NUUK: &quot;We don&#39;t want to be Americans,&quot; Greenland&#39;s political parties said after US President Donald Trump again suggested using force to seize the mineral-rich Danish autonomous territory. The statement late Friday came after Trump repeated that Washington was &ldquo;going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not&rdquo;. &ldquo;We don&#39;t want to be Americans, we don&#39;t want to be Danish, we want to be Greenlanders,&rdquo; the leaders of five parties in Greenland&#39;s parliament said. &quot;The future of Greenland must be decided by Greenlanders.&quot; Denmark and other European allies have voiced shock at Trump&#39;s threats to take control of Greenland, where the United States already has a military base. Trump says controlling the strategic island is crucial for US national security, given the rising military activity of Russia and China in the Arctic. &lsquo;Nice way or the more difficult way&rsquo;&quot;We&#39;re not going to have Russia or China occupy Greenland. That&#39;s what they&#39;re going to do if we don&#39;t. So we&#39;re going to be doing something with Greenland, either the nice way or the more difficult way,&quot; the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-warns-greenland-deal-will-happen-easy-or-hard-threatens-iran" style="color:#0073e6;">US president said Friday.</a> Both Russia and China have increased military activity in the region in recent years, but neither has laid any claim to the vast icy island. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that an invasion of Greenland would end &ldquo;everything&rdquo;, meaning the transatlantic NATO defense pact and the post-World War II security structure. Trump has made light of the concerns of Denmark, a steadfast US ally that joined the United States in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. &lsquo;Boat land there 500 years ago&rsquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;I&#39;m a fan of Denmark, too, I have to tell you. And you know, they&#39;ve been very nice to me,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;But you know, the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn&rsquo;t mean that they own the land.&rdquo; Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet next week with Denmark&#39;s foreign minister and representatives from Greenland.

Americas

Europe

US President Trump says controlling the strategic island is crucial for US national security, given the rising military activity of Russia and China in the Arctic.

'We don't want to be Americans': Greenland's political parties

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Friday the world&rsquo;s biggest oil companies will pledge to invest $100 billion to revive Venezuela&#39;s oil sector as he prepared for a meeting with top industry executives. US forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a sweeping military operation on Jan. 3, with Trump making no secret that control of Venezuela&#39;s oil was at the heart of his actions. &quot;At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,&quot; Trump wrote on his social media platform ahead of the gathering, where he was expected to convince the oil heads to support his plans in Venezuela. The Trump administration has repeatedly said that it is running Venezuela, with Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Wednesday asserting that Washington will control the country&#39;s oil industry &quot;indefinitely.&quot; Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez, who was Maduro&#39;s deputy, has said that her government remains in charge, while the state-run oil firm has said only that it is in negotiations with the United States on oil sales. Second wave of strikes In his social media post, Trump said he cancelled a second wave of strikes on Venezuela due to what he called &quot;cooperation&quot; from the country. He noted Venezuela began releasing political prisoners this week and said the countries are &quot;working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding... their oil and gas infrastructure.&quot; US outlet NBC News reported that the heads of ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips are expected to attend the White House meeting. &quot;It&#39;s just a meeting to discuss, obviously, the immense opportunity that is before these oil companies right now,&quot; Trump&#39;s spokesperson Leavitt told reporters Wednesday. Chevron is the only US company currently licensed to operate in Venezuela. ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips left the country in 2007 after refusing then-President Hugo Chavez&#39;s demand that they surrender a majority stake in local operations to the government. Suffering under sanctions&nbsp;Sanctioned by Washington since 2019, Venezuela sits on about a fifth of the world&#39;s oil reserves and was once a major crude supplier to the United States. But it produced only about 1% of the world&#39;s total crude output in 2024, according to OPEC, having been hampered by years of underinvestment, sanctions, and embargoes. Trump sees the country&#39;s massive oil reserves as a windfall in his fight to further lower US domestic fuel prices, a major political issue. But he could face an uphill task convincing the major US oil companies to invest in Venezuela due to uncertainty about governance post-Maduro, security, and the massive expense of restoring production facilities. &#39;Controlled by me&#39;&nbsp;On Tuesday, Trump said that Venezuela&#39;s interim government would deliver up to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States, and that the proceeds &quot;will be controlled by me.&quot; &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; He later added that the proceeds Venezuela would spend would be used solely to purchase US products. US Energy Secretary Wright has downplayed concerns about the investments required to ramp up Venezuelan production, saying it should be possible to increase output by several hundred thousand barrels a day in the short- to medium-term. He admitted, however, that it would require &quot;tens of billions of dollars and significant time&quot; to bring production back to historic highs of more than three million barrels per day. In his first term, Trump imposed an oil embargo aimed at economically suffocating Venezuela, which heavily depends on exports of the commodity. &#39;Selectively rolling back sanctions&#39; When he returned for his second term, he also revoked most of the licenses that allowed oil and gas multinationals to operate in the country, except for Chevron. Washington now says it is &quot;selectively rolling back sanctions&quot; to enable the sale and transport of Venezuelan crude oil on global markets. Wright said that the Trump administration would also help major US oil companies to establish a long-term presence. Venezuelan crude is known to be viscous and difficult to refine. The US Department of Energy is already planning to ship light oil to be mixed with Venezuelan crude to make the process easier. It also plans to authorize the shipment of equipment and experts to the country to upgrade infrastructure.

US outlet NBC News reports heads of ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips are expected at the White House meeting today; Trump says he cancelled a second wave of strikes on Venezuela after 'cooperation' from the country.

Trump says 'at least $100B to be invested by Big Oil' in Venezuela ahead of White House meeting

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald J Trump said Wednesday that China and Russia fear and respect only a United States rebuilt under his leadership, arguing that American military strength depends primarily on US power rather than NATO alliances. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that &ldquo;the only Nation that China and Russia fear and respect is the DJT rebuilt U.S.A.,&rdquo; asserting that NATO would lack credibility without American involvement.<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" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2008920160808091781&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=6049400c4ece6876c01e87f3ab8cf27c57b7517e&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 826px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="2008920160808091781"></iframe></div></div>He claimed that Russia and China have &ldquo;zero fear of NATO without the United States&rdquo; and questioned whether the alliance would come to Washington&rsquo;s aid in a crisis. Trump credited himself with rebuilding the US military during his first term and said that this effort was central to global stability and deterrence. The president also repeated earlier claims that his leadership prevented Russia from fully overtaking Ukraine and that he played a decisive role in ending multiple international conflicts. Trump said: &quot;Remember, for all of those big NATO fans, they were at 2% GDP, and most weren&rsquo;t paying their bills, UNTIL I CAME ALONG. The USA was, foolishly, paying for them! I, respectfully, got them to 5% GDP, AND THEY PAY, immediately. Everyone said that couldn&rsquo;t be done, but it could, because, beyond all else, they are all my friends. Without my involvement, Russia would have ALL OF UKRAINE right now.&quot; The US president said: &quot;Remember, also, I single-handedly ENDED 8 WARS, and Norway, a NATO Member, foolishly chose not to give me the Noble Peace Prize. But that doesn&rsquo;t matter! What does matter is that I saved Millions of Lives. RUSSIA AND CHINA HAVE ZERO FEAR OF NATO WITHOUT THE UNITED STATES, AND I DOUBT NATO WOULD BE THERE FOR US IF WE REALLY NEEDED THEM. EVERYONE IS LUCKY THAT I REBUILT OUR MILITARY IN MY FIRST TERM, AND CONTINUE TO DO SO.&quot; &quot;We will always be there for NATO, even if they won&rsquo;t be there for us. The only Nation that China and Russia fear and respect is the DJT REBUILT U.S.A. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!! President DJT.&quot; &nbsp;

Says, ‘RUSSIA AND CHINA HAVE ZERO FEAR OF NATO WITHOUT THE UNITED STATES, AND I DOUBT NATO WOULD BE THERE FOR US IF WE REALLY NEEDED THEM.’

Russia, China have zero fear of Nato without US: Trump 

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has &quot;actively discussed&quot; the purchase of Greenland with his team, the White House said Wednesday, saying he preferred diplomacy but would not rule out military action. &quot;That&#39;s something that&#39;s currently being actively discussed by the president and his national security team,&quot; Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked about a possible US offer to buy the territory from Denmark. &quot;His team is currently talking about what a potential purchase would look like.&quot; Leavitt reiterated that Trump believes acquiring Greenland would be in the interest of US national security. &quot;He views it in the best interest of the United States to deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic region. And so that&#39;s why his team is currently talking about what a potential purchase would look like.&quot; Asked why Trump would not rule out military action against a fellow NATO member, Leavitt replied: &quot;That&#39;s not something this president does. All options are always on the table for President Trump. &quot;But I will just say, the president&#39;s first option, always, has been diplomacy.&quot; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said separately Wednesday that he planned to meet next week with Denmark, which requested talks after Trump&#39;s threats to Greenland. &quot;I&#39;ll be meeting with them next week,&quot; Rubio told reporters.

The White House confirms President Trump is actively discussing purchasing Greenland, citing US national security and Arctic threats, while emphasizing diplomacy and planning talks with Denmark despite not ruling out military options.

Trump 'actively' discussing purchase of Greenland: White House

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.

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

ISLAMABAD: The European Union&nbsp;and&nbsp;China have&nbsp;called for calm and restraint in Venezuela following the aftermath of the US intervention in the country.&nbsp;The statement, issued by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, is supported by 26 EU member states, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.&nbsp;Kallas shared the statement on her social media account, X, on Monday.&nbsp;<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; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 777px; 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=2007902058876448897&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=e7b973618ac13baeaa9694f9063a7a18ae1fa8fe&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div> In the statement, the EU emphasized that all actors must avoid escalation and work toward a peaceful resolution to the crisis. It reiterated the importance of upholding international law and the UN Charter, noting that members of the United Nations Security Council bear a particular responsibility in maintaining the international security framework. Blatant use of forceChina condemned the &ldquo;blatant use of force against Venezuela&rdquo;, which&nbsp;&ldquo;violates international law and basic norms in international relations&rdquo;, said the China Foreign Office Spokesperson in a statement on X. <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-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 775px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2008131825722601581&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard&sessionId=f576ada351bffaf2abd0c5d850ae9b1d9fee840d&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>&nbsp;It said that the move &ldquo;infringes upon Venezuela&rsquo;s sovereignty and threatens peace and security&rdquo; in Latin America and the Caribbean region.&nbsp;&ldquo;China calls on parties to respect Venezuela&rsquo;s right to independently choosing development path, and work for stability and the return of order in Venezuela&rdquo;, said the statement.&nbsp;The statement added that it supports the UN Security Council &ldquo;in holding an emergency meeting to discuss the U.S. military strikes on Venezuela&rdquo; and supports the &ldquo;Council in playing its due role according to its mandate.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;China is ready to work with the international community to firmly defend the UN Charter and the fundamental principles of international justice&rdquo;, concluded the statement.&nbsp;Venezuelan-led transition to democracyThe EU has consistently stated that Venezuelan President Nicol&aacute;s Maduro lacks the legitimacy of a democratically elected leader and has advocated for a Venezuelan-led transition to democracy that respects the country&rsquo;s sovereignty. The statement stressed that the Venezuelan people&rsquo;s right to determine their own future must be respected. The EU also highlighted the importance of combating transnational organized crime and drug trafficking while stressing that such challenges must be addressed in full respect of international law, territorial integrity, and sovereignty. Unconditional release of political prisoners&nbsp;Kallas&rsquo; statement noted that the EU is in close contact with the United States, as well as regional and international partners, to support dialogue with all parties, aiming for a negotiated, democratic, inclusive, and peaceful solution led by Venezuelans themselves. The statement underlined that respecting the will of the Venezuelan people is essential for restoring democracy and resolving the ongoing crisis. It also called for the unconditional release of all political prisoners currently detained in Venezuela and confirmed that EU Member States&rsquo; consular authorities are coordinating efforts to protect the safety of EU citizens, including those detained illegally in the country.

China, EU reiterate the importance of upholding international law and the UN Charter, noting that members of the United Nations Security Council bear a particular responsibility in maintaining the international security framework

China, EU call for calm in Venezuela following US intervention

&nbsp;CARACAS: A lingering smell of explosives hung over Venezuela&#39;s capital Caracas on Saturday as shocked residents took stock after an early-morning US strike that ousted strongman Nicolas Maduro. While a few hundred Maduro supporters gathered to clamor for his freedom, the streets were otherwise eerily quiet. &quot;I felt the explosions lift me out of bed. In that instant, I thought: &#39;My God, the day has come,&#39; and I cried,&quot; Maria Eugenia Escobar, a 58-year-old resident of the city of six million people, told AFP. The strikes started around 2:00 am local time, with dozens of detonations that some people at first mistook for fireworks. Windows rattled from the shockwaves, and residents rushed out onto terraces and balconies as military aircraft zoomed overhead. &quot;It was horrible, we felt the planes flying over our house,&quot; said a resident of the Coche neighborhood, near the city&#39;s largest military complex, which was targeted in the raid. Residents saw columns of smoke rising from several parts of the city, which was soon cloaked in a fog-like haze. Witnesses spoke of bombings in La Guaira, Caracas&#39;s airport and port, in Maracay to the west, and in Higuerote to the east. &#39;Absurd!&nbsp;In the aftermath, Venezuelans soon learned their long-ruling leader, Maduro, was out. US special forces seized Maduro and took him to face trial in New York. A few hundred supporters gathered in Caracas to demand news of their leader&#39;s fate. &quot;Long live Nicolas Maduro,&quot; echoed a rally cry from a hastily erected stage with speakers blaring revolutionary music. &quot;Long live!&quot; responded the crowd. Katia Briceno, a 54-year-old university professor, came out to protest against what she described as the US &#39;barbarism.&#39; &quot;How is it that a foreign government comes into the country and removes the president? It&#39;s absurd!&quot; she told AFP. Apart from the protesters, there were few Venezuelans out, and just occasional cars on the usually bustling streets. Those who did venture out did so under the watchful eye of black-clad agents patrolling the center with long guns. Many stores were closed after the attack, while queues formed at others that were letting people in a few at a time. Damage from the explosions was mostly limited to military installations, where vehicles stood riddled by bullets, others smouldering and charred. Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino Lopez accused the US forces of attacking civilian areas with missiles and rockets fired from combat helicopters. President Donald Trump said no US soldiers died in Saturday&#39;s strikes, but the toll on the Venezuelan side remained unknown. For residents of Caracas, the future is uncertain. Trump said he was &quot;not afraid of boots on the ground&quot; and mooted the possibility of a &quot;much bigger&quot; second wave of strikes if necessary. He also said the United States will &#39;run&#39; Venezuela until a political transition occurs. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado insists Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, whom the opposition says won elections in July 2024 in which Maduro claimed victory, &quot;must immediately assume his constitutional mandate&quot; as president. Trump appeared to scotch any expectation that Machado herself might emerge as Venezuela&#39;s new leader. She does not have &#39;support or respect&#39; there, he said. Trump indicated he could instead work with Maduro&#39;s deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, saying &quot;she&#39;s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.&quot; Neighboring Colombia was reinforcing its border with Venezuela, using tanks and armed soldiers who normally fight guerrillas to secure the frontier. Colombian security forces deployed at the main border crossings on the orders of leftist President Gustavo Petro, who has clashed with Trump over his months-long military buildup in the region. Petro&#39;s government has warned of a potential humanitarian crisis with migrants pouring over the border from Venezuela. However, on the Simon Bolivar bridge in Villa del Rosaria, the main crossing point, the number of people walking across on Saturday was far below normal.

File: Miraflores Palace In Caracas, Venezuela (Wikimedia Commons) 

Caracas lay eerily quiet after early-morning US strikes ousted President Nicolas Maduro. Explosions hit military sites, sparked protests and uncertainty, prompted border tensions with Colombia, and raised fears of US intervention.

Venezuelan capital quiet, streets empty after US strike

The United States has completed its military action in Venezuela after capturing leftist leader Nicolas Maduro, a US senator said Saturday, quoting Secretary of State Marco Rubio, AFP reported.

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

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States is &quot;locked and loaded&quot; to respond if Iran kills protesters, after cost-of-living demonstrations in the country turned deadly. Protesters and security forces clashed in several Iranian cities on Thursday, with six people reported killed in the first deaths since the unrest escalated. Shopkeepers in the capital Tehran went on strike Sunday over high prices and economic stagnation, actions that have since spread to other parts of the country. Trump said on his Truth Social platform that &quot;if Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue.&quot; &quot;We are locked and loaded and ready to go,&quot; the Republican leader added. Iran warns of response to any US interventionIran on Friday warned against any US intervention in the country, vowing a response after President Donald Trump said he would come to the aid of protesters in the Islamic Republic. &quot;Any interventionist hand that attacks Iran&#39;s security under any pretext whatsoever will be exposed to a response,&quot; Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to the supreme leader, wrote on X. &quot;Iran&#39;s security is a red line.&quot; Iran&#39;s Fars news agency reported Thursday that two people were killed in clashes between security forces and protesters in the city of Lordegan, in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and three in Azna, in neighbouring Lorestan province. State television reported earlier that a member of Iran&#39;s security forces was killed overnight during protests in the western city of Kouhdasht. The demonstrations are smaller than the last major incident in 2022, triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating Iran&#39;s strict dress code for women. Her death sparked a nationwide wave of anger that left several hundred people dead, including dozens of members of the security forces.

US President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Dec. 22, 2025 (AFP)

Middle East

US president threatens action if Tehran violently suppresses cost-of-living protesters, saying America will 'come to their rescue'; Iran says any intervention attacking the country's security will invite a response.

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