Rescue crews race to find six missing after New Zealand landslide

At least 6 missing after Mount Maunganui landslide hits New Zealand campsite; urgent search continues TAURANGA, New Zealand — Rescuers are digging through deep mud for at least six missing people after a landslide from Mount Maunganui, an extinct volcano, ploughed into a crowded campsite in northern New Zealand, destroying caravans, camper vans and a shower block. Police said a 15-year-old is the youngest person unaccounted for after the slide struck following heavy rain that drenched a large swath of the North Island.…

Wind and solar surpass fossil fuels in EU electricity generation

Wind and solar power outpaced fossil fuels in EU electricity for first time, Ember says Wind and solar power generated more of the European Union’s electricity than fossil fuels for the first time in 2025, marking a milestone in the bloc’s shift toward low-carbon energy despite political resistance and infrastructure strains. Wind and solar supplied 30% of EU electricity in 2025, edging past the 29% produced by power plants burning coal, gas and oil, according to new data from energy think tank Ember. The surge was driven by…

ICE takes Minnesota five-year-old into custody, school officials report

Minneapolis — At least four students, including a 5-year-old boy, were detained by U.S. immigration officers in a Minneapolis suburb this week, deepening tensions over a federal crackdown that has flooded the area with agents and sparked a legal challenge from the state. The 5-year-old, identified by school officials as Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father were taken to a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, according to attorney Marc Prokosch, who said the pair are asylum applicants and is seeking their release. The…

Russia demands control of Ukraine’s Donbas ahead of UAE peace talks

Russia refuses to drop its demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from the eastern Donbas, hardening a core territorial red line hours before three-way talks with Ukraine and the United States in the United Arab Emirates. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said territory remains the decisive issue and will be on the table in Abu Dhabi, where the delegations are expected to hold the first direct public negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow over a plan pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump to end the nearly four-year war.…

Kyiv Mayor: 1,940 Apartment Buildings Still Lack Heating

Kyiv struggles to restore heat and power after Russian strikes; oil depot fire reported in Russia as talks eyed in UAE As of this morning, 1,940 apartment buildings in Ukraine’s capital were still without heating after Russia’s latest air assault, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, underscoring the strain on the city’s energy grid as temperatures remain well below freezing. Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app that crews were reconnecting buildings for the second time this month after an earlier Jan. 9 barrage forced…

Trump hails full-access Greenland pact as EU boosts Arctic security

Trump claims ‘total’ U.S. access to Greenland under NATO framework; Denmark insists sovereignty not up for discussion U.S. President Donald Trump said he has secured “total and permanent” American access to Greenland under a framework discussed with NATO, even as Denmark and Greenland stressed that sovereignty over the Arctic island is not on the table and European leaders vowed to step up regional security. News of the nascent deal emerged as Trump backed off tariff threats against Europe and ruled out taking Greenland by…

Venezuela’s interim leader Rodríguez plans diplomatic visit to the United States

Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, will soon visit the United States, a senior U.S. official said, signaling President Donald Trump’s willingness to engage with the oil-rich country’s new leader despite years of hostility. Excluding United Nations gatherings, it would be the first bilateral visit by a sitting Venezuelan president in more than a quarter-century. The White House official, who was not authorized to discuss details publicly, said no date has been set. Caracas has not confirmed the trip. Rodriguez…

Former special counsel: Trump orchestrated criminal plan to overturn election

WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday defended his now-abandoned prosecutions of President Donald Trump, telling the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee that his team developed proof “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. “Rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power,” Smith said in…

Former special counsel: Trump orchestrated criminal plot to overturn election

Former special counsel Jack Smith mounted a rare public defense of his now-abandoned prosecutions of President Donald Trump, telling the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee that Trump “engaged in a criminal scheme” to overturn the 2020 election and that investigators had developed “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” “Rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power,” Smith said, adding that the…

Denmark considers building small nuclear reactors to meet power needs

Denmark is weighing the use of small modular nuclear reactors to bolster its power supply, a move that would require lifting the country’s 1985 ban on nuclear energy, the Climate and Energy Ministry said. A government framework to examine the “potentials and risks” of new nuclear technologies—and to study ending the moratorium—is now in place, the ministry added. “Green energy from solar and wind is now and will continue to be the backbone of the Danish energy supply, but we can also see that it cannot stand alone,” Climate,…