World

Swiss police have identified the bodies of four Swiss victims, including two minors, from the New Year’s bar fire that tore through Le Constellation in the Alpine resort of Crans-Montana, as the national death toll rose to 40 and families braced for further grim confirmations. Valais canton police said investigators identified a 21-year-old woman, an 18-year-old man, a 16-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy. Their remains have been returned to their families while authorities continue the painstaking process of confirming…

Venezuela demands US provide 'proof of life' of Maduro Venezuela’s government has demanded that the United States provide “proof of life” of President Nicolás Maduro, an extraordinary request that injected fresh uncertainty into already fraught relations between Caracas and Washington. The call, conveyed in public messaging on Saturday, did not come with detailed context readily available. The unusual phrasing — typically used in cases of abductions or incommunicado detentions — immediately raised questions about what…

Trump orders strikes in Venezuela, announces Maduro capture, as U.S. flexes muscle in multiple theaters Donald Trump returned to office vowing to be a peace president. Nearly a year later, he is leaning hard on military force. The U.S. president on Tuesday ordered large-scale strikes in Venezuela and announced that Nicolás Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country — a stunning escalation that follows a Christmas Day operation in Nigeria and fresh warnings aimed at Iran. Trump said U.S. forces were “locked and…

Saudi Arabia called Saturday for talks among rival southern Yemeni factions amid fresh clashes in the resource-rich Hadramawt province, where the United Arab Emirates-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) has seized wide stretches of territory in recent weeks. In a statement posted to social media, the Saudi foreign ministry urged “a comprehensive conference in Riyadh to bring together all southern factions to discuss just solutions to the southern cause.” Riyadh said the Yemeni government had issued the invitation for…

North Korea released photographs showing leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju Ae, accompanying her parents on her first public visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a highly symbolic appearance that adds to mounting signs she is being groomed as a successor in the hereditary regime. Images carried by the state news agency, KCNA, showed Ju Ae standing between Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, in the palace’s main hall, where the bodies of Kim’s grandfather and state founder, Kim Il Sung, and his father, Kim Jong Il, lie in…

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday sidestepped a question about an alleged U.S. strike on a dock inside Venezuela but signaled openness to talks with Washington on drug trafficking, oil and migration after weeks of escalating American pressure. “Wherever they want and whenever they want,” Maduro said in a state television interview, describing potential dialogue with the United States. Pressed on whether he could confirm or deny an attack, he replied, “This could be something we talk about in a few days.” His…

Thirteen full moons will light the sky in 2026, a rare cadence in the lunar calendar that coincides with NASA’s renewed push to send humans back to the Moon. For astronomers and skywatchers, it is a year that connects ancient names and stories to a very modern ambition: using the Moon as a springboard for deeper exploration of space. The first full moon of any year is traditionally called the Wolf Moon, a name rooted in midwinter soundscapes. Astronomy expert Danielle Murphy explained that the association traces to the…

Driver charged in crash that injured Anthony Joshua, killed two friends in Nigeria Nigerian police have charged a driver in connection with a crash that injured British former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and killed two of his close friends and team members on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Ogun State Police Command said Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, appeared before the Sagamu Magistrate Court and was charged on four counts, including causing death by dangerous driving. The case was adjourned to Jan. 20 while…

Finland seizes cargo ship in probe of undersea cable damage; two crew arrested HELSINKI — Finnish police said they have made progress in a criminal investigation into damage to an undersea telecommunications cable in the Gulf of Finland, seizing a cargo vessel and arresting two crew members in a case that has heightened concern over the security of critical seabed infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. Authorities on Wednesday detained the “Fitburg,” a freighter sailing from Russia to Israel, on suspicion it damaged a…

With less than six months to go before the next World Cup, it is not the draw or tactical intrigue that is dominating football’s conversation but FIFA’s so‑called “Peace Prize.” The episode — more symbolic than sporting — has pushed governance, messaging and power to the fore, putting FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his political approach under the spotlight just as the game should be preparing for its showpiece. The discomfort is not simply about optics. As discussed on RTÉ’s Behind the Story with the Independent’s…