Berlin’s Electricity Returns After Longest Blackout Since World War II

BERLIN — Power was fully restored this afternoon to roughly 45,000 households and more than 2,000 businesses in Berlin, city officials said, five days after a suspected act of sabotage triggered the German capital’s longest blackout since World War II. The outage affected more than 100,000 Berliners, many of whom endured more than four days without electricity or heating as temperatures hovered below freezing. The disruption darkened streets and apartments, snarled train services, cut internet access and initially affected…

Long Prison Sentences for Debtors Are Ruining Families

‘I have nowhere to turn’: In Somalia, unpaid debts can mean years behind bars — and a grassroots effort to buy back freedom When Abdifatah Mohamed Dhaqane walked out of Mogadishu Central Prison in October after three and a half years behind bars, there were no charges to clear and no sentence to complete. His freedom depended on a single number: $590 — the debt he failed to repay after robbers snatched seven phones from his small mobile trade in June 2022. A court in Afgoye had ruled in favor of his suppliers and ordered him…

U.S. forces seize Russian-flagged oil tanker in North Atlantic waters

U.S. forces have seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic for alleged sanctions violations tied to Venezuelan crude, capping a multiweek pursuit that unfolded under the eye of nearby Russian naval assets but ended without confrontation, U.S. officials said. U.S. European Command, which oversees American forces in the region, said the operation was conducted jointly with the Department of Homeland Security. The tanker evaded an earlier boarding attempt near Venezuela and was intercepted as it moved north in…

Saudi-Led Coalition Accuses Yemen Separatist Leader Zubaidi of Fleeing Talks

ADEN, Yemen — The Saudi-led coalition said Wednesday that Aidrous al-Zubaidi, leader of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council, fled to an unknown location after failing to travel to Saudi Arabia for talks aimed at defusing escalating violence in the country’s south. Date: Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 Coalition says Zubaidi skipped a planned flight for talks and later “fled” without notifying colleagues Limited pre-emptive strikes reported near al-Zand camp in al-Dhalea to disrupt armed units Presidential Leadership Council moves…

Hamas officials: Search to recover final Israeli hostage’s remains resumes

Hamas, Red Cross resume search in Gaza for body of last Israeli hostage, key to ceasefire talks Hamas officials said Tuesday that search operations have resumed in Gaza City for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the enclave, a move Israel has tied to the start of talks on the second phase of a fragile ceasefire agreement. The Palestinian group’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, is working “accompanied by Red Cross teams” in the Zeitun neighborhood in southeastern Gaza City after a two-week pause caused…

UK man jailed for selling assisted-suicide chemicals online

UK man jailed 14 years for selling suicide chemical online in landmark case A man who sold a chemical online to vulnerable people seeking to end their lives has been jailed for 14 years in what is believed to be the first prosecution of its kind in the UK. Miles Cross, 33, set up a business selling the substance through an internet discussion forum and operated under a pseudonym, Mold Crown Court heard. Prosecutors said Cross posted a QR code that allowed buyers to pay him directly via his bank account and directed them to…

China’s Foreign Minister to Visit Somalia During Africa Diplomatic Tour

MOGADISHU, Somalia — China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Somalia as part of a Jan. 7-12 African tour that also includes Ethiopia, Tanzania and Lesotho, Beijing said Wednesday, underscoring the Horn of Africa’s growing diplomatic weight amid tensions over North Western State of Somalia. Wang, who also serves on the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee, is slated to attend the launch of the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges at African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa. The…

Saint-Tropez Hosts Funeral for Screen Legend Brigitte Bardot

SAINT-TROPEZ, France — Brigitte Bardot was laid to rest Thursday in her adopted hometown as crowds gathered for a Catholic funeral that underscored both the enduring glamour and the sharp divides of the French screen icon’s legacy. The Brigitte Bardot funeral drew hundreds to Saint-Tropez, where her husband disclosed she had died of cancer on Dec. 28 at age 91. A wicker coffin was carried up the steps of the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption church and greeted by Bardot’s long-estranged son, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier. The service,…

U.S. impounds sanctioned oil tankers in the Atlantic and Caribbean

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Trump Secures Israel–Syria Security Accord Aimed at Calming Border Tensions

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Tuesday announced a U.S.-brokered security coordination framework between Israel and Syria after talks in Paris, unveiling a rare trilateral mechanism aimed at de-escalating border tensions and preventing miscalculation along one of the Middle East’s most volatile frontiers. At the heart of the arrangement is a “special communications cell,” described by all sides as a joint fusion mechanism for intelligence sharing and military de-confliction. The channel — which will operate under…