10 Things Global News - 5th January 2026
Succinct, unbiased news from around the world
Trump Warns Venezuela Could Face Further U.S. Military Action
US Protests Spread After Venezuela Intervention
UK And France Strike Islamic State Arms Facility In Syria
Kim Jon Un Links Hypersonic Drill To Venezuela Shock
Berlin Blackout Linked To Suspected Far Left Arson
Trump Disputes Kremlin Claim Of Putin Residence Strike
Denmark And Greenland Reject Trump Takeover Threats
Nigeria Village Attack Kills At Least 30
Saudi-Backed Forces Retake Yemen’s Mukalla
Khamenei Said to Have Moscow Exit Plan as Protests Spread
U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States could launch a second military strike on Venezuela if officials from Nicolás Maduro’s government do not cooperate following Maduro’s capture and transfer to U.S. custody.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump also raised the prospect of pressure beyond Venezuela, suggesting Colombia and Mexico could also face action linked to drug trafficking.
Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro is being held in New York ahead of a court appearance, while Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has assumed interim leadership with backing from Venezuela’s top court.
Governments across the region and Europe have warned the intervention sets a dangerous precedent, with the United Nations Security Council due to meet to examine its legality. Venezuela’s armed forces were activated after the raid, and Cuba said its citizens were killed during the operation.
Sources: Reuters, The Guardian
Protests erupted across multiple US cities over the weekend in response to President Donald Trump’s military intervention in Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. Demonstrations were held in cities including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Philadelphia, with protesters opposing what they described as an illegal operation and warning against a potential war.
Maduro was seized early on Saturday and transferred to the United States, where he is due to appear in federal court in New York on Monday to face drug trafficking charges. However, critics argued Trump lacked congressional authorisation, as a result raising constitutional concerns. Senior Democratic lawmakers said Congress had been bypassed, while some international leaders warned the action breached the United Nations charter.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers largely backed the president, even as some walked back Trump’s remarks that the United States would “run” Venezuela during a transition. Protests also targeted deportations of Venezuelans living in the US, with activists saying military action abroad and enforcement at home were fuelling instability.
Sources: Global Times, The Guardian
British and French aircraft carried out a joint air strike on an underground arms bunker used by Islamic State in central Syria, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. Royal Air Force Typhoon jets targeted access tunnels to the facility, located in mountainous terrain north of Palmyra, using Paveway IV guided bombs after what officials described as careful intelligence analysis.
The ministry said initial indications suggest the target was successfully engaged, with no signs of civilian harm and all aircraft returning safely. The strike took place late on Saturday and formed part of ongoing patrols aimed at preventing any resurgence of Islamic State following its territorial defeat in 2019. Typhoon aircraft were supported by a Voyager refuelling tanker during the operation.
Meanwhile, UK Defence Secretary John Healey said the action demonstrated Britain’s determination to act alongside allies against the group’s violent ideology. The United Nations estimates Islamic State still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters operating in Syria and Iraq, despite sustained coalition pressure.
Sources: BBC, The Times
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a combat drill on Sunday that fired two hypersonic missiles, state media reported Monday. KCNA said the missiles were launched from the Pyongyang area and hit targets about 1,000 kilometres away, while Japan’s defence minister said they travelled 900 km and 950 km on an irregular trajectory.
Meanwhile, Kim said “important achievements” had been made in preparing nuclear forces “for an actual war” and that the country must upgrade “offensive weapon systems”. He said the need for a nuclear war deterrent was exemplified by a “recent geopolitical crisis” and “complicated international events”.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry denounced the US raid that seized Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and flew them out of the country, calling it a violation of sovereignty and the UN Charter. South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung was due to meet China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday.
Sources: Bloomberg, Japan Times
German authorities say a major power outage in south west Berlin was likely caused by an arson attack carried out by suspected far left extremists. A fire damaged high voltage cables near a combined power and heating station, leaving up to 45,000 households without electricity and heating after the outage began on Saturday.
Grid operator Stromnetz Berlin said restoration work was ongoing, with about 35,000 households and nearly 2,000 commercial sites still affected on Sunday. Meanwhile, a group calling itself the Volcano Group claimed responsibility in a letter that security authorities have classified as authentic, saying the attack targeted fossil fuel based energy infrastructure.
As a result, Berlin’s senate declared a state of emergency and sought support from the military and federal police. Hospitals, rail services, schools and thousands of businesses were disrupted, while residents were urged to seek alternative accommodation as temperatures fell below freezing. Officials said the incident highlighted the vulnerability of Germany’s critical infrastructure.
Sources: Reuters, FT
President Donald Trump said US officials have determined that Ukraine did not target a residence belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a drone attack last week, disputing a Kremlin claim raised during negotiations to end the war.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia’s defence systems defeated a wave of drones aimed at Putin’s state residence in the Novgorod region. Trump said “something happened nearby”, but that Americans did not find the residence was targeted.
However, Trump acknowledged he had initially treated the allegation seriously after a call with Putin and said he was “very angry”. The allegation came a day after Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Florida for talks on the administration’s 20-point plan, which both leaders said made progress. By Wednesday Trump posted a link to a New York Post editorial that questioned the claim, as European officials argued it was meant to undermine the peace effort.
Sources: Associated Press, South China Morning Post
Denmark’s and Greenland’s leaders urged President Donald Trump to stop threatening to take over Greenland after he again said the United States “needs Greenland” for defence and national security.
Meanwhile, in an interview with The Atlantic and later aboard Air Force One, Trump claimed the island is “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships” and said Denmark “is not going to be able to do it”.
However, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the US has “no right to annex” Greenland, and stressed that Greenland is not for sale. Frederiksen noted Denmark is a NATO ally and that Greenland, as part of the kingdom, is covered by the alliance’s security guarantee.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said linking Greenland to Venezuela and military intervention was “disrespectful,” after an X post by Katie Miller, wife of Stephen Miller, Deputy White House Chief of Staff and National Security Adviser showed a US-flag map captioned “SOON”.
Sources: DW, Axios
Armed men stormed Kasuwan-Daji in Nigeria’s Niger state on Saturday, killing at least 30 people, looting shops and setting fire to the local market, authorities said. Police said the attackers arrived on motorcycles and kidnapped an unspecified number of people.
A police spokesman said “over 30” were killed, while residents put the toll in Kasuwa Daji at least 37 and said five died in neighbouring Kaima. In one account, villagers were rounded up before being slaughtered or shot, and a witness said there were no security forces in the village.
Meanwhile, the attack came a day after Niger state announced the phased reopening of schools, after a mass kidnapping in November from St Mary’s Catholic school in Papiri. Officials said all missing students and teachers had been rescued before Christmas, but government officials said the latest assault was carried out by “terrorists suspected to be fleeing” following US strikes in the northwest.
Sources: New York Times, BBC
Saudi-backed forces spread across Yemen’s Mukalla on Sunday after retaking the port city, which was seized by southern separatists last month, the Associated Press reported. The capital of Hadramout province was retaken by Yemen’s internationally recognised government following days of Saudi airstrikes.
Residents told the AP that the Emirati-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council, or STC, had withdrawn from military camps, and video showed the National Shield Forces driving through the city and around al-Rayyan Airport. The separatists said Saudi warplanes carried out new airstrikes on a military camp in Mukalla on Saturday.
Meanwhile, tensions rose after the STC moved last month into Hadramout and Mahra and seized an oil-rich region. Saudi Arabia said it will host a conference in Riyadh to bring together southern factions, and the STC welcomed the invitation.
Sources: Associated Press, Al Jazeera
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has prepared an escape plan to flee Tehran for Moscow if unrest intensifies and security forces fail to contain it, according to an intelligence report cited by The Times. The plan would involve Khamenei, 86, and up to 20 close aides and family members.
The report says the plan would be activated if the army and security forces begin to desert or disobey orders. It draws parallels with the escape of Syria’s former leader Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Moscow in December 2024 as opposition forces advanced. The same sources say Khamenei admires Vladimir Putin and views Russia as a natural refuge.
Meanwhile, protests triggered by economic hardship have spread across multiple Iranian cities over the past week. Demonstrators accuse security forces of using live fire, tear gas and water cannons to suppress dissent. Khamenei has not appeared publicly in recent days, and the assessment cited by The Times describes him as weaker since last year’s 12-day war with Israel.
Sources: The Times, The Jerusalem Post
On this day …
On this day In 1933 construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began; commencing at the height of the Great Depression, it was a public works project intended to create jobs and improve long-term connectivity.
Spanning the treacherous waters between San Francisco and Marin County, the bridge faced technical, financial, and political scepticism, yet was completed in just over four years.
It became both an engineering landmark and a symbol of state capacity to deliver complex infrastructure at scale.
Today, major infrastructure projects often face prolonged delays driven by regulatory hurdles, litigation, and competing interest groups. The contrast highlights how political consensus, risk tolerance, and public ambition shape what societies are able to build.
Trump’s Venezuela raid is being sold as a clean “win”, but the strategic ledger tells a very different story—and the implications run straight through India.I just broke down how the Maduro operation exposed America’s biggest weaknesses and road‑tested a three‑weapon playbook that’s already live in India’s information space.If you care about India’s strategic autonomy and how power actually operates behind headlines, this is worth a read.👉 Full analysis here:
https://substack.com/@geopoliticsinplainsight/p-183843075