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  • Berlin Mayor Warns on Infrastructure After Power Station Attack

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    BERLIN, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Berlin’s mayor said on ‌Monday ​the German capital’s core infrastructure ‌needed better protection two days after an arson attack ​on a power station left tens of thousands of people without power.

    The far-left Volcano activist ‍group claimed responsibility for the ​attack which also shut down mobile phone connections, cut heating during freezing ​weather, stopped ⁠trains and forced hospitals to switch to back-up generators.

    “Left-wing terrorism is back in Germany with increasing intensity,” Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told the Bild newspaper in an interview.

    Volcano, which says it is against the energy industry’s use of fossil ‌fuels, has claimed several attacks in Berlin and the neighbouring Brandenburg region.

    “There will ​be ‌talks which we have ‍to have ⁠with the federal government about how we can better protect our critical infrastructure, especially in the area of the capital,” Berlin mayor Kai Wegner told a news conference.

    Germany and other Western powers have also been on the alert for sabotage attacks on power, communications and transport systems at a time of increasing geopolitical uncertainty.

    A blaze early on ​Saturday destroyed a cable duct over a canal, cutting power in around 45,000 households and more than 2,000 businesses in the southwest of the city, including the prosperous areas of Zehlendorf and Wannsee.

    Electricity has since been restored for some 14,500 households but full restoration is not expected until Thursday afternoon, Stromnetz Berlin, the city’s network operator, said.

    In 2024, the Volcano group claimed responsibility for a suspected arson attack on a power pylon near Tesla’s car factory outside Berlin.

    In its most recent annual ​report, the domestic intelligence agency said left-wing militancy was a growing danger and made explicit reference to the Volcano group.

    Bernhard Büllmann, head of Stromnetz Berlin, said restoring electricity to areas still without power would be ​a complex operation involving high-tension lines that required specialist staff.

    (Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • US Expands List of Countries Whose Citizens Must Pay up to $15,000 Bonds to Apply for Visas

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has added seven countries, including five in Africa, to the list of nations whose passport holders are required to post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply to enter the United States.

    Thirteen countries, all but two of them in Africa, are now on the list, which makes the process of obtaining a U.S. visa unaffordable for many.

    The State Department last week quietly added Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Turkmenistan to the list. Those designations took effect on Jan. 1, according to a notice posted on the travel.state.gov website.

    U.S. officials have defended the bonds, which can range from $5,000 up to $15,000, maintaining they are effective in ensuring that citizens of targeted countries do not overstay their visas.

    Payment of the bond does not guarantee a visa will be granted, but the amount will be refunded if the visa is denied or when a visa holder demonstrates they have complied with the terms of visa.

    The new countries covered by the requirement join Mauritania, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Gambia, Malawi and Zambia, which were all placed on the list in August and October of last year.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Britain Demands Elon Musk’s Grok Answers Concerns About Sexualised Photos

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    LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Britain has ‌demanded ​Elon Musk’s social ‌media site X explain how its AI ​chatbot Grok was able to produce undressed images of ‍people and sexualised images ​of children, and whether it was failing ​in ⁠its legal duty to protect users.

    Grok said on Friday lapses in safeguards had resulted in “images depicting minors in minimal clothing” on X, saying it was urgently ‌fixing them.

    British media regulator Ofcom said it was aware ​of “serious ‌concerns” raised about the ‍feature.

    “We ⁠have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK,” a spokesperson said.

    Grok said on Friday: “xAI has safeguards, but improvements ​are ongoing to block such requests entirely.”

    Creating or sharing non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material, including sexual deepfakes created by artificial intelligence, is illegal in Britain.

    In addition, tech platforms have a duty to take steps to stop British users encountering illegal content and take it down when they become aware of it.

    The ​request comes after ministers in France reported X to prosecutors and regulators over the disturbing images, saying in a statement on Friday the “sexual ​and sexist” content was “manifestly illegal”.

    (Reporting by Paul Sandle;Editing by Alison Williams)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Vatican Claims a Holy Year Success With 33 Million Pilgrims

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    VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Monday gave a final accounting of its 2025 Holy Year, saying more than 33 million pilgrims had participated and that the only real dispute with the city of Rome concerned the style of fountains built for the event’s main public works project.

    Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday will officially close out the Holy Year and shut the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, capping a rare Jubilee that was opened by one pope and closed by another.

    For the Vatican, a Holy Year is a centuries-old tradition of the faithful making pilgrimages to Rome every 25 years to visit the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul and receive indulgences for the forgiveness of their sins.


    Participation grew after Francis’ death

    The Vatican said 33,475,369 pilgrims had participated and Italy, the U.S. and Spain were the top nationalities represented.

    But the Vatican’s Holy Year organizer, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, acknowledged the number was only an estimate and could include double counting. There was no breakdown between Holy Year pilgrims and Rome’s overall tourism numbers.

    The Vatican arrived at the figure by combining the number of people who officially registered for Jubilee events, volunteer crowd counters at Rome-area basilicas and closed-circuit television cameras at St. Peter’s Basilica, which recorded around 25,000 to 30,000 people a day crossing the threshold of the Holy Door.

    Assuming that number every day for the past year, around 10 million pilgrims would have crossed through the Holy Door. Officials said they never envisioned more, given its limited capacity and that pilgrims would have visited Holy Doors at other Rome basilicas.

    The official number exceeded the 31.7 million people originally forecast by a study conducted by the Roma Tre University.

    The Vatican said it recorded a steady increase in participation following the death of Pope Francis in April and the election of Leo, a transition that made this Holy Year only the second in history to be opened by one pope and closed by another. In 1700, Pope Innocent XII opened the Jubilee and Pope Clement XI closed it after Innocent’s death.

    Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said 110 of the 117 public works projects initially associated with the Jubilee had been completed, including the most audacious: a pedestrian piazza at the end of the Via della Conciliazione boulevard, opposite St. Peter’s Basilica, that required the rerouting of traffic to an underground tunnel.

    The design of Piazza Pia, as the square is known, also saw the major point of disagreement between Fisichella and Gualtieri over the two fountains that frame the view along Conciliazione toward the basilica.

    Gualtieri liked the fountains. Fisichella didn’t, but had to put his preferences aside because the piazza is on Italian soil.

    “This was probably the only point on which we had to say, laughing and smiling, that we didn’t completely agree,” Fisichella said. “He liked those two fountains, I liked others, but I had to back down.”

    Fisichella said he didn’t think the contemporary stone fountains suited a piazza that looks toward the baroque splendor of St. Peter’s Basilica and along the fascist-era architecture of Via della Conciliazione, which was itself created by razing a neighborhood for the 1950 Jubilee.

    One year later, Fisichella has gotten used to them but still doesn’t love them.

    “I always thought they looked like foot baths,” he said.


    A long history of Jubilees and public works

    Rome’s relationship with Jubilees dates to 1300, when Pope Boniface VIII inaugurated the first Holy Year in what historians say marked the definitive designation of Rome as the center of Christianity.

    Even then, the number of pilgrims was so significant that Dante referred to them in his “Inferno.”

    Massive public works projects have long accompanied Holy Years, including the creation of the Sistine Chapel, commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV for the Jubilee of 1475, and the big Vatican garage, for the 2000 Jubilee under Pope John Paul II.

    Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • German Minister: Protection of Greenland Will Be Discussed Within NATO if Needed

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    LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) – German Foreign ‌Minister ​Johann Wadephul said ‌on Monday that Greenland belonged to Denmark ​and that the NATO alliance could discuss strengthening its ‍protection if necessary.

    Wadephul was ​speaking after U.S. President Donald Trump made ​renewed threats ⁠to take over Greenland, a prospect that alarmed NATO allies and has taken on a new urgency after Trump followed through on threats to topple Venezuelan leader ‌Nicolas Maduro.

    Trump has repeatedly said he wants to ​take over ‌Greenland, an ambition first ‍voiced ⁠in 2019 during his first presidency.

    On Sunday, he told The Atlantic magazine in an interview: “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence.”

    Speaking to reporters in Lithuania, Wadephul said Germany had questions about Maduro’s removal ​and stressed the Venezuelan people should determine their country’s future in free and fair elections, after Trump said the U.S. would run the country.

    On Greenland, Wadephul stressed it was part of Denmark.

    “And since Denmark is a member of NATO, Greenland will, in principle, also be subject to NATO defence,” he said.

    “And if there are further requirements ​to strengthen defence efforts concerning Greenland, then we will have to discuss this within the framework of the alliance.”

    He did not elaborate on the ​nature of those discussions.

    (Reporting by Matthias Williams, editing by Miranda Murray)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Pressure Builds for Answers Over Swiss Bar Fire After Victims Identified

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    By Cecile Mantovani and Dave Graham

    CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Pressure ‌was ​building for answers on Monday from ‌the investigation into a New Year bar fire in a Swiss ski resort ​that killed 40 people, after authorities said they had now identified all the victims, most of whom were teenagers.

    The Alpine getaway ‍of Crans-Montana in the canton of ​Valais united in mourning on Sunday with condolences coming in from leaders ranging from Pope Leo to Chinese ​President Xi Jinping.

    Prosecutors ⁠said the fire that spread rapidly in the early hours of January 1 was likely caused by sparkling candles igniting the ceiling of the bar’s basement.

    Authorities are investigating the two people who ran the bar on suspicion of crimes including homicide by negligence. On Sunday, police said circumstances did not currently merit them being ‌put under arrest and they did not see a flight risk.

    On Monday morning, Swiss newspaper Blick said ​anger ‌over the case was growing.

    “Why ‍are the couple running ⁠the bar free?” the paper said on its front page, pasted over a photo of mourners and media gathered around the huge pile of flowers left in front of the “Le Constellation” bar.

    The youngest victims of the blaze, which also injured well over 100 people, were only 14 years old, and the dead were from all around Europe, including several from France and Italy. Swiss authorities have not named the victims.

    Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said in a social media ​post that “in civilized Switzerland, the prison gates will have to open for quite a few people”.

    Salvini said there had been a failure to ensure the bar’s basement was safe, questioning the emergency systems and whether there had been enough inspections.

    Aika Chappaz, a local resident who took part in a silent procession through the town on Sunday, said justice must be done for the sake of future generations.

    “It’s crucial that such a tragedy never happens again. And the investigation must be thorough, because it’s so unbelievable,” she said.

    Tages-Anzeiger, another leading Swiss newspaper, said questions must be answered about the age checks at the bar, the soundproofing material used in the basement and the standards governing use ​of the so-called fountain candles.

    One of the bar’s two operators, Jacques Moretti, told Swiss media that Le Constellation had been checked three times in 10 years and that everything was done according to the rules.

    Valais authorities say investigators were checking if the bar had undergone its annual building inspections, but ​that the town had not raised concerns or reported defects to the canton.

    (Reporting by Dave Graham and Cecile Mantovani; Editing by Alex Richardson)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Louvre Opening Delayed as Staff Meets to Decide Whether to Resume Strike

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    PARIS, Jan ‌5 (Reuters) – ​The ‌opening of France’s ​Louvre museum ‍in Paris ​was ​delayed ⁠until 0900 GMT on Monday as staff was ‌meeting to decide ​whether ‌to resume ‍a strike ⁠started in December over pay and working ​conditions, museum employees said.

    Staff on December 19 had voted to call off the strike until January 5.

    (Reporting ​by Sarah Meyssonnier, Dominique Vidalon; Editing ​by Benoit Van Overstraeten)

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  • Thailand-Cambodia Ceasefire ‘Gradually’ Being Implemented, Says China

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    BEIJING, Jan ‌5 (Reuters) – ​The agreement ‌between Thailand and ​Cambodia on a ceasefire ‍is being “gradually” implemented, ​the ​Chinese ⁠foreign ministry said on Monday.

    China hopes both sides will ensure a “comprehensive” and “lasting” ‌ceasefire, said ministry spokesperson ​Lin ‌Jian said ‍at a ⁠regular news conference.

    Thailand has returned 18 soldiers to Cambodia, Lin also said.

    Thailand and ​Cambodia agreed a second ceasefire at the end of December, ending weeks of border clashes that amounted to the worst fighting in years ​between the Southeast Asian neighbours.

    (Reporting by Ryan Woo and Xiuhao ​Chen; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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  • Paris Court to Rule in Case Involving Alleged Cyberbullying of Brigitte Macron

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    PARIS (AP) — A Paris court is to rule on Monday in a case involving 10 people accused of cyberbullying French first lady Brigitte Macron by spreading false online claims about her gender and sexuality, allegations her daughter said damaged her health and family life.

    The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 60, are accused of posting “numerous malicious comments” falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron ’s wife was born a man and linking the 24-year age gap with her husband to pedophilia. Some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.

    Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October.

    Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified about what she described as the “deterioration” of her mother’s life since the online harassment intensified. “She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her,” Auzière told the court. She said the impact has extended to the entire family, including Macron’s grandchildren.

    Defendant Delphine Jegousse, 51, who is known as Amandine Roy and describes herself as a medium and an author, is considered as having played a major role in spreading the rumor after she released a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021.

    The X account of Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, 41, known as Zoé Sagan on social media, was suspended in 2024 after his name was cited in several judicial investigations.

    Other defendants include an elected official, a teacher and a computer scientist. Several told the court their comments were intended as humor or satire and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted. They face up to two years in prison if convicted.

    The case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely alleging that Brigitte Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually the name of her brother. The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens.

    The Macrons, who have been married since 2007, first met at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher. Brigitte Macron, 24 years her husband’s senior, was then called Brigitte Auzière, a married mother of three.

    Emmanuel Macron, 48, has been France’s president since 2017.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • US Capture of Maduro Divides a Changed Region, Thrilling Trump’s Allies and Threatening His Foes

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    “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again,” Trump proclaimed just hours before Maduro was perp-walked through the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in New York.

    The new, aggressive foreign policy — which Trump now calls the “Donroe Doctrine,” in reference to 19th-century President James Monroe’s belief that the U.S. should dominate its sphere of influence — has carved the hemisphere into allies and foes.

    “The Trump administration in multiple different ways has been trying to reshape Latin American politics,” said Gimena Sanchez, Andes director for the Washington Office on Latin America, a think tank. “They’re showing their teeth in the whole region.”


    Reactions to US raid put regional divisions on display

    Saturday’s dramatic events — including Trump’s vow that Washington would “run” Venezuela and seize control of its oil sector — galvanized opposite sides of the polarized continent.

    “On the other side,” he added, “are those accomplices of a narco-terrorist and bloody dictatorship that has been a cancer for our region.”

    Other right-wing leaders in South America similarly seized on Maduro’s ouster to declare their ideological affinity with Trump.

    In Ecuador, conservative President Daniel Noboa issued a stern warning for all followers of Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s mentor and the founder of the Bolivarian revolution: “Your structure will completely collapse across the entire continent.”

    Lula said the raid set “an extremely dangerous precedent.” Sheinbaum warned it “jeopardizes regional stability.” Boric said it “violated an essential pillar of international law.” Petro called it “aggression against the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Latin America.”


    The attack recalls a painful history of US intervention

    For Lula — among the last surviving icons of the so-called “pink tide,” the leftist leaders who dominated Latin American politics from the turn of the 21st century — Trump’s military action in Venezuela “recalls the worst moments of interference in the politics of Latin America.”

    The historical echoes in Maduro’s downfall fueled not only harsh condemnations and street protests among Trump’s left-wing opponents but also uneasy responses from some of his close allies.

    Usually effusive in his support for Trump, President Nayib Bukele was oddly quiet in El Salvador, a nation still scarred by a brutal civil war between a repressive U.S.-allied government and leftist guerillas. He posted a meme mocking Maduro after his capture Saturday, but expressed none of the jubilation seen from regional counterparts.

    “Bolivia reaffirms that the way out for Venezuela is to respect the vote,” Paz said.

    “The Trump administration, it appears at this point, is making decisions about the democratic future of Venezuela without referring back to the democratic result,” said Kevin Whitaker, former deputy chief of mission for the State Department in Caracas.

    When asked Sunday about when Venezuela will hold democratic elections, Trump responded: “I think we’re looking more at getting it fixed.”


    As the right rises, Trump puts enemies on notice

    The Trump administration’s attack on Venezuela extends its broader crusade to assemble a column of allied — or at least acquiescent — governments in Latin America, sailing with the political winds blowing in much of the region.

    Recent presidential elections from Chile to Honduras have elevated tough, Trump-like leaders who oppose immigration, prioritize security and promise a return to better, bygone eras free of globalization and “wokeness.”

    “The president is going to be looking for allied and partner nations in the hemisphere who share his kind of broader ideological affinity,” said Alexander Gray, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington research institute.

    Those who don’t share that ideology were put on notice this weekend. Trump said Cuba’s Communist government “looks like it’s ready to fall.” He slammed Sheinbaum’s failure to root out Mexican cartels, saying that “something’s going to have to be done with Mexico.” He repeated allegations that Petro “likes making cocaine” and warned that “he’s not going to be doing it very long.”

    “We’re in the business of having countries around us that are viable and successful, where the oil is allowed to really come out,” he told reporters Sunday on Air Force One. “It’s our hemisphere.”

    DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press writers Maria Verza in Mexico City and Darlene Superville aboard Air Force One contributed to this report.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • China Seeks Closer Ties With Ireland, Xi Tells Martin in Beijing

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    BEIJING, Jan 5 (Reuters) – ‌China ​is ready ‌to strengthen strategic communication ​with Ireland and expand practical ‍cooperation, while aiming ​to achieve mutually ​beneficial ⁠results, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin on Monday.

    Xi did not ‌elaborate on what cooperation China ​was interested ‌to further ‍in his ⁠opening remarks at their meeting held at the Great Hall of the People, but he emphasised mutual respect ​and achieving win-win outcomes as “valuable experiences for the long-term, stable development of China-Ireland ties”.

    Martin, the first Irish Taoiseach to visit Beijing in 14 years, said that Ireland recognises China’s “indispensable role” in ​the world, underlining China’s peacekeeping efforts, and stressed Ireland’s stance on open trade.

    (Reporting ​by Liz Lee; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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  • Cuba Says 32 of Its Citizens Killed in Maduro Extraction

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    HAVANA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – ‌The ​Cuban government said on ‌Sunday that 32 of its citizens were ​killed during the U.S. raid on Venezuela to extract President ‍Nicolas Maduro for prosecution ​in the United States. 

    Havana said there would be ​two days ⁠of mourning on January 5 and 6 in honor of those killed and said funeral arrangements would be announced.

    The Cuban government statement gave few details, but said all ‌the dead were members of the Cuban armed forces and ​intelligence ‌agencies.

    “True to their responsibilities ‍concerning ⁠security and defense, our compatriots fulfilled their duty with dignity and heroism and fell, after fierce resistance, in direct combat against the attackers or as a result of bombings on the facilities,” the statement said.

    Cuba has provided some security for ​Maduro since he came to power. It was not clear how many Cubans were guarding the Venezuelan president when they died and how many may have perished elsewhere.

    Maduro, 63, and his wife Cilia Flores were seized by U.S. forces in the Venezuela capital Caracas on Saturday and flown to the United States. Maduro is being held in a New ​York detention center awaiting a Monday court appearance on drug charges.

    Maduro was indicted in 2020 on U.S. charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy. He has always denied any ​criminal involvement.

    (Reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by Tom Hogue and Michael Perry)

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  • Trump Says He Doesn’t Believe Ukraine Struck Putin Residence

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    ABOARD AIR FORCE ‌ONE, ​Jan 4 (Reuters) – U.S. ‌President Donald Trump said ​he did not believe that an ‍alleged Ukrainian strike ​on President Vladimir ​Putin’s ⁠residence took place as claimed by Russia.

    “I don’t believe that strike happened,” Trump told reporters on Sunday aboard Air ‌Force One en route back to ​Washington, ‌D.C., from Florida. “There ‍is ⁠something that happened fairly nearby, but had nothing to do with this.”

    Moscow accused Kyiv on Monday of trying to strike a residence of Putin ​in Russia’s northern Novgorod region with 91 long-range attack drones, and said Russia would review its negotiating position in ongoing talks with the U.S. on ending the Ukraine war.

    Ukraine and Western countries have disputed Russia’s ​account of the alleged attempted strike.

    (Reporting by Gram Slattery aboard Air Force One and Lawrence ​Delevingne in Boston; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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  • Russian Politicians Say Trump Strike on Venezuela Unlawful, Destabilising

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    MOSCOW, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Russia’s Security Council deputy chairman ‌Dmitry ​Medvedev and a senior lawmaker said ‌over the weekend that U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela ​were unlawful and destabilising, while portraying them as a blunt assertion of U.S. interests.

    The comments followed Trump’s ‍statement that the United States struck ​Venezuela and that Maduro and his wife were captured and taken out of the country, ​prompting international ⁠reaction and calls for urgent UN discussions.

    Medvedev told TASS on Sunday that Trump’s behaviour was illegal but internally coherent because it pursued U.S. interests.

    “It must be acknowledged that, despite the obvious unlawfulness of Trump’s behaviour, one cannot deny a certain consistency in his actions. He and his ‌team defend their country’s national interests quite harshly,” Medvedev was quoted as saying.

    Medvedev said ​Latin America ‌was viewed as the ‍United States’ “backyard” and ⁠suggested Trump was seeking leverage over Venezuela’s oil supplies.

    “Uncle Sam’s main motivation has always been simple: other people’s supplies,” Medvedev said, according to TASS.

    He added that if such an operation were carried out against a stronger country, it would be seen as an act of war.

    Alexei Pushkov, a Russian senator who chairs a Federation Council commission on information policy, said the operation and Trump’s rhetoric might prove ​less effective than their dramatic impact.

    “One cannot deny that Trump’s actions and especially his statements are striking. Their effectiveness is another matter,” Pushkov said on the Telegram messaging app.

    He compared the episode to what he called premature U.S. declarations of victory in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, arguing that initial “triumphs” later turned into defeat or prolonged crises.

    Pushkov said the United States, by attacking Venezuela and seizing its president, had violated norms and “alarmed the whole world,” returning it to “the wild imperialism of the 19th century” and reviving a Wild West right to act at will in the Western Hemisphere.

    “But what ​will the final result be? Will this ‘triumph’ not turn into a catastrophe?” he said.

    Russia has long maintained close ties with Venezuela, spanning energy cooperation, military links and high-level political contacts, and Moscow has backed Caracas diplomatically for years as both countries seek ​to deepen trade and investment.

    (Reporting and writing by Vladimir Soldatkin and Lidia Kelly; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Stephen Coates)

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  • North Korea Test-Fires Hypersonic Missiles, KCNA Says

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    SEOUL, ‌Jan ​5 (Reuters) – ‌North Korea ​test-fired ‍hypersonic ​missiles ​on Sunday, ⁠state ‌media KCNA ​reported on ‌Monday, ‍to assess ⁠its ​military operational capability regarding war deterrence.

    (Reporting by Heejin ​Kim; Editing by ​Edmund Klamann)

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  • Latvia PM Says Baltic Sea Optical Cable Has Been Damaged

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    VILNIUS, Jan 4 (Reuters) – An ‌optical ​cable belonging ‌to a private company has been ​damaged in the Baltic Sea, Latvia’s ‍Prime Minister Evika Silina ​said in a statement ​on ⁠Sunday, adding that the circumstances of the incident were under investigation.

    The cable connects Lithuania and Latvia, and it was not ‌immediately clear what had caused the incident, ​Lithuania’s ‌National Crisis Management ‍Centre said ⁠in a separate statement.

    The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages since Russia ​invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the NATO military alliance has boosted its presence with frigates, aircraft and naval drones.

    The latest incident is made public five days after Finnish police seized a cargo vessel en route from Russia to Israel on suspicion ​of sabotaging an undersea telecoms cable running from Helsinki across the Gulf of Finland to Estonia.

    (Reporting by Andrius ​Sytas, editing by Terje Solsvik and Gwladys Fouche)

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  • Large Part of Maduro’s Security Team Killed in U.S. Action-Venezuela Defense Minister

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    Jan 4 (Reuters) – ‌A ​large part ‌of erstwhile President ​Nicolas Maduro’s ‍security team was ​killed ​in ⁠the U.S. raid that led to the leader’s Saturday capture, ‌Venezuelan Defense Minister ​General Vladimir ‌Padrino ‍said in a ⁠televised statement on Sunday morning.

    Padrino did not give an ​exact figure of casualities, but backed the declaration of Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as interim president and said the armed forces have ​been activated across the country to guarantee sovereignty.

    (Reporting ​by Julia Symmes Cobb)

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  • Explainer-Venezuela’s Billions in Distressed Debt: Who Is in Line to Collect?

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    By Rodrigo Campos and Karin StroheckerNEW YORK/LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) – The toppling of President Nicolas Maduro has thrust Venezuela’s debt ‌…

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  • Grieving Swiss Town Holds Silent Procession for Victims of Deadly Bar Fire

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    CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Hundreds of people ‌silently ​filed through the frosty streets ‌of the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana on Sunday to remember victims ​of a New Year bar fire that killed at least 40 people and injured more than a ‍hundred others.

    Following a packed church mass ​that spilled outdoors, the crowd slowly walked towards an impromptu shrine to the victims next to ​the “Le Constellation” ⁠bar that went up in flames in the early hours of January 1.

    “It’s to be together with the people who are suffering, who have lost somebody in the family, children or friends,” said 76-year-old Charlotte Schumacher, a participant in the procession. “I know people who have lost their grandchildren.”

    Teenagers ‌as young as 14 or 15 years old were among the dead, and the severity ​of ‌the burns suffered by the ‍victims has made ⁠the process of identifying them difficult.

    Attendees of the interconfessional church service hugged and shook hands as the prosperous Alpine town sought to pull together to process the trauma of one of the deadliest tragedies to strike modern Switzerland.

    Prosecutors said the fire was likely caused by sparkling candles igniting the ceiling of its basement. Swiss authorities have put the two people who ran the bar under investigation on suspicion of crimes ​including homicide by negligence.

    The injured and missing came from all corners of Europe and as far afield as Australia, underlining the international appeal of the picturesque resort with panoramic views of the Alps.

    But most of the tally were Swiss. The toll might have been worse if emergency services had not acted so quickly, residents said.

    “Within minutes you had ambulances; within minutes you had the police that did their job and they did it unbelievably well,” said Max Haus, a local business owner who witnessed the harrowing aftermath of the blaze.

    As Sunday’s sombre procession reached its conclusion, applause began rippling from ​one end to the other as dozens of police and emergency services workers, some of them in tears, came up through the middle to be celebrated as heroes.

    “It’s unimaginable what they did, what they have seen,” Bruno Huggler, the director of tourism for Crans-Montana, ​said of the rescue workers. “And now it’s very important to take care of them.”

    (Reporting by Dave GrahamEditing by Christina Fincher)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • North Korea Condemns US Strikes on Venezuela as ‘Serious Encroachment of Sovereignty’

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    SEOUL, Jan 4 (Reuters) – ‌North ​Korea has ‌denounced the U.S. 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 Korea’s Foreign Ministry.

    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, Pyongyang’s chief ally.

    Pyongyang said the current situation in Venezuela “caused a catastrophic consequence ​to ensuring the identity of the regional and international relations structure.”

    (Reporting by ​Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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