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U.S. strikes rock Caracas as Trump claims capture of Maduro; Venezuela declares state of emergency Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 CARACAS, Venezuela — The United States launched a large-scale military strike on Venezuela early Saturday, shaking the capital with explosions as President Donald Trump claimed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been captured and flown out of the country. The assertion was immediately denied by Venezuelan authorities and could not be independently verified. Here’s what we…

President Donald Trump said today that U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country, a stunning turn in a tumultuous chapter that has defined Venezuela’s political and economic crisis for more than a decade. Trump added that Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, was also apprehended. Maduro, 63, the handpicked successor to the late Hugo Chávez, has ruled Venezuela for more than 12 years and faced sustained accusations of authoritarianism, human rights abuses and sham elections. The United…

Somalia’s Parliament Passes Medicine Bill to Tackle Counterfeit Drugs; Lawmakers Weigh Tobacco Control Pact MOGADISHU — Somalia’s lower house of parliament on Saturday approved the Medicine Bill, a landmark piece of health legislation aimed at tightening oversight of pharmaceuticals after years of weak regulation and widespread concerns over counterfeit and substandard drugs. The House of the People passed the bill during the 25th meeting of its seventh session, with 141 lawmakers voting in favor, one abstention and no…

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…

MOGADISHU — Somali National Army Danab special forces, working with international partners, killed at least 20 al-Shabab fighters — including senior leaders — in a planned overnight operation in Somalia’s Bay region, the federal government said Saturday. The raid struck late Friday in the Buula Fuleey area, where the militants were assembling, according to a government statement. Officials said the target was a key gathering point for the group’s commanders in the region and described the strike as a significant blow to…

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…

Yemen’s southern separatists on Friday unveiled an interim constitution for a breakaway state and demanded acceptance from rival factions, a dramatic escalation that widened the rift inside the Saudi-led coalition and risked opening a new front in the country’s long war. The Southern Transitional Council (STC), backed by the United Arab Emirates, framed the document as a declaration of independence for the south under the name “State of South Arabia,” mirroring the borders of the former People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen…

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…

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s Ministry of Defence said Thursday that national forces, working alongside international partners, killed 29 al-Shabaab militants in an operation centered on the town of Jabad Godane in the Middle Shabelle region. In a statement posted on X, the ministry said the coordinated operation included overnight airstrikes that also destroyed vehicles and weapons the group “intended for use in attacks against civilians.” The statement did not specify the timing beyond overnight strikes or provide details on…