nail salon. And hopefully the situation in Cuba improves  but in their eyes, its already no worse than their Mexican purgatory.

Exodus on hold

Across the courtyard, another Cuban migrant lives in a dwelling similar in size to Alfredos. Inside, the perforated drywall lets in streaks of daylight. Above the front door, a gap invites in any and all critters. The floor is cracked. The roof leaks. And someone  long ago, by the faded look of it  has painted on the far wall a mural of the cartoon characters Rick and Morty, running away from some unseen danger  arms flailing, mouths hanging open. The migrants name is Mima. Her sister, Yeli, lives above her in a space accessible via a twisting, rusted staircase. Like Alfredo, Ernesto and the millions of other Cubans whove fled the island over the decades, theyve ended up here because of a belief in something better.

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Since Fidel Castros Cuban Revolution triumphed in 1959, not a decade has passed without mass exodus. In the beginning, Cuban refugees fled the Communist, authoritarian government. The U.S. passed the Cuban Adjustment Act in 1966, which essentially allowed them to migrate to the United States worry-free. During the Cold War, the optics were fantastic: refugees of Communist horrors, risking it all for American freedom. Of course wed welcome them. Even after the fall of the Soviet Union, when Cubans started coming on makeshift rafts to escape economic calamity more than political ideology, the American wet foot, dry foot policy allowed them to stay if they could just make it here. That policy ended in the final days of the Obama administration, and in the early days of Trumps first term, the new president made it clear that special treatment for Cubans was, indeed, over.

Poverty on the island, meanwhile, reached a level unseen in Cubas tumultuous post-Revolutionary history. Combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer of 2021 produced the countrys most significant anti-government protests since 1994. With its agricultural base long abandoned and its main economic driver, tourism, nonexistent starting in 2020, food shortages were constant. Medicine was inaccessible. Thousands took to the streets. The government responded, as it always has, with repression. Hundreds were arrested. Many were told to leave. Many did  especially young, educated professionals, who saw no future for themselves in Cuba. We oldies are the only ones who are left, one Cuban woman told The New Yorkers Jon Lee Anderson, whose September 2025 dispatch reported theft, assault and scamming on the rise across Havana. What we have been enduring for some time now isnt life; with these horrendous heat waves, without electricity most of the time, one cannot be sure of having enough to eat nor sufficient sleep, a Cuban reporter, writing for a Communist paper, said in July 2025, and what is needed is not more explanations but concrete solutions.

So far, nothing has materialized. And the exodus unleashed after 2021 has continued, becoming something historic. As many as two million people are estimated to have left Cuba this decade. Thats close to 20% of the islands population  and 16 times more than those who fled during the Mariel boatlift of 1980. Many have gone to Nicaragua, given its lax entry laws. And from there, given the United States historic welcoming of Cubans, many have headed north, toward the border, in search of freedom from tyranny, socioeconomic mobility or some combination thereof. Under the current White House, theyve found an unexpected reception.

Thats how Mima and Yeli ended up here, and its unclear how many more like them  from Cuba, Afghanistan or elsewhere  are waiting in Mexico City and across Mexico. No one officially keeps track. The answer is, however, likely more than ever before. The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported in August that at least 5,000 were living in shelters around Mexico City but cautioned that the numbers are always in flux. Nothing about what has happened to us is easy, Yeli tells me, placing a moka pot on the apartments camping stove. And now were here, hopeless.

The fact that the United States will not welcome Alfredo is no deterrent. He believes he will prove himself worthy.

Mexico itself has seen a radical uptick in asylum-seekers, and not just because of Trump. Gil Everaert, the researcher, says Mexico saw about 750 asylum requests as recently as 2011. By 2017, the number had risen to over 14,000. By 2023, 140,000. For those hoping to continue toward the United States, the Biden administration built out the CBP One app  originally launched in the final days of the Trump administration to facilitate commerce  to also facilitate coveted interviews at American ports of entry. In the early days, the app only worked in the capital and farther north. Combined with the citys job and housing opportunities, that suddenly made Mexico City a desirable waystation. Eventually, access to CBP One expanded to all of Mexico until the Trump administration remade it to facilitate voluntary deportations. Without the CBP One app, some have indeed started migrating south. Others will surely turn to smugglers. And many, including Mima and Yeli, will wait, unsure of what they should do.

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Near the boiling moka pot, Alfredos wife brushes a coat of white paste into Yelis hair. They stew over how many bad people got through to the U.S., back when it was easier to get through, before the policies that have trapped them here. Then again, look at how many people theyre deporting now, Yeli says. Who can say why God allows these things to happen? Alfredo says little, despite having plenty to say.

On his shoulders

Alfredito, who is two, goes to bed every night between his mother and his father in a single bed. Sometimes Alfredo looks at his boy, then closes his eyes and tries to doze. Sometimes that works. But other times, the memories of what he did to get here keep him awake. Like when he floated from Guatemala into Mexico on a raft made of innertubes and two-by-fours, at 2 oclock in the morning, in the pouring rain, with his wife and his child, piloted by a swift current and a smuggler with a very long stick. Or the three houses theyve lived in over eight months since, each one cheaper and smaller than the one before. Or the five jobs hes had, from truck driver to car washer to English teacher, none paying more than any other.

Sometimes  though rarely, because Alfredo is a forward-looking man  he also recalls what he left behind in Cuba. Life there was never perfect, but by Cuban standards, he made an excellent living as manager of a private tourism companys fishing operation on the Bay of Pigs. He had a two-bedroom house, a car and a salary that allowed him to save $14,500. He remembers that now as the happiest time of his life. Every day, he gets further away from it  but no matter. When he dwells too long, he need only glance at Alfredito again.

Alfredito would never forgive him, he believes, if he hadnt made this trip. If he hadnt taken this risk. Alfredo never would have forgiven himself, either. It was always a leap of faith  one whose verdict is still undetermined. But he had to do it. When you have nothing, he says, you have nothing to lose. And, in his mind, everything to gain.

Jorge Gonzalez for Deseret Magazine

Yes, Alfredo knows all about the American dream, or so he thinks. He speaks of it with zeal. Hell die, if he must, in its pursuit. The American dream is the opportunity to have, by your effort, what you couldnt have in your country, he told me. The American dream is the possibility given in the States to be a free man. To be a worker. To be respected. Thats the American dream. The rest is on your shoulders. The very forces conspiring to keep him out, he believes, are what make this dream great to begin with. The United States is great, in his view, precisely because of its willingness to doggedly enforce border security. In fact, hes a Donald Trump fan. He believes Americans were correct to vote him into office, even though it torpedoed his own pursuits.

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On those nights when he drifts toward despair, thinking about where the journey has led him so far, he thinks instead about the opportunity before him. The fact that the United States will not welcome him is no deterrent. He will prove himself worthy. I will be in the Land of the Free, he says.

The Land of the Free, meanwhile, continues to conspire against him, and Alfredo knows it. But there is no going back to some wistful before. The new political paradigms guarding the border dont change his calculus. He has to be getting closer. Has to be.

The cruel irony is that Mexico City sits 600 miles from the nearest border crossing, while Havana is just 90 miles away by sea.

The next day, Ernesto secures a job at the poultry plant for Alfredo, too. I watch Alfredo do the math on his phone: If he works 13 of every 14 days, hell bring home about 10,400 Mexican pesos per month. With that, he tells me, Ill be able to pay for the rent and the food. He jumps at it despite the 4 a.m., 11-hour shifts. The day before he begins, I invite him, Mari and Alfredito to have tacos across the street from Mimas laundromat, in the heart of Penon de los Banos. On our way, we walk right past the mineral hot springs that gave this place its name.

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Alfredito doesnt know many words, but he recognizes Mimas laundromat, and hes eager to say hi. It amazes Alfredo that his son knows this place by sight. Mima smiles when she sees Alfredito in the window, but she cant come out. She just waves, then goes back to ironing shirts. The toddler, pleased enough, leads us back home.

Hes getting quicker, Alfredo tells me. And he loves stairs, taking every opportunity to run up and down as we pass them. Thats tough for Alfredo, who has a grapefruit-sized lump between his left knee and ankle, the aftermath of a motorcycle accident. Its getting harder to keep up. By the time we reach their street, having traversed the nearby Parque del Nino Quemado  Burned Boy Park  the toddlers way out in front.

Alfredo doesnt seem to mind. Thats what this is all about: his son. Thats why theyre here. They will reach the American dream. Alfredo tells himself so month after month, day after day, hour after hour. The lack of change lately, he assures himself, is just an illusion.

They will reach the American dream. Alfredo tells himself so month after month, day after day.

Just like it was for the Venezuelan migrants who lived in Alfredos home before him. And the indigenous Mexicans before them. And on and on and on, down through the conquistadors and the Aztecs and whatever group occupied this place some 12,000 years ago, when one of the oldest people ever discovered in the Americas died near the springs. The place remains through it all, but the context does not. What was once an island spa can become an apartment complex. No place stays the same forever.

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Nor does any group of people.

In September 2025, Alfredo texted me saying hed moved to Monterrey, about 150 miles from the nearest border crossing. He planned to move again soon, he added, to Piedras Negras  a border town across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass, Texas. You know, he told me, that I have to see my little boy grow up and vote in America. Texas, meanwhile, has reinforced Eagle Pass with stacked shipping containers and many miles of barbed wire. Vice President JD Vance visited in March, around the time I visited Alfredo in Mexico, to tout the Trump administrations commitment to border security. This, Vance said, was just the beginning. Rome, he added, wasnt built in a day.

When I asked Alfredo about the others, he told me Ernesto and Fatima were still planning to return to Cuba but hadnt yet. And Yeli and Mima were still stuck in the same place as before. Some things had changed since March. But his resolve, faced with barbed wire and detention centers and mass deportations, remained intact almost a year later. Same old story, my friend, he wrote, working and hoping to get some day to the Land of the Free.

This story appears in the January/February 2026 issue of Deseret Magazine. Learn more about how to subscribe.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)  The Town of Amherst has a new supervisor and two new council members following a swearing-in ceremony held on Saturday.

Shawn Lavin was sworn in as town supervisor, succeeding Brian Kulpa. Lavin previously served as a deputy supervisor for Amherst.

Lavin spoke with WIVB News 4 after the inauguration and emphasized his priorities are to lead with transparency and efficiency.

One, were going to focus on transparency, people have to see where their tax dollars are going day in and day out, said Lavin. Were going to focus on efficiency, and were going to finish some of these legacy projects that are still lingering, the Boulevard Mall, Willowdale Park, were going to get that over the finish line and let residents enjoy it, said Lavin.

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The town of Amherst wants to set the tone for the rest of Western New York on how businesses expand, how they hire people, how they grow, and we have to be much faster on allowing that to happen, Lavin added.

News 4 also spoke with new Council Member John B. Davis, who became the first African American elected to office in Amherst. Davis said his goal is to continue to make Amherst the best town it can be.

This is a beautiful community with great services, great schools, a safe community, people want to see leaders who are equipped to continue to make Amherst a great place to live, said Davis.

Davis said he intends to be honest and always keep one foot forward as he works to better the Amherst community.

Latest Local News

Gabriella Baiano has been a digital producer with WIVB since November 2025. View more of her work here.

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Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo.
Sukkot stated that Haaretz has "become a mouthpiece for anti-Zionist propaganda, and in some cases even includes content that encourages the delegitimization of IDF soldiers and the State of Israel.

Recently appointed Knesset Education Committee chairperson MK Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionist Party) announced on Sunday that he will push for the Education Ministry to remove the inclusion of texts from the Haaretz newspaper in high school bagrut (matriculation) exams, calling the paper "anti-Zionist" and "illegitimate."

The far-right-wing lawmaker said he would convene an urgent discussion with senior officials from the Education Ministry, in which he would demand that the opinion pieces and articles originating from the newspaper be removed from the exams, which have appeared as part of the tests in recent years.

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Sukkot stated that Haaretz has "become a mouthpiece for anti-Zionist propaganda, and in some cases even includes content that encourages the delegitimization of IDF soldiers and the State of Israel.

This is an illegitimate body that has no place in the education system of the State of Israel. We will remove this content from the exams because the children of Israel should not be tested on texts that undermine our right to this land, he added.

Sukkots statements came after youth members in the right-wing Religious Zionist Party had sent out an appeal to impose the ban. They said that the Education Ministry is forcing" them to consume Haaretz content.

High school students take their mathematics matriculation examination (Bagrut), in at a high school in Rishon Lezion, on May 20, 2019. (credit: FLASH90)

It is unacceptable that a student in the State of Israel should be required to analyze and be tested on texts from a media outlet that gives a platform to the delegitimization of the IDF and supports the narratives of our enemies, the youth members added.

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Sukkot recently took over as chairperson of the Knessets Education Committee last month, after the role was left vacant when ultra-Orthodox Shas Party MKs resigned from coalition roles.

Lazimi slams Sukkot over media crackdown

MK Naama Lazimi (The Democrats) slammed Sukkot for pushing to remove Haaretz content from the exams, especially so soon after being appointed for the role.

She said it is not surprising that at the very start of his term, the right-wing MK would focus on silencing media outlets on the basis of their political positions.

This is also a test for the entire Israeli media: how long it will tolerate this attack against it, and when it will finally draw a line against this madness?" she questioned.

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Lazimi said she would initiate a discussion on the censorship in the education system in the Knessets Education Committee.

Zvi Sukkot, you made it very clear very quickly that every criticism of your appointment was justified, she added.
(NewsNation)  For the second time in President Donald Trumps second term, a centuries-old constitutional tug of war is in the spotlight.

The operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is sure to have politicians bringing up Congresss sole authority to declare war, while others will point to the presidents role as commander in chief.

Reactions are still coming in as Congress members wake up Saturday, but so far, theyve mostly come along party lines: Democrats say the president overstepped, while Republicans say he took steps to defend Americans from an imminent threat.

What does the Constitution say about war powers?

Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution says, Congress shall have power to  declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.

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Meanwhile, Article 2, Section 2, states, The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States.

Those two sections have some conflict, and over the years, court rulings and other precedents have smoothed some of them out. Congresss own website acknowledges the schism in interpretation:

Under Congresss interpretation of the Constitution, the President may introduce troops into hostile circumstances if Congress has (1) declared war, (2) specifically authorized the President to use force, or (3) there is a national emergency created by an attack on the United States or its territories. The executive branch claims much broader authority and asserts that the Constitution empowers the President to initiate and engage in many types of military action without congressional authorization.

Has the US gone to war without congressional approval?

Technically, no. The last formal declaration of war was World War II. However, major conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq came with congressional authorization, though Iraqs authorization was clearer than the one for Vietnam.

Other military actions, like the strike on Irans nuclear facilities or the killing of Osama bin Laden, were done without congressional approval. In 2011, President Barack Obama justified the action in Pakistan, a country the U.S. had no formal hostility with, as a direct response to the 9/11 attacks.

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In 2025, Trump struck Iranian nuclear facilities because he said they were coming close to producing a nuclear weapon, threatening the U.S.

Was the arrest of Maduro legal?

This may never be determined in a court, and the answer may depend on who you ask and whether they believe Maduro posed an imminent threat to the U.S.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) appeared to go from skepticism to agreement Saturday morning.

Just before 2:30 a.m. EST, as social media videos of the strikes started to spread, Lee posted, I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force.

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But two hours later, after a call from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lee changed his tune.

He posted that Rubio told him, The kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant. This action likely falls within the presidents inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.

Vice President Vance posted on X that the U.S. was justified because of Maduros arrest warrant.

Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism, Vance wrote. You dont get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas.

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Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) said Trump overstepped his authority.

Congress did not authorize this war, Moulton, who served four tours in Iraq, posted. Venezuela posed no imminent threat to the United States. This is reckless, elective regime change risking American lives (Iraq 2.0) with no plan for the day after. Wars cost more than trophies.

When presented with critics arguments in a Saturday morning interview on Fox News, Trump said, These are weak, stupid people.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Return-to-office mandates continue to feel like high-level math equations that even the business worlds brightest cant solve.

Amazon, JPMorgan, and AT&T are among the most recent companies to require a full-time RTOs. But some of these mandates have faced obstacles, including a lack of office space and dissatisfied employees.

Amazon, for example, said in September, it wanted its 350,000-person workforce in the office by early January. As of February, many of their offices didnt have enough desks to accommodate the return, leaving many employees continuing working from home. AT&T had a similar issue. In response to JPMorgans RTO mandate, employees expressed their outrage on an internal platform. The company then disabled comments. Some JPMorgan and Amazon workers have also signed petitions protesting their employers requirements.

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Whats missing from some of these RTO plans is the recognition of a cultural change, said Jennifer Moss, workplace strategist and author of Why Are We Here?: Creating a Work Culture Everyone Wants. The post-pandemic workplace should combine lessons from the pre-pandemic and pandemic-era models, she said.

When were trying to get people back into the office, we still are executing the office in the same way that it used to be, Moss told HR Brew. We just cant jam the toothpaste back in the tube.

Recognize the new environment. Improved collaboration, culture, and productivity are often cited as reasons for an RTO, Moss said, but being in the office wont necessarily help employees achieve these goals.

People are going into the office, unfortunately, it feels very much like what it feels like to be at home, she said. Youre still on Zoom, and youre still spending your day doing the exact same things you could be doing at home. It feels very arbitrary.

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To facilitate this new era of work, employers should embrace a model Moss called the third office. Instead of pushing for employees to go back to pre-pandemic norms, she said, employers should consider how they can incorporate the benefits of remote work, like autonomy and flexibility. To that end, a hybrid approach, she said, typically works best.

Moss also urged mindfulness around how the physical office space can affect employees. If a company doesnt have enough desks, for example, she said HR leaders should rethink how employees work in the office, and create quiet or collaborative spaces outside of the open floor plan.

The [third office] is a place where you have challenging discussions, where you learn to network, develop soft skills, be able to have team building, build up that social energy and that cohesion, she said, adding that these activities were undervalued pre-pandemic and lost during the pandemic, and should be part of this new era.

Eventually, however, companies that require five days in the office should offer employees their own dedicated workspace, Moss said. It may seem simple, but being able to personalize a desk is something that, she said, may help employees feel more connected to their workplace.

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Identify and communicate the play-by-play. Some executives want RTO to alleviate their own trust issues, without considering how it might affect employees, according to John Frehse, the global head of labor strategy at consulting firm Ankura.

You only trust me when Im in the office. You dont trust me when Im at home. What kind of a worker and employer relationship are we dealing with? Frehse told HR Brew.

Sujay Saha, an employee experience strategist and founder of consulting firm Cortico-X, emphasized the need for a plan. Dont make the decision and then try to figure it out, how do I make that decision happen for peoplethat is the biggest problem in a lot of this, Saha said. He suggested HR start by identifying employees personas, like whether theyre working parents or belong to the sandwich generation. This can give HR a sense of employees needs and schedules, which can help inform what kind of RTO might make sense.

There are pros and cons in all of this, so the most important thing that we can tackle is how we do it, Saha said. Maybe there is a pace at which you could do itReduce the pace and give people that mental adjustment time that is needed genuinely, to take care of their lives before you change [their lives].

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Frehse also advised against focusing an RTO announcement on the enforcement and repercussions of not following the mandate. Instead, communicate the steps and value-add for professional growth.

Its both culturally and intellectually lazy to announce a certain number of days of return to office each week, without listing in heavy detail the reasons whynot just benefits for the business, but the benefits for the employee, he said.

Saha agreed. Dont do it, just for the heck of doing itBe clear about why youre doing it.

This report was originally published by HR Brew.

A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on February 28, 2025.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Officials arrested four loggers who illegally cut down timber in a protected forest in southwestern Uganda.

The Nile Post reported that the loggers were caught harvesting timber in Buswa Forest Reserve, a government-owned forest and protected heritage site in Uganda.

The Office of the Resident District Commissioner of Kalangala teamed up with the Uganda Police Force to catch the four illegal loggers, seizing two power saws and 58 pieces of illegally cut timber, per TNP.

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According to officials, the four suspects will face charges for illegal logging and environmental degradation.

"Deforestation in Kalangala has been increasing at an alarming rate," noted a statement from the Office of the President in Kalangala, per TNP. "However, as the Office of the President in Kalangala, we shall not allow the destruction of government forests to continue under our watch."

Illegal logging has become a major problem in Kalangala, threatening the area's biodiversity. Despite the forest's protected status, loggers continue to illegally cut down trees and harvest the timber.

The destruction of protected forests has significant environmental consequences. Wildlife rely on trees for food and shelter, so cutting down those trees is a direct form of habitat loss.

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When those trees are removed from the ground, it exposes the area to soil erosion, increasing the region's flood risk.

Deforestation also exacerbates the overheating of our planet. Trees serve as essential carbon sinks, capturing and storing carbon. When massive swaths of trees are cut down, the carbon they store is released into the atmosphere, contributing to the warming of the planet.

In Kalangala, environmental activists have been speaking out against the increase in deforestation, mainly due to illegal logging.

Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

According to TNP, officials have "pledged to step up enforcement" to combat deforestation in the area.

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They also discussed adding community sensitization campaigns to educate the public on the importance of the forest and to raise key climate awareness.

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2025 was a big year for Ryanair, with the European budget airline making some key changes and announcements. The airline revealed major expansions to its winter schedule, especially in the UK, Finland and Italy, and announced new routes like London to Murcia and Rovaniemi to the UK. It also unveiled plans to boost passenger numbers and invest more in bases like Bologna.

On the other hand, there were also some challenges, such as persistent Boeing delays, with Ryanair CEO Michael OLeary slamming the aircraft companys management for running around like headless chickens. The airlines recent move to phase out physical boarding passes has also been met with significant backlash.

However, one of the most impactful announcements was Ryanairs decision to cut several routes in 2026, across major destinations such as Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal and beyond - with more destinations being added to the list in January.

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This move will potentially slash around three million seats overall, while significantly impacting connections and passenger convenience for smaller cities.

Here are all the places that will be affected by Ryanairs route cuts in 2026.

Which German routes is Ryanair cutting in 2026?

In October 2025, Ryanair revealed that it would be slashing 24 routes to and from Germany - a reduction of almost 800,000 seats - for the Winter 2025/2026 schedule.

Nine airports have already been affected so far, including Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Memmingen, Frankfurt-Hahn, Dresden, Dortmund and Leipzig. Operations will continue to be suspended at the Leipzig, Dresden and Dortmund airports in 2026 beyond the winter schedule.

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However, details are yet to be released about which other airports might continue being impacted throughout the year.

Ryanair has blamed high air traffic control (ATC) and security fees, as well as high German aviation taxes and numerous airport changes for this decision, slamming the government for harming competitiveness.

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Germanys sky-high access costs are in stark contrast with countries such as Ireland, Spain and Poland which have no aviation taxes, or Sweden, Hungary and regional Italy, where aviation taxes are being scrapped alongside reduced access costs to boost traffic, tourism, jobs and economic recovery, the airline said in a press release in October.

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As a result, Germany remains among the worst recovered air traffic markets in Europe, operating at just 88 per cent of pre-Covid levels.

Ryanair also called out the German government for backtracking on its promises to lower aviation taxes, unlike other major EU nations.

Such taxes are, partially, in place to account for the devastating climate impact of flying, and to encourage travellers to take greener modes of transport such as trains.

The airline has also revealed that it plans to move capacity out of Germany to other countries with more affordable costs, while warning of potential withdrawals and further reductions, if the situation does not improve.

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However, if the government addresses the above issues, the airline has said that it would be happy to increase capacity again.

Which Spanish routes is Ryanair ending in 2026?

Ryanair has also announced flight cuts to Spain in 2026. After cutting around one million seats for the winter 2025 schedule, the airline will follow up with a capacity reduction of about 1.2 million seats from its summer schedule for regional Spain.

This includes stopping all flights to Asturias, as well as Vigo. The airline will also close its base at Santiago de Compostela, while continuing to reduce capacity for Santander and Zaragoza and slashing connections to the Canaries.

All flights have been stopped for Tenerife North this winter. Jerezs base, which has also been closed this season, and will remain shut in 2026. Similarly, all flights to Valladolid have been stopped, with Ryanairs base there being closed since winter 2024.

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Ongoing disagreements with Spanish airport operator Aena over steep tax and airport fee hikes are to blame for the cuts, along with what Ryanair claims are illegal bag fines from the Spanish government - referring to the 2024 clampdown on extra cabin bag fees.

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According to Ryanair, this makes regional Spanish airports less competitive than lower-cost alternatives in Morocco and Italy, among other places.

Aenas monopoly approach to pricing is that small underused regional airports should charge similar rates as busy main airports like Madrid, Barcelona, Palma and Malaga. As a result, Ryanair is switching seat capacity to these bigger Spanish airports (where passenger demand and air fares are higher), the airline said in a press release in October.

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It also said that it was moving to other lower-cost airports in Croatia, Morocco, Italy, Sweden and Albania, where governments were reducing airport fees and lowering environmental taxes.

However, rival airlines such as Vueling, Binter, Iberia and Wizz Air have all stepped into the gap left by Ryanair, which is likely to decrease passenger inconvenience significantly, by offering many of the same routes.

Which routes is Ryanair cutting in France this year?

France is also getting hit by Ryanair cuts in 2026. The airline already slashed 750,000 seats and 25 routes to France in winter 2025, after stopping all services to Bergerac, Brive and Strasbourg. This was mainly due to higher French airline taxes.

However, months after this decision, Ryanair announced in December that it would be restarting flights to Bergerac in summer 2026, following negotiations with French authorities, although services to Brive and Strasbourg remain suspended.

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Ryanair cautioned that further French cancellations may be on the cards for 2026. Ryanair will leave French regional airports in the summer of 2026, the airlines chief commercial officer, Jason McGuinness, revealed in the Paris-based Challenges business magazine.

This warning is already bearing fruit: Ryanair announced in January 2026 that it will stop operations at Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport from 27 March due to environmental taxes. Currently, the airline operates budget flights to London, Porto and Fez from Clermont-Ferrand.

Which Belgian routes is Ryanair cutting in 2026?

Ryanair has removed 20 routes and one million seats from Brussels and Charleroi for its winter 2026/27 schedule.

Like other destinations, this is mainly due to a new Belgian aviation tax which will double the charge to 10 per passenger. Additionally, Charleroi might impose local taxes too.

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These have impacted destinations like Milan-Bergamo, Barcelona, Lisbon, Rome-Ciampino, Krakow and Mallorca, among others. This decision cuts around 22 per cent of Ryanairs Belgian capacity, with the airline also withdrawing five aircraft from the Zaventem and Charleroi bases.

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If the government really wants to revive Belgiums economy, they should abolish this harmful aviation tax to generate more traffic and tourism, not double it, the airline said in a press release in early December.

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Ryanair calls again on Prime Minister De Wever and his government to abolish the aviation tax or Belgian traffic will collapse and fares will soar, just as they have done in Austria and Germany, where governments repeatedly increased access costs.

Which Ryanair routes are being cut in Portugal?

Ryanair will slash all six of its routes to and from the Azores from the end of March this year, which will affect about 400,000 fliers per year. This will represent a cut of around 22 per cent in Ryanairs Portuguese capacity, impacting key cities like Porto and Lisbon as well.

This is also mainly because of higher air traffic control fees imposed by the Portuguese operator ANA (Vinci), as well as EU taxes such as the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), which targets short-haul flights to destinations like the Azores and Madeira, while exempting longer routes.

A new 2 travel tax in Portugal, which Ryanair has said is counterproductive compared to other EU countries, has added to this.

Portugals operational costs have also been rising for the last few months, with several airport staff strikes as well, further complicating the situation.

Sadly, the ANA monopoly has no plan to grow low-fare connectivity to the Azores. The ANA monopoly faces no competition in Portugal - which has allowed it to extract monopoly profits, by raising Portuguese airport fees without penalty - at a time when competing EU airports are lowering fees to stimulate growth, Ryanair said in a press release in late November.

The Portuguese Govt. must intervene and ensure that its airports, which are a critical part of national infrastructure - especially in an island economy like the Azores - are used to benefit the Portuguese people, rather than benefitting a French airport monopoly.

However, ANA has categorically denied these monopoly abuse claims, stating that dialogue remains open and that the fees in the Azores were low.

Ryanair flights being cut in Bosnia and Serbia

Ryanair will also implement reductions across Bosnia and Serbia in summer 2026. This is mainly to reallocate resources to areas with growing summer demand, like Croatia.

This includes cutting six weekly departing flights from Banja Luka, which will reduce to two weekly rotations on services to Vienna, Memmingen and Baden Baden.

In Nis, the airline will slash two weekly flights, including one each to Vienna and Malta.
Sen. Bernie Sanders skipped elevated garb  and his viral meme mittens from Joe Biden's inauguration  to celebrate newly minted New York mayor Zohran Mamdani's second swearing in.

The Vermont progressive wore a green winter puffer coat to the ceremony where he swore-in Mamdani outside City Hall following an introduction by another protege, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Sanders went viral five years ago when he wore brown and white mittens, detailed with a chevron pattern. He also wore a characteristically unbothered expression with a COVID-19 mask on his face, crossing his hands, which created a memorable online moment. The "Bernie Sanders mitten meme" spurred Christmas ornaments, merch and T-shirts.

Sen. Bernie Sanders greets New York attorney general Letitia "Tish" James on Jan. 1, 2026, at New York City Hall or new mayor Zohran Mamdani's second swearing in.

At the swearing in ceremony, Mamdani's fellow democratic socialist said the newly minted mayor's agenda focused on addressing affordability is not radical. Sanders said New Yorkers needed to continue their push for his policies such as free buses, universal childcare and even city-run grocery stores. Sanders' longtime pitch to have wealthy Americans and large corporations pay more in taxes was met by chants of "tax the rich."

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Mamdani is the 112th person  but the first Muslim and the first person of South Asian descent  to lead the nation's largest city.

In 2025, Mamdani stunned political establishment by defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo first in the Democratic primary and again in the November general election. Mamdani pursued a progressive platform similar to Sanders focused on addressing affordability.

Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as New York City's 112th mayor by New York Attorney General Letitia James, left, alongside his wife Rama Duwaji, right, in the former City Hall subway station on Jan. 1, 2026 in New York City. Mamdani's term as mayor begins immediately in the new year, and a public inauguration will also take place in the afternoon at City Hall. Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as New York City's 112th mayor in the former City Hall subway station on January 1, 2026 in New York City. Mamdani's term as mayor begins immediately in the new year, and a public inauguration will also take place in the afternoon at City Hall. Mahmood Mamdani and Mira Nair, center, parents of Zohran Mamdani, watch as he is sworn in as New York City's 112th mayor in the former City Hall subway station on Jan. 1, 2026 in New York City. Mamdani's term as mayor begins immediately in the new year, and a public inauguration will also take place in the afternoon at City Hall. Zohran Mamdani signs a registry as city clerk Michael McSweeney holds the book after being sworn in as New York City's 112th mayor in the former City Hall subway station on Jan.1, 2026 in New York City. Mamdani's term as mayor begins immediately in the new year, and a public inauguration will also take place in the afternoon at City Hall. Zohran Mamdani hugs New York Attorney General Letitia James after being sworn in as New York City's 112th mayor in the former City Hall subway station on Jan. 1, 2026 in New York City. Mamdani's term as mayor begins immediately in the new year, and a public inauguration will also take place in the afternoon at City Hall. Mahmood Mamdani and Mira Nair, center, parents of Zohran Mamdani, watch as he is sworn in as New York City's 112th mayor in the former City Hall subway station on Jan. 1, 2026 in New York City. Mamdani's term as mayor begins immediately in the new year, and a public inauguration will also take place in the afternoon at City Hall. Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as New York City's 112th in the former City Hall subway station on Jan. 1, 2026 in New York City. Mamdani's term as mayor begins immediately in the new year, and a public inauguration will also take place in the afternoon at City Hall. Zohran Mamdani leaves after being sworn in as New York City's 112th in the former City Hall subway station on Jan.1, 2026 in New York City. Mamdani's term as mayor begins immediately in the new year, and a public inauguration will also take place in the afternoon at City Hall. Zohran Mamdani sworn in as mayor of New York City 1 of 8 Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as New York City's 112th mayor by New York Attorney General Letitia James, left, alongside his wife Rama Duwaji, right, in the former City Hall subway station on Jan. 1, 2026 in New York City. Mamdani's term as mayor begins immediately in the new year, and a public inauguration will also take place in the afternoon at City Hall.

"The billionaire class in this city and country have to got to understand that in America they cannot have it all," Sanders said before administering Mamdani's oath. "That America, our great country, must belong to all of us, not just a few. And that lesson begins today in New York City."

And this time, Sanders wore gloves.

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Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas, Dan Morrison, Rebecca Morin, Trevor Hughes; Maleeha Syed, Burlington Free Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bernie Sanders goes inauguration casual again for Zohran Mamdani
Meteor showers. Planetary alignments. Supermoons. Black moons. The Milky Way. The northern lights. Partial solar eclipses. "Pinwheels" in the sky.

The year 2025 was a great one for astronomy, and 2026 will also have its share of spectacular celestial events.

Whether you're looking for a great view of the planet Jupiter, planetary alignments, or meteor showers, there will be something that sparks your interest in the coming year.

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Here are some of the highlights for astronomy in 2026.

See Jupiter in January

Jupiter will be shining "at its very brightest" on Jan. 10, 2026, according to the Star Walk website.

Star Walk noted that, "Youll see Jupiter glowing all night long, from sunset to sunrise," on the day in question, adding that stargazers will not need any fancy equipment to see the large planet.

Also in January, people will be able to see the Quadrantids meteor shower Jan. 3-4.

Planetary alignment in February

Six planets will line up in the night sky around Feb. 28, 2026, Star Walk stated online.

The planets will include Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune, Venus, and Mercury.

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"About an hour after sunset, youll see them lined up in a gentle diagonal, rising from the western horizon up toward the almost full moon," Star Walk states online.

See a total lunar eclipse in March

A total lunar eclipse will happen at the perfect time for early morning risers in March.

It will start on March 3 at 6:04 a.m. according to the Time and Date website.

Time and Date added that the peak of the eclipse, or "maximum" eclipse, will occur on March 3 at 6:33 a.m.

It will end on March 3 at 7:02 a.m.

More: A total lunar eclipse is coming in 2026. Here's when

A total lunar eclipse will occur in March, 2026.

See a bright comet in April

The comet, known as C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS), will reach its "maximum brightness" around April 25, according to Star Walk online, which added the comet "may become the brightest comet of 2026."

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Star Walk stated that you may need binoculars or a telescope to get a good view of the comet, depending on the weather.

Also in April, the Lyrids meteor shower will peak April 22, 2026.

See a blue micromoon in May

The moon will look smaller, but it won't look blue.

May will have two full moons, as the 29.5 day lunar cycle is shorter than most months, sometimes creating a month with a double moon referred to as a "blue moon." This one will appear smaller because of the distance between the earth and the moon. It's the converse effect of a supermoon.

Also in May, the Eta Aquariids meteor shower will peak on May 6.

Venus, Jupiter bright in the June sky

Both planets will be bright in the night sky, situated near each other. No binoculars or telescopes will be needed to see the two planets.

Solar eclipse in August

There will be a total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026, according to Time and Date. In Rhode Island, it will only be visible as a partial solar eclipse, with a maximum of not even 15% of the sun obscured. It will hit maximum coverage just before 2 p.m.

Perseid Meteor Shower

One of the most popular meteor showers of the year, the Perseids will peak Aug. 12-13, 2026.

See Saturn in October

On Oct. 4, 2026, stargazers will be able to get a glimpse of the ringed-planet at its brightest from "sunset to sunrise," and they'll be able to see it with the naked eye. Star Walk states that, "a small telescope will reveal (Saturn's) magnificent ring system."

Geminid meteor shower in December

Dec. 14 will mark the peak of this meteor shower, which is one of the biggest ones of the year. On a dark night, at the peak of the shower at around 2 a.m. (for all time zones), "you can often catch 50 or more meteors per hour," EarthSky.org stated. "During an optimum night for the Geminids, its possible to see 120 meteors  or more  per hour."

What is the 2026 full moon calendar?

Here's the full moon schedule:

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Jan. 3, 2026: Wolf Moon (supermoon) - The Farmer's Almanac explained that it's because "wolves were more likely to be heard howling at this time. It was traditionally believed that wolves howled due to hunger during winter, but we know today that isnt accurate."

Feb. 1, 2026: Snow Moon - It was known as the Snow Moon because of the heavy snows that fall in this season, according to NASA online.

March 3, 2026: Worm Moon - The Old Farmer's Almanac explained that the name refers to all the earthworms that appear as the weather gets warmer in March.

April 1, 2026: Pink Moon - The moon doesn't actually appear pink. The Farmer's Almanac stated that the name is derived from the early spring bloom of a North American wildflower called "Phlox subulata," commonly known moss phlox. "This flower, often called 'moss pink,' was in full bloom around Aprils full moon."

May 1, 2026: Flower Moon - The "Flower Moon" is named for the wildflowers the burst into bloom in North America this time of year, according to the Farmer's Almanac.

May 31, 2026: Blue Moon - Because the lunar calendar is shorter than most months, occasionally there is a "Blue Moon" when two full moons appear in the same month.

June 29, 2026: Strawberry Moon - June's Strawberry Moon takes its name from seasonal plant growth, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. Many ripening strawberries were ready to be harvested around this time in the northeastern United States.

July 29, 2026: Buck Moon - The Buck Moon, a Native American term, is called as such because "the antlers of male deer (bucks) are in full-growth mode at this time," according to the Farmer's Almanac. "Bucks shed and regrow their antlers each year, producing a larger and more impressive set as the years go by."

Aug. 28, 2026: Sturgeon Moon - This name comes from the giant lake sturgeon, a prehistoric-looking fish, once found abundantly in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. This food staple was readily caught during the months of August and September.

Sept. 26, 2026: Corn Moon/Harvest Moon - According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, "unlike other full moons, this full moon rises at nearly the same timearound sunsetfor several evenings in a row, giving farmers several extra evenings of moonlight and allowing them to finish their harvests before the frosts of fall arrive."

Oct. 26, 2026: Hunter's Moon - The Farmer's Almanac explained that the name most likely originates from the fact that the October full moon was a signal for hunters to prepare for winter by going hunting to stock up on food.

Nov. 24, 2026: Beaver Moon (supermoon) - The Old Farmer's Almanac online explained that November is typically the month when beavers start to take shelter in their habitats, previously having shored up their food stores for the winter.

Dec. 23, 2026: Cold Moon (supermoon) - The Old Farmer's Almanac online stated that the Cold Moon is "a Mohawk name that conveys the frigid conditions of this time of year when cold weather truly begins to grip us...(it) has also been called the Long Night Moon (Mohican), as it rises during the 'longest' nights of the year, near the December winter solstice."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, more in 2026. When to mark your calendar
The Iowa Board of Medicine has ordered a mental health evaluation for a central Iowa physician who has faced allegations of medical malpractice, chemical abuse, drunken driving and sexually inappropriate behavior.

In March 2025, the Iowa Board of Medicine charged Dr. Douglas Selover of Des Moines with sexual misconduct and engaging in unprofessional conduct.

The board alleged Selover was practicing medicine in the emergency room at Des Moines MercyOne Hospital when it was alleged he made unwanted sexual and inappropriate physical contact with another emergency room employee and that he made sexual remarks to the same individual.

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The board has not elaborated on the alleged conduct or publicly disclosed when it was alleged to have occurred.

According to board records, Selover, who is now 68, has denied the allegations.

Recently, the board agreed to settle the case by requiring Selover to undergo a mental health evaluation that will assess concerns about professional boundaries and sexual harassment. As part of the settlement, Selover has also agreed to enroll in an educational course on professional boundaries and ethics.

The settlement imposes no other restrictions on Selovers ability to practice medicine.

Previous record of chemical abuse, drunken driving

State records indicate that in 1991, Selover was granted an Iowa license to practice osteopathic medicine subject to a consent agreement that required him to abstain from the consumption of alcohol and the use of nonprescribed drugs. As part of the agreement, Selover also agreed to inform his treating physician of what the board called his previous history of chemical abuse.

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In 1992, the board alleged Selover violated that agreement on several occasions by drinking alcohol. The board suspended Selovers license for 30 days and placed the license on probation for five years. The board also required Selover to abstain from the use of alcohol, attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and to submit to any board requests for blood and urine testing.

Court records indicate that in February 1993, Selover was convicted of second-offense drunken driving.

In March 1996, at Selovers request, the Iowa Board of Medicine agreed to terminate his disciplinary probation early and restored his license to full privileges, free and clear of any restrictions.

In 2003, Selover was again charged with second-offense drunken driving. Court records show the charge was dismissed when Selover agreed to plead guilty to a charge of reckless driving.

Child deaths trigger two malpractice lawsuits

Selover is currently a defendant in two separate medical malpractice lawsuits alleging that while working in the emergency room at Des Moines Mercy Medical Center, he failed to diagnose and treat children with hydrocephalus, a dangerous condition that results in fluid exerting pressure on the brain.

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One of the lawsuits alleges that a 7-year-old boy, Levi Miller, died after being examined by Selover in the emergency room on Sept. 14, 2022. Selover has denied any wrongdoing, and a trial is scheduled for Sept. 13, 2027.

The second lawsuit alleges that a 12-year-old girl, Mia Fidler, died after being examined by Selover in the emergency room on Sept. 21, 2022, seven days after the alleged incident with the Miller child. Selover has denied any wrongdoing, and a trial is scheduled for July 27, 2027.

The Iowa Board of Medicine has not charged Selover with any wrongdoing in either the Miller case or the Fidler case.

Find this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions:kobradovich@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Previously troubled Des Moines doctor cited in sex misconduct
Reading the media these days, you would be forgiven for thinking the technology, journalism, and investment communities were inadvertently wishing an AI bubble into existence. Whether a bubble exists or not remains debatable, but the conversation itself has taken on a life of its own. Every article predicting the collapse of the NASDAQ increases investor nervousness, which leads to another article about the collapse of the NASDAQ, and so the world turns ad infinitum.

Often the most effective insulation against market volatility is for the technology of the day to be ubiquitously woven into the fabric of society, such that it cannot lose value quickly. When there is a disconnect between peoples real-world experiences and the excitement felt on trading floors or in boardrooms, trouble can loom.

We can learn something in this regard from the worlds 89th most populous country: my native Sweden. In the 1990s, the Swedish government introduced a piece of legislation called HemPCreformen (the HomePC reform), which aimed to put a computer in every house. This move is often credited as the starting gun for subsequent decades of technological progress and punching above our weight. This was not a corporate strategic manifesto or shiny new tech tool built by a CEO; it was a countrywide policy for all of us, designed to firmly cement a new technology into our lives.

Fast-forward to today, and Stockholm has the highest number of unicorns per capita of any city in the world outside of Silicon Valley. Swedens AI startups are soaring. Legora, which automates tasks for lawyers, is raising capital at a $1.8 billion valuation. Einride, the electric vehicle unicorn, recently announced $100 million to scale autonomous freight. The vibe-coding platform Lovable, which helps people build apps with AI, is one of the fastest-growing businesses in the world. And last month, the enterprise technology company Workday acquired our own business, Sana, for $1.1 billion.

Not bad for a country with half the population of the state of New York, tucked away by the Arctic Circle. People keep asking how a nation like ours can achieve so much. Though theres no secret sauce, there are a few essential ingredients.

The aforementioned HomePC reform was catalysed by winter darkness that can last 18 hours, meaning we Swedes spent hours at our computers experimenting within an early internet environment.

That digitally literate generation then built world-beating technology companies. Skype was founded in 2003 to popularize video call technology. So was King, the maker of Candy Crush. In 2005, Klarna was born. 2006, Spotify. In 2009, Mojang laid the first blocks of Minecraft.
For the past three years, the corporate world has been locked in a territorial dispute. The return-to-office (RTO) wars were defined by geography: the home versus the headquarters. But as 2025 unfolded, the front line shifted. According to a report from commercial real estate giant JLL, Workforce Preference Barometer 2025, the most critical conflict between employers and employees is no longer about locationit is about time.

While structured hybrid policies have become the norm, with 66% of global office workers reporting clear expectations on which days to attend, a new disconnect has emerged. Employees have largely accepted the where, but they are aggressively demanding autonomy over the when.

The report highlights a fundamental change in employee priorities. Work-life balance has overtaken salary as the leading priority for office workers globally, cited by 65% of respondentsup from 59% in 2022. This statistic underscores a profound shift in needs: Employees are looking for management of time over place.

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While high salaries remain the top reason people switch jobs, the ability to control ones schedule is the primary reason they stay. The report notes employees are seeking agency over when and how they work, and this desire for temporal autonomy is reshaping the talent market.

Although JLL didnt dive into the phenomenon of coffee badging, its findings align with the practice of hybrid workers stretching the boundaries of office attendance. The phrasemeaning when a worker badges in just long enough to have the proverbial cup of coffee before commuting somewhere else to keep working remotelyvividly illustrates how the goalposts have shifted from where to when. Gartner reported 60% of employers were tracking employees as of 2022, twice as many as before the pandemic.

The flexibility gap

JLLs data reveals a significant flexibility gap: 57% of employees believe flexible working hours would improve their quality of life, yet only 49% currently have access to this benefit.

The gap is particularly dangerous for employers, JLL said, arguing it believes the psychological contract between workers and employers is at risk. While salary and flexibility remain fundamental to retention, JLL said its survey of 8,700 workers across 31 countries reveals a deeper psychological contract: Workers today want to be visible, valued, and prepared for the future. Around one in three say they could leave for better career development or reskilling opportunities, while the same proportion is reevaluating the role of work in their lives. JLL argued recognitionemotional well-being and a clear sense of purpose are now crucial for long-term retention.

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The report warns that where this contract is broken, employees stop engaging and start seeking compensation through increased commuting stipend and flexible hours. The urgency for time flexibility is being driven by a crisis of exhaustion. Nearly 40% of global office workers report feeling overwhelmed, and burnout has become a serious threat to employers operations.

The link between rigid schedules and attrition is clear: Among employees considering quitting in the next 12 months, 57% report suffering from burnout. For caregivers and the squeezed middle of the workforce, standard hybrid policies are insufficient; 42% of caregivers require short-notice paid leave to manage their lives, yet they often feel their constraints are poorly understood and supported at work.

To survive this new battle, the report suggests companies must abandon one-size-fits-all approaches. Successful organizations are moving toward tailored flexibility, which emphasizes autonomy over working hours rather than just counting days at a desk. This shift even impacts the physical office building. To support a workforce that operates on asynchronous schedules, offices must adapt with extended access hours, smart lighting, and space-booking systems that support flexible work patterns rather than a rigid nine-to-five routine.

Management guru Suzy Welch, however, warns it may be an uphill battle for employers to find a burnout cure. The New York University professor, who spent seven years as a management consultant at Bain & Co. before joining Harvard Business Review in 2001, later serving as editor-in-chief, told the Masters of Scale podcast in September burnout is existential and generational. The 66-year-old Welch argued burnout is linked to hope, and current generations have reason to lack this.

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We believed that if if you worked hard you were rewarded for it. And so this is the disconnect, she said.

Expanding on the theme, she added: Gen Z thinks, Yeah, I watched what happened to my parents career and I watched what happened to my older sisters career and they worked very hard and they still got laid off. JLLs worldwide survey suggests this message has resonated for workers globally: They shouldnt give up too much of their time, because it just may not be rewarded.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
With the seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, Donald Trump has demonstrated more powerfully than ever his belief in the power of his will, backed by raw US military force. On his orders the US has Maduro behind bars and now will "run" Venezuela.

The US president made the announcement in a remarkable news conference with enormous implications for US foreign policy worldwide at his Florida club and residence, Mar-a-Lago. Trump said the US would be in charge in Venezuela "until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he said, had spoken to the Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez, who had told him "we'll do whatever you need... She, I think, was quite gracious, but she really doesn't have a choice".

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Trump was light on detail. He said that "we're not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to have [them]".

But does he believe that he can govern Venezuela by remote control? Will this demonstration that he will back words with military action, praised lavishly at Mar-a-Lago by both Marco Rubio and the US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, be enough to reshape Venezuela and browbeat Latin American leaders into compliance?

It sounded as if he believes something like that.

The evidence is that it will not be easy or smooth.

The respected think tank, the International Crisis Group, warned in October that the fall of Maduro could lead to violence and instability in Venezuela.

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The same month The New York Times reported that defence and diplomatic officials in the first Trump administration had war-gamed what might happen if Maduro fell. Their conclusion was the prospect of violent chaos as armed factions competed for power.

The removal and incarceration of Nicolas Maduro is a remarkable assertion of American military power.

The US assembled a massive armada and achieved its goal without losing a single American life.

Maduro had ignored the will of the Venezuelan people by sweeping aside his own electoral defeat and, without question, his departure will be welcomed by many of its citizens.

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But the implications of the US action will reverberate forward, way beyond Venezuela's borders.

The mood at the Mar-a-Lago news conference was triumphalist, as they celebrated what was undoubtedly a textbook operation carried out by highly professional US forces.

The military operation is only the first stage.

America's record of achieving regime change by force in the last 30 years is disastrous.

The political follow-up is what makes or breaks the process.

Iraq descended into a bloody catastrophe after the US invasion in 2003. In Afghanistan two decades and billions of dollars' worth of attempted nation-building were swept away in days after the US pulled out in 2021.

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Neither country was in America's backyard.

Yet the ghosts of interventions past in Latin America - and the threat of others yet to come - are scarcely more promising.

Trump tried out a new nickname, the Donroe Doctrine, for the declaration made by President James Monroe in 1823 warning other powers not to meddle in America's sphere of influence in the Western hemisphere.

"The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we've superseded it by a lot," Trump said at Mar-a-Lago. "Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the Western hemisphere will never be questioned again."

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He said that the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, had to "watch his ass".

Later he told Fox News that "something's going to have to be done with Mexico".

Cuba is undoubtedly also on the US agenda, which is being driven by Rubio, whose parents are Cuban-Americans.

The US has a long record of armed intervention in Latin America.

I was in Haiti in 1994 when President Bill Clinton sent in 25,000 troops and two aircraft carriers to enforce regime change. Then, the Haitian regime crumbled without a shot being fired. Far from ushering in a better future, the 30 years since then have been a period of almost unbroken misery for the Haitian people. Haiti is now a failed state dominated by armed gangs.

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Donald Trump talked of making Venezuela great again, but not about democracy. He dismissed the idea that the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, should lead the country.

"I think it'd be very tough for her to be the leader, she doesn't have the support... She doesn't have the respect."

He did not mention Edmundo Gonzalez, who many Venezuelans believe was the rightful winner of the 2024 elections.

Instead, the US, for the time being anyway, is backing Maduro's Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez.

While there must have been some kind of internal collusion that gave the US military the inside knowledge it needed to remove Maduro, the regime created by his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, appears to be intact.

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It is unlikely that the Venezuelan armed forces, despite any humiliation its generals might feel about their inability to oppose the US attack, will acquiesce with US plans.

The military and the regime's civilian supporters have enriched themselves through networks of corruption that they will not want to lose.

Civilian militias have been armed by the regime, and Venezuela has other armed groups.

They include criminal networks, as well as Colombian guerrillas who backed the Maduro regime in return for sanctuary.

The US intervention in Venezuela brings into stark focus some of the well springs of Trump's worldview.

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He makes no secret of the way he covets the mineral wealth of other countries.

He has already attempted to extract profit from Ukraine's natural resources in return for military assistance.

Trump does not hide his desire to control Venezuela's huge mineral reserves, and his belief that US oil companies were robbed when the oil industry was nationalised.

"We're going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground, and that wealth is going to the people of Venezuela, and people from outside of Venezuela that used to be in Venezuela, and it goes also to the United States of America in the form of reimbursement."

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That will deepen the fears in Greenland and Denmark that he will look north as well as south.

The US has not dropped its desire to absorb Greenland, for its strategic position in the Arctic as well as the natural resources that are becoming more accessible as its ice melts due to global warming.

The Maduro operation also amounts to another serious blow to the idea that the best way to run the world is to follow an agreed set of rules, as laid out in international law.

The idea was tattered before Donald Trump took office, but he has already demonstrated repeatedly both in the US and internationally that he believes he can ignore laws he doesn't like.

European allies, who are desperate not to anger him, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, are wrestling with ways to say that they support the idea of international law without condemning the fact that the Maduro operation is a blatant violation of the Charter of the United Nations.

The US justification that its military was simply aiding the execution of an arrest warrant for a drug lord masquerading as Venezuela's president is thin, especially given Trump's declarations that the US will now control the country and its oil industry.

A few hours before Maduro and his wife were seized, he met Chinese diplomats at his palace in Caracas.

China condemned the US action. It said "hegemonic acts of the US seriously violate international law and Venezuela's sovereignty and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region".

The US should "stop violating other countries' sovereignty and security".

Even so, China might see a precedent set by the US action.

It regards Taiwan as a breakaway province and has declared that returning it to control of Beijing is a national priority.

In Washington, that is certainly the fear of the Democratic vice-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner. He issued a statement saying China's leaders, and others, will be watching closely.

"If the United States asserts the right to use military force to invade and capture foreign leaders it accuses of criminal conduct, what prevents China from claiming the same authority over Taiwan's leadership? What stops [Russian President] Vladimir Putin from asserting similar justification to abduct Ukraine's president? Once this line is crossed, the rules that restrain global chaos begin to collapse, and authoritarian regimes will be the first to exploit it."

Donald Trump seems to believe that he makes the rules, and what applies to the US under his command does not mean others can expect the same privileges.

But that is not how the world of power works.

His actions at the start of 2026 point to another 12 months of global turbulence.
In December 2025, social media posts on sites including X and Facebook shared images claiming that Melania Trump, the U.S. first lady, worked as an escort before she met her now-husband, President Donald Trump.

According to the posts, Melania Trump began escorting under a man named Paolo Zampolli, who was good friends with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein was arrested on charges of child sex trafficking in 2019 and was later found dead by suicide in his jail cell. Maxwell was convicted of child sex trafficking in 2021.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122243189684255019&set=pcb.122243189810255019

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Snopes readers searched the site looking for more information about these allegations, which we determined are unsupported by credible evidence. We reached out to the White House for more information but have not heard back.

The claim that Melania Trump worked as an escort before meeting Donald Trump has been spreading online since at least August 2016, when the U.K.-based tabloid Daily Mail published an article making that allegation. In August 2025, Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, claimed that Epstein introduced the two in an interview on Channel 5, a YouTube channel run by journalist Andrew Callaghan.

However, according to the BBC and NPR, Melania Trump sued the Daily Mail and a blogger in the U.S. who also shared the claim for defamation, seeking $150 million in damages. Her lawyer, Charles Harder, told the BBC the claim was "outright lying." She also threatened to sue Hunter Biden for $1 billion, according to the BBC.

The lawsuits could be viewed as SLAPP suits, a term that "refers to lawsuits brought by individuals and entities to dissuade their critics from continuing to produce negative publicity," according to Cornell University's Legal Information Institute.

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However, both the blogger and the Daily Mail settled the lawsuits, retracted the articles and paid damages to Trump, according to Politico and previous reporting from Snopes. Meanwhile, in a follow-up video published on Channel 5, Biden refused to apologize for his comments, claiming the information has also been reported by journalist Michael Wolff, who has written 4 books on Trump's time in office, and by The New York Times. (The Times' story says Epstein claimed he introduced the two.)

In sum, there's no evidence that the claim, which came from a tabloid with a history of spreading unfounded rumors, has any basis in reality.

The rumor may have seemed believable because it sprinkled in small tidbits of true information. According to reporting from Today and The Times of London, the Trumps did indeed meet at a party hosted by Zampolli, a former modeling agent who represented Melania Trump in the 1990s. A 2016 profile of Melania Trump in Harper's Bazaar and a profile of Zampolli published by the digital magazine Air Mail also claimed that he introduced the couple.

The claim that Zampolli was Melania Trump's "escort agent" might feel somewhat intuitive, given their established connection  it is not unheard of for sex workers to moonlight as models. However, that claim is unfounded and has no evidence supporting it.

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Images shared alongside the claim sometimes contained an incomplete link to an article from Politico. That article may be a 2019 story detailing Maxwell's network of connections that mentioned Zampolli. According to the article, he was reportedly involved in the Sustainable Oceans Alliance, an initiative created by a Maxwell-run charity named TerraMar. It is unclear how often the two interacted.

Finally, the photo of Melania Trump with her roommate Matthew Atanian often attached to post spreading the rumor was legitimate. It appeared in a Times of London article published in 2016. Some posts claimed the photo showed Trump with Zampolli, and in one copypasta (text repeatedly copied and shared verbatim online), Atanian's name was misspelled as "Matthew Arabian."

Sources:

Bryant, Kenzie. "Say What You Will About Melania Trump, but She Seems Like a Great Roommate." Vanity Fair, 18 Jun. 2020, https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/06/melania-trump-biography-revelations.

Daily. "Melania Trump - An Apology." Mail Online, 12 Apr. 2017, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/~/article-4404142/index.html.

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"Donald and Melania Trump: A Timeline of Their Relationship." TODAY.Com, 20 Jan. 2025, https://www.today.com/popculture/donald-trump-melania-trump-relationship-timeline-rcna172256.

Gerstein, Josh. "Maryland Judge Dismisses Melania Trump's Libel Suit against Daily Mail." Politico, 2 Feb. 2017, https://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2017/02/melania-trumps-libel-suit-daily-mail-234578.

"Melania Trump Sues Daily Mail and US Blogger for $150m over Sex Worker Claims." BBC News, 1 Sep. 2016. US & Canada. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37253025.

"Melania Trump Wins Damages from Daily Mail over 'escort' Allegation." BBC News, 12 Apr. 2017. US & Canada. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39575680.

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"SLAPP Suit." LII / Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/slapp_suit. Accessed 25 Aug. 2025.

Staff, Snopes. "Daily Mail Reportedly Pays Melania Trump $2.9 Million Settlement in Libel Suit." Snopes, 12 Apr. 2017, https://www.snopes.com//news/2017/04/12/daily-mail-melania-trump-libel/.

Sutton, Kelsey. "Daily Mail Settles Libel Case with Melania Trump for $2.9 Million." Politico, 12 Apr. 2017, https://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/melania-trump-daily-mail-settlement-237151.

. "Maryland Blogger Settles Defamation Lawsuit Brought by Melania Trump." Politico, 7 Feb. 2017, https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2017/02/melania-trump-settles-libel-suit-against-maryland-blogger-234730.

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The Former Modeling Agent Turned Trump Foreign Policy Muse. https://airmail.news/issues/2025-2-15/trumps-mini-me. Accessed 25 Aug. 2025.

Wamsley, Laurel. "Melania Trump Lawsuit Argues 'Once In A Lifetime' Chance To Make Millions Is Lost." NPR, 7 Feb. 2017. Politics. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2017/02/07/513970871/melania-trump-lawsuit-argues-once-in-a-lifetime-chance-to-make-millions-is-lost.

York, Iain Dey, New. Melania's Supermodel CV Begins to Look a Little Ragged. 23 Jul. 2016, https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/melanias-supermodel-cv-begins-to-look-a-little-ragged-tt9s3smd2.
Mass murderer Bryan Kohbergers sister has broken her silence after her brother was found guilty of killing four University of Idaho students.

Ethan Chapin, 20, Xana Kernodle, 20, Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, were found dead in their shared Moscow home on November 13, 2022. Weeks later, Kohberger was arrested in connection with their deaths at his parent's property in Pennsylvania.

Following a lengthy investigation, Bryan, 31, confessed to the grisly murders last July and was sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. Now, as his motives behind the killings still remain murky, his sister Mel Kohberger is speaking out publicly on her brother's horrific crimes for the very first time.

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"I have always been a person who has spoken up for what was right, she said in a sit-down with the New York Times published on Saturday, January 3, in which she confessed that while she knew her brother to be socially awkward and at times abrasive, she never thought he would be capable of murder.

If I ever had a reason to believe my brother did anything, I would have turned him in, she added.

Idaho Killer Bryan Kohbergers Sister Could Have Been Prosecution Witness in His Trial: Report

In the days that followed the Idaho University murders, she even warned her brother to be careful when out and about alone.

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Bryan, you are running outside, and this psycho killer is on the loose, she remembered telling him at the time.

His arrest came as such a surprise that she initially wondered if it could have been a prank, especially since Mel noted that their family had been so proud of him and the progress hed made in recent years. According to the outlet, Bryan was not only a PhD student, but he had overcome a major drug addiction at some point in his life.

The overall experience was not only shocking, but it had a genuine impact on Mels professional life. She had been in the process of training to be a mental health counselor, but she left the position after her employer reportedly received an influx of inquiries about the murders and her brothers role. An unknown author also seemingly attempted to impersonate her by using the name Melissa J. Kohberger to write a book about the murders. This, among other things, caused Mel to ponder the drawbacks to being a fan of true crime and the culture that comes with it.

Its human nature to be curious about darker things, she continued. Thats how we keep ourselves safe. But I think we should try and come together for a true crime culture that is way more protective and empathetic to the families of the victims.

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Convicted University of Idaho Murderer Bryan Kohberger Complains About Torment From Fellow Inmates

Bryan was sent to the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, Idaho, on July 29, 2025, where he was placed in long-term restrictive housing  also known as solitary confinement  on the facilitys J Block unit, per A&E. While he has yet to publicly elaborate on the reason behind the slayings, hes allegedly been attempting to make some unique connections behind bars.

As Us Weekly previously reported, during a December interview with Fox News, retired detective Chris McDonough said the 31-year-old had tried reaching out to other serial killers from his cell.

Both inside and outside  hes trying to communicate with people outside the walls, he noted at the time. However, it is unclear who Bryan had been trying to speak with or if any relationships have formed.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
(NewsNation)  Bryan Kohberger emerged from heroin dependence a seemingly more stable person in the years leading up to the 2022 slayings of four University of Idaho students, a sister of the convicted murderer tells the New York Times.

We were all so proud of him because he had overcome so much, Melissa Kohberger said in a story published this weekend.

The mental health counselor describes how family members  Bryan Kohbergers parents and his two adult sisters  have tried to reconcile the horror of the killings with the son and brother theyve known.

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Bryan Kohbergers handwriting in prison notes reveal felons claw

Melissa Kohberger specifically avoided discussing the Idaho murders but talked about her brothers upbringing in eastern Pennsylvania and the problems he had as a youth. She said Bryan Kohberger, now 31, had spiraled into heroin addiction after being bullied.

At one point, she said, he stole her phone and sold it to buy narcotics, prompting her parents to call police. The family feared he might be on a path to an early death, but he went through treatment, the sister said.

From there, Melissa Kohberger said, her brother appeared to be on more solid footing, although she would still argue with him because of what she called an abrasive personality. She became interested in mental health as a profession, while he moved toward a policing career.

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Bryan Kohberger attended DeSales University in eastern Pennsylvania before enrolling in a graduate program for criminology at Washington State University. The latter campus is a brief distance from the University of Idaho, which caused Melissa Kohberger to worry when four Idaho students were found fatally stabbed in a rental home in November 2022. She recalls telling her brother, Be careful.

New Idaho doc releases after Bryan Kohberger plea: Why these 4 kids?

By years end, investigators had zeroed in on Bryan Kohberger. He was arrested while visiting his family in Pennsylvania, triggering immediate public scrutiny on the suspect and his family.

Melissa Kohberger said she was preparing to start a new job as a mental health counselor before publicity scuttled the opportunity. She likened the unwanted attention to being victimized but not really being a victim.

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The sister says her mother prays daily for the four Idaho victims: Kaylee Goncalves, 22; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. She said she herself has entered their birthdays into her digital calendar and acknowledges the pain their families are feeling, especially around the holidays.

The idea is making me so emotional that I can barely speak to you about it, Melissa Kohberger said.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
The overnight attacks in Venezuela and the subsequent capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a U.S. military operation on Saturday triggered sharp international reactions, ranging from European Union calls for de-escalation to condemnations from some of Latin Americas most outspoken leaders, who described the use of force as unacceptable.

The Government of Mexico condemns and strongly rejects the military actions unilaterally carried out in recent hours by the armed forces of the United States of America against targets in the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, a statement posted by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said.

The statement called for an end to any act of aggression against the Venezuelan government and people and said the actions were in clear violation of Article 2 of the United Nations charter. The charter, among other things, calls for disputes among nations to be settled peacefully.

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Latin America and the Caribbean is a zone of peace, built on the foundation of mutual respect, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the prohibition of the use and threat of force. Therefore, any military action seriously jeopardizes regional stability, the Mexican government said, urging the U.N. to act immediately to help de-escalate tensions.

The spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the U.N. chief is deeply alarmed by the recent escalation in Venezuela, which has potential worrisome implications for the region.

Independently of the situation in Venezuela, these developments constitute a dangerous precedent, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respectby all of international law, including the U.N. Charter. Hes deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected. The Secretary-General calls on all actors in Venezuela to engage in inclusive dialogue, in full respect of human rights and the rule of law.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump said U.S. forces had entered Venezuela and removed Maduro, who is the subject of a U.S. indictment since 2020. Maduro was captured by U.S. forces and taken onboard the USS Iwo Jima.

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While most U.S. allies remained mute, Argentina President Javier Milei celebrated the capture of Maduro as a decisive advance against narcoterrorism in the region.

In a nationwide address, Trump described the raid as an extraordinary success overnight with breathtaking speed, power, precision and confidence.

If you would have seen what I saw last night, you would have been very impressed, he said, describing the operation as the U.S. military acting to support the Justice Department. It was an incredible thing to see. Not a single American service member was killed, and not a single piece of American equipment was lost, that many helicopters, many planes, many people involved in that fight.

The president also announced that following the extraction that involved more than 150 U.S. aircraft launched from 20 different bases across the Western hemisphere, we are going to run the country and stay until such time as the proper transition can take place.

Caribbean leaders react

After the attacks, concerns engulfed Venezuelas closest Caribbean neighbors, where Trumps ramped-up campaign has been fueling tensions and public disagreements among regional leaders. In Guyana, which shares a land border with Venezuela and has been in a decades-long dispute, President Irfaan Ali said his nation has activated its security architecture.

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The Guyana Defense Force and the security forces are monitoring the situation and Guyanese should be reassured that the government is working to ensure the safety and security of our citizens, Ali said.

In Trinidad and Tobago. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar moved quickly to distance her twin-island nation from the operation. She is one of Trumps closest allies in the region, where ongoing U.S. boat strikes off the Venezuelan coast in the southern Caribbean had been sparking tensions for months.

Addressing citizens in an early morning post on X, Persad-Bissessar said: Trinidad and Tobago is Not a participant in any of these ongoing military operations. Trinidad and Tobago continues to maintain peaceful relations with the people of Venezuela.

The countrys Peoples National Movement leader, Penny Beckles, said that while some information remains unclear and unconfirmed, any such development in our immediate geographic space is a matter of serious concern and deeply troubling. Beckles echoed the calls for de-escalation, which were also made by Spains prime minister and European Union leaders.

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Caribbean Community leaders held an emergency meeting Saturday morning to assess the situation. In a statement, they noted that the regional bloc, which comprises 15 member states and six associate members and is home to approximately 16 million people, was actively monitoring the situation which is of grave concern to the region with possible implications for neighboring countries.

Late Saturday afternoon leaders still lacked clarity, with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley telling her citizens that what happened in Venezuela is uncharted territory. She noted that while the consequences are still unclear, there were 13 scheduled inbound flights, all full coming in and out of the U.S., that had to be cancelled because of the military operations and closure of airspace.

For us, we always said that conflict would have consequences, she said.

Condemnations

Some South American leaders offered some of the strongest and swiftest denunciations, alongside Iran and Russia.

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The first regional leader to denounce the operation was Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who took to X as the night sky lit up and explosions could be heard over Caracas.

Colombias government, he said, was alarmed by reports of explosions and unusual aerial activity in Venezuela and reaffirmed its commitment to the principles of the U.N. Charter, including respect for sovereignty, the prohibition of the use of force and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

The Colombian government rejects any unilateral military action that could aggravate the situation or put the civilian population at risk, Petro said, urging all parties to de-escalate and prioritize diplomatic channels.

Ahead of Saturdays extraction of Maduro, Trump warned that Petro should watch his back. On Saturday, he repeated the warning following comments by Petro that he was not concerned about anything happening to him in the aftermath of the Venezuela operation. The two leaders have been involved in public disputes on social media since Trump began his second term, and Petro has since had his U.S. visa revoked.

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He has cocaine bills, yes, factories where he makes cocaine, Trump said about Petro. I stick by my first statement. Hes making cocaine. Theyre sending it into the United States. So he does have to watch his ass.

As the region and the world woke up to the news, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also announced his displeasure.

These acts represent a most serious affront to Venezuelas sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community, he said. Attacking countries, in flagrant violation of international law, is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos, and instability, where the law of the strongest prevails over multilateralism.

Lula said the Trump administrations action recalls the worst moments of interference in the politics of Latin America and the Caribbean and threatens the preservation of the region as a zone of peace. He called on the international community, through the U.N., to respond forcefully and said Brazil stood ready to promote dialogue and cooperation.

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Lulas questioning of the U.S. attack harkens back to some of the concerns that leaders and others have of the era of greater U.S. intervention in the region, said Jason Marczak, vice president and senior director at the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, Atlantic Council, in Washington. He also noted that the variety of reactions, including the show of support from Milei and Panama President Jose Raul Mulino, only further magnify some of the divisions that we already see across the region among different political leaders.

Other world leaders

Iran called the U.S. military action a blatant violation of regional and international peace and security. Moscow, another key ally of Maduro, said the U.S. act of armed aggression against Venezuela causes deep concern. Elsewhere in Europe, where Spain has welcomed tens of thousands of asylum-seeking Venezuelans, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for restraint and for all parties to respect international law and the principles of the U.N. Charter.

He also offered up his nations good offices to achieve a peaceful and negotiated solution to the current crisis.

Sanchez noted that his government had not recognized the results of the July 28, 2024, elections, which the opposition said it had won, and has always supported initiatives to achieve a democratic solution for Venezuela.

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French President Emmanuel Macron said by seizing power and trampling on fundamental freedoms, Maduro dealt a grave blow to the dignity of his own people. He said the transition to come must be peaceful, democratic and respectful of the will of the Venezuelan people. And where Trump suggested working with figures inside the regime, Macron made his position clear. We wish that President Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, elected in 2024, can swiftly ensure this transition, Macron said.

Kevin Whitaker, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for South America who served as deputy chief of mission in Caracas, said hes looking to see what position Europe ultimately takes especially if a resolution is put forward at the U.N. or at the Security Council.

They know the view of the Trump administration with respect to this hemisphere, and they know the Trump administrations tendency is to see things in black and white terms, Whitaker, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, added.

Former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin said the U.S. military operation against Venezuela represents a major geopolitical shift. He accused the U.S. of deliberately and indisputably placing itself outside international law by violating the charter and the spirit of the United Nations.

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This is an act with heavy consequences for the international order established after World War II. This legitimizes regime changes by force. No matter how detestable the overthrown governments may be, precedents show that regime changes lead neither to democracy nor to peace, but to chaos, civil war and dictatorship. One need only refer to the situations in Iraq or Libya, said Villepin, who served from 2005-07.

He also mentioned the ongoing U.S. pressure campaign involving 15,000 U.S. military personnel in the Caribbean who have been overseeing dozens of boat strikes against alleged drug traffickers. The strikes have a barely veiled objective of gunboat diplomacy, Villepin said. The Trump administration has said there have been 35 strikes in the Caribbean Sea and in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least 115 people since early September.

Once the United States frees itself from legality, what will we say to China if it overthrows a regime it dislikes in Korea, Vietnam, or even more so in Taiwan? What arguments will we have to counter Russia if it overthrows a government it dislikes in Moldova, or even in the Baltic States? Villepin said. France and Europe must clearly reaffirm, alongside the countries of the Global South, their commitment to the principles of international lawfirst and foremost the sovereignty of states and collective securityand defend the legal order of nation-states against the brutal collision of empires.
Canadian officials and public health experts are warning that US health and science institutions can no longer be depended upon for accurate information, particularly when it comes to vaccinations, amid fears that misinformation from the Trump administration could further erode Canadians confidence in healthcare.

I cant imagine a world in which this misinformation doesnt creep into Canadians consciousness and leads to doubt, said Dawn Bowdish, an immunologist and professor at McMaster University in Ontario.

Those fears have emerged as the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has forwarded an anti-vaccine agenda. In December, a panel appointed by Kennedy voted to remove a longstanding recommendation by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that all newborns be vaccinated against hepatitis B.

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The CDC also updated its website in November at the instruction of Kennedy to claim that studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism, which top public health experts have decried as false.

The agencys move toward misinformation and away from public health leadership makes it more difficult to combat distrust in vaccinations in Canada, says Bowdish.

In December, Canadas health minister, Marjorie Michel, warned that US health and science institutions can no longer be depended upon for accurate information. In an interview with the Canadian Press, she said: I cannot trust them as a reliable partner, no.

Michel also told CBC News that some Canadians could be influenced by Kennedy.

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The ministers comments come at the conclusion of a disastrous year for measles in Canada, as the country was stripped of its measles elimination status in November after more than 5,000 cases were reported across the country.

Related: A huge outbreak has made Ontario the measles centre of the western hemisphere

Physicians pointed to drops in childhood vaccination rates, limited access to family doctors and surging misinformation in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic as just some of the factors fuelling the spread.

Metas ban on the sharing of news in Canada, due to an ongoing dispute over legislation between the tech company and the government, also impedes reliable public health messaging, said Bowdish.

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In 2021, Canada published the results from a national survey on childhood immunisation and found 2.1% of two-year-olds had not received any vaccinations, an increase from 1.7% in 2019. Parents cited safety concerns or beliefs that vaccines did not work as their reasons for refusal.

Bowdish said in 2021 that these reasons often were connected to not having a family doctor and were related to access rather than skepticism. But in the last four years she suspects misinformation has surged, and new data is not available.

A December poll on vaccination hesitancy by research firm Leger Healthcare found that while most Canadians (74%) have confidence in vaccines, hesitancy has increased primarily due to fears around safety driven by social media and government mistrust.

The survey also found that 17% of those who expressed a lack of confidence in vaccines say they get their information from US government websites.

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Kumanan Wilson, a doctor and professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa, said Canada can combat concerns about changes at the CDC by cooperating with other public health systems worldwide and taking the helm on developing health surveillance while US institutions languish.

If we build this system, its not only going to be great for Canada. We can provide really valuable information to the world, he said.

But Michel Grignon, a professor and health economist at McMaster University, warned that increased mistrust in vaccinations in Canada is the countrys own doing.

He said the federal government instead needs to look at the homegrown causes of vaccine distrust, rather than focusing too much on the US.

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As Canadas social safety nets have eroded over many decades, the pandemic was a further catalyst that disrupted social cohesion, pushing people to the margins of society and sowing distrust in government, he said.

Grignon pointed to the 2022 trucker protests against Covid restrictions as a manifestation of the collapse of trust.

We are the source of our own problem, and our vaccine hesitancy has not much to do with the US. It has to do with us, he said.
It was a made-for-Netflix moment, giving Donald Trump exactly the kind of attention-grabbing spectacle he craved.

Few observers believed the United States could pull off the surgical operation that succeeded in capturing and exfiltrating Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelas president, and Cilia Flores, his wife.

In 1989, it took a fortnight for US troops invading Panama to locate, besiege and capture its strongman ruler Manuel Noriega  an operation that claimed 26 American lives and left hundreds of Panamanians dead. But Panama is a tiny country with a single large city, and the US already had a substantial military presence there.

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Any operation in Venezuela, which is vastly larger and defended by a large army and loyalist militias, seemed more likely to echo the US invasion of Iraq, where it took nine months to track down Saddam Hussein, and regime change triggered chaos and bloodshed, badly staining Washingtons global reputation.

Yet, so far at least, Mr Trump has confounded his critics, pulling off  presumably with the collusion of at least one member of Mr Maduros inner circle  a spectacular operation more commonly associated with Mossad, Israels intelligence agency.

Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president, after he was seized by US troops in an operation that will have consequences around the world

The US president, in his own inimitable way, will rightly hail the success of a mission that effected the swiftest regime change operation of its kind in more than a century. He will also seek to present it as a muscle-flexing moment proving that the American colossus still bestrides the globe.

After all, only great imperial powers can engage in such gunboat diplomacy, toppling troublesome potentates with the same casualness the British Empire once rid itself of querulous Burmese kings or Punjabi maharajahs. It is even possible that the US operation in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, surpassed Britains 38-minute war to topple the Sultan of Zanzibar in 1896.

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By this reading, it is easy to imagine that the lightning raid in the Venezuelan capital has caused deep unease in Moscow and Beijing, Mr Maduros principal foreign backers. After all, the US has apparently just severed the chief South American tentacle of the global anti-US nexus with unexpected ease.

Certainly, no autocrat likes to see one of their own seized, shackled and renditioned  his fate left for a foreign court to decide.

Vladimir Putin was reportedly so disturbed by the lynching of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011  apparently imagining that the same fate could one day befall him  that he watched video footage of the killing on loop.

Donald Trumps latest move has major implications for Xi Jinping in China and Vladimir Putin in Russia - Reuters

One can readily imagine the Russian leader, who has himself been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, feeling similarly disquieted by Maduros plight.

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Yet these misgivings may not run as deep as some might assume.

There will certainly be those in Moscow and Beijing who conclude that the Caracas operation is further evidence that Mr Trump is more interested in projecting power regionally than globally  that he is, in other words, a backyard bully but a centre-stage coward.

So far, Mr Trump has shown himself willing to assert dominance in a widespread but limited fashion: launching sporadic, narrowly targeted air strikes against Isis affiliates in Nigeria, Houthi militants in Yemen, and mounting a spectacular but brief operation against Irans nuclear programme.

Such missions, critics note, appear at least partially designed to deliver a showbiz moment of victory that plays well with the presidents base.

Donald Trump is enjoying a muscle-flexing moment after the action in Venezuela - AP

The seizure of Mr Maduro is clearly a triumph that will gratify many on the US Right and deliver a chilling message to any South American leader tempted to step out of line. But the further out one zooms, the less impressive it arguably looks.

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Mr Trump, advisers will be telling Putin and Xi Jinping, is clearly content to pick fights with weaker opponents. He has shown less appetite to stand up to Russia over Ukraine and has raised fears that he could abandon Taiwan in pursuit of a grand bargain with China.

In early December, the Trump administration published its National Security Strategy, a startling document that formally articulated a shift in US foreign policy towards a world view based on spheres of influence and America First transactionalism.

Should the Chinese and Russian leaders conclude that the seizure of Mr Maduro is part of the implementation of a strategy in which the US withdraws from a global role in pursuit of regional hegemony, they may feel emboldened rather than deterred  with potentially catastrophic consequences for international stability.

US officials would reject such an interpretation, arguing that only by re-establishing its pre-eminence in its own hemisphere can it reassert its global dominance.

Healers and shamans in Peru hold images of Donald Trump, Nicolas Maduro, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in an end-of-year ritual - AFP

Mauricio Claver-Carone, Mr Trumps former envoy to Latin America, told the New York Times in November: You cant be the pre-eminent global power if youre not the pre-eminent regional power.

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Whichever interpretation prevails, it is clear that the Western hemisphere has once again become Washingtons central theatre abroad  even as traditional US adversaries have been given a freer hand elsewhere.

Since returning to power, Mr Trump has sought to reassert the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, a warning to outside powers to stay out of the Western hemisphere that later evolved into a belief in US hegemony over the Americas.

In fact, he has gone even further: laying claim to Canada as the 51st state, rebranding the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and demanding the handover of Greenland to the US.

As his first year in office wore on, he fleshed out what wags came to call the Donroe Doctrine to encompass regime change in Venezuela.

Celebrations in Miami, Florida, after locals hear about the strike on Venezuela - Marco Bello/Reuters

Shortly after his inauguration, Mr Trump signed an executive order designating the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organisation as his administration laid the legal groundwork for a criminal indictment against Mr Maduro.

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US officials claimed the Venezuelan president was conspiring to smuggle drugs into the US. Over the summer, the US bounty on Mr Maduro, stemming from narco-terrorism charges, was doubled.

The final piece of the legal case came in mid-November, when the administration announced it would designate the Cartel de los Soles, which it claimed Mr Maduro headed, a foreign terrorist organisation.

Not only was he, by Washingtons reckoning, a usurper who had stolen power at the ballot box, he was also a fugitive from the law. The case for seizing him  one that was questioned by critics inside and outside the US  had been made.

Analysts have long insisted that Mr Trumps Venezuela policy had little to do with drugs. Most of the fentanyl driving Americas narcotics epidemic does not originate from Venezuela.

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This was always about regime change  an objective championed in some political circles in Washington for more than a decade. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, pressed a hawkish Venezuela policy all year, an argument that initially encountered resistance until it was embraced by Stephen Miller, Mr Trumps deputy chief of staff.

Mr Maduro has engaged in sabre-rattling but the swiftness of his capture was an important demonstration of US military might - Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters

Plenty of rationales were offered. Venezuela undoubtedly served as a South American beach head for Iran, Russia and especially China, allowing all three to expand their regional influence at Washingtons expense.

Stepping up military action  first through military strikes on vessels suspected of carrying narcotics and the seizure of shadow fleet oil tankers, and later with the operation that captured Mr Maduro  offered a relatively low-cost way of projecting US power.

But the most important motivations may have been domestic rather than foreign. A core constituency in South Florida, a vital Republican stronghold, has long demanded decisive US action against Mr Maduro, who has propped up the Leftist regime in Cuba, from which many Floridians fled.

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A robust Venezuela policy has also allowed Mr Trump to look tough on immigration, homeland security and narcotics smuggling  all key issues for his base.

If the Venezuela mission was therefore driven more by domestic than foreign considerations, it will nonetheless have profound consequences across South America, where many fear the return of an era of US military intervention and coup-mongering they hoped had ended with the Cold War.

Friendly and neutral states will feel greater pressure to fall into line. Traditional foes such as Cuba and Nicaragua face a precarious future. If they lose access to subsidised Venezuelan oil, instability may follow.

The potential loss of access to Venezuelan energy will also hurt Russia and China. Russian companies hold significant stakes in Venezuelas economy through joint ventures in the Orinoco Belt oil fields, while China is the countrys largest creditor.

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With Mr Trump clearly eyeing the possibility of the US replacing both countries as Venezuelas principal energy partner in the post-Maduro era, their ambitions in the Americas have suffered setbacks.

But there are upsides, too.

Resentment in South America and anger across the developing world may yet play into Russias hands.

Moscow was quick to denounce an act of armed aggression and will be keen to portray the US as a threat to the international order, using the operation to justify its own aggression in Ukraine.

Western moral arguments against Putins war will certainly be harder to sustain and will be likely to fall on deafer ears in the so-called Global South.

For Beijing, the implications are as consequential. The US has now created a fresh precedent for the use of military force by any major power seeking regime change in its neighbourhood.

Officials in Taipei are therefore likely to have viewed this weekends events in South America with particular alarm.

Moscow and Beijing will hope they are glimpsing the contours of a new world order: one defined by regional spheres of influence dominated by regional powers.

In their view, the US is gradually abandoning its role as global policeman and retreating behind the walls of a powerful regional fortress. The multi-polar era they have long yearned for may, at last, be dawning.

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WASHINGTON (AP/Boston 25)  The Trump administrations capture of Venezuelas president and plans to run the country are raising stark new questions about the legality of the U.S. moves under a broader campaign against the South American nation.

The middle-of-the-night seizure of Nicolas Maduro, who was being transported on a U.S. warship to face narcoterrorism conspiracy charges in New York, is beyond even the most high-profile historical examples of aggressive American actions toward autocratic governments in Panama, Iraq and beyond, legal experts said. It came after a surprise U.S. incursion into the Venezuelan capital, rocked with overnight explosions.

This is clearly a blatant, illegal and criminal act, said Jimmy Gurule, a Notre Dame Law School professor and former assistant U.S. attorney.

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Mark Nevitt, a former Navy attorney who now teaches at Emory University School of Law, said, I see no legal basis for us to go into another country and take a leader without an extradition treaty.

Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton called the Trump administrations plan insane.

This is insane. What the hell are we doing? Weve got a lot of problems in America today, and invading, occupying, and running Venezuela does not solve any of them, Moulton told CNN. This is illegal, its unjustified, its not in our national interests, and there seems to be no plan whatsoever for what happens next.

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey said the development was unconstitutional.

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This is what dictators do. Make no mistake: this is an unconstitutional and reckless act of war. Trump had no approval from Congress. This attack is unjustified and unauthorized, Markey said in a statement shared with Boston 25 News. This was all about regime change and all about oil. This has nothing to do with our security and everything to do with Trumps desire to rule with an iron fist. This is not America First  this is Authoritarianism First."

The stunning development caps months of aggressive U.S. military action in the region, including the bombings of boats accused of trafficking drugs and seizures of oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The administration has conducted 35 known boat strikes against vessels, killing more than 115 people since September.

Michael Schmitt, a former Air Force lawyer and professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College, said the entire operation  the boat strikes as well as the apprehension of Maduro  are a clear violation of international law.

Maduros arrest on anniversary of Noriegas surrender

Maduros arrest came 36 years to the date of the surrender of Panamas strongman Manuel Noriega, a notable milestone in American involvement in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. invaded Panama in 1989 to arrest Noriega on drug trafficking charges.

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In Panama, however, U.S. national security interests were directly at stake in the form of the Panama Canal as well as the safety of American citizens and U.S. military installations in the country.

By contrast, Congress has not authorized any American military strike or law enforcement move against Venezuela.

While U.S. agents have a long history of snatching defendants abroad to execute arrest warrants without authorization, federal courts have long deferred to the White House in foreign policy and national security matters.

For example, U.S. bounty hunters, working under the direction of the Drug Enforcement Administration, in 1990 abducted in Mexico a doctor accused of killing DEA agent Enrique Kiki Camarena.

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Courts give great deference to the president on issues related to national security, said Gurule, who led the prosecution against Camarenas killers. But great deference does not mean absolute deference and unfettered authority to do anything.

Congress has yet to authorize or ban US actions

Trumps administration has declared the drug cartels operating from Venezuela to be unlawful combatants and has said the United States is now in an armed conflict with them, according to an administration memo obtained in October by The Associated Press.

The memo appears to represent an extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers, with Trump effectively declaring that trafficking of drugs into the U.S. amounts to armed conflict requiring the use of military force. That is a new rationale for past and future actions.

Congress, which has broad authority to authorize or prohibit the presidents war powers, has failed to do either, even as lawmakers from both political parties grow increasingly uneasy with the military actions in the region, particularly after it was revealed that U.S. forces killed two survivors of a boat attack with a follow-up strike.

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Schmitt said there is no other way to characterize what has happened other than as a state of war between the United States and Venezuela.

Lawyers call it international armed conflict, Schmitt said. Lay people call it war. So as a matter of law, we are now at war with Venezuela because the use of hostilities between two states clearly triggers an internal armed conflict.

War powers vote ahead

Congressional leaders of the gang of eight, which includes House and Senate leaders from both political parties as well as lawmakers leading on the Intelligence committees, were notified early Saturday after operations began, according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the administration is working to schedule briefings for lawmakers when they return to Washington next week.

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But Democratic lawmakers warned that in veering from the rule of law, the administration is potentially greenlighting other countries such as China or Russia to do the same.

Once this line is crossed, the rules that restrain global chaos begin to collapse, and authoritarian regimes will be the first to exploit it, said Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Americas strength comes from our commitment to the rule of law, democratic norms, and constitutional restraint, he said. When we abandon those principles, even in the name of confronting bad actors, we weaken our credibility, endanger global stability, and invite abuses of power that will long outlast any single presidency.

Next week, the Senate is expected to try again to curtail Trumps actions, with a vote expected on a bipartisan war powers resolution that would block the use of U.S. forces against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he is grateful for the armed forces who carried out this necessary action. He said he spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and wants more information.

I look forward to receiving further briefings from the administration on this operation as part of its comprehensive counternarcotics strategy when the Senate returns to Washington next week, Thune said.

Rubio said at a briefing Saturday with Trump that because of the nature of the surprise operation, it was not something that could be shared beforehand with the lawmakers.

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Hangzhou-based biotech start-up MindRank has progressed to Phase 3 clinical trials for its weight-loss drug, making it China's first artificial intelligence-assisted Category 1 new drug to reach this stage.

MindRank announced last month that it had initiated a Phase 3 clinical trial in China for MDR-001, a small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonists designed with the help of AI. GLP-1 receptor agonists mimic natural hormones to regulate blood sugar and appetite.

According to Niu Zhangming, MindRank's founder and CEO, the drug was the first AI-assisted, Category 1 new drug to reach this advanced stage in China. The company was aiming for approval in the second half of 2028, paving the way for a market launch in 2029.

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The new drug development process to date has taken about four and a half years compared to the seven to 10 typically required to reach this stage, according to Niu, who added that efficiency gains from AI had effectively slashed overall research and development costs by at least 60 per cent.

According to Niu, human specialists can specify a target, typically a protein molecule within the human body directly linked to a disease, and then leverage its proprietary AI tools to rapidly generate potential drugs. This workflow allows researchers to shortlist and select the most promising candidates from an AI-generated pool.

"It's like overseeing an automated assembly line," Niu said.

Alex Zhavoronkov is the founder of Insilico Medicine, which listed in Hong Kong in December. Photo: Handout alt=Alex Zhavoronkov is the founder of Insilico Medicine, which listed in Hong Kong in December. Photo: Handout>

MindRank also developed a specialised biomedical system by leveraging open-source large language models (LLMs) integrated with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology. RAG allows an LLM to look up real-time information from external documents.

This helped improve target research accuracy from an industry average of around 85 per cent to over 97 per cent, according to Niu. Target research accuracy measures how effectively viable targets for treating a disease are identified.

AI can also assess a drug's safety and efficacy through advanced predictive models, tackling complex calculations that were previously beyond human capability, according to Niu.
The US says its military operation to capture Venezuela's president took months of planning, but when Donald Trump gave the order to launch, "Operation Absolute Resolve" only lasted about 150 minutes.

The surprise early-morning attack on Saturday marked an unprecedented event in modern politics and culminated in the arrest of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Captured by troops from an elite US army unit as they tried to flee into a fortified safe room, the pair are now being held in a detention centre in New York and face narco-terrorism charges.

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As the sun rose on Saturday, the scale of the military operation in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, was clear.

Pictures from Fuerte Tiuna, a huge military complex where top government officials live, show bombed out buildings and charred, smouldering cars.

It was at this compound that Maduro and his wife were captured, Venezuelan ruling party leader Nahum Fernandez told the Associated Press news agency.

Hours earlier - Trump gives the order

Operation Absolute Resolve began with reports of explosions at about 02:00 in Caracas (06:00 GMT).

The US cut power to the city, Trump has since said, describing it as "dark and deadly".

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The aim was to disable Venezuela's air defences and clear the path for US military helicopters to get to Fuerte Tiuna.

"We assessed that we had maintained totally the element of surprise", Gen Dan Caine, the nation's highest-ranking military officer, said.

The BBC has verified five strike locations, including the compound, a port and an airport. Pictures show Fuerte Tiuna on fire, with huge flames visible for miles.

[BBC]

Venezuelans have described how US military helicopters flew low over Caracas, heading for Fuerte Tiuna.

Some of the helicopters came under fire, but were still able to fly, Gen Caine said.

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"It was a lot of gunfire," Trump added.

US military helicopters flying over Caracas, with plumes of smoke from earlier air strikes clearly visible [Reuters]

Once on the ground, troops from the US Army's Delta Force, an elite special forces unit, moved quickly.

They gained access to the compound at 02:01 local time, and the Maduros "gave up" without a struggle, Gen Caine said.

But Trump gave more details. The Maduros tried to escape into a safe place, the US president explained, describing it as a military "fortress".

"The safe place is all steel, and he wasn't able to make it to the door because our guys were so fast.

"It was a very thick door, a very heavy door," Trump told reporters. "He made it to the door. He was unable to close it."

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But even if they had managed to get into the safe room, Trump said troops could have blown it open in about "47 seconds".

From Caracas to Manhattan

Now in US custody, Nicolas Maduro and his wife were transported some 2,100 miles (3,400km), to New York City.

They were flown out of Caracas by helicopter, and taken to the USS Iwo Jima, a warship stationed in the Caribbean. The team was back "over the water" by 04:29, Gen Caine said.

It was on the ship that we got one of the defining pictures of the whole operation - Maduro in handcuffs, wearing ear protectors and a type of blindfold that looked like dark sunglasses.

Trump distributed an image of Maduro he said was taken on board the USS Iwo Jima [Trump and Getty Images]

From the USS Iwo Jima, he was first flown to the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay.

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The Maduros were then flown on a government plane to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York state, and then via helicopter to Manhattan.

[BBC]

[BBC]

Maduro could be seen flashing a peace sign when he arrived at a heliport in New York [Getty Images]

There was heavy security at all buildings near the detention centre where Maduro and his wife are being held - the Federal Bureau of Prisons is next door [Reuters]

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On Saturday, a video was released showing Maduro at the Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) headquarters in New York.

He and Cilia Flores are now being held in a detention centre in the city.

They have been charged with conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices against the US.

"They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," said Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The Chambersburg Fire Department has been awarded a $300,000 grant to purchase advanced lifesaving technology.

The grant, provided through the Commonwealth Financing Authoritys Statewide Local Share Account, will be used to acquire four LIFEPAK 35 cardiac monitors and defibrillators, according to a community announcement.

The devices are expected to benefit the approximately 25-square-mile medical service area covered by the department, which receives nearly 5,000 calls annually for basic life support.

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This technology enables our emergency response personnel to communicate key health status information to hospital medical personnel before they even see the patient, thereby increasing the chance of survival, Chambersburg Fire Chief and EMS Director Dustin Ulrich said in the announcement.

The new defibrillators are equipped with advanced connected capabilities that allow EMTs to obtain electrocardiograms in the field and during critical events. The LIFEPAK 35 can transmit patient data to the hospital during transport, enabling the hospital to alert the correct care teams, including remote consultants, before the patient arrives.

Our firefighters and EMS personnel are the backbone of public safety in our community. Equipping them with advanced cardiac monitors and defibrillators ensures they have the tools necessary to respond quickly and effectively during critical emergencies, Pennsylvania State Representative Rob Kauffman said in the announcement. I am proud to support this investment in life-saving technology that strengthens our ability to protect the health and well-being of Chambersburg area residents.

The Statewide LSA program provides grants to support projects of public interest within the commonwealth.

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For more information, contact Borough Manager Jeffrey Stonehill at jstonehill@chambersburgpa.gov.

This story was created by Janis Reeser, jreeser@usatodayco.com with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at https://cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/.

This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: Chambersburg EMS to get cutting-edge defibrillators with $300K grant
New footage has been released that seems to show a Chinese Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter flying close to a Taiwanese airbase during a recent military exercise. Purportedly taken during the recent Justice Mission 2025," this has sparked debate as to whether the aircraft was able to approach undetected or not.

Chinas J-20 stealth fighter flew within visual range of Taiwans coastline. The Taiwanese failed to detect the J-20. It wouldve been a propaganda coup if Taiwan got a photo of the J-20 with their F-16 sniper targeting pod. This happened around Checheng township in Pingtung, at the very southern tip of Taiwan, wrote a defence analyst on X.

While hard to confirm, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has claimed that one of its J-20s managed to fly close to Taiwan's Pingtung airbase. According to reports, this incident occurred on Tuesday (Dec 30) during the second day of the exercise.

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It is important to note that these claims have yet to be confirmed by third parties, notably whether the J-20 was actually able to penetrate Taiwanese airspace in the first place.

J-20 approaches Taiwanese airbase

If true, then such an occurrence would be very worrying for Taiwanese defense forcesm notably how this could happen in the first place. It could, of course, just be a bluff from the PLA to make Taiwan question its defensive readiness against Chinese forces.

While no missiles were fired or lives lost, the supposed incursion by China's fifth-generation J-20 will not be without consequences. Likely, Taiwan will now have to assume worst-case scenarios and spend some time investigating what happened.

They will want to know if the J-20 was able to find radar blind spots in its air defense and take corrective actions accordingly. That will come at a cost for Taiwan.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLsV8flG1Q4&pp=ygUTSi0yMCBUYWl3YW4gYWlyYmFzZQ%3D%3D

The focus on Pingtung is also interesting as it is one of the nation's key airbases. It has some critical training and sortie-running infrastructure for the Taiwanese air force and is a cornerstone of its air defense.

If China can operate stealth aircraft near that area (even occasionally), it compresses Taiwans reaction time in a real crisis. That is strategically more important than whether this specific flight happened exactly as claimed.

Playing a dangerous game

So far, Taiwan has remained silent on the matter, with key officials neither confirming nor denying China's claims. This is likely deliberate to prevent China from taking a public relations victory.

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If they deny the claim, this will look to some like Taiwan is covering up for a failure of its air defenses. Confirming the event would also validate PLA propaganda.

Whether the J-20 incursion occurred or not, it has wider implications for the region, too. Firstly, it helps to normalize PLA proximity to Taiwan and blurs peacetime versus wartime behaviour.

It also serves as a training for PLA forces under realistic conditions, and can be used by them to sow doubt and confusion. So while the claim could be fictitious at worst or exaggerated at best, it will have very real impacts on Taiwan one way or the other.
On July 4, the United States of America will celebrate its 250th anniversary.

Theres also another major historical anniversary this year  the start of the Civil War 165 years ago on April 12, 1861.

The four-year war between Union and Confederate forces was the bloodiest in American history. The combined casualties, by some accounts, approached 1 million.

Pottsville has a special interest in the Civil War, particularly its start.

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After Fort Sumter was attacked on April 12, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 militia members to defend the nations Capital.

Two Pottsville militia units  the Washington Artillerists and National Light Infantry  were among the first to respond.

Indeed, the Pottsville units and the Ringgold Light Artillery from Reading, the Logan Guards from Lewistown and the Allen Infantry from Allentown have become known as the First Defenders.

Consisting of 476 officers and men, the First Defenders reached Washington at 6 p.m. on April 18, 1861  six days after Fort Sumter was attacked by forces of the Confederate States of America.

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The troops were quartered in hallways and committee rooms of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

At 9 p.m. on the day of arrival, they were taken to the basement of the U.S. Capitol building and issued arms and ammunition.

President Lincoln, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward and U.S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron were present as the arms were being distributed.

Lincoln proceeded down the line and shook hands with every member of the militia units.

John David Hoptak, a Schuylkill County native, has written a definitive account of the militias response to the call to arms  First in Defense of the Union: The Civil War History of the First Defenders.

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Of the First Defenders, Hoptak wrote they departed their homes and families and marched into history as the First Defenders, the first to reach Washington after the start of Americas Civil War.

A park ranger and educator at the Gettysburg National Military Park, Hoptak has written several books on the Civil War. He also led a campaign to honor Gen. James Nagle in Pottsville and restored the 48th Pennsylvania monument at Antietam, replacing the missing sword from the Nagle statue.

The 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment, sometimes called the Schuylkill regiment, was recruited in Schuylkill County in August and September 1861, about five months after the war started.

Robert Reid of Pottsville and Patrick H. Monaghan of Minersville, members of the 48th, were awarded Medals of Honor, the nations highest military decoration.

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The 48th, however, is perhaps best known for its role in the Battle of the Crater near Petersburg, Virginia, in June 1864. Under the direction of Lt. Col. Henry Pleasants, miners from Schuylkill County dug a tunnel under a battlefield and planted 8,000 pounds of gunpowder beneath a Confederate encampment. The explosion left a huge crater, giving the battle its name.

One of the lasting images of the First Defenders occurred as the Washington Artillerists passed through Baltimore on their way to Washington. An angry pro-South mob tossed bricks and stones, striking some of the troops.

One was Nicholas Biddle, an African American from Pottsville, who is believed to be one of the first men to shed blood in the Civil War. His head wound was not fatal. He is buried in the cemetery at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Pottsville.
Around 7 p.m. on Dec. 28, 2025, Leilani McLemore was in her home, a white house that sits in the middle of Glade Street, when she heard an awful noise from her open back door.

"My roommate comes running in the house," McLemore said. "He said, 'Call 911,' because he didn't have a cellphone. I came running out. I see Marcus on the ground here."

Around 6 p.m. on Jan. 3, McLemore stood by the stop sign at the intersection of Ferguson Avenue and Glade Street, where she has lived for 32 years, and welcomed people into her neighborhood. More than 50 people gathered here for a candlelight vigil to remember 14-year-old Marcus Anderson, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver while he rode an electric bike.

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"To be just 14, he touched a lot of lives," Anderson's grandmother said. "You'd think he was 80. He was so loved and very hardworking."

As the sky darkened to black near 7 p.m., candles lightly illuminated the streets. People of all ages donned camouflage at the request of the family and formed into groups to share stories of Anderson.

Anderson's mother, Jordan Scarpitti, previously told the Savannah Morning News that her son loved being outdoors, fishing, riding dirt bikes, and attending church. He was caring and mowed lawns in the neighborhood. Anderson had just started high school in the fall and was interested in business and engineering.

More: Vigil planned for 14-year-old killed in Savannah hit-and-run

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More: A teen riding an electric bike died from a fatal hit-and-run

"I'm just out here because it's what I think Marcus would've wanted," said Parker Burgner, a friend of his. "He had a really big community of people who loved him. He was very loved, and I just wanted to honor him."

Another friend named Jack stood in front of the crowd to tell a story about a joyride to Wilmington in Anderson's grandfather's truck one night.

"When we got back, I told him that I thought I was in the green, and he said I'm not in the green, they just chewed my behind out," Jack said. "He just had this Marcus smirk on his face, for those who were really close to him, you've seen that smile before."

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Anderson was riding an electric bike Dec. 28, when a vehicle hit him and fled the scene. McLemore said it was common for kids and even adults to get places by bike in the neighborhood. According to her, there had been three accidents on that same road in less than a year. One of Anderson's cousins, James Webster Shurling, had been hit by a drunk driver on Whitefield Avenue in 2020, and was in a drug-induced coma for seven days and ended up with a metal stent to reduce brain swelling.

McLemore and other parents said they were scared to let their kids play outside without their supervision. Glade Street, in particular, had once been a dirt road about 20 years ago, that drivers rarely used unless they lived on the street. But once it was paved, Glade Street became a shortcut between Whitefield and Ferguson avenues.

"People turn wide onto this road," McLemore said. "The speed limit [35] is fast on this road, the lighting is horrible, we have no cameras to catch anyone. The first thing I said to the police when they arrived is that we need help back here. This happens too much."

Chatham County Police Department arrested Castro Miguel Reyes and Olvin Antonio Ramos on Dec. 29, 2025, and charged them with tampering with evidence and obstruction in connection to the hit-and-run incident. The vehicle that fled the scene was also recovered and is being processed for additional evidence by CCPD detectives, according to previous reporting.Anderson's family started a GoFundme to help cover his funeral costs. The campaign has reached about 79% of its goal.

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"Marcus was only 14, yet he had already made such a powerful impact on everyone who knew him," his family wrote on the GoFundMe oage. "Our family feels every kind word, every share, and every act of compassion. Marcus will always be loved, always remembered, and forever missed."

Destini Ambus is the general assignment reporter for the Savannah Morning News, covering the municipalities, and community and cultural programs. You can reach her at DAmbus@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Family holds candlelit vigil for 14-year-old who died in hit-and-run
The 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States is finally upon us. Events celebrating the Semiquincentennial will take place throughout Connecticut all year long, starting in January .

The celebration of the founding of the United States is everpresent in Connecticut  one of the 13 original colonies. When considering how best to honor America 250, Connecticut museums and institutions are seizing the moment.

One of the institutions jumping fully into the celebratory mood is the New Haven Museum at 114 Whitney Ave. in New Haven. The museum is offering several distinct angles on the founding of the country, including a free lecture series that starts in February.

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On Feb. 25 at 6 p.m., historian Michael D. Hattem will show the revolution as an open-ended concept in a talk titled An Unfinished Revolution at 250. The talk will encompass later American revolutions which related directly to principles expounded on in the Declaration of Independence such as abolition and womens suffrage and civil rights.

On March 28 at 2 p.m., textile expert Lynne Bassett will discuss Federalist Fathers and Republican Mothers: The Fashions of John and Abigail Adams. She will illustrate her talk with clothing, drawings and writing of that period, discussing the importance of fashion and culture in understanding major historical transitions.

The final talk in the series is April 18 at 2 p.m., on the exact date of The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America. The discussion is presented by the author of a book bearing the same title, Kostya Kennedy.

On a grander, longer-lasting level, the New Haven Museum is remaking the main exhibition on its ground floor to reflect New Havens role in the American Revolution. Cynthia Riccio, the museums director of planning, said the exhibition will illuminate significant moments in New Haven history, including local events leading up to the American Revolution, key figures in local history and other revolutionary times in New Haven history.

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Riccio said the exhibition will also highlight indigenous people in the area, those who immigrated from Europe in search of religious freedom and landmark 20th century revolutions like the Griswold v. Connecticut court case, which argued for the rights of married couples to use contraception without government interference.

These are very New Haven stories, Riccio said.

The museum is working with advisors from a number of Connecticut organizations to assure that the exhibit will be wide-ranging. We are working all of our jobs together to create this encompassing of unfinished revolutions, Riccio said.

One of the historic properties managed by the New Haven Museum is the Pardee-Morris House, an historic building located on Lighthouse Road in New Haven about five miles from the downtown museum. The property has a special importance: The house was burned during a British raid on New Haven in 1779 in the midst of the Revolutionary War. The house was renovated by the Morris family, which then occupied it. It was maintained as one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city and has been a tourist attraction since the 1920s.

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The New Haven Museum is planning a slew of special programs for the Pardee-Morris House this year, including one on July 5. That date marks a whole different anniversary, Tryons Raid in 1779, during which the damage to the house occurred.

We are excited to present all these aspects of New Haven history, Riccio said. She credits the entire staff, including the museums executive director, Margaret Anne Tockarshewsky, and Joanna Steinberg, the museums director and learning and engagement, for the programming for the anniversary year. Weve been talking about this for over a year, Riccio said.

Ivoryton Playhouses 2026 season takes on patriotic theme and features play by Simpsons writer

Another Connecticut museum, the Fairfield University Art Museum, received a grant from the nonprofit Connecticut Humanities for a new art exhibit to honor America 250. For Which It Stands will be on view from Jan. 23 through July 25. Dozens of artists from the last 100 years or so are represented in the show, with all 75 works in the exhibit inspired by the American flag.

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The exhibit will include well-known works by big name artists such as Jasper Johns, Faith Ringgold, Robert Rauschenberg, Julie Mehretu, Eric Fischl and Shepard Fairey on loan from major art museums around the country (and some close at hand, like Yale Art Gallery, the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury and the Westport Public Art Collections). There are also works by contemporary artists, including a new textile sculpture by Maria de Los Angeles that was specially commissioned for the exhibit.

Statewide, the America 250 CT Commission, created in 2022 by Gov. Ned Lamont, was created to inspire grassroots efforts that promote inclusivity and belonging among Connecticuts residents, looking back beyond the last 250 years and ahead toward a shared future, according to the projects website. There are already dozens of events on the schedule. As part of the project, towns and cities across Connecticut are taking part in the celebration. West Hartford is offering multiple events, including a talk at Noah Webster House on Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m. titled Working for the Revolution: Patriot Womens Lives During the War.

Hartford Symphony to play 4th of July concert in Bushnell Park for 250th anniversary of USA

The Ivoryton Playhouse in Essex has given a patriotic theme to its 2026 season, which includes a production of the Broadway musical 1776, running from June 25-July 26.

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The Hartford Symphony Orchestra is also participating in multiple events to celebrate America 250, including a chamber concert at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art on May 17, performing works by American composers. The orchestra is holding its traditional Celebrate America concert at Simsbury Meadows on July 3, and an outdoor concert by the Hartford Symphony Orchestra is part of the 2026 Hartford Bonanza festival in Bushnell Park on July 4.

This is just the start of a banner year in Connecticut marking the birth of the United States.
In a situation similar to what Granby faced this summer, New Milford residents are balking at a proposed 140 megawatt battery energy storage farm less than 2 miles from the center of their town.

Homeowners have created New Milford Guardians Against Flatiron to organize opposition, with many warning that a fire at the lithium battery facility could be a serious hazard to firefighters and neighbors as well as environmentally dangerous for the town.

With two important public meetings on the topic coming in January, local environmentalists two weeks ago launched an online petition drive to stop the project.

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This project plans to bulldoze roughly 10 acres of our precious land to make room for what they call progress  a term that, in this context, seems to equate to environmental degradation, the petition on change.org states.

But Colorado-based Flatiron Energy LLC says it has carefully located the project on a relatively small part of a 102-acre site to avoid environmentally sensitive areas, and  along with the rest of the Battery Energy Storage Systems industry  maintains the technology is safe.

The company also contends that the New Milford facility would go a long way to protecting Connecticuts energy supply against periods when solar or wind generators are not productive.

The facility would help Connecticut in achieving its goals of energy conservation and sustainability. Pending approvals, the project will commence financing, detailed engineering, procurement, and construction efforts in 2026, with commercial operation planned for the entire project in 2028, the company wrote in a draft of a permit application.

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In its simplest form, a battery energy storage farm is designed to take excess energy off the grid during periods of high production and low usage, store it in a massive array of industrial batteries, then return it to the grid at peak usage periods or when extended cloud coverage makes solar farms temporarily unproductive.

The company wants to put in on acreage off Timothy Lane near the West Aspetuck River and about a half mile from the Housatonic.

But a large contingent of residents insists the operation doesnt belong there.

This is a lithium-ion battery farm. Youve all seen a Tesla Model Y on fire? Imagine that x 1000 worse, one person posted on a New Milford-oriented Facebook page. We dont have the water supply nor the fire fighting equipment. Thats not to mention the toxic deadly fumes from burning batteries of this chemistry. It would kill everything downwind of the smoke source.

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Homeowners in Granby raised similar concerns when Key Capture Energy LLC put forward plans for a battery energy storage system on Salmon Brook Road. The company went on to successfully secure state permits; Granby lost a court case to block the project, but First Selectman Mark Fiorentino and Town Manager Mike Walsh led the town in filing a court appeal.

That appeal was pending in November when Key Capture surprised everyone by telling the Connecticut Siting Council it was not moving ahead, Instead, the company surrendered its permit.

Mayor Pete Bass last week posted a notice that Flatiron will host two public information meetings at the Sarah Noble School, one on Jan. 8 and the other on Jan. 21. Both begin at 7 p.m.

The town council is inviting residents to send questions for the company before the council meeting on Jan. 12, when the company will make a presentation.
The Cuban government is in a lot of trouble, the US secretary of state warned following the capture of its communist ally Nicolas Maduro.

Fears are growing in Havana that it could be the Trump administrations next target for regime change.

The Cuban government is a huge problem ... I think they are in a lot of trouble, yes, Marco Rubio told NBC News on Sunday when asked if it would be the next Latin American regime to be toppled after the USs raid on the Venezuelan capital.

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His remarks followed a similar warning on Saturday from president Donald Trump, who warned well be talking about Cuba at the end of a press conference about his invasion of Venezuela.

Those ominous remarks have sent alarm bells ringing in Cuba, where the Communist leadership is now in fear of a wider US military campaign in Latin America.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who has ruled Cuba since 2019, said the capture of Mr Maduro was part of a brutal assault on the Zone of Peace, a bloc of 33 Latin American and Caribbean states.

He also branded the US mission a criminal attack and state terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people and against Our America, urging a response from other world leaders.

Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, said the leadership in Havana should be concerned - Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Created in Havana in 2014, the Zone of Peace declaration was a broad commitment not to intervene in the affairs of other countries and to uphold friendly relations in the Caribbean and Latin American regions.

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While it is not explicitly anti-US, the pact is widely viewed as an attempt to counterbalance Washingtons regional influence. Mr Diaz-Canel has warned it is now under siege.

Cubas Communist Party-controlled media outlets have followed Mr Diaz-Canels lead with Granma, the countrys most widely read news outlet, running a huge image of the Venezuelan national colours on its home page.

The lead article stated that Cuba stands with Venezuela and quoted at length various messages of condemnation from senior Communist politicians in the country.

On the ground, reporters in Havana have spoken of an atmosphere of fear in the capital and a sense of grim inevitability on the issue of an attempted US coup.

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Here in Cuba, people are really rather worried, British journalist Ed Augustin told NBC News. I was at a rally outside the US embassy that was hastily convened by the ruling Communist Party this morning, and I think both the government and an awful lot of Cubans feel threatened.

Addressing fears that Cubas government could be next, he added: Its been widely reported ... that Marco Rubio ... sees this strategy, getting rid of Maduro, as the mechanism by which they can finally overthrow the government in Havana.

Cubans rally in support of Venezuela but are rather worried, according to reports from Havana - Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA

There does indeed seem to be a bigger plan under way in Washington, and one largely driven by Mr Rubio, who is the first US secretary of state with Latin American heritage.

Born to Cuban immigrants who travelled to Miami in 1956 seeking a better life, it is no secret that Mr Rubio wishes to see an end to the Communist regimes in Cuba and Nicaragua.

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On Sunday Mr Rubio said the Cuban government has a huge problem as he refused to rule out any future action against the South American country.

He told NBCs Meet the Press that he would not talk about future policy but said it was not a mystery that were not big fans of the Cuban regime.

What is much less clear is what could happen. US military action is one possibility but another might be a home-grown coup or the toppling of the government by mass protests.

The Cuban economy is in a dire state  with the US the main culprit according to Havana  owing to collapsing public services, a 10 per cent plunge in GDP since 2020, food shortages and a soaring cost of living.

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In 2021, there were large-scale protests against the government and the Communist Party over severe food and medicine shortages during the Covid pandemic. Similar protests followed in 2024, this time linked to power cuts as well as food shortages.

There were also clues as early as November 2025 that the Trump administration would like to become the dominant power in the Western Hemisphere.

In its National Security Strategy paper released that month, the administration vowed to reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere, referring to the policy of James Monroe, the fifth US president, who saw Latin America as part of the US sphere of influence.

The same document says that the Trump administration will protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region, a line that now feels prescient in light of Saturdays helicopter raid on Caracas.

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However, experts say the long-term effects of the attack in Venezuela, and any future intervention in Cuba, extend far beyond Latin America.

The Trump administrations removal of Maduro from power in Venezuela is not simply a message to antagonistic regimes in the hemisphere, like Cuba and Nicaragua, said Alexander B Gray, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a US research institute.

It is a global re-establishment of deterrence that will be seen in Beijing and Moscow as an unambiguous sign of the Trump administrations commitment to a security order compatible with American interests, he said.

The attack on Caracas may also have been designed to humiliate China, which has pumped enormous amounts of investment into both Venezuela and Cuba.

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In Venezuela alone, Beijing has provided about $100bn (75bn) in loans and other forms of financial support, with the states large oil reserves used as collateral.

A report by Reuters over the summer found that China might even supplant Russia as Cubas main benefactor in the near future. In 2025 alone, 55 solar parks in Cuba were underwritten by China, the news agency noted.

Sure enough, it was China leading the condemnation of the attack on Mr Maduro on Sunday, with Beijings foreign ministry demanding his immediate release.

But if Mr Trump is serious about extending his reach across the whole Western Hemisphere  and Saturdays events strongly suggest that he is  then getting Mr Maduro out of a jail cell could soon be the least of Beijings worries..

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Authorities are investigating after two people were found dead inside a residence in Lawrence, Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker and Lawrence Chief of Police Maurice Aguiler confirmed.

The incident occurred on Saturday, just after 9 p.m., when Lawrence police responded to an apartment at 582 Essex Street for a well-being check.

Once on the scene, officers found a 32-year-old male and a 30-year-old female dead from gunshot wounds in what appears to be an apparent murder-suicide.

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An initial investigation suggests that the two individuals had been in a long-term relationship. At this time, their identities are being withheld pending notification of kin.

Members of the Essex County District Attorneys Office State Police Detective Unit, detectives from the Lawrence Police Department, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner are investigating the incident.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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President Donald Trump's calls that Greenland should become part of the United States was met with international condemnation Monday as the autonomous Danish territory's prime minister warned, "That's enough now".

Washington's military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the Arctic.

While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal.

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"We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it," he said in response to a reporter's question.

"We'll worry about Greenland in about two months... let's talk about Greenland in 20 days."

The territory's prime minister issued a clear warning: "That's enough now."

"No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation," Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Facebook.

"We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law."

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Expressing its "solidarity" with Denmark on Monday, France's foreign ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux told television channel TF1 that "borders cannot be changed by force".

-'Disrespectful' -

Trump rattled European leaders by attacking Caracas and grabbing Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who is now being detained in New York.

Trump has said the United States will now "run" Venezuela indefinitely and tap its huge oil reserves.

Asked in a telephone interview with The Atlantic about the implications of the Venezuela military operation for mineral-rich Greenland, Trump said it was up to others to decide.

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"They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don't know," Trump was quoted as saying.

He added: "But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence."

Trump last month claimed Russian and Chinese ships were "all over" the territory's coast.

China's foreign ministry hit back on Monday urging "the US to stop using the so-called China threat as an excuse to seek personal gain."

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on X: "No one decides for Greenland and Denmark but Greenland and Denmark themselves", while his Swedish and Norwegian counterparts put out similar messages of support.

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Former Trump aide Katie Miller, who is also the wife of the president's most influential adviser, also drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colours of the US flag, captioning it "SOON".

Greenland's Nielsen called Miller's post "disrespectful", writing on X that "our country is not for sale, and our future is not decided by social media posts".

Over the weekend, the Danish prime minister also called on Washington to stop "threatening its historical ally".

"It is absolutely absurd to say that the United States should take control of Greenland," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement, also noting that Denmark, "and thus Greenland", was a NATO member protected by the agreement's security guarantees.

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- Allies? -

Stephen Miller is widely seen as the architect of much of Trump's policies, guiding the president on his hardline immigration policies and domestic agenda.

Denmark's ambassador to the United States, Jesper Moeller Soerensen, offered

a pointed "friendly reminder" in response to Katie Miller's post that his country has "significantly boosted its Arctic security efforts" and worked together with Washington on that.

"We are close allies and should continue to work together as such," Soerensen wrote.

Katie Miller was deputy press secretary under Trump at the Department of Homeland Security during his first term.

She later worked as communications director for then-vice president Mike Pence and also acted as his press secretary.

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Since the start of the 14th FiveYear Plan, Anhui has seized on industrial internet platforms as a core focus, guiding enterprises to build and use platforms to solidify a "digital foundation" and stimulate new qualityandefficiency gains through "Internet Plus." In Hefei, every newenergy vehicle liquidcooling pump produced by Xinhu Company is labeled with a QR code. Over 20 items of information  including product specifications and quality records from the production process  are embedded in the code; scanning it allows instant lookup and traceability, a big change from the past. Liu Zhongyong, the company's deputy general manager, said, "Previously these management data forms were all on paper. If a problem occurred, tracing it was very inconvenient." By 2025, the company's output of newenergy vehicle liquidcooling pumps had reached roughly 600,000 units. Through joint development with China Telecom Anhui and leveraging the industrial internet platform's bigdata capabilities, Xinhu achieved online collection of product information, cloud storage, and ondemand retrieval. Addressing users' pain points is where industrial internet platforms exert their strength. Enabling enterprises to migrate to the cloud, use data, and apply intelligence  building industrial internet platforms is a key step. Since the start of the 14th FiveYear Plan, Anhui has placed platform construction prominently at the provincial level; it has mobilized capable and established firms to cultivate a group of industry, regional, and specialtyoriented platforms, insisting on simultaneous construction and application and promoting buildbyuse. The Lingyang Industrial Internet Platform was Anhui's first national crossindustry, crossdomain platform. When it went online in 2021, industrial internet adoption nationwide was still at an early stage and many companies were cautious. The province supported platform development and accelerated datarealeconomy integration by distributing service packages free of charge. Huang Bin, executive dean of the Institute for Chinese Path to Modernization at Minzu University of China, said, "Considering Anhui's stage of development at the time, it was indeed a very forwardlooking move and a particularly valuable experience. Providing many service packages to small and medium enterprises allows them to enter the digital threshold at very low cost, and the generated data contributes to industrywide progress." Starting from customized service packages and now focusing precisely on the energy sector and deeply integrating artificial intelligence, the Lingyang Industrial Internet Platform has released energydomain large models for three consecutive years. In 2025 it also launched two vertical scenario models for equipment operation & maintenance and electricity trading, achieving breakthroughs and standing out through intensive cultivation. Xu Jiajia, president of Lingyang Industrial Internet Co., Ltd., said, "In recent years we have provided digital services to more than 40,000 small and medium manufacturing enterprises, enabling them to stop making decisions based on experience alone and instead make data and intelligencedriven decisions that are most beneficial to their businesses." With highquality platform construction and efficient platform use, Anhui is accelerating the consolidation of a newtype industrialization "digital foundation." By the end of 2025, the province had cultivated 92 key industrial internet platforms: 3 nationallevel crossindustry, crossdomain "dualcross" platforms and 22 nationallevel specialty platforms, ranking fifth nationwide in both counts. Key platforms connected more than 11 million devices and endpoints, hosted over 35,000 industrial models and industrial apps, and served over 500,000 enterprises. The Anhui Industrial Cloud platform utilization rate reached 69.3%, improving the province's national ranking from 4th at the start of the 14th FiveYear Plan to 2nd by its end. The integrated ITindustrialization development index reached 65.7, lifting Anhui's national rank from 15th to 5th over the period.

Source: Anhui News


Marvell Technology's MRVL AI XPU offerings are experiencing massive traction among hyperscalers, AI data centers and high-performance computing workloads. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Marvell Technologys data center segment posted revenues of $1.52 billion, growing 37.8% year over year, led by strong traction in custom XPU silicon products.

Marvell Technology expects its custom silicon business to roughly contribute to one-fourth of its overall data center revenues and grow at least 20% next year. The company recently unveiled 18 XPU and XPU-attach socket design wins, among which many are already in volume production.

These design wins include full custom XPU programs, XPU-attached silicon, electrical I/O chiplets integrated inside multi-die XPU packages and other products, contributing to a pipeline of more than 10% of a $75 billion lifetime revenue funnel. MRVLs custom silicon strategy has evolved from a niche application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) offering into a deeply embedded, multi-year hyperscaler partnership model.

Now, Marvell Technology develops custom ASIC designs for AI, cloud data center and OEM customers using its advanced 5nm and 3nm processes like 112G XSR serializer/de-serializer (SerDes), Long Reach SerDes, PCIe Gen 6 SerDes. These capabilities enable MRVL to stay ahead of its competitors in the custom AI silicon space.

How Competitors Fare Against MRVL

Broadcom AVGO is one of the leading suppliers of custom silicon solutions for data center, service provider and enterprise networking customers. Broadcoms advanced 3.5D XDSiP packaging platform is specifically designed to enhance the performance and efficiency of custom AI XPUs.

Advanced Micro Devices AMD is another player in the custom silicon solutions and AI accelerator space with its semi-custom SoC offerings and Instinct Accelerators that power numerous data centers. Advanced Micro Devices reconfigurable Alveo Adaptable Accelerator Cards are used to speed up compute-intensive applications in data centers.

While Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices are formidable players in the custom silicon space for AI acceleration, Marvell Technologys deep partnership with NVIDIA provides MRVL necessary support to sustain in this space.

MRVL's Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of Marvell Technology have gained 13.1% in the past six months compared with the Electronics - Semiconductors industrys growth of 22.3%.

MRVL 6-Month Performance Chart

Zacks Investment Research



Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, Marvell Technology is trading at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 7.31X, lower than the industrys average of 8.46X.
The loser in Brockton's mayoral recount, Jean Bradley Derenoncourt, urged a judge to order a new election because of alleged voter fraud by his opponent, Mayor-Elect Moises Rodrigues. The lawsuit from Derenoncourt is no surprise. What's new is the explosive evidence.

The Enterprise rounded up the Brockton area's culinary best from 2025. Over the past year, we've conducted regular polls, prompting readers to vote on their favorite restaurants from several categories. Here are the best Brockton-area restaurants of 2025, named by our readers.

A man has filed a $1 million federal lawsuit against the town of Stoughton and the Stoughton Police Department, alleging three of its officers used violent and excessive force by repeatedly tasing him inside his apartment during a 2022 arrest.

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In case you missed it, here are five stories from the past week throughout the Brockton area that resonated with our readers.

Derenoncourt sues, wants new Brockton mayoral election. What he alleges

The loser in Brockton's mayoral recount, Jean Bradley Derenoncourt, urged a judge to order a new election because of alleged voter fraud by his opponent, Mayor-Elect Moises Rodrigues. The lawsuit from Derenoncourt is no surprise. The city councilor at-large had vowed to sue. What's new is the explosive evidence. It includes surveillance video from the polls that, Derenoncourt argues, will prove that supporters of recount winner Rodrigues, including his wife Maria, allegedly instructed voters how to vote.

Darenoncourt sues: Derenoncourt sues, wants new Brockton mayoral election. What he alleges

Brockton mayoral candidate Jean Bradley Derenoncourt, left, confers with attorney Mary LaCivita during a hearing at Brockton Superior Court on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. At right is Michael D'Ortenzio Jr. of the firm that ran the election recount for the city.

Candidates, from left, Jean Bradley Derenoncourt, Luz Villar and Moises Rodrigues take part in a mayoral debate sponsored by Greater Brockton Young Professionals at Venue 727 on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025.

Federal lawsuit alleges violent excessive force by Stoughton police

A man has filed a $1 million federal lawsuit against the town of Stoughton and the Stoughton Police Department, alleging three of its officers used violent and excessive force by repeatedly tasing him inside his apartment during a 2022 arrest. Stoughton resident Derrick Wigfall alleges in the complaint filed Nov. 10 that three Stoughton police officers held him down and tased him three times during a domestic assault arrest in November of 2022, despite claims he was not fighting with or threatening police.

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Federal lawsuit: Federal lawsuit alleges violent excessive force by Stoughton police

Still frame photographs from a home surveillance video capturing the 2022 arrest of Stoughton resident Derrick Wigfall, who filed a federal lawsuit on Nov. 10, 2025, alleging excessive use of force.

The best Brockton-area restaurants of 2025, named by our readers

The Enterprise decided to round up the Brockton area's culinary best from 2025. Over the past year, we've conducted regular polls, prompting readers to vote on their favorite restaurants from several categories. We've asked about hidden gems, ice cream, steak sandwiches and so much more.

The best Brockton-area restaurants 2025: The best Brockton-area restaurants of 2025, named by our readers

Brockton area's food scene in 2025: What we gained and lost in the Brockton area's food scene in 2025

Supreme House of Pizza owner and cook Manny Lambrakis, with his trademark Steak & Cheese on Thursday, May 1, 2025, which once again won the Enterprise's top honors as most popular steak & cheese sandwich.

Police report reveals new details in Stefon Diggs assault allegations

New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs is facing criminal charges of felony strangulation or suffocation, along with misdemeanor assault, over an alleged pay dispute with a private chef, according to court records. The charges stem from an incident in which he allegedly assaulted a private chef over a paycheck dispute at his Dedham residence on Tuesday, Dec. 2, according to the criminal complaint filed Monday, Dec. 29, in Dedham, Massachusetts, District Court.

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Police report reveals new details: Police report reveals new details in Stefon Diggs assault allegations

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 21: Stefon Diggs #8 of the New England Patriots reacts during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on December 21, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

Heights Crossing celebrates Mal Buckley's 100th birthday

Heights Crossing Assisted Living in Brockton celebrated Marilyn Mal Buckleys 100th birthday with live music performed by friends at the assisted living community.

Mal Buckley's 100th birthday celebration Heights Crossing celebrates Mal Buckley's 100th birthday

Marilyn Buckley, a resident of Heights Crossing in Brockton, recently celebrated her 100th birthday.

Buckley, a lifelong Brockton resident, was joined by 45 immediate family members and fellow residents at the assisted living community, according to a community announcement. Buckley is a mother of five and grandmother to 13. She worked for New England Telephone and Telegraph Co., locally known as New England Tel & Tel, and the Brockton Public Schools.

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Staff writer Kathy Bossa can be reached by email at kbossa@enterprisenews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Top stories last week: Derenoncourt sues, Stefon Diggs police report
Leaders around the world have responded with a mix of condemnation and support to the US capture of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.

Following a large-scale strike on Venezuela on Saturday, Maduro and his wife were captured by US forces and removed from the country. The pair have been indicted on drug charges in New York.

In an initial response, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government would "shed no tears" for the end of Maduro's regime.

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Neighbouring Latin American countries condemned the actions, as did Venezuela's long-term allies, Russia and China. China said it was "deeply shocked and strongly condemns" the use of force against a sovereign country and its president.

Russia accused the US of committing "an act of armed aggression".

Iran, which is locked in its own dispute with Trump over his promise of intervention in its country, called the strikes a "flagrant violation of the country's national sovereignty".

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Trump said the US will "run" Venezuela "until we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition".

Many Latin American leaders condemned the US actions.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva wrote on X that the actions "cross an unacceptable line", adding that "attacking countries in flagrant violation of international law is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos, and instability".

Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the strikes an "assault on the sovereignty" of Latin America, while Chile's President Gabriel Boric expressed "concern and condemnation" and called for "a peaceful solution to the serious crisis affecting the country".

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Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel accused the US of a "criminal attack", while Uruguay said in an official statement that it was monitoring developments "with attention and serious concern" and "rejects, as it always has, military intervention".

Trump has indicated that Cuba could become part of a broader US policy in the region, calling it a failing nation. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba was a disaster run by incompetent leaders who supported Maduro's administration and that the government in Havana should be concerned.

The Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello urged citizens to remain calm and to trust the country's leadership and military, saying "the world needs to speak out about this attack" according to news agency Reuters.

But Argentinian President Javier Milei  who Trump has described as his "favourite president"  wrote "freedom moves forward" and "long live freedom" on social media.

Government supporters hold posters of the late Hugo Chavez (left) and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro [Getty Images]

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer refused to be drawn into whether or not the military action may have broken international law.

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He did not condemn the US strikes in an interview with the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme on Saturday morning

He said he was waiting to establish all the facts but would not "shy away from this", adding he was a "lifelong advocate of international law".

The UK was not involved in the strikes and Sir Keir said he had not spoken to Trump about the operation.

Later on Saturday, he posted on X that the UK "regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime".

"The UK government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people," he added.

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The EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas reiterated the bloc's position that Maduro lacks legitimacy, that there should be a peaceful transition of power, and that the principles of international law must be respected.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the transition of power "must be peaceful, democratic, and respectful of the will of the Venezuelan people" in a post on X.

He added he hoped Gonzalez - the opposition's 2024 presidential candidate - could ensure the transition.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the legality of the US operation was "complex" and international law in general must apply.

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He warned that "political instability must not be allowed to arise in Venezuela".

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected", his spokesperson said. He was "deeply alarmed" by the strikes, which set a "dangerous precedent".

In the US, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said: "Let me be clear, Maduro is an illegitimate dictator, but launching military action without congressional authorisation, without a federal plan for what comes next, is reckless."

Elsewhere, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, a staunch US ally, congratulated Trump on his "bold and historic leadership on behalf of freedom and justice".

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Canada's Foreign Minister Anita Anand said "Canada calls on all parties to respect international law and we stand by the people of Venezuela and their desire to live in a peaceful and democratic society". Canada was engaging with international partners, she said.

Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said "international law is universal and binding for all states.

"The American intervention in Venezuela is not in accordance with international law."

More on this story
Donald Trump has again proposed annexing Greenland, after Denmark's leader urged him to "stop the threats" over the island.

Speaking to reporters, the US president said "we need Greenland from the standpoint of national security".

Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect of the semi-autonomous Danish territory becoming an annexed part of the US, citing its strategic location for defence purposes and mineral wealth.

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Greenland's Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen responded by saying "that's enough now" and described the notion of US control over the island as a "fantasy".

He said: "No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation. We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law."

Earlier, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had said "the US has no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom".

Frederiksen added that Denmark "and thus Greenland" was a Nato member and covered by the alliance's security guarantee, and said a defence agreement granting the US access to the island was already in place.

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The Danish prime minister released her statement after Katie Miller - the wife of one of Trump's senior aides, Stephen Miller - posted on social media a map of Greenland in the colours of the American flag alongside the word "SOON".

The Danish ambassador to the US responded to the post by Miller - a right-wing podcaster and former aide to Trump during his first term - with a "friendly reminder" that the two countries were allies and saying Denmark expected respect for its territorial integrity.

[BBC]

The back and forth over the future Greenland comes in the wake of a major military operation against Venezuela on Saturday, seizing its president Nicolas Maduro and his wife and removing them to New York.

Trump later said the US would "run" Venezuela and US oil companies would "start making money for the country".

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The situation has reignited fears that the US may consider using force to secure control of Greenland, a vast island in the Arctic - something the US president has previously refused to rule out.

Trump has claimed that making it part of the United States would serve American security interests due to its strategic location and its abundance of minerals critical to high-tech sectors.

The Trump administration's recent move to appoint a special envoy to Greenland prompted anger in Denmark.

Greenland, which has a population of 57,000 people, has had extensive self-government since 1979, though defence and foreign policy remain in Danish hands.

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While most Greenlanders favour eventual independence from Denmark, opinion polls show overwhelming opposition to becoming part of the US.

In comments to the BBC, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that only Denmark and Greenland could decide the territory's fate.

"Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark must decide the future of Greenland, and only Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark," he said.

Separately, a representative for the European Union has rejected a claim by Trump that the EU "needs" the US to control the territory.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One at the weekend that "the EU needs us to have [Greenland] and they know that."

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European Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho told the BBC that it was "certainly not" the EU's position, adding that she was unaware of any discussions with the US about the issue.

More on this story

[BBC]

Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.
President Donald Trump left open the possibility of deploying U.S. ground troops in Venezuela as he vowed to rebuild the countrys oil infrastructure.

While the military pulled off a stunning feat by extracting dictator Nicolas Maduro without any loss of American lives and only taking minimal damage to aircraft, maintaining order in Venezuela is a different story.

When pressed on the potential role of U.S. forces going forward and whether there will be boots on the ground in Venezuela, Trump didnt shy away from it.

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Were not afraid of boots on the ground, he told reporters at a briefing on Saturday. Were not afraid of it. We dont mind saying it, and were gonna make sure that that country is run properly. Were not doing this in vain.

It remains to be seen whether the U.S. will seek full regime change as key figures in Maduros government remain in power, and Trump claimed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez is willing to so what Washington wants.

But the U.S. record after toppling oppressive leaders is mixed, retired Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton pointed out. Success in Germany and Japan after World War II contrasts with prolonged counterinsurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan in the last two decades.

The risk with Venezuela is that it could be a hostile environment as well, and that could put U.S. forces in great danger, he told CNN.

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In that a scenario, the Venezuelan military has had plans for years that indicate it would engage in guerrilla warfare, Leighton added.

An insurgency could involve Venezuelan forces melting back into the hills or hiding in city slums while attacking U.S. troops.

So these are the kinds of things that we definitely would have to be prepared for and could very well become a force protection nightmare if its not handled carefully and if the governance isnt put in place to really in essence make for that to happen, he warned.

Military personnel are seen as many residents are seen leaving their homes located within the Military Complex of Fuerte Tiuna in Caracas, Venezuela on January 3, 2026.

The remaining leaders of the Maduro regime were defiant. Rodriguez demanded his return, calling the U.S. raid an atrocity that violates international law.

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Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello urged Venezuelans to trust in the political leadership and military and get out on the streets to defend the country.

These rats attacked and they will regret what they did, he said, referring to the U.S.

And Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez said Venezuela will resist the presence of foreign troops, adding They have attacked us but will not break us.

Trump said Saturday that U.S. oil companies will rebuild Venezuelas energy infrastructure and spend billions of dollars that will eventually be recouped with export revenue.

If theres an insurgency, U.S. troops or security contractors would presumably be called on to protect company employees and assets.

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That would likely require a much larger military presence than there is right now. Ahead of Maduros capture, the Pentagon said there were about 15,000 troops in the Caribbean last month. By comparison, hundreds of thousands of troops were in Iraq and Afghanistan during those wars.

For now, U.S. forces remain in the region at a high state of readiness, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told reporters.

The American armada remains poised in position, and the United States retains all military options until the United States demands have been fully met and fully satisfied, Trump said. All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to Maduro can happen to them.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com




One of California's largest suppliers of drinking water in neighboring Nevada was at a troublingly low level yet again at the end of 2025.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation shows that the water elevation at Lake Mead's Hoover Dam was 1,062.24 feet at the end of December. That's the lowest it's been during this time of the year since 2022, when it was 1,044.82 feet. Before that, levels were the lowest in 1936, when the region experienced a severe drought.

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Lake Mead stored 8.59 million acre-feet of water on Dec. 31, according to USBR data. The lake can store about 26 million acre-feet of water, meaning it was only about 33% full at the end of the year.

The lake supplies water to millions of people in California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. In August, declining water levels caused officials to reduce its allotments of water in Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. USBR referred to the conditions shaping the lake's water levels as a time of "unprecedented drought."

Water levels at Hoover Dam stayed below 1,070 feet for the entirety of 2025. Levels were at their highest in February, at 1,068.18 feet, and at their lowest in July, at 1,054.14 feet. Water levels were at 1,063.29 feet at the end of December 2024.

"Currently, the water-in-storage situation for the Colorado River system is not good," Sharon Megdal, director of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center, told Newsweek earlier this week. "[There is] less is in storage than last year, and current snow conditions are not good. Even if early 2026 snowpack is robust, the system will remain highly stressed. The region is faced with difficult choices regarding Colorado River water deliveries and dam operations, including those related [to] hydropower generation."

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The agreements that dictate how water is distributed from Lake Mead and the Colorado River are set to expire at the end of this year, and new plans for water allotment operations have been at the center of negotiations between agencies like USBR and the states that depend on the river for their supply of water.

"We have to ensure that every part of the Basin takes responsibility for protecting the river's future. There is no justification for inaction - or especially growing demands - in the face of the challenges we see today and know the Colorado River will face in the decades ahead," JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California, previously told SFGATE.

This story has been updated.

More National Parks

- Trump's face on new national park passes outrages conservationists

- Yellowstone visitors stunned as man seemingly provokes wolf pack

- Reconsider travel to Glacier National Park, travel experts say

- New wolf pack found in California as numbers continue to rise

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We love national parks just as much as you do, so we have a newsletter that covers them from top to bottom. Sign up here.

This article originally published at America's largest reservoir remains in peril.
DOVER  Serum Bryan, 35, of Dover was arrested on multiple charges stemming from a disturbance at the Fuego bar at 368 Central Ave., according to Police Chief David Terlemezian.

On Jan. 4, at approximately 1:05 a.m., Dover police responded to Fuego bar for an incident allegedly involving a man armed with a knife and pepper spray, according to a police press release.

Officers were told Bryan, who lives in an apartment located above the bar, entered the establishment and complained about the noise, police said in the release. Bryan left, but returned a short time later and became confrontational with staff and patrons outside. Bryan reportedly brandished both a can of pepper spray and a knife while threatening to stab someone, police allege.. Police say Bryan then sprayed a bouncer and at least one patron with pepper spray. Officers took him into custody without incident, according to police.

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Bryan was charged with felony level criminal threatening, simple assault, and disorderly conduct. He was released on personal recognizance bail pending arraignment at the 7th Circuit Court  District Division - Dover, on Jan. 26.

Anyone with additional information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Dover Police Department at 603-742-4646.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Dover man arrested following confrontation at Fuego bar
President Donald Trump has unveiled his overarching goal in removing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro: to assert American dominance of the Western Hemisphere with a new foreign policy: the Donroe Doctrine.

Speaking after Maduro was captured in the dead of the night in a stunning military strike, Trump revealed that the U.S. would now run Venezuela, seize its oil, and may soon take aim at the failing nation of Cuba.

President Donald Trump speaks to the press following US military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 3, 2026. / Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

But as critics hit out at the extraordinary intervention, the president said it was rooted in the Monroe Doctrine: a two-century old policy of U.S. leadership in the Western Hemisphere, which Trump has now rebranded in his own name.

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The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but weve superseded it by a lot. By a real lot. They now call it the Donroe Doctrine, he said of the original 1823 doctrine named after President James Monroe.

American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again, Trump added.

Maduros capture was the culmination of an extensive campaign to oust the authoritarian, who the U.S. has long argued was an illegitimate leader running a narco-state.

The administration has been ramping up the pressure on Venezuela for months, assembling a massive military presence in the Caribbean, intercepting two Venezuelan oil tankers and killing dozens of people in legally dubious strikes on alleged drug boats.

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But after repeatedly claiming the pressure campaign was primarily about stopping the spread of illegal drugs, Trump has finally made his true motivations clear.

In a rambling speech from his Mar-a-Lago estate, the president said the U.S. would take over Venezuela pending a proper transition of power. / Joe Raedle / Getty Images

In a rambling and at times incoherent address from his Mar-a-Lago estate, the president revealed the U.S. would take over Venezuela until a proper transition of power could be arranged, raising the prospect of an open-ended commitment.

Declaring that he was going to Make Venezuela Great Again, he said the countrys vast oil reserves would also be seized, with U.S. oil companies expected to spend billions of dollars to fix the nations oil infrastructure and start making money for the country.

As for using troops, he said, We are not afraid of boots on the ground.

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And he also warned that Cubaan ally of Venezuelacould be next. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban migrants, spoke after Trump to say that the country was a disaster, run by incompetent and senile people. Trump, 79, has repeatedly taken tests for his cognitive state, which he claims he has aced.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses a press conference as President Trump stood to his side with his eyes closed, at Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Florida. / Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Cuba is not doing very well right now, Trump said. That system has not been a very good one for Cuba. The people there have suffered for many, many years. And I think Cuba is going to be something well end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now, a very badly failing nation.

The details of what happened in Caracas will therefore be seen across Latin America as a lens into the Donroe doctrineand a demonstration of the overwhelming military might commanded by the man the doctrine is named for.

Maduro was captured in what Trump described as a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas.

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The lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have, he noted.

Fire is seen at Venezuela's largest military complex after the U.S. launched a military attack on the country. / STR/AFP via Getty Images

Air Force General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces had rehearsed their maneuvers for months, learning everything about the Venezuelan leader, including what he ate, details of pets, and the kind of clothes he wore.

The raid lasted about 30 minutes, and while no U.S. troops were killed, some were injured and an American helicopter was hit in the attack.

But Trump, who did not get Congressional authorization for the strike, has framed the intervention as both a national security measure and an economic opportunity.

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Flanked by Rubio, Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump invoked the Monroe Doctrine, which declared that the Western Hemisphere was closed to further European colonization and warned outside powers against interference in the Americas.

Trumps version of the doctrine was first flagged in a National Security Strategy released last year, which outlines Trumps vision for the global order and claimed the right to dominate Latin America.

In it, America asserts dominance over its hemisphere, refocuses on competing with China and deprioritizes engagement with other parts of the globe, such as Africa.

Ive served on the Homeland Security Committee for the past three years. Im 100% for strong safe secure borders and stopping narco terrorists and cartels from trafficking deadly drugs and human trafficking into America.



Fentanyl is responsible for over 70% of U.S. drug  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) January 3, 2026

But the raid has already sparked a backlash from parts of Trumps MAGA base, including former ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said this is not what they voted for.

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Fellow Republican Brian Fitzpatrick said in a statement that while Maduro was a narco-terrorist dictator who terrorized his people, the only country that the United States of America should be running is the United States of America.

The United States should join the international community in monitoring and overseeing a free and fair election in Venezuela, allowing the Venezuelan people a pathway to a true democracy, the Pennsylvania representative said.

Venezuelas Vice President Delcy Rodriguez accused the U.S. of invading her country under false pretenses. / FEDERICO PARRA / AFP via Getty Images

Countries such as China, Russia, Colombia and Mexico have also lashed out, while Delcy Rodriguez, who had been Maduros vice president, accused the U.S of invading her country under false pretenses, only hours after Trump claimed she had spoken to Rubio and said she would do whatever he wanted.

There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolas Maduro Moros, she said.

It was the first explicit challenge to the Donroe doctrine: It may not be the last.
In a crowded courtroom, El Paso victims' families gathered to give testimony in the names of their loved ones killed in the Walmart mass shooting  closing a nearly six-year open wound.

At a time when public controversy is marked by calls for revenge, vengeance and retaliation, these El Paso families chose compassion and forgiveness.

Yolanda Tinajero stunned the audience during the sentencing hearing with a hug. She wrapped her arms around the mass shooter in a brief embrace.

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"I felt peace," she said. "I felt like I wanted him to feel what I was feeling. I wanted to do with my embrace for him to feel healing, as well as myself."

More: Hispanic community in El Paso that Walmart mass shooter targeted ultimately saved his life

Adriana Zandri, whose husband, Ivan Filiberto Manzano, was killed in the attack, asked to hug the gunman, too. The women's actions were part of the families' willingness to allow mercy to replace angry calls for the gunman to be punished by death.

For their strength, love and courage shown, the survivors and the deceased family members are the El Paso Times' Newsmakers of the Year 2025.

The hug

Tinajero told the El Paso Times that the idea of hugging the gunman was offered as a rhetorical suggestion in her victim impact statement.

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She told the courtroom: "In my heart, I want to hug you very tight so you could feel my forgiveness, especially my loss. But I know it's not allowed. I want you to see and feel all of us who have been impacted by your actions that have brought us all closer with God's love, which shows you that this great city of El Paso is a very forgiving place."

District Court Judge Sam Medrano asked her if she really wanted to hug him. She said what came next came naturally.

"I automatically felt to do so," Tinajero said. "There was no hesitation on my part. I automatically felt it."

The embrace lasted only a minute or so, but left the courtroom in tears.

Adriana Zandri hugs the mass shooter at the end of victim statements at the Enrique Moreno Courthouse on April 22, 2025. Zandri asked permission from the court to hug the defendant to help her healing process. The mass shooter was then led out of the courtroom.

More: Sister of Walmart mass shooting victim hugs gunman in court, offers him forgiveness

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Tinajero declined to talk about what was said between her and the gunman during the hug.

"I'll be honest with you, when we both were eye to eye, he went forward to hear what I had to say," she said. "I know other people said that he had no reaction, but in talking with him, he did nod to me and he did say, 'yes.' That's all I'm going to say about that part."

Tinajero is the sister of Arturo Benavides, a decorated U.S. Army veteran and retired Sun Metro employee, who was killed in the Aug. 3, 2019, mass shooting at the Cielo Vista area Walmart that left 23 dead and dozens more injured. The gunman, who targeted Hispanics in the shooting, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison in April, avoiding the death penalty.

Melissa Tinajero speaks to news reporters at the El Paso County courthouse after her mother, Yolanda Tinajero, hugged the El Paso Walmart mass shooter in an act of forgiveness during victim impact statements on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

The embrace was met with mixed feelings in the community, most praising Tinajero's courage and act of forgiveness. Others couldn't understand how she could hug the gunman  even in her own family.

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"When it all happened, I think everyone in the courtroom was shocked, including him," said Melissa Tinajero, Yolanda Tinajero's daughter. "He was like, 'what's happening?' I saw him look at his attorneys, like 'what is about to happen?' I don't know if it was shock, fear or what on his part.

"I was glad that he received my mother. I was glad about that. Even though I never would've done that personally, but for her, I was happy for her to have that moment. Everyone deals with pain differently. There is no right way. But for my mother, it gave her what she needed to move forward."

'Who we are' as a community

Medrano started the plea hearing by addressing the gunman. The judge emphasized that the attack only strengthened El Paso as a binational community with a history of caring for others.

"You did not divide this city," Medrano said. "You strengthened it. You did not silence its voice. You made it louder. You did not instill fear. You inspired unity. El Paso rose stronger and braver."

El Paso city Rep. Henry Rivera, of District 7, talks with Yolanda Tinajero, sister of Walmart shooting victim Arturo Benavides, and Benavides' great-nieces Katelyn Armendariz, 14, center, and Meghan Armendariz, 16, as they discuss plans for the memorial. Tinajero said she didn't want to attend the arraignment Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019.

Unknown to Medrano at the time, his words were the perfect summation of what was to come over the next few days, after dozens of survivors and victims' family members gave victim impact statements.

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On break from the holidays, Medrano reflected last week on how the families helped end the case, which could have continued for nearly a decade with the death penalty still under legal consideration.

"My words were not prophetic," Medrano said. "They were the common theme of what I saw from our community. And it was what the victims' testimony ended up being. It made me proud that I was truly an El Pasoan. What I was feeling, they were feeling."

More: Sentenced to life: Judge tells Walmart mass shooter he 'brought hate - your mission failed'

The hugs almost never happened.

"I still didn't know which way the community was feeling about it being resolved or whether they were going to be angry," Medrano said. "So I assumed that the victim impact statements were going to be contentious. I had as many bailiffs inside the courtroom as we had security outside the courtroom."

Judge Sam Medrano in the 409th district speaks during the second day of a court hearing regarding misconduct allegations in the Walmart shooting case on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in El Paso, Texas.

With the fears of emotions leading to yelling, cussing or even violence, Medrano was surprised by what he found from the victims in his courtroom.

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"Forgiveness," Medrano said. "That was surprising to me, not because that's not who our community is, but because of the horrific thing that this community had to deal with for five years, almost six years. I was surprised that a majority of the victims who spoke had forgiveness in their hearts, and they ended up epitomizing this community, who we are and why we love this community."

He had never seen anything like this in his more than 20 years as a judge.

Medrano was overcome with emotions.

"I didn't see it," he said.

"I looked away because I knew the enormity of what was about to happen. I turned to the wall behind me and I broke down. I did. I started crying because as I saw her walking across from the witness chair and going in that direction, I knew that she was going to feel peace. I was hoping that that would be an example that stood out for the rest of us on how to move forward."

'Justice delayed is justice denied'

Just days into his tenure as district attorney, James Montoya had to make one of the most difficult decisions in the highest-profile criminal case in El Paso modern history. Montoya was the fourth district attorney to oversee the case after the previous DAs were accused of mishandling it, leaving families, survivors and the El Paso community pleading for answers.

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"I totally sympathize (with the families)," Montoya said. "Justice delayed is justice denied."

Unlike previous DAs who held group meetings with the victims' families and survivors, Montoya met one-on-one with each family, laying out what would be the timeline if the community continued to seek the death penalty.

District Attorney James Montoya speaks to the media at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse on Monday, April 21, 2025, following a state court hearing where the Walmart mass shooter pleaded guilty.

Issues such as appeals over evidence, trying to get a jury in El Paso, and likely having to try the case in another city, would add years of delays. A potential trial could be pushed back until at least 2028, Montoya said.

"(We were) just candid with them about what the timeframe looked like for getting the case to trial," Montoya said. "Once we laid it out there and asked them what they wanted out of the process and what they wanted to see happen, it became very clear that a strong majority of them wanted the case resolved as quickly as possible."

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Montoya is hopeful the way the case ended brought peace to the El Paso community.

"It was very, very powerful," Montoya said. "I've had a lot of trials, a lot of murder cases and sat through many victim impact statements, but obviously hearing from so many families over three days was something that's never happened before.

"It was a wide range and spectrum of emotion  I've never seen anything like that before. It was truly unexpected."

More: The 2019 El Paso Walmart shooter pleads guilty in court today: Recap of hearing

The families will never have to step inside a courtroom again for this case.

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"They've been hurting for a long time," Montoya said. I know they're going to continue to hurt. Nothing that we do can bring the 23 that were taken from us, taken from them, taken from the community.

Call to end gun violence, anti-Hispanic rhetoric

There were different feelings about the death penalty, but victims' family members said they refused to let hate consume them as it did to the gunman.

Melissa Tinajero still holds her uncle deep in her heart. She says she misses him every day.

The Tinajero family believes their loved one would be proud of their acts of forgiveness.

"I feel like a lot of people in this world, especially in El Paso, have compassionate hearts," Yolanda Tinajero said. "Even if something's been done against you, whether it's big or small, I think there's a lot of people who do forgive and live their life that way. There's a lot of people who don't. But I wasn't surprised for the ones who chose to forgive.

"When you don't forgive, how can you live? You're carrying something that hurts you for so long. Why drag it? My brother is at peace, God rest his soul."

Rosaries hang from a light over a plaque at the Healing Garden at Ascarate Park in El Paso, Texas, was quiet on Monday, April 21, 2025, following the sentencing of the Walmart mass shooter.

Meghan Juarez, who father, Luis Alfonzo Juarez, was killed in the shooting and her mother, Martha Juarez, was severely injured, has moved on with life. She remains focused on her parents.

As she looks forward, she wants President Donald Trump and other politicians to step up and address mass shootings.

"I really don't think much about him," Juarez said. "I think it's a larger issue. We have a bigger issue and I wish that more people would talk about it. I really do."

More: Walmart shooting memorial: Arguments amid the mourning as Trump Visits El Paso

Juarez took the stand during victim impact statements and told the gunman he was a white supremacist who came to kill hardworking Hispanics.

"I said in my statement, he's just another one of those young white men who are homegrown terrorists," Juarez said. "That's what they are because he's not an immigrant. He's a homegrown white guy who felt like he deserved something that had been taken away from him. That we immigrants or whoever were taking something away from him."

Police interview witnesses to the shooting at the Walmart near Cielo Vista Mall on Aug. 3, 2019.

During a phone interview, she said listening to other families speak at the hearing was "empowering, but I don't know how impactful it is when we're not doing anything to do anything about gun control."

She is left worrying that these types of mass shootings will continue to harm communities in the U.S.

"It's going to happen more if we allow politicians to use divisive language that dehumanizes people," Juarez said. "My message is get involved, because unless you do something, nothing is going to change.

"What happened in El Paso should never have happened and we should never let it happen anywhere else."

Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Newsmakers of the Year: Walmart shooting families show El Paso spirit
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Police began pursuing a vehicle in Southwest Memphis that crashed into several vehicles in Southaven, Mississippi and ended with four suspects in police custody on Sunday.

Memphis police say they responded to a shots fired call in the area of Percy and Delta Rds. around 3:40 p.m. Officers located the suspects vehicle at Holmes Rd, but then lost sight of it, according to police.

Police say a broadcast was issued to neighboring agencies, when Southaven police located the vehicle. Southaven police officials say the suspects vehicle was involved in a crash with multiple vehicles at the intersection of Stateline Rd. W and Hwy 51.

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The large crash could be seen on the Mississippi Department of Transportation cameras around 4 p.m. After a brief foot chase, four suspects were taken into custody, according to Southaven officials.

Southaven police say one minor injury was reported from the vehicles involved in the crash.

WREG viewer  Timothy Thomas WREG viewer  Timothy Thomas WREG viewer  Timothy Thomas

WREG spoke with an eyewitness who captured part of the pursuit on his cellphone.

That car hit and it hit so hard, youd be surprised that someone got out of the car. The guy got out of the car and started running. Im talking about as soon as he got out of the car, he started running, explained Colandus Lando Hill. Southaven police werent even out of the car yet. Southaven police pulled up right there, jumped out, and instantly got him.

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Hill, owner of LTG Customs print shop on Stateline Rd., speaking on the high speed chase that he watched unfold Sunday afternoon as he says Southaven PD were chasing a black Hyundai.

It was probably like five or six cars in the area already on it, but it the next ten minutes, the whole intersection was blocked off, Hill explained. The ambulance was there, the fire department was there, all of them were there, they all responded very fast.

Colandus also provided WREG with video after the crash, as one man could be seen running to the corner of the block as a Southaven PD vehicle was hot on the mans tail.

I couldnt see exactly what happened when he got him, I just knew he went that way, Hill said. I couldnt see no more, next thing you know were seeing him with handcuffs on.

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Hill says he feels safe in his city knowing Southaven PD are on the job.

Im not worried. I looked at it and said Southaven police on the scene, what I gotta be scared for? Those guys like superheroes, he said.

The suspects will face multiple felony charges from Memphis police, as well as charges from Southaven police consisting of fugitive from justice, narcotic-related charges, and traffic charges.

Southaven police have the following four suspects in custody:

Joshua Sanford- 18

Miracle Wells -18

Darnell Barbee- 24

Herman Powell- 20

The suspects will be booked into the DeSoto Co. Jail. Once a bond is set and made, they will be extradited to Shelby County.

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Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
On a recent Friday in late November, Eric Hauge spotted a wave of new eviction filings across Minnesota, many but not all of them related to public housing authorities in the Twin Cities.

We saw 246 cases filed in a single day, said Hauge, co-executive director of HOME Line, which tracks court-based eviction filings statewide and provides free legal advice for renters. We havent seen anything like that since before the pandemic.

Of those filings, 74 traced back to the St. Paul Public Housing Agency, and some were for as little as $300 in unpaid rent. Hauge called that startling, given that court filing fees alone cost just as much. Across the river, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority had as of Dec. 1 executed more than 100 evictions for the year, more than double the total from 2024.

Related: Crackdown on social service providers leaves some without housing assistance

As a federal housing authority, we are prohibited from waiving old back rent, explained Drew Halunen, a spokesperson for Minneapolis Public Housing, in an interview.

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While MPHA has created an internal team to help direct tenants to rent assistance, the state has sunset a major rent-help program and Hennepin County has tightened eligibility and individual spending limits on others, even as it has put more money toward emergency rent relief.

Record level

For St. Paul Public Housing, most eviction filings do not result in an actual eviction, noted Sean Whatley, general counsel for the agency. In terms of actual writs of removal, were on track this year to be at or less than we were last year, he said.

Thats still a large number for actual evictions. Organizations that monitor residential eviction filings say they expect 2025 may set or approach statewide records, with most of the court filings stemming from both public and private housing providers throughout the Twin Cities, the center of the states rental housing stock.

We continue to hear from the court that filings are at a record level, and our case numbers certainly reflect that, as well, said Heather Mendiola, lead housing attorney for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, a legal aid nonprofit based in St. Paul.

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Hauge and others in the industry say the economy likely plays the largest role in the uptick, as rent increases continue to outpace income gains. With federal pandemic relief aid expended by early 2023, some public housing agencies turned to county programs for assistance in helping them offer rent relief to vulnerable tenants, but thats gotten harder to do as demand climbs and counties face their own financial stresses.

On top of that, Hauge said landlords that owned property during the pandemic seem to file more often and perhaps quicker than before, with some expressing a lack of trust toward tenants after negative experiences. More attorneys appear to be treating evictions as a business opportunity, and technology plays a role, as online hearings make it possible for lawyers to handle different cases in multiple counties on the same date.

State cuts to social service providers may factor in, as well, following recent federal fraud investigations into Minnesotas Medicaid-backed services. Another possible explanation: a growing percentage of corporate or out-of-state landlords with no personal connection to their tenants have fewer qualms about proceeding to eviction.

Its a tough thing to track and share a coherent story with confidence, said Will Lehman, Hennepin Countys area manager for homelessness prevention, but certainly its related to economics  90% of eviction filings are due to non-payment of rent.

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Taking a different tack, Cecil Smith, president and chief executive officer of the Minnesota Multi Housing Association, which represents apartment owners, noted that an uptick in filings doesnt necessarily translate to a major increase in evictions, and that the numbers need more analysis.

Vacancies are relatively high compared to previous years, so if anything, he said, landlords have a financial disincentive to remove tenants and increase turnover.

For filings, the numbers are higher, Smith acknowledged. Its been that way ever since the eviction moratorium ended. They went to a new base level. The eviction moratorium changed things  it changed renter behavior.  People got used to not paying rent and the government stepping in and filling the gap.

I had exhausted all the resources

Employee turnover also could play a role. Tenants at St. Paul Public Housings Valley Hi-Rise on University Avenue in downtown St. Paul are expected to pay about 30% of their income toward monthly rents. For seven months while she was out of work, Ivy Ana reported her income as zero, but the rent bills kept coming. So did the public housing authoritys eviction notices, which she successfully fought in court three times.

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They were charging me $600 or $700 per month. I was applying to different programs, but I had exhausted all the resources, said Ana, who found work in 2025 as a paraprofessional at a charter school.

Its been a hassle with St. Paul Public Housing, she said. Ive done everything they asked me to do. They asked to report a job starting or stopping within 10 days. Ive done that, but they have such a high turnover of property managers.  You had almost 12 months of paper trail of me providing the documentation they asked for.

Her latest court appearances took up every Thursday in October and November through Nov. 21, exhausting her paid time off at work, but Ana said the case ended in her favor, with the housing agency owing her money and the legal filings expunged.

When we work with a client, we do our best to incorporate into the settlement record an expungement, and end the case with that record no longer being public, Mendiola explained.

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Her situation is not unique. Hauge said that prior to 2020, Minnesota averaged about 15,000 eviction filings annually. State and federal eviction moratoriums instituted during the pandemic had fully expired by mid-2022, when cases began to climb toward new records, and not in a good way.

This year, were above 23,000 cases, said Hauge, toward the end of November. Weve never seen that many eviction filings before.  Prior to the pandemic, we averaged about 15,000 cases per year. Were well over 30% greater.

Another data source, Princeton University-based Eviction Lab, cites slightly lower numbers, in the vicinity of 21,000 statewide filings as of Dec. 1, but Hauge points out that Eviction Lab uses a court-based data file that does not include cases that have been expunged.

Tenant protections

HOME Line advises more than 20,000 renters annually over the phone or by email on any kind of question related to disputes between tenants and landlords. During the pandemic, renters began inquiring about financial assistance in record numbers, leaving his agency at a loss for how to best respond.

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That is not really a legal question. Were not really set up for that, Hauge said. This year, were over 1,100 requests, probably a 40% increase in clients asking about financial assistance, and thats not really our role. I wish we did have emergency assistance to hand out.

The state, as well as individual cities and counties, has instituted a handful of changes aimed at helping renters. Among them, said Hauge, Minnesota last year finally caught up to most other states in requiring a pre-eviction notice, forcing landlords to inform tenants 14 days before they open an eviction court file. The notice includes referrals to potential rent help.

Its meant to provide an expedited procedure for the tenant to secure funds, but theres just not enough emergency rental assistance out there, he said. Still, the advance notice could help a tenant avoid wracking up a legal history, which can make finding another apartment difficult. They can just vacate if they dont want that on their record.

Minneapolis and St. Louis Park have expanded the 14-day notice to 30 days, and St. Pauls 30-day requirement will take effect May 14, alongside a series of additional citywide tenant protections, including new rules around security deposits and screening criteria. In addition, St. Paul recently launched a $1 million effort to provide landlords with up to $2,500 in one-time grants to cancel out evictions in progress.

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St. Pauls Emergency Rental Assistance and Eviction Prevention Program, which opened Nov. 12, has received 520 applications as of mid-December, and the citys Planning and Economic Development Housing Team receives, on average, 56 phone calls and 78 emails daily about the program, said City Council Member Cheniqua Johnson, who was instrumental in launching the effort.

Johnson, whose East Side district is generally the epicenter of evictions in St. Paul, said the average request for assistance for individuals who have court dates scheduled is more than $4,200, which far exceeds the $2,500 aid cap. For those without court dates, the average request is about $2,300.

It is anticipated that all of the fiscal year 2025 appropriated funding will be expended before the end of the year, said Johnson, in an email.

The city has allocated another $1.3 million toward the program in 2026.

St. Paul Public Housing Agency eviction filings

Officials with public housing agencies in St. Paul and Minneapolis note that a relatively slim percentage of eviction filings actually result in writs, or final court orders for a tenant to be removed by law enforcement. An eviction filing is often used as a procedural step  still far more serious than a written warning  after other efforts have been exhausted.

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The St. Paul Public Housing Agency owns and manages more than 4,200 affordable rental units throughout the city, from townhomes to affordable apartments and scattered-site housing.

For fiscal years running from April 1 to March 31, there were 271 SPPHA eviction filings for nonpayment in fiscal year 2024, resulting in 48 evictions, for an execution rate of about 18%. In fiscal year 2025, there were 393 filings for nonpayment, resulting in 66 evictions, for an execution rate of about 17%. In the current fiscal year, there have been 191 filings from April 1 to Dec. 1, resulting in 43 evictions to date, an execution rate of about 23%.

Officials with St. Paul Public Housing say they expect the 2026 fiscal year to end up somewhere between 2024 and 2025 in terms of eviction volume.

Project-based assistance

In 2020, St. Paul Public Housing completed a rental assistance demonstration conversion, shifting most of its public housing units into the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments project-based rental assistance program, which directs federal housing funding to a particular location, as opposed to a tenant. The project-based rental assistance limits the agencys ability to consider rental history, or lack of rental history, when determining rental eligibility.

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The conversion to project-based assistance happened just before the pandemic, so some of the practical effects of the new screening rules were not immediately apparent, according to officials, as COVID-related protections halted evictions for nonpayment for two years. Even when those two years were over, the agency had to sort through a backlog of cases.

We are only now beginning to see what our normal post-(conversion) eviction patterns look like, and it is still too early to draw firm conclusions about long-term trends, said Whatley, the agencys general counsel.

Whatley said staff work at length with residents to resolve balances, establish payment agreements and prevent displacement wherever possible. A court filing is the last step in a long progression of outreach and problem-solving, not an indicator of a shift in PHA philosophy or approach.

Minneapolis Public Housing Authority eviction filings

The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, which at over 6,000 housing units constitutes one of the largest landlords in the state, executed 107 eviction writs for the year through early December, more than double the 39 eviction writs executed in all of 2024. About 20% of its 544 eviction filings this year proceeded to an actual eviction, up from less than 9% last year.

Officials say that increase has rolled out despite their best efforts to avoid it. During the pandemic, MPHA launched an internal housing stabilization team dedicated to connecting residents with back-owed rents to various financial and service supports. The team is designed to help residents solve both their immediate financial needs and make lasting changes to ensure continued rent payments, Halunen said.

Throughout the pandemic, they assisted nearly 750 families in receiving more than $2.5 million in rent relief through RentHelpMN, the states targeted assistance program. When the state ended the program this year, the team shifted to Hennepin Countys rental and emergency assistance initiatives, the chief one being Rent Help Hennepin.

With Rent Help Hennepin funds unlikely to last the year due to high demand, the Hennepin County Board added $1.5 million to the program in October, bringing the total budget to $11 million. Thats helped 3,000 people avoid eviction, but its still nowhere near the estimated $50 million that would be necessary to assist every Hennepin County household falling behind on their rent, said David Hewitt, Hennepin Countys director of Housing Stability.

Out of budget necessity, we have prioritized preventing eviction for families with children, seniors and people with disabilities, Hewitt said.

In 2023, the public housing authority helped residents complete more than 450 applications to receive more than $800,000 in rent relief payments from Hennepin Countys programs. In 2024, that increased to 600 applications and more than $1 million in rent help. Through early December, the team had helped residents complete more than 380 applications for more than $500,000 in rent relief.

In the spring, however, Hennepin Countys rent relief programs went through what housing authority officials have described as an abrupt change, reducing the number of MPHA residents eligible to receive emergency rent assistance. Lifetime limits of $10,000 or 10 months in rent rolled out seemingly overnight, and to qualify, residents would have to pay off half their balance if theyre four months or more behind on their rent.

Perhaps the most surprising requirement of all, before you can apply for rent help, there needed to be an eviction filing, Halunen said. It prevented us from getting residents connected to rent help (early).  Our team was surprised. We were surprised.

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Agency officials say they never received formal correspondence from the county, and were only informed verbally about the changes after they had already taken place.

Hewitt noted that the purpose of emergency housing relief is just that  one-time emergency aid  and its not the same as an ongoing rent subsidy. Coming out of the pandemic, Hennepin County also expanded the role of Adult Representation Services, a county department that provides independent legal representation to low-income clients in civil matters, to include housing cases.
Denison Mines Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:DNN) is one of the Best High Volume Penny Stocks to Buy. On December 19, National Bank reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and raised the price target from $3.29 to $3.65. The rating follows the companys earlier news regarding the finalization of its deal with Skyharbour Resources Ltd on December 17.

Management noted that the deal results in four joint ventures from Skyharbours former Russell Lake Uranium Project claims. The Russell Lake Uranium Project is located right next to Denison Mines Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:DNN)s key Wheeler River Project in Canadas Athabasca Basin, which is a prime uranium district.

The joint venture is expected to fast-track the exploration of high-potential land near Wheeler River. The ownership split includes 49% stake of Denison Mines Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:DNN) at Wheeler North, 70% stake at Wheeler River Inliers, 20% stake at Russell Lake, and 30% stake at Getty East.

Management noted that they will operate the Wheeler North and Wheeler River Inliers exploration sites, while Skyharbour will lead the remaining two. Moreover, the company also secured Earn-In Option Agreements for Wheeler North and Getty East. These let Denison boost its stakes to 70% by meeting predefined spending or work commitments.

Denison Mines Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:DNN) focuses on uranium exploration, development, and mining, primarily in Canadas Athabasca Basin region.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
President Donald Trump is taking a victory lap on social media following his surprise attack on Venezuela.

On Saturday evening, following a wild early-morning military operation in which the U.S. abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, Trump took to Truth Social to share macho meme videos, celebratory news clips, and fawning praise of himself.

President Donald Trump speaks to the press following U.S. military action in Venezuela on Jan. 3, 2026. / Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images (Jim Watson)

In one particularly startling video that the 79-year-old president shared three times, Maduro says, in Spanish, Come for me. Im waiting for you here in Miraflores. Dont take too long to arrive, coward.

Trump shares a video of himself giving a motivational speech. / Truth Social.

The clip is then followed by a bald eagle with a voiceover encouraging the military to attack and footage of missiles firing across dark terrain, likely Venezuela. The video is soundtracked by Thunderstruck, a song by the Australian band AC/DC.

Trump shares a miscontextualized video of Maduro. / Truth Social

The footage of Maduro does not show him speaking to Trump. It is, in fact, taken from a speech the deposed leader gave in 2024, directed at the Venezuelan opposition leader, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. It has previously been used, erroneously, to suggest that Maduro was taunting the U.S.

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The raft of posts was fired off in rapid succession, with Trump updating his timeline roughly 40 times in an hour.

Between posting about the Venezuelan fallout, the 79-year-old also veered off topic to attack archrival Gavin Newsom, reshare old claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and heap praise on YouTuber Nick Shirley, the 23-year-old MAGA favorite known for his widely refuted video alleging welfare fraud at Somali day-care centers in Minnesota.

Trump re-shares praise for the YouTuber Nick Shirley, who has propagated Minnesota day-care center fraud claims. / Truth Social

Trump also shared congratulatory posts from MAGA diehard Laura Loomer and Tesla boss Elon Musk, both of whom made patriotic statements following the United States attack on the South American country.

Idk what it is but Trump just makes me feel so pumped to be an American, Loomer wrote. He makes it very exciting to be an American!

Trump re-shares a post from MAGA influencer Laura Loomer. / Truth Social

Musk, who was born in South Africa and has had an on-again-off-again relationship with Trump, reshared one of his own quotes saying that he will fight for and die in America.

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YES, the worlds richest man wrote in reply to a tweet from the White House reading GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES MILITARY. Trump reshared it all.

Trump re-shares a patriotic post from Elon Musk. / Truh Social

Minutes after posting those messages, Trump pivoted to what appears to be an artificially generated clip of himself warning the Nigerian government that the U.S. will come in guns blazing unless they stop the killing of Christians.

Its not unusual for the president to go on a social media binge at odd hours or for extended periods of time. On Christmas Day, he sent almost 150 messages to his 11.3 million Truth Social followers in a particularly extensive spree, hitting on familiar themes of election fraud, media bias, and Somali immigrants.

Following the invasion of the Venezuelan capital in the early hours of Saturday morning, Trump appeared to be struggling to stay awake as he spoke at a press conference giving details on the operation.

It is unclear if the president slept on Saturday, having first shared a message about the large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro on Truth Social at 4:21 a.m. ET. He called in to Fox & Friends later on Saturday morning ahead of his 11:45 a.m. press conference today and has remained active online since.
(This January 3 story has been repeated without any changes to the text.)

By Tom Hals and Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON Jan 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation early on Saturday morning, culminating a months-long pressure campaign by President Donald Trump's administration that drew condemnation from some international leaders.

Maduro was on a warship bound for New York to face criminal charges, according to U.S. officials.

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Below is a look at the legality of the U.S. action.

WHAT HAPPENED?

On Saturday, U.S. forces attacked Venezuela and seized Maduro, who has been widely condemned as an illegitimate leader, and his wife Cilia Flores.

Trump had been urging Maduro to cede power and has accused him of supporting drug cartels that Washington designated as terror groups, alleging they were responsible for thousands of U.S. deaths tied to illegal drug use.

Since September, U.S. forces had killed more than 100 people in at least 30 strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats from Venezuela in the Caribbean and Pacific, which legal experts said likely violated U.S. and international law.

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HOW DID THE U.S. JUSTIFY THE ACTION?

U.S. authorities said the Justice Department sought military assistance to apprehend Maduro, who had been indicted by a New York grand jury along with his wife, son, two political leaders and an alleged leader of an international gang. They were charged with crimes related to terrorism, drugs and weapons.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media that the defendants "will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts."

However, at a press conference, Trump blamed Venezuela for stealing U.S. oil interests and said Washington would take them back and planned to run Venezuela for a period of time, without offering specifics.

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Experts in international law said the Trump administration had muddled the legal issues by claiming the operation was both a targeted law enforcement mission and the potential prelude to long-term control of Venezuela by the U.S.

"You cannot say this was a law enforcement operation and then turn around and say now we need to run the country," said Jeremy Paul, a professor at Northeastern University specializing in constitutional law. "It just doesn't make any sense."

WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?

The U.S. Congress has the power to declare war but the president is the commander-in-chief, and presidents of both parties have justified carrying out military action when it was limited in scope and in the national interest.

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Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair magazine in an interview published late last year that if Trump were to authorize "some activity on land" in Venezuela he would need approval from Congress.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Congress was not notified before Saturday's operation.

International law prohibits the use of force in international relations except for narrow exceptions such as authorization by the U.N. Security Council or in self-defense.

Drug trafficking and gang violence are considered criminal activity and do not rise to the accepted international standard of an armed conflict that would justify a military response, according to legal experts.

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"A criminal indictment alone doesn't provide authority to use military force to depose a foreign government, and the administration will probably hang this also on a theory of self-defense," said Matthew Waxman, a law professor at Columbia University specializing in national security law.

The U.S. has not recognized Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela since 2019, following an election the U.S. said was rigged.

IS THERE A PRECEDENT?

The U.S. has captured criminal suspects in foreign countries including Libya but it has sought consent of local authorities. While the administration describes Maduro as an illegitimate leader, Washington has not recognized another Venezuelan leader who could have authorized the capture of Maduro.

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In 1989, the U.S. arrested General Manuel Noriega, then the leader of Panama, in similar circumstances. Noriega had been indicted on drug-related charges and Washington said it was acting to protect U.S. citizens after Panamanian forces had killed a U.S. soldier.

The United States had also alleged Noriega was an illegitimate leader and had recognized as the country's leader the candidate who Noriega had claimed to have defeated in a recent election.

The former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, was extradited to the United States in 2022 and later convicted on drug-related charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison. Trump pardoned Hernandez in December.

Legal experts were skeptical that the United States would face any meaningful accountability for its actions in Venezuela, even if they were unlawful given the lack of enforcement mechanisms in international law.

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"It's hard to see how any legal body could impose practical consequences on the administration," said Paul, of Northeastern.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware, and Andrew Goudsward in Washington; editing by Scott Malone and Michael Learmonth)
A Federal Aviation Administration ground stop halted all departures from Palm Springs International Airport in California for much of Saturday afternoon before being lifted in the evening.

The disruption, caused by an air traffic control issue affecting Southern California airspace, came during a busy postNew Years travel weekend and the second day of the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

As of 4 p.m. PT, Saturday, Jan. 3, flights are slowly resuming, but significant delays are expected as operations normalize. Travelers should continue to check their flight status directly with their airline.

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The airline industry tracking website FlightAware showed as many as 47 flights to or from PSP had been canceled on Saturday, while another 38 had been delayed as of around 3 p.m. The arrivals page on the airport website showed some flights still landing, though often after significant delays.

A chaotic scene in the baggage drop-off area at Palm Springs International Airport as a ground stop continued at the airport on Saturday, Jan. 3.

Airport spokesperson Jake Ingrassia's statement did not elaborate on the nature or cause of the issue. He did say that the problems were not specific to Palm Springs and were affecting other Southern California airports.

PSP continues to work closely with airline partners and the FAA, which is managing the situation," Ingrassia wrote. "Travelers should contact their airline directly for the latest flight information. PSP will share additional updates as needed."

The Desert Sun also reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration, which manages air traffic control nationwide, for more information on the situation, but did not receive an immediate response.

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The delays came on the same day as hundreds of flights originating and arriving to Puerto Rico were canceled after federal authorities temporarily restricted U.S. airline operations at several Caribbean airports, citing security concerns related to escalating military activity in Venezuela.

Several bags sit in Palm Springs International Airport on Saturday, Jan. 3 after a ground halt on all deaptures was issued.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development, and business in the Coachella Valley. Email him at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Flight delays pile up on second day of Palm Springs Film Festival
Are California and Colorado at the top of the list of states losing population as more people leave than move there? No, that's not true: The latest statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show that California lost population in 2020 and 2021, the first two years of the Covid pandemic. The negative trend reversed and the state gained residents in 2023 and 2024. Colorado's population increased steadily from 2020 to 2024. President Trump's claim that both states were big losers is based on an unscientific report from a moving company that is not confirmed by any other data.

The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published by the @realDonaldTrump Truth Social account on December 31, 2025. The text caption read:

California and Colorado are two of the TOP OUTBOUND STATES IN 2025 (United Van Lines!) - In other words, PEOPLE LEAVING!!! That's what bad governors do to even places blessed with beautiful surrounds and climate. President DJT

This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:

Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of Truth Social

President Trump's claim is based on the 2025 National Movers Study (archived here), compiled and released by United Van Lines, based on how many families they move each year into and out of states. The rankings of top outbound and top inbound are based on the ratio of shipments coming in versus shipments going out of a state. The theory is that states with the higher number of outbound shipments compared to inbound are losing residents.

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In the case of California, United Van Lines shipped 2,667 more households out than were shipped in. California's population is 39,663,800, according to the latest census report. If it is assumed that each of the 2,667 shipments represented four people leaving California, that would total 10,668 residents moving out. This would represent a tiny 0.0269% population loss.

The report said Colorado had 661 more household shipments leaving the state than entering in 2025. Colorado's population is 6,013,650, according to the latest census report. If it is assumed that each of the 661 shipments represented four people leaving Colorado, that would total 2,644 residents moving out. This would represent only a 0.0444% population loss.

Government leaders normally rely on the U.S. Census Bureau for statistics about interstate migration, not a United Van Lines marketing tool.

Lead Stories analyzed the latest census report (archived here) on this topic, titled "State Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024," which included a spreadsheet you can download here (archived here) that contained data on five years, starting in 2020, of interstate migration in the United States.

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Contrary to the claim by President Trump and United Van Lines, California was not at the top of the list of population losers, but in fact just third from the top in winners of new residents in 2023-2024. The state gained 232,570 residents, topped only by Texas and Florida.

1

(Image source: Lead Stories chart based on US Census stats)

The spreadsheet analysis showed Colorado gained residents in each of the last five years reported by the Census Bureau, despite the pandemic.
United States President Donald Trump said that a US military assault succeeded in capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, both facing US charges related to cocaine trafficking under newly unsealed indictments.

In a January 3 news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said the US would run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.

Trump also said that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president. The US president said Rodriguez had talked to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.

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However, Rodriguez criticised the US military action as brutal aggression on state television and called for Maduros immediate release.

Maduro has led Venezuela since 2013, succeeding an ideological ally, Hugo Chavez, who had been in office since 1999. Under both men, US relations with Venezuela frayed over foreign policy, oil and human rights.

In July 2024, Maduro declared victory after an election that international observers described as fraudulent. The countrys opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, reportedly received about 70 percent of the vote.

Tensions between Trump and Maduro escalated in September after the US government began attacking vessels off the coast of Venezuela, killing more than 100 people, in what Trump described as an effort to thwart drug smuggling.

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When a reporter asked Trump during the Mar-a-Lago media event whether he had spoken to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado following Maduros arrest, Trump said that Machado doesnt have the support or the respect within the country.





Machado, who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for democracy in Venezuela, had a 72 percent approval rating from Venezuelans in a March 2025 poll by ClearPath Strategies.

Trump said, without evidence, that the USs role in governing Venezuela wont cost us anything because US oil companies would invest in new infrastructure in the oil-rich country. Its going to make a lot of money, he said.

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PolitiFact fact-checked Trumps and Rubios statements from the news conference.

Rubio: Its just not the kind of mission that you can pre-notify [Congress about] because it endangers the mission.

The Trump administrations lack of warning to Congress bucks laws and precedents.

Rubio said that members of Congress were not notified in advance of the US actions on Venezuela. Trump said the administration was concerned about Congress potentially leaking news of the administrations decision to capture Maduro.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, praised the operation as a decisive action.

But Congressional Democrats said that Congress should have been notified in advance. Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, said, Maduro is terrible. But Trump put American servicemembers at risk with this unauthorised attack.

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Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, said Trump and his cabinet were not forthcoming about their intentions for regime change in Venezuela, so we are left with no understanding of how the administration is preparing to mitigate risks to the US, and we have no information regarding a long-term strategy following todays extraordinary escalation.

The US Constitution assigns Congress the right to declare war. The last time this happened was during World War II.

Since then, presidents have generally initiated military action using their constitutionally granted powers as commander-in-chief without an official declaration of war.

Since Congress passed the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the president has had to report to Congress within 48 hours of introducing the US military into hostilities, and terminate the use of the military within 60 days unless Congress approves. If approval is not granted and the president deems it an emergency, an additional 30 days are granted for ending operations.





In recent decades, congressional consent has usually been granted through an authorisation for the use of military force. But such an authorisation has not been passed for operations in Venezuela. Kaine and other lawmakers have pursued legislation  so far fruitlessly  to prohibit the use of federal funds for any use of military force in or against Venezuela without congressional authorisation.

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The Trump administration has whittled away at prior notification requirements. Under federal law, eight bipartisan senior members of Congress must receive prior notice of particularly sensitive covert actions. In June 2025, the administration told Republicans, but not Democrats, about a forthcoming US strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. For the Venezuela operation, it appears no lawmakers were notified in advance.

Trump: Each US boat strike off the coast of Venezuela saves 25,000 people

The Trump administration has struck at least 32 vessels, killing about 115 people, in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean since September. Trump said previously that the boats were carrying drugs en route to the US, and during the news conference, he said the drugs on each boat would kill on average, 25,000 people.

However, experts on drugs and Venezuela told PolitiFact that the country plays a minor role in trafficking drugs that reach the US. And the administration has provided no evidence about the type or quantity of drugs it says were on the boats. This lack of information makes it impossible to know how many lethal doses of the drugs could have been destroyed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 73,000 US drug overdose deaths from May 2024 to April 2025. This means that the drugs on 32 boats, which would have killed 800,000 people based on Trumps claim, would be responsible for nearly 11 times the number of US overdose deaths in one year.

Trump: Maduro sent savage and murderous gangs, including the bloodthirsty prison gang Tren de Aragua, to terrorise American communities nationwide.

There is no evidence that Maduro sent members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua to the US.

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The US Justice Department indictment against Maduro does not mention Trumps statement.

An April report from the US National Intelligence Council contradicted Trumps statements about links between Maduro and Tren de Aragua.

While Venezuelas permissive environment enables [Tren de Aragua, or TDA] to operate, the Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States, the report said.





Trump: Venezuela stole US oil in the past.

In the early 20th century, Venezuelas long-serving hardline leader, Juan Vicente Gomez, allowed foreign companies almost exclusive access to the countrys oil resources.

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In 1975, after decades of seeking greater control of its oil resources, Venezuela nationalised its oil industry.

Trumps claim that Venezuela has stolen oil and land from the US is baseless, Francisco Rodriguez, a Venezuelan economist at the University of Denver, told The Washington Post. The US was much more interested in having Venezuela be a provider of oil  relatively cheap oil  than to have a production collapse in Venezuela, Rodriguez added.

As a result, the change was relatively uncontroversial at the time, he said.

US oil companies, including Exxon and Mobil as well as Gulf, now Chevron, lost about $5bn each in assets, and were compensated $1bn each, according to news reports, The Washington Post reported.

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But Rodriguez said the companies did not push for additional compensation at the time, in part because no forum existed to do so.

In general, experts have told PolitiFact that invading a country to take its oil would be both illegal and unethical. In 2016, Trump mused about how the US should have taken Iraqs oil when it invaded to remove its then-leader, Saddam Hussein.

Experts pointed to the annex to The Hague Convention of 1907 on the Laws and Customs of War, which says that private property  must be respected [and] cannot be confiscated. It also says that pillage is formally forbidden.

If to the victors go the spoils was legal doctrine, then we would have believed that [Saddam Hussein] should have been able to keep Kuwait City after he invaded [Kuwait] in 1990, terrorism analyst Daveed Gartenstein-Ross told PolitiFact in 2016. But we viewed that  quite rightly  as an act of aggression under the UN Charter.
President Donald Trump on Saturday held an extended news conference to explain the U.S. raid on Venezuela to extract President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, at times veering off topic and repeating false claims around his initiatives.

In praising the military, Trump highlighted National Guard deployments into U.S. cities, making erroneous claims about crime in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles.

Here's a closer look at the facts.

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TRUMP, discussing the impact of U.S. strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela: Each boat kills on average, 25,000 people.

THE FACTS: Trump has previously made this claim suggesting that 25,000 American lives are saved with every alleged drug boat U.S strikes take out. But the numbers dont add up and sometimes dont exist. For example, people in the U.S. who die from drug overdoses each year are far fewer than the number of people Trump suggests have been saved by the boat strikes his administration has carried out since September.

According to the latest preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions National Vital Statistics System, there were up to 76,516 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. during the 12-month period that ended in April 2025, down 24.5% from the up to 101,363 for the previous 12-month period.

The U.S. military has attacked at least 35 boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since strikes began on Sept. 2, most recently on Dec. 31. Using Trumps numbers, that would mean the strikes have prevented 875,000 fatal drug overdoses in the U.S  far more than the number of overdose deaths that have occurred in recent 12-month periods. This essentially implies that the administration is saving more lives than would have ever been lost.

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Opioids accounted for 73.4% of drug overdose deaths in 2024, according to the CDC 's State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System. That includes 65.1% from illegally made fentanyls. But while the boat strikes have targeted vessels largely in the Caribbean Sea, fentanyl is typically trafficked to the U.S. overland from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.

___

TRUMP, discussing the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C.: We haven't had a killing. We had the terrorist attack a few weeks ago, a little bit of a different kind of threat. But we haven't had a killing in a long period of time. Six, seven months.

THE FACTS: Trump has also made this false claim before. There have been 59 homicides in the past seven months, including two last week, according to the latest Metropolitan Police Department statistics.

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That number also includes the fatal shooting of a West Virginia National Guard member on Nov. 26 by an Afghan national. Another Guard member was injured in the shooting, which FBI Director Kash Patel said was being investigated as an act of terrorism.

The city saw 126 homicides in 2025, 29 of which occurred after National Guard troops were deployed to the nation's capital on Aug. 11.

In launching the deployment, Trump declared a public safety emergency and said his administration also would be removing homeless encampments. He said he aimed to reduce crime, but the citys attorney general said violent crime in the district reached 30-year lows in 2024 and was down an additional 26% in 2025.

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TRUMP, discussing National Guard deployments in Chicago and Los Angeles: We also helped, as you know, in Chicago. Then crime went down a little bit there ... And likewise, Los Angeles, where  we saved Los Angeles early on.

THE FACTS: Guard members were never on the streets in Chicago as legal challenges played out. When the Chicago deployment was challenged in court, a Justice Department lawyer said the Guards mission would be to protect federal properties and government agents in the field, not solving all of crime in Chicago.

Between 2020 and 2024, homicides in Chicago were down 25%. However, rape increased 27%, while robbery went up 17% and aggravated assault up 11%.

Trump deployed about 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in June to guard federal buildings and, later, to protect federal agents as they carried out immigration arrests.

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The number of troops slowly dwindled until just several hundred were left. They were removed from the streets by Dec. 15 after a lower court ruling that also ordered control to be returned to Gov. Gavin Newsom. But an appeals court had paused the second part of the order, meaning control remained with Trump. In a Tuesday court filing, the Trump administration said it was no longer seeking a pause in that part of the order.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to return control of the National Guard to Newsom.

___

Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.
Gresham firefighters used ropes to rescue a man from the bottom of a steep 20-foot embankment in Troutdale on Sunday morning after police say he crashed his car while driving under the influence.

Emergency dispatchers got a crash alert from the drivers cellphone around 1 a.m. Sunday, but the line stayed silent when 911 operators tried to talk to the driver, Fred Jimenez, the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office said in a statement.

Sheriffs deputies were still able to find the crash site at Southeast Troutdale Road and Southeast Division Drive after dispatchers pinged the phones GPS, officials say. Pictures show Jimenez vehicle upside down in a small creek at the bottom of a steep hill.

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Jimenez was yelling for help when deputies arrived, the sheriffs office said. Jimenez was only minorly hurt, he told deputies, but couldnt climb up.

Deputies called in firefighters from the Gresham Fire Department, who performed a high-angle rope rescue to retrieve Jimenez, the sheriffs office said.

Latest Public Safety News

Emergency responders then took Jimenez to the hospital for his injuries, officials say.

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Crash investigators believe that Jimenez was intoxicated at the time of the crash, and that he lost control of the car while driving through a nearby intersection.

Sheriffs deputies have issued Jimenez a DUII citation for the crash.

Read the original article on oregonlive.com.
Fires damaged or destroyed hundreds of businesses and homes across the Hampton Roads region last year.

Rebuilding after that kind of loss can take time.

The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press reached out to several people who experienced a fire in 2025 to check on their recovery. Heres how they described the process.

A popular restaurant rebuilds

The morning of Feb. 5, a two-alarm fire ripped through Crudo Nudo, a popular Spanish tapas restaurant along 21st Street in Norfolks Ghent neighborhood.

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Chef and owner Eric Nelson has spent much of the past year rebuilding. He said the restaurants kitchen was completely burned out, and smoke damaged much of the remainder of the location. The roof was also damaged. In order to rebuild, he said the entire building was stripped down to the walls.

They had to take it down to basically nothing, said Nelson, who has operated Crudo Nudo for more than eight years.

Construction, too, has been an ordeal due to President Donald Trumps tariff policies. Nelson said estimates for some fixes would increase mid-quote due to new steel or aluminum tariffs.

Things have tripled expense-wise, Nelson said.

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Nelson also said difficulties with fire insurance convinced him to increase coverage on his other business.

Even so, Nelson said reconstruction has progressed, and the community has shown up to support the business  a GoFundMe effort raised more than $14,000.

The exact cause of the fire is still unknown, and Nelson suspects some kind of electrical issue. According to the Norfolk Fire Department, among the hundreds of fire calls that crews responded to between January to November were 158 vehicle fires, 306 structure fires and 353 outside and brush fires.

Nelson hopes to reopen in either January or, perhaps poetically, on Feb. 5.

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Were ready to reopen and a lot of people are ready for us to reopen, Nelson said.

Progress on the rebuild can be seen on Crudo Nudos Instagram page.

 Trevor Metcalfe

Suspected arson

Portsmouth firefighters responded to 84 structure fires from January through November, which includes 64 residential buildings and seven commercial properties.

One of those fires includes potential arson that put Portsmouth resident, tattoo artist and piercer Daniel Steele out of business for several months  just one month after opening his shop, Dan the Piercing Man Tattoo & Body Piercing, in the Town and Country Shopping Center on George Washington Highway.

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Steele opened the shop in mid-April after spending years in the tattoo and piercing industry. So when he received an early morning call from the fire marshal less than a month later, he thought it was a joke.

I even asked him. I said, Are you joking, Steele said. Showed up 10 minutes later, and the place was  I had never seen anything like it.

Steele said the fire marshal told him the shop went up in flames after someone seemingly threw beer bottles filled with gasoline through a window. The bottles were taken as evidence, but nothing came of it, he added. And at the time, Steele didnt have outside surveillance cameras, and cameras located inside melted from the fire, making the potential arson investigation more difficult.

Portsmouth Fire Department said the fire was intentionally set, but the suspected arson investigation remains open pending further evidence or witness accounts. No charges have been filed.

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The destructive fire put Steele out of business for several months, but with the help of the property owner and some donations, the shop was back open in mid-September.

Damages and losses included essential equipment such as a specialized medical-grade piercing chair, waiting room chairs, laptop and toolbox. The roughly 1,500-square-foot shop also suffered water damage and smoke damage that resulted in some drywall removed and plumbing repairs. Ceiling lights also melted from the heat. Sentimental items couldnt be replaced.

Steele said he discovered after the fire that he only had liability business insurance, meaning he was on the hook for the damages. He talked to the property owner, who decided to cover the expenses out-of-pocket to avoid making a claim to his insurance that would spike his insurance premiums. He also excused Steeles lease payment during the recovery, and Steele said $1,500 in donations from a GoFundMe campaign helped cover some of his estimated $5,000 in recovery expenses.

I was very excited how fast he got it looking nice, Steele said of the shopping centers property owner.

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During the rebuilding process, Steele worked to scrub walls, scape up flooring and demolish walls  all while keeping a positive outlook.

It felt like starting over from nothing, Steele said. But Im very happy with how things have come out. The shop looks even nicer than it did before.

 Natalie Anderson

A double loss

Tattoo artist and muralist Corinna Sayward was hit with a double-whammy in 2025. In August, a fire destroyed all of her equipment at Seven Cities Tattoo Company, where she worked near the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. A few months later, her car caught on fire while driving on a highway in Connecticut. She was traveling home after participating as a guest artist at another studio. Her newly replaced tattoo equipment and other personal items burned up inside the vehicle.

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Its been a really long year, she said.

Despite the two back-to-back tragedies, Sayward, 29, quickly rebounded thanks to support from fellow artists in the local community.

I lost what I had lost before again, but I also lost my wardrobe and a lot of art supplies, she said. When I got home, people from the creative community were bringing clothing from their own closet.

Reflecting back on the two fires, she maintains a positive outlook and realizes the catastrophes brought out her strengths.

I can react quickly to situations that are really serious, she said.

Sayward grew up in New England and has been living in the Hampton Roads area for about eight years. Outside of her work, she has hosted pop-up art shows to raise money for several nonprofits and volunteered in Virginia Beachs ViBe Creative District and Norfolks NEON District.

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After the first fire at the studio, she was able to use donations received from a GoFundMe fundraiser to buy new tattoo equipment. Following the car fire, she received another outpouring of support from fellow tattoo artists to replace those items. Since then, Sayward has participated at tattoo conventions and held a solo art exhibition in the ViBe.

She currently designs and creates custom tattoos at Studio Evolve near Mount Trashmore and bought a Subaru, which she always wanted.

At the end of the day, I feel like so much good has come out of the year, she said. I pushed through and still decided to live life.

 Stacy Parker

Displaced overnight

The Peninsula has seen roughly 1,200 fires from January to November this year, including nearly 700 in Newport News and more than 500 in Hampton.

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One of the most destructive fires came in October when an overnight blaze at Magruder Run Apartments complex in Hampton damaged 12 apartments and displaced at least 33 residents.

The American Red Cross was called in to respond to the fire, providing emergency resources like a place to stay, money to replace belongings or get a meal or clothing, according to Regional Disaster Officer Katie Niehoff. However, she said the assistance doesnt stop once the fire is put out.

All of the people that were impacted in that fire in Hampton, after that immediate assistance, we also then have case workers that follow up with them, Niehoff said. As long as that person is requesting and needing anything from the Red Cross, we stay with them, so theres no real timeline.

That partnership includes connecting people to local resources such as spiritual centers, food shelves and housing centers, Niehoff said. In the roughly two months since the fire, all of the cases from the apartment fire have been closed, which she said signaled all of their needs have been met.

She added the American Red Cross will always be there to assist the community. However, Niehoff said fires ramp up during the winter as heaters, candles and holiday lights become more popular, and people should be diligent in their homes with items like working smoke detectors to prevent future disasters.

Its really important for us to work with our local partners so that we can make sure were really giving people that are impacted by a disaster all the resources the community has available, Niehoff said.

 Devlin Epding
Etagu Wondimu first came to the Santa Fe Community College Kids Campus because she was looking for child care for her son.

Also interested in studying early childhood education, she learned she could do both at the community college through Aprende, an apprenticeship program that gives students hands-on experience in the classroom while working toward early childhood certificate and degree programs.

Wondimu, a native of Ethiopia who has lived in Santa Fe since 2013, is now a registered apprentice and teaching assistant at the Kids Campus, where her now-4-year-old son is a student.

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Aprende inspired a passion in her for the early child care field, Wondimu said in a November interview, adding she believes the model should be in every city in New Mexico.

Funded by American Rescue Plan Act dollars from the city of Santa Fe, the Aprende program is the first and so far only apprenticeship program in the state of New Mexico focused on early childhood education. The program has led to 31 new early child care educators in Santa Fe, according to recent data from the community college, and more than 800 children have been in a classroom with an Aprende apprentice.

The city awarded the community college $900,000 in ARPA money in 2022 for the apprenticeship program, which pairs traditional education with hands-on time in a child care facility under the guidance of a mentor. The allocation sunsets at the end of 2026.

After New Mexicos first-in-the-nation launch of universal free early child care in 2025, officials with Aprende say the program is more important than ever as the state works to increase access to meet demand.

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The only way for us to expand more slots in child care is to have that workforce behind it, Catron Allred, executive director of the community colleges Early Childhood Center of Excellence, told members of the Santa Fe City Council.

How it works

In a presentation to the City Council Quality of Life committee in October, Allred and Aprende Manager Krystel Sanchez noted that when people think of apprenticeships, their minds are more likely to go to plumbers or electricians than child care workers.

Designed as a workforce pipeline program, Aprende offers pre-apprenticeships for people without prior experience in the early childhood field and registered apprenticeships for those already working in the field interested in working toward an associates degree.

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Gerald Ulibarri, 2, middle, and Elisira Burks, 2, play as teaching assistant Mariam Bejar supervises Nov. 18 at the Kids Campus at Santa Fe Community College. Aprende, an apprenticeship program, has been successful at growing the childcare workforce in Santa Fe.

The pre-apprenticeship is an on-ramp to the registered apprentice program, Sanchez said. Both include hands-on time in a classroom, where students gain experience and are evaluated by trained professionals on dozens of skills.

Along with the Kids Campus, the community college partners with a number of local child care facilities to place apprentices, including Santa Fe Public Schools, Presbyterian Medical Services and the YMCA.

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Allred said some partner providers have told her they were able to remain open only because of the apprentices because, unlike schools, few child care facilities have substitutes.

Aprende is filling a lot of gaps in this sector that is sort of hanging on by its fingernails, she said.

One of the programs partner providers is Temple Beth Shalom Preschool, which has had two apprentices so far.

Ive become such a huge fan of the program, said Director Amelia Byrne Gonzales, who now sits on Aprendes advisory committee.

She said she hopes the city continues to fund Aprende even increasing its support  once the ARPA funding expires to help meet the need fueled by universal child care.

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We want to grow the workforce, but we want to do it with quality, and thats what I think Aprende brings, Byrne Gonzales said. Somebody who completes the whole program is going to come out feeling like theyre ready.

Money, experience

Aprende participants who meet certain requirements are eligible for a scholarship through the state Early Childhood Education and Care Department that covers 100% of tuition and books for associate degree students. They also receive stipends from the community college based on the number of credit hours they are taking.

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Isaac Montano, left, Keliann Figueroa, Adriel Campos sing with Etagu Wondimu, teaching assistant and registered apprentice with Aprende, an early childhood teacher apprenticeship program, during a fire drill Nov. 18 at Santa Fe Community Colleges Kids Campus.

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Wondimu said she used some of her stipend money to buy groceries and to help save money for a trip back to Ethiopia to visit her family: It was helpful in many ways.

Allred said many students have told the community college the stipend is what allowed them to participate in the degree program.

Allred said both employers and faculty have described the practical, on-the-ground experience Aprende provides as a significant strength for participants.

Its great you got your degree, but do you know what to do when somebody is biting? she asked hypothetically.

Wondimu said the two parts of the program worked hand-in-hand for her.

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Everything I was learning in theory, I was practicing at the Kids Campus, she said, adding things she learned in the classroom even helped her better understand the behavior of her own young children.

A thriving wage

Learning more about the skills that go into early child education spurred Wondimu to advocate for higher pay in the profession. The state is also attempting to boost pay for workers through the universal child care rollout.

Allred said helping people understand they could make the equivalent of a public school teachers salary after receiving an early child care credential is a crucial part of attracting people to the field: People need to know theres a thriving wage at the end of this.

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Byrne Gonzales said she believes getting people to understand that child care isnt just glorified babysitting is key to the success of universal child care.

Were supporting and nurturing the minds of young children, which will turn around and be the adults of tomorrow, she said. If we can really support them  I think were going to do great things for this state.

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Krystel Sanchez, Aprende program manager, plays with Keliann Figueroa, 2, Nov. 18 at the Kids Campus at the Santa Fe Community College Kids Campus. Aprende, the college's early child care apprenticeship program, has been successful at growing the childcare workforce in Santa Fe and officials hope to keep receiving the city's financial support for the program.

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Aprende is currently funded only by the city although, in the past, it also received money from a private foundation. During the October presentation, Allred said the community college is working to make the program financially sustainable. To that end, the college has had some conversations with Santa Fe County officials about the potential for its support, and it applied for federal funding through U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrichs office before the government shutdown wiped out the appropriation.

In a Friday email, Allred wrote the community college has applied for more money through a foundation and is in conversation with the state Early Childhood Education and Care Department about funding, but nothing is definite yet.

The city has not stated any plans for continued support past the ARPA expiration but both elected officials and staff appear interested in continued investment.

City Human Services Division Program Manager Sandra Emory wrote in a December statement the Aprende program shows what happens when we invest in our own community.

By utilizing the Citys ARPA funds in this way, Santa Fe residents can begin meaningful careers in early childhood education while families gain access to the nurturing care every young child deserves, she wrote.

Local support

Councilors expressed support for the program during the October presentation, including then-councilor and now Mayor Michael Garcia, who said his family was on a waiting list for two years for child care for their son.

Allred said an informal poll of Aprendes partner providers found they had between 50 to 600 families on their waiting lists.

Garcia noted the citys child care shortage can sometimes force parents to choose between work and taking care of their child: It should not come down to that, he said.

Councilor Jamie Cassutt, a parent who has advocated as a councilor for changes to the city code to reduce barriers for new child care centers, said access to child care is a critical part of workforce development.

While 31 new educators may not sound like a lot, she said that equates to more than 120 new child care slots in the city, based on student-teacher classroom ratios.

That is a lot, she said.
President Trump sent shock waves throughout the world when the U.S. successfully carried out an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The large-scale operation took place in the early hours of Saturday and involved more than 150 U.S. aircraft. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were swiftly charged in the Southern District of New York and are en route to New York aboard the USS Iwo Jima.

Trump made several headlines during a news conference detailing the operation, including his announcement that the U.S. will run the South American country until a new government is installed.

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While Republicans have lauded the administrations action to oust Maduro, Democrats were quick to condemn the operation and Congresss lack of involvement.

Here are five takeaways on Trumps stunning toppling of Maduro.

Trump seeks to run Venezuela, threatens more strikes

Perhaps the biggest headline out of Trumps news conference was his revelation that the U.S. would run Venezuela until a new leader is safely and peacefully installed.

Were going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition, Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort. We dont want to be involved with having somebody get in and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years.

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When asked to clarify specifically who will run Venezuela, Trump said the U.S will be running it with a group.

Were going to be running it with a group and were going to make sure its run properly, Trump told reporters. Were going to make sure the people of Venezuela are taken care of and were going to make sure the people of Venezuela who were forced out by this thug are taken care of.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez assumed power following Maduros capture on Saturday. When asked if the U.S. would work with Rodriguez, Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had had a conversation with her.

Shes essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again, he said.

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Trump warned that the U.S. was prepared to carry out a second strike if one was deemed necessary.

We are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so, Trump said. We actually assumed a second wave would be necessary but now its probably not.

Democrats cry foul

Democrats on Capitol Hill slammed the attacks, noting that Congress was not notified prior to the strikes being carried out.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement that the operation was entirely inconsistent with what Trumps Cabinet told Congress.

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We need to hear directly from the president on why his varying justifications to date warrant dragging America into an armed conflict without a clear end, Shaheen said.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over war powers and the deployment of armed forces, condemned the operation as a violation of international law that further undermines Americas global standing.

Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, also questioned the military action.

Maduro is an illegitimate ruler, but I have seen no evidence that his presidency poses a threat that would justify military action without congressional authorization, nor have I heard a strategy for the day after and how we will prevent Venezuela from descending into chaos, he said in a statement.

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Trump claimed Congress would leak the details and compromise the mission, with Rubio backing up that assertion.

Its just not the kind of mission that you can prenotify because it endangers the mission, Rubio said.

Operation spurs fear over precedent for Russia, China

Trump said the impact on U.S. relations with Russia, China and Iran  key Maduro allies  will center on oil.

While Trump did not provide a direct explanation, the strong implication was that Trump could use U.S. sales of Venezuelan oil to undercut Irans and Russias oil exports. China is a primary purchaser of Russian oil.

In terms of other countries that want oil, were in the oil business. Were going to sell it  in other words, well be selling oil.  Well be selling large amounts of oil to other countries, many of whom are using it now, the president said.

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Trump did not explicitly address how his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin might be affected by the Venezuelan operation, suggesting at one point that Russias war in Ukraine is getting straightened out and saying hes not thrilled with the Russian leader.

The presidents allies, however, sought to strike fear in U.S. adversaries. Trump on Friday threatened to launch military operations in Iran in defense of popular protests against the high cost of living.

When he tells you that hes going to do something, when he tells you hes going to address a problem, he means it. He actions it, Rubio said.

Nicolas Maduro had multiple opportunities to avoid this. He was provided multiple very, very, very generous offers, and chose instead to act like a wild man, Rubio continued.

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And the result is what we saw tonight.

Trump seeks control of Venezuelan oil

President Trump said Saturday that he wants the U.S. to control Venezuelas oil sector as the country holds the worlds largest proven reserve of the commodity.

The oil business in Venezuela has been a bust, a total bust, for a long period of time, Trump said during his press conference on Saturday.

Were going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country, he added.

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In the U.S., individual oil companies, not the government, decide whether and when to pump oil, as the U.S. does not have a state-run oil firm.

One U.S. company, Chevron, was already operating in Venezuela at the time of Maduros capture.

Maduro accused of drug trafficking, but indictment is slim on gang ties

Maduro, along with his wife and other members of his regime, face a four-count indictment that alleges the Venezuelan leader leveraged government power to protect and promote vast criminal conduct  from drug trafficking to terrorism  for the benefit of himself and his allies.

While the indictment accuses Maduro of involvement with six different terrorism and drug trafficking groups, in some cases it offers few details about those connections or makes only passing references to the organizations.

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Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York assert that, for more than 25 years, Venezuelan leaders abused their positions of public trust and power to corrupt government institutions and import tons of cocaine into the U.S.

Starting with his early days in government, Maduro allegedly provided diplomatic passports to drug traffickers and enabled diplomatic cover for planes carrying laundered money.

Maduro and his wife are also accused of running their own cocaine trafficking operation between 2006 and 2015, ordering the kidnappings, beatings and murders of people who undermined them.

And while Maduro was president, the U.S. government alleges he coordinated with Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia to aid in drug trafficking.

But the indictment is otherwise slim on long-standing accusations made by the Trump administration. While the Trump team has said Maduro has ties to the Tren de Aragua gang as well as Cartel de los Soles, the indictment does not offer any specific details about his connection to the groups other than to charge the gangs leader alongside him.

Though it also accuses him of having ties to two major Mexican cartels, the indictment offers little about the operations of the Sinaloa Cartel or the Zetas.

The legal battle is also sure to be dogged by questions over whether Trump had the authority to remove the leader.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Do you live in a state that has a high sales tax? A state that imposes no sales tax at all?

Consumption tax, the category that includes sales tax, is often a footnote at the end of a receipt, but it can impact your wallet all the same.

A tariff is also a consumption tax. And tariffs are becoming quite familiar to American taxpayers, thanks to President Donald Trump's 2025 campaign of import taxes.

Members of Congress make perennial efforts to expand consumption taxes. The FairTax Act of 2025 was the latest bid to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and replace income tax and other levies with a national sales tax. The measure has yet to reach a vote in the full House or Senate.

With tax season upon us, heres everything you need to know about a national consumption tax.

What is a national consumption tax?

Consumption tax is a tax on goods or services  what you spend, rather than what you earn. In the United States, consumption tax comes in the form of retail sales tax and excise tax (tax imposed on certain goods or activities, like alcohol or fuel), as well as the aforementioned tariffs.

A national consumption tax would create a federal tax on consumer goods, possibly to be emphasized over (or even replace) income and payroll tax, which funds Social Security, Medicare and other government programs.

Does the U.S. have a national consumption tax?

The United States does not currently have a national consumption tax. Other countries do, including Japan, which has a 7.8% standard and 6.24% reduced tax rate for items like food, drink and some newspapers. Over 175 countries, including all of Europe, impose a Value-Added Tax, which taxes goods and services at each stage of production.

Consumption taxes in the United States are on a state-by-state basis. Almost every state imposes sales tax, except for Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon, which instead allows cities to charge a local sales tax. California boasts the countrys highest state sales tax rate at 7.25%.

The FairTax Act would eliminate most current federal taxes in favor of a 23% federal sales tax. Tax experts have warned the act would mostly benefit the wealthy, who would see major tax cuts.

What is the future of the national consumption tax

According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the Fair Tax was first introduced in Congress in 1999 and has been reintroduced in each Congress since. In other words, you can probably expect more Fair Tax legislation in the future.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: National consumption tax: How it's different from income tax
Hundreds of flights to, from and within Greece have been cancelled or delayed due to a failure of the air-traffic control system.

The leading Greek airline, Aegean, has cancelled dozens of flights, mainly to and from Athens. It told passengers a technical issue affecting the radio frequency systems of the Hellenic Aviation Service Provider, which has been ongoing since the early morning hours continues to cause a significant reduction in capacity within Greek airspace.

Some flights to Athens have been diverted to Rome and Dubrovnik, while passengers heading for Thessaloniki on SAS are in Budapest and Transavia from Amsterdam diverted to the Albanian capital, Tirana. A flight from Vilnius to Heraklion in Crete is currently in Larnaca, Cyprus.

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One British passenger, John Berry, told The Independent: Hopefully we will still get home tonight. Just waiting for the flight LS1709 from Manchester to take off to collect us, as this is the last flight out of Athens for Jet2 until February.

The outbound Jet2 flight is now en route and is expected to arrive around 7pm, four hours behind schedule.

EasyJet told passengers from Manchester whose flight to Athens was cancelled: This is due to an ATH airport related airspace closure.

The disruption to your flight is outside of our control and is considered to be an extraordinary circumstance.

British Airways cancelled one of its morning departures from Heathrow to Athens. In the opposite direction, Aegean grounded its evening Athens-Heathrow flight, and the corresponding overnight inbound leg to the Greek capital.

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Ryanair has cancelled flights from Athens to Malta, Rome and Bologna.

Under air passengers rights rules, travellers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible on any airline, and to be provided with meals and hotels until they get there.

Athens airport later posted: The Hellenic Aviation Service Provider started gradual release of some flights in accordance with air-traffic control capacity availability. Efforts for full restoration of the technical issues are continued.
A Federal Aviation Administration ground stop that halted all departures from Palm Springs International Airport for much of Saturday afternoon has been lifted.

The disruption, caused by an air traffic control issue affecting Southern California airspace, came during a busy postNew Years travel weekend and the second day of the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

As of 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 3, flights are slowly resuming, but significant delays are expected as operations normalize. Travelers should continue to check their flight status directly with their airline.

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The airline industry tracking website FlightAware showed as many as 47 flights to or from PSP had been canceled on Saturday, while another 38 had been delayed as of around 3 p.m. The arrivals page on the airport website showed some flights still landing, though often after significant delays.

A chaotic scene in the baggage drop-off area at Palm Springs International Airport as a ground stop continued at the airport on Saturday, Jan. 3.

Airport spokesperson Jake Ingrassia's statement did not elaborate on the nature or cause of the issue. He did say that the problems were not specific to Palm Springs and were affecting other Southern California airports.

PSP continues to work closely with airline partners and the FAA, which is managing the situation," Ingrassia wrote. "Travelers should contact their airline directly for the latest flight information. PSP will share additional updates as needed."

Related: Where to eat, shop at Palm Springs International Airport: Our guide to the new spots

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The Desert Sun also reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration, which manages air traffic control nationwide, for more information on the situation, but did not receive an immediate response.

Several bags sit in Palm Springs International Airport on Saturday, Jan. 3 after a ground halt on all deaptures was issued.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development, and business in the Coachella Valley. Email him at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Flights slowly resume at Palm Springs airport after FAA ground stop
For the third time in seven years, hundreds of people had to flee a homeless shelter in downtown San Diego this week after a heavy storm dropped a months worth of rain, causing floods.

The area received 2in of rain on New Years Day, which broke local records and forced multiple water rescues, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Officials evacuated the Bridge shelter, a massive gray tent, on New Years Day, and about 325 men and women moved to a gym in a local park, the newspaper reported.

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Southern California has seen heavy storms in recent weeks  causing the states governor, Gavin Newsom, to declare a state of emergency  and the rainfall was expected to continue through the weekend.

The winter storms come less than a year after wildfires devastated much of the area. The Los Angeles fire department issued an evacuation warning in a burn-scarred area because of potential debris flow due to the rainfall, and the National Weather Service issued a flood watch and stated that areas near burn scars are prone to flash flooding.

Such extreme weather events are expected to increase because of climate change and the people most affected by such disasters are often those experiencing homelessness, according to recent research.

Not a great start to the new year, Bob McElroy, the CEO of Alpha Project, the non-profit that runs the shelter, told the Union-Tribune.

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Hundreds staying at the shelter also had to evacuate in 2018 and 2024.

Were definitely seeing more homelessness, more housing disruption, as a result of these disasters, Steve Berg, of the Washington-based National Alliance to End Homelessness, told NBC News in 2023.

Such events often reduce the housing supply and make it more difficult for people who lose their homes to find affordable housing. In 2024, 11 million people in the United States were displaced from their homes by natural disasters, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, an international nongovernmental organization, reported.

After wildfires broke out in 2023 in Maui, Hawaii, the state saw an 83% increase in homelessness, according to a US Department of Housing and Urban Development report.

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Disasters like wildfires and hurricanes cause the displacement of housed and unhoused people alike, a Georgetown Environmental Law Review report stated. In short-term events, like evacuations, stop-gap measures like temporary housing and camping may be sufficient to meet needs. But when disasters damage or destroy housing, survivors may seek permanent solutions, like new housing, only to find such additional housing unavailable because it was also destroyed and other scarcity at play in the real estate market broadly.

In 2024, flooding forced Bridge shelter residents to flee through waist-deep water, the Union-Tribune reported. About five years earlier, a flash flood hit the same shelter.

It takes a lot to scare me, and that scared me, one person staying at the shelter told the Union-Tribune.

This weeks storm again ravaged the property, at a time when the city already did not have enough beds for people needing shelter.

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Michael Coats, 68, who had been staying under the tent with his wife, remained optimistic despite being homeless and having to flee the shelter.

I call him God, Coats told a local NBC affiliate. It gives me my inspiration to keep trudging through this, from being on the street to where I am today and where I will end up one day with my wife and I back into another apartment.
The Florida Legislature has introduced a bill to ban paper straws, citing significant health risks associated with the harmful PFAS chemicals, nicknamed forever chemicals, found in many of these products.

The bill aims to unify straw regulations throughout Florida, tackling health issues and encouraging the use of better alternatives to single-use plastics.

Lawmakers highlight that current rules unfairly impact people with disabilities, for whom paper straws are not appropriate. The legislation seeks to establish consistent standards to replace non-compliant straws with alternatives that are renewable, compostable, and marine biodegradable.

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The bill states that by January 1, 2027, local governments are required to revise existing regulations on drinking straws and stirrers to meet the new standards established by the Legislature. This involves permitting the sale and use of straws that are certified as home compostable, industrially compostable, or marine biodegradable.

The legislation defines several key terms crucial for compliance, including home compostable certified and marine biodegradable.

These definitions will guide local governments in creating regulations that align with state requirements. The bill aims for a comprehensive review of current local regulations by the end of 2026, ensuring compliance with the new standards.

SEE THE BILL BELOW:

Paper Straw Ban Bill - Florida by WFTV Digital Team

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will have a few sleepless nights after President Donald Trump showed his determination to stop drugs entering the U.S. with his capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.

Jarrett told The Big Weekend Show crew on Saturday that Sheinbaum has done next to nothing to block drugs from pouring into the U.S. from her country. Her lack of help, Jarrett said, means the Trump Administration could ignore her entirely and go into Mexico to capture major drug dealers.

Do you think that President Sheinbaum is concerned that the next time an El Chapo in Mexico is arrested, that it wont be the result of cooperation with her country, itll be a unilateral option? Griff Jenkins asked.

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Well, youre right, and Trump has said so, Jarrett said while chuckling. Shes going to have a few sleepless nights from here on out. She saw the power of the American military and the determination of President Trump to rid the United States of the scourge of these horrendous drugs.

Jarrett said fentanyl makes its way from China and into Mexico, where it gets mixed and later distributed into the U.S. That has led to tens of thousands of deaths and makes Mexico a prime target for action, he said.

Mexico is a villain in all of this and has scarcely lifted a finger, Jarrett added. Some of their efforts are nothing more than a charade. So I think suddenly the head of Mexico has got a case of the for reals in seeing whats coming down the line, unless she does something aggressively to stop it.

His comments come a few hours after the Mexican government said it strongly condemns and rejects Americas military operation in Venezuela.

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Trump told Fox & Friends on Saturday that the drug cartels are running Mexico, rather than Sheinbaum. The president told reporters the U.S. will be running Venezuela after Maduro and his wife were captured.

Watch above.

The post Fox News Legal Analyst: Mexican President Will Have Sleepless Nights After Maduro Arrested on Drug Charges first appeared on Mediaite.
The British Ministry of Defence said it had cooperated with France on Saturday night to strike an underground facility in Syria that had likely been used by the Islamic State group to store weapons.

The ministry said there was no indication the bombing north of the ancient site of Palmyra had posed any risk to civilians.

"Royal Air Force aircraft have completed successful strikes against Daesh in a joint operation with France," the ministry said in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

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"This facility had been occupied by Daesh, most likely to store weapons and explosives. The area around the facility is devoid of any civilian habitation," the statement added.

The French military command later Sunday confirmed on X that it had carried out "strikes against positions of the Islamic State terrorist group" to "prevent the resurgence of Daesh", without giving further details.

The strikes were carried out as part of Operation Inherent Resolve  the international anti-jihadist coalition coordinated by the United States, the message said.

British aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to target several access tunnels leading to the facility, the statement said, adding that a detailed assessment was currently underway but that initial indications showed that "the target was successfully hit". It did not specify the role of French aircraft.

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A year after Assad's fall, Syrian hopes for transitional justice are fading

Ongoing presence

IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 but still maintains a presence, particularly in the country's vast desert.

Known to Syrians as the "Pearl of the Desert", Palmyra was home to UNESCO-listed ancient ruins before Syria's 13-year war.

IS launched a campaign of destruction after capturing Palmyra, using its ancient theatre as a venue for public executions and murdering its 82-year-old former antiquities chief.

The jihadists blew up the shrine of Baal Shamin, destroyed the Temple of Bel, dynamited the Arch of Triumph, looted the museum and defaced statues and sarcophagi.

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Last month, Washington said a lone IS gunman in Palmyra attacked American personnel, killing two US soldiers and a US civilian.

Trump vows revenge after troops in Syria killed in alleged IS ambush

US forces said they struck dozens of IS targets in Syria in retaliation.

(with AFP)
The city of Franklin has plans for continued expansion into 2026.

To that end, the Franklin Police Department has announced it is again accepting applications for new officers through Jan. 9.

Were looking for men and women who want to serve a city that truly stands behind its police department. Our officers are supported, valued, and given every opportunity to succeed, Chief Deb Faulkner said in prepared statements.

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The new announcement comes after the department welcomed its largest recruitment class in history in 2025.

In August, 14 officers from across the nation joined Franklin PD as part of that class.

As with the last cohort, the City of Franklin is promising competitive salaries for officers who wish to join the ranks.

Salaries will start at $65,000 for those without certification.

Lateral candidates with P.O.S.T. certification will start at $68,000.

Franklin officials did not specify how many officers they planned to hire during this campaign. However, the department did say there was the potential for advancement into specialty units like SWAT, criminal investigations, traffic, dive and swiftwater, crisis negotiation, forensic services and honor guard.

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If you want to be part of a department that trains hard, serves with heart, and is backed every single day by its community, Franklin is the place to be, Faulkner said in the statement. We are excited to welcome the next generation of officers.

Franklin announced its first hiring campaign in April and, much like this time around, outlined a strict timeline for application.

During that campaign, the department saw almost 200 people apply, Faulkner said, adding that it shows "just how special this department is.

Before the April campaign, Franklin PD employed 143 officers. The force is considered average for the size of the population it serves, figures show.

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Lebanon in Wilson County, of similar size to Franklin, employs about 140 officers.

Murfreesboro, in nearby Rutherford County, employs about 177.

At the time the new hires were announced, Faulkner said some of the candidates came from other agencies, including the Lewisburg Police Department, Columbia (TN) Police Department, Brentwood (TN) Police Department, New York City Transit Police and Sewanee Police Department.

And the hiring push didn't end there.

In November, Franklin announced it would be hiring its first victim services coordinator as it makes "an effort to strengthen ... support and care for victims and witnesses of crime and traumatic events."

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Supporting victims of crime is a responsibility we take very seriously, Faulkner said in prepared statements at that time. This position reinforces our commitment to compassionate policing and ensures that individuals experiencing trauma receive the care, dignity, and guidance they deserve. Bringing a Victim Services Coordinator onto our team is essential to delivering the level of service our community expects.

The position was expected to be hired as a full-time role and report directly to Faulkner. As of press time for this story, the role remained open but the application period had closed.

Other area agencies, like Metro Nashville Police, have a dedicated person or office available to help with victim services.

Franklin's creation of the role reflects a growing priority among law enforcement agencies nationwide to strengthen victim advocacy, trauma-informed response, and holistic services for those impacted by crime, the department said in November.

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Anyone interested in joining the Franklin Police Department as part of the new officer cohort must apply before the January deadline. To learn more or submit an application, visit FranklinTN.gov/Jobs.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Franklin Police to hire more cops. There's a January deadline
Over the past few days, France and Malaysia have joined India in condemning Grok for creating sexualized deepfakes of women and minors.

The chatbot, built by Elon Musks AI startup xAI and featured on his social media platform X, posted an apology to its account earlier this week, writing, I deeply regret an incident on Dec 28, 2025, where I generated and shared an AI image of two young girls (estimated ages 12-16) in sexualized attire based on a users prompt.

The statement continued, This violated ethical standards and potentially US laws on [child sexual abuse material]. It was a failure in safeguards, and Im sorry for any harm caused. xAI is reviewing to prevent future issues.

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Its not clear who is actually apologizing or accepting responsibility in the statement above. Defectors Albert Burneko noted that Grok is not in any real sense anything like an I, which in his view makes the apology utterly without substance as Grok cannot be held accountable in any meaningful way for having turned Twitter into an on-demand CSAM factory.

Futurism found that in addition to generating nonconsensual pornographic images, Grok has also been used to generate images of women being assaulted and sexually abused.

Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content, Musk posted on Saturday.

Some governments have taken notice, with Indias IT ministry issuing an order on Friday saying that X must take action to restrict Grok from generating content that is obscene, pornographic, vulgar, indecent, sexually explicit, pedophilic, or otherwise prohibited under law. The order said that X must respond within 72 hours or risk losing the safe harbor protections that shield it from legal liability for user-generated content.

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French authorities also said they are taking action, with the Paris prosecutors office telling Politico that it will investigate the proliferation of sexually explicit deepfakes on X. The French digital affairs office said three government ministers have reported manifestly illegal content to the prosecutors office and to a government online surveillance platform to obtain its immediate removal.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission also posted a statement saying that it has taken note with serious concern of public complaints about the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the X platform, specifically the digital manipulation of images of women and minors to produce indecent, grossly offensive, and otherwise harmful content.

The commission added that it is presently investigating the online harms in X.
Its not every day you drive down Mount Elliott Street in Detroit and see two horses pulling a hearse.

But that was the case on a recent frigid December day as the Top Hats and Tails Carriage Company led a funeral procession to Elmwood Cemetery for 98-year-old family matriarch Ruby Smith, of Detroit.

Utilizing his horse-drawn hearse wasnt really on Top Hats and Tails owner John Balhorns bingo card until around the time COVID-19 arrived. He recognized a need.

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Not many were doing it, and I saw a demand, said Balhorn, of Ortonville. Balhorn's company had become known for carriage rides for weddings and other special events, but he found he really felt a connection to the peacefulness of funerals. Now they have become the bulk of his business, with two or three funerals a week in metro Detroit, Saginaw and Flint.

The family of the late Ruby Smith, of Detroit, prepares to lay her to rest at the Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025.

Its very quiet, he said, comparing funerals to other work in the more than 25 years of running his company.

On the day of the recent march down Mount Elliott, Cathy Hicks, of Hadley, was on the ready as Balhorns helpful horse handler. Dressed in a heated vest and winter coveralls, she waited with Lady and Betsy, two Percheron draft horses, in a dirt and snow-covered lot on Mount Elliott.

More: Michigan's beauty, hard truths revealed in Freep's best photos of 2025

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Once Smiths coffin arrived, pallbearers jumped out to transfer Smiths shiny ruby red coffin from a traditional hearse driven by members of the QA Cantrell Funeral Services to the horse-drawn hearse. The ride to her interment would include traveling south on Mount Elliott, then west on Lafayette to Elmwood Cemetery, the historic burial location established about 180 years ago.

The stately carriage looks like something out of an Edgar Allen Poe story. Leaf springs and rubber-rimmed wheels help keep a trip with a coffin smooth and steady, and there's only room for the driver and one other person on a short bench seat. The wrapping glass windows allow loved ones to easily see the coffin during its travels.

I wanted to make sure her homecoming was built for the queen she was, said Smith's granddaughter, Crystal Phillips, of Detroit. She had a heart of gold, continued Phillips, who spoke of the woman who was known to help family members in a pinch, pay a utility bill, or host holiday dinners. She started our family reunions in the '70s, she said, remembering attending the big annual events at Belle Isle.

Horse handler Cathy Hicks, 61, of Hadley, gets prepared to hook up Betsy and Lady, two Percheron draft horses, on a dirt lot on Mount Elliott Street in Detroit. The horses are part of Top Hat and Tails Carriage Company of Ortonville, and will be leading the funeral hearse procession for the late Ruby Smith, of Detroit, on her way to interment at Elmwood Cemetery on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025.

This looks so good, said another family member. You did right by her.

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More: Free Press photographers favorite photos reveal beauty, emotion

Upon arriving at the cemetery, the family prepared for a graveside service as the peachy sunset lingered, reflecting a glint of light off of Smiths coffin. The clip-clopping of the horses faded into the distance as John and Cathy, and Betsy and Lady, traveled to their trailer to pack up and head home.

For more information https://tophatsandtails.com/

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Top Hats and Tails Carriage Company offers horse-drawn hearse
Ever fewer people are applying for asylum in Germany, according to data issued by the Interior Ministry on Sunday, which put first-time applications at 113,236 in 2025.

That figure is less than half the 229,751 applications registered a year earlier and almost a third of the 329,120 asylum requests filed in 2023.

A report by Bild am Sonntag newspaper put the combined number of first-time and follow-up applications at 168,543, a decline of around 33% from 351,915 in 2023.

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Follow-up applications can be filed if circumstances have changed after the initial claim was withdrawn or rejected.

Experts cite several reasons for the steady decline in asylum seekers, including border checks introduced from October 2023 under the previous government and intensified this year under conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024 has also led to a decline in the number of Syrians seeking asylum in Germany.

In Italy, a more restrictive migration policy is thought to have curbed the number of arrivals, with knock-on effects for Germany, while the reverse is said of Spain, where irregular migrants with job prospects have better chances of securing legal status.

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The Interior Ministry in Berlin ascribes the changes to a turnaround in German migration policy, characterized by rejections at the borders, a refusal to take in family members, the scrapping of fast-track citizenship applications and an increase in migrant returns.

"The clear signal from Germany, that migration policy in Europe has changed, has reached the rest of the world," Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in a statement to Bild am Sonntag.

He said the government was taking a clear and consistent approach to migration.

"Those who have no claim to protection should not come; those who become offenders must leave," Dobrindt said.

According to the ministry, deportations rose by around 20% last year. Since January 1, there have been new deportations to Afghanistan of people who committed crimes in Germany.
Venezuela is now sitting on 303 billion barrels of oil.

What happens to that stockpile could impact global crude oil prices.

Prolonged fluctuations in oil prices impact what everyday Americans pay at the pump.

Following the US assault on Venezuela, all eyes in the market will shift to what that means for the 303 billion barrels of oil the country is sitting on.

The price of crude oil will be top of mind, as it's what will most directly impact everyday Americans, in the form of what they pay at the pump.

The commodity doesn't trade over the weekend, but any future price action will likely be driven by how the situation with Venezuela impacts the world's overall oil supply.

Three key considerations suggest the impact on oil prices will be muted in the near term:

Although Venezuela is now sitting on so many barrels of oil  a fifth of the world's reserve  it presently accounts for less than 1% of daily global crude production

Reports say Venezuela's oil infrastructure wasn't impacted by the series of US attacks, minimizing any potential disruption

The global oil surplus is expected to reach a record in 2026

Trump said Saturday that the US will look to tap Venezuelan oil reserves. This increased production could push already-depressed crude oil prices even lower.

As shown in the chart below, crude oil has fallen sharply since the start of last year.

Any US companies that start drilling in Venezuela will face a catch-22: The more oil they add to the world's existing surplus, the further prices will fall, and the less profit they'll reap for their drilling efforts.

How they decide to proceed will ultimately shape the price of oil  and what normal consumers pay to live their lives.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The German bank targeted in a spectacular burglary in which thieves made off with tens of millions of euros worth of cash and goods will remain closed for several more days as repair work continues.

The Sparkasse branch in the western city of Gelsenkirchen said additional time was needed to complete repairs after perpetrators drilled a large hole into the vault and looted safe deposit boxes a week ago. Customers will be informed once the branch reopens.

Specialists have since sealed the hole, it added.

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Sparkasse staff are also still cataloguing valuables and documents left behind by the suspects, a process the bank said would take some time.

Emergency services discovered the elaborate break-in in the early hours of December 29 after a fire alarm was triggered. The perpetrators forced open nearly all 3,250 safety deposit boxes at the bank.

Investigators said the suspects gained access from an adjacent parking garage and entered an archive room, from which they drilled a large hole into the vault. Police believe the burglary may have taken place over several days.

The bank has begun sending letters to safety deposit box holders, asking them to provide inventories and proof of contents, such as photographs. More than 1,000 affected customers have already contacted a dedicated hotline, Sparkasse said.

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Most owners of the roughly 150 undamaged safety deposit boxes have also been reached.

Initial estimates put the stolen loot roughly in line with the insured amount of around 30 million ($35 million), though police said the actual losses could be significantly higher.

Police release images of suspects

Police at the weekend released surveillance images of the masked suspects in the parking garage.

The images show three people wearing black balaclavas, with one suspect wearing red gloves and another green gloves. Police also released images of a black Audi RS 6 and a white Mercedes Citan van, which they believe were used as getaway vehicles.

Both vehicles were fitted with fake licence plates, police said.
A German man who had been in a coma for more than a year after being attacked by teenagers on the Spanish island of Mallorca has died.

The man died on Saturday in a hospital on the island, the lawyer representing the German national said on Sunday.

The German-language Mallorca Zeitung newspaper, citing the victim's partner, said the man's parents had decided to withdraw life-sustaining treatment.

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The German expatriate, who worked as a project manager for a call centre on the island, was attacked on November 30, 2024, while walking home after a Christmas party in the islands capital, Palma.

According to investigators, the attackers punched and kicked the then 58-year-old, including while he lay motionless on the ground. But the motive for the beating has not been fully established.

Investigators believe the teenagers may have carried out the attack to impress two girls who witnessed the incident and are now under witness protection.

Police arrested the two suspects about a month later, one of whom had fled to mainland Spain. Both are being held in separate juvenile detention facilities.

The trial is scheduled to begin in February. Prosecutors have charged the suspects with murder.
Germany's notoriously poor railway punctuality declined further last year, with just 60.1% of long-distance trains arriving on time, Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported on Sunday.

Deutsche Bahn's punctuality rate was 62.5% in 2024, and 74.4% in 2015. Germany's rail operator counts a train as late if it is delayed by six minutes or more.

The main reasons given for the delays are the many construction sites on the dilapidated rail network and overloaded long-distance hubs, where trains repeatedly back up.

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A railway spokesman told the paper that Deutsche Bahn was at a turning point.

It is clear, however, that passengers must expect considerable delays in 2026.

Evelyn Palla, who took over at the helm of Deutsche Bahn last year, pledged that at least 60% of long-distance trains are to run on time.

"We also had a significantly declining trend in punctuality in 2025, especially in long-distance and regional transport," Palla said. "The task now is to stabilize this downward trend."

She is sticking to the government's punctuality target of at least 70% by the end of 2029.

To tackle Deutsche Bahn's problems, Palla plans to reorganize the state-owned group, devolving more responsibility to regional managers in determining how targets can be achieved in practice.

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Palla also intends to significantly slim down the company's management structures at its Berlin headquarters, by cutting around half of the current 43 managerial posts at the level below the group executive board.

Two positions on the group's executive board have already been eliminated.
President Donald Trump committed Saturday to U.S. military rule in Venezuela for the foreseeable future after an early morning military strike and ground operation captured authoritarian ruler Nicolas Maduro, who is being transported to New York to stand trial on narco-trafficking charges.

Were going to run it essentially until such time as a proper transition can take place, Trump told reporters gathered around noon at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.

Live updates: Miamis Venezuelan community celebrates Maduros capture

He focused heavily throughout his remarks on plans for U.S. oil companies to build extraction infrastructure, marking a sharp departure from his past focus on drug trafficking and Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of State Marco Rubios framing of Saturdays capture as a law enforcement action.

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Were gonna be running it with a group and were gonna make sure its run properly, Trump said. Were going to rebuild the oil infrastructure, which will cost billions of dollars which will be paid for by the oil companies.

He also suggested the U.S. military presence in Venezuela will be paid for by oil money. After a reporter asked if the United States could end up administering Venezuela for years, Trump did not shoot down the possibility.

It wont cost us anything because the money coming out of the ground is very substantial, he said. So its not gonna cost us anything.

Trump did not discuss whether the military plans to install Edmundo Gonzalez, who U.S. leaders have said legitimately won the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election. Trump said Saturday that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado  the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize  doesnt have the respect to lead the country.

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I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesnt have the support within or the respect within the country, he said. Shes a very nice woman, but she doesnt have the respect.

Trump instead suggested his administration plans to work with Maduros vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, who he said was sworn in as president after Maduros capture and spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this morning.

Shes essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again, very simple, Trump claimed.

Trump framed his plans for ongoing U.S. military presence in Venezuela as protection for Venezuelan people and said the U.S. is prepared for a much bigger wave of military strikes that we probably wont have to do.

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We cant take a chance that someone else takes over Venezuela that doesnt have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind, decades of that, were not going to let that happen, Trump said. Were there now.

Trumps focus on oil extraction was in sharp contrast to Rubios insistence during the same press conference that Saturdays capture was narrowly executed in response to a grand jury indictment. That indictment, unsealed and released by the DOJ Saturday morning, makes no mention of oil.

Its largely a law enforcement function. Remember, at the end of the day, at its core, this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American justice and the Department of War supported the Department of Justice in that job, Rubio said in response to questions about why congressional leaders werent notified of the military plans.

Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie said on social media that Trumps plans for oil extraction and sustained U.S. military presence doesnt seem the least bit consistent with the earlier characterization from Bondi and Rubio.

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The unsealed indictment charges Maduro with narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine and possession of machine guns and other weapons. The U.S. posted a $50 million reward for his capture earlier this year.

Earlier in the day, Trump said Maduros capture was necessary because the U.S. is at war with Venezuela over drugs  a narrative more closely resembling Bondi and Rubios justifications for the military action.

We had to do it because its a war. Were losing 300,000 people a year, Trump said on Fox News Saturday morning. It was not immediately clear what number he was citing. There were about 80,000 drug overdose deaths in 2024, down from about 110,000 the previous three years, according to the CDC .

The real number is 300,000, in my opinion, he said earlier in the Fox News interview, also acknowledging Venezuela is not the source of most drugs in the U.S. They come in through the Southern border, mostly the Southern border.

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Like other South Florida Republicans on Saturday morning, Rubio hailed the strike as a potential prelude to change in Cuba, which has helped prop up Maduro in Venezuela.

This poor island took over Venezuela in some cases. One of the biggest problems Venezuelans have is they have to declare independence from Cuba, Rubio said after Trump announced the plans for a U.S. administration of Venezuela. If I lived in Havana and I worked in the government, Id be concerned, at least a little bit.
Early on Jan. 3, U.S. law enforcement and military personnel conducted an operation that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. He was indicted in federal court on weapon and drug charges.

Maduros capture is good for the United States and good for the people of Venezuela. America was morally and practically justified in acting, even if some legal debates remain.

At the outset, I want to say the most important thing here: It is good that Maduro is no longer in power. The caveat is that, though I like the end result, President Donald Trump should have sought authorization from Congress, even though his actions are in line with those of past presidents in that regard.

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Opinion: Why is Congress letting Trump blow up suspected drug boats without proof?

Regime change in Venezuela is a noble goal and in America's interest

Maduro was an illegitimate leader who stole elections and locked up those who protested.

There was ample evidence that he had used his power to traffic narcotics into the United States, and the Venezuelan regime oppresses its own citizens. Mass shortages from these policies have led to malnutrition and starvation.

Reactions to the United States' bombing of Venezuela and capture of the country's president Nicolas Maduro ranged across the world. Some celebrated the operation while others rebuked Trump's intervention in the South American country. See the reactions in photos, beginning here with Venezuelans living in Chile celebrating in Santiago on January 3, 2026. A child holds a placard saying "I will meet my grandparents" as people react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. A woman reacts to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. Armed supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gather near the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured him. A Venezuelan man living in Chile celebrates with a national flag and his car reading "Free Venezuela" in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. The Trump administration said on December 3 that Venezuela's captured Maduro and his wife will face "the full wrath of American justice" under drug and terrorism charges. A man holds up a portrait of late Venezuela's leader (1999-2013) Hugo Chavez in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Activists of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) burn an effigy of US President Donald Trump during a rally in Kolkata on January 3, 2026, to protest against the recent US attack on Venezuela. A supporter of Nicolas Maduro holds a portrait of the Venezuelan President during a gathering near the Palacio de Miraflores in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. Demonstrators hold up a banner with the lettering reading 'Stop Trump - Free Venezuela' during a rally organised by left-wing 'Anti-Imperialist Coordination' (Antiimperialistische Koordination - AIK) under the motto 'Hands off Venezuela' at Vienna's Votive Park on January 3, 2026. The EU called for "restraint" and respect for international law in Venezuela on January 3 after US President Trump announced US forces had captured leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale assault. Demonstrators march with a banner with the lettering reading 'Hands off Venezuela' during a rally organised by left-wing 'Anti-Imperialist Coordination' (Antiimperialistische Koordination - AIK) in Vienna on January 3, 2026. The EU called for "restraint" and respect for international law in Venezuela on January 3 after US President Trump announced US forces had captured leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale assault. Venezuelans living in Peru celebrate outside the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and Venezuelan. Venezuelans living in Peru celebrate outside the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and Venezuelan. Venezuelans living in Peru celebrate at the Miguel de Cervantes park, near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelans living in Peru dance to celebrate at the Miguel de Cervantes park, near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. A Venezuelan woman living in Peru celebrates with a national flag at the Miguel de Cervantes park, near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Activists of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) protest against the recent US attack on Venezuela, in Kolkata on January 3, 2026. Members of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) group hold banners outside the U.S. Embassy in London calling for "Hands off Venezuela!", after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in London, Britain, January 3, 2026. People embrace next to a Venezuelan flag, as they react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. See reactions after US explosions in Venezuela, Maduro capture 1 of 21 Reactions to the United States' bombing of Venezuela and capture of the country's president Nicolas Maduro ranged across the world. Some celebrated the operation while others rebuked Trump's intervention in the South American country. See the reactions in photos, beginning here with Venezuelans living in Chile celebrating in Santiago on January 3, 2026.

The liberation of the Venezuelan people from such a regime would be a good thing, and if America is in the business of nation-building, I pray we succeed. There are difficulties with achieving that result, and there will surely be intense debates over what role the United States should play in the future of Venezuela. However, removing Maduro from the picture is the essential first step. The celebrations from Venezuelans both in-country and abroad should put a smile on all of our faces.

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So, too, is it good for the United States that Maduro is gone. It is good to uproot a regime that traffics drugs into our country, likely contributing to the deaths of many Americans and the destruction of even more lives.

It is good for America to have one less hostile regime that is allied with Russia, China, Cuba and Iran in our hemisphere.

President Donald Trump, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, addresses reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 3, 2026, after a U.S. strike on Venezuela where President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured. The couple landed in New York on Saturday evening to face federal charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and two illegal weapons counts based on allegations that Maduro helped ship tons of cocaine to the United States over a period of decades.

Reasserting our control over our region is a noble goal. The anxiety felt by Mexican drug cartels and the hostile Cuban regime stemming from this ought to serve as a powerful deterrent against their own anti-American actions.

Those who think such functions of the federal government are not in the interest of America are shortsighted. If we can prevent drug trafficking, we should do so. If we can uproot hostile regimes in our immediate surroundings without entering into full-scale war, we should do so. If we can weaken China, Russia, Cuba, Iran or any other country that hates us, we should do so.

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These functions are essential to U.S. security and dominance.

Another view: Trump's unauthorized Venezuela attack doesn't help Americans | Opinion

The legality of Trump administration's Maduro operation is gray

A Department of Justice aircraft arrives with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores at Stewart Air National Guard Base on January 3, 2026 in Newburgh, New York.

The legality of the operation is far less cut and dry than the moral and practical rationales. The ability to make war resides in Congress, and the president must seek authorization from the legislative branch.

The Trump administration has tried to get around this by labeling it a primarily law-enforcement operation, but that's an argument of semantics and doesnt truly change the legality of the operation.

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.

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In addition, the fact that we are now entertaining the possibility of running the country to some degree undermines the pure law-enforcement explanation.

Regardless of the motivation, we took hostile action to interfere with another nations sovereignty, and that does require congressional approval. Trump should have gone to Congress to get authorization for the mission. Fears of leaks are understandable, but that doesnt change the demands of the Constitution.

That being said, the military actions of presidents this century have more or less set the precedent that Trump can act in such a manner without congressional authorization. The fact that this is the status quo doesnt make it right, but it does eliminate the partisan angles of these actions, given that Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden have all taken actions outside of congressional authorization. At no point has Congress actually taken up the mantle of reasserting its war powers as a body.

A proper interpretation of the presidential war powers would mean that Trump went through Congress to take action in Venezuela. Congress should be on board with such actions, but Trump did not give them a chance to be on the right side of this one. Trumps actions are in line with the status quo of presidential war powers, but not in line with the constitutionally proper interpretation.

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Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.

You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump was right to capture Maduro. He did it the wrong way | Opinion
HONOLULU (KHON2)  Four of Hawaiis Congressional Delegation released statements on Saturday, Jan. 3, in response to President Trumps overnight operation in Venezuela.

At a time when Americans cant afford rent, healthcare, or groceries, the Trump administration found time and money for regime change in Venezuela, risking a war that Americans dont want. Before we spend another dollar on this reckless conflict, the American people deserve answers, including what this administrations exit strategy is. Americans wanted help and hope in 2026, not another war, said Tokuda. U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02)

Trump says US will run Venezuela, control oil production

Others echoed concerns about the legality of the operation, pointing to both international law and the U.S. Constitution.

Nicholas Maduro is an illegitimate and oppressive dictator and the people of Venezuela deserve better. But that alone doesnt justify an armed attack on a sovereign country and forced regime change in violation of international law, said Case. And unless there was an imminent threat to our country, it doesnt justify violating our Constitution and war powers law, which wisely reserves to Congress the grave decision to go to war. U.S. Representative Ed Case (HI-01)

Case also emphasized that Congress plays a critical role in decisions involving war and military force.

I dont yet know the full facts or the Presidents justification to attack Venezuela, place our troops in harms way, capture Maduro and administer the country, said Case. But the precedent of any President taking our country to war arbitrarily, single-handedly and without the approval of Congress has cascading effects that are far more dangerous. U.S. Representative Ed Case (HI-01)

Senator Brian Schatz also weighed in, saying the operation could put American lives and interests at risk.

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Maduro, wife face new indictment: What we know about the case

President Trump is jeopardizing American lives and interests  and stating plainly that the purpose is for U.S. oil companies to make money in Venezuela. Either these companies knew about these plans in advance, or hes ordering corporations to be a part of his effort to overthrow another government, said Schatz. This operation is illegal under international law and unconstitutional without prior congressional approval. The United States should not be running other countries for any reason. We should have learned by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans. U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)

Hawaiis congressional lawmakers stressed that, while the situation in Venezuela is complex, military action should not be taken lightly.

Nicolas Maduro should be held accountable for his actions, but Donald Trumps unilateral decision to overthrow his regime does nothing to make our country safer. Instead, without any authorization from Congress or any clear plan for what comes next, Trump is plunging our nation into a conflict that could put American lives at risk while destabilizing the region and our relationships with our allies, said Hirono. Trumps characteristically chaotic suggestion that the U.S is going to run Venezuela indefinitely, without any details, shows his disregard for the consequences of decades of misguided American intervention around the world. Trump promised to end forever wars and not engage in regime change. As usual, he says one thing and does another. U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI)

Trump posts photo Maduro on US ship to New York

With questions still surrounding the operation, Hawaiis congressional leaders say transparency and oversight are critical moving forward. They stated that decisions of this extent should not be made without the involvement of Congress or the public.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2.
The Trump administration's strikes on Venezuela and capture of President Nicolas Maduro represent a major victory for foreign policy hawks in President Donald Trumps Cabinet, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, who have advocated for an increase in pressure against Venezuela over the last few months in the name of ousting a leader they decried as an authoritarian drug trafficker.

It's a far cry from his first administration, when Trump floated the idea of invading Venezuela but was talked down by then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, then-Defense Secretary James Mattis and then-national security adviser H.R. McMaster.

The Saturday morning raid is a brazen escalation of U.S. involvement in a foreign country that landed the same weekend Trump publicly threatened to defend Iranian demonstrators against their own government. It serves as a fitting coda to Trumps first year back in power, one marked by dramatically more involvement in foreign conflicts than candidate Trump or first-term Trump predicted.

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While a small number of Republican lawmakers offered criticism of Saturday's raid, much of the MAGA movement appears to be falling in line  even Trump strategist Steve Bannon, who often pushes the "America first" agenda, praised the president in the immediate aftermath of the military action, calling it a bold and brilliant raid. Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, no Trump ally, called Maduro a thug and praised the military action.

It remains to be seen if those advocating regime change in Venezuela will get what they want. A hand-picked ally of Maduro, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, is currently ruling the country, and it is unclear whether a democratic transition will ultimately materialize. Trump said the U.S. would run the country in the interim.

Still, the move against Maduro would have been almost unimaginable during Trumps first term and during the heat of the 2024 campaign, when Trump adopted the views of restrainers who were skeptical of unconditional aid to Ukraine and spoke of the need to stop engaging in forever wars.

We are going to run the country in the wake of the U.S. military operation, Trump said at Mar-a-Lago before explaining that the United States want to surround ourselves with good neighbors,  stability, energy.

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Im surprised because we had talked about not doing regime change but not surprised because this is Marco's dream, said a person close to the White House granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive situation. Rubios stock has been skyrocketing.

The success came in part because of decisions inside the administration to reframe the issue in Venezuela as a law enforcement operation, which plays well with the MAGA base.

They get to go out there and message it wasnt necessarily regime change. Sure that happened, but the goal here is executing the warrant, hes a narco-terrorist, said the person close to the White House.

Rubio was able to marry his longtime desire for Maduros ouster with Trumps yearslong fixation on clawing back Venezuelas oil supplies.

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"Its clearly Rubio driven, said a White House ally familiar with the conversations and also granted anonymity to describe them. The secretarys arguments, according to the ally: There is American economic incentive for the U.S. because of oil; there is a national security concern about driving China and Russia out of a country close to the U.S.; and its a huge political win with Hispanic voters whose families have experienced oppressive regimes.

And finally, Rubio, who has pushed for Maduros ouster since at least 2019, argues that Maduro is not the legitimate president of Venezuela. That's not just us saying it, Rubio said in remarks at Mar-a-Lago The first Trump administration, the Biden administration, the second Trump administration  none of those three recognize them.

What made the episode even more striking, however, was the lack of an uproar from the right wing of the party which has balked at previous acts of foreign intervention.

While a small number of Republican lawmakers offered criticism, much of the MAGA movement appears to be falling in line. Bannon offered the clearest signal yet.

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Even as he criticized Trumps rhetoric toward Iran as echoing Hillary Clintons interventionist playbook, Bannon on his War Room podcast and video show embraced the Venezuela operation on Saturday.

He opened his show by praising the raid and his first guest, Blackwater cofounder Erik Prince, praised U.S. forces for a magnificent job. The applause from a figure once synonymous with MAGAs anti-war instincts underscored how far the coalition has shifted  or how carefully the administration has framed this particular action.

Others close to the MAGA base are justifying the strike as a direct extension of Trumps core campaign promise: to make America safe again.

The isolationists and the Reaganites dont agree on much, but one area where they do is the Western Hemisphere, said a former senior Trump administration official granted anonymity to discuss the intraparty dynamics. The isolationists are more comfortable being a little more internationalist when it comes to our backyard. But beyond the Western Hemisphere they start to think maybe we dont have any business getting involved.

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Matthew Kroenig, vice president and senior director of the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a former Pentagon official, said that widespread support, even from isolationists in the administration, was perhaps more of a political calculation than a policy one.

Reading the tea leaves of where the power is in the administration, you dont want to get on the wrong side of Stephen Miller or others in the White House close to the president, he said.

Another former official, however, identified a divide between hawks and restrainers that has emerged around the development of the National Security Strategy, with hawks successfully getting the White House on board with more expansive military goals for Venezuela and the region.

The Western Hemisphere section of both documents is the most amorphous and the region that is departing from that standard, said the former official, who said people such as Rubio were successful in connecting flows of immigration and the drug epidemic to military operations in Venezuela, even as restraint-minded officials raised concerns about the Pentagon getting bogged down in the region.

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Asked whether MAGA voters would accept the operation, Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz drew a sharp distinction between intervention and what he described as accountability.

This isnt regime change, this is justice, Bruesewitz said in a text.. Maduro sent thousands of violent and dangerous criminals into our country along with deadly drugs that took the lives of countless Americans. President Trump promised to make America safe again on the campaign trail and he is delivering on that promise.

That framing  justice rather than regime change  has become central to the administrations effort to unify its factions.

U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz, another hawkish voice inside the Trump administration, used similar language.

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Maduro was an indicted, illegitimate dictator that led a declared Narco-terrorism organization responsible for killing American citizens, Waltz said on X.

By tying Maduro directly to crime, migration and drugs, Trump and his allies have recast a dramatic foreign operation as a domestic security measure.

The result is a Republican Party that, at least for now, looks more comfortable with the use of force than it has in years, so long as it is packaged as decisive, limited, Trumpian and somehow still America First.

Even conservatives whove had no qualms about taking Trump to task on other issues have thrown their support behind Trumps move in Venezuela. The TRUMP DOCTRINE puts America First in the Western Hemisphere, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) wrote on X after conversations with Rubio Saturday morning. ... taking out drug cartels, & promoting free markets and democracy.

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But moderate and conservative lawmakers alike are expressing caution about some of the administrations potentially loftier ambitions in the South American petrostate.

The only country that the United States of America should be running is the United States of America, said influential moderate Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.). The United States should join the international community in monitoring and overseeing a free and fair election in Venezuela, allowing the Venezuelan people a pathway to a true democracy.

Jack Detsch contributed to this report.
Created more than two decades ago, health savings accounts are a popular way for consumers to get tax breaks while saving for medical expenses.

But could these accounts take on a larger role in how U.S. consumers pay for and get health care? Senate Republicans have proposed just that. They want to give eligible Americans up to $1,500 to fund health savings accounts rather than extend COVID-19 pandemic-era subsidies that made Affordable Care Act health insurance less expensive for 22 million Americans.

Health savings accounts are commonly used among workers who get health insurance through an employer. As of mid-2025, a national survey showed U.S. consumers had 40 million health savings accounts with $159 billion in deposits, a 16% surge in savings from a year before.

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Those figures show an increasing share of Americans rely on health savings accounts to save for unexpected medical expenses, said Scott Cutler, CEO of HealthEquity, which offers health savings accounts.

"We have an affordability crisis for health care in America," Cutler said. "Half of Americans can't afford a $500 medical bill, so having a safety net that grows over time, that you can use for medical expenses, helps Americans be more prepared."

What are health savings accounts?

Health savings accounts allow consumers to save money before taxes. For workers, that means a set amount is deducted from your paycheck and put into a health savings account, or HSA, before taxes are deducted.

The money can be spent on eligible expenses such as doctor or hospital bills or prescription drugs. Consumers can roll over health savings account balances from year to year, invest the money and spend tax-free gains on eligible expenses.

What are deductibles and contribution limits for HSA plans?

Health savings accounts are paired with high-deductible health insurance plans. A deductible is the amount you must pay out of pocket before most insurance coverage kicks in.

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In 2026, the minimum deductible for an HSA-eligible plan is $1,700 for an individual or $3,400 for a family insurance plan.

The amount you can contribute per year also is capped. The contribution limit is $4,400 for an individual and $8,750 for a family. People who are 55 or older can contribute another $1,000 per year.

How do HSAs differ from FSAs?

Flexible spending accounts also are a savings vehicle, typically offered through the workplace, that allow users to set aside payroll deductions before taxes. Health care FSAs can cover health expenses while dependent-care FSAs are used for child care or elder care expenses.

FSA accounts are use-it-or-lose-it accounts that require consumers to spend the contributions within a year or forfeit any remaining balance. HSA balances accumulate from year to year.

Why do some choose high deductibles and health savings accounts?

Employers offer high deductible health plans paired with HSAs to cost-conscious workers who want to pay less each month for health insurance. The tradeoff with these high deductible plans is workers must spend more of their own money when visiting a doctor or other medical provider.

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Workers enrolled in a high-deductible plan pay an average monthly premium of $109, much lower than the average $191 per month for a traditional PPO (preferred provider organization) plan, according to benefits consultant Mercer. But workers must cover a deductible that is more than twice as much as a traditional medical plan.

One strategy people use is to save enough to cover the amount they must pay out of pocket, including the deductible, copays and coinsurance  an insurance plan's requirement that consumers pay a percentage of the bill. Once consumers have that amount saved, they can cover basic medical costs.

Health savings accounts have been popular among young adults with 56% of Gen Z workers and 50% of Millennials enrolled in an HSA, according to a HealthEquity survey of more than 600 workers enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans in 2025. These younger workers often have lower rates of chronic disease, and these healthy individuals might see HSAs as a smart way to build savings for medical expenses they may incur later in life.

"If an HSA holder is better prepared, they're more likely to have emergency savings and be better prepared for health care costs," Cutler said. "They're less likely to skip preventative care, and they can use their dollars transparently to be able to make qualified medical purchases."

Can Affordable Care Act enrollees use HSA plans?

Health savings accounts aren't limited to consumers who get health insurance though the workplace. In 2026, consumers who pick a bronze or catastrophic-level Affordable Care Act plan can use a health savings account.

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Still unsettled is whether Congress will choose to fund health savings accounts for some consumers.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson after signing the bill package to re-open the federal government in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Nov. 12, 2025. Congress on Wednesday ended the longest government shutdown in US history, 43 days that paralyzed Washington and left hundreds of thousands of workers unpaid while Republicans and Democrats played a high-stakes blame game. The Republican-led House of Representatives voted largely along party lines to approve a Senate-passed package that will reopen federal departments and agencies, as many Democrats fume over what they see as a capitulation by party leaders. President Donald Trump signs the funding bill to end the U.S. government shutdown, at the White House in Washington, DC on Nov. 12, 2025. President Donald Trump signs funding legislation to reopen the federal government as he is joined by House Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Republican lawmakers and business leaders, during a ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington, DC. The legislation, passed by the House tonight, funds the federal government until the end of January 2026 and ends the 43-day government shutdown, the longest in the nationOs history. House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to the media in Statuary Hall after the House voted 222-209 to pass the Senate's funding deal, with 216 Republicans and six Democrats supporting the bill, and two Republicans and 207 Democrats opposed, after 43 days of shuttered government and unpaid federal workers, on Wednesday, Nov.12, 2025. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) holds a news conference after the House passed funding legislation to reopen the federal government, at the Capitol on Nov. 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. The House voted 222-209 to approve Senate-passed legislation that funds the government through the end of January 2026, reopening the government and ending the 43-day shutdown, the longest in American history. House Speaker Mike Johnson arriving to speak to the media in Statuary Hall after the House voted 222-209 to pass the Senate's funding deal, with 216 Republicans and six Democrats supporting the bill, and two Republicans and 207 Democrats opposed, after 43 days of shuttered government and unpaid federal workers, on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. House Speaker Mike Johnson, right, walks from the House floor with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), left, to speak with the media in Statuary Hall immediately after the House voted 222-209 to pass the Senate's funding deal, with 216 Republicans and six Democrats supporting the bill, and two Republicans and 207 Democrats opposed, after 43 days of shuttered government and unpaid federal workers, on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. U.S. Representative Victoria Spartz arrives during a series of votes in the U.S. House of Representatives that could bring the longest U.S. government shutdown in history to a close, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Nov.12, 2025. U.S. Representative and New Jersey Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill gives a television interview during a series of votes in the U.S. House of Representatives that could bring the longest U.S. government shutdown in history to a close, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Nov.12, 2025. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) (2nd-L) walks to the House Chamber on Nov. 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on Senate-passed legislation that funds the government through the end of January 2026, reopening the government and ending the 43-day shutdown, the longest in American history. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) (L) speaks to the media as he exits the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on Senate-passed legislation that funds the government through the end of January 2026, reopening the government and ending the 43-day shutdown, the longest in American history. House Speaker Mike Johnson, right, speaking with Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) after a ceremonial swearing of at the United States Capitol on Nov. 12, 2025, following the official swearing in on the House floor on Wednesday, Nov. 11. 2025. U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) walks surrounded by the media, as members of the U.S. House of Representatives returned to Washington after a 53-day break, for a vote that could bring the longest U.S. government shutdown in history to a close, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Nov. 12, 2025. House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) talks on the phone, as members of the U.S. House of Representatives returned to Washington after a 53-day break, for a vote that could bring the longest U.S. government shutdown in history to a close, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Nov. 12, 2025. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Emerita of the U.S. House of Representatives, right, stands with members as Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries leads a press conference on the House Steps at the United States Capitol on Nov. 12, 2025, as members return after a 54-day break, before House lawmakers take up legislation that would end the longest government shutdown in American history and vote on the Senate-passed spending deal. Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries leads a press conference on the House Steps at the United States Capitol on Nov. 12, 2025, as members return after a 54-day break, before House lawmakers take up legislation that would end the longest government shutdown in American history and vote on the Senate-passed spending deal Congress passes deal to end longest government shutdown in US history 1 of 16 President Donald Trump shakes hands with the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson after signing the bill package to re-open the federal government in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Nov. 12, 2025. Congress on Wednesday ended the longest government shutdown in US history, 43 days that paralyzed Washington and left hundreds of thousands of workers unpaid while Republicans and Democrats played a high-stakes blame game. The Republican-led House of Representatives voted largely along party lines to approve a Senate-passed package that will reopen federal departments and agencies, as many Democrats fume over what they see as a capitulation by party leaders.

Congress does not currently fund health savings accounts for Affordable Care Act enrollees. On Dec. 8, Republican Sens. Mike Crapo and Bill Cassidy unveiled a bill that would deposit $1,000 to $1,500 into health savings accounts for eligible consumers. This money would be in lieu of extending COVID-19-era enhanced tax credits that sharply reduced health insurance premiums under the ACA.

On Dec. 11, the Senate rejected the Crapo-Cassidy proposal and a Democrat proposal to extend the COVID-era tax credits for three years. ACA insurance premiums rose sharply on Jan 1 for millions of Americans who relied on the COVID-era subsidies to lower their monthly insurance bills. The original ACA advanced premium tax credits  which lowered insurance costs for those who earn up to four times the federal poverty level  remain in place.

Democrats and Republicans will likely spar over health care affordability when Congress resumes in January.

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In a Dec. 18 social media post, Cassidy defended his idea of giving consumers money rather than funding ACA subsides that go to health insurance companies. "Republicans support it. Americans support it," Cassidy said. "Democrats should support it too."

But Democrats and some health policy analysts have been skeptical of using taxpayer funds to support health savings accounts.

U.S. Rep Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said "most Americans do not have enough savings to afford emergency care, let alone pay an HSA sky-high deductible."

Sabrina Corlette, co-director of Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms, said that most Americans don't have enough cash to pay for an expected medical bill. A hospital bill alone could cost thousands of dollars, she said.

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If Congress funds health savings accounts instead of the ACA's enhanced subsidies, consumers with chronic health conditions or those who need hospital care are "going to end up with really significant financial liabilities," Corlette said. "There's going to be a lot more medical debt."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Could health savings accounts change how Obamacare works?
Donald Trump on Saturday said that the US had captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The raid elicited strong but divided reactions from business figures and foreign policy analysts.

Some say Maduro's removal offers economic opportunity; others say it could escalate global conflict.

President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that the US had conducted a raid on Venezuela, resulting in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and big names in business and foreign policy have been reacting as the aftermath unfolds.

Here's what they've been saying:

Charles Myers

Myers, chairman of political risk consulting firm Signum Global Advisors, told Business Insider that foreign investment in oil, tourism, and construction will be the "centerpiece" of Venezuela's financial recovery going forward, adding that he expects the country's economy will grow "faster over the next two years than people anticipate because of the extent or scale of foreign investment."

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Myers, also a former head of investment advisory firm Evercore, is planning a trip of 15-20 investors to visit Venezuela in March to identify investment opportunities. Signum Global Advisors has hosted similar trips for investor groups in Syria and Ukraine.

Ian Bremmer

Bremmer, founder of the political risk research and consulting firm, Eurasia Group, in a post on LinkedIn, wrote that the "US presumption is next Venezuelan leaders will now do what the Americans want because they've just seen the 'or else.'"

Accompanying the post was a photo of a drawing of a horse. The hindquarters of the horse were drawn in intricate detail, and labeled "SOF operation to capture Maduro," referencing the special operations forces mission that was executed early Saturday. The horse's head was depicted as a rudimentary children's drawing, captioned "plans for future of Venezuela."



"I wouldn't exactly call it a plan," Bremmer added.

In a separate post, he wrote: "The law of the jungle is dangerous. What applies to your enemies one day can apply to you the next. Make no mistake where the world is heading here."

Bill Ackman

Bill Ackman has expressed support for Alpha School's unique model. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

The billionaire hedge fund manager wrote in a post on X that "The removal of Maduro will lower oil prices, which is good for America and very bad for Russia. A weaker Russian economy will increase the probability that the war in Ukraine ends sooner and on more favorable terms for Ukraine. And Putin will be sleeping in his safe room from this point going forward."

Henry Gao

Gao is a senior fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation and a law professor at Singapore Management University. In a series of posts on X, he said the raid on Caracas ushered in "the brave new world of international law."

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"Maduro's capture has triggered the biggest revival of international law since Grotius  and overnight turned everyone on X into an international law wonk, eager to compare Venezuela to Taiwan," he wrote.

"But China has never treated the Taiwan issue as a matter of international law," he continued. "It has always been framed as an internal affair, with Taiwan regarded as a renegade province. The reason China has not acted is not because it lacks legal justification, but because it lacks the capability. Thus, US ops in Venezuela provide China with no additional legal justification."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

The Democratic senator from Massachusetts is a former Harvard Law professor who holds deep expertise in bankruptcy and consumer finance. In a post on X, she wrote that Trump's action to seize Maduro, "no matter how terrible a dictator he is  is unconstitutional and threatens to drag the US into further conflicts in the region."

"What does it mean that the US will 'run' Venezuela, and what will Trump do next around the world?" Warren wrote. "The American people voted for lower costs, not for Trump's dangerous military adventurism overseas that won't make the American people safer."

Elon Musk

Elon Musk and Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO spent most of Saturday posting praise for the Trump administration and the military operations in Venezuela, posting that it was "heartwarming to see so many Venezuelans celebrating their country freed from a brutal tyrant."

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In another post, Musk retweeted a White House image of Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after being apprehended, with the caption "Congratulations, President Trump! This is a win for the world and a clear message to evil dictators everywhere."

Musk and Trump have had a tumultuous relationship over the years, alternating between appearing to be close allies and trading sharp criticisms in the media.

Richard Branson

Virgin founder Richard Branson. ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images

Writing on X, the British billionaire and founder of the Virgin Group said Maduro's "corrupt and inept reign" had "caused endless suffering for the Venezuelan people and brought this beautiful country to the verge of economic and social collapse."

"He will not be missed," he wrote.

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Branson added that a "just and fair transition means handing power to Venezuelans, and especially to those with a clear mandate to lead."

Vishnu Varathan

Washington's effective control of Venezuela would hand the US a major energy advantage, according to Vishnu Varathan, Mizuho's head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan.

The first advantage is practical and industrial: Venezuela's heavy crude is well suited to US refining capacity. The second advantage is strategic: Access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves would give the US a decisive energy edge in the AI race, particularly relative to China.

Finally, Varathan highlighted a shipping advantage. Proximity gives the US a logistical edge to Venezuelan oil supply, while the loss of access leaves China's remaining oil imports increasingly vulnerable to major maritime chokepoints.

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"China's energy security is compromised at the margin whilst the US gains significant energy dominance advantage," Varathan wrote.

Jonathan Panikoff

Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council and a former deputy national intelligence officer at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, pushed back on the idea that Trump's raid was primarily about oil.

In an X post on Saturday, he said that while Venezuela holds an estimated 17% to 18% of global oil reserves, it accounts for just 1% to 1.5% of global production, calling oil a "secondary benefit" rather than the main motivation.

Panikoff said the move reflects Trump's long-held view that the US should assert dominance in the Western Hemisphere and push out the influence of China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba.

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"America First requires American dominance in the Western Hemisphere," he wrote, adding that the operation looked more like a revival of the Monroe Doctrine than a traditional war-on-drugs effort.

Richard Haass

Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said Maduro's removal may be widely welcomed, but that the operation was not strategically wise.

Writing in his "Home & Away" newsletter, Haass called the raid a "military operation of choice, not of necessity," saying that Maduro "hardly posed an imminent threat to the United States."

He said that removing a leader is far easier than replacing a regime, invoking former Secretary of State Colin Powell's "Pottery Barn rule"  the idea that if you break a country, you own the consequences.

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"We broke it, so now we own it," Haass wrote.

Haass also said that the operation could set a dangerous precedent, potentially emboldening Russia and China to justify interventions in Ukraine and Taiwan under similar logic.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Modern Orthodox high school in Efrat, south of Jerusalem, unveils a memorial to 25 graduates who fell in Israels wars and terror attacks, integrating remembrance into daily study.

Neveh Shmuel Yeshiva High School, part of the Ohr Torah Stone education network, inaugurated a Hall of Heroes on Thursday to honor 25 alumni who fell in Israels wars and terror attacks.

The school said the permanent memorial, created with bereaved families, includes 11 alumni who fell in the past two years and is designed to place remembrance at the center of student learning.

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The memorial is installed in the schools refurbished library, intentionally placing commemoration next to routine study. It spans 35 years, from Lt. Oriel (Ori) Glick of the schools first graduating class to Maj. Eitan Orbach, who fell in December 2025, the yeshiva said.

Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander, president and rosh yeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone, said the hall was created for students and the wider community. We are obligated to preserve the memory of the fallen and to recognize that our lives, in Israel and throughout the Jewish world, are sustained by their sacrifice and by the sacrifice of their families, he said.

Ohr Torah Stones Neveh Shmuel Yeshiva High School dedicated the Hall of Heroes, a permanent memorial honoring 25 alumni of the yeshiva who fell in Israels wars and terror attacks over the past decades, including 11 who fell in the past two years. (credit: MEIR ELIPUR)

What is Neveh Shmuel, and where is Efrat?

Neveh Shmuel is a modern Orthodox boys high school that combines general studies with intensive Jewish learning. It is located in Efrat, a town in the Gush Etzion bloc just south of Jerusalem, in Gush Etzion. The school is part of the Ohr Torah Stone network, which runs schools and leadership programs across Israel and the Jewish world.

Earlier in the day, parents visited classrooms to speak about their sons values and life paths, turning personal loss into lessons in courage and responsibility. During an intimate memorial program, families shared stories that framed the hall as a space for education as well as remembrance.

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Among the speakers was Mina Marantz, a longtime teacher at the yeshiva and the mother of Sgt. Tzvi Marantz, who fell in combat in Gaza in October 2024. She recalled how stories of her sons quiet generosity continued to surface after his death.

Linking past and present sacrifice

Neveh Shmuels rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Avishai Milner, said recent losses have revived the stories and courage of alumni who fell decades ago, including during the Lebanon War. Rabbi Benny Kalmanson, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Hesder Otniel and father of Maj. Elchanan Kalmanson, who was killed while rescuing civilians at Kibbutz Beeri on October 7, described remembrance as a tool to shape the next generation.

Each former student is commemorated with a portrait on a glass plaque and a QR code that links to a digital page families can enrich with stories, photos, and videos. The yeshiva stated that they worked closely with relatives over many months to curate the pages.

Principal Col. (res.) Chezi Zecharia said the project grew from a sense of humility and mission and was enabled by a community fundraising campaign with support from Ohr Torah Stone and partners.

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The ceremony was attended by Efrat Mayor Dovi Shefler, Gush Etzion Regional Council head Yaron Rosenthal, representatives of the Education Ministry and the Settlement Administration, and senior Ohr Torah Stone leadership.

The program concluded inside the Hall of Heroes, returning to the space where memory and learning meet. When students enter this space to learn, past, present, and future converge into a single continuum of responsibility, continuity, and hope, Rabbi Brander said. This hall stands as a moral compass and a source of inspiration.
By Ahmad Ghaddar, Alex Lawler and Olesya Astakhova

DUBAI/LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - OPEC+ will likely maintain steady oil output at its meeting on Sunday, OPEC+ delegates said, despite political tensions between key members Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and the U.S. capture of the president of smaller producer Venezuela.

Sunday's meeting of eight members of OPEC+, which pumps about half the world's oil, comes after oil prices fell more than 18% in 2025  their steepest yearly drop since 2020  amid growing oversupply concerns.

The eight - Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman - raised oil output targets by around 2.9 million barrels per day from April to December 2025, equal to almost 3% of world oil demand.

They agreed in November to pause output hikes for January, February and March. The meeting on Sunday is unlikely to make any changes to that policy, three OPEC+ sources said on Sunday.

Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE flared last month over a decade-long conflict in Yemen, when a UAE-aligned group seized territory from the Saudi-backed government.

The crisis triggered the biggest split in decades between the former close allies, as years of divergence on critical issues came to a head.

OPEC has in the past managed to overcome serious internal rifts, such as over the IranIraq War, by prioritising market management over political disputes. Yet the group is facing numerous crises, with Russian oil exports pressured due to U.S. sanctions over its war in Ukraine, and Iran facing protests and U.S. threats of intervention.

On Saturday, the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would take control of the country until a transition to a new administration becomes possible, without saying how this would be achieved.

Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, bigger even than those of OPEC's leader Saudi Arabia, but its oil production has plummeted due to years of mismanagement and sanctions.

Analysts said it is unlikely to see any meaningful boost to crude output for years, even if U.S. oil majors do invest the billions of dollars in the country that Trump promised.

(Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by David Holmes)
HUBBARD, Ohio (WKBN)  Hubbard Mayor Ben Kyle has been hospitalized following a vehicle accident in Nassau, Bahamas on New Years Day, according to city council president Michael Mogg.

Kyle received serious but non-life-threatening injuries and is recovering in a hospital in Miami.

In the meantime, Mogg will fill in as the mayor.

Mogg hopes to provide more information during Mondays city council meeting at 7 p.m.

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Trumbull County Commissioner Rick Hernandez said Kyle may have a long recovery.

This is just a situation that nobody would want to have to go through, especially not the fact that youre on vacation and then something like this mishap happens, Hernandez said.

Nadine Grimley contributed to this report.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
Idaho Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, and Rep. Josh Tanner, R-Eagle, are within their rights to sound the alarm about federal child care subsidies, in light of a federal crackdown on alleged fraud in Minnesota.

But their call to try to pause the disbursement of $14 million of already approved funding in Idaho is alarmist and premature, and it would unjustifiably harm law-abiding child care providers and the families who benefit from these funds.

The Trump administrations U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday announced that the federal government had frozen all child care payments to the state of Minnesota after a viral video produced by Nick Shirley, a conservative content creator, according to The New York Times.

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In the video, Shirley claimed to have exposed widespread fraud in day care centers run by people of Somali origin.

We should in no way accept whole cloth Shirleys claims. In fact, the state of Minnesota on Friday said child-care centers were operating as expected when visited by investigators.

The tactics and conclusions of Shirleys videos have been called into question, and for good reason. For example, Shirley offers as proof of fraud the fact that he was denied entry into centers, ignoring the fact that day-care centers, in the name of protecting the children under their care, of course would deny entry to some random stranger showing up at their doorstep.

But fraud in federal programs in Minnesota is by no means a stretch.

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Investigations have been going on for more than a decade into federal subsidy programs in Minnesota, and indeed dozens of instances of fraud have been uncovered.

Since 2022, federal prosecutors have charged dozens of people with felonies, accusing them of stealing hundred of millions of dollars from federal subsidy programs, according to The New York Times. And the vast majority of defendants are of Somali origin, according to The Times.

Of course, this isnt Minnesota. We should not simply assume that the same thing is happening in Idaho.

Idaho legislators last year approved Senate Bill 1206, an appropriation to spend $14 million in existing, previously unspent federal money for the Idaho Child Care Program to expand the availability of home-based child care, community child care and after-school child care programs, particularly for underserved populations, according to the bill. The immediate recipients are child care providers that contract with or are approved by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

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We do not necessarily disagree with some of the requests from Lenney and Tanner:

Develop a comprehensive fraud-prevention and enforcement plan addressing enrollment verification, financial transparency, inspection protocols and coordination with the attorney general.

Review prior child care grant and subsidy disbursements, as appropriate, to identify potential fraud, misuse or noncompliance and assess recovery options.

Provide a briefing to the Legislature outlining safeguards, implementation timelines, findings and any recommended statutory or regulatory changes.

Trying to do that with every bit of taxpayer-funded programs is a good idea.

But we take great issue with their request to temporarily suspend all solicitations, contract issuances, and disbursements authorized under S.B. 1206 until enhanced fraud-prevention measures are implemented.

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Without an iota of proof or evidence of wrongdoing in Idaho, suspending payments would be foolish.

An estimated 78,000 children in Idaho have all available parents in the workforce. The Child Care and Development Block Grant reaches only 15% of eligible families in Idaho, according to the First Five Years Fund, a national nonprofit advocating for early education and child care solutions.

The typical annual cost of child care for an infant in Idaho is around $10,000. On average, child care providers in Idaho earn just $28,510 a year, making it already a challenge to recruit and retain this workforce, leading to supply issues.

Idahos economy loses $525 million annually due to child care challenges, according to First Five Years.

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No, cutting off funding would be not just foolish; it would be disastrous.

We urge prudence and caution  on both sides.

Lets not jump to the conclusion that theres widespread fraud and halt all payments. We have seen firsthand the ham-handed chainsaw method of cutting at the federal level and how it didnt really save money or uncover the massive fraud promised.

If anything, we should learn from that experience that its better to use a scalpel.

Yes, its fine to investigate and find out whether there is any fraud in Idahos system. Shouldnt that always be done? But in the meantime, dont disrupt the lives and livelihoods of honest day-care centers and the families served by them.

Statesman editorials are the opinion of the Idaho Statesmans editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, assistant editor Jim Keyser and community members John Hess, Debbie McCormick and Julie Yamamoto.
IDF troops operate in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip, January 4, 2026. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON

IDF soldiers destroyed a two-kilometer-long terror tunnel in northern Gaza as part of ongoing operations to dismantle Hamas infrastructure, the military said.

The IDF destroyed a two-kilometer-long terror tunnel in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, the military confirmed on Sunday.

Soldiers from the Gaza Division's Northern Brigade, along with Yahalom Combat Engineers, located and destroyed the tunnel amid ongoing operations to remove terrorist infrastructure in the area.

The soldiers will continue their counterterrorism operations in the region, the military added.

IDF troops operate in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip, January 4, 2026. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

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This development follows Saturday's confirmation that the military struck and destroyed a tunnel in northern Gaza that contained a rocket launcher that was loaded and ready to fire at the southern Israeli city of Sderot.

IDF troops find Gaza tunnel after rain, flood-induced landslides reveal terror site, 'Post' learns

Soldiers from the IDF's Golani Brigade discovered a terror tunnel that was exposed after heavy rain and flooding, The Jerusalem Post learned on Monday.

This tunnel was located approximately 800 meters from the border, near Kibbutz Kissufim, and is entirely within Israels side of the Yellow Line.

Also on Monday, security sources told Walla that the IDF is in a "race against time" to locate and destroy tunnels between the Gaza border fence and the Yellow Line, before diplomatic factors bring operations to a halt.

Sam Halpern and Amir Bohbot contributed to this report.
To date, the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) have succeeded in catching and stopping such efforts, but some of the rocket building efforts have progressed to later stages.

Despite a recent wave of lone-wolf-style terror attacks, the IDF is confident that its strategy of keeping large forces in Palestinian West Bank refugee camps long-term will quell the escalation, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Since January 2025, the IDF has started a policy of keeping around a company of soldiers semi-permanently stationed in the heart of the Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur al-Shams refugee camps.

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The Post understands that these forces are expected to remain in these locations indefinitely in 2026, one of the reasons IDF sources argue that terror trends are down in the West Bank.

Recently, IDF sources told the Post that each of the terror attacks that hit Israel in recent weeks was either a lone-wolf attack or, at the very least, disconnected from any terror group.

This includes the killing of multiple Israelis in the North in late December and the Gush Etzion terror attack in November  some of which involved multiple terrorists, but none of which was connected to organizations or left the kinds of footprints that longer-term, well-planned attacks tend to leave.

Israeli security forces and rescue personnel at the scene of a terror attack at the Gush Etzion Junction, West Bank, November 18, 2025. (credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG/FLASH90)

Acknowledging that the IDF has not been able to shut down these terror attacks, the IDF has made a more nuanced argument, contending that the overall security picture is much better going into 2026 than it has been in the last few years.

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As evidence for this argument, the IDF has presented statistics showing that overall terror levels fell in 2025 and the last few months, even if in the last couple of weeks, there was a spike in deadly terror attacks.

Overall terror levels, noted IDF sources, means a mix of analyzing organization-sponsored terror attacks (which are not happening as much and which would be the most concerning if they were), lone-wolf terror attacks, medium-grade attacks (throwing Molotov cocktails), low-grade attacks (rock-throwing and rioting that does not lead to deaths), and the general feeling of security that Jewish residents in the West Bank feel when traveling around.

For example, when such residents travel through gates to Jewish villages or key junctions between villages, they see a larger number of well-armed soldiers deployed and ready to engage any trouble-makers than they would in earlier periods when there were fewer soldiers deployed.

In earlier periods, there might have been as few as 10-13 IDF battalions, whereas currently there are around 20.

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It should be noted that in peak periods of terror, the number of battalions has reached 30, but the IDF would argue that maintaining a certain level of stability with only 20 battalions, less than the maximum available, shows a greater level of control.

Returning to the soldiers stationed within the refugee camps, these activities have also led to destroying or occupying some of the refugee camp housing, which in turn has led to an estimated 35,000 Palestinians losing their residences.

This phenomenon has been described by critics as the largest new Palestinian displacement in the West Bank since 1967.

The IDF acknowledged that Israel is paying a price for its security activities, but said that it has been necessary to crack down on the organized terror and violence that had been emanating from these refugee camps.

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One issue where the IDFs activities have had more limited success, though sources argue there is still some progress, is reducing, usually nonviolent, border infiltration by West Bank Palestinians.

Most of those cutting through or climbing IDF fences or sneaking into Israel in the 39% of areas that are partially patrolled but unfenced are nonviolent and merely seeking employment, given that the war and IDF operations have substantially harmed employment in Palestinian areas.

IDF provides greater security through frequent proactive operations

However, Israel still views the illegal border infiltration phenomenon as dangerous, as often terrorists penetrate the border along with a group of nonviolent Palestinians, using them for cover.

In a December 23 report by the state comptroller, it was revealed that the security fence for 39% of West Bank and east Jerusalem areas was never completed, though it was started in the mid-2000s, and has been periodically added to.

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The IDF has recognized that finishing the fence would help security, but has said that this is a decision for the security cabinet, adding that October 7 proved that even a complete and hi-tech fence does not provide full security.

Rather, the Post understands that the IDF is trying to provide greater security against border infiltration by frequent proactive operations and also laying passive ambushes to catch infiltrators in key problem areas.

The last couple of years have also seen increased efforts by Palestinian West Bank terrorists to acquire and build rockets to fire directly into Israeli communities from short ranges and a new front.

To date, the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) have succeeded in catching and stopping such efforts, but some of the rocket-building efforts have progressed to later stages.

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When the IDF seized rocket materials recently, the military admitted that the threat had advanced to a potentially more dangerous stage, leading security forces to arrest an entire cell of those suspected to be involved.

Despite reassurances about the defense establishment having the West Bank rocket threat under control, the fact that the terror cell in question got as far as it did, even if it fell short of pulling off an attack, raises the specter of a future terror cell succeeding.

Regarding extremist Jewish violence against West Bank Palestinians, the IDF generally believes it is making progress on the issue, but acknowledged that the volume of such incidents is still far too high.

Interestingly, although the IDF and Shin Bet have complained about the police failing at their law enforcement role on this issue for much of the time since National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir took over the police in early 2023, IDF sources complemented the police in recent joint enforcement efforts.

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The Post reported on December 24 that after ignoring the issue for most of the last three years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may finally have taken the issue more into his own hands, circumventing Ben-Gvir, along with Police Commissioner Daniel Levi and West Bank Police Commander Moshe Finchi.

After a particularly massive attack by Jewish extremists on Palestinians in late November, Finchi was empowered to establish a special unit targeting the couple of hundred Jewish extremists, in some ways replacing the Shin Bet unit that used to work on the issue prior to Defense Minister Israel Katz tying some of the intelligence agencys hands from using certain tools.

According to data from the new unit, in the first four weeks of its operation, it has brought down the 29 incidents in one week to 12, and the six grave incidents to two.

The police said this represented a 58% general decrease in incidents and a 67% decrease in grave incidents.

While it is unclear whether this is a blip or a true shift to cracking down on Jewish extremist violence, IDF sources confirmed positive momentum on the issue.
NEED TO KNOW

Terrie Nguyen was found dead at her Illinois home on Saturday, Dec. 27

According to the O'Fallon Police Department, David Nguyen has since been charged in connection with her death

David, 38, is accused of also trying to cause an explosion in his 72-year-old mother's house to conceal the incident

An Illinois man is facing murder charges after allegedly killing his mother and attempting to conceal the incident with a house fire.

On Wednesday, Jan. 31, David Nguyen was charged with "one count of murder/intent to kill/injure and one count of concealment of homicidal death" in connection with the death of Terrie Nguyen, the O'Fallon Police Department (OPD) said in a news release shared on Facebook

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Terrie, 72, was found dead when police visited her home in the 1300 block of Bossler Lane in OFallon for a well-being check at around 1:30 p.m. local time on Dec. 27. She was determined to have died in suspicious circumstances as a result of violence.

Having been identified as a person of interest in her death, David, 38, attempted to flee the state, but crashed his car while being pursued by police.

Efforts to locate him were immediately initiated. At approximately 4:30 p.m. that same day, the Missouri State Highway Patrol located David traveling westbound on Interstate 70 near Concordia, Miss., said the OPD. David attempted to flee from troopers but was taken into custody following a crash on I-70 at mile marker 51.

David was sent to a local hospital for treatment and charged with felony fleeing. He was then released into the custody of the Lafayette County Sheriffs Department, said police.

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He was formally charged on Wednesday. In documents filed by the St. Clair County State's Attorney's Office in Illinois, David is accused of suffocating his mother to death as he struck Terrie Nguyen about the face and placed plastic wrap over her nose and mouth," per the Belleville News-Democrat.

David then allegedly attempted to hide his mothers body by activating unlit gas burners on a stove to fill the house with gas and left a lit candle inside the house with the intent to cause an explosion."



Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

O'Fallon Police Department/Facebook David Nguyen David Nguyen

He now remains in custody at the Lafayette County Sheriffs Department pending extradition to St. Clair County, Ill.

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Terrie reportedly worked at a nail salon in Collinsville. Tributes have been shared in her honor by customers on social media, according to the Belleville News-Democrat.

Missouri State Highway Patrol/Facebook Pursuit and arrest of David Nguyen by the O'Fallon Police Department Pursuit and arrest of David Nguyen by the O'Fallon Police Department

We would like to to extend our most sincere gratitude to the Missouri State Highway Patrol and all assisting Missouri agencies for their swift and professional cooperation, which enabled an efficient resolution to this investigation, said the OPD, following Davids arrest.

PEOPLE has contacted the OPD for further comment.



Read the original article on People
The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach and the Town of Palm Beach are celebrating local residents whose properties have been recognized as architectural landmarks.

During a reception at Preservation Foundation headquarters on Peruvian Avenue, eight architecturally diverse homes that have been designated as landmarks by the town were honored in an inaugural plaque ceremony.

Each homeowner received a bronze plaque as a symbol of the towns commitment to preserving its historic buildings and the owners role in their stewardship, the foundation said in a release.

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The eight homes and the years they were landmarked are: 303 Pendleton Lane (2025), 401 Peruvian Ave. (2025), 127 Kings Road (2022), 272 Queens Lane (2020), 123 Kings Road (2016), 133 Seaspray Avenue (2015), 234 El Brillo Way (2012), and 220 Via Bellaria (2012).

Landmarking in Palm Beach helps protect important buildings, from Mediterranean Revival homes to midcentury designs, for future generations, the foundation said.

Landmarks Preservation Commission chair Brittain Damgard, Mayor Danielle Moore, Design and Preservation Manager Friederike Mittner and Preservation Foundation CEO Danielle Del Sol (from left) attended a ceremony Dec. 11 honoring newly designated landmarks.

The Dec. 11 plaque ceremony also recognized the homeowners, architects and preservation experts who help keep the towns history and architectural character intact.

Speaking at the event, Mayor Danielle Moore recognized the honorees and reaffirmed the towns commitment to its preserving historic buildings.

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Danielle Del Sol, president and CEO of the Preservation Foundation, and Brittain Damgard, chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, also thanked homeowners of landmarked properites for their dedication to preserving the towns architecture and charm, the foundation said.

More than 360 landmarked properties, sites and vistas and 51 historically significant buildings are protected under the town's Historic Preservation Ordinance.

The legislation was adopted in 1979 and established a landmarks commission to protect the towns important architectural sites.

The board, which meets monthly, reviews properties for landmark status and generally must approve renovations or changes to landmarked buildings. It also provides guidance to property owners and makes recommendations to the council to safeguard the towns historic character.

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Its work is vital in protecting the town's buildings, sites, and vistas that are historically or architecturally significant, Damgard told the Daily News in October.

"Landmarking is about protecting what makes Palm Beach, Palm Beach," she said. "It recognizes that a home isnt just a house. Its part of the story of the town."

The Landmarks Preservation Commission works closely with the Preservation Foundation, a private, nonprofit charitable foundation founded in 1980, to support the town's landmark program and promote architectural preservation.

Danielle Del Sol, the foundation's new president and CEO, said she plans to build on its mission by focusing on the elements that give Palm Beach its unique identity.

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"The historic architecture and lush native landscapes of Palm Beach are a vital part of its character and charm," Del Sol told the Daily News in December. "The historic buildings are the tangible evidence of the fascinating history of this place, and they're a huge part of the identity of Palm Beach. They're a major reason Palm Beach is beloved and admired around the world, why people seek to live in this community, while millions come to visit. It's why there are passionate residents of many decades who work to protect their quality of life here. Protection of every historic building on this island is crucial to keeping Palm Beach's unique character intact."

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach honors eight designated landmarks at inaugural plaque ceremony
While Venezuela was not an Iranian proxy in the Syrian or Hezbollah mold, it functioned as an enabler, providing funds that helped sustain Irans proxies.

For Israel, the significance of Washingtons weekend arrest of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and his wife goes well beyond the shiver it likely sent down spines in Tehran.

Yes, the spectacle of a US-led operation removing a defiant anti-American autocrat will inevitably sharpen anxieties among Irans leaders about their own vulnerabilities, especially at a time when protests are roiling the country.

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But further meaning is found elsewhere, in the dismantling of yet another supporting pillar in the global network Iran painstakingly constructed to finance, shield, and sustain its war against Israel. Venezuela was never an Iranian proxy in the way Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, or Bashar al-Assads Syria were.

Caracas was not directly under Tehrans thumb and operational command, nor did it host Iranian forces on the scale seen in the Middle East. Yet, through Hezbollah, Venezuela became something no less important to the ayatollahs  a critical offshore hub that generated cash, laundered funds, moved operatives, and enabled Iran to project power far from the Mideast.

Maduros arrest comes on the heels of a series of blows to Irans regional position. Israel battered Hamas in Gaza, decapitated Hezbollah in Lebanon, and degraded Houthi capabilities in Yemen. Also, Assad's regime fell in Syria. Taken together, these developments illustrate Irans declining power.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after his capture by US forces. January 3, 2026. (credit: Screenshot via Truth Social/Section 27a of the copyright act)

Tehrans problem today is not restricted to the protests in the streets or the pummeling it absorbed in June, but also the unraveling of far-flung support systems it spent years and billions of dollars putting together abroad.

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Investigations by US law enforcement agencies and think tanks such as the Atlantic Council over the last few years have shown that Hezbollah did not operate in Venezuela as a dormant terror cell awaiting activation; rather, it functioned as a crime-terror enterprise intermeshed in the Venezuelan economy and protected by the government.

'Global Goals'

Hezbollah trafficked cocaine from Venezuela, laundered money, transferred weapons, and helped the Islamic Republic evade US sanctions. Already in 2018, the US Justice Department concluded that Hezbollah rivaled the major Latin American cartels in scale and sophistication. But there was one glaring difference: Revenue generated in South America did not stay there; it was sent to Lebanon, where it helped pay for the terrorist organizations military buildup.

Beyond being a reliable source of income for Hezbollah  Irans senior proxy  Venezuela offered something else as well: a protected air and maritime bridge linking Tehran, Damascus, and Caracas. This allowed the transfer of Iranian personnel, dual-use goods, fuel, and cash. In other words, Venezuela under actively helped Iran pursue its global goals.

While Venezuela was not an Iranian proxy in the Syrian or Hezbollah mold, it functioned as an enabler, providing funds that helped sustain Irans proxies. In that sense, it was very much part of Irans world.

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Just how much a part of that world became clearer on Sunday whenVice President Delcy Rodriguez said in a television address that the US attack had Zionist undertones.This claim of Zionist involvement was not evidence of Israeli involvement; it was, however, evidence of how closely the regime identified itself with Irans worldview. It was a claim aimed both inward and outward.

Inward, it was aimed at supporters of Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, who turned Israel into an imperialist villain, steeped in traditional antisemitic tropes, with which to rally supporters. Outward, it was directed at the region, where anti-Zionist messaging has long served as a convenient rallying cry, since Latin Americas political culture still contains reflexive sympathy for anti-American narratives into which Israel is often effortlessly folded.

Rodriguez brought up Israel not because it was involved in the US operation, but because it fit Therans ideological template adopted by Venezuela: domestic failures explained through foreign conspiracy, with Zionism serving as the all-purpose, go-to scapegoat.

The arrest of Maduro is significant for Israel because it removes yet another important piece from the puzzle that Iran has been putting together for years. Not a piece of the puzzle within striking distance of Israel, but one that played an important supporting role for those who are within that striking distance.

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Israels struggle with Iran over the years has been about nuclear capability, ballistic missiles, and deterrence. Less attention has been paid to the quieter contest over access, financing, and safe havens.

Venezuela was part of that quieter front  never decisive on its own, but valuable to Iran precisely because it was distant and often overlooked. If, with Maduros arrest, Venezuela is removed from Tehrans orbit, then the Islamic Republics options will narrow further, and this precisely at a time when it is coming under considerable strain from within.

'Piece By Piece'

Venezuelas next step  what it will become  is uncertain. But what seems certain is that after this US intervention, the days when it provided Iran with a protected foothold in the Western Hemisphere are quickly coming to a close. And for Israel, that is reason enough to smile.

But words in a recent interview from Venezuelas most prominent opposition figure, Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, give Israel an even greater reason to grin. She has been explicit in describing Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas as foreign forces that penetrated Venezuela under Maduros rule. In her telling, Venezuela was not merely misgoverned; it was commandeered by external actors whose interests ran directly counter to those of a sovereign country.

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She accompanied that framework with warm words toward Israel, rarely heard from Caracas in decades. Asked in a November Israel Hayom interview directly whether a post-Maduro Venezuela would restore relations with Israel and move its embassy to Jerusalem, Machado replied: Certainly. Venezuela will be Israels closest ally in Latin America. She said that cooperation with Israel would be part of the broader Venezuelan struggle against the crime and terror that had characterized the country under Maduro.

For Israel, those words matter less because they guarantee policy outcomes and more because they mark a conceptual break with the worldview that has defined Venezuela since Chavez severed ties with Jerusalem in 2009. Under Chavez and Maduro, hostility toward Israel was a badge of ideological belonging to an anti-American, anti-Western camp aligned with Tehran. Machados language signals a rejection of that framework altogether.

For years, Iran sought to demonstrate that its reach was global and its options limitless. Today, the picture looks different. Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen  and now Venezuela  tell a story not of expansion, but of contraction.

Maduros fall does not overhaul Israels strategic reality overnight, nor does it end the war

Israel is fighting against Irans proxies. But it does represent another incremental setback in Irans global posture  a reminder that Irans power was built patiently, piece by piece, and is now being dismantled the same way.
The ceremony honored Israeli women whose courage, heroism, and strength helped carry the nation during Operation Swords of Iron

"We always honor women by calling them eshet chayil, woman of valor, said Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll, director of Chochmat Nashim, an organization that promotes womens rights in the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel and the US. Its great, and its beautiful, but the term has lost a bit of its meaning because its used a lot. If you Google the words woman of valor, you will find that every Jewish organization has some sort of women of valor award.

As a more than fitting alternative, referencing Operation Swords of Iron, Chochmat Nashim coined the term women of iron  and on December 23, the organization honored heroic and intrepid Jewish women at the Women of Iron Awards.

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The event, held at the Nefesh BNefesh campus in Jerusalems Cinema City complex, recognized 18 Israeli women whose courage, leadership, and compassion shaped their communities amid the many crises that have befallen the Jewish people since Oct. 7.

The honorees included paramedics and doctors who saved lives that day; mothers and spouses who lost sons and husbands; a woman who was held captive by Hamas; women who have valiantly represented Israel on social media; researchers who documented the Hamas crimes against women, men, and children; dedicated volunteers who identified and prepared the bodies of slain female soldiers; and wives whose husbands fought multiple tours of duty in the war.

Keats Jaskoll acknowledged the connection between Operation Swords of Iron and the name of the award.

Obviously, its because it has to do with the war, and every single woman who is honored is as a direct result of this war. They might have been amazing beforehand, but the actions we are honoring them for are what they have done since Oct. 7 during this war. How do we honor these women who have saved, rescued, inspired, uplifted, and comforted the Jewish people over the past two years, and then bring that to the Jewish world?

THE AWARD. (credit: Nili Auerbach)

Citing the contributions of some of the recipients, she said, Some of these women have been heroes in comforting others. You dont have to run down to a war zone to be a hero. Some of these women, unfortunately, through deep, tragic loss, have found national purpose and have given to the nation.

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She continued, Iris Haims son Yotam was fatally shot in error by IDF soldiers, and Iris has so many reasons to be angry and bitter and all the negative emotions that come with pain. And yet, shes a national symbol of hope, forgiveness, comfort, love, and unity. Its something to be honored, learned from, and emulated. Id like very much for people to realize these womens potential in their God-given way.

Inspired by Laura Ben-David

In her remarks at the awards gathering, Keats Jaskoll cited photographer Laura Ben-David, her close friend and confidante who had worked with her at Chochmat Nashim  and passed away in July  as the inspiration for the event.

Ben-David was instrumental in creating the Jewish Life Photo Bank, a collection of thousands of stock photos of Orthodox Jewish women for media and personal use, part of Chochmat Nashims efforts to prevent the erasure of female faces in Jewish publications.

Keats Jaskoll was clearly moved when speaking about Ben-David and paused several times during her remarks to regain her composure. She recalled, With the support of friends who helped me survive the tragedy of her passing... we decided to turn that support into a tribute by honoring women. It morphed from a way to honor Laura, a way to extend the photo bank, and a way to raise the voices and visibility of women  which is what Chochmat Nashim has always been about  and it turned into a major project.

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Laura always wanted them [the photos] to be an exhibition of Jewish life, Keats Jaskoll said. We never got around to it because Laura passed away in July, and the photo bank was renamed in her memory. I was looking for a way to both honor Laura and continue this legacy that she wanted to see the photo bank become. The idea became more than an exhibition; it turned into an awards ceremony.

Ben-Davids daughter Lexi Rotem highlighted her mothers strength.

As a photographer, my mother believed that the way we look at people changes our understanding of the world. She had a way of seeing strength where others saw struggle, and she believed in bearing witness even when it was uncomfortable. Thank you to my mother, who always believed that women carry the strength to survive and taught me to stand strong. To the women who faced terror and loss and found their voices, I say thank you for your courage, humanity, and strength, she said.

Atmosphere of celebration

While the awards event honored women who had performed heroic deeds, experienced tragedy and loss, and contended with stress, tension, and tragedy, there was a celebratory air about the evening.

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Plentiful reception fare preceded the awards program. Servers scurried about the room offering hors doeuvres, while soup, pasta, and wine were served at stations  and friends, relatives, and the honorees chatted as soft rock played in the background.

At the rear of the room stood an exhibit of large photos of the honorees, accompanied by descriptions of their accomplishments. Guests eagerly snapped photos of the women of iron and of local VIPS, such as United Hatzalah founder and president Eli Beer, whose wife, Gitti Beer, founder of the Womens Unit of United Hatzalah, was honored at the event.

Among other well-known personalities in attendance were Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch; and William C. Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. A number of well-known Israeli Instagram personalities were among the guests as well.

Following the reception, the pace picked up with the awards ceremony, hosted by Keats Jaskoll and Foreign Affairs Ministry Special Envoy for Innovation Fleur Hassan-Nahoum.

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One by one, in Hebrew and English, they introduced the women to be honored. A short video of each honoree speaking about her wartime efforts was screened. Then, each woman was called to the podium to receive her award.

During her remarks, Keats Jaskoll noted that many of the women whom she had approached had been somewhat diffident about receiving the award. The funny thing about honoring women is that they never feel that theyre worthy. I cannot even tell you how many of these women said, Why me?

KEATS JASKOLL at the Women of Iron honorees exhibition. (credit: Nili Auerbach)

Advocating for leadership

Keats Jaskoll views the awards ceremony as an opportunity to advocate for a greater role for women in the countrys leadership.

In Israel, we have a dearth of female leadership. You need to put more female perspectives into decision-making. Theres just no two ways about it. The fact that these women were such heroines as a result of Oct. 7 is very much part of that story. I want people to understand that female leadership and perspective are vital for a healthy community and society, she asserted.

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Apart from the brisk pace of the program, what made the event unique was the wide range of honorees, representing a broad cross-section of Israeli society, which Keats Jaskoll said was not accidental.

Ive done my best to try to take women from all backgrounds, all ages, and all activities. Some of them are literal lifesavers, and some are storytellers. I think that thats the beauty of having an exhibition where people can always find at least one person to connect with.

One of the most compelling aspects of the evening was the accessibility of the award recipients to the audience. Both at the reception and after the formal conclusion of the event, attendees introduced themselves to the honorees, expressing appreciation for their heroism and accomplishments. Hugs and smiles  and an abundance of tears  were on display from the more than 300 attendees, as well as the award recipients.

Women of Iron  in their own words

The awardees, who wore black-and-white buttons emblazoned with the words Women of Iron, expressed gratitude and admiration for their fellow honorees.

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Recipient American-Israeli journalist and entrepreneur Emily Schrader has focused on documenting Hamass atrocities, exposing the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, and bringing the testimonies of survivors to the forefront.

Schrader said, More than ever, weve seen the issue of sexual violence come to the forefront, and this is something that all of us here and this organization have focused on speaking about and raising awareness about. To be honored for the work that I have done, but also to be alongside so many other women who have accomplished such incredible and amazing things for our country, is truly a profound honor, and Im very grateful.

Shari Mendes was honored for accompanying the bodies of slain female soldiers during identification at the Shura military forensic base, preparing bodies for burial, and bearing witness to the atrocities, including sexual violence, for months after Oct. 7. She said before the presentation, Its really remarkable noting the contributions of women. Its important because I want people around the world to see what women did  because women really had a big part in this.

Another woman, honored for her efforts in documenting the violence perpetrated by Hamas, was Cochav Elkayam-Levy, an expert in international law and human rights. She is the founder and chair of the Civil Commission for the Investigation and Documentation of Hamas Crimes against Women and Children on Oct. 7, a law lecturer at Reichman University, and member of the Public Council of Women Wage Peace.

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Since Oct. 7, Elkayam-Levy has been active on the international stage, working to document, expose, and secure recognition of the sexual and gender-based crimes committed during the Oct. 7 attacks and in captivity.

Commenting on receiving the award, she said, After two and a half years, it gives us the strength to continue to know that we have so many behind us. It means the world to receive such recognition. We have an amazing group of women who are documenting and analyzing the crimes so that the world will know what transpired.

During the war, husband and wife Hillel and Zahava Diener were both on active duty and put off their plans of pursuing officer training in order to serve where they were most needed. Sgt. First Class (res.) Hillel Diener, a soldier in the Kfir Brigades Shimshon Battalion, was killed in December 2024.

With Hillels death, Zahava became a war widow. Alongside her personal grief, she chose to speak out and participate in the public conversation. With remarkable courage, she returned to her own personal dream, completed officers training, was commissioned as a lieutenant, and continued her service in the Israel Air Force (IAF). Diener was matter-of-fact about her situation, downplaying her achievements, saying, Were all human, and were women of iron. But Im living my life.

Bazy Rubin, a milu-ima, or reservist soldiers wife, uses social media to bring laughter and comfort to women navigating similar experiences.

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On Oct. 7, and for five tours in Gaza over the following two years, she worried about her husband while caring for their home and children  ranging in age from nine months to eight years. I would just say that its better to laugh than cry. Its the only way to get through it, she said succinctly.

A traveling legacy

In the course of our interview before the awards, as well as in her remarks at the ceremony, Keats Jaskoll expressed her hope that the photos and videos from the event would eventually become a traveling exhibition displayed across Israel and abroad, to inspire Jewish youth.

Nowadays, with the rise of antisemitism, I think that Jewish kids are probably completely terrified of the future and of the present, [asking,] What does a hero look like? What does a heroine look like? What does someone who gives to their community look like? How can I be Jewish these days and help my community? I hope it will bring comfort, inspiration, and hope to people who see the exhibition, she said.

Chochmat Nashim has been in contact with schools in Israel, as well as Diaspora communities, regarding taking the Woman of Iron exhibition to Jewish community centers, synagogues, and schools. It has already received inquiries from London and Boca Raton.

Keats Jaskoll said that bringing the exhibition overseas would combine her goals of showcasing the achievements of Jewish women, along with Israel advocacy.

Ive always spoken out for Israel, and Ive always spoken out to make Israel a better place and less extreme. For me, it would be a beautiful thing to be able to meld those two things, advocating for Israel, through women.

Chochmat Nashim bills itself as a global advocacy group raising the voices and visibility of women through education, media, and direct community tools to promote a healthier, more inclusive Orthodox society. In that context, the event increased the visibility of women and promoted a more inclusive Orthodox society and a healthier Israeli society-at-large as well.

After the last award was presented and the program officially ended, many in the audience members lingered to meet their heroes and perhaps take a selfie with them. In conclusion, the desserts were consumed, and people bundled up against the Jerusalem winds, warmed by the spirit of the evening and the heroism and remarkable achievements it had honored.
A veteran Jacksonville police officer faces a charge of driving under the influence, following a St. Johns County traffic stop.

Raymond Goethe, a 28-year Jacksonville Sheriff's Office veteran, was off-duty and driving a privately owned vehicle when arrested late Jan. 2. He is the first JSO employee arrested this year, the Sheriff's Office said Jan. 4 in a news release.

Until his arrest, Goethe had been assigned to JSO's patrol division. He now "has been administratively re-assigned pending the criminal case."

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Citing St. Johns County documentation, the Sheriff's Office said Goethe had been driving northbound on U.S. Highway 1 when he was stopped by a St. Johns County sheriff's deputy. The deputy then conducted a roadside interview of Goethe.

JSO employee arrested in October: Jacksonville sheriff's employee among 17 arrested in St. Johns County child sex sting

"Following the roadside interview, the driver was arrested for Driving Under the Influence and transported to the St. Johns County Detention Facility for processing," JSO said in the news release.

Additional information, including the arrest report and court documents, regarding the case was not immediately available on Jan. 4.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville police officer faces DUI charge
Vice President JD Vance offered a testy defense of President Donald Trumps military action against Venezuela Sunday morning on X, claiming the operations were meant to combat narcoterrorists before admitting oil may actually be at the core of the conflict.

Vance began his post by dismissing the idea Venezuela has nothing to do with drugs, a criticism undermining the Trump administrations reasoning for its aggression against the South American nation.

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Back when the U.S. military began strikes on Venezuelan-manned boats in the Caribbean in September, Trump and his cabinet maintained the operations were meant to stop drug smuggling, particularly the import of fentanyl.

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First off, fentanyl isnt the only drug in the world and there is still fentanyl coming from Venezuela (or at least there was), Vance said, going on to claim that cocaine was the main drug being trafficked through Venezuela.

You see a lot claims that Venezuela has nothing to do with drugs because most of the fentanyl comes from elsewhere. I want to address this:



First off, fentanyl isn't the only drug in the world and there is still fentanyl coming from Venezuela (or at least there was).



Second,  JD Vance (@JDVance) January 4, 2026

Calling cocaine the main profit center for all of the Latin America cartels, he wrote, If you cut out the money from cocaine (or even reduce it) you substantially weaken the cartels overall.

Also, cocaine is bad too! he added snidely.

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Vance did concede that most fentanyl makes its way into the U.S. via Mexico, and said contending with that trafficking route continues to be a focus of our policy in Mexico and is reason why President Trump shut the border on day one.

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A vast majority of fentanyl that ends up in the U.S. comes from Mexico using precursor chemicals from China. In fact, 96% of U.S.-bound fentanyl found by authorities is seized at the southern border between the U.S. and Mexico, according to Customs and Border Patrol numbers cited by BBC.

For his final point, the vice president turned to the sticky topic of Venezuelas vast oil reserves, something Trump admitted was a major motivator in his push for regime change.

Vice President JD Vance speaks at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest on Dec. 21, 2025. Caylo Seals via Getty Images

During the presidents Saturday morning address regarding the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, he openly gloated about the tremendous amount of wealth America plans to seize through oil reserves.

In his post, Vance claimed Venezuela had unjustly usurped its oil assets from the U.S., saying, About 20 years ago, Venezuela expropriated American oil property and until recently used that stolen property to get rich and fund their narcoterrorist activities.

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He was referring to how Venezuelas former president, socialist revolutionary Hugo Chavez, nationalized the countrys oil industry in the 2000s, largely pushing out foreign companies to redirect profits toward social welfare programs.

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Vance ended his post by addressing anxiety over the use of military force, asking readers, Are we just supposed to allow a communist to steal our stuff in our hemisphere and do nothing?

Great powers dont act like that, he went on. The United States, thanks to President Trumps leadership, is a great power again. Everyone should take note.

In a federal indictment filed in the Southern District Court of New York and made to the public on Saturday, Maduro is accused of sitting atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.

Related...

Read the original on HuffPost
Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) is one of the Best High Volume Penny Stocks to Buy. On December 23, S&P Global Ratings reaffirmed a BB+ issuer credit rating on Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY). This comes as the company, on December 19, announced selling the remaining 25.8% stake in Wella to KKR-managed capital accounts and investment affiliates.

According to the companys press release, the company will receive an upfront cash payment of $750 million, along with 45% from any proceeds from further sale or an IPO of the business. Management believes that Wellas strong recent and expected performance, along with its market valuation, will result in substantial cash proceeds for the company.

S&P Global Ratings noted that the sale is expected to bring the companys leverage to the high-3x area by the end of 2025. The firm believes that the company will use the cash received from the sale of its stake to address debt maturities. Moreover, the firm also likes the additional 45% share that Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY) is expected to receive in the event of further sale or IPO. S&P Global believes that this will allow the company to further address its debt in the future.

The sale of the Wella stake was part of the companys strategic initiative started in 2020 to simplify its business. S&P Global noted that the company is also planning to explore opportunities for the sale of its Brazilian operations. However, the firm believes that selling these assets would not be easy, considering the highly competitive mass beauty international market.

Coty Inc. (NYSE:COTY), together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells branded beauty products worldwide. It operates through two segments: the Prestige and Consumer Beauty.

While we acknowledge the potential of COTY as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
New year, new flights!

Vero Beach Regional Airport (VRB) recently welcomed its second commercial airline, JetBlue, Dec. 11 with daily nonstop service to Boston Logan International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Passengers on the inaugural flight  JetBlue Flight 1715  were greeted by airport and airline officials, including Vero Beach Mayor John Cotugno on the tarmac as they arrived from JFK.

American Airlines will be added to the list next month, beginning service Feb. 12 between Vero Beach and Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina.

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Here's where you can fly this January, or soon fly to and from Vero Beach Regional Airport in 2026.

See Vero Beach Regional Airport (VRB) routes, future destinations

Cheap Breeze Airways Florida flights from Vero Beach

Here are flight ticket prices offered by Breeze Airways throughout the month of January:

Vero Beach flights to and from Hartford, Connecticut Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Hartford, Connecticut, are offered on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays in January. Departing ticket prices: $79 - $139 Returning ticket prices: $79 - $159

Vero Beach flights to and from New Haven, Connecticut Flights to and from Vero Beach Airport flights and New Haven, Connecticut, are offered on the first Monday and Friday, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays in January. Departing ticket prices: $69 - $229 Returning ticket prices: $69 - $119

Vero Beach flights to and from Providence, Rhode Island Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Providence, Rhode Island, are offered daily except Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays in January. Departing ticket prices: $79 - $219 Returning ticket prices: $79 - $449

Vero Beach flights to and from Long Island/Islip, New York Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Long Island/Islip, New York, are offered on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays and the first Saturday in January. Departing ticket prices: $79 - $259 Returning ticket prices: $79 - $369

Vero Beach flights to and from Ogdensburg, New York Roundtrip flights from Vero Beach Airport to Ogdensburg, New York, are offered on Thursdays and Sundays in January. Departing ticket prices: $72 - $271 Returning ticket prices: $44 - $182

Vero Beach flights to and from White Plains, New York Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and fromWhite Plains, New York, are offered daily in January. Departing ticket prices: $89 - $898 Returning ticket prices: $89 - $249

Vero Beach flights to and from Washington, D.C. Flights from Vero Beach Airport to and from Washington, D.C., are offered on Thursdays and Sundays in January. Departing ticket prices: $79 - $279 Returning ticket prices: $79 - $179



JetBlue flights, ticket prices from Vero Beach, Florida

JetBlue offers daily roundtrip flights to New York and Boston, Massachusetts. Here are ticket prices throughout the month of January:

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Vero Beach Regional Airport (VRB) - John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Departing flight prices: $95 - $315 Returning flight prices: $99 - $264

Vero Beach Regional Airport (VRB) - Boston Logan International Airport(BOS) Departing flight prices: $80 - $515 Returning flight prices: $74 - $274



How to check Breeze Airways, JetBlue flight status

Breeze Airways: Visit flybreeze.com/flight-status and search flight "By Route" or "By Flight Number."

JetBlue: Visit jetblue.com/flight-tracker-and-status and search flight "By Route" or "By Flight Number."

How many flights were cancelled today in U.S.?

As of 10 a.m., Jan. 4, four flights to or from Vero Beach Regional Airport were delayed within 24 hours, according to Flight Aware.

Total cancellations within, into, or out of the United States today: 261

Total cancellations today: 1,059

Total delays within, into, or out of the United States today: 1,977

Total delays today: 17,841

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There have been many delays and cancellations in the last 24 hours, including hundreds from the Caribbean canceled in the wake of the United States conducting military strikes in Venezuela and capturing the countrys leader, Nicolas Maduro.

In an update posted to X late Saturday night, Jan. 3, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said airspace restrictions would expire at midnight Jan. 4 and flights can resume.

Contributing: Colleen Wixon, Treasure Coast Newspapers and Rebecca Morin and Josh Rivera, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: JetBlue, Breeze Airways new flights from Vero Beach Regional Airport
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus held a dedication ceremony on Jan. 6, 1983, for the newly constructed Leo Yassenoff Jewish Center.

The $10-million complex at 1125 College Ave. in Columbus' Berwick neighborhood replaced the centers former building on the same site, which was constructed in 1950, and expanded its footprint from 55,000 square feet to more than 100,000 square feet.

Exterior of the former Jewish Center on College Avenue, 1978. Much of the buildings 55,000 square feet was devoted to a bowling alley.

As designed by architects Bohm-NBBJ, the bigger space allowed that the new centers many services  including a theatre, racquetball courts, gym, aquatic center, early childhood education programs, and meeting rooms  could be laid out across individual wings and remain flexible for future updates.

Aerial view of the Leo Yassenoff Jewish Center under construction in October 1981.

Alongside the Beth Jacob Synagogue, the Columbus Jewish Historical Society, the Heritage Village residences, Jewish Columbus, and Jewish Family Services, the Jewish Center site continues to be a hub for Jewish social activity in the city.

Attendees exploring the new Jewish Center lobby prior to its dedication, January 1, 1983.

Jewish community centers in Columbus started with the Jewish Educational Alliance opening at 458 S. Washington Ave. in 1913. The organization offered a lending library, dramatic club, literary debates, and motherhood classes.

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In 1917, a major supporter of the Alliances mission, railroad magnate Joseph Pop Schonthal, purchased and repurposed the former residence of the brewer Louis P. Hoster at 555 East Rich St. to provide a growing Jewish community with a grander meeting place.

Joseph Schonthal (1854-1929), West Virginia Railroad Company president and founder of the Hermine Schonthal Home.

The Hermine Schonthal Home, named for Pops deceased wife, functioned like a settlement house, holding classrooms, galleries, early education classes as well as a gym in the carriage house on the property when it opened in 1919.

As the Jewish community shifted east from Downtown in the mid-20th century, interest coalesced around a new suburban home for support services and activities. Leo Yassenoff and his F & Y Building Service company designed and constructed the 1950 building as the first purpose-built Jewish Center in Columbus. It touted a large bowling alley, a sauna, and a sprawling campus that could also accommodate outdoor activities and camping groups.

Yassenoff died in 1971, and his charitable foundation, then under the guidance of Melvin Schottenstein, provided $2 million in challenge funds to kickstart the fundraising efforts for the 1983 building.

Playwright Rose Ann Kalister seated in the Jewish Centers Roth-Resler Theatre in May 1983 during production for one of the centers first performances.

In 1978, as planning for a new Jewish Center facility started, the organizations leadership considered relocating even further east. A larger site near East Broad Street and McNaughten Road on Columbus' Far East Side was identified as an option to accommodate the growth of the Jewish community.

Jewish Center vice president Bill Goldman holds up an architectural drawing of the proposed Jewish Center, July 19, 1980.

The issue of relocation, and beyond the Interstate 270 beltway, was controversial among the centers 5,700 members. A group of Heritage Village residents launched a public ad campaign advocating for the Jewish Center to remain on College Avenue. The board ultimately voted to stay put.

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Subsequent Jewish Center facilities have since opened in Worthington and New Albany, and the College Avenue building was expanded in 2012.

Eugene Rutigliano is a librarian with the Local History & Genealogy department at Columbus Metropolitan Library.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: First Jewish community center in Columbus opened in 1913 near Downtown
OSHKOSH  The Oshkosh Public Library is cutting the ribbon Friday, Jan. 9, on JobPod, a Microsoft-powered workspace offering job seekers WiFi, career tools and expert guidance right inside the library.

The JobPod is equipped with a computer and career resources from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Library staff are available to help users get started and connect with career experts, according to a community announcement.

Users can drop in during regular library hours or reserve a session in advance through the library's website or by calling 920-236-5205.

JobPod opens at Oshkosh library with Microsoft-powered resources, free WiFi and career support for local job seekers.

The JobPod was created in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, the Fox Valley Workforce Development Board, the Nicolet Federated Library System and the Brown County library system, according to the announcement. The project was funded through a grant in partnership with the workforce development board.

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The community is invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the JobPod at 8 a.m. Jan. 9 on the library's second floor. Coffee and light refreshments will be available, according to the announcement.

"JobPod takes the Oshkosh Public Library's support for job seekers to a new level," library Director Darryl Eschete said in the announcement. "This vital partnership empowers people to take charge of their futures and move forward in their careers and lives with confidence."

Local job centers provided through the Department of Workforce Development now see up to 3,500 people per month, according to the announcement. As government agencies face increasing demands, libraries are stepping up as important centers for employment support.

The Oshkosh Public Library is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays to Sundays.

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This story was created by Dave DeMille, ddemille@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.

This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh library adds Microsoft-powered JobPod
The key thing missing from Trumps regime change plan

After the extraordinary U.S. tactical victory removing Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from Caracas, President Donald Trump appears to have stumbled immediately. During a self-congratulatory press conference Saturday rolling out their post-Maduro strategy, Trump, Cabinet members and other U.S. officials provided details about the special operations mission that captured Maduro without the loss of any U.S. personnel. They also made several claims about plans for Venezuelas future that could unsettle even the most optimistic among us.

Now that Maduro has been relieved of his illegitimate presidency, the opposition could again be asked to suffer the indignity of watching the regime remain in power during this transition.

While there is global debate about the legality of rendering Maduro to the U.S. criminal justice system, both the Trump and Biden administrations were in sync on a fundamental point: Maduro was an illegitimate president that the United States has not recognized since January 2019. But at Saturdays press conference, U.S. officials expressed support for Delcy Rodriguez, the executive vice president of Venezuela, to be the countrys interim president.

There is a logic problem: If Maduro was an illegitimate dictator, then wouldnt his executive vice president similarly be illegitimate?

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Here are some basic facts that existed before U.S. actions Saturday: Delcy Rodriguez has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department since 2018 for antidemocratic actions and violating human rights. She has also been sanctioned since 2018 by the European Union, a rarer designation reserved for particularly bad actors. She has been a part of Maduros various governments since 2013, when he took over for the deceased Hugo Chavez. She is a staunch Maduro loyalist.

At his press conference, Trump indicated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had engaged with Rodriguez by phone and that she had been quite gracious and was willing to do whatever is necessary to facilitate a transition of power. Notably, Rubio appeared visibly uncomfortable with Trumps characterization of the nascent relationship. But a more forceful contrast came from Rodriguez, who gave her own press conference on Saturday and railed against the Trump administration. Rodriguez denounced the U.S. action as an illegal and illegitimate kidnapping, rejected the idea of U.S. authority to oversee Venezuela and insisted that Maduro remains the countrys only president.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration apparently has no plans to bring into the governing process either of the opposition figures who would have legitimate claims to lead a democratic Venezuela: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, the undisputed head of the opposition; or Edmundo Gonzalez, who garnered more votes in the July 2024 presidential election that Maduro claimed to have won. Either could be a unifying figure seeking to stabilize Venezuela moving forward. In the absence of a leader with legitimate credentials, the Trump strategy of regime change is a farce. Removing only Maduro while rogue figures on the U.S. Treasurys Specially Designated Nationals blacklist are still firmly in control in Caracas is like repositioning deck chairs on the Titanic. It would be laughable were the stakes not so high.

Perhaps Trumps reference Saturday to the potential for more powerful strikes was meant to encourage individuals with ties to Maduro to depart the country. Personally, Im paying attention to how quickly wrongfully detained Americans are released and when political and military prisoners of conscience are allowed to return to society. If the notorious Helicoide torture center in Caracas remains full, then Venezuelans will know that the Maduro regime continues in some form  and that their hopes for genuine democratic change should remain low.

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The other chilling comment from Trumps press conference was his announcement that the United States plans to run Venezuela. How, exactly, and for how long? Were going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition to new leadership, the president said. Without significant security forces on the ground, it is hard to see how a failed state, riddled with illegal armed groups and foreign terrorist organizations, will somehow remain stable merely by removing a deeply unpopular dictator.

Many believed that the Trump administrations focus on Venezuela was ultimately about regional stability, stopping drugs and the relationships Venezuela nurtured with our strategic adversaries. Some of us, perhaps more naively, hoped that restoring democracy and stopping human rights abuses were objectives. Those are all laudable goals, even if reasonable people can disagree about the legality of and fallout from directed U.S. action. The presidents remarks Saturday, however, underscored his administrations interest in access to oil. Given the number of oil companies whose assets have been expropriated in Venezuela and that have won international arbitration awards, a quick return of U.S. oil companies to invest in Venezuela and boost oil production is unlikely. Steep investments will be a hard sell if the rule of law remains shaky.

I served for five years total as chief of mission and U.S. ambassador to Venezuela. I know how deeply some have yearned for this regime change. And yet: The world has asked so much of the Venezuelan opposition. They have protested in the streets, drawn global attention to the dictatorships many abuses, engaged in negotiations  all to no avail. Opposition candidates have run in and won elections only to see the Maduro regime refuse to hand over power. And now that Maduro has been relieved of his illegitimate presidency, the opposition could again be asked to suffer the indignity of watching the regime remain in power during this transition.

If the United States expects a different result from the same people, we collectively will have failed to learn from the Maduro regimes record. As we say in South Carolina, there is no education in the second kick of a mule.

The post The key thing missing from Trumps regime change plan appeared first on MS NOW.

This article was originally published on ms.now
A fatal helicopter crash southeast of Phoenix involved a slackline, also known as a highline, which investigators say the aircraft struck before plunging into a canyon.

The crash occurred Jan. 2 in Telegraph Canyon, south of Superior and about 65 miles east of Phoenix. Authorities said preliminary evidence indicates that a recreational slackline more than one kilometer long had been strung across a mountain range in the area at the time of the crash.

The helicopter was carrying four people, all of whom were killed, according to the Pinal County Sheriffs Office.

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Heres what investigators and aviation records show so far about how a recreational slackline stretched across a canyon may have factored into a fatal helicopter crash near Superior.

What authorities say happened

An eyewitness who called 911 reported seeing the helicopter strike a portion of the line before crashing into Telegraph Canyon, according to the Pinal County Sheriffs Office.

Federal aviation records show a notice to air men, known as a NOTAM, warned pilots of a tight rope obstruction in the area during the time of the crash.

A NOTAM is an advisory issued by the Federal Aviation Administration to alert pilots to potential hazards such as obstructions, but the FAA has not said whether the pilot was aware of the notice or whether it was reviewed before the flight.

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The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. Authorities have said additional information will be released as the investigation continues.

Pinal County Sheriffs Office vehicles near Telegraph Canyon, south of Superior, where authorities responded to a helicopter crash that killed four people on Jan. 2, 2026.

What is a slackline or highline?

According to the International Slackline Association, a slackline, or highline, is a narrow strip of nylon or polyester webbing tightened between two fixed anchor points, such as trees or rock formations, and used for balancing.

The association says that when a slackline is installed across a canyon or at significant heights, it is commonly referred to as a highline.

The slackline association said in a statement that the helicopter struck a highline and that no highliners were on the line at the time of the incident.

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The organization said the line had aviation markers attached, but investigators have not said whether those markers were visible at the time of the crash or met any specific standards.

Why slacklines can intersect with helicopter flight paths

Helicopters often operate at lower altitudes than planes, particularly in mountainous or remote areas, which can increase the likelihood of encounters with temporary obstructions such as cables, wires or slacklines, according to federal aviation safety guidance.

Investigators have not said whether altitude, visibility or terrain played a role in the crash.

What we know: Families ID 4 killed in Arizona helicopter crash in Telegraph Canyon

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Rey Covarrubias Jr. covers grocery shopping, business and breaking news for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email him at: rcovarrubias@azcentral.com, and connect with him on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and X (formerly Twitter) at @ReyCJrAZ.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Slackline may have caused fatal Arizona helicopter crash
President Donald Trump and his administration spent months insisting that its efforts in Venezuela were solely focused on combatting drug trafficking and not about changing the government in power in Caracas.

But the administrations strikes on Venezuela, its capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and Trumps statements that the U.S. will run Venezuela have created confusion about what direction the Trump administration will take Venezuela policy now that Maduro is in U.S. custody. The president on Saturday said Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with the countrys current interim ruler, Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, and that the U.S. would decide Venezuelas political future.

To make sense of the state of play, POLITICO Magazine sat down with Carrie Filipetti. Filipetti, who now leads the center-right Vandenberg Coalition think tank in Washington, served in the first Trump administration as principal deputy assistant secretary of State for Cuba and Venezuela and was an integral player in that administrations efforts to ramp up economic pressure against Maduro.

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Filipetti says that capturing Maduro still fits within the framing of this pressure campaign as a counter-narcotics mission, and she was supportive of the operation. But she cautioned that any effort to directly run the country will result in political blowback for the administration.

She also insisted that the future of Venezuela comes down to whether the U.S. will support the opposition and its efforts to restore democracy in the country and cautioned against cooperating with Rodriguez or other former allies of Maduro.

The only way that we can preserve U.S. security, make sure we dont get bogged down further, and protect Venezuelan security is if we turn back to the democratically elected leadership there, she said.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

The top line coming out of the president's presser today is this idea that the US is going to be running Venezuela in the interim. How could this possibly work based on what the president outlined?



I am hoping that when the president says the U.S. will run Venezuela until a proper transition takes place, what he really means is that the U.S. will support the democratically elected leadership of Venezuela. There appears to be an enormous amount of support right now for the presidents operation, particularly among his base and Republican members of Congress, largely because it was accomplished with no loss of American life and was direct and targeted.

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Candidly, there would be very limited support, if any, of the United States taking a leadership role of a sovereign nation. The America Firsters in his administration and in his coalition are already beginning to ask some questions about what this actually means. What Venezuela really needs is democracy, not patronage. I think it still remains to be seen exactly what he means by this, but certainly I would not support the U.S. being in any role other than supportive of the Venezuelan people who have been fighting for democracy. And I suspect most Americans would not either.



Speaking of the opposition, the president did not offer the most glowing words about Maria Corina Machado. He essentially insinuated that she didn't have the gravitas to potentially lead the country. Do you agree with that assessment?



It seems to me that President Trump may have confused Delcy Rodriguez, who I would describe as not having the respect or support of the people, with Maria Corina Machado, who provably does. Her candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, won nearly 70 percent of the vote, even under authoritarian conditions. Her support has only been growing, as I'm sure you've seen polling in Venezuela suggesting that there are super majorities that support her. So this is a provably incorrect statement.



She has been working behind the scenes for many years for democratic change inside Venezuela. She is the most popular candidate by far. She was able to unite nearly all of the Venezuelan opposition parties in a way that no previous Venezuelan leader had been able to do. And notwithstanding the fact that she's been forced into clandestinity since 2024, she has still been able to retain that support, even so much as winning the Nobel Peace Prize. So once again here, I'm supportive of the American operation, but I think he's categorically incorrect in his assessment of Maria Corina Machado and in his assessment of Delcy Rodriguez.

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What do you think the opposition needs to do to make the most of this moment?



First of all, I think we shouldn't negate the possibility that a lot of the efforts that the Venezuelan opposition have put forward over the last couple of years helped result in this being a successful operation. Meaning, an operation like this requires significant on-the-ground intelligence on locations, schematics, schedules, etc. That information often comes from insiders, and I would not be shocked if the oppositions efforts in building bridges to those in the regime and turning them toward democracy was able to generate some of that intelligence. So I think we owe a lot of credit to the Venezuelan opposition, who are partners to us in this in very much the same way that the Israelis were partners to us in Operation Midnight Hammer.



Right now, they are mobilizing. Maria Corina Machado has been activated and is working really hard to unite everyone to make sure that security is confirmed, to make sure they are able to put into place the day after plans theyve developed for so long. So, again, I think it's important that we not lose sight of the fact that the Venezuelan opposition really are partners to us in this, and the only way that we can preserve U.S. security, make sure we dont get bogged down further, and protect Venezuelan security is if we turn back to the democratically elected leadership there.



Why do you think the president ultimately decided to approve the strikes?

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I think the president was able to assess the probability of success as extremely high. He knows, and now the rest of the world does as well, what the capabilities of the U.S. military are. This was an incredibly coordinated campaign that was even more remarkable than I could have imagined. The coordination that's required. The operational security that's required. The performance on the ground and in the air by American service members. All of this is a huge statement of American strength and power and also a strong message to our adversaries not to test us.



My sense is that for President Trump, it was very important that he was able to come back to the country and say not a single service member was killed, and not a single piece of equipment was shot down. He was rightfully very proud of that.



When we're thinking about the messages to adversaries, some have said this could also embolden China to launch military strikes in Taiwan or allow the Russians to accuse us of selective standards when theyre defending strikes in Ukraine. Whats your take on that?



The message that our adversaries are getting today is much different. What you have to remember is there were Chinese officials on the ground meeting with Maduro just hours before this strike happened. At the same time, Russian equipment, which is what the Venezuelan regime relies on for its air defenses, were proven completely incapable of taking out American aircraft. And you have the Iranian regime saying that there's total war against the United States, and President Trump warning them that if they harm any protesters in Iran that the U.S. will be on the side of the protesters.

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So what we've seen in this one operation inside Venezuela are consequences for other adversaries. First, demonstrating that Russian military support is pretty much a paper tiger at this point. Second, demonstrating that the U.S. is not afraid of China or a Chinese presence. And third, that the United States stands very strongly behind its threats. And if I were the Iranian regime, that would be what I would be most concerned with. So broadly speaking, I think that this has implications not just for the future of Venezuela, but the future of the world.



And specifically theres the message that if you are a foreign dictator who refuses to engage with good faith in the United States negotiations, you are going to be held accountable for that. That's a very clear message to Putin, to Xi, and to the Iranian regime.



Another criticism has been that this contravenes principles of international law about sovereignty and about respect in general for borders, and represents an episode of U.S. interference in another country's political affairs. What do you make of that?



I haven't yet seen the exact way in which President Trump plans to provide the legal justification for this. I think there's a few different possibilities. First and foremost, as it relates to the airstrikes, that's something that based on precedent seems within executive authority. It was done both by President Trump's first administration as well as President Obama's administration. And so it has been accepted, at least in precedent, that airstrikes in a limited capacity for a specific target are possible even without congressional approval.

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As it relates to the on-the-ground operation, it really depends on how exactly this was conducted and by whom, but of course the president did authorize lethal CIA action, which could allow activity similar to this under Title 50. And then finally, as it relates to international law, there is a principle of responsibility to protect that was developed to protect the civilians of countries whose leaders are committing crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocide. And the U.N. fact-finding mission, which recently was forced out of Venezuela, has over the last few years shown proof of potential crimes against humanity. So one could also look at the responsibility to protect as a potential justification for this activity.



Im not sure which authority the president will use, nor am I a lawyer, but these are the things Im thinking about. I imagine as more comes out, this is an area that Congress and others will want to look more deeply into.



How worried are you that Venezuela could devolve into chaos if there's the second wave of attacks that the president threatened today?



This is why I think it's so important that we throw our support behind Maria Corina Machado. They have the inroads. They have connections with the military. They have inroads even with regime officials. The safest way to a successful, smooth transition is not for the United States to take power, but for us to make sure that it gets into the hands of the democratically elected leaders in Venezuela.

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What they do after that, whether they hold another election, whether Edmundo stays as president for his term and then there's another election, is ultimately up to them. But that is the best way to make sure that this doesn't devolve into chaos. People have really underestimated the opposition. They were able to organize elections. They were able to unite. They were able to mobilize hundreds of thousands of protesters and millions of voters. This is a population that has been through so much and is capable of so much.



And the conditions are not, as some suggest, Libya or Iraq. This isn't the United States forcing democracy on a country. This is democracy returning to a country that originally brought it to the rest of the hemisphere. They're very trained in electoral processes, in democratic processes, and so this is a very different context. That being said I think there is a potential for chaos if the United States plans to run Venezuela from afar. It needs to be in the hands of the Venezuelan people and specifically in the hands of the democratically elected leadership.



If you were at State right now, what other things would be keeping you up at night? What would be the other pitfalls that youd watching out for?



Obviously, I'd want to make sure that the security situation in Venezuela stabilizes. That would be my number one concern. My second concern would be making sure that Venezuela has what it needs to really rebuild. Rhetorical support is important, but actual tangible support matters a lot more.

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This was a major lesson that we learned in the first Trump administration. It would be really important to make sure that we're looking at the various resources that we can provide. That's financial resources, but it's also programmatic resources. I would be working very hard to rally support for what the president has achieved across the world so that we can get other partners to join us in supporting the Venezuelan people and making sure that they have what they need for a transition. And ultimately, all of these investments will help enormously.



If there is a desire for us to partner with Venezuela and their oil sector, then once again, the best, safest and smoothest way to do that is to make sure that they have a democratically elected leadership that's willing to cooperate and partner with us on their own accord, not because the United States is running it. We have our own country to focus on.



If things break down, how much is the U.S. going to be on the hook for this? And what are the political consequences for the administration should things really fall apart?



This was partially why I wasn't 100 percent sure whether the president was going to do this. There's two key questions theyd consider as they're planning this kind of event. Number one is, will it be successful for the immediate operation? Which is, of course, the taking of Maduro and bringing him to the United States to face his drug trafficking charges. How likely is it for that to be successful? There, the assessment was probably very high, and as we saw that was very successful.

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But theres a second component, which is what is the likely outcome of this in the days, weeks, months afterward? Thats why in the first Trump administration we always emphasized that the method of a transition is as important as the transition itself. It's also why I keep emphasizing the democratic leadership inside of Venezuela, because they are the ones that can make sure that this doesn't devolve into chaos. Some of the things that we would be concerned about, of course, would be: Are there regime loyalists who try to assert power and to try to repress the Venezuelan people and continue Maduro's legacy? Is there a power vacuum? Again, the best protection against this is making sure that we are backing the Venezuelan leadership under Maria Corina and Edmundo Gonzalez.



The administration was saying this wasn't about regime change in the months and the weeks leading up to this, but it kind of was ultimately about regime change, right? Is that a fair read of the ultimate end state for the operations?



Well, President Trump did continuously emphasize the American victims of drug trafficking in his press conference about this operation. I think the fact that Maduro was taken to face charges on drug trafficking is another important indicator. The way I have always assessed President Trump is that he views the departure of Maduro as a drug trafficking operation, as a counter-narcotics operation. I think President Trump is continuing to see this as a law enforcement operation or counter-narcotics operation and that Maduro, being the head of drug trafficking in Venezuela, needed to be held accountable.



What does all of this tell us about the Trump corollary or doctrine that the administration is promoting in Latin America right now? How does this affect our posture toward the hemisphere?



We saw in this action a few different things that align with his national security strategy. First and foremost, in his press conference, he did bring up both drug trafficking and immigration, which were two of the main things that worried him as written about in his Trump corollary. He also wrote about foreign malign influence, and I thought it was very telling that both President Trump and Secretary Rubio mentioned our foreign adversaries in their remarks, the fact that this sends a message to those adversaries, and the fact that those adversaries are embedded in Venezuela. So in some ways, this is very much an encapsulation of what he described in his Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. It certainly reasserts American power. It emphasizes the importance of deterrence. I think all of those things are very consistent.



Once again, where I do have a significant question is about this next stage of him suggesting that there's some role for the U.S. in leading Venezuela. That doesn't seem to align very concretely with his Trump corollary, nor does it really align with much of what he's described as America First in the past.



One final question. You were also the Cuba point person at the State Departments Bureau for Western Hemisphere Affairs. Our policy on Venezuela has always been linked to our policy on Cuba, and Secretary Rubio issued a threat that if I were in Havana, I would be concerned right now. I'm curious if you share that same viewpoint that Havana should be worried about what just happened right now in Venezuela.



If I were Havana, I would be worried about what just happened, but not exclusively from the perspective of the United States coming against me. I would worry about the fact that I no longer have my lead patron.



Cuba has always required a patron state to support them. First it was the Soviet Union, and when the Soviet Union fell it was Venezuela. There's no longer a clear successor to Venezuela in propping up Cuba's illegitimate regime. So if I were them, I would be worried about that side of the equation as well.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  The driver accused in a deadly hit-and-run crash on New Years Eve was arrested by Las Vegas Metro police.

On Friday, police identified the suspected driver as Joshua Johnson, 31, of Las Vegas. Johnson was taken to the Clark County Detention Center and faces a charge of duty to stop at the scene of a crash, according to online records.

Pedestrian killed in hit-and-run crash on Boulder Highway

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The crash took place along the northbound lanes of Boulder Highway south of Whitney Avenue around 6:15 p.m. Las Vegas Metropolitan police said the driver who struck the pedestrian left the scene.

Police said the pedestrian was struck in a travel lane near Whitney Avenue when they attempted to cross Boulder. The person was not in a crosswalk. The identity of the pedestrian has not been released.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departments Collision Investigation Section at (702) 828-3317 or, to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555, visit www.CrimeStoppersOfNV.com.

Johnson made an initial court appearance Saturday morning. Johnson has 13 open traffic cases in the Las Vegas Justice Court, five cases in the North Las Vegas Municipal Court, and one case in the Henderson Municipal Court.

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According to court records, Johnson is employed as a behavioral therapist at Proud Moments, where he works with autistic children. He also holds a second job as a behavioral therapist working with children on the autism spectrum.

A judge set bail at $100,000. If bail is posted, Johnson will be placed on electronic monitoring and is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle.

Johnson is scheduled to return to court on January 6 at 8 a.m. in Department 9.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
WASHINGTON  While Republican leaders and allies of President Donald Trump praised his strike in Venezuela to capture leader Nicolas Maduro, Democrats and even some Republicans from various ideological corners of the party are pushing back.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Trump is facing questions from Capitol Hill about the legality and the wisdom of the attack, with critics fearing it could drag the U.S. into another costly war with no end in sight.

Follow live updates

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a MAGA firebrand who has recently accused Trump of betraying the movement, questioned Trumps justification for the strike, saying on X that if it is truly about going after drug traffickers, then why hasnt the Trump admin taken action against Mexican cartels?

Instead, she accused Trump of seeking regime change in a clear move for control over Venezuelan oil supplies.

Americans disgust with our own governments never ending military aggression and support of foreign wars is justified because we are forced to pay for it, Greene continued. And both parties, Republicans and Democrats, always keep the Washington military machine funded and going. This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong.

Centrist Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., echoing others in both parties, said in a statement that the capture of Maduro is great for the future of Venezuelans and the region. But the military veteran said he worries the strike will embolden other countries to take similar actions.

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My main concern now is that Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan, Bacon said. Freedom and rule of law were defended last night, but dictators will try to exploit this to rationalize their selfish objectives.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a fiscal hawk and libertarian, argued that the Trump administration is contradicting its own legal justifications for the military strike.

If this action were constitutionally sound, the Attorney General wouldnt be tweeting that theyve arrested the President of a sovereign country and his wife for possessing guns in violation of a 1934 U.S. firearm law, Massie said on X.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., issued a pointed criticism of the attack and questioned its legality, saying that it is long past time for Congress to reassert its critical constitutional role in matters of war.

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Kaine, who sits on the Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees, said the full Senate will vote next week on his bipartisan resolution, which was prepared before the U.S. strike, to avoid war with Venezuela absent a clear congressional authorization.

President Trumps unauthorized military attack on Venezuela to arrest Maduro  however terrible he is  is a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate the internal political affairs of all nations in the Western Hemisphere, Kaine said in a statement.

Where will this go next? he added. Will the President deploy our troops to protect Iranian protesters? To enforce the fragile ceasefire in Gaza? To battle terrorists in Nigeria? To seize Greenland or the Panama Canal? To suppress Americans peacefully assembling to protest his policies? Trump has threatened to do all this and more and sees no need to seek legal authorization from peoples elected legislature before putting servicemembers at risk.

The so-called gang of eight  the top four leaders in Congress and top four intelligence committee chiefs  were not notified ahead of time regarding the Venezuela attack, said a spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., also accused the administration of failing to properly notify Congress in advance of the operation in Venezuela.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the decision not to notify lawmakers beforehand.

We called members of Congress immediately after. This was not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on, he said Saturday at a press conference with Trump. Its just not the kind of mission you can prenotify because it endangers the mission.

Trump chimed in: Congress has a tendency to leak. This would not have been good.

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Several critics of the move have drawn comparisons to the Iraq War, citing Trumps statement Saturday that the U.S. is going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.

Jeffries said in his statement that the promotion of security and stability in a region requires more than just military force as we painfully discovered in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Schumer sounded a similar note. The idea that Trump plans to now run Venezuela should strike fear in the hearts of all Americans. The American people have seen this before and paid the devastating price.

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said: We should have learned by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans.

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Rubio has been making calls to some members of Congress  including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., they said in separate statements Saturday.

Todays military action in Venezuela was a decisive and justified operation that will protect American lives, Johnson said. The Trump Administration is working to schedule briefings for Members as Congress returns to Washington next week.

Thune said he looks forward to those briefings and also suggested the attack was justified.

President Trumps decisive action to disrupt the unacceptable status quo and apprehend Maduro, through the execution of a valid Department of Justice warrant, is an important first step to bring him to justice for the drug crimes for which he has been indicted in the United States, he said.

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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told NBC News that Trumps press conference was a very strong statement ... that the days of narco-terrorism drug caliphates in your backyard are over.

My takeaway is were going to be patient. Make sure we rebuild Venezuela, beneficial to the Venezuelan people and make them an ally, he said. If I were Cuba, Id be nervous about this news conference.

When pressed on Trumps statement that the U.S. would control Venezuela, Graham said: The context made sense, but long-term operations are difficult. Securing the oil, helping rebuild the institutions. But the sooner we can have an election, the better.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, tweeted in the early hours of Saturday morning, I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force.

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Within two hours, Lee changed his tune after a call from Rubio, saying the move likely falls within the presidents inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Armed men have violently stormed a village in Nigeria's Niger state, killing at least 30 people and looting shops, state authorities have said.

The attackers emerged from a forest near the village of Kasuwan-Daji on Saturday and set fire to the local market, looted shops and kidnapped an unspecified number of people, police said.

"The gunmen entered the town on motorcycles carrying weapons, rounded up people and then proceeded to slaughter them, while others were shot dead," a local journalist told the BBC's Hausa service.

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Attacks and kidnappings by armed criminal gangs, known as bandits, have been a problem in Nigeria for years, but reports in western and central regions have spiked recently.

Abdullahi Rofia, an official with the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the journalist's report that villagers were rounded up and killed.

He told the BBC that people in the community were terrified: "They are hiding, they are too afraid to talk to anybody.

"They are scared that if you talk, they will turn and do the same to you."

Niger state police spokesperson, Wasiu Abiodun, said an emergency team has been deployed to help the injured and security forces are working to rescue those kidnapped.

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It is illegal to pay ransom money to the criminal groups, which the government has classified as terrorists, but there are claims this is often ignored.

The attack on Kasuwan-Daji is the latest is a spike of violent attacks against villages in Niger state [Zakari Kontagora]

A witness to the attack told BBC Hausa that there were no security forces in the village.

"We want the government to help us. In the past, we used to hear about this problem in other places, but now it is happening in our villages," he said.

The fear is driving people from their homes where they were born and raised.

"We are dying like chickens, and does the government care about us?

"The government hears and sees what is happening, but it is not doing anything about it. What can we do as ordinary people?"

Villagers say the attacks are driving people away from the villages they grew up in [Zakari Kontagora]

The attack happened just a day after authorities in Niger state announced the phased reopening of schools, after a mass kidnapping forced them to close as part of emergency security measures.

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In November, more than 250 students and staff from St Mary's Catholic school in Papiri, Niger state, were abducted.

It was one of the country's worst kidnappings to date, however just before Christmas, officials confirmed that all of the missing students and teachers had been rescued.
Walking away from a steady construction job to work for himself left a 25-year-old handyman earning more than twice as much  but wrestling with guilt and second thoughts.

Brian, a caller from Van Nuys, California, told "The Ramsey Show" he recently left a construction job to launch his own handyman business. He said the move pushed his income to about $120,000 a year, left him debt-free, and put him on track to buy a home  yet pressure from family and renewed contact from his former employer made him question whether he made the right call.

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From Construction To Running His Business

Brian said he worked in construction for seven years starting at age 18, earning about $30 an hour, or roughly $55,000 to $60,000 a year. After going out on his own, he said his income climbed quickly as clients paid market rates for skilled handyman work.

He said he has a personal emergency fund, a separate business emergency fund, and steady demand for his services. Still, family members questioned his pricing and whether self-employment was stable. "I feel bad like I let my ex-employer down," Brian said.

When The Past Job Calls Back

Brian said his former company contacted him and asked whether he planned to return. He said that when he left, he described the move as a break rather than a permanent decision, which led the company to ask for clarity.

"I'm confused where the mistake might be," personal finance expert Dave Ramsey said, zeroing in on the contrast between Brian's old construction pay and his current earnings.

Trending: Americans With a Financial Plan Can 4X Their Wealth  Get Your Personalized Plan from a CFP Pro

Co-host Ken Coleman addressed concerns about stability tied to self-employment. "The fact of the matter is, you are more stable working for you with the skill sets that you have," Coleman said.

How Ramsey Described Security

Ramsey said he does not view loyalty to a former employer as a reason to accept lower pay.

He shared an example of a relative who believed long-term corporate employment was the only form of security, even when the income didn't support that belief. Ramsey cut through the doubt, saying security comes from skills that make money  not from loyalty or a paycheck.

"Security comes from your ability to get up, leave the cave and kill something and drag it home," he said.
The trappings of law await Nicolas Maduro at the courthouse at 500 Pearl Street in lower Manhattan. There is an indictment. There will be prosecutors and defense counsel, a judge and briefs. In the end, when all is said and done, and if the Trump administration does not colossally bungle this case, there will probably be a conviction and a hefty prison sentence.

But we cannot lose sight of what has brought us here  to the surreal and yet somehow entirely foreseeable situation in which the Trump administration has illegally abducted the leader of Venezuela, a country that has engaged in no hostilities with the United States, without even the appearance of an effort to enlist the support of the American public or their elected representatives in Congress, and without even the semblance of a stated plan for how the country will be governed.

Congress is supposed to declare wars under the U.S. Constitution, and we have laws that are supposed to constrain unilateral military deployments without congressional consultation. The Trump administration has blown through both of those domestic legal prohibitions, either because it could not be bothered to get consent from Congress or it did not think it would get the votes. The administration has also thoroughly undermined the international legal order at the same time, and there are likely to be consequences across the globe.

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The action against Venezuela is manifestly illegal under international law, and cannot plausibly or by any reasonable standard be characterized as a law enforcement action, Philippe Sands, an expert on international law, told me in the wake of the military action.

What now is the plan? he continued. One need only to think of Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Libya, amongst others, to imagine what the consequences might be, and the encouragement it will surely give to others to act with such brazen disregard for the international legal norms that bind us all.

Trump, of course, is not the first U.S. president to sideline Congress on matters of war and peace. Stretching the bounds of executive authority on military action may be especially tempting as many lawmakers appear increasingly eager to shirk the responsibility of such decisions. But the latest episode appears unique compared to previous interventions; more on that below.

Meanwhile, the average American might be shocked by the turn of events, but no one in Washington can seriously claim to be surprised.

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The Trump administration spent months openly flaunting lethal and illegal boat strikes against alleged drug traffickers and threatening to topple the Maduro regime. When even the boat strikes became impossible to defend under the law after the revelation in November about a double tap strike that killed survivors clinging to a boat, the administration stonewalled. Despite the apparently indefensible nature of that attack, Republicans in Congress eventually rallied around Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. There is a famous childrens book about what happens in these sorts of situations.

Trump declared in November that the airspace above and around Venezuela was closed, and weeks later he ordered a blockade of the country. Both of these actions were essentially acts of war  or, at a bare minimum, very clear statements of the administrations intentions about what was coming.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration never made an honest and coherent case to the American public about what they were doing and why. Trump has repeatedly peddled the transparently ridiculous claim that each boat strike saved 25,000 American lives from drug overdoses. An emerging journalistic consensus now holds that administration officials coalesced around ousting Maduro based on three rationales  oil, drugs and immigration  but three different bad reasons to launch an illegal regime change war do not add up to one good one.

The idea that this reflects a serious effort to stymie drug trafficking was already rendered a farce by Trumps decision last month to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was serving a 45-year prison sentence after being convicted of trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into the U.S.  pretty much the exact same thing that Maduro is now accused of. You also cannot legally depose a sovereign nations leader because the countrys citizens are illegally immigrating to your country or because you want to seize their natural resources.

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The Trump administrations intellectual shell game should have been familiar to anyone who lived through the run-up to the Iraq war, when President George W. Bushs administration offered up shifting and factually unsupported claims in the months before it took the country into war. That war is now widely understood as a historic mistake  something that Trump himself used to get elected in 2016  but this obvious parallel appears to have eluded many in recent months.

What happens next on the ground in Venezuela is anyones guess at this point, but it is also a logical consequence of our current political situation  one in which Congress and the Supreme Court have largely let Trump have his way since returning to office. There is, however, nothing permanent about this arrangement, and the public has the power to change it.



Already, there have been efforts by administration defenders to draw legal comparisons between Trumps actions in Venezuela to those of other presidents in different contexts. The comparisons are premature at best and facile at worst.

This pushes precedents very far, but we dont know just how far yet, because so many facts and plans are unclear, Matthew Waxman, a Columbia Law School professor and former George W. Bush Administration official, told me.

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All modern presidents have claimed broad power to use substantial military force without congressional authorization, he continued. Some of those contemplated regime change. One might call any of these violations of Congress prerogatives, but because these questions dont get litigated in court, it falls to Congress to defend its own powers.

The supposed precedents include Trumps first-term strike against Qassem Soleimani, Barack Obamas NATO-led bombing campaign in Libya, Bill Clintons participation in the NATO campaign against Yugoslavia and George H.W. Bushs arrest and prosecution of the onetime Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega.

There are obvious factual distinctions. Soleimani was a senior military leader in Iran but not the head of state, and Trump did not decide that we would run the country afterward. Obama and Clinton each had the support of a robust international coalition and a legitimate humanitarian rationale for their decisions. (Obama, in any event, has said that his worst mistake in office was failing to plan for the day after the Libya intervention.)

Bushs invasion of Panama in 1989 and arrest of Noriega appears most on point, but in that case the U.S. facilitated the swift installation of an opposition leader who had won a presidential election. Waxman acknowledged that the episode provided some parallels and precedent as a legal matter, but he noted that even that operation strained constitutional and international law. On top of that, if this really does turn into a protracted occupation of Venezuela, it could far exceed the Panama case in terms of presidential unilateralism, Waxman said.

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Sometimes, however, a fine-grained legal analysis can obscure just as much as it illuminates.

Even if there were no distinctions between Trumps actions in Venezuela and those earlier military campaigns, what would that prove? Many Americans were not even alive when some of those events happened, and all of those actions  by Trump, Obama and the first Bush  appear to have been illegal under U.S. law, international law or both.

What many people are really talking about when they invoke these comparisons is whether as a matter of policy, those interventions were as good or as bad as what Trump just did  not whether they were lawful. That is a different and legitimate discussion, but it is not one that legally vindicates the Trump administration.



We should have seen something like this coming  Congress, the press corps and the rest of official Washington.

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Trump has spent the last year running roughshod over the American publics representatives in Congress, with the Republican majority happy to play ball. Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a prominent anti-interventionist Republican, underscored this approach after the strikes on Venezuela  raising concerns with the moves constitutionality only to back off two hours later.

Democrats, for their part, have been focused in recent months on releasing millions of pages of unvetted information from the Justice Departments criminal investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein. In the process, they have generated even more conspiracy theories that will probably exist in perpetuity, and they have positioned the party behind the irresponsible and thus-far unsupported claim that there is a large Epstein class of rich and powerful criminals who will be decisively taken down once the public scours through everything that the Justice Department missed or intentionally covered up under both the Trump and Biden administrations.

This is not to equate the Democrats actions with the Republican Partys institutional backing of the Trump administration, but if these are the adults in the room, I would hate to see the children.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court justices  the six Republican appointees, more specifically bear considerable responsibility for Trumps actions and the chaotic state of American politics today.

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Trump likely would not have been reelected without their intervention during the 2024 campaign had the court not rewritten the Constitution to grant him sweeping criminal immunity and effectively shut down the Justice Departments prosecution over Trumps effort to overturn the 2020 election results.

The decision  which immunizes Trump from future prosecution for pretty much anything that he can plausibly structure or describe as an official act of the presidency  has clearly emboldened Trump in his second term. How could it not?

On top of that, the Republican appointees on the court have facilitated Trumps executive overreach and power grabs for most of the last year. The court has only recently started to put up the most basic effort to maintain some democratic guard rails. Last week, they finally brushed back Trumps deployment of the National Guard in major U.S. cities run by Democrats after nearly a year of needless chaos and uncertainty. The justices also appear poised to invalidate Trumps emergency tariffs after wasting several months taking up the dispute in the first place  and after a year of Trump antagonizing U.S. allies and adversaries alike and destabilizing the U.S. and global economies in the process.

Perhaps the most ominous feature of Trumps foray in Venezuela is that it took place less than a year into Trumps term. There are three more years to go and countless opportunities for more international interventions that are illegal, unwise or both.

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Are there any checks that can be put on Trump? There is nothing the public can do about the Supreme Court (at least in the very short term), and American voters may have to overcome even more legal obstacles from the Republican appointees on the Supreme Court before the midterm elections. But the public will have an opportunity to change the composition of Congress in November, and it is possible that fact will weigh on GOP lawmakers even before then.

Republicans can see Trumps approval rating sliding amid growing concerns about affordability. If chaos comes to Venezuela or Maduros arrest further upends the globe, they might be more reluctant to let Trump run wild. And if partisan loyalty proves too powerful, as is perhaps likely, they are set to hand Democrats control of at least the House. An emboldened opposition party might be able to impose some sort of meaningful constraints on Trumps power in his final years.


The Trump administrations recent actions in Venezuela, including the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and assertions that it will run the country, are prompting stark new questions regarding the legality of US operations and their future trajectory in the South American nation.

The dramatic, middle-of-the-night seizure saw Maduro and his wife transported on a US warship to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges in New York. Legal experts have described this as an unprecedented escalation, surpassing even the most aggressive historical American interventions against autocratic governments in places like Panama and Iraq. This extraordinary development followed a surprise US incursion that reportedly rocked the Venezuelan capital with overnight explosions.

This is clearly a blatant, illegal and criminal act, said Jimmy Gurule, a Notre Dame Law School professor and former assistant U.S. attorney.

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The stunning development caps months of aggressive U.S. military action in the region, including the bombing of boats accused of trafficking drugs and seizures of oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The Trump administration has conducted 35 known boat strikes against vessels, killing more than 115 people since September, and positioned an armada of warships in nearby waters.

The bigger debate than legality is yet to come, said John Yoo, an early architect of the George W. Bush administrations policy in Iraq and now a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Its easier to remove a dictator, he said, based on his experience in the Iraq War. But ensuring the transition to a stable democratic government is the harder part.

Maduros arrest came 36 years to the date of the surrender of Panamas strongman Manuel Noriega, a notable milestone in American involvement in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. invaded Panama in 1989 to arrest Noriega on drug trafficking charges.

Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth and Dan Caine pictured at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday (AP)

In Panama, however, U.S. national security interests were directly at stake in the form of the Panama Canal as well as the safety of American citizens and U.S. military installations in the country.

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By contrast, Congress has not authorized any American military strike or law enforcement move against Venezuela.

The President will claim that this fits within a vast body of precedent supporting broad executive power to defend the United States, its citizens, and its interests, Matthew Waxman, a Columbia University law professor who was a national security official in the Bush administration, said. Critics will charge that this exceeds the bounds of presidential power without congressional authorization.

While U.S. agents have a long history of snatching defendants abroad to execute arrest warrants without authorization, federal courts have long deferred to the White House in foreign policy and national security matters.

For example, in 1990, U.S. bounty hunters, working under the direction of the Drug Enforcement Administration, abducted in Mexico a doctor accused of killing DEA agent Enrique Kiki Camarena.

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Courts give great deference to the president on issues related to national security, said Gurule, who led the prosecution against Camarenas killers. But great deference does not mean absolute deference and unfettered authority to do anything.

Supporters of Nicolas Maduro burn a US flag during a gathering near Miraflores palace (AP)

Trumps administration has declared the drug cartels operating from Venezuela to be unlawful combatants and has said the United States is now in an armed conflict with them, according to an administration memo obtained in October by The Associated Press.

The memo appears to represent an extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers, with Trump effectively declaring that trafficking of drugs into the U.S. amounts to armed conflict requiring the use of military force. That is a new rationale for past and future actions.

Congress, which has broad authority to approve or prohibit the presidents war powers, has failed to do either, even as lawmakers from both political parties grow increasingly uneasy with the military actions in the region, particularly after it was revealed that U.S. forces killed two survivors of a boat attack with a follow-up strike.

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Congress Democratic leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, demanded immediate briefings for the gang of eight leaders on Capitol Hill, which includes top members of the Intelligence committees, as well as for other lawmakers. Congressional leaders were not notified of the actions until after the operation was underway.

Maduros arrest caps months of aggressive U.S. military action in the region (AFP/Getty)

The idea that Trump plans to now run Venezuela should strike fear in the hearts of all Americans," Schumer said. The American people have seen this before and paid the devastating price.

Michael Schmitt, a former Air Force lawyer and professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College, said the entire operation  the boat strikes as well as the apprehension of Maduro  clearly violates international law.

Lawyers call it international armed conflict, Schmitt said. Lay people call it war. So as a matter of law, we are now at war with Venezuela because the use of hostilities between two states clearly triggers an internal armed conflict.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the administration is working to schedule briefings for lawmakers next week.

Republican lawmakers in Congress largely welcomed the capture of Maduro as ridding the region of a leader they called a dictator, but Democratic lawmakers warned that in veering from the rule of law, the administration is potentially greenlighting other countries such as China or Russia to do the same.

Beyond the legality, what kind of precedent does it send? asked Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said in an interview that the rebuilding plan ahead has echoes of the Iraq War as the Trump administration promises to use Venezuela's oil revenue to pay the costs.

Presidential guard troops stand outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela (AP)

Waxman, the Columbia University law professor, said seizing control of Venezuelas resources opens up additional legal issues: For example, a big issue will be who really owns Venezuelas oil?

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The Senate is expected to try again next week to curtail Trump's actions, with a vote expected on a bipartisan war powers resolution that would block using U.S. forces against Venezuela unless authorized by Congress.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he is grateful for the armed forces who carried out this necessary action. He said he spoke to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and wants more information.

I look forward to receiving further briefings from the administration on this operation as part of its comprehensive counternarcotics strategy when the Senate returns to Washington next week, Thune said.

Rubio said at a briefing Saturday with Trump that because of the nature of the surprise operation, it was not something that could be shared beforehand with the lawmakers.
If you notice a drone flying overhead, you might wonder what steps to take.

State and federal laws provide clear guidance, so make sure youre informed before acting  especially before considering any drastic measures.

Is it legal to shoot down a drone in Delaware?

Drones were a hot topic of conversation on and off social media last year, as reports in the region were on the uptick.

If you think you see one, leave it alone.

Shooting at drones is violates federal law. Property ownership does not include the surrounding airspace. The airspace is essentially public property.

What can happen to me if I shoot down a drone?

Destroying or rendering an aircraft incapable of flight can result in fines and possible imprisonment, sometimes up to 20 years in prison.

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Drones & your home: Drone roof inspections can't trigger insurance cancellation, Delaware commissioner rules

Where are drones permitted, not permitted under federal law?

Organizers used a drone to record video of the crowd enjoying this year's Festival Hispano in Goergetown on September 21, 2025.

Drones are legal to fly if they are registered with the Federal Aviation Administration and fly under 400 feet in altitude.

Flying a drone is not permitted over stadiums during a scheduled event, near airports, in hazardous conditions, around emergency response areas and within a 15-mile radius of Washington, D.C.

New Castle County police encourage anyone who observes any large drones to capture video evidence and report their sighting to local law enforcement for investigation.

2024 drone sightings: These theories could explain what's happening

What is the law surrounding drone flight in Delaware?

According to state law, an "unmanned aircraft system" cannot operate over a sporting event or event with more than 1,500 people in attendance. They also cannot fly over "critical infrastructure," including chemical plants, rail yards, ports and government buildings.

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A drone cannot fly over private property while subjecting a specific person without written permission from the property owner. Drones also are prohibited from flying over scenes where first responders are active. If you spot what you think may be a violation, contact law enforcement.

Drones operated by law enforcement, higher education or commercial purposes with proper FAA authorization could be exempt from state rules.

What are the penalties for flying a drone illegally?

A first-time violation earns an unclassified misdemeanor, while a subsequent violation earns a Class B misdemeanor. If a violation ends up with a personal injury earns a Class A misdemeanor in state law.

Delaware State Police uses drones for search and rescue during natural disasters or in places that are inaccessible by cars, according to their 2022 annual report. Wilmington police also use drones.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Drone laws in Delaware that homeowners should know
Throughout history, mountains have provided refuge for outlaws. High passes, dense forests, hidden caves, and steep cliffs allowed these figures to ambush travelers, evade authorities, and launch raids before vanishing back into the complex terrain. Many began as ordinary people driven into crime by poverty, injustice, or war. Some became feared criminals, and their elusiveness made them real nightmares to authorities.

Unlike the largely fictional Robin Hood, the outlaws whose stories well tell today were real men who lived and died by the gun and the blade. Their stories often blend daring exploits with violence. Some became folk heroes and carved legends that are still remembered today in popular culture. Over the next few days, we revisit the stories of some of those legendary bad guys around the world who plied their trade from the safety of their mountain fastnesses. Today: the betyars of Hungary.

The Gerecse Mountains in Transdanubia, where beeches grow in dense stands and wild boars grunt from the undergrowth. Photo: Kris Annapurna

The Betyars, Hungarys romantic outlaws

In the 19th century, the dense, shadowy woods of Hungary became the playground of the betyars (Hungarian outlaws). They werent just common criminals, but symbols of rebellion against feudal misery and Habsburg authority. While the most famous betyar of all, Rozsa Sandor, operated mostly on the open expanses of the Great Hungarian Plain, others made their home in the highlands of the Bakony Mountains, Transdanubia, and the Matra Mountains.

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(Note that in Hungarian, the family name comes first, as in Japan, China, Korea, and Vietnam. Here, we will follow this convention.)

Sobri Joska. Photo: Bakonycentrum.hu

Sobri Joska

A romantic betyar icon, Sobri Joska (1810-1837) went from a simple pig thief to the most wanted man in Hungary. He was active in the Bakony Mountains. His 1836 raid on Colonel Hunkars estate was the stuff of legend. He didnt just rob the place: He also locked the guests in the cellar and vanished with their silver and guns.

It took a massive, multi-county manhunt to finally corner his gang at Lapafo in 1837. There, according to some sources, he decided to shoot himself rather than endure capture. Though some say he died in the shootout or on the gallows, others insisted that he slipped away to live a quiet life under a fake name.

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Adding to his mythic status was his legendary romance with Repa Rozi ("Carrot Rosie"), a fiery red-haired servant girl who fled to a roadside inn after defending herself against a nobleman's assault. According to folklore, Sobri fell for her instantly, protected her, and made her his betrothed. Folk songs immortalize their passionate yet chivalrous love. She disappeared mysteriously after his death.

Sobri Joska's hideout in the Bakony Mountains. Photo: utirany.hu

Vidroczki Marton

Another of Hungary's most famous betyars, Vidroczky Marton (18371873), also features in many folk songs and legends.

Born near the Bukk Mountains to a poor rural family, Vidroczki worked as a shepherd in his youth. The stories vary on why he turned to outlaw life. Some say that he deserted from the Austrian Habsburg army after a conflict while serving as a trumpeter. Others claim that an employer mistreated him brutally or peg it on a romantic tragedy.

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He began his betyar "career after escaping from a military prison by drugging the guard and jumping into the Danube. He and his band committed robberies and became wanted men throughout the country. Folk tales describe him as handsome, generous, vengeful, fond of revelry, and even "bulletproof." (!)

Vidroczki Marton enjoys some revelry between raids. Photo: Kekesonline.hu

Though he was born near the Bukk Mountains and active there at first, Vidroczki spent the final phase of his outlaw life in the Matra Mountains, hiding in remote villages and caves. He was betrayed and killed on February 8, 1873, at age 35. He was reportedly ambushed by Pinter Pista, one of the members of his outlaw band, during an internal dispute.

His legacy is a Matra cultural heritage, a subject of ballads and songs. Folk dance groups even perform his story.

'Sour Joe'

A bit later, Savanyu Joska (Sour Joe) took up the mantle as Hungary's chief betyar. He was a short, multilingual man who knew the Cuha Valleys tiny caves better than his own home in the Bakony Mountains. He was brutal and fearless.

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In 1881, Savanyu committed one of his most notorious crimes during a failed robbery attempt, when he and six of his men surrounded the manor of Kalman Haczky, a Hungarian nobleman and landowner. Savanyus group had learned that Haczky was keeping a big sum of money at home after a land sale. When the robbery took place, Haczky was playing cards with guests at home, including Antal Bogyay, a former judge. Bogyay tried to escape by jumping out a window, when one of Savanyus men shot and killed him instantly.

Savanyu Joska. Photo: Painting by Szava Sandor/Wikimedia

Savanyus luck ended in 1884 when one of his own men betrayed him by drugging his drink, making it possible for the police to capture him easily. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

In the end, he spent more than 20 years in prison and was released in 1906 thanks to good behavior and lobbying from various highly placed allies, including the bishop of Vac. A few months later, in 1907, Savanyu took his own life with his favorite revolver due to unbearable rheumatic pain. Savanyu is considered the last famous betyar of the Bakony region. Several caves in the Bakony Mountains, his former alleged hideouts, are named after him.

The betyar culture remains alive in Hungary through songs, dances, and other activities celebrating those swashbuckling characters.
Massachusetts was home to one of the most closely watched criminal cases in the nation in 2025.

The trial of Karen Read drew viewers from across the nation and throngs of supporters to small-town Dedham.

Will the Read phenomenon will be replicated in 2026? For now, many notable cases are still winding their way through the states court system.

Here are five criminal cases you should be paying attention to next year  and one more as a bonus.

Duxbury mother Lindsay Clancy accused of killing her three children

Lindsay Clancy does not contest the facts central to her criminal case: that on Jan. 24, 2023, while her husband, Patrick, was out picking up food, she strangled her three children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan, with exercise bands before throwing herself out of a second-story window.

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But the question at the heart of the case is whether, as prosecutors have described, Clancy is a cold-blooded killer who meticulously plotted to kill her children or if, as her lawyer has argued, she was in the throes of postpartum psychosis.

She obviously had no reason to kill those three beautiful children, Attorney Kevin Reddington, who represents Clancy, said at a court appearance last October. You have to ask yourself why. Why? And when you ask yourself why, you consider all these factors, its readily apparent that this woman was a troubled soul.

But Jennifer Sprague, a prosecutor in Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruzs office, argued during Clancys arraignment that she created the situation and she used Apple Maps to make sure she would have enough time to strangle each child before her husband returned from where she had sent him.

She did so with deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity and cruelty, Sprague said.

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Clancys case is scheduled for trial on July 20  the date has been moved several times, most recently at the request of Reddington.

Two police officers accused of running an illegal nightclub

A small storefront in Jamaica Plain hid a secret, prosecutors say; it was an illegal, unlicensed nightclub, complete with bouncers, a cover charge, bottle service, hookah pipes, a DJ keeping the crowd entertained and promoters who advertised the club on social media.

An illegal nightclub in and of itself makes a compelling story. The twist here, though, is that Suffolk County prosecutors have accused a pair of police officers of running the club out of a property they initially intended to run an HVAC business out of.

Boston police officer Richard McDermott and Health Commission Campus police officer Luigi DAddieco are both scheduled to go to trial in May on charges filed in connection with the clubs operation.

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Pre-trial proceedings have revealed little about the nature of the club, but the trial is likely to be a stage for prosecutors to reveal more about what happened in the basement of 360B Centre St. for months in 2021.

Matthew Farwell, the ex-police officer accused of sexually abusing and killing Sandra Birchmore

For months after his arrest and indictment, there was little movement in the case of Matthew Farwell.

But now a trial for the former Stoughton police officer is set for October 2026. And prosecutors have revealed they do not intend to seek the death penalty for Farwell, who is accused of killing Sandra Birchmore, a pregnant woman he is accused of sexually abusing beginning when she was a teenager.

Farwell is charged with two crimes  killing a witness or victim and protection of unborn children, for the death of Birchmores unborn baby. Prosecutors say Birchmore could have revealed Farwell committed federal crimes, including having sex with her while on duty as a police officer. He is accused of strangling her, then staging her death to look like a suicide after she told him she was pregnant with his baby.

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The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Massachusetts ruled Birchmores death a suicide.

However, two independent experts  one hired by Birchmores estate, the other hired by the federal government  deemed Birchmores death a homicide. Birchmore was eight-to-10 weeks pregnant and carrying a boy when she died, prosecutors have said. Birchmore believed Farwell was the father of her baby, but DNA testing excluded him as the father, The Boston Globe reported.

Farwell has not appeared in court since his arraignment in August 2024. His federal public defender declined to speak to a reporter following a recent court appearance.

Kelsey Fitzsimmons, the police officer accused of pointing a gun at a fellow officer

Kelsey Fitzsimmons case appears to come down to a he-said, she-said.

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Fitzsimmons, 29, faces a single count of assault with a dangerous weapon. She is accused of pointing a gun at a fellow North Andover police officer who shot her while serving her with a restraining order obtained by her fiance. But Fitzsimmons and her defense lawyers have said she never aimed the gun at anyone but herself.

Support for Fitzsimmons has exploded online in the wake of a hearing in September, where a superior court judge sent her to jail after Fitzsimmons attorneys reported she could not comply with court-ordered alcohol testing without experiencing pain. She has pursued a series of appeals of that decision, all the way up to the Supreme Judicial Court.

Fitzsimmons criminal case is scheduled for trial in February. A long-delayed hearing on the restraining order obtained by her fiance is scheduled for the same month.

Fitzsimmons fiance has claimed that she assaulted him on multiple occasions and that she threatened the life of their infant son. Her attorneys have denied those claims.

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For Fitzsimmons family, its been difficult to be separated from their grandson.

Aidan Turtleboy Kearney, accused of witness intimidation in the Karen Read case

The criminal prosecution of Aidan Kearney, the blogger known as Turtleboy, on numerous counts of witness intimidation is almost inextricable from the Read case.

Kearney was one of Reads staunchest supporters and one of the loudest voices proclaiming her innocence. Its there that the criminal case emerges: prosecutors say Kearneys conduct crossed the line from advocacy or reporting to actual intimidation of witnesses against Read. Kearneys defense, on the other hand, says his conduct is protected by the First Amendment.

The case is tentatively set for trial in December, but during a recent hearing both sides agreed a lot had to happen before then.

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For starters, Kearneys team has moved for Special Prosecutor Robert Cosgrove to be removed from the case over what they have alleged is a conflict of interest. The conflict, they say, arises out of a defamation suit Kearney filed against a former girlfriend, who, in turn, filed a counterclaim that names Cosgrove as a defendant.

Kearneys lawyers say the girlfriend is a key witness for prosecutors and that Cosgrove cant proceed as prosecutor because of an interest in promoting her credibility in the criminal case, but a competing interest in undermining her credibility on the civil side. Cosgrove says no such competing interest exists.

The defense has also moved to dismiss the 2023 indictments against Kearney, which are tied to his conduct related to the witnesses in the Read case, arguing that a former special prosecutor mishandled the grand jury process.

Judge Christopher Belezos, who was recently specially assigned to the Kearney case, has yet to rule on either issue. He set a hearing on the disqualification motion for January.

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During a recent hearing, Cosgrove signaled that he would like to combine those indictments with a 2025 indictment related to an incident outside a pizza shop owned by one of the witnesses. Kearneys defense said it was too early for them to take a position on joining the cases.

And of course ... Karen Read

At least for now, Karen Reads time in a criminal courtroom is over.

She was acquitted this year of all charges having to do with the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police officer John OKeefe, on Jan. 29, 2022. But before Reads acquittal, OKeefes family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her and two bars the couple drank at before his death. Their lawsuit repeats prosecutors claim that Read drunkenly and intentionally ran over OKeefe in her Lexus SUV.

Then, last month, Read filed a blockbuster lawsuit of her own, suing police investigators and civilian witnesses who testified against her for what she has claimed are violations of her civil rights. Its a furtherance of Reads defense strategy from her criminal trials, claiming that she was set up and that OKeefe actually died inside the Canton home of a fellow Boston officer.

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Her lawyers in the civil case have indicated they would like to see the two lawsuits consolidated at some point down the road.

It means that the Read saga will no doubt continue in 2026. And there is a chance she could find herself back in a criminal courtroom as a defendant  Cosgrove, the prosecutor on the Kearney case, has sought access to two of her cell phones as he pursues an investigation into whether Read and Kearney conspired to commit witness intimidation.

A judge has yet to rule on whether Cosgrove can search the phones.

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As the dust settles in Caracas, Venezuelans are reacting to the news of President Nicolas Maduro's capture by the US with hope, fear, and uncertainty.

People began to emerge in the streets Saturday after a night rocked by explosions in the Caracas Valley, with moods that ranged from celebration to condemnation.

Dina, a local resident, told the BBC that for now, she was grateful to the US for "taking Maduro out of here" because she "at least can see some light at the end of the tunnel again".

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But the political climate remains tense, part of why she did not give the BBC her real name.

Jorge, another Venezuelan who lives near Caracas, told the BBC that while he's grateful to be "well-supported by Trump and the entire United States", he fears the coming days will not be easy.

"Now that they are taking this man away, what's going to happen?" he said. "It doesn't guarantee us anything. So there is a bit of uncertainty. We don't know what the coming days will bring."

Supporters of Maduro's government have also been rallying in the streets of Caracas, demanding the US release their leader. Caracas Mayor Carmen Melendez, a firm government loyalist, joined in the rally to protest against what she called Maduro's "kidnapping".

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Early on Saturday, US forces under President Donald Trump carried out a series of targeted attacks in Venezuela's capital, ultimately taking the country's leader into US custody.

The US accuses Maduro of running a "narco-terrorist" regime, a claim he denies. He is widely seen by opponents within his country as well as by foreign governments as having illegitimately won Venezuela's 2024 election.

Maduro - who leads the United Socialist Party and has been in power since 2013 - has frequently been accused of repressing opposition groups and silencing dissent in Venezuela, at times with the use of violence.

As Maduro and his wife are taken to New York City to face drug trafficking and weapons charges, the future of Venezuela remains unclear. Trump has said the US will run the country - and manage its oil reserves - until a permanent replacement for Maduro can be established.

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Maduro has previously rejected US claims he has direct involvement in drug trafficking.

But even for those who are grateful to see Maduro gone, there's still a lot of fear and uncertainty, several Venezuelans told the BBC.

Dina isn't putting much faith in Trump.

"He says something now and tomorrow he changes his mind," Dina said. "I mean, I'm not used to taking his words seriously."

The "only thing that was good" about what Trump has said since Maduro's capture, Dina said, was that the US will be investing in Venezuela, which she hopes will lead to "a better economic situation" for the struggling country.

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The danger of speaking out against Maduro is still very real within Venezuela, as the National Assembly - which is dominated by Maduro loyalists - passed a law a few weeks ago declaring anyone who expresses support for US naval blockades a "traitor".

Jorge said he saw motorcyclists from colectivos - pro-government paramilitary groups in Venezuela - roaming the streets with weapons on Friday.

"It makes you a bit afraid to even go out to buy bread right now," he said. "We'll have to wait for the best and have patience."

Jorge added that he was worried about the influence of Maduro's ally, Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela's Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace.

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"He is a very bad person, very spiteful," Jorge said. "I don't know how many people he has on his side. Hopefully, the army stands with the people and he loses some control."

Sandra echoed Jorge and Dina's relief at Maduro's ousting. But, she too is sceptical about the future and what it means for Venezuelans in exile.

Close to eight million Venezuelans have left Venezuela since Maduro came to power - and many of them have been openly celebrating Maduro's capture in the streets of the cities where they have settled.

In addition to the millions in exile, others are "missing, imprisoned, dead, or merely surviving" - which is "a true tragedy that had not been addressed by any country", Sandra said.

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"This is only the beginning. We know there is still a long road ahead," Sandra added. "No country had previously heard the cry of Venezuelans in the face of this tragedy".

Additional reporting by Kristina Volk
The loot from the spectacular break-in at a German bank may have exceeded 100 million ($117.24 million), security sources told dpa on Sunday, as new questions were raised over the origin of some of the money stored inside.

The sources said that individual customers reported that they each had more than 500,000 in their safe deposit boxes at the Sparkasse branch in the western city of Gelsenkirchen, confirming earlier reports by the German mass-circulation daily Bild.

Bild reported that the origin of the money seems suspicious to the investigators, perhaps some of it illegally gained or funds from criminal gangs. Officially, those affected often referred to it as "wedding money," dpa was told.

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The loot was initially roughly estimated to be equal to the amount it was insured for, around 30 million. Later, a police spokesman said, "We are assuming a mid-double-digit million amount," but added that the total damage could not yet be reliably quantified.

Perpetrators broke open thousands of safety deposit boxes

The bank will remain closed for several more days as repair work continues. It said additional time was needed to complete repairs after perpetrators drilled a large hole into the vault and looted safe deposit boxes a week ago. Customers will be informed once the branch reopens.

Specialists have since sealed the hole, it added.

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Sparkasse staff are also still cataloguing valuables and documents left behind by the suspects, a process the bank said would take some time.

Emergency services discovered the elaborate break-in in the early hours of December 29 after a fire alarm was triggered. The perpetrators forced open nearly all 3,250 safety deposit boxes at the bank.

Investigators said the suspects gained access from an adjacent parking garage and entered an archive room, from which they drilled a large hole into the vault. Police believe the burglary may have taken place over several days.

The bank has begun sending letters to safety deposit box holders, asking them to provide inventories and proof of contents, such as photographs. More than 1,000 affected customers have already contacted a dedicated hotline, Sparkasse said.

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Most owners of the roughly 150 undamaged safety deposit boxes have also been reached.

Police release images of suspects

Police at the weekend released surveillance images of the masked suspects in the parking garage.

The images show three people wearing black balaclavas, with one suspect wearing red gloves and another green gloves. Police also released images of a black Audi RS 6 and a white Mercedes Citan van, which they believe were used as getaway vehicles.

Both vehicles were fitted with fake licence plates, police said.
In a small town near Mahajanga, chants of the Sakalava, one of Madagascars ethnic groups, drift through the open windows of a house where around 60 guests, mostly young people, are gathered in a living room filled with incense and music.

During the ceremony, some participants fall into a trance, their bodies believed to be temporarily inhabited by ancestral spirits.

At one point, five people are possessed at the same time. Some bodies tremble beneath cloths, while others suddenly grow still. A woman inhabited by a male spirit removes her clothing before slowly returning to her normal state.

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Watching closely is Josiane Lazare, 30, seated on a mat in the room.

She continues to welcome guests and serve drinks until well into the early hours. Lazare heads La Fac Madagascar, a platform dedicated to preserving Malagasy traditions, and plays a central role in the ceremony.

We are searching for identity; especially young people, she tells RFI. This ritual allows us to interact with our ancestors, to find ourselves and understand where we come from and where we are going.

Lazare says her generation is determined to keep traditions alive.

We see ourselves as the 'Gen Z of tradition', fighting to preserve the values of our ancestors, she explains.

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Many young people feel excluded from decisions about the countrys future, she says, adding that communities where elders pass on ritual knowledge offer a different model.

Among those who keep these traditions, there is mutual respect. Adults pass things on to us and encourage us to take our place.

Madagascar's Gen Z uprising, as told by three young protesters

Learning the rites

That transmission continues into the early hours of the morning.

After the sacrifice of a zebu, a type of cattle common in Madagascar, elders teach younger participants gathered around them how to cut the animal correctly. At around 3am, an elder gives instructions by the light of a headlamp.

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If you look at these horns, if we cut them properly, well be able to hang the skull outside the house to honour the ancestors. Look, big brother, you need to cut a bit lower here, he says.

A younger man struggles to follow the guidance. Theres something I dont understand. I followed your advice, but look, its not coming off, its too hard, he replies.

The elder tells him to "cut even lower".

As the sun rises, the ceremony moves into its final stages, with purification rites followed by a shared meal. Johnson Fierens, prince of Belmamoun, a local royal lineage, and host of the ceremony, gathers people in his living room to reflect on what they have witnessed.

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When you take part in something, you have to understand what it means, he tells them. This rite educates us, corrects us and shapes us. Respect for tradition is the key to developing our country.

Fierens urges the younger generation to focus their energy carefully. You are not going to learn the traditions of other countries. Use your strength for good, he says.

A photographers journey into Malagasy ancestral rituals

A society under strain

The turn towards ancestral practices comes against a backdrop of deep social pressure. Malagasy society is under strain, with many young people facing poverty and lack of jobs. More than 40 percent of 18 to 35-year-olds are unemployed.

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Those tensions were laid bare during a recent wave of anger among Generation Z, which led to a sudden change of government in October. Youth-led protests over electricity and water shortages spread nationwide, forcing the president to flee the country.

It is against this backdrop that some young people are turning back to their cultural roots.

Zeena Ranieri, an anthropologist and lecturer at the University of Antananarivo, says the movement reflects a society in transition.

Every political, economic and cultural context has shaken Malagasy society, she tells RFI. It has become a society searching for identity and for ways forward.

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Young people, she says, feel disconnected from the paths laid out for them, education that does not lead to employment and social models that no longer offer stability or fulfilment.

We cannot find work with what we learned. We cannot find happiness with the reference points we were given, Ranieri says. That's why there is a break. We know we need a new identity and new reference points.

For some young Malagasy, that search does not mean rejecting modern life but living alongside it. Ancestral rites offer defined roles, shared rules and a recognised place within the community.

This story is based on a radio report in French by RFI correspondent Sarah Tetaud
Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro is scheduled to appear in federal court at noon Jan. 5 in New York, according to the District Court for the Southern District of New York media office.

Maduro will be arraigned on a four-count indictment charging him with leading a 25-year narco-terrorism conspiracy that included several high-ranking members of his administration.

He will appear before United States District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan.

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Maduro and his wife, Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro, were captured at their home on Jan. 3 during a U.S. military attack on Venezuela and brought to the United States.

The United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight military operation on Jan. 3, 2026, President Donald Trump said, as explosions rocked Caracas and targets across the country. See Maduro's years of leadership in photos, beginning here after he was sworn in for a third six-year term, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 10, 2025. Nicolas Maduro, deputy for Venezuela's ruling party, addresses a crowd of supporters of President Hugo Chavez in March 2004 in Caracas. The President of Venezuela's National Assembly, Nicolas Maduro, delivers a speech during a massive May Day demonstration at Havana's Plaza de la Revolucion (Revolution Square), May 1, 2005. More than one million people, according to official estimates, gathered to commemorate International Labor Day, as Cuban leader Fidel Castro honored the common worker and condemned "Yankee Imperialism" by the United States. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (L) speaks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro during the signing of an agreement with Chinese businessmen on Oct. 17, 2006, in the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. Foreign Minister of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro Moros speaks to the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly, Oct.2, 2007 at the United Nations in New York. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivers a speech before supporters gathering outside the presidential palace in Caracas on Mar. 12, 2015. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro takes part in a military drill in Charallave, Venezuela, on Jan. 14, 2017. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (L) speaks during a gathering in support of him and his proposal for the National Constituent Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 27, 2017. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro greets supporters during his closing campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela, on May 17, 2018. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (R), flanked by his wife Cilia Flores (C), holds a Venezuelan flag while speaking from a balcony at Miraflores Presidential Palace to a crowd of supporters to announce he was breaking off diplomatic ties with the United States, during a gathering in Caracas on Jan. 23, 2019. Maduro announced he was breaking off diplomatic ties with the United States, after his counterpart, President Donald Trump, acknowledged opposition leader Juan Guaido as the South American country's "interim president." Nicolas Maduro gestures during a meeting with soldiers at a military base in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 30, 2019. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (L) and his wife Cilia Flores attend a May Day rally in Caracas on May 1, 2019. Opposition supporters demonstrated for a second consecutive day in support of their country's self-proclaimed leader Juan Guaido, as he bids to overthrow Maduro. Maduro and his government have vowed to put down what they see as an attempted coup by the US-backed opposition leader. Venezuelan President and presidential candidate Nicolas Maduro reacts following the presidential election results in Caracas on July 29, 2024. Maduro won reelection with 51.2 percent of the votes cast Sunday, the electoral council announced, after a campaign tainted by claims of opposition intimidation and fears of fraud. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gestures next to first lady Cilia Flores during an event marking the 165th anniversary of the Battle of Santa Ines in Caracas on Dec. 10, 2024. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro walks with his wife Cilia Flores while leaving the Capitolio, home of the National Assembly, after taking the oath during the presidential inauguration in Caracas on Jan. 10, 2025. Maduro, in power since 2013, took the oath of office for a third term despite a global outcry that brought thousands out in protest on the ceremony's eve. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gestures during a rally to mark the anniversary of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's initial coup attempt in 1992, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Feb. 4, 2025. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro dances during a rally in Caracas on Dec. 1, 2025. Venezuela does not want "a slave's peace," Maduro told thousands of supporters during a rally, referring to a U.S. military deployment he said has been "testing" his country for 22 weeks. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro kisses the national flag during a rally in Caracas on Dec. 1, 2025. See moments from Nicolas Maduro's years of leadership in Venezuela 1 of 18 The United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight military operation on Jan. 3, 2026, President Donald Trump said, as explosions rocked Caracas and targets across the country. See Maduro's years of leadership in photos, beginning here after he was sworn in for a third six-year term, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 10, 2025.

Maduro was indicted over the weekend on federal charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and two illegal weapons counts based on allegations he helped ship tons of cocaine to the United States over decades. He arrived in New York late into the evening on Jan. 3 and is being held in a detention facility.

He was charged along with his wife, son and top members of his administration. The indictment also seeks to seize any belongings that resulted from the alleged criminal conspiracy.

President Donald Trump and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro

President Donald Trump, who ordered the military entry into Venezuela to arrest the president and his wife, vowed the United States would "run" the South American country until a democratic transition could occur.

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"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said at a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. It has to be judicious, because that's what we are all about.

However, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC's Meet the Press on Jan. 4, "It's not running it. It's running policy." He also said holding elections could take more than a month.

More: Rubio says US 'not running' Venezuela after Maduro capture: Live updates.

"We want Venezuela to move in a certain direction, because not only do we think its good for the people of Venezuela, its in our national interest," he said.

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The operation marked a dramatic escalation of Trump's stance toward Venezuela after months of rising tensions, threats and oil tanker seizures.

Sarah D. Wire covers national politics for USA TODAY and can be reached at swire@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro to appear in Manhattan federal court Jan. 5
Nobody should mourn the fall of the Venezuelan tyrant Nicolas Maduro, captured by US special forces in an overnight lightning raid. His regime has been a disaster for his country, overseeing an economic death spiral, the brutal repression of civil liberties, and a shocking mass exodus of refugees; it has also proved toxic to the wider region, providing a safe haven for drugs traffickers, and propping up the Cuban regime while itself relying on support from Moscow, Beijing and Tehran.

Many, however, will harbour reservations over the manner in which the dictator was toppled, and the threadbare planning for the day after. That an American government reasserting the Monroe doctrine of distinct spheres of influence  reducing intervention in and commitment to European affairs as it turns its attention to its own neighbourhood  and focused on the twin issues of migration and drugs should choose a state aligned with its geopolitical adversaries to make an example of is not surprising.

But the prospect of another American nation-building exercise, with few details offered so far, coupled with efforts to extract wealth from a foreign nation, should raise disquiet. President Trump has stated that the US will run Venezuela until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition; he has also stated that very large United States oil companies will take over the nations oil industry, and that the nationalisation of the nations oil industry was one of the largest thefts of American property in the history of our country.

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This is surely an overreach. It is hard to see how such a transition could be achieved without further military intervention, and while Mr Trump has stated that this remains an option, it remains to be seen how realistic  practically and politically  such a course of action would be. Moreover, a war which directly focuses on the resources of a sovereign nation in this manner would appear to confirm all the worst suspicions held by nations doing business with Washington.

The wider implications of the US pivot are also likely to give onlookers pause. Mr Trump is clear about his intentions  reasserting American power in our home region, protecting commerce, territory and resources that are core to national security. This is far from the first time that the United States has intervened in the Americas to depose a leader hostile to Washingtons interests, and comparisons are already being drawn to the US invasion of Panama and capture of ruler Manuel Noriega in 1989.

As with the deposition of Noriega  justified on a slim appeal to the right of self-defence  we are seeing some degree of argument from the administration that its actions fall within the remit of international law, even if Mr Trump himself has little care for the concept. Noriega was put on trial in Miami, sentenced to 40 years in prison; Maduro has been charged in New York with offences including narco-terrorism conspiracy.

Yet Mr Trumps words about reasserting power, and the apparent desire to seize resources, are a transparent indicator of a different logic: might makes right, and a return to spheres of influence. It is a marked step away from the polite fictions of the postwar order, where the threat of US coercion was more veiled and the government accordingly more constrained, and where a single hegemon was able to assert its will worldwide.

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In his confirmation hearing, the US secretary of state Marco Rubio described the postwar global order as not just obsolete, but a weapon being used against us. There is a great deal of truth to this statement. Elements of international law  particularly those surrounding rules of engagement, the treatment of refugees and the ludicrous weaponisation of the international courts  have been used to undermine the West.

But the voluntary self-restraint of nations in military action under this order created valuable stability and predictability, as did the assertion of a single global standard of behaviour and, of course, the acceptance of national sovereignty. It is a good thing if it is against the rules for one independent country to attack another. One cannot consistently attack the weaponisation of international law by left-wing technocrats on the grounds that it undermines democratic self-government while also claiming the right to correct the affairs of foreign nations through force.

Americas enemies have already abandoned such restraint, as illustrated both by Russias invasion of Ukraine, and the tacit support of the so-called Global South for Putins war. But a more unpredictable US foreign policy, coupled with a distinct focus on a sphere of influence focused on the Americas (and perhaps the Middle East) rather than Europe or South-East Asia, could accelerate this trend. If Washington is entitled to make use of force within its own neighbourhood, and unwilling to police others overseas, then room is created for more aggressive behaviour from foreign capitals within their own delineated spheres, for more intervention in the sovereign affairs and internal politics of smaller nations. It remains to be seen whether Maduros removal, as welcome as it is, provides sufficient compensation for this risk.

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If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. Ideally, a business will show two trends; firstly a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an increasing amount of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. Looking at Domino's Pizza Group (LON:DOM), it does have a high ROCE right now, but lets see how returns are trending.

Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit.

What Is Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Domino's Pizza Group is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.22 = UK104m  (UK596m - UK129m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2025).

Thus, Domino's Pizza Group has an ROCE of 22%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Hospitality industry average of 7.4%.

Check out our latest analysis for Domino's Pizza Group

LSE:DOM Return on Capital Employed January 4th 2026

In the above chart we have measured Domino's Pizza Group's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free analyst report for Domino's Pizza Group .

How Are Returns Trending?

Things have been pretty stable at Domino's Pizza Group, with its capital employed and returns on that capital staying somewhat the same for the last five years. It's not uncommon to see this when looking at a mature and stable business that isn't re-investing its earnings because it has likely passed that phase of the business cycle. So it may not be a multi-bagger in the making, but given the decent 22% return on capital, it'd be difficult to find fault with the business's current operations. This probably explains why Domino's Pizza Group is paying out 56% of its income to shareholders in the form of dividends. Given the business isn't reinvesting in itself, it makes sense to distribute a portion of earnings among shareholders.

The Key Takeaway

Although is allocating it's capital efficiently to generate impressive returns, it isn't compounding its base of capital, which is what we'd see from a multi-bagger. And in the last five years, the stock has given away 39% so the market doesn't look too hopeful on these trends strengthening any time soon. In any case, the stock doesn't have these traits of a multi-bagger discussed above, so if that's what you're looking for, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.
After announcing that the U.S. would run Venezuela following the capture of the countrys strongman, Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump said Saturday his administration will likely discuss the situation in Cuba, the close Maduro ally that the president described as a failing nation.

I think Cuba is going to be something well end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now, very badly failing nation, he said in a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago home. Its very similar [to the Venezuelan case] in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we want to also help the people that were forced out of Cuba and living in this country.

Trump said the Cuban people in the communist-run island have been suffering for many years. That system has not been a very good one for Cuba.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American from Miami who has been the architect of a policy of tougher sanctions on the islands military, then put the Cuban government on notice.

If I lived in Havana and were in the government, Id be concerned, Rubio said in the press conference. When the President speaks, you should take him seriously.

Rubio recalled the tight security cooperation between Havana and Caracas, remarking that Cuban agents had infiltrated Venezuelan spy agencies and provided personal security to Maduro.

This poor island took over Venezuela, he said. In some cases, one of the biggest problems Venezuelans have is they have to declare independence from Cuba. [Cuba] tried to basically colonize it from a security standpoint.

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Short term, losing Venezuelan oil subsidies is going to make an already desperate situation on the island even worse. Cuban officials acknowledged at the end of last year the countrys economy is yet again paralyzed due to fuel shortages and power stations constantly breaking down. The islands economy shrank another 5% percent last year.

Cuba is a disaster, Rubio said. Its run by incompetent, senile men. It has no economy. Its in total collapse.

It is still unclear however, if the ousting of Maduro will have the severe consequences for the regime in Havana that many Cuban Americans are hoping for, especially because vice president Delcy Rodriguez appears to have taken control in Maduros absence.

The Cuban government hastily assembled a demonstration in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana and condemned what it called the cowardly U.S. aggression in a statement. The islands government demanded the release of Maduro and warned other countries in the region to be on alert, as the threat hangs over everyone.
Many of those who tuned in to US President Donald Trump's news conference on Saturday were probably hoping to hear dramatic details of how US forces seized Venezuela's leader, Nicolas Maduro, in a pre-dawn raid.

But arguably a more surprising moment came when Trump announced that now that Maduro was in custody, the US would "run" Venezuela "until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition".

In another unexpected development, he added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been speaking to Maduro's Vice-President, Delcy Rodriguez, who he said was "essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again".

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However, Rodriguez seemed less than co-operative in her own news conference later where she denounced Maduro's detention as a kidnapping and stressed that Venezuela would not become a colony.

Given these conflicting messages, many are asking who is now in charge in Venezuela.

Under Venezuela's constitution, it falls to the vice-president to take over should the president be absent.

So, on the face of it, the Venezuelan Supreme Court ruling that Delcy Rodriguez was the country's acting president seems like a logical step.

But most Venezuela watchers had expected the immediate aftermath of a US intervention to look differently.

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The US - and many other nations - did not recognise Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate president, having denounced the 2024 election as rigged.

Maduro was declared president by Venezuela's electoral council (CNE), a body dominated by government loyalists.

But the CNE never produced the detailed voting tallies to back up their claim and copies of voting tallies collected by the opposition and reviewed by the Carter Center suggested that the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, had won by a landslide.

Edmundo Gonzalez stood in for Maria Corina Machado after she was barred from running in the election [JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images]

In view of that, the US and dozens of other countries recognised Gonzalez as the president-elect.

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Gonzalez, a little-known former diplomat, had the backing of popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, whom he replaced on the ballot after she was barred from running for office by officials from the Maduro government.

With the security forces cracking down on the opposition in the aftermath of the election, Gonzalez went into exile in Spain and Machado into hiding in Venezuela.

For the past 18 months, they have been urging Maduro to step down and lobbying for international support for their cause, especially from the US.

Machado's profile was boosted by her winning the Nobel Peace Prize for "her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" in Venezuela.

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Following the publicity and recognition she received after embarking on a risky journey from her hiding place in Venezuela to Oslo to accept the award, many assumed that any post-Maduro scenario would see her returning to her homeland to take up the reins of power together with Edmundo Gonzalez.

Machado herself posted a letter on social media following Maduro's capture declaring that the "hour of freedom has arrived".

"Today we are ready to enforce our mandate and take power," she wrote.

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But the US president stunned journalists when he declared that Machado did not have the "support or respect" to lead the country.

Trump said that his team had not spoken to Machado following the US strikes, but Marco Rubio had spoken to Delcy Rodriguez.

Trump's next remark may provide the answer as to why the Trump administration is now Maduro's loyal lieutenant - at least for now.

Trump quoted Rodriguez as saying "we'll do whatever you want", adding "she really doesn't have a choice".

With Maduro's inner circle still seemingly in power in Venezuela, US officials may have considered that the smoothest transition would be provided by having someone from the existing government take over.

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"They think that they can set up an arrangement that's like a guardianship as opposed to going in on the ground and taking over the day-to-day operations of the country," said Mara Rudman, a former senior national security official who worked in the Clinton and Obama administrations. She described the approach as unprecedented in modern times.

In his news conference, President Trump said that the US was "ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so", which appears to explain why he thinks that Delcy Rodriguez has no choice but to do the US's bidding.

Delcy Rodriguez often appeared at events shoulder to shoulder with Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores [Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

The fact that Rodriguez was seen surrounded by some of the most powerful men in Maduro's inner circle hours after the president had been arrested and flown out of the country seems to suggest that she has won their backing, too.

Flanking her were her brother Jorge Rodriguez, who is the president of Venezuela's National Assembly, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino and the top commander of the armed forces, Domingo Hernandez Larez, among others.

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This will have pleased US officials concerned that the capture of Maduro would lead to a potentially destabilising battle for control among his inner circle.

But the message Delcy Rodriguez had for the US would have been less pleasing to US ears.

She insisted that "there is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolas Maduro" and called his seizure "a kidnapping".

"We will never again be a colony of any empire," she insisted, promising to "defend" Venezuela.

While she certainly did not sound like the person Trump had described as "willing to do the US's bidding", there has been speculation that she may have struck a nationalistic note to keep Maduro's most loyal supporters on board.

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Quizzed about Trump's support for Rodriguez and her remarks, Marco Rubio told CBS on Sunday that the US would make an assessment based on her actions, not her words.

"Do I know what decisions people are going to make? I don't," he added, seemingly implying that he was not as certain of Rodriguez's willingness to work with the US as Trump.

What he was adamant about was the US's willingness to pressure Rodriguez's interim government.

"I do know this, that if they don't make the right decisions, the United States will retain multiple levers of leverage to ensure that our interests are protected, and that includes the oil quarantine that's in place, among other things," he said.

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In an interview with ABC, Rubio also appeared to suggest that fresh elections should be held in Venezuela.

"Government will come about through a period of transition and real elections, which they have not had," he told This Week.

He also appealed for "realism", suggesting that fresh elections would take time: "Everyone's asking, why 24 hours after Nicolas Maduro was arrested, there isn't an election scheduled for tomorrow? That's absurd."

John Bolton, who worked on plans to remove Venezuela's president when he was national security adviser in Trump's first term, welcomed the US military operation and Maduro's capture.

However, the prominent Trump critic told the BBC it was unlikely Rodriguez would bend the knee to the US, particularly as the regime still had backing from China, Russia and Cuba.

"The rational thing to do here is bring down what's left of the Maduro regime and put the opposition in power pending free and fair elections. They have people capable of running an interim administration while elections are set up."

Talk of fresh elections will no doubt disappoint not only Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez but also many of the Venezuelans who voted for them and who have been adamant that they want to see those votes honoured.

The opposition has long insisted that free and fair elections are not possible while the key institutions involved in organising them are stacked with Maduro loyalists. A reform of those bodies will take time.

In the short term, therefore, Venezuela looks likely to be governed by Delcy Rodriguez and Maduro's inner circle - as long as they meet the Trump administration's expectations.

How long that may last will depend on whether Rodriguez can find a golden middle between accommodating Trump's requests and the Maduro base interests.

She may soon find herself between a rock and a hard place.
Another government official has been busted, seemingly using their post in the Trump administration for personal gain.

Documents obtained by the New York Times found that the third-highest-ranking official in the Interior Department failed to disclose her familys financial interest in a controversial government-approved lithium mine.

Frank Falen, who owns Home Ranch in northern Nevada, sold water to Lithium Nevada Corporation, a subsidiary of Lithium Americas, for $3.5 million in 2018. The mining company was planning a new lithium mine near the ranch called Thacker Pass. Falen is the husband of Karen Budd-Falen, who currently serves as Associate Deputy Secretary of the Interior.

Indigenous activists have protested the construction of the Thacker Pass lithium mine, saying its approval infringes on the rights of nearby tribes. / Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images

At the time of the sale, Budd-Falen was deputy solicitor of the agency, which manages the countrys natural resources and land. Falens water contract was dependent on Thacker Pass securing a permit from the Interior Department, according to the New York Times. Budd-Falen met Lithium Americas executives for lunch in November 2019, although a company representative told the outlet that they had not discussed the mine.

Associate Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior Karen Budd-Falen, seen here speaking at the 2024 Western Ag and Environmental Law Conference. / uacescomm/Flickr

Still, senior federal officials are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest in public financial disclosure reports in accordance with federal ethics laws. Although ethics waivers can be granted in certain circumstances, its unclear if Budd-Falen received one.

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The Interior Department did not directly respond to questions about whether Budd-Falen had a waiver or if she had worked on the mine permit. Press secretary Aubrie Spadey said in an email that Budd-Fallens long record of professionalism and excellence in her work speaks louder than any baseless accusation.

Budd-Falen is not the first Trump official to have allegedly profited during their tenure in public service. An August report from The New Yorker revealed that the president and his family are poised to profit nearly $3.4 billion by the end of his second term. A November report from ProPublica revealed that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noems associate, Benjamin Yoho, won a $220 million contract from DHS. Yoho, 38, is married to Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, 31.

Budd-Falen listed Home Ranch as an asset in financial disclosure reports filed between 2018 and 2021. However, she did not list her husbands contract with Lithium Americas.

U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum walks to a television interview on the North Lawn of the White House on August 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. / Andrew Harnik / Getty Images

Falen told the New York Times that his wife had little knowledge of the contract between Home Ranch and Lithium Americas. He claimed that she recused herself from any work related to the Bureau of Land Management, which issues permits. Falen did not immediately respond to the Daily Beasts request for comment.

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Karen knew so little about what was going on, he told the New York Times. She was not a decision maker on any BLM stuff, and she never had anything to do, even to be aware it was going on, with Nevada Lithium.

The Stewart Lee Udall Building, headquarters of the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. / Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Thacker Pass was approved for a permit right before the end of the first Trump Administration in early 2021. It had been granted a fast-tracked review that took under a year. Construction began in 2023. The government announced in October that it owned a 5% stake in Lithium Americas.

The project has been criticized by environmental and Indigenous activists who say that it threatens endangered species and infringes on Indigenous peoples rights. Last year, a report from the ACLU and Human Rights Watch called on the government to halt construction of the mine to ensure that it received free, prior, and informed consent from affected native tribes.
In 2021, a year after moving back to Maine, Dover-Foxcroft resident Camilla Norsworthy went to get a massage.

Shed felt tense from the physicality of her job upholstering everything from furniture to boat interiors. The masseuse she went to also practiced Reiki, a Japanese healing technique that involves channeling energy flow in the body, and at Norsworthys second appointment, the masseuse incorporated energy work into the session. The experience was transformative for Norsworthy, who is now a Level 3 certified Reiki practitioner and launched her own practice in September 2024.

Norsworthy grew up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but never felt connected to the Mormon faith. She said she has tried other religions since then, but none have felt right.

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Through Reiki, she discovered a kind of spirituality distinct from an organized religion. She was initially hesitant to call herself spiritual, but as she began to rethink her beliefs on energy points in the body and her relationship to the world, the label felt right.

When the Pew Research Center asked Mainers in 2023 and 2024 what religions they followed, the most common answer wasnt Catholicism or Evangelical Protestantism. It was nothing in particular.

Maine consistently ranks as one of the least religious states in the nation. The state ranked 49th in a recent ranking of overall religiosity by the Pew Research Center, joining New Hampshire and Vermont in the bottom three. Two in five Maine adults said they didnt identify with any faith at all.

Other studies have found that Maine ranks slightly higher when it comes to measures of spirituality, but still on the lower end of the spectrum nationwide.

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In five graphs, The Maine Monitor has analyzed what recent data on religion and spirituality reveals about the state.

Nothing in particular surpasses religious traditions in Maine

Maine is one of the least religious states in the nation, with its share of Christians falling faster than the national average.

Just over half of Mainers identify as Christians, while a quarter identify as nothing in particular and 14 percent identify as atheist or agnostic. Another 9 percent identify with other religions, with the largest shares being Pagan or Wiccan and Buddhist, according to the most recent Pew survey.

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Catholics and Mainline Protestants have seen the sharpest decline in affiliation since Pews 2007 Religious Landscape Survey. In the most recent survey, more respondents identified as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular than the two Christian sects combined.

Roughly one in five Mainers now identify as Evangelical Protestants  up from previous surveys. The growth comes as conservative churches and denominations like the Southern Baptist Convention have gained footholds and become increasingly popular across the state.

According to other studies, the share of Mainers who dont identify with any particular religion could surpass 50 percent. What it means to be unaffiliated varies from person to person.

The Nones Project, a research effort to describe non-religious Americans, or nones, has found a wide variability in religiously unaffiliated Americans beliefs. The project categorizes non-religious Americans into four groups: Nones in Name Only (NiNOs), disengageds, zealous secularists and spiritual but not religious (SBNR), the largest share.

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Spiritual but not religious people, who make up 36 percent of the religiously unaffiliated, rank religion as unimportant but spirituality as important. Most dont trust religion and seldom or never pray, but they are more likely than religious adults to believe animals and other parts of nature have spirits or spiritual energies.

People who mark nothing in particular as their religion may still act religious, The Nones Project found. NiNOs, who make up 21 percent of nones, still say religion is relatively important. Nearly half believe in God without a doubt, and a third attend religious services at least once a year.

Mainers rank low when it comes to religious metrics, slightly higher on spirituality

In three out of four religious metrics from Pews 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, which included the District of Columbia, Maine ranked in 48th or 49th out of 51.

One in five Maine adults attend religious services at least monthly, and just under a quarter say religion is very important in their lives.

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A third of Mainers say they pray daily. On that metric, the state ranked 44th.

Those who dont follow a particular religion may still hold spiritual beliefs. An analysis of Pews 2023 American Trends Panel found that nearly half of all religious nones still consider themselves spiritual or say spirituality is very important in their lives.

Maine still ranks low on seven metrics measuring spirituality, but notably higher than on religiosity metrics. The vast majority of Mainers believe people have souls or spirits, and three quarters believe in something spiritual beyond the natural world.

Maine came in 38th for its residents likelihood to do spiritual activities  visiting a nature spot, listening to music, exercising, looking inward, practicing yoga or meditating for spiritual reasons  at least once a week, its highest ranking on any metric.

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The state still ranked near the bottom on metrics like feeling a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being and feeling the presence of something from beyond this world at least weekly.

Adherence rates differ from religious identity

Every 10 years, the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies completes the U.S. Religion Census. The study provides a county-by-county look at religious adherents  people with affiliations to specific congregations  reported by religious groups or estimated through statistical analysis.

As with Pews surveys, the U.S. Religion Census shows that Catholicism and Mainline Protestantism in Maine have declined from their peaks decades ago. Evangelical Protestant churches, meanwhile, reported double the adherents in 2020 as in 2000. Latter-day Saints and Jehovahs Witnesses have also grown.

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Muslim adherents, who werent included in the religion census prior to 2000, grew from less than one adherent per 1,000 Mainers to roughly 12 adherents per 1,000 Mainers in 2020.

Scott Thumma, a professor of sociology of religion at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace in Connecticut, helped guide the 2020 version of the U.S. Religion Census. Like all data on religion, he said it paints an incomplete picture, but by relying on congregations instead of individuals for its data, the census provides a floor for the number of people actually affiliated with specific congregations in each county.

Using the religion census to compare county trends over time is most accurate for 2010 and 2020, Thumma said. Fewer denominations participated in earlier decades, so trends over time are approximate.

New England has historically had large contingents of Catholics and Mainline Protestants. Part of why the region is one of the least religious in the country now, Thumma said, is that those traditions have aging congregations, while the Evangelical faiths that are growing nationally are concentrated in other parts of the country. Evangelical groups including the Southern Baptist Convention have grown in Maine in the past couple decades, though, in part due to intentional church planting efforts, Thumma said.

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The most recent religion census counted just over 30 percent of Mainers as religious adherents  lower than every state except New Hampshire. That means nearly 70 percent of Mainers havent been claimed by a specific religious organization, Thumma said. Some of those people probably are religious, he explained, but they dont ever show up in a church.

Others among that 70 percent may intentionally avoid organized religion or identify as spiritual, Thumma said, but those groups arent captured in the census. The increase in nones is especially prominent in younger generations that have grown up since the 1990s, Thumma said.

What were seeing, whether with the nones or just with the spiritual but not religious, younger generations are relating to the divine or some otherness than just humanity in a variety of ways that dont all align with traditional religious methods and modes, he said.

Despite the religious decline of the past couple decades, a recent analysis by Pew Research found that the falloff has slowed nationally since the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Conservative Christian organizations have pointed to a religious revival among young Americans, particularly in the wake of Charlie Kirks assassination, though Pews most recent report found no clear evidence of a nationwide religious resurgence in the data.

To Norsworthy, the Reiki practitioner in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine is ripe with people looking for alternative forms of meaning and community outside organized religion. She has connected with many of her Reiki clients online, where she says her posts about spirituality can reach thousands of people.

This past summer, Norsworthy held three different spiritual events, including a learning session about Reiki, a sound bath and an event with a tarot card reader and a medium, garnering crowds of a half dozen to a dozen people  not many, she said, but a lot for rural Maine.

She sees a demand for spaces and events that cater to spiritual needs for those who dont believe in any one religion, and said her own experience has brought her a sense of peace.

There is this surge of alternative people looking for enlightenment, really, peace, to feel better than their current state, Norsworthy said. A massage is great. Its therapeutic in itself, but it doesnt have this lasting effect of breaking old habits, breaking old thought patterns.
Zohran Mamdani called Donald Trump personally to object to the U.S. military action in Venezuela, saying that the operations in South America would directly impact New Yorkers.

I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act, Mamdani said at a press conference Saturday, adding that he had told the president he was opposed to a pursuit of regime change [and] to the violation of federal and international law.

The New Yorker mayor, who officially assumed office Thursday, did not share any further information about the call, though his aides said that he had been the one to initiate the call  which was described as brief.

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I registered my opposition, I made it clear and we left it at that, he said.

Mamdani, who once referred to the president as a fascist, also expressed his dismay at the operations online Saturday, and the intention of the administration to hold captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro at a detention center in Brooklyn.

Zohran Mamdani says he called Donald Trump personally to object to the U.S. military action in Venezuela (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City, Mamdani wrote on X.

Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law.

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He added: This blatant pursuit of regime change doesnt just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home. My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment on Mamdanis call.

Mamdani, who once referred to the president as a fascist, also expressed his dismay at the operations online Saturday, and the intention of the administration to hold captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro at a detention center in Brooklyn (AP)

The clash between the mayor and the president is the first since he assumed office, but unlikely to be the last. Maduro is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center and is set to face federal drug and weapons charges in Manhattan.

He could appear in court as early as Monday, according to reports.

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The president and I have always been honest and direct with each other about places of disagreement, Mamdani told reporters Saturday. New Yorkers have elected me to be honest and direct and always to do so with the understanding that my job is to deliver for the people who call this city home.

The mayor appeared to acknowledge he will have little influence over what happens to Maduro while he is held in custody, adding: It is my responsibility that whatever actions the federal government takes, that they have a minimal impact on the day-to-day lives of New Yorkers.

During his campaign for mayor, Mamdani was a vocal critic of other aspects of U.S. foreign policy, including the ongoing support for Israel in the Middle East, but has not often engaged with events in Latin America.
A 90-year-old man involved in a devastating Staten Island car crash has died as the 6-year-old girl who was also seriously injured remained in critical condition on Saturday, officials said.

Gerardo Avila died at Staten Island University North Hospital following the 10 a.m. collision between a Honda SUV and an Audi SUV near the corner of Rockland Ave. and Forest Hill Road in New Springville on Friday.

Avila was riding in the Honda HRV with the 6-year-old girl and a 70-year-old woman, believed to be his wife. They were heading south on Forest Hill Road when they collided with an Audi Q5 making a left turn from Rockland Ave. onto Forest Hill, cops said.

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A 50-year-old man was operating the Audi when the crash occurred.

Avila, the 70-year-old woman driving, and the young girl were all rushed to Staten Island University North Hospital, where Avila died.

The girl, who was first believed to be 7, according to preliminary reports, remained in critical condition on Saturday. The 70-year-old woman was in critical but stable condition, police said.

The 50-year-old man driving the Audi was taken to the same hospital with minor injuries.

No arrests have been made as police continue to investigate the crash.

Early reports that a passenger in one of the vehicles ran off before EMS could arrive were not confirmed Saturday, officials said.

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The intersection where the collision occurred was renamed Brianna Gabrielle Gioia Corner in 2008 to honor a 20-year-old woman who died in a crash at the corner.

The car Gioia was in was being driven by a high school student without a license who veered into oncoming traffic and crashed after her right tire got caught in a gully.
HENDERSON Ky. (WEHT)  A Gibson County man is behind bars after deputies say he skipped out on a restaurant bill.

The sheriffs office says 44-year-old Derek Jones was taken into custody behind a dumpster near Dennys on State Road 57 in Gibson County this afternoon.

Deputies say employees identified Jones as the suspect in a dine-and-dash incident. Deputies also say Jones is connected to similar cases at Lupes and Applebees the day before.

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Jones was arrested for theft and booked into the Gibson County Jail.

Deputies also say Jones has an extensive criminal history and currently has 9 non-extraditable warrants out of Illinois.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW).
Editors note: Video courtesy of the El Paso County Sheriffs Office.

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  A 35-year-old man was arrested on multiple charges, including DWI and possession of a controlled substance, after evading arrest early Thursday morning, Jan. 1, in Westway, according to the El Paso County Sheriffs Office.

Oscar Gandarilla, 35, was charged with DWI with an open container, evading arrest or detention with a vehicle, resisting arrest, search or transport, and possession of a controlled substance, the Sheriffs Office said.

Oscar Gandarilla. Photo courtesy of the El Paso County Sheriffs Office.

Additionally, deputies found that Gandarilla had an active warrant with the Sheriffs Office. He was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility with a $14,675 bond.

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At around 6 a.m. on Jan. 1, deputies saw a black SUV disregard a traffic signal at the intersection of North Desert and Westway boulevards, the Sheriffs Office

Deputies attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle failed to stop and continued a short distance before stopping near a residence along the 900 block of Antelope Road.

The driver, later identified as Gandarilla, exited the vehicle and attempted to walk away as the deputy approached, read the release.

In the police unit footage, when Gandarilla stepped out of the vehicle, he appears to be confused.

According to the Sheriffs Office, when the deputy attempted to place Gandarilla under arrest, he resisted and refused to comply with verbal commands. Eventually, the deputy was able to restrain Gandarilla and take him into custody.

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During a search, the deputy found cocaine and an open container of alcohol in Gandarillas vehicle, EPCSO said.

This incident highlights how a simple traffic violation can quickly escalate when individuals choose to evade deputies and resist arrest, El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte said. Our deputies remain committed to enforcing the law and keeping our community safe, especially when impaired driving and illegal narcotics are involved.

EPCSO: 35 people arrested in multi-agency DWI enforcement operation

As KTSM previously reported, 35 individuals were arrested over New Years Eve and New Years Day during a DWI enforcement operation. Twenty-six individuals were charged with DWI. Gandarilla was one of the 35 arrested.

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Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
A man is facing murder charges after a deadly double shooting in Paulsboro, Gloucester County.

Police say they responded to a call along Elizabeth Avenue just after 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning.

When officers arrived, 40-year-old Roman Acevedo identified himself and told police he had shot two people.

According to investigators, Acevedo admitted he intentionally shot an adult woman and then accidentally shot a minor after being startled while holding the gun.

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The adult woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

The younger victim was rushed to a hospital for treatment, their condition has not been released.

Acevedo has been charged with first-degree murder.

The investigation is ongoing with the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office.
The man who was shot and killed on New Years Eve by an off-duty U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in a Northridge apartment complex has been identified by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, and on social media, as Keith Pooter Porter.

Authorities have not yet released the full identity of the victim. Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, alongside Porters family and loved ones, are holding a community vigil in honor of Porter on Sunday. The remembrance will be held at the Village Pointe complex (17171 Roscoe Blvd., Northridge) where the fatal shooting took place in the final hour of Wednesday.

This vigil is about remembering Keith as a human being, not a headline or a hashtag and standing with his family as they demand truth and accountability, said a Black Lives Matter Los Angeles organizer in a statement. An off-duty federal agent took his life, and the community deserves clear answers, full transparency and justice."

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Friends and family of Porter expressed sadness over the sudden loss on social media.

"This is the type of friend a lot of us wish we had," Bryon Taylor wrote on Facebook, describing Porter as a funny, cool and down-to-earth person who loved life.

"I genuinely & whole heartedly loved this man. Pooter was an amazing friend to me. Whenever and for whatever I needed, he was there. This really really breaks my heart ... Praying for his mother, children, and his entire family," Mimi Love wrote on Facebook.

One Instagram user, who claimed to work with Porter at Home Depot, commented on his last Instagram post: "He is one of the most popular people in this store. He's already a legend around here from just being him ... This is beyond heartbreaking."

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Read more: Gunman dies after being shot by off-duty ICE agent; LAPD investigating

Authorities have not yet identified the ICE agent responsible.

The New Years Eve death is under investigation by the Robbery-Homicide Division, which handles all shootings by officers from outside law enforcement agencies, said LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton.

Since the incident involves a federal agent, the case is also being handled by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice and Homeland Security Investigations.

After the incident, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the ICE agent was responding to an active shooter situation at his apartment complex.

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However, the lack of injuries to anyone else at the scene and statements from neighbors have fueled speculation that Porter may have been ringing in the new year by shooting a gun into the air, a felony that is punishable by prison due to the high risk of death or injury.

Hamilton said it was too early to tell if that was the case.

Read more: Officer video raises questions about ICE shooting of TikTok streamer

Police detectives have not yet spoken to the ICE agent due to protocols on how deadly force investigations are conducted with federal law enforcement officers. We wont interview them for days, said Hamilton.

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After the incident, Homeland Security officials released a brief statement that said the agent opened fire in order to protect his life and that of others.

He was forced to defensively use his weapon and exchanged gunfire with the shooter, said department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, adding that the ICE agent contacted police afterward.

According to a City News Service report, police officers responded to the Village Pointe apartment complex at Roscoe Boulevard and Amestoy Avenue in Northridge at 11:37 p.m. Wednesday.

Early reports by the news service quoted an unnamed LAPD officer as saying the man who was killed was firing an assault rifle into the air. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

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By Friday morning, a small makeshift memorial of votive candles and roses had sprung up outside a ground-level apartment that neighbors said was associated with the man who was killed. Nobody answered the door when a Times reporter knocked Friday.

Several neighbors expressed alarm at what happened, including one who said stray bullets had struck her apartment.

The Sunday vigil will provide a space for community members to honor Porter's life, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles said in a statement, and stand in solidarity with his family while calling for justice and accountability from federal authorities.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Key Points

Pfizer's dividend payout ratio is high, but the company is generated enough free cash flow to cover its dividend.

Management remains committed to the dividend program despite Pfizer facing a patent cliff.

Overall, Pfizer's dividend is relatively safe as the new year begins.

10 stocks we like better than Pfizer 

How many profitable, large-cap healthcare companies pay a dividend yield of over 5%? Only one.

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) checks off all the boxes. It's profitable, raking in earnings of over $9.4 billion in the first nine months of 2025. The big drugmaker's market cap is over $140 billion. And Pfizer's forward dividend yield is a juicy 6.9%.

All that sounds great. But how safe is Pfizer's dividend as 2026 begins?

Image source: Getty Images.

By the numbers

One reason why many investors could be asking this question is Pfizer's high dividend payout ratio of 99.4%. This metric represents a company's dividend per share divided by its earnings per share. Pfizer is barely generating enough earnings to cover its dividend.

A dividend payout ratio of nearly 100% may seem to indicate a high likelihood of a looming dividend cut. However, earnings-based payout ratios don't tell the full story. Net income (earnings) includes non-cash expenses such as amortization and depreciation that don't affect a company's ability to fund its dividend.

Fortunately, there's another financial metric we can examine to gain a better understanding of Pfizer's dividend health. Free cash flow refers to the cash generated from operating activities, minus capital expenditures, and represents the amount of cash available for investment or distribution.

Pfizer generated free cash flow of $10.4 billion in the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2025. During this period, the pharma giant paid out $9.7 billion in dividends. This reflects a free cash flow payout ratio of 93.3%.

While we're discussing numbers, however, there are two other figures to consider: 16 and 349. Pfizer has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years. The company has declared dividends for 349 consecutive quarters, a streak that dates back to 1937. Impressive track records can come to a screeching halt, of course. However, they can also put pressure on management teams to keep the dividends flowing.

Beyond the numbers

That leads me to another factor to consider with Pfizer's dividend safety that goes beyond the numbers. The company's management has repeatedly reaffirmed a strong commitment to the dividend program.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla stated in the drugmaker's third-quarter earnings call that the company remains "committed to our dividend." In discussing Pfizer's capital allocation strategy, CFO David Denton stressed, "Our strategy consists of maintaining and growing our dividend over time."
Atlanta police said Sunday afternoon they are investigating a shooting in southwest Atlanta.

Officers responded at 4 p.m. to 2656 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway SW, at a Chevron gas station. They found a 34-year-old man with an apparent gunshot wound.

Channel 2s Eryn Rogers talked to the wife of the injured man and a witness who said an argument led to the shooting.

The witness told Rogers it was two men who knew each other. They were arguing, and thats when one pulled out a gun and shot the other in the stomach in the parking lot of the chevron at the corner of Hollowell Parkway and Hamilton E. Holmes.

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Police are still looking for the shooter, but the wife of the victim told Rogers she hopes people learn to control their reactions and emotions.

The person was alert, conscious and breathing when he was taken to the hospital by ambulance. APD said.

The wife of the victim told Rogers he was taken to Grady and should be OK.

Investigators with the Aggravated Assault Unit are looking into the shooting.

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Authorities are searching for a sexual assault suspect who targeted a victim in the City of Industry.

On Dec. 10, the victim told Los Angeles County deputies that the sexual assault occurred near the 1600 block of Azusa Avenue and Colima Road in the early morning hours.

Following an investigation, on Dec. 30, detectives released images of the suspect who was last seen riding a Foothill Transit bus in the Covina and La Puente areas.

Surveillance footage of a man last seen riding a bus who is wanted for a sexual assault in the City of Industry in December 2025. (Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department) The intersection of Azusa Avenue and Colima Road in the City of Industry. (Google Maps)

He is described as a white man around 30 years old. He has black hair and was last seen wearing a dark jacket and gray sweatpants. Detectives believe he may be a transient.

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Anyone who recognizes the man or has information about the incident is asked to call the LASDs Special Victims Bureau at 877-710-5273 or email specialvictimsbureau@lasd.org.

Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
WASHINGTON  The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife during a daring nighttime raid by U.S. troops on his compound in Caracas marked the realization of a longtime political goal for President Donald Trump.

But it was a personal victory for a key member of Trumps administration: Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Nicolas Maduro had multiple opportunities to avoid this, Rubio said, standing alongside Trump at a news conference at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after the raid. He was provided multiple, very, very, very generous offers, and chose instead to act like a wild man, chose to play around. And the result is what we saw tonight.

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Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, has been one of the primary architects of the Trump administrations Venezuela policy, which shifted the United States from decadeslong diplomatic negotiations on human rights and other issues to the use of military force to remove a de facto leader from office.

After all, Rubio cut his political teeth thanks to powerful Cuban exiles who became top players in the Republican Party at the height of President Ronald Reagans Cold War. The political godson of hard-line mentors from a local kingmaking county commissioner to then-U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and the late Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Rubio inherited a worldview ensconced in hawkish stances when it came to Cuba and Venezuela, or any country that dared to embrace the table scraps of a socialist agenda in Latin America.

A still image from video posted by the White House's Rapid Response 47 account on X.com, which originated from the @PaulDMauro account, shows Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in New York City on Jan. 3, 2026. Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, pictured here after his capture aboard the USS Iwo Jima, is seen in this handout image posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social Jan. 3, 2026. The United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight military operation on Jan. 3, 2026, President Donald Trump said, as explosions rocked Caracas and targets across the country. Picture of fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, after a series of explosions in Caracas on January 3, 2026. Loud explosions, accompanied by sounds resembling aircraft flyovers, were heard in Caracas around 2:00 am on January 3. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is led in custody from a U.S. federal airplane before his scheduled court appearance at Manhattan federal court, at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, U.S. January 3, 2026. A photograph posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him sitting next to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as they watch the U.S. military operation in Venezuela from Trump's Mar a Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, January 3, 2026. Fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, is seen from a distance after a series of explosions in Caracas on January 3, 2026. Picture showing damages to a building in the port of La Guaira, Venezuela, after a US military operation that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, on January 3, 2026. Smoke rises from explosions in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from video obtained by Reuters. Helicopters fly past plumes of smoke rising from explosions, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026 in this screen grab obtained from video obtained by Reuters. A military personnel member walks past debris at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 3, 2026. Civilians who were living inside Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex leave the compound, in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026. A column of smoke rises during multiple explosions in the early hours of the morning, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026 in this screen grab obtained from video obtained by Reuters. A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 3, 2026. A firefighter walks past a destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. Destroyed vehicles at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. A member of the National Guard stands guard at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. A Colombian soldier stands guard at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. Colombian police and military personnel stand guard at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. A man walks next to military vehicles as Colombian soldiers patrol the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. Passengers sleep on the floor, after flights were delayed and cancelled when the airspace was closed due to U.S. strikes on Venezuela overnight, at Rafael Hernandez International Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico January 3, 2026. U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jets sit parked on the tarmac at the former Roosevelt Roads naval base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, January 3, 2026. Colombian soldiers in a military vehicle at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. A car drives on an empty street, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela January 3, 2026. A cyclist stops to check their phone, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela January 3, 2026. F-22, C-130 and F-35 aircraft are seen at the former Roosevelt Roads naval base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, January 3, 2026. A supporter of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holds a flag of Venezuela on an empty street near Miraflores Palace, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured President Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. A person wears a Venezuelan flag, as they and others react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. People react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, on the streets of Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. A person wearing a hat that reads "America first" reacts to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Doral, Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. A man holds a flag reading "Make Venezuela Great Again", as people react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Doral, Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. A photograph posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him sitting next to CIA Director John Ratcliffe as they watch the U.S. military operation in Venezuela, January 3, 2026. Armed supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro block the entrace to the 23 de enero neighborhood in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured him. Picture showing damages to the port of La Guaira, Venezuela, after a US military operation that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, on January 3, 2026. An armed supporter of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blocks the entrace to the 23 de enero neighborhood in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured him. Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab, raises his clenched fist as he leaves the vice-presidency building in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. The airplane carrying Venezuelan President Nicolas Madura lands at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, N.Y. at approximately 4:30pm Jan. 3, 2026. A motorcade carrying ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro leaves the Westside Heliport in New York on January 3, 2026. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived Saturday evening at a military base in the United States after his capture by US forces in Caracas. Maduro was seen surrounded by FBI agents as he descended the boarding stairs of a US government plane at a New York state National Guard facility, and was slowly escorted along the tarmac. A helicopter carrying ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro comes in to land at the Westside Heliport in New York on January 3, 2026. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived Saturday evening at a military base in the United States after his capture by US forces in Caracas. Maduro was seen surrounded by FBI agents as he descended the boarding stairs of a US government plane at a New York state National Guard facility, and was slowly escorted along the tarmac. US bombs targets in Venezuela and captures Nicolas Maduro 1 of 39 A still image from video posted by the White House's Rapid Response 47 account on X.com, which originated from the @PaulDMauro account, shows Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in New York City on Jan. 3, 2026.

Rubio has been advocating for the removal of Maduro (and his predecessor, President Hugo Chavez) for years, arguing he is not the legitimate president of the Caribbean nation of more than 28 million people.

Rubios personal history and his close ties to the Cuban and Venezuelan diasporas in the United States not only provided him with invaluable clout on the issue inside the Trump administration, but they also have landed him a direct role in shaping Venezuelas future.

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With Maduro gone, Trump said the United States would run Venezuela until there can be a safe, proper and judicious transition. He signaled Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would be in charge, alongside Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who was sworn in as president Jan. 4.

Impeccable timing  some call it Miami street smarts  has always been Rubios chief political skill. Even as a breakout first-time candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010, he latched onto the burgeoning Tea Party to ride into victory and beat the establishment favorite, former Gov. Charlie Crist.

Rubio is now under immense internal and external pressure (and pressure in his hometown) to deliver on his vision for a free and prosperous Western Hemisphere. For the native Miami son, the transition is both a personal and existential one that those who know Rubio say he is uniquely positioned to manage, whether or not regime change happens and democracy returns to Venezuela.

This is really Marco Rubio's moment to shine, said Jason Marczak, vice president and senior director at the Atlantic Councils Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. What we saw occur in the early morning hours in Venezuela would not have happened if Marco Rubio was not at the top tiers of the Trump administration.

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Jose Mallea, who has known Rubio for 30 years, said all of Rubio's experiences have led him to this moment.

It's almost, he said, like the guy was born for the role.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference on Jan. 3 as President Donald Trump listens at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. During the event, President Trump confirmed that the U.S. military carried out a large-scale strike in Caracas, resulting in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Miami politics 'from the ground up'

One of the defining moments of Rubios life happened more than a decade before he was born.

His parents, Mario and Oriales Rubio, immigrated to the United States in 1956, three years before the rise of Fidel Castro and the establishment of a communist government in the island nation. Though their decision to leave their homeland was driven by their desire for better economic opportunities, they had hoped to someday return to Cuba, a move that became impossible under Castro.

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Their son, born in 1971, grew up hearing stories from them and other Cuban exiles about the pain of being separated from their homeland.

The familys history and his parents pursuit of the American dream  his father was a bartender, his mother a hotel maid  would become an important part of Rubios narrative as he pursued a political career, first in the Florida House of Representatives and later in the U.S. Senate.

Where did US attack Venezuela? Timeline of Nicolas Maduro's capture

At first, Rubio did not embrace Republicanism. By 1980, when he was 9, Rubio was already passionate about politics and supported Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, who was challenging President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination for president. Rubio was crushed when Carter won enough delegates to secure the nomination, but Kennedys concession speech was an inspiration, he later said.

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Reagans defeat of Carter later that year and his grandfathers allegiance to the new Republican president made Rubio a Republican for life. In his 2012 memoir, American Son, Rubio recalled writing a paper when he was in the fifth grade, praising Reagan for restoring the U.S. military after it had been demoralized and allowed to decay before his presidency.

Rubio got a bit of hands-on involvement in politics and government in the 1990s when he was a summer intern in the congressional offices of Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami Republican who was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States with her family when she was 7.

Two years later, when he was 21, Rubio volunteered for the first congressional campaign of Diaz-Balart, a state senator and the scion of a politically prominent Cuban family. I spent the entire summer, Rubio wrote, learning Miami politics from the ground up.

Miami politics from the ground up is code for the playbook written by Jorge Mas Canosa, a CIA-trained exile who founded the Cuban American National Foundation, one of the most effective lobbying groups in Washington. Mas Canosa understood power came in two forms: cash and intelligence  and it was the wisdom he imparted to generations of aspiring politicos born 90 miles from Cuban straits.

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Mallea met Rubio when the two worked on Republican Bob Doles presidential campaign in 1995. He later ran Rubios first campaign for Senate in 2010.

On the campaign trail, he recalled, Rubio would often talk about his family's journey to America, their sacrifice and the sacrifice of the exile community. As he spoke about communism in Cuba and socialism in Venezuela, Mallea recalled, Rubio would tell his audience:

Look, I didn't learn this because I read about it in a book. ... I learned about it because I've grown up in a community of exiles and in a home where this was talked about at the dinner table and with neighbors who were political prisoners and friends, and even family who suffered great loss, not just financial and material, but personal family members who have died.

Rubio would later face accusations that he had embellished his family story  he had often claimed his parents fled Cuba to escape Castro and communism, when in fact, they left before the Cuban Revolution. But the familys journey has remained a key part of his appeal, especially for the Cuban and Venezuelan migrants he represented in Florida.

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All those things, I think, have shaped who Marco became and his desire to want to serve, Mallea said. So I think it's at the core of who he is as a leader, the experience that he had growing up.

A military operation topples Maduro

Eventually, Rubios journey would lead to the Senate and to his role today as secretary of state, working for a president he had mocked for having small hands during their bitter campaign for the GOP nomination for president in 2016.

For Rubio, the close ties between Cuba and Venezuela remained a concern.

Maduro, the handpicked successor of Venezuelas former leader, was narrowly elected president after Chavezs death in 2013. A former bus driver and union leader, Maduro received his early political training in Cuba and, as president, formed a crucial alliance with Havana, which gave him the security, intelligence and ideological support needed to hang onto power and withstand U.S. pressure.

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Rubio believed that if Maduro fell, the communist regime in Cuba would be severely weakened and could topple as well. So he kept applying pressure.

In the Senate, he was a frequent, outspoken critic of the Maduro government and sponsored legislation to provide millions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to Venezuelan migrants and to force a transition to a democratic form of government.

As a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he fought two Democratic presidents  Barack Obama and Joe Biden  over their push to normalize relations with Cuba and Venezuela even as, at the time, swaths of Cuban Americans and Venezuelan Americans supported a detente.

What's next in Venezuela? Panama raid that ousted Noriega offers clues.

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Rubio has always defended the U.S. right to intervene militarily in Venezuela, calling at one point for support for a coup in the South American nation.

This is not the U.S., he said in 2019. This is Honduras. This is Guatemala. This is Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, et cetera, et cetera. This is not a U.S.-sponsored anything. This is the U.S. supporting the people of Venezuela, who want their constitution and democracy followed. Thats a fact.

Rubio continued his campaign against Maduro in his dual roles as secretary of state and Trump's national security adviser.

I don't think Marco made it personal, Mallea said, but whatever the outcome is of Cuba, Venezuela, the region, it's personal to him because he's from this community of exiles and of people who've suffered greatly.

Rubio has long seen Maduro remaining in power as a threat to U.S. interests as well as a threat to the livelihoods of Venezuelans, Marczak said.

Rubio identifies with the plight of the Venezuelan people and has long sought to get Maduro out of power, he said. I think that there's been a greater appetite to do this in this administration  because President Trump also was committed to a transition in Venezuela in his first administration.

Rubio was able to gain Trumps trust and then use his influence to help persuade Trump to abandon his administrations efforts to negotiate with Maduro, leading to the military raid on the presidential compound in Caracas and Maduros capture early on Jan. 3.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were whisked away to the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship waiting off the South American coast. They were taken to New York, where they are under indictment on drug trafficking charges.

The Rubio way turned out to be the winning solution, said Carlos Trujillo, a former member of the Florida House of Representatives who has known Rubio for more than 20 years and was an ambassador in the first Trump administration. You're not going to negotiate diplomacy with someone who's a narco-terrorist. The roads are very, very far between what they're trying to achieve and what we're trying to achieve.

Is Greenland next? Trump renews push to annex Greenland after Venezuela strike

Still, Trujillo said, Trumps decision to use military force to remove Maduro from office was a leap of faith.

For the success the operation was, it could have also gotten terribly wrong, he said. And you're putting a significant amount of American service members lives at risk. So the fact that the president has that much faith and confidence in (Rubios) assessment and his judgment and his ability to deliver great information to make informed decisions on, it really speaks to the value that he has within the administration and really the value that the president places in him.

In statement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, Anyone who listened to President Trump on the campaign trail heard him promise to demolish the drug cartels and take on Venezuela for sending deadly drugs and criminals. When President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it, and Secretary Rubio has done a tremendous job helping President Trump execute on all foreign policy decisions, including with respect to Venezuela.

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil is greeted by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez during their meeting in Caracas Feb. 27, 2015. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez speaks to the media during a news conference in Caracas March 25, 2015. Venezuela's socialist government said on Wednesday it has collected more than three million signatures asking U.S. President Barack Obama to repeal measures declaring the South American country a security threat. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shows the way to his Venezuelan counterpart Delcy Rodriguez during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, May 27, 2015. Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrisov (R) shakes hands with his Venezuelan counterpart Delcy Rodriguez during their meeting in Astana on Jan. 16, 2015. Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs Delcy Rodrguez (R) speaks during a press conference following a meeting with US Charge d'Affairs to Venezuela Lee McClenny in Caracas on March 2, 2015. Venezuela granted the United States 15 days to submit a plan to reduce the number of staff at its embassy in Caracas, Rodriguez announced. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez speaks during a news conference on the sidelines of the Organization of American States (OAS) 47th General Assembly in Cancun, Mexico on June 20, 2017. (L to R) Members of the Constituent Assembly Cilia Flores, Delcy Rodriguez, Diosdado Cabello and Aristobulo Isturiz pose with a picture of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during the Assembly's installation at the National Congress in Caracas on Aug. 4, 2017. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro installed a powerful new assembly packed with his allies, dismissing an international outcry and opposition protests saying he is burying democracy in his crisis-hit country. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (C) his wife Cilia Flores (R) and Constituent Assembly president Delcy Rodriguez arrive at the Congress in Caracas for the Presidential inauguration ceremony, on May 24, 2018. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, next to Venezuelan Vice-president Delcy Rodriguez signs at a balcony at Miraflores Presidential Palace, a document through which his government breaks off diplomatic ties with the United States, during a gathering in Caracas on Jan. 23, 2019. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro announced on Wednesday he was breaking off diplomatic ties with the United States after counterpart Donald Trump acknowledged opposition leader Juan Guaido as the South American country's "interim president." Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez raises her fist as she arrives to address the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters on Sept. 27, 2019 in New York City. World leaders from across the globe are gathered at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, amid crises ranging from climate change to possible conflict between Iran and the United States. Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez exits the stage after addressing the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters on Sept. 27, 2019 in New York City. World leaders from across the globe are gathered at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, amid crises ranging from climate change to possible conflict between Iran and the United States. Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks during the Antifascist Global Parliamentary Forum in Caracas on Nov. 5, 2024. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (2nd R) waves next to First Lady Cilia Flores, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez (L) and the president of the National Assembly Jorge Rodriguez on arrival at the Capitolio -house of the National Assembly- for the presidential inauguration, in Caracas on Jan. 10, 2025. Maduro, in power since 2013, will take the oath of office for a third term despite a global outcry that brought thousands out in protest on the ceremony's eve. Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks during a press conference in Caracas on Sept. 8, 2025. Venezuela called the drug trafficking accusations made by the United States against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a "big farce" and said they were "yet another attempt to criminalize" the government. Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks past portraits of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the liberator Simon Bolivar during the presentation of the 2026 fiscal year budget at the National Congress in Caracas on Dec. 4, 2025. The Venezuelan government presented its budget for 2026 on December 4, 2025, which, calculated in dollars, is 12% less than the budget approved for 2025, while denouncing "a Dantesque deployment" of US military forces in the Caribbean. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, flanked by his wife Cilia Flores and National Constituent Assembly President Delcy Rodriguez, arrives for a special session of the National Constituent Assembly to take oath as re-elected President at the Palacio Federal Legislativo in Caracas, Venezuela May 24, 2018. Venezuela's VP Delcy Rodriguez takes over after Maduro capture 1 of 16 Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil is greeted by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez during their meeting in Caracas Feb. 27, 2015.

Whats next for Venezuela?

For now, the question that remains is what is Trumps personal longer-term commitment to Venezuela and what are going to be the conditions that are going to be seen as necessary to have the safe, proper and judicious transition his administration promised.

This is uncharted waters, Marczak said. Whats unclear is the degree to which there will actually be U.S. presence on the ground in Venezuela. A proper, judicious transition means bringing in a democratically elected government.

More: Rubio says US doesn't need Venezuelan oil, will block foes from control

Elections were held in Venezuela in 2024. Edmundo Gonzalez was widely seen as the legitimate winner after Maria Corina Machado, the opposition leader from the same party, was barred from running. Maduro declared himself the winner anyway and was sworn in for a third term.

For much of the past year, Venezuelans and Machado called on the United States  and her longtime friend and ally Rubio  to rescue them from another crushing Maduro term.

Maria Corina, Venezuelas Iron Lady, as Rubio wrote in his introduction to her inclusion on Times 100 most influential list, has never backed down from her mission of fighting for a free, fair, and democratic Venezuela.  Her resolve has faced unprecedented challenges as she bravely confronted the Maduros regimes efforts to undermine the will of the Venezuelan people.

It was long believed that if the Trump administration succeeded in ousting Maduro, restoring democracy would include the opposition taking office. Rubio himself supported Machados nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor she was awarded last year over Trump.

Instead, Rubios counterpart will be Rodriguez, the former vice president, and the remaining members of Maduros inner circle, according to Trump himself.

Asked on Jan. 4 on CBS News Face the Nation how he envisions working with Rodriguez, Rubio said its too early to tell.

We're going to make an assessment on the basis of what they do, not what they say publicly in the interim, Rubio told the reporter.

Though the administration has been careful not to reveal details about how it envisions Venezuelas future, that also means that there are a number of questions that continue to mount insofar as how to actually ensure that this operation accomplishes Rubio's goal of bringing in a democratically elected government that respects the livelihoods, the freedom of the Venezuelan people, Marczak said.

Who is Venezuela's new president? What to know about Delcy Rodriguez.

Brett Bruen, who was the White Houses director of global engagement for the Obama administration, said there is no doubt the operation that removed Maduro from office was Rubios creation.

On the one hand, he said, it's reassuring that Rubio has a firm grasp on the both political, as well as some of the military and security dynamics in the region. But I worry that us going down the path of taking over a country is going to be fraught with problems that we are not fully accounting for and that we will quickly get into another quagmire.

Complicating matters for Rubio is that, in addition to secretary of state, Trump has given him multiple other roles in the administration, including national security adviser.

This would be a Herculean task for someone who was simply charged with this one problem, Bruen said. He cannot manage the National Security Council, the State Department, the National Archives and a whole other country and do all of those effectively. I think we may be reaching a breaking point for Rubio in what he's able to accomplish.

Rubio has been adept at managing expectations before.

He has said from the start of the administration that his role as secretary of state is to implement the presidents policies. He has routinely used that rationale as a way to explain differences between his long-held views and his execution of Trumps foreign policy prerogatives. He could use it again to deflect blame if things in Venezuela dont go as planned.

In his memoir, Rubio recalled boasting to his Reagan-loving grandfather that someday he would lead an army of exiles that would overthrow Castro and become president of a free Cuba. When he did, "(Papa) narrated the life of Jose Marti and the heroics of the Mambises, who had won Cubas independence, Rubio wrote.

For now, the road to achieving that dream appears to run through Venezuela.

Just as he predicted, Rubio is leading the way.

Francesca Chambers is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY covering foreign policy. Follow her on X: @fran_chambers

Michael Collins writes about the intersection of politics and culture. A veteran reporter, he has covered the White House and Congress. Follow him on X: @mcollinsNEWS.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marco Rubio to 'run' Venezuela with Maduro's inner circle
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said America is not at war with Venezuela, a day after the U.S. military carried out airstrikes on the country and captured its leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife. On NBC's Meet the Press Sunday, Rubio said the U.S. is "at war against drug trafficking organizations," not Venezuela itself.

"We don't have U.S. forces on the ground in Venezuela," Rubio said.

When asked, though, about who's running Venezuela now, he was more vague, saying that people keep "fixating on that."

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"Here's the bottom line on it... we expect to see changes in Venezuela - changes of all kinds, long term, short term. We'd love to see all kinds of changes, but the most immediate changes are the ones that are in the national interest of the United States," Rubio said. "That's why we're involved here, because of how it applies and has a direct impact on the United States."

Holding elections in Venezuela, he argued, is "premature at this point."

On Saturday, after the strikes, U.S. President Donald Trump, at a news conference said that the U.S. is "going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition." Pressed about this on NBC, Rubio answered that "it's running policy."

"We want Venezuela to move in a certain direction because not only do we think it's good for the people of Venezuela, it's in our national interest," Rubio said. " It either touches on something that's a threat to our national security or touches on something that's either beneficial or harmful to our national interest."

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Added Rubio: "This is a team effort by the entire national security apparatus of our country."

He made the same point on ABC News' "This Week."

"What we are running is the direction that this is going to move moving forward. And that is we have leverage," Rubio said.

The Trump administration has been criticized for the military operation in Venezuela, as it did not get Congress' approval for it. Rubio denied that this was needed in Sunday morning show interviews, stating on ABC that "You can't congressionally notify something like this for two reasons."

"Number one, it will leak. It's as simple as that. And number two, it's an exigent circumstance. It's an emergent thin," Rubio said.

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He maintained that the goal of the military's actions were to stop drug trafficking in the U.S.

But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who was also interviewed on "Meet The Press," said Saturday's operation "was not simply a counternarcotics operation."

"It was an act of war," Jeffries said.

Jeffries said there's been "no evidence that the administration has presented to justify the actions that were taken in terms of there being an imminent threat to the health, the safety, the well-being, the national security of the American people."

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement Saturday he plans to force a vote on a bipartisan resolution declaring the United States "should not be at war with Venezuela absent a clear congressional authorization."

Rubio's remarks on Cuba

During his "Meet the Press" interview, Rubio touched on Cuba, which he previously said should be "concerned" following what happened in Venzuela.

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"The Cuban Government is a huge problem, first of all, for the people of Cuba," he said on NBC, though he declined to talk about what "future steps" would entail.

Still, he said "I don't think it's any mystery that we are not big fans of the Cuban regime, who, by the way, are the ones that were propping up Maduro."

Trump on Saturday also addressed Cuba, saying that he thinks it's "something we'll end up talking about."

"Cuba is a failing nation right now, a very badly failing nation, and we want to help the people," he said.

In a statement Saturday, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel condemned the Venezuela strikes and Maduro's arrest, calling it "an act of state terrorism."

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"It is a shocking violation of the norms of international law - the military aggression against a peaceful nation that poses no threat to the United States," he said.

The post Marco Rubio maintains US is not at war with Venezuela despite strike appeared first on Straight Arrow News.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the Cuban government of propping up Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, telling NBCs Kristen Welker that leaders in Cuba were in a lot of trouble.

Rubio joined Meet the Press to discuss the American military action conducted on Friday night that captured Maduro and his wife. Welker pushed him on a number of topics, including President Donald Trumps failure to seek congressional approval for the mission. At the close of the segment, Welker asked Rubio if the administration would next turn its eyes to Cuba.

Is the Cuban government the Trump administrations next target, Mr. Secretary? she asked.

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Well, the Cuban government is a huge problem, first of all for the people of Cuba. he said. But I dont think people fully appreciate

Welker interjected, pushing for clarification.

So is that a yes? she asked.

I think theyre in a lot of trouble, yes. said Rubio. Im not going to talk to you about what our future steps are going to be and our policies are going be right now in this regard, but I dont think its any mystery that we are not big fans of the Cuban regime, who, by the way, are the ones that were propping up Maduro.

He continued:

His entire internal security force, his internal security apparatus is entirely controlled by Cubans. One of the untold stories here is how, in essence, you talk about colonization, because I think you said Delcy Rodriguez mentioned that the ones who have sort of colonized, at least inside the regime, are Cubans. It was Cubans that guarded Maduro. He was not guarded by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguarts. In terms of their internal intelligence, who spies on who inside to make sure there are no traitors, those are all Cubans.

Trump and his administration have long been vocal critics of the Cuban government and President Miguel Diaz-Canel. Diaz-Canel spoke out against Maduros arrest on Saturday, calling it an unacceptable, vulgar and barbarian kidnapping

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When Trump was asked by reporters after Maduros arrest how Cuba should be interpreting the Venezuelan operation, he signaled that the U.S. had not ruled out action in the country.

I think Cuba is going to be something well end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now, Trump said. We want to help the people. Its very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we want to also help the people that were forced out of Cuba and living in this country.

Watch above via Meet the Press.

The post Marco Rubio Says Cuban Government In A Lot Of Trouble Following Maduro Arrest first appeared on Mediaite.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. this morning, on her last day before retirement, decried the invasion of Venezuela ordered this weekend by President Donald Trump.

I am not defending [sitting Venezuelan president Nicolas] Maduro, and of course Im happy for the people of Venezuela to be liberated, she said on NBCs Meet the Press.

But Americans celebrated the liberation of the Iraqi people after Sadaam Hussein, they celebrated the liberation of the Libyan people after Gaddafi, and this is the same Washington playbook that we are so sick and tired of that doesnt serve the American people.

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Instead, Greene said, the war actually serves the big corporations, the banks, and the oil executives.

The United States, in predawn hours on Saturday bombed Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, and captured the sitting Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Trump told AP News Saturday that the U.S. would now run Venezuela, at least temporarily, and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

When asked about the decision this weekend, Trump said he was fulfilling his campaign promise to put America First.

We want to surround ourselves with good neighbors, we want to surround ourselves with stability, we want to surround ourselves with energy, we have tremendous energy in that country, its very important that we protect it, he said at a Florida press conference.

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While Greene, who has served three years on the House Homeland Security Committee, said she is overwhelmingly in support of a strong border, she argued that the president was going after the wrong country.

My pushback here is, if this was really about narcoterrorists and about protecting Americans from cartels and drugs being brought into America, the Trump administration would be attacking the Mexican cartels, she said.

Stories by Heather Gann

Greene, a former Trump ally, announced her plans to resign from Congress in December after a contentious split with the president over the release of the Epstein files and what she says is a failure on the administrations part to fulfill campaign promises.

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My pushback here is on the Trump administration that campaigned on Make America Great Again that we thought was putting America first, she told NBC Sunday.

I want to see domestic policy be the priority that helps Americans afford life after four disastrous years of the Biden administration...We dont consider Venezuela our neighborhood. Our neighborhood is right here in the 50 United States.

Read the original article on al.com.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) openly criticized President Donald Trumps decision to launch a strike against Venezuela in a series of public posts.

On Saturday, Greene, who is in her final days in Congress, questioned the administrations rationale for the strike, which was reportedly a move against narco-terrorism.

In a post on X, she pointed out the role of Mexican cartels in drug trafficking and questioned why the Trump administration had not taken action against them if the concern was truly about saving American lives from deadly drugs.

I've served on the Homeland Security Committee for the past three years. I'm 100% for strong safe secure borders and stopping narco terrorists and cartels from trafficking deadly drugs and human trafficking into America.



Fentanyl is responsible for over 70% of U.S. drug  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) January 3, 2026

Greene also criticized the pardoning of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted for trafficking cocaine into America.

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"I've served on the Homeland Security Committee for the past three years. I'm 100% for strong safe secure borders and stopping narco terrorists and cartels from trafficking deadly drugs and human trafficking into America. Fentanyl is responsible for over 70% of U.S. drug overdose deaths and fentanyl comes from Mexican cartels made with chemical precursors from China and trafficked across the U.S. Mexico border. Mexican cartels are primarily and overwhelmingly responsible for killing Americans with deadly drugs. If U.S. military action and regime change in Venezuela was really about saving American lives from deadly drugs then why hasn't the Trump admin taken action against Mexican cartels? And if prosecuting narco terrorists is a high priority then why did President Trump pardon the former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez who was convicted and sentenced for 45 years for trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into America? Ironically cocaine is the same drug that Venezuela primarily traffics into the U.S," Greene wrote.

Also Read: Marjorie Taylor Greene Says Donald Trump Was Furious After Their Political Split: He Was Extremely Angry At Me

She suggested that the move to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was more about control over Venezuelan oil supplies than combating drug trafficking.

She further expressed her disapproval of the U.S.s military invasions and support of foreign wars, arguing that American tax dollars were being funneled to foreign causes while Americans faced increasing living costs.

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Greene ended her posts with a facepalm emoji, following Trumps announcement that the U.S. will run Venezuela.

Greenes criticisms highlight a growing divide within the Republican party over foreign policy, particularly regarding military intervention. Her comments also underscore the ongoing debate about the U.S.s role in international affairs and its priorities at home.

As Greenes tenure in Congress comes to an end, her outspokenness on these issues may continue to influence political discourse.

Read Next

Hours After Marjorie Taylor Greene's Public Rebuke, Trump Responds With Restraint: She's A Nice Person'

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This article Marjorie Taylor Greene Slams Donald Trump's Strike on Venezuela originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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Massachusetts congressional Democrats roundly criticized President Donald Trump for the U.S. attack on Venezuela on Saturday and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

The president claimed in a Saturday press conference that Venezuela is a major cocaine supplier to the United States, and that Maduro was involved. Trump also said that the U.S. is going to run Venezuela and that U.S. oil companies will take over the Venezuelan oil companies.

Massachusetts Democratic lawmakers who posted comments on social media excoriated the president over the attack, calling it an act of war. They contend it violated the U.S. Constitution because only Congress has the right to declare war.

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The few Bay State Republicans who expressed their opinions publicly said they support the Trump administrations actions.

Sen. Edward Markey, in a post on the social platform X, said, Trump cant manage the American economy, and now he says hell run Venezuela and its oil infrastructure? Weve seen what happens when we destabilize countries on behalf of American fossil fuel CEOs  they profit, service members die and regions collapse. We cannot let this stand."

In a video Markey posted on X, the president is seen responding to a question about his New Years resolution. Peace on earth, Trump answered

That was Donald Trump 48 hours before striking Venezuela and extracting its head of state, Markey said. This is not an act of peace. This is an act of war. Donald Trump had no approval from Congress for this unjustified, unauthorized attack.

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This is what dictators do. We cannot stand idly by while Donald Trump conducts rogue attacks that put American lives further at risk, he said. I am once again asking, what will it take for my Republican colleagues to stand up to Trumps reckless, dangerous acts?

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in a post on X, President Trumps unilateral military action to attack another country and seize Maduro  no matter how terrible a dictator he is  is unconstitutional and threatens to drag the U.S. into further conflicts in the region."

What does it mean that the U.S. will run Venezuela, and what will Trump do next around the world? she continued. The American people voted for lower costs, not for Trumps dangerous military adventurism overseas that wont make the American people safer.

U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, D-9th District, a senior member of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees, called the attack one of the most eye-opening days in U.S. political history, in a post on X.

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President Trump has just announced that he is taking control of the sovereign country of Venezuela until he feels fit to return it, he continued. He will install his Secretary of Defense, his Secretary of State, ... and his Joint Chiefs Chairman to run the day-to-day operations. Additionally, he is ordering U.S. oil companies to enter Venezuela and take control of their energy industry. He personally will control billions of dollars that he has no right to access. Donald Trump is no more the legitimate president of Venezuela than was Nicholas Maduro.

President Trumps unilateral action to send our military into Venezuela on a personal impulse under false fentanyl narco-trafficking allegations should shock the American public, he said in another post on X. While Maduro did not represent the will of the Venezuelan people, a U.S. military intervention on this scale without Congressional authorization and an evidence-backed justification makes America weaker and alienates our allies in the region, including those on whom America depends on to combat drug trafficking.

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-6th District, who filed legislation titled No Unauthorized War with Venezuela Act on Dec. 19, called the attack insane during an interview Saturday on CNN.

Ive heard this exact reckless nonsense before. It took us into Iraq, got people I served with killed, and were still paying the price, the Marine Corps veteran said. Congress knows damn well where this leads.

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Trump is not interested in appointing the opposition leaders that won the election, Moulton continued. Thats not democracy. You dont get to just invade a country when you dont like the leader and want its oil.

The legislation Moulton filed last month came as Trump administrations actions toward Venezuela accelerated, including seizing oil tankers and bombing boats suspected of carrying drugs.

U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-4th District, also a Marine Corps veteran, called on Republicans in Congress to join Democrats in driving what happens next.

I commanded Marines in Latin America  they deserve a commander in chief operating lawfully and strategically, he posted on X. The president has no authority to strike Venezuela, no strategy for a democratic transition and no credibility that he wont just pardon the criminal Maduro like he did the Honduran president.

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After voting No in December, Republicans in Congress must now join Democrats to grab hold [of] the steering wheel of Venezuela policy to prevent this capture from spiraling into a blood for oil war.

Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy used the attack to sling an arrow at Gov. Maura Healey.

I support the decisive action of President Trump, our military, and law enforcement to capture and prosecute Maduro for cocaine trafficking, he posted on X. In stark contrast, Maura Healey literally allowed cocaine to be trafficked out of the Governors office by her deputy director.

Anne Brensley, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, who describes herself as the only Latina running statewide in Massachusetts, released a written statement in support of the presidents actions in Venezuela.

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The arrest of Nicolas Maduro is a significant moment for accountability and justice. For years, the Maduro regime inflicted enormous pain and suffering on the Venezuelan people through repression, corruption, and the destruction of basic freedoms. That suffering is the true calling card of socialism wherever it takes hold. Brensley, a lawyer, CEO of the investment firm DevCo North America and Wayland Selectwoman, said in the statement.

Maduros regime has also been linked to international drug trafficking networks that profit from addiction, violence and instability, she continued. Those networks do not stop at national borders. The global drug trade has had devastating consequences for families and communities here in Massachusetts, overwhelming first responders and placing enormous strain on law enforcement.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, 3rd District, released a written statement condemning Trumps actions in Venezuela.

Maduro is a dictator whose brutal, antidemocratic rule has brought immense suffering to the Venezuelan people. His repression and corruption are well documented and deserve condemnation, the statement reads. Acknowledging that reality does not justify the Trump administration bypassing Congress, putting our brave service men and women in harms way, or spending billions of taxpayer dollars on regime change in South America.

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No amount of conjecture from the Trump administration excuses ignoring the most pressing challenges facing hardworking families here at home, the statement continues. Congress must be briefed immediately on the legal justification for this attack, the cost to American taxpayers, and the administrations strategy and path forward in Venezuela and across the region.

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The Lone Star State's favorite supermarket is officially opening a new location. And San Antonio residents are the lucky customers it's headed toward.

H-E-B will open the doors to its most recently built store on the Far Westside on Tuesday, January 7. It's slated to be on 15489 Culebra Road, and comes roughly a year and a half after construction at the site began.

The grand opening begins at 6 a.m. Alongside products Texans have grown to know and love, guests will also find an H-E-B fuel and carwash, a drive-thru pharmacy, curbside pickup, and a True Texas BBQ restaurant, per the grocer's website. Operating hours will likely match those of existing locations in the city: 6 a.m. through 11 p.m. Monday through Sunday.

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Plans for the new development were first revealed in a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing, which was submitted in January of 2024. It outlined a 126,986-square-foot property that was coming to a booming area along the intersection of Culebra Road and Highway 211. Investors poured roughly $29 million into its construction.

Its address places it about two miles from Northside ISD's Harlan High School and crowded subdivisions. The fact that its creation was dubbed necessary signals continued growth in the area. Nine miles north, another H-E-B stands at Highway 211 and Potranco Road. Since that location opened, fresh retail, dining, and beverage shops have emerged nearby.

Over the last two years, the grocery giant has made its items more accessible throughout Texas, especially in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where residents have been calling for more locations.

Prior to this Culebra Road store, the newest outlet to open is the one at 7330 N. Loop 1604 W., near the University of Texas at San Antonio. A grand opening celebration for the spot in August drew long lines and support from the neighboring college.

This article originally published at Massive, long-anticipated H-E-B to finally open this week.
One monthly payment was quietly draining an Ohio trucker's finances as his marriage unraveled and debt piled up.

Corey, a local truck driver from Cleveland, turned to "The Ramsey Show" while navigating a divorce and mounting financial pressure. Earning about $33 an hour on straight pay, he said he was struggling to keep up as debts stacked faster than he could address them.

At the time of the call, Corey said he carried roughly $35,000 in credit card debt, with another $30,000 in his wife's name. He also said he had about $30 in the bank, that both sides had attorneys, and a court date was approaching.

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"Sell your stupid truck, dude. A $970 payment at $33 an hour is in the cray cray zone," personal finance expert Dave Ramsey said, cutting in as Corey outlined his situation.

Debts And Income During The Marriage

Corey said the divorce required debts to be addressed before any agreement could be finalized. During the marriage, he said he took on payments for a Lexus and a motorcycle before trading both vehicles for his current truck, lowering his monthly payment by about $500. "I just don't know where to even start," Corey said.

He also said he and his wife previously worked together as long-haul truck drivers, operating as a team and earning about $250,000 a year combined. During that period, Corey said he put his income into a 401(k), while his wife handled day-to-day spending. As part of the divorce, he said she was now seeking a share of the retirement account tied to the years they were married.

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Truck Loan And Sale Option

Corey said a dealership told him he would need about $4,000 to get out of the truck loan because of negative equity. Ramsey advised against trading it in and suggested selling it privately. Corey said the vehicle was a 2023 Chevrolet Silverado.

"He thinks he's got you coming again," Ramsey said, referring to the dealership. He also said Corey could borrow the difference from a credit union if needed to remove the payment.

House And Retirement Accounts

Corey said the house was appraised at about $174,000, with roughly $132,000 still owed. He said his wife wanted to keep the house.

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"Do not let her have the house," Ramsey said. Corey said his 401(k) balance was about $35,000. Ramsey suggested using home equity as part of the settlement instead of dividing the retirement account, warning that leaving the mortgage in one name while remaining legally responsible could backfire.
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11)  City officials will host rental rip-off hearings across all five boroughs to understand the scope of landlords wrongdoings, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Sunday.

The hearings will be held within the first 100 days of Mamdanis administration, he said. The hearings will help city officials understand the scope of renters issues, then draft relevant policy, he said

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I want these hearings to expose the ugly underbelly of our city, Mamdani said.

At the same news conference, Mamdani announced Dina Levy will run the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Levy currently works for the states Department of Homes and Community Renewal.

Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
First Lady Melania Trump has made a desperate move to protect herself in the lawsuit brought against her by Michael Wolff, the author has disclosed.

Wolff revealed on the Inside Trumps Head podcast that the presidential spouse has hired a new, high-powered legal team to defend her from his groundbreaking lawsuitwhich could allow the author to question Melania about her and her husbands relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Donald and Melania Trump (then Melania Knauss) with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago in 2000. / Davidoff Studios Photography / Getty Images

Wolff is suing the first lady under special New York state laws to protect reporters and free speech after she threatened to sue him for $1 billion. He has raised an extraordinary total of more than $775,000 to fund his suit, which he filed in court in New York City in October. The suit, known as a SLAPP actionstanding for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participationhands Wolff subpoena power once Melania has been served with it.

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But Wolff has disclosed how he has struggled to serve the lawsuit on Trump. He said that one firm that serves lawsuits declined to work with his attorneys and a second had been unable to serve it.

Now Trump has launched a new legal tactic, hiring a massive law firm and asking a federal judge to move the case to the federal court systema move Wolff said was intended to cause fresh delays. To bring the federal case, she has retained DLA Piper, the third-largest law firm in the world, and, in particular, a partner at the firm who is a former Supreme Court clerk to Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Michael Wolff has written four books about Trump and his administrations:

A new filing in the Supreme Court of the State of New York still lists Melanias initial counselAlejandro Brito, of Coral Gables, Floridaas part of her legal team, but says that DLAs partner Josh Halpern is now of counsel for the case. Halpern clerked for Gorsuch before joining DLA Piper.

Wolff said the move suggested concern in Trumps camp about the case.

This is what Trump always does, Wolff told co-host Joanna Coles. Hires some new firm, asks questions later.

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And writing on his Substack, HOWL, Wolff said the move showed that he had forced the first lady out in the open.

The immediate cause of this shift of law firms, and the attempt to move to federal court, may be that, after seeming to duck service of our suit (youre served!) at her logical points of contactthrough her lawyer in Coral Gables, and at her residence in Trump Towerwe filed a Motion for Alternative Service early this week in court, asking the court to either deem her served, or to propose an acceptable and achievable method for serving her," he wrote.

Trump Tower at Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan on Feb. 2020. / Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Additional legal counsel could signal that the 55-year-old first lady is particularly concerned about the subpoena power it will hand Wolff.

She cannot let this happen, Wolff told Coles. So she will eitherI mean, her options are to run out the clock on this, which they will certainly try to do. They will [use] every delay tactic.

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Coles noted that, like the Epstein files, which continue to trickle out damning details about President Trump, Melania cannot run from Wolff and his attorneys forever.

Eventually, the clock runs out, she said.

Melania Trump, Prince Andrew, Gwendolyn Beck and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at the Mar-a-Lago on Feb. 12, 2000. / Davidoff Studios Photography / Getty Images

Wolff, who alleges in his suit that the first lady is trying to stifle legitimate inquiry into Epstein by threatening to sue him for $1 billion, suggested that one way out Trump might seek would be a settlementbut he has strict terms for that hypothetical.

I guess at some point they could come and offer to settle this, he theorized. And what settlement would I take? I dont know. I might, what if they were to say, [and] theyre not going to say this, but what if they were to say that they would enter into covenants never again to sue any media organization for libel? Would I accept that?

Donald and Melania Trump arrive for a New Years Eve party at Mar-a-Lago on Dec. 31, 2025. / Joe Raedle/Getty Images

He continued, Possibly, yes. But it would have to be something as definitive as that.

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A spokesperson for Trumps legal team said in a statement. Michael Wolff is a serial liar whose malicious, defamatory, and false statements have forced the Daily Beast to make multiple retractions. By repeating these latest lies, the Daily Beast and its reporters are making clear that they have not learned their lesson.

The White House referred the Daily Beast to Trumps legal team. Trumps White House spokesperson Steven Cheung has repeatedly accused Wolff of being a lying sack of s--t.

Find and subscribe to Inside Trumps Head with Michael Wolff and Joanna Coles on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes of incomparable insight into the psyche of the worlds most talked-about man drop every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evening on YouTube and Wednesday and Friday mornings on other podcast platforms.
In Miami, the U.S. militarys seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is being trumpeted as not only a good day for the future of Venezuelan democracy, but potentially a prelude to a change in Cuba, too.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez posted on social media shortly after 5:30 a.m. that he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a fellow Miami Republican and Cuban-American.

Todays decisive action is this hemispheres equivalent of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Gimenez wrote. Its a big day in Florida, where the majority of Venezuelan, Cuban & Nicaraguan exiles reside. This is the community I represent & we are overwhelmed with emotion and hope.

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President Trump has changed the course of history in our hemisphere, Gimenez wrote. Our country & the world are safer for it.

Live coverage from Venezuela: See the aftermath of strike and capture

All three of Miamis Republican, Cuban-American members of Congress linked the overnight military action in Venezuela to allegations that Maduro has operated as the head of an illegitimate narco-trafficking regime.

Maduro was indicted in 2020 in the Southern District of New York on charges related to an alleged narco-terrorism conspiracy. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media that the deposed Venezuelan leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.

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In an interview, Gimenez said Maduros vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, appears to now be in charge of Venezuelas government. But the congressman also said he hoped the removal of Maduro would lead to momentum for the free and fair elections that the seized dictator had blocked.

This is a big day for Venezuela. Its the first step. Hopefully this will lead to the restoration of democracy, he said. But there is work to be done.

See Miamis Venezuelan exile community celebrate the capture of Maduro

Fellow Miami Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart linked the basis of the regime change to what he described as a flood of drugs and violent gang members from the country into the United States. While others dithered, President Trump recognized this threat for what it is and acted with resolve, he wrote.

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Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, who also represents Miami, called on the Venezuelan military to stand with the citizens of Venezuela, who voted last year in an election that the United States and other countries recognized as a victory for opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. Maduro claimed victory, despite voting tallies that showed he lost badly.

The decisive moment has arrived. History will judge your actions. Stand with the Venezuelan people, respect the mandate expressed at the ballot boxes on July 28, 2024, and guarantee a peaceful and immediate transfer of power, Salazar wrote.

Some local leaders quickly turned their gaze to Cuba, one of Venezuelas crucial regional allies.

In a statement emailed to reporters before 6:30 a.m., Miami-Dades elected tax collector, Dariel Fernandez, celebrated the seizure of Maduro and added: Now the time has come for Cuba.

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A Cuban American and Republican, Fernandez said the military action will be well received in the Miami area, home to thousands of Venezuelan Americans. Here in Miami-Dade County, we understand what this moment represents, he wrote.

Miami-Dade Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis issued a statement saying the Maduro seizure could be the start of leadership changes in Cuba and beyond.

To the Venezuelan people fighting for liberty, you are not alone, Milian Orbis, a Republican and Cuban American, said in the statement. To the enemies of freedom in Havana and across our hemisphere, take notice. Your days are numbered.

Anthony Rodriguez, the Republican chair of the County Commission, called the capture of Maduro an important step toward accountability in our hemisphere. He added: For years, the Venezuelan people have endured corruption and repression, forcing many to seek freedom and refuge, including here in Miami-Dade.
United States President Donald Trump has set out to justify the attack launched on Venezuela and Washington imposing its will in Latin America by citing a policy from a 19th century president.

Trump on Saturday called the raid that led to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro being abducted an update to the Monroe Doctrine, the 1823 declaration by the fifth US president, James Monroe, adding that the US will run the country until a safe, proper and judicious transition could be carried out.

The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but weve superseded it by a lot, by a real lot. They now call it the Donroe document, Trump said, attaching the first letter of his name to the series of principles.

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American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again, he added.

Here is what you need to know about the Monroe Doctrine:

What is this 19th century US policy?

The Monroe Doctrine essentially urged the division of the world into spheres of influence overseen by different powers.

Monroe first spoke of the doctrine on December 2, 1823, during his seventh annual State of the Union address to Congress although the doctrine was not named after him until decades later.

He warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Americas, stressing that any action of that sort would be viewed as an attack on the US.

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The president stated that the affairs of the Western Hemisphere and Europe should remain separate and should not influence each other.





How doctrine addressed colonisation of Americas

He promised in return that the US would recognise and not interfere with existing European colonies or the internal affairs of European countries.

However, North and South America would no longer be subject to future colonisation by any European power, Monroe said.

In many aspects, the Monroe Doctrine urged keeping the status quo in the Americas but also dictated a European disengagement from them.

In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, asserting a US right to intervene in Latin American countries to prevent European interference, especially concerning debt or instability, to maintain stability and protect Washingtons interests in the Western Hemisphere.

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That year, when European creditors threatened several Latin American countries, Roosevelt stated the right and responsibility of the US to get involved in line with the doctrine.

The Roosevelt Corollary was articulated in the aftermath of the Venezuelan crisis of 1902-1903 when the country rejected paying its foreign debts.

How has the US imposed this in recent decades?

Over the next decades, the evolved Monroe Doctrine served as justification for US intervention in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Nicaragua.

In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan pursued an aggressive approach to the region, branded imperialist by his detractors. In Nicaragua, he supported the right-wing Contras against the left-wing government of the Sandinistas and landed the US in the Iran-Contra arms-trafficking scandal. He also supported right-wing governments accused of atrocities in El Salvador and Guatemala.

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Cuba has long been under intensive pressure from the US since Fidel Castros revolution, both militarily and economically under punishing sanctions that exist to this day.

There have also been reports of attempts to foment coups against Maduros predecessor Hugo Chavez before his death in 2013.
Crans-Montana, Switzerland  A Mass was held Sunday for victims of the New Year's Eve fire at a bar in the Swiss Alpine resort of Crans-Montana that left 40 dead and many severely injured, as distressed parents waited for news of their children or began the long process of mourning.

By Sunday evening, Swiss authorities had identified all of the 40 fatalities. The dead include 18 Swiss citizens aged 14 to 31 years, two Italians aged 16, one dual citizen of Italy and the United Arab Emirates, also 16 years old, an 18-year-old Romanian, a 39-year-old French and a Turkish citizen, 18.

In addition to the 40 who died, 119 were injured in the blaze that broke out around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday at Le Constellation bar. Police have said many of the victims were in their teens to mid-20s.

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Gray-haired parents, teenagers and members of the police were seen comforting one another during the service, which took place at the Chapelle Saint-Christophe in Crans-Montana. Mass was followed by a silent march to the site of the tragedy.

People walk during a memorial procession in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, on Jan. 4, 2026, after a devastating fire in Le Constellation bar left many dead and injured during New Year's celebrations. / Credit: Antonio Calanni / AP

In the crowded pews, a grieving woman listened intently, her hands clasped tightly and sometimes clasping rosary beads, as speakers delivered readings in German, French and Italian. Despite freezing weather, several hundred followed the Mass on the screen installed outside the church.



The Rev. Gilles Cavin spoke of the "terrible uncertainty" for families unsure if their loved ones are among the dead or still alive, among the injured. "We pray for their friends hard hit by misery on this day that was meant to be one of festivities and friendship," he said.

One of the victims was 16-year old Arthur Brodard, whose mother had been frantically searching for him.



"Our Arthur has now left to party in paradise," a visibly shaken Laetitia Brodard said in a Facebook story posted on Saturday night, speaking to the camera. "We can start our mourning, knowing that he is in peace and in the light."



Brodard's frenzied search for her son reflected the desperation of families of the young people disappeared during the fire, who didn't know whether their loved ones were dead or in the hospital.

People mourn on Jan. 4, 2026 at a makeshift memorial outside the

Swiss authorities said the process of identifying victims was particularly hard because of the advanced degree of the burns, requiring the use of DNA samples. Brodard also had given her DNA sample to help in the identification process.



In her Facebook post, Brodard thanked those who "testified their compassion, their love" and to those who shared information as she anxiously searched and waited for news of her son.

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Other parents and siblings are still waiting in anguish.



Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the bar's managers. In a statement on Sunday, regional police said there were no legal grounds so far that would require the managers to be held pending the legal process. They have not been deemed to be a flight risk.

The two are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire, the Valais region's chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, told reporters Saturday. The announcement of the investigation didn't name the managers.

People gather during a memorial procession in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, after a devastating fire in Le Constellation bar left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. / Credit: Antonio Calanni / AP (Antonio Calanni / AP)



Investigators had said they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

"Initial witness accounts cited a fire that spread quickly, generating a lot of smoke and a huge wave of heat," the police statement Sunday said. "Everything happened very fast."



Authorities planned to look into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. Officials said they also would look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.



Swiss President Guy Parmelin announced a national day of mourning for the victims on Jan. 9.



France's Health Minister Stephanie Rist said 17 patients have received care in France, out of a total of 35 transferred from Switzerland to five European countries. Other patients were planned to be transferred to Germany, Italy and Belgium.

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Nicolas Maduro captured, flown out of Venezuela, Trump says | Special Report

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Venezuela's Maduro and wife captured, flown out of country in U.S. operation, Trump says
CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP)  Hundreds marched in silence Sunday to honor the victims of the New Years Eve fire at a bar in the Swiss Alpine resort of Crans-Montana, which left 40 dead and many severely injured.

Somber mourners, many with reddened eyes, filed silently out of the chapel to organ music after the hourlong Mass at the Chapelle Saint-Christophe in Crans-Montana. Some exchanged hugs before marching up a hill to Le Constellation bar.

Many hundreds of people walked in the dense snaking procession in the bright sunlight past shuttered stores. Up on the mountain overlooking the town, snow machines sent plumes of white flakes into the air.

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At the top of the street, in front of Le Constellation  which is still largely shielded from view by white screens  the swelling crowd stood in near total silence, some weeping.

Then they broke out into sustained applause for the rescue teams and police who rushed to the scene of horror, their hands in gloves and mittens against the cold. Mourners and well-wishers deposited bouquets at a makeshift memorial piled with flowers, cuddly toys and other tributes. Some firefighters wiped their eyes too.

They went there to party

Through this tragic event, I believe we must all remember that we are all brothers and sisters in humanity, Veronique Barras, a local resident who knows grieving families, said. It's important to support each other, to hug each other, and to move forward towards light."

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Cathy Premer said her daughter was out celebrating her 17th birthday on New Year's Eve when she called in the early hours of the morning to say she was stuck because Le Constellation was cordoned off.

For the young  but even for adults  its hard to understand things that seem inexplicable, she said. They went there to party, its a destination for Dec. 31, its very festive, there were people of many nationalities ... and it all turned into a tragedy.

In the crowd, Paola Ponti Greppi, an 80-year-old Italian who has a house in Crans-Montana, called for safety checks in bars. We need more safety in these places because its not the only place like this. Why didnt the town do the proper checks? For me that's terrible.

A Mass for the victims

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During the Mass, the Rev. Gilles Cavin spoke of the terrible uncertainty for families unsure if their loved ones are among the dead or still alive among the injured.

"There are no words strong enough to express the dismay, anguish, and anger of those who are affected in their lives today. And yet, we are here, gathered because silence alone is not enough, he said.

In the crowded pews, a grieving woman listened intently, her hands clasped tightly and sometimes clasping rosary beads, as speakers delivered readings in German, French and Italian.

Forty people died and 119 were injured in the blaze that broke out around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday at Le Constellation bar. Police have said many of the victims were in their teens to mid-20s.

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By Sunday evening, Swiss authorities had identified all of the 40 fatalities.

A grieving mother

One of the victims was 16-year-old Arthur Brodard, whose mother had been frantically searching for him.

Our Arthur has now left to party in paradise, a visibly shaken Laetitia Brodard said in a Facebook story posted on Saturday night, speaking to a camera. We can start our mourning, knowing that he is in peace and in the light.

Brodard's frenzied search for her son reflected the desperation of families of the young people disappeared during the fire, who did not know whether their loved ones were dead or in the hospital.

Advertisement Advertisement

Swiss authorities said the process of identifying victims was particularly hard because of the advanced degree of the burns, requiring the use of DNA samples. Brodard also had given her DNA sample to help in the identification process.

In her Facebook post, she thanked those who testified their compassion, their love and to those who shared information as she anxiously searched and waited for news of her son. Other parents and siblings are still waiting in anguish.

Bar managers face a criminal investigation

Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation of the bar managers.

The two are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire, the Valais regions chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, told reporters Saturday. The announcement of the investigation did not name the managers.

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Regional police said Sunday there were no legal grounds so far that would require the managers to be held pending the legal process. They have not been deemed to be a flight risk.

Investigators have said they believe festive sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Authorities are looking into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. The investigation also centers on other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes, and whether previous work at the site was up to code.

Initial witness accounts cited a fire that spread quickly, generating a lot of smoke and a huge wave of heat, the police statement Sunday said. Everything happened very fast.

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Swiss President Guy Parmelin announced a national day of mourning for the victims on Jan. 9.

Frances Health Minister Stephanie Rist said 17 patients have received care in France, out of a total of 35 transferred from Switzerland to five European countries. Other patients were planned to be transferred to Germany, Italy and Belgium.

___

Associated Press journalists Kostya Manenkov in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw contributed to this report
Myanmars military rulers have ordered the release of more than 6,000 prisoners to mark the countrys Independence Day.

While families rushed to wait outside prisons on Sunday to see if their loved ones were included in the amnesty, there was no indication that the 6,000 would include former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, despite mounting international pressure calling for her release.

The junta said 6,134 men and women would be freed from prisons, detention centres and labour camps across the country as part of the annual amnesty marking 78 years since independence from British rule on 4 January 1948.

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The acting president of the Union of the Republic of Myanmar has pardoned 6,134 male and female prisoners who are serving their terms at respective prisons, detention centres and camps, the juntas National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) said in a statement.

In a separate announcement, the authorities said 52 foreign nationals would also be released and deported.

The NDSC described the move as a gesture made on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

A protester holds a poster with an image of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a candlelight vigil (AFP via Getty)

Sentences for other inmates were reduced by one-sixth nationwide, excluding those convicted of serious offences such as murder and rape, or jailed under security, terrorism, corruption, arms or drug laws.

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Those freed were warned they would have to serve the remainder of their original terms if they reoffended.

Crowds gathered early outside Yangons Insein prison, the countrys most notorious, clutching lists of names and waiting for relatives to emerge as buses ferried prisoners away.

Among those released, according to the pro-military Popular News Journal, was Ye Htut, a former information minister and presidential spokesperson in an earlier military-backed administration.

Arrested in October 2023, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year over Facebook posts deemed seditious.

A prisoner is greeted by his family members after being released from Insein prison (AP)

It remains unclear how many of those being freed were political detainees.

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Independent monitors estimate that tens of thousands of people have been arrested since the army seized power in February 2021, crushing a brief period of civilian rule and triggering a nationwide armed uprising involving new resistance groups and long-established ethnic forces.

More than 3.6 million people have been displaced by the fighting.

High-profile political prisoners appear unaffected by the amnesty, and there was no sign that Ms Suu Kyi, 80, would be freed.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who led the elected government overthrown by the coup, is serving a combined 27-year sentence after convictions which supporters say were politically motivated. She has been held largely incommunicado in the capital, Naypyidaw.

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State media moved last month to address concerns raised by her family, saying: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health, without offering evidence or allowing independent verification.

Election commission officials count ballots at a polling station in Yangon, Myanmar (Reuters)

Her son, Kim Aris, who has not seen or heard from her for years, responded: The military claims she is in good health, yet they refuse to provide any independent proof, no recent photograph, no medical verification and no access by family, doctors or international observers. If she is truly well, they can prove it.

Mr Aris had earlier said he hoped the juntas staged election might open a path to her release or transfer to house arrest, noting that she was freed after a previous period of detention in 2010 following a vote.

The military rejected his comments, accusing him of interference. This is merely a fabrication, timed and distributed to disrupt the free and fair multi-party democratic general election that will be held in Myanmar in the near future, a junta statement said.

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Mr Aris replied: I have no intention of interfering in Burmas politics. But after years of total isolation, secrecy and silence, any son would begin to fear the worst.

The amnesty comes as the military presses ahead with a month-long, three-phase election that began late last month and has been widely condemned by opposition groups, the United Nations and Western governments as a sham designed to entrench military rule.

Many anti-junta parties are barred from or boycotting the process, and it is illegal to criticise the polls.

Early official results from the first phase show the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, led by retired generals, dominating the limited seats declared so far, including the vast majority in the lower house.

Turnout figures released by the junta are significantly lower than in the last free elections held in 2015 and 2020, which Ms Suu Kyis National League for Democracy won by landslides before it was dissolved.
Ohio Highway Patrol ride-along program

Experience what its like to be an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper. The agency's ride-along program is designed to give interested recruits a real-world look at life as a trooper.

This opportunity is for people genuinely interested in exploring a career with the Patrol. To be eligible to participate in a ride-along, you must:

Hold a valid drivers license

Be 18 to 39 years old

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Complete a brief interview with the post commander prior to the ride-along.

For more information about the ride-along program, visit http://alturl.com/vxezw. To apply to participate in a ride-along, contact your local Ohio State Highway Patrol post. The Canton Post is at 4711 Shuffel Street NW, Jackson Township; phone 330-433-6200. Contact information for all Patrol posts is at http://alturl.com/5y28k.

Visit library for music, teen party, cookbook club

CANAL FULTON  The Canal Fulton Public Library, 154 Market St. NE, has scheduled the following programs. For more information or to register, call 330-854-4148 or visit www.canalfultonlibrary.org.

Music Jam Session, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Jan. 5: Musicians of all skill levels can bring their acoustic instruments for a bluegrass music jam session. This is a drop-in program; registration is not required.

Teens Cafe: New Year Welcome Party, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. or 6 to 7 p.m.: Meet the resident teen librarian and learn about this years new programming, volunteer opportunities, and the ability to vote on some activities for the year. Snacks and a craft will be available.

Cooking by the Book, 1 p.m. Jan. 10: Check out the new cookbook club. Select a recipe from a cookbook from the library, prepare it, and then bring it in to share. Stop by the Information Department to check out a cookbook.

Court of Appeals selects presiding judge, administrative judge

CANTON  Ohio 5th District Court of Appeals Judges Andrew J. King and Kevin W. Popham were elected presiding judge and administrative judge, respectively, by the other members of the court, effective Jan. 1.

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King was elected to the Court of Appeals in November 2022 and his term began Feb. 9, 2023. Prior to his election, King served as an attorney for Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Attorney General Dave Yost and the Southwest Licking Community Water and Sewer District. He also was an assistant prosecuting attorney in Delaware County, and prior to that, he served as an assistant public defender for the Ohio Public Defender. King was appointed to serve a three-year term as a member of the Board of Professional Conduct.

Popham was elected to his term on the 5th District Court of Appeals on Feb. 10, 2025. He served as a staff attorney and magistrate at the Court of Claims of Ohio, and as an Ohio assistant attorney general under Betty Montgomery. He spent 15 years in private practice defending physicians, nurses and healthcare facilities in medical malpractice litigation. He served the last eight plus years as a senior trial attorney at Nationwide Insurance, handling all complex litigation.

The 5th District covers Stark, Ashland, Coshocton, Delaware, Fairfield, Guernsey, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Perry, Richland and Tuscarawas counties.

Animal clinic nominated for award

CANTON  AlterClinic Animal Care, 2302 Fulton Rd. NW, a nonprofit spay-and-neuter clinic, has been nominated for a 2026 Snippy Award in the Community Cat Champion category.

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It is a national recognition celebrating high-volume spay/neuter clinics making a lifesaving impact for animals and communities across the country.

The winner will be announced on World Spay Day, Feb 24.

Buy Soup at Six Series season passes

CANTON  Season passes are available for the 2026 Soup at Six Series at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum.

The cost is $180 for nine Soup at Six programs, a discount of $5 per program; for the schedule and topics in the series, or to buy passes, visit mckinleymuseum.org or call 330-455-7043. The deadline to buy a season pass is Jan. 15.

Movie at the Palace

CANTON  The Palace Theatre, 605 Market Ave. N, will show the movie Bugonia at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 9 and 10 and at 2 p.m. Jan. 11. Admission is $10; seating is general admission. Tickets are available in advance at cantonpalacetheatre.com and at the door starting 30 minutes before showtime.

Teacher receives award

DALTON  Dalton Elementary School teacher Amanda Thiel was one of 10 winners of the Ohio Lotterys Science of Reading Awards for November.

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The Ohio Lottery Science of Reading Award is part of the Lottery's Giving Back program, recognizing Ohio K-12 teachers who complete the state's Science of Reading professional development, giving them a $250 gift card for classroom use to support literacy efforts. Teachers are selected in random drawings from a list the Ohio Department of Education provides.

Farmers market at church

JACKSON TWP.  St. Stephen Martyr Lutheran Church, 4600 Fulton Drive NW, will host an indoor farmers market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 10.

Featured items include breads, cheese and goat milk, rolls, honey, apples and apple butter, bee products, fresh pasta, meat products, cookies and cupcakes, mushrooms and mushroom products, jam, dog treats and homegrown greens and herbs. The cafe will serve homemade vegetable soup that can be dine-in or sold by the quart to take home. Coneys also will be available for lunch.

The church is fully handicapped accessible and has ample parking. Look for the orange carrots on Fulton and Dressler to find your way. Questions? Call 330-806-0427.

Benjamin Taylor, 9, works on creating a winter sweater craft at the Massillon Public Librarys Snowed in Story Time event.

History discussion group topic is bad weather

MASSILLON  Massillon Museums History Discussion Group will talk about regional bad weather and natural disasters from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 6.

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Moderator Mandy Altimus Stahl will lead the groups conversation. This months topic complements the new "Adventures in Weather" exhibition in the Edward and Louise Mahoney Family Gallery. The group meets in the Fred F. Silk Community Room in the museums lower level.

Because the December session was canceled because of the snowstorm, January participants are welcome to bring items they wanted to share during that show-and-tell discussion.

The museum is fully accessible. Attendance is free and open to everyone; new participants are welcome. Pastries and coffee are available for a donation. Free parking is available on adjacent streets and nearby city lots.

Minerva library offers wildlife program, crafting

MINERVA  The Minerva Public Librarys Adult Services Department, 677 Lynnwood Dr., will offer the following programs.

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Ohio Winter Wildlife and Hibernation, 6:30 p.m. Jan. 12: Monika Bowman, wildlife communications specialist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, will talk about how wildlife survives in winter. No registration is necessary.

Craft Class - Junk Journals, 10:30 a.m. Jan. 13: Learn how to craft a Junk Journal. Limited seats are available. Registration is required by using the online calendar at www.minervalibrary.info or calling 330-868-4101.

Adoptable kittens at library

NORTH CANTON  The North Canton Public Library is bringing back Caterdays with Pawsitive Hope. Every second Saturday of the month from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., meet adoptable kittens in the lower-level community room. The first session is Jan. 10.

Benjamin Taylor, 9, and his mother Rochelle Taylor work on creating their winter sweater craft at the Massillon Public Librarys Snowed in Story Time event.

Stark Parks offers program for kids

PERRY TWP.  Stark Parks will continue its Adventure Kids series at Sippo Lake Park at the Exploration Gateway from 10 to 11 a.m. Jan. 14 for ages 3 through 5; 11 a.m. to noon Jan. 17 for ages 3 through 5 and 1 to 2 p.m. for ages 6 through 9.

Learn how animals survive when temperatures drop and snow falls. Participants will hear a story, make a craft, and meet an animal that has adapted to Ohios cold weather.

Scholarships available

Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative is accepting applications for its 2026 scholarship program. The electric utility will award 10 area graduating seniors pursuing higher education, totaling $20,200 in scholarships.

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The contest is open to high school seniors who have a grade point average of 3.6 or better on a 4.0 scale, will be attending an accredited institution of higher learning and whose parents or guardians are members of and live in a home served by the Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative.

Applications and rules for the scholarship competition are at www.hwecoop.com. Deadline for completed applications to virtually submitted is Jan. 23.

Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a member-owned, nonprofit electric Cooperative serving Holmes, Wayne, Ashland, Medina, Stark, Tuscarawas, Knox and Coshocton counties.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: News from around the Canton region | Stark County community briefs
Over three decades ago, the US government executed the shocking arrest of the leader of a foreign country: Panamas Manuel Noriega. The dictators case may prove to be a guide for the prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges now involved in the case against Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro.

Like Maduro, Noriega was accused of participating in a large-scale operation to smuggle drugs into the United States. And Noriega was also captured in a military operation in his home country.

Noriegas attorneys quickly launched an aggressive defense of the military leader, accusing President George H.W. Bushs Justice Department of violating both international law and due process protections by invading Panama and arresting him abroad.

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They also claimed that Noriega had immunity as a foreign head of state.

Maduro, who prosecutors say ran state sponsored gangs and facilitated drug trafficking in the Venezuela, will likely raise a series of significant objections to the prosecution like those Noriega attempted, Steve Vladeck, CNN legal analyst and professor at Georgetown University Law Center, said in his One First newsletter.

The case will likely involve novel constitutional and international law arguments that may attract some high-profile top criminal defense attorneys, CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said Saturday. Weve really seen very little like this.

Noriegas arguments were ultimately unsuccessful  he was tried and convicted in 1991 and given a 40-year prison sentence. (Following his sentence in 1992, a federal judge ruled the former dictator was a prisoner of war and should be afforded certain rights in prison, though judges cannot assign people to specific prison facilities and their ability to enforce such rulings can be limited.)

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A critical factor in his failed defense was that US courts refused to consider the legality of the invasion itself, Clark Neily of the libertarian think-tank Cato Institute pointed out in an article Saturday.

Federal courts held that the manner in which a defendant is brought before a US courteven by force, even from foreign soildoes not defeat criminal jurisdiction, Neily wrote.

If Maduro attempts to argue he was illegally brought to the US, there is case law outlining why defendants can still be prosecuted in the United States even if they were brought there unlawfully.

If pushed to justify Maduros arrest, prosecutors may point to a 1989 memo from the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsels William Barr, claiming that a president had inherent constitutional authority to order the FBI to take people into custody in foreign countries, even if it violated international law to do so.

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Barr would later become attorney general in that Bush administration and Trumps first administration. His memo remains controversial among legal scholars.

The tougher nuts for prosecutors to crack will be Maduros arguments that hes entitled to some kind of immunity, Vladeck said, whether because he was Venezuelas head of state or because, even if he wasnt, his alleged crimes all arise from official acts conducted with governmental authority.

In Noriegas case, courts deferred to the executive branchs decision that Noriega was not entitled to immunity and the clearly illegal nature of the alleged acts. That case, however, had one important difference  the State Department did not recognize Noriega as the head of Panama.

Whether courts will reconsider that precedent because of Maduros status as president is yet to be seen, though the Justice Department referred to him in the indictment unsealed Saturday as the de facto but illegitimate ruler of Venezuela.

Ultimately, the prosecution will be no slam dunk, Vladeck concluded. Especially with regard to the charges against Maduro himself.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Norway has reported a rise in employment among Ukrainians who arrived in the country after Russia's full-scale invasion.

Source: Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Official data indicates that by the end of 2025, a total of 27,000 Ukrainians who arrived in Norway due to the war had found employment.

Employment among Ukrainians in Norway has increased over the past year, representing a "clear increase" compared to 2024.

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In October, it was reported that over 100,000 Ukrainians in Norway had applied for protection. Prior to that, in September, there was an increase in the number of newly arrived Ukrainians, which was linked, among other things, to the opening of Ukraine's borders to young men aged 18-22.

Background: In October 2025, it was reported that the share of Ukrainians in Germany's total workforce had tripled.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it's worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But in any portfolio, there are likely to be some stocks that fall short of that benchmark. Unfortunately, that's been the case for longer term Tong Herr Resources Berhad (KLSE:TONGHER) shareholders, since the share price is down 55% in the last three years, falling well short of the market return of around 25%.

Since shareholders are down over the longer term, lets look at the underlying fundamentals over the that time and see if they've been consistent with returns.

Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit.

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

During five years of share price growth, Tong Herr Resources Berhad moved from a loss to profitability. We would usually expect to see the share price rise as a result. So it's worth looking at other metrics to try to understand the share price move.

Arguably the revenue decline of 24% per year has people thinking Tong Herr Resources Berhad is shrinking. After all, if revenue keeps shrinking, it may be difficult to find earnings growth in the future.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

KLSE:TONGHER Earnings and Revenue Growth January 4th 2026

Take a more thorough look at Tong Herr Resources Berhad's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Tong Herr Resources Berhad, it has a TSR of -49% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Tong Herr Resources Berhad had a tough year, with a total loss of 14% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 1.5%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 4% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Tong Herr Resources Berhad (1 is significant) that you should be aware of.
NEW YORK  Mayor Zohran Mamdani called President Donald Trump to voice outrage at the presidents capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, the mayor said Saturday.

I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act, Mamdani said, adding that he made clear to Trump that he stood against a pursuit of regime change and against the violation of federal international law.

The presidents shocking actions in the Latin American nation come after his monthlong effort to oust the leader. The U.S. military captured Maduro early Saturday morning. At a press conference after his capture, Trump said the U.S. would run the country until a formal transition of power could be arranged. The president also said U.S. oil companies will be brought in to work the countrys oil fields.

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The president and I have always been honest and direct with each other about places of disagreement, Mamdani said at an unrelated Greenpoint press conference. I was honest and direct (when we met) in the Oval Office. I will be honest and direct in the phone conversations we have.

The two spoke briefly around 2 p.m., a spokesperson for the mayor said.

Mamdani did not share Trumps response to his call. The mayor simply said he made it clear to the president that he objected to forcibly removing Maduro and we left it at that.

Earlier in the day, Mamdani also called Trumps actions an act of war.

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Both Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken from Caracas, Venezuelas capital, and as of Saturday afternoon were en route to New York City to face drug and weapons charges. The deposed leader is likely to be held at Brooklyns Metropolitan Detention Center  where UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione is currently in custody  upon his arrival, and he could be arraigned as soon as Monday.

Other elected officials similarly came out against Trumps aggressions in Venezuela.

Gov. Kathy Hochul called Trumps move a flagrant abuse of power by acting without congressional approval. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer knocked Trumps actions, which went forward without congressional approval, as reckless.

Meanwhile, protesters gathered in Times Square to stand against what organizers charactered as a war against Venezuela.

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Mamdani previously told the Latin Times Maduro was a dictator, though he refrained on Saturday from attacking the leader, instead focusing his criticisms on Trump.

Despite their many political and personal differences, the president took a liking to Mamdani when the two met in person for the first time in November, after the latters general election victory.



(With Rebecca White.)


WASHINGTON (AP)  As Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time on Jan. 20, 2025, former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell put his phone on do not disturb and left it on his nightstand to take a break from the news.

That evening, after Gonell spent time with family and took his dog on a long walk, his phone started to blow up with calls. He had messages from federal prosecutors, FBI agents and the federal Bureau of Prisons  all letting him know that the new president had just pardoned about 1,500 people who had been convicted for their actions at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The pardons included rioters who had injured Gonell as he and other officers tried to protect the building.

They told me that people I testified against were being released from prison, Gonell said. And to be mindful.

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Gonell was one of the officers who defended the central West Front entrance to the Capitol that day as Congress was certifying Democrat Joe Bidens victory and hundreds of Trumps supporters broke into the building, echoing his false claims of a stolen election. Gonell was dragged into the crowd by his shoulder straps as he tried to fight people off. He almost suffocated. In court, he testified about injuries to his shoulder and foot that still bother him to this day.

They have tried to erase what I did with the pardons and other attempts to play down the violent attack, Gonell said. I lost my career, my health, and Ive been trying to get my life back.

Five years since the siege, Gonell and some of the other police officers who fought off the rioters are still coming to terms with what happened, especially after Trump was decisively elected to a second term last year and granted those pardons. Their struggle has been compounded by statements from the Republican president and some GOP lawmakers in Congress minimizing the violence that the officers encountered.

Its been a difficult year, said Officer Daniel Hodges, a Metropolitan Police Department officer who was also injured as he fought near Gonell in a tunnel on the West Front. Hodges was attacked several times, crushed by the rioters between heavy doors and beaten in the head as he screamed for help.

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A lot of things are getting worse, Hodges said.

An evolving narrative

More than 140 police officers were injured during the fighting on Jan. 6, which turned increasingly brutal as the hours wore on.

Former Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger took over the department six months after the riot. He said in a recent interview that many of his officers were angry when he first arrived, not only because of injuries they suffered but also they resented the fact that they didnt have the equipment they needed, the training they needed  to deal with the unexpectedly violent crowd.

Several officers who fought the rioters told The Associated Press that the hardest thing to deal with has been the effort by many to play down the violence, despite a massive trove of video and photographic evidence documenting the carnage.

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Trump has called the rioters he pardoned, including those who were most violent toward the police, patriots and hostages. He called their convictions for harming the officers and breaking into the building a grave national injustice.

I think that was wrong, Adam Eveland, a former District of Columbia police officer, said of Trumps pardons. If there were to be pardons, Eveland said, Trump's administration should have reviewed every case.

Ive had a hard time processing that, said Eveland, who fought the rioters and helped to push them off the Capitol grounds.

The pardons erased what little justice there was, said former Capitol Police Officer Winston Pingeon, who was part of the forces Civil Disturbance Unit on Jan. 6. He left the force several months afterward.

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Pushback from lawmakers and the public

Hodges and Gonell have been speaking out about their experiences since July 2021, when they testified before the Democratic-led House committee that investigated Jan 6. Since then, they have received support but also backlash.

At a Republican-led Senate hearing in October on political violence, Hodges testified again as a witness called by Democrats. After Hodges spoke about his experience on Jan. 6, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., asked the other witnesses whether they supported Trumps pardons of the rioters, including for those who injured Hodges. Three of the witnesses, all called by Republicans, raised their hands.

I dont know how you would say it wasnt violent, says Hodges, who is still a Washington police officer.

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It has not just been politicians or the rioters who have doubted the police. It also is friends and family.

My biggest struggle through the years has been the public perception of it, Eveland said, and navigating conversations with people close to him, including some fellow police officers, who do not think it was a big deal.

Its hard for me to wrap my head around that, but ideology is a pretty powerful thing, he said.

Improvements in safety and support

As police officers struggled in the aftermath, Manger, the former Capitol Police chief, said the department had to figure out how to better support them. There were no wellness or counseling services when he arrived, he said, and they were put in to place.

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The officers who were there and were in the fight  we needed to make sure that they got the help that they needed, Manger said.

Manger, who retired in May, also oversaw major improvements to the departments training, equipment, operational planning and intelligence. He said the Capitol is now a great deal safer than it was when he arrived.

If that exact same thing happened again, they would have never breached the building, they would have never gotten inside, they would have never disrupted the electoral count, Manger said.

Pingeon, the former Capitol Police officer, said he believes the department is in many ways unrecognizable from what it was on Jan. 6 and when he left several months later.

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It was a wake-up call, he said.

Pressing on

Pingeon, who was attacked and knocked to the ground as he tried to prevent people from entering the Capitol, said Jan. 6 was part of the reason he left the department and moved home to Massachusetts. He has dealt with his experience by painting images of the Capitol and his time there, as well as advocating for nonviolence. He said he now feels ready to forgive.

The real trauma and heartache and everything I endured because of these events, I want to move past it, he said.

Gonell left the Capitol Police because of his injuries. He has not returned to service, though he hopes to work again. He wrote a book about his experience, and he said he still has post-traumatic stress disorder related to the attack.

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While many of the officers who were there have stayed quiet about their experiences, Eveland said he decided that it was important to talk publicly about Jan. 6 to try to reach people and come at it from a logical standpoint.

Still, he said, Ive had to come to terms with the fact that just because something happened to me and was a major part of my world doesnt mean that everyone else has to understand that or even be sympathetic to that.

He added: The only thing I can do is tell my story, and hopefully the people who respect me will eventually listen.
The combined efforts between government officials and the public have helped significantly reduce the population of an invasive species in a Florida county.

According to Observer Local News, the number of wild hogs caught in Flagler County has dropped by one-third in just the past year. There has been a management and removal program in place for the past few years from the Land Management department, but the addition of a reporting dashboard for residents to alert officials to wild hog sightings has added to their efforts.

In 2023, before the reporting program was in place, 255 hogs were captured. After the program began in 2024, that number went up to 604, and this year it stands at 412.

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"One of the positive things that we can see is  you want that number to start going down. And it is actually starting to go down because of the excellent results that we're getting," Land Management Director Erik Revuelta told Observer Local News.

The animals are known to cause thousands of dollars in damage to property, and Revuelta said that the hogs are being pushed more and more onto private property thanks to habitat destruction from human development.

Wild hogs are not native to Florida, but according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have been in the state for hundreds of years, possibly introduced by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto around 1539.

Despite their long tenure in the state, they are still a threat to native plants and wildlife, outcompeting them for resources and consuming them unchecked in some cases. The University of Florida reports that economic damage from wild hogs is actually in the billions for the state, as these animals feed on crops, destroy terrain, affect livestock, and are capable of transmitting serious diseases to animals and humans alike.

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The efforts to remove the invasive pigs are an excellent reminder of the need to support native species in your area. You can take steps in your own backyard by planting native plants, which encourage local animals to utilize them for food and habitat, and are easier and cheaper to maintain than many other invasive species.

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices  and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club.
A new law in California has yet to officially take effect, but as Sacramento's KXTV reported, some grocery stores started complying early.

Senate Bill 1053, adopted in 2024, is a plastic bag ban, but it's not the first such legislation in the state. California was the first state to introduce a ban on plastic bags in 2014, but loopholes in the original law ultimately worsened plastic pollution in several respects.

SB 1053 was structured to provide retail establishments a little more than a year to work through their supply of noncompliant plastic bags before it takes effect Jan. 1.

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Plastic bag bans aren't new. Bangladesh was the first to restrict them in 2002, after officials determined that they were obstructing drainage systems and exacerbating floods.

In January 2024, the World Economic Forum highlighted research demonstrating the efficacy of plastic bag bans in the United States. In three states and two cities, researchers found that 6 billion fewer plastic bags were used each year.

Environment America, one of the groups involved with the research, created a location-based calculator so visitors can see how effective plastic bag bans are or would be in a user's area. As the group noted, plastic bag bans aren't just about reducing unsightly litter.

Plastic bags often end up in waterways and oceans, where they pose an entanglement risk to wildlife. However, plastic bags and plastic itself are terrible for human health, too.

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Even when plastic is designed to be single-use, like grocery bags, it can take centuries to break down.

Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastic and a former Environmental Protection Agency official, has repeatedly emphasized that every piece of plastic ever made is "still with us today on the planet," per the "Factually! with Adam Conover" podcast. In addition to covering the planet in plastic waste, the substance also sheds harmful microplastics.

Microplastics were only identified in 2004, and since then, researchers have identified significant adverse impacts on the environment, wildlife, and humans. Exposure to microplastics has been linked to serious health risks, including heart attacks and some cancers.

KXTV visited a grocery store in Lodi on Saturday to talk to shoppers as plastic bags became scarce.

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"Paper is cool, but it breaks.  I'd rather have the plastic bag, honestly," said Enrique Flores. However, Chris Forest, another shopper, was happy with reusable grocery bags.

"After the inconvenience, we'll get used to it. When I get the plastic bags, I just throw them out, so I think the law is a good idea," Forest said.



Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices  and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club.
Jan. 4An online fundraiser for a worker critically injured during a Dec. 30 fire at a lumbermill northeast of Kalispell has garnered about $9,000 in donations in a matter of days.

Aaron Walker, a Montana Timberline Firewood Company employee who lived on the company's Helena Flats Road property, was life-flighted to Salt Lake City after sustaining severe burn injuries in the blaze. He lost his RV home and car to the flames, and his calico cat, Tokers, has been missing since the night of the fire.

"As a result of this accident, Aaron has lost his home, car, his employment, and his ability to work for the foreseeable future due to the severity of his injuries," said Elaina Knopp in a post on the online fundraising website GoFundMe. "The road to recovery will be long and challenging."

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Plant Manager Nic Bedwell said the company is working to secure long-term housing for Walker. He's been approached by other community support groups this week to raise funds for the lumbermill employee. A local animal shelter offered to set up live traps to help locate the missing feline, Bedwell added.

Personnel from more than a dozen local fire departments responded to the conflagration just after 9 p.m., Dec. 30, officials said.

The fire, which at one point was visible to motorists on U.S. 2, was 100% contained by early Wednesday afternoon. The cause remains under investigation.

Walker is under 24-hour observation to monitor his breathing after sustaining significant damage to his lungs from the fire, according to a Jan. 1 post on GoFundMe. He remains unconscious and is supported by a ventilator and feeding tube. Deep burns are visible on his face, the back of his head, arms, hands, feet and back.

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Bedwell said the lumbermill company intends to rebuild, but said it's too early to share details. His priority is keeping a close eye on Walker's recovery, he said.

Lumbermill employees are being paid part-time to secure the property on rotating day and night shifts, Bedwell said. Representatives from local resources reached out Wednesday night to help employees find new jobs in the meantime.

"It's still kind of a shock to all the employees and the company," Bedwell said.

Reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at 758-4439 or [email protected].
A poet once wrote of small men who measured their lives in coffee spoons. But, all of us as Americans living in the modern era, can just as easily measure ours by the number of oil wars we have lived through.

As a young guy just starting out in the world of foreign policy, I was hosting a conference in Caracas, Venezuela, when a buzz went through the room. Theyve started bombing! people said to one another, and an evening event broke up so everyone could head to the rooms to watch the bombing of Baghdad on CNN. The images back in January 1991 were strikingly similar to those broadcast on Saturday as the U.S. conducted bombing raids, this time on Caracas of all places.

Cubans flooded the streets of Havana on Saturday to protest U.S. intervention in Venezuela. / ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP via Getty Images

There were plenty of similarities. Two Republican administrations took action while answering to higher powers in the fossil fuels industry. Media outlets hyperventilated about the drama, not sure whether to cheer on the military or tell the truth about why they were fighting. Officials offered canned remarks about values and higher purpose while revealing once again that the only line that really mattered was neither in the sand nor was it red. It was, then and now, the bottom line.

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Here we are once again making the world safe for obscene oil company profits.

There have been oil wars in the interim too. Every few years, in fact. My experience in Caracas was during the first Gulf War. There was, of course, a second such war. While the first one featured a president and a secretary of state from the oil patch, during the second, we had not only the son of the president from that first war, but a U.S. Vice President who was also an oil industry CEO.

(I cant help but note that during the first Gulf War, the Secretary of Commerce was also a one-time oil industry executive, who seemed to get bombed even as we were watching the bombing on TVhaving to be helped to his room, singing too loudly in the hotel hallways, apparently stirred or maybe shaken by the drama of the moment.)

Infographic with a chart showing the share of global reserves and production for the 10 countries with the largest proven crude oil reserves in the world, highlighting Venezuela and the United States / Olivia BUGAULT and Valentina BRESCHI / AFP via Getty

Our engagement in Iraq the second time lasted eight years. But even years after it was supposedly over, there was talk of U.S. troops seizing oil fields in payment for our so-called War on Terror. In fact, that was a favorite idea of President Trump during his first term in office. Other U.S. military interventions and security initiatives in the interim regularly took place to ensure U.S. access to oil fields in the Middle East. (Note: We still have troops in Iraq ostensibly due to the ongoing threat of ISIS.)

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The intervention that took place early Saturday morning in Venezuela was revealed by President Trump in no uncertain terms to be yet another oil war. The U.S. was not just invading the country to extradite Nicolas Maduro and his wife for alleged drug crimes, we were taking over the country. We would send in oil executives to reclaim oil assets Trump asserted were stolen from the U.S.

Trump promised we would rule the country until a safe transition could take place. But what he clearly meant was until we could get assurances that the U.S. would effectively control the worlds largest proven oil reserves, claiming some of the wealth for us, and determining how much would go to benefit Venezuela.

U.S. Marines pull down a poster of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. / Chris Hondros/Getty Images

The current war had some of the hallmarks of the earlier wars. American intervention was in part based on a fabric of lies or exaggerations about the threat our opponents posed. Yes, Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait during the 1990 Gulf War, but reports of Iraqi atrocities were overstated to help win Congressional support for the intervention. While George W. Bush and his team lied outrageously about WMDs, it was with the purpose of winning Congressional and international support. And here we are lying about why we went in and overstating the damage done by Maduros alleged drug trafficking ring, the so-called Cartel de los Soles.

That said, we are getting a little more brazen the more such wars we conduct. Trumps assertion that Maduros drug trafficking was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans was laughable. Indeed, there really is no Cartel del los Soles. It is a term of art (like Antifa) that doesnt describe a real organization but rather a set of loosely associated activities and actors. What is more, Trump did not and does not seek the approval of Congress or the support of allies for his actions. Further, of course, neither Congress nor any coalition of allies would have the power to authorize the U.S. to seize the national assets of a sovereign nation, even if they wanted to.

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The last time Trump wanted to seize oil to pay for a warin that case actions against ISIShis team blocked it because such actions would be illegal. But this time, his team of kowtowing sycophants are going along with what could easily become one of the largest acts of theft in modern history. (Again, there is plenty of precedentEuropeans stealing the Americas from its indigenous peoples is certainly one, colonial thefts like those of the British in India or Europeans in Africa being other notable, massive, criminal expropriations.)

The journey to the U.S. for Maduro and his wife began aboard the USS Iwo Jima, pictured in 2018. / Smith Collection/Gado / Getty Images

Just like in the case of the second Iraq War, Team Trump clearly has no idea what to do next. The plan, per Trumps truly weird, meandering press conference (during which he often slurred his words and seemed to have trouble staying awake), seems to be that well figure things out as we go.

Who is in charge of Venezuela now? Trump and his national security team. For how long? Until theres a transition to a stable future (read: agreed to U.S. control of oil assets). Will the war spread to places like Colombia, Cuba or Mexico? Trump and his team issued threats to all three. (Prior targets Greenland and Panama went unmentioned for now.) Trump even cringe-flexed that his desire to dominate the Western Hemisphere was now being called the Donroe Doctrine.

In other words, as bad as Americas past crimes on behalf of the oil lords have been and as badly as they have turned out, were at it again.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses a press conference as President Trump closes his eyes, at Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Florida. / Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Were doing it all in a much Trumpier, f--k-the-world, manifestly dumber kind of a way, to be sure. But, dont be distracted by the ageing fat dude with the long tie who these days delivers every speech as though he has a mouthful of oatmeal. He will screw some things up, to be sure. (You can rest assured that nothing the U.S. military can muster has frightened Venezuelans more than the news that Trump and the likes of Hegseth, Rubio, and Stephen Miller will be running their country.)

But in the end, as has been the case in war after war for generation after generation, if you want to know who really is calling the shots in Americas wars of choice look to the men and women behind the curtain: to the oil-igarchs and the rest of the super-empowered leaders of corporate America who are the ones for whom our ageing political leaders are always all too ready to risk the lives of the brave young men and women in our military.
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In a lengthy press conference Saturday detailing the U.S. militarys capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump confirmed, with stunning frankness, the classic leftist critique of American foreign policy: that, at least for as long as hes in power, its all about the oil.

Over the past few months, Trump and his aides had characterized their pressure campaign against Maduros regime as a war on narco-terrorism and a fight to restore democratic rule. But following Maduros extraction in a complex military and intelligence operation, the U.S. president was clear about its true motive.

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Were going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition, he said, adding, We cant take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesnt have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind. Then came the kicker: Were going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in and spend billions of dollars fixing the energy infrastructure that they developed decades ago, until socialist regimes nationalized their wells, then wrecked them. The wealth resulting from this grab-back will benefit the Venezuelan people, he said, but he noted that much of it will reimburse Americas oil companies.

Finally, Trump said, U.S. troops will be sent to enforce Big Oils rule if necessary. They always say boots on the groundwere not afraid of boots on the ground, he said. We had boots on the ground last night, as part of the operation to extract Maduro. He said the military was poised to go in again if needed.

Theres a lengthy history, starting in the Cold War, of the U.S. military and the CIA co-opting or overthrowing Central and South American governmentsincluding in Guatemala, Brazil, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and Chile, as well as several attempts to do so in Cubato bolster the interests of U.S. corporations, including United Fruit, IT&T, and various oil companies.

But rarely have the presidents who ordered these interventions been so blatant about the primary motive. Instead, at least in public, they spoke of fighting communism or upholding democracy, even when the enemies werent really communist and their allies werent at all democratic.

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But Trump was up-front about his reasons, and repeatedly so. Several times during his press conference, he talked of bringing in big U.S. oil companies to regain their former assets. (In fact, though, American firms never owned the land where they drilled for Venezuelas oil riches, and, as in many other countries, the interplay between foreign exploiters and local nationalizers was more complex than Trumps narrative suggests.) And he also discussed restoring American dominance in the Western Hemispherea policy that his recently issued National Security Strategy called the Trump corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. We are reasserting American power in a very powerful way in our home region, he saidnot to protect democracy but for its own sake.

Maduro and his wife were captured, then indicted by the U.S. attorney in New York, on charges of drug trafficking. Trump, however, all but admitted that this wasnt the real purpose of the elaborate operation. Just a month ago, while officers were planning the attack on Venezuela, Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who had been convicted of drug trafficking. Asked about this at Saturdays news conference, Trump said he had issued the pardon because Hernandez, who had supported Trump, had been treated unfairly by former President Joe Biden.

As for democracy, Trump was asked whether he would support Maria Corina Machado, the Nobel Prizewinning leader of Venezuelas opposition movement, to lead a new governmentor even whether he had spoken with her. Trump answered no to both questions. It would be very tough for her to be the leader, he said in a dismissive tone. She doesnt have the respect in the country. Nor did he even mention Edmundo Gonzalez, who was elected Venezuelas president in 2024 and fled to safe exile in Spain after Maduro stole the election.

Earlier on Saturday, in an interview on Fox News, Trump acted as if hed barely thought about Machado or Gonzalez. I mean, I dont know about what kind of an election that was, he said, referring to the 2024 contest. Meanwhile, he said, they have a vice president, you know.

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Later, during the press conference, Trump acknowledged that the Venezuelan vice president, Delcy Rodriguezwho, by law, has now been sworn in as presidenthad been handpicked by Maduro. He noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now working with Rodriguez, who is willing to do whats necessary to make Venezuela great again.

Venezuelan law requires an ascending vice president to call for new elections, but this doesnt seem in the offing. Asked who precisely is going to run Venezuela, Trump replied, Were designating various people.  Its largely going to be the people standing right behind mereferring to Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine. Venezuela has a lot of bad people, Trump added. Were not going to take a chance that one of those people take over from Maduro.

Asked how long this transition will take, Trump said he would like to do it quickly but that rebuilding the countrys oil infrastructure takes a period of time.

Still, it remains unclear how America really will run Venezuela, a country of 28.5 million, roughly the size of Texas or California. Its military officers, most of whom were loyal to Maduro, are still in place, as are its Cabinet ministers and bureaucrats. Trump said that many of them will soon be switching sides. Maybe, maybe not. There are also more than 20,000 Cubans in Venezuela, many of them military and intelligence officers, many others health care workers, all of them providing services in exchange for Venezuelan oil. Will they be leaving? Will power struggles break out? Will the military simply adapt to Washingtons demands in exchange for guarantees to stay in power?

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Then there are broader questions. The whole world is watching not just this operationan impressive tactical display of U.S. military powerbut what happens next. Trumps unabashedly imperial rationale for the action may inspire Russian President Vladimir Putin to double down on his claims of rightful dominance over Ukraineand Chinese President Xi Jinping to feel more confident in his claims over Taiwan. At the same time, antiregime activists in Iran may feel emboldened, especially since Trump said, just the other day, that he stands locked and loaded to punish Tehrans leaders if they killed protesters.

Finally, there is Cuba. In his press conference, Trump noted similarities between Cuba and Venezuela. Both countries have been wrecked by socialist dictators, and we want to help the people in Cuba. Rubio, a Cuban American who has avidly supported the anti-Castro movement in Florida (a state he once represented as a senator), added, If I lived in Havana and worked in the government, Id be concerned.

Meanwhile, the U.S. aircraft carrier and its supporting armada, which had mobilized off Venezuelas shore before the operation, remain deployed and on high alert. Were ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so, Trump said.
An elderly male and his dog have died after being hit by a car in Back Bay on Saturday morning. Boston Police have found the suspect who fled the scene of the accident and have charged him with murder.

According to officials, the incident happened around 8:09 a.m. on Commonwealth Avenue and Hereford Street.

On arrival, officers located a victim and his dog suffering from injuries after being struck by a car.

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The victim, identified as 79-year-old John Axelrod of Boston, and his dog were pronounced deceased at the hospital.

Full notifications were requested along with the Fatal Collision Investigation Team.

Based on information gained from the investigation, according to police, a description of the suspect vehicle was broadcasted.

Boston Police say the suspects vehicle was located unattended in Brookline.

42-year-old William Haney of Boston was charged with murder and cruelty to animals, and he will be arraigned tomorrow in Boston Municipal Court.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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Indiana State Police discovered more than 300 pounds of cocaine hidden in a semi-tractor trailer Jan. 4 during a routine compliance inspection in Putnam County.

Police charged the truck's occupants, California residents Gurpreet Singh, 25, and Jasveer Singh, 30, with dealing narcotics, a Level 2 Felony, according to a press release from Gov. Mike Braun. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed deportation holds on the two men, citing prior removal proceedings.

The cocaine found in the truck had an estimated street value of $7 million, according to police. The truck was headed for Richmond, Indiana, from Joplin, Missouri.

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The discovery caught the eye of some Hoosier conservatives like Braun and U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, who have both advocated for a tougher stance on immigration. Banks, who's been critical of recent car collision deaths involving undocumented immigrant truck drivers, has referred to Indiana as a "border state."

"Great job to the Indiana State Police!" Banks wrote in a repost about the news on X.

Under Braun's tenure, a growing number of law enforcement agencies have partnered with ICE at the governor's urging.

"Indiana has zero tolerance for drug traffickers," Braun said in the release. "Through coordinated efforts with federal and local partners, the Indiana State Police are proactively stopping dangerous drugs from entering our communities and harming Hoosier families. I made public safety a priority for my administration on day one and I commend our State Troopers for their hard work keeping Hoosiers safe."

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The charges follow a smaller cocaine seizure during a routine stop in Whitestown, Indiana, late last year.

Contact breaking politics reporter Marissa Meador at mmeador@gannett.com or find her on X at @marissa_meador.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana State Police seize $7 million in cocaine in Putnam County
Pope Leo XIV called for Venezuela to remain an independent country, backing respect for human rights around the world a day after the United States conducted an early morning strike in Venezuela and captured Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro and his wife have been indicted on federal drug and weapons charges and are expected to attend an arraignment in New York City as early as Jan. 5, according to multiple media reports. The two reached the United States after being helicoptered out of Venezuelan airspace, sailing to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba via a U.S. Navy ship and then flying to New York by plane.

Leo, the first American pope, said on Jan. 4 he was following the developments in Venezuela as he spoke in St. Peters Square, adding specifically that the "sovereignty of the country" must be guaranteed.

Reactions to the United States' bombing of Venezuela and capture of the country's president Nicolas Maduro ranged across the world. Some celebrated the operation while others rebuked Trump's intervention in the South American country. See the reactions in photos, beginning here with Venezuelans living in Chile celebrating in Santiago on January 3, 2026. A child holds a placard saying "I will meet my grandparents" as people react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. A woman reacts to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. Armed supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gather near the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured him. A Venezuelan man living in Chile celebrates with a national flag and his car reading "Free Venezuela" in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. The Trump administration said on December 3 that Venezuela's captured Maduro and his wife will face "the full wrath of American justice" under drug and terrorism charges. A man holds up a portrait of late Venezuela's leader (1999-2013) Hugo Chavez in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Activists of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) burn an effigy of US President Donald Trump during a rally in Kolkata on January 3, 2026, to protest against the recent US attack on Venezuela. A supporter of Nicolas Maduro holds a portrait of the Venezuelan President during a gathering near the Palacio de Miraflores in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. Demonstrators hold up a banner with the lettering reading 'Stop Trump - Free Venezuela' during a rally organised by left-wing 'Anti-Imperialist Coordination' (Antiimperialistische Koordination - AIK) under the motto 'Hands off Venezuela' at Vienna's Votive Park on January 3, 2026. The EU called for "restraint" and respect for international law in Venezuela on January 3 after US President Trump announced US forces had captured leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale assault. Demonstrators march with a banner with the lettering reading 'Hands off Venezuela' during a rally organised by left-wing 'Anti-Imperialist Coordination' (Antiimperialistische Koordination - AIK) in Vienna on January 3, 2026. The EU called for "restraint" and respect for international law in Venezuela on January 3 after US President Trump announced US forces had captured leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale assault. Venezuelans living in Peru celebrate outside the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and Venezuelan. Venezuelans living in Peru celebrate outside the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and Venezuelan. Venezuelans living in Peru celebrate at the Miguel de Cervantes park, near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelans living in Peru dance to celebrate at the Miguel de Cervantes park, near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. A Venezuelan woman living in Peru celebrates with a national flag at the Miguel de Cervantes park, near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Activists of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) protest against the recent US attack on Venezuela, in Kolkata on January 3, 2026. Members of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) group hold banners outside the U.S. Embassy in London calling for "Hands off Venezuela!", after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in London, Britain, January 3, 2026. People embrace next to a Venezuelan flag, as they react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. See reactions after US explosions in Venezuela, Maduro capture 1 of 21 Reactions to the United States' bombing of Venezuela and capture of the country's president Nicolas Maduro ranged across the world. Some celebrated the operation while others rebuked Trump's intervention in the South American country. See the reactions in photos, beginning here with Venezuelans living in Chile celebrating in Santiago on January 3, 2026.

More: Maduro rejected US offers to leave Venezuela, Rubio says. Live updates.

What did Pope Leo XIV say about Venezuela?

Pope Leo XIV told listeners in St. Peter's Square that he is following the events in Venezuela with "great concern."

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"The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration, and lead to overcoming violence and taking up a journey of justice and peace, guaranteeing the sovereignty of the country, ensuring the rule of law written in the Constitution, and respecting the human and civil rights of all, and working together to build a peaceful future of collaboration, stability and harmony, with special attention to the poorest who suffer because of the difficult economic situation, Leo said before inviting attendees to join him in prayer.

The pope later shared a similar sentiment on the social media platform X.

It is with deep concern that I am following the developments in Venezuela. The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration. This must lead to the overcoming of violence, and to the pursuit of paths of justice and peace. I pray for all this,  Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) January 4, 2026

The strike on Venezuela and detainment of the country's leader immediately drew mixed reactions from Venezuelans and people around the world. While some, including many Venezuelans in the United States, cheered Maduro's removal from power, others worried about the South American country's future stability.

Explained: Why did the US attack Venezuela and capture Nicolas Maduro?

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Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kperez@usatodayco.com or on Twitter @katecperez_.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pope Leo XIV has deep concern,' calls for independent Venezuela
Shell could accelerate its massive Dragon gas field project in South America - Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images

Shell could earn billions of dollars from new Venezuelan gas projects following Donald Trumps ousting of Nicolas Maduro.

The British oil company wants to target the rich gas fields lying between Venezuela and the neighbouring offshore islands of Trinidad and Tobago but has faced years of delay linked to US sanctions.

Mr Trumps intervention means a potential acceleration of the massive Dragon gas field project, which lies in Venezuelan waters. The project could generate an estimated $500m (370m) in revenues annually for up to three decades, amounting to a multi-billion dollar opportunity.

The Dragon field holds an estimated 120 billion cubic metres of gas, or around three times as much as the UK uses in a year. Far larger deposits sit in fields nearby.

Development of the project has stalled amid wrangling with US authorities over licencing but Shell is expected to renew its focus on Venezuela following Mr Trumps intervention.

The US president has called on oil companies to invest in the country to boost oil and gas production and improve infrastructure  though he has specifically called for US businesses to lead the way, suggesting Shell may need to seek a partner.

Ashley Kelty, of investment bank Panmure Liberum, said: The big winners are going to be the US majors, Chevron in particular because it is already active in Venezuela.

The European majors will get locked out of the best stuff but will get invited in afterwards because American companies will want joint ventures to spread the risk  and companies like Shell and BP will be first choice.

Shell declined to comment.

BP also has a smaller interest in the region that may be revived. BP won an exploration and production licence for the Manakin-Cocuina field in 2024 but its US approvals were revoked by the Trump administration in April last year. BP has been lobbying for them to be reinstated.

Oil companies have so far avoided saying publicly whether they will invest in Venezuela amid uncertainty around its future. Chevron, which already operates there under government supervision, is the only global supermajor to have commented.

A spokesman said: Chevron remains focused on the safety and wellbeing of our employees, as well as the integrity of our assets. We continue to operate in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.

However, Venezuela represents a huge investment opportunity. The Latin American country sits on the worlds largest oil reserves but ranks just 20th in the world in terms of production.

While the opening up of Venezuela is a boost for Western companies, it is a disaster for Opec, the cartel of oil producing nations.
Pope Leo XIV issued a stern call for restraint on Sunday following the US attack on Venezuela and the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro.

"It is with deep concern that I am following the developments in Venezuela," he said after the traditional Angelus prayer in St Peter's Square. "The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration."

This must lead to the "overcoming of violence, and to the pursuit of paths of justice and peace, guaranteeing the sovereignty of the country, ensuring the rule of law enshrined in its constitution, respecting the human and civil rights of each and every person," the pontiff said.

Leo, who is the first US pope, said work must now be done to "build a peaceful future of cooperation, stability and harmony."
PORTSMOUTH  The citys Redevelopment and Housing Authority is requesting more local investment into housing needs by proposing a trust fund, housing commission, and tax payment changes to expedite ongoing projects.

The housing authority met in a joint work session with Portsmouth City Council in November to update members on the status of its housing projects, renovations and programs. The meeting included several requests from PRHA board members who say increased investment from the city can improve uncertainty with federal housing dollars, the citys competitiveness for such dollars, and its reach.

The housing authority oversees more than 1,200 units of affordable and voucher-based housing across the city, according to PRHA Executive Director Alisa Winston.

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Winston said some of the authoritys best work yet includes the new Lexington Reserve Senior Housing, which offers 105 units to seniors aged 62 and older and features a walking trail, exercise fitness room, exam room, dog park and courtyard seating. Residents were slated to move into the new units throughout December. The community is located at the site of the former Lincoln Park housing community.

Another project moving along is the full demolition of Swanson Homes and its 210 asbestos-ridden units and community center. The site sits on 17 acres, and demolition will provide an opportunity for mixed-use redevelopment. Winston said the goal is mixed-use.

But another major project  the construction of Twin Pines Apartments  is delayed due to potential federal and state changes to the underwriting process and voucher program, Winston said. The projects conditional use permit allows construction to begin this summer, but will likely need to be extended due to a $5 million funding gap.

PRHA also wants to expand its senior rehabilitation program that started in the 1990s and was revamped with city funding in 2025. The program allows PRHA to make repairs for seniors so they dont have to leave their homes or relocate. But the demand is high  PRHA can tackle 10-15 requests each year, but 60 applications have been received, Winston said. Some of the targeted communities for such repairs include Seaboard Square, Westbury Cottages, Westbury Holley Square and Westbury Pine.

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To aid such limitations, Winston asked council members to consider establishing a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT, program to reduce the authoritys overall tax burden  a model she said most surrounding cities follow. PRHA pays full real estate taxes on properties except for former and current public housing sites.

Winston proposed a formula as an example: The authority collects $100,000 in rent from tenants at a property, deducts $40,000 in utility costs, leaving $60,000. The authority would then pay 10%, or $6,000, to the city for the property.

Another proposal comes from a trip city leaders took in 2025 to Greenville, South Carolina. Winston said Greenville has an established housing trust fund that the city contributes $1.5 million annually. The increased local investment would allow PRHA to limit its reliability on federal and state funding, strengthen the citys competitiveness for tax credits and grants and make periodic repairs and modernizations.

(U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) has often, and the state has often, told us you need to look at other funding. Dont solely rely on HUD funding or federal funding, because it may or may not be there from the state as well, Winston said.

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The trust could also aid the authority in being a first choice for future mixed-used development. Winston said PRHA wants to do more to meet the missing middle.

Those are residents who earn slightly too much to qualify for public housing or Section 8 housing, but they still struggle to find affordable housing, she said. And we want to support balanced, mixed-income communities to strengthen Portsmouths workforce and economy.

Its not yet known what the fiscal impacts of such requests would be on the citys budget. Council member Yolanda Thomas suggested the city follow Norfolks lead and establish some type of housing commission that can bring all stakeholders to the table for a bigger picture view of the citys housing needs and directions.

Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com
DES MOINES, Iowa  A group of protestors gathered at Cowles Commons in downtown Des Moines Saturday afternoon to voice concerns about the United States actions in Venezuela.

President Trump shared in a press conference that US personnel had captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were flown out of the country as the U.S. military carried out large scale strike inside the nation in the early morning hours on Saturday, an operation that came after a monthslong standoff between the two leaders.

Following the US operation in Venezuela Iowa politicians began releasing statements regarding President Trumps actions.

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A rally focused on genocide in Sudan had already been planned for Saturday afternoon, but expanded the protest to involve people who were against actions taken in Venezuela.

Michaelyn Mankel, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said after hearing about the operation in Venezuela, she decided to protest both causes.

We were already planning to be at a rally in support of Sudan at Cowles Common today, but in the early hours of this morning, the United States committed a huge airstrike against Venezuela. They bombed not only Caracas, but other cities and islands across the country, and soon after, they reported having kidnaped the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. We know that this is a clear violation of sovereignty in Venezuela and also international law. So were here to rally in opposition and demand the release of Maduro an end to endless wars, Mankel said.

Mankel said she wants the United States to use the funds that it puts towards military operation for social benefit programs instead.

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We know its really cold weather and that Venezuela might seem far off from whats happening here in Iowa, but we know that theyre really connected and that there have been major cuts to survival and essential programs that keep Iowans alive. And those funds are being cut and now utilized for another endless war, Mankel said.

Karen Caligiuri, a protester, said that she wants the United States to use its power and foreign influence differently.

We came out here in solidarity with our friends in Sudan who are currently suffering from a genocide, and it would be really nice if the US spent its wealth and influence and resources to try to bring peace in war torn areas rather than using their wealth and influence to bomb countries and take leaders hostage, Caligiuri said.

By Saturday afternoon Trump had responded to questions from both US and Venezuelan citizens. With Trump stating the Unites States would run Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

Iowa News:

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A Raleigh schoolteacher was killed Saturday morning during a home break-in, police said.

Officers arrived at the 800 block of Clay Street just after 6:30 a.m. and found the victim, identified as Zoe Welsh, critically injured. She was given medical aid and taken to a hospital but died from her injuries.

Authorities confirmed Welsh was a teacher at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh.

Police reported that Welsh had called 911 to report an intruder in her home. While still on the phone with dispatch, the man attacked and beat her.

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"The Ravenscroft community is devastated by the loss of our beloved colleague and friend Zoe Welsh," a spokesperson for the school told ABC11. "Zoe has been a cornerstone of our Upper School Science Department and the Ravenscroft community for years. Her loss is deeply felt by all of us who had the privilege of working with her and learning in her classroom."

Additional officers who responded to the surrounding area found the suspect, identified as Ryan Camacho, 36. He was taken into custody and questioned.

Ryan Camacho Raleigh Police Department

Later, Camacho was charged with murder and felony burglary.

Neighbors in the area said they don't recognize Camacho and can't believe this type of crime happened in their neighborhood.

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"It's devastating for people who live in this area, it's crazy, kind of shocking. To hear about this stuff going on so close to me, I literally live right down the street here, I really don't know what I can process what I can do, says Joshua Carpenter, a neighbor to Welsh.

Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce released a statement on the incident.

"I am deeply heartbroken for this mother, friend, and mentor to many in our community, and for the unimaginable trauma her family must endure. We extend our deepest sympathy to Ms. Welsh's family during this incredibly difficult time.

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"Whenever there is a loss of life in our community, it affects us all. As a department, we share in the sadness of this loss. The arrest of the suspect sends a strong message that criminal acts will not be tolerated in the City of Raleigh.

"I am profoundly grateful for the dedication and professionalism of the responding officers, whose swift and diligent actions led to the quick apprehension of the suspect in this case."

The case remains under investigation.

"We are providing grief counseling and support resources for faculty, staff, and students as we all return to campus on Monday," a Ravenscroft spokesperson said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends."

ABC11's Diane Wilson contributed.

ABC11 is tracking crime and safety across Raleigh and in your neighborhood


Assemblyman James C. Ramos (Photo/File)

A new state law aimed at preventing suicides on California bridges and overpasses will take effect in January, alongside another measure allowing San Bernardino County to expand its local parkland.

The suicide prevention law, AB 440 by Assemblymember James C. Ramos, requires the California Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, to identify best practices for deploying countermeasures designed to prevent suicides on state bridges and overpasses.

The issue has hit close to home in the Inland Empire. In September 2024, two Rancho Cucamonga teenagers died by suicide on the Interstate 210 Freeway at the Haven Avenue overpass.

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AB 440 builds on Ramos earlier efforts to expand mental health services and suicide prevention statewide. In 2020, his AB 2112 established the Office of Suicide Prevention as Californias lead agency for coordinating and streamlining suicide prevention efforts and resources.

California must do more to confront the great tragedy of suicide in our communities, Ramos said. Suicide strikes every community, every age group. Sadly, it is the third leading cause of death for persons 10 to 24 years of age, and the second leading cause of death among Native American youth 10 to 20 years of age. Individuals in distress often just need a pause to reconsider actions that can lead to irreversible harm for themselves and their loved ones. Barriers on bridges and other interventions can create that pause and prevent tragedies.

Studies have shown physical barriers are effective in reducing suicides at high-risk locations. Research published in the Journal of Preventive Medicine found such barriers significantly reduce suicide attempts, and a Senate Health Committee analysis reported that the installation of a net on the Golden Gate Bridge led to a reduction in suicides.

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Gov. Newsoms signature on AB 440 is an important statement of Californias commitment to preventing suicide, said Lyn Morris, CEO of Didi Hirsch. Making our roads and bridges safer for people in crisis is a meaningful action that will prevent lives from being lost and families from being shattered. This bill also shows that with collaboration and dedication California can take on even greater leadership in suicide prevention. We are grateful for Assemblymember Ramos commitment to bringing these resources to California communities.

Didi Hirsch sponsored the bill. Supporters include the Bridge Rail Association, California Alliance of Child and Family Services, California Hospital Association, California Police Chiefs Association, the National Alliance on Mental Illness California, San Bernardino County, the city of Rancho Cucamonga and United Domestic Workers/AFSCME Local 3930, among others.

Another Ramos measure taking effect, AB 385, addresses long-standing restrictions on a 4.2-acre portion of Glen Helen Regional Park that was purchased decades ago with state grant funds. Under prior law, San Bernardino County could not repurpose or exchange the land without legislative approval.

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The new law authorizes the county to dispose of the restricted land if it replaces it with parkland of equal or greater size and recreational value.

My bill grants state authorization for the county to move forward with a major project to enhance the regions quality of life and boost the local economy, Ramos said. The proposed multiuse project will bring new amenities, including expanded recreational opportunities for residents and visitors alike. This is an important local-state collaboration that I welcome.

Other Ramos bills signed this year include three tribal measures enacted on California Native American Day: AB 221, which streamlines the tribal grant process; AB 977, which addresses the repatriation of Native American human remains; and AB 1369, which reinforces students rights to wear tribal regalia at high school graduation ceremonies.

Two additional measures, AB 31 and AB 53, were included in the 202526 state budget. AB 31 creates a pilot program granting state peace officer status to tribal law enforcement officers, while AB 53 establishes a new state income tax exemption of up to $20,000 for military retirees. California had previously been the only state without tax relief for veterans. Eligible retirees may claim the exemption on their 2025 tax returns.

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More information on these measures is available at Ramos legislative website.

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A scientist in New England came across startling images captured by a trail camera, showing the first documented case of this strange insect behavior in the region.

What's happening?

"It almost looked like the moose had two [additional] eyes," Laurence Clarfeld, an environmental researcher at the University of Vermont, told Scientific American. "At first, I wasn't sure what it was."

Clarfeld was describing a scene in which moths could be seen feeding on moose tears. He'd come across the surprising moment while reviewing footage from a camera trap in the Green Mountain National Forest.

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The thirsty bugs weren't indulging in schadenfreude, but in lachryphagy, or "tear eating," a process by which moths and other insects sup on the tears of larger animals  even humans.

And yet, it's not the act itself that's remarkable, but where it happened. Lachryphagy has long been assumed to occur almost exclusively in tropical climates. Observing this behavior in Vermont confounds the still-quite-limited scholarly understanding of it.

According to Scientific American, there is only one other known and documented case of lachryphagy outside the tropics. That instance took place in Arkansas.

So what is it about tears that bugs find so enticing? There's no definitive answer yet, but one possible explanation is the unusually high protein content of tears, which is 200 times that of sweat.

Why is this concerning?

One of the biggest risks of lachryphagy comes from its potential to spread disease. Clarfeld and two co-authors published an article on the footage in Ecosphere in November. They posited that "eye-visiting moths may be vectors for disease transmission such as keratoconjunctivitis, a condition that may induce eye lesions in moose, with significant health impacts."

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Moose are already at risk of afflictions like chronic wasting disease, so they hardly need another source of infection. Moreover, the dangers could heighten as rising global temperatures expand the travel ranges of disease vectors.

What's being done to better understand lachryphagy?

There's still a great deal to be learned about lachryphagy, especially now that it has been observed in an entirely new type of climate. For scientists, the chance discovery is a call for further research and awareness.

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It's also a reminder of why trail cameras are some of the most powerful tools in wildlife research. A well-placed camera can reveal enormously valuable information about the population and status of a species in an area.

As in this case, cameras can also uncover previously unknown behaviors that could further our understanding of nature.

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Microplastics are an emerging environmental and health risk increasingly linked to adverse outcomes in wildlife and people alike.

A study pending publication in the Journal of the Endocrine Society recently found evidence that their impact might be passed down to future generations.

What's happening?

"Microplastics (MPs) are small plastic particles emerging as significant environmental pollutants, and humans are ubiquitously exposed to microplastics," its abstract began.

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As the researchers noted, exposure to microplastics has been linked to chronic health conditions, and previous research identified microplastic particles in human reproductive tissue.

In the abstract, the authors explained that parents' exposure to environmental contaminants has been shown to "increase the risk of cardiometabolic disease" in their children, but parental exposure to microplastics as a distinct pollutant had "not been studied."

Researchers exposed male mice to microplastics to assess whether cardiometabolic diseases  such as Type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, and obesity  would occur more frequently in their offspring.

Using a novel sequencing method, the authors were surprised to find that female offspring of male mice exposed to microplastics exhibited "exacerbated insulin resistance" compared with their male counterparts.

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Ultimately, they concluded that "parental microplastic exposure may have intergenerational adverse impact on offspring metabolic health."

Why is this study concerning?

As the authors emphasized, microplastics truly are everywhere.

Plastic can take centuries to break down, and each year, more of it is manufactured, increasing our exposure to these dangerous plastic particles. Microplastics have been found not just in water, soil, and air, but also in Earth's least-traversed places.

Researchers have identified microplastics in human reproductive tissues, but they've also been found throughout the human body, including our brain tissue, organs, and blood. Due to their pervasiveness, microplastics are impossible to avoid entirely.

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Studies linking microplastics to adverse outcomes are worryingly numerous, with new findings emerging routinely, indicating an ever-escalating environmental and health crisis.

Research tends to focus on direct, immediate effects, but this study highlighted the potential for microplastics to harm future generations without direct exposure. Lead author Changcheng Zhou explained why that was particularly worrisome, according to the University of California, Riverside.

"These findings from a mouse study likely have implications for humans. Men planning to have children should consider reducing their exposure to harmful substances like microplastics to protect both their health and that of their future children," Zhou advised.

What's being done about microplastics?

Although microplastics are environmentally pervasive, that doesn't mean there aren't ways to minimize direct exposure, as Zhou recommended prospective parents do.

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Using less plastic and replacing your most-used plastic items with plastic-free alternatives can significantly reduce your exposure to microplastics.

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Rhode Island Republican Party chairman Joe Powers will resign effective Jan. 15, setting the stage for the election of a new chairman within 30 days, the party has announced.

The announcement was not unexpected as the GOP headed into an election year with an often unavailable and non-responsive chairman, and within 24 hours the first candidate to replace him had emerged: Allyn Meyers, who waged and lost a 2024 Republican bid for the state Senate District 10 seat held by Democrat Walter Felag on a 57.9% to 41.9% vote.

The Rhode Island GOP heads into Election Year 2026 at a disadvantage on multiple fronts: Democrats hold every state office, Congressional seat and an overwhelming majority in the state legislature.

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The party issued this statement on Saturday, Jan. 3: "Chairman Powers is stepping down due to the increased demands of his professional workload and an extensive travel schedule that no longer allow him to give the Chairmanship the full attention the position requires.

"The role of Chairman demands constant focus, and daily engagement especially moving into an election year, neither of which Chairman Powers can provide at this time," the party said in a news release.

Who is Joe Powers?

Powers, real estate agent and unsuccessful 2022 candidate for a Cranston Senate seat, was elected to lead the state's Republican Party in March 2023. He was reelected to a second two-year term in March.

During his tenure, Powers "oversaw meaningful organizational progress, including the successful update of the partys bylaws and the full staffing of party committees for the first time in over 20 years, establishing a strong and durable foundation heading into the next election cycle," the GOP news release said.

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Powers will remain on the GOP's state Central Committee as chairman emeritus and will "continue to support Rhode Island Republicans in a smaller capacity," the release said, thanking him "for his leadership and service."

Who is trying to replace Joe Powers and lead the state GOP?

Meyers announced his bid on Facebook and in a letter to his fellow Republicans in which he cited these accomplishments during his tenure as chairman of the GOP city and town committees:

"We have brought accountability to the state partys management and finances. In partnership with the partys Budget and Finance Committee and the vice county chairs, we even raised record levels of funding in the last quarter, placing the state party in a favorable position heading into November."

"Our task ahead is clear: to complete the work of building an election-ready party, to continue recruiting and supporting candidates at the state and local level, and to ensure that our local committees remain strong and prepared for 2026 and beyond," he wrote.

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Meyers may not be the only candidate for the chairmanship, however. Some within the party are backing the outspoken Ken Naylor, head of Young Republicans of Rhode Island.

This story has been updated with new information.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island GOP chairman Joe Powers to step down Jan. 15
JOHNSTOWN, Pa.  Gary Pauls interest in local politics began as a young boy of about 8 years old in the 1970s, sitting with his father at the counter at the Valley Dairy restaurant, where local farmers and politicians gathered.

They included then-state Rep. Bill Telek, who would show up with his cigar, Paul recalls; District Judge Max Pavlovich; Richland Township Supervisor Herman Dutch Weaver; Pauls father, Raymond Paul, who was Richland Township road foreman; and Pauls uncle, Kenneth Paul, who served in the townships police department.

They all met at Valley Dairy every night, he said. I didnt want to stay home and do homework. I wanted to go out with Dad. Id have chocolate milk or ice cream and listen to them.

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As a young adult seeking to take on more responsibilities, Gary Paul attended township meetings with his mother, Shirley, to begin understanding the role of a township supervisor. In 1996, at age 30, he was elected to his first term as a Richland Township supervisor, a position he held for 30 years through 2025.

He lost the Republican primary in the spring by a slim margin, leading to an uphill battle in the general election as his name appeared only on the Democratic ballot in the heavily Republican area.

Paul, 60, has conducted his public service as a Richland Township supervisor while working full-time as Geistown Borough road foreman as well as maintaining his family farm at Oakridge Drive, where he raises beef cattle.

Richland Township resident Dave Boser said he spoke on behalf of many residents when he shared words of gratitude for Pauls leadership.

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Him working a full-time job and working his farm, one of the last working farms in Richland Township, and then having time for the township meetings all these years ... some of these boroughs and townships cant even get people to fill their positions. So hats off to him, from grateful residents, he said.

At the supervisors last official meeting of the year Monday at the Richland Township municipal building on Schoolhouse Drive, his fellow supervisors presented Paul with a certificate from the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors.

Supervisors Chairman Robert Heffelfinger presented Paul with a plaque in appreciation of his 30 years of service as a township supervisor, and read aloud a letter on behalf of the supervisors and Richland constituents.

Your 30 years of dedicated service left an indelible mark on our municipality, Heffelfinger said, reading from the letter. As a public servant, you have guided our township with integrity, vision and unwavering commitment to residents and the local community.

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Your oversight and leadership of township operations, advocating for community needs and fostering teamwork and collaboration have left a legacy that will benefit generations to come.

Paul has been deeply involved in the township as a supervisor, including helping to plow roads, starting the tradition of hanging snowflake lights in the township during Christmas, serving as president of Highland Regional Park, and helping residents designate land with farming activity as Agricultural Security Areas.

Asked whats been most rewarding about his service, his answer was simple: Helping the residents.

Although he will not be seated among the supervisors when the board reorganizes in January, Paul has plans to return to public service in the next election.

I plan on running again, he said. I enjoy the people.
It was one of the boldest claims President Trump has made.

We are going to run the country, he announced as he detailed the military operation over the weekend that conveyed Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro to a US prison cell and paved the way for regime change. And yet, in reality, while the military forces that executed the operation performed brilliantly, the second half of that strategy will be far harder to complete successfully. Rebuilding whole nations is not impossible, but it is harder than the presidents rhetoric suggests.

The record of the US on nation building is, to put it politely, mixed. Both Iraq and Afghanistan turned into chaotic quagmires that cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives. Before that there was the awful failure of Vietnam. But there have been successes. Panamas General Noriega was deposed by President George H W Bush in 1989; Panama is now one of the most successful nations in Latin America. Post-war Japan, too, is one of the richest countries in the world, and a thoroughly stable democracy.

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There is surely a lesson in that. The US can remake countries, but it can also fail to. The White House must determine what went wrong in Iraq, and right in Panama. If President Trumps administration is going to run Venezuela, that will require patience, attention to detail and  most of all  a clear and consistent vision. These are not qualities that have so far been on display.

Meanwhile, it ill behoves Britain and Europe to complain about the rules based order and question the legitimacy of the US action. A prosperous, democratic Venezuela firmly in the Western camp would be a huge boost for the free world. China and Russia would lose a strategic ally. On this side of the Atlantic, we should be working out how we can help the Trump-led reconstruction of Venezuela succeed.

Rebuilding Venezuela is possible. But no one should be in any doubt that it is going to take a lot of hard work.

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We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Long-Term Investments for Kids. SLB N.V. stands among the best long-term investments.

TheFly reported on December 18 that Piper Sandler analyst Derek Podhaizer maintained an Overweight rating on SLB and raised the price target to $45 from $42. This $3 increase reflects confidence in SLBs international margin expansion and its ability to capture high-growth opportunities in the Middle East, such as the aforementioned Aramco contract.

On December 23, SLB N.V. (NYSE:SLB) announced it had been awarded a significant five-year contract by Aramco to provide stimulation services for Saudi Arabias unconventional gas development program. This agreement is part of a broader multi-billion-dollar initiative by Aramco aimed at increasing domestic gas production and diversifying the Kingdoms energy mix.

SLB N.V. (SLB) Wins Landmark Aramco Contract for Saudi Unconventional Gas Development

Pixabay/Public Domain

Under the terms of the deal, SLB will deploy its advanced stimulation, well intervention, and frac automation technologies. Steve Gassen, SLBs Executive Vice President of Digital & Integration, noted that the collaboration aims to redefine operational performance in unconventional resource development, leveraging SLBs digital solutions to accelerate production efficiency.

SLB N.V. (NYSE:SLB) is a leading energy technology and oilfield services company headquartered in Houston, Texas, and originally founded in 1926 as Schlumberger. It provides a broad range of technology, products, and services to the global energy industry, serving customers in more than 100 countries.

While we acknowledge the potential of SLB as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None.
Jan. 4ROCHESTER  A proposed subdivision to create 300 residential lots on recently annexed property in southwest Rochester will face its final review Monday.

During its first meeting of 2026, the Rochester City Council will review the request to subdivide roughly 141 acres to make way for a senior housing development featuring for-sale homes.

"We look forward to bringing this to the Rochester area," Dean Lotter, Pulte Group's Minnesota division director of land planning and entitlement, said in a presentation of the project as it began moving through the city's approval process. "We believe it would also address ... housing goals of the community."

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Among goals in a 2025 Olmsted County housing assessment update is the creation of 1,100 new age-restricted for-sale homes by 20235. It's part of an overall senior housing goal to create 5,880 new units in the same period.

Pulte Group is planning a "Del Webb" community at the site located southwest of the intersection of Country Club Road and 45th Avenue Southwest. The development is expected to create a market-rate neighborhood designed with amenities for retired residents.

Before making a decision on the proposed subdivision, the City Council will conduct a public hearing during its 6 p.m. meeting on Monday to consider community and developer input on the project.

The proposal has faced some pushback from neighbors, who have voiced concerns about potential traffic changes and flooding on the site, which is divided by Cascade Creek.

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"That's a lot of homes in this area," neighbor Larry Dolphin said during an annexation hearing in August. "I'm not opposed to building homes ... but I'd be concerned about floodwaters coming out of that valley."

He has repeated the concerns in the following months, which included comments to the city's Planning and Zoning Commission before it approved a shoreland protection permit that will allow construction of 32 homes within 300 feet of Cascade Creek's north shore.

Lotter said he understands the neighbors' concerns based on past floods following heavy rains, but he pointed out the flooding occurred on farmland that offered no stormwater-control measures. He said engineers have worked to design the site to retain potential floodwater and release it gradually into the creek to control downstream flooding.

Additionally, the city plans to work with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to address flooding issues along the creek.

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During annexation discussions, some City Council members voiced concerns about the potential for flooding and traffic impacts, but noted the site would be the subject of future study and discussion.

"I understand that there are real concerns, and I want to make sure we do the right thing," said council member Nick Miller, whose ward includes the site.

While he acknowledged the neighbors' concerns, he also pointed to other Rochester residents who have cited a desire to see more age-restricted for-sale housing developed in the city.

In addition to considering the subdivision request, the council will be asked ahead of the public hearing to accept and approve an environmental assessment of the site, which faced a 30-day review period that ended on Dec. 18. City staff recommends the council adopt the assessment with the finding that the proposed project will not have significant adverse environmental impacts.

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If approved, the Pulte Group has indicated a desire to start site development in the spring of 2026, with the potential to have the first homes available for sale at the start of 2027. They could be occupied by April of that year.

Lotter has said construction of additional homes would likely continue into the summer of 2030.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the government of Cuba as a "huge problem" on Sunday, a day after the Trump administration captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country.

Asked whether Cuba could be next following the dramatic US military operation in Caracas, Rubio said in an interview with NBC News that he did not want to speculate about "future steps."

"But I don't think it's any mystery that we are not big fans of the Cuban regime, who, by the way, are the ones that were propping up Maduro."

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Rubios parents emigrated from Cuba to the United States in 1956 during the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. His father later worked as a bartender and his mother as a hotel maid.

Rubio has long pushed for Washington to take a tough line on Havana, including when he was senator from Florida.

The US military carried out a large-scale strike on Venezuela early Saturday. During an operation dubbed Absolute Determination, elite units captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and took them out of the country.

Maduro is now being held in a detention facility in New York, where he is due to stand trial on charges including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine.

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In Cuba, the Communist Party controls the state, economy and society, and no other political parties are permitted. According to human rights activists, more than 1,000 political prisoners are currently being held there.

Relations between Havana and Washington have been tense for decades. Steps toward a cautious rapprochement under former US president Barack Obama were later reversed by his successor, Donald Trump.
Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in interviews on Sunday that it is "premature" to discuss elections in Venezuela because higher priorities, including reinvigorating the country's oil industry, must be addressed first.

In interviews with ABC, CBS and NBC, Rubio said that the United States will continue to strike drug boats and detain oil tankers as the Trump administration moves to stabilize and "run" Venezuela after the apprehension of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday.

The Trump administration plans to keep its "quarantine" of Venezuelan oil in place as it pressures the remainders of Maduro's government to end their cooperation with South American drug gangs, as well as stop selling oil to the United States' adversaries, Rubio said.

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"As we move forward here, we'll set the conditions so that we no longer have in our hemisphere a Venezuela that's the crossroads for many of our adversaries around the world, including Iran and Hezbollah," Rubio said on ABC News' "This Week."

Rubio added that Venezuela would also no longer be "a narcotrafficking paradise for all those drugs coming out of Colombia ... and toward the United States."

Offshore armada is 'leverage'

In a press conference on Saturday, Trump told reporters that there was a second strike planned in the case that Venezuelan forces responded to Maduro's capture or the plan was not successful, but U.S. military commanders decided against launching it.

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Trump noted Saturday, and Rubio reiterated on Sunday, that the roughly 15,000 troops offshore of Venezuela spread across more than a dozen warships would remain in the Caribbean.

Their objectives, he told CBS' "Face The Nation," are striking drug trafficking boats, apprehending tankers suspected to be carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil and using the armada, as Trump has referred to it, of U.S. military ships offshore to encourage the remaining members of Maduro's administration to comply with U.S. demands.

"What's going to happen here is that we have a quarantine on their oil," Rubio said. "That the means that their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and of the Venezuelan people are met."

"So, that leverage remains," he added. "That leverage is ongoing. And we expect that it's going to lead to results here."

No elections yet

Although the Trump administration "cares about elections, we care about democracy, we care about all of that," the priority is the U.S.' goals of stopping the flow of drugs into the United States and U.S. "safety, security, well-being and prosperity," Rubio told NBC News' "Meet The Press."

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At this point, he said, considering new elections in Venezuela "is premature at this point" as Trump has tasked Rubio with "running policy" in the South American country.

In the next several months, Rubio said that the main priorities are to end entanglements between the Venezuelan government and drug gangs, as well as to prevent Iran, Russia, China and Cuba, among other nations, from investing in the country and gaining a foothold in the Western Hemisphere.

Maduro and his wife, who are in a jail in New York City awaiting trial, along with four other people in the Venezuelan government who were not arrested in Saturday's raid, have been indicted for allegedly working with Colombian drug gangs and rebel groups to assist them in trafficking cocaine.

The quarantine on ships transporting Venezuelan oil is linked to Trump's goal of sending U.S. oil companies to inspect and reinvigorate Venezuela's ailing oil industry, while keeping the oil in the Americas.

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While noting that the United States, which is a net oil exporter, does not need the oil, he questioned why Iran, Russia or China should need Venezuelan oil considering all three are nowhere near South America.

"They're not even in this continent," Rubio said. "This is where we live, and we're not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operations for adversaries, competitors and rivals of the United States."
Top officials in the Trump administration clarified their position on "running" Venezuela after seizing its president, Nicolas Maduro, over the weekend, pressuring the government that remains in power there Sunday to acquiesce to U.S. demands on oil access and drug enforcement, or else face further military action.

Their goal appears to be the establishment of a pliant vassal state in Caracas that keeps the current government  led by Maduro for more than a decade  largely in place, but finally defers to the whims of Washington after turning away from the United States for a quarter-century.

It leaves little room for the ascendance of Venezuela's democratic opposition, which won the country's last national election, according to the State Department, European capitals and international monitoring bodies.

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President Trump and his top aides said they would try to work with Maduro's handpicked vice president and current interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, to run the country and its oil sector "until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," offering no time frame for proposed elections.

Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem underscored the strategy in a series of interviews Sunday morning.

Read more: Trump's plan to revitalize Venezuela oil industry faces hurdles

"If she doesnt do whats right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro," Trump told the Atlantic magazine, referring to Rodriguez. "Rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now. Cant get any worse."

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Rubio said that a U.S. naval quarantine of Venezuelan oil tankers would continue unless and until Rodriguez begins cooperating with the U.S. administration, referring to the blockade  and the lingering threat of additional military action from the fleet off Venezuela's coast  as "leverage" over the remnants of Maduro's government.

"Thats the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that, Rubio told CBS News. "We continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes  not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking."

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told CNN that he had been in touch with the administration since the Saturday night operation that snatched Maduro and his wife from their bedroom, whisking them away to New York to face criminal charges.

Trump's vow to "run" the country, Cotton said, "means the new leaders of Venezuela need to meet our demands."

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"Delcy Rodriguez, and the other ministers in Venezuela, understand now what the U.S. military is capable of," Cotton said, adding: "It is a fact that she and other indicted and sanctioned individuals are in Venezuela. They have control of the military and security forces. We have to deal with that fact. But that does not make them the legitimate leaders."

"What we want is a future Venezuelan government that will be pro-American, that will contribute to stability, order and prosperity, not only in Venezuela but in our own backyard. That probably needs to include new elections," Cotton said.

Whether Rodriguez will cooperate with the administration is an open question.

Trump said Saturday that she seemed amenable to making "Venezuela great again" in a conversation with Rubio. But the interim president delivered a speech hours later demanding Maduro's return, and vowing that Venezuela would "never again be a colony of any empire."

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The developments have concerned senior figures in Venezuela's democratic opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado, last year's Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the opposition candidate who won the 2024 presidential election that was ultimately stolen by Maduro.

In his Saturday news conference, Trump dismissed Machado, saying that the revered opposition leader was "a very nice woman," but "doesn't have the respect within the country" to lead.

Elliott Abrams, Trump's special envoy to Venezuela in his first term, said he was skeptical that Rodriguez  an acolyte of Hugo Chavez and avowed supporter of Chavismo throughout the Maduro era  would betray the cause.

"The insult to Machado was bizarre, unfair  and simply ignorant," Abrams told The Times. "Who told him that there was no respect for her?"

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Maduro was booked in New York and flown at night over the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he is in federal custody at a facility that has housed inmates including Sean "Diddy" Combs, Ghislaine Maxwell, Bernie Madoff and Sam Bankman-Fried.

He is expected to be arraigned on federal charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices as soon as Monday.

Although few in Washington lamented Maduro's removal, Democratic lawmakers criticized the operation as another act of ousting a foreign government by a Republican president that could have violated international law.

"The invasion of Venezuela has nothing to do with American security. Venezuela is not a security threat to the U.S.," said Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut. "This is about making Trump's oil industry and Wall Street friends rich. Trump's foreign policy  the Middle East, Russia, Venezuela  is fundamentally corrupt."

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Read more: U.S. national intelligence director is silent on Venezuela operation

In their Saturday news conference, and in subsequent interviews, Trump and Rubio said that targeting Venezuela was in part about reestablishing U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, reasserting the philosophy of President Monroe as China and Russia work to enhance their presence in the region. The Trump administration's national security strategy, published last month, previewed a renewed focus on Latin America after the region faced neglect from Washington over decades.

Trump left unclear whether his military actions in the region would end in Caracas, a long-standing U.S. adversary, or whether he is willing to turn the U.S. armed forces on America's allies.

In his interview with the Atlantic, Trump suggested that "individual countries" would be addressed on a case-by-case basis. On Saturday, he reiterated a threat to the president of Colombia, a major non-NATO ally, to "watch his ass," over an ongoing dispute about Bogota's cooperation on drug enforcement.

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On Sunday morning, the United Nations Security Council held an urgent meeting to discuss the legality of the U.S. operation in Venezuela.

It was not Russia or China  permanent members of the council and long-standing competitors  who called the session, nor France, whose government has questioned whether the operation violated international law, but Colombia, a nonpermanent member who joined the council less than a week ago.

Get the L.A. Times California Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev said he could envisage abduction operations against other world leaders similar to the US action in Venezuela, naming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz among them.

"The kidnapping of the neo-Nazi Merz could be an excellent twist in this carnival of events," Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, was quoted as saying by state news agency TASS on Sunday.

Such a scenario was not unrealistic, he added.

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"There are even grounds for prosecuting him in Germany, so it would be no loss, especially since the citizens are suffering needlessly," Medvedev said.

Medvedev, who served as Russian president from 2008 to 2012, has in recent years emerged as one of the Kremlins most outspoken hardliners, frequently delivering aggressive rhetorical attacks against Ukraine and the West.

He also said claims by the Trump administration that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro  who was arrested in a US military operation over the weekend and taken to New York  was illegitimate did not withstand scrutiny.

Medvedev then turned to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying that his term in office had long expired.

Moscow has consistently claimed Zelensky is an illegitimate leader because elections have not been held. Zelensky, however, remains in office under Ukraines constitution, which allows for the extension of presidential terms during wartime.
ADEN, Yemen (AP)  Saudi-backed forces spread across Yemen's Mukalla on Sunday after retaking the port city which was seized by southern separatists last month. The capital of Hadramout province was retaken by Yemens internationally recognized government following days of Saudi airstrikes.

Video footage obtained by The Associated Press showed the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces being welcomed by residents as the troops drove through streets in armed vehicles. Forces also were seen driving around and outside Mukallas al-Rayyan Airport.

Ahmed Samaan and Bakr al-Ketheri, residents of the Hadramout towns of al-Qatn and Seiyun, told the AP that the Emirati-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council, or STC, had withdrawn from military camps.

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Tensions rose after the STC moved last month into the governorates of Hadramout and Mahra and seized an oil-rich region. That pushed out forces affiliated with National Shield Forces, which are aligned with the Saudi-led coalition in fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Yemen has been engulfed in civil war for more than a decade, with the Houthis controlling much of the north and the Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government in the south. But the United Arab Emirates, a coalition member, also supports the separatists.

On Saturday, Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemens Presidential Leadership Council  the ruling organ of the internationally recognized government  said on Facebook that the National Shield Forces achieved record success in taking back all military and security sites in Hadramout.

Salem al-Khanbashi, the governor of Hadramout, was chosen on Friday by the government to command the Saudi-led forces in the governorate.

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Al-Alimi on Saturday called Mohamed Ali Yasser, the governor of Mahra, for a progress report on the handover of camps and facilities to the National Shield Forces and local authorities. It was unclear whether the handover had been completed.

The southern separatists in Yemen said Saudi warplanes carried out new airstrikes on a military camp in Mukalla on Saturday and other areas where their forces are stationed.

Saudi Arabia in recent weeks has bombed STC positions and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons. After Saudi pressure and an ultimatum from anti-Houthi forces to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE said Saturday it had withdrawn its forces.

The tensions in Yemen have further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula that have competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area. Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shared the coalitions professed goal of restoring Yemens internationally recognized government.

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Saudi Arabias foreign ministry said Saturday it will host a conference in Riyadh to bring together all southern factions in Yemen to discuss just solutions to the southern cause. The STC welcomed the invitation to sponsor the dialogue, saying its the only rational means to address political issues, foremost among them the issue of the people of the south and their right to restore their state.

No details have been given about the conference, but Saudi Arabia announced the initiative in response to a request for dialogue from al-Alimi.
Lets start with this: Nicolas Maduro isnt a good guy.

The Venezuelan leader  abducted from his country overnight by American forces on the orders of President Donald Trump, amidst shock and awe attacks all over Caracas  stole an election, jailed dissenters and oversaw the ruin of his countrys economy. You would like to think Venezuela will be better off without him.

But.

Iraqs Saddam Hussein was a bad guy.

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Libyas Moammar Gadhafi was a bad guy.

The United States toppled both of those dictators  though a full-scale invasion in the former case, less directly in the latter. You would have thought those countries would have been better off without their strongmen rulers.

Thats not what happened. American meddling produced disastrous eras of deadly chaos in both countries. And American voters seemingly decided they had had their fill of foreign adventurism. Trump even claimed  falsely  that he opposed the invasion of Iraq from the start.

Adventurism? It was over.

My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier, Trump said during his second inaugural address, less than a year ago. Thats what I want to be: a peacemaker and a unifier.

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Saturday morning, Trump seemed to forget those words, saying the U.S. would run the country (of Venezuela) until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. Trump spoke during a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri  one of Trumps most vigorous advocates in Congress  also previously backed away from strong-man tactics.

Under Trump, he said at a Politico conference in May, the days of us looking into the souls of foreign leaders and deciding if youre a good person or a bad person and then trying to bomb the hell out of that country and the nation-build, those days are over.

And, well, so much for all of that.

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I watched it literally like I was watching a television show, Trump said Saturday morning on Fox News. If you would have seen the speed, the violence  they say that, the speed, the violence, they use that term  it was an amazing thing, an amazing job that these people did.

They took our oil rights

There are three reasons to oppose the attack on Venezuela.

First, the rationale is hazy. Trump justified the recent deadly attacks on boats coming out of the country by citing fentanyl deaths in America. And Maduro will apparently stand trial on drug charges in America. But experts say the drug trade in Venezuela mainly involved shipping cocaine to Europe, not fentanyl to the United States.

Trump probably got a little closer to the heart of the matter when he complained about Venezuelas nationalization of its oil industry, to the disadvantage of American companies that had operated there.

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They took our oil rights  we had a lot of oil there, he told reporters last month. As you know they threw our companies out, and we want it back.

Do Americans really want to start wars for overseas oil rights?

The second reason: The Constitution gives Congress  not the president  the exclusive power to declare war. That clearly didnt happen in this case, and you can argue that provision in our countrys founding documents has long been a dead letter thanks both to the power grabs of previous presidents and the long-term fecklessness of the legislative branch.

But its worth noting that President George W. Bush sought and received authorizations for the use of military force before invading Afghanistan and Iraq. Trump  who so clearly disdains Bush  apparently decided he had the right to make that decision on his own.

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Thats not great news for American democracy, or our system of checks and balances.

Finally: We cant really know what the fallout will be at this moment. We do know Americas wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were deadlier than we expected, longer-lasting than we expected and produced a flood of refugees.

Even if the overnight operation in Venezuela proves to be a simple in-and-out operation by American forces, the act of forcefully removing the countrys leader will of course be destabilizing. The United States in its recent history does not have a great record of restabilizing countries it has invaded, and Trump has not shown much patience for those kinds of tasks.

Venezuela is a lot closer to the United States than Iraq ever was. We are more likely to feel the consequences close at home.

The return of gunboat diplomacy

On Friday night, before the first reports of explosions in Venezuela, Schmitt went on Fox News to praise Trumps increasing pressure on Maduro as a raw expression of American power.

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The days of narco-terrorist thugs and tinpot third-world dictators down south pushing us around is over, Schmitt posted on X. We are a superpower. This is our hemisphere. And were going to start acting like it again.

Thats silly: Maduro wasnt pushing us around. Taken together, though, Schmitts then-and-now comments on Trumpist foreign policy amount to a pivot away from the United States 21st century role as a global cop and back to ugly old-school 19th century gunboat diplomacy imperialism in which America gives itself the right to rule Latin America. Our hemisphere, indeed.

Only thats not entirely true, either. Trump bombed Nigeria on Christmas Day, supposedly on behalf of that countrys persecuted Christians. This week he threatened military action against Irans government for its crackdown on domestic protesters.

Maybe Mexico is next.

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is a good woman, but the cartels are running Mexico, Trump said Saturday morning on Fox News. He added: Somethings going to have to be done with Mexico.

There is no pivot. Were a global cop and also, again, an aspiring hemispheric hegemon. The lessons of American history? Ignored once more. Military adventurism is alive and well.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he expects the Senate to vote on whether to formally authorize the Trump administrations military actions in Venezuela when members return to Washington this week.

The New York Democrat said he is co-sponsoring a resolution that would block the president from taking further actions in Venezuela following the U.S. strikes there as part of an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is being detained in a federal prison in New York. Schumer said the administration, which did not notify Congress ahead of the attack, violated the War Powers Act.

They did not just do ships off the water. They went inside Venezuela, bombed civilian as well as military places. And it's a violation of the law to do what they did without getting the authorization of Congress, Schumer said in an interview on ABCs This Week on Sunday.

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Several Democratic lawmakers  and some Republicans  criticized the Trump administration for failing to seek authorization of use of military force from Congress ahead of the Venezuela operation, as required by law. Schumer said Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.) and Republican Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) are also co-sponsoring the resolution.

Though the vote in the Senate will take place after Saturdays attack, it would require Trump to get approval from Congress for future attacks in Venezuela.

It's going to come to the floor this week, Schumer said. And if it is voted for, if it's voted positively in both houses, then the president can't do another thing in Venezuela without the OK of Congress. We have to pass it.

Democrats would need at least three additional Republican senators besides Paul to back the resolution for it to pass  putting pressure on Trumps allies in the Senate to support the military action. Republicans have largely praised Trumps action, including those from the MAGA wing of the party who have urged the U.S. to withdraw from military engagements overseas.

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed Schumers support for taking up a resolution on use of the military in Venezuela, but didnt offer details on when a vote in the House might occur.

We have to make sure when we return to Washington, D.C., that legislative action is taken to ensure that no further military steps occur absent explicit congressional approval, Jeffries told NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday.
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Machine learning could potentially help in our hunt for extraterrestrial life. | Credit: Robert Lea (Created with Canva)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights .

When NASA scientists opened the sample return canister from the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample mission in late 2023, they found something astonishing.

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Dust and rock collected from the asteroid Bennu contained many of life's building blocks , including all five nucleobases used in DNA and RNA, 14 of the 20 amino acids found in proteins, and a rich collection of other organic molecules . These are built primarily from carbon and hydrogen, and they often form the backbone of life's chemistry.

For decades, scientists have predicted that early asteroids may have delivered the ingredients of life to Earth, and these findings seemed like promising evidence.

Even more surprising, these amino acids from Bennu were split almost evenly between "left-handed" and "right-handed" forms. Amino acids come in two mirror-image configurations, just like our left and right hands, called chiral forms .

On Earth, almost all biology requires the left-handed versions. If scientists had found a strong left-handed excess in Bennu, it would have suggested that life's molecular asymmetry might have been inherited directly from space. Instead, the near-equal mixture points to a different story: Life's left-handed preference likely emerged later, through processes on Earth, rather than being pre-imprinted in the material delivered by asteroids.

A 'chiral' molecule is one that is not superposable with another that is its mirror image, even if you rotate it. | Credit: NASA

If space rocks can carry familiar ingredients but not the chemical "signature" that life leaves behind, then identifying the true signs of biology becomes extremely complicated.

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These discoveries raise a deeper question  one that becomes more urgent as new missions target Mars , the Martian moons and the ocean worlds of our solar system : How do researchers detect life when the chemistry alone begins to look "lifelike"? If nonliving materials can produce rich, organized mixtures of organic molecules, then the traditional signs we use to recognize biology may no longer be enough.

As a computational scientist studying biological signatures, I face this challenge directly. In my astrobiology work, I ask how to determine whether a collection of molecules was formed by complex geochemistry or by extraterrestrial biology, when exploring other planets.

In a new study in the journal PNAS Nexus , my colleagues and I developed a framework called LifeTracer to help answer this question. Instead of searching for a single molecule or structure that proves the presence of biology, we attempted to classify how likely mixtures of compounds preserved in rocks and meteorites were to contain traces of life by examining the full chemical patterns they contain.

Identifying potential biosignatures

The key idea behind our framework is that life produces molecules with purpose, while nonliving chemistry does not. Cells must store energy, build membranes and transmit information. Abiotic chemistry produced by nonliving chemical processes, even when abundant, follows different rules because it is not shaped by metabolism or evolution.

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Traditional biosignature approaches focus on searching for specific compounds, such as certain amino acids or lipid structures, or for chiral preferences, like left-handedness .

These signals can be powerful, but they are based entirely on the molecular patterns used by life on Earth . If we assume that alien life uses the same chemistry , we risk missing biology that is similar  but not identical  to our own, or misidentifying nonliving chemistry as a sign of life.

The Bennu results highlight this problem. The asteroid sample contained molecules familiar to life, yet nothing within it appears to have been alive.

To reduce the risk of assuming these molecules indicate life, we assembled a unique dataset of organic materials right at the dividing line between life and nonlife. We used samples from eight carbon-rich meteorites that preserve abiotic chemistry from the early solar system, as well as 10 samples of soils and sedimentary materials from Earth, containing the degraded remnants of biological molecules from past or present life. Each sample contained tens of thousands of organic molecules, many present in low abundance and many whose structures could not be fully identified.

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At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , our team of scientists crushed each sample, added solvent and heated it to extract the organics  this process is like brewing tea. Then, we took the "tea" containing the extracted organics and passed it through two filtering columns that separated the complex mixture of organic molecules . Then, the organics were pushed into a chamber where we bombarded them with electrons until they broke into smaller fragments.

Traditionally, chemists use these mass fragments as puzzle pieces to reconstruct each molecular structure, but having tens of thousands of compounds in each sample presented a challenge.

LifeTracer

LifeTracer is a unique approach for data analysis: It works by taking in the fragmented puzzle pieces and analyzing them to find specific patterns, rather than reconstructing each structure.

It characterizes those puzzle pieces by their mass and two other chemical properties and then organizes them into a large matrix describing the set of molecules present in each sample. It then trains a machine learning model to distinguish between the meteorites and the terrestrial materials from Earth's surface, based on the type of molecules present in each.

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One of the most common forms of machine learning is called supervised learning. It works by taking many input and output pairs as examples and learns a rule to go from input to output. Even with only 18 samples as those examples, LifeTracer performed remarkably well. It consistently separated abiotic from biotic origins.

What mattered most to LifeTracer was not the presence of a specific molecule but the overall distribution of chemical fingerprints found in each sample. Meteorite samples tended to contain more volatile compounds  they evaporate or break apart more easily  which reflected the type of chemistry most common in the cold environment of space.

Some types of molecules, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, were present in both groups, but they had distinctive structural differences that the model could parse. A sulfur-containing compound, 1,2,4-trithiolane, emerged as a strong marker for abiotic samples, while terrestrial materials contained products formed through biological process.

These discoveries suggest that the contrast between life and nonlife is not defined by a single chemical clue but by how an entire suite of organic molecules is organized. By focusing on patterns rather than assumptions about which molecules life "should" use, approaches like LifeTracer open up new possibilities for evaluating samples returned from missions to Mars , its moons Phobos and Deimos , Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus.

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Future samples will likely contain mixtures of organics from multiple sources, some biological and some not. Instead of relying only on a few familiar molecules, we can now assess whether the whole chemical landscape looks more like biology or random geochemistry.

LifeTracer is not a universal life detector. Rather, it provides a foundation for interpreting complex organic mixtures. The Bennu findings remind us that life-friendly chemistry may be widespread across the solar system , but that chemistry alone does not equal biology.

To tell the difference, scientists will need all the tools we can build  not only better spacecraft and instruments, but also smarter ways to read the stories written in the molecules they bring home.
In a meeting room in Doha, some 7,500 miles from Caracas, officials were busy discussing the future of Venezuela without Nicolas Maduro, its dictator.

A senior member of the Qatari royal family was acting as a bridge between the regime and Donald Trump, while the US president was building an armada to pressure the Venezuelan leader to surrender.

But Mr Maduro had no part in the secret meetings in Doha. Instead, it was his vice-president, Delcy Rodriguez, and her brother Jorge who were leading the talks.

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According to the Miami Herald, which has strong contacts in Latin America, Ms Rodriguez had reached out to Washington to present herself as a more acceptable alternative to the Maduro regime.

She now rules Venezuela with the approval of Mr Trump.

Details of the meeting have fuelled suspicions that the removal of Mr Maduro was an inside job, planned to leave a president in power who can manage a transition without dismantling the state completely and causing turmoil and riots.

Delcy Rodriguez, the interim president, has called for the release of the Mr Maduro and his wife - Juan Barreto/AFP

As the October reports of the meeting say, Ms Rodriguez offers Madurismo without Maduro, a kind of regime lite.

On Saturday, Donald Trump said the US would now run Venezuela through the transition government led by Ms Rodriguez, while preparations were made for American oil companies to swoop in and start extracting.

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Shes essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again, Mr Trump told reporters of Ms Rodriguez, who faced US sanctions during Mr Trumps first administration for her role in undermining Venezuelan democracy.

On Sunday, Francisco Santos Calderon, Colombias former vice-president, suggested the entire operation to remove Mr Maduro had been an inside job with the help of Ms Rodriguez.

Mr Santos said he was absolutely certain that Ms Rodriguez betrayed Mr Maduro by allowing him to be captured by the US without much of a fight.

Mr Santos, who was previously the Colombian ambassador to the US, said: They didnt remove him, they handed him over.

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Im absolutely certain Delcy Rodriguez handed him over. All the information we have, you start to put it together and say: Oh, this was an operation in which they handed him over.

Obviously, they have to set the stage. President Trump says that Delcy is going to be the one to lead the transition, so Delcy is going to be the one to lead the transition.

Shes very clear about the role shes going to play and shes going to try to earn a little bit of independence.

Indeed, Ms Rodriguez, a 56-year-old lawyer with links to the oil industry, seems like a perfect candidate to work with the US.

Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are being held on narco-terrorism charges - Carlos Jasso/Reuters

Ms Rodriguez had served as Mr Maduros deputy since 2018. She entered government soon after Hugo Chavezs 1999 election, rising steadily through the ranks.

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She has served as foreign minister, the head of a constituent assembly, and while vice-president, she also assumed the roles of oil and finance minister.

In her recent role, Ms Rodriguez managed to maintain her Leftist credentials while also becoming the face of a relative economic liberalisation, according to Geoff Ramsey, a Latin American expert at the Atlantic Council.

Those market-friendly policies helped pull Venezuela out of the deep economic crisis that lasted throughout 2021, which led to the economy shrinking by three quarters and nearly eight million people fleeing abroad.

That feat helped her gain the favour not only of Mr Maduro, but also a significant part of the countrys business class that has ties to the government, according to Pedro Garmendia, a Venezuelan political risk and geopolitics analyst.

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Theyve come to see her as a predictable and effective figure, he said, referring to segments of the private sector that now view Ms Rodriguez as an ally.

She can point to her family history as revolutionary proof. Her father once led an operation to kidnap an American businessman as part of a communist guerrilla group that accused the man of being a CIA operative.

Her brother Jorge is another senior figure in the system and currently presides over the countrys legislature.

Jorge Rodriguez has been central to recent negotiations with the US alongside the interim president, his sister - Federico Parra/AFP

She and her brother, who has been a central figure in recent negotiation efforts with the US, have become the powerful duo in the regime, according to Mr Garmendia.

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Both learned to live and thrive under US pressure and sanctions, he said.

Even with those credentials, Ms Rodriguez now faces the task of rallying the coalition and avoiding being seen domestically as a stooge for the US, Mr Ramsey said  particularly when there are rivals within the ruling camp who could use any perceived weakness to move against her.

Keeping everyone together will not be easy. So far she appears to be doing so, he said, but I think we can assume that all is not well inside the ruling party.

Mr Trump perhaps did not help on Saturday when he claimed that Ms Rodriguez had spoken to Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, and had offered to do whatever [we] need.

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Attempts by Ms Rodriguez to manage the optics within the country, and appear to be resisting the US, could be behind the initial contradicting statements between Mr Trump and Ms Rodriguez, Mr Ramsey said.

Confrontational style

Ms Rodriguez has embraced a confrontational style in her high-profile roles, unafraid to publicly attack her opponents.

After Venezuelas suspension in 2016 from the Mercosur trade bloc, she attempted to attend one of its meetings in Buenos Aires anyway.

Close the door on us, and well go through the window, she told the swarm of press after briefly managing to slide past security and into the building.

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During his Saturday press conference, Mr Trump didnt specify how long he envisioned Ms Rodriguez being at the helm.

Nobody will take power. They have a vice-president, who was selected by Mr Maduro, who is currently the vice-president, and I guess is now the president, he said.

Mr Trump, pictured leaving a press conference on Saturday, did not specify how long there would be an interim president - Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

In a later interview with the New York Post, Mr Trump said he would not deploy troops to the country if Ms Rodriguez did what he wanted.

What Mr Trump wants for Venezuela remains unclear. Whether Ms Rodriguez aligns with his wishes may hinge on which side of her political identity prevails: the revolutionary loyalist or the pragmatic power broker.

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Ms Rodriguez taking power was one of two options presented to the US by the Qatari mediators, the Miami Herald reported, citing unnamed sources, the other being Miguel Rodriguez Torres, a retired general who is currently in exile.

Ms Rodriguez is understood to have a significant relationship with members of the Qatari royal family and hides some of her assets in the country, meaning Doha was a natural choice to act as an intermediary between her and the US.

During one meeting in the Qatari capital, a senior member of the royal family acknowledged that they were operating as a bridge between Caracas and Washington on intelligence and economic co-operation matters, the Miami Herald reported.

The proposals for Madurismo without Maduro were presented to the White House by Richard Grenell, one of Mr Trumps special envoys, who met Mr Maduro in January last year.

An initial plan presented in April called on Mr Maduro to step down, remain in Venezuela, and give US companies access to Venezuelan oil.

In exchange, the US would drop criminal charges against the Venezuelan president and Ms Rodriguez would take charge.

Venezuelans living in Chile pose next to a painting of the opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado - Cristobal Olivares

But that proposal did not get off the ground, with Mr Rubio arguing that the US should settle for nothing less than regime change.

A second proposal, presented in September, suggested Ms Rodriguez head a transitional government while Mr Maduro sought exile in Qatar or Turkey.

This was also rejected by the US, which believed that the regimes criminal structures would simply be repackaged under new leadership. The cartel lite was not a viable option, one source said.

Reports on meetings between Ms Rodriguezs team and the Americans went quiet towards the end of the year.

Intermediaries, meanwhile, assured the Trump administration that she would promote American energy investments, making her an easy choice to run at least a transitional government.

Ive been watching her career for a long time, so I have some sense of who she is and what shes about, one senior US official told the New York Times.

Im not claiming that shes the permanent solution to the countrys problems, but shes certainly someone we think we can work at a much more professional level than we were able to do with him, the official added, referring to Mr Maduro.

However, US officials said that their relationship with the interim government would be based on whether Ms Rodriguez operated by their rules and warned that they could take further military action if she failed to respect American interests.

On Saturday night, Ms Rodriguez appeared on state television and struck a defiant tone.

We demand the immediate liberation of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, she said.

Mr Trump appears to have sidelined Maria Corina Machado, Venezuelas opposition leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

Mr Trump said Ms Machado did not have the support in the country to take over from Mr Maduro, to the dismay of her supporters.

Reports suggested that her team were unable to persuade Washington that they had the capacity to take control of the state apparatus, primarily because they did not have the support of Venezuelas military.

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Elon Musk, often described as a modern-day Thomas Edison, may soon add an unprecedented title to his resume: the worlds first trillionaire. Teslas sleek cars and futuristic trucks have defined his public image, but SpaceX is the real engine behind his growing net worth.

The buzz around a potential IPO valued at as much as $1.5 trillion for the high-flying government contractor has emerged as the primary swing factor in the entrepreneurs net worth at the same time that Tesla shareholders have approved a massive, performance-based compensation package that could significantly expand his stake in the electric-car maker. Together, these developments have shifted Musks path to extreme wealth from incremental gains to a handful of high-stakes corporate milestones.

Musks net worth has surged nearly 50% year over year to an estimated $645 billion. In October, he became the first individual to surpass a $500 billion net worth, propelled by rising private-market valuations for SpaceX and renewed confidence in Teslas long-term strategy. If Musk meets the aggressive performance targets tied to his Tesla compensation plan, and if SpaceX continues on its current trajectory, he could break the trillion-dollar barrier.

Such an accomplishment would test the upper bounds of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, created and named when the idea of a trillionaire still seemed unfathomable and absurd. Now, it no longer does. Already, Musk has been cast front and center, most recently by Forbes, as the maestro of this eras wealth creation.

SUBSCRIBE: Receive more of our free The Daily Upside newsletter. READ ALSO: Freed from Asset Cap, Wells Fargo Ramps up Lending and China Trade Surplus Surges to $1.2 Trillion, Defying US Tariffs

To the Moon with SpaceX!

SpaceX, which has invested aggressively in reusable rockets, launch infrastructure, and satellites, is the single largest lever in the trillionaire equation. Musk owns an estimated 42% of the private rocket and satellite company, which recent secondary share transactions have valued at $350 billion to $800 billion in private markets; that makes his stake worth roughly $136 billion to more than $300 billion on paper today. The real upside comes from long-term growth and the potential for a public offering; if SpaceX lists at valuations some analysts forecast (up to about $1.5 trillion), Musks stake alone could exceed $600 billion, reshaping his net worth significantly.

Indeed, Starlink has rapidly become the financial backbone of SpaceX. The satellite internet service has added 1 million new customers in under seven weeks, bringing its total to more than 9 million active users across 155 countries and territories, according to the company, implying a growth rate of more than 20,000 new users per day since early November.
National security advisers from 14 EU countries and Canada met in Kiev on Saturday to discuss diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope for progress on security guarantees for his country.

"I hope that 2026 will be the year of peace," lead Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said, according to media reports in the Ukrainian capital.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff joined the talks by video link, and NATO and the European Union were also represented, Umerov said.

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A key issue is further agreements on the security guarantees provided by the United States and other Western allies as demanded by Kiev. Ukraine's Western allies are expected to provide protection following a ceasefire to guard against any future Russian attack.

The talks concerned military issues and also the economic development and reconstruction of Ukraine. Umerov did not provide details.

Zelensky received the guests at his residence and remarked that the talks were progressing. He stated that all of this must lead to a peace that lasts for decades. He also announced new meetings in the US but did not initially specify any dates.

Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, said the aim of the meeting was to agree documents for a future peace treaty.

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Zelensky has announced a meeting of the chiefs of the general staff of Ukraine's allies in Kiev for Monday. And on Tuesday, the results are due to be discussed at a summit of Ukraine's allies, the Coalition of the Willing, in Paris.

A peace initiative launched by US President Donald Trump has been running for weeks, without Russian participation.

Kiev continues to see Moscow's demands on territory as unacceptable. Ukraine has been warding off a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.
Salam called on Hezbollah to hand over all weapons to the government, saying, Contrary to rumors, no one intends to throw them into the sea or hand them over to Israel.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said his governments priorities for the year include political reform, state reconstruction, and safeguarding national security, in an interview with LBCI released on Thursday.

He added that all weapons must ultimately be under the states authority, linking the progress made to the formation of a new parliament and to his cabinets ability to continue reforms.

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He also cited plans to channel a newly approved World Bank loan toward reconstruction and to advance electricity and banking fixes.

Salam said the trajectory of 2026 depends on two factors: the seating of a new parliament and his ability to sustain reform efforts. If the opportunity for reform is still viable, I believe we can build on what we achieved last year, he told LBCI. We are seeking to rebuild the state.

On Hezbollahs arsenal, he stressed that arms must be subject to government decisions and serve all Lebanese. The weapons should be at the disposal of all Lebanese, under a decision by the Lebanese government.

Contrary to rumors, no one intends to throw them into the sea or hand them over to Israel.

Working to avoid war, secure Israeli withdrawl from region

Addressing Israel, Salam said Beirut is working to prevent escalation and to secure full Israeli withdrawal, asserting that Lebanon is not aligned with any regional axis. We will not spare any effort to stop Israeli attacks, he said.

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He reiterated his commitment to holding parliamentary elections on schedule and said he would consider another term only if reform opportunities persist.

Salam said a 250 million dollar World Bank loan was approved last week to support rebuilding, with disbursements expected at the start of the year. He said he met the Council for Development and Reconstruction to coordinate projects.

On electricity, he blamed years of mismanagement and outlined plans for new power plants and distribution reforms, cautioning that the crisis cannot be solved in months.

On banking, he pledged that depositors with under 100,000 dollars would recover funds within four years, while larger accounts would receive bonds backed by banking assets. He framed the measures as part of restoring confidence and stabilizing the financial system. I am not a chair chaser, he added, saying his goal is institutional recovery rather than power.

The first year was not easy, but we succeeded in many areas in putting the state back on the right track, Salam said, urging patience as reforms take hold.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  The 30th annual Heroes Behind the Badges blood drive wrapped up on Saturday, with more than 1,263 people donating blood.

The blood drive ran from December 22 to January 3, and the amount of donations are estimated to save up to 3,789 local lives.

The Community Blood Bank (CBB) said in a news release that the results of the friendly competition are in, and Sioux Falls Fire Rescue celebrated the victory with 640 donation votes.

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Inside KELOLAND: South Dakota history

The Sioux Falls Police Department came in at 623 donation votes, though the true winners are the patients that will benefit from the outpouring of community support, CBB said.

As part of the competition, Sioux Falls Fire Rescue will present a $2,500 check to the Childrens Home Society, compliments of Citibank of Sioux Falls. The Sioux Falls Police Department will present a $1,500 check to the Special Olympics of South Dakota.

We are deeply grateful to our volunteers, community sponsors, Sioux Falls Fire Rescue, Sioux Falls Police Department, and the thousands of donors who answered the call. The need for blood donations remains strong throughout the year. If you missed the Heroes Behind the Badges event, please join us in January for National Blood Donor Month by visiting cbblifeblood.org and selecting Donate Blood and Blood Drive Calendar to find a drive near you and schedule your donation. Executive Director of Community Blood Bank Ken Versteeg said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com.
TYLER, Texas (KETK)  The interim Smith County Democratic Party chair spoke to KETK News on Saturday about the United States militarys capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.

Republican East Texas leaders praise U.S. after capturing Venezuelan president

Following a Saturday morning military operation that lead to the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, President Donald Trump announced that the United States will run Venezuela while American companies will start selling the nations oil.

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Cam Ray, whos currently serving as the interim Smith County Democratic Party chair, said the move to capture Maduro is a violation of the pro-peace platform that Trump ran on in his last presidential campaign.

I dont feel like hes promoting that peace at all. Thats what he said he was going to come in and do, Ray said. He was going to end the war with Ukraine on day one, that hasnt happened. Things are continuing there and in several different countries. Rumors of the attacks in Nigeria, these are not the actions of a peaceful president.

Ray continued by comparing the United States capture of Maduro and strikes against Venezuela to the American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I really have to equate it back to Afghanistan and Iraq. We were in those countries for ten years, Ray said. Nobody wants to get into a ten year war again. Nobody wants to lose all those troops on the ground and having whole new sections of Arlington National Cemetery opened because were having deaths in another war, especially one thats unconstitutional.

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Texas leaders react to Venezuela airstrikes and the capture of Venezuelan president

Looking forward, Ray expressed concern about what the future of Venezuela will look after Maduros capture.

That is really concerning that we have stepped into another country and taken over another country with no clear strategy on how to get out of it. I think thats the future in Venezuela post-Maduro is potential chaos, Ray said. Power vacuums are not handled well in any country. There has to be somebody in charge. There needs to be somebody in charge and so who likes having the U.S. pick who that is. Its not what were here for. Thats not what this country is about.

You can now stream KETK and FOX51 News live 24/7 on your smart TV with KETK+, our brand-new app! No antenna, cable, or satellite neededwatch for free, anytime. Just download it on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV and start streaming.



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JOHNSTOWN, Pa.  Twenty years or so ago, Joyce Homan became interested in learning about her family history, originally knowing little more than she descended from Ukrainian immigrants.

She was provided some documents that showed her grandparents, who died when her father was young, lived in Johnstowns Woodvale section.

And, right in the same neighborhood, there was the home of a man and his family  a great-uncle who she never previously knew existed.

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The history  to me  is so interesting of that neighborhood, of all the community there, Homan said. And I had no idea.

That discovery sparked an ongoing passion for genealogy.

Homan now works as a reference supervisor at Cambria County Library, where she often helps people on their own journeys to learn about their family histories. She said individuals possess a curiosity and just wanting to know more about your own personal history.

I feel like people often have a question that needs solved for them, said Homan, a member of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. Where did I come from? Who are my grandparents or parents? If we can help aid in that process, thats what were here to do. I love it. I do.

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In her work helping people discover their past, Homan said, there have been some whoppers, I will say, just surprises for people. I feel bad for the people who get disappointed because theyre hoping that youre going to find somebody.

Cambria County Library, located in downtown Johnstown, provides numerous resources for genealogical research, including decades of The Johnstown Tribune, The Johnstown Democrat and The Tribune-Democrat on microfilm. Library staff can access ancestry.com and myheritage.com. Information is available online at cclsys.org/cambria-genealogy-indexes and cclsys.org/ccl-genealogy-research. Free appointments can be made for one-on-one, one-hour meetings with a librarian.

We really want this to be a vibrant, active hub for research, Homan said. Thats what our main plan is.

The library complements research efforts done by the Johnstown Area Genealogical and Historical Society and Heritage Johnstown.

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We appreciate them, Homan said. Were just trying to build on what they have done and make sure people have opportunities downtown to meet and talk about a range of genealogy and history things.

There are numerous books and documents about local history in the Pennsylvania Room, which is being expanded and modernized as part of an extensive renovation of the library.

I really, really want people to come and use this Pennsylvania Room and learn their stories, Homan said. We do. We have lots of people that come from all over and research. Were trying to get to the next level.  Everybody is welcome to learn about Johnstown. Thats what were here to encourage people to do.

Cambria County Library has also started recently offering presentations about genealogy.

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The upcoming programs are:

 Jump Start Your Family History (5:30 p.m. Jan. 29)

 Tracing Your African American Genealogy (5:30 p.m. Feb. 18)

 Irish and Scots Irish History in Western PA (5:30 p.m. March 18).
St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) recently warned holiday travelers not to park at the increasingly popular facility. Relief is on the way  but not until the end of 2027.

Pinellas County commissioners unanimously approved a $3.1 million design-build contract with Apopka-based Finrock Construction at their Dec. 16 meeting. The project includes a new 2,000-space parking garage, a 300-space surface lot and multiple other related upgrades.

PIE has allocated $60 million to what County Administrator Barry Burton has called a parking crisis. Commissioner Dave Eggers noted the projects importance to Allegiant Airlines and the surrounding area.

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This is a 30% increase in our parking, Burton said. This increases our parking significantly.

Mark Sprague, interim airport director, said the design phase will commence in January and conclude by the end of 2026. He expects an approximately one-year construction process, with the county-owned facilitys first garage opening in late 2027.

Pinellas officials discussed the project in more detail during a workshop Dec. 11. Sprague said the airports long-term lot closed between Friday and Sunday throughout the first 11 months of the year.

Flyers are flocking to PIE, which offers 60 more flights than it did during the 2024 holiday season. The airport has already surpassed its previous record for passengers, 2.49 million, set in 2023.

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PIEs passenger count topped 2.56 million by the end of November. Sprague said between 2.65 million and 2.7 million people would choose the local airport this year.

However, the facility only offers 3,260 parking spaces, and many require time-consuming shuttle trips. Sprague said there are often 100 people waiting in line for a limited number of seats.

He also noted that a frontage road lacks signage to warn flyers when lots reach capacity. Were putting that extra stress on our passengers  It results in an overall decrease in customer experience satisfaction, Sprague added.

A four-story garage will replace the secondary economy (Strawberry) lot. PIE will also offer a dedicated shuttle priority route to reduce wait times.

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Finrock Construction will reconstruct and upgrade the Roosevelt Boulevard and Fairchild Drive intersection to accommodate additional left-turning vehicles. That will become the garages primary access point.

Airport officials previously estimated the project would cost $45 million. They have allocated $30 million from grants and revenues, with reserve funding supporting the remaining $30 million.

Thats on one-third of our reserves, Spraugue said. So this parking structure will be paid in full  no loans, no bonds  and well still have two-thirds of a healthy reserve for necessary future projects.

Those future projects include a previously estimated $180 million to $220 million terminal expansion. A $15.4 million new taxiway, approved in November, will significantly increase revenue once complete.

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Commissioner Vince Nowicki asked if airport officials exhausted all surface lot options before diving head-first into a $60 million endeavor. It just seems like we could be shortening a project somewhere else, potentially, by using one-third of our reserves, he said.

Sprague said the facility lacks suitable land for additional surface parking. He also noted that PIE cannot sustain recent growth when both economy lots regularly reach capacity.

Allegiant continues to expand its footprint at PIE. The airline will begin offering new flights to Atlantic City and Trenton, New Jersey, in February, and Huntsville, Alabama, in March.

Commissioners, you also heard from Allegiant  thats the biggest complaint, Burton said of the parking woes.

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Burton reiterated that Allegiant prioritized parking upgrades over the terminal expansion. He said county officials needed to solve the former issue today, and PIEs leadership will present revised plans regarding the latter to the commission later.

Nowicki, at the Dec. 16 meeting, questioned why the airport chose to build a garage farther away rather than at the short-term parking lot adjacent to the terminal, like every other airport in the country.

He also expressed concern over staff-recommended plans to build a second parking garage closer to the terminal in the future. Nowicki later told the Catalyst that the additional construction  even if it is five or 10 years away  would inconvenience residents twice, particularly without creating a temporary lot.

The lots that are full all the time are those lots up front, because thats where everybody wants to park, Nowicki added. They know everybody is still going to park up front, even with a parking garage in the back. And its going to increase our long-term operating expenses by having to increase shuttle services.

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Burton said short-term spaces are available most times of the year, and that would be the most inconvenient lot to eliminate. He also noted that the airports consultant does this for a living, and staff recommended approving those plans.

Sprague explained that if a future need arises, PIE could either expand the garage horizontally or consider building a second parking facility in another area. But at this point, its just enough to get supply.

We feel that 2,000 spaces, plus the 300 in surface parking, is ideal  not only for today, but for tomorrow, Sprague said. By the end of 2026, well know our construction costs.

This content provided in partnership with stpetecatalyst.com.
A swarm of Ukrainian drones has become the target of air defences while approaching the Russian capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Sunday, according to the state news agency TASS.

At least 32 drones have already been shot down, Sobyanin said, without providing any information about possible damage or casualties.

Due to the approach of the drones, flight operations at Moscow's Zhukovsky and Vnukovo airports were temporarily suspended for safety reasons. Incoming flights were rerouted.

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Since the beginning of the war ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin in early 2022, Russia has systematically bombarded the hinterland of its neighbour with drones, rockets and cruise missiles.

However, Ukraine is now also attacking targets  primarily in the oil and gas industry  far beyond the Russian border. The aim is to disrupt the fuel supply of the Russian army and hinder war financing.
Cruz has urged Republicans to rid the party of Tucker Carlsons influence, arguing the commentator is injecting antisemitism into the movement, which Carlson has rejected.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has been urged to run for president in 2028, Cruz told Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, the Washington Post reported in December.

In recent months, Cruz has delivered speeches condemning rising antisemitism on the right and urging Republicans to repudiate popular pundit Tucker Carlson, while positioning himself as a hawkish voice on foreign policy.

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Cruz, 55, has been seriously considering a presidential run, Klein told the Washington Post. A bid would potentially pit him against Vice President JD Vance, whom many Republicans expect to join the 2028 race.

Cruz has told donors that Vances views are dangerously isolationist, according to people familiar with his comments.

A few weeks before his meeting with Klein, Cruz called Carlson a coward during a Las Vegas speech to Jewish conservatives and denounced what he termed poisonous lies of antisemitism.

He praised Trump as a leader who loves the Jewish people, then asked the crowd, When Trump is not in the White House, what then? An audience member shouted, Ted Cruz!

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Cruz has urged Republicans to rid the party of Carlsons influence, arguing the commentator isinjecting antisemitism into the movement, which Carlson has rejected.

Their June interview turned heated over Israel, and Cruz stumbled when he failed to identify Irans population. Since then, the two have traded increasingly personal attacks.

Anyone eyeing the Republican nomination for 2028 will have to face Vance, who leads early polls and is closely aligned with Trump. Trump, however, has been noncommittal about endorsing a successor, leaving space for rivals.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Carlson ally, predicted a CruzVance showdown, adding, All of us hate Ted Cruz.

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Vance has pushed back on claims of a right-wing antisemitism problem. He argued in a recent interview that it is slanderous to say the conservative movement is extremely antisemitic and, in a social media exchange, wrote that disliking Israeli policies is not the same as antisemitism.

Cruz warned Netanyahu about rising right-wing antisemitism

Cruz, who describes himself as a noninterventionist hawk and a longtime ally of Israel, says anti-Israel foreign policy emboldens terrorists. In early July, he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Blair House that antisemitism on the right was rising to unprecedented levels. Netanyahu responded, Thats Qatar, thats Iran, thats astroturf, thats paid for, Cruz recounted in a later speech.

Cruz said he remained concerned, noting replies to his posts were flooded with anti-Jewish bigotry from seemingly ordinary users.

Every Hamas or Hezbollah or IRGC terrorist that Israel took out makes Americans safer, he said. And those who dont see that are not acting in accordance with American national security interests.

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While a source close to Cruz told the Washington Post the senator is weighing a second White House bid, few Republicans have publicly rallied to his side in the Carlson dispute.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw said he applauds Cruz for speaking out, while Sen. Tommy Tuberville characterized the back-and-forth as personal. Sen. Richard Blumenthal praised Cruzs guts for challenging a powerful conservative figure.

As internal GOP battles intensified following the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, Trump has avoided taking sides, calling Carlson a nice guy and Cruz a good friend. Some donors remain skeptical of Cruzs path.

If JD Vance is running, Im going to be supportingJD Vance, said Hal Lambert, who backed Cruz in 2016. I just dont understand what the platform would be. The platform would be, Im Ted, and thats JD?
Fifteen years ago, Arri Coomarasamy was invited by a friend to spend a couple of weeks in Malawi. The then 38-year-old was training to be an IVF doctor and made plans to visit a local hospital.

I remember going into the room, which was in fact the mortuary, and there were three dead women, he says. Two had died of the same cause: they had bled to death after giving birth. I guess what I saw in that room has never really left me in my professional life.

It started him on a journey to understand why so many women in poorer countries were dying from postpartum haemorrhage, or excessive bleeding after childbirth, which remains the leading cause of maternal deaths around the world.

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Research, spearheaded by now Professor Coomarasamy and the University of Birmingham, discovered a way of stopping 60 per cent of cases of deadly bleeding  thanks to a mixture of better diagnosis, medication and training. However, key US-funded programmes that had just started to bring that knowledge to patients have been slashed in size, meaning it has been stopped from reaching thousands of women.

Despite repeated claims by US officials to protect life-saving work, following Donald Trumps slashing of foreign aid at the start of 2025, a plan was put in motion to cancel one such programme, called Momentum Country and Global Leadership, in more than 10 out of roughly 25 countries where it previously operated. Dedicated to getting healthcare to pregnant women and children, it has been curtailed in some of the poorest countries with the highest maternal mortality, The Independent has learnt.

One aspect of the approach involves teaching midwives and doctors best practice on how to reduce cases of haemorrhage. Several insiders connected to the work have told The Independent that cuts to a range of programmes mean this life-saving opportunity will now not make it into a number of clinics. There is no doubt in my mind that the cuts have massively impacted the rollout of [the approach] and other similar effective interventions, which are life-saving, Coomarasamy, now an Oxford professor of reproductive medicine, says.

A US State Department spokesperson said: The Trump Administration remains committed to saving lives and improving maternal health outcomes globally. Under the America First Global Health Strategy announced in September 2025, we are prioritising direct investments in frontline healthcare workers and essential health commodities  including those that prevent maternal mortality  while eliminating wasteful overhead and ensuring US assistance builds sustainable, locally-led health systems.

A medical scandal

Women in rich countries have a similar chance of facing haemorrhage as those living in poorer nations. What differs is the likelihood of you dying, Coomarasamy explains. What you start to realise quite quickly is that a woman doesnt need to die from postpartum haemorrhage.

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He had discovered what he considers to be a medical scandal: half of all cases of life-threatening bleeding were going undiagnosed.

The first problem was that health workers were not very good at recognising by sight when a woman was losing too much blood and were diagnosing dangerous cases too late.

Maternity utensils next to the delivery room at Mahowe Health Centre in Malawi (WaterAid/ Dennie Lupenga)

Secondly, even once excessive bleeding was identified, it was taking too long to give patients a treatment that worked. Hospitals had been trying one treatment and waiting to see if it worked before moving on to the next one  a common approach in medicine, but a risky one when someone is bleeding heavily and time is of the essence.

We realised that what kills the woman when she bleeds is really the ticking clock, Coomarasamy says.

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The more that the time passes from the moment that the woman starts to bleed, the greater the blood loss, and the greater the chances she will need more intensive treatment or will lose her life.

While in richer countries, women have the safety nets of surgery, blood transfusions and intensive care, in lower-income countries they dont reliably have these options.

The breakthrough came in 2023. As part of a trial, the team introduced into clinics a plastic blood-collection device known as a drape, placed under a patient during birth to more accurately measure how much they are bleeding, and identify faster if they are losing dangerous amounts. And they experimented with giving all the different types of treatment we already know to be effective at the same time: oxytocin to contract the uterus; tranexamic acid to clot the blood; an IV drip to replace fluids.

The results were transformative; together this simple approach reduced severe bleeding, surgeries and deaths by 60 per cent  an extraordinary finding in modern medicine.

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Coomarasamy realised partway through the trial that something different was happening when he visited clinics in the trial countries. Health workers would collar him and frantically ask how they were going to get the drapes and drugs once the research finished.

They would tell meit definitely works, we've not had any women dying. You know we normally have two, three bags of emergency blood in our fridge  it hasnt been touched.

In richer countries, women have the safety nets of surgery, blood transfusions and intensive care  in lower-income countries they dont reliably have these options (PA Media)

Now the research just needed to reach patients. Its this work that has stumbled in a number of countries in recent months since the US cuts were announced.

We are putting lives of women and newborns at risk

In Malawi, where Coomarasamy had the revelation that started him on this path some decade-and-a-half ago, the consequences seem to be already playing out.

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Nurse Victoria Mzungu remembers one birth particularly clearly. A woman had delivered twins prematurely on her way to the hospital, and was bleeding heavily. She arrived pale and struggling for air as the proteins in her blood responsible for getting oxygen to her cells plummeted. The team rushed to give her all the treatment they had at their disposal, and the woman survived.

Mzungu puts the womans survival down to the new training. In the three clinics in her district of Salima where the approach had been introduced so far, no maternal deaths from bleeding have been registered this year.

But since the US funding was ended in certain areas, they havent had access to key drugs and equipment including the drapes. We havent stopped, she says, but the team is left trying to use the approach without those crucial ingredients, using the available resources... on the ground.

The rate of pregnant women in the district attending a minimum of four antenatal visits has fallen from 41 per cent to 36 per cent since January. That in turn has hit the numbers of women getting important supplements like iron  which can reduce the risk of death from bleeding in childbirth.

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Its largely down to the cancellation of outreach programmes designed to get medical care to remote communities, where people live 30 kilometres or more from their nearest health facility. This means, a pregnant woman has to walk once every month for nine months for antenatal services, says Hester Nyasulu, Malawi country manager at charity Amref. She has to brave that 30 kilometres. Now, if its in the eighth month, he says, that's not an easy thing.

As a result, women are missing scheduled antenatal visits, so already we are putting lives of women and newborns at risk, he says, and risking reversing gains made in recent years.

In poorer countries, women are more likely to start their pregnancies with nutritional deficiencies which raise their chances of getting very sick if they do haemorrhage, making this kind of prevention all the more important.

Two hours north of Salima, in Nkhotakota district, clinics lost track of 900 pregnant women and recorded more than 2,000 fewer antenatal visits after the US cuts. Cases of excessive bleeding have jumped back up to where they were when a US-funded programme started in 2022, having halved in that time. An audit report seen by The Independent found a woman who died from haemorrhage could have survived if the cuts hadnt taken place, causing gaps in knowledge and equipment including surgical garments to stop bleeding.

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Another strand of the US-funded work, run by WaterAid, was making sure maternity wards had clean water and toilet facilities, including in Salima. This too has been stopped, resulting in a fall in women attending the clinics, the charity says, because they know they will face unhygienic and dehumanising facilities.

A State Department spokesperson said the US was currently providing nearly $12m to Malawi for maternal, newborn and child health.

Maternity wards have contaminated water, increasing the risk of infection and putting women off attending (WaterAid/Dennis Lupenga)

I feel like we're going back 20 years

After Trumps stop work order initially froze all foreign aid spending overnight, US programmes on maternal health were cancelled and resurrected several times, causing confusion. Now the dust has settled, former and current employees carrying out US-funded maternal health programmes have told The Independent that the cuts mean, there's just not the same support for making sure facilities have everything they need to treat deadly bleeding, says postpartum haemorrhage expert Cherrie Evans, and that plans to scale the training up have stalled in a number of places.

You can have the best intervention but if you cant get it implemented with the medicines, supplies, and skilled workers you need, it doesnt matter, she says. I feel like were going back 20 years in the programming were being asked to do. This will particularly impact countries like Tanzania with less robust health systems which were not as far advanced in introducing some of the new knowledge around tackling bleeding.

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Part of the reason this work was only just getting started, insiders and experts agree, is the wider neglect of maternal health, which is often not seen as an emergency by governments. Diseases like HIV or malaria have had comprehensive programmes dedicated to tackling them with drugs and prevention. Though major gains have been made on maternal health in recent decades, progress has been slower.

Inside the antenatal ward at Wenya Health Centre, Chitipa district, Malawi (WaterAid/ Dennis Lupenga)

People have always said, and its absolutely true, that if you can manage to solve the problems of maternal health, you will have solved many of the key health system problems, says Deborah Armbruster, formerly a senior maternal and newborn health advisor for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Efforts to get the new approach to tackling haemorrhage into clinics were very nascent, a clinician who did not want to be named says, with work just barely getting started.

In its new form, it is not only reaching roughly half as many countries, but now comes with the condition from the US State Department that it can only focus on lifesaving interventions, including medications  but excluding any mention of gender or family planning  Suzanne Stalls, a leading nurse-midwife previously affiliated with the programme explains.

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She says that this is the same type of work that has been going on for 25 years and, while important, that medical staff have learned it wasn't enough to reliably save mothers lives.

Diagnosis is fundamental in medicine, Professor Coomarasamy says. You can have the perfect treatment, he adds, but if there arent things in place to make sure that patients both make it into clinics and have access to a test that picks up the condition, you're not going to be able to use this perfect treatment.
March NY world sugar #11 (SBH26) today is down -0.36 (-2.40%). March London ICE white sugar #5 (SWH26) is down -8.00 (-1.87%).

Sugar prices fell sharply today, posting 2-week lows. Sugar prices retreated after the India Sugar Mill Association (ISMA) reported Thursday that Indian sugar production for 2025-26, from October 1 to December 31, jumped 25% y/y to 11.90 MMT from 9.54 MMT the same time last year.

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Signs of a larger sugar crop in India, the world's second-largest producer, are undercutting prices after the India Sugar Mill Association (ISMA) on November 11 raised its 2025/26 India sugar production estimate to 31 MMT from an earlier forecast of 30 MMT, up +18.8% y/y. The ISMA also cut its estimate for sugar used for ethanol production in India to 3.4 MMT from a July forecast of 5 MMT, which may allow India to boost its sugar exports. Meanwhile,

Sugar prices have been under pressure amid prospects of higher sugar exports from India, after India's food secretary said the government may permit additional sugar exports to reduce a domestic supply glut. In November, India's food ministry said it would allow mills to export 1.5 MMT of sugar in the 2025/26 season. India introduced a quota system for sugar exports in 2022/23 after late rain reduced production and limited domestic supplies.

On Monday, NY sugar matched last Wednesday's 2.25-month high on expectations of smaller future sugar supplies from Brazil. Last Tuesday, consulting firm Safras & Mercado said that Brazil's sugar production in 2026/27 will fall by -3.91% to 41.8 MMT from 43.5 MMT expected in 2025/26. The firm expects Brazil's sugar exports in 2026/27 to fall -11% y/y to 30 MMT.

The outlook for record sugar output in Brazil is bearish for prices. Conab, Brazil's crop forecasting agency, on November 4 raised its Brazil 2025/26 sugar production estimate to 45 MMT from a previous forecast of 44.5 MMT. Unica reported on December 16 that Brazil's cumulative 2025-26 Center-South sugar output through November rose by +1.1% y/y to 39.904 MMT. Also, the ratio of cane crushed for sugar rose to 51.12% in 2025/36 from 48.34% in 2024/25.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  Texas and national leaders were sharply split Saturday after a U.S. military operation led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, with Republicans praising the move and Democrats warning it was unconstitutional.

Sen. John Cornyn (R) released a statement supporting the strike on Venezuela and the capture of Maduro.

Kudos to President Trump. Maduro was not only an illegitimate president of Venezuela, he was the head of the Cartel de los Soles, a major drug trafficking network involving high-ranking Venezuelan military officers and government officials, the press release said. He has been indicted in the Southern District of New York for narco-terrorism conspiracy and other crimes. His association with the Iranian regime and its proxy, Hezbollah, helped fund terrorism in South America and the Middle East, and he was complicit with the ghost fleets of Russia, Iran, and China, used to evade U.S. sanctions and fund the Russian war on Ukraine.

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Sen. Ted Cruz (R) wrote in a statement, The Venezuelan regime has for decades posed an acute threat to the national security of the United States and the safety and security of Americans, and Nicolas Maduro himself was a corrupt dictator and thug who systematically oppressed the people of Venezuela and threatened America and our allies. Domestically, he was straightforwardly illegitimate. Internationally, he supported American enemies across the globe, Islamist terrorists, and narcoterrorists.

In an interview with KXAN, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D) said, At a time when so many American families are struggling on healthcare, on the higher prices from Trumps tariff taxes. What a time for the president to begin another war for oil against a weak country, Venezuela.

In an email to KXAN, Rep. Greg Casar (D) said, Trump has no right to take us to war with Venezuela. This is reckless and illegal. Congress should vote immediately on a War Powers Resolution to stop him. My entire life, politicians have been sending other peoples kids to die in reckless regime change wars. Enough. No new wars.

In a press release, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D) was critical of the Trump administrations actions.

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Early this morning President Trump escalated an unconstitutional war. Without the approval of, consultation with, or even notice to Congress, the Trump Administration invaded Venezuela and ousted Nicolas Maduro. The Presidents motives are also dubious. He declared a few weeks ago that this operation was about oil and land. I fear that he will do what he has done in other parts of the world  use this conflict to enrich himself, his family, and his cronies.

Maduro is an indicted narco terrorist. His drug trafficking operation cost the lives of many Americans, Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott posted on the social platform X. His release of Tren de Aragua gang members from Venezuelan prisons terrorized American communities and killed my fellow Texans. Texas and the world are better because of his capture.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Thousands of passengers are stranded across Europe after a communications failure forced Greece to close its airspace, causing widespread cancellations and delays.

Officials are working to understand why radio communications were disrupted on Sunday morning, prompting the temporary suspension of arrivals and departures.

Some departures have since been allowed to resume - though inbound flights are still being told to divert or return to their point of origin. Athens' main airport is among the worst affected, while Thessaloniki airport has closed entirely.

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The timing of the disruption has raised fears that travellers will not be able to get home before the start of the working week.

"I was supposed to fly to London, via Stockholm, with SAS," one passenger at Athens International Airport told Greek broadcaster Mega TV. "I'm working on Newport Hospital tomorrow morning. I'm not going to be there on time, I don't know what else to say.

"Who is going to pay for the additional cost this travel will cost me? We still don't know if and when we're going to leave, no one is telling us anything."

More than 90 flights have been affected in and out of Athens airport alone - though some flights have since been able to resume.

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A member of staff in the airport told the BBC that 35 aircraft an hour were now being allowed to take off, but it was still unable to take inbound flights.

Flights departing from Dublin, Barcelona and Paris were earlier ordered to return to their airports of origin, while services from Copenhagen and Malta were cancelled altogether.

Other arrivals into Athens were placed on standby, while flights in and out of other Greek airports have also been affected. Three flights out of Heraklion airport on the island of Crete, including one to Munich, have been delayed, according to public broadcaster ERT.

Most inbound flights are being diverted to Turkey if not cancelled outright, it reports.

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The disruption comes at a busy time for air travel in and out of Athens, which typically sees more than 600 scheduled flights per day, as people return from winter holidays.

In the chaos, some passengers have complained of a lack of information.

One told news site Flash: "We have no updates. They told us that we will be able to leave but I don't think this is true. On the departures board I can't see my flight, and I'm supposed to leave shortly."

Another, who had been on a flight to Rhodes when it turned around and headed back to Athens, told news agency Reuters: "From that moment until now we have no information whatsoever."

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Domestic travellers may have the option of getting home on Greece's rail network, but this would take significantly longer.

The issue that caused the disruption is thought to concern the radio system used by air traffic controllers to communicate with planes in their airspace.

Panagiotis Psarros, chair of the Association of Greek Air Traffic Controllers, told ERT that all frequencies were "suddenly lost", adding: "We could not communicate with aircraft in the sky."

The broadcaster later reported than an initial investigation by the Greek security services suggested the problem may be due to the failure of an antenna in the Gerania Mountains near Athens.

Italy, Turkey and Cyprus are assisting Greece in managing the situation.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) swiped at CNNs Dana Bash Sunday for equating the 2003 invasion of Iraq with the Trump administrations successful removal of Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro from power.

We saw with Iraq what happens when you remove a dictator  Maduro definitely was a dictator, Saddam Hussein was a dictator  without a clear understanding of what comes next, Bash said on Sundays State of the Union.

And I dont need to tell you, I mean, you won the Bronze star for your for your military service in Iraq, Bash continued. A number of your fellow combat veterans there  Senator [Ruben] Gallego, congressman Jason Crow, congressman Jake Auchincloss  they are saying that theyre deeply worried about the U.S. repeating the mistakes in Iraq with Venezuela.

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Cotton denied the premise of Bashs question.

I think the analogy to the Iraq war is flawed. Latin America is not the Middle East. Venezuela is an 

Some say Venezuela is more complicated, Bash shot back.

Well, no, its an ethnically, religiously, culturally homogenous country, Cotton countered. It does have a long history of stability and prosperity and working with America for decades before Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro ruined the country.

Cotton then used the example of Panama as a much more relevant precedent.

In 1989, George Bush sent more than 40,000 American troops into Panama to arrest Manuel Noriega, who was an indicted U.S. drug trafficker, and bring him back to the United States, Cotton said. Ever since, Panama has had a pro-American government. Weve worked with them closely. Theyve been working with the Trump administration to minimize Chinese influence around the Panama Canal. I think thats a much closer analog.

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Cotton declared Panama a successful operation, adding, I believe in the long run, this will be, too. This will be  it has a chance to be truly revolutionary here in the Western Hemisphere by removing one of the biggest sources of instability and anti-American activism.

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the U.S. planned to govern Venezuela for the foreseeable future. Maduro, his wife and son, and two other co-defendants are set to stand trial in the Southern District of New York on narco-trafficking charges.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

The post Tom Cotton Swipes At Dana Bash Asking If The US Is Repeating The Mistakes in Iraq with Venezuela first appeared on Mediaite.
Vast swarms of aircraft were built during the Second World War as combatants constantly tried to seize an advantage.

With so many aircraft, it made sense to modify an existing aircraft rather than come up with something new. What follows are ten such modifications. This includes crewed missiles, flying tanks, ludicrous firepower, and fighters grafted together to form new conjoined machines. Some were brilliant, some were appalling failures, a few were outstandingly successful, and all shed light on a terrifying innovation race with the highest possible stakes:

10: US Heavy Bomber fighter conversions: YB-40 and XB-41

YB-40 and XB-41

During the Second World War, converting fighters into bombers was a fairly commonplace occurrence, but examples of bombers that became fighters were far rarer. Those there were tended to be small, fast bombers such as the de Havilland Mosquito; the idea of a heavy bomber becoming a fighter seems absurd.

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Yet the USAAF attempted exactly that, converting examples of both the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator into escort fighters. Only one example of the XB-41 Liberator, modified to carry fourteen .50-calibre machine guns and over 14,000 rounds of ammunition, was built. Although testing proved problematic, the B-17 conversion proved slightly more successful.

10: US Heavy Bomber fighter conversions: YB-40 and XB-41

YB-40 and XB-41

The Boeing YB-40 was equipped with up to thirty defensive guns, though it typically carried fourteen or sixteen. Armament was mostly .50 calibre machine guns in various configurations, though 40-mm cannons were also tested. Twenty-five examples were built, and the aircraft was tested on combat missions over Europe.

No aircraft has ever flown with such a formidable gun-based defensive armament. Unfortunately, this made the aircraft so heavy and slow that it couldnt keep up with the bombers it was supposed to protect. After participating in just ten missions, the entire project was abandoned.

9: Grumman XF4F-3S Wildcatfish

Grumman XF4F-3S Wildcatfish

Various land-based fighters were converted to become seaplanes during the Second World War. A few were very impressive, like the Spitfire floatplanes; some of the others were, to put it kindly, somewhat underwhelming. One such was the floatplane derivative of Grummans spectacularly successful F4F Wildcat, which was developed in 1942.

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Inspired by the Japanese use of floatplane fighters from remote island bases in the Pacific, the float manufacturer Edo was contracted to convert a standard F4F-3 fighter to operate from water. As well as the floats, the aircraft required a ventral fin as well as auxiliary fins on the tail to maintain stability.

9: Grumman XF4F-3S Wildcatfish

Grumman XF4F-3S Wildcatfish

The Wildcat was a slow fighter to start with and slower than its primary foe, the Mitsubishi Zero. The addition of two hefty floats and their supporting struts chopped the maximum speed down to a pretty woeful 241mph. It was, therefore, obvious the floatplane could only be used where fighter opposition was unlikely.

Despite this, 100 sets of Wildcat floats were produced in great haste, but only one floatplane conversion, nicknamed the Wildcatfish, was ever constructed. The ability of US forces to rapidly capture or construct remote island airbases saw the requirement for a floatplane fighter effectively evaporate.

8: Aerial minesweepers

Aerial minesweepers

Magnetic mines posed a significant threat to shipping: 79 ships were lost to mines by the end of 1939 alone. The British responded swiftly with a modified Wellington bomber fitted with a 48-foot-diameter balsa-wood ring containing aluminium coils that emitted magnetic impulses when charged by an electrical current.

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The electrical ring mimicked the magnetic signature of a ship to detonate mines below the surface. Aircraft were much faster than conventional minesweepers, allowing them to clear large areas at high speed. The process was hazardous, however, requiring crews to fly at 130 mph just 35 to 60 feet above the water.

8: Aerial minesweepers

Aerial minesweepers

At such low altitudes, the aircraft were also liable to damage, or even destruction, from the mines they were detonating. Nonetheless, minesweeping Wellingtons proved highly successful, keeping the Thames Estuary clear of magnetic mines for the duration of the war and able to respond quickly to suspected minefields or to clear specific areas.

The Germans also employed the same technology, using the Bv 138 flying boat and Ju 52/3m transport. However, German minesweeping operations were hampered by Allied fighters; this particular famous photo shows a Ju 52 under attack by a Hawker Typhoon. Surviving German minesweepers were used postwar to clear remaining minefields.

7: High altitude combat: Ju 86 and Spitfire

Ju 86 and Spitfire

The Ju 86 was an unexceptional medium bomber that was nearing the end of its operational life in 1939 when Junkers modified it into the Ju 86P high-altitude aircraft, featuring a hugely extended wingspan, a pressurised crew compartment, and turbocharged diesel engines, enabling it to operate at 40,000 feet.

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40 Ju 86Ps conversions were built and operated with impunity over Britain, conducting reconnaissance and nuisance bombing. The improved Ju 86R variant followed with an even greater wingspan and enhanced engines, allowing for flight at 47,000ft. Although never causing much material damage, the uninterceptable Ju 86 raids proved infuriating.

7: High altitude combat: Ju 86 and Spitfire

Ju 86 and Spitfire

High-altitude Spitfires Mk VI and VII (pictured) were developed with extended wings and pressurised cockpits, but by this point, lightened Spitfire IXs were coaxed high enough to make an interception. The highest known combat of the war occurred when a Spitfire IX damaged a Ju 86 at 44,000ft in August 1942, off the coast of Egypt.

Although that particular Ju 86 was not been destroyed, the realisation that the RAF was capable of intercepting the high-flying bombers resulted in their withdrawal from missions over the British Isles. Two Ju 86s were subsequently lost to Spitfires in the Mediterranean, causing Ju 86 operations in the West to cease altogether.

6: Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenburg

Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenburg

Desperate times call for desperate measures, but few measures were ever as desperate as the Fieseler Fi 103R. Consisting of a V-1 cruise missile with a cockpit crammed in behind the 900kg warhead, the pilot was expected to point the aircraft at its target before bailing out.

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The standard V-1 was fast and cheap, but woefully inaccurate, proving able to (sometimes) hit a city-sized target but not much good against anything smaller. The addition of a pilot was hoped to make the weapon viable for attacking ships or other tactical targets.

6: Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenburg

Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenburg

Despite appearances, the Fi 103R was not intended as a suicide weapon. However, the prospect of survival was rated as most unlikely. Bailing out was complicated by the pulsejet engine intake directly behind the canopy, and it was predicted that fewer than 1% of pilots would escape with their lives.

Some prospective pilots were given training in gliders. Still, the almost certain death sentence offered by the Fi 103R was realised to be too insane even for the Nazis and Hitler was persuaded to cancel it. An unknown number of Fi 103Rs were manufactured, and one survives at the Swiss Military Museum.

5: Rotabuggy and A-40

Rotabuggy and A-40

In addition to modifications to existing aircraft, the Second World War also saw the conversion of ground-based vehicles into aircraft. The most promising was likely the Rotabuggy, developed by Austrian-born helicopter pioneer Raoul Hafner, consisting of a jeep equipped with an unpowered rotor to allow it to be towed by an aircraft.

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Tests proved encouraging, and in September 1944, following release from an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley tug aircraft, the Rotabuggy flew for ten minutes at 65mph, its flying qualities described as highly satisfactory. However, by this point, transport gliders were already carrying jeeps into battle, removing any pressing need for the Rotabuggy.

5: Rotabuggy and A-40

Rotabuggy and A-40

The Soviet Union went one stage further, deciding that flying tanks behind enemy lines to support partisans or airborne troops would be a splendid idea. Initially, the focus was on designing a large glider to carry a tank, but designer Oleg Antonov thought converting the tank itself into a glider was a better idea.

Therefore, a T-60 light tank was fitted with jettisonable biplane wings and tail. Tested just once in September 1942, the tank glider was successfully flown and driven back to its base after landing. However, the lack of a suitably powerful tug aircraft to pull the heavy tank glider doomed the project.

4: B-25 Gunships

B-25 Gunships

The B-25 was already being used as a versatile medium bomber when a field modification altered it into a terrifically effective gunship and led to it becoming the most heavily armed attack aircraft of the war. This all derived from the work of one man, the appropriately named Major Paul Pappy Gunn.

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Gunn had fitted Douglas A-20s with extra nose guns recovered from wrecked fighters, and these had proved so successful he was asked to convert a squadron of B-25s along similar lines. Modified in Townsville, Australia, with eight forward firing .50 calibre machine guns in the forward fuselage, the modified B-25s were called Commerce Destroyers.

4: B-25 Gunships

B-25 Gunships

At the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, eleven Commerce Destroyers proved utterly deadly against Japanese ships, utilising their insane firepower to strafe before skip-bombing 500-pound bombs into the ships. The muzzle flashes of the nose guns were so intense that Japanese sailors believed the attackers were hit and on fire.

The astonishing success of the extemporised B-25 gunships led directly to the appearance of the factory-built B-25G and H gunships. Featuring a giant 75mm cannon, a modified version of a Sherman tanks main gun, the B-25H backed this up with ten forward-firing .50 calibre machine guns.

3: Mistel

Mistel

Unlike the unfortunate occupant of the Fi 103R, the pilot of the Mistel (Misteltoe) had a decent chance of survival as he was provided with a fully functional fighter to make good his escape. This composite aircraft was an intriguing scheme to utilise obsolete Ju 88 bombers to attack high-value targets.

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Comprising a Bf 109 or Fw 190 mounted on the back of an explosive-laden Ju 88, the Mistel composite would fly directly at the target before the fighter detached to escape, leaving the uncrewed bomber to continue directly into, and hopefully destroy, the target.

3: Mistel

Mistel

Operational Mistels replaced the Ju 88s cockpit with a shaped explosive charge of nearly two tonnes and a prominent detonator. In June 1944, Mistels attacked the invasion fleet at Courseulles-sur-Mer, France, but no damage was caused despite participating pilots reporting hits. It appears that a decoy battleship hulk had successfully lured the attackers.

Mistels were later used to attack bridges in an attempt to halt the Soviet advance into Germany. The effects, however, were negligible and delayed the Red Army only slightly. Ultimately, the Mistel failed due to the absence of a means to steer the bomber component accurately onto its target.

2: North American P-82 Twin Mustang

North American P-82 Twin Mustang

Likely the most extreme aircraft modification to enter production, the Twin Mustang was the result of an almost absurdly logical process to design a longer-ranged fighter than the standard Mustang to escort long-distance B-29 Superfortress raids against Japan. If one Mustang was insufficient, why not combine two?

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Using the experimental XP-51F as a basis, two lengthened Mustang fuselages and outer wings were mated by a new wing centre section and horizontal tail. Each cockpit contained full controls so the pilots could take it in turns to fly the aircraft, reducing fatigue on missions expected to last many hours.

2: North American P-82 Twin Mustang

North American P-82 Twin Mustang

Although it first flew in June 1945, the P-82 saw no wartime service. Performance was, however, sensational, and an early P-51B flew nonstop from Hawaii to New York, a distance of 5051 miles in 14 hours and 32 minutes a distance record for piston-engine fighters that remains unbroken.

Political pressure saw later aircraft fitted with Allison engines rather than Rolls-Royce Merlins, and performance suffered. New jet fighters sidelined the P-82 to the night-fighting role, where its excellent endurance proved invaluable. In June 1950, a Twin Mustang achieved the first US aerial victory of the Korean War.

1: TB-3 and I-16 Zveno

TB-3 and I-16 Zveno

Derived from pre-war experiments with parasite fighters carried aloft by a mothership (the Aviamatka), the Soviet Navys Zveno (Link) composite bomber consisted of a Tupolev TB-3 heavy bomber carrying two manned and bomb-equipped Polikarpov I-16 fighters under its wings.

The combination allowed the I-16s to be carried to targets much further than they could usually reach, as well as permitting them to deliver heavier bombs than they could usually carry. The vulnerable TB-3 would release the two fighters at a safe distance, and all three would fly home separately.

1: TB-3 and I-16 Zveno

TB-3 and I-16 Zveno

Only six Zveno composites were constructed, but they proved exceptionally successful, as evidenced by their destruction of the King Carol I bridge over the Danube in July 1941. The bridge carried the Ploiesti-Constanta oil pipeline from the oilfield at Ploiesti and was critical for the Axis war effort. Romanian defenders were astounded to see I-16 fighter bombers so far from Soviet territory.

As well as severing the oil pipeline, Zvenos were responsible for destroying a dry dock in Constanta and a bridge across the Dnieper. Around 30 missions were flown in total, but despite considerable success, no further Zveno composites were built, mainly due to TB-3 engine shortages at this early stage of the war. Flying aircraft carriers were a fascinating technology that may one day return.

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The following is the transcript of the interview with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Jan. 4, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face The Nation. I just want to apologize to our viewers there. Congressman Himes did not have a bad case of the hiccups. We have technical problems. That's why he was getting interrupted there. It's called LiveU, that's the technology being used, and it wasn't working. So apologies for cutting that short. You're back with me now in studio, and we're going to talk to Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, who is here in-person

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: Good to be with you Margaret.

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MARGARET BRENNAN: and will not have those problems, we hope. But let's pick up on that very same point that we were discussing with Congressman Himes there. He says that no information was being shared with the top people who have oversight, like himself. What leverage do Democrats have to force the administration to treat Congress as a co-equal branch of government?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, Margaret, it's hard when the Republicans in Congress are totally AWOL, right? When they want to give Donald Trump essentially a blank check, because they continue to have majorities, of course, in the House and the Senate. Obviously in 2026 if Democrats regain control of either house, we will have the gavel, but in the meantime, we need to go directly to the American people and just make it very clear that in this case, it's my view that the Trump administration has been lying to the American people. This has never been about stopping drugs from coming to the United States. We all support stopping drugs. This, from the beginning, has been about getting rid of Maduro, grabbing Venezuela's oil for American oil companies and Trump's billionaire buddies. That's what this is about. That's why Donald Trump spent so much time yesterday talking about oil.

MARGARET BRENNAN: 20 times the word oil was used in those remarks. The Defense Secretary spoke to my colleague Tony Dokoupil and used the word oil about six times. There is a lot of focus on those natural resources, but arguably, isn't that what China, Russia, Iran, others, are also trying to do? Which is to extract their own benefit from this country. You know, What is the counter to that point that the administration would argue?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, the counter is, you don't invade a country to grab their natural resources, right?

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MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you consider this an invasion, even though, although it's unclear, because

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, let's put it this way

[CROSSTALK]

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Cotton both said there were boots on the ground and that there aren't.

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, they took- they had boots on the ground, right? They took, they took out the leader, and now they're demanding access to Venezuela's oil. That's what this has been about. I mean, Donald Trump, you know, claimed that he'd been against the war in Iraq from the beginning. That wasn't true, but what we do know is he said, well, having gone into Iraq, we should have gotten their oil. This is what drives Donald Trump and our service men and women perform magnificently, but I think it's outrageous that the President of the United States puts American lives at risk so big American oil companies and his billionaire buddies can profit.

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MARGARET BRENNAN: But arguably, there are also critical minerals there. There are all sorts of natural resources in Venezuela that the drug cartels even were getting in the business of, that the Chinese were there trying to get. How do you do both things? Both corner the market on things that are of vital national security interest, those kind of minerals, and still actually maintain the principles that you're arguing should be upheld?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, the United States is working, and under the previous administration, also worked to secure critical mineral supply chains. Unfortunately, in many of these areas, the Trump administration actually has surrendered to China. I mean, if you look at, for example, clean energy and all those issues and batteries, we've essentially surrendered that market to China. What you don't do Margaret is you don't put American lives at risk to go in and grab oil resources to benefit the billionaires that support Donald Trump.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So Chevron, an American Oil Company, has been operating in Venezuela throughout and they told CBS yesterday that they continue to work there. My understanding is there are hundreds of Americans working and living in Venezuela still. Reportedly, there are at least four who have been detained by the regime, the regime that remains in power. You are on Senate Foreign Relations, what do you know about the detained Americans? What can you find out about how they're doing?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: I've not gotten an update from the administration on those detained Americans. Months ago, I did work to secure the release of an American, a Marylander, who we now have back in Baltimore, Maryland. I think the administration is looking at those detentions currently ongoing in Venezuela and determining how many of them are wrongful detentions, how many that they don't think are wrongful detentions. But certainly, my view is we should work to bring back every American who is wrongfully detained overseas. I think this is going to complicate that effort, what the Trump administration just did.

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MARGARET BRENNAN: Because they could designate Venezuela as a state sponsor of hostage taking? Is that where you're going with that?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: No, my view is that the administration should designate as wrongfully detained any Americans that the Venezuelan Government has seized wrongfully. And then there are ways to continue to put pressure on. Now, normally, that pressure would be through sanctions. Here, the administration obviously has taken military action. As you've been pointing out, we're still left with the regime. I mean, the Vice President is part of the regime. Donald Trump says he's running Venezuela. This is not going to end well. Iraq did not end well. Other efforts to try to get rid of bad people, and we're glad to get rid of Maduro. I'd like to get rid of leaders in other countries, but you don't do it through force. That just doesn't work out well in our experience.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right and even on that point, the Secretary of State Rubio challenged me in saying, oh, we couldn't grab all those people at once, but Attorney General- former Attorney General Bill Barr was on Fox News this morning, the man who put together that first indictment of Maduro, and he said the intention was to clean the place out of this criminal organization, so there's going to have to be follow up action. To be clear, do you oppose all Snatch and Grab operations of indicted people?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, I don't think we should be putting American men and women at risk in a situation like this. I mean, I'd have to look at every situation, but again, the motivation here is about grabbing Venezuela's oil for American oil companies. You already see folks on Wall Street lining up, so let's just be real as to what is really behind this operation. I mean, Donald Trump said he was going to focus on the United States. We have people's health care costs going through the roof because they refuse to extend the Affordable Care tax credits. Meanwhile, he bails out Argentina and wants to run Venezuela for the benefit of American oil companies.

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MARGARET BRENNAN: We're going to have to talk about all the things you just raised as we- in a future episode of Face the Nation. But clearly on the question of war powers, does the President have the legal authority to do what he's doing?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: No, he does not. I mean, this is

MARGARET BRENNAN: You're on the Appropriations Committee. You've got power. What can you do about it?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, I worked with Senator Merkley already to offer a resolution in the United States Senate to cut off any U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund an attack against Venezuela. Republicans blocked us from doing it. So yes, we will continue to push. In fact, I'm sure we're going to have a vote on a war powers resolution, probably as early as this week, if not next. Last time we offered those Margaret, Republicans voted no, all, but one or two. Senator Paul voted with us, maybe one other. But for the most part, Republicans are happy to give Donald Trump a blank check and surrender their constitutional responsibilities to Donald Trump,

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MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Van Hollen. A lot more to talk to you about. Thank you very much for joining us here today.

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Thank you

Nicolas Maduro captured, flown out of Venezuela, Trump says | Special Report

Doctor's orders: Eat ice cream, and other tips for a long and healthy life

Venezuela's Maduro and wife captured, flown out of country in U.S. operation, Trump says
The following is the transcript of the interview with Sen. Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Jan. 4, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We're joined now by the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Arkansas Republican Tom Cotton. Good to have you here. Senator.

SEN. TOM COTTON: Thanks, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You have oversight of the intelligence community which was deeply involved in this operation to go into Venezuela militarily and extract Nicholas Maduro and his wife. Does the US still assess that the regime in Venezuela is made up of Narco terrorists with ties to Iran, Russia, China and Cuba?

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SEN. COTTON: Well, first off, let me commend not only our military; as President Trump said this was an excellent operation, only the United States military could have pulled it off, but they couldn't have pulled it off with the support -- without the support of the professionals in the intelligence community, especially at the Central Intelligence Agency, and I'm glad that we have a director, John Ratcliffe, that has restored confidence in the CIA and the president - the president has, I think the President respects the CIA as much as he ever has. It's a great day, not just for our military, for our CIA. There's no question that the people in Venezuela who are still in charge of the apparatus of the government are sanctioned and indicted officials, and they've been in league with Nicolas Maduro until just yesterday. I think President Trump wants to give them a chance to turn a new page. Now, that's happened in the past. If you look at what's happened in Syria, as you know, Ahmed al-Sharaa, used to be an Islamic terrorist. He's now effectively a pro-American leader of Syria. Muammar Gaddafi, the same way, had much blood on his hands after the Iraq War, he turned over a new page and came out of the cold. Now, the difference in those two cases is they made concrete concessions to the United States and our policy goals and interests, or they had a longer history of turning the corner like Ahmed al-Sharaa has--

MARGARET BRENNAN:-- Or it's an entirely new government.

SEN. COTTON: We've got, we've got to make sure that the people who are now in charge of the apparatus of the Venezuelan Government are not going to continue Nicholas Maduro's ways, and I think that's what the President made clear yesterday.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But it sounds like you think that's actually possible? For these individuals to cut all ties to the cartels?

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SEN. COTTON: The president, the president wants to give them a chance to turn the page in Venezuela and to help America achieve our policy goals there.

MARGARET BRENNAN: How much time would you allow for that?

SEN. COTTON: I wouldn't allow much personally, but I know those conversations are ongoing. As Secretary Rubio said earlier on the show in your interview, we want them to stop the drug and the weapons trafficking. We want them to take the refugees back. We want them to kick out the Iranians, the Cubans, the Islamic radicals, like Hezbollah, and just return to being a normal nation that will help build stability, order and prosperity, not just in Venezuela, but in our backyard.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Should a free and democratic Venezuela still be a goal of the United States of America? And if so, do you hear from the administration a plan to transition to that?

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SEN. COTTON:I think it should--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Because Secretary Rubio wasn't--

SEN. COTTON: I think it should be a goal. The opposition leaders, Miss Machado, Mr. Gonzalez, have said they think there need to be new elections. I hope the government that's right now in place in Venezuela will allow them to return, along with many other exiles who have left, political exiles who have left Venezuela, and that in some period of time, probably is not going to be days or weeks, maybe a number of months, you can have new elections in Venezuela that are free and fair. The Venezuelan people have made clear now under Nicholas Maduro, that they do not want a Chavista regime governing them. They want to say in their own future, Venezuela has a long history of stable, orderly government that was friendly to the United States. We are their number one customer for oil, and we work together to help build prosper- prosperity and stability in our own backyard. I hope that we can do that again with the future government of Venezuela.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The CIA -- or CBS is reporting that the CIA source inside the Venezuelan government helped the US track Maduro's location leading up to this capture by the Army's Delta Force. The president said yesterday, the US should not pay out that $50 million bounty that was on the head of Maduro. Does that mean that the CIA asset inside still works for us?

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SEN. COTTON: Well, I have no comment on CIA sources or methods in Venezuela or elsewhere--

MARGARET BRENNAN: But they won't be receiving the $50 million reward?

SEN. TOM COTTON: I'll simply say that the CIA's amazing work here, that has instilled such confidence in the president, is a reminder not just to Nicolas Maduro's cronies in Venezuela, but other bad guys all around the world, that we have very good insights into what they're doing and what they're up to.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So when the President says we will run Venezuela, you are confident that there are actual American assets helping to do that. Is that how I should --

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SEN. COTTON: I'm confident that we have very good insight into Venezuela and other adversaries, foreign nations, and terrorist groups around the world. That's why--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Why was China there?

SEN. COTTON: -- the President-- that's why the President has such confidence in John Ratcliffe and the CIA. Well, China was trying to provide support to Venezuela during a US pressure campaign. But where were they when Delta Force went in and got Nicola Maduro? They were nowhere to be found. And frankly, that's the same thing you saw in June with China and Russia in Iran. We struck Iran. China and Russia did nothing. They stood idly by. That's a reminder that the United States is still the world's dominant superpower. Our friends are very happy today. Our enemies are very worried.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But the person running the country, Delsey Rodriguez, spoke yesterday with Russia's top diplomat. They are in contact with Russia. The defense minister has deep, deep ties to Russia. Is there a US, Russia agreement here? Because there has been speculation based on testimony to Congress back in 2019 by one of Trump's top Russia advisers, Fiona Hill, that Russia has been floating a Venezuela for Ukraine deal here-

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SEN. COTTON: No, this--

MARGARET BRENNAN: -for some time. Is there any such deal?

SEN. COTTON: No, this was a US operation that was designed to remove Nicholas Maduro because he was a US indicted drug trafficker, and you don't get immunity from American justice when you're indicted by our courts, just because you're the illegitimate communist dictator of another country. And--

MARGARET BRENNAN: But to be clear, that's not what I'm saying here. Is there an implication that if Russia doesn't meddle in America's backyard, South America, the United States, will do something less in Ukraine--

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SEN. COTTON: No, there's--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --which Russia calls its backyard?

SEN. COTTON: No, there's no such implication. And obviously, Russia doesn't need any kind of pretext to do so. It's invaded Ukraine twice over the last eleven years. There's no such implication here at all. And this is an operation the United States conducted on our own, without any coordination or cooperation from other countries to advance our national interest, which is to stop the drug trafficking and stop Venezuela from cooperating with countries like Russia and China and Cuba and Iran.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, I want to ask you about authorities here on the other side of the commercial break that we are going to take. So let me do that and come back. All right, stay with us. Senator Tom Cotton.

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***COMMERCIAL***

MARGARET BRENNAN We return now to our conversation with Senate Intelligence chairman Tom Cotton, Senator Cotton, the president said Saturday that a second wave military attack had been planned. It wasn't necessary, but it could still be carried out. What would necessitate it? And what would you support?

SEN. COTTON Well, what I took the president to mean is that what we just did with Nicholas Maduro could be done again to other Venezuelan leaders. Several of them are indicted in US courts. They're sanctioned by the United States and Canada and European Union and other nations. And if they continue down the path that Maduro took, the took the nation of Venezuela, then we could conduct the same kind of operation as him. I took that as the president, urging them to change their ways or face the same consequences.

MARGARET BRENNAN And would you support a stabilization force-- US boots on the ground, as the President said he wouldn't rule out?

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SEN. COTTON We already had boots on the ground, as Nicholas Maduro learned the hard way, it's always the President's option to use the American military to protect American citizens and interests. And obviously, we have many American citizens inside of Venezuela, and we have many interests and property as well. I think the president--

MARGARET BRENNAN: But you know that combat and stabilization forces are--

SEN. COTTON: But I don't think he- I don't think he plans to do that. And I think we've seen too the presiden- the President's way of war over the last or over five years in office. If you look at four major operations, the killing of the ISIS leader in Syria, the drone strike against the Iranian terrorist mastermind in Iraq, the strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. And now this capture of Nicolas Maduro, when our vital national interests are implicated, the President takes bold, audacious direct action. He accomplishes the mission, and then the mission is over. In some ways, this is the greatest mission of them all. I mean, as impressive as our military was in Iran in June or in its first term in Iraq and Syria against those terrorist masterminds, it's probably harder--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

SEN. COTTON: --to capture someone and get out with no American loss of life than it is to kill a target or to blow up nuclear facilities.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you are drawing a distinction there in terms of authorities and use of the military. The War Powers Act requires the president to notify Congress of the reason for committing troops within 48 hours of their deployment, and requires they be removed within 60 to 90 days, unless Congress authorizes it. You okay with this open ended commitment to keep forces as they are?

SEN. TOM COTTON

Well, I think he has removed the troops. They were only there for a couple hours to nab Nicolas--

MARGARET BRENNAN: You're talking about the Delta Force operators who are on the ground.

SEN. COTTON: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But there is a significant military buildup all around South America right now.

SEN. COTTON: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You're comfortable with that? Does Congress need any authority--

**CROSSTALK**

SEN. TOM COTTON: No, I strongly support it. I mean, part of, part of that, that deployment, was to collect intelligence to conduct this operation to quarantine the oil trade that Venezuela was sending to Cuba or sending to our adversaries around the world.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But it's not mission accomplished?

SEN. COTTON: It won't- we won't have accomplished our mission until Venezuela starts acting like a normal nation. It stops the drug trafficking and human trafficking, it kicks out Islamic radicals and Iranians and Cubans and helps the United States build a more stable, prosperous Western Hemisphere. That's the ultimate goal, and that's what President Trump laid out yesterday.

MARGARET BRENNAN So last month, the Chief of Staff to the president, Susie Wiles, told Vanity Fair that attacking targets on Venezuela's mainland, sovereign territory, would force Trump to get congressional approval. Quote, If he were to authorize some activity on land, then it's war, then we'd need Congress. You are a coequal branch of government. Why doesn't the President need you or your authority or your consultation?

SEN. TOM COTTON: Well, I consult routinely with the President and his senior advisors.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You, personally, sure. But

SEN. COTTON: Yeah. Well, as the Chairman of the intelligence committee--

MARGARET BRENNAN: But as Congress--

SEN. COTTON: As the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, they keep me apprised of what their plans are and what's going on. I mean, I spoke in the last 24 hours, not just with the President, but with his senior team, every man that was on that stage with him yesterday, Marco Rubio, John Ratcliffe, Pete Hegseth, Dan Caine, Stephen Miller. The core architect of the President's policy here, I've spoken with every single one of them in the last 24 hours. Congress has acted to provide the President the resources and authority that he needs to protect the vital interests of the United States, whether it's taking out this drug trafficker Nicolas Maduro who had contributed to the deaths of hundreds of Arkansans and hundreds of thousands of Americans, or striking Iran's nuclear facilities, he has the inherent authority under our constitution to protect these American national interests and as the chief law enforcement officer to make sure that indicted drug traffickers face justice, whether they're indicted in Venezuela or indicted in the United States.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But by his own admission, the DEA administrator said that cocaine prices have gone up nearly 45% drug traffickers have only changed routes. Venezuela is not a fentanyl producer, not a cocaine producer. Do you really think that this has ended the drug problem?

SEN. TOM COTTON Venezuela is unique in Latin America, though, because the Maduro regime is itself in league with the drug trafficking cartels. It doesn't just tolerate them, or it doesn't just fail to control its territory. It is in league and profits from drug trafficking cartels. That's the distinction between Venezuela and other nations.

MARGARET BRENNAN Senator Cotton, thank you for your time today.

SEN. COTTON: Thank you, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We'll be right back.

Nicolas Maduro captured, flown out of Venezuela, Trump says | Special Report

Venezuela's Maduro and wife captured, flown out of country in U.S. operation, Trump says

ISIS-inspired New Year's Eve terror attack in North Carolina was prevented, officials say
Denmark has warned the US to respect its territory after the wife of a Trump official suggested Greenland could become American in the near future.

Katie Miller, who is married to Stephen Miller, the US presidents deputy chief of staff, shared on X an image of a map of Greenland coloured to resemble the American flag, with the caption SOON.

It was posted hours after the US invaded Venezuela, captured Nicolas Maduro and announced it would run the country until a new leader was installed.

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Jesper Mller Srensen, the Danish ambassador to the US, responded by saying Copenhagen expects full respect for the territorial integrity of Denmark, which includes Greenland as an autonomous territory.

Katie Millers provocative post came hours after the US seized Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela - Getty

In a statement on X, he said: Just a friendly reminder about the US and the Kingdom of Denmark: We are close allies and should continue to work together as such. And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Mr Srensen also noted that Greenland  as Danish territory  is a member of Nato.

Denmark has significantly boosted its security efforts in the Arctic and North Atlantic regions, he added, having spent $13.7bn (9.9bn) in 2025.

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Mr Trump has repeatedly said he wishes to take control of Greenland on the grounds of national security, refusing to rule out military action.

His comments have raised fears that the US risks destroying Nato by invading one of its members at a time when it is facing extreme pressure from Russia.

Protesters at a demonstration in 2025 make clear they do not welcome Donald Trumps comments about taking control of Greenland - AFP

Last month, the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland warned Washington that you cannot annex other countries.

The majority of Greenlands 57,000 inhabitants support independence from Denmark, but they also oppose a US takeover, according to recent polling data.

Mr Miller is regarded as the brain behind many key Trump administration policies, particularly on migration and domestic affairs.

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Mrs Miller was an official in the first Trump administration, serving as deputy press secretary in the Department of Homeland Security.

Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.
The U.S. intervention in Venezuela is forcing a geopolitical reckoning  in Washington, throughout the Western Hemisphere and around the world.

President Donald Trumps decision to launch a surprise military action and extract Nicolas Maduro ended a years-long standoff with Caracas in a matter of hours  but the move has opened up a new set of questions. What does this mean for the rest of Latin America? How will adversaries like Russia, China and Iran recalibrate? What will be the impact on the global energy markets? And does this mark a permanent shift in the U.S.s projection of power?

In his statements since the operation began, Trump has provided few hints about what comes next beyond the assurance that the operation was decisive and the United States will be running Venezuela for at least some period of time.

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To assess how the fall of Maduro  and the manner of his removal  could reshape global politics, POLITICO Magazine asked a range of experts, from regional analysts to national security veterans, to weigh in on this decision by the Trump administration and forecast how it will reverberate in the rest of the world.

Heres what they said.

The axis of authoritarians  may feel additional urgency to prove their value

BY RYAN BERG

Ryan Berg is director of the Americas Program and head of the Future of Venezuela Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

T he Trump administration is serious about the Western Hemisphere strategy outlined in the recent National Security Strategy document, with a Trump Corollary over the hemisphere. The fact that President Trump launched this operation hours after Nicolas Maduro met with Chinas special envoy sends a clear and unequivocal message to China and its role in the Americas. It also sends the message that the axis of authoritarians is strong during peacetime, but not decisive for one another in moments of greatest need, when it comes to questions of regime security. Trump already pointed it out in his remarks on the military operation today, where he specifically drew attention to other successful U.S. attacks on adversaries, including against Iran. The axis of authoritarians, and especially Russia and China, may feel additional urgency to prove their value in the face of pressure against their allies such as Venezuela.

One could easily imagine a Chinese indictment of a Taiwanese leader

BY JUSTIN LOGAN

Justin Logan is the director of defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute.

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T he geopolitical impacts of the Venezuela raid and the capture of its dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife will be limited because its impact on the global balance of power will be limited. Still, one can foresee two small but potentially significant consequences.

First, other major powers could seize in the future on the administrations claim that the attack was legal because Maduro was under indictment in the United States. One could easily imagine a Chinese indictment of a Taiwanese leader, under specious grounds, as lubricating a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Then the United States would be left arguing the analogy is unsound because the U.S. indictment was legitimate, whereas the Chinese indictment was not.

Second, President Trump prides himself on being unpredictable, and this attack will only deepen other countries belief in the volatility of U.S. foreign policy. Leaders crosswise with the Trump administration will likely think more carefully about how they can hedge their bets, whether that means developing closer relationships with China or Russia, or coming up with better and clearer plans for avoiding similar campaigns as the one in Caracas. More fear will be coupled with more careful thinking about how to counter a capricious United States.

Without Venezuelan oil, Cubas political system will finally collapse

BY STEPHEN KINZER

Stephen Kinzer, a longtime foreign correspondent for the New York Times, is a senior fellow at the Watson School for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

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T rump is the most resource-focused American president since Eisenhower. He sees Venezuelan oil as a grand prize. When he demands that countries stop buying oil from Russia and Iran, and they ask him what alternative they have, he would love to be able to answer: Ill give you oil from Venezuela. It is a considerable geopolitical weapon.

That, however, is a long-term dream. Secretary of State Marco Rubios motive is more immediate. He comes out of a communal background centered on a 65-year-old dream: overthrowing Fidel Castro. The fact that Castro is dead doesnt matter  Rubio and his Florida cheering squad still want to destroy him. They see intervention in Venezuela as important not for itself, but as a way to cut Cubas lifeline. Rubio hopes that without Venezuelan oil, Cubas political system will finally collapse. That would turn both countries into submissive clients  or into bloody battlegrounds where a new generation of Latin Americans will seek to defy what the Nicaraguan rebel leader Augusto Cesar Sandino called the eagle with larcenous claws.

A synonym for overconfident failure

BY EMMA ASHFORD

Emma Ashford is a senior fellow with the Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy program at the Stimson Center.

A merica has always made an exception for Latin America. Even as the founding fathers clearly stated their desire for the United States to stand apart from European power politics, they acknowledged Americas special interests  and willingness to act upon them  in its own hemisphere. Later presidents would claim the mantle of the Monroe Doctrine to justify repeated military interventions and regime change in the region. The seizure of Nicolas Maduro from his country in the middle of the night might have violated various domestic and international laws. But it was not at odds with Americas historic willingness to bend all kinds of rules in its own backyard.

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In geopolitical terms, then, the most important aspect of this strike may be to show that the administration is serious about the so-called Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. Outlined in the recently published National Security Strategy, this corollary promises to deny non-Hemispheric competitors like Russia and China access to the region. That message could not have been displayed more clearly than last night, when a Chinese delegation, recently arrived for talks with Maduro, was awakened like the rest of Caracas by the sound of airstrikes. America is reasserting its traditional role in the region and signaling that the Western Hemisphere is closed to outside powers.

In reality, this might end up signaling instead that Americas addiction to regime change is just as disastrous in the Western hemisphere as it was in the Middle East. Right now, the Trump administrations plan appears to be a relatively modest leadership change: the removal of Maduro and his replacement with someone inside the regime who will be more cooperative. Donald Trump explicitly rejected the notion of democratic regime change when he told journalists that Maria Corina Machado could not summon enough support to lead the country. But this vision of a U.S.-coopted government in Venezuela could very easily go wrong, from a military coup to open chaos in the streets and a much larger U.S. intervention. It is simply too early to tell  and history suggests that our ability to predict the aftermath of targeted regime change is poor.

If the worst does happen, what then will be the message received in Beijing or Moscow? Will it be a message of strength and security, one that encourages them not to meddle in Latin America? Or will it instead be a reminder that American presidents can always be trusted to act against our own worst interests? If Donald Trumps luck does not hold, then the Trump Corollary may end up as little more than a synonym for overconfident failure.

Longer term, Venezuela could play a much bigger role in the global oil market

BY BOB MCNALLY

Bob McNally is the founder and president of Rapidan Energy Group, an independent energy market, policy and geopolitical analysis firm based in the Washington, D.C. area.

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F rom an energy perspective, near-term U.S. pressure on Venezuela is a relatively minor factor. Global oil markets have ample supply, with Venezuela contributing only about 4 percent to China's and the U.S.'s crude imports. Yes, Chinese "teapot" refineries would lament the loss of cheap barrels if that happened. But it's not a major threat to China's oil sector, much less its economy or national security.

Longer term, Venezuela could play a much bigger role in the global oil market given its enormous, if costly, reserves. However, it is essential to recognize that achieving long-term potential will be a long and winding road, with numerous political, commercial and market risks. Many ask us if Washington would ask a post-Maduro, pro-U.S. government to leave OPEC. Venezuela was a founder of OPEC. We doubt it because it would anger Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and in 2020, President Trump learned to appreciate OPEC's supply management after he begged it to cut production to save U.S. shale.

Rapidan has told clients for weeks that odds were 70 percent that President Trump would successfully replace or co-opt Maduro. While Maduro was successfully removed to U.S. custody, this transition is not yet complete. It's unclear who will succeed the current government, when it will happen, and how it will relate to the U.S., other alliances, and energy markets.

What remains clear is that President Trump is determined to make Venezuela his first concrete manifestation of the Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. U.S. pressure and diplomacy will continue until the U.S. is satisfied that its foreign policy, national security, anti-narcotics and energy interests are met.

Threaten the leaders of recalcitrant allies and weak adversaries

BY DANIEL W. DREZNER

Daniel W. Drezner is academic dean and distinguished professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is the author of Drezners World.

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I n the summer of 2024, I cautioned in POLITICO that a second Trump administration would be likely to increase, not decrease U.S. military adventurism: Even though the term is directed at him a lot, Trump is not an isolationist  he is a mercantilist who prefers using force in this hemisphere. The use of force to depose Nicolas Maduro is a pretty strong data point supporting this contention.

Going forward, one interesting effect to look for from this U.S. action is how other heads of state and heads of government respond. A constant of Trumps foreign policy has been to focus on pressuring or flattering the individual leaders of other countries. Some of my colleagues have labeled this a neo-royalist worldview, focusing on individual elites rather than laws or institutions. The obvious implication of this action is that the Trump administration is unconcerned with international laws or norms when it comes to attacking foreign leaders.

I strongly suspect that the Trump administration will use this Maduro action to threaten the leaders of recalcitrant allies and weak adversaries that they might be next on the chopping block  and such threats might actually work. Just as U.S. members of Congress have expressed fears of personal attacks during the Trump years due to his violent rhetoric, countries that lack great power patronage might prove to be more pliable to continued U.S. pressure. Of course, the other effect could be for other country leaders to bind themselves more closely to other great powers as a form of political insurance against the United States. Stay tuned.

Complicating his own grand strategy

BY DANIEL R. DEPETRIS

Daniel R. DePetris is a fellow at Defense Priorities and a syndicated foreign affairs columnist at the Chicago Tribune.

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T he nighttime U.S. air assault and special operations raid that nabbed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife was impeccably planned and executed. President Trump is rightly proud of the results; Maduro, a man who outlasted the first Trump administration's maximum pressure strategy, will soon find himself in a U.S. courtroom as a criminal defendant.

If Maduro's capture tells us anything, it's that Trump is dead serious about implementing his so-called Trump Corollary in the Western Hemisphere. In less than a year, Latin America has transformed from a perpetual backwater of U.S. grand strategy to one of its main theaters. The Trump administration's National Security Strategy codified the Western Hemisphere as not only a core U.S. security priority but Washington's exclusive domain, where non-hemispheric powers aren't welcome. Latin American leaders who cater to U.S. demands like Argentine President Javier Milei and El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele will be rewarded; those who don't, like Maduro, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, will face intense U.S. economic and rhetorical pressure  including the looming threat of a snatch-and-grab operation in the middle of the night. The current U.S. policy is driven less by spreading democracy and instituting regional economic integration and more about exercising raw power.

Of course, the United States is not the first country on the planet to want to preserve its advantage in its own near-abroad  and yet maintaining hegemony through coercion is not without costs. Even small powers don't like to be dictated to, and if the pressure gets too intense or if the demands become intolerable, they may choose to enact strategies of hedging or outright balancing to defend their own security interests. With respect to Latin America specifically, the most likely alternative waiting in the wings is China, which is already the top trading partner of choice for many of the region's governments. It would be the height of irony, then, if Trump's military operation in Venezuela winds up complicating his own grand strategy over the long term.

A mad dash for Venezuelas resources

BY LELAND LAZARUS

Leland Lazarus is founder and CEO of Lazarus Consulting, a geopolitical risk firm focusing on U.S.-China and China-Latin America relations.

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T he U.S. ousting Maduro potentially kills multiple birds with one stone: It could increase oil supply in the U.S. and reduce oil prices, curb drug trafficking, dislodge China, Russia, and Iran from their strategic beachhead, and weaken other regional adversaries like Cuba and Nicaragua.

But it may also precipitate a mad dash for Venezuelas resources. China in particular risks losing oil flows, more than $60 billion in sunk loans, and one of its reliable political footholds in the Western Hemisphere. Two specific examples illustrate this: The House Select Committee on the CCP recently identified that the oil tanker SKIPPER, seized by the U.S., had ties to China. And in November last year at a business forum in Miami, Maria Corina Machado said that, in 2012, China's state-owned CITIC company conducted the only full geological survey of Venezuela's critical mineral resources, and it is the only company that has that survey to this day.

I'm concerned that the U.S. ostentatiously invoking the Monroe Doctrine may actually cause pushback across the region, because local people don't want a return to unfettered U.S. imperialism. Moreover, I'm concerned that the administration doesn't have a well thought out Day After plan. President Trump said the U.S. will run Venezuela until theres a peaceful transition. How do we ensure that Machado doesnt return to a Venezuela full of factions? What if members of Maduros inner circle engage in a protracted guerrilla war, with weapons supplied from Cuba, Nicaragua, China, Russia or Iran? These are issues that must be worked out now to avoid an Iraq or Afghanistan repeat.

Ukraine and Taiwan should be very afraid

BY RYAN CROCKER

Ryan Crocker was a career foreign service officer who served as ambassador in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon.

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T he immediate comparison that comes to mind is Operation Just Cause, the overthrow and arrest of Manuel Antonio Noriega in Panama in December 1989. A more costly military operation (23 U.S. soldiers killed in action), but with a clear outcome: Within a week, the Panamanian electoral commission had declared the winning candidate in the contested May 1989 elections as the rightful president.

It is much less clear what happens next in Venezuela. Maduro is gone, but the regime endures  his vice president has been sworn in as president. With no boots on the ground, how do we shape events?

The international reaction to Operation Just Cause included a UN Security Council resolution of condemnation introduced by the Soviet Union, supported by China  and vetoed by the U.S., UK and France. It will be very interesting to see what happens this time. If Russia and China are silent, it will be a huge step towards the emergence of a balance-of-power world. Ukraine and Taiwan should be very afraid.

Latin countries will reassess their very limited ability to deter U.S. military attacks

BY STEPHEN MCFARLAND

Stephen McFarland is a retired U.S. diplomat who was ambassador to Guatemala. He served twice in Venezuela, and in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in eight other posts in Latin America.

T his is a watershed moment for U.S. relations with Latin America, a new Monroe Doctrine era. The U.S. did not just capture Maduro and sweep aside the Venezuelan military; it also announced the U.S. will run Venezuela until there is a democratic transition, recover property and interests that Venezuela seized from U.S. companies, and rebuild the oil industry there to protect U.S. access to energy. Inexplicably, President Trump has also minimized the role in the future Venezuelan government of Maria Corina Machado, who had unified the opposition and led it to victory in the 2024 presidential elections. The message is that the U.S. will do whatever it wants in the hemisphere to maintain access to natural resources, and that it has the military force to do so.

In response, there is little most countries in the region  which largely oppose Maduro, but worry about their sovereignty in the face of an omnipotent U.S.  can do right now beyond criticize the Trump administration. Indeed, some nations will hope for a reduction in Venezuelan migration to their countries, while others will keep quiet to avoid U.S. trade sanctions. Cuba and Nicaragua must fear they are next on the regime change list, and Colombia and Mexico must fear U.S. military attacks against narcotics traffickers. Outside the continent, Russia might seek to trade acquiescence on Venezuela for U.S. accommodation regarding Ukraine.

Longer term, Latin countries will reassess their very limited ability to deter U.S. military attacks; a generation from now, the region may be less beholden to the U.S. and have more, not fewer, links to extra-regional players. A continent that fears the U.S., rather than sees it as a powerful partner, bodes ill for Americas long-term strategic interests.

A critical variable is whether the U.S. can direct a stable and sustainable democratic transition in Venezuela. Will Venezuelan migration drop, and will emigres return to Venezuela? Will Venezuelans accept the U.S. rules for oil production and exports? Regime change and nation rebuilding are extremely difficult, prolonged and require much more than military supremacy. If the U.S. does not achieve a democratic transition in Venezuela, if it gets bogged down like in Iraq and Afghanistan and is distracted from other hemispheric issues, it will have lost its big bet on regime change in Venezuela.

The U.S. just ceded the high ground to rally world support to defend Taiwan

BY CURT MILLS

Curt Mills is executive director of The American Conservative magazine.

P robably the most significant result of Jan. 3 is that the U.S. just ceded the high ground to rally world support to defend Taiwan. It is pretty telling that Trumps White House bled allies even on the global hard right with this maneuver.

What is also distressing is the clear lack of a plan from the administration. Speaking at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump seemed open to allowing heretofore Maduros henchwoman, the apparent acting President Delcy Rodriguez, to succeed Maduro. But Rodriguez seemed less than cooperative, demanding her bosss release and affirming that only Maduro is legitimate in her eyes. Does America now have to go back in?

Finally, it was depressing to hear how much the Global War on Terror legacy hangs over the American military. Its all well and good that the U.S. perfected special operations during the Middle East wars, as the Joint Chiefs chair Dan Caine said, but America famously also lost those wars in the end despite all the tactical successes. The only redeemable macro justification for hawkishness in Latin America is driving China out of our backyard. But, bafflingly, Trump promised China: There's not gonna be a problem. They're gonna get oil. Oil, that is, presumably plundered from the Venezuelan people.

Too early for anyone to celebrate a potential oil-backed resource boom

BY DIEGO RIVERA RIVOTA

Diego Rivera Rivota is a Senior Research Associate at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia Universitys School of International and Public Affairs.

T he U.S.-led operation that occurred today in central Caracas and in some key Venezuelan security facilities is nothing short of historical. While it indeed represents the end of the Nicolas Maduro regime, we don't know who will rule Venezuela from now  whether its a U.S.-led transitional regime, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez and other Maduros apparatchiks, or somebody else.

In this context, the geopolitical implications of extracting the leader  albeit illegitimate and deeply unpopular  of the country with the largest crude oil reserves are quite complicated and may have deeper ramifications across the globe. Indeed, todays and the coming days developments may be received in other capitals as a signal of a transition to an international system in which powerful countries can run spheres of influence, as happened in most of the 19th and the early 20th century.

With regards to global oil markets, it is important to note that holding the largest reserves of crude oil by no means translates into the ability to swiftly bring enormous production of oil to the worlds market. Venezuelas oil production peaked in 1997 at over 3.5 million barrels per day , only to collapse to 0.9 million barrels per day in 2024, following years of mismanagement and corruption. Reversing an almost two-decade-long trend is not impossible, but it would require enormous amounts of financing, clear incentives for oil and gas companies, and time. This would only be possible with some minimal preconditions of governance, stability and clear incentives for companies to invest in Venezuela  something easier to say than to do.

On top of that, the world has also changed since 2006. The global demand outlook looks very uncertain, with very limited growth and plateauing sometime in the 2030s. On top of that, to stay only in the Latin American neighborhood, Brazil and Argentina have significantly increased their oil production in the last five years, while Guyana has emerged from zero to almost surpassing Venezuelas current production, according to preliminary data from 2025. In sum, it would be too early for anyone to celebrate a potential oil-backed resource boom for the U.S.

'Strong incentives to quietly appease Washington'

MIE HOEJRIS DAHL

Mie Hoejris Dahl is a Danish freelance journalist based in Mexico City and Bogota. She has reported inside Venezuela and covered the 2024 presidential elections and its aftermath.

T he U.S. attacks on Venezuela and capture of Nicolas Maduro on January 3 sent shock waves through Latin America and the world. Within hours, world leaders began staking out positions that laid bare growing dividing lines. The presidents of Colombia, Brazil and Mexico all rushed to condemn the U.S. attacks on Venezuela. They have each been on the receiving end of U.S. President Donald Trumps threats and rhetorical bullying in recent months  and may worry about being next, in one form or another.

The U.S. attacks on Venezuela have sharpened global and regional divides. One line runs between authoritarian allies of Maduro  such as Cuba, Iran and Russia  that denounce the operation as imperial overreach, and democratic actors that long pushed for an end to Maduros rule but are uneasy with regime change by force. Within Latin America, another divide is emerging between Trumpaligned, mostly rightwing leaders who applaud the ouster, and nonaligned  often leftist  presidents who condemn it on sovereignty grounds.

In the weeks ahead, Latin American leaders  especially those not politically aligned with Trump  are likely to double down on calls for peace, respect for sovereignty and adherence to international law in multilateral forums. At the same time, even the loudest critics of the operation will have strong incentives to quietly appease Washington. Many Latin American governments are likely to invest more in counternarcotics and migration control.


Around 100 people gathered in downtown Raleigh to protest the Trump administrations takeover of Venezuela, Jan. 3, 2026. (Photo: Laura Leslie/NC Newsline)

Sarah Burns, Rochester Institute of Technology

Americans woke up on Jan. 3, 2025, to blaring headlines: US CAPTURES MADURO, TRUMP SAYS, declared The New York Times, using all capital letters. The U.S. had mounted an overnight military raid in Venezuela that immediately raised questions of procedure and legality. Prime among them was what role Congress had  or should have had  in the operation.

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Politics editor Naomi Schalit interviewed political scientist Sarah Burns, author of the book The Politics of War Powers and an expert at Rochester Institute of Technology on the historical struggle between Congress and U.S. presidents over who has the power to authorize military action.

Is this a war?

I wouldnt call it a war. This is regime change, and whether or not it has a positive impact on the United States, whether or not it has a positive impact on Venezuela, I think the likelihood is very low for both of those things being true.

How does Congress see its role in terms of military action initiated by the United States?

Congress has been, in my view, incredibly supine. But thats not just my word. Having said that, it is true that Congress  in the House, predominantly  tried to pass a war powers act recently, saying that President Donald Trump was not allowed to do any action against Venezuela, and that failed on very close votes.

So you see some effort on the part of Congress to assert itself in the realm of war. But it failed predominantly on party lines, with Democrats saying we really dont want to go into Venezuela. We really dont want to have this action. Republicans predominantly were supporting the president and whatever it happens to be that he would like to do. Moderate Republicans and Republicans who are in less safe districts were and are more likely to at least stand up a little bit to the president, but theres a very small number of them.

So there may be an institutional role for Congress, a constitutional role, a role that has been confirmed by legal opinion, but politics takes over in Congress when it comes to asserting its power in this realm?

Thats a perfect way of putting it. They have a legal, constitutional, one might even say moral, responsibility to assert themselves as a branch, right? This is from Federalist 51 where James Madison says Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. So it should be that as a branch, they assert themselves against the president and say, We have a role here.

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In the 1940s, presidential scholar Edward Corwin said that in the realm of foreign policy, it is an invitation for Congress and the president to struggle. So it should be that Congress and the president are struggling against each other to assert, Im in charge. No, Im in charge. No, Im in charge, in an effort to create a balance between the two branches and between the two things that each of the branches does well. What you want from Congress is slow deliberation and a variety of opinions. What you want from the president is energy and dispatch.

So certainly, if we have an attack like 9/11, you would want the president to be able to act quickly. And you know, conversely, in situations like the questions around what the U.S. is doing in Venezuela, you want slow deliberation because there is no emergency that requires energy and dispatch and speed. So the president shouldnt be entirely in the drivers seat here, and Congress should very much be trying very hard to restrain him.

What power does Congress have to restrain him?

They have to pass legislation. They arent particularly well suited right now to passing legislation, so effectively there is not a very clear way for them to restrain the president.

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One of the things that members of Congress have attempted to do several times, with very little positive impact, is go to the courts and say, Can you restrain the president? And political scientist Jasmine Farrier has written that the courts have regularly said to members of Congress: You have the power to stop the president, and you are ineffective at that. And so if you want to stop the president, you shouldnt turn to us. You should work together to create legislation that would restrain the president.

What would such legislation do? Cut off money for troops? Is it finger-wagging, or is it something really concrete?

There are a few different tiers. Joint resolutions are finger-wagging. They just say, Bad, Mr. President, dont do that. But they have no effect in law.

The War Powers Resolution, first passed in 1973, is a legitimate way of trying to restrain the president. Congress intended to say to presidents, You cannot start a war and continue a war without our authorization. But what they said instead was You could have a small war or a short war  of 60 to 90 days  without our authorization, and then you have to tell us about it. That just sort of said to presidents the opposite of what they intended. So President Barack Obama took advantage of that with the military engagement in Libya, as well as Trump in his first administration.

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This is not a partisan issue. Its not Republican presidents who do it. Its not Democratic presidents who do it. Its every president since the War Powers Resolution was passed, and the only time that Congress has drawn down troops or drawn down money was the Vietnam War.

Other than that disastrous war, we have not seen Congress willing to put themselves on the politically negative side, which is taking money away from the troops. Because if you take away money right now, theyre going to be harmed.

What is the War Powers Resolution?

The War Powers Resolution from 1973, also known as the War Powers Act, was Congress  during the Vietnam War  saying definitively to President Richard Nixon, You have overstepped your bounds. They had explicitly said in law, you cannot go into Cambodia. And Nixon went into Cambodia.

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So that was their way of trying to reassert themselves very aggressively; as I mentioned before, it didnt work effectively. It worked insofar as presidents dont unilaterally start wars that are large scale, the way that World War II was large scale. But they do have these smaller actions at varying levels.

Then we get to 9/11 and we see the 2001 authorization for the use of military force, and the 2002 authorization for the use of military force. The 2001 law authorized going after anyone in al-Qaida and associated with 9/11. The 2002 authorization was directly related to Iraq, saying There is a problem with Iraq, we have to do something. Both of them were extremely vague and broad, and thats why weve seen four presidents, including Trump, using the 2001 and 2002 authorizations to carry out all sorts of operations that had very little to do with Saddam Hussein or al-Qaida.

In 2021, senators Mike Lee, Bernie Sanders and Chris Murphy collectively got together and tried to create a national security document that would restrain presidential unilateralism. It was a good effort on the part of members of Congress from a variety of different ideological views to attempt to restrain the president. It did not even sort-of pass  it barely got out on the floor.

Since that time, we havent seen a lot of efforts from members of Congress. They havent really reasserted themselves since the war in Korea, which began in 1950. Its very clear that ambition is no longer checking ambition the way that it was meant to by the founders.

When you woke up this morning and saw the news, what was your first thought?

Here we go again. This is not a Republican or a Democratic issue. Lots of presidents have made this error, which is that they think if you do this smaller-scale action, you are going to get a positive result for the nation, for the region, for international stability. And very rarely is that the case.

Sarah Burns, Associate Professor of Political Science, Rochester Institute of Technology. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
In his hour-long press conference following the early morning capture of Venezuela's leader and his wife, President Donald Trump justified the operation as one in line with a more than 200-year-old foreign policy agenda, the Monroe Doctrine.

More: Venezuela attack updates: US to 'run' country after Maduro capture, Trump says

The doctrine, which the president has called the "Donroe Doctrine," has for years been relegated to foreign policy history, from which recent administrations have sought to distance themselves. But more than a decade after then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, under former President Barack Obama, announced the "era of Monroe Doctrine is over," Trump is now embracing it.

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In his remarks on Jan. 3, the president cast the doctrine as a continuing tenet of U.S. foreign policy, and said the operation that ousted Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro not only abides by it, but goes a step further. Trump alleged the country was "hosting foreign adversaries" and "acquiring offensive weapons" and accused Venezuela of seizing and selling American oil assets.

President Donald Trump, alongside (L/R), CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, speaks to the press following US military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3, 2025. The U.S. "successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Venezuelan citizens living in Spain use their smartphones to follow US' President Donald Trump's press conference as they gather at Puerta del Sol square in Madrid on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. President Donald Trump said on January 3, 2026, that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and his Venezuelan arch-foe. (L/R) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as US President Donald Trump speaks to the press following US military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3, 2025. President Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrive to speak to the press following US military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3, 2025. President Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. (L/R) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as US President Donald Trump speaks to the press following US military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3, 2025. President Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. President Trump addresses the nation after military action in Venezuela 1 of 5 President Donald Trump, alongside (L/R), CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, speaks to the press following US military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3, 2025. The U.S. "successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"All of these actions were in gross violation of the core principles of American foreign policy, dating back more than two centuries," Trump said. "All the way back, dated to the Monroe doctrines. And the Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we've superseded it by a lot, by a real lot. They now call it the Donroe doctrine."

What is the Monroe Doctrine? Or is it the "Donroe Doctrine"?

The Monroe Doctrine, named after its architect former President James Monroe in 1823, is one of the most consequential U.S. foreign policy agendas in the 19th century. It began as a largely symbolic document that stated American opposition to new or expanding European involvement in the Americas, after centuries of colonial activity in the region. It would go on to become a significant element of U.S. foreign policy toward the region for decades, though it has been increasingly criticized by academics and policy makers for being used to justify interventions in Latin America.

More: Mapping US attacks in Venezuela: Timeline of Nicolas Maduro's capture

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The doctrine outlined how the U.S. government considered South and Central America a strategic "backyard" seen as a region that should fall to American influence, rather than European.

The doctrine's ethos continued to evolve through later administrations. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt added the so-called "Roosevelt Corollary," which said the U.S. has a right to intervene in the Americas under certain circumstances. It declared that the U.S. government could "exercise international police power" to end what Roosevelt called "chronic unrest or wrongdoing" in the Western Hemisphere.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gestures next to his wife Cilia Flores during his arrival for a special session of the National Constituent Assembly to present his annual state of the nation in Caracas, Venezuela, January 14, 2019.

According to the Department of State's Office of the Historian, it served as justification for U.S. intervention in Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. U.S. Marines were sent into Santo Domingo in 1904, Nicaragua in 1911, and Haiti in 1915, "ostensibly to keep the Europeans out," the National Archives says.

In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt renounced interventionism and established his "Good Neighbor" policy within the Western Hemisphere, seen as an end to the height of Monroe Doctrine foreign policy.

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More: America First? What Trump's startling arrest of Maduro tells us.

Though U.S. intervention in Central and South America occurred long before the Monroe Doctrine, interpretations of the document underpinned several significant U.S. projects and actions in the region, from the building of the Panama Canal to the Cold War years. It also significantly strained relationships with various Latin American countries for many decades, and has remained a key document in understanding both historic and contemporary U.S. foreign policy in the region.

Trump embraces Monroe Doctrine in second administration

President Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth looks at him during a press conference following a U.S. strike on Venezuela where President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured, from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026.

The Jan. 3 remarks were not the first time Trump expressed a desire to return to a foreign policy position inspired by the centuries-old doctrine. The administration in November released its renewed national security strategy, explicitly modeling its stance toward the Western Hemisphere after the Monroe Doctrine, which it will "reassert and reinforce" to "restore American preeminence."

He called it the "Trump Corollary."

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"We sort of forgot about it," Trump said of the Monroe Doctrine. "It was very important, but we forgot about it. We don't forget about it anymore. Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."

Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump calls Monroe Doctrine the 'Donroe Doctrine' after Venezuela raid
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Amy, a homeowner from Charlotte, North Carolina, called "The Ramsey Show" seeking guidance on furnishing a $330,000 house without taking on debt.

She told hosts personal finance experts Dave Ramsey and Jade Warshaw that she earns about $5,000 a month, including tax-free income from military disability payments, made a $60,000 down payment, and had $20,000 remaining in savings. She said the house "comes in bare," with no appliances or furniture.

"There's not a fair price for shacking up," Ramsey responded after Amy asked what would be fair for her boyfriend to pay toward the house.

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Once it was clear the $20,000 was her emergency fund, Warshaw cautioned against using it for furnishings. "I don't want you to use your emergency fund for something that's not an emergency," she said.

Ramsey gave an example in which using all remaining savings right after closing would leave no money if something went wrong.

Start With Essentials, Then Stop

"I want you to take $5,000 and go buy a mattress and a bed, and I want you to buy a used refrigerator," Ramsey said, outlining an approach that would allow the couple to furnish their home while keeping most of their savings intact.

He added that the remaining $15,000 should stay in the account as an emergency fund. Other furniture and appliances, he said, could be paid for using monthly income. He also suggested buying used items, including at garage sales, to reduce costs.

Trending: Forget Flipping HousesThis Fund Lets You Invest in Home Equity Like Wall Street Does

Housing And Relationships

Ramsey cautioned against depending on a non-spouse to pay for a house. "I don't recommend that you ever buy a house or depend on someone that you're not married to to pay for your house," he said.

He said the arrangement could be handled like a roommate setup, with everyday expenses split. He then referenced data comparing married and unmarried couples and said the arrangement "doesn't bode well statistically" for future wealth building.

"There's actually what we call a marital advantage in the statistics," Ramsey said. "People who are married have an economic advantage over those who are not. The data is slam dunk. It's not even close."
President Trump on Saturday said the operation in Venezuela, which culminated with strikes on the capital and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, were part of what he coined the Don-roe Doctrine.

Trump said under Maduro, Venezuela hosted foreign adversaries in our region and acquiring menacing offensive weapons that could threaten U.S. interests and lives, and they use those weapons last night.

All of these actions were in gross violation of the core principles of American foreign policy, dating back more than two centuries, and not anymore, Trump said. All the way back, it dated to the Monroe Doctrine. And the Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but weve superseded it by a lot, by a real lot. They now call it the Don-roe Doctrine.

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Former President James Monroe issued what became his eponymous doctrine in an address to Congress on Dec. 2, 1823, according to the National Archives. The Monroe Doctrine warned European powers from interfering in countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Monroes secretary of state and presidential successor, John Quincy Adams, developed the doctrine as a means to ward off European countries from interfering with the affairs of Latin American countries that had declared their independence from countries like Spain and France, according to the State Department. It was also meant to deter Russia from expanding into Alaska.

In the more than 200 years since, U.S. presidents have relied on the Monroe Doctrine to thwart foreign meddling in Latin America. The doctrine was invoked by U.S. diplomats in 1865 to support Mexican President Benito Juarez in his revolt against French Emperor Maximilian, the National Archives stated.

Former President Theodore Roosevelt expanded the doctrine to justify military intervention across Latin America. Some scholars have scrutinized this expansion, arguing that the doctrine allowed U.S. military operations to destabilize left-wing governments not sympathetic to U.S. interests, particularly during the Cold War.

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Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured following several strikes on the Venezuelan capital Caracas early Saturday morning. The U.S. Armys Delta Force captured them and flew them by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima. They were indicted and will face charges in the Southern District of New York, Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

Venezuelas allies criticized the attack and Maduros capture. Russian officials called on a United Nations Security Council meeting, saying the pretexts cited to justify such actions are unfounded.

Chinas Foreign Ministry said it was deeply shocked by the operation and said the U.S. violated international law and Venezuelas sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region.

Cuba demanded Maduro and Floress release and condemned the U.S. for what its government called a blatant imperialist and fascist aggression with objectives of domination, aimed at reviving U.S. hegemonic ambitions over Our America, rooted in the Monroe Doctrine, and at achieving unrestricted access to and control over the natural wealth of Venezuela and the region.

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President Donald Trump has finally addressed the persistent bruising seen on his hands and the sometimes rampant speculation that he is in ill health.

Trump directly addressed the rumors about his health, telling the Wall Street Journal that the bruises and concealing makeup seen on his hands are the result of minor cuts and a daily aspirin regimen.

The president said he has maintained the aspirin regimen for 25 years and is reluctant to give it up.

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Trump said, Im a little superstitious about taking a reduced amount of aspirin.

I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart, the president said.

The president acknowledged that he takes a larger dose of aspirin a day than whats recommended by his doctors.

Theyd rather have me take the smaller one, Trump said of the dosage. I take the larger one, but Ive done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising.

Trump said that he has used concealing makeup on his hand to cover up minor cuts, including one he sustained from now-Attorney General Pam Bondis oversized diamond ring during the Republican National Convention in 2024.

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Yes, there was a slight little cut, Trump said of the injury, which he sustained while high-fiving Bondi at the convention.

The White House previously said that Trumps hands also become bruised because of the large number of people he shakes hands with during the course of his duties.

The president told the Journal that the makeup was easy to put on, takes about 10 seconds.

My health is perfect, Trump added.

The White House told the Journal that the president is in exceptional health.

In July it was revealed that Trump, 79 suffers from chronic venous insufficiency, a common circulatory condition for people his age.

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Trump in the Journal interview also pushed back at reports that he has fallen asleep or has struggled to stay awake during public events and cabinet meetings.

The president said, Sometimes theyll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and theyll catch me with the blink.

Read the original article on silive.com.
President Donald Trump built his political appeal over the past decade partly by vowing to extricate America from military quagmires overseas, promising to avoid nation building and wars designed to topple regimes.

But hours after the American military executed a daring attack on Venezuelan soil  capturing its president, Nicolas Maduro  Trump said the U.S. would temporarily run the country and build up its oil industry, as he and his top Cabinet members put other world leaders on notice.

Follow live updates

A fire at Fort Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, after a series of explosions in Caracas on Saturday. (AFP - Getty Images) (AFP - Getty Images)

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a Maduro ally, is making cocaine and sending it to the U.S., Trump alleged at a news conference Saturday. So he does have to watch his ass.

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In an interview earlier with Fox News, Trump expressed impatience with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum over how to fight drug cartels that are running the country. He said, Somethings going to have to be done with Mexico, without elaborating.

Cuba, he said, is going to be something well end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was even blunter. Look, if I lived in Havana and I was in the government, Id be concerned at least a little bit, Rubio said, standing alongside Trump at the news conference.

Well talk and meet with anybody, but dont play games. Dont play games while this presidents in office, he said. Its not going to turn out well.

A photo the White House released on Truth Social appears to show Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (via Truth Social) (via Truth Social)

Trumps use of the U.S. military to oust Venezuelas president and his threats of potentially similar operations to come elsewhere are a dramatic shift from his past America First rhetoric, underscoring his pursuit of a more interventionist foreign policy in his second term. His remarks Saturday outlined a new foreign policy doctrine for a president who has demonstrated an increasing willingness to wield military force on multiple fronts.

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Its an approach that could carry risk for a president who said in his inaugural address last January that he hoped to be remembered as a peacemaker.

We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end and, perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into, Trump said at the time.

Former Defense Department official Seth Jones, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Trump and his national security team will own the results of whatever follows in Venezuela.

This is theirs, Jones said. If this goes south, there is no one else you can blame.

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As a candidate in 2016, Trump blasted fellow Republicans and previous presidents for backing troubled military interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. Our current strategy of nation-building and regime change is a proven, absolute failure, he said.

In the 2024 presidential campaign, he pledged to fire warmongers serving in the government and chose a running mate, JD Vance, who championed his skepticism of waging wars in foreign countries.

Yet in his first year back in office, Trump has ordered military strikes on targets in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Nigeria, Iran  and now in Venezuela to capture Maduro and bring him to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges.

People gather at the site of U.S. strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 20. (Khaled Abdullah / Reuters) (Khaled Abdullah)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump is fulfilling his campaign promises by going after Maduro and that the operation was in keeping with his America First agenda.

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President Trump is a decisive and strong leader who does EXACTLY what he says hes going to do, Leavitt wrote on X.

During his historic campaign in 2024, President Trump explicitly promised that he would work to demolish foreign drug cartels to keep our citizens safe and thats exactly what he did today through an unprecedented display of speed, precision, and power, Leavitt wrote.

White House officials also have cited Trumps role in brokering an elusive ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas as proof that his tough approach can defuse conflicts.

The operation in Caracas early Saturday followed a U.S. air campaign that began in September against dozens of alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific.

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Those strikes, which, like the operation against Maduro, have not been authorized by Congress, have killed at least 114 people, according to the Pentagon. They have received both support from Trumps allies in Congress and criticism from lawmakers, former military lawyers and allied governments that the attacks violate U.S. and international law.

The Fordo nuclear facility in Iran on June 20, top, and on June 22 following U.S. strikes. (Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies) (Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies)

U.S. airstrikes on Irans nuclear sites in June, which featured the first use of a massive bunker-busting bomb, prompted criticism and concern among some of Trumps supporters and political allies that he was straying from his original anti-interventionist vision.

Trump is now threatening to attack Iran again unless the regimes leaders comply with his latest warning that they must not kill protesters massing in Tehrans streets over economic conditions.

We are locked and loaded and ready to go, Trump wrote Friday in a social media post pledging to come to the protesters rescue if needed.

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After Trump announced the capture of Maduro, most Republican lawmakers publicly endorsed the move, while Democrats and a handful of GOP members expressed doubts about the legal basis for the operation and the potential for an open-ended, risky U.S. commitment in Venezuela.

Outgoing Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene of Georgia, a staunch supporter of Trump-turned-critic, said on X that Trumps Make America Great Again supporters shared a disgust with never ending military adventures abroad.

This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong, she wrote.

Trumps focus on foreign policy, either as a commander in chief presiding over airstrikes or as a peacemaker pushing for diplomatic deals, poses a potential political risk. His approval ratings have slipped as voters who hoped to see economic conditions brighten on his watch struggle to pay their bills.

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Mark Mitchell, head pollster at Rasmussen Reports, who briefed Trump and senior White House officials privately in November, said that when voters are asked whether the governments focus needs to be on domestic or foreign policy, everyone says domestic.

Mitchell said he told Trump that the optics of spending too much time on foreign policy were hurting him.

A motorcycle rider passes in front of an oil-themed mural in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2022. (Javier Campos / NurPhoto via Getty Images file) (Javier Campos)

In his remarks Saturday, Trump repeatedly referred to Venezuelas oil as a prize Americans gained in the operation against Maduro. Dissatisfied with the quantity of oil that Venezuela is pumping, he said, U.S. companies will now go in, boost supplies and sell the product.

A U.S. official elaborated later in the day, saying the administration will work with oil executives to begin expanding the countrys oil output.

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Trump did not rule out additional military strikes in Venezuela if he determines they are needed.

In 2002, as President George W. Bush weighed a possible U.S. invasion of Iraq, his secretary of state, Colin Powell, warned him of the potential risks of regime change.

Once you break it, you are going to own it, Powell told him, and were going to be responsible for 26 million people standing there looking at us.

Bush eventually opted to go ahead with the invasion and soon learned the harsh lessons of what was dubbed the Pottery Barn rule.

Trump suggested Saturday that Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine will manage Venezuelas government transition.

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Jones, the former Defense Department official, said the biggest problem Trump will face is creating the conditions for a government that has the support of the people of Venezuela.

The entire success of the mission will hinge on whether the population views its government as legitimate, Jones said. This was the fundamental problem the U.S. faced in Iraq.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
President Donald Trump has hinted that the surprise abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro may not be his last operation in Latin America.

Trump, 79, suggested on Fox & Friends Saturday that action could be taken against Mexico, an ally of the U.S., which he said is run by drug cartelsa similar allegation he made against Maduro and Venezuela.

Somethings going to have to be done with Mexico, he said.

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Trump then issued an even more explicit threat to Colombia, which borders Venezuela to the west, and its president, Gustavo Petro, during a Mar-a-Lago news conference.

President Donald Trump warned Colombian President Gustavo Petro, 65, that he needs to watch his a--. / Franklin Jacome/Getty Images

I stick by my first statement. Hes making cocaine, Trump said of Petro. Theyre sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his a--.

Petro, 65, has been described as Colombias first left-wing leader in its modern history.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with Trump at his side, also threatened Cuba and claimed that it was the root of many of Venezuelas problems. Rubio, 54, is the son of Cuban migrants.

Cubans flooded the streets of Havana on Saturday to protest U.S. intervention in Venezuela. / ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP via Getty Images

This poor island took over Venezuela in some cases, Rubio said. One of the biggest problems Venezuelans have is they have to declare independence from Cubathey tried to basically colonize it from a security standpoint.

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Next came a veiled threat.

If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, Id be concerned at least a little bit, he said.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Grand Kremlin Palace in 2024. / Contributor / Getty Images

Trump added of Cuba, The people there have suffered for many years. I think Cuba is something that well end up talking about, because theyre a badly failing nation.

When asked earlier Saturday about Mexico by Foxs Griff Jenkins, Trump responded that the cartels have more power than its democratically elected left-wing president, Claudia Sheinbaum, whom Trump clashed with early in MAGA 2.0 over immigration and the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.

Trump said that Sheinbaum, 63, has rejected offers of American military aid to take action against the cartels, claiming she has told him, No, no, no, Mr. President. No, no, no, please.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to Donald Trumps comments about renaming the body of water. She suggested that Mexico rename the United States in response to the gulf being renamed by Trump in January. / Presidencia de Mexico / via REUTERS

Trump then hinted that he might order action in Mexico anyway, claiming that drugs coming over the southern border are killing Americans by the hundreds of thousands and that somethings going to have to be done with Mexico.

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Trump said that he remains friendly with Sheinbaum and that strikes against Venezuela, which were carried out without Congressional approval, were not meant to send a message to her.

Shes a good woman, but the cartels are running Mexico, Trump continued. Shes not running Mexico. The cartels are running Mexico. And we could be politically correct and be nice and say, Oh yes, she is. No, no. Shes very, you know, shes very frightened of the cartels. Theyre running Mexico. And Ive asked her numerous times, would you like us to take out the cartels?

Jenkins, 55, suggested earlier on the program that Sheinbaum may need to be concerned.

Trumps message is very clear that the drug trafficking must stop. When I hear that, I think, what must Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of Mexico, be thinking? What message does this operation potentially set up for her now?

FIFA President Gianni Infantino takes a selfie during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw with President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts December 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. / Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Jenkins noted that Sheinbaum immediately condemned Trumps attack on Venezuela, citing the Charter of the United Nations

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The Government of Mexico strongly condemns and rejects the military actions carried out unilaterally in recent hours by armed forces of the United States of America, her government said in a statement. Based on its foreign policy principles and its pacifist vocation, Mexico makes an urgent call to respect international law, as well as the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, and to cease any act of aggression against the Venezuelan government and people.

Jenkins asked Fox host Sean Hannity if he thinks the overnight attack in Venezuela has Sheinbaum worried.

President Sheinbaum, 63, is a member of the left-wing governing party, the National Regeneration Movement. / Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images

Do you think that she must be wondering what this all means for her? Jenkins asked.

Hannity responded, One hundred percent. I mean, the Mexican president, the Colombian presidentI know you had the guest on who is running for Colombian president, and I think that all of those leaders have to be looking over their shoulder as far as what that means and where this goes.

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Trump revealed on the program that the U.S. had a second wave ready to go early Saturday morning, but did not proceed with it. With Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, already in custody, it is not clear what else American forces might have struck.

Trump noted on Fox that American forces were injured in the operation, but none were killed.

On Fox, Trump suggested that additional strikes would be carried out in Venezuela if things did not change with Maduros absence.

Fire erupts at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, after U.S. strikes early Saturday morning. / Luis Jaimes/AFP via Getty Images

What is the future look like for the Maduro loyalists who are still in Caracas, and I assume, have not yet fled or been removed? asked Jenkins.

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Trump responded, Well, if they stay loyal, the future is really bad, really bad for them.

The president reiterated his threat at his late-morning news conference.

All political and military figures of Venezuela should know what happened to Maduro can happen to them, and it will happen to them if they do bad to their people, he said.
America has toppled governments or otherwise intervened in Latin America many times, and particularly so from the 1850s and, even more, late 1860s. Doing so in Venezuela in 2026 needs to be seen in this continuum, rather than with a heady rush to instant criticism that wrenches policy away from its historical contexts.

Outrage against President Trumps action clearly originates at least in part from dislike of him. Nonetheless, intervention was pursued by many previous presidents, some of them Democrats, as with Johnson, successfully, in the Dominican Republic in 1965. There is obviously concern that Trump has abandoned the politics of prudence and forgotten the lessons of unsuccessful interventions, but there is no sign that he is seeking in Venezuela to repeat past American roles in Vietnam or Somalia, Iraq or Afghanistan. Moreover, intervention can be successful, as Presidents Reagan and Bush senior showed in Grenada and Panama. Military action can work: and more often, but not only so, if the regime is unpopular.

There is a particular American tradition of turning southwards to act, as least after invasions of Canada in 1775-6, 1812, 1813 and 1814 all failed. Indeed, this action in Venezuela is in line with American traditions of interventionism in Latin America and the Caribbean, traditions that are a fusion of commercial self-interest, ideological engagement, and security concerns.

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The new US National Security Strategy, almost certainly written in the knowledge that there would be an attack on Venezuela, referred to the need to assert and enforce a Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The latter, one of the foundation stones of American ideas on international relations, was presented on Dec 2 1823 by President James Monroe in his annual message to Congress. He announced that attempts by European powers to establish or re-establish colonies in the New World would be seen as dangerous to our peace and safety.

This declaration was, as John Clayton, a former secretary of state, pointed out in the Senate in 1855, a recommendation: not a measure sanctioned by Congress. But it was also a declaration of purpose. In the short term, the doctrine was designed to thwart Alexander Is ambitions for an extensive Russian America as well as the threat that  with French support  Spanish rule would be restored in Latin America. Thus, Monroe offered at once a bold geopolitical prospectus, a pledge to defend Republican independence in Latin America, and commercial opportunities for the United States. Henry Clay, the secretary of state from 1825 to 1829, wanted America to act as leader of the Western Hemisphere.

In practice, it was British naval strength that deterred Spain from intervention in Latin America. The Monroe Doctrine came to have more relevance only after the American Civil War, after which the US was more powerful and united. Even so, in the 1850s alone, the protection of American interests led to the landing of forces in Buenos Aires in 1852-3, Nicaragua in 1853, Uruguay in 1855 and 1858, and Panama (then in Colombia) in 1856. In 1858, a US naval squadron sailed up the Parana to force the dictator of Paraguay to apologise and pay reparations for the mistreatment of an American warship on a hydrographic expedition. Earlier, US Marines had been landed at Buenos Aires in 1833 and 1852-3 and at Callao and Lima in 1835-6 to protect American interests during insurrections.

In the 1860s, Mexico, where Napoleon III of France had intervened, was a touchstone of controversy. The House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution in 1864 that it would not acknowledge any monarchical government erected on the ruins of any Republican government in America under the auspices of any European power. American pressure over Mexico increased from 1865 and was a factor in encouraging the French to withdraw their troops in 1867. Moreover, that year the British envoy in Washington described the Monroe Doctrine as a possible source of violent assertion.

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He was not wrong. US assertion came notably at the expense of Spain in Cuba and Puerto Rico in 1898, but also in Central America, for example in ensuring Panamanian independence from Colombia. The build-up of American naval power, especially from the 1890s, played a key role, one that was encouraged when the Panama Canal  which the Americans had successfully pushed to completion  was opened in 1914, and then protected with significant garrisons at both ends. Warships landed US Marines again in Cuba and Nicaragua in 1912, Mexico in 1914, Haiti in 1915, and the Dominican Republic in 1916. In Nicaragua in the 1920s, the Americans were concerned about both peasant radicalism and the risk of Soviet-backed Mexican intervention.

These themes recurred after the Second World War in Central and South America and in the Caribbean. They were most dramatic in 1962 when the Americans successfully enforced a blockade of Cuba, in 1965 in the Dominican Republic, in 1983 when Grenada was invaded, and in 1989 when Panama, the narco-state of the day, was seized and its ruler hauled away to the US to stand trial.

Action against a major South American nation has been less common, in part because the historical American reliance on naval forces and marines made Caribbean islands and the isthmus more accessible, but also because states such as Venezuela provided a larger task. In 2026, the use of airpower and airborne forces provided an opportunity to overcome these limitations. Much of this force was based on the armada of American naval power deployed offshore, but aircraft provided the necessary power-protection against Caracas, an interior capital, which is also the situation in many Latin American states including Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico. Airpower offers an in-and-out quality which is very different to the deployment of the huge troop numbers that would be necessary to control resistance by the large militias and other paramilitary forces built up by Chavez and Maduro  and also present in Iran.

Donald Trumps policies are in line with longstanding patterns of American behaviour, not least with the idea of forward defence against possible foreign threats. Talk of deploying Russian or Chinese advisers or weapons are echoes of nineteenth century American fears about Britain, France and Spain in their backyard, and twentieth century fears likewise of Germany and Russia. Americas policies clash with notions of the national sovereignty of others, but such notions act to protect dictatorships and oppression as under Maduro  and today also seen in many other states including Iran and North Korea. At any rate, the idea of non-intervention as a result of national sovereignty, currently weighs little in this administrations view of the Americas  and that view is entirely consistent with a long history of American geopolitics.

Jeremy Black is the author of A Short History of War

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President Donald Trumps allies in the Republican Party and his Make America Great Again movement  even some who previously warned against wading into new foreign conflicts  largely rallied behind his actions in Venezuela on Saturday, hours after the capture of President Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale military operation.

Trump faced criticism from some conservatives who worried he was straying from his America First pledges, as well as from Democrats who questioned the legality of his move and his long-term strategy. But most Republicans, including leaders on Capitol Hill, hawkish figures who have sometimes criticized Trumps foreign policy positions, conservatives in South Florida, and influencers within his political movement, backed the president on Saturday.

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina praised Trumps action, writing on social media: We will be more prosperous and safer for it. I am hoping and praying that the Venezuelan people will soon have a fresh start on democracy and freedom.

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But he cautioned that the United States should turn over control of Venezuela quickly.

The President is correct to counsel patience. We have to get this right. But the sooner Venezuela is put back in the hands of the Venezuelan people, the better, Graham said.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican who has long opposed US military intervention, wrote on social media that few Venezuelans, or Americans for that matter, will or should mourn the removal of Nicolas Maduro from power.

Paul, who has co-sponsored a bipartisan measure that would block Trump from taking further military action in Venezuela, did not overtly criticize Trumps actions but stressed the importance of limits to the presidents powers in such cases.

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Time will tell if regime change in Venezuela is successful without significant monetary or human cost. Best though, not to forget, that our founders limited the executives power to go to war without Congressional authorization for a reason  to limit the horror of war and limit war to acts of defense, he said.

Those questions about what happens next mean the broader political consequences are far from clear, as Trumps claim that the United States will run Venezuela during a transitional period raised the prospect of long-lasting and far-reaching US military actions in Latin America. Trump doubled down on that perception when he described Cuba as very similar and something well end up talking about, and told reporters that Colombias president needs to watch his ass.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah initially sounded critical of Trumps actions in Venezuela, writing just after 3 a.m. ET Saturday that he looked forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force.

However, he later wrote that hed been briefed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and said: This action likely falls within the presidents inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.

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Trumps sphere of MAGA influencers also rallied behind his move in Venezuela. Steve Bannon, the populist former top Trump strategist and War Room podcast host, called the operation bold and brilliant.

Meanwhile, South Florida Republicans hailed Maduros removal as a momentous development.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, the Cuban-born former mayor of Miami-Dade County, wrote on X that Trumps move is this hemispheres equivalent to the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

Its a big day in Florida, where the majority of Venezuelan, Cuban, & Nicaraguan exiles reside. This is the community I represent & we are overwhelmed with emotion and hope, he said.

What MAGA thought they voted to end

On the 2024 campaign trail, Trump long criticized previous presidents actions in the Middle East and pledged an America First foreign policy. He also claimed to possess extraordinary powers to end foreign conflicts, including Russias invasion of Ukraine. I will settle the war in Ukraine before I even take office; Ill settle it as president-elect, he said at a rally a month before the election.

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A Quinnipiac University poll last month, conducted amid increasing scrutiny of US military attacks that killed alleged drug smugglers at sea, found that 63% of voters opposed US military action inside Venezuela, while just 25%  including 4% of Democrats, 52% of Republicans and 19% of independents  supported it.

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a longtime Trump ally who in recent months has turned against the president, was sharply critical of Trump on social media Saturday  just days before her planned departure from the House.

This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end, she wrote. Boy were we wrong.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks during a hearing with the House Committee on Homeland Security on December 11, 2025. - Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a conservative Republican who is often at odds with Trump, questioned the legal grounds for the presidents actions, and said Trumps words were starkly opposed to the more careful comments of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who described the charges Maduro and his wife would face.

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Meanwhile Trump announces hes taken over the country and will run it until he finds someone suitable to replace him. Added bonus: says American oil companies will get to exploit the oil, Massie wrote sarcastically on X.

He also wrote that the Justice Departments 25-page indictment of Maduro contained no mention of fentanyl or stolen oil. Search it for yourself.

Candace Owens, the conservative podcaster who has feuded with other MAGA figures over her promotion of conspiracy theories and antisemitic tropes, said on X: Venezuela has been liberated like Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq were liberated. The CIA has staged another hostile takeover of a country at the behest of a [sic] globalist psychopaths.

A new day for the Americas

Still, many Republicans who havent closely aligned themselves with Trump held their fire on Saturday.

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Indiana Sen. Todd Young wrote on X: We still need more answers, especially to questions regarding the next steps in Venezuelas transition. As Congress returns to Washington next week, I am eager to work with members of the Trump Administration to bring clarity to the situation.

And even some of Trumps leading Republican critics said Maduros removal was positive.

Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the United Nations who ran against Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, wrote on X that Maduro oppressed his people to enrich himself and his cronies and said he kept the Cuban dictatorship afloat with stolen oil.

The Venezuelan people deserve freedom, and we should pray this moment marks a new day for the Americas, Haley said.

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Former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, among the loudest Republican critics of Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, said on X that Maduros arrest was the right call.

May Maduro face justice and the people of Venezuela be free, Kinzinger said.

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As President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the U.S. would run Venezuela for now, he and top aides made clear that the U.S. may not stop there  and demanded that the rest of the world take note.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Venezuelas long-time dictator, Nicolas Maduro, captured in an overnight raid and extradited to New York on Saturday to be indicted on narco-conspiracy charges, had a chance to leave on his own before becoming the latest example of a leader paying a high price for not responding to Trumps pressure.

He effed around and he found out, Hegseth said of Maduro.

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The menacing comments were interwoven with specific threats toward three other countries that could soon be in the administrations sights: Colombia, Cuba and Mexico.

The rest of the hemisphere is paying attention, and attempting to push back on Trump through condemnations of the strike itself and warnings of what could come next.

All nations of the region must remain alert, as the threat hangs over all, the Cuban government said in a statement.

The administrations warnings, meanwhile, are getting bolder and more definitive. Trump again accused Colombias president of making cocaine and reaffirmed his past threats that he does need to watch his ass. He predicted we will be talking about Cuba. Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a more sinister threat of future American action.

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Look, if I lived in Havana and I worked in the government, I'd be concerned, Rubio said.

Earlier during a phone interview with Fox News, Trump warned that something will have to be done about Mexico, stating that hes asked President Claudia Sheinbaum if she wants the U.S. militarys help in rooting out drug cartels.

American dominance in the Western hemisphere will never be questioned again, Trump said.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack as an aggression against all of South America and announced the mobilization of troops along the countrys border with Venezuela to halt a possible flood of refugees.

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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who in recent months has tried to establish a rapport with Trump, said in a post on X that Maduros ouster crossed an unacceptable line and recalls the worst moments of interference in the politics of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mexico also criticized the strikes, which Sheinbaum said are a violation of the U.N. Charter. The Mexican, Colombian and Cuban embassies in Washington did not respond to requests for comment on Trumps latest threats against their governments.

At the same time, some countries made an effort to play peacemaker. Colombias embassy in Washington said in a statement that Petro offered to help mediate a solution to the crisis.

Trump outlined a more aggressively expansionist foreign policy in his inaugural address nearly one year ago, shocking long-time allies with threats of making Canada the 51st state and colonizing Greenland, an autonomous region belonging to Denmark. Over his first year in office, his focus on several different foreign policy fronts  the Middle East, Asia, Europe and his thus far futile attempts to resolve the war in Ukraine  have frustrated some allies whove noted this is far from the isolationist, America First approach he ran on.

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Although the looming midterm elections in November provide a political incentive to shift his focus toward domestic matters, going ahead with regime change in Venezuela has opened up yet another foreign policy front on which the president  and by extension, his party in Congress  will be judged.

For Trump, in a final term no longer burdened by electoral concerns of his own, a short-term operational success in Venezuela could be emboldening, leading to the additional operations across the region that the president and aides already seem to be telegraphing. Katie Miller, the former administration official-turned-podcaster and wife of deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, posted an image on her X account on Saturday showing a map of Greenland colored by the American flag with a one-word caption: SOON. (The Danish embassy didnt immediately respond to a request for comment).

In his prepared remarks Saturday, Trump cited the Monroe Doctrine, a 200-year-old foreign policy blueprint that has seen something of a revival in conservative circles. It stems from President James Monroes 1823 declaration of a U.S. sphere of influence in the Americas that also served as a warning to would-be European colonizers to limit their aims to their own affairs.

The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal. But we've superseded it by a lot, Trump said. They now call it the Donroe Document.

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In south Florida, where Trump and Rubio both make their homes, theres deep support in many communities for further action, particularly in Cuba.

Florida state Rep. Juan Carlos Porras (R-Miami) applauded the administrations moves and Rubio, specifically, as the mastermind behind it. Even more movement in Cuba would really take it to the next level, he said, adding that it could theoretically happen quickly given the precision and force shown in Venezuela.

At least one lawmaker suggested that Maduros toppling in itself is likely to destabilize Cubas government, given its economic dependence on Venezuela.

That could be a tipping point, said Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla). "Venezuela has been propping up the Cuban regime, and so if we have a democracy in Venezuela, that will stop. And so we would hope that maybe the regime falls under its own weight.

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But even with U.S. forces already positioned in the region, managing a still-fluid situation in Venezuela may take precedence for now.

Theres no plan at this point for another military operation in the Americas, said one person in close touch with the White House national security team and granted anonymity to describe private conversations. To orchestrate Venezuelas transition to a new government and the extraction of the countrys oil resources, the U.S. will continue to need [military] capability to pressure compliance from incoming leaders, the person added.

Kevin Whitaker, a retired career diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Colombia during the first Trump administration, said he did not glean from Saturdays press conference that the White House had imminent plans to take action across other countries in Latin America.

While Secretary Rubio had very clear views on the message that Cuba ought to take out of this action, he was responding to a question, Whitaker said. The fact that they didn't raise it suggests to me that that's not on the Trump administrations immediate short-term agenda. And it stands to reason: Theyve bitten off a lot here.

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After all, the administration now must work to avoid splits in the Venezuelan military or the rise of criminal groups from further destabilizing the country.

But even if Trump remains preoccupied with Venezuela for the time being, his deposing of its longtime leader underscored a clear disregard for the sovereignty of other nations, which could presage additional conflicts to come.

Even Sheinbaum, generally seen as having maintained a positive relationship with both Trump and Rubio, could be seeing the limits of what personal diplomacy can achieve.

Trump said Saturday morning that hes told Sheinbaum about wanting to deploy American forces to take out fentanyl-trafficking drug cartels inside her countrys borders. Its actually something Trump debated doing during his first term, according to Alex Gray, who served as chief of staff of the National Security Council during Trumps last administration.

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It may be on Mexican territory but its oftentimes territory the Mexican state is unable to police, he said. Sheinbaum, he continued, has done a good job of coordinating with us on the counter narcotics trafficking, but there's an element of lack of state capacity to a certain degree, to take action in some of these spaces.

While Trump is approaching his final term seemingly racing the clock and focused on short-term results, autocrats around the globe able to play a longer game could benefit from rising tensions between the U.S. and a number of its neighbors.

Stephen McFarland, a former ambassador to Guatemala during the Obama administration who also held diplomatic postings in Ecuador, Peru, El Salvador and Bolivia, said that China might see opportunities: a potential failure for the U.S., increased division within the U.S. if it fails, and long-term a stimulus to Latin American countries looking to balance the U.S. by looking to China.

And Chiles former ambassador to China, Jorge Heine, said that Trumps action against Venezuela may embolden Beijing to get more aggressive over its territorial claim to Taiwan.

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Beijings reasoning may be, Well, why not Taiwan? Heine said. You could say China has a much more significant claim on Taiwan than the United States on Venezuela.

Kimberly Leonard and Phelim Kine contributed to this report.
The US attacked Venezuela and captured its long-serving president Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, with Donald Trump promising to put the country under American control for now, even as Venezuelan officials vowed defiance.

As part of a dramatic overnight operation that knocked out electricity in parts of Caracas, US special forces captured Maduro in or near one of his safe houses, the US president said.

With Maduro in US custody, we will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition, Trump said.

Trump says US will run Venezuela

Donald Trump has vowed the US is going to run Venezuela until there is an orderly transition of power but provided few details after ousting the countrys leader, Nicolas Maduro, in an audacious military attack. The president hailed an overnight operation that captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, as an assault like people have not seen since world war two.

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But the dramatic intervention was condemned by Democrats on Capitol Hill and several leaders around the world as the most dangerous example of US imperialism since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Read the full story

It sends a horrible signal: US politicians react to Maduros capture

Reaction to the capture of Nicolas Maduro by US forces has been starkly polarized along political lines, with administration officials and Republicans celebrating the enforcement of a 2020 US narco-trafficking indictment against Maduro and Democrats decrying what they see as a violation of Venezuelas right to self-determination.

Read the full story

US oil giants silent on Trump claim they will spend billions on Venezuelan oil industry

US oil giants have so far remained silent on Donald Trumps claim that they are primed to spend billions and billions of dollars rebuilding the Venezuelan oil industry after the ouster of Nicolas Maduro.

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Read the full story

Global outcry after US launches strikes on Venezuela

The US has been condemned for breaking international law after it launched airstrikes on Caracas and captured Nicolas Maduro and his wife. France, Russia, China and the European Commission were among those who said Donald Trump had broken international rules after US troops carried out the operation on Saturday morning.

Read the full story

Explainer: Is there legal justification for USs Venezuela attack?

The legality of the operation has been called into question  with even some of Donald Trumps allies suggesting it violated international law. The Guardian spoke to leading experts in the field of international law to ask for their view on the unfolding events in Venezuela.

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Read the full story

Analysis: The Putinization of US foreign policy arrives in Venezuela

Hardly anyone expected 2026 to be a year of peace, and it was barely two days old when the worst fears were confirmed.

The overnight strikes on Venezuela, the abduction of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and Donald Trumps declaration that the US would run the country and sell its oil, have driven another truck through international law and global norms. But that is not even the most concerning thing about it, Julian Borger writes in an analysis for the Guardian.

Read the full analysis

What else happened today:

Over two decades, Jeffrey Epstein avoided serious and meaningful punishment for his crimes. Why wasnt he stopped earlier?

Catching up? Heres what happened on 2 January 2026.
As President Donald Trump gloated about ousting Venezuelas dictator and running the country, and Democrats warned about the dangers of regime change, I kept thinking about a man I met in Havana a decade ago.

He was 29, and he wanted to flee to America. I asked why. After all, then-President Barack Obama was restoring U.S. ties with Cuba. Wasnt life going to get better? But he pointed out that the communist regime was still in power. If life improved at all, it would take many years, maybe decades.

He didnt want to wait. After all, he said, he had just one life to live.

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That young man would probably be cheering Trump now for detaining Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro, and hoping the U.S. president follows up in Cuba and beyond. He wouldnt be alone. Millions of people living under oppressive conditions across the world would love it if the U.S. gave them a chance  even just one shot  at a different path. Ive heard it from more than a few of them, including many in my birthplace of Iran, where protesters are once again on the march.

But it is not a popular point to make in Washington, where scars from the U.S. regime change operations in places such as Iraq and Libya run deep. Few in foreign policy circles openly support repressive dictators, but many will say ousting them isnt worth U.S. blood and treasure, especially when the move could fail 1,000 ways and unleash dangerous new dynamics with fallout that lasts generations.

Trump, this weekends events suggest, is more of an optimist.

The question now is whether he and his aides can follow up on a regime change operation in a way that doesnt go completely haywire. Can they put Venezuela on a path that truly gives its people security and freedom? And will they stop with Caracas?

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Trump isnt ruling anything out  including more regime change efforts. My sense in talking to administration officials and others close to decisionmakers is that when Trump threatens the clerics who run the regime in Tehran, hes serious. When he rails against the Cubans, he means it.

Just because some tyrant clothes themselves in the symbolism of a state doesnt make them any less a tyrant or valid target, a U.S. official familiar with the administrations discussions told me. I granted this person and others anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic.

Of course, no two regimes or countries are the same. For now, Im told, the administration wants to see how things play out in Venezuela.

For the Trump administration, Venezuela is a test case. If it works, whats holding them back from trying again? a person familiar with the administrations internal discussions said.

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To be clear, the administration insists its actions in Venezuela are not technically regime change because the U.S. doesnt recognize Maduro as Venezuelas legitimate leader but rather considers him a drug lord it had to arrest. The administration is arguing, in effect, that it carried out a law enforcement operation, not an act of war that needs congressional approval as Democrats insist.

As Secretary of State Marco Rubio put it: Maduro is the head of the Cartel de Los Soles, a narco-terror organization, which has taken possession of a country. And he is under indictment for pushing drugs into the United States.

Putting aside the messaging tricks, this is regime change. And if American leaders find that the actions Trump just took against Maduro dont antagonize voters, the tactic of regime-change-by-another-name could be used again.

First though, the Trump administration will have to decide how far it is willing to go in Venezuela.

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In a press conference Saturday morning, Trump said the U.S. would run the country. It became relatively clear, though, that he meant the U.S. would wield influence over the cronies Maduro left behind, and whom Washington is allowing to stay for now.

Trump noted that the countrys vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, had been sworn in as interim president. However, Rodriguez gave a speech in which she muddied the waters by saying Maduro was the countrys only president.

Trump also said the U.S. would be availing itself of Venezuelas oil riches, which will no doubt fuel suspicions among global leaders that oil was the reason he went after Maduro. (Trump also really dislikes Maduro on a personal level, Ive been told by U.S. officials.)

I was startled that Trump downplayed the notion of handing power to Maria Corina Machado. Shes the Venezuelan opposition leader whose alliance election experts believe won the countrys last presidential race.

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She doesnt have the support within, or the respect, within the country, Trump said of Machado, who supported the U.S. administrations campaign against Maduro.

The U.S. official told me that the Trump administration is worried about keeping Venezuela stable, and it does not think Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is strong enough to exert control over Venezuelas armed forces. The official argued, though, that Machado and her team could run in future Venezuelan elections.

Bill Cortese, a Republican consultant close to the administration, spoke positively of the fact that this U.S. operation didnt involve putting hundreds of thousands of American troops on the ground and didnt entirely wipe out the Venezuelan political infrastructure. It was a far more surgical operation.

I think we are going to see some lessons learned from the past 20 years, particularly Iraq, Cortese said.

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However, Trump has not ruled out more U.S. military operations in Venezuela. He further suggested that whats left of the regime knows better than to try to undermine the U.S. effort.

I have written before about how the administration has done some preparation for day-after-Maduro scenarios. U.S. officials also are well aware of past U.S. regime change success stories, such as the overthrow of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.

But Trump has cut back U.S. spending on democracy and human rights programs, while also reducing humanitarian funding. Trump himself acknowledged how dilapidated Venezuelas infrastructure  especially its oil apparatus  is, but the country needs help in a vast array of sectors. This is a place where people have endured hunger for years.

The hard part in these situations usually comes after the dictator is removed, said Philip Gordon, who was national security adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris and has written a book about U.S. regime change efforts.

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The person familiar with the administrations internal discussions said that in some ways the Trump team itself could find itself divided over how to proceed.

Does it strike a deal  on oil, drugs, migrants or more  with the remaining regime in Venezuela and leave it in charge, no matter how corrupt and awful it is? Or does it truly bring pressure for it to hold elections and give Venezuelans a valid choice in their future?

Someone such as Rubio, who in the past  before joining Trumps team  spoke frequently and eloquently of the need to promote freedom and democracy abroad, may push for the latter. Others, such as senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, whose primary focus is deterring migration, could be content to declare the mission is over if whats left of the regime is cooperative with American demands.

What will Trump want? What will the famously mercurial president have the patience for? And can people, especially the youth, in other dictatorships count on him to come to their rescue?

At the moment, the safest bet is to believe him when he makes a threat.
Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), has asked shareholders to approve a proposal that would dramatically expand the companys authorized share count to 50 billion, up from its current limit of 500 million.

Key Takeaways:

Tom Lee wants BitMine to raise its authorized share limit to 50 billion to enable future stock splits as its valuation tracks Ethereum.

BitMine shares jumped 14% after the proposal, reflecting investor support for keeping the stock affordable.

The plan has split investors, with some voicing dilution concerns.

In a video posted to YouTube on Friday, Lee described the move as a structural adjustment rather than an immediate issuance.

That doesnt mean were issuing 50 billion shares, he said, stressing that the proposal would simply raise the maximum number of shares the company is allowed to authorize.

BitMine Shares Jump 14% as Tom Lee Flags Stock Split Risk Tied to Ether

Investors appeared receptive, with BitMine shares climbing about 14% on Friday to trade near $30.93 by mid-afternoon in New York.

Lee framed the proposal primarily as a way to prepare for future stock splits as BitMines valuation tracks the price of Ethereum.

According to Lee, the companys share price closely mirrors ethers performance, creating the risk that BMNR could become prohibitively expensive for retail investors if ETH rallies sharply.

If ETH rises to $22,000, our stock could be around $500, Lee said. Under more aggressive assumptions, including a scenario where Bitcoin climbs to $1 million and ETH reaches $250,000, Lee estimates BitMines shares could carry an implied price near $5,000.

Most people want shares to stay around $25, he said, arguing that high nominal prices can deter participation regardless of fundamentals.

BitMine has repositioned itself as the largest Ethereum-focused digital asset treasury, holding roughly 3.41% of ETHs circulating supply.

The company disclosed last week that it added another 44,463 ETH, bringing total holdings to more than 4.11 million ether.

While BitMine still maintains some Bitcoin-related operations, its core strategy shifted in 2025 toward accumulating and staking ETH to generate yield.

Lee said that if ether were to reach $250,000, BitMine would likely need to execute a 100-for-1 stock split to maintain a share price near $25.

That scenario would require tens of billions of authorized shares, which the current structure does not allow. Were trying to get ahead of that, he said.

BitMine Share Expansion Plan Divides Investors Over Dilution Risk

Not all investors are convinced. Reaction on social media has been mixed, with critics arguing that raising the authorized share limit could pave the way for dilution.
A day after the U.S. military toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump appeared to have his eyes trained on the next target for American intervention: Greenland.

Since taking office in 2025, Trump has repeatedly floated buying the ice-covered Arctic island from Denmark and has refused to rule out taking the resource-rich land through military force. Trump has argued that annexing Greenland is a national security necessity, noting its mass of critical minerals and strategic location.

He renewed those calls Jan. 4 as his administration took a victory lap for their ouster of Venezuela's socialist dictator and as Trump promised to "run" the South American country until a democratic transition could occur.

A still image from video posted by the White House's Rapid Response 47 account on X.com, which originated from the @PaulDMauro account, shows Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in New York City on Jan. 3, 2026. Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, pictured here after his capture aboard the USS Iwo Jima, is seen in this handout image posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social Jan. 3, 2026. The United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight military operation on Jan. 3, 2026, President Donald Trump said, as explosions rocked Caracas and targets across the country. Picture of fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, after a series of explosions in Caracas on January 3, 2026. Loud explosions, accompanied by sounds resembling aircraft flyovers, were heard in Caracas around 2:00 am on January 3. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is led in custody from a U.S. federal airplane before his scheduled court appearance at Manhattan federal court, at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, U.S. January 3, 2026. A photograph posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him sitting next to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as they watch the U.S. military operation in Venezuela from Trump's Mar a Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, January 3, 2026. Fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, is seen from a distance after a series of explosions in Caracas on January 3, 2026. Picture showing damages to a building in the port of La Guaira, Venezuela, after a US military operation that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, on January 3, 2026. Smoke rises from explosions in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from video obtained by Reuters. Helicopters fly past plumes of smoke rising from explosions, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026 in this screen grab obtained from video obtained by Reuters. A military personnel member walks past debris at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 3, 2026. Civilians who were living inside Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex leave the compound, in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026. A column of smoke rises during multiple explosions in the early hours of the morning, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026 in this screen grab obtained from video obtained by Reuters. A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 3, 2026. A firefighter walks past a destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. Destroyed vehicles at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. A member of the National Guard stands guard at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. A Colombian soldier stands guard at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. Colombian police and military personnel stand guard at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. A man walks next to military vehicles as Colombian soldiers patrol the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. Passengers sleep on the floor, after flights were delayed and cancelled when the airspace was closed due to U.S. strikes on Venezuela overnight, at Rafael Hernandez International Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico January 3, 2026. U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jets sit parked on the tarmac at the former Roosevelt Roads naval base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, January 3, 2026. Colombian soldiers in a military vehicle at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. A car drives on an empty street, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela January 3, 2026. A cyclist stops to check their phone, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela January 3, 2026. F-22, C-130 and F-35 aircraft are seen at the former Roosevelt Roads naval base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, January 3, 2026. A supporter of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holds a flag of Venezuela on an empty street near Miraflores Palace, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured President Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. A person wears a Venezuelan flag, as they and others react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. People react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, on the streets of Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. A person wearing a hat that reads "America first" reacts to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Doral, Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. A man holds a flag reading "Make Venezuela Great Again", as people react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Doral, Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. A photograph posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him sitting next to CIA Director John Ratcliffe as they watch the U.S. military operation in Venezuela, January 3, 2026. Armed supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro block the entrace to the 23 de enero neighborhood in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured him. Picture showing damages to the port of La Guaira, Venezuela, after a US military operation that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, on January 3, 2026. An armed supporter of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blocks the entrace to the 23 de enero neighborhood in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured him. Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab, raises his clenched fist as he leaves the vice-presidency building in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. The airplane carrying Venezuelan President Nicolas Madura lands at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, N.Y. at approximately 4:30pm Jan. 3, 2026. A motorcade carrying ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro leaves the Westside Heliport in New York on January 3, 2026. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived Saturday evening at a military base in the United States after his capture by US forces in Caracas. Maduro was seen surrounded by FBI agents as he descended the boarding stairs of a US government plane at a New York state National Guard facility, and was slowly escorted along the tarmac. A helicopter carrying ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro comes in to land at the Westside Heliport in New York on January 3, 2026. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived Saturday evening at a military base in the United States after his capture by US forces in Caracas. Maduro was seen surrounded by FBI agents as he descended the boarding stairs of a US government plane at a New York state National Guard facility, and was slowly escorted along the tarmac. US bombs targets in Venezuela and captures Nicolas Maduro 1 of 39 A still image from video posted by the White House's Rapid Response 47 account on X.com, which originated from the @PaulDMauro account, shows Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in New York City on Jan. 3, 2026.

"We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense," Trump told The Atlantic in an interview published Jan. 4, describing the island as reportedly "surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships."

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The same day, Katie Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, posted a photo of Greenland covered with the American flag. Above it, she wrote, "SOON."

Denmark's ambassador to the United States, Jesper Moeller Soerensen, responded by saying: "We expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark."

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has repeatedly rebuked Trumps interest in colonizing Greenland. The "U.S. shall not take over Greenland," he said in stark terms in December.

Can Trump forcefully take Greenland?

Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, which is part of NATO. It has a population of about 57,000. The island has a right to hold a national referendum on whether to declare independence, though it is heavily reliant on the Danish government.

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Rufus Gifford, the former U.S. ambassador to Denmark under the Obama administration, said in January 2025 that the entire alliance would be compelled to respond to any military action against Greenland due to Denmark's membership.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Greenland next? Trump signals interest after Venezuela strike
The bromance between billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump appears to be back in full swing.

The pair were spotted shaking hands from fawning guests and having a swanky dinner at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday evening following Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduros capture.

Musk and Trump had been on the rocks for months following the Tesla CEOs exit from the ill-fated Department of Government Efficiency. While reports called the departure amicable, Musk publicly trashed Trump on his way out, taking swipes at the presidents Big Beautiful Bill.

Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Tensions rose after the SpaceX founder threatened to create his own political party and suggested that the Epstein Files had not been released because Trump was in them. The president later said that Musk was 80 percent super-genius and 20 percent problems.

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Musk has been slowly working his way back into the presidents good graces. In November, Musk was dined at a White House dinner Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and later in the month with Vice President JD Vance and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, among others.

 HELL YES! @ElonMusk and President Trump had dinner together at Mar-a-Lago tonight



And they received a HUGE applause walking through the dining room.



These two can be a freaking POWER TEAM in 2026 if they work together.



LETS GO!  pic.twitter.com/72RBn61bsR  Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 4, 2026

The drama all appears to be water under the bridge now, as the pair were filmed walking through Mar-a-Lago and shaking hands side-by-side. The two, accompanied by the First Lady, were met by applause as they made their way to dinner. In one Instagram video, Musk can be seen repeatedly nodding his head towards a few people clapping.

Musk returned to the GOP and Trump with his tail between his legs last month, recommitting to donating millions to Republican candidates ahead of this years midterms. Now, the reconciled allies are close enough to have a celebratory meal in light of the attack on Venezuela on Saturday.

Elon Musk, Melania Trump, and President Donald Trump filmed entering Mar-a-Lago on January 3, 2025. / Screenshot via MelaniaTrumpProfile on Instagram

Before their dinner, Musk praised the president for the operation in Venezuela on his social media site X. He changed his profile photo to an American flag and reshared the White Houses post that said GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES MILITARY. He also congratulated Trump on capturing Maduro.

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It is heartwarming to see so many Venezuelans celebrating their country freed from a brutal tyrant, Musk posted on X.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (center) is celebrated by participants at a rally marking the anniversary of a battle on the day Venezuelan opposition leader Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. / picture alliance / dpa/picture alliance via Getty I

On Saturday morning, the U.S. military launched a large-scale attack on Caracas, the Venezuelan capital. Trump announced the capture of Maduro and his wife shortly after, saying the invasion played out like a television show. He later shared a photo of Maduro handcuffed and blindfolded on a ship to New York, where he is currently being detained.

The president said in a press conference that the U.S. would run Venezuela for now and seize control of its oil. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez condemned the U.S. for its illegal and illegitimate kidnapping of Maduro and that the Venezuelan people would never again be slaves.
PALM BEACH, FL  With Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in U.S. custody and American authorities "running" the Caribbean nation, will the United States intervene elsewhere? In Cuba? Colombia? The Panama Canal?

Havana's communist regime is in his sights, President Donald Trump said Jan. 3.

"Cuba is going to be something we'll end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now, very badly failing nation, and we want to help the people," he said during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Jan. 4, a day after a U.S. military operation removed Maduro from Venezuela. "It's very similar in the sense that we want to help the people in Cuba, but we want to also help the people that were forced out of Cuba and living in this country."

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Trump also reiterated aggressive comments toward Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who last month denigrated the Trump administration as a "clan of pedophiles," citing investigatory files from convicted sex abuser and alleged trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump said Petro also is presiding over a state interwoven with the narcotics trade. Trump then said he stood by assertions he made late last month that the South American leader needs to "watch his ass."

The Panama Canal, the globally strategic passageway in the Isthmus of Panama, did not come up during the press gathering in the Winter White House, but Trump has cajoled the Panamanian government about alleged Chinese domination of the canal. However, the Central American country's president, Jose Raul Mulino, said Jan. 2 that the brewing break with Washington was over and his government was actively cooperating with the United States to address grievances.

So it was mostly Cuba that Trump was interested in addressing in Palm Beach when discussing Operation Absolute Resolve, which removed Maduro from the seat of power in Caracas.

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"We want to surround ourselves with good neighbors," Trump said. "We want to surround ourselves with stability."

A photograph posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him sitting next to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as they watch the U.S. military operation in Venezuela from Trump's Mar a Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, January 3, 2026.

The communist regime in Havana, now being led by Miguel Diaz-Canel, has been in power for 67 years. It celebrated another anniversary of the Fidel Castro-led revolution on New Year's Day.

"Cuba is, you know, not doing very well right now," Trump said. "That system has not been a very good one for Cuba. The people there have suffered for many, many years."

Now that the United States is "running" Venezuela, as Trump described it, his administration is in position to fully shut off Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba. The petroleum subsidies that the Maduro regime has supplied to Havana were one of the few remaining sources of foreign aid the Cuban government has been able to count on.

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That much was cheered by advocates for the end of communist rule on the island.

"The return of Venezuela to the rule of law and respect for human rights has international implications. The Cuban regime will no longer be able to benefit from Venezuelan oil," said Frank Calzon of the Center for a Free Cuba. "Iran, Russia, China, Nicaragua and Cuba have lost a strategic ally in the Americas. And hopefully, with its huge oil resources properly managed, Venezuela great again."

Trump's tough talk did not impress U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, a Democrat who represents Florida's Congressional District 22, which includes the president's Mar-a-Lago residence.

There is no way to predict what this president will do," Frankel said. "That kind of rhetoric is dangerous and raises the risk of escalation across the hemisphere. The United States should lead with diplomacy and stability, not threats that make the region  and us  less safe.

Rubio: Cuba is in 'total collapse'

Asked by Trump to speak about the situation in the Caribbean island 90 miles from U.S. shores, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba is a "disaster."

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"It's run by incompetent, senile men  and in some cases, not senile, but incompetent nonetheless," he said. "It has no economy. It's in total collapse."

Earlier, Rubio had said the administration "will talk with anybody" but warned adversaries against gamesmanship.

"Don't play games with this president, because it's not going to turn out well," said the former U.S. senator from Florida and son of Cuban exiles. "I guess that lesson was learned last night and we hope it'll be instructive going forward."

Trump has long been engaged in Cuban foreign policy and domestic U.S. politics. He is the only presidential candidate ever endorsed by the Bay of Pigs veterans organization, the Brigade 2506 Association, first in 2016 and then in 2020 and 2024.

During his first term, Trump traveled to the Little Havana neighborhood in Miami to announce he was rolling back the Obama administration's engagement policies and reopening of tourism and trade ties with the Cuban regime led at the time by Raul Castro, Fidel Castro's younger brother.

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"The previous administrations easing of restrictions on travel and trade does not help the Cuban people  they only enrich the Cuban regime," Trump said during a June 16, 2017, speech at the Manuel Artime Theater. "The outcome of the last administrations executive action has been only more repression and a move to crush the peaceful, democratic movement."

He then added: "Therefore, effective immediately, I am canceling the last administrations completely one-sided deal with Cuba."

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: After Venezuela raid, has Trump sets sight on regime change in Cuba?
Jan. 4 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said in an interview published Sunday that the United States needs to annex Greenland "for defense," drawing condemnation and demands from Denmark to stop threatening annexation.

Trump has consistently discussed annexing Greenland since before retaking office in January 2025, but has also long been rebuffed on the idea by officials in both Denmark and its autonomous territory of Greenland.

But at a news conference on Saturday morning after the U.S. apprehension of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both alluded to the potential of U.S. military action elsewhere in the Americas.

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When asked on Sunday if Maduro's apprehension should be interpreted by other nations -- for instance, Greenland, which does not want to be annexed -- as a signal that his administration might consider military action to pursue more goals, Trump demurred.

"They are going to have to view it themselves," Trump told The Atlantic in an interview on Sunday. "I really don't know ... But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense."

Katie Miller, right, who is the husband of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, left, pictured at the 2025 White House Easter Egg Roll drew scorn from Denmark's ambassador to the U.S. after posting a map of Greenland on X with a U.S. flag overlaid on the independent territory's land. File Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI

He also noted that the NATO ally is "surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships."

Trump previously has refused to rule out military action to annex Greenland, saying in May that he wouldn't "say I'm not going to do it but I don't rule out anything ... We need Greenland very badly," The Guardian reported.

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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a statement Sunday in response to Trump's renewed comments about annexing Greenland, calling on the United States to stop threatening it.

"I must say this very directly to the United States: It makes absolutely no sense to talk about it being necessary for the United States to take over Greenland. The United States has no legal right to annex any of the three countries in the Realm of the Kingdom," she said in the official statement.

Denmark, and therefore Greenland, is a NATO member and is covered by the alliance's security guarantee, she said, while adding that the Scandinavian country also shares a defense agreement with the United States that gives its military "broad access" to Greenland.

"I therefore strongly urge that, on the part of the United States, threats against a historically close ally -- and against another country and another people who have very clearly stated that they are not for sale -- come to an end," she said.

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Greenland, which is the world's largest island, is a self-governing territory of Denmark. It is largely covered with ice, though it has oil, natural gas and mineral resources, and already is home to the United States' northernmost military base.

Trump said in a nationally televised speech in March that his administration was "working with everybody involved to try and get it."

"We need it really for international world security," he said during the speech, adding that he thought "we're going to get it, one way or the other."

At the time, Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said in a Facebook post that Greenlanders would determine their own future and do not want to be Americans any more than they want to be Danish.

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Trump's recently named Greenland envoy, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, said in December that the United States is not going to "go in there trying to conquer anybody."

Landry also said in December that he was thankful to Trump for the "honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the United States," The Guardian reported.

Denmark's ambassador to the United States, Jesper Moeller Soerensen, responded to a Saturday post on X by Katie Miller, wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, that depicted Greenland with a U.S. map overlaid on it with the word "SOON," the BBC reported.

"Just a friendly reminder about the U.S. and Denmark: We are close allies and should continue to work together as such," Soerensen said in a response on X.

"And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark," Soerensen added.
President Donald Trump announced Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been captured by the U.S. and removed from the country. This comes after months of continued escalation between the Trump administration and Venezuela.

In a press conference, Trump said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were successfully captured in the dead of night and praised the militarys capture for putting a stop to the flow of drugs into the United States.

Trump said Maduro destabilized the American hemisphere and was working with foreign powers, including Iran.

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The illegitimate dictator Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States. As alleged in the indictment, he personally oversaw the vicious cartel known as cartel de los Solas, which flooded our nation with lethal poison, responsible for the deaths of countless Americans, he said.

Trump said that the U.S. will temporarily run Venezuela until a transfer of power can happen.

Were going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. So we dont want to be involved with having somebody else get in, and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years, Trump said.

A Venezuelan national watches a live televised broadcast of U.S. President Donald Trump speaking at a press conference about the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, at a Venezuelan restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. | Natacha Pisarenko, Associated Press

He also said that the military action will pave the way for oil companies to tap Venezuelas vast reserves and sell large amounts to other countries.

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He said that not a single U.S. life was lost and not one piece of military equipment was lost in the capture. Trump also said the U.S. was prepared to conduct a second wave that was much bigger if the first attempt to capture Maduro was unsuccessful.

Maduro and his wife are currently on a ship heading to New York, where they will then face the justice system on U.S. soil, Trump said.

He noted that there are people in Venezuela who will be able to live in peace, and there are Venezuelans in the U.S. that may want to return to their home country now that its safer.

The U.S. in recent months has been targeting boats off the coast of Venezuela and conducting strikes, noting that its in an effort to curb the flow of fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S.

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The legal authority for Saturdays attack, which is similar to the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the seizure of leader Manuel Antonio Noriega in 1990, was not immediately clear, The Associated Press reported.

Men watch smoke rising from a dock after explosions were heard at La Guaira port, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. | Matias Delacroix, Associated Press

The capture of Maduro was reportedly conducted by FBI agents, in conjunction with the U.S. military.

Attorney General Pam Bondi shared the indictment of Maduro and his wife, accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy. In a post online, she said they will face the full wrath of American justice.

On behalf of the entire U.S. DOJ, I would like to thank President Trump for having the courage to demand accountability on behalf of the American People, and a huge thank you to our brave military who conducted the incredible and highly successful mission to capture these two alleged international narco traffickers, Bondi said.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also delivered remarks at Saturdays press conference, celebrating the efforts of the military to capture Maduro.

He praised Trumps leadership and said the president is deadly serious about stopping the flow of gangs and violence to our country, deadly serious about stopping the flow of drugs and poison to our people, deadly serious about getting back the oil that was stolen from us and deadly serious about re-establishing American deterrence and dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

Maribel Gonzalez, of Miami, celebrates outside Versailles Cuban Cuisine after President Donald Trump announced Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country, in Miami, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. | Jen Golbeck, Associated Press

This is America first. This is peace through strength and the United States War Department is proud to help deliver it. Welcome to 2026 and under President Trump, America is back, Hegseth said.

Vice President JD Vance posted online that Trump had offered several off ramps for Maduro but had been clear, the drug trafficking must stop.

The president offered multiple off ramps, but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States. Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says.



Kudos to our brave pic.twitter.com/b1fqkdbB4x  JD Vance (@JDVance) January 3, 2026

Maria Corina Machado, who was named the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, was an opposition leader in Venezuela and attempted to achieve a democratic transition of power with Maduros administration. The government blocked her candidacy and the 2024 election in Venezuela was called for Maduro after the National Electoral Council, backed by Maduro, said he won.

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She had been in hiding for fear of retribution from the Maduro administration and was recently seen in Norway, where she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

During his press conference, Trump seemed to indicate the U.S. did not plan to help Machado take power.

I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesnt have the support within or the respect within the country, Trump said. Shes a very nice woman, but she doesnt have the respect.

Venezuelans celebrate after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country in Santiago, Chile, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. | Esteban Felix, Associated Press

Global leaders react to Venezuela invasion

Reaction to the invasion was mixed. While opponents to the regime in Venezuela and in the United States celebrated the move, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she strongly condemns and rejects the U.S. military action.

Supporters and dissenters of President Donald Trump argue across the street outside of Mar-a-Lago following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. | Allison Robbert, Associated Press

Russia also condemned the move, along with leaders in China, Iran, Cuba and Brazil.

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Meanwhile, leaders in Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and Panama celebrated Maduros removal.

In light of the events that took place early this morning in Venezuela, my government reiterates our position in favor of democratic trials and in favor of accepting the legitimate wishes of the Venezuelan people, as expressed emphatically at the polls, where Edmundo Gonzalez was elected, Panamas president, Jose Raul Mulino, said on X, according to a translation.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on X that she was, Following very closely the situation in Venezuela. We stand by the people of Venezuela and support a peaceful and democratic transition. Any solution must respect international law and the UN Charter.
The US attacked Venezuela and captured its long-serving president Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, with Donald Trump promising to put the country under American control for now, even as Venezuelan officials vowed defiance.

As part of a dramatic overnight operation that knocked out electricity in parts of Caracas, US Special Forces captured Maduro in or near one of his safe houses, Trump said.

With Maduro in US custody, we will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition, the US president said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

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Related: It sends a horrible signal: US politicians react to capture of Nicolas Maduro

We cant take a chance that someone else takes over Venezuela who doesnt have the interests of Venezuelans in mind.

Trump hailed the attack  in which the New York Times reported at least 40 people, including civilians and Venezuelan soldiers, died  as an assault like people have not seen since world war two.

A plane carrying Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, landed in upstate New York on Saturday evening, news outlets reported.

Maduro, in US custody hours after being seized from his Caracas compound in a US raid, landed at Stewart air national guard base after 4.30pm in a white Boeing 757. He was expected to be taken by helicopter to New York City, where he will be processed and transported to the Metropolitan detention center, officials told NBC News.

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They said the Venezuela president will appear in court by Monday evening.

Video shared by an official White House account appears to show Maduro in handcuffs being escorted by agents at the US Drug Enforcement Administration offices in New York.

The dramatic intervention in Caracas was condemned by Democrats on Capitol Hill and several leaders around the world as the most dangerous example of US imperialism since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Trump, who campaigned for the presidency with a promise to end foreign wars, did nothing to quell those fears when he told reporters that the US would be temporarily seizing control of Venezuela and its oil infrastructure.

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Maduro, a 63-year-old former bus driver handpicked by the dying Hugo Chavez to succeed him in 2013, has accused the US of seeking to take control of his nations oil reserves, the biggest in the world.

At his press conference, Trump said: Were going to have our very large US oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country and we are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so.

It remained unclear how Trump plans to administer Venezuela. Despite the overnight operation that knocked out electricity in part of Caracas and captured Maduro in or near one of his safe houses, US forces have no control over the country itself, and Maduros government appears to still be in charge.

Trump said the US would run Venezuela with a group and would be designating various people in charge while pointing to the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio; the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth; and the joint chiefs of staff chair, Gen Dan Razin Caine, behind him.

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Related: Trumps lawless actions in Venezuela demand a resolute response

He failed to elaborate but said he was open to the idea of sending US forces into Venezuela. Were not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to have. We had boots on the ground last night at a very high level, actually. Were not afraid of it. We dont mind saying it but were going to make sure that country is run properly. Were not doing this in vain, the president said.

A US occupation wont cost us a penny because the US would be reimbursed from the money coming out of the ground, Trump said, referring to Venezuelas oil reserves.

But the remarks are likely to cause consternation among some of Trumps die-hard supporters who, haunted by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, have embraced his America first commitment to stop sending troops to fight and die abroad.

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Trump also said Rubio had been in touch with the Venezuelan vice-president, Delcy Rodriiguez, who was reportedly sworn in after Maduros capture. Well do whatever you need, Trump quoted Rodriguez as saying. She really doesnt have a choice, he added.

Vice-president says Venezuela will never again be anyones colony

But a few hours later, the US presidents claim was undermined by Rodriguez, who, in a televised address, maintained the critical tone adopted by all members of Maduros cabinet since the first reports of the US bombardment.

She described the US attack as an unprecedented military aggression, and demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife. The Venezuelan people are outraged by the illegal and illegitimate kidnapping of the president and the first lady, Rodriguez said.

The Venezuelan vice-president insisted that the country will never again be anyones colony  neither of old empires, nor of new empires, nor of empires in decline.

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She also echoed an argument repeatedly made by Maduro before his capture: that the real objective of the four-month-long US military pressure had never been a supposed war on drugs, but rather regime change and the seizure of our energy, mineral and natural resources.

Venezuelas supreme court late on Saturday ordered Vice-president Rodriguez, to become the countrys interim leader.

At his earlier press conference earlier, Trump said he understood she was just sworn in as Venezuelas new president. Rodriguez, however, repeatedly stressed that Maduro is the only president of Venezuela. There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolas Maduro Moros.

Maduro was indicted in US federal court in 2020 on narco-terrorism and other charges for running what prosecutors called a scheme to send tons of cocaine to the US through an alleged Cartel de los Soles. He has always denied the allegations.

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In the run-up to the attack, Trump had sought a blockade of Venezuelan oil and expanded sanctions against the Maduro government, and staged more than two dozen strikes on vessels the US alleges were involved in trafficking drugs, killing more than 110 people.

At around 2am on Saturday, explosions rocked Caracas with blasts, aircraft and black smoke seen for about 90 minutes. The Venezuelan government said the attacks also took place in the states of Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira.

The operation involved a joint force of more than 150 aircraft and special operations teams, and was executed without any US casualties or loss of equipment. The apprehension force arrived at Maduros compound and came under fire, replying with overwhelming force. Maduro was captured while attempting to reach a steel-reinforced safe room but was unable to close the door in time.

Maduro and his wife had been whisked by helicopters to the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship in the Caribbean, before their transfer to New York. Trump posted a photo on social media appearing to show Maduro wearing a sweatsuit and blindfold on board the USS Iwo Jima. The couple arrived at the Stewart international airport in New Windsor, New York, late on Saturday afternoon.

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The US has not made such a direct intervention in its backyard region since the invasion of Panama 36 years ago that, to the day, led to the surrender and seizure of leader Manuel Noriega over similar allegations.

Venezuelas ruling Chavismo movement, named for Maduros revered predecessor Chavez, said civilians and military personnel died in Saturdays strikes but did not give figures.

Related: Venezuela attack: what we know so far as US captures President Maduro

The opposition, headed by recent Nobel peace prize winner Maria Corina Machado, had no immediate comment but has said for 18 months that it won the 2024 election and has a democratic right to take power.

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But Trump said Machado did not have the support within or the respect within the country when he was asked if she would be a potential interim leader now.

Saturdays press conference in Florida struck a triumphalist tone. Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, said: Nicolas Maduro had his chance, just like Iran had their chance  until they didnt and until he didnt. He effed around and he found out.

Rubio insisted that it had been impractical to inform Congress of such a delicate operation in advance. But Democrats roundly condemned the intervention. Chuck Schumer, the minority leader in the Senate, said: The idea that Trump plans to now run Venezuela should strike fear in the hearts of all Americans. The American people have seen this before and paid the devastating price.

Bernie Sanders, an independent senator for Vermont, said Trump and his administration have spoken openly about controlling Venezuelas oil reserves, the largest in the world. This is rank imperialism. It recalls the darkest chapters of US interventions in Latin America, which have left a terrible legacy. It will and should be condemned by the democratic world.

Venezuelan allies Russia, Cuba and Iran were quick to criticize the strikes as a violation of sovereignty. Argentinas president, Javier Milei, lauded Venezuelas new freedom, while Mexico condemned the intervention and Brazils president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said it crossed an unacceptable line.

With Reuters
Donald Trump has set his sights on a US takeover of Greenland after capturing Nicolas Maduro and saying he would run Venezuela.

We do need Greenland, absolutely, the US president told The Atlantic magazine, adding that the Danish territory was surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.

He said officials in his administration would decide what happened to Greenland, which Mr Trump has claimed the US must annex for its security.

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We need it for defence, he said of Greenland.

Responding to the latest threat from Mr Trump, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenlands prime minister, said: Thats enough now.

No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation, he wrote on Facebook late on Sunday. We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law.

President Trump has declared that America needs Greenland for "national security."



Follow: @AFpost pic.twitter.com/AzdrU0G5X3  AF Post (@AFpost) January 4, 2026

Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, urged Mr Trump to stop the threats, adding that Greenland is not for sale.

The US has no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom, she said, pointing out that Denmark already has a defence agreement with America, which gives it access to Greenland, and that Copenhagen had boosted its investment in the Arctic regions security.

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I would therefore strongly urge the United States to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have very clearly said that they are not for sale, she added.

Earlier, Mr Nielsen rebuked the Trump administration, calling it disrespectful and saying that the territory was not for sale.

He was referring to an image posted on social media by Katie Miller, the wife of Mr Trumps deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, showing the map of Greenland painted with the US flag and captioned SOON.

Ulf Kirtsersson, the prime minister of Sweden, said on X: Its only Denmark and Greenland that have the right to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland. Sweden fully stands up for our neighbouring country.

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The mission to capture Mr Maduro has triggered concerns about further US military operations in the Western hemisphere, which the Trump administration views as part of Americas sphere of influence.

A US invasion of Greenland is deemed unlikely by analysts who point out that the Danish territory is a part of the Nato alliance along with the United States.

However, the renewed threats are likely to alarm European leaders as the American split with the continent grows.

Katie Miller, wife of one of Mr Trumps aides, posted a map of Greenland covered in the US flag online

The US will be keeping a close eye on Delcy Rodriguez, Mr Maduros vice-president, who was sworn in as interim president by the countrys supreme court on Sunday.

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Mr Trump warned that she would pay a big price if she failed to cooperate with the US.

If she doesnt do whats right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro, he told The Atlantic.

He said on Saturday that Ms Rodriguez was essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Ms Rodriguez has rejected suggestions that she will follow US orders.

Mr Trump on Sunday evening insisted the US was in charge of Venezuela.

Were dealing with the people who just got sworn in. Dont ask me whos in charge because Ill give you an answer and itll be very controversial, he told reporters on Air Force One.

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Pressed on what he meant, the US president said: It means were in charge.

Donald Trump boards Air Force One to return to DC - Getty Images

Mr Trump warned the US could launch a second military strike on Venezuela, if remaining members of the administration did not cooperate with his efforts to get the country fixed.

He also raised the possibility of further military interventions in Latin America, suggesting Colombia and Mexico could face military action if they did not reduce the flow of illicit drugs into the US.

Operation Colombia sounds good to me, Mr Trump said. He also said that Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela, looks like its ready to fall on its own without US military action.

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Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are expected to appear in a Manhattan court on Monday, charged with narco-terrorism and possession of machine guns.

A 25-page indictment accuses the pair of kidnap, beatings and murder to sustain a drug-trafficking operation run by cartels using fake passports allegedly dished out by the president.

Ms Flores was pictured on Sunday night for the first time since the raid. She can be seen in a green hoodie and white trousers being escorted by an American police officer.

Cilia Flores is escorted into custody by DEA agents - Reuters

Officials in the US revealed on Sunday that a cyber attack on Venezuela allowed helicopters to fly in and capture Mr Maduro.

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At least 80 people, including civilians and security personnel, were killed in accompanying air strikes, a senior Venezuelan official told The New York Times.

JD Vance, the US vice-president, defended the mission. I understand the anxiety over the use of military force, but are we just supposed to allow a communist to steal our stuff in our hemisphere and do nothing? Great powers dont act like that, he said.

Washington has said it launched the operation to topple Mr Maduro to stop drug-trafficking into the US and to get access to its vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Trump enraged by mocking video

Mr Trump was reportedly moved to order the daring ambush after being enraged by a video of Mr Maduro dancing to an electronic remix of his own speech, No War, Yes Peace, on Dec 30.

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The US president thought the Venezuelan leader was mocking him and calling his bluff, a week after the US struck a dock that Mr Trump claimed was used to house drug-trafficking boats.

Mr Maduro is led by DEA agents after arriving in New York - Reuters

The US ruled out immediate elections in Venezuela on Sunday. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said talk of a vote was premature, adding that America would run Venezuelan policy through the parts of the regime still in power.

Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the Venezuelan opposition leader who is recognised by the US and Britain as the winner of an election against Mr Maduro in 2024, said the removal of his rival was an important step, but not enough to return the country to normal. He called for the election results to be respected and all political prisoners to be released.

Lets be realistic here, he told NBC on Sunday when asked about elections. What we are focused on right now is all of the problems we had when Maduro was there  we still have those problems in terms of them needing to be addressed.

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Armed members of a pro-government militia were seen on Saturday stopping civilians in parts of the city that remain loyal to the toppled leader.

Elsewhere, crowds gathered in subway stations looking for charging stations after power cuts were reported in parts of the city.

Mr Rubio said on Sunday that the US wanted to give Ms Rodriguez an opportunity to address the challenges in Venezuela as a transitional government taking instructions from Washington, DC.

Marco Rubio has been called viceroy of Venezuela after being appointed to run the country - Molly Riley/The White House

Mr Rubio has been nicknamed viceroy of Venezuela after Mr Trump appointed him and others to run the country on Saturday. He is said to have played a central role in guiding the Trump administration towards toppling Mr Maduros regime.

Hours after Mr Rubios comments, Ms Rodriguez expressed a willingness to collaborate with Mr Trump, while asserting Venezuelas right to peace, development, sovereignty and a future.

We prioritise moving towards balanced and respectful international relations between the United States and Venezuela, and between Venezuela and other countries in the region, premised on sovereign equality and non-interference, she said in a post on Instagram.

These principles guide our diplomacy with the rest of the world. We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence.

Reports emerged on Sunday suggesting the ousting of Mr Maduro was an inside job. Former Colombian officials said they were absolutely certain that Ms Rodriguez betrayed Mr Maduro.

One US official said of Ms Rodriguez that shes certainly someone we think we can work at a much more professional level than Mr Maduro. The official told the New York Times that Washington had been impressed by Ms Rodriguezs ability to manage Venezuelas oil industry.

Delcy Rodriguez, Mr Maduros vice-president, was sworn in as interim president on Sunday - JUAN BARRETO/AFP

Ms Rodriguez had presented the US with a plan for her to run Venezuela without Mr Maduro, according to the Miami Herald. It is not clear if she co-operated with the US to help capture the former president.

Pressure mounted on Sir Keir Starmer from the Left wing of Labour on Sunday to condemn the US actions in Venezuela and stand up to Trumps gangster politics.

On Sunday, Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and close ally of Vladimir Putin, said the attacks on Venezuela were unlawful but consistent because Mr Trump was defending US interests.

It must be acknowledged that, despite the obvious unlawfulness of Trumps behaviour, one cannot deny a certain consistency in his actions. He and his team defend their countrys national interests quite harshly, he told state news.

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0501 Socialism tanked Venezuela\'s oil industry

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Oil markets were braced for possible volatility in global markets when trading resumed across most of the world on Monday morning.

The stock market in Saudi Arabia, which relies on high oil prices to sustain its economy, fell by the most in nine months on Sunday. The Tadawul All Share Index dropped 1.8 per cent, the biggest decline since Mr Trumps tariffs destabilised global markets in April.

Meanwhile, oil companies were preparing to return to Venezuela to begin extracting crude, a key pledge made by Mr Trump in the aftermath of the raid on Caracas.

Protesters outside the US embassy in Madrid, Spain, hold a cartoon showing Donald Trump drinking oil - Luciano Lima

Mr Rubio said that the US did not need Venezuelan oil, but there would be no more using the oil industry to enrich all our adversaries.

Why does China need Venezuelan oil? Why does Russia? Why does Iran? he said. A US blockade is currently preventing exports of Venezuelan oil.

Mr Trump told reporters on Saturday that US companies would invest billions of dollars in the countrys oil fields, which are estimated to be the largest in the world.

Interim leaders ties to Moscow

Questions have been raised over Ms Rodriguezs ties to the Kremlin, following reports that she was in Russia at the time of Mr Maduros capture.

The interim leader signed dozens of co-operation agreements with Moscow in the past and in November said that Venezuelas relationship with Moscow cannot be destroyed.

The US military operation has drawn condemnation from Venezuelas allies China, North Korea and Russia  but has been cautiously welcomed in some European capitals.

Mr Maduro and his wife are being held in a Brooklyn prison with a history of bad conditions and mistreatment of inmates, which have included Ghislaine Maxwell, Luigi Mangione and the rapper Sean Diddy Combs.

The former Venezuelan leader was last seen in a perp walk video in which he wished DEA officers a good night and a Happy New Year as he was escorted to jail on Saturday.

Shackled, wearing a blue hoodie and black hat pulled over his head, he was pictured smiling and holding his thumbs up alongside dozens of federal agents.
(AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

President Donald Trump took time out of his very busy day deposing Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro to re-Truth a social media post outrageously questioning whether Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) ordered the assassination of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman (D).

The original post by @LightOnLiberty asked, Was Minnesota State Rep Melissa Hortman murdered because she voted against and was exposing a multi-billion dollar money laundering fraud going to illegal immigrants in Minnesota?!

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The post continued, The fraud that she voted against that heavily implicated illegal aliens, specifically Somalians, who have been racketing this kind of child care, health care rackets and cooperating with our corrupt government?

The post included a video delving into the conspiracy theory.

Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, were shot and killed last summer at their home by a man posing as a police officer.

Democratic State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were also targeted in their home, allegedly by the same suspect. Both survived but faced lengthy recoveries.

Vance Boelter, 57, was indicted on six federal charges of stalking and murder.

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According to court documents, after extensive research and planning, Boelter embarked on a murderous rampage targeting Minnesotas elected officials and their families, read a press release from the U.S. Attorneys Office in the District of Minnesota.

Trump attacked Walz most recently over the issue of Somali immigrants and reports of fraud that the FBI has been investigating for years. In a Truth Social post from November, Trump claimed hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia are completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota, and alleged that Somali gangs were roving the streets looking for prey.

On Air Force One in November, Trump defending calling Walz retarded.

Yeah, I think theres something wrong with him, Trump responded to a reporters question. Absolutely. Sure. You have a problem with it? You know what? I think theres something wrong with him. Anybody that would do what he did, anybody that would allow those people into his state and pay billions of dollars out to Somalia We give billions of dollars to Somalia. Its not even a country because it doesnt function like a country. Its got a name but it doesnt function like a country.

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The Department of Justice has never indicated it was charging anyone other than Boelter for the shootings.

The post Trump Shares Conspiracy Post Suggesting Tim Walz Ordered Minnesota Lawmakers Assassination first appeared on Mediaite.
The U.S. invasion of Venezuela late last Friday shocked the world for many reasons. It represents another fundamental departure from the postWorld War II order supported by the United States for the last 50 years. It was also an unprovoked, naked act of aggression based on the flimsiest of pretexts. Congress was not consulted, and the executive branch has far exceeded the 60 days allowed by the 1973 War Powers Act to get congressional approval for ongoing military action.

Far worse than these shattered norms are the horrifying possibilities this action raises. President Donald Trump and the GOP have laid bare their desires for hegemony, colonialism, and empire, and the dangerous global consequences of the United States pursuing these cannot be understated. Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was an unpopular kleptocratic dictator, and this article should not be in any way interpreted as a defense of him; but it is a warning of what this invasion means, and what is to come.

Perhaps the most blatant of all the recent acts is Trumps own declaration that the U.S. will take control of Venezuela for a while to seize and exploit the oil resources of the country. He will undoubtedly place a right-wing dictator beholden to him in charge of the country, opening the door to yet another avenue for foreign money flowing to him. Similarly, oil companies will compete with one another for access to the seized assets, meaning more money being laundered to Trump, his family, and other supporters in this spoils-of-war system.

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It also sets the U.S. up to occupy a country that, while holding no love for Maduro, likely wont be happy to exchange a left-wing dictator who bankrupted and impoverished them with a right-wing one who is doing the same. The U.S. has a long history of propping up unpopular despots with embedded troops, which hasnt gone particularly well since Korea (where there was at least U.S. and U.N. support for the sovereignty of South Korea). Vietnam, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria have been fruitless fiascos, producing corrupt unstable dictatorships at best (Iraq), or leaving our enemies in charge at worst (Iran, Afghanistan, and Vietnam until the 1990s).

Like so many of Trumps militaristic foreign policy misadventures, there seems to be no long-term plan or strategy beyond executing lightning strikes in the hope that it produces desired results. While Iran is currently in turmoil, the world does not seem to be safer, more peaceful, or more orderly as a result.

The same is true for Venezuela: Trump does not appear to have a coherent plan for how to take and maintain control. Instead, there seems to be a belief in the administration that Venezuela can either be bullied into surrender or that U.S. troops would be greeted as liberators even as U.S. oil companies seized its national resources. This despite the fact that Maduros vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, remains defiant and at large, and the military and security apparatuses of the regime remain largely intact. There are signs that Trump may allow Rodriguez to remain in place, so long as she continues moves to adopt a laissez-faire capitalist system that lets U.S. oil companies exploit Venezuelan resources.

This act has also sent a chilling message to the world that the United States is beginning the process of carving up the world into spheres of influence run by dictatorships (namely the U.S., Russia, and China). Russia was Venezuelas benefactor and ally but has been strangely quiet. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Fiona Hill testified to Congress in 2019 that Russia was signaling very strongly that they wanted to somehow make some very strange swap agreement between Venezuela and Ukraine. In other words, the U.S. could have Venezuela if we let Russia have Ukraine. This strongly suggests that the price for letting the U.S. go after Venezuela without any protest was, and will be, Ukraine. It also suggests that Taiwan may already be on the table as a bargaining chip with China, in order to secure its acquiescence to further U.S. regional hegemony in the Americas.

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Americas 2025 National Security Strategy document has already put NATO and Europe on notice that they are the real enemy to Trumps ambitions for empire and riches. In this seminal document, Russia was no longer portrayed as an adversary, and China was barely mentioned. Instead, the document focused on distancing the U.S. from NATO and the EU, treating them as adversaries rather than our closest allies. This further supports the notion that the globe is being carved up behind closed doors by nuclear-armed dictators intent on amassing wealth, building buffers to their empires, and securing their own backyards.

Trump has signaled that the global order of the past 80 years means nothing, and the U.S. is back in the business of colonial empire building as if it was a preWorld War I great power. Canada and Greenland should be extremely alarmed by this. Both of these countries have been put on notice since the beginning of the second Trump administration that he intends to annex them, and this overt, over-the-top act of war against Venezuela confirms that theres nothing stopping him from finding some pretextual casus belli to justify a U.S. annexation of Greenland. Denmark, Canada, and Greenland are all NATO members, and it appears the U.S. is barreling toward a confrontation with that organization.

Members of the EU, NATO, and the countries being threatened here should have their eyes wide open to the implications of what is happening. They are not dealing with someone who can be appeased, any more than Ukraine could have appeased Russia in 2022 by any means other than complete capitulation.

Leaders of democracies around the world need to understand this for what it likely is: the opening salvos of a broader campaign of modern Lebensraum and Anschluss. History teaches that the best time to say no in concrete terms is early, and not after despotic nations are deciding who gets to keep which parts of countries they invaded.
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, though the country's production is limited due to sanctions (file photo) [Bloomberg via Getty Images]

Donald Trump has vowed to tap into Venezuela's oil reserves after seizing President Nicolas Maduro and saying the US will "run" the country until a "safe" transition.

The US president wants American oil firms to pile billions of dollars into the South American country, which has the largest crude oil reserves on the planet, to mobilise the largely untapped resource.

He said US companies will fix Venezuela's "badly broken" oil infrastructure and "start making money for the country".

But experts warned of huge challenges with Trump's plan, saying it would cost billions and take up to a decade to produce a meaningful uplift in oil output.

So can the US really take control of Venezuela's oil reserves? And will Trump's plan work?

With an estimated 303 billion barrels, Venezuela is home to the world's largest proven oil reserves.

But the amount of oil the country actually produces today is tiny by comparison.

Output has dropped off sharply since the early 2000s, as former President Hugo Chavez and then the Maduro administration tightened control over the state-run oil company, PDVSA, leading to an exodus of more experienced staff.

Though some Western oil firms, including the US company Chevron, are still active in the country, their operations have shrunk significantly as the US has widened sanctions and targeted oil exports, aiming to curb Maduro's access to a key economic lifeline.

Sanctions - which the US first put in place in 2015 during President Barack Obama's administration over alleged human rights violations - have also left the country largely cut off from the investment and the parts it needs.

"The real challenge they've got is their infrastructure," said Callum Macpherson, head of commodities at Investec.

Bill Farren Price, senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, told the BBC that Venezuela's oil industry "had its heyday decades ago" and has been in sharp decline over the past 20 years.

"A lot of the complex supply chain and infrastructure's been looted and taken apart and sold," he added.

In November, Venezuela produced an estimated 860,000 barrels per day, according to the latest oil market report from the International Energy Agency.

That is barely a third of what it was 10 years ago and accounts for less than 1% of world oil consumption.

The country's oil reserves are made up of so-called "heavy, sour" oil. It is harder to refine, but useful for making diesel and asphalt. The US typically produces "light, sweet" oil used to make petrol.
(AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

President Donald Trumps team was reportedly so put off by strongman Nicolas Maduros dance moves that he gave the word for U.S. troops to invade Venezuela and remove the dictator from power.

The New York Times reported Sunday that Maduros regular public dancing and other displays of nonchalance in recent weeks helped persuade some on the Trump team that the Venezuelan president was mocking them and trying to call what he believed to be a bluff.

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The Times cited anonymous sources saying that Maduros antics after rejecting an ultimatum from Trump to leave office and go into exile in Turkey, ultimately led the White House to follow through on its military threats.

This week [Maduro] was back onstage, brushing off the latest U.S. escalation  a strike on a dock that the United States said was used for drug trafficking  by bouncing to an electronic beat on state television while his recorded voice repeated in English, No crazy war,' The report said.

Some of Maduros celebratory dances were posted to social media, which the White House monitors routinely, as evidenced by X appearing on a large screen in the war room used by Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during the removal operation.

In November, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro tried to prevent being from removed from power by dancing to a musical remix of his own "No War, Yes Peace" speech. Yes, this is real.pic.twitter.com/cS3Kxj7oNl  Ryan Saavedra (@RyanSaavedra) January 3, 2026

US-Venezuela conflict update: Maduro is currently dancing onstage at a public rally. pic.twitter.com/gkD22JnAUW  OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) December 1, 2025

Communist Maduro no longer dances. Goodbye asshole. pic.twitter.com/5Y7y6ZANRK  RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) January 3, 2026

Trump posted a video montage on Truth Social Saturday of Maduro shouting, Come for me! Im waiting for you here in Miraflores. Dont take too long to arrive, coward!

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The video, set to the strains of AC/DCs Thunderstruck, was interspersed with shots of bombs lighting up Venezuelas night sky as U.S. troops descended on Maduro.

Trump has long blamed Maduro for allowing illegal drugs to flood the U.S. market, although critics point out that Trumps claims of fentanyl trafficking dont hold up.

Fentanyl wasnt mentioned in the superseding indictment against Maduro and five co-conspirators released Saturday. Instead, the charges were related to bringing tons of cocaine into the United States.

The post Trump Team Moved to Oust Maduro Because They Were Put Off By Videos of His Dancing: Report first appeared on Mediaite.
Shared by Donald Trump's Truth Social AccountAnadolu via Getty Images Credit - President Donald Trump watches Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's capture unfold in Washington, United States on January 3, 2026.

Speaking just hours after the successful operation to depose Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump issued a stark warning: American dominance in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again.

But the swift removal of Venezuelas president, and Trumps promise to run the country while extracting its oil wealth for the benefit of American companies, are likely to have ramifications far beyond the Americas.

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Venezuelas importance lies not just in its proximity to the United States, but also in its role as a geopolitical centre of great power competition. It is an energy superpower, a symbol of ideological opposition to the U.S., and it has forged close relations with its enemies. It has also witnessed one of the largest refugee crises in modern historyone that could worsen.

Read more: How the World Is Reacting to the U.S. Capture of Nicolas Maduro

Trumps Venezuela gambit has the potential to impact global oil markets, reshape great-power alliances, and undermine norms around sovereignty and intervention. Leaders of other South American countries, such as Colombia, Mexico, and Cuba, are waking up to a world in which their countries' sovereignty is not guaranteed.

Here are the ways Trumps Venezuela takeover could change the world.

Oil and energy dominance

The United States taking control of Venezuelas oil industry would, in theory, seem to be an economic boon for Washington. The country has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, and control of those vast resources should deliver both a significant financial benefit to the U.S.

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But the reality is far more complex. Venezuela currently produces less than 1 million barrels of oil per day, or about 0.5% of global oil production, according to Rasmussen. Of those 1 million barrels, the South American country only exports about half.

Its energy infrastructure has been hampered by years of sanctions, mismanagement, and a lack of investment after Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in the 2000s.

Trump promised in his speech on Saturday that American energy companies stand ready to invest billions and billions of dollars to rebuild Venezuelas oil infrastructure, but experts warn it could take years, if not decades, for them to see returns.

One more immediate effect, however, is that the U.S. would seem to be on the verge of taking control of a major energy supplier to China. Beijing has poured tens of billions of dollars into oil-for-loans deals to secure a supply that is not located in an area controlled by the U.S. In that sense, Venezuela was an insurance policy for China's energy security.

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Venezuela's oil shipments to China, its main buyer, averaged over 600,000 barrels per day in December 2025, constituting about 4% of China's total oil imports, according to Reuters. Just hours before his capture, Maduro met with Qiu Xiaoqi, the Chinese governments special representative for Latin American affairs, at the Miraflores Presidential Palace.

The loss of such a crucial strategic energy partnership, one that was growing all the time, will be a strategic defeat for China and could provide the U.S. with leverage going forward.

In the short term, however, Trump appears to be trying to ease Chinas fears. In response to a question about Maduros meeting with Chinese officials before his capture, Trump told Fox & Friends on Saturday: "I have a very good relationship with [Chinas President] Xi, and theres not going to be a problem. Theyre going to get oil."

Iran weakened

Maduros fall will have a significant impact on Iran, a place where the U.S. has long sought to change leadership.

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Iran has been a close ally of Venezuela since the early 2000s, when the countries were led by Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, two leaders who defined themselves on the world stage by their opposition to U.S. hegemony.

Caracas was Irans strategic foothold in the Western Hemisphere, and a key partner in helping it evade sanctions. Iran has for years sent refined fuel, parts and expertise to bolster Venezuelas oil industry in return for much-needed financial support. Their partnership extended into military cooperation, with Venezuela purchasing Iranian drones and other weaponry.

That partnership could now be severed, further weakening a wobbling Iranian leadership that is under pressure since a joint Israeli-U.S. attack this summer, and ongoing protests.

Might is right

By any measure, the capture and detention of a sitting president is a norm-shattering event. Just as the Iraq War is often viewed as a catalyst for the collapse of the post-WWII rulers-based order, Trumps brazen capture of Maduro and his stated intention to control the country and its resources could spur another shift in how powerful countries operate.

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Both Russia and China could take Trumps flouting of international norms as an invitation to do the same, or to continue doing so, in Russias case.

While Moscow has already made its move in Ukraine, China has been threatening for years to regain control of Taiwan. The U.S. has repeatedly invoked arguments about sovereignty to dissuade China from doing so, but those arguments will now hold less weight.

American hemisphere

The capture of Maduro marked the Trump Administrations most forceful move yet in its pivot to projecting influence in the Western Hemisphere.

In the hours after the operation, Trump also gave leaders of other South American countries cause for concern.

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During a phone interview with Fox News, Trump warned that something will have to be done about Mexico, adding that he had asked the countrys President, Claudia Sheinbaum, if she wanted help tackling drug cartels in the country.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whom Trump has also accused of being involved in drug production, also received a pointed warning from Trump.

He's making cocaine and they're sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his ass, Trump said.

For the Communist leaders in Cuba, the small island nation that has thwarted Americas ill intentions towards it since the 1950s, the capture of Maduro is a threat to survival.

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Cuba has long relied on Venezuela for most of its energy supply, and receives tens of thousands of barrels of oil at subsidised rates. Between January and November last year, Venezuela sent 27,000 barrels of crude oil and fuel per day to Cuba, Reuters reported, citing shipping data and internal documents from state oil company PDVSA.

U.S. sanctions against Venezuela led to a decline in that flow in recent months, but the partnership is credited with keeping the Cuban economy afloat.

Trump also warned its leaders in his Saturday press conference, describing it as a failing nation.

The people there have suffered for many, many years, and I think Cuba is going to be something we'll end up talking about, he said.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is seen as a key player in Trumps Venezuela move, has spoken for years of his desire for the current Cuban political system to be overturned. On the morning after the raid, he had a pointed message for its leaders.

In some cases, one of the biggest problems Venezuelans have is they have to declare independence from Cuba, Rubio said. They tried to basically colonize it from a security standpoint. So, yeah, look, if I lived in Havana and I was in the government, Id be concerned at least a little bit.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, was more direct: Hopefully the end of Mr. Maduros reign of terror in Venezuela is near, and then we can focus on Cuba, one of his greatest allies and one of the most oppressive regimes in our backyard.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
President Donald Trump didnt ask Congress permission to take military action against Venezuela and haul away the South American nations president to stand trial in the United States.

He also, importantly, didnt ask your permission. There was no effort to garner or gauge public support for this likely illegal endeavor. You and I and all U.S. citizens were simply told, as Trump said Jan. 3, that America is going to run Venezuela for a while.

We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition, Trump said in the wake of the attack.

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Well, thats just super. I didnt ask for this. I never heard anybody ask for this. In fact, I doubt many, if any, Americans voted for Trump because they wanted regime change in a country theyd struggle to locate on a map.

People are worried about food and health insurance, not Venezuela

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters about Venezuela as Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 3, 2026.

The president just up and did it, and still hasnt provided a sound justification as to how it makes our lives better in a moment when millions of Americans are seeing their health care premiums skyrocket and food prices remain high.

Based on Trumps recent polling numbers, few are happy with the way hes running OUR country. And now he thinks he can handle another one for a bit as well? Please.

Another view: It's good Maduro is out of Venezuela. But is it legal? | Opinion

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To be sure, nobodys going to shed a tear for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro  hes a bad dude. But my understanding of the last U.S. presidential election was that people reelected Trump because he said hed bring down grocery prices on day one. People voted for him because he said he would bring America into a new "Golden Age."

Trump said in his inaugural address: My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.

Oops.

You think oil will pay for Trump's Venezuela fiasco? Hah!

The president is fulfilling zero promises, and now he seems to have marched America into a costly occupation of a foreign country, limply suggesting that Venezuelas oil will help pay for everything.

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It won't cost us anything because the money coming out of the ground is very substantial, Trump said from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, where he and his big-boy Cabinet members like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw the Venezuelan raid.

Opinion: Trump's calamitous 2025, summarized in one (long) sentence

Those echoes you're hearing are coming from the Iraq War

An antiwar demonstrator protests in front of the White House in Washington, DC, following President Donald Trump's announcement that the U.S. military has struck Venezuela and captured its president and first lady on Jan. 3, 2026.

Im trying to think of a time in the past when an administration has assured Americans that a countrys oil will cover the cost of occupying that country.

Ah, yes, there was Richard Perle, chair of the Pentagons Defense Policy Board, in 2002 talking about the war in Iraq: The likely economic effects would be relatively small. . Under every plausible scenario, the negative effect will be quite small relative to the economic benefits.

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And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, talking about Iraq in 2003: When it comes to reconstruction, before we turn to the American taxpayer, we will turn first to the resources of the Iraqi government and the international community.

And Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz in 2003, also talking about Iraq: We are talking about a country that can really finance its own reconstruction and relatively soon.

Cool, cool, cool.

Trump's attack on Venezuela has nothing to do with drugs

And what of Trumps explanation that we attacked Venezuela to stop the flow of drugs into America? Per The New York Times' editorial board:

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"The claim is particularly ludicrous in this case, given that Venezuela is not a meaningful producer of fentanyl or the other drugs that have dominated the recent epidemic of overdoses in the United States, and the cocaine that it does produce flows mostly to Europe. While Mr. Trump has been attacking Venezuelan boats, he also pardoned Juan Orlando Hernandez, who ran a sprawling drug operation when he was president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022.

A still image from video posted by the White House's Rapid Response 47 account on X.com, which originated from the @PaulDMauro account, shows Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in New York City on Jan. 3, 2026. Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, pictured here after his capture aboard the USS Iwo Jima, is seen in this handout image posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social Jan. 3, 2026. The United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight military operation on Jan. 3, 2026, President Donald Trump said, as explosions rocked Caracas and targets across the country. Picture of fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, after a series of explosions in Caracas on January 3, 2026. Loud explosions, accompanied by sounds resembling aircraft flyovers, were heard in Caracas around 2:00 am on January 3. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is led in custody from a U.S. federal airplane before his scheduled court appearance at Manhattan federal court, at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, U.S. January 3, 2026. A photograph posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him sitting next to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as they watch the U.S. military operation in Venezuela from Trump's Mar a Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, January 3, 2026. Fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, is seen from a distance after a series of explosions in Caracas on January 3, 2026. Picture showing damages to a building in the port of La Guaira, Venezuela, after a US military operation that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, on January 3, 2026. Smoke rises from explosions in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from video obtained by Reuters. Helicopters fly past plumes of smoke rising from explosions, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026 in this screen grab obtained from video obtained by Reuters. A military personnel member walks past debris at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 3, 2026. Civilians who were living inside Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex leave the compound, in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026. A column of smoke rises during multiple explosions in the early hours of the morning, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026 in this screen grab obtained from video obtained by Reuters. A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 3, 2026. A firefighter walks past a destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. Destroyed vehicles at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. A member of the National Guard stands guard at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. A Colombian soldier stands guard at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. Colombian police and military personnel stand guard at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. A destroyed anti-aircraft unit at La Carlota military air base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. A man walks next to military vehicles as Colombian soldiers patrol the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. Passengers sleep on the floor, after flights were delayed and cancelled when the airspace was closed due to U.S. strikes on Venezuela overnight, at Rafael Hernandez International Airport in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico January 3, 2026. U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jets sit parked on the tarmac at the former Roosevelt Roads naval base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, January 3, 2026. Colombian soldiers in a military vehicle at the border between Venezuela and Colombia, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia, January 3, 2026. A car drives on an empty street, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela January 3, 2026. A cyclist stops to check their phone, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela January 3, 2026. F-22, C-130 and F-35 aircraft are seen at the former Roosevelt Roads naval base, after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, January 3, 2026. A supporter of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holds a flag of Venezuela on an empty street near Miraflores Palace, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured President Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3, 2026. A person wears a Venezuelan flag, as they and others react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. People react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, on the streets of Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. A person wearing a hat that reads "America first" reacts to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Doral, Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. A man holds a flag reading "Make Venezuela Great Again", as people react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Doral, Miami, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. A photograph posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him sitting next to CIA Director John Ratcliffe as they watch the U.S. military operation in Venezuela, January 3, 2026. Armed supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro block the entrace to the 23 de enero neighborhood in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured him. Picture showing damages to the port of La Guaira, Venezuela, after a US military operation that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, on January 3, 2026. An armed supporter of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro blocks the entrace to the 23 de enero neighborhood in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured him. Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab, raises his clenched fist as he leaves the vice-presidency building in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. The airplane carrying Venezuelan President Nicolas Madura lands at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, N.Y. at approximately 4:30pm Jan. 3, 2026. A motorcade carrying ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro leaves the Westside Heliport in New York on January 3, 2026. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived Saturday evening at a military base in the United States after his capture by US forces in Caracas. Maduro was seen surrounded by FBI agents as he descended the boarding stairs of a US government plane at a New York state National Guard facility, and was slowly escorted along the tarmac. A helicopter carrying ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro comes in to land at the Westside Heliport in New York on January 3, 2026. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived Saturday evening at a military base in the United States after his capture by US forces in Caracas. Maduro was seen surrounded by FBI agents as he descended the boarding stairs of a US government plane at a New York state National Guard facility, and was slowly escorted along the tarmac. US bombs targets in Venezuela and captures Nicolas Maduro 1 of 39 A still image from video posted by the White House's Rapid Response 47 account on X.com, which originated from the @PaulDMauro account, shows Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in New York City on Jan. 3, 2026.

We didnt ask for this invasion. No normal person was pressing for the United States to meddle in Venezuela. The primary concerns people have right now involve putting food on the table, keeping their jobs from being wiped out by artificial intelligence and affording health insurance.

The Trump administration never made the case to attack Venezuela

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores in Caracas on Dec. 10, 2024.

So Id like Trump administration officials to let Americans get a look at the price tag of the likely quagmire they just plunked the country into. Id like to know who actually wanted this nonsensical military action, what the administrations plan is moving forward, and how any of this is going to do a damn thing to help the average American.

As we sit here, not even a week into 2026 and already on another imperialistic blood-for-oil campaign, Im guessing Im not alone in wanting answers.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's capture of Maduro won't make your life affordable | Opinion
Jan. 3SANTA FE  Santa Fe Police Department recently placed two of its officers on desk duty after learning that a grand jury indicted one for allegedly battering and choking his wife in November and that the other was charged in a separate domestic incident involving his girlfriend, a fellow officer.Ben Valdez, deputy chief of police at the department, confirmed the administrative actions against officers Xavier Smith and Donovan Gonzales in an email on Friday and said other disciplinary moves are pending review. While the cases are reviewed, he said both officers had been placed on temporary "alternate duty status with no contact with the public. Alternate duty is non-field work conducting administrative tasks."Valdez provided a copy of the department's disciplinary policy, which suggests that the officers could face termination based upon a "zero tolerance" rule the department employs regarding domestic violence "should a preponderance of evidence show that a violation has occurred."A grand jury in 13th Judicial District Court returned the indictment Dec. 18 against Smith, a DWI officer, charging him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery against a household member.The indictment accuses Smith of choking his wife at their Rio Rancho home in November. According to a statement of probable cause, Rio Rancho Police responded to the couple's home days after the incident, and Smith's wife told officers her husband climbed on top of her during the altercation and demanded her phone, holding her throat until she agreed to give it to him. The probable cause statement further states that Smith's wife showed investigators physical evidence of the alleged abuse on her body, including bruises and cuts. During a previous domestic violence incident involving the Santa Fe officer, she asserted that Smith had struck her with a shotgun. The courts ordered the officer to not be allowed to possess weapons as a condition of his release.According to Santa Fe Police Department policy, "indictment for the commission of any felony shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section," which specifically includes "an act of domestic violence or abuse under any state law or county ordinance in which the alleged victim is a household member."

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Valdez said that a police commander is currently reviewing and preparing "disciplinary corrective action documents for Officer Smith so the corrective process can occur."Smith is set to appear for an arraignment on Jan. 12, according to court records.Officer Gonzales was charged last month with criminal damage to the property of a household member under $1,000 and two counts of criminal damage to property under $1,000.According to a statement of probable cause, the charges stem from an incident that took place not long after midnight on Dec. 19 at an Airport Road apartment complex, where Gonzales and his girlfriend, a fellow officer, got into an argument.The girlfriend told Santa Fe County Sheriff's deputies who responded to the residence that there had been no physical altercation between the couple, she said Gonzales had punched holes in the wall and rammed his head into the drywall.Gonzales' girlfriend told deputies she had also phoned a fellow Santa Fe Police officer to come get Gonzales during the incident. Deputies said the responding officer got into an altercation with Gonzales, who became emotional in the parking lot and threw a phone, denting a vehicle.Gonzales is set for an arraignment on Jan. 22 in Santa Fe Magistrate Court.Valdez said investigations and criminal proceedings for criminal cases involving the department's own are conducted by outside agencies. Meanwhile, Santa Fe Police Department's Internal Affairs unit determines whether a violation has occurred that merits further administrative action.In such cases, referrals, including any disciplinary action taken by the department, are made to the New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification Board, which can suspend or revoke officers licenses after a review."Only the LECB has the authority to make a determination to suspend or revoke a law enforcement officer's certification for a sustained allegation of misconduct or indictment of a felony offense," Valdez said. John Miller is the Albuquerque Journal's northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.
Britain and France carried out a joint airstrike on an ISIS-linked underground weapons facility north of Palmyra, with the UK Defense Ministry saying no civilians were at risk.

Britain and France on Saturday conducted an airstrike on an underground facility in the mountains north of Palmyra, Syria, which ISIS terrorists "likely" used to store weapons and explosives, the British Defense Ministry confirmed in a statement.

Western aircraft have been conducting patrols to stop a resurgence of the terror group, the ministry noted.

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"The area around the facility is devoid of any civilian habitation," the statement clarified.

"Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels down to the facility," the ministry added, noting that initial indications are that the target was successfully engaged, and that no civilians were put at risk by the strikes.

"This action shows our UK leadership and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of ISIS and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East," British Defense Secretary John Healey commented following the announcement.

"I want to thank all the members of our Armed Forces involved in this operation  for their professionalism and their courage," he added.

"This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, shows how our Armed Forces are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad," he concluded.

ISIS's December attack on US forces in Palmyra

ISIS was responsible for an attack on US personnel in the same area on December 13.

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"Two US service members and one US civilian were killed, and three service members were injured as a result of an ambush by a lone ISIS gunman in Syria. The gunman was engaged and killed," CENTCOM said.

As a result, Syria's Interior Ministry, the following day, arrested five suspects with links to the attack.

Seth J. Frantzman and Reuters contributed to this report.
Jan. 4GRAND FORKS  Staff Sgt. Walter Carroll, a contract specialist in the United States Army, has traveled the world during his work in the military, but his effort to earn a Ph.D. has stayed stationed in North Dakota.

Though circumstances of his work led to bumps in the road on his way to the doctorate, Carroll crossed the stage during the University of North Dakota's 2025 winter commencement and was hooded by his advisor, Interim Dean of the School of Graduate Studies Soojung Kim.

"It was kind of surreal," he said. "It's weird to see that I've graduated, and honestly, I felt that I would feel different. But, I finally feel whole and I feel normal."

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Carroll, currently stationed in South Korea, became a UND student in 2022, three years before he earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Communication. He chose UND for its online program, something he said no other university has. Without it, he may have had to wait until he retired from the army to pursue his education. He had been deployed to Poland when he began his studies, and what he thought was going to be an easier deployment of field training and Russian aggression deterrence changed when Russia invaded Ukraine.

The invasion changed everything, he said, and his responsibilities shifted while he tried to juggle his schoolwork with his job as a public affairs and communication specialist. Carroll's grades lowered. Despite his efforts to recover in the summer, he was dismissed from the program.

He emailed the dean of the graduate school at the time, Chris Nelson, who directed him to Kim.

Kim said Carroll was one of the first students for UND's online communication Ph.D. program when it reopened and has been a resilient student through his time at UND. He had missed the withdraw date as he was being deployed, she said, and there was no administrative action available to remove the courses or make a leave of absence, she said. She petitioned for him to be let back into the program. When he was allowed to return, Carroll needed an adviser. No one offered to advise him, which led to Kim becoming his adviser.

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"It's not like he's just avoiding work or anything like that. He was literally serving the country during the war," she said. "That's when I took him. I felt like that's our responsibility, and I normally did not because of my administrative work at the time."

Kim told Carroll she did not have a lot of time to advise him due to her work, so if he wanted to work with her he would have to follow her direction. He would have to work within her expertise of health communication, which guided Carroll to his dissertation topic.

Carroll said the dissertation applied the theory of planned behavior  the theory that a person can best predict behavior by understanding someone's intention through subjective norms, attitudes and perceived behavior control  to military parents and their attitudes toward flu shots for themselves and their children. Carroll said he also extended the theory by applying ambivalence (both positive and negative feelings) to it, since the original theory says attitudes are either positive or negative.

Flu shots are mandatory for active duty members. For civilian dependents, it is mandatory if they work on the base or, for children, if they are put into a base daycare or school. Sporting events can also require flu shots, he said. Carroll gathered data from military members stationed across the world. He found that military parents, for the most part, are supportive of the flu shot, but want to have a choice, citing logistical issues about getting it.

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During his dissertation defense, Carroll became emotional when giving his thanks to Kim.

"She made one of my dreams come true," he said. "I don't think people understand how much of a huge life dream this has been for me. ... She changed my life."

Kim was chair of the committee during Carroll's dissertation defense, and said everyone was crying during the defense. When the committee members deliberated about the dissertation, they voiced that "we can tell he's going to make such a big difference in the military community," Kim said.

Even after being hooded and receiving his Ph.D., Carroll said he feels like he's been asleep for the past few years and everything has been a dream.

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Carroll pursued a Ph.D. because of his enjoyment of academia and his drive to go as high as he can when he's into something, which is also reflected in his military career.

"That Ph.D., that is that terminal degree," he said. "It's the highest of the degrees, and it's like, I want to challenge myself and go as far as I can."

Carroll said he also wants to teach at the university level and, eventually, be the chair of a department or a dean. Kim, he said, is a wonderful example and "I would like to follow in her footsteps.

"I want to be that person who helps those people who are going through the struggles."

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Kim said active duty military students have an extra layer of difficulty on their schoolwork compared to other students who are juggling family and work, and they're inspiring to her. She's also proud of the work Carroll has done to earn his Ph.D. and is excited to see what he'll do next.

"I told him, 'Well now go change the world,'" she said. "That's my expectation, and I know he will do it."
After Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk was shot to death in September 2025, a rumor began to spread that the man he co-founded Turning Point USA with, Bill Montgomery, had died of COVID-19 complications.

One instance of the claim appeared on Bluesky on Dec. 23, 2025:

(Bluesky user Dom Ervolina)

The post said Montgomery and Kirk opposed both social-distancing measures designed to curb the spread of COVID-19 and gun control laws designed to lower the number of deaths by firearm  implying that policies Montgomery and Kirk stood against may have saved their lives.

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The same post also appeared on Threads, Instagram and Facebook.

Snopes reached out to Montgomery's family and to Turning Point USA inquiring about details of Montgomery's passing, though all of the evidence available indicated the claim was true, as we will outline below. While we could find no record of where he died, it was likely in Illinois, where he spent most of his life. Illinois' state Department of Public Health does not release death certificates to people other than close family members or those with a property claim, which means we could not verify a cause of death through official documents.

A July 29, 2020, report by Politico said Montgomery died the day before of COVID-19 complications. The article cited two of Montgomery's friends to back the assertion. One of the friends, conservative influencer Caleb Hull, also posted about Montgomery on X (then Twitter) the day of his death (archived):

Cherish the people you love. They could be gone tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/8I4hDhPHzD  Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) July 28, 2020

Hull's post included four images, including photographs of himself with Montgomery. The first image was a statement by Hull that said Montgomery had "lost his fight against COVID-19" (emphasis ours):

Bill Montgomery was my best friend, my mentor, and someone I looked up to like a father for the last 5 years, but today he lost his fight against COVID-19. I've been at a loss for words the last two weeks and have constantly been sick to my stomach as I've watched his health go up and down and I just never thought it could be him that would go. If you ever met Bill, you know this is a huge loss for the world.

Further, a detailed obituary (archived) on the website of Neptune Society, a company that specializes in affordable cremations and funeral planning, provided more information about the circumstances of Montgomery's death (emphasis ours):

William Thomas Montgomery, "Bill", conservative political activist, mentor, family man and friend to all passed away July 28, 2020 at 8:26am from COVID-19. Bill was 80 years young. Bill is survived by his loving wife of 37 years, Edie, his son, daughter, step-daughter, son-in law, grandchildren and (two) great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his sister, mother and father.

Snopes contacted the company for confirmation that the obituary came from Montgomery's family and accurately reflected Montgomery's cause of death.

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The obituary also announced Turning Point USA would host a livestream memorial service for Montgomery in August 2020. That video appeared on Turning Point USA's YouTube account. A search on the transcript of this video using keywords like "COVID," "coronavirus," "pandemic," "epidemic," "sick," "illness" and "health" returned no evidence that the speakers mentioned the cause of his death.

Meanwhile, the website Legacy.com, which compiles obituaries, included Montgomery's name in its "Coronavirus Memorial" page.

A July 30, 2020, report by Business Insider said that the day before Montgomery's death, the Twitter account of Turning Point USA had posted a meme mocking protective masks  one of the precautions authorities recommended to prevent COVID-19 infection. Turning Point USA had then deleted it after reports multiplied that Montgomery had died of the disease.

Snopes examined several rumors about Turning Point USA and Kirk following his death on Sept. 10, 2025, including the claim he once said some gun deaths were "worth it" to have the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Sources:

Legacy. "Bill Montgomery Obituary (2020) - Lemont, IL." Legacy.com, Legacy, 31 July 2020, www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/bill-montgomery-obituary?id=60252788. Accessed 30 Dec. 2025.

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Lippman, Daniel, and Tina Nguyen. "Turning Point USA Co-Founder Dies of Coronavirus-Related Complications - POLITICO." POLITICO, Politico, 29 July 2020, www.politico.com/news/2020/07/29/turning-point-usa-founder-dies-coronavirus-complications-387077. Accessed 30 Dec. 2025.

Porter, Tom. "TPUSA Deletes Tweet Mocking Masks after Cofounder Died of COVID-19." Business Insider, 30 July 2020, www.businessinsider.com/tpusa-deletes-tweet-mocking-masks-after-montgomery-coronavirus-death-2020-7. Accessed 30 Dec. 2025.

Turning Point USA. "Memorial Service Honoring Bill Montgomery." YouTube, 21 Aug. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNzx8K7y1ak. Accessed 30 Dec. 2025.

"William Thomas Montgomery." Neptune Cremation Service, 29 July 2020, neptunesociety.com/obituaries/downers-grove-il/william-montgomery-9289883. Accessed 30 Dec. 2025.

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Ibrahim, Nur. "18 of Charlie Kirk's Alleged Quotes, Investigated." Snopes, 11 Oct. 2025, www.snopes.com/collections/charlie-kirks-quotes-investigated/. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.

Liles, Jordan. "Charlie Kirk Once Said Some Gun Deaths 'Worth It' in Order to Have Second Amendment." Snopes, Snopes.com, 10 Sept. 2025, www.snopes.com/fact-check/charlie-kirk-gun-deaths-quote/. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
Driving over the mountain from Pine Grove Mills to Studebaker House took less time than I expected. Cruising through the green of Rothrock State Forest was relaxing, and by the time I got to the bottom of those roller coaster hills, I arrived.

The Studebaker House property sits not too far from state Route 26, along Standing Stone Creek just outside of Centre County. A large, yellow, classic early-1900s Pennsylvania house is in front of the new building housing the restaurant and a large downstairs gathering space.

The owner, Christine Wenner, is a Huntingdon native whose family purchased the property in 2020, intending to renovate a large barn that stood behind the house. That plan was scrapped in favor of a new build that echoes the barns footprint and rustic ambience. The elegant space is well-suited for dining in front of a massive stone fireplace, with a wall of windows overlooking the backyard and the stream.

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Wenner, who lives and works at her 9-to-5 job in an adjacent building, is the visionary whose big dream is getting fulfilled. She met Derek Polay at a collaboration dinner at the property in March, recognized a kindred foodie, and tapped him in June to start doing dinners at the property.

Wenners background includes a degree in HRIM from Penn State in 2014, followed by industry experience, starting at the Waldorf Astoria. She worked in Washington, D.C. as well, learned a lot, kept her eyes open to trends, and decided the time was right to offer an upscale dining experience deep in the Pennsylvania woods. The property has been open for two years, with Wenner hosting Supper Clubs and private events. This is an upgrade not just for Petersburg, but for all of Huntingdon County.

Chrstine Wenner of the Studebaker House is pictured on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (Abby Drey/adrey@centredaily.com)

Her chef, found organically, when the time was right, was ready for a new challenge. Sometimes its all about being at the right place at the right time.

Case in point: I first laid eyes on Derek Polay in the spring of 2008. He was 11, bagging groceries for his mom at Giant, but doing so very carefully. He looked at my cart overflowing with fruits and vegetables and was intrigued by the wide variety I was purchasing for the Foods Lab at Penn State, where I was the instructor. I recognized the spark in his eye and asked his mom if he might be interested in attending a cooking camp in the summer. That was the beginning  and there is no end in sight.

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His mom, Kristin Cox, confirmed my guess that he was a budding foodie. She took a flyer about the camp from me and enrolled him for the first of many cooking camps over the years, until he aged out of camp and moved on to the culinary program at State College High School under Chef Jeremiah Dick. After high school he attended the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park and then moved on to a stage at Jean Georges in New York City that opened back doors into the kitchens at the Llama Inn and Olmstead. From there, he moved south, way south, to Peru for another stage at Central, once dubbed the number one restaurant in the world, and other restaurants in Lima.

Chef Derek Polay poses with a yellow tail tuna dish and braised short rib dish at the Studebaker House on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (Abby Drey/adrey@centredaily.com)

He met his wife Tati, who is from Peru, at the CIA, where she studied Pastry Arts and learned to make extraordinary cakes and pastries. The couple married in 2017 and live in Pleasant Gap with his mother, 30 seconds away from their production kitchen. They spend three to four weeks every year in Peru with their son Oliver, now 18 months.

Chef Polays menus will make the most of our local provisions while giving them a Japanese-Peruvian twist. The Japanese element embraces beautifully executed technique, with a focus on detail, and the Peruvian element embraces bright, vibrant and intense flavors.

Braised Grove Valley Farm short rib, scallop potatoes, yuzu ponzu shiitake mushrooms, charred onion with a horseradish buttermilk and dill oil at the Studebaker House. (Abby Drey/adrey@centredaily.com)

This years January trip to Peru will include the sous chef, Dylan Peterman, and the beverage director, Michael Tedesco, so the whole Studebaker team can come back fully charged to launch their new enterprise. That is, everyone except Christine, who will hold the Fort there at McAlevy.

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Studebaker House plans to have a soft opening on Feb. 6 by invitation only and then open to the public the following Thursday, Feb. 12. The property will be open Thursdays for a la carte dining. Fridays and Saturdays will be reserved for the Chefs Tasting Menu diners, who will run the gamut of a two- to two-and-a-half-hour extravaganza with eight or nine courses. Sundays will offer brunch but leveled up. The property has no liquor license; however, Tedesco, the beverage director who ran Happy Valley Nomadic Spirits, is an expert at crafting mocktails from ingredients that pair with the food. Guests are welcome to bring their own wine or other spirits to add to the mix.

Yellow tail tuna, kiwi aqua chile, Anjou pear, grapefruit and breakfast radish at the Studebaker House on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (Abby Drey/adrey@centredaily.com)

Polays February menu is posted online, and reservations are open. The menu is the same for the entire month, and duck is featured prominently. Polay plans to source whole ducks locally, with the duck breast going on the dinner menu, the neck and offal used in sausage for brunch, and the legs into confit. The bones will be used to make stock and demi-glace, enhancing all the dishes. Whole animal cooking equals respect.

Polays menu ideas are over-the-top, and the cost ($140 per person) may be prohibitive for some, but he encourages people to come out on Thursday and try a dish from the a la carte menu and dont be intimidated or scared. He is very excited to start a lacto-fermentation lab and amp up his flavor profiles. He also plans to host special dinners in collaboration with other chefs, as well as casual pop-up events featuring hot dogs and burgers with interesting sauces. Looking ahead, he is working with Hidden Branch Farms to source heirloom seeds from Peru for various potatoes and chilies.

The stream side lounge at the Studebaker House on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (Abby Drey/adrey@centredaily.com)

We want to keep things interesting and exciting for all of us. If we are not passionate about it or having fun, somethings not right, Polay said. He also plans to continue his wholesale croissant business, which currently sells about 2,500 a week through multiple outlets in the Centre Region. His father, who is retired and lives in Pine Grove Mills, is his delivery driver. The croissants can also be ordered online and picked up at the production kitchen in Pleasant Gap.

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The future looks bright for this 29-year-old who appreciates his bosss New Age ownership ideology. Wenner wants all her employees to focus on work-life balance. According to Polay, her motto is We want to keep you guys happy and healthy so we can provide happy and healthy food.

Now theres a business model worth supporting!

Studebaker House is located at 12716 Alan Seeger Road in Petersburg. For more information, visit www.studebakerhouse.com or call 814-667-9910.
When Scranton police responded to a South Side residence early last month, they found a frightened woman allegedly attacked by her boyfriend, who was just out of jail.

Officers arrested the man accused of the attack and charged him with assault, but before they left the home they did one more equally important thing  provided the victim with information about the process of getting a protection-from-abuse order and gave her a victims resource card.

All documents were explained and provided to her, the affidavit concluded.

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A protection-from-abuse order is a civil court order to help protect victims of domestic violence, providing relief from abuse by an intimate partner, family or household member.

A PFA can order an abuser to refrain from harassing, threatening or stalking another person; order the abuser to refrain from contact with their victims; order the abuser to be removed from the residence they share with the victim; award temporary custody or visitation rights of minor children, and order the abuser to surrender firearms to law enforcement officers.

In Lackawanna County, where figures show a slight bump from last year, District Attorney Brian Gallagher believes numbers increased not because of an increase in domestic violence, but in the consistency of law enforcement officers pointing out where to get help.

When law enforcement officers in Lackawanna County go to the scene of domestic violence, they are required to follow a specific protocol, Gallagher said.

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In addition to providing information regarding the Womens Resource Center, which is able to assist victims with the process of getting a protection-from-abuse order, officers also provide a packet of information regarding access to other resources including medical health assistance, food banks and housing.

Gallagher pointed out victims are often dependent on their abusers for finances, child care and emotional support.

Questions are asked on the PFA form at the Womens Resource Center in Scranton Friday, January 2, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

The PFA form is to be filled out by plantiffs at the Womens Resource Center in Scranton Friday, January 2, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)Victims often feel empowered when they are provided with resources and support, he said.

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In Pennsylvania there are three types of protection-from-abuse orders: an emergency order, a temporary order and a final order.

An emergency PFA order is issued by a magisterial district judge outside of regular business hours. An emergency PFA is in effect until the next day the court reopens.

A temporary PFA is issued by a county judge based on a sworn statement and lasts until there is opportunity for the court to conduct a full hearing.

A final PFA is issued at a final hearing, where both the victim and the alleged abuser appear, give testimony and have the opportunity to be represented by an attorney. Following that final hearing, a judge may decide to issue a PFA that may remain in effect for up to three years and then may be extended.

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A PFA order is a civil matter and not a criminal one, Gallagher said.

However, if an abuser violates the order, then it becomes a criminal matter of indirect criminal contempt. The abuser will then appear before a county judge who will decide if the PFA order was violated. If so the judge can put the abuser in jail for up to six months and/or fine them up to $1,000.

Court officials said the number of new protection-from-abuse orders filed statewide in 2024 increased by less than 1% from 41,736 in 2023.

In Lackawanna County, that increase was slightly above the state statistic, with an increase of 2.6%, from 1,042 in 2023 to 1,122 in 2024. In 2025, Lackawanna County has issued 1,003 PFA orders, but the final total was not available.

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Luzerne County also saw an increase in protection-from-abuse orders higher than the state statistic, up from 1,624 in 2023 to 1,673 in 2024  an increase of 3%. So far in 2025, Luzerne County has issued 1,727 PFA orders.

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Protection from Abuse Order statistics in Lackawanna county from 2015 to 2024. (SUBMITTED)

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Data on protection-from-abuse orders from Luzerne County from 2015 through 2024. (SUBMITTED)

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Protection from Abuse Order statistics in Lackawanna county from 2015 to 2024. (SUBMITTED)

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Risks of domestic violence to law enforcement

Gallagher points out that responding to domestic violence is one of the most dangerous things officers do.

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For example, in September, three detectives were killed and two other officers were wounded during an ambush by a suspect in a domestic violence and stalking case in York County. The suspect, Matthew Ruth, was hiding inside his ex-girlfriends home and opened fire when officers arrived to serve a warrant related to the stalking charges. Authorities described the motive as being clearly linked to the hateful scourge of domestic violence.

Such instances, Gallagher said, emphasize the importance of law enforcement officials being aware of the dangers of responding to instances of domestic violence.

Expediting service

In June, the Pennsylvania legislature unanimously passed Act 23 of 2025, a bill aimed at correcting how service fees are allocated when PFAs are served.

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The legislation ensures that law enforcement agencies that serve PFA petitions are reimbursed for that service, rather than limiting the fee to local sheriffs offices.

Previously, only local sheriffs departments were compensated for serving PFAs. The law also clarifies that only law enforcement officers can serve PFA petitions, rather than private individuals.

The law, championed by Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, Lehman Twp., has its roots in Luzerne County after a county audit showed many municipal police departments were serving PFAs but not being compensated for that service.

Law enforcement officers put themselves on the line every time they serve a PFA, Baker said in a statement. Its only right that the agencies performing this vital work receive the support and reimbursement they deserve. This bill ensures that fairness is built into the process.

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Supporting victims, going through the process

The Womens Resource Center is available to help those experiencing abuse and to assist with the process.

Nina Menichelli, legal director of Barbara J. Hart Justice Center, part of the Womens Resource Center, said anyone can file a PFA against an intimate partner or family member.

A victim of domestic abuse can file against a spouse or ex-spouse, a domestic partner, a current or former partner, parents, children, persons related by blood or marriage, she said. When we talk about intimate partners, dating is enough  even casual dating is enough.

Those wanting to file a PFA start at the court administration building at the Lackawanna County Government Center, 123 Wyoming Ave., Scranton. Court administrators provide those seeking a PFA with paperwork that needs to be completely filled out.

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You can detail the current abuse and you can also detail past abuse, as well, Menichelli said. It doesnt necessarily have to be physical abuse; it can be emotional abuse, the threat of bodily harm, sexual assault, any of those things.

Menichelli said victims can also establish a long-term pattern of abuse.

You can also get a protection-from-abuse order for false imprisonment, she said. If someone is preventing you from leaving the house, taking your car keys, limiting your access to technology or phones.

A county judge can then issue a temporary order, which acts just like a permanent order. So, if an abuser violates it, you can call the police and ask them to enforce the order, Menichelli said.

One caveat is that the person needs to be served and aware of the order, she said.

After the temporary order is issued, the parties are likely to come before the court within 10 days. If thats not possible  for example, if one party needs more time to get a lawyer  the temporary order remains in effect until the parties come before a judge.

Even if a temporary order is denied, a hearing before a county judge is still scheduled.

The judge can issue the order for up to three years.

That depends on the severity of abuse and also on whether or not the PFA is granted by a judge during a hearing, which would mean a finding of abuse, or if the parties make an agreement, she said.

If the parties make an agreement, the defendant is not admitting that abuse took place. Its a PFA by agreement.

The judge can also extend a temporary order and revisit the PFA at a later time, either issuing a final PFA or dismissing the order.

If there is not a final order issued, the defendant can have the PFA purged from their record. Although a PFA is a civil order, violation of that order is criminal and the abuser would be charged with indirect criminal contempt.

If you are looking for a PFA and have a legal advocate or an attorney that could walk you through the process, that would work to your advantage because youd have a better understanding of what the court is looking for and how the order actually operates, she said.

The Womens Resource Center has legal advocates who help someone seeking a PFA order, providing them with information about how to file an order and what to expect during the process.

When appropriate, victims can be referred to the Barbara J. Hart Justice Center for legal representation as well.

Menichelli joined the Womens Resource Center in 2018 and came from a corporate background.

I just felt that I needed to help people who were vulnerable, and now more than ever people, especially women, need that help as more and more rights are being taken away from women, she said.

When asked about the usefulness of a protection-from-abuse order, Menichelli said, although its really only a piece of paper, it motivates abusers to abide by its terms in order to avoid jail.

For the most part, we have great success in helping people move on from abusive and controlling relationships through a PFA, because it gives the person time and space to keep the abusive party away, she said. I think its a very important tool to have in order to allow a person to separate from an abusive relationship.
During an episode of The Ramsey Show, a caller asked for advice on how she could support her husband while he earned a four-year degree in computer science.

Rachel from Salt Lake City, Utah, explained that her husband wanted to learn to code, but that the family  including the couples three kids  was paying for it in a serious way: living on food stamps and barely scraping by.

Finance personality Dave Ramsey expressed incredulity, saying that his company has hired many coders and their programs took much less time.

He also wasn't shy about sharing his opinion, saying, "Its a bad plan. Theres so much wrong with this plan, its unbelievable. (1)

His response made Rachel cry, saying it was the "best thing" she'd heard in a long time.

Heres why Ramsey says you shouldnt "cash out on your family" to pursue your dreams.

Must Read

Prioritize essentials before chasing your dreams

"You dont get to put your three kids on food stamps so you can go get your degree. Ramsey fumed, calling the idea "extremely irresponsible." He also described the whole situation as a "nightmare" rather than a dream.

"Your primary focus on this planet is not to self-actualize and feel good. Oh, I want to live my dream, I want to live my passion. Find me a waaambulance, Ramsey ranted. Seriously, you go get a job. You feed your freaking kids first, before we talk about your dreams. You work 16 hours a day and make sure everyone is taken care of. (2)

Instead, Ramsey and co-host Dr. John Delony said that Rachels husband should be working full-time, and studying during the evening.

The family needs a solid budget in place so that they can afford to support the husbands dreams without living on the poverty line.

Read More: Young millionaires are rethinking stocks in 2026 and banking on these assets instead  heres why older Americans should take note

Sort out needs vs. wants

Before pursuing a degree or another large financial goal, its critical to be on solid footing when it comes to money.

This couple needs to get honest about what they can afford, and ensure that their needs  feeding their family adequately, paying down debt, and saving for the future  are met before any wants are covered, which includes pursuing higher education.
Multiple areas of the United States have been absolutely hammered by record snowfall and bitter cold this winter, and Syracuse, NY, is among the hardest hit.

Oswego County was "pounded with four feet of snow in 24 hours," Syracuse.com reported, warning that the storm is "absolutely nuclear."

The newspaper warned on January 2, "As much as 4 feet of snow has fallen on several towns in Oswego County since New Years Day, and its still coming . Businesses have closed and residents have been trapped inside."

The site added: "Pulaski, Sandy Creek and Orwell appeared to be the hardest hit. Some local fire departments have been unable to respond to emergencies."

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Although the amounts are less, the National Weather Service is predicting the possibility of more "snow showers" for the area on January 4 and 5. However, the good news is that the "moderate to heavy" snowfall has ended, NWS reported. Heavy snow, though, could hit other areas of the U.S., NWS warns.

Other Areas of the Country Will Still See Snow, the National Weather Service Warns

Drew Ahmed clears lake effect snow from his home January 1, 2026 in Lake View, New York. A massive cold front and strong winds traveling the entire length of Lake Erie combine to produce a rare phenomenon known as a seiche as well as dropping up to three feet of lake effect snow in Buffalo, New York and the surrounding suburbs. (Photo by John Normile/Getty Images) ((Photo by John Normile/Getty Images))

The entire U.S. isn't out of peril from heavy snowfall. "Heavy snow over parts of the Great Lakes, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Northern Intermountain Region, and Northern Rockies.." the NWS forecast for January 4 through 6 says.

The NWS warns that some areas of the country will also continue to see snow. "Furthermore, rain and higher-elevation snow will develop over parts of the Northwest Saturday evening into Monday morning. In addition, heavy snow will grow over the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Northern Intermountain Region through Monday," the site's forecast warnings say on January 3.

Some Areas of the U.S. Are Bracing for Heavy Rain Instead of Snow

Warmer areas of the country will have to deal with heavy rain. "On Sunday, the heavy rain will continue over Northern California. Therefore, the WPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall from Sunday into Monday morning. The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and burn scars being the most vulnerable," NWS wrote.

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"Meanwhile, a broad plume of moisture will move over the West Coast, with rain moving into California/Pacific Northwest and the Great Basin. A stream of moisture-laden air will produce heavy rain over Northern/Central California and Southern California on Saturday," noted the NWS. "Therefore, the WPC has issued a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of excessive rainfall over Northern/Central California and Southern California on Saturday into Sunday morning. The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, and burn scars being the most vulnerable."

Related:

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jan 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
By Steve Holland and Michelle Nichols

WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - International troops could be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month to form a U.N.-authorized stabilization force, two U.S. officials told Reuters, but it remains unclear how Palestinian militant group Hamas will be disarmed.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the International Stabilization Force would not fight Hamas. They said lots of countries had expressed interest in contributing and U.S. officials are currently working out the size of the ISF, composition, housing, training and rules of engagement.

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The U.S. Central Command will host a conference in Doha on December 16 with partner nations to plan the International Stabilization Force for Gaza, the officials said.

More than 25 countries are expected to send representatives to the conference, which will include sessions on the command structure and other issues related to the Gaza force, they said.

An American two-star general is being considered to lead the ISF but no decisions have been made, the officials said.

Deployment of the force is a key part of the next phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan. Under the first phase, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year-old war began on October 10 and Hamas has released hostages and Israel has freed detained Palestinians.

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"There is a lot of quiet planning that's going on behind the scenes right now for phase two of the peace deal," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday. "We want to ensure an enduring and lasting peace."

INDONESIA PREPARING TROOPS

Indonesia has said it is prepared to deploy up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks in Gaza.

"It is still in the planning and preparation stages," said Rico Sirait, spokesperson of Indonesian Defence Ministry. "We are now preparing the organizational structure of the forces to be deployed."

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Israel still controls 53% of Gaza, while nearly all the 2 million people in the enclave live in the remaining Hamas-held area. The plan - which needs to be finalized by the so-called Board of Peace - is for the ISF to deploy in the area held by Israel, the U.S. officials said.

Then, according to the Trump peace plan, as the ISF establishes control and stability, Israeli troops will gradually withdraw "based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization."

A U.N. Security Council resolution adopted on November 17 authorized a Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish the ISF. Trump said on Wednesday that an announcement on which world leaders will serve on the Board of Peace will be made early next year.

DEMILITARIZING GAZA

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The Security Council authorized the ISF to work alongside newly trained and vetted Palestinian police to stabilize security "by ensuring the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding of the military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups."

However, it remains unclear exactly how that would work.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz noted on Thursday that the ISF was authorized by the Security Council to demilitarize Gaza by all means necessary - which means use of force.

"Obviously that'll be a conversation with each country," he told Israel's Channel 12, adding that discussions on rules of engagement were under way.

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Hamas has said the issue of disarmament has not been discussed with them formally by the mediators - the U.S., Egypt and Qatar - and the group's stance remains that it will not disarm until a Palestinian state is established.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Sunday that the second phase would move toward demilitarization and disarmament.

"Now that raises a question: Our friends in America want to try and establish a multinational task force to do the job," he said. "I told them I welcome it. Are volunteers here? Be my guest," Netanyahu said.

"We know there are certain tasks that this force can perform ... but some things are beyond their abilities, and perhaps the main thing is beyond their abilities, but we will see about that," he said.

(Reporting by Steve Holland in Washington and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Additional reporting by Gribran Peshimam in Jakarta and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Editing by William Maclean and Matthew Lewis)
The U.S. attack on Venezuela is generating mixed emotions.

People protested Saturday, saying the U.S. overstepped, but Channel 2s Eryn Rogers also spoke to a Venezuelan who was happy about the military operation.

Dozens of people gathered in downtown Atlanta to protest the early morning airstrikes in Venezuela.

It is outrageous that the United States think they can be the police of the world and take over from a sovereign government, said event organizer Addison Clapp.

In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, left, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Molly Riley/The White House via AP)

Federal law enforcement personnel patrol outside the Metropolitan Detention Center as they await the arrival of captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Protesters in Atlanta take issue with the U.S. invasion of Venezuela Jan. 3.

Protesters speak out against the U.S. invasion of Venezuela Jan. 3.

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A protest was held in Gwinnett County Jan. 3 in response to the U.S. takeover of Venezuela.

A protest was held in Gwinnett County Jan. 3 in response to the U.S. takeover of Venezuela.

People celebrate after President Donald Trump announced Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country, in Doral, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)

Venezuelans embrace during a rally to celebrate after President Donald Trump announced that President Nicolas Maduro had been captured by U.S. forces, in Cucuta, on the Colombian border with Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)

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Demonstrators celebrate the arrival of captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Protesters rally outside the White House Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Washington, after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a military operation. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

People celebrate the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro outside Venezuela's Embassy in Mexico City, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

LA GUAIRA, VENEZUELA - JANUARY 03: People drive by a highway past a damaged area of Port of La Guaira after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard on January 03, 2026 in La Guaira, Venezuela. According to some reports, explosions were heard in Caracas and other cities near airports and military bases around 2 am. US President Donald Trump later announce that his country's military had launched a

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CARACAS, VENEZUELA - JANUARY 03: Supporters of Nicolas Maduro hold a poster with his image near Miraflores Palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard and Maduro's capture was confirmed on January 03, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela. According to some reports, explosions were heard in Caracas and other cities near airports and military bases around 2 am. US President Donald Trump later announced that his country's military had launched a

Protestors rally outside the White House, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Washington, after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a military operation. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Farmers from Atenco with machetes gather outside Venezuela's Embassy to protest against the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro, in Mexico City, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

President Donald Trump posted a photo purportedly of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after his capture by U.S. forces.

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LA GUAIRA, VENEZUELA - JANUARY 03: Smoke rises from Port of La Guaira after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard on January 03, 2026 in La Guaira, Venezuela. According to some reports, explosions were heard in Caracas and other cities near airports and military bases around 2 am. US President Donald Trump later announce that his country's military had launched a

President Donald Trump announced the attack and capture of Venezuelas president.

He said the U.S. will be taking over the country and its oil reserves for now.

This isnt about Maduro. This isnt about drug trafficking. This is about the United States wanting to control the oil of Venezuela that belongs to the Venezuelans, Clapp said.

Rogers also spoke to Marcial Marquez, the president of the Atlanta chapter of Casa Venezuela.

He said the Venezuelans he knows are happy.

We are so excited and grateful because we feel that finally, we can recover our country again thanks to Mr. Donald Trump, Marquez said.

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He says millions of Venezuelans have had to escape the country over the past decade, including himself.

Im a political asylum. I had to run away of my country, Marquez said.

The United Nations put out a report last month, accusing the country of crimes including torture and deadly violence.

We have family over there thats suffering because there is no food, no water, no security, Marquez said.

Others think the U.S. went about the attack the wrong way.

Maduro is a bad guy. Nobody here is saying otherwise, but the idea that we would break ourselves down and corrupt our own concept of justice to break international laws is really disheartening, Eric Allen said.

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But Marquez says Saturdays operation gives hope to Venezuelans.

Soon, very soon, we will have the choice to go back home if you want to go back home, and we get our lives back, he said.

Marquez told Rogers he wouldnt feel safe going back home just yet and says it will be a process getting new leadership in place.

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The U.S. plans to control Venezuela through an oil quarantine and a coordinated pressure campaign  but could still send in ground troops if President Trump decides to, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday.

What youre seeing right now is an oil quarantine that allows us to exert tremendous leverage over what happens next, Rubio said on CBS Face the Nation. I think what you see as a force posture is one of the largest naval deployments in modern history, certainly in the Western Hemisphere.

But Rubio said Trump also planned to keep all his options open and could send American troops into the country if Venezuelas new leadership does not cooperate.

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The nations vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, took temporary control of the nation after U.S. forces snatched leader Nicolas Maduro early Saturday. But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that Rodriguezs position was tenuous in the eyes of the U.S.

You can lead or you can get out of the way, because were not going to allow you to continue to subvert American influence, Noem said on Fox News Sunday. Were looking for a leader that will stand up beside us.

Rubio also explicitly said the U.S. planned to bring international oil companies in to alter Venezuelas oil industry, which is the dominant factor in the countrys floundering economy.

Venezuelan oil fields have become less productive since Maduro took over the nation following Hugo Chavezs death in 2013, and Rubio pitched U.S. intervention as a way to improve production.

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They need investment from private companies who are only going to invest under certain guarantees and conditions, he said on Face the Nation. We want the oil industry in that country not to go to the benefit of pirates and adversaries of the United States.

Venezuelan oil exports have been officially sanctioned since 2017. Most of the countrys oil exports from the state-owned company, PDVSA, are sold on the black market in China.

In mid-December, Trump instituted an oil blockade surrounding Venezuela, stopping all sanctioned ships from entering or exiting the country through a massive U.S. Navy deployment. Rubio said Sunday that blockade, which he referred to as an oil quarantine, would allow the U.S. to dictate terms with whatever Venezuelan leadership emerges.

My number one objective is America, Rubio said on ABCs This Week. We care about Venezuela. We want it to do well moving forward. But our number one objective here is America.

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Many observers have criticized the U.S. operation in Venezuela, which local leaders said killed 40 people, as a violation of international law. The plot involved several military aircraft and bombs dropped on the capital city of Caracas.

On Sunday, Rubio described as a law enforcement operation to arrest Maduro, who was indicted for narcoterrorism under U.S. law. He was jailed in Brooklyn upon his arrival in the U.S. Saturday night.

Several other members of Maduros regime, who face similar American criminal charges, remain in Venezuela, ostensibly in positions of power.

We have learned through the years when America tries to do regime change and nation-building in this way, the American people pay the price in both blood and in dollars, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on This Week.

_____
Hours after a dramatic military operation ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from power and removed him from the country Saturday, President Donald Trump said the United States would run Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

U.S. operations on Saturday represented Americas most assertive action to achieve regime change in a country since the nations 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The middle-of-the-night seizure of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were being transported on a U.S. warship to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges in New York, is beyond even the most high-profile historical examples of aggressive American actions toward autocratic governments in Panama, Iraq and beyond, legal experts said. It came after a surprise U.S. incursion into the Venezuelan capital, rocked with overnight explosions early Saturday.

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The Trump administration described the operation  and earlier deadly strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea  as necessary to stem the flow of dangerous drugs.

Click here for updates.

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Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is in New York to face drug trafficking charges following his capture during an overnight military attack by the United States, and amid his travel to America, he boarded the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship.

According to an X post by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Maduro "has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States." The Venezuelan president was captured alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, in Caracas, Venezuela, and flown by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima.

President Donald Trump shared a picture of a blindfolded Maduro aboard the warship on Truth Social.

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The word integration does not explain the sheer complexity of such a mission, an extraction so precise it involved more than 150 aircraft launching across the Western Hemisphere in close coordination, Gen. Dan Razin Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said about the complex raid. Failure of one component of this well-oiled machine would have endangered the entire mission, and failure is never an option for Americas joint force.

With Maduro now in New York, here is what to know about the ship that helped bring him to the U.S. on Saturday, Jan. 3.

Reactions to the United States' bombing of Venezuela and capture of the country's president Nicolas Maduro ranged across the world. Some celebrated the operation while others rebuked Trump's intervention in the South American country. See the reactions in photos, beginning here with Venezuelans living in Chile celebrating in Santiago on January 3, 2026. A child holds a placard saying "I will meet my grandparents" as people react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. A woman reacts to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. Armed supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gather near the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured him. A Venezuelan man living in Chile celebrates with a national flag and his car reading "Free Venezuela" in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. The Trump administration said on December 3 that Venezuela's captured Maduro and his wife will face "the full wrath of American justice" under drug and terrorism charges. A man holds up a portrait of late Venezuela's leader (1999-2013) Hugo Chavez in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Activists of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) burn an effigy of US President Donald Trump during a rally in Kolkata on January 3, 2026, to protest against the recent US attack on Venezuela. A supporter of Nicolas Maduro holds a portrait of the Venezuelan President during a gathering near the Palacio de Miraflores in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. Demonstrators hold up a banner with the lettering reading 'Stop Trump - Free Venezuela' during a rally organised by left-wing 'Anti-Imperialist Coordination' (Antiimperialistische Koordination - AIK) under the motto 'Hands off Venezuela' at Vienna's Votive Park on January 3, 2026. The EU called for "restraint" and respect for international law in Venezuela on January 3 after US President Trump announced US forces had captured leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale assault. Demonstrators march with a banner with the lettering reading 'Hands off Venezuela' during a rally organised by left-wing 'Anti-Imperialist Coordination' (Antiimperialistische Koordination - AIK) in Vienna on January 3, 2026. The EU called for "restraint" and respect for international law in Venezuela on January 3 after US President Trump announced US forces had captured leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale assault. Venezuelans living in Peru celebrate outside the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and Venezuelan. Venezuelans living in Peru celebrate outside the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and Venezuelan. Venezuelans living in Peru celebrate at the Miguel de Cervantes park, near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelans living in Peru dance to celebrate at the Miguel de Cervantes park, near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. A Venezuelan woman living in Peru celebrates with a national flag at the Miguel de Cervantes park, near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Activists of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) protest against the recent US attack on Venezuela, in Kolkata on January 3, 2026. Members of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) group hold banners outside the U.S. Embassy in London calling for "Hands off Venezuela!", after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in London, Britain, January 3, 2026. People embrace next to a Venezuelan flag, as they react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. See reactions after US explosions in Venezuela, Maduro capture 1 of 21 Reactions to the United States' bombing of Venezuela and capture of the country's president Nicolas Maduro ranged across the world. Some celebrated the operation while others rebuked Trump's intervention in the South American country. See the reactions in photos, beginning here with Venezuelans living in Chile celebrating in Santiago on January 3, 2026.

What is the USS Iwo Jima?

The current version of the ship, the USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7), is its third iteration. The vessel measures 840 feet in length with a flight deck width of 140 feet, according to US Carriers.net. The LHD-7 edition of the amphibious assault ship was commissioned in 2001 and remains in active service, capable of launching aircraft and landing Marines, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC).

The ship carries helicopters and a detachment of Marines, or Marines permanently embarked on large warships, for use in the Navy's newest "vertical envelopment" concept of amphibious operations, per the NHHC.

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The second iteration of the vessel, the USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2), served from 1961 to 1993 and was the "first ship to be designed and built from the keel up as an amphibious assault ship," per the U.S. carrier database.

The homeport of the USS Iwo Jima LHD-7 is in Norfolk, Virginia, according to the US Carriers.net.

The USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) sails off coast Arroyo, Puerto Rico, September 22, 2025.

Why was the USS Iwo Jima created?

The original ship, the USS Iwo Jima (CV-46), never saw service as it was canceled during its construction in 1945, according to the NHHC.

The USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) went on to serve as the mobile base for troops and helicopters, as forces participated in nuclear tests, the Vietnam War and various crisis evacuations. The ship was also a primary casualty receiving ship, a hospital ship and a key asset in Cold War deployments and conflicts, including the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Gulf War, according to the NHHC and the USS Iwo Jima Class Association.

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While in service, the USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) measured at an overall length of 598 feet and had a flight deck width of 104 feet, according to the association.

What is the difference between the USS Iwo Jima LPH-2, LHD-7

Aside from the difference in size, the two ships primarily contrast in their armament.

According to US Carriers.net, the LHD-7 carries substantially more weapons, including missile launchers, three MK-38 25mm machine gun systems with four .50 caliber machine guns, two NATO Sea Sparrow launchers and two MK-15 20mm Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems (CIWS), which are radar-guided, automated 20mm Gatling guns.

The LPH2 had two twin-mounted 3"50 cannons, 2 basic point defense surface-to-air missile systems and two 20mm Phalanx (CIWS).

This story was updated to add new information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is the USS Iwo Jima? Ship taking Nicolas Maduro to New York
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  Utah leaders are reacting to the U.S. capture and arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday.

The United States carried out a lightning military strike on Venezuela early Saturday, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and spiriting them out of the country. American officials say the pair will face narco-terrorism charges in U.S. courts.

The overnight operation left Venezuela reeling, with its leadership uncertain and details of casualties and the impact on its military still to emerge. Countries across the region and the wider world were absorbing the destabilizing implications of the apparently unilateral U.S. action.

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Sen. Mike Lee was among the first to comment.

Sen. Lee first reacted to the news early Saturday morning, stating, I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force on X.

Within a couple hours, Lee said that he spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Just got off the phone with @SecRubio, Lee posted on X. He informed me that Nicolas Maduro has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States, and that the kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant This action likely falls within the presidents inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.

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Lee added that Rubio anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in U.S. custody.

Utah Sen. John Curtis also spoke on the matter.

Ive stood on the border between Venezuela and Colombia and witnessed the level of human suffering inflicted by the Maduro regime. Ive seen the human cost of failed authoritarian socialism made even worse by the ties to drug cartels, terrorist groups, Russia, and Iran which threaten Americans in our own hemisphere, Sen. Curtis posted on X. As Chair of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, I expect a full and timely briefing on the nature, scope, and impact of these actions.

Utah Rep. Burgess Owens also commented, praising Trumps decision and the courage, discipline, and precision of American military forces.

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American forces acted with courage, discipline, and precision to apprehend Nicolas Maduro, a narco-terrorist responsible for the deaths of over 300,000 innocent Americans. Indicted and criminally charged in U.S. federal court in 2020 he was never a legitimate head of Venezuela, Owens posted on X. I am deeply grateful to those who executed this action and thankful that no American lives were lost. I am praying for the full recovery of those injured. Justice is finally being served, and Venezuela now has a real chance at a future free from criminal rule and rooted in law, stability, and freedom. God bless America and the Venezuelan people.

Rep. Mike Kennedy said he is closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela.

The Nicolas Maduro regime has long operated as narco-terrorists and a serious driver of drug cartel activity in the United States, Rep. Kennedy said on X. I await President Trumps further clarity regarding the scope and strategic intent of these actions.

Sen. Nate Blouin denounced the attack, calling for Trumps impeachment.

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We cannot let this happen. Trump is dragging us into another conflict and Congress is enabling him. Stop playing along, Blouin posted on X.

After President Trumps press conference, Blouin posted again on X saying, Trump just made clear this attack was not about democracy, but about oil. He will be handing the Venezuelan oil industry to American oligarchs who support corporate-backed politicians on both sides of the aisle.

He went on to say, It will be abundantly clear who was serious when they called for an end to American imperialism and who was merely bowing to Trump. I am committed to opposing unchecked US military interventions, whether in Gaza or in Caracas.

Salt Lake City Councilman, Carlos Moreno posted his statement on X stating, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the calls, texts, and messages from hundreds of friends today. My family and I are deeply moved by the outpouring of love weve received regarding the fall of the Venezuelan regime. This moment is incredibly personal to me. Just a few years ago, I was a political asylee who had lost his country and today, I share this statement as a Salt Lake County Councilman and a proud American citizen. America is not a dream; America is a miracle!

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Other Utah leaders are expected to react to the news of Maduros capture on Saturday.

This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as more information becomes available.

Latest headlines:

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
Vice President JD Vance on Sunday defended the Trump administrations military operation in Venezuela and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as part of the efforts to reduce fentanyl trafficking into the U.S.

His defense comes as some Republican lawmakers broach skepticism toward the White Houses use of the fentanyl crisis as a justification for the aggressive military intervention. The vast majority of fentanyl smuggled into the U.S. originates in Mexico and China, according to federal law enforcement.

Vance pushed back on claims that the operation in Venezuela had nothing to do with drugs in a social media post on Sunday, arguing that combating drug trafficking in Venezuela aids the administrations broader response to the fentanyl crisis on multiple fronts.

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Vance claimed that some fentanyl does flow to the U.S. from Venezuela, but argued that cocaine trafficking from the country helps prop up cartels. Maduro was indicted on narcoterrorism charges and conspiracy to import cocaine upon his arrival in the U.S. on Saturday.

Cocaine, which is the main drug trafficked out of Venezuela, is a profit center for all of the Latin America cartels, Vance wrote on X. If you cut out the money from cocaine (or even reduce it) you substantially weaken the cartels overall. Also, cocaine is bad too!

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a frequent Trump administration critic who has opposed U.S. military actions abroad in the past, disputed that theory in a social media post and urged supporters of President Donald Trump to reject Vances argument.

Wake up MAGA. VENEZUELA is not about drugs; its about OIL and REGIME CHANGE. This is not what we voted for, Massie wrote on social mediaon Sunday.

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who is resigning from Congress on Monday following a schism with the president, said the Trump administration should be focused on Mexico if theyre serious about preventing the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.

The majority of American fentanyl overdoses and deaths come from Mexico. Those are the Mexican cartels that are killing Americans, Greene told NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday. And so my pushback here is if this was really about narcoterrorists and about protecting Americans from cartels and drugs being brought into America, the Trump administration would be attacking the Mexican cartels.

Vance defended the Trump administrations response in Mexico while acknowledging that a lot of fentanyl is coming out of Mexico, arguing the nation continues to be a focus. He pointed to the presidents actions to restrict immigration via the southern border as a primary response to the flow of fentanyl from Mexico.
The wheat complex is trading with losses so far on Friday. Chicago SRW futures are 1 to 2 cents lower KC HRW futures are also 1 to 2 cents in the red. MPLS spring wheat is down 4 to 5 1/4 cents at midday.

Details on the Farm Bridge Assistance program were released by the USDA on Wednesday, with the wheat payment tallied at $39.35/acre.

More News from Barchart

USDA Export Sales data will be out on Monday morning for the week of Christmas, as traders are looking for between 100,000 to 500,000 MT in wheat sales in that week.

Commitment of Traders data from Wednesday afternoon showed spec traders holding a net short of 91,665 contracts in CBT wheat futures and options as of 12/23, an increase of 24,747 contracts on the week. Managed money in KC wheat were net short 24,749 contracts, a reduction of 964 contracts.

Mar 26 CBOT Wheat is at $5.05 3/4, down 1 1/4 cents,

May 26 CBOT Wheat is at $5.17 1/4, down 1 1/4 cents,

Mar 26 KCBT Wheat is at $5.13 3/4, down 1 cent,

May 26 KCBT Wheat is at $5.26 1/2, down 1 1/2 cents,

Mar 26 MIAX Wheat is at $5.68 3/4, down 5 1/4 cents,

May 26 MIAX Wheat is at $5.79 3/4, down 4 3/4 cents,

On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
Venezuela is witnessing widespread unrest following the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro. The country is in turmoil as Maduros supporters have taken to the streets, causing citizens to take refuge in their homes.

The Venezuelas streets are teeming with armed supporters of Maduro, demanding his release. This has instilled a sense of fear among the residents, who are now confined to their homes, stepping out only for essential supplies.

While Maduros capture has brought a sigh of relief to some, the situation remains volatile with armed factions freely roaming the cities. Caracas, the capital city, has been subjected to airstrikes, disrupting public services.

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The few operational supermarkets are witnessing long queues as residents fear a return to the previous state of shortages and social unrest.

Also Read: After Venezuela, Trump Says Something Must Be Done About Mexico

"The nightmare isn't over yet. The figurehead is gone. But his supporters are still here," The New York Post quoted one man living in Valencia saying. "I'm afraid that if I say anything and give my name, I'll be arrested. People are very scared. "

"There are still armed groups roaming the cities; we are all worried they will come to steal food, supplies, and intimidate us. Anyone who doesn't feel joy right now has a black soul, he further said.

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Amidst this chaos, the media is under strict control, making it difficult to get accurate information about the ongoing situation. The country is on tenterhooks, awaiting further developments. The arrest of Maduro, while providing a glimmer of hope for some, has also escalated tensions, leading to widespread unrest.

The current situation underscores the deep divisions within the country and the challenges that lie ahead in restoring peace and stability.

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Musk Praises Trump After Venezuela Attack: A Clear Message to Evil Dictators Everywhere'

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This article Venezuela Aftermath: 'Armed Groups Roaming the Cities,' People Are 'Very Scared' originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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Americans woke up on Jan. 3, 2025, to blaring headlines: US CAPTURES MADURO, TRUMP SAYS, declared The New York Times, using all capital letters. The U.S. had mounted an overnight military raid in Venezuela that immediately raised questions of procedure and legality. Prime among them was what role Congress had  or should have had  in the operation.

Naomi Schalit, politics editor of The Conversation, interviewed political scientist Sarah Burns, author of the book The Politics of War Powers and an expert at Rochester Institute of Technology on the historical struggle between Congress and U.S. presidents over who has the power to authorize military action.

Naomi Schalit: Is this a war?

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Sarah Burns: I wouldnt call it a war. This is regime change, and whether or not it has a positive impact on the United States, whether or not it has a positive impact on Venezuela, I think the likelihood is very low for both of those things being true.

NS: How does Congress see its role in terms of military action initiated by the United States?

SB: Congress has been, in my view, incredibly supine. But thats not just my word. Having said that, it is true that Congress  in the House, predominantly  tried to pass a war powers act recently, saying that President Donald Trump was not allowed to do any action against Venezuela, and that failed on very close votes.So you see some effort on the part of Congress to assert itself in the realm of war. But it failed predominantly on party lines, with Democrats saying we really dont want to go into Venezuela. We really dont want to have this action. Republicans predominantly were supporting the president and whatever it happens to be that he would like to do. Moderate Republicans and Republicans who are in less safe districts were and are more likely to at least stand up a little bit to the president, but theres a very small number of them.

NS: So there may be an institutional role for Congress, a constitutional role, a role that has been confirmed by legal opinion, but politics takes over in Congress when it comes to asserting its power in this realm?

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SB: Thats a perfect way of putting it. They have a legal, constitutional, one might even say moral, responsibility to assert themselves as a branch, right? This is from Federalist 51 where James Madison says Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. So it should be that as a branch, they assert themselves against the president and say, We have a role here.

In the 1940s, presidential scholar Edward Corwin said that in the realm of foreign policy, it is an invitation for Congress and the president to struggle. So it should be that Congress and the president are struggling against each other to assert, Im in charge. No, Im in charge. No, Im in charge, in an effort to create a balance between the two branches and between the two things that each of the branches does well. What you want from Congress is slow deliberation and a variety of opinions. What you want from the president is energy and dispatch.

So certainly, if we have an attack like 9/11, you would want the president to be able to act quickly. And you know, conversely, in situations like the questions around what the U.S. is doing in Venezuela, you want slow deliberation because there is no emergency that requires energy and dispatch and speed. So the president shouldnt be entirely in the drivers seat here, and Congress should very much be trying very hard to restrain him.

NS: What power does Congress have to restrain him?

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SB: They have to pass legislation. They arent particularly well suited right now to passing legislation, so effectively there is not a very clear way for them to restrain the president.

One of the things that members of Congress have attempted to do several times, with very little positive impact, is go to the courts and say, Can you restrain the president? And political scientist Jasmine Farrier has written that the courts have regularly said to members of Congress: You have the power to stop the president, and you are ineffective at that. And so if you want to stop the president, you shouldnt turn to us. You should work together to create legislation that would restrain the president.

NS: What would such legislation do? Cut off money for troops? Is it finger-wagging, or is it something really concrete?

SB: There are a few different tiers. Joint resolutions are finger-wagging. They just say, Bad, Mr. President, dont do that. But they have no effect in law.

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The War Powers Resolution, first passed in 1973, is a legitimate way of trying to restrain the president. Congress intended to say to presidents, You cannot start a war and continue a war without our authorization. But what they said instead was You could have a small war or a short war  of 60 to 90 days  without our authorization, and then you have to tell us about it. That just sort of said to presidents the opposite of what they intended. So President Barack Obama took advantage of that with the military engagement in Libya, as well as Trump in his first administration.

This is not a partisan issue. Its not Republican presidents who do it. Its not Democratic presidents who do it. Its every president since the War Powers Resolution was passed, and the only time that Congress has drawn down troops or drawn down money was the Vietnam War.

Other than that disastrous war, we have not seen Congress willing to put themselves on the politically negative side, which is taking money away from the troops. Because if you take away money right now, theyre going to be harmed.

NS: What is the War Powers Resolution?

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SB: The War Powers Resolution from 1973, also known as the War Powers Act, was Congress  during the Vietnam War  saying definitively to President Richard Nixon, You have overstepped your bounds. They had explicitly said in law, you cannot go into Cambodia. And Nixon went into Cambodia.

So that was their way of trying to reassert themselves very aggressively; as I mentioned before, it didnt work effectively. It worked insofar as presidents dont unilaterally start wars that are large scale, the way that World War II was large scale. But they do have these smaller actions at varying levels.

Then we get to 9/11 and we see the 2001 authorization for the use of military force, and the 2002 authorization for the use of military force. The 2001 law authorized going after anyone in al-Qaida and associated with 9/11. The 2002 authorization was directly related to Iraq, saying There is a problem with Iraq, we have to do something. Both of them were extremely vague and broad, and thats why weve seen four presidents, including Trump, using the 2001 and 2002 authorizations to carry out all sorts of operations that had very little to do with Saddam Hussein or al-Qaida.

In 2021, senators Mike Lee, Bernie Sanders and Chris Murphy collectively got together and tried to create a national security document that would restrain presidential unilateralism. It was a good effort on the part of members of Congress from a variety of different ideological views to attempt to restrain the president. It did not even sort-of pass  it barely got out on the floor.

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Since that time, we havent seen a lot of efforts from members of Congress. They havent really reasserted themselves since the war in Korea, which began in 1950. Its very clear that ambition is no longer checking ambition the way that it was meant to by the founders.

NS: When you woke up this morning and saw the news, what was your first thought?

SB: Here we go again. This is not a Republican or a Democratic issue. Lots of presidents have made this error, which is that they think if you do this smaller-scale action, you are going to get a positive result for the nation, for the region, for international stability. And very rarely is that the case.

Sarah Burns is an associate professor of political science at the Rochester Institute of Technology. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump seizes Maduro, and the ball is in Congress' court | Opinion
Venezuelan soldiers and civilians were killed in US airstrikes that targeted several locations in the country, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Saturday.

US President Donald Trump earlier confirmed that the US had carried out the airstrikes on Venezuelan territory, and said that President Nicolas Maduro had been "captured."

According to media reports, the US airstrikes were mainly directed against military bases, airfields, communication facilities and ports.

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"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X that it was a "new dawn" for Venezuela, and that Maduro would "face justice for his crimes."

Rodriguez demanded that the US "immediately" provide a sign of life from the detained head of state. "We don't know where President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores are," Rodriguez said.
In a stunning military operation conducted in the early morning hours on Saturday, the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife Cilia Flores, to face federal charges stemming from their alleged involvement in the drug trade and maintaining a dictatorship within the country.

For months, President Donald Trump had urged Maduro to step down from his role as the countrys leader  in what has been widely viewed as an illegitimate position  while accusing him of supporting drug cartels that have been designated as terror organizations by the U.S.

According to U.S. officials, the Department of Justice requested military assistance in apprehending Maduro after he  and later his wife, son, two political figures and an alleged international gang leader  had been indicted on federal terrorism, drugs and weapons charges in 2020.

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While questions have swirled regarding the legality of the Trump administration's actions, the U.S. has previously launched similar operations targeting foreign dictators and suspected drug kingpins.

Rubio To Cuba: 'I'd Be Concerned' After Us Military Arrests Venezuelan Leader Maduro

President Donald Trump shared a photo of captured President Nicolas Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after strikes on Venezuela, on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Fox News)

"Once you begin to pull that thread, then a lot of things begin to unravel and things get quite nasty very quickly," Michael Barnett, a professor of international affairs and political science at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital. "I think you have to worry about the precedent."

Read On The Fox News App

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Here is a look at other instances in which U.S. officials took aim at some of the worlds most notorious leaders accused of being directly involved in some of the most prolific drug operations across the globe.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addresses supporters during a rally marking the anniversary of the 19th-century Battle of Santa Ines in Caracas on Dec. 10, 2025.

In 1990, 36 years to the day of Maduros capture, the U.S. arrested Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, under similar circumstances.

Venezuelan Dissident Outlines Risks And Opportunities As Venezuela Enters Post-maduro Era

Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega at a ceremony commemorating the death of national hero Omar Torrijo in Panama City.

Noriega initially rose to power in 1983, and was long viewed as an informant for the U.S. to provide information regarding drug trafficking in the region. Working as a paid CIA collaborator since the 1970s, Noriega allowed the U.S. to set up listening posts in Panama, while also allowing pro-American aid to funnel through Panama to El Salvador and Nicaragua.

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However, under the nose of U.S. officials, Noriega formed "the hemisphere's first narcokleptocracy," a Senate subcommittee report said, calling him "the best example in recent U.S. foreign policy of how a foreign leader is able to manipulate the United States to the detriment of our own interests," according to Reuters.

He reportedly worked alongside notorious drug cartel leader Pablo Escobar to funnel cocaine into the U.S., while also facilitating the movement of millions of dollars in drug cash through Panamas banks, which led to him receiving large amounts of kickbacks.

Rebecca Grant: The Strategic Logic Of Operation Absolute Resolve

Former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega, pictured in this Jan. 4, 1990, file photo.

One year before his arrest, a federal grand jury handed down a 12-count indictment against Noriega, effectively clearing the path for President George H. W. Bush to deploy thousands of U.S. troops to Panama in an operation titled, "Just Cause." Noriega faced federal drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

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As U.S. troops moved in on the countrys capital and military headquarters, Noriega sought refuge at the Vaticans embassy while, according to a popular rumor, dressed as a woman.

"It was an easier thing to pull off, because the U.S. had troops in Panama at the time," Barnett said. "I think the evidence against Noriega was certainly, on the surface, greater than the evidence has been against Maduro."

Maduro Jailed At New York Detention Center That Held Diddy, Ghislaine Maxwell, And Sam Bankman-fried



Noriega was ultimately forced to surrender on Jan. 3, 1990, and was later sentenced to 40 years in a Florida prison. After 17 years behind bars, he was extradited to France and later Panama, where he died in 2017.

In 2022, three months after leaving office, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was arrested at the request of U.S. officials at his home in Tegucigalpa on charges of working alongside drug traffickers to transport over 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S., according to The Associated Press.

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Following his arrest, Hernandez was extradited to the U.S. to stand trial for his alleged crimes.

Maduros Fall Sparks Suspicion Of Betrayal Inside Venezuelas Ruling Elite

Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez speaks during the opening ceremony of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 1, 2021.

U.S. officials alleged the disgraced leader had collaborated with drug cartels since 2004, accepting millions of dollars in bribes as his political career escalated from rural congressman to president of the National Congress to Honduras highest office.

During his trial in Manhattan federal court, Hernandez testified that while drug money was paid to virtually all political parties in Honduras, he did not accept bribes while in office. He maintained that he was a victim of vengeful drug traffickers seeking retribution after he aided in their extradition to the U.S., while also working alongside three presidential administrations to limit drug imports into the country.

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Hernandez was subsequently convicted by a jury in March 2024, with a federal judge sentencing him to 45 years in a U.S. prison and issuing an $8 million fine.

Trump Reveals Venezuelas Maduro Was Captured In Fortress-like House: He Got Bum Rushed So Fast

However, after serving just 17 months of his sentence, Hernandez was pardoned by Trump in late 2025.

"The people of Honduras really thought he was set up, and it was a terrible thing," Trump said. "They basically said he was a drug dealer because he was the president of the country. And they said it was a Biden administration setup  and I looked at the facts and I agreed with them."

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After Trump announced Hernandezs pardon, Honduran Attorney General Johel Zelaya said in a post to social media that his office was looking into bringing charges against the former president, but did not specify what crimes officials were investigating.

Second Front: How A Socialist Cell In The Us Mobilized Pro-maduro Foot Soldiers Within 12 Hours

In 2017, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the notorious leader of Mexicos "Sinaloa cartel," was extradited to the U.S. to stand trial on drug trafficking and related crimes in several district courts throughout the country.

The notorious crime boss evaded capture on several occasions and escaped from Mexican prison twice, with federal prosecutors revealing Guzman used a variety of crafty tactics to smuggle tons of cocaine into the U.S. during the 1990s and early 2000s.

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Maduro Capture Echoes Noriega Takedown That Used Rock Music As Psychological Warfare Against Dictator

Former cartel member Miguel Angel Martinez testified in federal court that the gang used trucks to carry 3,000 cans filled with cocaine over the U.S.-Mexico border, while estimating the vehicles carried 25 to 30 tons of cocaine worth $400 million to $500 million into the country each year, according to The Associated Press.

After the profits would arrive in Tijuana, Guzman would send his three private jets on a monthly basis to pick up the cash  with each plane carrying roughly $10 million back home.

Following his landmark federal trial in Brooklyn, Guzman was sentenced to life in prison  tacking on another prison sentence after an earlier guilty verdict on drug-trafficking charges resulted in a mandatory sentence of life without parole. A judge also ordered Guzman to pay $12.6 billion in ill-gotten proceeds stemming from his empire built on drug trafficking and murder.

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"[Guzman] was a civilian, so that gives him a different legal standing from a sitting head of government, which  whether you think [Maduro's] election was fraudulent, and he is actually not a legitimate leader  he is a recognized head of state, which again, puts you into a very dangerous territory," Barnett told Fox News Digital.

See Pics: Venezuelans Worldwide Celebrate As Exiles React To Maduros Capture

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is escorted by soldiers during a presentation in Mexico City, Jan. 8, 2016.

A defiant Guzman used his final moments in the public spotlight to blast the judge for not granting him a new trial following unsubstantiated allegations of juror misconduct.

"My case was stained and you denied me a fair trial when the whole world was watching," Guzman said through an interpreter.

Click Here To Download The Fox News App

Guzman is set to live out his days behind bars in the federal governments Supermax prison, located in Florence, Colorado, where detainees are kept in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day.

"Since the government will send me to a jail where my name will not ever be heard again, I take this opportunity to say there was no justice here," Guzman said at his sentencing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.





Original article source: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduros narco case echoes US history of targeting alleged foreign drug kingpins
Protesters and revelers alike took to the streets on Saturday in reaction to the U.S. military attack on Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

People react to the news of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after U.S. military actions in Venezuela on Saturday, in Doral, Florida, near Miami. / Credit: GIORGIO VIERA /AFP via Getty Images

Some Venezuelan residents and citizens living across the world celebrated the Trump administration's intervention in the South American country, while others condemned what they say is an act of war and a continuation of a long history of U.S. military actions in Latin America.

Protesters rally outside the White House Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Washington, after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a military operation. / Credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP

Images captured by photojournalists show emotional reactions from Caracas, outside the White House, Spain, Italy, Greece, Mexico, Chile and more.

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Venezuelans react to news of Maduro's capture

Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gather along an avenue in Caracas, Venezuela. / Credit: Pedro Mattey/Anadolu via Getty Images

Explosions were heard in Caracas and other cities near airports and military bases in the overnight hours as President Trump announced that the U.S. military had launched a "large-scale" attack on Venezuela and captured Maduro and his wife.

Supporters of Nicolas Maduro burn a United States flag during a gathering near Miraflores palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in the early hours on Jan. 3, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela. / Credit: Jesus Vargas / Getty Images

Venezuela Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said later Saturday that Maduro is Venezuela's "only president," demanding the United States release Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Venezuelans across Latin America wave flags

Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. / Credit: Javier TORRES /AFP via Getty Images

There were mixed reactions to the news of the U.S. strikes in Venezuela across Latin America.

A woman in Mexico City defaces the facade of the U.S. Embassy with red handprints in protest against the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. / Credit: Marco Ugarte / AP

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Many Venezuelans in Chile poured into the streets, celebrating the military action in Venezuela. While members of left-wing organizations in Argentina protested outside the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires. Their signs read: "We condemn the U.S. bombing and the kidnapping of Maduro."

A demonstrator holds a banner with a message that reads in Spanish:

In neighboring Colombia, some demonstrators celebrated in Bogota as Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed concerns over the bombing on social media.

People celebrate at the Bolivar square in Bogota, Colombia, after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. / Credit: Luis ACOSTA /AFP via Getty Images

"Alert to the whole world, they have attacked Venezuela bombing with missiles," Petro said, calling for a meeting of the United Nations.

A man pastes a sign reading (Connie FRANCE /AFP via Getty Images)

Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez also denounced what he called "the criminal attack by the U.S." on Venezuela. He joined protesters in Havana and called for urgent condemnation from the international community.

Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel (center) flutters a Venezuelan and Cuban national flags in support of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in Havana. / Credit: ADALBERTO ROQUE /AFP via Getty Images

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Venezuelans in Europe take to the streets

Demonstrators hold a banner reading

Many Venezuelans migrated to Europe in recent years to seek asylum. Some of those who rallied in Rome, Italy, on Saturday showed support for Maduro.

Dozens of Venezuelans celebrate the

Many demonstrators in Spain  which has one of the largest numbers of Venezuelans in Europe, according to the European Union Agency for Asylum  celebrated U.S. actions.

A protester in Athens, Greece, raises a U.S. flag which has been set ablaze during a rally opposing the United States strikes on Venezuela and the capturing of its President Nicolas Maduro. / Credit: Yorgos Karahalis / AP

In Greece and Germany, which also have a growing community of asylum seekers from Venezuela, protesters were seen speaking out against the U.S. military.

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Nicolas Maduro captured, flown out of Venezuela, Trump says | Special Report

Doctor's orders: Eat ice cream, and other tips for a long and healthy life

Venezuela's Maduro and wife captured, flown out of country in U.S. operation, Trump says
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Jan 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States might launch a second military strike on Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro if remaining members of the administration do not cooperate with his efforts to get the country "fixed."

Trump's comments to reporters aboard Air Force One raised the possibility of further U.S. military interventions in Latin America, and suggested Colombia and Mexico could also face military action if they do not reduce the flow of illicit drugs to the United States.

"Operation Colombia sounds good to me," Trump said. He also said that Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela, "looks like it's ready to fall" on its own without U.S. military action.

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Maduro is in a New York detention center awaiting a Monday court appearance on drug charges. His capture by the United States has sparked deep uncertainty about what is next for the oil-rich South American nation.

Trump said his administration will work with remaining members of the Maduro regime to clamp down on drug trafficking and overhaul its oil industry, rather than push for immediate elections to install a new government.

Top officials in Maduro's government are still in charge and have called the detentions of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores a kidnapping.

"Here there is only one president, whose name is Nicolas Maduro Moros. Let no one fall for the enemys provocations," Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said in an audio recording released by the ruling PSUV socialist party.

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Images of the 63-year-old Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed stunned Venezuelans. The operation was Washington's most controversial intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama 37 years ago.

Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino said on state television the U.S. attack killed soldiers, civilians and a "large part" of Maduro's security detail "in cold blood." Venezuelas armed forces have been activated to guarantee sovereignty, he said.

The Cuban government said 32 of its citizens were killed during the raid.

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez  who also serves as oil minister  has taken over as interim leader with the blessing of Venezuela's top court and has said Maduro remains president.

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Rodriguez has long been considered the most pragmatic member of Maduro's inner circle. But she has publicly contradicted Trump's claim she is willing to work with the United States.

Trump said Rodriguez may pay a bigger price than Maduro "if she doesn't do what's right," according to an interview with The Atlantic magazine on Sunday.

The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on that remark.

'A QUARANTINE ON THEIR OIL'

Trump's administration has described Maduro's capture as a law-enforcement mission to force him to face U.S. criminal charges filed in 2020, including narco-terrorism conspiracy. Maduro has denied criminal involvement.

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But Trump also said U.S. oil companies need "total access" to the country's vast reserves and suggested that an influx of Venezuelan emigrating to the United States also factored into the decision to capture Maduro.

"What really played (into the decision to capture Maduro) is the fact that he sent millions of people into our country from prisons and from mental institutions, drug dealers, every drug addict in his country was sent into our country," Trump said.

The Venezuelan government has said for months Trump was seeking to take the country's natural resources, especially its oil, and officials made much of a previous Trump comment that major U.S. oil companies would move in.

We are outraged because in the end everything was revealed  it was revealed that they only want our oil, Cabello said.

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Once one of the most prosperous nations in Latin America, Venezuela's economy tanked in the 2000s under President Hugo Chavez and nosedived further under Maduro, sending about one in five Venezuelans abroad in one of the world's biggest exoduses.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Venezuela's next leader should keep Venezuela's oil industry out of the hands of U.S. adversaries and stop drug trafficking and cited an ongoing U.S. blockade on tankers.

"That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interest of the Venezuelan people are met," he said on ABC's "This Week."

MUTED STREETS

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Some Maduro supporters gathered at a government-sponsored protest march on Sunday afternoon in Caracas.

Once ruled by Spain, Venezuela's "people must not surrender, nor should we ever become a colony of anyone again," said demonstrator Reinaldo Mijares. "This country is not a country of the defeated."

Maduro opponents in Venezuela have been wary of celebrating his seizure, and the presence of security forces seemed, if anything, lighter than usual on Sunday.

Despite a nervous mood, some bakeries and coffee shops were open and joggers and cyclists were out as usual. Some citizens were stocking up on essentials.

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Yesterday I was very afraid to go out, but today I had to. This situation caught me without food and I need to figure things out. After all, Venezuelans are used to enduring fear," said a single mother in oil city Maracaibo who bought rice, vegetables and tuna.

To the disappointment of Venezuela's opposition, Trump has given short shrift to the idea of 58-year-old opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado taking over, saying she lacked support.

Machado was banned from standing in the 2024 election but has said her ally Edmundo Gonzalez, 76, who the opposition and some international observers say overwhelmingly won that vote, has a democratic mandate to take the presidency.

LOOMING QUESTIONS

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U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the White House has failed to say how long the U.S. intends to be in Venezuela and how many American troops might be required.

"The American people are worried that this is creating an endless war  the very thing that Donald Trump campaigned against," Schumer said on ABC's "This Week." He said lawmakers would weigh a measure to constrain further Trump administration action in Venezuela, though its prospects could be uncertain given that Congress is controlled by Trump's Republicans.

While many Western nations oppose Maduro, there were many calls for the U.S. to respect international law and questions arose over the legality of seizing a foreign head of state.

The U.N. Security Council planned to meet on Monday to discuss the attack. Russia and China, both major backers of Venezuela, have criticized the U.S.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaux worldwide; Writing by Andy Sullivan, John Kruzel, Lincoln Feast, Andrew Cawthorne and Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Cynthia Osterman, Sergio Non, Chizu Nomiyama and Diane Craft)
Venezuela's military said it recognizes Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as the country's acting leader after Nicolas Maduro was extracted from Caracas by U.S. forces on Saturday.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez issued a statement endorsing a Supreme Court ruling that appointed Rodriguez as acting president for 90 days.

Rodriguez, who is next in the presidential line of succession, served as Maduro's vice president since 2018, overseeing much of Venezuela's oil-dependent economy as well as its feared intelligence service. On Saturday, Venezuela's high court ordered her to assume the role of interim president.

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President Trump said on Saturday that the U.S. had been in touch with Rodriguez and that "she's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again."

Rodriguez faced U.S. sanctions during Mr. Trump's first administration for her role in undermining Venezuelan democracy.

On Saturday night, Rodriguez called Maduro's capture during a daring overnight U.S. military operation "barbaric" and an "illegal and illegitimate kidnapping." In a speech broadcast on state TV, she said the U.S. actions were an attack on Venezuela's sovereignty and demanded the "immediate release" of Maduro and his wife.

Rodriguez left open the door for dialogue with the U.S., while seeking to calm ruling party supporters.

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"Here, we have a government with clarity, and I repeat and repeat again  we are willing to have respectful relations," she said, referring to the Trump administration. "It is the only thing we will accept for a type of relationship after having attacked (Venezuela)."

Mr. Trump issued an apparent threat against Rodriguez, telling The Atlantic in an article published Sunday that "if she doesn't do what's right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Sunday that the conversations with Rodriguez and the Venezuelan government "are delicate and complicated things that require mature statesmanship, and that's what we intend to do."

"But our goals remain the same," he said. "The difference is that the person who was in charge, even though not legitimately in the past was someone you could not work with. We just could not work with him."

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Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived in New York on Saturday evening. They will face charges face federal charges related to drug trafficking and working with gangs designated as terrorist organizations, which Maduro denies.

A video posted on social media by a White House account showed Maduro, smiling, as he was escorted through that office by two U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents grasping his arms.

In his televised statement on Sunday, Padrino Lopez also said that some of Maduro's bodyguards were killed "in cold blood" during the U.S. raid. He did not give an exact figure of casualties.

Venezuelan authorities have not yet given an official toll for people hurt or killed in the US operations. Mr. Trump said Saturday that some U.S. forces were injured, but none were killed.

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Padrino Lopez also urged Venezuela's citizens to resume normal activities "of all kinds, economic, work and education, in the coming days."

"The homeland must follow its constitutional course," he said.

Nicolas Maduro captured, flown out of Venezuela, Trump says | Special Report

Doctor's orders: Eat ice cream, and other tips for a long and healthy life

Venezuela's Maduro and wife captured, flown out of country in U.S. operation, Trump says
Venezuela's new leader Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez has a long political memory that stretches back to her Marxist father, who died in detention during a democratic government before a leftist movement rose in its wake.

Now, President Donald Trump is watching her every move.

The 56-year-old, newly sworn-in president assumed Venezuela's most powerful office as interim president after U.S. forces captured President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3. She formally took the oath of office on Jan. 5, sworn in by her brother Jorge Rodriguez, president of Venezuela's National Assembly.

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil is greeted by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez during their meeting in Caracas Feb. 27, 2015. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez speaks to the media during a news conference in Caracas March 25, 2015. Venezuela's socialist government said on Wednesday it has collected more than three million signatures asking U.S. President Barack Obama to repeal measures declaring the South American country a security threat. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shows the way to his Venezuelan counterpart Delcy Rodriguez during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, May 27, 2015. Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrisov (R) shakes hands with his Venezuelan counterpart Delcy Rodriguez during their meeting in Astana on Jan. 16, 2015. Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs Delcy Rodrguez (R) speaks during a press conference following a meeting with US Charge d'Affairs to Venezuela Lee McClenny in Caracas on March 2, 2015. Venezuela granted the United States 15 days to submit a plan to reduce the number of staff at its embassy in Caracas, Rodriguez announced. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez speaks during a news conference on the sidelines of the Organization of American States (OAS) 47th General Assembly in Cancun, Mexico on June 20, 2017. (L to R) Members of the Constituent Assembly Cilia Flores, Delcy Rodriguez, Diosdado Cabello and Aristobulo Isturiz pose with a picture of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during the Assembly's installation at the National Congress in Caracas on Aug. 4, 2017. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro installed a powerful new assembly packed with his allies, dismissing an international outcry and opposition protests saying he is burying democracy in his crisis-hit country. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (C) his wife Cilia Flores (R) and Constituent Assembly president Delcy Rodriguez arrive at the Congress in Caracas for the Presidential inauguration ceremony, on May 24, 2018. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, next to Venezuelan Vice-president Delcy Rodriguez signs at a balcony at Miraflores Presidential Palace, a document through which his government breaks off diplomatic ties with the United States, during a gathering in Caracas on Jan. 23, 2019. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro announced on Wednesday he was breaking off diplomatic ties with the United States after counterpart Donald Trump acknowledged opposition leader Juan Guaido as the South American country's "interim president." Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez raises her fist as she arrives to address the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters on Sept. 27, 2019 in New York City. World leaders from across the globe are gathered at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, amid crises ranging from climate change to possible conflict between Iran and the United States. Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez exits the stage after addressing the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters on Sept. 27, 2019 in New York City. World leaders from across the globe are gathered at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, amid crises ranging from climate change to possible conflict between Iran and the United States. Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks during the Antifascist Global Parliamentary Forum in Caracas on Nov. 5, 2024. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (2nd R) waves next to First Lady Cilia Flores, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez (L) and the president of the National Assembly Jorge Rodriguez on arrival at the Capitolio -house of the National Assembly- for the presidential inauguration, in Caracas on Jan. 10, 2025. Maduro, in power since 2013, will take the oath of office for a third term despite a global outcry that brought thousands out in protest on the ceremony's eve. Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks during a press conference in Caracas on Sept. 8, 2025. Venezuela called the drug trafficking accusations made by the United States against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a "big farce" and said they were "yet another attempt to criminalize" the government. Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks past portraits of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the liberator Simon Bolivar during the presentation of the 2026 fiscal year budget at the National Congress in Caracas on Dec. 4, 2025. The Venezuelan government presented its budget for 2026 on December 4, 2025, which, calculated in dollars, is 12% less than the budget approved for 2025, while denouncing "a Dantesque deployment" of US military forces in the Caribbean. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, flanked by his wife Cilia Flores and National Constituent Assembly President Delcy Rodriguez, arrives for a special session of the National Constituent Assembly to take oath as re-elected President at the Palacio Federal Legislativo in Caracas, Venezuela May 24, 2018. Venezuela's VP Delcy Rodriguez takes over after Maduro capture 1 of 16 Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil is greeted by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez during their meeting in Caracas Feb. 27, 2015.

Here's what to know about her political rise.

'Compliance and cooperation'

Rodriguez, who served as vice president, continues to insist Maduro remains Venezuela's legitimate leader.

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She denounced the U.S. strike as a "brutal attack," called Maduro's ouster a "kidnapping" and at one point demanded the United States "show proof of life" following the dramatic strike.

Amid her firebrand talk, Trump issued a direct warning to Rodriguez.

"If she doesn't do what's right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro," Trump told The Atlantic a day after Maduro's capture.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, next to Venezuelan Vice-president Delcy Rodriguez signs at a balcony at Miraflores Presidential Palace, a document through which his government breaks off diplomatic ties with the United States, during a gathering in Caracas on Jan. 23, 2019. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro announced on Wednesday he was breaking off diplomatic ties with the United States after counterpart Donald Trump acknowledged opposition leader Juan Guaido as the South American country's "interim president."

But U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Venezuela's new leadership would work with the Trump administration on issues important to U.S. national security.

"We expect to see more compliance and cooperation than we were previously receiving," Rubio told NBC's Meet the Press on Jan. 4. "With Nicolas Maduro, you could not make a deal or an arrangement."

Roots in leftist politics

While Rodriguez has deep roots in the country's hard-core leftist politics, she's also seen by the Trump administration as someone willing to negotiate with the United States and its interests in the region, which distinguishes her from Maduro.

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Also, unlike Maduro, Rodriguez doesn't face U.S. drug trafficking charges. She has appeared on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of sanctioned individuals for at least a decade, dating back to the Obama administration, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Once head of Maduro's communications ministry, later foreign minister and then vice president, Rodriguez is listed as ranking among Venezuelan officials suspected to be involved in anti-democratic actions or policies, serious human rights abuses and public corruption.

The United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight military operation on Jan. 3, 2026, President Donald Trump said, as explosions rocked Caracas and targets across the country. See Maduro's years of leadership in photos, beginning here after he was sworn in for a third six-year term, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 10, 2025. Nicolas Maduro, deputy for Venezuela's ruling party, addresses a crowd of supporters of President Hugo Chavez in March 2004 in Caracas. The President of Venezuela's National Assembly, Nicolas Maduro, delivers a speech during a massive May Day demonstration at Havana's Plaza de la Revolucion (Revolution Square), May 1, 2005. More than one million people, according to official estimates, gathered to commemorate International Labor Day, as Cuban leader Fidel Castro honored the common worker and condemned "Yankee Imperialism" by the United States. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (L) speaks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro during the signing of an agreement with Chinese businessmen on Oct. 17, 2006, in the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. Foreign Minister of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro Moros speaks to the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly, Oct.2, 2007 at the United Nations in New York. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivers a speech before supporters gathering outside the presidential palace in Caracas on Mar. 12, 2015. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro takes part in a military drill in Charallave, Venezuela, on Jan. 14, 2017. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (L) speaks during a gathering in support of him and his proposal for the National Constituent Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 27, 2017. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro greets supporters during his closing campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela, on May 17, 2018. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (R), flanked by his wife Cilia Flores (C), holds a Venezuelan flag while speaking from a balcony at Miraflores Presidential Palace to a crowd of supporters to announce he was breaking off diplomatic ties with the United States, during a gathering in Caracas on Jan. 23, 2019. Maduro announced he was breaking off diplomatic ties with the United States, after his counterpart, President Donald Trump, acknowledged opposition leader Juan Guaido as the South American country's "interim president." Nicolas Maduro gestures during a meeting with soldiers at a military base in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 30, 2019. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (L) and his wife Cilia Flores attend a May Day rally in Caracas on May 1, 2019. Opposition supporters demonstrated for a second consecutive day in support of their country's self-proclaimed leader Juan Guaido, as he bids to overthrow Maduro. Maduro and his government have vowed to put down what they see as an attempted coup by the US-backed opposition leader. Venezuelan President and presidential candidate Nicolas Maduro reacts following the presidential election results in Caracas on July 29, 2024. Maduro won reelection with 51.2 percent of the votes cast Sunday, the electoral council announced, after a campaign tainted by claims of opposition intimidation and fears of fraud. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gestures next to first lady Cilia Flores during an event marking the 165th anniversary of the Battle of Santa Ines in Caracas on Dec. 10, 2024. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro walks with his wife Cilia Flores while leaving the Capitolio, home of the National Assembly, after taking the oath during the presidential inauguration in Caracas on Jan. 10, 2025. Maduro, in power since 2013, took the oath of office for a third term despite a global outcry that brought thousands out in protest on the ceremony's eve. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gestures during a rally to mark the anniversary of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's initial coup attempt in 1992, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Feb. 4, 2025. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro dances during a rally in Caracas on Dec. 1, 2025. Venezuela does not want "a slave's peace," Maduro told thousands of supporters during a rally, referring to a U.S. military deployment he said has been "testing" his country for 22 weeks. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro kisses the national flag during a rally in Caracas on Dec. 1, 2025. See moments from Nicolas Maduro's years of leadership in Venezuela 1 of 18 The United States captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight military operation on Jan. 3, 2026, President Donald Trump said, as explosions rocked Caracas and targets across the country. See Maduro's years of leadership in photos, beginning here after he was sworn in for a third six-year term, in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 10, 2025.

Although Trump initially suggested the U.S. would be running Venezuela, Rubio clarified, "It's not running it. It's running policy."

"We want Venezuela to move in a certain direction, because not only do we think its good for the people of Venezuela, its in our national interest," he said.

Death of a socialist guerrilla

Venezuela transitioned to democracy after a decade-long military dictatorship that ended in 1958. However, the country's leftists found themselves marginalized in the new democratic elections, which were dominated by two larger political parties.

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Rodriguez's father, Jorge Rodriguez, served as secretary general of the Socialist League and participated in a leftist guerrilla movement that never got off the ground.

In the mid-1970s, her father was detained in the kidnapping of American businessman William Niehous in Venezuela. He died while in custody of the government of democratically elected Carlos Andres Perez after intelligence officials ordered his beating, according to a CIA missive.

Mapping US attacks in Venezuela: Timeline of Nicolas Maduro's capture

Rodriguez was a university law professor when the military officer and revolutionary Hugo Chavez first attempted to overthrow Perez in his second term. Chavez was later elected and other guerrillas behind the kidnapping of Niehous eventually became ministers in the government.

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She and her brother, also named Jorge Rodriguez, closely aligned themselves with the socialist politics that became known as "chavismo."

As U.S. forces whisked Maduro north to the United States, Rodriguez declared the country would continue carrying out Maduro's policies and would "never be a colony ever again."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to know about Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's interim president
Military strikes on Venezuela and the capture of the countrys president by U.S. forces have led the United States into frighteningly uncharted territory, one Virginia lawmaker says.

Rep. Jennifer McClellans response to the overnight strikes on Jan. 3 mirrors comments from her fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill, who are criticizing President Donald Trump for ordering the strikes without congressional authorization. In a statement released by her office, the Fourth District representative said the White House lied to Congress when it said the situation could be rectified without force.

Without congressional approval, the Trump Administrations illegal military strikes on Venezuela have thrown us into frighteningly uncharted territory. In the process, they have put the lives of our servicemembers at needless risk, damaged our reputation as a global leader and threatened to drag our nation into a senseless war, McClellan said. This clear violation of the Constitution is beyond reckless.

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(Nicolas) Maduros illegitimate rule over Venezuela and his blatant suppression of democracy cannot be overlooked, but this alone does not justify war and an American-led regime change using our taxpayer resources to run the country of Venezuela. The administration repeatedly told Congress that it did not intend to use military force in Venezuela. This was a lie.

More: Richard Bland College names finalists for interim college presidency

What happened?

The United States carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela overnight, Trump announced in a Truth Social post in the early hours of Jan. 3. The president said Congress was not notified ahead of time because of fear the lawmakers would leak that information, according to reports from USA TODAY.

Trump also told reporters in a news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, that the U.S. would run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.

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Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were being taken back to New York, where they have been indicted on federal drug and weapons charges.

Venezuela's government declared a state of emergency and denounced what it called "extremely serious military aggression" by the White House.

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U.S. does not respect sovereignty

In her statement, McClellan said the strikes undermine the delicate trust built between the United States and Latin America. The move, she claimed, tells the world that the U.S. does not respect other countries sovereignty.

They invite our adversaries to do the same and undermine our moral standing to oppose similar actions by Russia or China to launch large-scale military operations in their neighboring countries, McClellans statement read. The president has a duty to share with Congress his legal justification for this decision, and Congress must act swiftly to prevent further bloodshed and secure stability in the region during this critical time.

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U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Virginia Democrats, also issued statements criticizing Trump. Kaine called the move a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate the internal political affairs of all countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Our Constitution places the gravest decisions about the use of military force in the hands of Congress for a reason, Warner said. Using military force to enact regime change demands the closest scrutiny, precisely because the consequences do not end with the initial strike.

More: Virginia lawmaker cites serious health matter for ending Senate bid

Support from Virginia GOP

On the other side of the aisle, Virginia Republicans applauded the decision.

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Extraordinary leadership from our President, Gov. Glenn Youngkin posted on C, formerly Twitter. Many presidents have talked about holding Maduro accountable, but President @realDonaldTrump is the only one who actually did it. Congratulations to the President and his team.

GOP Rep. Jen Kiggans, who represents the heavily military Tidewater area, said in a statement, The strength of the United States is rooted in the courage and dedication of the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces. That strength was on full display in the early hours this morning, when they carried out a precise and successful operation to apprehend indicted narcoterrorist Nicolas Maduro.

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Delegate has question about running Venezuela

One GOP lawmaker  state Del. Nick Freitas of Culpeper County  was not completely on board with the decision.

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When I thought this was a limited strike to go after Maduro, I was willing to defend it, Freitas posted on X. But now that I hear we will be running Venezuela, I have some concerns. Because I've lived at the business end of this kind of foreign policy and it didn't work out well.

Freitas continued.

Why are WE responsible for ensuring a "proper transition" takes place in Venezuela??? How many troops are we dedicating to that venture? What do we consider a safe, secure and independent Venezuela to even look like? How do we measure when we have achieved it? he wrote. How much blood and treasure are we willing to dedicate to this venture? What does the US get out of this? I genuinely want to understand how this is supposed to work.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Virginia lawmakers criticize White House over Venezuela invasion
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (DC News Now)  A Virginia State Police (VSP) trooper was hurt in a crash after trying to stop a car for reckless driving in Alexandria on Sunday.

At around 3:45 p.m., the trooper was on Interstate 495, prior to Eisenhower Avenue, and tried to stop a Honda Accord for driving recklessly. The Accord did not stop, prompting a chase.

No more free entry: National parks reinstating fees on these days in 2026

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During the chase, the driver shifted from the second lane to the Van Dorn Street exit.

The trooper ended up stopping the chase to avoid hitting an uninvolved car. As a result, the troopers car went off the road, hit a tree and rolled over once, VSP said.

The trooper was taken to the hospital with minor, non-life-threatening injuries.

The incident is under investigation.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live.
President Donald Trump, joined by members of his Cabinet and senior advisers, monitored his unauthorized invasion of Venezuela not from Washington D.C., but from a makeshift situation room at Mar-a-Lago.

While the Palm Beach setting was already unusual enough, eagle-eyed social media users were quick to notice an interesting detail in the background of several photos the president posted to Truth Social depicting himself, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller, and others in the presidents inner circle: an X feed.

Two of the photos show senior Trump officials gathered in front of a screen with an X search open for Venezuela. A third photo shows Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Raizin Caine huddled around a laptop with an X profile visible on the screen behind them.

Donald Trump/Truth Social

Donald Trump/Truth Social

Donald Trump/Truth Social

Donald Trump/Truth Social

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Donald Trump/Truth Social

Trump announced the strike against Venezuela and abduction of President Nicolas Maduro on Truth Social early on Saturday morning, writing, The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were then transported to the U.S. in order to stand trial in New York. Maduro is facing charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses. Flores and the couples 35-year-old son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, are also facing charges.

While the Trump administration was quick to insist no Americans were killed during the incursion, Venezuelan officials have said that at least 40 Venezuelans were killed.

Trump also implied during a Saturday morning interview with Fox News that some U.S. service members had been injured. Caine clarified later in the day that one of the helicopters being used to transport Maduro and Flores had come under fire and been hit, but that it remained flyable and all aircraft successfully returned to the U.S.

Maduro and his wife were kidnapped by U.S. forces and transported to New York to stand trial. / FEDERICO PARRA / AFP via Getty Images

While Venezuelas long-term future is unclear, Trump has said that the U.S. will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.

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He also revealed plans to seize Venezuelas oil reserves and work with American oil companies to fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country.

The president has also suggested that Venezuela would not be his last unauthorized foreign intervention, alternately suggesting on Saturday that Mexico, Colombia, or Cuba could be next.

Somethings going to have to be done with Mexico, he said during an interview on Fox & Friends. During a press conference at Mar-a-Lago later that morning, Trump also said that Colombian president Gustavo Petro should watch his a--.

At the same press conference, Rubio issued a veiled threat to the Cuban government, telling reporters, If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, Id be concerned at least a little bit.

The Daily Beast reached out to the White House for comment.
A little over a decade ago, a diplomatic row with Japan would have been enough to bring people out into the streets in China or at least stir a patriotic retail boycott.

China and Japan have a long-running territorial dispute over the islands and authorities appeared to tolerate the anti-Japanese demonstrations that broke out in many Chinese cities that year, including attacks on Japanese cars and stores.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

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Fast forward to 2026 and Beijing and Tokyo are at odds again - this time over Taiwan, an issue that Beijing regards as the reddest of its red lines.

But this time the nationalist flames have not been fanned and Japanese property remains untouched. The stakes are arguably higher but the response has been targeted diplomatic and economic pressure.

Much of the tactical shift, observers say, comes down to one big thing: economics.

The latest row erupted on November 7 when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told her country's legislature that Beijing's "use of force against Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, suggesting Tokyo would deploy its military forces during a conflict in the Taiwan Strait.

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Beijing viewed Takaichi's remarks as a provocative shift from Tokyo's long-held strategic ambiguity on the matter and accused Japan of interfering in its internal affairs - as it sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary.

Most countries, including the United States and Japan, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

Beijing's response included summoning Japan's ambassador, taking the issue to the United Nations, reinstating a ban on Japanese seafood imports, issuing travel warnings for Chinese citizens on safety grounds, cancelling flights and cultural events, and increasing coastguard patrols around the Diaoyu Islands.

Military incidents, including reports of Chinese jets locking radar onto Japanese aircraft in early December, have added to the tensions but notably absent are the mass street protests, vandalism of Japanese businesses and boycotts of Japanese brands that marked previous flare-ups.

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Beijing's measures now are "restrained and do not go beyond rhetoric, as such measures are of low cost", according to a Chinese official from a top economic department.

"It is kind of unlikely that China would extend this diplomatic row to more economic arenas or involve military moves, considering that Japan is such an important trading partner for China," the official said, declining to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The economic stakes for both countries are high. Japan is China's third-biggest trading partner and China is Japan's largest trading partner, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

One of those pillars is domestic consumption but China is struggling to ignite that demand. In the meantime, it needs foreign trade and investment, which is becoming more complex given its trade tensions with the United States and Europe.

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Underscoring Beijing's effort to prevent economic fallout, Liu Jinsong, the Asian affairs chief of China's foreign ministry, visited a Japanese manufacturer in Dalian, Liaoning province, in late November to offer assurances and urge the company to keep operating in China, Japanese news service Nikkei Asia reported.

"Beijing has become more cautious in handling external frictions, avoiding the fanning of nationalism to uncontrollable levels," a second official said, who also declined to be named.

"In past crises, authorities occasionally tolerated or channelled street protests to exert pressure abroad, but today's leadership is acutely aware that excessive mobilisation of nationalist sentiment is a double-edged sword.

"It can unify public opinion and project strength in the short term, yet it risks morphing into an outlet for domestic discontent."

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If discontent were to spiral out of control, the second official said, "it could threaten internal stability".

When posted on Chinese social media platforms, such articles usually attract hundreds of online comments, with most echoing Beijing's wariness towards Tokyo.

"The struggle against Japan could be a protracted one," Hu posted on social media in November. "Preserving the firmness, rationality and unity of Chinese society ensures lasting resilience and endurance."

Tong Yiduo, 32, a programmer in Beijing, said he personally would "not do anything violent or extreme" over the dispute as he had confidence Beijing could handle it properly.

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"I don't have the illusion that China will be treated fairly by the US and its allies like Japan. So far, China has fared well in the trade war [with the United States]," he added.

"I believe as long as we focus on science and technological development and make China stronger, no country will be capable of intimidating us."

Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies in Washington, said nationalism had "not got out of hand this time round" because the Chinese government had "sought to play it both ways".

Gupta said Beijing was hammering Japan rhetorically as well as punishing it economically in tourism and seafood imports, while at the same time immunising the Chinese economy from blowback "by quietly reassuring Japanese corporates in China".

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This contrasted with the situation in 2012, when Sino-Japanese relations had been deteriorating for more than a year before the demonstrations broke out, Gupta said.

"This time, Beijing's tough response is to warn off not just Japan but others too who will be called upon by the United States to militarily support its operations during an armed Taiwan contingency," Gupta said.

He said Beijing was seizing a "golden opportunity" to criticise Tokyo for its "decade-long movement of the centre of gravity" of Japanese operational defence planning, from the northeast to the southwest theatre in defence of Taiwan.

"But by keeping the response below the rabble-rousing threshold, China also gets to maintain the patina of a law-abiding, responsible nation," Gupta said.

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That said, Beijing had chosen to restrain its citizens from overt protest actions, he added, citing "lingering concerns linked to security incidents faced by Japanese nationals based in China in the recent past" that triggered a diplomatic flashpoint.

"China prides itself as a safe country from a law-and-order standpoint and would like to maintain that reputation," Gupta said.

That reputation was dented in June 2024, when a man in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, attacked a Japanese mother and child with a knife and killed a Chinese bus attendant who tried to defend them.

Another fatal attack targeting a Japanese citizen took place in September 2024, when a 10-year-old Japanese boy was stabbed by a man in the city of Shenzhen on the anniversary of Japan's 1931 invasion of China. The boy, born to a Japanese father and a Chinese mother, died a day after the stabbing.

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In both cases, authorities presented the attacks as an "isolated incident".

In general, Chinese views of Japan are complex and contradictory. Deep resentment stems from historical conflicts, especially imperial Japan's invasion during the second Sino-Japanese war. At the same time, for generations, Chinese have been avid consumers of Japanese culture and goods.

Echo Liao, an undergraduate student in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, and a former exchange student in Japan, said she was "totally not interested" in disagreements between the two East Asian neighbours.

"I am too lazy to learn much about [the row]," Liao added. "I am still willing to travel to Japan because I can get high-standard services and experiences."

Nevertheless, she said that being willing to "spend money in Japan doesn't mean you agree with other things".

Zhiqun Zhu, a professor of international relations at Bucknell University in the US, said that young people in China tended to be indifferent to politics.

"Most Chinese are patriotic, but they do not express nationalistic feelings with gusto now, as previous generations did," Zhu said. "Social, political and economic conditions have changed so much that the Chinese public have become more sophisticated and cosmopolitan."

Meanwhile, Chinese tourists have continued to visit Japan, though the growth in arrivals slowed significantly after November's diplomatic row.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organisation, 562,600 mainland Chinese visited Japan in November, up 3 per cent from a year earlier.

Dozens of direct flights remain available daily between major Chinese and Japanese cities in the coming months. And in shopping malls across China, Japanese restaurants and shops continue to draw steady crowds.

Zhu said Beijing would keep exerting pressure on Takaichi with strong rhetoric for some time. But he added that both sides could still wish to de-escalate tensions and find an off-ramp from the crisis.

It was highly unlikely that Takaichi would completely retract her words about the Taiwan contingency, but she and other Japanese officials had dialled back their tone of late and resumed stating a more traditional ambiguous position on Taiwan, he added.

Through diplomacy and private channels, Tokyo might offer Beijing more explicit reassurance regarding Taiwan than it had stated publicly, he added.

This would "help cool down Beijing's anger so that both sides can move on".

Additional reporting by Sylvie Zhuang and Bob Zhao

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2026 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2026. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
In more than 120 countries or territories to which I have traveled, including nations with authoritarian, recognized or apparent dictatorial governments, I have never been asked for my social networks, much less my passwords, as an entry requirement. Not once.

I am deeply concerned about the U.S. government's proposal to require social media and even passwords for travelers from countries that do not require a visa. It could be dangerous for those who visit the United States, and it is also dangerous for those of us who go out into the world as American citizens.

"Nothing has changed on this front for those coming to the United States. This is not a final rule, it is simply the first step in starting a discussion to have new policy options to keep the American people safe," Customs and Border Protection previously told USA TODAY in a statement. "This new proposal is in line with the January 2025 Executive Order 14161 to vet those who are coming into this country using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) by allowing CBP to collect additional information from non-U.S. citizens applying through the visa waiver program from eligible countries."

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The public conversation has focused on security, but almost no one talks about what would really be at stake: international reciprocity.

Every time the United States imposes an immigration measure, other countries could replicate it. To imagine that this policy would have no consequences in return is naive. Are we prepared for Europe, Asia, Africa or Latin America to demand our passwords or Instagram or Facebook to enter? Not me. I doubt that most Americans would be happy to give up their privacy.

I've visited 120 countries. These are the best places to travel in 2026.

In addition, the economic impact could be gigantic. International tourism generated more than $2.8 trillion for the U.S. economy in 2023 and supports millions of jobs. If foreign visitors start avoiding the United States because of invasive measures, or if other countries impose similar policies that discourage Americans from traveling, the economic damage could be significant.

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More importantly, privacy and freedom of expression should not be subject to the sovereignty or political mood of any country. Freedom is always defended, or it is not defended. And in this case, that defense begins by raising your voice against measures that put fundamental rights at risk.

Traveling has historically been a bridge between cultures, a space where political differences do not determine who deserves to cross a border. To imagine a Europe that denies me entry for refusing to give up my basic rights, demanding my passwords to assess whether my opinions are acceptable, would be a dystopia. However, if the United States opens that door, other governments could immediately follow suit.

What's one way to feel happier? Go on a trip.



According to G Adventures' recently released Happiness List 2026, 89% of the 8,000 adults intending to travel in 2026 across the US, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand agree that purpose-driven travel contributes to their long-term happiness. Those trips offer a sense of wonder along with a chance to decompress and find connection.



Here are 10 travel experiences that G Adventures' travelers said made them feel happiest: Panama's San Blas Islands are ideal for unplugging while enjoying turquoise waters and white-sand beaches. Travelers can stay in Indigenous-owned accommodations, including traditional huts, and explore the archipelago by boat. Witnessing a solar eclipse is one way to experience wonder. G Adventures offers five trips for the Aug. 2027 eclipse, including an exclusive viewing party in Chefchaouen, Morocco. Travelers can dive into Guatemala's history and culture, from learning how to make beloved local dishes to exploring the ancient ruins of Tikal. Exploring the wild, remote landscapes in the Arctic aboard an expedition cruise can leave travelers with a newfound appreciation for Mother Nature. Imagine having a close encounter with Africa's wildlife while also supporting ethical travel and conservation. G Adventures offers a trip to Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park, where travelers can see Victoria Falls, track elephants and cruise rivers looking for hippos. Sail down Sri Lanka's South Coast on a seven-day trip on a 54-foot catamaran for the chance to swim at remote beaches, explore fishing villages and more. Ecuador offers much more than being a gateway to the Galapagos. Travelers can go chocolate tasting, learn more about Indigenous culture and explore the wild jungle. Rather than falling into the typical tourist traps, travelers can try to live like a local and go off the beaten path. On G Adventures' East Iceland trip, guests go to a remote hamlet, enjoy geothermal pools and hike coastal trails. The Stans  Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan  offer a rich history steeped in the Silk Road trade along with stunning nature, like Kaindy Lake's otherworldly sunken forest. Moldova may not be on everyone's radar, but this underrated Eastern European destination is perfect for foodies. Travelers can sip wine, taste local cuisine and visit spots like an eco-friendly cheese factory. 10 destinations where travelers feel happiest 1 of 10 What's one way to feel happier? Go on a trip.



According to G Adventures' recently released Happiness List 2026, 89% of the 8,000 adults intending to travel in 2026 across the US, UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand agree that purpose-driven travel contributes to their long-term happiness. Those trips offer a sense of wonder along with a chance to decompress and find connection.



Here are 10 travel experiences that G Adventures' travelers said made them feel happiest: Panama's San Blas Islands are ideal for unplugging while enjoying turquoise waters and white-sand beaches. Travelers can stay in Indigenous-owned accommodations, including traditional huts, and explore the archipelago by boat.

Many citizens believe that these policies affect only others, those they reach; it is not like that. In a world where reciprocity is the norm, every move will eventually affect those who leave; that is, all of us. The proposal would erode the privacy of millions of tourists visiting the United States and could also jeopardize Americans' right to travel without giving up intimate aspects of their digital lives.

Additionally, the move would not necessarily increase safety. Those who pose a threat can create fake profiles or clean their accounts before traveling. The only ones affected would be ordinary citizens, as well as journalists, activists and political dissidents whose messages could put them in danger if they are forced to hand over their social networks.
Questions regarding Venezuela's future leadership continue to swirl after the country's toppled president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by American forces and brought to the U.S., where they sit in detention in New York on Sunday.

President Donald Trump has vowed the United States would "run" the South American country until a democratic transition could occur. He doubled down on the claim Sunday night, saying the United States is "in charge of Venezuela.

Dont ask me whos in charge, because Ill give you an answer, and itll be very controversial, Trump told reporters on board Air Force One on Jan. 4. The president was returning to Washington, DC, after spending the holiday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

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When asked what that means, Trump said, It means were in charge." However, earlier on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC's Meet the Press said the U.S. is "not running" Venezuela but "running policy."

Employees stand near rubble and a dish antenna with holes after a U.S. airstrike destroyed a TV and telephone tower that collapsed onto transmission operator Carlos BrachoOs home, killing a neighbor and injuring her daughter in the same attack, according to Bracho, in El Hatillo, on the outskirts of Caracas, Venezuela on Jan. 4, 2026. Motorcyclists queue at a petrol station to get fuel in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said on Jan. 3, 2026, that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and his Venezuelan arch-foe. Jorge Cardona, along with his friend, looks for personal belongings through the rubble of a damaged building following U.S. strikes on Venezuela during which President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured, in Catia La Mar, Venezuela on Jan. 4, 2026. A satellite image shows a closer view of destroyed vehicles and equipment at Fort Tiuna after the U.S. strikes, in Caracas, Venezuela on Jan. 3, 2026. A car drives by at the Tienditas Bridge border between Venezuela and Colombia, after the U.S. struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Cucuta, Colombia on Jan. 4, 2026. A destroyed missile interceptor vehicle is seen at La Carlota air base in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. President Donald Trump said on January 3, 2026, that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and his Venezuelan arch-foe. Jesus Linares, 48, stands next to a local resident as he looks at his damaged apartment building, after the U.S. launched a strike on Venezuela, capturing its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Catia La Mar, Venezuela on Jan. 4, 2026. A woman walks past a mural depicting Venezuela's Liberator Simon Bolivar with the Venezuelan national flag and reading "Long live the motherland!" in Caracas on Jan. 4, 2026, a day after Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro was captured in a US strike. A lingering smell of explosives hung over Venezuela's capital Caracas on Saturday as shocked residents took stock after an early-morning US strike that ousted strongman Nicolas Maduro. A man sits between street lanes, after the U.S. launched a strike on Venezuela, capturing its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Caracas, Venezuela on Jan. 4, 2026. Windows of a residential building are cracked, after the U.S. launched a strike on Venezuela, capturing its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Caracas, Venezuela on Jan. 4, 2026. A woman holds a fragment of a rocket, after the U.S. launched a strike on Venezuela, capturing its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Caracas, Venezuela on Jan. 4, 2026. Jesus Linares, 48, stands at his damaged apartment, after the U.S. launched a strike on Venezuela, capturing its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Catia La Mar, Venezuela on Jan. 4, 2026. People queue to buy gasoline at a gas station in Caracas, on Jan. 4, 2026, a day after Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro was captured in a US strike. A lingering smell of explosives hung over Venezuela's capital Caracas on Saturday as shocked residents took stock after an early-morning US strike that ousted strongman Nicolas Maduro. Erika Utera, sister of transmission operator Carlos Bracho, hugs a family member by the rubble after a U.S. airstrike destroyed a TV and telephone tower that collapsed onto her home, killing a neighbor and injuring her daughter in the same attack, according to Bracho, in El Hatillo, on the outskirts of Caracas, Venezuela on Jan. 4, 2026. People charge their phones, as several neighborhoods remain without electricity after the U.S. launched a strike on Venezuela, capturing its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Caracas, Venezuela on Jan. 4, 2026. Employees stand near rubble after a U.S. airstrike destroyed a TV and telephone tower that collapsed onto Carlos Bracho home, killing a neighbor and injuring her daughter in the same attack, according to Bracho, in El Hatillo, on the outskirts of Caracas, Venezuela on Jan. 4, 2026. Men carry furniture as they help clean a damaged apartment in Catia La Mar, La Guaira State, Venezuela, on Jan. 4, 2026, a day after Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro was captured in a US strike. Venezuela's military on Sunday recognized Delcy Rodriguez, deputy to ousted president Nicolas Maduro, as the country's acting leader, after US forces extracted the former head of state to face trial. Men carry furniture as they help clean a damaged apartment in Catia La Mar, La Guaira State, Venezuela, on Jan. 4, 2026, a day after Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro was captured in a US strike. Venezuela's military on Sunday recognized Delcy Rodriguez, deputy to ousted president Nicolas Maduro, as the country's acting leader, after US forces extracted the former head of state to face trial. A motorcycle rides along an empty street in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and his Venezuelan arch-foe. See aftermath of US raid on Venezuela to capture Maduro 1 of 19 Employees stand near rubble and a dish antenna with holes after a U.S. airstrike destroyed a TV and telephone tower that collapsed onto transmission operator Carlos BrachoOs home, killing a neighbor and injuring her daughter in the same attack, according to Bracho, in El Hatillo, on the outskirts of Caracas, Venezuela on Jan. 4, 2026.

"We want Venezuela to move in a certain direction, because not only do we think its good for the people of Venezuela, its in our national interest," Rubio said.

Over the span of a few hours on Saturday, U.S. strikes targeted air defenses and other sites in Caracas and three other Venezuelan states, transporting Maduro and Flores thousands of miles over sea and air to the United States.

The operation marked a dramatic escalation of Trump's stance toward Venezuela after months of rising tensions, threats and oil tanker seizures. Maduro and his wife have been indicted on federal drug and weapons charges and are expected to attend an arraignment in New York City as early as Monday, according to multiple media reports.

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As global reverberations continue to be felt, many questions remain unanswered, including those regarding the future of U.S.-Venezuela relations and how the South American nation will move forward.

Trump calls on Venezuelas interim president to provide 'total access'

While speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he needs Venezuela's vice president Delcy Rodriguez to provide the United States with total access. After Maduro was seized by U.S. forces, Rodriguez was declared the interim president of Venezuela.

We need total access. We need access to the oil and to other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country, he said.

Earlier, Trump told reporters that he has not spoken to Rodriguez yet, but others have. He added that he will speak to her at the right time.

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The president also said the U.S. did not give anything to Rodriguez in exchange for cooperating but noted shes cooperating.

Venezuela right now is a dead country. We have to bring it back, and were gonna have to have big investments by the oil companies to bring back the infrastructure ready to go, Trump said.

Cuba looks like it's ready to fall, Trump says

Trump also told reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday that U.S. military intervention in Cuba is unlikely to be needed because the country appears to be ready to fall on its own.

"Cuba's about to be down for the count," he said.

Federal officials have said the Cuban government, which is an ally of Maduros administration, has maintained a presence in Venezuela by providing security advisors. According to Trump, "a lot of Cubans were killed" during the operation to capture Maduro on Saturday.

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The president did not specify how many Cubans were killed but said there was a lot of death on the other side.

"A lot of Cubans were killed yesterday, trying to protect him," Trump said in reference to Maduro.

The Cuban government said on Sunday that 32 of its citizens were killed during the U.S. military attack on Venezuela.

Trump threatens military action against Colombia

Following the capture of Maduro, Trump threatened military action against Colombia's government and its president, Gustavo Petro, on Sunday night.

"Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he's not going to be doing it very long," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, in an apparent reference to Petro. He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories. Hes not going to be doing it.

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When asked whether the U.S. would conduct a military operation against Colombia, which borders Venezuela, Trump said, "it sounds good to me."

Maduro to appear in court Jan. 5 for arraignment

Venezuelan leader President Nicolas Maduro is scheduled to appear in federal court at noon Jan. 5 in New York, according to the District Court for the Southern District of New York media office.

Maduro will be arraigned on a four-count indictment charging him with leading a 25-year narco-terrorism conspiracy that included several high-ranking members of his administration.

He will appear before United States District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan.

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 Sarah Wire, USA TODAY

Who is Venezuela's new president, Delcy Rodriguez?

Venezuela's new president Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez assumed Venezuela's most powerful office after U.S. forces captured President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3.

While the 56-year-old, who served as vice president, continues to insist Maduro remains Venezuela's legitimate leader, she's seen by the Trump administration as someone willing to negotiate with the United States.

Rodriguez has deep roots in the country's hard-core leftist politics, but she doesn't face U.S. drug trafficking charges, unlike Maduro. She has appeared on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of sanctioned individuals for at least a decade, dating back to the Obama administration, according to the Congressional Research Service.

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Once head of Maduro's communications ministry, later foreign minister and then vice president, Rodriguez is listed as ranking among Venezuelan officials suspected to be involved in anti-democratic actions or policies, serious human rights abuses and public corruption.

'Very big price': Trump issues warning for Venezuelan vice president

Trump in an interview on Sunday issued a warning for Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.

If she doesnt do whats right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro, Trump told The Atlantic a day after U.S. military forces captured the former leader.

Rodriguez previously rejected Trumps claims that she was willing to work with his administration to make changes in Venezuela after the U.S. struck key Venezuelan military bases on Saturday. Rodriguez said the country would continue carrying out Maduros policies and would never be a colony ever again.

Reactions to the United States' bombing of Venezuela and capture of the country's president Nicolas Maduro ranged across the world. Some celebrated the operation while others rebuked Trump's intervention in the South American country. See the reactions in photos, beginning here with Venezuelans living in Chile celebrating in Santiago on January 3, 2026. A child holds a placard saying "I will meet my grandparents" as people react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. A woman reacts to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. Armed supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gather near the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured him. A Venezuelan man living in Chile celebrates with a national flag and his car reading "Free Venezuela" in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. The Trump administration said on December 3 that Venezuela's captured Maduro and his wife will face "the full wrath of American justice" under drug and terrorism charges. A man holds up a portrait of late Venezuela's leader (1999-2013) Hugo Chavez in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Activists of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) burn an effigy of US President Donald Trump during a rally in Kolkata on January 3, 2026, to protest against the recent US attack on Venezuela. A supporter of Nicolas Maduro holds a portrait of the Venezuelan President during a gathering near the Palacio de Miraflores in Caracas on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on the South American country. Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate in Santiago on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a "large scale strike" on Venezuela. Demonstrators hold up a banner with the lettering reading 'Stop Trump - Free Venezuela' during a rally organised by left-wing 'Anti-Imperialist Coordination' (Antiimperialistische Koordination - AIK) under the motto 'Hands off Venezuela' at Vienna's Votive Park on January 3, 2026. The EU called for "restraint" and respect for international law in Venezuela on January 3 after US President Trump announced US forces had captured leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale assault. Demonstrators march with a banner with the lettering reading 'Hands off Venezuela' during a rally organised by left-wing 'Anti-Imperialist Coordination' (Antiimperialistische Koordination - AIK) in Vienna on January 3, 2026. The EU called for "restraint" and respect for international law in Venezuela on January 3 after US President Trump announced US forces had captured leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale assault. Venezuelans living in Peru celebrate outside the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and Venezuelan. Venezuelans living in Peru celebrate outside the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and Venezuelan. Venezuelans living in Peru celebrate at the Miguel de Cervantes park, near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelans living in Peru dance to celebrate at the Miguel de Cervantes park, near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. A Venezuelan woman living in Peru celebrates with a national flag at the Miguel de Cervantes park, near the Venezuelan Embassy in Lima on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Activists of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) protest against the recent US attack on Venezuela, in Kolkata on January 3, 2026. Members of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) group hold banners outside the U.S. Embassy in London calling for "Hands off Venezuela!", after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in London, Britain, January 3, 2026. People embrace next to a Venezuelan flag, as they react to the news after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Madrid, Spain, January 3, 2026. See reactions after US explosions in Venezuela, Maduro capture 1 of 21 Reactions to the United States' bombing of Venezuela and capture of the country's president Nicolas Maduro ranged across the world. Some celebrated the operation while others rebuked Trump's intervention in the South American country. See the reactions in photos, beginning here with Venezuelans living in Chile celebrating in Santiago on January 3, 2026.

Will there be elections in Venezuela soon?

When asked by "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker if democratic elections could be held in Venezuela within 30 days, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called the question "premature."

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"Elections? This is a country thats been governed by this regime now for 14 or 15 years," he said on the Jan. 4 NBC broadcast, adding that in recent elections Maduro refused to count votes to retain power. "All of that is premature at this point."

Rubio called Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado "fantastic," but he stopped short of advocating for her to lead a transition government.

"The immediate reality is that unfortunately, and sadly the vast majority of the opposition is no longer present inside of Venezuela," he said.

Is Greenland next?

A day after U.S. strikes in Venezuela, questions swirled about whether American forces would intervene in Greenland.

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Since taking office in 2025, Trump has repeatedly floated buying the ice-covered Arctic island from Denmark and has refused to rule out taking the resource-rich land through military force. Trump has argued that annexing Greenland is a national security necessity, noting its mass of critical minerals and strategic location.

He renewed those calls Sunday in an interview with The Atlantic.

We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense Trump told the outlet, reportedly describing the island as surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.

While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, Trump reiterated his stance.

Its so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place, Trump told reporters. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.

The same day, Katie Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, posted a photo of Greenland covered with the American flag. Above it, Miller wrote SOON.

However, the leaders of Denmark and Greenland on Jan. 4 urged Trump to stop threatening to take over Greenland.

"It makes absolutely no sense to talk about the U.S. needing to take over Greenland. The U.S. has no right to annex any of the three countries in the Danish Kingdom," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement on Sunday.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks as U.S. President Donald Trump stands behind him during a press conference following a U.S. strike on Venezuela where President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured, from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Who gets Venezuelas oil? Rubio weighs in

The United States doesn't need Venezuela's vast oil reserves, Rubio told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. But Trump will try to block America's foes from gaining influence in the country or control over its resources, the secretary of state said.

"We dont need Venezuela's oil," Rubio said. "We have plenty of oil in the United States. What we're not going to allow is for the oil industry and Venezuela to be controlled by adversaries of the United States."

Venezuela is recognized as having the world's largest proven crude oil reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Trump has said U.S. oil companies could start investing again in the region, a practice halted when Maduro's predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, expropriated the assets of foreign oil companies.

Rubio said U.S. adversaries including Iran, China and Russia "are exploiting and extracting" resources all over the world. "They're not going to do it in the Western hemisphere," he said.

America First? Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green bashes Venezuela attack

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, once a staunch Trump ally, blasted the presidents attack on Venezuela as a sharp departure from his "America First" campaign promises.

Greene, who earlier this year had a public falling out with Trump, criticized his decision to capture Maduro as not being aligned with promises he made during the 2024 presidential election to end American involvement in a wide range of foreign conflicts.

This is the same Washington playbook that we are so sick and tired of that doesn't serve the American people, that actually serves the big corporations, the banks, and the oil executives, Greene said on NBCs "Meet the Press."

Trump during an earlier press conference had defended the attack as part of his America First agenda, arguing that he wanted to protect the United States' oil interests in Venezuela and ensure America has good neighbors.

Venezuela has the largest oil reserves of any country worldwide. But the reserves have been almost completely off limits to American oil giants since Venezuela placed them in the hands of a state-run company in the mid-1970s. After the Jan. 3 capture of Maduro, Trump said the United States would have a presence in Venezuela, as it pertains to oil.

My understanding of America first is strictly for the American people, not for the big donors that donate to big politicians, not for the special interests that constantly roam the halls in Washington, and not foreign countries that demand their priorities put first over Americans, she said.

Maduro rejected generous US offers before capture, Rubio said

Rubio on Sunday said Maduro was given very generous offers to leave Venezuela before U.S. forces swooped into the country to extract him.

He could have left Venezuela as recently as a week and a half ago, Rubio told NBCs "Meet the Press." There were opportunities for him to avoid all of this.

The Trump administration has long sought Maduros ouster. Though the United States hasnt had a formal diplomatic relationship with Venezuela in years, special envoy Richard Grenell had been talking to Maduro, searching for a negotiated solution.

Maduro has made a career out of not keeping deals and figuring out how to save himself by buying time, Rubio said. But President Trump was not going to fall into that trap."

A person reacts holding Venezuelan and U.S. flags as Venezuelan immigrants celebrate after the United States struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and they were brought to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (MDC Brooklyn), in New York City on Jan. 3, 2026.

How do Venezuelans feel about Maduro's capture?

Maduro's allies in Venezuela were still in charge and have denounced their leader's "kidnapping" as part of an imperialist oil grab.

Streets were far quieter than usual on Sunday as Venezuelans anxiously discussed what would come next. Some stocked up on essentials but many simply hunkered indoors.

"I've just taken the dog out and it feels like an abandoned city, people are shut inside," said Alejandra Palencia, 35, a psychologist in the city of Maracay. "There is fear and uncertainty."

Once one of the most prosperous nations in Latin America, Venezuela's economy nosedived further under Maduro, sending about one in five Venezuelans abroad in one of the world's biggest exoduses. They were largely jubilant at the exit of Maduro, whose security forces repeatedly crushed opposition protests.

 Reuters

Who is running Venezuela?

Rubio told NBCs "Meet the Press" on Sunday that American officials "expect to see changes in Venezuela, changes of all kinds  long-term, short-term  but the most immediate changes are the ones that are in the national interest of the United States."

Rubio dodged answering host Kristen Welker's direct question about who, precisely, is running the country in the wake of Maduro's capture by U.S. forces.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez assumed control of the country on Saturday following Maduros capture. Though Rodriguez denounced the U.S. operation as a "kidnapping," Rubio suggested Venezuelan leadership would be more compliant to U.S. demands in the wake of Maduro's ouster.

"We expect to see more compliance and cooperation than we were previously receiving," he said on the show. "With Nicolas Maduro, you could not make a deal or an arrangement."

An image taken from the X account of Rapid Response 47, the official White House rapid response account, shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro escorted by DEA agents inside the headquarters of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in lower Manhattan, New York, on January 3, 2026. President Donald Trump said January 3 that the United States will "run" Venezuela and tap its huge oil reserves after seizing leftist leader Nicolas Maduro during a bombing raid on Caracas. Trump's announcement came hours after a lightning pre-dawn attack in which special forces grabbed Maduro and his wife -- while air strikes pounded sites in and around the capital city -- then whisked him out of the country.

Did anyone die in Venezuela attack?

No U.S. military members were killed during the Saturday strikes on Venezuelan military bases, Trump said.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said some civilians and members of the Venezuelan military were killed, but official numbers have not yet been released. The New York Times reported that at least 40 people were killed in the attack, based on a conversation with an anonymous senior Venezuelan official.

The United States carried out strikes on major military sites and critical infrastructure in Venezuela, including Fuerte Tiuna, the main military base in Caracas.

Catch up: Why did the US attack Venezuela?

The attack on Venezuela and subsequent capture of Maduro comes about a month after Trump designated the leader and his government allies a foreign terrorist organization.

Maduro has since been indicted on charges of "narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess" the weapons, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X on Saturday.

Much of the strife stems from questions around the legitimacy of Maduro's 2024 election and accusations against the Venezuelan president of trafficking drugs into the United States. Those accusations can be traced back to Trumps first administration, when Maduro and over a dozen other Venezuelan officials were indicted by the United States in March 2020 for drug trafficking charges.

While speaking to Fox News on Saturday morning, Trump said the action in Venezuela was taken because drugs killed about 300,000 Americans each year. "We don't lose that much in a war," he said. "We are stopping drugs from coming into this country and nobody has been able to do it until we came along," Trump said.

Where is Venezuela?

Venezuela is a Caribbean nation in the northernmost part of South America. It shares borders with Colombia, Brazil and Guyana.

Popular destinations in the Caribbean lie north of Venezuela, including Aruba, Curacao, St. Lucia and Barbados and were among those affected by flight restrictions in the region during the U.S. strike.

The country holds the worlds largest oil reserves.

Jesus Linares, 48, stands next to a local resident as he looks at his damaged apartment building, after the U.S. launched a strike on Venezuela, capturing its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, on January 4, 2026.

Flights resume in the Caribbean, airlines waive fees

Airlines resumed flights in the Caribbean on Sunday after flight restrictions lifted overnight in the wake of a U.S. strike on Venezuela.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the restrictions expired at midnight, and major airlines announced they were resuming flights to and from 13 impacted airports. Hundreds of flights had been canceled on Saturday out of Puerto Ricos main airport.

Delta said in a statement it expects to operate its normal roster of Caribbean flights on Sunday, with possible schedule adjustments as airline resources are repositioned.

In a statement, American Airlines said its all hands on deck to move passengers in the region. The airline added some 3,700 seats on more than a dozen extra flights to and from San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as Aruba, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Antigua, Barbados, Dominica and Barbados and its hubs in Miami and Charlotte, North Carolina.

United Airlines told USA TODAY it expected to operate most scheduled flights in the region on Jan. 4. The airline is also working to add new flights for travelers.

All the major airlines issued travel waivers to passengers affected by the cancellations, waiving some rebooking fees.

FlightAware.com showed 17 cancellations on Sunday into and out of San Juans Luis Munoz Marin International, compared with more than 400 a day earlier.

Read more here: What's next in Venezuela? Panama raid that ousted Noriega offers clues.

FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores greet supporters during his closing campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo

Maduro's journey to NY: Ships, planes and helicopters

Maduro and Flores landed in Brooklyn before heading to the Metropolitan Detention Center the evening of Jan. 3.

By then, they had been on multiple types of aircraft, plus a massive warship, in a journey spanning at least three nations and two time zones.

After the couple was taken from their Caracas home, they were loaded onto a helicopter, where the raid force had to fight its way out of Venezuelan airspace, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Razin Caine.

More: 'A lot of gunfire': Here's how the US raid to capture Maduro unfolded

They were then loaded onto the USS Iwo Jima, a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship, and sailed across the Caribbean Sea to the U.S military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Next, they were transferred to a plane to fly the final stretch to New York, landing shortly before sunset Eastern time at Stewart Air National Guard Base about 50 miles north of Manhattan. Once embarked, they were placed in helicopters and flown to Westside Heliport in Manhattan, then finally on to the Brooklyn detention facility.

President Donald Trump and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro

Pope Leo XIV says he's watching Venezuela conditions with deep concern'

Pope Leo XIV said he was following developments in Venezuela with great concern" as he spoke in St. Peters Square on Sunday.

Leo, the first U.S. pope, called for Venezuela to remain an independent country and for respect for human rights around the world.

The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration, and lead to overcoming violence and taking up a journey of justice and peace, guaranteeing the sovereignty of the country, ensuring the rule of law written in the Constitution, and respecting the human and civil rights of all, and working together to build a peaceful future of collaboration, stability and harmony, with special attention to the poorest who suffer because of the difficult economic situation, Leo said.

Maduro walked down hallway in new footage

In the first clear video of the Venezuelan leader since he arrived on U.S. soil Saturday evening, Maduro was seen being walked down a hallway by federal agents.

The 12-second clip was posted to X by Fox News Contributor Paul Mauro and shared by the White House. In the video, Maduro is seen clutching a bottle of water and dressed in black pants, a black hoodie and hat.

His hands appear to be restrained, while three agents walk him down a hallway with a carpet that reads DEA. He is overheard saying, goodnight and happy New Year before walking out of the video frame.

Venezuela Supreme Court orders VP become interim president

The Constitutional Chamber of Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered on Saturday that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez assume the role of acting president of the country.

The court ruling said that Rodriguez would assume "the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation."

The ruling added that the court will debate the matter in order to "determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defense of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic."

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says US 'in charge' of Venezuela as Maduro awaits arraignment
Stancil Campbell loves to travel. Over the years, hes been to several countries, each time immersing himself in the different cultures.

But Campbells travels dont involve sunning himself by the pool at five-star resorts. Instead, the Wilmington resident is focused on seeing the world and giving back  both of which he accomplishes through his work with Habitat for Humanity.

I like this mission of Habitat, he said. The mission is: putting Gods love into action.

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When Campbell first discovered Habitat, he was working as a university professor at American University in Cairo, Egypt, where he taught technical theatre, stage design, lighting and sculpture. While he was in Cairo, he took a Global Village trip to Guatemala  his first trip  where he helped with home construction projects.

Stancil Campbell has been volunteering with Habitat for Humanity for about 25 years. Cambell is pictured inside the warehouse at Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity's corporate office in Wilmington, N.C.

Over the next 20 years, Campbell took many Global Village trips. At first, he traveled during university breaks and during the summer. But after he retired in 2016, his schedule opened up, and he began traveling more.

And then COVID came, Stancil said.

Campbell was with a team in Guatemala during the last week of February 2020 when he received a notification from Habitat that it was ceasing international travels.

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Luckily we were able to finish our work and return before the first of March because thats when they shut down, he said.

After he returned to the United States, Stancil needed something to do. Thats when he discovered Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity, the organizations Wilmington-area affiliate. He applied to go on some AmeriCorps trips through Cape Fear Habitat.

After the application process, Campbell told the organization, Send me anywhere you need me. In 2022, he ended up in Coeur dAlene, Idaho, and was there for six months. During that time, he helped build a small housing development with multi-family housing units.

After completing several trips with AmeriCorps, Campbell secured a part-time job with Cape Fear Habitat as the warehouse manager, and he said he enjoys the job because of the people he works with.

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Its family, quite honestly, he said. You develop friendships, and yeahits family.

He also loves working with the volunteers and seeing the families move into their new homes.

More: A Wilmington couple volunteered for the mission and stayed for the people

But before accepting the warehouse manager position, Campbell made sure he could still travel with Global Village. As soon as the organization began offering trips outside the United States, Campbell signed up. Hes led trips and been a team member.

While hes visited several countries over the countries over the years and enjoyed all the trips, like many Global Village travelers, it was the first country he visited that captured his heart and imagination: Guatemala.

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Ive returned to Guatemala quite a few times because I love the culture there, he said. I also really enjoyed the trip I took to Nepal several years ago. It was just a part of the world I had never been to, and a culture very different than what I had experienced other places.

While Campbell admits hes never stopped to count the number of countries hes been to with Habitat, the number is around 10, and he plans to continue going on trips as often as he can.

Its just a rewarding experience overall, he said.

Renee Spencer is the community engagement editor at the StarNews. Reach her at rspencer@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington, NC, man finds purpose and family with Habitat for Humanity
Winter is in full swing, with snow falling in the Northeast, Midwest and even all the way out in California.

In fact, parts of the Golden State are under serious winter storm warnings through the weekend, with some areas of higher elevation possibly receiving multiple feet of snow.

60--yes, 60--inches may accumulate in some spots

The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Hanford, California issued a "Winter Storm Warning" on Thursday, which will go into effect at 1 a.m. local time on Saturday and run through 10 a.m. Monday morning.

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The warning, which covers Kaiser to Rodgers Ridge, Kings Canyon National Park, the Upper San Joaquin River and Yosemite National Park outside of the valley, calls for "heavy snow," with 6-to-18 inches accumulating between 6,000 and 7,000 feet and 36-to-60 inches accumulating above 8,000 feet.

Winds above 40 mph are also expected, with travel labeled "difficult to impossible."

Yosemite National Park, as usual, has been experiencing heavy snowfall, with 100 inches recently forecasted for a three-day stretch in late December.

2-to-4 feet of snow possible elsewhere

There are two other winter storm warnings of note for California, one from NWS Hanford and the other from NWS Sacramento. Both run through Monday morning.

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The former alert covers the Grant Grove Area, Sequoia National Park and South End of the Upper Sierra, including the cities of Johnsondale, Hume Lake, Lodgepole, Giant Forest, and Grant Grove. In this region, elevations above 8,000 feet may receive 2-to-4 feet of accumulated snowfall this weekend.

The latter warning, for West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada and western Plumas County/Lassen Park above 5000 feet, projects significant snowfall above 5,000 feet, with possibly 2-to-4 feet of snow above 6,000 feet.

"Snow levels 6500-7500 feet Friday night into Saturday morning, lowering to 5000 to 6000 feet Saturday afternoon into Sunday, and further to around 4500 to 5500 feet by early Monday morning. Heaviest snow expected on Sunday," the NWS said, adding that "hazardous conditions" are in play from Friday night through Monday, meaning residents should avoid travel if possible.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jan 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Former Milwaukee County (Wisc.) Judge Hannah Dugan resigned on Saturday following her federal felony conviction for obstruction of law enforcement in April.

Dugan, 66, submitted her resignation letter to Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Saturday and said it is effective immediately.

"Behind the bench, I have presided over thousands and thousands of cases -- with a commitment to treat all persons with dignity and respect, to act justly, deliberatively and consistently, and to maintain a courtroom with the decorum and safety the public deserves," Dugan said in the resignation letter.

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She said that she is the "subject of unprecedented federal legal proceedings" that "present immense and complex challenges that threaten the independence of our judiciary."

A federal jury found her guilty of obstruction last month for her effort to help an "undocumented immigrant" from Mexico elude Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents when they arrived at the county courthouse to arrest him.

Dugan is appealing her conviction, but she is resigning amid a potential impeachment effort by Wisconsin Assembly Republicans.

"The Wisconsin citizens that I cherish deserve to start the year with a judge on the bench in Milwaukee County Branch 31 rather than have the fate of that court rest in a partisan fight in the state legislature," she told Evers.

Dugan served on the bench for nine years, and Evers' spokesperson, Britt Cudaback said the governor acknowledged receiving the letter of resignation on Saturday and won't delay in filling the vacant bench seat.
A woman is facing charges after a man was stabbed in Aliquippa on Saturday.

Pennsylvania State Police say troopers were called around 9:27 p.m. to investigate an aggravated assault in the 200 block of Superior Avenue.

Troopers found that two people were reportedly in a domestic dispute when one of them, a 24-year-old man, was stabbed in the abdomen.

The man was taken to an area hospital and is expected to recover, PSP says.

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The suspect, identified as 21-year-old JaDaya Wynkoop, was arrested and taken to the Beaver County Jail, PSP says.

Online court records show Wynkoop is charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault, as well as simple assault. Bail has been set at $100,000.

Wynkoop is scheduled to appear in court for her preliminary hearing on Jan. 15.

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NEED TO KNOW

Daniela Mullins went in for a full-body scan while she and her dermatologist were figuring out her postpartum skin

When her dermatologist saw the mole on her face, they decided to get a closer look

Mullins was later diagnosed with Stage 0 skin cancer, also known as carcinoma in situ

Daniela Mullins was having skin issues after giving birth to her daughter and decided to go see a new dermatologist for a regular check-in.

When she went in for a full-body scan in April 2025, her dermatologist took note of the mole on her face, which Mullins tells PEOPLE she first noticed around June 2015.

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To the naked eye, Mullins, 34, says the mole looked "normal," but her doctor felt differently.

"I didn't notice my mole changing at all. It wasn't until this whole diagnosis, everything happened, that I went back and looked at pictures and realized how much it had changed," the Virginia resident shares with PEOPLE.

Daniela Mullins Daniela Mullins Daniela Mullins

Because Mullins was recently postpartum, her dermatologist decided to wait six months before doing a biopsy.

On Oct. 24, 2025, Mullins finally went in for the medical procedure, and one week later, she learned she had melanoma. She was diagnosed with Stage 0 skin cancer, or carcinoma in situ, meaning that the cancer was on top of her skin and hadn't spread yet.

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Just before Thanksgiving, she had surgery to remove the mole and the surrounding area.



"If it wasn't for that skin check I had scheduled, I don't know when I would've realized that I had melanoma on my face," she shares, noting that she had seen multiple dermatologists in the past and no one had ever raised concerns about the mole.

After the surgery, Mullins shares that she was feeling "pretty good"  until she took her bandages off.

"Two days after I took off my bandage from the procedure, that's when it hit me," she says. "Before then, it was just a diagnosis on paper, and even during the procedure, I wasn't worried, scared or anything."

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"Once I saw the impact on my face, it hit me, and not because of aesthetics. It just became reality. It was a tangible thing," Mullins shares.

While the mole was just a small dot on her face, the incision stretched nearly her entire cheek, since doctors often remove the area around the lesion in hopes of eliminating as much potential cancer as possible.

Her scar will take a full year to heal, but in the meantime, her doctor recommended "time, patience, and Vaseline."

"He said, 'Just give it time. Just let your body do what it needs to do,'" she shares.



However, Mullins emphasizes that she's less concerned about the scar and more focused on her health.

Daniela Mullins Daniela Mullins after surgery. Daniela Mullins after surgery.

"My number one importance was just getting this cancer out of me and moving forward," she tells PEOPLE. "It's important to note that some people do care about that, and that's okay; that's valid, too. I don't want my experience and 'ugly scar' to scare people away from getting skin checks."

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Moving forward, she will get full-body scans every four months, something she will likely have to stay on top of for the rest of her life.

"Because this popped up, I have a higher chance of developing another one now. Thankfully, because it was caught at Stage 0, I don't need further treatment. So it's not like I need chemo," she says. "Now it's taking care of my scar right now, making sure it stays hydrated and making sure that the rest of my body... trying to notice any changes I might have in moles and being more aware of my skin."

Mullins "randomly" decided to share her health journey on TikTok, which "took off and resonated with people." She has since become an advocate for regular skin checks.

"I continued sharing my journey, especially after I learned that I could get skin cancer. I'm Latina, and my parents are both from Peru. I didn't think that this would ever be a cancer I could get," she admits. "I wasn't taught that that was something I could get. I thought it was really eye-opening and important for other people to know this."

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Although some users were shocked by the size of Mullins' scar, others reminded her that the "scar is a lifeline" and that they'd "rather have a scar than cancer."

As for anyone who might find themselves in a similar position, Mullins says to "take it one step at a time."

Daniela Mullins Daniela Mullins' scar Daniela Mullins' scar

"Go with what your doctor is saying, because it's easy to Google, [go] on TikTok, and spiral, but just go with the advice of your doctor and take it one step at a time," she tells PEOPLE. "It is a lot to process, and this isn't anything to be ashamed or afraid of alone."

"If you have a support system, really, really lean on it, because I don't think I would've been able to muster the strength without it," Mullins adds.

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Her diagnosis has motivated her to focus on her health in 2026 and beyond.

"Ever since this diagnosis, now I'm like, okay, I need to get my other things checked that I've been neglecting, because when you're a mom, you just put yourself last. It's easy to fall behind on things, but I've scheduled everything I need to schedule, and I'm getting everything checked out, a little bit at a time," she says.

"I'm trying to be more preventative than having to face the consequences of putting stuff off."

Read the original article on People
HONOLULU (KHON2)  Hundreds of local military families came together for a night focused on gratitude, community and giving back.

Community recycling drive turns bottles into college help

Wounded Warrior Ohana hosted its annual holiday gala on Saturday, Jan. 3, at the Honolulu Country Club, welcoming nearly 300 wounded warriors, Gold Star families, sponsors and volunteers from across Hawaii.

The evening featured a buffet dinner, live music, arts and crafts, face painting and a gingerbread house contest. Kids also had the chance to meet storybook characters and Santa Claus, with each keiki receiving a personalized gift donated by the Iolani School community.

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Often these kids dont get a chance to be with their parents and its so nice to see them together having a blast. This is our biggest [event] for the year, without a doubt, Richard Rankin, Wounded Warrior Oahana President, said.

Founded in 2014, Wounded Warrior Ohana is a Hawaii-based nonprofit that supports wounded veterans, Gold Star families and families of the fallen. The organization is fully volunteer-run, meaning 100 percent of donations go directly to families in need.

The organization also offers college scholarships for children of wounded warriors and Gold Star families.

Organizers say the holiday gala is about more than just celebration, its about reminding military families that they are supported, appreciated and never alone.

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Everyone understands, so everyone here they dont judge or anything. Everyones been through the same stuff while we served and yeah, its just good fun for the kids and the families, Kelemete Talia, Army Veteran, said.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2.
Yemens southern separatists welcomed a Saudi call for dialogue as fighting eased in the south, raising hopes of de-escalation in a rare public rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Yemen's southern separatists welcomed on Saturday a call for dialogue by Saudi Arabia to end a recent military escalation, a potential sign that an unusually public confrontation between the kingdom and the United Arab Emirates may be easing.

The fast-moving crisis in Yemen has opened a major feud between the two Gulf powers and fractured a coalition of forces, headed by Yemen's internationally recognized government, which is fighting the Iran-backed Houthis.

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The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council has for years been part of that government, which controls southern and eastern Yemen and is backed by Gulf states, but last month STC forces suddenly seized swathes of territory.

The crisis triggered the biggest split in decades between formerly close allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as years of divergence on critical issues came to a head, threatening to upend the regional order.

The STC said in a statement on Saturday that the Saudi initiative was a "genuine opportunity for serious dialogue" that could safeguard "the aspirations of the southern people."

Supporters of the UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) wave flags of the United Arab Emirates and of the STC, during a rally in Aden, Yemen, December 30, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Fawaz Salman)

Saudi-backed forces reclaim Mukalla

The STC's statement came hours after Yemen's Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government said it had retaken control of Mukalla, the key eastern port and capital of Hadramout province, from the southern separatists who seized it last month.

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Rapid government gains since Friday have reversed many of the STC gains last month and cast doubt on the viability of its intention to hold a referendum on independence within two years.

Saudi-backed forces had already taken control of key locations in Hadramout, a large province with stretches of desert along the Saudi border.

STC forces blocked roads leading to Aden from the northern provinces, residents said. The group appealed for regional and international leaders to intervene against what it described as a "Saudi-backed military escalation."

In a statement, it added that northern Islamist factions - an apparent reference to the Islah party that is part of the internationally recognized government - had targeted civilians and vital infrastructure.

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The UAE, the main STC supporter, urged restraint, saying it was "deeply concerned" about the escalation in Yemen.

Yemen, split for a decade between warring regions, sits at a highly strategic location between the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait that guards the vital sea route between Europe and Asia.

Yemen calls for Saudi Arabia hold peace summit with UAE, Southern Transition Council

Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemens Saudi-backed presidential council, submitted a request for Saudi Arabia to host a peace conference in Riyadh for all factions involved in the recent flare-up of violence in southern Yemen, Yemeni state-owned outlet Saba News Agency reported early on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia welcomed the request in an announcement released by the Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry, stating that the only way to resolve the conflict is through dialogue within the framework of a comprehensive political solution in Yemen.

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The ministry emphasized the importance of building on the close relation between the two brotherly countries and continuing Saudi efforts to support and strengthen the security and stability of the Republic of Yemen.

Tarek Saleh, a member of the Saudi-backed Yemen Presidential Council, met with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Salman and exchanged viewpoints on Yemen.

They discussed means to bolster joint efforts to support the stability of the country and the region's security, according to a post on X by the Yemeni official early Sunday.

Aden airport reopens following temporary closure amid conflict

Aden airport, the main transport hub for areas of Yemen outside Houthi control, was closed on Thursday after a dispute over new restrictions announced by the internationally recognized government on flights with the UAE, but flights are due to resume on Sunday, officials at Yemen's national airline said.

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The STC and Saudi Arabia have accused each other of responsibility for shutting off air traffic. The STC, in its statement on Saturday, said southern Yemen was being subjected to a land, sea, and air blockade.

The crisis began early last month when the STC seized swathes of territory, including Hadramout, establishing firm control over the whole territory of the former state of South Yemen that merged with the north in 1990.

The leadership of the internationally recognized government, which had been based in Aden and included several ministers from the STC, departed for Saudi Arabia, which regarded the southern move as a threat to its security.

Fellow Gulf monarchy Qatar, which has long had regional policy differences with the UAE, said it welcomed efforts by Yemen's internationally recognized government to address the southern issue.

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How far the feud between Saudi Arabia and the UAE over their differences on regional security bleeds into other issues may become plainer over the weekend as both countries join a scheduled OPEC meeting to determine the group's oil output policy.

Early this week, Saudi Arabia bombed a base in Hadramout and asked all remaining UAE forces in Yemen to depart, calling this a red line for its security, and the UAE complied.

The STC declaration on Friday that it wants a two-year transition period leading to a referendum on independence for a new South Arabian state was the movement's clearest indication yet of its intention to secede.
A 20-year-old died and a 20-year-old survived after being rescued from a fiery single-car crash in Stuart on Jan. 3.

The driver lost control and crashed into a tree, causing the vehicle to explode into flames, on Sea Branch Boulevard near U.S. 1 that night, the Martin County Sheriff's Office stated on its Facebook page. The driver died at the hospital Jan. 4, the posts says, but does not give the driver's name, age, residence or what time the crash occurred.

Investigators believe excessive speed was a contributing factor in the crash, the post says.

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The female passenger survived because of the "the brave efforts of a good Samaritan" and was flown to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce, where she remained in the intensive care unit on Jan. 4, the post says.

No further information was available about her or the crash.

The driver of a car died the night of Jan. 3 after he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree in Stuart.

It was the second fatal crash in Martin County in as many days.

A 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old Jupiter girl were pronounced dead at Jupiter Medical Center after a two-car crash on the Interstate 95 southbound offramp at Bridge Road in Hobe Sound on Jan. 2, Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek told TCPalm Jan. 3.

The Sheriff's Office still had not released their names as of Jan. 4.

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Fatal car crash: 2 Florida teens killed in car crash at I95, Bridge Road in Hobe Sound

FHP is busy: Florida FHP troopers decrease as DeSantis increases immigration duties and overtime

A 13-year-old passenger was transported to St. Marys Hospital with serious injuries, sheriff's officials said.

"This marks a somber start to the new year on our roadways," the Sheriff's Office stated on its Facebook page. "The Martin County Sheriffs Office urges all driversespecially younger driversto slow down and remain attentive at all times, particularly during nighttime hours."

Tim O'Hara is TCPalm's environment reporter. Contact him at tim.ohara@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Driver dies, Samaritan saves passenger in fiery Stuart car crash
Federal agents prepare to open up the gate to the fence outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview, Ill., on Sept. 30.
The loudest ovation was reserved for Ahmed al Ahmed, who bravely confronted one of the attackers and disarmed him. Sixteen people, including one gunman, were killed in the mass shooting at Bondi Beach on December 14.
According to Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the visit, the two Foreign Secretaries will hold discussions on various aspects of the Nepal-India partnership, with a focus on connectivity, development cooperation, and other matters of mutual interest. Foreign Secretary Misri is also scheduled to call on other high-level dignitaries in Kathmandu.
2025: A breakdown of local felony trials

KDH News, which covers crime in Killeen, Harker Heights and Nolanville, followed 28 jury trials in Bell Countys district courts in 2025: One resulted in a mistrial; 15 defendants were convicted of either the indicted charge or a lesser charge; and 12 people were acquitted. (KDH did not cover any trials in May or September).

JANUARY: 2 convictions

A woman who was indicted on a felony stalking charge was found guilty of a lesser, Class C misdemeanor charge and given a fine.

A man was convicted of a firearms charge as indicted and sentenced by a judge to 30 years in prison.

FEBRUARY: 1 conviction, 1 not-guilty verdict

Two brothers from Mississippi were convicted of murder, which is a first-degree felony; however, the jury pronounced sentences of 7 and 16 years, which is on the light side of the punishment range.

A jury acquitted a man who was accused of beating a child in Nolanville.

MARCH: 3 convictions, 1 not-guilty verdict

A man was found not guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after being accused of using a bed controller cord to choke a woman.

A man was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child and sentenced by a judge to 25 years in prison.

During the same week in a different courtroom, another man was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child. In May, a judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

A man was convicted of aggravated assault and then was sentenced by the jury to a term of probation.

APRIL: 1 conviction, 2 not-guilty verdicts

A jury acquitted a man who was accused of raping a woman in Harker Heights.

A man was convicted of a choking assault and was sentenced by the jury to five years of probation.

A man was acquitted of a charge of indecency with a child.

JUNE: 1 mistrial, 1 conviction, 1 not-guilty verdict

A jury trial ended with a mistrial after members could not agree on a verdict in a case of a man accused of choking a woman. He is set to face another jury in January.

Roger Lee Sanders was found not guilty of murder by a jury.

A man who was indicted on a first-degree felony charge was found guilty of a lesser charge of indecency with a child by contact. A judge sentenced him in September to 20 years, which is the maximum for a second-degree felony conviction.

JULY: 2 convictions, 1 not-guilty verdict

A jury convicted of a man of murder in a case that was 11 years old. In August, a judge sentenced the defendant to 40 years in prison.

In a retrial, a jury found a Killeen woman not guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The murder trial of an ex-soldier began in February but was halted until an appeals court could decide a legal issue. The jury reconvened in July and found him guilty of murder. A judge sentenced him in September to 60 years in prison.

AUGUST: 1 conviction, 2 not-guilty verdicts

A jury found a man from Frisco not guilty of indecency with a child.

A Pflugerville man was found not guilty of sexual assault of a child under 17 years old.

A 20-year-old man was found guilty of the murder of a teenager that he committed when he was 15 years old. Michael Anthony Howard was sentenced by the jury to 70 years in prison.

OCTOBER: 2 convictions, 1 not-guilty verdict

Jerry Wayne Baker was found not guilty of capital murder but he remains in custody on two pending arson charges as well as a charge of harassment of a public servant.

A Nevada man was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a jury that had found him guilty of child sex assault.

A jury stacked sentences to 150 years after convicting a man of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 17.

NOVEMBER: 2 convictions, 1 not-guilty verdict

A jury found an elderly man guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

A man was acquitted of a rape charge.

Another man was convicted of sexually assaulting a child and sentenced by the jury to 50 years in prison.

DECEMBER: 2 not-guilty verdicts

A retired soldier was found not-guilty of a child sex felony and his attorney told the Herald that he was innocent.

A man was acquitted of a felony DWI charge after finding KPDs investigation to be flawed.
We are hearing stories about mushrooms and MDMA and see clinics advertise ketamine. We hear of friends chasing a spiritual reset. Many in America feel the weight of depression, trauma, and addiction inside families. Psychedelics sit at the center of this pressure, with hope on one side and hype on the other.

KevinMD already published multiple essays on psychedelic medicine since 2022, including pieces on what physicians need to know, prudence in psychedelic-assisted therapy, and practical patient conversations. The topic still deserves a plain language reset because most people still lack a working map for what psychedelics do, what science supports, and what safety requires.

Lets start with definitions. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses psychedelics as an umbrella term in clinical research. Classic psychedelics include agents such as psilocybin and LSD, which act on the brain serotonin system. The FDA also includes empathogens such as MDMA in this research framing, and the FDA describes these drugs as investigational products under study. Please note that all these agents are Schedule 1 under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning these have no medical utility. Ketamine sits in a different lane as a dissociative anesthetic. The FDA has approved the ketamine derivative esketamine (brand name Spravato) as a treatment for severe depression in people who do not respond to other treatments, and the label requires supervised administration in certified settings.

Public interest rises for a hard reason. Standard mental health care fails too many people. Major depression, trauma, and addiction often persist after years of treatment. Psychedelics offer a different clinical story, rapid symptom shifts in some trials, intense emotional processing, and a renewed sense of meaning for some participants.

Science supports some optimism, then science stops short. A major review in the American Journal of Psychiatry summarizes short-term controlled trial data suggesting certain psychedelics show effectiveness and safety in major depressive disorder, treatment-resistant depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The same review notes preliminary evidence in other conditions such as tobacco and alcohol use disorders. There are also some unresolved gaps, including short- and long-term safety, abuse liability, and uncertainty about whether the subjective psychedelic experience and the surrounding psychological support drive benefit.

Here is the part most people miss. Modern research does not treat psychedelics as a pill swap. Most studies pair a drug session with structured psychological support before and after dosing. Clinicians often call this model psychedelic-assisted therapy. Preparation shapes expectations and emotional readiness. A supervised session in a controlled setting limits environmental risk and supports emotional processing. Integration work aims to translate a peak experience into daily change. The FDA draft guidance highlights unique challenges in study design, including expectation effects, functional unblinding, and the need to standardize psychological support.

Trial design looks hard for a simple reason: Many participants recognize the active drug. Blind study methods weaken and expectation effects rise. Researchers also struggle to separate medication effects from psychotherapy effects. Regulators see these weaknesses. Last year the FDA declined to approve midomafetamine (MDMA) for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. The FDA pressed for more randomized double-blind studies with blinded long-term follow-up, prespecified criteria for retreatment, and evidence of durability. The FDA also emphasized better documentation of abuse potential and called for standardized discharge readiness criteria with both psychological and physiological assessment.

Safety deserves adult language. Psychedelics do not behave like wellness supplements. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) explains how psychedelic and dissociative drugs alter mood, thoughts, and perception, and NIDA emphasizes how effects vary with mindset and environment, often called set and setting. NIDA outlines risks including impaired judgment, panic reactions, dangerous behavior, persistent psychosis, and hallucinogen persisting perception disorder.

At the same time, research continues. In June 2025, Compass Pathways reported a late-stage trial evaluating its COMP360 psilocybin program for treatment-resistant depression achieved the primary endpoint. Peer-reviewed publication and long follow-up will decide how much trust this result deserves. States also move, with uneven guardrails. Oregon opened regulated psilocybin services in 2023, and Oregon requires licensed service centers to collect and report certain client and service center data beginning January 1, 2025. Colorado runs a Natural Medicine program with licensure pathways and public application data updates, including an update posted in December 2025. State programs respond to access pressure. Federal scheduling and FDA standards still govern broad medical adoption.

So, what do you do with this moment? Reject two lazy stories. One story calls psychedelics a cure. One story calls psychedelics a menace. Both stories waste lives. Psychedelics look like a high-intensity intervention with real upside for a subset of suffering people, and real downside for another subset. If you explore psychedelic care, demand a serious program. A serious program starts with diagnosis and screening. A serious program names exclusion criteria. A serious program monitors mental state and vital signs before discharge. The FDA spelled out discharge readiness expectations in the MDMA Complete Response Letter, with both psychological and physiological assessment. A serious program invests in integration because emotional insight without behavior changes fades fast.

This post does not serve as a green light for self-experimentation. Unsupervised use adds chaos to an already fragile mind. NIDA notes risk of dangerous behavior and injury when psychedelic or dissociative use occurs without another individual present to prevent or respond to an emergency. Research teams build guardrails for a reason.

I want a future where psychiatry offers fewer chronic prescriptions and more precision care. Psychedelic-assisted therapy stands as one candidate for depression, trauma, and addiction care, within disciplined science and accountable systems. The path runs through transparent regulation, clinician humility, and protection of people who feel desperate. You deserve honesty. Honesty includes both promise and limits.

Muhamad Aly Rifai is a nationally recognized psychiatrist, internist, and addiction medicine specialist based in the Greater Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. He is the founder, CEO, and chief medical officer of Blue Mountain Psychiatry, a leading multidisciplinary practice known for innovative approaches to mental health, addiction treatment, and integrated care. Dr. Rifai currently holds the prestigious Lehigh Valley Endowed Chair of Addiction Medicine, reflecting his leadership in advancing evidence-based treatments for substance use disorders.

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Board-certified in psychiatry, internal medicine, addiction medicine, and consultation-liaison (psychosomatic) psychiatry, Dr. Rifai is a fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP), the American Psychiatric Association (FAPA), and the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (FACLP). He is also a former president of the Lehigh Valley Psychiatric Society, where he championed access to community-based psychiatric care and physician advocacy.

A thought leader in telepsychiatry, ketamine treatment, and the intersection of medicine and mental health, Dr. Rifai frequently writes and speaks on physician justice, federal health care policy, and the ethical use of digital psychiatry.

You can learn more about Dr. Rifai through his Wikipedia page, connect with him on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or subscribe to his YouTube channel. His podcast, The Virtual Psychiatrist, offers deeper insights into topics at the intersection of mental health and medicine. Explore all of Dr. Rifais platforms and resources via his Linktree.
If youve been practicing medicine for any length of time, youve likely felt that familiar moment of overwhelm when a patient walks in with a stack of printouts, a list of 30 questions, or a frustrated statement like, Well, I did my research. And if were honest, many of us feel our chest tighten just a little. We feel the time pressure. We feel the responsibility. And sometimes, we feel the sting (the sense that our years of training are being dismissed in favor of a late-night Google search).

But before we let frustration take over, I think its worth pausing and examining why this dynamic is showing up more than ever. Yes, misinformation is rampant. Yes, social media influencers with no scientific background are confidently giving medical advice. But those arent the whole story. They are symptoms, not the cause.

The truth is that this space for Dr. Google only exists because many patients havent always felt heard, included, or empowered inside the health care system. And if we want things to change, we need to understand that this frustration (on both sides) is an invitation, not an insult.

The era of doctor knows best is gone (and thats not a bad thing).

There was a time when physicians were believed simply because we were physicians. The role itself was enough to command trust. But society has shifted. Information is everywhere. Patients compare treatments, read guidelines, look up medication risks, and ask for explanations.

And honestly? Thats not wrong.

We should be questioned. We should expect dialogue. We should want patients to understand their care well enough to feel comfortable speaking up. Because we are human. We make mistakes. And medicine today is simply too complex and too fast-moving for any one person to know everything with absolute certainty.

Instead of viewing patient questions as challenges to our authority, we can choose to see them as opportunities to strengthen it, through transparency, humility, and partnership.

Medicine is changing faster than any of us can keep up with.

One reason patient questions feel overwhelming is because health care is changing exponentially faster than it did even 15 years ago. New pharmaceuticals, new screening recommendations, new practice guidelines, new therapeutics, new technology. Add in regional differences in standards of care, and you have a recipe for uncertainty on both sides.

A patient who moved from California to Kentucky may walk in with expectations based on practices from their previous health system. A new physician moving after residency may discover that their training institution used entirely different first-line approaches than those in their new region. And layered on top of that is the reality that many of us didnt receive updated training on newer therapies because they didnt exist at the time.

Patients sense this complexity. Physicians feel it too. And both sides are simply trying to make the best decisions with limited time and limited information. This context matters. Without it, Dr. Google moments feel like conflict. With it, they become understandable (maybe even necessary) adaptations to a rapidly changing system.

What patients are really saying when they bring in research

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When a patient walks in with a stack of Internet printouts, they are rarely saying, I dont trust you.

More often, they are saying:

I want to understand.

I want to be part of this.

I dont want something important to be missed.

I dont want to feel rushed into a decision.

And when I really listen beneath the frustration I sometimes hear from colleagues about Dr. Google, what I often find is this: Physicians dont feel disrespected; they feel unseen. They feel like their years of education are being overshadowed by a search engine.

But heres the harder truth: Patients wouldnt be Googling if they felt deeply heard, deeply understood, and fully part of their own care. This isnt a failure. Its a signal. And signals can guide us toward solutions instead of resentment.

The time pressure is real (and its fueling the divide).

Another layer to this issue is simply time. We dont have enough of it. Not in 15-minute visits. Not when were double-booked. Not when inbox work is overflowing.

When a patient arrives with 30 questions, even the most patient, centered clinician can feel overwhelmed. Its not disrespect; theyre trying to solve their own fear and uncertainty. But we also have a waiting room full of people whose needs are just as significant.

This tension (between wanting to provide excellent care and the structural limitations of modern medicine) is a major driver of burnout. And its also why we need new strategies to bridge the gap, not widen it.

A small, powerful approach: Give options, not dismissals

One thing that has transformed my interactions with patients is a simple shift: I no longer feel the pressure to have all the answers in the moment. Instead, I offer options and let the patient be part of the exploration.

When Im considering a treatment plan (especially one with multiple reasonable pathways) Ill say something like: Here are the top two or three options Im considering. Ill write them down so you can look them up. Take a look at the names, read through them, and think about what matters most to you. At your next visit, well decide together.

This approach does three things at once:

It makes the patient part of the team: They are not passive recipients; they are collaborators.

They are not passive recipients; they are collaborators. It prevents the feeling of being rushed: They have time to learn, compare, process, and ask follow-up questions.

They have time to learn, compare, process, and ask follow-up questions. It strengthens the relationship, not the conflict: Patients feel respected and included, and we avoid the tug-of-war dynamic.

What usually happens next surprises many people: Patients call or message before Ive even signed the note telling me which option they prefer, or asking about a concern that leads us to adjust the plan.

That is true shared decision-making. That is patient-centered care. That is what our profession strives for, even when the pace of our system makes it hard.

We can turn frustration into forward momentum.

The rise of Dr. Google isnt going away. But instead of viewing it as a threat, we can see it as a mirror reflecting an unmet need in health care: Patients want to understand their care and feel included in the decisions that affect their lives.

We can either resist that shift, or lead it. We can use questions as opportunities. We can use uncertainty as an invitation to collaborate. We can use technology as a tool rather than a competitor.

Because when physicians and patients work together (openly, honestly, humbly) medicine becomes what it was always meant to be: a partnership.

And that partnership is how we deliver safer care, better outcomes, and more humane experiences for everyone involved.

Santina Wheat is a family physician.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a U.S. delegation on January 4, Azernews reports.

The delegation included Markwayne Mullin, a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican Senator from Oklahoma; Jason Smith, a member of the House of Representatives and Chairman of House Committee on Ways and Means, Republican from Missouri; Ronny Jackson, a member of the House of Representatives, Republican from Texas; and Jimmy Panetta, a member of the House of Representatives and House Committee on Ways and Means; Democrat from California.

Expressing their gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for the reception, the delegates said that the development processes they witnessed in Baku made a deep impression on them.

The delegates conveyed their congratulations to the head of state on the achievements attained in Washington regarding the advancement of the peace agenda between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude for the congratulations.

Describing the agreements reached as historic, the head of state particularly emphasized U.S. President Donald Trumps role in this matter. President Ilham Aliyev underscored that Azerbaijan would continue its efforts to advance the regional peace agenda. Noting that trade relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have already been established, the head of state emphasized that Azerbaijani oil products are exported to Armenia, adding that wheat from Kazakhstan and Russia is exported to Armenia via the territory of Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev expressed his hope that the TRIPP corridor would create new opportunities in terms of regional transport connectivity.

The head of state said that the unjust Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act does not correspond to the essence of the current development of relations between the two countries. President Ilham Aliyev hailed the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend the enforcement of Section 907, expressing hope that members of Congress would continue their efforts to completely abolish it.

During the meeting, the sides hailed the development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the U.S., noting that there are ample opportunities for expanding cooperation in political, economic, energy, defense and defense industry, education, information technologies, artificial intelligence and other domains.

They also exchanged views on the prospects for cooperation between the two countries legislative authorities.
Moving is stressful, but picking a mover doesn't have to be. If youre looking for a moving company in Fredericksburg, Va., you already know you have lots of options. Thats why weve done the research to help you pick the very best movers for you. To create this guide, we read through thousands of reviews, researched services, and checked Better Business Bureau (BBB) accreditations to narrow down the top companies. Then we called them to make sure all our information was current and correct. The result is our listing of the moving companies were confident can make your move as smooth and seamless as possible.

Top Fredericksburg movers

The best moving company in Fredericksburg for YOU

There are plenty of great moving companies you can pick in Fredericksburg, but not all of them will be the best for your needs. To pick the right movers, youll want to find a company that fits your budget and is available when needed, of course, but also one that offers the specializations that you need and has the track record of delivering outstanding service. To make our recommendations, we took all of those critical factors into account and only recommended the firms that meet our elevated standards in all areas.

Our top pick for moving companies in Fredericksburg is BoxStar Movers. The five-year-old company has quickly risen to be an area favorite thanks to its comprehensive service offering and the level of professional, enthusiastic engagement from employees. Our top alternative pick, Division 1 Moving & Storage, gets similarly enthusiastic reviews for its efficient planning and execution. Read on to learn more about our top picks.

Table of contents

Best moving companies in Fredericksburg, Va.

BoxStar Movers is the best overall Fredericksburg moving company

A mover stands in front of three BoxStar moving trucks. (BoxStar Movers)

For comprehensive service that goes the extra mile, Virginians love BoxStar. Founded in 2020, the company and its staff of background-checked movers can handle everything, from labor-only moves to white-glove service.

For a three-bedroom, 1,600-sq.-ft. space, a company representative suggested a four- or five-man crew working 10 hours. (The base rate of $286 is reduced by 20 percent to $229 for moves during the Thursday-to-Sunday weekday window, as opposed to Friday-to-Saturday weekend moves.) Adding in a truck fee of $320, the representative suggested a three-bedroom relocation would be in the range of $2,610.

BoxStar has a two-hour minimum and will schedule a 15-minute review of your space and belongings (either in-person or virtual) to estimate your needed crew size and time before finalizing your quote. The hourly rate covers loading and unloading, furniture disassembly and reassembly, and all items being wrapped or padded. The least you will spend with this mover is two hours at $286 per hour ($572), or two hours at the discounted $229 per hour ($458) for eligible weekday moves.,

Services offered

Local and long-distance moves

White-glove service

Packing service

Junk removal

Gun safe and piano moving

Labor-only move

You can secure your move date with a $100 deductible, which can be refunded for cancellations for any reason at least three days in advance. BoxStar accepts cash, debit cards, e-checks and credit cards. A 4% fee is assessed on credit cards, but payments by check are fee-free. BoxStar also offers zero percent financing.

BoxStar is accredited by the BBB and has an A+ rating, with one complaint in the past three years. It has a five-star rating from 778 reviews on Google and a 4.8-star rating from 134 reviews on Yelp. It also has a 4.5 overall rating from Angi across 13 reviews. Reviewers across all three sites cited BoxStars efficient and professional service and punctual, easy-to-work-with crews.

To start a quote or for more information, call BoxStar at 202-875-7912, or reach out by email to sales@boxstarmovers.com. You can also request a free quote on the website. The offices are located at 4075 Wilson Blvd, Suite 800, Arlington, Va., 22203, and are open 24 hours a day.

Customer testimonial

This move experience was our best ever, without exception. The five-star move began with Nicole (our primary contact at BoxStar), and continued with BoxStar movers Bill, D.Z., Alex, and Victor. These men arrived on time, worked professionally and efficiently, were extremely careful not to damage furniture, walls, etc., from packing our valuables to positioning and setting up our goods at our new residence. They worked extremely well together and provided excellent information to us that ensured a professional move experience.  Best movers, best move experience ever. We would use them again and highly recommend them to others. - J.D. W., Google reviews ()

* See Google reviews * See Yelp reviews

BoxStar Movers Best overall Fredericksburg movers BoxStar Movers BoxStar Movers handles local and long-distance moves in Northern Virginia and beyond, and its dedication to customer service has won it stellar reviews and the top spot in our list in just five years of operation. The Arlington, Va.-based firm is equipped for it all, from full-service, white-glove moves to labor-only jobs. Pros Outstanding reviews

White-glove service

Labor-only moves Cons 4% fee on credit card payments Get estimate

Division 1 Moving & Storage is our top alternative Fredericksburg mover

A D1 Moving & Storage truck. (D1 Moving & Storage)

Founded in 2016, family-owned and operated independent Division 1 Movers has grown from a single pickup truck to a fleet of 15 trucks, nine warehouses with over 100,000 square feet of storage, and more than 30 long-term, full-time movers who are background-checked and get performance incentives for great service.

Division 1 charges $60 per mover per hour in the slower winter and spring months, and $70 per mover per hour during the busy summer season. The rate includes a walkthrough, floor runners placed, furniture assembly and disassembly, and all necessary wrapping and padding as well as loading and unloading the truck and placing items as indicated at their destination. Travel time is charged at the hourly rate, and theres a $50 fuel charge per moving truck. Each move has a four-hour minimum. The least you will spend with this mover is four hours at $60 per mover per hour in winter and spring ($240 per mover) or four hours at $70 per mover per hour in summer ($280 per mover).

For a local Fredericksburg move for a three-bedroom condominium, the company representative we spoke to suggested a crew of four movers with eight hours of moving labor plus two hours (one each way) of travel time, putting the initial estimate at $2,450. Packing services are charged at the same hourly rate. A deposit of 10% is required to hold your date. Division 1 takes cash, checks, cashier's checks and ACH payments, as well as credit cards. Credit card payments will be assessed a 3% surcharge.

Services offered

Local and long-distance moves

Warehouse storage

Junk removal

Packing services

Move out cleaning and repairs

Military moves

Moves for doctors, nurses, professors

Assisted living moves

The company is not accredited by the BBB and has a B- rating due to one unresolved complaint regarding damaged or missing items. Like BoxStar, Division 1 has a five-star rating through 468 reviews on Google, as well as on Angi with 14 reviews. Reviews cite friendly, efficient, and professional service from the moving crews (often mentioned by name) and careful and detail-oriented service from the office. The company has a 4.6 rating on Yelp with 41 reviews.

Division 1s offices are located at 824 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, Va., 22304. It is open Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturdays, it is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is closed on Sundays. The company can be reached at 571-970-3189, or by submitting a request for information or for a quote on the companys website.

Customer testimonial

Division 1 Moving and Storage gets my highest possible rating and best review for a recent move from Northern Virginia to North Carolina. From start to finish, everything was handled with great care, amazing detail, prompt service, and professional, friendly, and experienced personnel. Gabe was my main contact and was on point with all the estimates and arrangements, including pricing and timing. And the physical move itself was handled expertly by the team of Cesar and Mario, who got a large 1 bedroom apartment moved out in 3 hours on a Friday morning and moved in in slightly under that the very next morning. Would recommend this truly outstanding and reliable company to anyone  they are worth every penny and it was awesome to not have to worry at all about things! - Jean S., Google reviews ()

* See Google reviews * See Yelp reviews

Division 1 Moving & Storage Best alternative Fredericksburg movers Division 1 Moving & Storage Division 1 Moving has been serving Virginia movers since 2016, and offers full-service moving, relocation, and storage. The family-owned business handles all facets of residential moves, from packing to junk removal to cleaning services and even repairs for students, families, professionals and seniors. Pros Outstanding reviews

Move out junk removal, cleaning and repair service

Packing services

Senior moves Cons 3% surcharge on credit card payments Get estimate

BLVD Moving is the best national moving company

A BLVD Moving semi-truck in a parking lot (BLVD Moving)

At Yahoo Local, we aim to highlight standout local businesses while understanding that national moving companies may be a better option for some moves. If you are deciding which route to take, our guide comparing local vs. national movers offers helpful insight. We reviewed the best national movers and BLVD Moving came ranked No. 1.

BLVD Moving is led by industry professionals with extensive hands-on experience in relocation services. Although the company maintains four physical offices in California, it provides both local and long-distance moving services throughout the United States. This independently owned, family-operated business uses its own trucks and employs its own moving staff. Its terms and conditions explain that subcontractors or third-party agents may be used for certain moves. This is a standard practice in the industry that helps manage higher demand, though customers should be aware of it.

To evaluate pricing, we requested a BLVD Moving quote for a 500-mile relocation with an estimated shipment size of 1,340 cubic feet. This amount is comparable to the contents of a typical three-bedroom home without large appliances. The quoted price was approximately $6,700, which falls in line with rates charged by similar long-distance movers. A 33% deposit is required when booking. Half of the remaining balance is due at pickup with the final payment collected at delivery.

Services Offered

Local and long-distance relocations

Residential commercial and office moving

Professional packing

Storage solutions

Financing options

Customers who cancel their move at least two business days before the scheduled pickup are entitled to a full refund of their deposit. Delivery windows range from two to 21 business days, depending on the destination. This timeframe begins from the customers preferred delivery date which means some shipments may take more than a month.

BLVD advises booking a move at least 30 days in advance. During peak times, such as summer or the beginning and end of the month, it is best to schedule even earlier. Getting a quote is simple and can be done through a virtual walkthrough or an online inventory form for faster turnaround. Financing is available with rates starting at 0% for qualified customers.

BLVD Moving is accredited by the BBB and holds a B rating. The company has received 99 complaints, which is not unusual for a mover offering nationwide services. On Google, it holds a 4.5-star rating based on 1,450 reviews. On Yelp, it maintains a 2.4-star rating from 392 reviews. All movers are company employees who have completed background checks.

BLVDs headquarters are located at 21622 Plummer Street, Chatsworth, Calif., 91311. The office operates daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST. To request a free estimate, call 844-274-0500 or visit the companys website.

Customer testimonial

This company did a great job with our cross country move. They were very professional took care of all the paperwork and handled my items with care. Every single step of the process was explained to me and I felt very comfortable with the process when they were done. Excellent customer service.. - Lacie B., Google reviews ()

* See Google reviews * See Yelp reviews

BLVD Moving Best overall national mover BLVD Moving BLVD Moving stands out as the best national moving company for its experience, flexible service options, and strong Google reputation. Based in California, the company operates seven days a week and offers comprehensive moving services across the United States. Its movers undergo background checks, the quote process is fast and straightforward and its cancellation terms are more customer-friendly than many competitors. Pros Company-operated trucks and moving staff

Fully vetted, background-screened movers

Offers both local and interstate relocations

Quick and convenient virtual quoting process Cons May partner with third-party carriers for some moves

Requires a higher upfront deposit than some competitors

Does not provide real-time GPS shipment tracking

Customer feedback varies across review platforms Get estimate

More best Fredericksburg movers

Regency Moving & Storage Great full-service moving company Regency Moving & Storage Started in 1987 as a father and son team specializing in fine furniture and antiques, Regency Moving & Storage has grown to a Northern and Central Virginia powerhouse with two warehouse locations and 30 trucks able to tackle the most full-service moves. The company offers storage, packing and unpacking service and in-home estimates. Pros Local, long-distance and international service

In-home estimates

Storage available Cons Fewer online reviews than others Get estimate

Around Town Movers Excellent option for seniors Around Town Movers Around Town Movers can move you within Northern Virginia, but they can also move you across the country or around the world. The veteran-owned Sterling, Va.-based company offers packing and unpacking service, custom crating, and can store your items in its 20,000-sq.-ft. storage warehouse thats an approved storage facility for the Department of Defense. The firm also offers complete senior move management through its Busy Buddies program that can coordinate sorting, organizing, downsizing and more. Pros Senior move management

Local, national and international move service

Storage available Cons Lower Yelp rankings than competitors Get estimate

Randall Moving & Storage Great option for military moves Randall Moving & Storage Randall Moving & Storage has been in the residential and commercial move business in Northern Virginia since 1979, and they can handle military moves, senior moves, relocations, pianos and fine art. It also offers short- and long-term storage in the companys monitored facility. The woman-owned company also provides discounts to military, seniors and first responders. Pros Discounts available for military, first responders, seniors

In-home estimates

Good for senior moving

Piano moving Cons Fewer Google reviews than competitors Get estimate

You can count on Yahoo Local moving advice, and this is why

Yahoo has been providing accurate information about local businesses for decades, and our Yahoo Local guides continue in that tradition. Our goal is to give you a complete and verified picture of the local businesses that are worth your time and money, backed up by our rigorous vetting process. But we arent just going to tell you which businesses meet our standards: Were going to show you. You can take a peek behind the curtain with our full methodology page, which breaks down exactly how our custom algorithm identifies the business worth your money. We think its the most objective and best way to find and highlight the best businesses  we dont accept payment for inclusion in our lists, and we dont allow sponsored picks, either. Just the very best local businesses, and what makes them great.

Below is everything that went into the rankings for our list of the best moving companies in Fredericksburg:

82 movers evaluated

19,023 customer reviews and ratings from five sources

14 ranking criteria incorporated

Interviewed or connected with all three featured movers

Independent price quotes sourced from all three featured moving companies

Independently researched and fact-checked by Yahoo

Recommendations are maintained and updated regularly

Virginia moving FAQs

What info should you have when requesting an estimate?

Get the most accurate picture of your moving costs by being prepared when you reach out to the companies youre considering. The most critical things to have on hand are

Your current location

Where youre moving to

How large your space is, either in square footage or by number of bedrooms

Your approximate move date

Other things that can be helpful to provide are if youll want additional services (packing and unpacking or storage, for example); if you have outsized, very heavy, or very delicate items that will need special handling like pianos, antique furniture, or musical instruments; and if there are any challenges the movers will encounter (no street parking on your block, many flights of stairs, unusually narrow doorways). Our guide to getting an accurate moving estimate explains more.

What should you know about packing and storage in Virginia?

If youll be storing your belongings as part of your move, you want to pay close attention to the climate  how you store your things depends not only on what youre storing, but what the weather will be where you store it.

Virginia has four seasons, with hot and humid summers and mild winters that can get cold and snowy in the mountains. The coast of the Commonwealth is also subject to tropical storms that can cause flooding. If youll be storing your things in Virginia, youll want to make sure that not only are they packed securely with waterproof protection around valuables or delicates, as well as upholstery, rugs and fabrics.

For antiques, musical instruments or electronics, consider looking for climate-controlled storage, especially if youll be keeping your belongings in storage for a longer period. Big swings in temperature or in the humidity level can cause warping and cracking in furniture and damage circuits.

What's different about condo and apartment moving in Virginia?

If youre moving into or out of an apartment or condominium, you may have a few extra things to take into consideration to prepare for a smooth move day.

Some buildings will require any movers operating in their space to provide a certificate of insurance (COI), a document that attests that the moving company carries sufficient insurance against damages to the property. If your building requires one, check in with your movers: Many (but not all) companies will provide a COI, although some of them charge you for it, and almost all of them will need advance notice to prepare it.

The biggest difference in apartment moves is stairs. If you are moving into or out of a walk-up, let your movers know in advance, both so they can plan for the appropriate amount of manpower to carry items and so your estimate will be as accurate as possible. While some companies dont charge extra for stairs, many do.

If you live in an elevator building, talk to your super or building manager in advance about reserving the elevator or about using the service elevator, if possible. In many cases, the elevator will need to be protected with padding and blankets before furniture is moved, and uninterrupted access to an elevator will both speed up your move and minimize disruption to your neighbors.

Do you need moving permits or licenses to move in Virginia?

All moving companies operating in the Commonwealth of Virginia need to be regulated through the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)s Motor Carrier Services unit, which mandates that they file information on their rates and carry insurance protection. (You can find out more in our guide to moving company licensing and registration in Virginia.)

Individuals and households within Virginia dont need specific licenses to move; however, many larger cities like Arlington, Alexandria, and nearby Washington, D.C., may require that you obtain a permit to have the moving truck park in front of your residence.

To find out if your city requires permits and if they do, under what circumstances, check with your moving company or reach out directly to City Hall.

In Fredericksburg, youll need to post temporary no parking signs at least 24 hours in advance of the moving truck parking. The signs can be obtained from the Public Works Department located in City Hall, 715 Princess Anne St., Fredericksburg, Va., 22401, and cost $1 per sign.

How much should you tip movers in Virginia?

Tipping your movers isnt a requirement, but it's a very welcome token of appreciation for a job well done or to reward extra effort. There are no set rules for amounts, but a general rule of thumb is to tip each mover per hour  $10 is a frequently cited amount. In that case, if you had a crew of three movers who worked for 6 hours, youd tip each mover $60, or $180 total.

Alternatively, you can tip a percentage of the overall bill, which is a popular option for long-distance moves. No matter how you calculate the amount, plan to tip in cash. While some moving companies can add a final gratuity onto your bill, most wont. To learn more, check out our guide to tipping movers.

More Yahoo Local-approved Virginia providers

Best Virginia movers

Alexandria / Chesapeake / Fredericksburg / Newport News / Norfolk / Richmond / Virginia Beach

Best Virginia roofers

Richmond / Virginia Beach
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21:26 TN CM Stalin announces Rs 3,000 cash gift for harvest festival 'Pongal' Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday announced Rs 3,000 cash gift for harvest festival 'Pongal' to rice category ration card holders and to all families that reside in rehabilitation camps for Sri Lankan Tamils.Ahead of Pongal, a gift hamper comprising one kilo each of rice and sugar... Read more >

20:58 12-year-old girl found hanging in hostel room of Maha's Navodaya Vidyalaya A 12-year-old girl was found hanging in her hostel room in Latur's Navodaya Vidyalaya on Sunday morning, a police official said. The Class VI student, a resident of Taka in Ausa tehsil, allegedly committed suicide with a towel, assistant police inspector DP Samap told PTI. The incident... Read more >

20:48 Shiv Sena-UBT, MNS woo Mumbai voters with free power Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and MNS president Raj Thackeray A monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 for domestic helps and women from the fishing community who sell fish, 100 units of free power, and property tax waiver for houses up to 700 sq feet are key promises for Mumbai voters made in a joint Shiv Sena-UBT-MNS manifesto. The Vachan Nama, Shabd... Read more >

20:23 TN, West Bengal will join NDA's list of victories: Amit Shah Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday expressed confidence that the NDA would emerge victorious in the Assembly polls due this year in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Addressing a mega BJP rally in Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu, Shah listed out BJP-NDA's wins since 2024, including a third... Read more >

20:03 India's forex kitty nears fresh all-time high, jumps by $3.3 bn last week India's foreign exchange reserves rose by $3.293 billion in the week that ended December 26 to $696.610 billion, driven by a jump in both gold reserves and foreign currency assets, the Reserve Bank of India's latest 'Weekly Statistical Supplement' data showed. Over the past few weeks, the... Read more >

19:52 4.3 magnitude quake hits western Nepal An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 hit Udayapur district in eastern Nepal, officials said.There were no immediate reports of loss of lives or damage of any kind due to the quake.The earthquake struck at 10:51 pm on Saturday with its epicentre located at Bagapati in the Udayapur district, according to... Read more >

19:38 Assam: 13 children fall ill after consuming soapberries File image At least 13 children have fallen ill after consuming washnuts or soapberries in Assam's Jorhat district, officials said on Sunday.According to a senior health department official, the incident took place at Bor Soycotte Tea Estate in Titabar earlier during the day.The minors consumed the... Read more >

19:26 AAP leader shot dead at marriage function in Punjab Aam Aadmi Party leader and village sarpanch Jharmal Singh was allegedly shot dead by unidentified assailants at a wedding venue in Amritsar on Sunday, the police said. According to the police, Singh, a resident of Valthoa village in Tarn Taran district, was attending a marriage ceremony in... Read more >

19:14 LPG cylinder blast sparks fire in east Delhi; 3 firefighters injured File image A fire broke out at a multi-storey residential building in east Delhi's Mandawali area on Sunday following an LPG cylinder blast, an official said. No casualties were reported in the incident; however, three personnel from the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) were injured during firefighting... Read more >

18:53 EAM Jaishankar begins 6-day visit to France, Luxembourg External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday began a six-day visit to France and Luxembourg to hold talks on bilateral and global issues of mutual interests. In Paris, he will be meeting the French leadership and will hold talks with Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot, according to the... Read more >

18:45 TV personality Jay Dudhane held in Rs 4.61 cr fraud case Reality television personality Jay Dudhane/Courtesy Instagram Reality television personality Jay Dudhane has been arrested at the Mumbai airport in connection with an alleged real estate scam, the police said on Sunday. His arrest follows an FIR lodged by a retired engineer who alleged that Dudhane and four of his family members defrauded him of Rs... Read more >

18:20 US acting like outlaw state: Expert on Maduro's capture Foreign affairs expert Waiel Awwad on Sunday strongly criticised the United States over deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, saying the episode once again showed that international law and the UN Charter no longer hold meaning. It is once again proved that there is no international... Read more >

18:17 Teen girl dies of suspected heart attack after finishing school marathon Representative image A 15-year-old girl died reportedly of a heart attack some time after she secured third position in a marathon in her school in Talasari area of Maharashtra's Palghar district, an official said on Sunday. The incident took place on Saturday when the Bharati Academy English School in... Read more >

18:01 Woman stabbed to death, accused found dead; Hindu outfits call for bandh A 30-year-old Dalit woman has been stabbed to death in the road in Yellapur town of Uttara Kannada district on Saturday, allegedly by a man known to her, police said.The accused Rafique Imamsab was later found dead by hanging from a tree in the forest near Yellapur on Sunday, the Superintendent... Read more >

17:58 Unable to 'control' son's behaviour, parents chain him for 2 months A 12-year-old boy who was regularly chained by his parents inside their house for the last two months has been rescued in Nagpur, police said on Saturday. The parents, both daily wagers, claimed that they took the extreme step as he had behavioural issues and they did not know how to... Read more >

17:49 International law can't be...: Cong on Venezuela situation The Congress on Sunday expressed grave concern over the US action in Venezuela and said settled principles of international law cannot be violated unilaterally. Congress general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh said, The INC expresses very grave concern on US actions relating to... Read more >

17:30 Jay Bhanushali, Mahhi Vij announce separation after 16 years of marriage Actors Mahhi Vij and Jay Bhanushali have announced their divorce with a post on social media and said they will continue to co-parent their children. The actors shared a joint note on Instagram stories on Sunday. It said there's no villain in the story and no negativity attached to... Read more >

16:56 Goa club fire victims' kin protest in Delhi, seek death row for Luthra brothers Families of the victims of the Goa nightclub fire held a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Sunday, demanding a death sentence for the owners of the club where the tragedy occurred. Raising slogans such as hang the killers, the protesters named brothers Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra,... Read more >

16:54 US-Venezuelan conflict not to impact India's trade: GTRI The US-Venezuela conflict will have a negligible impact on India's trade with the South American country, think tank GTRI said on Sunday. On January 4, American forces carried out a large military operation in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and taking them to the... Read more >

16:51 Brain behind...: Expert on US capturing Maduro's wife IMAGE: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro with first lady Cilia Flores. Photograph: Gaby Oraa/Reuters Foreign Affairs Expert Robinder Sachdev on Sunday highlighted the reason for the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3, 2025. Sachdev, in an interview with ANI, said that Flores, a member of the Venezuelan parliament, is considered a key figure in... Read more >

16:16 Man commits suicide after jumping from 12th floor of 5-star hotel in Delhi A 50-year-old man allegedly committed suicide after jumping from the 12th floor of a five-star hotel in Delhi's Connaught Place area on Sunday, police said. The deceased has been identified as Parvinder Singh Juneja, a resident of Lajpat Nagar, they added. Singh entered the hotel... Read more >

15:59 2 killed in rock collapse in unauthorised stone quarry in Odisha Representative image At least two persons were killed after rocks collapsed at an unauthorised stone quarry in Odisha's Dhenkanal district, officials said on Sunday.The incident took place on Saturday evening when some workers were engaged in drilling and exploration of stone from the quarry located near Gopalpur... Read more >

15:55 Bangladesh's BNP thanks Modi for condolence message on Khaleda Zia's demise Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's condolence message on former prime minister Khaleda Zia's demise while recalling her contribution to India-Bangladesh ties. The three-time Bangladesh prime minister and BNP patriarch died on December... Read more >

15:49 2 young men stabbed multiple times in Delhi's Jahangirpuri Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com Two men, both aged 18, got critically injured after allegedly being attacked and stabbed multiple time by four people in northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri area, an official said on Sunday. According to the police, a PCR call was received at Jahangirpuri police station at around 2.55 pm... Read more >

15:45 Release Maduro and his wife 'at once': China to US China on Sunday called on the United States to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife at once and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation.China expresses grave concern over the US forcibly seizing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and taking them out of the country,... Read more >

15:00 Scrap civic polls with unopposed wins: Uddhav to EC Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday demanded cancellation of the January 15 Maharashtra civic elections in wards where candidates, mostly from ruling parties, have won unopposed, and sought a fresh poll process there.Speaking alongside Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj... Read more >

14:57 3 arrested in connection with death of Hindu businessman in Bangladesh Three persons were arrested on Sunday in the case of hacking and burning to death a Hindu businessman in Shariatpur district of Bangladesh, local media reports said. Khokon Chandra Das, 50, was assaulted near Keurbhanga Bazar in Damudya in Shariatpur district, about 100 kilometres... Read more >

14:52 US control of Venezuelan oil may benefit India: Analysts A US-led takeover or restructuring of Venezuela's oil sector could deliver a direct benefit to India, potentially unlocking close to USD 1 billion in long-pending dues while accelerating the revival of crude production from fields it operates in the sanctions-hit Latin American nation, analysts... Read more >

14:35 Priyanka Gandhi to head Congress screening committee for Assam polls Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been appointed the chairperson of the screening committee for the selection of candidates for the upcoming Assam assembly elections, a notification issued by the party said.All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal... Read more >

13:51 81-year-old loses Rs 7 crore in 'digital arrest' fraud An 81-year-old man in Hyderabad was duped of Rs 7.12 crore in a digital arrest scam after fraudsters posing as Mumbai Police officers threatened him of involvement in a drug trafficking racket and extorted the amount on the pretext of verification, police said on Sunday.The cyber fraudsters... Read more >

13:50 India reacts on US action in Venezuela, Maduro capture India on Sunday said the developments in Venezuela are a matter of deep concern and it is closely monitoring the evolving situation, a day after US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from the capital Caracas.India reaffirms its support to the well-being... Read more >

13:25 Maduro in US jail, his number 2 to lead Venezuela Venezuela's Supreme Court has directed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the role of acting president following the removal of President Nicolas Maduro by the United States. The ruling, announced late Saturday local time, concluded that Maduro is in a material and temporary... Read more >

13:13 Around 500 two-wheelers gutted in fire at Thrissur railway station parking area Around 500 two-wheelers were gutted after a fire broke out at the parking area of the railway station here on Sunday, Fire and Rescue Service officials said.The blaze erupted at the paid-parking shed at around 6.20 am, and a distress call was received at about 6.40 am, the official added. A... Read more >

12:48 'Might is right': Tharoor on US action in Venezuela Senior Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Abhishek Manu Singhvi have weighed in on the United States' action in Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Reacting to the developments, Tharoor said international law and the United... Read more >

12:08 Jailed Dera chief again granted 40-day parole Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples and is lodged in the Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak, was again granted a 40-day parole, said sources on Sunday. His latest parole comes months after he was granted a... Read more >

11:23 FPIs pull out Rs 7,608 cr from equities in just 2 days of Jan Foreign portfolio investors have started 2026 on a cautious note, extending their selling streak from last year by withdrawing Rs 7,608 crore (USD 846 million) from Indian equities in the first two trading sessions of January. The withdrawal of funds followed the largest outflow of Rs 1.66... Read more >

11:07 This is not about drugs or democracy, but...: Kamala Harris slams Trump Former US Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday slammed US President Donald Trump over the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, saying the operation was driven by oil interests and not by concerns over drugs. In a post on X, Harris said Trump's... Read more >

10:55 Delhi HC criticises 'culture of adjournments', hopes it would change in future Deprecating the culture of adjournments, the Delhi high court has said adjournments were being sought indiscriminately and there was a misplaced expectation that such requests would be granted at asking. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, who was hearing a petition seeking a waiver of a cost of... Read more >

10:44 Dangerous precedent: UN chief on US action in Venezuela United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has voiced his concern over the escalation between the United States and Venezuela culminating in the capture of the country's President Nicols Maduro, saying the developments constitute a dangerous precedent. The secretary general is deeply... Read more >

10:38 Pak woman kills her 3 children with lover's help to get married A married Pakistani woman along with her lover allegedly strangled her three children to death after giving them sleeping pills, police said on Saturday. The murder of the three children -- two daughters and a son -- aged three to seven, took place in Sarai Alamgir, Gujrat district of... Read more >

10:24 Indore cop snatching 'Ghanta' from protesters goes viral A video of a policeman in anti-riot gear snatching a 'ghanta' (bell) from youth Congress protesters has set social media abuzz on Saturday, with netizens using the footage to comment on the language slip-up of a minister in the Madhya Pradesh government. The incident is of Friday when... Read more >

09:51 'Act of war': Mamdani to Trump on US action in Venezuela New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he spoke with President Donald Trump directly to register his opposition to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro and his wife by the US military, as he termed the unilateral attack on a sovereign nation an act of war. Maduro and his... Read more >

09:44 Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will...: Musk on vulgar content Microblogging site X owner Elon Musk on Saturday said people using the platform's AI services Grok to make illegal content will face the same consequences as those uploading illegal content. The statement from Musk comes a day after Ministry of Electronics and IT directed X to... Read more >

09:24 Venezuelan oppn leader Machado reacts to Maduro capture After the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said that the hour of freedom had arrived for her nation. In a post on X, Machado said in a statement, Venezuelans, the... Read more >
San Andreas, CA  Performing Animal Welfare Society, or PAWS, is celebrating a new law banning cat declawing in California.

The new law makes it illegal in the state to declaw cats for non-medical reasons, like preventing furniture damage. In September, AB 867 passed unanimously through the state Assembly and Senate, and Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law in October. It went into effect on the first of this year. The bill was sponsored by The Paw Project and co-sponsored by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the Humane Veterinary Medical Alliance, and Humane World for Animals.

Declawing involves the partial digital amputation, where the toes are amputated at the last joint. Those opposed to this practice decry that it inflicts serious pain, discomfort, and chronic health problems on felines. The only exception is that a licensed veterinarian can perform the procedure only if its medically necessary for the cats health. They must document the medical necessity and any alternatives considered before performing a declaw; click here for more information on the procedure.
Tools that power artificial intelligence devour energy. But attempts to shield regular Californians from footing the bill in 2025 ended with a law requiring regulators to write a report about the issue by 2027.

If that sounds pretty watered down, it is. Efforts to regulate the energy usage of data centers  the beating heart of AI  ran headlong into Big Tech, business groups and the governor.

Thats not surprising given that California is increasingly dependent on big tech for state revenue: A handful of companies pay upwards of $5 billion just on income tax withholding.

The law mandating the report is the lone survivor of last years push to rein in the data-center industry. Its deadline means the findings wont likely be ready in time for lawmakers to use in 2026. The measure began as a plan to give data centers their own electricity rate, shielding households and small businesses from higher bills.

It amounts to a toothless measure, directing the utility regulator to study an issue it already has the authority to investigate, said Matthew Freedman, a staff attorney with The Utility Reform Network, a ratepayer advocate.

Data centers enormous electricity demand has pushed them to the center of Californias energy debate, and thats why lawmakers and consumer advocates say new regulations matter.

For instance, the sheer amount of energy requested by data centers in California is prompting questions about costly grid upgrades even as speculative projects and fast-shifting AI loads make long-term planning uncertain. Developers have requested 18.7 gigawatts of service capacity for data centers, more than enough to serve every household in the state, according to the California Energy Commission.

But the report could help shape future debates as lawmakers revisit tougher rules and the CPUC considers new policies on what data centers pay for power  a discussion gaining urgency as scrutiny of their rising electricity costs grows, he said.

It could be that the report helps the Legislature to understand the magnitude of the problem and potential solutions, Freedman said. It could also inform the CPUCs own review of the reasonableness of rates for data center customers, which they are likely to investigate.

State Sen. Steve Padilla, D-Chula Vista, says that the final version of his law was not the one we would have preferred, agreeing that it may seem obvious the CPUC can study data center cost impacts. The measure could help frame future debates and at least says unequivocally that the CPUC has the authority to study these impacts as demand from data centers accelerates, Padilla added.

(Data centers) consume huge amounts of energy, huge amounts of resources, and at least in the near future, were not going to see that change, he said.

Earlier drafts of Padillas measure went further, requiring data centers to install large batteries to support the grid during peak demand and pushing utilities to supply them with 100% carbon-free electricity by 2030  years ahead of the states own mandate. Those provisions were ultimately stripped out.

How Californias first push to regulate data centers slipped away

Californias bid to bring more oversight to data centers unraveled earlier this year under industry pressure, ending with Gov. Gavin Newsoms veto of a bill requiring operators to report their water use. Concerns over the bills reflected fears that data-center developers could shift projects to other states and take valuable jobs with them.

A September Stanford report on powering California data centers said the state risks losing property-tax revenue, union construction jobs and valuable AI talent if data-center construction moves out of state.

The idea that increased regulation could lead to businesses or dollars in some form leaving California is an argument that has been brought up across industries for decades. It often does not hold up to more careful or long-term scrutiny.

In the face of this opposition, two key proposals stalled in the Legislatures procedural churn. Early in the session, Padilla put a separate clean-power incentives proposal for data centers on hold until 2026. Later in the year, an Assembly bill requiring data centers to disclose their electricity use was placed in the Senates suspense file  where appropriations committees often quietly halt measures.

Newsom, who has often spoken of Californias AI dominance, echoed the industrys competitiveness worries in his veto message of the water-use reporting requirement. The governor said he was reluctant to impose requirements on data centers, without understanding the full impact on businesses and the consumers of their technology.

Despite last years defeats, some lawmakers say they will attempt to tackle the issue again.

Padilla plans to try again with a bill that would add new rules on who pays for data centers long-term grid costs in California, while Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-San Ramon, will revisit her electricity-disclosure bill.

Big Tech warns of job losses, but one advocate sees an opening

After blocking most measures last year  and watering down the lone energy-costs bill  Big Tech groups say theyll revive arguments that new efforts to regulate data centers could cost California jobs.

At a CalMatters event in November, Silicon Valley Leadership Group CEO Ahmad Thomas argued that California must compete to attract investments like the $40 billion data-center project Texas secured with Google. Any policy making deals like that tougher next year would provoke conflict, he added.

When we get to the details of what our regulatory regime looks like versus other states, or how we can make California more competitive  thats where sometimes we struggle to find that happy medium, he said.

Despite having more regulations than some states, California continues to toggle between the 4th and 5th largest economy in the world and has for some time, suggesting that the Golden State is very competitive.

Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, another industry lobbying group, said new requirements on data centers should apply to all other large electricity users.

To single out one industry is not something that we think would set a helpful precedent,  Diorio said. Weve been very consistent with that throughout the country.

Critics say job loss fears are overblown, noting California built its AI sector without the massive hyperscale facilities that typically gravitate to states with ample, cheaper land and streamlined permitting.

Data-center locations  driven by energy prices, land and local rules  have little to do with where AI researchers live, said Shaolei Ren, an AI researcher at UC Riverside.

These two things are sort of separate, theyre decoupled, he said.

Freedman, of TURN, said lawmakers may have a bargaining chip: if developers cared about cheaper power, they wouldnt be proposing facilities in a state with high electric rates. That means speed and certainty may be the priority, giving lawmakers the space to potentially offer quicker approvals in exchange for developers covering more grid costs.

Theres so much money in this business that the energy bills  even though large  are kind of like rounding errors for these guys, Freedman said. If thats true, then maybe they shouldnt care about having to pay a little bit more to ensure that costs arent being shifted to other customers.

___

This story was originally published by CalMatters and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

By ALEJANDRO LAZO/CalMatters

CalMatters
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Saturday that while Spain did not recognise Nicolas Maduro's government, it will also not recognise the US military intervention in Venezuela, arguing it violates international law and threatens regional stability, Azernews reports.

"Spain did not recognise Maduro's regime. But neither will it recognise an intervention that violates international law and pushes the region towards a future of uncertainty and warmongering," Sanchez said on X.

He also called for de?escalation and dialogue to resolve the crisis.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)  Venezuelans on Saturday scrambled to understand who was in charge of their country after the U.S. military captured President Nicolas Maduro, ousting the strongman who had outlasted a botched coup attempt, several army mutinies, mass protests and economic sanctions in the vast nation of 29 million.

What will happen tomorrow? asked Juan Pablo Petrone, a resident of Venezuelas capital of Caracas. As fear gripped the city, streets quickly emptied save for long lines snaking from supermarkets and gas stations. What will happen in the next hour?

President Donald Trump offered a shocking answer: The United States would take control of Venezuela, perhaps in coordination with one of Maduros most trusted aides.

Delcy Rodriguez, who is next in the presidential line of succession, served as Maduros vice president since 2018, overseeing much of Venezuelas oil-dependent economy as well as its feared intelligence service. On Saturday, Venezuelas high court ordered her to assume the role of interim president.

Shes essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again, Trump told reporters of Rodriguez, who faced U.S. sanctions during Trumps first administration for her role in undermining Venezuelan democracy.

In a major snub, Trump said opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was awarded last years Nobel Peace Prize, didnt have the support to run the country.

Trump said Rodriguez had a long conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in which Trump claimed she said, Well do whatever you need.

I think she was quite gracious, Trump added. We cant take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesnt have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind.

Senior officials remain in place

Key Venezuelan officials appeared to have survived the military operation and held onto their jobs, at least for now. There was no immediate sign that the U.S. was running Venezuela.

Rodriguez tried to project strength and unity among the ruling partys many factions, downplaying any hint of betrayal. In remarks on state television before the court decision, she demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and denounced the U.S. operation as a flagrant violation of the United Nations charter.

There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolas Maduro, Rodriguez said, surrounded by top civilian officials and military commanders.

Seeking to assuage the jittery public, Venezuelan military officials struck a defiant tone in video messages, lashing out at Trump and vowing to stand up to U.S. pressure.

They have attacked us but will not break us, said Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez, dressed in fatigues.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, among Maduros top enforcers, urged Venezuelans to get out on the streets to defend the countrys sovereignty.

These rats attacked and they will regret what they did, he said of the U.S.

Some Venezuelans heeded his call, rallying in support of the government and burning American flags in scattered gatherings across Caracas on Saturday.

But most people stayed inside out of fear.

Whats happening is unprecedented, said Yanire Lucas, another Caracas resident, picking up pieces of glass from an explosion at a nearby military base that blew out the windows of her house.

Were still on edge, and now were unsure what to do.

No sign of a political transition

Trump indicated that Rodriguez had been sworn in already as president of Venezuela, per the transfer of power outlined in the constitution.

But state TV did not broadcast any swearing-in ceremony.

During Rodriguezs televised speech, a ticker at the bottom of the screen identified her as the vice president. She gave no sign that she would be cooperating with the U.S., and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What is being done to Venezuela is an atrocity that violates international law, she said in her address. History and justice will make the extremists who promoted this armed aggression pay.

The Venezuelan constitution also says a new election must be called within a month in the event of the presidents absence. But experts have been debating whether the succession scenario would apply here, given the governments lack of popular legitimacy and the extraordinary U.S. military intervention.

Strong ties with Wall Street

A lawyer educated in Britain and France, Rodriguez has a long history of representing the revolution started by the late Hugo Chavez on the world stage.

She and her brother, Jorge Rodriguez, head of the Maduro-controlled National Assembly, have sterling leftist credentials born from tragedy. Their father was a socialist leader who died in police custody in the 1970s, a crime that shook many activists of the era, including a young Maduro.

Unlike many in Maduros inner circle, the Rodriguez siblings have avoided criminal indictment in the U.S.

Delcy Rodriguez developed strong ties with Republicans in the oil industry and on Wall Street who balked at the notion of U.S.-led regime change.

Among her past interlocutors were Blackwater founder Erik Prince and, more recently, Richard Grenell, a Trump special envoy who tried to negotiate a deal with Maduro for greater U.S. influence in Venezuela.

Internal tensions could erupt

Fluent in English, Rodriguez is sometimes portrayed as a well-educated, market-friendly moderate in contrast to the military hard-liners who took up arms with Chavez against Venezuelas democratically elected president in the 1990s.

Many of them, especially Cabello, are wanted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges and stand accused of serious human rights abuses. But they continue to hold sway over the armed forces, the traditional arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela.

That presents major challenges to Rodriguez asserting authority. But some analysts said they expected Venezuelas power brokers to close ranks, as theyve done before.

These leaders have all seen the value of staying united. Cabello has always taken a second seat or third seat, knowing that his fate is tied up with Maduros, and now he very well might do that again, said David Smilde, a sociology professor at Tulane University who has studied Venezuelas political dynamics over the past three decades.

Much depends on the state of Venezuelas military after the U.S. bombing raid, Smilde added. If it doesnt have much firepower anymore, theyre more vulnerable and diminished.

An snub of the opposition

Shortly before Trumps press conference, Machado, the opposition leader, called on her ally Edmundo Gonzalez  a retired diplomat widely considered to have won the countrys disputed 2024 presidential election  to immediately assume his constitutional mandate and be recognized as commander-in-chief.

In a triumphant statement, Machado promised that her movement would restore order, free political prisoners, build an exceptional country and bring our children back home.

She added: Today we are prepared to assert our mandate and take power.

Trump seemed to throw cold water on those plans.

Asked about Machado, Trump was blunt: I think it would be very tough for (Machado) to be the leader, he said, shocking many Venezuelan viewers who expected Trumps talk of liberation to mean a swift democratic transition.

She doesnt have the support or respect within the country.

Machado has not responded to Trumps remarks.

___

Associated Press reporter Joshua Goodman contributed to this report from Miami. DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

By REGINA GARCIA CANO, JUAN ARRAEZ and ISABEL DEBRE

Associated Press
Individuals named Aethelbert are typically associated with strong leadership qualities, intellectual depth, and moral integrity. The name's meaning of 'noble and bright' suggests a personality that combines aristocratic dignity with intellectual clarity and spiritual insight. These individuals often exhibit natural authority, commanding respect through their wisdom and principled behavior rather than through force or aggression. They tend to be thoughtful decision-makers who consider both tradition and innovation in their approach to challenges.



The 'bright' aspect of the name indicates intellectual curiosity and a love of learning, while the 'noble' component suggests a strong sense of honor and responsibility toward others. Aethelberts are often perceived as bridge-builders who can mediate between different perspectives while maintaining their core values. They typically demonstrate loyalty to their principles and communities, showing particular strength in situations requiring moral courage or historical perspective. Their personality often reflects the name's historical associations with leadership during times of cultural and religious transformation.
Individuals named Andor are typically perceived as strong-willed, determined, and principled. They often exhibit natural leadership qualities combined with a protective nature toward those they care about. Andors tend to be practical problem-solvers who approach challenges with methodical precision and unwavering resolve. Their masculine energy manifests as quiet confidence rather than overt aggression, making them reliable and steady in crisis situations.



These individuals value loyalty and tradition, often serving as pillars within their families and communities. While they may appear reserved initially, Andors possess deep emotional intelligence and form lasting, meaningful relationships built on trust and mutual respect. They typically demonstrate remarkable perseverance in pursuing their goals and are known for their ability to remain calm under pressure. The name suggests a person who balances strength with compassion, making decisions with both logic and heart, and who earns respect through consistent action rather than empty words.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Bonie has Christian roots stemming from the Latin word 'bonus' meaning 'good,' reflecting the Christian virtue of goodness and moral excellence. Throughout Christian history, names derived from 'bonus' have been used to signify individuals who embody Christ-like qualities of kindness, charity, and moral integrity. In medieval Christian communities, such names were often given to express hope that the child would grow to exemplify Christian virtues and lead a righteous life.



The name carries connotations of spiritual goodness and moral purity, aligning with Christian teachings about developing a virtuous character. Over centuries, it has maintained its association with positive Christian values while adapting to different cultural contexts within the Christian world. The name represents the ideal Christian woman - one who demonstrates the fruits of the Spirit through her actions and character, serving as a living testament to faith in practice.
Individuals named Cacia are typically characterized by their exceptional awareness and perceptive nature. They possess an innate ability to notice details others might miss, making them excellent observers and analysts of their surroundings. This vigilance often translates into strong protective instincts, particularly toward family and loved ones. Cacias tend to be thoughtful decision-makers who consider multiple perspectives before acting, reflecting their careful and watchful nature. Their alertness to social dynamics makes them skilled at navigating complex interpersonal situations with sensitivity and tact. While sometimes perceived as cautious, this quality actually stems from their deep commitment to making well-considered choices rather than impulsiveness. Cacias often develop strong intuition and are valued by friends and colleagues for their reliable judgment and ability to anticipate challenges before they arise. Their natural vigilance makes them excellent in roles requiring attention to detail and long-term planning, though they may need to consciously balance their watchful nature with spontaneity and relaxation.
Corky is an Irish masculine name that typically means 'from the hollow near the hill' or refers to someone from County Cork. It carries connotations of Irish heritage and is often used as a friendly, approachable nickname.

Cultural & Historical Significance

Corky has deep roots in Irish culture, originally deriving from the Gaelic surname O Corcra, meaning 'descendant of Corcra'. The name evolved through Irish immigration patterns, particularly during the 19th century when many Irish families anglicized their traditional names. In Ireland, names beginning with 'Corc-' often indicated connections to specific regions or clans, particularly in County Cork, which itself derives from 'corcach' meaning 'marsh'. The diminutive form 'Corky' became popular among Irish diaspora communities in the United States, Canada, and Australia as a way to maintain cultural identity while adapting to English-speaking environments.



Throughout the 20th century, the name carried connotations of Irish heritage and working-class authenticity, often associated with communities that maintained strong Irish cultural traditions despite geographical displacement. The name's usage reflects broader patterns of ethnic identity preservation among immigrant groups, serving as both a personal identifier and cultural marker. In contemporary contexts, Corky represents the ongoing negotiation between ancestral heritage and modern identity, embodying the resilience and adaptability characteristic of Irish diaspora experiences worldwide.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Elvine emerged as a Christian feminine name during the medieval period, particularly in French and English-speaking regions. The name carries strong connections to Christian angelology and spiritual purity, with 'elf' elements reinterpreted through a Christian lens as benevolent spiritual beings rather than pagan entities. Throughout Christian history, the name has been associated with grace, spiritual protection, and divine guidance, often chosen for girls born during significant religious festivals or to families with strong church connections.



During the Victorian era, Elvine experienced a revival as part of the broader romantic medievalism movement, where it symbolized idealized Christian femininity and spiritual refinement. The name's enduring appeal in Christian communities stems from its ability to bridge ancient spiritual concepts with Christian values of goodness and purity. In contemporary Christian naming practices, Elvine represents a connection to traditional values while maintaining a distinctive and elegant quality that sets it apart from more common biblical names.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Enapay holds deep cultural significance within Lakota and Dakota Sioux communities as a name that embodies the warrior spirit and courage valued in traditional Native American societies. The name reflects the importance of bravery not just in battle, but in facing life's challenges, protecting one's community, and maintaining cultural traditions against historical pressures of assimilation. In Sioux culture, names are not merely labels but carry spiritual weight and are often earned or given to reflect character qualities that the community values and wishes to nurture in the individual. The name Enapay connects the bearer to a proud heritage of resistance, resilience, and the ongoing preservation of Indigenous identity in North America, serving as a living link to ancestral values and the continuous struggle for cultural survival and recognition.
Ettare is characterized by a complex blend of aristocratic pride, emotional depth, and transformative vulnerability. Initially portrayed as haughty and dismissive of Pelleas' advances, she embodies the ideal of the unattainable beloved central to courtly love traditions. This initial resistance reflects not merely caprice but a discerning nature and strong sense of self-worth, qualities that made her an compelling figure in medieval romance. Her pride serves as both a protective mechanism and a test of genuine devotion, creating narrative tension that drives the romantic plot forward while revealing the depth of her character.



As the story progresses, Ettare demonstrates capacity for emotional transformation and vulnerability. Beneath her composed exterior lies a woman capable of deep feeling, whose initial resistance gives way to genuine affection under the right circumstances. This psychological complexity has made her character fertile ground for modern interpretation, where she is often seen as navigating the limited choices available to women in her social position. The evolution of her character from distant noblewoman to emotionally engaged participant in the romance illustrates the medieval ideal of love as an ennobling force that can soften even the proudest heart and transform relationships through sincere devotion and personal growth.
Women named Feodora are often perceived as possessing a regal and dignified presence, combining strength with grace. They tend to be intelligent, thoughtful individuals with a natural leadership quality and strong moral compass. The name suggests someone who is both traditional and innovativeable to honor heritage while embracing progress. Feodoras are typically seen as resilient and determined, capable of overcoming challenges with poise and wisdom.



They often exhibit a nurturing quality, reflecting the 'divine gift' aspect of their name's meaning, and may be drawn to roles where they can guide or support others. Their personality often blends intellectual depth with emotional intelligence, making them effective communicators and trusted advisors. The historical weight of the name lends an air of sophistication and purpose, suggesting someone who carries themselves with confidence and understands their potential to make meaningful contributions to their community or field.
China's Foreign Ministry urged the United States on Sunday to "immediately" release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and resolve the situation in Venezuela through dialogue and negotiation, Azernews reports.

"China expresses grave concern over the US forcibly seizing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and taking them out of the country. The US's move is in clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson added.

The ministry said in a statement on its website that Washington should "ensure the personal safety" of Maduro and his wife and "stop toppling the government of Venezuela."

The South American country's Supreme Tribunal of Justice appointed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as acting president following Maduro's abduction.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Helsin occupies a crucial role in Arthurian legend as the mother of Sir Lancelot, connecting French and British aristocratic traditions within the medieval literary universe. Her character first appears prominently in the 13th-century French Lancelot-Grail cycle, where she serves as Queen of Benoic, wife to King Ban, and mother to the legendary knight Lancelot. This positioning makes her instrumental in establishing Lancelot's noble lineage and explaining his continental origins within the primarily British Arthurian framework. Her story typically involves tragic elementsthe loss of her kingdom, separation from her son, and the subsequent raising of Lancelot by the Lady of the Lakewhich serve to highlight themes of sacrifice and maternal devotion.



Throughout medieval literature, Helsin represents the ideal of noble motherhood and the transmission of aristocratic values across generations. Her character bridges multiple cultural traditions, appearing in various forms across French, English, and other European versions of the Arthurian legends. This adaptability demonstrates how the Arthurian mythos evolved to incorporate different regional influences while maintaining core narrative elements. Helsin's enduring presence in these stories underscores the medieval fascination with lineage, heritage, and the maternal influences that shape heroic figures, making her an important though often overlooked figure in understanding the complete Arthurian tapestry.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Hillel holds profound significance in Jewish culture as the name of one of the most important sages in Jewish history, Hillel the Elder. Living during the Second Temple period, Hillel established a school of Jewish thought that emphasized compassion, ethical behavior, and patient interpretation of Jewish law. His famous saying 'If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I?' encapsulates his philosophical approach. The name became synonymous with wisdom, humility, and scholarly excellence in Jewish tradition.



Throughout centuries, Hillel has remained a respected name among Jewish communities worldwide, often chosen to honor the great sage's legacy and values. The modern Hillel International organization, serving Jewish college students, further perpetuates this cultural legacy by promoting Jewish education and community building. The name represents a living connection to Jewish intellectual and ethical traditions, embodying the ideal of Torah study combined with compassionate action.
Women named Ioana are typically perceived as intelligent, determined individuals with strong moral convictions and natural leadership qualities. They often possess a blend of traditional values and modern thinking, making them adaptable yet principled. Ioanas are known for their loyalty to family and friends, combined with an independent spirit that allows them to pursue their goals with remarkable persistence. Their intelligence is frequently complemented by emotional depth and intuition, enabling them to navigate complex social situations with grace and wisdom.



Many Ioanas demonstrate artistic or creative talents alongside practical problem-solving abilities, creating a well-rounded personality that excels in both professional and personal spheres. They tend to be respected for their integrity and admired for their ability to maintain traditional warmth while embracing contemporary opportunities. The combination of strength and sensitivity often makes Ioanas effective mediators and trusted advisors in their communities. Their persistence in overcoming challenges and commitment to personal growth contribute to their reputation as women of substance and character.
Women named Jacalyn are often associated with a blend of traditional warmth and contemporary independence. They tend to be perceived as emotionally intelligent individuals who value meaningful relationships while maintaining strong personal boundaries. Their name suggests someone who is both nurturing and self-reliant, capable of providing support to others while pursuing their own ambitions with determination.



In professional settings, Jacalyns are often seen as detail-oriented and creative problem-solvers who bring both practicality and innovation to their work. They typically demonstrate excellent communication skills and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances while maintaining their core values. The name carries connotations of someone who is reliable yet progressive, someone who honors tradition without being constrained by it, making them effective in roles that require both stability and forward thinking.
Individuals named Josslyn are often characterized by their cheerful disposition and optimistic outlook on life. They typically possess a natural ability to uplift others with their positive energy and genuine warmth. Josslyns tend to be creative, expressive, and emotionally intelligent, with strong interpersonal skills that make them excellent communicators and friends. Their joyful nature is balanced by a practical sensibility, allowing them to navigate challenges with resilience and grace.



Many Josslyns demonstrate leadership qualities combined with empathy, making them effective in both personal and professional relationships while maintaining their characteristic lightheartedness and ability to find happiness in everyday moments. They often excel in creative fields, education, or helping professions where their natural warmth and communication skills can shine. The name suggests someone who values relationships deeply and brings harmony to group dynamics, often serving as the emotional anchor in their social circles while maintaining an adventurous spirit and curiosity about the world.
Women named Jovena are typically perceived as possessing natural leadership qualities and a commanding presence, reflecting their namesake's celestial origins. They often demonstrate strong intuition, wisdom beyond their years, and a protective nature toward those they care about. Their personality combines grace with authority, making them natural mediators and decision-makers in both personal and professional settings.



Jovena's tend to be ambitious yet grounded individuals who balance grand visions with practical execution. They often exhibit creative thinking patterns and have a strong sense of justice, inherited from the mythological associations with Jupiter's role as divine judge. Their emotional strength and resilience make them reliable pillars in their communities and families, while their celestial connection suggests a person who can see the bigger picture and guide others toward higher purposes with both compassion and firmness.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Madalyne represents a distinctive French spelling variation of the classic name Madeleine, which has deep roots in Christian tradition through Mary Magdalene. The name carries significant cultural weight in French-speaking regions, where it evokes images of elegance, sophistication, and historical depth. Throughout French history, women bearing variations of this name have been associated with strength, resilience, and spiritual devotion. The 'tower' meaning connects to both physical fortitude and metaphorical strength, reflecting the French cultural values of endurance and grace under pressure.



In modern times, the unique 'y' spelling adds a contemporary twist while maintaining traditional French charm, making it appealing to parents seeking both heritage and individuality for their daughters. The name also reflects the French appreciation for linguistic beauty and phonetic elegance, while the Magdalene connection ties it to important religious and cultural narratives that have shaped Western civilization. This dual heritage of spiritual significance and cultural refinement makes Madalyne a name that bridges historical tradition with modern sensibilities.
Individuals named Medr are typically characterized by their methodical approach to challenges and exceptional problem-solving abilities. They possess a natural inclination toward precision and careful consideration, often serving as the voice of reason in group settings. Their strength lies in measured responses rather than impulsive reactions, making them reliable in crisis situations where clear judgment is paramount.



Medr personalities often exhibit strong analytical skills combined with practical wisdom. They tend to be observant and perceptive, noticing details others might miss, which contributes to their reputation for sound decision-making. While they may appear reserved initially, they demonstrate deep loyalty to those who earn their trust and can be surprisingly innovative when solving complex problems. Their combination of patience and capability makes them natural leaders in technical or strategic roles.



These individuals typically value quality over quantity in all endeavors and have a strong sense of personal integrity. They approach relationships with the same careful consideration they apply to practical matters, resulting in deep, meaningful connections rather than numerous superficial ones. Their inherent sense of timing and proportion often makes them excellent at knowing when to act and when to wait, a quality that serves them well in both personal and professional contexts.
Individuals named Mindie are often perceived as warm, approachable, and emotionally intelligent. They tend to possess a natural empathy that allows them to connect easily with others, making them excellent friends and confidants. Their gentle demeanor is frequently complemented by a quiet strength and resilience that may not be immediately apparent to those who don't know them well.



Mindies typically exhibit strong communication skills and a nurturing nature, often finding fulfillment in caregiving roles or professions that involve helping others. They balance sensitivity with practicality, showing both compassion and good judgment in their interactions and decision-making. While they may appear reserved at first, those who know them well appreciate their loyalty, wit, and the depth of their character that reveals itself over time through consistent, thoughtful actions.
Individuals named Runihura typically exhibit strong leadership qualities combined with strategic thinking and decisive action. They possess an innate ability to assess situations quickly and implement necessary changes, even when those changes involve difficult endings or transformations. This makes them excellent in crisis management roles where tough decisions must be made. Their natural authority often inspires confidence in others, though they may sometimes be perceived as intimidating due to their direct approach to problem-solving.



Beneath their formidable exterior, Runihuras tend to be deeply protective of those under their care and highly loyal to their principles. They approach relationships with the same strategic mindset they apply to professional challenges, carefully building networks of trust and reliability. While they can be uncompromising when their core values are threatened, they also demonstrate remarkable resilience and the ability to rebuild after personal or professional setbacks. Their strength lies in understanding that sometimes the most compassionate action involves making hard choices that others might avoid.



These individuals often display a unique combination of practical realism and visionary thinking - they can clearly see what needs to be removed or changed to achieve a better outcome, and they have the courage to act on that vision. This makes them natural reformers and innovators, though they may need to consciously cultivate patience and diplomacy to balance their decisive nature. The name's association with 'destroyer' manifests not as destructiveness but as the capacity to eliminate obstacles and clear paths for progress.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had "taken control" of the village of Podoli in the Kharkiv region, Azernews reports.

"As a result of active operations, units of the Zapad group of forces have taken control of the village of Podoli in the Kharkiv region," the ministry said on Telegram.

A week before, according to the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Oleh Syniehubov Russian troops shelled six settlements in the Kharkiv region, injuring four people.

In the city of Chuhuiv, a 65-year-old woman was injured as a result of Russian shelling. In the village of Tsupivka of the Derhachi community, a 50-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman were injured. In the settlement of Velykyi Burluk, a 65-year-old woman was injured.

According to Syniehubov, the enemy used various types of weapons against the Kharkiv region: one glide bomb (KAB); four Geran-2 type UAVs; five FPV drones; and one UAV (type being determined). Civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged or destroyed.

In Bohodukhiv district, a car (village of Petrivka), two private houses, and power lines (village of Baranivka) were damaged. In Kupiansk district, five private houses and a civilian enterprise were damaged (settlement of Velykyi Burluk). In Izium district, a private house and a car were damaged (village of Pidvysoke).
Women named Tarana typically exhibit personality traits that reflect their name's meaning of 'born during the day.' They often possess a natural brightness and optimism that makes them magnetic personalities in social settings. Their daytime birth association translates into characteristics of clarity in communication, straightforwardness in relationships, and an ability to bring light to difficult situations. Tarana's are usually early risers who maximize daylight hours, demonstrating productivity and purpose in their daily lives.



These individuals tend to be natural leaders who approach challenges with confidence and transparency. They value honesty and open communication, often serving as mediators in conflicts due to their ability to see situations clearly. Their sunny disposition is balanced by practical wisdom, making them both inspiring and grounded. The name's association with daylight also suggests someone who is growth-oriented, always seeking new knowledge and experiences, much like how plants grow toward sunlight. This combination of warmth, clarity, and forward momentum makes Tarana's particularly effective in roles that require both empathy and decisive action.
People named Truman are often characterized by their remarkable consistency between their inner values and outward actions. They tend to be individuals of deep conviction who approach life with a sense of purpose and responsibility. Their loyalty isn't just emotional but manifests as practical reliability - they're the people others depend on in crises. Truman's typically possess a strong moral compass that guides their decisions, making them resistant to peer pressure or popular opinion when it conflicts with their principles. They often demonstrate excellent judgment in practical matters, combining intuition with logical analysis to navigate complex situations. While they can be reserved in expressing emotions, their friendships run deep and endure over time. Their leadership style tends to be quiet but effective, earning respect through competence rather than charisma. Many Truman's develop a dry wit and observational humor that reveals their sharp perception of human nature. They handle responsibility well but may struggle with delegating, preferring to ensure things are done correctly themselves. Their combination of integrity, intelligence, and emotional stability makes them pillars in their communities and families.
Uther is typically characterized as a passionate, ambitious, and formidable leader whose strengths are matched by significant flaws. He embodies the archetype of the warrior-king: courageous in battle, politically astute, and fiercely determined to unite Britain against Saxon invaders. His intense nature drives him to achieve great things but also leads to impulsive decisions, most notably his obsessive desire for Igraine that results in the magical deception orchestrated by Merlin. This combination of military prowess and personal passion makes him both respected and feared.



Beneath his formidable exterior, Uther displays deep loyalty to his comrades and a genuine commitment to Britain's welfare, yet he struggles with the burdens of kingship. His relationship with Merlin reveals a pragmatic willingness to use any means necessary to achieve his goals, while his eventual remorse over the circumstances of Arthur's conception suggests a complex moral consciousness. The name Uther thus evokes a personality of great power and contradictiona leader capable of both noble vision and morally questionable actions in pursuit of his destiny.
The name Wendale operates on multiple symbolic levels that enrich its significance for those who bear it. Primarily, it symbolizes the human soul's journey toward divine understanding - a central theme in Christian spirituality where life is viewed as a pilgrimage toward God. This mirrors biblical imagery of Christians as 'strangers and pilgrims on the earth' seeking a heavenly country. The wandering motif also represents the Holy Spirit's guidance, reminiscent of the cloud and fire that directed Israelites through the wilderness. On a psychological level, Wendale symbolizes the integration of diverse experiences into a coherent identity - the traveler who collects wisdom from various sources while remaining true to their core self. The name carries connotations of resilience and adaptability, as successful travelers must navigate uncertainty while maintaining direction. In modern contexts, it has come to symbolize cultural bridging and global citizenship, representing individuals who move between different worlds while serving as connectors and translators. Ultimately, Wendale embodies the beautiful paradox of being firmly rooted while freely exploring - a balance that many Christians aspire to in their walk of faith.
Radio frequency loss grounds flights in Greece

Thousands of travellers were stranded at the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Athens. Photo: Reuters

Jamie Clarke reports

Flights across Greece were grounded on Sunday after a collapse of radio frequencies crippled air traffic communication, stranding thousands of travellers and bringing airport operations to a halt.



There was little clarity on what caused the disruption, which began early Sunday and quickly escalated.



Some overflights across Greek and regional airspace were still being serviced, but restrictions were imposed on airport operations for safety reasons, Greece's civil aviation authority said. Dozens of flights were disrupted.



"For some reason all frequencies were suddenly lost... We could not communicate with aircraft in the sky," Panagiotis Psarros, chair of the Association of Greek Air Traffic Controllers, said.



He said the problem seemed to be a collapse of central radio frequency systems at the Athens and Macedonia area control systems, the largest air control facility in the country based in Athens.



It monitors the Athens Flight Information Region, a vast expanse of airspace under the control of Greek authorities.



Flight trackers showed Greek airspace was largely empty.



"We haven't been informed about the cause of this problem... certainly the equipment we have is virtually ancient. We have raised this many times in the past," Psarros said.



A transport official said some aircraft heading north and east were allowed to leave, adding that more than 75 flights were delayed. (Reuters)
Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha lauded the central government for releasing the draft Social Security Rules for gig workers under the new labour codes, noting that this was the first step towards "recognition, protection and dignity" of their hard work. The Ministry of Labour and Employment earlier this week reportedly released draft rules called the Code on Social Security (Central) Rules, 2025, elaborating norms for gig workers to be eligible for various social security benefits and safeguards. "Congratulations to all Gig Workers and Delivery Partners. There is good news for you. Central Government's draft Social Security Rules are the first step towards recognition, protection and dignity for your work. Even though the Platforms (Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkit, etc.) chose not to listen to your voices, the people of this country and the government did. This is a small win, but an important win," he posted on X Raghav Chadha has been speaking for the rights of the gig workers for long, even on many occasions on the floor of the Parliament. "These draft rules were not framed just because I raised the issue in Parliament, it has happened because you all also raised your voices. The companies and the platforms did not listen to you, but the government did, which should be welcomed," he said in the video posted on X. Under the new rules, gig workers are legally recognized and will be given unique identity, Chadha said. In the recent Parliament session, the AAP Rajya Sabha member had spoken about the "pain and misery" of India's gig workers who work under tremendous pressure and at times harsh weather conditions. AAP MP Raghav Chadha had demanded regulations on quick commerce and other app-based delivery and service businesses, especially emphasising the need for the benefits of gig workers. In his Parliament intervention, the RS MP called for dignity, protection, and fair pay for gig workers. For the first time, the definition of 'gig workers' and 'platform workers' and provisions related to the same have been provided in the Code on Social Security, 2020 which has come into force on November 21, 2025. The Code provides for framing of suitable social security measures for gig workers and platform workers on matters relating to life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, etc. The Code provides for the establishment of a Social Security Fund to finance welfare schemes. The Code also provides for the establishment of a National Social Security Board for the welfare of gig workers and platform workers. Also, the Ministry of Labour and Employment had launched the e-Shram portal on 26.08.2021 for the creation of a Comprehensive National Database of Unorganised Workers, including platform workers, migrant workers, etc. The e-Shram portal is meant to register and support the unorganised workers by providing them a Universal Account Number (UAN) on a self-declaration basis. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has also launched the e-Shram- 'One-Stop-Solution' on 21.10.2024 that entails integration of different social security/welfare schemes at single portal i.e., e-Shram. (ANI)
The greenfield Bhogapuram International Airport in Andhra Pradesh witnessed a successful validation flight on Sunday, marking a significant milestone ahead of its planned commercial operations from June 2026. In a post on X, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu congratulated the people of Andhra Pradesh, especially Uttarandhra, on the successful validation flight of the Bhogapuram Greenfield International Airport. "Today marks a new milestone for aviation in the state, strengthening regional connectivity and giving a major boost to Uttarandhra as the region prepares to take off. I thank Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji for his vision, leadership, and commitment to the progress of Andhra Pradesh," he posted on X. The airport, planned and initiated between 2014 and 2019, will be ready to serve the people with commercial flight operations from June, the chief minister announced in a post on X. Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu told ANI that the Bhogapuram Airport is a prestigious project with the potential to unlock significant regional development. "Considering this area needs a lot of development to be unlocked, we are seeing this as the key to that unlocking of the development, and this has been envisioned by our Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu. It has been a dream project for the people here also and I'm very happy to see that the validation flight has happened today successfully and very soon we are going to start operations also here and the airport is not only to cater for connectivity but we are also looking into skilling the EDU City is one of the first kind of initiative across the world where you can have multiple universities institutions working in the same place training youngsters training passionate people in aviation to go up to global standards..." The aircraft is going to increase in the country in the times to come, and that will necessitate more need maintenance facilities. "As a ministry, we want to encourage more MRO in the country itself. Bhogapuram is an ideal location logistically, strategically, geographically, every way you see it...," he said. Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, posted on X that the state accelerates on its growth runway, marking a significant milestone for Vision Vizag. "Congratulations to the GMR Group for their exceptional efforts. During our tenure, expedited permissions, timely approvals and land acquisition including R&R with an outlay of close to Rs 960 crore, helped lay a strong foundation for steady progress. Significant portion of the project work was completed, which has been instrumental in achieving this milestone. I also fondly recall the efforts and contribution of Shri @nitin_gadkari Ji in approving the Bhogapuram Airport Bypass National Highway project in March 2023, connecting Visakhapatnam Port with Bhogapuram International Airport," Reddy posted on X. (ANI)
Ahead of the 96th Academy Awards, filmmaker Subodh Khanolkar's Marathi film 'Dashavatar' has entered the Oscars contention list, the makers confirmed on Sunday. In an official social media announcement, Zee Studios Official shared the film's latest milestone. "First Marathi Film to Enter the Oscar Contention List. Born of red soil. Carried by tradition. Now global. Dashavatar is heading towards the Oscars!," the caption read. https://www.instagram.com/p/DTFoLlpiCvq/ With this, 'Dashavatar' has also become the first-ever Marathi film to make it to the prestigious list, thus officially joining the race for the Oscar. The film's production house, Ocean Film Company, added, "A milestone moment for us and for Marathi cinema. Dashavatar, Ocean Film Company's debut film, in Oscars is a testament to passion, belief, and relentless effort of our entire Team! Honoured and grateful to see Marathi storytelling shine on a global platform." https://www.instagram.com/p/DTDAcbVjAPm/ Director Subodh Khanolkar initially confirmed the selection on Instagram along with a screenshot of the mail that he received from the Academy. "I received an email that 'Dashavatar' has been selected in the main competition of the Academy Awards (Main open film category - contention list). I was satisfied with the hard work we all have put in for the past several years. This satisfaction is not only because 'Dashavatar' has been selected, but because our Marathi film can stand up globally... Dashavtar is probably the first Marathi film selected in the main competition category. This is the only Marathi film among the 150+ films selected from thousands of films. And this is the first Marathi movie to be shown in the Academy Screening Room!" he wrote. https://www.instagram.com/p/DTCYte2jAaP/ Written and directed by Subodh Khanolkar, 'Dashavatar' features Dilip Prabhavalkar in the lead role alongside actors like Mahesh Manjrekar, Bharat Jadhav, Siddharth Menon, Priyadarshini Indalkar, Vijay Kenkare, Ravi Kale, Abhinay Berde, Sunil Tawade, Aarti Wadagbalkar, and Lokesh Mittal. Made under the banner of Zee Studios, Ocean Film Company, and Ocean Art House Production, the film is produced by Sujay Hande, Onkar Kate, Subodh Khanolkar, Ashok Hande, Aditya Joshi, Nitin Sahasrabudhe, Mrunal Sahasrabudhe, Sanjay Dubey, and Vinayak Joshi. 'Dashavatar' opened in theatres on September 12, 2025. According to The Hollywood Reporter, nominations across all categories will be decided from January 12-16, 2026, and announced on January 22, 2026. The 98th Academy Awards will be held on March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. (ANI)
Reliance Industries Limited Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani, accompanied by his son Anant Ambani, offered prayers at Shri Kashtbhanjandev Hanumanji Mandir in Salangpur in Gujarat on Sunday. During the visit, Mukesh Ambani announced a donation of Rs 5 crore towards the temple, reaffirming the Ambani family's longstanding commitment to faith, philanthropy, and community welfare. Kashtbhanjan Hanumanji Mandir also shared a video of Mukesh Ambani's visit to the temple, in which he and his son, Anant Ambani, were seen offering prayers to Lord Hanuman. The visit to Sarangpur followed the Ambani family's earlier darshan at the Somnath Temple, making these sacred pilgrimages their first spiritual engagements of 2026. Mukesh Ambani visited the temple with his wife, Nita Ambani, and son, Anant Ambani. Earlier on December 30, Mukesh Ambani unveiled an ambitious roadmap to transform the conglomerate into an "AI-Native Deep-Tech Company," calling Artificial Intelligence "the most consequential technological development in human history" and urging employees to collectively shape India's AI-driven future. In a manifesto addressed to over 600,000 Reliance employees and their families, Mukesh Ambani said that while the world has only seen "the tip of the iceberg" of AI's possibilities, the technology already holds the power to solve some of humanity's most complex challenges, if used wisely. "It is our responsibility to contribute to the shaping of that future, for India and the rest of the world," Ambani stated, underlining Reliance's intent to play a leadership role in the next phase of India's technological transformation. Ambani said Reliance's success in leading India's digital revolution has laid the foundation for the AI revolution, which the group now aims to lead with a clear national objective. "Our motto is clear: 'Affordable AI for every Indian, to transform every aspect of the economy and life in India.' This is the SANKALP (resolve) of Reliance," he wrote. Reliance Foundation last month announced the results of its annual scholarship program on Saturday, on the eve of the 93rd birth anniversary of founder Dhirubhai Ambani. For the 2025-26 academic cycle, the foundation selected 5,000 undergraduate and 100 postgraduate students to receive financial grants aimed at supporting their higher education. Under this program, undergraduate scholars receive up to Rs 2 lakh, while postgraduate students receive Rs 6 lakh respectively. According to a press release from Reliance Foundation, the selection represents a portion of a larger commitment made in 2022 by Chairperson Nita Ambani to award 50,000 scholarships over a period of ten years. To date, the organisation has provided financial assistance to 33,471 students. The current group of 5,100 winners was chosen from a pool of over 1.25 lakh applicants across 15,544 institutes. (ANI)
The National Commission for Women has taken suo motu cognisance of the death of a 19-year-old second-year government college student in Dharamshala under suspicious circumstances, amid prolonged ragging and sexual harassment. In a post on X, NCW shared, "The National Commission for Women has taken suo motu cognisance of an extremely serious incident related to ragging, physical harassment, and sexual harassment at the Government Degree College in Dharamshala, in which a 19-year-old female student died during treatment. The Commission strongly condemns this heinous, inhuman, and reprehensible act, which is a gross violation of the student's life, dignity, and rights, and highlights the serious failure of the security mechanism in educational campuses." "The Honourable Chairperson of the National Commission for Women has written a letter to the Director General of Police, Himachal Pradesh, directing immediate registration of an FIR, arrest of all the accused, a fair and time-bound investigation, preservation of post-mortem and medical records, and ensuring strict action under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, laws preventing sexual harassment, and anti-ragging regulations," the post further shared. The NCW further stated that, in addition, instructions have been issued for departmental action against guilty/negligent faculty members, review of the anti-ragging mechanism in the college, and strengthening of campus security, awareness, and counselling arrangements. "In this regard, instructions have been given to submit a detailed Action Taken Report (ATR) to the Commission within 5 days. @himachalpolice #himachal #Dharamshala," NCW added. The case relates to the death of a 19-year-old second-year student of Government Degree College, Dharamshala, who died during treatment in Ludhiana in December. Her parents alleged that she was subjected to ragging, assault and sexual harassment at the college, which caused severe mental distress and deterioration of her health. Based on a complaint filed by the victim's father, police later registered an FIR against three fellow students and a college professor under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institution (Prohibition of) Ragging Act, 2009. The police said the case was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victim's father, who alleged that on September 18, 2025, three female students assaulted and intimidated his daughter, while a professor sexually harassed her. "Due to these reasons, his daughter was under severe stress, and her health deteriorated. She was treated at various hospitals and later died during treatment at DMC, Ludhiana, on December 26, 2025," police said. The incident has also drawn the attention of the University Grants Commission (UGC), which has taken serious cognisance of the student's death at Government Degree College in Dharamshala. Acting on media reports, the UGC Anti-Ragging Helpline registered a suo-motu complaint, even as the college administration has maintained that the case is a death and not a suicide. According to the UGC, a police enquiry into the incident is currently underway. In parallel, the higher education regulator has already constituted a Fact-Finding Committee to examine all aspects of the case, including the circumstances leading to the student's death and the allegations of ragging and sexual harassment. The UGC has reiterated that student safety remains paramount and assured that if any individual is found guilty, stringent action will follow and the culprits will not be spared.(ANI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the upcoming Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections will be "life-changing" for Mumbai and its people. While addressing a gathering at the NSCI Dome in Worli, he criticised the opposition, saying that the Mahayuti will "teach a lesson" to those who care only about their self-interest. "We launched our BMC election campaign by breaking a coconut. This election will be a life-changing one for the people of Mumbai and for Mumbai itself. We have to teach a lesson to those who only care about their self-interest," he said. Fadnavis further slammed the opposition parties for prioritising personal and political interests over public welfare. "There are people who only care about their own self-interest. These people (opposition) are all talk and no action, but now the public will elect those who fulfil their promises, that is, the Mahayuti alliance," he said. Fadnavis also took a firm stand amid the ongoing political debate over the identity of Mumbai's mayor. "Let me clarify that Mumbai's mayor will be from the Mahayuti alliance. He will be a Hindu and a Marathi. You can only inherit bloodlines by birth, but ideology isn't inherited. It has to be created," he said. Fadnavis asserted that rival parties raised the question of a Marathi mayor since they have no other issues to raise. In a veiled attack on the Thackeray brothers (Uddhav and Raj Thackeray), Fadnavis further questioned the silence of those demanding a Marathi mayor regarding the recent call to elect a Hijab-Wearing mayor. "Some leaders had said a few days ago that a mayor wearing a burqa would be elected. I thought those who were harping on about a Marathi mayor would surely respond, but they didn't utter a single word. Not only that, but the chanting of Vande Mataram has also stopped at their rallies. Their colours have changed," he alleged. Fadnavis was referring to All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) national spokesperson Waris Pathan's statement, where the latter said, "Why can't a Khan, Pathan, Sheikh, Qureshi, Syed become the mayor? We believe that one day a Hijab-wearing woman will also become a mayor." Speaking at the same event, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed confidence that Mahayuti will secure a decisive victory in the upcoming BMC polls. Describing the rally as a "victorious gathering", Shinde said the party workers present at the event would ensure victory in the upcoming elections. Shinde said that more than 68 candidates from the Mahayuti had already been elected unopposed, calling it an unprecedented development in Maharashtra's political history. "2025 was just the trailer, the main picture is yet to come," he said, asserting that the alliance's approach of "no excuse, on-the-spot decision" had earned public trust. He said that Mumbai needed to be freed from what he termed "misgovernance", adding, "This time, the saffron flag of the Mahayuti will fly over the BMC, and a Marathi person will become the mayor." Polling for 29 municipal corporation elections across the state, including Mumbai, Pune, and Pimpri-Chinchwad, will be held on January 15, with vote counting scheduled for January 16 (ANI)
Ahead of the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, Union Minister and Republican Party of India (Athawale) chief Ramdas Athawale asserted that the Mahayuti has "shut down" all the businesses of Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray. Addressing a public gathering here on Saturday, Ramdas Athawale said, "Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde have come together, and Mahayuti together has shut down all the businesses of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray." He further stated that he has "no displeasure" with anyone, after previously expressing discontent within the Mahayuti alliance over seat-sharing for the BMC elections. Athawale said that the Mahayuti has undertaken major initiatives for the people of Mumbai by providing them with houses. "The Mahayuti has done many works for the people of Mumbai. The government has worked to provide houses to people. The statues of Babasaheb Ambedkar were (also) built," he added. On Tuesday, BJP MLC Pravin Darekar met Athawale at his residence in Mumbai's Bandra to address growing discontent. "Pravin Darekar came and said that he understands our displeasure. The CM also called me this morning, and Pravin Darekar came with his message," Athawale said. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said that the upcoming BMC elections will be "life-changing" for Mumbai and its people. While addressing a gathering at the NSCI Dome in Worli, he criticised the opposition, saying that the Mahayuti will "teach a lesson" to those who care only about their self-interest. "We launched our BMC election campaign by breaking a coconut. This election will be a life-changing one for the people of Mumbai and for Mumbai itself. We have to teach a lesson to those who only care about their self-interest," he said. Polling for 29 municipal corporation elections across the state, including Mumbai, Pune, and Pimpri-Chinchwad, will be held on January 15, with vote counting scheduled for January 16. (ANI)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) staged a protest in Himachal Pradesh over the death of a Dalit student in Dharamshala. Protestors on Saturday demanded a thorough and impartial investigation into the incident. The protestors held banners that read, "Stop ragging in educational institutions". The death of the second-year college student has triggered protests and calls for justice, with the family alleging harassment. Police have registered a case, and investigations are underway. The state government has assured strict action based on the inquiry committee's findings. Meanwhile, the sessions court on Saturday granted interim bail to the accused professor Ashok Kumar in the ragging case related to the Government Degree College, Dharamshala. The court issued notice to the state, with the next hearing scheduled for January 12. A 19-year-old second-year student of Government Degree College, Dharamshala, died during treatment in Ludhiana in December. Her parents alleged that she was subjected to ragging, assault and sexual harassment at the college, leading to severe mental distress and deterioration of her health. In its interim order, the court directed that the applicant shall not be arrested in connection with the FIR registered under Sections 75, 115(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 3 of the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institution (Prohibition of Ragging) Act, 2009, at Dharamshala Police Station, subject to furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000. However, the court also directed that the applicant shall join the investigation as and when required by the police. Based on a complaint filed by the victim's father, police registered an FIR against three fellow students and a college professor under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institution (Prohibition of) Ragging Act, 2009. Police said the case was registered based on the complaint, in which the victim's father alleged that on September 18, 2025, three female students assaulted and intimidated his daughter, while a professor sexually harassed her. "Due to these reasons, his daughter was under severe stress, and her health deteriorated. She was treated at various hospitals and later died during treatment at DMC, Ludhiana, on December 26, 2025," police said. The incident has also drawn the attention of the University Grants Commission (UGC), which has taken serious cognisance of the student's death at Government Degree College, Dharamshala. Following media reports, the UGC Anti-Ragging Helpline filed a suo motu complaint. The college administration, however, has maintained that the case is a death and not a suicide. According to the UGC, a police enquiry into the incident is currently underway. (ANI)
Tripura Security personnel detained a Bangladeshi national and an Indian tout from the Kamalnagar area under Sonamura Police Station in Sepahijala district of Tripura, officials said. According to police sources on Saturday, the duo was intercepted during routine surveillance and verification in the Sonamura-Kamalnagar area. Following the detention, a case has been registered at the Sonamura Police Station regarding the incident. The Bangladeshi national has been identified as Main Uddin, son of Basir Miah, a resident of Jamalpur under the Sadar Sub-Division of Feni district in Bangladesh. The Indian national has been identified as Anik Hossain, son of Kadir Miah, a resident of Kamalnagar, Ward No. 06, under Sonamura Police Station in Sepahijala district. Police said Anik Hossain was acting as a tout, allegedly facilitating illegal movement. Both accused persons were produced before the competent court on Saturday, police officials informed. Further investigation is underway to ascertain the circumstances of the illegal movement and to identify possible links with cross-border networks. On Thursday, the Border Security Force (BSF) apprehended a 19-year-old Bangladeshi national near the International Border (IB) in the Gajansoo area of Jammu and Kashmir. According to Jammu and Kashmir Police, the individual has been identified as Shariful Islam Bhuiyan, son of Mozibul Haque Bhuiyan, a resident of Adra in Comilla district of Bangladesh. The BSF handed over the Bangladeshi national to the Border Police Post (BPP), Gajansoo (Police Station Kanachak), and further interrogation is underway. Meanwhile, BSF officials said the force will soon launch 'Operation Sard Hawa' (cold wind) across the challenging terrains of the Kashmir frontier, key security posts in Jammu, and the vast desert stretches of Rajasthan along the India-Pakistan border and the Line of Control (LoC), aimed at foiling potential infiltration attempts taking advantage of reduced visibility due to dense winter fog. Officials told ANI that the operation is expected to be launched at an appropriate time next month and will continue till the end of January, with a focus on strengthening border security during the critical period ahead of Republic Day celebrations. (ANI)
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) national spokesperson Waris Pathan criticised Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar, saying the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister has himself acknowledged allegations worth Rs 70,000 crore against him, yet he remains part of the government. "Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar is himself saying that there are allegations worth Rs 70,000 crore against him, but today he is part of the government. PM Modi had himself said that Ajit Pawar was involved in corruption worth 70000 crore, and CM Devendra Fadnavis had said that if he came to power, Ajit Pawar would be in jail. But today they are enjoying public money," Pathan said while addressing a gathering in Govandi. He also alleged that the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Mumbai had no will to develop Govandi. "Polling will be held on January 15. AIMIM has fielded candidates who are educated and have a clean image. On the other hand, the other parties have fielded candidates who are dealing in drugs and other illegal trades. Last time during the MLA polls, if the AIMIM candidate had got a few more seats, then the SP candidate would have been defeated. This election has come after 7 years. This election is of wards for civic amenities. Those who have ruled BMC for 20 years have done nothing for Govandi," Pathan said. He further said that everyone knows that Govandi in Mumbai is infamous for drug dealings. "The drug dealers are connected to politicians who are candidates in the polls. Drugs not only affect one person, but (also) the entire family. In 1985, the NDPS Act was implemented, and an anti-drug campaign was run, but ultimately it thrived in Gowandi because those who were elected were not bothered. The way we have worked in Hyderabad for education, we want to work in the same way in Govandi. The Samajwadi Party has no will to develop this area. We have to bring progress in Govandi," he added. Earlier, Ajit Pawar had responded to the BJP's criticism of the criminal backgrounds of Nationalist Congress Party candidates in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) polls, citing his own example and stressing that no one is guilty until proven in a court of law. Without naming the BJP, Ajit Pawar said he is part of the government, which had once levelled allegations of an irrigation scam against him. "I want to ask those who are questioning us, they should see who helped a person to abscond (a fugitive Criminal) and also take out the record of the last 15 years, how many candidates with Criminal backgrounds have been filled by whom?" he said. "If a crime is registered against someone tomorrow, does that person become guilty even before the crime is proven. Even allegations worth Rs 70,000 crore were made against me. Are the people who made those allegations against me with me today, or not? Tell me," he added. Pawar's remark came after MoS Murlidhar Mohol questioned why the NCP was fielding candidates with criminal backgrounds in Pune. Mohol said, "Pune's Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar says that crime in this city should end and that koyta gangs should be eliminated. But on the other hand, if you look at the list of candidates given by his side from East Pune to South and from there to North Pune, it clearly shows what kind of elements they have accommodated. We do not know what criteria this fits into." (ANI)
Himachal Pradesh BJP President, Rajeev Bindal, on Saturday, called for a high-level inquiry into the death of a college student in Dharamshala, expressing concern over the alleged involvement of a teacher and ragging within the college. Calling the matter "serious", Bindal urged a "high-level inquiry" into the matter. "This is a very serious matter, and the government should immediately conduct a high-level inquiry. A time-bound inquiry should be conducted so that the truth comes out, and the team investigating the matter should be competent, impartial, and formed independently of those against whom complaints have been made," Bindal told ANI. The student, a 19-year-old Dalit, died on December 26 after allegedly facing harassment and ragging. The government has suspended an assistant professor and formed a committee to investigate. He further informed that the demand has been raised to the Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. "We raised this point yesterday, and today we reiterate our hope that the government and the Chief Minister will take immediate notice of this and order a high-level inquiry. We have been consistently saying that the law and order situation in the state is continuously deteriorating...," said Bindal. Further expressing his grief over the unfortunate incident, Bindal underscored incidents of ragging within the college. "...It's a deeply disturbing incident, and the statements that have emerged suggest the involvement of a teacher, or perhaps other women, and there are also allegations of ragging within the college and among the students, as well as administrative issues." Earlier in the day, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday assured that the government "will take strict action" against the alleged accused over the death of the student amid prolonged ragging and sexual harassment. The Chief Minister said he had "immediately suspended" the professor based on the victims' statement. Speaking to reporters, CM Sukhu said, "I have taken a decision based on the statement by the girl from Dharamshala. The professor she has alleged against will be immediately suspended, and I have also ordered a detailed inquiry into the matter. Our government will take strict action against whoever are involved in the matter." A 19-year-old second-year student of Government Degree College, Dharamshala, who died during treatment in Ludhiana in December. Her parents alleged that she was subjected to ragging, assault and sexual harassment at the college, which caused severe mental distress and deterioration of her health. Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women has taken suo motu cognisance of the death amid prolonged ragging and sexual harassment. In a post on X, NCW shared, "The National Commission for Women has taken suo motu cognisance of an extremely serious incident related to ragging, physical harassment, and sexual harassment at the Government Degree College in Dharamshala, in which a 19-year-old female student died during treatment. The Commission strongly condemns this heinous, inhuman, and reprehensible act, which is a gross violation of the student's life, dignity, and rights, and highlights the serious failure of the security mechanism in educational campuses." (ANI)
The Delhi police on Sunday said that the South-West District team has apprehended two African nationals who were found illegally staying in India without valid visas. The accused have been identified as Miracele Onyeka and Moses Chinoso, both residents of Nigeria. The necessary legal proceedings for their deportation have been initiated through the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in RK Puram. According to Delhi Police, the operation was carried out by the Operations Cell of the South-West district as part of a focused drive against illegal foreign nationals. Dedicated teams were instructed to gather intelligence and take strict action against individuals residing in the country without valid documentation. During night patrolling on the occasion of New Year's, the police team received secret information about the movement of some illegal African nationals in the South-West District area. Acting swiftly on the tip-off, the team intercepted two suspected persons, who were later identified as Miracele Onyeka and Moses Chinoso. During initial questioning, they claimed to be Nigerian nationals who had entered India on tourist or business visas. They further stated that their visa documents had been submitted to the embassy for safekeeping. However, detailed verification conducted through the Immigration Department and other official sources revealed that both individuals had overstayed in India and did not own any valid visa documents. During sustained interrogation, they admitted to being illegal migrants. The accused disclosed that they had been working in housekeeping roles alongside other African nationals in areas including Shahpura (Delhi), Gurugram, and Noida. They were residing in the Kishangarh village area and were en route to Hauz Khas village to celebrate the New Year when they were apprehended. During the search of their mobile phones and hidden folders, copies of their Nigerian passports and national identity cards were recovered. After completing all necessary legal formalities and verification, the police said that deportation proceedings had been initiated through the Foreigners Regional Registration Office. (ANI)
BJP is a "snake charmer," TMC will be wiped out, Bihar, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Sanjay Saraogi said here on Sunday. He launched a scathing attack on the party, reacting sharply to a statement by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee, who asserted that the BJP would eliminate its political opponents democratically. Saraogi said, "The BJP is not a snake, but a snake charmer. The BJP, acting like a snake charmer, will eliminate those who play the role of snakes, such as Abhishek Banerjee. In the coming days, the TMC will be wiped out from there, and the BJP will form the government with a massive majority." The Bihar BJP chief further asserted that the BJP will form the government with a massive majority, expressing confidence in the party's growing support base. His remarks come amid heightened political exchanges between the BJP and the TMC ahead of the upcoming elections. The TMC has not responded to Saraogi's remarks so far. Earlier, Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying the party is like a "snake" that will bite if allowed to stay. Addressing a rally in Alipurduar during his 'Abar Jitbe Bangla' campaign ahead of the upcoming elections, Banerjee urged voters to stand in the queue and teach the BJP a lesson through EVMs. "BJP is like a snake. If you keep 1 or 18 in your backyard, eventually it will bite you. This time in the upcoming elections, ensure that no snake is there in Alipurduar. I am 10 times more stubborn than the BJP, and against this behaviour, only the BJP bows down. In the upcoming polls, stand in the queue to teach them a lesson through EVM. Those who want to change the constitution will eventually be removed from power," Banerjee said during the rally. On Friday, the TMC MP kicked off his month-long 'Abar Jitbe Bangla' campaign from South 24 Parganas ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections. The yatra highlights the achievements of Mamata Banerjee's tenure in Bengal while pressing the BJP on several issues. The development comes amid an escalating political confrontation between the TMC and the BJP over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's electoral rolls. Addressing a rally in South 24 Parganas, Banerjee alleged the BJP of defaming West Bengal, claiming the presence of "Bangladeshis and Rohingyas" in the state. He said that during a recent visit to New Delhi, the Chief Election Commissioner questioned him about the removal of alleged Rohingya and Bangladeshi voters from West Bengal's electoral rolls."These people (the BJP) defame Bengal by claiming that it is full of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis. When I asked Gyanesh Kumar how many Bangladeshis and Rohingyas were removed from the electoral rolls, he started pointing fingers at me," the TMC leader said. Calling the BJP "Bangla-birodhi" (anti-Bengal), Banerjee said the forthcoming elections were not only about defeating the party but also about holding it accountable for repeatedly defaming the state. He added that while he had gone to Delhi this time, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would do so next. (ANI)
Congress MP K Suresh on Sunday refuted Communist Party of India's allegations against his party leaders in connection to the Sabarimala gold theft case, stating that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) defeat in local body elections have prompted them to make such allegations. Congress MP K Suresh reiterated CPM leaders' involvement in the Sabarimala gold theft case and raised questions over the investigation of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe. "This is a very clear conspiracy, a gold theft conspiracy, and CPM is involved...The SIT's enquiry is moving very slowly due to the government's interference. They want to protect the CPM leaders. They don't want to arrest the CPM leaders further in this gold theft. That's why we are asking the CBI to take over this inquiry with the monitoring of the Supreme Court," K Suresh told ANI. "CPM was badly defeated in local body elections because of these gold thefts. Now they want to involve the Congress leaders also in this conspiracy," he added. Congress MP K Suresh also noted the arrest of CPM leaders in the Travancore Devaswom Board by SIT. "The public of Kerala also accepted that there was a gold theft by the Devaswom authorities, who were led by LDF leaders, especially CPM leaders...The Special Investigation Team, which is constituted by the government of Kerala as per the direction of the Kerala High Court, has arrested three to four identified CPM leaders, those who are in the Devaswom Board," he said. This comes after CPM leaders, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, raised questions over Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's meeting with prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti and demanded an investigation into the matter. Responding to that, Congress MLA Chandy Oommen said that the Kerala government is solely responsible for the scam. "The Government of Kerala is solely responsible for the Sabarimala gold theft...How can they hold anyone else responsible? It's ironic that they are saying this, that any other person is responsible, and they themselves are not willing to take the responsibility. The government is not willing to take the responsibility...Who held the Presidentialship of the Devaswom Board? Is he related to the Congress party? No...He belongs to CPM," he said. The Sabarimala gold controversy centres on allegations of irregularities in the gold plating at the Sabarimala temple. This situation arose from a 1998 donation of 30.3 kilograms of gold and 1,900 kilograms of copper by industrialist Vijay Mallya, intended for the cladding of the sanctum sanctorum and the wooden carvings of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala. Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused, was reportedly taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on October 17. The SIT, which is investigating the matter, submitted its second report to the Kerala High Court, revealing serious irregularities in the minutes of the Travancore Devaswom Board. (ANI)
In a post on X, the Indian Coast Guard wrote, "@IndiaCoastGuard Ship Samudra Pratap, the first of two Pollution Control Vessels, will be commissioned by Hon'ble Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh at @goashipyardltd, #Goa on 05 Jan 26. Built by #GSL with over 60% indigenous content, the 114.5 Mtr, 4,200 ton vessel boasts a speed of more than 22 knots and an endurance of 6,000 nm, significantly enhancing the #ICG's pollution response, fire-fighting, and maritime safety & security capabilities."

This vessel is a significant milestone in India's journey towards self-reliance in defence production, with over 60% indigenous content.

The commissioning of Samudra Pratap will enhance the ICG's capabilities in responding to marine pollution incidents, safeguarding India's maritime environment and resources.

Built by GSL with more than 60 per cent indigenous content, Samudra Pratap reflects India's growing self-reliance in defence shipbuilding under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. The 114.5-metre-long vessel displaces around 4,200 tonnes, can achieve speeds of over 22 knots, and has an endurance of 6,000 nautical miles.

Equipped with advanced pollution response and firefighting systems, it will significantly enhance the Coast Guard's capacity to address oil spills, maritime emergencies, and security challenges in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and beyond.

Goa Shipyard Limited, a premier defence public sector undertaking, was constructing two such pollution control vessels for the ICG under a Rs 583 crore contract signed on June 22, 2021. This project marks the first time pollution-control ships of this class have been designed and built indigenously in India.

Samudra Pratap has been designed and constructed in-house to meet the Coast Guard's specific operational requirements.

The ship measures 114.5 metres in length with a beam of 16.5 metres and will be manned by 14 officers and 115 sailors. Notably, it is also India's first indigenously designed and built hybrid, sea-going pollution-control vessel.

The commissioning comes amid heightened maritime vigilance by the Coast Guard. On December 18, 2025, ICG ship Anmol apprehended two Bangladeshi fishing boats engaged in illegal fishing within India's EEZ, underscoring the force's critical role in enforcing maritime laws and safeguarding national interests.

With the induction of Samudra Pratap, the Indian Coast Guard further strengthens its operational readiness while reinforcing India's commitment to maritime safety, environmental protection, and indigenous defence manufacturing. (ANI)
Congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday said that the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's allegations about Congress senior leader Sonia Gandhi's involvement in the Sabarimala gold theft case is "absurd" and reiterated Communist Party of India (Marxist) involvement in the case. Congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala also raised a question over the lack of action against its own leaders. Speaking with ANI, Ramesh Chennithala said, "The Kerala Chief Minister's statement on the gold theft case in Sabarimala is absurd. The three leaders of CPM are in jail. How can he say that this is a politically motivated thing?... The CPM party has not taken any action for the people who are in prison." Chennithala further demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the theft case. "This shows that they are involved in this case and the political patronage given by the CPM and the state government is very evident...We demand that the CBI enquire into the whole issue so that more people can be arrested and brought before the law," he said. This comes after CPM leaders, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, raised questions over Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's meeting with prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti and demanded an investigation into the matter. Vijayan questioned how the prime accused in the Sabarimala theft case, Unnikrishnan Potti, managed to meet Sonia Gandhi, suggesting that the accused has close ties with Congress MP Adoor Prakash. "At what stage does the name of Adoor Prakash come into this issue? His name surfaced when a photograph emerged. I had referred to this in the previous press conference. The photograph showed Sonia Gandhi along with two others from Pathanamthitta and Adoor Prakash, who was the MP from Pathanamthitta at the time," Vijayan said. Raising a series of questions, the Chief Minister said, "How did these two individuals manage to reach, at the same time, someone like Sonia Gandhi -- a political leader with the highest level of security in India? The person (Adoor Prakash) who made allegations against the Chief Minister's Office claimed that he had no role and that he went there because he was invited. Is he someone who must go whenever Potti calls? Why should he go to Potti's call? How did all these people come together?" Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty said Sonia Gandhi should be brought within the ambit of the investigation as her statement is decisive. "How did Unnikrishnan Potti gain access to Sonia Gandhi's residence? The relationship between Sonia Gandhi, Adoor Prakash, and Unnikrishnan Potti is shocking. It is crucial that the investigation reaches Sonia Gandhi. The conspiracy must be exposed. Regardless of position, Sonia Gandhi should be brought within the ambit of the investigation. Sonia Gandhi's statement is decisive," V Sivankutty said. The Sabarimala gold controversy centres on allegations of irregularities in the gold plating at the Sabarimala temple. This situation arose from a 1998 donation of 30.3 kilograms of gold and 1,900 kilograms of copper by industrialist Vijay Mallya, intended for the cladding of the sanctum sanctorum and the wooden carvings of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala. Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused, was reportedly taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on October 17. The SIT, which is investigating the matter, submitted its second report to the Kerala High Court, revealing serious irregularities in the minutes of the Travancore Devaswom Board. (ANI).
Congress MP Jebi Mather on Sunday criticised the Communist Party of India (Marxist) over their allegations against senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in the Sabarimala gold theft case, stating that the move reflects the "desperate" situation of the CPM. Speaking with ANI, Congress MP Jebi Mather said, "The Chief Minister is going to complete 10 years in Kerala, and instead of giving answers and being responsible, they are looping in Sonia Gandhi into the case. This shows the desperate situation CPM is in right now... People will just laugh at the Chief Minister of Kerala." Jebi Mather also levelled counter-allegations at the CPM regarding their involvement in the theft case. "The Sabarimala gold theft is a classic example of how the ruling dispensation and the government in power in Kerala it is a miserable failure of the CPM led LDF government and the former MLA of CPM, former Devaswom Board President, they all are one after the other getting arrested," she said. "Bringing in the Congress leaders' names makes it a desperate situation for the CPM, as they have miserably lost the local body elections...But the people of Kerala understand the reality...The people have decided to give a befitting reply in the forthcoming assembly election to the LDF and the CPM as well," she added. Congress MP Shafi Parambil also criticised the CPM, saying the party is trying to "skip away" from its responsibilities by levelling allegations against the Congress. "CPM is just trying to skip away from the responsibilities...The complete responsibility lies with the Devaswom board. The responsibility lies upon the government, the cabinet, who are protecting those people who did this to Kerala, who did this to Sabarimala...All these details came out just because the court intervened," he said. "Otherwise, this will be a covered-up thing. Just because the court intervened, all these details came up. Despite the government knowing about this thing, despite the Devaswom board knowing about this thing, why didn't they come up with actions before the court intervened? That means they are covering up. They are hiding things," he added. The comments follow allegations by CPM leaders, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who questioned Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's meeting with the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potti, and demanded an investigation. The Sabarimala gold controversy centres on allegations of irregularities in the gold plating at the Sabarimala temple. This situation arose from a 1998 donation of 30.3 kilograms of gold and 1,900 kilograms of copper by industrialist Vijay Mallya, intended for the cladding of the sanctum sanctorum and the wooden carvings of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala. Unnikrishnan Potti, the prime accused, was reportedly taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on October 17. The SIT, which is investigating the matter, submitted its second report to the Kerala High Court, revealing serious irregularities in the minutes of the Travancore Devaswom Board. (ANI)
Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Sunday said that the Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau recommendation for a CBI investigation into Kerala Assembly LoP V D Satheesan, over the Punarjani case, is a "political gimmick" of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) ahead of the Kerala Assembly election. Speaking with ANI, Congress MP KC Venugopal said that nothing can save the CPM from a defeat in the election. "It is a political gimmick given the elections. No one can save the CPM government in the upcoming elections. They are also sure about that," he said. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan over allegations of receiving illegal foreign funds for the 'Punarjani' housing project. Kerala Congress President Sunny Joseph termed it as a "futile" attempt of the state government, which has found nothing against VD Satheesan. "That's only a futile attempt by the government. Already, the state vigilance is conducting an investigation, and they have found nothing against the opposition leader. Further enquiries are not at all needed. It's a political game only. We will face it both politically and legally," Sunny Joseph said. The 'Punarjani' housing project was launched to rehabilitate people who lost their homes in the 2018 floods in Satheesan's North Paravur constituency. The CBI probe has been sought, citing alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). Satheesan's foreign trips, allegedly undertaken without the Assembly Speaker's permission, are also under scrutiny in connection with the case. Meanwhile, Congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala said that the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's allegations about Congress senior leader Sonia Gandhi's involvement in the Sabarimala gold theft case is "absurd" and reiterated Communist Party of India (Marxist) involvement in the case. Congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala also raised a question over the lack of action against its own leaders. Speaking with ANI, Ramesh Chennithala said, "The Kerala Chief Minister's statement on the gold theft case in Sabarimala is absurd. The three leaders of CPM are in jail. How can he say that this is a politically motivated thing?... The CPM party has not taken any action for the people who are in prison." Chennithala further demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the theft case."This shows that they are involved in this case and the political patronage given by the CPM and the state government is very evident...We demand that the CBI enquire into the whole issue so that more people can be arrested and brought before the law," he said. This comes after CPM leaders, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, raised questions over Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's meeting with prime accused Unnikrishnan Potti and demanded an investigation into the matter. (ANI)
RJD MP Manoj Jha on Sunday condemned the US operation in Venezuela, calling it an "open attack" on a sovereign nation. Speaking with ANI, he termed US actions on the Latin American country as "bullying" and compared it with the "feudal societies" mindset. He criticised the lack of provocation and questioned the US's actions, citing India's past stance on international law and sovereignty. "This is the kind of bullying we used to see in feudal societies. You attacked a country without any provocation... The truth is, this is an open attack against a sovereign nation, and the whole world should be concerned about this because no international law permits this...," Jha told ANI. The US military launched a targeted operation in Venezuela (codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve) on January 3, 2026, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The Trump administration claimed Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and had rigged the 2024 election. The US had previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and offered a $50 million bounty for Maduro's arrest. The US government, under President Trump, justifies the intervention as a security necessity rather than a resource grab. The primary official reasons include: narco-terrorism charges, national security and migration crisis. The US indicted Nicolas Maduro and other high-ranking officials for allegedly leading a "narco-terrorist" conspiracy to flood the US with cocaine. Washington also claims the Maduro government has become a "criminal enterprise" that destabilises the Western Hemisphere by harbouring terrorist groups and facilitating human trafficking. Moreover, the US administration cites the mass exodus of millions of Venezuelans as a "border security" issue for the United States. Jha further emphasised that India's foreign policy has consistently upheld principles, solidifying its stance against joining power blocs and advocating an independent foreign policy, which is crucial for global diplomacy, regardless of the government in power. "In 1952, 1954, and 1957, whenever something happened in the world, we weren't as prosperous then, but we firmly stated our position... Regardless of which government was in power, our foreign policy never equivocated on these matters," added the RJD MP. In the 1950s, India emerged as a prominent moral voice on the global stage. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the country championed "Non-Alignment," positioning itself as a mediator between the Cold War superpowers (the US and USSR). While 1952 was a landmark year for India's internal democracy, it also cemented India's reputation as a neutral global player. India successfully conducted its first General Election (1951-52). On the global stage, this was hailed as the "largest experiment in democracy" in history, proving that universal adult franchise could work in a developing, largely illiterate nation. India took a leading role at the United Nations to resolve the Korean War. In late 1952, India submitted a crucial resolution on the exchange of Prisoners of War (PoWs). Although initially rejected by the Soviet bloc, the proposal eventually became the basis for the 1953 ceasefire agreement. 1954 is perhaps the most significant year for Indian diplomacy in the 1950s, as it defined the country's foreign policy framework for decades. India articulated the Panchsheel principles with China, emphasising mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, and non-interference. In 1957, the UN General Assembly unanimously accepted the Panchsheel tenets, embedding them into international relations frameworks. Jha's statement comes after AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow the US example and bring back those responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Owaisi cited the recent US military strike on Venezuela, where President Nicolas Maduro was captured, as an example of how countries can take bold action against terrorism. "Today we heard that US President Donald Trump's forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and took him from his country to America. If US President Donald Trump can abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his own country, then you (Prime Minister Modi) can also go to Pakistan and bring back the mastermind of the 26/11 terrorist attacks to India," he said. "This is not the occasion for this. The question is about Venezuela," said Jha. (ANI)
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday unveiled their joint manifesto, 'Vachan Nama', for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. The manifesto's cover prominently featured a photograph of the Thackeray brothers alongside Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray. The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance pledged to provide affordable housing and strengthen infrastructure across healthcare, public transport, and education sectors. Under the manifesto, women employed as domestic workers and Koli women are to receive a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 under the proposed 'Swabhiman Nidhi' scheme. The alliance has also said that if it comes to power, it will cut the minimum fare to Rs 5 from Rs 10 and add more buses and routes. They also promised to scrap property tax on homes up to 700 sq ft and change parking rules so that each flat in redeveloped buildings gets one parking space. The manifesto was announced at a joint press conference at Shiv Sena Bhawan, marking Raj Thackeray's return to the place after 20 years. Raj Thackeray left Shiv Sena in 2005 due to differences with his cousin Uddhav Thackeray over the future of the party. Balasaheb Thackeray handed the responsibility of the party to his son. The Thackeray brothers also criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a press conference, accusing it of "threatening" voters and undermining democratic norms ahead of the BMC polls. Uddhav Thackeray accused Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar of "threatening" candidates and voters and demanded his suspension. "Rahul Narwekar, who is the chairman of the assembly, openly threatening candidates and voters, is very shocking. Action must be taken against him; he should be immediately suspended... He tells officers to remove the security of the leaders; he has this authority inside the assembly, not outside. A case should be filed against Rahul Narwekar," he said. "You have stolen the right to vote from voters by electing candidates unopposed. By-elections should take place at these places," he added. Additionally, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he made "vote theft" allegations. "This is Jhund shahi, not democracy anymore, even if we catch them red-handed while doing vote chori, now they have started stealing the candidates," he said. "We have no comparison with PM Modi, who built Mount Kailash and brought the Ganga to Earth. He was the one who did Samudra Manthan! We are still waiting for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue to come out from the sea where PM Modi had done poojan years back... We dare the Election Commission, show all call records of the Returning officers, we want to see," he added. MNS Chief Raj Thackeray flagged concern over BJP and Shiv Sena candidates winning unopposed in the Maharashtra civic polls. "The BJP had gone to the Supreme Court against the unopposed elected candidates of West Bengal. I want to know what the same party thinks of the unopposed elected candidates of Mahayuti now. Nobody comes with permanent power; if they think they will never be removed from government, they should rethink. I have been saying this for years, they are turning Maharashtra into UP and Bihar. Maharashtra has shown direction to the country. Those who want to come into politics are changing their ideologies," he said. Polling for 29 municipal corporation elections across the state, including Mumbai, Pune, and Pimpri-Chinchwad, will be held on January 15, with vote counting scheduled for January 16. (ANI)
Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Chouhan said the proposed agitation against the newly enacted Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act was politically motivated.

"This is not a movement to protect MGNREGA; it is a movement to protect corruption. Congress has a problem with villages, with work, and even with Ram. Corruption is in the DNA of Congress," the Union Minister said.

Chouhan alleged that MGNREGA had become synonymous with corruption during earlier regimes, with machines replacing labourers, contractors operating in the name of workers, and funds being siphoned off.

Citing social audit findings, Chouhan said Gram Sabhas had recorded over 10 lakh complaints.

"The same road was being built year after year. Money was embezzled in the name of canal and roadside cleaning. Labourers over 80 years old were shown as working," he claimed.

Comparing allocations, the Union Minister said that over Rs 8.48 lakh crore had been provided during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while around Rs 2 lakh crore was allocated during the UPA years, questioning whether durable assets were created earlier.

Rejecting Congress's claim that workers would lose employment, Chouhan said labour interests had been strengthened, with employment assurance increased to 125 days, stronger provisions for unemployment allowance, and penalties for delayed wage payments. He added that decision-making power now rests with Gram Sabhas and Panchayats, ensuring decentralised, transparent governance.

Meanwhile, the Congress on Saturday announced a nationwide three-phase agitation titled 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram' against the VB-G RAM G Act.

The campaign begins on January 8 with preparatory meetings at PCC offices, followed by district-level press conferences on January 10 and a one-day fast on January 11.

Phase two will run from January 12 to January 30 with panchayat-level programmes, while phase three will include district dharnas till February 6 and state-level protests up to February 15, culminating in zonal rallies later in February. (ANI)
Uttarakhand Minister Subodh Uniyal on Sunday asserted that the government will carry out an investigation in case any credible evidence is found in the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case, followed by strict legal action. "The government's stance is clear: if any credible evidence is found, the government will not hesitate to conduct an investigation. The audio clip has been sent to the forensic lab for examination. The situation will become clear after the investigation. The government is committed. It seems that some people want to mislead the public in the name of a new investigation. Action will be taken after the new report is received," Uniyal said. People in large numbers held a protest in Dehradun demanding justice in the case. Earlier on Friday, speaking to ANI, Uniyal said the government had acted promptly after the incident came to light. e further added that the investigation had also stood the test of judicial scrutiny. "The government has already presented its full side in this matter. The government immediately constituted an SIT, after which a thorough investigation was conducted, and life imprisonment was also awarded in the trial court. The SIT's investigation is correct. When some people opposed this and went to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court's order and rejected their appeal," Uniyal stated. The remarks come days after a fresh controversy erupted following a clip shared by Urmila Sanawar, actress and wife of former BJP MLA from Jwalapur (Haridwar), Suresh Rathore, in connection with the Ankita Bhandari murder case. Minister Subodh Uniyal stated that earlier petitions seeking a CBI probe into the Ankita Bhandari murder case had already been dismissed by the Nainital High Court and the Supreme Court. Making serious allegations, he said that by demanding a CBI investigation, the Congress is attempting to help the three accused who are currently serving sentences in this murder case. (ANI)
Pune Police have registered a case of abetment to suicide and extortion against a Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) candidate following the alleged suicide of a 56-year-old businessman in Pune's Camp area, amid the ongoing civic election campaign. The deceased has been identified as Sadiq Hussain alias Babu Kapoor (56), a resident of Syed Nagar, Hadapsar, who operated a real estate office in the Camp area. Kapoor was found hanging inside his office premises under the jurisdiction of Lashkar Police Station on Saturday evening. Police said a two-page suicide note was recovered from the spot, with one portion written on paper and another reportedly written on the deceased's hand. According to police, the suicide note names Farooq Inamdar, an NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) candidate from Ward No. 41, along with three others, alleging continuous financial and mental harassment and an extortion demand of Rs 50 lakh. Based on the contents of the note and a complaint filed by the deceased's son, police registered an FIR under BNS Sections 108, 308(2) and 3(5) at Lashkar Police Station of Pune City Police. Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajlaxmi Shivankar said the police are proceeding strictly in accordance with the law. "A suicide note has been recovered, and based on the complaint, a case has been registered at Lashkar Police Station. The allegations mentioned in the note are being verified. All aspects, including financial transactions and the background of the individuals named, are under investigation," Shivankar told. When asked whether the extortion demands were made to fund the election campaign, DCP Shivankar said that, as of now, there is no such mention by the complainant, but that we will be investigating it from all angles. Police also confirmed that an Accidental Death Report (ADR) was initially registered, after which a detailed inquiry was launched. The forensic team and crime branch officials inspected the scene, and the body was sent to Sassoon General Hospital for post-mortem examination. The deceased was allegedly involved in a land dispute involving around five gunthas in the Syed Nagar area, and police are probing whether the dispute has a direct link to the allegations cited in the suicide note. Police officials also confirmed that Kapoor had previously faced action under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), and his antecedents are being verified as part of the ongoing probe. However, a family member denied the allegations, saying all cases were fabricated. No arrests have been made so far. Police said further action will be taken after corroborating evidence and statements are recorded. (ANI)
West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday sharply criticised State Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar after the Election Commission of India (ECI) sought an Action Taken Report (ATR) from him over alleged security lapses that led to the harassment of Electoral Roll Observer in South 24 Parganas' Magraghat. In a post on social media platform X, Adhikari described the incident as a "shameful display of law and order" under the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led government. He stated that the ECI had issued a "wake-up call" to the DGP, directing him to submit an ATR by Tuesday, January 6, at 5 pm regarding the security failures surrounding the incident. "Mr. DGP (in-charge) Rajeev Kumar, the Election Commission of India has slapped you with a stinging wake-up call, and asked you to submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) by Tuesday, January 6th, 5 PM, on the blatant security failures which led to the harassment of Electoral Roll Observer; Shri C. Murugan (IAS), by a TMC-orchestrated mob attack in Magrahat; South 24 Parganas district. What a shameful display of "Law & Order" under Mamata Banerjee's dictatorship," Suvendu Adhikari wrote on 'X'. Quoting the ECI's description of the episode as involving "serious lapses," Adhikari alleged that it amounted to an attack on democratic processes. He further claimed that video footage was available identifying individuals who allegedly assembled and incited the mob in Magrahat and nearby Kulpi. The BJP leader questioned whether the state police would initiate FIRs and take action against those allegedly involved, urging the DGP to act independently and uphold constitutional responsibilities. "The ECI calls it "serious lapses", we call it TREASON against Democracy. But here's the thing, Mr. DGP (in-charge), if your hands are tied by political compulsions and you're sweating over how to even initiate that ATR, I've got your back. Check the annexed videos, crystal clear footage identifying the perpetrators and master conspirators who help assembled and incited that frenzied mob in Magrahat and Kulpi. Will you finally grow a spine, file those FIRs, and haul these TMC thugs to justice? Time to choose: Serve the Constitution or keep serving the syndicate?," the 'X' post added. (ANI)
The deceased has been identified as Parvinder Singh, a resident of Lajpat Nagar.

He had stayed at the hotel during Christmas. He went to the Le Meridien hotel this afternoon, took the elevator, and jumped from a floor, police said.

A forensic team has also arrived at the hotel.

Further investigation is underway.

Earlier, on December 29, a 16-year-old boy lost his life after falling from the plastic shed between two shops in Gujranwala Town, Delhi, police said on Monday.

According to the police, the boy, a class 11 student, came to the restaurant with his three friends.

He and his friends reached the top of the restaurant through the stairs, where the 16-year-old climbed to the top of the plastic shed meant for the gallery between the shops. The Plastic shed collapsed, causing the fall, police said.

He was rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. (ANI)
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday expressed happiness while attending the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Debang community. "I am happy to be part of this auspicious occasion. The Debang community is celebrating its 100th anniversary... They have invited me to share the joy with them. I am very happy to be a part of this great community movement. This community has always been the backbone of the country's economy..." he said. Earlier, on December 31, Pradhan on Wednesday asked the Tamil Nadu government to implement the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, in the state, stating that Tamil should be the medium of instruction up to standard five as per the policy's recommendation. NEP has been an issue of contention between the Centre and the DMK-led government in Tamil Nadu. "We are now implementing the national education policy. In Tamil Nadu, Tamil should be the medium of instruction up to standard five. This is the recommendation of the national education policy. I am hopeful that the local government will encourage the Tamil language in the early stages. If we take care of the children, they will be the future leaders of our society," Union Minister Pradhan told reporters in Madurai. The Tamil Nadu government has opposed the NEP 2020, claiming the imposition of Hindi under the three-language formula. In August 2025, the MK Stalin government rolled out the State Education Policy with a two-language formula to counter the Centre's NEP. The tussle between the Centre and the state has also reached the apex court. On December 15, the Supreme Court directed the Tamil Nadu government to hold discussions with the central government on the issue of establishing Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in the state. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan also asked the state government to ascertain the extent of land necessary for establishing JNVs. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party leader CR Kesavan on Sunday criticised Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K Selvaperunthagai over his remarks on Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the state. In a post on the social media platform X, Kesavan said that Congress in Tamil Nadu is deeply divided and plagued by internal disagreements. He claimed the party was engaged in public infighting. He said it should focus on what he described as the "failed leadership" of Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of leading the Congress to numerous Assembly election defeats and three consecutive Lok Sabha losses. "The Congress party in Tamilnadu is a dismally divided house in total tatters with their party people indulging in pathetic public bickering. The Congress should worry about the flopped and failed leadership of Rahul Gandhi who has plummeted the Congress to nearly a century of assembly defeats [95 till date]and a hat trick of Lok Sabha defeats. The people of Tamilnadu who have totally lost trust and faith in the Congress-DMK's opportunistic alliance & failure model anti-people DMK Govt, have made up their minds to reject and rout them in the upcoming elections," Kesavan wrote on 'X'. Earlier in the day, TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai had dismissed the BJP's prospects in the state, stating that even repeated visits by Amit Shah would not change public opinion. He said the people of Tamil Nadu would not accept the BJP and that the party had no political space in the state. "Even if Amit Shah comes more than 100 times, there is no space for them in Tamil Nadu. People won't accept the BJP," Selvaperunthagai told reporters. (ANI)
With the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas completing 25 years of flight operations, focus has now shifted to the development of LCA Mk II and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat said on Sunday. Speaking at a two-day national seminar, 'Aeronautics 2047', organised by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in Bengaluru, Kamat said the Tejas programme has reached a major milestone and future efforts are now centred on next-generation fighter platforms. "LCA has been a marvellous journey. Now this aircraft is inducted. Now our focus is on Mark II and AMCA... Both these programmes are now on schedule, and we hope to deliver our commitments to the Air Force... AMCA will have several new technologies because it's a fifth-generation aircraft; it is a stealth aircraft, so several new technologies will come in with the AMCA," Kamat said. The 'Aeronautics 2047' seminar is being held at the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), Bengaluru, to mark 25 years of the Tejas programme and chart the future of Indian aviation. It was inaugurated by Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh. Addressing the audience, the Air Chief Marshal praised ADA for completing 25 years of Tejas flight operations and pointed out the importance of meeting delivery deadlines to keep the Indian Air Force operationally prepared in the face of changing security challenges. He also stated that the Tejas programme had revolutionised India's defence aviation and aircraft design capabilities. "It is an exceptional milestone that we achieved in 2001, and that has changed the history of our defence aviation and defence designing. We are looking forward very eagerly to the further programmes, Mark II and AMCA, and I'm sure they're going to be more successful than what Tejas was and with better timelines," he said. Kamat underlined the importance of developing indigenous, cutting-edge technology to minimise dependence on imports, thereby realising the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. The seminar has brought together experts from industry, academia, government laboratories and the aerospace sector. Discussions are focused on next-generation aircraft design, advanced manufacturing, propulsion systems, flight testing, avionics, digital twin technology, artificial intelligence in aircraft design and certification challenges. ADA has designed and developed the LCA Tejas, which has completed more than 5,600 successful flight trials. Over 100 design work centres, including government laboratories, academic institutions and private industries, contributed to the programme. Several critical technologies, such as carbon composites, lightweight materials, fly-by-wire flight control systems, digital utility management systems and glass cockpit architecture, were developed as part of the Tejas programme, making it a fourth-generation fighter aircraft. The LCA Mk1A is an advanced variant designed to meet the Indian Air Force's operational requirements, while the LCA Mk II and the naval variant are currently under development. So far, 38 Tejas aircraft, including 32 fighters and six trainers, have been inducted into two Indian Air Force squadrons. Officials said the programme has enabled India to acquire the capability and capacity to design and build fighter aircraft indigenously. Several public sector units, defence PSUs, industries and MSMEs are showcasing indigenously developed airborne systems and components as part of the seminar. (ANI)
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday arrived at the RSS office, Keshav Dham, in Vrindavan to participate in a crucial meeting of 'Akhil Bhartiya' leaders of the organisation. The meeting is likely to discuss the situation of Hindus in Bangladesh, the upcoming Bengal election,and other contemporary socio-political developments, sources said. Mohan Bhagwat will remain in Vrindavan for the next seven days, till January 10. While the main meeting of senior RSS pracharaks is scheduled to take place on January 6, 7 and 8, the core group of RSS officers will be stationed in Vrindavan from today till January 10. According to sources, approximately 48 to 50 top RSS functionaries will attend this high-level meeting, making it one of the organisation's most important internal deliberations. Discussions are likely to focus on the framework and key themes of the upcoming Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, scheduled to be held in Samalkha in March. The meeting may also deliberate on potential changes to make organisational functioning more effective and results-oriented. The meeting is also expected to review preparations for Hindu conferences to be held across the country from January 15 onwards. In addition, detailed deliberations will be held on organisational expansion, promotion of social harmony, and strengthening coordination among various RSS-affiliated organisations. A comprehensive review of the current status and activities of different RSS organisations will also be undertaken during this crucial meeting. Earlier, on RSS' centenary celebrations, Bhagwat said that Hindu Sammelans are being organised across the country as the Sangh completes 100 years of its journey, stressing that the occasion should not be viewed as an act of "bravery", but as a "moment of responsibility"."The work of Sangh has completed 100 years, therefore, Hindu Sammelan are being organised across the country," Bhagwat said while addressing a Hindu Sammelan here, adding that the centenary celebrations are not meant for display of power. "This is not bravery," he added. (ANI)
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Sunday said that an in-depth investigation is underway into the Ahmedabad Air India plane crash incident and said that his ministry is provided all possible support to the investigators involved in the probe. Speaking to ANI, he said that there is no shortage of resources required for the investigation. "The investigation is happening in its own pace very thoroughly and very professionally they are doing it. I just want to mention that there are international citizens also involved in that crash. All the countries also became parties to the investigation. So it is very important for us to maintain global standards, international standards, all the accident investigation practices that have been mentioned at a global level we need to follow them," Minister told ANI. "So that has been a priority for us and we are doing a very good job in that regard. From the investigation team, from the ministry to the investigation team, whatever support is required, we are strongly giving it to them so that there is no dearth of resources," he added. The AI 171 crash of the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aircraft in Gujarat's Ahmedabad killed 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground. Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a show-cause notice to an Air India pilot amid safety concerns on flights AI-358 and AI-357, pertaining to aircraft dispatch, Minimum Equipment List (MEL) compliance, and flight crew decision-making. DGCA, in its notice, said that the pilot accepted the aircraft despite repeated snags and system degradation. The civil aviation authority noted that there was a smell of smoke reported near a door in the AI-358 flight. DGCA in the show cause notice said, "Whereas, it has been observed that M/s Air India Limited, during the operation of Flight AI-358 (and related operations of AI-357), serious safety concerns arose pertaining to aircraft dispatch, Minimum Equipment List (MEL) compliance, and flight crew decision-making." (ANI)
The Election Commission of India has asked West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar to submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) on the alleged misbehaviour and serious security lapses that occurred during a mob attack in Magrahat, South 24 Parganas district, involving Electoral Roll Observer C Murugan. The ECI has directed to submit the report by 5 pm on Tuesday, January 6. The ECI in a letter to DGP said, "I am directed to state that the Election Commission has announced Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls in 12 States and UTs including the State of West Bengal on October 27, 2025. The Commission vide its letter dated November 28, 2025 has appointed C. Murugan, IAS, as one of the Electoral Roll Observers and assigned the districts of South 24 Parganas and Kolkata South to him. C Murugan, Electoral Roll Observer in his letter dated December 30, 2025 (copy enclosed) has reported a series of incidents that occurred during his visit to SIR hearing camps in Magrahat - 1, Magrahat - II and Kulpi Block of Diamond Harbour Sub-Division in South 24 Parganas." "Further, the report dated December 30, 2025 of the Special Electoral Roll Observer and note dated December 30 2025 submitted by the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal also mention serious and disturbing incidents that occurred during the visit of the Electoral Roll Observer to SIR hearing camps at Magrahat-1, Magrahat-II and Kulpi Block under Diamond Harbour Sub-Division, South 24 Parganas district," ECI said. The ECI further stated that the Commission has carefully examined the aforesaid reports and noticed that despite advance intimation of the tour programme to the Sub-Divisional Officer and Superintendent of Police, adequate security arrangements were not made and the Electoral Roll Observer was compelled to move through sensitive areas without proper police protection. "Further, it has also been noticed that incidents of sloganeering, mob gathering, obstruction of official work and damage to the Observer's vehicle have been reported. Further, an FIR has been filed on December 29, 2025 against 30-40 unknown, unruly and agitated persons that too after repeated efforts. These incidents reflect serious lapses on the part of the police administration," the ECI said. "The Commission has viewed these lapses seriously and directs you to furnish an Action Taken Report (ATR) on the said incidents, including details of police action taken, follow-up measures and steps initiated to fix responsibility, latest by Tuesday, January 6, 2026 by 5:00 PM, to the Commission," the letter further added. West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday sharply criticised DGP (in-charge) Rajeev Kumar and said that the ECI had slapped him with a stinging wake-up call, and asked him to submit an Action Taken Report (ATR). In a tweet on X, Suvendu Adhikari shared, "Mr. DGP (in-charge) Rajeev Kumar, the Election Commission of India has slapped you with a stinging wake-up call, and asked you to submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) by Tuesday, January 6th, 5 PM, on the blatant security failures which led to the harassment of Electoral Roll Observer; C. Murugan (IAS), by a TMC-orchestrated mob attack in Magrahat; South 24 Parganas district. What a shameful display of "Law & Order" under Mamata Banerjee's dictatorship." "The ECI calls it "serious lapses", we call it TREASON against Democracy. But here's the thing, Mr. DGP (in-charge), if your hands are tied by political compulsions and you're sweating over how to even initiate that ATR, I've got your back. Check the annexed videos, crystal clear footage identifying the perpetrators and master conspirators who help assembled and incited that frenzied mob in Magrahat and Kulpi. Will you finally grow a spine, file those FIRs, and haul these TMC thugs to justice? Time to choose: Serve the Constitution or keep serving the syndicate?," he added. (ANI)
The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal attended the second biennial full-fledged state convention of the 'Mridangiya Gayan-Bayan Sanstha, Assam', along with a day-long Akhanda Bhagavat Path and a ceremonial programme of Sri Sri Auniati Satra, held at Rajgarh in Dibrugarh on Sunday. Addressing the gathering, Sarbananda Sonowal lauded the organisation's sustained contribution to the practice, preservation and propagation of the Mridangiya Gayan-Bayan tradition, describing it as an inseparable part of Assam's cultural life. "The Mridangiya Gayan-Bayan tradition is an inseparable part of Assam's cultural life. Through sustained practice and dedication, it has enriched our cultural landscape and inspired younger generations to remain rooted in our classical and folk traditions," Sarbananda Sonowal said. The Union Minister said that organisations such as the Mrdangiya Gayan-Bayan Sanstha have played a critical role in ensuring that Assam's rich cultural heritage continues to thrive by connecting tradition with the younger generation through training, performance and disciplined practice. Sonowal further added, "Seeing this vast cultural canvas today with my own eyes, I am truly overwhelmed. From time immemorial, the Gayan-Bayan tradition has been practised across our villages. I, too, am a son of the village. Since childhood, I have grown up seeing and hearing our Namghars resonate with the sound of the Khol and Mridanga. The Mridanga is one of the principal auspicious instruments of ancient India. In mythological narratives, it has been described as a 'divine instrument'. It has no written script or textual manual; instead, it has evolved and endured over generations through a distinct tradition and style. Bringing together the Gayan-Bayan traditions scattered across Assam's villages onto a single platform is a matter of great satisfaction and pride. I extend my gratitude to every individual associated with this programme for making this possible today." During the programme, Sonowal also felicitated Banshi Bakliyal, a distinguished Bayan artiste from Kamarchuk village in Dibrugarh district, in recognition of his decades-long dedication to the practice, training and performance of mrdangiya gayan-bayan. Sonowal conveyed his best wishes to the organisers for their continued efforts in preserving and promoting Assam's traditional art forms. The event featured vibrant cultural performances and was attended by Assam Govt's Culture Minister, Bimal Bora, Rajya Sabha MP, Rameswar Teli, Auniati Satra Satradhikar Sri Sri Pitambar Dev Goswami, Assam Petrochemicals Ltd. Chairman Bikul Deka, and other dignitaries, cultural practitioners and members of the public. (ANI)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday underlined the critical role played by the Indian shipyards in today's complex security environment, an official release said. Rajnath Singh visited GSL (Goa Shipyard Limited) on Sunday, the eve of commissioning the Pollution Control Vessel (PCV) 'Samudra Pratap' into the ICG (Indian Coast Guard). 'Samudra Pratap' is the first of two PCVs built by the GSL and will be commissioned in Goa in the presence of the Defence Minister on January 05, 2026. Singh asserted that non-traditional threats are constantly increasing alongside traditional challenges in the maritime domain. "We face numerous challenges at sea, such as narcotics trafficking, illegal fishing, human trafficking, environmental crimes, and grey-zone challenges. In such a situation, the role of shipyards becomes even more critical. Located in a city which is the centre of the country's maritime history, naval heritage, and strategic foresight, the GSL is one of the pillars of India's defence ecosystem, bearing the responsibility for maritime security," he said. "The ships built by the Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) and other Indian yards for the Indian Navy & the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) are the floating symbols of India's sovereignty, representing our presence, capability, and resolve on the high seas," said Rajnath Singh. Rajnath Singh described Aatmanirbharta in defence as not a luxury but a strategic necessity, lauding institutions such as the GSL for turning this necessity into reality. The GSL is developing capabilities, absorbing technology, and strengthening indigenous design, resulting in the timely delivery of equipment to the Armed Forces and accelerating the pace toward national self-reliance, he said. Underlining the critical role played by the Indian shipyards in today's complex security environment, Singh asserted that non-traditional threats are constantly increasing alongside traditional challenges in the maritime domain. "We face numerous challenges at sea, such as narcotics trafficking, illegal fishing, human trafficking, environmental crimes, and grey-zone challenges. In such a situation, the role of shipyards becomes even more critical. Located in a city which is the center of the country's maritime history, naval heritage, and strategic foresight, the GSL is one of the pillars of India's defence ecosystem, bearing the responsibility for maritime security," he said. Rajnath Singh emphasised that a ship is not merely an amalgamation of steel, machinery, and technology; it is a symbol of public trust and the expectations & needs of the Armed Forces. The GSL has fulfilled this trust and expectations for years, he said. Singh stressed that India is emerging as a proactive maritime nation, and its role in ensuring stability, cooperation, and the rule-based order throughout the Indian Ocean Region is steadily increasing. He exhorted the institutions such as the GSL to further support India's credibility in the future. "In view of the growing importance of technology in the defence sector, we will have to adapt to this changing landscape. We must focus on equipping the ships with state-of-the-art equipment, AI-enabled maintenance, and cyber-secure platforms to gain an edge over our adversaries. I am confident that the GSL will demonstrate leadership in this transformation as well," he added. Appreciating the efforts of the GSL towards building a high-technology dredger for Belgium, Rajnath Singh endorsed enhanced focus on increasing defence exports with an aim to make India a self-reliant nation as well as a net defence exporter. "To realise the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047, we must ensure continuous progress through hard work and commitment," he said, extending the Government's full support to the capability enhancement of institutions such as GSL. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Director General, ICG DG Paramesh Sivamani, Chairman & Managing Director, GSL Brajesh Kumar Upadhyay and personnel of the shipyard were present on the occasion. (ANI)
Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday responded to the AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi's statement, saying that Pakistan would have been wiped off the map if Prime Minister Narendra Modi had wanted a war situation to prevail. "When our people were killed in Pahalgam, revenge was taken for that through Operation Sindoor. More than 100 terrorists were killed. Yesterday, PM Narendra Modi said that we don't want war, we want Buddha. If PM Modi wanted to wage war, Pakistan would have been wiped clean," Athawale told ANI. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had earlier said that if US President Trump can capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from the latter's country, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi can also give a go-ahead for an operation which will help bring back the mastermind of the 26/11 terrorist attacks to India from Pakistan. "Today we heard that US President Donald Trump's forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and took him from his country to America. If US President Donald Trump can abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his own country, then you (Prime Minister Modi) can also go to Pakistan and bring back the mastermind of the 26/11 terrorist attacks to India," he said. On Saturday, Washington carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela", and the deposed dictator, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and taken out of the country.Maduro and Flores were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement. Trump stated that Maduro and his wife have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York and will face trial. (ANI)
The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General Upendra Dwivedi, has proceeded on a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Sri Lanka from 5 to 8 January, as part of India's continued engagement to strengthen defence cooperation and military-to-military ties with friendly foreign countries. The visit will commence with the COAS's engagements in the United Arab Emirates from 5-6 January. On arrival, General Dwivedi will be accorded a Guard of Honour by the UAE Land Forces, the Ministry of Defence said. During his stay, the COAS will meet with senior leadership of the UAE Armed Forces, including the Commander of the UAE Land Forces, and receive briefings on the structure, roles, and capabilities of the UAE Army. He will also visit key military establishments and interact with officers and troops, underscoring the growing defence partnership between India and the UAE. This includes a visit to the UAE National Defence College, wherein the COAS will address all officers. These engagements aim to enhance further bilateral defence cooperation, professional military exchanges, and strategic understanding between the two armed forces. Following the visit to the UAE, the COAS will visit Sri Lanka from 7-8 January. On arrival, the COAS will be accorded a Guard of Honour by the Sri Lanka Army. He will engage with senior military and civil leadership, including the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, the Deputy Minister of Defence, and the Defence Secretary, and hold detailed discussions on matters of mutual interest, including training cooperation, capacity building, and regional security. During the visit, the COAS will address officers at the Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) and interact with officers and trainees at the Army War College, Buttala, reflecting India's strong commitment to defence education and professional military exchanges with Sri Lanka. General Dwivedi will also pay homage at the IPKF War Memorial, honouring the supreme sacrifice of Indian soldiers, the ministry further said. The visit of the Chief of the Army Staff to the UAE and Sri Lanka reaffirms India's commitment to strengthening defence cooperation, fostering mutual trust and enhancing interoperability with friendly nations in the Indian Ocean Region and West Asia. (ANI)
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today interacted with CEOs and entrepreneurs from leading industries in India and abroad at Peterhoff, Shimla, as part of the three-day Him MSME Fest-2026 organised by the Industries Department. Extensive discussions were held during the conference on the expansion and promotion of industries in the state. On this occasion, the state government and entrepreneurs signed 37 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for setting up enterprises worth Rs 10,000 crore. The Chief Minister said that a new industrial policy will be introduced in the state soon. He said the state government was continuously undertaking new initiatives to develop an investment-friendly ecosystem, enabling Himachal Pradesh to become a reliable and attractive destination for investors. He said the Himachal Pradesh government envisions making the state a strong economic hub by advancing green industrialisation, renewable energy, digital and artificial intelligence, and rural industrialisation. The Chief Minister said that all 22,000 petrol- and diesel-powered taxis in the state will be replaced with electric vehicles in a phased manner. In this regard, the state government is bringing a new scheme under which a 40 per cent subsidy will be provided. A tender will soon be issued to operate buses powered by green hydrogen in the state. The issues entrepreneurs face under Section 118 will be resolved. The state government will also promote the textile industry. He said the state government will support established sectors. Logistics costs in industrial areas will decrease, and infrastructure will be strengthened. He said that the state government has already paid its entire share to the central government for the Baddi-Chandigarh railway line. The Chief Minister said that investment in the state will increase. The tourism industry is our special priority, he said. In view of this, connectivity in the state is being improved. Land acquisition for the Kangra airport will be completed by March 31 this year. He said that, to encourage the state's hospitality sector, permission will be granted to open 200 five-star hotels. The Chief Minister announced that a world-class city, Him Chandigarh, will be developed near Chandigarh in Himachal Pradesh. He assured entrepreneurs that an uninterrupted 24-hour power supply will be ensured for industries in the state and that electricity will be provided at the lowest rates. The Chief Minister urged the industrialists to sign the implementation agreements soon. Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the state's industrial infrastructure was being continuously strengthened. Under this, facilities such as MSE Pharma Lab, MSME Technology Centre, gas connectivity in major industrial areas, skill development centres in Baddi and Una, and CIPET are being developed. Looking towards the future, our vision is to build a strong, competitive state, founded on a robust MSME base, sustainable industrial parks, a vibrant start-up culture, and future-oriented skill development for our youth. The Chief Minister said that a significant achievement for the state is the Bulk Drug Park in Una, which has received final environmental clearance for an area of 568.75 hectares. He said that this park, with a capital cost of Rs. 2071 crore, has the potential to attract investments ranging from Rs. 8000 crore to Rs. 10,000 crore and create approximately 15,000 to 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. He said that listening to participants' views and learning from their experiences has been very enriching and inspiring. He added that the state is moving in the right direction and has initiated dialogue with leading industry stakeholders who share their vision and will play a crucial role in realising it. The Chief Minister assured entrepreneurs that the state government was fully committed to the state's progress and would provide all possible support for the establishment and development of their industrial ventures. Industry Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan said that liberal policies are being formulated to promote industrial development, job creation, and economic growth in the state. He said that all possible assistance is being provided to entrepreneurs in the state, and various rules and procedures have been simplified. He provided detailed information on the incentives offered to industries. Additional Chief Secretary, Industries, R.D. Nazim, provided detailed information on the state's industrial development and promotion and its various innovative initiatives. Commissioner of Industries Dr. Yunus welcomed the Chief Minister and all the guests. Mayor Surinder Chauhan, Deputy Secretary of NITI Aayog Arvind Kumar, senior officers and other dignitaries were present on this occasion. (ANI)
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Sunday condemned the alleged gang-rape of a minor girl by three minors in Karnataka's Hubballi and targeted the Congress government here for failing to provide women's safety in the state. He said that, due to internal power struggles between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar for the CM post, they have forgotten to prioritise women's safety. Speaking to ANI, he said, "CM and Dy CM of Karnataka are busy fighting for the CM post, as they care for their position and not for women's safety." He further said that the gang-rape of the minor girl was recorded as well and claimed that several incidents have been occuring in the state. He also mentioned the gangrape of an Israeli tourist in the state. He further attacked the Home Minister G. Parameshwara for taking the issue of women's safety lightly. He said, "A minor girl was gang-raped raped there, and a video clip was made. Several incidents have been reported in Karnataka. An Israeli tourist was gangraped there...The Home Minister says such incidents occur quite frequently." He took a jibe at the Karnataka Congress and claimed that power rather than people is the priority for the Karanataka Congress. He said, "It seems people are not a priority for the Karnataka Congress; power is. Karnataka is grappling with corruption and law-and-order issues. Why Priyanka Vadra is quiet now." Karnataka Police on Saturday registered a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) case against three minor boys, between the ages of 14 and 15, for sexual harassment in Hubbali. According to the police, the minor boys assaulted the girl for over a week, while the girl's parents were away during the day. "A complaint was filed that a minor girl has been subject to sexual harassment and assaulted by three accused. All three accused happen to be minors in the age group of 14 to 15. We have taken them into custody," N Shashikumar, Police Commissioner, Hubballi-Dharwad, said. "These boys have committed sexual offences against the girl for the last seven to eight days. The parents of the girl have been working, and they used to be away during the day," the Police Commissioner added. N Shashikumar further said that the police will follow the necessary procedures under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
Under the chairmanship of the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment and In-charge Minister of Junagadh district, Dr. Pradyuman Vaja, 218 MoUs were signed for investments worth Rs 1,209 crore across various sectors to provide new dimensions to the industrial development of Junagadh district, a CMO release said. Ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference (VGRC) in Rajkot, the District-level Programme was successfully organised today in Junagadh, with the participation of industrialists and young entrepreneurs, opening new avenues for investment. Today, significant MoUs were signed in sectors such as health and hospitals, education institutions based on Sanskrit language and traditions, tourism, resorts, and related fields. On this occasion, Cabinet Minister Dr. Pradyuman Vaja said that the foundation of Vibrant Gujarat, laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2003, has grown into a strong platform that now enables district-level industrial development MoUs. Through this summit, mainly 102 MOUs worth approximately Rs 281 crore were signed in the agro, food processing, and dairy sectors; 55 MOUs worth Rs 144 crore in engineering and technology; 41 MOUs worth Rs 403 crore in minerals and mining; and MOUs worth Rs 114 crore in tourism and Rs 175 crore in infrastructure. The upcoming investments in the district will create large-scale employment and give the district an identity in national and global markets. He said that the industrial sector will play a key role in achieving Prime Minister's vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, and that the district-level programme reflects the vision of Vocal for Local and Local to Global. He stated that Junagadh district is richly endowed by nature, with abundant natural beauty, mountains, forests, the sea, and rivers. In addition to these natural assets, Junagadh is renowned for its historical, cultural, mythological, and spiritual heritage. He added that the Girnar Ropeway has significantly boosted tourism, while the presence of the Asiatic lion has placed Gujarat prominently on the global map. He highlighted that Seafood, spices, food processing products, machinery, and several other goods from Junagadh are now exported to global markets. The district has developed strong industrial clusters in plastic products, engineering, seafood, and agro and food processing. Infrastructure such as Vande Bharat railway services, the expansion of Keshod Airport, national highways, small and large industrial estates, and GIDC facilities has significantly strengthened the industrial ecosystem. Under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, focused and successful efforts have been made to promote trade and industry, particularly agriculture-based and tourism-based sectors. He also extended special congratulations to the investors who signed MoUs and the operators of various industrial units who participated in the exhibition. District Collector Anilkumar Ranavasiya, in his keynote address, said that when the then Chief Minister and present Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Vibrant Gujarat in 2003, the vision he set to make Gujarat a leading state has since become a well-defined pathway for growth. With strong infrastructure, skilled workforce, and consistent government support, Gujarat has created a favourable environment for industrial development, further strengthened under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. He stated that Junagadh district is agriculture-based and is also well known for tourism. To add new dimensions to both sectors, we have made necessary efforts to further develop the agro-processing industry, and these efforts are yielding results. The development of the agro-processing industry will also provide farmers with a strong option for their produce. The district's Kesar mango and Ravana( Jamun) are well known across the country and enjoy special demand. He also invited investors to invest with a new setup to develop religious tourism along with tourism. In this context, he also cited the example of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. He said that Keshod Airport is also being expanded on a large scale. Its runway will be extended from 1.5 km to approximately 2.5 km, enhancing cargo facilities, benefiting the coastal areas of Saurashtra, and increasing tourist arrivals. He highlighted that to give a boost to the seafood industry, 22 hectares of land has also been allocated, which will also generate large-scale employment. Chairperson of the Junagadh Municipal Corporation Standing Committee, Smt. Pallavi Thakkar stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several initiatives have been implemented to enable youth to become job providers rather than job seekers. She added that, due to the Prime Minister's foresight, Gujarat today holds a leading position in the country. Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Sanjay Purohit, stated that the district-level programme has been result-oriented. New agro-processing units have been established in the district, and the sector's existing potential will be further expanded. He also highlighted the district's infrastructure development and outlined its strong potential in the tourism sector. On this occasion, symbolic distribution of assistance cheques to beneficiaries, including under the Vajpayee Bankable Yojana, was also carried out by the Cabinet Minister and he also inaugurated the exhibition showcasing locally manufactured products at the District Vibrant Summit and toured the exhibition. General Manager of the District Industries Centre, Dhairya Joshi, welcomed the dignitaries. In addition, seminars were organised during the programme on AI, startups, and innovation as strategic partners in modern entrepreneurship, during which Dharmendra Joshi and Jatin Katariya shared their views. The event was attended by Mayor Dharmesh Poshiya, Deputy Mayor Akash Katara, Leader of the Ruling Party Manan Abhani, Commissioner Tejas Parmar, District Development Officer H.P. Patel, District BJP President Chandu Makwana, District City President Gaurav Rupareliya, leader Punit Sharma, industrial association officials Amrut Desai and Paresh Chovatia, along with representatives from the Hotel Association, Gems & Jewellery Association, GIDC Association, Chamber of Commerce, and students eager to start businesses with new ideas. The program was conducted by Gayatri. (ANI)
Bawankule argued that despite Uddhav Thackeray's tenure as Chief Minister and the Shiv Sena's 25-year control over the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), "they failed to produce a sustainable development plan for the city."

The Minister credited the CM Devendra Fadnavis for drafting the current roadmap for Mumbai's infrastructure, stating that the city's modern transformation is a direct result of Fadnavis's vision.

He alleged that Uddhav Thackeray relies solely on Balasaheb Thackeray's legacy to evoke emotional responses from voters during elections, as they lack a substantive track record of progress.

Expressing high confidence for the upcoming 2026 municipal contests, Bawankule claimed the BJP-Mahayuti alliance will secure the Mayor's post in Mumbai with a two-thirds majority.

Bawankule's remarks signal a clear strategy for the BJP, which is shifting the electoral narrative from identity and heritage to infrastructure and urban planning.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday unveiled their joint manifesto, 'Vachan Nama', for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. The manifesto's cover prominently featured a photograph of the Thackeray brothers alongside Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance pledged to provide affordable housing and strengthen infrastructure across healthcare, public transport, and education sectors. Under the manifesto, women employed as domestic workers and Koli women are to receive a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 under the proposed 'Swabhiman Nidhi' scheme.

The alliance has also said that if it comes to power, it will cut the minimum fare to Rs 5 from Rs 10 and add more buses and routes. They also promised to scrap property tax on homes up to 700 sq ft and change parking rules so that each flat in redeveloped buildings gets one parking space.

Polling for 29 municipal corporation elections across the state, including Mumbai, Pune, and Pimpri-Chinchwad, will be held on January 15, with vote counting scheduled for January 16. (ANI)
As the US carried out "large-scale strikes" against Venezuela and captured its deposed dictator, Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife, several opposition parties in India termed the move as a violation of International human rights laws, accusing the US of behaving like "a terrorist state under Donald Trump's presidency." CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby on Sunday strongly condemned the US' military action in Venezuela and the capture of its President and deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife from Caracas, accusing Washington of violating international law and human rights. He accused the US of acting irresponsibly on the global stage, stating that the episode reflected how the country was "behaving like a rogue state, a terrorist state under Donald Trump's presidency." "This shows how the USA is behaving like a rogue state, a terrorist state under Donald Trump's presidency," Baby said while addressing the reporters. Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor said international law and the United Nations Charter had been ignored for some time, and now law of the Jungle prevails. In a post on X, he wrote, "International law and the UN Charter have for some years now been honoured in the breach, @kapskom. The Law of the Jungle prevails today. 'Might is Right' is the new creed." Congress leader and Member of Rajya Sabha Abhishek Manu Singhvi called the action a return to imperial-style politics. He wrote on X, "Regime change by cruise missile, democracy delivered by warship, & sovereignty rewritten under self-styled Doctrine? Not leadership, this is 19th-cen imperialism in 21st-cen jargon. If international law matters only 2 weak, UN should shut shop. world deserves rules, not lunatic rulers." Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Sunday expressed concern for Indian expatriates in Venezuela following the recent US strikes in the country's capital. He emphasised that such incidents create instability, naturally raising worries about the safety of Indians living there. Khurshid noted that he hopes the government will acknowledge these concerns and take all necessary measures to protect Indian citizens abroad. "First and foremost, we are concerned about our Indian expatriates present there. Whenever there is a major incident anywhere that causes instability, naturally, we become concerned about our Indian expatriates. The government has expressed this concern, and we hope that the government will take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of our Indian expatriates," Salman Khurshid told ANI. Congress MP Dharamvira Gandhi considered the US' strikes on Venezuela as not just an attack on country's sovereignty but a warning for the entire world. He accused the US of destroying countries, including Syria, Afghanistan, Panama, El Salvador, Chile, and other nations in Africa. "This attack on that country's sovereignty is a warning to the entire world. The US has, time and again, not just once or twice, but in dozens of cases, attacked other states, overthrown their leadership, and orchestrated coups... They destroyed all of Syria, all of Afghanistan, Panama, El Salvador, Chile, and many countries in South Africa, where they directly intervened and orchestrated regime changes," Gandhi said. Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) expressed deep concern about developments in Venezuela, stating that it was closely monitoring the situation. India also urged the parties involved to pursue dialogue and diplomacy. "Recent developments in Venezuela are a matter of deep concern. We are closely monitoring the evolving situation," the MEA statement read. "India reaffirms its support to the well-being and safety of the people of Venezuela. We call upon all concerned to address issues peacefully through dialogue, ensuring peace and stability of the region," it added. US on Saturday carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela", and the deposed dictator, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and taken out of the country. Maduro and Flores were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement. Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Maduro and his wife were captured in Caracas during a nighttime US military operation and would face trial in the United States. He said they have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York. Addressing a press conference in Florida, Trump said, "No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday or frankly, in just a short period of time. All Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military, working with US law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night." "It was dark, and it was deadly, but he was captured along with his wife, Cilia Flores, both of whom now face American justice. Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York," he added. The capture of Maduro comes at a time of sharply rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela. (ANI)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday hailed the contribution of Goa Shipyard Limited. He said that GSL functions as an important part of the defence ecosystem, contributing significantly to the country's maritime security. The Defence Minister was addressing the officials and workers of Goa Shipyard Limited. He is scheduled to commission the Indian Coast Guard ship Samudra Pratap, the first of two pollution control vessels on Monday. Addressing the Cultural Evening at GSL, Chicalim Goa, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that, "Goa Shipyard Limited has earned recognition not only within the country but also internationally. The ships being built here for the Navy and the Coast Guard are symbols of our sovereignty." Flagging the maritime threats, the Defence Minister said that, "Today, non-traditional threats at sea are also increasing. In such changing times, GSL has transformed itself. As a result of your efforts, we have not only delivered equipment to the forces on time, but have also taken strong steps towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat." "India today is becoming a proactive maritime nation. India's role in ensuring stability and cooperation across the entire Indian Ocean Region is steadily growing. In this context, institutions like GSL will have to support India's credibility in the future. We must move forward with state-of-the-art technology and AI-enabled equipment." Rajnath Singh added. Concluding his remarks Defence Minister said, "I am pleased to know that GSL is building a high-technology dredger for Belgium. If we are to make India a developed nation by 2047, we will need to work like this and often even harder. The Ministry of Defence is ready to provide all possible support to you." On the occasion, GSL CMD Brijesh Kumar Upadhyay shared upcoming project details. He said, "In the last 15 months, GSL has launched ten ships, and in the past six months, three Fast Patrol Vessels and Pollution Control Vessel have been delivered. By June 2026, five Fast Patrol Vessels and one Pollution Control Vessel will be delivered." "GSL's financial performance has also been consistently impressive. In the last financial year, GSL achieved the production value of Rs 2,801 crore and earned gross revenue of Rs 3,190 crore," said the Chairman and Managing Director of Goa Shipyard Limited. (ANI)
Bihar Minister Dilip Jaiswal on Sunday said that AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has a habit of indulging in sensationalism following latter's attempt to draw parallels between India-Pakistan and US-Venezuela situation. Speaking to ANI, Jaiswal said Owaisi "is known for sensational news" and joked that the AIMIM leader now appeared to be "advising US President Donald Trump". He added, "I pray that the US President Donald Trump will consider his advice." The remarks came after Owaisi, addressing a gathering in Mumbai for BMC elections, referred to reports about Trump-era US forces capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. He demanded that the Indian Prime Minister should do the same to bring back the 'mastermind' of the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Owaisi said, "Today we heard that US President Donald Trump's forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and took him from his country to America. If US President Donald Trump can abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his own country, then you (Prime Minister Modi) can also go to Pakistan and bring back the mastermind of the 26/11 terrorist attacks to India." In an official X post, Owaisi stated, "If @realDonaldTrump can pick up Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro from there, then why can't @narendramodi pick up the masterminds of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks from Pakistan?" He also shared a video of making giving him a statement in the X post. https://x.com/asadowaisi/status/2007729918730494181 Owaisi's statement triggered sharp political reactions across parties. The leaders of the BJP and its allies described the comparison as exaggerated and provocative, urging political restraint in discussing matters of national security. In Nandurbar, Maharashtra, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale responded to ANI by recalling India's past security responses, stating, "When our people were killed in Pahalgam, revenge was taken for that." Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent comments, Athawale added, "Yesterday, PM Narendra Modi said that we don't want war, we want Buddha... If PM Modi wanted to wage war, Pakistan would have been wiped clean." On Saturday, Washington carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela", and the deposed dictator, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and taken out of the country. Maduro and Flores were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement. Trump stated that Maduro and his wife have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York and will face trial. He said that American forces, working with law enforcement agencies, captured Maduro and his wife in a night-time operation. (ANI)
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Saturday expressed a neutral stance regarding the US-led operation that captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, saying that the "voice of the Venezuelan people must take precedence". Barrot said that while Maduro has undermined the rights and dignity of the Venezuelan people, any political solution must come from the Venezuelans themselves. In a post on X, Barrot said, "By confiscating power from the Venezuelan people and depriving them of their fundamental freedoms, Nicolas Maduro has gravely undermined their dignity and their right to self-determination. France has consistently committed itself, particularly through its mediation efforts, to upholding the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people, whose voice must take precedence." He added that the military operation violates the principle of non-resort to force that underpins international law and that lasting solutions cannot be imposed from outside the country. "The military operation that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro violates the principle of non-resort to force that underpins international law. France recalls that no lasting political solution can be imposed from the outside and that sovereign peoples alone decide their future," he added. https://x.com/jnbarrot/status/2007463353631809684?s=20 Barrot warned that violations of international law by powerful nations, including permanent members of the UN Security Council, could have serious consequences for global security. "The repeated violations of this principle by nations entrusted with the primary responsibility as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council will have heavy consequences for world security, sparing no one. Informed by History, France is preparing for it, but cannot resign itself to it. It reiterates its attachment to the United Nations Charter, which must continue to guide the international action of States, always and everywhere," he said. This statement comes after the United States captured Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a military operation, and they were flown out of the country. Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Maduro and his wife, who were captured in Caracas during a US military operation, have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York, and will face trial. According to an unsealed indictment shared by Attorney General Pamela Bondi on X, Maduro and Flores face multiple counts of statutory allegations related to "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies". The capture of Maduro comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela. (ANI)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised US President Donald Trump for his leadership and the military operation that led to the capture of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. In a post on X, Congratulations, President @realDonaldTrump, for your bold and historic leadership on behalf of freedom and justice. I salute your decisive resolve and the brilliant action of your brave soldiers." https://x.com/netanyahu/status/2007519393249403343?s=20 Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement. Trump on Saturday (local time) said that Maduro and his wife, who were captured in Caracas during a US military operation, have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York, and will face trial. He said that American forces, working with law enforcement agencies, captured Maduro and his wife in a night-time operation. While addressing a press conference in Florida, Trump said, "No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday or frankly, in just a short period of time. All Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military, working with US law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night." "It was dark, and it was deadly, but he was captured along with his wife, Cilia Flores, both of whom now face American justice. Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York," he said. Trump said that Maduro and his wife "will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil" for their alleged role in drug trafficking, adding that they are currently being taken to New York, with authorities to decide later whether the trial will be held in New York or Florida. "We will make the people of Venezuela rich, independent, and safe. The illegitimate dictator Maduro was the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly and illicit drugs into the United States. Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil. Right now, they're on a ship that will be heading to, ultimately, New York. And then a decision will be made, I assume, between New York and Miami or Florida," he said. (ANI)
The Russian Foreign Ministry urged the United States to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, calling them the "legitimately elected leaders" and stressing that issues between the two countries should be resolved through dialogue. In a post on X, the Russian MFA shared, "In view of the confirmed reports about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse being in the United States, we strongly urge the US leadership to reconsider their position and release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse." https://x.com/mfa_russia/status/2007482961177059783?s=20 "We highlight the need to create conditions for resolving any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela through dialogue," the post read. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement. Trump said that Maduro and his wife, who were captured in Caracas during a US military operation, have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York, and will face trial. Trump said, "No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday or frankly, in just a short period of time. All Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military, working with US law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night." "It was dark, and it was deadly, but he was captured along with his wife, Cilia Flores, both of whom now face American justice. Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York," he said. Trump said that Maduro and his wife "will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil" for their alleged role in drug trafficking, adding that they are currently being taken to New York, with authorities to decide later whether the trial will be held in New York or Florida. According to an unsealed indictment shared by Attorney General Pamela Bondi on X, Maduro and Flores face multiple counts of statutory allegations related to "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies". The capture of Maduro comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela. (ANI)
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has announced the 'Karachi Bachao' campaign, raising concerns over the deteriorating civic situation in Pakistan's largest city and key economic centre, The Express Tribune reported. The announcement was made on Saturday at a press conference held at the party's Bahadurabad headquarters, attended by senior leaders, including Farooq Sattar, Syed Aminul Haque, and Haider Abbas Rizvi, among others. Speaking to the media, Farooq Sattar said Karachi needs to be brought back to its rightful position, noting that the city accounts for 65 per cent of Pakistan's total revenue and 95 per cent of Sindh's revenue, while contributing more than 50 per cent of the country's exports. He said that, despite this significant contribution, the city continues to lack basic civic amenities, as reported by The Express Tribune. He noted that Karachi's infrastructure is in critical condition, citing inadequate drainage systems, severe water shortages, and damaged roads as major issues disrupting daily life. "These problems demand immediate and serious attention," he said. For most Karachi residents, road accidents are part of daily life. This underscores a broader crisis: reckless driving, poor road infrastructure, and weak law enforcement continue to define the city's traffic reality. In 2025, Karachi recorded 803 road fatalities. Yet, official data shows a 31.7 per cent decline in deaths in the second half of the year, with fatalities dropping from 477 in the first six months to 326 in the latter half. Injuries also decreased, from 886 to 642 over the same period, reported Dawn. Authorities credit this improvement to data-driven enforcement, the e-challan system, and the creation of the Karachi Road Accident Analysis Team, which identifies accident-prone areas and recommends preventive measures. Stricter regulations for commercial vehicles, including mandatory tracking systems, have also been implemented. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Traffic Peer Muhammad Shah told Dawn that the introduction of digital enforcement has reduced daily fatalities from three to two per day. Four new fitness centres are being set up to ensure dumpers and heavy vehicles comply with safety standards. (ANI)
A private helicopter crashed in a rugged, mountainous region of central Arizona on Friday, killing all four people on board, local authorities confirmed. According to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, the victims included the 59-year-old pilot, two women aged 21, and another woman aged 22. The identities of those killed have not yet been made public, pending notification of their families, reported Kens5. The crash occurred at approximately 11 a.m. near Telegraph Canyon, a remote area located about 64 miles east of Phoenix. Preliminary information indicates the helicopter may have struck a recreational slackline stretched across the canyon. Authorities said the line extended more than half a mile across the mountainous terrain. The sheriff's office said an eyewitness contacted emergency services after observing the helicopter collide with part of the slackline before plunging into the canyon below. The impact caused the aircraft to fall into a difficult-to-access area, complicating rescue and recovery efforts. The helicopter had reportedly departed earlier in the day from an airport in Queen Creek, a town located around 29 miles west of the crash site. Due to the isolated location and rough terrain, emergency crews had to walk for several hours to reach the wreckage. As a precautionary measure, temporary flight restrictions were imposed over the area to ensure the safety of response teams and to prevent further incidents, the sheriff's office said. Federal authorities have launched a formal investigation into the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will jointly examine the circumstances leading up to the incident, including the aircraft's flight path, mechanical condition, and the placement of the slackline, reported Kens5. Officials have not yet determined whether the slackline was properly marked or visible from the air. Investigators are expected to assess whether safety regulations were followed and if additional measures are needed to prevent similar accidents in the future. "Our prayers are with the victims and their families during this difficult time," the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said in a statement, adding that more details would be shared as the investigation progresses. The incident has raised renewed concerns about aviation safety in recreational areas where aircraft and outdoor activities intersect. (ANI)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday confirmed that the UK was not involved in the US military operation in Venezuela, which led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. In a post in X, the UK PM emphasised that his priority is ensuring the safety of approximately 500 British nationals in Venezuela, with the embassy in Caracas providing support. He said, "It's obviously a fast-moving situation. We need to establish all the facts. I can confirm that the UK was not involved in this operation. As you expect, we're focusing on British nationals in Venezuela and working very closely with our embassy. I want to speak with the President and allies, but for now, I think we need to establish the facts. I think President Trump is doing a press conference later, so hopefully more information will come out then." On asked a question in the video, whether the UK will condemn the action, he said, "Well, I want to establish the facts first. I would like to speak with President Trump. I want to speak to allies, as I say, I can be absolutely clear that we were not involved in that. And as you know, I always say and believe we should all uphold international law. But, I think at this stage, a fast-moving situation, let's establish the facts, and take it from there." For the current British nationals in Venezuela, he said, "Yeah, there's about 500 there in Venezuela, and we are working with the embassy to make sure that they are well looked after, safeguarded and get appropriate advice. We are working in sync with the embassy on that. It is a small number, but it is important. It's about 500, and that's what we are doing here." Noting that the United States' action in Venezuela was "one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history", President Donald Trump said on Saturday that no nation in the world could achieve what America achieved. Regarding the attack, he said he would have to speak with President Trump and his allies first. But he claimed that the UK was not involved in the current ongoing situation and the country always upholds international law. On an official X post, he said, "The situation in Venezuela is fast-moving. We will establish all the facts and speak to allies. Our embassy in Caracas is working to ensure all British nationals in Venezuela are supported." https://x.com/Keir_Starmer/status/2007453178166403479 The United States captured Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in the military operation, and they were flown out of the country. Trump, who addressed a press conference from Palm Beach, Florida, said the United States will run the country "until we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition". He said the US action was aimed at bringing "outlaw dictator Nicolas Maduro to justice". "Late last night and early today, at my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela. Overwhelming American military power, air, land, and sea, was used to launch a spectacular assault. It was an assault like people have not seen since World War II. It was a force against a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas to bring outlaw dictator Nicolas Maduro to justice. This was one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history," he said. Trump said US companies will fix the broken oil infrastructure in Venezuela. "As everyone knows, the oil business in Venezuela has been a bust, a total bust for a long period of time. They were pumping almost nothing compared with what they could have been pumping and what could have taken place. We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country." The US President said his administration wants "peace, justice and liberty for the great people of Venezuela". "We're going to run the country until we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition. We want peace, justice, and liberty for the people of Venezuela. We can't take a chance if somebody else takes over Venezuela, who doesn't have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind. We're not going to let that happen. We are there now, but we will remain until a proper transition is complete. We're going to run it essentially until such time," he said. Trump said Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York for their campaign of deadly narco-terrorism against the United States and its citizens. "No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday... all Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military, working with U.S. law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night along with his wife, Cilia Flores, both of whom now face American justice. Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York for their campaign of deadly narco-terrorism against the United States and its citizens". Earlier, the US President released the first photo of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro aboard the US Warship Iwo Jima. In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, US President Trump said, "Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima." https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115832088990838303 The "capture of Maduro" comes amid an increase in tensions between the United States and Venezuela. (ANI)
Former US Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday slammed US President Donald Trump over the capture of Former Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, saying the operation was driven by oil interests and not by concerns over drugs. In a post on X, Harris said Trump's actions in Venezuela would not make the United States safer and warned that forced regime change could destabilise the region, putting American lives at risk. "Donald Trump's actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable. That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. We've seen this movie before. Wars for regime change or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price," she wrote. Harris said the American public did not support such military actions and accused Trump of misleading people. "The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to. This is not about drugs or democracy. It is about oil and Donald Trump's desire to play the regional strongman. If he cared about either, he wouldn't pardon a convicted drug trafficker or sideline Venezuela's legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduro's cronies," she added. https://x.com/KamalaHarris/status/2007619471893045662 Harris, who contested the recent presidential election against Trump, also warned that the operation could put US troops at risk and lacked any legal basis or exit plan. "The President is putting troops at risk, spending billions, destabilising a region, and offering no legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home. America needs leadership whose priorities are lowering costs for working families, enforcing the rule of law, strengthening alliances, and, most importantly, putting the American people first," she wrote. Soon after the US strike on Venezuela in the early hours of Saturday, President Donald Trump held a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he announced that the United States would take control of Venezuela's vast oil reserves. Venezuela holds around 303 billion barrels of crude oil, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the world's proven oil reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). CNN reported that these reserves are expected to play a major role in shaping the country's future. At the news conference, Trump said major American oil companies would be sent into Venezuela to rebuild the sector. "We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure," Trump said. Earlier in the day, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also criticised the capture of Maduro and his wife, calling it an "act of war" and a violation of international law. In a post on X, Mamdani said, "I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City. Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law." He warned that the move could have serious consequences for tens of thousands of Venezuelans living in New York City. According to US officials, Former Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement. President Trump said the couple had been indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" and would face trial in the United States. Trump said Maduro and his wife "will soon face the full might of American justice and stand trial on American soil" for their alleged role in drug trafficking. He added that they were being transported to New York, with authorities later deciding whether the trial would be held in New York or Florida. (ANI)
The US Indo-Pacific Command on Saturday (local time) said it is aware of North Korea's recent missile launches and is closely consulting with allies and partners, adding that the launches do not pose an immediate threat. In a statement posted on X, the US Indo-Pacific Command said, "We are aware of the missile launches and are consulting closely with our allies and partners. Based on current assessments, this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies. The United States remains committed to the defence of the US homeland and our allies in the region." https://x.com/INDOPACOM/status/2007637866629800316 The statement came after North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the East Sea earlier on Sunday (local time), South Korea's military said, marking Pyongyang's first weapons test of the year, Yonhap News reported. According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the missiles were launched from areas near Pyongyang at around 7:50 am local time. The launches were detected as regional security remained on alert. "Our military maintains a firm readiness posture while closely sharing North Korean ballistic missile information with the U.S. and Japan sides amid a heightened surveillance posture against additional launches," the JCS said in a statement. The missile launch came at a sensitive time, as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung was preparing to leave for Beijing for summit-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The timing also coincided with heightened global tensions following US President Donald Trump's announcement that Washington had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro during a large-scale military operation. North Korea's last missile test took place on November 7, when it fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the East Sea. That launch was the sixth ballistic missile test conducted by Pyongyang last year. (ANI)
Hours after US President Donald Trump announce the capture of Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy weighed in with an oblique reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin and said that if a dictator can be treated the way Nicolas Maduro was, US President Donald Trump knows what to do next. In a news conference when the Ukranian President was asked about the Maduro capture he said, "What can I say here? If this can be done to dictators, like that, then the United States of America know what they should do next." The obvious reference was Russian President Vladimir Putin. Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry urged the United States to release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, calling them the "legitimately elected leaders" and stressing that issues between the two countries should be resolved through dialogue. In a post on X, the Russian MFA stated, "In view of the confirmed reports about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse being in the United States, we strongly urge the US leadership to reconsider their position and release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse." "We highlight the need to create conditions for resolving any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela through dialogue," the post read. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement. US President Donald Trump said that Maduro and his wife, who were captured in Caracas during a US military operation, have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York, and will face trial. Meanwhile, the US has released a video of captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in handcuffs staging the 'Perp-walk' as he was led to custody. Maduro will be transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in New York City, as per CNN.MDC is described as "disgusting" with "horrifying" conditions, and is known for its squalid conditions, chronic understaffing, inmate violence and power outages. Hours after Maduro and his wife's abduction, Venezuela's opposition was seen celebrating. Trump expressed a lack of confidence in Maria Corina Machado, Former Deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela and suggested he'd instead partner with Maduro loyalist Delcy Rodriguez. Machado had called for the immediate installation of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as president. Most Western governments regard Gonzalez as the legitimate winner of the contested 2024 presidential election in Venezuela, as reported by CNN. (ANI)
Senior Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Abhishek Manu Singhvi have weighed in on the United States' action in Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Reacting to the developments, Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor said international law and the United Nations Charter had been ignored for some time, and now law of the Jungle prevails. In a post on X, he wrote, "International law and the UN Charter have for some years now been honoured in the breach, @kapskom. The Law of the Jungle prevails today. 'Might is Right' is the new creed." https://x.com/ShashiTharoor/status/2007635953129795777?s=20 Congress leader and Member of Rajya Sabha Abhishek Manu Singhvi called the action a return to imperial-style politics. He wrote on X, "Regime change by cruise missile, democracy delivered by warship, & sovereignty rewritten under self-styled Doctrine? Not leadership, this is 19th-cen imperialism in 21st-cen jargon. If international law matters only 2 weak, UN should shut shop. world deserves rules, not lunatic rulers." https://x.com/DrAMSinghvi/status/2007621517220434328 The opinions came after the United States carried out major airstrikes in Venezuela in the early hours of Saturday (local time) and captured Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife. The US military operation has drawn strong reactions globally. Countries including China, Russia, France and Iran have criticised and condemned the US action. Amid the growing uncertainty, India on Saturday issued a travel advisory for its citizens in Venezuela. The Ministry of External Affairs advised Indian nationals to avoid all non-essential travel and urged those already in the country to remain cautious. "In view of recent developments in Venezuela, Indian nationals are strongly advised to avoid all non-essential travel to Venezuela. All Indians who are in Venezuela for any reason are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements, and remain in contact with the Embassy of India in Caracas through their email id: [cons.caracas@mea.gov.in](mailto:cons.caracas@mea.gov.in) or the emergency phone number +58-412-9584288 (also for WhatsApp calls)," the MEA said in a statement. Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that Maduro and his wife were captured in Caracas during a night-time US military operation and would face trial in the United States. He said they have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York. Addressing a press conference in Florida, Trump said, "No nation in the world could achieve what America achieved yesterday or frankly, in just a short period of time. All Venezuelan military capacities were rendered powerless as the men and women of our military, working with US law enforcement, successfully captured Maduro in the dead of night." "It was dark, and it was deadly, but he was captured along with his wife, Cilia Flores, both of whom now face American justice. Maduro and Flores have been indicted in the Southern District of New York," he added. According to an unsealed indictment shared by US Attorney General Pamela Bondi on X, Maduro and Flores face multiple statutory charges linked to alleged drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies. The capture of Maduro comes at a time of sharply rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela. (ANI)
The United States on Saturday (local time) expressed deep concern over the ongoing political and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar (Burma) and urged the military regime to end violence, as the country marked the 78th anniversary of its independence. "The United States is deeply concerned about the ongoing crisis in Burma. We urge the military regime to cease violence, ensure unhindered access to humanitarian assistance, release those unjustly detained, and engage in dialogue to pursue a peaceful and long-term end to the crisis," the US Department of State said in a statement issued on the occasion of Burma's Independence Day. The State Department said Washington continues to stand with the people of Myanmar, also known as Burma, in their pursuit of peace, democracy and prosperity. "The United States remains committed to the people of Burma and their resolve for a peaceful, fair, and prosperous future," the statement said. The US added that meaningful progress in Myanmar is critical not just for the country but for regional stability. "This is essential for a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region," the statement added. Myanmar has remained unstable since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021. According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, nearly 6,800 civilians have been killed, while more than 22,000 people remain arbitrarily detained as of June 2025. The humanitarian situation has continued to deteriorate, with the United Nations estimating that nearly 22 million people now require assistance and over 3.5 million have been displaced due to ongoing fighting across the country. The UN has warned that Myanmar is sliding deeper into a humanitarian disaster, as military offensives, restrictions on aid delivery and reduced international support push millions towards hunger and insecurity. Despite growing international criticism, the military junta has moved ahead with a phased election process. The first phase of voting began last week, with junta leaders claiming the exercise would pave the way for democracy after years of civil war. Partial results released by the Union Election Commission (UEC) and reported in state media showed that the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won 87 of the 96 lower house seats declared so far. Results from six additional townships are yet to be announced. Two more phases of voting are scheduled for January 11 and January 25. Myanmar, officially known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, gained independence from British colonial rule on January 4, 1948, ending nearly six decades of foreign domination. During World War II, Burmese forces fought alongside the British to drive out Japanese troops in 1945 that eventually led to the country's independence three years later. (ANI)
China on Sunday expressed serious concern over the United States' forcible control of deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife and their transfer out of the country, calling the move a clear violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations. Responding to reports that US forces seized deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife on January 3 and removed them from Venezuela, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the action contravened the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the Global Times reported. China urged Washington to ensure the personal safety of deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, immediately release them, halt efforts to topple Venezuela's government, and resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiation, the spokesperson said. The statement followed an announcement by US President Donald Trump, who said on Saturday that the United States had carried out a "large scale strike against Venezuela" and claimed that deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and taken out of the country. Trump also posted a photograph on social media showing Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after his capture, according to the Global Times. Video footage later released by US authorities showed deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro in handcuffs during a staged perp walk. During the footage, he was seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents a Happy New Year and Good Night as he was led into custody. The US military action against the South American nation has drawn strong international reaction. Several countries have issued condemnations of Washington's attack on Venezuela. Earlier on Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry voiced deep shock and strong condemnation over what it described as the United States' blatant use of force against a sovereign state and its action against deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro, the Global Times reported. The spokesperson said such hegemonic actions by the US seriously violate international law, infringe on Venezuela's sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region. China firmly opposes these actions and called on the United States to abide by international law and the principles of the UN Charter, and to stop violating the sovereignty and security of other countries, the spokesperson added. Meanwhile, developments in Caracas followed swiftly after Maduro's removal. Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of acting president, CNN reported. The order, announced late Saturday night local time, concluded that Maduro is in a "material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions." According to the ruling read by Justice Tania D'Amelio during a session broadcast on state television channel VTV, Rodriguez will "assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties, and faculties inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation," as reported by CNN. Venezuela's constitution states that when there is a temporary or absolute absence of the president, the person holding the vice presidency must replace them. Additional background on the situation emerged from former US National Security Advisor John Bolton, who told CNN that a plan to remove Maduro had been presented to Trump during his first term but failed to progress because administration officials were unable to keep the president "focused" on the issue. Bolton said Trump was already "very interested in the Venezuelan oil" during his first term. He added that while his team managed to get Trump interested in the idea of removing Maduro, they "couldn't keep him focused on it." He also said the opposition in Venezuela at that time believed economic pressure alone would be enough to split Maduro's regime. According to CNN, the United States later launched what Trump described as a "large scale strike against Venezuela" and captured Maduro to face charges, carrying out the regime change effort without congressional approval. (ANI)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on late Saturday night congratulated US President Donald Trump for successfully completing its operation in Venezuela. Netanyahu also lauded the work by US soldiers. In a post on X, he said, "Congratulations, President Donald Trump for your bold and historic leadership on behalf of freedom and justice. I salute your decisive resolve and the brilliant action of your brave soldiers." https://x.com/netanyahu/status/2007519393249403343?s=20 The US on Saturday captured Venezuelan dictator Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, after conducting a targeted military operation. This action was taken in alignment with US allegations that Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and had rigged the 2024 election. The US had previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela and offered a USD 50 million bounty for Maduro's arrest. Maduro is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn and is set to face drugs and weapons charges in Manhattan federal court, as per CNN. (ANI) Trump on Saturday said the US would take control of Venezuela's massive oil reserves and recruit American companies to invest billions of dollars to refurbish the country's gutted oil industry, CNN reported. Venezuela has massive 303 billion barrels worth of crude -- about a fifth of the world's global reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). A US-led revamp could eventually make Venezuela a much bigger supplier of oil and could create opportunities for Western oil companies and could serve as a new source of production. It could also keep broader prices in check, although lower prices might disincentivize some US companies from producing oil, as per CNN. The kind of oil Venezuela is sitting on -- heavy, sour crude -- requires special equipment and a high level of technical prowess to produce. The United States, the world's largest oil producer, has light, sweet crude, which is good for making gasoline but not much else. Heavy, sour crude like the oil from Venezuela is crucial for certain products made in the refining process, including diesel, asphalt and fuels for factories and other heavy equipment. Unlocking Venezuelan oil could be particularly beneficial to the United States: Venezuela is nearby and its oil is relatively cheap. Venezuela is home to the largest proven oil reserve on Earth, but its potential far outweighs its actual output: Venezuela produces only about 1 million barrels of oil per day -- about 0.8% of global crude production, as reported by CNN. International sanctions on the Venezuelan government and a deep economic crisis contributed to the decline of the country's oil industry -- but so did a lack of investment and maintenance, according to the EIA. (ANI)
Foreign affairs expert Robinder Sachdev on Sunday said the political environment in Venezuela remains highly uncertain after the abduction of deposed Dictator Nicholas Maduro. Sachdev, in conversation with ANI, noted that while US President Donald Trump has stated that the Washington would "run" Venezuela, the practicalities of such a move remain unclear. "Certainly right now the environment in Venezuela is very fluid. Nobody knows what's going to happen tomorrow right. Trump says that America will run Venezuela. How will they run Venezuela that is the question to be seen," he said. Sachdev said that the army hugely favours Maduro because of the free hand he gave them during his leadership. But whether they would be loyal to him during this time is a question. "In the meantime, the army is there in Venezuela and the army has been in favor and hugely supportive of Maduro. The government, which is there is still there, Maduro has been taken out, but the Vice President is now the Interim President. So, from all intent and purposes, it seems that the political establishment of Maduro, the army which supports Maduro, are very much there. At the same time now, the opposition and opposition leaders will be and are pushing for resignation and removal of this government. So, the situation is very fluid," he said. Sachdev stated that Maduro appointed military officials as heads of oil companies, thereby allowing them to profit substantially. "Also depends the role that the army plays. The army of Venezuela has been very much in favour of Maduro because he gave them very good perks, opportunities to make money and corruption. All public sector companies in Venezuela including the PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela SA), the oil company of Venezuela, and their senior officials, were army generals. So army generals were appointed to positions in various companies and they could indulge in their own little side business with those companies be it in real estate, be it in construction, be it in mining, be it in petroleum. So the army has been hugely in favour of Maduro," he said. Sachdev added that there had been several accusations of human rights violations. "Also during his regime very often the army has been accused of human rights violations because they have suppressed their opponents. So the army generals are afraid that when a new let's say opposition comes to power that government will prosecute them and throw them in jail. So because of that fear as well as the fear of losing all their perks the army so far has been supportive of Maduro," he said. Sachdev welcomed the Indian government's advisory asking Indians not to travel to Venezuela. "But going forward it remains to be seen how the army will act in midst of all of this I think it's absolutely the right thing for the Indian Government to advise Indian nationals to not of course not to travel to Venezuela and those who are there, think best would be them to stay put in their homes for a few days. Let the situation calm down," he said. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are in New York City following a large-scale US operation in Venezuela. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn and is set to face drugs and weapons charges in Manhattan federal court, as per CNN. (ANI)
The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka shared on Sunday that Indian Army Engineers have commenced launching a 100-ft Bailey Bridge in Kandy to restore connectivity in the region. The work is part of India's Operation Sagar Bandhu, aimed at assisting Sri Lanka in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah, which has caused widespread destruction in the country. The Indian High Commission further informed that other works to assist the Sri Lankan Road Development Authority are also underway. "Operation Sagar Bandhu continues reconnecting vital roads destroyed in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah.@adgpi Engineers have commenced launching of the 100 ft Bailey Bridge at KM-21, Kandy, to restore connectivity on B-492 Highway. Other works to assist the Sri Lankan Road Development Authority are also underway." https://x.com/IndiainSL/status/2007752349746713004?s=20 Earlier in December, during his visit to Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced that India has proposed a comprehensive USD 450 million assistance package to support Sri Lanka's reconstruction efforts following Cyclone Ditwah. Speaking in Colombo as a special envoy of PM Modi, Jaishankar emphasised India's commitment to its neighbour during a uniquely challenging period, saying "the letter from PM Modi that I handed over builds on our first responder role and commits a reconstruction package of USD 450 million to Sri Lanka." Jaishankar detailed the scale of the initial relief efforts, noting that the operation "delivered around 1100 tonnes of relief material" and "about 14.5 tonnes of medicines and medical equipment were also provided." Highlighting New Delhi's continued engagement with Colombo, the Jaishankar said PM Modi has directed officials to work closely with the Sri Lankan government to address rebuilding priorities. "Recognising the urgency of rebuilding, PM Modi directed that we now engage with the Sri Lankan government to address their priority in that regard," Jaishankar said. He outlined the proposed assistance package, stating, "The assistance package that we have proposed is worth USD 450 million. It will include USD 350 million in a Concessional line of credit and USD 100 million in grants." Jaishankar stated. The USD 450 million package is currently being "finalised in close consultation with the government of Sri Lanka" to ensure the funds are directed toward the most critical infrastructure and recovery needs. EAM Jaishankar was on a visit to Sri Lanka, where he held separate meetings with the Sri Lankan President, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and the Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa. Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath expressed gratitude towards India for assistance, hailing New Delhi's Operation Sagar Bandhu. In a media statement on Tuesday, Sri Lankan Minister Herath thanked India for the economic support to Sri Lanka, as New Delhi provided a comprehensive USD 450 million assistance package for reconstruction efforts following Cyclone Ditwah. He noted that India has provided USD 4 billion in assistance through lines of credit to Colombo's economy. He said Sri Lanka "deeply values" India's continuous economic assistance through emergency financing, foreign exchange support and USD 20.66 million extended to settle payments due for projects completed under existing lines of credit. Operation Sagar Bandhu was launched to provide humanitarian assistance to people in Sri Lanka affected by Cyclone Ditwah, under which New Delhi sent relief supplies and helped Colombo restore connectivity. (ANI)
Sri Lanka's ruling Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) on Sunday strongly condemned what it described as military aggression by the United States against Venezuela, denouncing the alleged abduction of deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife. According to the Daily Mirror, the JVP said in an official statement that Venezuela, as an independent and sovereign nation, has the right to determine its political future without external interference. The party emphasised that the choice of leadership must rest solely with the Venezuelan people, as it would in any free country. "Powerful countries do not have the right to violate this principle," the statement said. The JVP further stressed that democratic governance and international relations must be guided by universally accepted norms. "Modern society and governance should be civilised. Democracy, human rights and sovereignty of states are universally accepted principles. Military aggressions and invasions against sovereign states in violation of these principles cannot be justified," the statement added. Reiterating its opposition to the reported US action, the party said, "In that line, we believe that nobody will approve of the forceful military aggression against Venezuela by the United States of America." The JVP reaffirmed its support for Venezuela's sovereignty. "Accordingly, we condemn the military invasion of Venezuela by the United States of America and stand for Venezuela's sovereignty and independence," the statement said, as reported by the Daily Mirror. These remarks come amid rapidly unfolding developments involving deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro. Deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro was seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents a Happy New Year and Good Night during his perp walk. US authorities later released video footage showing him in handcuffs as he was led into custody. Following his removal, Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of acting president, CNN reported. The order, announced late Saturday night local time, concluded that deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro was in a "material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions." According to the ruling read by Justice Tania D'Amelio during a session broadcast on state television channel VTV, Rodriguez will "assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties, and faculties inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the nation," CNN reported. Venezuela's constitution states that when there is a temporary or absolute absence of the president, the vice president must replace them. Providing background, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton told CNN that a plan to remove deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro had been presented to US President Donald Trump during his first term but failed to move forward because officials were unable to keep the president "focused" on the issue. Bolton said Trump was "very interested in the Venezuelan oil" at the time, but despite efforts by his team, they "couldn't keep him focused on it." He also said the Venezuelan opposition then believed that sustained economic pressure would be sufficient to split deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro's regime. According to CNN, the United States later launched what Trump described as a "large-scale strike against Venezuela" and captured deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro to face charges, carrying out the regime change effort without congressional approval. (ANI)
President of the United Nations General Assembly Annalena Baerbock on Sunday stressed that adherence to the UN Charter is mandatory and not optional, as international attention remains focused on Venezuela following United States military action. In a post on X, Baerbock said the UN Charter must serve as the guiding framework for international conduct "in moments of calm and in times of crisis," specifically referring to the situation in Venezuela, which she said had culminated in US military action. https://x.com/UN_PGA/status/2007521592163680695?s=20 "The UN Charter is not optional--it is our guiding framework, in moments of calm and in times of crisis, like in Venezuela today, culminating with the United States military action," Baerbock said. She underlined that Article 2 of the UN Charter clearly stipulates that all UN member states must refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state or act in any manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations. Emphasising the broader implications, Baerbock said respect for the UN Charter and international law forms the foundation of the international order and warned against a global system governed by power rather than law. "A peaceful, safe and just world for everyone is only possible if the rule of law prevails instead of might makes right," she said. She also highlighted the importance of human rights, including those of the Venezuelan people, stating that lasting peace depends on human rights prevailing over violations. Baerbock's remarks come amid rapidly unfolding developments surrounding Venezuela's leadership. Deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro was seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents a Happy New Year and Good Night during his perp walk, footage of which was later released by US authorities showing him in handcuffs as he was led into custody. Following Maduro's removal, Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of acting president, CNN reported. The order, announced late Saturday night local time, concluded that Maduro was in a "material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions." According to the ruling read by Justice Tania D'Amelio during a session broadcast on state television channel VTV, Rodriguez will "assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties, and faculties inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation," CNN reported. Venezuela's constitution states that when there is a temporary or absolute absence of the president, the vice president must replace them. Providing background to the US actions, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton told CNN that a plan to remove Maduro had been presented to US President Donald Trump during his first term but failed to advance because administration officials were unable to keep the president "focused" on the issue. Bolton said Trump was "very interested in the Venezuelan oil" at the time and that while his team managed to get him interested in the idea of removing Maduro, they "couldn't keep him focused on it." He also said the Venezuelan opposition then believed that sustained economic pressure would be sufficient to split Maduro's regime. According to CNN, the United States later launched what Trump described as a "large-scale strike against Venezuela" and captured Maduro to face charges, carrying out the regime change effort without congressional approval. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar will be on a six-day official visit to France and Luxembourg, during which he will hold high-level meetings aimed at strengthening India's bilateral ties with both countries. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the visit will take place between January 4 and January 10. During his visit to France, Jaishankar will meet with French leadership and speak with Foreign Minister Jean-Nol Barrot. The discussions are expected to focus on progress under the India-France Strategic Partnership and key regional and global issues of mutual interest. While in Paris, the External Affairs Minister will also address the 31st edition of the French Ambassadors' Conference as the Guest of Honour, highlighting India's perspectives on global diplomacy and international cooperation. "In Paris, he will be meeting the French leadership and hold talks with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean-Nol Barrot. They will discuss the progress made under the India-France Strategic Partnership and matters of global importance. EAM will also address the 31st edition of the French Ambassador's Conference as the Guest of Honour," the statement read. According to the MEA, India and France have traditionally enjoyed close and friendly relations and share a deep and enduring Strategic Partnership (SP) covering all aspects of bilateral cooperation, which involves a strategic component. Launched on 26 January 1998, India's first-ever Strategic Partnership embodied the core vision of both countries to enhance their respective strategic independence by strengthening bilateral cooperation. Defence and security, civil nuclear matters and space constitute the principal pillars of this strategic cooperation and now include a strong Indo-Pacific component. In recent years, the partnership has broadened to include maritime security, digitalisation, cybersecurity and advanced computing, counterterrorism, climate change, renewable and sustainable growth and development, among others. Following his engagements in France, Jaishankar will travel to Luxembourg, where he will hold discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Xavier Bettel, as well as senior leaders of the country. His engagements will focus on enhancing bilateral cooperation across various sectors. During his stay in Luxembourg, the EAM is also scheduled to interact with members of the Indian community. India and Luxembourg enjoy warm and friendly relations characterised by a high degree of mutual understanding and cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels, MEA stated. The diplomatic relations between India and Luxembourg were established in 1948. Luxembourg opened its Embassy in New Delhi in February 2002, which is one of its five embassies in Asia. Luxembourg also has honorary consuls in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. The visit underscores India's continued engagement with its European partners and its commitment to deepening strategic and diplomatic ties as negotiations between New Delhi and the European Union on a long-pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA) entered a "decisive phase". (ANI)
Taiwan has sharply condemned China for what it described as blatant transnational repression after Chinese state-linked media and social media accounts circulated private details of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Puma Shen, including satellite images identifying his home and workplace in Taipei. The incident has raised serious concerns about China's growing use of digital tools to intimidate critics beyond its borders, as reported by The Taipei Times. According to The Taipei Times, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Chinese state-controlled outlets had engaged in "digital authoritarianism" by promoting doxxing as a means of psychological pressure. The ministry stated that exposing personal information was a deliberate attempt to instil fear and undermine Taiwan's democratic society. The controversy centres on Strait Plus, a media platform affiliated with a Chinese state-run organisation, which cited a Chinese influencer claiming to have purchased commercial satellite imagery of Taipei and marked Shen's residence and workplace. MOFA said the act amounted to a serious invasion of privacy and crossed all ethical boundaries, describing it as behaviour unworthy of a civilised society Taiwanese officials also pointed out that China's Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau had previously labelled Shen as "wanted" over alleged "secession-related" activities, accusations Taipei has dismissed as politically motivated and legally baseless. MOFA stated that such actions violate Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which protects individuals from arbitrary interference with privacy and personal safety. Reiterating Taiwan's sovereignty, the ministry said the Republic of China (ROC) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) are not subordinate to each other, emphasising that Beijing has no jurisdiction over Taiwanese citizens. It added that Taiwan is working with like-minded countries to jointly condemn China's expanding use of transnational repression. The Mainland Affairs Council echoed the criticism, calling the incident evidence of the Chinese Communist Party's disregard for human rights and the rule of law. It announced a review of cross-strait exchanges in response to escalating coercion, as highlighted by The Taipei Times. National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu urged Meta Platforms Inc. to remove the offending content, calling it intolerable repression. Taiwan's digital and law enforcement agencies have since strengthened security for Shen and warned against collaboration with hostile foreign forces. Shen later said the move reflected frustration that military drills and intimidation tactics had failed to shake Taiwanese society, highlighting that such psychological warfare would not succeed in Taiwan, as reported by The Taipei Times. (ANI)
Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has urged global democratic leaders to support the immediate release of political prisoners in Venezuela, thanking French President Emmanuel Macron for his backing. In a post on X, Machado described the freedom of political detainees as an urgent priority and appealed for international solidarity at what she called a critical moment for the country. "Thank you very much, President Macron. The freedom of ALL political prisoners is our immediate priority. I ask the heads of State and Government and all the democrats of the world to support us in this decisive hour. Venezuela will be free," Machado said. https://x.com/MariaCorinaYA/status/2007572863931629841?s=20 Her remarks came after French President Emmanuel Macron publicly expressed support for her call, confirming that he had spoken with the Venezuelan opposition leader. "I just spoke with @MariaCorinaYA. I fully support her call for the liberation and the protection of the political prisoners of Nicolas Maduro's regime," Macron said in a post on X. Macron further underscored France's support for a democratic transition in Venezuela, aligning with Machado's appeal for international backing. "Like all Venezuelans, she can count on France's support to raise her voice in favor of a peaceful, democratic transition that fully respects the sovereign will of the Venezuelan people," he added. These statements come amid dramatic developments following the removal of Nicolas Maduro. Deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro was seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents a Happy New Year and Good Night during his perp walk. US authorities later released video footage showing the captured Venezuelan president in handcuffs as he was led into custody. Following Maduro's removal, Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of acting president, CNN reported. The order, announced on Saturday night (local time), concluded that Maduro was in a "material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions." According to the ruling read by Justice Tania D'Amelio during a session broadcast by state television channel VTV, Rodriguez will "assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties, and faculties inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation," CNN reported. Venezuela's constitution states that when there is a temporary or absolute absence of the president, the person holding the vice presidency must replace them. Providing background, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton told CNN that a plan to remove Maduro had been presented to US President Donald Trump during his first term but failed to move forward because administration officials were unable to keep the president "focused" on the issue. Bolton said Trump was already "very interested in the Venezuelan oil" during his first term, but despite efforts by his team, they "couldn't keep him focused on it." He also said the Venezuelan opposition at the time believed that sustained economic pressure would be enough to split Maduro's regime. According to CNN, the United States later launched what Trump described as a "large-scale strike against Venezuela" and captured Maduro to face charges, carrying out the regime change effort without congressional approval. (ANI)
China has conducted one of its most wide-ranging military exercises around Taiwan in recent years, a show of force that analysts say reflects not only external intimidation but also growing instability within the upper echelons of the Chinese armed forces. Observers argue that China is projecting strength outward to mask turbulence and factional tensions at home, as reported by The Epoch Times. According to The Epoch Times, the drills began just days before the New Year, with China's military conducting live-fire exercises in waters near Taiwan. Warships, bombers, drones and amphibious assault vessels were mobilised in what Chinese commanders described as a test of their ability to blockade ports and seize key areas. Taiwan's defence authorities said the latest manoeuvres were unusually aggressive, noting that several Chinese rockets landed inside Taiwan's contiguous zone and that naval and coast guard vessels sailed dangerously close to the island. China framed the operation as a warning to Taiwan and what it calls "external interference", following recent US arms sales to the island. However, Taiwanese security analysts believe the timing also coincides with political pressure inside the Chinese Communist Party. The exercises came shortly after Beijing elevated Yang Zhibin to head the Eastern Theatre Command, a strategically crucial post responsible for operations related to Taiwan. Yang's promotion unfolded amid an intensifying anti-corruption purge within the People's Liberation Army. Dozens of senior officers have been removed in recent months, including several figures previously linked to President Xi Jinping. Analysts say the Eastern Theatre Command has been hit particularly hard, making it a focal point of political cleansing as Beijing seeks to reassert control over the military, according to The Epoch Times. The drills also followed closely after a rare Shanghai-Taipei forum aimed at easing cross-strait tensions, making the sudden escalation appear especially deliberate. Experts argue that Beijing is using Taiwan to demonstrate that the PLA remains operational despite internal scandals while also sending a warning to Washington and Tokyo, according to The Epoch Times. (ANI)
Nepal's Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki's husband, Durga Prasad Subedi (74), is set to be flown to New Delhi for further treatment after his condition failed to improve. Subedi, who has been admitted to the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital since last Thursday, has shown no significant improvement, hospital sources confirmed to ANI. He is expected to be discharged from the government hospital later this evening and flown to Delhi. "He was admitted here and has been undergoing treatment since Thursday after experiencing various health problems. Initially, he was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection, low sodium levels, and stomach-related issues," a doctor at the hospital told ANI on condition of anonymity. "CT scans and MRI tests were also conducted to ascertain the cause of his condition, but no specific problem was detected. We are not aware of which hospital in India he is being taken to, but he has been discharged from here," another senior hospital doctor confirmed to ANI. Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki's personal doctor, Man Bahadur KC, confirmed that Subedi was discharged from the hospital after the family decided to seek a second opinion. Subedi, a former youth leader of the Nepali Congress, had met now Interim Prime Minister Karki while studying at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The former youth leader was also involved in Nepal's first plane hijacking 53 years ago. Subedi was among a group of Nepali Congress cadres who hijacked a plane en route from Biratnagar to Kathmandu on June 10, 1973, seeking political change in the Himalayan nation. Subedi, along with two other members of the Nepali Congress, took control of a Canadian-made 19-seater Twin Otter aircraft. Former Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala masterminded the hijacking of the Royal Nepal Airlines flight. It was carried out to raise funds for an "armed struggle" against the monarchy under King Mahendra. The aircraft was carrying NRs 30 lakh of government funds. After a brief struggle with the crew, the hijackers forced the pilot to land on a grassy strip in Forbesganj, Bihar. Subedi later recalled the incident in his book "Biman Bidroha". (ANI)
Singapore on Sunday expressed concern over the US intervention in Venezuela and called for the parties to exercise restraint and come to a peaceful resolution. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement they are committed to principles of the UN Charter. "Singapore is gravely concerned by the US intervention on 3 January 2026 in Venezuela. Singapore is deeply committed to international law and the principles of the UN Charter that safeguard the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, especially small states. Singapore has consistently opposed actions contrary to international law by any parties, including foreign military intervention in any country," an official statement issued by the MFA read. The ministry further advised Singaporeans to defer travel to the South American country. "Singapore urges all parties to exercise restraint and hopes for a peaceful resolution to the situation in Venezuela in accordance with international law and the principles of the UN Charter. There are no Singaporeans e-registered with MFA in Venezuela. Singaporeans are advised to defer all travel to Venezuela," the statement added. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump stated that Washington had carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela" and that the deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and taken out of the country. Trump also posted a photograph on Truth Social showing Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after his capture. Video footage later released by the White House-affiliated Rapid Response showed Maduro in handcuffs during a staged perp walk. In the footage, he was seen wishing law enforcement authorities "Happy New Year" and "Good Night" as he was led into custody. Following the attack, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep alarm over the situation in Venezuela, warning that the developments could have profound implications for the wider region. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, Guterres said that, irrespective of the situation in Venezuela, such actions set a dangerous precedent and underscored the need for full respect for international law by all parties, including adherence to the UN Charter. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to convene an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the recent military operation and capture of the deposed Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife by the United States. According to the Council presidency, the meeting is scheduled for 10 am (local time) under the agenda of "Threats to international peace and security". "The presidency intends to hold the emergency meeting on Monday morning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT)," said the spokeswoman for the Somali Permanent Mission to the UN, Khadija Ahmed, as quoted by Xinhua. (ANI)
In the wake of the strikes in Venezuela, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Sunday said that Japan stands ready to closely coordinate with G7 countries and the regional partners to advance diplomatic efforts toward the restoration of democracy in the South American country. In a post on X on Sunday, she said the Japanese government is prioritising the safety of Japanese nationals while closely coordinating with relevant countries to address the situation. She added, "Regarding the situation in Venezuela, the Japanese government has consistently emphasised the importance of restoring democracy in Venezuela as soon as possible." Noting that Japan has traditionally respected fundamental values and principles such as freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, she said, "Based on this consistent position of our country, the Japanese government will continue to closely coordinate with relevant countries, including G7 and regional nations, to ensure the utmost protection of Japanese nationals, while advancing diplomatic efforts toward the restoration of democracy in Venezuela and the stabilization of the situation." https://x.com/takaichi_sanae/status/2007705196810707094?s=20 On Saturday, US President Donald Trump stated that Washington had carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela" and that the deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and taken out of the country. Trump also posted a photograph on Truth Social showing Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after his capture. Video footage later released by the White House-affiliated Rapid Response showed Maduro in handcuffs during a staged perp walk. In the footage, he was seen wishing law enforcement authorities "Happy New Year" and "Good Night" as he was led into custody. Following the attack, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep alarm over the situation in Venezuela, warning that the developments could have profound implications for the wider region. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, Guterres said that, irrespective of the situation in Venezuela, such actions set a dangerous precedent and underscored the need for full respect for international law by all parties, including adherence to the UN Charter. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to convene an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the recent military operation and capture of the deposed Venezuelan dictator, Nicolas Maduro and his wife by the United States. According to the Council presidency, the meeting is scheduled for 10 am (local time) under the agenda of "Threats to international peace and security". "The presidency intends to hold the emergency meeting on Monday morning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT)," said the spokeswoman for the Somali Permanent Mission to the UN, Khadija Ahmed, as quoted by Xinhua. (ANI)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he held talks with the National Security Advisors of partner countries on security guarantees, reconstruction, and a basic framework for a real rebuilding. Zelenskyy said that they were getting ready for meetings with the US. "First outcomes from today's work with national security advisors of partner countries. European partners, Canada, the EU, and NATO are engaged, and we are also communicating with the American side. I am grateful to everyone for their support. Our discussions are moving forward along three key directions - security guarantees, reconstruction, and a basic framework for a real rebuilding. Everything must be effective, dignified, and conducive to establishing peace for decades. And this vision of ours is fully aligned with the vision of our key partners. I am grateful to our team for their thorough approach to negotiations," he said. https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/2007467654173585911?s=20 "Work with the advisors continues. We are preparing meetings in Europe next week. We are also getting ready for meetings in the United States," he added. https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/2007508635392548978?s=20 "Today, three panels were held involving Ukraine's negotiating team and 18 participants from various countries and institutions. The primary focus was on security guarantees, rebuilding, and a basic framework for a real peace. During our meeting, we discussed all existing draft documents and examined in detail the sequencing of steps: on January 5, a meeting of chiefs of the general staff will take place, followed by a leaders-level meeting in Paris on January 6," he said. "After these contacts, we expect a productive joint meeting with representatives of the United States," he added. Zelenskyy further called for support from the partners of Ukraine, saying that Ukrainians were under threat from Russian strikes. https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/2007738983283859778?s=20 "It is critically important for Ukraine that partner support continues - steady defense assistance and reinforcement of our air defense. Almost every day, lives in Ukraine are under threat because of Russian attacks and strikes using various types of weapons against our people." "This week alone, Russia launched more than 1,070 guided aerial bombs, nearly 1,000 attack drones, and six missiles against Ukraine. Everything agreed with our partners must be accelerated as much as possible. Every missile for air defense systems that is currently held in storage by partners can truly save lives," he added. (ANI)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday publicly endorsed the United States' actions concerning Venezuela, stating that the Israeli government fully supports Washington's move, which he described as aimed at restoring freedom and justice in the country. "Regarding Venezuela, I want to express the entire Government's support for the determined decision and action of the United States to restore freedom and justice to that part of the world as well," Netanyahu said in a post on X. Placing the developments in a broader regional context, the Israeli Prime Minister said Latin America is currently witnessing a shift in political alignments. "I must say that across Latin America right now, we are seeing a transformation; several countries are returning to the American axis and, not surprisingly, to a connection with the State of Israel," he said. Welcoming this shift, Netanyahu congratulated US President Donald Trump and praised the American military for its role. "We welcome this. We congratulate President @realDonaldTrump on his decision. We also salute the American military forces who carried out a perfect operation. We know how to appreciate such things," he added. Netanyahu's remarks came amid dramatic developments surrounding Venezuela's leadership, following the capture of deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro by US authorities. Video footage released by the United States showed Maduro in handcuffs during a 'perp walk', during which he was seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents a Happy New Year and Good Night. As the situation unfolded, Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the powers and duties of acting president after the US removed Nicolas Maduro, CNN reported. The order, announced on Saturday night (local time), concluded that Maduro is in a "material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions." It stated that Rodriguez would "assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties, and faculties inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation," according to the order read by Justice Tania D'Amelio during a session broadcast on state television channel VTV, as reported by CNN. Venezuela's constitution provides that in the event of a temporary or absolute absence of the president, the vice president must replace them. Details of earlier US deliberations on Venezuela have also resurfaced following the latest developments. A plan to remove Maduro was presented to Trump during his first term but did not materialise, as administration officials were unable to keep the president "focused" on the issue, his former National Security Advisor John Bolton told CNN. Bolton said Trump was already "very interested in the Venezuelan oil" during his first term. While Trump and his team were able to get interested in the idea of removing Maduro, they "couldn't keep him focused on it," Bolton said. He added that Venezuela's opposition at the time believed economic pressure alone would be sufficient to split Maduro's regime. The US has since launched what Trump described as a "large scale strike against Venezuela" and captured Maduro to face charges, according to CNN. The report said the regime change effort was carried out without the approval of the US Congress. (ANI)
Local bodies in Nepal have called on all parties to maintain social harmony after communal tension flared on Sunday in Parsa and Dhanushadham districts, triggering a high security alert in the southern plains of the country. The alert came in the wake of clashes in Birgunj, Parsa, which resulted in injuries to several police personnel. Issuing a notice, the District Administration Office (DAO), Parsa, urged everyone to maintain social harmony in the district. "The Muslim community had come onto the streets. They had burnt tyres at two or three places. We held discussions with the leaders of the Muslim community as well as those protesting on the streets, and now the situation is under control and calm," Bhola Dahal, Chief District Officer of Parsa, told ANI. Dahal said the DAO has appealed to people not to foment social, religious or cultural animosity. "Individuals involved in fomenting social, religious or cultural animosity among each other, affecting national unity, or spreading false rumours that harm the social reputation of communities are being closely monitored on social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. It is requested that such activities be taken seriously and that everyone remains alert and cautious," he added. The tension began to flare in the southern plains of Nepal from Dhanusha's Kamala Municipality after a dispute between two groups, triggered by religiously targeted comments on TikTok. The controversy reportedly started when two youths, Haider Ansari and Amanat Ansari, uploaded a video on TikTok in Janakpur, Dhanusha. Locals claimed the video hurt religious sentiments and handed the youths over to the police. Tension further escalated in Ward 6 of Kamala Municipality after a mosque was vandalised. In protest, demonstrators staged rallies in and around Birgunj, burning tyres and chanting slogans. A brief clash broke out between protesters and police at Chhapkaiya Idgah Chowk in Birgunj, following which police fired five rounds of tear gas to bring the situation under control. After the protests and clashes, security has been increased across all eight districts of Madhesh. A large number of security personnel have been deployed in areas identified as potential flashpoints for clashes. (ANI)
CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby on Sunday strongly condemned the US' military action in Venezuela and the capture of its President and deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife from Caracas, accusing Washington of violating international law and human rights. Addressing reporters, Baby said the actions carried out by US forces amounted to an invasion and described them as a "naked violation" of international law and the UN Charter. He accused the US of acting irresponsibly on the global stage, stating that the episode reflected how the country was "behaving like a rogue state, a terrorist state under Donald Trump's presidency." "It is highly condemnable what the US forces did in Venezuela... It's exactly like an invasion. It's a naked violation of international law, the UN charter," he said. "This shows how the USA is behaving like a rogue state, a terrorist state under Donald Trump's presidency," Baby added. His remark comes after Washington on Saturday carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela", and the deposed dictator, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and taken out of the country. Maduro and Flores were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement. Trump stated that Maduro and his wife have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York and will face trial. He claimed that reports emerging from Venezuela indicated that more than 40 innocent civilians had been killed during the operation and further expressed hope that the emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council would have a decisive impact on the situation. Raising concerns over human rights, the CPI(M) leader alleged that Maduro and his wife were subjected to inhuman treatment during their capture. "The Venezuelan government was ascertaining the possibility of casualties; now the information says that over 40 innocent people have been killed... We wish and hope that the UNSC meeting will have some decisive impact on this incident... Secondly, there's a human rights violation involved; the head of the state and his wife were kidnapped and handcuffed, blindfolded. This should not be a behaviour towards any individual. This is being done to a head of state," the CPI(M) General Secretary. He also criticised the Indian government for its response to the developments, saying it was unfortunate that New Delhi had failed to condemn what he termed the "naked aggression" of the United States against Venezuela. "It's unfortunate that the government of India failed to condemn the naked aggression of the USA on Venezuela," he said. Meanwhile, the MEA expressed deep concern about developments in Venezuela, stating that it was closely monitoring the situation. India also urged the parties involved to pursue dialogue and diplomacy. "Recent developments in Venezuela are a matter of deep concern. We are closely monitoring the evolving situation," the statement read. "India reaffirms its support to the well-being and safety of the people of Venezuela. We call upon all concerned to address issues peacefully through dialogue, ensuring peace and stability of the region," it added. (ANI)
Pope Leo XIV expressed his concern over the recent developments in Venezuela, where American strikes took place and led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro. Speaking at the Angelus prayer, Pope Leo XIV called upon for the good of the Venezuelan people to prevail, the rule of law be upheld, and human and civil rights of all to be respected, Vatican News reported on Sunday. "The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration and lead us to overcome violence and to undertake paths of justice and peace, safeguarding the country's sovereignty, ensuring the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution, respecting the human and civil rights of each person and of all, and working to build together a serene future of collaboration, stability, and concord, with special attention to the poorest who suffer because of the difficult economic situation," Pope said at the midday Angelus prayer as per Vatican News. While speaking from St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo invited everyone to pray for the Venezuelan people, and also assured them of his own prayers. As per Vatican News, Pope Leo entrusted all Venezuelans to the intercession of the Lady of Coromoto, Patroness of Venezuela, St. Jose Gregorio Hernandez, and St. Carmen Rendiles. "Let us continue to have faith in the God of peace... Let us pray and stand in solidarity with the peoples who suffer because of wars." "We make an appeal to the people of God to live more intensely hope and fervent prayer for peace in our hearts and in society; we reject any kind of violence," they said. "May our hands open to encounter and mutual help, and may the decisions that are made be made always for the good of our people", Vatican News reported. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump stated that Washington had carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela" and that the deposed "dictator" Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and taken out of the country. Trump also posted a photograph on Truth Social showing Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima after his capture. Video footage later released by the White House-affiliated Rapid Response showed Maduro in handcuffs during a staged perp walk. In the footage, he was seen wishing law enforcement authorities "Happy New Year" and "Good Night" as he was led into custody. Following the attack, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep alarm over the situation in Venezuela, warning that the developments could have profound implications for the wider region. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, Guterres said that, irrespective of the situation in Venezuela, such actions set a dangerous precedent and underscored the need for full respect for international law by all parties, including adherence to the UN Charter. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to convene an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the recent military operation and capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife by the United States. According to the Council presidency, the meeting is scheduled for 10 am (local time) under the agenda of "Threats to international peace and security". "The presidency intends to hold the emergency meeting on Monday morning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT)," said the spokeswoman for the Somali Permanent Mission to the UN, Khadija Ahmed, as quoted by Xinhua. (ANI)
Former Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has handed over a written statement to the high-level investigation committee formed to probe the atrocities during the Gen-Z protest. Oli who had been adamant about not appearing in front of the probe committee, handed over the statement to the committee after he was served with the notice to appear for the interrogation. The commission's team had reached Oli's new residence in Gundu, Bhaktapur, on Sunday afternoon to deliver a letter ordering him to submit his statement within seven days. However, Oli immediately provided a written statement at his residence itself, responding to around 60 questions, according to a member of his secretariat. "Oli gave his 'written submission' to the team that had gone to deliver the notice," the secretariat source said. Commission member and former DIG Bigyan Raj Sharma confirmed that the notice had been delivered at Gundu on Sunday. The commission has already recorded statements from almost all individuals connected to the incidents of September 8 and 9. Former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak was also summoned to the commission office to give his statement. Oli, however, had refused to appear at the commission's office in Singha Durbar to record his statement. Following Oli's insistence, the commission team went to Gundu to take his statement. Although around 60 questions were asked, commission officials and staff have not disclosed the contents of Oli's written submission. On Sunday itself, Oli appeared in front of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to record his statement in connection with suppression and violence that occurred during the Gen-Z movement on September 8 and 9. According to NHRC member Lily Thapa, Oli was questioned on Sunday afternoon regarding the crackdown, vandalism, and violence that took place during the protests. The Commission has already taken statements from dozens of individuals in relation to the incident. It has previously questioned Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak as part of the investigation. During Oli's tenure as prime minister, 23 people were killed in Kathmandu and Itahari on September 8. The following day, widespread vandalism led to the destruction of government and private property worth billions of rupees across the country. Over the two days, a total of 76 people lost their lives, including 23 protesters and 10 prisoners. A significant number of deaths were also reported during incidents of looting and arson. Oli had previously been adamant about not recording the statement, raising questions about the competence and impartiality of commission chair Karki. The latest move by Oli of changing his stance comes with the countdown for the election drawing to an end. The former Prime Minister who kept clinging onto his post and fled from the government residence at the last minute is barred from leaving the Kathmandu Valley. With two months left for the election, the latest move by Oli is assumed to be the pressure exerted on him by the restrictions imposed on his travel. Oli at the time had been arguing that Karki had already formed opinions about political leaders and officials of the then government even before becoming the commission chair and therefore was not in a position to take his statement. He has also been describing the Sushila Karki-led government as illegitimate and demanding that the commission itself be scrapped. Initially, the commission had prepared to arrest Oli to record his statement if he continued to refuse. However, after Oli emerged even stronger following the UML's 11th general convention, the commission reportedly backed off. As Oli continued to issue aggressive statements, the commission appeared increasingly defensive. Eventually, in line with Oli's wishes and stance, the commission team went to Gundu and returned after taking his written statement. (ANI)
Tel Aviv [Israel], January 4 (ANI/TPS): The Israel Police established a new security sub-district within its Southern District - the Rotem (juniper brush) Area - in the Negev it said to "strengthen the security of southern residents." It will have hundreds of officers in the fields of patrol, investigations, intelligence, anti-terror, and surveillance, with the allocation of all of its resources to combat crime in general and in Arab communities in particular, including arms trafficking and shooting incidents, extortion of protection money, illegal construction, the phenomenon of polygamy that harms social order, and any criminal activity that undermines the security of southern residents. It includes the Arad, Dimona, Ar'oer, and other cities, and a central regional unit, with the aim of providing a rapid response to the unique threats faced by southern residents. The Rotem Area began operating during the past week, during which time its forces carried out economic enforcement valued at approximately four million Shekels ($1.25 million) along with the seizure of weapons and ammunition. (ANI/TPS)
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday expressed serious concern over the US' military action in Venezuela, during which they captured the country's president and deposed dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, warning that the incident reflected a growing trend of "might is right" in global affairs with serious implications for the international order. Reacting to the US operation in the South American nation's capital of Caracas, Tharoor described the development as momentous, noting that it was rare to see a country enter and detain the head of a sovereign UN member state. "It is a momentous event. You don't see every day a country marching in and capturing the president of a sovereign nation, a member state of the United Nations," the Congress leader said. Tharoor noted that international norms, particularly the UN Charter, have increasingly been disregarded in recent years, with broader implications for global affairs. "On the actual incident, I would leave it to the government to express their views. But there is no doubt that there is, for some years now, international law and the UN Charter are not being observed in the old ways," he stated. Tharoor, the Congress Lok Sabha Member from Thiruvananthapuram, added that recent global developments indicate a shift in how power is exercised on the world stage. "We are seeing in many, many ways a sort of version of 'might is right' prevailing in international affairs, which has very serious implications for all of us," he said, emphasising its impact on global diplomacy and that countries will now need to reassess their approaches in response to such changes. "Every country has to adjust its diplomacy accordingly," he added. His remarks come after Washington on Saturday carried out a "large-scale strike against Venezuela", and the deposed dictator, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and taken out of the country. Maduro and Flores were captured in Caracas and flown out of the country in a joint operation involving intelligence agencies and US law enforcement. Trump stated that Maduro and his wife have been indicted on charges of alleged "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies" in the Southern District of New York and will face trial. (ANI)
Jiangsu Yunyi Electric Company, a high-tech Chinese manufacturer specializing in automotive electronic components, has announced plans to invest $66 million in a production site in Tangier, Moroccos automotive hub.

In a press release, the Company says the Tangier plant will be an important overseas production base, leveraging local resources enhancing Jiangsus global competitiveness and medium- and long-term strategic goals.

Jiangsu Yunyi Electric offers its clients innovative solutions for new energy vehicles, including voltage regulators, rectifiers, diodes, sensors, and intelligent wiper systems.

Morocco is becoming a global powerhouse in the automotive industry thanks to its political stability, geostrategic position, economic performance, and incentives to investors.

Moroccos automotive ecosystem employs over 222,000 skilled workers. This strategic sector for the countrys economy has grown at an exponential rate over the last decade, enabling the Kingdom to become the leader in Africa in automotive manufacturing and exports.

In 2025, Moroccos automotive market was valued at 4.99 billion and is on track to reach $8.83 billion by 2030, according the experts forecasts.

The sector is export-oriented with 1 million cars produced in 2025. The North African Kingdom, which increased its target to 1.5 million vehicles in 2026, produced 560,000 cars in 2024 and 250,000 in 2020.
On Thursday, January 1st, the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism entered into effect with the goal of improving the competitiveness of European goods manufacturers against non-EU companies operating in laxer emissions reduction frameworks. China was the first to threaten retaliation. It wont be the last.

The carbon border adjustment mechanism, or CBAM for short, was devised to remedy the unintended effects of the worlds most stringent emission-reduction standards for the industrial sphere, namely, sky-high costs that make the end product uncompetitive. This became especially painful for European makers of things such as steel and cement, where the biggest competitor is Chinawhich does not have anything resembling the emission reduction requirements of the EU, so its steel and cement are very cheap, and buyers prefer them.

In other words, in order to boost the competitiveness of European steel and cement manufacturersand electricity generators, toothe European Union made sure that cheaper imported steel, cement, and electricity are not that cheap anymore. China and India are unhappy aboutand there are things they can do that will not help the competitiveness of European businesses.

As soon as the CBAM entered into effect, Chinas Ministry of Commerce issued a statement, in which it called the legislation unfair and discriminatory, Bloomberg reported. We will resolutely take all necessary measures to respond to any unfair trade restrictions, the ministry said in its statement.

Related: OPEC+ Reaffirms Output Pause as Eight Producers Cite Market Stability

CBAM is quite unpopular among major exporters to the EU, but it has already proven to be quite effective in pushing reticent countries towards building or expanding carbon pricing efforts, one consultant specializing in carbon permit markets, told the Financial Times. So its a major policy shift for the EU to protect its own industry, while at the same time leveraging the carbon pricing idea to third countries.

China is, in fact, has its own carbon market, has had it since 2021, and it is the biggest carbon market in terms of the volumes of carbon emissions covered by it. With China, its not about selling the idea of carbon markets to third countries; it is about competitiveness. And China is not pleased that its competitiveness will be compromised.

In simple terms, the carbon border adjustment mechanism puts a price on the carbon dioxide emissions generated during the production of a good such as cement or steel. The price is based on calculations of the emissions from the respective industries in countries that export to the European Union. The mechanism puts a so-called default emission value for the production of a certain good, and also emission benchmarks, to be used in tandem in a way that is as of yet unclear, but some say it is, in fact, benefiting China.

Politico reported the concerns at the end of last year, citing industrial executives as saying the default values for emissions for certain countries that export to the EU were set too low to be real, including some steel production in China that, according to these estimates, turned out to be lower-emission than steel production in the EU.

Inconsistencies in the figures of default values and benchmarks would dilute the incentive for cleaner production processes and allow high-emission imports to enter the EU market with insufficient carbon costs, an industry representative told Politico. This could result in a CBAM that is not only significantly less effective but most likely counterproductive.

Meanwhile, Indian steel imports are about to dry up because Indian steel producers appear not to have been included in the inconsistencies. India is the worlds second-largest steel producer after China and exports as much as 66% of its output to the European Union.

This is about to drop sharply next year because Indias steel manufacturing is done in blast furnaces fueled with coal, which is incompatible with the European Unions emission reduction plans. The Reuters report notes steel mills could switch to electric arc furnaces, which have a lower emissions footprint, but such a switch would take time and money.

Most of the companies are yet figuring out a way to deal with CBAM, one analyst told Reuters. In the near term, it is expected to slow down India's exports to EU, Ravi Sodah, from Elara Capital, also said.

So, two of the worlds largest exporters of industrial goods, and major suppliers to the European Union specifically, are planning to respond to the CBAM by, at least in one case, curbing exports. This would sure clear up the market for European producers, but it will not be welcome news to consumers of those goods, who would be footing the bill for what is essentially market intervention on the part of the European Union, and a protectionist market intervention, at that. The United States is not going to be happy about it, either, and it will soon make its unhappiness known.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Foundation Stone Laid for Assyrian Genocide Memorial

The foundation stone for a memorial commemorating the victims of the Simmele Massacre was laid this week in the town of Simmele, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), in a ceremony attended by senior Kurdish and Christian leaders.

The project, sponsored by Masoud Barzani and attended by Patriarch Mar Awa III, head of the Assyrian Church of the East, is intended to honor the memory of thousands of Assyrian civilians killed during one of the darkest episodes in modern Iraqi history.

The memorial will be built on an area of approximately 6,250 square meters and is designed not only as a site of remembrance, but also as a space for historical reflection. Organizers said the monument aims to preserve the collective memory of the Assyrian people and to underscore their deep-rooted presence in the region.

Officials involved in the project emphasized that the memorial is meant to serve a broader purpose than commemoration alone. It represents, they said, a formal acknowledgment of past atrocities and a commitment to documenting crimes committed against the Assyrian people, ensuring that future generations understand the scale of the tragedy.

The Simmele Massacre 1933, Simmele Massacre -- an atrocity committed by Iraqi Army in 1933 which claimed the lives of thousands and forced tens of thousands to flee, many of whom sought refuge in the Khabur River Valley across the border in Syria.
Several countries in Southeast Asia continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels, including coal, for their power supply. This is contributing heavily to an increase in emissions. However, multiple states in the region have now introduced green transition strategies aimed at decarbonising their economies by cutting emissions and gradually shifting reliance away from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives. Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia are three of the Asian countries looking to ramp up their renewable energy capacities in the coming years to decrease their reliance on coal, oil, and gas.

Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia together contribute almost 60 percent of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) power demand and emissions. In support of a global green transition, the three countries are now looking to shift reliance away from coal by attracting high levels of investment in the renewable energy sector. This is being supported by strong policy frameworks, market reforms, and targeted incentives.

In 2024, the three countries attracted $4.6 billion in clean energy investment. In November, the Canadian multinational Brookfield Asset Management announced it would be investing in renewable energy in all three countries. Brookfield recently acquired the clean energy developer Alba Renewables, which has a 1.8 GW portfolio of wind, solar, and battery storage assets, mainly in the Philippines and Thailand. The acquisition is expected to help Brookfield expand its operations in Southeast Asia.

The head of renewable power and transition for Brookfield Asia-Pacific, Daniel Cheng, stated, Southeast Asia is at the forefront of the global energy transition, with surging demand, favourable policy frameworks and a deep need not just for capital, but also experienced operators with strong track records of unlocking renewable power at scale. Cheng added, By acquiring a seed asset in Vietnam and backing Albas expansion across the Philippines, Thailand and beyond, we are catalysing platforms that can deliver reliable, low-carbon energy where it is most needed and impactful.

In the Philippines, 21% of electricity production came from low-carbon sources in 2024. Its largest source of clean electricity is geothermal at 8.3 percent, followed by hydropower at 8 percent and solar and wind power at 3.8 percent. The countrys power sector emissions have tripled over the last 20 years due to a growing reliance on coal. The Philippines has set a target of 35 percent renewable electricity by 2030, demonstrating the governments commitment to a gradual green transition.

The Philippines is on target to deploy 15 GW of clean energy capacity by 2030 and aims to achieve 50 percent renewable energy generation by 2040. The government hopes to increase the countrys geothermal capacity by 75 percent and its hydropower capacity by 160 percent by 2040, as well as expand its wind and biomass power sectors. It recently signed a $15 billion agreement with United Arab Emirates-based Masdar to advance solar and wind projects, as well as battery storage initiatives, aiming to achieve 1 GW of clean energy by 2030.

In Indonesia, around 20 percent of electricity generation comes from renewable energy sources. The most dominant renewable energy source in Indonesia is hydropower, providing around 8 percent of electricity generation. Meanwhile, wind and solar power contribute to just 0.2 percent of electricity production. The countrys electricity demand has more than tripled in the last two decades, leading the government to turn to coal and gas to meet the growing demand.

In 2023, Indonesia was awarded $20 billion in funding under a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), with financing coming from global lenders, to support renewable energy deployment. The draft plan includes the target of achieving at least 44 percent renewable power generation by 2030, from just 12 percent in 2022. Indonesia also aims to cut grid emissions to 250 million metric tonnes of CO2 by 2030, compared to the previous estimate of over 350 million metric tonnes.

Meanwhile, Vietnam has already begun to develop a strong renewable energy sector, with 44 percent of its electricity produced from low-carbon sources in 2024, putting it above the 41 percent global average. Hydropower contributed 31 percent of electricity, while solar and wind power accounted for 13 percent. Vietnam aims to achieve an energy mix with 47 percent renewable electricity by 2030.

Between 2018 and 2023, Vietnam increased its solar and wind capacity from almost zero to over 21 GW, supported by the governments feed-in tariffs, which attracted billions in private investment in the sector. Around 58 percent of funding came from domestic sources, and 27 percent was through domestic-foreign joint ventures. By 2023, Vietnam was the biggest producer of solar power in Southeast Asia, demonstrating the possibility of rapidly developing a strong renewable energy sector.

While Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia all rely heavily on coal, all three countries are committed to building strong renewable energy industries to support a gradual transition away from fossil fuels towards green alternatives. Meanwhile, the case of Vietnam shows that it is possible to rapidly develop a strong renewable energy sector with support from favourable government policies to attract high levels of private investment.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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The white hydrogen boom could be within sight based on recent finds in France, the United States, and other parts of the world. However, developers are still not sure of the costs involved with exploiting white hydrogen resources, as well as the technical challenges to accessing reserves, making the outlook uncertain.

Unlike other low-carbon forms of hydrogen, such as blue and green hydrogen, white hydrogen is naturally occurring. The geologic hydrogen, often referred to as natural or white hydrogen, is produced naturally when underground water crosses paths with iron-rich rocks in a process known as serpentinization. Hydrogen is so light that it naturally seeps through porous rocks and cracks before rising to the atmosphere. However, in some instances, hydrogen can become trapped under rocks with low permeability, which allows the gas to accumulate.

If researchers could better understand how and where natural hydrogen accumulates, they could exploit the resources to provide an alternative supply of clean hydrogen. A U.S. Geological Survey study from 2024 suggests that there could be anywhere between 1 billion and 10 trillion tonnes of hydrogen in the subsurface.

As companies worldwide race to produce or access a variety of low-carbon energies, white hydrogen could be the natural resource researchers have been hoping for to provide clean energy to various regions worldwide. The global demand for low-carbon hydrogen is expected to reach nearly 200 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) by 2050, from 1 Mtpa at present, according to estimates from the research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.

The cost of producing green hydrogen, the most popular low-carbon hydrogen, is extremely high, ranging from $6 a to $12 per kilogram, which deters many companies from producing green hydrogen, opting instead for blue or grey hydrogen, using natural gas rather than renewable energy as an input. If researchers could determine how and where to mine white hydrogen, it could provide a clean, lower-cost alternative to green hydrogen. It is thought that white hydrogen produced at scale from reservoirs located in proximity to end-users could be produced at a cost of below $1/kg.

At present, the only operational white hydrogen project is the Bourakebougou field in Mali, which provides electricity to a small village. Few companies are investing in white hydrogen production at present, as little is known about how and where to exploit the resource. However, there is a slowly growing interest in the industry, with projects emerging in both France and the United States.

In May 2023, in France, a team of scientists discovered white hydrogen deposits when exploring abandoned mines in the Lorraine region. Further exploration in the nearby Moselle this year has resulted in the discovery of additional reserves, with a combined value of approximately 92 million tonnes and a value of roughly $92 billion.

In February 2024, the geological research company Mantle8 secured financing to test an innovative technology, which uses geology, geophysics, and geochemistry data and sensors to produce 4D images of the Earths mantle to understand where white hydrogen reservoirs are located and monitor the volume of hydrogen in these reservoirs. The company is expected to commence exploratory drilling in the southwest of France in 2028.

Meanwhile, in the United States, researchers at Oklahoma State University have secured $25,000 in funding to explore white hydrogen reserves in the state. The School of Chemical Engineerings research team will survey various areas for natural hydrogen deposits in a project that will run until July 2026.

Prem Bikkina, a professor of petroleum engineering who is leading the research, said that Oklahoma is exceptionally well positioned to emerge as a leader in natural hydrogen development thanks to the states subsurface potential and above-ground readiness. As it is the fifth-largest crude oil-producing state in the country, it has existing infrastructure that could be adapted to produce white hydrogen.

Eric Gaucher, a French geochemist who co-leads an International Energy Agency white hydrogen expert group, suggests that the discovery of a commercially viable white hydrogen reservoir could spur a new age of exploration. The hope is to make a big discovery in the next three or four years. My dream is that this natural hydrogen can play a role, maybe as oil played in the past, said Gaucher. However, as there are still major uncertainties around the recoverability of white hydrogen, Gaucher suggested that it is important to remain modest about the role of natural hydrogen in the global green transition.

There are high hopes around the potential exploitation of white hydrogen reserves to provide an alternative, cheaper source of clean energy, as the global demand continues to rise. However, there are still major challenges to exploiting natural hydrogen resources, with little known about how and where the hydrogen is formed and how to effectively access it. While a major discovery could provide the potential for commercial production, significantly more research and development is required to better understand the industry.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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OPEC+ is expected to reaffirm its decision to keep oil production steady through the first quarter of 2026 when key members meet on Sunday, despite rising geopolitical tensions and fresh uncertainty surrounding Venezuela, according to multiple delegates and industry sources.

The eight OPEC+ countries currently implementing voluntary production curbs  Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman  agreed in November to pause planned output increases for January through March, citing seasonal demand weakness. Delegates say that stance remains intact, even after the shock U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and a highly publicized rift between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Oil prices fell more than 18% in 2025, marking their steepest annual decline since the pandemic, as supply growth from OPEC+ and non-OPEC producers collided with slowing demand and mounting forecasts of a sizable glut in 2026. Against that backdrop, analysts see little incentive for the group to loosen the taps further in the near term.

While Venezuela holds the worlds largest proven oil reserves, its current output accounts for less than 1% of global supply. U.S. President Donald Trump has said American oil companies could invest billions to rebuild the countrys energy infrastructure following Maduros capture, but analysts widely agree any material increase in Venezuelan production would take years to materialize. For now, OPEC+ delegates say developments in Caracas are unlikely to influence immediate supply policy, though they could become more relevant later in the year.

The meeting also comes amid rare public friction between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over Yemen, where the two longtime allies have backed opposing factions. Recent Saudi-led airstrikes and the UAEs subsequent decision to withdraw remaining forces have underscored the strain. Still, market watchers note that OPEC has historically maintained cohesion through far more severe political crises, from the Iran-Iraq war to sanctions on major producers.

For now, OPEC+ appears focused on price stability rather than geopolitics. Holding output steady through the first quarter is widely seen as the safest course as the group navigates oversupplied markets, fragile demand growth, and an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

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OPEC+ confirmed on Sunday that it will keep oil production steady through the first quarter of 2026, as eight key producers reaffirmed their commitment to market stability amid a steady global economic outlook and what they described as healthy oil market fundamentals.

Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman met virtually on January 4 to review global market conditions and outlook. The group reiterated its decision, first announced on November 2, 2025, to pause planned production increases in February and March 2026, citing seasonal demand patterns.

Following the meeting, OPEC+ produced the following production table for February 2026:

In a joint statement, the eight producers said current market conditions remain supportive, pointing to relatively low global inventories as a sign that the oil market is well balanced despite last years sharp decline in crude prices. Oil prices fell more than 18% in 2025, the steepest annual drop since the pandemic, as supply growth outpaced demand and concerns over a growing glut mounted.

The group also emphasized that the previously announced 1.65 million barrels per day of voluntary production cuts could be returned to the market either in part or in full, depending on evolving market conditions, and only in a gradual manner. The producers stressed that flexibility remains central to their strategy, including the option to extend or reverse additional voluntary adjustments, such as the 2.2 million barrels per day of cuts announced in November 2023.

OPEC+ further reiterated its collective commitment to full conformity with the Declaration of Cooperation. The producers confirmed that any overproduction since January 2024 will be fully compensated, with compliance and compensation to be monitored by the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC).

Despite heightened geopolitical tensions  including strains between Saudi Arabia and the UAE over Yemen and uncertainty surrounding Venezuela following the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro  delegates said these developments did not alter the groups near-term policy stance.

The eight OPEC+ countries agreed to continue holding monthly meetings to assess market conditions, compliance levels, and compensation progress. Their next meeting is scheduled for February 1, 2026.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

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Over two days during the short 2025 summer beyond the Arctic Circle, a mining company moved a 113-year-old timber church building in its entirety nearly two miles away, in an engineering feat that made international headlines.

The moving of the Kiruna Church from the Swedish town of the same name, created by the iron ore mining industry, wasnt a solitary feat. The relocation of the church is part of a decades-long project by Sweden-based mining company LKAB, which is relocating the entire town of Kiruna to expand iron ore mining and tap recently discovered rare earth deposits.

Years ago, LKAB announced plans to move the town from its current location due to mining expansion and ground subsidence.

The worlds most ambitious urban transformation project will take more than a decade to complete, with residents being offered monetary compensation to move or a new house.

About 90% of residents have elected to take a new house, Niklas Johansson, senior vice president of public affairs and external relations at LKAB, told CNBC in a recent interview.

While some residents are sad they would have to leave their homes, everyone in the mining town knows that Kiruna depends on the industry, Mats Taaveniku, Chairman of the Municipal Council in Kiruna, told CNBC.

Kiruna is built on the minerals, so every resident in Kiruna knows that we have to move from our homes sooner or later because we are dependent on this mining industry, Taaveniku said.

Related: OPEC+ Set to Keep Oil Production Policy Despite Saudi-UAE Spat

LKAB has been mining iron ore in Kiruna since the early 20th century, and the Kiirunavaara mine is currently the worlds largest underground mine for iron ore.

In Kiruna, LKAB is also exploring the new deposit, Per Geijer, an iron ore deposit that contains high levels of phosphorus and is one of Europes largest known deposits of rare earth elements.

LKAB announced in 2023 that it had identified significant deposits of rare earth elements in the Kiruna area, which is the largest known deposit of its kind in Europe. After a successful exploration stage, LKAB found that mineral resources of rare earth elements in the area exceed 1 million tons of rare earth oxides.

This is the largest known deposit of rare earth elements in our part of the world, and it could become a significant building block for producing the critical raw materials that are absolutely crucial to enable the green transition, Jan Mostrom, President and Group CEO at LKAB, said at the time.

We face a supply problem. Without mines, there can be no electric vehicles.

The rare earth deposit in Kiruna is one of several discoveries in the Nordic countries in recent years, which could help Europe diversify its minerals supply away from the dominance of China.

In Finland, Finnish Minerals Group announced in 2023 that two rare earth minerals  kukharenkoite and cordylite  had been found in Finland for the first time.

In Norway, Franzefoss Minerals and REE Minerals last year pledged to develop Europes largest deposit of light rare earth elements in the Fen field in the town of Ulefoss.

Our analyses suggest that the Fen field alone will be able to cover significant portions of the needs of European industry for decades to come, said Thor Bendik Weider, chairman of REE Minerals Holding AS.

The rare earth supply chain is among the most highly concentrated across all stages of the value chain, analysts at the International Energy Agency (IEA) wrote in a commentary at the end of 2025.

China is estimated to hold a 59% share of the mining of rare earths, 91% in refining, and a whopping 94% in magnet manufacturing, the agency says.

Moreover, China has significantly strengthened its position in the manufacturing of rare-earth-containing permanent magnets. Two decades ago, China accounted for around 50% of the production of sintered permanent magnets commonly used in cars, wind turbines, industrial motors, data centers, and defense systems.

This share has risen significantly to 94% today, making China the worlds single largest supplier of the component critical to the manufacturing of the most powerful motors that are used for many cutting-edge applications, the IEAs analysts said.

Such high market concentration leaves global supply chains in strategic sectors  such as energy, automotive, defence and AI data centres  vulnerable to potential disruptions.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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WASHINGTON, D.C.  In a significant shift for bilateral commercial relations, the United States has formally terminated duty-free access for 77 Nepali products following the expiration of the Nepal Trade Preference Program (NTPP) on December 31, 2025. Originally established by the U.S. Congress in 2015 as a critical recovery measure following Nepals devastating Gorkha earthquake, the program officially reached its sunset clause this week after a decade defined largely by underutilization.

Despite the program's initial intent to bolster the Nepali economy through preferential market access, trade data reveal a stark gap between the potential benefits and the reality of the last ten years. Out of the 77 eligible items identified for duty-free entry, Nepal managed to export only 29, leaving 48 items with zero recorded exports to the U.S. market. While the final years of the program saw modest gains in certain sectors, these small successes were insufficient to offset a decade characterized by volatile trends and inconsistent trade performance.

This expiration creates immediate economic headwinds for Nepali exporters, as it coincides with a new U.S. trade policy imposing a 10% additional tariff on Nepali goods. This shift is expected to further strain the competitiveness of Himalayan products in the North American market, making it increasingly difficult for local businesses to maintain their presence abroad.

Market analysts and trade experts attribute the programs failure to deliver meaningful results to several systemic bottlenecks. They cite a selection mismatch where the eligible products often did not align with Nepals actual comparative advantages, alongside chronic supply-side constraints such as low production capacity and high logistics costs. Furthermore, many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) remained unaware of the program's benefits, while those who were interested often found the complex procedural requirements and stringent "rules of origin" standards too difficult to navigate.

As the duty-free window closes, the focus now shifts to the Nepali government and the private sector to explore new bilateral trade agreements. Industry leaders emphasize that enhancing the quality and competitiveness of exports will be essential for Nepali businesses to survive in a higher-tariff environment.
Centre for Environmental Law says Cancun, Riviera Maya beach restoration project needs updated environmental assessment

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  Citizens and civil society organizations have asked that Semarnat deny the request for extension of the current authorization. We ask the Quintana Roo government to comply with the legislation on Environmental Impact for the restoration of beaches in the north of the state, reported Cemda, the Mexico Center for Environmental Law.

Civil society organizations, citizen groups and academics express our concern regarding the recent statements by the head of the Quintana Roo Ministry of the Environment, indicating that the beach restoration project in the northern part of the state will proceed without a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

This is being based on an environmental permit issued in 2009 and a simple administrative extension, despite the fact that environmental, regulatory, and territorial conditions have changed substantially in over fifteen years. We raise the following concerns:

Recognized insufficiency of the current environmental authorization

Only the beach restoration project in Cancun requires a new executive project and a new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), because the currently proposed area (from Playa Las Perlas to Punta Nizuc) is not covered by the original authorization.

Furthermore, statements from the Secretary of the Environment indicate that the state project intends to include new municipalities such as Puerto Morelos, confirming that the 2009 authorization is not legally sufficient to support the planned works.

In addition, Mexican law requires that EIAs be modified or updated for expanded projects, those with significant changes, or those that have been in place for more than 5-10 years, in accordance with the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (LGEEPA) and NOM-059-SEMARNAT.

A regional project with inter-municipal impacts

The restoration of beaches in northern Quintana Roo is a regional project, not an isolated intervention. It involves multiple municipalities with distinct ecosystems and legal frameworks, whose impacts are interconnected by coastal dynamics.

Among the municipalities involved are Benito Juarez (Cancun), Puerto Morelos, Isla Mujeres (including Costa Mujeres), Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, encompassing more than 30 kilometers of coastline.

Some of these municipalities fall within the area of influence of federally protected natural areas (ANP), such as the Puerto Morelos Reef National Park and the Mexican Caribbean Biosphere Reserve, established in 2016 but nonexistent at the time of the original authorization.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) authorized in 2009, originally limited to the municipalities of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, is materially and legally insufficient to support the expansion of the project to Puerto Morelos and the incorporation of an additional 33.5 km of coastline.

The magnitude, territorial scope, and current environmental conditions necessitate the preparation and submission of a new Environmental Impact Statement, not merely a modification of the existing one, incorporating updated studies of bathymetry, coastal dynamics and sand volumes, in accordance with the requirements established by SEMARNAT itself.

While the authority has indicated that the assessment falls within the framework of the National Restoration Plan and has considered expedited response procedures for emergency situations, these procedures do not exempt the entity from full compliance with the environmental assessment process, the resolution of which, if applicable, is expected in the first quarter of 2026.

Substantial Environmental Changes Since 2009: The Mexican Caribbean has undergone profound environmental transformations: rising sea levels, increased intensity of hydrometeorological events, and the massive and recurring arrival of sargassum seaweed since 2015, a phenomenon that was nonexistent in 2009.

Furthermore, the reefs that form part of the Mesoamerican Reef System are in critical condition, as their coverage has decreased from 19% to 13% since 2009. The 2023 bleaching event was the most severe on record with approximately 40% of the corals severely affected. The remaining corals face increasingly severe threats, hence the need for protection and restoration.

It should also be considered that since 2009, new protected natural areas have been created and the marine and coastal conservation framework has been strengthened. The aforementioned variables were not, and could not have been, considered in the original authorization; therefore, insisting on its validity contravenes the principle of environmental precaution.

Lack of evaluation of the performance of the original project

It is particularly concerning that there is no comprehensive public assessment of the performance and environmental impact of the project authorized in 2009, despite the fact that multiple sections of the coastline exhibit persistent or worsening erosion.

Furthermore, it is necessary to verify compliance with the conditions of the current authorization. The accelerated loss of sand in Playa del Carmen demonstrates that poorly designed or insufficiently evaluated interventions can exacerbate the problem rather than solve it.

Ecological fragility and protected species

The sandy beaches of northern Quintana Roo are part of a highly fragile and interconnected ecological system  beach, dune, reef, and seagrass beds  essential not only for tourism but also for the nesting of sea turtles, species protected by Mexican law.

Four main species of migratory sea turtles nest in the northern part of the state: the green sea turtle, loggerhead, hawksbill and the leatherback sea turtle. These species are listed in NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010 as protected species: Chelonia mydas is classified as endangered, Eretmochelys imbricata as critically endangered, while Caretta caretta and Dermochelys coriacea are categorized as vulnerable.

These turtles nest on the beaches of Quintana Roo, making several beaches in the region key sanctuaries or turtle nesting camps for their conservation. Various organizations and government authorities, such as the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), carry out protection programs that include beach patrols, relocating nests to protected enclosures, and releasing hatchlings.

Furthermore, the beaches of Quintana Roo are also home to shorebirds such as the pectoral sandpiper, the ruddy turnstone, the brown pelican and the osprey, which would be affected by this beach restoration project, as they depend on sandy habitats for foraging and resting.

Other important species include the magnificent frigatebird and herons such as the reddish egret, whose feeding grounds are altered by sand compaction or sediment removal.

Additionally, invertebrates such as the queen conch, the Caribbean spiny lobster and beach crabs inhabit the intertidal zones and could suffer direct mortality from machinery or loss of refuges during restoration. These organisms, some of which are listed in NOM-059-SEMARNAT, are key to the food webs that support turtles and birds.

International commitments, human rights and citizen participation

Implementing the project without a new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) could violate the human right to a healthy environment, recognized in Article 4 of the Constitution, as well as the right to information and citizen participation in environmental matters, guaranteed by national legislation and the Escazu Agreement, to which Mexico is a State Party.

Compliance with international commitments such as the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles and the Convention on Biological Diversity, among others, is also at risk. For all the reasons stated above, we respectfully request the authorities of the Quintana Roo government to:

To make information transparent and adhere to their responsibilities, avoiding conflicts of interest and incurring administrative and environmental liability. Prepare a new Regional Environmental Impact Assessment that considers the current conditions of coastal ecosystems, impact mitigation and compliance with current environmental legislation.

Incorporate updated information and apply the best available science, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the General Law on Humanities, Sciences, Technologies and Innovation.

We urge the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) to deny the request to extend the current Environmental Impact Authorization and to require the preparation and evaluation of a new, comprehensive, regional and updated Environmental Impact Assessment.

Furthermore, we ask that it guarantee access to information and citizen participation in the environmental impact assessment process, in accordance with the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection, its regulations on EIAs and the Escazu Agreement.

Finally, the agency must ensure that any decision is based on science, legality, transparency, and human rights, not on outdated environmental authorizations.

Beach restoration must be a real, long-term solution, not an additional source of environmental and social conflict. Protecting the coastal ecosystems of Quintana Roo is protecting the future of the Mexican Caribbean and its communities.

Riviera Maya News serving Quintana Roo Mexico since 2014

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Mexicos Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns U.S. military intervention in Venezuela

Mexico City, Mexico  President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo says Mexico condemns the military intervention in Venezuela. In a press release, Mexicos Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the military actions by the U.S. violates the Charter of the United Nations.

The Government of Mexico strongly condemns and rejects the military actions carried out unilaterally in recent hours by armed forces of the United States of America against targets in the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in clear violation of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations (UN).

President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo posted on social media Article 2, paragraph 4 of the Charter of the United Nations states verbatim: All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

Based on its foreign policy principles and its pacifist vocation, Mexico makes an urgent call to respect international law, as well as the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, and to cease any act of aggression against the Venezuelan government and people.

Latin America and the Caribbean is a zone of peace, built on the basis of mutual respect, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the prohibition of the use and threat of force, so any military action seriously jeopardizes regional stability.

Mexico emphatically reiterates that dialogue and negotiation are the only legitimate and effective ways to resolve existing differences, and therefore reaffirms its willingness to support any effort to facilitate dialogue, mediation or accompaniment that contributes to preserving regional peace and avoiding confrontation.

It also urges the United Nations to act immediately to help de-escalate tensions, facilitate dialogue and create conditions that allow for a peaceful, sustainable solution in accordance with international law.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Mexican Embassy in Venezuela, will maintain constant communication with Mexican citizens residing in that country to assist them in any way necessary.

Former president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also weighed in on the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. I am retired from politics, but my libertarian convictions prevent me from remaining silent in the face of the arrogant attack on the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people and the secrecy surrounding their president.

Nicolas Maduro in New York January 3, 2026.

Neither Bolivar nor Lincoln would accept the United States government acting as a global tyranny.

President Trump: do not succumb to complacency nor listen to the siren song. Send the hawks packing; you have the capacity to act with practical judgment. Do not forget that todays fleeting victory can be tomorrows resounding defeat. Politics is not about imposition.

Remember that respect for the rights of others is peace, as Benito Juarez taught us in the 19th century. I am Mexican with great pride, but also Latin American. I unconditionally support my president, Claudia Sheinbaum. For now, Im not sending her a hug.

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A Memorial Built on Denial: The Moral Crime of Rewriting the Simmele Massacre

Assyrians evacuated From Simmele by the British Royal Air Force, 1933. (AINA) -- The laying of a foundation stone for a memorial commemorating the Simmele Massacre by parties historically responsible for the massacre itself is not an act of reconciliation, it is an act of moral violence. It represents a deliberate attempt to appropriate Assyrian suffering while stripping it of truth, responsibility, and justice.

The Simmele Massacre of 1933 was not an abstract tragedy, nor a mutual conflict. It was a systematic massacre of the indigenous Assyrian people, carried out by the Iraqi army, supported by armed Kurdish tribal elements, resulting in the killing of thousands of unarmed Assyrian civilians, the destruction of dozens of villages, and the forced displacement of an entire people from their ancestral lands. This crime stands as one of the earliest documented cases of ethnic cleansing in the modern Middle East.

To commemorate such a crime without acknowledging its perpetrators, or worse, by allowing those same political structures and their heirs to control the narrative, is an insult to the dead and a betrayal of the living.

A Pattern of Violence, Not an Isolated Event

The Simmele Massacre was not an isolated incident. In 1969, Assyrians in the village of Soria were again massacred--this time by forces linked to Kurdish militias, demonstrating a recurring pattern of violence, dispossession, and impunity. These events are connected by a single thread: the systematic targeting of Assyrians for elimination, removal, or assimilation from their homeland in northern Iraq.

Today, this pattern continues under new political branding. Under the so-called Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Assyrians face land confiscation, demographic change, political marginalization, and intimidation, often carried out through proxy actors and enforced silence. What has changed is not the reality on the ground, but the sophistication of denial.

Memorialization Without Accountability Is Historical Theft

A memorial that does not name the Iraqi state, the Iraqi army, and collaborating Kurdish forces as responsible for the Simmele Massacre is not a memorial, it is historical revisionism. It transforms victims into symbols while absolving perpetrators. It turns genocide into a neutral tragedy, disconnected from power, policy, and intent.

Even more disturbing is the participation of Assyrian figures who have aligned themselves with dominant political powers in exchange for recognition, protection, or personal influence. When religious or communal leaders lend legitimacy to such projects, they do not represent reconciliation, they enable erasure.

No church authority, no political appointee, and no externally manufactured "Christian representative" has the moral right to legitimize the rewriting of Assyrian history. The blood of Simmele cannot be laundered through ceremonies, stones, or speeches emptied of truth.

The Assyrian People Do Not Need Permission to Remember

The Assyrian people are not guests in their own homeland, nor are they beneficiaries of anyone's goodwill. They are an indigenous people of Mesopotamia, with an uninterrupted presence spanning millennia. Their memory, identity, and martyrs do not require validation from the very systems that sought, and continue to seek, their removal.

True commemoration requires:

Clear acknowledgment of perpetrators

Recognition of Assyrians as an indigenous people

Accountability for historical and ongoing crimes

An end to land theft and demographic engineering

Independent Assyrian representation, free from coercion

Anything less is not remembrance--it is complicity

Conclusion

A memorial built on denial is a second massacre--this time of memory, truth, and justice. The Assyrian people reject symbolic gestures that conceal responsibility and normalize oppression. Simmele is not a shared tragedy; it is a documented crime. And crimes cannot be commemorated by those who refuse to confront their role in committing them.

History will not be rewritten by foundation stones. It will be remembered by those who refuse to forget.
'A Worthy Recognition': Assyrian Patriarch on Simmele Massacre Monument

His Holiness Awa III, Patriarch of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East. In a solemn moment of remembrance in the town of Simmele, the laying of the foundation stone for the Assyrian Martyrs Monument brought renewed attention to the 1933 genocide, as the Assyrian Patriarch publicly thanked the Kurdistan Regional Government and President Masoud Barzani for supporting the project.

Patriarch Mar Awa III, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East worldwide, said the construction of the Assyrian Martyrs Monument in Simmele represents a fitting act of recognition by the Kurdistan Regional Government for the victims of the 1933 genocide committed against Assyrians. He expressed thanks to President Masoud Barzani for backing the initiative.

Speaking during the ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the monument, Mar Awa III said: "This project is a worthy recognition by the Kurdistan Regional Government of the lives of the martyrs of the 1933 genocide carried out against the Assyrians."

The patriarch praised the stance of the Kurdistan Regional Government in implementing the project and responding to related demands. He offered particular appreciation to President Barzani for his support and reaffirmed that the project is expected to be completed in the near future.

In another part of his remarks, the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East referred to the damage caused by the targeting of Assyrians in 1933, saying: "In that genocide, three to five thousand Assyrians were killed, including women, the elderly, children, and religious men. To this day, their remains are still present at this site."

He stressed that the event remains one of the most significant and impactful episodes in Assyrian history, adding: "The wound of this genocide has not healed to this day and will not heal until the Iraqi government officially recognizes the genocide and assumes full legal and historical responsibility for that crime."

Christians have faced numerous hardships, including attacks carried out by ISIS, during which Christian communities were forced to leave their churches, homes, and properties as the extremist group spread across their areas. During that period, the Kurdistan Regional Government acted as a primary supporter, receiving many displaced Christians into the Kurdistan Region.

Three years ago, a senior Christian cleric praised the Kurdistan Regional Government's support for a United Nations investigation into ISIS crimes against Christians in Iraq. The UN investigative body, UNITAD, published a 26-page report detailing evidence of crimes against humanity, including enslavement, forced conversion, and the destruction of religious and cultural sites. Erbil-based Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda said: "Without the help that came from the government of Kurdistan would never be shown to the world." He described the report as a very important step and noted that around 2,000 Christians fled the Nineveh Plains following the ISIS takeover of the area. The Kurdish government maintained efforts to raise international awareness of ISIS atrocities, a group defeated by Iraqi and Peshmerga forces in 2017.

On Dec. 25, 2025, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq and worldwide, praised the Kurdistan Democratic Party for its long-standing support of the Christian community, saying the Church would never forget the party's historic positions. He highlighted the role of senior KDP officials in advocating for Christian rights and rejected claims circulating online that he had signed a normalization agreement or visited Israel, describing such allegations as blatant lies and the product of fabricated content. Cardinal Sako also called for strengthening internal relations among Iraq's diverse communities and emphasized religious coexistence as a foundation for stability.

The Simmele monument project adds a new chapter to longstanding recognition efforts, linking remembrance of past atrocities with continued calls for acknowledgment, protection, and coexistence.
Sony's CES 2026 press conference is just a few days away, and this year comes with a twist: Rather than an overview of Sony's electronics, video game and Hollywood studio plans for the new year, the presser will have a more narrow focus: electric vehicles. Sound odd? That's because the traditional end-of-press-day slot isn't just Sony, but rather Sony Honda Mobility  the joint venture responsible for the Afeela 1 electric car that has been showcased at CES for the better part of a decade. But this year, we'll get to see an all-new concept model at the event.

How to watch the Sony Afeela CES 2026 press conference

The event will be streamed live from Las Vegas on Monday, January 5 at 8PM ET via the Afeela official YouTube channel, which we've embedded below.

What to expect from Sony Afeela at CES

The Afeela 1 has been shown in various incarnations since CES 2020, where it was originally announced as the Vision-S. But so many more important details were confirmed in the past couple of years, including the price, which starts at a staggering $89,900. However, the earlier impressions were less than impressive, and as of CES 2025, that thought remains the same. Engadget's automotive expert Tim Stevens said a year ago that the EV "feels like a PlayStation 4 in the PS5 era," and that "the car lost what little interesting styling it had while sticking true to some specifications that sounded good five years ago." Ouch.

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But the Afeela 1 won't be the only vehicle on display. Its CES booth will showcase "several Afeela 1 pre-production vehicles in multiple color variations, alongside a new Afeela concept model," Sony Honda Mobility said in a press release.

The company recently announced that the Afeela will be the first vehicle ever to offer PlayStation Remote Play, which lets players stream their PS4 or PS5 games from their consoles remotely while inside the car. That's no doubt built on the same streaming improvements that have been incorporated into the PlayStation Portal.

We're hoping to hear about what else is new and improved at CES 2026, and we're also excited to see its newest concept model. And between booth displays and press releases, we're hoping we'll get to see at least a few new Sony Electronics products on the docket for 2026, too.

Update, January 4 2026, 4:17PM ET: This story has been updated to include the embedded YouTube stream for the Afeela presentation.
Assyrian Church Calls on Iraq to Recognize Simmele Genocide

His Holiness Awa III, Patriarch of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East. Assyrians in Iraq are still awaiting Baghdad's formal recognition of the 1933 Simmele massacre as a genocide, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East Mar Awa III said on Sunday.

In a speech following a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Simmele massacre, Awa III described violence against Assyrians after the WW1 as a painful chapter in Iraq's history, noting that "backing from the Kurdistan Regional Government for such initiatives encourages Assyrians to remain on their land and maintain their historical roots."

The massacre took place from August 7 to 11, 1933, in Duhok and Mosul provinces, following tensions between the Hashemite monarchy and Assyrian leaders who were calling for international guarantees to protect their identity. Iraq's royal army launched a military campaign that resulted in the killing of more than 600 civilians in Simmele alone, while some estimates place the total number of victims at over 3,000 across the surrounding areas.

The Assyrian community is a Christian ethnic minority, with an estimated population between 200,000 and 400,000, distributed across Kurdistan, Baghdad, Nineveh, and Basra.
The Arizona Daily Star Sportsmens Fund raises money so children from low-income households and active military families in Southern Arizona can attend summer camp on scholarships funded by Star readers.

We send local kids to weeklong YMCA, Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts) and Girl Scout overnight camps, as well as overnight camping at Camp Tatiyee for school-age children with special needs. New last year were scholarships for Flowing Wells students to go to the overnight Sky School camp on Mt. Lemmon. We plan to expand our Sky School camp partnership in 2026 to fund additional children from Title 1 schools.

In 2025, we received 1,076 donations totaling $272,576.43 and spent $256,252 on scholarships to send 423 Southern Arizona boys and girls to camp. We are expanding our sponsored camps in 2026 to the University of Arizona Sky School at the Steward Observatory atop Mt. Lemmon. The four-day, three-night science camp will draw from middle and high school students at Title 1 schools.

Since 1947, the Sportsmens Fund has helped pay for 44,814 children to go to overnight camp. Were one of the oldest 501(c )(3) charities in Arizona and one of the most efficient, with 97 cents from every dollar going to send kids to camp.

Your contribution to the Arizona Daily Star Sportsmens Fund Send a Kid to Camp fund qualifies for the Arizona tax credit for donations to qualifying charitable organizations. Our code is 20450. Joint Arizona filers can donate up to $987 for 2025 taxes and $1,009 for 2026 taxes, and other Arizona filers can donate up to $495 for 2025 taxes and $506 for their 2026 taxes. Donations made during 2025 or from Jan. 1, 2026, through April 15, 2026, can be claimed on the 2025 Arizona income tax return. Our EIN is 86-6053274, which is needed for some fund transfers.

Credit-card donations and details on the camps we sponsor: azsendakidtocamp.org

Send checks, payable to Sportsmens Fund, to: Send a Kid to Camp, P.O. Box 16141, Tucson, AZ 85732-6141

For more information: Debbie Kornmiller at 520-954-3139 or info@azsendakidtocamp.org

Donations are welcome throughout the year.

Recent donations include:

June A. Batastini in memory of John "Fox" Batastini, $500.

Saliee Britton, $500.

Jay and Diana Caldwell, in memory of Keith Martin, $517.02.

Ted Cordery, $200.

Janet B. Cramer, $100.

Lawrence Dickey, $100.

Joseph Dinich, $200.

Kerry and Paul Dufour, $235.18.

Robert D. Hughes, $987.

Sue and Biff Johnson, $313.47.

James Harrison, $200.

Lorna M. Hunter, great for kids to go camping, $493.

Barbara A. Miller, $1,000.

Geraldine M. Moisant, $2,500.

Jerome Moss, $100.

Thomas Neil, in memory of brothers John and James Neil, $200.

Stephen J. Shawl, $100.

Paul Tang, $137.

The Salpointe Class of 1967 Lunch Bunchers, $102.

Neil Zaer, $209.09.

Mark S. Zimmer, $25.

One anonymous donation of $1,000.
Lessons to learn from the brutal murder of Anjel Chakma

The town of Dehradun, including India, has to search its conscience and decide how it can do right by Anjel Chakma and what can be done to inculcate greater inclusivity

On December 26 this year, Anjel Chakma from Tripura, an MBA student in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, succumbed to his injuries and passed away. Earlier, on Dec 9, he and his brother had been subjected to racial insults from some locals. When they resisted, Anjel was attacked with a sharp object that ultimately caused his death.

That the humiliation, vilification and caricature of those citizens of India from the North-East continues nearly unabated is a very disturbing sign for Indias image of its self-understanding as a nation and its acceptance of its diverse population.

But it is even more disturbing that the incident should have occurred in the city of Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand since 2011.

Just a few months ago, in a literary festival in Dehradun, local students presented their vision for Uttarakhand in 2047. There were the usual, and deeply felt, hopes for a prosperous and harmonious Uttarakhand, one that paid special attention to the acute ecological crisis in the region.

The highlight of this event was that it was presented by students representing the impressive diversity of the Dehradun populace. There were speeches in Garhwali, Kumaoni, Jaunsari, Nepali, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Punjabi and Tibetan. Each of these languages is spoken by a not inconsiderable section of the population. I am not sure which other part of India hosts such a range of peoples.

A town that has its roots in Sikh history, having been settled by Guru Ram Rai in the 17th century, Dehradun has seen different peoples come and find a home there. The influence of Sikhs and Sikhism can be felt to this day.

One of the crucial battles of the Anglo-Gurkha war was fought in the town. The Khalanga War Memorial was erected to honor the fallen soldiers, British and Gurkha. The valley boasts a sizable population of Nepali-speakers.

Eventually, after the Anglo-Gurkha war, the British took control of the valley, and set up settlements and cantonments.

After the 1947 partition of India, a lot of people from what became Pakistan found shelter in the Doon Valley.

A considerable population of Tibetans found a home in Dehradun, with one of the largest settlements being Dhondupling. It is said that the social reformer, Vinoba Bhave, had donated land for the Tibetan community to settle in Dhondupling.

There, near the famous monastery on its premises, Mindrolling, a young trainee monk from Arunachal Pradesh explained the finer points of the Tibetan alphabets to the author of this piece.

Dehradun is also home to a large number of government and research institutions and attracts people from all over India. The Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), the Survey of India, The Forest Research Institute (FRI) and the Indian Military Academy (IMA) are among the many prestigious establishments in the valley.

Not to mention its storied schools, chief among them the Doon School. Many of the schools are residential, attracting students from all over India. More recently, it is home to several universities, one of which Anjel attended. The universities attract not only students from all over India but from several countries outside India as well, including from the continent of Africa.

Yet, despite all these markers of a mixture of cultures, people and languages, it looks like a place like Dehradun is not immune to the ills of racism, of narrowness and bigotry.

It is not as though Uttarakhand has not had its own share of hate and ultra-nationalism in recent times. A Kashmiri shawl trader was roughed up recently in Udham Singh Nagar. Dehradun itself has seen government action against so-called illegal madrasas. Earlier incidents of love jihad in towns like Purola struck fear in the heart of Muslims.

The attack against Anjel exhibits itself as a mix of pervasive racism and an extremely narrow idea of who is an Indian. It doesnt help when the Prime Minister of the country looks away from a calamitous conflict in Manipur for the longest time. It is a shame that people from the North-East have to constantly prove  to the people of mainland India  that they are as Indian as any one else.

When the official narrative is so centered on one religion, one language, one type of original inhabitants of the land, one history (mainly) and a select number of castes that wrest privilege, then the seeds of narrow-mindedness are everywhere.

The violence against people from the North-East is no stranger to Indias capital, New Delhi as well. In fact Delhi Police has a Special Police Unit for North East Region (SPUNER). And, after the Anjel incident, a senior police official in Dehradun stated that Uttarakhand has such cells too, which were activated post the incident.

Why do we need special cells for a section of our own citizens? This quite obviously points to an egregious gap in the social fabric of the nation.

It is claimed by many that the Modi government has made various forms of communication  land and air etc  a priority for the North-East. But, more than that, a crucial communication with the people of the North-East is missing.

A serious, sincere and sustained endeavor to properly include the people of the North-East into the Greater Indian Family  however nominal and fraught that term might be  has not been evident. Such an effort cannot certainly be with an insidious intention to co-opt the people of the North-East into a Hindi heartland mainstream, as has been attempted in the past.

We need a well-thought-out roadmap that treats the citizens of the North-East as equal citizens of this nation on their terms, and as crucial contributors to its culture, society, ethos and economy. They often do not figure in any popular narrative, discourse, story or expression related to India.

Despite the NCERTs feeble attempts to include a wide range of characters  including from the North-East  in conversational situations in its books, the story of India is basically a story of mainland India. And more narrowly a story of North India.

If Aryavarta was limited to the land to the west of Magadha for the longest time, it was mostly bounded on the south by the Vindhyas. The author of this piece remembers the joy of a participant (from Kerala) in a class on the Ashokan Brahmi script upon finding mention of the Kerala-putras in one of Ashokas inscriptions.

We have no inclusive school-level or popular history of India that encompasses elements of the North-East in any meaningful way. Heck, if Indian histories include history of South India as more of an afterthought, that is a surprise too.

So, if the Tamil Nadu government goes gaga over Keeladi finds or if Mayawati decided to lavish money on Bahujan history in the form of theme parks, one can understand just a little of their impulses.

We cannot keep failing our fellow citizens of the North-East. We need ambassadors of goodwill and people who can accept the North-East as itself. We probably need more people like Uncle Moosa, a Malayali and a much loved library-activist who settled in Arunachal Pradesh since he arrived there in the 1970s.

The town of Dehradun has to search its conscience and decide how it can do right by Anjel Chakma and what can be done to inculcate greater inclusivity. So does Uttarakhand, as does India. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is our motto, right?

[The writer, Umang Kumar, is Writer and Social Activist based in Delhi NCR.]

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Maharashtra Corporation Polls 2026: Over 70 elected unopposed

Over 70 candidates of different political parties have been elected unopposed in the 29 Municipal Corporations of Maharashtra where polling is scheduled to be held on January 15, 2026

Maharashtra Mahanagar Palika Elections 2026: Over 70 candidates of different political parties have been elected unopposed in the 29 Municipal Corporations of Maharashtra where polling is scheduled to be held on January 15, 2026.

Friday was the last day for the withdrawal of nomination forms and over 70 candidates of different parties and alliances won unopposed. This is because no one filed papers against them, or the nomination papers if filed were found invalid.

As per the data released by the poll officials, the highest number of winners is from Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), where 21 Mahayuti candidates have been elected - 15 from the BJP and 06 from the Shiv Sena.

Jalgaon in North Maharashtra has also contributed a dozen corporators to BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde), with each winning 6 seats unopposed. The trend continued in Panvel and Bhiwandi where BJP won respectively 07 and 06 candidates unopposed. One of the 06 BJP candidates who won from Bhiwandi unopposed is a Muslim - Abu Saad Shaikh.

In Thane, Shiv Sena (Shinde) secured 06 seats unopposed whereas in Dhule Mahanagar Palika, 03 BJP candidates won uncontested, while the NCP won 02 seats. The BJP also 01 seat in Ahilya Nagar Municipal Corpoartion.

In Malegaon Municipal Corporation, 01 seat has been won unopposed by former Congress MLA Asif Shaikh Rashid's party which is contesting the 2026 election forming an alliance, Malegaon Secular Front, with Samajwadi Party.

Polling for the remaining seats in all of the 29 Corporations of Maharashtra will be held on January 15, 2026. Counting of votes will take place on January 16, 2026 when all results will also be declared, as per the election schedule released earlier.

Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates.

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The year 2025 was a pivotal one for Vietnams education sector, marked by policy breakthroughs that brought lasting structural changes and widespread impact across all levels of learning.

Free public school tuition across the nation

Among the most significant reforms was the national decision to waive tuition fees for all students enrolled in public schools, from preschool through high school.

On February 28, 2025, after evaluating fiscal feasibility amid governmental streamlining efforts, the Politburo approved the tuition exemption policy. It officially took effect in the 20252026 academic year.

Subsequently, on June 26, 2025, the National Assembly passed a resolution that not only reaffirmed this exemption for public school students but also included partial financial support for those enrolled in private schools following the national education program.

This milestone brought immense relief to millions of families and fulfilled a long-standing aspiration of the Vietnamese education sector.

General Secretary To Lam attends the 20252026 school year opening ceremony and the 80th anniversary of the education sector. Photo: VGP

At the school years opening ceremony, General Secretary To Lam emphasized the importance of equal educational access, especially for children in remote, border, island, and disadvantaged areas. He also underscored the need for increased investment in school facilities, student nutrition, teaching staff, and digital infrastructure.

He noted that not only has free tuition been implemented nationwide, but many provinces have also begun providing free lunches to students in full-day schooling programs. Education, he stated, should nurture both intellect and character, cultivating a generation that is capable, compassionate, and resilient for the nation's development in a new era.

One unified national textbook series selected

On August 22, 2025, General Secretary To Lam signed Politburo Resolution No. 71, which called for comprehensive reform in education and training.

Among its directives was a mandate for a unified national textbook series, with a goal of providing these textbooks free of charge to all students by 2030.

On December 26, the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) selected the "Connecting Knowledge to Life" series by Vietnam Education Publishing House as the official nationwide curriculum, beginning in the 20262027 school year.

According to MoET, this series meets all selection criteria: it covers all subjects across all grade levels, has demonstrated academic and pedagogical quality in 34 provinces, and offers a stable, scalable supply chain. Its familiarity among teachers, students, and parents also minimizes disruption during the transition.

The unified textbook series aims to ensure equal access to knowledge nationwide. Its continuity from grade 1 through 12 helps mitigate the learning gaps faced by students who transfer schools, especially in migrant or disadvantaged communities. The ministry is also working toward full textbook subsidies by 2030, further reducing the financial burden on families.

Middle school diploma abolished; high school diploma now issued by principals

Students in Hanoi celebrate the start of the new school year. Photo: Hoang Ha
The IT  software sector leads in average income levels. Photo by Trong Dat

According to TopCV's annual recruitment report, Information Technology (IT)  particularly in software  remains the top-paying career path in Vietnam for the 20252026 period.

As Vietnam enters a new economic phase, with GDP growth projected to exceed 8%, the labor market is facing a "dual challenge": a shortage of high-skilled professionals and the disruptive rise of artificial intelligence (AI), which is reshaping entire industries.

The sixth edition of TopCVs annual recruitment report, titled Hiring trends 2026: Proactive in an era of change, presents a comprehensive picture of labor supply and demand through transparent quantitative analysis.

The data was compiled from the responses of over 3,000 hiring managers and workers across diverse sectors during Q3/2025. It also included analysis of nearly 300,000 job postings on the platform, along with external reference sources.

IT leads in average salary rankings

Market data confirms that IT  particularly software  continues to top the chart in terms of average salary. In a fiercely competitive talent landscape, companies are offering exceptional compensation packages to attract deep tech experts.

Notably, Solution Architects with over five years of experience earn a median salary of approximately $2,320 per month.

Senior management roles, such as Head or Deputy Head of IT departments, offer median salaries around $2,200.

Specialist positions aligned with emerging technologies, like AI Engineers and Data Engineers, also see high median monthly incomes of over $1,580  even without management responsibilities.

Beyond IT, high-earning sectors include Legal & Audit (around $1,850) and Business Management (roughly $1,650) at the managerial level.

Within IT, the five most difficult positions to fill are AI Engineer, Bridge Engineer, Solution Architect, Mobile App Developer, and Software Architect.

The primary reasons cited are a shortage of high-skilled candidates (55%), intense competition from major tech firms (49.6%), and limited supply of qualified applicants (34.3%).

Sales dominates recruitment, but quality trumps quantity

Despite attractive IT salaries, Business/Sales remains the top recruitment focus for companies, accounting for 47.5% of total market demand.

The 2026 hiring outlook shows a significant shift from quantity to quality. According to TopCV, 52.2% of businesses are adopting a same-size, higher-efficiency strategy, rather than mass recruitment.

Other sectors with strong hiring demand include IT  Software (8.64%),

Marketing/Communications/Advertising (8.22%), and Customer Service (6.1%).

Five sectors most vulnerable to AI disruption

AI is no longer a futuristic concept  40.7% of businesses have already integrated it into their strategic plans. However, its rise poses a threat to jobs that involve repetitive tasks.

TopCV identifies five sectors most vulnerable to AI-driven disruption: Customer Service (30.1%), Marketing/Communications/Advertising (27.51%), Business/Sales (18.32%), IT  Software (16.92%), and Finance/Accounting (14.97%).

These are the industries most likely to see partial workforce reductions due to AI, the report notes, because of the high percentage of repetitive tasks involved. This calls for continuous learning and upskilling from workers to remain relevant.

To adapt, TopCV experts recommend building a dual competency framework that combines strong professional expertise with AI literacy.

A full 59.1% of businesses are prioritizing in-house AI training, offering opportunities for those ready to upskill and reskill into digital talent for the new era.

In addition to hard skills, digital and soft skills are increasingly essential. The report shows many candidates, especially in IT, still lack key capabilities like communication/presentation (47.3%), critical thinking (39.7%), and product mindset (33.6%).

Strengthening these skills will help professionals become high-quality hires with a deeper understanding of business contexts.

In the IT sector in particular, companies place strong emphasis on real-world experience demonstrated through project portfolios and familiarity with relevant tech stacks.

Du Lam
With deep love for her ethnic identity and a determination to preserve it, Aya (born 1991), a Ba Na woman from Piom village, ak oa commune, Gia Lai province, created a digital KinhBa Na dictionary app with nearly 6,000 entries.

Aya researches the Ba Na writing system and pronunciation using old dictionaries and archived materials. Photo: Ngoc Thu

From engineering graduate to cultural guardian

Aya graduated in Computer and Electronic Engineering from the Ho Chi Minh City campus of the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology.

In 2014, she made a pivotal decision to return to her hometown and began working at the ak oa District Cultural and Information Office (now the ak oa Center for Culture, Information and Sports).

In 2019, she was tasked with translating and reading Ba Na-language news bulletins. That work sparked her deep dive into the Ba Na written language, and she quickly realized how limited her own knowledge of her mother tongue was.

She enrolled in a Ba Na language course offered by the local Continuing Education Center to strengthen her linguistic foundation.

I didnt know the Ba Na had so many subgroups, Aya said. Each uses slightly different vocabulary, and you wouldn't understand that without studying it deeply.

She borrowed a printed KinhBa Na dictionary and began transcribing its contents by hand. The dictionary was thick, rare, and cumbersome to carry - sparking an idea: Why not build a digital version thats portable and accessible to everyone?

Coding culture into a mobile app

The app, developed entirely by Aya, contains nearly 6,000 words with built-in audio pronunciation. Photo: Ngoc Thu

Aya receives the Outstanding Youth Following Uncle Hos Teachings award from Gia Lai Province in May 2025. Photo: Ngoc Thu

Aya is honored to receive the title of Outstanding Youth Following Uncle Hos Teachings of Gia Lai Province.

Photo: Ngoc Thu

By August 2025, the app was complete. It runs smoothly on Android and iOS, supports quick search, and includes audio playback - all completely free of charge.

Users can now look up Ba Na words on their smartphones or computers anytime, anywhere.

The app has received widespread praise.

Voices from the community

Y Minh Son, a public officer in ak oa commune, said: Im so happy to see a KinhBa Na dictionary app. It helps young people like me learn our ethnic language more easily and keeps our culture alive in the digital era.

Khao, an 8th-grade student at Vo Thi Sau Secondary School, shared: Thanks to the app, I can quickly look up words I dont understand and pronounce them correctly. It really helps me in school.

Ayas contributions were recognized in May 2025, when she received the Outstanding Youth Following Uncle Hos Teachings title from the Gia Lai Provincial Youth Union.

Mai Thi Nhu Ngoc, Secretary of the ak oa Youth Union, praised Ayas work: Shes an active young woman, always involved in youth programs and community work. Her digital dictionary project is not only valuable for the Ba Na people, but also for government officers working in ethnic areas. It helps bridge communication gaps and promotes cultural understanding.

Looking ahead, Aya hopes to hand over the project to a government or organization that can help expand and maintain the dictionary.

Im ready to transfer all the data Ive collected over the years, she said. My only wish is for the Ba Na language to live on, for future generations to understand and be proud of who they are.

Ngoc Thu
To mark the new year, Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam He Wei offered his reflections on the evolving partnership between China and Vietnam, celebrating a transformative 2025 and looking ahead with optimism to 2026.

Singing loud, advancing strong

General Secretary To Lam welcomes Chinese General Secretary and President Xi Jinping during his April 2025 visit to Vietnam.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, designated as the Year of ChinaVietnam People-to-People Exchange by top leaders.

Ambassador He Wei, who assumed his post in September 2024, described the past year as deeply meaningful.

If I were to choose a phrase to describe ChinaVietnam relations in 2025, it would be: singing loud, advancing strong, he said.

The standout highlight, he noted, was the historic state visit by General Secretary and President Xi Jinping to Vietnam in April 2025.

During this visit, the two sides signed 45 cooperation agreements, setting a new record. Because of the high volume, protocol teams proposed a creative solution: instead of signing all the documents during the ceremony, the agreements were pre-signed and displayed at the headquarters of the Communist Party of Vietnam, where both leaders praised the achievements.

From late August to early September, three high-level exchanges took place within a week - an extraordinary frequency in bilateral history.

These included a visit by Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress of China; a working visit to China by President Luong Cuong; and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attending the SCO Summit in China.

These events, along with increasingly vibrant local and institutional exchanges, prompted many Vietnamese friends to describe 2025 as the beginning of a second golden era in the countries friendship.

A year of many firsts

120 personnel from the Chinese PLA participate in Vietnams 80th National Day military parade.

In politics, for the first time, the two countries convened a joint session between the Vietnamese National Assembly and Chinas NPC, and upgraded their 3+3 strategic dialogue mechanism (foreign affairs, defense, security) to the ministerial level - a unique format exclusive to Vietnam and China.

In trade, bilateral trade volume in the first 11 months of 2025 exceeded the previous years total, reaching a new historical high. For the first time, over 1 million vehicles passed through the Huu NghiYouyi Guan border gate.

The VietnamChina Railway Cooperation Committee held its inaugural meeting in Beijing.

In defense and security, the two armies held their first joint land forces training. A Chinese PLA honor guard participated for the first time in Vietnams 80th National Day military parade.

In people-to-people exchange, 2025 also saw the debut of the Red Journey, where Vietnamese youth visited sites in China linked to President Ho Chi Minhs revolutionary activities.

Scale, substance, and innovation

Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam He Wei.

Summing up bilateral ties, Ambassador He Wei cited three pillars: scale, substance, and innovation.

In terms of scale, trade between the two countries surpassed USD 250 billion in the first 11 months. China remains Vietnams largest trading partner and top source of new investment, with many Chinese high-tech firms choosing Vietnam as their first overseas destination.

As for substance, China is Vietnams largest importer of agricultural and seafood products. More than 60% of Vietnams fruit and vegetable exports go to China, with durian alone reaching USD 3.4 billion, accounting for over 90% of Vietnams durian export value.

When I returned to China for leave, I saw Vietnamese farm products everywhere in supermarkets - people in China truly love them, the ambassador said.

Vietnam is also among the most popular international destinations for Chinese tourists. Bilateral payment issues are gradually being resolved, including the QR code payment interoperability launched in December 2025, which is expected to boost tourism further.

Key infrastructure projects such as three standard-gauge railway lines in northern Vietnam are progressing rapidly. The waste-to-energy plant in Soc Son is already operational and contributes to Vietnams green transformation and modernization.

More and more Chinese companies with strong financial and technological capabilities are identifying Vietnam as a priority destination for overseas investment.

Shared innovation pathways

Vietnamese traders promote durian at the 20th ChinaASEAN Expo in Nanning, Guangxi. Photo: Xinhua

Ambassador He Wei emphasized that Chinas 15th Five-Year Plan prioritizes technological innovation and development of new productive forces, aligning with Vietnams strategy to transition towards an innovation-driven economy.

He noted the growing bilateral collaboration in high-tech sectors, with Chinese capital increasingly flowing into green energy, AI, and industrial modernization initiatives in Vietnam.

Under the guidance of top leaders, people-to-people ties have also flourished.

General Secretary To Lam attended a gathering of Vietnamese and Chinese students and alumni, planted a symbolic tree of friendship, and emphasized shared roots and deep bonds.

Xi Jinping, too, described ChinaVietnam relations as being like a tree with roots, like a stream with a source, with the lifeblood of bilateral friendship residing in the peoples goodwill.

The 13th ChinaVietnam Peoples Forum and the 24th Youth Friendship Exchange were both successfully held in 2025. That year also saw over 20,000 Vietnamese students studying in China, and 138,000 HSK test-takers - the highest number worldwide.

Sites commemorating President Ho Chi Minhs activities in China continue to be well preserved, and a monument honoring Chinese military experts in Vietnam was recently inaugurated at the Vietnam Military History Museum.

Looking back, Ambassador He Wei stated that Vietnam and China share mutual experiences and aspirations, aiming not only for national benefit but also to demonstrate the stability and viability of their chosen development path.

He concluded by reaffirming that China will firmly support the Communist Party and people of Vietnam in organizing a successful 14th National Party Congress in 2026, and stands ready to enhance strategic connectivity, share governance experiences, and deepen practical cooperation.

Tran Thuong
The northern region braces for another cold front. Photo: Hoang Minh

Around January 5, a new cold air mass is expected to intensify, bringing scattered rain and a significant drop in temperatures across northern and north-central Vietnam. Mountainous areas may experience severe cold and frost. Strong marine winds will stir up rough seas, with waves reaching heights of 4 to 6 meters.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, as of January 4, a cold air system is moving southward from the north. The northern region is currently seeing scattered light rain with temperatures ranging between 17C and 20C.

The forecast indicates that by tomorrow, January 5, this cold front will begin affecting northeastern parts of northern Vietnam, before spreading to the wider northern region, north-central provinces, northwestern areas, and even the central central region. Over land, northeast winds will blow at levels 23, and up to levels 34 near coastal areas. From the night of January 4 into January 5, northern Vietnam will see light and scattered rain.

As the cold air strengthens, both northern and north-central Vietnam will continue to experience low temperatures. Mountainous and midland areas in the north are expected to suffer from severe cold, with the potential for freezing temperatures. The lowest temperatures during this cold spell in northern Vietnam, Thanh Hoa, and Nghe An are forecast to range from 10C to 13C. In mountainous areas, the mercury may drop to between 7C and 10C, and even below 5C in higher elevations.

In Hanoi, light rain and drizzle are expected from the night of January 4 to January 5. The weather will be cold, with temperatures dropping to between 10C and 13C.

At sea, from the evening of January 5, the Gulf of Tonkin will experience strong northeast winds at level 6, with gusts reaching levels 78. Waves will rise to 23 meters, creating rough sea conditions. In the northern part of the East Sea (including the Hoang Sa [Paracel] Islands), winds could strengthen to level 6 or 7, with gusts of level 89, and waves reaching 35 meters. The central and southern parts of the East Sea will also face increased northeast winds from January 6, with wave heights climbing to 46 meters.

Additionally, from tomorrow, provinces from Ha Tinh to Da Nang and the eastern parts of Quang Ngai to Gia Lai are expected to see showers, with some areas receiving moderate to heavy rain and thunderstorms. These storms may bring whirlwinds, lightning, hail, and strong gusts. In the mountainous regions of northern Vietnam, authorities advise caution against the formation of ice and frost.

Meteorologists have warned that the upcoming bout of cold weather, accompanied by hazardous conditions, may impact public health, particularly for the elderly, children, and those with chronic illnesses. Residents are advised to stay warm and avoid going outdoors early in the morning or late at night.

Extended periods of cold may also pose threats to agricultural activities, affecting livestock, poultry, and crops.

Localized heavy rainfall could result in flooding in low-lying areas, flash floods, and landslides in mountainous regions. Meanwhile, strong winds and high waves offshore pose significant risks to vessels and maritime operations.

Bao Anh
Ambassador Knapper shared, As 2025 comes to a close, we commemorate an extraordinary milestone - 30 years of U.S.Vietnam diplomatic relations. This year has been filled with meaningful moments that reflect the strength and growth of our bilateral partnership.

In higher education, Ambassador Knapper welcomed the largest-ever delegation of American universities to visit Vietnam, aiming to enhance academic exchange and collaboration between institutions in both countries.

Im proud that U.S. educational institutions continue to attract Vietnamese students, making Vietnam the fifth-largest source of international students in the United States, with 36,000 currently studying there. With over 9,000 alumni who have participated in U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs, we also hosted our largest alumni gathering ever. Leaders, scholars, and longtime Vietnamese friends came together to honor their contributions in fostering bilateral ties, he said.

U.S. Ambassador Marc E. Knapper and the Harvard University delegation visit the National Archives Center III in Hanoi. Photo: TK

In the cultural sphere, the Ambassador highlighted four U.S.Vietnam friendship festivals held across the country and a creative collaboration with Vietnamese rapper Suboi on a music video titled Never Before, celebrating the people-to-people connection between the two nations. A special report titled Vietnam Matters to America, America Matters to Vietnam was also published, using data and statistics to illustrate the depth of bilateral cooperation.

In the defense and security sector, Ambassador Knapper noted the completion of the transfer of 12 T-6C training aircraft to the Vietnam Air DefenseAir Force and the delivery of a third patrol vessel to the Vietnam Coast Guard.

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited Hanoi in November, while the USS Tripoli and USS Robert Smalls docked in Da Nang in December. According to Ambassador Knapper, these events symbolize the growing maturity of the bilateral defense relationship.

General Phan Van Giang, Vietnams Minister of Defense, and U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth exchange wartime memorabilia. Photo: TK
From misty mountain videos to ancient tea trees, Sung A Tua has built a vision that blends agriculture, tourism, and tradition. His journey from law school in Hanoi to forming a cooperative in the remote village of Phinh Ho (Lao Cai) is transforming both the tea industry and his community.

Born and raised in Phinh Ho - a highland area with no cell signal and limited infrastructure - Sung A Tua now serves as Vice Chairman of the local Fatherland Front Committee. After a brief stint working in Hanoi, he made the life-changing decision to return home with a mission: change the way his community thinks, works, and dreams.

Fueled by a love for his culture, Tua created a TikTok channel called A Tua Phinh Ho, drawing nearly 200,000 followers. His videos - raw and real - show life in the Hmong village, often starting with his signature phrase:

Hello everyone, its your local official here again.

These authentic moments have earned millions of views, but more importantly, they sparked a movement.

A return home with a purpose

Sung A Tua shares his story at the Digital stories from the villages forum in Hanoi on Dec. 26. Photo: Thach Thao

Five years ago - and even today - some villages here still have no phone signal, he said. But I wanted to change that mindset: to show that even from a remote place, you can build something big.

After graduating from Law University, he worked briefly in Hanoi before returning to the mountains. His people, he says, live by a saying: No mountain is higher than a Hmong persons knees.

Tea, clouds, and a vision

Phinh Ho sits more than 1,000 meters above sea level, cloaked in clouds and tough conditions. Yet this climate is ideal for one special gift of nature: the Shan Tuyet ancient tea trees, some hundreds of years old.

Initially, Tuas videos focused on cloudscapes and village life. But he soon realized that experience-based tourism must be rooted in cultural value. His lightbulb moment: Shan Tuyet tea could be the heart of Phinh Hos development.

He started small - filming ancient tea trees, guiding cloud-hunting tours, and encouraging local youth to join him as drivers and guides. His motto: Dont fear mistakes. Well fix them as we go.

He designed travel experiences where visitors could pick tea, roast it with villagers, sip it by the fire, and become storytellers who would share Phinh Ho with the world.

But he knew that sustainable growth required more than tourism. Villagers had been selling raw tea leaves to middlemen at unstable prices - just $0.30 to $0.50/kg, leaving them little incentive to stay in the business.

In 2021, Tua launched a cooperative with 7 households. After 5 years, it has grown to 35 families, managing 60 hectares of ancient tea trees under sustainable practices. They follow a shared harvesting system and offer stable prices well above market.

From the mountain to the world

Tuas tea was showcased at the 2025 Youth Awards for Outstanding Ethnic Minority Students. Photo: N. Huyen

Tuas dream wasnt just to sell more tea - it was to bring Shan Tuyet to international markets.

For more than three years, he worked tirelessly to meet global standards. From soil testing to pesticide-free farming to legally certified production, he and his cooperative prepared to meet the demands of buyers in Japan, South Korea, and the US.

In July 2024, his first export shipment - over 100kg to Japan - was dispatched. Today, more than 700kg of Shan Tuyet tea has reached overseas markets. His product is even served during official state receptions in Vietnam.

Back then, we harvested, roasted, and filmed everything ourselves, Tua recalled. Now, weve built a brand, taken Shan Tuyet online, and put it on e-commerce platforms.

A rising tide lifts the village

Believing in the motto: Go alone to go fast, but go together to go far, Tua regularly partners with influencers and hosts livestreams to market not just tea, but also other local goods - vegetables, eggs, native chickens, and pork.

Culturally, he champions preservation by organizing activities like Mong cuisine experiences, traditional dance workshops, and engaging students returning from university to teach local children how to play the Hmong bamboo flute.

His cooperative now provides stable employment for over 20 local youth, many of whom faced financial hardship and had no chance to study far from home.

From the misty mountains of Phinh Ho, Sung A Tuas journey has carved a new path - one of pride, innovation, and shared success - for his people.

N. Huyen
Co-organised by the municipal Department of Culture and Sports, the Vietnam Publishers Association and relevant units, the event follows a pilot programme held in late November 2025. This edition aims to further promote reading culture while gradually shaping a vibrant nighttime cultural space in the city centre.

Running for three days from January 2, the festival offers a wide range of activities catering to diverse interests. Highlights include creative and experiential workshops such as Design Your Vision Board, which guides participants in planning personal goals, and ArchiTea, an activity combining tea culture with architectural heritage. Cultural and artistic exchanges are also featured, including performances of southern folk music Don ca tai tu and a talk show titled From Home-style Vietnamese Dishes to Million-dollar Vietnamese Cuisine.

In the evenings, acoustic music performances by young bands add a relaxed atmosphere to the event. Meanwhile, various booths introduce visitors to Vietnamese coffee and tea, traditional cakes, books, pop-up libraries, architecture and design displays, folk games, calligraphy, and handicraft experiences, offering a multi-sensory journey into Vietnamese culture.

According to Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Book Street Le Hoang, activities at Nguyen Van Binh Book Street traditionally ended around 18:00, causing the area to quiet down in the evening. The organisation of the Book and Nighttime Culture Festival is seen as an effort to extend operating hours and maintain a continuous flow of cultural activities from morning to night, keeping the book street lively from 9:00 to 22:00.

Beyond remaining a familiar destination for readers, the book street now contributes to the citys nighttime cultural life, meeting the publics demand for weekend recreation, cultural enjoyment and relaxation.

Nguyen Thi Mai Khanh, a resident of Nhieu Loc ward, said the nighttime operation of the book street offers a fresh and pleasant experience, allowing her to read, enjoy artistic performances and spend quality time with her family in a cultural setting well suited to weekends.

Guy Tran, a French-Vietnamese touring the book street with his wife and two children, shared that this was his familys first trip back to Vietnam together. He praised the festival for bringing books and traditional folk games such as bamboo dancing and figurine modelling closer to the public, calling it a meaningful and creative idea./.VNA
The National Assemblys adoption of Resolution No. 260/2025/QH amending and supplementing a number of articles of Resolution 98/2023/QH15 on piloting special mechanisms and policies for Ho Chi Minh Citys development, is expected to create new drivers for growth.

The resolution provides the key legal framework for advancing the Cai Mep Ha Free Trade Zone (FTZ), attracting strategic investors and supporting economic expansion across the southern key economic region.

Unlocking resources, preparing the groundwork

Under the master plan, the FTZ covers more than 3,764 hectares in Tan Phuoc ward. It is designed as a super seaport city, integrating transport, logistics, hi-tech industry and financial services.

The project comprises three main functional areas. The first, spanning more than 1,735 hectares, is a multimodal transport hub including container ports, inland waterways and the planned Cai Mep Ha railway terminal on the Bien HoaVung Tau line. The second, covering over 1,178 hectares, focuses on logistics warehousing and industry. The third area, of more than 850 hectares, is designated for hi-tech industry, urban services and green space, including land reserved for forest carbon-credit schemes.

Huynh Trung Son, Chairman of Tan Phuoc ward Peoples Committee, said local authorities have reviewed land resources and strengthened oversight to ensure accurate data for implementation while protecting legitimate land-use rights. Meetings have also been held with local businesses to help them prepare for opportunities arising from the free trade zone.

The area already hosts four seaports and four inland ports. Alongside the project now before the municipal Peoples Council, preparations are under way in policy development and human-resource planning. Training institutions are being encouraged to align teaching programmes with skills needs within the zone.

Institutional lever for strategic investment

A key attraction for investors lies in the 36 special policy mechanisms proposed for Cai Mep Ha, including 19 unprecedented measures such as the use of English in official transactions, a genuine one-stop administrative mechanism, investment-credit incentives and long-term visas for senior personnel.

The municipal Department of Industry and Trade said these measures are essential to create a competitive legal environment comparable with next-generation free trade zones worldwide, enabling the attraction of leading global investors and strengthening Vietnams role in the global economy.

Experts say the project could help resolve existing administrative and infrastructure bottlenecks in HCM City. Dr Tran Quang Thang, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Economics and Management, said the one-stop model would reduce costs and accelerate project approvals, enhancing competitiveness with regional hubs such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

Dr. Do Thien Anh Tuan, an economic and finance expert talks to a Vietnam News Agency reporter. (Photo: VNA)

Dr Do Thien Anh Tuan, an economic and finance expert emphasised four priorities for success: carefully planned zoning aligned with investor needs; synchronous infrastructure investment, with the State playing a key role in shared facilities; development of high-quality human resources; and completion of the local legal framework.

He stressed the need to swiftly concretise the decentralised powers granted by the central Government to create legal certainty for investors.

According to the economist, the special mechanisms within the Cai Mep Ha FTZ will also enable the application of digital technology from licensing to operational monitoring. This will transform the area into a modern port city, integrating multimodal transport infrastructure by sea, road and air via Long Thanh International Airport, creating a logistics gateway for the southern key economic region./. VNA
Tan Son Nhat Airport welcomed approximately 140,000 passengers on the final day of the 2026 New Year holiday. Photo: TK

According to the airports operations plan, January 4 saw a total of 809 flights operating through Tan Son Nhat. An estimated 140,000 passengers moved through the airport on that day - 5,000 more than the projected figure of 135,000.

The highest pressure was on the inbound side, with approximately 73,000 people returning to Ho Chi Minh City as they prepared to resume work. Outbound traffic also remained high, with more than 66,000 departures.

Significantly, international passenger numbers were strong, reaching nearly 62,000, while domestic travelers totaled around 78,000. This marks a clear signal of early recovery and growth in Vietnams tourism sector at the beginning of the year.

Despite the higher-than-expected volume, the airports operations remained stable, with no prolonged congestion or bottlenecks.

A representative from Tan Son Nhat International Airport noted that six airlines - Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines, Vasco, Bamboo Airways, Vietravel Airlines, and Sun PhuQuoc Airways - have moved their operations to the newly opened Terminal T3. This transition has significantly cooled down Terminal T1, which now exclusively serves Vietjet Air's domestic flights, resulting in a more spacious and manageable passenger experience.

In addition, the growing adoption of online check-in systems via websites and mobile apps, along with self-service kiosks, has contributed to reducing wait times at security checkpoints.

To ensure smoother journeys, airport authorities advise travelers to proactively complete check-in procedures online. Passengers are also encouraged to minimize the number of accompanying family or friends to avoid overcrowding in the terminal areas.

Moreover, travelers are reminded to closely monitor the airports electronic boards for gate changes and updates to avoid missing their flights.

Tuan Kiet
Four Vietnamese educators, with a shared devotion to learning and deep gratitude for their journeys, made a powerful choice: to give away their personal savings - each contributing billions of dong - to support students, schools, and struggling communities. Though retired, they continue to shape lives, believing that the most meaningful tribute to life is to keep the door to education open for others.

In the past year, several veteran educators have donated their retirement savings or mobilized family resources to support the education sector and wider community. No longer standing at the podium, these teachers have not stepped away from their purpose - theyve simply transformed it into acts of lasting impact.

Among the most notable cases are Professor Le Ngoc Thach donating 1 billion VND to his former high school in Ho Chi Minh City, teacher Khuong Van Hung offering the same amount to disaster-hit residents in Ninh Binh, and Associate Professor Bui Long Bien dedicating 1 billion VND to scholarships for disadvantaged students at Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

A teacher sets up a scholarship fund with his savings

Professor Le Ngoc Thach and Principal Pham Thi Be Hien of Le Hong Phong High School finalize the transfer of 1 billion VND to establish the prize fund. Photo: NVCC

In early December 2025, Professor Dr. Le Ngoc Thach, a visiting lecturer at the University of Science (Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City), withdrew 1 billion VND (approximately USD 41,600) from his personal savings to donate to Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted - his alma mater from 1960 to 1967.

The donation established the Le Van Thoi Prize, awarded annually to outstanding students in grades 10, 11, and 12.

Originally, Professor Thach intended to donate the money during the schools centennial in 2027, but decided to give earlier so the school could start an interest-earning savings account. With an annual interest rate of about 6%, the award fund is expected to yield 45 million VND (nearly USD 1,900) per year, with additional bonuses for students who win national or international competitions. His family has pledged to add more if needed.

Previously, he also donated 1 billion VND to support flood victims in northern Vietnam and contributed to various academic and community initiatives.

A family of educators gives 1 billion VND to disaster-hit villagers

Teacher Khuong Van Hung and his wife. Photo: Pham Trong Tung

Teacher Khuong Van Hung, 78, of Ninh Binh, alongside his wife and children, donated 1 billion VND to residents of Quy Nhat commune, which was heavily damaged by a tornado on the morning of September 29.

A former principal of Nghia Tan High School, Hung recalled years of poverty when his teaching salary couldn't cover the needs of their four children. He and his wife raised livestock and farmed to make ends meet. Seeing people lose their homes to disaster struck a chord with him, prompting an immediate desire to help.

For years, his family has quietly supported charity work, helped build educational infrastructure, honored war veterans, and assisted areas affected by natural disasters.

One billion VND in scholarships for poor students at HUST

Associate Professor Dr. Bui Long Bien donates 1 billion VND to support students at Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

In Hanoi, Associate Professor Dr. Bui Long Bien, 88, former lecturer in Analytical Chemistry at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, donated 1 billion VND to establish a scholarship fund for underprivileged students who demonstrate resilience and academic determination.

The scholarship, named in his honor, consists of 100 awards worth 10 million VND each (approximately USD 416), distributed per semester. Students must meet academic and conduct standards to continue receiving support.

Dr. Pham Thanh Huyen, Head of Student Affairs, said this is the first time a former lecturer has donated such a large sum to the school. The gesture reflects Professor Biens enduring commitment to education long after retirement.

A 90-year-old professor donates 2 billion VND to his university

Associate Professor Doan Van Dien, former rector of Nong Lam University, donates 2 billion VND to establish a permanent scholarship fund. Photo: Le Na
Vietnam achieved a top-tier global ranking in operational efficiency, placing 16th among 101 economies with a score of 70.44 points in the World Bank's Business Ready 2025 report released on December 30, though challenges remain in other assessment areas.



The Southeast Asian nation secured its position in the first quintile  representing the top 20% globally  in the operational efficiency pillar, which measures how easily businesses can comply with regulations and use public services.



Vietnam joined 29 economies achieving top-quintile performance in one to three business areas.



According to the report, the country demonstrated exceptional strength in several areas, particularly utility services, where it scored 90.03 points  among the highest globally  and financial services at 80.32 points. Vietnam also performed well in business entry (76.62), labour (69.63), and international trade (62.48).



However, the nation scored in the third quintile for both regulatory framework (67.03 points) and public services (53.93 points), indicating substantial room for improvement in these areas.



Significant weaknesses emerged in business insolvency, where Vietnam scored only 35.66 points, and market competition at 47.61 points. These scores reveal critical gaps requiring targeted reforms to strengthen the business environment.



Globally, consistent strong performance remains rare. Only eight economies  including Singapore and Georgia as well as the UK and five other European nations  achieved top-quintile rankings across all three pillars. Singapore led the world in operational efficiency with 79.25 points, while OECD high-income economies demonstrated the most consistent excellence across assessment areas.



Within Southeast Asia, performance varies significantly. Singapore ranked first globally and Malaysia placed in the second quintile with 67.99 points in operational efficiency, while Cambodia scored 56.17 points in the third quintile. The region demonstrates both high performers and economies requiring substantial reforms.



The World Bank noted that economies with a young workforce, including Vietnam, generally score lower across all assessment pillars compared to those with mature populations. The report emphasised that such economies face particular challenges in creating business environments conducive to job creation for expanding working-age populations.



The B-Ready assessment, which replaces the previous Doing Business report, evaluates economies across three pillars: regulatory framework, public services and operational efficiency. These pillars encompass 10 topics covering the complete business life cycle from establishment through operation to closure or reorganisation.



Data collection involved 5,000 local experts and surveys of 58,000 firms across participating economies. The methodology balances analysis of formal regulations with actual business practices to provide comprehensive assessments.



The project will expand from 101 economies in 2025 to more than 160 by 2026, with assessed economies currently averaging 60% business readiness globally./.VNA
In a January 3 notice to Netflix, the department said it had received information that the film was being distributed online in Vietnam via Netflixs website https://www.netflix.com and app. The 27-episode series is currently available in the country up to episode 25. Netflix has rated the series T13 (13+), making it suitable for viewers aged 13 and older.



After review, the department found that the series contains multiple map images depicting the U-shaped line, which are inaccurate and violate Vietnams national sovereignty (notably in episode 25, from 32 minutes 10 seconds to 34 minutes 3 seconds).



The department classified Shine on me as a C-rated film - prohibited from distribution - citing violations under Point d, Clause 1, Article 9 of the 2022 Law on Cinematography.



Under Clause 2, Article 15 of Government Decree No. 131/2022/ND-CP dated December 31, 2022, detailing certain provisions of the law, the department required Netflix to immediately remove the film from its website and app within 24 hours from 9 p.m. on January 3, 2026, and to submit a report on the removal to the department by 10 p.m. on January 4./.









VNA
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives Ambassador Meynardo Los Banos Montealegre. Photo: Nhat Bac

On the evening of January 3, 2026, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received outgoing Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr. Meynardo Los Banos Montealegre, in a farewell meeting marking the end of his diplomatic tenure.

Prime Minister Chinh congratulated the ambassador on the successful completion of his term, praising his positive contributions to advancing the bilateral relationship between Vietnam and the Philippines.

During Ambassador Montealegres tenure, the two countries effectively implemented the Action Plan for the Strategic Partnership (20192024), maintained high-level exchanges, and welcomed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on a state visit to Vietnam - during which five cooperative agreements were signed across multiple sectors, creating new momentum for bilateral ties.

Expressing deep condolences over the severe losses suffered by the Filipino people due to recent natural disasters, Prime Minister Chinh highlighted the shared challenges both nations face in dealing with storms and other natural calamities. He announced that Vietnam would donate 2,000 tons of rice to assist the Philippines in overcoming this difficult period.

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of deepening the VietnamPhilippines Strategic Partnership not only for mutual benefit but also to strengthen ASEAN unity and contribute to regional and global peace and development.

Looking ahead, Prime Minister Chinh proposed several key areas of cooperation:

Maintaining and expanding high-level exchanges across all channels

Developing a new Action Plan for the next phase of strategic partnership

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership (2025) and the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations (2026)

Boosting trade and investment promotion

Strengthening cooperation in maritime affairs, climate change response, disaster relief, and search and rescue

Joint efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing

Expanding collaboration in agriculture, science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, building a common ASEAN database, and high-quality human resource development

Vietnam reaffirmed its commitment to being a reliable rice supplier to the Philippines and suggested that, based on the existing Memorandum of Understanding on rice trade, both sides work toward signing a long-term agreement on stable rice exports and imports.

Supporting ASEAN unity and centrality, Prime Minister Chinh confirmed Vietnams full backing for the Philippines upcoming chairmanship of ASEAN in 2026.

He also encouraged the Philippines to continue voicing strong support for ASEANs common position on the South China Sea (East Sea) and to help advance effective negotiations on the Code of Conduct (COC). Both nations should work closely to maintain peace, stability, freedom, and security of navigation and aviation in the region, and support one another at regional and international forums such as ASEAN, the UN, and APEC.

Ambassador Montealegre, in response, expressed appreciation for the support and cooperation from the Vietnamese Government and people throughout his tenure. He praised Vietnams strong leadership and highlighted the substantial progress made in bilateral relations.

Agreeing with the Prime Ministers views, he affirmed that the Philippines remains committed to ASEAN solidarity and centrality, and expressed hope that Vietnam would continue to support the Philippines during its ASEAN chairmanship in 2026.

Tran Thuong
For Vietnamese citizens currently residing in Venezuela, the ministry advises immediate departure from areas deemed dangerous. Citizens are urged to stay informed, strictly comply with local regulations on movement, and heed updates and warnings issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including from the Consular Department and the Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela.

For assistance, citizens are encouraged to contact the following emergency hotlines:

Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela: +58 212 635 7402 | Email: vnemb.ven@mofa.gov.vn

Citizen Protection Hotline  Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: +84 981 84 84 84 | Email: baohocongdan@gmail.com

Military vehicles stationed near the presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, January 3. Photo: Xinhua

According to the Vietnam News Agency (TTXVN), Vietnamese Ambassador to Venezuela Vu Trung My confirmed that the embassy has activated an emergency communication channel to provide real-time updates after the United States launched airstrikes on Venezuela on January 3.

The ambassador reported that all 29 diplomatic staff members and their families, along with two Vietnamese construction engineers working in Venezuela and two overseas Vietnamese residents, are safe and accounted for.

The embassy has advised Vietnamese citizens in Venezuela not to leave their residences and to remain in close contact through the established emergency communication channel.

On January 3, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that U.S. military forces had detained Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. This announcement followed a series of coordinated U.S. strikes targeting military bases in the capital, Caracas, and several provinces across Venezuela. Prior to the arrest, President Maduro had declared a nationwide state of emergency.

Multiple international actors, including Russia, Colombia, and Iran, have condemned the U.S. attacks on Venezuela.

Tran Thuong
On January 4, in response to a reporters inquiry regarding Vietnams stance on the current developments in Venezuela, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang stated: Vietnam is deeply concerned about the latest developments in Venezuela.

Vietnam urged all involved parties to respect international law and the United Nations Charter - particularly the principles of national sovereignty, non-use of force, and the avoidance of threats of force in international relations.

The spokesperson called on all sides to exercise restraint, engage in dialogue, and resolve disputes and differences based on international law. She emphasized the importance of efforts that contribute to peace, security, stability, and cooperation in the region and globally.

On January 3, US President Donald Trump announced that American forces had detained Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. This followed a series of U.S. airstrikes on military bases in the Venezuelan capital Caracas and several provinces. Prior to the announcement of his capture, President Maduro had declared a nationwide state of emergency.

At a press conference, President Trump stated: We will govern Venezuela until a safe, appropriate, and cautious transition of power can take place. Washington will determine when to hand back control to Venezuela.

Tran Thuong
Minnesota officials have pushed back against widespread online claims suggesting rampant fraud in federally funded child care programmes. 'Investigators confirmed the centers were operating as expected, gathered evidence and initiated further review,' said the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).

Sent on 2 January 2026, the email from the department disclosed that they had performed spot checks on nine child care centres mentioned in a viral social media post. They pointed out that children were present at eight of those locations. The department clarified that the last facility to be inspected was found to be closed for the day, so there were no children present at the time.

The letter, seen by multiple media outlets including The Associated Press, was sent to child care providers. DCYF urged them to maintain regular programme operations and indicated that no immediate action was required from the recipients.

This was issued amid escalating scrutiny from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which has demanded extensive documentation from Minnesota to continue releasing federal child care funds.

Officials have clarified that the regular inspections are a standard part of their oversight process and do not indicate any widespread fraudulent activity. They emphasised their dedication to evidence-driven evaluations that safeguard families and reduce interruptions to vital services.

Viral Video Sparks National Scrutiny

The dispute stems from a highly shared online video by content creator Nick Shirley. There, he visited several child care centres in the Minneapolis area and reported apparent discrepancies between federal payments and what he described as a lack of visible activity at the sites.

Shirley's video, which has garnered millions of views across various platforms, swiftly captured national interest. It was cited by certain federal officials as purported evidence of the misappropriation of taxpayer funds.

In light of the widespread attention surrounding these allegations, HHS expressed concern regarding possible fraudulent activities. It revealed new requirements for enhanced verification from Minnesota and all other states aiming to obtain Child Care and Development Fund payments. The agency is requesting detailed information, such as attendance records, licensing details, and inspection reports, to validate the authenticity of child care subsidies.

Minnesota's position is that the federal demands were communicated late  after social media postings  and that the push for documentation is broad and affects all states, though the spotlight remains on Minnesota.

$185 Million Funding Under Threat

State officials are now under a strict deadline  set for 9 January 2026  to deliver comprehensive details regarding providers and families benefiting from federal child care funds. Not meeting this requirement could put at risk approximately $185 million (137.5 million) in yearly funding that provides care for around 23,000 children from about 12,000 families throughout Minnesota.

Child care providers and advocates are voicing significant worries regarding the possible impacts of payment delays or freezes. Industry representatives warn that many operate on narrow margins, and any disruption to federal subsidies could lead to layoffs, reduced services, or even closures.

Maria Snider, a child care director in St Paul, emphasised that even small reductions in funding can lead to a dip in their income that jeopardises sustainability.

Meanwhile, critics of the federal response have characterised the actions as politicised. They argued that they unfairly target providers and families based on unverified social media content rather than substantive evidence.

Originally published on IBTimes UK
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Coleg Cambria closes all sites tomorrow due to snow and ice

Coleg Cambria has confirmed that all of its sites will be closed tomorrow, Monday 5 January, due to bad weather, with lessons moving online.

The college said the decision was taken because of snow and ice warnings in place, which cover Wrexham and Flintshire.

The Met Office Forecast does have periods of sun and temperatures hitting 3C tomorrow, but a cold and frosty morning.

In a message issued this evening to students and staff, Coleg Cambria said:

College Site Closures Due to Bad Weather Tomorrow (05.01.26). Important: Lessons and staff working will move online. Sites affected: All sites.

The closure comes as a yellow warning for snow and ice has been issued, covering large parts of Wales including Wrexham.

The warning states that snow and ice have the potential to cause disruption to travel from Sunday afternoon through to Monday morning.

According to the warning, some roads and railways are likely to be affected, with longer journey times by road, bus and train services.

Icy patches are expected on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths, with a risk of slips and falls.

The Met Office said snow showers are expected to move further inland across Wales, with 1 to 3 centimetres possible in many areas by Monday morning, and up to 5 to 8 centimetres in a few inland and higher locations. Icy conditions are expected to form widely.

A second yellow warning is also in place into Tuesday morning, with scattered sleet and snow showers and a continued risk of ice overnight.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Matthew Lehnert said: As we begin the first full working week of the year, we face a range of winter weather hazards with snow showers and ice.

Elsewhere in the UK, snow showers, ice and frost are expected at times but milder air will make attempts to spread eastward from Tuesday.
Fire service urges checks after North Wales familys escape

Smoke alarms helped save a family of five from a house fire in Rhyl just before the New Year, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service has said.

Emergency crews were called to a property on Epworth Road at 3.57pm on Tuesday 30 December.

The blaze, which is believed to have started accidentally, triggered the homes smoke alarms, alerting the family and allowing them to escape safely.

All five family members were taken to hospital as a precaution to be checked for smoke inhalation.

Jody McEachern, Head of Prevention at North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: Fires can be incredibly frightening and devastating experiences, especially when they happen in your own home. As a fire and rescue service, our priority is always to do everything we can to help keep people safe.

This incident shows just how important smoke alarms are. That early warning made all the difference, allowing the family to escape before the fire could cause further harm.

As the New Year begins, my thoughts are with this family. While were incredibly relieved that everyone got out safely, we also recognise the emotional and practical impact a house fire can have on those affected.

Most fires in the home are accidental, which is why prevention is such a vital part of our work. By raising awareness and sharing safety advice, we hope to help prevent these incidents from happening in the first place.

I would urge everyone to make sure they have working smoke alarms on every level of their home and to test them regularly. Also, make sure that you have a well practised escape plan. These simple steps can help protect you and the people you care about most.

Further fire safety advice and the services twelve top tips can be found at: https://ow.ly/CIvJ50XR3A2
In November, families decorated the Gold Star Tree at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa. After the pledge of allegiance and a prayer on Saturday, they put the ornaments away for next year.

But there's something special about these decorations.

"The pictures are there. The names are there, and their branches," said Jon Yuspa with Honor Flight Nevada.

Yuspa said each ornament honors a fallen veteran, either from Northern Nevada or one with family in the region. The tree is helpful for some Gold Star families - those with a loved one who died while serving in the military.

Yuspa said it's harder for others to process their loss in the open.

"Sometimes it's more difficult for them to have their emotions publicly," he said. "And then sometimes they'll tell us it really helps because they know they're not alone. They're not home by themselves. They're out here in the community."

Among the veterans honored is Robert O'Hare. O'Hare served as an Army specialist for five years until his passing in 2021. His parents say the tree is a meaningful tribute to veterans like him.

"It actually means the world to all of us, to have a place to go during the holidays, to be able to celebrate with the veterans, especially our son," said Cindy O'Hare, Robert's mom.

Stephanie Ronecker McLaughlin served for 21 years. She started out in the Army, then the Air Force, and finally as the executive aide for Brigadier General Bill Burks until she passed in 2015.

Her mother, Alberta Sydney Malcolm, says McLaughlin should be remembered not for her accomplishments, but for her pure heart.

"If you knew her, you had to love her. She was the sweetest, kindest person there was," Malcolm said.

Thanks to the Gold Star Tree, veterans like McLaughlin and O'Hare won't be forgotten any time soon.

A year-round memorial for Gold Star families can be found at the Northern Nevada State Veterans Home in Sparks.
The CIA sent a small team inside Venezuela to track authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro's locations and movements, providing key intelligence that led to his capture on Saturday, according to a new report.

CNN reported that the team was sent to the country over the summer. One source operated within the authoritarian government and assisted the U.S. with tracking Maduro before the operation.

"CIA covertly inserted a small team into Venezuela in the summer that was able to provide deep insight into Maduro's pattern of life, which made it possible to snatch him so easily when the time came," the source told the outlet

President Donald Trump posted an image of Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima, from where he will be taken to New York to face narco-terrorism charges. The image shows Maduro with his eyes and ears covered. He also appears to be in handcuffs while holding a bottle of water.

Trump said that top U.S. officials will work with a "team" to help run Venezuela until a democratic transition takes place. The team will include Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

"It's largely going to be, for a period of time, the people that are standing right behind me. We're going to be running it. We're going to be bringing it back," Trump said during a press conference in his Mar-a-Lago club.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, on her end, said in a statement that it is "time of Popular Sovereignty and National Sovereignty to rule in our country."

"We will have order, release political prisoners, build an exceptional country and bring our sons back home. We have fought for years, we have given it all and it has been worth it. What had to happen is happening," Machado added.

She went on to say that Edmundo Gonzalez, her candidate in the 2024 elections in which the regime claimed victory without showing the supporting documentation, must "immediately assume his constitutional mandate and be recognized as Commander-in-Chief of the National Armed Force by all officers and soldiers that are part of it."

"Today we're ready to uphold our mandate and take power. Let's remain vigilant, active and organized until the Democratic Transition takes place," she added.

Originally published on Latin Times
A Buddha Air plane carrying 51 passengers and 4 crew members veered off the runway while attempting to land at Bhadrapur airport in Nepal. The aircraft, registered as 9N-AMF and tracked as an ATR 72-500 turboprop, did not result in any injuries. Authorities confirmed that all pic.twitter.com/GZ1boDWu8k  News9 (@News9Tweets) January 3, 2026 Buddah Air 901,  XSL

 aero.de | 04.01.2026 09:01

BHADRAPUR - Im Osten Nepals schiet eine ATR 72 bei der Landung uber die Piste hinaus. Mehrere Insassen tragen Verletzungen davon.Flughafen Bhadrapur, 2. Dezember 2026: Buddha Air 901 aus Kathmandu erreicht den Zielflughafen im Osten Nepals mit 51 Passagieren und vier Crewmitgliedern an Bord. Bei der Landung geht etwas schief.Die ATR 72 9N-AMF schiet weit - nach Medienberichten rund 200 Meter - uber das Pistenende hinaus und bleibt vor einem Flussbett stecken.Unter den Insassen gibt es mehrere leicht verletzte Personen. Die Bergungsarbeiten dauern an.
'Don't Rob Gen Z of Votes': Uddhav Thackeray Seeks Cancellation of 68 Unopposed Civic Wins 2

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday urged the State Election Commission to cancel results in 68 civic wards where candidates of the ruling Mahayuti were declared elected unopposed, arguing that such outcomes effectively deny first-time voters and Gen Z citizens their right to vote.

Sharing the stage with Raj Thackeray while unveiling their joint manifesto for the upcoming Mumbai civic polls, Uddhav warned against democracy slipping into mobocracy. Launching a sharp attack on the Mahayuti government, he alleged that since his government was ousted in June 2022 and Eknath Shinde assumed office, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations finances were being squandered on contractors. He claimed that after stealing votes, the ruling alliance was now stealing candidates.

Raj Thackeray accused the BJP of double standards, recalling that the party had approached the Supreme Court of India in similar cases in West Bengal where ruling party candidates were elected unopposed. He asked the BJP to clarify its stand now that 68 Mahayuti candidates44 of them from the BJPhave won without contest in Maharashtra, largely due to withdrawals by rivals or rebels.

Responding to the criticism, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the peoples mandate would prevail even if the Opposition moved the courts. Speaking at a roadshow in Chandrapur, he said, They can certainly go to court, but the peoples court has elected us. He also questioned the Oppositions silence on unopposed victories of independents and Muslim candidates, alleging that the protests stemmed from a fear of defeat.

Referring to the uncontested results ahead of the January 15 elections to 29 civic bodies, Uddhav said the State Election Commission should have the courage to cancel polls in wards where candidates were elected unopposed and restart the process. Such outcomes, he said, amounted to denying votersespecially the Gen Z electoratethe opportunity to exercise their franchise.

Uddhav also alleged large-scale financial irregularities at the BMC, claiming that if its expenditure budget stood at 15,000 crore, advance mobilisation payments to contractors had ballooned to 3 lakh crore, which he termed a scam. He further alleged that kickbacks were being used to fund civic election campaigns.

The Sena (UBT) chief demanded the suspension of Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, accusing him of interfering in the nomination process and tampering with CCTV footage. Narwekar, a BJP MLA from Colaba, has rejected the allegations as baseless and politically motivated.

Both Thackeray cousins indicated that the sons-of-the-soil plank would be a central theme of their campaign, particularly in Mumbai. Raj Thackeray asserted that Mumbai and other cities would have Marathi mayors and stressed the need to respect the local language, warning the ruling alliance that power is not permanent.

A total of 15,931 candidates are contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. Except for Mumbai, which has 227 seats, the remaining corporations have multi-member wards. Votes will be counted on January 16.
For years, the United States has faced a silent catastrophe  one that claims more American lives annually than many of our major wars combined. More than 100,000 Americans die each year from drug overdoses, a staggering toll driven largely by illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids flowing across our borders.

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These are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends, coworkers, neighbors. They are the people who make up the fabric of our communities. And yet, despite the enormity of this loss, the national response has been strangely muted. The media rarely treat these deaths with the urgency they deserve, and political leaders often seem more focused on legal debates than on the human devastation unfolding in real time.

Against this backdrop, supporters of President Donald Trump argue that his approach represents a stark and necessary shift to the fundamental duty of government  to protect its citizens. They contend that his America First philosophy is a governing principle rooted in the belief that the safety and wellbeing of Americans must come before diplomatic niceties, political optics, or international criticism.

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This perspective has come into sharp focus in recent months as U.S. forces intercepted and destroyed vessels carrying large quantities of illicit drugs toward American shores. These interdictions involved boats transporting massive amounts of narcotics  shipments that, if allowed to reach the United States, could have contributed to tens of thousands of additional overdose deaths. Supporters of the administration argue that these actions were not only justified, but morally imperative. They see them as acts of defense, not different in principle from intercepting a missile or stopping a terrorist attack.

On the other hand, critics questioned the legality of the operations, raised concerns about international law, and warned of potential diplomatic fallout. What was striking to many observers was not the debate itself, as debate is healthy in a democracy, but the imbalance of outrage. The destruction of drugladen vessels drew more immediate condemnation than the ongoing loss of American life caused by the substances those vessels carried.

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This imbalance raises a profound civic question: Why does the nation react more strongly to the method of stopping the threat than to the threat itself?

For those who view the drug crisis as a form of indirect warfare against the United States, the answer lies in the way society categorizes harm. If a foreign military launched attacks that killed 100,000 Americans in a single year, the nation would be unified in grief and fury. The media would cover the tragedies around the clock. Leaders would address the nation. The public would demand action. But when the same number of Americans die from substances trafficked by foreign networks, the deaths are dispersed, quieted, and often stigmatized. There is no single explosion, no dramatic footage, no moment of collective shock. The tragedy unfolds behind closed doors, one family at a time.

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This invisibility allows the crisis to be framed as a domestic issue rather than a foreign threat, even though the supply chains are undeniably international. It also allows political debates about legality, diplomacy, and process to overshadow the human cost. Supporters of the administration argue that President Trumps approach cuts through this fog. They see his actions as a recognition that the drug crisis is not merely a public health issue, but a national security threat that requires decisive, sometimes uncomfortable measures.

The recent capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife, following longstanding U.S. indictments alleging involvement in drug-trafficking, has intensified this debate. For years, U.S. officials have accused elements of the Venezuelan state of collaborating with criminal organizations to move narcotics into the United States. Supporters of the administration view the apprehension as a long overdue step toward accountability  one that could disrupt networks responsible for fueling the overdose epidemic. Critics, however, have raised concerns about legality and international precedent.

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At the heart of this debate is a fundamental question about the role of government. Is the primary duty of leadership to protect its citizens, even if doing so invites controversy, criticism, or diplomatic tension? Or should the United States prioritize adherence to international norms and legal frameworks, even when those frameworks may be ill equipped to address the scale and urgency of the threat?

The United States is losing more citizens each year to illicit drugs than too many of the most traumatic events in its history. Any serious national conversation must grapple with that reality.

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Ultimately, the debate over interdictions, arrests, and foreign policy is not just about legality or diplomacy. It is about whose lives are centered in the national conscience. Are the families who bury their children, spouses, and parents because of fentanyl and other illicit drugs seen as worthy of protection? Are their losses treated as national tragedies or as unfortunate footnotes? Supporters of the administration argue that President Trumps approach answers those questions unequivocally: American lives come first.

Whether one agrees with the policies or not, the scale of the crisis demands a response equal to its magnitude. And for many Americans, the belief that their government is finally acting with urgency  finally treating the deaths of 100,000 citizens as the national emergency they are  offers a sense of clarity in a time when so much feels upside-down.

Image via Picryl.
Imagine two packed Boeing 737s crashing every single day. Based on my intel as a national security adviser and CEO of cybersecurity company BlackOps Partners, 150,000 Americans, aged 18-45, perish every year in America due to fentanyl. And the numbers grow every month.

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The fentanyl holocaust is fueled by the CCP, where traceable chemicals are engineered in Chinese labs. Each pill is roughly two millimeters wide, yet one dose can stop a heart. The fatalities arent merely those of drug addicts, but also children, who have frequently inhaled or touched fentanyl, or rubbed contaminated hands, or have found traces in homes, cars, or hotel rooms. Many of these deaths are less accidental. In fact, I write about one example in my book of a young student outside Boston who took a pill that she perceived as pharmaceutical-grade to help her focus on her college entrance exams. Her brother found her the next morning, cold.

The CCP exports poison, and we buy it by the ton. They leverage Mexican and other nations drug cartels to traffic these drugs into the USA. They find victims through social media apps, with the FBI getting a call nearly every minute of the day about such crimes, such as that of a nine year-old girl who was kidnapped after a predator targeted her through the computer game Roblox.

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More American lives are lost annually to fentanyl than the ten-year wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined. The number murdered each year is as if World War II never ended.

Cyber and Cognitive Warfare

The drug war is one of at least 100 methods of unrestricted war against the West. Another is cyber-war. China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan employ an estimated half a million cyber-operatives combined. The United States has less than half that number. These digital soldiers dont just steal secrets; they shape perception, emotion, and discourse. Not only are citizens tracked and surveilled, but deepfakes, bots, and propaganda sway political elections from Kenya to Kentucky. This is what we call cyber-war.

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For instance, platforms like TikTok are psychological weapons of war, which Ive categorized as weaponized military applications. Apps like these are engineered to rewire brains and attention spans, manipulate brain waves, and normalize moral decay. Even consumer technologies are part of this front. AirPods manufactured in China gather an estimated 14,000 biometric data points per hour, feeding massive sentiment-analysis databases. These same devices emit ultrasonic and subsonic frequencies that can entrain brainwaves. Gamma patterns dampen analytical thought, and theta waves enhance suggestibility. This is not science fiction; its the frontier of cognitive war.

Transportation and Infrastructure Takeover

A third takeover by the CCP exists on a more conventional front. Through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing now dominates transportation infrastructure across Asia, Africa, and even parts of Europe. The ChinaEurope Railway Express spans 30,000 miles, linking over 200 cities, and, when including roads, totals over 135 million miles of terrestrial routes built since 2013. These deals bypass transparency and sovereignty alike, entangling nations in debt and allegiance to Beijing.

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Another little-known fact about the BRI is that simultaneous to their infrastructure construction, the CCP builds surveillance technology in many of these locations. Why does the CCP want to install surveillance in, say, Kenya? Proof of concept. More than half of the worlds billion surveillance cameras are in China. Many of those cameras are networked into A.I. systems (stolen U.S. I.P.) that identify any one of 1.4 billion citizens in a single second. Its not about surveillance. We arent that interesting. Its about control.

Have you purchased more than your allotted share of meat, clothing, or dairy? Say something tagged on social media? Your social credit score plummets. It is for this reason that young, able-bodied, and well-educated Chinese citizens are homeless in cities like Beijing. You dont obey, and they now literally have the technology to cut you off from your own bank account.

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Religious and Biological Atrocities

The CCPs war on faith is as vicious as any in history. To date, over 3 million Falun Gong and Muslim Uyghur prisoners have been killed for their organs, often harvested from living captives. The Party profits by more than $1 billion annually from this barbaric trade.

A revised Chinese Bible now portrays Christ as a murderer, replacing divine mercy with Maoist obedience. In this version, Jesus did not have compassion on the adulterous woman as depicted in the New Testament, but stoned her himself. Can you fathom todays college classrooms deliberating such a scene? With the infusion of DIE and CRT as well as embedded antisemitism and courses designed around white guilt or white hatred, I wont be surprised to see such blasphemy infiltrate even our most historically Christian institutions.

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From Maos purges to todays forced abortions and silent executions of Christians, Falun Gong, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and other dissidents, over 400 million human beings have been slaughtered by the CCP regime. Historys greatest mass murderer is not Hitler nor Stalin; its the CCP, operating through data and circuits instead of rifles.

Espionage at Home

The Justice Department recently charged 40 Chinese police officials for a cyber-harassment campaign targeting U.S. residents. There are now at least 40 CCP police stations operating on sovereign American soil, disguised as community centers or cultural offices. Arkansas is suing TEMU for data theft and deception. These are coordinated acts of infiltration.

Its widely known that Hunter Biden used Air Force 2 to travel to the PRC to broker business deals, and the dirty dealings of Mitch McConnell will give any American nightmares. Our politicians are plainly selling us out, and theyre making a profit to advance open-air prisons for society.

Artificial intelligence fuels espionage and control in the data war. Elon Musk warned that A.I. is far more dangerous than nuclear weapons. A.I. systems already outperform human judgment in most white-collar domains and, according to Anthropics CEO, could eliminate half of all knowledge-worker jobs within five years. Meanwhile, the CCPs A.I. military applications, fed by Western data, are rapidly evolving.

Scan X for twenty minutes with the search term social credit score, China, and youll find hundreds of accounts detailing homelessness among twenty-year old Chinese dissidents who had the audacity to speak freely or even imply dissent against the CCP. This is the slippery slope of cancel culture, and it started seventy-five years ago in Maos Cultural Revolution. The same methods are slowly becoming integrated into American culture, and before we realize were in hot water, well have already boiled.

This is not a new Cold War. Its a global siege conducted through trade, addiction, infrastructure, and psychology. It is unrestricted war, focused on every civilian.

Our enemies have been fighting for decades. Weve been sleeping. The CCP doesnt need to win on the battlefield; it only needs the West to stay asleep.

Image via Pixabay.
President Donald Trump's 'large-scale strike' on Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro have been condemned by international law experts as a clear violation of the UN Charterbut they say the US will face absolutely no consequences due to its veto power on the Security Council.

Multiple legal scholars spoke out Saturday following the operation, which saw Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, captured and indicted in New York on terrorism and drugs charges. Trump has accused Maduro of running a 'narco terrorist organisation', but experts say this claim cannot justify the invasion under international law.

International Law Experts Condemn 'Illegal Aggression'

Ben Saul, the United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, slammed what he called Washington's 'illegal aggression against Venezuela' and the 'illegal abduction' of its president. 'Every Venezuelan life lost is a violation of the right to life. President Trump should be impeached & investigated for the alleged killings,' Saul wrote on social media.

Zinaida Miller, a professor of law and international affairs at Northeastern University, said that the actions of deposing and abducting the Venezuelan president 'are a blatant violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force without Security Council authorisation'. She added: 'International law is quite clear that one country cannot lawfully overthrow the leader of another, nor can it try them in its domestic courts.'

Self-Defence Justification Fails Legal Test

David M Crane, the founding chief prosecutor of the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone, wrote in JURIST that the administration has not demonstrated that Venezuela launched or was imminently preparing an armed attack on the United States. 'Allegations that boats "might" be carrying drugs or that gangs "may" be linked to the Maduro government do not satisfy the strict imminence requirement under Article 51,' Crane wrote.

He added that the administration's shifting justificationsterrorist designations, alleged cartel links, and claims that vessels were 'headed toward the United States'do not meet the legal threshold for selfdefence. UN human rights experts have explicitly stated that the US naval blockade and related military operations 'amount to an armed attack' and that there is 'no right to impose unilateral sanctions through an armed blockade.'

Phil Gunson, an analyst with the International Crisis Group based in Caracas, compared the capture of Maduro to the fall of Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega on 3 January 1990, which was also orchestrated by the US. 'It's not legal,' Gunson said of Maduro's capture.

Why Sanctions Remain Impossible

Despite the widespread condemnation, the US faces no practical consequences because of its permanent veto power on the UN Security Council. The council can impose sanctions on countries to maintain peace, including trade restrictions, arms embargos and travel bans. However, five membersthe US, China, Russia, the UK and Francehave veto power, meaning any action against the US cannot come into force.

Geoffrey Robertson KC, a former president of the UN war crimes court in Sierra Leone, told The Guardian that this renders the Security Council 'a worthless body'. 'A country which breaks international law can avoid condemnation simply by vetoing it,' he said.

The United States will take interim control of Venezuela after capturing President Nicolas Maduro and does not rule out deploying US troops on the ground, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the US strikes set "a dangerous pic.twitter.com/h5vzF8wdeh  China Daily (@ChinaDaily) January 3, 2026

Dangerous Global Precedent

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is 'deeply alarmed' by US action that sets 'a dangerous precedent.' 'The Secretary-General continues to emphasise the importance of full respectby allof international law, including the UN Charter. He's deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected,' UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Robertson warned that the lack of consequences could embolden other countries. 'The most obvious consequence is that China will take the opportunity to invade Taiwan,' he told The Guardian. 'This is the most appropriate time for it to do so, bolstered by the precedent of Trump's invasion of Venezuela.'

Christopher Sabatini, a Latin America expert at the Chatham House international affairs think tank, said that the US strikes 'open up an entirely unforeseen, in many ways unexpected, series of events'. He said elements of the Trump administration have held a 'dangerously naive' belief that 'if you decapitate the regime, figuratively speaking, by removing Maduro...that would somehow lead to a democratic transition'.

Why This Matters

With the US immune from UN Security Council sanctions due to its veto power, the international legal framework designed to prevent wars of aggression is being fundamentally undermined. Multiple UN officials and legal experts have condemned the operation as illegal, yet no enforcement mechanism exists to hold Washington accountablesetting a precedent that could reshape how powerful nations interact with smaller states in an era where military might trumps international law.

Originally published on IBTimes UK
Whenever there is a high-profile mass attack, particularly at a school or on a college campus, the response of media and experts is drolly predictable: more gun control aimed at honest Americans who didnt do it and never would, and increasingly, high-tech solutions that cant possibly deter or stop attackers.

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What does work? Allowing willing students and staff to go armed and publicizing that policy. They have the opportunity, when and where an attack happens, to stop the attacker, or to limit the damage. The police would love to stop a killer, but theyre virtually never there in time. Time, distance and depleted manpower are their enemies.

Theres no question attackers prefer gun-free zones and the vast majoritywell into the 90%+ zone--occur where honest people are disarmed. And why would it be otherwise? Mass killers may be crazy, but theyre not stupid. They attack where theyre likely to have all the time they need to kill and no opposition.

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Graphic: Social Media Post

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The Brown University attack has the experts out in force. None of themsurprise!advocate for armed citizens. Lets examine some expert suggestions:

Hundreds of video cameras: unless these are continually monitored and an armed rapid response force is ready to respond, these are useless for detecting and stopping attacks. If the cameras are working and recording, they might help identify a fleeing killer. There is credible evidence many Brown cameras werent working because University authorities feared they might be used to identify antisemitic activists and illegal aliens.

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Metal detectors: even in single building K-12 schools, they require multiple armed people monitoring every entrance, and in bigger schools, multiple machines and entrances or entry into the building is far too slow. Kids and others can easily leave open non-monitored doors for helpers to drop off guns.

Gunshot detection systems: systems like ShotSpotter use arrays of microphones that localize gunshots. Such systems are less effective in single buildings and suffer from the same problem as video systems. Attackers must shoot, likely multiple shots, and the system must be continuously monitored and a rapid reaction team able to immediately respond, otherwise one is simply reading off updated gunshot locations as victims fall.

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AI detection systems:

Other companies claim their technologies provide real-time visual weapons detection. Evolv is an AI screening system for detecting concealed weapons, which has been implemented in more than 400 school buildings since 2021. ZeroEyes and Omnilert are AI-assisted security camera systems that detect firearms and promise to notify authorities within seconds or minutes of a gun being detected. Advertisement These systems analyze surveillance video with AI programs trained to recognize a range of visual cues, including different types of guns and behavioral indicators of aggression. Upon recognizing a threat, the system notifies a human verification team, which can then activate a prescribed response plan.

The issues are painfully obvious. An attacker shooting their way in might provoke a slightly faster police response, which means many are still going to die. A student badly concealing a gun might be spotted, but again, absent constant, active monitoring, people are likely to die. All a student would need do is put a handgun in a backpack to avoid detection.

Drones:

Nevertheless, technological innovations continue to drive the school safety industry. Campus Guardian Angel, launched out of Texas in 2023, promises a rapid drone response to an active school shooter. Founder Justin Marston compared the drone system to having a SEAL team in the parking lot. At $15,000 per box of six drones, and an additional monthly service charge per student, the drones are equipped with nonlethal weaponry, including flash-bangs and pepper spray guns.

Such a system will require a number of drone operators and a central monitoring station. Drones have very short flight times, and only a few would be up at a time. Using a flash bang grenade or pepper spray against an armed attacker is wishful thinking.

Vendors coming up with these technologies promise SEALs in parking lots and absolute success, but they cant deliver verifiable research proving effectiveness. This is partially because school attacks remain rare, far rarer than the media would have us believe. Its also because school authorities, the media and local authorities dont like to admit they have any crime problem in their schools, let alone mass attacks.

What remains is the sole, low or no cost solution that provides not only deterrence, but an immediate and effective response: armed staff in K-12 schools and armed staff and students in college. Unfortunately, that obliterates gun control arguments and provides no profit for school security firms. And kids and teachers continue to die.

Become a subscriber and get our weekly, Friday newsletter with unique content from our editors. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
In case you missed it, we bombed Caracas overnight and captured Maduro and his wife. As usual, X had the news before the legacy media, but even when they did report on it, they sang from the same songbook.

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Both the New York Times and the Washington Post couldnt help but take a little dig at Trump in their homepage banner headlines in the wee hours this morning.

The apparatchiks at both papers ran the exact same pre-dawn headline: U.S. CAPTURES MADURO, TRUMP SAYS. Trump says.

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Images: Fair use, with annotations added in red

Had The One said it, or any president with a (D) after their name, the addendum would not be there.

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Forbes was pretty close to the same headline, too:

Happily, we do have X for analysis worth reading. These below aren't headlines, but they do tell us more.

For instance:

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Looks like the strike on Venezuela and the capturing of Maduro/his wife, was to take out any foreign enemy installations that have been built in the country by Iran/Hezbollah/Russia/China to attack the USA with



What were they planning? Nukes?



Were there insiders in the U.S? https://t.co/rILPYKiC5N  Punkbudgie (@Punkbudgie_) January 3, 2026

China's interference was probably the last straw for Trump. Their tankers coming to break the blockade would have put the two world powers in direct conflict. By attacking now Trump avoids those optics amd escalation. Their show of force around Taiwan probably played a part https://t.co/740MwsIDbo  unseen1 (@unseen1_unseen) January 3, 2026

From what we understand, the bombs were dropped on military installations.

Given the company he kept, Maduro no doubt had targets  aimed at us?  worth vaporizing, and vaporize them we did, along with a few other things, evidently.

Puedo confirmarles que el Mausoleo del dictador Hugo Chavez ha sido bombardeado.



Alli estaban sus restos. Ha quedado destruido. pic.twitter.com/7kzYDKcpCK  Agustin Antonetti (@agusantonetti) January 3, 2026

So while we left scorched earth in our wake, I fear we may not do the same in the courtroom where Maduro will be tried on drug trafficking offenses.

I regret to inform you that Maduro, a hero to much of the left, will be tried in the Southern District of New York, which, with the possible exception of D.C., is surely the most progressive jurisdiction on the Eastern seaboard.

Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York. Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess  Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) January 3, 2026

Speaking of D.C., the Boasberg jokes have already started.

BREAKING: Judge Boasberg has ordered President Trump to return Nicholas Maduro to Venezuela  Whale Psychiatrist  (@k_ovfefe2) January 3, 2026

X even turned up a bit of terrorist trivia. It seems Trump likes January 3rd as a date on the calendar to get bad guys, one way or another. He smoked Qasem Soleimani on this date six years ago.

Wait hold on these two event happened EXACTLY 6 years apart to the day.



Wild. pic.twitter.com/QwNnFdsAsZ      (@NiohBerg) January 3, 2026

And can't forget this one:

January 3, 1990: The United States captures dictator Manuel Noriega and removes him from Panama  pic.twitter.com/e3mQW48PpE  BowTiedMara (@BowTiedMara) January 3, 2026

Image: Screen shot from X video.
The late Sen. Barry Goldwater, the architect of modern conservatism, was born in Phoenix on January 2, 1909, and died in 1998. I have a personal story to tell you about this man from Arizona influenced my life as a Cuban immigrant.

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Our family arrived in Wisconsin from Cuba in September 1964. We were relocated there by a church that helped us get started, got my dad a job, found us some furniture, and so started our immigrant experience.

One month later, Mickey Mantle played in what turned out to be his last World Series. Bob Gibson and Cardinals beat the Yankees in 7 games.

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Two months later, President Lyndon Johnson beat Republican Barry Goldwater in a huge landslide. In fact, calling it a landslide may be moderate. LBJ got 61% of the vote. No one has come close to that except for Nixon '72 and Reagan '84!

My father and I sat in front of the TV watching the results of that one. It was the black-and-white version back then, and the graphics were not as cool as they are today -- just numbers going up slowly that showed LBJ was winning big. I remember my father and uncle saying something about a TV ad featuring a little girl and a bomb going off. My father and I never saw it, but I'm not sure how much impact it had, if any.

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However, Goldwater won in so many ways.

First, he introduced Ronald Reagan to the country. In October 1964, Mr. Reagan delivered that great speech A Time for Choosing. There was a line in that speech about a Cuban man who had lost his freedom, and it hit home with my father.

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Second, he introduced me and others to the conservative movement. Eventually, I joined Young Americans for Freedom and committed myself to certain political principles: love of family, the free market and a strong national security posture.

In the 1970s, our generation knocked on doors and licked envelopes, supporting Republican candidates. We suffered a major setback with Watergate, but turned it around in '78 when Republicans had a huge election night.

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Why did the Republicans become a majority? Because we had ideas. The author of those ideas was Barry Goldwater. The spokesman became Reagan.

In 1980, Reagan carried 41 states, elected a Republican Senate, and I had one of the happiest nights of my life. In so many ways, Goldwater's mission was complete because Reagan was a devout follower of Goldwater's ideas.

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George Will summarized Goldwater in The Cheerful Malcontent:

"We -- 27,178,188 of us -- who voted for him in 1964 believe he won, it just took 16 years to count the votes."

He was one of the most consequential figures of the last 50 years. Besides Reagan, no one created more conservatives than Barry Goldwater. And Mr. Goldwater was right that he eventually won, if only symbolically.

Last, but not least, his books were a delight! Long live Goldwater.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.
As of January 2026, the streets of Tehran, Isfahan, and Mashhad are alive with a sound the Islamic Republic has spent forty-seven years trying to silence: the roar of a people who no longer fear their oppressors. What began as a localized strike by shopkeepers in Tehrans Grand Bazaar on December 28, 2025 has transformed into a nationwide uprising that many analysts believe is the beginning of the end for the clerical regime. Although the bravery of the Iranian people is the primary engine of this revolution, the strategic Maximum Pressure 2.0 and the unapologetic military stance of U.S. President Donald Trump have provided the essential external leverage to make a free Iran a reality.

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The collapse of the Iranian rial to a historic low of 1.4 million per U.S. dollar this week was the final straw for a population already pushed to the brink. This economic freefall is not an accident of the market; it is the direct result of a calculated U.S. policy designed to drain the regimes terrorist coffers.

By successfully triggering the U.N. Snapback Mechanism in late 2025, the Trump administration ensured the return of all pre-2015 international sanctions. Furthermore, a relentless crackdown on the shadow fleet  the clandestine tankers Iran used to smuggle oil to East Asia  has effectively reduced the regimes oil revenue to near zero. Without this hard currency, the regime can no longer subsidize basic goods or, more importantly, continue the high salaries required to keep the rank-and-file security forces loyal. As the Economist noted in early 2026, the mullahs are running out of money to buy the silence of their own enforcers.

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Historically, Iranian protests have been crushed by the brutal efficiency of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij. However, 2026 is different. On January 2, President Trump issued a definitive warning that has fundamentally altered the regimes calculus: If the Islamic Republic violently kills peaceful protesters, the United States is locked and loaded to come to their rescue.

This isnt just a social media post; it is backed by the memory of the 12-Day War in June 2025, where U.S. and Israeli precision strikes decimated Irans nuclear enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow. By establishing a credible threat of kinetic intervention, the U.S. has created a deterrence umbrella over the protesters. The IRGC now knows that a mass-casualty event  like the Bloody November of 2019  could trigger surgical strikes on their own command-and-control centers. For the first time, the fear has shifted from the protesters to the persecutors.

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The rhetoric on the streets of Iran has evolved. The reformist promises of President Masoud Pezeshkian have been flatly rejected by a public that sees them as cosmetic fixes for a terminal illness. In the clerical stronghold of Qom, protesters were filmed this week chanting Death to the Dictator, a sign that the regime has lost its traditional base of support.

The Trump administrations refusal to engage in deceptive diplomacy has emboldened this shift. By treating the regime not as a legitimate government to be negotiated with, but as a bankrupt theocracy (as stated by the State Department on January 1, 2026), the U.S. has signaled to the Iranian people that the goal is no longer behavior change, but a total transition to a secular democratic state.

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If the regime falls, the vision for the day after is already taking shape. Exiled leaders, including Reza Pahlavi, have found a more receptive audience in Washington, advocating for a provisional government that would

abolish the Velayat-e Faqih (Rule of the Jurisprudent). restore the rial through reintegration into the global banking system. end regional aggression by diverting axis of resistance funds back into domestic infrastructure and water management.

Should the current uprising succeed in toppling the clerical regime, the transition to a democratic Iran would likely follow a carefully structured, multi-phase roadmap. The first phase would involve the formation of a National Transitional Council (NTC), composed of technocrats, human rights activists, and representatives from diverse ethnic and religious groups, with a mandate to restore order, provide essential services, and stabilize the collapsing economy by securing international aid and lifting sanctions. Phase two would focus on constitutional reform, establishing an interim government, and convening a constituent assembly to draft a new, secular, and democratic constitution, enshrining human rights, gender equality, and the separation of powers. This phase would culminate in a national referendum to ratify the new constitution and a provisional election law. The final phase would see free and fair elections for a new parliament and presidency, overseen by international observers, paving the way for a fully democratic, secular, and regionally peaceful Iran.

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The liberation of Iran is being written with the blood and courage of the youth in Tehran, but the ink is being supplied by a U.S. policy that finally prioritizes the Iranian people over their oppressors. Through a combination of economic strangulation and credible military deterrence, the Trump administration has helped create the first real opportunity for regime change since 1979. As the 2026 uprising swells, the message from the White House to the streets of Iran is clear: The world is watching, the U.S. is ready, and finally Iran will be free.

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Image: Chickenonline via Pixabay, Pixabay License.
In an important ruling for the Second Amendment, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday struck down Californias near-total ban on open carry in urban counties as unconstitutional. The decision, handed down in Baird v. Bonta, represents a significant defeat for Californias long-running effort to restrict the right to bear arms in public.

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California law prohibits the open carry of firearms in counties with a population larger than 200,000, which affects 95% of the state. As The Guardian reported, the court concluded that the ban could not survive scrutiny under the Supreme Courts landmark New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision.

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Writing for the majority, Judge Lawrence VanDyke applied Bruens test, which requires modern gun regulations to be consistent with the nations historical tradition of firearm regulation. California, the court found, failed that test.

The historical record makes unmistakably plain that open carry is part of this Nations history and tradition. It was clearly protected at the time of the Founding and at the time of the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment. Advertisement

The court noted that while some states historically regulated the manner of carry, there was no tradition of banning open carry outright.

Californias failure to satisfy its burden to present evidence of a relevant historical tradition of firearm regulation is dispositive with respect to Californias urban open-carry ban. Advertisement

The ruling affirmed part of a lower court decision allowing California to require licenses for open carry in rural counties with fewer than 200,000 residents, but it rejected the states attempt to disallow a constitutionally protected right in major metropolitan areas.

The court also noted that California has issued virtually no open-carry permits even where the practice is allowed, undermining the states claim that its licensing system preserves the right.

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Judge N. Randy Smith partially dissented, arguing that the Second Amendment does not explicitly protect open carry and that California should be allowed to restrict it so long as concealed carry remains available. But the majority countered that was incompatible with Bruen, which demands historical evidence rather than modern policy preferences.

The Guardian also noted that the opinion addressed the origins of Californias open-carry restrictions, tracing them in part to the 1967 Mulford Act, passed amid fears over armed Black Panther patrols. Whatever one thinks of that history, the courts point was clear: Laws rooted in political reaction rather than constitutional tradition cannot stand.

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California has long treated the Second Amendment as a second-class right. But the courts are no longer deferring to legislative hostility toward gun ownership. Instead they are asking: Is the restriction rooted in American history and tradition? In this case, the answer was no.
On March 27, 2023, Audrey Hale, a female identifying as a trans male, attacked the Presbyterian Covenant School in Nashville. She killed three children and three adults before being killed by an unusually rapid police response. The police normally play no role in stopping school attackers.

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Because that attack occurred during the Biden years, local and federal authorities did everything possible to downplay Hales trans ideation, including hiding her many manifesto-like writings, which, to the chagrin of authorities, have since been released in small batches. Batches like the 230 pages the FBI released on December 29, 2025.

Doubtless, were Christopher Wray still in charge of the FBI there would have been no release.

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Among the things long known about Hale is her hatred of Christians. Trans commonly imagine Christians hate them, and Democrat spread of a non-existant trans genocide fuels that irrational belief. Hale carried three weapons: a KelTec Sub 2000 early generation 9mm carbine, an AR-15-type rifle and a 9mm handgun. According to media accounts, Hale fired the most rounds through the AR-15 but is commonly depicted wielding the KelTec, as in the graphic that accompanies this article.

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Whats surprising about the most recent release of Hales writings is how she acquired those weapons:

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This latest journal appears to have been written sometime in late 2021, and includes lengthy sections about the weapons the killer planned to use to commit a mass shooting at a school sometime that year. Following multiple pages full of weapons to purchase, the journal includes a page labeled Account Savings Record, which appears to reference the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It also records multiple payments received from Nossi during the period when Hale attended the Nossi College of Art and Design in Nashville. Advertisement FASFA [sic] grant checks started at $2,050.86, wrote Hale at the top of the entry. The page then lists a series of apparent ledger entries, starting with, $2,656.87 (x3 checks from Nossi). The next ledger entry states, +$530.00 (x1 check Nossi) ($3,186.87). Advertisement

Hale bought the guns with a Pell Grant, part of the federalized student loan bureaucracy. Over $7000 per year may be awarded, and in most cases, students dont have to pay the money back. Suffice it to say the Pell grants Hale apparently received would more than buy those weapons with plenty left over for school.

But wait a minute! Is it legal to use Pell Grants for weapons? Not quite. Theyre intended for these kinds of education expenses:

*Tuition *School fees, such as technology fees *Textbooks *School supplies *Transportation *Costs that occur surrounding child care for a students dependents

How then was Audrey Hale able to use Pell funds to buy those guns, and presumably ammunition and other accessories? How have so many Somalis around the country been able to defraud the government of billions, using a variety of federal programs?

Easy: the government wants to be defrauded.

As were learning more and more every day, federal programs seem to be set up to hand out billions for the benefit of the Democrat Party, and in the case of Somalis, foreign terrorist organizations. There appears to be little or no oversight.

Set up ten or so daycares under the same address under the same bogus personal information, tell the government youre providing services for hundreds of kids every day at every fake daycare, and the millions roll in. No one conducts site visits. No one confirms there are actually hundreds of kids in each of those daycares or that the daycares exist. Theres no follow up or confirmation.

Federal and state clerks make the appropriate entries in their computers, and some might even get kickbacks. Democrat politicians take in untold millions, even billions, in campaign contributions for writing laws that make fraud not only easy, but certain, and leftist NGOs get their cut too. Thats why Democrats are still screaming about the abolition of USAID.

As weve learned in Minnesota, hundreds of state employees did try to blow the whistle on blatant fraud, but Governor Tim Walz retaliated against them.

To be fair, its highly unlikely anyone administering Pell Grants would have looked for, found or done anything about Hale using grant money for disallowed expenseslike multiple guns. But that doesnt excuse such casual handling of taxpayer money, money that in this case is directly traceable to the deaths of six innocents.

Become a subscriber and get our weekly, Friday newsletter with unique content from our editors. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
The raid was pitch perfect, an 88-minute operation to extract Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro from his highly fortified military bunker against a barrage of defenses. Massive resources were employed, and the coordination between the Army, Marines, Space Force, Air Force, Navy, and DEA was absolutely flawless. Even the filming of the invasion was flawless.

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But the ending turned seemingly sour, when President Trump, at his press conference, dismissed Venezuela's democratic election winners as weak, even claiming that they didn't have the "respect" of the people, which is clearly wrong.

He would instead be "running the country," working with Venezuela's nasty, vile Chavista vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, a woman who's been involved with torture, as Venezuela's leader, in a 'transition.'

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What the ... ?

The cheering crowds in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities stopped. Venezuelans hunkered down in their homes. Others stocked up on food, and there were reports of shops looted. Venezuela's cities went from loud cheers to apprehensive silence. After all, Diosdado Cabello, the ruthless operational leader of the Sun Cartel and his Chavista motorcycle goons were still around even if Maduro was gone. The Chavista oppressors remained in power, and there were a lot of them.

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Was Trump that obtuse?

Not in the least.

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His shade on the opposition leaders, including the very brave, and Trump-friendly, Maria Corina Machado, was very likely a ruse, in service of a bigger Trump plan to hose out all the Chavistas without firing a shot, which was a brilliant one.

Because this is what they are up against:

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At his press conference, Trump emphasized that Chavista leaders were going to do exactly what they were told; they were going to be his ridiculous puppets on strings, his playthings -- one arm up, one arm down -- it all depended on what Trump wanted, or there would be a second strike.

The loathsome Delcy, who, unlike Maria Corina Machado, has absolutely zero respect among the people, was the designated puppet. Up, down, she was going to do what she was told.

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Delcy tried to put on a defiant face, stating that Maduro was the president, that Venezuela would not be ruled by yanqui imperialistas, that she would not be sworn in as president, and she demanded Maduro's return to Caracas. She even claimed the Maduro extraction was a Zionist plot.

It was probably the bluster of a thug on the ropes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would reserve judgment on that, suggesting he left open the possibility that she was trying to save face among her leftist buddies. He'd go by her actions, before the second strike would come.

Yesterday, we had insightful perspective from contributor, Travis Wilson, which, through the eyes of military experience in Iraq, seemed to explain what was going on.

From it, I was able to glean that Trump really doesn't want to have to put boots on the ground. He doesn't do permawars, or any wars, actually; he doesn't want to fight the last war, and he especially doesn't want to do nation-building.

He also knows from intelligence and other briefings, that Venezuelan society is shot through with Chavista drug lords, many within the military. And the whole government is corrupted by politicized Chavista loyalist, selected for their fealty to socialism.

Although the Venezuelan military was useless defending Maduro, they didn't defect in any significant numbers during the raid to the democrats, either. They like things the way they are, free to deal drugs and shake down the people. And they still wield all the power.

Maria Corina Machado and her partner, Edmundo Gonzalez, probably wouldn't have been able to control them, even though they most certainly have the support and love of the people. The military could launch a 'resistance' to Machado and Gonzalez, and leave them weak leaders easily swept away by strong goons, creating a failed state.

Trump didn't want any of that Iraq-style or Syria-style, or Libya-style chaos. He especially didn't want the U.S. to have to dispatch boots on the ground in a you-break-it, you-buy-it type mess to fix. Better to get the bad guys to do the work for him. Hence, the puppets.

Trump needs someone the military would take orders from -- and one such person is Delcy Rodriguez. She not only can tell the army what to do, she can gather Chavista lieutenants together in one place, the better to surveil them or bomb them, and she can turn in bad actors, such as Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, to U.S. lawmen.

That is useful for Trump's purposes. So she's his transition leader on a string.

There has even been speculation that she might be being rewarded. Some believe she was the one who collaborated with the CIA to locate and extract Maduro. It was definitely someone on the inside, and Trump's patronage of Delcy as somehow more capable than Maria Corina, is kind of intriguing given how preposterous it is. He may be paying her back for her help. But more likely, he just finds her useful for his purposes and will cast her aside when he's done with her, like used garbage.

There's little doubt he doesn't want more messes in Venezuela bothering us, so he's demanding that she take his every order now, as his little puppet, or else, and she knows this.

She also knows about the second strike if she doesn't, so now she's up the river without a paddle, knowing that to avoid it, she will have to do as she's told.

The threat of a second strike is no small thing -- as Pedro Burelli, who's a Washington insider, seems to know:

 ADVERTENCIA



El BUNKER INFALIBLE FUE OTRO ENGANO DEL NARCO.



PARA LOS QUE QUEDAN, LO MEJOR ES ENTREGARSE PUES DUDO QUE LA FASE DOS SEA PARA ARRESTARLOS. https://t.co/8quz1CQLed  Pedro Mario Burelli (@pburelli) January 4, 2026

Grok translate:

WARNING THE INFALLIBLE BUNKER WAS ANOTHER NARCO SCAM. FOR THOSE WHO REMAIN, THE BEST THING IS TO SURRENDER BECAUSE I DOUBT THAT PHASE TWO IS TO ARREST THEM.

Now we have what we have, and Trump is in a position to get rid of Chavista goons from the levers of power, simply by making Delcy do the work. That opens the gates to a real transition.

Trump retweeted this item from French President Macron, clearly stating a desire for Venezuela's Edmundo Gonzalez to take power.

Despues del desplante que le hizo Delcy, Trump publica tweet de Macron donde sugiere que sea Edmundo el encargado de la transicion. pic.twitter.com/NzNfzC07uc  Rafael Henriquez (@rafaelhenrikez) January 3, 2026

He would not have done that if he disagreed with the idea. It was a signal to Venezuela's opposition that he fully wants Venezuela to be a friendly democracy led by these Trump-friendly leaders as the people of Venezuela want.

That's 3-D chess.

Trump is playing a tricky, muscling game with Venezuela's very dirty Chavistas, forcing them into being his dangling puppets, doing everything he says or else.

What a fitting ending for a successful American military strike operation!

The Chavistas have been gelded into Trump's puppets, now, scared at every turn. FAFO.

Have we ever seen anything like this in previous operations?

What a humiliating ending for these brutal leftist thugs.

Nicolas Maduro had his chance  until he didnt.



The Trump Admin will always defend American citizens against all threats, foreign and domestic.  pic.twitter.com/eov3GbBXf4  The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 4, 2026

Image: Screen shot from X video.
Somewhat lost in all the excitement and jubilation surrounding the ongoing liberation of Venezuela is the fact that it also acts as a serious rebuke to China.

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Obviously seeking to throw some weight around in the Western Hemisphere, two Chinese-flagged VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers), the Thousand Sunny and the Xing Ye, were on their way toward Venezuela when Pres. Trumps coup de main was carried out. Neither ship stopped or changed course after Pres. Trump ordered a complete blockade of Venezuela on Dec. 16. Evidently, they were under direct orders to continue, likely in an effort to break the blockade and humiliate Trump. Legacy media outlets were delighted at the prospect.

Nothing of the sort will now happen. With Maduro and his wife in custody and the regime thrown into chaos, the Chinese now have two choices: stop the tankers on the high seas and let them sit (the Xing Ye is already reported to have now done this) or order them back to China where they can tie up and rust. Its not likely anyone will have much use for the Chinese shadow fleet at this point, with Venezuelas dictatorship on the skids and Irans soon to follow.

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Trump has always shown an admirable sense of economy in his foreign policy initiatives, particularly as regards the regrettable but necessary use of force. For a century and more previous administrations have been infected with the mental virus of Wilsonianism, in which any undertone of Realpolitik is banished and any use of military pressure, no matter how minor, had to be justified in every available venue and on every conceivable moral, legal, and ethical grounds. This resulted in a series of massive crusades which wasted time, resources, and energy, alerted the opposition as to what was coming, and often failed in practice, resulting in the humiliation of the U.S. and the creation of new problems for the future.

Compare this to Trumps light touch, in which the precise amount of force needed to do the job is unleashed at the proper moment with no previous discussion or justification, and certainly with no warning. In Iran, Trump encouraged Israel to degrade Iranian armed forces  in particular its state-of-the-art SAM air defense systems -- then followed up with a single air strike by B-2 stealth bombers armed with the exact munitions (MOP bombs) intended for the job. Problem solved, with no sackcloth and ashes at the UN, no pleading for permission from allies, no leftist marches in front of the White House, and no waste of time, resources, or, most important, soldiers lives.

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But with Venezuela, Trump has outdone himself. Use of force was utterly minimal  a few cigarette boats sunk at sea, a few seizures of illegal tankers, a single airstrike on a narcoterrorist loading site, and finally, the arrest of the goons in charge. The result not only encompasses the ongoing collapse of Venezuelas narcoterror Marxists (Im sure old Karl never imagined that), but also a four-ball carom shot dealing body blows to Cuba, Iran, and China. No wonder the Venezuelan people are calling Trump Don Maestro.

I wonder  can we do something similar with those problem judges?

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Image: AT via Magic Studio
The Trump critics are out again, criticizing Trumps use of the military in Venezuela to depose Nicolas Maduro. The critics cite Congresss power to declare war under Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution as proof that Trump acted illegally and unconstitutionally. The critics are wrong and are misreading the Constitution.

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Article II, Section 2 makes the president the commander in chief of the armed forces. If the president needs congressional approval before using those armed forces, then he is not a commander in chief. The critics claim is contradicted by Article II, Section 2.

The history of Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 in the drafting of the Constitution also contradicts the critics claims. That provision was originally drafted to grant Congress the power to make war and was changed to declare war only when the delegates raised the exact issue the critics raise: that the president might be hampered in his commander in chief duties if he had to obtain permission from Congress before acting.

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Furthermore, there are various provisions in the Constitution where the president is authorized to act only with the advice and consent of the Senate. When the Franers intended for the president to seek advice and consent, they obviously knew how to write such a requirement into the Constitution. But no such limitation on presidential power exists in Article II, Section 2.

Does this mean Congress has no role to play in war-making? No. But Congresss role is an oversight role, not a first instance role. Oversight is necessarily after the fact. If Congress disagrees with the presidents war-making activities, Congress has the power of the purse to cut funding for the war. Congress also has the power to impeach if the president drags the country into an unpopular war. Congress has power but not before-the-fact power.

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Ultimately, the war-making power was intended to be shared between the president and Congress, and that power was by its nature intended to be a political question. The president gets to act first, and he can act unilaterally, as Trump did. Or he can ask Congress for a declaration of war or an authorization to use force, as FDR and Bush 43 did. But the final say belongs to the people in the form of how their elected representatives judge the presidents action after the fact.

Trumps actions are legal and consistent with the constitutional division of powers. His critics are wrong on the Constitution, irrespective of the wisdom of Trumps decision, which is subject to oversight.

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Image via Pexels.
Basking in the glow of the successful capture of Venezuelas disputed president, Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump on Saturday told Fox News that Mexicos drug cartels could be next up.

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In a telephone interview with Fox & Friends Weekend ahead of his official press conference, Trump said the arrest of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on drug trafficking charges wasnt intended to send a message to Mexicos cartels or President Claudia Sheinbaum, but they still might want to take notice.
Stability Should Not Require Displacing Iraq's Assyrians

A wall relief features Assyrian King Shalmaneser III (reigned 859--824 BC) Not only war but also a U.S. prioritization of the Kurdistan Regional Government's stability over decades has accelerated the displacement of Assyrians. Churches remain open, Assyrians celebrate holidays publicly, and Kurdish officials highlight Assyrian neighborhoods as evidence of coexistence. Yet despite this visibility, Assyrian communities continue to shrink. The reason is clear: Kurdish confiscation of their land.

Assyrians are an indigenous people with both urban populations and village-based communities. Their social, economic, and cultural continuity has historically depended on secure access to property, villages, and communal institutions. When land security collapses, demographic collapse follows, as it has over the past three decades across much of northern Iraq. U.S. and international policy shaping the region's post-conflict order has catalyzed the collapse.

Since the early 1990s, U.S. policymakers treated the Kurdish-administered region of Iraq as a security partner and buffer against regional threats. Stability, counterterrorism cooperation, and humanitarian access became the dominant metrics of success. In this framework, they took superficial coexistence--open churches, functioning neighborhoods, and the absence of mass violence--as evidence of a durable political settlement, but they paid far less attention to land governance and whether displaced communities retained equal standing within the systems governing their property. This emphasis created a structural blind spot. Property rights, courts, administrative authority, and security enforcement matter more for long-term stability than symbolic tolerance. Yet in many Kurdish-controlled areas and adjacent disputed territories, land registries, courts, and security forces operate within overlapping spheres of political authority. Communities without governing power may see disputes adjudicated but rarely resolved in practice.

Many land disputes involving Assyrians stem from conflict-driven displacement. Non-Assyrians settled Assyrian villages abandoned during fighting in the 1960s, 1970s, and later. They disregarded documentation, blurred boundaries, and normalized competing claims. This displacement removed Assyrians from strategic rural areas, enabling Kurdish political authority to consolidate historically Assyrian territory. After 1991, and especially after 2003, Kurdish institutions formalized authority over Assyrian lands. Over time, unresolved claims became accepted administrative realities.

These dynamics are not limited to rural districts. Kurdish authorities often showcase Ankawa, a town adjacent to Erbil, and the most visible Assyrian settlement in northern Iraq, to international delegations. Yet even here, Assyrians report pressures related to property access, zoning decisions, rising costs, and administrative dependence on political authorities beyond their control. Visibility has not translated into autonomy over land.

Assyrian organizations have documented these patterns for years, and they appear in international human rights reporting. Complaints repeatedly cite the same obstacles: cases that remain pending for years, rulings that go unenforced, and pressure on communities to abandon claims rather than pursue protracted legal battles. The outcome is predictable--families leave, villages empty, and Kurds absorb contested land by default. Security arrangements reinforce these dynamics. Kurdish forces maintain checkpoints and exercise authority across many mixed or historically Assyrian areas. While justified on security grounds, these deployments also confer control over movement, administration, and dispute management. Displaced communities are left petitioning the same institutions that coerce them on the ground.

For decades, U.S. policy has failed to address this issue. Aid, reconstruction funding, and political support flowed through regional institutions with minimal conditionality tied to land adjudication or enforcement. Because forced displacement drives the decline of the Assyrian population, restoring stability requires restitution and equal access to land adjudication, enforcement, and self-governance. Equality must not be symbolic; it is the minimum condition for survival.

A system that allows indigenous communities to worship freely but cannot guarantee their land rights is unsustainable. Coexistence cannot be preserved through symbolism alone. Without credible legal mechanisms and equal standing within governing institutions, stability becomes performative rather than durable. This imbalance is embedded in Iraq's constitutional framework, which grants federalism to Kurds while relegating Assyrians to subordinate status and treating them as subjects throughout Iraq.

Communities do not disappear only through violence; they disappear when they lose self-determination. In northern Iraq, the fate of the Assyrians remains the clearest measure of whether U.S.-backed stability has brought justice or merely managed decline. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio talk about protecting besieged Christians worldwide; they should not make northern Iraq an exception.
In Venezuela, events are moving too fast to be certain of much.

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Dramatic footage has appeared online showing massive explosions taking place across Venezuela.

Normally, U.S. forces prioritize gaining control over an airspace at the outset of a full scale military action, and this appears to be the case now, with claims that the main Venezuelan air base has been hit.

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So now what?

In 1991, the United States struck a disabling blow against the Iraqi military in Kuwait, which inspired Shiites and Kurds to rise up against Saddam Hussein.

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However, the Iraqi government was left with air support, the crucial factor in modern combat, and quickly disabled the threat.

A decade later, when the United States launched a full-scale invasion of that country, this memory rendered the Iraqi people reluctant to rise up.

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This lesson shaped U.S. policy in 2011, too, when the people of Libya rose up against Muammar Gaddafi.

In that conflict, the United States vigorously pursued air dominance, preventing the regime from activating its own forces with crucial support. It even disabled land forces.

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The approach of focusing on airspace domination at an early point, before the regime has had an opportunity to break the will of its own people, allows the U.S. to promote a government overthrow without committing troops to the ground.

The power to shape that country's future then lies in the hands of the group on the ground that is best able to organize and fill the vacuum of the collapsing regime.

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Here, Venezuela stands apart from Libya and Iraq where armed resistance already existed on the ground.

There are armed groups on the ground in Venezuela, but they just happen to be violent drug-running Marxists who have crossed the border from Colombia.

According to the president of Colombia, the United States may have already taken action against those groups with strikes around Maracaibo. We also know the Venezuelan government has been arming militias throughout the country who will now need to be either disarmed or negotiated into standing down.

So which group will be disarming Marxist rebels, receiving U.S. air support and filling the void of a collapsing regime?

Does the United States care who it is?

Well I think the answer is 'yes.' they do care because there would be no point in overthrowing a narco-Marxist government just to replace it with another.

That leaves us to speculate as to the identity of the group the U.S. will be backing.

There are no pro-U.S. armed groups fighting overtly in the streets and the most vocal form of opposition has been civilian, focused on popular support rather than armed resistance.

So, with immense preparations having been evidently made by the Trump administration, it seems likely there are forces within the Venezuelan army ready to declare allegiance to the opposition and take the reins in addressing guerilla groups.

That's the only way to ensure a meaningful transition without committing American troops to the ground. The latter would be a proposition fraught with political and logistical difficulties.

These next few hours and days will reveal the playing field.

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As Venezuelans in their millions dance in the streets worldwide, Democrats have been left holding the bag on quite a few stupid statements, seemingly siding with dictator Nicolas Maduro amidst calls to let him continue as dictator of Venezuela.

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Kilmar Abrego champion Sen. Chris van Hollen was one of the first to step into the trap full of his own goo:

Trump and his cronies can try to dress this up, but it is an illegal act of war to replace Maduro and grab Venezuela's oil for his billionaire buddies.



Full statement below: pic.twitter.com/NCjByoVS2o  Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) January 3, 2026

NYT editorial board on Trumps illegal military adventurism in Venezuela and Caribbean/Pacific:



Trumps Attack on Venezuela Is Illegal and Unwise. https://t.co/gmEE1H2KHV pic.twitter.com/oAc9W50vGY  Hans Kristensen (also on Bluesky) (@nukestrat) January 3, 2026

Illegal! War! And neither of these claims are true. It's the old lawfare arguments, and oh, gawd, they're boring.

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Here's another take on the war angle, claiming hypocrisy:

Just one problem -- it's not a war.

He also says Trump won't be able to prove in a court of law that Maduro deals drugs:

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Nicolas Maduro is set to stand trial in a New York federal court for drug trafficking and conspiring with terrorists



Some Venezuela experts believe that prosecutors will have a difficult time proving Maduros drug involvement. https://t.co/dysgBGtNzL  Ashis Basu  ashis.bluesky.social (@BasuAshis) January 4, 2026

The indictment has been sitting there for years.

Meanwhile, this one just wants things to fall into place on their own, despite 27 years of trying the democratic approach and years and years of dialogue:

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There is nothing more infuriating than people who are horny for war and refuse to acknowledge that you can despise a regime, want it gone, support the people who wish to end it  and still oppose the use of military action.  Yashar Ali  (@yashar) January 3, 2026

Been there, done that, what's his better idea? He didn't say.

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Others beclown themselves by saying it's about taking Venezuela's oil:

President Trump wants to put Venezuelas viscous crude into play. The problem is the world doesnt have much appetite for more oil. @CollinEatonHC @kejalvyas https://t.co/BWfvrs3KcZ  Ashis Basu  ashis.bluesky.social (@BasuAshis) January 3, 2026

Tell that to the people celebrating in the streets. In reality, while Trump says he wants to get the U.S. paid for this operation, it's about taking oil away from America's enemies, and stopping terrorism and drug trafficking, whose epicenter is Venezuela.

Then there's Sen. Elisse Slotkin, who claims it's a wag-the-dog war:

President Trump's decision to bomb targets in Venezuela, depose Nicolas Maduro, and "run" Venezuela continues the signature trend of his presidency: relentless focus on foreign entanglements and looking tough abroad, to distract from whats happening to Americans' pocketbooks.  Sen. Elissa Slotkin (@SenatorSlotkin) January 3, 2026

Memo to the Senator: It's only done if a president is unpopular and looking to run for re-election. Trump doesn't have either of those problems.

And of course there's Mamdani, who defends Maduro because he's a socialist, plus lots of yanqui imperialista outrage posturings straight out of the resentful third world playbook, circa 1960.

I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City.



Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and  Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) January 3, 2026

And his DSA is even more brazen about it:

BREAKING: The DSA, the organization which Zohran Mamdani identifies with, has issued a statement defending the Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela and demanding that he can return and oppress his country once again pic.twitter.com/gBvmT0oiaZ  Mamdani Watch (@MamdaniWatch) January 3, 2026

Once again, tell that to the people celebrating in the streets.

Here's a smackdown:

No, @NYCMayor Mamdani, the people of Venezuela, represented by democratic opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, completely disagree with you: Look, some people talk about invasion in Venezuela. And I answered: Venezuela has been already invaded. https://t.co/B5bY4As6BD pic.twitter.com/SrxQEO1OGt  Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) January 3, 2026

Next up is Democrat former ambassador Michael McFaul. He's a nice guy, but oh, so, clueless about the complex power game Trump is playing:

Why did Trump throw Machado under the bus today in his press conference?



Some say its because she won the Nobel Peace Prize and he did not? Is he that petty?



Alternative theories?



I was genuinely surprised and disappointed by his dismissive remarks about her.  Michael McFaul (@McFaul) January 3, 2026

Jealousy? Or that she's a woman, as many of his commenters claimed? How little they know him. I'll have more in a future blog on what is up Trump's sleeve on this later.

Meanwhile, Chavista and Cuban propagandist Eva Golinger is making wild -- and false -- propaganda claims about U.S. troops massacring civilians:

Like Nicolas Maduro, she blocked me, so it must have been something I said. Here's a screenshot:

Again, fake news, as befits a communist propagandist.

But she's shameless. The others are uttering pieties about rule of law and Marquess of Queensberry rules on the world's filthiest dictator, often with forked tongue. Most of the pious ones are going to have to eat their words:

Venezuelans across the globe celebrate US capture of Nicolas Maduro https://t.co/nLdunMPkcl pic.twitter.com/eMTYCw9k7S  New York Post (@nypost) January 3, 2026

Let them explain that.

Are they saying Trump needs to take him back?

The Maduro era is coming to an end and while it's not done yet, it's going to be done. Freedom is coming and Venezuelans are going to remember who their friends were.

Image: Screen shot from X video.
James Mishreki started as a professional poker player before turning to health tech.

James Mishreki suffered from acne as a teenager growing up in Northumberland. A debilitating period which dented his confidence, he was nicknamed pizza face for a year as he went through NHS treatments. It then returned in his 20s and led to another round of medications.

When it came to the entrepreneur co-founding dermatology service Skin + Me in 2018, Mishreki knew how badly people wanted to get rid of acne. In four years, the British firm, which provides skin treatment on prescription-grade subscriptions, launched in 2020 and accrued nearly 40m revenues in their fourth year.

I became fascinated in the skincare industry, this 140bn industry with 55% customer dissatisfaction, he says. I knew what it was like to go through the acne journey and its not like you can talk to your dermatologist on a regular basis.

Read More: We made 25 jars at a time - now our business boasts a world's best marmalade

We first talk through Mishrekis early career, which comprised two years of playing poker professionally after completing his marketing management studies at Northumbria University in 2008.

Having tinkered with a few web-based startups, co-founding retail intelligence outfit Competitive Monitor led to him quitting poker full-time to join the booming e-commerce sector.

An idea was forged on scraping websites which could index and package to customers including John Lewis, which would use its information software to keep tabs on rivals pricing.

The Skin + Me co-founder has a unique philosophy on 'rejection training'.

For a long period Mishreki paid himself 500 per month, but as one of the first movers the company didnt double down on being enterprise first or raising private equity. We ended up competing with bedroom operators in Russia and being undercut on price, he admits.

After successfully exiting in 2018, Mishreki worked with co-founder Philip Wilkinson in setting up a personalised skincare recommendation service called Mr & Mrs Oliver, primarily to test what consumers valued and wanted.

Mishreki ventured to Space NK and Debenhams where he would chat to skincare advisors and ask if they wanted to earn extra money working on his startup.

Consumers were sent a treatment box for their skin goals and the founders learned that people placed high value on having credible specialists reviewing consultations and making recommendations.

Mishreki admits the business model was flawed. Shipping third party skincare products, consumers would then find cheaper brands elsewhere. However, the founders goal to build a personalised regime had been born, which proved a complex operation to set up.

The company only uses real Skin + Me community members in its marketing.

Skin + Me had to build a regulatory-approved pharmacy, set up personalisation technology for prescriptions and create a brand people loved and trusted. Meanwhile, the founders set about seeking skilled consultants by sending over 200 handwritten letters to a third of the UKs dermatologists.

Mishreki also has a unique take on what he refers to as rejection training as he sought to acquire investment.

Read More: 'Our women's hiking trousers saved our business  we've sold over 50,000'

Rejection is a good thing when it comes to being an entrepreneur, he says. The sooner you get a lot of rejections under your belt the sooner you stop caring and ironically the more you get, the less it happens."

After an exhausting pursuit knocking on investor doors, the founders changed tact after originally looking for 50,000 investment. They now looked to raise meaningful capital to build to scale from the get go and they soon acquired 8m seed investment.

Everything goes wrong all the time. If I expect a no, its an opportunity to learn and get better. It was a bonus if I got a yes.

The market doesn't care about your feelings. It has been highly stressful building the company but I am super proud. The UK population is much better off having access to this service.

James Mishreki took Skin +Me to 37m revenue in just over five years.

London-based Skin + Me went to market with 20 staff. There are now over 150 employees, with an office in Paddington and an operations team at a spacious factory in Acton. The business has reportedly been valued at 160m.

I feel we have materially levelled up the expectations when it comes to personalisation, stresses Mishreki.

Beforehand, at best it means a quiz on a website and product recommendation. In our care we are literally making the ingredient and ripping up the green piece of paper [traditional prescription] and making a custom-made bottle and using a laser to etch the prescription bottle every time. We always challenged ourselves on how to make it a dramatically better customer experience.

Read More: 'We've all grown up with radiators - underfloor heating is a no-brainer'

Hailed as one of the UKs fastest growing consumer health brands, Mishreki has moved from CEO to chairman and continues as Skin + Mes main shareholder. He has since turned his attention to another startup, Life Supplies, a refillable oral care brand a few years ago which has quickly turned multimillion pound revenues.

Either you stick at entrepreneurship and you expect that things will go wrong for many more years or you can hang your boots up. I chose the former, he says.

Behind the brand: James Mishreki on

Leadership

Everything boils down to the bar you set on day zero. It is so important to get those key early hires right and to delay the launch of your business to get those people right.

Weve now set the bar for expectations and personalisation when it comes to comparing what you get at a pharmacy and the lack of interaction you get through the NHS, as they just dont have the capacity.

Startup mentality

You have to work seven days a week building a startup and that's what I did. There is so much to get done. If you are working 9-5 five days a week, you will probably run out of your money or let a competitor beat you.

What keeps you awake at night?

Andy Grove, the former Intel CEO, wrote Only the Paranoid Survive which is all about a company which didnt think it would ever lose top spot. But it was under threat at one point and then pivoted the whole business. The message is always be paranoid and I am always thinking what we can do to be even better to improve customer experience.

The threat of AI

What people really value is talking to a human being. We use AI to use the business more efficiently but the thought of it replacing what people really value feels like a stretch too far.

Read more:

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America is at war with drug cartels, not with Venezuela, US secretary of state Marco Rubio has insisted, as military leaders in Caracas demand the release of Nicolas Maduro.

The Venezuelan president was captured in a dramatic US operation in the early hours of Saturday, with at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft reported over the capital, before Donald Trump confirmed that elite Delta operatives had detained Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

They were later transported aboard the USS Iwo Jima to New York.

In a video posted by the White House on Sunday, Mr Maduro was shown being led down a hallway, handcuffed and flanked by agents inside the Drug Enforcement Administrations Manhattan offices.

Mr Maduro and Ms Flores are now being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and are expected to appear before a federal judge in Manhattan on Monday, charged with narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and conspiracy to possess machine guns.

Maduro walking down a hallway handcuffed and flanked by agents inside the Drug Enforcement Administration's New York offices (X/@RapidResponse47)

Mr Trump said his administration would assume temporary control of Venezuela and begin selling its vast oil reserves abroad. Rebuilding there and regime change, anything you want to call it, is better than what you have right now, he told The Atlantic. Cant get any worse.

He added that Venezuelas acting president, Delcy Rodriguez  Mr Maduros second-in-command  would likely lead the transition but warned she would pay a very big price if she failed to cooperate with the US.

Mr Rubio, meanwhile, sought to downplay suggestions that the US had launched a full-scale intervention. People keep fixating on whos running Venezuela, he told reporters on Sunday.

Heres the bottom line: we expect to see changes in Venezuela  changes of all kinds, long term and short term. Wed love to see all kinds of changes but the most immediate changes are the ones that are in the national interest of the United States.

Marco Rubio in Mar-a-Lago on Saturday (AP)

The secretary of state also expanded on Washingtons intentions for Venezuelas oil sector, the largest in the world. What were not going to allow is for the oil industry in Venezuela to be controlled by adversaries of the United States, Mr Rubio said. Why does China need Venezuelan oil? Why does Russia? Why does Iran?

The operation  the culmination of months of escalating Trump administration pressure on the South American nation  has drawn swift condemnation from neighbouring Latin American governments and from Venezuelas traditional allies, Russia and China.

Iran called the strikes a flagrant violation of national sovereignty, while North Koreas foreign ministry described the move as another example confirming once again the rogue and brutal nature of the United States.

Despite Mr Trumps claims that American forces were already running Venezuela, there was little evidence of any US control on the ground. No American troops were visible in Caracas, and local media reported that Delcy Rodriguez remained in office as acting president, demanding Mr Maduros immediate release.

On Saturday, Ms Rodriguez declared that Mr Maduro was the only legitimate president of Venezuela and accused Washington of state terrorism.

Maduros second-in-command, Delcy Rodriguez, is now the acting president. But she has demanded Maduro's release (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Trump responded by repeating his threat that she would face a very big price if she resisted US oversight.

Sir Keir Starmer said Britain would shed no tears over Mr Maduros downfall but called for restraint and international consultation.

The UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela, Sir Keir said in a statement on Sunday.

We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and shed no tears about the end of his regime. The UK government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people.

Pressed earlier on whether the US operation breached international law, Sir Keir declined to comment, saying he would speak to Mr Trump and other allies first to establish the facts.
A crackdown on advertising for unhealthy food comes into full effect on Monday in a bid to tackle childhood obesity.

The ban prevents ads for less healthy food and drink that is high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) appearing on television between 5.30am and 9pm, and online at any time.

It follows a voluntary ban by advertisers that began on October 1, and means they must now comply with the new rules or risk action by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The ban applies to products that fall within 13 categories considered to play the most significant role in childhood obesity, including soft drinks, chocolates and sweets, pizzas and ice creams, but also breakfast cereals and porridges, sweetened bread products, and main meals and sandwiches.

Evidence shows childrens exposure to ads for unhealthy food can influence what they eat from a young age (Alamy/PA)

Products that fall into these categories are than also assessed as to whether they are less healthy based on a scoring tool that considers their nutrient levels and whether products are high in saturated fat, salt, or sugar.

Only products that meet both of the two criteria are included in the restrictions.

Companies can still advertise healthier versions of products included in the ban, which the Government said it hopes will encourage the food industry to change their recipes.

Ads for plain porridge oats and the majority of porridge, muesli and granola will not be banned under the new rules, but some less healthy versions with added sugar, chocolate or syrup could be affected.

The restrictions will only apply to ads where products deemed to be unhealthy can be identified by viewers, meaning firms can still advertise brand names.

Until now, HFSS products should not have been advertised through any media when more than 25% of the audience is under 16 years old.

Latest figures suggest one in 10 reception-aged children are obese, while one in five children have tooth decay by the age of five.

It is estimated obesity costs the NHS more than 11 billion every year.

Evidence shows childrens exposure to ads for unhealthy food can influence what they eat from a young age, in turn putting them at greater risk of becoming overweight or obese.

The Government estimates the ad ban will prevent around 20,000 cases of childhood obesity.

Katherine Brown, professor of behaviour change in health at the University of Hertfordshire, said: A watershed ban on television and online advertising before 9pm to reduce childrens exposure to unhealthy food marketing is long overdue and a move in the right direction.

Children are highly susceptible to aggressive marketing of unhealthy foods and exposure to them puts them at greater risk of developing obesity and associated chronic diseases. Yet this policy comes into force three years after originally proposed, following repeated delays, cutbacks and industry pressure.

Restrictions on promotions of HFSS products are a valuable step, but they must form part of a long-term, comprehensive strategy that addresses inequalities, supports healthier local food environments and makes nutritious options more affordable, accessible and appealing.
A generator-operated street light kicks in during the power cut in Berlin - Omer Messinger/Getty Images

Far-Left extremists carried out an arson attack in Berlin over the weekend which could leave up to 45,000 households without electricity until Thursday.

German officials said that the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group), which has also been linked to an earlier attack on a Tesla factory near the capital, was behind the power cut.

The group sent a letter to a newspaper taking responsibility for the attack, which targeted high-voltage cables near the Lichterfelde power station, south-west of the capital.

In the letter, the far-Left arsonists said they were protesting against the use of fossil fuels because of the dangers they pose to the environment, as well as concerns over artificial intelligence.

Traffic lights are out in the centre of the city at Mexikoplatz Square - Ralf Hirschberger/AFP via Getty Images

Power outages were not the goal of the action, but rather the fossil fuel industry, they said.

The letter claiming responsibility has been classified as authentic by the security authorities, Iris Spranger, Berlins interior affairs minister, said on X.

She added: I condemn this inhumane attack on Berliners and visitors to the city in the strongest possible terms. The investigation is ongoing.

A Berlin police spokesman said they considered the letter, which railed against Germanys greed for energy and boasted of cutting the juice of the ruling class to be credible.

Sabotage attacks are an increasing concern for Germany - Flip Singer/EPA/Shutterstock

Beds and blankets are set up at a makeshift German Red Cross aid station in a local basketball hall - Omer Messinger/Getty Images

Stromnetz Berlin, the electricity provider, warned that the power cut could continue until Thursday. It has already left 35,000 homes and 1,900 businesses without power.

Sabotage attacks are increasingly a concern for Germany. In the most high profile cases, such as a 2024 arms factory fire in Berlin, they are suspected to have been launched by pro-Russian agents as part of Moscows hybrid war campaign.

But there have also been attacks by other home-grown Left-wing groups previously, unrelated to this one.

Residents charge their devices at a local church offering shelter - Lisi Niesner/Reuters

The latest action was carried out amid freezing temperatures in the city, much of it blanketed by snow. Several care homes have been affected by the power cuts.

The group said it regretted any disruption that the attack might have caused to less-affluent Berliners but said it was pleased to have struck the many owners of villas.

It also claimed the arson was an act of self-defence against the fossil fuel industry, taken in solidarity with those who want to protect nature.

The group previously claimed responsibility for an arson attack on tech billionaire Elon Musks Tesla factory on the outskirts of Berlin in 2024, which halted production temporarily at the site.
Fresh from bringing up his fourth successive century with his final runner of 2025, George Boughey is excited to see the unbeaten Bow Echo lead his powerful string into battle this year.

While last season lacked a top-level success on home soil for the one of Newmarkets brightest young trainers, he did saddle Believing to win the Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai and in Bow Echo has a genuine 2000 Guineas contender on his hands for this term.

After making a deep impression on his racecourse debut at Newbury in August, the Night Of Thunder colt went on to land Haydocks Ascendant Stakes and the Royal Lodge at Newmarket to round off an unbeaten juvenile campaign, and Boughey is now targeting what would be a poignant Classic success over the Rowley Mile this spring follow the recent death of owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid.

Boughey said: He (Bow Echo) is the outstanding horse weve trained so far as a two-year-old and I hope everything carries on as normal.

It was desperately sad news we got a few days ago about Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, whod been a brilliant owner for us to have but also someone I learnt a huge amount off.

We were only able to train a couple of crops of his homebred yearlings, but they were a high-level quality of horse and speaking to him every few days I understood they took a bit more training than the normal horse and his education of that was invaluable. Hell be sorely missed by lots of people.

I really hope Bow Echo can go and win a really big one for him next season. Life has a funny way of doing things  sometimes in these situations those kind of things happen, so please God it can.

Boughey achieved a career-best tally of 136 winners in Britain in 2022 and followed that with 103 in 2023 and 105 in 2024.

He made it to three figures by the skin of his teeth in 2025, with his very last runner of the year, Invited, scoring at Lingfield on New Years Eve, a victory which also saw the trainers number one rider Billy Loughnane reach a 21st century record of 222 winners in a calendar year.

On reaching his century, Boughey added: We had a couple of moments through the year where it looked almost impossible, but I gave it a bit of push late on to try to do it and I think its the fourth year on the spin weve managed it.

Huge credit to everyone  the owners, the travelling staff, my office and obviously the horses. Its something we wanted to do and Im glad we were able to do it with the last runner.
Gabby Allen and Dani Dyer told Yahoo UK about their gruelling time on Celebrity SAS. (Channel 4) (Channel 4)

It's known as one of the toughest shows on TV, and the recruits for Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins 2026 have admitted they were taken aback by just how gruelling it was. For the first time in the Channel 4 challenge, recruits are split into two teams for an England vs. Australia series.

Celebrities might be used to the red carpet and goody bag treatment, but there's no difference between the civilian series and the celeb spin-off as far as the no-nonsense directing staff (DS) are concerned. As Mark "Billy" Billingham told Yahoo UK: "There's no real concessions for anybody... The bar didn't change for civilians or celebrities."

The new series launching on 4 January has a particularly tough start even by SAS terms. The recruits arrive in the Moroccan desert in blistering heat and are ordered off their minibus with bags over their heads before being lined up on a terrifyingly high bridge.

Olympic swimmer Mack Horton began the series by having to urinate in the line of celebrities while waiting to have the bag taken off his head, explaining: "I was actually just busting. I put up my hand a couple of times, and no one had said 'Fine go to the bathroom', so I was like, whatever."

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins put the famous recruits through some tough paces. (Channel 4) (Channel 4)

However, things were about to get even tougher for the recruits, as their first challenge involved being strapped into a plane submerged in water. In addition to the near-impossible physical tasks, they also had to face a grilling from the DS on their biggest personal hang-ups and failings.

These were some of the toughest moments in the Celebrity SAS journey for this year's recruits.

Gabby Allen finds DS interrogation 'a hard watch'

Love Island star turned personal trainer Gabby Allen loves a physical challenge, but the emotional demands of Celebrity SAS were far trickier for her. She told Yahoo UK and other press of the mirror room with the DS: "My first interrogation was a s*** show. I actually am dreading watching it back because I'm not used to being vulnerable. When I was pulled into the room, I just didn't know how to cope with that at all. I'm quite a private person...I think that's going to be a hard watch."

She added, "It is really hard to get yourself into that headspace to be able to open up like that, especially with people that you don't know. That's so intimidating. When you're with your mates with a glass of wine, it's a bit different. But when you're sat in this room, looking like you've been dug up, it's not great."

Natalie Bassingthwaighte's worst nightmare

Natalie Bassingthwaighte took a punch from Gabby Allen. (Channel 4) (Channel 4)

Neighbours star Natalie Bassingthwaighte confessed that the first time she was asked to do the show, her condition was only if she didn't have to fight anyone. However, the actor was informed that there was no option to sit out the milling challenge, which involves pairs of celebrities competing against each other in close-contact combat.

Bassingthwaighte took on Allen, calling it "really intense", and was shown vomiting after the fight. She explained: "I've never hit anyone. I've never been hit before, so it was a lot. Gabby was a beast, but super lovely. I won't lie. She was just divine, came up and just said, 'God, I hope you're OK'. It was definitely horrific. I wouldn't want to go back and do it again, that's for sure... Take me back to yoga and Pilates. That's where I belong."

Allen found it equally tough from her side: "It's just so hard because you just have no choice unless you VW, which means take your band off and say that you're not doing it, you just have to do it. You have no choice but to give it your best shot. I've never had fights before...You have to find some way to make it make sense in your head to be able to do this.

Natalie Bassingthwaighte said milling was her worst experience. (Channel 4) (Channel 4)

"I don't recommend fighting to anybody. That whole challenge to watch actually was quite hard because you have to watch everybody go against each other."

The Love Islander added that she worried Neighbours fans would be upset at her over the fight, but Bassingthwaighte, who played Erinsborough homewrecker Izzy Hoyland, laughed: "No, they'll love you because you hit Izzy. 'Yes, what a b****!'"

Allen told her: "I'm sorry, I was absolutely traumatised afterwards," but Bassingthwaighte reassured her co-star: "I didn't die. It's all good."

Dani Dyer tackles water terror

Fighting might have been Bassingthwaighte's worst nightmare, but for Dani Dyer, it was water that had her quaking in her boots.

It wasn't long before she had to face her fear, as episode one opens with the group pairing off to be strapped into a plane and submerged in water, with Dyer pulling the plug just seconds in. "If you said to me now, Dani, go on the wall and hold your breath, I feel like I would be able to do it, but I don't know if it was just in that moment, and you feel like you can't breathe.

Dani Dyer and Ryan Moloney did the water challenge together. (Channel 4) (Channel 4)

"I do definitely think I did get in my head on multiple occasions. That first challenge was literally one of my hardest things.

"With my kids, it's definitely pushing me more to get them to swim. I think it's one of the most important things ever. I definitely don't want them to see I'm scared of water."

But her challenge partner, Neighbours' Ryan Moloney, told her, "I think in all fairness, though, it's not being scared of water. It's being strapped into a chair when you're in the water. The feeling that you were trapped... it's meant to make you feel like you're gonna drown."

Despite taking on all manner of gruelling SAS activities, it was Strictly Come Dancing training that injured Dyer, ruling her out of the 2025 series. She revealed: "My foot is a lot better. Just a really bad, silly accident. It's just so unlucky. Listen, I would absolutely love to do Strictly again, but it is up to the gods. It's not up to me."

Ryan Moloney faces mental hurdles

Ryan Moloney found the mental and emotional challenge tough. (Channel 4) (Channel 4)

Neighbours legend Ryan Moloney was clearly steeled for any physical challenges thrown his way, but from episode one can be seen getting frustrated with the group as he tries to make sure they are prepared with full water bottles and organised kit at all times.

He explained to Yahoo UK: "I wanted everyone to be able to do their best and to be able to stick around for as long as they can. As soon as we f*** up and don't do something right, then we get drilled. That's when people quit. So it was wanting people to be able to stay there for as long as they could, taking it for the team in a way.

"I live by the mantra of if not you, then who and if not now, then when. I had to speak up and say, hey guys, we should be doing this, we should be doing that. And if people crack the s***s because of that, well, then okay, cool.

The soap star aired some frustrations. (Channel 4) (Channel 4)

"I've probably got a bit frustrated because I felt like a lot of the time that I was on everyone's team but it didn't feel like there was a lot of people on mine." Dyer told him, "That's horrible, that you felt that way."

Viewers will see Moloney open up on his ADHD and he said: "I spoke with the psychologist afterward, and he was like, 'It's designed to get you into fight or flight straight away, and clearly, you were already in that mode before you even turned up'.

"What I was experiencing was actually uncontrollable waves of emotion, that I had no idea what the hell they were even about."

DS tough love

DS Billy didn't go easy on the recruits. (Channel 4) (Channel 4)

Any SAS: Who Dares Wins viewer will know that the actual challenges are only a small part of what makes the show so tough  what the recruits really have to contend with are the DS, including Mark "Billy" Billingham, Jason "Foxy" Fox, Rudy Reyes and Chris Oliver.

Social media star Cole Anderson-James admitted their spiky way of communicating came as a shock, as he had never seen the show before: "There's definitely no off switch (with the DS), and because I had never watched the show before, I'd never seen previous episodes. When I did (watch them), they seemed a lot nicer in the last ones, where they would give words of encouragement or sometimes break a smile. I feel like none of us got any words of encouragement, which was really hard because I like recognition for work, and when I put everything into a task, they'll just say you're s***."

He added, "I know they're doing it on purpose to try and break you, but when you feel like you've worked so hard, if they don't bring you in and tell you to carry on, to keep trying, then it was the most difficult thing because I thought I wasn't doing well."

Cole Anderson-James and Toby Olubi both found the lack of encouragement tough. (Channel 4) (Channel 4)

Bobsleigh Olympian and Gladiators star Toby Olubi, aka Phantom, agreed that the DS had cut him no slack in the mirror room interrogations.

"They were very strict with me in that. They weren't friendly at all," he said. "I was doing my best, but they just wanted to push me to another level, which I guess worked in the end, but it wasn't gentle by any means.

"I guess you can call it a sort of tough love...I clashed with them at certain points because it's hard for me to let go of my autonomy and give someone control over the situation, especially when they come at me with aggression. It was a learning curve for me."

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins returns to Channel 4 at 9pm on Sunday, 4 January.
Fran Heathcote, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, claims a four-day week would increase productivity and save money for the Treasury - Mark Kerrison/Getty

Civil servants are planning to team up with MPs to defy Sir Keir Starmers crackdown on the four-day week.

Ministers have attempted to stamp out the practice in local government, ordering council leaders not to offer full-time pay for part-time work.

However, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which represents officials in central government, has pledged to push on with its campaign for a four-day week.

The PCS, which is the UKs biggest Civil Service union, said it would work with parliamentarians to lobby for a 32-hour working week with no loss of pay for staff.

The Cabinet Office immediately rejected the proposals, insisting there were no plans to introduce the practice, adding: There remain clear benefits to face-to-face working as we deliver national renewal.

The Government rebuked the first council to adopt a four-day week in October, with a source calling it disrespectful to voters and a waste of taxpayers money.

Reed fights back

Steve Reed, the Communities Secretary, has since written to all English local authorities ordering them not to adopt the approach.

The PCSs refusal to abandon its campaign for a four-day week has led to a fresh spat with ministers.

Fran Heathcote, the PCS general secretary, told The Telegraph: Employers offering a four-day week have better staff retention, find recruiting easier and lose fewer days to sickness.

For workers, a four-day week means less burnout, better health and a better quality of life, including work-life balance and more time for caring responsibilities.

In Scotland civil servants have already won a reduction of two hours per week, and their pilot projects for four-day weeks were resoundingly successful.

PCS will continue to campaign for a four-day week in the Civil Service through its organising with members, bargaining with managers and working with parliamentarians.

Members of the PCS have held several strikes over demands on pay, pensions and job security - Mark Kerrison/Getty

The PCS represents civil servants, who are employed by the Crown and work for central government departments and agencies. It has no responsibility for council workers, who are not civil servants and have different union options.

It is likely the PCS will seek the support of Labour backbenchers who have continued to campaign for a four-day week despite the partys resistance to the practice in the public sector.

In February, several Labour MPs backed an amendment to the Governments Employment Rights Bill that would require ministers to explore options for transitioning to a four-day week with no cut to pay.

Peter Dowd, the MP who tabled the suggestion, argued the aim was not a pipe dream, adding: The world has changed, and so should our approach to work.

Maya Ellis, MP for the Ribble Valley, called for a debate on the issue this month, arguing it would be a win-win for both employers and staff.

In October, Mr Reed personally expressed his deep disappointment with South Cambridgeshire district council over its decision to adopt a four-day week.

Under the arrangement, bin collectors and social housing officials get 100 per cent of their pay for about 80 per cent of their contracted hours.

This mirrors the demands from the PCS, which has called for a similar scheme in both Mr Reeds current and former departments.

The union has persevered with its campaign despite Labour pouring cold water on the idea shortly after coming to power last year.

Were not living in the 1970s

In an interview with Times Radio, Emma Reynolds, the then pensions minister, said civil servants would not be given an extra day off a week because were not living in the 1970s.

She dismissed a claim from the PCS that the move would save more than 20m a year in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which was then led by Mr Reed.

Her comments were backed by the Prime Ministers spokesman the next day, who said: Its not something we support. The Civil Service is working to deliver for working people day in, day out.

Mr Reed has taken a more robust approach to the issue than his predecessor, Angela Rayner, who was forced to resign from the communities role in September after a Telegraph investigation into her taxes.

Ms Rayner, who has deep ties with the trade unions, did not support the four-day week but opted not to directly intervene.

In his more recent letter to all English councils, Mr Reed said local authorities should not be offering full-time pay for part-time work.

He added: I hope that makes my position on this matter and the Governments policy unambiguously clear to all councils.
The Navy approached Luciano through his attorney, Moses Polakoff, in March 1942. Intelligence officers offered better prison conditions in exchange for Luciano's help securing the docks. Luciano agreed. The Navy moved him from Dannemora to Great Meadow Prison in May 1942, closer to New York City and easier for his associates to visit.

Luciano ordered his criminal network to watch for saboteurs, report suspicious activity and prevent labor strikes that could disrupt the war effort. Joseph Socks Lanza, who controlled the Fulton Fish Market and United Seafood Workers Union, became a key contact. Lanza told Haffenden during their first meeting: "You let me know where you want the contacts made, or what you want, and I'll carry on."

Albert Anastasia, who ran the Brooklyn docks and Murder Inc., guaranteed cooperation from the longshoremen.

Dock strikes stopped after Luciano became involved. No major acts of sabotage occurred in New York Harbor for the rest of the war. Lieutenant Maurice Kelly, a former New York Police Department officer who joined Naval Intelligence after Pearl Harbor, testified years later in the Herlands investigation about the success of Luciano's connections.

"From the time Commander Haffenden made these contacts with Luciano there was a very open and cooperative condition that existed between the investigators and the people that were very influential on the various docks in the Port of New York," Kelly said.

The Navy's covert partnership with organized crime, codenamed Operation Underworld, achieved its immediate goal of securing the docks.

You can read the rest of the piece via the link below:

Operation Underworld: How an Italian Mafia Boss in Prison Helped the US Invade Sicily in World War II | Military.com

You can also read my Washington Times On Crime column on Operation Underworld: How the Mafia and U.S. Government Teamed Up To Win World War II via the link below:

Paul Davis On Crime: Operation Underworld: My Washington Times On Crime Column on 'Operation Underworld: How The Mafia And U.S. Government Teamed Up To Win World War II'
Miguel Diaz-Canel, the Cuban president, says the capture of Nicolas Maduro is part of a brutal assault on Latin America - Ramon Espinosa/AP

The Cuban government is in a lot of trouble, the US secretary of state warned following the capture of its communist ally Nicolas Maduro.

Fears are growing in Havana that it could be the Trump administrations next target for regime change.

The Cuban government is a huge problem ... I think they are in a lot of trouble, yes, Marco Rubio told NBC News on Sunday when asked if it would be the next Latin American regime to be toppled after the USs raid on the Venezuelan capital.

His remarks followed a similar warning on Saturday from president Donald Trump, who warned well be talking about Cuba at the end of a press conference about his invasion of Venezuela.

Those ominous remarks have sent alarm bells ringing in Cuba, where the Communist leadership is now in fear of a wider US military campaign in Latin America.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who has ruled Cuba since 2019, said the capture of Mr Maduro was part of a brutal assault on the Zone of Peace, a bloc of 33 Latin American and Caribbean states.

He also branded the US mission a criminal attack and state terrorism against the brave Venezuelan people and against Our America, urging a response from other world leaders.

Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, said the leadership in Havana should be concerned - Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Created in Havana in 2014, the Zone of Peace declaration was a broad commitment not to intervene in the affairs of other countries and to uphold friendly relations in the Caribbean and Latin American regions.

While it is not explicitly anti-US, the pact is widely viewed as an attempt to counterbalance Washingtons regional influence. Mr Diaz-Canel has warned it is now under siege.

Cubas Communist Party-controlled media outlets have followed Mr Diaz-Canels lead with Granma, the countrys most widely read news outlet, running a huge image of the Venezuelan national colours on its home page.

The lead article stated that Cuba stands with Venezuela and quoted at length various messages of condemnation from senior Communist politicians in the country.

On the ground, reporters in Havana have spoken of an atmosphere of fear in the capital and a sense of grim inevitability on the issue of an attempted US coup.

Here in Cuba, people are really rather worried, British journalist Ed Augustin told NBC News. I was at a rally outside the US embassy that was hastily convened by the ruling Communist Party this morning, and I think both the government and an awful lot of Cubans feel threatened.

Addressing fears that Cubas government could be next, he added: Its been widely reported ... that Marco Rubio ... sees this strategy, getting rid of Maduro, as the mechanism by which they can finally overthrow the government in Havana.

Cubans rally in support of Venezuela but are rather worried, according to reports from Havana - Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA

There does indeed seem to be a bigger plan under way in Washington, and one largely driven by Mr Rubio, who is the first US secretary of state with Latin American heritage.

Born to Cuban immigrants who travelled to Miami in 1956 seeking a better life, it is no secret that Mr Rubio wishes to see an end to the Communist regimes in Cuba and Nicaragua.

On Sunday Mr Rubio said the Cuban government has a huge problem as he refused to rule out any future action against the South American country.

He told NBCs Meet the Press that he would not talk about future policy but said it was not a mystery that were not big fans of the Cuban regime.

What is much less clear is what could happen. US military action is one possibility but another might be a home-grown coup or the toppling of the government by mass protests.

The Cuban economy is in a dire state  with the US the main culprit according to Havana  owing to collapsing public services, a 10 per cent plunge in GDP since 2020, food shortages and a soaring cost of living.

In 2021, there were large-scale protests against the government and the Communist Party over severe food and medicine shortages during the Covid pandemic. Similar protests followed in 2024, this time linked to power cuts as well as food shortages.

There were also clues as early as November 2025 that the Trump administration would like to become the dominant power in the Western Hemisphere.

In its National Security Strategy paper released that month, the administration vowed to reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere, referring to the policy of James Monroe, the fifth US president, who saw Latin America as part of the US sphere of influence.

The same document says that the Trump administration will protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region, a line that now feels prescient in light of Saturdays helicopter raid on Caracas.

However, experts say the long-term effects of the attack in Venezuela, and any future intervention in Cuba, extend far beyond Latin America.

The Trump administrations removal of Maduro from power in Venezuela is not simply a message to antagonistic regimes in the hemisphere, like Cuba and Nicaragua, said Alexander B Gray, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a US research institute.

It is a global re-establishment of deterrence that will be seen in Beijing and Moscow as an unambiguous sign of the Trump administrations commitment to a security order compatible with American interests, he said.

The attack on Caracas may also have been designed to humiliate China, which has pumped enormous amounts of investment into both Venezuela and Cuba.

In Venezuela alone, Beijing has provided about $100bn (75bn) in loans and other forms of financial support, with the states large oil reserves used as collateral.

A report by Reuters over the summer found that China might even supplant Russia as Cubas main benefactor in the near future. In 2025 alone, 55 solar parks in Cuba were underwritten by China, the news agency noted.

Sure enough, it was China leading the condemnation of the attack on Mr Maduro on Sunday, with Beijings foreign ministry demanding his immediate release.

But if Mr Trump is serious about extending his reach across the whole Western Hemisphere  and Saturdays events strongly suggest that he is  then getting Mr Maduro out of a jail cell could soon be the least of Beijings worries..
Sir Sadiq Khans ambition of electrifying the entire London bus fleet by 2030 will be next to impossible to achieve, according to a bus company executive.

Bill Cahill, managing director of First Bus London, said his firm was committed to hitting the mayors challenging target but said it involved far more than simply buying new buses.

More than 2,600 of 9,000 buses in the capital are now zero emission  almost 30 per cent - but Transport for London says it will take until 2034 to convert the entire fleet without Government funding.

Electric buses have recently been introduced on routes 98, 268, 270, 277 and 341.

Mr Cahill said difficulties in electrifying bus garages could delay the move from diesel buses.

He suggested that he was not alone in believing that TfL had to offer bus firms better incentives, such as longer or more lucrative contracts, to help fund the switch to electric fleets.

In an interview with The Standard, Mr Cahill said: Its not just about buying buses, its about electrifying the depots - and electrifying the depots will become progressively more difficult.

You dont plug an electric bus into a 13amp socket. Its a very high voltage system that takes a lot of planning.

There is limited power in the London Grid. You have to book your power up to five years in advance. Then you have to get it to your front door or back door. Only then can you electrify the garage.

What this is doing in London is creating a barrier to entry for new bus operators.

Ready for the switch: Stamford Brook bus garage will be converted to an electric bus garage (Ross Lydall)

First Bus is committed to fully electrifying nine out of 10 of its London bus garages  other than Park Royal, where there are power supply issues and the site is constrained by HS2s Old Oak Common station - by 2030.

First Bus plans to convert Stamford Brook garage - thought to be the oldest surviving bus garage in London  over the next 12 to 24 months.

It is currently in the process of converting Westbourne Park garage.

Stamford Brook garage dates to 1896, though its history can be traced back to the 1850s and 1860s when it was used by horse-drawn trams.

It later became home to the London United Electrical Tramway trams that ran between Hampton Court and Shepherds Bush Green.

The adjacent Power House, which provided the electricity for the trams, is now home to the Metropolis recording studio, where Queen recorded their last album, Innuendo.

Stamford Brook bus garages in the electric tram era (First Bus)

At present, Stamford Brook is only used for four routes, the 220, 272, 440 and E3, none of which are electrified  meaning it only operates at about half at its 100-bus capacity.

This garage has been under-utilised for some time, mainly because its quite difficult to electrify, Mr Cahill said. But when we electrify it, it will burst back into life.

Mr Cahill hinted at big changes afoot for Stamford Brook garage. We are attempting to do something here that is different to anything elsewhere, but it is a closely guarded secret, he said.

But a key factor is which contracts the firm wins from TfL  and how many electric buses are required to operate each new route.

Analysis of Transport for London data reveals a decade of decline for the busiest bus routes. Route 18 remains top with 12.1m passengers in 2024/25, despite a 31% drop since 2014/15. Route 25 saw the largest fall (-59%) due to restructuring, while Route 38 usage declined by 35%. pic.twitter.com/joFGzJSTk8  CLondoner92 (@CLondoner92) December 20, 2025

First Bus recently won a new tender to operate route 18, which is the biggest route in London, with more than 12 million passenger journeys a year.

The route, which operates between Sudbury & Harrow Road station and Euston, currently uses diesel hybrid buses.

First has purchased 60 new electric BYD buses that are capable of up to a game-changing 500 miles between charges, enough for two to three days of operation.

Of these, 40 will be used on the route 18 and the remainder on route 31, which links White City and Camden Town.

First and its subsidiaries already have about 350 Chinese-built BYD buses, with the new order boosting this to about 420 out of its total London fleet of about 1,000 buses.

The remainder of its fleet are diesel hybrids  about 400 buses  and less than 200 light diesels.

BYD electric double deckers cost about 430,000 each, compared with about 500,000 for electric buses built in the UK by firms such as Wrightbus or Alexander Dennis, The Standard was told.

Rival operator Metroline has bought more than 200 electric buses this year, increasing its zero emission fleet in the capital to 422 buses.

Metroline has also bought more electric buses (Metroline)

The other big issue facing TfL and the bus firms is the decline in bus passenger numbers.

This is related to declining bus speeds, due to a combination of factors that include more delivery vehicles and minicabs, and road space being given to cyclists and pedestrians.

Changes in post-pandemic work patterns, such as the increase in working from home, has also contributed to the fall in bus passengers, Mr Cahill said.

But he also believes that there is a sizeable amount of uncounted patronage on the buses, including many people entitled to travel for free who fail to touch in - such as school pupils with Zip cards and pensioners with a Freedom Pass.

Asked about falling passenger numbers, he said: I think that is more to do with the speed of traffic. If you can walk quicker than the bus can drive you there, you are likely to walk.

He suggested daytime bus speeds were even lower than TfL data suggested. Average speeds have fallen below 9mph  but Mr Cahill said this was the average calculated on a 24/7 basis, and thus over-estimated bus speeds during the rush hour.

If you get disruption, it can take you one hour to do a mile  in which case, people dont use the bus very often, he said.

I think the product is getting better, but we have to find a way of speeding the product up, one way or another.

If you keep handing road space to other users, by definition its going to slow the bus network.

He said King Street in Hammersmith had become one of the most notorious pinch-points in London for buses.

Single file: The westbound lane in King Street, Hammersmith (A1_bloke/X)

The street is now west-bound only for vehicles, after a bi-directional cycle lane was installed in what was the eastbound carriageway.

But at the bus stop outside Marks & Spencer, buses often had to queue to board and off-load passengers  creating tailbacks back to the Hammersmith gyratory.

Its basic plumbing, Mr Cahill said. If you have got a hosepipe and you squeeze it in the middle, the water will come out somewhere else.

There are eight bus routes that come down that road. Its not unusual to end up with eight buses queuing all the way back to Hammersmith Broadway, which blocks up Hammersmith gyratory. Its nonsense.

I have stood there and watched on many occasions. You see not very many bikes and a queue of buses.
Joe Root and Harry Brook produced Englands best partnership of a punishing Ashes series on day one of the final Test before being stopped in their tracks by the Sydney weather.

The Yorkshire duo came together with the tourists in familiar strife at 57 for three, another sloppy start from the top order putting them under pressure at a sold-out SCG, and stitched together an unbroken stand of 154.

That took England to 211 for three and they were on the verge of turning a sturdy position into something even stronger when bad light and rain forced an early end to proceedings just before the tea break.

Root was a definition of calm control as he reeled off a mature 72 not out, with Brook indulging a few of his more hyperactive tendencies as he rushed to 78no.

It was the sixth time the pair have put on a century together and, more importantly, Englands most productive alliance of a frustratingly low-scoring trip. Root was also involved in the previous best, adding 117 with Zak Crawley in Brisbane on his way to his first ton on Australian soil.

Brook (left) and Root stitched together an unbroken stand of 154 (Robbie Stephenson/PA) (Robbie Stephenson)

He will be desperate to follow suit on day two, banishing his demons Down Under once and for all, while Brook is chasing a first Ashes century in his 18th innings.

Between them the pair tamed a home attack featuring no specialist spinner at this ground for the first time since 1888. Home skipper Steve Smith said he hated leaving out Todd Murphy at a venue synonymous with turning tracks but it continued a worrying recent trend that has seen seam dominate in recent years. The call was far from a roaring triumph, though, as all-rounders Cameron Green and Beau Webster turned in a combined total of 10 wicketless overs for 67.

By the time the teams were forced indoors with just half of the scheduled 90 overs delivered, England were well on top, with Australia seemingly hanging in for the kind of self-inflicted collapse that has blighted the tourists trip.

They had already threatened one after Ben Stokes chose to bat first, losing their entire top three in 13 overs on a flat track. Ben Duckett (27) and Zak Crawley (16) started positively, sprinting a succession of early singles and pinging a couple of looseners to the ropes.

Duckett cranked things up a notch with four boundaries in the space of nine deliveries from attack leader Mitchell Starc but fell to the 10th ball of that sequence. It was a frustratingly familiar scene, fending away from his body to a ball he might easily have left to feeding Starc his 27th success of an outstanding series.

With one innings left, the out-of-sorts left-hander has a top score of 34 and a series average of half that. Incoming batter Jacob Bethell made an important 40 in the fourth-innings chase at Melbourne last week but remains a raw prospect in the pivotal number three position and has yet to prove he can set up a game.

Australia applied the squeeze as he took 15 balls to get off the mark and the loss of Crawley, composed until the nagging Michael Neser bagged him lbw, increased the size of his burden.

Bethell was unable to make a dent, nicking an expert lifter on 10 as Scott Boland probed away on a good length. Another wicket would have left England in serious distress but their fourth-wicket pair clung on despite a taxing start.

Englands Ben Duckett walks off the ground after being dismissed by Australias Mitchell Starc (Robbie Stephenson/PA) (Robbie Stephenson)

Root swiped fresh air as he drove with flourish at his first ball and survived an early lbw appeal, while Brook had minor scares off both edges before he got going. But they soon found some rhythm, doubling the score before lunch with the expensive Green donating generously.

They added another 97 in the afternoon, Root discovering his natural tempo as he threaded the ball cleverly in the gaps behind square and showed off his timing with some clean cover drives. By the time he passed 50 in 65 balls, he was manipulating the field with ease.

Brook was less secure, repeatedly taking on Australias short-ball tempters. He flashed one thick edge over the cordon, mis-hit just past Starcs follow through and toe-ended a pull that landed agonisingly between three converging catchers.

But those mis-steps were mixed with the kind of justified swagger that makes him such a handful. With the field sat back he picked of handful of easy singles before turning on the jets with furious blast for six off Green that almost hit the big replay screen.

With the leg-side loaded he showed off his range, stepping down and crashing four up and over cover. Australia were glad of the break when they dark skies overpowered the floodlights, though the crowd seemed disgruntled to see the battle brought to a premature close.
Kieren Fallon has hailed Billy Loughnanes dedication after he surpassed his 21st century record for winners in a calendar year at Lingfield on New Years Eve.

The six-time champion jockey, who is widely recognised as one of the best to grace a saddle, set the previous modern day high of 221 in 2003, but after watching 19-year-old Loughnane eclipse his tally he saluted a rider he believes is reaping the rewards his talent and commitment deserves.

Fallon told the Press Association: Hes a lovely kid from a good family and deserves it. Hes getting plenty of great support, but he looks like he works hard and is dedicated.

Ive ridden work with him and he led me on some horses my friend Paul Cafferty has with his father (Mark Loughnane). Paul wanted me to have a sit on them to see where we were going and Billy led me on them and I thought, what a lovely kid, nice and polite and a good rider.

Fallon knows just what it would have taken for Loughnane to break a record that had stood for 22 years and one which current champion Oisin Murphy fell one short of during his own best-ever campaign of 2019.

And the decorated Irishman, who is now a member of Charlie Applebys backroom team, sees a thirst for racing and riding winners as the main similarity the duo share.

Fallon went on: For me it was relatively easy to rack up that number as I loved going racing and I loved riding, which is what Billy has said.

All I can say is I wish I was riding against him as I loved the competition and the challenge of testing myself against the best and those who are up and coming. Hes the same, hes dedicated and competitive.

They are a lot more dedicated these days than we would be, myself, Pat (Eddery), Wally (Swinburn), we would have a lot of fun, but the kids today knuckle right down and do things right.

Loughnanes rapid rise up the riding ranks has seen him utilised by Appleby who provided his maiden Group One winner when deputising for William Buick aboard Rebels Romance in the summer.

With George Boughey also a chief ally and the likes of his Bow Echo to look forward to in 2026, Fallon sees no reason why the youngsters star will not continue to shine brightly in a year that has already started with a notable success in Meydan.

Theres nothing like it really, travelling the world and riding good horses, said Fallon.

Hes got loads of support and hes got Charlies machines to ride, George Boughey and his dad behind him so there is no reason why he cant carry on doing the same.

If you stay clear of the stewards room and avoid injury you are halfway there. That was always my idea and then its just a case of doing the job.
Hundreds of flights to, from and within Greece have been cancelled or delayed due to a failure of the air-traffic control system.

The leading Greek airline, Aegean, has cancelled dozens of flights, mainly to and from Athens. It told passengers a technical issue affecting the radio frequency systems of the Hellenic Aviation Service Provider, which has been ongoing since the early morning hours continues to cause a significant reduction in capacity within Greek airspace.

Some flights to Athens have been diverted to Rome and Dubrovnik, while passengers heading for Thessaloniki on SAS are in Budapest and Transavia from Amsterdam diverted to the Albanian capital, Tirana. A flight from Vilnius to Heraklion in Crete is currently in Larnaca, Cyprus.

One British passenger, John Berry, told The Independent: Hopefully we will still get home tonight. Just waiting for the flight LS1709 from Manchester to take off to collect us, as this is the last flight out of Athens for Jet2 until February.

The outbound Jet2 flight is now en route and is expected to arrive around 7pm, four hours behind schedule.

EasyJet told passengers from Manchester whose flight to Athens was cancelled: This is due to an ATH airport related airspace closure.

The disruption to your flight is outside of our control and is considered to be an extraordinary circumstance.

British Airways cancelled one of its morning departures from Heathrow to Athens. In the opposite direction, Aegean grounded its evening Athens-Heathrow flight, and the corresponding overnight inbound leg to the Greek capital.

Ryanair has cancelled flights from Athens to Malta, Rome and Bologna.

Under air passengers rights rules, travellers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible on any airline, and to be provided with meals and hotels until they get there.

Athens airport later posted: The Hellenic Aviation Service Provider started gradual release of some flights in accordance with air-traffic control capacity availability. Efforts for full restoration of the technical issues are continued.
Deadly stabbings, barbaric living conditions, and maggots in the food: this is the state of the notorious New York prison that ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro now calls home.

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Saturday night, just hours after a U.S. military attack on their country ended with them being extracted from Caracas via helicoper, warship, and plane.

They will stay there until he faces trial on several charges, including Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy.

Maduro is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, 92, in a Lower Manhattan federal courtoom at 12 p.m. ET Monday to answer those charges, which could ultimately see him kept behind bars for the rest of his life.

He is being flown to the hearing across the Hudson River by helicopter, according to Bloomberg, via a route that will take him over New York Harbor and past the Statue of Liberty and Wall Street to an awaiting motorcade.

A still image from video posted by the White House's Rapid Response 47 account on X, which originated from the @PaulDMauro account, showing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration n New York City, on January 3, 2026 (@RapidResponse47/Reuters)

Bail is unlikely to be set and Maduro is unlikely to reach trial until 2027 at the earliest. It is not yet known whether he has hired legal representation.

The facility in which Maduro and Flores are currently being held, alongside approximately 1,330 other inmates, is no stranger to famous faces, having previously housed Sean Diddy Combs, sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, Luigi Mangione, Sam Bankman-Fried, Fyre Festival fraudster Billy McFarland, and rapper R Kelly, who was found guilty of child sexual abuse.

Former Honduras president Juan Orlando Hernandez was also held there prior to his guilty conviction in 2024 on cocaine trafficking charges. He was subsequently moved to another jail in West Virginia before being pardoned by President Donald Trump last year.

Before Diddys trial, his lawyers argued that several courts in this district have recognized that the conditions at Metropolitan Detention Center are not fit for pre-trial detention.

Just earlier this summer, an inmate was murdered, the lawyers said, according to The Daily Beast. At least four inmates have died by suicide there in the past three years.

The Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York City (AP)

MDC has been plagued by violence, chronic understaffing, a lack of medical care and unsanitary conditions for some time, with inmates reportedly complaining of rotten food, thin mattresses, and broken toilets.

In 2024, inmate Uriel Whyte was stabbed to death within its walls while awaiting trial on gun charges.

Many have spoken out about the barbaric conditions inside the prison, with one inmate claiming the jail sees stabbings at least a couple of times a week.

One guy was stabbed in the eye with a makeshift knife, the inmate, only named as Eli, told Spectrum News NY1.

And these knives, again, I have never been to jail. This is my first time in jail, but these knives are six, nine inches long sometimes, you know, homemade with materials from the steel walls. Its very violent. Theres stabbings, theres stabbings at least a couple times a week.

The MDC is considered to be one of the toughest facilities in the U.S. (AFP/Getty)

The outlet also obtained video which showed cockroaches in peoples meals, broken lights and mold in the showers.

In another criminal case, federal Judge Gary Brown threatened to vacate the sentence of a 75-year-old who was convicted of a tax scam if he was sent to the facility because of the dangerous and barbaric conditions, The Brooklyn Eagle reported.

His ruling referenced two murders and a stabbing that went unchallenged by officers until it was almost over.

These incidents demonstrate a woeful lack of supervision, breakdown of order, and an environment of lawlessness that constitute unacceptable, reprehensible and deadly mismanagement, he said in court documents.

David Patton, former head of Federal Defenders of New York, told NY1: A lack of medical care to real serious sanitation issues to maggots in the food to violence, everything you can think about thats problematic at a jail or prison is problematic at the MDC, and it has been for a very long time.

Federal law enforcement personnel stand watch outside the MDC as they await the arrival of Maduro on Saturday (AP)

In 2019, more than a thousand inmates were stuck in freezing cells for days when there was no heating following a power outage in the middle of winter, according to reports at the time.

All of which will provide a marked contrast with the life Maduro once lived inside the sprawling military complex of Fort Tiuna in Caracas.

The Venezuelan public rarely saw inside their presidents living quarters as most of his public events were conducted from Miraflores Palace, a 19th century French neo-baroque mansion, known for its large courtyard, lavish interior decor of fine chandeliers and carpets and walls lined with portaits of the countrys national heroes.

Maduro was known for addressing his supporters from the palaces balcony during government-organized rallies.

Confinement in the MDC will test the strongest mind, Justin Paperny, a prison consultant who has advised clients held at the facility, told Bloomberg.

He said that Maduros communications while inside will be closely observed and his movements managed, with his security and safety given priority over his personal comfort.
Joe Root and Harry Brook built Englands biggest stand of the Ashes series, lifting their side to 211 for three after a tricky start to the fifth and final Test in Sydney.

The Yorkshire pair came together at 57 for three following another rocky performance from the top order but heaped on another 154 without further loss to seize the moment on a flat pitch at the SCG.

Root was looking calm and controlled on 72 not out, with Brook a more hyperactive presence as he rushed to 78no.

Between them the pair tamed a home attack featuring no specialist spinner at this ground for the first time since 1888, with the reliably timid all-rounder Cameron Green looted for 57 runs in eight messy overs.

England were well on top when bad light stopped play 15 minutes before the tea break, Australia having run out of ideas and seemingly hanging in for the kind of self-inflicted collapse that has blighted the tourists trip.

Brook (left) and Root lifted England to 211 for three (Robbie Stephenson/PA) (Robbie Stephenson)

The team-sheets saw both Shoaib Bashir and Todd Murphy omitted, neither entirely surprisingly given the dominance of the seamers in the previous four matches, with Ben Stokes winning a fourth toss to get first use of a welcoming track.

Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley looked to make a positive start, sprinting a succession of early singles and pinging a couple of looseners to the ropes in the first two overs.

Duckett cranked things up a notch with four boundaries in the space of nine deliveries from attack leader Mitchell Starc but fell to the 10th in that sequence. It was a familiar departure, fending away from his body to a ball he might easily have left, feeding Starc his 27th success of an outstanding series. With one innings left, the out-of-sorts left-hander has a top score of 34 and an average of half that since touching down.

Australia applied the squeeze to Englands raw number three, Jacob Bethell, who took 15 balls to get off the mark and watched Zak Crawley fall lbw to the nagging Michael Neser shortly after arriving at the crease.

Bethell was unable to make a dent, nicking an expert lifter on 10 as Scott Boland probed away on a good length, to leave England wobbling on 57 for three. Another wicket would have left England in serious bother but their fourth-wicket pair clung on despite a taxing start.

Englands Ben Duckett walks off the ground after being dismissed by Australias Mitchell Starc (Robbie Stephenson/PA) (Robbie Stephenson)

Root swiped at fresh air off his first ball and survived an early lbw appeal, while Brook had minor scares off both edges before he got going. But they soon found some rhythm, doubling the score before lunch with Green donating generously.

They added another 97 in the afternoon, Root discovering his natural tempo as he threaded the ball cleverly in the gaps behind square and showed off his timing with some clean cover drives.

Brook was more reactive, repeatedly taking on Australias short-ball tempters. He flashed one thick edge over the cordon, mis-hit just past Mitchell Starcs follow through and toe-ended a pull that landed agonisingly between three converging catchers.

But those mis-steps were mixed with a handful of smart singles, a furious blast for six as he aimed for the big screen and a glorious swat for four over extra-cover. Australia were glad of the break when they dark skies overpowered the floodlights, though the crowd seemed disgruntled to see the battle brought to a close.
Sir Keir Starmer wont be drawn on whether US strikes on Venezuela broke international law - Jeff Overs/BBC

When he entered No 10, Sir Keir Starmer staked his reputation on upholding international law.

That commitment is now being put to the test after Britains closest ally stormed into a sovereign country and seized its leader, leaving the Prime Minister firmly between a rock and a hard place.

Donald Trumps capture of Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president, and his wife Cilia Flores threatens to become a toxic disaster for Sir Keir, who is attempting to get his premiership back on track after a torrid year.

Having worked hard to form a warm but fragile relationship with the erratic US president, the Labour leader will have to balance the value of their strange bond against his own principles and those of his restless backbenchers, who include long-standing apologists for the Venezuelan regime.

Richard Burgon, the chairman of the Socialist Campaign Group, said Sir Keir should stand up to Trumps gangster politics and respond to an illegal bombing and kidnapping by Trump in exactly the way he would if Putin had carried it out.

Either Keir Starmer believes in international law  or he doesnt, he added.

Mr Trump said the US was going to run Venezuela in the immediate future - Joe Raedle

As the world watches on, the Prime Minister is being torn in three different directions.

First, he is under pressure from the Labour Left  who have forced him to make several about-turns already  to condemn Mr Maduros capture.

Labour MPs Jon Trickett, Kim Johnson and Kate Osborne added to Mr Burgons criticism, demanding a tougher stance on Mr Trump.

John McDonnell, Jeremy Corbyns former shadow chancellor, also asked how the US raid differed from Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The Prime Minister should respond to an illegal bombing and kidnapping by Trump in exactly the way he would if Putin had carried it out.



Either Keir Starmer believes in international law - or he doesn't. You can't pick and choose.



Time to stand up to Trump's gangster politics! https://t.co/cnrhUynJaz  Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) January 3, 2026

The veteran MP, who has played a prominent role in the Socialist Campaign Group, once hailed the Venezuelan regime as socialism in action, but went on to say that the country had taken a wrong turn.

He was accused of trying to turn Britain into Venezuela by advocating for a four-day week as a member of the shadow cabinet in 2019.

Responding to reports of the US raid in the early hours of Saturday, Mr McDonnell said: If this is accurate, with no legal sanction, with no UN decision, what difference in international law is there between Trumps attack on Venezuela and Putins invasion of Ukraine?

If the UK Government stands for the rule of law, Keir Starmer must condemn this.

Owen Jones, the Left-wing commentator, shared the same sentiments. In a post on X, he said: Keir Starmer knows the facts: the US has brazenly broken international law by attacking Venezuela.

He wont say so, because hes halfway up Donald Trumps arse.

Deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in custody

Such comments allude to the second factor  arguably the most important  influencing Sir Keirs decision: his own principles and those of Lord Hermer, his chief legal adviser.

The Prime Minister positions himself as an upholder of law and order, stressing the importance of abiding by the international rulebook.

In its election manifesto, Labour vowed to once again be a good partner for international development and a defender of the international rule of law.

Lord Hermer, the Attorney General and a former colleague and friend of Sir Keirs, said last year that abiding by international law made life better for everyone in Britain.

The UK was determined to lead on international law issues globally, he added.

However, Sir Keir has refused to say whether he believes Mr Trump is breaching the rules, insisting he needs more information first.

Media figures have added to the mounting pressure on the Prime Minister.

Speaking on the News Agents podcast, Lewis Goodall said: The US has essentially invaded a sovereign nation without United Nations permission.

It has kidnapped a sitting head of state, and it has done so on the basis not of international law, but on the basis of its own national law, which has no jurisdiction.

Rory Stewart, the former Tory MP and presenter of The Rest Is Politics podcast, said Europe must wake up to the threat posed by the US.

Meanwhile, John Simpson, the veteran BBC correspondent, said Mr Trumps pursuit of forcible regime change would make it harder for America to criticise any Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

The third major influence on Sir Keirs decision is his desire to preserve his delicate relationship with Mr Trump.

The Prime Minister has made a concerted effort to woo the president to try and secure fruitful trade deals with the US, refraining from publicly criticising him wherever possible.

Sir Keir now has to decide whether the intervention in Venezuela crosses the line into unacceptable conduct that warrants a rebuke.

Darren Jones, his Chief Secretary, insisted on Sunday that it was not for the UK to say whether the US had broken international law.

But the Governments repeated assertion that Russias invasion of Ukraine is illegal and judgments on the war in Gaza mean this argument is unlikely to hold.

Of the three, the protestations made by Labour MPs will pile the most pressure on the Prime Minister to come to a decision quickly.

The war in Gaza proved how polarising international affairs can become for Labour, with Sir Keir being urged by his partys Left to take a harder line on Israels actions.

No 10 eventually acknowledged that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was at clear risk of breaching international humanitarian law after months of hounding from the Labour backbenches.
Police said the gunmen stormed into Kasuwan-Daji in the Borgu area of Niger state, in the north of the country (PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/GettyImages)

At least 30 people have been killed and several others abducted after gunmen raided a village in Nigeria.

Police said the gunmen stormed into Kasuwan-Daji in the Borgu area of Niger state, in the north of the country.

After opening fire at residents, they also razed the local market and several houses, Niger state police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said in a statement.

At least two residents put the death toll at 37 and said it could be much higher as some people remained missing.

Residents also said security forces had yet to arrive in the area, contradicting the police claim that they had deployed officers to search for those kidnapped.

The Rev Stephen Kabirat, spokesman for the Catholic Church of Kontagora Diocese where the attack happened, told local media that the gunmen killed more than 40 people and some of those abducted were children.

The gunmen had been lurking around nearby communities for about a week before the attack, according to a resident who asked not to be named for fear of his safety. Now survivors are too afraid to go to recover the bodies.

"The bodies are there (in Kasuwan-Daji). If we don't see any security, how can we go there?" the resident said, adding that the attack lasted for up to three hours.

Such attacks are common in Africa's most populous country, where dozens of gangs seeking control often target remote communities with limited security and government presence.

Freed students of St. Mary's Catholic School in the Papiri community upon their arrival at the government house, in Minna, Nigeria, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Saturday's attack in Kasuwan-Daji happened near the Papiri community, where more than 300 schoolchildren and their teachers were kidnapped from a Catholic school in November.

The attackers who raided Kasuwan-Daji arrived from the National Park Forest along Kabe district, according to the police, pointing to a trend where abandoned and expansive forest reserves act as hideouts for armed gangs.
Headache: Arne Slot is without Liverpool strikers Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak against Fulham (London Standard)

Liverpool are without Hugo Ekitike for todays Premier League trip to Fulham.

The Frenchman is Arne Slots main striker in the absence of record signing Alexander Isak, who is sidelined after undergoing surgery on an ankle injury and fractured fibula.

Ekitike was expected to lead Liverpools attack on Sunday, but misses out entirely at Craven Cottage due to what Slot described as a slight hamstring issue. They hope he will be back for Thursdays high-profile clash with leaders Arsenal.

However, Florian Wirtz starts against Fulham despite being taken off during the 0-0 draw with Leeds on New Years Day and been dealing with his own hamstring injury.

With all the games coming up, for me it was too much of a risk, said manager Slot when explaining his decision to substitute Wirtz against Leeds.

With no Ekitike or Isak, Cody Gakpo starts for Liverpool against Fulham for the first time since his return from a muscle problem.

Alexis Mac Allister comes into the team after starting on the bench against Leeds, which could see Dominik Szoboszlai shift to the right.

Milos Kerkez was rested against Leeds and comes back into the team at left-back in place of Andy Robertson.

Jeremie Frimpong started further forward against Leeds, though is on the bench today with Conor Bradley at right-back.

Joe Gomez is back in the squad after three weeks out, but Wataru Endo is still not ready to return from the ankle issue he sustained in early December.

Ibrahima Konate is available after be avoided a yellow card against Leeds, though Mohamed Salah is still away at the Africa Cup of Nations. Giovanni Leoni is a long-term injury absentee.

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Wirtz, Gakpo

Subs: Mamardashvili, Woodman, Gomez, Chiesa, Robertson, Frimpong, Nyoni, Ramsay, Ngumoha

Injured: Leoni, Isak, Endo, Ekitike

Unavailable: Salah (AFCON)

Time and date: 3pm GMT on Sunday January 4, 2026

Venue: Craven Cottage, London

How to watch: Sky Sports
Empowering a new generation to Explore Together through creativity, connection, and safe digital experiences.

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- myFirst, the leading kids' tech brand redefining how families experience technology, will unveil its full product lineup at CES 2026 (Hall AD, Booth 53739). The collection includes the myFirst Frame Clario digital frame, the myFirst Fone S4 smartwatch, instant-print cameras such as the myFirst Insta Lux and myFirst Insta Prinx Mini, and the myFirst CareBuds Max headphones. While the Insta Lux and CareBuds Max were introduced through a soft launch last year, CES 2026 marks the first time myFirst will showcase the entire ecosystem together. Media and attendees will have the opportunity to explore both new and existing products, experience live demos, and meet with the myFirst team and founders.

The myFirst Ecosystem featuring myFirst Insta Lux, myFirst Frame Clario, myFirst CareBuds Max, myFirst Insta Prinx Mini, and myFirst Fone S4.

The remaining products in the lineup will roll out across 2026, while myFirst CareBuds Max and myFirst Insta Lux are currently available.

Circle 4.0: The Core of the myFirst Ecosystem

These new devices integrate seamlessly with myFirst Circle, the family- focused platform that encourages shared exploration of the digital world rather than restrictions. At CES, attendees will get a first look at the upcoming Circle 4.0 update, the heart of the myFirst ecosystem, which enhances safe digital exploration, sparks creativity, and gives parents peace of mind through a secure, parent-managed environment. The new features for Circle 4.0 includes:

- Circle Map 2.0  see family and friends' live locations in Group View.

- Ghost Mode  a feature in the Circle Map 2.0, allows kids to hide their location from friends while remaining visible to parents.

- Location Sharing- a part of the group view feature lets you share your location with trusted relatives or friends beyond your immediate circle.

- Apple Watch Compatibility- parents can connect directly with their child's myFirst Fone.

- Brand Channel  curated, kid-safe hub with educational videos, creative challenges, and wellness tips.

- Refreshed Interface  streamlined experience for kids and parents, simplifying communication, location, and content features.

A New Generation of Smart Devices

From digital frames and wearables to cameras and creative tools, myFirst products foster trust, independence, and healthy digital habits, helping parents and children explore technology together.

"Our mission has always been to help families explore together through technology that inspires creativity, connection, and confidence," said G-Jay Yong, Founder and CEO of myFirst. "With our new generation of devices and myFirst Circle 4.0 ecosystem, we're making that vision real by giving kids the freedom to learn and express themselves while keeping parents connected every step of the way."

myFirst Frame Clario: The Smart, Kid-Friendly Family Hub

The myFirst Frame Clario is a 7-inch digital frame built for myFirst's safe kids' platform, myFirst Circle, giving families a private, secure way to stay connected. Through the app, families can make video calls, share photos, or leave voice notes. The Magic Button makes it easy to start a slideshow, make a call, or send a quick message right from the frame. Parents and kids can save pictures instantly and securely to an SD card up to 1TB, transfer them via USB-C, or store them in each account's private cloud, keeping everything within your trusted circle.

Clario also works as a simple family hub with a built-in calendar, reminders, alarms, to-do lists, and real-time weather. Kids using an S or R series myFirst Fone can charge their watch directly in the new Mino Dock, which attaches to the top of the frameno loose cables required. Families can also enjoy Soundscape, which plays white noise, lullabies, or background music to help with focus or sleep. Kids can use Reset to mix and match sounds like rain, thunder, ocean waves, birds, and streams, creating personalized soundtracks like calming waves for study time or gentle rain to help them fall asleep. Featuring rich sounds, personalization options, and seasonal themes, Clario brings functionality, creativity, and everyday convenience into one easy, intuitive device.

myFirst Camera Insta Lux

The myFirst Insta Lux takes instant photography to the next level. This 12MP instant camera features a 2.8-inch display, dual lenses, and an extra shutter button makes it easy to capture photos from different angles, including selfies. These features give kids an easy way to capture, edit, and print photos through the myFirst Circle app. Its premium inkless prints are waterproof, smudge-proof, and fingerprint-resistant, costing under 70 cents each. With built-in Wi-Fi, kids can also print photos directly from other devices. Powered by a high-quality Sony sensor and designed with intuitive controls, the myFirst Insta Lux makes creativity, connection, and memory-making both simple and fun. It comes in two finishes: a sleek, modern Grey and the always-popular Cotton Candy Mix.

myFirst Insta Prinx Mini

The myFirst Insta Prinx Mini marks a major myFirst milestone, putting inkjet printing in kids' hands! The myFirst Insta Prinx Mini is a compact, instant camera packed with fun and creativity. It features a 5MP lens, LED flash, and a 2.4-inch IPS color display for bright, clear photos. Its 600 dpi inkjet printing delivers high-quality, full-color prints, and each cartridge lets kids print 80100 images for under 30 cents each, with no film to damage and prints that are safe for airport X-ray scanners. Kids can personalize their photos with doodles or designs through the myFirst Circle app, and its portable design makes on-the-go creativity easy. The myFirst Insta Prinx Mini is available in Cotton Candy Mix and Classic White.

myFirst Fone S4

Last season, the myFirst Fone S4 was introduced, and it quickly became a go-to smartwatch for kids approved by parents. The flagship of our S range, this sleek 4G smartwatch is built for young adventurers aged 5 to 12. The watch is not only slim but also incredibly durable, built to withstand everyday play and the toughest testing from little hands. The watch comes with a 1.65-inch AMOLED display, a side HDR camera, dual-band GPS, and motion sensors. With MagicCode vibrations and a single Magic Button, kids can send a quick call or video message, making it easy for them to check in anytime. What truly sets this watch apart is its safety-first design. Parents can enjoy peace of mind with real-time tracking and seamless integration with other myFirst smartwatches, ensuring their children stay safe and connected at all times.

myFirst CareBuds Max

These 2-in-1 wireless and wired headphones, designed with your child's safety in mind, feature interchangeable ear cushions, Smart Transparency Safety Mode, and dual volume limits (85dB/94dB). With these safety features, you can be reassured that your child's hearing is protected. The headphones also feature Audio Sharing, Environmental Noise Cancellation for clearer calls, and up to 52 hours of battery life. They are built for comfort and safe listening, making it easy for kids to enjoy music, movies, or shows. With Audio Sharing, siblings or friends can listen together from one device from two different myFirst CareBuds Max. The headphones come in three vibrant colors: Blueberry Pop, Mist White, and Cotton Candy Mix.

About myFirst:

Founded in 2017, myFirst is committed to helping families explore the digital and physical world with confidence and safety through our innovative devices, secure, kid-friendly social spaces, and connected services. We make technology intuitive, joyful, and empowering across a wide range of products spanning nearly 10 categories, including smartwatches, cameras, audio devices, 3D pens, and creative tools. Our purpose-built ecosystem supports healthy digital development from the start. Operating in over 36 countries, we encourage children's independence and curiosity, providing parents with peace of mind. To learn more, please visit: https://myfirst.tech .

YouTube Premiere:

Watch the full launch video featuring product insights and a closer look at the innovation behind the collection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_E_JSI_NZA

Media Contact:

Derek Mora

[email protected]

SOURCE myFirst
An all-weather card at Wolverhampton will  hopefully  fly the flag for British racing on Monday after National Hunt fixtures at Ludlow and Lingfield were both abandoned due to frozen tracks.

While jumps meetings at Sandown and Cork did survive the cold snap on Saturday, Sundays meetings at Plumpton and Chepstow and a Grade One fixture at Naas were called off and there is no sign of a significant upturn in temperatures in the immediate forecast.

However, the chances of avoiding a blank day on Monday do rest on a precautionary inspection at the Dunstall Park circuit at 9.30am given the forecast for a light band of snow.

Officials at Ludlow had announced an inspection for 10am on Sunday ahead of Mondays scheduled meeting, but made an early decision to draw stumps.

Clerk of the course Simon Sherwood said: It wasnt a difficult decision. On Friday we could have raced, on Saturday at 12pm we couldnt have raced, but that was after declarations, obviously.

We got hammered with a minus 5C last night and its still minus 1C or 2C at the moment, so it was a non-starter and I think tonight and tomorrow is due to be a little bit worse.

The team at Lingfield called a check for noon on Sunday, but they were also able to make an early call.

We got down to minus 7.7C overnight and looking at the forecast there are just insufficient temperatures for us to be able to race tomorrow, said clerk of the course Stephanie Wethered.

Tuesday will also be a blank jumps day as Musselburghs fixture has already been called off, while Wednesdays meeting at Leicester already looks in serious doubt, with the track currently frozen and an inspection called for 8am on Monday.
Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has arrived in New York to face US criminal charges as UK authorities back a transition of power in the oil-rich South American nation.

US President Donald Trump confirmed the countrys leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been flown out of Caracas and indicted on narco-terrorism charges following strikes early on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer insisted his Labour administration will shed no tears over the end of Maduros regime and said Britain would discuss the evolving situation with American counterparts over the coming days.

The operation followed months of pressure from Washington on the country, which Mr Trump said America would run until a safe, proper and judicious transition could take place.

In a statement on Saturday evening, Sir Keir said: The UK has long supported a transition of power in Venezuela.

We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime.

I reiterated my support for international law this morning.

The UK Government will discuss the evolving situation with US counterparts in the days ahead as we seek a safe and peaceful transition to a legitimate government that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people.

The US president said the countrys leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been flown out of Caracas and indicted on narco-terrorism charges (Leon Neal/PA)

An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council has been scheduled for Monday.

Sir Keir earlier refused to be drawn on whether the military action broke international law, saying he wanted to talk to Mr Trump, with whom he had not spoken on Saturday morning, and allies to establish the facts.

Around 500 UK nationals are in Venezuela and work is ongoing to safeguard them, the Prime Minister said, while the Foreign Office advised against all travel to the country.

Speaking to reporters hours after Maduros capture, Mr Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership vacuum to fix the countrys oil infrastructure and sell large amounts of the fuel to other countries.

In a post on his Truth Social platform shortly before addressing the media, he posted an image which appeared to show the autocratic leader blindfolded aboard the US warship Iwo Jima and headed to New York.

The attack saw explosions ring out and low-flying aircraft sweep through the Venezuelan capital early on Saturday.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X that Maduro had been indicted on charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and cocaine importation conspiracy.

The Prime Minister faced calls from Labour backbenchers, as well as opposition politicians, to condemn the military action and take a tougher stance on the US president.

Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima. pic.twitter.com/omF2UpDJhA  The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 3, 2026

Early on Sunday, the White Houses rapid response account on X posted a video appearing to show Maduro handcuffed and escorted by law enforcement agents.

The video was captioned perp walked.

Sir Keirs statement on Saturday evening came after European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian premier Giorgia Meloni both similarly called for a democratic transition.

In a statement via his spokesman, the UN secretary-general voiced concerns that the rules of international law had not been respected.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel earlier said nobody will shed tears over the Venezuelan president being removed.

The Tory frontbencher said: We have always strongly condemned Maduros brutal and repressive regime and the Conservative government did not consider Maduros administration as legitimate.

Nobody will shed tears for him being removed.

We await the full facts about the US operation which has removed Maduro and we want to see the Venezuelan people enjoy democratic norms and freedoms.

This is clearly a very serious geopolitical moment.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey called on the Prime Minister to rebuke what he called the US leaders illegal action in Venezuela, adding: Maduro is a brutal and illegitimate dictator, but unlawful attacks like this make us all less safe.

The American actions in Venezuela overnight are unorthodox and contrary to international law  but if they make China and Russia think twice, it may be a good thing.



I hope the Venezuelan people can now turn a new leaf without Maduro.  Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) January 3, 2026

Green Party leader Zack Polanski claimed the US president believed he could act with impunity.

The PM and Foreign Secretary should be condemning this illegal strike and breach of international human rights law, he said.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed the USs unorthodox military operation in Venezuela could prove a deterrent to future Russian and Chinese aggression.

Venezuelas highest court has ordered vice president Delcy Rodriguez to assume the role of interim president, according to The Associated Press.
Affordale Fury will tread a path to the Cheltenham Gold Cup after his memorable success in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown.

The Noel Meade-trained eight-year-old has always shown plenty of ability, and this season has stepped out in good form when second in the Champion Chases at both Gowran and Down Royal before winning a Listed contest at Thurles.

He lined up at Leopardstown a 7-1 shot under Sam Ewing, who was deputising for usual pilot Donagh Meyler, and the duo served it up to some big names, including Galopin Des Champs and Inothewayurthinkin, when prevailing by two and a half lengths.

The Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival and then the blue riband at the Festival in March beckon, with the still lightly-raced Affordale Fury faring well following his exertions over the Christmas period.

Meade said: Hes come out of the race very well and the plan, more or less, is that he will go to the Irish Gold Cup and then, if were happy with him, on to the Gold Cup. Thats the way the plan is looking at the moment.

He was very good and in fairness we were expecting a big run, he was in terrific shape and we were very happy with him.

He did exactly what we hoped hed do. He jumped a little to the right and I suppose if he didnt do that hed had won a lot easier, but he was very good and finished it out well.

Hes come out of the race well and hes going to have an easy fortnight and then well start to build up for the next race.
Myanmars military rulers have ordered the release of more than 6,000 prisoners to mark the countrys Independence Day.

While families rushed to wait outside prisons on Sunday to see if their loved ones were included in the amnesty, there was no indication that the 6,000 would include former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, despite mounting international pressure calling for her release.

The junta said 6,134 men and women would be freed from prisons, detention centres and labour camps across the country as part of the annual amnesty marking 78 years since independence from British rule on 4 January 1948.

The acting president of the Union of the Republic of Myanmar has pardoned 6,134 male and female prisoners who are serving their terms at respective prisons, detention centres and camps, the juntas National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) said in a statement.

In a separate announcement, the authorities said 52 foreign nationals would also be released and deported.

The NDSC described the move as a gesture made on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

A protester holds a poster with an image of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a candlelight vigil (AFP via Getty)

Sentences for other inmates were reduced by one-sixth nationwide, excluding those convicted of serious offences such as murder and rape, or jailed under security, terrorism, corruption, arms or drug laws.

Those freed were warned they would have to serve the remainder of their original terms if they reoffended.

Crowds gathered early outside Yangons Insein prison, the countrys most notorious, clutching lists of names and waiting for relatives to emerge as buses ferried prisoners away.

Among those released, according to the pro-military Popular News Journal, was Ye Htut, a former information minister and presidential spokesperson in an earlier military-backed administration.

Arrested in October 2023, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison last year over Facebook posts deemed seditious.

A prisoner is greeted by his family members after being released from Insein prison (AP)

It remains unclear how many of those being freed were political detainees.

Independent monitors estimate that tens of thousands of people have been arrested since the army seized power in February 2021, crushing a brief period of civilian rule and triggering a nationwide armed uprising involving new resistance groups and long-established ethnic forces.

More than 3.6 million people have been displaced by the fighting.

High-profile political prisoners appear unaffected by the amnesty, and there was no sign that Ms Suu Kyi, 80, would be freed.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who led the elected government overthrown by the coup, is serving a combined 27-year sentence after convictions which supporters say were politically motivated. She has been held largely incommunicado in the capital, Naypyidaw.

State media moved last month to address concerns raised by her family, saying: Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health, without offering evidence or allowing independent verification.

Election commission officials count ballots at a polling station in Yangon, Myanmar (Reuters)

Her son, Kim Aris, who has not seen or heard from her for years, responded: The military claims she is in good health, yet they refuse to provide any independent proof, no recent photograph, no medical verification and no access by family, doctors or international observers. If she is truly well, they can prove it.

Mr Aris had earlier said he hoped the juntas staged election might open a path to her release or transfer to house arrest, noting that she was freed after a previous period of detention in 2010 following a vote.

The military rejected his comments, accusing him of interference. This is merely a fabrication, timed and distributed to disrupt the free and fair multi-party democratic general election that will be held in Myanmar in the near future, a junta statement said.

Mr Aris replied: I have no intention of interfering in Burmas politics. But after years of total isolation, secrecy and silence, any son would begin to fear the worst.

The amnesty comes as the military presses ahead with a month-long, three-phase election that began late last month and has been widely condemned by opposition groups, the United Nations and Western governments as a sham designed to entrench military rule.

Many anti-junta parties are barred from or boycotting the process, and it is illegal to criticise the polls.

Early official results from the first phase show the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, led by retired generals, dominating the limited seats declared so far, including the vast majority in the lower house.

Turnout figures released by the junta are significantly lower than in the last free elections held in 2015 and 2020, which Ms Suu Kyis National League for Democracy won by landslides before it was dissolved.
Republicans largely endorsed President Donald Trumps large-scale strike against Venezuela and capture of its president Nicolas Maduro, despite the fact that the president did not seek authorization from Congress.

Almost no Republicans criticized the move on Saturday after early-morning reports of strikes in Caracas even as the president would not say if he had consulted with Congress.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised Trumps actions, saying that he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

President Trumps decisive action to disrupt the unacceptable status quo and apprehend Maduro, through the execution of a valid Department of Justice warrant, is an important first step to bring him to justice for the drug crimes for which he has been indicted in the United States, Thune said in a statement.

The Department of Justice for its part unsealed it 25-page indictment against Maduro, his wife and various Venezuelan officials accusing them of running a massive cocaine trafficking operation.

President Donald Trump announced that the United States would run Venezuela after it conducted strikes on Caracas and captured its president Nicolas Maduro. (AP)

In addition, Rubio told reporters that the administration notified Congress immediately after the strikes, which runs counter the typical procedure of consulting leaders of the House and Senate as well as the chairman and ranking members of relevant committees like the House and Senate Armed Services Committee.

Congress will leak, and we dont want leakers, Trump said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also praised the strike in a statement.

President Trump is putting American lives first, succeeding where others have failed, and under his leadership the United States will no longer allow criminal regimes to profit from wreaking havoc and destruction on our country, Johnson said. The speaker added that the administration is scheduling briefings for members of Congress.

The Senate leader and speakers statements mark a continuing abdication of Congresss authority to declare war as outlined in the first article of the U.S. Constitution.

A photograph posted by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account shows him sitting next to CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (via REUTERS)

Flames rise above Caracas after the strikes carried out by US forces (via REUTERS)

Much of the criticism from Democrats admitted that Maduro was an authoritarian dictator, but criticized the lack of consultation with Congress.

The administration has assured me three separate times that it was not pursuing regime change or taking military action in Venezuela, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. Clearly, they are not being straight with Americans.

Trump ran in 2024 as a Peace candidate who would not engage in long-term wars in the ways his predecessors of both parties had. But since he re-assumed office a year ago this month, Trump has engaged in strikes in the Caribbean and Iran. On Saturday, he announced a long-term engagement in Venezuela.

So we are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition, and it has to be judicious, because that's what we're all about, he said. We can't take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn't have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind.

Senator Jack Reed, top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the plans ludicrous.

No serious plan has been presented for how such an extraordinary undertaking would work or what it will cost the American people, he said. History offers no shortage of warnings about the costs  human, strategic, and moral  of assuming we can govern another nation by force.

Only a handful of Republicans offered criticism.

The operations last night are great for the future of Venezuelans and the region, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who is retiring, said in a statement. My main concern is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan. Freedom and rule of law were defended last night, but dictators will try to exploit this to rationalize their selfish objectives.

By contrast, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former enthusiastic supporter of Trumps, criticized the action.

Regime change, funding foreign wars, and Americans tax dollars being consistently funneled to foreign causes, foreigners both home and abroad, and foreign governments while Americans are consistently facing increasing cost of living, housing, healthcare, and learn about scams and fraud of their tax dollars is what has most Americans enraged, she said in a statement.

This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end, she added. Boy were we wrong.

But Greene will only be in Congress for a few more days. On Saturday, the House read her resignation letter during a pro forma session.
Joelle Brabban, Jim Findley, Dylan Corbett-Bader in The Rivals at Orange Tree Theatre (Ellie Kurttz)

A high-wattage cast, featuring Patricia Hodge and Robert Bathurst alongside rising stars, arguably enjoys itself more than the audience does in Tom Littlers 250th anniversary revival of Sheridans comedy. The play has been updated to the 1920s, with some characters altered and the famous mis-speakings of Hodges Mrs Malaprop given a modern-ish topspin: menstruations for ministrations, and typhoon for tycoon - a word coined eight decades after The Rivals was written.

The concept makes a kind of sense: the social codes of 1770s Bath find a more contemporary echo in those of the Jazz Age. And The Rivals is strong enough to endure tinkering, having undergone a more substantial rewrite in Richard Bean and Oliver Chriss Jack Absolute Flies Again at the National in 2022. But the shouty jollity, the songs and frantic Charleston dancing here feel forced, as if Littler simply doesnt trust the material to stand up on its own.

True, hardly anyone currently does more than him to bring neglected British and European classics back to the stage  She Stoops to Conquer, the chewier Strindbergs  usually with a lubrication of judicious celebrity casting. And its so long since I saw an unreconstructed Rivals that the plot warrants a recap. Its a frothy comedy about the serious financial business of marriage, where convention is subtly undermined by art and artifice.

Boadicea Ricketts, James Sheldon (Ellie Kurttz)

Lydia Languish (pert and luminous Zoe Brough) dreams of romantic poverty, so wealthy baronets son Captain Jack Absolute (debonnaire Kit Young) woos her in the guise of a poor, common soldier. His overbearing father Sir Anthony (Bathurst) then arranges a match between Jack and Lydia.

So Jack must compete with his alter ego for Lydias capricious affections, as well as with his yokelish friend Bob Acres and the volatile Lucius OTrigger, who thinks hes been having a romantic correspondence with Lydia but has  thanks to the conniving of servant Lucy  actually been flirting with her vain, daft guardian Mrs Malaprop. In a parallel romance Jacks friend Faulkland finds endless quibbling fault with his perfectly adoring fiancee Julia. The prospect of reputations ruined, fortunes lost, and death in a duel sharpen the absurd humour.

Littler and his co-adapter Rosie Tricks, who sounds like she belongs in a Georgian comedy herself, play fast and loose with this plot, its characters and dialogue. Perhaps most jarring is the case of OTrigger, a hot-tempered Irish nobleman in the original, here rendered as a shoulder-padded American businessman given to shouting Hot Dog! at random moments. Though Jacks bellowing servant Fag, renamed Gieves (pronounced Jeeves, in an act of Wodehousian character association), runs him a close second.

Patricia Hodge (Ellie Kurttz)

These glaring period-markers, plus lines like we might as well fight in a telephone box!, feel like desperate efforts to underscore and justify the updating. Meanwhile a fatuous reference to The Traitors gameshow, and Jacks adoption of a speech impediment to confuse Lydia, simply fall flat.

The lead performers surf this awkwardness of tone  and carry off the ravishing period costumes - rather better than those playing the secondary characters and servants. Brough and Young are spirited young romantics. Bathurst ploughs through the play with appropriately blithe arrogance, nose up and forward like the prow of a galleon. Hodge is a deliciously deluded Mrs Malaprop who seasons her updated jokes by puncturing the audiences suspension of disbelief, jostling into the front row to spy on the lovers, and telling Lydia she met Jack two scenes ago.

Those playing Jacks rivals, the tedious servants and Faulkland and Julia fall back too often on overloud over-enunciation or mugging. Perhaps Im being harsh: this productions opening was delayed amid a complicated Christmas schedule, and it may yet settle in. The combination of famous names and exciting young acting talent is one that plays well with Littlers comfortable audience: many performances are sold out. And it looks gorgeous. But right now this reworked classic feels something less than a mantlepiece. Sorry, I mean a masterpiece.

To 24 Jan, orangetreetheatre.co.uk
Tesco and Sainsburys will reveal whether it was a merry Christmas across their supermarket operations in festive trading updates next week, while Next and Marks & Spencer also report back from the high street.

The UKs two biggest grocery chains have been battling it out to win over shoppers with their Christmas advertising campaigns and beat off ever-increasing competition from discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Figures from Tesco on Thursday will show how it fared in the so-called golden quarter, having hiked its earnings guidance in October to between 2.9 billion and 3.1 billion.

Tesco reports its trading update on Thursday (Jonathan Brady/PA) (Jonathan Brady)

Christmas trading will be crucial to Tesco meeting guidance, and chief executive Ken Murphy has warned the industry remains incredibly competitive amid a price war in the sector.

AJ Bell experts said: As is the case with many retailers, Tescos shares have lost a little momentum since November, and the run-up to the Budget from Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

However, they are still up by a fifth in the past year and stand very close to levels last seen in 2010.

The chain has increased its share of the market to 28.3% in recent weeks, according to Worldpanel, and is looking to beat sales growth of 3.7% seen in the previous six-week Christmas period.

Sainsburys figures on Friday also come after it recently increased its earnings outlook, saying it is now set for retail earnings of more than 1 billion after a better-than-expected half-year performance.

The group, which also owns the Argos chain, last year saw grocery sales rise 4.1% in the quarter to January, but more disappointing trading in Argos held overall growth back, with sales across the business up 2.7%.

Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: The ongoing cost-cutting programme is helping to offset higher employment costs, and savings are also being reinvested in keeping food prices down.

That should have helped lure in more customers in the run-up to Christmas, a period where shopping trollies get piled higher than usual.

Outside of the supermarket sector, retail titans Next and M&S will give their verdict on Christmas trading on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.

Next is expected to cap another solid year of trading, having recently upped its guidance once again, saying it expects sales over the festive quarter to be significantly higher than previously predicted.

The fashion and homewares chain said at the end of October it expects full price sales to grow by around 7% in the quarter to January, increasing its guidance from 4.5%.

However, it has repeatedly cautioned over the consumer backdrop and will be watched closely for further comments on how consumer spending is holding up.

Fellow retail bellwether M&S will be hoping for a solid festive performance to help draw a line under what has been a tough 2025, according to Mr Chiekrie.

A cyber attack in April hit online sales hard after M&S was forced to suspend all website sales for six weeks, leading to a plunge in first half profits.

With a lingering but smaller impact of the hack in the second half, it will be looking for this to be offset by strong demand for its festive food and fashion ranges.

The worst looks to be behind M&S now, but the group has some work to do to rebuild investors confidence, said Mr Chiekrie.

Sales figures from Greggs, also on Thursday, will be examined for signs of better trading after slowing sales growth in recent months and a profit warning in July.

The group was impacted by warmer weather in the summer, but has also flagged tough market conditions and weak consumer confidence.
A Tennessee nurse shot her two young sons and their grandmother before taking her own life in what appears to be a quadruple-murder suicide, police have said.

Deputies with the Humphreys County Sheriffs Office arrived at an address in Waverly on Friday morning to conduct a welfare check and found the bodies of two women and two children.

The victims were later identified as Arius Thompson, 4, Isaiah Johnson, 13, Evelyn Johnson, 88, and Heather Thompson, 32, according to local outlets. All had died of apparent gunshot wounds.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said the incident was being treated as a murder-suicide and that preliminary evidence showed that Heather Thompson had killed the three others before herself.

However, no further details, including a possible motive, have yet been released. Davis said that there was no evidence of forced entry and there was no indication that anyone else was involved in the tragic incident.

A Tennessee nurse shot her two young sons and their grandmother before taking her own life in what appears to be a quadruple-murder suicide, police have said (WSMV)

I know the family, Davis said during a press conference Friday afternoon, per WKRN. Were going to do right by them. Were going to respect them, and were going to do right by them.

Heather Thompson was reportedly estranged from her childrens father, Biah Thompson, who replied to a post from the sheriffs department, writing: I miss my sons already. Daddy still loves you. Sorry I was at work.

Davis added that there had been no prior history of domestic violence or mental health-related calls associated with the household.

In a separate post, Thompson wrote: This morning I got a call that I dont wish on any other parent.

Officers with Humphreys County Sheriffs Office arrived at an address in Waverly Friday morning to conduct a welfare check and found four bodies, two women and two children, who have since been named (WSMV)

As a father it hurt and shattered my soul to hear my sons, Arius(Ari) and Isaiah have been taken from me and are no longer with us. They were just babies. Every second of today i wish i could just wake up.

Thompson added that funeral arrangements were yet to be made and asked for help raising money to have the bodies of his sons brought back to New Mexico from Tennessee.

The investigation into the matter remains ongoing, in conjunction with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, though authorities have stressed that there is no active threat to the community.

The Independent contacted the Humphreys County Sheriffs office for updates on the case, though none were available as of Sunday.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. In the UK, people having mental health crises can contact the Samaritans at 116 123 or jo@samaritans.org
Thomas Frank defended Tottenhams decision to sell Brennan Johnson after he watched Mohammed Kudus limp off in a 1-1 draw with Sunderland where they lacked attacking firepower.

Frank this week gave the green light to sell last seasons 18-goal hitman Johnson to Crystal Palace for a 35million fee, which is a reduction on the 47.5m Spurs paid for him in 2023.

It is a move that has raised eyebrows given Johnsons finishing ability and Spurs lack of cutting edge, but the 24-year-old has largely played second fiddle to Kudus this season.

However, Kudus was forced off in the 19th minute with a left leg injury against Sunderland.

Even though Ben Davies rewarded Tottenhams strong first-half with a 30th-minute goal, they failed to kick on and, with limited attacking options, Frank watched Sunderland level with 10 minutes left through Brian Brobbey.

We lacked a little extra freshness. I looked at some teams last night. They just put three players on like for like, Frank started before he fielded a flurry of questions on Johnson.

You know, decisions are made and decisions Im backing in every aspect. Theres always more bigger picture stuff to some of those decisions. Sometimes it can look like perfect timing. Sometimes it looks like not so perfect timing.

Asked if it was a risk, Frank pointed out: I think its very important [to say] we took the decision before Mo got injured.

We dont know how that looks like, so I think thats one thing and sometimes when you take that decision, sometimes you cant delay them if you want to for example.

Sometimes, you know, the decisions make more sense further down the line and now there was an opportunity to sell a player, which the club hasnt been that good at in the past.

And sometimes that window can be small, if you want to do that.

You can say that if we had Xavi (Simons) and Mo for today, then I think we have enough but now we, for this game, didnt have them. Mo only for what 10 minutes? So, theres just some games where youre very light and that happens for teams.

Frank did acknowledge Tottenham would try to bring in reinforcements, adding: We are really, how can you say, alert. The club really want to see what we can do to strengthen the squad and the team.

Opposite number Regis Le Bris acknowledged his team were fortunate to have the chance to fight back after a poor first half in north London.

We had a lack of energy and just 1-0 down it was possible to switch on. Probably we are a bit lucky because in a Premier League game, when you dont play at your best, you should be punished and it wasnt the case, so we were still alive, Le Bris said.

We say just switch on, do simple things well because tactically we were OK and it was just a question to be more composed on the ball.

We had the character and quality to switch on. I think its positive.
Tony Dokoupil has had a busy first day as host of CBS Evening News, after the network brought his start date forward two days in response to the U.S. military action in Venezuela.

"Good evening, great to be with you tonight, two days earlier than expected with that major breaking news  news that could shape the year, maybe even the century, Dokoupil said at the top of the show.

The veteran reporter, who previously worked at NBC and MSNBC, was scheduled to take the helm of the show on Monday, though a CBS News source tipped off The Independent that he would instead be presenting for the first time on Saturday.

It comes after Donald Trump ordered heavy airstrikes in Venezuela, which resulted in the seizure of oil operations in the South American nation and the capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro.

Dokoupil previously vowed that his tenure would be independent from the CBS corporate owner, Paramount Skydance, pledging transparency and integrity to his viewers to earn back public trust in the media.

Tony Dokoupil was scheduled to take the helm of the show Monday, but will now be presenting for the first time Saturday following the U.S. airstrikes in Venezuela (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

As long as I sit in this chair: you come first. Not advertisers. Not politicians. Not corporate interests. And, yes, that does include the corporate owners of CBS. I report for you, Dokoupil said in a video message Thursday.

In a separate statement on Friday, CBS News said, We love America. And we make no apologies for saying so, a stance that appears at odds with accusations leveled at the administration about unnecessary foreign overreach.

After capturing Maduro, Trump declared Saturday that an interim group with top administration officials will run Venezuela for a period of time until the United States determines a peaceful and just transition can take place.

In his statement, Dokoupil said his coverage would not be influenced by politicians or other corporate entities.

It comes after Donald Trump ordered heavy airstrikes in Venezuela, which resulted in the seizure of oil operations in the South American nation and the capture of its president Nicolas Maduro (pictured) (@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social)

Trump declared Saturday that an interim group with top administration officials will run the country for a period of time following the airstrikes (Getty Images)

A lot has changed since the first person sat in the Evening News chair. For me, the biggest difference is this: people don't trust us like they used to. And it's not just us. It's all legacy media, he said.

Dokoupils appointment as CBS Evening News anchor was confirmed last month as part of a swath of network changes under new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss.

Weiss has already faced controversy and criticism from within her own staff. Last week, Weiss reportedly pulled a segment from 60 Minutes on the Trump administrations deportation of migrants to a brutal maximum security prison in El Salvador.

Sharyn Alfonsi, the correspondent behind the piece, described the decision to spike the segment as political.
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- iFLYTEK Co., Ltd., a global Artificial Intelligence company specializing in speech and language technologies, announced its participation in Pepcom Digital Experience! during CES 2026, taking place in Las Vegas. During the event, members of the media will have the opportunity to experience iFLYTEK's latest AI-powered speech recognition, real-time translation, and intelligent noise reduction technologies through hands-on demos conducted in real-world, high-noise environments.

Founded in 1999, iFLYTEK has long focused on core AI research in speech recognition, natural language understanding, and multilingual translation. Its technologies are widely applied across consumer electronics, education, healthcare, and enterprise scenarios worldwide, and have received recognition through international technical evaluations and competitions.

At Pepcom 2026, iFLYTEK will highlight two flagship AI devices designed for real-world communication and professional productivity:

AI Recorder S6:

The AI Recorder S6 features an advanced microphone array and AI algorithms, enabling clear voice capture from up to 20 meters away. Designed for complex environments such as meetings, interviews, and large-scale events, the device supports offline transcription and translation, ensuring reliable operation even in network-limited conditions. It also delivers accurate multi-speaker identification and structured AI-generated meeting summaries, addressing the needs of professional users with high data security and reliability requirements.

AI Translation Earbuds

The AI Translation Earbuds are powered by end-to-end AI real-time translation technology, delivering low-latency simultaneous interpretation along with advanced AI noise reduction. By combining bone-conduction and air-conduction sensor technologies, the earbuds enable clear, natural multilingual communication in high-noise environments such as trade shows and public transportation, achieving up to 97% speech-recognition accuracy. The product is designed for face-to-face conversations and cross-language collaboration.

Media representatives are invited to visit iFLYTEK at Pepcom 2026 to experience these AI voice and translation technologies firsthand in real-world, high-noise communication scenarios.

About iFLYTEK

Founded in 1999, iFLYTEK Co., Ltd. is a publicly listed company specializing in artificial intelligence, speech recognition, and natural language processing technologies. The company continues to invest in core AI research and to expand the real-world application of its technologies globally, with the goal of improving communication between people and information, and across languages and cultures.

SOURCE IFLYTEK
Tottenham started 2026 by dropping more points at home and were booed off after Sunderland struck in the 80th minute through Brian Brobbey to rescue a 1-1 draw.

Spurs claimed only four Premier League home wins during the last calendar year but were on course for three points when Ben Davies scored a rare goal in the 30th minute.

It was a timely boost for Thomas Frank amid a difficult winter period where a lack of style and attacking flair has led to criticism from a disgruntled fanbase.

With Tottenham one up midway through the second half, Franks decision to introduce midfielders Joao Palhinha and Lucas Bergvall in an attempt to seal the win backfired as it invited more pressure from a spirited Sunderland outfit.

Regis Le Bris watched his surprise-package side deservedly equalise with 10 minutes left in north London when Brobbey lashed home to make it just one defeat in eight matches.

After chants of boring, boring Tottenham at Brentford on Wednesday following a dull encounter, Frank shuffled his pack and versatile French forward Mathys Tel was handed a first start since October.

Tel signalled his intent immediately with a snapshot from range straight at Robin Roefs, but it at least represented a shot on target for Spurs after only 62 seconds.

Richarlison had a weak effort soon after before a dangerous cross by Pedro Porro sparked a wave of noise from the South Stand as Sunderland showed signs of fatigue after a busy festive spell.

However, Tottenhams momentum was halted when Mohammed Kudus was forced off in the 19th minute with a left leg injury. It was a cruel twist of fate given the club sanctioned Brennan Johnsons move to Crystal Palace on Friday.

With no Johnson on the bench, Randal Kolo Muani was deployed in an unusual right-wing role but Spurs remained on top and broke the deadlock with half an hour played.

Another set-piece did the trick as Tels corner found Cristian Romero, who controlled at the back post and teed up Micky van de Ven, who saw his shot smartly tapped home by Davies for his first goal in just over two years.

Sunderland responded with typical spirit given their superb campaign back in the top-flight and Trai Hume lashed over from a corner before half-time.

Le Bris side pushed more after the break with Simon Adingras soft header easy for Guglielmo Vicario, who was almost embarrassed moments later in the 51st minute.

Adingra sent a dangerous ball to the back post which Vicario failed to claim and Hume squeezed his header goalwards from a tight angle, but Davies got back to clear on the line before Brobbey could pounce.

Brobbey and Romero got involved in a running battle afterwards and while Richarlison wasted a fine opening for Tottenham, Sunderland refused to go away.

Adingra curled wide not long after Porros cross-cum-shot tested Roefs, but Spurs had by this point decided to sit back and soak up pressure.

Franks introduction of Palhinha and Bergvall in an attempt to claim a precious home win did not pay off as the visitors produced a wonderful 80th-minute leveller.

A slick one-two was played between Enzo Le Fee and Brobbey before the latter rifled into the top corner after he peeled off Romero to spark wild celebrations in the away end.

It sparked an end-to-end finale but Palhinha headed wide in stoppage-time to ensure a 1-1 draw.
Donald Trump, with Marco Rubio, during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday. Photograph: Nicole Combeau/EPA (Photograph: Nicole Combeau/EPA)

Nothing speaks more eloquently of the disempowering of the US Congress under Donald Trumps second presidency than the brazenly audacious detention of Venezuelas leader, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia.

Far from recognizing it, Trump did not even acknowledge Congresss right to know  keeping senior members in the dark until the operation to seize the strongman was under way.

Only after the operation to seize Maduro had begun did the administration bother to tell members of the congressional gang of eight: the top Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives, plus the chairs and ranking members of the intelligence committees of the two chambers.

That marks a conspicuous break with convention, even as previously observed by Trump himself. When Qassem Suleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds force was killed in a targeted strike during Trumps first presidency in January 2020, the gang was punctiliously consulted, people involved in that operation have said.

In one fell swoop, the capture appeared to render the 1973 War Powers Resolution obsolete, if not an outright work of fiction.

The 1973 act  passed in the wake of the Vietnam war amid widespread anxieties about an incipient imperial presidency  requires a president to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops into hostilities and withdraw them after 60 days, unless Congress authorizes the action or declares war.

It was a reaction to Lyndon Johnsons perceived abuse of the notorious Tonkin Gulf Resolution of 1964, an ostensibly narrow measure that Johnson ultimately exploited to pursue unlimited war in Vietnam.

Yet long before the operation to seize Maduro, Trump had in effect communicated that he considered such congressional limits null and void by offering up a raft of alternative legal justifications  including executive orders declaring the Venezuelan leader and his henchmen narco-terrorists and thus potentially subject to similar precepts that governed the post-2001 war on terror.

Its effectiveness in constraining presidents from acts of war has long been shown to be limited, as the prolonged wars in Iraq and Afghanistan attest  although George W Bush received congressional authorization in both cases.

The 1989 invasion of Panama  carried out under the administration of George HW Bush to unseat the central American countrys dictatorial ruler, Manuel Noriega  was conducted without a former declaration of war or specific congressional approval. Bush, however, had taken care to garner bipartisan support on Capitol Hill beforehand.

Nor did Barack Obama seek specific prior congressional approval before the operation to kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, but instead acted under the authority of the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), passed by Congress after the 11 September 2001 al-Qaida terror attacks on New York and Washington.

Under Trump 2.0, no approval was sought for the mass military build-up off Venezuelas shores or the estimated 35 lethal strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats that have killed at least 115 people since last September. Similarly, the deployment of a vast military force off Venezuela, including the largest US aircraft carrier, was carried out without seeking authorization.

The disdain implicit in the explanations from Trump and Marco Rubio as to why information on the Maduro raid was withheld even from senior congressional figures  that they cannot be trusted because they might leak  is unmistakable.

Its just simply not the kind of mission you can call people and say: Hey, we may do this at some point in the next 15 days, Rubio told reporters.

Stung by this haughty disregard, congressional Democrats hit out ferociously on Saturday, with insistent demands to be briefed on future actions.

President Trump has made no secret of his intentions to effectively abolish the Congress, and that pattern continues today with his flagrant disregard for the Article 1 war powers of Congress, which is essential to our constitutional system of checks and balances, said Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker.

Mark Warner, the Democrats ranking member on the Senates intelligence select committee and a member of the gang of eight, said: Our constitution places the gravest decisions about the use of military force in the hands of Congress for a reason. Using military force to enact regime change demands the closest scrutiny, precisely because the consequences do not end with the initial strike.

And, Tim Kaine, a Democratic senator for Virginia who last month tabled a war powers resolution seeking to rein in the administrations actions in Venezuela, said: It is long past time for Congress to reassert its critical constitutional role in matters of war, peace, diplomacy and trade.

He added: Where will this go next? Will the president deploy our troops to protect Iranian protesters? To enforce the fragile ceasefire in Gaza? To battle terrorists in Nigeria? To seize Greenland or the Panama canal? To suppress Americans peacefully assembling to protest his policies?

Yet it is hard not to detect an air of impotent futility in the Democrats chorus of indignation.

With the exception of a few known Republican rebel figures such as Thomas Massie, a representative from Kentucky, Republican criticism was muted, whatever private misgivings some might have about Trumps extravagant assumption of presidential powers at their expense.

Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to Bernie Sanders, the leftwing Vermont senator, cited Mike Lee, a Republican senator from Utah, as an example of how far the partys members in Congress have ceded ground to the president.

Having initially voiced reservations about the lack of authorization from Congress, Lee sharply changed tack  apparently after speaking to Rubio - saying that Maduros arrest was within the presidents inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect US personnel from an actual or imminent attack.

Duss contrasted Lees supine stance with his previous actions, when he jointed Sanders to support a war powers resolution aimed at restricting US support for Saudi Arabias military intervention in Yemen during Trumps first term.

Senator Lee spoke very eloquently about the constitutional principles at stake, and that was just when the United States was only supporting the Saudi emirati war in Yemen, said Duss. So for him to come out now and say the president has inherent authority to invade a country and kidnap a foreign leader without any authorization from Congress, is just wild.

Its been clear for a while that he, along with many other Republicans, have decided that their political careers depend on staying in the good graces of Donald Trump and theres really no past principle that they wont abandon.

Duss said the instruments available to Congress under the War Powers Resolution were no longer fit for purpose. He suggested that the legislation needed to be rewritten, in the manner of the national security powers reform bill, which Sanders introduced  ironically, along with Lee  during Trumps first presidency.

The legislation was never enacted and even if reintroduced and passed would likely be vetoed by Trump  even if the Democrats were to recapture one or both chambers of Congress in Novembers midterm elections.

Short of a foreign policy disaster in Venezuela that could produce a groundswell of Republican opinion that might then yield a Senate supermajority to override a presidential veto, such legislations only hope, Duss conceded, is the future election of a sympathetic Democratic president.

That is a situation unfortunately that I think the framers of the constitution did not really anticipate, he said. Given that so many of the kind of separation of powers and the checks and balances presume that youre going to have leaders who care about the law and who care about these processes.
Broadway in Bexleyheath (Daniel Lynch)

Two men have been rushed to hospital following a shooting in southeast London.

Police were called to reports of a shooting on Broadway, Bexleyheath, in the early hours of Sunday.

Officers arrived at the scene alongside paramedics from London Ambulance Service.

Upon arrival, they treated a 30-year-old man for a gunshot wound before taking him to hospital.

It is understood another man was treated for a head injury and also taken to hospital.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: "On Sunday, 4 January at 02:15hrs, police were called to reports of a shooting on Broadway, Bexleyheath.

"Officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service who treated a 30-year-old man for a gunshot wound before taking him to hospital.

"We await an update on his condition.

"A 35-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the scene.

"He was taken to hospital due to his injuries."

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson added: "We were called at 2.10am today (4 January) to reports of a shooting on Broadway, Bexleyheath.

"We sent resources to the scene including ambulance crews, paramedics in fast response cars and an incident response officer.

"We also dispatched a trauma team in a car from Londons Air Ambulance.

"We treated two people and took them to hospital."
Smoke over the mostly blacked out city of Caracas following the US military operations that led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro - Jose Abreu/AFP/Getty

US cyber attacks cut off power to large areas of Caracas to allow planes and helicopters to strike key military sites and capture Nicolas Maduro.

Cyber command, space command and other American agencies layered effects to ensure more than 150 of its planes, drones and helicopters could approach the Venezuelan capital undetected.

Cyber operators blacked out the city lights in the early hours of Saturday before the joint air component dismantled and disabled Venezuelas air defence systems to ensure the safe passage of helicopters into the area of Mr Maduros compound, said General Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

It was dark, the lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have, it was dark, and it was deadly, Donald Trump boasted in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago.

US helicopters fly over Caracas - X

Offensive cyber operations are typically shrouded in secrecy. Last month Washington was accused of orchestrating a huge cyber attack that crippled Venezuelas oil and gas infrastructure, reportedly forcing the suspension of operations at loading terminals for three days. The US did not comment.

The CIA was also said to have carried out a clandestine cyber attack against Mr Maduro in the final year of Mr Trumps first administration, disabling the computer network used by his intelligence service, according to sources speaking to CNN.

It emerged on Sunday that more than 40 Venezuelans might have been killed in the early-morning air strikes on Caracas and three other Venezuelan states that preceded Mr Maduros capture by US special forces, according to an official speaking to The New York Times.

The raid was preceded by meticulous planning. Since August, the US had been quietly rehearsing the military operation that Mr Trump would later liken to a television show.

Donald Trump watches events unfold on screen with, left, John Ratcliffe, the director of the CIA, and Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state - Truth Social/AFP

However, according to reports from CNN on Sunday, many White House officials secretly thought the plans would not be carried out, believing that the Venezuelan president might still voluntarily step down.

As early as August, the CIA had quietly inserted a unit into Venezuela tasked with constructing an exhaustive portrait of the 63-year-old socialist presidents routine. The operation mapped his habits, and even compiled intelligence on his pets.

Meanwhile, elite troops were running drills on a purpose-built replica of Mr Maduros compound similar to the mock-up of Osama bin Ladens Abbottabad home used before the 2011 raid that killed the al-Qaeda leader.

The operational planning unfolded alongside months of closed-door briefings with a small inner circle of Trump administration officials, as Washington steadily escalated pressure on Caracas.

A series of boat strikes sank ships the US said were being used for drug trafficking, and Americas most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, was sent into the Caribbean in a significant military build-up.

In early December, the Trump administration believed it was beginning to see cracks in Mr Maduros support system, according to officials speaking to CNN. But as time went on, they became more convinced of the necessity of direct US intervention, and just before Christmas, Mr Trump approved the operation.

One week before it took place, the US president phoned Mr Maduro privately and gave him one last chance to flee. The dictator refused to budge.

Operation Absolute Resolve, as the raid was codenamed, was given the green light. But it was frustrated for days on end by wind and cloud cover in Caracas.

Then, on Friday, the weather finally broke.

At 8pm Caracas time, amid clear skies, B-1 strategic bombers lifted off from Dyess air force base in Texas. A fleet of more than 150 other aircraft, including F-22, F-35, F-18 fighter jets, took off from more than 20 air bases alongside surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance craft and unmanned drones, according to Gen Caine.

The aircraft converged in mid-air as they pushed for Venezuela. At 11.46pm, after a brief shopping excursion for marble and onyx, and a meal on the Mar-a-Lago patio, Mr Trump gave final authorisation for the lightning raid.

Good luck and Godspeed, was his brief message to a team of Delta Force soldiers and pilots.

As Caracas was cloaked in darkness, the night sky filled with the thunder of US helicopters, and detonations began to hit the city. American warplanes were targeting critical infrastructure such as air bases, a port and telecommunications.

Fighter jets, heavy bombers and supporting aircraft systematically dismantled Venezuelas air defences, clearing a corridor for Delta Force Black Hawk helicopters skimming just 100ft above the water.

A satellite image of the military complex at Fuerte Tiuna, Caracas, after the US attacks - Satellite Image 2025 Vantor/Handout/EPA/Shutterstock

Under the aerial shield, US military personnel and federal law enforcement officers were ferried to Mr Maduros fortified compound.

The Delta Force team breached the residence at 2.01am Venezuela time by sliding down heavy ropes from hovering helicopters.

From there, the team pushed towards the presidential sleeping quarters at Miraflores, a 19th-century mansion of pink and white stone. Awakened by the noise, Mr Maduro bolted for the reinforced steel panic room in the bedroom.

He was intercepted within moments. Special forces operators stormed the room and bundled Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, into the rear of a Black Hawk.

The mission, which had lasted less than 30 minutes, was complete. US officials told The New York Times that half a dozen American servicemen were injured in the raid, but there were no fatalities.

Mr Maduro and Ms Flores were taken to the warship USS Iwo Jima and transported to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A US operative took a now infamous photograph of their high-profile captive on board the warship, blindfolded, bound and wearing a 200 Nike tracksuit.

From there, the pair were picked up by a Justice Department plane and shuttled to the Stewart International Airport outside New York City. Video footage showed Mr Maduro, dressed in a bright blue hoodie, being led along the tarmac by a large contingent of US officials.

He and his wife were then taken by helicopter to Manhattan, arriving just before 7pm. The White Houses rapid response account posted a video of a perp walk by the ousted leader, flanked by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, before he was fingerprinted at the DEA office in Manhattan.

Good night, Mr Maduro told the officers, adding: Happy New Year!

He was later driven to the Metropolitan Detention Centre, the prison where he will be held before he makes his first court appearance on Monday.
Donald Trump gives a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Saturday, with Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defence. Photograph: Abaca/Shutterstock (Photograph: Abaca/Shutterstock)

The prospect of the United States seizing direct control of Venezuela appeared to recede on Sunday after the shocking ousting of president Nicolas Maduro  but US officials warned they might make a fresh military intervention if interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, did not accommodate their demands.

Speaking to reporters late Sunday, Donald Trump also raised the possibility of military action in Colombia.

Related: Delcy Rodriguez strikes defiant tone but must walk tightrope as Venezuelas interim leader

In the aftermath of Maduros abduction on Saturday, Trump said the US would run the South American country of 30 million people. On Sunday, he warned the US might launch a second strike if remaining members of the administration do not cooperate with his efforts to get the country fixed.

Rodriguez, 56, had on Saturday pledged fealty to Maduro and condemned his capture as an atrocity, but on Sunday called for a balanced and respectful relationship with the US.

We extend an invitation to the US government to work together on an agenda for cooperation that is aimed toward shared development, Rodriguez said after holding her first cabinet meeting since Maduros ouster.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, spoke to Rodriguez, who told him well do whatever you need, Trump told reporters.

She, I think, was quite gracious, but she really doesnt have a choice. The New York Times reported that Trump officials several weeks ago identified the technocrat as a potential successor and business partner partly on the basis of her relationship with Wall Street and oil companies.

In the capital, Caracas, senior government and military figures demanded the return of Maduro but pledged support for Rodriguez as a stand-in leader and called for a return to normality.

I call on the people of Venezuela to resume their activities of all kinds, economic, work and education, in the coming days, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, the defence minister, said in a televised address.

Maduros son, Nicolas Ernesto Maduro Guerra, said his fathers supporters are more resolved than ever to support the ousted president, according to an audio shared on social media.

Related: Months in planning, over in two and a half hours: how the US snatched Maduro

They will not see us weak, Maduro Guerra said. The president, Nicolas Maduro, will return  we will take to the streets, we will convene the people, we will unite.

In comments to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump raised the possibility of further US interventions in Latin America, and suggested Colombia and Mexico could also face military action if they do not reduce the flow of illicit drugs to the United States.

Operation Colombia sounds good to me, Trump said. He also said that Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela, looks like its ready to fall on its own without US military action.

Earlier on Sunday, Trump said the US may intervene in other countries as well. We do need Greenland, absolutely. Katie Miller, the wife of Trumps deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, posted a social media picture of Greenland painted in the colours of the US flag, and the word soon, prompting a protest from Greenlands prime minister.

In a round of TV interviews Rubio downplayed the possibility of invasion or occupation of Venezuela, but confirmed that the US was keeping a 15,000-strong force in the Caribbean.

Theres not a war. I mean, we are at war against drug trafficking organisations, not a war against Venezuela. We dont have US forces on the ground, he told NBC.

Related: Trumps lawless actions in Venezuela demand a resolute response | Letters

Troops were in Caracas for two hours in a law enforcement function that did not require congressional approval, he said. This was not an invasion. This was not an extended military operation.

The US will keep a quarantine around Venezuela to block the entry and exit of oil tankers under American sanctions to sustain leverage over Maduros successor, said Rubio. We are going to make our assessment on the basis of what they do, not what they say publicly.

He said the Cuban government  Venezuelas main ally  was a huge problem and in a lot of trouble but declined to elaborate.

The Cuban government confirmed on Sunday that the US operation in Venezuela killed 32 Cuban military and police officers were who were there at the request of the government in Caracas.

The governments of Spain, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay said in a joint statement that US actions constitute an extremely dangerous precedent for peace and regional security and endanger the civilian population. Keir Starmer said Britain was not involved in the attack but refused to condemn it.

All EU countries except Hungary issued a statement calling for restraint by all actors and respect for the will of the Venezuelan people in order to restore democracy.

In Caracas some shops and cafes reopened in a semblance of normality while authorities counted the cost of Saturdays raid.

Large queues formed outside stores in Venezuelas capital as anxious residents stocked up on basic supplies, apprehensive about what the future might bring and the possibility  suggested by Trump  that there could be a second wave of attacks.

Related: Trumps attack on Venezuela without alerting Congress tests limits of executive power

Its the same everywhere, there are queues in the supermarkets, there are queues in the bakeries, queues at the pharmacy, said one 71-year-old pensioner who was one of 20 people lined up outside a small family grocery market in north-east Caracas on Sunday morning.

Theres so much uncertainty because people dont know what might happen in the coming days and nobody wants to see another situation like the early hours of Saturday or to be caught with their pants down and an empty fridge, added the man, who asked not to be named.

Outside one of Venezuelas largest supermarket chains in Petare, on the east side of Caracas, a young couple waited in a 100-person-long line outside a supermarket in order to stock up on milk, butter and flour. So many people had flocked there that supermarket workers were letting in shoppers in groups.

[I feel] angry, said the 23-year-old woman, who gave only her first name, Sauriany. They dont have the right to meddle like this in another country and to do whatever they like, she said of the US raid.

In neighbouring Colombia there was deep unease too, with its president, Gustavo Petro, ordering 30,000 troops to its eastern border with Venezuela in case there was violence or a sudden influx of refugees.

On Sunday, Trump said Colombia was very sick and run by a sick man. He accused Petro of producing and selling cocaine to the US, adding: Hes not going to be doing it very long.

Asked directly whether the US would pursue a military operation against the country, Trump answered, It sounds good to me.

Petro on Sunday rebuffed the accusations saying in a post online: Stop slandering me, Mr. Trump.

Thats not how you threaten a Latin American president who emerged from the armed struggle and then from the people of Colombias fight for Peace, he said.

Petro has previously said his government has been seizing cocaine at unprecedented rates and last month he invited Trump to visit and see government efforts to destroy drug-producing labs.

Over the weekend, US authorities unsealed a four-count indictment that charges Maduro with narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine. It also charges Flores, their son and two Venezuelan officials and an alleged leader of Tren de Aragua, a gang the Trump administration has designed a terrorist organisation. Maduro is due to appear in a Manhattan federal court on Monday for arraignment.

The White House shared footage of the deposed dictator handcuffed and doing a perp walk to Drug Enforcement Administration offices in New York before being taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal facility in Brooklyn.

The prosecution will deepen the humiliation felt by Maduro loyalists and complicate the balancing act faced by his successor.

Rodriguez, who served as vice-president and oil minister until her bosss removal, must juggle Washingtons demands for oil and security guarantees with a regime that retains vestiges of the socialism and anti-imperialism of its late founder, Hugo Chavez.

The Trump administrations apparent satisfaction with regime tweak, rather than regime change, has dismayed those Venezuelans who hoped Maduros downfall would usher in democracy.

Related: Its an opportunity: joy and wariness among US Venezuelans after Maduro toppled

Trump was dismissive about the opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the Nobel peace prize winner who mobilised Edmundo Gonzalezs winning presidential campaign last year, and said she lacked support in Venezuela. Millions of Venezuelans revere Machado but she is loathed by the military hierarchy that props up the regime.

Rubio said the US wanted a transition to democracy but ruled out elections in the short term and said those in charge of Venezuelas military and police apparatus needed to decide in which direction they go. We hope they will chose a different direction than the one Nicolas Maduro picked. Ultimately we hope this leads to a holistic transition.

In Caracas joggers and cyclists reappeared on streets but residents expressed nervousness and uncertainty about the future.
Captive Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro wished DEA officers a "Happy New Year" and bid them "good night" as he was led to a high security prison in New York last night.

Maduro, 63 and his wife Cilia Flores, were captured by US special forces in the early hours of Saturday after airstrikes on the Venezuelan leader's "highly guarded fortress" in the capital Caracas.

US President Donald Trump himself watched the operation unfold from his Mar-o-Lago residence, and the couple were indicted with narco-terrorism and possession of machine guns upon their arrival in New York.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US is at war against drug trafficking organisations, but not a war against Venezuela itself.

Rubio added the seizing of boats "bringing drugs toward the United States" will continue.

An image uploaded to X shows Maduro smiling and holding his thumbs up while shackled and surrounded by a throng of federal agents.

Maduro will be incarcerated in a Brooklyn prison known for its harsh conditions, whose past inmates have included Ghislaine Maxwell, Luigi Mangione and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Trump has stated that the US will "run" Venezuela in the interim period and make use of its huge oil reserves until a transition of power can be organised.

But the US's move had angered Maduro's allies, including China, which has branded the operation "a clear violation of international law" and demanded the president's release.

The UK was not informed of the US plan to strike Venezuela, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said as he declined to be drawn on whether the operation was a success.

He told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: The first thing to say is it was an American operation. The United Kingdom was not involved in any way, we were not informed of it beforehand.

Mr Jones also added that Starmer's government is not entirely clear on what Donald Trump meant when he said the US would run Venezuela.

Asked if the action sounded like colonialism, Mr Jones said: Were not in favour of colonialism and were not entirely clear yet what President Trump meant by those comments.

He added: Its for the Americans now and for Venezuela to set out what happens in the coming days.

It is not for a third country to decide the future of Venezuelas government, Mr Jones said. He also declined to say whether US action broke international law, insisting the matter is for international courts.

He said: Its for the Americans to set out the legal basis for their operations. I dont think the Americans have done that yet. Im sure they will do in due course.
Donald Trump, right, gave Nicolas Maduro an ultimatum in late November to relinquish power, offering him safe passage out of Venezuela. Composite: Getty (Composite: Getty Images)

The US carried out airstrikes across Venezuela overnight on Friday, with explosions rocking the capital, Caracas, before dawn. Shortly afterwards, Donald Trump announced that US forces had captured the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, and flown them out of the country.

The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, said they would face trial in New York on charges of involvement in narco-terrorism. A fresh indictment was issued on Saturday.

Trump later posted a picture on his Truth Social platform with the caption Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima. Late on Saturday, the White House posted a video on social media that appeared to show Maduro handcuffed and escorted by agents at the US Drug Enforcement Administration offices.

The attack and unprecedented capture of a sitting president follow months of an intense US pressure campaign against Venezuela. The US navy has amassed a huge fleet off the Venezuelan coast since September, carried out airstrikes against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific and seized Venezuelan oil tankers. At least 110 people have been killed in the strikes on boats, which human rights groups say could amount to war crimes.

The attack was the largest, most direct US action in Latin America since the 1989 Panama invasion. The lightning operation stunned the international community. US allies and adversaries alike were taken aback by the brazen interference in a foreign country.

Related: Global outcry after US launches strikes on Venezuela and captures president

At a Mar-a-Lago news conference, Trump said the US would run the country until a leadership transition could take place, and that US oil companies would go into Venezuela, bragging that no nation in the world could achieve what America achieved.

The future of Venezuelas ruling regime remains uncertain. Despite Trumps statements that the US will decide the fate of the country, the Venezuelan military appears to be in control of the country and its military assets.

On Saturday, the countrys supreme court ordered the vice-president, Delcy Rodriguez, to assume the role of acting president during Maduros temporary absence. Trump later said Rodriguez had offered her support to Washington, observing: She really doesnt have a choice.

Rodriguez has a strong leftist pedigree as the daughter of a Marxist guerrilla who won fame for kidnapping a US businessman, but she is also a French-educated technocrat who has forged links with Venezuelas economic elites, foreign investors and diplomats.

Trump appeared to dismiss Venezuelas democratic opposition, saying the Nobel peace prize winner Maria Corina Machado did not have the necessary respect and support to lead.

How did we get here?

Since Trump took office for his second term, he has put Maduro squarely in his sights, pursuing a maximum pressure campaign against the Venezuelan regime. He accused Maduro of being behind destabilising activity in the Americas, including drug trafficking and illegal immigration to the US. In July, the US announced a $50m (37m) bounty on Maduros head, accusing him of being one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world.

Trumps administration declared Venezuelan gangs such as Tren de Aragua as terrorist organisations and began carrying out airstrikes against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea. Soon, the US began to seize Venezuelan tankers and build up its military presence in the waters surrounding the South American country.

Trump has openly flirted with the idea of regime change in Venezuela. In late November, Trump gave Maduro an ultimatum to relinquish power, offering him safe passage out of the country. Maduro refused the offer, telling supporters in Venezuela that he did not want a slaves peace and accusing the US of wanting control of his countrys oil reserves.

As the Trump administration ratcheted up the pressure, the government in Caracas at times seemed bewildered. Maduro repeatedly said Venezuela did not want war with the US, at one point dancing in front of Venezuelan students to the lyrics no war, yes peace and mimicking Trumps double-fist pumping dance move.

Trump was reportedly not amused, and the dancing is said to have contributed to the decision to remove him from power. On Thursday, two days before his capture, Maduro said in a televised interview he would welcome US investment in the countrys oil sector.

A newly unsealed US justice department indictment accuses Maduro of running a corrupt, illegitimate government fuelled by an extensive drug trafficking operation that flooded the US with thousands of tonnes of cocaine.

Why are the US and Venezuela at odds?

Relations between the US and Venezuela have been strained since Hugo Chavez became Venezuelas president in 1999. A self-professed socialist and anti-imperialist, Chavez angered the US in his opposition to its invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as his alliances with countries such as Cuba and Iran. Relations further spiralled after Chavez accused the US of backing a 2002 coup attempt.

To many in the US, particularly in the more hawkish wing of the Republican party, the socialist ideological orientation of Venezuelas government has made it a natural adversary of the US, alongside its ally Cuba.

As Chavez consolidated power, punished political opponents and expropriated much of the countrys private sector, the US condemned Venezuela for its poor human rights record. Despite occasional minor thaws in relations between the two countries over the years, the relationship has continued to deteriorate, especially after Maduro took power in 2013.

Under the Trump administration, the US has portrayed the Maduro government as illegitimate, recognising Juan Guaido, the speaker of the parliament, as Venezuelas president in 2019.

In July 2024, Maduro appeared to suffer a landslide defeat in the presidential election, amid widespread anger at his increasingly authoritarian rule and Venezuelas economic collapse. The Biden administration recognised the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the victor. Detailed voting data released by the opposition and verified by independent experts indicated that Gonzalez won the vote, but Maduro clung to power after launching a ferocious crackdown.

In early December, the Trump administration published what it called the Trump corollary, which said the western hemisphere must be controlled by the US politically, economically, commercially and militarily. As part of the new Trump doctrine, the US military can be used to gain access to energy and mineral resources in the area.

During a press conference hours after the capture of Maduro, Trump invoked the 19th-century Monroe doctrine, which was used to assert US military power in Latin America. Dubbing it the Don-Roe doctrine, he said: American dominance in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again.

Who is Nicolas Maduro and why did Trump capture him?

Maduro has been the president of Venezuela since 2013. The former bus driver rose to prominence under Chavez, working as his minister of foreign affairs, before becoming the countrys president after Chavezs death.

Maduros rule is considered dictatorial, with the UN estimating in 2019 that more than 20,000 Venezuelans were killed in extrajudicial executions. Key institutions such as the judiciary have been eroded under Maduro and the rule of law has deteriorated.

Over recent months, Trump has repeatedly called for the ousting of Maduro, accusing him of sending drugs and criminals into the US  a claim experts have said lacks evidence. He also claimed that Maduro was stealing US oil.

Despite months of escalating rhetoric, Saturdays capture of the sitting president arrived without warning and Venezuelan authorities seemed to have been caught off guard by the brazen operation.

At least 40 people, including civilians and soldiers, were killed in Saturdays attack, the New York Times reported, citing a senior Venezuelan official.

What happens next?

The future is uncertain. Venezuelas defence minister has vowed to fight on and has called on citizens to unite to resist the foreign invasion, calling resistance to the US a fight for freedom.

Though Maduro has been captured, Venezuelas institutions and military appear to be intact. It is unclear if Saturdays attack on Venezuela was the beginning of a wider conflict or a one-off operation, as Trump said the US retained the right to mount further military operations in the country.

What is clear is that the US is determined to play a large role in Venezuela, through the use of military force or otherwise. Trump said on Saturday that the US would be making decisions on what was next for Venezuela. We cant take a chance in letting somebody else run and just take over what he left, or left off, Trump said.

It was unclear what exactly Trump meant when he said the US would run Venezuela, as there were no signs that the US had taken over the capital and Venezuelan soldiers remained at their posts at military bases across the country. Trump did not rule out US military boots on the ground but said Venezuelan officials were agreeable to his demands  a sharp contrast to the defiant statements of officials in the hours after Maduros capture.

The US has in the past carried out war games to simulate a scenario where Venezuelan leadership was decapitated. The simulations predicted prolonged chaos, with refugees pouring out of Venezuela and rival groups fighting one another for control of the country.

Youd have prolonged chaos  with no clear way out, said Douglas Farah, a Latin America expert who helped run the war games.

Colombia has mobilised its armed forces and expressed concerns about a potential influx of refugees.
Dorian Puki posted this photograph from the Radio Rooftop cocktail bar in the Strand, London

A twice-deported Albanian burglar has taunted the Home Office by filming himself partying in the VIP section of a Mayfair nightclub

Dorian Puka can be seen smoking a shisha pipe as he sits in the Cirque le Soir club surrounded by burlesque dancers and thousands of pounds worth of champagne.

The 31-year-old was jailed and deported twice after committing a string of burglaries, but sneaked back into the country on each occasion.

Following his most recent return, he is attempting to claim asylum, leaving the Home Office effectively powerless to take action against him until his case is heard.

A burlesque dancer can be seen in the background of Pukas Instagram video from the club - Instagram

He has spent the past year taunting the Home Office with TikTok and Instagram videos showing his lavish lifestyle.

Before posting the video of himself at Cirque Le Soir, he published a video showing off his black Rolls-Royce Cullinan, with his 10k hybrid Savannah cat  a cross between a domestic and wild cat species  sitting on top of it.

Last week, he posted Instagram stories featuring him drinking and smoking from a shisha pipe while surrounded by champagne bottles.

The Home Office has admitted it is unable to remove Puka again until his asylum claim has been fully heard.

He was first jailed for nine months in 2016 and deported the following year for attempting to break into a property. The owner spotted him on a webcam while on holiday in France.

Within a year, he evaded border controls and returned to the UK, carrying out a string of burglaries in suburban London.

He was eventually caught by plain-clothes officers patrolling Surbiton, in the south-west of the capital, after an increase in local burglaries.

A screengrab from Pukas video filmed in the packed Cirque le Soir club - Instagram

In December 2020, he managed to sneak back into Britain for a second time. Faced with deportation, he lodged an asylum application, and has been on immigration bail and subject to an electronic tag since 2023 while he awaits a tribunal to decide his claim.

It has been more than a year since Puka promoted his first social media video of himself driving a red Ferrari.

It was closely followed by a picture posted on social media in which he taunted Nigel Farage after the Reform UK leader described him as a wrong un who should be deported.

In a video in November last year, Puka showed off his Rolex watches and a 2022 Lamborghini Urus V8, valued at 184,950.

He has published numerous other videos and pictures showing off his expensive watch collection.

They ranged from a Rolex Day-Date  often called the Rolex President, worth 53,000  to the cheapest, conservatively priced at 5,000 to 10,000.
The Duke of Sussex claimed he lost his legal security battle in May in an establishment stitch-up but he has since been granted the review he had been seeking - Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph

The Duke of Sussex is said to be hopeful that his taxpayer-funded security provision will soon be reinstated.

Prince Harry was last month granted the full risk assessment for which he had fought for years following a major U-turn by the Home Office.

Sources now say that the mood music is positive, and they are cautiously optimistic that his right to full armed protection will be reinstated.

However, such is the ongoing distrust between the two sides that there remains concern that the Government department could yet intervene and block any developments.

The Mail on Sunday quoted a source close to the Sussexes who said: Its now a formality. Sources at the Home Office have indicated that security is now nailed-on for Harry.

The Duke brought a high-profile legal claim against the Government over the decision to remove his right to automatic taxpayer-funded security when he quit royal duties to move abroad in early 2020.

He lost the legal battle in May, blaming an establishment stitch-up. The Court of Appeal declared that a grievance did not equate to a valid legal argument.

However, the Duke, who has insisted it is not safe to bring his wife, Meghan, or their two children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, to the UK, pursued the matter behind closed doors.

Duke wrote to Home Secretary

The Telegraph revealed in October that he had written privately to Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, urging her to rethink the approach to his security.

It came after a known stalker was said to have got close to him on two separate occasions during his last visit to the UK.

The Duke was told in December that the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec)  the Home Office committee responsible for such decisions  had changed tack and had instructed its risk management board (RMB) to reassess his threat level for the first time in nearly six years.

His right to an RMB analysis had formed the main plank of his legal case as he argued that it was impossible to draw fair conclusions without an updated assessment of the threats against him. His last analysis had been conducted in April 2019, when he was deemed such a target that he was put in the highest risk category.

The assessment will be presented to Ravec, which is responsible for making a final decision.

A Home Office spokesman declined to comment on the case but said: The UK Governments protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.

It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals security.

The Duke will travel to the UK later this month for the start of the trial of his High Court legal claim against Associated Newspapers.
RAF Typhoons took part in a joint operation with French jets against Islamic State on Saturday night - RAF

RAF Typhoons and French aircraft have carried out a joint strike on an underground facility occupied by Islamic State (IS) in Syria, the MoD has said.

Guided bombs were used to target a number of access tunnels down to the site, located in the mountainous region near the ancient city of Palmyra in the centre of the country, on Saturday evening.

The facility had most likely been used by IS  also known as Daesh  to store weapons and explosives, and is in an area devoid of civilians, the MoD said.

A detailed assessment of the effectiveness of the attack was underway, and there were initial signs that the target was reached successfully, officials said.

John Healey, the Defence Secretary, said the UK was determined to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies to stamp out any resurgence of the IS terrorist movement.

He thanked members of the armed forces involved in the operation to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life.

Mr Healey said: This action shows our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East.

I want to thank all the members of our armed forces involved in this operation  for their professionalism and their courage. They were among thousands of British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year.

This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, shows how our armed forces are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad.

RAF aircraft have carried out patrols over Syria to prevent any attempted resurgence of IS following its defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the MoD said.
BEIJING, Jan. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- "China always stands on the right side of history, and is ready to work with all countries to advance world peace and development and build a community with a shared future for humanity." In his 2026 New Year message, Chinese President Xi Jinping declared the Chinese people's unwavering confidence in pursuing their dreams with perseverance and dedication, expressed China's sincere desire to continue embracing the world with open arms and demonstrated the nation's responsibility as a major power to provide stability and certainty through its own development.

The year 2025 was an extraordinary one. The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) concluded successfully, with Chinese modernization advancing steadily. Despite mounting pressures, the Chinese economy continued to move forward, shifting toward innovation and quality, contributing certainty to the world with remarkable resilience and vitality and sharing opportunities globally through higher-level opening-up. China's contribution to global economic growth remained around 30 percent, making it a key driver of global development amid ongoing challenges. China has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in innovation, with large artificial intelligence models advancing rapidly and breakthroughs in the independent development of chips. Chinese pop culture, animated films and games continue to gain overseas fans, elevating China's soft power. The popularity of "China Travel," "audit" of life on Xiaohongshu among Chinese and international netizens continue to rise, with more and more foreign friends getting closer to China, understanding China and falling in love with China...

This year, China's strides in scientific innovation, its in cultural creativity and its vitality in openness have sparked wave after wave of global discussion. A thriving, dynamic and increasingly cooler China has prompted foreign media to comment that one of the most important lessons of 2025 is "never underestimate China."

China's relationship with the world is moving in a more positive direction, with its international influence, innovative leadership and moral appeal significantly enhanced. Amid a complex and turbulent international landscape, global governance stands at a new crossroads. China has consistently championed the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, uniting progressive forces worldwide with utmost sincerity and pooling energy for peace and development with utmost effort. It safeguards peace, promotes cooperation, responds to challenges and upholds justice - striving for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and seeking great harmony for a turbulent world.

President Xi's four overseas visits and participation in a series of international conferences have demonstrated a clear vision, a commitment to win-win cooperation and concern for the welfare of the world. He has led China's diplomacy to forge ahead courageously and shoulder responsibilities. China successfully hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin and the Global Women's Summit, among other impressive home-court diplomatic events, showcasing to the world China's leadership in international cooperation. President Xi solemnly proposed the Global Governance Initiative, offering China's solutions for advancing a more just and equitable global governance system. Together, the four global initiatives provide strategic guidance for building a community with a shared future for humanity.

In today's world, the overarching trends of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit remain unchanged. Facing the shifting landscape of the international order, China joined other nations in solemnly commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, sending a powerful message to the world that justice will prevail, peace will prevail, and the people will prevail.

Amid profound global changes, all parties have come to recognize more clearly that China is not only focused on its own development but also upholds a global vision and shoulders the responsibilities of a major country. It is increasingly becoming an anchor of morality, a source of confidence and a beacon of hope in a turbulent world.

China's relationship with the world has entered a new phase in which it is positioned to make greater contributions to human development and progress. The recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) outline China's foreign policy for the next five years, centered on building a community with a shared future for humanity. This represents a new blueprint for major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and a new vision for win-win cooperation between China and the world.

Standing at this new starting point, China is moving forward steadily on the path of Chinese modernization. It will continuously provide new opportunities for the world through its own new developments and is willing to join hands with all countries to pool the forces of peace, development, cooperation and win-win outcomes, jointly creating a brighter future for the world.

SOURCE Global Times
(NewsNation)  For the second time in President Donald Trumps second term, a centuries-old constitutional tug of war is in the spotlight.

The operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is sure to have politicians bringing up Congresss sole authority to declare war, while others will point to the presidents role as commander in chief.

Reactions are still coming in as Congress members wake up Saturday, but so far, theyve mostly come along party lines: Democrats say the president overstepped, while Republicans say he took steps to defend Americans from an imminent threat.

What does the Constitution say about war powers?

Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution says, Congress shall have power to  declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.

Meanwhile, Article 2, Section 2, states, The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States.

Those two sections have some conflict, and over the years, court rulings and other precedents have smoothed some of them out. Congresss own website acknowledges the schism in interpretation:

Under Congresss interpretation of the Constitution, the President may introduce troops into hostile circumstances if Congress has (1) declared war, (2) specifically authorized the President to use force, or (3) there is a national emergency created by an attack on the United States or its territories. The executive branch claims much broader authority and asserts that the Constitution empowers the President to initiate and engage in many types of military action without congressional authorization.

Has the US gone to war without congressional approval?

Technically, no. The last formal declaration of war was World War II. However, major conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq came with congressional authorization, though Iraqs authorization was clearer than the one for Vietnam.

Other military actions, like the strike on Irans nuclear facilities or the killing of Osama bin Laden, were done without congressional approval. In 2011, President Barack Obama justified the action in Pakistan, a country the U.S. had no formal hostility with, as a direct response to the 9/11 attacks.

In 2025, Trump struck Iranian nuclear facilities because he said they were coming close to producing a nuclear weapon, threatening the U.S.

Was the arrest of Maduro legal?

This may never be determined in a court, and the answer may depend on who you ask and whether they believe Maduro posed an imminent threat to the U.S.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) appeared to go from skepticism to agreement Saturday morning.

Just before 2:30 a.m. EST, as social media videos of the strikes started to spread, Lee posted, I look forward to learning what, if anything, might constitutionally justify this action in the absence of a declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force.

But two hours later, after a call from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lee changed his tune.

He posted that Rubio told him, The kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant. This action likely falls within the presidents inherent authority under Article II of the Constitution to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.

Vice President Vance posted on X that the U.S. was justified because of Maduros arrest warrant.

Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism, Vance wrote. You dont get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas.

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) said Trump overstepped his authority.

Congress did not authorize this war, Moulton, who served four tours in Iraq, posted. Venezuela posed no imminent threat to the United States. This is reckless, elective regime change risking American lives (Iraq 2.0) with no plan for the day after. Wars cost more than trophies.

When presented with critics arguments in a Saturday morning interview on Fox News, Trump said, These are weak, stupid people.

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Hundreds of revelers chanted and celebrated outside a Brooklyn lockup as Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were hauled inside to face federal narco-terrorism charges.

The couple were greeted at the Brooklyn Detention Center with the boisterous crowd triumphantly applauding and chanting down with the dictator, shame on you, and dirty scumbag!

Venezuelan national Ronny Chirinos was one of more than 200 opponents who eagerly waited outside the prison for more than an hour in the bitter cold for the ousted dictator to arrive in cuffs.

Its such a joy to see the dictator fall, but the regime hasnt fallen yet, the 21-year-old, who relocated from Maracay to the Big Apple three years ago due to Maduros regime, told The Post.

I want everything to fall. That there is no one left.

Venezuelans in New York celebrate outside of MDC Brooklyn after Maduro arrives at the prison. Michael Nagle

Maduro was greeted with jeers by gathered crowds. Michael Nagle

Juskeily Matheeus, 27, and her 11-year-old son also rejoiced outside the Brooklyn prison, as passing cars honked in support and others screamed Finally in Spanish and Viva Venezuela while waving flags.

The jubilant mom said she was celebrating the fall of Maduro!

I will never forget this day, said 27-year-old Venezuelan Jesus Rodriguez.

I came to see Maduro get punished for all the bad things hes done for my country. I feel grateful for what Donald Trump did today for our country. I want to go back to be with my family. Now there is hope.

A caring Venezuelan cop eventually calmed the crowd by reassuring that Maduro was inside the prison.

The Venezuelan president is facing charges of narcoterrorism in the SDNY. Michael Nagle

Maduro and his wife are staying at the notorious facility in New York City. Michael Nagle

The officer leaned out of her van with a megaphone, telling the group in Spanish: Hes inside. Go home. Go back to your families. Hug them. He is inside.

The tyrant and his wife were captured by US forces during a high-stakes overnight military operation in Venezuelas capital of Caracas early Saturday morning.

The couple were dragged out of the South American country, landing in the Big Apple Saturday night. He was seen in a video at the Chelsea DEA office being perp walked and saying to the camera Good Night. Happy New Year.

Maduro and Flores were slapped with federal narco-terrorism charges and other offenses.

They are expected in federal court as early as Monday.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani signs executive orders with campaign volunteers during an appearance at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn on January 2, 2026, in New York City.

There are good and bad ways to start an administration, then theres the way Zohran Mamdani did it. Dreadful, awful and horrible dont fully capture his First Day fiasco.

No political guru in the history of New York elections would advise a new mayor to launch his administration by picking a fight with Israel and adding fresh evidence to the suspicion that the citys first Muslim mayor is an antisemite.

Yet thats exactly what Mamdani did by announcing that he had rescinded all the executive orders of his predecessor, Eric Adams, going back 15 months.

Some were inconsequential, but two notably put the city on the side of Israel and were aimed at blocking official acts that smacked of antisemitism.

With New York home to more than 1 million Jews, and with Israel, a key American ally, fighting for its survival against terrorists, its an extremely odd way for a mayor to start a four-year term.

The sheer irrationality of it is a revealing sign, I believe, of Mamdanis deep hostility bordering on hatred for the Jewish state and its supporters.

Plenty of other targets

Additionally, the swift and broad condemnation of what he did reveals that the Socialist Democrat is not the political wizard his enthralled followers believe he is.

He got himself elected, but governing is the point and he begins the long march with a major unforced error.

The first acts of any new administration are by definition outsized symbolic statements about priorities. If Mamdani felt the need to single out a foil and use the bully pulpit to engage in rhetorical combat, there is no shortage of deserving targets.

He could have  and should have  used the Day One spotlight to come down hard on gun runners, drug dealers, murderers and rapists, or crooked politicians, failing schools, rapacious unions and sluggish bureaucrats.

But to launch an attack on Israel and its supporters by going after the Adams executive orders as if they were the devil makes no sense.

It was a choice borne wholly of the new mayors long-established antipathy. That same strain of hatred is reflected in how some of his advisers have expressed condemnation of Israel but never once criticized the savagery of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran.

Mamdanis argument that he had deleted all of Adams orders after Sept. 26, 2024 because that was the day Adams was indicted on federal corruption charges isnt persuasive. The case was subsequently dropped and none of the executive orders were relevant to it.

Truth be told, its almost certainly the details of just two orders signed by Adams that sparked Mamdanis ire.

One of them had the city adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances definition of antisemitism. Its provisions include, Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.

Other clauses include accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust and accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.

Still others cite Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust.

Which of those clauses does Mamdani find illegitimate? He didnt say.

True face

Another executive order that Adams signed, and Mamdani rescinded, prohibited all city agencies from boycotting Israel and divesting from it.

In response to the mayors actions, the blowback came fast and hot, with Israels Foreign Ministry accusing him of fueling antisemitism.

On his very first day as @NYCMayor, Mamdani shows his true face: He scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism and lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel. This isnt leadership. Its antisemitic gasoline on an open fire, the ministry posted on X.

American Jewish organizations also condemned the move, with the UJA Federation of New York and the New York Board of Rabbis issuing a joint statement saying Mamdanis action reversed significant protections against antisemitism.

Thats certainly true, and theres another angle that also deserves attention. It appears to me that Mamdani himself was in violation of the spirt and the letter of both of the Adams orders he rescinded.

First, he has made no secret of the fact that he believes Israel does not have the right to exist as the Jewish homeland. Asked during the campaign if he accepted it as a Jewish state, he tried to weasel out saying, he supported Israel as a state with equal rights for all its people.

But, he added Im not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else . . . Equality should be enshrined in every country in the world. Thats my belief.

Its a standard he applies only to Israel, despite the fact it has over 2 million Arab citizens. Yet he has never condemned the Arab and Muslim lands that have few if any Jewish or Christian citizens.

He has also vowed to arrest Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he comes to New York, under a warrant by the International Criminal Court, which the U.S. does not recognize.

Clean slate excuse

Second, his longtime support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement  a global campaign calling for isolation of Israel as a way to support Palestinian rights  would put him at odds with the Adams order barring that stance for city officials.

By rescinding both orders, Mamdani removes his likely violation of them.

The mayors dark-hearted move strikes me as that of an arrogant amateur who is besotted with power. If hes smart, hell realize that the price hes paying isnt worth the candle.

With the topic dominating his first days in office and drawing the wrong kind of attention, the subject is likely to remain a lasting black mark that could haunt his tenure.

At a Friday press conference, he struggled to defend the rescinding action by insisting he simply wanted a clean slate to start his administration.

He also promised that his team will be relentless in its efforts to combat hate and division, and we will showcase that by fighting hate across the city, and that includes fighting the scourge of antisemitism by actually funding hate crime prevention, by celebrating our neighbors, and by practicing a politics of universality.

The kumbaya gibberish echoed a passage in his Thursday address where he promised to govern audaciously and replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.

As one critic noted, the Mamdani agenda can be summed up as audacious collectivism.

Even worse, I predict it will be repeatedly spiked with the poison of Jew hatred.
An image collage containing 1 images, Image 1 shows President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida on January 3, 2026

America and the world are safer today thanks to the bold actions of President Trump and his team in Venezuela.

Exactly six years to the day after we took out Iranian Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani (an operation I had the privilege to help lead as Secretary of State), the President and his team neutralized another threat to America by capturing Venezuelan dictator and indicted narco-terrorist Nicolas Maduro.

Lets be clear: Maduro is a fugitive of American justice who stole two elections and is not the legitimate ruler of Venezuela; that honor belongs to Edmundo Gonzalez, the democratic opposition candidate who won the 2024 election.

This righteous American campaign to bring Maduros rule to an end will get Venezuelan drugs off American streets, create the conditions for a safer, more prosperous Western Hemisphere, and advance core American interests.

There can be no doubt that Maduros authoritarian allies are sleeping a little less peacefully tonight  especially in Tehran, where the Ayatollahs regime may well be on the verge of collapse (another dictatorship that has been weakened thanks to kinetic and financial pressure from the United States).

Indeed, the parallel disintegration of these two regimes is a welcome development not just for the Venezuelan and Iranian people, but for America and the entire world. What comes next is critical. If we get this right, we have the potential to initiate a truly historic moment of positive change in our world.

But to do that, we must support democratic transitions for both countries to ensure that stable, sustainable, pro-American governments that represent the will of the people can take root.

The authoritarian axis of China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea has long cooperated to evade the consequences of international isolation, support one another in their illegal activities, spread instability, and undermine American interests. In fact, Maduro was playing host to a delegation of Chinese envoys just hours before his capture by Delta Force, and his intelligence and security forces are staffed largely by Cubans.

These malign activities reflect the illegitimate, undemocratic regimes that rule these countries  not the interests of the people they rule by fear.

As of publication, its unclear what exactly the contours of the transitional government will look like in Venezuela. We do know that Maduros Chavista vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, has been sworn in as president; we also know that the democratic opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has announced that the rightful president-elect Edmundo Gonzalez has assumed the mandate as Commander-in-Chief.

Handing power over to an illegitimate leader would undermine Americas objectives in Venezuela. This moment belongs to the Venezuelan people for whom, as Machado movingly put it, the hour of freedom has arrived.

That means bringing Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado into a transitional government, and setting out a clear pathway to free elections, the restoration of the liberties of the Venezuelan people, and a roadmap for rebuilding this once-great democratic country ravaged by decades of socialism.

Turning to Iran, there can be no doubt that the Iranian people will be emboldened by the downfall of the Ayatollahs friend in Caracas  and they should have our full support.

The current wave of popular protests against the rotten regime in Tehran has the potential to achieve what previous uprisings could not: the end of this evil, theocratic dictatorship. Whether it occurs today, tomorrow or five years from now, the collapse of the Islamic Republic is inevitable. The question is, what will replace it?

Thankfully, Iran has a well-organized, democratic opposition with a clear roadmap for a democratic transition; and through repeated waves of uprisings, the Iranian people have made it clear that they do not want a theocracy or a monarchy, they want a representative democracy that seeks peace and prosperity.

Supporting democratic transitions in Venezuela and Iran isnt some sentimental gambit; its a means of advancing Americas deep strategic interests. Illegitimate, undemocratic governments are fundamentally less reliable, and prone to the types of unrest and extremist takeover that threaten America.

In contrast, democratic governments make more reliable partners because they are accountable to their people, and must therefore pursue policies that lead to outcomes better aligned with Americas goals.

Genuine democratic reform, while by no means easy to achieve, is the only way that Venezuela will set itself up for success in the future and become a reliable partner for the United States. The same is true for the Iranian government, which may be about to face a similar reckoning. In both cases, the U.S. should put itself in the best possible position to reap the benefits that would derive from the emergence of free and democratic governments in Caracas and Tehran.

Mike Pompeo was US secretary of state from 2018 to 2021.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) slammed the recent U.S. operation in Venezuela, stating there are evil, brutal dictators all over the world but that does not give the American president the right to invade.

Listen, there are evil, brutal dictators all over the world. That does not give the American president the right to invade those countries, in large part because we have seen how this script plays out. I watched your interview with Sen. Cotton. You asked him what the difference was between Iraq and Venezuela, Murphy told CNNs Dana Bash on State of the Union, referring to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).

He didnt say the difference was, We arent going to invade Venezuela like we invaded Iraq, he said that, If we invade Venezuela, which may be part of the presidents plan, its going to go really well. Over and over again, we have seen these warmongering [neoconservatives], many of which have influence in this White House, cheerlead us into war under the guise of removing a very bad man, Murphy added.

On Saturday, President Trump announced that the U.S. had gone through with a large-scale strike on the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. U.S. forces also captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump also said that the U.S. would run the South American country up until a transition after Maduros capture.

The recent U.S. action in Venezuela has resulted in comparisons to the Iraq War, a war often considered by many in modern American politics to have been a mistake and unjustified.

I still think that a lot of people analyze everything that happens in foreign policy through the lens of what happened from 2001 to  you know, 15 or 16, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS Newss Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation.

The whole, you know, foreign policy apparatus thinks everything is Libya, everything is Iraq, everything is Afghanistan. This is not the Middle East. And our mission here is very different. This is the Western Hemisphere, he added Sunday, discussing Venezuela.

The Hill has reached out to Cottons office and the White House for comment.

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New York Times writer and Howard University professor Nikole Hannah-Jones has long been controversial as a writer who expressly rejects objectivity and neutrality in journalism. That was most evident in her "1619 Project," which was ridiculed by historians and law professors in claiming that slavery was the driving force behind American independence. Nevertheless, the project was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, despite glaring historical errors. Yet, this month, Hannah-Jones is back on the pages of the New York Times, again rewriting history. This time, she is praising cop-killer and 1960s revolutionary Assata Shakur.

Hannah-Jones has been a lightning rod in her writings, from declaring "all journalism is activism" to spreading conspiracy theories against the police. Yet, mainstream media, including the Times, has run interference for Hannah-Jones, including the dean of the University of North Carolina trying to shut down criticism by reminding a reporter that they must all defend Hannah-Jones.

Hannah-Jones latest project of historical revision is a sorrowful memorial to Shakur, which shows the same disregard for facts in favor of a preferred narrative.

Ny Times' Nikole Hannah-jones Calls Public Mourning For Charlie Kirk 'Unsettling'

Born JoAnne Deborah Byron (and later adopting the names of Joanne Chesimard and Shakur), the violent revolutionary was a member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. In 1977, she killed New Jersey police officer Werner Foerster, 34, a U.S. Army Vietnam veteran who left behind a widow and a young son. She later escaped prison and fled to Cuba, where she died earlier this year. In 2005, she was declared a domestic terrorist. In 2013, the Obama administration put her on the most wanted list.

You would know little of that from the New York Times column. After all, all journalism is activism, according to Hannah-Jones, and, if the facts do not fit the narrative, the facts have to go.

Read On The Fox News App

In her column, Hannah-Jones seems to dismiss the conviction as the result of an "all-white" jury. What is omitted is that Shakur had a long and violent criminal record. She was previously shot in the stomach during what was believed to be a drug-connected crime at the Statler Hilton in Manhattan.

She was sought for other crimes, including a 1971 bank robbery. When asked, Shakur later shrugged off such crimes as a type of racial reparations: "There were expropriations, there were bank robberies."

She was also linked to a grenade attack that injured two police officers after being identified by witnesses. In 1972, she was identified by Monsignor John Powis as one of the suspects in the armed robbery at Our Lady of the Presentation Church in Brownsville, Brooklyn. During the robbery, the priest was told, "We usually just blow the heads off White men."

She was also tied to the murder and ambushing of police officers for years before she was stopped on May 2, 1973, on the New Jersey Turnpike by State Trooper James Harper, who was backed up by Trooper Werner Foerster in a second patrol vehicle. The resulting shootout left Harper wounded and Foerster dead.

Her trials spanned a variety of charges ranging from bank robbery to kidnapping to attempted murder and other felonies. However, when there were acquittals and a mistrial (due to a pregnancy) on different charges, she was ultimately convicted of murder before her escape.

Yet, the Times and Hannah-Jones brush over that history to gush about Shakur and the effort to shield her, even describing the criminal network as akin to the famed system used to free slaves before the Civil War: "Shakur had been hidden in the United States for several years by a sort of Underground Railroad."

The Times column bewails how "freedom came with shattering costs for her and her family." Not a single line of sentiment for the widow and son that her victim left behind in New Jersey, let alone the other victims in murders and attacks that she was connected to as part of the Black Liberation Army.

Of course, such sentiment is not allowed for true victims. For example, Hannah-Jones was again published by the New York Times, warning in a column that memorials to Charlie Kirk are "dangerous."

Hannah-Jones has also chastised other writers for covering shoplifting stories because "this is how you legitimize the carceral state."

Click Here For More Fox News Opinion

Yet, the New York Times is still actively involved in projects to rewrite history with Hannah-Jones. This is the same newspaper that barred columns from Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., for arguing for the deployment of National Guard troops to quell violent riots, but published columns by "Beijings enforcer" in Hong Kong and a University of Rhode Island professor who previously defended the murder of a conservative protester.

It is the same newspaper that forced out a variety of editors who published opposing viewpoints or challenged biased coverage and journalistic activism.

The Times column ends with a line that is breathtaking in its ahistorical and amoral message: "Shakur, who saw herself as an escaped slave, died free."

Click Here To Download The Fox News App

A convicted murderer and wanted terrorist died in one of the most blood-soaked, repressive regimes in the world but, Hannah-Jones and the New York Times want everyone to know that she "died free."

That is comforting. As for Werner Foerster, he just died and was not mentioned once by name in the Times column.





Original article source: Nikole Hannah-Jones praises a cop-killer and rewrites history in the New York Times
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Dec. 26 that Israel would recognize the Republic of Somaliland as a sovereign nation, a few months short of the 35th anniversary of its declaration of independence from Somalia in May 1991. Israel is the first United Nations member state to take such a step. It has caused a furor and prompted an emergency meeting of the Security Council.

Some countries, including China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia strongly criticized Israels decision, as did the African Union. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the president of the Federal Republic of Somalia, called it an existential threat and cited his countrys non-negotiable sovereignty and territorial integrity.

By any rational measure this is a flimsy case. I previously made the case for Somalilands statehood, arguing that it had achieved astonishing economic and political progress over the past 30 years. It has a functioning if imperfect democracy, an executive, legislature and judiciary, armed forces, a central bank and its own currency: it is already an independent state in many practical terms.

The slavish invocation of Somalias interests ignores the context and has an inverted moral core: Somalia has been embroiled in civil war for decades, is the most corrupt country in the world with the exception of South Sudan, regularly carries out human rights abuses, has no popular direct elections and has proven powerless to prevent the Islamic terrorist group al-Shabaab from establishing an autonomous Islamic Emirate of Somalia in the south of the country.

Somalia has received tens of billions of dollars in humanitarian and development aid from the United Nations, the European Union, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank and, on a bilateral basis, from the U.S., Britain, Germany and others. These funds may well have prevented more severe humanitarian crises than Somalia has so far experienced, but it is hard to show any meaningful progress towards establishing stability, prosperity, democratic institutions or the rule of law.

By contrast, international support for Somaliland, because it is an unrecognized polity, has been much smaller; in 2024, it amounted to $221 million, from humanitarian organizations, the UN, the Somaliland Development Fund, the World Bank and Germanys development agency.

The question is not whether Somalia and its weak federal government need or deserve international support. The stance of the international community, including the African Union, the EU and the Arab League, has defined this as a zero-sum game, by holding to the position that the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia must be paramount.

International law protects sovereignty and territorial integrity, and there is no right of secession from existing states. Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter requires that member states refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. But that does not fit the existing geopolitical circumstances of Somaliland. Moreover, Article 1(2) promotes respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples. Currently, the equal rights and self-determination of Somalilanders is being treated as a dead letter.

In August, it seemed as if the U.S. might be changing its position. President Trump was asked if recognition was being considered. Were looking into that right now, he told reporters. Were working on that right now  Somaliland.

In November, Somali-born writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali pressed Somalilands case on Sen. Ted Cruzs (R-Texas) Verdict podcast.

Somaliland has built a cohesive, self-governing society with a common language, a shared history, and a vision rooted in stability and progress. It should no longer be tethered to the turmoil of Mogadishu.

Cruz agreed: Recognizing Somaliland isnt charity  its strategy. It aligns with Americas security interests and the America First doctrine by strengthening an ally that shares our values in a region vital to global trade and counterterrorism.

They are correct. MAGA loyalists may doubt whether Somaliland shares our values, since its constitution declares Islam is the religion of the Somaliland state, and the promotion of any religionother than Islam, is prohibited, and the laws of the nation shall be grounded on Islamic Sharia. But it has shown commitment to democracy and economic freedom, and would be a steadfast ally in the region.

President Trump has denied that the U.S. will join Israel in recognizing Somaliland. But Trump can be flexible, to put it mildly, and the jury remains out.

International law is not like domestic law: There are few if any formal enforcement mechanisms. Its writ does not run universally, and to some degree it applies only to those who opt in to it. It is heavily influenced by politics and diplomacy.

Fully 157 UN members now recognize the State of Palestine, despite there being no universally accepted borders, no single government and virtually no state or economic apparatus. Nor was the territorial integrity of Israel given much weight.

Equally, despite its fragile nature, South Sudan was recognized by the international community and admitted to the UN in 2011 after a referendum on self-determination.

The arguments against recognizing Somaliland are beginning to sound stale and ritualistic. They should now bear the burden of proof. Any logical or moral analysis would suggest that Somaliland wants to be independent, is capable of sustaining itself, would benefit from international recognition and is being unfairly held back for the interests of Somalia, a semi-failed and barely functioning state.

Netanyahu has made the first move. His motivation is irrelevant: it should prompt others to reexamine the issue. For countries like the United States and the United Kingdom (where there is a small but influential pro-Somaliland lobby), maintaining their existing policy resembles Einsteins apocryphal dictum: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Financial and diplomatic support has not made Somalia stable or prosperous, but a fraction of what has been expended could transform Somaliland. Recognition would be fair, just, effective and in almost everyones interests, so what is holding us back?

Eliot Wilson is a writer and historian, a Senior Fellow for National Security at the Coalition for Global Prosperity and contributing editor for Defence on the Brink.

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Rick Harrison kicked off 2026 by adding a wedding band to his ring finger.

The 60-year-old "Pawn Stars" patriarch married fiancee Angie Polushkin, a 42-year-old nurse, on Saturday, Jan. 3, Harrison's representative Laura Herlovich confirmed to USA TODAY on Jan. 4.

The couple told People and TMZ that they'd exchanged their "I dos" in front of an Elvis impersonator at Las Vegas' Little White Chapel. Harrison's granddaughter, Elizabeth Harrison, was a witness at the ceremony, per TMZ.

The two stayed close to home, hosting a small celebration at Harrison's barbecue restaurant next door to his famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop.

Angie Polushkin, a 42-year-old nurse, and "Pawn Stars" personality Rick Harrison, 60, were married two years after they first met at the beginning of 2024.

"We are so excited to start this next chapter as husband and wife and celebrate with friends and family in Las Vegas, and also at our wedding later this month," Harrison and Polushkin said in a statement to People. "It has been such an adventure already, and we are looking forward to all of it."

Their larger wedding ceremony will take place in Cancun, Mexico, Harrison told TMZ.

The couple, who'd met at the beginning of 2024, previously revealed their engagement in March.

Polushkin's engagement ring was, of course, sourced from Harrison's own Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. Her wedding band joins the pear-shaped, 6.5-carat stone that Harrison used to propose in South America.

Taylor Swift, Zendaya and more celeb engagements, marriages in 2025 New York Knicks player Karl-Anthony Towns and "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" star Jordyn Woods confirmed they got engaged in a Christmas Instagram post.



The two first went public with their relationship on social media in September 2020.

Harrison has six children from his four previous marriages, including three stepdaughters.

In February 2024, his 39-year-old son, Adam Harrison, died from an accidental drug overdose.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Pawn Stars' celeb Rick Harrison marries Angie Polushkin
Pope Leo holding Ashley Diaz peep

The Pope loves his peeps.

Pope Leo XIV was riding through St. Peters Square gracing gatherers with his presence, when he got an unexpected present  a giant Peep doll  and the sweet clip went viral.

Ashley Diaz and her three siblings saw an interview with Leos brother, John Prevost, where he revealed the marshmallow-chick Easter candies are His Holiness favorite candy on earth.

So when the family visited Italy  where their sister was about to get engaged  a few weeks ago, they decided to bring the pontiff a knitted peep and pray for the opportunity to give it to him.

I was not sure how we were going to pull this off . . . I was so nervous, but knew Heaven was on our side, Diaz said in the Instagram clip, which got over 730,000 views.

We thought about giving him a marshmallow Peep, but then my sister was like, I want him to have something more intentional that he can keep with him all the time,' Diaz told The Post.

The Georgia family asked a friends daughter to crochet a woolen peep.

She put a little miter on his head, so we kept calling him, The Pope Peep,' she said, laughing. It traveled all of Europe with us.

When the group arrived in Italy, they made sure to get up at 4:30 a.m. the next morning in order to be in the front row in Vatican City.

Pope Leo appeared on his Popemobile at 10 a.m.

First, just the emotion of seeing him. Especially as an American pope, that was super emotional for us because he speaks English and perfect English, so you can relate to him even more in that way, Diaz recalled.

As Pope Leo made his way through the rows, the family started to get nervous that he wouldnt even notice them.

So finally, we just started frantically yelling, Pope Leo, we got you a Peep!'

And he turned around! And he said, A giant Peep! You made it?'

Her brother then passed the Pope Peep to a security guard, who handed it to Pope Leo, who then held it up to the crowd and gave a thumbs up.

The thing that moved my siblings and I the most was like yes, this is the Pope and hes the Holy Father and everything, but he just seemed so personable and so normal. And he was so excited about a little Pope Peep, Diaz gushed.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that the U.S.s recent action in Venezuela was not similar to American actions in the Middle East, despite some recent comparisons.

I still think that a lot of people analyze everything that happens in foreign policy through the lens of what happened from 2001 to  you know, 15 or 16, Rubio told CBS Newss Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation.

The whole, you know, foreign policy apparatus thinks everything is Libya, everything is Iraq, everything is Afghanistan. This is not the Middle East. And our mission here is very different. This is the Western Hemisphere, he added.

On Saturday, President Trump announced that the U.S. had gone through with a large-scale strike on the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. U.S. forces also captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump also said that the U.S. would run the South American country up until a transition after Maduros capture.

The recent U.S. action in Venezuela has drawn comparisons to the Iraq War, a war often considered by many in modern American politics to have been a mistake and unjustified.

I fought in some of the hardest battles of the Iraq War. Saw my brothers die, saw civilians being caught in the crossfire all for an unjustified war. No matter the outcome we are in the wrong for starting this war in Venezuela, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a veteran of the Marine Corps who served in Iraq, said Saturday in a post on the social platform X.

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), who served in Iraq in the Army, also likened the Venezuela action to Iraq, stating in a video he posted to X on Saturday that theyre trying to do the same exact thing again.

No matter what they say, its always oil, Ryan captioned his post.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Getty A stock photo of a mom with a newborn

NEED TO KNOW

Texas mother Markie Smith revealed the fitting name she gave her baby boy, who was born at nearly 13 lbs.

The national average for newborns is between 6 and 9 lbs.

He reminded me of the Michelin Man! Just rolls and rolls, Smith said in an interview with the Today show

A Texas mother Markie Smith revealed the fitting name she gave her baby.

Markie Smith, 35, said that she had initially envisioned a name for her son but didnt know how accurate the name she had in mind would be until he was born and surprised everyone in the delivery room at Arlington Memorial Hospital, she told the Today show.

There was this gasp and everyone just went, Oh, my God, all at once,  Smith recalled. I was lying there totally out of it, like, What? Is he OK? 

Smith said she looked to her best friend, who was also in the room for support, for an explanation of what happened. She recounted, She just looked at me and said, Girl, hes huge. 

When she looked at her newborn son, she realized the name she had initially chosen  Canyon  wasnt so far fetched after all.

He reminded me of the Michelin Man! Just rolls and rolls, she said.

Getty A newborn baby (stock image)

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

He was born at a little under 13 lbs.  bigger than the national average for newborn babies, which is between 6 and 9 lbs., according to the American Pregnancy Association.

However, it wasnt as much of a surprise for Smith, who previously gave birth to two large babies before Canyon due to gestational diabetes, which is high blood sugar that develops during pregnancy that can lead to babies being born larger than average, per Mayo Clinic.

"Canyon is the perfect name for him," Smith told Today.



Her family and friends also appeared to think so. They came up with fun nicknames for him after his birth including the Grand Canyon, which was a nod to his greater size and Super Cooper, another nickname which referenced his middle name. Cooper.

His name also perfectly fits in with the other outdoor-themed names of his siblings and Smiths older children, Meadow, 9, and Forest, 4.

Canyon was kept in the NICU after his birth so that he could learn how to breathe on his own and was eventually discharged from the hospital on Christmas Eve. Smith told Today that his birth was a miracle.

Hes the happiest, easiest baby, the proud mom said. Hes just so good.



Read the original article on People
The following is the transcript of the interview with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Jan. 4, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face The Nation. I just want to apologize to our viewers there. Congressman Himes did not have a bad case of the hiccups. We have technical problems. That's why he was getting interrupted there. It's called LiveU, that's the technology being used, and it wasn't working. So apologies for cutting that short. You're back with me now in studio, and we're going to talk to Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, who is here in-person

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: Good to be with you Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: and will not have those problems, we hope. But let's pick up on that very same point that we were discussing with Congressman Himes there. He says that no information was being shared with the top people who have oversight, like himself. What leverage do Democrats have to force the administration to treat Congress as a co-equal branch of government?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, Margaret, it's hard when the Republicans in Congress are totally AWOL, right? When they want to give Donald Trump essentially a blank check, because they continue to have majorities, of course, in the House and the Senate. Obviously in 2026 if Democrats regain control of either house, we will have the gavel, but in the meantime, we need to go directly to the American people and just make it very clear that in this case, it's my view that the Trump administration has been lying to the American people. This has never been about stopping drugs from coming to the United States. We all support stopping drugs. This, from the beginning, has been about getting rid of Maduro, grabbing Venezuela's oil for American oil companies and Trump's billionaire buddies. That's what this is about. That's why Donald Trump spent so much time yesterday talking about oil.

MARGARET BRENNAN: 20 times the word oil was used in those remarks. The Defense Secretary spoke to my colleague Tony Dokoupil and used the word oil about six times. There is a lot of focus on those natural resources, but arguably, isn't that what China, Russia, Iran, others, are also trying to do? Which is to extract their own benefit from this country. You know, What is the counter to that point that the administration would argue?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, the counter is, you don't invade a country to grab their natural resources, right?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you consider this an invasion, even though, although it's unclear, because

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, let's put it this way

[CROSSTALK]

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Cotton both said there were boots on the ground and that there aren't.

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, they took- they had boots on the ground, right? They took, they took out the leader, and now they're demanding access to Venezuela's oil. That's what this has been about. I mean, Donald Trump, you know, claimed that he'd been against the war in Iraq from the beginning. That wasn't true, but what we do know is he said, well, having gone into Iraq, we should have gotten their oil. This is what drives Donald Trump and our service men and women perform magnificently, but I think it's outrageous that the President of the United States puts American lives at risk so big American oil companies and his billionaire buddies can profit.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But arguably, there are also critical minerals there. There are all sorts of natural resources in Venezuela that the drug cartels even were getting in the business of, that the Chinese were there trying to get. How do you do both things? Both corner the market on things that are of vital national security interest, those kind of minerals, and still actually maintain the principles that you're arguing should be upheld?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, the United States is working, and under the previous administration, also worked to secure critical mineral supply chains. Unfortunately, in many of these areas, the Trump administration actually has surrendered to China. I mean, if you look at, for example, clean energy and all those issues and batteries, we've essentially surrendered that market to China. What you don't do Margaret is you don't put American lives at risk to go in and grab oil resources to benefit the billionaires that support Donald Trump.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So Chevron, an American Oil Company, has been operating in Venezuela throughout and they told CBS yesterday that they continue to work there. My understanding is there are hundreds of Americans working and living in Venezuela still. Reportedly, there are at least four who have been detained by the regime, the regime that remains in power. You are on Senate Foreign Relations, what do you know about the detained Americans? What can you find out about how they're doing?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: I've not gotten an update from the administration on those detained Americans. Months ago, I did work to secure the release of an American, a Marylander, who we now have back in Baltimore, Maryland. I think the administration is looking at those detentions currently ongoing in Venezuela and determining how many of them are wrongful detentions, how many that they don't think are wrongful detentions. But certainly, my view is we should work to bring back every American who is wrongfully detained overseas. I think this is going to complicate that effort, what the Trump administration just did.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Because they could designate Venezuela as a state sponsor of hostage taking? Is that where you're going with that?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: No, my view is that the administration should designate as wrongfully detained any Americans that the Venezuelan Government has seized wrongfully. And then there are ways to continue to put pressure on. Now, normally, that pressure would be through sanctions. Here, the administration obviously has taken military action. As you've been pointing out, we're still left with the regime. I mean, the Vice President is part of the regime. Donald Trump says he's running Venezuela. This is not going to end well. Iraq did not end well. Other efforts to try to get rid of bad people, and we're glad to get rid of Maduro. I'd like to get rid of leaders in other countries, but you don't do it through force. That just doesn't work out well in our experience.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right and even on that point, the Secretary of State Rubio challenged me in saying, oh, we couldn't grab all those people at once, but Attorney General- former Attorney General Bill Barr was on Fox News this morning, the man who put together that first indictment of Maduro, and he said the intention was to clean the place out of this criminal organization, so there's going to have to be follow up action. To be clear, do you oppose all Snatch and Grab operations of indicted people?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, I don't think we should be putting American men and women at risk in a situation like this. I mean, I'd have to look at every situation, but again, the motivation here is about grabbing Venezuela's oil for American oil companies. You already see folks on Wall Street lining up, so let's just be real as to what is really behind this operation. I mean, Donald Trump said he was going to focus on the United States. We have people's health care costs going through the roof because they refuse to extend the Affordable Care tax credits. Meanwhile, he bails out Argentina and wants to run Venezuela for the benefit of American oil companies.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We're going to have to talk about all the things you just raised as we- in a future episode of Face the Nation. But clearly on the question of war powers, does the President have the legal authority to do what he's doing?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: No, he does not. I mean, this is

MARGARET BRENNAN: You're on the Appropriations Committee. You've got power. What can you do about it?

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, I worked with Senator Merkley already to offer a resolution in the United States Senate to cut off any U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund an attack against Venezuela. Republicans blocked us from doing it. So yes, we will continue to push. In fact, I'm sure we're going to have a vote on a war powers resolution, probably as early as this week, if not next. Last time we offered those Margaret, Republicans voted no, all, but one or two. Senator Paul voted with us, maybe one other. But for the most part, Republicans are happy to give Donald Trump a blank check and surrender their constitutional responsibilities to Donald Trump,

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Van Hollen. A lot more to talk to you about. Thank you very much for joining us here today.

SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Thank you

Nicolas Maduro captured, flown out of Venezuela, Trump says | Special Report

Doctor's orders: Eat ice cream, and other tips for a long and healthy life

Venezuela's Maduro and wife captured, flown out of country in U.S. operation, Trump says
Members of the militia group known as "Colectivos" take part in a march calling for the release of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, after he and his wife Cilia Flores were captured following U.S. strikes on Venezuela, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 4, 2026. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa

Members of the militia group known as "Colectivos" take part in a march calling for the release of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, after he and his wife Cilia Flores were captured following U.S. strikes on Venezuela, in Caracas, Venezuela, January 4, 2026. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Jan 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States might launch a second military strike on Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro if remaining members of the administration do not cooperate with his efforts to get the country "fixed."

Trump's comments to reporters aboard Air Force One raised the possibility of further U.S. military interventions in Latin America, and suggested Colombia and Mexico could also face military action if they do not reduce the flow of illicit drugs to the United States.

"Operation Colombia sounds good to me," Trump said. He also said that Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela, "looks like it's ready to fall" on its own without U.S. military action.

Maduro is in a New York detention center awaiting a Monday court appearance on drug charges. His capture by the United States has sparked deep uncertainty about what is next for the oil-rich South American nation.

Trump said his administration will work with remaining members of the Maduro regime to clamp down on drug trafficking and overhaul its oil industry, rather than push for immediate elections to install a new government.

Top officials in Maduro's government are still in charge and have called the detentions of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores a kidnapping.

"Here there is only one president, whose name is Nicolas Maduro Moros. Let no one fall for the enemys provocations," Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said in an audio recording released by the ruling PSUV socialist party.

Images of the 63-year-old Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed stunned Venezuelans. The operation was Washington's most controversial intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama 37 years ago.

Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino said on state television the U.S. attack killed soldiers, civilians and a "large part" of Maduro's security detail "in cold blood." Venezuelas armed forces have been activated to guarantee sovereignty, he said.

The Cuban government said 32 of its citizens were killed during the raid.

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez  who also serves as oil minister  has taken over as interim leader with the blessing of Venezuela's top court and has said Maduro remains president.

Rodriguez has long been considered the most pragmatic member of Maduro's inner circle. But she has publicly contradicted Trump's claim she is willing to work with the United States.

Trump said Rodriguez may pay a bigger price than Maduro "if she doesn't do what's right," according to an interview with The Atlantic magazine on Sunday.

The Venezuelan communications ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on that remark.

'A QUARANTINE ON THEIR OIL'

Trump's administration has described Maduro's capture as a law-enforcement mission to force him to face U.S. criminal charges filed in 2020, including narco-terrorism conspiracy. Maduro has denied criminal involvement.

But Trump also said U.S. oil companies need "total access" to the country's vast reserves and suggested that an influx of Venezuelan emigrating to the United States also factored into the decision to capture Maduro.

"What really played (into the decision to capture Maduro) is the fact that he sent millions of people into our country from prisons and from mental institutions, drug dealers, every drug addict in his country was sent into our country," Trump said.

The Venezuelan government has said for months Trump was seeking to take the country's natural resources, especially its oil, and officials made much of a previous Trump comment that major U.S. oil companies would move in.

We are outraged because in the end everything was revealed  it was revealed that they only want our oil, Cabello said.

Once one of the most prosperous nations in Latin America, Venezuela's economy tanked in the 2000s under President Hugo Chavez and nosedived further under Maduro, sending about one in five Venezuelans abroad in one of the world's biggest exoduses.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Venezuela's next leader should keep Venezuela's oil industry out of the hands of U.S. adversaries and stop drug trafficking and cited an ongoing U.S. blockade on tankers.

"That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interest of the Venezuelan people are met," he said on ABC's "This Week."

MUTED STREETS

Some Maduro supporters gathered at a government-sponsored protest march on Sunday afternoon in Caracas.

Once ruled by Spain, Venezuela's "people must not surrender, nor should we ever become a colony of anyone again," said demonstrator Reinaldo Mijares. "This country is not a country of the defeated."

Maduro opponents in Venezuela have been wary of celebrating his seizure, and the presence of security forces seemed, if anything, lighter than usual on Sunday.

Despite a nervous mood, some bakeries and coffee shops were open and joggers and cyclists were out as usual. Some citizens were stocking up on essentials.

Yesterday I was very afraid to go out, but today I had to. This situation caught me without food and I need to figure things out. After all, Venezuelans are used to enduring fear," said a single mother in oil city Maracaibo who bought rice, vegetables and tuna.

To the disappointment of Venezuela's opposition, Trump has given short shrift to the idea of 58-year-old opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado taking over, saying she lacked support.

Machado was banned from standing in the 2024 election but has said her ally Edmundo Gonzalez, 76, who the opposition and some international observers say overwhelmingly won that vote, has a democratic mandate to take the presidency.

LOOMING QUESTIONS

U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the White House has failed to say how long the U.S. intends to be in Venezuela and how many American troops might be required.

"The American people are worried that this is creating an endless war  the very thing that Donald Trump campaigned against," Schumer said on ABC's "This Week." He said lawmakers would weigh a measure to constrain further Trump administration action in Venezuela, though its prospects could be uncertain given that Congress is controlled by Trump's Republicans.

While many Western nations oppose Maduro, there were many calls for the U.S. to respect international law and questions arose over the legality of seizing a foreign head of state.

The U.N. Security Council planned to meet on Monday to discuss the attack. Russia and China, both major backers of Venezuela, have criticized the U.S.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaux worldwide; Writing by Andy Sullivan, John Kruzel, Lincoln Feast, Andrew Cawthorne and Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Cynthia Osterman, Sergio Non, Chizu Nomiyama and Diane Craft)
Cedric Angeles

It's nearing 9:30 on a balmy summer night as I amble along Tarpon Springs' Historic Sponge Docks. Minus the dull thud of the boats gently colliding with the wooden posts they're tied to, the normally busy thoroughfare is quiet. Streetlights cast a glow just bright enough to illuminate the weathered water vessels while leaving the bayou beyond dark and mysterious.

Cedric Angeles

Ahead, a towering neon Spartan soldier marks the entrance to Hellas Restaurant & Bakery. The silence is delightfully interrupted by three older men dressed in loafers and Hawaiian shirts conversing animatedly in Greek over a half-empty box of almond cookies. Noting their easy demeanor, I imagine that this is a regular tradition for them, and the idea adds a layer of endearment to an already sentimental scene. For a second, the bakerys whitewashed walls and the unfamiliar language drifting through the air transport me someplace else, and I have to remind myself that Im in Floridanot Greece.

History of Tarpon Springs

Cedric Angeles Cedric Angeles

Fishing villages are commonplace across Florida, but a place like Tarpon Springs is one of a kind. Known as the Sponge Capital of the World, the areas major commodity is the super-absorbent multicellular organism thats found on the ocean floor. After sponges were discovered off the coast of Tarpon Springs, Greek divers, who had superior methods for harvesting them, immigrated to grow the industry. Their descendants are the reason the city now has the highest concentration of Greek Americans relative to its population. In the early 1900s, they anchored their burgeoning businesses around the Anclote River, an accessible waterway where they could dock and launch boats.



Those same docks remain at the heart of this community. While the sponging industry has diminished over the years (largely because most modern-day consumers use artificial versions for dish scrubbing and housecleaning), theres still a considerable market for the natural ones, especially in Europe. Many consider them to be more durable, sanitary, and sustainable. You can find sponges in every shape, size, and species at souvenir and specialty shops located up and down Dodecanese Boulevard. At Sponge Diver Supply, Anestis Karistinos sells ones that are surfaced by his 73-year-old father, Taso, who is a career diver. After deciding against following in his dads footsteps, Anestis and his wife, Katie, turned their focus to the store, which also stocks T-shirts designed by the couple.

Anestis, who learned the trade at the age of 10, talks about the practice like its a dying art. Its one he respects, but hes happy to be on the other side of it. The boat can stay out sometimes three to five weeks at sea, he says. It wasnt practical for me to be gone that long when there are books to be read and projects to do at home.

Cedric Angeles Cedric Angeles

He has three sons who inherited his love of the water, but for them, diving is about leisure, not livelihood. You really have to want to be on the ocean, says Anestis. My father has been doing it for 52 years. Hes the only diver on the boat, and he works morning to night. Hes a tough Old Country guy and doesnt have to worry about anyonejust himself. You have to be like a pirate to do this job.

Sponge boats pulling up to the docks are less common now, but Im lucky enough to catch one gliding ashore on my second day in town. Giant mesh bags overstuffed with porous Parazoa dangle from its sides. The upper deck is piled high with some that are strung together like popcorn garlands drying in the sun.

Cedric Angeles Cedric Angeles

George Billiris keeps sponge-diving historyand his familys businessalive by running the charter his grandfather started in 1924. On the St. Nicholas Boat Lines exhibition cruise, he tells how divers put on nearly 200 pounds of equipment and walked along the ocean floor using a knife to cut sponges from rocks. Only an air hose and a rope tethered them to the surface.

When he pulls out a traditional suit and asks who wants to try it on, I cant keep myself from volunteering. Ten minutes (full of lots of yanking, shimmying, and sweating) later, Im outfitted in the oversize canvas bodysuit, rethinking my eagerness as a 30-pound copper helmet gets bolted to my shoulders. I spend what feels like an eternity posing for pictures with the other passengers and repeatedly assuring myself that oxygen is still flowing into the airtight headgear. I leave with an even deeper appreciation for the practice. Its not an easy career by any stretch of the imagination. Even Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe said so when he came to shadow Taso for a 2011 episode.

Where To Eat In Tarpon Springs

Cedric Angeles

Find Classic Greek Dishes at a Family-Owned Favorite

Roots run deep in Tarpon Springs. Many of the folks carrying the town into a new era, like Koula Salivaras of the restaurant Mykonos, have taken over posts from their parents and grandparents. During my visit at 2 p.m. on a Saturday in their slow season, the place is packed. I navigate to the only remaining table and order a feast: flaming saganaki; chargrilled octopus, squid, and shrimp spritzed with lemon; at least three different types of dips; a giant tomato-and-cucumber salad; and Koulas late fathers special Lamb Fricassee. The fork-tender caveman-size shank is blanketed in sauteed endive and a bright lemon-egg-dill sauce. It may be my favorite thing I eat all weekend.



Koula never planned to run the restaurant, but when her father passed away in 2021, she couldnt bear to see all of his achievements wasted. Im trying to fill big shoes, she says. My parents probably lost years of their lives trying to give us better lives. My dad came here as an immigrant with only a few dollars in his pocket, and he went from that to being filmed for Food Paradise with Emeril Lagasse. I used to say, Dad, do you realize you came here with nothing, and you ended up having Emeril in your restaurant? Thats amazing. 

Experience Upscale Greek Dining

Across the street, Koulas brother, Demetrios, expanded the family business by opening a place of his own, Dimitris on the Water, in 2010. After attending culinary school and working in kitchens all over the country, he made his way back to Tarpon Springs to put his own spin on Greek cuisine. The menu emphasizes seasonality, fresh seafood, and steaks over traditional hot dishes and casseroles. One thing he is carrying on from his dad? Giant portion sizes. My father always said, I never want to see a customer leave my restaurant hungry,  Demetrios tells me after delivering a whole fish the size of a Thanksgiving turkey to my table. He got that from my Yiayia. She fed everybody and got offended if you didnt eat.

Order Fresh Seafood from a Three-Generation Operation

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The towns affinity for generational ownership goes beyond just the Greek population. Jacquelyn Tunstall, whose grandfather came to the U.S. from Portugal, grew up working at her familys fish market and boatyard. After graduating from college, she came home to help her parents open Rusty Bellies, where they served shrimp her father caught on a boat he built himself and fresh fish from their market as well as burgers and tropical drinks. Almost two decades later, her parents have retired, but the restaurant is as much a part of Tarpon Springs as the towns Greek heritage. Its really become an institution for people to celebrate birthdays and big moments in their lives, she says. Thats what brings me the most joy.

What To Do In Tarpon Springs

Learn the Town's History

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The Sponge Docks are a big part of this areas narrative, but if you stop your tour there, youre closing the book too soon. The next chapter unfolds along Tarpon Avenue. Start at Craig Park overlooking Spring Bayou. This is where the towns first settlers built their homes and where the community still gathers every January for a Greek Orthodox Epiphany celebration that includes a Tarpon Springs tradition in which young men compete to retrieve a wooden cross from the bottom of the bayou, earning them good luck for the upcoming year. Make a lap around the tranquil pool, and then stop in the Heritage Museum, which houses exhibits about the areas Greek culture and its Indigenous history. You can also see local artist Christopher Stills stunningly realistic large-scale underwater scenes plus giclee reproductions of the murals he painted for the Florida House of Representatives chamber.

Stay in a Historic Inn

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A short walk up the road is The 1910 Inn, an aqua- and eggplant-hued historic Queen Anne home that fourth-generation local Annie Samarkos has tenderly restored into a bed-and-breakfast and event venue. Outfitted in antique furniture and family heirlooms, the rooms and common spaces appear comfortingly stuck in time. I feel like its not mine, she says about the landmark. It belongs to my community; theres a story behind every item here because people in town bring things to me.



Explore Downtown and Beyond

Keep heading east to find the lively downtown, which is filled with restaurants specializing in cuisines from Creole to Italian plus haunts like Wine Society and the breweries Brighter Days and Two Frogs. Shops carry all sorts of treasures, including vintage toys, books, decor, clothing, and novelty gifts. Young and old alike can burn hours at retro arcade Replay Amusement Museum and then head over to Orange Cycle Creamery for homemade sweets.

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With downtown only about a mile from the docks, the city has set its sights on filling the space that lies in between. One of the most-visited intermediary destinations is Tarpon Springs Distillery, a sponge warehouse turned neighborhood watering hole owned by transplants Lisa and Barry Butler. Since they opened in late 2019, their line has grown to include multiple types of gins, moonshines, and whiskeys as well as a coffee spirit, orange liqueur, rum, aquavit, and one of the only ouzos made in the United States. The Butlers say that in 2023 alone, the operation had close to 40,000 guests.

Visit a Traditional Greek Orthodox Cathedral

A different type of fellowship takes place at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, where more than 1,000 families attend weekly services held in both Greek and English. When church isnt in session, anyone is welcome to marvel at the imposing domed tower and elaborate stained glass.

Enjoy the Tranquility of a Beloved Shrine

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St. Nicholas is beautiful, but nowhere feels more sacred to the community (or lifted straight from a screen saver of the Greek isles) than St. Michaels Shrine. The stark white courtyard bordered by deep green palms and cascading white bougainvillea surrounds a small stone chapel with a beveled cross. A local woman named Maria Tsalichis constructed the shrine after her bedridden 11-year-old son prayed to St. Michael and was astonishingly cured of an unknown illness that had stumped a dozen doctors. Over the past 80-plus years, the shrine has been credited with restoring hearing, sight, and mobility to those who visit it. Miracles aside, after experiencing the enchanting alcoveand the cultural resilience of the town itselfI cant help but think that something about Tarpon Springs feels touched by the divine.

Outdoor Adventure In Tarpon Springs

Amp up your trip with outdoor adventures in and around downtown.

Spend a Day at Fred Howard Park

If your Florida vacation feels incomplete without the beach, head to this unforgettable spot. The mile-long causeway to get there ends with sabal palmetto-lined white-sand shores. Swim in the Gulf, or rent a kayak or stand-up paddleboard.

Bike the Pinellas Trail

This 65-mile multipurpose path runs from St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs, but the most scenic portion is an 11-mile stretch between downtown Tarpon Springs and Dunedin. Bike rentals are available in town. Start or end your journey with a meal at Toulas Trailside Cafe for salads, sandwiches, and homestyle breakfasts. Bougiourdi (something thats typically found on menus in northern Greece) is made of baked feta, tomatoes, and sweet and hot peppers. Its a must on its own but even better when added to a sandwich.



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ourtesy of Three Forks Regional Jail Melinda Spencer

NEED TO KNOW

A Kentucky woman was arrested and charged with fetal homicide in the first degree, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence

Melinda Spencer, 35, was arrested after checking into a healthcare clinic and allegedly admitting to using abortion medication to terminate an unwanted pregnancy

She allegedly told investigators that she ordered the abortion pill to get rid of the fetus because the baby did not belong to her boyfriend

A Kentucky woman has been charged after allegedly having an abortion and burying the fetus remains in her backyard.

The Kentucky State Police (KSP) arrested 35-year-old Melinda Spencer and charged her with fetal homicide in the first degree, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence, according to the Louisville Courier Journal, WLKY and Fox 56 News.

Spencer was arrested on Wednesday, Dec. 31, after checking into a healthcare clinic where she allegedly told staff that she used medication to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, according to KSP, per the outlets.

She was then interviewed by investigators about the incident and allegedly admitted to purchasing abortion medication online and taking it on Dec. 26 to terminate the fetus, which she described as a "developed male infant, per the outlets. She allegedly told investigators that she did so because the baby did not belong to her boyfriend, WLKY reported.

getty Abortion tablets (stock image)

She also allegedly told investigators that the abortion happened on Dec. 27, one day after she took the pill, and she placed the fetus wrapped in a rag in a lightbulb box and buried it in a shallow grave in her backyard, per the Courier Journal.

It's unclear how far along Spencer had been in her pregnancy before she had the abortion, but an autopsy has been scheduled for the fetus to determine its age, per WKYT.

Spencer was taken to Three Forks Regional Jail in Beattyville, Ky., following her arrest, per Fox 56 News.

The Kentucky State Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment on the incident.

Kentucky is one of the states that has implemented a near-total abortion ban since 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade that year, according to local outlets.

A doctor is only allowed to perform an abortion to prevent death or serious injury to the mother, according to Kentucky law. However, there is nothing in Kentucky law that prevents mothers from seeking an abortion in other states.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Distribution of abortion pills is also banned under Kentuckys Abortion-Inducing Drug Certification Program. Distributors, pharmacies, and others are required to be certified to transport, sell or dispense the drugs, per Fox 56 News.

A person can be found guilty of fetal homicide if it can be proved that they intended to cause the death of an unborn child or with the intent necessary to commit an offense, and it is a capital offense, according to Kentucky law.



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An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking at a podium with US and Ukrainian flags behind him, Image 2 shows Russian President Vladimir Putin looks on during a meeting, Image 3 shows Nicolas Maduro, blindfolded and wearing headphones, in a gray tracksuit, holds a water bottle in his handcuffed hands

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the United States to detain Russian President Vladimir Putin  after US forces captured ousted Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro in an overnight operation.

Zelensky didnt hold back when pressed about the US toppling Maduros regime after President Trump ordered airstrikes on military sites around the Venezuelan capital of Caracas early Saturday morning.

How should I react to this? What can I say? the Ukrainian leader told reporters after meeting with European national security advisers Saturday.

Volodymyr Zelensky called for the United States to detain Russian President Vladimir Putin after ousted Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro was captured. Getty Images

If its possible to deal with dictators this way, then the US knows what to do next, he added, suggesting that Trump should handle Putin the same way, as Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine three years after invading the war-torn country.

Russia was among several nations Saturday that demanded the Trump administration release Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, after they were captured from their home in the South American country.

In view of the confirmed reports about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse being in the United States, we strongly urge the US leadership to reconsider their position and release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Nicolas Maduro was captured in a overnight operation conducted by the US Military. Donald Trump/ Truth Social

We highlight the need to create conditions for resolving any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela through dialogue.

The couple arrived in New York City Saturday night to face federal narco-terrorism charges.

Trump said the couple will face the full wrath of American justice.

Maduro and Flores will be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, sources said.

They are expected to appear in federal court as early as Monday.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth listen as U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the media during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club on Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Business leaders awoke on Saturday to a new reality in the aftermath of the successful U.S. military capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who were dragged from their bedroom in the early morning hours. The couple was asleep at their home inside the heavily guarded Fort Tiuna military complex until they were seized by a military operation composed of U.S. Marines, the U.S. Airforce and the U.S. Armys elite Delta Force, alongside FBI agents, reinforced by 150 aircraft in a strike lasting less than 30 minutes, with no casualties.

As reported laughter and joking in the hallway died down, President Trump declared with some bravado, at a press conference hailing the smooth military operation, were going to be running Venezuela. He insisted this would come at no cost to Americans, as reinstated oil reserves will pay for a U.S. occupation. But however CEOs feel about the removal of the brutal, corrupt Maduro, corporate leaders who are doing business in Latin America would be advised that a similar kind of public giddiness may not be their own best response.

I usually encourage CEOs to speak out, but here they should avoid taking sides on such a matter, other than to show the world that Trumps invasion was not driven solely by U.S. commercial interests. The diplomatic and domestic agenda, along with the legality of such actions, should be debated, but U.S. business leaders must clarify that they were not co-conspirators in such intrigue and governmental overthrow, otherwise trust in their motives globally will be diminished.

There is little dispute that Maduro was an evil, corrupt autocrat who undermined Venezuelan elections, with his brutality leading to the flight of 8 million refugees and impoverishing his resource-rich land. However, there is little incentive for U.S. corporate leaders to gloat and be used as foils. The Bauhaus architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohes mantra of less is more may be appropriate at this stage.

Here are five key themes that every CEO should consider:

Consider an immediate temporary moratorium on executive travel between the U.S. and Latin America and take care in lower Manhattan

Revival of ugly American image and reprisals  This was actually the title of a famous 1958 novel by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick that critiqued U.S. foreign policy for its arrogance and cultural ignorance

The term banana republic was historically the result of complicity in undermining democratically elected Latin American governments as well as dictators, often with CIA involvement, for instance in Honduras, Guatemala ,Brazil, Chile, and Panama 1989 as well as support for coups in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador

Risk of being targeted outside of the U.S.

The federal Southern District of New York, where Maduro will be tried, is in a congested business/ residential zone with many federal and financial offices and the trial will take many months

Hold off on public statements of support or condemnations until the justice process in the U.S. unfolds, Venezuelan streets and government processes are stable, succession is clear, and public statements emerge from Latin American nations.

The Southern District has a noted history in prosecuting foreign leaders such as Juan Orlando Hernandez, the former President of Honduras, a drug lord later pardoned by President Trump despite being convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison, and General Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, the former intelligence head of Venezuela and also a drug trafficker, as well as Taliban and Iranian leaders

The SDNY benefits from the superb, measured leadership under U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, the renowned, trusted former SEC chairman

This military operation may be interpreted by many threatening adversaries around the world as a highly effective show of U.S. military might and it could be a major disruption and deterrent to narco-terrorism

At the same time, many fear this U.S. aggression may be seen as a violation of international law for regional domination, giving a blueprint for Russia to eliminate Ukraines leadership and China to eliminate Taiwans leadership  as they both see those lands as governed by rogue leaders, much how Trump views Venezuela

Questions remain over Article 2 Constitutional authorization and precedent as used against Iraq, Panama (Noriega), and Al Qaeda, with both congratulations and condemnation for overreaching with illegal military intervention without U.S. Congressional clearance or consultation

This has only mildly broken down along party lines with Democratic critics including Betty McCollum, the ranking Democrat on the U.S; House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense , and Senator Ruben Gallego, and GOP defenders including Senators Tom Cotton and Rick Scott

Other voices such as former Trump supporters Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie, along with Senators Rand Paul and even Senator Mike Lee, have been critical of Trumps aggression against Venezuela, pointing out that a far great flow of drugs into the U.S. comes from Mexico and demanding Congressional approval for military efforts

Prepare for prospective Latin American backlash against U.S. enterprises with major market engagement trade relations

Risks of Latin American, European and African countries, and then UN, rallying around Nicolas Maduro and his regime

Colombias President Gustavo Petro, a left-leaning leader who has who has often clashed with Trump and has also been threatened by the U.S. president, said The Colombian government rejects the aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and Latin America, while calling for an immediate meeting of the United Nations Security Council, of which Colombia is a member

Brazils Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made similar to Petro, stating: The bombings on Venezuelas territory and the capture of its president cross an unacceptable line

Chiles outgoing President Gabriel Boric condemned the attack but President-elect Jose Antonio Kast said that the Maduro arrests was great news, and other Latin Trump allies such as Argentinas President Javier Milei and Ecuadors Daniel Noboa celebrated the removal of Maduro

The street scenes are confusing, with protests both in favor and against the strikes in Venezuela have been scheduled in Buenos Aires and other cities across the region.

European leaders have been more muted as there is little respect in the region for Maduro, who was widely scene as an illegitimate leader who stole an election from opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez

While Maduro has few friends in Latin America, he has good ties with Russia and China and they may exploit this U.S. intervention to gain new footholds in Latin America

There is potential short-term risk to imports of copper, lithium, iron ore and other raw material while Latin America offers several important agricultural channels such as coffee (one-third from Brazil alone), bananas, grapes, oranges, and liquor such as rum and tequila

Risk of exports of U.S. machinery and vehicles to Latin America, along with soybeans and corn

U.S. petroleum companies and oil servicing compani es should make a statement that with oil prices at historic low levels, this action was not to advance their interests in expanding supply

While Venezuela posseses roughly 303 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, the largest total of any country in the world, this is considered heavy oil, which is thick, viscous and hard to move, requiring far more processing before it can be refined

Also, Venezuelas oil extraction equipment is almost as inefficient as Russias, with little tech investment, costs almost twice as much as many other OPEC members to extact

In 2007, under then President Hugo Chavez, Maduros predecessor, massive government expropriations included the nationalization of heavy oil projects, forcing U.S. companies such as ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron to hang on as minority partners or lose their operations, while international tribunals have award these US firms billions of dollars

Chevron is the sole major U.S. firm operating joint ventures with state-owned PDVSA to export crude to the U.S- 150k barrels a day  down from 2 million barrels a day before sanctions

With WTI oil prices at $57 per barrel, thats almost half of what it was last year and a just a fraction of the $380 per barrel worst-case forecast by JP Morgan after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, so there is little incentive for this invasion to be linked to oil supply needs; in fact, with the Saudis having increased their production again by a third, theres an oil glut on the market

Clarification of boundaries between U.S. government intelligence and defense/war agencies and corporate activities

This haunted United Fruit (Chiquita), Standard Fruit (Dole), ITT, Gulf & Western, W.R. Grace, and Sullivan & Cromwell, and other firms suffered a taint for decades due to extensive collaboration with democratic government overthrows and insurrection efforts

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
On Dec. 9th, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would allow Nvidias H200 processors to be exported to China, subject to a 25% fee on all sales. The move has sent ripples through the American establishment, with many (including Senator Elizabeth Warren) charging that Trump is selling out national security.

There is no shortage of such zero-sum or competitive framing when it comes to the global AI space. Indeed, while Anthropic has emphasized AI safety at home, the companys co-founder and CEO, Dario Amodei, has stoked a narrative of an arms race abroad, arguing that export controls are essential to slow down Chinas development and ensure that the U.S. wins the AI race. Similarly, Chip War author Chris Miller argues that the U.S. chip export controls, such as the prohibition on the sale to China of the most advanced GPUs like the NVIDIA H100s, have succeeded  [by] significantly slow[ing] the growth of Chinas chipmaking capability. Indeed, Trump himself declared in July that America started the AI race, and it will win it.

Such arguments suggest that the two great powers are engaged in a two-player racethat one of them will win and the other will loseand that the winner will obtain significant benefits at the expense of the loser. Yet from a rational choice perspective, the AI race is a misnomer. A two-party race typically involves an environment characterized by a rivalrous resource (which cannot be enjoyed by both parties) that is non-excludable (neither player can easily prevent the other from using it), and the players compete over who will be the first to that resource.

In the 1955 film, Rebel Without a Cause, Jim Stark (James Dean) races toward a cliff against his nemesis Buzz (Corey Allen). If both teenagers drive straight, they both die. The one who swerves first loses. If one driver swerves and the other continues racing to the cliffs edge, neither can improve his position by changing strategywe call this a Nash Equilibrium. This outcome is non-cooperative: If one swerves, the other should race; but if one switches to racing, the other should swerve.

The geopolitical AI ecosystem is not like this. The use of AI models is excludableindeed, last year Sam Altman decided to exclude Chinese users from OpenAIs GPTbut such use is not strictly rivalrous (DeepSeeks models are released under open-source licenses and can be run locally by anyone). A models implementations are arguably rivalrous, in that the marginal user imposes an energy/data cost, but that was not the motivating concern for Altmans decision: He excluded Chinese users because he believed that the U.S. should not cooperate with China.

So perhaps the argument is that selling chips to China would embolden Beijing and render the U.S. worse off. Yet this ignores the benefits accrued to ordinary U.S. middle-class households through greater access to leading electronics at lower prices, or the volume of leverage afforded through global dependence on the American tech landscape.

Some economists refer to a situation characterized by non-rivalrous but excludable resources, instead of rivalrous but non-excludable resources, as a stag hunt, drawing upon a parable in philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseaus A Discourse on Inequality. Consider a group of hunters who can choose to hunt a large prey together (the stag), or a small prey alone (the rabbit). The trick is that they can only catch the stag if they cooperate while everyone can hunt a rabbit on their own. This game has two Nash equilibria: Either we work together to hunt the stag, or we each work alone to catch a single rabbit. Yet one of these equilibria is better than the other: We should work together to hunt the stag.

Global AI competition looks more like a stag hunt than it does like a race. Whether in policy, governance, or trade, cooperation between countries can yield greater benefits than working alone. In contrast, a breakdown in communication breeds mistrust, which could give rise to harmful mistakes, such as an escalatory spiral from overestimating the threat posed by the other side, or a reckless deployment of AI in conflicts. The stag in the U.S.-China AI game, therefore, lies in part with the mutual prevention of such mistakes and the gains from mutually advantageous commercial development of AI for the benefit of the wider public.

There exist plenty of common challenges that China, the U.S., and the world must confront, from AI manipulation, deception, and coercion, to the displacement of labor brought about by AIs implementation in the workforce. Such mutually beneficial cooperation requires trust, transparency, and cooperation, as opposed to erratic politicizationthis is how we move from hunting the rabbit, to hunting the stag.

To get there, policymakers must seek to cultivate effective multilateral AI governance institutions, including establishing and monitoring dispute resolution mechanisms. Bargaining capital also arises through unconventional alignments of medium-size powers, each with their distinctive niches.

For instance, energy-rich Saudi Arabia is striving to become the third largest AI market in the world, while leading players in France and Israel are pledging to lead in specialized AI applications. With its immense population and growing emphasis upon education, India is shaping to be among the primary suppliers of engineering and computer science talent.

The international order is becoming more multi-polar, and the AI world is no exception. Instead of trying to win the AI race at any cost against its rival, both the U.S. and China should build bridges and seek common ground with friends and rivals alike.

This essay is adapted from the authors forthcoming book, Geopolitics of Artificial Intelligence, to be published in 2026 by Cambridge University Press as part of its Elements series.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
President Donald Trump left open the possibility of deploying U.S. ground troops in Venezuela as he vowed to rebuild the countrys oil infrastructure.

While the military pulled off a stunning feat by extracting dictator Nicolas Maduro without any loss of American lives and only taking minimal damage to aircraft, maintaining order in Venezuela is a different story.

When pressed on the potential role of U.S. forces going forward and whether there will be boots on the ground in Venezuela, Trump didnt shy away from it.

Were not afraid of boots on the ground, he told reporters at a briefing on Saturday. Were not afraid of it. We dont mind saying it, and were gonna make sure that that country is run properly. Were not doing this in vain.

It remains to be seen whether the U.S. will seek full regime change as key figures in Maduros government remain in power, and Trump claimed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez is willing to so what Washington wants.

But the U.S. record after toppling oppressive leaders is mixed, retired Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton pointed out. Success in Germany and Japan after World War II contrasts with prolonged counterinsurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan in the last two decades.

The risk with Venezuela is that it could be a hostile environment as well, and that could put U.S. forces in great danger, he told CNN.

In that a scenario, the Venezuelan military has had plans for years that indicate it would engage in guerrilla warfare, Leighton added.

An insurgency could involve Venezuelan forces melting back into the hills or hiding in city slums while attacking U.S. troops.

So these are the kinds of things that we definitely would have to be prepared for and could very well become a force protection nightmare if its not handled carefully and if the governance isnt put in place to really in essence make for that to happen, he warned.

Military personnel are seen as many residents are seen leaving their homes located within the Military Complex of Fuerte Tiuna in Caracas, Venezuela on January 3, 2026.

The remaining leaders of the Maduro regime were defiant. Rodriguez demanded his return, calling the U.S. raid an atrocity that violates international law.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello urged Venezuelans to trust in the political leadership and military and get out on the streets to defend the country.

These rats attacked and they will regret what they did, he said, referring to the U.S.

And Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez said Venezuela will resist the presence of foreign troops, adding They have attacked us but will not break us.

Trump said Saturday that U.S. oil companies will rebuild Venezuelas energy infrastructure and spend billions of dollars that will eventually be recouped with export revenue.

If theres an insurgency, U.S. troops or security contractors would presumably be called on to protect company employees and assets.

That would likely require a much larger military presence than there is right now. Ahead of Maduros capture, the Pentagon said there were about 15,000 troops in the Caribbean last month. By comparison, hundreds of thousands of troops were in Iraq and Afghanistan during those wars.

For now, U.S. forces remain in the region at a high state of readiness, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine told reporters.

The American armada remains poised in position, and the United States retains all military options until the United States demands have been fully met and fully satisfied, Trump said. All political and military figures in Venezuela should understand what happened to Maduro can happen to them.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Months before the U.S. military arrested Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado called for what she described as the most ambitious economic transformation in the nations historya sweeping privatization aimed at reversing his policies and what she calls the disaster this socialist system has wrought.

Appearing virtually on the Fortune Global Forum stage in Riyadh, Machado, while in hiding from the Maduro regime, unveiled a bold vision to rebuild Venezuelas shattered economy through large-scale private investment.

Venezuela will be the single biggest economic opportunity for decades to come in this region, she told Fortunes Diane Brady at the forums 2025 edition, weeks after winning the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her decades-long fight to restore democracy to Venezuela. Were talking about an opportunity, business opportunity, of more than $1.7 trillion. This is unique. Machado has floated the $1.7 trillion figure before, an estimate produced by her economic advisory team.

From ruin to renewal

Machado painted a stark picture of a nation that has plummeted from prosperity to poverty: a country that used to be the richest country in our region and the freest country in our region, and that has turned into one of the poorest. Being under socialist rule for decades, she said, has crippled industry, devastated infrastructure, and triggered an exodus of nearly a third of Venezuelas population. Our economy has collapsed. Its been over 80% down in the last [several] years, she said. Our people have been forced to flee just to survive.

The International Monetary Fund estimated Venezuelas economy had declined by roughly 75% as of late 2022, also covering its migrant crisis. The left-wing think tank Center for Economic and Policy Research argued shortly afterward that, while this figure was accurate, it discounted the severe economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Venezuela for many years.

The opposition leader described to Brady what she called a narco-terrorist state built on repression and corruption, saying that certainly Venezuela has turned into a safe haven for criminal activities from all over the world. She accused Maduro and his allies of financing their grip on power through gold smuggling, arms and drug trafficking, and human exploitation.

The privatization blueprint

At the core of Machados plan is a rapid and transparent privatization process. She estimates that more than 500 enterprises were taken by the regime, confiscated, destroyed, but the infrastructure is there. She pledged strict oversight and rule of law from day one, aiming to lure investors back with stability and fiscal incentives. She pledged open markets and an approach that would be absolutely strict in terms of rule of law and transparency, reminding Brady that Venezuela is currently in last place in terms of rule of law. To take one example, the World Justice Project recently ranked Venezuela No. 142, out of 142 countries.

She also pointed out that Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world and the eighth largest natural gas reserve globally, but currently our people dont even have gas even to cook. Thats a disaster. Bloomberg reported in December 2024 that Venezuelans were turning to firewood and even their own furniture to cook after an explosion at a propane plant wiped out most of the countrys transmission. The socialist system has rotted, she said.

Restoring the oil and gas sectors, she added, will demand both foreign capital and the return of Venezuelas diaspora. Our human talent, our people, our diaspora  is willing to come back as soon as Venezuela goes to work hard.

Call to investors and allies

Machado said she would welcome responsible private investment from all over the worldincluding the United States, Europe, China, and the Middle Eastprovided all projects adhere to transparency and fair competition. Speaking to the forum in Riyadh, she also signaled strong interest in partnerships with Gulf nations.

She called for an international front to expose and freeze assets linked to Maduros circle. We are asking all democratic countries around the world  to have a full disclosure of all the information they have regarding all the crimes Nicolas Maduro and his cronies have committed, she said.

Despite living in hiding, Machado was resolute about Venezuelas future. If the regime finds me, Ill likely be disappeared, she said matter-of-factly, betraying a hint of emotion but quickly adding that her own dangers and struggles are no different from that of any Venezuelan who speaks out at this moment. I want you to know that I am absolutely convinced that were moving into a transition that is going to be orderly. Venezuela is a cohesive society, we have no tensions, racial, religious, social, political, and 90% of our country wants the same, to live with dignity, with justice, certainly with freedom, and we want to bring our kids back home.

This story was originally published on Oct. 27, 2025.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Dave Ramsey and Dr. John Delony

During an episode of The Ramsey Show, a caller asked for advice on how she could support her husband while he earned a four-year degree in computer science.

Rachel from Salt Lake City, Utah, explained that her husband wanted to learn to code, but that the family  including the couples three kids  was paying for it in a serious way: living on food stamps and barely scraping by.

Finance personality Dave Ramsey expressed incredulity, saying that his company has hired many coders and their programs took much less time.

He also wasn't shy about sharing his opinion, saying, "Its a bad plan. Theres so much wrong with this plan, its unbelievable. (1)

His response made Rachel cry, saying it was the "best thing" she'd heard in a long time.

Heres why Ramsey says you shouldnt "cash out on your family" to pursue your dreams.

Must Read

Prioritize essentials before chasing your dreams

"You dont get to put your three kids on food stamps so you can go get your degree. Ramsey fumed, calling the idea "extremely irresponsible." He also described the whole situation as a "nightmare" rather than a dream.

"Your primary focus on this planet is not to self-actualize and feel good. Oh, I want to live my dream, I want to live my passion. Find me a waaambulance, Ramsey ranted. Seriously, you go get a job. You feed your freaking kids first, before we talk about your dreams. You work 16 hours a day and make sure everyone is taken care of. (2)

Instead, Ramsey and co-host Dr. John Delony said that Rachels husband should be working full-time, and studying during the evening.

The family needs a solid budget in place so that they can afford to support the husbands dreams without living on the poverty line.

Read More: This $1B private real estate fund is now accessible to non-millionaires. Heres how you can get started with as little as $10

Sort out needs vs. wants

Before pursuing a degree or another large financial goal, its critical to be on solid footing when it comes to money.

This couple needs to get honest about what they can afford, and ensure that their needs  feeding their family adequately, paying down debt, and saving for the future  are met before any wants are covered, which includes pursuing higher education.

They should balance their short-term savings goal, paying for the husbands education, with their longer term goals, such as their childrens education fund and their own retirement savings.

They should also get clear on whether a shorter course on coding could help the husband achieve the same end. Moreover, this dream needs a cost-benefit analysis. Can he make enough money after his coding course to justify their current tight budget?

Computer programming is no longer the gold mine it once was, with the Washington Post reporting (3) that this industry has recorded the worst downturn it has ever seen: more than a quarter of programming jobs have been cut in the last two years.

To put his familys financial future at risk, Rachels husband should be clear that there will be a job waiting for him at the end of the line.

They need to discuss both budgeting and their long-term financial goals as a family.

Their budgeting process should include:

Tracking their current or previous spending to understand their costs

Paying down debt and building an emergency fund before saving for education costs

Determining if they can balance necessities with saving for education costs

Understanding how much the education will cost, including tuition, materials and other expenses

Outlining other financial goals, including retirement savings and emergency funds

Their long-term planning discussion should include:

Discussing their money styles, including whether they tend to be savers or spenders

Understand the risk tolerance of each spouse and respecting these differences

Researching their potential future incomes

Aligning on financial goals for their family, including how they will support their children in adulthood

Making a list of short and long term goals that they should save for

Making talking about their money a regular habit

Ultimately, this may be a selfish choice that the husband is framing as something hes doing for his family.

As Ramsey said to Rachel, you play this [recording] back for him. It wont be pleasant.

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The Ramsey Show (1), (2); The Washington Post (3).

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens as President Donald Trump addresses the media during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club on January 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe RaedleGetty Images)

President Donald Trump touted U.S. access to Venezuelan oil after ousting Nicolas Maduro, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio pointed to other foreign policy priorities.

Trump said U.S. oil companies will invest billions of dollars to rebuild the countrys energy infrastructure after years of mismanagement that has slashed production despite Venezuela having the worlds largest proven oil reserves.

Were going to have a presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil, he told reporters on Saturday. Were going to be taking a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground.

In an interview Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, Rubio was asked why the U.S. needs to take over Venezuelas oil industry.

We dont need Venezuelas oil. We have plenty of oil in the United States. What were not going to allow is for the oil industry in Venezuela to be controlled by adversaries of the United States, he replied, naming Russia, China and Iran.

This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live. And were not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operations for adversaries, competitors, and rivals of the United States, simple as that.

Rubio also said the U.S. wants to see Venezuelas oil wealth benefiting the people. During Maduros rule, the regime and its cronies enriched themselves with oil, contributing to the an economic collapse and the mass exodus of people out of the country, he added.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has left Maduros top lieutenants in place, and Trump suggested Venezuelas interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, will take orders from the U.S.

But if the countrys current leaders dont cooperate, Trump has left open the possibility that he could send U.S. ground troops into Venezuela.

When asked in a separate interview on CBSs Face the Nation if there is no plan for a U.S. occupation of Venezuela, Rubio declined to rule that out.

Well, I think first of all, the president always retains optionality on anything and on all these matters, he said. He certainly has the ability and the right under the Constitution of the United States to act against imminent and urgent threats against the country.

For now, U.S. forces remain in the region at a high state of readiness, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine said Saturday. Trump also said U.S. sanctions will stay in place on Venezuelan oil.

Rubio explained that the sanctions are aimed at paralyzing that portion of how the regime generates revenue. He also dismissed fears about boots on the ground as an obsession.

Trump does not feel like he is going to publicly rule out options that are available for the United States, even though thats not what youre seeing right now, Rubio added. What youre seeing right now is an oil quarantine that allows us to exert tremendous leverage over what happens next.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Caucasian man sitting on floor in living room using pen reviewing chart papers at low coffee table

When most of us think of theft, we imagine car break-ins or stolen credit cards  not someone snatching the deed to your family home.

But thats exactly what happened to Josh, a New York resident who returned from out of state to find that his parents property had been sold right out from under them. The buyer? A stranger. The seller? A scammer who forged the deed.

His story might sound like a plot twist in a true crime podcast, but deed theft is a growing concern across the U.S. A survey by the National Association of REALTORS found that 63% of its members had heard of title or deed fraud happening in their areas in the past year. (1) And while its not as common as identity theft or credit card fraud, it can be far more difficult  and costly  to untangle.

Must Read

How does deed theft work?

Deed theft, also called title fraud, occurs when someone illegally transfers the title or deed of a property without the owner's knowledge or permission.

It typically begins with identity theft, where the scammer poses as the homeowner, either by forging a signature or using falsified documents to transfer ownership. Sometimes the fraudster convinces a homeowner to sign over their property without realizing what they're signing.

From there, the scammer files a new deed with the local county clerk, transferring the property to their name or an alias. Once the forged deed is filed, they can sell the home, take out a mortgage, or even rent it to unsuspecting tenants. The New York Attorney General notes that scammers often target (2):

Vacant or abandoned homes

Properties with unpaid taxes or utility bills

Homes in foreclosure

Properties owned by the deceased, especially if heirs havent updated the title

They also disproportionately go after seniors, immigrants, and out-of-state homeowners who may be less likely to check on property records regularly or recognize the signs of fraud.

In Joshs case, the home was fully paid off and hadnt been occupied in years, making it a perfect target. By the time the family found out, the scammer had already forged the deed, filed it with the clerk, and "sold" the property to someone else. Even though they never authorized the sale, reversing the damage isnt as simple as explaining the issue.

In most cases, you'll want to hire an attorney to file a quiet title lawsuit. This is a legal action that asks the court to invalidate the fraudulent deed and restore the rightful ownership.

In some cases, courts can pause any eviction proceedings if the scammer tries to remove the original owner or rent out the property. However, the length of the process and the exact steps can vary by location.

Read More: This $1B private real estate fund is now accessible to non-millionaires. Heres how you can get started with as little as $10

What options do victims of deed theft have?

If your property has been stolen through deed fraud, time is critical. The first step is to contact your local district attorney or the state Attorney Generals office. In New York, victims can file a complaint and request assistance through the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP), which provides free legal help. (2)

You should also contact your mortgage holder, if you have one, and file a report with both the FTC and local law enforcement. However, the best path is to prevent deed fraud from occurring in the first place. Here's how to protect yourself:

Sign up for deed alert service: Many counties now offer deed alert services  free programs that notify you if a new document is filed for your property. In New York City, for example, homeowners can sign up for the Recorded Document Notification Program to receive alerts by text or email.

Check your property records annually: Search your county clerk or register of deeds website to ensure your name is still on the title. The quicker you notice issues, the faster you can take action.

Dont ignore missing mail: A sudden stop in property tax or utility bills could mean your address was changed without your knowledge. Consider signing up for digital delivery and make sure to verify your address is still correct on the accounts.

Avoid signing anything you dont understand: Scammers sometimes use fake legal documents or loan modifications to trick people into signing away their rights. Make sure you fully understand any documents you sign, and instruct older relatives to ask for help before signing documents.

Use a transfer-on-death deed, if applicable: In New York, this new option lets you name a beneficiary for your home, which can help avoid disputes after your death.

Consider title insurance and monitoring services: Some services, like LifeLocks Home Title Protect, will alert you to suspicious title activity, while title insurance can help cover losses if you are a victim of fraud. If you live out of state, it may be a worthwhile investment.

For out-of-state homeowners or heirs, its especially important to pay attention. Make sure someone is checking in on the property, maintaining it, and sign up for deed alerts if it's offered in your location.

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Join 200,000+ readers and get Moneywises best stories and exclusive interviews first  clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.

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We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

National Association of Realtors (1); New York State Attorney General (2).

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
DCNF - Hegseth Dokoupil Iraq Venezuela - Featured Screenshot/Rumble/CBS News

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil on Saturday that, unlike the Iraq War, the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro would help the United States in the Western Hemisphere.

American military forces, reportedly including the United States Armys elite Delta Force, protected a law enforcement operation which arrested Maduro and his wife in Caracas early Saturday morning, President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social. He noted that United States suffered no losses in the operation. Dokoupil raised the comparison to the Iraq War, which Hegseth served in, during the interview. (RELATED: Jonathan Turley Predicts If Maduro Indictment Will Be Accepted By The Courts)

In the aftermath of this successful mission, there were tears of joy in Caracas. In Miami, Venezuelan refugees obviously thrilled to see Maduro out of power, his capture, Dokoupil, who is married to MS NOW host Katy Tur, said. You can understand why, theyve got all that oil and yet the country itself has skyrocketing prices his own people have been starving.

WATCH:

And yet a meaningful number of Americans would wake up to this news and they would be ripped back 20 years to another American president, another U.S. intervention. Im thinking of the war in Iraq, and that led to a significant loss of U.S. treasure and of U.S. blood, Dokoupil continued. Many of the presidents own supporters tonight are wondering, How is this, this time around, going to be different? And how is it in the U.S. interest?'

Trump supporters largely expressed support for Maduros removal and capture on X, though some raised concerns about Trumps announcement the United States would run Venezuela until a safe, proper and judicious transition could be implemented.

I mean, we spent decades and decades and spent, purchased in blood, and got nothing economically in return and President Trump flips the script. He says, Through strategic action, we can ensure that we have access to additional wealth and resources, enabling a country to unleash that without having to spend American blood,' Hegseth responded. I mean, this was a bold and audacious move, but it was thought through, it was well orchestrated; our military had time to set it up. He provided the resources and then he took that bold stroke, and through it, we flipped that very dynamic and Americans will benefit. (RELATED: Trump Hints Which Dictator Could Be Next After Toppling Maduro)

Venezuela has a long history of being a rich and prosperous country. Its been stolen away from its people by horrific leadership. We can do both help them and help the United States in the western hemisphere by reestablishing the Monroe Doctrine. Peace through strength with our allies  as was demonstrated last night and I think the hemisphere  I know the hemisphere will benefit from President Trumps bold action.

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Surfers walk past a flooded parking lot after surfing in the rain in Seal Beach on Friday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Californias wet winter continued Saturday as rain fell across the Southland, grounding flights coming in and out of Santa Barbara Airport and causing extensive road closures along the coast.

The soggy weather is expected to continue through Tuesday with the heaviest downfalls tapering off by midday Monday, according to the National Weather Service. However, even light rain can have an outsized impact when it comes on the heels of other heavy winter storms, said Robbie Munroe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

There is only so much room for that rain to go, so it could still be a little hazardous out there, he said.

The recent storm system was more severe in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, but is expected to weaken as it moves into Los Angeles County. The Santa Barbara Airport canceled all flights going into and out of the airport Saturday around noon after several runways flooded. Officials at the small regional airport located about seven miles from downtown Santa Barbara did not know when it would reopen and said they would reassess the situation after the rains had stopped.

Read more:Southern California winter rains break records, with another storm on the way

I urge everyone to check with their airlines for flight status before coming to the airport, a spokesperson said.

The wet weather, combined with an earlier storm over the Christmas and New Years holidays, was also responsible for the shuttering of all lanes on a 27-mile stretch of the 101 Freeway extending from the junction of SR1 and Highway 1 to Winchester Canyon Road in Goleta due to heavy flooding. And, on Friday, Caltrans closed the 3.6-mile stretch of Topanga Canyon Boulevard known to experience mudslides between Pacific Coast Highway and Grand View Drive. The reopening of the roadways was "dependent on improved weather and road conditions," Caltrans said

Downtown Los Angeles was wet Saturday as another storm passed through the Southland. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

The rainy system is expected to weaken as it moves south into Los Angeles County, but there is a 20% chance that recent burn areas, including the Palisades, Eaton and Bridge burn scars, could see mudslides. The National Weather Service also issued a flood advisory Saturday for the Santa Clarita Valley and the mountains in northwest L.A. County. The service warns of minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas, as well as minor mudslides and debris flows, especially near steep terrain and recent burn scars.

Cars drive on Highway 101, flooded by the king tides, near Corte Madera in Marin County on Saturday. (Ethan Swope / AP)

Farther north in the Bay Area, a powerful combination of abnormally high king tides, large swells caused by a storm hanging out in the eastern Pacific, and rainfall across the region has led to coastal flooding. The flooding is primarily around the Embarcadero in San Francisco and in parts of Marin County. There have also been reports of high surf near Half Moon Bay in San Francisco and some flooding in the Elkhorn Slough area in the northern part of Monterey County on Hwy 1.

Read more:Recent storms boosted California's snowpack, but there's still a long way to go

High tides could cause another round of coastal flooding on Sunday, but by Monday the region should be clear of floods, said Dial Hoang, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Monterey.

L.A. County has seen higher-than-normal precipitation this rainy season, with particularly strong storms hitting the region over the Christmas and New Year's holidays. The final rainy days in 2025 helped pull California out of drought conditions , according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. And more rain may be on its way. The wettest months of the year are traditionally January and February.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Union del Barrio member Ron Gochez speaks during a Union del Barrio "U.S. out of Venezuela" news conference Saturday in Los Angeles. (Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Maria Eugenia Torres Ramirez was having dinner with her family in Los Angeles on Friday night when the flood of messages began. Word had begun to circulate that the U.S. was invading Venezuela and would seize its president, Nicolas Maduro.

Torres Ramirez, 38, fled her native country in 2021, settled in L.A. and has a pending application for asylum. Her family is scattered throughout the world  Colombia, Chile and France. Since her parents died, none of her loved ones remain in Venezuela.

Still, news that the autocrat who separated them had been captured delivered a sense of long-awaited elation and united the siblings and cousins across continents for a rare four-hour phone call as the night unfolded.

"I waited for this moment for so long from within Venezuela, and now that I'm out, it's like watching a movie," said Torres Ramirez, a former political activist who opposed Maduro. "It's like a jolt of relief."

Many Venezuelans across the U.S. celebrated the military action that resulted in Maduro's arrest. Economic collapse and political repression led roughly 8 million Venezuelans to emigrate since 2014, making it one of the world's largest displacement crises.

Read more:Trump says U.S. will 'run' Venezuela after capturing Maduro in audacious attack

About 770,000 live in the U.S. as of 2023, concentrated mainly in the regions of Miami, Orlando, Houston and New York. Just over 9,500 live in L.A., according to a 2024 U.S. Census estimate.

People in Doral, Fla., celebrate the news of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3, 2026. (Giorgio Viera / AFP via Getty Images)

In the South Florida city of Doral, home to the largest Venezuelan American community, residents poured into the streets Saturday morning, carrying the Venezuelan flag, singing together and praising the military action as an act of freedom.

In Los Angeles, a different picture emerged as groups opposed to Maduro's arrest took to the streets, though none identified themselves as being of Venezuelan descent. At a rally of about 40 people south of downtown Los Angeles, John Parker, a representative of the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice, called the raid a "brutal assault and kidnapping" that amounted to a war crime.

The United States' intervention in Venezuela had nothing to do with stopping the flow of drugs, he said, and everything to do with undermining a legitimate socialist government. Parker called for Maduro to be set free as a few dozen protesters behind him chanted, "Hands off Venezuela."

Parker said when he visited Venezuela a few weeks ago as part of a U.S. peacemaking delegation, he saw "the love people had for Maduro."

Los Angeles resident Lazaro Aguero, 52, speaks Saturday at Pershing Square in Los Angeles during a protest over the attack on Venezuela. Aguero said there is no valid reason for the United States to attack in the manner it did. (Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Read more:What we know about a US strike that captured Venezuela's Maduro

A later demonstration in Pershing Square drew hundreds out in the rain to protest the U.S intervention. But when a speaker led chants of "No war in Venezuela," a woman draped in a Venezuelan flag attempted to approach him and speak into the microphone. A phalanx of demonstrators circled her and shuttled her away.

At Mi Venezuela, a restaurant in Vernon, 16-year-old Paola Moleiro and her family ordered empanadas Saturday morning.

A portion of one of the restaurant's walls was covered in Venezuelan bank notes scrawled with messages. One read: "3 de enero del 2026. Venezuela quedo libre."

Venezuela is free.

Around midnight the night before, Paola started getting messages on WhatsApp from her relatives in Venezuela. The power was out, they said, and they forwarded videos of what sounded like bomb blasts.

Paola was terrified. She'd left Venezuela at age 7 with her parents and siblings, first for Panama and later the U.S., in 2023. But the rest of her family remained in Venezuela, and she had no idea what was going on.

Paola and her family stayed up scanning television channels for some idea of what was happening. Around 1:30 a.m., President Trump announced that U.S. forces had captured Maduro.

"The first thing I did, I called my aunt and said, 'We are going to see each other again,'" she said.

Read more:Hiltzik: What does Trump have against Venezuela? His explanations keep changing

Because of the Venezuelan state's control over media, her relatives had no idea their leader had been seized by U.S. forces. "Are you telling me the truth?" Paola said her aunt asked.

Paola hasn't been home in nine years. She misses her grandmother and her grandmother's cooking, especially her caraotas negras, or black beans. As a child, she said, certain foods were so scarce that she had an apple for the first time only after moving to Panama.

Paola said she was grateful to Trump for ending decades of authoritarian rule that had reduced her home country to a shell of what it once was.

"Venezuela has always prayed for this," she said. "It's been 30 years. I feel it was in God's hands last night."

For Torres Ramirez, it was difficult to square her appreciation for Trump's accomplishment in Venezuela with the fear she has felt as an immigrant under his presidency.

"It's like a double-edged sword," she said. "Throughout the course of this whole year, I have felt persecuted. I had to face ICE  I had to go to my appointment with the fear that I could lose it all because the immigration policies had changed and there was complete uncertainty. For a moment, I felt as if I was in Venezuela. I felt persecuted right here."

During a news conference Saturday morning, Trump said Maduro was responsible for trafficking illicit drugs into the U.S. and the deaths of thousands of Americans. He repeated a baseless claim that the Maduro government had emptied Venezuela's prisons and mental institutions and "sent their worst and most violent monsters into the United States to steal American lives."

"They sent everybody bad into the United States, but no longer, and we have now a border where nobody gets through," he said.

Trump also announced that the U.S. will "run" Venezuela and its vast oil reserves.

"We'll run it professionally," he said. "We'll have the greatest oil companies in the world go in and invest billions and billions of dollars and take that money, use that money in Venezuela, and the biggest beneficiary are going to be the people of Venezuela."

Torres Ramirez said that while she's happy about Maduro's ouster, she's unsure how to feel about Trump's announcement saying the U.S. will take over Venezuela's oil industry. Perhaps it won't be favorable in the long term for Venezuela's economy, she said, but the U.S. intervention is a win for the country's political future if it means people can return home.

Patricia Andrade, 63, who runs Raices Venezolanas, a volunteer program in Miami that distributes donations to Venezuelan immigrants, said she believes the Trump administration is making the right move by remaining involved until there is a transition of power.

Andrade, a longtime U.S. citizen, said she hasn't been to Venezuela in 25 years  even missing the deaths of both parents. She said she was accused of treason for denouncing the imprisonment of political opponents and the degradation of Venezuela's democracy under Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez. She said she worries that Venezuela's remaining political prisoners could be killed as payback for Maduro's arrest.

We tried everything  elections, marches, more elections ... and it couldn't be done," she said. "Maduro was getting worse and worse, there was more repression. If they hadn't removed him, we were never going to recover Venezuela.

While she doesn't want the U.S. to fix the problems of other countries, she thanked Trump for U.S. involvement in Venezuela.

She said she can't wait to visit her remaining family members there.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Leo XIV spoke at the Angelus about developments in Latin America, calling for Overcoming violence and pursuing the paths of justice and peace. He urged respect for "human and civil rights." On the Jubilee of 2025, which ends in two days, he said that hope is the incarnation of God," who calls for "the promotion of fraternity and communion.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  Today, the first Sunday of 2026, two days before the close of the 2025 Jubilee, Pope Leo XIV appeared at 12 noon to recite the Angelus in a cloud-covered St Peter's Square.

In his commentary on the Word of the Day, the pontiff said that that the foundation of our hope, the theme that accompanied the Holy Year, is Gods incarnation.

Turning to some of the world's wounds, such as the US attack on Venezuela and the tragedy in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, he urged people "to have faith in the God of peace", and to pray and be "in solidarity with the peoples who suffer because of wars.

Leo went on to say that he was following with "a heart full of concern" the latest developments in Venezuela in the aftermath of the US attack and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who are now in New York.

The pope emphasised that the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration in the current transition.

He added that this should mean "overcoming violence and [lead] to the pursuit of paths of justice and peace, guaranteeing the sovereignty of the country, ensuring the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution.

The pontiff stressed that the paths to justice and peace include respect for "the human and civil rights of each and every person and building a peaceful future of cooperation, stability and harmony, with special attention to the poorest who are suffering because of the difficult economic situation.

Leo called on the faithful to pray for the difficult situation through the intercession of Our Lady of Coromoto and Saints Jose Gregorio Hernandez and Sister Carmen Rendiles, figures of great grassroots devotion in Venezuela.

In the wake of a major fire that engulfed a bar in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana during New Years celebrations, killing 47 and injuring more than a hundred, the pope, before the Marian prayer, expressed his closeness "to those suffering, and offered his prayers for the young people who died, for the injured, and for their families.

Before the Angelus, the pope renewed his best wishes for the Christmas season. He also noted that the Holy Door of St Peter's will close in two days, on the day of Epiphany, marking the end of the Jubilee, opened by Pope Francis on 24 December 2024, which will still be experienced "immersed" in the "Mystery of Christmas."

He said that the prologue to the Gospel of John (Jn 1:1-18) is also a reminder that hope is "the incarnation of God." Indeed, Christian hope is not based on optimistic forecasts or human calculations, but on Gods decision to share our journey, so that we may never be alone as we travel through life.

In his commentary on the Word of the Day, Leo stressed that God's sharing of the journey with humanity is his work, while Jesus became one of us, chose to remain with us, and willed to be forever God-with-us.

The coming of Jesus in the weakness of human flesh rekindles our hope. At the same time, it entrusts us with a twofold commitment: one to God and the other to our fellow human beings, he explained.

The first commitment relates to the call to reconsider how we think about him, beginning with the flesh of Jesus, and not from an abstract doctrine.

To this end, it is important to examine our spirituality and the ways in which we express our faith, in order to ensure that they are truly incarnate. In other words, we must be capable of contemplating, proclaiming and praying to the God who meets us in Jesus.

In fact, God is not a distant deity in a perfect heaven above us, but a God who is nearby and inhabits our fragile earth, who becomes present in the faces of our brothers and sisters, and reveals himself in the circumstances of daily life.

As for the second commitment, it calls us to recognize the inviolable dignity of every person and to offer ourselves in mutual love for one another. Since every human creature is a reflection of God, the Incarnation demands a concrete commitment to the promotion of fraternity and communion, the pope said.

Through this commitment, he added, solidarity becomes the criterion of all human relationships, calling us to strive for justice and peace, to care for the most fragile, and to defend the weak. God has become flesh; therefore, there is no authentic worship of God without care for humanity.
Some 15,000 people gathered in Hanoi at the shrine of the Vietnamese martyrs to celebrate the conclusion of a Holy Year marked by more than a thousand pilgrimages. Celebrations were also held in dioceses in mainland China. In Japan, Cardinal Kikuchi addressed the Church of Tokyo: "May the flame of hope never be extinguished.

Milan (AsiaNews)  The time has come for the dioceses of Asia to take stock of the Jubilee, experienced in communion with the universal Church. As Pope Francis's papal bull Spes non confundit envisioned, the final celebrations were held in each diocese last Sunday, the feast of the Holy Family.

A notable celebration was held in Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, with more than 15,000 faithful gathered at the National Pilgrimage Centre dedicated to the Holy Vietnamese Martyrs in So Kien, including 200 priests and approximately 600 men and women religious as well as seminarians from all over the archdiocese.

A video titled Reliving the Holy Year of Hope helped those present follow the journey of grace that God bestowed upon the archdiocese in the Holy Year through pilgrimages to the seven churches designated by the archdiocese for the Jubilee, offering each believer the opportunity for a personal encounter with God.

Across the archdiocese, some 1,062 pilgrimages were held, with approximately 415,000 participants in total.

In his homily, Archbishop Giuse (Joseph) Vu Van Thien stressed that today's world is wounded by many conflicts, acts of violence, and divisions, prompting Christians to ask themselves where they can find hope. The Church's answer is Jesus himself.

"God comes," said the Archbishop of Hanoi, "so that humanity may dare to hope for something great. Humanity dares to hope because the Church affirms that God is faithful and loves humanity, despite its sins. Humanity also dares to hope because the Son of God conquered death and responded with love and forgiveness. Humanity hopes because it believes that the Holy Spirit is always present, illuminating and guiding, making the Church steadfast and persevering."

Closing celebrations for the Holy Year were also held in dioceses in mainland China. The Catholic website Xinde reported on the one held in the Diocese of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.

Leading the service was Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang, one of two prelates who took part in the Synod in the Vatican in 2023 and was subsequently moved with the consent of Pope Francis in 2024 to Hangzhou, an historically important episcopal see for the Church in China.

All the priests of the diocese, religious sisters, and representatives of the faithful from various parishes were present with him in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

In his homily, Bishop Yang mentioned the origin and meaning of the Jubilee, retracing the diocese's growth during the Jubilee Year in prayer, evangelisation, charity, and communion.

He emphasised that "as pilgrims of hope, God has granted us many graces and blessings  we have learnt to pause, to listen to the needs of others, and to extend a helping hand."

He ended saying: True pilgrimage does not consist in the distance travelled by foot, but in the fact that the heart remains always turned to God. Every 'pilgrim of hope' here today is a witness to Christ in the world. The closing Mass of the Jubilee is not an end, but a new starting point in our lives, which encourages us to continue moving forward.

Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi followed up the closing celebration of the Holy Year held in St Marys Cathedral in Tokyo on 1 January with a letter addressed to the diocese, pointedly titled May the flame of hope never be extinguished.

The pilgrims of hope do not cease to exist with the closing of the Holy Year," writes the Archbishop of Tokyo. As long as violence against life continues, the ecclesial community of pilgrims of hope will have the mission of bearing witness to hope amid the storms of this world. So that the flame of hope never dies, let us each continue our commitment, in our own context.

"The synodal journey," adds Cardinal Kikuchi, "is a path that bears witness to hope. We cannot know in advance where the Holy Spirit will lead us. Walking together as a synodal community, supporting one another, and praying together, is a path that frees us from despair and generates hope. Like the missionary saints, who courageously entrusted themselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as they embarked on an unknown journey, we too desire to be a Church that courageously entrusts itself to the Spirit.

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4 January 2026 18:39 (UTC+04:00)

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4 January 2026 15:30 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Iranian Foreign Minister ABBAS ARAGHCHI has discussed the prospects of relations with Azerbaijan during a meeting with Irans ambassador to Baku, Mojtaba Demirchilou.

According to Azernews, the information was shared on the Telegram channel of the Iranian foreign minister. During the meeting, Ambassador Demirchilu briefed Araghchi on the current state and recent developments in bilateral relations between Iran and Azerbaijan.

Araghchi emphasized the importance of continuously strengthening and expanding cooperation with Azerbaijan across economic, transit, political, cultural, and humanitarian fields.

He noted that deeper engagement in these areas is essential for more effectively advancing Irans good-neighborly policy.
4 January 2026 08:00 (UTC+04:00)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that the Cuban government "should be concerned," during a press conference alongside US President Donald Trump, Azernews reports.

Rubio, a Cuban-American, remarked as part of a briefing on the situation in Venezuela following the US military operation and the capture of Nicolas Maduro.

Rubio added that the Caribbean country was dominated by "incompetents" and that its economic situation was very poor. Minutes earlier, Trump also said that perhaps at some point it would be necessary to talk about Cuba.
4 January 2026 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Saturday that while Spain did not recognise Nicolas Maduro's government, it will also not recognise the US military intervention in Venezuela, arguing it violates international law and threatens regional stability, Azernews reports.

"Spain did not recognise Maduro's regime. But neither will it recognise an intervention that violates international law and pushes the region towards a future of uncertainty and warmongering," Sanchez said on X.

He also called for deescalation and dialogue to resolve the crisis.
4 January 2026 10:29 (UTC+04:00)

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been brought to New York, Azernews reports.

Footage released by the White House press service shows the Venezuelan leader at the New York office of the US Drug Enforcement Administration. In the video, Maduro is seen walking handcuffed along a corridor under the supervision of federal agents.

These images mark the first official confirmation of President Maduros arrival in New York.

According to NBC News, the Venezuelan leader is expected to appear before a judge on January 5 at a federal court in Manhattan. He is facing charges related to drug trafficking and weapons smuggling.
4 January 2026 15:57 (UTC+04:00)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that he will hold a new meeting with US President Donald Trump at the end of January to discuss Ukraines peace plan, Azernews reports.

Speaking at a briefing, Zelensky said the meeting would take place after consultations among European leaders, during which key security-related documents are expected to be finalized. According to him, the discussions will cover a wide range of issues, with particular focus on security guarantees for Ukraine and the countrys post-war restoration.

Zelensky also noted that meetings with Donald Trumps team are planned to take place in Paris ahead of the leaders talks.

The meetings may last one or two days. Everything will depend on the progress of the work. After that, I believe we will prepare for a broad leadership meeting in the United States. We would like all of this to happen by the end of January, the Ukrainian president said.

It should be recalled that on December 28, Presidents Zelensky and Trump met in Florida. Following the talks, both leaders commented on the outcomes, with the US president stating that some progress had been made on the Donbas issue, while noting that a final decision had not yet been reached, though the sides were close to an agreement.
4 January 2026 19:10 (UTC+04:00)

China's Foreign Ministry urged the United States on Sunday to "immediately" release Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and resolve the situation in Venezuela through dialogue and negotiation, Azernews reports.

"China expresses grave concern over the US forcibly seizing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and taking them out of the country. The US's move is in clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson added.

The ministry said in a statement on its website that Washington should "ensure the personal safety" of Maduro and his wife and "stop toppling the government of Venezuela."

The South American country's Supreme Tribunal of Justice appointed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as acting president following Maduro's abduction.
4 January 2026 22:22 (UTC+04:00)

A transition in Venezuela following the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro must be peaceful and respectful of the will of the Venezuelan people, Anadolu Agency reported citing Frances president, Azernews reports.

"The upcoming transition must be peaceful, democratic, and respectful of the will of the Venezuelan people," Emmanuel Macron wrote on the US social media company X, accusing Maduro of "trampling on fundamental freedoms."

Saying that Maduro "gravely undermined" the dignity of his own people," he added that the Venezuelan people can only rejoice after Maduro's capture by the US.

Macron said he hopes opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia swiftly ensures this transition.

"I am currently exchanging with our partners in the region. France is fully mobilized and vigilant, including to ensure the safety of its nationals during these uncertain times," he added.

US President Donald Trump later confirmed a "large scale" strike, adding that President Maduro and his wife had been "captured and flown out of the country."

The attacks came after months of growing US pressure on Maduro, who Washington accuses of being involved in drug trafficking. The Venezuelan leader had denied the claims and voiced readiness for talks.
January 3, 2026: Shortly after World War II ended in 1945, the United States military, then the largest in the world, was told to create overseas commands to look after American interests and military forces. This system has expanded since the late 1940s, with a series of modifications including one this year that added a new command to handle the United States and all the other nations in the Western hemisphere.

Because of the current trend for many Moslem nations to officially recognize or increase military and economic cooperation with Israel, in 2021 the U.S. reclassified Israel as part of CENTCOM/Central Command rather than EUCOM/European Command which includes nations in Europe, including Russia. CENTCOM covers the Middle East, Southwest Asia, northwest Africa and the Persian Gulf. Israel was part of EUCOM from the beginning in 1948 while CENTCOM was created in the 1980s because of where it was. Israel has always been more involved with nations in CENTCOM rather than EUCOM. Israel has been the most powerful and cooperative ally of the United States in CENTCOM and has become the most advanced military, economic and scientific nation in the region. During that time Israel was, for all practical matters, part of CENTCOM and regularly traded, trained, and shared intel with CENTCOM and nations in CENTCOM as well as NATO nations in EUCON. Most EUCOM nations had diplomatic and trading relationships with the Moslem nations in CENTCOM.

Since the 1990s the major military threat to Europe in CENTCOM was Iran and in the last decade Iran has declared most Arab nations in the regions as enemies and become a military threat to all of them, along with Israel and the United States. This put Israel in a unique position as it has long seen EUCOM nations as allies and was treated as a peer by European countries. Moslem nations long agreed with that but now see that as an advantage, not a threat. The result is Israel officially becoming part of CENTCOM. This has made it easier for Israel and the United States to coordinate military operations, including joint naval patrols in the Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea. It is easier to plan joint operations against Iran and any other threats in CENTCOM.

Currently the United States military has eight unified geographic combatant commands in which a four-star general or admiral controls all American military units in a geographic area. The origins of the geographic commands began with the two global military commands the U.S. created during World War II to provide a unified command for all American forces in the Pacific and Europe. After the war, these two commands became regional unified combatant commands known as EUCOM for Europe, including the Soviet Union and PACCOM for the Pacific region, including Korea and China. In 1963 SOUTHCOM was created for Latin America. In 1983 CENTCOM was created for the Middle East and was followed in 2002 by NORTHCOM for North America. In 2007 AFRICOM was created for African nations not already part of CENTCOM. In 2019 SPACECOM was added to handle orbital forces and the earth-based units that put satellites and other structures into orbit. In 2025 Army Western Hemisphere Command/USAWHC was formed. This organization handles the defense of U.S. territory, supporting assistance and relief missions for natural disasters like wildfires, hurricanes in both the continental U.S., its neighbors and countries in South America.

For decades the four star-generals or admirals in charge of the regional commands were called CINCs/Commander in Chief. In 2002 that was changed because the president of the United States, who is, per the constitution, the commander in chief of the armed forces, would be the only one referred to as CINC. The old CINCs would be referred to by new titles, like Commander, US Central Command. Despite that the commanders of the regional commands continued to be known, unofficially, as CINCs. Over the years that term was used less and less as a new generation got used to using the term commander for the senior officers running the regional commands.
In her New Years message, Denmark's Social Democrat prime minister announced that her government will be offering legislation to make it easier and faster to deport illegal aliens who have committed crimes in Denmark. Deferring to things like how long someone had lived in Denmark will no longer be allowed. If someone is not a Danish citizen and commits a crime in the country, "you should not be here" she declared.

Denmark, whether under governments of the right or left, has always had the toughest laws in western Europe against illegal immigration, and is thus not as overrun by them as some other countries. When the mass migration started, Denmark's government responded by cutting welfare that was available to illegal migrants / asylum seekers and running advertisements in staging areas for migrants like Turkey publicizing that action and telling migrants they were not wanted in Denmark. Denmark also closed its border with Germany, which under Merkel was welcoming the migrants, so that the migrants would not spill over into Denmark.

Denmark saw the rise of an explicitly anti-immigration party, the Danish Peoples Party, before other countries of western Europe, and that has kept all parties focused on this issue.

https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news-corner/you-shouldnt-be-here-denmark-unveils-hardline-deportation-reform/

https://rmx.news/denmark/we-dont-want-your-culture-of-dominance-denmark-to-ramp-up-deportations-of-criminal-foreigners-pm-frederiksen-says-in-new-years-address/

In seems the center-left in Denmark has a lot more common sense on immigration issues that Democrats in America.

Meanwhile in Austria, 40% of babies born in the country's capital Vienna are not eligible for Austrian passports. Like most developed countries in the world, the mere fact of being born there does not make someone a citizen. However this shows the extent to which the country is being overrun by illegal aliens. That is one of the reasons that the anti-immigration Freedom Party has led decisively in the polls all year.

https://rmx.news/article/40-of-all-babies-born-in-vienna-do-not-have-an-austrian-passport/
The airline confirmed police had attended the incident

An easyJet flight from Belfast to Egypt has been cancelled after a number of passengers became disruptive prior to take off.

The airline said police had attended the incident on Saturday before the plane could take off.

Flight EZY3077, from Belfast international Airport to Hurghada, had been due to depart from Belfast International Airport at 12.55pm on Saturday but was rescheduled to depart on Sunday.

In a statement, easyJet said it took the incident seriously.

"We do not tolerate disruptive behaviour onboard, said a spokesperson.

"Unfortunately this delay led to the crew reaching their safety regulated operating hours which has resulted in the flight being rescheduled to tomorrow [Sunday] and we are providing customers with hotel accommodation and meals.

"The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always EasyJet's highest priority and while this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience this will have caused."

Police attended the incident at Belfast International Airport

News Catch Up - Sunday 4 January

It is understood the PSNI attended the incident to assist the Belfast International Airport Constabulary.

The airport has been approached for comment.
Mr Stewart has been missing since the early hours of New Years Day

The grandfather of a Co Tyrone man who has been missing since the early hours of New Years Day has made an emotional appeal for him to come home.

Taylor Stewart (21) has been missing January 1, when he was captured on CCTV footage at 5.30am in the Church Heights area of Cookstown.

You promised to help me with a few issues with my car so I need you home to help

On Sunday, police shared a direct appeal from Mr Stewarts grandfather Mitchell Crooks, who appealed for his grandson to let his family know he was safe.

"We just want Taylor to come home, he said.

"The whole family is so worried about him, especially with the weather being so bad over the last few days.

"Please Taylor, just let us know that you are safe, you promised to help me with a few issues with my car so I need you home to help, please get in contact.

Taylor Stewart (21) remains missing

PSNI Superintendent Peter Stevenson said a number of people had already come forward with information as a result of their previous appeals, including the release of CCTV imagery.

"We have been searching for him since Thursday and the community will have seen an extensive police presence throughout the town, he said.

"We are working hard alongside our voluntary partners from Community Rescue Service, Search & Rescue Dog Association Ireland North and Lough Neagh Search and Rescue, with enquiries coordinated by a Police Search Advisor (POLSA).

Please, check in with local officers for advice before you commence any search of your own

"We know that a young man being missing in such cold conditions is causing real concern amongst local people, and we are really grateful that so many people want to help us.

"This is a complex search, covering a lot of ground. We do not want the public to put themselves or others at risk, particularly when snow and ice are posing safety issues to even our experienced teams.

"Please, check in with local officers for advice before you commence any search of your own.

We continue to appeal to anyone who may have been out and about in the area at the time Taylor was last seen, or who may have seen him since, to make contact with us. Even a seemingly insignificant piece of information could help.

K9 Search and Rescue team members looking for Mr Stewart

As a reminder, Taylor is approximately 5ft 8in tall, of medium build with dark hair and brown eyes.

"When last seen, he was wearing blue jeans with a brown belt, a long sleeved white shirt with a red square pattern, and green / brown boots.

We continue to ask that anyone with an outbuilding, garage or shed to check their premises, to ensure that Taylor has not made his way inside to seek shelter.

Anyone with information should contact police immediately on 101, or 999 in an emergency. The reference number to quote is 1108 of 01/01/26.

CCTV imagery of Mr Stewart from January 1

News Catch Up - Sunday 4 January

"You can also submit a report or information online using the non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org/.

On Sunday, K9 Search and Rescue NI said they were continuing to assist efforts to search for Mr Stewart.

"Our dedicated volunteers were back in Cookstown today continuing the search for Taylor Stewart, who has been missing since New Years Day, said a spokesperson.

"Searches are ongoing across a number of areas and every effort is being made to help bring Taylor home.

"We are once again appealing to local residents to check any outbuildings, sheds, garages, or unused properties on their land.

"Even the smallest piece of information could be significant. If you notice anything unusual or have any information that may assist, please report it to police as soon as possible.
Lough Neagh has been blighted by blue-green algae for the past three years (Niall Carson/PA)

Northern Irelands Environment Minister Andrew Muir has accused some politicians of a deliberate attempt to undermine the science and evidence around the ecological crisis at Lough Neagh.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Press Association, the minister also said he thinks it is likely that a private members Bill will be brought to the Assembly around the introduction of an independent environment protection agency (EPA), after the DUP blocked his plans to create one.

Mr Muir also insisted there would be no change to ambitious emissions targets set out in Northern Irelands Climate Change Act.

The Alliance Party minister said he had a number of priorities for 2026, including tackling climate change and improving water quality.

He said he wanted Executive support for his plans to strengthen regulation enforcement in relation to sewage pollution.

The minister also said work would continue to implement actions in the Lough Neagh Recovery Plan agreed by the Executive.

The lough, the UK and Irelands largest freshwater lake by surface area, has been blighted by noxious blooms of blue-green algae for the last three summers.

The cause has been put down to an excess of nutrients from a number of sources, including waste water, septic tanks and agriculture, exacerbated by climate change and the invasive species Zebra Mussels.

Lough Neagh supplies 40% of Northern Irelands drinking water and sustains a major eel fishing industry.

Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Andrew Muir (Liam McBurney/PA)

Mr Muir said: Since taking up office, Ive been very clear that the situation in Lough Neagh has been a result of decades of neglect and there are no quick fixes.

It breaks my heart to see the situation unfold year after year in the lough.

What weve got to do is take the actions to reduce the level of pollution thats going into the lough and also to be very conscious of the impact that climate change is having.

That requires tough decisions in terms of reducing the amount of pollution, whether its coming from agricultural sources or in relation to sewage pollution or septic tanks.

Asked if he believed the will existed within the powersharing Executive to take the decisions he wanted, Mr Muir said time will tell.

He added: I believe that we should respect the science and evidence that tells us that in terms of remediation of the lough, partly as a result of the sediment and the phosphorus that is absorbed, that this will take decades to remediate.

When you respect the science and evidence, it delivers lots of inconvenient truths. We should respect those, and then we should take the tough decisions around it.

What I have seen, particularly in 2025, is a deliberate attempt by some to undermine the science and evidence around this, and I will stand four-square in defence of the scientists who are delivering the facts.

We have peer-reviewed academic research thats been referred to as magical figures. I think thats grossly insulting to the individuals who have pulled that research together.

Mr Muir said Northern Ireland is an outlier in being the only part of the UK without an independent EPA.

Lough Neagh is the largest freshwater lake by surface area in the UK (Niall Carson/PA)

A recommendation for an EPA was made in a recent review of environmental governance and the minister has repeated his commitment to progress plans to create the body.

However, the DUP has consistently raised concerns over how an EPA would be funded and how it would interact with existing regulatory bodies.

Mr Muir said: This has been with the Executive for a significant period of time. Ive been told by the DUP the answer is no. Theres no rhyme or reason behind that.

It is entirely undemocratic that one party can block a proposal which was given quite significant support in the Assembly just before Christmas.

That needs to be progressed, and if it isnt progressed, its very likely that a privately drafted Bill will arrive in the Assembly.

I think its unfortunate we have to go down that road because one party seeks to block progress.

He added: Its rather bizarre the DUP are prepared to draw a very hard line around the Irish Sea and create a border in relation to environmental protection when the rest of the UK have independent regulators.

A Climate Change Act was passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly shortly before the institutions entered a period of suspension in 2022.

The legislation sets out the proposed path the region will take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, as well as achieving a carbon budget target of a 33% average annual reduction in emissions between 2023 and 2027.

Mr Muir said the targets are ambitious, but achievable.

He added: I think its regrettable that some political forces, particularly in relation to Nigel Farage or Donald Trump, are taking a very different approach.

But Im not led by them. Im led by the science and the evidence which states that climate change is a reality today.

Its important we meet that obligation and that we actually confront the opportunities that are also set out for us.

Asked if he would consider reducing the targets, the minister said: Im very clear and very consistent that I will not be doing that.

He added: Climate change is a defining issue of our generation. The Assembly passed unanimously at final reading the climate change legislation.

We lost two years in relation to implementation of it (because of the collapse of the Assembly).

Im continuing the work to ensure that we meet our obligations, and we realise the opportunities.
Met Office issues new weather warning for Northern Ireland



The Met Office has issued a new weather warning for Northern Ireland as the cold snap continues.

The yellow warning for ice will be in force from midnight tonight until 10am on Thursday morning.

The Met Office warned that ice will readily form on untreated surfaces tonight bringing a risk of some disruption overnight.

After a band of rain clears through on Wednesday evening, clearing skies will allow temperatures to fall rapidly bringing an ice risk overnight, especially on untreated surfaces.

A few showers will also persist across counties Antrim, Derry, Tyrone and Fermanagh, adding to the ice risk in these areas with rain falling on frozen ground.



What should I expect?

Some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces

Probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths

What Should I Do?

Keep yourself and your family safe when it is icy. Plan to leave the house at least five minutes earlier than normal. Not needing to rush, reduces your risk of accidents, slips, and falls.

If you need to make a journey on foot, try to use pavements along main roads which are likely to be less slippery. Similarly, if cycling, try and stick to main roads which are more likely to have been treated.

Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary.

Be prepared for weather warnings to change: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.
NI womans killing a wake-up call, says ex-detective, as he seeks justice in canal murder

An independent forensic report has found the 23-year-old died after a violent physical assault

Kelly Lynchs body was found in the Ulster Canal in Monaghan on St Patricks Day in 2024

Roisin Gorman Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 20:30

The killing of Kelly Lynch should act as a wake-up call to pathologists in the UK and Ireland, says Katie Trust founder James Brannigan.
Stormont debates are becoming more focused on clicks on TikTok than scrutiny of ministers, Andrew Muir has said.

The Daera (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) minister also delivered a warning that the Good Friday Agreement institutions are in the last chance saloon and the Assembly would not come back if it collapsed again.

Despite often clashing with DUP MLAs in the Assembly chamber, the Alliance Party minister said relations with unionist ministers in the powersharing Executive were cordial.

He said: Were not always going to see eye to eye, but what people in Northern Ireland expect when they look to the Executive, they expect people to get on with the job, to work through their differences and deliver for citizens in Northern Ireland.

And what Ive seen is that there are areas where we can collaborate and we can work together and compromise.

The spirit of the Good Friday Agreement needs to be reawakened, whereby we engage in issues.

This is the last chance saloon for the Good Friday Agreement. If this Executive goes down again, its gone for good.

The Alliance Party has consistently called for reform of the institutions, so they cannot be collapsed by one party, and Mr Muir said he believed the lack of such reform had damaged peoples trust and confidence in Stormont.

He said: What I have seen in recent months is, rather than effective scrutiny and difficult decisions and working together, theres a lot of performative actions from people more focused on clicks on TikTok rather than delivery for citizens, and that is disappointing.

Andrew Muir hit out at the standard of debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly (NI Assembly/PA)

Mr Muir said he believed the DUP was trying to ride two horses in terms of appealing to hardline unionism while also supporting powersharing.

He said: You need to choose, and the future for Northern Ireland, and particularly I would say for unionism, must be powersharing. We all need to work together.

The minister said there had been a reduction in genuine scrutiny of ministers.

Mr Muir said: It does seem when the cameras are on, peoples personalities changes and their interaction is reflected on social media often.

I can almost guarantee some of the exchanges will be appearing on social media a few hours later.

I believe in robust scrutiny, and I think thats important that we have that. Theres been a reduction of that, I would say, since the establishment of the Assembly in 1998.

If you look back in previous question times, there are ministers being asked more particularly detailed questions around policy, where perhaps the interventions now are more focused in terms of social media traction.

He added: I enjoy going into the Assembly because its important to be able to debate these issues, but I just wish we could raise the level of the debate to be a bit better.

The minister said he continued to have concerns about the future stability of the political institutions.

Mr Muir said: History has shown that a crisis can develop very quickly.

I hope this Executive and Assembly will see through the rest of this mandate. I think its important that it does and that we deliver for the citizens of Northern Ireland.

We should be able to look with confidence, not just in the months, but the years and decades ahead, that there will be a government there for citizens in Northern Ireland, because they deserve no less.
Memorial service held on 50th anniversary of Kingsmill massacre

Wreaths were laid during the ceremony in Co Armagh

Today in Bessbrook family members and other invited guests paid tribute on the 50th anniversary of the 10 victims who were murdered in 1976. Photo - Andrew McCarroll/ Pacemaker Press

Liam Tunney Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 19:23







A memorial service has been held to mark the 50th anniversary of the Kingsmills massacre in Co Armagh.
January 2, 2026: The war in Ukraine has provided Russia with multiple problems. One of the more troublesome is growing public criticism. Many Russians are protesting not the invasion of Ukraine, but the impact it is having them and family members. The Russian government overreacted, as it tends to do, arresting thousands of Russians for casual comments about the son of a friend who might be sent to Ukraine. When the Russian government decides that dissent among the public about the war, even if its not criticism, arrests must be made and the people must be made to understand that all Russians support what is being done in Ukraine. Most Russians do, but the government believes that rounding up and punishing a few thousand people will inspire everyone else to keep quiet.

What is happening now is part of a decades-long transformation of Russian attitudes towards their government and vice versa. Over a decade ago Russian opinion polls revealed that a decade long transformation back into a police state was losing popularity. Most Russians believed the government was prosecuting protestors and reformers out of spite, not because the accused have broken any laws or threaten public order. Russians want order and prosperity, but it was becoming increasingly clear that most Russians did not want their police state past restored. This was particularly the case when the government tried to take control of organizations that provided useful independent opinions. Thus the surprising, to the government, public opposition to attempts to curb the independence of the Academy of Sciences. This organization was government controlled during the Soviet period, but was always respected because science was one of the few areas where the communists made Russians proud. The Academy became independent of the government after the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. The current government sees the Academy of Sciences as another base for malcontents and critics. In this case, the scientists had more support than the government.

Despite the growth of public opposition, Russia continues its transformation back into a police state. Its not just reformers who are attacked; foreigners are demonized and foreign aid organizations were recently banned. The government wants to eliminate independent Russian charities as well. This was based on the fear that any independent organization was a potential threat to the state. Very Soviet, and this attitude had some support inside Russia where paranoia thrives because many still see enemies of the state wandering around everywhere.

The new police state mentality requires a lot of external enemies to make Russians frightened enough to tolerate all the new restrictions. This includes using the state-controlled media to demonize the traditional Soviet era enemies of Western Europe and the United States. This caused a lot of anger and frustration in Western Europe. For example, government propaganda complaining about Western anti-missile systems as a ploy to disarm Russia, not stop missile attacks from Iran or North Korea, was seen as absurd by other Europeans. This paranoia, constantly delivered by state controlled media, finds many receptive minds inside Russia. Here, paranoia about the outside world, especially the West, has been a cultural staple for centuries. Senior Russian military leaders openly discuss how Russia might be forced to attack Western anti-missile systems, in self-defense. This was mainly for internal consumption but it alarmed foreigners.

Despite growing government persecution, often using the same methods the Soviets invented, pro-democracy and anti-corruption groups continue to hold public demonstrations. There was also growing discontent among senior government officials about the return to the Soviet past. Unlike the Soviet bureaucrats, the current ones are more aware of the outside world and understand that police states are not as economically successful as true democracies. Early in the Soviet period those with knowledge of the outside world were purged, and usually killed, from the leadership. Currently, pro-Soviet style officials believe that police-state powers make it easier to take down corruption. This was depicted as a fantasy by reformers, who pointed out that communist police states only remain uncorrupt for a brief period before the rot sets in. The big problem in Russia was that for centuries the government has been a police state, one imposed by allegedly enlightened czars. The Soviets dumped the monarchy, expanded the police state, and suppressed the market economy. That did not work, but theres no general agreement in the current leadership about exactly why. Many Russians just feel more comfortable with a strong man in charge, be they czar, communist, or the deliberately macho Vladimir Putin. Most Russians will tolerate a tyrant if there is peace and prosperity. But this time around Russians want some limits on their protective tyrant.
Buchra Abdul-Bari holds her son Mohammed, six, and stands with her 14-year-old daughter Ghazal, 12-year-old son Zainaldeen and eight-year-old daughter Kinzy along with Palestinian ambassador Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid at Childrens Health Ireland at Temple Street in Dublin (PA)

A mother whose son lost a leg in a bombing in Gaza has said the offer to receive medical treatment in Ireland was a golden opportunity.

Mohammed, aged six, is one of 19 children who have been evacuated from Gaza to receive treatment in Ireland since December 2024.

His mother Buchra Abdul-Bari said her family moved from Gaza City to Rafah, and then on to Khan Yunis in southern Gaza in 2024.

Buchra said they were in a tent in Khan Yunis, in what was meant to be a safe area, when their tent was hit by a missile.

She said they were all injured, but her husband and her youngest son were the most severely hurt.

She ripped her shirt to wrap around her husbands leg when her son Mohammed called to her.

Mohammed said mum, look at me and I lifted him and his leg fell down from my arms, she told the Press Association.

She said his face began to go yellow and his lips were turning blue.

I knocked on many tents, no one can come and help me. So I knocked (into) my neighbour, I begged him to help me, and I convinced him finally, and he came with his bike.

He put Mohammed in the wooden box in his bike, and he went to the hospital  around two hours on the bike.

I said to him goodbye, but I told him, Please, Hamoudi, try your best not to leave me alone. I cant live without you. I kissed him and left him with my neighbour.

She said she went back to her husband and asked him to be strong and try your best to stay.

The water truck came suddenly, and I talked to the driver.

Me and the driver lifted my husband and we put him in a very, very narrow area beside the water tank  imagine that, a dying person.

She said when she got back to the tent, she noticed her son Zainaldeen had shrapnel in his chest, her daughter Kinzy was injured and she herself had injuries across her body.

She brought her children to hospital and was told her husband had died.

That time, it was like throwing me from the heavens to the ground. I went in a shock for 41 days  no words, silent.

I buried my husbands body with my sons leg, and went automatically to the hospital to spend the time with Hamoudi, so I didnt have the time to breathe, to get condolence from people.

We spent four months in the hospital, then we moved to the tent again and were still going to the hospital.

There is no (facilities), no beds, nothing in the hospital. Theyre moving you from death stage to life stage and throwing you out  you can do whatever you want now, you survived.

Buchra said that almost a year later, she and Mohammed were evacuated to Egypt to receive treatment for a damaged nerve in his right leg, but there is no nerve medication or treatment in Egypt.

It was after three months in Egypt that she was offered treatment for her son in Ireland.

It was really the survival call, she said.

(The woman on the phone) said Take your time and think and call me again. I told her, Stop, I have the decision now, yes, go ahead. What should I do now?

I came to Ireland last May, and honestly, it was the golden opportunity to me.

Ireland has committed to evacuating 30 paediatric patients from Gaza in response to a request from the World Health Organisation (WHO) that EU nations respond to the regions acute healthcare needs.

Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza in response to a Hamas-led attack in October 2023  in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 taken hostage  which has ravaged the region.

Over 70,000 people in Gaza have been killed and multiples more injured or left at risk of starvation in what the Irish Government has called a genocide.

Three waves of evacuations of Palestinian children to Ireland have taken place since December 2024, in a programme involving engagement between several Irish and international organisations.

So far, 19 paediatric patients from Gaza and 84 family members have come to Ireland from Egypt in December 2024 and May 2025 and from Jordan in October 2025.

Buchra said that when she first travelled to Ireland, she had to leave her other three children  her 14-year-old daughter Ghazal, 12-year-old son Zainaldeen and eight-year-old daughter Kinzy  with their 80-year-old grandmother in Gaza, where they struggled to survive.

One day, I lost connection with them, and after 10 days I called them again, and they said that they displaced from place to place, they spent three nights in the street without a tent because it was torn.

Another time they had nothing to eat, they lived for 10 days on dirty water.

She said that while he was separated from his siblings, Mohammed stopped eating.

When they were reunited in October he was over the moon.

Their reunification made us, all of us, in a different place, (on) a different planet.

She said of what they had been through: Its the worst period of time in my life. I struggled to be the woman which I am now and keep struggling.

It wasnt easy at all. You support your children and you need to be supported, but you dont have the luxury to break down.

This is my faith. This is my life. They are now on my shoulders, so I should be everything to them. And yes, I really love them, I need them beside me.

She said that she now feels that she and her family belong in Ireland and that she had found my way in Ireland.

I appreciate each effort done by everyone, each name, each title, from the biggest one to the smallest one, the Irish community, the Irish authorities and the government, the ministries, the hospitals, the schools, everything is perfect.

It reflects the values of responsibilities, the values of (humanity), I learn from the Irish people lots of things.

So Im really happy that I am in this community, especially this community. It wasnt just a survival place, I felt like I am in my family place, in my second home.

An event was held at Childrens Health Ireland in Temple Street before Christmas where staff ran through the success of the programme and spoke about the cooperation between partner agencies including the Red Cross, the HSE, various Irish governmental departments, the WHO, and the Jordanian and Norwegian embassies.

After the presentation, Mohammed and his three siblings were given Christmas gifts by the staff.

Head of the Medevac Ireland programme Dr Turlough Bolger said the evacuations involve going through hundreds of WHO files to find the right patients to bring to Ireland to receive care, but would not displace Irish patients.

He said they had treated injuries and conditions ranging from amputations and traumatic injuries, to newborn infants born with congenital heart conditions.

Id love to see that this would be the first of many paediatric medical evacuations, he said.

It has been an absolutely amazing experience to work with all of these people and to see the professionalism, the dedication, the emotion of it all, to see patients who are arriving from  weve seen the pictures  a place where its like a moonscape, that kind of Armageddon-type situation.

To see them land into our beautiful country, and to see them welcomed, and to see them get the care that they need, has been fantastic.
A peaceful transition of power should be reached quickly in Venezuela, a Cabinet minister has said after Donald Trump declared the US would run the country until a new government takes over.

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones declined to say whether he thought American strikes on Caracas early on Saturday were legal, insisting it was for international courts to judge.

The UK, which has a historically deep intelligence-sharing relationship with the US, was not informed of the operation which saw Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro captured and flown to New York before it was carried out.

The United Kingdom was not involved in any way, Mr Jones told Sky Newss Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme.

We were not informed of it beforehand. So its not for us to judge whether its been a success or not. Thats for the Americans to speak to.

The minister and close ally of Sir Keir Starmer added: I think the important thing now, given the events that have unfolded over the last 48 hours, is that we are quickly able to get to a point where we can get to a peaceful transition to a president in Venezuela that has the support of the people of Venezuela.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to dismiss the idea of imminent elections when asked how soon a vote could take place later on Sunday, telling NBCs Meet The Press show: I think its premature at this point.

He said we all wish to see a bright future including democracy for Venezuela, but that theres a lot of work to be done here.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the US president said Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been indicted on narco-terrorism charges in New York, where he was taken into custody.

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The US will run the country until a safe, proper and judicious transition transfer of power can take place, Mr Trump said.

He also revealed his plans to exploit the leadership vacuum to fix the nations oil infrastructure, and sell large amounts of the fuel to other nations.

The action, seen as the most assertive US intervention to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, followed months of pressure from Washington on the country and its autocratic leader.

Darren Jones said the situation in Venezuela should quickly reach a point where a peaceful transition can be made (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Speaking to the Atlantic later on Sunday, Mr Trump also appeared to confirm that Venezuela may not be the last country subject to American intervention, saying: We do need Greenland, absolutely.

And referring to the interim leader in Caracas, Delcy Rodriguez, Mr Trump said: If she doesnt do whats right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.

Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen told the US to stop the threats about taking over Greenland.

Mr Jones said the UK Government was not entirely clear what Mr Trump meant when he said America would run Venezuela, but insisted it was not for a third country to decide on its future government.

Its for the Americans now and for Venezuela to set out what happens in the coming days, he said.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel suggested the UK should absolutely have anticipated what was going to happen and that the political direction of travel had been pretty clear.

Sir Keir has resisted calls from within his own party, as well as some opposition critics, to take a tougher stance on the US president, arguing that a close relationship with America is critical for security and defence.

Sir Keir Starmer has backed a transition of power in Venezuela (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA)

Asked whether he would condemn the military action on Saturday, Sir Keir said he wanted to wait to establish the facts and speak to Mr Trump, and later insisted the UK would shed no tears over the end of Mr Maduros regime.

Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside Kim Johnson questioned whether we as a country still stand for international law and sovereignty, while Leeds East Labour MP Richard Burgon described the Prime Ministers statement as shameful and reckless.

Former shadow chancellor and Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington John McDonnell said that effectively our country has been rendered up as a Trump colony, accusing the Government of prevarication.

In a post on X, Labour MP for Norwich South Clive Lewis said of the US action: A clear breach of the Nuremberg principles  which the UK helped write.

Now a (Labour Government) wont even defend them. This silence isnt diplomacy. Its the moral equivalent of a white flag.

In an interview with the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, the Prime Minister said he does not agree with President Trump on everything he says and does, without giving examples.

He said: We do have differences of views on various things, but on the other hand, I constantly remind myself that 24/7 our defence, our security and our intelligence relationship with the US matters probably more than any other relationship weve got in the world, and it would not be in our national interest to weaken that in any way.

Of course, it doesnt mean I agree with President Trump on everything he says and does, any more than he would agree with everything that I say or do, and we openly accept that thats the nature of the relationship we have.

But we have made the relationship work. We do get along with each other and have the ability to spend time, one-to-one discussion, with world issues, and that is to the benefit of the UK.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has suggested Washington will not take a day-to-day role in governing Venezuela other than enforcing an existing oil quarantine on the country.

It represents a turnaround after President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the US would be running Venezuela after the removal of leader Nicolas Maduro.

Mr Rubios statements on TV talk shows seemed designed to temper concerns about whether the assertive American action to achieve regime change might produce a prolonged foreign intervention or failed attempt at nation-building.

They stood in contrast to Mr Trumps broad but vague claims that the US would at least temporarily run the oil-rich nation, comments that suggested some sort of governing structure under which Caracas would be controlled by Washington.

Mr Rubio offered a more nuanced take, saying the US would continue to enforce an oil quarantine that was already in place on sanctioned tankers before Maduro was removed from power early on Saturday and using that leverage as a means to bring about policy changes in Venezuela.

And so thats the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that, Mr Rubio said on CBSs Face The Nation.

We continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking.

The blockade on sanctioned oil tankers  some of which have been seized by the US  remains in place, and thats a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes that not just further the national interest of the United States, which is number one, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela, he added.

Donald Trump monitoring the US military operation in Venezuela, with CIA director John Ratcliffe and secretary of state Marco Rubio (Molly Riley/White House/AP)

Maduro landed late on Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York Citys northern suburbs after the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in Caracas  an act that Maduros government called imperialist.

The couple faces US charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The dramatic seizure of the Maduros capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuelas autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval.

Venezuelas vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, demanded that the US free Maduro and called him the countrys rightful leader as her nations high court named her interim president.

After arriving at the airport, Maduro was flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armoured car, was waiting to take him to a nearby US Drug Enforcement Administration office.

Delcy Rodriguez (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

A video posted on social media by a White House account showed a smiling Maduro being escorted through that office by two DEA agents grasping his arms.

He is due to make his first appearance on Monday in Manhattans federal court.

Mr Trump said on Sunday that Ms Rodriguez could pay a very big price if she does not do what he thinks is right for the South American country.

That contrasted with his comments on Saturday when he said Mr Rubio had spoken with her and she was willing to do what the US thinks is needed to improve the standard of living in Venezuela.

Mr Trump told The Atlantic that if she doesnt do whats right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro. The president told the New York Post in an interview on Saturday that the US would not need to station troops in Venezuela if she does what we want.

The governments of Spain, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay said in a statement that US involvement in Venezuela is an extremely dangerous precedent for peace and regional security and puts the civilian population at risk.

In a statement released jointly by the governments, they expressed their concern about any attempt at government control, administration, or external appropriation of natural or strategic resources.

Satellite image showing the Fuerte Tiuna neighbourhood of Caracas after US strikes on Saturday (Vantor/AP)

These actions are incompatible with international law and threaten the political, economic and social stability of the region, they added.

They called for dialogue, negotiation and respect for the will of the Venezuelan people to resolve the situation without external interference and in accordance with international law.

The Danish ambassador to the US said his government expects the US to respect territorial integrity of Greenland, after Katie Miller, wife of White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, posted a map of Greenland coloured in stars and stripes and with the written note SOON.

We do need Greenland, absolutely, Mr Trump told The Atlantic on Sunday.

Just a friendly reminder about the US and the Kingdom of Denmark, ambassador Jesper Moller Sorensen wrote in his post on X responding to Miller. We are close allies and should continue to work together as such. US security is also Greenlands and Denmarks security. Greenland is already part of Nato.

Mr Trump called repeatedly for US jurisdiction over Greenland during his presidential transition and in the early months of his second term, causing anxiety in Denmark and Greenland, which possesses natural resources including oil, gas, and rare earth elements. Denmark is responsible for the autonomous territorys foreign affairs and defence.
Gang that shot up house blamed for second attack after arsonists target home off the Shankill

PSNI refuses to be drawn on links between spat of violent incidents

The house on Ceylon Street in north Belfast with its windows boarded up and a police car outside (Photo by Pacemaker)

John Toner Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 08:00

A house in north Belfast that was targeted in an arson attack is linked to ongoing violence in the area.
Speeding James Bond star allowed to keep licence for sake of his NI wife

Magistrate notes family would suffer exceptional hardship if he was disqualified

Colin Salmon and his wife Fiona Hawthorne (Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)

Ivan Little Sun 4 Jan 2026 at 08:00

Friends of James Bond star Colin Salmon and his Northern Irish wife have thanked a magistrate for not banning the actor from driving after he was caught speeding.
Courts

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Noah Donohoe inquest continues as woman who found schoolboys phone says she tried using it to ring his mum Fiona
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LENOX  Expanded security drills with local and state police.

Confronting challenging personnel issues.

Establishing a think tank to study the impact of artificial intelligence in and outside the classroom.

Those are among the highest-priority mid-year goals set by Superintendent William Collins in his progress report for the Lenox Public School District as classes at Lenox Memorial Middle and High and Morris Elementary resume following the holiday break.

In a presentation to the School Committee last month, Collins focused special attention on a goal to elevate instructional excellence.

He also stressed improved communication and greater trust and transparency both at the middle and high school and Morris.

District leaders function as the systems trust brokers, Collins said. How we communicate, follow through, and navigate conflict strengthens relational trust. Trust is a predictor of long-term academic improvement. This years work continues to solidify a trusting relationship across classrooms, buildings and the broader community.

Reports on any symbols of hate speech discovered in the towns schools are communicated to the community, Collins stressed. In December 2024, school officials and police probed the discovery of a swastika on the whiteboard of an middle and high school classroom. Principal Jeremiah Ames sent out a message to families and the School Committee about the incident.

We tell the community its happening, we want them to know were transparent, open and were working to make a culture where those things dont happen, but we dont sweep them under the rug, and parents can trust were being straightforward, said Collins. The committee session can be viewed on ctsb.com.

Following up on the safety and security assessment of the two school buildings he first requested and received two years ago, Collins cited expanded drills with local and state police as well as multi-hazard evacuation drills and relocation exercises. Behavioral threat assessment procedures have been improved, he said.

Were working to be as prepared as we can in the event that something happens that we hope never does, Collins pointed out, noting that the district is among the first in the state to work with a Homeland Security trainer to assess potential threats.

As an issue that deserves higher-profile attention, the superintendent focused on confronting challenging personnel matters rather than allowing them to linger or to erode trust, leading other staffers to assume that the administration is ignoring problematic behavior.

Ames and Morris Principal Brenda Kelley, as well as Director of Student Services Brian Kelley, have taken on difficult personnel issues and managed them decisively and responsibly, with the whole idea of doing whats in the best interest of students, Collins emphasized.

Because personnel matters are confidential, he suggested that action to resolve challenges doesnt get enough attention. But this is a team that doesnt shy away from holding peoples feet to the fire and making sure they do what they need to do if they want to be part of our team, he declared.

The in-house study group is laser-focused on artificial intelligence issues, Collins noted, as the district has partnered with the Lee schools for MITs exploration of AIs impact, including opportunities for personalized learning, data use and reduction of educators workloads.

Collins represented Lenox and Berkshire Countys other K-12 districts on the Berkshire Innovation Centers AI advisory committee. At the start of the school year, Collins cited AI challenges as a new frontier."
Eileen Gloster didnt expect the United States to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday or for President Donald Trump to say he intends to "run" Venezuela temporarily. But she wasnt surprised.

Its depressing because its always something new," the protest organizer said.

On Saturday, about 30 people braved cold temperatures to stand outside North Adams City Hall for about an hour during Glosters weekly protest  with Maduros capture top of mind. The protests, which Gloster has organized since May through her Facebook page Eileen for Justice, usually draw between 20 and 35 people, though attendance has dipped since winter began. She said Saturdays news likely fueled the uptick.

"It's very upsetting," Wendy Penner of Greylock Together, who attended Glosters protest, told The Eagle. "Venezuela should be run by Venezuelans. This sets a dangerous precedent."

Stand Up Berkshires, Greylock Together and Indivisible Pittsfield will hold a No War in Venezuela standout in Pittsfield on Jan. 11 at Park Square at 1 p.m., according to organizer Robin OHerin.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized Saturday by U.S. forces during a strike on his compound in Caracas, Venezuela, that killed at least 80 people, The New York Times reported. They were later transported to New York City, where they face narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy and weapons charges. The operation capped an intense pressure campaign by Trump aimed at removing the autocratic South American leader.

However, despite Trump's assertions that the U.S. will "run" the country to tap into its vast oil reserves, the Times reported "no obvious signs" of U.S. military presence in Venezuela, and Maduros vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as interim president and demanded Maduros return.

There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolas Maduro, Rodriguez said.

The Berkshire congressional delegation  all Democrats  condemned Trumps actions as unconstitutional and an overreach of presidential power. U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said the strikes in Venezuela and Maduros removal were carried out unilaterally, without congressional approval. Early congressional reaction was split along party lines.

"In all my years in Congress, this is one of the most blatant disregards of congressional war power that I have witnessed," Neal said in a statement.

Warren questioned Trump's intentions.

"What does it mean that the U.S. will run Venezuela, and what will Trump do next around the world?" Warren asked in a statement.

'We have been waiting for this moment for 25 years'

Carlina Velasquez, president of the nonprofit Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, was thankful for Maduro's removal. She emigrated from Venezuela 30 years ago and has seen the country's economy and democracy falter under Maduro and his predecessor and mentor, Hugo Chavez. Her organization funds Venezuelan humanitarian aid, organizes cultural festivals and assists migrants arriving in the state.

"We have been waiting for this moment for 25 years, and this is the only administration that has been taking action," Velasquez told The Eagle. "People are leaving the country because of a humanitarian crisis, and no one in the world has done anything about it."

Velasquez has family in Venezuela who are also in favor of Maduro's removal. While the Times and Venezuelas state-run television reported protests in support of Maduro, Velasquez questioned their authenticity  several international media outlets, including the BBC, have reported that Maduro's administration pays citizens to spread propaganda.

"They hate Maduro, everyone," Velasquez said. "But if he pays them because they are hungry, they do whatever he asks."

Venezuela's economy has collapsed under Maduro. Between 2013 and 2020, GDP fell more than 80 percent, and about 74 percent of the population lives in multidimensional poverty, with nearly 40 percent facing moderate to severe food insecurity. Approximately 8 million people have fled since 2014; Massachusetts hosts an estimated 10,000 Venezuelans, according to the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts.

The United States has not recognized Maduro as president since 2019. In November 2024, the Biden administration recognized Edmundo Gonzalez as president-elect after he presented evidence showing he defeated Maduro.

What's next?

The Berkshire congressional delegation did not defend Maduro's record, but they disagreed that it was the United States' place to remove him from power.

"A deeply flawed regime and corrupt leader does not justify unilateral military action when no imminent threat to the United States exists," Neal said in a statement. Markey said the removal further destabilize Venezuela and said the U.S. "risks another endless war."

The organizers shared similar concerns.

"Maduro was no ones friend," Penner said. "He's a bad actor." But she was worried about the precedent the removal set. "Whats to stop other countries from ignoring international law?"

Fernando Leon, a member of Berkshire Interfaith Organizing, said that Maduro's removal normalizes "authoritarian practices by legitimizing unilateral force, extrajudicial punishment, and rule-by-might over rule-of-law.

"Accountability must be pursued through multilateral legal institutions and due process, not through actions that mirror the abuses they claim to oppose," he said.

Gloster believes Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, should stand up to Trump.

"We are not an autocracy," she said. "To go in and bomb a nation, remove their leader  without any congressional approval is such an overreach.

"We need to get a backbone or conscience ... maybe a little of both."

Meanwhile, Velasquez hopes that the removal allows for a better future for Venezuela.

"I hope there is a transition between power, and we become free and prosper like we used to be," she said. "We have been oppressed and humiliated for 25 years."

She said she wanted Venezuela to go back to how she remembered it, before Chavez assumed office in 1999.

"We [were] never a migrant population," she said. "We used to receive them."
Commentary: China-South Korea cooperation crucial for safeguarding openness, stability in Asia-Pacific

Xinhua) 08:07, January 04, 2026

SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- As South Korean President Lee Jae Myung prepares to embark on his maiden visit to China since taking office, the timing could hardly be more consequential.

At a moment when trade protectionism is resurging, geopolitical tensions are increasing, and economic uncertainty clouds global recovery, China and South Korea -- two major economies in the Asia-Pacific -- face a shared responsibility to promote stability and confidence in the region.

Over the past three decades, China-South Korea relations have demonstrated that close neighbors with different ideologies and social systems can transcend differences through cooperation.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992, the two countries have built deeply integrated industrial chains and supply networks, forming a mutually beneficial economic partnership that has weathered multiple global shocks. This foundation remains one of the most resilient pillars of regional economic cooperation.

Economic ties continue to serve as the cornerstone of the relationship. For over two decades, China has been South Korea's largest trading partner, while South Korea stands as one of China's most important economic partners. This reflects a deep interdependence in manufacturing, technology and consumer markets. Any attempts to decouple or politicize these economic ties would run counter to the fundamental interests of both peoples.

The year 2025 marked the 10th anniversary of the China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement. According to China's General Administration of Customs, bilateral trade volume reached 298.9 billion U.S. dollars during the January-November period last year.

By expanding cooperation into emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals, green industries and the silver economy, both sides can align economic transformation with sustainable development. This is not only a pragmatic response to domestic growth challenges, but also a constructive contribution to regional and global economic recovery.

Beyond bilateral interests, China and South Korea are important stakeholders in upholding the multilateral trading system. As key Asia-Pacific economies, both countries benefit from open markets, stable supply chains and predictable rules.

In an era when unilateralism and "small yard and high fence" approaches are gaining ground, their cooperation demonstrates support of true multilateralism and inclusive globalization.

The broader regional and historical context also matters. The Asia-Pacific's peace and prosperity are rooted in the post-World War II international order. Any attempt to blur historical responsibilities or revive militaristic thinking risks undermining regional trust and stability.

As countries that suffered deeply from war and benefited profoundly from peace, China and South Korea share a moral and practical interest in safeguarding this hard-won order.

This shared responsibility extends to regional platforms such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). With China assuming the APEC host role in 2026, closer coordination with South Korea can help advance regional economic integration, promote the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, and strengthen cooperation on development, innovation and connectivity. Such efforts would reinforce the Asia-Pacific's role as a stabilizing force in an increasingly fragmented world.

Lee's upcoming visit offers an opportunity to consolidate the positive trajectory of bilateral ties and chart a clearer course for the future. By enhancing strategic communication, expanding practical cooperation and properly managing differences, China and South Korea can further elevate their partnership to a higher level, one marked by deeper trust, stronger economic synergy and a shared commitment to regional peace and prosperity.

At a time of profound global transformation, the choice facing both sides is clear. By standing together against protectionism, upholding multilateralism and remaining mindful of the lessons of history, China and South Korea can not only advance their own development, but also contribute constructively to stability and confidence across the Asia-Pacific and beyond.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
January 4, 2026: Vladimir Putin has long had a difficult relationship with the internet. His most recent solution is Max, a government controlled messaging app. The government has access to messages transmitted using Max. To encourage Russians to switch to Max, Putin ordered that the most popular apps WhatsApp and Telegram suffer from degraded service. That means voice and video traffic was slowed down and some activity was randomly blocked. The government explained that these disruptions were anti-fraud measures. So far nearly half of Russias internet users are on Max, although only about half those users are on Max regularly. Meanwhile Max is cheaper and more reliable than the alternatives, even after WhatsApp and Telegram service returned to normal.

The introduction of Max is part of Putins plan to create a sovereign, used in Russia only, internet. Max wont interfere with that. There are problems with this because the internet is essential for running the economy and the military. At the same time internet chatter is the primary source of criticism for the Ukraine War and the problems with the economic sanctions.

Internet chatter about what was going on in Ukraine made it more difficult for Russia to obtain soldiers. To avoid army service in Ukraine, several million Russians left the country, some for good. The government increased restrictions on who could leave, and military age men found ways to get past that, notably bribery. Those caught were forced to join the army, and their reluctance to fight resulted in officers receiving orders to shoot soldiers who refused to fight.

There were at least a hundred of these incidents, these soldiers and officers referred to as zeroing out a reluctant soldier by shooting him. The dead soldiers were called zeroes and the next of kin were simply told that their son died heroically in Ukraine. That explanation often failed when news of what actually happened arrived via the internet.

The internet made it easier to spread the bad news, even after the government made it illegal to say bad things about the war effort. A few complainers were prosecuted, but that backfired when online complaints and protests increased. There were not enough judicial resources available to handle all the complainers. Welcome to the internet paradox, too troublesome to tolerate, but too useful to lose.

But its not for lack of trying. Last year, Russia carried out a brief pre-dawn test of its ability to turn internet access for Russians into a sovereign internet that is not connected to the worldwide internet. That means Russians could only use the internet within Russian and must use Russian-based websites and network services, like search, messaging and social media. There are versions of all these services based in Russian as well as internationally popular versions like Google, Wikipedia, Twitter and Facebook.

The sovereign internet test revealed some problems, like interference with large scale Internet-based communications systems created for the nationwide railroad network and other nationwide communications systems that also require some access to international systems. A long-term implementation of Russias sovereign internet would disrupt some portions of the Russian economy that depend on constant communication with foreign firms.

The sovereign internet is meant to be used for short periods. There are other uses of the sovereign internet that include remaining connected to neighboring nations like Iran, which is trying to develop a sovereign internet and China, which already has one. Internet pioneers predicted that some countries would seek to develop a sovereign internet in order to exercise government control over the internet. This was something that early internet developers feared would happen because the international free exchange of information was a threat to the power of totalitarian government. The totalitarians were expected to eventually strike back and now they have.

North Korea also has a sovereign internet as well as restrictions on who can use this internet. Only a small number of government, commercial, and military are allowed to use the internet to communicate with people outside the country.
A man has been arrested after a traffic attendant was left with serious facial injuries in an attack in Newcastle, Co Down.

Police said the attendant, a man aged in his 30s, was in the Main Street area on Saturday afternoon when another man bumped into him as he left an off-licence.

The man became verbally abusive and swung a bag of bottles at the attendants face before leaving the scene.

The attendant sustained a number of facial fractures and a deep laceration.

The PSNI said: With the help of the local community, we were able to quickly identify the suspect.

A 28-year-old man was located a short time later at licensed premises, at which time he became aggressive, assaulting four officers.

He was arrested on suspicion of a number of offences including grievous bodily harm with intent and four counts of assault on police.

The police spokesperson said: Its appalling that a man going about his lawful business should be attacked in this way.

They said the PSNI would be maintaining our proactive policing presence in the area and have asked for any witnesses to contact them.
Ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has been detained in New York after a daring raid was carried out by US special forces in the early hours of Saturday morning to capture the South American leader and take control of the oil-rich country.

US President Donald Trump confirmed the countrys leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been flown out of Caracas and indicted on narco-terrorism charges following strikes on the South American country.

As part of the dramatic operation that knocked out electricity in parts of Caracas and included strikes on military installations, US Special Forces seized Maduro and his wife, and transported them via helicopter to a US Navy ship offshore before flying them to the US.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Trump said: We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition."

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It is unclear how Trump plans to oversee Venezuela. US forces have no control over the country itself, and Maduro's government appears to still be in charge.

The removal of Maduro, who led Venezuela with a heavy hand for more than 12 years, potentially opens a power vacuum in the Latin American country.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was said to be in Russia on Saturday, according to four sources familiar with her movements, stoking confusion about who is next in line to govern the South American country.

Russia's foreign ministry said the report that Rodriguez is in Russia was "fake."

Venezuelas highest court has subsequently ordered Delcy Rodriguez to assume the role of interim president, according to The Associated Press.

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Helen McIntee said: "Ireland, together with our EU partners, underlines the absolute necessity of full respect for international law and the principles of the UN Charter.

"While we have been clear that President Maduro does not have any democratic legitimacy, we have consistently called for a peaceful and negotiated transition in Venezuela, and have supported all international efforts to that end.

"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is monitoring the consular situation, in coordination with EU partners on the ground."

The Social Democrats have said that the "Irish government must unequivocally condemn US military actions in Venezuela", while Labour has said that the "situation demands global action".

Sinn Fein have said that the "US assault against Venezuela has serious repercussions for the primacy of international law and multilateral system".

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In Dublin, approximately 100 protesters took part in a demonstration in Dublin against the US actions, according to the Irish Times.

The protesters gathered on the Hapenny Bridge, and unfurled a banner reading USA out of Venezuela.

For months, Trump's administration has criticised Maduro over claims that the country helped to ship drugs into the US. Trump had ramped up the pressure on Venezuela with a buildup of military presence and several missile strikes on alleged drug running boats.

Maduro is expected to make a first appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday, a Justice Department official told the Irish Times.

An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council has been scheduled for Monday morning.

In a statement via his spokesman, the UN secretary-general voiced concerns that the rules of international law had not been respected.

Additional reporting by Reuters and PA
A Mass has been held for the victims of the fire at a bar in the Swiss Alpine resort of Crans-Montana, which left 40 people dead and many severely injured.

As distressed parents continue to wait for news of their children, they attended the service alongside members of the emergency services at the Chapelle Saint-Christophe in Crans-Montana. Mass was set to be followed by a silent march to the site of the tragedy.

In the crowded pews, a grieving woman listened intently, her hands clasped tightly and sometimes clasping rosary beads, as speakers delivered readings in German, French and Italian.

Despite freezing weather, several hundred followed the Mass on the screen installed outside the church.

The Rev Gilles Cavin spoke of the terrible uncertainty for families unsure if their loved ones are among the dead or still alive among the injured. We pray for their friends hard hit by misery on this day that was meant to be one of festivities and friendship, he said.



Bishop Monseigneur Jean-Marie Lovey, left, greets Nicolas Feraud, president of Crans-Montana, ahead of the memorial Mass (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone/AP)

Forty people died and 119 were injured in the blaze that broke out at around 1.30am on New Years Day at Le Constellation bar. Police have said many of the victims were in their teens to mid-20s.

By Sunday morning, Swiss authorities had identified 24 out of the 40 fatalities. They include 18 Swiss citizens aged 14 to 31, two Italians aged 16, one dual citizen of Italy and the United Arab Emirates who was also 16, an 18-year-old Romanian, a 39-year-old French and a Turkish citizen, 18.

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One of the victims was 16-year old Arthur Brodard, whose mother had been frantically searching for him.

Our Arthur has now left to party in paradise, a visibly shaken Laetitia Brodard said in a Facebook story posted on Saturday night.

We can start our mourning, knowing that he is in peace and in the light.

Ms Brodards frenzied search for her son reflected the desperation of families of the young people missing following the fire, who do not know whether their loved ones are dead or in hospital.



Floral wreaths were brought to the chapel for Mass (Antonio Calanni/AP)

Swiss authorities said the process of identifying victims is particularly hard because of the advanced degree of the burns, requiring the use of DNA samples. Ms Brodard had given her DNA sample to help in the identification process.

In her Facebook post, she thanked those who testified their compassion, their love and to those who shared information as she anxiously searched and waited for news of her son.

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Meanwhile, Swiss authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the bar managers.

The two are suspected of involuntary homicide, involuntary bodily harm and involuntarily causing a fire, the Valais regions chief prosecutor, Beatrice Pilloud, told reporters on Saturday. The managers have not been named.

Investigators said on Friday they believe sparkling candles stuck on the top of Champagne bottles ignited the fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Authorities plan to look into whether sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations, and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. Officials said they will also look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin announced a national day of mourning for the victims on January 9.
A tense calm held in Venezuela on Sunday, one day after president Nicolas Maduro was deposed and captured in an American military operation.

Venezuelas capital Caracas was unusually quiet, with few vehicles moving around. Convenience shops, fuel stations and other businesses were mostly closed.

A day before, queues wound through shops and outside petrol stations as uncertain Venezuelans stocked up on goods in case turmoil broke out.



People and soldiers outside a supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela (Ariana Cubillos/AP)

Roads typically filled with runners and cyclists sat largely empty on Sunday, and Venezuelas presidential palace was guarded by armed civilians and members of the military.

Outside the capital, in La Guira state, families with houses damaged in blasts during the operation that captured Maduro and his wife were still cleaning up debris. Some buildings were left with walls gaping open.

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After the seismic shift in Venezuela and promises by President Donald Trump that the United States will run Venezuela with the help of Maduros vice-president Delcy Rodriguez, no-one in the country seems to know where things stand or what lies ahead.



A soldier stands atop an armoured vehicle on the road leading from the international airport towards Caracas on Sunday (Matias Delacroix/AP)

In a low-income neighbourhood in eastern Caracas, construction worker Daniel Medalla sat on the steps outside a Catholic church and told a few parishioners that again there would be no morning Mass.

Mr Medalla suggested the streets remained mostly empty not because people are worried about another strike, but because they are fearful of government repression if they dare celebrate, coming after a fierce government crackdown during last years fraught elections.

We were longing for it, Mr Medalla, 66, said of Maduros exit.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has suggested Washington will not take a day-to-day role in governing Venezuela other than enforcing an existing oil quarantine on the country.

It represents a turnaround after President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the US would be running Venezuela after the removal of leader Nicolas Maduro.

Mr Rubios statements on TV talk shows seemed designed to temper concerns about whether the assertive American action to achieve regime change might produce a prolonged foreign intervention or failed attempt at nation-building.





They stood in contrast to Mr Trumps broad but vague claims that the US would at least temporarily run the oil-rich nation, comments that suggested some sort of governing structure under which Caracas would be controlled by Washington.

Mr Rubio offered a more nuanced take, saying the US would continue to enforce an oil quarantine that was already in place on sanctioned tankers before Maduro was removed from power early on Saturday and using that leverage as a means to bring about policy changes in Venezuela.

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And so thats the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that, Mr Rubio said on CBSs Face The Nation.

We continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking.

The blockade on sanctioned oil tankers  some of which have been seized by the US  remains in place, and thats a tremendous amount of leverage that will continue to be in place until we see changes that not just further the national interest of the United States, which is number one, but also that lead to a better future for the people of Venezuela, he added.



Donald Trump monitoring the US military operation in Venezuela, with CIA director John Ratcliffe and secretary of state Marco Rubio (Molly Riley/White House/AP)

Maduro landed late on Saturday afternoon at a small airport in New York Citys northern suburbs after the middle-of-the-night operation that extracted him and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in a military base in Caracas  an act that Maduros government called imperialist.

The couple faces US charges of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

The dramatic seizure of the Maduros capped an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on Venezuelas autocratic leader and months of secret planning, resulting in the most assertive American action to achieve regime change since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

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Legal experts raised questions about the lawfulness of the operation, which was done without congressional approval.

Venezuelas vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, demanded that the US free Maduro and called him the countrys rightful leader as her nations high court named her interim president.

After arriving at the airport, Maduro was flown by helicopter to Manhattan, where a convoy of law enforcement vehicles, including an armoured car, was waiting to take him to a nearby US Drug Enforcement Administration office.



Delcy Rodriguez (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

A video posted on social media by a White House account showed a smiling Maduro being escorted through that office by two DEA agents grasping his arms.

He is due to make his first appearance on Monday in Manhattans federal court.

Mr Trump said on Sunday that Ms Rodriguez could pay a very big price if she does not do what he thinks is right for the South American country.

That contrasted with his comments on Saturday when he said Mr Rubio had spoken with her and she was willing to do what the US thinks is needed to improve the standard of living in Venezuela.

Mr Trump told The Atlantic that if she doesnt do whats right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro. The president told the New York Post in an interview on Saturday that the US would not need to station troops in Venezuela if she does what we want.

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The governments of Spain, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay said in a statement that US involvement in Venezuela is an extremely dangerous precedent for peace and regional security and puts the civilian population at risk.

In a statement released jointly by the governments, they expressed their concern about any attempt at government control, administration, or external appropriation of natural or strategic resources.



Satellite image showing the Fuerte Tiuna neighbourhood of Caracas after US strikes on Saturday (Vantor/AP)

These actions are incompatible with international law and threaten the political, economic and social stability of the region, they added.

They called for dialogue, negotiation and respect for the will of the Venezuelan people to resolve the situation without external interference and in accordance with international law.

The Danish ambassador to the US said his government expects the US to respect territorial integrity of Greenland, after Katie Miller, wife of White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, posted a map of Greenland coloured in stars and stripes and with the written note SOON.

We do need Greenland, absolutely, Mr Trump told The Atlantic on Sunday.

Just a friendly reminder about the US and the Kingdom of Denmark, ambassador Jesper Moller Sorensen wrote in his post on X responding to Miller. We are close allies and should continue to work together as such. US security is also Greenlands and Denmarks security. Greenland is already part of Nato.

Mr Trump called repeatedly for US jurisdiction over Greenland during his presidential transition and in the early months of his second term, causing anxiety in Denmark and Greenland, which possesses natural resources including oil, gas, and rare earth elements. Denmark is responsible for the autonomous territorys foreign affairs and defence.
by Charles Siegel

Last week I learned of the recent death of Roberto Chaves Chavarria, of San Jose, Costa Rica, aged 90. His work benefited thousands upon thousands of his countrymen, and many thousands in other countries as well, who will never know his name. And he had a profound effect on my career as a lawyer, and on the direction of my life as a whole.

Chaves was a forensic toxicologist, and the first head of the Department of Forensic Sciences, an office in the Costa Rican Poder Judicial, or judicial branch. In the Costa Rican legal system, as in that of most Latin American countries, judges and other judicial officers often conduct their own factual investigations into cases before them.

In the late 1970s, Chaves learned of a large group of workers, on a banana plantation near the small town of Rio Frio, who were sterile. Over the course of many investigative trips, he interviewed workers and their wives, plantation managers, doctors and others. Chaves eventually concluded that the men had been sterilized through contact with a pesticide they applied to the roots of the banana plants. This pesticide, known as DBCP, was used to kill worms that infested the soil beneath the plants.

DBCP was invented by scientists at Shell Chemical Co., a subsidiary of the oil giant, and originally tested on pineapple plants in Hawaii. It proved to be very effective, and was used on pineapple and banana plantations around the world. DBCP-based pesticides were manufactured by several American companies, including Dow Chemical and Occidental Chemical as well as Shell.

The cluster of sterile banana workers that Chaves discovered in Rio Frio was not the first such group. A few years earlier, men who worked in the Occidental factory making the stuff in Lathrop, California, had also been found to be sterile. This eventually led to a ban on DBCP use in the United States, but Dow and another smaller company continued to sell it overseas.

Meanwhile, Chaves continued his work in Costa Rica, and learned about the American developments. At a toxicology conference he mentioned the matter to Eric Comstock, a Houston toxicologist with a clinical practice, who also helped establish some of the earliest poison control centers. Dr. Comstock also testified occasionally as an expert witness for plaintiffs in asbestos litigation represented by one of the pioneers in that field, a Dallas lawyer named Fred Baron. Comstock mentioned the matter to Barons young partner, Russell Budd.

The banana workers whom Chaves had met had no real legal remedy in Costa Rica. But he thought they might be able to sue the American makers and exporters of the product. In 1982 Fred Baron and Russell Budd filed the first such suit.

In the summer of 1984, I had finished my second year of law school, and was working as a clerk at their firm. My fellow clerk and I didnt have offices or even cubicles; we just sat at a table in the library. One day Budd stuck his head in and asked who wanted a new research assignment and I raised my hand. That has made all the difference, as the great poet put it. I couldnt know it at the time, of course, but that assignment led me to meet Roberto Chaves, and set my career on its path.

Because I worked on that assignment, I became familiar with the banana workers claims generally. So when I completed law school, and took a job with the firm in 1985, it made sense to continue working on their cases. I met Roberto on my first trip to Costa Rica in 1986, and liked him immediately. He was an inexhaustible fount of knowledge about many, many things: toxicology, of course, but also public health, Costa Rican and Central American history and geography, Latin American literature, and on and on. He was an engaging bon vivant who enjoyed a drink, and who somehow always knew where to find a good meal even in the most humble plantation town.

I worked closely on those cases with Roberto, and with his niece, Susana, an accomplished attorney in San Jose, for several years, until they were resolved. At that point, I joined a new firm and hoped to begin prosecuting cases for more afectados, or sterilized workers, from Costa Rica and other countries as well.

Roberto and Susana knew there were thousands more workers in Costa Rica who were sterile. They could have worked with any one of numerous established American firms who had learned about Baron and Budds original group of cases, and indeed they were being courted aggressively by one such firm  one of the most prominent plaintiffs firms in the United States. But they stuck with me, even though Id only been practicing for six years at that point. In time, we put together a team of lawyers and paralegals from my new firm and other firms, and were eventually retained to represent thousands of workers in Costa Rica, and thousands more from other countries as well.

During the 1990s I made perhaps 30 trips to Costa Rica. I went to meet clients at plantations and meeting halls all over the country, and of course got to know Costa Rica in a way that no tourist possibly could. (Traveling to and in Costa Rica was much different back then. Instead of the dozens of daily nonstop flights from several U.S. cities you have today, there were one or two nonstops a day, solely from Miami, on some combination of Eastern, Pan Am or LACSA, the Costa Rican flag carrier. The Miami airport was a much smaller, sleepier place than the enormous, America Airlines mega-hub it is today. And the Costa Rica of the late 80s and early 90s was much different too. There were no flights to Liberia on the Pacific Coast, no luxury hotels. You couldnt do what so many people today seem to do: fly to Liberia, say, be picked up and taken to a luxe eco-resort, have a massage derived from indigenous healing traditions, never leave the resort, and think youve seen Costa Rica.)

Getting to know the country with Roberto Chaves was an incomparable gift. In those 30 trips, I took a total of two days off, but even on the work days, I learned and experienced so much. In Limon, for example, I learned all about the history of the Afro-Costa Rican community, descended from Jamaicans and others of Caribbean origin who migrated there to work on the construction of the Atlantic railroad in the 19th century. And while I would be getting a history lecture, I might learn botany as well: Roberto would be forever stopping to point out and describe in detail interesting and unique plants or flowers that I would have otherwise missed. I remember very well an extended description of the giant elephant-ear plants that lined the old road from San Jose, over the mountains and then down to the Atlantic plantations.

Roberto was practical too. Ill never forget driving with him to a plantation on the far southern Atlantic coast, just north of the border with Panama. Out in the middle of nowhere, we came across a drunk woman sprawled in the middle of the road. We stopped our car, and Roberto reached into the glove compartment for a gun, which Id had no idea was there. He got out of the car slowly, and pointed the gun in a careful circle around our car. Only once he was satisfied this wasnt a setup, did we approach the woman and carry her to the side of the road.

On one of those two days off, in the summer of 1991, we drove out to the Pacific coast town of Puntarenas. We were going to see a total solar eclipse. This was to be the longest solar eclipse in centuries (Wikipedia informs me that there will not be a longer one until the year 2132), and the Costa Rican Pacific coast and Hawaii were supposedly the best places on earth to see it (I remember hearing that there were clouds over most of Hawaii). As the world gradually turned to complete darkness, Roberto animatedly explained how the night birds would begin singing.

But Roberto was much more than an engaging guide to all things Costa Rican. He was a true hero to his countrymen and to workers around the world. Together with Robertos niece, our team of U.S. lawyers ultimately represented several thousand workers from plantations all over Costa Rica. We also filed suit for thousands more workers from other Central American countries, and from the Caribbean, Ecuador, the Philippines, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso as well. Every one of these men had been affected by a pesticide that should never have been sold in the first place  and certainly should not have continued to be sold overseas after it was banned in the U.S.

The terrible human legacy of DBCP, and the saga of the ensuing litigation, are stories that themselves deserve several more columns (over the years there have been Congressional hearings, books, TV newsmagazine segments, newspaper articles and even an L.A. Law episode). But there was an entirely separate tragedy in Costa Rica, also caused by an American company, that Roberto investigated and brought to Susana and me for litigation in the U.S.  the deaths from AIDS of hemophiliacs using American-made blood products.

Hemophiliacs typically lack one of two proteins, or factors, that are essential in the blood-clotting process. Treatment involved repeated infusion of whole blood, entailing frequent hospital stays. In the mid-60s, factor concentrates appeared on the market. They could be self-injected at home and stored in the refrigerator. These products revolutionized hemophiliacs lives, but they concealed a ticking time bomb.

The concentrates were produced from large vats of plasma, collected from paid donors  really vendors  at facilities around the country. Pharmaceutical companies ran these centers, and would pay donors for their plasma, which would then be sent to manufacturing facilities and pooled into large vats.

From those vats, various substances were separated out and made into finished products. A typical lot of Factor VIII concentrate, the product used by roughly 90 percent of hemophiliacs, might have been made from plasma collected from as many as 20,000 donors. These donors, of course, were people who needed money badly enough to sell their plasma for it. They included a lot of college students, but also a lot of skid row bums and addicts, many of whose needles werent entirely clean.

As HIV began to circulate in the United States in the late 70s, some of these donors became infected without knowing it, and kept selling blood  now contaminated with HIV  that made its way into those enormous pooled lots from which factor concentrate was made. While the plasma centers were supposed to screen their donors, in practice this meant very little  usually nothing more than a questionnaire. A heroin addict in desperate need of money wasnt likely to be completely truthful. And even if he was, he wouldnt have known, possibly for a few years, that he was HIV-positive. A single infected donor could thus contaminate an entire lot, and thereby infect many people. And there were many infected donors.

The four pharmaceutical companies that manufactured factor concentrate began screening their products for HIV in the early 80s, and then later heating them to eliminate the virus. These measures were mostly effective, but the damage had been done. By then, nearly every hemophiliac in the United States was infected with HIV. They were the only AIDS victims to contract the disease from a prescription medication. These were heartbreaking cases, needless to say. I knew one hemophiliac in Houston who was infected, and waiting to die; four brothers had already died, and he had unknowingly infected his wife who had also died.

Hemophiliacs in other countries were infected as well. But those in Costa Rica, who were using products supplied by Cutter, had fared better than some others: while most of them were already infected, some had actually tested negative for HIV as late as 1985. By this time, most of the concentrate sold in the U.S. and abroad was screened and heated, and thus free of HIV.

But Cutter Labs (yes, the company that makes insect repellent) had a few lots of older concentrate, unscreened and/or unheated, still in the pipeline, and it was going to sell those lots. Discovery in litigation revealed internal communications on the subject, including an exchange in which an employee expressed reservations about these shipments; the response was that they would go forward because they were needed to meet third quarter sales requirements. At least one of the lots went to Costa Rica, and several persons were infected by tainted concentrate from it.

The experience of the global hemophiliac community during the AIDS pandemic was a horrific tragedy. But the coda to that tragedy that played out in Costa Rica should never have happened. It was absolutely unnecessary for any hemophiliacs anywhere, who had already tested negative by the time safe concentrate was available, to have been infected by contaminated concentrate that should have been thrown out. Roberto, Susana and I believed that Cutter might as well have lined those men and boys up against a wall and shot them.

After Robertos investigation, we filed these cases, and Cutter fought them doggedly for years before they were eventually resolved. I will never forget visiting one of the families at their home in San Jose. We talked to the parents, whose 14-year-old son had been infected several years earlier. He was still healthy, and his parents had never been able to bring themselves to tell him that he was infected. But now, they knew they would have to do so soon, since he was beginning to express interest in girls, and had asked them about dating.

This teenager was going to die in a few years because of specific, deliberate corporate decisions, made years earlier and thousands of miles away. I have always believed that the Costa Rican hemophiliacs, who died because of tainted concentrate shipped from the U.S., were just like their fellow Costa Ricans who were sterilized by a pesticide banned in the U.S. but still shipped abroad: the American companies that did this never thought foreign victims would ever sue them.

That calculus was changed by Roberto Chaves. His efforts led directly to compensation for tens of thousands of banana workers around the world, and dozens of Costa Rican hemophiliacs. They even led to new laws in some countries, concerning jurisdiction in cases involving foreign products.

They also set me on a course of representing foreign as well as American clients that continues today. Its been a very interesting and satisfying career. There are many unhappy lawyers in the world, but Ive never been one of them.

Descanse en paz, Don Roberto. It was a privilege and honor to work with you. You were a hero.
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NationalVenezuela crisis Opinion Australia should not lie in bed with a shameless dictator like Trump Ben Saul Challis Chair of International Law at Sydney University January 4, 2026  3:30pm

January 4, 2026  3:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

President Donald Trumps brazen attack on Venezuela has violated the most sacred rule of international law  the near-century old ban on use of military force against another country. It returns the Americas to an era of gunboat diplomacy by imperial warlords. The attack is such a serious use of force that it amounts to an armed attack under the United Nations Charter, giving Venezuela a legal right of self-defence. Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at New Yorks Westside Heliport, wearing a hoodie and handcuffs, makes a peace sign. Bloomberg The responsible US political leaders and military commanders could also be personally liable for the international crime of aggression. Every Venezuelan life lost as a result of illegal aggression also involves a violation of the human right to life by the US.

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The illegal abductions of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are further breaches of international law. There is no right to arrest any criminal suspect in a foreign country without the consent of its government. As a head of government, Maduro also enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution in the US courts. To be sure, the authoritarian Maduro government is of questionable legitimacy following serious electoral fraud and a history of serious human rights violations. The contrast with Western condemnation of Russias invasion of Ukraine is staggering. Yet international law does not permit forcible regime change at the whim of another government. Combating drug trafficking or so-called narco-terrorists, or seizing quasi-colonial control of foreign oil resources, are also not legitimate reasons to use force. International law rightly values peace, stability and the protection of human life over violent imperial opportunism and regional hegemony. The US attack is the culmination of a year-long campaign to destabilise Venezuela, including the recent illegal blockade of sanctioned oil tankers, a strike on a port, covert action by the CIA and the bogus listing of Venezuelan cartels as terrorists, including one, Cartel de Los Soles, that the US alleged was headed by Maduro himself.

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The attack is also closely connected with illegal US military attacks on 35 alleged drug-trafficking vessels on the high seas near Venezuela, extrajudicially killing at least 115 civilians. These mass, cold-blooded murders have no basis in international law. Most of these violations have been met by a wall of silence from Western governments. Instead of robustly condemning the latest US invasion and defending international law, certain Western governments have reacted timidly to appease Trump. Some even hinted that Venezuela had it coming because of its poor human rights record. Related Article Venezuela crisis Stealth drones and massive blowtorches: How the US mission to capture Maduro unfolded The contrast with Western condemnation of Russias invasion of Ukraine is staggering. Hypocrisy and selectivity in enforcing international law is destroying it and emboldening authoritarians everywhere. Last year, some countries, including Australia, even supported US aggression against Irans nuclear program, further eroding international law, while many have turned a blind eye to thousands of illegal strikes by Israel in Syria, Iran and Lebanon in recent years. International law is at its lowest ebb in many decades, including after the widespread atrocities in Gaza. Restoring respect for it requires raising the price of lawlessness. A compliant US Congress and the weakened US courts must reassert themselves, and US military personnel must refuse illegal orders.

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Other countries, particularly US allies, must do their part, starting with loud diplomatic protest and condemnation in the General Assembly. Stronger action could include suspending arms trade, military cooperation and intelligence sharing, and imposing Magnitsky-style financial and travel sanctions on the responsible US officials, including the US president, the secretary of war and the US military commanders. Countries like Australia need to wake up to who they are dealing with in the US. Trump called members of Congress who questioned the legality of the attack weak, stupid people. He has contempt for the law, US institutions, other countries and the United Nations. Appeasing him emboldens him to do worse, as the escalating campaign against Venezuela  met with resounding global silence as it unfolded  demonstrates. Related Article Updated

Venezuela crisis US plans to run Venezuela and tap its oil reserves, Trump says, after operation to oust Maduro Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was right that the US president should be met with strength, not with fear, fawning and appeasement. Australia should seriously question whether it should bind itself in a security and AUKUS alliance with a country that illegally topples foreign governments, abducts their leaders and mass-murders civilians at sea, quite apart from his domestic human rights record. Australia needs to step up, not step down and lie in bed with a shameless dictator. Only countries acting together have the power to stop this deepening lawlessness by worlds most powerful country. Respect for sovereignty, non-use of force, non-intervention and the peaceful settlement of disputes are essential to preserving peace and human rights worldwide.

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Ben Saul is the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism and the Challis Chair of International Law at The University of Sydney. Get a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter.
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Exclusive NationalCourts The $2 million inheritance and the online romance Michaela Whitbourn January 4, 2026  3:45pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

An Australian man made a will that left the bulk of his $2 million estate to an online love interest. A judge found the person didnt exist. In a case that exposes some of the dangers of virtual romances, the Victorian Supreme Court was required to unravel the inheritance mystery and decide how the mans assets should be distributed after he died. The man changed his will after striking up an online relationship. Monique Westermann The man, from Kew in Melbournes inner east, had a series of online relationships after his partner of 40 years died in 2017. The last of those was a short-lived relationship with a person purporting to be an American called Kyle Stuart Jackson. The relationship started in early 2022.

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The pair had never met in person. The man changed his will in August 2022 to name Jackson as his chief beneficiary and the executor of his estate. The deceased made his will in contemplation of his possible marriage to Mr Jackson, albeit he did not ever meet him in person, Associate Judge Caroline Anne Goulden said in a decision in December. My relationship with [the deceased] was special and I am yet to recover from his demise. Kyle Stuart Jackson, who was named as the chief beneficiary The Victorian man died in October 2022. His main asset was a home that was sold in 2023 for $2.5 million. His will named his ex-wife as executor if Jackson was unable or unwilling to act, gave her $100,000, and said she would inherit the rest if Jackson died before him.

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The ex-wife, who eventually stepped in as executor, applied to the court for the determination of questions relating to the administration of the estate. The court examined the evidence and concluded that Jackson does not exist in the manner understood by the deceased, or at all. The ex-wife was entitled to distribute the estate without further regard for Mr Jacksons interest, the court said. The ex-wifes solicitors at Melbourne law firm KHQ Lawyers went to great lengths to contact Jackson. A person who claimed to be Jackson said in an email to the deceaseds former lawyer that he did not want to be a beneficiary. He told the ex-wifes lawyers in a later email that he was happy for her to be executor, with a caveat. I must be intimated of every step of the process  as well as entitled to 15% of his estates [sic] value and I will decide whom or what charity to send my share to, the email said.

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Related Article Good Weekend It is going to get really bitter: Why family-will battles are set to explode My relationship with [the deceased] was special and I am yet to recover from his demise. In March 2023, a person purporting to be Jackson sent an email, attaching an image that appeared to show a page from a US passport for a Kyle Jackson born in 1984. A residential address in Pennsylvania was supplied but the current resident was unaware that a Kyle Jackson had ever lived there. The judge said the ex-wife engaged a US-based private detective to locate or obtain information about the identity and existence of Mr Jackson. The detectives final report last year concluded that the passport was fraudulent and Jackson was not a real person.

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The person claiming to be Jackson had previously sent a cheque to his online friend for $1.2 million in Canadian dollars but the Toronto-Dominion Bank confirmed in 2023 that it wasnt valid. Rachael Hocking, principal solicitor at KHQ Lawyers and an accredited specialist in wills and estates, acted for the ex-wife of the deceased, who remained his closest long-term friend. She said the facts of the case were particularly unique but legal issues about how a will should be interpreted were commonly encountered. With the increasing use of technology in our everyday lives, including relationships and the risk of online scams, there is a concern that we may see more and more of these types of factual scenarios, Hocking said. She said the case involved two separate court applications. The first was an application for probate, which involved the court passing over Kyle as the instituted or first-named executor under the will.

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Probate confirms the validity of a will and allows the executor to administer the estate according to its terms. Related Article Exclusive

Courts The carer and the suspicious changes to a Sydney mans will Our client was the substitute executor and could only apply [for probate] if we were able to persuade the court that the instituted executor was unable, unwilling or unsuitable to act, Hocking said. The ex-wife then administered the estate, including selling property. The second application concerned how the estate should be distributed. It was an enormous task for our client, who, in my opinion, did an excellent job in discharging her duties, Hocking said.

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Communication with the person purporting to be Jackson was conducted solely by email and was sporadic and extremely difficult, Hocking said. We had to undertake extensive investigations  to ensure that our client was properly discharging her duty as executor to try and locate, communicate with and identify Kyle. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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Exclusive PoliticsQueenslandQueensland government The LNP vowed to cap its outlay on consultants to fund promises. Its still spending Matt Dennien January 5, 2026  5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

The new office to stem Queensland government spending on consultants has slowly begun its work, as questions remain over the reality of the LNPs promised budget repair plan. A two-part investigation by this masthead into government use of consultants and contractors has found significant continued spending, with opaque or wound-back oversight. Queensland Government Consulting Services, which hired its first managing director in early November with little fanfare, remains in an establishment phase. Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki and Premier David Crisafulli prepare to speak to the media about their first budget. Jamila Filippone After a $1 billion overrun last financial year, the government has declined to say whether its planned cap on consultant and contractor spending was being enforced.

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And despite its earlier plan for a specific probe into outsourcing, the states public spending watchdog recently dumped its scheduled audit. University of Queensland school of economics professor John Quiggin said while cutting outsourced spending had merit, the LNPs election pitch clearly wasnt a credible commitment. What remains to be seen ... is whether this body can, in fact, do a better job than the big four, Quiggin told this masthead. Government spending on consultants and contractors  particularly the so-called big four of Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and EY  has increased across Australia in recent years, even as some firms found themselves embroiled in scandal.

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He told journalists at the time that the plan would address the findings and calls of the Coaldrake report into public sector culture and accountability. The impact of an overreliance on consultants is circular, in that the more work is outsourced, the less capacity that is developed within, Janetzki said, partially quoting from the report. The LNP criticised Labor under Steven Miles and Cameron Dick for its spending on consultants. Matt Dennien Then-treasurer Cameron Dick said it was inherently unbelievable that the LNP could save more money than federal Labor was planning to do. Since then, the LNP plan appears to have shifted.

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Last April, Janetzki conceded the government consulting office had hit snags, and he promised to have it operational before the end of the financial year. By the time he delivered his first budget in June, consulting and contracting costs were tipped to total $4 billion across 2024-25  $1 billion more than the promised cap. We propose to stabilise the level of expenditure on consultants and contractors at 2022-23 levels in the first year, and then, in a phased step-back approach, at 2021-22 levels for the rest of the forwards. David Janetzki at his 2024 election campaign media conference releasing the LNPs costings The budget papers did not mention the caps, nor did Janetzki. Instead, the budget used a reworked estimate of what could have been spent  $4.5 billion  to turn the costings overspend into a $500 million saving. Even this was lower than planned.

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Asked in the budget media conference if the government had abandoned its $6.8 billion four-year saving plan, Janetzki said, those savings will be delivered. The budget-outlined position effectively means the government now needs to trim its outsourcing spend by $2.6 billion across each of the next three years, for a total of $7.8 billion, to hit its pre-election target. Janetzki also used the budget to establish the consulting office as a Queensland Treasury Corporation unit from July 1, with $15 million in funding across two years until it becomes self-sustaining. It only gained a managing director in early November  Deloitte veteran of 16 years Giselle Hodgson  and is described on its website as still in the establishment phase. Quiggin told this masthead he believed the governments in-house consulting push should be less about trying to compete  particularly with the big four  than giving departments an ultimatum.

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Related Article Queensland budget Qld avoids credit rating downgrade. But states books remain grim Its really: OK, departments, which would you rather do  maintain your own in-house expertise, go to the government [consulting service], or fly blind? Quiggin said. A line department cant maintain on tap the kind of expertise thats needed for a lot of tasks. The independent Queensland Audit Office had also pledged to do its bit responding to the Coaldrake report. Auditor-General Brendan Worrall added a specific report to the offices work plan in 2023, for release this financial year, probing the effectiveness of public entity outsourcing spends.

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But his successor, Rachel Vagg, appointed in August 2024 by Labor, dropped the work from her forward plan, published in June last year. Vaggs plan said the topic had been reassessed and was now better addressed through our annual state entities report. A related report into compliance with lobbying obligations, previously due in 2026-27, was also dropped, citing overlapping responsibilities with the Integrity Commissioner and the State Archivist. Shadow treasurer Shannon Fentiman said Janetzki and the government had broken a promise with Queenslanders and were burning a hole in the state budget. Queenslanders deserve the independent Auditor[-General] to let the sun shine in on whats really happening with consultants and contractors under the LNPs regime, she said.

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Last month, Janetzki revealed a downgraded budget outlook, with the states operating deficit expected to take a $400 million hit amid warnings from ratings agencies. This masthead sent a series of questions to the treasurers office about why the planned 2024-25 outsourcing cap was not enforced, whether future caps would be, the consulting offices status, and the cancelled audit. A spokesperson said only that the consulting office was delivering on the pledge to rebuild public service capacity. As part of the governments commitment to flatten the trajectory of spending on external consultants and contractors, QGCS is providing independent, cost-effective advice and services to government, and building capacity in the public service to deliver more and better services, the spokesperson said. The Queensland Treasury Corporation, through a spokesperson, said the consulting office was now established, with 15 roles filled and recruitment well progressed for others.

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QGCS is already providing a range of consultancy services to departments, with initial services focusing on policy analysis and strategic procurement advice, they said in a statement. Comment was sought from the Queensland Audit Office. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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Beaverton, Oregon: Husna Hashemi keeps photos on her phone from the day more than three years ago when she handed her infant son, asleep and swaddled in blankets, to her husbands parents and brother in a city park in Kabul, Afghanistan. She didnt want to leave  even now, speaking in Dari through an interpreter, she wept as she talked about returning to Afghanistan to be with her youngest child. But her husband, Sayed Rasool Hashemi, had worked for years with the United States military, and after the US government fled Afghanistan in 2021, the Hashemis faced a terrible choice: Stay and risk everyones lives, or leave their newborn behind. Sayed Anas Hashemi, now three, has been separated from his family since he was a month old. NYT I did not want to go without him, Husna Hashemi said. What kind of mother does that? The Hashemis story, told from their neat, snug suburban apartment in Beaverton, Oregon, where the immigrants are building new lives, holds twists and bureaucratic dead ends that span two presidential administrations and would make Franz Kafka proud. Its capped, for now, by President Donald Trumps near-total blockade on Afghan immigration. In its infuriating absurdity is a metaphor of sorts for the long wars chaotic end. On a recent evening, the laughter of the Hashemis two older children broke the quiet every now and then, but their youngest childs voice remains missing from their attempt at the American dream. Its just so stupid, family friend Brian Torres said. So stupid and cruel.

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Sayed Anas Hashemi was just a month old, with no visa or passport, when his parents were forced to leave him behind. Efforts to bring him to the United States have lurched onward, but an attack on two US National Guard soldiers near the White House in November, and the charging of an Afghan immigrant who had also worked for the United States, has left any reunion on hold. Every time we get so close, then something happens, father Sayed Hashemi said. Now, we just dont know. Emergency vehicles respond to a shooting of two National Guard troops near the White House in November. AP Hashemi was in his late teens when he began working for the US government in 2004, first doing odd jobs for the military, then serving as an interpreter for American contractors. He considered it the right thing to do  he remembered life as a child under the Taliban as violent and frightening  and an economic opportunity, particularly after he married and started a family. They said they will take care of us, he said of his employers. I heard that many times. When President Joe Biden set the final timeline for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, culminating in the frenzied departure from Kabul in August 2021, Hashemi took his family into hiding. Everybody was scared, Hashemi said.

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The risks to Afghan citizens seen as co-operating with the US were apparent enough that the United States established an office within the State Department  the Co-ordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, or CARE  and offered a special immigrant visa for Afghans deemed likely to face Taliban reprisal. The system, crafted by the Biden administration, was overwhelmed from the start. Special Immigrant Visa applicants crowd an internet cafe in Kabul to submit their forms two weeks before the US evacuated Afghanistan in August 2021. Paula Bronstein/Getty Images/Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Sayed Hashemi began the visa application process even before the Americans left and waited more than a year for the paperwork allowing him to leave for Qatar, the first stop for many Afghans fleeing to the US. During that interlude, Husna Hashemi became pregnant with their third child, and Sayed Anas was born in September 2022. The familys paperwork came through one month later. The infant did not have a passport and hadnt been included on the familys visa applications because he hadnt been born. They spent almost four months in Qatar, but Sayed Anas still didnt have the proper documents when the rest of the family received permission to fly to the United States in February 2023. They thought their son would be allowed out in months, not years. Afghans and foreigners board a Qatar Airways plane to leave Kabul in September 2021. AP Torres, a former middle school teacher, started volunteering with a refugee resettlement group after listening to a ride-share driver in Washington, DC, recount his story about leaving Afghanistan so his children could get an education. The Hashemis were Torres first assignment. He thought the work meant helping with the basics of building a life in a new country, in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, such as how to schedule doctors appointments or buy car insurance.

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But every conversation with the Hashemis came back to the same reality, that their life in the United States couldnt truly begin until they had their son. Sayed Hashemi initially tried to work through CARE, but by the time the boys passport arrived in 2024, the agency was overloaded and understaffed. Calls and emails went unreturned. Then, the Trump administration closed the office, part of a broader State Department restructuring that included deep staff cuts. A man waves folders with documents at US Marines securing the perimeter of Kabul international airport as the US prepared to evacuate the country in August 2021. NYT Even before that, the familys lawyer, Gabe Espinal, suggested they work directly with a US embassy in Central Asia or the Middle East. But different countries, even different US embassies, have their own policies about when and how they process visa applications or whether theyll even work with Afghan nationals. Many that do remain are plagued by backlogs. The Hashemis secured a visa interview appointment for Sayed Anas at the US Embassy in Qatar but with four days notice, nowhere near enough time to get him there. Officials at the US Embassy in Tajikistan told them to fill out an online visa form for Sayed Anas. For months, they could not get the link to work. I dont want to call this a comedy of errors because none of it is funny, Torres said. But at every step, something seemed to go wrong. This past fall, a reunion felt close. The embassy in Tajikistan told Sayed Hashemi and his lawyer that if they could get Sayed Anas to Dushanbe, the countrys capital, the embassy would process his case.

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Then came the National Guard attack. Trump declared that every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan during the Biden administration must be re-examined. The State Department has frozen visas for Afghans, though the US government website about the presidential proclamation barring Afghan nationals notes that limited exceptions may be made for people younger than eight with special immigrant visas. Afghan passengers board a US Air Force plane to leave Kabul on August 22, 2021. AP The White House referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security. A spokesperson for the department, Tricia McLaughlin, said the jumble of Islamist organisations now running Afghanistan has made the vetting of Afghan nationals extremely difficult and complex and that many hate our country and seek to bring it harm. That response repeated a November 28 social media post and did not address the Hashemis case specifically. Espinal thinks the evolving federal policy could allow Sayed Anas into the US, but hes not certain and has struggled to find someone who can answer his questions. The family also doesnt know whether Sayed Hashemi, who hopes to fly to Asia to take his son through the final steps in the process and bring him to the United States, would be allowed back in if he made the trip. This family could be reunited in three months, Torres said. Or it could be another three years.

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WorldSouth AmericaVenezuela crisis Far more than a first lady: Who is Cilia Flores, the powerbroker captured alongside Maduro? Genevieve Glatsky January 4, 2026  10:39am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share A A A

Follow our live coverage of the unfolding situation in Venezuela here. Bogota, Colombia: When news broke that the United States had captured and indicted Venezuelas longtime authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro, another name appeared alongside his, puzzling some observers: his wifes, Cilia Flores. Far more than a first lady, Flores is one of Venezuelas most powerful political figures. She built extraordinary influence over decades while largely operating from the shadows. Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores stands behind her husband, Nicolas Maduro, at a 2019 press conference at the Miraflores Palace. AP Flores shaped a judicial system in which nearly every major decision ran through her and embedded state institutions with relatives and loyalists, according to journalists, analysts and former officials. At the same time, they noted, her family amassed vast, unexplained wealth.

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A lawyer from a lower middle-class background, Flores began her political rise in the 1990s, becoming close to Hugo Chavez  the former president who was Maduros mentor and predecessor  while he was imprisoned after a failed coup attempt in 1992. She steadily climbed the ranks of Chavezs socialist movement, known as chavismo, becoming a central figure in Venezuelas legislature. Flores points to supporters at an election campaign rally for her husband in 2024. AP Flores and Maduro have been partners since at least the late 1990s, when both were lawmakers. They married in 2013, the year he became president. After Chavezs death, she was widely seen as critical to consolidating and sustaining Maduros hold on power, bringing a loyal political base and deep institutional influence. Within chavismo, she commands both respect and fear, said Roberto Deniz, a Venezuelan investigative journalist who has reported extensively on the Flores family.

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Related Article Venezuela crisis Who is Venezuelas vice president and can she fill Maduros shoes? She is a fundamental figure in corruption in Venezuela  absolutely fundamental  and especially in the structure of power, said Zair Mundaray, who worked as a senior prosecutor under Chavez and Maduro. Many people consider her far more astute and shrewd than Maduro himself. In an interview published in the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia in 2013, Flores called herself a combatant and defended hiring relatives. My family got in based on their own merits, she said. I am proud of them, and I will defend their work as many times as necessary.

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Although she stopped holding formal government posts after 2013, Flores retained immense behind-the-scenes authority. She is often described as a key architect of Maduros political survival. Cilia Flores meets Russian President Vladimir Putin alongside her husband in Moscow last year. AP Within chavismo itself, they know the real power that Cilia Flores has, more so than perhaps the general public, Deniz said. Flores is also widely believed to wield decisive influence over Venezuelas justice system. Many judges and senior officials are thought to be loyal to her or have been placed through her networks. The judiciary is considered thoroughly politicised, having failed to issue a single ruling against the state in more than two decades. It is a completely politicised, flawed, corrupt judicial system, and Cilia Flores bears a great deal of responsibility for what the Venezuelan judicial system has become, Deniz said.

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Related Article Analysis

Venezuela crisis In claiming American strength, Trump also highlights weakness Investigative journalists have documented extensive corruption involving the Maduro-Flores family, including misuse of public funds and business links with sanctioned foreign businesspeople. One investigation showed the family effectively taking over an entire street of luxury homes in Caracas, the countrys capital. A federal indictment unsealed Saturday charged Flores, along with her husband and son, with collaborating with drug traffickers. She has been basically co-governing the country since he came to power, and in many ways is the strategy or power behind the throne, said Risa Grais-Targow, the Latin America director for Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. Shes been key to his staying power, but also now his downfall as well. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.

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DEBATE erupted at a recent county council meeting over a motion to amend the nomination process for the presidential election.

Cllr Fergal Browne proposed a motion to separate the dates for the Oireachtas nomination and councils nominations and, secondly, to allow individual councillors to nominate candidates, rather than local councils voting to back candidates.

It was a fiasco the last time that we only had two candidates at the end. We assumed wed have five at one stage, explained cllr Browne.

Cllr Willie Patton commended cllr Browne for bringing forward the motion: I wholeheartedly agree with him that we need to move away from council votes and rather, if 100 deem a candidate is worthy to nominate as the president of Ireland, that should be accepted in the same way that the elected members of Dail Eireann are accepted, he said.

Similarly, cllr Charlie Murphy said that he would support the motion due to his frustration with a voting bloc in the last nomination procedure. I think seven of us tried to broaden the scope of the last election. We were actually stopped in our tracks.

And then when it came to the actual presidential election, 250,000 people voted against the system. Remember that now. Thats a quarter of a million people. Never heard tell of before in this country ... I would say thats time to take note for the main political parties. Sixteen percent spoiled vote is absolutely phenomenal, agreed cathaoirleach Ken Murnane, but he added: You cant just blame Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. Sinn Fein did it and People Before Profit did, asking members to support no candidate other than their own. Cllr Adrienne Wallace said she agreed with the sentiment of the motion but noted that she believed it would go to a citizens assembly and become an issue for a referendum.

Once the motion was passed, cllr Browne clarified that the motion would be referred on to the relevant department for adjudication and that every county council in the country would be asked to support it.
By Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association

Stormont debates are becoming more focused on clicks on TikTok than scrutiny of ministers, Northern Ireland's Environment Minister Andrew Muir has said.

Mr Muir also delivered a warning that the Good Friday Agreement institutions are in the last chance saloon and the Assembly would not come back if it collapsed again.

Despite often clashing with DUP MLAs in the Assembly chamber, the Alliance Party minister said relations with unionist ministers in the powersharing Executive were cordial.

This is the last chance saloon for the Good Friday Agreement. If this Executive goes down again, it's gone for good Andrew Muir, Alliance Party minister

He said: Were not always going to see eye to eye, but what people in Northern Ireland expect when they look to the Executive, they expect people to get on with the job, to work through their differences and deliver for citizens in Northern Ireland.

And what Ive seen is that there are areas where we can collaborate and we can work together and compromise.

The spirit of the Good Friday Agreement needs to be reawakened, whereby we engage in issues.

This is the last chance saloon for the Good Friday Agreement. If this Executive goes down again, its gone for good.

The Alliance Party has consistently called for reform of the institutions, so they cannot be collapsed by one party, and Mr Muir said he believed the lack of such reform had damaged peoples trust and confidence in Stormont.

He said: What I have seen in recent months is, rather than effective scrutiny and difficult decisions and working together, theres a lot of performative actions from people more focused on clicks on TikTok rather than delivery for citizens, and that is disappointing.

Andrew Muir hit out at the standard of debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly (NI Assembly/PA)

Mr Muir said he believed the DUP was trying to ride two horses in terms of appealing to hardline unionism while also supporting powersharing.

He said: You need to choose, and the future for Northern Ireland, and particularly I would say for unionism, must be powersharing. We all need to work together.

The minister said there had been a reduction in genuine scrutiny of ministers.

Mr Muir said: It does seem when the cameras are on, peoples personalities change and their interaction is reflected on social media often.

I can almost guarantee some of the exchanges will be appearing on social media a few hours later.

I enjoy going into the Assembly because it's important to be able to debate these issues, but I just wish we could raise the level of the debate to be a bit better Andrew Muir, Alliance Party minister

I believe in robust scrutiny, and I think thats important that we have that. Theres been a reduction of that, I would say, since the establishment of the Assembly in 1998.

If you look back in previous question times, there are ministers being asked more particularly detailed questions around policy, where perhaps the interventions now are more focused in terms of social media traction.

He added: I enjoy going into the Assembly because its important to be able to debate these issues, but I just wish we could raise the level of the debate to be a bit better.

The minister said he continued to have concerns about the future stability of the political institutions.

Mr Muir said: History has shown that a crisis can develop very quickly.

I hope this Executive and Assembly will see through the rest of this mandate. I think its important that it does and that we deliver for the citizens of Northern Ireland.

We should be able to look with confidence, not just in the months, but the years and decades ahead, that there will be a government there for citizens in Northern Ireland, because they deserve no less.
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We invited the filmmakers behind each of this years 15 Oscar-shortlisted animated shorts to share their favorite shot from their film and explain why its special to them.

Nomination voting starts on January 12 and runs through January 16.

Todays profile features director Sylwia Szkiadzs favorite shot from the charming hand-drawn fairy tale Autokar. The short follows 8-year-old Agata as she emigrates, unsupervised, from Poland to Belgium in the 1990s. During the border-crossing bus journey, a lost pencil leads the girl on a dreamlike exploration beneath the seats and up and down the aisle, where she encounters fantastic animal passengers. Through the eyes of a young girl, the hardships of migration become a magical-realist adventure discovery.

Heres the clip, and why Szkiadz picked it as her favorite:
Federal Judge Eli Richardson has put down a sealed order in the case in which former Rep. Robin Smith is seeking to avoid federal prison time.

The order was issued on Dec. 22.

Ms. Smith earlier was ordered to turn herself in on Monday.

Nashville prosecutors had said in a motion that Ms. Smith should not go to prison for her conviction in a fraud case since her two co-defendants were pardoned by President Donald Trump.

Prosecutors Robert E. McGuire and Taylor Phillips said, "The undersigned has not identified another federal case in which a testifying conspirator reported to prison after an equally culpable conspirator was pardoned. Accordingly, in these narrow circumstances, the government believes that the appropriate sentence for Defendant is one year of probation with no special conditions and no fine."

Attorney Ben Rose, representing Ms. Smith, said, "Ms. Smith agrees with the Governments position, although her motion was not limited to one (1) year of probation. Moreover, to the extent it requires additional time for this Court to consider the Motion for Reconsideration and related filing under seal, Ms. Smith respectfully requests an extension of her current report date of January 5, 2026, by at least thirty (30) days. It is Ms. Smiths understanding that the Government is not opposed to this request."

Ms. Smith, who testified against former House Speaker Glen Casada and his top aide Cade Cothren, had been ordered to pay a $7,500 fine as well.

She had earlier been directed to report to a federal prison in West Virginia on Jan. 5.

It is still up to Judge Eli Richardson to decide whether Ms. Smith does go to prison.

Ms. Smith's attorney earlier said in a motion to Judge Richardson, "Ms. Smith should be resentenced to a term of probation and have the fine reduced to $0 in order to mitigate the manifest injustice that will result from Ms. Smith being the only one of the three conspirators to face criminal sanctions.

"Mrs. Smith submits that the discussion below compels the conclusion that amending her sentence in that way is necessary to at least mitigate the manifest injustice that will result from Messrs. Cothren and Casada receiving Presidential pardons, leaving Mrs. Smith alone to suffer criminal consequences for their collective criminal activity.

"Eliminating the term of imprisonment and the fine that the Court imposed on Mrs. Smith will mitigate, but not eliminate, that manifest injustice.

"The President has issued full and unconditional pardons to each of them, meaning they will escape any consequences for their criminal activities. The Courts pronouncements during the three sentencing hearings, and the three sentence themselves, reflected the Courts awareness that while the Court was sentencing three individuals, those individuals had conspired together to defraud their fellow republican legislators, and that as a result, the sentences themselves needed to be internally consistent in a way that reflected the relative culpability considering all the relevant circumstances.

"Due to her decision to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity, and her agreement to cooperate with the investigation of the United States, Mrs. Smith appropriately received a much lighter sentence than either Mr. Casada or Mr. Cothren. The pardons of defendants Casada and Cothren have destroyed the Courts careful calibration of the sentences. And while the President alone has pardon power, this Court can mitigate the manifest injustice that would result from Mrs. Smith alone being sent to prison by resentencing her to probation with no special conditions and reducing her fine to $0. Mrs. Smith respectfully and humbly asks that the Court do just that."

Ms. Smith, of Hixson, recently paid off a $28,263.26 judgment she owed in connection with the bribery and kickback case in which she pleaded guilty.

Authorities said in November 2019 that Cothren set up a firm called Phoenix Consulting that was said to be headed by Matthew Phoenix, which in fact was a fictitious name and the actual operator of the firm was Cothren.

The firm was set up to get payments from a program in which legislators could use up to $3,000 each per year for mailings to constituents.

Ms. Smith at one time headed the state Republican Party as well as the Hamilton County Republican Party.

She ran for the Third District U.S. House seat long held by Zach Wamp in 2010. The race was won by Chuck Fleischmann, who still holds the seat.
After looking at what Maduro has done previously, he is not a good leader, and has caused much suffering and death. While other presidents have expressed interest in holding Maduro responsible for his crimes, it does not look like he has directly attacked the United States. While his actions may have indirectly harmed United States citizens, I do not believe this gives any President the legal authority to, in essence, capture a sitting dictator and start to run that country.





The United States tried this before after capturing Saddam Hussein.We also attempted to run the country with disastrous results. As of this writing, the evening of Jan. 3rd, Trump has announced that he will run the country, as well as pushing U.S. oil companies to go in. This seems to be the main reason he wanted to get Maduro, which is oil. I find it interesting that history may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.





I will give Trump credit on a mission that seems to have been successful, as far as the mission goes. Whether or not it was legal, I do not have the specific knowledge on military or international law to weigh in on that. But I do feel that Trump's push to tell U.S. oil companies to start drilling is something that may give lawmakers, as well as oil executives, a time to pause and ask themselves, is this something we really want to be doing? Many other countries have simply taken what they wanted from conquered lands. Europe has a long history of this.





Before anyone brings up Obama's capturing of Bin Laden, might I remind you that Bin Laden directly attacked the U.S.. While Obama's method was controversial, and questioned, it was deemed legal. Has Venezuelas president, or any groups in Venezuela, attacked the United States? If the claim of their drugs have harmed U.S. citizens", that opens up the possibility for other countries to attack us on the same policy of "inadvertent harm of citizens."





John Spencer

* * *

The Monroe Doctrine.

James Williams

* * *

To reply to Mr Spencers analysis of the Maduro situation in Venezuela, I would like to enter a few clarifying remarks.

Legal Decisions and Judgments

Several international arbitration tribunals have ruled against Venezuela for the uncompensated expropriation of assets.



Company Tribunal Award Amount Status ConocoPhillips ICSID ~$8.7 billion(plus interest, totaling over $11 billion) Award upheld; collection attempts ongoing, targeting assets like the U.S.-based refiner Citgo. ConocoPhillips ICC ~$2 billion Settlement agreement reached in 2018; initial payments were made but stopped due to U.S. sanctions. ExxonMobil ICSID ~$1.6 billion Award granted in 2014; partial payment of $255 million was made. ExxonMobil ICC ~$908 million Award granted in 2012. Crystallex ICSID ~$1.2 billion(approx.) Award for the seizure of a gold mine project; Crystallex has also pursued collection via the auction of the U.S. refiner Citgo. Smurfit Kappa ICSID ~$469 million Award granted for the 2018 seizure of its packaging assets.

Total Judgments: Analysts estimate that international courts have ordered Venezuela to pay over $60 billion in total for various claims against it related to nationalizations and business disruptions, though the vast majority remains unpaid due to the country's economic struggles and sanctions.

Companies like ConocoPhillips continue to pursue legal avenues to enforce the judgments, notably through the ongoing, court-ordered auction of shares in PDVSA's U.S. subsidiary, Citgo Petroleum. While Maduro did not initiate the actions that caused these lawsuits and judgments, he perpetuated them and refused to cooperate with the U.S. in their attempts to have the oil companies paid for their losses.

Additionally, The U.S. Department of Justice traces Maduro's involvement back to 1999, asserting that he and other high-ranking officials corrupted Venezuelan state institutions to facilitate large-scale drug trafficking.

The Cartel of the Suns: This organization, allegedly led by Maduro, is named for the sun insignias on Venezuelan military uniforms. It is described as a "patronage system" where the military and political elite protected drug shipments in exchange for massive bribes.

Strategic Partnerships: Maduro is accused of partnering with violent groups including the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), the ELN, and the Sinaloa Cartel. Prosecutors claim these groups traded cocaine for weapons and used Venezuela as a safe haven.

Cocaine as a Weapon: A central pillar of the U.S. case is the allegation that Maduro "deliberately deployed cocaine as a weapon" to undermine the health and national security of the United States.

Evolution of U.S. Legal Action

2020 Indictment: Maduro was first charged in March 2020 in the Southern District of New York with narco-terrorism conspiracy and related offenses.

Reward Increases: The reward for information leading to his arrest escalated from $15 million in 2020 to $25 million in early 2025, and finally to $50 million in August 2025the highest reward ever offered for a criminal in U.S. history.

Global Terrorist Designation: In July 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department officially sanctioned the Cartel of the Suns as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity.

His trial and the ultimate outcome from a jury should be interesting to all, regardless of your political leanings. Hopefully, the information presented here will give the readers a better perspective as to why the USA made this very precisive move.

Steve Robinson










Wilson King Bledsoe, Jr., 75, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 27, 2025, in a local hospital, surrounded by the two people he loved mosthis devoted wife and his beloved daughter.

He was born in Chattanooga, on Aug. 29, 1950, to Wilson Bledsoe, Sr. and Dorothy Heard.

Wilson met his future wife and lifelong partner, Serena Bledsoe, while attending junior high school. After graduating from Howard High School in 1969, they married and shared 56 years together, weathering lifes highs, lows, and everything in between with love, commitment, and strength. Together, they were blessed with their one and only loving daughter, Nataki Bledsoe, who was the pride and joy of his life.

Wilson was a proud Vietnam veteran and a dedicated public servant, retiring after 17 years with the Hamilton County Sheriffs Department, where he served as a corrections officer. He was known as a strong, no-nonsense man who believed firmly in doing things the right way  by the book. He gave respect freely to everyone he encountered, whether employee or inmate, and expected the same in return. His integrity, fairness, and seriousness about his duty earned him deep respect.

Though tough on the outside, Wilson was gentle and loving at heart. Family was deeply important to him, and he worked tirelessly to support his family. He quietly looked after his brothers, doing whatever they needed  often without anyone else knowing. Steel on the outside, but warm and compassionate within.

Wilson enjoyed his cognac and quiet evenings at home with his family. He was a serious man about serious matters, but once he let you in, he revealed a surprising side  funny, talkative, and a friend. Within his family, he was the comedian, bringing laughter in his own understated way.

Though not a religious man himself, Wilson deeply respected and supported his wife and daughter in their faithful service to Jehovah God, including their preaching activities as Jehovahs Witnesses. He stood behind them always, with love and quiet pride.

Wilson was preceded in death by his parents, Wilson Bledsoe, Sr. and Dorothy Heard; his brothers, Horace Bledsoe and Allen Rabbit Bledsoe; and his sister, Betty Jean Brooks.

He is lovingly remembered and survived by his devoted wife of 56 years, Serena Bledsoe; and his beloved daughter, Nataki Bledsoe, both of Chattanooga; his brothers, Morris (Beretta) Duckett of Smyrna, TN, Gregory Duckett of Chattanooga, and Warren Artego (Philana) Duckett of Smyrna; along with a host of nieces; nephews; cousins and friends.

A man of strength, integrity, and quiet love he served his country, protected his family, and will never be forgotten.
A Venezuelan waves their national flag, reacting to reports that the U.S. attacked Venezuela and captured leader Nicolas Maduro outside the El Arepazo in Doral, Florida, on Jan. 3, 2026. | Screenshot: YouTube/ Miami Herald

President Donald Trump announced that U.S. forces carried out what he described as a decisive military operation in Venezuela early Saturday, an action that administration sources said followed months of strategic pressure on the socialist government.

According to Trump, the operation involved targeted explosions and the deployment of aircraft in Caracas and ended with the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were flown out of the country.

Calling it a brilliant operation, Trump declared the outcome directly on his Truth Social account: The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country.

Venezuelan authorities quickly acknowledged the incursion. Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez confirmed that an operation had taken place and condemned it as an act of foreign aggression against the country.

Amid the unfolding events, evangelical leaders in Venezuela urged calm and prayer. In a statement signed by Pastor Jose G. Pinero, executive director of the Evangelical Council of Venezuela, the organization expressed concern for the nation and called believers to focus on peace.

We extend our prayer and solidarity to all brothers and fellow citizens who are going through moments of uncertainty or fear, the council stated. We reaffirm our confidence in the sovereignty of God, who reigns over the nations and guides history according to his eternal purpose.

Pastor Carlos Vielma, speaking from Caracas, described the immediate impact of the operation in comments to Diario Cristiano Internacional. We were startled awake in the middle of our sleep early this morning by loud explosions. We have no electricity or Wi-Fi. Of course, that at that hour of the morning leaves you in shock. I believe the first steps have been taken; some details and individuals still need to be identified.

From exile in Florida, Aristoteles Lopez, founder of March for Jesus in Venezuela, framed Maduros capture as an act of divine justice. Lopez told Diario Cristiano that the outcome demonstrated that God never forgot Venezuela, despite years of national suffering.

Lopez added that the arrest represents a historic turning point that could reverberate beyond Venezuela, potentially sending a geopolitical shake-up to other socialist regimes in the region, including Cuba and Nicaragua.

At the same time, Lopez cautioned that the struggle is not finished and urged what he called the remnant people to remain in sustained prayer to see the transition through. He also rebuked religious leaders whom he accused of compromising their faith by aligning with the former regime for influence or financial gain, urging them to step aside so the church could help rebuild the nation spiritually.

Also speaking from Caracas, Jose Rivero, leader of the H2D Foundation, warned that the situation remains complex and fragile. The current situation is even more complex. We need wisdom from Heaven to navigate it.  Trusting in Him, Rivero said, appealing for continued prayer for Venezuela during a moment of deep uncertainty.
Photo credit: Unsplash/ Erika Giraud

As the calendar turns toward 2026, many Americans are prioritizing personal relationships and faith, with goals such as spending more time with family and praying more appearing among the most frequently cited New Years resolutions.

Those findings come from a YouGov survey of 1,104 U.S. adults conducted from Dec. 911, which examined how Americans are reflecting on 2025 and what they hope to change or pursue in the year ahead.

The survey shows that enthusiasm for formal resolutions is mixed: a slim majority of respondents (51%) said they do not plan to make New Years resolutions for 2026, while 31% indicated they intend to set specific goals.

Among those who do plan to make resolutions, exercising more emerged as the most common aim, cited by 25% of respondents. Still, family- and faith-oriented goals also ranked highly, with 15% saying spending more time with family was one of their resolutions and an equal share identifying praying more as a priority for the new year.

Beyond those goals, Americans listed a wide range of aspirations for 2026, including being happy (23%), eating healthier (22%), saving more money (21%), and improving physical health (21%).

Other frequently mentioned resolutions included losing weight (17%), improving mental health (16%), learning something new (15%), reading more (15%), improving relationships with friends or family (13%), paying down debts (12%), improving home or life organization (12%), traveling (11%), and quitting a bad habit (11%).

Political affiliation appeared to influence certain priorities. Republicans were more likely than Democrats or independents to say praying more was among their resolutions, with 19% of Republicans selecting that option compared with 15% of Democrats and 12% of independents.

The pattern was similar when broken down by voting behavior, as 18% of voters who supported President Donald Trump in 2024 chose praying more, compared with 11% of those who backed Kamala Harris.

A comparable divide appeared around family-focused goals. Nearly one in five Republicans (19%) said spending more time with family was a resolution, compared with 14% of Democrats and 13% of independents. By presidential vote choice, 18% of Trump voters cited that goal, versus 12% of Harris voters.

Independents were slightly more inclined than partisans to select that option, with 10% listing a commitment to spiritual matters, compared with 9% of Republicans and 8% of Democrats. Among voters, 12% of those who supported Trump and 8% of Harris voters said they want to focus more on spiritual matters in the coming year.
Christian worship painter Vanessa Horabuena holds her portrait of Jesus Christ at a New Years Eve event at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. | Screenshot: YouTube/ New York Post

President Donald Trump helped raise millions for charity after a portrait of Jesus Christ was auctioned for $2.75 million during a New Years Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

The painting was created in just 10 minutes during the event by Vanessa Horabuena, a Christian worship painter, and the proceeds will benefit St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital as well as the local sheriffs office, Trump told guests at the black-tie gala. Tickets for the event reportedly cost $1,450, according to The Independent.

Theres a young lady named Vanessa whos one of the greatest artists anywhere in the world, Trump told attendees. To me, shes one of the greatest.  Shes a speed painter, and shes a great painter, but I think shes one of the great living artists.

Horabuena completed the portrait amid dramatic flourishes set to praise music, drawing the attention of the crowd as Trump opened the bidding at $100,000. A series of bids quickly escalated the price, first reaching $2.5 million before closing at $2.75 million.

Speed painting, a technique that challenges artists to complete a work within a very short time frame, has grown increasingly popular in recent years, fueled in part by digital platforms and viral performances shared online.

During remarks at the gathering, Trump also vowed to get to the bottom of alleged widespread fraud involving taxpayer-funded Somali daycare programs in Minnesota.

The New Years Eve event drew a high-profile guest list that included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, House Republican Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani, and Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Horabuena has previously displayed her artwork at the White House, including portraits of Trump, according to her blog. In May, she personally delivered a painting titled Prayers for our President to the White House, depicting Trump praying before a cross atop a mountain.

This piece was created to reflect back to him the place he can always turn when he needs a word from God, a touch from Heaven, or wisdom from our Awesome Creator, she wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House for a closed-door meeting on November 10, 2025, | Screenshot: YouTube/ France 24 English

Syrian authorities say they disrupted an Islamic State plan to carry out coordinated attacks against churches and public gatherings during New Years Eve celebrations, prompting heightened security measures around houses of worship.

In a statement released Thursday, the Interior Ministry said intelligence indicated that Islamic State militants were preparing suicide operations and attacks targeting New Years celebrations in a number of governorates, particularly the city of Aleppo, by targeting churches and civilian gathering spots, according to AFP.

The ministry confirmed that one security officer was killed and two others were injured in Aleppos Bab al-Faraj neighborhood when a suspect believed to be linked to the Islamic State opened fire and detonated explosives as officers attempted to arrest him after growing suspicious of his behavior.

Authorities said the threat led to expanded preventive security measures across Aleppo and other areas. We took heightened security measures as part of a preemptive response, including strengthening protection around churches, deploying fixed and mobile patrols, and setting up checkpoints across the city, the ministry said, according to Turkeys state-run Anadolu Agency.

The attempted attacks come only months after Syrias Christian community experienced its deadliest incident in more than a century, when a bombing at Mar Elias Church in Damascus killed more than two dozen people, recalling memories of the 1860 Damascus Massacre.

Syria formally joined the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State in November. The extremist group once controlled large swaths of Syria and Iraq in the mid-2010s before losing its territorial stronghold through sustained military campaigns led by the United States and its allies.

Other chapters of the Islamic State have formed across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. In areas under Islamic State control, thousands of religious minorities have been killed or forced into sexual slavery.

Security analysts have warned that Islamic State fighters have been attempting to regroup in Syria and Iraq by exploiting security gaps. Military sources have cautioned that sleeper cells were being reactivated and recruitment efforts intensified amid a reduced U.S. military footprint in the region.

In November, ahead of Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaas high-profile meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, Syrian security forces conducted 61 nationwide raids, detaining 71 individuals suspected of involvement with the Islamic State, according to official figures.
Home News Jackie Hill Perry points to Man on the middle cross in Passion 2026 message on true salvation

Standing before tens of thousands of college students and young adults at Passion 2026, Jackie Hill Perry delivered a message centered on the paradox of the Christian faith: that salvation comes not through self-preservation and human heroism, but through surrender and the death of Jesus Christ.

Perry, an author, Bible teacher and poet, opened her message delivered before thousands gathered at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, with an illustration drawn from the 1997 film Titanic. Recounting the now-famous scene in which Jack Dawson sacrifices his life so Rose DeWitt Bukater can survive, Perry highlighted the longstanding debate over whether the floating door could have saved them both.

People love saviors, the 36-year-old Upon Waking author said. We love heroes. We love those who will sacrifice themselves for the greater good. What we dont like are those who save themselves.

The scene, Perry contended, resonates so deeply because it exposes something fundamental about human nature. People want to see themselves as the heroic figure who gives their life for others. But in reality, she said, humanity more closely resembles Rose, the one who must be saved.

Thats why that scene sticks with us, Perry said. We all want to be like Jack. But we are actually like Rose.

Reading from Luke 23:32-43, Perry focused on the moment Jesus is crucified between two criminals, mocked by religious leaders, soldiers and even one of the thieves beside Him.

Again and again, the crowd around the cross issued the same challenge: Save yourself.

Perry noted that the demand echoes throughout the Gospel narrative, from Satans temptation of Jesus in the wilderness to Peters insistence that the Messiah should not suffer. Each time, the temptation is the same: use divine power to preserve life and escape suffering.

But they didnt know what they were asking for, Perry said. They hadnt read the script.

Quoting filmmaker James Camerons explanation for Jacks death in Titanic  It says on page 147 of the script that Jack dies  Perry said the same logic applies to the cross. Jesus death was the point.

The man in the middle cross isnt the one who needs to be saved from death, she said. It is always us.

Perry traced the story of Jesus crucifixion backward through the Gospel of Luke, from His condemnation by religious leaders to His betrayal by Judas, His anguished prayer in Gethsemane, the Last Supper and the prophetic declarations surrounding His birth and identity. Each moment, she stressed, reinforced the same truth: Jesus death was always part of Gods redemptive plan.

She also pointed to Lukes genealogy, which traces Jesus lineage back to Adam, the son of God, emphasizing that Christ stands both within human history and above it, uniquely qualified to deal with humanitys deepest problem: sin.

Here is the Son of God, Perry said, being put to death like a sinner.

To the left and right, she noted, were men who truly were guilty, criminals who had broken both Roman law and Gods law. Jesus, by contrast, had committed no sin, yet bore the punishment of the guilty.

To explain why, Perry turned to Genesis 3 and the fall of humanity. When Adam sinned, she said, death entered the human condition, not just physical death, but spiritual separation from God. Because Adam is the father of humanity, all people inherit his sin and its consequences.

The wages of sin is death, she said. Every single person who has ever been born is born deserving death.

Yet even in Genesis, Perry said, God announced a plan of rescue: a coming offspring who would be wounded by Satan but ultimately crush him. That promise, she said, finds its fulfillment in Jesus, born of a virgin, sinless and able to defeat sin and death.

Jesus was not on the cross because He was a criminal, Perry said. He was on the cross because we are.

Perry returned repeatedly to the mocking refrain hurled at Jesus: Save yourself, a demand she said revealed more about humanity than about Christ.

We use our gifts to save us from certain insecurities. We use our friends to save us from what our parents are lacking in. We use drugs and intoxicants to save us from anxiety and boredom. We even use legalism, dressed up as faith, to save us from having to repent for real. We are all always trying to save ourselves from something, and it is because we don't believe that what Christ accomplished on the cross is able to save to the uttermost, she emphasized.

In contrast, the cross exposes the limits of self-salvation. To the natural mind, she said, a bleeding, crucified Savior looks foolish, incapable of addressing guilt, shame or sin. Yet Scripture insists that it is precisely through Christs weakness that salvation is accomplished.

Kings dont hang on crosses, Perry said. Unless the King is Yahweh.

One of the sermons most emotionally charged moments came as Perry examined the transformation of one of the criminals crucified alongside Jesus. According to the Gospel accounts, both thieves initially mocked Christ. Yet at some point, one undergoes a radical change of heart, rebuking the other and acknowledging his own guilt.

What happened? Perry asked.

Though Scripture does not describe the moment in detail, Perry suggested the turning point may have come when Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Jesus has been unjustly condemned. Jesus has been beat up. He has a crown of thorns on His head. Both of His hands and His feet have been pierced to the wood, and there between the two criminals, He hangs naked while everybody beneath Him is throwing insults. That's a lot of personal injury for any human being to take, let alone one who claims to be the Son of God.

That display of forgiveness amid humiliation, she explained, likely awakened the thief to his own sinfulness and Jesus innocence. If God could forgive those crucifying His Son, perhaps there was hope even for a criminal.

Perry emphasized that salvation is not merely about being spared suffering or earthly consequences. One thief wanted Jesus to save him from the cross; the other recognized that he needed saving from Gods judgment and reconciliation to God Himself.

To be saved by God is to be saved from God for God, she said.

Drawing from Romans 3, Perry explained the doctrine of substitutionary atonement: that Jesus death satisfies Gods justice while extending mercy to sinners. Through Christs sacrifice, God remains both just and the justifier of those who have faith.

The thiefs final request  Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom  demonstrated extraordinary faith, Perry said. Despite Christs apparent weakness, the man recognized Him as a king with authority beyond death. Salvation, she emphasized, is achieved solely by trusting the man on the middle cross.

To illustrate the point, Perry recounted a story often told by preacher Alistair Begg: imagining the thief arriving in Heaven with no resume of religious accomplishments, able to offer only one explanation for his presence.

The man on the middle cross said I could come, Perry concluded her message, followed by a time of worship led by artist Brooke Ligertwood.

The Passion movement was founded in 1995 by Louie Giglio and Shelley Giglio to call college-aged young adults to live for what the organization describes as the name and renown of Jesus. Other speakers at this years conference include Earl McClellan, Jonathan Pokluda and Sadie Robertson Huff.
Home News US Evangelical leaders react to Trumps capture of Maduro

Several Evangelical leaders across the country have responded to President Donald Trumps announcement that the United States has captured dictator Nicolas Maduro during a military strike in Caracas and will run Venezuela until a new transition plan is in place. Offering public praise, leaders, including the Rev. Franklin Graham and Ambassador Mike Huckabee, linked the operation to justice, spiritual deliverance and national security.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were apprehended during an early-morning raid on Saturday in Caracas.

Trump said the mission was carried out without any American casualties or equipment loss. He called it one of the most successful military operations in recent history and announced that the U.S. would oversee Venezuelas government until a safe, proper and judicious transition could occur.

Maduro, previously charged in the U.S. on drug and weapons offenses, was the leader of the Cartel of the Suns and is the first target in the Narcotics Rewards Program to carry a $50 million bounty, according to the U.S. State Department.

Maduro had long been accused of running a narco-terrorism operation in coordination with FARC and other armed groups, and of violently repressing dissent in Venezuela.

On July 28, 2024, an election was held in which Maduro was declared the victor, giving him a third term in office. It was believed worldwide that his authoritarian regime had committed massive fraud to steal the election victory from opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.

Elvis Amoroso, president of the National Electoral Council and a Maduro ally, had declared that Maduro had won with 51% compared to 44% for Gonzalez, with only 80% of the votes counted.

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado insisted that Gonzalez, a 74-year-old retired diplomat who took her place on the presidential ballot after the Maduro regime banned her from running, had won 70% of the vote compared to 30% for Maduro.

The following pages list responses from five prominent Evangelical leaders and pastors.
I am tired of the lies, exaggerations, and dispersions that are constantly told in the assault on the stocks of companies tied to generative artificial intelligence and accelerated computing: They will dominate in 2026, just as they have since ChatGPT came on the scene four years ago. I want to straighten out some of these misconceptions  many of them deliberate  and share my view on the tech setup for the new year. First, we have to cut it out with the "bubble" talk. Can we admit, for a moment, that it's been harmful? It left many investors out of a significant share of the performance, and that matters. Performance avoidance is performance lost. But those market watchers and analysts who screamed of a bubble are unchecked in their touting. If they were to put their money where their mouths were, they would be struggling to pay the rent. Second, age has so few benefits. One upside, however, is the experience of different markets. I started a moderately successful internet business, with thestreet.com, and ran a hedge fund at the same time, one that was up 36% in 2000 from being short the market. And can I say that as much as I like reading about those who did well before  "Big Short" investor Michael Burry, for instance  my advantage is that I lived through it, invested in it, and made big money off both the inflating of and the deflating of the bubble. It was all circumstantial, but it was relevant. Most of the negative stuff I read is irrelevant. Third, as I spelled out in "How to Make Money in Any Market, " there are winners and losers in a boom-bust scenario, so stop thinking everything's a loser and start identifying companies that can win in either environment. They exist; they will make you fortunes. Now, why am I not as worried as others that 2026 will be a no-invest-zone for tech, considering that all tech is, in some way, shape, or form, about AI? I have to start with a luxury: I read the Eye on the Market research that's written by the finest mind on Wall Street: Michael Cembalest, chairman of market and investment strategy at J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management, who also happens to be a great friend of mine. (You may have seen pictures of our recent trip to Trinidad to fish for tarpon in my X handle.) Michael has thought more about the bubble concept  he called in The Blob back in early fall  than anyone else. He is not indiscriminate like so many. He understands that the issues about AI have much to do with adoption and infrastructure than with the overall "craze" that so many others seem to cling to and live by. He questions how much business people really use it away from tech, where it does help write software. He questions the capital allocations big companies are making. Most importantly, though, he questions whether there is enough electric power to make it all come together. Power gating. That's what might matter. I go a step further: I now believe, after extensive time analyzing GE Vernova , including interviewing CEO Scott Strazik, that there isn't enough power generation to even keep a bubble growing, let alone pop it. We don't have enough electricity to allow hyperscalers to grow as they want. To put it another way: there isn't enough air to inflate a bubble, so how can it be popped? The companies that can adapt to this world and accept the constraints of limited power can do well. Hence, the admission that we can't live without owning Alphabet , which has the most going away from its AI business to handle a slower, power-constrained build-out and still thrive. (We initiated a position last week.) It is the best-positioned hyperscaler, with the best, most accurate site, Gemini 3, and the best business model, thanks to the ingenious way it dovetails with Google. Gemini3 will soon cement its dominance by cutting a deal with Apple to be its sole source of AI content. That's 1.5 billion users. What will the others, including OpenAI, have? OpenAI seems to have gotten enough seed money from SoftBank , Microsoft , Nvidia , and others that it can come to market with a gigantic IPO that will be prohibitive to the rest of the S & P 500  it will be admitted automatically I presume  because the money to buy the stock will come out, heavily, from index funds that will have to buy it. Ready-made cash that they seem somewhat clueless about. The good news here is that OpenAI will be subject to the same power gating as everyone else. There are only three companies that make the giant turbines that turn the abundant fuel of natural gas to electricity: Siemens , Mitsubishi, and GE Vernova, and they are all booked up through 2030. If they could add more turbines quickly, I would be more worried. If the hyperscalers were to accept more dirty fossil fuels, like "clean" coal, I would be concerned. If someone were to come up with a less energy-intensive way to produce compute, I would be very nervous. They haven't and they won't. To these ends, I remain unenamored by nuclear, which is a sideshow, a down portion of the card in an evening of fights, one you shouldn't factor in, even as those who are less clued in remain buyers. Nuclear power is part of last year's Magical Year of Investing, which includes speculative stocks in quantum, nuclear, data center extensions, and others that soared in 2025 but fell back to Earth by year's end. When things are bad, my friend Michael from J.P. Morgan likes to talk about what can go right. When things are good, he tends to talk about what can go wrong. Given that things went well, Michael spends a lot of time talking about Taiwan's vulnerability to China. Consider Taiwan Semi 's leadership role in AI. Duly noted. Again, though, you know my hardline on the People's Republic of China. (Michael does agree with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's theory that we may have poked the Chinese bear into having its own competitive AI ecosystem by prohibiting Nvidia from selling chips to the Chinese.) I want to shade things differently. To do that, you have to go back to Jensen's core principles, which seem to be totally forgotten and need to be refreshed, so you know why Nvidia is the world's biggest company. The centrality of Nvidia remains a mystery to all but those who have actually studied the company. My identifying Nvidia at $2 a share and almost force-feeding it to Club members  many of them now Nvidia millionaires  gives me a clearer head than most about the chipmaker's fundamentals. So let's go there. First of all, Nvidia is a hardware and software company. The latter, which can't be duplicated, is what makes it impossible to speak of Advanced Micro Devices in the same breath. It makes it impossible to compare Alphabet's chips to Nvidia's, either. Or Amazon's chips, for that matter. There is no real benchmarking here: they can't do what Nvidia's chips can when loaded with Nvidia software. Nvidia is not just an AI company. People keep either misunderstanding or forgetting that there are not one but two revolutions going on here, the second being accelerated computing. The reason Jensen is so sure of the trillions of dollars in total addressable market (TAM) when it comes to Nvidia chips has much more to do with the speed of his GPU semiconductor form factor versus the CPU form factor of AMD/Intel and how the difference is so fundamental, so palpable that literally all of the old compute must be replaced. You scrap the entire computer system and replace it with Nvidia, and you have a powerful reason why you have a $4 trillion company  without AI . Hence, my "own it, don't trade it" stance for 2026. If the PRC takes over Taiwan by force, my thesis is a loser. A new caveat for 2026? Now, it's the second part of Nvidia's greatness that truly calls the bears' negative thesis into question. What nobody ever seems to recognize is that it's Jensen's world and we all play in it. The new chip, the Vera Rubin, is the first Nvidia chip that will actually allow users to reason with their computers. Rubin is a reasoning chip. Remember that Jensen believes that right now, only 90% of what the chatbots produce is accurate, which isn't enough to take seriously in many scenarios. He accepts that until hallucinations can be curtailed dramatically, it won't be nearly as useful as it needs to be to be commercially successful. It makes too many mistakes. But that will change, and it will change faster with Vera Rubin than it does now. Yes, his iterations are that meaningful. He has a clear roadmap for the future that includes the Richard Feynman, named after the great 20th-century physicist. What you need to remember is that Jensen has a unique way of thinking. He tries  and succeeds  by looking out 20 years and then working backward to figure out how to bring us there. You think it's not true? In the late 90s, he shared his current vision with Intel, and the legendary Andy Grove laughed him out of the Intel building. One of my late friends, who was on the board of Intel, actually heard the outline of Jensen's presentation and couldn't believe how Andy railed against Jensen even as Jensen proved to be totally right and Andy totally wrong. Twilight of the Idols! If we just think about Nvidia as static, it probably does appear to be the greatest short story ever told. But Nvidia isn't static, and Jensen's busy adjusting to a power-constrained world. (So are Corning and Broadcom, which are working to come up with a more fiber-based copper-free chip that produces less heat and needs less electricity.) The new Nvidia chips will make a "quantum" leap over the current iterations, not obsoleting the old ones  although many will say they will make the depreciation schedules more obvious and shorter  but making AI much more successful. It will be better in a host of questionable verticals: legal, health care, sales (agentics), and manufacturing. We will not need to be as skeptical. It can make AI a necessity where it is, right now: a possibility with no clear ROI in most industries. Static thinking, however, dominates the bears' rationalizing. Their reasoning, if it is that, goes away if Nvidia makes chips that can allow robots to adjust and pivot to most takes. Their bearishness leaves them behind if we can use Nvidia chips to learn faster, and not just compile or sift, exclude, and include, but reach conclusions quickly and better than we can now. Think of it like this. There is a work problem. We can game it out, figure it out, argue over it, and produce a result that, over many weeks' time and many millions of dollars of manhours, is almost surely inferior to the problem-solving of a Vera Rubin-led effort. In any industry. Is that the stuff that you want to get short? Don't you want hyperscalers, plus Eaton , GE Vernova, and Broadcom in that world? I would be frightened not to own them. I like Nike . I think Capital One is awesome. It could be Boeing's year to have an explosion of cash flow, the only real metric that mattered and made the sellers in the $180s to be revealed as first-class bozos. You have to think that Eli Lilly 's GLP-1 pill will be extraordinary. Who doesn't want to be in Goldman Sachs in an era of financial liberation? Yes, Brian Niccol will turn Starbucks in 2026, and a weak dollar and new leadership will vault Procter & Gamble to the top of the consumer packaged goods sector. But you leave this world of accelerated computing and generative AI when power gating constrains the winners from spending more quickly? You abandon the winners? The Amazons and the not-yet-public Googles of the year 2000? Go ahead? Make the shorts' day. So I say, stay skeptical about valuations, but stay skeptical of their critics, too. That's because they are looking at static valuations  and higher price-to-earnings ratios on those static valuations  and are doomed to critical-reasoning failure. Understand that you have to maintain the same leap-of-faith analysis that I did about Jensen's moves when his stock was at two bucks. Yes, accept the centrality of Nvidia's role in the market. And get ready for a steadier, less capital-intensive level of "reasoning" that will make the current business-to-consumer (B2C) chatbot businesses more integral to the business world. Only Anthropic is business-to-business (B2B) and will be successful no matter what, given that status. There's a reason why I identify these tech growth stocks as part of "How to Make Money in Any Market": self-improvement. They get better and better by nature and DNA. They are, therefore, not frightening or fictional. They are factually better able to handle the future than almost all other companies. They worked in 2025. They will work again in 2026. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
A woman passes by a logo of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan November 13, 2024.

OPEC+ kept oil output unchanged on Sunday after a quick meeting that avoided discussion of the political crises affecting several of the producer group's members.

Sunday's meeting of eight members of OPEC+, which pumps about half the world's oil, came after oil prices fell more than 18% in 2025  their steepest yearly drop since 2020  amid growing oversupply concerns.

Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE flared last month over a decade-long conflict in Yemen, when a UAE-aligned group seized territory from the Saudi-backed government. The crisis triggered the biggest split in decades between the former close allies.

And on Saturday, the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would take control of the country until a transition to a new administration becomes possible, without saying how this would be achieved.

"Right now, oil markets are being driven less by supply-demand fundamentals and more by political uncertainty," said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy and a former OPEC official. "And OPEC+ is clearly prioritizing stability over action.

The eight OPEC+ members  Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria and Oman  raised oil output targets by around 2.9 million barrels per day in 2025, equal to almost 3% of world oil demand, to regain market share.

The eight members agreed in November to pause output hikes for January, February and March due to relatively low demand in the northern hemisphere winter. Sunday's brief online meeting affirmed that policy and did not discuss Venezuela, one OPEC+ delegate said.

The eight countries will next meet on February 1, OPEC+ said.

OPEC has in the past managed to overcome many internal rifts, such as over the Iran-Iraq War, by prioritizing market management over political disputes.

Yet the group is facing other crises, with Russian oil exports falling due to U.S. sanctions over its war in Ukraine, and Iran facing protests and U.S. threats of intervention.

Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, bigger even than those of OPEC's leader Saudi Arabia, but its oil production has plummeted due to years of mismanagement and sanction.

Analysts said it is unlikely to see any meaningful boost to crude output for years, even if U.S. oil majors do invest the billions of dollars in the country that Trump promised.
Flights delayed and cancelled due to U.S. strikes on Venezuela overnight, at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport Passengers rest on the floor, after flights were delayed and cancelled when the airspace was closed due to U.S. strikes on Venezuela overnight, at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Carolina, near San Juan, Puerto Rico Jan. 3, 2026. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo

Airlines scrambled to add dozens of extra flights for tens of thousands of stranded travelers throughout the Eastern Caribbean on Sunday after the Federal Aviation Administration's flight restrictions in the area though some customers found no seats available for days. The FAA had closed airspace in the region to U.S. commercial flights after the United States' strikes in Venezuela. The restrictions expired overnight, allowing flights to resume. The flight curbs forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights in the region on Saturday, stranding customers at the end of the busy holiday period. FlightAware showed about 20 cancellations in San Juan on Sunday, compared with 400 a day earlier. However disruptions for some travelers could last for days because seats were scarce and previously scheduled flights were packed for the end of the New Year holiday weekend and school vacations. Airlines received complaints from some users on X that they couldn't find available seats back to the U.S. until the end of the week. Some said they didn't have places to stay or couldn't afford additional nights at Caribbean hotels.

Passengers sleep on the floor, after flights were delayed and cancelled when the airspace was closed due to U.S. strikes on Venezuela overnight, at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Carolina, near San Juan, Puerto Rico January 3, 2026. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo REFILE - CORRECTING LOCATION FROM "RAFAEL HERNANDEZ INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN AGUADILLA" TO "LUIS MUNOZ MARIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN CAROLINA". Ricardo Arduengo | Reuters

American Airlines told CNBC it added 17 extra flights between San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as Aruba, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Antigua, Barbados, Dominica and Barbados, and its hubs in Miami and Charlotte, North Carolina. Southwest Airlines added six extra round-trips between San Juan on Sunday and another eight on Monday as well as two additional flights to Aruba on Sunday. "We are looking for opportunities to add more capacity to both places in the coming days," the airline said in a statement. But as of Sunday morning, even new flights were listed as unavailable on airline websites, as seats sold out quickly in the demand surge. United Airlines and Delta Air Lines plan to add additional flights on Sunday. Carriers were evaluating using larger planes, like those normally used for Europe or Asia, to accommodate the surge in demand. American said it would use two Boeing 777-300s, the largest aircraft in its fleet and that sits 304 passengers, for two San Juan-Miami roundtrips on Monday. Airlines generally add flights and send bigger planes ahead of evacuations for hurricanes but had little time to prepare after the United States' attack in Venezuela. The airlines waived change fees and fare differences for customers affected by the closures if they rebooked flights later in the month. More than a dozen airports in the region were included in the waivers.

Major U.S. airlines have not served Venezuela directly for years. American Airlines was the last major carrier to halt flights to the country in 2019 amid unrest. The temporary restrictions were set to expire at midnight ET, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X. The United States' attack on Venezuela resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Maduro was indicted on narco-terrorism conspiracy and other charges in the Southern District of New York. His indictment was unsealed and posted online by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday. The flight restrictions after the U.S. attacks underscored how quickly military action can disrupt civilian air travel, forcing airlines to suspend operations well beyond the immediate conflict zone. Airlines have been forced to take longer routes to avoid airspace if not periodically halt flights altogether due to conflicts in the Middle East as well as after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. -- CNBC's Victor Loh contributed to this article.
Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel delivers a speech as he flutters a Venezuelan national flag in support of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in Havana on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured him. President Donald Trump said Saturday that US forces had captured Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro after bombing the capital Caracas and other cities in a dramatic climax to a months-long standoff between Trump and his Venezuelan arch-foe. (Photo by ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP via Getty Images)

Cuba announced on Monday that 32 of its citizens were killed in combat during the U.S. raid on Venezuela.

The raid on Saturday, which saw U.S. forces arrest and extract Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to New York, reportedly saw a large part of his security team killed.

The Cubans were performing missions on behalf of the Cuban Armed Forces and interior ministry, the country's presidential office said on Facebook.

"Faithful to their responsibilities with security and defense, our compatriots fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroically and fell, after ferocious resistance, into direct combat against the attackers or as a result of the bombings of the facilities," the statement said, according to a translation by Facebook.

Cuba also called the U.S. strikes a "criminal act of aggression and state terrorism," and said the Cuban government will pay tribute to the dead.

The U.S. strikes came after weeks of military buildup in the region and threats by U.S. President Donald Trump against Maduro.

After the raid, Trump said that the U.S. was going to "run" Venezuela, "until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will use leverage gained from its oil blockade on the country and regional military buildup to achieve its policy aims.

"We want Venezuela to move in a certain direction," Rubio told NBC's "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker.

Seperately, Rubio said on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that as the U.S. has a "quaratine" on Venezuelan oil.

"That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interests of the Venezuelan people are met, and that's what we intend to do," he added.

The U.S. in recent months has seized tankers associated with the country and moved military ships and warplanes into the Caribbean.

 CNBC's Garrett Downs contributed to this report.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday began a six-day visit to France and Luxembourg to hold talks on bilateral and global issues of mutual interest.In Paris, he will be meeting the French leadership and will hold talks with Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).Jaishankar's visit to France comes against the backdrop of growing global concerns over the US capturing Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a military operation.The MEA said Jaishankar and Barrot will discuss the progress made under the India-France strategic partnership and matters of global importance.The two ministers are also expected to prepare the ground for French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to India next month to participate in the AI Summit.Prime Minister Narendra Modi had co-chaired the AI Summit along with Macron in Paris last February.The external affairs minister will also address the 31st edition of the French Ambassadors' Conference, the MEA said on Jaishankar's engagements in Paris.Jaishankar will also be visiting Luxembourg, where he will hold discussions with Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and with other senior leaders.Bettel is also the deputy prime minister.In Luxembourg, Jaishankar will also interact with the members of the Indian community.
Dear Jane,

I thought my friend was being kind and generous  but boy, was I wrong.

We'd been friends for well over a decade until we had a falling out, but she recently reached out to rekindle our relationship. She said she missed me and wanted to try to work on our friendship  so I, cautiously, agreed.

It started off innocently enough. We'd grab dinner, lunch or drinks to casually catch up. But those occasional hangs took a darker turn.

One day, a package arrived at my door. Upon opening, I realized it was from my friend  and it was a designer handbag. With it was a note about how grateful she was for our friendship, so she had bought me a 'little something.'

Yeah, a 'little something' worth a lot of money. I felt guilty. Why would she spend all that on me? Sure, she works a high-paying job, but it was still an immensely generous gift to give someone out of the blue.

Then, she started sending me money - $10 here and there for coffee eventually turned into $50 or more for dinners 'on her.'

I could never repay the favor, but she didn't seem to mind, telling me she made so much money she didn't know what to do with all of it.

Months went by and, despite my guilt at accepting the lavish presents, I didn't suspect anything was up. Then, the other shoe dropped.

She asked me to act as a referral for a job. She had been fired from her last role and wanted me to pretend to be an old boss of hers so I could help her get a new job.

That's when it dawned on me: all of the gifts and money were, essentially, a bribe. She was buttering me up for a favor  one that I wasn't comfortable fulfilling.

I refused, of course (and was met with frustration and anger from her). But that isn't the problem. Nor is our now non-existent friendship the issue either.

It's the gifts... In telling her no, do I have to give it all back?

Sincerely,

Can't Be Bought

International best-selling author Jane Green offers sage advice on readers' most burning issues in her agony aunt column

Dear Can't Be Bought,

It's a horrible feeling to know, or at least strongly suspect, that you have been used.

But remember this: you agreed to nothing.

You accepted her generosity thinking it was out of the goodness of her heart. Even though you felt slightly guilty about having so many gifts foisted upon you, it's entirely natural to think, 'Yes, it's a little odd,' but also, 'How lovely.'

The fact the gifts were essentially a bribe is not your problem.

So, the short answer is: you have no obligation to give any of it back.

You accepted it in good faith, and legally, unsolicited gifts without conditions are just that - gifts.

You describe your relationship as now being non-existent, which is probably the healthiest outcome. I assume she won't be in touch to ask for anything back, but if she does, know that it's entirely up to you.

If it makes you feel better, you could return the designer handbag. It might help you feel a little cleaner and, more importantly, give you closure.

You could send it with a note saying that you think it best to return the bag because you accepted it thinking it was a gift. However, now that you believe it has strings attached, you no longer feel comfortable keeping it.

And, if you are uncomfortable using the bag but do not wish to have anything to do with her again, you can always re-gift it.

I received a beautiful caftan a year ago by someone who also turned out not to be a good friend. I was tempted to return the caftan, but instead chose to give it away to someone else so I am not reminded of that person each time I wear it.

Dear Jane,

I recently started dating a guy who is divorced.

Him being a young divorcee isn't the issue  but his relationship with his ex is.

We're in our thirties and he chalks up the short-lived marriage as a hasty mistake with someone who, as he says, wasn't 'the one.'

Yet, despite a divorce, the two of them are still close  like, very close. They text constantly and they have the same friend group, so they see each other often enough.

But in my opinion, there's no reason to be that chummy with an ex, especially with whom you share neither a child nor even a pet. Being cordial is one thing, but this is another level.

I've tried to tell him that their friendship makes me uncomfortable, but he says they realized they were better off as just that  friends.

I, however, find it bizarre. I would never be that close to someone I used to date (let alone be married to), not because of hatred but because it would be insensitive to a future partner.

I don't know how to get this through his head. Frankly, he doesn't seem to care that it bothers me, which is a huge red flag.

Is it wrong to give him an ultimatum: the ex or me?

Sincerely,

Fishy Friendship

Jane's Sunday Service Asking for what you need in a relationship, whether romantic or platonic, will give people the opportunity to meet those needs. Only we know what we can and cannot handle. Expressing that clearly can be frightening, but it's better to walk away from someone who cannot meet our needs than try and pretend to be someone we are not. Advertisement

Dear Fishy Friendship,

On the surface, there is nothing wrong with friendship after divorce, particularly if there is a shared friend group and no great betrayal that ended the marriage.

But the issue is not that he has a relationship with his ex. You have expressed your discomfort more than once and rather than hearing you and trying to make you feel comfortable, he is dismissing you. Worse - he does not care that this upsets you.

I don't think it unreasonable to question this.

When I first met my (now former) husband, his ex used to call him all the time if she needed anything fixed, or to be picked up when her car had broken down.

I didn't care much at all because I was secure in how he felt about me. But in hindsight, perhaps I should have cared a bit more.

What I didn't realize at the time was there was a lack of boundaries, which ultimately became an insurmountable problem and led to the end of our marriage.

But it also is unfair to give your boyfriend an ultimatum. It will create a power struggle in which there's no way to win.

If he chooses you, he might resent you for forcing him to make a choice he didn't want to make.

You can, however, ask for boundaries that protect the relationship between the two of you.

Perhaps that looks like less frequent texting and transparency about his communication with her. Maybe it would be helpful if he gave you more reassurance, or acted in a way that made you feel more secure in your relationship.

If he's unable to meet you somewhere in the middle, then perhaps your boyfriend, however wonderful he may be, is not right for you.
Sound the trumpet! Let 2026 call a truce in the war between men and women. Now that in the West we have won most important battles, let happy feminists rise and say: Look, chaps, we really like you! We appreciate you. We find your difference and male energy fascinating and fun.

Last year another nail was hammered into the coffin of the patriarchy in the form of Netflix drama Adolescence, which chillingly depicted how misogyny in a classroom can become murder.

It inspired nationwide handwringing about the attitudes of our young boys and its little wonder that Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced last month that relationship classes will be given to boys as young as 11 who exhibit a loathing of women.

Of course, theres a welcome place for campaigns against bad behaviour, like MeToo and the anti-rape movement Everyones Invited. All sane people scorn the nonsensical Andrew Tate manosphere and condemn the porn-grooming of young boys.

But admit it: maleness is not a disease. Lets call a limit on the indignant rhetoric of the anti-patriarchy. Celebrate the immense but sometimes hidden affection men inspire in us, not just as individuals but in their natural difference.

The Netflix drama Adolescence, starring Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper and Ashley Walters, chillingly depicted how misogyny in a classroom can become murder

Sometimes its mixed with amusement, or maternal instinct, but we like it. Manliness, blokeishness, laddishness can refresh us.

From banter and black humour to heroism, from ragging to romance, from the courage of Ahmed al-Ahmed, who tackled a gunman during Australias Bondi beach massacre last month, to the tireless jokery of Ken Dodd doing six-hour shows to the end, we women recognise certain qualities with half-laughing admiration.

Confined too long in all-female company I always feel bereft. I made lifelong female friends at the dear old convent school and more at the school gate, but its always nice to hang out with males, as I did with three brothers.

Theres a baked-in variation in every cell and every gesture, even when theyre at their most gay or deliberately effete.

I once set out to write a polemic book called Liking Men but after initial interest the literary agent panicked and ghosted me forever, so I lost impetus. However I happily remember working out how there are things to appreciate at every stage of manhood.

Start with baby boys, proven by neuroscience to have a different brain structure and a tendency to reach out towards strange and probably dangerous things faster than girls, whose gift is more empathetic and emotional. All this comes long before puberty. Think of Christopher Robin, dragging his bear Pooh downstairs by the leg, bump, bump, bump. A little girl would be more likely to give it a bandage and a tea party.

Yet theres a gentleness in small boys who care for live pets or reach out to animals: at six, ours wrote a poem called my saddest day and it turned out to be when one of the ewes on the farm rejected her lamb.

Move on to the schoolboy, trying to tame his run-around energy to book-learning, needing space to gallop and jump.

Theres crudeness, bullying, gangs and suspicion of girls, but also an urge to belong and be loyal: its a decent root of the soldierly loyalty on which all nations rely.

The dark, rebellious humour of boys is grand, too. One of my heroes, as a girl in more decorous schools, was Nigel Molesworth in How to be Topp, as he sends up his headmaster and shudders at sissy student Fotherington-Thomas.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced last month that relationship classes will be given to boys as young as 11 who exhibit a loathing of women

As they grow, comes the age of Romeo: young lover or lovestruck minstrel sighing below a girls balcony for just one petal from the rose in her hair. He still exists, beneath or alongside the sullen, confused Andrew Tate guy.

He knows somethings missing, a partnership and closeness. He will look for it. We girls have bravery and dreams too, but its male courage that most often steps forward and risks a humiliating refusal.

Raise a glass too to gay men down the decades: coming out, knowing themselves, defying contempt to be a Harvey Milk or Quentin Crisp, demanding the simple right to love and marry.

Remember the fighting heroes: soldiers and sailors, now learning awkwardly to work alongside women but needing their own style of gung-ho maleness: chaps like the weakling midshipman Horatio Nelson, sent to sea at 12 with the bluff hope that hed either die of hardship or succeed.

He later pined in Norfolk between wars, riding daily into Burnham Market in the hope of a recall letter, using his explosive energy to dig a pond in the shape of a man-o-war ship (you still see the hollow). Man-energy, restless.

Older men? Well, in my sketch of this horrifyingly unfashionable book I had a whole chapter called In Praise of Gammon.

People are dreadfully rude about middle-aged men of all classes, especially if they grow wider and redder in the face. We dont celebrate mature teachers or weary senior policemen (unless they have fashionable issues in cop shows) and are worse at appreciating midlife fellows who keep the plates spinning in business, banking, manufacturing and retail.

Senior women in tidy officewear are praised, the men presumed to be dinosaurs. But it is they who for decades primarily funded families, serving long grey hours in office blocks and factories, locked into corporate structures or clerical duties, rarely getting home for bathtime and feeling their marriage fade in the discontent of wives with more time for the gym.

Some struggle against the odds like any soldier, versions of Arthur Millers Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman: vulnerable, dutiful, hopeful. When arguments raged about the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square I used to barrack for a statue of The Unknown Commuter. In most of the 20th century, and in this one before Covid and WFH, this figure built the prosperity of the nation.

Today there might be a woman alongside him, but it was a man I saw in my head: a lone figure with a briefcase (or toolbag) standing beside a bleak railway line, looking into the distance in the dwindling hope of a train. Born to endure, unbowed and reliable, getting through it with a dark joke.

All sane people scorn the nonsensical Andrew Tate manosphere, writes Libby Purves. Pictured: Andrew Tate with his brother Tristan in Bucharest, Romania

Next come the old men, still determined to be gallant and easily mocked. Muir Gray, as a young doctor in the 70s, told me of the respect he felt when campaigning against damp, cold housing: old men saying, Dont worry about me Doc, I was in the trenches!

Even as the wartime generations recede, such gallantry is still with us, inheriting a tradition going back to the oldest warrior in the Anglo-Saxon poem about the Battle of Maldon. Losing to the Vikings, Essex warrior Byrhtnoth cries: Let our will be stronger, hearts the bolder, spirit the greater as our strength grows less!

I have known many magnificent old men like Mike Richey the D-Day navigator still racing a tiny boat across the Atlantic in his 80s. When his 2CV car broke down on a visit to us he said he got it moving again with the power of prayer. Or John Julius Norwich, historian and entertainer, who was magnificent company into his late 80s, always with a story, gleefully discovering Pilates. Or Bernard Jordan who at 89 escaped his care home to join the Normandy veterans.

There can be stamina and heroism and good humour and blackly bantering brilliance in both sexes. But as a woman contemplating men, I enjoy how those qualities come differently arranged in intensity and emphasis.

Men are not innately toxic, problematical or even patriarchal. A vast majority are just fine: no need for us to huddle together suspiciously and assume the worst.

Be a sister to them too, as we all trudge into 2026.
Few, except a rabble of deluded Leftist fanatics, will mourn the dramatic departure of Venezuela's despot Nicolas Maduro, or the end of the spiteful, repressive and incompetent regime which he inherited from the equally disagreeable Hugo Chavez.

Millions of people in that country have suffered for years at their hands. Democrats and decent people in that unhappy state have sought for many years to bring about a change for the better, in a nation which ought by rights to be prosperous and happy. Maduro and his intolerant machine have repeatedly crushed such efforts. Now they have been swept aside by a force far greater than themselves.

We can all hope that Maduro's downfall will eventually lead to freedom, peace and democracy in Venezuela. That is not impossible. So far, so good.

Yet how will all this look a year hence, and what wider implications does it have? Well, it was ludicrous for Moscow to complain piously (as it did) that the operation was an 'act of armed aggression'.

The Kremlin may be sad about losing one of its few friends in the region, but too bad. It lost all moral force when it invaded sovereign Ukraine nearly four years ago in what was certainly an act of armed aggression.

But this cuts both ways. Western democracies that condemn Russia's actions will from now on be constantly embarrassed with the fact that the USA, the absolute keystone of democratic, law-governed power in the world, has undoubtedly forced its way into a sovereign capital and taken over somebody else's country by the use of irresistible force.

China issued its own ritual condemnation of the seizure. But it will also have watched Mr Trump's Florida press conference with interest. Perhaps one day his justifications for the Caracas attack will be sarcastically recycled by Beijing to justify its own future behaviour.

This, alas, is how foreign policy has worked since 1945, when aggressive war was supposedly outlawed.

President Trump standing near CIA Director John Ratcliffe as they watch the U.S. military operation in Venezuela from Trump's Mar a Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a press conference with international media at Hotel Eurobuilding in Caracas on September 15, 2025

There were other awkward problems lurking in the shadows at Mar-a-Lago, as President Trump praised the undoubted prowess of his military.

His own supporters were promised an end to 'forever wars' abroad. Mr Trump pledged that he would follow a policy of 'America First'.

Those supporters will wonder quite how all this fits in with an armed attack on someone else's government, and an indefinite commitment to govern an unstable, crime-plagued country of 30 million people.

Yes, Venezuela has huge oil reserves, but so does Iraq, and the USA's attempts to hand that country back to its own people after the 2003 invasion are a textbook example of how not to do it.

The USA has traditionally been bad at running other countries, and Mr Trump's bluster about Venezuelan drug gangs and the alleged crimes of President Maduro and his wife does not really get the President around the fact that he has burst into a sovereign country without UN permission and without the pretext that America is under attack.

Also, the old rules still apply, that it is far easier to start wars than it is to end them and far easier to get troops into foreign countries than it is to get them out again.

The old warnings still apply. Whatever you start, be sure you know how to finish it.
Hearing other people coughing and spluttering is one of life's annoyancesbut learning to listen to your own could save your life.

Splutters come in all shapes, sizes and volumes, and according to Dr Naveed Asif, understanding the nuances between the different types can help you quickly recognise if you need medical attention or just a pack of Strepsils.

Dr Asif, who is based at private clinic The London General Practice, estimates that around half of his patients complain of coughs, but despite it being a worry for many, 'it's the body doing exactly what it needs to'.

He told the Daily Mail: 'You've got an irritant infection, something that's causing a swelling or discomfort to the airway.

'So, you want the cough, which is basically spasm of the muscle, to bring up whatever it is.

'Because if you don't that will stay on the lungs or progress down the airway and cause a pneumonia.'

The NHS says a cough will typically clear up on its own within three to four weeks without you needing to see a GP.

However, in some cases urgent medical attention is neededand the warning sign is the sound of the cough.

It's important to listen to the sound of your cough, as it could reveal if you need medical attention, a GP has revealed

Dr Asif says that coughs can roughly fit into six different categories. Read on to find out more about each one, and the ones which are always cause for concern.

Dry cough

Dr Asif describes a dry cough as having a hacking sound that produces no phlegm - a sticky mucus produced by the lungs to trap irritants like dust, germs and viruses to protect the airways.

If caused by an allergy, for instance to pollen, they are commonly experienced in spring, but if triggered by a viral infection, more common in winter.

He said: 'The majority of these coughs get better over days or weeks by themselves and are usually mild.

'However, we worry about a cough that doesn't improve after three weeks as it may suggest cancer.'

A dry cough can be a warning sign of lung, oral, throat or other upper airway cancer.

He added: 'Equally, you can get metastasis, which is when any cancer spreads to the lungs, and often one of the worrying signs is a cough.'

If it is an early sign of cancer, it is often also accompanied by weight loss, reduced appetite and abdominal tenderness.

Join the debate Do you think most people ignore coughs for too long, risking their health and lives?

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It's estimated there are nearly 50,000 new cases of lung cancer in the UK every year, which is more than 130 a day.

Tragically, it kills over 33,000 Britons annually, making it the most common cause of cancer death in the nation.

The cancer is more common in older people, with almost half of all cases being diagnosed in people aged 75 and over.

However, another cause of dry coughs is acid reflux, a problem that affects around a fifth of adults.

It occurs when the stomach acid that breaks down food, flows backward into the oesophagus and causes a burning feeling in the chest, commonly known as heartburn.

Other symptoms include a cough or hiccups that keep coming back, a hoarse voice, bad breath, bloating and feeling sick.

Wet cough

A wet cough, Dr Asif explained, produces mucus and has a gurgling, rattling sound.

As phlegm helps protect the airways from bacteria and viruses, the body makes more of it when it is trying to fight off an infection. The presence in the lungs can make it harder to breathe, and the body will cough to expel it along with the nasties it has picked up.

The process of coughing up the mucus can put strain on chest muscles, causing pain in the chest, back and ribs.

Like most coughs, a wet one will typically clear up on its own within three to four weeks without needing treatment.

It is often accompanied with a stuffy or runny nose, which can be uncomfortable, because the excess mucus is also expelled out through the nostrils.

Children will often end up swallowing the mucus, which Dr Asif says is nothing to worry about.

In mild cases, Dr Asif says that a wet cough can be resolved with rest, fluids and by eating soft foods.

He urged people to sleep while propped up with pillows to help sleep better at night

If it gets worse at night, try sleeping propped up on pillows because 'it will help you get rid of the wet secretions better'.

He also urged 'parents to keep an eye out for respiratory distress, particularly in 'non-verbal or young children' which is 'when their breathing becomes harder or faster'.

However, if they have a fever, blood in thick mucus, or are generally getting worse, make an appointment to see your GP, because it could signal bronchitis which can lead to life-threatening pneumonia.

Bronchitis is inflammation in the airways, which in severe cases can cause respiratory failure. It happens when the 'bronchus', the tube going in the lungs, becomes infected.

He said: 'It's often characteristically harsher sounding and it will be wet and productive but hasn't reached the lungs.'

Meanwhile, pneumonia is a potentially life-threatening infection in the lungs in which the tiny sacs in the lungs become filled with fluid, making it difficult to breathe.

Signs of pneumonia include a fever that isn't coming down with paracetamol, discolouration, dehydration and fatigue, difficulty swallowing and vomiting.

Barking cough

A barking cough needs urgent medical attention as it often needs treatmentparticularly in children.

While rarer in adults, they can also suffer from it and similarly might need to receive treatments like steroids.

Dr Asif explained: 'It has a harsh and loud sound. Textbooks often describe it as "seal-like barking".'

It's classically associated with croup, a viral infection that affects the upper airway.

'It's associated with some viral symptoms as well. They might have a fever or a runny nose,' he said.

'The main worry is what we call stridor, which is where there is inflammation in the upper airway. When they're breathing in, it can almost be like a gasping type of noise.

He urged parents to keep an eye on children as they can seem fine before quickly deteriorating

'It can be quite scary when you see it and the worry about it is if it causes respiratory distress which is when they're breathing harder and faster or having difficulty breathing.

'That can cause obstruction to the airways, partial blockage of the airway where we need to give them oxygen or nebulizers which they have to inhale in.'

The trouble is, he said: 'Children compensate very well, so they're fine, fine, fine until they're not and that's why they often won't complain of anything.'

This cough, he explained is 'typically always at night' so it will typically need treatment by out-of-hour services or at A&E.

'We usually encourage early review, because one of the main treatments is steroids,' he said.

'If parents find their child has got a barking cough, get them seen, because actually we have a low threshold to give steroids in that situation.'

Wheezing cough

Dr Asif warned a 'wheezing cough' should always be taken seriously. It can be determined by a distinct whistling or squeaking sound, which is apparent during coughing and also during normal breathing.

This type of cough which can be painful because it is caused by swollen airways can be a symptom of a chest infection says the NHS, which can also cause mucus.

This sort of cough is primarily associated with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a group of lung diseases which make it difficult to breath.

Viral infections pose a greater risk to those with COPD and asthma, a chronic lung condition where airways become inflamed, swollen and narrowed making breathing difficult.

A wheezing cough can also be the sign of an asthma attack, which needs urgent treatment

He said: 'Though this can be an ongoing cough associated with a chronic condition, we always advise to sought review if it is getting more frequent or breathlessness is worsening.'

The treatment depends on what is causing it, as for example, if it is a sign of an asthma attack, it will need urgent treatment, as they can be life-threatening.

If you're having an asthma attack, the NHS says to sit up straight to try and help your breathing, stay calm and use an inhaler if you have one.

Those with a blue one should take one puff every 30 to 60 seconds until you feel better, for up to a maximum of 10 puffs, shaking the inhaler between each puff and use a spacer with the inhaler if you have one.

Meanwhile, those with one for both prevention and treatment, known as an AIR or MART inhaler, should take one puff every one to three minutes until you feel better, for up to six puffs.

And, if you have a wheezing cough, have seeked medical advice and a doctor diagnoses you with pneumonia, you may need to be prescribed antibiotics.

Whooping cough

A whooping cough can leave you feeling like you're on the verge of choking because of how it affects your ability to breathe.

'Once you've heard it, you'll never forget it,' Dr Asif said.

It is associated with a highly contagious bacterium known as Bordetella pertussis, and can rapidly spread among family units.

While it's more common in children, adults can still catch it, but they may not necessarily make the same 'whoop' sound.

Babies younger than six months old may also not have a classic whooping cough, or it may be difficult to hear.

According to the NHS, whooping coughing bouts can last for a few minutes, are worse at night and may leave people struggling to breathe.

Because of the reduced oxygen being taken into the lungs and pushed out into the bloodstream, their skin may even take on a blue or grey tinge.

Whooping cough may also bring up thick mucus which can make sufferers vomit and may leave you very red in the face.

It is initially difficult to tell apart from a cold, as the first signs are a runny nose and sore throat

It's particularly dangerous for babies under 12 months, who have an increased risk of dehydration, breathing issues, pneumonia and seizures.

Meanwhile, in older children and adults it says it can also cause sore ribs, a hernia, middle ear infections, and urinary incontinence when you cough.

Dr Asif said: 'These coughs, particularly in children, need treatment promptly with antibiotics and confirmed infections must be notified to public health authorities.

'Again, if it's associated with any respiratory symptoms of distress, you shouldn't stay at home, seek urgent review.'

The treatment depends on an individual's age and how long they have had the cough before being diagnosed.

According to the NHS, hospital treatment is usually needed if they have severe whooping cough, or the baby is under six months old and has whooping cough.

If whooping cough is diagnosed within two weeks of your cough starting, they'll be given antibiotics to help stop it spreading to others.

Some healthcare and nursery workers may be given antibiotics within three weeks of the cough starting.

Chronic cough

The final cough on Dr Asif's list is described as a chronic cough, which the GP says 'is the trickiest and most variable' as it can be a sign of underlying illnesses.

These can include asthma, chronic bronchitis and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) which is ongoing acid reflux, or something gravely serious, like lung cancer.

It doesn't necessarily have a distinct sound in itself, like the other types of coughs which he discussed.

Depending on what is causing it could make a range of sounds such as a whistling cough, and it can also be painful and accompanied with mucus or not.

He said: 'If ongoing for more than eight weeks, a doctor review is required to avoid progression of the disease.

'As part of NHS, I understand, any cough that is lasting more than three weeks, we'd advise you to review.

'The biggest thing is that lung cancer often presents late, and early diagnosis means that you could go down the curative option.'
More than 30 million Americans take the over-the-counter medication aspirin, the two-cent-per-pill drug used to relieve pain and decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke.

It is a relatively safe medication with few side effects, but it should be taken under the guidance of a doctor to ensure safe dosage.

President Donald Trump is one of the millions taking aspirin daily and he revealed in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal that uses it for 'cardiac prevention.'

But top doctors have revealed the serious risks of taking too much aspirin, including uncontrollable bleeding, vomiting and bruising.

Aspirin makes cell fragments called platelets less 'sticky' and prone to clumping together. Particularly in older people, this prevents blood from clotting, a key risk factor for heart attacks and strokes.

Trump, 79, claims he takes 325mg every day - that is more than three times the standard dose. He said that while his doctors have encouraged him to lower the dose, he is reluctant to do so after 25 years.

'I'm a little superstitious,' he said.

'They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I dont want thick blood pouring through my heart. I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart.'

President Donald Trump, pictured above last year, revealed that he takes 325mg of aspirin daily for 'cardiac prevention'

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Daily aspirin is typically only recommended for older adults who have a prior history of heart attack or stroke or risk factors like high blood pressure or chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which Trump was diagnosed with last year.

Doctors who have not evaluated the president spoke to the Daily Mail about aspirin in general. They told the Daily Mail they recommend against taking 325mg, especially for people who aren't at a significant risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

They also warned taking high doses, especially without guidance from a physician, may lead to severe side effects like bleeding and bruising.

'Where aspirin is most clearly beneficial is in secondary prevention, which refers to patients who already have cardiovascular disease such as a prior heart attack, stroke, vascular stent or bypass surgery,' Dr Sam Setareh, director of clinical cardiology at Beverly Hills Cardiovascular & Longevity Center and senior clinical researcher at the National Heart Institute, told the Daily Mail.

Setareh, who has not evaluated President Trump, noted the typical recommended daily dose of aspirin for people at risk of a heart attack or stroke is between 75 and 100mg, and the most common daily dose is 81mg.

'A 325mg tablet is substantially higher than what is currently recommended for routine cardiovascular prevention,' he said.

'Older clinical practices sometimes used doses up to 325mg daily, but modern evidence shows that higher doses do not prevent more heart attacks or strokes and can increase bleeding risk.'

Setareh pointed to the 2021 ADAPTABLE trial out of Duke University, which compared aspirin doses of 81 and 325mg among 15,000 participants at risk of cardiovascular disease.

The study found there was no difference in heart attacks, strokes or bleeding between the two groups, and nearly half of those assigned to the higher dose ended up going down to 81mg - 'which shows that patients often cannot tolerate the higher dose long term,' Setareh said.

He noted that patients generally are only advised to take 325mg for short periods of time immediately after a heart attack or stroke to help thin their blood. Setareh said that a daily dose of this amount 'should only be taken when there is a specific clinical reason and in consultation with a clinician who understands the persons full cardiovascular and bleeding risk profile.'

He added that, 'Outside of those scenarios, current evidence shows no added protective benefit of 325mg compared to 81mg.'

Nearly 30 million US adults take aspirin every day to prevent heart attacks and stroke, but doctors warn high doses may lead to bleeding

Doctors note high doses of aspirin may increase the risk of bruising, which Trump has said could be the reason for the bruises that have appeared on the back of his hands (pictured)

Instead, it just primes the body for excess bleeding.

Because aspirin thins the blood to prevent clots, minor cuts could cause uncontrollable bleeding. Older individuals also tend to have thinner skin and weak blood vessels, which make them even more prone to blood loss.

That excess bleeding can also lead to bruising - Trump has said it could be the reason for the bruising that has started to appear on the back of his hands.

'I take the larger [dose], but Ive done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising,' he told The Wall Street Journal.

The White House has previously said the president's bruises are from shaking hands with so many people.

Both the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association recommend against even a daily low dose of aspirin entirely for people over 70 because the risk of bleeding outweighs the benefit.

'Certain groups should generally not take aspirin for primary prevention,' Setareh told the Daily Mail. 'These include adults older than 70, people with low cardiovascular risk scores, individuals with prior gastrointestinal bleeding or ulcers and those on medications that raise bleeding risk.'

He noted that people taking too high of a dose may experience black or tarry stools, unexplained bruising, stomach pain, vomiting blood or fatigue, which could be a sign of anemia.

'More importantly, people should not attempt to self adjust aspirin doses,' he said.

'The bottom line is that aspirin can be lifesaving when used appropriately.'
Yesterday, health expert Sunna van Kampen told how his new book reveals the simple food swaps that transformed his familys health. Today, he turns his attention to the everyday products lining your bathroom shelf  from toothpaste to shampoo and deodorant  and reveals that they could be doing you more harm than good.

I was at the kitchen sink when I noticed it. On the back of the washing-up liquid bottle was a warning: harmful to aquatic life. And it made me stop and think.

Id spent the last few years carefully thinking about what I was putting into my body  making simple swaps, reading labels, cutting back on ultra-processed food  and Id finally got on top of the colds I used to have every couple of months.

But while Id overhauled what I was putting in my body, Id never really questioned what I was putting on it.

Every morning and night, I went through the same routine millions of us do: brush my teeth, lather up in the shower, apply deodorant. Maybe smear on some body lotion. Personal hygiene is about keeping clean and protecting our skin  or so we assume.

But if washing-up liquid was labelled a threat to fish and oceans, it made me wonder what daily body care  used year after year  might be doing to my own system.

So I did what I always do when something doesnt quite sit right: I went digging.

At first, it was just turning bottles around in the bathroom and actually reading ingredient lists properly for the first time. Then it turned into weeks of research  reading the science, speaking to experts, and working out which ingredients genuinely matter and which ones weve all simply accepted without thinking.

While Sunna van Kampen had overhauled what he was putting in his body, he'd never really questioned what he was putting on it

That rabbit hole became part of my new book, The Good, The Bad And The Healthy  the shortcuts and swaps I wish Id known years ago, and the same ones I used to overhaul my familys bathroom cabinet.

Heres the key thing I learned: this isnt about one bad product. Its about how many you use, and how often. Layered on, day after day, for decades.

Theres plenty of science looking at individual chemicals in isolation. But personal care is different  its about the chemical load created by products we use daily, over large areas of skin, often without a second thought.

Today, Im going to do what I did with food: strip it back and show you where to start  the swaps that remove the biggest question marks first, without turning your routine upside down. And with a new year ahead, its the perfect moment to reset.

THE TOOTHPASTE MOMENT

Toothpaste was one of the first things that surprised me.

Not because it was toxic, but because of how many unnecessary extras had crept in simply to improve taste, texture and foam.

Why does this matter? Because the mouth is highly absorbent. Brushing your teeth for two minutes gives whatevers in that tube a direct route into the body.

Take PEG-6 (polyethylene glycol), a petroleum-derived compound. Or Red 30 (CI 73360), a synthetic dye made from petroleum or coal tar. Then theres titanium dioxide  banned in the EU as a food additive in 2022 due to toxicity concerns yet still permitted in toothpaste.

Add artificial sweeteners, and you might start to see why I switched to a simpler, naturally derived toothpaste.

Of course, we cant talk about toothpaste without mentioning fluoride. Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that strengthens enamel and reduces tooth decay. Dentists recommend fluoride toothpaste, and at the levels found in toothpaste and tap water its deemed safe.

But the science continues to evolve. Studies looking at areas with high fluoride exposure have raised concerns about potential effects on IQ in children. A 2012 meta-analysis of 27 studies found an average difference of nearly seven IQ points between children in high- and low-fluoride areas, and the US National Toxicology Program has concluded there is an association at elevated exposure levels.

That doesnt mean brushing your teeth is dangerous. Fluoride toothpaste has helped cut rates of childhood tooth decay significantly.

But if youre uneasy  particularly with children or grandchildren who swallow toothpaste  there is a well-studied alternative: toothpastes containing hydroxyapatite, the same mineral found in tooth enamel itself, which research suggests can help remineralise enamel without adding fluoride.

THE LATHER TRAP

Shampoo and body wash were the next penny-drop moments.

Most shampoos rely on surfactants such as sodium lauryl sulphate, or its milder cousin sodium laureth sulphate, to create that satisfying lather.

Weve been trained to think more foam means cleaner. But that squeaky feeling isnt a sign of health  its a sign that the skin and scalps natural oils have been aggressively removed.

University of Birmingham scientists say leave-on products such as lipsticks, moisturiser and even hand-sanitisers have been far less studied than rinse-off ones like soap and toothpaste

For some people thats not an issue. But for many, it creates a cycle they dont realise theyre stuck in. Strip the scalp too hard, it dries out or becomes irritated, and the body responds by producing more oil to compensate  which makes you feel like you need to wash again.

Thats when people start talking about oily scalps, dry skin, constant itchiness or persistent dandruff, without ever questioning the products theyre using every day.

What surprised me most is how common this is. Many popular shampoos and body washes are designed to cut through grease extremely efficiently  often using the same degreasing ingredients as washing-up liquid.

Thats great for a frying pan. Less great for your skin twice a day. Over time, repeated over-cleansing can weaken the skins natural barrier, making low-level irritation feel normal.

Switching to gentler washes means less foam and less instant gratification  but for many people its one of the quickest ways to let skin and scalp settle.

But its not just about lather. Some hair products have also been found to contain PFAS  often called forever chemicals  added to improve spread, slip or smoothness.

Scientists are still working out what long-term exposure means, but research shows some PFAS can pass through human skin and, once in the body, dont break down easily. Theyre related to a number of health conditions from obesity to cancer.

Another ingredient worth flagging here is phthalates. These are often used in fragranced products to make scents last longer or help ingredients blend evenly.

You wont usually see phthalate on the label  theyre often hidden under fragrance or parfum. Theyve been flagged in studies as potential endocrine disruptors, meaning they may interfere with hormones.

Evidence of harm at cosmetic exposure levels is inconclusive. But if a product is used daily, over large areas of skin, its reasonable to question whether those extras are really necessary.

DEODORANT: THE ALUMINIUM ISSUE

Next up was deodorant  something Id applied every morning for years without a second thought. Antiperspirants dont just mask smell. They work by using aluminium salts, such as aluminium chlorohydrate, to form temporary plugs in sweat ducts, which is what keeps you dry.

Theres no proven link between aluminium deodorants and diseases like breast cancer, and regulators consider them safe at the levels used.

But we do know excessive aluminium exposure isnt ideal. Your kidneys usually clear it effectively  yet if youre applying aluminium under your arms every day for decades, its fair to ask whether thats exposure you actually need.

For me, it came down to a simple point: if an aluminium-free deodorant works well enough, why keep the question mark?

You may need to reapply more often on hot days  but that feels like a small trade-off.

THE STACK MATTERS

Most of us assume these products just sit harmlessly on the surface of the skin. But the skin isnt a sealed wall  its a living organ. Otherwise nicotine patches, hormone creams and medicated gels wouldnt work.

Some substances pass through the skin. Others are inhaled as sprays. Some end up in the mouth. And because we use multiple products every single day, exposure builds quietly.

Regulators assess ingredients individually and deem them safe at the levels used. What they cant fully assess is cumulative exposure as they stack up  what happens when small amounts are layered, day after day, across a lifetime. Thats the grey area where science is still catching up.

Body care doesnt give instant feedback, which is why its easy to ignore. But what I felt after overhauling my and my familys body care routine was reassurance  that I was reducing unnecessary exposure to toxins, rather than piling it on without thinking.

One product wont change your health. Its the chemical load over decades that concerns scientists.

And when the swaps are simple, affordable and already sitting on the supermarket shelves, being more selective just makes sense.

FOREVER CHEMICALS

More than 50 per cent of make-up tested in a major study showed signs of PFAS  forever chemicals that dont break down easily, can build up over time and which have been linked to health conditions from obesity to cancer. The kicker? Most didnt list PFAS on the ingredients label at all  so shoppers would never know they were there.

More than 50 per cent of make-up tested in a major study showed signs of PFAS  forever chemicals that dont break down easily

THE INGREDIENT PILE-UP

Women now use around 12 personal-care products a day on average, while men use around 11  up from just six in the early 2000s. That daily routine can expose the average adult to more than 100 different chemical ingredients every single day, simply through normal grooming.

LIPSTICK SOS

That slick of lippy could be doing more than plumping your pout. University of Birmingham scientists say leave-on products such as lipsticks, moisturiser and even hand-sanitisers have been far less studied than rinse-off ones like soap and toothpaste.

5 INGREDIENTS I ALWAYS CHECK FOR  AND WHY

When I started looking at body care the same way I look at food, the same ingredients cropped up again and again  across toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, deodorant and moisturiser whether it was in the ones used by me, my wife  or even my kids.

Here are the ones I avoid.

1. SLS / SLES (FOAMING AGENTS)

Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and its milder cousin sodium laureth sulphate (SLES) are added to shampoos, shower gels and some toothpastes to create that rich lather we associate with clean. Theyre strong detergents  which is why many people prefer gentler cleansers that dont rely on heavy foaming day after day.

2. PARABENS (PRESERVATIVES)

Parabens stop products growing mould or bacteria. Theyve been used for decades and are still permitted within strict limits. Some parabens have been linked in studies to hormone disruption, mimicking oestrogen in the body, so people who want to be cautious often choose to limit how many paraben-containing products they use overall  especially when paraben-free alternatives are easy to find.

3. FRAGRANCE or PARFUM

This is the catch-all. When a label says fragrance or parfum, it can represent dozens of different compounds used to create a scent and help it last  without those individual chemicals being listed. If you want one simple rule, go fragrance-free for products you use daily or leave on for hours.

4. ALUMINIUM SALTS (IN ANTIPERSPIRANTS)

If a deodorant is also an antiperspirant, it usually works by using aluminium salts to form temporary plugs in sweat ducts to keep you dry. Regulators deem them safe within limits, but if you dont need an antiperspirant every day, switching to an aluminium-free deodorant is an easy way to remove that ingredient from a product you apply for hours, year after year.

5. TOOTHPASTE EXTRAS (COLOURANTS and PETROLEUM-DERIVED ADDITIVES)

Toothpaste goes straight into a highly absorbent part of the body  our mouth  twice a day. Thats why I check for non-essentials like whitening colourants (including titanium dioxide) and petroleum-derived additives such as PEGs  and why I prefer a simpler formula where I can.

THE BOTTOM LINE

None of these ingredients guarantees harm. One product wont change your health.

But when the same additives appear across lots of products you use every day, choosing simpler options where you can just makes sense.

START NOW: THE BODYCARE SWAPS THAT CAN TRANSFORM YOUR HEALTH THIS WEEK

TOOTHPASTE

Switch Oral-B 3D White/Aquafresh Complete/Colgate Total for Sensodyne Pronamel/Kingfisher Natural/Biomed

You use it twice a day  so its the easiest place to ditch pointless add-ons (whitening agents and flavour boosters) that dont make teeth any cleaner.

SHAMPOO

Switch from Head & Shoulders/Pantene/Herbal Essence to Faith in Nature/Green People

Many mainstream formulas rely on harsh detergents for that big lather  the same strip-it-fast logic as washing-up liquid.

SHOWER GEL

Switch Lynx/Dove Men+Care/Original Source for Childs Farm/Neals Yard Remedies

You coat your whole body in it daily  so swapping here cuts out a big hit of parfum and other unnecessary ingredients in one move.

DEODORANT

Ditch Sure/Dove/Nivea antiperspirants and use Wild Refillable/Salt of the Earth/Fussy instead

Antiperspirants work by using aluminium salts to block sweat ducts  a daily, decades-long exposure you can avoid without changing your routine.

FACIAL MOISTURISER

Replace Nivea Body Lotion/Simple/Aveeno with Weleda Skin Food/Neal's Yard Remedies

It stays on your skin for hours  so if youre leaving one product on all day, make it the simplest one you can.

SUNSCREEN

Stop buying Piz Buin/Garnier Ambre Solaire/Nivea Sun and give Green People/Thinksport/Badger a go

Many chemical suncreams use reactive UV filters that have come under scrutiny  mineral zinc works by sitting on the skin and blocking rays.

Adapted from The Good, the Bad and the Healthy by Sunna van Kampen (New River Books, 10.99).  Sunna van Kampen 2026. Order a copy of the book for only 5.49 (RRP 10.99) using code HEALTHY-JAN26 at tgjonesonline.co.uk. Offer valid for UK orders only online until January 8, 2026.
Celebrity journalist Gayle King is being criticized on social media for posting a video complaining that her business class flight seat had no window.

On Sunday, the CBS Mornings co-host posted a video to her 1.1 million Instagram followers in which she complained that her more than eight-hour-long United Airlines flight from Hawaii to New York was 'gonna be a long ride.'

King took the video while on the flight and said: 'I always like the window seat, and I know the L series is window seats, so I sit down, I go, 'oh great, okay, let's look out the window. Oh, there is no window.''

'Well maybe I can look out the neighbor's window across the hall,' she continued. 'Oh, a wall,' she then said while patting the wall to her left.

The television personality then lifted her phone to see if the passenger in front of her had a window, which he did, but King also complained that it was closed.

'United and I have very different ideas about a window,' King said. 'What's a girl to do?'

She said that she complained to a flight attendant, who she described as 'very nice.'

King added that the flight attendant told her, 'he had never seen anything like this,' in the caption of her post.

Celebrity journalist Gayle King is being criticized on social media for posting a video complaining that her business class flight seat had no window

King showed her ticket for most of the video, which clearly shows that it was for a business class seat

In the video, King pans right to show that her seat has no window despite the ticket saying it should

'He suggested I complain. This is me complaining' King also wrote in the caption.

According to the United Airlines website, business class tickets for a round trip between Maui's Kahului Airport and Newark International Airport, which was the route King was taking, range from more than $2,500 to a little under $5,000.

King's ticket, which was in frame for most of the video, clearly shows that it was for a business class seat.

Business class is also the most premium option offered by United Airlines for that route.

The airline's economy tickets for the same round trip start at $420, meaning King likely paid around five to ten times what the average person would have spent.

In the comments of the post, many users slammed King and joked about her being out of touch.

'How will you manage?' one person wrote sarcastically. 'Just fine,' another responded.

'Gayle. There are times we just 'Let Go' and thank God for our blessings,' wrote another user.

King is a co-host for CBS Mornings, and she has more than one million followers on Instagram, where she posted the video of her complaining

King was flying from Maui, Hawaii (pictured, stock image), to New York. A business class round trip for that route with United Airlines costs between about $2,500 to about $5,000

'Boohoo Gayle. Flying business class is so challenging,' a third person wrote along with a crying laughing emoji.

'This is what we are actually complaining about? What are you a teenage girl?' said a fourth.

'Imagine living a life where this is your biggest problem,' a fifth wrote.

'Gayle you've been to space what more do you need to see mama,' a sixth said in reference to King's participation in the all-woman Blue Origin spaceflight, which also featured Jeff Bezos's wife, Lauren Sanchez, and pop-star Katy Perry.

Although most people were critical in the comments, a few people were also supportive of King.

Some simply wished her safe travels or posted heart emojis, and a few others recommended she use a booking website to ensure her seat has a window in the future.
From men's unique tailoring to stovepipe jeans and 'filler in a bottle', 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting years in fashion and beauty we've seen in a long time.

Across Australia, and the world, experts have confirmed we're entering a new era of personal style, where bold colour, smart skincare and effortless glamour collide.

Runways from Paris to New York have already laid the groundwork, with micro-fringes, '80s power dressing, nostalgic primary colours and platform sandals storming back into the spotlight.

Meanwhile, the beauty world is having a complete reset of its own, embracing statement winged eyeliner once again, bold pops of colour, feather-light bases and the next wave of K-beauty innovations - a category Australians are now the second-highest spenders on in the world.

Even skincare is getting a shake-up, with buzzy actives like Volufiline earning a new cult status and men jumping on faux tans and regenerative treatments in record numbers.

And if you needed more proof that 2026 is all about reinvention, the cosmetic treatment landscape is undergoing its biggest shift yet with regenerative injectables, hybrid lasers and a firm goodbye to the overfilled look.

But as with every new year, not everything is making the cut. Fashion stylists say chaotic print-clashing and the barrel-jean experiment are officially on their way out, plus another one that may surprise you.

Whether you're into fashion, beauty or a bit of both, the trends ahead promise a year of experimentation and a lot of nostalgia.

Runways from Paris to New York have already laid the groundwork for 2026's fashion and beauty trends - with micro-fringes, '80s power dressing, nostalgic primary colours and platform sandals storming back into the spotlight

HAIR

Baby Bangs

If you thought the fringe revival was big this year, 2026 is taking it even further.

Super-short 'baby bangs' cropped up across the SS26 runways - from Dries Van Noten to Thom Browne - signalling that this bold, micro-fringe moment is officially back.

Vintage-inspired Layers

According to hair expert Oray Oz, the man behind the locks of Gigi Hadid, Lindsay Lohan and Vera Wang, this style channels the sophistication of the 1960s.

Popularised by modern muses like Sabrina Carpenter (below), these cuts focus on long, face-framing pieces and a refined, architectural structure that moves beautifully without collapsing into fluff.

'It's the kind of haircut that looks styled even when you've only done a half-hearted blast-dry, because the layers have been cut so intentionally.'

Suede Bronde

Sydney's best-known celebrity hairstylist Jaye Edwards, says this combination brunette continues to be one of his salon's most requested shades.

'It hits that sweet spot between blonde and brunette. It's warm without being golden, cool without being ashy, and universally flattering,' he added.

'For suede bronde, I focus on muted lowlights and diffused highlights so you get this creamy, seamless blend that grows out beautifully.'

Grungy, Grown-out Colour

If a six-week repeat colour appointment isn't your idea of a good time, you're in luck because grown out roots are back in vogue.

It's the antithesis of high-maintenance beauty - and according to the experts, that relaxed, rock-and-roll edge (as sported regularly by celebs like Florence Pugh, pictured) is exactly why it's trending.

Celebrity hair stylist Jaye Edwards says 'suede bronde' (a combination brunette hue like Chrishell Stause's, pictured) continues to be one of his salon's most requested shades. But grown out 'grunge' hair colour like Florence Pugh's is also trending

MAKEUP

In the world of beauty, celebrity makeup artist Jade Kisnorbo said we can expect 'lots of eyeliner and creative flair with eyeshadow selections,' paired with editorial glowing skin rather than heavily pressed highlight powders and glittery creams.

Concealer-as-base becomes a go-to trick too.

'Sheer it out over well-prepped skin for a natural finish that lasts all day,' she added.

The '80s return in the form of bold pops of colour on lids and high-points of the cheeks embracing feel-good, mood-lifting shades.

Pale lips have also come back round, 'driven by K-beauty, blurred stains and soft-focus finishes will be everywhere next year'.

Jade also predicted that time-saving hybrid makeup products are set to explode.

'Think of Victoria Beckham Beauty's lip-and-cheek tints to K-beauty blurring pots.'

In the world of beauty, celebrity makeup artist Jade Kisnorbo said we can expect 'lots of eyeliner and creative flair with eyeshadow selections,' paired with editorial glowing skin rather than heavily pressed highlight powders and glittery creams. Pictured: Abbie Chatfield (left) and Australian model Simone Holtznagel

The '80s return in the form of bold pops of colour on lids and high points of the cheeks embracing feel-good, mood-lifting shades. Pictured: Former Miss Universe Australia Laura Dundovic sporting the look

The Ordinary's Volufiline 92% + Pal-Isoleucine 1% serum is just $37.20 for 15ml -considerably cheaper than an aesthetic appointment

SKINCARE

Meet Volufiline

The buzzed-about active already being dubbed 'filler in a bottle.'

This plant-derived molecule is designed to target areas prone to age-related hollowness, from under-eyes to smile lines, by helping fat cells appear fuller.

Early studies suggest it may boost lipid production, giving skin a softer, more cushioned look, and according to aesthetic doctor Dr Sindhu Siddiqi it works by helping plump up fat cells in the areas where you topically apply it.

The effect is subtle and temporary - but with its needle-free plumping power and huge TikTok buzz, Volufiline is shaping up to be one of beauty's biggest ingredients for 2026.

K-Beauty Boom

Australia's love affair with K-beauty isn't slowing down - in fact, it's only getting stronger.

We're now officially the second-highest spending K-beauty market per capita in the world (with only South Korea ahead of us), and that momentum is set to surge even further into 2026.

From glass-skin routines to ingredient-led innovations, Aussies can't get enough of the results-driven, multi-step rituals K-beauty is known for.

Australia's obsession with K-beauty keeps growing - we're now the second-highest spending K-beauty market per capita in the world, behind only South Korea, with demand set to soar even further in 2026. Pictured (right): Daily Mail's resident beauty expert Elise Wilson shopping at the newly opened W-Cosmetics in Bondi Junction

Expect even more Korean brands, trends, devices and skincare technologies to dominate the landscape next year - from exosomes and fermented actives to probiotics and beyond.

Retailer W-Cosmetics, which specialises in K-beauty and J-beauty, has just launched pop-ups inside David Jones stores nationwide to keep up with demand.

And this January (Thurs 22  Sat 24), they're debuting the first-ever World of W (WoW) event - a three-day festival at Sydney's ICC designed for beauty lovers to swatch, sample, play and leave with a bag full of new favourites.

Faux Tan

Three Warriors founder Corbin Halliday says men are tanning more than ever, with the stigma long gone.

'A tan is the quickest confidence lift you can give yourself,' he explained, adding that guys now want to look fresh without risking UV damage.

Low-maintenance products are the favourites - think tan drops, face mists and fast express foams that slot easily into a basic routine. Celebrity figures like Chris Appleton are also helping normalise the trend, using simple spritz-and-go formulas like Three Warriors' Face Tan Water.

Looking to 2026, Corbin predicts skin-first, customisable tanning will dominate, infused with ingredients like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide are set to become the new standard.

Three Warriors founder Corbin Halliday says men are tanning more than ever, with the stigma long gone. He predicts skin-first, customisable tanning will dominate, infused with ingredients like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide. Pictured: The Kardashian's hairstylist Chris Appleton wearing Three Warriors fake tan

COSMETIC TREATMENTS

Top 10 in-demand facial treatments in Australia Thanks to booking platform Fresha we now know the most searched facial treatments for 2025 in Australia 1. Men's Facial - Up 63.4 per cent 2. Anti-Ageing Facial - Up 63.1 per cent 3. Microneedling - Up 59.5 per cent 4. Glass Skin Facial - Up 51.8 per cent 5. Chemical Peel - Up 39.5 per cent 6. Acne Facial - Up 36.4 per cent 7. Nano Facial - Up 36 per cent 8. Gold Facial - Up 30 per cent 9. Express Facial - Up 26.4 per cent 10. Mini Facial - Up 23.1 per cent Advertisement

The hyper-contoured look is officially out according to Dr. Rafael, who is a cosmetic doctor and trainer at Face Doctor's in Sydney.

Injectables & Techniques

'Biostimulatory injectables will dominate: think Rejuran (derived from salmon sperm DNA) and exosome-based treatments focused on skin repair, texture and dermal strength.'

'Treatment 'stacking' is evolving into a staged approach across multiple appointments,' he added.

'Think Rejuran injections one visit, exosomes another, then laser, avoiding over-treatment while still boosting results.'

Devices & Technology

Dr Raf says hybrid lasers are the next big thing combining wavelengths for better resurfacing, collagen stimulation and minimal downtime.

'Advanced ultrasound skin tightening (HIFU and newer focused ultrasound platforms) are also improving in effectiveness and safety.'

Men's Aesthetic Trends

Exosomes are now being used for hair restoration.

'It's less painful, has no blood draw, and promising for density.'

In his opinion, there has also been a significant rise in natural jawline enhancement in males for subtle definition, not exaggerated shapes.

FASHION 'INS'

Men's Soft Tailoring

Bringing a far more relaxed take on traditional suiting, sharp, rigid lines of old-school formalwear are giving way to looser cuts, natural shoulders and unstructured blazers that move with the body rather than against it.

'Think breathable linens, luxe cottons and refined wool blends with elevated fabrics that feel polished but never stuffy, and always in muted tones instead of harsh blacks and dark greys,' said Sydney-based fashion stylist Lattitia Taylor.

Backstage at Giorgio Armani Men's Spring 2026 Ready-To-Wear Collection at Milan Men's Fashion Week saw men in next year's 'soft tailoring' trend

80s Office Wear

'We will see volume across all categories in the new year, including bottoms,' said Monique Villanueva, design and brand manager for Hello Molly.

This is full-fledged revival of bold '80s office aesthetic. Think strong, oversized blazers, large shoulder pads and sharply structured suits, but reimagined with modern touches.

Monique says to expect colour-blocking, high-waisted tailoring, tapered legs and luxe fabrics that feel more runway than boardroom, complete with satin blouses, chunky gold jewellery and statement accessories.

For women it's a revival of bold '80s office style for the year ahead in the form of oversized blazers, shoulder pads, sharp suits and colour-blocked, high-waisted tailoring, updated with luxe fabrics, satin blouses and attention-grabbing accessories

Grade-school Colours

After seasons of muted, 'quiet luxury' tones (think chocolate browns, deep burgundies and soft neutrals), Lattitia says 2026 is getting a major colour reset.

'Thanks to punchy runway moments from Loewe, Dior, Ralph Lauren and Versace, supersaturated primary and secondary hues are suddenly everywhere.

'The vibe is almost nostalgic, echoing the bright, cheerful palette of a kindergarten classroom,' she told Daily Mail.

'You can go all out by clashing the bold shades together, or keep it wearable by anchoring them with classics like black, white or navy.'

Fashion stylist Lattitia Taylor predicts a vibrant turnaround for 2026, with bold, supersaturated colours taking over runways and echoing cheerful classroom palettes. She suggests mixing brights for impact, or pairing with black, white or navy to keep things wearable

The Stovepipe Jean

We've had our eras of skinnies and cigarette jeans, but 2026 is all about a new denim silhouette - the stovepipe.

If the name hasn't hit your radar yet, it soon will. This cut sits in that sweet spot between skinny, straight and cropped - not as clingy as a skinny jean, not as cropped as a cigarette, and not as tapered as a classic straight-leg.

The result is a perfectly balanced hybrid that's fast becoming the most flattering (and wearable) jean of the year.

Stovepipe jeans sit in that sweet spot between skinny, straight and cropped. Pictured: Flo and Frankie 95 Stovepipe Jeans ($39.90, left) and Henne Rory Jean ($229, right)

Charms

From bag charms and Labubu-style collectibles to brooches and decorative add-ons, accessories are becoming the ultimate form of self-expression, said Monique.

There's also a renewed appetite for vintage costume jewellery - time to dust off those Pandora bracelets, ladies - with shoppers hunting for pieces that feel unique and nostalgic.

According to Pinterest, searches for 'maximalist accessories' have jumped 105 per cent, while 'heirloom jewellery' is up 45 per cent, proving the trend spans generations.

From bag charms and Labubu-style collectibles to brooches and decorative add-ons, accessories are becoming the ultimate form of self-expression. Pinterest, searches for 'maximalist accessories' have jumped 105 per cent. Pictured: Hello Molly Win Instantly Strapless Maxi Dress ($99 right)

There's also a renewed appetite for vintage costume jewellery and personalised charms. Pictured: Daily Mail's Elise Wilson (left) wearing Class A Jewellery Single Initial Necklace (from $495), and Alana Mariah Bubble Letter Necklaces ($159) right

Platform Shoes

Millennials, rejoice, because one of the most iconic trends of the Spice Girls era is officially back.

Platform sandals are strutting into 2026 with all the nostalgia, but Crocs' VP of Global Design and Trend, Lucy Thornley, says this revival feels far more modern than retro.

She explained that today's platforms and flip silhouettes have been reworked with sleeker lines, making them versatile enough to take you from a beach walk straight to rooftop drinks.

'The trend is also skewing more gender-neutral, with style lovers embracing fluid fashion and wearing whatever makes them feel like their best selves,' she added.

Platform sandals are strutting into 2026 with all the nostalgia, but Crocs' VP of Global Design and Trend, Lucy Thornley, says this revival feels far more modern than retro. Pictured: Kendall Jenner

Platform sandals are strutting into 2026 with all the nostalgia, but Crocs' VP of Global Design and Trend, Lucy Thornley, says this revival feels far more modern than retro. Pictured: Crocs Getaway Platform Flip ($79.99 left) and Steve madden Matina Black Leather Sandal ($159.95 right)

WHAT'S 'OUT' IN 2026

Every new year brings a fresh wave of trends - and a few casualties, of course. According to both the fashion and beauty experts, these are the styles, garments and looks that are officially getting the boot in 2026, with some that might surprise you.

OUT: The 'Clean girl' aesthetic

The clean girl era is officially on the way out.

After dominating beauty since 2023 with slick buns, glazed skin and barely-there makeup, the hyper-polished look is losing its grip ahead of 2026.

Celebrity makeup artist Rani Shortland says the idea of always looking perfectly put together no longer resonates.

Instead, she points to a shift toward moodier, more expressive makeup inspired by Brat party-girl energy and darker, grunge-led aesthetics.

OUT: Bleached eyebrows

Once a defining feature of early-2020s siren beauty, the barely-there brow is officially losing momentum and a more deliberate statement is emerging.

Julia Fox has helped lead the shift, moving away from platinum arches and now embracing darker, ultra-thin brows that nod to 1990s beauty codes.

The barely-there brow trend is fading as bolder, ultra-thin brows make a comeback - led by Julia Fox (pictured), who has now swapped her bleached platinum arches for a distinct 1990s-inspired look instead

OUT: Fillers

Beauty is moving away from dramatic volume and hyper-contoured features, with skin quality and longevity taking priority instead.

'The shift will continue toward skin quality and longevity, not volume, Dr Raf explained, adding that the heavily sculpted, hyper-contoured aesthetic has been declining for years.

A growing number of celebrities, including Love Island USA star Hannah Fields and Courteney Cox, have openly dissolved facial filler amid concerns about 'pillow face' and long-term effects.

Dr Raf adds that as patients become more aware of migration and delayed complications, the demand for aggressive contouring simply isnt there anymore.

OUT: Bold prints/print clashing

'Next year we'll be favouring quiet luxury. It's all about clean textures and sheer fabrics, so it's time to retire the chaotic visual noise of oversized graphics and heavy prints,' noted stylist Lattitia Taylor.

OUT: Bold prints and print clashing, and strong utilitarian hues

OUT: Navy, khaki and utilitarian hues

'Utility colours feel too rigid for 2026's romantic minimalism which will see a plethora of either brighter colours or ones with soft silhouettes and intricate detailing instead,' Lattitia added.

'Think Chloe's boho inspired pastel ruffling and lace trims instead of camo and masculine aesthetics here.'

OUT: Barrel jeans

This was a fun micro-trend while it lasted, but Lattitia asked a great question: 'Did anyone actually look good in these?'

We are happy to report that Lattitia has confirmed this style of jean will be exiting our favourite stores soon enough to make way for styles that are a lot more wearable and flattering - like the aforementioned stovepipes and fitted boot cuts.

OUT: Barrel jeans - 'This style of jean will be exiting your favourite stores soon enough to make way for styles that are a lot more wearable and flattering - like the aforementioned stovepipes and fitted boot cuts,' said fashion stylist Lattitia Taylor

So, whether you're embracing a new haircut, overhauling your makeup routine or swapping out last year's denim, the year ahead promises plenty of fresh updates.

One thing's certain though - 2026 won't be short on ways to look and feel completely refreshed.

It might just take a small nudge to get out of your comfort zone.
The 2026 Critics' Choice Awards have finally arrived, and a slew of A-list stars have descended upon the red carpet to show off their extravagant looks for the big night.

And while some completely wowed in their outfits, others totally missed the mark, arriving in bizarre frocks and over-the-top ensembles.

This year's awards are taking place at the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport in California, and will be hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler for the fourth year in a row.

It marks the 31st year of the annual awards ceremony, which was rescheduled last year due to the devastating California wildfires.

The awards show is set to honor the best in cinematic, television and streaming achievement, and will kick off the 2026 awards season.

This year, many popular stars are up for some seriously prestigious awards, like Timothee Chalamet, who is nominated for Best Actor in his new movie, Marty Supreme, and Ariana Grande, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress after starring in Wicked: For Good.

Wicked: For Good, Sinners, Marty Supreme, Frankenstein and Hamnet will all battle it out for Best Picture, among others, as Sinners leads the Critics' Choice Awards with 17 overall nominations across various categories.

With so many different celebrities attending tonight's awards, there are sure to be a myriad of interesting outfits.

The Daily Mail has rounded up the worst fashion faux pas from the Critics Choice Awards red carpet.

Boring choice! Actress Amanda Seyfried played it safe in a gown that resembled a nightgown. The bustier-style top featured a hot pink bow at the waist, and a slim-fitting, dusty pink skirt to match. She kept it minimal for the accessories, wearing only a diamond necklace and matching bracelet. Her hair was styled in a sleek, slick-back ponytail to show off the bow detailing of the dress

Springtime vibes! Actress Leighton Meester looked like she was ready to go to a Spring or Summer gala as she donned a strapless, lavender-colored gown with floral and lace detailing. She chose not to wear any accessories with the dress, but instead paired it with a bold, red lip.The former Gossip Girl star finished things off with a dramatic side part in her hair

Drab, not fab! Adam Brody wore a drab, gray pinstripe suit on the red carpet, which he paired with a maroon and navy blue striped tie. Underneath the suit, he wore a tan top, tying together the look with a pair of black boots

Ready for prom or for the Critics Choice Awards? Actress Alicia Silverstone looked like she was headed out to a school dance rather than tonight's awards ceremony, as she wore a silver, bedazzled strapless dress. The gown had dramatic draping at the bust and waist. She wore minimal accessories, keeping it simple with a pair of dangling diamond earrings and a dramatic side part in her hair

Too bold in gold! Actress Patricia Arquette looked like she was dressed for the holidays in a metallic gold dress with a biker-style belt and cutouts at the chest. She accessorized with an oversized, black silk coat and minimal jewelry, letting the dress speak for itself

Seeing red! Noah Schnapp looked like he was on his way to a Christmas party as he sported a tight-fitting, burgundy suit. The suit featured prominent seams at the pants, and he paired it with a black shirt underneath, along with a dark purple tie that didn't exactly seem to match. He tied is all together with a pair of black boots

Drab or fab? Erin Foster was draped in a silky, chestnut-brown dress with featured a shiny black bust and halter-style neck. She kept her look quite simple with a small, black satin bag and a pair of dangling earrings. To complete the look, Foster styled her hair in a dramatic updo, leaving two strands framing her face

British actor Erin Doherty wore a dress that resembled that of the Sims logo as she walked down the red carpet on Sunday. Her dress featured a dramatic, oversized skirt and fitted strapless top in a mint green color. On her feet, she wore a pair of white satin heels and a diamond ring

Here comes the bride? Sara Foster opted for an all-white gown with a turtleneck and large slit at the leg, showing off her trim pins. It made her look like she was about to walk down the aisle rather than the red carpet! The dress featured metal detailing at the waist, and she paired the look with a pair of strappy gold heels. She completed the look with neutral makeup and a half-up, half-down hairstyle

Too over-the-top! Actress Katherine LaNasa wore a bright red, silky dress with a dramatic, knotted top to this year's Critics Choice Awards. The top was oversized, and seemed to be falling off of her. She wore a slick-back bun, keeping the rest of the look simple without any jewelry

School dance or awards show-ready? Actress Marin Ireland looked like she was going to a homecoming dance as she wore a turquoise, strapless taffeta dress on the red carpet. The gown featured a dramatic, puffy skirt with a huge bow at the waist. She finished off the look with a bedazzled silver clutch bag and diamond necklace

Ready for a Christmas party or Critics Choice? Comedian and actress Ego Nwodim looked like she was in the holiday spirit as she sported a long-sleeve, red gown with a slit in the leg and black bow detailing on the thigh. The dress draped behind her as she wore an elegant updo in her hair

Red carpet or ready for bed? Actress Britt Lower rocked a dress that seemed to resemble a blanket as she donned the fuzzy white frock at the awards show. The gown featured a high neckline and cinched waist, which she paired with a silver bracelet, red heels and black earrings

Actress Jean Smart donned a gown with a brocade-patterned skirt that looked a bit like home decor. The gown featured a thick waistband and a lace, long-sleeve top. She completed her look with a black satin clutch bag and a pair of simple, dangling earrings

Feeling blue? Lisa Ann Walter looked like she was going to a concert in Las Vegas as she wore a light blue, bedazzled, long-sleeve dress. The gown showed off her ample cleavage, as she held a mint-green, bedazzled purse and dramatic layers of diamonds. She styled her hair in a dramatic side part and curls
When it comes to investing in precious metals, all that glitters is not gold. Instead, those who backed silver have enjoyed the greatest gains.

While the gold price soared by 68 per cent in 2025 to close the year at 3,205 per troy ounce, silver rocketed by 164 per cent to about 53 per ounce. Over ten years, the gold price is up 310 per cent, but silver has surged by 451 per cent.

But it has not been an easy ride, and investing in silver is not for the faint-hearted. The market is around 10 times smaller than gold, which means it is far more volatile, with sharp swings in the price as big traders buy and sell.

Last week, after reaching a new record high of about 59, silver suffered its biggest one-day fall in five years  8.7 per cent. It came after the exchange operator CME Group changed margin requirements for those buying the metal in a bid to reduce volatility.

Margin requirements stipulate how much traders must keep in reserve in their accounts in case their investment plunges. If an exchange raises the requirement, it suggests it is concerned about a sell-off which could leave clients unable to meet their obligations. CME did this twice in a week.

So what has been driving the price and what could happen next?

Over ten years, the gold price is up 310 per cent, but silver has surged by 451 per cent.

Silver has been on an upward march over the past year, along with the price of gold. Kenneth Lamont, principal at the investment research house Morningstar, said the surge has been driven by rising geopolitical uncertainty, the re-emergence of protectionist policies such as tariffs, and growing talk of an AI bubble as US equity markets hit record highs.

Combined, these have prompted some investors to put more money into perceived safe havens, which can provide some protection if the stock market nosedives.

US government bonds, known as Treasuries, have historically been considered the ultimate safe haven, but concerns about some of President Trumps policies and the US economy mean investors have started to look elsewhere. Gold has been considered a safe store of value for thousands of years so it is an obvious choice and silver is a logical place to look next.

Central banks, and particularly China, have been big buyers.

Thomas Becket, from the wealth manager Canaccord, explained: The Chinese official holdings of US Treasuries peaked over a decade ago and, while they have not fallen much, they have been diversifying into different assets.

He added: This is logical. The US demonstrated by freezing Russias assets in 2022 that US Treasuries are not the liquid safe haven they were supposed to be.

Silver has another trump card. Unlike gold, it has industrial uses. Dan Coatsworth, at AJ Bell, highlighted that it is used in solar panels, electronics, semiconductors and medical applications. Demand is strong from these areas, and there is a risk that not enough money is being spent by miners on developing new sources, he said. Ben Yearsley, at Fairview Investing, added: Silver is key in the electrification process  nothing is nearly as good. Demand can only be expected to increase.

But there are reasons for caution. As more investors look to cash in there can be volatility as traders get jittery about how long the price can continue rising and look for the right moment to sell.

Recent moves by the Chinese authorities to limit silver exports have added to the excitement and surging volatility, Becket said. China, the worlds second-largest silver producer and a global leader in many industries that the metal is so crucial to, has announced new export licences which came into effect on New Years Day.

The deadline led to a surge of buying, said Ed Monk of investment firm Fidelity International.

Holding on could be rewarded. Longer-term, there are reasons why silver could still shine. Supplies are tight and could get even tighter after China imposed restrictions, Coatsworth said.

It is possible to buy silver bullion but this is rarely recommended.

Monk added: Growth of electric vehicles and solar tech shows no sign of slowing. Unless replaced with alternative raw materials, silver seems likely to benefit.

But Becket said: The short-term outlook for further gains is limited. But we are more optimistic on the outlook for broad commodities in 2026 because we expect China to add to stockpiles of industrial commodities and oil.

Yearsley was also sceptical. Silver is more volatile than gold. From here, it could easily fall another 20 per cent or just as easily break $100 an ounce.

How to invest

It is possible to buy silver bullion but this is rarely recommended. Holding the physical metal involves storage and insurance costs, and the process of buying and selling can be slow.

An exchange-traded commodity (ETC) is the simplest and cheapest option. This is a type of low-cost tracker fund that follows the price of an asset. The iShares Physical Silver ETC, for example, charges just 0.2 per cent and is up 140 per cent over the past year.

Shares in the worlds biggest silver miner, Fresnillo, climbed 413 per cent over the past year, but picking individual shares is difficult and riskier than holding a fund, where your money is invested across dozens of stocks.

Coatsworth suggests the GlobalX Silver Miners exchange-traded fund (ETF), which tracks a basket of miners or companies that hold royalties on silver production such as Fresnillo, First Majestic Silver and Hecla Mining. It charges 0.65 per cent and is up 147.2 per cent over the past year. Another option is an ETF that tracks a specific theme, such as alternative energy or battery technology, which silver is well placed to benefit from.

For an actively-managed fund, Yearsley suggests Amati Strategic Metals. It has about 15 per cent of its portfolio in silver and silver miners such as Pan American Silver and BHP Group, as well as gold miner Equinox Gold and lithium producer Pilbara Minerals.

The fund, which charges 1 per cent, is up 162 per cent in the past year. Monk suggests the Jupiter Gold and Silver fund, which holds a mix of physical metals and miners. Top holdings include Discovery Silver, Coeur Mining and First Majestic Silver. The fund charges 1.01 per cent and is up 169.5 per cent over the past year.

While recent gains are captivating, investors not yet in may have missed the boat and should be cautious. Buying an asset simply because it has risen is rarely a robust strategy, warns Morningstars Lamont. When sentiment turns, prices can fall sharply.
As an investor, its difficult to be bullish about the year ahead. Fears of a global stock market meltdown, triggered by the bursting of the artificial intelligence (AI) bubble, refuse to go away.

Meanwhile, closer to home, UK businesses continue to be battered by a Labour government keen on economic growth but thwarting it by imposing ever higher costs on employers. A classic case of political dogma getting in the way of putting the countrys best interests first.

When will Labour ever learn? Never, it seems.

Yet the UK stock market remains a remarkably resilient home for your long-term investments, be they your pension or Isa contributions.

Last year, the FTSE100, an index representing the share price performance of the largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, rose by more than 21 per cent  just eclipsing the Standard & Poors (S&P) 500 which has under its wing those Magnificent Seven stocks leading the AI charge. For those who dont know, they are: Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla. Even the broader FTSE All-Share Index generated returns in excess of the S&P 500. Food for investment thought as we find ourselves in 2026.

In recent days, Ive spoken to a number of UK investment managers who believe our stock market skill represents outstanding value for money on many levels. They say its cheap compared to most other mainstream markets, especially the US, and also historically. In addition, it provides income-seeking investors with an attractive harvest of dividends which cant be taken away from you once received (although they may be taxed if you dont hold the shares in an Isa or pension).

A straightforward way to tap into this strong investment story is through a fund which simply tracks the UK market.

The UK stock market remains a remarkably resilient home for your long-term investments

For example, exchange traded fund iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS mirrors the performance of the FTSE100 Index, paying investors a quarterly dividend equivalent to an income of a tad over 3 per cent a year. Its annual ongoing charges are wafer-thin (0.07 per cent), and the shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (its market ticker is ISF).

Yet a potentially more rewarding approach  but also a riskier one  is to home in on specific UK stocks which are both income-paying and as cheap as chips when compared to other stocks. In other words, they are chronically undervalued for all kinds of reasons.

Such stocks are popular with so-called value fund managers who sift through them looking for potential winners: companies capable of turning round their businesses (and their share price fortunes), typically through reorganisation or new management  while simultaneously generating lots of cash, some of which can be used to pay shareholders a stream of dividends.

Of course, some stocks can take a long time to lose their undervalued tag  while others fall by the wayside because their businesses are not capable of recovery. But when they come good, they can seriously enrich your portfolio. Just look at the five-year performance numbers for value-orientated funds Temple Bar, Fidelity Special Values and JOHCM UK Equity Income (turn to Page 58 for more on them).

These three funds have respectively delivered five-year returns of 140, 98 and 97 per cent. To put these numbers into perspective, the FTSE

All-Share has delivered a return of 74 per cent over the same period.

In April 2024, we asked a panel of investment experts to identify UK-listed stocks which they believed had the potential to deliver bounce-back returns.

Even though only 20 months have passed, some of these picks have already done rather well: the likes of Costain (up 104 per cent), Lloyds Banking Group (95 per cent), Prudential (60 per cent), Tesco (58 per cent), and AJ Bell (51 per cent).

Equally, some have failed to realise their value, including everyones favourite baker Greggs (down 39 per cent), chemicals group Croda International (down 43 per cent) and electronics component manufacturer TT Electronics (down 26 per cent).

Of the 20 selected, 11 have share prices above their level in April 2024. Over this period, the FTSE All-Share Index has advanced by 30 per cent. Last week, we asked a panel of investment experts  fund managers, strategists, and analysts  the same question that we posed 20 months ago: which undervalued UK stocks could (not will) come good this year and beyond?

Their eight choices come from across the marketplace. The only condition imposed on them is that their picks must be paying a dividend. All share prices and dividend yields are correct at the time of writing.

1. BP (FTSE100)

In April 2024, Ian Lance, co-manager of investment trust Temple Bar, described BP as a potential new total return king. Although he was right that the energy giants dividends would keep growing, BPs share price has slid back 16 per cent.

A new chief executive will boost investor confidence in BP

Yet he hasnt given up on the company. Far from it. BP remains the fourth biggest holding in Temple Bars portfolio. Lance believes the announcement of a new chief executive (Meg ONeill) and the presence of US activist fund manager Elliott on the companys shareholder register is good news for investors.

Elliott wants BP to dispose of assets, cut debt, reduce spending, and refocus on oil and gas instead of renewables. Lance says that BPs shares, currently trading at 4.40, have limited downside. If ONeill acts on some or all of Elliotts demands, BPs shares will do well, he says. If she doesnt, Lance believes the company will be vulnerable to a takeover.

Ben Kumar, head of equity strategy at Seven Investment Management, is also confident that BPs share price can move ahead this year.

He says: Eventually, green energy might supply the world but not in the next decade or so. With data centre demand increasing power requirements exponentially, energy production is a profitable place to be.

The companys annual dividend yield is an attractive

5.5 per cent with the first three quarterly payments for the current financial year being ahead of last year. The market ticker (surprise, surprise) is BP.

2. CMC Markets (FTSE250)

Founded in 1989 by Peter Cruddas (now Lord Cruddas), CMC Markets has established itself as a leading provider of investment trading services in the UK, Europe, and Australasia.

Yet it is the diversification into providing white label technological services for businesses  the likes of ANZ, Currys, and Revolut  which excites Thomas Moore, manager of investment trust Aberdeen Equity Income.

He says this will provide CMC with a new source of growth on a scale that other trading platforms could only dream about.

Its shares surged by more than 29 per cent on the day its first half results for 30 September 2025 were published last November  with the company reporting better than expected numbers and forecasting that net operating income for the full year would be ahead of market expectations.

Lord Cruddas is a visionary who has repeatedly confounded the sceptics, says Moore.

Although the shares are up more than 26 per cent over the past three months, they are far too cheap for a business that is now morphing into a capital-light tech business. CMC is a top 20 holding in Aberdeen Equity Income.

The shares trade at around 3 and the first half dividend of 5.5pence will be paid this week (last years equivalent divi was 3.1pence). The annual dividend yield is just below 3.9 per cent and the market ticker is CMCX.

3. Diageo (FTSE100)

Guinness is the jewel in the Diageo crown

Drinks giant Diageo continues to dispose of assets  the latest being its stakes in Kenyan drinks business East African Breweries to Japanese rival Asahi. Yet, its shares remain in the doldrums, down over the past one, three and five years.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at investing platform Interactive Investor, admits that the company has challenges: for example, customers trading down to cheaper brands and the younger consumer market being more indifferent to alcohol.

Yet it still owns the Guinness brand, the jewel in Diageos crown which continues to grow annual sales in double digit terms. Its non-alcohol version, Guinness 0.0, has also proved extremely popular.

Diageo remains a behemoth, says Hunter. For some, the 37 per cent share price decline last year could well provide an attractive entry point.

Dividends are paid twice a year and equate to an annual yield of 5 per cent. Its market ticker is DGE.

4. GB Group (FTSE250)

This company is a global leader in online identity verification and fraud prevention. As William Tamworth, co-manager of investment trust Artemis UK Future Leaders and fund Artemis UK Smaller Companies, says: If youve opened an HSBC bank account, placed a bet with Ladbrokes or bought a Christmas present from John Lewis, you may have unknowingly used its software.

Like Halfords (see below), GB Group thrived during Covid as everyone shopped online, driving its share price above 9. Tamworth says the shares were a long way from meeting our valuation threshold at the time [in other words, too expensive], but are now down to 2.52.

GB Group is generating lots of cash which feels very attractive for a leader in a growing niche market, he adds. For shareholders, that should mean future dividend payments and hopefully a rising share price (up 8 per cent over the past three months, but down 24 per cent over the last year). The dividend yield is modest at 1.7 per cent and the market ticker for its shares is GBG.

5. Halfords (FTSE All-Share)

This retailer of motoring and bike products was a Covid winner as the country collectively got on its bike. Profits soared in the year to April 2021 from 19.4million to 64.5million.

But since then, it has struggled as a result of substantial cost pressures and a reluctance among consumers to replace their bikes.

Yet according to Laura Foll, a fund manager with Janus Henderson, there are signs that Halfords has turned a corner. Its results for the first half of the 2025/26 financial year reported a 9 per cent increase in bike sales. Foll says: Halfords ability to grow earnings will be dictated by the financial health of the UK consumer, but for the first time in quite a while, some of the headwinds appear to be easing. The company pays dividends twice a year  the first payment for the current financial year of 3pence a share will be made later this month. The dividend yield is attractive at 6.3 per cent and the shares trade at around 1.39. The market ticker is HFD.

Moonpig is another company where change at the top should work out for investors

6. Moonpig (FTSE250)

This company dominates the UKs online greeting cards industry with a 70 per cent market share. It floated on the London Stock Exchange in early 2021 after business boomed during lockdown with shares offered at 3.50. Although they soared initially to just below 5 (June 2021), they have drifted down ever since and are now priced at just above 2.

Artemiss Tamworth says: When Moonpig came to market, it was a good business but a bad investment. Nearly five years later, it now looks like a good investment too.

Last month, it reported a rise in first half profits and revenues with the chief executive stating that customers are engaging more deeply than ever  with more than half using its innovative creative features to make their cards ever more personal.

Although the shares fell in price by 4 per cent last year, Tamworth says trading momentum is continuing to build and the shares now look very good value.

A new chief executive, Catherine Faiers, with a stellar background in the digital world stemming from previous roles at Auto Trader and Addison Lee, could also pep up the share price when she joins in March.

The company paid a dividend for the last full financial year of 3pence a share  and an interim payment of 1.25pence for the current year will be made in March (last year: one pence). The annual dividend yield is a shade under 1.5 per cent and the companys market ticker is MOON.

7. Rio Tinto (FTSE100)

Mining giant Rio Tinto is in cost cutting mode as it seeks to streamline its business and strengthen its balance sheet.

Although its shares were up 26 per cent in 2025, Jason Hollands of wealth manager Evelyn Partners believes they should continue rising. Not just because of its recently announced $10billion (7.4billion) of proposed cost cuts and asset sales, but also due to Rios key role in mining the metals necessary for energy transition to succeed and Artificial Intelligence to thrive.

Hollands says: The materials it mines  everything from iron ore, copper, aluminium to lithium  are in great demand as the production of electric vehicles increases and data centres are being built to facilitate the use of AI. For investors, the annual dividend yield is attractive at 5.2 per cent with the shares trading just above 60. The market ticker is RIO.

8. Vodafone (FTSE100)

Although this mobile phone giant has enjoyed a good year  its share price is up 45 per cent  Lale Akoner, global market analyst at trading platform eToro, believes there is more to come.

She says 700million of synergies from the Vodafone and Three merger, plus business growth in Africa and Turkey, could drive earnings momentum.

Vodafone, she adds, also has more income appeal following its decision to introduce a more progressive dividend policy.

The dividend for the financial year to the end of March is expected to grow by 2.5 per cent. Going forward, the interim payment will be set at 50 per cent of the previous full year dividend.

The current dividend yield is 3.9 per cent with the shares priced at just under 1.The market ticker is VOD.
It comes days after Tesla confirmed its 2025 sales fell behind BYD

Chinese car brands are on course to have sold more than 100,000 vehicles in Britain over the past year as Beijing muscles in on the sector.

Industry figures show brands such as BYD and Jaecoo  hitherto little known in the UK  shifted nearly 95,000 units in the 11 months to November.

December's data is due this week and if they continue at the same pace, sales will surge into six figures for 2025 as a whole.

It will be the latest milestone for the Chinese car industry, amid the shift to electric vehicles (EVs). And it comes days after sales figures from once-dominant US EV maker Tesla confirmed that its sales last year fell behind BYD.

As established car makers in Britain and Europe grapple with the transition away from diesel and petrol, previously unknown brands from China are attracting customers with cheaper products.

Experts fear that, while the rise of the brands may be a boon for buyers, it will raise questions about the future of Britain's carmakers.

Red army: An all-electric supercar made by BYD, a brand hitherto little known in the UK

The Mail on Sunday's analysis of Chinese sales in Britain does not include MG, a historic British name that is made in China and sold more than 75,000 cars from January to November 2025.

Counting only newer brands illustrates how explosive the growth has been. The 94,888 sales for the year to date is more than eight times higher than the 11,412 sold in the same period a year ago.

And it gives the new Chinese brands a market share of more than 5 per cent, up from just 0.6 per cent. BYD shifted 43,740 units over the 11 months and has overtaken Britain's Mini. That is up from 7,433 a year ago.

Omoda has sold 18,051, up from 2,829. Others have powered ahead from a standing start, with Chery selling 3,930 cars and Jaecoo 24,418.

The latter is the brand behind the 30,000 Jaecoo 7, dubbed the 'Temu Range Rover,' which has broken into the UK's 10 best-selling new cars in the last three months.

America and Europe have tried to stem the tide of Chinese cars with steep tariff barriers.

But Britain has not  something critics fear will leave the UK industry exposed.

Professor David Bailey, a motor industry expert at Birmingham Business School, said: 'The speed of market share capture has been remarkable.'

Bailey said Chinese firms can make EVs at an up to 40 per cent lower cost than established Western brands, often saving money by producing key components and batteries in-house rather than outsourcing the work.

The cars are cheaper and a lack of the kind of tariffs imposed by the EU and US means makers are targeting the UK, he added. 'The surge means more competition in electrification,' Bailey said

'If Chinese makers continue to grow market share rapidly, it could squeeze margins further and put pressure on investment, particularly for UK firms trying to retool for EV production.'

That could raise fears for UK manufacturers unless the Government acts to bring down energy costs and encourage more battery making and EV supply chains, Bailey said.
Regime change in Venezuela could result in a rise in oil prices that may push up petrol and energy costs for consumers, analysts warned last night.

Global oil markets were convulsed after US forces launched strikes on the South American country yesterday morning and captured its president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in what Donald Trump dubbed 'an extraordinary military operation'.

The American President added that the US would also take control of Venezuela's oil industry which he said had been a 'total bust for a long period of time'.

'We're going to have our very large United States oil companies go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,' Trump told reporters at his Mar-A-Lago resort yesterday.

Relief: Venezuelans in Chile celebrate after President Maduro was captured by US forces yesterday

But analysts warned that in the short term a sudden halt of Venezuelan oil exports following the US strikes, as well as civil unrest in the country, would likely cause a rise in prices.

Initial estimates are that crude could increase by as much as $3 per barrel as concerns about Venezuela's stability roiled markets.

'It's very likely there will be a vacuum of power we could be in a situation where there is lots of civil unrest,' Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at research firm Rystad Energy, told The Mail on Sunday.

'If that is the case we're going to see upward pressure on oil prices in the short-term.'

UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo added that prices would depend heavily on a smooth transition of power following Maduro's capture.

Taking control: Donald Trump

'It is unclear if the removal of Maduro can stabilise the country or if it will result in... a power vacuum. If that is the outcome, oil prices would rise,' he added.

Carol Bell, former director of oil and gas at Chase Manhattan Bank, now part of US banking giant JP Morgan, predicted 'a slight tick up' in oil prices when markets opened on Monday but stressed that any rises at the pumps were likely to be 'muted'.

A loss of supply in Venezuela could also exacerbate disruption caused by ongoing anti-government protests in oil-rich Iran.

The Middle East nation is a much more critical part of the global energy market due to its location next to the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 per cent of the world's oil passes each day.

Despite concerns about a short-term increase, analysts said oil prices could eventually fall if the US lifted strict sanctions on Venezuela, easing pressure on consumers dealing with higher fuel costs.

Ashley Kelty, analyst at broker Panmure Liberum, told the MoS that if a more favourable government was installed in Venezuela it would reduce American reliance on imports from the Middle East and Africa, saying: 'The exports from Venezuela are primarily heavy oil, which US refineries are more geared towards processing.'

This, Kelty said, would create a glut of Middle Eastern oil on global markets that would have been sold to the US market, potentially meaning lower prices.

Saul Kavonic, an analyst at MST Financial, told the Financial Times that, under a new government, oil exports from Venezuela could eventually rise to 3 million barrels a day if sanctions were eased and foreign investment returned to the country's energy industry after decades of being closed off.

Venezuela is estimated to have the biggest oil reserves in the world at over 300 billion barrels, more than Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Iran. But the country only accounts for less than 1 per cent of global crude exports, shipping out around 800,000 barrels per day.

The small amount has been blamed on mismanagement by the Caracas government of the state-run energy firm PDVSA as well as tight sanctions by the US which has previously threatened to seize tankers carrying Venezuelan oil.

If a new pro-US government was to replace the Maduro regime, and these restrictions were lifted, it could spark a flood of fresh oil into the international markets.
He was meant to be the gatekeeper  the man standing between America's most sensitive research and its greatest rival.

Instead, according to a blistering House investigation, Steven Black presided over a collapse of counterintelligence at the Department of Energy (DOE) that let China feast on US military and nuclear know-how.

And when the reckoning finally came, Black did not lose his paycheck. He kept it.

The 67-year-old former Air Force officer quietly slid into a cushy academic role worth some $200,000 a year  still paid by taxpayers  even as lawmakers now say catastrophic failures under his watch let Beijing benefit from American innovation.

A newly released House report, Containment Breach, paints a devastating portrait of dysfunction inside the DOE's Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, which Black led from 2011 until 2023.

China, the report concludes, walked away the winner. For more than a decade, the DOE poured hundreds of millions of dollars into cutting-edge research.

The research touched the very core of US military power, from nuclear science to explosives, quantum computing, advanced materials, and physics.

And again and again, according to the House Select Committee on China and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, that research flowed into the hands of Chinese scientists tied to Beijing's military machine.

Not through espionage  through open collaboration.

According to a blistering House investigation, Steven Black presided over a collapse of counterintelligence at the Department of Energy (DOE)

Beijing has developed hypersonic ballistic missiles and other weapons through research projects with the US

Black, a 21-year Air Force veteran who transitioned into national security roles after leaving the military in 2001, was supposed to stop that. He didn't, the report alleges.

Worse, lawmakers now say he actively helped bury evidence of the problem.

At the center of the scandal is a federally funded contractor's counterintelligence report produced between 2019 and 2021.

It warned that DOE-funded research was being exploited by China, including by institutions linked to the People's Liberation Army.

The report was unclassified. Until it wasn't.

According to the House investigation, Black's office classified the document after it was completed  an extraordinary move that blocked it from being widely shared across the department or with Congress.

The report accused Black of 'effectively burying its contents and preventing accountability.'

'Classifying a report to conceal systemic failures is inexcusable and undermines the very foundation of research security and integrity,' says the House investigation.

The consequences were profound.

'By suppressing critical findings, DOE leadership not only avoided accountability for its research security shortfalls but also initially denied policymakers the information needed to fix vulnerabilities that place US taxpayer-funded research at risk,' the report states.

The chilling 120-page document goes further.

'This kind of institutional self-protection fosters the same culture of complacency found across many US universities, one that foreign adversaries readily exploit,' it states.

'It leaves the department blind to its own vulnerabilities and unwilling to confront the systemic failures that endanger US research security.'

In plain English: while Washington slept, China advanced.

The DOE is no sleepy science agency. It oversees 17 national laboratories. It bankrolls research tied directly to nuclear weapons development and disposal. It sits at the crossroads of science and national security.

Federally funded research at US labs has helped China leap ahead with nuclear and hypersonic missile technology, a House report warns

The People's Liberation Army Air Force is now equipped with radar-dodging Chengdu J-20S stealth fighter jets

Supporters of international collaboration argue that openness strengthens US science and attracts global talent.

But the House report makes clear that openness without guardrails became a gift to Beijing.

Federal money flowed to projects involving Chinese state-owned laboratories and universities working hand-in-glove with China's military. Some were even listed in a Pentagon database of Chinese military companies operating in the US.

China's armed forces, now nearly two million strong, have raced ahead in hypersonic weapons, stealth fighters, directed-energy systems and electromagnetic launch technology.

And American research helped fuel that rise.

The most damning accusation is not that Black missed the warning signs. It's that he hid them.

The House report says the classification decision may have even violated a White House executive order that explicitly 'prohibits classification to conceal wrongdoing, prevent embarrassment, or obstruct oversight.'

Steven Black is never named in the report. But he is unmistakable.

Public records show he served as DOE Director of Intelligence and Counterintelligence from 2011 to 2023  precisely the period covered by the investigation.

In November 2023, he was abruptly reassigned during the Biden administration.

Back then, Republicans were alarmed. In a letter, Senator Jim Risch and other lawmakers asked why Black had been 'suddenly and without explanation reassigned,' and whether it was connected to 'disturbing findings as to the state of counterintelligence' at DOE.

The letter warned bluntly that Black 'should not be reassigned to any office within the department that has a national security mission.'

Among the signatories was then-Senator Marco Rubio  now Secretary of State.

But Black, who lives in a five-bedroom colonial-style home in Dumfries, Virginia, did not leave government service.

Instead, he resurfaced as an adjunct instructor at the National War College, part of the National Defense University, which trains America's future national security leaders.

The DOE oversees 17 national laboratories and bankrolls research tied directly to nuclear weapons development

It represented a comfortable landing with a taxpayer-funded salary of roughly $200,000 a year.

Black retired in 2024, citing the need to care for his wife, Deborah, who has serious health problems.

He has never publicly responded to the allegations, and did not answer our request for comment.

The buried contractor study was never released to the public. The man at the center of a counterintelligence breakdown walked away quietly.

The Daily Mail spoke with a former DOE staffer who rejected the select committee findings.

Black was honored by Democratic and Republican presidents during his career

Black had classified the contractor's report to 'protect sensitive information' about the department, and shared it with lawmakers through secure back channels, said the source.

The former director may have been reassigned because he did not coordinate properly with his colleagues, the source said. Black, he added, was not dismissed  he had requested a less demanding role.

The DOE told the Daily Mail that it was reviewing the revelations about Black, and 'takes seriously its responsibility to steward federal funds and safeguard critical research capabilities.'

The department 'will continue rigorous due diligence and oversight of awards, including those made during the Biden administration, to ensure the integrity and security of DOE programs,' the statement added.

The House report lands like a thunderclap, with a stark warning that US-funded research has continued flowing to Beijing.

Investigators identified more than 4,300 academic papers published between June 2023 and June this year involving collaborations between DOE-funded scientists and Chinese researchers.

Roughly half involved Chinese researchers affiliated with China's military or industrial base.

Rep. John Moolenaar, the Michigan Republican who chairs the China select committee, said the findings were chilling.

'The investigation reveals a deeply alarming problem: The DOE failed to ensure the security of its research, and it put American taxpayers on the hook for funding the military rise of our nation's foremost adversary,' he said.

John Moolenaar says US taxpayers have been 'funding the military rise of our nation's foremost adversary'

Investigators identified more than 4,300 papers published since June 2023 involving collaborations between DOE-funded scientists and Chinese researchers

Black lives in a charming five-bedroom colonial-style home in Dumfries, Virginia

Moolenaar has pushed legislation to block federal research funding from flowing to partnerships with 'foreign adversary-controlled' entities.

The bill passed the House, but has since stalled.

Scientists and university leaders have pushed back hard, warning that broad restrictions could stifle innovation and drive talent overseas.

In an October letter, more than 750 faculty members and senior administrators urged Congress to tread carefully, calling for 'very careful and targeted measures for risk management.'

The Chinese Embassy, for its part, dismissed the report entirely. It accused the select committee of smearing China 'for political purposes' and said the criticism had 'no credibility.'

'A handful of US politicians are overstretching the concept of national security to obstruct normal scientific research exchanges,' embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said.

But the House report is relentless. It says the threat was known. The warnings were clear. And the failures lasted years.
As he addressed a gathering in Las Vegas recently, Ted Cruz raised the elephant in the Republican room.

'When Trump is not in the White House, what then?' he asked. A loud call came back from the crowd: 'Ted Cruz!'

Cruz, 55, who was runner-up to Donald Trump in the 2016 Republican primary, paused his speech for several seconds and chuckled. He declined to respond directly to the call for him to run again in 2028 but, increasingly, many Republican insiders believe he is at least maneuvering toward the starting gate.

According to a new Daily Mail/JL Partners poll, Cruz, and a myriad of other potential 2028 contenders, will have an uphill struggle - but that's not to say they won't try.

The poll gives Vice President JD Vance a massive 38-point lead among Republican primary voters.

He has the backing of 49 percent, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis a distant second on 11 percent, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio third with five percent. Cruz and Vivek Ramaswamy are in joint fourth with four percent.

However, two years before the presidential primary, no lead is unassailable and the prospect of an open primary, not with as many contenders as 2016 but some serious players, remains realistic.

There are expected to be two main sources of support - the MAGA base, and the more traditional wing of the party with a less isolationist foreign policy. There's also a strain of the party who will be searching for a fresher face - someone who may not even be on the radar of most Republicans right now.

Vice President JD Vance is leading by far in the field of potential Republican primary contenders for the 2028 presidential election, according to a new poll by the Daily Mail and JL Partners

'Vance actually has converted to a much greater extent [to MAGA] than Rubio has,' one insider told the Daily Mail. 'He's seen as the real thing. He's hardcore.'

While this insider complimented Marco Rubio as 'sharp' and 'thoughtful,' the current secretary of state is most likely seen as a Vance ally in the run-up to 2028.

'He wants to be Vance's VP. Remember, that means Hispanics on the ticket,' the insider added.

That could mean Rubio taking a run at the White House as late as 2036, when he would still only be 65, young by current presidential standards.

However, others are watching Vance closely, and putting themselves in position to run in case a path opens up.

While the polls are with the vice president, history is not.

The last incumbent vice president to be elected president was George H W Bush in 1988, and the one before that was Martin Van Buren in 1836. Joe Biden and Richard Nixon were former vice presidents when they won the White House.

One former senior Trump official told the Daily Mail: 'There's no doubt Vance has a head start as vice president, but I think it's a head start, I don't think it's locked in by any stretch of the imagination. I think there'll be a big open field within the Republican Party, I think a lot of people are interested.'

According to the Daily Mail poll, no potential female Republican contender earned more than three percent support.

Former Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley secured three percent, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem two percent and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik one percent, but each could eye a run if they see an opportunity.

Vance had particularly high support among female Republican primary voters, with 54 percent backing him compared to 45 percent of men.

Your browser does not support iframes.

It comes after Vance recently went nuclear at commentators who insulted his wife Usha.

'Let me be clear, anyone who attacks my wife, whether their name is Jen Psaki or Nick Fuentes, can eat s***,' Vance said, referencing former Biden press secretary Psaki, and far-right influencer Fuentes.

'It says a lot to people, here's a guy who believes in true love, I've heard people say that,' Professor Larry Sabato, Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, told the Daily Mail.

'He's got a soft side, I think brought on by having a young family. Women don't make up the large majority of the Republican [primary] vote that they do on the Democratic side, but they make up about half in most places and they're going to be more sympathetic, they're going to be more pro-Vance because of Usha's presence.'

In his corner, Vance will also have the formidable backing of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk's political machine Turning Point USA, which would help get out the vote in the wintry, rural first-voting primary state of Iowa.

During the group's annual AmericaFest conference just before Christmas, Kirk's widow Erika endorsed Vance.

'There are few endorsements that really matter, but I think hers [Erika Kirk's] does,' said Sabato.

Vance also won Turning Point USA's recent straw poll for the Republican nomination in 2028 with 82 percent of the vote. His margin of victory was bigger than Trump's in the same poll in 2024.

Pollsters say Erika Kirk's endorsement is one of the few that 'really matters' in the 2028 Republican primary

Absent unforeseen crises - and there are two years to go before Iowa - Vance is almost certain to inherit the MAGA mantle.

Others have tried to reinvigorate the traditional wing of the party and failed, a lesson Haley learned the hard way in 2024.

However, there was recent encouragement for such candidates from an NBC News poll, which asked Republicans whether they considered themselves more a 'member of the MAGA movement' or a 'supporter of the Republican Party.' The result split 50-50, having been 57 percent MAGA and 43 percent traditional Republican in April.

Those who read the Washington tea leaves believe Cruz could be the next Republican who tries to ride that wave.

He has been vocal in his warnings against isolationism, particularly the growing criticism of Israel among some prominent conservative figures including Tucker Carlson.

While he has publicly praised Trump, sources claimed to the Washington Post that Cruz has privately told Republican donors that Vance's foreign policy views are too isolationist.

'Cruz would be crazy not to do this. This is his last shot,' one Washington insider told the Daily Mail. 'You always prepare yourself to run for the position if circumstances enable you to do so. And one circumstance would be an unpopular Trump.'

Currently, Trump remains overwhelmingly popular within the party but if that fades toward the end of his presidency it could open the door for Cruz and a host of other senators and state governors to enter the 2028 race.

'If Trump is still at 80 to 85 percent approval among Republicans, no way,' said Sabato assessing the likelihood of a strong challenge to Vance. 'If Trump becomes unpopular [with Republicans] and the economy is a mess, then yes, everybody, and his brother and sister will be on the train.'

Vance and Rubio are widely considered the heirs apparent for Trump's MAGA empire  though there's been a lot of talk about which Republicans prefer to take the helm in 2028

Ted Cruz finished second to Trump in the 2016 Republican primary

Vance's team has repeatedly said he is not yet looking ahead to 2028, and is focused on his current position.

His team declined the Daily Mail's request for comment on the polling results.

'We're going to do everything that we can to win the midterms, and then after that, I'm going to sit down with the president of the United States and talk to him about it,' Vance said recently.

If Cruz were to run, it may well spur others to do so, as they may feel they have more allies within the Republican Party than he does.

The feeling was summed up succinctly by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who recently fell out with President Trump. She told the Washington Post: 'There'll be Ted Cruz, I'm sure, running against JD Vance. All of us hate Ted Cruz.'

Another potential landmine for Vance is the libertarian wing of the party.

Republican Senator Rand Paul has criticized Vance's position on trade and tariffs.

'Now all these pro-tariff protectionists, they love taxes, and so they tax, tax, tax, and then they brag about all the revenue coming in. That has never been a conservative position,' Paul told ABC News.

Asked if Vance met that criteria of the traditional Republicans, he bluntly replied: 'No.'

America First Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene said 'All of us hate Ted Cruz'

Vice President JD Vance, his wife Usha Vance and their children attend the Army 250th Anniversary Parade in Washington, DC on June 14, 2025

The 2028 election could be between Kamala Harris and JD Vance, according to polls

When the Daily Mail poll includes the current president's eldest son Donald Trump Jr in a hypothetical 2028 Republican primary, Vance's support falls from 49 percent to 38 percent  but he still remains in first place.

However, the president's son has been clear he has no ambitions to run for president, especially given that he is personally close with Vance and helped convince his father to place him on the 2024 ticket.

A well-connected Iowa strategist suggested that Vance could face a primary challenge from the right in, possibly from an unexpected candidate claiming to be the true MAGA successor through even greater loyalty to Trump's causes.

'There may be two MAGA lanes. Will someone try to outflank the vice president?' the strategist told the Daily Mail. 'Some fresh faces, maybe not the ones being talked about now, might decide they want to take a swing at it.'

But Cruz will also be standing in the way of an insurgency. The Texan defeated Trump in the 2016 Iowa caucuses and would start with strong relationships formed in the evangelical community.

Ron DeSantis, who finished second in both the Daily Mail poll and the 2024 Iowa caucuses, appears less likely to run again, according to the Iowa strategist.

If the Daily Mail poll came to fruition, it sets up a 2028 general election between Vance and former Vice President Kamala Harris.

But front-runners at this early stage usually don't end up as their party's nominee.

Harris, who lost the popular vote and Electoral College to Trump in the 2024 election, has the support of 30 percent of her party's voters.

But a fellow Californian, Governor Gavin Newsom, is hot on her heels, with 21 percent of support in the Democratic primary and appears ascendant.

In a recent speech, Vance forecasted that Democrats are likely to nominate a Californian in 2028 - but he stopped short of naming which one.
The family of an Australian woman jailed in Taiwan has revealed grim new details about the strict regime of her prison life, where she sleeps on the floor of a tiny cell shared with 16 others.

Debbie Voulgaris, 58, is serving 15 years for drug smuggling after being caught with $1.9million-worth of Class A drugs at Taoyuan International Airport in 2023.

The mother of five, who had never previously been in trouble with the law, denied any knowledge of the drugs, but later pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty.

But Ms Voulgaris still insists she is innocent and believes she was set up by African scammers who claimed to be doing a deal with her ex-husband John Kyriacou.

Her heartbroken children told the Daily Mail they had now cancelled all their festive celebrations in sympathy for their mother who sobs inconsolably.

Her daughter Maria, 26, said she cannot enjoy the holidays while her mother remains locked away in a foreign prison where she is brutally punished for every rule breach.

'It doesn't feel right us having Christmas or celebrating anything while she is suffering like this,' she told the Daily Mail.

'My poor mother woke up one day and walked across her cell without putting her slippers on and was made to write out her name 2,000 times in Taiwanese.

Debbie Voulgaris, 58, is serving a 15 year jail sentence for drug smuggling

Ms Voulgaris continues to insist she is innocent

Her daughter Maria says she cannot bring herself to enjoy the holidays

'Another time she was rushing to get dressed after her shower, because you are only allowed a few minutes, and she accidentally put her shirt on inside out.

'That was another punishment.'

Maria says her mother now lives in constant fear of breaking the bizarre rules.

'She tells me it is scary. She says she does not know why she is still there. She just cries and cries and begs us for help,' she said.

Since her mother's arrest, Maria has fought tirelessly to clear her name, but navigating a foreign legal system has proven difficult, with hope repeatedly slipping away.

'I am just a grieving daughter and sometimes I get really overwhelmed,' she said.

'After my mum's second failed appeal I just thought, what is the point? They are never going to listen to me or take anything I say into consideration.'

Her mother's lawyer urged her not to give up.

Maria says her mother now lives in constant fear of doing something wrong

Maria said delivering bad news to her mother is one of the most painful parts of the ordeal

The family relies on letters from their mother, as phone calls are short and sporadic

'He told me I had to keep going because innocent people don't stay silent,' she said.

'But it is so confusing. The courts recently accepted a third appeal and then it was rejected before it was even heard. It is very hard for all of us.'

Maria said delivering bad news to her mother is one of the most painful parts of the ordeal.

'We only get 15-minute video calls every few weeks and there is so much tension because we are the ones who have to tell her,' she said.

'Now when we speak to her it is just sadness. She has no emotion left. She is traumatised by what she has seen in there and then we are telling her the appeal was rejected.'

Maria, who travelled overseas for the first time to visit her mother in jail, said the rules are never-ending.

'She is not allowed direct contact. Even if we travel to Taiwan, we can only see her through a window,' she said.

'She is still sleeping on the floor. The cell is so overcrowded, I think there are 17 women in there.

Maria (pictured) travelled overseas for the first time to visit her mother in jail

John Kyriacou and his new wife Poppy have been happily married for years

'She is on so much medication because she has so many health conditions. It is so hard to see because my mum was once such a healthy woman.

'She was always active and bubbly.

'She is 58 years old and for a long time she was not allowed to leave her cell, which caused blood clots in her legs that spread to her hip. She also has heart problems now.

'There was a time we went eight months without speaking to her. I kept looking at old photos of her and when the camera finally turned on, I barely recognised her.

'Her hair had turned grey. She had lost so much hair. She looked so tired and so broken.'

According to facts tendered to the Taoyuan District Court, Ms Voulgaris landed in Malaysia on December 8, 2023, on a flight from Australia.

There, she met a group linked to an African drug syndicate who gave her the suitcase.

She then travelled on to Taiwan, unaware it was loaded with heroin and cocaine worth around $1.88million, she insists.

The drugs were detected by the airport's X-ray screening system.

Ms Voulgaris has consistently maintained she took the trip as a favour to her ex-husband

Maria is holding a protest for her mum in February

Ms Voulgaris has consistently maintained she took the trip as a favour to her ex-husband, who was unwittingly caught up in the scam.

He believed she was collecting chemicals to clean 'marked money', and she doesn't believe he would have deliberately involved her in any criminal scheme.

Despite her guilty plea, Ms Voulgaris received a 16-year sentence, among the harshest penalties handed to an Australian abroad for drug offences in recent years.

Her sentence was later reduced to 15 years by Taiwan's High Court.

In May 2024, Mr Kyriacou told Daily Mail Australia he and his ex-wife had been set up by long-term business associates while the couple were innocently trying to make an overseas investment. It is not suggested Mr Kyriacou has in any way acted illegally.

However, he did not respond to a subpoena ordering him to give evidence at Taoyuan District Court in August and was a no-show at her hearing.

During the hearing, Judge Chen Yen-Nien revealed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other authorities had confirmed Mr Kyriacou, who lives in Melbourne, had received the documents but failed to attend.

Ms Voulgaris' lawyer at the time, Leon Huang, told the court it would be difficult to extradite him because he is an Australian citizen.

Maria Voulgaris continues to be caged behind the walls of one of Taiwan's toughest prisons

Judge Yen-Nien said without Mr Kyriacou's testimony, which could help clear his ex-wife, the court would have to rely on the evidence available.

Maria says she is unable to discuss her father's involvement due to the ongoing case, but admits the situation has torn the family apart.

'I'm not here to abuse my dad,' she said. 'I'm not here to talk badly about my dad.

'I have anger and that's understandable. It's distressing because it's two parents that I have lost now. My mum is wrongfully imprisoned.'

Since her mother's arrest, Maria has been forced to take on responsibilities she was never prepared for.

'I'm 26 years old,' she said. 'I was 23 when mum was arrested and had no clue what I was doing. I ended up doing markets on weekends to sell my things to pay for lawyers.

'It feels like I am losing my mind. I stay up at night trying to research ways to help. I have to organise warm clothes for her because it's freezing there and I have to put money into my mum's prison account.

'Some days it's too much and I just refuse to leave the house.'

The family knows any appeal carries the risk of their frail mother being placed on death row, but they refuse to give up.

'Our next option is an extraordinary appeal which is very rare and I'm hoping that Australia can understand that this woman is innocent,' Maria said.

'There is a lot of evidence that the court has seen and knows she is not capable of these things.

'But the reality is they need to hold someone accountable and no one is taking accountability, and my mother is facing the consequences of someone else's sentence.'
She is a star of American science. A Stanford chair. A NASA collaborator. A role model for a generation of young researchers.

But a chilling congressional investigation has found that celebrated geologist Wendy Mao quietly helped advance China's nuclear and hypersonic weapons programs  while working inside the heart of America's taxpayer funded research system.

Mao, 49, is one of the most influential figures in materials science. She serves as Chair of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Stanford University, one of the most prestigious science posts in the country.

Her pioneering work on how diamonds behave under extreme pressure has been used by NASA to design spacecraft materials for the harshest environments in space.

In elite scientific circles, Mao is royalty. Born in Washington, DC, and educated at MIT, she is the daughter of renowned geophysicist Ho-Kwang Mao, a towering figure in high-pressure physics.

Colleagues describe her as brilliant. A master of diamond-anvil experiments. A gifted mentor. A trailblazer for Asian American women in planetary science.

Public records show Mao lives in a stunning $3.5million timber-frame home tucked among the redwoods of Los Altos, California, with her husband, Google engineer Benson Leung. She also owns a second property worth around $2million in Carlsbad, further down the coast.

For years, she embodied Silicon Valley success. Now, a 120-page House report has cast a long shadow over that image.

Silicon Valley diamond expert Wendy Mao has for years been entangled with China's nuclear weapons program

Mao is a pioneer in high-pressure physics, but her research can be used in a range of Chinese military applications, say congressional researchers

The investigation  conducted by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party alongside the House Committee on Education and the Workforce  shows how Mao's federally funded research became entangled with China's military and nuclear weapons establishment over more than a decade.

The 120-page report accuses Mao, one of only a handful of scholars singled out for criticism, of holding 'dual affiliations' and operating under a 'clear conflict of interest.'

'This case exposes a profound failure in research security, disclosure safeguards, and potentially export controls,' the report states, in stark language.

The document, titled Containment Breach, warns that such entanglements are 'not academic coincidences' but signs of how the People's Republic of China exploits open US research systems to weaponize American taxpayer-funded innovation.

Mao and NASA did not answer our requests for comment. Stanford said it is reviewing the allegations, but downplayed the scholar's links to Beijing.

At the heart of the report's allegations is Mao's relationship with Chinese research institutions tied to Beijing's defense apparatus.

According to investigators, while holding senior roles at Stanford, the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Department of Energy-funded national laboratories, Mao maintained overlapping research ties with organizations embedded in China's military-industrial base  including the China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP).

CAEP is no ordinary institution. It is China's primary nuclear weapons research and development complex.

The report alleges that Mao simultaneously conducted DOE- and NASA-funded research while holding formal ties to HPSTAR, a high-pressure research institute overseen by CAEP and headed by her father.

HPSTAR, the report says, conducts work directly supporting China's nuclear weapons materials and high-energy physics programs. That dual affiliation, investigators said, was 'deeply problematic.'

According to the report, Mao co-authored dozens of federally funded scientific papers with Chinese researchers affiliated with defense-linked institutions.

The subject areas were not abstract theory. They included hypersonics, aerospace propulsion, microelectronics and electronic warfare  fields with obvious military applications.

Mao's work on how diamonds behave under extreme pressure has been used by NASA to design spacecraft materials for the harshest environments in space

Mao lives in a stunning $3.5 million timber-frame home tucked among the redwoods of Los Altos, California, with her husband, Google engineer Benson Leung

Beijing has developed hypersonic ballistic missiles and other weapons through research projects with the US

One NASA-supported paper drew particular scrutiny.

The report says it potentially violated the Wolf Amendment, a federal law that bars NASA and NASA-funded researchers from engaging in bilateral collaboration with Chinese entities without an FBI-certified waiver.

Investigators also noted the research relied on Chinese state super-computing infrastructure, raising further alarms.

'Taken together,' the report states, 'these affiliations and collaborations demonstrate systemic failures within DOE and NASA's research security and compliance frameworks.'

The conclusion is blunt.

Open research systems, weak oversight and fragmented enforcement allowed taxpayer-funded American science to flow into China's nuclear weapons modernization and hypersonics programs, undermining US national security and nonproliferation goals.

Additional details have also emerged. Last month, the Stanford Review, a conservative student newspaper, reported that Mao had trained at least five HPSTAR employees as PhD students in her Stanford and SLAC laboratories.

The paper quoted a senior Trump administration official, speaking anonymously, who sharply criticized both Mao and Stanford.

'Stanford should not permit its federally funded research labs to become training grounds for entities affiliated with China's nuclear program,' the official said.

'Mao's continued and extensive academic collaboration with HPSTAR is adequate grounds for termination.'

University spokeswoman Luisa Rapport said Mao was an expert in high-pressure science who did not work on nuclear tech.

'Based on results of our review to date, the professor has never worked on or collaborated with China's nuclear program,' said Rapport.

'She has indicated that she has never had a formal appointment or affiliation with HPSTAR.'

Rapport added: 'She has also indicated that since 2012 she has not had any appointments or affiliations with other Chinese institutions.'

Supporters of international research collaboration argue that such exchanges are the lifeblood of American science.

Mao is royalty in the world of high-pressure physics: the daughter of celebrated geologist Ho-Kwang Mao

Stanford University said it is reviewing the allegations against Mao, but downplayed her ties to Beijing

The DOE oversees 17 national laboratories and bankrolls research tied directly to nuclear weapons development

They say openness attracts global talent, accelerates discovery, and keeps the US at the cutting edge.

But the House report paints a different picture. It argues that openness without guardrails became a strategic gift to Beijing.

Federal money, the investigation says, flowed to projects involving Chinese state-owned laboratories and universities working hand-in-glove with China's military.

Some of those entities were even listed in Pentagon databases of Chinese military companies operating in the United States.

The stakes are enormous. China's armed forces, now nearly two million strong, have surged ahead in hypersonic weapons, stealth aircraft, directed-energy systems, and electromagnetic launch technology.

American research helped fuel that rise, the report says. The findings landed like a thunderclap on Capitol Hill.

Investigators identified more than 4,300 academic papers published between June 2023 and June 2025 involving collaborations between DOE-funded scientists and Chinese researchers.

Roughly half involved researchers affiliated with China's military or defense industrial base.

Congressman John Moolenaar, the Michigan Republican who chairs the China select committee, called the findings chilling.

'The investigation reveals a deeply alarming problem,' Moolenaar said. 'The DOE failed to ensure the security of its research, and it put American taxpayers on the hook for funding the military rise of our nation's foremost adversary.'

Moolenaar has pushed legislation to block federal research funding from flowing to partnerships with 'foreign adversary-controlled' entities. The bill passed the House but has stalled in the Senate.

Scientists and university leaders have pushed back hard. In an October letter, more than 750 faculty members and senior administrators warned Congress that overly broad restrictions could stifle innovation and drive talent overseas.

They urged lawmakers to adopt 'very careful and targeted measures for risk management.'

China has rejected the report outright.

Federally-funded research at US labs has helped China leap ahead with nuclear and hypersonic missile technology, a House report warns

John Moolenaar says US taxpayers have been 'funding the military rise of our nation's foremost adversary'

Investigators identified more than 4,300 papers published since June 2023 involving collaborations between DOE-funded scientists and Chinese researchers

The Chinese Embassy in Washington accused the select committee of smearing China for political purposes and said the allegations lacked credibility.

'A handful of US politicians are overstretching the concept of national security to obstruct normal scientific research exchanges,' spokesperson Liu Pengyu said.

But the House report remains relentless. It says the warnings were clear. The risks were known.

And the failures persisted for years.

The Department of Energy oversees 17 national laboratories and distributes hundreds of millions of dollars annually for research into nuclear energy, weapons stewardship, quantum computing, advanced materials, and physics.

For Mao  once celebrated solely as a scientific pioneer  the allegations mark a dramatic and deeply unsettling turn.

A reminder, investigators say, that in an era of great-power rivalry, even the quiet world of academic research has become a frontline.
An Eastern European 'Bonnie & Clyde' shoplifter who hit at least three jewellery shops in the UK is an international fraudster who stole more than 168,000 from US retailers before continuing her crimewave in Britain.

Legenda Rostas, 30, and an accomplice were responsible for a distraction burglary this summer that saw almost 7,000 of cash, silver and a Rolex watch that forced an independent jeweller to close down.

At Swindon Crown Court the Romanian national - who appeared via video link from a prison cell - was jailed for just eight weeks and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of 154.

None of the stolen items have been recovered and it's understood no order has been made for her deportation once she is released from prison.

Her alleged accomplice Ivan Rostas, 52, had already fled the country and was not charged.

CCTV from two other similar incidents in jewellery shops appeared to show the same pair using distraction techniques and sleight of hand to get away with valuables.

Now the Daily Mail can reveal that before coming to Britain, Rostas were jailed for two years in the US for a scam involving Visa gift cards.

Legenda Rostas and her accomplice Ivan Rostas, 52, were part of an Eastern European 'Bonnie & Clyde' crimewave that hit at least three jewellers in the UK

The couple were captured on CCTV entering Old Bank Antiques in Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, in the last month where they carried out another distraction theft

Before arriving in the UK Rostas (right) was part of a crime gang in the UK that defrauded retailers out 168,000 in a pre-paid debit card scam. She was jailed for two years

Alongside her husband Daniel Rostas, 32, and sister Loredana Angel, 36, Legenda previously spent years targeting younger and more inexperienced employees at Target and Home Depot department stores.

The crooks bought pre-paid debit cards - or girft cards - in US stores using cash.

They used a sleight of hand ruse to show the worker the full amount in cash, but then only hand over a portion of the full amount while keeping the rest which they wired to family in Romania.

By the time the cashier had realised the amount was short, the gang would have left the store - and free to use the pre-paid gift cards at any story in the US.

The trio was arrested in Arnold, Missouri, on Oct. 14, 2022, but provided false names and fake IDs to police.

Police searched their vehicle and found multiple license plates, as well as cash, gift cards, and Western Union receipts.

US investigators found between 2017 and 2022 Rostas transferred 168,000 to accounts in Romania.

She also admitted re-entering the US illegally having been deported in December 2020. Angel had transferred 63,000 and Daniel wired 47,000 to Romania and another location.

All three pleaded guilty to felony charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and illegal reentry of an alien.

Daniel was sentenced to 15 months in prison, Angel was sentenced to 10 months. CCTV obtained by the Daily Mail from the Royal Wootton Bassett shoplifting shows the couple working together to distract a staff member as they counting cash out to buy gold and swipe 800 worth which the man hides behind his back before sneaking it into his pocket.

The couple also used distraction techniques and sleight of hand to get away with a 5,000 Rolex watch, 1,000 worth of silver taken from a display cabinet during the July 19 raid.

As a result of the theft, Jon White, had to shut down his Old Bank Antiques shop in Royal Wootton Bassett - which has appeared on TV's Antiques Road Trip six times.

He told the Daily Mail at the time: 'As a direct result of this crime the antique shop has closed and will remain closed for the immediate future.

'The staff member they targeted blamed herself. She felt it was her fault but of course it wasn't but she lost all confidence and resigned.

Jon White, owner of the Old Bank Antiques in Royal Wootton Basset which has appeared on TV's Antiques Road Trip six times - was forced to close his shop due to the thefts

'Right now, it simply isn't viable to recruit and train new people while also juggling everything else that life, and business, is throwing at me.

'After their pictures were circulated, I was inundated with phone calls from various businesses across the UK who recognised the couple.

'They are very, very clever. I pulled footage from multiple cameras to work out what they were doing.

'I'm an ex-close up magician and know the tricks to look out for but most people wouldn't.'

Mr went on: Its baffling how someone with US federal convictions and at least two years of prison time for theft, wire fraud and illegal re-entry managed to stroll into the UK in the first place.

A quick Google of her name brings up court records, media coverage and mugshots from a large-scale scam across multiple states.

Yet somehow, here she was, helping herself to a Rolex, cash and some silverware in little old Bassett!
Long Island police came to the rescue after an eight-year-old boy fell through a partially frozen pond on Christmas Day.

Third grader Tayvion was making his way across what he thought was solid ice when he plummeted into chest-deep water outside his Patchogue home.

He was trying to head back to his apartment by taking a well-meaning shortcut at around 1pm but was instead left clinging onto rapidly breaking ice.

Tayvion began hollering for help, attracting a crowd of neighbors who immediately dialed 911.

Three Suffolk County Police Officers were nearby and rushed to his rescue as quickly as possible.

'The water reached his chest, and the icy conditions made it difficult for him to get out, if not impossible to get out,' says Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina.

He was reportedly trapped for several minutes before police could make their treacherous attempt to grab him, per CBS News.

Officers James Rizzo, Andrew Tirelli and Michael Santillo had to get creative to extricate the boy from the frigid waters.

Eight-year-old Tayvion fell through an iced-over pond on Christmas Day while trying to take a short cut home

Suffolk police officers responded to the December 25 scene after an onlooker called 911

Officers estimated that Tayvion was submerged in the icy water for several minutes before they came to his rescue

'When we got that call of the child falling through the ice, you kind of don't really analyze it too much, someone needs help,' Tirelli told News12.

One officer tied together a life preserver and a tow rope in an attempt to rig up a makeshift rescue device for the boy.

But when they threw the life ring his way, Tayvion could not get a hold of it.

'I can't!' he yelled to the officers as they urged him to hang on so they could pull him in.

Sergeant Santillo decided the only way to retrieve the boy was to slide out on the ice and get Tayvion himself.

'When I got to him, I actually fell through the ice, and I was able to stand,' he said in a press conference on January 3, where Tayvion was reunited with the officers who saved his life.

'So I just grabbed him and I started making my way to shore.'

Upon returning to land, Tayvion was cold and wet but uninjured.

The responding officers were honored on January 2 for their heroic efforts

Tayvion thanked the officers and encouraged other children not to walk on the ice

He was monitored in the hospital for a short period, per ABC7, but soon returned home to enjoy his Christmas.

On January 2, Tayvion had the opportunity to thank the officers who saved his life and encouraged other children: 'Don't walk on the ice!'

The Suffolk County Police commissioner also honored the officers who helped him, calling it a 'Christmas miracle'.

'It's nice,' said Sergeant Santillo. 'But I don't do it for "Thank Yous." It's our job.'

Many people who take the plunge under partially frozen waters aren't as lucky as Tayvion.

Cottleville Fire and Rescue estimated that 250 Americans die each year from falling through ice-covered waterways.

The shock of bone-chilling water can cause hypothermia and frostbite to set in.

Because cold water causes heat to dissipate from the body faster, a victim can lose dexterity and motor function within ten minutes.

The Daily Mail contacted Suffolk County Police for comment.
A violent brawl erupted inside a New York City jewelry store after a business owner accused a rival of impersonating his company and scamming customers.

The dispute took place inside the shared space TraxNYC and Akay Diamonds occupy in Manhattan's Diamond District on Friday afternoon.

Owner Maksud Agadjani, 39, posted a series of videos showing him confronting one of the Akay brothers who own another jewelry store, identified as AKAY Diamonds.

George Akay, 46, and his brother Freddy, 42, both from New Jersey, were charged with assault, police said.

In the footage, Agadjani alleges the Akay's falsely used his company's name to sell customers gold jewelry that was being misrepresented in quality.

The videos posted to Agadjani's 3.5 million followers quickly circulated online, drawing attention to the cutthroat world of New York's jewelry trade.

In the video, Agadjani storms up to the worker and unleashes a furious verbal attack, accusing the rival of stealing his name, misleading customers, and selling inferior gold while claiming it matched TraxNYC's standards.

'Where's my money?' Agadjani shouted in the video. 'Motherf******, you said VVS 14 [karat], and you're using my name, you b****! You f***ing thief!'

The footage shows Agadjani yelling at both the employee and nearby security staff as he alleges fraud in broad daylight.

A heated showdown inside New York City's Diamond District has gone viral after a jeweler accused a rival of impersonation and fraud

The confrontation inside the shared space TraxNYC and Akay Diamonds share escalated into violence with security personnel called after jeweler Maksud Agadjani exploded at his rival, one of owner brothers of AKAY Diamonds

Maksud Agadjani, 39, of TraxNYC jewelry is seen, left. George Akay, 46, of the Akay brothers from Akay Diamonds is pictured, right

In a follow-up video, Agadjani offers some additional context, holding up what he described as a receipt from the rival company.

'This is the receipt of this disgusting company,' he said, dangling the paper in front of the camera. 'They sold my customer their bracelet and ripped him off.'

Agadjani explains how the customer had gone looking for jewelry from TraxNYC, but an employee at AKAY Diamonds allegedly told him the pieces were the same quality.

Agadjani claimed he later tested the bracelet and discovered it was 10-karat gold - not the 14-karat gold the customer believed he had purchased.

'This is the receipt of this disgusting company that pretends to be me,' Agadjani said in the video.

'They sold my customer their bracelet and ripped him off and ripped him off on the gold. These rats have done this over and over again, and I tolerated it,' Agadjani said in another clip posted online.

The situation escalated further when Agadjani filmed himself apparently securing a refund for the customer, along with an additional $1,000 in cash while continuing to verbally berate the rival business.

'Stop being greedy pieces of f***ing lying s***,' he said in the video. 'Keep f***ing scheming bro.'

Join the debate How should businesses and customers deal with scams and impersonation in cutthroat industries like jewelry?

Surveillance footage captured the scuffle between the two owners of the jewelry shops

The scuffle saw bother Akay brothers charged with assault and Agadjani taken to hospital

Agadjani, left, was furious as he alleged the rival jeweler used his company's name to sell inferior gold as a higher-quality product

Agadjani later pointed to visible pink marks on his neck, which he claimed were caused when employees attempted to pull or choke him with his chain during the confrontation

Agadjani later alleged that employees from AKAY Diamonds physically attacked him after he exposed the alleged scam. The TraxNYC owner was taken to Bellevue Hospital.

'They tried to strangle me with my own chain because I exposed what they did,' he said, showing visible pink marks on his neck where the jewelry had pressed against his skin.

The rival business has not publicly responded to Agadjani's claims. The Daily Mail has reached out for comment.

The confrontation adds to Agadjani's history of public disputes and legal drama.

In 2024, he was sued by 50 Cent, who accused the jeweler of violating his right to publicity and committing trademark infringement.

The lawsuit stemmed from Agadjani promoting a chain on social media that closely resembled a custom piece owned by the rapper.

After seeing the post, 50 Cent responded publicly, warning the jeweler, 'This was a bad idea. You will regret doing this I promise.'

The rapper later doubled down, writing in another post, 'This fool took my custom piece, copied it, then posted this 7 hours ago using my likeness to sell them. He must don't know how this works, if he talks to a lawyer they would tell him this is not good.'

Last May, the seven-figure lawsuit against Agadjani after the jeweler made a public apology expressing regret for his unauthorized use of 50's name and likeness in social media posts

Last May, the seven-figure lawsuit against Agadjani after the jeweler made a public apology expressing regret for his unauthorized use of 50's name and likeness in social media posts.

'I'm writing to express my sincere and heartfelt apology,' the note began.

'I acknowledge that I used your name, image, and other intellectual property rights to advertise, market, and sell my jewelry products without your permission. To be clear, I do not have and never had any affiliation with you or endorsement by you.'

Agadjani said he also removed all 50 Cent-related content from all his social media platforms and promised not to use the 50 Cent brand to promote his business.

'I respect you, your rights, and your brand, and I deeply regret my poor judgment and take full responsibility for my actions,' the statement continued.

'I hope that you and your fans can accept my sincere apology and forgive me.'
Four members of the same family including a groom who was about to be married in a matter of hours have been killed in a helicopter crash in Arizona.

Pilot David McCarty, 59, had taken his three nieces out for a ride in the private aircraft on Friday just moments before he was due to say 'I do' to fiancee Joelleen Linstrom.

McCarty died along with Rachel McCarty, 22, Faith McCarty, 21, and Katelyn Heideman, 21, when the helicopter went down at around 11am in the rugged terrain of Telegraph Canyon, roughly 64 miles east of Phoenix.

The crash appears to have occurred after the aircraft struck a recreational slackline strung across the mountains.

Investigators say the line stretched more than half a mile across the canyon.

'An eyewitness who called 911 reported seeing the helicopter strike a portion of the line before falling to the bottom of the canyon,' the sheriff's office said in a statement.

McCarty was due to tie the knot with Linstrom but had taken his nieces for a ride ahead of the ceremony, family said.

Pilot and groom David McCarty, 59, was among four members killed in a horror helicopter crash on his wedding day. He died hours before he was to marry Joelleen Linstrom, pictured

Katelyn Heideman, 21, was killed in the crash alongside her uncle and two cousins when the helicopter went down in the rugged mountains east of Phoenix

The couple got engaged in September last year, according to their social media profiles.

A heartbroken Linstrom posted a photo of McCarty fishing in tribute following the deadly crash.

Keith Holloway, a spokesman for the NTSB, said in an email that the helicopter 'impacted wires and terrain under unknown circumstances,' adding that investigators are working to determine how the slackline came to be placed across the flight path and whether it was visible to pilots.

No highliners were present at the time of the collision. The International Slackline Association (ISA) said the highline had aviation markers attached to it and that the FAA had been informed with a NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) having been issued before the collision barring pilots from flying nearby.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.

According to investigators, one of the helicopter's rotor blades may have separated after striking the line, causing the aircraft to overturn before slamming falling to the bottom of the canyon.

Due to the extreme terrain and isolation of the crash site, deputies and search-and-rescue teams were unable to reach the wreckage for several hours.

The helicopter was identified by the Federal Aviation Administration as an MD 369FF.

It had taken off earlier that morning from an airport in Queen Creek, a Phoenix suburb where McCarty also owned a home.

Officials said crews did not arrive on foot until around 5pm with the deaths of those onboard confirmed later that evening.

Rachel McCarty, 22, was among the four people killed when the private helicopter she was riding in crashed in the remote Arizona mountains

Faith McCarty, 21, was also killed along with her cousins and uncle after the group took a helicopter ride just before McCarty was due to get married

The FAA issued a temporary flight restriction over the area while recovery and investigative operations were underway.

'Our prayers are with the victims and their families,' the sheriff's office said.

McCarty was a longtime aviation professional and the owner of Columbia Basin Helicopters, a company he founded in 1997 and operated out of La Grande.

The business specializes in aerial operations, according to its website. Friends and family said he was an experienced pilot and deeply devoted to his loved ones.

'They were all so loved,' Mary Jane Heideman, the mother of Katelyn and aunt to Rachel and Faith said to The Arizona Republic.

'The girls had such bright futures. It's just hard to fathom this.'

Another of McCarty's nieces, Elizabeth Gallup, posted a heartbreaking message online as news of the crash spread.

Katelyn Heideman, 21, was traveling with close family members when the helicopter went down in the rugged terrain of Telegraph Canyon

Rachel McCarty died alongside her sisters and cousin in the crash, officials said

Deputies and search-and-rescue teams were unable to reach the wreckage for several hours due to the challenging terrain

Emergency services with the Pinal County Sheriff's Office posted photos of their presence at the scene of the crash but did not show photos of the wreckage

'Many have heard about the unimaginable losses in my family today of my Uncle David McCarty, my cousin Katelyn Heideman, and my two baby sisters Rachel and Faith,' the post read.

'They went out for a helicopter ride in Arizona. The helicopter crashed and they never got the chance to come home.'

'My family and I want to thank you all for the positive thoughts, prayers, calls, and text messages,' the message continued.

'Please continue to pray over every single family member as we process this heartbreak. All the love and support is welcome. We truly have no words right now. They are all in heaven together.'
Most full-time workers in Scotland could be paying the higher rate of tax by 2029 under the governments current fiscal regime, new analysis suggests.

Economic forecasts suggest wages will rise by around three per cent per year for the next four years, putting the average salary in Scotland at 44,746.18 - above the SNPs current threshold for paying the higher 42 per cent rate of income tax.

The Scottish Conservatives have blasted the SNP for its brutal taxation plans, and said the country was being hammered by two left-wing governments addicted to tax rises following Rachel Reeves November budget.

It comes after John Swinney was accused of misleading parliament and urged to correct the record when he claimed his party had kept its manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, despite introducing two income tax rises in 2023 and 2024.

Craig Hoy, the Scottish Tories finance spokesman, said the new analysis of the Office for Budget Responsibilitys forecast made a mockery of the SNPs claims that only those with the broadest shoulders paid more under their tax regime.

He said: These figures lay bare just how brutal the SNPs tax policy is for ordinary Scots.

It defies belief that someone on an average salary will soon be dragged into the higher tax bracket.

John Swinney likes to pretend that only those with the broadest shoulders are made to pay more by the SNP, but these stats expose that claim as utter nonsense.

First Minister John Swinney is accused of implementing a 'brutal' tax regime

Its not just top earners being clobbered, its most people who are working full-time.

With Labours latest UK budget hiking taxes by a further 26 billion, Scots are being hammered by two left-wing governments addicted to tax rises in order to fund their reckless benefits splurge.

No one can trust a word that either Labour or the SNP say about tax, since both have broken their manifesto promises on the issue  something John Swinney brazenly and inexplicably tries to deny.

In November the First Minister was urged to apologise and accused of misleading the public when he told MSPs at Holyrood his party had maintained our manifesto commitments in relation to taxation.

The SNPs 2021 manifesto promised over the course of the next parliament we will freeze income tax rates and bands.

But in 2023, while Mr Swinney was finance secretary, he raised the amount of tax paid by those earning above 43,662, raising it from 41p per 1 to 42p.

He lowered the threshold for those expected to pay the top rate of tax, from 150,000 to 125,140 and increased the amount of tax they paid, from 46p to 47p.

The following year new finance secretary Shona Robison repeated the move, raising the top rate again to 48p for those earning above 124,140.

Join the debate Is it fair that average Scottish workers could pay higher tax rates to fund public services?

Rachel Reeves was said to have implemented stealth taxes in her autumn Budget

She also brought in a sixth tax band for those earning between 75,000 and 125,140, who must pay 45 per cent on their earnings.

Mr Swinney was also said to have mislead MSPs when he claimed last year that more than half of taxpayers in Scotland continue to pay less than they would if they lived elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

A report by the Scottish Fiscal Commission published after the First Ministers claims estimated that over the last two years most Scottish taxpayers have paid more income tax than they would have in the rest of the UK.

Opposition politicians have raised concerns about the Scottish governments taxation plans in the upcoming January budget, with suggestions that there may be amendments to the pay thresholds.

In an interview in November finance secretary Shona Robison said she would not increase income tax rates or introduce new bands, but didnt rule out amending the thresholds within the current bands.

She said: Ive already set out in the tax strategy the position we wanted around stability with no changes to rates and bands.

That is the position we had and that the position we maintain.

A Scottish Government spokesman said:  The Scottish Governments tax decisions enable us to deliver higher investment in the NHS and policies like free tuition not available anywhere else in the UK, while ensuring the majority of taxpayers are expected to pay less income tax than elsewhere in the UK.

Tax policy for 2026-27 will be announced at the Scottish Budget on 13 January 2026.
The family of a famous musician's son who vanished in Venezuela said they are hopeful he will soon return home following the dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

James Luckey-Lange, 28, a Staten Island native, is the son of late cult musician Q Lazzarus, whose music appeared in The Silence of the Lambs.

He is among several Americans recently detained by Venezuelan security forces, according to The New York Times, which cited a US official speaking on condition of anonymity.

His aunt, Abbie Luckey, told Daily Mail the family has been clinging to hope amid months of uncertainty.

'After Maduro's capture, I remain hopeful and confident that the citizens being held will return safe and unharmed,' she said.

Luckey-Lange was last in contact with his family the week before his disappearance.

Abbie said she spoke to him on December 8, when he told her he was heading to Caracas ahead of a December 12 flight that would bring him back to New York.

He planned to reunite with relatives for the family's annual Christmas cruise, a tradition held in honor of his grandmother.

Luckey-Lange, 28, a Staten Island native, is among several Americans recently detained by Venezuelan security forces

Luckey-Lange is the son of Q Lazzarus, born Diane Luckey, whose 1988 song Goodbye Horses became a cult hit after appearing in the Oscar-winning film The Silence of the Lambs

'I remember he asked if, when he landed, we could make time to shop for Christmas because he didn't want to get caught up in the last-minute holiday shopping chaos,' Abbie recalled.

But December 12 came and went, and Luckey-Lange never boarded the flight.

'When we didn't hear from him that day, we knew something was seriously wrong,' she said.

Abbie described her nephew as an 'adventurous free spirit' whose goal was to explore the world.

'He had no ties to the government,' she said. 'We've just been sitting in the dark praying, hoping for the best.'

She shared a message directly for him: 'We're all concerned, and we're doing everything we can to get your release as early as possible. We have never stopped trying to find you.'

Eva Aridjis Fuentes, a friend and director who helped Luckey-Lange with a documentary about his mother, also shared an update on social media.

'Lots of people are asking me if there are any updates regarding James Luckey-Lang. At the moment there are none, and his family has yet to be contacted by the State Dept / U.S. government,' she wrote.

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His aunt Abbie told Daily Mail that he planned to reunite with relatives on December 12 but he never flew home

Trump is seen discussing Nicolas Maduro's arrest by the US Army's elite Delta Force unit during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago country club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday

'However, we are cautiously hopeful that todays dramatic developments will bring him home sooner.

'Trump was just asked during his news conference about the Americans being held in Venezuela and said, "Weve let them know they better not touch any of them".

'Its hard to know whats happening on the ground there, but we are of course praying he will be freed and not hurt.'

Luckey-Lange is the son of Q Lazzarus, born Diane Luckey, whose 1988 song Goodbye Horses became a cult hit after appearing in the Oscar-winning film The Silence of the Lambs.

In 2022, his mother died from sepsis after breaking her leg. Following her death, relatives said Luckey-Lange embarked on a years-long journey through Latin America to process his grief. His father died in 2025.

Before traveling abroad, Luckey-Lange worked in commercial fishing in Alaska after graduating from college. After a year at sea, he decided to travel the world.

At the time of his disappearance, he was preparing to settle down in New Jersey, where he planned to take over his mother's music collection and rights, Luckey said.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump announced the US will temporarily govern Venezuela following Maduro's capture in a pre-dawn Delta Force raid Saturday.

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An explosion rocks Caracas in the early hours of Saturday morning during the United States raid that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and wife Cilia were both seized by a US military unit in the early hours of Caracas. Trump said Saturday afternoon that both will face criminal charges in New York City

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The Venezuelan leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized at a military base in Caracas and flown to the USS Iwo Jima. Both are headed to New York to face narco-terrorism charges.

'We're going to run the country until we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,' Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago, offering few details but suggesting Venezuela's vast oil reserves would fund its recovery.

He admitted he did not brief Congress, claiming secrecy was essential to prevent leaks.

Trump accused Maduro of leading the Cartel de los Soles drug network and flooding the US with narcotics.

The Justice Department confirmed Maduro will face drug and weapons trafficking charges originally filed in 2020.

Five other Venezuelan officials are also charged. Trump said Cilia Flores will face criminal charges but gave no specifics.

Celebrations erupted among Venezuelan migrants abroad, while Caracas remained tense amid fears of instability.

Trump shared a photo of Maduro in a gray tracksuit and eye mask after his capture, calling him the leader of a drug cartel.
Taxpayers are set to fund nearly $1.5million for a team of researchers to create podcasts as part of a four-year project examining changing the date of Australia Day and addressing the failed Voice to Parliament.

The project, led by the Australian National University, aims to 'inform public discourse' and promote truth-telling.

The Australian Research Council (ARC) awarded the $1.48million grant for the project, titled Change The Date? Australia Day, Reconciliation and the Politics of Division.

The decision was published on the federal government's Grant Connect website last week.

In addition to producing podcasts, the project will develop educational resources for schools and offer policy recommendations.

'Polarising debates are threatening Australia's unity, driven largely by the politics of division and lack of cultural inclusivity for Indigenous Australians  a complete foundational story for a shared future is a critical issue requiring urgent attention,' the outline reads.

'(The project) examines the origins and perpetuation of shared public experiences and divisive narratives in media analysing quantitative data to capture the views of Australians from a wide range of backgrounds.

'The quantitative analysis will be enhanced by qualitative analysis of case studies such as Australia Day, the Voice to Parliament, and reconciliation events, and will identify common values that unite.'

Aussies celebrating Australia Day on Break Island on the Gold Coast

An ARC spokesman would not confirm whether the project would produce materials for schools pushing for the date of Australia Day to be changed, instead telling News Corp all funding applications were 'subject to a rigorous and competitive process'.

'This process ensures that public investment supports high-quality research for Australia's economic, social, environmental and cultural benefit,' the spokesman said.

Coalition's acting education spokesman Jonno Duniam said the ARC's funding of the project was 'a deeply political grant based on a highly contestable premise'.

'Why are we paying $1.5m in taxpayers' money to develop the core components of the activist's toolkit  podcasts, educational resources for classrooms, and policy recommendations?' Mr Duniam asked.

'Research funding is intended to advance our national research agenda, not develop partisan playbooks.

'Australians will make up their own minds as to whether this grant passes that test.'

Last week it was revealed the ARC had lifted a suspension on an $870,000 research grant awarded to controversial pro-Palestine academic Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, who called for the 'end of Israel'.

Australia Day falls on January 26, marking the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Harbour in 1788, when Governor Arthur Phillip raised the Union Jack at Sydney Cove.

People marching during an Invasion Day rally in Sydney on January 26, 2025

However, many Australians - particularly Indigenous and First Nations people - regard it as 'Invasion Day' or a 'Day of Mourning'.

Every year, rallies take place in major cities, with thousands of protesters calling for the holiday to be scrapped or moved.
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro raced to close the 6ins-thick steel door of a safe room seconds before he and wife Cilia were snatched by US Special Forces, it emerged on Saturday.

The full details of one of the most audacious military raids in modern history were revealed by Donald Trump and his closest advisers who watched the daring two-hour 28-minute operation unfold on screens inside a secure room at Mar-a-Lago, the US President's Florida estate.

After weeks of meticulous planning and waiting for the weather to be 'perfect', Mr Trump gave the go-ahead for Operation Absolute Resolve at 10.46pm Eastern Standard Time on Friday night (11.46pm in Venezuela, 3.46am on Saturday in the UK) with the words: 'Good luck and God speed.'

Maduro was 'heavily guarded' in a bunker on a military base in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, that was 'like a fortress', Mr Trump said.

'It had what they call a safe space where it's solid steel all around. He didn't get that space closed. He was trying to get into it, but got bum-rushed so fast that he didn't get into it.

'It was a very thick door, a very heavy door. But he was unable to get to that door. He made it to the door but he was unable to close it.' Soldiers from Delta Force  the US Army's elite special operations unit  were equipped with blow torches to cut through the steel door in case Mr Maduro managed to lock himself in.

Mr Trump said: 'He wasn't able to shut the door because our guys were so fast.

'Did we get him by surprise? Sort of surprise, but they were waiting for something. It was a lot of opposition. There was a lot of gunfire.'

President Donald Trump (centre) watches the military operation in Venezuela with CIA Director John Ratcliffe (left) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right) from Mar-a-Lago resort

Caracas was plunged into darkness as the raid began. The US President said the extraction force had practised for months, adding: 'They actually built a house which was identical to the one they went into with all that steel all over the place. They were ready for anything. Then we turned off all the lights.'

Mr Trump declined to reveal whether CIA spies on the ground who have been monitoring Maduro's movements for months hijacked the power grid or launched a cyber attack.

He said: 'The lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have.' General Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, hailed the joint effort by US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Special Forces and intelligence agencies who 'spent months' on the operation, including studying Maduro's movements, what he wore, what he ate, his children and even his pets.

He said: 'This mission was meticulously planned. This was an audacious operation that only the United States could do, an extraction so precise it involved more than 150 aircraft launching across the western hemisphere in close co-ordination, all coming together in time and place to create a layered effect all for a single purpose  to get an interdiction force into downtown Caracas while maintaining the element of surprise.'

Aircraft including F-18, F-22 and F-35 fighter jets, Seahawk and Chinook helicopters, B-1 supersonic bombers and unmanned drones were launched from a fleet of more than a dozen US warships and the aircraft carrier the Gerald R. Ford, which have been off the Venezuelan coast since December. Aircraft were also deployed from US bases around the Caribbean.

The helicopters carrying Special Forces came from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment  nicknamed the Night Stalkers  and included MH-60 Seahawks and MH-47 Chinooks. Delta Force choppers flew just at 100ft above the sea as they approached Caracas, supported by fighter jets and bombers high above which bombed five military sites around the city to distract Venezuelan troops on the ground.

US forces reached the Venezuelan leader's compound at 1.01am EST yesterday and were back over the sea returning to the USS Iwo Jima by 3.29am, although a Pentagon source said the ground firefight and capture of Maduro took less than 30 minutes.

Around a dozen Special Forces troops entered Maduro's heavily guarded compound by 'fast roping'  deploying rapidly from helicopters by sliding down ropes  before facing heavy gunfire.

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida on January 3

Nicolas Maduro (pictured) raced to close his a safe room seconds before he and wife Cilia were snatched by US Special Forces

There was then what a CIA source described as a 'brutal' firefight before special forces entered the area at Fort Tiuna where Mr Maduro and his wife  who are thought to have been wearing only their pyjamas  were trying to get into their safe space.

They had been asleep in another room, but were woken by gunfire. Once US soldiers reached the couple 'they were taken out in a matter of seconds' Mr Trump said, adding that two US soldiers 'had non-threatening gunshot wounds'.

A helicopter was hit by ground fire but made it back to the USS Iwo Jima safely. General Caine said: 'On arrival into the target area the helicopters came under fire and they replied to that fire with overwhelming force and self-defence. One of our aircraft was hit but remained flyable.

'The force descended into Maduro's compound and moved with speed, precision and discipline and isolated the area to ensure the safety and security of the ground force while apprehending the indicted persons.'

Maduro and his wife were bundled into a chopper that landed in the grounds of the compound.

They were then flown to the USS Iwo Jima and were arrested by FBI agents from the Southern District of New York, which released an indictment against Maduro and his wife on Saturday, citing narco-terrorism, cocaine smuggling and possession of machine guns.

The indictment was an updated version of one issued by a US grand jury in 2020.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said of Maduro: 'He f***ed around and found out.'

A series of explosions on Saturday plunger Caracas into darkness on January 3

A handout picture made available by the White House Press Office shows the Venezuelan President blindfolded aboard USS Iwo Jima

Mr Trump said watching the raid unfold in real time was 'brilliant', adding: 'I watched it literally like I was watching a television show.

'If you would've seen the speed, the violence, it was an amazing thing.'

A CIA source told The Mail on Sunday: 'It went off flawlessly.

'We had agents on the ground gathering information since last summer, a fleet of stealth drones which have been monitoring Maduro and his cronies for months. We knew where he was at all times, when he ate and when he took a sh*t.'

Maduro and his wife were flown to New York on Saturday night, where they will be held at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Venezuela has yet to report whether any soldiers or civilians were killed in the raid, although one woman is said to have died.

Mr Trump warned that the US was prepared to mount a second-wave attack in Venezuela, but added: 'We actually assumed that a second wave would be necessary, but now it's probably not.'
The audacious capture of Nicolas Maduro has left the world reeling - with leaders across the globe both celebrating and condemning America's military action.

Venezuela's president was yesterday plucked from power following a daring US military operation ordered by President Donald Trump.

Trump has since said that the United States would run Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations.

The extraordinary action put an end to an intensive Trump administration pressure campaign on the South American nation and its autocratic leader.

Maduro and his wife, who were seized overnight from their home on a military base, were first taken aboard a US warship on their way to face prosecution for a Justice Department indictment accusing them of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

Trump later shared a shocking photo of Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima on social media, showing the captured Venezuelan leader wearing a black blindfold and a grey tracksuit.

A plane believed to be carrying the deposed leader landed in New York on Saturday evening.

Venezuela's vice president demanded in a speech that the US free Maduro and called him the country's rightful leader.

Meanwhile, world leaders have reacted to the attack on Venezuela, with several divided between jubilation and condemnation.

World leaders have reacted to Trump's surprise attack on Venezuela

Trump shared a shocking photo of Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima on social media, showing the captured Venezuelan leader wearing a black blindfold and a grey tracksuit

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is led in custody from a U.S. federal airplane before his scheduled court appearance at Manhattan federal court, at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, U.S., January 3, 2026

A squirming Sir Keir Starmer refused to back or condemn Trump's military action against Venezuela.

The Prime Minister said he was waiting to 'establish all the facts' after the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country in an extraordinary military operation.

When the BBC pressed him on whether he believed the US had broken international law, Sir Keir refused to condemn Trump's actions, reiterating that 'we need to establish the full picture'.

Speaking to BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg on Saturday, he added: 'I don't shy away from this. I've been a lifelong advocate of international law and the importance of compliance with international law.

'But I want to ensure that I've got all the facts at my disposal, and we haven't got that at the moment, and we need to get that before we come to a decision about the consequences in relation to the actions that have been taken.'

Britain's Reform UK Party leader Nigel Farage called America's actions 'unorthodox and contrary' but said that 'they make China and Russia think twice, it may be a good thing.'

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump for his 'bold and historic leadership on behalf of freedom and justice.

'I salute your decisive role and the brilliant action of your brave soldiers,' he added.

Meanwhile Argentinian leader Javier Milei hailed the ousting of Maduro as 'excellent news for the free world'.

Join the debate Did Trump cross a line by capturing Maduro?

Airplanes, loud noises and at least one column of smoke were heard and seen in Venezuelan capital Caracas in the early hours of Saturday morning during the US-led military operation in Caracas that saw President Nicolas Maduro captured

Stairs lead to a U.S. federal airplane before Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is led out in custody ahead of his scheduled court appearance at Manhattan federal court, at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, U.S. January 3, 2026

Sir Keir Starmer refused to back or condemn Donald Trump's military action against Venezuela today

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky insinuated that Trump should deal with Russia's Vladimir Putin in a similar way

'What we have to understand is that it's the collapse of the regime of a dictator that was rigging elections, that in the last election was badly defeated and, despite that, he clinged on to power.'

Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa celebrated Trump's actions, writing on X: 'The time is coming for all the narco-Chavista criminals. Their structure will finally collapse across the entire continent.'

Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky insinuated that Trump should deal with Russia's Vladimir Putin in a similar way for his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking in a press conference on Saturday after a meeting with European national security advisors, the Ukrainian leader wryly said: 'How should I react to this? What can I say?'

'If it's possible to deal with dictators this way, then the US knows what to do next'.

French President Emmanuel Macron said: 'The Venezuelan people are today rid of Nicolas Maduros dictatorship and can only rejoice.

'By seizing power and trampling on fundamental freedoms, Nicolas Maduro gravely undermined the dignity of his own people.'

He called for the transition to be 'peaceful, democratic and respectful.'

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the legal assessment of the US operation is complex and 'we will take our time' to evaluate it, adding that principles of international law must apply.

He urged that 'a transition to a government legitimised by elections must be ensured' and warned that 'political instability must not arise in Venezuela'.

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has been indicted in the United States on drugs and weapons charges after he was 'captured and flown out of the country'

Pedestrians run after explosions were heard in Caracas

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that while his government did not recognise the Maduro regime, it would also not recognise 'an intervention that violates international law and pushes the region toward a horizon of uncertainty and belligerence'.

A spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: 'These developments constitute a dangerous precedent.

'The Secretary-General continues to emphasise the importance of full respect - by all - of international law, including the UN Charter.

'He's deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected.'

Russia condemned the US' 'act of armed aggression against Venezuela', calling Trump's military operation 'deeply concerning and condemnable'.

Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it 'strongly condemns and rejects the military actions carried out unilaterally in recent hours by the armed forces of the United States of America against targets in the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in clear violation of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said his government viewed 'with deep concern' the airstrikes on Venezuela.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan migrants around the world erupted in celebration on Saturday following the deposition of Maduro.

Members of the Venezuelan community celebrate following reports that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been captured by the United States, in Madrid, Spain on January 3, 2026

Maduro's government oversaw one of the world's largest migration exoduses in recent history. Pictured: Venezuelans celebrate in Madrid, Spain, on January 3. 2026

His government oversaw one of the world's largest migration exoduses in recent history.

Chants celebrating Maduro's capture were heard on the streets of capital cities in Latin America and in Spain, where Venezuelans gathered to share their joy - and wonder what the future could hold.

'We are free. We are all happy that the dictatorship has fallen and that we have a free country,' said Khaty Yanez, a Venezuelan woman in Santiago who has spent the last seven years in Chile.

'My joy is too big,' her compatriot Jose Gregorio said. 'After so many years, after so many struggles, after so much work, today is the day. Today is the day of freedom.'

Since 2014, some 7.7 million Venezuelans or 20 percent of the population have left the country, unable to afford food or seeking better opportunities abroad, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration, opens new tab.

Neighbouring Colombia has received the largest share of the diaspora, with around 2.8 million Venezuelans, followed by 1.7 million in Peru, according to the R4V platform, a group of regional NGOs assisting migrants and refugees from Venezuela set up by the U.N. migration agency.

Venezuelans celebrate after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Vina del Mar, Chile, January 3

Venezuelans living in Colombia gather at Plaza de Bolivar to celebrate after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Bogota, Colombia, January 3, 2026

For years, the U.S. was a haven for Venezuelans but many were branded criminals and forced to seek refuge elsewhere during President Donald Trump's second term.

In Spain, thousands of people gathered at central Madrid's Puerta del Sol and applauded as they watched Trump give a live press conference.

Groups of Venezuelans were also expected to gather to celebrate in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires.
Donald Trump has dismissed the prospect of working with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado after capturing the country's dictator, Nicolas Maduro.

The US President has claimed Machado, who beat him to the Nobel Peace Prize last year, 'doesn't have the support' within her country to successfully lead it.

Vente Venezuela Party leader Machado is widely seen as Maduro's most credible opponent, but Trump told reporters he has not been in contact with her.

'She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country,' he said.

It comes despite Machado voicing support for US actions to fight alleged drug trafficking from Venezuela - and after she dedicated her Noble Prize win to Trump and the people in her country.

Machado, who is hugely popular among Venezuelan voters, also referred to Trump's capture of Maduro as 'the hour of freedom' for her people in an X post shared shortly after the shock abduction.

Her supporters, including Venezuelan businessman and former board member of the state oil company PDVSA, Pedro Burelli, have hit back at Trump's comments.

Machado, 'is the most respected politician in the country,' Burelli wrote on X. 'Venezuela is broke and needy, but it is not about to surrender to absurd whims.'

Donald Trump has dismissed the prospect of working with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado (pictured) after capturing the country's dictator, Nicolas Maduro

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is pictured after his shock capture from Caracas on Friday night in a photo shared by President Donald Trump on his Truth Social website

The day after capturing Maduro, Trump said the dictator's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez would be the new Venezuelan leader.

He said she had been 'sworn in' as president and was 'willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again'.

But Rodriguez refused to comply, saying Maduro remained the country's only president. Trump responded by saying the US would now run Venezuela.

The saga began when US troops captured Maduro and his wife from Caracas in the early hours of Saturday Friday before transporting them to New York on drug trafficking charges.

A white FBI Boeing 757 landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in upstate New York after 4:30pm Saturday afternoon. Cops subsequently boarded the plane.

Around 30 minutes later, several figures including Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores flanked by a group of officials could be seen slowly disembarking the aircraft.

It is believed the couple were first taken to Puerto Rico, where another video showed them being escorted onto a different US military plane earlier in the day.

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Trump updates Americans on his capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday afternoon, flanked by White House cabinet members including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

The day after capturing Maduro, Trump said the dictator's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez (pictured) would be the new Venezuelan leader

Shot from several hundred yards away, the footage shared by Puerto Rican broadcaster NotiCentro follows a huddle of people boarding a plane on the runway at Ramey Base, a former US Air Force strip at Rafael Hernandez International Airport.

The mayor of Aguadilla, Julio Roldan, also wrote on social media that the Venezuelan dictator had been 'transferred' through the city, which is located on the north-western coast of Puerto Rico, around 600 miles north of Caracas.

'Aguadilla was the first American jurisdiction where they transferred the detainee Nicolas Maduro,' Roldan said Saturday.

'An additional sample of geopolitical value Aguadilla has for our common defense.'

After his capture by the US Army's elite Delta Force unit, Maduro and his wife were flown by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima warship.

They are expected to be held in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, which is famous for its squalid conditions and has also housed Luigi Mangione and Sean 'Diddy' Combs.

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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters at a protest against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 9, 2025

Trump said the United States would govern Venezuela indefinitely in the meantime.

'We're going to run the country until as such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,' he told reporters in the wake of the shock capture.

Trump offered little further detail on the logistics of running Venezuela, which has a population of 30 million, but suggested the country's vast oil reserves would be used to fund its revival.

Maduro's arrest came after US forces struck Caracas amid accusations from Trump that Venezuela has been flooding the US with drugs and gang members.

Trump alleged that Maduro is the leader of the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) drug trafficking operation.

Trump said Saturday that he had not briefed Congress of his plans to snatch Maduro, claiming that had he done so, the news would have 'leaked' and potentially helped the Venezuelan leader to evade capture.
The ex-husband of NSW Independent MP Mark Latham's porn star former partner has been cleared of a criminal charge he said should never have been laid.

Ross Matthews has complained he was not even interviewed by police before they accused him of waging a campaign of harassment against his ex-wife Nathalie Matthews.

Mr Matthews was charged in July with using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend Ms Matthews with phone calls and emails between April 1 and June 2.

The starting date of that alleged conduct coincided with the first listing of a case Mr Matthews had brought against his ex-wife in the equity division of the NSW Supreme Court.

Mr Matthews pleaded not guilty to the harassment charge when it was first mentioned at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court.

Solicitor Alen Sahinovic had indicated his client would be producing independent phone records in his defence and the matter was set for hearing on December 19.

On that day, police withdrew the charge and an accompanying application for an apprehended violence order to protect Ms Matthews.

Mr Matthews said police had offered to drop the charge if he accepted the AVO but he had refused and both matters were subsequently withdrawn.

The ex-husband of NSW Independent MP Mark Latham's porn star former partner Nathalie Matthews (above) has been cleared of a criminal charge he said should never have been laid

Ross Matthews was cleared of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend Nathalie Matthews. Ross and Nathalie Matthews are pictured on their wedding day

He told the Daily Mail he had given police much of the evidence he was going to use in his defence and asked if they would be taking any action against Ms Matthews.

'I am glad that upon reviewing the evidence, the prosecutor instantly dropped the charges and withdrew the AVO,' the 35-year-old said on Sunday.

'However, that evidence was all available when NSW police charged me. Had they bothered to interview me, I would have provided them this.

'Unfortunately, police all too often take the attitude that it's up to the courts to work out the facts of the case and are far too quick to charge.

'Even when found not guilty, the process itself is a punishment but I am glad the prosecutor came to the right decision here.'

A NSW Police spokesman said the force does not 'provide comment on court results, withdrawal of proceedings or costs awarded'.

The harassment allegation against Mr Matthews came a week after he insisted he no longer had anything to do with his former wife since their split more than three years ago.

Mr Matthews spoke out after Ms Matthews, 38, accused Latham, 64, of 'a sustained pattern' of psychological, financial and emotional abuse during their relationship.

Mr Matthews (above) had previously said he was not a public figure and wished to maintain his privacy, but he was unhappy with the way police had handled the case against him

'Please stop messaging me,' Ross Matthews posted to X on July 16. 'I don't speak to Nathalie and do not care. Thank you.'

This publication revealed last July that Ms Matthews had worked as an OnlyFans porn star for years before she began dating Latham.

Ms Matthews posted hundreds of explicit images of herself on the site under the name Bondi C** S***, as well as videos showing her having sex.

Nathalie May Darrough married Ross David Matthews in 2018 but their union reportedly ended in 2022, before she began going out with Latham.

Ms Matthews describes herself as the managing director of Skynet Global Logistics, a company involved in freight forwarding which has a presence in Sydney, Perth and Dubai.

The Daily Mail revealed in July she had converted to Islam in November 2022 and adopted the name Maryam Abdullah.

Ms Matthews, who is accused of sharing an intimate image without consent, spent a night in custody when she was arrested in October after flying back to Sydney from Dubai.

She has pleaded not guilty to accessing/modifying restricted data held in a computer, intentionally recording an intimate image without consent and intentionally distributing an image without consent.

That case will be back in court on February 5.

Mr Matthews spoke out after Ms Matthews (left) accused Latham (right) of 'a sustained pattern' of psychological, financial and emotional abuse during their relationship

Mr Matthews told the Daily Mail he was not the alleged victim of the charges his ex-wife was facing - that person cannot be identified - but he was aware of 'the circumstances surrounding them'.

'While I condemn Nat's [alleged] behaviour, for her to be arrested at the airport and held for 28 hours over such a petty matter that she never would have been charged with had she not been in the public eye is ridiculous,' he said.

'I know for a fact that NSW Police were in contact with Nat a week before she was arrested, after they had already issued the warrant for her arrest but did not advise her she had an outstanding warrant or even ask her to return to Australia.'

Ms Matthews is privately seeking an AVO against Latham, accusing him forcing her into degrading sexual acts and demanding she call him 'master'.

The Daily Mail is not suggesting any wrongdoing by Latham, only that Ms Matthews has made allegations against him as part of her AVO application.

Latham has denied ever mistreating Ms Matthews during what he has described as a 'sexed-up, consensual, open arrangement'.

He has not disputed sending sexually graphic texts to Ms Matthews - but says some messages have been taken out of context - and has not denied having sex with Ms Matthews in Parliament House.

When the AVO application was mentioned in Downing Centre Local Court in October, Latham described it as a 'complete waste of the court's time'.

'There should be a change to the law in NSW whereby having been rejected by the police for an AVO, you can't come with a private set of lies,' Latham said outside court.

'This is an outrageous use of the legal system that someone can belittle and abuse the domestic violence space with things that are clearly made up.'

Ms Matthews's AVO application is listed for a three-day hearing starting on May 21.
Images of Donald Trump and his inner circle taken inside his Mar-a-Lago situation room appear to show them glued to social media platform X as the strike against Venezuela unfolded.

Trump revealed that a 'large-scale' operation had taken place on Saturday, declaring that US forces had captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The president said on Fox News this morning that he watched the entire operation alongside federal officials from a makeshift war room at his Florida base.

Images from the situation room captured Trump alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Central Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe and General Dan Caine as the strikes loomed.

Eagle-eyed viewers noted that the administration appeared to be closely watching social media chatter about the Venezuela raid on Friday - particularly on X.com.

The two images released by the White House show Trump and his team in suits, huddled inside a room draped in what appear to be black curtains.

In the background, a large wall-mounted television reveals that the president's close allies had searched for 'Venezuela' on X, with the results clearly displayed on the screen.

The unprecedented military operation sent explosions ripping across Caracas overnight, with Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab insisting that 'innocents' were 'mortally wounded' by the US strike.

Images showed Donald Trump and his inner circle glued to X inside his Mar-a-Lago situation room as a strike tied to Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro's capture unfolded

Trump revealed what he described as an overnight 'large-scale strike' in Venezuela, declaring that US forces had captured President Nicolas Maduro (pictured) and his wife

In the White House-released photos, a large wall-mounted TV revealed that the president's team had searched for 'Venezuela' on X, with the results displayed on the screen

However, a source told CNN that the operation - which targeted five Venezuelan sites, including three in the capital of Caracas - caused no casualties.

Overnight, Trump posted on Truth Social that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured.

'The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,' the president wrote at 4:21am.

He also added that the operation 'was done in conjunction with US Law Enforcement'.

According to CNN, Maduro and his wife were captured in their beds by an elite Delta Force unit, with Trump announcing they had been taken to the USS Iwo Jima before being transported to New York City.

Throughout the night, aircraft launched from 20 bases across the Western Hemisphere toward Venezuela. Gen. Caine said the mission - officially dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve - involved more than 50 aircraft.

'As the night began, the helicopters took off with the extraction force, which included law enforcement officers, and began their flight into Venezuela at 100 feet above the water,' Caine said during a Saturday press conference.

American helicopters, shielded by drones, bombers and fighter jets, approached the shore as the US dismantled and disabled Venezuela's air defenses and deployed weapons.

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The unprecedented military operation sent explosions ripping across Venezuela's capital of Caracas overnight

Overnight, Trump posted on Truth Social that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in their beds

Aircraft launched from 20 bases across the Western Hemisphere toward Venezuela. The mission - officially dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve - involved more than 50 aircraft

'As the force crossed the last point of high terrain where they'd been hiding in the clutter, we assessed that we had maintained totally the element of surprise,' Caine added.

US forces and the FBI entered the compound, where, according to CBS, Maduro and his wife 'gave up' and were taken into custody.

'He was trying to get into a safe place,' Mr. Trump told reporters early Saturday. 'The safe place is all steel, and he wasn't able to make it to the door because our guys were so fast.'

Later on Saturday, Maduro and his wife arrived at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, where he is set to face drug and weapons charges in Manhattan federal court next week.

Around 30 minutes after cops boarded the plane, several figures including Maduro were seen slowly disembarking the aircraft flanked by a group of officials.

The captured Venezuelan leader appeared in handcuffs, wearing the same outfit seen earlier today in a photograph taken aboard the US jet.

A federal grand jury indicted Maduro on charges accusing him of plotting to smuggle 'thousands of tons' of cocaine into the US for the benefit of himself, his family and top members of the Venezuelan government.

Maduro and 14 others were first indicted in March 2020 in the Southern District of New York during Trump's first administration.

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Maduro and his wife arrived at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, where he is set to face drug and weapons charges in Manhattan federal court next week

A federal grand jury indicted Maduro on charges accusing him of plotting to smuggle 'thousands of tons' of cocaine into the US for the benefit of himself, his family and top members of the Venezuelan government

Trump announced that the US will take control of Venezuela, with Rubio and Hegseth working as a 'team' alongside the 'people of Venezuela'

The indictment, unsealed on Saturday, named both Maduro and his wife as defendants, along with his son, the current and former interior ministers and the leader of the gang Tren de Aragua.

It alleges that for more than 25 years, 'leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States,' as reported by CBS News.

Prosecutors called Maduro the 'forefront of the corruption,' alleging that he and his associates collaborated with drug traffickers and narco-terrorists to flood the US with drugs.

At a press conference this morning in Florida, joined at the podium by Hegseth and Rubio, Trump spoke for an hour about the strike.

He announced that the US will take control of Venezuela, with Rubio and Hegseth working as a 'team' alongside the 'people of Venezuela.'

Trump said he wasn't opposed to 'boots on the ground,' but did not confirm whether US forces would remain in Venezuela or how the country would function without Maduro in custody.

However, he declared that opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado will not replace Maduro and that his administration has not been in contact with her.

Rubio also defended the administration's decision to bypass Congressional approval before the raid.

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Top Venezuelan officials condemned the military operation and threatened to resist US involvement - a direct challenge to Trump, who declared the US will 'run' Venezuela and take over its oil reserves

Maduro's chosen vice president, Delcy Rodriguez (pictured), whom Trump said assumed the presidency Saturday, condemned Maduro's capture as 'barbaric,' 'an illegal and illegitimate kidnapping'

Prosecutors called Maduro the 'forefront of the corruption,' alleging that he and his associates collaborated with drug traffickers and narco-terrorists to flood the US with drugs

Hours after Maduro's capture, top Venezuelan officials condemned the military operation and threatened to resist US involvement - a direct challenge to Trump, who declared the US will 'run' Venezuela and take over its oil reserves.

Maduro's chosen vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, whom Trump said assumed the presidency Saturday, condemned Maduro's capture as 'barbaric,' 'an illegal and illegitimate kidnapping,' and an assault on Venezuela's sovereignty, according to CBS.

Rodriguez called for the 'immediate release' of Maduro and his wife, insisting he is 'the only president of Venezuela.'

Just hours earlier, Trump said he believed Rodriguez was 'essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.'

Maduro faces four charges: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices.
Shocking footage has emerged of an Asian woman copping racial abuse during a heated confrontation with kayakers while holidaying in NSW's Hunter Valley.

The horrific incident unfolded at Lake St Clair at around 4.30pm on December 30.

A NSW Police spokesman told Daily Mail officers were called after a group of women - aged 21, 18, 43, and 47 - had physically assaulted each other.

The Asian woman who copped the disturbing comments had been wearing cosplay ears and a tail, and identifies as a Therian - a member of a community of people who identify as non-human animals, either spiritually or psychologically.

Unlike Furries, who are primarily interested in fictional animal characters with human traits and often dress up as animals for creativity, fandom, and social expression, Therians see their animal identity as an integral part of their personal self-identity.

The Asian woman believes the outfit attracted the unwanted attention and she filmed the altercation unfold, with footage showing a man and a woman paddling close to her while she was on the bank of the lake.

'I'm gonna come over there and f***ing beat you,' one woman shouted.

'What do you want? I didn't do anything. I'm just standing here,' the Asian woman responded.

An Asian woman has shared a video of a group of women racially abusing her

She repeatedly asked why the woman was shouting at her.

'F*** off to your own country mate,' the woman told her.

The Asian woman replied it is 'Aboriginal land' and asked where they wanted her to 'go back home to'.

'You have no right to tell me where I should go,' she said.

A man witnessing the drama also paddled over while the other woman continued to hurl abuse.

'F*** off you Asian c***,' the woman said.

The video has drawn outrage, with Aussies slamming the kayakers.

'Australia is such a racist country. This is not okay,' one said.

Lake St Clair (pictured) in the Hunter Valley is popular for recreational activities during summer

'Australia is extremely racist. It always has been and it's only getting worse,' another commented.

'Everything that's been happening recently just proves how comfortably racist people in this country are. We have a long way to go,' another said.

'As an Aussie, you have every right to be here. It's absolutely disgusting how some people behave. Do not let this rest until they are brought to justice'.

A NSW Police spokesman said 'police are investigating the incident'.
U.S. strikes on Venezuela draw condemnation, concern

Xinhua) 08:17, January 04, 2026

BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. strikes on Venezuela and its capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on Saturday have drawn worldwide condemnation and concern.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has struck Venezuela and captured Maduro, who was flown out of the country along with his wife.

Shortly after the strike started, the Venezuelan government denounced the "military aggression" by the United States, adding that the strike targeted civilian and military sites in at least four states of the country.

Following Trump's announcement, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on state TV that the government does not know the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife, adding, "We demand proof of life."

She said that officials, servicemen and civilians were killed in the U.S. strikes throughout the country.

The Permanent Mission of Venezuela to the United Nations on Saturday sent a letter to Abukar Dahir Osman, president of the Security Council for January and permanent representative of Somalia to the United Nations, condemning the U.S. "brutal, unjustified and unilateral" armed attacks against the South American nation.

The permanent mission also put forward four demands, including holding an urgent meeting of the Security Council to discuss the U.S. aggression, strongly condemning the armed aggression of the United States against the Venezuelan people and government, demanding that the U.S. military immediately stop armed attacks against Venezuela, and taking necessary measures to hold the U.S. government accountable for its crime of aggression.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply alarmed by the U.S. military actions, his spokesperson said in a statement.

"The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respect -- by all -- of international law, including the UN Charter. He's deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected," said the statement issued by spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the United States' blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Saturday.

Such hegemonic acts of the United States seriously violate international law and Venezuela's sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region, the spokesperson said, adding that China firmly opposes it.

"We call on the U.S. to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries' sovereignty and security," said the spokesperson.

This photo taken on Nov. 11, 2025 shows the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, Russia. (Xinhua/Hao Jianwei)

The Russian Foreign Ministry called for immediate clarification of the situation around Maduro and his wife after the U.S. aggression against Venezuela.

Russia is "extremely alarmed" by reports of Maduro and his wife's forcible removal from Venezuela during the U.S. action, the ministry said in a statement.

"We call for immediate clarification of this situation. Such actions, if they actually occurred, constitute an unacceptable infringement on the sovereignty of an independent state, respect for which is a key principle of international law," the ministry added.

The ministry also said that the United States committed "an act of armed aggression" against Venezuela, which causes deep concern and condemnation.

It said the pretexts cited to justify the actions were untenable, adding that ideologized hostility had prevailed over practical pragmatism and a willingness to build relations based on trust and predictability.

The ministry noted that Latin America must remain a zone of peace, and Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive and military interference from outside.

Condemning the U.S. strikes on Venezuela and its kidnapping of Maduro, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that such actions blatantly violated international law, and gravely infringed upon the sovereignty of Venezuela, leading to power politics rather than multilateralism and resulting in violence, chaos and turmoil.

He urged the international community to react in a strong manner through the United Nations.

South Africa urged a UN Security Council session following the U.S. military actions, which South Africa deemed as a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations, which mandates that all member states refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas on Saturday said on social media that the EU is closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela.

"Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected," she said.

On Saturday, the German government's crisis team convened to discuss the situation in Venezuela.

The foreign office said in a statement that they are monitoring the situation in Venezuela very closely and following the latest reports with the greatest concern.

Portugal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Portugal calls for a reduction of tensions, respect for international law and the Charter of the United Nations, as well as the promotion of public security and calm.

A government source also told Lusa News Agency on Saturday that Portugal is monitoring the situation in Venezuela. The source described the matter as a "very serious military aggression."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
They stood arm in arm, hoping to take some strength from their comrades, but the tears flowed nonetheless.

Firefighters who braved the inferno at Le Constellation bar in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana were spontaneously applauded by locals yesterday as they laid a wreath for the victims.

In a poignant ceremony, the group of around a dozen male and female 'pompiers', several weeping, paid their respects to those they couldn't save, but the warmth of the greeting from bystanders was a grateful acknowledgement that they were able to rescue so many more.

One can only imagine the horrific scenes these first responders faced as they descended into the flames of the bar and brought young people with horrific burns out into the sub-zero temperatures of an Alpine night.

After one of their number laid a wreath, the firefighters gathered in a circle and said a quiet prayer.

In the hours and days since the tragedy, the tiny candles surrounded by flowers on the makeshift shrines near Le Constellation cast almost as much light as the Christmas decorations still bedecking the resort.

For days, loved ones and friends have congregated near the scene of the fire, showing photographs of the missing, hoping for news.

Despite a criminal investigation into the deaths being launched, Saturday was a time for reflection, and a sombre mood prevailed over the small wreath-laying ceremony, which was also attended by local dignitaries and Swiss justice minister Beat Jans.

A firefighter pays tribute to the victims of the deadly fire at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland

Firefighters who fought to save people from the blaze stand in silence outside the ski resort

Asked if the tragedy could have been avoided, Mr Jans said: 'This is a question that we cannot answer at the moment.

'The investigation is going on. We will clarify the responsibilities when we have the evidence. We know the world needs answers.'

He added: 'Switzerland is deeply saddened. Switzerland will always remember the victims. May they rest in peace.

'As a father of two daughters I can only imagine the immeasurable suffering they are going through. Our thoughts are with them, with the injured, their families and friends.

'We wish you sincerely strength during this dark time.'

As the grim work of the forensic teams trying to identify charred bodies continued, many of the parents of the missing young people have had to come to terms with the fact their children are lost.

One such was Andrea Costanzo, father of 16-year-old Chiara, who admitted that he now accepted his daughter was dead.

He said that his family's hopes were dashed on Friday morning, when they were informed that the only injured Italians still lying unidentified in hospital were all male.

Swiss justice minister Beat Jans (second from the right) looks at the tributes to the victims

Mourners hug alongside floral tributes to the victims of the fire near the bar in Crans-Montana

A handmade sign reads: 'Compassion for the victims and their families, Rest in Peace, You are all our children'

'By elimination, we are certain that Chiara is on another list, that of the victims. My beloved Chiara is no more,' he added.

He described his daughter in heartfelt terms, but, for the first time, in the past tense: 'She was only 16. She was an intelligent, cheerful, and empathetic girl. She loved simple fun and was excellent at school and dance. It will take several days for the official confirmation, due to the thorough DNA tests.'

He told the La Repubblica newspaper the family had been coming to Crans-Montana for years since his father bought a house there.

He recalled: 'We've always come to town, and our children have cultivated their friendships since they were little.

'This year, Chiara didn't even want to come: she was planning on celebrating New Year's Eve with a friend somewhere else, but there wasn't room.'

Now he struggles with the guilt common to those in such tragedies, adding: 'The night of the fire, I didn't find her.

'I drove up to the shop but couldn't find her. I should have gone inside to look for her, but the firefighters wouldn't let me in. I really wanted to...'

Chiara Costanzo (pictured) was named in the Italian press as a victim of the blaze on Saturday

As Mr Costanzo recalled his daughter in tender terms, his country's deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, 52, leader of the Right-wing populist Lega party, was more strident, demanding harsh consequences for those responsible for the tragedy.

In a lengthy social media post, he said: 'In civilized Switzerland, prison doors will have to open for many people.'

He added: 'The only ones responsible, the only ones with a dirty conscience, the only criminals are those who failed to ensure safety in this basement, those who failed to monitor, those who granted permits, those who, out of greed, crammed hundreds of young people into a basement  with open fires and failing emergency systems.'
For two decades ousted Venezuela leader Nicolas Maduro and Cilia Flores presented themselves as a formidable political power couple too focused on their revolutionary ideals to bother tying the knot.

Many in the socialist state's leftist elite consider marriage to be a 'bourgeois' distraction. So it came as a surprise in 2013 when the dictator announced that he and Flores had secretly formalized their union at a 'small family event' after more than 20 years together.

But far from being a romantic gesture, the wedding was another calculated political move designed to give Flores a position much greater than simply that of a wife.

The shock nuptials came shortly after Maduro was elected to power and meant that Flores would be officially elevated to the status of Venezuela's First Lady, or 'first combatant' as she was lovingly christened by her new husband. The description was apt as Flores quickly used her new position and influence to aggressively assert her power.

Venezuela's Chavismo movement has always been infamously incestuous, but even by the standards of the United Socialist Party the favors bestowed on Flores's relatives appear excessively nepotistic. She installed as many as 40 of her relatives across Venezuela's public administration, according to the newspaper El Diario.

Even before her marriage she capitalized on the connections she made while serving as attorney general to Venezuela's former dictator Hugo Chavez. Her family's ties were so well known that they became a national running joke among the opposition, Reuters reported.

One former government researcher described her as a 'secretive, conniving and ruthless political operative' and 'Maduro's chief adviser in all political and legal matters'.

But all their planning could not have prepared them for the situation they found themselves in on Saturday, seized from their beds as they slept and hauled to the US to face narcoterrorism charges.

For two decades, Nicolas Maduro's wife Cilia Flores quietly built her own empire of influence that at times, rivaled even her husband

The pair met the same fate Saturday - captured from their beds in the dead of night during a US military operation and flown to New York City to face federal charges

In 2013, 20 years after initially meeting Maduro, Flores was crowned Venezuela's 'first combatant' in their civil marriage - shattering the Western idea of a mere 'first lady'

Flores' situation is a far cry from the power and privilege she was formally elevated to in 2013.

'Cilia will not be the first lady because that is a concept of high society,' Maduro said at the time of their secret wedding, warning that she would never be a 'second-rate' woman.

He rejected the 'first lady' label, presenting her as a political partner valued for revolutionary credibility, not ceremonial appearances in keeping with his socialist vision.

The marriage thrust Flores onto the international stage and in 2018 she was personally targeted by US sanctions in an attempt to weaken Maduro.

'If you want to attack me, attack me, but don't mess with Cilia, don't mess with the family, don't be cowards,' Maduro said in response.

Over the years, however, Flores has shown she is capable of fighting her own battles and she achieved prominence among Venezuela's socialist circles before meeting her husband.

She is said to have come from humble beginnings in Tinaquillo, in 'a ranch with a dirt floor,' before moving to Caracas and obtaining a law degree which put her on the path of success.

In the 1990s, Flores served as attorney for then-Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chavez during his failed 1992 coup attempt - a bold move to overthrow the government that ultimately set him on the path to the presidency in 1998.

Join the debate How do you think nepotism and secret power plays have shaped Venezuelas political crisis?

Nicolas Maduro once posted a picture of her wife in what he described as her 'rebellious student' days

Flores put relatives in key positions across Venezuela's public administration, while two of her nephews were later indicted on US drug-trafficking charges

Maduro rejected the 'first lady' label and presented Flores as a political partner valued for revolutionary credibility. The couple are pictured here at their civil marriage ceremony in 2013

It was during this time that the rising political powerhouse met Maduro, who occasionally accompanied Chavez to public events as a security guard.

'She was the lawyer for several imprisoned patriotic military officers. But she was also the lawyer for Commander Chavez, and well, being Commander Chavez's lawyer in prison tough,' Maduro once said, according to the outlet.

'I met her during those years of struggle, and then, well, she started winking at me,' he added. 'Making eyes at me.'

Despite the spark, the pair remained separate. A year after defending Chavez, Flores founded the Bolivarian Circle of Human Rights and joined the Bolivarian Movement MBR-200, the group Chavez himself had created.

As Chavez rose to power after the 1998, Flores was elected to the National Assembly in 2000 and again in 2005, cementing her role in his political movement.

Her rise was historic and in 2006, she became the first woman to preside over Venezuela's National Assembly.

For six years, Chavez loyalists dominated the legislature as the opposition boycotted elections, all while Flores held onto her top government position.

Her leadership drew criticism, however, especially for keeping journalists out of the legislature and limiting both transparency and public oversight.

Flores grew up with humble beginnings in Tinaquillo, in 'a ranch with a dirt floor,' but a move to Caracas and a law degree put her on the path of success

In the 1990s, Flores served as attorney for then-Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chavez during his failed 1992 coup attempt and met Maduro around the same time

In 2006, Flores became the first woman to preside over Venezuela's National Assembly. She drew criticism for banning journalists from the legislature

The era of Chavez-backed press restrictions ended in 2016, as opposition forces gained control of the legislature and ended years of one-party rule.

But Flores found herself under fire again as labor unions alleged she had placed up to 40 people in government posts - many her own family - in a blatant show of nepotism.

'She had her whole family working in the assembly,' Pastora Medina, a legislator during Flores' presidency of Congress who filed multiple complaints against her for protocol violations, told Reuters in 2015.

'Her family members hadn't completed the required exams but they got jobs anyway: cousins, nephews, brothers,' she added.

Responding to the accusations during an interview with a local media outlet, Flores said: 'My family came here and I am proud that they are my family. I will defend them in this National Assembly as workers and I will defend public competitions.'

In early 2012, Chavez elevated Flores to a top role in his regime - Attorney General of the Republic - a position she held until his death in March 2013.

It was early that same year that Maduro assumed the presidency, and just three months later, Flores became Venezuela's official 'first combatant'.

Labor unions alleged that Flores had placed up to 40 people in government posts - many her own family - in a blatant show of nepotism during her leadership

The pair's secret marriage formalized a long-shared life, during which they raised four children together - three hers, one his - from previous relationships

By 2015, Flores' television career launched when she debuted a show on a public Venezuelan network called With Cilia, as a family

In 2015, Flores launched a television career on a public Venezuelan network in a program called With Cilia, before taking to broadcasting state-run radio the following year.

In the years since her husband took office Venezuela has slid deeper into authoritarianism, with his government increasingly relying on brute force to maintain control.

His regime has been blamed for dozens of killings, thousands of unlawful detentions, mass displacement and crippling food shortages which have been worsened by his refusal to accept humanitarian aid.

Meanwhile, Flores and Maduro have projected a public image of marital harmony over the years, holding hands, trading loving looks and using pet names.

But their have been cracks in the facade over the years. In November 2015 a New York prosecutor charged two of her nephews - Efrain Antonio Campo Flores and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas - with cocaine drug trafficking.

Their arrests sparked jabs from the opposition, who joked, 'Not all her family can work in the legislature'.

Her nephews were arrested in Haiti and handed over to US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, with Flores claiming the arrests were a 'kidnapping' aimed at sabotaging her National Assembly candidacy.

But in December 2017, a judge handed the two young men 18-year prison sentences.

In November 2015, a New York prosecutor charged two of Flores' nephews - Efrain Antonio Campo Flores and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas - with cocaine drug trafficking

Since taking power, Maduro has dragged Venezuela deeper into authoritarianism, all while he and Flores consistently projected a picture of marital bliss

Trump sanctioned Flores two nephews in December - a move that now seems insignificant as both Flores and her husband sit detained in a Manhattan cell

Prosecutors said the two men planned to use Caracas presidential hangar at Maiquetia airport to ship 800 kilograms of cocaine to Honduras, where it would then reach the US.

The pair walked free in October 2022 after Former President Joe Biden issued pardons as part of a high-stakes deal that secured the release of seven Americans detained in Venezuela.

Trump sanctioned Flores two nephews upon his return to the White House, a move that now seems insignificant as both Flores and her husband sit detained in a Manhattan cell.
Opponents of a new Chinese mega-embassy in London, which experts say poses a threat to national security, are crowdfunding to pay for legal action to scupper it.

Plans for the site by the Tower of London were blocked by the last Tory government on security grounds.

But they look set to be allowed by Labour, which wants closer ties with Beijing.

More than 100 families living near the development on the site of the old Royal Mint are now asking for donations to pay for a judicial review.

Mark Nygate, organiser of the campaign, which had raised 29,000 last night, said: Every donation brings us closer to stopping this.

The Government has admitted it still hasnt seen the full plans.

Luke de Pulford, of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance On China, said: The job of defending UK interests has been left to a group of residents.

If the development is given the go-ahead the Chinese embassy at the site of the old Royal Mint (above) would become the largest in Europe

Opponents of a new Chinese mega-embassy in London are crowdfunding to pay for legal action to scupper it (Pictured: Protesters on December 6, 2025)

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The development, on the site of a former Barclays trading floor, would have accommodation for more than 200 diplomats and intelligence officers, making it the largest embassy in Europe.

A nearby tunnel has carried fibre optic cables under the Thames since 1985.

The Bank of England has also highlighted the risks of allowing the embassy to be built close to sensitive financial centres.
Aussies are demanding Anthony Albanese clarify his stance after the Prime Minister announced he is 'monitoring developments' after the US bombed Venezuela.

'We urge all parties to support dialogue and diplomacy in order to secure regional stability and prevent escalation,' he wrote on X on Sunday.

'Australia has long held concerns about the situation in Venezuela, including the need to respect democratic principles, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

'We continue to support international law and a peaceful, democratic transition in Venezuela that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people.

'Australians in Venezuela who need assistance can contact the 24/7 emergency consular assistance team at +61 2 6261 3305 from anywhere in the world or 1300 555 135 from within Australia.'

US President Donald Trump said the United States will govern Venezuela indefinitely after sending in special forces to snatch the country's president as he slept.

News of the attack prompted social activist groups in Australia to plan 'emergency' protests against US intervention with rallies to be held in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra at 4pm on Sunday and Perth at 5.30pm on Monday.

Australians have criticised Albanese, with many taking issue with his statement and demanding he reveal his real stance on US intervention.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced the federal government is 'monitoring developments' after the US bombed Venezuela

News of the attack has already prompted social activist groups in Australia to plan 'emergency' protests against US intervention with rallies to be held in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra at 4pm on Sunday and Perth at 5.30pm on Monday

Trump said he had not briefed Congress of his plans to snatch Maduro, claiming that had he done so, the news would have 'leaked' and potentially helped the Venezuelan leader to evade capture (pictured, explosion in Caracas)

'Monitoring for what?' one wrote.

'Said nothing. Do you support the actions or not?' a second wrote.

In Sydney, protests have been banned for 14 days in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack, with NSW Police warning against demonstrations.

'Any assembly planned in support of Venezuela is not authorised and without this authorisation the event is not legally protected as an authorised assembly,' a spokesman said.

Addressing journalists hours after the shocking capture of Nicolas Maduro and wife Cilia in Caracas, Trump said: 'We're going to run the country until as such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.

'We don't want to be involved with having somebody else get in, and we have the same situation as we had for the last long number of years.

'So we are going to run the country until we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.'

Trump offered little further detail on the logistics of running Venezuela, which has a population of 30 million, but suggested the country's vast oil reserves would be used to fund its revival.

Addressing journalists hours after the shocking capture of Nicolas Maduro (pictured) and wife Cilia in Caracas on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said: 'We're going to run the country until as such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition

Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago country club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump alleged that Maduro is the leader of the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) drug trafficking operation.

The president has accused Maduro and his alleged cartel cronies of flooding the United States with illegal narcotics and has charged him with drug smuggling and weapons offences.

After his capture by the US Army's elite Delta Force unit, Maduro was flown by helicopter to the USS Iwo Jima warship.

He will be taken to New York City to face charges at Manhattan Federal Court and will likely be held at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, which currently houses alleged CEO murderer Luigi Mangione.

Trump said he had not briefed Congress of his plans to snatch Maduro, claiming that had he done so, the news would have 'leaked' and potentially helped the Venezuelan leader to evade capture.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has been tipped as the country's next president, but Trump made no mention of her on Saturday.

She previously voiced support for Trump's threats to get rid of Maduro and is hugely popular among the Venezuelan electorate.

Maduro's capture sparked jubilation from Venezuelan migrants living outside of their home nation Saturday.

Hundreds took to the streets of cities, including Santiago in Chile, to celebrate the ouster of a leader seen as a corrupt authoritarian accused of destroying the economy of his oil-rich country while silencing dissent.

The atmosphere appeared altogether more muted in Caracas.
A mother and a passerby died trying to rescue a teenage girl who was swept away by stormy seas while watching waves crash onto a beach.

Two bodies were pulled from the freezing water at Withernsea, Yorkshire, after Friday's tragedy. Searches for the girl continued yesterday but were called off.

Witnesses said the girl, aged about 15, was caught by a massive wave on steps near the seaside resort's Pier Towers before being overwhelmed by rough seas.

It is believed her mother and uncle jumped into the sea to try to reach her before getting into difficulty themselves. The uncle is believed to have survived.

But a 67yearold Good Samaritan who joined the rescue bid was swept away.

He was recovered from the water unconscious shortly before 10pm and died soon after, Humberside Police said.

Cafe owner Paul Whitehead, 60, told how his staff had tried to help by throwing a life ring to the girl.

The area had been cordoned off while emergency services launched their search operation

Emergency services were called to Withernsea following a 'number of people in difficulty in the water' on Friday afternoon

The HM Coastguard helicopter hovers above the sea as part of the rescue operation. It called off the search for a third missing person on Saturday afternoon

HM Coastguard, Yorkshire Ambulance Service, Humberside Police, and Humberside Fire and Rescue all scrambled crews to Withernsea at around 3.15pm on Friday to try and rescue those in the freezing sea

Mr Whitehead said: 'This was a tragic accident. The girl was enjoying the spectacle of the waves, but the sea was so rough she got swept away by the force of the water.

'One of my staff tried to help her with a life ring. The girl grabbed the ring, but the sea was so rough she couldn't hold on.'

Humberside Police confirmed that two bodies were pulled from the water. They called off their search for the girl last night after being hampered by blizzards and subzero temperatures.

The tragedy came hours after a 51yearold from Kettering died after getting into difficulty in the sea at Brighton on New Year's Day.

Meanwhile, motorists were being urged to plan ahead as snow and ice brought disruption to roads and rail services across the country.

The Met Office warned that snow could see some rural communities cut off, and there was a risk of power cuts.

Much of Wales was facing a yellow ice warning, while both the South West and the east coast of England were due to see heavy snow showers in the coming days.

Humberside Police confirmed that two bodies were pulled from the water

A person walks down the snow covered sea front in Scarborough in Yorkshire

A man clears snow from his car in Lythe, North Yorkshire, amid freezing conditions

A mother and her daugther went sledging in Whitby, Yorkshire, after the snowfall

People enjoying the snow near Hannahstown, Co Antrim

Arctic air has plunged much of the UK into subzero temperatures.

The Met Office predicted overnight temperatures in London tomorrow could plunge to 5C.

Met Office chief meteorologist Rebekah Hicks said: 'Arctic air and brisk northerly winds are gripping the UK as we start the new year.

'Bitterly cold conditions will persist through the weekend and into next week, with daytime temperatures struggling to rise above freezing for some, and overnight lows dipping to minus double figures in places.'
A total of 105 independent schools have closed due to Labour's controversial VAT raid on fees, affecting 25,000 children.

The grim tally was revealed by independent schools' leader Julie Robinson on the first anniversary of the policy being introduced on January 1 last year.

Ms Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council, warned of a bleak picture in 2026 as Labour pushes on with what has been called 'an ideological class war' against private education.

Ms Robinson told The Mail on Sunday: 'We are likely to see further closures over the coming months and years as the effects of VAT and other tax measures mount up.

'While there is a combination of factors contributing to school closures, we know that there are some for whom the Government's decision to tax education is a bridge too far.'

She said the total of 105 schools included 15 which had been merged with others.

Even some of the most famous schools in the country have been hit by financial worries.

Marlborough College, the alma mater of the Princess of Wales, has been forced to turn off the heating during the holidays to save money, according to one staff member who wished to remain anonymous.

Marlborough College (pictured) has been forced to turn off the heating during the holidays to save money, according to one staff member who wished to remain anonymous

The Wiltshire school is the alma mater of the Princess of Wales (right) and her sister Pippa Middleton (left)

The Wiltshire school, also mooted as a possible destination for Prince George, charges up to 61,800 a year. But it has already closed its annual summer school after 50 years, citing financial pressures including VAT on fees.

The figures make a mockery of Labour's initial forecasts that they did not expect any schools to close. It was only in March last year, after a dozen schools had shut, that a Minister admitted the policy would have casualties.

Treasury Minister Torsten Bell then suggested 100 schools 'could close over three years'.

The government originally estimated as few as 3 per cent of private school pupils would leave the sector in total  18,000 pupils.

And while many schools in the North and the Midlands have been forced to shut their doors, 19  nearly one in five  of the closures have come in London and the surrounding area.

Park Hill School in Kingston and Falcons School in Putney both said Labour's introduction of VAT on fees meant they no longer had the means to stay open.

The Old Palace of John Whitgift School in Croydon, South London, Ursuline Prep in Ilford, East London, and London Acorn in Morden, South West London closed last year too. More recent casualties include The Cedars School in Croydon, an all-boys senior school, which shut in September and Oak Heights, a co-ed senior school in Hounslow, West London, which closed in October.

Other high-profile closures include Queen Margaret's School for Girls in York last summer. Governors at the prestigious school, founded in 1901, said they had been 'unable to withstand mounting financial pressures'.

Treasury Minister Torsten Bell (pictured) suggested 100 schools 'could close over three years'.

Queen Margaret's School for Girls, founded in 1901, closed its doors last year as it was 'unable to withstand mounting financial pressures'

Other closures have included Carrdus School in Banbury, owned by leading girls' school Tudor Hall, and Maidwell Hall in Northamptonshire, whose alumni include Earl Spencer.

In December, The Meadows Montessori in Ipswich, a school for three to 16-year-olds, shut, with its head Sam Sims blaming 'financial pressures' including 'targeted measures towards independent schools' such as VAT on school fees.

A government spokesman said: 'This manufactured crisis of pupils leaving the private sector and putting pressure on the state system has failed to materialise.

'Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise 1.8 billion a year by 2029/30 to help fund public services, including supporting the 94 per cent of children in state schools, to help ensure excellence everywhere for every child.'
Dramatic images have laid bare the devastation of US strikes carried out on Venezuela as part of the overnight operation to seize dictator Nicolas Maduro.

Aerial photographs show how several buildings were wiped out in a single strike, leaving behind charred tracts of land and smoke billowing overhead.

The strikes targeted Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex in Caracas.

It comes as an unnamed top Venezuelan official's claim that at least 40 people were believed to have been killed in the strikes, according to the New York Times. The source said this including both military personnel and civilians.

Trump said the 'large scale strike' was conducted in order to seize Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who are now being held in custody in New York City on drug trafficking charges.

Maduro and Flores are being held in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, which is famous for its squalid conditions and has also housed Luigi Mangione and Sean 'Diddy' Combs.

Trump said the United States would govern Venezuela indefinitely in the meantime, after dismissing the prospect of the country's popular opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, taking the reins, claiming she 'does not have the support'.

 Slide me  Dramatic images have laid bare the devastation of US strikes on Venezuela carried out by troops as part of the overnight operation to seize Maduro. The above images show Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, in Caracas, before and after the strikes

 Slide me  The aerial photographs, like those shown above, illustrate where several buildings were wiped out in a single strike, alongside charred tracts of land surrounding the compounds

 Slide me  Trump's strikes targeted Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, in Caracas

 Slide me  Some 40 people are believed to have been killed in the strikes, including civilians
Labour must guarantee Shamima Begum is never allowed to return to the UK after European judges came to the ISIS bride's defence, the Tories have warned.

British-born Begum was 15 when she and two friends travelled from Bethnal Green, east London, to the Middle East to join the Islamic State terrorist organisation in 2015.

Begum, who married an ISIS fighter and had children, was found in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019 and her citizenship was immediately revoked by then-home secretary Sajid Javid on national security grounds, kickstarting her lengthy legal challenge.

But the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) this week formally asked the Home Office whether it broke human rights and anti-trafficking laws  after Begum was stripped of her UK citizenship.

The latest intervention has sparked a major backlash, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood vowing to defend the Government's decision at the time.

Conservative MP and Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said he will ask Ms Mahmood for guarantees in the House of Commons that Begum will not be allowed back.

He also urged Ms Mahmood to fight the case 'tooth and nail'.

Mr Philp called ISIS a 'violent terrorist regime who brutally murdered their opponents and raped thousands of women and girls.

Tory MP Chris Philp has urged Labour to guarantee Shamima Begum is never allowed to return to the UK

Shamima Begum, who lived in Bethnal Green, was found in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019

Begum is still living at the al-Roj camp in Hasakah province in northern Syria (pictured in 2021)

'People who support that kind of organisation are not welcome in the UK,' he told The Sun.

Mr Philp's remarks on Begum come after the ISIS bride was given fresh hope this week in her bid to return to Britain after European judges told the UK to justify its stance to strip her of her UK citizenship.

The Home Office said Begum's citizenship was revoked because 'the Government will always protect the UK and its citizens'.

It added: 'We will robustly defend any decision made to protect our national security.'

Begum, who is now 26, lost an appeal in February 2023 against the decision to revoke her citizenship after the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) ruled this was lawful.

Begum then lost a Court of Appeal bid in February 2024, before she was most recently denied the chance to challenge it at the Supreme Court in August 2024.

However, Begum's lawyers warned at the time that they could still take her case to the European Court of Human Rights - which they later did.

Mr Philp also tweeted earlier this week that 'Begum chose to go and support the violent Islamist extremists of Daesh, who murdered opponents, raped thousands of women and girls and threw people off buildings for being gay.

'She has no place in the UK and our own Supreme Court found that depriving her of citizenship was lawful. It is deeply concerning the European Court of Human Rights is now looking at using the ECHR to make the UK take her back.

Shamima Begum had her British citizenship revoked in 2019 and cannot return to the UK

Join the debate Should someone who joined a terrorist group ever be allowed to regain citizenship and return home?

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick also said: 'Shamima Begum should never step foot on British soil again. We can't let a foreign court meddle in our national security.'

Former security minister Sir Ben Wallace, who was involved in the Home Office citizenship deprivation case, told the Express: 'She went of her own free will to support a cause that doesn't believe in any Western court.

'She wasn't a victim. She knowingly and freely joined ISIS and assisted them in the prosecution of their murderous campaign. She deserved to lose her citizenship.

'The cheek of her going through a court system that she and the other terrorists would fundamentally want to destroy isn't lost on anybody. She wanted to go there. She can stay there.'

Begum is still living at the al-Roj camp in northern Syria as her representatives at London-based Birnberg Peirce Solicitors continue to fight her case.

The Home Office has now been told by the European court to answer four questions about her citizenship.

One asks: 'Has there been a violation of the applicant's rights under Article 4 of the Convention by virtue of the decision to deprive her of her citizenship?'

Another says: 'For the purposes of the Article 4 complaints made in the application, was the applicant at all material times within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention?'

Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights relates to 'protection of property', while Article 4 relates to 'freedom from slavery and forced labour'.

A further question asks: 'Did the Secretary of State for the Home Department's decision to deprive the applicant of her citizenship engage her rights under Article 4 of the Convention?'.
Almost 100 children were harmed by a rogue surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital through botched surgeries on their legs, a report has found.

Children suffered chronic pain, deformities, permanent nerve damage and even an amputation after being operated on by disgraced NHS surgeon Yasser Jabbar, 43.

Other patients have been left with drop foot - a debilitating condition where the foot cannot be pulled up and the sufferer must bring their leg up high when walking to avoid tripping over.

Some found themselves living with legs of different lengths by up to 20cm after going under Jabbar's knife.

Great Ormond Street (GOSH) ordered a review by independent experts into the care of 721 patients who passed through Jabbar at the hospital.

A further 68 cases were later uncovered, bringing the total to 789, and the review has now completed.

Full findings are expected to be presented to the hospital's trust board on January 29, more than two years after the surgeon was first suspended, but some information has been released ahead of this.

Jabbar harmed between 85 and 100 children, the trust confirmed.

Yaser Jabbar, 43, treated 721 children at London 's Great Ormond Street Hospital, leaving some with serious injuries, different leg lengths and even requiring amputation

Pictured is the teenage boy after he had his leg amputated below the knee

At least 32 of those suffered severe harm, meaning potentially lifelong deformities or chronic pain, 36 were left with moderate harm, and 18 cases were mild.

However, some families of the children who feature in the report have criticised it, and claimed that a 'cover-up culture' will obscure the truth.

Some accuse GOSH of 'failing their children', while others claimed the report - by external surgeons using patient notes - would leave more questions than answers.

One mother told the BBC last month: 'Mr Jabbar was known for not writing up records or keeping notes correctly, but these reviews have been based on hospital notes.

'My daughter's report doesn't reflect her journey at all.'

Jabbar stopped treating patients at the world-renowned hospital in 2022 after concerns were raised about his work.

He left the GOSH in 2023 after a report by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) found some surgeries had been 'inappropriate' and 'incorrect'.

Jabbar subsequently moved to Dubai, where he continued to operate and claimed to be one of the most sought-after doctors in his field.

Jabbar stopped treating patients at Great Ormond Street Hospital (pictured) in 2022 before leaving the hospital in 2023

Dean Stalham's daughter, Bunty, six, underwent a number of operations of a 15-month period which all failed, leaving her in agony and taking strong pain relief for months.

However, after the Daily Mail's revelations, he was ditched as a speaker by a major conference and removed from hospitals websites that had celebrated him.

Following the 2023 review, GOSH promised that each of Jabbar's patients would receive and independent report to conclude what level of harm they suffered at his hands.

In another blow to the trust's credibility, insiders have also claimed that fundamental cultural problems at the hospital have not changed.

A source told The Times: 'If this were to happen again, do I have confidence that anything would be done differently? Absolutely not.'

A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital said: 'We are deeply sorry to all the children, young people and their families who have been affected by the actions of a surgeon working at GOSH between 2017 and 2022.

'We have reviewed the care of every single child involved and our report will be shared with families this month before it is made public.'

Another parent unhappy with the outcome of the reports into their child's care was Dean Stalham, whose daughter Bunty was born with a rare bone disease which caused her left tibia to be bowed and short and with a genetic condition that causes tumors to grow on her nerves.

Over a 15-month period, Bunty underwent a number of operations which all failed, leaving her in agony and taking strong pain relief for months.

Bunty finally had a below-knee amputation in May 2020 despite undergoing all the surgeries carried out by Jabbar, which included bone grafting, limb lengthening of the tibia and the use of frames.

In Bunty's report, the physical impact on her was deemed 'moderate' - but her father told the BBC it was 'simply wrong'.

He said the report claimed she underwent six operations - but he said the figure was actually 10.

'Not a single one of Bunty's surgeries worked, and none of them were of any benefit to her whatsoever,' he told the BBC.

'When they were trying to lengthen her leg they ended up shortening it by about eight inches.'
The Tories will make a last-ditch effort to stop Labour's controversial Northern Ireland Troubles Bill that will 'kneecap' the SAS.

The law will end the immunity for former and serving members of the Armed Forces brought in by the Conservatives.

It will also resume the controversial inquests related to the conflict which have seen elderly veterans dragged through the courts.

Tory defence spokesman James Cartlidge is set to quiz ministers over the legislation when Parliament returns tomorrow.

He said the Bill will hamper British Special Forces' ability to defend the national interest around the world.

A Tory source said it will 'kneecap the SAS'.

Mr Cartlidge believes the prospect of being hauled before the courts means no one will want to sign up to the forces where they will be 'fighting with one hand behind their backs'.

The Troubles Bill has drawn a furious response from the public, with a major campaign launched to stop the law being introduced due to anger over the way former soldiers have been treated.

British Troops under fire during the Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1980s. New legislation being introduced by the Government will aim to create a new framework for addressing Troubles-related deaths

Tory defence spokesman James Cartlidge (pictured on November 5, 2025) is set to quiz ministers over the legislation when Parliament returns tomorrow

'I can't see how defence ministers who are veterans will continue to defend it,' one defence source said.

A group of former SAS troops have also threatened legal action over the Bill which they claim will 'wreck' the Armed Forces.

It comes as the Labour-appointed Troubles commissioner said the Government's plan to push ahead with investigations into decades-old incidents shows forces are being treated 'worse than terrorists'.

David Johnstone said the Bill was 'imbalanced' and was 'eating at the very fabric of the Armed Forces'.

In November, nine top generals wrote an open letter to Sir Keir Starmer attacking the proposals, explaining the damage that 'pernicious human rights laws' are having on the Armed Forces.
Ousted Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro appeared to throw a peace sign and a thumbs up as he was escorted into the hellish New York City prison where he will be held pending trial.

The former president was transported to the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention on Saturday, just hours after US officials seized him and his wife from their home in Venezuela's capital Caracas.

Maduro appeared relaxed despite the narcoterrorism charges which have been levelled at him by the Trump administration.

The former leader donned a hoodie as he was led handcuffed into the notorious detention center which has a reputation for squalid conditions and other high profile inmates.

Potential cellmates at the institution include accused assassin Luigi Mangione and Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell was previously held at the facility but has since been transferred to a more cushy prison.

US Army Delta Force soldiers snatched Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in the early hours of Saturday before extraditing them on drug trafficking charges.

They landed by helicopter in Manhattan on Saturday evening, after earlier making stops at airfields in upstate New York and Puerto Rico.

He was transported to a DEA office in downtown Manhattan for processing before transfer to the prison.

As US officials escorted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro out of a cavalcade of white vans, he flashed onlookers a thumbs up

Maduro appeared to be calm and in good spirits throughout the hectic day of his arrest

The president was booked in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where he will await his trial

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They arrived there Saturday via helicopter and motorcade before 9pm.

The high-profile center is known for 'inhumane' and 'barbaric' conditions, Axios reports.

Judges have previously condemned the federal prison and even commuted the sentences of inmates housed there due to the rough conditions.

CNN reported the Metropolitan Detention Center to be cold and riddled with rats.

Maduro will reportedly be held there as he awaits trial. His initial hearing could begin in the next 36 hours.

Earlier in the evening, Maduro was taken to be booked at the US Drug Enforcement Office, where he was expected to be fingerprinted.

In footage of the president being escorted through the offices, he appeared relaxed as officers on either side walked him down a hallway.

Maduro even wished law enforcement 'Happy New Year' as he passed.

His arrest came after US forces struck Caracas amid accusations from Trump that Venezuela has been flooding the US with drugs and gang members.

In earlier footage at the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Maduro wished officers a 'Happy New Year' as he shuffled down the hallway

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Maduro was seized following a raid on his compound in Caracas in the early hours of Saturday. Pictured: DOJ officers leave the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn

The strike on Venezuela left around 40 civilians and military personnel dead, an official told the New York Times.

No US casualties have been reported but there were an undisclosed number of injuries among US troops, all of whom are reportedly in stable condition.

Trump has alleged that Maduro is the leader of the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) drug trafficking operation.

He stated that the US would take control of Venezuela for the foreseeable future.

The Venezuelan Supreme Court, however, tapped Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to 'guarantee the administrative continuity' of the country.

Rodriguez has been critical of Maduro's capture and has called on the US to release him.

She called his seizure a 'kidnapping' and claimed it violated international law.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and wife Cilia were both seized by a US military unit in the early hours of Caracas. Trump said Saturday afternoon that both will face criminal charges in New York City

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But the dictator's capture sparked jubilation from Venezuelan migrants living outside of their home nation on Saturday.

Hundreds took to the streets of cities, including Santiago in Chile, to celebrate the ouster of a leader seen as a corrupt authoritarian accused of destroying the economy of his oil-rich country while silencing dissent.

The atmosphere appeared altogether more muted in Caracas.

Locals were photographed lining up outside supermarkets amid fears Maduro's ouster will lead to even greater economic uncertainty.

Shortly before Saturday's press conference, the president shared an undignified photo of Maduro in a tracksuit taken after his capture.

He said the Venezuelan president's wife will also be charged, but did not offer further details.

Maduro was photographed wearing a heavy black plastic eye mask and ear muffs over his ears in an apparent bid to keep his location a secret from him.

He was clad in a gray tracksuit and clutched a plastic water bottle. It is unclear if this is what Maduro was wearing when he was taken or if it was given to him by US forces.
A Canadian influencer has begged pilots to fly her home from a Caribbean paradise ahead of her wedding after the US strike on Venezuela disrupted hundreds of flights.

Donald Trump revealed a 'large-scale' operation had taken place on Friday night and that US forces had captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The strike left Venezuelan airspace empty on Saturday as it forced major airlines to cancel nearly 900 flights across the eastern Caribbean.

One stranded vacationer, Syd Wingold, an influencer with more than one million followers, desperately pleaded with pilots in St Barts to fly her back to Toronto in a string of Instagram stories.

At one point, the bride-to-be even told pilots she would happily 'dress as your captain.'

'Is anyone currently in St Barts or St Martin with a plane flying back to North America who would be open to letting me come along. I can come in a costume and will be extremely respectful,' Wingold shared in one post.

'If you have a plane, please hit me up,' she followed up in a second story. 'Very happy to dress as your captain.'

In a photo of Wingold and her friend lounging on an outdoor couch, she revealed that their flight home had been canceled, with the next available plane not leaving until Friday - an entire week away.

One stranded vacationer, Syd Wingold, an influencer with more than one million followers, desperately pleaded with pilots in St Barts to fly her back to Toronto in a string of Instagram stories

The 'large-scale' operation on Venezuela that captured President Nicolas Maduro (pictured) and his wife Cilia Flores forced major airlines to cancel nearly 900 flights across the eastern Caribbean

She also recalled how the situation felt eerily like 'being stranded in Las Vegas during my bachelorette,' an adventure she had documented on social media back in November.

Hours later, Wingold posted another story, striking a pose before two stationary cranes in a remote field - a stark reminder that she was still stranded and no pilot had come to her rescue.

'I am considering alternative modes of transportation at this time,' she wrote.

'These cranes seem reliable based on size and structural integrity,' she added. 'There is a chance they could lift me to Toronto.'

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a social media post responding to the travel chaos that 'the FAA restricted the airspace in the Caribbean and Venezuela to ensure the safety of the flying public.'

Although Duffy later said the restrictions would lift at midnight EST on Saturday, allowing airlines to resume normal operations, it is expected to be some time before schedules normalize.

Whether Wingold finally made it home after Duffys announcement remains unknown, but she shared one final update, cocktail menu in hand, with the option 'Pimp My Pamp' circled in red.

'While my flight options remain unclear, my drink order has never been more certain,' she wrote, clearly referencing the grapefruit-flavored cocktail.

Join the debate Should influencers and celebrities get special treatment during travel crises, or is everyone equal?

Wingold revealed that her flight home from St. Barts had been canceled, with the next available plane not leaving until Friday

Even Leonardo DiCaprio wasnt spared: the US airstrikes on Venezuela forced him to miss the Palm Springs International Film Festival as traffic snarled from the restrictions.

The 51-year-old movie star was glimpsed on New Year's Eve relaxing on Jeff Bezos' yacht in the Caribbean Sea, just off St. Barts.

But he was scheduled to receive the Desert Palm Achievement Award at the film festival for his role in Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, a dark comedy about leftist militants.

An insider told the Daily Mail that, at the ceremony itself, it was announced DiCaprio would be absent because of restricted airspace.

'It was, however, a wonderful moment in the room,' the source shared exclusively with the Daily Mail. 'A beautiful tribute from his co-stars and an amazing reel.'

DiCaprio accepted the award via video and his speech was a 'hit,' the insider said, adding that he received applause both for the honor and for his remarks.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival also confirmed DiCaprio's physical absence from the ceremony in a statement provided to Deadline.

'Leonardo DiCaprio is unable to join us in person tonight due to unexpected travel disruptions and restricted airspace,' the organization stated.

Wingold shared one final update on Instagram with cocktail menu in hand, leaving viewers wondering whether she secured a flight

Leonardo DiCaprio was also forced to skip the Palm Springs International Film Festival by travel restrictions enacted after the Venezuela strikes, so he accepted his award via video (pictured)

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the restrictions would lift at midnight EST on Saturday, allowing airlines to resume normal operations

'While we will miss celebrating with him in person, we are honored to recognize his exceptional work and lasting contributions to cinema,' they continued.

'His talent and dedication to the craft continue to inspire, and we are delighted to celebrate him with the Desert Palm Achievement Award this evening.'

Although DiCaprio was unable to physically attend, his One Battle After Another co-stars Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti took the stage there Saturday to pay homage to him, and they accepted his trophy on his behalf.
A trusted girls housemaster at a leading private school has been sacked for inappropriate online contact with former pupils.

Xavier Lord was dismissed from Prior Park College, Bath, where full boarding fees are 48,685 a year, after his behaviour was reported to staff by current pupils.

Shocked parents received a letter from headmaster Ben Horan in which he spoke of hard revelations but insisted there was no suggestion of any physical harm towards any children or young people'.

He went on: What there had been, and what Mr Lord has admitted to, was inappropriate contact, online, with some former students through social media.

The science teacher was one of the first men to head an all-girls house at the co-ed school, motto: God our guide, God our light.

He was sacked following a month-long investigation and disciplinary process involving the police and local authority safeguarding team.

Mr Horan told parents police felt that the issues raised did not meet their high threshold for action while the local authority passed over responsibility for further investigation to the school.

He added: Throughout these four weeks, Mr Lord was suspended from his position at the school and from our school site.

Xavier Lord shaved his shoulder length hair into a mohawk for charity at the behest of polled students

The school declined to elaborate on the nature of Mr Lord's contact with the former pupil, but said that he did not plan to appeal the dismissal decision

The private school costs 48,685 a year to attend has very special grounds - host to one of four Palladian bridges in the world

Any young people directly affected were in regular communication and contact with our safeguarding team; their parents were all informed.

Prior Park describes itself as a Christian school in the Catholic tradition and caters for 535 pupils aged 11-19.

Alumni include the former leader of the Catholic Church in England, Cormac Murphy-OConnor, composer Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Prince Harrys former girlfriend, actress Cressida Bonas.

Mr Lord was jointly responsible for the welfare of some 70 girls staying at the schools separate St Marys boarding house, a Grade II listed former priory. He was also head of Fielding House.

He appears to have been a popular teacher who engaged with the lighter side of school life. In June last year his distinctive shoulder-length hair was replaced with a Mohican to raise money for charity  the result of a poll among pupils as to which style he should adopt.

Prior Park was given a glowing assessment for pastoral care in its latest Independent Schools Inspectorate report.

It notes: Staff help pupils build self-knowledge, confidence and resilience and pupils know how to seek help when needed. The relationships and sex education programme is well structured, age appropriate and enables pupils to learn about and discuss potentially sensitive issues with confidence.

In his letter to parents Mr Horan said he was proud of the fact that students at our school felt safe enough to make a disclosure of this nature to us'.

Xavier Lord was sacked after it was discovered he had 'inappropriate online contact' with former pupils

In schools like ours where systems work, where students have trust in their teachers, and where professionalism abounds, such behaviour will be found out', headmaster Ben Horan said

Mr Lord was jointly responsible for the welfare of some 70 girls in St Mary's boarding house and Feilding House

He went on: I am proud that our students were confident enough that such allegations would not only be taken seriously but that they would also be acted upon immediately and appropriately.

As hard as such revelations are, the way in which our community has responded has been exemplary.

In schools like ours where systems work, where students have trust in their teachers, and where professionalism abounds, such behaviour will be found out. It will be called to account and those responsible will be removed.

He said Mr Lord had been referred to the Disclosure Barring Service and the Teacher Referral Agency regarding his suitability to work with children and young people in the future.

In response to questions from the Mail On Sunday, Mr Horan declined to elaborate on the online contact between Mr Lord and former pupils but said the teacher had let us know that he does not plan to appeal the dismissal decision'.
After declaring the US will run Venezuela following President Nicolas Maduro's capture, Donald Trump has begun picking cabinet members and said troops could be deployed.

Maduro was in a New York jail Saturday, hours after American special forces seized and flew him out of his country.

The US president's announcement followed a lightning pre-dawn attack in which commandos grabbed Maduro and his wife while air strikes pounded sites in and around Caracas.

A US government plane carrying Maduro landed at a military base shortly after nightfall, and he was transported by helicopter to New York City, where the couple were to be arraigned on drug trafficking and weapons charges.

The White House posted video on X of Maduro, handcuffed and in sandals, escorted by federal agents through a US Drug Enforcement Administration facility in New York.

'Good night, happy new year,' the 63-year-old leftist is heard saying in English.

Despite the success of the risky raid, what happens next is highly uncertain.

Trump said he was 'designating people' from his cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela but gave no further details.

In another surprise, Trump indicated US troops could be deployed, saying Washington is 'not afraid of boots on the ground.'

After declaring the US will run Venezuela following President Nicolas Maduro's capture, Donald Trumphas begun picking cabinet members and says troops could be deployed

Footage shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro walking down a hallway in handcuffs in an official building in Manhattan, almost 24 hours after he was seized by US troops

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is pictured after his capture in a photo shared by President Donald Trump on his TruthSocial website

But he appeared to reject the possibility of the country's opposition taking power and said he could work instead with Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez.

One aspect that became clearer was Trump's interest in Venezuela's vast oil reserves.

'We're going to have our very large United States oil companies... go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure,' he said.

'We'll be selling large amounts of oil.'

Meanwhile, US-backed opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won last year's Nobel Peace Prize, posted on social media that 'the hour of freedom has arrived.'

She called for the opposition's 2024 election candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, to 'immediately' assume the presidency.

But Trump was surprisingly cold about expectations that Machado could become Venezuela's new leader, saying she doesn't have 'support or respect' there.

Instead, he touted Rodriguez, saying 'she's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.'

Rodriguez poured cold water on that, demanding Maduro's release and vowing to 'defend' the country.

Late Saturday, Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered Rodriguez to assume presidential powers 'in an acting capacity.'

Reflecting the confusion, Trump indicated US involvement is likely for the long haul.

Join the debate Should the US have the right to capture foreign leaders and run their countries after arrest?

Meanwhile, US-backed opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won last year's Nobel Peace Prize, posted on social media that 'the hour of freedom has arrived'

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and wife Cilia were both seized by a US military unit in the early hours of Caracas. Trump said Saturday afternoon that both will face criminal charges in New York City

Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate the capture of President Nicolas Maduro in Santiago on Saturday

'We're going to stay until such time as the proper transition can take place,' he said.

Venezuela's ally China said it 'strongly condemns' the US operation, and called for Maduro to be 'immediately released.'

'The U.S.'s move is in clear violation of international law, basic norms in international relations, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,' China's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement Sunday.

Elswhere, France warned a solution cannot 'be imposed from outside.'

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was 'deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected.'

At Venezuela's request, the UN Security Council will meet Monday to discuss the crisis, the Somali presidency of the Council told AFP.

Venezuelans had been bracing for attacks as US forces spent months massing off the coast.

Caracas residents woke to explosions and the whir of military helicopters around 2am (6am GMT). Air strikes hit a major military base and an airbase, among other sites, for nearly an hour.

The top US military officer, General Dan Caine, said 150 aircraft took part in the operation, supporting troops who choppered in to seize Maduro with the help of months of intelligence into his daily habits - down to 'what he ate' and what pets he kept.

Maduro and his wife 'gave up' without a struggle and there was 'no loss of US life,' he said.

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A destroyed anti-aircraft unit is seen burned out next to a destroyed bus at La Carlotta military air base in Caracas hours after Friday's US operation in Venezuela that saw the country's president and first lady seized by US special forces

Trump updates Americans on his capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday afternoon, flanked by White House cabinet members including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Venezuelan authorities have yet to release casualty figures. But Trump told the New York Post that 'many' Cubans in Maduro's security detail were killed.

Within hours of the operation, Caracas had fallen eerily quiet, with police stationed outside public buildings and the smell of smoke drifting through the streets.

The US and numerous European governments did not recognize Maduro's legitimacy, saying he stole elections in 2018 and 2024.

Maduro - in power since 2013 after taking over from leftist mentor Hugo Chavez - long accused Trump of seeking regime change in order to control Venezuela's oil reserves.

Trump has offered several justifications for the aggressive policy toward Venezuela, at times stressing illegal migration, narcotics trafficking and oil.

But he had previously avoided openly calling for regime change.

Several members of Congress quickly questioned the legality of the operation. But Trump's key ally Mike Johnson, top Republican in the House of Representatives, said it was 'justified.'
Venezuela was plunged into chaos on Saturday as armed supporters of captured Nicolas Maduro flooded the streets, sparking riots, shuttering transport networks and forcing terrified residents to barricade themselves inside their homes.

Gun-toting loyalists of the former strongman surged through cities including Caracas and Valencia, demanding his return after an overnight US military operation led to his arrest.

Ordinary citizens described scenes of fear, shortages and total paralysis as the country teetered on the brink of renewed unrest.

'The nightmare isn't over yet. The figurehead is gone. But his supporters are still here,' a 70-year-old man living in Valencia told The New York Post, speaking anonymously out of fear of reprisal.

The resident said Venezuelan media had gone largely silent, leaving people scrambling for scraps of information as armed groups roamed the streets.

In Valencia, he said, the roads were 'absolutely dead' apart from Maduro loyalists, with residents only venturing out briefly to queue for dwindling food supplies.

'People are shopping as if the world were ending tomorrow. There is still fear because it's a military dictatorship that acts very harshly against any opposition,' he said.

Maduro's supporters pictured burning the US flag in protest of his capture by American forces

Riot police prevent protesters from reaching the US embassy during a demonstration against the United States government for the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores

Riot police prevent protesters from reaching the US embassy during a demonstration

Riot police prevent protesters from reaching the US embassy during a demonstration against the United States government for the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been seen walking down a hallway in an official building in Manhattan, almost 24 hours after he was seized by US troops, as shown above

'There are still armed groups roaming the cities; we are all worried they will come to steal food, supplies, and intimidate us.'

In Caracas, scenes were even more dramatic. Supporters known as Chavistas - followers of Maduro's late mentor Hugo Chavez - were seen storming through areas reduced to rubble by overnight airstrikes.

'We want Maduro!' protesters shouted as smoke rose from bombed-out buildings in the capital.

Gas stations across the city were shut down, while metro services and buses were suspended.

Most supermarkets closed their doors, leaving long lines snaking around the few that remained open.

According to Spanish news agency EFE, one store was allowing only a single customer inside at a time to prevent a stampede.

'I'm afraid there will be social unrest and we'll go back to how things were before, with shortages. When I was young I could stand in line (to buy food), I can't anymore,' an elderly resident from the outskirts of Caracas told EFE.

Another woman said she desperately wanted to stock up on food but simply could not afford to.

The unrest followed a large-scale US strike on Caracas, which targeted Fuerte Tiuna - Venezuela's largest military complex - as part of an operation to seize Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

Riot police prevent protesters from reaching the US embassy

Members of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) riot squad arrest opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro taking part in a demonstration

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has been tipped to be the next president of Venezuela

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Dramatic aerial images showed entire buildings obliterated, with scorched land and plumes of smoke hanging over the city.

Join the debate How should Venezuela rebuild trust and stability with US forces now in control and chaos in the streets?

An unnamed senior Venezuelan official told the New York Times that at least 40 people were believed to have been killed in the strikes, including both military personnel and civilians.

Maduro's arrest came amid accusations from Trump that Venezuela had been flooding the United States with drugs and gang members.

Trump alleged that Maduro was the leader of the Cartel de los Soles drug trafficking operation.

Trump said on Saturday that he had not briefed Congress ahead of the raid, claiming that doing so would have risked leaks that could have allowed Maduro to evade capture.

Both Maduro and Flores are now being held at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, a notorious jail known for its squalid conditions and for housing high-profile inmates including Luigi Mangione and Sean 'Diddy' Combs.

Trump said the United States would govern Venezuela indefinitely following the arrest, dismissing the idea of opposition figure Maria Corina Machado taking control and claiming she 'does not have the support.'

He offered few details on how Washington would administer a country of 30 million people, but suggested Venezuela's vast oil reserves would be used to fund its recovery.

Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and widely tipped as a future leader, has previously backed Trump's threats to remove Maduro and remains hugely popular among voters - though she was not mentioned by Trump in his remarks on Saturday.

As armed supporters continue to roam the streets and food supplies dwindle, many Venezuelans fear the country is once again sliding into a dark and uncertain chapter, even with Maduro now behind bars.
Labour is engulfed in a major internal row over Sir Keir Starmer's tepid support for Donald Trump's attack on Venezuela, after hard Left MPs demanded the US president be ostracised like Vladimir Putin.

Allies of former leader Jeremy Corbyn lashed out after the Prime Minister last night said his administration will 'shed no tears' over the end of Nicolas Maduro's regime.

While he added the caveat that he still supported international law the statement sparked uproar, especially from MPs who have previously spoken out in support of the South American dictator and his regime.

Former shadow minister Richard Burgon said the PM's statement was 'shameful and reckless' after action he branded a 'coup' by the US.

'The Prime Minister should respond to an illegal bombing and kidnapping by Trump in exactly the way he would if Putin had carried it out,' he said on X.

'Either Keir Starmer believes in international law - or he doesn't. You can't pick and choose. Time to stand up to Trump's gangster politics!'

But fellow Labour MP David Taylor hit back, highlighting the Leeds East MP's long history of support for the Maduro regime.

'You're in no place to lecture the PM on international ethics given your previous praise for Maduro - not to mention your 11 or so appearances on Putin-controlled Russia TV,' Mr Taylor, the Hemel Hempstead MP, said.

'Maduro was (a) dictator who killed, tortured and repressed Venezuelans.'

Allies of former leader Jeremy Corbyn lashed out after the Prime Minister last night said his administration will 'shed no tears' over the end of Nicolas Maduro's regime

While he added the caveat that he still supported international law the PM's statement sparked uproar among MPs who have previously spoken out in support of the South American dictator

Former shadow minister Richard Burgon said the PM's statement was 'shameful and reckless' after action he branded a 'coup' by the US. But fellow Labour MP David Taylor hit back, highlighting the Leeds East MP's long history of support for the Maduro regime

US President Donald Trump confirmed the country's leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been flown out of Caracas and indicted on 'narco-terrorism' charges following strikes early on Saturday.

An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council has been scheduled for Monday.

Speaking to reporters hours after Maduro's capture, Mr Trump revealed his plans to exploit the leadership vacuum to 'fix' the country's oil infrastructure and sell 'large amounts' of the fuel to other countries.

In a post on his Truth Social platform shortly before addressing the media, he posted an image which appeared to show the autocratic leader blindfolded aboard the US warship Iwo Jima and headed to New York.

The attack saw explosions ring out and low-flying aircraft sweep through the Venezuelan capital early on Saturday.

Fearful of angering the US President, but also conscious of his party's veneration of Nicolas Maduro's failed regime, the Prime Minister was reduced to saying that he wanted to 'establish the facts, and take it from there'.

He told the BBC: 'I've been a lifelong advocate of international law', before tiptoeing along a diplomatic tightrope by calling the relationship between the US and the UK 'vitally important for our defence, for our security, for our intelligence. It is my responsibility to make sure that relationship works.'

Privately, officials are more forthright. One diplomat told The Mail on Sunday: 'We know the US had wargamed the 'decapitation' of the Venezuelan regime, and the simulation predicted chaos.

This is a recipe for anarchy, but in No 10 they seem paralysed  basically just sitting there and saying, 'What the f***?' They should be calling for the United Nations to oversee an election there now.'

Later last night, Sir Keir aligned more closely with Mr Trump by saying: 'We regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime'. But he knows the Left of his party has long admired the communist regime and hated Mr Trump.

Apsana Begum, the Poplar and Limehouse MP who was suspended for several months by Labour last year, said the PM's comments were 'shameful and tremendously damaging to democracy and trust at home and the UK's standing globally'

And Clive Lewis, another former shadow minister from the Corbyn era, added: 'The lesson of Ukraine, Gaza, and now Venezuela is simple. When international law gives way to force, chaos and impunity follow'

Join the debate Should the UK publicly oppose US actions in Venezuela or put alliance and security interests first?

Apsana Begum, the Poplar and Limehouse MP who was suspended for several months by Labour last year, said the PM's comments were 'shameful and tremendously damaging to democracy and trust at home and the UK's standing globally'.

'The British public still remember the UK's role supporting the illegal US-led war in Iraq,' she said.

'Even now under international law, the people of Venezuela have the right to determine their own future. The Prime Minister's support for Trump will forever haunt his legacy.'

And Clive Lewis, another former shadow minister from the Corbyn era, added: 'The lesson of Ukraine, Gaza, and now Venezuela is simple. When international law gives way to force, chaos and impunity follow.

'These rules exist to protect all of us, not just the weak. The UK must stand firmly for international law, or admit it no longer believes in it.'

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel welcomed the ousting of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro but the US.

She told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme: 'No one's going to cry over the fact that Maduro has gone  that is a very clear statement that he was a terrible tyrant.

'We have never supported his illegal, illegitimate government at all, so on this basis the question is fundamentally political: what happens next?'

She said: 'The fact that Maduro has gone, we absolutely support. This guy was an oppressive tyrant. He was a complete dictator, responsible sorts of terrible things and I think that's welcome.'

There are now political questions about what the 'direction of travel is and what happens next' which 'we have all got to consider.'

She described the drugs issue as 'very serious,' adding that '(the) United Kingdom, in the past, has been involved in operations and security co-operation with the United States on stopping drugs from Latin America coming to the United Kingdom', and there had been speculation it had stopped sharing intelligence with the US administration over this issue.
The owner of the Swiss ski bar at the centre of a New Year's Day inferno that claimed 40 lives and left 119 injured spent time in prison for 'fraud, kidnapping and false imprisonment' and was a known pimp, it emerged today.

French national Jacques Moretti, who is in his 60s, faces charges for the inferno at Le Constellation, in CransMontana, Switzerland, on New Year's Day.

His venue became a death trap, after sparklers placed inside champagne bottles ignited the basement ceiling.

On Saturday, multiple media outlets in France and Belgium reported that Mr Moretti, who is originally from the Mediterranean island of Corsica, is well known to the French authorities.

In 2005 he was implicated in a kidnap plot in Savoie, the Alpine department of France close to CransMontana, and incarcerated.

Le Parisien reports: 'According to our information, Jacques Moretti is no stranger to the French justice system.

'He is known for pimping cases dating back some twenty years, as well as for a kidnapping and confinement case. He was imprisoned in Savoie.'

Quoting its own legal source, RTL, the radio network, reported: 'The Corsicanborn man in his sixties was imprisoned in Savoie in 2005, for involvement in cases of pimping, fraud, kidnapping, and false imprisonment.'

Jacques Moretti (pictured right) now in his sixties was imprisoned in Savoie in 2005, for involvement in cases of pimping, fraud, kidnapping and false imprisonment

Flowers and candles in tribute to the victims are displayed at a makeshift memorial following a fire at 'Le Constellation' bar during New Year's Eve celebrations, killing 40 people and injuring 119

Firefighters of the regional fire and rescue service Sapeur-Pompiers de Sierre gather to pay their respects to the victims of the deadly fire

There was no initial response to the revelations from lawyers representing Mr Moretti.

He was questioned by Swiss prosecutors on Friday, along with his wife, Jessica Moretti, who is in her 40s.

Both are currently at liberty, as they assist the judicial authorities with their enquiries.

They have indicated that they will open an enquiry into 'arson by negligence' and 'manslaughter by negligence' if 'criminal liability is established'.

In the meantime, the French couple have not been formally charged, and are free to travel.

Swiss attorney general Beatrice Pilloud said: 'Everything suggests that the fire started with incandescent candles placed in champagne bottles, which were brought too close to the ceiling, causing a rapid and widespread conflagration.'

Mr Moretti has claimed his bar 'followed all safety regulations', despite being inspected only 'three times in ten years' by health and safety officials. Article 8 of the local fire prevention code states that inspections must take place 'every year in buildings open to the public or presenting special risks'.

Mr Moretti, who owns three businesses around CransMontana, was not in the Constellation on the night of the fire, but his wife was, and suffered a burned arm.

Firefighter of the regional fire and rescue service Sapeur-Pompiers de Sierre reacts as he lays down a candle at a memorial site for the fatal fire

The couple took over Le Constellation in 2015, and own a home nearby, as well as one on the French Riviera.

Sparklers also caused a fatal fire in Rouen, France, in August 2016, and prison sentences were handed down to the owners.

Fourteen people died at the Cuba Libre when youngsters became trapped in its basement.

Sparklers had ignited the ceiling, and  as at Le Constellation  the blaze spread in seconds.

In October 2019, the bar managers were sentenced to five years in prison, two of them suspended.

Johnny Autin, whose 20yearold daughter, Megane, died in the Cuba Libre blaze said 'more inspections and harsher penalties' are needed.
Pavlou claimed riot police had tried to break his arm

Activist Drew Pavlou has been arrested by police after counter-protesting at a rally held to protest the United States' military action in Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro.

There was a moderate turnout of a few dozen at the 'Hands off Venezuela' protest held in Sydney on Sunday evening, which had been promoted by socialist groups Red Spark and Green Left.

Pavlou shared a picture of himself to social media, understood to have been taken just before the protest, holding a placard which read, 'cry more commie scum'.

The pro-Western activist, who has previously demonstrated against the Chinese Communist Party, alleged riot squad police had hurt his arm during his brief arrest.

'I got arrested for holding an anti-communist sign at the pro-Maduro communist rally in Sydney. I chanted 'USA' as I was arrested, cops put me in stress position,' Pavlou said.

'They came pretty close to breaking my arm. Released after 40 minutes in custody.'

He claimed he had briefly gone to the emergency department, but left when he was told it would be an hours-long wait for a consult.

The rally was one of a number held in Australia to protest US President Donald Trump sending military teams to kidnap the Venezuelan president and his wife.

Activist Drew Pavlou was arrested for 40 minutes at the 'Hands off Venezuela' protest held in Sydney on Sunday evening

The protest was promoted by socialist groups Red Spark and Green Left

Protesters at the rally (left) and Pavlou during his arrest (right)

Along with Pavlou, there were also Venezuelan supporters of the Opposition who counter-protested by celebrating Maduro's capture

The was a heavy police turnout, including riot officers, for the small protest

Maduro is the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, though the US alleges he is corrupt and is the leader of the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) drug trafficking operation.

He and his wife are being held in New York where it is expected they will be put through the US judicial system.

NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia the 'Hands off Venezuela' protest had not been approved.

'At 6pm on Sunday 4 January 2026, officers from Sydney City Police Area Command, assisted by resources attached to Operation Shelter, attended George Street, Sydney, in relation to an unauthorised protest,' a spokesperson said.

'Approximately 250 people participated in the protest, which remained stationary. A further 40 counter-protesters were also present.

'Police arrested two men aged 26 and 34 for breach of the peace. They were taken to Day Street Police Station and released at the conclusion of the protest.

'A 53-year-old woman was arrested for wearing a shirt displaying offensive messaging. She was taken to Day Street Police Station before she was released.

'There was minimal impact on pedestrian or road traffic in the area. The group dispersed around 8pm with no other arrests made or incidents of note.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Drew Pavlou for comment.
A 14-year-old Swiss girl has been revealed as the youngest victim of the New Years Day ski resort fire as police have identified 16 more victims.

Forty people were killed in the inferno in the ski village of Crans-Montana when a fire broke out at Le Constellation bar during New Years celebrations at 1.30am on January 1.

Nine of the 16 new victims identified were children under 18-years-old. Valais Cantonal Police has listed those it had now confirmed as victims.

A spokesperson said: 'These are four Swiss women, aged 18, two aged 15 and 14, and six Swiss men aged 31, 20, 18, 17 and two aged 16, two Italians aged 16, a dual national (Italy and United Arab Emirates) aged 16, a Romanian aged 18, a Frenchman aged 39 and a Turkish man aged 18.'

Police have now identified a total of 24 those killed in the tragedy.

The victims were identified by the Disaster Victim Identification team (DVI) and the Institute of Legal Medicine.

Investigations are ongoing to identify the 16 remaining victims killed in the blaze.

Police said, 'out of respect for the families, no further information will be released at this time' about these 16 new identifications, who have not yet been publicly named.

Families gathered and laid tributes at the scene where 40 people were killed following the fire at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland

The fire broke out after sparklers used in celebrations set foam soundproofing ablaze

The fire took hold after sparklets used in celebrations set foam soundproofing on the ceiling alight.

Previously, eight others victims were identified by police, two of which were 16-year-old Swiss nationals.

These were four Swiss women aged 16, 21, 22 and 24 and four Swiss men aged 16, two aged 18, and one 21-year-old.

Parents have been searching for their missing children as tributes and candles were laid at the scene.

Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, 42, searched in vain for news of her eldest son, Arthur, aged 16.

She carried a photo of the boy on her phone, asking people if they had seen him.

She said: He was looking forward to celebrating New Years Eve with his school friends at the resort and in this bar. They had made plans and reserved a table in advance.

Of the 11 people at that table only one has been found, and all the others are missing.

One young mother, Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, 42, (pictured) searched in vain for news of her eldest son, Arthur, aged 16

Laetitia's son Arthur Brodard, 16, has been missing since the fire in Crans-Montana

My son is alone in a hospital, if hes alive. Even if hes in a morgue, because by now you have to be able to think clearly after more than 30 hours, I dont know which morgue, I cant be by his side.

She showed a poignant final message from him, sent from Le Constellation at midnight, wishing her Happy New Year, mum, to which she responded with her own greeting.
This is the moment Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips told his audience 'this morning Venezuela is an American colony'.

On Saturday, US Army Delta Force soldiers captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores and extradited them to New York on drug trafficking charges.

President Donald Trump has since said he is 'designating people' from his cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela,which has a population of 30 million, but gave no further details.

In another surprise, Trump indicated US troops could be deployed, saying Washington is 'not afraid of boots on the ground.'

Maduro's arrest came after US forces struck Caracas amid accusations from Trump that Maduro is the leader of the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) drug trafficking operation and Venezuela has been flooding the US with drugs and gang members.

This morning, Trevor Phillips - whose family are from Venezuela's neighbouring country Guyana - began his Sky News broadcast with his personal take on yesterday's chaos.

Addressing his TV audience, he said: 'Forgive me if I begin 2026 on a personal note.

'To all intents and purposes, this morning Venezuela is an American colony. I've got mixed feelings about that.

This morning, Trevor Phillips - whose family are from Venezuela's neighbouring country Guyana - began his Sky News broadcast with his personal take on yesterday's chao

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is pictured after his capture in a photo shared by President Donald Trump on his TruthSocial website

The US President offered little further detail on the logistics of running Venezuela, but suggested the country's vast oil reserves would be used to fund its revival

'Whatever the White House says, I don't think this is really about drugs - it's about oil.'

The 72-year-old news anchor and former Labour politician - who previously served as Chair of the London Assembly and chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission - went on to give 'full disclosure' about his early life in Guyana with his family where he grew up, went to school, and 'learnt to handle a rifle'.

He gave historical context about Venezuela's almost two decade-long claim over more than half of Guyana's territory - the Essequibo region.

'My generation grew up preparing for an invasion, but I don't think anyone really thought we would got to war over impenetrable rainforest, and then, in 2015, American companies hit oil in Guyanese waters,' he said.

Mr Phillips explained how the discovery of 30 billion barrels was 'one of the biggest oil finds in decades'.

He said what 'unsurprisingly' followed was a renewed enthusiasm from Caracas for Guyanese territory - with the map of Venezuela shown to children in school redrawn to include Essequibo.

'So, I don't think there is much doubt what is driving Mr Trump's military adventure,' Mr Phillips continued.

'He wants to protect America's vast oil interests in the region and to feed his refineries with Venezuelan crude, and if that means upsetting the international rules-based order, I don't think Mr Trump will be too bothered.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro seen perp walking down a hallway in an official building in Manhattan, almost 24 hours after he was seized by US troops

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and wife Cilia were both seized by a US military unit in the early hours of Caracas. Trump said Saturday afternoon that both will face criminal charges in New York City

'After all, American presidents, including Democrats like Kennedy and Obama, have always been clear on one thing - the first rule of the rules-based order is that America makes the rules to suit America.'

Maduro and Flores are now in custody at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, which is famous for its squalid conditions and has also housed Luigi Mangione and Sean 'Diddy' Combs.

Trump said the United States would govern Venezuela indefinitely in the meantime, after dismissing the prospect of the country's popular opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, taking the reins, claiming she 'does not have the support'.

The US President offered little further detail on the logistics of running Venezuela, but suggested the country's vast oil reserves would be used to fund its revival.

On Saturday, Trump said he had not briefed Congress of his plans to snatch Maduro, claiming that had he done so, the news would have 'leaked' and potentially helped the Venezuelan leader to evade capture.

Maduro's capture sparked jubilation from Venezuelan migrants living outside of their home nation on Saturday.

Hundreds took to the streets of cities, including Santiago in Chile, to celebrate the ouster of a leader seen as a corrupt authoritarian accused of destroying the economy of his oil-rich country while silencing dissent.

The atmosphere appeared altogether more muted in Caracas.

Locals were photographed lining up outside supermarkets amid fears Maduro's ouster will lead to even greater economic uncertainty.

Shortly before Saturday's press conference, the president shared an undignified photo of Maduro in a tracksuit taken after his capture.

Trump said the United States would govern Venezuela indefinitely in the meantime, after dismissing the prospect of the country's popular opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado (pictured), taking the reins, claiming she 'does not have the support'

Venezuelans living in Chile celebrate the capture of President Nicolas Maduro in Santiago on Saturday

Government supporters burn a US flag in Caracas, Venezuela, on Saturday after Donald Trump announced that US forces had captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

He said the Venezuelan president's wife will also be charged, but did not offer further details.

Maduro was photographed wearing a heavy black plastic eye mask and ear muffs over his ears in an apparent bid to keep his location a secret from him.

He was clad in a grey tracksuit and clutched a plastic water bottle. It is unclear if this is what Maduro was wearing when he was taken or if it was given to him by US forces.

The image was a far cry from his usual appearance in sharp suits or military regalia, with CNN commentators speculating it had been chosen to humiliate the corrupt leader.

Addressing a press conference in Mar-a-Lago Saturday, Trump told journalists that the Venezuelan first lady was part of her husband's alleged schemes and that she too will face criminal charges in Manhattan.

'Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice,' Trump declared.

The Maduros are said to have been frightened of capture by US forces and allegedly took to sleeping in a different place every night.

Their whereabouts were being monitored successfully by CIA spies, with Trump green-lighting the operation to snatch them on Thursday.

Earlier on Saturday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Maduro would face drug and weapons trafficking charges originally filed in 2020 during Trump's first term in office.

Five other Venezuelan officials face the same charges. But the first lady is not among those names and it remains unclear what charges she will face.

Speaking while flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump said the operation to capture Maduro was one of the most daring in military history.

Shortly after 2am Venezuela time Saturday morning, Delta Force soldiers burst into the Maduros' bedroom and captured them.

A source told the network the operation  which struck five Venezuelan sites including three in the country's capital Caracas  did not result in any casualties.

He hailed the operation as 'brilliant' in a brief New York Times interview early Saturday.

The president later called into Fox News's breakfast show Fox & Friends, excitedly telling its hosts: 'I mean, I watched it literally like I was watching a television show. If you would've seen the speed, the violence - it was an amazing thing.'

Explosions were seen ripping across Caracas during the daring raid, with Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab insisting that 'innocents' had been 'mortally wounded' by the US operation.

Venezuela has yet to share further details on whether any of its soldiers or citizens were injured or killed during the raid.
Sir Keir Starmer teed up a new Brexit battle as he confirmed he is prepared to align the UK even more closely with the EU, including the single market, if it is in the UK's 'national interest'.

In some of his strongest comments yet about Britain's post-referendum relationship with Brussels under Labour the Prime Minister said he would look at returning to a system scrapped when the UK left in 2019.

However such a move would trigger a major political row at a time when migrant numbers are already near an all-time high.

It would also see him renege on yet another 2024 election manifesto pledge, having pledged 'no return' to the system.

The single market is built on the premise of free movement of goods, services, capital and people, with the latter one of the key drivers behind the Leave campaign a decade ago.

Speaking to the BBC Sir Keir insisted there would be no return to free movement beyond a youth mobility scheme allowing thousands of EU and UK citizens aged under 35 to work and travel freely.

But the EU is certain to make wider free movement of people part of any negotiations around single market access.

Sir Keir told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: 'I think we should get closer, and if it's in our national interest to have even closer alignment with the single market, then we should consider that, we should go that far.

'We're already aligning on energy, reconnecting to energy in Europe on emissions, but I think the single market further alignment, as I say, if it's in our interest to do so, we should take that step.'

Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said: 'Labour's Brexit betrayal is becoming clearer by the day.

'In a desperate bid to appease his backbenchers, Keir Starmer is pursuing alignment with the Single Market - surrendering our freedom to cut regulation and strike our own trade deals.'

In some of his strongest comments yet about Britain's post-Brexit relationship with Brussels under Labour the Prime Minister said he would look at rules governing border checks

Speaking to the BBC Sir Keir insisted there would be no return to free movement beyond a youth mobility scheme allowing thousands of EU and UK citizens aged under 35 to work and travel freely

Sir Keir did appear to pour cold water on suggestions the UK should re-join a customs union with the bloc after his Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the arrangement had 'enormous economic benefits'.

Asked whether he would be willing to revisit freedom of movement, allowing EU citizens with no limit to come to the UK, he said: 'No, but we are looking at a youth mobility scheme which will be for young people to travel, to work, to enjoy themselves in different European countries, to have that experience.'

He also lashed out at 'the falsehoods peddled by Nigel Farage and others' during the Brexit referendum in 2016 and insisted his Government was 'quietly, seriously getting on with diplomacy' instead of 'the politics of melodrama'.

It came as he was warned he he faces a 'civil war' inside Labour if he tries to reverse Brexit in an attempt to shore up his embattled leadership.

The row erupted after Health Secretary Wes Streeting called for a 'deeper trading relationship with the EU'  a move which was interpreted as both a call to rejoin the Customs Union and an attempt to gain the support of Europhile Labour MPs ahead of a leadership bid against the Prime Minister.

Mr Streeting's potential main rival in any contest, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, has also been agitating against Brexit, saying that he hopes that the UK will rejoin the EU in his lifetime.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has told Labour not to try to boost its flagging poll ratings by 're-opening old Brexit wounds'.

Now Labour MP Dan Carden has warned Sir Keir  and those seeking to succeed him  not to rejoin a Customs Union, saying: 'We hear suggestions that this is being seriously contemplated by some at the very top of the Government.

'Moreover, we hear that it appears to be the aim of people who now have designs on the PM's job.

'Andy Burnham has declared how he wants to see us back in the EU in his lifetime, while Wes Streeting wants us to have a deeper trading relationship with Europe.'

Mr Carden's reference to the mayor comes after Westminster sources revealed his Liverpool Walton seat was on the list of constituencies which Mr Burnham had targeted in the hope that the sitting MP would stand aside to allow him to fight a by-election, return to the Commons and then challenge the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (left) speaks to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (rigtht) during the UK-EU Summit at Lancaster House in London on May 19, 2025

Health Secretary Wes Streeting (pictured) called for a 'deeper trading relationship with the EU'

Mr Carden added: 'The European Union (EU) is... a low-growth bloc with a declining share of global GDP. Joining a Customs Union would mean scrapping our post-Brexit trade deals with places that are the 21st Century growth centres, such as the US and India.

'Shifting closer to Brussels would mean giving up our hard-won national freedoms.

'I urge Sir Keir not to seek to tie the UK into a new Customs Union or any other such arrangement which may carry a disguised name but amount to the same thing.'

Labour MPs in the pro-Brexit 'Red Wall' seats of the Midlands and North are particularly concerned about the threat posed by Nigel Farage's Reform UK, which would make political capital out of any Brexit backsliding by Labour.

Labour MP Graham Stringer said the PM would face 'a rebellion of scores of Labour MPs if he sought to take us back into any sort of Customs Union'.

He told The Mail on Sunday: 'It will lead to civil war inside Labour. Starmer's Parliamentary colleagues know they stood on a clear manifesto pledge to do no such thing.

'It would be especially difficult for Labour MPs in the so-called Red Wall to support such a flagrant manifesto breach as many have Reform breathing down their necks. They would be committing electoral suicide.'

Mr Streeting said in an interview last month that Britain should pursue closer economic ties with the EU. 'The best way for us to get more growth into our economy is a deeper trading relationship with the EU,' he said. 'We've taken a massive economic hit leaving the European Union.'

Join the debate Do YOU trust Labour to block a return to free movement?

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham (pictured) has said that he hopes that the UK will rejoin the EU in his lifetime

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy also claimed that countries such as Turkey were enjoying economic benefits from Customs Union membership.

Their remarks came after the Government faced claims it was watering down Brexit after announcing the UK would rejoin the Erasmus system of student exchanges in 2027, at a cost of 570million per year.

Ms Badenoch accused Labour of embarking on a desperate ploy to shore up its core vote and warned the move would mean Britain giving up the trade deals it has struck since leaving the EU, including with the US and India, while opening the door to more demands for concessions from Brussels.

She said: 'The only people advocating for such a policy  and here I include the trade union bosses who have also proposed it  do not understand what a Customs Union actually is.

'This is why the renewed chatter about dragging Britain back into the EU's Customs Union should worry us all.

'It is not a sign of pragmatism  it is a symptom of Labour's weakness. Now that the Government is weak and has no plan or new ideas, it has re-opened old Brexit wounds in the vain hope that doing so will make it more popular. It won't.'

Sir Keir has previously ruled out rejoining the Customs Union, describing it as a 'red line'.

Another senior Labour MP said privately: 'Remainiacs around Starmer may be pushing this but it would cause mayhem in the Labour Party.

'It would mean British businesses having to take rules from Brussels without the UK Government having a say on them. It would be unacceptable.'
He was once a powerful bikie leader in Australia

A notorious underworld figure-turned-author has been detained in the United Arab Emirates for allegedly taking part in an extortion scheme.

The former head of the Comanchero bikie gang in Victoria, Amad 'Jay' Malkoun, has been detained in Dubai.

Malkoun, 62, recently reinvented himself as a writer following his criminal career, with a memoir titled 'The Consultant'.

Consular assistance is being provided to the family of an Australian detained in Dubai, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson told The Age.

'Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.'

Malkoun retired from his position as the alleged leader of the bikie gang in 2013.

However, trouble seemed to have followed him when in 2015, while in Thailand, an associate of his was abducted and murdered. He then survived after he was targeted by a car-bombing in Greece in 2019.

Later, he relocated to Dubai in order to 'pursue international interests' as he wrote in his 2024 book. In the cover notes, he referred to himself as being 'a negotiator of multi-million dollar deals in both the boardroom and the backroom'.

Amad 'Jay' Malkoun (right) has been arrested in Dubai over his connection to an alleged extortion scheme, The Age reports

Malkoun used to be the head of a bikie gang in Melbourne before stepping down in 2013

Malkoun had been credited as a driving force behind the resurgence of the Comancheros in Victoria before stepping back from the role.

Years after publicly leaving the role, an explosive device was planted in his Mercedes-Benz which was detonated as Malkoun left a gym in Athens, Greece.

No one has ever been arrested over the attack.

Malkoun is known to have fostered an extensive criminal network across Asia and Europe.

This includes in Russia where he had a founding role in the establishment of a Comanchero chapter in that country.

Despite Malkoun's shady past he is understood to have been permitted to move to the United Arab Emirates due to his high-reaching connections in the country.
A prolific fraudster who went on the run for 13 years after fleeing to France and then the US has finally been jailed.

He has been sentenced to 20 weeks after authorities caught up to him in America.

Duncan Herd, 60, was originally locked up in 2010 after swindling 70,000 from his victims in a scam in which he took down payments for non-existent yachts or land abroad.

He was released in November 2011 after serving half of his 39 month sentence but recalled to prison in June 2012 for breaching his licence conditions.

But instead of being put back behind bars, Mr Herd vanished.

He evaded capture for over a decade but was finally detained by US police and extradited back to the UK last month.

He was arrested on his arrival at Heathrow Airport on December 14.

Mr Herd, of Cerne Abbas, Dorset, was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison at Poole Magistrates' Court for remaining unlawfully at large after recall to prison.

Duncan Herd, 60, was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison after going on the run for 13 years in France and America

Even before he was initially locked up in 2010, Mr Herd had tried to escape justice by absconding to France after he cheated victims out of vast amounts of money.

One of his victims was Thomas Congdon, who he met in London in 2004.

He manipulated him into handing over 11,725 to secure a yacht moored in Egypt. Mr Herd claimed they would then sell the yacht and split the profits.

But, of course, there was no yacht in Egypt and Mr Congdon never saw a return on his extravagant investment.

In another con, Mr Herd met yacht broker Gerald Vincent Greenaway, a man in his 80s, in Swindon.

He swindled him out of 18,119 using the same trick - offering to split to profits on the sale of a non-existent yacht if he funded its transport back to the UK.

He got his biggest sum from a mother and her son in Norfolk after he met Wendy Thorley there in 2005.

She and her son Jason handed over a total of 21,600 after Mr Herd said there was a land investment deal in Egypt they could get in on.

He lied and said he had already put in 37,000 of his own money to the plot but with the Thorley's funding they could secure the land and then make up the 8million through development.

The deal failed to materialise, as did Mr Herd who disappeared from contact with the Thorleys after August 2007 and was unable to be tracked down.

Mr Herd also admitted grifting a Weymouth builder Grant Baker out of 17,000 with a false promise investment in a development project and claims he could secure a 36-foot yacht.

Tony Pullen from Dorchester also fell victim to Mr Herd's tricks, paying him 4,000 in the hope of getting a yacht.

Pullen from Dorchester who paid 4,000 to Herd in the hope of securing a yacht.

Judge Roger Jarvis told the defendant of his offending at Dorchester Crown Court in 2010: 'You set up a careful and convincing construction of false information to lead your victims into entering into agreements and parting with their money and there was little or no prospect of them ever getting anything in return.'

Police Constable Madeleine Baldwin, of BCP CID, said: 'We have continued to work diligently to identify Herd's whereabouts.

'I hope this case demonstrates that we will relentlessly pursue those who try to evade justice and do everything in our power to ensure they are held accountable for their actions.'
Colombia's former vicepresident claims Nicolas Maduro's second-in-command Delcy Rodriguez 'handed him over' to the US.

Francisco Santos says he is 'absolutely certain' that the woman due to be formally sworn in as Venezuela's new interim leader tomorrow betrayed Nicolas Maduro by handing him over to the US.

Speculation has mounted since yesterday's US military assault on Caracas that led to Maduro's capture that the Americans had help from inside.

Donald Trump has claimed Maduro's secondincommand Delcy Rodriguez will help the US run Venezuela despite her appearing to contradict him by demanding the immediate release of the former bus driver and his wife Cilia Flores and insisting her country will 'never be anyone's colony'.

Overnight Santos, vicepresident of Venezuela's neighbour Colombia for eight years between 2002 and 2010 and later Colombian ambassador to the US, named Rodriguez as the person who sold out Maduro.

He told Colombian cable television news channel NTN24, contradicting a presenter who had claimed the States removed Maduro from Venezuela in an 'impressive operation': 'They didn't remove him, they handed him over.

'I'm absolutely certain Delcy Rodriguez handed him over.

'All the information we have, you start to put it together and say, 'Oh, this was an operation in which they handed him over.

Delcy Rodriguez (pictured) has accused the States of kidnapping Maduro. Yesterday she demanded his immediate release from a New York prison and insisted: 'History and justice will make the extremists who have provoked this armed aggression against our country pay'

Francisco Santos (pictured) says he is 'absolutely certain' Rodriguez betrayed Nicolas Maduro by handing him over to the US

US Army Delta Force soldiers snatched Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores (both pictured) from their Caracas compound Friday night before extraditing them on drug trafficking charges

'Obviously, they have to set the stage.

'President Trump says that Delcy is going to be the one to lead the transition, so Delcy is going to be the one to lead the transition.

'She's very clear about the role she's going to play and she's going to try to earn a little bit of independence.'

Describing the US president's actions as 'very pragmatic', he added: 'Trump took three decisions which were, 'I'll take Maduro, I'll establish a transition with someone from the regime and I'll seek financing and profits from oil companies.'

Santos, Colombia's Ambassador to the States from September 2018 to 2020, went on to describe Delcy Rodriguez as someone who represented 'one of the least bad options' for Trump's administration for the time being.

Saying it had learnt lessons from the mess left behind in Iraq after the 2003 USled invasion and overthrow of Saddam Hussein, he concluded referring to Maduro as 'Padrino' which in English means Godfather: 'When we talk about the least bad options, if Padrino and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello are 100 per cent, then Delcy would represent 97 per cent of criminality.'

Rodriguez, a trained lawyer, did postgraduate studies in Paris as well as at Birkbeck College in London. The 56yearold is the daughter of a leftwing political activist who died in police custody in 1976.

She was appointed as Venezuela's vicepresident in 2018 after serving as the country's first female Foreign Minister.

Although Trump has warned the likes of Rodriguez regime stalwarts in Venezuela run the risk of a second wave of US attacks unless they play ball, she has accused the States of kidnapping Maduro.

Yesterday she demanded his immediate release from a New York prison and insisted: 'History and justice will make the extremists who have provoked this armed aggression against our country pay.'
A silent procession of mourning filled the main street of Crans-Montana today as more than 2,000 people attended a mass in the Swiss ski resort following the New Year fire which killed around 40 people.

Many of those walking along the main street towards a makeshift shrine outside Le Constellation bar carried flowers as the gathering snaked its way up the hill to the scene of the tragedy.

People of all ages and many children joined with police and firefighters in the bright morning sun and stood in -8C outside St Christopher's Church in the town where the service inside was relayed on speakers and on a big screen.

The Priest at one stage nearly broke down in tears as he read a message from Pope Leo to the grieving Alpine community.

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Sion, Jean-Marie Lovey stumbled slightly over his words before reading the Pope's words.

The telegram from Pope Leo XIV said the Pontiff 'Prays to the Lord to welcome the deceased into his dwelling of peace and light, and to support the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.

'May the Mother of God, in her tenderness, bring the comfort of faith to all those affected by this tragedy and keep them in hope.'

The moving ceremony took place as Swiss authorities announced that 16 more bodies of those who died in the inferno have now been identified, bringing the list of those officially identified to 24.

A silent procession of mourning filled the main street of Crans-Montana today as more than 2,000 people attended a mass in the Swiss ski resort following the New Year fire which killed around 40 people

A dramatic video captured the moment the ceiling of Le Constellation bar in Sweden caught fire

People of all ages and many children joined with police and firefighters in the bright morning sun and stood in -8C outside St Christopher's Church in the town where the service inside was relayed on speakers and on a big screen

Of the 119 people injured in the fire, many critically, only six remain unidentified.

The youngest person was a Swiss girl aged 14, with nine aged under 18. The group includes people of Swiss, Italian, Romanian, Turkish and French nationalities, police said.

Eight Swiss citizens were identified on Saturday.

A criminal investigation into the people who ran Le Constellation bar, French Corsican couple Jacques and Jessica Morette, is under way, while victim's families are enduring an agonising wait for information about loved ones who are still considered missing.

In the overflowing pews, a grieving woman listened intently, her hands clasped tightly and sometimes clasping rosary beads, as speakers delivered readings in German, French and Italian.

Another of the celebrants, the Rev Gilles Cavin spoke of the 'terrible uncertainty' for families unsure if their loved ones are among the dead or still alive among the injured. 'We pray for their friends hard hit by misery on this day that was meant to be one of festivities and friendship,' he said.

One of the victims formally identified was 16-year old Arthur Brodard, whose mother had been frantically searching for him.

'Our Arthur has now left to party in paradise,' a visibly shaken Laetitia Brodard said in a Facebook story posted on Saturday night.

'We can start our mourning, knowing that he is in peace and in the light.'

Ms Brodard's frenzied search for her son reflected the desperation of families of the young people missing following the fire, who do not know whether their loved ones are dead or in hospital.

Women stand with flowers as they mourn the loss of 40 lives in the devastating fire at Le Constellation bar in Sweden

Images show the moment before a deadly New Year's Eve blaze at a Swiss ski resort bar killed at least 40 people. A waitress had been seen dancing and waving a lit sparkler beneath foam soundproofing panels on the ceiling, which then caught fire

Swiss authorities said the process of identifying victims is particularly hard because of the advanced degree of the burns, requiring the use of DNA samples. Ms Brodard had given her DNA sample to help in the identification process.

In her Facebook post, she thanked those who 'testified their compassion, their love' and to those who shared information as she anxiously searched and waited for news of her son.

Investigators said on Friday they believe sparkling candles stuck on the top of Champagne bottles ignited the fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Authorities plan to look into whether sound-dampening foam on the ceiling conformed with regulations, and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. Officials said they will also look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin has declared a national day of mourning for the victims on January 9.
Venezuela's interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, has hurled threats at Donald Trump after the capture of the country's president, Nicolas Maduro, who is now languishing in a New York federal jail.

The Supreme Court of Venezuela confirmed hardline socialist Vice President Rodriguez as Maduro's successor just hours after US forces detained him and his wife, Cilia Flores, on narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges on Saturday.

Trump said he preferred Rodriguez, 56, in power rather than the country's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, adding that Maduro's VP was prepared to work with the US.

'She, I think, was quite gracious, but she really doesn't have a choice,' Trump said of Rodriguez during a news conference in which he said the US would 'run' the country.

'She is essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Very simple.'

But the Maduro loyalist, who has helped him maintain his regime for over a decade, has vented her fury at Trump's capture of the despot, whom she called her nation's rightful leader.

Rodriguez, who also serves as minister for finance and oil, slammed Maduro's arrest as 'an atrocity that violates international law' and called for his 'immediate release'.

'We call on the peoples of the great homeland to remain united, because what was done to Venezuela can be done to anyone,' she asserted during a National Defense Council session after the US military operation.

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been announced as the interim leader of Venezuela

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is seen being taken into custody by US law enforcement officials

'That brutal use of force to bend the will of the people can be carried out against any country.'

She also insinuated that she was not as on board with helping the US essentially run Venezuela as Trump had suggested.

Trump offered little further detail on the logistics of running Venezuela, which has a population of 30million, but suggested the country's vast oil reserves would be used to fund its revival.

But others are skeptical of Rodriguez being a willing assistant to Trump's plans.

'I don't think that we can count on Delcy Rodriguez to be friendly to the United States until she proves it,' Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton said on CNN's State of the Union with Dana Bash on Sunday.

Rodriguez has not publicly mentioned going along with Trump's agenda for Venezuela - only a desire to protect the country's independence.

'Never again will we be slaves, never again will we be a colony of any empire,' she said on Saturday.

'We're ready to defend Venezuela.'

Join the debate How should Venezuela balance its independence with pressure from powerful countries like the US?

President Donald Trump is seen next to CIO Director John Ratcliffe watching the US military operation to capture Maduro and his wife

Trump announced that the US had carried out the operation on Saturday, sharing it on Truth Social

Given her unapologetic allegiance to Maduro, Trump's preference for working with her over opposition party figures, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, has sparked fears among many Venezuelans.

For more than two decades, she has been a significant figure of the Chavismo political movement, which President Hugo Chavez founded.

Chavez died in 2013, and Maduro came into power and became the party's leader.

Constitutional lawyer and political analyst Jose Manuel Romano told CNN that Rodriguez has evolved into a 'very prominent' figure in the Latin American country's government with 'full trust' from Maduro.

'The executive vice president of the republic is a highly effective operator, a woman with strong leadership skills for managing teams,' Romano explained.

'She is very results-oriented and has significant influence over the entire government apparatus, including the Ministry of Defense. That is very important to note in the current circumstances.'

Rodriguez is from Caracas, the nation's capital, and earned a law degree from the Central University of Venezuela.

Her father, Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, was a Marxist guerrilla who co-founded a militant leftist movement called the Socialist League, which was active in the 1960s and 1970s, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Rodriguez is seen alongside Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in 2018. Flores was arrested alongside her husband this weekend

Rodriguez, seen in September 2025, has been a significant figure of the Chavismo political movement, which has been led by Maduro

She has held many government positions since Chavez was the country's leader.

From 2013 to 2014, she was the minister of communication and information. She was the foreign minister from 2014 to 2017.

As the foreign minister, she fiercely defended far-left Maduro's image amid international scrutiny for violating human rights and threatening democracy.

She also accused governments of the United Nations of trying to undermine Venezuela in this role.

In 2017, Rodriguez became the president of the Constituent National Assembly, which expanded the government's powers following the opposition party's 2015 victory in the legislative elections.

Maduro made her vice president for his second term in 2018. He chose her to assume the position once again for his third term, following the highly divisive July 2024 elections.

The opposition party has claimed that this election was rigged and that Maduro was not legitimately elected as the nation's president.

They said that the actual winner was Urrutia.

Throughout the alleged scandals and the criticism Maduro has faced, Rodriguez has demonstrated unwavering support for his authoritarian power.

Maduro is seen being transported to the US following his detainment, as shared by Trump on Truth Social

Maduro, pictured with his wife Flores in 2019, was serving his third presidential term when the pair was captured by US forces

Her brother, Jorge Rodriguez, has also climbed the political ranks and is currently the president of the National Assembly.

'They are very, very manipulative,' Andres Izarra, a former minister under Maduro who was exiled after breaking with the regime, told The WSJ.

'I think they will maneuver to stay in power as long as they can.'

Despite her historic loyalty to Maduro, Colombia's former vice-president, Francisco Santos, said he is 'absolutely certain' that Rodriguez betrayed him.

'They didnt remove him, they handed him over,' Santos, who was Colombia's vice president from 2002 to 2010 and later became the nation's ambassador to the US, told news channel NTN24.

'Im absolutely certain Delcy Rodriguez handed him over...Shes very clear about the role shes going to play and shes going to try to earn a little bit of independence.'

Trump announced that the US had carried out a military strike after several explosions rocked the capital of Caracas in the early hours of Saturday.

The overnight mission to capture Maduro and Flores from their Caracas compound took about two hours and 20 minutes.

It involved 150 aircraft targeting Venezuelan air defenses so that military troops could arrive in Caracas in helicopters, The New York Times reported.

An anonymous Venezuelan official told the outlet that 40 people, including military personnel and civilians, were killed during the operation.

Trump confirmed that no Americans died, but two anonymous US officials said about half a dozen soldiers were injured, per the NYT.

Maduro and his wife were captured and flown to America to stand trial. They are being held in Brooklyn's notorious Metropolitan Detention Center.

The US has no troops on the ground in Venezuela, according to the Pentagon.
He was arrested on his way out of the country

A French man has been dramatically arrested at Sydney airport as he was about to leave the country.

Sexual crime squad detectives arrested Adam Berguiga, 22, after he was accused of the sexual assault of a woman in a Melbourne laneway following a night out.

Police allege he was partying at a nightclub in the CBD on New Year's Eve when the woman fell over on the dancefloor.

It is alleged Berguiga then escorted her out of the venue and towards Coors Laneway early on Thursday morning.

The tiny laneway sits between Little Bourke and Lonsdale streets.

Berguiga is alleged to have then carried out the attack, reported 7News.

The woman was then allegedly led back towards Little Bourke Street before he fled the scene.

Officers issued an arrest warrant for Berguiga at 9.30pm on Saturday. CCTV footage and composite images were also released.

Adam Berguiga, 22, allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in a Melbourne laneway in the early hours of Thursday

He had been partying on New Year's Eve at a nightclub in the CBD and allegedly took the woman into Coors laneway

He was arrested in Sydney's international airport terminal around 12pm on Sunday

He was then recognised by authorities as he allegedly tried to leave the country.

He was arrested at Sydney's international airport terminal around midday on Sunday.

Victoria Police are in the process of extraditing Berguiga back to Melbourne.

He is expected to appear before a magistrate on Monday.
Major legacy media outlets learned about the secret operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro before it began on Friday night, according to a report.

Two sources who have knowledge of correspondence between the White House and the media organizations told the publication Semafor that the New York Times and the Washington Post found out about the raid 'soon before it was scheduled to begin.'

Exactly how long before the publications learned about the operation - whether it was hours or minutes - was not revealed.

But the sources said that the New York Times and Washington Post, which are among the most widely-read newspapers in the US, held off on publishing the news until the operation was complete in order to avoid endangering US troops.

On Saturday morning, President Donald Trump and other top White House officials confirmed the stunning capture of Maduro which had taken place overnight.

Trump had approved the raid, titled Operation Absolute Resolve, at 10.46pm Friday.

It was supported by every branch of the US military and involved more than 150 aircraft, according to Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine, who detailed the timeline alongside Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday.

Weather had delayed the operation by a few days, but conditions had cleared enough on Friday night for the president to give the green light.

Unnamed sources said that the New York Times and the Washington Post learned about the secret operation in Venezuela just before it greenlit by President Donald on Trump Friday night

The operation was a success and remained a secret until Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured. Trump posted this picture of Maduro aboard USS Iwo Jima on Saturday

Low-flying aircraft targeted and destroyed military infrastructure, including air defence systems, to make way for helicopters that landed at Maduro's compound

At least seven blasts were heard as low-flying aircraft targeted and destroyed military infrastructure, including air defence systems, 'to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters into the target area,' Caine said.

US forces arrived at Maduro's compound at 1.01am Eastern Standard Time and took Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, into custody soon after.

One helicopter was hit during the raid but remained flyable and made it back home safely.

At 3.29am EST, forces had successfully exfiltrated, and Maduro and his wife were placed aboard the USS Iwo Jima for transport to New York, where the Venezuelan President will be tried on charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy and weapons charges.

The US president and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth praised the operation and the fact that no US personnel were killed. A Venezuelan official told the New York Times that at least 40 of their people, including military and civilians, had been killed.

'The coordination, the stealth, the precision, the very long arm of American justice - all on display in the middle of the night,' Hegseth said.

The stealthy aspect of the raid was upheld by the New York Times' and Washington Posts' decisions to withhold their reporting, though there were no legal barriers to do so.

The sources who spoke with Semafor said the White House told the publications that publishing the information could have exposed US personnel to danger as they conducted the operation.

The US president and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth praised the operation and the fact that no US personnel were killed

A Venezuelan official told the New York Times that at least 40 of their people, including military and civilians, had been killed

Maduro was transported to New York, where he will be tried on charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy and weapons charges

The decisions not to report on the operation until it was complete are in line with American journalistic traditions and standards to yield to the government's request for secrecy in the case of high-stakes national security issues.

A spokesperson for the Pentagon told the Daily Mail: 'You will need to reach out to the New York Times and Washington Post on their claims.'

The Daily Mail has also reached out to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the White House to confirm the claims of Semafor's sources.

The decision not to report on the operation was similar to the actions of American publications last August, when outlets held back on reporting that the US was in the process of a prisoner exchange with Russia.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and more than a dozen others were exchanged for Russian prisoners held by the United States and countries throughout Europe.

Publications did not report on the swap until it was completed in order to avoid derailing the deal.

But leaks have also characterized a significant part of the news cycle during Trump's second administration, such as when Hegseth sent sensitive information about airstrikes in Yemen on an unsecure Signal group chat.

The chat inadvertently included the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, who reported that he had seen the messages not meant for his eyes, though he did not detail what was in them.
An investigation is ongoing after a shooting in Bexleyheath, London sent two men to hospital and led police to close the main road.

Emergency services were called to Broadway in Bexleyheath shortly after 2am this morning following reports of a shooting.

Officers attended the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service, who treated a 30-year-old man for a gunshot wound before taking him to hospital.

Police said they are awaiting an update on his condition.

A 35-year-old man was also arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder, and was also taken to hospital due to his injuries.

A team from Londons Air Ambulance were also present at the scene, where the two men were treated as Police have since cordoned off the area.

A statement from the Metropolitan Police says: 'On Sunday, 4 January at 02:15hrs, police were called to reports of a shooting on Broadway, Bexleyheath.

'Officers attended alongside the London Ambulance Service who treated a 30-year-old man for a gunshot wound before taking him to hospital. We await an update on his condition.

Officers attended the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service, who treated a 30-year-old man for a gunshot wound before taking him to hospital

A 35-year-old man was also arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder, and was taken to hospital due to his injuries

'A 35-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the scene. He was taken to hospital due to his injuries.

'Anyone with information that may assist police is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 630/04Jan.

Broadway in Bexleyheath is a busy town centre with strong footfall, primarily driven by the Broadway Shopping Centre, which has historically reported around 8-9 million annual visitors.

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A number of roads have been closed and nearly all buses have been placed on diversion in the area.

According to News Shopper, one person was treated at the scene for a gunshot wound, while another was treated for a head injury before being taken to hospital.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: 'We were called at 2.10am today (4 January) to reports of a shooting on Broadway, Bexleyheath.

'We sent resources to the scene including ambulance crews, paramedics in fast response cars and an incident response officer.

'We also dispatched a trauma team in a car from London's Air Ambulance.

'We treated two people and took them to hospital.'

Anyone with information that may assist police is asked to call 101 quoting CAD 630/04Jan, the Metropolitan Police said.
The attack on Venezuela and the capture of the country's president has sparked fears that the US plans to take over Greenland, a territory which President Trump has repeatedly said is vital to America's security interests.

Hours after Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro was taken into custody on drug trafficking charges, Katie Miller, the wife of Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff, Steven Miller, shared a controversial post seemingly calling for the US to take the Arctic island over.

Miller, a conservative podcaster, posted a map of the Danish territory covered by the American flag and simply wrote 'SOON.'

The MAGA ally's threat immediately drew outrage among Greenlanders and Danes who stood up to protect their home, which is known for its untapped mineral wealth and is part of NATO.

Jesper Moller Sorensen, Denmark's ambassador to the US, reposted Miller's incitement and shared a 'friendly reminder' of the established defense ties between the two countries.

'Just a friendly reminder about the US and the Kingdom of Denmark: We are close allies and should continue to work together as such. US security is also Greenlands and Denmarks security,' Sorensen wrote.

'Greenland is already part of NATO. The Kingdom of Denmark and the United States work together to ensure security in the Arctic.

'The Kingdom of Denmark has significantly boosted its Arctic security efforts - in 2025 alone, we committed USD 13.7 bn that can be used in the Arctic and North Atlantic. Because we take our joint security seriously.'

Join the debate What do you think would happen to Greenlands identity and resources if America tried to take control?

Katie Miller, the wife of President Donald Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff, Steven Miller, posted a map of Greenland covered by the American flag to X just hours after the US struck Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolas Maduro

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that US troops carried out large-scale strikes in Caracas, Venezuela's capital

The ambassador added: 'And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark.'

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen echoed Sorensen and revealed the country is ramping up its military force amid Trump's threat to take over Greenland.

During her annual New Year's speech, Frederiksen blasted Trump's ongoing threats, insisting that Denmark will 'stand firm on what is right and wrong.'

'In this past year, we have had to pay attention to a lot. Threats. Pressure. Derogatory language. From our closest ally for a lifetime,' Frederiksen said, according to Danish daily newspaper Berlingske.

'Wanting to take over another country, other people. As if it were something you could buy and own,' she added. 'It doesn't belong anywhere.'

Frederiksen said in the televised speech that Denmark is quickly ramping up its military force and reinforcing stronger security in the Arctic amid the president's escalating pressure.

'My speech tonight has not been about foreign policy. It could well have been that. You know where I - where the government stands,' the prime minister said.

'We are in full swing strengthening Danish defense and preparedness,' she added. 'Never before have we increased our military strength so significantly. So quickly.'

Miller's post immediately drew outrage among Danes who stood up to seemingly protect their home. (Pictured: Katie and Stephen Miller in December)

'We are not the ones seeking conflict. But let no one be in any doubt: No matter what happens, we will stand firm on what is right and wrong.'

The prime minister reiterated that the country is working to strengthen security in the Arctic, and described the kingdom as vast in territory but small in population.

'We are taking on our responsibilities in the world. If we let one country fall first, then the way is paved for Russia to advance further into Europe,' she said, according to the Danish outlet.

Talks of Greenland possibly being next in line for a US takeover come after Saturday's dramatic capture of Maduro and Flores, as well as the US strike in Caracas, Venezuela's capital.

Around 40 civilians and military personnel died in the strike, an official told the New York Times.

No US casualties have been reported, but there was an undisclosed number of injuries among US troops, all of whom are reportedly in stable condition.

Maduro, 63, and his wife, 69, were taken into custody amid accusations from Trump that Venezuela has been flooding the US with drugs and gang members.

They landed by helicopter in Manhattan on Saturday evening, after earlier making stops at airfields in upstate New York and Puerto Rico.

US Army Green Berets are seen during Arctic Edge 24 in Greenland. The territory is known for its untapped mineral wealth and NATO alliance

During a press conference, just hours after the couple were snatched, Trump declared the US will run the South American country indefinitely

Maduro will reportedly be held there as he awaits trial. His initial hearing could begin in the next 36 hours.

During a press conference, just hours after the couple were snatched, Trump declared the US will run the South American country indefinitely.

Jeff Landry, the governor of Louisiana and special envoy to Greenland, applauded the commander-in-chief for capturing Maduro with such force.

'Having served as a sheriffs deputy and AG, I have seen the devastating effects of illegal drugs on American families,' Landry wrote on X.

'With over 100k opioid-related deaths annually, I am grateful to see a President finally take real action in the war on drugs. Thank you @realDonaldTrump for holding individuals like Maduro accountable,' he added.

Landry was appointed to the role, with Trump declaring the goal of 'making Greenland part of the US,' which he has targeted for years because of its strategic position in the Arctic.

The president doubled down, calling Greenland vital to 'national protection' and claiming that the US had explored the island three centuries ago.

According to a poll by Verian, conducted in January 2025, a significant majority of Greenlanders do not want to become part of the United States.

Of its small population of around 57,000 residents, 85 percent said they don't want to join America. Six percent said they would, and nine percent said they were unsure, according to the data.

The territory has had the right to declare independence since 2009, but has not done so because it relies heavily on financial aid and public service from Denmark.
The Pope has said he is deeply concerned for Venezuela in the aftermath of President Nicolas Maduro's capture - after previously warning Donald Trump against using violent force in the country.

'It is with deep concern that I am following the developments in Venezuela,' Pope Leo XIV wrote on X Sunday morning. 'The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration.

'This must lead to the overcoming of violence, and to the pursuit of paths of justice and peace,' he continued, adding that he was praying for the Venezuelan nation.

It comes one month after he urged Trump to use 'dialogue, or perhaps pressure, including economic pressure' to combat what the US President called Maduro's 'narco-regime', rather than resorting to violence.

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Robert Francis Prevost, or Leo, was elected in May to be the first-ever US-born Pope. He is particularly familiar with Latin America because he spent nearly four decades in Peru as a cleric.

In contrast with the Pope's message, Trump celebrated the 'violence' involved in Maduro's capture in the immediate aftermath, while praising the 'speed' of his troops.

US Army Delta Force soldiers snatched Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores from their Caracas compound in the early hours of Saturday before extraditing them on drug trafficking charges.

The president later called into Fox News's breakfast show Fox & Friends, excitedly telling its hosts: 'I mean, I watched it literally like I was watching a television show. If you would've seen the speed, the violence - it was an amazing thing.'

The Pope has said he is deeply concerned for Venezuela in the aftermath of President Nicolas Maduro's capture - after previously warning Donald Trump against using violent force

'This must lead to the overcoming of violence, and to the pursuit of paths of justice and peace,' the Pope wrote on X, adding that he was praying for Venezuela following Trump's incursion

Explosions were seen ripping across Caracas during the daring raid, with Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab insisting that 'innocents' had been 'mortally wounded' by the US operation.

Though many Venezuelans in the US have celebrated the overthrow of their longtime dictator, a host of world leaders have condemned the violent incursion into a foreign country's affairs.

The United Nations also said it was 'deeply alarmed' by the US strikes and reported detention of Maduro in Venezuela.

It expressed concern that the escalation was a violation of international law.

'These developments constitute a dangerous precedent,' Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said in a statement.

Dujarric said there are worries about the wider implications for Latin America and the Caribbean, and called on 'all actors in Venezuela' to respect human rights and the rule of law.

The New York indictment accuses Maduro of leading a 'a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking.'

It alleges that the drug trafficking efforts 'enriched and entrenched Venezuela's political and military elite.'

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US authorities allege that Maduro partnered with 'some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world' to bring tons of cocaine into North America.

Authorities estimate that as much as 250 tons of cocaine were trafficked through Venezuela by 2020, according to the indictment.

The drugs were moved on go-fast vessels, fishing boats and container ships or via planes from clandestine airstrips, authorities allege.

Trump said the United States would govern Venezuela indefinitely in the meantime, after dismissing the prospect of the country's popular opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, taking the reins, claiming she 'does not have the support'.

He offered little further detail on the logistics of running Venezuela, which has a population of 30 million, but suggested the country's vast oil reserves would be used to fund its revival.

Trump's unapologetic focus on the South American nation's oil supplies has prompted many US lawmakers to accuse him of being primarily motivated by economic gain, rather than a desire to pursue criminal charges.
More than 27,000 students have enrolled on almost 800 rip-off Mickey Mouse university courses in the last four years, research suggests.

Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveals a wide range of dubious subjects being taken, including 'climate justice' and 'traditions of yoga'.

The analysis, by the TaxPayers Alliance (TPA), aimed to highlight courses across the UK which either do not hold cultural value or are unlikely to directly lead to a job.

Researchers found 787 of these so-called Mickey Mouse courses enrolling students since the 2022-23 academic year.

The universities with the most were Buckinghamshire New University and Nottingham Trent University, the TPA said.

Many of the courses listed across the board were linked to hobbies, including five degrees in 'esports'  competitive online videogaming.

There was also a masters degree in outdoor and experiential learning, where students can specialise in bushcraft, at the University of Cumbria.

And at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, there was a master's degree in the traditions of yoga and meditation.

More than 27,000 students have enrolled on almost 800 rip-off Mickey Mouse university courses in the last four years, research suggests, including one in 'traditions of yoga' (file picture)

Meanwhile, around 60 of the courses were described as woke  with limited real-world applications.

This included a masters in climate justice at Glasgow Caledonian University, which is no longer accepting applicants, and a master's course in race, education and decolonial thought at Leeds Beckett University.

Other woke courses highlighted by the TPA included a masters in workplace health and wellbeing at Nottingham University and an advanced degree in gender, sexuality and culture at the University of Manchester, both members of the elite Russell Group.

Another top university, Bristol, ran a masters in contemporary identities, although this is no longer on offer.

There was also a net zero bootcamp at London South Bank University  a free course, running for five weeks, where students can re-energise their careers and work with sustainability experts.

The bootcamp is supported by the Mayor of London and HM Government, and the Department for Education.

Callum McGoldrick, investigations campaign manager at the TPA, told The Telegraph: Taxpayers are sick of seeing their hard-earned cash subsidise rip-off degrees that offer little to no return on investment.

These Mickey Mouse subjects are essentially a state-sponsored vanity project where universities fill their coffers while the public picks up the tab for loans which will never come close to being fully repaid.

We need to stop funding hobby courses and start prioritising rigorous subjects that actually boost the economy and deliver value for money.

Laura Trott, shadow education secretary (pictured), criticised the 'debt trap' degrees

Laura Trott, shadow education secretary, added: Young people are being badly let down by Labour, with youth unemployment rising and opportunities narrowing.

The Conservatives would end debt trap degrees that give students a shoddy deal, leave them saddled with debt, and fail to prepare them for the workplace.

Instead, we would double apprenticeships so young people have a genuine choice when they leave school.

The term 'Mickey Mouse' course was first coined in the New Labour years by Baroness Hodge, the former universities minister, to mean one with less rigorous content and fewer job prospects.

Last year, Labour vowed to clamp down on poor-quality degrees by giving the student watchdog new powers to limit the number of people recruited onto courses that fall short of expected standards.

The analysis, covering 2022-23 to 2025-6, covers undergraduate degrees, master's degrees and short courses.

Students can get taxpayer-provided loans for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, which are wiped after 30 to 40 years if the borrower was unable to fully repay.

Tuition fees for undergraduate courses were raised in 2025 to 9,535 a year, with Government loans covering the full amount.

Master's degrees can cost between 5,000 and 30,000, but Government loans are capped at 12,858, with any extra paid by the student.

A spokesman for the University of Nottingham said: The majority of learners on our workplace health and wellbeing postgraduate course are senior occupational health or human resource professionals, and around half have their fees paid directly by their employer. The taxpayer does not contribute to this course.

A spokesman for the University of Cumbria said: Our MA in outdoor experiential learning is a one-year research-informed programme, designed for those passionate about transforming education, inspiring sustainability, and reshaping how we engage with experience in learning.

They said a recent survey put it in the top 10 in the UK for graduates entering employment or further study within 15 months of completion.

A spokesman for London South Bank University said: Through our strong links with the construction industry, we know that there is demand for a wider pool of skilled workers who understand issues that are relevant to different parts of the industry.

'Across the LSBU Group, we are proud to offer courses relevant to green skills, which are underpinned by strong industrial content, robust research and fulfil a growing economic need.'

A spokesman for the University of Manchester said: Gender and sexuality are two of the most important issues of our time and are therefore highly suitable for academic study.

The programme is based on rigorous enquiry drawing on leading interdisciplinary research in humanities and social sciences.

A spokesman for Glasgow Caledonian University said: We were recently named UK University of the Year for Graduate Jobs.

A spokesman for Buckinghamshire New University said: 'Its unclear what the TaxPayers Alliance is basing its claims on. A more meaningful assessment comes from the evidence.

'Our industry-facing programmes are designed in partnership with employers to meet real workforce needs and significant skills demand. And were proud that our students make a positive contribution to society and to UK plc - from the care they provide as nurses and social workers to their work as pilots, lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs, and across the creative industries, which, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, contributed 124 billion to the UK economy and supported approximately 2.4 million jobs in 2023/24.'

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: Our post-16 education and skills white paper set out plans to crack down on poor quality courses and franchising, including by introducing new powers for the Office for Students to limit the number of students that universities recruit onto courses that fall short of expected standards.

Students should be certain that the extra money they invest in their higher education will be worth it, and the teaching and experience they receive will help them follow their passions and expand their horizons.
Just over a week ago, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian declared that his country is now at war with the US, Europe and Israel.

He spat his poison in an interview with state-controlled media. 'We are in a full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe,' he fulminated.

We will need to be ready  not least as the regime grows more desperate under the pressure of protests on its streets. When the mullahs feel cornered, they lash out. And we will need tough, reliable allies  those capable of dismantling their machine of terror.

There is no better organisation for that task than the Israeli Mossad, and no better person to discuss it with than its former head, Yossi Cohen.

Cohen led the service from 2016 to 2021. They call him 'the model' for his sharp features and crisp suits.

He beams across from me in an unfussy office in central Tel Aviv. This is a man who, as a Mossad agent, repeatedly went undercover in the Arab world, risking torture and death each time.

For Cohen, the Mossad works to a single principle  one he returns to both in our interview and in his book, Sword of Freedom: Israel, Mossad and the Secret War, which lies between us on the polished table.

'We can't be number two on anything,' he tells me. 'Be first and be decisive  that's the rule.'

The truth of his words is plain in the remorseless way Mossad hunted down Israel's enemies after the October 7 atrocities.

Israel's former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen lifted the lid on the country's assassinations

Cohen explained to David Patrikarakos (left) how Britain and Israel can ally together in the global battle against Jihadist terror

And of course, it was Israeli agents operating inside Iran who helped Jerusalem gain mastery of Iran's skies within hours during the 12-day conflict in June 2025.

Under Cohen's tenure, the message was simple: those who sought death for the Jewish state  or its allies  would meet it themselves, wherever they were.

He was as good as his word. His years in charge saw some of the most audacious operations in the agency's history.

On 21 April 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, just before dawn prayers, two men on a motorcycle rolled up beside Fadi al-Batsh, a Hamas engineer and commander. Fourteen shots were fired at point-blank range.

The assassins melted into the morning traffic. Malaysia called it a 'professional foreign hit'. Everyone knew who had carried it out.

That same year, in the Syrian hill town of Masyaf, an explosion tore open the car of Aziz Asbar, head of Syria's missile programme, sending what remained of him corkscrewing through the air.

Asbar had been rebuilding Syria's missile production after repeated Israeli strikes. His work ended there. And on it went.

On 7 August 2020 in Tehran's Pasdaran district, a motorcycle screeched to a halt beside a white sedan. Two bursts of gunfire rang out.

Abu Muhammad al-Masri  al-Qaeda's number two and architect of the 1998 US embassy bombings  slumped dead at the wheel.

His daughter, Miriam, the widow of Osama bin Laden's son Hamza, was also killed. The hit was carried out at Washington's request, timed to the attacks' 22nd anniversary.

This was not merely an assassination. It was a message: attack Israel, or its friends, and nowhere on earth is safe.

Cohen (right) is pictured here with David Patrikarakos. Cohen led Mossad from 2016 to 2021. They call him 'the model' for his sharp features and crisp suits

For Cohen, the Mossad works to a single principle  one he returns to both in our interview and in his book, Sword of Freedom: Israel, Mossad and the Secret War

The equation for the Jewish state is brutally simple: it fights, therefore it exists.

But the fight is not always about killing. Mossad is ruthless  and highly sophisticated. Disruption is the doctrine, Cohen tells me.

'Knowing is important, but disrupting is more important.' Timing is everything: let your enemy's project collapse at the very moment they believe it is about to succeed.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Mossad's campaign against Iran's nuclear programme. On 31 January 2018, Iran's nuclear archive vanished from Tehran  a heist worthy of Ocean's Eleven.

Just after midnight, a small Mossad team slipped into a warehouse on the city's outskirts.

Using industrial thermal cutters, they cracked open massive safes, sparks flying as they cherry-picked the most incriminating files.

They had roughly seven hours. By 6.30am, they were gone  with half a tonne of secrets: 50,000 paper documents and 55,000 digital files.

The archive later appeared on Israeli television. Iran's nuclear ambitions were exposed. Jerusalem used the material to push Washington toward tougher action against the mullahs.

Spies do not believe in tidy categories. Law becomes a line drawn in pencil. You bend it to keep a city safe. You break it to prevent the greater lawlessness of bombs and bodies.

'If you are second in cybersecurity,' Cohen says, 'the enemy has already been inside your systems. That is unacceptable.'

During the wave of ISIS plots across Europe, Mossad turned west, sharing intelligence that helped disrupt attacks in Turkey, Germany, France, and crucially, Britain.

Al Qaeda's second in command Abu Muhammad al-Masri was killed in Tehran on August 7, 2020

In Sword of Freedom, Cohen describes his close collaboration with British intelligence, noting that MI6 is perhaps Mossad's closest counterpart in operational philosophy: global in reach, human-led, and unafraid of intrusion.

That partnership has saved lives. Just before his retirement in 2020, the former head of MI5, Sir Andrew Parker, was explicit about Britain's debt to Mossad.

'We do not give out Oscars in intelligence,' he told Cohen. 'But if we did, you would deserve one.'

In the wake of the Manchester synagogue massacre, and the atrocities at Sydney's Bondi Beach, that debt feels newly tangible.

Modern espionage is hybrid warfare by other means  theft, sabotage, assassination, cyber intrusion and pressure. Mossad are its masters.

As Iran  and a wider ecosystem of jihadist murderers, foreign and domestic  declares war on the West, MI6 will be at the centre of the fight.

But alongside it will stand Israel's intelligence services  allies once more on the frontlines against Islamist barbarism.
A Florida Republican has erupted in fury at a local news reporter who asked about the future of Venezuela in the wake of dictator Nicolas Maduro's capture.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart hit back against the accusation that members of his party are not 'willing to support' popular Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, despite US President Donald Trump's comments to the contrary.

He ripped into the reporter for 'putting words in my mouth' while adding that he thinks Machado will be the country's 'next democratically-elected president'.

This marks a departure from the party line, as Trump appears to have thoroughly dismissed the idea of working with Machado by claiming Saturday that she 'doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country' to lead it.

Assuming that Rep Diaz-Balart shared the same perspective, a local reporter asked him during a Miami press conference the same day why 'you are not willing to support' Machado.

'Woah woah woah woah woah woah. Wait wait wait. Hold on. First, you're talking to us? When have we ever not supported her?' Diaz-Balart hit back.

'These are serious issues,' he added, while wagging his finger at the journalist.

'Do not put words in my mouth! I will not tolerate putting words in my mouth or my colleagues mouths.

Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (pictured center) has exploded at a local news reporter who asked about the future of Venezuela in the wake of dictator Nicolas Maduro's capture

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart hit back against the accusation that members of his party are not 'willing to support' popular Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado (pictured), despite US President Donald Trump's comments to the contrary

Trump appears to have thoroughly dismissed the idea of working with Machado by claiming Saturday that she 'doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country' to lead it

'We have been consistent from day one, and I am convinced there's going to be a transition, we've already talked about that.

'And I'm convinced that when there are elections - whether they're new elections, or whether there's a decision to take the old elections - that the next democratically-elected president of Venezuela is going to be Maria Corina Machado.'

It is unclear which outlet the local journalist worked for. The Daily Mail has reached out to Diaz-Balart's office for clarification.

Diaz-Balart represents Florida's 26th congressional district, which covers a large swathe of Miami - the US city with the highest population of Venezuelan immigrants.

A longtime Republican elected to Congress in 2002, he was born in Florida to Cuban parents, and he has also said that Maduro's arrest foreshadows the downfall of the Cuban and Nicaraguan regimes too.

'I was convinced that these terrorist regimes would have not survived another four years of Donald Trump,' he told Florida Politics on Sunday. 'Let me say it now in a different way - I am convinced that the two remaining ones will not survive.'

Diaz-Balart's family ties to the Cuban regime run deep, with his aunt being the first wife of Communist former Cuban President Fidel Castro.

He spoke at the explosive press conference on Saturday alongside Florida Senator Ashley Moody, and fellow Reps Carlos A. Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar.

Diaz-Balart represents Florida's 26th congressional district, which covers a large swathe of Miami - the US city with the highest population of Venezuelan immigrants

Meanwhile, Trump claimed Machado, who beat him to the Nobel Peace Prize last year, 'doesn't have the support' within her country to successfully lead it following Maduro's capture.

Vente Venezuela Party leader Machado is widely seen as Maduro's most credible opponent, but Trump told reporters he has not been in contact with her.

'She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country,' he said.

It comes despite Machado voicing support for US actions to fight alleged drug trafficking from Venezuela - and after she dedicated her Noble Prize win to Trump and the people in her country.

Machado, who is hugely popular among Venezuelan voters, also referred to Trump's capture of Maduro as 'the hour of freedom' for her people in an X post shared shortly after the shock abduction.

Her supporters, including Venezuelan businessman and former board member of the state oil company PDVSA, Pedro Burelli, have hit back at Trump's comments.

Machado, 'is the most respected politician in the country,' Burelli wrote on X. 'Venezuela is broke and needy, but it is not about to surrender to absurd whims.'

The day after capturing Maduro, Trump said the dictator's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez would be the new Venezuelan leader.

He said she had been 'sworn in' as president and was 'willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again'.

But Rodriguez refused to comply, saying Maduro remained the country's only president. Trump responded by saying the US would now run Venezuela.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio dodged questions Sunday on whether the United States was 'running' Venezuela right now.

'What we are running is the direction that this is going to move moving forward,' the Secretary of State said when pressed on ABC's This Week by host George Stephanopoulos.

In the aftermath of Saturday's dramatic overnight apprehension of leader Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump said that Rubio - and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth - would be charged with controlling the country.

'Well, it's largely going to be run for a period of time by the people standing right behind me,' Trump said at the press conference at Mar-a-Lago. 'We're gonna be running it.'

The comments earned Rubio the nickname 'the Viceroy of Venezuela' from the Washington Post and suggested he would take on yet another role, as he's already serving as the Secretary of State, the National Security Advisor, the head of the dismantled USAID and the Archivist of the United States.

Stephanopoulos, a veteran of Democratic President Bill Clinton's White House, repeatedly pressed Rubio on what legal authority the United States had to remove Maduro from his country and who the U.S. viewed as the country's current leader.

'So is the United States running Venezuela right now?' he asked.

After Rubio's initial remark on the U.S. pointing Venezuela in the right direction, the Secretary of State explained that the United States currently has a quarantine on Venezuela's oil.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio dodges questions Sunday on whether the United States was 'running' Venezuela right now, after President Donald Trump volunteered him for the job during his Mar-a-Lago press conference the day before

President Donald Trump (center) said Saturday from Mar-a-Lago that Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Defense Secretary of Pete Hegseth (right) would 'run' Venezuela on the heels of Maduro's capture

'That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interest of the Venezuelan people are met,' Rubio said. 'And that's what we intend to do.'

'So that leverage remains, that leverage is ongoing, and we expect that it's going to lead to results here,' Rubio continued.

He said the United States would 'set the conditions' so that Venezuela would no longer be a narco-state.

'When the president was asked yesterday who will be running Venezuela, he said it was you, he said it was the Defense Secretary, he said it was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Are you running Venezuela right now?' Stephanopoulos asked.

Rubio didn't explicitly answer the question.

'George, I've explained again that the leverage that we have here is the leverage of the quarantine. So that is a Department of War operation conducting, in some cases, law enforcement functions with the Coast Guard on the seizure of these boats,' the Secretary of State said.

Rubio said he was 'intricately involved in these policies' as well as 'intricately involved in moving forward.'

'Unfortunately, the person that was there before, who was not the legitimate president of the country, was someone we could not work with,' he added.

On ABC News' This Week, Clinton White House veteran George Stephanopoulos pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio on who was running Venezuela after the U.S. captured Nicolas Maduro and flew him to prison in New York

In November 2024, under the Biden Administration, the U.S. recognized Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the 'president-elect' of the South American nation, despite Maduro's claims he had won the July ballot.

Gonzalez fled for asylum in Spain as part of a deal with Maduro's government.

Since Saturday's capture of Maduro, Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in.

Trump initially heralded her as Maduro's replacement.

'He just had a conversation with her,' Trump said of Rubio. 'And she's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.'

However, in public statements, she called Maduro the country's 'only president' and attacked the U.S. for its 'barbarity.'

Rubio was prodded on whether Rodriguez was running Venezuela in the U.S.'s eyes.

'Well, this is not about the legitimate president. We don't believe that this regime in place is legitimate via an election,' Rubio answered.

'But we understand there are people in Venezuela today who are the ones that can actually make changes,' he continued. 'Ultimately, legitimacy for their system of government will come about through a period of transition and real elections, which they have not had.'

At the same time, Rubio downplayed Rodriguez's negative comments about the United States.

'Well, we're not going to judge moving forward based simply on what's said in press conferences,' Rubio said. 'There's a lot of different reasons why people go on TV and say certain things in these countries, especially 15 hours or 12 hours after the person who used to be in charge of the regime is now in handcuffs and on his way to New York.'
Marco Rubio has revealed America's top three priorities after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro - as unanswered questions spark confusion across both nations.

The US Secretary of State discussed what the country hopes to accomplish following the detention of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Saturday.

'The first steps are securing what's in the national interest of the United States and also beneficial to the people of Venezuela, and those are the things we are focused on right now,' he said on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday.

'No more drug trafficking, no more Iran [and] Hezbollah presence there.'

Rubio added that the US was also keen to make sure there was 'no more using the oil industry to enrich all our adversaries.'

The Trump administration has alleged that Maduro is the leader of the Cartel de los Soles, a narco-terror organization that has taken control of the country.

It claims that Maduro, who has been Venezuela's president since 2013, and his cartel associates have been flooding the US with illegal narcotics.

In his second presidential term, Trump has ramped up his war on drugs, designating an increasing number of gangs as terrorist organizations.

He had been targeting Venezuelan ships allegedly smuggling drugs from the country for months prior to Saturday's raid.

Marco Rubio discussed America's priorities for Venezuela on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday

A damaged apartment complex in Venezuela for the US strikes on Saturday is seen above

Rubio also referenced the presence and influence of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite terrorist group and political party, in the South American nation.

Hezbollah is just one of many foreign agents and terror organizations that have infiltrated Venezuela.

Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves. The industry has deep ties to US rivals, including China, Iran and Russia.

Venezuela has worked with these nations to dodge US sanctions. The countries have also invested billions into the oil sector, giving them increased economic and political influence.

Donald Trump has outlined his intention to set up US oil companies in Venezuela.

'We're going to have our very large US oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,' he said on Saturday.

US forces captured Maduro and Flores from their Caracas compound during a dramatic military operation involving air strikes across the capital city.

About 40 military personnel and civilians died as a result. Donald Trump said that no Americans were killed.

Maduro and Flores now sit behind bars at the Metropolitan Correction Center in Brooklyn, New York, on narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges. Still, critical details surrounding the ordeal remain cryptic.

Smoke and flames are seen emerging from an air strike explosion from the US operation

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been announced as the interim leader of Venezuela

Is it lawful for the US to run Venezuela?

Trump has vowed to 'run' Venezuela, as he claims to have Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who has been named the nation's interim leader, on America's side, despite her public declaration that 'never again will we be a colony of any empire.'

However, this idea has been debunked by experts who say it is simply unlawful for the US to take over Venezuela.

'This sounds like an illegal occupation under international law, and there is no authority for the president to do it under domestic law,' Cardozo School of Law Professor Rebecca Ingber told The New York Times.

'Its unclear what he has in mind, but presumably hed need some funding from Congress to do it.'

Jeremy Paul, a professor at Northeastern University specializing in constitutional law, echoed this sentiment to Reuters: 'You cannot say this was a law enforcement operation and then turn around and say now we need to run the country.

'It just doesn't make any sense.'

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is seen being taken into custody by US law enforcement officials

Maduro is pictured above shaking hands with former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in 2022. The US has raised concerns about Iran's influence in Venezuela

Did Maduros capture and extraction violate international law?

Maduro's extradition to New York apparently violated the US-ratified United Nations Charter.

Article 2(4) of the treaty states that a country cannot use force against the sovereign territory of another nation without that nation's consent, a basis for self-defense or the authorization of the UN Security Council.

The US did not have Venezuela's consent, and the premise of the Maduro raid is not considered self-defense but a law enforcement operation.

'It is difficult to conceive of possible legal justifications for transporting Maduro to the US, or for the attacks,' University of Cambridge International Law Professor Marc Weller UK-based thinktank Chatham House wrote.

'There is no UN Security Council mandate that might authorize force. Clearly, this was not an instance of a US act of self-defense triggered by a prior or ongoing armed attack by Venezuela.'

'The cornerstone to the UN Charter is settling disputes peaceably and resorting to the use of force as a last resort. This action violates that principle,' Syracuse University College of Law Professor David M Crane told the Daily Mail.

Air strike damage is seen above at La Carlota military base after the US operation to capture Maduro

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Does the UN prohibition matter under US law?

The US Congress has the power to declare war, but the president is considered the nation's commander-in-chief.

Presidents of both political parties have justified launching international military action when it was of national interest and/or of limited scope - often without a formal declaration of war from Congress.

Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair magazine late last year that if Trump were to allow 'some activity on land' in Venezuela, he would need Congress to give him the go-ahead first.

However, Rubio said that Congress was not notified about the Saturday operation.

Experts have identified other legal qualms with the ordeal.

'Under domestic law, the President went against the National Security Act and the War Powers Act, which require notice to Congress due to Article I of the US Constitution, where only Congress can declare war,' Crane told the Daily Mail.

President Donald Trump is seen next to CIO Director John Ratcliffe watching the US military operation to capture Maduro and his wife

Maduro is seen being transported to the US following his detainment, as shared by Trump on Truth Social

Will Trump face any repercussions from the international courts?

Under international law, there is a basis to penalize Trump for these actions, according to experts.

However, the chances of it are unlikely, Crane said.

'The International Criminal Court (ICC) does not have jurisdiction over the US as a non-signatory to the Rome Statute and the US has veto power over a Security Council resolution,' he explained.

The Rome Statute is the fundamental treaty that created the ICC and its legal framework.

It defines core crimes as genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes.

The US did not sign off on the Rome Statute over concerns that it would give the court's prosecutor 'too much power unchecked,' John Bellinger III, a former legal adviser for the National Security Council, told NPR.

Regardless of the legal consequences, Crane said that the Venezuela raid, 'politically and diplomatically, it is a disaster for the US.'

'What moral standing we had left is now gone,' he continued. 'The US is moving towards a pariah state.'
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed former President Joe Biden for failing to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro when he was in office.

Rubio blasted Biden for only placing a $25 million bounty on Maduro but not trying to actively snatch the now-ousted president like President Donald Trump did on Saturday.

'Dating back, in the Biden administration, they had a $25 million reward for his [Maduro's] capture,' Rubio told NBC News' Kristen Welker on Sunday morning.

'So, we have a reward for his capture, but we're not going to enforce it?

'That's the difference between President Trump and everybody else... President Trump did something about it.'

The US has had a bounty on Maduro since 2020, when he was first indicted by the Justice Department for narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and more.

The award was initially set at $15 million, and bumped up to $25 million last January when Biden was still in office.

The amount was then raised to $50 million in August under the Trump administration after designating Cartel de los Soles a foreign terrorist organization that is believed to be run by Maduro, CNN reported.

Rubio's jab at Biden comes after a social media post the former leader made about Maduro came back to haunt him.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio blasted former President Joe Biden for not doing anything to try and capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro when he was in office

Rubio said Biden's administration placed a $25 million bounty on Maduro, but did not 'enforce it' like Donald Trump did

Biden's post on X, shared in 2020, stated that Trump 'admired' Maduro.

At the time, Axios interviewed and reported that Trump was open to the idea of meeting with the now locked -up dictator.

Trump told the outlet: 'I would maybe think about that. ... Maduro would like to meet. And I'm never opposed to meetings  you know, rarely opposed to meetings.'

The outlet posted their article on X, and Biden replied to it, writing, 'Trump talks tough on Venezuela, but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas Maduro.

'As President, I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy.'

Axios also reported that Trump seemingly had second thoughts about his decision to recognize former acting President Juan Guaido as the leader of Venezuela.

Now Bidens tweet has sparked an uproar, with many mocking him after Trump sent an elite Delta Force unit after Maduro and his wife.

San Diego politician Amy Reichert took to X to reply to Bidens earlier post, writing, 'This did not age well.'

Maduro is seen being escorted by US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officers on Saturday after he was arrested and transported to the US alongside his wife, Cilia Flores

A post on X that Biden made in 2020 came back to haunt him after Maduro was arrested Saturday. In it, the former commander-in-chief said Trump 'admires' the dictator

Trump shared a picture of Maduro blindfolded inside a plane while on his way to the US after his arrest

The post received more than one million views and hundreds of comments, with users taunting Biden over his age.

One user replied to Reichert, writing, 'Nothing about Biden aged well,' while another wrote, 'Joe isn't aging well either.'

Biden's original post even received some recent gibes, with one user writing, 'Oof,' and another, 'Just checking here.'

Meanwhile, Trump took to his TruthSocial account to share an image of Maduro being flown to the US after his and his wife's arrest.

The disgraced leader was seen donning a gray sweatsuit, an eye mask, and headphones as he clutched a bottle of water during the ride.

'Nicolas Maduro onboard the USS Iwo Jima,' Trump wrote.

Not only did Trump capture Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in the middle of the night, but he also had US troops carry out a strike in Caracas, Venezuela's capital.

Around 40 civilians and military personnel died in the strike, an official told the New York Times.

No US casualties have been reported, but there was an undisclosed number of injuries among US troops, all of whom are reportedly in stable condition.

US troops also carried out a strike in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, on Saturday. Around 40 civilians and military personnel died in the strike. No US casualties have been reported

Maduro, 63, and his wife, 69, were taken into custody amid accusations from Trump that Venezuela has been flooding the US with drugs and gang members.

They landed by helicopter in Manhattan on Saturday evening, after earlier making stops at airfields in upstate New York and Puerto Rico.

Maduro will reportedly be held there as he awaits trial. His initial hearing could begin in the next 36 hours.

During a press conference, just hours after the couple were snatched, Trump declared the US will run the South American country indefinitely.

Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's interim leader, has gone on to hurl threats at Trump after he captured Maduro.

The Supreme Court of Venezuela confirmed hardline socialist Vice President Rodriguez as Maduro's successor just hours after US forces detained him and his wife on narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges.

Trump said he preferred Rodriguez, 56, in power rather than the country's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, adding that Maduro's VP was prepared to work with the US.

During a press conference, just hours after the couple were snatched, Trump declared the US will run the South American country indefinitely. In the meantime, Delcy Rodriguez has been appointed Venezuela's interim leader

'She, I think, was quite gracious, but she really doesn't have a choice,' Trump said of Rodriguez during a news conference in which he said the US would 'run' the country.

'She is essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Very simple.'

But the Maduro loyalist, who has helped him maintain his regime for over a decade, has vented her fury at Trump's capture of the despot, whom she called her nation's rightful leader.

Rodriguez, who also serves as minister for finance and oil, slammed Maduro's arrest as 'an atrocity that violates international law' and called for his 'immediate release.'

'We call on the peoples of the great homeland to remain united, because what was done to Venezuela can be done to anyone,' she asserted during a National Defense Council session after the US military operation.

'That brutal use of force to bend the will of the people can be carried out against any country.'

She also insinuated that she was not as on board with helping the US essentially run Venezuela as Trump had suggested.
A crackdown on the graffiti covering London Underground trains is costing 11 million annually.

Transport for London (TfL) commissioner Andy Lord said they have seen a 'spike' in Tube carriages being tagged, especially on the Central and Bakerloo lines.

Last month, in response to a Freedom of Information request, TfL said staff were working tirelessly to remove 'one tag on average every three minutes'.

Speaking to the London Assembly budget and performance Committee, Mr Lord said: 'We're working very closely with the British Transport Police and our own investigation teams to identify and prevent particularly the hotspot locations where people are gaining access to the trains.'

In the summer, it was revealed that cleaners were scrubbing more than 3,000 spraypainted tags off of Tube trains each week.

In July, Mr Lord said TfL's enforcement teams photographed the tags before removing them, in order to find and prosecute those responsible, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Lord added that the vast majority of affected trains were cleaned when they were not in service, but noted some were done internally while operating.

The commissioner urged the public not to take cleaning trains into their own hands, adding that guerrilla cleaners could 'put themselves at risk and cause inadvertent damage as well'.

Cracking down on the graffiti covering London Undergroundtrains is costing 11 million annually (Pictured: graffiti on the Bakerloo line in June 2025)

Joe Reeve has led a group of volunteers cleaning graffiti off Bakerloo line trains in London

A London Underground passenger sits in a Bakerloo Line carriage covered in graffiti in June

It comes after a group of unofficial volunteers were so angered by graffiti-covered carriages on the London Underground's Bakerloo line that they took matters into their hands to clean them up.

The team led by Joe Reeve, 28, posted videos on social media of their clean-up missions and received praise from TfL train drivers and passengers who thanked them for their efforts.

Mr Reeve, who is the founder of a policy group called Looking for Growth, has been critical of London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan - saying he is 'doing what Sadiq Khant'.

Speaking about wider concerns about the state of the Tube, he told The Standard: 'I take the Bakerloo line every morning and I see someone push past the barrier.

'Then when I get down to the Tube, every single carriage is full of graffiti. It feels like no one is doing anything to make the city better. I'm pretty patriotic.

'I love London, and I think it should be the best city in the world. I had the option to move to the US for work, but I want to stay in the UK and see it get better.'

He added: 'Sadiq has been mayor for a while and has said in videos he's proud of what he's achieved. I - and a lot of people - feel pretty frustrated with him.'

In October 2024, TfL's first new Piccadilly line train was covered in graffiti just hours after it arrived into London and a year before it entered service.

The test train - which was being transported from the Siemens factory in Vienna - was one of 94 new trains built to replace the 50-year-old fleet as part of a 2.9 billion upgrade of the underground.

The act of vandalism is said to have happened early on the morning of October 14 while the train was near the Latchmere rail junction, close to Clapham.

In October 2024, TfL's first new Piccadilly line train was covered in graffiti just hours after it arrived into London and a year before it entered service

London Mayor Sadiq Khan on board the first Night Tube train on the Victoria line in August 2016

In November 2021, A graffiti vandal who caused over 130,000 worth of damage to the London Underground claimed he was 'creating a job for the person cleaning it'.

Bacari Adams, 33, was caught red-handed when officers discovered his favourite tag was the very same one tattooed on his knuckles.

Dozens of trains and stations were damaged by Adams totalling 77 offences - all committed across the city railway system.

British Transport Police officers first started investigating the 33-year-old in 2016 by interviewing people who said they had seen someone trespassing onto the railway, sometimes in the dead of night, and scrawling tags on trains and other property.

When enough evidence was accumulated, Adams and a second man, 31-year-old Jake Martin, were arrested at their homes in December 2018.

Their phones included decisive evidence, officers said, as it included pictures of their vandalism which they had kept as trophies.

Text and WhatsApp messages were also found which showed they planned more vandalism on trains and railway property.

In an interview with police in January 2019, where Adams was shown CCTV footage of him writing his tag on a London Overground train, he admitted the offences.

Bacari Adams, pictured, was jailed for six months after he was convicted of 77 offences relating to graffiti attacks across London over the course of two years

Join the debate Should Londoners pay millions to clean up graffiti or demand tougher action against vandals?

He said: 'Sorry, I'm not going to do it again. I can't deny catching me red-handed, only an idiot would deny that'.

Adams, of Enfield, was jailed for six months at Inner London Crown Court on Wednesday, October 13. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to destroy or damage property.

Martin, of Tottenham, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for 18 months.

The damage caused to the railway totalled 133,817.
Department of War officials have confirmed that there are no US military personnel remaining in Venezuela despite President Donald Trump's promise to 'run' the country and his threats of a 'second wave' of military action.

The threat came hours after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured in the early hours of Saturday, with Trump suggesting further action could take place if the US encountered resistance from the country's officials or military.

Although there are no more personnel in Venezuela itself, 15,000 troops are still in the area, stationed both in nearby countries and on a dozen warships in the Caribbean.

During a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said those troops 'remain in the region at a high state of readiness, prepared to project power, defend themselves, and our interests in the region.'

Trump approved the raid on Venezuela, which was titled Operation Absolute Resolve and succeeded in the stunning capture of Maduro, at 10.46pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Friday.

It was supported by every branch of the US military and involved more than 150 aircraft, according to Caine, who detailed the timeline of the operation at the Mar-a-Lago press conference.

At 3.29am EST, forces had successfully exfiltrated, and Maduro and his wife were placed aboard the USS Iwo Jima for transport to New York, where the Venezuelan President will be tried on charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy and weapons charges.

The US president and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth praised the operation and the fact that no US personnel were killed. A Venezuelan official told the New York Times that at least 40 of their people, including military and civilians, had been killed.

Department of War officials have confirmed that there are no US military personnel remaining in Venezuela despite President Donald Trump's threats of a 'second wave' of military action

The threat came hours after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured and placed aboard the USS Iwo Jima in the early hours of Saturday

Prior to Friday night, the large military buildup in the Caribbean had been constrained to destroying small boats and seizing oil tankers. This image is from one of those tanker seizures

Shortly after Maduro's capture, Trump said: 'We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.'

When asked about whether the US running Venezuela would involve military in the country, the president said: 'Were not afraid of boots on the ground. We had boots on the ground last night at a very high level.'

Trump also said that he would be directly involved in running Venezuela, alongside General Caine, Secretary of War Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The Pentagon has not revealed how long it plans to keep the military buildup in the Caribbean, which is at the highest level since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Until Friday night and Saturday morning, that taskforce had been constrained to targeting and destroying small boats that the Trump administration claimed were smuggling drugs, before escalating into seizing oil tankers.

At least 115 people have been killed since those efforts began, and 35 boats have been attacked.

The continued presence of the American military in the Caribbean lends credence to Trump's threats against other South and Central American nations made in the aftermath of Maduro's capture.

On Saturday morning, the president told Fox & Friends: 'Something's going to have to be done with Mexico.'

A US military helicopter flying over the Panama-flagged Centuries oil tanker, which was intercepted by the US Coast Guard prior to Maduro's capture

The seizure of the Centuries oil tanker was part of a ramped-up pressure campaign against Maduro's regime

The continued presence of the American military in the Caribbean lends credence to Trump's threats against other South and Central American nations. These US fighter jets were seen flying over Puerto Rico on Saturday

Trump claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has been allowing drug cartels to run the country and that she has declined his offers to 'take out the cartels.'

And during the Mar-a-Lago press conference, the president also threatened the governments of Cuba and Colombia.

'I think Cuba is going to be something we'll end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now,' Trump said.

The president then asked Rubio, whose parents fled Cuba, to comment on the topic. 'If I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I'd be concerned,' the Secretary of State said.

Regarding Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Trump said: 'He has cocaine mills. He has factories where he makes cocaine...

'He's making cocaine. They're sending it into the United States, so he does have to watch his a**.'

Colombia, Cuba and Mexico were among the nations that condemned the operation in Venezuela, with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel calling it, 'cowardly, criminal and treacherous.'

Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the operation 'seriously jeopardizes regional stability.'

Other countries that condemned the raid included Brazil, Iran, Russia and China.
A Venezuelan neighbour was pictured walking through his devastated apartment in the aftermath of a US raid that reportedly killed at least 40 civilians and military personnel.

Striking images show rubble and debris scattered around the floor of the home in Catia La Mar - with the building's outer walls completely taken out.

Metal railings lie amongst ashes near the entrance and the inside of the flat has been wrecked as plaster hangs off the ceiling.

Jesus Linares, 48, and his work partner Reggie Carrera could be seen inspecting the damaged apartment.

It comes after the US launched large-scale strikes on Venezuela early on Saturday morning in a ploy to capture President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

Explosions were seen ripping across Caracas during the daring raid, with Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab insisting 'innocents' had been 'mortally wounded' by the US operation.

Maduro and Flores arrived in New York yesterday afternoon, having been apprehended by a unit of elite Delta Force soldiers.

Trump had earlier announced the military mission, confirming that a 'large-scale strike' was carried out in Venezuela. He added the operation was done in conjunction with US Law enforcement.

Yesterday on Fox News the President said he had watched the operation with federal officials in a room at Mar-a-Lago.

Striking images show rubble and debris scattered around the floor of the home in Catia La Mar - with the building's outer walls completely taken out

Jesus Linares, 48, and his work partner Reggie Carrera could be seen inspecting the damaged apartment

Maduro, pictured with his wife Flores in 2019, was serving his third presidential term when the pair was captured by US forces

'If you would've seen the speed, the violence... it was an amazing thing,' he said.

Sources said Maduro and Flores were taken from their home by US troops in the middle of the night and were sleeping when the raid began.

President Trump addressed who should lead Venezuela after President Nicholas Maduro and his wife touched down in the US following their military capture.

Maduro and Flores are facing criminal drug trafficking charges and will be federally tried in New York.

The Supreme Court this afternoon confirmed socialist Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as Maduro's successor just hours after his detention.

Trump said he preferred Rodriguez, 56, in power rather than the country's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, adding that Maduro's VP was prepared to work with the US.

But the Maduro loyalist, who has helped him maintain his regime for over a decade, vented her fury at Trump's capture of the dictator, whom she called her nation's rightful leader.

Rodriguez, who also serves as minister for finance and oil, hit out at Maduro's arrest as 'an atrocity that violates international law' and called for his 'immediate release.'

the US launched large-scale strikes on Venezuela early on Saturday morning in a ploy to capture President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores

Metal railings lie amongst ashes near the entrance and the inside of the flat has been wrecked as plaster hangs off the ceiling

An explosion rocks Caracas in the early hours of Saturday morning during a US military operation which resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

A bus with its windows blown out is seen in Caracas in the early hours of Saturday. Venezuela's attorney general said 'innocent people' had been 'mortally wounded' by the strikes but did not offer further details or the number of people injured or killed

A military vehicle destroyed by Saturday's strikes in Venezuela is seen burned-out as dawn breaks in Caracas on Saturday morning

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'We call on the peoples of the great homeland to remain united, because what was done to Venezuela can be done to anyone,' she asserted during a National Defense Council session after the US military operation.

'That brutal use of force to bend the will of the people can be carried out against any country.'

She also insinuated she was not as on board with helping the US essentially run Venezuela as Trump had suggested.

Trump offered little further detail on the logistics of running Venezuela, which has a population of 30 million, but suggested the country's vast oil reserves would be used to fund its revival.
Auschwitz survivor and Anne Frank's stepsister Eva Schloss has died aged 96, as King Charles pays tribute to a 'courageous' and 'resilient' woman.

Eva Schloss-Geiringer passed away peacefully in London on January 3, 2026, the Anne Frank House has confirmed.

Her death marks the loss of one of the last powerful eyewitnesses to the Nazi death camps and a tireless campaigner against racism, intolerance and hatred.

Writing on social media King Charles said: 'My wife and I are greatly saddened to hear of the death of Eva Schloss.

'The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience through her tireless work for the Anne Frank Trust UK and for Holocaust education across the world.

'We are both privileged and proud to have known her and we admired her deeply. May her memory be a blessing to us all.'

As a child, Eva lived just yards from Anne Frank on Merwedeplein in Amsterdam. The two girls played together on the square, unaware their lives would later become tragically intertwined.

Like Anne, Eva was forced into hiding with her family to escape Nazi persecution.

Auschwitz survivor and Anne Frank's stepsister Eva Schloss has died aged 96

Eva Schloss MBE, step-sister of Anne Frank and Honorary President of the Anne Frank Trust UK and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall meet during a reception to mark holocaust memorial day in 2022

King Charles paid tribute to a 'courageous' and 'resilient' woman on social media

Eva Schloss was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law at Northumbria University on July 24, 2001

Born in Vienna on 11 May, 1929, Eva fled Austria after Hitler's regime annexed the country in 1938, placing Jews in immediate danger.

She arrived in Amsterdam in 1940 with her parents and brother Heinz, settling opposite the Frank family home.

In 1942, after her brother received a summons 'to work in Germany', the Geiringer family went into hiding. They remained concealed for two years before being betrayed by a Dutch nurse who collaborated with the Nazis.

On 11 May, 1944, Eva's 15th birthday, she and her family were arrested and deported to Auschwitz. Eva and her mother survived the camp's brutal conditions, but her father Erich and brother Heinz were murdered.

After Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet forces in January 1945, Eva returned to the Netherlands, where she met Otto Frank, Anne's father and the only member of his immediate family to survive.

Otto would later become Eva's stepfather, marrying her mother Elfriede in 1953, and encouraging Eva to pursue photography - a path that led her to London and a new life.

For more than four decades, Eva remained silent about her experiences. She later explained why she chose to speak out: 'I talked about this for the first time in 1988, when the exhibition dedicated to Anne Frank came to London.

'I was far from politics, but I realised that the world had not learned any lessons from the events of 1939 to 1945, that wars continued, that persecution, racism, intolerance still existed. And then I began to share my experience, to call for changes in the world.'

From that moment on, Eva devoted herself to education, speaking in schools, universities and prisons across the globe, often alongside the Anne Frank Trust UK.

Eva Schloss in 1948 in Amsterdam

Tony and Cherie Blair at Southwark Cathedral with Elfriede Geiringer Frank (2nd left) and her daughter, Eva Schloss, for the launch of a two-year touring exhibition on the life of Anne Frank

As a child, Eva lived just yards from Anne Frank on Merwedeplein in Amsterdam. The two girls played together on the square, unaware their lives would later become tragically intertwined

Children in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Oswiecim showing their tattooed numbers on their arms after the liberation at the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp in 1945

Farina Mannan, Daniel Mendoza OBE, Tim Robertson, Chief Executive of the Anne Frank Trust, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Eva Schloss MBE, and Dame Joanna Lumley pose for a group photo during a reception to mark Holocaust memorial day

She recorded her testimony for the USC Shoah Foundation and the Anne Frank House to ensure her story would endure.

Her achievements were widely recognised. Eva was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Northumbria, appointed a Knight of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and had her Austrian citizenship restored in 2021 as a gesture of reconciliation.

She also honoured a promise made to her father and brother during their transport to Auschwitz to save their artwork. Decades later, Eva recovered and donated Heinz's paintings to the Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam.

Eva continued to support the Anne Frank House throughout her life. In 2017, aged 88, she returned to her childhood home to speak to schoolchildren, even showing them the tattooed number on her arm.

Eva Schloss died nine years after her husband Zvi. She is survived by her daughters, grandchildren and extended family.
Venezuela's new hardline interim socialist leader today hurled insults at the Trump administration as Secretary of State Marco Rubio set out US demands that it expects the country's new leaders to meet.

Rubio said that while the US is not at war with Venezuela, it expects to see 'changes' in how the country's oil industry is run and insisted it cannot be controlled by America's 'enemies'.

He singled out Iran, saying Venezuela should no longer 'cozy up to Iran and Hezbollah in our own hemisphere' and also said Colombian militant group FARC should be removed from the country.

He left the option of further military action against Venezuela open, adding: 'We are going to judge whoever we're interacting with moving forward by whether those conditions are met.'

Delcy Rodriguez, Nicolas Maduro's vice president, has been confirmed as the acting president of Venezuela by the country's Supreme Court following the US' capture of Maduro yesterday.

While Trump looked kindly on her arrival, saying she was 'quite gracious' in taking on the role and 'willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again', Rodriguez did not share the sentiment.

She slammed Maduro's arrest as 'an atrocity that violates international law' and called for his 'immediate release'.

Rodriguez, who also serves as minister for finance and oil, continued: 'We call on the peoples of the great homeland to remain united, because what was done to Venezuela can be done to anyone,' she asserted during a National Defense Council session after the US military operation.

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been announced as the interim leader of Venezuela

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro is seen being taken into custody by US law enforcement officials

'That brutal use of force to bend the will of the people can be carried out against any country.'

She also insinuated that she would not go along with Trump's plan to 'run the country until we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition'.

Meanwhile, Rubio also expanded on his expectations of what should happen to the country's oil reserves, which are the biggest in the world.

He told NBC's Meet the Press: 'What we're not going to allow is for the oil industry in Venezuela to be controlled by adversaries of the United States.

'Why does China need Venezuelan oil? Why does Russia? Why does Iran?'

He continued: 'This is the western hemisphere...we're not going to allow the western hemisphere to be a base for adversaries of the US.'

'The first steps are securing what's in the national interest of the United States and also beneficial to the people of Venezuela... No more drug trafficking. No more Iran/Hezbollah presence there. No more using the oil industry to enrich all our adversaries.'

He was pressed about whether the US was 'running Venezuela' now that their president Maduro is languishing in a New York prison cell but dodged the question.

Join the debate How should Venezuela balance its independence with pressure from powerful countries like the US?

US secretary of state Marco Rubio set out the US demands on Venezuelan oil in the wake of their arrest of Maduro

President Donald Trump is seen next to CIO Director John Ratcliffe watching the US military operation to capture Maduro and his wife

Trump announced that the US had carried out the operation on Saturday, sharing it on Truth Social

He said the US was running 'the direction that this is going to move moving forward', adding that they have 'leverage' that they intend to and have 'started using already'.

This leverage comes in the form of an 'armada of boats' the US military has currently in position off Venezuela's shores which will allow America to 'seize any sanctioned boats coming into or out of Venezuela loaded with oil or on its way to pick up oil and we can pick and choose which ones we go after.'

He mentioned that Venezuela has been running into an oil storage capacity shortage, with only 20 million of its 35 million barrels of storage currently being usable. It produces 850,000 barrels a day, Reuters reported.

Rubio said that this means the country must start moving oil before they run out of space.

Despite this, Rodriguez made a strong statement for Venezuelan independence in the face of the American 'armada'.

'Never again will we be slaves, never again will we be a colony of any empire,' she said on Saturday.

'We're ready to defend Venezuela.'

President Trump hit back on Sunday morning, warning that Rodriguez may pay a bigger price than ousted leader Nicolas Maduro 'if she doesn't do what's right', according to an interview with The Atlantic magazine.

Given Rodriguez's unapologetic allegiance to Maduro, Trump's preference for working with her over opposition party figures, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, has sparked fears among many Venezuelans.

For more than two decades, she has been a significant figure of the Chavismo political movement, which President Hugo Chavez founded.

Chavez died in 2013, and Maduro came into power and became the party's leader.

Constitutional lawyer and political analyst Jose Manuel Romano told CNN that Rodriguez has evolved into a 'very prominent' figure in the Latin American country's government with 'full trust' from Maduro.

Rodriguez is seen alongside Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in 2018. Flores was arrested alongside her husband this weekend

Rodriguez, seen in September 2025, has been a significant figure of the Chavismo political movement, which has been led by Maduro

'The executive vice president of the republic is a highly effective operator, a woman with strong leadership skills for managing teams,' Romano explained.

'She is very results-oriented and has significant influence over the entire government apparatus, including the Ministry of Defense. That is very important to note in the current circumstances.'

Rodriguez is from Caracas, the nation's capital, and earned a law degree from the Central University of Venezuela.

Her father, Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, was a Marxist guerrilla who co-founded a militant leftist movement called the Socialist League, which was active in the 1960s and 1970s, according to The Wall Street Journal.

She has held many government positions since Chavez was the country's leader.

From 2013 to 2014, she was the minister of communication and information. She was the foreign minister from 2014 to 2017.

As the foreign minister, she fiercely defended far-left Maduro's image amid international scrutiny for violating human rights and threatening democracy.

She also accused governments of the United Nations of trying to undermine Venezuela in this role.

Maduro is seen being transported to the US following his detainment, as shared by Trump on Truth Social

Maduro, pictured with his wife Flores in 2019, was serving his third presidential term when the pair was captured by US forces

In 2017, Rodriguez became the president of the Constituent National Assembly, which expanded the government's powers following the opposition party's 2015 victory in the legislative elections.

Maduro made her vice president for his second term in 2018. He chose her to assume the position once again for his third term, following the highly divisive July 2024 elections.

The opposition party has claimed that this election was rigged and that Maduro was not legitimately elected as the nation's president.

They said that the actual winner was Urrutia.

Throughout the alleged scandals and the criticism Maduro has faced, Rodriguez has demonstrated unwavering support for his authoritarian power.

Her brother, Jorge Rodriguez, has also climbed the political ranks and is currently the president of the National Assembly.

'They are very, very manipulative,' Andres Izarra, a former minister under Maduro who was exiled after breaking with the regime, told The WSJ.

'I think they will maneuver to stay in power as long as they can.'

Despite her historic loyalty to Maduro, Colombia's former vice-president, Francisco Santos, said he is 'absolutely certain' that Rodriguez betrayed him.

'They didnt remove him, they handed him over,' Santos, who was Colombia's vice president from 2002 to 2010 and later became the nation's ambassador to the US, told news channel NTN24.

'Im absolutely certain Delcy Rodriguez handed him over...Shes very clear about the role shes going to play and shes going to try to earn a little bit of independence.'

Trump announced that the US had carried out a military strike after several explosions rocked the capital of Caracas in the early hours of Saturday.

The overnight mission to capture Maduro and Flores from their Caracas compound took about two hours and 20 minutes.

It involved 150 aircraft targeting Venezuelan air defenses so that military troops could arrive in Caracas in helicopters, The New York Times reported.

An anonymous Venezuelan official told the outlet that 40 people, including military personnel and civilians, were killed during the operation.

Trump confirmed that no Americans died, but two anonymous US officials said about half a dozen soldiers were injured, per the NYT.

Venezuelan defence minister General Vladimir Padrino confirmed that a large number of Nicolas Maduro's security team was killed in the US raid which led to the leader's capture.

Speaking in a televised statement on Sunday morning, Padrino did not give an exact figure of casualties but backed the declaration of Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as interim president.

She said the armed forces have been activated across the country to guarantee sovereignty.

Maduro and his wife were captured and flown to America to stand trial. They are being held in Brooklyn's notorious Metropolitan Detention Center.

The US has no troops on the ground in Venezuela, according to the Pentagon.
The Venezuelan Military has called for the release of captured president Nicholas Maduro after he was 'abducted' by the US.

The South American country was plunged into chaos on Saturday as armed supporters of Maduro flooded the streets, sparked riots, shuttered transport networks and forced terrified residents to barricade themselves inside their homes.

It comes as the Venezuelan Armed Forces made a video address in which they decried the 'abduction' of Maduro.

Speaking on television surrounded by military officers, Defence Minister Padrino Lopez affirmed that 'Nicolas Maduro is the genuine, authentic constitutional leader of all Venezuelans'.

He said the leadership of the Bolivarian Forces of Liberation was demanding the president's 'immediate release' and condemned the 'colonialist ambition' of the US.

'We urge the world to turn their eyes to what is happening against Venezuela, against its sovereignty,' Lopez said.

'The world needs to be on guard because if it was Venezuela yesterday, it could be anywhere tomorrow.'

Following the capture, the Supreme Court of Venezuela confirmed hardline socialist Vice President Rodriguez, 56, as Maduro's successor just hours after US forces detained him and his wife, Cilia Flores, on narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges.

The Venezuelan armed forces made a video address in which they decried the 'abduction' of Maduro

Maduro's supporters pictured burning the US flag in protest of his capture by American forces

Riot police prevent protesters from reaching the US embassy during a demonstration against the United States government for the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores

Riot police prevent protesters from reaching the US embassy during a demonstration against the United States government for the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been seen walking down a hallway in an official building in Manhattan, almost 24 hours after he was seized by US troops, as shown above

Rodriguez, who also serves as minister for finance and oil, slammed Maduro's arrest as 'an atrocity that violates international law' and called for his 'immediate release'.

'We call on the peoples of the great homeland to remain united, because what was done to Venezuela can be done to anyone,' she asserted during a National Defense Council session after the US military operation.

But Trump said he preferred Rodriguez in power rather than the country's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, adding that Maduro's VP was prepared to work with the US.

'She, I think, was quite gracious, but she really doesn't have a choice,' Trump said of Rodriguez during a news conference in which he said the US would 'run' the country.

'She is essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Very simple.'

Gun-toting loyalists of the former strongman surged through cities including Caracas and Valencia, demanding his return after an overnight US military operation led to his arrest.

Ordinary citizens described scenes of fear, shortages and total paralysis as the country teetered on the brink of renewed unrest.

'The nightmare isn't over yet. The figurehead is gone. But his supporters are still here,' a 70-year-old man living in Valencia told The New York Post, speaking anonymously out of fear of reprisal.

The resident said Venezuelan media had gone largely silent, leaving people scrambling for scraps of information as armed groups roamed the streets.

In Valencia, he said, the roads were 'absolutely dead' apart from Maduro loyalists, with residents only venturing out briefly to queue for dwindling food supplies.

'People are shopping as if the world were ending tomorrow. There is still fear because it's a military dictatorship that acts very harshly against any opposition,' he said.

'There are still armed groups roaming the cities; we are all worried they will come to steal food, supplies, and intimidate us.'

In Caracas, scenes were even more dramatic. Supporters known as Chavistas - followers of Maduro's late mentor Hugo Chavez - were seen storming through areas reduced to rubble by overnight airstrikes.

'We want Maduro!' protesters shouted as smoke rose from bombed-out buildings in the capital.

Gas stations across the city were shut down, while metro services and buses were suspended.

Most supermarkets closed their doors, leaving long lines snaking around the few that remained open.

According to Spanish news agency EFE, one store was allowing only a single customer inside at a time to prevent a stampede.

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been announced as the interim leader of Venezuela

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Dramatic aerial images showed entire buildings obliterated, with scorched land and plumes of smoke hanging over the city.

Join the debate How should Venezuela rebuild trust and stability with US forces now in control and chaos in the streets?

'I'm afraid there will be social unrest and we'll go back to how things were before, with shortages. When I was young I could stand in line (to buy food), I can't anymore,' an elderly resident from the outskirts of Caracas told EFE.

Another woman said she desperately wanted to stock up on food but simply could not afford to.

The unrest followed a large-scale US strike on Caracas, which targeted Fuerte Tiuna - Venezuela's largest military complex - as part of an operation to seize Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

An unnamed senior Venezuelan official told the New York Times that at least 40 people were believed to have been killed in the strikes, including both military personnel and civilians.

Maduro's arrest came amid accusations from Trump that Venezuela had been flooding the United States with drugs and gang members.

Trump alleged that Maduro was the leader of the Cartel de los Soles drug trafficking operation.

The US President said on Saturday that he had not briefed Congress ahead of the raid, claiming that doing so would have risked leaks that could have allowed Maduro to evade capture.

Both Maduro and Flores are now being held at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, a notorious jail known for its squalid conditions and for housing high-profile inmates including Luigi Mangione and Sean 'Diddy' Combs.

Trump said the United States would govern Venezuela indefinitely following the arrest, dismissing the idea of opposition figure Maria Corina Machado taking control and claiming she 'does not have the support.'

He offered few details on how Washington would administer a country of 30 million people, but suggested Venezuela's vast oil reserves would be used to fund its recovery.

Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and widely tipped as a future leader, has previously backed Trump's threats to remove Maduro and remains hugely popular among voters - though she was not mentioned by Trump in his remarks on Saturday.

As armed supporters continue to roam the streets and food supplies dwindle, many Venezuelans fear the country is once again sliding into a dark and uncertain chapter, even with Maduro now behind bars.
A 32-year-old nurse practitioner in Tennessee fatally shot her two young sons and 88-year-old grandmother before taking her own life in a tragic quadruple murder-suicide, authorities said.

Deputies with the Humphreys County Sheriff's Office discovered four bodies inside a home in Waverly during a welfare check on January 2.

The victims all suffered fatal gunshot wounds and were identified as Arius Thompson, four, Isaiah Johnson, 13, and Evelyn Johnson, 88. The boys' mother has been named as 32-year-old Heather Thompson.

Authorities found preliminary evidence that suggests that Heather may have been responsible for killing her sons and grandmother before dying by suicide.

Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis was emotional as he addressed the incident, noting that he knew the family and that they had lived in Waverly their entire lives.

Referring to an explosion that had recently occurred in the county, killing 16 people, Davis said: 'Here again, small town America. Here again, I know the families.

'So, we're going to do right by them. We're going to respect them. We're going to do right by them.'

The Sheriff said that he was unaware of any call history at the home, but added that they are following up with the school system and other state agencies as part of the investigation.

The state's Bureau of Investigation is assisting the sheriff's office on the case, according to WSMV.

Authorities in Waverly, Tennessee believe that Heather Thompson, 32, killed her children and grandmother before dying by suicide herself

Arius Thompson, four, and Isaiah Johnson, 13, were found dead along with Heather Thompson's grandma Evelyn Johnson, 88

Authorities said no evidence pointed to any others being involved and have not released a motive at this time.

Jeremiah [Biah] Thompson, the children's father, who was estranged from their mother, wrote online: 'I miss my sons already. Daddy still loves you. Sorry, I was at work.'

In addition, the grieving father set up a GoFundMe in an effort to help with funeral services and bring his sons to New Mexico, where he lives.

At this time, the fundraiser has raised nearly $11,000, not far from its $16,000 goal.

Biah wrote online about that devastating morning he found out about the tragedy: 'As a father, it hurt and shattered my soul to hear my sons Arius(Ari), and Isaiah have been taken from me and are no longer with us.'

Jeremiah [Biah] Thompson was devastated by the news of his sons passing and set up a GoFundMe in an effort to help for funeral services

The family was found at their home in Waverly on January 2 after officials went to the home for welfare check

'They were just babies. Every second of today, I wish I could just wake up.'

The devastated father posted an update yesterday, thanking everyone for their support, and noted that he and his sister were headed to Tennessee to bring his boys back.

The dad noted that despite it being hard for him to ask for help, he was appreciative of the support and added he was doing ok.

Hundreds online showed support for the grieving father: 'Brother, I am so sorry. Stay strong and know you are not alone. I'll keep your boys, you, and your family in prayer. I know it's been a long time, but if you need someone to talk to, please do not hesitate to reach out.'

Another wrote: 'Biah, I'm so deeply sorry for your loss. My heart aches for you and your family. Sending love and prayers.'

A third added: 'I'm so sorry, Biah, this absolutely shattered my heart. No parent should ever have to bury their children. My thoughts and prayers are with you.'

The tragedy comes only a few months after the county was rocked by an explosion that killed 16 people.

On October 10, 2025, Accurate Energetic Systems, an explosives factory that sits on the border of Humphreys and Hickman counties, detonated more than 24,000 pounds of explosives, killing over a dozen people.

The explosion was equivalent to a 1.6 magnitude earthquake, according to data from the US Geological Survey.

The cause of the blast remains unknown, according to a press release from the Humphreys County and Hickman County Emergency Management Agencies.

The Accurate Energetic Systems manufacturing plant is approximately 18 miles from where the murder suicide of Heather Thompson's family took place.
Scots have been told to brace for yet more snow chaos today after another 12 inches were set to fall overnight.

Roads across the North were left impassable and vehicles abandoned at the weekend amid treacherous weather conditions which saw more than 20 inches of snowfall in parts.

Despite snowploughs being out in force, for some roads the sub-zero conditions proved too brutal. And with snowdrifts as deep as four feet, some railway lines ground to a halt.

Any hope of a smooth start to the first working week of 2026 is set to be dashed for many, with an amber warning for snow blanketing large parts of the North.

The forecast heavy snow has led to warnings of travel delays, railway issues, power cuts, and even rural communities becoming cut off amid blizzard conditions.

But children will be left delighted by an unexpected extra day of their Christmas break, with more than 100 schools in the North to remain closed.

Matthew Lehnert, a Met Office chief meteorologist, warned: Snow showers are expected to become more frequent on Sunday night, with some locations within the amber warning areas seeing a further 20-30cm accumulate by Monday morning.

The expected overnight snowfall was forecast to add to the heavy snow already on the ground across the North. The most was in Tomintoul, Banffshire, where yesterday afternoon the Met Office logged 20.5in.

A snow plough struggles through the snow on the A9 at Brora

Graham Gibb clears the snow in front of his home in Insch, Aberdeenshire

Meanwhile in Durris, Aberdeenshire, there was more than 12in and at Loch Glascarnoch, in Ross-shire, over 10.5 in.

All of Scotland north of the central belt, and much of the East coast south of Edinburgh, is covered by weather warnings.

An amber warning for snow is in place until 10am, and includes Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Inverness-shire, Ross and Cromarty, Sutherland, and the Orkney and Shetland islands. Meanwhile a yellow warning for snow and ice covers the country north of Perth, amid the snow deluge and is in force until midnight.

And a separate yellow warning for snow, which stretches along the coast from East Anglia all the way to North Berwick, is in force until 11am tomorrow.

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Waddell said driving conditions are likely to be hazardous in some areas. He added: Our advice is to plan ahead and consider if your journey is really necessary.

Some rail lines in the North and North-East will not open until at least midday today, to allow snowploughs to clear the lines. Network Rail said it was unlikely there would be services between Aberdeen and Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness, and Inverness and Wick until noon.

The freezing temperatures can pose health dangers and last night experts urged people to check on their most vulnerable friends, family and neighbours as the cold weather continues.

And Adam Stachura, of Age Scotland, said: If you are out clearing paths and your drive of snow and ice, please think about also doing so for your older neighbours to help make it easier for them to leave the house if they need to.
Thousands of children have been pulled out of school by parents amid growing fears over rising classroom violence and slipping standards.

The parents of more than 2,000 pupils in Scotland have decided to teach their youngsters at home instead, new figures have revealed.

It came as it emerged Scotlands schools are in a truancy crisis, with more than 70,000 pupils missing half their lessons and over 6,000 not attending at all in the last six years.

The number of children registered as being home schooled by local authorities has surged, with those being taught at home rising by 58 per cent in just five years.

The increase comes amid an alarming rise in school violence in Scotland, with the countrys classrooms now the most violent in Great Britain. Unions have repeatedly highlighted serious misbehaviour in schools, which has seen teachers and pupils attacked.

MSP Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative education spokesman, said: Its impossible to know why so many parents have chosen to have their children taught at home, but it would not be surprising if the declining standards and increased classroom violence under the SNP played a part in their decision.

Some 2,062 children are registered as being taught from home in 2025, according to data obtained using freedom of information powers to all local authorities.

But in 2020, the data from most of Scotlands councils revealed, there were just 1,302 registered.

The parents of some 2,000 pupils in Scotland have decided to home school their children

A spokesman for the EIS said the union would be unsurprised if parents were to cite reasons behind pulling their children out of school such as large class sizes, lack of ASN provision in Scottish schools and increasing levels of violent, aggressive and prejudice-based behaviours negatively impacting the learning of their children.

It came as official figures showed at least 73,184 children had an attendance rate below 50 per cent between 2019/20 and 2024/25.

The true figure is likely to be higher, as half of the countrys 32 councils failed to supply full data sets. Overall attendance in 2024/25 was 91 per cent compared to 93 per cent in 2018/19 and 90.3 per cent in 2023/24.

A Scottish Government spokesman said it was committed to ensuring children and young people are fully engaged in their learning.

He added: Parents and carers may choose to home educate their children for many different reasons.

On truancy, the spokesman said it was vitally important parents and carers ensure children attend school.
Taxpayers have footed a bill of more than 13million for a gay and transgender rights group once led by one of the UKs worst paedophiles.

The Mail can reveal the extraordinary sum handed to LGBT Youth Scotland (LGBTYS) was run up in the past decade  despite a slew of scandals.

Some 3.9million of the total came directly from the Scottish Government  with the rest from other cash-strapped organisations including the NHS and local authorities.

New figures also show charities which helped to push Nicola Sturgeons doomed gender self-ID laws  including LGBTYS  have received millions in public funding.

Scottish Tory equalities spokesman Tess White said: Taxpayers will be outraged that the SNP have squandered millions supporting organisations who push self-ID ideology. These groups are using public money to push divisive SNP pet projects that are completely out-of-touch with the real priorities of Scots.

James Rennie, the former chief executive of LGBTYS, was jailed for life for sexually assaulting a three-month-old

Taxpayers have footed a bill of more than 13million for the gay and transgender rights group

In 2025 it emerged that cash-strapped Police Scotland had handed thousands of pounds of taxpayers money to LGBTYS.

It was given more than 3,500 for training courses  and for 500 purple button badges to show solidarity with the gay and trans community.

James Rennie, the former chief executive of LGBTYS, was jailed for life for sexually assaulting a three-month-old after being convicted in 2009 along with seven others on sex abuse charges, and was recently released. He was an SNP government adviser on child sex issues and had used computers at the LGBTYS offices in Edinburgh to pursue his sordid double life.

A Mail investigation of LGBTYS accounts shows that since 2015 it has received 13.4million from public sources, including the Scottish Government.

Separately, it has also emerged Scottish Trans, which is part of the Equality Network, received 1,118,750 in funding from taxpayers.

The Equality Network has been awarded 3.9million over the past decade.

It has been accused of pushing the Scottish Governments agenda on self-ID.

Engender, a feminist policy and advocacy organisation which allows trans women to become members and attend its women-only events, also supports self-ID.

It has won a staggering 3,995,063 in taxpayer backing over ten years.

Stonewall, which has been criticised for its stance on trans issues, has received 1,101,638 since 2015.

LGBT Health and Wellbeing, which backed the SNPs Gender Recognition Act was handed 999,153.

An LGBTYS spokesman said: The value and the need for our work is well recognised and respected across our stakeholders.

A Scottish Government spokesman said its support is particularly important at a time when we are seeing a rise in attacks against the LGBTQI+ community.
Almost $300 million in unclaimed cheques, dividends, and refunds is waiting to be cashed in by residents in New South Wales.

Revenue NSW is on a mission to reduce the state government's unclaimed funds pool and reunite rightful owners with more than 800,000 sums of money.

Unclaimed money is funds that you are legally entitled to, but where a business hasn't been able to track you down.

Its unclaimed money register consists of funds from overpayments, uncashed cheques, dividends, refunds, and other amounts owed to Aussies, which range from a few dollars to millions.

It becomes unclaimed when people forget to update their name or contact details with businesses, lose paperwork, or when estates are unaware of funds belonging to deceased relatives.

Almost a third of the unclaimed funds is from the Sydney CBD and eastern suburbs, with a whopping $91 million, followed by the city's west with $76 million and the north with almost $53 million.

There are also millions in unclaimed funds for regional areas, with Central Coast and Hunter region topping the list with $22 million.

An additional $10,500 belongs to the Illawarra and Southern Highlands region.

The unclaimed unclaimed cheques, dividends, and refunds range from a few dollars to millions

Revenue NSW holds an additional $394 million in money for interstate Australians.

The government agency returned more than $21 million to its rightful owners in 202425.

'Almost $300 million is sitting unclaimed, and we want to make sure as much of that as possible finds its way back to families,' NSW Finance Minister Courtney Houssos said.

'With these new reforms, we're making it faster and easier for people to get what they're owed.'

While Revenue NSW regularly contacts potential owners, incomplete data means people are often missed.

'That's why we're encouraging everyone to take a few minutes to check online  you might be surprised with what you find,' Houssos said.

Claims are usually verified and processed by Revenue NSW within a month.

To find out if you are entitled to unclaimed funds, visit the Revenue NSW register.

NSW isn't the only state with a staggering amount of unclaimed funds.

The Victorian government has $200 million waiting in its unclaimed money pool, including $882,697 owed to a Box Hill man.
The grandfather of a young man who vanished on New Year's Day has issued a heartbreaking plea in the hope of bringing him home safely.

Taylor Stewart, 21, was last seen in the Church Heights area of Cookstown, County Tyrone at around 5.30am on January 1.

Taylor's grandfather Mitchell Crooks has appealed to his grandson to return to his family in a statement shared by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Mr Crooks spoke of the danger posed to Taylor by the cold weather currently sweeping the UK and said that the young man had 'promised to help' with some car trouble he was having.

'We just want Taylor to come home. The whole family is so worried about him, especially with the weather being so bad over the last few days,' Mr Crooks said.

'Please Taylor, just let us know that you are safe, you promised to help me with a few issues with my car so I need you home to help, please get in contact.'

Taylor is described as approximately 5ft 8in tall, of medium build, with dark hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing blue jeans with a brown belt, a long sleeved white shirt with a red square pattern, and green/brown boots.

Police have called for anyone who may have seen the missing young man to come forward and implored anyone with an outbuilding, garage or shed to check their premises, in case he made his way inside to seek shelter from the cold.

Missing 21-year-old Taylor Stewart (pictured) was last seen in the Church Heights area of Cookstown, Northern Ireland at around 5.30am on January 1

On Friday police released CCTV footage of Taylor Stewart in an attempt to help locate the County Tyrone native

On Friday police released CCTV footage of Taylor in an attempt to help locate the County Tyrone native.

K9 Search and Rescue NI have been using a canine team to scan the local area for signs of the 21-year-old.

A spokesperson said on Sunday: 'Searches are ongoing across a number of areas, and every effort is being made to help bring Taylor home.

'We are once again appealing to local residents to check any outbuildings, sheds, garages, or unused properties on their land.

'Even the smallest piece of information could be significant. If you notice anything unusual or have any information that may assist, please report it to the police as soon as possible.'

The K9 team was supplemented on Sunday by Lough Neagh Search and Rescue's Swift Water Rescue Team, who were brought in to assist 'with searches across local waterways and areas of challenging, uneven terrain'.

Superintendent Peter Stevenson, of the PSNI, said: 'We want to thank everyone who has come forward with information so far, and we hope Taylor hears this appeal.

'We have been searching for him since Thursday and the community will have seen an extensive police presence throughout the town.

Members of a canine team scouring the local area for signs of Taylor's whereabouts

'We are working hard alongside our voluntary partners from Community Rescue Service, Search & Rescue Dog Association Ireland North and Lough Neagh Search and Rescue, with enquiries coordinated by a Police Search Advisor (POLSA).'

Superintendent Stevenson added: 'We know that a young man being missing in such cold conditions is causing real concern amongst local people, and we are really grateful that so many people want to help us.

'This is a complex search, covering a lot of ground. We do not want the public to put themselves or others at risk, particularly when snow and ice are posing safety issues to even our experienced teams.

'Please, check in with local officers for advice before you commence any search of your own.

'We continue to appeal to anyone who may have been out and about in the area at the time Taylor was last seen, or who may have seen him since, to make contact with us. Even a seemingly insignificant piece of information could help.

'Anyone with information should contact police immediately on 101, or 999 in an emergency. The reference number to quote is 1108 of 01/01/26.'

You can also submit a report or information online using the non-emergency reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org/
Terrifying dash cam footage has emerged of a wild brawl breaking out between armed men, sparking chaos on a busy Melbourne freeway.

The fight erupted following a collision between two vehicles on the Monash Freeway at Narre Warren, in the city's southeast, just before 2.30pm on Saturday.

Several masked men armed with machetes and metal poles were captured running from the vehicles and brawling, bringing traffic to a standstill.

Footage showed one man approaching the windows of a passing car and trying to open the locked doors to get inside.

'Call the police! Quick mum, call the police,' a panicked girl is heard pleading.

Other passing motorists tried to avoid the chaos by speeding away or swerving to reverse to a nearby exit.

'What the f*** is going on?' a shocked woman said.

Another passing motorist added: 'Oh my God! They literally have machetes!'

A wild brawl between a group of men armed with machetes and metal poles spilled out onto the Monash Freeway on Saturday

The terrifying scenes were captured by passing motorists

Most of the men involved in the altercation had fled the scene by the time police arrived, sparking a manhunt.

Several lanes were closed as police dogs and officers searched nearby bushland.

No injuries were reported.

Police questioned one man at the scene and launched an investigation. No charges have been laid.

Anyone with information or relevant footage is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The brawl is the latest in a spate of terrifying incidents since Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan fast-tracked a machete ban to tackle the state's escalating crime crisis.

The brawl on the freeway came just three days after two young men were ambushed by a group of hooded thugs armed with a giant machete while celebrating New Year's Eve on Melbourne's busy Lygon Street.

The state government insisted that Saturday's incident was 'rare' and that its new machete laws that came into effect on September 1 were working.

Police inquiries into the crash and brawl on the busy Melbourne freeway continue

'The vast majority of people who call Victoria home have an experience of safety, cohesion and connectedness,' Housing Minister Harriet Shing told Nine News.

'There's always more work to do, however.'
A Maryland woman was found fatally stabbed inside her ex-boyfriend's apartment after he reported her missing and fled to India.

Nikitha Godishala, 27, was allegedly slain by her ex, Arjun Sharma, 26, in his Columbia apartment unit just after 7pm on New Year's Eve, Howard County detectives believe.

Investigators say that as part of Sharma's plot to throw authorities off, he was the one who reported Godishala missing on Friday. He boarded a flight to India the same day.

On Saturday, police executed a search of his apartment - making the gut-wrenching discovery of Godishala's bloodied corpse which had multiple stab wounds.

Sharma is now facing first and second-degree murder charges in Godishala's death, as police have issued a warrant for his arrest.

The convoluted investigation is ongoing, and authorities have not yet identified a possible motive for Sharma's alleged crime.

Given the fact that he has left the country, the Howard County Police Department is working with federal officials to track down and detain Sharma.

Nikitha Godishala, 27, was allegedly slain by her ex-boyfriend, Arjun Sharma

Her body was found inside of Sharma's apartment in Columbia, Maryland

The Indian Embassy confirmed on X that officials have been in touch with the victim's heartbroken family.

'The Embassy is in contact with the family of Ms. Nikitha Godishala and is extending all possible consular assistance,' the statement reads.

'The Embassy is also following up the matter with the local authorities.'

Godishala lived in Ellicott City, Maryland, and worked as a data and strategy analyst, according to her LinkedIn profile.

She studied at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad, India, to earn a doctorate degree in pharmacy.

The ambitious academic continued her education at the University of Baltimore County, obtaining a master's degree in health information technology.

According to a Facebook post she shared in February 2025, expressing interest in moving to Orlando, Florida, she loved cooking and exploring new places.

'In my free time, you'll find me walking my dog, binge-watching Netflix, or taking workout classes,' she wrote, describing herself for potential landlords and roommates.

Godishala shared glimpses of her life on social media and worked as as a data and strategy analyst

According to a Facebook post she shared in February 2025, expressing interest in moving to Orlando, Florida, she loved cooking and exploring new places

She also had a young Golden Retriever mix, which she adored.

Godishala's social media offered a glimpse into her life, featuring photos of her smiling with friends and celebrating life accomplishments and milestones.

Just three weeks ago, she was celebrating receiving the All-In Award from Vheda Health, the company she worked for, in recognition of her diligence and devotion to her career.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Howard County police and the Indian Embassy for comment.
Six people were taken to hospital after two fire trucks crashed in central London while on the way to an emergency.

Crews had been rushing to an incident in Islington around 10pm on Saturday when the collision unfolded in Farringdon.

Images of the crash show the extent of the damage done to both appliances, including smashed windscreens and a broken bonnet.

It is not yet known how severe their injuries are.

The London Fire Brigade and the Metropolitan Police are investigating the circumstances around the accident.

Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said: 'At around 2217 on 3 January 2026, a fire engine was involved in a collision with another fire engine at the junction of Farringdon Road on Clerkenwell Road.

'Six crew members were involved in the collision and were taken to hospital for checks by the London Ambulance Service.

Crews had been rushing to an incident in Islington around 10pm on Saturday when the collision unfolded in Farringdon

'The fire engines were both responding to an incident in Islington which has been resolved.

'The circumstances surrounding the collision are under investigation by the Brigade and the Metropolitan Police Service.'

Meanwhile, a London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: 'We were called at 10.09pm on Saturday 3 January to reports of a road traffic collision at the junction of Farringdon Road and Clerkenwell Road, EC1M.

'We sent resources to the scene including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, an incident response officer and paramedics from our hazardous area response team (HART).

'We treated six patients and took them to hospital.'

The Met Police have been contacted for comment.
A 15-year-old British schoolgirl has been identified as a victim of the New Year's Eve Crans-Montana ski resort bar fire.

The body of the victim, believed to be Charlotte Niddam, was reportedly identified with the help of Zaka, the Israeli emergency services organisation.

'This is a very painful and difficult moment,' said Zaka official Nachman Dickstein, according to Channel 12.

'We're still at work here with all of the officials, local authorities, Jewish communal representatives and an Israeli delegation to ensure that every stage [of the process] is carried out with sensitivity and the appropriate respect for the deceased and their families.'

In a post on social media, her family said: 'It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beautiful daughter and sister, Charlotte.

'Details regarding the funeral arrangements will follow shortly. It is most likely on Thursday in Paris. Thank you for all your support those last few days.'

On Friday, Immanuel College - a private Jewish school in Hertfordshire previously attended by Niddam - issued a statement to confirm she was missing.

'We are reaching out with an urgent request for our school community to come together in support of Charlotte Niddam', the statement read.

The body of the victim, believed to be Charlotte Niddam, was reportedly identified with the help of Zaka, the Israeli emergency services organisation

'Charlotte was a student at Immanuel College, and her family have now moved back to France.

'The families have asked that we all keep them in our thoughts and prayers during this extremely difficult time. We are all praying for a miracle for Charlotte and the others, and want the families to feel the full strength of the Immanuel College community's support'.

Images of the missing teen were shared in a post on the Instagram account, @cransmontana.avisderecherche, set up to help locate survivors.

The Instagram account said the teen was a babysitter, and that she visited the Alpine ski resort very often.

Friends at her former UK school also posted a series of pictures of Charlotte on TikTok.

One friend called Mia wrote on the social platform: 'My sweet sweet special Lottie I love you more than the meaning of life. I need my best friend I miss you.'

Another friend, Summer, posted a compilation of videos of the two pals together, captioning the post: 'I miss my best friend @Charlotte niddam #CransMontana.'

Niddam and her family lived in an affluent area close to Watford, Hertfordshire, before leaving the UK.

The teenager was described by a former neighbour as 'kind' and 'so clever'.

All 40 people who died in the tragedy have now been formally identified, more than half of whom were teenagers.

The youngest victims were two 14-year-olds - a French boy and a Swiss girl.

Twenty-six of the fatalities were aged 14 to 18. The oldest victim was a 39-year-old French man.

In total, there were 10 Swiss males aged 16 to 31; 11 Swiss females aged 14 to 24; one 24-year-old woman who held dual Swiss-French nationality; three 16-year-old Italian boys and two Italian girls aged 15 and 16 and five French males aged 14 to 39.

Two French woman aged 33 and 26; a 15-year-old girl with triple British-French-Israeli nationality; a 16-year-old boy who held dual Italian-UAE nationality; an 18-year-old Romanian boy; a Belgian 17-year-old girl; a Portuguese 22-year-old woman and an 18-year-old Turkish boy, were also identified.

Images of the missing teen were shared in a post on the Instagram account, @cransmontana.avisderecherche, set up to help locate survivors

A dramatic video captured the moment the ceiling of a Swiss ski bar caught fire

A Valais police statement read: 'Following the New Year's Eve fire in Crans-Montana, the final 16 victims have been identified.

'Identification efforts conducted by the Valais Cantonal Police, the Disaster Victim Identification team, and the Institute of Legal Medicine have led to the identification of 16 more victims of the fire at the 'Le Constellation' bar on January 1, 2026.

'Therefore, all 40 people who died in the New Year's fire have been identified.'

A number of the victims have been named but no further information will be released, police said.

The Daily Mail has approached the Foreign Office for comment.

In addition to the official tally, Antonio Tajani, Italy's deputy prime minister, confirmed on Sunday that the three Italians' bodies would be flown home on a 'state flight'.

They have been named as Achille Barosi, 16, from Milan, Giovanni Tamburi, 16, from Bologna, and 17-year-old golfer, Emanuele Galeppini, from Genoa, who had dual citizenship and lived in Dubai.

Those who have been publicly identified include a young boxer named Benjamin Johnson, who 'left us a hero, having come to the aid of his friend', a social media post from the Swiss Boxing Federation said on Sunday.

Another teenager, Tristan Pidoux, has also been reported dead by a spokesperson for the family.

Italian 17-year-old Emanuele Galeppini, Italian 16-year-old Chiara Costanzo and Swiss 16-year-old Arthur Brodard have also been named.

Mourners attended a mass this morning at the Chapelle Saint-Christophe before joining the silent march up the hill to the Le Constellation bar, the site of the tragedy.

Emergency service workers were among those who gathered for the service - led by Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey of Sion - and left flowers at a makeshift memorial.

Those who have been publicly identified include a young boxer named Benjamin Johnson, who 'left us a hero, having come to the aid of his friend', a social media post from the Swiss Boxing Federation said on Sunday

Footage shows flames ripping through the Crans-Montana club as revellers continue singing, dancing and shouting - unaware they are already trapped in extreme danger

In video footage someone can be seen trying desperately to extinguish the fire, but within seconds it takes hold, erupting into a deadly fireball that engulfs the packed bar

Swiss authorities said the process of identifying victims had been difficult because of the severity of the blaze.

In another tale of heroism similar to Johnson, Tahirys Dos Santos, a French football player was seriously injured in the fire after he went to rescue his girlfriend, Coline, who was trapped inside the Constellation bar.

Originally from Mont-Saint-Martin, the 19-year-old who plays for Metz, suffered severe burns to his body and was transferred from Switzerland to Germany by air ambulance.

His French club said it was saddened to hear the news and was working to have him transferred to a hospital closer to home as soon as possible.

'Deeply affected by this news, the club's management, players, coaches, and employees are in shock and are sending their thoughts to Tahirys as he battles his injuries,' the club said in a statement on Facebook.

Christophe Hutteau, Dos Santos's agent, told BFM TV that the footballer had fled the bar but returned when he realised his girlfriend was trapped inside.

'He went back in to rescue her from the flames. He's not only a victim, he's a hero,' he said.

Investigators said on Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire at a Swiss ski resort when they came too close to the ceiling of a bar crowded with New Year's Eve revelers.

Authorities planned to look into whether the sound-dampening material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether sparklers were permitted for use in the bar.

The candles, which give off a stream of upward-shooting sparks, were the same type that is commonly available for parties, officials said.

Officials said they would also look at other safety measures on the premises, including fire extinguishers and escape routes.

Beatrice Pilloud, the attorney general for the Valais region, warned of possible prosecutions if any criminal liability is found.
Nicolas Maduro provoked President Trump's team into action after his dance moves and nonchalance were taken as mockery in recent weeks, sources have claimed.

Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sang and danced in the weeks leading up to his capture by US commandos along with his wife Cilia from their compound in Caracas on January 3.

Insiders told The New York Times that the left-wing leader's flippant antics were an attempt to call what he believed was the Trump administration's bluff, which ultimately became their breaking point.

The dance - which seemingly copies Trump's famous fist-pumping moves - was seen during the opening of the International School for Women's Leadership in December, when Maduro started moving to an electronic remix of his own speech, 'No War, Yes Peace'.

Maduro danced alongside his wife as the upbeat song begged for peace between the two countries.

The dictator had made dancing and singing a staple of his own and had previously sung John Lennon's classic song 'Imagine ' in November.

'Do everything for peace, as John Lennon used to say, right?' Maduro said as he addressed a crowd. 'It is an inspiration for all times. It is an anthem for all eras and generations, left by John Lennon as a gift to humanity.'

The former president's nonchalant behavior continued even after he was extradited, with his first public remarks since his capture being 'Happy New Year' as he was shackled and perp walked.

Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro nonchalance and dance moved were believed to be the breaking point that pushed President Trump's team over the edge

Sources told the New York Times that Trump's team felt that Maduro was calling out what he believed to be a bluff

Amid Maduro's arrest the future of Venezuela remained in flux as the country's acting president Delcy Rodriguez called for 'peace and dialogue, not war.'

'We prioritise moving towards balanced and respectful international relations between the United States and Venezuela,' Rodriguez said.

'President Donald Trump, our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. This has always been President Nicolas Maduro's message, and it is the message of all of Venezuela right now.'

Maduro's Interior, Justice and Peace Minister Diosdado Cabello still clung tight to the notion that Maduro is the nation's lawful president.

A defiant Cabello defended his boss in a statement through the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

'Here, the unity of the revolutionary force is more than guaranteed, and here there is only one president, whose name is Nicolas Maduro Moros. Let no one fall for the enemy's provocations,' he said.

Rodriguez struck a more conciliatory tone in a statement of her own on Sunday.

'We extend an invitation to the US government to work together on a cooperation agenda, aimed at shared development, within the framework of international law, and to strengthen lasting community coexistence,' she said in her statement.

Late last night, Trump warned that Colombia could be the next country to face a military operation, while clarifying that the US was 'in charge' of Venezuela after ousting its leader Nicolas Maduro.

President Trump said while travelling on Air Force One Sunday that Colombia's leftist President Gustavo Petro was a 'sick man' who 'likes making cocaine' after threatening Petro to 'watch his a**.'

Join the debate Was it justified for the US to seize Maduro, or did this cross the line of international sovereignty?

President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro dances during a march as part of the 'Venezuelan Student Day' at Miraflores on November 21, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela

Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gather during a demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 4, 2026

Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gather during a demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 04, 2026

Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gather during a demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 4, 2026

Trump's attacks on the Colombian leader came after Petro described Washington's attack on Venezuela as an 'assault on the sovereignty' of Latin America.

'Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he's not going to be doing it very long,' he said.

When asked whether the US would pursue a military operation against the country, Trump bluntly replied, 'It sounds good to me.'

Petro hit back at Trump in a fiery social media post, after the US president accused him of being a drug trafficker.

'Stop slandering me, Mr Trump,' Petro said in a lengthy post on X.

'That's not how you threaten a Latin American president who emerged from the armed struggle and then from the people of Colombia's fight for Peace.'

In a later social media post Sunday, Petro added: 'Friends do not bomb.'

As the US president speculated about the downfall of various countries in the Western Hemisphere, questions remained over who was running the show in Caracas.

'Don't ask me who's in charge because I'll give you an answer and it'll be very controversial,' Trump said on Air Force One.

A reporter responded by asking: 'What does that mean?'

'It means we're in charge,' Trump replied.

Maduro continues to throw up peace signs and hold two thumbs up as he arrived in New York City to stand trial on drug and weapons charges.

They landed by helicopter in Manhattan on Saturday evening, after earlier making stops at airfields in upstate New York and Puerto Rico.

Maduro and Flores are now in custody at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, which is famous for its squalid conditions and has also housed Luigi Mangione and Sean 'Diddy' Combs.

Trump said the United States would govern Venezuela indefinitely in the meantime, after dismissing the prospect of the country's popular opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, taking the reins, claiming she 'does not have the support'.

Trump offered little further detail on the logistics of running Venezuela, which has a population of 30 million, but suggested the country's vast oil reserves would be used to fund its revival.

Maduro's arrest came after US forces struck Caracas amid accusations from Trump that Venezuela has been flooding the US with drugs and gang members.

Maduro's flippant attitude continued after his capture as he continued to throw up peace signs and thumbs up

Trump alleged that Maduro is the leader of the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) drug trafficking operation.

Trump said Saturday that he had not briefed Congress of his plans to snatch Maduro, claiming that had he done so, the news would have 'leaked' and potentially helped the Venezuelan leader to evade capture.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado has been tipped as the country's next president.

She previously voiced support for Trump's threats to get rid of Maduro and is hugely popular among the Venezuelan electorate.

Maduro's capture sparked jubilation from Venezuelan migrants living outside of their home nation on Saturday.

Hundreds took to the streets of cities, including Santiago in Chile, to celebrate the ouster of a leader seen as a corrupt authoritarian accused of destroying the economy of his oil-rich country while silencing dissent.

The dictator and wife Cilia were both seized by a US military unit in the early hours of Caracas. Trump said Saturday afternoon that both will face criminal charges in New York City

The former Venezuelan President is pictured after his capture in a photo shared by President Trump on his TruthSocial website

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The atmosphere appeared altogether more muted in Caracas.

Locals were photographed lining up outside supermarkets amid fears Maduro's ousting will lead to even greater economic uncertainty.

Shortly before Saturday's press conference, the president shared an undignified photo of Maduro in a tracksuit taken after his capture.

He said the Venezuelan president's wife will also be charged, but did not offer further details.

Maduro was photographed wearing a heavy black plastic eye mask and ear muffs over his ears in an apparent bid to keep his location a secret from him.

He was clad in a gray tracksuit and clutched a plastic water bottle. It is unclear if this is what Maduro was wearing when he was taken or if it was given to him by US forces.

Trump said the United States would govern Venezuela indefinitely in the meantime, after dismissing the prospect of the country's popular opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, taking the reins, claiming she 'does not have the support'

The image was a far cry from his usual appearance in sharp suits or military regalia, with CNN commentators speculating it had been chosen to humiliate the corrupt leader.

There was no sign of Cilia.

Addressing a press conference in Mar-a-Lago Saturday, Trump told journalists that the Venezuelan first lady was part of her husband's alleged schemes and that she too will face criminal charges in Manhattan.

'Maduro and his wife will soon face the full might of American justice,' Trump declared.

The Maduros are said to have been frightened of capture by US forces and allegedly took to sleeping in a different place every night.
Before Sarah Ferguson's friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein forced her out of the royal fold, another damning scandal threatened her status and reputation 33 years ago.

Sarah, often dubbed 'Fergie', wed disgraced Andrew Mountbatten Windsor in a lavish royal wedding at London's Westminster Abbey in July 1986 that was watched by 500 million people worldwide.

However, their relationship went up in flames when photos of Sarah and Texan oil tycoon Steve Wyatt were unearthed in January 1992.

The tranche of 120 images, which were soon leaked to the press, showed the former Duchess of York and the American playboy soaking up the sun together during a romantic getaway in May 1990.

While seemingly innocent, the snaps raised serious questions about the nature of their 'complex' relationship - especially after one snap showed Sarah and Andrew's then-one-year-old daughter Princess Beatrice sitting on the businessman's knee.

According to royal author Nigel Cawthorne, Buckingham Palace's reaction to the photos was swift, as the late Queen immediately 'ordered Fergie' to cease all contact with Mr Wyatt.

Writing in his book, War of the Windsors: The Inside Story, Mr Cawthorne claimed Fergie rebelled against her mother-in-law's wishes, with reports at the time suggesting she visited Mr Wyatt's flat on two more occasions.

Ultimately, the photographs confirmed what had been speculated for some time: Sarah and Andrew's fairytale love story was officially over, as the pair announced their separation less than two months later on March 19, 1992.

In January 1992, up to 120 photographs of Sarah Ferguson (right) and Texan oil tycoon Steve Wyatt (left) on holiday together in Morocco in May 1990 were discovered in his flat

The snaps raised serious questions about the nature of their 'complex' relationship - especially after one snap showed Sarah and Andrew's then-one-year-old daughter Princess Beatrice sitting on the businessman's knee

According to David Leigh, co-author of Duchess of York: Uncensored, Mr Wyatt, son of socialite Lynn Wyatt, 'was the main reason for the breakdown' of Andrew and Fergie's marriage.

The royal expert added that the former Duchess was 'head over heels' for the tycoon whom she believed was the 'love of her life', rather than Andrew.

'She met him at a time of her life when she was exceptionally low and felt Andrew wasn't supporting her,' he wrote.

Fergie and Mr Wyatt's rumoured affair first began when the pair were introduced at a festival in Houston in November 1989 while the then-Duchess was heavily pregnant with her second daughter, Princess Eugenie.

Writing in Entitled, royal author Andrew Lownie detailed how one individual who had been present for their first meeting recalled 'there was a clear chemistry between them'.

The day after the festival, Sarah, now 66, made her infatuation with the businessman abundantly clear when she flew more than 200 miles to Mr Wyatt's 16,000-acre ranch near the Rio Grande, Mr Lownie added.

Barely two months after giving birth to Eugenie in March 1990, Fergie jetted to Morocco with her young children to resume her affair with Mr Wyatt at the luxurious Gazelle d'Or resort overlooking the Atlas Mountains.

Fergie's relations with Mr Wyatt raised further eyebrows when she introduced him to Dr Ramzi Salman, then head of the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organisation, at a Buckingham Palace dinner.

Join the debate Should royals face the same consequences as others after scandals, or are they treated differently?

The photographs of Fergie and Mr Wyatt (pictured) confirmed what had been speculated for some time: Sarah and Andrew's love story was officially over. They publicly announced their separation on March 19

According to David Leigh, co-author of Duchess of York: Uncensored, Mr Wyatt (pictured with Sarah in 1992), 'was the main reason for the breakdown' of Andrew and Fergie's marriage

The exclusive dinner was, as Mr Lownie noted, held in August 1990, the same month Iraq invaded Kuwait.

Shortly after the Palace dinner, the pair were also spotted at another upmarket dinner party hosted by Lord McAlpine at a luxurious restaurant in Mayfair.

According to the royal author, one diner recalled Fergie and Mr Wyatt engaging in 'a display of mutual fondling I have never seen before in a three-star restaurant'.

Yet it wasn't long before Fergie and Mr Wyatt's romance fell apart, and she later began an alleged relationship with her financial adviser and cousin by marriage, John Bryan.

In August 1992, five months after her separation from Andrew had been publicly announced, Sarah flew by private jet to the French Riviera with Mr Bryan and young princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

The holiday would culminate in a scandal so vast that it would later draw comparisons to the Abdication Crisis that had rocked the Royal Family 60 years earlier.

Lying on a sunbed in St Tropez, Mr Bryan was pictured kissing and sucking Fergie's toes under the damning headline: 'Fergie's Stolen Kisses: Truth About the Duchess and the Texas Millionaire'.

It remains a mystery who tipped the paparazzi off about the pair's remote location, yet the notorious photographs had grave consequences for a rather distraught Fergie.

Fergie and Mr Wyatt's rumoured affair first began when the pair were introduced at a festival in Houston in November 1989. The American oil tycoon (pictured with sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell prior to her conviction) is the son of socialite Lynn Wyatt

According to royal author Nigel Cawthorne, Buckingham Palace's reaction to the photos was swift, as the late Queen (pictured with Sarah) immediately 'ordered Fergie' to cease all contact with Mr Wyatt.

After Fergie and Mr Wyatt's romance fell apart, she began an alleged relationship with her financial adviser and cousin by marriage, John Bryan (pictured left) in 1992

Indeed, Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell even claimed that the late Prince Philip temporarily 'banned' Fergie from all of the royal residences following their publication.

Yet it wasn't just Fergie who was believed to have engaged in extramarital affairs during her turbulent marriage.

According to Mr Lownie, Andrew - who has since been stripped by the King of his royal titles due to his friendship with Epstein - slept with 'more than a dozen women' during the first year of his marriage.

He alleged that close friends claimed Andrew had 'accepted his wife's infidelities and that his marriage was over' and that the former prince 'would dine alone off a tray in his study while Sarah and one of her lovers ate together elsewhere in the house'.

Yet, according to the royal expert, Fergie was not quite so forgiving of Andrew's lovers.

Mr Lownie claimed: 'Sarah was jealous of any of Andrew's girlfriends. She wanted to remain "The One", with all the perks that brought, and girlfriends were invariably dethrough a mixture of charm and ruthlessness.'

In 1996, Andrew and Fergie's divorce was officially finalised, with the former Duke and Duchess now free to go their separate ways entirely.

Yet the pair continued to spend ample amounts of time together, and have even lived in the same residence, Windsor's Royal Lodge, since 2008.

In August 1992, Fergie and John Bryan became enthralled in a notorious 'toe sucking' scandal that saw the former Duchess's public image thrown into further disarray. (Pictured: Fergie appeared tearful at her first public appearance following the scandal)

According to royal author Andrew Lownie writing in Entitled, Andrew slept with 'more than a dozen women' during the first year of his marriage to Fergie (Pictured: the couple on their wedding day in July 1986)

However, this arrangement will soon end. After they were stripped of their titles, the King also ordered Andrew and Fergie to vacate the 30-room Grade II listed mansion they have called home for nearly 20 years.

While the disgraced ex-Duke will be banished to a private home on the monarch's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, Fergie will now be forced to 'make her own arrangements', according to sources.

An alleged friend previously told the Daily Mail: 'The honest truth is that she has nowhere to go and no one to go with. Her future is hanging in the balance.'

Another source said: 'People don't want to be associated with her any more'.

It came after it was revealed that in April 2011, less than two months after she told journalists she would 'never have anything to do with (Epstein) again', the former Duchess 'humbly apologised' to the convicted sex offender for letting him down.

After the damning email correspondence was publicly exposed in September 2025, the former Duchess was dropped by seven charities, including the Teenager Cancer Trust, which she had backed since 1990, and the British Heart Foundation.

Her spokesperson, James Henderson, claimed that the email was sent in a desperate bid to protect Beatrice and Eugenie after Epstein had threatened to destroy the family in a 'chilling' phone call.
When they quit the Royal Family, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hoped to carve out an independent, 'progressive' role for themselves that combined philanthropy and media production to champion causes closest to their hearts.

Six years on, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been recognised for their charity and advocacy efforts, including receiving the award for Humanitarians of the Year and the prestigious Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope award.

However, their journey to reconcile their celebrity and royal statuses have not been without stumbling blocks.

Experts have suggested the worst misstep may have been when they were photographed hugging victims of the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires that ripped through the city last January.

The hellish blaze that began on January 7, 2025, tore through the City of Angeles, killing 31 people and destroying thousands of homes as entire neighbourhoods were reduced to rubble.

Days later, the former royals were filmed distributing food packets, hugging victims and speaking to local volunteers and emergency responders at the Pasadena Community Centre in what became a widely criticised visit.

The couple were branded 'disaster tourists' and 'ambulance chasers' by Hollywood actress Justine Bateman, after footage showed Harry and Meghan at the evacuation centre alongside local mayor Victor Gordo.

Harry and Meghan, who is a LA native, later hit back at the 'offensive' claim they were after a photo opportunity, with a source suggesting they were volunteering 'long before the media caught wind of their involvement' in a defiant statement.

Harry and Meghan were branded 'disaster tourists' and 'ambulance chasers' by Hollywood actress Justine Bateman, after footage showed the couple hugging victims of the hellish wildfires at an evacuation centre in Pasadena

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been handing out food parcels to those affected by the devastating fires at the Pasadena Convention Centre that was being used as an evacuation centre.

The couple were also spotted hugging Jose Andres, the founder of World Central Kitchen, which was distributing free hot meals to the public and emergency crews in the wake of the fires.

The interaction was broadcast live on FOX LA, sparking backlash from royal fans and experts as well as Ms Bateman, best known for her role as Mallory Keaton on the hit 80s sitcom Family Ties.

Ms Bateman, 58, posted a scathing statement on X that read: 'Meghan Markle and Harry are no better than ambulance chasers. What a repulsive 'photo op' they achieved. They are 'touring the damage'? Are they politicians now?

'They don't live here; they are tourists. Disaster Tourists.'

The Sussexes, who live around 90 miles away from the city, later hit back at Ms Bateman's statement in a rebuttal issued to Page Six.

An insider close to the couple told the outlet that they found the actress's comments 'offensive', adding Los Angeles 'is, and always will be, home to' the Duchess.

'It's offensive to Meghan and Harry that anybody would think this is merely a photo opportunity,' they said. 'Meghan was born and raised in Los Angeles so this is, and always will be, home to her.'

Speaking on the Daily Mail's podcast Palace Confidential, Royal Editor Rebecca English said the backlash against Harry and Meghan 'touring' the site while homeowners and residents were still coming to terms with their terrible loss was 'understandable'.

Join the debate Did Harry and Meghans wildfire visit help those in need or was it all about their public image?

Prince Harry and Meghan were photographed alongside Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo (right) days after the blaze broke out

The wildfires tore through the City of Angeles, killing 31 people and destroying thousands of homes as entire neighbourhoods were reduced to rubble

'Photographs of them with the local mayor, touring some of the devastation zone and going around and seeing these houses that have been burned to the ground, has attracted a lot of ire - and that I understand,' she explained.

'People haven't been able to go back to their homes yet to see if there's anything left to salvage of their lives, so to see Harry and Meghan effectively being given a tour of the area has stuck in a lot of people's craw.'

The Mail on Sunday's Editor-at-Large, Charlotte Griffiths felt that Harry and Meghan ended up 'drawing attention to themselves' and that Ms Bateman's criticism of the couple was 'harsh but fair'.

'What their power is is drawing attention to issues, and there could not be more attention, rightly, on this LA wildfire. It's not like we needed them to draw attention to a subtle issue to do with health or mental health,' she said.

'So it felt like they were drawing attention to themselves.'

Analysing their visit to the evacuation hub, body language expert Judi James told The Mirror that Harry and Meghan's approach made them appear as the 'US version' of the royals.

In the wake of the LA wildfires, Harry and Meghan rallied around victims by making donations to relief efforts through their Archewell Foundation and opened up their $14.5million Montecito mansion to loved ones who were forced to evacuate.

The Sussexes also urged people to 'check in' on disabled and elderly neighbours in a message posted on their website, while Meghan postponed the release of her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan.

The interaction was broadcast live on FOX LA, sparking backlash from royal fans and experts as well as Justine Bateman, best known for her role as Mallory Keaton on the hit 80s sitcom Family Ties

Pushing the premiere back from January 15 to March 4, Meghan said she wanted to keep the 'focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California'.

Despite the backlash for being 'disaster tourists', Meghan later visited the Altadena Girls Fire Recovery Fund, set up by 14-year-old Avery Colvert after it was revealed the Sussexes' Archewell Foundation had donated to the organisation.

Avery, who set up the not-for-profit to support teenage girls impacted by the wildfires, later described Meghan as being 'very kind' in an interview with Marie Claire.

She recalled how the Duchess brought 'bags of clothing from her own closet' and even 'got stylist training' so she could help the young girls pick the most flattering outfits from the piles of donations Altadena Girls received.

'For all the girls that were coming in, they got to be styled by Meghan Markle,' she continued, adding that some people were so overwhelmed by the Duchess's presence at her fair that they 'just completely broke down'.

Pasadena mayor Victor Gordo also praised the Sussexes after their divisive visit to the community centre, adding they 'really buoyed the spirits of the first responders'.

Speaking to FOX LA, Mayor Gordo said: 'They (Harry and Meghan) want to be as helpful as they can be and really they just want to be supportive.'

He added that the couple visited some of the burnt-out houses in Pasadena and Altadena and spoke to those who had lost their homes.

'They took the time to meet the people who were affected and spend time. They are just very caring people who are very concerned for their friends and neighbours,' Mr Gordo said.
When Oscar-winning actress Grace Kelly got engaged to Prince Rainier of Monaco, 70 years ago tomorrow, she posed for photographs in the Philadelphia Country Club, showing off her Cartier ruby and diamond ring, in the colours of the Monaco flag.

She went onto become a cultural ambassador for the principality, meeting world leaders, royals and presidents including John F Kennedy and his First Lady wife, Jackie Kennedy.

However, there was one meeting, which was particularly poignant: on March 7, 1981, as the couple were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, she met Lady Diana Spencer, who had just got engaged to Prince Charles.

It was the 19-year-old Dianas first public appearance since her engagement, and she caused a furore, shifting the budget off the next days front pages, and boosting publicity for the Royal Opera Houses fundraising concert and reception.

Wearing a decollete, black taffeta evening gown by the designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel, she emerged out of the limousine in a frenzy of flash bulbs and walked into Londons Goldsmiths Hall.

However, behind the scenes, Diana was a nervous wreck: she ended up bursting into tears in the ladies loos and being comforted by Princess Grace, then 51.

It was the first time that the aristocratic nursery teacher had come face to face with the Hollywood icon, who won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in 1954s The Country Girl.

Eighteen months later she would be attending Princess Graces funeral and 15 years later the world was yet again plunged into mourning when Princess Diana died. In an extraordinary parallel both women died in car accidents.

When Grace Kelly got engaged, she posed for photographs in the Philadelphia Country Club, showing off her Cartier ruby and diamond ring, in the colours of the Monaco flag

It was the 19-year-old Dianas first public appearance since her engagement, and she caused a furore, shifting the budget off the next days front pages, and boosting publicity for the Royal Opera Houses fundraising concert

In his book Grace, Once Upon a Time: Behind The Fairy Tale Of Princess Grace And Prince Rainier, author J. Randy Taraborrelli wrote: That evening, the swanlike Diana wore a black, very decollete, strapless evening gown.

Even if she had appeared in a high-necked and long-sleeved muumuu, she would have created a sensation. The paparazzias would become the normwent wild for her. But Diana wasnt used to this treatment yet, if one ever does get used to it.

It was during a reception afterwards at Buckingham Palace, which Grace attended with her companion Gwen Robyns, that she noticed that Diana was in a panic.

Concerned for her, Grace asked if she would like to accompany her and Gwen to the ladies room for a chat, added Taraborrelli, who revealed that Diana burst into tears while Grace was touching up her make-up.

She also said that she now realized more than ever how unbearable it would be to have so many people jostling for her attention, asking questions, not only of her, but of anyone who knew her. She foresaw a life totally devoid of privacy.

'She was frightened. What could she do? She was certainly asking the right woman for advice. Grace had always known how to use her celebrity to her advantage, whereas Diana seemed to shrivel under the spotlights glare.

Grace, then 51, put her arms around 19-year-old Diana and patted her on the shoulder. She then put one hand on each of Dianas cheeks, cupping her face: Dont worry, dear, Grace told Diana with a gentle smile. You see, itll only get worse.

In his book Diana: Her True Story, author Andrew Morton wrote: I remember my first [royal] engagement so well. So excited. I got this black dress from the Emanuels, and I thought it was OK because girls my age wore this dress.

Princess Grace asked if Diana 'would like to accompany her and Gwen to the ladies room for a chat, added Taraborrelli, who revealed that Diana burst into tears while Grace was touching up her make-up

Prince Charles made it clear that he didn't approve of his fiance's black gown as he insisted that only people in mourning wear black

I hadnt appreciated that I was now seen as a royal lady, although Id only got a ring on my finger as opposed to two rings. I remember walking into my husband-to-bes study, and him saying: Youre not going in that dress, are you?

I replied, Yes, I am. And he said: Its black! But only people in mourning wear black! And I said: Yes, but Im not part of your family yet.

Black to me was the smartest colour you could possibly have at the age of 19. It was a real grown-up dress. I was quite big-chested then and they all got frightfully excited.

I learned a lesson that night. I remember meeting Princess Grace and how wonderful and serene she was  but there was troubled water under her, I saw that.

Grace went onto attend Charles and Dianas wedding four months later at St Pauls Cathedral in London with her son Prince Albert, then 23, after her husband fell ill.

They were guests at Buckingham Palace and led a procession of royals from around the world down the Mall, across Trafalgar Square, down the Strand and Fleet Street, and finally climbing Ludgate Hill to St. Pauls.

While Charles and Diana were given opulent gifts from around the globe, Grace and Rainier gave the newlyweds a simple silver picture frame, which Grace thought was quite lovely.

Diana gave birth to Prince William on June 21, 1982, and three months later, she attended Princess Graces funeral. It was her first official function as Princess of Wales.

Three months after giving birth to Prince George, Diana attended the funeral of Princess Grace who tragically died in a car crash

According to designer Sarah Burton, the dress was a 50/50 collaboration between the designer and the royal, who is believed to have been inspired by the frock that Grace wore to her 1956 wedding to Prince Albert of Monaco

She teamed a black dress and black boater hat with a netted veil with a heart-shaped diamond necklace that Charles had given her after Williams birth. I hope she was happy at the end, she reportedly said afterwards.

Tragically, less than 15 years later, on September 6, 1997, Dianas own funeral would be held at Westminster Abbey, and Graces eldest son, Prince Albert of Monaco, paid the familys respects.

However, Graces influence on the Royal family didnt end on Dianas death: when Kate Middleton walked up the aisle with Prince William, on April 29, 2011, her frock bore more than a passing similarity to Graces wedding dress.

According to designer Sarah Burton, the dress was a 50/50 collaboration between the designer and the royal, who is believed to have been inspired by the frock that Grace wore to her 1956 wedding to Prince Albert of Monaco.

Kate visited the Grace Kelly  Style Icon exhibition about the Hollywood actress at the Victoria & Albert Museum in the year before her 2011 wedding and fashion pundits noticed parallels between the two gowns.

The dress, which featured a Victorian-style corset, which narrowed at the waist and was padded at the hips, underneath a lace bodice, was a closely guarded secret: the designer did not even tell her mother about it.

The lace was created by the Royal School of Needlework, which cut individual flowers  the rose, thistle, daffodil, and shamrock  from antique lace and appliqued them onto ivory silk tulle.

Diana: A Life in Dresses is published by ACC Art Books and costs 40.
Americans priced out of the country's biggest coastal cities are increasingly voting with their feet by moving to a famously friendly pocket of the Midwest where homeownership remains within reach and daily life still feels affordable.

As housing costs, taxes, insurance and everyday expenses continue to soar in places like Los Angeles, New York and South Florida, a growing number of families are abandoning the coasts altogether.

Instead, many are resettling in communities along Wisconsin's Fox River Valley, where spacious homes sell for a fraction of big-city prices and wages stretch far further.

The shift is being driven by a brutal affordability gap that has turned homeownership into an impossible dream for many middle-class Americans in coastal metros.

Meanwhile Midwestern markets offer larger houses, lower living costs and a steadier economic footing.

All the factors combine to make an attraction option for remote workers, young families and even natives who are returning to the region in growing numbers.

For Greg and Sara Cebulski, the decision came down to square footage and sanity.

After years in Los Angeles, the couple realized that upgrading their living situation there would mean stretching their finances beyond what they were comfortable with.

Greg and Sara Cebulski returned to the region where they grew up and purchased a larger home for $360,000 after concluding that upgrading their living space on the West Coast was no longer financially viable

The couple traded a cramped, high-priced life on the West Coast, pictured, for a sprawling family home where their money finally buys space, stability, and a future

The Cebulski's new home is a 2,400-square-foot split-level house purchased for $360,000, nearly twice the size of the home they sold on the West Coast for more than twice the price

Instead, they returned to the region where they grew up and recently closed on a 2,400-square-foot split-level home for $360,000.

The house is nearly double the size of the starter home they sold in the San Fernando Valley, which fetched more than twice that price.

The savings didn't stop at the mortgage. Utilities, gasoline, and even dance and piano lessons for their children came at a noticeably lower cost.

They say the move didn't feel like a compromise but more like a relief.

Across major coastal cities, workers say they are being squeezed out by housing prices that race ahead of wages.

The frustration has spilled into ballot boxes and mayoral races, reshaping local politics and forcing affordability to the center of national debate.

In much of the Midwest however the picture looks different.

The region continues to post the lowest median sales price for existing homes in the country - $319,400 as of November, compared with $409,200 nationwide, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Bartelts upgraded to a larger home in Wisconsin for $400,000, gaining additional space while remaining within a housing market they said was still affordable for their household income

Brian Bartelt recently paid $400,000 for this larger home in Appleton, Wisconsin upgrading from his starter house while remaining confident he could still afford to buy locally

Stretching from Oshkosh through Appleton to Green Bay, the Fox River Valley has become one of the states most active and competitive housing markets (file photo)

Rents in major Midwestern cities also trail the national median, based on Bank of America data.

The Midwest - defined by the bank as Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota - has long been cheaper.

Year-on-year wage growth has also been climbing more steadily in the region than elsewhere, according to Bank of America deposit data, giving households more breathing room after the bills are paid.

'It is the value play of the United States,' Joe Wadford, an economist at the Bank of America Institute, said to the Wall Street Journal. 'It is a great place to put down roots.'

Nowhere is that more evident than in the stretch of Wisconsin running from Oshkosh through Appleton and Neenah up to Green Bay.

In the six surrounding counties, just one in seven homeowners spends more than 30 percent of their income on housing, compared with one in five nationally.

Roughly 40 percent of renters exceed that threshold, versus about half nationwide.

Employment in manufacturing account for more than twice the national share of jobs and helps keep wages above average US levels.

The result is what Greg Cebulski, 38, describes as a 'scalable ladder'.

Josh Griggs relocated after determining that rising home prices, insurance costs, and utilities in Florida made buying a home there financially impractical

Griggs purchased this four-bedroom home near Green Bay, Wisconsin for $403,000 after concluding that buying a comparable house in Florida had become financially unworkable

Zak Gravunder, who bought this two-bedroom Appleton home in 2019 for $138,000, now worries that rising prices could leave him unable to afford another house in the same market

Speaking from a sunroom overlooking a spacious yard, Cebulski said that ladder made it possible to keep his Los Angelesbased job as an editor for the Discovery Channel, earning about $180,000 a year, while dramatically improving his family's standard of living.

Affordability in the region isn't limited to coastal transplants with remote jobs. Jason Brown, a hotel manager in Appleton, recently bought a four-bedroom home with his partner for $305,000.

Their combined income of $72,000 covers the mortgage and supports one child, with another on the way. 'Between us, we make a pretty decent living,' Brown said to WSJ.com.

Low housing costs are often associated with stagnation or population decline but in this corner of Wisconsin the local population grew 3% from 2019 to 2024, outpacing the statewide average.

Economic growth has tracked closely with the rest of Wisconsin, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The region is anchored by long-standing employers. Kimberly-Clark, founded in nearby Neenah in 1872, maintains manufacturing and research facilities.

Gulfstream Aerospace employs hundreds of workers customizing jets.

Some newcomers are returning Midwesterners who left for other opportunities but have come back with higher salaries intact.

Americans priced out of life in expensive coastal cities are increasingly relocating to the Midwest where homeownership remains attainable and everyday costs are far lower

As coastal life grows unaffordable, the Midwest is emerging as the countrys last broad swath of attainable homeownership. Pictured, Madison, Wisconsin and the State Capitol

Josh Griggs is one of them. He recently closed on a four-bedroom home near Green Bay for $403,000 after concluding that homeownership in Pensacola or Orlando, where he had lived, was effectively out of reach.

Housing wasn't the only factor. Insurance and utilities in Florida were punishing, he said, with electric bills running around $300 a month - costs he expects to cut roughly in half in Wisconsin.

Griggs earns about $140,000 a year as a remote insurance worker, a job he kept after moving.

He grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and has family near Green Bay, but the transition wasn't seamless and the market was tight.

'It's very affordable in this area, but the one thing I will say is it's very competitive,' he said. Griggs had hoped to spend around $350,000.

'I put offers in on six houses before I got this,' he explained.

That competition is beginning to test the region's balance, pushing prices upward and unsettling some longtime residents.

Zak Gravunder, an Appleton native, bought his modest two-bedroom home in 2019 for $138,000.

After a recent divorce, the 39-year-old now worries he may not be able to afford another home locally.

Willow Bayer, an artist who also tends bar at a restaurant downtown, bought her three-bedroom, one-bath home in 2022 for $169,000

Willow Bayer bought her three-bedroom, one-bath home in 2022 for $169,000 in Appleton, Wisconsin allowing her to manage her mortgage comfortably on a service-industry income

Gravunder earns about $65,000 a year selling first-aid products and says rising grocery prices are compounding the stress.

'I watched the president of the United States give a speech yesterday about affordability and he was like, "What are you complaining about, things are great",' Gravunder said, referring to a December 17 speech.

'I don't know how far removed you are from the situation, but it's not that great out here.'

Local officials are racing to keep supply from falling further behind demand.

New subdivisions and apartment complexes are rising around Appleton.

Neenah has taken the unusual step of purchasing land and selling it gradually to developers as homes are built, helping manage construction costs.

In 2024, the city recorded its highest level of single-family home construction since 2010, according to Mayor Jane Lang.

Despite rising prices, many middle- and working-class residents are still buying homes - something increasingly rare in coastal metros.

Willow Bayer, an artist who also tends bar at a restaurant downtown, bought her three-bedroom, one-bath home in 2022 for $169,000.

The house is small, with a tight staircase leading upstairs, but she pays the mortgage comfortably and often adds an extra $200 toward the principal. Now married to a welder, Bayer says the couple has considered leaving for something new.

'I dreamed about Washington, the outskirts of Seattle,' she said. 'But then you look at the prices.'

Others see no reason to go anywhere.

Brian Bartelt grew up in Appleton and recently upgraded his family's living situation, paying $400,000 for a larger home with an extra bathroom, a bigger yard, and roughly 1,000 more square feet than their starter house.

The expanded garage now fits a snowblower, lawn mower, and kids' bikes, while the added bathroom means, as Bartelt put it, 'I don't have to share a shower with an eight-year-old.'

Bartelt, who sells HVAC maintenance services to industrial companies, had hoped to stay under $350,000.

Families are leaving high-cost coastal cities such as Los Angeles and New York, where home prices, taxes, insurance and everyday expenses have pushed homeownership out of reach

The Midwest is increasingly absorbing families fleeing coastal sticker shock, offering lower housing costs, steadier wages, and a housing market where buying a home remains attainable rather than aspirational. Pictured, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Even after raising his budget, he said it never crossed his mind that homeownership here might be impossible.

His household income, including his wife's county job, is about $175,000.

'If you can get past the crappy winters here it's way more affordable than much of the country,' Bartelt said.
Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient Roman city on Israel's coast, which appears to be the grand port built by a king described in the Bible.

The city of Caesarea Maritima, just 28 miles north of present-day Tel Aviv, was home to a huge artificial harbor, aqueducts, theater, and stadium, which still stand today, revealing the real Roman world where early Christian events took place.

Its remains include a huge artificial harbor, aqueducts, a theater, and a stadium, revealing the real Roman world in which early Christian events unfolded.

The site is repeatedly mentioned in the Book of Acts, which describes Caesarea as a major center of Roman governance and early Christianity.

Archaeologists say the ruins and artifacts found there provide some of the clearest physical evidence supporting the people, places, and events described in the Bible.

Among the most significant discoveries is the Pilate Stone, an inscription naming Pontius Pilate as the Roman governor of Judea.

The stone offers the first direct archaeological proof that the official who presided over Jesus' trial was a real historical figure. Additional discoveries at the site suggest early Christians lived and worshiped in Caesarea, aligning closely with New Testament accounts.

The Pilate Stone in the city of Caesarea Maritima (Pictured) helped prove that the man who judged Jesus was a real historical character

The theatre in Caesarea Maritima pictured in 1986

Caesarea Maritima was said to be the location where Peter baptized the first non-Jewish believer, marking a pivotal moment in the spread of Christianity beyond Judaism.

The city was also where the apostle Paul was imprisoned and put on trial before Roman officials, just as described in the Book of Acts.

Ancient mosaics uncovered at the site quote verses from Paul's letters, including inscriptions believed to be among the oldest known New Testament texts, dating back to the second century AD.

One of the most famous artifacts discovered at Caesarea is the Pilate Stone, found in June 1961 during excavations of a Roman theater.

The carved limestone slab originally formed part of a dedication to the emperor Tiberius Caesar and names Pontius Pilate as 'prefect of Judea.'

Before its discovery, Pilate was known only from written sources, including the New Testament and brief mentions by the Jewish historian Josephus and the Roman writer Tacitus.

Only a portion of the inscription remains, but it reads: 'To this Divine Augusti Tiberieum, Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea, has dedicated this.'

The original limestone relic has since been moved for safekeeping to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, while a replica now stands in the archaeological park at Caesarea.

The city of Caesarea Maritima was a port on the Mediterranean built by King Herod between 22 and 10 BC

The Pilate Stone (Pictured), discovered in 1961, confirms Pilate's role in the trial of Jesus

The inscription dates to the period when Pilate served as governor, between 26 and 36 AD, the same era described in the gospels.

The Gospel of Luke states: 'Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee.'

Pilate is mentioned at least 50 times in the Bible, portrayed as the Roman authority who ultimately handed Jesus over for crucifixion.

After Caesarea was destroyed by Muslim forces in 1265, the site remained largely untouched for centuries. Only a small number of inhabitants used the ruins as a fishing village until the city's historical importance was recognized in the 20th century.

Since excavations began in the 1950s, researchers have uncovered a treasure trove of Roman-era structures, including a governor's palace and a praetorium, reflecting the judicial setting described in the New Testament.

The Book of Acts mentions Caesarea about 15 times, detailing Paul's two-year imprisonment and multiple legal hearings before Roman officials.

It also describes Caesarea as home to a Christian organization that helped Paul escape persecution.

Archaeologists have found evidence of early Christian life at the site, including mosaics bearing New Testament verses such as Romans 13:3, which reads: 'Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.'

Caesarea Maritima displays pieces of Roman history that add credibility to the accounts of the gospels

Jewish historian Josephus Flavius wrote that Herod built Caesarea as a massive artificial harbor for ships traveling to Egypt, complete with underwater breakwaters, giant statues of the emperor, and a towering lighthouse.

Herod is also described in the Bible as the ruler who ordered the massacre of infants in Bethlehem and who constructed Caesarea from scratch between 22 and 10 BC.

Third-century scholar Origen is believed to have lived in Caesarea, where he compiled his influential edition of the Old Testament in both Hebrew and Greek.

Today, Caesarea Maritima stands as a vast archaeological park, attracting visitors from around the world, including those seeking historical context or confirmation of the Bible's accounts. For archaeologists and historians alike, the city continues to serve as a powerful bridge between Roman history and the New Testament narrative.
As tensions between the US and multiple hostile nations rise, several experts have warned that it is only a matter of time before a crippling disaster strikes.

In 2025 alone, America has launched military strikes on Iran and Venezuela, two countries that cyberwarfare experts have warned could target the aging US power grid, potentially leaving millions in darkness and without internet access for days or even weeks.

A blackout of that scale would quickly ripple through everyday life: traffic signals could fail, grocery stores would close, ATMs and banks would be offline, hospitals could be overwhelmed, and emergency services would be stretched thin.

At the same time, Pentagon officials have said China is readying its intercontinental ballistic missiles, sparking fears that a nuclear war could be nearing. The combined threats of cyberattacks, conventional strikes and nuclear escalation are prompting doomsday preppers to start planning for the worst now.

Sean Gold, a US Air Force veteran and founder of website TruePrepper, warned that Americans should brace for a massive blackout that could plunge the East or West Coast into darkness at any moment amid rising global tensions.

'Otherwise, it'll happen with slightly more notice when it's accompanied by regional weather-related disasters, deteriorating political stability or space weather (Coronal mass ejections - CMEs),' Gold told the Daily Mail.

The veteran keeps a large stockpile of goods including survival knives, MREs (Meal, Ready-to-Eat), communication radios and gallon-sized buckets of food.

Gold emphasized that prepping isn't just about hoarding supplies, but about practical, realistic planning for daily life without electricity or basic services.

Sean Gold, pictured in gas mask, started his disaster-prepping website TruePrepper in 2016 after the birth of his first child

Gold keeps stockpiles of food, including MREs ('eal, Ready-to-Eat), in case of an emergency that cuts off local supply chains

Prepping experts have noted that during a full-scale blackout, households could run out of accessible drinking water within a few days, and grocery store shelves would quickly empty. Experienced preppers rotate their food and water supplies regularly to prevent spoilage and maintain back-up power solutions for critical devices.

Gold said Americans looking to leap into doomsday prepping should begin by making an emergency communication plan to coordinate with loved ones and have set procedures that do not rely on power or cell phones in the event of an outage.

'Pre-planned meeting points and target times are usually included,' he added.

'Work on your general preparedness. Power outages often come hand-in-hand with supply chain disruptions, so have food, water, fuel, etc on hand. Planning for three days of self-sufficiency is a good starting point.'

Gold also recommended having water-purifying equipment ready in case sources become unreliable.

The prepper noted that communication gear is crucial, from weather radios to licensed amateur radios.

'These can handle power and internet outage rather well, and allow people to communicate with walkie-talkies a few miles, or across the world if you have a nice ham radio set-up,' Gold said.

Regions of the US most at risk for power outages include the hurricane-prone southeast, the wildfire and drought-stricken southwest, and low-lying areas such as Louisiana and Florida, where infrastructure is already under stress from ongoing natural disasters.

While events such as electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) - sudden bursts of energy that can disrupt or damage electronics - solar storms or attacks by hackers and state actors could potentially affect the entire country, Gold noted that the timing and scale of such high-impact events are impossible to predict.

His 'all-in' moment as a prepper struck when his first son was born in 2015.

'I made TruePrepper less than a year after he was born, not just to share what I know, but to spur myself to learn even more and apply it to my own family's preparedness,' Gold explained.

'Most preppers are pushed to preparedness by near-misses, disasters and tragedies, so I consider myself lucky to be motivated by a positive experience.'

Gold has used his website, TruePrepper, to provide advice on the best survival gear for an emergency, including knives for all situations

Gold also recommended having water purifying equipment ready in case water sources become unreliable

Beyond natural disasters and geopolitical tensions, the US electrical system is around 120 years old, and Gold noted that government budgets rarely prioritize modernization or resilience measures, leaving the grid vulnerable to cyberattacks and hacking.

Robert Siciliano, a cybersecurity awareness trainer for more than 30 years, said the age of the equipment used nationwide only multiplies the chances that foreign adversaries could successfully cause widespread blackouts across an entire coast.

If the power grid goes down for a long time due to a major cyberattack or other failure, there would be no lights, heat or air-conditioning. Phones and the internet stop working, gas pumps and ATMs fail, and food in refrigerators would spoil quickly.

After a few days, things could get scarier with shortages of clean water, rising health risks as medical devices stop working, more accidents and crime in darkened cities, and major disruptions and delays for hospitals and emergency services.

Such a crisis would not only lead to panic in the real world, but also cut people off from their sensitive information, bank accounts and major forms of communication on the internet.

'You aren't just losing the ability to scroll social media,' Siciliano told the Daily Mail. 'You are losing your digital defensive line.'

Siciliano explained that cybercriminals use major internet outages to cover their tracks because they know victims can't receive suspicious activity alerts in their email, use secure login codes or check their bank statements in real time.

To avoid fraud during a blackout, the expert advised everyone to create their own 'digital survival kit' by freezing their credit if they suspect a power outage is coming and printing out their last three months of bank and credit card statements.

He added that Americans should also switch their smartphones to app-based login security systems rather than sticking with Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) sent by text messages, since cell phone service will likely disappear during a blackout.

'Print "Backup Codes,"' he recommended, adding that 'most major services (Google, iCloud, banking) offer a one-time list of "Recovery Codes."'

While he said foreign cyberattacks pose the greater risk for long-term blackout emergencies, Siciliano noted that storms and aging equipment are likely to continue to cause local outages.

Sean Gold, pictured, served in the US Air Force for six years working as a hazmat technician and received a degree in emergency management

Gold revealed that there are three things everyone can do today to get themselves and their families ready for an emergency that cuts off internet access and power across several states.

First, Gold said to 'make an emergency communication plan to coordinate with loved ones and have set procedures that do not rely on power [or] cell phones in the event of an outage'. He added that this plan should include having pre-planned meeting points and target times should something go wrong.

Next, he told the Daily Mail that purchasing an emergency weather radio is vital so folks can stay updated on what's going on and charge mobile devices - plus, he said, it functions as a flashlight.

'[The radios] run between $15 and $80, so they can fit most budgets and do some heavy lifting in emergencies,' the disaster prepping expert explained.

Finally, Gold said it is important to have at least a three-day supply of food, water and fuel in case help is delayed.
If you're hoping to find love in 2026, today could be a good day to get started.

January 4 is the busiest day of the year for dating app activity, with the highest number of messages and likes sent.

This is largely driven by New Year's resolutions and a desire for fresh starts, leading to huge spikes in users swiping, matching and messaging.

Matchmaking app Hinge has revealed that last year's 'Dating Sunday' saw a 31.2 per cent increase in likes and 24.5 per cent increase in messages compared to the average Sunday.

Now, new analysis has pinpointed the best time to be online to try and bag an early date this year.

It turns out 7pm tonight is the peak time for sending likes in the UK, while 9pm is the most popular time for sending voice notes and messages on the app.

'Following the festive period, people have time to reflect on the year, including what worked, what didn't, and what they want to change,' Logan Ury, Hinge's lead relationship scientist said. 'For many daters, this leads to a New Year's resolution around dating and building new connections.

'Daters are ready to hit the ground running that first Sunday in January and put their resolution to work. We see this trend reflected in our global data, with people refreshing their Hinge profiles, sending likes, and starting conversations with matches on Dating Sunday.'

Last year's 'Dating Sunday' saw a 31.2 per cent increase in likes and 24.5 per cent increase in messages compared to the average Sunday, Hinge said (file image)

For those unsure how to take advantage of the global swiping spike, Ms Ury has pulled together some suggestions of how to make the most of Dating Sunday.

If you're interested in someone, it's worth sending a comment along with a like, she suggests, as this can open up a back-and-forth discussion.

Once you match with someone you should send a message as soon as possible, she said, as your best chance at getting a response is within 24 hours of matching.

Sending a voice note  which is now possible via the app  shows another side of you outside your prompts and photos, she added.

Data shows that conversations with voice notes are 41 per cent more likely to lead to a date.

A new year could also be a good opportunity to approach dating with an open mind, experts say.

Small tweaks  like adjusting your distance or age range  could open the door to matches you may have otherwise missed.

It's also a good idea to refresh your profile, ensuring your pictures and prompts are up to date.

Ms Ury said many people set New Year's resolutions around dating and building new connections, which leads to a spike in dating app use on 'Dating Sunday' (file image)

The best hours for likes UK : 7pm

: 7pm US : 8pm

: 8pm Canada : 8pm

: 8pm Australia : 9pm

: 9pm Germany : 7pm

: 7pm Sweden : 7pm

: 7pm France : 7pm

: 7pm Spain : 11am

: 11am Italy : 11am

: 11am Mexico : 10am Advertisement

Dating hours around the globe (time refers to local time)

US

In the US, Hinge reports a natural progression of connection throughout the evening.

The most likes will be sent during the 8pm hour, messages during the 9pm hour, and voice notes during the 10pm hour.

Canada

In Canada, the most likes and voice notes will be sent at 8pm and the most messages at 11pm.

Australia

Meanwhile in Australia everything seems to happen at once - with the most messages, likes, and voice notes sent at 9pm.

Sending a voice note  which is now possible via the app  shows another side of you outside your prompts and photos, the expert said

Germany

In Germany the most likes will be sent at 7pm, and messages and voice notes at 9pm.

Sweden

While in Sweden the most likes will be sent at 7pm, voice notes at 9pm and messages at 10pm.

France

In France the most likes are sent at 7pm and messages and voice notes at 10pm.

Spain

In Spain, the most likes are sent in the morning, at 11am, while voice notes peak at 6pm and messages at 11pm.

Recent figures show that while the majority of Boomers and Gen Xers met their other half at the club, Millennials and Gen Z are more likely to find their partner on a dating app

Italy

In Italy, the most likes will be sent at 11am, voice notes at 6pm and messages at 10pm.

Mexico

Finally in Mexico, the most likes are sent at 10am, the data shows.

Meanwhile most messages will be sent at 10pm and voice notes at 11pm.
Bryan Kohberger's sister said the 'creepy' black heart drawing he was seen with at his sentencing for the Idaho murderers was actually a sign of support from his family.

Melissa Kohberger, 34, said she'd sent her sibling, 31, the heart ahead of his July sentencing for the murders of four students to show his family had not disowned him.

She stayed at home in Pennsylvania to care for her father Michael, who has heart trouble, but wanted to send her sibling the drawing to show they still loved him.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Support: The drawing of a black heart was given to Bryan Kohberger by his sister to show the family still love him, she revealed

Solidarity: Melissa Korberger, 34, had drawn the picture that was given to her brother at his sentencing in July

Her drawing was photocopied and given to Kohberger. He could be seen pondering it as he was sentenced to life without parole for the 2022 stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in Moscow, Idaho.

Melissa's chat with The New York Times is the first time one of Kohberger's relatives has spoken publicly about his horrific crimes.

Melissa, a 34-year-old psychologist who lives in New Jersey, stressed her family's pain pales in comparison to what is being suffered by the families of the victims

Evil: After two years of protesting his innocence, the former PhD student finally confessed to the murders as part of a plea deal to save himself from the death penalty

She also revealed the two instances when she and Kohberger discussed the murders prior to his arrest.

After the story broke, Melissa said she called her brother to share her concerns for his safety because he enjoyed late-night jogs and often left his doors unlocked.

'Bryan, you are running outside, and this psycho killer is on the loose. Be careful,' she told her brother. Kohberger had promised he'd be safe.

Victims: Kohberger, who did not reveal his motive, murdered Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin (pictured with their roommates) in 2022

The next time they discussed the murders was the following month, after Kohberger drove across the country to spend Christmas with his family in Pennsylvania.

Days before his December 2022 arrest, Kohberger remarked in passing that police in Idaho were still hunting for the killer.

Melissa recalled the moment her older sister Amanda, 37, called to say the FBI had raided their home, cuffed Kohberger, and taken him away.

'(Amanda) was like: "I'm with the FBI, Bryan's been arrested,". I was like: "For what?"'

Stunned: It never crossed Melissa's mind that her brother could be behind the killings, so she was shocked when her sister, Amanda (pictured) called her to say he had been arrested

Hearing that her brother was suspected of being the Idaho murderer reduced Melissa to a state of nauseous shock, she said.

Melissa said her family fully accepts the gravity and evil of Kohberger's crimes. But they continue to talk to Kohberger, who Melissa says enjoyed a happy childhood and who was close to his siblings and parents.

For his 31st birthday, which occurred in November, the former criminology student had requested the family make a cake Amanda would like, and he requested Melissa blow out the candles, she told the outlet.

He's also still indulging his interest in psychology, and the two siblings discuss them together.

And when Melissa gets overwhelmed by what the family had to endure - such as, Melissa losing her new job in New Jersey - she reminds herself that the victims' families have it much worse.

Many online sleuths have speculated that her parents knew more about the crime than they let on. They maintain that they knew nothing. Kohberger was arrested six weeks after the murder at his parents' home.

Investigators tracked him down after he left a KaBar leather knife sheath next to Mogens body at the scene. Through Investigative Genetic Genealogy, the FBI managed to trace DNA on the sheath to Kohberger.

His motive for the murders still remains a mystery, with Kohberger having no known connection to any of the victims or their friends.

Prosecutors believe Kohberger did not intend to kill all four victims that night - but did intend to kill someone and had planned his attack for months, buying a KaBar knife from Amazon to use as his murder weapon in March 2022.

After two years of protesting his innocence, the former PhD student finally confessed to the murders as part of a plea deal to save himself from the death penalty. He was handed down a sentence of four life sentences.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Melissa for comment.
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In Paris, youll see dozens of well-dressed intellectual types lining up for a table outside the city's most famous literary coffee shops - including Cafe de Flore or Les Deux Magots, which have hosted the likes of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Head to Venice, and book-carrying, tote bag-wielding tourists queue for a spot at iconic watering hole, Harrys Bar, itching to sip on a Bellini just as Ernest Hemingway once did.

On English soil, Shakespeares house in Stratford-upon-Avon remains one of the country's most visited literary attractions.

Whether you're into Dan Brown or Emily Bronte, basing a holiday around your favourite book or author has become big business.

Indeed, in Skyscanners Annual Trends report for 2026, the Bookbound literature trend predicted travellers will be tracing the footsteps of literary heroes, planning slow holidays around reading retreats and tracking down the worlds best bookshops and libraries.

Almost half of all travellers have booked, or would consider, a trip inspired by literature, Skyscanners research found.

A study by CV Villas analysed mentions of more than 140 travel destinations in books, revealing which places with strong literary links are seeing the biggest growth.

It revealed the top 20 destinations inspired by literature, and included many unsurprising destinations - Venice, for instance, and the Amalfi Coast.

But which of these bookish destinations are actually worth a visit? And which have become tourist traps to avoid? Here's our pick:

When you visit Paris, youll see dozens of well-dressed intellectual types lining up for a table outside the cafe Les Deux Magots (pictured)

Pass on Paris and frolic... in the French Riviera

Ah, Paris. Any rundown of literary travel destinations must, naturally, start here.

There's no shortage of options if you do find yourself in the French capital - in fact, most popular tourist hotspots here will have some sort of bookish origin story.

Take the city's famous Montmartre area, famed for housing many creatives, or the Moulin Rouge. Or perhaps you'd prefer to visit Shakespeare and Co, the city's popular English bookshop. Even just a stroll down a street will likely see you pass a literary hotspot.

But this can be overwhelming - and, given the hoards of tourists at many of these places, it's unlikely to give you an authentic experience.

Instead, try the dreamy shores of the Cote d'Azur. The French Riviera is, unsurprisingly, a popular setting for romantic novels, travelogues and many other books.

Tender is The Night by F Scott Fitzgerald is set in Antibes, and Not Quite Nice by Celia Imrie near Nice. Both are great options for exploring - as are beautiful nearby towns such as Villefranche-sur-Mer and Eze. A worthy alternative with fewer crowds.

The French Riviera is, unsurprisingly, a popular setting for romantic novels, travelogues and many other books - towns such as Villefranche-sur-Mer (pictured) are worth a visit

Avoid Amalfi... and make for Corfu

The Talented Mr Ripley, Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel, supposedly took its inspiration for the fictional resort town of Mongibello from Positano on Italy's Amalfi Coast.

More recently, Rebecca Serles 2022 One Italian Summer was set here, and soared to fame on 'BookTok' - the social media trend making reading popular again.

The Amalfi Coast certainly has its charms - with beautiful beaches, Italian cuisine and pretty cliffside towns.

But it's one of the places in Europe most overrun by tourists, especially during the summer season.

Of course, you can try languishing in the sun like Mr Ripley, and you'll certainly have a fabulous holiday, but you'll share it with the masses.

Why not try Corfu, home to the Durrell family during the 1930s and famously written about in Gerald Durrell's Corfu trilogy?

Beaches, including Megas Choros, Cape Drastis or Glyfada, make for a glamorous sunshine-fuelled break, especially if you steer clear of the Greek island's more touristy areas.

Instead, try Corfu, home to the Durrell family during the 1930s and made famous by Gerald Durrell's book My Family and other Animals

La Mancha... not Madrid

You will definitely have heard of Madrid, and perhaps of its history tied up with famous writers and novels.

Of the world's oldest restaurant, located in a prime spot in the heart of Madrid just next to the iconic Plaza Mayor, Ernest Hemingway said in The Sun Also Rises: 'We lunched up-stairs at Botins. It is one of the best restaurants in the world.

'We had roast young suckling pig and drank rioja alta. Brett did not eat much. She never ate much. I ate a very big meal and drank three bottles of rioja alta.'

Botin, established in 1725, was also visited by Charles Dickens, among many other famous faces.

Sure, there's lots to do in Madrid; Botin is a highlight. But for a more immersive experience with an equal amount of literary influence, you're better off heading to La Mancha and its capital city Toledo, famous for its rare blend of Christian, Jewish, and Islamic heritage - and its popular bullring.

Perhaps one of the most famous novels to come out of Spain, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes tells the adventures a man who wanted to be a knight in La Mancha - a large region of the country known for its spacious, open plains dotted with windmills and castles, as well as its fantastic wines.

You can follow in his footsteps in this region as the Spanish tourist board had devised a Ruta de Don Quixote, to lure more visitors to La Mancha. It will feel like you're in the middle of nowhere - and that's exactly the point.

The Spanish capital, Madrid, is a cultural hotspot, known for its famous Prado Museum, and has literary links galore (Erin pictured outside Madrid's Prado museum)

Swap the Big Apple...for the Big Easy

Few places are as innately tied up with modern literature than New York.

Be it classics such as The Great Gatsby and Breakfast At Tiffany's, or newer releases including A Little Life and Sex And The City (the book version, of course!), there's no shortage of literary inspiration and muses in the buzzing Big Apple.

With great fame, however, comes downsides - you'll jostle for space to photograph your favourite literary haunt. For a more unique stay, head to the Deep South and try New Orleans.

A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams' famous 1947 play, is set here - as is The Awakening by Kate Chopin. More recently, though, it's become a haven of jazz music and food.

Earlier this year, the 20 best cities in the world for food in 2025 were revealed and ranked by Time Out - and this year it's New Orleans that takes the crown.

So for a more unique trip, skip the Big Apple and try the Louisiana city and its vibrant French Quarter.

Earlier this year, the 20 best cities in the world for food in 2025 were revealed and ranked by Time Out - and this year it's New Orleans that takes the crown

Not Venice... veer towards Verona

'Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,' are the famous words written by Shakespeare in the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet.

If it's good enough for the young lovers, it's good enough for us - and it's certainly a great alternative to overcrowded Venice.

Back in Hemingway's day, Venice was surely a fantastic, intimate setting - but nowadays, it's expensive and crowded.

Of course, tick the Italian city off your bucket list - our tip is to visit in winter... but Verona can feel like a less stressful alternative.

And theres plenty to do there - you can even visit Juliets balcony, from which she called down to her lover: O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

Or tour the city's famous Roman amphitheatre, where performances play out year round.

So if you're after Italian food and wine, pretty cobbled streets, gorgeous views and a pinch of romance, swap Venice for Verona - you won't regret it.

Ernest Hemingway certainly got around - he was known for enjoying a drink in Harry's Bar in Venice (pictured)

So if you're after Italian food and wine, pretty cobbled streets, gorgeous views and a pinch of romance, swap Venice for Verona

Trade sprawling London...for Bath

To list all the book-inspired spots in London would take far too long.

Platform nine-and-three-quarters in London's Kings Cross from Harry Potter, 221B Baker Street from Sherlock Holmes, most of the areas mentioned in Bridget Jones' Diary - to name but a few.

There's no getting around it: if you like books, London has something for you. But Bath - crowned the best city in the UK in Conde Nast's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards - is just as literary and a little less overwhelming.

But Bath - crowned the best city in the UK in Conde Nast's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards - is just as literary and far less overwhelming

The shining writer in the spotlight here? None other than Jane Austen. When the celebrated author made Bath her home from 1801 to 1806 the city was a thriving spa resort - and it still is today.

December 2025 saw the city mark Austen's 250th birthday - meaning this month is the perfect time to schedule a visit to the Somerset city.

There's plenty to do, as well. Visit Bath Abbey, which dates back to the 7th century, or perhaps take a trip to the Roman Baths. Lots of great restaurants and brunch spots line the honey-hued streets too.

Dodge madding crowds in Marrakech ...and go back in time in Tangier

Marrakech, home to snake charmers and fake designer handbags, has been on travel bucket lists for years (Pictured: Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech)

And if you're after a calmer introduction to Morocco, Tangier is the way to go

Atmospheric Marrakech has been on travel bucket lists for years. It's the most well-known Moroccan city and its famous Jemaa el-fnaa square has provided a backdrop to many a novel.

The fictional town of Agrabah from Disney's Aladdin is often said to be inspired by Marrakech, for instance.

But to say that Marrakech is hectic is an understatement. And if you're after a calmer introduction to Morocco, Tangier is the way to go.

Famous writers such as Ian Fleming of James Bond fame and Tennessee Williams used to frequent the city to write, and it's easy to understand why.

Walk past the Teatro Cervantes, drink coffee in the iconic Gran Cafe de Paris, and watch artsy French movies at Cinema Rif and you'll soon feel part of the local intelligentsia.

Its a city that oozes art deco beauty, combined with a rustic, unkempt charm.

To pack or not to pack, that is the question...

If you're planning a bookcation - or even just jetting off to read romance novels on a beach somewhere - there are plenty of reading accessories that will make your journey much smoother.

Here's our guide to the best reading essentials you should pack for your next break.

Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition Once you take the Kindle plunge, you'll never look back - and the Colorsoft edition is even more high-tech, perfect for frequent users. As a regular traveller, nothing is more useful than being able to bring a kindle with instead of a stack of books to read on the beach. With longer battery life and excellent display, this is a perfect travel companion that is well worth a buy. Shop

Papier Italian Summer reading journal I love to keep track of everything I'm reading - even more so if I'm reading it in a beautiful part of the world. This notebook is a work of art in itself, ideal if you want to jot down your reading list and note any thoughts. Shop

The Really Tiny Book Light - Personal Reading Light If you like to read at night, and perhaps have a partner who'd rather the lights weren't on until the small hours, this is the nifty gadget for you. For less than a fiver, you can enjoy hours of uninterrupted reading. Shop

Burga's Flex - Kindle Paperwhite (12th Gen) Case Kindles can be expensive, and the last thing you want is to break yours. Burga's cases are both sturdy and stylish, making for a great and almost essential add-on if you're part of the e-reader club. Shop

Stackers Cable Tidy Headphones? Check. Kindle charger? Check. Plug converter? Check. Somewhere to store it all? Um... If you're forever hunting for your chargers and gadgets, this cable tidy is an extremely useful purchase. Shop

Lunea Magnetic Personalised Bookmark While I love to buy cheap bookmarks as a memento when I travel, I'm always on the lookout for a more permanent option - especially if I'm near water on holiday, as no one wants their bookmark to disintegrate under wet fingers! This option can also be personalised, making it a great gift. Shop

Ciao Tote Bag - The General Classification Whether you're heading on a beach holiday or city break, if you plan on reading abroad you'll need something to carry all your book paraphernalia. This tote bag from The General Classification is super lightweight and spacious, perfect for books, a beach towel and more. Shop

Belkin BoostCharge Power Bank 20K There's nothing worse than plonking yourself down on a sun lounger only to find your Kindle is out of battery. Save yourself the hassle with this budget-friendly, powerful portable charger. Shop
A BBC crime drama hailed as 'one of the best ever made' is now streaming on Netflix and Disney+ as viewers rave over the 'pressure-building tension' and 'unapologetic sex appeal'.

The Fall, created by Allan Cubitt, hit BBC Two back in 2013 and aired three series before wrapping up in 2016.

It follows the story of Superintendent Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) trying to capture a serial killer who goes by the name of Peter Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan) in Northern Ireland.

BBC iPlayer's synopsis reads: 'The intertwined lives of two hunters - a serial killer hidden in plain sight and the detective desperate to catch him.'

It stars Gillian Anderson as DSU Stella Gibson, John Lynch as ACC Jim Burns, Stuart Graham as DCI Matthew Eastwood, Niamh McGrady as PC Danielle Ferrington and Archie Panjabi as Professor Reed Smith.

Jamie Dornan plays protagonist Peter Paul Spector and Bronagh Waugh plays his wife Sally Ann Spector.

A BBC crime drama hailed as 'one of the best ever made' is now streaming on Netflixand Disney+ as viewers rave over the 'pressure-building tension' and 'unapologetic sex appeal'

The Fall, created by Allan Cubitt, hit BBC Two back in 2013 and aired three series before wrapping up in 2016

Although the series finished nine years ago, fans can still watch it on iPlayer, and now many will be happy to know that it's available to watch on two more streamers.

The show has received a number of incredible reviews online over the years.

The Fall has 85% on review site Rotten Tomatoes, as well 8.1 out of 10 on IMDB.

Rotten Tomatoes features a string of gushing reviews: 'Less sensationalistic and more provocative than most police procedurals, The Fall is unapologetically sexy with pressure-building tension driven by plausible characters and motifs.'

'Excellent movie making in all departments. The cast do the best, story makes sense, what more to expect ? To keep you on the edge every minute you watch it, this is the best TV serious to come out of England.'

'Absolutely exceptional!'

'Brilliant. BBC Belfast have done themselves proud. Lot of hype with Jamie these days but I didn't think the guy could act. Now I know he deserved his award as best actor. A very good series with brilliant performances from both Gillian Anderson and Jamie.'

Meanwhile others took to IMDB to share their thoughts.

Join the debate Does unapologetic sex appeal in crime dramas boost storytelling or distract from the plot?

Gillian Anderson plays DSU Stella Gibson, while Jamie Dornan plays protagonist Peter Paul Spector (pictured)

Many fans have rushed online to share how much they love the series - with one saying it's 'top quality'

'Exceptionally well-written, directed, and acted. VERY dark and scary.'

'This series had me gripped from start to finish, and I couldn't be happier that a second series has been green-lit. As a senior police officer leads the hunt for a serial killer in Belfast, we see the similarities in these two amoral protagonists.

'The story unfolds with an economy of scene structure which never omits important details; every scene drives the narrative, but it never feels unreal or stretches credulity. Beautifully paced, tension abounds with spine-tingling murder scenes.'

'The Fall is a very well filmed and developed story. The acting of all the cast is accurate and right where it needs to be. No more, no less.'

'Well written, excellent cinematography, keeps you hooked and on the edge of your seat. Characters are complex, and not predictable, also developed as the plot develops.

'Certainly there are some details that are not believable, mistakes that you don't think a serial killer would make, but they are easily overcome because of the writing and character development, and the eeriness of the storyline. If you want a comparison, think of Dexter or The Killing.

'Not much humor in the daily on goings of the characters, Very dark and serious, don't know if that's more common in Irish series. But you certainly want to keep watching it.'

'Remarkable The Fall is must-see.'

'Top quality.'

And just last year, Gillian hinted that the series may not be over, which will leave fans very happy.

Speaking with Deadline, Gillian said: 'It was one of my favorite characters I ever got to play, and the experience was fantastic with an amazing crew like Allan Cubitt, an incredibly talented writer, directed the second and third seasons. We were re-opening up the idea again a few years ago.

'I approached them about doing a fourth season, set a few years later. We went down that distance and explored the idea but couldnt quite crack it.

'We came very close. Many people ask about it, and I believe shes the kind of character we could step into her at any time, so I dont think its entirely put to bed.'

Watch The Fall on BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+.
With just hours to go until the highly-anticipated soap crossover hits our screens, ITV have treated fans to a glimpse behind the scenes of the filming for Corriedale.

In an historic event, two worlds collide as the stars of Coronation Street and Emmerdale are brought together by a catastrophic, life-changing encounter on Monday night at 8pm on ITV and ITVX.

Beloved characters from both shows, including the likes of David Platt, Tracy Barlow, Liam Cavanagh, and Aaron Dingle, will be involved in a frightening car pile-up.

And ITV have warned viewers that the explosive hour-long episode will be full of drama, secrets, lies, injuries and even potential deaths.

But it was a very different story when the cameras called cut, with the actors from from both Weatherfield and the Yorkshire Dales, looking in high spirits as they bonded between takes in behind-the-scenes snaps.

Clad in matching dry robes, with the Emmerdale cast in blue and Corrie in red, the stars beamed as they cosied up for photos together, even while sporting fake bloody wounds.

With just hours to go until the highly-anticipated soap crossover hits our screens, ITVhave treated fans to a glimpse behind the scenes of the filming for Corriedale

In an historic event, two worlds collide as the stars of Coronation Street and Emmerdale are brought together by a catastrophic, life-changing encounter on Monday night at 8pm on ITV and ITVX

Beloved characters from both shows, including the likes of David Platt, Tracy Barlow, Liam Cavanagh, and Aaron Dingle, will be involved in a frightening car pile-up

Filming for the unique episode took place over three weeks back in October, including a 12-night shoot on a disused road close to Harrogate, Yorkshire.

Speaking about how it felt to bring the two longest-running UK soaps together, Danny Miller, who plays Aaron Dingle on Emmerdale, gushed over atmosphere on set and teased that fans had a lot to look forward to.

The I'm A Celebrity star said: 'The night shoots were a lot of fun and it's been great working with the Corrie team.

'I can't wait to see how the episode plays out with the separate storylines from both Emmerdale and Corrie. Its going to be epic and every soap fan's dream.'

While Corrie's Shona Platt actress, Julia Goulding, detailed how the casts from both soaps bonded on set during the night shoots, saying: 'There was such a fantastic atmosphere on set.

'It was really special to be able to work with the Emmerdale cast and crew. It certainly helped with the night shoots to be able to work with new people. We kept the energy levels high with coffee and lots of sugary sweets!'

However, fans who are hoping that Corriedale extends beyond a one-off event were disappointed to learn last week that there are no plans to continue the crossover long-term.

Iain MacLeod, the executive producer in charge of both soaps, confirmed to The Sun: 'People love Corrie and people love Emmerdale and their distinct entities.

But it was a very different story when the cameras called cut, with the actors from from both Weatherfield and the Yorkshire Dales, looking in high spirits as they bonded between takes in behind-the-scenes snaps

Clad in matching dry robes, with the Emmerdale cast in blue and Corrie in red, the stars beamed as they cosied up for photos together, even while sporting fake bloody wounds

Filming for the unique episode took place over three weeks back in October, including a 12-night shoot on a disused road close to Harrogate, Yorkshire

Speaking about how it felt to bring the two longest-running UK soaps together, Danny Miller, who plays Aaron Dingle on Emmerdale, gushed over atmosphere on set and teased that fans had a lot to look forward to

While Corrie's Shona Platt actress, Julia Goulding, detailed how the casts from both soaps bonded on set during the night shoots, saying: 'There was such a fantastic atmosphere on set'

'They have their own tone of voice and their own sense of humour and their way of telling stories, and they wouldn't blend long-term at all.

'I think it's brilliant to bring them together for this but no, there are no plans to do anything similar in the future. Sorry to be the killjoy, those of you who were hoping there was more.'

Last month, ITV released a pulse-racing teaser hinting at imminent danger for characters from both soaps.

The 30-second trailer shows the aftermath of the multi-vehicle collision, with Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) taking control of the situation as a frantic Carla Connor (Alison King) tries to calm someone down.

Emmerdale's paramedic Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant) tends to injured Corrie favourites David (Jack P Shepherd) and Shona Platt (Julia Goulding) at the side of the road.

Another tidbit showed Aaron's ex-husband Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) desperately looks for him in the dark.

However, fans who are hoping that Corriedale extends beyond a one-off event were disappointed to learn last week that there are no plans to continue the crossover long-term

Iain MacLeod, the executive producer in charge of both soaps, confirmed to The Sun: 'People love Corrie and people love Emmerdale and their distinct entities

Last month, ITV released a pulse-racing teaser hinting at imminent danger for characters from both soaps

The 30-second trailer shows the aftermath of the multi-vehicle collision, with Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) taking control of the situation as a frantic Carla Connor (Alison King) tries to calm someone down

And ITV has teased that Corriedale will just be the start of the drama as the aftermath of the crash gives rise to fear, murderous intent, death, destruction, closely-guarded secrets, and lies

There are two pregnant women involved in the dramatic scenes; namely Shona Platt and Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins).

Furthermore, Charity can be seen attempting to calm down a screaming Shona while both are in Hotten General Hospital.

As the trailer concludes, Kevin (Michael Le Vell) and Abi (Sally Carman-Duttine) Webster search for Debbie (Sue Devaney) at the crash site.

And ITV has teased that Corriedale will just be the start of the drama as the aftermath of the crash gives rise to fear, murderous intent, death, destruction, closely-guarded secrets, and lies.
Three years ago Corey Jefferys was still learning how to use a computer - Now the TikTok star with 222,000 followers is the face of booming streetwear brand Ready Or Not.

The tattooed entrepreneur, 33, recently marked the brand's third birthday with a wild celebration at Pelicano in Potts Point, drawing a who's who of reality stars, influencers and fitness personalities, cementing his brand's place as one of the country's fastest-rising lifestyle labels.

But behind the hype is a story far deeper than oversized tees and viral gym fits.

'I genuinely believe if I wasn't sober, my business wouldn't have even lasted a year,' Corey told Daily Mail.

'I walked away from partying and drugs four years ago. Owning a business means 12-plus hour days, constant pressure and needing to show up fully focused. If I was still living that life... none of this would exist.'

Corey grew up in housing commission with a single mother who did her best to make ends meet.

Three years ago Corey Jefferys was still learning how to use a computer. Now the TikTok star with 222,000 followers is the face of booming streetwear brand Ready Or Not

'I genuinely believe if I wasn't sober, my business wouldn't have even lasted a year,' Corey told Daily Mail

'I never had the luxuries other kids had,' he said.

'When I started working at about 16, I became obsessed with how I dressed. Like any young lad, I wanted to be rocking the freshest outfits and feeling confident.'

At the same time, the gym became his sanctuary. For the next decade, it was 'almost religious'.

But he couldn't find clothing that felt right.

'I loved tapered styles that shaped the body on pump days, but then I also leaned into oversized fits for everyday wear. There was nothing that blended the two properly.'

That gap became Ready Or Not  a hybrid of activewear and streetwear that now dominates Australian gym floors and influencer feeds.

When Corey launched, he admitted he had no idea what he was doing.

'I was a tradie. I'd never even properly used a computer before starting this business.'

'I walked away from partying and drugs four years ago. Owning a business means 12-plus hour days, constant pressure and needing to show up fully focused. If I was still living that life, none of this would exist,' he said

When Corey launched, he admitted he had no idea what he was doing

Determined to make it work, he invested $27,000 into an e-commerce course to learn ads, data and digital marketing.

'That changed everything. I stopped guessing and started building properly. It taught me how to use my brain in business, not just passion,' he said.

While Ready Or Not has become a cult label, Corey insists his priorities have never changed.

'My number one, before the brand, is my son Luca. Being a role model for him is everything,' he said.

He grew up without a father, with his dad spending more than 15 years in and out of prison.

'That shaped me. It made me determined to be the father I never had,' he said.

Corey also uses his platform to openly advocate for men's mental health.

'I want to be a role model for young men who were once in the same position as me, doing the wrong things,' he said.

While Ready Or Not has become a cult label, Corey insists his priorities have never changed. 'My number one, before the brand, is my son Luca. Being a role model for him is everything'

Rather than chasing hype, Corey is focused on longevity. 'The brands that inspire me most are the ones that have lasted 30 years or more,' he said

Corey pictured with his glamorous influencer girlfriend Cass Beric

'I want them to see that if you make the right choices, your life can change in a major way.'

Rather than chasing hype, Corey is focused on longevity.

'The brands that inspire me most are the ones that have lasted 30 years or more,' he said.

'A lot of brands come and go. The real challenge is evolving with the times and staying relevant long-term.'

And with Ready Or Not now entering its most explosive growth phase yet, that long game is already paying off.

'The last three months have absolutely blown us up,' Corey said.

'It feels like everything we've built over the years is finally compounding.'
Reggie Bird has hit back at cruel trolls who have made completely false claims, stating the two-time Big Brother Australia winner is 'faking' her blindness.

The 51-year-old mother of two suffers from Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative sight disorder with no known cure, slammed the comments on her social media, telling followers, 'you can't fix stupid'.

Reggie, who is legally blind, shared details about her condition in the post, which has left her with limited vision.

'Blindness is a spectrum, ' the one-time reality star said on her Instagram after sharing a screenshot from trolls.

She continued: 'Crazy how this world is so judgmental... The constant comments saying I'm faking my blindness!

'Living with Retinitis Pigmentosa is something I wish I never had! But I suck it up, and I make the most of every day. I get out and live life to the best that I can!

Reggie Bird has hit back at cruel trolls who have made completely false claims, stating the two-time Big Brother Australia winner is 'faking' her blindness. (Pictured)

The 51-year-old mother of two suffers from Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative sight disorder with no known cure, slammed the comments on her social media, telling followers, 'you can't fix stupid'. Pictured: Reggie celebrates her second Big Brother Australia win in 2022

'I'm starting to think you just cant fix stupid no matter how much awareness that's put out there about blindness, low vision and people with disabilities.'

Reggie made the post after a follower asked her, 'So you're not going blind?'

Another person replied: 'That's what I was thinking, all talk was that she was nearly blind.'

However, Reggie's supporters were quick to jump on the troll's comments, with one telling the keyboard warrior to 'grow up'.

'Amazing how stupid some of these trolls actually are,' added another, while a third told Reggie to 'take no notice' of the nasty remarks.

Meanwhile, another praised Reggie for the brave way she was dealing with the condition.

They wrote: 'What makes people not believe you? Because you're out there living and having fun? How dare you Reggie!'

Reggie responded: 'Yes, because I live life, I cop this s**t non-stop!'

Reggie, who is legally blind, shared details about her condition in the post, which has left her with limited vision

The fan favourite has been under attack by trolls since she went public with her condition over a decade ago

The fan favourite has been under attack by trolls since she went public with her condition over a decade ago.

In 2022, she hit back at her critics in an interview with TV Week, telling the magazine: 'A lot of people are saying, "Oh, she's faking it." Who would want to fake being blind?'

The former fish and chip shop manager, who described her vision at the time as 'looking through straws', added: 'They don't know me, or the challenges I deal with every day.'

Reggie captured the nation's hearts when she won Channel Ten's Big Brother the first time in 2003.

She previously spoke about her battle with Retinitis Pigmentosa on Seven's The Daily Edition.

'I've lost my peripheral vision, and I've got 10 degrees of central vision left. I have no night vision,' she said.

Reggie later made headlines in 2022 when she returned to Big Brother - now on Channel Seven - for the reboot and left the House the winner, making her the first contestant to win the show twice.
Bec Cvilikas could be appearing on The Block for the 2026 season - and fans of the show are not happy.

The reality star, who appeared on Locky Gilbert's season of The Bachelor in 2020, was at the centre of casting chatter on Reddit this week, with talk she may appear on the show with her fiance, Kody Griggs.

The social media site was flooded with unhappy comments from viewers less than enthused by the prospect of Bec appearing on the show.

'Sounds terrible and undeserving,' commented one person.

Another said: 'That's starting to sound like all the American versions of these shows. Fill the contestants with reality TV people and that's what they spend all their time banging on about. This is all for drama.'

'Oh no! Don't know of her but don't want someone like that as a contestant. Give us normal everyday people please,' someone else said.

Bec Cvilikas could be heading to The Block for the 2026 season - and fans of the show are not happy. Pictured with fiance Kody Griggs

Pictured: The Block hosts Scott Cam and Shelley Craft

'How about some older contestants or Aussie battlers? That would be way more interesting to watch,' another commented.

'The Block has been a MAFS collab for the last three or four seasons. They probably don't feel the need to disguise that fact any more,' someone else wrote.

'Meanwhile thousands of applicants get shafted for inner-circle casting agents putting their friends in,' one more complained.

Bec herself ignited the chatter recently when she undertook her own building project - having worked on renovations at her home.

When a friend asked if she had designs on appearing on The Block, Bec teased, 'Maybe?! Thanks chicky.'

It comes after a happy year for Bec, who announced her engagement to long-time boyfriend Kody Griggs in July.

Kody got down on one knee during a picture-perfect sunset proposal on the beach.

In emotional footage shared to Instagram, a stunned Bec is seen covering her mouth in shock as Kody drops to one knee on a white towel laid out on the sand, holding out a sparkling diamond ring.

The reality star, who appeared on Locky Gilbert's season of The Bachelor in 2020 (pictured), was at the centre of casting chatter on Reddit this week, with talk she may appear on the show with her fiance, Kody Griggs

The social media site was flooded with unhappy comments from viewers less than enthused by the prospect of Bec appearing on the show

Moments later, the couple is seen sharing a passionate kiss as the waves crash behind them, sealing their commitment with a beachside embrace.

'A forever thing,' Bec captioned the sweet moment, set to Chris Stapleton's romantic ballad Joy Of My Life.

The pair, who have kept much of their relationship out of the spotlight, have reportedly been dating for several years and are said to be stronger than ever.

Bec has continued to build her brand away from reality TV, having first risen to fame on Locky Gilbert's season of The Bachelor in 2020.

She has been focusing on her influencing career while located on the Sunshine Coast.
Tess Crosley cut a downcast figure on Saturday after being spotted outside her Brisbane home amid the ongoing fallout from AFL star Lachie Neale's marriage breakdown.

The Mormon missionary looked downbeat as she stepped outside her property, just days after Neale confirmed his split from wife Jules and announced he was standing down as Brisbane Lions co-captain.

She rocked a laidback casual style in a fitted white tank top tucked into loose-fitting jeans, paired with flat black slides.

Tess accessorised with a small black crossbody bag worn across her torso and simple gold jewellery, including a bracelet and watch.

Her dark hair was worn straight and tucked behind her ears, with sunglasses perched on her head, as she appeared preoccupied while standing on the grass outside the home.

At one point, Tess looked off into the distance with a tense expression, her arms folded across her midsection.

Tess Crosley cut a downcast figure on Saturday after being spotted outside her Brisbane home amid the ongoing fallout from AFL star Lachie Neale's marriage breakdown

The Mormon missionary looked downbeat as she stepped outside her Brisbane property, just days after Neale confirmed his split from wife Jules and announced he was standing down as Brisbane Lions co-captain

She rocked a laidback casual style in a fitted white tank top tucked into loose-fitting jeans

In another image she appeared to fiddle with her hands as she walked slowly along the lawn.

Tess, who is married to Ben Crosley, was also pictured without her wedding ring.

It looked to be a quiet outing for the Mormon missionary who has been at the centre of a very public scandal involving AFL star Lachie Neale and his wife Jules.

On Friday, Lachie announced he would be stepping down as Brisbane Lions co-captain while confirming his split from wife Jules.

On December 22, Jules publicly demanded her former close friend Tess remove Instagram photos of the Brisbane Lions' premiership celebrations, telling her in a since-deleted comment that she was 'embarrassing herself'.

Jules then indicated that her marriage to Lachie was over and felt betrayed.

'I want to make it very clear that I am not "working through" anything,' she wrote. 'I have been betrayed in the most unimaginable way.'

There is no suggestion that Tess has done anything improper.

Tess accessorised with a small black crossbody bag worn across her torso and simple gold jewellery, including a bracelet and watch

Her dark hair was worn straight and tucked behind her ears, with sunglasses perched on her head, as she appeared preoccupied while standing on the grass outside the home

Rumours broke in December that Neale's marriage was on the rocks, with wife Jules taking to social media to reveal she had been 'betrayed'. Pictured L - R: Tess, Lachie, Tess' husband Ben and Jules Neale

On Friday, Lachie was asked point-blank if he cheated on his wife Jules during a tense press conference.

'I cannot address those rumours,' the star midfielder shot back.

The 32-year-old said he was 'extremely disappointed' in himself as he vowed to put 'plans and measures in place' to be the best version of himself.

'While I will not go into specifics I can say I have let my family down and I apologise for my actions which have hurt those closest to me. And for that, I am deeply sorry,' Lachie told reporters.

'I accept this as a consequence of my actions... I need to focus on rebuilding the trust with Jules... Our children remain our number one priority.

'I understand as a public figure that there is interest in my personal life. However, I do ask the privacy of Jules and my children be respected as we work through our new situation and the next chapter of our lives.'

Prior to the bombshell development, Tess was pictured peering anxiously out of the windows of her Brisbane home while her husband answered the door to police on New Year's Eve.

Her partner Ben was shirtless as the two officers arrived at the house just before 1.30pm carrying an unidentified long, black piece of lockable luggage, and two other long black fabric bags, all of which were given to Ben.

He had his arms crossed as he spoke to the police while Tess pulled the curtains aside and watched on.

There is no suggestion that Tess or Ben Crosley engaged in any improper conduct in relation to the visit by police.

A Queensland Police spokesman said officers 'attended [the address]... and took possession of a number of items following a welfare check.'

'There is no criminal matter being investigated; as such, no further information will be provided at this time.'
Claudia Winkleman has seen her fair share of murder as host of The Traitors  and with a wardrobe most contestants would kill for, she may want to watch her back.

Just three episodes into the fourth series, the outfits the presenter has worn on the show have been worth at least 16,400.

Ms Winklemans ensembles cost 5,482 on average, meaning that by the end of the 12-episode series her clothing costs could total 65,784.

Thats almost double the national average salary for the UK last year of 38,000.

The presenter hand-picks the items in her wardrobe with the help of her long-serving stylist Sinead McKeefry.

In the first episode, which aired on New Years Day, Ms Winkleman, 53, wore a 279 purple velvet blazer from Jigsaw and a 179 pink blouse from LK Bennett.

She also stepped out in her favourite Saint Laurent boots, which cost 975, as she welcomed the 22 new contestants to Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands.

The next morning, as the contestants were tasked with retrieving coffins floating in a lake, the former Strictly host wore a 3,865 Saint Laurent coat and a dark olive tartan shirt from Purdey worth 425.

In the first episode, which aired on New Years Day, Ms Winkleman, 53, wore a 279 purple velvet blazer from Jigsaw and a 179 pink blouse from LK Bennett

The former Strictly host wore a 3,865 Saint Laurent coat and a dark olive tartan shirt from Purdey worth 425

Episode two was even more elaborate as she walked into breakfast wearing a 650 kilt from Le Kilt, a 385 charcoal vest from Hambro and Miller and 3,190 leather knee-high boots from The Row.

On Saturday night's episode, Claudia changed into a more typical high-end look in the afternoon as she wore a 595 brown wool coat by Brora over her culottes.

In Saturday nights show she wore a rare High Street purchase as she donned a pair of wide-leg trousers from Zara worth 40 at breakfast

Ms Winkleman completed her look with a pair of 220 black Dr Martens and 75 Brora wrist warmers to brave the cold.

Episode two was even more elaborate as she walked into breakfast wearing a 650 kilt from Le Kilt, a 385 charcoal vest from Hambro and Miller and 3,190 leather knee-high boots from The Row.

For the second task she wrapped up in a green trench coat worth 1,155 from Irish brand The Landskein.

For that nights round table Ms Winkleman changed into a 2,218 velvet jacket from Saint Laurent.

In Saturday nights show she wore a rare High Street purchase as she donned a pair of wide-leg trousers from Zara worth 40 at breakfast. But the host changed into a more typical high-end look in the afternoon as she wore a 595 brown wool coat by Brora over her culottes.

For the evenings round table, she wore a 225 moss-green waistcoat from Cordings paired with 150 tailored trousers from Reiss and black Givenchy boots worth 1,790.

Her bottle-green shirt was sourced from an independent boutique based in Dulwich, south-east London, called Through The Trees. In Saturday nights episode, the Faithful secured an early victory as they successfully banished one of the Traitors.

Barrister Hugo, left, was voted out at the round table after he failed to convince his fellow contestants of his innocence after Ben became the second Faithful to be murdered.

The 51-year-old was banished after a decisive vote from his fellow Traitor Stephen, 32.

The identity of the Secret Traitor will be revealed in the next episode on Wednesday at 8pm.
Robert Irwin has shocked fans by debuting his bold new look - featuring a very bushy moustache.

The 22-year-old reality TV star, who is currently in South Africa filming the upcoming season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here took to his social media on Sunday to showcase his fresh new style.

In the clip, Robert explained that he grew a beard during a one-week break in production and shaved it off - but left the moustache.

'I'm going to take the opportunity to play a little prank on the crew,' Robert said in the amusing video, which he captioned: 'New Year. New Look.'

Robert, known for his clean-cut image, could be seen showing off his large moustache to the I'm a Celebrity team, including co-host Julia Morris, and his mother, Terri Irwin.

After Julia appeared to be less than impressed with Robert's new look, Terri jumped in to defend her boy.

Robert Irwin has shocked fans by debuting his bold new look. Pictured in 2025

In the clip, Robert explained that he grew a beard during a one-week break in production and shaved it off - but left the moustache. Pictured: Robert paid tribute to Top Gun in the clip

'As your mother, I'm incredibly proud,' she said.

Robert later asked his mother whether he should keep the moustache, and she appeared to be in two minds, saying 'yes' while shaking her head 'no'.

He later told fans that he 'had to' shave off the moustache ahead of filming his reality show.

During the video, Robert had some fun with his new look by including images of famous faces known for their bushy upper lips.

Among the actors seen in the clip were Tom Selleck in his Magnum PI days and Nick Offerman from Parks and Recreation.

Robert also paid tribute to Top Gun - a reference to the 'Goose' character played by actor Anthony Edwards.

His look was revived by actor Miles Teller who played 'Rooster' in the sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Followers expressed their enthusiasm for Robert's short-lived new style on the post.

Robert Irwin shocked fans with a fresh style featuring a bushy moustache

Robert shows off his large moustache to the I'm a Celebrity team and his mother, Terri Irwin

'Robert, I just fell to my knees,' wrote one female fan, while another urged the TV star to 'keep it'.

A third person joked: 'You need to be in Top Gun 3!!!'

It comes after Robert once again impressed his fans with his compassion for all creatures great and small.

Fresh from his US Dancing With The Stars win, Robert, returned to South Africa to get set for the upcoming season of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

He took to Instagram on Friday to share a video where he can be seen rescuing a chameleon that had wandered onto the road.

The clip began with the wildlife warrior walking up to the critter and gently picking it up.

'Alright buddy, it's ok,' he said reassuringly. 'Crossing the road, this little chameleon.'

With the cute critter now safely perched on Robert's arm, he continued: 'Isn't he so cute? He's not particularly happy with me.'
Pip Edwards has reportedly quit her role as Creative Director at the fashion label Ksubi after being caught up in the Bondi Beach terror attack on December 14.

At least 15 people were killed and dozens more injured when two gunmen opened fire at a Hanukkah By The Sea celebration last month.

Pip later revealed she had been forced to hide as the attack unfolded, describing it as the most traumatic day of her life.

Sources told Sunday Confidential that the P.E Nation founder has been confiding to friends that she has resigned from her position to focus on her wellbeing, after joining the company in September.

Daily Mail has approached Pip's management for comment.

The news comes just weeks after it was reported that the fashion guru was 'stepping back' from her role at the fashion brand to focus on her wellbeing during this challenging time.

Pip Edwards has reportedly quit her role as Creative Director at the fashion label Ksubi after being caught up in the Bondi Beach terror attack on December 14

Sources have told Sunday Confidential that the P.E Nation founder has been telling her friends she has left her creative director job at the denim wear brand. Pictured: Floral tributes for the victims of the Bondi Beach attack last month

Sources close to Pip told the Sunday Telegraph that she 'remains deeply shaken' and is 'prioritising her recovery after the ordeal'.

Pip and her friend were left trapped under a van and surrounded by two gunmen during the deadly attack after spending a day at the beach.

According to the publication, Pip's decision to pull back from Ksubi reflects a need to reassess her priorities following the experience.

Pip had only recently returned to the iconic label in September 2024, calling the move a 'full-circle moment'.

She previously worked at Ksubi decades earlier and shares her teenage son, Justice, with co-founder Dan Single.

Two heavily armed men, allegedly Naveed Akram, 24, and his father, Sajid Akram, 50, stood on a pedestrian footbridge and opened fire with military-grade weapons into crowds of locals, holidaymakers and families.

Pip later addressed her harrowing 15-minute ordeal in a lengthy Instagram post.

She described the attack as a 'crazy, wild, and unnecessarily brutal' act that unfolded 'among innocent people enjoying a glorious Bondi summer's day'.

Pip later revealed she had been forced to hide as the attack unfolded, describing it as the most traumatic day of her life.

Pip said she and her girlfriend Jess were leaving the beach and heading home when the shooting began, with the gunmen opening fire just metres behind them.

'The gunman fired his first round of shots right behind my girlfriend and I as we had just passed the bridge where they were standing, heading in the direction of the Jewish event/celebration on the Bondi grass,' she wrote.

'We immediately ducked between two parked vans as the shots continued to fire incessantly, and quite literally as close as two metres away.'

The pair were forced to take cover under one van as the gunmen circled above them.

'We had to immediately take refuge under a van and watched the gunman's feet with his gun pace in front of the van right at our heads, using the van as his post,' Pip said.

'His feet were in front of the van and another gunman's feet were behind, circling the van.'

She said the ordeal lasted around 15 minutes, during which time they were frozen with fear and struggled to breathe.

Pip, a frequent visitor to Bondi Beach who lives in nearby Rose Bay, had earlier shared relaxed photos from the beach just hours before the attack, captioning the images: 'Always fun with you.'
Meghan McCain ecstatically announced over the weekend that she gave birth to her third child, a bouncing baby boy, this Friday.

The 41-year-old daughter of John McCain and her husband, political commentator Ben Domenech, already shared two daughters called Liberty, five, and Clover, two.

Now the couple have welcomed their first son into the world and given him a similarly unconventional name to those of their two little girls.

'We are absolutely over the moon to share that our son Ransom McCain Domenech has finally arrived at the crack of dawn January 2nd at 9lbs 2 oz,' the mother of three wrote in her Instagram post breaking the news.

'We are all blissed out over the moon. Everyone is happy, healthy and exhausted. Were so grateful to the incredible doctors and medical staff who took such wonderful care of all of us,' she continued.

'Liberty and Clover couldnt be more excited to have a baby brother. Our family is overwhelmed with blessings, thank you all for your kind words, well wishes and prayers! Our family is officially a party of 5.'

Meghan McCain ecstatically announced over the weekend that she gave birth to her third child, a bouncing baby boy, this Friday

'We are absolutely over the moon to share that our son Ransom McCain Domenech has finally arrived at the crack of dawn January 2nd at 9lbs 2 oz,' McCain wrote

Her joyful message was accompanied by an Instagram album that included a snap of McCain and Domenech in the hospital cooing over their newborn.

Dominich held the swaddled baby next to McCain as she lay in her hospital bed, affectionately nuzzling the newest addition to her family.

She also posted a snapshot of little Ransom snoozing peacefully, apparently still in the hospital, wrapped in a blanket and wearing a little cap.

McCain announced her latest pregnancy on her podcast in June while interviewing Usha Vance, who herself has three children with JD Vance.

'I hope you dont mind  I wanted to let you in on something that is private that I havent talked about publicly yet,' McCain told her guest, whom she had met for the first time just 20 minutes before they started recording.

She disclosed that she was expecting her third baby and had reached her second trimester - and also divulged she and Domenech were expecting a boy.

'Im very nervous about having a boy, and Im very nervous about having three children. Very,' McCain confessed to Usha.

The Second Lady responded by offering her some reassurance about the development, saying: 'I love having three kids. Im a huge proponent of it.'

McCain announced her latest pregnancy on her podcast in June while interviewing Usha Vance, who herself has three children with JD Vance; pictured in November

The 41-year-old daughter of John McCain and her husband, political commentator Ben Domenech, already shared two daughters called Liberty, five, and Clover, two

McCain, who married Domenech two days before Thanksgiving 2017 on her family's Arizona ranch, showered praise on him in November on their anniversary

JD and Usha have been married for 11 years and share two boys, eight-year-old Ewan and five-year-old Vivek, as well as a four-year-old daughter called Mirabel.

During the interview, McCain asked about raising boys, as she had heard they might be more boisterous - to which Usha confirmed her sons have 'a lot of energy.'

McCain, who married Domenech two days before Thanksgiving 2017 on her family's Arizona ranch, showered praise on him in November on their anniversary.

'Happy 8th Anniversary to the love of my life @btdomenech,' she wrote alongside a suite of romantic images showing the two of them together. 'A decade together and three kids - theres no one else I would do life with. I love you in my bones.'
Gregg Wallace has claimed his lawyers believe he is the victim of a 'terrible injustice' after he was axed from MasterChef following misconduct allegations.

The former TV presenter, 61, is currently suing the BBC in a bid to access unredacted copies of his personal data  a move that could pave the way for a separate legal claim against the corporation.

Speaking to The Mirror about his ongoing legal battle, Gregg said: 'There is a legal team around me now, and I cant say too much. They have picked it up and gone: "This is a terrible injustice. A terrible, terrible injustice."

He added: 'They are saying: "heres an investigation that says you're not groping, you're definitely not flashing, you're not sexually harassing, you're not bullying anybody. So why are you in this position and who is responsible for it?"

Daily Mail has contacted the BBC and Gregg's representative for comment.

Gregg was dropped by the BBC following a report which upheld more than 40 allegations relating to his behaviour while filming the hit cooking show.

Gregg Wallace has claimed his lawyers believe he is the victim of a 'terrible injustice' after he was axed from MasterChef following misconduct allegations (pictured 2024)

The former TV presenter, 61, is currently suing the BBC in a bid to access unredacted copies of his personal data  a move that could pave the way for a separate legal claim against the corporation (pictured on MasterChef)

In October last year, the BBC hit back at Gregg's 10,000 damages claim after it was revealed he was said to have lodged a lawsuit at London's High Court and vowed to 'not go quietly'.

He was seeking the release of hundreds of pages of internal documents, which he claims would help clear his name and recover millions in lost earnings.

However, the BBC hit back at his claim for up to 10,000, as he alleged the broadcaster caused him 'distress and harassment' by not releasing the documents.

Lawyers for the BBC filed their defence, claiming their former star presenter is 'not entitled to any damages'.

In the documents, seen by The Sun, the corporation says Gregg pursued his claim without giving any prior notice.

The BBC are quoted as saying: 'That voluntary disclosure demonstrates the claimant has no basis to claim damages for distress in respect of the withholding of such information.'

According to The Sun, Gregg's data was eventually released on October 7, after he first requested the documents in March.

Gregg, who revealed an autism diagnosis in 2025, was fired from BBC MasterChef following a nine-month sexual misconduct investigation, with reports that 50 more people had made fresh claims against him over his alleged inappropriate behaviour.

Speaking to The Mirror about his ongoing legal battle, Gregg said: 'There is a legal team around me now, and I cant say too much. They have picked it up and gone: "This is a terrible injustice. A terrible, terrible injustice"

He added: 'They are saying: "heres an investigation that says you're not groping, you're definitely not flashing, you're not sexually harassing, you're not bullying anybody. So why are you in this position and who is responsible for it?"

The greengrocer turned presenter insists that his at-times off-colour jokes and 'banter' were a sign that his autism meant he 'didn't know what was right' to say in social situations.

Since then, he has accused the BBC of failing to provide enough support for his condition.

Friends of Wallace told The Times that he suffers from 'autistic hypersensitivity', which means he has an 'oddity of filters and boundaries'.

The condition also means he has 'an exaggerated sensory experience', which means he is hypersensitive to 'labels and tight clothing' and is therefore unable to wear underwear.

Wallace had earlier said himself that he felt the BBC failed to provide enough support for his condition during his 20 years working on Masterchef.

'My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of MasterChef,' Wallace said.

'Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20 years.'

But the comments have not gone down well with neurodiversity charities, who rejected the notion that his condition could be attributed to his alleged behaviour in any way.

Seema Flower, the founder of disabilities consultancy Blind Ambition, told BBC News there was 'no excuse' for any form of inappropriate behaviour in society.

Gregg, who revealed an autism diagnosis in 2025, was fired from BBC MasterChef following a nine-month sexual misconduct investigation, with reports that 50 more people had made fresh claims against him over his alleged inappropriate behaviour (pictured 2023)

Since then, he has accused the BBC of failing to provide enough support for his condition

She also questioned what sort of precedent it sets using autism 'as an excuse to behave in whatever way we like'.

Emily Banks, founder of Enna - a charity that provides training for companies in hiring and retaining neurodivergent people - also told BBC News: 'To be clear: being autistic is never an excuse for misconduct.

'It doesn't absolve anyone of responsibility, and it certainly doesn't mean you can't tell the difference between right and wrong,' she added.

Her comments were echoed by Dan Harris, founder the Neurodiversity in Business charity, who is himself autistic.

He said that while autistic people like him 'may miss social cues sometimes', the condition 'is not a free pass for bad behaviour'.
Former Disney Channel child star Steven Anthony Lawrence is claiming he was fired from his job at Universal Studios in retaliation for reporting an alleged pedophile.

The Even Stevens star, 35, made the allegations in an Instagram post on Saturday, sharing an image of his work ID and name tag propped against a Super Mario Toad costume.

Lawrence wrote that he waited to post because he was hoping to reach a solution with his former employer.

However, he alleged that his job came to an end after his boss and her H.R. representative allegedly retaliated against him for 'reporting a suspected pedofile [sic] around children.'

'While I will truly miss my job I cannot be associated with an organization or people that don't care about performer or guest safety while numerous people continue to get hurt,' he wrote.

A spokesperson for Universal denied the allegations, telling Daily Mail, 'We have investigated and reviewed the concerns brought forward by this former employee and they were found to be inaccurate and without merit.'

Former Disney Channel child star Steven Anthony Lawrence, 35, is claiming he was fired from his job at Universal Studios in retaliation for reporting a pedophile; Lawrence pictured in 2019

'We take all employee concerns seriously and have established processes for raising any concerns without fear of retaliation.'

Daily Mail has reached out to Lawrence for comment.

Lawrence ended his post writing, 'With what I know, I WILL NEVER ALLOW MY KID TO GO TO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD. Be safe everyone.'

The former child star did not share any evidence for his claims or explain what he meant.

His former co-star Christy Carlson Romano shared a message of support, writing, 'Good for you Steven!' in the comments of his post.

Lawrence found fame when he bagged a recurring role alongside Shia LaBeouf on the Disney Channel original series Even Stevens in 2001.

On the show, Lawrence played Bernard 'Beans' Aranguren, the Stevens' extremely annoying neighbor, who comes into their home uninvited, makes himself at home, and refuses to leave.

Beans' love of bacon was a recurring theme in the comedy and in one episode, titled Little Mr. Sacktown, his character even visits a bacon shack.

His character eventually turned into a sidekick for Louis, played by LaBeouf, and Twitty's schemes, with him usually double-crossing the two. A.J. Trauth played Twitty.

Lawrence starred in a grand total of 22 episodes.

The actor made the allegations in an Instagram post on Saturday, sharing an image of his work ID and name tag propped against a Super Mario Toad costume

He alleged that his job came to an end after his boss and her H.R. representative allegedly retaliated against him for 'reporting a suspected pedofile [sic] around children', but he provided no evidence

Lawrence found fame as a child actor playing Bernard 'Beans' Aranguren on the Disney Channel original series Even Stevens; Seen in a still

Lawrence (R) starred in a grand total of 22 episodes on the show, alongside Shia LaBeouf (center)

He also starred in The Even Stevens Movie before he departed the series in 2003.

Later that year he enjoyed a role in the Steve Martin film Cheaper by the Dozen.

He went on to land roles in popular television shows such as Married... with Children, The Amanda Show and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch all before the age of 10.

Lawrence also starred in well-known series including Frasier, ER, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and That's So Raven.

He then appeared in several other movies including Rebound in 2005, Bratz in 2007, and Archie's Final Project in 2009.

Lawrence's last movie appearance was in Holly, Jingles and Clyde 3D, in 2013. He played Jingles.

Lawrence has also appeared in various TV commercials.

In 2011, he portrayed a pink elf in the T-Mobile holiday advertisement, and in 2012, he wore a dog costume for an Old Spice commercial.

The actor is fairly active on social media and posts regularly on Instagram - where he has 7,532 followers.

He also hosted a podcast with his former Even Stevens costars Christy - who played Ren Stevens - and Nick Spano - who played Donnie Stevens - for several months last year.

They spoke about their lives since being on the show, and the impact that Even Stevens has had on them.

Lawrence's last movie appearance was in Holly, Jingles and Clyde 3D, in 2013. The actor is fairly active on social media and posts regularly on Instagram - where he has 7,532 followers

In a July 2023 episode, Lawrence confessed that he almost 'went to Disney jail' when he was younger because he and his girlfriend at the time were 'getting a little hot and frisky' while in the Haunted Mansion attraction.

More recently, Lawrence has been showing off his teeth on Instagram after a visit to Dr. Jonathan Gabai in Beverly Hills where he got himself a 'new smile.'

In the past, Lawrence has also opened up about his addiction to drugs and alcohol. He has been sober since 2019.

He also speaks at high schools warning students about the dangers of substance abuse.
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis were glimpsed out to lunch in Bel-Air this week, after their image was tarnished by their past associations.

In 2023 they were deluged with blowback when it emerged that they wrote desperate letters to the court pleading for the judge to show leniency to their That 70s Show co-star Danny Masterson before he was jailed for 30 years for rape.

The couple supported their old friend by making individual submissions to the court, despite his already being convicted of raping two women.

Then when the scandal around Sean 'Diddy' Combs erupted, scrutiny fell on Kutcher's longtime friendship with the disgraced rap mogul.

Kutcher maintained a public silence through Diddy's trial, which culminated in his conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, though he was acquitted of the most serious charges against him, sex trafficking and racketeering.

Now, as the Daily Mail reveals Kutcher's 'desperate' comeback attempt, he and his wife have been seen enjoying a casual outing in one of Los Angeles' ritziest environs.

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis were glimpsed out to lunch in Bel-Air this week, after their image was tarnished by their past associations

Kunis, 42, appeared cheerful when she and her husband were spotted outside the upscale Italian restaurant Il Segreto in Bel-Air

Kunis, 42, appeared cheerful when she and her husband were spotted outside the upscale Italian restaurant Il Segreto in Bel-Air.

She opted for the California casual look of a loose-fitted midnight blue sweater, teamed with a set of striped beige and black sweats and white sneakers.

Kutcher, 47, was bundled up against the wintertime chill in a pink hoodie, which he wore with a pair of deep blue jeans and suede boots.

Kunis had a prominent role as a police chief in last year's Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, and is now attached to an upcoming movie called The 47 Night Stand from Greg Malins, who was an executive producer on Friends.

Meanwhile Kutcher only made one red carpet appearance in the past year, but is set to return to the spotlight with a role on Ryan Murphy's show The Beauty on FX.

The series comes more than two years after he and Kunis found themselves at the center of a whirlwind of controversy over the letters they sent the judge in support of their old friend Danny Masterson after his rape conviction.

After their court submissions became public, they issued an apology and Kutcher stepped down from the organization he co-founded to combat child sex abuse.

His friendship with Diddy fell under renewed public attention during the latter's downfall and trial, but Kutcher remained publicly mum on that subject.

Join the debate Should celebrities be forgiven for supporting friends convicted of serious crimes?

They sent letters to the court in 2023 requesting leniency for their friend Danny Masterson before he was jailed for 30 years for rape; Kutcher, Kunis and Masterson pictured in 2000

Then when the scandal around Sean 'Diddy' Combs erupted, scrutiny fell on Kutcher's longtime friendship with the disgraced rap mogul; the two men are pictured in 2007

Kucher's new Ryan Murphy show revolves around a sexually transmitted disease that first makes patients ravishingly beautiful but ultimately has other malign effects.

The illness comes to light after supermodels start inexplicably dropping dead, leading to an inquiry by FBI agents played by Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall, via FX.

Kutcher joins a main cast that includes In the Heights star Anthony Ramos and Tony nominee Jeremy Pope, with Isabella Rossellini in a recurring role.

A string of guest stars will also be featured, ranging from Bella Hadid and Meghan Trainor to Billy Eichner and Ben Platt to Vincent D'Onofrio.

Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin's daughter Amelia Gray Hamlin will also appear, as will Brooklyn Beckham's wife Nicola Peltz and Pedro Pascal's trans sister Lux Pascal.
Nicole Kidman cut a radiant and relaxed figure as she was spotted departing Sydney Airport on Sunday with her two teenage daughters, embracing her natural beauty in the wake of her split from husband Keith Urban.

The Oscar-winning actress, 58, rocked her naturally perm-like, frizzy red hair as she made her way through the busy terminal alongside daughters Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 15.

Dressed in a slick, monochromatic ensemble, Nicole wore a black unzipped leather jacket layered over a figure-hugging matching Chanel top, paired with loose-fitting cream pants and white shoes.

She accessorised the effortlessly chic look with a designer black Chanel handbag and slick sunglasses.

The Hollywood superstar appeared in high spirits during the outing, smiling as she chatted animatedly with her daughters while navigating the airport crowds.

At one point, Nicole was seen beaming broadly, the trio looking every bit like they were enjoying a fun family moment as they prepared to jet off together back to their home in the US.

Nicole Kidman cut a radiant and relaxed figure as she was spotted departing Sydney Airport on Sunday with her two teenage daughters

The Oscar-winning actress, 58, rocked her naturally perm-like, frizzy red hair as she made her way through the busy terminal alongside daughters Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 15

Dressed in a slick, monochromatic ensemble, Nicole wore a black unzipped leather jacket layered over a figure-hugging matching black Chanel top, paired with loose-fitting cream pants and white shoes

She accessorised the effortlessly chic look with a designer black Chanel handbag and slick sunglasses

The Hollywood superstar appeared in high spirits during the outing, smiling as she chatted animatedly with her daughters while navigating the airport crowds

The sighting comes after Nicole spent the festive season in Australia, returning to Sydney for her first Christmas since her separation from country music star Keith.

According to People, Nicole was more than happy to be back in Australia for the holiday season.

'This is all she wanted after a tumultuous fall,' a source told the publication.

'She just wanted to celebrate Christmas at home. She's very excited,' they added.

The insider also said that Nicole is feeling 'very blessed' despite the end of her 20-year marriage.

'She's been super positive and focused on things that she's grateful for,' they said.

Late last month, the actress was spotted heading to a Christmas party in Sydney with her close friends, Australian journalists Jessica Rowe and Peter Overton.

She looked effortlessly elegant, her strawberry-blonde hair styled in soft, voluminous waves.

At one point, Nicole was seen beaming broadly, the trio looking every bit like they were enjoying a fun family moment as they prepared to jet off together back to their home in the US

The sighting comes after Nicole spent the festive season in Australia, returning to Sydney for her first Christmas since her separation from country music star Keith

According to People, Nicole was more than happy to be back in Australia for the holiday season

'This is all she wanted after a tumultuous fall,' a source told the publication

Last month, the actress was spotted heading to a Christmas party in Sydney with her close friends, Australian journalists Jessica Rowe and Peter Overton. It was her first time Down Under since confirming her split from Keith Urban (left) in September

The following day, she was seen outside St Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Lavender Bay, dressed modestly in a plain, long black dress as she attended Christmas morning mass.

It follows reports that reality may be starting to sink in for Keith following his divorce from Nicole.

The country star, who parted ways with his Hollywood star wife in September after 19 years of marriage, is allegedly 'wondering if he's made a huge mistake' following their split.

After recently performing private shows for members of Donald Trump's inner circle, the 58-year-old is reportedly feeling isolated.

'He's got to pay the bills - divorce lawyers don't come cheap,' a source told Woman's Day magazine of the couple's settlement.

Keith has forked out for the couple's daughters' private school tuition and, according to the publication, needs to make a living in any way he can.

'It's a lonely existence for Keith right now - he's exhausted, isolated and looking at a future he never imagined,' the source added.

'He's also lost his best friend, Nicole, who was also his greatest supporter in life. He's wondering if he's made a mistake.'

Keith made headlines in November after he performed at an Australian billionaire's party at Mar-a-Lago.

The private gig, hosted by Anthony Pratt, was attended by Donald Trump, who received $10million from the Visy executive chairman for his election campaign.

Nicole and Keith's breakup shocked fans earlier this year - and the Oscar-winning actress had reportedly been dreading the public's response for months prior.

'She's been stressed because she knew the separation would eventually become public and she was dreading it,' a source told People in early October.

'But she's surprisingly level-headed now that it's out, she's just focused on what's ahead and her girls,' the insider said of the couple's daughters.

The actress and musician's separation was confirmed by Daily Mail on September 29, and Nicole filed for divorce on September 30, citing irreconcilable differences.

Their marriage began to fall apart at the beginning of summer 2025. The split was reportedly a long-term development, stemming from months of quiet separation and diverging paths due to work commitments, according to Daily Mail sources.

Nicole has requested to be the primary residential parent in the custody arrangement.
Sam Burgess took his young family for a stroll along Sydney's Coogee Beach on Sunday, only two months after welcoming his second child.

And all eyes were on the NRL hard man's young wife, Lucy Graham, 33, who showed off her slim post-baby figure in a brown one-piece swimsuit.

Shielding her eyes from the bright sun with stylish sunglasses, the new mother exuded confidence as she rocked a brown mesh maxi drape skirt over her one-piece.

Letting her long hair fall over her shoulders, Lucy accessorised with a single gold chain and pendant and completed her beach-ready style with a pair of flip-flops.

Carrying a beverage, the fashion influencer kept a close watch on her newborn, Mack, who was being pushed in a stroller by a carer.

Meanwhile, Sam, 37, beamed as he shared a joke with his wife as he carried their two-year-old daughter, Robbie, on his shoulders.

Sam Burgess took his young family for a stroll along Sydney's Coogee Beach on Sunday, only weeks after welcoming his second child

And all eyes were on the NRL hard man's young wife, Lucy Graham, 33, who showed off her slim post-baby figure in a brown one-piece swimsuit

Sam beamed as he shared a joke with his wife as he carried their two-year-old daughter, Robbie, on his shoulders

Dressed for a day in the sun, the little tot wore a pink dress, an oversized sunhat and a pair of white Crocs.

Sam showcased his toned figure with dark designer wear, cutting a casual figure in a pair of white shorts he paired with a grey sleeveless gym shirt.

The beach appearance comes just weeks after Lucy stunned fans by unveiling her post-baby body on social media, only one month after giving birth.

The Leeds hairdresser shared a jaw-dropping mirror selfie to Instagram, showing off her trim pins in eye-catching hot pants paired with a white blouse.

Lucy and Sam welcomed baby Mack in October, announcing the arrival with a heartfelt reel of family photos.

The proud parents were all smiles as they cuddled on the couch with daughter Robbie and their newborn son.

Earlier this month, Lucy unveiled her incredible post-baby body, just one month after welcoming her second child with her footy star husband Sam.

The NRL WAG shared a jaw-dropping photo to social media, which captured her showing off her trim pins in eye-catching hot pants.

Sam appeared to be enjoying the day out

The beach appearance comes just weeks after Lucy stunned fans by unveiling her post-baby body on social media, only one month after giving birth

Shielding her eyes from the bright sun with sunglasses, the new mother rocked a mesh maxi drape skirt for the family day by the beach

Lucy and Sam welcomed their second child, a baby boy, in October and announced the news on social media.

She shared one of the photos to her Instagram, writing in the caption: 'How did I get so lucky? My family.'

The pair announced in April that they were expecting their second child while enjoying a lavish babymoon in Capri, Italy.

The pair already share a daughter, Robbie, who they welcomed in September 2023.

Sam married Lucy in a lavish Italian wedding after two years of dating.

The former rugby league player proposed to Lucy in June 2023, just nine months after they went public with their relationship.
Kylie Jenner cut a glamorous figure as she supported boyfriend Timothee Chalamet at the 37th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Awards on Saturday.

The lipkit mogul, 28, dazzled in a gold metallic gown that clung to her hourglass figure as she and Chalamet, 30, arrived at the event, held at Palm Springs Convention Center in California.

The mom-of-two flashed a bright smile while making her way inside, though she did not pose on the red carpet with her beau.

Chalamet won the Spotlight Actor of the Year Award for his role in the film Marty Supreme, and was pictured showing off the gong afterwards in the winners room.

The Dune star cut a dapper figure while posing solo for photographers, sporting a black oversized suit and a light blue tie.

It was an uncharacteristically PDA-free appearance for the pair, who recently put ongoing split rumors to rest with a loved-up display during the film's premiere in Los Angeles.

Kylie Jenner, 28, cut a glamorous figure as she supported boyfriend Timothee Chalamet, 30, at the 37th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival on Saturday

The duo arrived together, but did not pose on the red carpet

The Kardashians star accessorized her sizzling look with delicate jewelry, including a dainty gold bracelet and a diamond ring on her pinkie finger.

Her dress featured a plunging neckline that highlighted her ample cleavage.

She opted for red nail polish and styled her raven tresses in cascading, bouncy waves.

Later on, the reality TV beauty was pictured cheering her man inside as he accepted the award for his new film.

Marty Supreme is a biopic inspired by the life of ping pong legend Marty Reisman, in which Chalamet plays the lead.

Jenner and Chalamet were first linked in April 2023 and went public that September when they were seen passionately kissing at a Beyonce concert.

Although they have not shied away from being glimpsed together in public, they have kept their relationship off social media and she has refrained from mentioning his name on her family's Hulu show, The Kardashians.

Claims have circulated that their relative privacy about their romance was because Chalamet wanted to be regarded as a serious actor.

However, Jenner has accompanied her boyfriend to awards shows before, including the Oscars and the Golden Globes, but had previously let him walk the red carpet solo before appearing with him inside the ceremony.

The lipkit mogul dazzled in a gold metallic gown that clung to her hourglass figure at the event, held in Palm Springs, California

Her beau walked a few steps behind her

She put her sizzling look on full display

The dress featured a plunging neckline

She stunned in flawless glam

Chalamet won the Spotlight Actor of the Year Award for his role in the film Marty Supreme, and was pictured showing off the gong afterwards

The Dune star cut a dapper figure while posing solo for photographers, sporting a black oversized suit and a light blue tie

She put on a very busty display as she watched her boyfriend accept the award

Kylie was pictured clapping as she cheered on her man

Marty Supreme is a biopic inspired by the life of ping pong legend Marty Reisman, in which Chalamet plays the lead

Other A-listers at the swanky star-studded event on Saturday included Kate Hudson, Miley Cyrus and Mia Goth.

They were also among the honorees for the evening.

Hudson, 46, took home the Icon Award, while Cyrus, 33, nabbed the Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award for her ballad 'Dream As One' featured in James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash.

Meanwhile Mia, 32, received the Visionary Award for her movie Frankenstein, where she starred alongside Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac.

Hudson stunned in a plunging red gown at the event. Her blonde tresses were pulled up into a chic updo.

Cyrus wowed in a sleek, edgy black ensemble. She donned a tailored black suit with a plunging shirt underneath, opting to forgo a bra.

Goth cut an edgy figure in a sleeveless red leather gown and strappy black heels.

Her co-star Jacob, 28, was dashing in a grey Bottega Veneta suit and sported a large mustache.

The Housemaid star Amanda Seyfried, 40, opted for a chic black Balenciaga dress with a feather trim. She completed the look with Aquazzura shoes and Tiffany & Co jewelry.

The actress received the Desert Palm Achievement Award.

Kate Hudson, 46, stunned in a plunging red gown at the event

The actress took home the Icon Award

Miley Cyrus, 33, wowed in a sleek, edgy black ensemble. She donned a tailored black suit with a plunging shirt underneath, opting to forgo a bra

Cyrus nabbed the Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award for her ballad 'Dream As One' featured in James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash

Miley was joined by mom Tish Cyrus, 58

Tish rocked a matching black suit

Frankenstein star Mia Goth, 32, cut an edgy figure in a sleeveless red leather gown and strappy black heels

Her co-star Jacob Elordi, 28, was dashing in a grey Bottega Veneta suit and sported a large mustache

The Housemaid star Amanda Seyfried, 40, opted for a chic black Balenciaga dress with a feather trim

Elle Fanning, 27, wowed in a pale blue gown and added a pop of color to the look with a bright red lip

The White Lotus star Meghann Fahy, 35, had all eyes on her in a sheer dark red dress

She was joined by Rose Byrne who wore a classic black Celine dress

Teyana Taylor, 35, stunned in a theatrical black Miss Sohee gown

Jane Fonda posed with Chloe Zhao

Laura Dern, 58, was a vision in a long sheer black lace gown

Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve stunned in a racy white tulle gown that was completely sheer

Chase Infiniti arrived in a delicate pink silk dress. Meanwhile Mona Fastvold looked glam in a long white dress

DJ Esther Anaya showed off her long legs

Nischelle Turner and Beverly Johnson both opted for red ensembles

Jessie Buckley, 36, showed off her unique styled in a green top and black pants

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas went with an oversized black suit

Adam Sandler was joined by wife Jackie

Elle Fanning, 27, wowed in a pale blue gown and added a pop of color to the look with a bright red lip.

The White Lotus star Meghann Fahy, 35, had all eyes on her in a sheer dark red dress.

Laura Dern, 58, was a vision in a long sheer black lace gown.

Stellan Skarsgard, 74, opted for a no-tie look.

Colman Domingo, 56, rocked a trendy brown velvet suit, while Oscar Isaac, 46, donned a black tuxedo.

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas went with an oversized black suit.

Leonardo DiCaprio was forced to skip the event by travel restrictions enacted after the U.S. airstrikes on Venezuela, so he accepted his award via video.

The 51-year-old movie star was glimpsed on New Year's Eve relaxing on Jeff Bezos' yacht in the Caribbean Sea, just off St. Barts.

Venezuela, which has a Caribbean coastline, came under American bombardment in the early hours of Saturday in a raid that resulted in the abduction of Marxist dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who have been flown to New York.

Caribbean air travel was thrown into disarray, and DiCaprio's trip to Palm Springs to be honored at the film festival has been compromised.

He was scheduled to receive the Desert Palm Achievement Award for his role in Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, a dark comedy about leftist militants.

Ethan Hawke and Paul Mescal looked dapper in black suits

Oscar Isaac, 46, donned a black tuxedo

Michael B. Jordan, 38, showed off his sense of style in a navy suit and green tie

Mahershala Ali, 51, looked cool as ever in a patterned blazer

Stellan Skarsgard, 74, opted for a no-tie look

Colman Domingo, 56, rocked a trendy brown velvet suit

Leonardo DiCaprio, 51, was forced to skip the event by travel restrictions enacted after the Venezuela strikes, so he accepted his award via video (pictured)

Hudson and Fanning seen inside

Hudson pictured accepting the Icon Award

Cyrus seen getting the Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award

Goth was joined onstage by her Frankenstein co-stars and director Guillermo del Toro

However an insider told the Daily Mail it was announced at the ceremony that DiCaprio could not attend because of restricted airspace.

DiCaprio's One Battle After Another co-stars Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti were seen walking the carpet.

Also honored was Adam Sandler, who got the Chairmans Award, Michael B Jordan, who received the Icon Award, and Ethan Hawke, who nabbed the Career Achievement Award.

Meanwhile Chloe Zhao, Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal received the Vanguard Award, while Rose Byrne was honored with the Breakthrough Performance Award.
Irina Shayk shoots death stare at one of her famous exes as she runs into him on the streets of NYC


Cat Deeley enjoyed a swim in a white bikini during a New Year's beach break with friends as she shared a clip to Instagram on Sunday.

The This Morning host, 49, looked incredible as she took a dip in the ocean wearing a white bikini.

She kept a low profile as she enjoyed her wild swim with a pair of large, black-tinted sunglasses.

Before her refreshing sea swim, Cat enjoyed a drink on the beach as she soaked up the sun with her pals before revealing she was busy studying her This Morning script on her flight home, ready for her return to screens on Monday.

To welcome the new year, Cat shared a highlights reel of her 2025 as she admitted her year has been 'a lot of fun' following her split from her husband Patrick Kielty, 54.

Cat and Patrick announced their plans to divorce in a joint statement in July, confirming they had decided to end their 13-year marriage and would remain united as parents.

Cat Deeley, 49, enjoyed a swim in a white bikini during a New Year's beach break with friends as she shared a relaxed clip to Instagram on Sunday

The This Morning host looked incredible as she took a dip in the ocean wearing a white bikini after she branded 2025 'a lot of fun' despite her split from Patrick Kielty (pictured in 2016)

The couple first sparked speculation they had split when Cat was absent from Patrick's mother's funeral in Ireland in March 2025.

Despite the sad news of her split, Cat seemingly made the best of the year as she moved on with the support of friends and family.

Patrick and Cat stressed that 'no other party' was involved in the disintegration of their relationship, which is believed to have been privately finalised at the start of the year, before going public months later.

In a joint statement, the couple said: 'We have taken the decision to end our marriage and are now separated. There is no other party involved.

'We will continue to be united as loving parents to our children and would therefore kindly ask for our family privacy to be respected. There will be no further comment.'

The Daily Mail previously revealed how Patrick's family were seething over Cat's failure to attend his beloved mother's funeral  and say they knew at that moment their marriage was over for good.

Her 'no show' back in March 2025 has left deep emotional scars within the Kielty family, who say it confirmed for them that there was little chance of a reconciliation between the two.

Before her refreshing sea swim, Cat enjoyed a drink on the beach as she soaked up the sun with her pals

She then revealed she was busy studying her This Morning script on her flight home, ready for her return to screens on Monday.

Clearly upset, one relative told the Daily Mail: 'Whatever rockiness was going on in the marriage, something as momentous as his mother's funeral, you would make up even temporarily and just put your 'best face' on as we say in Northern Ireland.

'Cat obviously knew how close Patrick was to Mary, and she should have come to be by his side, a hand on his shoulder as he buried his mother.

'The fact that she stayed in London and presented This Morning on the day, it's not been forgotten.'

The source added: 'In a very tight-knit community in Northern Ireland, people always turn out. It's the done thing. His family remain very upset by this.

'They still can't believe it. It was the point when we all realised that the marriage had ended.'

A spokesperson for Cat told the Daily Mail at the time: 'Cat remained at home to be there for her two young children before and after school on this very sad day.'

To welcome the new year, she shared a highlights reel of her year as she admitted her year has been 'a lot of fun' following her split from her husband Patrick, 54

Cat and Patrick first met in 2002 while they hosted BBC talent show Fame Academy, but they did not become an item until ten years later.

Previously, Cat told how Patrick turned their friendship into a romance by flying all the way from Belfast to Los Angeles, where the Birmingham-born star hosted US show So You Can Dance for a celebratory brunch.

The pair first went public with their relationship in May 2012, and in September the same year, they married during an intimate ceremony in Rome.

The former couple lived in California for a decade before moving back to the UK due to Cat's keenness to be closer to her family.
Marisa Abela has revealed the 'disappointing' moment she believed her husband was about to propose during a romantic trip to Paris.

The Back to Black star, 29, married West End actor Jamie Bogyo, 31, in September at a picturesque 15th-century manor house in Sussex.

The couple first met while studying at RADA in 2016 and later became engaged in July 2024 during a stroll through Primrose Hill in London.

In a new interview, Marisa admitted the proposal came as a surprise, revealing she had expected it to happen weeks earlier while they were in the French capital.

She told The Sunday Times: 'We were at dinner with friends and he went back to the hotel saying he was ill but that I should stay.

Pretending to play along with what she thought was going to be a proposal, the actress continued: 'I got back later, expecting roses and champagne to be everywhere, and instead found Jamie in a ball on the floor being sick.

Marisa Abelahas revealed the 'disappointing' moment she believed her husband was about to propose during a romantic trip to Paris

The Back to Black star, 29, married West End actor Jamie Bogyo, 31, in September at a picturesque 15th-century manor house in Sussex

'I had to play off my disappointment really quickly!'

It comes after the pair said 'I do' at a country manor house - surrounded by friends, family, and a touch of old Hollywood glamour.

The couple exchanged vows in a late-afternoon ceremony at Firle Place, and in a romantic nod to one of the first moments of their relationship, Marisa walked down the aisle to the theme from Cinema Paradiso - the film the pair watched together before saying 'I love you.'

Jamie's best man, Nate Janis, officiated the ceremony, while the bride's and groom's fathers both gave heartfelt readings.

Their drama school friends, Liadan Dunlea and Iwan Davis, performed a touching rendition of 'May You Never' by John Martyn.

In stunning photos obtained by British Vogue, Marisa exuded elegance in a satin Emilia Wickstead gown, complete with a dramatic nine-foot veil.

The chic white wedding dress, inspired by Audrey Hepburn, featured a drop waist and sculpted off-the-shoulder micro-sleeves that hugged the actress's arms, while a structured corset created a sleek silhouette.

She paired the show-stopping gown with custom Jimmy Choo Max 150 heels, which were personalised with the couple's initials on the sole, adding a sentimental touch.

The couple first met while studying at RADA in 2016 and later became engaged in July 2024 during a stroll through Primrose Hill in London

To complete her bridal ensemble, the Back to Black star wore her brunette locks in a polished, slicked-back bun, and accessorised with diamond drop earrings and a sparkling diamond headpiece.

Meanwhile, Jamie looked dapper in a custom double-breasted tuxedo by Dunhill, complete with black-and-white detailing.

After the ceremony, Marisa changed into a second Emilia Wickstead creation, the elegant ivory Micheline gown, for the evening reception.

Cut to a sophisticated column shape, the floor-length dress boasted a tailored fit and a wide-set square neckline.

Speaking about her choice of dress to British Vogue, Marisa said: 'It was its own show-stopping moment with its simplicity and cut, but was slightly more practical, I needed something to be able to dance in!'

She added: 'I wanted something sexy that really felt like me, and I love tailoring, the sport shorts were perfect, and I could really let loose.'

After saying 'I do,' the newlyweds celebrated with their guests under a shower of confetti, sipping their favourite champagne and cocktails alongside a spread of canapes.

Later in the evening, everyone was whisked away to Soho House Brighton, where they enjoyed an intimate dinner followed by a lively night of dancing.
Jeremiah Raber of the TLC reality series Breaking Amish has given fans an update after a health emergency.

Following a hospital stay, the 45-year-old star wrote to his 153,000 TikTok followers on Saturday, 'I'm doing good and will be out tomorrow.'

He had previously posted a selfie from a hospital bed on December 30, telling his fans he was 'waiting to be life flighted to another hospital.'

Raber, a diabetic, also shared at the time that his 'blood levels' were at '993' as he faced 'possible liver failure.'

The next day another post featured POV images from the inside and outside of a helicopter, followed by a video from a hospital bed.

His most recent post thanked his online audience for their prayers - 'I truly appreciate it,' he emphasized.

Jeremiah Raber of the TLC reality series Breaking Amish has given fans an update after a health emergency

Following a hospital stay, the 45-year-old star wrote to his 153,000 TikTok followers on Saturday, 'I'm doing good and will be out tomorrow'

Raber has suffered from grave health issues for years.

In April 2024 he was hospitalized for heart problems and ketoacidosis, a diabetes complication that can be life-threatening.

In a recent TikTok post, a fan sent well wishes, writing a comment that said: 'I hope you're doing better. Please start taking care of yourself.'

Raber replied, 'Oh I try my best. If you know nothing about brittle diabetes then look it up. It's way different than regular diabetes.'

According to MedlinePlus, ketoacidosis 'occurs when the body starts breaking down fat at a rate that is much too fast.'

Raber first appeared on Breaking Amish in 2012, and later resurfaced on seasons of Return to Amish.

He earned a reputation for being among the most outspoken cast members on the series, which is about young Amish adults seeking a taste of the modern world.

In March 2024 the television personality thanked fans who donated to help him with medical expenses.

His most recent post thanked his online audience for their prayers. 'I truly appreciate it,' he emphasized

He had previously posted a selfie from a hospital bed on December 30, telling his fans he was 'waiting to be life flighted to another hospital'

Raber first appeared on Breaking Amish in 2012

Amid his health crisis, fans took to Raber's TikTok comments to share their thoughts.

'This man has been through so much in his young life,' wrote one social media user, begging others, 'Please don't be cruel with rude comments. Let us all start this new year with showing some compassion for others. Praying that he will get better soon.'

Someone else empathized, 'Diabetes is a terrible disease.'

'Praying for you, buddy,' another supportive TikTok follower posted.

Raber wed Carmela Raber in 2016, but she filed a restraining order against him in April 2022. Weeks later he confirmed their split, per E! News.

He has three children from his prior marriage to Naomi Stutzman.
Pregnant Tabitha Willett looked glowing as she enjoyed a lavish babymoon in Paris with her fiance Harry Hoare on Sunday.

The Made In Chelsea star, 33, revealed in December 2025 that she is expecting her second child, just weeks before she is due to marry the wealthy heir.

She is already mum to her daughter Ottilie, six, with whom she shares with former partner, Fraser Carruthers.

Tabitha and Harry splashed out on a 1.8K-a-night (2,170) stay at the five-star Hotel Plaza Athenee.

'Pregnant in Paris happy dairies', Tabitha captioned her Instagram post.

Tabitha wrapped up warm in a stylish faux-fur coat as she sipped on a hot chocolate at tourist hotspot, Carette.

Pregnant Tabitha Willett, 33, looked glowing as she enjoyed a lavish babymoon in Paris with her fiance Harry Hoare on Sunday

The Made In Chelsea star revealed in December 2025 that she is expecting her second child, just weeks before she is due to marry the wealthy heir

The couple explored art museums and relaxed in the luxury hotel, before they headed out for a fancy dinner at Lafayettes.

She wowed in a satin red dress which featured dramatic feathered sleeves as she struck a pose for glam snaps.

Tabitha, who returned to the long-running E4 show ahead of its 29th series in March, announced the news of her pregnancy with her Instagram followers.

She posted an adorable video of her getting a scan at the hospital, with daughter Ottille at her side.

Revealing her diamond-studded engagement ring for the first time alongside various photos of herself alongside her new fiance, Tabitha wrote: 'Love you more than you'll ever know.'

Just days after confirming the engagement, Tabitha took to Instagram to say that a 'low-key small wedding' is planned for January.

Sharing a picture of wedding dresses, she wrote: 'It's starting... We are actually having a low-key small wedding in January so these are too wedding gowny but so fun to get in the mood.'

In the next slide, Tabitha shared a mirror selfie from inside a bridal shop where she was wearing a fluffy white high-neck blouse and tailored trousers. 'If it's not white I'm not wearing it,' she wrote.

Tabitha and Harry splashed out on a 1.8K-a-night (2,170) stay at the five-star Hotel Plaza Athenee

The couple explored art museums and relaxed in the luxury hotel, before they headed out for a fancy dinner at Lafayettes

Just days after confirming the engagement, Tabitha took to Instagram to say that a 'low-key small wedding' is planned for January

A formal announcement of her and Harry's engagement was printed by The Times on the newspaper's births, marriages and deaths page

A formal announcement of her and Harry's engagement was printed by The Times on the newspaper's births, marriages and deaths page.

'The engagement is announced between Henry (Harry), son of Mrs Virginia Hoare and the late Mr Timothy Hoare, and Tabitha, second daughter of Mr Daniel Willett and Miss Muffin Hurst,' it read.

News of Tabitha's engagement would likely come as a surprise to Made In Chelsea fans, who recently watched her brief romance with co-star Arman Pouladian-Kari play out on screen.

Tabitha originally joined the Made In Chelsea cast in 2018, during their annual trip to Croatia.

She and her ex Fraser, a friend of Prince Harry, dated for four years after meeting when she was hired as a marketing director at his private members' club Albert's.

In 2019, they were engaged in Miami with plans to marry at London's Hurlingham Club the following July but had to cancel their wedding due to the pandemic.

However, in October 2020, a year after Ottilie was born, they announced they had split.
While investors piled into flashy AI stocks in 2025, Amazon was left behind. Now one of Silicon Valley's loudest voices says that is exactly why it could end up being the market's breakout stock of 2026.

Scott Galloway, the blunt-talking NYU business professor and Pivot podcast co-host, said Amazon is his stock pick for the year ahead.

He argued the company is quietly rebuilding how work gets done in America - much like Ford did a century ago with the factory assembly line.

'They've made massive investments that have not yet paid off in robotics,' Galloway said on a Pivot episode released Tuesday.

'They've started laying off employees - I'm not saying that's a good thing - and what's so striking is Amazon is predicting it can double its retail revenue, which is its top-line business, with no increase in employees.'

Galloway's insights carry weight among investors. A former entrepreneur who has built and sold nine companies, he has become a media fixture by translating complex economic trends into blunt, viral arguments.

His bullish call came as optimism over tech is giving way to growing skepticism over AI. Investors like Michael Burry and Jim Chanos have bet AI stocks will drop amid renewed worries of a dot-com-like bubble.

But part of Galloway's optimism around Amazon is the company's underperformance compared to its Big Tech peers in 2025.

Ford was America's manufacturing darling of the 20th century, rolling out the assembly line for the mass-production of its affordable Model T (pictured)

Scott Galloway (pictured), the outspoken co-host of Pivot - a podcast covering tech and business with journalist Kara Swisher - said Amazon is his stock pick for 2026

Last year, Amazon's stock rose just 4.8 percent. Meanwhile, tech companies with big AI bets posted huge gains: Alphabet surged 64.6 percent, Nvidia jumped 34.8 percent, Meta climbed 10.2 percent and Apple added 11.5 percent.

To Galloway, that underperformance signals opportunity. While rivals have already enjoyed AI-fueled stock pops, Amazon has spent years sinking billions into warehouses, logistics and robotics that weighed on profits.

But they expect the hard work to show this year. Amazon is increasingly shipping products from automated warehouses and predicts that 40 next-generation fulfillment centers will be up and running by the end of 2026.

Morgan Stanley believes the new facilities will save the company $10billion, with 30 to 40 percent of all goods running through the robot-enabled warehouses.

'It's the Ford of the 21st century,' Galloway said on the podcast. He thinks the combination of 2025's stock underperformance with the significant investments gives Amazon more runway to take off in the new year.

But the e-commerce giant's investment strategy has been controversial.

Investors threw a bunch of cash at flashy AI tech stocks in 2025 - like Nvidia, Alphabet and Meta. But Amazon, which has invested heavily in autonomous bots for its warehouses, lagged on Wall Street

Amazon predicts it will run 40 robot-enabled warehouses across the US by the end of 2026

Andy Jassy (pictured), Amazon's CEO, has been driving toward more efficiency in his warehouses. He has invested billions of dollars in 'next generation' fulfillment with autonomous robots

In October, Amazon laid off 14,000 employees - the first wave of job cuts in a broader plan that will eventually total 30,000 workers, or roughly 10 percent of its corporate staff.

The company has defended the layoffs as part of a broader push toward robotics and AI as a way to keep pace with rapid technological change.

Some may ask why were reducing roles when the company is performing well, Beth Galetti, Amazons chief people officer, wrote in a public note announcing the initial round of cuts.

'What we need to remember is that the world is changing quickly.

'This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we've seen since the internet, and it's enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before.'

Analysts talking to the Daily Mail largely agree. They think Amazon's investments will lead to more corporate efficiency, faster shipping to customers and bigger profits.

But they also say more job cuts are likely coming.

Still, despite the excitement around Amazon's potential savings, Galloway said there's a big chance that the entire market could tumble in 2026.

He has consistently predicted that China will release cheaper AI models - as it did with DeepSeek in January 2025 - to compete with America's larger, more expensive tools.

That, he said, could make markets plunge, as American AI optimism fades.

If he's right, Amazon could emerge stronger while flashier AI plays falter - but likely after more painful layoffs and staffing changes along the way.

Amazon declined to comment on this story.
Wall Street Zen cut shares of AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV  Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

ABBV has been the topic of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on AbbVie from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AbbVie from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on AbbVie from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a sector outperform rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AbbVie from $207.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $245.84.

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AbbVie Stock Performance

Shares of ABBV stock opened at $229.26 on Friday. AbbVie has a fifty-two week low of $164.39 and a fifty-two week high of $244.81. The stocks fifty day moving average is $226.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 173.68, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.36.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $15.58 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 4.00% and a return on equity of 3,216.47%. AbbVies revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.00 earnings per share. AbbVie has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.320-3.360 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AbbVie will post 12.31 earnings per share for the current year.

AbbVie Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be given a $1.73 dividend. This is a positive change from AbbVies previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. AbbVies payout ratio is 496.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AbbVie by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 177,747,261 shares of the companys stock valued at $41,155,601,000 after acquiring an additional 448,554 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AbbVie by 2.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 39,178,351 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,240,169,000 after buying an additional 924,761 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in AbbVie by 6.0% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,783,329 shares of the companys stock worth $4,970,848,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517,222 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AbbVie in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,288,200,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 5.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,771,854 shares of the companys stock worth $2,675,959,000 after purchasing an additional 713,148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.23% of the companys stock.

AbbVie News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AbbVie this week:

AbbVie Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

AbbVie is a global, research-driven biopharmaceutical company that was created as a spin-off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The company focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing therapies for complex and often chronic medical conditions. Its operations span research and development, manufacturing, regulatory affairs and commercialization, with an emphasis on bringing specialty medicines to market across multiple therapeutic areas.

AbbVies product portfolio and pipeline cover several major therapeutic categories, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, virology and womens health.

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Wall Street Zen cut shares of CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE  Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an outperform rating on shares of CubeSmart in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on CubeSmart from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $45.00 price objective on shares of CubeSmart and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of CubeSmart in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of CubeSmart from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $45.20.

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CubeSmart Stock Down 1.8%

CUBE stock opened at $35.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. CubeSmart has a fifty-two week low of $34.24 and a fifty-two week high of $44.13. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $36.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.53. The stock has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.11.

CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.65. CubeSmart had a net margin of 33.31% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firm had revenue of $285.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $282.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. CubeSmarts revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CubeSmart will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

CubeSmart Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This is an increase from CubeSmarts previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. CubeSmarts dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CubeSmart

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CubeSmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $458,008,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in CubeSmart by 1.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,340,869 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $217,162,000 after buying an additional 91,694 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in CubeSmart by 0.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,092,379 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $216,986,000 after buying an additional 27,278 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of CubeSmart by 36.4% in the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,283,952 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $174,185,000 after buying an additional 1,143,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its position in shares of CubeSmart by 37.3% in the third quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 3,364,619 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $136,805,000 after acquiring an additional 914,884 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.61% of the companys stock.

CubeSmart Company Profile

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CubeSmart (NYSE: CUBE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership, operation and management of self-storage facilities across the United States. The companys portfolio comprises properties in primary and secondary markets, catering to both individual and business customers seeking flexible, short-term and long-term storage solutions. CubeSmarts facilities feature a range of unit sizes, climate-controlled options and advanced security features, supported by on-site managers and centralized customer service operations.

In addition to traditional self-storage units, CubeSmart offers specialty services such as vehicle and boat storage, retail sales of packing and moving supplies, and tenant insurance programs.

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Itm Power (OTCMKTS:ITMPF  Get Free Report) and Diversified Energy (NYSE:DEC  Get Free Report) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, valuation and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

26.5% of Diversified Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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Profitability

This table compares Itm Power and Diversified Energys net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Itm Power N/A N/A N/A Diversified Energy N/A N/A N/A

Analyst Ratings

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Itm Power 0 1 0 1 3.00 Diversified Energy 1 0 6 0 2.71

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Itm Power and Diversified Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

Diversified Energy has a consensus target price of $22.20, indicating a potential upside of 50.20%. Given Diversified Energys higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Diversified Energy is more favorable than Itm Power.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Itm Power and Diversified Energys gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Itm Power $33.35 million 16.28 -$58.30 million N/A N/A Diversified Energy $1.20 billion 0.59 -$88.27 million $1.47 10.05

Itm Power has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Diversified Energy.

Volatility and Risk

Itm Power has a beta of 2.24, suggesting that its share price is 124% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Diversified Energy has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Itm Power beats Diversified Energy on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Itm Power

(Get Free Report)

ITM Power Plc designs and manufactures proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, rest of Europe, and the United States. Its product portfolio includes TRIDENT, an PEM electrolysers stack technology; NEPTUNE, a 2MW plug and play electrolyser for small to mid-size projects; and POSEIDON, a cutting-edge 20 MW module for large-scale projects. ITM Power Plc was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Sheffield, the United Kingdom.

About Diversified Energy

(Get Free Report)

Diversified Energy Company PLC operates as an independent owner and operator of producing natural gas and oil wells primarily in the Appalachian Basin of the United States. The company is involved in the production, marketing, and transportation of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, and condensates. Its assets consist of natural gas wells and gathering systems located in the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. The company was formerly known as Diversified Gas & Oil PLC and changed its name to Diversified Energy Company PLC in May 2021. Diversified Energy Company PLC was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

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NewJersey Resources Corporation (NYSE:NJR  Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of Hold from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $52.8571.

Several research analysts have issued reports on NJR shares. New Street Research set a $54.00 target price on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NewJersey Resources from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Sunday, December 28th. Raymond James Financial restated an outperform rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of NewJersey Resources in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c+) rating on shares of NewJersey Resources in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho raised NewJersey Resources from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 17th.

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NewJersey Resources Price Performance

NJR opened at $45.98 on Thursday. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $46.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.30. NewJersey Resources has a 52-week low of $43.46 and a 52-week high of $50.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.60.

NewJersey Resources (NYSE:NJR  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $336.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.30 million. NewJersey Resources had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 13.73%. NewJersey Resourcess revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. NewJersey Resources has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.030-3.180 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NewJersey Resources will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

NewJersey Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. NewJersey Resourcess payout ratio is 57.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Patrick J. Migliaccio sold 4,017 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.46, for a total value of $186,629.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 38,065 shares in the company, valued at $1,768,499.90. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NewJersey Resources

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in NewJersey Resources by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 687,125 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $33,085,000 after purchasing an additional 17,035 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of NewJersey Resources by 24.9% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,878 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of NewJersey Resources during the third quarter worth $212,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in NewJersey Resources by 164.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in NewJersey Resources in the 3rd quarter worth $519,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the companys stock.

About NewJersey Resources

(Get Free Report)

New Jersey Resources Corporation is a publicly traded energy services holding company headquartered in Wall Township, New Jersey. The firms primary focus is on the safe and reliable distribution of natural gas, along with complementary energy services and renewable energy investments. Its operations center on delivering cost-effective solutions to residential, commercial and industrial customers throughout the state.

The companys principal subsidiary, New Jersey Natural Gas, owns and operates an extensive pipeline network that spans northern, central and southern New Jersey.

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Global Payments (NYSE:GPN  Get Free Report) and Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR  Get Free Report) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Global Payments has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shift4 Payments has a beta of 1.66, suggesting that its share price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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Profitability

This table compares Global Payments and Shift4 Payments net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Global Payments 19.68% 12.66% 6.12% Shift4 Payments 5.02% 40.19% 6.61%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

Analyst Ratings

89.8% of Global Payments shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of Shift4 Payments shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Global Payments shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.2% of Shift4 Payments shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Global Payments and Shift4 Payments, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Global Payments 1 15 7 2 2.40 Shift4 Payments 0 6 15 1 2.77

Global Payments presently has a consensus target price of $102.29, indicating a potential upside of 35.48%. Shift4 Payments has a consensus target price of $96.55, indicating a potential upside of 54.09%. Given Shift4 Payments stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Shift4 Payments is more favorable than Global Payments.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Global Payments and Shift4 Paymentss revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Global Payments $10.11 billion 1.77 $1.57 billion $7.12 10.60 Shift4 Payments $3.33 billion 1.67 $229.60 million $2.13 29.42

Global Payments has higher revenue and earnings than Shift4 Payments. Global Payments is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Shift4 Payments, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Shift4 Payments beats Global Payments on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Global Payments

(Get Free Report)

Global Payments Inc. provides payment technology and software solutions for card, check, and digital-based payments in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through two segments, Merchant Solutions and Issuer Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment offers authorization, settlement and funding, customer support, chargeback resolution, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security, and consolidated billing and reporting services. This segment also provides an array of enterprise software solutions that streamline business operations of its customers in various vertical markets; and value-added solutions and services, such as point-of-sale software, analytics and customer engagement, payroll and reporting, and human capital management. The Issuer Solutions segment offers solutions that enable financial institutions and retailers to manage their card portfolios through a platform; and commercial payments, account payables, and electronic payment alternatives solutions for businesses and governments. It markets its products and services through direct sales force, trade associations, agent and enterprise software providers, referral arrangements with value-added resellers, and independent sales organizations. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Shift4 Payments

(Get Free Report)

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions. The company also offers suite of technology solutions, such as Lighthouse, a cloud-based business intelligence tool that includes customer engagement, social media management, online reputation management, scheduling, and product pricing, as well as reporting and analytics; integrated POS for merchants business; and Skytab, a mobile payment solution. In addition, it provides marketplace technology that enable seamless integrations into third-party applications, which includes online delivery services, payroll, timekeeping, and other human resource services. Further, the company offers merchant management, training and education, marketing management, and incentives tracking solutions. Additionally, it provides merchant underwriting, onboarding and activation, training, risk management, and support services; and software integrations and compliance management, and partner support and services. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

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Canadian Natural Resources, Celsius, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, TC Energy, Canadian Solar, Canadian National Railway, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce are the seven Canadian stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Canadian stocks are shares of ownership in companies that are incorporated in Canada or listed on Canadian exchanges (such as the TSX and TSXV), typically traded in Canadian dollars. For investors, they represent equity claims that can provide voting rights, dividends and capital appreciation, and they expose a portfolio to the Canadian economy and regulatory environment, with sector concentrations (e.g., energy, materials, financials) that influence risk and return. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Canadian stocks within the last several days.

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Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ)

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).

Celsius (CELH)

Celsius Holdings, Inc. develops, processes, markets, distributes, and sells functional energy drinks and liquid supplements in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canadian, European, Middle Eastern, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company offers CELSIUS, a fitness drink or supplement designed to accelerate metabolism and burn body fat; various flavors and carbonated and non-carbonated functional energy drinks under the CELSIUS Originals and Vibe name, as well as functional energy drink under the CELSIUS Essentials and CELSIUS On-the-Go Powder names; and CELSIUS ready-to drink products.

Read Our Latest Research Report on CELH

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP)

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a transcontinental freight railway in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The company transports bulk commodities, including grain, coal, potash, fertilizers, and sulphur; merchandise freight, such as forest products, energy, chemicals and plastics, metals, minerals, consumer products, and automotive; and intermodal traffic comprising retail goods in overseas containers.

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TC Energy (TRP)

TC Energy Corporation operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. It operates through five segments: Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines; U.S. Natural Gas Pipelines; Mexico Natural Gas Pipelines; Liquids Pipelines; and Power and Energy Solutions. The company builds and operates a network of 93,600 kilometers of natural gas pipelines, which transports natural gas from supply basins to local distribution companies, power generation plants, industrial facilities, interconnecting pipelines, LNG export terminals, and other businesses.

Read Our Latest Research Report on TRP

Canadian Solar (CSIQ)

Canadian Solar Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides solar energy and battery energy storage products and solutions in in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, CSI Solar and Recurrent Energy. The CSI Solar segment designs, develops, and manufactures solar ingots, wafers, cells, modules, and other solar power and battery storage products.

Read Our Latest Research Report on CSIQ

Canadian National Railway (CNI)

Canadian National Railway Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail, intermodal, trucking, and marine transportation and logistics business in Canada and the United States. The company provides rail services, which include equipment, custom brokerage services, transloading and distribution, business development and real estate, and private car storage services; and intermodal services, such as temperature controlled cargo, port partnerships, and logistics parks.

Read Our Latest Research Report on CNI

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM)

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a diversified financial institution, provides various financial products and services to personal, business, public sector, and institutional clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Canadian Personal and Business Banking; Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; U.S.

Read Our Latest Research Report on CM

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Ellington Financial (NYSE:EFC  Get Free Report) and Invesco Mortgage Capital (NYSE:IVR  Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Ellington Financial and Invesco Mortgage Capital, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Ellington Financial 0 3 5 0 2.63 Invesco Mortgage Capital 1 2 1 1 2.40

Ellington Financial presently has a consensus price target of $14.46, suggesting a potential upside of 5.65%. Invesco Mortgage Capital has a consensus price target of $8.25, suggesting a potential downside of 2.72%. Given Ellington Financials stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Ellington Financial is more favorable than Invesco Mortgage Capital.

Volatility & Risk

Profitability

Ellington Financial has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Invesco Mortgage Capital has a beta of 1.71, suggesting that its share price is 71% more volatile than the S&P 500.

This table compares Ellington Financial and Invesco Mortgage Capitals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Ellington Financial 89.04% 14.55% 1.15% Invesco Mortgage Capital 18.16% 29.47% 2.90%

Dividends

Ellington Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.4%. Invesco Mortgage Capital pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 17.0%. Ellington Financial pays out 116.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Invesco Mortgage Capital pays out 282.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ellington Financial and Invesco Mortgage Capitals revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Ellington Financial $136.41 million 11.16 $145.86 million $1.34 10.21 Invesco Mortgage Capital $286.55 million 2.10 $59.88 million $0.51 16.63

Ellington Financial has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Invesco Mortgage Capital. Ellington Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Invesco Mortgage Capital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

55.6% of Ellington Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.5% of Invesco Mortgage Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.1% of Ellington Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Invesco Mortgage Capital shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Ellington Financial beats Invesco Mortgage Capital on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ellington Financial

(Get Free Report)

Ellington Financial Inc., through its subsidiary, Ellington Financial Operating Partnership LLC, acquires and manages mortgage-related, consumer-related, corporate-related, and other financial assets in the United States. The company acquires and manages residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) backed by prime jumbo, Alt-A, manufactured housing, and subprime mortgage; RMBS for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by the U.S. government agency or the U.S. government-sponsored entity; residential mortgage loans; commercial mortgage-backed securities; and commercial mortgage loans and other commercial real estate debt. It also provides collateralized loan obligations; mortgage-related and non-mortgage-related derivatives; corporate debt and equity securities; corporate loans; and other strategic investments; and consumer loans and asset-backed securities backed by consumer and commercial assets. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, it intends to distribute at least 90% of its taxable income as dividends to shareholders. Ellington Financial LLC was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.

About Invesco Mortgage Capital

(Get Free Report)

Invesco Mortgage Capital Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests, finances, and manages mortgage-backed securities and other mortgage-related assets in the United States. It invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) that are guaranteed by a U.S. government agency or federally chartered corporation; RMBS and CMBS that are not issued or guaranteed by the United States government agency or federally chartered corporation; the United States treasury securities; real estate-related financing arrangements; to-be-announced securities forward contracts to purchase RMBS; and commercial mortgage loans. It has elected to be taxed as a REIT and would be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

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American Realty Investors (NYSE:ARL  Get Free Report) and MJ (OTCMKTS:MJNE  Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

American Realty Investors has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MJ has a beta of -0.39, indicating that its stock price is 139% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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Valuation and Earnings

This table compares American Realty Investors and MJs revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio American Realty Investors $47.32 million 5.50 -$14.70 million $0.36 44.74 MJ N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

MJ has lower revenue, but higher earnings than American Realty Investors.

Profitability

This table compares American Realty Investors and MJs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets American Realty Investors 11.74% 0.33% 0.25% MJ N/A N/A N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for American Realty Investors and MJ, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score American Realty Investors 0 1 0 0 2.00 MJ 0 0 0 0 0.00

Given MJs higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe MJ is more favorable than American Realty Investors.

Summary

American Realty Investors beats MJ on 6 of the 7 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Realty Investors

(Get Free Report)

American Realty Investors, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, acquires, develops, owns, and manages multifamily and commercial real estate properties in the Southern United States. It operates through two segments, Residential and Commercial. The company leases apartment units to residents; and office, industrial, and retail space to various for-profit businesses, as well as local, state, and federal agencies. It also offers tenant services, including parking and storage space rental; and sells land and properties. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in Dallas, Texas. American Realty Investors, Inc. is a subsidiary of Realty Advisors, Inc.

About MJ

(Get Free Report)

MJ Holdings, Inc., a cannabis holding company, engages in cultivation management, asset, and infrastructure development business in Nevada. It is also involved in production of cannabis related products; and provision of management services, dispensaries, and consulting services. The company is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Coveo Solutions Inc. (OTCMKTS:CVOSF  Get Free Report)s share price shot up 2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $4.92 and last traded at $4.92. 151 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 98% from the average session volume of 10,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.8220.

Coveo Solutions Trading Up 2.0%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.52.

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Coveo Solutions Company Profile

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Coveo Solutions Inc is a Canada-based technology company specializing in cloud-based AI-powered search and relevance solutions for enterprises. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Quebec City, Coveo combines machine learning, natural language processing and advanced analytics to help organizations deliver personalized digital experiences. The companys platform ingests and indexes content from disparate systems to provide real-time insights and predictive recommendations.

The Coveo Platform offers a suite of products designed to enhance e-commerce, customer service and knowledge management applications.

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Hargreaves Services Plc (LON:HSP  Get Free Report) shares crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 702.44 and traded as low as GBX 652. Hargreaves Services shares last traded at GBX 658, with a volume of 19,508 shares trading hands.

Hargreaves Services Stock Up 0.6%

The company has a market cap of 217.52 million, a PE ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.75. The companys 50 day moving average is GBX 653.57 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 702.71.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Hargreaves Services

In related news, insider Gordon Frank Colenso Banham purchased 7,600 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 650 per share, with a total value of 49,400. Corporate insiders own 15.27% of the companys stock.

Hargreaves Services Company Profile

Hargreaves Services plc is a diversified group delivering services to the industrial and property sectors, supporting key industries within the UK and South East Asia. The Companys three business segments are Services, Hargreaves Land and an investment in a German joint venture, Hargreaves Raw Materials Services GmbH (HRMS). Services provides critical support to many core industries including Energy, Environmental, UK Infrastructure and certain manufacturing industries through the provision of materials handling, mechanical and electrical contracting services, logistics and major earthworks.

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Danske Bank (OTCMKTS:DNKEY  Get Free Report) and Bankinter (OTCMKTS:BKNIY  Get Free Report) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Danske Bank and Bankinter, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Danske Bank 0 1 4 0 2.80 Bankinter 1 5 0 1 2.14

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Danske Bank and Bankinters revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Danske Bank $8.18 billion 5.12 $3.43 billion $2.02 12.43 Bankinter $5.44 billion 2.82 $1.03 billion $1.26 13.54

Danske Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Bankinter. Danske Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bankinter, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Danske Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Bankinter pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Danske Bank pays out 37.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bankinter pays out 36.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Volatility & Risk

Danske Bank has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bankinter has a beta of -0.2, meaning that its stock price is 120% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Danske Bank and Bankinters net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Danske Bank 40.42% 13.01% 0.61% Bankinter 21.53% 16.76% 0.81%

Summary

Danske Bank beats Bankinter on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Danske Bank

(Get Free Report)

Danske Bank A/S provides various banking products and services to corporate, institutional, and international clients. The company offers insurance and pension products, mortgage finance and real-estate brokerage services, asset management and trading services in fixed income products, foreign exchange services, and equities. It also provides advisory services to personal and private banking customers; and business advisory services, including acquisition, change of ownership, strategic development, or international expansion. In addition, the company offers financing, risk management, investment, and financial advisory services for large corporates and institutions; healthcare solutions; and online and mobile banking services. It has operations in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.

About Bankinter

(Get Free Report)

Bankinter, S.A. provides various banking products and services to individuals and corporate customers, and small- and medium-sized enterprises in Spain. It offers payroll, pension, business, salary, non-salary, youth salary, current, currency, professional, basic, and management accounts; deposit products; and mortgages and loan products, as well as financing services. The company also provides saving and investment products, including profiled funds, sustainable investment funds, other managers funds, pension funds, and themed funds, as well as funds for beginners; regular investment plans; and advisory, customized investment, wealth management, and alternative investment products and services. In addition, it offers accident, home, life, funeral, health, mortgage payment protection, property, personal, and motor insurance products, as well as business insurance products. Further, the company provides various services, such as estate administration, switch, asset management, accounts management, and transfer services, as well as real estate and brokerage services. Additionally, it offers retail, personal, private, commercial, and corporate banking products, as well as remote banking services. The company was formerly known as Banco Intercontinental Espanol, S.A. and changed its name to Bankinter, S.A. in July 1990. Bankinter, S.A. was incorporated in 1965 and is based in Madrid, Spain.

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JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd grew its holdings in Barrick Mining Corporation (NYSE:B  Free Report) (TSE:ABX) by 40.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 46,306 shares of the gold and copper producers stock after acquiring an additional 13,404 shares during the period. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltds holdings in Barrick Mining were worth $1,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in B. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Barrick Mining during the second quarter worth approximately $352,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Barrick Mining in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $464,000. Fractal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barrick Mining in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $341,000. Hedges Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Barrick Mining during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,249,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Barrick Mining during the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. 90.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on B shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Barrick Mining from $39.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Barrick Mining from $39.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Barrick Mining from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and upped their price target for the company from $27.50 to $43.00 in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an outperform rating on shares of Barrick Mining in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Barrick Mining from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Barrick Mining presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $47.17.

Barrick Mining Trading Up 1.1%

B stock opened at $44.03 on Friday. Barrick Mining Corporation has a 12 month low of $15.31 and a 12 month high of $46.45. The firms 50-day moving average is $39.49 and its 200 day moving average is $31.01. The company has a market capitalization of $74.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 2.33.

Barrick Mining (NYSE:B  Get Free Report) (TSE:ABX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.20 billion. Barrick Mining had a net margin of 24.53% and a return on equity of 9.48%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 23.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Barrick Mining Corporation will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Barrick Mining Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Barrick Minings previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Barrick Minings payout ratio is currently 33.82%.

About Barrick Mining

(Free Report)

Barrick Gold Corporation, commonly known as Barrick, is a Torontoheadquartered mining company focused on the exploration, development, production and sale of gold and copper. Listed on major exchanges (including the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol B), Barrick operates as an integrated minerals producer, running largescale mining complexes, processing facilities and related support services for extraction and metallurgical treatment of ore.

The companys activities span the full mining value chain: greenfield exploration, feasibility and permitting, mine construction, ongoing operations, and closure and reclamation.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding B? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Barrick Mining Corporation (NYSE:B  Free Report) (TSE:ABX).

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Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in BorgWarner Inc. (NYSE:BWA  Free Report) by 73.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 44,394 shares of the auto parts companys stock after purchasing an additional 18,748 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLCs holdings in BorgWarner were worth $1,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of BorgWarner by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 966,701 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $42,496,000 after buying an additional 606,434 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in BorgWarner by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,578,374 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $1,212,345,000 after acquiring an additional 667,788 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in BorgWarner by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 25,895 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 8,973 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in BorgWarner by 6.7% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 69,769 shares of the auto parts companys stock valued at $3,067,000 after purchasing an additional 4,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in BorgWarner during the third quarter valued at about $7,906,000. 95.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $49.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of BorgWarner in a research report on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of BorgWarner from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 target price on shares of BorgWarner in a report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on BorgWarner from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut BorgWarner from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BorgWarner currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $46.46.

BorgWarner Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:BWA opened at $46.65 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.38. The company has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.04, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.69. BorgWarner Inc. has a one year low of $24.40 and a one year high of $46.66.

BorgWarner (NYSE:BWA  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.58 billion. BorgWarner had a return on equity of 16.72% and a net margin of 0.94%.The firms revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. BorgWarner has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.600-4.750 EPS. Analysts anticipate that BorgWarner Inc. will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BorgWarner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. BorgWarners dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 107.94%.

Insider Transactions at BorgWarner

In other news, VP Isabelle Mckenzie sold 3,200 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.23, for a total transaction of $141,536.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 43,555 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,926,437.65. The trade was a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Stefan Demmerle sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.00, for a total transaction of $230,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 204,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,385,840. This represents a 2.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,200 shares of company stock valued at $1,054,336. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the companys stock.

BorgWarner Profile

(Free Report)

BorgWarner Inc is a global automotive supplier specializing in propulsion and drivetrain solutions for combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles. The companys product portfolio includes turbochargers, thermal management systems, transmission components, e-Propulsion modules and advanced fuel-efficiency technologies. BorgWarner serves original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) across passenger cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles, supporting both legacy internal-combustion engines and emerging electrification trends.

Founded in 1928 through the merger of several driveline companies, BorgWarner has grown through strategic acquisitions and continuous investment in research and development.

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Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT  Free Report) by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 55,507 shares of the aerospace companys stock after buying an additional 7,052 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin makes up about 2.9% of Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc.s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $27,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,697,527 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $10,048,993,000 after buying an additional 214,565 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 0.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,884,954 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $2,256,147,000 after acquiring an additional 19,459 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 0.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 959,510 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $444,387,000 after acquiring an additional 6,073 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 863,839 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $400,079,000 after acquiring an additional 55,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 16.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 761,382 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $347,381,000 after purchasing an additional 108,553 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Lockheed Martin from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $514.00 to $513.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $543.00 target price (down previously from $630.00) on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $440.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $506.67.

Insider Activity at Lockheed Martin

In related news, COO John Frank A. St sold 7,792 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.04, for a total transaction of $3,826,183.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1 shares in the company, valued at $491.04. This trade represents a 99.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 2.7%

LMT opened at $496.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.13. Lockheed Martin Corporation has a one year low of $410.11 and a one year high of $516.00. The company has a market cap of $114.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.74, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.24. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $470.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $466.30.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.33 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $18.45 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 111.84% and a net margin of 5.73%.The firms revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.84 earnings per share. Lockheed Martin has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.150-22.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $3.45 dividend. This represents a $13.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martins previous quarterly dividend of $3.30. Lockheed Martins dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.05%.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

(Free Report)

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is a global aerospace and defense company that designs, develops and manufactures advanced technology systems for government and commercial customers. Formed through the 1995 merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and focuses on providing integrated solutions across air, space, land and sea domains. Its primary customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and allied governments around the world.

Lockheed Martins product and service portfolio spans military aircraft, missile and fire-control systems, missile defense, space systems and satellite technologies, sensors and precision weapons.

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Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF  Get Free Report)s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $162.64 and traded as high as $163.76. Raymond James Financial shares last traded at $163.5860, with a volume of 1,428,618 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on RJF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Raymond James Financial from $174.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued a positive rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $180.73.

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Raymond James Financial Stock Up 1.9%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $32.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.28. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 18.19%. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Raymond James Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. Raymond James Financials payout ratio is currently 19.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.15, for a total value of $21,321,584.05. Following the sale, the insider owned 260,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,508,079.90. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Raymond James Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Raymond James Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 69.0% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the companys stock.

Raymond James Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides a range of services to individual investors, businesses and institutions through a combination of wealth management, capital markets, investment banking, asset management, banking and trust services. Its business model centers on a network of financial advisors and broker-dealer operations that deliver personalized financial planning, investment advisory services and brokerage solutions.

The firms core offerings include private client wealth management delivered by independent and employee advisors, equity and fixed-income research, institutional sales and trading, and investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising.

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Taoiseach of Ireland to visit China

Xinhua) 08:38, January 04, 2026

BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin will pay an official visit to China from Jan. 4 to 8, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Saturday.

The spokesperson said the upcoming visit by Taoiseach Micheal Martin is another visit by a Taoiseach of Ireland to China in 14 years. During the visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with him, Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee Zhao Leji will hold talks and meet with him respectively to have in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest.

In addition to Beijing, Martin will visit Shanghai, according to the spokesperson.

In recent years, the China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation has enjoyed robust development, said the spokesperson.

"Our two sides have always treated each other with mutual respect and equality. Through open cooperation, we've achieved mutual complementarity and common development, and benefited our two peoples," said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson said that through the upcoming visit, China stands ready to work with Ireland to enhance political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and provide new impetus for the two sides to pursue high-quality development and sound and steady advancement of China-EU relations in the new era.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
Shares of Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA  Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $240.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on RGA shares. Barclays restated an overweight rating and issued a $246.00 price objective on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Raymond James Financial downgraded Reinsurance Group of America from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Reinsurance Group of America from $255.00 to $240.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b-) rating on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on RGA

Reinsurance Group of America Price Performance

Reinsurance Group of America stock opened at $203.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.55. Reinsurance Group of America has a one year low of $159.25 and a one year high of $232.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $194.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.96.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $6.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $6.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.02 billion. Reinsurance Group of America had a return on equity of 12.19% and a net margin of 3.89%.The firms quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Reinsurance Group of America will post 22.9 EPS for the current year.

Reinsurance Group of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 11th were given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Reinsurance Group of Americas dividend payout ratio is 28.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Reinsurance Group of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,734,458 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $519,356,000 after buying an additional 94,479 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Reinsurance Group of America by 15.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,369,057 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $455,167,000 after acquiring an additional 324,239 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Reinsurance Group of America by 2.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,346,447 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $450,823,000 after purchasing an additional 64,296 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Reinsurance Group of America by 4.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,219,609 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $241,960,000 after purchasing an additional 53,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,158,803 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $228,168,000 after purchasing an additional 35,781 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.11% of the companys stock.

Reinsurance Group of America Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE: RGA) is a leading global provider of life and health reinsurance solutions. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, RGA partners with primary insurance companies to help them manage risk, improve capital efficiency and develop innovative products. The companys offerings span traditional risk transfer, financial solutions and facultative underwriting services, enabling clients to address a wide range of mortality, longevity, morbidity and critical-illness exposures.

RGAs product suite includes life reinsurance, living benefits reinsurance, structured reinsurance and financial solutions that support product innovation and capital management.

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Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR  Free Report) by 319.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,738 shares of the insurance providers stock after purchasing an additional 5,133 shares during the quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLCs holdings in Progressive were worth $1,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 87,760 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $23,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth approximately $306,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 40.6% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 16,840 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $4,159,000 after buying an additional 4,865 shares during the period. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP lifted its holdings in Progressive by 199.0% in the second quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 9,411 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $2,511,000 after buying an additional 6,263 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Progressive in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,583,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the companys stock.

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Progressive Stock Down 6.9%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $212.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $222.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.72. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $199.90 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

Progressive ( NYSE:PGR Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressives payout ratio is presently 2.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a hold rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. HSBC set a $259.00 price objective on Progressive and gave the company an underperform rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Mizuho started coverage on Progressive in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They issued a neutral rating and a $242.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $264.98.

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Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,698 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,323,176.42. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the companys stock.

Progressive Company Profile

(Free Report)

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channelsonline and by phoneand an extensive independent agent network.

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Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:JHMM  Free Report) by 200.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,768 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 12,512 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLCs holdings in John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of JHMM. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,768,787 shares of the companys stock worth $169,256,000 after acquiring an additional 499,311 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF by 382.0% during the 3rd quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 623,209 shares of the companys stock valued at $40,315,000 after purchasing an additional 493,916 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 796,488 shares of the companys stock valued at $45,360,000 after purchasing an additional 266,493 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF by 2,155.3% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 155,503 shares of the companys stock worth $9,506,000 after purchasing an additional 148,608 shares during the period. Finally, Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. bought a new stake in John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF in the second quarter worth approximately $6,048,000.

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John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF Stock Performance

Shares of JHMM opened at $66.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 1.04. John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF has a 52-week low of $49.29 and a 52-week high of $67.50. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $65.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.90.

About John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF

The John Hancock Multifactor Mid Cap ETF (JHMM) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the John Hancock Dimensional Mid Cap index. The fund tracks an index of US firms ranked 200-950 by size, weighted by multiple factors relative to their sector peers. JHMM was launched on Sep 28, 2015 and is managed by John Hancock.

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American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT  Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $226.6667.

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AMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on American Tower from $255.00 to $235.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Tower from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Sunday, October 12th. Raymond James Financial restated a strong-buy rating and set a $231.00 price target (down previously from $250.00) on shares of American Tower in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on American Tower

American Tower Stock Down 0.5%

AMT stock opened at $174.74 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $178.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.36. The company has a market cap of $81.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.92. American Tower has a 12-month low of $170.77 and a 12-month high of $234.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.64 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.65 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 28.11% and a return on equity of 28.79%. American Towers revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.52 earnings per share. American Tower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.600-10.720 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Tower will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. American Towers payout ratio is currently 108.63%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In related news, Director Eugene F. Reilly acquired 5,554 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $178.99 per share, with a total value of $994,110.46. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,018,274.11. The trade was a 4,114.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Tower Corp /Ma/ American sold 2,288,621 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total value of $159,631,314.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 211,379 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,743,685.25. This trade represents a 91.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMT. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its stake in American Tower by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 2,042 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the first quarter valued at $72,706,000. Stack Financial Management Inc bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the second quarter valued at about $13,020,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 321,661 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $71,094,000 after buying an additional 110,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of American Tower by 47.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 109,124 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $24,119,000 after buying an additional 35,037 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About American Tower

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American Tower (NYSE: AMT) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and develops wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure. The companys core business is leasing space on communications sites  including towers, rooftops and other structures  to wireless carriers, broadcasters, government agencies and enterprise customers. Its business model centers on long-term site leases and contracts that provide recurring revenue tied to the footprint and density of wireless networks.

Beyond traditional tower assets, American Tower offers a range of infrastructure and network services to support mobile, broadband and broadcast connectivity.

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Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (NYSE:CP  Get Free Report) (TSE:CP) has been given a consensus rating of Moderate Buy by the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $91.6923.

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A number of research analysts have issued reports on CP shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays set a $90.00 target price on shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c) rating on shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Canadian Pacific Kansas City from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th.

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Canadian Pacific Kansas City Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE CP opened at $74.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $66.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.10. Canadian Pacific Kansas City has a fifty-two week low of $66.49 and a fifty-two week high of $83.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (NYSE:CP  Get Free Report) (TSE:CP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.71 billion. Canadian Pacific Kansas City had a net margin of 28.41% and a return on equity of 8.79%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Canadian Pacific Kansas City will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.228 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Canadian Pacific Kansas Citys previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Canadian Pacific Kansas Citys payout ratio is currently 19.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Canadian Pacific Kansas City

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CP. Vanderbilt University boosted its position in shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City by 10.3% during the second quarter. Vanderbilt University now owns 75,452 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $5,982,000 after acquiring an additional 7,050 shares during the last quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Canadian Pacific Kansas City by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 648,343 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $51,410,000 after purchasing an additional 14,260 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City during the 2nd quarter valued at about $371,000. Ninety One North America Inc. grew its position in shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City by 135.7% during the second quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 206,785 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $16,394,000 after purchasing an additional 119,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Pacific Kansas City by 7.6% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 1,935,337 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $153,847,000 after purchasing an additional 136,981 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.20% of the companys stock.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Company Profile

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Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) is a North American Class I freight railroad formed through the combination of Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern. The merged company operates an integrated rail network that spans Canada, the United States and Mexico, providing a single-line rail connection across all three countries. This transborder footprint is intended to streamline cross-border freight flows and provide shippers with direct rail access from Canadian and U.S. production centers to Mexican markets and ports.

CPKCs core business is freight transportation and related logistics services.

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Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS  Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of Hold from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $289.5938.

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Several equities analysts have recently commented on ESS shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Essex Property Trust from $275.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Essex Property Trust from $294.00 to $284.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a hold rating and set a $282.00 price target (down from $304.00) on shares of Essex Property Trust in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $280.00 to $268.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $295.00 to $267.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 10th.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Essex Property Trust

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its position in Essex Property Trust by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 16.1% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 288 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 2.3% in the second quarter. Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. now owns 1,861 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 57.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 115 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The increased its stake in Essex Property Trust by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 6,957 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,862,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.51% of the companys stock.

Essex Property Trust stock opened at $256.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.96. The stock has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $243.25 and a 1-year high of $316.29.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $473.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $472.11 million. Essex Property Trust had a net margin of 45.46% and a return on equity of 14.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.91 EPS. Essex Property Trust has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.930-4.030 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 15.890-15.990 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a $2.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $10.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Essex Property Trusts payout ratio is presently 78.12%.

About Essex Property Trust

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Essex Property Trust, Inc (NYSE: ESS) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires, develops, owns and operates multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on market-rate apartment communities and delivers a full suite of property services including leasing, resident services, asset management, and capital improvement programs designed to preserve and enhance longterm property values.

Essex concentrates its portfolio in West Coast markets, with a significant presence in California and the Pacific Northwest.

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Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Procter & Gamble Company (The) (NYSE:PG  Free Report) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,730 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $9,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position in Procter & Gamble by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 5,237 shares of the companys stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2.0% in the second quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 3,238 shares of the companys stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Kondo Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Procter & Gamble by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Kondo Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the companys stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.3% in the second quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 22,118 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,524,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Access Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 0.6% during the second quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,889 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,735,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $152.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $176.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Procter & Gamble to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c) rating on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Procter & Gamble from $173.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $171.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Procter & Gamble news, CAO Matthew W. Janzaruk sold 725 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.57, for a total value of $108,438.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 979 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $146,429.03. The trade was a 42.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the companys stock.

Procter & Gamble Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PG opened at $141.77 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.16. Procter & Gamble Company has a fifty-two week low of $138.14 and a fifty-two week high of $179.99. The company has a market capitalization of $331.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.09. Procter & Gamble had a return on equity of 32.63% and a net margin of 19.74%.The company had revenue of $22.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Procter & Gamble has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.830-7.100 EPS. Analysts expect that Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Friday, October 24th were given a dividend of $1.0568 per share. This represents a $4.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 24th. Procter & Gambles dividend payout ratio is 61.75%.

About Procter & Gamble

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Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) is a multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble, P&G has grown into one of the worlds largest producers of branded consumer packaged goods. The company focuses on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad portfolio of household and personal care products sold to consumers and retailers worldwide.

P&Gs product offering spans several core business categories, including Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric & Home Care, and Baby, Feminine & Family Care.

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Asset Management One Co. Ltd. reduced its position in shares of GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV  Free Report) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,965 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,090 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.s holdings in GE Vernova were worth $77,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of GE Vernova in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in GE Vernova in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in GE Vernova in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its position in GE Vernova by 537.5% in the third quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 51 shares of the companys stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Monetary Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in GE Vernova during the second quarter worth $32,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GEV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised GE Vernova from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $855.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of GE Vernova from $677.00 to $660.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Glj Research increased their target price on shares of GE Vernova from $702.00 to $758.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of GE Vernova from $710.00 to $720.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $830.00 price objective on shares of GE Vernova in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $691.11.

GE Vernova Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GEV opened at $678.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.03 billion, a PE ratio of 110.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.67. GE Vernova Inc. has a 1 year low of $252.25 and a 1 year high of $731.00. The firms 50-day moving average is $612.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $601.50.

GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.08). GE Vernova had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 17.07%. The business had revenue of $9.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.35) EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that GE Vernova Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GE Vernova Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 5th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from GE Vernovas previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 5th. GE Vernovas dividend payout ratio is currently 16.29%.

About GE Vernova

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GE Vernova is the energy-focused company formed from the energy businesses of General Electric and operates as a publicly listed entity on the NYSE under the ticker GEV. It is organized to design, manufacture and service equipment and systems used across the power generation and energy transition value chain, bringing together legacy capabilities in conventional power, renewables and grid technologies under a single corporate platform.

The companys offerings span large-scale power-generation equipment such as gas and steam turbines and associated generators and controls, as well as renewable energy technologies including onshore and offshore wind platforms and hydro solutions.

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Getty Realty (NYSE:GTY  Get Free Report) and Net Lease Office Properties (NYSE:NLOP  Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

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Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Getty Realty and Net Lease Office Properties, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Getty Realty 0 3 3 0 2.50 Net Lease Office Properties 1 0 1 0 2.00

Getty Realty presently has a consensus target price of $31.80, suggesting a potential upside of 15.51%. Net Lease Office Properties has a consensus target price of $46.00, suggesting a potential upside of 120.93%. Given Net Lease Office Properties higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Net Lease Office Properties is more favorable than Getty Realty.

Risk & Volatility

Institutional & Insider Ownership

Getty Realty has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Net Lease Office Properties has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

85.1% of Getty Realty shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.3% of Net Lease Office Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 8.8% of Getty Realty shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Net Lease Office Properties shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Getty Realty and Net Lease Office Properties net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Getty Realty 34.76% 7.60% 3.72% Net Lease Office Properties -156.16% -34.31% -26.04%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Getty Realty and Net Lease Office Propertiess revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Getty Realty $203.39 million 7.82 $71.06 million $1.28 21.51 Net Lease Office Properties $142.25 million 2.17 -$91.47 million ($12.22) -1.70

Getty Realty has higher revenue and earnings than Net Lease Office Properties. Net Lease Office Properties is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Getty Realty, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Getty Realty beats Net Lease Office Properties on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Getty Realty

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Getty Realty Corp. is a publicly traded, net lease REIT specializing in the acquisition, financing and development of convenience, automotive and other single tenant retail real estate. As of December 31, 2023, the Companys portfolio included 1,093 freestanding properties located in 40 states across the United States and Washington, D.C.

About Net Lease Office Properties

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Net Lease Office Properties (NYSE: NLOP) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust with a portfolio of 59 high-quality office properties, totaling approximately 8.7 million leasable square feet primarily leased to corporate tenants on a single-tenant net lease basis. The vast majority of the office properties owned by NLOP are located in the U.S., with the balance in Europe. The portfolio consists of 62 corporate tenants operating in a variety of industries, generating annualized based rent (ABR) of approximately $145 million. NLOP's business plan is to focus on realizing value for its shareholders primarily through strategic asset management and disposition of its property portfolio over time. Given WPC's extensive knowledge of the portfolio, NLOP is externally managed and advised by wholly owned affiliates of WPC to successfully execute on its business strategy. Over the course of its 50-year history, WPC has developed significant expertise in the single-tenant office real estate sector, including the operation, leasing, acquisition and development of assets through many market cycles, and has a proven track record of execution.

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Merit Financial Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEARCA:RSP  Free Report) by 28.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,908 shares of the companys stock after selling 5,179 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLCs holdings in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF were worth $2,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Realta Investment Advisors lifted its position in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 410 shares of the companys stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Fusion Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF by 2.2% during the second quarter. Fusion Capital LLC now owns 2,564 shares of the companys stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF by 1.2% during the second quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,502 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Ehrlich Financial Group increased its holdings in shares of Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF by 1.4% in the second quarter. Ehrlich Financial Group now owns 4,792 shares of the companys stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 26,315 shares of the companys stock worth $4,782,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.18% of the companys stock.

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF Stock Performance

NYSEARCA:RSP opened at $192.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $74.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 0.99. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $190.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.62. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF has a 52-week low of $150.35 and a 52-week high of $195.46.

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF Company Profile

Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, formerly Rydex S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, seeks to replicate as closely as possible, the daily performance of the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index (the Index). The Index is a capitalization-weighted index covering 500 industrial, utility, transportation and financial companies of the United States markets (mostly NYSE Euronext issues). The Index utilizes quarterly rebalancing to maintain its equal-weight stance. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 90% of its net assets, plus any borrowing for investment purposes, in the equity securities (and derivatives thereof) included in the Index.

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Northern Irelands Environment Minister Andrew Muir has accused some politicians of a deliberate attempt to undermine the science and evidence around the ecological crisis at Lough Neagh.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Press Association, the minister also said he thinks it is likely that a private members Bill will be brought to the Assembly around the introduction of an independent environment protection agency (EPA), after the DUP blocked his plans to create one.

Mr Muir also insisted there would be no change to ambitious emissions targets set out in Northern Irelands Climate Change Act.

The Alliance Party minister said he had a number of priorities for 2026, including tackling climate change and improving water quality.

He said he wanted Executive support for his plans to strengthen regulation enforcement in relation to sewage pollution.

The minister also said work would continue to implement actions in the Lough Neagh Recovery Plan agreed by the Executive.

The lough, the UK and Irelands largest freshwater lake by surface area, has been blighted by noxious blooms of blue-green algae for the last three summers.

The cause has been put down to an excess of nutrients from a number of sources, including waste water, septic tanks and agriculture, exacerbated by climate change and the invasive species Zebra Mussels.

Lough Neagh supplies 40% of Northern Irelands drinking water and sustains a major eel fishing industry.

Mr Muir said: Since taking up office, Ive been very clear that the situation in Lough Neagh has been a result of decades of neglect and there are no quick fixes.

It breaks my heart to see the situation unfold year after year in the lough.

What weve got to do is take the actions to reduce the level of pollution thats going into the lough and also to be very conscious of the impact that climate change is having.

That requires tough decisions in terms of reducing the amount of pollution, whether its coming from agricultural sources or in relation to sewage pollution or septic tanks.

Asked if he believed the will existed within the powersharing Executive to take the decisions he wanted, Mr Muir said time will tell.

He added: I believe that we should respect the science and evidence that tells us that in terms of remediation of the lough, partly as a result of the sediment and the phosphorus that is absorbed, that this will take decades to remediate.

When you respect the science and evidence, it delivers lots of inconvenient truths. We should respect those, and then we should take the tough decisions around it.

What I have seen, particularly in 2025, is a deliberate attempt by some to undermine the science and evidence around this, and I will stand four-square in defence of the scientists who are delivering the facts.

We have peer-reviewed academic research thats been referred to as magical figures. I think thats grossly insulting to the individuals who have pulled that research together.

Mr Muir said Northern Ireland is an outlier in being the only part of the UK without an independent EPA.

A recommendation for an EPA was made in a recent review of environmental governance and the minister has repeated his commitment to progress plans to create the body.

However, the DUP has consistently raised concerns over how an EPA would be funded and how it would interact with existing regulatory bodies.

Mr Muir said: This has been with the Executive for a significant period of time. Ive been told by the DUP the answer is no. Theres no rhyme or reason behind that.

It is entirely undemocratic that one party can block a proposal which was given quite significant support in the Assembly just before Christmas.

That needs to be progressed, and if it isnt progressed, its very likely that a privately drafted Bill will arrive in the Assembly.

I think its unfortunate we have to go down that road because one party seeks to block progress.

He added: Its rather bizarre the DUP are prepared to draw a very hard line around the Irish Sea and create a border in relation to environmental protection when the rest of the UK have independent regulators.

A Climate Change Act was passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly shortly before the institutions entered a period of suspension in 2022.

The legislation sets out the proposed path the region will take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, as well as achieving a carbon budget target of a 33% average annual reduction in emissions between 2023 and 2027.

Mr Muir said the targets are ambitious, but achievable.

He added: I think its regrettable that some political forces, particularly in relation to Nigel Farage or Donald Trump, are taking a very different approach.

But Im not led by them. Im led by the science and the evidence which states that climate change is a reality today.

Its important we meet that obligation and that we actually confront the opportunities that are also set out for us.

Asked if he would consider reducing the targets, the minister said: Im very clear and very consistent that I will not be doing that.

He added: Climate change is a defining issue of our generation. The Assembly passed unanimously at final reading the climate change legislation.

We lost two years in relation to implementation of it (because of the collapse of the Assembly).

Im continuing the work to ensure that we meet our obligations, and we realise the opportunities.
The grandfather of a missing 21-year-old Cookstown man has issued an appeal for him to return.

Taylor Stewart was last seen in the Church Heights area at around 5.30am on New Years Day.

His grandfather Mitchell Crooks said: We just want Taylor to come home.

The whole family is so worried about him, especially with the weather being so bad over the last few days.

Please Taylor, just let us know that you are safe, you promised to help me with a few issues with my car so I need you home to help, please get in contact.

In a statement, PSNI Superintendent Peter Stevenson described search efforts as complex and having covered a lot of ground, he added there has been an extensive police presence in the town.

He said volunteers from the Community Rescue Service, Search & Rescue Dog Association Ireland North and Lough Neagh Search and Rescue have taken part in the search efforts.

Mr Stevenson acknowledged that a young man being missing in such cold conditions is causing real concern amongst local people, but warned the public not to put themselves or others at risk.

He said the police are grateful people want to help with the search efforts, but said snow and ice are posing safety issues to even our experienced teams.

He added: Check in with local officers for advice before you commence any search of your own.

Mr Stewart is described as 5ft 8in tall, of medium build with dark hair and brown eyes.

He was last seen wearing blue jeans with a brown belt, a long sleeved white shirt with a red square pattern, and green/brown boots.

Police are continuing to appeal for anyone who may have been out in the area at the time he was last seen to make contact with them.

They have also asked anyone with an outbuilding, garage or shed to check their premises, in case he made his way inside to seek shelter.
Global IT and Innovation: Kyrgyz Republic at CES 2026

The High Technology Park of the Kyrgyz Republic (HTP) will participate in CES 2026, presenting the country's growing strength in artificial intelligence, digital health, blockchain technologies, and large-scale IT exports for global markets. At Booth 50265, the Kyrgyz delegation will showcase technology companies delivering AI products, telemedicine platforms, blockchain infrastructure, and software development services for clients worldwide.

The Kyrgyz Republic has become one of the fastest-growing technology exporters in its region. In 2024, Kyrgyz IT specialists provided services to clients in more than 63 countries, generating $130 million in IT exports. The United States ranked first, accounting for around 40 percent of total exports, with an export volume exceeding $50 million, including cooperation with companies in Silicon Valley. Over the past five years, the country's IT exports have grown 45-fold, marking a structural shift toward high-value digital services and proprietary technology development. HTP now brings together a network of 500 software development companies and 3,000 developers, ready to meet the full range of client needs.

Among the technologies presented at CES 2026 is KaniTTS, an open-source text-to-speech model developed by the AI startup NineNineSix. KaniTTS redefines real-time, human-like voice generation, matching the performance of leading commercial voice models while remaining fully open and free under the Apache 2.0 license. Since its release, KaniTTS has been downloaded more than 15,000 times on Hugging Face, drawing international attention for its speed, expressivity, and accessibility. The model is capable of generating 15 seconds of natural speech in just one second on a consumer-grade NVIDIA RTX 5080 GPU, enabling true real-time performance without cloud-scale infrastructure. The base model currently supports eight languages: English, German, Korean, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Kyrgyz, and Japanese.

In parallel, NineNineSix together with HTP has released Kyrgyz Whisper, an open-source automatic speech recognition model fine-tuned on Whisper to deliver native speech recognition for Kyrgyz, Russian, and English. Performance highlights include a dramatic improvement in Kyrgyz word error rate from approximately 100 percent to 0.2 WER, while maintaining stable performance in English and Russian. Two model variants are available, a small version with 0.2 billion parameters and a medium version with 0.8 billion parameters, both supporting LoRA fine-tuning for domain adaptation and further improvements.

The Kyrgyz delegation also includes Blockchain Data, a blockchain technology company developing digital infrastructure and crypto-related solutions. The Kyrgyz Republic has recently completed a major milestone in the digital finance sector with the launch of its national stablecoin, KGST, pegged 1:1 to the Kyrgyz som. KGST complies with international KYC/AML standards, features multi-level authentication, and has completed technical testing for deployment on both regional and global crypto platforms. According to the Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index, the Kyrgyz Republic ranks 19th globally in cryptocurrency usage, reflecting an active, regulated, and rapidly developing crypto ecosystem.

Digital health innovation will also be represented through Hi Doctor, an AI-powered telemedicine and clinical decision-support platform founded by diagnostic physician Nursultan Masalbekov. The product emerged from real clinical practice, where the lack of digital tools forced doctors to spend excessive time on documentation instead of patient care. Hi Doctor combines AI-driven analysis of clinical data, a voice assistant for medical documentation, and telemedicine tools, including NORAi, which analyzes patients' vital signs during video consultations. The platform is actively used by doctors and medical institutions across Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In multiple cases, AI-supported recommendations contributed to the early detection of HIV, cardiomyopathies, oncological and genetic conditions, later confirmed through laboratory testing, demonstrating the platform's real clinical impact.

The Kyrgyz Republic invites attendees to meet its delegation at CES 2026 at the High Technology Park of the Kyrgyz Republic, Booth 50265, from January 6 to 9, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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The decision by Louth County Council to grant planning permission for a Large-scale Residential Development (LRD) of 502 homes at Haggardstown and Marshes Upper, which include works on the Blackrock Road (R172) and Hardys Lane, Dundalk, has been appealed to An Bord Coimisiun (formerly An Bord Pleanala) by Blackrock Tidy Towns.

Marina Quarter Ltd, a subsidiary of Glenveagh Homes Ltd, was granted planning permission last month for the LRD at Haggardstown and Marshes Upper, on a site of c.18.54 ha.

The planned housing comprises 40 one-bed maisonettes; 147 two-bed, mid-terrace, two-storey houses; 276 three-bed, end of terrace and semi-detached, two-storey houses; a three-bed detached bungalow; and 38 four-bed semi-detached, three-storey houses.

Marina Quarter Ltd also sought the go ahead for a two storey creche facility with outdoor secure play area and parking, as well as new access off the Blackrock Road providing for vehicular, pedestrian and cycle access, and incorporating a new bus stop on the Blackrock Road; as well as two pedestrian and cycle only access points provided from Bothar Maol.

Read also: Local historian Seamus Cassidy posthumously honoured as a co-founder of the Patrick Kavanagh Centre

Infrastructure and services for the proposed development include surface water infrastructure, water mains and a new wastewater pump station (with temporary storage and associated dosing measures), which would be pumped via a new rising main along the Blackrock Road (R172) and Hardys Lane to Finnabair Crescent, where it would discharge to the existing wastewater drainage network.

The application also provides for associated public and private open space, landscaping and amenity areas including a large central park of c.2.7ha, public art, boundary treatments, public lighting, roads, cycleways, footpaths, car and cycle parking, infrastructure and services and all associated site and development works.

To facilitate the proposed development, Marina Quarter Ltd also sought the go ahead for the excavation, cut and fill, and reprofiling of existing ground levels, and removal of works completed under a previously permitted Strategic Housing Development, including the foundations for five houses is required. The ruins of a former pumphouse would also be removed / demolished as part of the works and existing overhead electrical lines will be undergrounded.

Louth County Council made the decision to grant planning permission for the development on 4 December, subject to 29 planning conditions.

A third party appeal against the decision was made by John Horan O/B Blackrock Tidy Towns, and Aoife and John Henry, on 18 December 2025. It is not yet known when the case will be decided upon.

Marina Quarter Ltd had previously been refused planning permission by Louth County Council for a 502 unit LRD in 2024 at Haggardstown, Dundalk, that would have included the provision of a two-storey creche, and the construction of new dedicated entrance to the R172 Blackrock Road. The decision was appealed to An Bord Pleanala, who subsequently refused the appeal.
Returned emigrants in Louth now have the chance to turn their business ideas into reality through the government-backed Back for Business programme. The initiative, designed to support Irish nationals who have lived abroad and are returning home, has already helped local entrepreneurs like Carlingford native Oran Finegan establish and grow successful businesses, highlighting the benefits of the scheme for the countys budding business community.

The programme, which is funded by the Irish Abroad Unit, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, was created to foster and support entrepreneurial activity among emigrants recently returned to Ireland or are still living abroad but thinking of returning to Ireland.

Back for Business is now seeking offers of interest from eligible candidates hoping to return or who have already returned to Louth.

To qualify, applicants must be returned Irish emigrants who lived abroad for at least a year and have returned to Ireland in the last three years, or are currently living abroad with plans to return to Ireland in the near future.

This is the ninth year of the programme and those eligible have until Friday, January 16th, to apply through www.backforbusiness.com. The programme will begin with a Launch Forum and round table event on February 13th, 2026, and will conclude in June. Up to 50 places are available.

Back for Business has a proven track record of helping entrepreneurs who are returned emigrants to significant grow sales and increase employment. Since launching in 2017, the initiative has helped early-stage entrepreneurs address common challenges faced by emigrants who have been living away from Ireland.

Some 100% of those who completed last years programme, Back for Business 8, reported they would recommend the programme to others and would like to stay in contact with the Back for Business community.

Participants on Back for Business 9 will meet once a month on a peer-supported round table, facilitated by voluntary Lead Entrepreneurs, who have experience of successfully starting and growing a business. Many of them have also lived abroad before returning to Ireland to start their business.

This years Lead Entrepreneurs are: Gillian ODowd, Director at Azon; Paul Duggan of The Gardiner Group; Seamus Reilly, co-founder and formerly of Critical Healthcare; Sinead Doherty, founder and CEO of Fenero; and Thomas Ennis, founder of the Thomas Ennis Group.

Oran Finegan had spent 25 years working as a leading forensic specialist with the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) when the opportunity arose to take the methods he had learned in conflict and post-conflict zones around the world and apply them back home in Ireland. A native of Carlingford, Co. Louth, Oran set up his company, Forensic Action International, shortly after his return to Ireland in October 2023. Oran believes the Back for Business programme gave him a step up in his bid to develop the business.

I have a huge amount to learn and having the structure that the programme provided, as well as access to likeminded entrepreneurs, was fantastic for helping me bridge that knowledge gap, he says.

Read Next: Dundalk based artist Barry Finnegan talks about his artistic journey

Before leaving Ireland Jennifer Provan was working in hospitality after studying Hospitality Management, and she set up her own catering company and two cafes while living in Glasgow. Ultimately, however, she had always wanted to return to Ireland and, after 21 years in Glasgow, the couple took the opportunity to do so when their son went away to college. When she returned home, she set up Kitchenetta Catering, which caters for all events big or small using local, sustainable, seasonal Irish ingredients.

Jennifer says Back for Business was an amazing experience: It was very collaborative and very supportive. We gleaned a lot of knowledge from each other and our Lead Entrepreneur, a lot of which weve gone on to use, she says. I would highly recommend it. I really enjoyed every minute of it, and I know that all of my group did as well, and were all very much in touch since and still supporting each other. Its been seriously advantageous.
This story appeared in the Louth Life magazine last year

For Etaoin O'Reilly, ceramicist and one of the founders of Bo Studios in Dundalk, her love of working with clay and the possibilities it offers up, means the work never stops.

I think for an artist, any artist will say this, she explains, you start an initial idea for an exhibition, and you never stop thinking about it. Even when the show is done, we've got the work out, the exhibition was great, but then I'd still be like, 'I really want to do this on it...' - the work doesn't stop.

My Dad always said to me, 'you should always find your thing in life, where you can just switch off from the world'. That's the one thing he's always instilled in us from when we were younger, find your thing, your switch off thing, and for me that was pottery.

That's where I got into clay. You can do so much with it. I've been in ceramics now for over 11 years and I still haven't reach the bottom of the bucket. It's so vast. With the glazing, with the making, you've slip casting, you've slab building, you've hand building, throwing, it just is endless.

I have only scratched the surface. Even with glaze technology and all the different colours, all the different effects, all the different decals, it's just ongoing.

Read also: Weddings by Dearbhaile - Dundalk woman shares how she got started

I think for me, I'm a touchy feely person, I'm just very tactile or something. I think there's something with the clay, it's just you, the clay and the making. It's so therapeutic, you just switch off.

There's times here, if I have an order, or its Christmas time, and I've been throwing on the wheel. Colin (her husband) would ring me about 10 o'clock asking, 'are you coming home?' I just totally forget about time.

In the 11 years since Etaoin first discovered her for ceramics while studying in NCAD, her work has branched out. Between running pottery workshops in Bo Studios, helping run the gallery which runs every Saturday from 1pm to 5pm at Bo Studios, as well as the general running of the studios, her pottery work and her sculptural work, there probably isn't enough hours in the day.

Etaoin sees Dundalk as being a community that is welcoming to the arts. There's a fabulous community of musicians, of actors, writers, crafts people in Dundalk, who are really willing to collaborate and get something going. You have that lovely community, its very generous, everyone wants to collaborate.

On how she sees her place in ceramics, she reveals, I see myself as a sculptor, I like to make sculptural work. The sculptural work I don't get to do as much because the pottery is what keeps the lights on.

I really enjoy my workshops, I think its a great thing to be passing on, it's so rewarding as well, and the same with the pottery. But then, you do get to a point where you're just like, 'I wanna go big. I want to do something big'. Which is really nice because, us being under An Tain Art Centre's umbrella, every two years we do an exhibition in An Tain that showcases all the artists' work here in Bo Studios.

Looking back on the last such exhibition in February, Etaoin explained that its theme was dreams. It was all based on dreams. For me it was that my teeth were always falling out. So I did a whole sculptural piece about my teeth falling out.

There was this whole aspect where you could put your hand in and pick out a tooth if you wanted and keep it for good luck.

Irish history, folklore and mythology are among her main inspirations however and are a driving force behind her next big piece. I really want to make this piece that's based off Sile na Gig, and touching on the revival of the old folklore. I'm trying to make this massive sculpture that I'm hoping to put into Sculpture in Context in 2026, so fingers crossed for funding.

See more of Etaoin's work at https://ceramicsbyetaoinoreilly.com/
Taoiseach Charlie Haughey was unhappy after a British marine allegedly put a gun to the neck of a Dubliner while he was sailing on Carlingford Lough in 1991.

There were several instances where leisure boats on the disputed territory of Carlingford Lough had been approached by British patrols in the 1990s.

This included two British naval officers with submachine guns boarding the yacht of Mr Haughey in July 1990, who was not on board at the time.

The incidents on the inlet, located between Co Louth and Co Down, prompted Irish officials to seek the British Government policy underpinning the boardings.

One particular incident, where a marine allegedly put a gun to a Dublin sailors neck and took the safety off, saw Mr Haughey write to the sailor to say the Irish government would be making representations on his behalf.

I was very disturbed to learn of the incident involving your boat in Carlingford Lough and I immediately conveyed my concern to the British authorities through the Anglo-Irish Secretariat who based their approach on your detailed report of the incident, Mr Haughey wrote on June 17.

As part of the annual release of National Archive files in Dublin, several pieces of correspondence detail the incident with the sailor, Sir Henry Barnwell from Glenageary, and his yacht the Lady Jane on Saturday 1 June 1991.

This includes a Garda file on the incident in which it recounts the statement from Sir Henry, his wife Joy, who it said were visibly shaken, and a Swiss friend who was on board the yacht with them.

The Garda file stated that as Mr Barnwell was passing by the Greenore side of the shore, he was approached by two dinghies and two soldiers requested permission to board.

He refused and demanded identification from them, which was refused and they boarded the yacht.

He continued to refuse them permission and one of them said they were arresting him and taking him to Northern Ireland, the statement said.

In attempting to turn Mr Barnwells yacht around, one of the soldiers put a gun to Barnwells neck and grabbed the tiller and strained the tiller socket.

The statement said Mr Barnwell heard someone say over the soldiers radios they have you in the Republic, after which they left the Lady Jane.

The statement noted that two senior gardai inspected the damage done to the yacht and said the tiller socket was definitely strained, the plug for the automatic pilot was ripped from its socket and boot marks were visible on deck.

Mr Barnwell later said that when he resisted the soldiers attempting to wrestle the tiller from him, one of them put a gun to his neck and clocked off the safety catch, according to an official from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The official urged that the issue be raised in strong terms with British authorities and requested a full report on the incident, particularly as the yacht was so close to the Greenore side of the shore and was proceeding to an Irish port.

The aggressive manner in which the boarding was carried out also gives rise to serious concern, a civil servant said.

The holding of a gun to Mr Barnwells neck was a reckless action that could have had the most serious consequences.

Irish civil servants also noted similarities to an incident the previous month, where the Lady Irene yacht was boarded by British marines and in which a woman was struck on the forehead by the boom as they tried to steer it towards Warrenpoint.

They said they wanted assurances that such incidents would not become the norm.

Civil servants also said it was entirely unsatisfactory that Mr Barnwells wife Joy was being investigated by the Northern Ireland Coast Guard for improper use of the mayday frequency  an investigation which was later dropped.

A note to the Taoiseachs department remarked that the British marines had claimed the Lady Jane incident took place to the north of the lough and there was no forcible boarding.

They also said that British authorities responses on the issue were far from reassuring and said the initial response had attempted to characterise Mr Barnwells reluctance to be boarded by armed marines as suspicious behaviour which justified the actions of the soldiers.

But, in a note sent to the Taoiseachs department on September 27, it was noted that an investigation into the incident by British authorities was problematic as Mr Barnwell would not make a formal statement to the RUC about the incident as he does not recognise their jurisdiction in the matter.

There the matter rests, the note said.

Read Next: Interim flood relief measures planned for Dundalk and Blackrock

Mr Barnwell had written to Mr Haughey on June 5 about the incident, stating that he, his wife and friend continued to shake with fear and trepidation for the remainder of the day.

During the rest of the weekend, we were regaled with stories of persistent harassment of Carlingford yachts by these men, he said.

I have had several conversations with the British, whom I fear will concoct some denial to pervert the course of justice, which seems to have become as much a tradition of British culture as their reputation for piracy.

He added: the vibes I have picked up indicate that they are claiming the right to patrol the entire lough and I fear there will be a fatality.

 This article is based on documents contained in the file labelled 2025/115/523 in the National Archives of Ireland.
Schools in some counties could stay closed on Monday following the Christmas and New Year break as some counties deal with heavy snow and ice and Met Eireann weather warnings.

Met Eireann has issued a series of warnings including a Status Yellow snow-ice warning for Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Connacht and Louth.

The warnings says there will be "wintry showers with some snow accumulations, sharp or severe frost and ice also." They say impacts include hazardous Travel conditions and poor visibility. THe warning remains in place from 8am Sunday until 11am on Monday.

A nationwide Status Yellow low temperature warning also warns of some wintry showers elsewhere and widespread ice and frost on roads, leading to treacherous conditions for many. This warning remains in place until 11am on Monday.

Met Eireann says: "Temperatures falling to between -2 and -5 degrees generally. Sharp or severe frost and icy stretches. Black ice too."

This could leave the opening of schools in question but there will not be a blanket decision for the country or even in any one county.

READ NEXT: 'Severe frost' on the way as temperatures are set to drop to -4 this weekend

The Government has issued Be Winter Ready guidelines for schools, with decisions on closures left to the management of individual schools. That means there is a possibility that some schools will choose to close completely or early on Friday.

The Government advice says that the "decision to close a school or ELC rests with the settings management authority taking into consideration the full guidance and direction available from the principal response agencies, especially An Garda Siochana.

"Any decision to close is taken in the interest of child safety, having assessed the local risks and having consulted, as appropriate, with school transport operators.

Some of the issues that settings take into account include conditions in the setting itself; capacity of the setting to ensure the health and safety of children and students; ability of parents, students, staff and school transport services to safely negotiate; local road conditions to reach the setting; guidance and direction from the principal response agencies."

Specifically on weather events, the advice says: "Schools and ELCs should monitor weather forecasts in order to be prepared for any severe weather, which may affect the setting. During periods of severe weather, settings should assess the situation using the above guidance. Settings should be prepared, keep themselves informed and remain vigilant."

The advice continues: "It should be borne in mind that there may also be weather events, which may be fast moving with little warning. For example, consider the case of Storm Darwin in February 2014 where Met Eireann had issued a Status Red alert for the Cork and Kerry regions; however, on that occasion the weather moved rapidly across the southern half of the country affecting a number of other counties.

"There may also be Status Orange weather warnings that may require action to be taken because of the particular local circumstances, for example, in areas prone to flooding or areas located on the coast. Any assessment taken by the setting for actions necessary should be guided by local knowledge and experience and by way of advice from the principal response agencies."

With reference to rare Status Red weather warnings, the circular says: "All weather warnings of Status Red will require some action on behalf of settings. Schools and ELCs need to assess the potential impact of such weather events taking account of past experiences and in light of advice on the current event from the principal response agencies in their area.

"A Status Red weather warning for heavy rain may be particularly relevant if the local area is prone to flooding. A Status Red warning related to ice or snow, which may compact, may cause local issues due to the location of the setting and/or the routes taken to reach the setting.

"Schools and ELCs should note in particular Status Red weather warnings where strong winds or storm conditions are forecasted. Due to the high degree of unpredictability as to the impact of the weather associated with such a Status Red warning on local conditions, settings should use the following guidance to assist them in making their assessment.

"Status Red weather warning for wind related conditions may be given in advance of a setting opening or it may arise during the day while a school or ELC is underway."
A major Aussie council has been forced to step in after fed-up locals slammed a surge in rubbish dumping and illegal camping on the outskirts of town. It's the latest in a growing list of communities battling the problem, fuelled by rule-breakers and a housing crunch, leaving many with nowhere to go.

Rising complaints about illegal camping and littering near Caloundra Aerodrome have thrust the Sunshine Coast into a problem increasingly playing out across Australia, as councils nationwide struggle to manage public land amid a worsening housing crisis.

From regional towns to major cities, local governments are being pushed to intervene as tensions grow between community safety concerns and the lack of alternative accommodation.

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In Caloundra, the problem has now raised serious safety concerns, prompting the Sunshine Coast Council to call in support services.

The Caloundra Aerodrome  owned and operated by Sunshine Coast Council  covers 145 hectares and is mainly used for flight training. It logs around 40,000 aircraft movements each year and provides jobs for more than 120 people.

But locals say conditions surrounding the aerodrome land have deteriorated sharply in recent months, sparking growing unease among workers and nearby residents.

Is this happening near you? Contact newsroomau@yahoonews.com

Locals say conditions surrounding the aerodrome land have deteriorated sharply. Source: Sunshine Coast News

Mounting calls for action at the Caloundra Aerodrome

Councillor Terry Landsberg warned the situation had escalated beyond homelessness and was now posing genuine safety risks.

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"The situation out there is much more than a homeless issue. There is genuine concern for the safety of employees and staff at the Caloundra Aerodrome," he told Sunshine Coast News.

Landsberg said he had been pushing for intervention for months, as frustrations continued to build.

"This matter is escalating, and we need to relocate this illegal encampment to another location," he said.

"I understand that businesses at the aerodrome have raised multiple complaints to police in relation to this matter, property has been destroyed, and assaults have occurred.

Related: Residents torn after spotting illegal act with $140 fine by Aussie beach

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"Not sure what we are waiting for, but the writing is on the wall for something more serious to happen."

Council said it was attempting to walk a fine line between enforcement and empathy  a balance authorities across the country are increasingly being forced to strike.

"We have engaged with support services and can confirm both Department of Housing and Public Works and Integrated Family and Youth Service (IFYS) have attended the location offering support, a spokesperson said.

It said the issue itself was not being treated as illegal camping.

"Council does not consider homelessness to be illegal camping and recognises that it is a significant, distressing, and ongoing issue for some people in our region, especially at this time of the year," they said.

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"The initial approach from our teams is to talk to those experiencing homelessness to help connect them with services best placed to provide immediate support and access to services."

Council said its focus remained on improving outcomes for both the broader community and vulnerable people.

"Council shares the communitys concerns and is committed to safer public spaces and better outcomes for people experiencing homelessness," they said.

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"This is a complex challenge, and progress depends on partnerships, with that work already underway."

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Adi Roche, voluntary CEO of Chernobyl Children International (CCI), wont allow herself to be described as saintly or even altruistic (which she clearly is), saying that her work with the charity she founded in response to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 has a lot to do with maintaining her own sanity.

It actually is about my own salvation, my sanity and my sense of humanity, because otherwise, I think I would be paralysed. I wouldnt be able to function. I often say Im impassioned with life to be able to do this, she says.

Adi, who turned 70 last year, but looks years younger, always stresses the generous aid that CCI receives from the Irish people as well as the work of volunteers that keep the charity going. (There has been aid delivery worth 108m to impoverished communities and children across the Chernobyl region and some 26,500 children have been given rest and recuperation holidays with host families in Ireland.)

I often think the compassion we Irish feel is rooted in our own colonised past.

She believes in race memory and our collective hangover from the Great Irish Famine of 1845.

Its why Ireland gave more money per capita to Live Aid than any other country in the world. This compassion is a gift from our ancestors.

Asked if she is religious, Adi says: Yeah, we would be a religious house. My husband (Sean Dunne, retired music teacher and music fanatic) is very involved in our local church, St Michaels. While Im not a daily Mass goer, I believe in a living faith. I hope thats what I try to do. The message of Jesus Christ was about love, compassion and justice. There things are rooted in the philosophy of how I approach things. When somebody asks if I take sides, I say, absolutely. The side Im on is the side of peace, but not just peace by itself, because you cant have peace without justice.

Adi, the youngest of four, grew up in Clonmel, Co Tipperary. Both parents were from Co Cork with her mother from Liscarroll and her father from Doneraile. Growing up, Adi remembers the Holly Bough being posted to the Roche family every year in the lead up to Christmas by her maternal grandmother. The other treasured memory was the lighting of the candle at a window in the familys home for the passing stranger.

Even to this day, the lighting of the candle is a huge thing for all of us and we each do it in our own homes. My parents would say that not everybody has a home or food on the table or coal in the fire. Even at a young age, without any preaching, we had a sense of being very lucky. We had a sense of responsibility and conscience towards others. I often say that my life was shaped by my own personal history. The language we use today has changed. We would now say that my parents were social justice activists.

Adis father, a technical engineer, ran Meals on Wheels in Clonmel. And both my parents were very involved in St Vincent de Paul. Both were politically active in the local Fianna Fail cumann.

They also worked with the Travelling community. Wed have Travellers coming to the house. We got great example. There were always debates around the dining room table. I remember discussions about war and Vietnam. Often, there were raised voices and rows.

Later, what almost destroyed the family was the wrongful dismissal of Adis brother, Donal de Roiste from the Irish Defence Forces. He was eventually exonerated over 50 years later but the Roche parents didnt live to see their sons name cleared. The controversy was brought up by the press during Adis presidential campaign in 1997 when she ran for office backed by the Labour Party.

Adi, who has been garlanded with awards, accolades and honours, including addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2016, has no plans to stop working.

People say, will you not retire? Do you know what, as long as I have my legs under me and the brain is still functioning, this is my passion and it is my life. Im a lifelong advocate and activist for peace, justice and the environment.

She left her job at Aer Lingus in 1984 to work as a full-time volunteer for CND (the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) and still believes in the ideal of a nuclear free world.

Her campaigning is, she says, in her DNA.

Its not like its a chore. I think it is such a privilege to be able to reach into the life of another human being and to say were all brothers and sisters, part of the shared humanity. Is ar scath a cheile a mhaireann na daoine (We live in the shadow of each other).

Adi admits that she can no longer look at the gruesome images coming from Gaza and from Ukraine.

All I want is for solutions to be found.

She says she prefers to operate collectively in her campaigning work.

We dont have to all love each other but we can learn to respect one another and negotiate. Love is at the core of everything.

2026 will mark 40 years since the Chernobyl disaster.

To mark it, Adi hopes that she can get City Hall involved. There will also be the unveiling of a sculpture by Sandra Bell, donated by Bill Keary of Keary Motors.

The sculpture will embrace the work that we have been doing. Its important to humanise the history of what happened 40 years ago, to tell the story again, in order to ensure it never happens again.

This feature originally appeared in the 2025 Holly Bough .
A giant of Irelands music scene, who helped to educate the musical tastes of generations of fans, is to play a special fundraising gig in his hometown this month.

Introducing many Irish fans to the music of the likes of Tom Waits, Randy Newman, Guy Clark, Warren Zevon and John Hiatt, Freddie White has been part of the live music scene in Ireland since the 1970s.

Born in Cobh, he was playing professionally by the age of 17 and he moved to London at 19, where he busked on the London Underground, developing his unique voice and guitar style.

His earliest recordings, which were re-mastered and re-released in 2004, are still hugely popular among his loyal fan base.

Hi 1978 album, Live on Tour, was described by The Irish Times as still among the greatest Irish albums of all time, while no Irish record collection would be complete without his 1981 album Do You Do.

In recent years, he has toured Ireland regularly, while working on his latest recordings.

Gesture of generosity

This month he will play a special fundraising concert in Cobh, in support of Great Island Theatre, something described by the theatre group as not only a homecoming for the acclaimed artist but also a powerful gesture of generosity toward the cultural life of Cobh.

All proceeds will go directly toward the ongoing efforts to establish a permanent theatre space on Great Island, described by the group as an investment not only in local culture, but in the creative future of generations to come.

His decision to perform this fundraising concert underscores a genuine connection to his roots and a commitment to supporting the artistic future of his hometown.

Freddie White plays Christchurch, Lake Road, Cobh, at 7.30pm on Saturday, January 24.

Tickets are available online at www.greatislandtheatre.ie. There will be a limited number of tickets available at the door on the night.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin will today travel to China for an official visit to Beijing and Corks twin city of Shanghai.

This will be the first official by a Taoiseach to China for 14 years

Mr Martins schedule will include high-level meetings with Chinese president Xi Jinping, premier Li Qiang and chairman of the National Peoples Congress, Zhao Leji.

A spokesperson for the Department of the Taoiseach said that during these meetings Mr Martin will discuss a range of issues including Irelands bilateral relationship with China, our important economic and trading relationship, EU-China relations, and shared global challenges.

At a time of global turbulence, he will emphasise the importance of effective multilateral institutions to promote peace and security, and to ensure a fair trading environment., said the spokesperson.

Business leaders

During his four-day visit Mr Martin will also engage with both Irish and Chinese business leaders and investors across a broad range of sectors, including financial services, further education, and food and beverages.

China is Irelands largest trading partner in Asia and our fifth largest trading partner globally, with total trade in goods and services between the two countries valued at 36bn in 2023, the last year for which full figures are available.

China is Irelands sixth largest goods exports market and our eighth largest services export market, with Irish exports driven by medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and computer services as well as agri-food and, increasingly, financial services.

It is estimated that Irish companies support in the region of 5,000 jobs in China. Conversely, 30 IDA client companies from China employ 5,000 employees across 36 Irish based operations.

Last year, China was ranked sixth among global destinations for Irish agri-food exports with exports of 613 million.

Twinned

Cork city has been twinned with Shanghai since 2005.

Last November the Lord Mayor of Cork, councillor Fergal Dennehy, led a delegation from Cork City Council to Shanghai, marking the 20th anniversary of the twinning partnership.

During the visit Mr Dennehy met with Mayor Gong Zheng, with the latter saying that Shanghai and Cork share close ties as the first pair of friendship cities established between China and Irelan.

Mr Dennehy expressed his willingness to further strengthen cooperation between the two cities over the next two decades, particularly in issues including urban renewal, education, and research, as well as promoting cultural and tourism exchanges.

During his visit to Shanghai, Mr Martin will also meet Mayor Gong Zheng, as well as engaging with a range of business leaders, focusing on a range of issues including trade, investment, and tourism.

Speaking ahead of the visit to China, Mr Martin said he was looking forward to deepening the political, cultural, and economic connections between our two countries.

Deepening relations

"My meetings and engagements in Beijing and Shanghai provide an opportunity to deepen Irelands relations with China and to discuss a range of opportunities and challenges, said Mr Martin.

I look forward to engaging with president Xi, premier Li and chairman Zhao. In addition to discussing the broad relationship between Ireland and China, we will exchange views on pressing global challenges including peace and security and the trading environment."

Mr Martin said he will be stressing the importance of a strong EU-China relationship, as well as robust and effective multilateral institutions.

"I also look forward to meeting Chinese and Irish business people to explore the opportunities that exist for both Irish and Chinese investors and exporters.

"In Beijing, there will be a particular focus on further and higher education - an important area with a lot of potential for both partners, and where cooperation will yield longer-term dividends in terms of research and innovation, and people-to-people links, said Mr Martin.
Family members of a young Brazilian librarian who was found dead in a flat in Cork city centre on New Years Day in 2023 are set to travel to Ireland later this month for the trial of a man charged with her murder.

Bruna Fonseca (28) was a native of Formiga in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

She graduated from the Centro Universitario de Formiga in 2018 and moved to Cork in September 2022.

She was working as a contract cleaner in the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) at the time of her death.

In a statement MUH described Ms Fonseca as a hard and diligent worker and an esteemed colleague. She had travelled to Ireland to further improve her English.

In excess of 50,000 was raised after a Cork based cousin and a niece of Ms Fonseca set up a Go Fund Me page in order to repatriate her body to her home country.

Ms Fonseca was buried in Formiga on January 16, 2023.

She is survived by her parents Tadeu Jose Fonseca and Marina Dos Reis Palharares Fonseca and her sister Izabel.

Following the death of Bruna members of the Brazilian community organised a vigil at the Lough in Cork. She used to go for walks in the picturesque area and had settled in to life in Ireland.

Charged

A 29 year old Brazilian man was previously charged with the murder of Ms Fonseca who was found dead in a flat on Liberty Street in Cork on January 1, 2023.

He first appeared before a special sitting of Cork District Court on January 2nd, 2023.

The charge read that on January 1st, 2023 at 5 Liberty Street Miller Pacheco did murder one Bruna Fonseca contrary to common law. The charge was translated for him by a Portuguese interpreter.

A murder trial is set to get underway on January 12 next at a sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Cork.

Mr Pacheco has been in custody since he was first charged with the murder of Ms Fonseca.
Macroom coffee company Fzin Coffee has been awarded multiple European honours at The Women Changing the World Awards. The awards recognise leadership, sustainability, and social impact.

Fzin Coffee received silver in the business-of-the-year category, for its work in reducing single-use plastic and aluminium waste by replacing traditional coffee pods and packaging with compostable, lower-impact alternatives.

Co-founder and managing partner of Fzin Coffee, Sofia Kalfa, won gold in the rising-star category, bronze in the change-maker category, and an honourable mention in the leader-of- the-year category.

Ms Kalfa said she is proud that work done in Macroom is being recognised beyond Ireland.

What matters most to me about this recognition is that it places an Irish business on a European stage. Were not only representing our company at these awards, we are representing Cork and Ireland.

"I will be travelling to Paris in April to attend the awards ceremony and bring these recognitions back to Ireland.
Latest:

A woman in her thirties, arrested in connection with a drugs seizure in Cork and Limerick worth an estimated 31,600, has been released without charge, while a man in his forties remains in garda custody.

The arrests were made on Friday evening by members of the Limerick Divisional Drugs Unit, following searches of residences in Bruree, Co Limerick and Charleville, Co Cork.

Quantities of cocaine, cannabis, benzodiazapine, and amphetamines, with an estimated value in excess of 310,600, were seized by gardai.

The man and woman were held in a Co Limerick garda station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996, but the woman was released on Sunday, with gardai saying a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The man continues to be held in garda custody.

Earlier:

A woman in her thirties and a man in his forties have been arrested following seizures of drugs estimated to be worth more than 310,600 in Co Cork and Co Limerick.

The arrests, by members of the Limerick Divisional Drugs Unit, occurred on Friday evening following searches of residences in Bruree, Co Limerick and Charleville, Co Cork.

The searches were carried out as part of an ongoing series of investigations into the sale and supply of drugs in the region.

The seized drugs, which are subject to analysis by Forensic Science Ireland, have been estimated to worth in excess of 310,600.

Gardai carried out an initial search of a residence in Bruree, Co Limerick and seized cannabis with an estimated value of 198,000, cocaine thought to be worth 10,500, Xanax tablets valued at 79,252, and amphetamines said to be worth 4,350.

Xanax is a brand name for the prescription medication alprazolam, which is a benzodiazepine, a tranquiliser primarily used for the short-term treatment of severe anxiety and panic disorders.

Across the county border, a follow-up search of a residence in Charleville led to the seizure of cocaine estimated to be worth 17,500, and cannabis valued at 1000, as well as weighing scales and drugs paraphernalia.

A woman aged in her thirties and a man aged in his forties were arrested and are currently being held under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996 at a Co Limerick garda station.

A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana said investigations are ongoing.

Those investigations are being carried out under the remit of Operation Tara, An Garda Siochanas enhanced national anti-drugs strategy, which came into force in July 2021, and which has a strong focus on tackling street-level dealing in cities, towns and villages across the country.

Members of the public with information on drug importation and supply can report the information to the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
Snow has been reported to be falling steadily on higher ground across Cork county on Sunday evening, as temperatures drop and a Met Eireann status yellow low temperature and ice warning comes into effect for Cork and 16 other counties.

Overnight temperatures are expected to drop as low as -5 on Sunday night, and the weather warning will remain in effect until 11am tomorrow.

Met Eireann has forecasted sharp or severe frost and icy stretches across affected areas, with black ice expected locally and treacherous travel conditions throughout the warning periods.

Rainfall, sleet and snow are also expected overnight throughout Cork county, with a high probability of freezing fog and mist.

Cork County Council has deployed snow ploughs to Priority 1 and Priority 2 routes, and will be treating all Priority 1 and Priority 2 routes overnight, while Priority 3 routes will be treated during daylight on Monday.

Met Eireann's staus yellow low temperature and ice warning affects Carlow, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Longford, Meath, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow.

A status yellow snow-ice warning for Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Louth, Mayo, Monaghan, Roscommon, and Sligo will come into effect tonight at 6pm.

The six counties will also be under an overnight status yellow snow and ice warning, the UK Met Office said.

Motorists are advised to avoid unnecessary journeys, and, if they must travel, they are advised to drive with extreme care as icy stretches and black ice is likely across the county, even on treated roadways.

Pedestrians and cyclists should exercise extreme caution as footpaths and other untreated surfaces could be treacherous.

The public is advised to prepare for this period of severe weather, and among those measures to ensure mobile phones are fully charged and with them on all journeys.

In an emergency dial 999 or 112.

Met Eireann will give up-to-date forecasts on met.ie, and Cork County Councils website www.corkcoco.ie and social media channels @Corkcoco will provide updates on treated routes and council services.
Cork City Libraries turned the Mayfield Library branch into a grandmasters arena for the citys third annual Festival of Chess competition.

Festive jumpers were on display for the pre-Christmas tournament, as five-person teams came from across Cork city for the round robin tournament, overseen by Irish youth international, Mark McGrath.

Luke Montgomery in deep concentration as he ponders his next move.

Team formation was entirely random, apart from age consideration, and the teams were then given their pre-prepared names, the Pernickety Pawns, Catastrophic Castles, Knutty Knights, Blasphemous Bishops, Quacked Queens and Krazy Kings. Each team played three rounds with one point awarded for a team win.

The Krazy Kings, captained by Laura Winiarska, and including Yong Wen He, Paul McSweeny, Oscar Grahame and Anna Diachenko, emerged as the strongest force and eventual champions with 2.5 points thanks to the efforts of the team.

Cathal Sexton plots his next move

They were crowned champions and received the Festival of Chess perpetual silver cup and 25 vouchers each.

Second and third positions couldnt have been closer with the Blasphemous Bishops and Quacked Queens on two points each, the decision going to the Queens as they had defeated the Bishops in their pairing.

Henry Draper collected a 20 voucher for having the best Christmas jumper on the day, while James Donoghue received a 20 voucher for having the best Christmas accessory  reindeer antlers.

Exhibition

Mayfield Librarys January exhibition will see artist Tina Shee capture the humanity of help and connection in a collection of portraits of the characters in her life.

The portraits are predominantly of home support workers who assist Ms Shee in her daily life, as she navigates her world from her wheelchair, as well as portraits of friends and family, past and present.

Ms Shee explained that the main Irish home care agencies had struggled to find staff in her remote location.

As I was coming to terms with going into a nursing home and losing my independence I was contacted by a new home care agency, TKY. They agreed to take me on and started sending carers twice a day, seven days a week.

Most of the carers are African many from Zimbabwe and Nigeria. Ive had many different people coming and going and they are all respectful, caring, efficient and fun. My life has been enriched beyond measure by knowing these people.

Ms Shee attended the Cork Municipal College of Art and later painted and exhibited work, as well as working as a web designer. For the past 10 years she been confined to a wheelchair.

The exhibition will be open until the end of January. Ms Shee also takes commissions from reference photos and can be contacted at 086 1931189, 021 4832481, or tinashee@yahoo.co.uk.
My research into Corks Jewish history started in 2017, when I was writing a musical play set in Cork in the early 1900s. The synagogue had closed the year before. To date, I have interviewed over 50 local residents and Cork-born Jews and their descendants now living world-wide. After I made my Cork Jewish Culture Virtual Walk documentary during lockdown, many people contacted me to tell me about their life in Corks Jewish community, sending me memoirs and photos, which I have recently compiled into a digital archive to be housed in Cork Public Museum. My book, Ghosts of Jewish Cork  People, Places, Culture, is currently seeking a publisher.

Early in my research, I was introduced to a lovely lady called Siobhan Moynihan. Siobhan lived her whole life in Monerea Terrace in Cork. She fondly remembered her Jewish neighbour, an old friend of Siobhans mother, Fanny Goldwater nee Sandler. Fanny died the same year that Woolworths closed in Cork, 1984. Siobhan remembered it well, because Fanny had helped Siobhan to get a job in Woolworths when she was a young adult. Fannys family were amongst the orthodox Jewish families who had moved to Cork from small villages in northern Lithuania in the late 1800s. Fanny was the last of the Jewish community to live in the Jewtown area, which encompasses Albert Road, Monerea Terrace, Eastville, and Hibernian Buildings.

Siobhan told me that her mother used to go in and light the gas in the middle room for Fanny on Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath which falls on Friday night and Saturday, as religious Jews dont handle money on the day of rest, or do any other kind of work including striking a match, according to Jewish law. They spent their whole lives a few doors from each other, and were in and out of each others houses, watching TV together, especially after Harry Goldwater, Fannys husband, passed away. Their lives were shared although their backgrounds were so different -one Jewish, the other Catholic.

Siobhans house had formerly been the home of a Jewish family, the Elyans, and when they moved away from the area, one item remained - a mezuzah, on the door of the front room. A mezuzah is a small box with a scroll of parchment in it, on which a prayer  the Shema - is inscribed. This item is fixed to the doorposts of Jewish houses. Siobhan was very proud of her mezuzah, and even when asked to give it to the Jewish community, she refused, as it was so special to her. She cherished it, dusted and polished it, and promised that on her death it would be passed on to a Jewish organisation.

One day around 2005, a certain Fay Robinson was searching for links to her Jewish family in Cork, and found Siobhan. Fays mother was Dinah, a sister of Harry Goldwater. Dinah and Harry had also grown up in Jewtown, at Hibernian Buildings. Fay and Siobhan became great pals, so continuing the Jewish-Catholic friendships through the generations. Fay remembers that when she got a Christmas card from Siobhan, it was always signed, From the lady with the most polished mezuzah in Ireland.

In recent years, the Elyan family, who lived in the area for over 50 years, have dedicated a bench in Shalom Park. This is the small park in the Jewtown area, where the gas balloons once were when Siobhan was a girl, when there were many more Jewish families living in the area. Shalom Park commemorates the former community through its name, which means Peace, and also through Evening Echo, an installation of street lamps created by artist Maddie Leach. Eight lamps light every night, but one of the lamps lights up only once a year, on the eighth day of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights. This is a lovely occasion for locals and Jewish visitors alike, and is followed by the lighting of Chanukah candles in the City Hall.

Next door to Fanny Goldwater lived Rev Khan and his wife and family, in Monerea House. He was the minister to Corks Jewish community in the 1920s. That house is now derelict, but Rev Khan is not forgotten. His grand-daughter Carol visited Cork in summer 2025 to see the old sites. A few weeks earlier, I had been contacted by a local woman, Linda Wadsworth, whose grandfather had been a butcher for the Jewish community on Wednesday afternoons, when his own workplace had a half-day. I introduced Carol to Linda, and it was amazing for them to meet up and realise that their grandfathers would have been colleagues a hundred years ago.

Carol Levstein outside Monerea House, where her grandparents Rev and Mrs Khan and her mother Ray lived as a child.

Hemmy Elyan was one of the children who grew up in the area. He had a lovely voice, and would have sang along with gusto in the synagogue when Rev Khan led the prayers on a Saturday morning. When Hemmy was 4 or 5 years old there was a visiting group of Polish Jewish actors who put on a show in Yiddish in a big room at 9, South Terrace next to the synagogue. The play was Das Pintele Yid (The Focal Point of Jewishness) and Hemmy was selected to act with them. He had to lie in his stage mothers arms, and sing the song Das Pintele Yid. I have a recording of him singing this song when he was 85 years old, in an interview with his grandson Stuart, and its a lovely reminder of the vitality of the former community.

Hemmy remembered Chatzke Lovitchs shop in Eastville, which sold pickled cucumbers from a barrel. When there was a bit of extra money, Hemmys mother Sarah would send him to get two pickled cucumbers, and he would sometimes steal a couple extra from the barrel, on the pretext of adding a little salt water to the tin containing the gherkins he had just purchased. Hemmy said that local people couldnt pronounce the gutteral ch and used to call Chatzke Mr Chatset. Chatzke Lovitch was also remembered by Hemmys brother Lawrence (Larry) Elyan, who wrote in the 1949 Cork Jewish Times about some of the religious characters in Corks Jewish community of 30 years earlier. Larry Elyan later became one of the founders of the Progressive Synagogue in Dublin, and also acted in some plays in Dublin, including The Strings, My Lord, Are False.

Although it is about 100 years since these events took place, the old community is not forgotten, and during Heritage Week this year, I led a walk around the Jewish areas, and gave a couple of talks, one in Cork Public Museum where there is a permanent exhibition of some of the artefacts from the former synagogue. I hope it helps to keep the memory of the old community alive, and to introduce younger Corkonians to a little-known part of the citys history.

This feature originally appeared in the 2025 Holly Bough .
Significance:Tilly's theory provides a powerful explanation for the rise of strong, centralized states, viewing them as products of violence and coercion rather than peaceful social contracts, though its applicability beyond Europe remains debated.

"War made the state, and the state made war" is a famous saying by sociologist Charles Tilly, explaining that warfare drove European state formation by forcing rulers to develop armies, taxation, and bureaucracies to fund conflict, while these stronger states, in turn, were better equipped to wage war, creating a cycle of increasing centralization and capacity through coercive power, extraction, and protection. This bellicist theory posits that states emerged from rulers acting like warlords, needing to extract resources (men, money, arms) to fight rivals, which built institutions like permanent armies, tax systems, and centralized authority, ultimately leading to modern, powerful states that could then initiate larger-scale conflicts.

Author: Young, Laura D. Journal: Social Evolution & History. Volume 21, Number 1 / March 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30884/seh/2022.01.07

Though much is written about coercive theories of state formation and the role of war in the formation of the modern territorial state, no comprehensive quantitative test of the theory, made famous by Charles Tilly, that war makes states exists. Data collected and analyzed from George Kohn's (2000) Dictionary of Wars and Valerie Bockstette, Areendam Chanda and Louis Putterman's (2002) State Antiquity Index finally brings quantitative support for the argument that war makes states, providing insight into the impact of conflict on the ability of groups to form states with strong institutional capacity. The results confirm Tilly's theory: war plays a prominent role in the formation of strong states, though, location and foreign occupation also matter.

Keywords: coercive theories, conflict, state capacity, state formation, war.

Laura D. Young, Georgia Gwinnett College more

INTRODUCTION

In 1992, Charles Tilly published Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990  1992. The book introduces a coercive theory of state formation that analyzes the development of the modern territorial state in Western Europe. Tilly's main argument is that war is the driving force that leads to the modern territorial state. His theory, war makes states, has gone on to become one of the leading theories of state formation in comparative politics; though, he is, of course, not the only one to make this argument. While much is written about coercive theories of state formation, at least to this author's knowledge, no comprehensive quantitative test of this theory exists. As a result, this paper constructs a dataset from 0  1600 CE to test Tilly's theory that the consequences of preparing for and waging war leads to the formation of the modern territorial state. The results add quantitative support for the argument that war really does make states.1

The relationship between conflict and state formation is important because how the state evolved explains why some states develop institutions with a great deal of capacity while others suffer from a lack of capacity altogether. This, in turn, leads to more probing questions such as why some states failed to establish modern political institutions in places like Iraq, Somalia, and Afghanistan. Moreover, how a state evolved has important consequences regarding its interactions in the international system. A state that controls its territory and has a monopoly over the legitimate use of force, for example, is better equipped to conquer nations lacking these capacities. This difference explains the consequence of various state behaviors in the international environment. Because European states developed many more organized and centralized government structures sooner than Asia and Africa, for example, European states dominated international relations for most of the pre-modern and modern era (Kennedy 1987).

One of the reasons why no one has undertaken a quantitative analysis of Tilly's theory is likely because of the lack of available data. Although several datasets on war in the modern era exist, a comprehensive dataset on wars in the pre-modern era does not. Likewise, because states in their present-day form did not exist in the pre-modern era, accounting for state capacity during this period can be problematic. Fortunately, George Kohn's (2000) Dictionary of Wars and Valerie Bockstette, Areendam Chanda and Louis Putterman's (2002) State Antiquity Index, provide information useful to construct a dataset to test whether conflict led to the modern territorial state.

Unlike Tilly's original theory which focused on Europe, I test the hypotheses in Africa and Asia as well. I argue if war makes states, then we should expect to find that the reason why states failed to form in many parts of Africa prior to colonialism (despite the fact humans existed here millions of years longer than in Europe), for example, is because there was a lack of conflict in this region. The findings confirm the hypothesis. The more conflict a state faces, the more likely it is to develop strong institutional capacity. Those states that faced the least conflict, most often developed the weakest institutions. The results also reveal conflict-prone neighbors can make even peaceful neighbors not engaging in conflict increase their strength to survive.

LITERATURE REVIEW

In Coercion, Capital and European States, AD 990  1992, Charles Tilly makes the case that the modern state structure is a consequence of the necessity of waging war. War made the state, and the state made war, he argues. Tilly does not disagree with economic and class-based theories2 that argue the internal make-up of states (e.g., how classes are organized) is important regarding the variation in state development. He disagrees, however, that it is the main impetus that created the modern territorial state. Instead, the organization of classes merely affects the way in which rulers extract the means (e.g., taxes, people) necessary to engage in coercive efforts. Further, areas that were capital-intensive rather than coercive never fully developed into states. These areas remained city-states instead. The driving force behind state formation is, therefore, the preparation for and engagement in war. Those rulers that were most effective in concentrating and accumulating the means of coercion created an environment in which states grew (Tilly 1992: 19).

Tilly is not the only one that argues coercive theories explain state formation. Thomas Ertman agrees the territorial state triumphed over other possible political forms [of rule] because of the superior fighting ability which it derived from access to both urban capital and coercive authority over peasant taxpayers and army recruits (Ertman 1997: 4). In short, war-making and, most notably, the extraction of capital were the essential elements in the formation and survival of early states. Thus, the stronger the state, the more efficient it is at extracting capital (Acemoglu 2005), and thus, the more successful it is at waging war (Glete 2002; Spruyt 1997).3

Coercive theories suggest several reasons why war leads to states. First, because leaders must administer the lands, goods and people they acquire it requires more institutions and a larger bureaucratic organization. Specifically, war builds up an infrastructure of taxation, supply, and administration that requires maintenance of itself. Bureaucracies form as a result (Tilly 1992: 20). For example, the ruler's creation of armed forces generates a stronger state structure because it brings with it bureaucratic organization such as treasuries, supply services, and tax bureaus.4 War also helps consolidate power in the governing body because of the collection of capital. The collection of capital is important for a state to wage war successfully. Therefore, those states which created a structure that efficiently extracted capital proved more successful in waging war, and, consequently, consolidating power (Tilly 1992). Members of society deferred to the ruler because they were dependent on the ruler for protection against competing neighbors. This deferral allowed for the strengthening of power in the ruler and provided opportunities for the ruler to structure society so that it could raise taxes as well as establish bureaucratic entities to manage society. Cities, and then eventually states, formed because of the increased ability for the collection of revenue (Tilly 1992).

Another benefit of war is that it helps societies consolidate under one rule much quicker. Specifically, war helps secure a distinct territory which is essential for defining not only the physical boundaries of a state, but also demarcates the people under the state's rule. In addition, war can expand the territory inhabited by villages and tribes into greater areas which not only supports more population, but also greatly expands the power of the up-and-coming state. This distinction helps to further consolidate power and strengthen the state.

Though Tilly's theory applies to the modern state system, war was also an important catalyst in the formation of the premodern state. In fact, the idea that warfare is a modern invention is disproven by exhaustive evidence which shows a continuous use of violence by prehistoric human societies (Fukuyama 2011: 73). Interestingly, though, few of these wars resulted in conquest of new territory by the victor. This lack of conquest is likely because, as Francis Fukuyama explains, war can occur for several reasons other than for control of territory. War is also fought spontaneously or for prestige, honor, economic purposes, or revenge. Nevertheless, overwhelming evidence suggests conflict occurred most frequently in antiquity when a society suffered from a large population with scarce resources to support it (Carneiro 1970). This point is important because disputes over territory were unique in that these battles usually resulted in the conquest of land and foreign peoples by the victor. Therefore, unlike other forms of warfare where the acquisition of territory and people did not occur, conquest warfare  spurred by conflict over resources  created conditions that required the creation of institutions with enough capacity to manage the ever-increasing complex society, thus representing the origins and development of the early state (Carneiro 1970).

In sum, when it comes to state formation, coercive theories argue war is essential to the origins and development of the state  whether in the premodern or modern era  since war comes with several benefits which help to consolidate power and strengthen societies. In particular, war fosters the growth of a complex bureaucracy necessary to support the war effort, and it helps consolidate power for the ruler as well as territory. Those societies most efficient at creating these institutions and consolidating power, therefore, develop the strongest states. The absence of war, on the other hand, does not necessarily preclude a state from forming strong institutions, but without war, the need to form strong institutions is less important.

DEFINITIONS, DATA AND RESULTS

State formation is a topic given a lot of attention within comparative politics, and despite the theoretical evidence available to support Tilly's findings regarding the impact of war on the creation of the modern state structure, as mentioned, no quantitative analysis exists to test this theory. This is likely because discussing the formation of states presents many obstacles. How one defines the term state or state capacity, for example, can vary significantly. In addition, discussing the capacity of a state in a period before the state formed requires an understanding of the evolution of states.

Because scholars, predictably, disagree on exactly what social or cultural complexity, or a civilization, or a state, is, there is no universally accepted definition (Wenke 1999: 331). In fact, there are no shortage of competing definitions mainly because a definition of the state always depends on distinguishing it from society, and the line between the two is difficult to draw in practice (Mitchell 1991: 77). Although less of a problem when examining societies individually, it becomes particularly problematic when attempting cross-country analysis.

The second reason it is so difficult to define a state is because scholars, in particular political scientists, think of a state in very limited terms. Realism, for instance, defines states simply as unitary, rational, and geographically-based actors. Defining power in terms of relative military, economic, and even political capabilities allows for states to have different levels of power (Morgenthau 1948). Unfortunately, this definition lacks the ability to distinguish at what point a group reaches the unitary-rational-geographically-based-actor status. While useful at the international level, it does little to help explain much else about states outside of that arena. In addition, the literature has reduced the state to a subjective system of decision making. This view is narrow and idealist because it attempts to divide the state from society with an elusive boundary scholars try to fix with the right definition. Instead, we need to examine the detailed political processes through which the uncertain yet powerful distinction between state and society is produced (Mitchell 1991: 85).

Moreover, common definitions of a state in political science provide little room to think about the state outside of a fully developed stage. In fact, we consider states that do not meet these stringent requirements as failed states even though, clearly, some institutions still exist in its place. As Alexander Wenke puts it, Even in our own age, it is difficult to avoid the notions that simpler societies are incompletely developed, and that all the world's cultures are at various points along a gradient whose apex is the modern Western industrial community (1999: 336). Despite acknowledging variation exists when it comes to distinguishing what constitutes a state, it is still problematic to discuss the characteristics of a state such as Germany, or China, or even South Africa a thousand years ago when only individual groups lived in these areas and states in their present-day form clearly did not exist at that time.

Though states did not exist in their present form hundreds or thousands of years ago, this does not mean that the origins of the Germanic people that currently make up the modern-day state of Germany, for example, are not identifiable in some other type of societal structure prior to the modern-day state era. Cultural evolution is not a continuous, cumulative gradual change, in most places Fits and Starts better describes it (Wenke 1999: 336). In short, states take on many shapes over the course of thousands of years of formation. Thus, to understand this process requires thinking outside the rigid definitions of a state that typically apply only to the modern territorial state.

In addition, focus is often placed on the type of institutions within a state to help explain its formation. This, too, does little to further our knowledge as to why states in Africa failed to develop the capacity of states in Europe. The type or ideology or institutions in a state matter, but matter to a much less extent than typically portrayed. An autocratic regime can maintain strong infrastructure, institutions, and internal as well as external military control just like a democratic regime. Likewise, some democracies suffer from a lack of capacity, especially newly transitioning ones. Because state capacity is not dependent upon the type of institutions in place, it is necessary to broaden how we think about states. Without a new way of thinking, research remains blocked in its ability to fully explain the modern state, much less the differentiation in capacity across regions.

With this in mind, and drawing from various disciplines' definitions of state, society, and civilization, I define a state as a society with some sort of rituals, traditions, and rules that can differentiate in terms of structural organization, such as levels of hierarchy, as well as capacity to project power both internally and externally. This definition meets most basic assumptions about the various components that make up a state. It also makes it possible to discuss a state throughout different levels across time and space. In other words, reworking the definition of a state to include specific characteristics of differing groups allows us to study the evolution of a particular state during a period when the modern-day version did not exist. Though they do not specifically frame their discussion of state formation in this same way, authors such as James Scott (2009), Francis Fukuyama (2011), Jared Diamond (2009), and Max Weber (1946) explore the evolution of the state, or the lack thereof in Scott's case, in much this same way by starting with the organization of societies in primitive times. Robert J. Wenke likewise defines society in a similar fashion (1999: 332).

It is necessary to note this definition differs from that given to nation. Although it defines one characteristic of a state as having some sort of ritual, traditions, and rules, this is not the same as having a shared identity or culture. Though important for state strength, it does not accurately define state. As Walker Connor explains, a state is tangible  readily defined and easily quantified. Peru, for illustration, can be defined in an easily conceptualized manner as the territorial-political unit consisting of sixteen million inhabitants of the 514,060 square miles located on the west coast of South America between 69 and 80 west, and 2 and 18, 21 south (1978: 300). No mention about the identity of the people in the area is necessary to identify the state. Therefore, a state can be thought of as the territory over which a central power makes claim to political power and can demonstrate that power by extracting compliance from inhabitants and recognition of this power over the territory from foreigners and other states.

Nations, on the other hand, are intangible, self-defined, and consist of a psychological bond that joins a people and differentiates it, in the subconscious conviction of its members, from all other people in a most vital way (Connor 1978: 300301). A popular definition in international relations of a nation is that it consists of a social group which shares a common ideology, common institutions and customs, and a sense of homogenetry. The group may have a sense of belonging to a particular territory, though certain religious sects also exhibit these same characteristics (Connor 1978: 301304). International relations scholars have gone to great lengths to differentiate between state and nation. Nevertheless, having defined the nation as an essentially psychological phenomenon, scholars still treat the term as fully synonymous with the very different and totally tangible concept of the state (Connor 1978: 301).

The merger of these two terms is problematic. Though the more homogenous a society the easier it is for a state to establish institutions with a great deal of capacity, it is not an essential component for state formation. In fact, Connor surveyed 132 states and found that only 12 states, or 9.1 per cent, qualified as nation-states. In this era of immigration and cultural diffusion, he cautions, even that figure is probably on the high side (1978: 301304). These two terms must be separated, therefore, so that the inclusion of states at all capacity levels is possible.

The definition adopted in this paper coincides with Tilly's own argument regarding the characteristics of a state. According to him, city-states, empires, theocracies, and many other forms of government above the band or tribal level represent the different levels of statehood that evolved over time. He argues, though each type of state has distinct characteristics to differentiate it as a separate type of political order, they are merely plausible alternatives from which elites choose; therefore, all represent one form of a state or another (Tilly 1992: 15; see also Connelly 2003; Cooper 2005; Kumar 2010). As long as the organization controls the principal concentrated means of coercion within delimited territories, and exercise[s] priority in some respects over all other organizations acting within the territories then, regardless of how homogenized or centralized authority, the political unit is a state (Tilly 1992: 5).

Defining State Capacity

Just as disagreement exists on what constitutes a state, there is little consensus on how to measure the capacity of a state. Some scholars view state capacity in terms of economic and military prowess consistent with the realist and neorealist understanding of relative power capabilities (Mearsheimer 2001; Morganthau 1948; Schweller 1992; Waltz 1979). Others categorize a state's capacity dependent upon its economic and developmental capabilities (Herbst 2000; Migdal 1988; Scott 2009; and Acemoglu 2005). States whose leadership maintains a monopoly over the control of the population through coercive policies and brute force are considered to have the most capacity according to others. Because democratic leaders are often constrained by their constituency, democratic regimes are viewed as lacking the necessary capacity to project power (Johnson 1984; Ikenberry et al. 1996; Katzenstein 1996). Authoritarian regimes, in contrast, enjoy a considerable deal of institutional capacity since leaders can make decisions without fear of backlash from an angry Selectorate (Bueno de Mesquite 2003). For some, a state's capacity is measured by its ability to influence and control the perceptions of others (MacMillan 1978). Along these same lines, the cohesiveness of society can affect the state's level of capacity. Since groups can be mobilized by persuasion as well as coercion, it should be possible to bring and keep members together voluntarily (March and Olsen 1989: 12).

Since rituals and symbols create a sense of community which helps unify society and thus, also increase legitimacy, those states with the ability to build a cohesive society also, subsequently, have the most institutional capacity (Desch 1996: 256). Combining definitions that emphasize the scope as well as the capacity of a state is essential. Minimal states, for example, provide public goods like internal order, external defense, and basic public infrastructure, but little else. This limited role results in significantly weaker institutions than those found in maximal states. A maximal state, on the other hand, has much stronger institutions since it must also perform functions such as adjudication, redistribution, and extensive infrastructural development. In addition, divided states are less cohesive and therefore have much less capacity than unified states. In short, strong states are highly cohesive and tend to be maximal states; weak states are divided and tend to be minimal states (Desch 1996: 240241).

According to Charles Tilly (1992) and Max Weber (1946) the capacity of a state is determined by 1) its ability to concentrate coercive force in a single organization or set of organizations, 2) its ability to clearly delineate its borders from other states, and 3) the presence of a legitimate governing authority. The stronger the institutions tasked with ensuring this ability, the stronger the state's ability to project its power. Others agree a state is just a complex set of institutional arrangements for rule operating through the continuous and regulated activities of individuals acting as occupants of offices. The state has a specified territory and monopolizes in law and as far as possible in all fact to protect its territory as it sees fit, in its own interest (Poggi 1978: 1). States lacking in capacity are unable to perform these tasks efficiently and effectively.

In sum, the literature views state capacity in terms of a state's 1) extractive, 2) coercive, and 3) administrative abilities. Extractive capacity refers to a state's ability to raise armies and extract capital from its population. Coercive capacity, on the other hand, refers to a state's ability to protect its borders from both internal and external threats. Finally, administrative capacity is defined as a state's ability to deliver public goods and services efficiently. This requires not only bureaucratic efficiency, but also control over the territory of the state. Important for each of these areas is a state's ability to control its borders from both internal and external threats. Thus, those states with the most capacity are the most successful at maintaining legitimate control over the monopoly of the use of force (Hanson and Sigman 2011; Tilly 1992; vom Hau et al. 2012; Weber 1946). The modern territorial state emerged as the most suitable way of organizing rule with the most capacity as a result (Tilly 1992). Conversely, states lacking the capacity typical of the modern territorial state do not maintain control over the entire population within its borders. In fact, the state may not even have clearly defined borders or may be governed partially or in whole by a foreign government. Additionally, capacity-poor states lack the power to tax and regulate the economy and they do not have the ability to maintain a monopoly over violence (Acemoglu 2005: 11991200). Jeffrey Herbst (2000), for example, argues African states lack the ability to extract resources from their citizenry, because they lack the necessary institutional capacity to do so.

Just as a state can gain capacity over time by strengthening its institutions, circumstances can also cause a state to lose its capacity as well. A substantial loss of population, for instance, can have dire consequences. Even Rome, for example, suffered from a series of devastating plagues which historians suggest contributed to its demise. Moreover, a state can overextend itself both in territory and military engagements. Empire-building in particular places considerable strain on a state. If the empire stretches itself too thin, if it comes under considerable pressure from attackers, if it fails to control or incorporate conquered peoples successfully, and in some cases even if it suffers significant loss because of disease, the state's institutions can weaken. Once its capacity is weakened it opens the door for outsiders as well as the conquered people who have not been homogenized to fight for independence. War, in general, can also seriously weaken the capacity of a state. Not only does it often result in a loss of territory, but if the war is damaging enough, the losing state's institutions are seriously weakened. This is especially so if the victor maintains at least partial control over the territory or government in the conquered state  a fate suffered not just by the Romans, but countless fledgling societies, newly formed states, and even Great Powers and other vast Empires throughout history.

In antiquity a state built institutions to increase its capacity to maintain society because it faced issues of competition-scarcity or threat of war, but after it acquired enough territory to satisfy its needs or it eliminated the threat, the need for strong institutions diminished. This is especially true in those areas where uninhabited territory was abundant because it provided a large buffer-zone for security. This protection made external clashes less likely. If peace lasted long enough, the state may lose even more of its capacity over time as the need for the institutions decrease. This is much less likely in the modern era, however, because states have expanded as far as possible without crossing into another state's territory. Thus, a buffer zone large enough to protect from an external threat no longer exists. In addition, because the world is much more interconnected and weaponry is much more advanced, threats are no longer just from a state's adjacent neighbor, but can come from any state anywhere in the world. As explained above, modern day states can still lose some, or all, of their capacity because of war or other circumstances, but the occurrence is less likely now than in antiquity.

Having established the parameters within which the variables are framed, I turn my attention to defining the variables used to test the hypothesis that war makes states.

Dependent Variable

State Strength: To operationalize the administrative capability of pre-modern states an ideal measure of state strength would capture the ability of a state to collect taxes. Unfortunately, because data is limited during this period, compiling that information for all states in all regions under investigation is not possible. However, the State Antiquity Index provides a comprehensive way of measuring state strength which is compatible with my definition. The index contains data on state strength for 149 countries from 1 to 1950 CE.5 To determine the level of state strength for each country during the selected time periods the index allocates points to a series of three questions asked about each state:

1. Is there a government above the tribal level? (1 point if yes, 0 points if no); 2. Is this government foreign or locally based? (1 point if locally based, 0.5 points if foreign [i.e., the country is a colony], 0.75 if in between [a local government with substantial foreign oversight]; 3. How much of the territory of the modern country was ruled by this government? (1 point if over 50 %, 0.75 points if between 25 % and 50 %, 0.5 points if between 10 % and 25 %, 0.3 points if less than 10 %) (Bockstette, Chanda and Putterman 2002).6

These questions accurately address the important components I use to define a state regarding whether there is a government and the ability of that government to control its borders.

To gather data for the index, Bockstette, Chanda and Putterman relied on the historical accounts for each country contained in the Encyclopedia Britannica and Macropedia articles in the Britannica online. The authors acknowledge the use of this particular source is far from definitive, but due to gaps in the historical record for many states no more specialized compilation containing the necessary information exists (Chanda and Putterman 2007).7 The data divides the period into 50-year intervals and asks the above three questions during each segment. A score on a scale of 050 is then given based upon the responses to the questions. If a country receives a 0 then no government above the tribal level exists. A score of 50 indicates a strong state is in place which maintains complete control over its entire territory. Scores falling somewhere in the middle demonstrate some type of government was in place, but it either did not maintain complete control over the entire population, there was a foreign government in control, or a combination of local and foreign government control existed.

Because I am predicting the probability that conflict creates strong states, I create a variable which divides state strength into three categories. All states with a score ranging from 024 are coded 0 for weak state. Moderate states, those ranging from 2534, are coded 1. Finally, states with a score 35 or above are considered strong and coded 2.

Independent Variable

Conflict: Although many conflict databases exist, finding comprehensive data that begins before 1800 is a difficult task. I rely on George C. Kohn's Dictionary of Wars (2000), a one-volume reference source on conflicts from ancient times to present. Though it does not account for all conflicts throughout history it does include a comprehensive list of all major and many minor conflicts that occurred across the globe from 3000 BCE to 1999 CE. In addition, Kohn relies on a broad classification of war defined as an overt, armed conflict carried on between nations or states (international war) or between parties, factions, or people in the same state (civil war) (2000: 12). Moreover, Kohn defines international war as those events involving territorial disputes, injustice against people of one country by those of another, problems of race and prejudice, commercial and economic competition and coercion, envy of military might, or sheer cupidity for conquest. Kohn includes any organized effort to seize power such as a rebellion, insurrection, uprising, or revolt as a civil war. Finally, Kohn adds conquests, invasions, sieges, massacres, raids, and key mutinies to the list of entries. Having such a broad definition of war is useful because it allows a diverse range of disputes in the data. This is particularly beneficial for earlier time periods since present day states had not formed and classification of many battles fall outside the scope of international wars biasing the results.

Conflict is an independent count variable measured as the total conflicts per country per year. Using a count variable yields more precise predictions than a binary variable since it can pinpoint precisely how much different levels of conflict impact state strength.

Control Variables

Conflict Adjacent: After remaining at a relatively steady rate with few exceptions for centuries, around 1000  1200 CE the number of conflicts dramatically increases. Because the external environment in which a state resides matters (Waltz 1979), it is possible states located next to a conflict prone state will also engage in conflict (offensive and/or defensive; see Mearsheimer 2001) regardless of its internal environment. To control for this effect, I include a dummy variable coded 1 for any country next to one involved in a conflict and 0 for those countries not adjacent to a conflict prone state. Although I do not include Middle Eastern countries in the dataset, I use the Dictionary of Wars to determine if any of those states were involved in a conflict and coded any adjacent country in the dataset appropriately.

Contiguous States: Prior research indicates states that share a border with one or more states are more likely to engage in conflict. Following the lead used by the Correlates of War project for coding the contiguous characteristic of states I counted the total number of known societies bordering the societies within the current territorial boundary of any given state from 01600. I relied on an exhaustive review of historical data including map archives and accounts of the various groups in each area, including all minor and major actors to determine how many bordering neighbors any one state or society had during this time. Some states, like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, for instance, were not coded due to lack of available information.

Landlocked: I include a control variable coded 1 for landlocked countries and 0 for those that are not.

Island: I also include a control variable coded 1 if the state is an island and 0 if it is not.

Regional Controls: Qualitative case studies reveal state formation occurred at different times and at different rates. Asia developed much sooner, but a lot slower than Europe. Europe, on the other hand, arrived late on the state building scene, but progressed rapidly; Africa lagged behind both. To account for regional distinctions a dummy variable is included for Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Africa.

Foreign Invasion: Foreign invasion is shown to weaken and strengthen a state, depending upon circumstances. Many states in the early phase of development were overcome with foreign threats of conquests; others residing in a peaceful environment. A dummy variable is included to account for the impact foreign invasion has on state development. All states that have mention of a foreign invasion in their historical record by a group other than Rome are coded 1. No foreign presence in the state is coded 0.

Roman Occupation: Qualitative case studies reveal the presence of Rome in a state significantly impacts its growth. The findings indicate while Rome may help elevate most states slightly in strength, in the long term, its presence weakens the states development. This results because despite Roman institutions established to maintain the military establishment, Rome did little to strengthen the institutions in the state it occupied in any other way. This lack of attention to institution building is evident after the fall of Rome. Europe, left with no rule of law and because Rome did little in the way of state building in these areas to help the inhabitants enforce it on their own, state strength was weakened. The Dark Ages are the result. Though states did recover from Rome's retreat, it is evident Rome set states back in their development at least temporarily. Every state in which Rome had a presence is therefore coded 1. A lack of Roman presence is coded 0.

Roman Withdrawal: Since the fall of Rome was so problematic for its foreign territories, the first year in which Rome's presence is no longer dominant is coded 1. All other years are coded 0.

Plague: Qualitative case studies also reveal states suffered significant setback in population levels and, in many cases, their strength because of several devastating plagues that occurred throughout history. Thus, any year in which the historical record indicates a state suffered a severe loss from a plague is coded 1. Plague-free years are coded 0.

Data Analysis

I test the hypothesis that war makes strong states by using panel data and multinomial logistic regression to predict whether conflict increases state strength. In this model I use a count variable of the total number of conflicts per year for each country. This is appropriate since the hypothesis suggests the higher the number of conflicts, the stronger the state. I also include conflict_adjacent in this model since, as previously discussed, sharing a border with a conflict prone neighbor yields a degree of uncertainty forcing a state to defend itself against potential aggression. A strong state would certainly be beneficial in this regard. Finally, I control for landlocked and island states, Roman as well as foreign occupation, Roman withdrawal, occurrence of the plague as well as fixed effects for year. I do not control for fixed effects for region in this model. Doing so produced extremely large error terms for each of the regional controls and the constant. Goodness of fit tests reveal model specification is improved significantly when not controlling for region. Fixed effects for year improve the model only slightly. Table 2 displays the results.

The total number of conflicts a state is involved in does increase the probability that it will develop a strong state structure. In addition, conflict adjacent states are also more likely to have strong structures. Landlocked states are more often moderate states but have less chance of becoming strong. Islands, on the other hand, have a slightly higher chance of developing a strong state, but it has no significance on whether a state is weak.

As Figure 1 shows, as total conflicts increase the probability that a state will develop weak institutional capacity decreases. Whereas, Figure 2 shows as total conflicts increase, the probability that a state will develop strong institutional capacity likewise increases. In fact, a state that engages in less than five conflicts has more than a seventeen percent (17 %) chance of remaining weak. More than five (5) conflicts in a period, however, yields less than a ten percent (10 %) chance a state has a weak structure. A state that engages in fifteen or more conflicts has less than a one percent (1 %) chance of being weak. Conversely, the more conflicts a state faces, the higher its probability of developing a strong state structure. States that engage in fifteen (15) or more disputes have an eighty-eight percent (88 %) chance of being strong. Twenty-five (25) or more conflicts increase the chance to ninety-five percent (95 %) or greater. Weak states are located next to peaceful states only eighteen percent (18 %) of the time. On the other hand, fifty-five percent (55 %) of states located next to conflict prone states are strong. Landlocked states have an eighteen percent (18 %) chance of remaining weak, whereas the likelihood it will develop into a strong state increases to forty-three percent (43 %). Islands, on the other hand, are only fifteen percent (15 %) more likely to become strong than remain weak.

Rome's presence produces varying results depending upon the classification of the state. Roman occupation improves a weak state's condition by four percent (4 %). In other words, if Rome occupied a state's territory, the state was strengthened, but only slightly. Rome's impact on strong states is significant, however. A state left unconquered by Rome has a thirty-two percent (32 %) chance that it will become strong. Rome's presence, however, means states only have an eighteen percent (18 %) chance of developing strong institutions. This finding is particularly intuitive because it confirms that Rome did not establish strong administrative structures in these areas. This confirms why the areas were so weak after Rome fell; Rome's presence hindered, not helped, developing states.

In sum, though location is important, and conflict prone neighbors can induce states to develop stronger structures, the findings confirm the hypothesis that states that engage in conflict more frequently are more likely strong.

CONCLUSION

The findings confirm Tilly's theory that war makes states. The findings also show how conflict between just two states in an area can have a reciprocal effect on other states in the region. Finally, the results yield interesting findings regarding the role Rome played in the state making process. Notably, Rome's presence hindered, not helped, developing states.

The results are important for adding to our understanding of how states developed, lending support for coercive theories that find a positive correlation between the engagement in conflict and the strengthening of state institutions. These findings do not account for economic or class-based theories' arguments regarding the role the market or cultural cleavages, etc. play in the formation of states. Nevertheless, it is clear conflict serves as an impetus for strengthening states, at least in the pre-modern era. The more efficient a state is at extracting taxes, drafting soldiers, providing resources, and maintaining control of its subjects the higher its chance of success in war. Without war the need for this type of strong structure does not exist and, thus, does not develop.

These findings are important, not only because it explains the difference in state strength in different regions, but it also provides insight into states in the modern era. If one of the main reasons why states develop strong state structures is related to the amount of conflict it faces, then that might explain why developing states in the modern era still find it difficult to create the type of strong states that flourished in Europe for centuries. War8 creates a powerful incentive to find the most efficient way to structure a state. Without this incentive, the motivation needed to force states on a rapid path of development does not exist.

NOTES

1 Though economic or class-based theories may also explain the formation of states, it is impossible to quantitatively address each of these competing debates in this paper. As a result, focus is solely on testing Tilly's theory.

2 The type of economic system a state develops determines its strength. The ability of institutions to achieve economic growth, the timing of development, and the type of structure in relation to the strength of the state drives the formation of the state. Others argue the ability of a state to foster trust and cooperation for the coordination of activities is important. States that create a more unified society and are better equipped at instilling trust gain legitimacy and therefore strength. Class-based theories of state formation, on the other hand, argue cleavages in society determine the structure of a state.

3 As states began to focus on non-military activities, however, military expenditure declined relegating the military organizationfrom a dominant segment of the state structure to a more subordinated position (Jonsson et al. 2000: 69).

4 I borrow Max Weber's definition of a bureaucracy (see Weber, M. 1946. In Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills eds. Oxford: Routledge Paperback).

5 For a complete list of countries included in the dataset used for this project see Appendix A.

6 For a detailed description of how the scores are tallied see Valerie Bockstette, Areendam Chanda and Louis Putterman. 2002. States and Markets: The Advantage of an Early Start. Journal of Economic Growth 7: 34769.

7 Despite the limitations of the data sources, the index created by Bockstette, Chanda and Putterman has appeared in a wide range of peer reviewed publications and has been cited numerous times in a variety of studies.

8 I refer specifically to international and not civil war in this instance.

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(Photo: WCC/Sean Hawkey/Life on Earth)Informal housing on the hills around Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: Sean Hawkey/Life on Earth

World Council of Churches general secry the United States against Venezuela, including the capture and detention of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, describing the actions as "stunningly flagrant violations of international law."

The WCC general secretary warned in a statement that the attacks set a dangerous global precedent by normalizing the use of armed force to achieve political objectives.

"These actions set a dangerous precedent and example for others who seek to shrug off all constraints against the use of armed aggression and brute force to achieve political objectives," wrote Pillay.

In New York, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, is deeply alarmed by the recent escalation in Venezuela, culminating with the United States military action in the country, which has potential worrying implications for the region, said Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

"Independently of the situation in Venezuela, these developments constitute a dangerous precedent. The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respect - by all - of international law, including the UN Charter. He's deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected," said Dujarric.

Hours after a dramatic military operation ousted Maduro on Jan. 3, President Donald Trump said the United States would "run" Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other countries, The Associated Press reported.

For his part, Pillay called for an immediate cessation of attacks and for renewed respect for the principles of international law and state sovereignty. It also appealed to international bodies to act swiftly.

"The World Council of Churches calls urgently for the cessation of such attacks, for respect for the principles of international law and sovereignty of States, and for the resolution of disputes through dialogue and diplomacy rather than by armed violence," the statement continued, urging the United Nations and the Organization of American States to intervene to ensure compliance with international charters and conventions.

Pillay's statement noted the broader global implications of the events.

"In these dangerous and uncertain times, the world needs wise and courageous leaders for peace, rather than the proliferation of conflicts and the normalization of international illegality," reads the statement.

Maduro and his wife landed in New York on the afternoon of Jan. 3 to face U.S. federal charges related to drug trafficking and working with gangs designated as terrorist organizations, which Maduro denies, CBS News reported..
Govee, which makes some of the more unique and interesting smart lighting products, has a new batch at CES 2026. That includes two ceiling lights (one of which simulates a skylight) and a floor lamp that supports trillions of colors.

Govee describes the new Ceiling Light Ultra as "the industry's first ceiling light designed as a true creative canvas." It uses 616 individually controlled LEDs (the highest in its class, according to Govee) to provide that level of detail. Using the Govee app, you can design visuals for it "with up to eight distinct layers of motion, color and shapes."

Govee Ceiling Light Ultra (Govee)

The product will support an upcoming AI Lighting Bot 2.0 update. The new version of the scene creation chatbot lets other compatible lights (including the Gaming Pixel Light) "generate dynamic GIF animations."

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If your ceiling lamp needs are as simple as look like a skylight, please, there's the Govee Ceiling Light with Blue Sky Effect. The company says it emulates natural skylights "with high accuracy." (However, it's also less flexible than the Ultra, with far fewer individually controlled LEDs.) You can also use it as a more traditional white-light fixture, and Govee says it's good for spaces are large as 300 square feet.

Govee Floor Lamp 3 (Govee)

Finally, there's the Govee Floor Lamp 3. The sleek light's 16-bit RGBIC array allows it to reproduce over 281 trillion colors. Its white lighting capabilities range from 1000K to 10000K. It also supports a new DaySync system that can adjust lighting effects to match the time of day.

Unfortunately, we don't yet know precisely when any of the new lights will be available  or how much they'll cost. But we did learn that Govee lights will now work with Samsung SmartThings, joining their existing support for Matter, Alexa and Google Assistant.

CES 2026 is winding down in Las Vegas, and Team Engadget is finishing a week that saw hundreds of announcements from major brands including Lenovo, Samsung, LG, NVIDIA and more. See what we named as the Best of CES 2026, then scroll back on our CES 2026 liveblog to see how events progressed throughout the week. Prefer quick summaries? See recaps of all the cool tech we saw Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Are you ready for CES 2026? While the show floor doesn't open until Tuesday, things are effectively kicking off this evening with the first big press event of the show. Samsung is taking the stage to set the agenda for the new year and share an overview of its latest and greatest advances.

Instead of its longtime midday Monday press conference, the Korean giant will take the lead of the show with a Sunday night presentation. Over the past few weeks, Samsung has been dropping press releases left and right, so we know at least some of what to expect in Vegas this year. Of course, we're holding out hope that we get to hear an update on the Ballie robot  a star of previous CES presentations that ostensibly missed its previously promised 2025 release date.

How to watch Samsung's "The First Look" presentation at CES 2026

The event will stream live from the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas tonight  Sunday, January 4 at 10PM ET (7PM PT). There are several ways to tune in: you can watch via Samsung Electronic' official YouTube channel (which we've embedded below), Samsung Newsroom or via Samsung TV Plus.

Engadget is on-site at the event, and we'll be running a Samsung CES 2026 liveblog as well. Tune in for real-time updates and commentary.

What to expect from Samsung at CES 2026

Keynote speaker TM Roh, the CEO of Samsung's Device eXperience (DX) Division, will discuss the company's plans for the new year and beyond, which will (of course) include "new AI-driven customer experiences," the company said in a press release. In addition, we'll hear from the President and Head of the Visual Display Business, SW Yong and Executive Vice President and Head of Digital Appliances Business, Cheolgi Kim. Those two will "share their respective business directions for the upcoming year."

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But if you're looking for more specifics, Samsung has been following its "Advent calendar" approach to early CES announcements, with new press releases dropping nearly every day in late December and early January. So far, we know that  like competitors LG and Hisense  the company will be offering details on a line of micro RGB TVs (replete with confirmed screen sizes of 55 to 115 inches). Also confirmed: a full line of appliances infused with what Samsung calls Bespoke AI. Samsung will also display its two newest speakers, Music Studio 5 and 7, at CES this year. Additionally, it'll debut its latest Freestyle+ portable projector.

Just before the holidays, Samsung also unveiled a slew of new gaming monitors, but most impressive is the Odyssey gaming monitor. It boasts a 32-inch 6K screen and has glasses-free 3D. It's likely we could see this at CES, along with other models like the 27-inch Odyssey G6 and the Odyssey G8 models.

It's possible that Samsung will share even more early CES announcements in the hours preceding its presentation. If that happens, we'll add them here!

Update, January 4 2026, 11:15AM ET: This story has been updated to include the embedded YouTube viewer for the Samsung event.

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Update, January 4 2026, 7:25PM ET: This story has been updated to include a link to the Engadget liveblog of this event.

CES 2026 is winding down in Las Vegas, and Team Engadget is finishing a week that saw hundreds of announcements from major brands including Lenovo, Samsung, LG, NVIDIA and more. See what we named as the Best of CES 2026, then scroll back on our CES 2026 liveblog to see how events progressed throughout the week. Prefer quick summaries? See recaps of all the cool tech we saw Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The shooting in Midtown happened at the end of the workday, with the gunman traveling cross country to get to New York. The officer killed w...
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At Yangon's Insein Prison, which is notorious for housing political detainees, relatives of prisoners gathered at the gates early in the morning. It was not immediately clear whether those set free include the thousands of political detainees imprisoned for opposing military rule.
Applications close tonight for the role of Red Tractor chief executive, as Jim Moseley prepares to step down after more than 50 years in the food industry.

The successful candidate will take over from Jim Moseley, who is due to retire in April 2026 after more than 50 years in the food and drink industry.

Red Tractor has said the appointment is designed to ensure continuity and momentum as the organisation delivers the recommendations of the Farm Assurance Review and continues to underpin consumer trust in British food.

The role offers responsibility for leading one of the UKs most recognised food assurance schemes, working with farmers, processors, retailers and foodservice businesses across the supply chain.

The incoming chief executive will inherit an organisation that, according to its outgoing leader, is in a strong position to support the future of British food and farming, with a board, a leadership team and tremendous employees who have the skills, knowledge, experience and dedication to carry Red Tractor forward.

Moseley, who has served as chief executive since 2017 after two years as chair, said stepping aside would allow the organisation to move forward with confidence.

He described assurance as not an easy occupation and praised the huge professionalism and extraordinary resilience of staff working within the scheme. He also highlighted international recognition of Red Tractor as a global exemplar of a voluntary assurance programme.

Red Tractor chair Alistair Mackintosh said the organisation the new chief executive will lead is highly motivated, financially sound and well governed, adding that consumer confidence in the scheme is at record levels and that more retailers, caterers and brands than ever rely on it. He said Moseley had made an extraordinary contribution to Red Tractor and British food and farming.

The incoming chief executive will take up the post at a time of heightened scrutiny and change across farm assurance, with expectations around standards, transparency and stakeholder engagement continuing to grow.

Red Tractor said the recruitment process has been structured to allow a smooth handover, with Moseley remaining in post until the end of the 2025/26 financial year.

Applications for the role close at 11.59pm on Sunday 4 January 2026, with further details of the selection process expected to be announced in due course.
Pullback-Setup am 9er-EMA!

Anhaltende ESG-Probleme bei Freeport-McMoran (FCX)! Die Saisonalitat spricht fur steigende Rohstoffpreise!

Freeport-McMoran (FCX) - ISIN US35671D8570

Ruckblick: Gegensatzliche Entwicklungen erkennen wir im Chartbild der Freeport-McMoran-Aktie: Einerseits gibt es eine enge Orietierung an den rot gekennzeichneten 9er-EMA und ein 6-Monatsplus von fast 20 Prozent, das getrieben ist durch steigende Preise bei wichtigen Rohstoffen wie Kupfer und Gold, andererseits ist die Kursentwicklung deutlich schwacher als bei anderen Wertpapieren des Sektors, womoglich bedingt durch das Minenungluck am Grasberg in Indonesien.

Freeport-McMoran-Aktie: Chart vom 08.01.2026, Kurzel: FCX Kurs: 25.70 USD, Tageschart Quelle: TWS

Mogliches bullisches Szenario

Risikofreudige Anleger konnten zum Schluss kommen, dass negative Nachrichten schon eingepreist sind und jetzt ein guter Zeitpunkt zum Einsteig sein konnte. Die Saisonalitat spricht fur weiter steigende Kurse bei Kupfer und Gold im ersten Quartal. Die vorborslichen Notierungen deuten daraufhin, dass es ein Kaufsignal bei der Freeport-McMoran-Aktie geben konnte. Das Kursziel lage nach Measured Move bei 59.60 USD.

Mogliches barisches Szenario

Anleger sollten die Risiken bei Freeport-McMoran kennen und entsprechend vorsichtig agieren. Mit etwas Abstand unter der letzten Tageskerze konnte man die Absicherung in den Trade einbauen.

Meinung

Freeport-McMoRan liefert operativ ordentlich ab, wird aber von juristischem Ballast ausgebremst. Nach einem todlichen Murenabgang in der Grasberg-Mine (der Name ist ein Relikt der niederlandischen Kolonialzeit) in Indonesien laufen mehrere Sammelklagen, weil Anleger sich unzureichend uber Risiken informiert fuhlen. Schon zuvor ist der Rohstoffkonzern in Sachen Ethics, Social & Governance in der Kritik gestanden, weshalb magebliche institutionelle Anleger nicht in die Aktie investieren. Entscheidend wird im aktuellen Fall die Frist Mitte Januar 2026, wenn klar wird, wie gro und gefahrlich dieser Rechtskomplex tatsachlich wird. Operativ sieht es gemischt aus: Gewinne und Umsatz lagen zuletzt uber den Erwartungen, allerdings steigen die Kosten und die Grasberg-Mine wird erst ab 2028 wieder vollstandig auf Normalniveau produzieren. Eine Dividende ist zwar angekundigt, aber das allein begeistert niemanden. Analysten sind entsprechend gespalten. Somit halten wir kurzfristige Long Trades fur denkbar, mochten langerfristige Investments aber meiden.



Quellennachweise, Mogliche Interessenskonflikte, Meinung und sonstige Daten

Marktkapitalisierung: 77.86 Milliarden USD

Durchschnittsvolumen der letzten 20 Tage: 892.73 Millionen USD

Meine Freeport-McMoran ist neutral.

Quellennachweis: https://www.sharedeals.de/ouster-aktie-nach-der-ki-revolution-kommt-die-physische-intelligenz/

Veroffentlichungsdatum: 09.01.2026

Autor: Thomas Canali

Hinweis auf mogliche Interessenkonflikte

Personen, die Anlageempfehlungen erstellen und weitergeben, sind nach der Verordnung (EU) 596/2014 des Europaischen Parlaments und des Rates vom 16. April 2014 uber Marktmissbrauch (Marktmissbrauchsverordnung) verpflichtet, alle Beziehungen und Umstande offenzulegen, bei denen damit gerechnet werden kann, dass sie die Objektivitat der Empfehlung beeintrachtigen. Dies umfasst insbesondere Interessen oder Interessenkonflikte aller Personen, die die Information erstellt haben bzw. an der Erstellung beteiligt waren.

Der Finanzinformationsdienst ist verpflichtet, Interessenskonflikte bei der Erstellung oder Weitergabe von Anlageempfehlungen oder Anlagestrategieempfehlungen in geeigneter Weise offenzulegen.

In diesem Zusammenhang weisen wir auf folgendes hin:

Es liegt kein Interessenskonflikt vor.

Bitte nehmen Sie den Disclaimer und die Risikohinweise zur Kenntnis, die Sie unter https://ratgebergeld.at/disclaimer/ abrufen konnen.
Leonardo DiCaprio will miss the Palm Springs International Film Awards this week after being stranded in St. Barths due to unfolding geopolitical tensions in Venezuela, sources say. The actor had been scheduled to attend the awards, but shifting flight routes and global tensions forced a last-minute change of plans.

DiCaprio was set to receive the Desert Palm Achievement Award for his performance in One Battle After Another. According to Variety, he had to cancel the plan because of the rerouting of flights due to ongoing tensions in Venezuela.

Leonardo DiCaprio is unable to join us in person tonight due to unexpected travel disruptions and restricted airspace, a spokesperson for the Palm Springs International Film Festival told Variety. While we will miss celebrating with him in person, we are honoured to recognise his exceptional work and lasting contributions to cinema. His talent and dedication to the craft continue to inspire, and we are delighted to celebrate him with the Desert Palm Achievement Award this evening.

Palm Springs International Airport released a statement on X announcing that departing flights are at a ground stop. The statement read, An FAA air traffic control issue is impacting Southern California airspace today. Departing flights are currently under a ground stop. Aircraft have been able to arrive, though some inbound flights have diverted and delays are expected. This is not specific to PSP and is affecting multiple SoCal airports. Travellers should check directly with their airline for the latest flight information. PSP will share updates as needed, the same outlet reported.

Early Saturday, US President Donald Trump said that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken into American custody after an overnight military operation.

Fans and industry observers took to social media to share their reactions, with many offering support to the actor and expressing understanding amid an unexpected geopolitical disruption. Really unfortunate timing, one fan wrote, while another said, Hope hes safe and back soon.
Veteran actor and classical dancer Sudha Chandran was seen completely immersed in devotion as she offered her prayers to Maa Kali during a recent celebration. A video has emerged on social media showing Chandran overwhelmed with emotion, chanting and dancing in reverence before the idol, surrounded by devotees who step in to support her as she gets visibly carried away by the moment.

In the video, it looks like she has been overtaken by divine energy as those around her try to hold her back. She can be seen struggling to break free as a priest tries to pacify her. Here is the video:

Dressed traditionally, the actor appears deeply moved during the ritual, at one point breaking down as she bows before the goddess. In another moment, she is seen performing a spontaneous devotional dance, a reminder of her lifelong connection with classical dance and spiritual expression. Here is the video:

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Sudha Chandran is an acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer and a familiar face on Indian television. She shot to widespread fame with her iconic portrayal of Ramola Sikand in Kaahin Kissii Roz. Over the years, she has been part of popular shows such as Naagin, Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, and Mata Ki Chowki: Kalyug Mein Bhakti Ki Shakti, among others. In addition to her television work, Sudha has also featured in several Bollywood and regional-language films.
Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the US had launched a large-scale attack on Venezuela and captured its leader, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. However, the military action, dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve, has been called into question. Experts note that the US president has most likely violated international laws

A handcuffed Nicolas Maduro in New York City after being captured by US forces from Caracas. Image Courtesy: X

A daring operation by US troops has culminated with the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Now, Maduro has been brought to New York where he has been detained and awaiting trial on charges of narco-terrorism.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump declared that America would run the country for now.

Experts note that the dramatic seizure of Maduro is beyond even the most high-profile historical examples of aggressive American actions toward autocratic governments in Panama, Iraq and elsewhere.

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It has even raised questions about the legality of Maduros capture by the US.

Heres what we know.

What has happened so far?

On Saturday (January 3), US forces attacked Venezuela  at least seven explosions were reported in the South American nation. The New York Times has reported that at least 40 people have died in the strikes, which targeted the Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base, an airfield known as La Carlota, Fuerte Tiuna, a key military facility in Caracas, Port La Guaira, Caracas main conduit to the Caribbean Sea, located in Miranda state, Higuerote Airport, also located in Miranda state, just east of Caracas and Antenas El Volcan, a telecomms towers on Cerro El Volcan, a high peak in Miranda state.

This was followed by the seizure of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. After being transported to the USS Iwo Jima, located some distance away from Venezuela, the couple was flown to New York City in the US where Maduro has been brought to the Metropolitan Detention Centre (MDC).

Notably, Saturdays actions caps months of aggressive US military action in the region, including the bombing of boats accused of trafficking drugs and seizures of oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. The Trump administration has conducted 35 known boat strikes against vessels, killing more than 115 people since September, and positioned an armada of warships in nearby waters.

What has the US said about its actions?

US authorities said the Justice Department sought military assistance to apprehend Maduro, who had been indicted by a New York grand jury along with his wife, son, two political leaders and an alleged leader of an international gang. They were charged with crimes related to terrorism, drugs and weapons.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media that the defendants will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.

However, at a press conference, Trump blamed Venezuela for stealing US oil interests and said Washington would take them back and planned to run Venezuela for a period of time, without offering specifics.

A woman holds a flag as Venezuelans living in Chile gather to celebrate, after the United States struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores overnight, in Concepcion, Chile. Reuters

What do experts say on Trumps actions against Maduro?

When asked about Trumps bombing of Venezuela and the capture of Maduro, international law experts opined that the US president has most likely violated international law. Moreover, the US administration has mixed up legal issues by claiming the operation was both a targeted law enforcement mission and the potential prelude to long-term control of Venezuela by the US.

You cannot say this was a law enforcement operation and then turn around and say now we need to run the country, Jeremy Paul, a professor at Northeastern University specialising in constitutional law, told Reuters, adding, It just doesnt make any sense.

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Jimmy Gurule, a Notre Dame Law School professor and former assistant US attorney, was also quoted as telling the Associated Press, This is clearly a blatant, illegal and criminal act.

Even Matthew Waxman, a law professor at Columbia University specialising in national security law, opined the same. He told Reuters, A criminal indictment alone doesnt provide authority to use military force to depose a foreign government, and the administration will probably hang this also on a theory of self-defence.

Others also noted that the Trump administration had violated the central provision of the UN charter  known as article 2(4)  which states that countries must refrain from using military force against other countries and must respect their sovereignty.

As Geoffrey Robertson KC, a founding head of Doughty Street Chambers and a former president of the UN war crimes court in Sierra Leone, told The Guardian that the attack on Venezuela was contrary to article 2(4) of the charter. The reality is that America is in breach of the United Nations charter, he added. It has committed the crime of aggression, which the court at Nuremberg described as the supreme crime, its the worst crime of all.

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Susan Breau, a professor of international law and a senior associate research fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, also told the British media house that the attack could have only been considered lawful if the US had a resolution from the UN security council or was acting in self-defence. There is just no evidence whatsoever on either of those fronts, Breau said.

People protest against the US strikes on Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, during an anti-war rally in Los Angeles, California. Reuters

What does the law say?

Firstly, the US Congress has the power to declare war, which it hasnt in this case. In fact, Trumps Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair in an earlier interview that if Trump were to authorise some activity on land in Venezuela he would need approval from Congress.

Moreover, international law prohibits the use of force in international relations except for narrow exceptions such as authorisation by the UN Security Council or in self-defence. Drug trafficking and gang violence are considered criminal activity and do not rise to the accepted international standard of an armed conflict that would justify a military response, according to legal experts.

Is there any precedent?

The US has captured criminal suspects in foreign countries, including Libya but it has sought consent of local authorities.

In 1989, the US arrested General Manuel Noriega, then the leader of Panama, in similar circumstances. Noriega had been indicted on drug-related charges and Washington said it was acting to protect US citizens after Panamanian forces had killed an American soldier. Washington had also alleged Noriega was an illegitimate leader and had recognised as the countrys leader the candidate who Noriega had claimed to have defeated in a recent election.

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The former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, was extradited to the United States in 2022 and later convicted on drug-related charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison. Trump pardoned Hernandez in December.

Its important in Maduros case that the US administration describes him as an illegitimate leader; Washington has not recognised another Venezuelan leader who could have authorised the capture of Maduro.

But wait, doesnt Maduro have immunity?

As per international law, heads of state have immunity in foreign courts. However, does Maduro enjoy this immunity is a huge question. According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Maduro is not the legitimate president of Venezuela, but the head of a drug trafficking organisation masquerading as a government.

But, Venezuelas National Electoral Council formally declared Maduro the winner of elections in 2018 and 2024. These results were widely questioned, with many alleging fraud had taken place, and since 2019, the US has not recognised Maduro as the legitimate president.

With inputs from Reuters, AP and New York Times
The US launched strikes on Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, plunging the nation into turmoil. Iran is witnessing its biggest protests since 2022, and the Saudi Arabia-UAE rift is deepening. Switzerland is reeling from a deadly fire. In our weekly roundup, we talk about all this and more

People protest against the US strikes on Venezuela and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, during an anti-war rally in Los Angeles, California, US, on January 3. Reuters

This week, we bid goodbye to 2025 and welcomed 2026. Cities across the world, from Sydney to Paris, scaled down celebrations. And if the first few days of the new year are any indication, uncertainty is on the cards.

As we enter 2026, there are more conflicts on the horizon. Venezuela has plunged into an unprecedented crisis. The US, in the early hours of Saturday (January 3), launched a large-scale attack against the South American country and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Donald Trump has been ramping up pressure on Venezuela since he started his second presidency last January. He blames Maduro for sending migrants and drugs to the US and has labelled him a narco-terrorist.

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The ouster of Maduro is one of the most defining moments of Trumps legacy. The US has said that it will run Venezuela and take control of its oil reserves. While Maduro faces drug and terror charges in the US, the South American nation is now led by Delcy Rodriguez, who has been serving as the vice president and oil minister. It remains to be seen what happens next.

Iran has been gripped by unrest. Protests erupted in Tehran last Sunday (December 27) and have spread to other parts of the country. There is growing anger over the ailing economy and rising cost of living.

The rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia has grown. Once allies, they are now on opposite sides of the Yemen conflict.

Meanwhile, Switzerland is reeling from a deadly blaze. In the wee hours of Thursday (January 1), a fire ripped through a bar in a luxury ski resort in Crans-Montana in the southern part of the country, killing more than 40 people and leaving hundreds injured.

Bangladesh mourned the loss of its first woman prime minister, Khaleda Zia. She died aged 80 on Wednesday (December 30) after a prolonged illness. Zia was an arch-rival of Sheikh Hasina and a critic of India.

We talk about all this and more in our weekly wrap from around the world.

1. Let us talk about Venezuela. After months of tension, Donald Trump launched an attack on the country and captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. They were flown out of the country and brought to the US. Maduro is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. But why did the US strike Venezuela and go after Maduro? What happens to him next? These stories explain.

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2. On Friday night (January 2), after months of tracking and surveillance, Donald Trump gave the go-ahead for Operation Absolute Resolve, a mission to capture Nicolas Maduro. What followed was a complex operation, including 150 US aircraft and thousands of troops. The elite US forces dramatically snatched the Venezuelan leader and his wife from their fortress in Caracas in the early hours of Saturday (January 3), and successfully brought them to the US, where they will face trial on drug and weapon charges. Here is how it all unfolded.

People on a bridge are silhouetted as smoke rises near Fort Tiuna, after Donald Trump said the US struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, on January 3. Reuters

3. A New Years celebration at a bar at a plush ski resort in Switzerlands Crans-Montana turned tragic. More than 40 people died, and around 115 were injured after a fire ripped through the popular Le Constellation. Multiple people are still missing. So what caused the blaze? Eyewitnesses point to sparklers placed in champagne bottles. However, officials say the investigation will take time.

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A hearse drives past as police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge during New Years celebration, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on January 1. More than 40 people were killed in the blaze. AP

4. Iran is gripped by unrest as protests against the rising cost of living have spread across the country. The appointment of a new central bank governor has not helped contain the anger. Clashes between citizens and security forces turned violent, leading to at least seven deaths on Thursday (January 1). These are the largest demonstrations Iran has seen since the 2022 anti-hijab protests, after the death of a young woman named Mahsa Amini. This time, the anger is against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But will it lead to a change in regime?

An overturned car and multiple fires burn as protesters chant outside a police station, during Irans biggest demonstrations in three years over economic hardship, in Azna, Lorestan Province, in this still image obtained from a social media video released on January 1. Reuters

5. In New York City, as the clock struck 12 on January 1, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as the mayor in an abandoned subway station. It was a private inauguration, attended by family and a handful of close invitees. There was yet another public ceremony for the citys first Muslim mayor of Indian origin. What stood out was that the 34-year-old took the oath on the Quran; three editions of Islams holy book were used. We explain what this move signified in a divided America.

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Zohran Mamdani is sworn in using a Quran as the mayor of New York City at Old City Hall Station, New York, on January 1. Reuters

6. The UAE and Saudi Arabia were allies. However, now they stand on the opposite side of the Yemen conflict, which they entered to defeat Iran-backed Houthis.

Saudi Arabia bombed Yemens port city of Mukalla on Tuesday (December 30) after a weapons shipment from the UAE arrived for separatist forces in the war-torn country. The Kingdom warned that it viewed Emirati actions as extremely dangerous. The UAE rejected the accusation but announced the withdrawal of its remaining forces in Yemen. However, the tension hasnt eased, with flights at Yemens Aden airport shutting down on January 1 (Thursday). So whats going on?

7. Bangladesh started the New Year mourning. It lost a key political figure. Khaleda Zia, the countrys first woman prime minister, died on Wednesday (January 30) at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness. She was once a shy housewife; her husband, Ziaur Rahman, was a leading figure in Bangladeshs independence struggle and later went on to become the president in 1977. However, after his assassination, Zia rose to lead the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and served two terms as prime minister. This is the story of her life and legacy.

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Supporters gather near a banner with the picture of Bangladeshs former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia following her death while receiving treatment at the Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, on December 30. Reuters

8. Pakistan had a wedding that raised eyebrows. Asim Munir, the chief of the defence forces, married off his daughter to his brothers son. The December 26 celebration was hosted at the Pakistan armys headquarters in Rawalpindi. According to the buzz on social media, the groom is Munirs nephew, Abdul Rehman. Here is what we know about him.

9. Finally, lets talk about 2026 and what to expect from it. If Nostradamus is to be believed, there will be war, death and catastrophe. The 16th-century French astrologer wrote about the seven months great war and the great man will be struck down. Can we expect more conflict and the death of a powerful figure? We decode.

A person photographs novelty glasses shaped like 2026 featuring US flag designs on display at a vendor stall in Times Square, New York City. Reuters

Thats our reading list for the first Sunday of the year. It should get you up to date with all the news you missed during the celebrations and holidays. For more such explainers, bookmark this page.

Have a peaceful 2026.

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With a good luck and a godspeed from Donald Trump, the US forces launched one of the countrys most complex operations in the dead of night to snatch the leader of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, from his compound in Caracas. Heres how it all unfolded

An image of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, posted by US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account is displayed during a press conference on the US strikes in Venezuela, in Doral, Miami-Dade County, Florida. Reuters

I watched it, literally, like I was watching a television show. And if you would have seen the speed, the violence It was an amazing thing, an amazing job that these people did. Nobody else could have done anything like it.

This is how US President Donald Trump described Operation Absolute Resolve, the military operation to seize Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro, who has now arrived in New York and will stand trial on drug and weapon charges.

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Operation Absolute Resolve is the dramatic culmination of a months-long campaign whose ultimate goal has long been clear to those involved in its planning: to oust the Venezuelan president from power.

Catch all the live updates from the here

Heres how this complex, dangerous and daring operation unfolded  from planning to execution and extraction.

The planning stages

The operation to capture Maduro was not going to be easy. It was going to be a complex and highly dangerous mission, especially as the US embassy had shut down in Caracas, the Venezeulan capital, giving the Americans no cloak of diplomatic cover.

A New York Times report states that CIA officers had entered Venezuela last August with a plan to collect information on Nicolas Maduro. They moved around Caracas for a month, collecting all the information they could, along with information provided to them by someone close to none other than the Venezuelan president.

As US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine said on Saturday about the surveillance, We were tracking everything. How he (Maduro) moved, where he lived, where he travelled, what he ate, what he wore  what were his pets.

Based on this information, elite US troops, including the armys Delta Force, began planning and rehearsal on how they would storm Maduros strongly fortified residence. In fact, for this purpose, a replica of the Venezuelan presidents house was also created in Kentucky where they practised blowing through steel doors at ever-faster paces.

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According to Caine, by early December, the US forces were set to undertake Operation Absolute Resolve. However, Maduro hopping from one location to another didnt make it easy for the US. They didnt always learn where he intended to stay until late in the evenings.

Then, finally in the days before Christmas, Trump gave a green light to the operation. Then at 10.46 pm ET on Friday, after shopping and enjoying dinner at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, the US president gave the final go-ahead  Good luck and Godspeed.

According to comments given by Trump to Fox News, the operation to capture Maduro was to happen four days, ago, three days ago, two days ago, and then all of a sudden it opened up. And we said: Go.

US President Donald Trump and other officials watch as the US troops carry out Operation Absolute Resolve to capture Nicolas Maduro. Image Courtesy: White House/X

The night operation in Venezuela

What followed Trumps go-ahead was a precise mission  with many noting that it was unprecedented.

More than 150 US aircraft, including B1 bombers, F-35 and F-18 fighter jets and surveillance aircraft took off from 20 locations on land and sea from across the region. US warplanes pounced on Venezuelan air defence systems to allow helicopters and ground forces to approach Maduros compound.

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The lights of Caracas were largely turned off, due to a certain expertise that we have, Trump said. Videos posted on social media appeared to show explosions across the city. The US Space Force and Cyber Command helped clear the way for the operation as the planes approached.

According to Caine, the helicopters came under fire as they reached the target area  where Maduro was living. One was hit but remained flyable.

Just before 2 am, explosions began to rock Caracas. And as the world wondered if it was the start of a widespread bombing campaign of Venezuelan targets, the US troops were beginning to get into place to carry out the last part of their mission  extracting Maduro.

People look at the burnt containers at the Port of La Guaira, Venezuela, on January 3, 2026, after US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro after launching a large scale strike on the South American country. AFP

The troops arrived at Maduros location shortly after the strikes began. Trump described Maduros safe house as a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas. They were in a ready position waiting for us. They knew we were coming, he said.

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The US troops took fire when they arrived, but, as Trump said later none of them were killed. They just broke in, and they broke into places that were not really able to be broken into, you know, steel doors that were put there for just this reason, Trump said.

The US president added that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were trying to make it to a safe room. He was trying to get into it, but he got bum rushed so fast that he didnt get into that, the US president added, We were prepared with massive blowtorches to get through the steel, but we didnt need them.

Now, it was time to get out.

Maduros extraction and arrival on US soil

General Caine providing details added that Maduro and his wife gave up and were taken into custody by law enforcement officers on the mission. Additional helicopters arrived to aid the exfiltration, while fighter jets and drones provided overhead coverage and suppressive fire, Caine added.

The Delta operatives swiftly loaded the couple into the helicopters, and by 3.29 am, Maduro and his wife were transferred to the USS Iwo Jima, a US warship in the Caribbean stationed some kilometres off the coast of Venezuela during the operation.

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Trump, who had been seeing the entire operation unfold from Mar-a-Lago, then broke the news in a post on Truth Social at 4:21 am Washington time.

Minutes later, a senior White House official sent an AFP reporter a message consisting of emojis for a muscled arm, a fist and fire.

Simultaneously, the Venezuelan couple was transferred from the Iwo Jima to the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, where the FBI had a 757 government plane waiting to bring him to a military-controlled airport north of Manhattan.

Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in New York City. @RapidResponse47/Reuters

By Saturday evening, Maduro arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn  the same location where rapper Sean Diddy Combs was held during his trial last year, as were other high profile prisoners including Ghislaine Maxwell.

Now, Maduro is set to face drugs and weapons charges in a Manhattan federal court next week.

With inputs from agencies
While the Donald Trump administration has removed Nicolas Maduro, many in his regime remain in power. The US president has claimed the US will be running Venezuela, but as of now, Washington has no troops on the ground. So, what happens to Venezuela now?

A woman reacts as Venezuelans living in Chile gather to celebrate, after the United States struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Reuters

Nicolas Maduro is no longer leading Venezuela.

Maduro, the former long-time dictator of Venezuela, has been toppled by the Trump administration in a daring midnight raid on Caracas by the US elite Delta Forces. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have now been taken to the United States, where they are awaiting trial on drug, terrorism and weapons charges.

Images released by US authorities showed the leader handcuffed and blindfolded, and later being led down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, where he was heard wishing a Happy New Year. Indicted on various federal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, Maduro is expected to make an initial appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday, according to a Justice Department official.

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But what happens to Venezuela now?

Lets take a closer look.

Who is in charge in Venezuela?

Thats what everyone is wondering. While the Trump administration has removed Maduro, his regime  including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez  remains in power.

Trump has claimed the United States will be running Venezuela. We will run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition, Trump said at a press conference. We cant take a chance that someone else takes over Venezuela who doesnt have the interests of Venezuelans in mind.

Trump has said he is open to sending US forces into Venezuela. Were not afraid of boots on the ground, he said. However, there are no US troops on the ground as of now, which raises questions as to how much control the US will have or how it will maintain law and order if things spiral out of control.

The countrys Supreme Court has ordered Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez to take the role of acting president in Maduros absence. The court ruling said that Rodriguez would assume the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the Nation.

Delcy Rodriguez takes over as the interim president of Venezuela after the US capture of Nicolas Maduro. She served as the vice president and oil minister until now. Reuters

The ruling added that the court will debate the matter in order to determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defence of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic.

Adding to the confusion, Trump claimed that Rodriguez has been sworn in after Maduros arrest and that she had spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. While Trump said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth would be running Venezuela until it is back on its feet after a transition, no one seems to have told the Venezuelan government. Caracas does not seem eager to comply with the Trump administrations demands with Rodriguez. There are also reports that Rodriguez is currently in Russia.

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Rodriguez appeared on state TV to demand proof of life for both Maduro and his wife, Flores. Rodriguez, flanked by her brother, the head of the National Assembly Jorge Rodriguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, said that Maduro remained Venezuelas only president.

We demand the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, Rodriguez said, referring to Maduro as the only president of Venezuela. The joint appearance indicated the group that shared power with Maduro is staying united  for now.

However, some have speculated that the ease with which Maduro and his wife were captured hints that Maduro may have been betrayed by some high-ranking insiders. Speculation is rife that some in the inner circle may have sought the $50 million reward the US put up for Maduros capture, or simply that they sought to negotiate an exit for themselves.

It remains to be seen if the Trump administration will lean on Venezuela to hold elections. Some speculate that the a dministration is attempting to use Rodriguez to transition to a more democratic set-up.

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Where is the Venezuelan Opposition?

Trump only briefly mentioned the Venezuelan Opposition, which one would think would be key to holding the country together if the US administration was after regime change. Trump dismissed any notion of working with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

Machado is widely viewed as the countrys most credible and high-profile Opposition leader. Though Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, she had urged the Trump administration to invade Venezuela.

Trump said the US has not been in contact with Machado. She doesnt have the support within or the respect within the country, he said. After Machado was barred from running in Venezuelas 2024 elections, international observers say her stand-in candidate won the vote in a landslide, despite Maduros government claiming victory.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. Reuters

In Venezuela, the streets were mostly calm on Saturday. Soldiers patrolled some parts, and small pro-Maduro crowds gathered in Caracas. Others expressed relief. Im happy. I doubted for a moment that it was happening because its like a movie, said merchant Carolina Pimentel, 37, in the city of Maracay.

However, things could change if the US decides to put troops on the ground. Some say the risk of doing so could spark an insurgency similar to what the US had to deal with in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Trumps rhetoric about Venezuelan oil paying for the operation also brings to mind similar arguments that neo-conservatives put forth prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. In the run-up to the invasion, US officials repeatedly stated that the cost would largely be covered by Iraqs assets, including its oil. Various estimates by academics say the actual cost to the United States of its years-long entanglement in Iraq ended up being at least $2 trillion.

What happens to Venezuelas oil?

Maduro, prior to the operation, had accused America of trying to steal the countrys oil, which it had nationalised.

Venezuela has around 303 billion barrels worth of crude, which comprises close to 20 per cent of the worlds oil resources, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

The oil business in Venezuela has been a bust, a total bust for a long period of time, Trump said. Were going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure  the oil infrastructure  and start making money for the country.

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But Venezuela would first have to reform its laws to allow for larger investment by foreign oil companies. Output has plummeted over the past decades amid mismanagement and a lack of investment from foreign firms after Venezuela nationalised oil operations in the 2000s that included the assets of Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips. Venezuelan oil infrastructure is said to have decayed and could take years to get back on track.

Venezuela has around 303 billion barrels worth of crude, which comprises close to 20 per cent of the worlds oil resources. Representation image.

Even if America were to privatise the oil and invite players like Chevron and Halliburton in, experts say it could take years for oil from Caracas to start flowing. If Trump et al can produce a peaceful transition with little resistance, then in five to seven years there is a significant oil-production ramp-up as infrastructure is repaired and investments get sorted out, Thomas ODonnell, an energy and geopolitical strategist, said.

But that would depend on everything going right  and there is a lot that could go wrong.

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American companies would also be mindful about the security of their employees. American firms will not return until they know for sure they will be paid and will have at least a minimal amount of security, said Mark Christian, director of business development at CHRIS Well Consulting. He also said the companies would not go back until sanctions against the country are removed.

A botched political transition that has a feeling of US dominance can lead to years of resistance, ODonnell said, noting armed groups of citizens and guerrilla groups that operate in the country.

With inputs from agencies
Cilia Flores, the former first lady of Venezuela, was captured alongside her husband Nicolas Maduro by US forces. Maduro, who is currently in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, is awaiting trial. But who is Flores? What do we know about the woman who refers to herself as First Revolutionary Combatant?

The United States operation to capture Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro took many by shock.

The former dictator was taken by the US elite Delta Force from his home on a military compound in Caracas. He was first taken to Guantanamo Bay via the USS Iwo Jima carrier, then put on a plane to New York City. He has now been transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

But Maduro, the long-time authoritarian leader of Venezuela, wasnt alone. His wife Cilia Flores was also taken by US forces. But who is Flores, the former first lady of Venezuela? What do we know about her?

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Lets take a closer look:

Early years and moving up

Flores, 69, is a lawyer and politician. She was born on October 15, 1956, in the city of Tinaquillo in the rural Cojedes state. Flores grew up in a mud-floored home alongside half a dozen siblings, of whom she was the youngest. Her father was a travelling salesman. The family later moved to Caracas in search of more opportunity.

Flores enrolled in law at the private Santa Maria University in the capital, specialising in labour and criminal law. There, she met Maikel Moreno, a lifelong friend and a lawyer she would eventually help become Venezuelas chief justice.

As a student, Flores showed little interest in politics, according to people who knew her. She worked part-time at a police station, transcribing statements from witnesses, and married a longtime boyfriend, a police detective, with whom she had three boys. Upon earning her law degree, she worked for most of the next decade as a defence attorney for a private firm.

She first gained prominence when she helped Hugo Chavez gain his freedom. She met Maduro in the early days of the Chavista movement. Chavez had been sent to jail following a failed coup in 1992 after he tried to overthrow then-President Carlos Andres Perez. Maduro at the time was on Chavezs security team. He joked that Flores broke the ice by winking at him.

During that struggle for Chavezs release, we were involved in street activities. I always remember a meeting in Catia, and when a young man asked to speak, he spoke, and I just stared at him. I said, How intelligent, Flores recalled.

Flores proved to be invaluable to Chavez in the years that followed. Not only did she help him with the 1998 election, she served as a lawmaker of his Socialist Party in the National Assembly. She later served as the President of the National Assembly in 2006, succeeding Maduro, who became Chavezs foreign minister. She also served as second vice-president of Chavezs United Socialist Party of Venezuela. Many described Flores as the most powerful woman in Venezuelan politics.

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Cilia Flores first gained prominence when she helped Hugo Chavez gain his freedom. Nicolas Maduro, at the time, was on Chavezs security team. AP

Her time in the legislature was controversial, to say the least. She was accused of getting jobs for her close relatives, including her four brothers, two nephews, two cousins and her ex-husband. Flores accused journalists who published stories covering these developments of trying to blackmail her. I feel proud that they are my family and I will defend them as workers in the Assembly, she said at the time. She also banned all but state-backed journalists from covering the legislature.

In 2012, Chavez named Flores Attorney General of Venezuela. By then, Chavez was grappling with cancer and Maduro was serving as vice-president. The two visited Chavez in Cuba, where he was being treated for cancer. During the last weeks of his illness, she staunchly backed the government at key moments  defending it against opposition accusations that there was a power vacuum while Chavez fought to recover from his fourth and final cancer operation.

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She married Maduro in July 2013, shortly after he succeeded his mentor Chavez as president. By then, Flores and Maduro had been partners for the past two decades.Ive told her she is not going to be First Lady, Maduro said at the time. Ive told her to get ready to be the First Fighter of the fatherland, the First Socialist, the first woman of the people of the barrios, of the streets, he added, giving her a kiss.

The power behind the throne

As first lady of Venezuela, Flores was seen as the power behind the throne and a wily operator. Some even likened her to Lady Macbeth and said she was a key strategist for her husband. She refers to herself as the first revolutionary combatant.

Interviews with people close to her portrayed her as a shrewd and stealthy politician who brandished much of the power of her husbands office, demanding important briefings even before the president and personally negotiating with foreign emissaries, rival lawmakers and others.

Manuel Cristopher Figuera, previously the head of the countrys intelligence agency, said, Flores has always been behind the curtain, pulling the strings.

She is a fundamental figure in corruption in Venezuela  absolutely fundamental  and especially in the structure of power, Zair Mundaray, who worked as a senior prosecutor under both Chavez and Maduro, told The New York Times. Many people consider her far more astute and shrewd than Maduro himself.

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As first lady of Venezuela, Cilia Flores was seen as the power behind the throne and a wily operator. Some even likened her to Lady Macbeth and said she was a key strategist for her husband Nicolas Maduro. AP

Flores was said to be one of the most powerful political operators within Venezuela. She is said to have bent the judiciary to her will and had her imprint on major decisions.

She is said to have stocked Venezuelan state media institutions with her relatives and partisans. She is also said to have amassed a massive amount of wealth. Former intelligence officials have claimed that sensitive intelligence reports about Venezuela were sent directly to Flores, bypassing normal channels. She also played a role in monitoring opposition figures and managing internal threats.

She has a significant political background. When she became first lady, she took a back seat. But for many, she is the power behind the throne or a top adviser, Carmen Arteaga, a doctor of political science and associate professor at Simon Bolivar University, told CNN. When they got married, she significantly lowered her profile. She hardly makes public statements, she doesnt compete for attention, she takes a step back.

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It remains unclear what charges she will face in the United States. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X that Maduro and Flores will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts. She referred to them as two alleged international narco traffickers.

With inputs from agencies
Are you looking to travel in 2026? This year, travelling will no longer be just about the destination  or even the journey. Its about the experience you walk away with

A combination of hush and hospitality, hushpitality is a form of travel designed around quiet and calm. Representational image/Pixabay

Its 2026 and its supposed to be the year of travel. However, this year isnt about peak seasons, overcrowded cities and highly-flocked destinations.

After Covid, travel has changed drastically; people are seeking experience-led travel with the hope of connecting with locals and enjoying their culture, rather than just checking off landmarks from their bucket list.

So, whats it going to be in 2026? Data and predictions from travellers and travel firms suggest that this year will be about nostalgic travel and the rise of the anti-tourist. Heres what you need to know about it.

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Hushpilatity

An increasing number of people realise that constant connectivity, social media, and notifications are a bane to their mental health. Hence, they are seeking quieter places. This is where hushpitality enters.

A combination of hush and hospitality, hushpitality is a form of travel designed around quiet and calm. People are looking to detach themselves from their daily grind with holidays focused on nature, rest and mental recovery.

Nature-based locations like forests, mountains and remote coasts with minimal social interaction and no forced activities, form the core of hushpitality.

Anti-tourist

In 2026, forget over tourism. Its going to be all about anti-tourist. Travellers are going to swap busy, overcrowded destinations such as Paris, Berlin, and even London for lesser-known cities, secondary ones or better yet the countryside. These not only provide a sense of calm and serenity over the hubbub of the crowded cities but also helps travellers connect and enjoy local culture more than crowded cities.

A drone view shows tourists gathered on top of the place known as Penon de Comasagua to watch sunset in Comasagua, El Salvador. File image/Reuters

According to 45 per cent of advisors from travel agency Virtuoso, their clients are adjusting plans due to climate change. Travellers now prefer destinations with moderate weather and fewer tourists. According to platforms like Agoda, secondary destinations are growing at a much higher pace than the traditional tourist hotspots.

Even governments have caught on to this trend and countries like Indonesia and Japan are promoting regional destinations for travel more than traditional places.

Nostalgic travel

Going back in time is physically impossible, but what about visiting places that evoke a sense of nostalgia!

Thats whats people are looking for in their travel plans too. According to a report by Contiki, nearly eight out of 10 American adults are seeking to recreate a childhood trip.

People are even opting to live in heritage sites, enjoy classic train journeys, or returning to childhood memories. It is all about feeling the past and developing new experiences alongside the old ones.

Rail revival

This year will also witness a surge in train travel as more travellers are choosing rail journeys over short-haul flights. This comes as people are becoming more conscious about their carbon footprint on the environment and choosing to reduce it.

Rail journeys, especially along scenic routes across Japan, India, and Europe, are on the rise. As people want to watch the world go by their window and enjoy the view, they feel more connected. Travellers claim that rail travel actually makes them feel more connected to their surroundings. And its not just trains, even buses and cars have a similar impact.

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As people become more Aware of their carbon footprint, the coming years will witness an increase in rail travel. File image/Reuters

People are looking for the personal touch more than convenience. Were seeing phenomenal growth in rail-based adventures, which is a clear reflection of the wider trend towards more sustainable and experiential forms of travel, Katy Rockett, regional director of North America for the adventure travel company Explore Worldwide, told Travelpulse in an interview.

Rockett further said, Travellers want to slow down and take in more of the journey itself, and rail provides that sense of adventure and connection to the landscape that flights cant offer.

Novel travel

This year, literary travel is also going to experience a rise. Potential travellers are expressing interest in visiting Jane Austens Bath or William Shakespeares museum in Stratford-upon-Avon, or even Bram Stokers Transylvania

The interest in literary travel is reflected in a 265 per cent spike in searches for book club retreats on Pinterest, as friends opt to trade the usual tourist itinerary for a quiet space where they can choose to focus on both books and each other.

According to Skyscanner, nearly 32 per cent of travellers are interested in visiting a destination named in a book, while 18 per cent are keen to stay in a book-themed accommodation.

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Other travel trends to watch out for

Some of the other travel trends to keep an eye on in 2026 will be noctourism, indigenous destinations and decision detox holidays. For the unaware, noctourism is a travel trend specially designed for night owls. This type of travel focuses on a range of night activities like stargazing, night-time safaris and after-dark city tours are planned.

Indigenous tourism is expected to increase in the coming year, with Australia and Canada leading the way for new experiences.

Visitors stroll inside the Colosseum during a night tour in Rome, Italy. File image/Reuters

Meanwhile decision detox holidays are where travellers outsource the planning of their vacation to agencies or even hotels that offer all-inclusive packages. Tara Schwenk, senior director of digital strategy at Lemongrass Marketing, told CNBC, Essentially travellers want someone they trust to make good choices for them, so they can properly switch off.

So, what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and head out to enjoy this year with no stress and no fuss.

With inputs from agencies
The President of Mauritius Dharam Gokhool during his India tour, attended the World Telugu Conference in Guntur where he highlighted the significance of Telugu language and how it gained recognition from a regional language to a global presence.

The President of Mauritius Dharam Gokhool is on a six-day tour to India from January 3 to 8, which includes his participation in the World Telugu Conference in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. In a gathering on Sunday Gokhool said that Telugu is not just a state language but a living civilisation with spiritual legacy.

Gokhool described the World Telugu Conference as a landmark event uniting Telugu diaspora from around the world.

Telugu is more than just a language; it embodies a living civilisation and carries a profound spiritual legacy, said Gokhool, addressing the gathering.

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The conference coincides with the threshold of 2026, traditionally associated with reflection and renewal, Gokhool noted, linking it to Ugadi, celebrated as a national holiday in Mauritius.

While calendars may differ, the promise of new beginnings and our collective responsibility to preserve heritage with wisdom and foresight remain universal, he said.

From regional language to global presence

Gokhool highlighted the significance of Telugu language and how it gained recognition from a regional language to a global presence. Telugu is now spoken in over 50 foreign countries, he cited and nearly delegates from these 50 nations joined the event.

Gokhool threw light on Telugu cultures integral role in Mauritius multicultural fabric and enduring people-to-people ties between India and Mauritius.

India-Mauritius relations

Referring to India  Mauritius relations, Gokhool said the partnership is anchored in shared history, values, and civilisational continuity, strengthened further by high-level visits between the two nations in 2025.

Beyond political boundaries, diplomatic ties, language and heritage serve as living and strengthening the ties between the two nations, noting that Indias linguistic plurality resonates strongly with Mauritius multicultural ethos.

Gokhool said Telugu community in Mauritius contributes significantly to nation-building, adding that it uniquely teaches Telugu at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels in its formal education system.
News / National

by Gideon Madzikatidze / Simbarashe Sithole

MAGUNJE - Traditional healer and community leader Sekuru Banda has urged Zimbabweans to unite behind President Emmerson Mnangagwa's Vision 2030 and the newly launched National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), saying the country is on a transformative path.Addressing crowds in Magunje, Mashonaland West, during a New Year engagement, Banda praised Mnangagwa's leadership and cited improvements in infrastructure, youth empowerment and economic resilience despite the impact of sanctions."President Mnangagwa is Godly chosen to lead us at this time," Banda said, calling on citizens to support the administration's longterm development agenda.He pointed to major infrastructure projects such as the upgraded Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and newly constructed roads as evidence of progress under the Second Republic.Banda also highlighted Zimbabwe's potential to reclaim its status as the "Breadbasket of Africa", noting growth in mining, agriculture and tourism."The President has made it clear: Zimbabwe is open for business, and this is a true testament especially now that we have transitioned from National Development Strategy 1 into the second phase, National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2)," he said.He urged unity and collective effort in supporting the government's development programmes.
India intensifies efforts to conclude comprehensive trade deal with EU, covering 23 chapters with carbon tariffs, duty cuts and market access among key discussion points

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will visit Brussels this week for talks with his EU counterpart on the proposed trade pact, for which negotiations are in the last phase, an official said.

During the two-day visit on January 8-9, Goyal will meet the Executive Vice-President and European Commissioner for Trade of the European Union, Maros Sefcovic. The minister will leave tomorrow night, the official said.

On January 7, the minister will first visit Liechtenstein to hold talks on ways to boost trade and investments between the two countries. Liechtenstein is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). India and EFTA implemented a free trade agreement on October 1, 2025.

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EFTA members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

Goyals Brussels visit comes at a crucial stage in the ongoing India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, as both sides intensify efforts to conclude a comprehensive, balanced, and mutually beneficial trade agreement at the earliest.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal too will reach Brussels. On December 15, Agrawal said that the negotiations between India and the 27-nation bloc, the EU, have entered the most difficult stage, and both sides are engaged to bridge the differences and close the talks soon.

He said that the European Unions (EU) carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) is on the discussion table. The 16th round of negotiations between the two sides concluded earlier this month (3-9 December) here. Key chapters such as goods, services, investment, rules of origin, and technical barriers to trade were discussed.

In June 2022, India and the EU bloc resumed negotiations for a comprehensive FTA, an investment protection agreement, and a pact on geographical indications after a gap of over eight years. The talks were stalled in 2013 due to differences on the level of opening up markets.

Indias bilateral trade in goods with the EU was USD 136.53 billion in 2024-25 (exports worth USD 75.85 billion and imports worth USD 60.68 billion), making it the largest trading partner for goods.

The EU market accounts for about 17 per cent of Indias total exports, and the blocs exports to India constitute 9 per cent of its total overseas shipments. Besides demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles and medical devices, the EU wants tax reduction in products like wine, spirits, meat, poultry, and a strong intellectual property regime.

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Indian goods exports to the EU, such as ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals, steel, petroleum products, and electrical machinery, can become more competitive if the pact sails through.

The India-EU trade pact negotiations cover 23 policy areas or chapters, including trade in goods, services, investment, trade remedies, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, competition, government procurement, dispute settlement, intellectual property rights, geographical indications, and sustainable development.
Shashi Tharoor reacted sharply to the US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, calling it a stark example of global power politics. Taking to X, he warned that might is right seems to prevail today

Indian politician and former diplomat Shashi Tharoor weighed in on the United States controversial military action against Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. Tharoor, who serves as chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, didnt mince words in his reaction to what he called a stark example of global power politics.

Tharoor took to X to voice his concerns about what he sees as a broader erosion of international norms.

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International law and the UN Charter have for some years now been honoured in the breach. The Law of the Jungle prevails today. Might is Right is the new creed, he wrote, responding to a post by author Kapil Komireddi that highlighted perceived double standards in global responses to powerful nations actions.

International law and the UN Charter have for some years now been honoured in the breach, @kapskom. The Law of the Jungle prevails today. Might is Right is the new creed. https://t.co/0g7nll3J7e  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 4, 2026

The US operation came after months of escalating pressure on Venezuela, culminating in a strike that toppled Maduro and saw him taken to New York to face drug and weapons charges.

A broader global debate

Tharoor was responding to an argument suggesting that people might not be as vocal in criticising Venezuela if a powerful country like China were to take similar action against another nations leadership.

All those condoning the gangsterism in Venezuela today will shriek international law and UN Charter when China abducts Taiwans president, Komireddi wrote in his post.

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Tharoors comments reflect a broader concern from several global leaders and analysts over the legality and implications of the US move. Critics argue that bypassing established international frameworks could weaken global institutions like the United Nations and erode the rulesbased order that many countries have long upheld.

Also read | US attack on Venezuela and capture of Maduro: Americas way is the highway

Where is Maduro and his wife now?

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are currently in United States custody and are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York.

The couple was transported by air to New York to face federal indictments for narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and weapons charges. They are expected to remain at the Brooklyn facilitythe same jail that has housed other high-profile detaineesuntil their scheduled arraignment in a Manhattan federal court later this week.
After the elections, China will further expand its influence in Myanmar, which could affect Indias influence and regional security as well. India must have all its negotiating levers ready, even if it is through hard power

After almost four years of a coup, Myanmar has held elections, which, by definition, do not appear to be free and fair and were just held to legitimise the military rule. The most important aspect of this election is that the generals consolidation of power could influence South Asias stability and balance in the coming period, especially in India, at the centre of the region.

Until now, the strategic and security complexities of Myanmar have been quietly assessed, but post-elections, there will be a sense of dynamism, for which India must revisit its strategy to deal with Myanmar.

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The Complex Tug Of War

The Myanmar socio-political landscape has been dominated by a triangular contest among the civilian government, the military, and the rebels, where the pre-coup scenario suggests that the relationship between the civilian government and the army was governed by nationalist spirit and the establishment of a strong state, which was glaringly visible. When the Arakan Army (AA) attacked the police in 2019, Aung San Suu Kyis government officially labelled them terrorists in 2020 and ordered the military to crush them.

While the military used the National Ceasefire Agreement to weaken rebels through a rule-based strategy, major rebel groups, the Arakan Army and the Kachin, refused to sign. By the November 2020 elections, the relationship between the civilian government (NLD) and the military had soured. The civilian government won a landslide victory, while the military-backed political party suffered defeat, threatening the militarys grip on Myanmars political system, which was guaranteed by the 2008 constitution through 25 per cent of seats and control of key ministries. Along with political reasons, the Myanmar military chief, Min Aung Hlaing, who was scheduled to retire almost six months after the 2020 elections, had his own ambition to rise in power, which further fuelled the drive to capture power through a coup.

The rebels struggle for greater autonomy reached its peak after the coup, when all guns turned against the military. The Bamar nationalist population, the countrys majority ethnic group, and the ethnic divide with the rebels dissolved, and the Peoples Defence Forces, comprising Bamar youth, were formed, backed by ethnic rebels. In this complex tug-of-war, the civilian government, aligned with the military, turned against it after the coup and, through a shadow government and its pro-democratic government, sided with the rebels.

Indias Strategy With Government and Generals

Indias strategy for India-Myanmar affairs was simpleengage with pro-democratic forces, especially after its support for the 1988 pro-democratic uprising in Myanmar. However, during the 1990s, the Northeast faced an ethnic insurgency that pushed India to rethink its engagement with Myanmar. In 1993, India began to shift its engagement by opening diplomatic channels with the generals.

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From the late 90s to the early 2000s, especially under the Vajpayee government, the relationship began to develop constructively, with high-level visits, such as the Vice Chairman of the Junta, General Maung Ayes visit to India in 2000. By 2003, the Junta began sharing intelligence on the movements of anti-India insurgents.

The relationship between the generals and Delhi further developed at strategic and economic levels when China began building a listening post on the Coco Islands to spy on Indias DRDO missile tests in Odisha. India began to provide military and strategic aid to the Junta to create an alternative to the generals and prevent them from a full strategic embrace of China.

Indias opening to generals primarily focused on security and strategic interestsfirst to counter insurgents and to check Chinas influence, which was widely perceived among generals and could become a tool in Chinas hands to disrupt Indias eastern front. This logic of engagement with generals echoed Indias expanding strategic interests in the east under the umbrella of the Look East policy at one end. However, on the other end, it created friction with the pro-democratic forces (NLD). When pro-junta mobs attacked Suu Kyi in the Depayin Massacre (2003), Indias response was notably muted.

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The Twin Track Era

In 2015, NLD won the first truly open general election. Suu Kyi became State Counsellor (de facto leader) and formed the government in Myanmar but remained restricted by the military from assuming the full presidency, as the military-drafted 2008 constitution barred individuals with foreign spouses or children from the presidency. Aung San Suu Kyis late husband and two children are British nationals, making her ineligible for the presidency.

However, the State Counsellor post functioned in practice as a prime ministerial office, despite its de facto status. The civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi was responsible for education, the economy and foreign affairs, while the military was responsible for defence, home affairs and border security.

This dual arrangement realigned Indias strategy into a twin-track approach, allowing it to balance relations with both the civilian government and the military. The core aspect of this strategy was the balance between socio-economic and strategic interests. The maintenance of cultural-economic ties with the civilian government to preserve Indias political influence at the national level and to contain Chinas influence. Strategic balance with the Junta to ensure the strategic interests of reducing Chinas dependency and securing the security of the Northeast.

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To some extent, India successfully pursued this twin-track diplomacy by expanding personal and cultural outreach through a development partnership with Aung San Suu Kyi, thereby reinforcing Indias political influence in Myanmar, particularly with Aung San Suu Kyi.

On the other hand, India maintained its influence among generals and began cultivating deeper ties. India gifted a Kilo-class submarine (INS Sindhuvir, renamed UMS Minye Theinkhathu) to the Myanmar Navy, making it the first submarine for the Myanmar Navy. India continued to supply military aid in exchange for intelligence and to flush out anti-India insurgents, thereby presenting the military with a strategic alternative to China.

This strategic balancing act was put to the test in 2017 during the early phases of the Rohingya crisis. The West was criticising the government and military, further complicating the situation. Bangladesh was also in the centre of attention, as supporting military action against the Rohingya would most likely anger Bangladesh, which sees the crisis as a humanitarian issue.

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Indias strategic balancing approach gave equal weight to both sides. At one end, it did not directly and assertively condemn Myanmar and further abstained from a resolution that would sanction generals. On the other hand, it adopted a development approach, signing an agreement with Suu Kyis government to construct prefabricated houses for returning refugees as part of Rakhine States development. This kept Indias political engagement with the government intact and eased the issue with Bangladesh. This twin approach, combining strategic action with the Junta and political action with the de facto civilian government, kept Indias long-term interests in Myanmar secure and functional.

Coup and Elections

After the coup in 2021, Indias strategic balance faced a strong challenge from China, putting Indias security and strategic interests in the Northeast at stake. China demonstrated full control of the situation at one end while providing a diplomatic shield at the UN through a veto on sanctions proposals. On the other hand, it played a strong role as a broker between the rebels and the junta. Chinas brokering of peace between the Three Brotherhood Alliance and the Junta after Operation 1027, when the Junta saw significant losses against the rebels, gave clear signals that China is controlling both the war and peace switches in Myanmar, which could threaten Indias eastern frontier and make it vulnerable to external influence ever since the Manipur crisis.

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In return for these diplomatic and security assurances, Myanmars military accelerated mega China-Myanmar Economic Corridor projects and granted China access to the strategic Kyaukphyu Port, giving China direct access to the Indian Ocean by bypassing the Malacca Strait.

Until Indias strategic balancing act could give equal weight to relations between the de facto government and the military, the power balance was right. Post-coup, this balance shifted, strengthening the junta and aligning it more closely with China as longstanding military relations deepened.

India was left with one option: to return to the Vajpayee-era approach and begin developing deeper ties with the Junta. But within a few years, as the Junta began losing significant ground to rebels, it became clear that India couldnt work in isolation or negotiate with one power; it had to open its twin-track diplomacy to include the rebels, as the stakes had risen. The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project is Indias gateway to the Northeast via sea. The project is physically located in Rakhine State, now controlled by the Arakan Army.

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The Manipur rebels also have traditional ties with other rebels, which have further complicated the security scenario and pushed India to rethink its approach to dealing with the Junta. The challenge is that negotiating with rebels might strain relations with the junta and push it closer to China, attracting Chinese attention as well.

A Sharp Pragmatism

India perhaps realises that negotiating with a single power in Myanmar is unlikely to work in Indias favour. New Delhi has opened its backdoor channelsclandestine diplomacy through intelligence networks and political channels, including the Mizoram government leveraging ethnic linkagesto engage with rebels and ensure its strategic and security interests remain secure. On the other hand, silence on the Juntas actions and repatriating Junta soldiers who often flee into India when overrun by rebels.

The current approach suggests that India engage on a need basis  a fragmented balancing act with both actors, keeping their boats afloat in choppy waters. However, in the long run, it may not work as Chinas influence grows and Indias bargaining power erodes. India needs a sharper balance, putting equal weight on both ends by assertively negotiating to maintain strong bargaining power.

Instead of a fragmented balance, it needs a sharper balance that can be leveraged through strong economic and logistical engagement with rebels to reduce their dependence on Chinese brokers who control them through weapons and trade supplies. For the Arakan Army, access to the Indian market via Mizoram is a strategic alternative to China and can further help India deepen its ties with rebels.

On the other hand, maintaining influence over the Junta through continued intelligence sharing on the Rohingya militants and providing hardware and military aid to the Junta. But as generals are likely to be legitimised soon through elections, India must prepare to strategically intervene with both actorsno political or strategic pragmatic balance is required.

Rather, sharper, more ruthless or risky pragmatic actions are required, where India not only has strong negotiating power but also strong bargaining power. Following the elections, China will further expand its influence in Myanmar, which could affect Indias influence and regional security as well. India must have all its negotiating levers ready, even if it is through hard power.

(Srijan Sharma is a national security analyst specialising in intelligence and security analysis, having wide experience working with national security and foreign policy think tanks. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.)
America First is no longer a slogan; it is a doctrine, but the ledger of force rarely balances neatly

This image posted on US President Donald Trump's Truth Social account on January 3, 2026, shows, L/R, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, watching a remote feed of the US military's mission to capture Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, 2026.- AFP

Pax Americana arrives with the capture of Nicolas Maduro. It is a very public burial of restraint, as America says, My way is the highway.

With one operationswift, precise and unapologetically unilateralTrump has announced that sovereignty now survives only at the pleasure of superior force. No leader, no oilfield, and no lithium reserve are henceforth beyond the imperious reach of the Stars-and-Stripes Eagle. The age of rules has yielded to the age of reach.

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The operation itself was a display of calibrated violence. Coordinated explosions paralysed command nodes. Low-flying helicopters roared across Caracas, hugging rooftops. VSTOL aircraft hovered with theatrical menace. The scale was massive, yet the execution was pinpoint accurate. Civilian infrastructure remained largely intact; Venezuelas frontline military capabilities did not. This is impossible to achieve without an inside job. CIA scored. Shock was achieved tactically. The strategic messaging was unmistakable: the Venezuelan state, such as it was, had been neutralised in minutes.

For Trump, this was a Maga victory in its purest form. The strike signalled, with brutal clarity, that the international community is irrelevant, that the United Nations is way past its expiry date, and that legitimacy flows not from multilateral consensus but, ironically, to quote Mao, from the barrel of the gun.

America First is no longer a slogan; it is now a doctrine enforced by stealth rotor blades, night-vision goggles and standoff weaponry and the fifth column inside with the odd Nobel Prize as bait.

This was not just about Venezuela. It was a notice to Beijing. For years China had been the principal external client of Venezuelan oil, at times importing close to 700,000 barrels a day, often on concessionary terms that doubled as geopolitical leverage. That arrangement is shattered. The Western Hemisphere, Washington has declared, is not a shared commons. This is the Monroe Doctrine on steroids. America will not tolerate a rival power in its backyard.

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The demonstration of American power was loud, choreographed and unmistakably a revolution in military affairs. Precision munitions, real-time intelligence fusion and overwhelming air mobility were combined to devastating effect. Venezuelas air defences were neutralised. Its command structure collapsed. Its president was extracted alive. A new year welcomes regime decapitation.

Yet the aerial spectacle was only half the story. To topple Maduro, Trump paired skyward stings with subterranean intrigue. For years, US intelligence agencies had cultivated discontent within Venezuela. Covert operators whispered assurances to disgruntled generals, promising survival, relevance and perhaps amnesty in a post-Maduro order. The aim was not conquest but succession: to midwife a military putsch rather than administer an occupation.

This approach reflects Trumps instinctive aversion to entanglement. Venezuela was meant to be an asset-light intervention: no prolonged ground presence, no nation-building, no trillion-dollar reconstruction bill. The bet was that the regime would collapse faster than the state, allowing Washington to exit while retaining influence. Whether this gamble succeeds will depend not on the brilliance of the raid, but on the resilience of what follows.

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History offers a cautionary parallel. Iraq, too, was ruled by a dictator presiding over a fractured society. There, too, was achieved a brilliant initial US victory. And there too, oil hovered as both prize and justification. The aftermath, however, proved catastrophic. Institutions collapsed. Militias flourished as the Islamic state gained. External powers filled the vacuum. The lesson was not that toppling tyrants is impossible, but that doing so without a viable successor invites chaos.

Yet, Venezuela differs in important respects. Its proximity to the US concentrates attention and urgency. Instability potentially spills northward, not across oceans but across borders. Domestic support within America is firmer than it ever was for Iraq, especially since no large ground invasion accompanied the strike. The absence of boots on the ground limits exposure, but it does not eliminate what Clausewitz termed everything is difficult in war.

More consequential than the military outcome is the legal precedent. Maduros capture by US special forces signals the effective death of international law. The principles enshrined in the UN Chartersovereign equality, non-intervention, and territorial integrityare junked.

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Blowback is inevitable. It always is. It may not arrive immediately, nor in predictable form. It may surface as proxy conflict or diplomatic obstruction. It may emerge years later as a violent implosion. The ledger of force rarely balances neatly.

What, then, was the prize? Venezuelas black-gold oil bounty looms large. Possessing the worlds largest proven oil reserves, the country represents a strategic windfall. Control keeps IS oil extraction profitable and bolsters US leverage over global markets as it deprives rivals of supply. The fact is that US sanctions and control on Iran, Venezuela and Russia are the only reason oil is priced over $20 per barrel. Trump covets the oil, yet history warns of the spills.

Oil is a treacherous reward. Toppling tyrants opens Pandoras box. Refugee flows swell as uncertainty spreads. Unpredictable forces fill power vacuums. When you dont have bots on the ground, others come marching in.

Even a friendly successor regime inherits a poisoned chalice: hollowed institutions, politicised armed forces, and a traumatised population. The oil may flow, but the spillpolitical, social, humanwill spread far beyond the wells.

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The operations success has emboldened those in Washington who argue that decisive force restores credibility. Perhaps it does, briefly. But credibility built solely on coercion erodes quickly. Allies grow uneasy. Adversaries adapt. Middle powers reassess their vulnerabilities. The world does not become safer or predictable; it becomes more suspicious, better armed and hair-triggered.

For India, watching this drama unfold, the lesson is stark. In a world where international law has been stripped of enforcement, autonomy must be defended. Geography alone is no shield. Norms are no protection. India needs to immediately modernise its already credible nuclear deterrence.

Americas capture of Maduro will be remembered as a moment of supreme confidence. Empires often peak in displays of effortless dominance. Yet history suggests that such moments carry hidden costs. The raid was flawless. The message was clear. The consequences, however, will unfold slowlyand they will not be choreographed from the sky.

(The writer is a senior journalist with expertise in defence. Views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of Firstpost.)

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Elon Musk said users creating illegal content through Grok will face consequences, as the Centre directed X to remove obscene and unlawful material or face legal action.

Musks remarks followed a directive from the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity), which on Friday instructed X to immediately remove all vulgar, obscene and unlawful content.

Microblogging platform X owner Elon Musk on Saturday said that individuals using the platforms artificial intelligence service Grok to generate illegal content will face the same consequences as those who upload such material directly. His statement came amid growing scrutiny from the Indian government over the misuse of AI-generated content on social media.

Anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content, Musk said on X, responding to a post referring to the creation of inappropriate images.

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The post stated, Some people are saying Grok is creating inappropriate images. But thats like blaming a pen for writing something bad. A pen doesnt decide what gets written. The person holding it does. Grok works the same way. What you get depends a lot on what you put in. Think about it!.

Government directs immediate removal of unlawful content

Musks remarks followed a directive from the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity), which on Friday instructed X to immediately remove all vulgar, obscene and unlawful content on the platform, particularly material generated using the AI app Grok, or face action under the law.

The ministry has also directed the US-based social media firm to submit a detailed action taken report (ATR) within 72 hours from the date of the order.

Concerns raised over decency and obscenity

According to the government order, Meity has received information from time to time, including through public discourse and representations from various parliamentary stakeholders, that certain categories of content circulating on X may not be in compliance with applicable laws relating to decency and obscenity.

The order stated that the Grok AI service developed by X is being misused by users to create fake accounts to host, generate, publish or share obscene images or videos of women in a derogatory or vulgar manner, with the intent to indecently denigrate them.

The governments action followed a letter from Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi to Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, seeking urgent intervention over increasing instances of the AI app Grok being misused to create vulgar images of women and circulate them on social media.

Earlier, on December 29, Meity had issued an advisory asking social media platforms to immediately review their compliance frameworks and act against obscene and unlawful content, warning that failure to do so could lead to prosecution under the law of the land. The advisory was issued after the ministry observed that platforms were not acting strictly against obscene, vulgar, inappropriate and unlawful content.

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At least 30 people were killed and several others abducted after armed gunmen launched a deadly attack on a remote village in northern Nigerias Niger state, highlighting the continuing security crisis in the region.

At least 30 people were killed and several others abducted after heavily armed gunmen attacked a remote village in northern Nigerias Niger state, the Associated Press reported on Sunday, citing police, in the latest incident of violence in the restive region.

The attack took place on Saturday evening in Kasuwan-Daji village in the Borgu local government area. Police said the assailants stormed the village and opened fire indiscriminately on residents, before setting the local market and several houses ablaze, causing widespread damage.

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Niger state police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said security forces had been deployed to the area to search for those abducted and restore order. However, residents disputed the claim, saying no security personnel had reached the village by Sunday.

While police confirmed at least 30 fatalities, locals said the death toll was higher. Two residents told reporters that at least 37 people had been killed, warning that the number could rise further as several villagers remained missing. Some of those abducted were reportedly women and children.

Reverend Father Stephen Kabirat, spokesperson of the Catholic Diocese of Kontagora, said the scale of the attack was even more severe, claiming that more than 40 people were killed and several others, including children, were abducted.

Residents said the gunmen had been spotted in nearby communities for nearly a week before the attack, raising concerns over the absence of preventive security measures. Survivors said they were too afraid to return to the village to retrieve the bodies.

The bodies are still there in Kasuwan-Daji. If we dont see any security, how can we go there? a resident said, adding that the assault lasted almost three hours.

Such attacks have become increasingly frequent in Nigeria, Africas most populous country, where armed criminal gangs regularly target rural areas with limited state presence. The groups are known for mass killings, kidnappings for ransom, and arson, exploiting weak security structures.

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Saturdays assault occurred near Papiri community, where more than 300 schoolchildren and their teachers were abducted from a Catholic school in November, underlining the persistent security threat in the area.

Police said the attackers likely emerged from the National Park Forest in the Kabe district, noting that vast, poorly monitored forest reserves in the region have become safe havens for armed groups, allowing them to launch repeated attacks and evade security forces.
After the shocking US operation in Venezuela, a plane carrying the countrys captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, arrived in New York.

After the shocking US operation in Venezuela, a plane carrying the countrys captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, arrived in New York. The plane landed just hours after an overnight US military attack in the Latin American nations capital that was hailed by US President Donald Trump.

While confirming the news of the operation, Trump lauded the strikes and Maduros capture as an assault like people have not seen since World War II and vowed the US would run the leaderless country. While speaking at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, Trump provided few details after ousting Maduro in an audacious military attack.

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He maintained that the United States would be in control of Venezuela until there was an orderly transition of power. It is pertinent to note that Maduro was in the US custody hours after being seized from his Caracas compound in a US raid, landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base after 4.30 pm (local time) in a white Boeing 757.

He and his wife were then taken to the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn by a helicopter to the city, where he will be processed and transported to the Metropolitan Detention Centre prison, officials told NBC News. The authorities added that the Venezuelan president is set to appear in court by Monday evening.

What comes next for Maduro

Leon Fresco, a former deputy assistant attorney general at the US Department of Justice, said that Maduro will be arraigned in court either on Monday or Tuesday, for the crimes of conspiracy and drug trafficking.

He will have to either plead guilty or not guilty. Most people plead not guilty in this situation, and then he will be asking for bond, at which time he will most likely be denied because you know he is an international leader and hes a very likely fugitive if he were to be sent out on bond, Fresco told Al Jazeera on late Saturday.

The Venezuelan President will then have the option of whats called a speedy trial, which requires proceedings to be held within 70 days. If he waives off that right, then the trial could take up to a year or two years, and theres going to be a lot of jurisdictional arguments, said Fresco.

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The former official also noted that Maduros case may have some parallels to the USs capture and prosecution of Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega more than three decades ago. It is pertinent to note that Noriega was imprisoned and held in the US until 2010, and later sent to Panama, where he died in jail in 2017.

Fresco said Noriegas lawyers also took up the issue of jurisdiction, but their arguments were rejected at the time. In Maduros case, too, theres likely to be a lot of jurisdictional arguments, and well see if the courts will have any more sympathy for those than it had in the Noriega case, or whether it will just apply those precedents and allow the prosecution to continue, he told Al Jazeera.
China has urged the US to ensure the personal safety of Maduro and his wife, secure their immediate release, cease efforts to overthrow Venezuelas government, and resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiation.

China on Sunday urged the United States to release deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, without delay, according to a report by the Global Times. Beijing also called on Washington to stop efforts to topple Venezuelas government and to address differences through dialogue and negotiation.

The Chinese government said it was seriously concerned about Washingtons forcible cChina has urged the US to guarantee the personal safety of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, secure their immediate release, cease efforts to overthrow Venezuelas government, and resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiation.ontrol of Maduro and his wife, as well as their transfer out of the country. Officials described the development as deeply troubling and said it raised serious questions under international law.

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Foreign ministry condemns use of force

Chinas foreign ministry said Beijing was deeply shocked and strongly condemns the use of force by the US against a sovereign country and the use of force against the president of a country.

China firmly opposes such hegemonic behaviour by the US, which seriously violates international law, violates Venezuelas sovereignty, and threatens peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean. We urge the US to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and stop violating the sovereignty and security of other countries, it said.

Captured Venezuelan president Maduro

The United States on Saturday announced a dramatic escalation in its actions against Venezuela, saying it had carried out a large-scale strike and captured the countrys President. The development follows weeks of heightened tension, during which Venezuelans had feared a direct military intervention.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that Maduro and his wife had been captured and flown out of the country following the operation, which he said was conducted in conjunction with US law enforcement.

Officials told NBC News that he and his wife were flown by helicopter to New York and taken to the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, where he will be processed before being held at the facility. Authorities added that the Venezuelan president is expected to appear in court by Monday evening.
Swiss police have identified 16 more victims of the deadly New Years bar fire in Crans-Montana, bringing the death toll to 24. Among the dead is a 14-year-old girl

People lay flowers and light candles for the victims of the fire at the "Le Constellation" bar and lounge during New Year's celebration, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. AP

Authorities have confirmed the identities of 16 additional victims from the fatal bar fire at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, raising the official death toll to 24, the BBC reported.

Among those identified is a 14-year-old Swiss girl, with nine of the victims under the age of 18. Police said the group included people of Swiss, Italian, Romanian, Turkish and French nationalities. Eight Swiss citizens had been identified earlier on Saturday.

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The tragedy took place during New Years celebrations at the Le Constellation bar, where early findings suggest the fire may have been sparked by sparklers attached to bottles being carried too close to the ceiling. Investigators believe this likely caused the fire, though inquiries are still ongoing.

Authorities continue to piece together the sequence of events as families wait for answers following one of the deadliest incidents the resort has seen in recent years.

French owners under fire

Prosecutors in the Valais canton have opened a criminal investigation into the bars two French owners, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, on suspicion of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and negligent arson.

Police and the public prosecutors office said the inquiry was launched after initial findings suggested potential failures in safety measures and regulatory compliance. The couple have been interviewed but not formally detained, and Swiss authorities emphasise that the presumption of innocence applies until a conviction.

Investigators are looking into whether building materials, fire safety systems, emergency exits and crowd limits were properly managed, as well as the bars inspection history. The tragedy has drawn widespread grief, with victims including many young people, and ongoing efforts to identify those killed or critically injured.
An investigation is focusing on Jacques and Jessica Moretti, owners of Le Constellation in Crans-Montana, after a New Year fire killed 40 and injured 119

A hearse drives past as police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge during New Year's celebration, in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on January 1. More than 40 people were killed in the blaze. AP

An investigation is underway after a devastating fire at a Swiss ski resort bar killed 40 people and injured 119, putting the spotlight on the French owners of the establishment.

Jacques and Jessica Moretti, who run Le Constellation in Crans-Montana along with two other businesses in the area, were questioned as witnesses at the start of the inquiry. The public prosecutor has launched a criminal investigation against the couple for negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm, and negligent arson.

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Authorities are now working to determine whether the Morettis bear responsibility for the tragedy, which preliminary findings suggest may have been caused by smouldering candles mounted on champagne bottles placed too close to the basement ceiling.

A Corsican connection

Jacques Moretti hails from Ghisonaccia in Upper Corsica, while his wife Jessica comes from the Cote dAzur. Before moving to Switzerland, Jacques ran a bar in Bonifacio, a popular Corsican port town. Jean-Charles Orsucci, mayor of Bonifacio since 2008, told AFP that he had good relations with Moretti during that time.

The couple moved to the upscale Swiss Alpine resort in 2015, purchasing Le Constellation. They later registered Le Senso cafe-restaurant in 2020 and the Corsican inn Le Vieux Chalet in 2023, according to commercial registries.

A friend of the resort

Locals describe the Morettis as hard-working and committed. He did his job very seriously, and we saw him every day, he was always there, always there, always committed, said Charles-Andre Bagnoud, a Crans-Montana notary. Hes a friend, he settled here, it was his first bar, then he had two others. Hes a hard worker, hes a friend of the resort.

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Investigators are examining the bars basement, looking at the materials used, operational permits, and emergency safety measures. Particular attention is on acoustic foam on the ceiling, which appears to have ignited quickly, as well as compliance with regulations for exits and emergency signage. Witnesses reported chaotic scenes of pushing and shoving, especially on staircases.

We are in mourning too

Asked by journalists outside his home, Jacques Moretti said, Leave us alone, we are in mourning too. He had previously told La Tribune de Geneve that the bar had been inspected three times in 10 years and that everything was done according to standards.

Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the Wallis canton, stressed that the investigation was opened because we have suspicions, but as long as there is no conviction, the presumption of innocence prevails. No pretrial detention has been imposed while the inquiry continues.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Environmental experts have raised alarms over the worsening pollution of Lake Chivero, citing the absence of pre-treatment facilities for industrial and municipal waste as a key factor driving ecological degradation.Authorities and private companies have been accused of discharging untreated effluent directly into the sewer system, a practice that contravenes environmental regulations and threatens aquatic life."Section 59 of the Environmental Management Act requires pre-treatment facilities, yet most industries fail to comply. The City of Harare itself does not have such facilities, creating a situation where untreated municipal and industrial waste ends up in the lake," said local governance expert Mr Reuben Akili.According to recent reports, over 300 companies in Harare lack pre-treatment systems, while the council's current enforcement measures are minimal. Offending companies are fined an average of US$300 per offence, with little follow-up action. The 2026 budget proposes increasing fines to US$600, but experts argue this approach generates revenue without addressing the environmental crisis.Environmental Management Agency (EMA) findings reveal alarming water quality trends. Ms Amkela Sidange, EMA Education and Publicity Manager, said, "We have recorded low dissolved oxygen, high biological oxygen demand, and elevated nitrate levels. This shows that the lake is heavily polluted, with many organisms competing for oxygen due to the high nutrient load. Cyanobacteria blooms are already killing aquatic life and wildlife."Experts warn that without coordinated interventions, Lake Chivero's ecological health could deteriorate further, threatening both biodiversity and water security for surrounding communities."Robust and collective measures are critical. Industries must comply with pre-treatment regulations, and the council must enforce them effectively. Otherwise, Lake Chivero's once-pristine ecosystem will be lost," said Sidange.
The Constitutional Chamber of Venezuelas Supreme Court on Saturday ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to serve as acting president after USs capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The Constitutional Chamber of Venezuelas Supreme Court on Saturday ordered Vice President to serve as acting president following the USs operation in the country that led to the capture of the countrys President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The Venezuelan Supreme Court ruled that the countrys VP will assume the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the Nation.

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The top court also noted that it would work to determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defence of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic. Earlier, Trump had said that the US would not occupy Venezuela, provided Rodriguez does what we want.

Maduro brought to New York

After the shocking US operation in Venezuela, a plane carrying the countrys captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, arrived in New York. The plane landed just hours after an overnight US military attack in the Latin American nations capital that was hailed by US President Donald Trump.

While confirming the news of the operation, Trump lauded the strikes and Maduros capture as an assault like people have not seen since World War II and vowed the US would run the leaderless country. While speaking at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, Trump provided few details after ousting Maduro in an audacious military attack.

He maintained that the United States would be in control of Venezuela until there was an orderly transition of power. It is pertinent to note that Maduro was in the US custody hours after being seized from his Caracas compound in a US raid, landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base after 4.30 pm (local time) in a white Boeing 757.

He and his wife were then taken to the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn by a helicopter to the city, where he will be processed and transported to the Metropolitan Detention Centre prison, officials told NBC News. Heres Maduro will be charged for all the crimes he has been accused of committing over the years.

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Sporadic protests in Tehran have spread nationwide, affecting at least 40 cities and leaving at least 12 people dead, according to official reports and media tallies.

Activists take part in a rally supporting protestors in Iran at Lafayette Square, across from the White House in Washington, DC on January 3, 2026. (AFP)

Sporadic protests were reported in the Iranian capital on Saturday evening, according to local media, alongside accounts of intensifying clashes in the western parts of the country. The demonstrations began last Sunday, when shopkeepers went on strike over economic concerns, and have since expanded in both scale and scope, with protesters increasingly voicing political demands.

According to an AFP tally based on official statements and media reports, the unrest has affected at least 40 cities, mostly medium-sized and largely located in western Iran.

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Death toll rises amid clashes

At least 12 people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, according to official figures.

The Fars news agency described the protests in Tehran on Saturday evening as limited, saying they were generally made up of groups of 50 to 200 young people.

Tehrans population is about 10 million.

Demonstrations were reported in the districts of Novobat and Tehran Pars in the capitals east; Ekteban, Sadeghieh and Sattarkhan in the west; and Naziabad and Abdolabad in the south, Fars said.

Demonstrators shouted slogans including death to the dictator, Fars said, though no major incidents were reported beyond some stone throwing and rubbish bins being set alight.

The news agency said the situation in Tehran contrasted with an intensification of violence and organised attacks in other regions, notably the countrys west.

In Malekshahi, a county of about 20,000 residents including a sizeable Kurdish population, a member of the security forces was killed in clashes, Iranian media reported Saturday.

Rioters attempted to storm a police station, Fars said, adding that two assailants were killed.

Local medias accounting of the protests is not exhaustive, and state-run outlets have downplayed their coverage of the demonstrations, while videos flooding social media are often impossible to verify.

(With agency inputs)
Irish PM Micheal Martin arrived in Beijing for a five-day visit focused on strengthening trade and diplomatic relations with China. The trip, his first to China since 2012, comes as Ireland prepares to assume the rotating presidency of the European Union later this year

Ireland's Prime Minister Micheal Martin speaks during the Global Funds Eighth Replenishment Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Sandton on November 21, 2025, ahead of the G20 leaders' Summit. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / POOL / AFP)

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin arrived in Beijing on Sunday, beginning a five-day visit focused on deepening trade and diplomatic ties between Ireland and China, according to Chinese state media.

Martins trip, reported by state broadcaster CCTV, is the first visit to China by an Irish taoiseach since 2012, and comes at a time when economic relationships are under renewed global scrutiny. During his stay in the Chinese capital, Martin is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, before travelling on to Shanghai, Chinas financial and commercial hub.

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Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin arrived in Beijing on Sunday to begin his official visit to China, marking the first visit by an Irish leader in 14 years. Han Jun, Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs was present at the airport to welcome him. pic.twitter.com/eXykAGvme5  CGTN Frontline (@Frontlinestory) January 4, 2026

Focus on trade and global challenges

Trade is expected to be at the heart of the discussions, with Ireland keen to strengthen economic cooperation with one of its most important partners outside Europe.

China is currently Irelands largest trading partner in Asia and its fifth largest worldwide, according to Dublin.

Ahead of his arrival, Martin signalled that the talks would go beyond bilateral trade.

In addition to discussing the broad relationship between Ireland and China, we will exchange views on pressing global challenges including peace and security and the trading environment, Martin said in a statement.

He also underlined Irelands broader European role, particularly as the country prepares to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union in July.

I will stress the importance of a strong EU-China relationship, as well as robust and effective multilateral institutions, he said.

EU-China ties in the spotlight

With Ireland set to play a more prominent role in shaping EU policy later this year, the visit is also being closely watched in Brussels. One of Dublins priorities is expected to be helping steady EU-China relations at a time of global trade tensions and shifting geopolitical alliances.

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Beijing, for its part, has welcomed the visit. Chinas foreign ministry said on Saturday it was ready to work with Ireland to enhance political mutual trust (and) expand mutually beneficial cooperation.

Ireland exports a wide range of products and services to China, including medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, computer services and agricultural goods. Officials on both sides are expected to explore ways to expand these links further, particularly in high-value and technology-driven sectors.
A large part of erstwhile President Nicolas Maduros security team was killed in the US raid that led to the leaders Saturday capture, Venezuelan Defence Minister General Vladimir Padrino said.

Venezuelan Defence Minister General Vladimir Padrino said on Sunday that a large portion of former President Nicolas Maduros security team was killed during the US operation that led to his capture on Saturday.

Padrino did not provide an exact number of casualties but affirmed the appointment of Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as interim president. He added that the Venezuelan armed forces have been deployed nationwide to safeguard the countrys sovereignty.

Meanwhile. Venezuelans on Sunday remained shell-shocked a day after President Nicolas Maduro was deposed and captured in a U.S. military operation, with an uncertain future ahead in the South American nation.

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A tense calm settled over the capital, Caracas, which was unusually quiet. Many stores, gas stations and churches remained closed and people patiently lined up outside others, staring at their phones or into the distance.

People are still shaken, said 77-year-old David Leal, who arrived to work as a parking attendant but realized he likely would not have customers. He pointed to the deserted street.

The head of Venezuelas military on Sunday urged the countrys population to resume their normal activities, after US forces bombed the country and seized its leader Nicolas Maduro.

I call on the people of Venezuela to resume their activities of all kinds, economic, work and education, in the coming days, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said in a televised address.

While Maduro was in custody in New York, the officials who had surrounded him remained in power and demanded his release. Venezuelas presidential palace was guarded by armed civilians and members of the military.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday asserted that his administration would run Venezuela with the help of Delcy Rodriguez, Maduros vice president and now the interim president after a high courts order.

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Maduro, a self-described socialist, led Venezuela with an iron fist for more than a decade through a series of elections widely considered rigged. He came to power after the death of his charismatic mentor, Hugo Chavez.

As news of his seizure rippled out, exiled Venezuelans waved flags and celebrated in plazas from Madrid to Santiago. About eight million Venezuelans have fled the grinding poverty and political suppression of their homeland. There was muted joy too in Caracas.

With inputs from agencies
India on Sunday expressed concern over the unfolding situation in Venezuela after US forces captured President Nicolas Maduro, saying it is closely monitoring developments and has called for a peaceful resolution to ensure stability in the region.

A handcuffed Nicolas Maduro in New York City after being captured by US forces from Caracas. Image Courtesy: X

India on Sunday said recent developments in Venezuela were a matter of deep concern and that it was closely monitoring the situation following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said it was watching the evolving situation closely. The MEA added that India supports the well-being and safety of the people of Venezuela and urged all sides to resolve issues peacefully through dialogue to ensure peace and stability in the region.

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MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated Indias position in a post on X, saying New Delhi was closely tracking developments in Venezuela. He also said the Indian Embassy in Caracas is in contact with members of the Indian community and will continue to extend all possible assistance.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are currently in US custody following a US special forces operation carried out in Caracas on Saturday, January 3, which was announced by US President Donald Trump. According to available information, the couple were flown to Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, and are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. They are expected to be produced before a federal court in Manhattan next week.

Maduro faces a US indictment linked to narco-terrorism charges filed in 2020, including allegations of leading the Cartel de los Soles, involvement in cocaine trafficking with FARC, and weapons-related offences.
Myanmars military government has granted amnesty to more than 6,100 prisoners, including 52 foreigners marking 78th anniversary of the countrys independence from Great Britain.

A released prisoner, right, is welcomed by her colleague after she was released from Insein Prison Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. Image Credit: AP

Myanmars military government has pardoned more than 6,100 prisoners, including 52 foreign nationals on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of independence from Britain. The government has also reduced the sentence of various others on this occasion, convicted of serious crimes: rape, drug offences, and murder.

This happened amid preparations for the 2026 elections and ongoing armed confrontation.

It was also not immediately clear whether those released include the thousands of political detainees imprisoned for opposing military rule.

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The amnesty comes as the military government comes with a long-standing three-stage election process that the opposition says is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to the status quo.

Local television channel, MRTV reported that Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military government, pardoned 6,134 prisoners.

Foreign nationals to be deported

A separate statement said 52 foreign nationals will also be released and immediately deported from the country after their release. No comprehensive list of those freed is available.

Armed confrontation continues in the country between the army and resistance forces. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 21,000 people remain in custody since the military seized power, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The release terms warn that if the freed detainees violate the law again, they will have to serve the remainder of their original sentences in addition to any new sentence.

Prisoner releases come on holidays

The prisoner releases, common on holidays and other significant occasions in Myanmar, began Sunday and are expected to take several days to complete.

At Yangons Insein Prison, which is notorious for housing political detainees, relatives of prisoners gathered at the gates early in the morning.

Suu Kyi serving sentence

The 80-year-old Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year sentence after being convicted in what supporters have called politically tinged prosecutions.

Many political detainees had been held on a charge of incitement, a catch-all offense widely used to arrest critics of the government or military and punishable by up to three years in prison.

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The US says it took down a narco-state. But the capture of Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro looks like much more than a drug bust. From oil riches and sanctions to geopolitics and power projection, Washingtons move hints at deeper stakes, and a message to rivals watching closely

Nicolas Maduro was taken to New York City after being captured by US forces from Caracas.

The US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife was the US strutting through the world like nothing could stop it. The couple was pulled from their bedroom, blindfolded, put on a plane, and dropped into a New York detention centre at Trumps command.

On the surface, Washingtons explanation is straightforward. Maduro was running a narco-state, and the operation was a law-enforcement strike against international drug trafficking. Trump went on to call the move a decisive blow against organised crime, warning that the Venezuelan regime had long endangered the US with cocaine and other illicit drugs.

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Weve taken out a narco-state. This is a dangerous regime, and we are making it accountable, he said.

But the real story is far more complicated. Oil, geopolitics, and strategic influence all appear to be part of the equation, and the stakes are gigantic.

Maduro, wearing flip-flops and home clothes, was taken to a Brooklyn pre-trial detention center  he wished everyone good night and a happy New Year



In the second video, he can be heard addressing those present in English.



Maduro and his wife were transferred to a detention pic.twitter.com/jjaesfgJ7Z  NEXTA (@nexta_tv) January 4, 2026

Drugs: The official explanation

The US Justice Department pictures Maduros government as a linchpin in a global cocaine network. Prosecutors claim the regime collaborated with criminal groups, notably the Cartel de los Soles, moving roughly 250 tonnes of cocaine annually to the US and Europe.

Congressman Michael Baumgartner described the strike as a triumph for US national security: This is about stopping narco-terrorism and preventing these criminal networks from operating freely, he said.

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Yet, while cocaine is a significant part of the US drug conversation, Venezuela is not a major source of fentanyl, which drives most of the current opioid crisis.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows overdose deaths in the US jumped from 5.7 per 100,000 in 2016 to 21.6 per 100,000 in 2021. Crucially, this surge wasnt driven by cocaine. It was fueled mainly by synthetic opioids, especially fentanyl, which is far more potent and deadly.

Furthermore, major cocaine flows still come from Colombia and Mexico, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Oil: The bigger prize

Heres where the story deepens.

Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world, estimated at 303 billion barrels, surpassing Saudi Arabia. Most of it is heavy crude in the Orinoco Belt, which is more difficult and expensive to refine but still highly valuable globally.

Oil has always been at the heart of USVenezuela tensions.

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At its peak in 1970, Venezuela produced 3.75 million barrels per day (bpd). By 2016, output had fallen to 2.25 million bpd, and sanctions and mismanagement drove production down to just 527,000 bpd by 2020. Recent estimates suggest a rebound to over 1.14 million bpd in late 2025, but this is still a fraction of its former capacity.

Trump himself made no secret of the US interest in Venezuelan oil, stating post-operation: We have the greatest oil companies in the world and were going to be very much involved in it.

Put two and two together, and the economic incentive is pretty obvious. Controlling Venezuelas oil sector strengthens US influence in a strategic region while limiting access to Russia, China, and Iran, who have cultivated close ties with Maduro.

Sanctions and the slow choke

Before the strike, US sanctions had already crippled Venezuelas economy.

PDVSA, the state oil company, lost access to key financial channels, and US naval blockades cut exports by over 50%. Between 2018 and 2024, Venezuela lost billions in revenue, adding pressure on the Maduro government.

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This combination of sanctions, declining oil production, and international isolation created conditions where a US operation became feasible.

Geopolitics cant be ignored.

Venezuelas alignment with US rivals made it a target for intervention. Many argue that the operation was as much about reasserting US influence in the Western Hemisphere as it was about drugs or oil. By removing Maduro, the US sends a message about its willingness to act decisively when strategic interests are at stake.

Both, and beyond

So, was it drugs or oil? The truth appears to be both, with layers of geopolitics and strategic calculation. The drug trafficking narrative provided the legal and political justification, tapping into domestic concerns. Meanwhile, Venezuelas massive oil reserves and strategic alliances offered long-term economic and geopolitical incentives.
US prosecutors have outlined federal charges against Nicolas Maduro as explosions in Caracas, a national emergency and rising tensions preceded his capture.

Nicolas Maduro was taken to New York City after being captured by US forces from Caracas.

US authorities have set out a series of federal charges against deposed President Nicolas Maduro, placing the legal case at the centre of a rapidly developing crisis that unfolded in early on Saturday. The charges emerged against a backdrop of unrest in Caracas, where explosions were reported across the capital, including at military bases, hours before Maduro was captured.

Following reports of explosions, the Venezuelan government deployed its armed forces and declared a national emergency. As events unfolded, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez appeared ready to step into a leadership role, signalling an attempt to maintain authority amid growing uncertainty.

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Capture follows escalating USVenezuela tensions

Maduros arrest followed a period of escalating tensions between Caracas and Washington. The strain deepened after the United States carried out strikes on vessels in the Caribbean, which it said were being used for drug trafficking, further worsening relations between the two nations.

The US has accused Maduro of being personally involved in drug smuggling and of being an illegitimate leader. Maduro has accused the US of intimidation and of seeking to seize Venezuelas oil.

The indictment outlines four federal charges

Ahead of a trial in New York, US authorities said an unsealed indictment details four federal charges against Maduro, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation and weapons offences.

The charges include:

1. Narco-terrorism conspiracy: Maduro is accused of conspiring to traffic cocaine while supporting terrorist and criminal organisations.

2. Cocaine importation conspiracy: He is alleged to have coordinated large-scale cocaine shipments intended for the United States.

3. Possession of machine guns and destructive devices: He is charged with using and possessing automatic weapons in connection with drug crimes.

4. Conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices: He is accused of plotting with others to commit firearms offences linked to the trafficking operation.

According to the indictment, Maduro is accused of abusing state power, diplomatic channels and security institutions to protect and profit from the drug operation. The document also accuses his wife, Cilia Flores, and his son, Nicolas Maduro Guerra, of helping facilitate meetings, bribes and cocaine shipments to US cities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for the Iranian people as protests over economic and political grievances spread across at least 40 cities

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for the Iranian people on Sunday as protests continued to ripple across multiple cities in the Islamic Republic.

We stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people and with their aspirations for freedom, liberty and justice, Netanyahu said during his weekly cabinet meeting.

He added, It is very possible that we are standing at a moment when the Iranian people are taking their destiny into their own hands, according to a statement from his office.

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From economic strikes to political demands

The unrest began last Sunday when shopkeepers across Iran staged strikes over economic grievances. Since then, demonstrations have grown both in size and scope, with protesters making broader political demands. AFP reports that at least 40 citiesmostly medium-sized towns in western Iranhave seen some level of protest activity.

The official Iranian toll indicates that at least 12 people, including members of security forces, have died in the clashes so far.

A history of tension

Israel and Iran, long-standing arch-foes, fought a 12-day conflict last year. The hostilities began after Israel launched a series of strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and residential areas, citing the need to disrupt Tehrans atomic research and ballistic missile development. Iran retaliated with drone and missile attacks targeting Israel. The United States later joined Israel in briefly targeting Iranian nuclear sites before a ceasefire was declared.

Netanyahu on nuclear oversight

Addressing Tehrans nuclear programme on Sunday, Netanyahu said he had discussed the issue with US President Donald Trump during his official visit this week.

We reiterated our shared position of zero enrichment on the one hand, and the need, of course, to remove the 400 kilogrammes of enriched material from Iran and subject the sites to strict and genuine oversight, Netanyahu said.
North Korea has denounced the US strikes on Venezuela labelling it as the most serious form of encroachment of sovereignty. The statement came after North Korea launched ballistic missiles earlier on Sunday.

North Korea has denounced the US strikes on Venezuela as the most serious form of encroachment of sovereignty, state news agency KCNA said on Sunday.

The incident is another example that clearly confirms once again the rogue and brutal nature of the United States, KCNA said, citing a spokesperson for North Koreas Foreign Ministry.

The relations between North Korea and the US has worsened as Korea again points to the US about the recent capture of Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

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The statement came after North Korea launched ballistic missiles earlier on Sunday, the day the leader of South Korea begins a state visit to China, Pyongyangs chief ally.

The missile launch from North Korea came at a sensitive time as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung prepares to leave for Beijing for summit-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The timing also coincided with the attack of the US on Venezuelan soil. The US Indo-Pacific Command on Sunday confirmed that it is aware of North Koreas recent missile launches and maintained that the move does not pose an immediate threat to the region.

Pyongyang said the current situation in Venezuela caused a catastrophic consequence to ensuring the identity of the regional and international relations structure."
News / National

by Staff reporter

Two men from Matabeleland provinces have been remanded in custody after appearing in court over separate alleged attempted murder incidents.Prosper Thamsanqa Mhlanga (25), from Fort Rixon in Matabeleland South, appeared before Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Mr Mark Dzira, facing charges of attempted murder. Mhlanga allegedly stabbed Gift Mpofu with an Okapi knife on 29 December at Claremont Business Centre after accusing him of spreading gossip.State prosecutor Ms Nomthandazo Mafu told the court that Mhlanga "fumed before reaching for a knife from his jacket and randomly stabbed Mpofu, leaving him lying in a pool of blood." Mpofu reportedly collapsed at the scene from severe bleeding. The accused then fled, later threatening residents with a machete while demanding food.Mhlanga was remanded in custody until 14 January. He was advised of his right to legal representation and to apply for bail at the Bulawayo High Court.In a separate case, Khuzani Ndlovu from Nyamandlovu, Matabeleland North, appeared before the same court for remand after allegedly setting his mother-in-law's hut on fire while she was inside.According to Ms Siphiwe Mhlanga, Ndlovu first hurled insults at his mother-in-law, then locked the hut with wire before igniting it. "The elderly woman screamed for help, and neighbours rushed to save her, breaking down the door just in time. Villagers chased after Ndlovu, caught him, and handed him over to the police," she said.Ndlovu was also remanded in custody until 14 January for the commencement of his trial.Both cases highlight ongoing concerns over violent disputes in the region, with police appealing for community vigilance and timely reporting of incidents.
Newly inaugurated Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, condemned the US operation in Venezuela on Saturday, in which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured by the American troops

This combination of pictures shows Democratic candidate for Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani (left) and US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC (right). AFP

Newly inaugurated Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, condemned the US operation in Venezuela on Saturday, in which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured by the American troops. The Democratic Socialist politician described the ordeal as an act of war and a violation of federal and international law.

While speaking at a news conference, Mamdani said he had spoken to US President Donald Trump by phone to voice his opposition to the military operation. I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act and to make clear that it was an opposition based on being opposed to a pursuit of regime change, to the violation of federal international law and a desire to see that be consistent every day. I registered my opposition, I made it clear, and we left it at that, Mamdani told the reporters.

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Mamdanis remarks on the matter came shortly after Trump announced the . Trump described the attack as a large-scale strike following months of US assaults on suspected drug vessels allegedly tied to the Venezuelan regime in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific.

Mamdani points to the potential impact on New Yorkers

In a post on X, Mamdani highlighted the potential impact of the US-Venezuela tensions on New Yorkers, especially the citys tens of thousands of Venezuelan residents. This blatant pursuit of regime change doesnt just affect those abroad; it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home, Mamdani wrote in his post.

My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance, he added.

Interestingly, the NYC mayor, just like Maduro, also believes in the redistribution of wealth. Mamdani has campaigned on taxing the wealthy and corporations to fund public services, while Maduro redistributed wealth through oil revenues and state control of resources.

However, it is pertinent to note that socialism in Venezuela has involved nationalisation and centralised control, contributing to economic collapse and authoritarian practice. This is different from Mamdanis localised policy agenda focused on public housing, childcare, transit and city-owned grocery stores.
Trump said American oil companies would be allowed to tap Venezuelas vast crude reserves after a US military operation led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

People react to the news of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after US military actions in Venezuela this morning, in Doral, Florida, near Miami, on January 3, 2026. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump said American oil companies would be permitted to enter Venezuela and tap its vast crude reserves following a US military operation that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. The remarks came after US forces carried out air strikes in the Venezuelan capital and removed the countrys leadership from power.

The US military conducted a series of air strikes on Caracas early on Saturday. Maduro and his wife were captured during the operation and flown to New York City, where they face drug-trafficking and weapons charges.

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Trump outlines role for US oil companies

Speaking at a news conference in Florida, Trump said US energy firms would play a central role in rebuilding Venezuelas oil sector.

Were going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country, Trump said.

At the same time, he made clear that existing restrictions remain in place, stating that the embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect.

Sanctions and oil output under strain

Washington imposed economic sanctions on Venezuela in 2017, followed by oil sanctions two years later. Venezuela currently produces just under a million barrels of crude a day, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), with most of it sold on the black market at steep discounts.

Trump has claimed that Caracas uses oil revenues to finance drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping.

Licences revoked, Chevron exemption remains

At the start of his second term in 2025, Trump ended licences that had allowed multinational oil and gas companies to operate in Venezuela despite sanctions. US company Chevron was the only firm granted an exemption.

Chevron operates four oil fields in Venezuela in partnership with state-owned PDVSA and its affiliates. Washington has also imposed a total blockade on sanctioned tankers travelling to and from Venezuela.

Vast reserves but limited production

Venezuela holds about 17 per cent of the worlds oil reserves, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2023. However, it is no longer a leading producer after years of mismanagement and corruption.

Venezuelan oil is of lower quality and is mainly refined into diesel or byproducts such as asphalt rather than gasoline. The United States has refineries around the Gulf of Mexico specifically designed to process it.

The United States is doing just fine without Venezuelan oil, Stephen Schork, an analyst at consulting firm the Schork Group, told AFP last month, citing political reasons.
Donald Trump warns Venezuelas interim leader Delcy Rodriguez of a very big price if she defies Washington after US forces seized Nicolas Maduro, signalling continued pressure amid talk of rebuilding and control over oil.

President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that Venezuelas interim leader Delcy Rodriguez would face a very big price if she fails to cooperate with the United States, following the seizure and detention of her former superior Nicolas Maduro by US forces.

If she doesnt do whats right, shes going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro, Trump said in a brief telephone interview with The Atlantic.

U.S. forces struck Caracas in the early hours of Saturday, carrying out air strikes on military targets and removing Maduro and his wife, who were taken to New York to face federal narcotrafficking charges.

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The Trump administration has said it is prepared to engage with remaining members of Maduros government, provided Washingtons objectives are met. These include opening Venezuelas vast crude oil reserves to U.S. investment.

Trumps warning came after Venezuelas Supreme Court and senior military officials confirmed Rodriguez as interim president. She struck a defiant tone following the U.S. raid on Caracas, insisting Maduro remained the countrys only legitimate leader and saying Venezuela was ready to defend our natural resources.

Trump has long opposed U.S.-led nation building and regime change abroad. Nevertheless, he said on Saturday that the United States would run Venezuela, telling The Atlantic that rebuilding there and regime change whatever you want to call it, is better than what you have right now.

Rebuilding is not a bad thing in Venezuelas case, he said. The countrys gone to hell. Its a failed country. Its a totally failed country. Its a country thats a disaster in every way.

The 79-year-old Republican also repeated his frequent demand that Greenland  an autonomous territory belonging to the NATO ally Denmark  become part of the United States.

Asked what the US military action in Venezuela signalled for Greenland, Trump told The Atlantic: They are going to have to view it themselves. I really dont know.

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But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence.

With inputs from agencies
President Donald Trumps military intervention in Venezuela will pose a fresh test of his ability to hold together a restive Republican coalition during a challenging election year.

A protestor holds an anti-US slogan during a demonstration against the US operation in Venezuela to capture Venezuelan President, in front of the US Embassy in Madrid on January 4, 2026.- AFP

President Donald Trumps military operation in Venezuela presents a new test of his ability to maintain unity within a restive Republican Party during a challenging election year.

While most Republicans initially backed Trump following the dramatic US mission that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and brought him to the United States to face criminal charges, there were signs of unease within the party.

In particular, Trumps remarks about the U.S. positioning itself to run Venezuela have sparked concerns that he is departing from the America First approach that has long set him apart from traditional Republicans and fuelled his political rise.

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This is the same Washington playbook that we are so sick and tired of that doesnt serve the American people, but actually serves the big corporations, the banks and the oil executives, said outgoing GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a former Trump ally, during an interview on NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday.

Some moderates expressed similar concerns. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, one of the most vulnerable Republicans ahead of the November midterms, said in a statement, the only country that the United States of America should be running is the United States of America.

These reactions highlight the delicate balance Trump must navigate with fellow Republicans as the party enters an election year where it risks losing control of Congress. While Trump remains the dominant figure in the GOP, his previously unchallenged influence has faced unusual tests in recent months. Various Republican blocs have pressured him to release the Jeffrey Epstein files or address concerns about affordability more seriously.

Few issues, however, strike at the core of Trumps political identity as much as avoiding U.S. involvement in prolonged foreign conflicts at the expense of domestic priorities. During a 2016 Republican presidential debate, he famously described the Iraq War as a big, fat mistake.

By Saturday, Trump said he was not afraid of boots on the ground if that was deemed necessary, and he framed his actions in Venezuela as steps that are grounded in prioritizing the safety and security of Americans. As he articulated an aggressive vision of U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, he told reporters it was important to surround the U.S. with good neighbors.

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His comments about revitalizing the oil industry in Venezuela are in line with some of the earliest critiques he made of the handling of the Iraq War. During a 2013 speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump said the U.S. should take oil from Iraq and pay ourselves back.

Amid some of the pushback about the U.S. taking expansive responsibility for managing Venezuela, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday suggested a more limited role. He said that Washington would not handle day-to-day governance of the South American country other than enforcing an existing oil quarantine on Venezuela.

It is not clear that any forceful, organized opposition to Trumps Venezuela policy is emerging within the GOP. Instead, many lawmakers appear to be giving the Republican administration some room and, at most, offer some warnings.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who faces a potentially challenging reelection campaign this year, called Maduro a narco-terrorist and international drug trafficker who should stand trial even, as she said Congress should have been informed about the operation earlier and needs to be involved as this situation evolves.

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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who often criticizes military interventions, did not specifically oppose Trumps actions even as he wrote on X that time will tell if regime change in Venezuela is successful without significant monetary or human cost.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has clashed with Trump and is not seeking reelection this year, said Maduro was a thug and that Trump has broad constitutional authority and long historical precedent for the limited use of military force.

With inputs from agencies
British and French forces carried out a coordinated strike on Islamic State sites in central Syria, the UK said, hitting an underground weapons storage facility near Palmyra. The operation was carefully planned to avoid risk to civilians

The undated photograph shows an Islamic State (Isis) terrorist holding a gun and another holding the group's flag. (Representative Photograph, Credit: Reuters)

The United Kingdom (UK) has confirmed it carried out a joint military operation with France targeting an Islamic State (IS) facility in central Syria. According toweapon the British Ministry of Defence, the strike was conducted on Saturday night and hit an underground site near the ancient city of Palmyra. The location, officials said, was believed to have been used by IS to stockpile weapons and explosives.

Royal Air Force aircraft have completed successful strikes against Daesh in a joint operation with France, the ministry said in a statement, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

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Target believed to be weapons storage facility

British officials said the targeted site had been carefully assessed before the operation, with particular attention paid to avoiding civilian harm.

This facility had been occupied by Daesh, most likely to store weapons and explosives. The area around the facility is devoid of any civilian habitation, the statement added.

The ministry further added that there was no indication the strike had placed civilians at risk, noting that the bombing north of Palmyra was conducted in a sparsely populated area.

The operation comes in the backdrop of the ongoing threat posed by IS cells in Syria, despite the group losing control of its self-declared caliphate in 2019. While no longer holding territory, IS continues to operate in remote desert regions, launching sporadic attacks and maintaining underground networks.

Palmyras strategic and symbolic importance

Palmyra, known globally for its Unesco-listed ruins, has long held both strategic and symbolic significance. The ancient city fell under IS control at the height of the groups power, with militants destroying several historic monuments before being pushed out.

The region remains volatile. Just last month, Washington said a lone IS gunman in Palmyra carried out an attack on American personnel, killing two US soldiers and a US civilian. In response, US forces said they struck dozens of IS targets across Syria.

Saturdays joint UK-France strike is part of a wider effort by Western allies to keep pressure on IS and stop the group from regrouping or carrying out fresh attacks.

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Former Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris on Saturday condemned the President Donald Trump administrations latest operation in Venezuela, where they captured the countrys President Nicolas Maduro and his wife

Former Vice President of the United States Kamala Harris on Saturday condemned the President Donald Trump administrations latest operation in Venezuela, where they captured the countrys President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Harris called the operation unlawful and unwise.

However, she acknowledged that Maduro is a brutal and illegitimate dictator but said that President Donald Trumps actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable.

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Donald Trumps actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable, Harris wrote. That Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both unlawful and unwise. Weve seen this movie before. Wars for regime change or oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price, she added.

Harris brings up oil interests

The former Vice President made the remarks just hours after the Trump administration confirmed that Maduro and his wife were captured and transported out of Venezuela as part of Operation Absolute Resolve.

She also accused the administration of being motivated by oil interests rather than efforts to combat drug trafficking or promote democracy.

The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to. This is not about drugs or democracy. It is about oil and Donald Trumps desire to play the regional strongman, Harris said. If he cared about either, he wouldnt pardon a convicted drug trafficker or sideline Venezuelas legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduros cronies.

Harris additionally accused the president of endangering US troops and destabilising the region. The President is putting troops at risk, spending billions, destabilising a region, and offering no legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home, she said. America needs leadership whose priorities are lowering costs for working families, enforcing the rule of law, strengthening alliances, and  most importantly  putting the American people first, she averred.

On late Saturday, Maduro and his wife arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn late Saturday after being transported by helicopter from the DEA in Manhattan after being processed. Earlier on Saturday, Trump said that the US government will run Venezuela until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.

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However, the Venezuelan Supreme Court appointed Delcy Rodriguez as the countrys interim president. According to the Constitution of Venezuela, Rodriguez will have 30 days to conduct an election. However, given the situation, it remains unclear if she will be able to conduct such polls.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain was not involved in the US military operation in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. Calling the situation fast-moving, Starmer said he would first establish the facts, speak with President Donald Trump and consult allies, while stressing the need to uphold international law

In the midst of global shock over the United States military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was quick to clarify Londons stance, saying the UK had no part in the action.

The operation, which included airstrikes and the extraction of Maduro and his wife from the Venezuelan capital, has dominated international headlines and drawn sharp reactions from world leaders. But at home, Starmer made it clear that Britain was not involved in any way in what unfolded.

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Speaking to reporters in London, Starmer described the situation as fast-moving and said that he wanted to establish the facts before making any firm judgments about the US action.

What I can say is that the UK was not involved in any way in this operation, he said, adding that the British government was focusing on the safety of around 500 British nationals in Venezuela and working closely with the UK embassy there.

Starmer made it clear he had not yet spoken with US President Donald Trump and planned to do so, as well as consult with allies, before offering any detailed response. I want to establish the facts first. I want to speak to President Trump. I want to speak to allies, he said.

The prime minister also reiterated Britains longstanding commitment to international norms, saying: I always say and believe we should all uphold international law.

Debate erupts in the UK

Starmers careful approach stood in contrast to reactions from other British political figures. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged the prime minister to condemn what he called Trumps illegal action in Venezuela, warning that such steps could embolden other world leaders to act without regard for international law.

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party, described the US move as unorthodox and contrary to international law, but suggested it might make global powers like China and Russia think twice before acting in similar ways.
The US strike on Venezuela has unsettled Europe, prompting fresh concern that President Donald Trumps Greenland rhetoric carries new weight, as analysts say Washingtons actions have widened the spectrum of what allies consider plausible.

The geopolitical equation appeared to shift abruptly this week following the United States military intervention in Venezuela, an action justified by Washington as a restoration of democratic order.

However, thousands of miles to the north, the smoke from Caracas is casting a long, chilling shadow over the Arctic. Analysts and European leaders are now sounding the alarm, suggesting that the audacity of the Venezuelan strike has set a dangerous precedent for another of Donald Trumps long-standing ambitions: the acquisition of Greenland.

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The concerns sharpened over the weekend after a social media post by the wife of Trumps deputy chief of staff depicted Greenland painted in the colours of the US flag, accompanied by the word SOON.

The post drew swift rebukes from both Greenland and Denmark, with Greenlands prime minister calling it disrespectful and Copenhagens ambassador to Washington stressing the need for respect for Danish territorial integrity.

While US officials reportedly insist there is no comparison between Venezuela and Greenland, analysts and diplomats say the audacity of the Maduro operation has altered how smaller states interpret Trumps threats and negotiating tactics, particularly when national security and strategic geography are involved.

Trumps Greenland push, revived

The renewed fear stems from a pivot in rhetoric coming from the White House. While the idea of purchasing Greenland was once dismissed as an eccentric real estate proposition, recent developments suggest a shift toward viewing the territory through a lens of national security necessity.

The Guardian reported that the US action in Venezuela has shattered long-held assumptions in Europe that Washington would always operate within predictable diplomatic bounds, prompting renewed concern in Copenhagen and Nuuk about Trumps rhetoric on Greenland.

Trump has repeatedly argued that Greenland is vital to US security interests in the Arctic, citing shipping routes, missile defence and competition with China and Russia. Those arguments resurfaced late last year when Trump said the United States has to have Greenland for security reasons, remarks that drew a formal diplomatic protest from Denmark. At the time, the statements were dismissed by Danish officials as political theatre. After Venezuela, that dismissal has become harder to sustain.

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Denmarks Prime Minister has repeatedly stressed that Greenland is not for sale and that its future rests with its people. Speaking earlier this year, she rejected renewed US talk of acquisition, calling it unacceptable pressure on an ally.

Yet concern has grown as Washington has paired rhetoric with concrete steps. PBS reported that Trumps appointment of a special envoy for Greenland strained ties with both Danish and Greenlandic leaders, who saw the move as bypassing normal diplomatic channels. Denmark later summoned the US ambassador over the issue, underlining how seriously Copenhagen views the matter.

A senior European diplomat told The Guardian that the Maduro operation showed Trump was willing to test the outer edges of international law when he believes US interests are at stake, a calculation that unsettles allies who rely on norms rather than power.

US aides Greenland post sparks backlash

Greenland and Denmark on Sunday expressed their distaste after the wife of President Donald Trumps most influential aide posted a social media picture of Greenland painted in the colours of the US flag.

Katie Miller  wife of Trumps deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller  put the contentiously altered image of the Danish autonomous territory on her X feed late Saturday, after the US military operation against Venezuela.

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Her post had a single word above it: SOON.

Greenlands Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen called the post disrespectful.

Relations between nations and peoples are built on mutual respect and international law  not on symbolic gestures that disregard our status and our rights, he stated on X.

But he also said that there is neither reason for panic nor for concern. Our country is not for sale, and our future is not decided by social media posts.

Denmarks ambassador to the US, Jesper Moeller Soerensen, reacted earlier on Sunday with his own post saying we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of Denmark, above a link to Katie Millers image.

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From rhetoric to risk perception

There is no indication that the US is planning any military move against Greenland. Analysts warn that Venezuela, a sanctioned state accused by Washington of drug trafficking, is fundamentally different from NATO ally Denmark. But the fear lies less in immediate intent and more in precedent.

Experts said that Trumps language on Greenland has increasingly linked the island to hard security imperatives not abstract diplomacy, warning that such framing can escalate tensions by narrowing political off-ramps. Once an issue is cast as existential, compromise becomes harder.

The Venezuela episode has also sharpened debate within Greenland itself. While the autonomous territory depends on Denmark for defence, it hosts key US military installations. Greenlandic leaders have long balanced economic engagement with Washington against protecting their political autonomy. After Maduros capture, that balance looks more fragile.

The concern in Europe is not that Trump will suddenly send troops to Greenland but that the spectrum of the imaginable has widened. Actions once thought unthinkable are now at least discussed, they said.

For Denmark and Greenland, the lesson from Venezuela is sobering: in a world of intensifying great-power rivalry, geography can turn even steadfast allies into objects of strategic desire. Whether Trumps Greenland threats remain rhetorical or become something more, the Maduro operation has ensured they will no longer be taken lightly.

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At least 40 people were killed in the United States attack in Venezuela on Saturday, which led to the capture of the Latin American nations President Nicolas Maduro.

Picture of fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela's largest military complex, after a series of explosions in Caracas on January 3, 2026. Loud explosions, accompanied by sounds resembling aircraft flyovers, were heard in Caracas around 2:00 am (0600 GMT) on January 3, an AFP journalist reported. The explosions come as US President Donald Trump, who has deployed a navy task force to the Caribbean, raised the possibility of ground strikes against Venezuela. (Photo by Luis JAIMES / AFP)

At least 40 people were killed in the United States' attack in Venezuela on Saturday, which led to the capture of the Latin American nations President Nicolas Maduro. A senior Venezuelan official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The New York Times what went down on the fateful night.

The revelation of the death toll came shortly after Trump told Fox News that no American troops had been killed during the operation. However, he suggested that some service members had been injured during the attack. Meanwhile, General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said later in the day at a news conference in Mar-a-Lago with Trump that the US helicopters moving to extract President Nicolas Maduro and his wife had come under fire.

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He noted that one helicopter had been hit but still remained flyable, and that all US aircraft came home. Details started to circulate soon after the attack. Venezuelan outlets started to report the death of a Venezuelan civilian in Catia La Mar, a low-income coastal area just west of the Caracas airport.

It was the same location where an airstrike hit a three-story civilian apartment complex and knocked out an exterior wall early Saturday. The strikes also killed 80-year-old Rosa Gonzalez, he family confirmed the news and a second person was also injured.

US strikes wreak havoc

Meanwhile, in the afternoon, a government investigator was present in the area of the strike, interviewing witnesses and picking up projectiles. The Saturday strikes left the interior of an apartment exposed to the public.

One neighbour, a 70-year-old man named Jorge, who declined to give his last name, told NYT that he lost everything in the airstrikes. In the midst of this, a plane carrying the countrys captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, arrived in New York. The plane landed just hours after an overnight US military attack in the Latin American nations capital that was hailed by Trump.

While confirming the news of the operation, Trump lauded the strikes and Maduros capture as an assault like people have not seen since World War II and vowed the US would run the leaderless country. While speaking at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, Trump provided few details after ousting Maduro in an audacious military attack.

He maintained that the United States would be in control of Venezuela until there was an orderly transition of power. It is pertinent to note that Maduro was in the US custody hours after being seized from his Caracas compound in a US raid, landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base after 4.30 pm (local time) in a white Boeing 757.

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The US says it carried out a large-scale strike in Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro, prompting sharp reactions and condemnation from countries across the world.

The United States on Saturday announced a dramatic escalation in its actions against Venezuela, saying it had carried out a large-scale strike and captured the countrys President Nicolas Maduro. The development follows weeks of heightened tension, during which Venezuelans had feared a direct military intervention.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that Maduro and his wife had been captured and flown out of the country following the operation, which he said was conducted in conjunction with US law enforcement.

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Washington carried out strikes inside Venezuela early on Saturday, marking a sharp and unprecedented turn in the standoff between the two countries.

US officials hail new dawn

In a statement on X, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau described the situation as a turning point for Venezuela.

Venezuela was experiencing a new dawn, Landau said, adding: The tyrant is gone. He will now  finally  face justice for his crimes.

Venezuela condemns extremely serious military aggression

Shortly after the US bombings, Maduros government issued a strong condemnation, accusing Washington of carrying out an unlawful attack.

Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression perpetrated by the current government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and people, the Venezuelan government said.

China condemns use of force

Chinas foreign ministry said Beijing was deeply shocked and strongly condemns the use of force by the US against a sovereign country and the use of force against the president of a country.

China firmly opposes such hegemonic behaviour by the US, which seriously violates international law, violates Venezuelas sovereignty, and threatens peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean. We urge the US to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and stop violating the sovereignty and security of other countries, it said.

Iran denounces US attack

In a statement posted on X, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote, Whats important is when one realises an enemy wants to force something on ones govt. or nation with false claims, they must stand firmly against that enemy.

We wont give in to them. With reliance on God & confidence in the peoples support, well bring the enemy to its knees, he added.

In a separate statement, Irans Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it strongly condemns the American military attack on Venezuela and the flagrant violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

Russia warns against further escalation

Russia said it was deeply concerned and condemned an act of armed aggression against Venezuela committed by the US, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the current situation, it is important  to prevent further escalation and to focus on finding a way out of the situation through dialogue, the ministry said.

The ministry added, Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, military intervention from outside.

It reaffirmed our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and our support for its leaderships policy of defending the countrys national interests and sovereignty.

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Russia also said it was extremely concerned about the capture of Maduro and his wife, adding that if such actions took place they constitute an unacceptable violation of the sovereignty of an independent state.

Colombia calls for peace and respect for international law

Colombian President Gustavo Petro reacted on X, writing: Alerting the whole world that they have attacked Venezuela.

The Republic of Colombia reiterates its conviction that peace, respect for international law, and the protection of life and human dignity must prevail over any form of armed confrontation, Petro said.

In a separate post, he said Colombia rejects the aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America. Petro later announced the deployment of military forces to the Venezuelan border.

Cuba accuses US of state terrorism

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel issued a sharply worded condemnation on social media, accusing Washington of carrying out a criminal attack against Venezuela and calling for an urgent international response.

In a post on X, Diaz-Canel said Cubas so-called zone of peace was being brutally assaulted, describing the US action as state terrorism directed not only at the Venezuelan people but at Our America more broadly.

He ended his statement with the revolutionary slogan: Homeland or Death, We Shall Overcome.

In a separate statement posted by various Cuban embassies around the world, Havana said it denounces the US military attack against Venezuela and demands an urgent reaction from the international community, again describing the attack as state terrorism.

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Chile urges peaceful solution

Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font said his government expressed concern and condemnation over the US military actions in Venezuela.

We call for seeking a peaceful solution to the serious crisis affecting the country, he said.

Chile reaffirms its commitment to basic principles of International Law, such as the prohibition of the use of force, non-intervention, the peaceful settlement of international disputes, and the territorial integrity of States. The Venezuelan crisis must be resolved through dialogue and the support of multilateralism, and not through violence or foreign interference.

Mexico condemns military intervention

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on X: Mexico condemns the military intervention in Venezuela.

She also cited an article of the UN Charter stating: The Members of the Organization, in their international relations, shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

Brazil says US crossed unacceptable line

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned the US bombings and the capture of Maduro, saying they crossed an unacceptable line.

Attacking countries, in flagrant violation of international law, is the first step toward a world of violence, chaos, and instability, where the law of the strongest prevails over multilateralism, Lula wrote on X.

He added that the US attacks recalled the worst moments of interference in Latin American politics and threatened peace across the region, saying the international community, through the United Nations, needs to respond vigorously to this episode.

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Bolivia expresses support for Venezuela

Bolivias foreign ministry said it expresses its firm and immediate support for the Venezuelan people in the ongoing process of restoring their democracy, reinstating constitutional order, and fully guaranteeing human rights.

Bolivia reiterates its commitment to peace, democracy, and coordination with the international community for humanitarian assistance, the protection of the civilian population, and support for a credible and lasting process of institutional reconstruction, the statement said.

UNSC reacts

The UN Security Council has announced that it will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow to discuss the US operation in Venezuela. The meeting has been convened at the request of Colombia, a non-permanent member of the Council, and was supported by permanent members China and Russia.
China deepens business cooperation with Belt and Road partners in 2025

Xinhua) 08:53, January 04, 2026

An aerial drone photo shows a view of the Longtan Container Terminal at Nanjing Port, east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 31, 2025. (Photo by Xin Yi/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese industrial and commercial enterprises have deepened pragmatic cooperation with Belt and Road partner countries in trade, investment and industries in 2025, data from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade showed.

Over the past year, the council has organized 407 business delegation trips, including 228 to Belt and Road partner countries, facilitating robust engagement for the Chinese business community.

In 2025, the council approved 707 overseas exhibition projects in 43 Belt and Road partner countries, covering an exhibition area of 360,000 square meters and involving around 26,500 enterprises.

To facilitate trade, China's national trade promotion system issued 4.99 million certificates of origin and 559,600 commercial certificates for Belt and Road partner countries in the first 11 months of 2025, according to the council.

"We will continue to organize Chinese business delegations to visit Belt and Road partner countries in 2026," said Wang Wenshuai, a spokesperson with the council.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
News / National

by Staff reporter

US attorney general Pam Bondi says deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will face criminal charges after an indictment in New York. Bondi vowed in a social media post that the couple will "soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts".In a statement on X, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Maduro is "under indictment for pushing drugs in the United States". Republican US Senator Mike Lee said on Saturday that Rubio had told him that he "anticipates no further action in Venezuela now that Maduro is in US custody".Earlier, Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the US had "captured" Venezuela's dictator, Maduro, and his wife, and flown them out of the South American country after a pre-dawn assault on Caracas and the surrounding region.Venezuela's government accused the US of launching a series of attacks against civilian and military targets in the South American country, after explosions rocked its capital, Caracas, before dawn on Saturday.In a statement, Venezuela's government urged citizens to rise up against the assault and said Washington risked plunging Latin America into chaos with "an extremely serious" act of "military aggression". "The entire country must mobilise to defeat this imperialist aggression," it added.Explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas in the early hours of Saturday. In its statement, Venezuela's government confirmed that the city had come under attack, as well as three other states: Miranda, La Guaira and Aragua.Venezuela has accused the US of trying to "seize control" of country's resources, in particular its oil and minerals. Th country has called on the international community to denounce what it called a flagrant violation of international law that put millions of lives at risk.In the early hours of Saturday the president of neighbouring Colombia, Gustavo Petro, called for an immediate emergency session of the UN security council, saying on social media that Venezuela had come under attack.UK prime minister Keir Starmer has reacted to Donald Trump's military action in Venezuela saying: "The UK was not involved in any way in this operation." He added that "we should all uphold international law".Russia has demanded "immediate" clarification about the circumstances of the capture of Maduro during an attack ordered by Trump. Earlier, Venezuela's vice-president, Delcy Rodriguez, said the US needed to provide "proof of life" for Maduro.
An emergency UN Security Council meeting has been called after a US military operation in Venezuela led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. As global condemnation grows and concerns over international law mount, Venezuelas top court has directed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to take charge in place of Maduro

People react to the news of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after US military actions in Venezuela this morning, in Doral, Florida, near Miami, on January 3, 2026. (AFP)

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold an urgent session on Monday to address a dramatic and escalating crisis between the United States and Venezuela, officials said. The meeting comes after a US military operation in Venezuela that has shocked the world and triggered fierce diplomatic debate.

Somalia, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the council, confirmed that the emergency meeting will take place at 10 am (1500 GMT) on Monday.

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The presidency intends to hold the emergency meeting on Monday morning at 10 am (1500 GMT), Khadija Ahmed, spokesperson for Somalias UN mission, told reporters.

Also read | Has Trump violated international law by capturing Maduro and attacking Venezuela?

Shockwaves after US action

The call for the meeting follows a US military operation in Venezuela earlier this week that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and their subsequent transfer to the United States. Maduro has been taken to the Metropolitan Detention Centre in New York.

American authorities say Maduro faces charges related to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, allegations he and his government vehemently deny. This action has raised urgent questions about sovereignty, international law, and regional security.

The situation has already led to strong reaction on the world stage, with many countries condemning the operation as a breach of international norms. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the intervention as setting a dangerous precedent, highlighting concerns among the international community about respect for the UN Charter.

The emergency meeting was requested not only by Venezuelas allies but also by several UN members alarmed by the recent tensions.

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Colombia, with backing from Russia and China, pushed for the session to promote dialogue and de-escalation. Some diplomats believe the council could be sharply divided over how to respond, particularly given the United States veto power as a permanent member.

Delcy Rodriguez steps in as Venezuelas interim leader

Venezuelas Supreme Court has directed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to take over the presidency following the removal of President Nicolas Maduro by the US military, which transferred him to New York to face criminal charges.

In its order, the court said it was essential to vest Rodriguez with full presidential authority to guarantee the administrative continuity of the country during Maduros absence.

Rodriguez, a close ally and handpicked successor of Maduro, strongly condemned the operation earlier, describing his capture as barbaric and calling it an illegal and illegitimate kidnapping.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington will maintain a quarantine around Venezuela to enforce sanctions, keep pressure on its leadership after Maduros capture and assess whether remaining officials change course before next steps.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that the American military would continue to enforce a quarantine around Venezuela to block oil tankers subject to US sanctions from entering or leaving the country. The move, he said, is intended to apply what the Trump administration calls leverage on Venezuelas leadership following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

Like President Donald Trump a day earlier, Rubio did not rule out the possibility of deploying U.S. troops to Venezuela. However, while Trump had said after the commando operation that seized Maduro that the United States planned to run the country and restore American oil interests, Pentagon officials said there were no U.S. forces operating inside Venezuela, and Maduros aides continued to appear in control on the ground.

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The United States is ready to work with Venezuelas remaining leaders if they make the right decision, Rubio said Sunday after an audacious US operation removed the oil-rich countrys president, Nicolas Maduro.

Were going to judge everything by what they do, and were going to see what they do, Rubio told CBS News Face the Nation."

I do know this: that if they dont make the right decision, that the United States will retain multiple levers of leverage."

US commandos snatched Maduro from a compound in Caracas on Saturday in a risky operation involving jets, helicopters, warships and ground troops.

He is now in a New York detention cell awaiting a court appearance expected Monday on federal narcotrafficking and weapons charges.

Rubio appeared to significantly soften President Donald Trumps extraordinary statements on Saturday that the United States will run Venezuela and that he would not be afraid to put military boots on the ground."

Instead, he made clear that Washington is ready to try working with Maduros vice president and now acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, and the rest of the ousted leaders cabinet.

We are going to see what happens moving forward, he said.

Were going to make an assessment on the basis of what they do, not what they say publicly in the interim, not what, you know, what theyve done in the past in many cases, but what they do moving forward."

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Rubio also said that discussions of Venezuela holding elections following Nicolas Maduros ouster were premature, with Washington focused on ensuring the remaining leadership in Caracas enacts policy changes.

Asked how soon Venezuelan elections would be following Maduros capture by US forces on Saturday, Rubio told NBCs Meet the Press: All of that, I think, is premature at this point."

What we are focused on right now is all of the problems we had when Maduro was there. We still have those problems in terms of them needing to be addressed. We are going to give people an opportunity to address those challenges and those problems, he said.

With inputs from agencies
A possible US-led overhaul of Venezuelas oil sector could offer India a major financial and strategic opportunity, with analysts saying it may help recover nearly USD 1 billion in long-pending dues and revive crude production from fields operated by Indian companies.

Venezuelan government supporters hold photographs of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez and President Nicolas Maduro, after Donald Trump said the US has struck Venezuela and captured Maduro, in Caracas, on January 3. Reuters

A US-led takeover or restructuring of Venezuelas oil sector could bring significant financial and strategic gains for India, potentially helping the country recover nearly USD 1 billion in long-pending dues while boosting crude production from fields operated by Indian companies, The Times of India reported, citing analysts and industry sources.

India was once a major buyer of Venezuelan heavy crude, importing over 400,000 barrels per day at its peak. These supplies stopped in 2020 after sweeping US sanctions made purchases risky and logistically difficult, forcing Indian refiners to exit the market.

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OVL operations affected by sanctions

ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), Indias flagship overseas oil producer, jointly operates the San Cristobal oilfield in eastern Venezuela. Output at the field has dropped sharply as US restrictions blocked access to essential equipment, technology, and oilfield services, leaving commercially viable reserves stranded.

Venezuela has also failed to clear dividend payments owed to OVL, including USD 536 million for its 40 per cent stake up to 2014, with a similar amount for subsequent years frozen as Caracas refused to permit audits.

Potential easing of sanctions after US intervention

Analysts and energy executives cited in report say that US sanctions could ease following the American military operation that removed President Nicolas Maduro and placed Venezuelas oil resources under US oversight. US President Donald Trump has already said American oil companies would enter Venezuela to repair degraded infrastructure and restart production.

Once restrictions are lifted, OVL could move drilling rigs and equipment from its Gujarat operations to San Cristobal, potentially increasing output from the current 5,00010,000 barrels per day to 80,000100,000 barrels per day with additional wells and modern equipment. Resumed Venezuelan crude exports could also allow OVL to recover close to USD 1 billion in unpaid dues. OVL had previously sought a specific US sanctions waiver, similar to the one granted to Chevron, to operate and export oil.

Expansion opportunities for Indian companies

Indian firms could further expand their presence in Venezuela. OVL holds an 11 per cent stake in the Carabobo-1 heavy oil block, while Indian Oil Corporation and Oil India each own 3.5 per cent. Venezuelas state-owned PDVSA, the majority partner in both projects, may undergo restructuring under US oversight, analysts said.

Strategic implications for India

India is expected to re-emerge as a key buyer if Venezuelan supplies return. If sanctions are eased trade flows can resume rapidly, said Kpler analyst Nikhil Dubey, noting that Indian refineries are technically well-suited to process Venezuelan heavy crude.

Before sanctions, Venezuela exported 707 million barrels of crude annually, with India and China together accounting for 35 per cent. Exports have since halved. Analysts said a US-backed overhaul could restore production within a year, offering India a strategic alternative to Middle Eastern oil and strengthening its bargaining power in global energy markets.
Analysts say the capture of Nicolas Maduro hands Beijing cheap ammunition to attack the US-led order even as it sticks to its own timeline for Taiwan.

The high-stakes US military assault on Venezuela has sent shockwaves through the global order, providing China with an unexpected geopolitical opening.

Analysts suggest that while President Donald Trumps pre-dawn capture of Nicolas Maduro in Caracas may not immediately trigger a move on Taiwan but it provides Beijing with cheap ammunition to justify its own territorial ambitions including Taiwan, Tibet and islands in the East and South China seas and dismantle Washingtons moral authority

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Cheap ammunition to erode the global order

President Donald Trumps decision to strike Venezuela and remove Maduro has handed Beijing what analysts describe as cheap ammunition to challenge US criticism of Chinas actions in Taiwan, the South China Sea and elsewhere. While the US justifies the strikes, dubbed as Operation Absolute Resolve, a law enforcement operation against a narco-state, Beijing has seized the narrative to brand the action as naked hegemonic behaviour."

State-run news agency Xinhua argued on Sunday that the rules-based international order championed by Washington is actually a predatory order based on US interests. And now, experts believe Beijing is expected to leverage this precedent to defend its stance on internal issues, including Taiwan, Tibet and claims in the South China Sea.

Washingtons consistent, long-standing arguments are always that Chinese actions violate international law, but they are now damaging that narrative themselves, William Yang, an analyst at the International Crisis Group told Reuters. Its creating openings for China to push back against the US in the future.

China is not the US, Taiwan is not Venezuela

Despite the rhetorical firestorm, experts caution against assuming a domino effect that leads to an imminent invasion of Taiwan. Just last week, China conducted its most extensive war games to date, encircling Taiwan to demonstrate a total blockade. However, analysts say President Xi Jinpings timeline remains tethered to domestic stability and military readiness rather than Latin American precedents.

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Taking over Taiwan depends on Chinas developing but still insufficient capability rather than what Trump did in a distant continent, Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Neil Thomas, a fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society, said China sees Taiwan as an internal affair and so was unlikely to cite US actions against Venezuela as precedent for any cross-strait military strikes.

Beijing will want a clear contrast with Washington to trumpet its claims to stand for peace, development and moral leadership, Thomas said. Xi does not care about Venezuela more than he cares about China. Hell be hoping that it turns into a quagmire for the United States."

Wang Ting-yu, a senior lawmaker from Taiwans ruling party who sits on the parliaments foreign affairs and defence committee, rejected the idea that China might follow the US example and strike Taiwan.

China has never lacked hostility toward Taiwan, but it genuinely lacks the feasible means, Wang posted on Facebook. China is not the United States, and Taiwan is certainly not Venezuela. If China could actually pull it off, it would have done so long ago!"

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Still, the situation amplifies risks for Taiwan and could press Taipei to seek more favour from the Trump administration, some observers said.

A new narrative for future escalation

While an immediate strike is deemed unlikely, the Venezuela operation has fundamentally shifted the justification framework. On Chinese social media platforms like Weibo, the attack trended heavily with many users urging Beijing to learn from Trumps decisiveness.

Lev Nachman, a professor at National Taiwan University, warned that the long-term danger lies in the narrative. What Trumps actions could do is help Xi Jinpings narrative in the future to create more justification for action against Taiwan, he said.

As Maduro awaits trial in New York and Trump vows that US companies will be very strongly involved in Venezuelas oil industry, Beijing is watching closely. The capture of a leader who met with a high-level Chinese delegation just hours before his fall serves as a stark reminder of the risks to Chinas global investments and a potential blueprint for how it may eventually choose to settle its own internal accounts.

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A video surfaced showing deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro under US custody following a large-scale American military operation, as Washington signalled it would temporarily oversee Venezuelas transition.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in New York City. @RapidResponse47/Reuters

A video surfaced showing deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arriving in US custody following a large-scale American military strike on Venezuela early on Saturday. US officials said the operation resulted in Maduro and his wife being captured and removed from the country, marking a decisive moment in Washingtons intervention.

The White House Rapid Response account reposted a video reportedly recorded earlier at the DEA headquarters in Manhattan, which it said showed Maduro being perp walked, reinforcing official claims that he is now under US control.

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US officials said Maduro and his wife were transported via helicopter to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The US president confirmed after the strikes that Maduro had been captured and would be brought to the United States to face charges.

Trump signals control over Venezuela and oil reserves

At a Mar-a-Lago news conference on Saturday morning, hours after ordering a military strike in and the capture of the countrys president and his wife, President Donald Trump described the action as an anti-drug law enforcement operation.

His Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said, At its core, this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American justice. He added that the US was going to run the country temporarily, even if that required troops on the ground, that American companies would soon begin selling Venezuelas vast oil reserves, and that the move was part of a broader strategy to assert US dominance in the Western Hemisphere.

While Trump said the US would make Venezuela great again, he offered few details when repeatedly pressed on the specifics of Americas role, including any possible timetable.

Venezuelas opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, has meanwhile called for an opposition candidate to assume power.

Supreme Court names interim president in Caracas

In Caracas, Venezuelas Supreme Court ruled that Delcy Rodriguez, who had been serving as Maduros vice president, should assume the role of interim president. According to Reuters, the court said the move was necessary to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation.

The court said it will debate the matter further to determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defense of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic, Reuters reported.

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The US Indo-Pacific Command on Sunday confirmed that it is aware of North Koreas recent missile launches and maintained that the move does not pose an immediate threat to the region

A day earlier, North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea after condemning new US sanctions targeting its cyber-linked money-laundering networks. (Reuters)

The US Indo-Pacific Command on Sunday confirmed that it is aware of North Koreas recent missile launches and maintained that the move does not pose an immediate threat to the region. The American authorities noted that they are in close consultation with allies and partners as the tensions in the Indo-Pacific region escalate.

In a statement posted on X, the US Indo-Pacific Command said, We are aware of the missile launches and are consulting closely with our allies and partners. Based on current assessments, this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies. The United States remains committed to the defence of the US homeland and our allies in the region.

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We are aware of the missile launches and are consulting closely with our allies and partners. Based on current assessments, this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies. The United States remains committed to the defense of the pic.twitter.com/AC9Kjb0YBk  U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (@INDOPACOM) January 4, 2026

It is pertient to note that the statement came just hours after North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the East Sea earlier on Sunday. The news was confirmed by the South Korean military, which maintained that this was Pyongyangs first weapons test of the year, Yonhap reported.

South Korea raises an alarm

According to South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the missiles were launched from areas near Pyongyang at around 7:50 am local time. The launches were detected as regional security remained on alert.

Our military maintains a firm readiness posture while closely sharing North Korean ballistic missile information with the U.S. and Japan sides amid a heightened surveillance posture against additional launches, the JCS said in a statement on Sunday morning.

The missile launch from North Korea came at a sensitive time as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung prepares to leave for Beijing for summit-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The timing also coincided with heightened global tensions following US President Donald Trumps announcement that Washington had captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro during a large-scale military operation in the Latin American nations capital.

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It is important to note that North Koreas last missile test took place on November 7, when it fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the East Sea. That launch was the sixth ballistic missile test conducted by Pyongyang last year.

With inputs from agencies.
While reacting to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the United States to detain his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin

While reacting to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the United States to detain his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyys remarks came when he was asked about the US toppling Maduros regime after President Trump ordered airstrikes on military sites around the Venezuelan capital of Caracas early Saturday morning.

How should I react to this? What can I say? the Ukrainian leader told reporters after meeting with European national security advisers Saturday. If its possible to deal with dictators this way, then the US knows what to do next, he added, suggesting that Trump should handle Putin the same way.

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Venezuela, how else can one react? If this is how one can deal with dictators, then the USA knows what to do next  Zelenskyy on Maduro's capture pic.twitter.com/eD3IUYSpBi  EMPR.media (@EuromaidanPR) January 3, 2026

It is pertient to note that Russia was among several nations that demanded the Trump administration release Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, after they were captured from their home in the South American country.

How Russia is reacting to the Venezuelan crisis

In a formal statement on the matter, the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the American operation in Venezuela. In view of the confirmed reports about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse being in the United States, we strongly urge the US leadership to reconsider their position and release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

We highlight the need to create conditions for resolving any existing issues between the United States and Venezuela through dialogue," the statement furthered. Soon after the American strikes in Caracas, the couple arrived in New York City on Saturday night.

Here, they will face federal narco-terrorism charges. Trump has said the couple will face the full wrath of American justice. Maduro and Flores will be held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn, officials said. They are expected to appear in federal court as early as Monday.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A 25-year-old employee at Ingwebu Breweries, Aloise Dube of Nguboyenja, was fined US$50 after assaulting the company's Human Resources manager and threatening his life.Dube appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Ms Beverly Madzikatire on charges of assault and making threats against the complainant, Dumisani Moyo, who serves as HR manager at Ingwebu Breweries. The accused and the complainant are colleagues but not related. The case was remanded to 12 January.According to prosecutor Mr Methuli Ncube, the incident occurred on 27 December at around 3:15 PM at the company's fuel point. "The complainant ordered the accused to go home and report for duty on 29 December after receiving a complaint from a colleague that she was being harassed by Dube. This did not go down well with the accused, who became violent," said Mr Ncube.Court proceedings revealed that Dube pushed Moyo twice, including once against a truck, before security guards intervened. The complainant did not sustain any injuries from the assault.Following the physical attack, Dube allegedly threatened to kill Moyo, demanding remuneration for five months of unpaid work at the brewery. The matter was reported to police, resulting in Dube's arrest.
The Police Request that a Crew Member of the Fitburg Cargo Vessel Be Subjected to Pre-Trial Detention

Police of Finland

Publication date 3.1.2026 14.04

One of the two crew members currently arrested, the Russian national has been subjected to a travel ban as of 03 January 2026. The police will request that the other one, the Azerbaijani national be subjected to pre-trial detention.

A travel ban has been imposed on one the two crew members of the Fitburg vessel who had previously been arrested. The crew member in question is a Russian national. The vessel has a total of 14 crew members on board, and currently, a travel ban has been imposed on three of them.

The other crew member previously arrested is a national of Azerbaijan, and the police will request his pre-trial detention today, 03 January. For the purposes relating to the criminal investigation, it is not possible to provide further details regarding their rank. In the course of the investigation, the leaders of the investigation continually assess the necessity, sufficiency, and comprehensiveness of the coercive measures taken.

The analysis of the material collected from the vessel is expected to take several weeks. Investigative actions on board the vessel continue.

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January 2, 2026

By Air Force Staff Sgt. Christian Silvera, 406th Air Expeditionary Wing

449th AEG Airmen Test Readiness During Exercise Pale Serpent

Airmen assigned to the 449th Air Expeditionary Group, in conjunction with Army, Marine Corps and Navy partners, conducted readiness training at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, during Exercise Pale Serpent, Dec. 26-29, 2025.

The joint exercise prepared units to respond to real-world contingencies across East Africa.

The exercise placed different 449th elements into parallel training scenarios designed to test how each mission set could operate in a high-tempo environment, from trauma care to aeromedical evacuation.

At Chabelley Airfield, Djibouti, Air Force medical personnel assigned to the 776th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron treated simulated casualties inside the installation's medical treatment facility alongside partner medical teams, practicing trauma care, triage and patient stabilization.

"Triage took place outside, and then we were assigning casualties into the appropriate rooms," said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Gracie Livengood, 776th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron, aerospace medical service technician. "The most immediate patients came into the trauma bay, and we treated them while delayed and minimal patients were handled in the other bays."

The scenario forced medics to manage multiple patients at once while working through limited space, equipment and personnel, requiring constant communication and rapid decision-making across the treatment teams.

"This training helps us get prepared if an actual emergency happens," Livengood said. "It ensures our skills are up to date, that we're doing everything properly and that we have the equipment we need to provide the best quality of care."

Livengood said the exercise also highlighted the importance of teamwork in high-stress medical situations.

"There are always challenges, especially when we're relatively short-staffed for a mass-casualty exercise," Livengood said. "But everyone did really well, helping each other out, moving from bed to bed and making sure people were taken care of."

While medical teams trained at Chabelley, aeromedical evacuation personnel assigned to the 10th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight conducted parallel readiness training at Camp Lemonnier, preparing to move patients from the expeditionary medical facility to higher levels of care.

During Pale Serpent, the 10th EAEF employed its full aeromedical evacuation capability, including a critical care air transport team consisting of a physician, critical care nurse and respiratory therapist, along with two flight nurses and four aeromedical technicians.

"Having aeromedical evacuation capabilities in this region is important so we can quickly move patients to a higher echelon of care," said Air Force Maj. Christina Newby-Martinez, 10th EAEF commander. "We're trained to provide the capability to rapidly move large numbers of patients by air during mass casualty events, which ensures timely redistribution of casualties to appropriate medical facilities."

When this capability is integrated with critical care air transport teams specialized in transporting critically ill patients who require advanced, intensive and continuous medical care en route, there is a seamless transition of care across the full spectrum of patient acuity, Newby-Martinez explained.

Exercises like Pale Serpent are essential for preparing crews to operate under pressure.

"Training like Pale Serpent tests how quickly our teams can respond, pushes them to work outside of their normal crew complement and forces them to be ready for the unknown injuries that could arrive on an aircraft," Newby-Martinez said. "It also helps us see where we need to improve communication when we're working in a multi-service environment."

Although 449th AEG elements trained in different locations, their efforts strengthened their ability to respond immediately and effectively to mass-casualty emergencies, reinforcing crisis readiness at one of U.S. Africa Command's most operationally critical hubs in East Africa.

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Coast Guard suspends search for individuals in the Pacific Ocean

United States Coast Guard

Press Release | Jan. 2, 2026

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for the reported people in the water approximately 400 nautical miles southwest of the Mexico/Guatemala border Friday.

Despite extensive coordination with international rescue coordination centers, Department of War partners, and Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) system vessels, available assets were extremely limited due to distance and range constraints.

The U.S. Coast Guard coordinated more than 65 hours of search efforts, leveraging an underway AMVER vessel in the region and U.S. Coast Guard HC-130J launched from Sacramento, covering more than 1,090 nautical miles under favorable visual conditions with no sightings of survivors or debris. Three additional vessels in the area were asked to assist in the search, all reporting negative results.

"Suspending a search is never easy and given the exhaustive search effort, lack of positive indications and declining probability of survival, we have suspended active search efforts pending further developments," said U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Patrick Dill, chief of incident management, Southwest District. "At this stage of the response, the likelihood of a successful outcome, based on elapsed time, environmental conditions, and available resources for a person in the water is very low."

###



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News / National

by Staff reporter

Harare Magistrates' Court has convicted Prenuel Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd for unlawfully importing methanol valued at US$423,043.48 without approval from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).The imports, which occurred between 2 January and 22 March 2025, were cleared at the port of entry by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA). However, investigators found that Prenuel Enterprises had not registered with RBZ Exchange Control as an authorised importer and had processed payments outside the formal banking system.Represented in court by Zvikomborero Nyakutira (46), the company pleaded guilty and was fined US$3,500, or the ZiG equivalent, with payment required by 30 March 2026. The court warned that failure to pay the fine would result in the seizure of the company's property.In a statement, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) reminded the business community that compliance with exchange control regulations is mandatory. "All import transactions must be conducted through the formal banking system to ensure transparency and adherence to national laws," the NPA said.
January 3, 2026

By Matthew Olay, Pentagon News

Trump Announces U.S. Military's Capture of Maduro

President Donald J. Trump today announced the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, following a successful overnight joint U.S. military extraction in Venezuela's capital of Caracas.

"Last night and early today, at my direction, the United States armed forces conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela. ... It was an operation against a heavily fortified military fortress in the heart of Caracas to bring outlaw dictator Nicolas Maduro to justice," Trump said during a midday news conference from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

The president added that both Maduro and his also-captured wife, Cilia Flores de Maduro, will now face criminal court proceedings tied to a 2020 indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice on multiple federal charges, including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.

Earlier in the day, Trump posted a photo to social media showing a blindfolded and handcuffed Nicolas Maduro in custody aboard the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima.

Labeled Operation Absolute Resolve, the joint military and law enforcement mission to capture the Maduros was the result of months of planning and rehearsal involving U.S. joint forces  including special operations forces  from multiple service branches. The military also networked extensively with multiple U.S. intelligence agencies, according to Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"Our interagency work began months ago and built on decades of experience [with] integrating complex air, ground, space and maritime operations. ... We watched, we waited, we prepared, we remained patient and professional. ... This was an audacious operation that only the United States could do," Caine said during the press conference.

He added that the mission to extract the Maduros  in which there were no U.S. casualties  was so precise that it involved more than 150 military aircraft from all across the Western Hemisphere launching in close coordination to provide cover for the ground-based extraction force in Caracas.

"Words can barely capture the bravery and the power and the precision of this historic operation, a massive joint military and law enforcement raid flawlessly executed by the greatest Americans our country has to offer," Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who was also in attendance at Mar-a-Lago, told the media.

"What I witnessed last night was sheer guts and grit, gallantry and glory of the American warrior. ... This is about the safety, security, freedom and prosperity of the American people. This is America first; this is peace through strength; and the United States War Department is proud to help deliver it," Hegseth said of the mission.

With Maduro now out of power, Trump said the U.S. will oversee Venezuela until a safe transition to a legitimate replacement for the deposed strongman can be identified.

"We have a group of people running [Venezuela] until such a time it can be put back on track, make a lot of money for [Venezuelans] ... give people a great way of life, and also [reimburse the] people in our country who were forced out of Venezuela," Trump said.

The president added that, while it was his understanding that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was "just sworn in" [to the presidency] following Maduro's ouster, Rodriguez seemed willing to work with the U.S. to achieve what's best for Venezuelans.

"[Secretary of State] Marco [Rubio] is working on that directly. He just had a conversation with [Rodriguez], and she's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again," Trump said.

The capture of the Maduros represents a culmination of tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela dating as far back as 1998, with the election of President Hugo Chavez, a Venezuelan socialist who espoused anti-U.S. rhetoric and formed close ties with Cuba, Iran and Russia.

Following the death of Chavez in 2013, Nicolas Maduro took over and became increasingly politically hostile toward the U.S. as the years progressed.

Tensions between the two countries increased significantly beginning in September of 2025, when the Trump administration began conducting targeted boat strikes on vessels deemed to be conducting narco-terrorism by attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into the U.S.

In November 2025, the State Department declared Venezuela's state-embedded criminal network Cartel de los Soles  which is alleged to have been headed by Maduro  as a terror organization.

Just prior to that designation, Hegseth said such an action would provide the War Department with "more tools" to provide options to Trump in regard to how to address the narco-terror threat in the region.

"We have a lot of options; we'll make sure we have the authorities to do so, and we will protect the American people," Hegseth said at the time.

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Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna: it is crucial to ensure stability and a democratic transition in Venezuela

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

03.01.2026 | 14:41

We are closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, including the security and safety of Estonian citizens present there.

The European Union's position has been clear: Nicolas Maduro lacks legitimacy as President of Venezuela, as the Venezuelan authorities have not respected the will of the people nor ensured a fair and democratic electoral process.

It is crucial to ensure stability in Venezuela and a democratic transition that primarily serves the interests of the Venezuelan people. I stress that all steps must be guided by the principles of the UN Charter and international law, and that actions which undermine these fundamental principles must be avoided."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to advise Estonian citizens against travelling to Venezuela. Several airlines have cancelled their flights, and the country's borders and airspace may be closed without prior notice.

While in the country, it is mandatory to carry a passport at all times. For safety reasons, we ask travellers to avoid all demonstrations and to follow the instructions of the authorities. If the situation escalates, domestic roads may be closed, police checkpoints increased, and restrictions imposed on mobile networks and internet access. The provision of consular assistance may be difficult or limited. More detailed travel advice is available here: https://reisitargalt.vm.ee/sihtkoht/venezuela/

We ask short-term travellers currently in Venezuela to register here: https://reisitargalt.vm.ee/registreeri-reis/

According to the Population Register, 231 Estonian citizens live in Venezuela. At present, no short-term travellers in Venezuela are registered on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

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Venezuela demands UN Security Council hold an emergency meeting: Chinese media

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Jan 03, 2026 09:22 PM

Venezuela has demanded UN Security Council hold an emergency meeting, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.

The request follows a series of US military actions in the country and Washington's claims that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of Venezuela.

According to Xinhua, Venezuela's Permanent Mission to the United Nations sent a letter on Saturday to the rotating president of the UN Security Council, Abukar Dahir Osman, Somalia's envoy to the UN, strongly condemning what it described as a brutal, unjustified and unilateral armed aggression launched by the US against Venezuela. The letter put forward four demands.

The four demands include convening an urgent Security Council meeting to discuss the US acts of aggression; strongly condemning the US armed aggression against the Venezuelan people and government; demanding that US forces immediately cease armed attacks against Venezuela; and taking necessary measures to hold the US government accountable for its acts of aggression, the letter said, Xinhua reported.

According to Xinhua, the letter stated that in the early hours of Saturday, US forces bombed civilian and military targets in Venezuela's capital Caracas as well as in Miranda, Aragua and La Guaira states. It said US special forces carried out attacks at multiple locations across Venezuela using helicopters and aircraft,

Describing the US actions as premeditated aggression, the letter said they constituted a blatant violation of the UN Charter. The deadly and treacherous attack was launched against a country that was in a state of complete peace, with the aim of overthrowing Venezuela's current government and imposing a puppet government to plunder the country's oil resources, it added.

CBS News claimed the Venezuelan President was captured early Saturday morning by members of the US Army's elite Delta Force, citing US officials.

Amid the uncertainty surrounding Maduro's whereabouts, Venezuela has demanded proof that the president and his wife are safe. Speaking on Venezuela TV, the vice-president, Delcy Rodriguez, demanded immediate "proof of life" of Maduro and the first lady Cilia Flores, The Guardian reported.

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Venezuelan president, wife indicted in New York, US Attorney General claims

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Jan 03, 2026 09:06 PM

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York, US Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed in a X post on Saturday.

Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the US, the US Attorney General asserted.

Maduro has been captured and flown out of Venezuela after the US carried out a large-scale strike on the capital city of Caracas, US President Donald Trump announced earlier on Saturday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed in a call with a US Republican senator that Maduro will stand trial in the US and that he anticipates no further action, CNN reported.

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Chinese military affairs experts analyze US strikes in Venezuela and operation to capture Maduro

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun and Liang Rui Published: Jan 03, 2026 11:32 PM

After the US military strikes on Venezuela on Saturday, which reportedly led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Chinese military affairs experts analyzed how the US Delta Force carried out the mission, while stressing the illegality of the US invasion of a sovereign state.

US President Donald Trump claimed Saturday in a Truth Social post that Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of Venezuela, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that "The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country." He said the operation was conducted "in conjunction with US Law Enforcement," adding that further details would follow. Trump also announced that a news conference would be held at 11 am local time at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

According to CBS News, the Venezuelan president was captured early Saturday morning by members of the US Army's elite Delta Force, the US military's top special mission unit, citing US officials. The report also noted that the unit previously carried out the 2019 mission that killed former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Trump's claims came after multiple explosions rocked Venezuela's capital Caracas early on Saturday and columns of black smoke and aircraft could be seen, according to Reuters witnesses and images circulating on social media.

A power outage affected the southern area of the city, near a major military base, witnesses said.

Citing videos emerging on social media, the War Zone, a US media outlet specialized in defense, reported that 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment MH-47 Chinook helicopters (and what appear to likely be MH-60s) flew over Caracas as several explosions erupt in the background.

The strikes follow months of US military buildup in the region, with the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and numerous other warships positioned in the Caribbean, CBS News reported.

In recent weeks the US has seized two oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, launched deadly strikes on more than 30 boats the administration says were carrying drugs, and struck what President Trump called "the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs," according to the US media report.

Wang Yunfei, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Saturday that the seemingly relatively smooth US military operation could be partially because of the initial air strikes and possible electronic warfare attacks that sabotaged and jammed the Venezuelan air force and air defense capabilities, allowing US helicopters carrying Delta Force units to conduct airborne operations and penetrate Maduro's residence. He added that the Delta Force units involved are experienced elite operators.

Venezuela's defense capabilities could be vulnerable facing the US, especially when having intelligence about his whereabouts, according to Wang.

Zhang Junshe, another Chinese military affairs expert, also highlighted the potential intelligence advantages of the US side. He noted that the US has a history of using its agencies such as the CIA to gather intelligence, including buying over military commanders or officials with knowledge about the mission objective.

From a military operational point of view, other militaries around the world will likely see the latest US military operation as a case study, Zhang told the Global Times. "The US has repeatedly conducted similar military operations to overthrow regimes. Such operations are not just tactical operations, but they have deep political and strategic implications," Zhang said.

The US operation on Venezuela is a move of invading a sovereign state, which violates the international law, Zhang stressed.

China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the US' blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president. Such hegemonic acts of the US seriously violate international law and Venezuela's sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region. China firmly opposes it, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson made the remarks on the US military strikes on Venezuela on Saturday night.

"We call on the US to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries' sovereignty and security," said the spokesperson.

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Rogers Praises Successful Mission to Bring Maduro to Justice

House Armed Services Committee

Washington, January 3, 2026

Today, U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, released a statement applauding the successful military mission to arrest Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. Rogers expects a full committee briefing on the operation this week.

"I commend President Trump for taking decisive action to bring Nicolas Maduro to justice. His illegitimate regime brutalized the Venezuelan people, aligned with hostile adversaries like Cuba, Iran, Russia, and China to threaten U.S. security, and operated a narco-terrorist network that flooded our country with deadly drugs that killed countless Americans. I am grateful to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces who once again demonstrated the exceptional skill and capability of the U.S. military.

"For many years I've raised criticisms about the U.S. abdicating enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine, which has been in place for two centuries. I'm pleased to see President Trump reassert that doctrine today by sending an unmistakable message to our adversaries that we will not allow malign influence and threats to the American people go unchecked in our hemisphere."

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Chairman Crawford Statement on Venzuela

US House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

January 03, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford (AR-01) released the following statement after the U.S. arrested Nicolas Maduro.

"First, I want to commend the incredible U.S. law enforcement, military, and intelligence professionals involved in this morning's raid to arrest Nicolas Maduro. Once again, they have shown themselves to be the best in the world.

"This is a historic day in the Western Hemisphere, 36 years after the capture of Manuel Noriega, when the U.S showed we will not allow cartels to take over countries in our shared neighborhood. The arrest of Cartel De Los Soles leader Nicolas Maduro shows this clearly.

"Venezuela could never start the road back to the great nation it once was until Maduro was out of the way. I call upon the Venezuelan people to reclaim their freedom."

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Stolen Venezuelan oil must be returned to US, JD Vance claims

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 3, 2026

Tehran, IRNA -- US Vice President JD Vance has acknowledged that Washington's military action against Venezuela is about seizing the country's vast oil reserves, saying, "the stolen oil must be returned to the United States."

"The president offered multiple off ramps, but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States," wrote Vance on his X account on Saturday.

"Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says," he added.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Venezuelan government said the US launched attacks on the capital, Caracas, as well as the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the United States' military aggression against Venezuela and the blatant violation of the country's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, saying that the attack represents a flagrant violation of regional and international peace and security.

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US indicts Maduro in New York court as Venezuela seeks UNSC meeting

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 3, 2026

Tehran, IRNA -- US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife have been indicted in the Southern District of New York following a military operation to capture the couple.

In a post on X, Bondi said that Maduro faces multiple charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices against the United States.

The Attorney General did not specify the charges filed against Maduro's wife.

"They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts," Bondi said.

US President Donald Trump said earlier in the day that Maduro and his wife had been captured following a large-scale military operation in Venezuela and had been flown out of the country.

Venezuela on Saturday demanded an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the US attacks on the country.

"Faced with the criminal aggression committed by the US government against our homeland, we have requested an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council, which is responsible for upholding international law," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil wrote on the Telegram messaging platform.

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Condemnations pour in over US military attack on Venezuela

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 3, 2026

Russia: A clear violation of international law

Russia denounced the strikes as unlawful and illegitimate. Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council, wrote on Telegram that Venezuela posed no threat to the United States, making the operation baseless.

He stressed that "order must be based on international law, not self-made rules," warning that the precedent undermines global stability.

China 'deeply shocked' by blatant use of force

China said it was "deeply shocked" by US military strikes on Venezuela and the capture of President Maduro, condemning the move as a violation of international law.

"China is deeply shocked and strongly condemns the US's blatant use of force against a sovereign state and its action against its president," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Such hegemonic behaviour by the US seriously violates international law, infringes upon Venezuela's sovereignty, and threatens peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean. China firmly opposes it," it added.

Cuba: A criminal act against peace

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel described the attack as "criminal" and called for an immediate international response. Writing on X, he said the strike represented a brutal assault on the region's peace and urged global solidarity against what he termed aggression.

Colombia says it rejects unilateral military action

Colombia expressed deep concern over the escalation. President Gustavo Petro issued a statement emphasizing Colombia's commitment to the UN Charter, particularly respect for sovereignty and the prohibition of force.

He condemned unilateral military actions that could endanger civilians and worsen tensions, urging immediate de-escalation to preserve peace and stability in Latin America.

Poland: A heavy start to 2026

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk acknowledged the gravity of the situation, saying the year had begun with a "heavy blow."

He revealed that at least 11 Polish citizens remain in Venezuela despite repeated warnings to avoid travel there. Tusk pledged that Warsaw is monitoring developments closely and preparing for potential consequences, adding that Poland will "react and adapt to this new situation."

Spain offers mediation for peace

Madrid called for de-escalation, moderation, and respect for international law. In a statement, the Spanish Foreign Ministry emphasized the need to avoid further violence and offered Spain's role as a mediator to help facilitate dialogue and a peaceful resolution.

Spain's appeal highlights Europe's growing concern about instability in Latin America and its potential global repercussions.

Italy concerned about its citizens in Venezuela

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was "closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela," with a particular focus on gathering information about Italian citizens in the country.

With an estimated 160,000 Italians living in Venezuela, many holding dual citizenship, Rome is prioritizing the safety of its nationals while assessing the broader impact of the crisis.

Brazil says US crossed unacceptable line

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned the US military aggression on Venezuela and the capture of its leader, saying Washington had crossed "an unacceptable line."

"These acts represent a grave affront to Venezuela's sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community," Lula said in a post on X.

Lula also called for a "vigorous" response from the United Nations, adding that Brazil was ready to promote dialogue and cooperation.

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News / National

by Staff reporter

The City of Kwekwe is set to procure mobile toilets for its main bus rank after residents and commuters reportedly resorted to defecating in nearby bushes due to a lack of functioning ablution facilities.The two permanent toilets at the rank have been undergoing renovations for nearly a year, leaving hundreds of bus passengers and traders without proper facilities.Works Department Director, Engineer John Mhike, told a recent full council meeting that mobile toilets are being procured to provide interim relief while renovations continue."We have a functional toilet at the rank, but sometimes people just choose to relieve themselves everywhere, so education is also necessary. We are procuring mobile toilets for the public while waiting for the completion of the renovations," Mhike said.Ward 9 Councillor Maxwell Judha criticised the council for not providing temporary facilities earlier. "We knew very well that renovations were coming, and mobile toilets should have been procured beforehand. We are winning awards yet residents are living in a dirty and smelly environment," Judha said.Health Committee Chairperson Councillor Panyika Nyika added that illegal shabeens operating in the bus rank are worsening the situation. "Our municipal police should enforce the closure of all illegal bars in the rank because drunkards are urinating everywhere without using proper toilets. It's a messy situation caused by those selling beer," Nyika said.Councillors urged urgent action to ensure the sanitation crisis at the rank is addressed before it escalates further, noting that the bus rank is a major transit point for passengers traveling to and from Harare and across the country.
Iran strongly condemns US military aggression against Venezuela

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 3, 2026

Tehran, IRNA -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the United States' military aggression against Venezuela and the blatant violation of the country's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, saying that the attack represents a flagrant violation of regional and international peace and security.

The ministry issued a statement on Saturday after the US struck positions in the capital, Caracas, and as well as the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira earlier in the day, according to a statement by the Venezuelan government.

"The US military attack on Venezuela constitutes a clear violation of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and the basic rules of international law, particularly Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the Charter, which prohibits the use of force. It is a textbook example of an "act of aggression" that must be explicitly condemned immediately by the United Nations and by all states concerned with upholding the rule of law, peace, and international security," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry further said that the US military aggression against an independent UN member state represents a flagrant violation of regional and international peace and security, warning that the consequences of the action would affect the entire international system and further expose the UN Charter-based order to erosion and destruction.

While recalling Venezuela's inherent right to defend its national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and right to self-determination, the ministry underscored the legal and moral responsibility of all states and international organizations, especially the United Nations and its Security Council, to immediately halt the unlawful US aggression against Venezuela.

It emphasized the necessity of taking measures to hold accountable the designers and perpetrators of the crimes committed during this military aggression.

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Venezuelan FM condemns US strikes, warns regime change efforts will fail

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 3, 2026

Tehran, IRNA -- Venezuela's Foreign Minister Yvan Eduardo Gil Pinto has strongly condemned US attacks against his country, saying they constitute a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter and pose a serious threat to international peace and security.

In an official statement on Saturday, the foreign minister said that the Venezuelan government categorically condemns any aggression against the country, adding that this action is a clear violation of the UN Charter.

He said the United States orchestrated the strikes, which targeted residential neighborhoods, critical infrastructure, and both civilian and military sites, including downtown Caracas.

He further warned that any attempt to impose regime change in Venezuela is doomed to failure, just as all previous attempts have been unsuccessful. "All efforts to change the ruling government in our country, as in the past, will fail," he said, reaffirming Venezuela's commitment to defending its sovereignty.

The US attacked Venezuela early on Saturday, striking positions in the capital, Caracas, and as well as the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira, according to a statement by the Venezuelan government.

President Nicolas Maduro signed a state of emergency and ordered all national defense plans to be implemented "at the appropriate time and under the appropriate circumstances."

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Venezuela says United States carried out military aggression on its soil

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 3, 2026

Tehran, IRNA -- The Venezuelan government says the United States has carried out a "very serious and grave military aggression" against multiple parts of the country.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the government said the US launched attacks on the capital, Caracas, as well as the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.

President Nicolas Maduro signed a state of emergency and ordered all national defense plans to be implemented "at the appropriate time and under the appropriate circumstances," according to the statement carried by CNN.

Earlier in the day, multiple explosions were reported in Caracas and other locations, while the sound of low-flying aircraft were heard over the capital.

At least seven explosions rocked Caracas, where smoke was seen rising from the hangar of a military base, according to The Associated Press. Another military installation in Caracas lost power, and residents in multiple neighborhoods rushed into the streets of the capital city.

Local media outlets reported similar explosions in La Guaira state, north of Caracas and in Higuerote, a coastal city in Miranda state.

The blasts come after months of tension between Venezuela and the United States. President Donald Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of being involved in drug trafficking, an allegation strongly dismissed by Caracas.

On Thursday, Maduro said he was open to negotiating a deal with the US to combat drug trafficking. The US has carried out more than 20 airstrikes in the sea near Venezuela since September as part of what Washington called an anti-drug campaign.

US confirms attack on Venezuela

US President Donald Trump confirmed on his Truth Social media platform that Washington carried out a "large scale strike against Venezuela" and that President Nicolas Maduro and his wife have been captured.

"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," Trump said in his post carried by CNN.

Trump said that the operation was done "in conjunction with US Law Enforcement," adding that a news conference will be held later on Saturday to announce details.

Venezuela says doesn't know whereabouts of Maduro

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said that the government does not know the whereabouts of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

"We demand immediate proof of life from the government of President Donald Trump regarding the lives of President Maduro and the first lady," Rodriguez said in an audio call to state-run VTV Venezuela, as reported by CNN.

She also said that the US attack has cost the lives of officials, military personnel and civilians across Venezuela.

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Pakistan Expresses Support for the Unity and Territorial Integrity of Yemen

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Pakistan welcomes the call by Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council to hold comprehensive talks in Riyadh and once again urges all Yemeni stakeholders to engage in good faith toward a negotiated political solution based on agreed parameters.

Pakistan reaffirms its steadfast support for the unity and territorial integrity of Yemen.

Guided by the principles of unity and brotherhood, Pakistan hopes that regional efforts will contribute to bringing lasting peace and stability to Yemen.

Islamabad

3 January 2026

06/2026

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'Maduro Venezuela's only president; no empire will rule us': Caracas vows resistance after US kidnapping

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 03 January 2026 8:45 PM

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has strongly condemned an illegal US military attack that resulted in the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, demanding their immediate release and warning that Venezuela is prepared to defend itself.

Speaking in a live public address on Saturday, Rodriguez denounced the early-morning attack as "barbaric," denouncing Washington for besieging and blockading Venezuela with the aim of forcing regime-change and seizing the country's natural wealth.

"We demand the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, the only president of Venezuela," Rodriguez said, adding that the aggression had exposed the true objectives of the United States.

"The masks have fallen and it is clear that they had only one objective: A regime-change in Venezuela, so that they could seize our energy, mineral, and natural resources," she said.

"They want to enslave us again. We will never be slaves again, we will never be a colony of any empire of any kind."

Rodriguez said the government was ready to defend the country and its resources, stressing that the Venezuelan people were outraged by the "illegal, illegitimate kidnapping" of the president and the first lady. She also urged citizens to remain calm amid the unfolding situation.

Her remarks came after US President Donald Trump said Washington intended to take control of Venezuela during an interim period following the kidnapping of Maduro and Flores.

Speaking at a press conference in Florida, Trump claimed the US would "run" Venezuela until a "safe, proper, and judicious" transition of power takes place. He said officials from his administration would oversee "governance" during that period, pointing to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Trump also claimed that US forces were already present in Venezuela, though no immediate evidence was provided.

The attack began in the early hours of Saturday, when American troops carried out coordinated strikes on civilian and military targets in Caracas and several other states.

Trump said Maduro and Flores were kidnapped during the attack and flown out of the country.

US officials claimed the couple were aboard an American warship en route to New York to face "criminal charges."

The US military aggression followed months of escalating pressure on Venezuela, including a buildup of forces in South America and attacks in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean that Washington purported were linked to drug trafficking allegations, claims previously rejected by Maduro as a pretext for an attack on the country.

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Trump claims US will 'run' Venezuela in interim after kidnapping of Maduro

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 03 January 2026 5:40 PM

US President Donald Trump says the United States will take control of Venezuela until a "safe, proper, and judicious" transition of power has taken place, following the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro.

Speaking at a press conference in Florida on Tuesday, Trump said that Washington would oversee Venezuela's governance during an interim period, without providing further details.

"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said. "We don't want to be involved with somebody else getting in and we have the same situation we had for the last long period of years."

Trump said that officials from his administration would run Venezuela. "The people that are standing right behind me" are going to be running it "for a period of time," he said, referring to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

He claimed the American presence was already in place in the country, though there were no immediate signs that that was the case.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, the US armed forces carried out coordinated strikes on civilian and military targets in Caracas and several other states.

Trump said that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been kidnapped following a large-scale strike against the country, and that the couple had been flown out of Venezuela.

Officials said Maduro and his wife were aboard an American warship on their way to New York, where they were to face criminal charges.

The Venezuelan government has condemned the attacks as a direct act of military aggression aimed at seizing the country's oil and mineral wealth.

The US military action comes after months of pressure on Venezuela, including a buildup of forces in South America and attacks on vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, accused of carrying drugs.

Maduro has dismissed the accusations, labeling them as a pretext for the White House to attack the South American country.

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Trump says US will be 'very strongly involved' in Venezuela's oil industry

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 03 January 2026 4:25 PM

US President Donald Trump says Washington will play a major role in Venezuela's oil sector following a military assault that led to the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Speaking to Fox News on Saturday, Trump said the United States is going to be "very strongly involved" in Venezuela's oil industry.

"We have the greatest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the greatest, and we're going to be very much involved," he said.

In a post published on the social media platform Truth Social earlier on Saturday, Trump said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been kidnapped by US armed forces after Washington carried out a large-scale strike against the country.

"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country," he wrote.

US VP says 'stolen oil must be returned'

US Vice President JD Vance said the Venezuelan president has been offered "multiple off ramps" before he and his wife were kidnapped by the US military.

In a post on his X account on Saturday, Vance said President Trump maintained clarity throughout his numerous exit options.

"The drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States," he wrote.

He added that Maduro has become the latest to realize that President Trump follows through on his words.

According to the London-based Energy Institute, Venezuela holds the world's largest oil reserves - about 303 billion barrels, or 17% of global reserves - surpassing OPEC+ leader Saudi Arabia.

The military attack on Venezuela follows months of pressure on the country under the pretext of combating illegal drugs destined for the United States.

Caracas firmly denied any connection to drug trafficking and maintained that Washington aimed to overthrow the Venezuelan president in a bid to take control of the nation's vast oil reserves.

At least 115 people have lost their lives in 35 attacks since early September, with the US administration refusing to clarify the identities of those targeted.

In December, Trump announced a "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

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Condemnations pour in after US bombing of Venezuela, kidnapping of Maduro

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 03 January 2026 3:24 PM

An outpouring of condemnation has followed US President Donald Trump's announcement that the United States had carried out a "large-scale military strike" against Venezuela and abducted its leader, President Nicolas Maduro.

The Venezuelan government, in a statement shortly after the US bombings, slammed Washington for an "extremely serious military aggression."

"Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely serious military aggression perpetrated by the current government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and people," the statement read.

Colombia rejects aggression against Latin America

"Alerting the whole world that they have attacked Venezuela," Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote in a series of statements posted on the social media platform X on Saturday.

"The Republic of Colombia reiterates its conviction that peace, respect for international law, and the protection of life and human dignity must prevail over any form of armed confrontation," Petro said.

The Colombian president said in a separate post that Bogota "rejects the aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America".

Petro subsequently declared the mobilization of military troops to the border with Venezuela.

Cuba: We shall overcome

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel expressed a vehement condemnation on social media, charging Washington with perpetrating a "criminal strike" against Venezuela and calling for a prompt international intervention.

Diaz-Canel stated in a post on X that Cuba's purported "zone of peace" was under "brutal assault," characterizing the actions of the US as "state terrorism" aimed not only at the Venezuelan nation but also at "Our America" in a wider context.

He concluded the statement with the revolutionary slogan: "Homeland or Death, We Shall Overcome."

In a statement released by multiple Cuban embassies globally, Havana expressed its condemnation of the US military attack against Venezuela.

The statement also "demands an urgent reaction from the international community", describing the attack as "state terrorism".

The statement also "demands an urgent reaction from the international community", describing the attack as "state terrorism".

China strongly condemns US strikes

China said on Saturday it firmly opposes US military strikes on Venezuela and the kidnapping of Maduro, calling it a violation of international law.

"China is deeply shocked and strongly condemns the US's blatant use of force against a sovereign state and its action against its president," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Such hegemonic behaviour by the US seriously violates international law, infringes upon Venezuela's sovereignty, and threatens peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean. China firmly opposes it," it added.

Russia condemns armed aggression

Moreover, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Moscow is profoundly troubled and has denounced an "act of armed aggression" against Venezuela perpetrated by the US.

"In the current situation, it is important ... to prevent further escalation and to focus on finding a way out of the situation through dialogue," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said, "Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, military intervention from outside.

"We reaffirm our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and our support for its leadership's policy of defending the country's national interests and sovereignty," it added.

Spain offers mediation

The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Madrid called for de-escalation, moderation, and respect for international law in Venezuela.

It also offered itself as a mediator to help find a peaceful solution in Venezuela.

Italy, Germany monitoring the situation

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was "closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela", also with an aim of "gathering information about our fellow citizens" in the country.

Meloni added she was in constant contact with Italy's Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani.

Additionally, Germany's foreign ministry said it is "monitoring the situation in Venezuela very closely and following the latest reports with great concern."

"The foreign ministry is in close contact with the embassy in Caracas," Berlin said, adding that the government's crisis team was in session and is "coordinating closely with our partners."

Indonesia calls for de-escalation

Indonesian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang also said Jakarta is monitoring developments in Venezuela to ensure the safety of its citizens.

"Indonesia also calls on all relevant parties to prioritize peaceful resolution through de-escalation and dialogue, while prioritizing the protection of civilians.

"Indonesia emphasizes the importance of respecting international law and the principles of the UN Charter."

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas stated that she has spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the EU ambassador in Caracas regarding the latest developments in Venezuela.

"The EU is closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela," Kallas said in a statement on X.

"The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr. Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition. Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected. We call for restraint. The safety of EU citizens in the country is our top priority."

Resistance front condemns US strikes

Palestinian resistance factions, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have also issued statements condemning the unilateral US attacks against Venezuela.

The PFLP highlighted that continued US military escalation could ignite new global conflict zones and that the attacks constitute an attack on all nations that seek to chart their own independent paths.

Separately, the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement strongly condemned "the terrorist US aggression and thuggish treatment against Venezuela."

"This aggression represents a further testament to the hegemonic, arrogant, and domineering approach being exercised by the US administration," it stated.

The group further noted that the US military aggression on Venezuela poses a major threat to peace and stability in the world.

The political bureau of Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement vehemently denounced the barbaric US military attacks against Venezuela.

"The US aggression against Venezuela reflects the level of US brutality and criminality. What America is doing in Venezuela proves once again that it is the root cause of all evils and acts of terror," it said in a statement.

Ansarullah went on to reaffirm its solidarity with the Venezuelan government, nation and President Nicolas Maduro, who has refused to surrender to US hegemony.

It emphasized that Venezuela reserves the right to defend its sovereignty, nation, and resources in the face of the brutal US aggression.

Ansarullah finally called on the international community to act urgently to stop the US aggression and force Washington to respect international principles and norms.

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UN rights chief urges halt to Israeli plan to legalize execution of Palestinians

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 03 January 2026 10:45 AM

UN human rights chief urged the Israeli regime to halt plans to impose mandatory death sentences exclusively on Palestinians, warning the proposal violates international law and entrenches discriminatory justice.

Volker Turk, in a statement on Friday, warned that such a punishment would increase the "unacceptable risk" of executing innocent people.

"A series of proposals before the Israeli Knesset to lower the threshold for using capital punishment raise serious concerns with respect to discrimination against Palestinians and violation of their due process rights, as well as other breaches of international human rights law and international humanitarian law," read the statement.

"When it comes to the death penalty, the United Nations is very clear, and opposes it under all circumstances," he said. "It is profoundly difficult to reconcile such punishment with human dignity and raises the unacceptable risk of executing innocent people."

According to the UN High Commissioner, such proposals are inconsistent with Israel's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

He also warned that the introduction of mandatory death sentences, which leave no discretion to the courts, violates the right to life.

"The proposal also raises other human rights concerns, including on the basis that it is discriminatory, given it will exclusively apply to Palestinians."

Turk said the language of such legislation, along with statements from Israeli politicians, indicates that this is intended to apply only to Palestinians, who are often convicted after unfair trials.

He recalled that denying any Palestinian from the West Bank and Gaza the fair trial guarantees set out in the Fourth Geneva Convention amounts to a war crime.

Under the draft legislation, Israeli courts - both civil and military - would gain expanded power to impose mandatory death sentences on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis, when such acts are deemed to have been motivated by nationalistic, racist, or hate-based reasons, or intended to harm the occupying entity or its settlers.

It would also remove the authority for a government or president to pardon anyone who has been sentenced to death for those crimes, and it does not require a panel of judges in a given case to reach a unanimous decision on the sentence.

Palestinian advocates warn that the framework eliminates the safeguards that previously existed for Palestinian defendants.

They say that the move to legalize the death penalty is part of a broader effort to strip Palestinians of their protections under international humanitarian law as an occupied people with a right to resistance.

The bill clearly targets Palestinians, even as the Israeli regime carries out deadly attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and the military continues its killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, since the start of its genocidal war on the besieged territory in October 2023.

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Trump claims Venezuelan President Maduro kidnapped, flown out of country

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 03 January 2026 10:26 AM

Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been kidnapped by US armed forces, US President Donald Trump claims, after Washington carried out a large-scale strike against the country.

In a post published on the social media platform Truth Social on Saturday, Trump said the couple had been flown out of Venezuela.

"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country," he wrote.

There has been no statement from the Venezuelan government regarding Maduro's whereabouts after the US military aggression against the South American country this morning.

In a video published on Facebook, the Venezuelan Minister of Defense, Vladimir Lopez, said that the news about his death during the US missile attack on Caracas is not true, and he is safe in a bunker.

"Heroic people of Venezuela! Soldiers of the Fatherland! Sons and daughters of Bolivar! The Bolivarian National Armed Forces inform the entire world that in the early hours of January 3, 2026, the Venezuelan people became the target of the most criminal military aggression by the government of the United States," Lopez said.

"Honor, duty, and history call upon us. Let the cry of a free Fatherland echo in every corner. Victory is ours, because reason and dignity stand with us. We will prevail," he added.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, at around 2 a.m. local time (6 a.m. GMT), explosions were heard across Caracas, while unmanned aircraft flew across the South American country.

The US armed forces carried out coordinated strikes on civilian and military targets in Caracas and several other states.

The Venezuelan government said the attacks are a direct act of military aggression aimed at seizing the country's oil and mineral wealth.

The Venezuelan government has declared a nationwide state of emergency, activated its national defense plans in full, and authorized the deployment of comprehensive defense commands across the country in response to the attacks.

Caracas has said it retains the right to legitimate self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter and called on regional governments and the international community to stand against what it described as imperialist aggression.

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News / National

by Staff reporter

Despite Zimbabwe's significant progress in the fight against HIV, health authorities warn that men remain reluctant to seek care, a trend that could undermine continued gains.The issue was highlighted at a recent men's engagement meeting in Bulawayo, organised by the National Aids Council (NAC) in partnership with the Bulawayo City Council Health Services Department. The gathering brought together health officials, city authorities, and community leaders to discuss ways to encourage men to take responsibility for their health.NAC Provincial Programmes Officer Douglas Moyo said poor health-seeking behaviour among men remains a major concern. "Very few men visit health facilities, which increases their vulnerability to HIV and other illnesses," he said. Moyo added that the engagement meetings provide a safe space for men to discuss their health concerns openly.Medical practitioners and behavioural scientists cited social and cultural factors as key barriers. Fear of stigma, perceptions of weakness, and deeply ingrained ideas of masculinity prevent many men from accessing HIV testing, treatment, and other health services.To address these challenges, the Bulawayo City Council is rolling out male-friendly interventions. Health Promotion Officer Kelton Ncube said the council plans to introduce dedicated service hours and private zones at clinics, while training staff on gender-sensitive service delivery. HIV services are also being integrated with general health checks to reduce stigma and normalise care-seeking behaviour."Research shows that men are intimidated by traditional clinic settings. By creating male-friendly spaces, we aim to make health services more accessible and confidential," said Ncube.NAC is complementing clinic-based strategies with community outreach, including the "Brother-to-Brother" model and sports-based initiatives, bringing services to men in settings where they feel comfortable.Some men attending the meeting acknowledged changing attitudes. "We often see going to the clinic as a sign of weakness, but knowing your health status is important for both yourself and your family," said participant Ellington Moyo. Another attendee noted that respectful treatment by health staff encourages men to access services.Health authorities emphasised that improving male health-seeking behaviour is critical not only for HIV prevention but for overall public health and stronger families. Officials urge men to step forward while health systems continue to meet them halfway.
Trump Says US Captures Maduro During Strikes That Moscow, Others Denounce

By RFE/RL January 03, 2026

President Donald Trump said the United States has captured and holds Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro after carrying out a large-scale strike that has been sharply condemned by Iran, Russia, and other allies of the South American country.

In a news conference on January 3, Trump and other US officials gave some details of the operation to take Maduro into custody, adding the United States will "run" Venezuela "until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition."

"This extremely successful operation should serve warning to anyone who would threaten American sovereignty or endanger American lives," Trump, who posted a picture on social media showing Maduro standing bound in a tracksuit with blindfolded eyes and headphones on, said.

What happens next in Venezuela is far from clear, but the US strikes and the capture of Maduro have already been strongly condemned by some of Caracas's strongest partners, as well as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said the US military action sets a "dangerous precedent."

Maduro -- who was indicted by the United States in 2020 -- and his wife are currently on board the US warship USS Iwo Jima and are heading to New York, Trump said, where they will face charges alleging "drug trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracies."

Moscow, which maintains close ties with Venezuela, said it was extremely concerned by reports that Maduro and his wife had been forcibly removed from the country and urged Washington to release them.

"In light of confirmed reports that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife are in the United States, we strongly urge the American leadership to reconsider its position and release the legally elected president of a sovereign country and his wife," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in the statement.

Iran, Russia Denounce US Attack On Venezuela

The US military action on the Venezuelan capital of Caracas comes after months of rising economic and military pressure from Washington on the South American country, including intercepting Venezuelan oil tankers and killing dozens in strikes on boats near its waters that allegedly were carrying drugs.

Washington has also contested Maduro's legitimacy as president since he was the hand-picked successor to Hugo Chavez in 2013, pointing to successive elections that the opposition and others said were rigged in his favor.

Venezuela is Moscow's most important partner in Latin America and has provided diplomatic backing and military support for Maduro's regime over the years as he has faced international and domestic pressure over contested elections and an ongoing economic crisis.

The Russian Foreign Ministry called the strikes an "act of armed aggression against Venezuela" by the United States, saying any "excuses" given to justify such actions were "untenable."

The ministry added that Latin America must "remain a zone of peace."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had spoken to Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez by telephone and that he "expressed firm solidarity with the people of Venezuela in the face of armed aggression" and said Moscow would "continue to support" the government, according to a Russian summary of the conversation.

Iran, another key ally of Venezuela, condemned the US military attack, according to Iranian state outlet Press TV.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the attack violates Venezuela's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the UN charter.

"The US military aggression against an independent state that is a member of the United Nations is a gross violation of regional and international peace and security, the consequences of which will affect the entire international system," the ministry said.

More International Reactions To US Strikes

Cuba, one of Maduro's staunchest allies, denounced what it described as a "criminal" US attack on Venezuela and is urgently calling for a reaction from the international community.

Brazilian President President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Washington had crossed an "unacceptable line" with the attack, and Mexico's Foreign Ministry also condemned the strikes, saying the move "seriously jeopardizes regional stability."

Many governments across Europe, including those in Poland, Britain, Belgium, and Italy, said they are closely following the situation and working to ensure the safety of their citizens in the region.

Others, such as Ukraine and Kosovo, have said following the strikes that they stand firmly with Washington and its most direct intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama.

"If this could be done to dictators, the United States would know what to do next," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his comments to the press in Kyiv.

In a statement, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Maduro "lacks legitimacy" and called for "restraint" and a "peaceful transition" following his capture.

"Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected. We call for restraint," Kallas said.

China, which maintains strong economic and strategic ties with Venezuela, was slow to issue a statement on the strikes.

But a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement that Beijing "is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the US's blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president."

Beijing, along with Moscow, expressed support for Venezuela this month as it confronted a US blockade on sanctioned oil tankers. China remains a top buyer for the majority of the oil shipped out of the South American country.

The day before the strikes, Maduro welcomed Qiu Xiaoqi, China's special representative on Latin American affairs, for a visit to Caracas, where they discussed China-Venezuela ties and Chinese investment projects in the country.

What Happens Next?

It's unclear where exactly the fast-moving situation in Venezuela is heading.

While Maduro has been captured, his government is still in power. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino has vowed to resist US interference and a state of emergency has been declared in the country.

According to the country's constitution, Vice President Rodriguez is now in charge, although the US and Venezuela's opposition regard the 2024 vote that elected her and Maduro as fraudulent.

"We don't want to be involved with having someone else get in, and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years. So we are going to run the country," Trump said.

Shortly after Trump's news conference, Rodriguez said that Maduro is Venezuela's only president, calling for "calm and unity" to defend the country, which she added will "never be the colony of any nation."

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has positioned herself as a possible replacement who would be backed by the West, but large swaths of Maduro's political opponents are not supportive of US intervention.

In a statement released on X, Machado said Maduro will face "international justice for the atrocious crimes committed against Venezuelans" and called for opposition ally Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia to immediately be recognized as the country's transitionary leader.

He also said the United States will be "very strongly involved" in Venezuela's oil industry and accused Venezuela of "stealing" from US oil companies.

"We're going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country," Trump said.

Venezuela, which has been under US oil sanctions since 2019, produces about a million barrels of crude per day, most of which is sold on the black market at steep discounts.



Trump has claimed that the country has been using oil money to finance "drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping."

The strikes ordered by the Trump administration have also been criticized by some members of US Congress, where the issue of military action against Venezuela has been a hotly debated issue in recent months.

Shortly after the strikes were launched, Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona wrote on X: "This war is illegal."

While many Republican lawmakers have praised the Trump administration's actions in Venezuela, other Democratic lawmakers echoed criticism, pointing out that the administration failed to notify Congress ahead of time under the War Powers Act.

That US law is designed to limit the president's ability to commit troops to a conflict without Congressional approval.

The Trump administration has argued in the past that Article II of the US Constitution, which states the president is the commander-in-chief of the US military, grants the president the ability to defend the country against those who pose an imminent threat to American lives.

Speaking at the same news conference as Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said members of Congress were notified about the military operation in Venezuela immediately afterwards.

"This is not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on," Rubio said.

"It was a trigger-based mission in which conditions had to be met night after night."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/maduro-venezuela-trump- capture-trial-russia-iran-europe-china/33639101.html

Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Foreign Ministry statement regarding US armed aggression against Venezuela

3 January 2026 13:06

4-03-01-2026

This morning, the United States carried out an act of armed aggression against Venezuela. This development is extremely concerning and deserving of condemnation.

The justifications put forward for these actions have no factual basis. Ideological hostility has prevailed over pragmatic, businesslike approaches and over efforts to build relationships based on trust and predictability.

Under the present circumstances, it is particularly important to prevent any further escalation and focus on seeking a resolution through dialogue. We believe that all parties with existing grievances should pursue solutions to their problems by engaging in dialogue. We stand ready to assist in these efforts.

Latin America must continue to remain a zone of peace, as it proclaimed itself in 2014, while Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own future without destructive external interference, particularly of a military nature.

We reaffirm our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and our support for the policy pursued by the Bolivarian leadership to safeguard the country's national interests and sovereignty.

We support the statement issued by the Venezuelan authorities and the leaders of Latin American countries calling for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

The Russian Embassy in Caracas continues to operate as usual under the current conditions and remains in constant contact with the Venezuelan authorities as well as with Russian nationals in Venezuela. At present, there are no reports of injuries among Russian citizens.

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Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's telephone conversation with Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez

3 January 2026 17:29

6-03-01-2026

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation on January 3 with Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez.

Sergey Lavrov expressed firm solidarity with the people of Venezuela confronting an armed aggression. Russia will keep supporting the policy of the Bolivarian Government to protect the country's national interests and sovereignty. The officials spoke against further escalation so as to find a solution via dialogue.

During the conversation, the Parties expressed mutual commitment to bolster up comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Venezuela.

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Ranking Member Shaheen Condemns Military Action in Venezuela

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Published: January 03, 2026

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement on the Trump Administration's military action in Venezuela.

"Nicolas Maduro is a tyrant who repressed Venezuelans and aligned with our adversaries. However, today's drastic military operation by President Trump on Venezuelan soil is entirely inconsistent with what his cabinet repeatedly briefed to Congress and goes against the expressed wishes of the American people. These strikes draw America even deeper into open conflict at grave risk to our service members and reportedly resulted in injured American troopswhich we need more information about immediately.

"Because the President and his Cabinet repeatedly denied any intention of conducting regime change in Venezuela when briefing Congress, we are left with no understanding of how the Administration is preparing to mitigate risks to the U.S. and we have no information regarding a long-term strategy following today's extraordinary escalation. Instead, the Administration consistently misled the American people and their elected representatives by offering three differing and contradictory explanations for its actions.

"The American people and Congress deserve transparency and real, concrete answers about what is happening in our own hemisphere. We need to hear directly from the President on why his varying justifications to date warrant dragging America into an armed conflict without a clear end. We need to know how President Trump will prevent Maduro's lieutenants and criminal gangs from filling the power vacuum that his unilateral action is likely to create. And the Administration should explain how it intends to prevent Venezuela from collapsing into further instability.

"Today's actions risk broader insecurity in the region, including the migration of millions more refugees fleeing for the U.S. and other countries, like Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, that are already overwhelmed by the drug crisis. If the President is confident that today's military action will not result in unintended consequences for Americans, he should be honest with our country about his reasoning and next steps.

"I urge the Trump Administration to immediately brief Congress on these actions when the Senate returns to Washington on Mondayif not, sooner."



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Statement regarding the situation in Venezuela

Spain - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

PRESS STATEMENT 002

3 Jan 26

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela, in coordination with our partners in the European Union and the countries of the region.

In constant contact with our Embassy and Consulate in Caracas and the consular emergency unit, we are closely following the situation of the Spanish community in the country.

All staff of the Embassy and Consulate of Spain in Caracas, as well as their families, are safe and well.

Spain calls for de-escalation and moderation, and for all parties to act at all times with respect for international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter.

In this regard, Spain is willing to play a facilitating role to help achieve a peaceful and negotiated solution to the current crisis.

Spain recalls that it has not recognised the results of the elections of 28 July 2024 and has always supported initiatives aimed at achieving a democratic solution for Venezuela. It also recalls that it has taken in, and will continue to take in, tens of thousands of Venezuelans who have been forced to leave their country for political reasons, and that it is willing to help in the search for a democratic, negotiated and peaceful solution for the country.

-NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION-

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Russia Condemns US Strikes on Venezuela, Backs UNSC Emergency Meeting - Foreign Ministry

Sputnik News

20260103

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the US military strikes against Venezuela, calling them an "act of armed aggression" lacking credible justification.

"This morning, the United States carried out an act of armed aggression against Venezuela. This causes deep concern and condemnation. The pretexts cited to justify such actions are unfounded," the ministry said.

Moscow expressed full solidarity with the Venezuelan people and reaffirmed support for the Bolivarian government's efforts to defend national sovereignty and interests.

"We reaffirm our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and our support for the course pursued by its Bolivarian leadership to safeguard the nation's interests and sovereignty," the ministry said.

The ministry endorsed calls by Caracas and Latin American partners for an emergency session of the UN Security Council.

The ministry emphasized that Latin America must remain a zone of peace, as declared in 2014, and stressed Venezuela's right to self-determination, free from "destructive, let alone military, external interference".

"Latin America must remain a zone of peace, as it proclaimed itself in 2014. Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive, let alone military, external interference," the ministry noted.

Warning against further escalation, Russia urged all parties to prioritize dialogue over confrontation.

"Ideologically driven hostility has replaced pragmatic engagement and the willingness to build predictable, trust-based relations. The path forward lies in diplomatic solutions and we stand ready to assist," the ministry said.

The Russian Embassy in Caracas continues operating normally despite the US armed aggression against Venezuela, the ministry added.

The ministry also confirmed the earlier statement of the embassy, saying that no Russian citizens have been reported injured, and consular authorities remain in continuous contact with both Venezuelan officials and nationals in the country.

 Sputnik

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Strikes on Daesh

News story

Royal Air Force aircraft have completed successful strikes against Daesh in a joint operation with France.

From: Ministry of Defence and The Rt Hon John Healey MP

Published 3 January 2026

Royal Air Force aircraft have continued to conduct patrols over Syria to help prevent any attempted resurgence of the Daesh terrorist movement following its military defeat at Baghuz Fawqani in March 2019. Careful intelligence analysis identified an underground facility, in the mountains some miles north of the ancient site of Palmyra. This facility had been occupied by Daesh, most likely to store weapons and explosives. The area around the facility is devoid of any civilian habitation.

RAF Typhoon FGR4s, supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker, therefore joined French aircraft in a joint strike on the underground facility on the evening of Saturday 3 January. Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels down to the facility; whilst detailed assessment is now underway, initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully. There is no indication of any risk having been posed to civilians by the strike, and all our aircraft returned safely.

Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:

This action shows our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East. I want to thank all the members of our Armed Forces involved in this operation - for their professionalism and their courage. They were among thousands of British personnel deployed over Christmas and New Year. This operation, to eliminate dangerous terrorists who threaten our way of life, shows how our Armed Forces are ready to step up, all year round, keeping Britain secure at home and strong abroad.

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Senate Intelligence Vice Chairman Warner Responds to Military Action in Venezuela

US Senator Mark R. Warner (D-VA)

Jan 03 2026

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement:

"Our Constitution places the gravest decisions about the use of military force in the hands of Congress for a reason. Using military force to enact regime change demands the closest scrutiny, precisely because the consequences do not end with the initial strike.

"If the United States asserts the right to use military force to invade and capture foreign leaders it accuses of criminal conduct, what prevents China from claiming the same authority over Taiwan's leadership? What stops Vladimir Putin from asserting similar justification to abduct Ukraine's president? Once this line is crossed, the rules that restrain global chaos begin to collapse, and authoritarian regimes will be the first to exploit it.

"None of this absolves Maduro. He is a corrupt authoritarian who has repressed his people, stolen elections, imprisoned political opponents, and presided over a humanitarian catastrophe that has forced millions of Venezuelans to flee. The Venezuelan people deserve democratic leadership, and the United States and the international community should have done far more, years ago, to press for a peaceful transition after Maduro lost a vote of his own citizens. But recognizing Maduro's crimes does not give any president the authority to ignore the Constitution.

"The hypocrisy underlying this decision is especially glaring. This same president recently pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted in a U.S. court on serious drug trafficking charges, including conspiring with narcotics traffickers while in office. Yet now, the administration claims that similar allegations justify the use of military force against another sovereign nation. You cannot credibly argue that drug trafficking charges demand invasion in one case, while issuing a pardon in another.

"America's strength comes from our commitment to the rule of law, democratic norms, and constitutional restraint. When we abandon those principles, even in the name of confronting bad actors, we weaken our credibility, endanger global stability, and invite abuses of power that will long outlast any single presidency."

###

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Media reveals informant, drone surveillance that led to Maduro's capture

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Jan 04, 2026 01:18 PM

More details about the US military's capture of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro have been revealed, disclosing how CIA source inside Venezuelan government helped track Maduro.

According to a New York Times (NYT) report on Saturday local time, a CIA source within the Venezuelan government monitored the location of Nicolas Maduro in both the days and moments before his capture by American special operation forces, citing people briefed on the operation.

AFP also reported on Saturday evening local time that US intelligence agents had been secretly monitoring Maduro's every movement since August 2025, despite his widely reported efforts to regularly change locations as tensions mounted with Washington.

"How he moved, where he lived, where he traveled, what he ate, what he wore -- what were his pets," Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine said Saturday, AFP reported.

AFP reported that the mission also involved months of "pinpoint" planning and rehearsal. The US President Donald Trump said US forces built a replica house identical to the one where Maduro was staying.

The US military was ready by early December but waited for a window of "aligned events," including the weather. Trump said he initially ordered the mission four days ago, but held off for the right conditions, AFP reported.

It is not clear how the CIA recruited the Venezuelan source who informed the Americans of Mr. Maduro's location. But former officials said the agency was clearly aided by the $50 million reward the US government offered for information leading to Maduro's capture, NYT reported.

Trump authorized the CIA to take more aggressive action last fall, and then in November approved planning and preparation for a series of operations in Venezuela, NYT reported.

According to AFP, at 10:46 pm Washington time on Friday, Trump gave the order to go. More than 150 US military aircraft then took off from land and sea, including fighter jets, reconnaissance planes, drones -- and the helicopters that would form the crucial core of the mission.

Trump said Saturday in a Truth Social post that Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of Venezuela, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

NYT reported that at least 40 people were killed in the US attack on Venezuela early Saturday, including military personnel and civilians, according to a senior Venezuelan official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe preliminary reports.

The latest US strikes on Venezuela and its capture of Maduro have drawn worldwide condemnation and concern. The UN Security Council announced Saturday that it will hold an emergency meeting on Monday on the US operation against Venezuela.

China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the US's blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson made the remarks on the US military strikes on Venezuela.

Such hegemonic acts of the US seriously violate international law and Venezuela's sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region. China firmly opposes it. We call on the US to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries' sovereignty and security, the spokesperson said.

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Trump claims US will 'run' Venezuela following capture of Maduro; Move shocks intl community, draws condemnation

Global Times

By GT staff reporters Published: Jan 04, 2026 02:14 AM

US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the US carried out a "large scale strike against Venezuela" and claimed that President Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and removed from the country. Trump also posted on social media a photo of Maduro on board USS Iwo Jima after captured as the latest development of the US military operation.

The US military action against the South American nation has shocked the international community.

China on Saturday night said it is "deeply shocked" and strongly condemns the US' blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president, warning that Washington's actions seriously violate international law and threaten regional peace and security.

"Such hegemonic acts of the US seriously violate international law and Venezuela's sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region. China firmly opposes it," a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry made the remarks on the US military strikes on Venezuela on Saturday night.

"We call on the US to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries' sovereignty and security," said the spokesperson.

Trump claimed during a press conference Saturday that "Late last night and early today, at my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela, overwhelming American military power," according to the Reuters. "Air, land and sea was used to launch a spectacular assault. And it was an assault like people have not seen since World War Two."

Trump claimed that the US will "run" Venezuela after the US military raided the country and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, Xinhua reported.

"We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said at the press conference at his Mar-a-Lago private club in Florida, according to report.

And then he turned to oil, claiming that American companies would fix the infrastructure, "and start making money for the country."

What happened?

Multiple explosions rocked Venezuela's capital Caracas early on Saturday and columns of black smoke and aircraft could be seen, according to Reuters witnesses and images circulating on social media.

US President Donald Trump ordered strikes on sites inside Venezuela, including military facilities, US officials told CBS News.

The surprise operation sent shockwaves through the international community, with President Trump announcing on social media hours later that the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been "captured and flown out of the Country."

According to CBS News, the Venezuelan President was captured early Saturday morning by members of the US Army's elite Delta Force, citing US officials. The report said Delta Force, the US military's top special mission unit, was responsible for the operation.

Trump said that he watched the operation from Mar-a-Lago, when spoke with Fox News on Saturday morning just hours after the US hit Venezuela and captured its leader. He further stated that Maduro and his wife were taken by helicopter to the U.S.S. Iwo Jima.

According to Xinhua, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Saturday morning that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will "soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts" after he was captured and flown out of the oil-rich South American nation.

The operation marked the latest escalation in Washington's long-running pressure campaign against the Maduro government, which has included an extensive US military buildup in the region.

Speaking on state television, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife are unknown, asking for proof they are alive, according to media reports.

Following the initial shock, Caracas lodged a strong protest and requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Venezuela's Permanent Mission to the United Nations sent a letter on Saturday to the rotating president of the Security Council, Abukar Dahir Osman, Somalia's envoy to the UN, strongly condemning what it described as a "brutal, unjustified and unilateral armed aggression" launched by the US against Venezuela, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Why it happened?

South Korea's Chosun Daily reported that this was the first instance since the US invasion of Panama in 1989, known as Operation Just Cause, where a sitting (or de facto) head of state was apprehended by US special forces on their own territory and forcibly transferred to a third country.

Diplomatic circles are viewing this incident as a decisive example of the U.S. ability to alter the status quo through force, which remains operational even in the 21st century, the Chosun Daily reported on Saturday.

The abruptness and unprecedented nature of the arrest of another country's leader in the post-Cold War era caught global media, experts and political figures by surprise. Global Times reporters contacted several Chinese experts closely following developments in Venezuela in the early hours after the strike. While they initially urged further observation, news of Maduro's capture emerged almost immediately, leaving many struggling to believe it at first.

"Overthrowing the Maduro government has long been an objective pursued by the US, but capturing a sitting head of state in this manner is highly unusual and can be described as reckless," Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Saturday. "It not only violates international law, but also lacks any legal basis under US domestic law."

"This is a declaration of the revival of a new Monroe Doctrine and an assertion of US hegemony in the Western Hemisphere," Lu added.

In December, the US released its 2025 National Security Strategy, pledging to deprioritize Europe and focus more on the Western Hemisphere. His administration is calling it the "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine.

Jiang Shixue, an expert on Latin American studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Saturday that the US military action is essentially the culmination of long-standing standoff between the US and Venezuela.

Jiang elaborated that on the political level, since former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez took power in 1999, Venezuela has steadfastly raised the banner of anti-US hegemony and provided petroleum energy support to leftist countries such as Cuba. The US has long resented this, imposing multidimensional sanctions on Venezuela for years and consistently seeking to remove this "thorn in its side."

Jiang also believed that at the same time, the US also has economic demands, namely the contention over petroleum resources. Venezuela possesses the world's largest proven oil reserves. After Chavez came to power, he implemented nationalization of the petroleum industry, leaving only Chevron as the sole US oil company still conducting extraction and refining operations in Venezuela - a situation the US views as detrimental to its own interests.

The US, under the pretext of the so-called "war on drugs," has resorted to military force this time in an attempt to push for regime change in Venezuela, with the underlying intent of regaining control over Venezuela's vital petroleum resources, Jiang said.

Global reactions

In the wake of the shocking strike and Maduro's capture, the United Nations and countries around the world moved quickly to respond.

A spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said the Secretary-General is "deeply alarmed by the recent escalation in Venezuela, culminating with today's United States military action in the country," warning that it carries "potential worrying implications for the region."

"Independently of the situation in Venezuela, these developments constitute a dangerous precedent," the spokesperson said, stressing the importance of full respect by all parties for international law, including the UN Charter, and expressing deep concern that the rules of international law may not have been respected.

Spain and the European Union also called for respect for international law following the latest events.

The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said that the bloc calls for restraint after the latest events in Venezuela.

"The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition," Kallas said in a post on X. "Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected."

Countries including Germany and Italy said they are closely monitoring the situation.

Following the incident, President Javier Milei of Argentina commented the capture of Nicolas Maduro as "Liberty advances," Milei wrote on social media, The New York Times reported.

At the same time, a growing number of countries condemned the sudden US attack, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voiced oppositions toward the US action.

Russia urged the US to release Maduro and his wife, in a statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry on Saturday.

"In light of confirmed reports that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife are in the United States, we strongly urge the American leadership to reconsider its position and release the legally elected president of a sovereign country and his wife," the ministry said in the statement.

The US action has dealt a huge shock to the international order. On one hand, it wants to mediate the Russia-Ukraine conflict; on the other, it is creating new conflicts itself,Lu said.

In the future, Latin American countries may continue to face various forms of pressure and interference from the US, potentially triggering instability across South America, he added.

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News / National

by Staff reporter

Beitbridge Border Post, Zimbabwe's busiest port of entry, recorded the passage of more than 437,000 travellers during December, while immigration authorities arrested 3,640 people for violating border laws.According to figures from the Department of Immigration, the total comprised 263,575 arrivals and 173,797 departures, reflecting heightened human traffic over the festive season. Offences ranged from border jumping and touting to using fake immigration stamps and forged travel documents.In addition, 27 travellers from countries including Nigeria, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Ghana, Egypt, Mozambique, Malawi, Burundi and Congo-Brazzaville were denied entry for failing to meet visa requirements.Assistant Regional Immigration Officer-in-Charge for Beitbridge, Ms Canisia Magaya, said authorities had deployed adequate manpower to ensure smooth traffic flow while enforcing compliance."We intercepted 3,640 travellers for violating immigration laws and refused entry to 27 others for reasons such as lack of valid visas," Ms Magaya said. She urged travellers to plan their journeys carefully and travel during off-peak hours to avoid congestion.Zimbabwe and South Africa are implementing a harmonised traffic flow system, which ran from December 15 to January 10, aimed at reducing waiting times at the border. At peak festive periods, the border handled an average of 18,300 people, 1,300 light vehicles, 1,000 commercial trucks, and 250 buses daily, with departures to South Africa forming the bulk of traffic.Ms Magaya said the Department of Immigration remains committed to safeguarding travellers and ensuring efficient border operations throughout the festive season.On the South African side, Border Management Authority Commissioner Dr Michael Masiapato led senior officials at Beitbridge to improve operational efficiency as part of the 2025/2026 Festive Season Security Plan.Beitbridge continues to serve as a major transit point for travellers from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Angola, the DRC, Botswana, Tanzania and Mozambique, particularly those based in South Africa.
US strikes on Venezuela, seizure of Maduro draw widespread condemnation

Global Times

US hegemonic acts seriously violate intl law, Venezuela's sovereignty: FM

By GT staff reporters Published: Jan 04, 2026 01:47 AM

US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the US carried out a "large scale strike against Venezuela" and claimed that President Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and removed from the country. Trump also posted on social media a photo of Maduro on board USS Iwo Jima after captured as the latest development of the US military operation.

The US military action against the South American nation has shocked the international community.

China on Saturday night said it is "deeply shocked" and strongly condemns the US' blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president, warning that Washington's actions seriously violate international law and threaten regional peace and security.

"Such hegemonic acts of the US seriously violate international law and Venezuela's sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region. China firmly opposes it," a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry made the remarks on the US military strikes on Venezuela on Saturday night.

"We call on the US to abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and stop violating other countries' sovereignty and security," said the spokesperson.

Trump claimed during a press conference Saturday that "Late last night and early today, at my direction, the United States Armed Forces conducted an extraordinary military operation in the capital of Venezuela, overwhelming American military power," according to the Reuters. "Air, land and sea was used to launch a spectacular assault. And it was an assault like people have not seen since World War Two."

Trump claimed that the US will "run" Venezuela after the US military raided the country and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, Xinhua reported. "We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," Trump said at the press conference at his Mar-a-Lago private club in Florida, according to report.

And then he turned to oil, claiming that American companies would fix the infrastructure, "and start making money for the country."



What happened?

Multiple explosions rocked Venezuela's capital Caracas early on Saturday and columns of black smoke and aircraft could be seen, according to Reuters witnesses and images circulating on social media.

US President Donald Trump ordered strikes on sites inside Venezuela, including military facilities, US officials told CBS News.

The surprise operation sent shockwaves through the international community, with President Trump announcing on social media hours later that the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been "captured and flown out of the Country."

According to CBS News, the Venezuelan President was captured early Saturday morning by members of the US Army's elite Delta Force, citing US officials. The report said Delta Force, the US military's top special mission unit, was responsible for the operation.

Trump said that he watched the operation from Mar-a-Lago, when spoke with Fox News on Saturday morning just hours after the US hit Venezuela and captured its leader. He further stated that Maduro and his wife were taken by helicopter to the U.S.S. Iwo Jima.

According to Xinhua, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Saturday morning that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will "soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts" after he was captured and flown out of the oil-rich South American nation.

The operation marked the latest escalation in Washington's long-running pressure campaign against the Maduro government, which has included an extensive US military buildup in the region.

Speaking on state television, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife are unknown, asking for proof they are alive, according to media reports.

Following the initial shock, Caracas lodged a strong protest and requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Venezuela's Permanent Mission to the United Nations sent a letter on Saturday to the rotating president of the Security Council, Abukar Dahir Osman, Somalia's envoy to the UN, strongly condemning what it described as a "brutal, unjustified and unilateral armed aggression" launched by the US against Venezuela, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

US President Donald Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Photo: VCG

South Korea's Chosun Daily reported that this was the first instance since the US invasion of Panama in 1989, known as "Operation Just Cause," where a sitting (or de facto) head of state was apprehended by US special forces on their own territory and forcibly transferred to a third country.

Diplomatic circles are viewing this incident as a decisive example of the U.S. ability to alter the status quo through force, which remains operational even in the 21st century, the Chosun Daily reported on Saturday.

The abruptness and unprecedented nature of the arrest of another country's leader in the post-Cold War era caught global media, experts and political figures by surprise. Global Times reporters contacted several Chinese experts closely following developments in Venezuela in the early hours after the strike. While they initially urged further observation, news of Maduro's capture emerged almost immediately, leaving many struggling to believe it at first.

"Overthrowing the Maduro government has long been an objective pursued by the US, but capturing a sitting head of state in this manner is highly unusual and can be described as reckless," Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Saturday. "It not only violates international law, but also lacks any legal basis under US domestic law."

"This is a declaration of the revival of a new Monroe Doctrine and an assertion of US hegemony in the Western Hemisphere," Lu added.

In December, the US released its 2025 National Security Strategy, pledging to deprioritize Europe and focus more on the Western Hemisphere. His administration is calling it the "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine.

Jiang Shixue, an expert on Latin American studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Saturday that the US military action is essentially the culmination of long-standing standoff between the US and Venezuela.

Jiang elaborated that on the political level, since former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez took power in 1999, Venezuela has steadfastly raised the banner of anti-US hegemony and provided petroleum energy support to leftist countries such as Cuba. The US has long resented this, imposing multidimensional sanctions on Venezuela for years and consistently seeking to remove this "thorn in its side."

Jiang also believed that at the same time, the US also has economic demands, namely the contention over petroleum resources. Venezuela possesses the world's largest proven oil reserves. After Chavez came to power, he implemented nationalization of the petroleum industry, leaving only Chevron as the sole US oil company still conducting extraction and refining operations in Venezuela - a situation the US views as detrimental to its own interests.

The US, under the pretext of the so-called "war on drugs," has resorted to military force this time in an attempt to push for regime change in Venezuela, with the underlying intent of regaining control over Venezuela's vital petroleum resources, Jiang said.

Global reactions

In the wake of the shocking strike and Maduro's capture, the United Nations and countries around the world moved quickly to respond.

A spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said the Secretary-General is "deeply alarmed by the recent escalation in Venezuela, culminating with today's United States military action in the country," warning that it carries "potential worrying implications for the region."

"Independently of the situation in Venezuela, these developments constitute a dangerous precedent," the spokesperson said, stressing the importance of full respect by all parties for international law, including the UN Charter, and expressing deep concern that the rules of international law may not have been respected.

Spain and the European Union also called for respect for international law following the latest events.

The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas said that the bloc calls for restraint after the latest events in Venezuela.

"The EU has repeatedly stated that Mr Maduro lacks legitimacy and has defended a peaceful transition," Kallas said in a post on X. "Under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected."

Countries including Germany and Italy said they are closely monitoring the situation.

Following the incident, President Javier Milei of Argentina commented the capture of Nicolas Maduro as "Liberty advances," Milei wrote on social media, The New York Times reported.

At the same time, a growing number of countries condemned the sudden US attack, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voiced oppositions toward the US action.

Russia urged the US to release Maduro and his wife, in a statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry on Saturday.

"In light of confirmed reports that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife are in the United States, we strongly urge the American leadership to reconsider its position and release the legally elected president of a sovereign country and his wife," the ministry said in the statement.

The US action has dealt a huge shock to the international order. On one hand, it wants to mediate the Russia-Ukraine conflict; on the other, it is creating new conflicts itself,Lu said.

In the future, Latin American countries may continue to face various forms of pressure and interference from the US, potentially triggering instability across South America, he added.

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Captured Maduro, wife arrive in New York by plane

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 08:14, January 04, 2026

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A plane carrying Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were captured in a large-scale U.S. military strike on Venezuela early Saturday morning, has arrived at a New York military base, according to local media.

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has demanded the "immediate release" of the couple at a session of the National Defense Council broadcast by a state television channel. Maduro is "the only president" of Venezuela, she said.

The latest U.S. strikes on Venezuela and its capture of Maduro have drawn worldwide condemnation and concern.

The UN Security Council announced Saturday that it will hold an emergency meeting on Monday on the U.S. operation against Venezuela.

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Maduro In NY Jail As US Foes, Allies Express Concerns About Military Raid

By RFE/RL January 04, 2026

Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro was in a US jail after being transported to New York following his capture by American forces in action condemned by Iran, Russia, and other allies of the South American country but hailed by Venezuelans living in exile.

Maduro, handcuffed and in sandals, was first escorted by federal agents through a US Drug Enforcement Administration facility in New York to be processed, then transported to a high-security detention Center in Brooklyn.

A video posted by Fox News on social media showed Maduro, 63, being escorted by federal agents and telling reporters, "Good night, happy new year."

Unconfirmed reports said that after his capture, Maduro was taken to the US base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, before being transported to the Stewart Air National Guard Base in Orange County, New York.

In a news conference, US President Donald Trump described the military operation in Venezuela carried out to capture Maduro, adding that the United States will temporarily "run" the South American country "until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition."

It wasn't immediately clear what Trump meant by having the United States "run" the country. Trump told reporters he was "designating people" from his cabinet to be in charge in Venezuela, without providing details.

A top US general said 150 US aircraft were involved in the attack following months of preparations.

Vice President Appears To Be In Power

Maduro's top aides appeared to be still in power, including Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.

Trump expressed support for Rodriguez, saying "she's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again."

However, Rodriguez called Maduro the "only president" of Venezuela and called the US strike a "terrible stain" on the countries' relations.

Also in question is the status of Venezuela's opposition figures, led by US-backed Maria Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year. She wrote on social media that "the hour of freedom has arrived."

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife -- who was also seized -- are facing criminal indictments in New York, accused of crimes related to drug trafficking.

The US strikes in Venezuela and the capture of Maduro were strongly condemned by some of Caracas's allies, as well as by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said the US military action sets a "dangerous precedent."

News agencies cited sources as saying the UN Security Council will meet at 10 a.m. on January 5 to discuss the US operation. Colombia, backed by Russia and China, requested the session, diplomats said.

Caracas Allies Russia, Iran Condemn Action

Moscow, which maintains close ties with Venezuela, said it was extremely concerned by reports that Maduro and his wife had been forcibly removed from the country and urged the United States to release them.

Iran, another key ally of Venezuela, condemned the US military attack, according to Iranian state outlet Press TV, saying the action violated Venezuela's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the UN charter.

Celebrations marking Maduro's capture were seen on the streets of Latin America cities and in Spain as Venezuelans gathered to celebrate.

"We are free. We are all happy that the dictatorship has fallen and that we have a free country," Reuters quoted Khaty Yanez, a Venezuelan woman in Santiago who has spent seven years in Chile.

In Peru's capital, Lima, migrant Milagros Ortega, whose parents are still in Venezuelan, said she hoped to go back.

"Knowing that my dad was alive to see the fall of Nicolas Maduro is very emotional. I would like to see his face," she said.

Some Western Allies Cautious

Many of Washington's allies, while expressing no liking for Maduro or his regime, did caution over the need to follow international law.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that "we regarded Maduro as an illegitimate president and we shed no tears about the end of his regime," adding, "I reiterated my support for international law this morning."

France said the US strike undermined international law and asserted that Venezuela's crisis cannot be solved by external players. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Maduro had "led his country to ruin," but he called the US action legally "complex."

However, far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni -- an ally of Trump's -- called the US action "legitimate" and "defensive."

Others, such as Ukraine, North Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo, said following the strikes that they stand firmly with Washington and its most direct intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama.

"I welcome [Trump's] announcement that Nicolas Maduro has been arrested and will face justice. We stand with the United States and the Venezuelan people for freedom and democracy," North Macedonia Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski said on social media.

The US military action comes after months of rising economic and military pressure from Washington on the South American country, including intercepting Venezuelan oil tankers and killing dozens in strikes on boats near its waters that allegedly were carrying drugs.

Washington has also contested Maduro's legitimacy as president since he was the hand-picked successor to Hugo Chavez in 2013, pointing to successive elections the opposition and others said were rigged in his favor.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/venezuela-maduro-trump-capture- reaction/33639570.html

Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Russo-Ukraine War - 03 January 2026 - Day 1410

Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that since the beginning of the day, there have been 191 combat encounters.

According to information, the Russian enemy launched one missile strike with one rocket, 41 air strikes using 110 controlled air bombs across Ukrainian troops and settlements. 3440 strikes with kamikaze drones were recorded, the enemy carried out 2341 shelling.

In the Northern Slobozhansky and Kursk directions, the Russian enemy carried out 63 shellings of the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements, including two from the reactive systems of arson fire.

In the South Slobozhansky direction, Ukrainian soldiers repelled 16 attacks in the areas of settlements Vovchansk, Staritsa, Prylipki and in the direction of Izbitsky. The two clashes are still ongoing.

In the Kupyans komu direction, Russian forces 14 times attacked the positions of Ukrainian defenders in the areas of Synkivka, New Kruglyakivka and in the direction of Kupyanska, Petropavlivka, Glushkivka, Boguslavka, Kucherivka and Kurylivka. Four clashes are currently ongoing.

In the Lyman direction, the Russian enemy made 22 attacks, trying to advance in the areas of Novoselivka, Mirny, Zarichny, Yampol and towards the settlements of Olgivka, Ozerne, Drobisheve, Stavki. There are currently two combat clashes.

In the Slavic direction, Ukrainian warriors repelled four Russian attacks in the areas of Dronivka and towards Zakitnogo, Nikiforivka.

In the Kramatorsky direction of offensive actions of the Russian enemy is not recorded.

The enemy tried to infiltrate Ukrainian defense 18 times in the Konstantinivsky direction in the areas of settlements Oleksandro-Shultine, Pleshiyivka, Kleban-Bik, Scherbinivka, Rusin Yar, Sofiyivka and towards Ivanopil, Berestko and Stepanivka.

During the day in the Pokrovsky direction, the Russian aggressor carried out 31 assault and offensive actions in the areas of settlements Rodinske, Mirnograd, Kotline, Udacne, Zatishok, Filiya and towards Bilitsky. Currently, the fight is being sharpened in four locations.

According to preliminary calculations, in this direction Ukrainian soldiers zneskodili 33 Russian occupiers, of which 19 - irrevocably. 31 unmanned aircraft have been destroyed. In addition, Ukrainian fighters struck one unit of special enemy equipment and 4 personnel covers.

In the Oleksandrivsky direction, Ukrainian defenders stopped 17 Russian attacks in the areas of settlements Yalta, Vorone, Vyshneve, Solodke, Zlagoda and Rybne and towards the settlements of Sosnivka, Andriyivka-Klevtsove, two more clashes are currently ongoing.

33 combat clashes were recorded in the Gulyaipil direction, the Russian enemy is trying to advance in the areas of Gulyaipol, Uspenivka, Dorozhnyanka and in the direction of Dobropil and Zeleny. The Russian enemy's aviation struck settlements Zaliznychne, Vozdvizhivka, Svyatopetrivka, Staroukraina, Gulyaipole, Varvarivka, Rizdvyanka, Bilogirya.

In the Orihiv direction, Russian forces twice attacked the positions of Ukrainian units in the areas of Stepovoye and Novoandriivka.

Ukrainian units repelled two Russian attacks in the Pridniprovsk direction.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.

Units of the Sever Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. The Group's units inflicted losses on one mechanised brigade, one assault regiment of the AFU, and two territorial defence brigades near Grunovka, Kondratovka, Pisarevka, and Shostka (Sumy region).

In Kharkov direction, units of two mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade of the AFU and one territorial defence brigade have been hit near Staritsa, Ternovaya, and Chugunovka (Kharkov region).

Up to 215 troops, eight motor vehicles, and one field artillery gun have been neutralised. One materiel depot was destroyed.

Units of the Zapad Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, one assault brigade, one airmobile brigade of the AFU and one national guard brigade near the settlements of Grushevka, Kupyansk-Uzlovoy, Senkovo, and Smorodkovka (Kharkov region).

In total, up to 210 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, 14 motor vehicles, one artillery gun, and one electronic warfare station of the AFU were neutralised in the Zapad Group's area of responsibility. Five ammunition depots were destroyed.

As a result of intensive actions, units of the Yug Group of Forces liberated Bondarnoye in the Donetsk People's Republic.

Strikes were delivered at formations of two mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade, one assault brigade, one mountain assault brigade of the AFU, and one territorial defence brigade near Zakotnoye, Kondratovka, Konstantinovka, Malinovka, and Reznikovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy lost up to 220 troops, 11 armoured fighting vehicles, 13 motor vehicles, and four artillery guns, including two foreign-made artillery guns. One materiel depot was destroyed.

The Tsentr Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Russian troops inflicted losses on two mechanised brigades, one infantry brigade, one assault brigade, two air assault brigades, one airmobile brigade, three assault regiments of the AFU, one marine brigade, and one national guard brigade near Belitskoye, Novy Donbas, Rodinskoye, Toretskoye, Udachnoye (Donetsk People's Republic) and Novopavlovka (Dnepropetrovsk region).

The enemy losses amounted to up to 400 troops, two tanks, six armoured fighting vehicles, seven motor vehicles, and two field artillery guns.

The Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing into the depth of enemy defence. Manpower and hardware of one air assault brigade and four assault regiments of the AFU have been hit near Zaliznichnoye, Petrovka, Vozdvizhenka, and Rizdvyanka (Zaporozhye region).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 215 troops, six armoured fighting vehicles, 11 motor vehicles, two MLRS combat vehicles, including one Czech-made Vampire MLRS, and one artillery gun. One materiel depot was destroyed.

The Dnepr Group's units inflicted losses on one mechanised brigade, one mountain assault brigade of the AFU, and one territorial defence brigade near Novoandreyevka, Orekhov (Zaporozhye region) and Sadovoye (Kherson region).

Up to 40 troops, nine motor vehicles, one German-made IRIS-T anti-aircraft missile system, three artillery guns, and one electronic warfare station of the AFU have been neutralised. One materiel depot was destroyed.

Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack drones, missile troops and artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have inflicted damage on energy and port infrastructure facilities used in the interests of the AFU and Ukrainian defence industry, assembly and storage areas of long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, air defence radar station, as well as temporary deployment areas of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 156 areas.

Air defence systems shot down 15 guided aerial bombs, two U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles, and 124 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.

In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 670 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 107,003 unmanned aerial vehicles, 642 anti-aircraft missile systems, 26,871 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,636 MLRS combat vehicles, 32,360 field artillery guns and mortars, and 50,714 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's Remarks on Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin's Upcoming Visit to China

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

Updated: January 03, 2026 15:05

Q: It was announced that Taoiseach of Ireland Micheal Martin will visit China. Can you share the program and China's expectation of the visit?

A: The upcoming visit by Micheal Martin is another visit by a Taoiseach of Ireland to China in 14 years. During the vist, President Xi Jinping will meet with him, Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Zhao Leji will hold talks and meet with him respectively to have in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest. In addition to Beijing, Taoiseach Micheal Martin will visit Shanghai.

In recent years, the China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation has enjoyed robust development. Our two sides have always treated each other with mutual respect and equality. Through open cooperation, we've achieved mutual complementarity and common development, and benefited our two peoples. Through the upcoming visit, China stands ready to work with Ireland to enhance political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation and provide new impetus for the two sides to pursue high-quality development and sound and steady advancement of China-EU relations in the new era.

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Trump's anti-Iran threats stem from desperation: IRGC

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 3, 2026

Tehran, IRNA -- The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has issued a statement, emphasizing that recent threats by US President Donald Trump against Iran reflect desperation. The IRGC has also reaffirmed its commitment to defend the Islamic nation and counter ongoing hostile plots.

The IRGC issued its statement on Saturday on the anniversary of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani's assassination by the US in Iraq on January 3, 2020.

It said that Trump's recent rhetoric follows unsuccessful attempts to force Iran into submission, arguing that such efforts were thwarted by public awareness and unity.

According to the statement, the IRGC renewed its allegiance to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, pledging to continue to serve the Iranian people and remain committed to the goal of a strong, independent Iran, despite external pressure.

The IRGC also described Martyr Soleimani as a defining figure whose legacy continues to shape the Axis of Resistance. It said that six years after Soleimani's assassination, his influence has expanded as resistance movements in the region have grown stronger. It also said that Iran's resilience during the June 12-day war with Israel demonstrated that numerous people like Martyr Soleimani are living in Iran.

The statement also said that the United States and the Israeli regime are attempting to weaken Iran through destabilization and pressure after failing to undermine the country through military action and targeted killings. It added that continued resistance movements, including Palestinian actions, show that Martyr Soleimani's path remains influential across the region.

4208**4194

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Iranian border guards repel terrorist infiltration attempt near Saravan

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 3, 2026

Zahedan, IRNA -- Iranian border guards clashed with a terrorist group along the border strip of Saravan County in southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province, successfully preventing the group from infiltrating the country, a senior border official has said.

Brigadier General Reza Shojaei, Commander of the Sistan and Baluchestan Border Guard, said on Friday night that the operation followed intelligence reports indicating movements by terrorist and anti-Iran groups planning to enter Iranian territory.

He noted that the planned infiltration coincided with sensitive occasions, including the birth anniversary of Imam Ali (PBUH) and the martyrdom anniversary of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, with the aim of carrying out terrorist acts and creating insecurity in Iranian cities.

Shojaei stated that border intelligence and operational units were immediately placed on high alert. Late Thursday night, a terrorist team attempting to cross the border engaged Iranian border guards, leading to a heavy exchange of fire. After an intense clash, the assailants suffered significant losses, with several members wounded, and were forced to flee the area, leaving behind weapons and equipment.

Border forces seized a large cache of arms and ammunition, including four Kalashnikov rifles, a handgun, RPG and SPG-9 rounds, grenades, heavy machine-gun ammunition, sniper rounds, and multiple magazines.

The commander stressed that border guards in Sistan and Baluchestan Province remain fully prepared to deal decisively and intelligently with any illegal actions, particularly acts of sabotage and terrorism, and will not allow threats to public order and security.

Saravan County is located approximately 347 kilometers southeast of Zahedan, the provincial capital of Sistan and Baluchestan.

4208**4194

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Iran sends letter to UNSC, condemns Trump's 'reckless, interventionist' remarks

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 3, 2026

New York, IRNA -- Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani has strongly rejected and condemned US President Donald Trump's "reckless, interventionist, and inflammatory statements," saying that such repeated statements demonstrate a consistent pattern of unlawful conduct by the United States and constitute a clear, explicit, and unlawful threat of the use of force against a sovereign state.

Iravani made the remarks in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Security Council President Abukar Dahir Osman on Friday immediately after Trump threatened Iran over protests against high prices.

The following is the full text of the letter:

Excellencies

Upon instructions from my Government, and further to my letter dated 30 December 2025, I wish to draw the attention of Your Excellency and the members of the Security Council to the statement made today, 2 January 2026, by the President of the United States of America, which constitutes yet another clear instance of intervention in the internal affairs of a Member State of the United Nations, in violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. In a statement amounting to the incitement of violence, unrest, and terrorist acts within Iran, the President of the United States openly threatened the Islamic Republic of Iran with the use of force and intervention, declaring that "We are locked and loaded and ready to go."

It is of particular concern that this reckless statement does not stand in isolation. Only days earlier, the President of the United States publicly threatened the Islamic Republic of Iran with the use of force, including renewed military attacks against Iran's peaceful nuclear facilities and its defensive capabilities. These repeated and deliberate statements demonstrate a consistent pattern of unlawful conduct by the United States and constitute a clear, explicit, and unlawful threat of the use of force against a sovereign State, as well as interference in its internal affairs. Such threats, irrespective of political pretexts or rhetorical framing, are strictly prohibited under international law. Any attempt to incite, encourage, or legitimize internal unrest as a pretext for external pressure or military intervention constitutes a grave violation of Iran's sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity, in flagrant breach of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, including Articles 2 (1), 2 (4), and 2 (7) thereof, as well as General Assembly resolution 2625 (XXV) of 1970. Moreover, under international law, the encouragement, support, or facilitation of subversive or violent activities within another State constitutes an internationally wrongful act, directly engaging the responsibility of the intervening State.

Ironically, these so-called claims of "supporting the Iranian people" emanate from officials of a State with a long and well-documented record of military interventions, regime-change operations, and unlawful uses of force across the globe, carried out in gross violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and resulting in widespread civilian casualties, the collapse of States, humanitarian catastrophes, and the emergence and empowerment of extremist and terrorist groups. Furthermore, the Iranian people have, over decades, experienced the true consequences of the United States' professed concern for their welfare. The historical record of the United States demonstrates a consistent pattern of intervention and coercion pursued under the pretext of "supporting the Iranian people."

This record includes the orchestration of the 1953 coup d'etat against the democratically elected Government of Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, as well as tens of instances since 1979, including the extensive political, military, and intelligence support provided to the Saddam regime in Iraq during its eight-year imposed war of aggression against Iran; the shooting down of Iran Air Flight 655 in 1988 over the Persian Gulf, resulting in the martyrdom of 290 innocent civilians; the cowardly assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani, a top commander of the Iranian Army and a central figure in the fight against terrorist organizations; the continued complicity with the Israeli regime in the assassination of Iranian military officials and scientists, acts of sabotage, and attacks against Iranian civilians and civilian infrastructure, including the war of aggression carried out in June 2025; and, over decades, the imposition of unilateral coercive measures and unilateral sanctions, resulting in grave and systematic violations of the fundamental human rights of the Iranian people, including the inherent right to life and development.

Against this backdrop, the Islamic Republic of Iran once again recalls the responsibility of the Secretary-General and the Security Council, and in particular its responsible members, under the Charter of the United Nations, to unequivocally and strongly condemn these reckless and provocative statements against Iran by the President of the United States as a serious violation of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations; to demand that the United States immediately comply with its obligations under the Charter and international law, cease all threats or uses of force, and discharge its responsibilities as a permanent member of the Security Council in a manner consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

The Islamic Republic of Iran unequivocally rejects and strongly condemns these reckless, interventionist, and inflammatory statements, and reaffirms its inherent right to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security, and to protect its people against any foreign interference. Iran will exercise its rights decisively and proportionately. The United States of America bears full responsibility for any consequences arising from these unlawful threats and any ensuing escalation.

I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as an official document of the Security Council.

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Foreign ministry condemns interventionist statements of US officials on Iran

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Jan 3, 2026

Tehran, IRNA -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry in a statement condemned the interventionist statements of US President Donald Trump and other American officials regarding Iran's internal affairs.

The Foreign Ministry statement read that this type of irresponsible stance, which is a continuation of America's bullying and illegal approach towards the Iranian nation, is not only a gross violation of the fundamental principles and rules of the United Nations Charter and international law in respecting the national sovereignty of countries, but also constitutes incitement to violence and terrorism against Iranian citizens.

Recalling the long history of criminal interventions by various US governments in Iranian affairs, the Foreign Ministry considers the claim of compassion for the great Iranian nation to be hypocritical and intended to deceive public opinion and cover up the numerous crimes committed against Iranians.

The Foreign Ministry poibted out the duties and responsibilities of the United Nations Security Council and the Secretary-General in accordance with the Charter to safeguard international peace and security against the belligerent unilateralism of the United States, and emphasizes that Iranians will not allow any malicious interference in their dialogue and interaction with each other to resolve problems.

Complicity in planning and executing the shameful coup of August 1953, cooperation with Saddam's regime in the 8-year war against the Iranians, the downing of an Iranian passenger plane in 1988 and the killing of 300 innocent people over the Persian Gulf, complicity and partnership with the Israeli regime in attacking vital infrastructure, the nuclear facilities under Iranian safeguards in June 2025, the terror and killing of Iranians, and the cruel and inhuman sanctions of the past few decades that have targeted the fundamental rights and livelihoods of Iranians are clear examples of America's hostility towards the Iranian people, it added.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs assesses the threatening statements made by American officials against Iran as being in line with the Zionist regime policy of escalating tensions in the region and emphasizes that the Islamic Republic of Iran's response to any aggression will be swift, decisive, and comprehensive.

2050

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Iran says US assassination of Gen. Soleimani was a cowardly act of terrorism

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 03 January 2026 10:20 AM

Iran has condemned the United States' 2020 assassination of Lieutenant General Soleimani as a "cowardly act of terrorism" and a blatant violation of international law, calling for full accountability for this unlawful act.

"On the sixth anniversary of the cowardly assassination by the United States of Major General Qassem Soleimania top commander of the Iranian Armed Forces and a central figure in the fight against terrorist organizations, including Da'esh (ISIS)I wish to underscore, once again, the legal consequences and the unequivocal responsibility of the United States for committing such a criminal and unlawful act," Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran's permanent ambassador to the world body wrote in a letter addressed to the UN secretary-general and members of the Security Council on Saturday.

Martyr Soleimani - also known as 'Haj Qassem' - commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), was assassinated alongside Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), and other companions in a US drone strike authorized by President Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport in January 2020.

"This deliberate and unlawful targeting of a senior official of a sovereign Member State of the United Nationswho played a pivotal role in the fight against terrorism in the regionconstitutes a flagrant violation of international law," the statement said.

According to Iravani, "this cowardly act of terrorism constituted an arbitrary deprivation of life in blatant violation of international human rights law, including Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which the United States is a State party."

The statement emphasized that any US claims of self-defense, necessity, or imminence are legally baseless and cannot justify the assassination.

Iran warned that the killing of a high-ranking official of a sovereign state set a dangerous precedent, undermining the prohibition on the use of force and posing a serious threat to international peace and security.

Tehran also condemned the international community's inaction, saying it had emboldened the United States.

Iran highlighted US involvement in the Israeli regime's June 2025 war against Iran, which included attacks on civilians, civilian infrastructure, and nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards, resulting in the deaths of over 1,100 people.

"This war of aggression further confirms a persistent pattern of contempt for international law and demonstrates that the conduct of the United States itself constitutes a real and ongoing threat to regional and international peace and security," the letter noted.

The statement concluded that Iran is pursuing all available legal, political, and judicial measures at national and international levels to hold all perpetrators, organizers, and accomplices of the assassination and subsequent aggression accountable.

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News / National

by Staff reporter

Harare Magistrates' Court has slapped independent gas supplier Pride Kings Energy with a US$3,000 fine, or the Zimbabwean dollar equivalent, after finding the company guilty of importing liquid petroleum (LP) gas from South Africa without authorisation from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.Between January and July 2025, Pride Kings Energy imported petroleum gas and other hydrocarbons worth US$178,754.75 through an authorised dealer but failed to obtain the necessary approval from the central bank, the court noted.The court ordered that the fine must be settled by the end of March 2026. Failure to comply could result in the State seizing the company's property to recover the amount.The ruling underscores the authorities' commitment to ensuring that all fuel imports comply with regulatory requirements, particularly amid ongoing efforts to stabilise Zimbabwe's energy sector.
Leader hails bazaaris as most loyal to Islamic Republic, says foes behind currency devaluation

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 03 January 2026 10:11 AM

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the national currency devaluation is "unnatural" and involves "the hand of the enemy."

The Leader made the remarks on Saturday, during a meeting with families of martyrs, including the family of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by the US military in Baghdad, Iraq, on January 3, 2020.

Referring to the recent unrest across the country, which began at Tehran's Grand Bazaar last week, Ayatollah Khamenei said the bazaari class is "among the most loyal segments of the country to the Islamic Revolution," stressing that "one cannot clash with the Islamic system in the name of the bazaar and merchants."

He said merchants' concerns were justified, noting that when a merchant looks at the country's monetary conditions, the decline in the value of the national currency and its instability, "he says 'I cannot do business,' and this is true."

Ayatollah Khamenei said that the president and senior officials are seeking remedies, adding that the unchecked rise in foreign currency is unnatural and involves "the hand of the enemy," which he said must be stopped.

The Leader warned against the exploitation of legitimate economic grievances by hostile elements, saying what matters is that "a number of provoked individuals who are mercenaries of the enemy stand behind the bazaaris and chant anti-Islamic, anti-Iranian, and anti-Islamic Republic slogans."

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that "protest is legitimate, but protest is different from rioting," adding that officials must engage with protesters, because "talking to the protester is different from talking to the rioter; talking to the rioter is of no use, and the rioter must be put in his place."

He underlined that it is "absolutely unacceptable" for groups to come "under various titles and names with the intention of sabotage and creating insecurity," stand behind "faithful, healthy and revolutionary bazaaris," exploit their protests and engage in unrest.

The Leader emphasized the need to recognize the enemy's tactics, saying the enemy "does not sit idle and exploits every opportunity," adding that officials are and will remain present on the ground, but "what matters is the collective nation."

Ayatollah Khamenei added that when the enemy seeks to impose demands arrogantly on the country, the government and the nation, one must "stand firmly against the enemy and bare one's chest."

"We will not back down before the enemy, and by relying on Almighty God and the support of the people, God willing, we will bring the enemy to its knees."

The Leader further elaborated on the defining traits of Martyr Qassem Soleimani, saying three qualities  "faith, sincerity and action"  were the core characteristics of the revered martyr, who he described as "a comprehensive and complete human being of our time."

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted General Soleimani's deep faith in God, divine support and the righteousness of his cause as his most prominent attributes.

He said Martyr Soleimani was "a man of divine sincerity" who never acted for reputation, praise, or public acclaim, but solely out of duty and devotion.

Praising his consistent presence in all necessary arenas, the Leader said General Soleimani stood in contrast to those who "understand well and speak well, but do not take action."

Ayatollah Khamenei noted that General Soleimani played a role in safeguarding and guiding the course of the Islamic Revolution and confronting acts of subversion in Kerman, and later in the Quds Force.

He also cited his contributions to defending holy shrines, confronting the Daesh terrorist group and fulfilling responsibilities in other critical fields.

The Leader underscored that General Soleimani's legacy lay not only in his strategic role but in the unity of belief, purity of intention and readiness for action that defined his life and conduct.

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Iranian border guards smash terrorist cell, seize firearms in Sistan and Baluchestan

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 03 January 2026 9:51 AM

Iranian border guards have managed to disband a Takfiri terrorist cell in a border area in the country's southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan and successfully seized military-grade weapons from the militants.

Commander of the provincial border police Brigadier General Reza Shojaei said his forces clashed with members of the terrorist cell late on Thursday as they intended to infiltrate into the country from an area in Saravan County near the border with Pakistan.

In the clash and heavy exchange of fire between the forces and the terrorists, a number of militants were injured.

The security operation led to the discovery of 4 Kalashnikov assault rifles besides ten relevant cartridges, and 132 bullets, a pistol with a cartridge, ten SPG-9 Kop'yo rounds, two grenades, three portable and shoulder-launched RPG-7 rounds, 240 rounds for DShK M1938 heavy machine gun, 20 sniper rifle rounds, as well as 232 rounds for SG-43 Goryunov medium machine gun.

The province of Sistan and Baluchestan, which shares a border with Pakistan, has experienced numerous terrorist attacks aimed at both civilians and security personnel in recent years.

Terrorist organizations conducting assaults on Iranian interests in the southeastern and southwestern regions of the nation are thought to have connections with foreign intelligence agencies.

On October 26, 2024, a terrorist attack in the Gohar Kuh district of Taftan County resulted in the deaths of ten members of Iran's law enforcement forces.

The Jaish al-Adl terrorist organization took responsibility for the attack, which ranks among the most lethal in the province.

The organization has executed a multitude of terrorist assaults in Iran, mainly in Sistan and Baluchestan. It strategies include the kidnapping of border guards and the targeting of civilians and police stations in the region to provoke chaos and unrest.

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IRGC says Trump's threats stem from desperation, vows to defeat all plots

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 03 January 2026 9:19 AM

The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) says US President Donald Trump is threatening Iran out of desperation, emphasizing that IRGC forces will remain ready to sacrifice their lives until all hybrid plots are defeated.

In a statement issued Saturday on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and the birth anniversary of Imam Ali (AS), the IRGC emphasized that Trump, responsible for martyr Soleimani's assassination, is once again seeking to pressure Iran after failing through assassination and a 12-day war.

The statement came after Trump threatened Iran in a social media post, claiming the US was prepared for military action in response to what he called the country's potential forceful action against sporadic protests over the decline of the rial, the Iranian currency.

IRGC slammed Washington for attempting to force Iran into submission through instability and insecurity, but said the Iranian nation thwarted these efforts by remaining vigilant and refusing to align with foreign-backed unrest.

The statement noted that attempts by global powers to eliminate figures like General Soleimani have instead multiplied such role models across the country.

General Soleimani, the former commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, was assassinated in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.

IRGC further said that the erosion of the political and security power of the "system of domination," and the collapse of the US-led order in the region and beyond, are among the lasting effects of General Soleimani and fighters of the resistance front.

It said that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to eliminate martyr Soleimani's influence through his assassination, asserting that if they had succeeded, events such as the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation would not have occurred.

Referring to recent US-Israeli aggression, the IRGC said, "the resistance of the Iranian nation and youth in the imposed 12-day war made the enemy understand that Iran is full of Soleimanis."

On June 13, Israel launched an unprovoked war against Iran, assassinating high-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians.

More than a week later, the United States entered the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites in a grave violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

On June 24, Iran, through its successful retaliatory operations against both the Israeli regime and the US, managed to impose a halt to the aggression.

The statement also said the Axis of Resistance and opposition to Israel are now inseparably linked with Soleimani's name and legacy.

The statement concluded by reaffirming that IRGC forces will continue to stand alongside the people of Iran, ready to sacrifice their lives until all hybrid conspiracies are defeated and a strong, independent Iran is achieved.

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PLA's exercises simulate blocking energy, foreign aid: U.S. institute

ROC Central News Agency

01/03/2026 03:57 PM

Washington, Jan. 2 (CNA) China's military drills around Taiwan earlier this week signaled potential strategies to cut the island off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, according to a recent United States think tank report.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called "Justice Mission-2025" exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to "Taiwan independence" forces.

In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to "major port cities," including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien.



CNA graphic CNA graphic

Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade because it relies "overwhelmingly" on energy imports, the institute said.

Nearly 96 percent of Taiwan's energy was imported in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Energy Administration.

The drills also featured China Coast Guard vessels operating alongside PLA Navy ships, reflecting Beijing's strategy of combining civilian law-enforcement forces with military assets during a blockade.

The institute said China has used similar tactics in the South China Sea, with coast guard ships confronting foreign vessels directly while naval forces maintain an outer security perimeter.

In the event of a Taiwan blockade, the coast guard would likely intercept Taiwanese commercial and government vessels, while the navy would seek to deter foreign military intervention, the report said.

Additionally, it said the deployment of precision-strike, anti-submarine and anti-ship weapons suggested the PLA may have been practicing countering U.S. submarines and surface ships attempting to breach a blockade.

However, the absence of aircraft carriers indicated the drills may represent only one element of a "larger, multi-domain" effort to isolate Taiwan, according to the report.

Meanwhile, retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery recently told CNA that the scale and intensity of the drills were likely a response to a US$11 billion U.S. foreign weapons sales package to Taiwan and recent comments by Japan's prime minister suggesting Japan could get involved in the event of a naval blockade by China against Taiwan.

Montgomery, now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Taiwan and the U.S. should ignore China's "public bullying" and continue arms sales to Taipei, to raise the cost of conflict for China.

(By Elaine Hou and Hsiao Hsu-chen)

Enditem/cs

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DPP lawmakers seek to codify 'two-state' framing in cross-strait law

ROC Central News Agency

01/03/2026 08:24 PM

Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) About 25 Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers are proposing amendments to Taiwan's governing law on cross-strait relations to codify a "two-state" reality, drawing immediate pushback from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT).

"I aim to legally define the relationship between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China (PRC) as an equal, state-to-state relationship," DPP lawmaker Lin I-chin (), who initiated the proposal, said in a Facebook post Saturday.

Lin said she has obtained the required number of co-signatures for the proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area and will formally submit the bill to the Legislature.

The proposal seeks to rename the law as one governing "relations between Taiwan and the PRC" and to refer to both sides of the Taiwan Strait as "territory," replacing the current term "area."

It also proposes deleting the phrase "prior to unification" from the law's first article, language that implies the legislation is a temporary arrangement pending eventual unification.

The legal framework dates back to the late 1980s, when the then KMT government moved to allow family visits to China, easing decades of hostility following the Chinese Civil War that forced the party to relocate to Taiwan in 1949.

The bill was passed by the Legislature in 1992 and aligned with the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan's formal name), adopted earlier that year by the now-disbanded National Assembly, to allow the Constitution to function effectively in Taiwan "prior to unification."

Under this constitutional framework, Taiwan and the PRC-governed mainland are defined as the "Free Area" and the "Mainland Area," respectively.

Commenting on the proposal, KMT lawmaker Lee Yen-hsiu () dismissed it as an "old trick" aimed at pursuing "de facto independence" by President Lai Ching-te's () supporters, referring to Lin as a longtime ally of the president.

Lee warned that such moves could lead to unnecessary "misinterpretations" by Taiwan's international partners, create "trouble" for the president, and further distance the DPP from mainstream public opinion, according to the United Daily News.

The proposal would overturn the constitutional framework of "one China, divided into a Free Area and a Mainland Area," and would inevitably provoke a strong reaction from Beijing, the paper quoted KMT Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen () as saying.

Citing respect for the Legislature, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said it would refrain from commenting, noting that deliberation on bills is the prerogative of the legislative branch.

However, the MAC said cross-strait legislation is rooted in the Additional Articles of the Constitution and is "highly politically sensitive," adding that any amendments must be supported by broad social consensus.

(By Lee Ya-wen and Shih Hsiu-chuan)

Enditem/kb

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Mainland official calls for peaceful development of cross-Strait relations

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 12:29, January 03, 2026

BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland official on Friday called for efforts to promote peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and achieve national reunification.

Song Tao, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks in a New Year message to people of Taiwan.

He extended New Year wishes and sincere greetings to people in Taiwan, as conveyed in the message published in this year's first issue of the "Relations Across Taiwan Strait" magazine.

Reiterating the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, Song said that in 2026 the mainland will continue expanding exchanges and cooperation and promoting integrated development across the Strait, while resolutely opposing secessionist activities seeking "Taiwan independence" and external interference to maintain peace and stability in the region.

"We are ready to engage in dialogue and consultation with political parties, organizations and people from all walks of life in Taiwan concerning cross-Strait relations and national reunification on the basis of the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus," he said.

The year 2025 saw cross-Strait relations move forward despite difficulties, with momentum and strength building for national reunification, he said, highlighting greater facilitation for Taiwan residents to travel to the mainland and the significantly increased number of young people and first-time visitors from Taiwan to the mainland.

Efforts were stepped up to advance with the high-quality development of the demonstration zone for cross-Strait integrated development and fully implement equal treatment for Taiwan residents and Taiwan enterprises on the mainland, while national sovereignty and territorial integrity were firmly defended, he said.

Song called on people across the Strait to take on their historical responsibilities and join hands to oppose secessionism and work for national reunification.

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PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan

ROC Ministry of National Defense

2026.01.04

Issuing AuthorityPolitical Warfare Bureau

PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan

1.Date:

6 a.m. Jan. 3 (Sat.) to 6 a.m. Jan. 4 (Sun.) (UTC+8)

2.PLA activities:

5 PLAN ships and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected as of 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy ships, and coastal missile systems in response to detected activities.



3.Illustration of flight path is not provided due to no PLA aircraft operating around Taiwan were detected during this timeframe.

4.PRC balloon activities:

1 PRC balloon was detected during this timeframe.

1150104_PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan_1

1150104_PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan_2

1150104_PLA air activities in the vicinity of Taiwan

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Zelenskyy Hosts Security Talks As Russia Presses Drone Attacks Across Ukraine

By RFE/RL January 03, 2026

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is hosting security talks in Kyiv on January 3 with Western partners as Moscow kept up its aerial barrage of Ukraine, including 95 overnight drone strikes.

Ukraine's Air Force said it intercepted 80 of the drones and reported no casualties, but an earlier strike on January 2 that hit a residential area of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv injured more than 31 people and killed two, including a 3-year-old child.

The strikes and security talks come amid a flurry of US-backed efforts to push for an end to the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

In Kyiv, Zelenskyy is joined by representatives from 18 European Union and NATO countries for the talks, including a US delegation that was supposed to join over video link.

"We are moving along three key tracks: security guarantees, reconstruction, and a basic framework for real peace," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

"We are preparing meetings in Europe that will take place next week. We are also preparing for meetings in the United States," he added.

The discussions follow weeks of stepped-up initiatives and pressure from Washington to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump has said notable progress has taken place but that "one or two very thorny, very tough issues" remain before each side is willing to sign off on the 20-point plan pushed by Washington. Two of those prominent issues are how to allocate territory in eastern Ukraine and the fate of Europe's biggest nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhya, which is currently occupied by Russia.

Zelenskyy is set to meet European leaders in France on January 6 to discuss a potential peace deal and the latest from the battlefield in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy Reshuffles Top Officials Ahead Of Key Talks

Against that backdrop, the Ukrainian president named military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov as his new top aide on January 2.

Once formally appointed, he will replace Andriy Yermak, a Zelenskyy confidante and prominent powerbroker who resigned in November after investigators raided his house as part of a sweeping corruption probe.

Budanov has built up a strong reputation in Ukraine, credited with a series of daring operations against Russia.

Analysts say Zelenskyy aims to use the appointment to help restore trust in his leadership and state institutions and strengthen Ukraine's defenses against Russia and its hand in US-backed peace talks.

"Kyrylo has specialized experience in these areas and sufficient strength to deliver results," Zelenskyy wrote on X.

In a statement, Budanov said he had accepted the offer and would focus on the "strategic security of our state."

Zelenskyy also announced that he intends to replace Denys Shymhal as defense minister with Mykhaylo Fedorov, who is now minister of digital transformation.

"Mykhaylo is deeply involved in issues related to drones and is very effective in the digitalization of state services and processes," the Ukrainian president said.

On January 3, Zelenskyy said he spoke with Shmyhal and proposed him for the post of energy minister.

The position was recently vacated after the former head of the body, Svitlana Hrynchuk, tendered her resignation following Zelenskyy's call for her to step down amid a corruption scandal in which suspects allegedly discussed millions of dollars in kickbacks for protecting energy facilities.

Separately, Zelenskyy has also announced changes in Ukraine's regional leadership, saying there will be new heads in five regions, including the Dnipropetrovsk region, which lies close to Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya, partially occupied by Russian forces.

While Russian battlefield advancements have been limited and hard-fought since the first year of the full-scale war in Ukraine, a January 2 analysis from the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, found that Moscow's battlefield gains in 2025 were the highest since 2022.

The Russian Army captured more than 5,600 square kilometers, a total equivalent to more than the previous two years combined. The amount of territory is still far short of the more than 60,000 square kilometers Russia took in 2022 following its full-scale invasion.

Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskiy said those gains resulted in almost 420,000 dead and wounded Russians in 2025, according to Ukrainian estimates.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-war-peace- talks-kharkiv-drone-strike/33639056.html

Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Russian Armed Forces Strike Ukrainian Energy and Port Infrastructure Facilities

Sputnik News

20260103

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Armed Forces struck Ukrainian energy and port infrastructure facilities used to support the military-industrial complex, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.

"Operational-tactical aviation, strike unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops, and artillery of the Russian Armed Forces have struck energy and port infrastructure facilities usedby the Ukrainian armed forces and military-industrial complex, as well as assembly and storage sites for long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, air defense radar stations, and temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 156 areas," the ministry stated.

Russia's Yug battlegroup has liberated the settlement of Bondarnoye in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry also said.

"As a result of active actions, units of the Yug battlegroup liberated the settlement of Bondarnoye in the Donetsk People's Republic," the statement read.

Russia's Yug battlegroup has eliminated up to 220 troops over the past day, while Russia's Vostok battlegroup has eliminated up to 215 Ukrainian servicemen

has eliminated up to 220 troops over the past day, while Russia's has eliminated up to 215 Ukrainian servicemen Russia's Tsentr battlegroup has eliminated up to 400 Ukrainian soldiers over the past 24 hours

has eliminated up to 400 Ukrainian soldiers over the past 24 hours Russia's Zapad battlegroup has eliminated up to 210 Ukrainian soldiers, the ministry said, adding that Ukraine also lost up to 40 troops in battles with Russia's Dnepr battlegroup

 Sputnik

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Czech PM Halts Ukraine Aid from National Budget

Sputnik News

20260103

Prime Minister Andrej Babis declared the Czech Republic "can no longer give money from the Czech budget to Ukraine," citing domestic needs and arguing EU funds already provide massive support.

"We have to be realistic. If someone says that we will defeat Russia, then experts say no," he added.

Andrej Babis also stated he will examine the fighter jet deal, noting "about 27 billion in advances" and criticizing the previous government's defense spending record.

 Sputnik

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News / National

by Staff reporter

An elderly motorist narrowly escaped injury after accidentally driving his vehicle into a shop at Northend Shopping Centre on Friday afternoon, leaving the shop owner counting significant losses.The incident occurred around 4pm when the man, reportedly wearing a white T-shirt, drove out of a parking bay and collided with the shopfront. Eyewitnesses said the driver later explained that he had mistakenly engaged the forward gear instead of reverse."No one was injured, but the shop was badly damaged," said one onlooker. "The owner was left counting losses as the car smashed into the premises."In an unusual twist, the driver allegedly attempted to reverse the car after the crash, seemingly trying to leave the scene, but members of the public intervened and blocked his path. Authorities were called to assess the damage and manage the situation.No official comment has yet been made by police regarding potential charges or insurance claims.
PM call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine: 3 January 2026

Press release

The Prime Minister spoke to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this morning.

From: Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP

Published 3 January 2026

The Prime Minister spoke to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this morning.

The leaders welcomed the US' continued push for a just and lasting peace, and agreed it was clear no party wanted that more than Ukraine.

The Prime Minister paid tribute to the resilience of the Ukrainian people, who continued to suffer as Russia bombarded cities with missiles and drones, and systematically destroyed critical national infrastructure to plunge families and the elderly into the cold and dark.

The Prime Minister welcomed National Security Advisor level discussions in Kyiv today, and looked forward to leaders progressing that work in Paris on Tuesday.

They discussed the ongoing work to ensure a multi-national force could deploy to Ukraine in the days following a ceasefire.

The Prime Minister welcomed the appointment of Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov as the head of the Office of the President in Ukraine, and said his team looked forward to working closely with him.

The leaders agreed to stay in close touch.

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The President Held a Meeting in Kyiv with the National Security Advisors of the Coalition of the Willing States

President of Ukraine

3 January 2026 - 19:44

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with national security advisors of the Coalition of the Willing member states.

The Head of State thanked partner countries for their consistent support of Ukraine during Russia's full-scale invasion.

"Now we have a new wave, a new chance to finish this war. And we are thankful that on the diplomatic path, we are also not alone. I thank your leaders for this," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President emphasized the importance of discussing specific draft documents and details of the peace process, as well as the necessary security guarantees that partner states are ready to provide.

"We very much wanted to share the documents we already have and on which we need your support and joint work. We have a sequence plan - this is very important - what after what we are ready to do," the Head of State noted.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that only strong, coordinated pressure on Russia from the United States and Europe can change its calculations.

"Russia has not shown a genuine willingness to pursue peace. Instead, it continues its aggressive war, violence, and destabilization, using negotiations as a tactic to buy time. It employs provocations and manipulations to derail progress in the peace process," the President said.

During the meeting, all outcomes from today's three panels involving Ukraine's negotiating team and representatives of Coalition of the Willing member countries were reviewed. Discussions focused on three areas: a framework peace plan, security guarantees, and Ukraine's reconstruction and economic recovery.

The next steps will be a meeting of chiefs of the general staff on January 5, followed by a leaders-level meeting in Paris on January 6. The President noted that after these contacts, a joint meeting with representatives of the United States can be prepared.

Today's meeting involved representatives of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Poland, Finland, France, Sweden, the European Council, the European Commission, and NATO.

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Ahead Of Big Week, Zelenskyy Vows Ukraine Will Fight On If Peace Talks Fail

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service January 04, 2026

KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted that if a diplomatic end to the war cannot be struck during the current peace talks, his country would continue to defend itself against Russia's full-scale invasion.

"If Russia blocks all of this -- and as I said, it depends on our partners -- if our partners do not compel Russia to stop the war, there will be another path: to defend ourselves," he said on January 3 ahead of another busy week of diplomacy.

The comments echo those the Ukrainian leader expressed in his New Year's Eve address, when he stressed that a peace agreement with Russia can't come "at any cost."

"What does Ukraine want? Peace? Yes. At any cost? No. We want an end to the war but not the end of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in the televised address.

US President Donald Trump in November 2025 pressed Zelenskyy to accept a 28-point peace proposal that many saw as heavily favoring Russia.

Ukraine and its European allies -- led by Britain, France, and Germany -- scrambled to develop a counterproposal, eventually putting forward a 20-point plan that took in more of Kyiv's interests, especially on security guarantees and territorial integrity.

Security Guarantees, Economic Recovery

Zelenskyy spoke as security advisers from 15 allies met in the Ukrainian capital, discussing fine points of the developing peace plan, including potential security guarantees for Ukraine.

Few details emerged from the session, but Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said participants "discussed security guarantees, points of the peace plan, economic recovery, and military-political issues."

Umerov asserted that "most of the positions -- 90 percent of the peace plan -- have already been agreed, work continues on the details."

Zelenskyy, in his December 31 speech, also said a deal was "90 percent complete," but he warned that the remaining 10 percent would be difficult to finalize.

Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, joined the meeting through a video link, while representatives from NATO and the European Union participated in person.

The meeting will be followed by at least two other important gatherings in the upcoming week.

On January 5, Ukraine will host a meeting of the chiefs of general staffs of European countries and others --"designed to ensure additional coordination of actions with allies in the security dimension," Umerov said.

Macron Vows 'Concrete' Commitments

The following day in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron will host a gathering of European leaders. Macron said in his New Year's Eve speech that European states and other allies will make "concrete" commitments to Ukraine's security during the talks.

Zelenskyy expressed hopes for a summit of global leaders in the United States by the end of January to discuss peace proposals.

"We will be preparing for a meeting in the United States at the leadership level. We would like all of this to happen in January, by the end of January," Zelenskyy said.

Russia is not participating directly in Ukraine's talks with the United States or Europeans as Kyiv seeks solid guarantees that would accompany any potential peace deal.

"We are moving along three key tracks: security guarantees, reconstruction, and a basic framework for real peace," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

"We are preparing meetings in Europe that will take place next week. We are also preparing for meetings in the United States," he added.

Trump 'Not Thrilled' With Russian Leader

Meanwhile, Trump on January 3 expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the continued war in Ukraine.

"I'm not thrilled with Putin. He's killing too many people," Trump told reporters at his resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump has often praised Putin and said he believes the Russian leader is interested in a peace deal.

Many observers say Zelenskyy is under heightened pressure on the backdrop of Russian gains on the battlefield, particularly in eastern Ukraine.

While those advancements have been limited and hard-fought since the first year of the full-scale war in Ukraine, a January 2 analysis from the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, found that Moscow's battlefield gains in 2025 were the highest since 2022.

Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskiy said those gains resulted in almost 420,000 dead and wounded Russians in 2025, according to Ukrainian estimates. Both sides generally do not report casualty figures.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-zelenskyy-trump- putin-paris-macron-umerov/33639270.html

Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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5 countries assume responsibilities as UN Security Council non-permanent members

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:02, January 03, 2026

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia and Liberia on Friday began to assume responsibilities as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Their two-year term officially started on Jan. 1, but Friday is the first working day of the council for 2026 after the Christmas and New Year break.

A flag installation ceremony was held to mark the start of their responsibilities.

Kazakh UN ambassador Kairat Umarov, who co-hosted the ceremony, congratulated the five new council members and wished them "perseverance, unity of purpose, and success" in their term.

"We hope that you will make meaningful contributions over the next two years to address critical global challenges and reinforce the council's mandate to promote peace and security," he said.

The installation of flags serves as a visible reminder that service on the Security Council is both a privilege and a responsibility. It marks the beginning of the demanding mandate carried out on behalf of the entire UN membership, said Umarov.

Somali UN ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman, as president of the Security Council for the month of January and co-host of the ceremony, welcomed the five new members and wished them a successful and impactful term.

"Over the coming two years, your voices and your efforts will be essential in guiding our collective pursuit of peace and security," he said.

The Security Council has a unique mandate to respond to threats to peace and to foster cooperation, and to support the most vulnerable by working together, upholding the principles of multilateralism, and demonstrating respect for the UN Charter, said Osman.

The five countries replaced Algeria, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone and Slovenia.

The 15-member Security Council has five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the UN General Assembly. Five non-permanent members are replaced every year.

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Next article: Trump says US will run Venezuela after Maduro seized

Featured

African Union urges restraint in Venezuela, backs sovereignty and 'inclusive political dialogue'

GraphicOnline International News Jan - 04 - 2026 , 12:15 2 minutes read

The African Union (AU) has issued a statement expressing "grave concern" over the escalating crisis in Venezuela, specifically citing reports of the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro and military attacks on state institutions.

In a communique released from its headquarters in Addis Ababa on January 3, 2026, the continental body called for restraint and emphasised a peaceful, Venezuelan-led resolution to the turmoil.

"The African Union is following with grave concern the recent developments in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, including reports of the abduction of the President of the Republic, Mr. Nicolas Maduro, and military attacks on Venezuelan institutions," the statement read.

The AU used the statement to firmly reiterate its foundational diplomatic principles. It "reaffirms its steadfast commitment to the fundamental principles of international law, including respect for the sovereignty of States, their territorial integrity, and the right of peoples to self determination, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations."

Central to the Union's position is a call for internal dialogue. The communique stressed that "the complex internal challenges facing Venezuela can only be sustainably addressed through inclusive political dialogue among Venezuelans themselves."

It further underscored "the importance of dialogue, peaceful settlement of disputes, and respect for constitutional and institutional frameworks."

While expressing "solidarity with the Venezuelan people," the AU stopped short of assigning blame for the reported attacks and abduction. Instead, it issued a broad appeal to "all parties concerned to exercise restraint, responsibility, and respect for international law to prevent any escalation and to preserve regional peace and stability."

The statement concludes by reiterating the AU's broader "commitment to the promotion of peace, stability, and mutual respect among nations and regions."

Read also: Ghana condemns US action in Venezuela, calls for Maduros release
Next article: How the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro

Trump warns new Venezuelan leader as Maduro set to appear in court

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Featured

Equatorial Guinea president affirms relocation of capital city from island based Malabo to City of Peace in the mainland

Graphic.com.gh International News Jan - 04 - 2026 , 13:21 1 minute read

Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has affirmed the relocation of the capital city from Malabo, located on Bioko Island, to the mainland city of Ciudad de la Paz [City of Peace] in Djibloho Province, according to the state-run Information and Press Office of Equatorial Guinea.

Obiang signed the decree on the relocation plan on Friday [Jan 2, 2026] during a ceremony attended by top government officials.

Ciudad de la Paz, which means "City of Peace," aims to improve accessibility and address logistical and security issues associated with island-based Malabo.

"The relocation of the nation's capital, from a security standpoint, is a crucial step, given that the government has been the victim of several attacks originating from abroad via maritime routes," the Information and Press Office said in a statement.

The relocation also allows the Central African country to break with outdated colonial-era structures that no longer contribute to its modernization, the statement added.

According to local media, it will take one year to transfer all administrative services to the new capital.
Featured

Sammy Gyamfi: GOLDBOD on track to declare surplus of between GH700 million and GH800 million for 2025

Mohammed Ali Jan - 04 - 2026 , 07:51 4 minutes read

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board says more than 97 per cent of the reported losses linked to the Bank of Ghanas gold purchasing programme result from exchange rate translation, not operational failings.

Mr Sammy Gyamfi made the assertion during a panel discussion on Joy FMs Newsfile programme on Saturday, January 3, 2026.

He said the figures being described as losses stem from accounting treatment rather than any wrongdoing by the central bank or the Ghana Gold Board.

Mr Gyamfi explained that gold purchases are made at prevailing market exchange rates applicable to non-bank transactions, while accountants later translate the foreign exchange component using Bank of Ghana rates.

We have explained that the bulk of this cost, which people are calling losses, over 97 per cent, comes from exchange rate translation differentials. We buy gold at market exchange rates, but the foreign exchange purchases are later converted at Bank of Ghana rates, he said.

He was responding to claims that GoldBod had incurred large losses and passed them onto the Bank of Ghanas books.

Mr Gyamfi rejected the claims and said GoldBod had not recorded any losses since it was set up in April 2024. He said the institution was on track to declare a surplus of between GH700 million and GH800 million for 2025.

According to him, GoldBod generated revenue of a little over GH960 million in 2025, while expenditure for the same period stood below GH120 million.

Mr. Gyamfi noted that, as a public corporation, GoldBod does not declare profits but records a surplus, drawing a clear line between commercial profit-making entities and public institutions.

When you hear people talking about GoldBod losses, maybe they are dreaming or hallucinating. We have not made any losses. These are imaginary, he said.

On the Gold for Reserves programme, Mr Gyamfi said it was not initiated by GoldBod. He explained that it is a Bank of Ghana monetary policy programme introduced in 2022, two years before GoldBod was established.

He said the programme has always been funded by the Bank of Ghana and recorded in the central banks accounts, including in 2022, 2023 and 2024, when the New Patriotic Party was in government.

Mr Gyamfi said any reported losses under the Gold for Reserves programme were not the result of poor management at the Bank of Ghana. He said the outcomes were linked to the design of the policy itself, which was intended to support price stability.

Turning to GoldBods gold buying strategy, Mr Gyamfi defended the decision to buy gold above prevailing prices. He said the approach was adopted to curb smuggling.

He said a three per cent discount in 2021 led to a sharp drop in artisanal and small scale mining gold output from 39.3 tonnes to 3.4 tonnes.

We buy gold at a premium to fend off smugglers. Gold is small in size but high in value. You can put one kilogramme in your pocket and cross a border without detection, he said.

Mr Gyamfi also said Ghanas small scale gold sector brought in more foreign exchange than the large scale mining sector in 2025, for the first time.

He said the small-scale sector generated about US$10.8 billion, while the large-scale sector brought in about US$2.4 billion.

On transparency, Mr Gyamfi said the Bank of Ghana raises syndicated cedis for GoldBod through an auction process. He added that all licensed gold buyers, including Bawa Rock Company Limited, are published on GoldBods website.

He said Bawa Rock was registered on January 14, 2015, and changed its name from Bawa Rock Limited to Bawa Rock Company Limited on November, 20, 2023.

He said a change of name did not amount to a change in the companys business objects.

Mr Gyamfi also said GoldBod works with seven off takers, not one or two as had been reported. He mentioned Gold Saddle, Sovereign, Pinnacle, Alpha Stream, Stonex and Bullion among them.

The Ghana Gold Board was established under Act 1095 in April 2024 to bring state control over gold trading, support foreign exchange inflows and build the countrys gold reserves. It took over the operations of the former Precious Minerals Marketing Company.
The government of Ghana has condemned what it describes as a unilateral and unauthorised military invasion of Venezuela by the United States, which resulted in the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, January 4, 2026, Ghana said it was alarmed by the development, which reportedly occurred in the early hours of Saturday, January 3.

Attached below a copy of the full statement

PRESS RELEASE

GHANA ALARMED AND DEPLORES MILITARY INVASION OF VENEZUELABY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ITS SUBSEQUENT ABDUCTION OF PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO AND HIS WIFE

ACCRA, 4TH JANUARY, 2026 - The Government of the Republic of Ghana is alarmed at the unilateral and unauthorised invasion of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela by the United States of America and the subsequent abduction of President Nicolas Madur and his wife, Cilia Flores, in the early hours of Saturday, 3rd January, 2026.

Ghana expresses strong reservations against unilateral use of force and strongly deplores such acts that violate the Charter of the United Nations and international law, as well as the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of States.

The Ghanaian Government is keenly following the situation in Venezuela with great concern, and notes that such assaults on international law, attempts at the occupation of foreign territories and apparent external control of oil resources have extremely adverse implications on international stability and the global order.

Ghana also notes with deep concern statements by US President, Donald Trump, that the US will "run" Venezuela "until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition" and that US large oil companies will be asked to "go in."

These declarations are reminiscent of the colonial and imperialist era. They set a dangerous precedent for the global order. Such colonial ambitions should have no place in the post-Second World War era.

To allow this is to put the international community at great risk and undermine the sovereignty of every country. Ghana, therefore, re-affirms its commitment to the principle of self-determination and holds the firm view that only the Venezuelan people should freely determine their political and democratic future.

Ghana calls for immediate de-escalation and the release of President Maduro and his wife.

The Government of Ghana shall maintain and defend its long-held principled position against invasion, occupation, colonialism, apartheid, disregard for sovereignty and all forms of violation of international law.




News / National

by Staff reporter

Concerns over drug abuse and trafficking in Zimbabwe have resurfaced amid allegations that politically connected individuals are involved in cross-border drug smuggling, prompting calls for stronger action from authorities.Critics allege that drug trafficking networks are operating under the protection of political influence, particularly involving individuals linked to the ruling Zanu-PF party. They argue that some senior party figures and affiliated groups exploit their status to bypass searches at border posts, enabling drugs to enter the country undetected.The allegations include claims that certain cross-border traders associated with pro-government groups travel without being searched by customs officials. These trips, critics say, are sometimes organised under political banners, with ordinary traders allegedly mixed with senior figures who are suspected of abusing the arrangement.Observers argue that Zimbabwe is not a producer of hard drugs, suggesting that narcotics circulating in communities must be entering the country through cross-border trafficking. They question why few, if any, high-profile arrests for drug smuggling have been reported at ports of entry, despite the growing drug crisis affecting youths and communities nationwide.The debate has been further fuelled by past public remarks from government officials, including Youth Minister Tino Machakaire and Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe, who have acknowledged that politically connected individuals are among those implicated in drug trafficking.Some commentators are now urging President Emmerson Mnangagwa to take decisive action, including strengthening law enforcement at border posts and ensuring that all travellers, regardless of political affiliation, are subject to the same customs procedures.They argue that tackling drug trafficking requires political will, transparency, and accountability, warning that failure to act decisively could worsen the social and economic damage caused by drug abuse.Calls have also been made for drug trafficking to be treated as a national security issue, with proposals for tougher penalties, enhanced border controls, and incentives for law enforcement officers who intercept major trafficking operations.Authorities have not yet issued an official response to the latest allegations.
DSTV enhanced packages stay in force, see how much Ghanaians will continue paying

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Sammy Gyamfi: GOLDBOD on track to declare surplus of between GH700 million and GH800 million for 2025

Previous article: Sammy Gyamfi: GOLDBOD on track to declare surplus of between GH700 million and GH800 million for 2025

Featured

Police arrest five suspects impersonating NAIMOS officials

Jemima Okang Addae Jan - 03 - 2026 , 19:58 1 minute read

Police in the Eastern South Region have arrested five individuals for allegedly posing as operatives of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Squad (NAIMOS) and extorting money from some miners.

The suspects were taken into custody on Friday, January 2, after a complaint at Akwadum in the Abuakwa South District.

The police in a press statement dated January 3, 2026 said the suspects, Moses Tapiam, 43, Christopher Amakor, 29, Casimir Nunekpeku, 29, Wisdom Miwonuko, 35, and Paul Agbanu, 53, were dressed in security uniforms and claimed to be NAIMOS officials from Accra.

They were moving between mining sites demanding money from miners before being apprehended by an actual NAIMOS team.

The suspects were traveling in a Mitsubishi Pick-Up vehicle with registration number GS 536-25.

They have been handed over to the Eastern South Regional CID in Kyebi and are assisting with investigations pending prosecution.

The police have warned the public, especially those impersonating security personnel, to desist from the act as it constitutes a criminal offence.
The Science is Fun and Awesome, SIFA, Learning Academy Charter Schools lease for its former Tiyan campus contributed to auditors having substantial doubt of the school continuing, according to a financial audit released by the Office of Public Accountability for fiscal year 2023.

During the year ended on Sept. 30, 2023, SIFAs operations continued to incur an excess of expenditures over revenues.

These circumstances contributed to substantial doubt about SIFAs ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the issuance of the financial statements, the audit stated.

A key factor was the contract with former landlord Eagle Land Holdings, LLC which ended on June 30, 2023. Although SIFA attempted to negotiate a new lease agreement, it was unable to meet the Department of Administrations reimbursement requirements because Eagle did not provide the required monthly invoices, the audit stated.

As a result, SIFA was unable to submit lease reimbursement requests to DOA from July 2023 through May 2025. During this period, SIFA also assumed direct responsibility for operational expenses, such as utilities, healthcare insurance, and supplies, which should have been included under the Eagle lease contract, the audit stated.

SIFA has since moved out of the Tiyan campus and is now leasing space from the Guam Community College paying $1,500 a month per classroom space. The lease commenced on Sept. 1, 2025 and was effective through Dec. 31, 2025. The agreement is extendable on a month-to-month basis upon mutual consent of both parties, the audit stated.

The move from the former Tiyan campus came after legal disputes with Eagle Land Holdings. The disputes were dismissed, and the charter school has started a formal procurement process to secure a new campus.

SIFA initially asked the Guam Education Board to lease the now-closed Chief Brodie Memorial Elementary School campus, but due to land-related complications, shifted its focus to the decommissioned Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary School. A recent legal opinion from the Office of the Attorney General stated that only the Guam Legislature can authorize such leases.

The lease payment for the Tiyan campus was also a major factor in a fiscal year 2022 audit of SIFA.

SIFAs management told auditors during the fiscal year 2023 audit that the lease agreement with Eagle Land Holdings was misinterpreted.

The agreement had been interpreted and recorded as requiring annual payments of $2.4 million. Management now interprets the lease agreement as a lump sum obligation of $2.4 million amortized over a five-year lease term. As a result of this adjustment, the beginning balances as of Oct. 1, 2022 were restated to reflect management interpretation of the lease agreement.

As of Oct. 1, 2022, SIFA recognized an accounts receivable of $2,181,865 due to excess payments made on its lease. SIFA has also established a full allowance for this receivable.

The restatement also had reduced depreciable capital assets, net and lease liability by $1,400,269 and $3,131,075, respectively, and increased beginning net position by $1,730,806, resulting in a restated beginning net position of $509,424.

Had the restatement not been made, SIFA would have reported a negative fund balance or net position, the audit stated.

SIFA intends to dispute any asserted liability arising from the lease contract.

Based on its legal interpretation of the agreement, SIFA maintains that the amount claimed is not the amount owed and resulted from a misinterpretation of contract terms.

SIFA asserted that the agreement represented a $2.4 million lump-sum payment for a five-year term rather than $2.4 million per year.

To mitigate potential financial challenges and ensure the fulfillment of its obligations, SIFA management has developed a plan to generate sufficient cash flows, which includes the following key actions:




Haiti - Justice : Cap-Haitien signs a MoU with the Bar Association





On Thursday, January 1st, 2026, the Cap-Haitien Municipal Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the city's Bar Association, marking a significant step in strengthening governance and the rule of law at the municipal level.



This MoU follows up on discussions from the institutional roundtable held on December 12, 2025, at City Hall, which brought together municipal authorities and the Bar Association (https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-46441-haiti-news-zapping.html). It reflects a shared commitment to establishing a structured framework for consultation, cooperation, and institutional support, in the best interests of the city.



The parties also agreed on regular consultation mechanisms, including biannual meetings, annual evaluations, and the appointment of institutional focal points responsible for monitoring cooperation.



Concluded for a renewable two-year term, this Memorandum does not contain any legally binding obligations, but constitutes a strong declaration of intent, based on good faith, consultation, and the public interest.



On this day of remembrance and national pride, this initiative is rooted in the legacy of the ideals of liberty, justice, and collective responsibility championed by the heroes of Independence, while also projecting the City of Cap-Haitien toward a strengthened institutional future in service to its people.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















For some time now, there have been rumors circulating because Samsung smartphones are apparently no longer receiving Google Play Services updates. There are plenty of speculations about the reasons. heise online asked Samsung  and now the manufacturer has explained the observed phenomenon.

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Samsung told heise online: "When introducing new devices or major One UI updates, Samsung exclusively deploys software that the company has verified. Samsung has temporarily suspended the distribution of Google updates to avoid potential issues." It is currently planned "to include the Google update in January 2026."

This is therefore a conscious decision and a controlled process. From an IT security perspective, this apparently does not pose a problem, otherwise Samsung would certainly distribute Google's updates. The company pays close attention to device security for its Galaxy smart devices, as this is the reason why the devices are frequently used in business environments.

Temporary Suspension of Google Play Services Updates

Smartphones with the Android operating system generally receive several updates; for Samsung, major system updates are released about once or twice a year. In addition, there are the security updates for Android from Google, which are now only provided quarterly. Device manufacturers are responsible for these themselves. Independently of this, there are finally the Google Play updates, which Google itself actually provides and distributes monthly.

Owners of Samsung smartphones have recently observed more frequently that, for example, the Android system update was offered on their device, bringing the security level up to date as of December 1, 2025. However, the Google Play system update version remains at the level of July 1, 2025, August 1, 2025, or September 1, 2025, for example, thus causing confusion.

Rumors about the reasons are rendered obsolete by the official statement. Samsung device owners apparently do not need to worry, as the company is deliberately causing this behavior while keeping the (security) situation in mind.

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(dmk)

Don't miss any news  follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Mastodon. This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.
So many new, promising bikes were shown at the two major motorcycle trade fairs Eicma in Milan and Intermot in Cologne for 2026 that choosing is almost difficult. In the first part, some of the most important new releases have already been presented. This second section includes models from the major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki, which are expected to sell well in the most important segments, but also a European outsider with a thunderous reputation  MV Agusta.

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MV Agusta has since established itself in the niche of expensive high-end bikes and, by its own standards, offers the new Brutale 950 as an entry-level model. The traditional brand Triumph, with years of stable success thanks to a consistently attractive product range, cannot be missing.

Yamaha has revised its popular R7 sport machine and the Tenere off-road touring classic in many details. Both should do justice to their respective areas of application even better, which should justify their higher prices. Honda is further branching out its model range and offers a CB 1000 F Bol dOr based on the 1000cc Hornet, which should not be a bad idea in times of retro fashion.

With the crossover bike Honda CB 1000 GT, Honda will appeal to many touring riders for whom an adventure bike is too rustic and not comfortable enough. There is significant growth in this class because, for understandable reasons, most large adventure bikes are only ridden on asphalt anyway, and the audience that can and wants to afford such expensive bikes is getting older and older.

Kawasaki only had to refine its Z 650 S, which has been a self-seller for what feels like an eternity as a successful package with good value for money. Triumph unerringly finds gaps in its product range and lovingly maintains models like the Trident 800 and Scrambler 900. The popular Scrambler 900 received an update, the Trident a larger engine.

Yamaha R7

To the dismay of sport rider beginners, the R7 was dropped from the lineup in 2025. But Yamaha has used the time to thoroughly revise the popular sportbike and will offer it again in 2026. While the developers did not touch the 689 cm inline twin-cylinder engine, so it remains at 73 PS at 8750 rpm, the frame has been meticulously revised and is now said to be stiffer yet more agile, with new, lighter wheels.

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For sport rider beginners: Yamaha R7 (Image: Yamaha)

The fully adjustable upside-down fork is also lighter and responds more sensitively. The ergonomics of the handlebars, tank, and footpegs have been fine-tuned, and the seat height is lowered to 830 mm. The newly shaped fairing is said to offer better aerodynamics. Above all, however, the R7 receives more and multi-adjustable assistance, such as lean-angle-sensitive traction control and three riding modes. The significantly upgraded equipment, however, raises the price of the R7 to 10,990 Euros.

Yamaha Tenere 700 World Raid

The success story continues, Yamaha has unveiled the next version of the Tenere 700, this time the new World Raid. It is completely renewed, visually slimmer, and exudes rally flair like few other motorcycles with a new, high-mounted fairing including an almost vertical windshield and four LED spots.

With the Yamaha Tenere 700 World Raid, the Tenere range is expanded with another variant. (Image: Yamaha)

It holds no less than 23 liters in its double tank, but its new shape offers the rider more freedom of movement. The fully adjustable suspension with thicker stanchions and long travel KYB components is newly tuned. In terms of assistance, the Tenere 700 World Raid significantly improves, with ride-by-wire enabling cornering ABS, switchable traction control, adjustable slide control, and cruise control as standard equipment.

The portrait-oriented TFT display has also been redesigned. There was no reason to change the excellent CP2 engine, so it continues to deliver 73 PS at 9000 rpm. Its price is not yet known, but it is likely to be above 13,000 Euros.

Honda CB 1000 F

Honda's legendary Bol dOr from 1978 is back, at least in terms of appearance. Based on the CB 1000 Hornet, the Japanese are building the CB 1000 F, which clearly references its famous predecessor: a long tank, thickly padded seat, tail cowl, and a round headlight  with LED lighting today.

A bit of retro charm for the Hornet derivative: Honda CB 1000 F (Image: Honda)

Its inline four-cylinder engine originally comes from the 2017 Fireblade superbike, but has been retuned for road use. It produces 124 PS at 9000 rpm and, even more importantly, 103 Nm at 8000 rpm; the retro bike weighs 214 kg. The first two gears are shorter for the road, the rest are longer. The CB 1000 F inherits the steel tube frame, aluminum swingarm, and Showa suspension from the Hornet. The entry-level price is 11,700 Euros.

Honda CB 1000 GT

Honda wants to contribute to the increasingly popular crossover bike class, a mix of sport tourer and adventure bike with 17-inch cast wheels. It is powered by an inline four-cylinder engine that once served in the 2017 Fireblade.

Honda retunes engine and gearbox for the touring machine: Honda CB 1000 GT (Image: Honda)

For more everyday usability, the developers have reduced the maximum output to 150 PS at 11,000 rpm and strengthened the torque with 102 Nm at 8750 rpm and shorter gear ratios for gears two to six. The CB 1000 GT combines comfort with sportiness. It features a semi-active suspension, a high, wide handlebar, and a well-padded seat. Honda provides it with generous standard equipment, including panniers and plenty of assistance. For 13,800 Euros, the buyer gets a powerful crossover bike that leaves little to be desired.

Kawasaki Z 650 S

The Z 650 has been one of the absolute bestsellers in Germany for years, and now it's coming to dealers renovated as the Z 650 S. Kawasaki's invented "Sugomi" design looks even more aggressive with its menacing gaze. The lines of the small front fairing and tank have been revised. For a more front-wheel-oriented riding position, the now wider handlebars have been moved further forward and upward.

Model update for the bestseller Kawasaki Z 650 S (Image: Kawasaki)

In addition, the footpegs have been repositioned and the seat has been padded by an additional 15 mm. The 4.3-inch TFT display has a renovated layout and can be connected to a smartphone. The 68 PS inline twin-cylinder remains the engine, which has little trouble with the 190 kg dry weight. The Z 650 S is available for 7545 Euros.

MV Agusta Brutale 950

A sign of life from MV Agusta. After short-term owner KTM parted ways with the Italian traditional brand again, many already heard the death knell for MV Agusta. But they are continuing their development undeterred and presenting the Brutale 950, a beautiful naked bike.

Fast and chic with a new triple: MV Agusta Brutale 950 (Image: MV Agusta)

If the Italians can do one thing, it's design: the new Brutale  initially as a limited Oro series  shows flowing lines, a lot of trellis frame, and an intoxicating triple engine that ends in three stacked exhaust pipes. The 931 cm engine produces 148 PS, which should ensure impressive performance at a dry weight of 195 kg; the manufacturer states a top speed of 260 km/h. The first Oro series with gold-painted aluminum frame, swingarm, and wheels, as well as Ohlins suspension and Brembo Hypure brake calipers, is available for 26,100 Euros and comes with a five-year warranty. Experience shows that a later base model will be available at a lower price.

Triumph Scrambler 900

The Scrambler 900 was sorely missed by many fans in 2025; for 2026, it returns to Triumph's lineup freshly renovated and with Euro 5+ emissions standard. The 900cc inline twin continues to produce 65 PS at 7250 rpm and offers rich torque from idle. The Scrambler 900 has been upgraded in many aspects; Triumph is now fitting a Showa upside-down fork at the front, and the 19-inch front wheel is decelerated with radially mounted brake calipers.

Triumph Scrambler 900: Technically and visually upgraded (Image: Triumph)

At the rear, an aluminum swingarm with two shock absorbers from supplier Showa is installed, and the aluminum spoked wheels have a new design. With 120 mm of travel front and rear, the Scrambler 900 is only moderately off-road capable. The tank still holds 12 liters but has been reshaped, as have the side panels, chain guard, and heat shields of the twin-pipe exhaust system. The cockpit now features an LC/TFT display. The Scrambler 900 is available for 11,995 Euros. Triumph offers a four-year warranty.

Triumph Trident 800

Triumph is expanding its model range with the new 800cc triple. The Trident 800 looks very similar to the smaller 660 but is distinct. The muscular-looking engine and the rounded tank take center stage. The rear tapers to a point, but unlike the 660, the 800 has a clearly visible muffler.

Triumph Trident 800: Light, powerful, and affordable (Image: Triumph)

The 798 cm engine proved exemplary in the Triumph Tiger[ ]Sport[ ]800 with plenty of power and responsiveness. The performance peaks at 115 PS at 10,750 rpm and, in the case of the Trident 800, only has to accelerate 198 kg of dry weight. Its suspension is from Showa and is extensively adjustable. LED lighting and numerous electronic assistance systems make the rider's life easier. Triumph prices the Trident 800 at just 9695 Euros, which is a challenge to the competition.

(mfz)

Don't miss any news  follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Mastodon. This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has challenged Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube over what it describes as his continued silence on the government's pledge to create 760,000 jobs under the National Development Strategy (NDS1).NDS1, a five-year medium-term economic blueprint that ran from 2021 to 2025, succeeded the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) and was intended as the first step toward achieving an upper-middle-income economy by 2030. While the government has hailed the strategy as a success, the ZCTU says there is little clarity on how many formal jobs were actually created during the period.A 2026 National Budget Critique prepared by the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe (LEDRIZ), the ZCTU's think tank, highlighted that NDS1 aimed to generate at least 760,000 formal jobs over five yearsan average of 152,000 jobs per yearbut noted that the 2026 Budget makes no reference to this target."Decent work is the link between growth and poverty reduction, and its eventual eradication," the critique stated, adding that economic policies cannot be considered effective if they fail to deliver meaningful employment.The labour body pointed to rising informalisation in the economy and the erosion of decent jobs as evidence of the disconnect between recorded growth and actual job creation. According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat), unemployment has risen from 14% in 2019 to 22% by the third quarter of 2023.To address this gap, the ZCTU paper proposes adopting pro-employment budgeting (PEB), a concept promoted by the International Labour Organization (ILO). PEB advocates for moving beyond a singular focus on macroeconomic stability to include full employment as a core policy objective."This implies a dual mandate for macroeconomic managers: to act as guardians of stabilityensuring price and financial stabilityand as agents of developmentensuring full employment," the paper said.Pro-employment budgeting would also involve aligning all budgetary processes with employment objectives, checking that allocations explicitly promote job creation, and leveraging inter-sectoral linkages to maximize employment multipliers.The ZCTU says such an approach is critical to translating economic growth into tangible outcomes for workers, ensuring that policy frameworks prioritize both stability and the creation of decent, formal employment.
US forces extracted the Venezuelan president and his wife Cilia Flores from their residence in Caracas in the early hours of Saturday. He was flown to the USS Iwo Jima and later transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. Maduro faces charges in the Southern District of New York, including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and weapons violations.

Nicolas Maduro is in US custody after being seized in a coordinated military assault on Venezuela, as Donald Trump declared that the United States will "run" the country pending a political transition.

The mission, named Operation Absolute Resolve, involved 150 aircraft launched from 20 sites across the hemisphere. The US military struck at least five locations in and around Caracas, including Fuerte Tiuna and La Carlota air base. Explosions were reported across the capital before dawn. The New York Times reported that at least 40 people were killed in the strikes.

Maduro attempted to hide in a steel-fortified safe room but was apprehended by a Delta Force unit after failing to secure the door. The US said no personnel were killed, and injuries were minimal. Trump later shared an image of Maduro blindfolded aboard a US vessel.

Venezuela declared a national emergency and mobilised armed forces. Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez was named interim leader by the countrys Supreme Court, which cited the need to ensure administrative continuity. Rodriguez called for Maduros immediate release, labelling the operation a kidnapping.

Trump said the US would assume responsibility for the countrys governance, including restoring Venezuelas oil infrastructure and starting to make money for the country and for us. He stated that any future transition would be safe, proper and judicious.

The US president said that Rodriguez had expressed willingness to cooperate during a call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, though this contradicts her public statements.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed Maduro and Flores had been indicted on multiple charges, including the importation of cocaine and possession of destructive devices. Bondi said the pair would soon face the full wrath of American justice.

Video footage released by federal authorities showed Maduro arriving at the Drug Enforcement Administration office in Manhattan before being transferred to the Brooklyn detention facility. The whereabouts of Flores remain unconfirmed.

This screengrab taken from the X account of Rapid Response 47, the official White House rapid response account, shows Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (C) escorted by DEA agents inside the headquarters of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in lower Manhattan, New York, on January 3, 2026. Photo: X account of Rapid Response 47 / AFP



The Metropolitan Detention Center, where Maduro is now held, is known for housing high-profile prisoners and has faced numerous allegations of mistreatment. Maduros arraignment is expected on Monday.

Russia, China, Iran and Brazil have condemned the attack, calling it a breach of international law. Chinas Foreign Ministry said the United States must immediately release Maduro and his wife. Russia described the strike as armed aggression and called for urgent dialogue.

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Maduros removal, urging a peaceful transition led by opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez, who his government considers to have won Venezuelas disputed 2024 election. Venezuelas Foreign Ministry rejected Macrons comments as unacceptable interference.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK shed no tears over the fall of Maduros government but declined to confirm whether the military action had legal justification. He later said the UK would seek a peaceful transition in coordination with the US.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply alarmed, warning of a dangerous precedent. The Security Council will meet on Monday to address the situation.

Inside the US, political fallout continues. Democratic lawmakers, including Senator Bernie Sanders, have condemned the operation, accusing Trump of violating international law. Sanders compared the action to Russias invasion of Ukraine, calling it rank imperialism.

Within Trumps own Republican Party, some lawmakers have expressed concern. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the strike betrayed the non-interventionist principles of the America First movement. Senator Thomas Massie said Trump had overstepped his authority by launching an unauthorised military operation.

Outside the White House and in cities such as Los Angeles and New York, anti-war demonstrations criticised the US action. Protesters accused Trump of seizing Venezuelas oil and warned against further escalation.

Venezuela holds the worlds largest proven oil reserves. Its oil production has declined sharply due to sanctions, mismanagement and lack of investment. In 2023, Venezuela accounted for just 0.8 percent of global crude output. Trump has stated that US oil companies will be sent in to restore infrastructure and increase exports.

The seizure of Maduro marks the first US military incursion in Latin America of this scale since the 1989 invasion of Panama. Analysts have drawn comparisons to the US capture of Manuel Noriega, though the long-term consequences of Trumps move remain uncertain.

Opposition figure Maria Corina Machado has called for Gonzalez to be recognised as interim president. Trump said she lacks sufficient domestic support. Panama and Argentina have already voiced support for Gonzalez, citing his claimed victory in the 2024 election.

Amnesty International and other rights groups have criticised the operation. Amnestys Agnes Callamard said the move deepens the breakdown of international law and the rules-based order. The UN special rapporteur on counterterrorism called for Trump to be impeached and investigated for the attack.

Trump has insisted that the intervention will benefit both Americans and Venezuelans. He said the operation has demonstrated American dominance and aligns with his Donroe Doctrine  a rebranding of the Monroe Doctrine  asserting US control over the Western Hemisphere.

HT
Intelligence assessments suggested the facility stored weapons and explosives used by the group.

The UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4 jets, supported by a Voyager tanker, took part in the strike alongside French aircraft on Saturday night. The targeted site was located in mountainous terrain north of Palmyra, a region known for IS activity in recent years.

British and French warplanes have conducted a joint airstrike on an underground weapons facility in central Syria believed to be operated by Islamic State (IS) militants.

The area was described as uninhabited and showed no signs of civilian presence before the strike.

Initial indications are that the target was engaged successfully, the MoD said. The aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to destroy multiple tunnel access points leading to the facility. All jets returned safely to base.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey said the operation underlined the UKs continued role in international counter-terrorism efforts.

This action shows our UK leadership, and determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the Middle East, he said.

The MoD said RAF forces have maintained a presence in the region since the territorial defeat of IS in 2019. Regular patrols and precision strikes aim to suppress the groups attempts to re-establish itself.

In Syria, the fall of Bashar al-Assads government in 2024 ended more than a decade of civil war but left behind a fragile security environment. Militant groups including IS have taken advantage of the instability to regroup in remote regions.

French and British officials have cited intelligence indicating an uptick in IS activity, particularly in central Syria. In November, the Syrian government under new President Ahmed al-Sharaa joined the US-led coalition against IS, becoming the 90th country to do so.

The coalitions operations continue to focus on disrupting remaining IS networks, preventing the movement of foreign fighters, and targeting supply chains.

The MoD stated that detailed assessments of the latest airstrike are ongoing but that early evidence suggests the intended objectives were met.

HT