NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council will meet on Monday to discuss the US operation to seize Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, the Somali presidency of the Council told AFP on Saturday.&nbsp;The emergency meeting, scheduled for 10:00 am (1500 GMT), was requested by Venezuela and relayed by Colombia, diplomatic sources said. Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump said that the United States will &quot;run&quot; Venezuela and tap its huge oil reserves after snatching the country&#39;s leftist leader out of the country during a bombing raid. Trump&#39;s announcement came hours after a lightning attack in which special forces grabbed Maduro and his wife, while air strikes pounded sites in and around the capital city. Shortly after nightfall, Maduro was escorted off a plane at a military base in New York. He was expected to be transported by helicopter to New York City, where the couple faces trial on drug trafficking and weapons charges. Despite the success of the risky operation, what happens next is highly uncertain.

Americas

The emergency meeting, scheduled for 10am, is requested by Venezuela and relayed by Colombia, diplomatic sources say.

UN Security Council to meet Monday on Venezuela: presidency

ALEPPO: Civilians were fleeing Kurdish neighborhoods of Aleppo on Wednesday after the Syrian army declared them &quot;closed military zones&quot;, amid ongoing fighting with Kurdish-led forces in the northern city. The deadly clashes, which started on Tuesday, are the worst between the two sides, who have so far failed to implement a March deal to merge the Kurds&#39; semi-autonomous administration and military into Syria&#39;s new government. In a statement, the army said that &quot;the Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods will be considered closed military zones after 3.00 pm today&quot;, adding that &quot;two safe humanitarian crossings&quot; would be put in place for civilians to leave. AFP correspondents in Aleppo saw large groups of families with children leaving the neighborhoods, carrying their belongings with them, some in tears. &quot;All Syrian Democratic Forces military positions within the Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo are legitimate military targets,&quot; the army said referring to the Kurdish-led force. Senior Kurdish official Ilham Ahmed accused Damascus of launching a &quot;genocidal war&quot; against the Kurds, calling on the Syrian government to &quot;pursue a path of reason to resolve problems through dialogue&quot;. Echoes of war The violence caused the suspension of flights to and from Aleppo&#39;s airport, with schools, universities and government offices in the city shut down. Tuesday&#39;s clashes killed nine people, mostly civilians, with both sides trading blame over who started the fighting. Joud Serjian, a 53-year-old housewife and resident of the Syriac Quarter, said the violence &quot;reminded us of the war.&quot; Living in the Syriac Quarter near Ashrafieh, Serjian said &quot;we have nowhere else to go, so we&#39;ll stay in our home.&quot; During the Syrian civil war, Aleppo was the scene of fierce fighting between rebels and forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad before he regained control of the city in 2016.&nbsp;Assad was ousted in a lightning offensive in 2024. Abdul Karim Omar, representative of the Kurds&#39; autonomous administration in Damascus, told AFP Aleppo&#39;s Kurdish-majority neighborhoods were &ldquo;completely besieged.&rdquo;&nbsp;He denied that any shells had been fired from these areas, arguing that they are controlled by the Kurds&#39; Asayish domestic security forces &quot;who only have light weapons&quot;. Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh have remained under the control of Kurdish units linked to the SDF, despite Kurdish fighters agreeing to withdraw from the areas in April. The SDF controls swathes of Syria&#39;s oil-rich north and northeast, with the backing of a US-led international coalition, was key to the territorial defeat of the ISIS in Syria in 2019. The March agreement on the Kurdish authority&#39;s integration into the state was supposed to be implemented by the end of 2025.&nbsp;The Kurds are pushing for decentralized rule, an idea which Syria&#39;s new authorities have rejected.

Middle East

The deadly clashes are the worst between the two sides, who have so far failed to implement a March deal to merge the Kurds' semi-autonomous administration and military into Syria's new government.

Syrians flee Aleppo's Kurdish areas as army declares them 'military zones'

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Authorities imposed a curfew in Birgunj, a key southern Nepal city bordering India, after protests by Hindu and Muslim groups erupted following the vandalism of a mosque, international media reported.&nbsp;The curfew, ordered by the Parsa District Administration, bans all public movement, gatherings, and demonstrations. Authorities warned that violators could face strict action by security forces, according to Euro News.&nbsp;Footage aired by Germany&rsquo;s state broadcaster Deutsche Welle showed a heavy security presence as tensions flared between the two communities. Parsa&rsquo;s chief district officer, Bhola Dahal, said security was tightened after unrest in neighbouring Dhanusha district spread to Birgunj, adding that authorities had appealed for calm and dialogue.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2008652796275683543&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=fd61a22e155efc409fff605a0d0f58766e3b71b8&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">A temporary curfew was imposed in southern Nepal after the vandalism of a mosque sparked protests between Hindu and Muslim groups in a key border city. Authorities banned gatherings and deployed security forces, though no major clashes were reported. <a href="https://t.co/ZDyu0yGEUw" style="color: rgb(0, 115, 230);">pic.twitter.com/ZDyu0yGEUw</a>&mdash; DW News (@dwnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/2008652796275683543?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" style="color: rgb(0, 115, 230);">January 6, 2026</a></blockquote></div>According to Gulf News, the demonstrations later turned violent, prompting the district administration to enforce the curfew in the town, which lies close to Raxaul in India&rsquo;s Bihar state. Indian media reported that authorities temporarily sealed the India-Nepal border, allowing only emergency movement.&nbsp;The Parsa District Administration Office said the curfew would be strictly enforced, with police confirming that around two dozen people had been arrested in connection with the unrest.&nbsp;Tensions first erupted on Jan. 3 in Dhanusha district after a dispute over alleged anti-Hindu posts on social media. The situation escalated after a Hindu mob allegedly vandalized a mosque and burned copies of the Quran, triggering protests by Muslim groups.&nbsp;Muslim leaders warned of growing insecurity for religious minorities in Nepal&rsquo;s southern plains. Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal said the government was concerned by the incidents and urged all communities to maintain harmony and peaceful coexistence.

Asia

Footage aired by Germany’s state broadcaster Deutsche Welle show a heavy security presence as tensions flared between the two communities.

Curfew in Nepal border city after Hindu extremists desecrate mosque 

ISLAMABAD: India reached out to three senior Trump administration officials on May 10, 2025, the day a ceasefire was announced following the Pakistan-India conflict, to discuss &quot;media coverage&quot; of the clash, according to a report published by India&rsquo;s The Hindu.&nbsp; The newspaper cites filings made under law by SHW LLC, a US-based lobbying firm,&nbsp;under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) with the US Department of Justice. The disclosures contradict the Indian government&rsquo;s repeated denials of any US involvement in bringing about a ceasefire to the May 2025 conflict. FARA filings, including 60 entries made in December 2025, reveal a significant disconnect between India&#39;s public denials of US involvement in mediating the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict and the extensive behind-the-scenes lobbying efforts New Delhi undertook during the operation.&nbsp; While the documents do not specify whether the May 10 calls were made before or after the ceasefire announcement, The Hindu reports that &quot;they indicate close interaction on [the] day.&quot; This is when both US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly claimed credit for brokering the end to hostilities. $1.8 million contractAccording to the newspaper, India relied on&nbsp;SHW LLC to facilitate high-level outreach to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and National Security Council official Ricky Gill. They were hired two days after the Pahalgam attack, the filings show. The firm is led by Jason Miller, Trump&#39;s former spokesperson and senior adviser during his 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential campaigns. The annual contract is worth $1.8 million, paid in quarterly installments of $450,000. SHW had no other clients during the period covered by the filings. Pakistan&#39;s consistent positionThroughout the conflict, Pakistan maintained it had not sought third-party mediation and that Kashmir remained a bilateral issue. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told Al Jazeera that when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered to facilitate dialogue on May 10, Rubio informed him that &quot;India says that it is a bilateral issue&quot; and does not support outside involvement.&nbsp; Dar stated, &quot;Unless India wishes to have dialogue, we can&#39;t force dialogue.&quot; A timeline of contact refutes constant denial&nbsp;Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s&nbsp;government has repeatedly denied that the US played any role in mediating the four-day Pakistan-India conflict. India&#39;s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has said India did not accept mediation &ldquo;at any level.&rdquo; Modi said that operations were paused only after Pakistan sought a ceasefire. On May 10, approximately 30 minutes after Trump&#39;s announcement, India&#39;s Foreign Secretary held a special briefing stating that Pakistan&#39;s Director General of Military Operations had initiated contact with his Indian counterpart. On May 12, Modi stated in a national address that the conflict, which India codenamed &quot;Operation Sindoor,&quot; was paused after Pakistan &quot;pleaded&quot; for a ceasefire.&nbsp; On June 17, during a phone call with Trump at the G7 Summit, Modi explicitly told the US president that India had never discussed a trade deal or accepted US mediation at any level during Operation Sindoor, according to Indian government statements. However, FARA filings provide a detailed account of intensive engagement with American officials during the same period. Of the 60 entries, 30 telephone calls show the lobbying firm contacted officials at the White House, the US Trade Representative&rsquo;s office, and the Department of Commerce, with the stated purpose in multiple calls being discussions on the &quot;status of US-India trade conversations.&quot; India launched Operation Sindoor on May 6-7, carrying out strikes on what it described as militant targets in Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has consistently denied the presence of any such entities. Hostilities escalated over the following days, including aerial engagements, drone attacks, and cross-border fire, before a ceasefire was announced on May 10. On May 7, during active combat operations, lobbying firm SHW contacted Fox News anchor Bret Baier to &quot;pitch a media interview with Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra to discuss Operation Sindoor,&quot; the filings show. On the day of the ceasefire, the filings show four separate contacts by SHW with senior US officials, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, National Security Council officials, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. All four were logged as discussions on &ldquo;media coverage&rdquo; of Operation Sindoor. Greer was contacted twice on the same day. &lsquo;Standard practice&rsquo;The Indian Embassy did not deny the filings when contacted by The Hindu but said hiring lobbyists is &quot;standard practice&quot; to &quot;augment outreach.&quot; The embassy stated it &quot;has hired such firms, consistent with local practice and requirements, under successive governments since the 1950s,&quot; but did not respond to specific questions about the May 10 contacts or why lobbying firms were asked to arrange meetings with senior US officials. &quot;Such meetings are routinely sought by the mission directly,&quot; officials stated, noting that lobbyists are typically hired &quot;for advice and to understand the landscape&quot; but that &quot;meetings and calls are made between diplomats directly.&quot; The filings also document that SHW made calls to White House officials to &quot;flag&quot; social media posts by Modi praising Trump, including after the president made positive comments about bilateral ties on Sept. 6, and after Modi congratulated Trump on a Gaza peace proposal on Oct. 9.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with US President Donald Trump (right) at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 13, 2025. (AFP/File)

India

The Hindu reports that India's embassy in the US contacted three senior Trump officials on May 10, the ceasefire day, to discuss 'media coverage,' according to filings made by the lobbying firm hired by India, contradicting the government's repeated denials of US involvement in the May 2025 ceasefire.

 India’s behind-the-scenes US outreach during conflict with Pakistan

TEHRAN: Iran&#39;s military chief warned on Wednesday that Iran will not stand by and allow itself to be threatened by outside powers, after the United States and Israel backed anti-government protests. &quot;The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the escalation of hostile rhetoric against the Iranian nation a threat and will not tolerate its continuation without responding,&quot; General Amir Hatami said, according to the Fars news agency. Hatami, commander of the Iranian army but not Iran&#39;s most senior officer, warned that &quot;if the enemy makes a mistake&quot; Iran&#39;s response would be more robust than during last June&#39;s 12-day war with Israel. In recent days, US President Donald Trump has threatened to intervene in Iran &#39;if demonstrators were killed&#39;, while Israel&#39;s Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for the protests. On December 28 merchants in Tehran staged a protest against soaring prices and the collapse of the rial, triggering a wave of similar actions in several cities, some of them deadly. The demonstrations have yet to reach the scale of a 2022 to 2023 movement, let alone that of the mass 2009 street protests that followed disputed elections. But the economic protests have attracted international attention, including from the leaders of the Islamic republic&#39;s international foes. &quot;We&#39;re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they&#39;re going to get hit very hard by the United States,&quot; Trump told reporters on Sunday. Netanyahu, meanwhile, told Israel&#39;s cabinet: &quot;We stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people and with their aspirations for freedom, liberty and justice.&quot; On Monday, the Iranian foreign ministry accused Trump and Netanyahu of inciting violence and trying to &nbsp;undermine Iran&#39;s national unity. The war in June began with an unprecedented Israeli attack on Iranian military and nuclear facilities. The United States briefly took part in the strikes, hitting three major Iranian nuclear sites.

In recent days, US President Donald Trump has threatened to intervene in Iran if demonstrators were killed, while Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed support for the protests.

Iran army chief threatens response to Trump and Netanyahu's 'threats'

Muhammad Usman Amin

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has increased its police budget by 408% over the last 12 years, prioritizing security spending above all other provincial departments to combat rising security challenges.&nbsp;&nbsp;According to official documents obtained from the Central Police Office (CPO), the total funding provided to the police force over the last decade has reached Rs824.3 billion.&nbsp;This increase is significant considering the uptick in terror attacks in 2025, which was the deadliest year for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in more than a decade. To keep pace with the scale and pace of terrorism, these funds are being used to empower the police force with additional personnel, state-of-the-art equipment, and training.&nbsp;For the current fiscal year (2025-26), the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police budget has been set at over Rs157.57 billion, marking a 26.6% increase from the previous year. This growth rate significantly outpaces other sectors, such as health (19.2%) and education (11%).&nbsp;A total of Rs126.27 billion (a 25% increase) is dedicated to personnel salaries. A total of Rs25.57 billion (a 35% increase) has been earmarked for operational costs and equipment.&nbsp;Beyond personnel costs, the provincial government is aggressively enhancing the force&#39;s tactical capabilities. The CPO confirmed that non-salary funds are being utilized to transform the police into a high-tech fighting force.&nbsp;Key procurements and ongoing upgrades include investments in advanced equipment like anti-drone systems, night-vision guns, and armored command vehicles. Twenty bulletproof cars have already been delivered to the force.&nbsp; Over 2,000 Kalashnikov rifles, along with specialized sniper rifles, have been provided to enhance field capacity.&nbsp;The scale of this financial shift is clearer than in fiscal year 2014-15, when the total police budget was a mere 29.9 billion rupees. Over the years, the &quot;Non-Salary&quot; budget, essential for weapons and fuel, has grown from Rs3.61 billion in 2014 to over Rs25 billion today, reflecting a shift toward modernization and upgradation.&nbsp;The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government maintains that these funds are essential to enhancing police capacity and ensuring the province&#39;s safety amid evolving security threats.

Security

The increase, spread over 12 years, is significant considering the uptick in terror attacks in 2025, which was the deadliest year for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in more than a decade.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police budget surges by record 408% to over Rs150 billion

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;The International Cricket Council (ICC), chaired by Jay Shah, has reportedly rejected a request from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to shift Bangladesh&rsquo;s matches out of India for the upcoming ICC Men&rsquo;s T20 World Cup. Shah, who assumed charge as ICC chair in August 2024, previously served as secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and is the son of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the decision was conveyed to the BCB during a virtual meeting on Tuesday, where the ICC informed the Bangladesh board that it would not consider relocating the fixtures.&nbsp; The governing body is also understood to have warned that Bangladesh would have to travel to India to play the tournament or risk forfeiting points. However, the BCB has denied receiving any such ultimatum, stating that the ICC has relayed no formal communication to that effect. Neither the ICC nor the BCCI has issued an official statement on the outcome of Tuesday&rsquo;s meeting, which was convened after the BCB wrote to the ICC on Sunday requesting it to &ldquo;consider&rdquo; moving Bangladesh&rsquo;s matches outside India. Last week, the BCB said&nbsp;it had &quot;formally requested&quot; the ICC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladesh-say-will-not-play-t20-world-cup-matches-if-in-india" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">shift their games to Sri Lanka</a>.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px solid; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: Roboto, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: oklch(0.985 0.002 247.839); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">&quot;The Board of Directors resolved that the Bangladesh National Team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current conditions,&quot; a BCB statement read. The development comes less than a month before the 20-team T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held across India and Sri Lanka from Feb. 7 to March 8.&nbsp; Bangladesh, placed in Group C, are set to play their first three matches in Kolkata, against the West Indies on Feb. 7, Italy on Feb. 9, and England on Feb. 14, before facing Nepal in Mumbai on Feb. 17. The BCB&rsquo;s concerns reportedly stem from a recent decision by the BCCI to instruct IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/india-drops-bangladeshi-star-from-ipl-amid-political-pressure" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman,</a>&nbsp;who was bought at the December auction for INR 9.2 crore (about $1.02 million).&nbsp;The decision was confirmed to the media by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, though no reason was provided for the release. It remains unclear who was involved in the decision, as the IPL Governing Council is understood not to have convened to discuss the matter. Mustafizur was the only Bangladesh player selected at the 2026 IPL auction.

Cricket

Warns that Bangladesh would have to travel to India to play the tournament or risk forfeiting points.

Jay Shah-led ICC refuses to shift Bangladesh matches out of India: Report

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is discussing options, including military action, to take control of Greenland, the White House said Tuesday, upping tensions that Denmark warns could destroy the NATO alliance. Trump has stepped up his designs on the mineral-rich, self-governing Danish territory in the Arctic since the US military operation to seize Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro last weekend. &lsquo;Always an option&rsquo;&nbsp;White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that &quot;acquiring Greenland is a national security priority&quot; for Trump to deter adversaries such as Russia and China. &quot;The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US military is always an option at the commander in chief&#39;s disposal,&quot; she said in a statement to AFP. The Wall Street Journal reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that Trump&#39;s preferred option is to buy Greenland from Denmark, adding that the threats did not signal an imminent invasion. &lsquo;Everything would stop&rsquo;Denmark has warned that any attempt to seize Greenland by force would mean &quot;everything would stop,&quot; including NATO and 80 years of close transatlantic security links. Any US military action against Greenland would effectively collapse NATO, since the alliance&#39;s Article Five pledges that member states will defend any of their number that come under attack. Greenland and Denmark said earlier that they had asked to meet Rubio quickly as tensions rose over the issue. &lsquo;Not for sale&rsquo;&quot;It has so far not been possible,&quot; Greenland&#39;s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt wrote on social media, adding that they had been pushing for a meeting throughout 2025. Denmark&#39;s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said meeting Rubio should &quot;clear up certain misunderstandings.&quot; Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen earlier insisted that the island was not for sale, and that only its 57,000 people should decide its future. &#39;Not acceptable&#39;&nbsp;Allies have rallied around Denmark and Greenland while trying not to antagonize Trump. The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain joined Denmark in a statement on Tuesday saying that they would defend the &quot;universal principles&quot; of &quot;sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders.&quot; French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer both sought to play down the row as they attended Ukraine peace talks in Paris alongside Trump&#39;s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner. &quot;I cannot imagine a scenario in which the United States of America would be placed in a position to violate Danish sovereignty,&quot; Macron said. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose country Trump earlier this year said should become the 51st state, also weighed in. &quot;The future of Greenland and Denmark is decided solely by the people of Denmark and Greenland,&quot; Carney told reporters in Paris. Military base in GreenlandThe United States already has a military base in Greenland, the Pituffik space base, with around 150 personnel stationed there. Greenland residents have also rejected Trump&#39;s threats. &quot;This is not something we appreciate,&quot; Christian Keldsen, director of the Greenland Business Association, told AFP in the capital Nuuk.&nbsp; &quot;It is not acceptable in the civilized world.&quot; Trump&#39;s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told CNN on Monday that &quot;nobody&#39;s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland!&quot; Copenhagen has, however, invested heavily in security, allocating some 90 billion kroner ($14 billion) in the last year. Trump has been floating the idea of annexing Greenland since his first term. &quot;It&#39;s like a broken record,&quot; Marc Jacobsen, a specialist in security, politics, and diplomacy in the Arctic at the Royal Danish Defence College, told AFP.

Europe

Denmark has warned that any move to take Greenland by force would mean that ‘everything would stop’, including NATO and 80 years of close transatlantic security links.

Trump weighs military option to acquire Greenland: White House

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Venezuela&#39;s interim government will deliver up to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States, and that the proceeds &quot;will be controlled by me&quot; as president. &quot;The Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America,&quot; Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. &quot;This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.&quot;<div class="fr-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115850817778602689/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0;" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" spellcheck="false">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div>&#39;No foreign power&#39; running countryVenezuela&#39;s interim president Delcy Rodriguez insisted Tuesday that no foreign power was governing her country, after US President Donald Trump said Washington would &quot;run&quot; it during a transition after ousting her predecessor. Rodriguez, who was vice president under toppled leader Nicolas Maduro, has given mixed signals about how much she is prepared to cooperate with Trump, at times sounding conciliatory, at others defiant. Speaking three days after US special forces snatched Maduro and his wife in a stunning raid in Caracas prefaced by airstrikes, Rodriguez said: &quot;The government of Venezuela is in charge in our country, and no-one else.&quot; &quot;There is no foreign agent governing Venezuela.&quot; Trump insists Washington is now &quot;in charge&quot; of the Caribbean country but says he is prepared to work with Rodriguez -- provided she submits to his demand for access to Venezuela&#39;s vast oil reserves. Rodriguez has offered an olive branch but also appeared anxious to keep on her side the hardliners who control the security forces and paramilitaries, which have patrolled the streets since Maduro&#39;s capture. &quot;We are a people that does not surrender, we are a people that does not give up,&quot; she declared, paying tribute to the &quot;martyrs&quot; of the US attacks. Confirmation of lossesIn its first confirmation of losses, Venezuela&#39;s military on Tuesday published a list of 23 troops, including five generals, killed in the US strikes. Top ally Cuba separately issued a list of 32 dead Cuban military personnel, included two colonels and a lieutenant colonel, many of whom were members of Maduro&#39;s security detail. Venezuela has not yet confirmed the number of civilian casualties in the operation in which US forces grabbed Maduro and Flores and took them to the United States to face trial. Attorney General Tarek William Saab spoke Tuesday of &quot;dozens&quot; of civilian and military dead, without giving a breakdown.

Post on Truth Social says ‘The Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America.’ 

Trump says Venezuela 'turning over' up to 50M barrels of oil to US

JERUSALEM:&nbsp;One person was killed, and three were injured during a protest in Jerusalem on Tuesday against a law to conscript ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli armed forces, emergency crews said. A bus ran over and injured three pedestrians, then drove on and struck an 18-year-old who got trapped under the vehicle, the Magen David Adom emergency service said. &ldquo;Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene,&rdquo; the agency said. Manpower shortages&nbsp;Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews had taken to the streets to protest a law to conscript them to the army, as the military faces manpower shortages after two years of war on multiple fronts.Mass demonstrations against the law have been taking place on a regular basis in recent months. According to a police statement, Tuesday&#39;s protest turned violent after &quot;a small group of rioters began violently disturbing public order, including by blocking traffic routes, damaging buses, setting trash bins on fire, throwing objects and eggs at police officers and Border Police, shouting invective, and assaulting journalists working at the scene&quot;. The police added that the bus &quot;was blocked by rioters who were... obstructing the route&quot;.&nbsp; Driver arrested&nbsp;The driver was arrested and under questioning alleged &quot;that he was assaulted by rioters, after which the unfortunate incident occurred&quot;. Israeli police sources quoted by local media ruled out concerns the event was a terror attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under pressure from the opposition and some coalition partners to increase the number of military recruits, but ultra-Orthodox party leaders -- traditionally Netanyahu allies -- oppose the conscription of religious students, who form a large part of their constituency. De facto passUnder a ruling established at the time of Israel&#39;s creation in 1948, men who devote themselves full-time to studying Jewish texts are given a de facto pass from mandatory military service. But this exemption has come under mounting scrutiny from the rest of Israeli society -- particularly when tens of thousands of conscripts and reservists are mobilized on several fronts, despite the fragile truce that has ended the war in Gaza. 14% of Jewish populationThe ultra-Orthodox make up 14% of Israel&#39;s Jewish population. Keeping ultra-Orthodox parties on board is key to the survival of Netanyahu&#39;s right-wing coalition. In November, a new draft law was put forward in the parliament&#39;s foreign affairs and defense committee, after a previous conscription bill was voted down in July. The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party quit the government over that bill, and now Netanyahu&#39;s coalition only holds 60 out of 120 seats in parliament. Resignations&nbsp;Ministers from the other main ultra-Orthodox party, Shas, resigned from the cabinet over the issue, though the party has not formally left the coalition. In late October, a teenage boy fell to his death from a high-rise during another mass protest against the conscription law in Jerusalem.&nbsp; Israeli media said his death was likely to be a suicide, as the boy had left a farewell message on his Instagram account.

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews had taken to the streets to protest a law to conscript them to the army, as the military faces manpower shortages after two years of war on multiple fronts.

Teen killed in anti-conscription protest in Jerusalem

DAMASCUS: Clashes between government troops and Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria&rsquo;s Aleppo killed at least nine people on Tuesday, mostly civilians, in one of the worst flare-ups between the sides in months. The implementation of a March deal to merge the Kurds&rsquo; semi-autonomous administration and military into Syria&rsquo;s new government has largely stalled.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 552px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2008632287907270862&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=1f47463563661dc86ac6b6e51315a5a78e9350ca&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2008632287907270862"></iframe></div></div>Tensions have occasionally erupted into clashes, particularly in Aleppo, which has two Kurdish-majority neighborhoods. Deadliest violenceBoth sides traded blame over who started Tuesday&rsquo;s fighting, which continued into the night and is among the deadliest violence between the government and Kurdish forces since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad more than a year ago.&nbsp; It also adds to concerns about progress on the integration deal. On Tuesday morning, the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said factions affiliated with the government &ldquo;targeted the Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood&rdquo;. By evening, the SDF said the death toll in the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh districts had risen to four civilians, including two women and a child. It reported &ldquo;indiscriminate artillery and missile shelling&rdquo; on the areas, including &ldquo;the use of drones... direct sniper fire and heavy-weapon fire&rdquo;. Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh have remained under the control of Kurdish units linked to the SDF, despite Kurdish fighters agreeing to withdraw from the areas in April. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Stalled integration&nbsp;</h2>In a statement carried by state news agency SANA, the defense ministry said the SDF targeted &ldquo;a number of neighborhoods in Aleppo city adjacent to the districts it controls&rdquo;. SANA reported five people killed by SDF fire -- four civilians, including a child, in addition to a member of the Defense Ministry personnel. The agriculture ministry said two of the dead were workers at a research center. &ldquo;The SDF is again proving that it does not recognize the March 10 agreement and is trying to undermine it,&rdquo; the defense ministry said. Suspension of flights&nbsp;Civil aviation authorities announced &quot;the suspension of flights to and from Aleppo airport for 24 hours and their diversion to Damascus airport&quot; due to the violence, SANA reported. Governor Azzam al-Gharib announced schools, universities, and government offices in Aleppo city would be closed on Wednesday and public events cancelled, citing &ldquo;the current situation and the targeting of several hospitals and institutions by indiscriminate SDF artillery shelling&rdquo;. The SDF&nbsp;controls swathes of Syria&rsquo;s oil-rich north and northeast, and, supported by a US-led international coalition, was key to the territorial defeat of the Islamic State group in Syria in 2019.The March agreement on its integration into the state was supposed to be implemented by the end of 2025. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&lsquo;Lay down&rsquo; weapons&nbsp;</h2>In Ankara, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said, &ldquo;the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers&#39; Party) and all affiliated groups must immediately cease all terrorist activity in regions where they are present, including in Syria, and lay down their weapons without condition&rdquo;. The SDF is dominated by the People&#39;s Protection Units (YPG), a Kurdish militant group seen by Ankara as an extension of the PKK, which earlier this year agreed to end its four-decade armed struggle against Turkey. &ldquo;We will not allow any terrorist organization -- particularly the PKK, the PYD, the YPG, and the SDF -- to establish a foothold in the region,&rdquo; Guler added. A close ally of the new authorities, Turkey shares a 900-kilometer (550-mile) border with Syria and has launched successive offensives to push Kurdish forces from its frontier. Also, on Tuesday, the SDF accused factions affiliated with Syria&#39;s army of attacking Deir Hafer, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Aleppo, and near the strategic Tishreen Dam to the city&#39;s northeast. The Kurdish-led force affirmed its right to &ldquo;respond legitimately to these attacks&rdquo;. On Sunday, SDF chief Mazloum Abdi held further talks with officials in Damascus on integrating the Kurdish-led forces, but state media reported no tangible results. The Kurds are pushing for decentralized rule, an idea which Syria&#39;s new authorities have rejected. Last month in Aleppo, clashes killed five people, while Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged the SDF not to be an obstacle to Syria&#39;s stability.

The implementation of a March deal to merge the Kurds’ semi-autonomous administration and military into Syria’s new government has largely stalled.

UN Security Council to meet Monday on Venezuela: presidency

Related Articles

New York proclaims Muslim American Heritage Month, illuminates landmarks green

Turkiye’s Erdogan hails €2.6B jet deal with Spain

Maduro now in New York jail as Trump says US to 'run' Venezuela

President Maduro, wife captured, flown out of country: Trump

Latest News

Syrians flee Aleppo's Kurdish areas as army declares them 'military zones'

Curfew in Nepal border city after Hindu extremists desecrate mosque

India’s behind-the-scenes US outreach during conflict with Pakistan

Iran army chief threatens response to Trump and Netanyahu's 'threats'

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police budget surges by record 408% to over Rs150 billion