No casualties reported as huge fire breaks out in village of makeshift homes located on fringe of Seoul’s upmarket Gangnam district.

Hundreds of South Korean firefighters are battling a major fire in a deprived area located on the fringe of the upmarket Gangnam district in the capital, Seoul.

The blaze broke out at about 5am local time (20:00 GMT) on Friday, and authorities raised the fire alert to the second-highest level, with some 300 firefighters deployed to fight the blaze amid fears it might spread to a nearby mountain, the country’s official Yonhap News Agency reports.

There were no initial reports of casualties as dozens of residents in Guryong Village, which was described by Yonhap as “one of the last remaining shanty towns in Seoul”, were forced to flee their homes, according to fire officials.

Photographs from the scene showed ‍a towering column of black smoke hanging over the area, as elderly residents wearing face masks evacuated.

Yonhap reported that 85 fire trucks were sent to tackle the fire, and a firefighting helicopter was prevented from participating due to poor visibility.

“I was asleep until a neighbour called saying there was a fire. I ran out and saw the flames already spreading,” Kim Ok-im, 69, who said she had lived in the area for nearly 30 years, told the Reuters news agency.

Guryong Village is situated on the fringe of the upmarket Gangnam district, which is known as Seoul’s wealthiest area and commands some of the highest prices paid for real estate in South Korea.

The ramshackle housing in the village formed in the 1970s and 1980s, when low-income residents in the area were forced to move as the capital underwent major redevelopment, including during the Asian Games and the Seoul Olympics.

At that time, locals settled on the edge of Gangnam without permits, according to a Seoul city planning report.

The makeshift homes found in the village are ‌often densely packed together and built with highly flammable materials such as vinyl sheets, plywood and styrofoam, making the area particularly vulnerable to fires, according to an assessment by the fire department after a blaze in 2023.

Most residents have moved out of Guryong, but about 336 households remain, according to the Gangnam District city planning department.

This action packed film picks up directly from the prequel before it, and it’s packed full of motorcycle stunts, gunplay and intricately choreographed fight scenes

A film starring Keanu Reeves in one of his most iconic roles has been hailed as ‘literally the best movie of all time’, and it’s on Film4 tonight.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, released in 2019, picks straight up from Chapter 2 and follows super-assassin John Wick as he becomes “excommunicado” after killing a High Table member, Santino D’Antonio on Continental grounds, and putting a $14 million bounty on his head.

The pressure is forcing Wicks to fight waves of elite assassins across New York, Morocco, and beyond, seeking aid from old allies like Sofia while grappling with his debt to the shadowy High Table to survive and find peace. The film is another action packed thrill seeking movie, with lead actor Keanu Reeves undergoing intense training to keep up the pace from the previous John Wicks saga.

Reeves trained for four months before filming, mastering new martial arts, gunplay, motorcycle stunts, and horse riding, stating he loved the character and universe so wanted to stay committed to the role.The film involves complex fights, including a glass room scene, that don’t involve any CGI and instead focused on intricate choreography and real-world physics.

The reviews for this action film speak for themselves, with movie review site Rotten Tomatoes giving the film an 89 percent approval rating. One fan wrote: “Literally one of the best movies of all time this movie is amazing. It was very dramatic and had lots of action and John Wick is like the coolest person ever.” Another said: “Hands down has the best mix of hand to hand combat with firearms mixed in. The movie has a good runtime but does drag at certain points but overall has the best keeping your eyes glued to the screen factor.”

“My personal favorite of the John Wick series; peak cinematography, action, acting, and set pieces. Absolutely beautiful,” said a third. Another posted: “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is the most relentless chapter in the series, built entirely around consequence. The film opens with Wick racing against the clock, and it never lets up. Every injury carries forward, making the action feel punishing rather than flashy.

“The set pieces are inventive but disciplined. The antique shop knife fight is brutal and methodical, the horse stable sequence turns the environment into a weapon, and the use of trained dogs emphasizes coordination and tactics instead of chaos. Even at peak intensity, the choreography stays clear and readable.

“What defines Chapter 3 is its commitment to rules. Defying the High Table doesn’t make Wick powerful—it makes his world smaller and more dangerous. The film leans into myth while reinforcing that freedom comes at a steep cost, delivering a focused, exhausting, and uncompromising action experience.”

Another praised Keanu Reeves for his lead role, as they posted: “A fun action movie that you shouldn’t take super seriously, just enjoy. It’s well made with practically constant action with set locations. The villain is fun and some of the action scenes are brutal but also just so well done. Keanu’s acting is pretty amazing. Can’t believe he hasn’t gotten an Oscar lol.”

“This was thrilling to watch John Wick 3 Action from start to finish. Can’t wait for No 4 Highly recommend this film. Amazing action, Keanu Reeves at his best yet again,” said another.

John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum airs on Friday 16 January on Film4 at 11.05pm.

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit demanding California turn over its voter rolls, calling the request “unprecedented and illegal” and accusing the federal government of trying to “abridge the right of many Americans to cast their ballots.”

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, a Clinton appointee based in Santa Ana, questioned the Justice Department’s motivations and called its lawsuit demanding voter data from California Secretary of State Shirley Weber not just an overreach into state-run elections, but a threat to American democracy.

“The centralization of this information by the federal government would have a chilling effect on voter registration which would inevitably lead to decreasing voter turnout as voters fear that their information is being used for some inappropriate or unlawful purpose,” Carter wrote. “This risk threatens the right to vote which is the cornerstone of American democracy.”

Carter wrote that the “taking of democracy does not occur in one fell swoop; it is chipped away piece by piece until there is nothing left,” and that the Justice Department’s lawsuit was “one of these cuts that imperils all Americans.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Thursday.

In a video she posted to the social media platform X earlier Thursday, Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet Dhillon — who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division — said she was proud of her office’s efforts to “clean up the voter rolls nationally,” including by suing states for their data.

“We are going to touch every single state and finish this project,” she said.

Weber, who is California’s top elections official, said in a written statement that she is “entrusted with ensuring that California’s state election laws are enforced — including state laws that protect the privacy of California’s data.”

“I will continue to uphold my promise to Californians to protect our democracy, and I will continue to challenge this administration’s disregard for the rule of law and our right to vote,” Weber said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office called the decision another example of “Trump and his administration losing to California” — one day after another court upheld California’s congressional redistricting plan under Proposition 50, which the Trump administration also challenged in court after state voters passed it overwhelmingly in November.

The Justice Department sued Weber in September after she refused to hand over detailed voter information for some 23 million Californians, alleging that she was unlawfully preventing federal authorities from ensuring state compliance with federal voting regulations and safeguarding federal elections against fraud.

It separately sued Weber’s counterparts in various other states who also declined the department’s requests for their states’ voter rolls.

The lawsuit followed an executive order by President Trump in March that purported to require voters to provide proof of citizenship and ordered states to disregard mail ballots not received by election day. It also followed years of allegations by Trump, made without evidence, that voting in California has been hampered by widespread fraud and voting by noncitizens — part of his broader and equally unsupported claim that the 2020 presidental election was stolen from him.

In announcing the lawsuit, Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi said in September that “clean voter rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections,” and that the Justice Department was going to ensure that they exist nationwide.

Weber denounced the lawsuit at the time as a “fishing expedition and pretext for partisan policy objectives,” and as “an unprecedented intrusion unsupported by law or any previous practice or policy of the U.S. Department of Justice.”

The Justice Department demanded a “current electronic copy of California’s computerized statewide voter registration list”; lists of “all duplicate registration records in Imperial, Los Angeles, Napa, Nevada, San Bernardino, Siskiyou, and Stanislaus counties”; a “list of all duplicate registrants who were removed from the statewide voter registration list”; and the dates of their removals.

It also demanded a list of all registrations that had been canceled due to voter deaths; an explanation for a recent decline in the recorded number of “inactive” voters in California; and a list of “all registrations, including date of birth, driver’s license number, and last four digits of Social Security Number, that were canceled due to non-citizenship of the registrant.”

Carter, in his ruling Thursday, took particular issue with the Justice Department’s reliance on federal civil rights laws to make its case.

“The Department of Justice seeks to use civil rights legislation which was enacted for an entirely different purpose to amass and retain an unprecedented amount of confidential voter data. This effort goes far beyond what Congress intended when it passed the underlying legislation,” Carter wrote.

Carter wrote that the legislation in question — including Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 and the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 — was passed to defend Black Americans’ voting rights in the face of “persistent voter suppression” and to “combat the effects of discriminatory and unfair registration laws that cheapened the right to vote.”

Carter found that the Justice Department provided “no explanation for why unredacted voter files for millions of Californians, an unprecedented request, was necessary” for the Justice Department to investigate the alleged problems it claims, and that the executive branch simply has no power to demand such data all at once without explanation.

For the second time in as many months, the Dodgers swooped in to secure a major free-agent signing.

After weighing multiple offers this week, outfielder Kyle Tucker reportedly agreed to a four-year, $240-million contract with the Dodgers on Thursday.

Tucker, who reportedly had been offered $50 million per year by the New York Mets and received overtures from the Toronto Blue Jays, is a four-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger whose left-handed bat will fit into the middle of the Dodgers’ lineup.

The signing addresses an area where the Dodgers were in need of an upgrade, after the outfield corps posted minus-1.6 wins above replacement in 2025.

But the question heading into the offseason was how the Dodgers would go about improving their outfield. Although they had plenty of financial flexibility at the start of the offseason, with more than $60 million in salary from last season coming off the books, the front office also touted potential internal options. Some of those included Alex Call, Hyeseong Kim and Ryan Ward, who was named the Pacific Coast League’s MVP in 2025 and was added to the Dodgers’ 40-man roster this offseason.

The team used that flexibility to make a splash last month when they signed reliever Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69-million deal, emerging as a surprise winner after Díaz appeared on track to sign elsewhere.

Chicago Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker bats against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 31.

(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

They seemingly followed a similar pattern with Tucker, who spent last year with the Chicago Cubs after he was traded by the Houston Astros following the 2024 season. When reports emerged about the Mets offering a short-term deal worth $50 million per year, the Dodgers appeared to be out of the running.

But instead they landed another marquee free-agent signing in Tucker, who turns 29 on Saturday. They are banking on the productivity he’s shown when healthy — he’s a career .273 hitter with an .865 OPS — but he’s dealt with injuries the last two seasons. With the Cubs in 2025, Tucker hit .280 with 17 home runs before the all-star break, but a fractured right hand and a left calf strain slowed him down as he finished with 22 home runs. He served as the Cubs’ designated hitter during their postseason run, which ended in a five-game loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in the division series.

US forces say another Venezuela-linked tanker seized as Trump continues moves to take control of nation’s oil reserves.

United States forces have seized an oil tanker in the Caribbean that the Trump administration said had links to Venezuela, the sixth tanker vessel detained as Washington moves to take full control of Venezuelan oil resources.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the US Coast Guard had boarded the tanker Veronica early on Thursday.

Noem said the vessel had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s “established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean”.

US Marines and sailors stationed on board the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford took part in the operation alongside a coastguard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding.

The US military said the ship was seized “without incident”.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by US forces as part of President Trump’s promise to take indefinite control of the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products. It was also the fourth ship seized since the US abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation in Caracas almost two weeks ago.

The latest seizure came as Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, told parliament on Thursday that there would be reforms to legislation governing Venezuela’s oil sector. The Hydrocarbons Law, among other provisions, limits the involvement of foreign entities in exploiting the country’s national resources.

Without providing details, Rodriguez told parliament the reforms would touch on Venezuela’s so-called anti-blockade law, which provides the government with tools to counteract US sanctions in place since 2019.

Rodriguez said the envisioned legal reform would result in money for “new fields, to fields where there has never been investment, and to fields where there is no infrastructure”.

Rodriguez also said funds from oil would go to workers and public services.

Oil exports are Venezuela’s main source of revenue.

Since Maduro’s abduction, Trump has claimed the US now controls Venezuela’s oil sector and has made clear that the takeover of the country’s vast oil reserves was a key goal of his military onslaught against the nation and its leader.

Addressing oil executives last week, Trump said: “You’re dealing with us directly and not dealing with Venezuela at all. We don’t want you to deal with Venezuela.”

Venezuela sits on about a fifth of the world’s oil reserves and was once a major crude supplier to the US.

But Venezuela only produced about 1 percent of the world’s total crude output in 2024, according to OPEC, having been hampered by years of underinvestment, US sanctions and embargoes.

Caracas, January 15, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced a “partial reform” of the country’s hydrocarbon legislation during the annual “Memoria y Cuenta” speech before the National Assembly on Thursday.

Rodríguez justified the reform with the need to attract investment for Venezuela’s oil industry.

“We have brought a draft of a bill that aims to incorporate the productive models of the Anti-Blockade Law into the Hydrocarbon Law,” she told deputies. “The new investments will be directed to areas where there was no prior investment or no infrastructure.”

The Acting President went on to vow that the government would prioritize social spending and infrastructure works with energy revenues, though she did not offer further details. The legislative project will now be discussed by the National Assembly before being brought up for a vote. 

The 2001 Hydrocarbon Law was one of the major early projects in former President Hugo Chávez’s tenure. The legislation reasserted the Venezuelan state’s sovereignty over the oil industry, significantly raising royalties and taxes and mandating that state oil company PDVSA retain majority stakes in joint ventures. The law was a catalyst for the failed 2002 US-backed coup against Chávez.

Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly (2017-2020) approved the Anti-Blockade Law in 2020 in an effort to skirt US-led economic sanctions. The bill spurred the creation of several business models favoring private investors, including concession-type deals in the oil industry whereby private partners collect a majority of the crude produced.

The oil reform announcement comes amid repeated claims by Washington to take control of Venezuelan crude dealings. Since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration has vowed to administer the OPEC member’s oil sales for an “indefinite” period.

On Wednesday, senior Trump officials unveiled the first sales worth US $500 million, with the funds deposited in accounts controlled by the US government. Multiple outlets reported that the main account holding the proceeds is located in Qatar.

One US official described Qatar as a “neutral location where money can flow freely with US approval and without risk of seizure.” On January 9, the White House issued an executive order to shield Venezuelan oil revenues administered by Washington from creditors looking to collect on debts owed by Venezuela.

Democrat politicians quoted by Semafor raised questions about the deal’s transparency and lack of accountability. For its part, the Trump administration has courted oil companies about investing in Venezuela, claiming that they will only “deal” with Washington rather than Venezuelan authorities.

The scope of US control over Venezuelan oil sales, as well as the mechanisms to return proceeds to Caracas, remains unclear, however. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced upcoming sanctions withdrawals or waivers to facilitate transactions.

Commodities traders Vitol and Trafigura have reportedly begun moving a combined 4.8 million barrels of Venezuelan crude to storage hubs in the Caribbean after receiving licenses from the US Treasury Department.

Economics outlet Bitácora Económica reported on Thursday, citing “unofficial sources,” that the Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) had an account opened in the Qatar National Bank (QNB) where oil proceeds were deposited. According to the same report, the BCV will receive a license to five Venezuelan private banks that will offer US $330 million through foreign currency exchange tables. Healthcare and infrastructure imports will reportedly be given priority. US officials have claimed that only imports from US manufacturers will be allowed.

Venezuela’s Central Bank has been under US Treasury sanctions since 2019. Similarly, Washington has levied wide-reaching unilateral coercive measures against the oil industry, including financial sanctions, an export embargo, and secondary sanctions.

With its military operation and moves to wrest control of Venezuela’s oil sector, the Trump administration has also broadcast its intention to clamp down on bilateral Venezuelan deals with geopolitical rivals such as China. The US Navy has imposed a naval blockade and seized multiple tankers since December in an effort to strong-arm Caracas.

Washington’s unilateral actions saw two Chinese-flagged supertankers turn back amid trips to load Venezuelan oil. In recent years, China has been the main destination for Venezuelan crude and fuel oil exports, with shipments partly used to offset debt from longstanding oil-for-loan deals.

According to Bloomberg, Beijing has sought assurances from Venezuelan and US officials over its loans to the Caribbean nation. The Chinese government reiterated its condemnation of the January 3 US attacks and pledged to “take all necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests in Venezuela.”

BARCELONA, Spain — Spanish prosecutors are studying allegations that Grammy-winning singer Julio Iglesias sexually assaulted two former employees at his residences in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.

The Spanish prosecutor’s office told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the allegations were related to media reports from earlier this week that alleged Iglesias had sexually and physically assaulted two women who worked in his Caribbean residences between January and October 2021.

Iglesias has yet to speak publicly regarding the allegations. Russell L. King, a Miami-based entertainment lawyer who lists Iglesias as a client on his website, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by the AP.

The Spanish prosecutor’s office that handles cases for Spain’s National Court said that it had received formal allegations against Iglesias by an unnamed party on Jan. 5. Iglesias could potentially be taken in front of the Madrid-based court, which can try alleged crimes by Spanish citizens while they are abroad, according to the court’s press office.

‘Forced labor and servitude’

Women’s Link Worldwide, a nongovernmental organization, said in a statement that it was representing the two women who had presented the complaint to the Spanish court. The group said that the women were accusing Iglesias of “crimes against sexual freedom and indemnity such as sexual harassment” and of “human trafficking for the purpose of forced labor and servitude.”

The organization said the women in their testimony also accused Iglesias of regularly checking their cellphones, of prohibiting them from leaving the house where they worked and demanding that they work up to 16 hours a day, with no contract or days off.

The organization said it did not reach out to authorities in the Bahamas or the Dominican Republic, and that it didn’t know whether authorities in those Caribbean nations had initiated an investigation.

Gema Fernández, senior attorney at Women’s Link Worldwide, said in an online news conference Wednesday that “Spanish legislation regarding sexual violence, gender-based violence and trafficking could be an interesting option” for the two women making the allegations against Iglesias.

“Listening to what [the two women] are seeking and their definitions of justice, it seems to us that filing a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the National Court of Spain was the path that best suited their definition of justice. That is why we are supporting them along this path,” Fernández said.

Jovana Ríos Cisneros, executive director of Women’s Link Worldwide, asserted that Spanish prosecutors had decided to take statements from the two women and granted them the status of protected witnesses.

“Being heard by the Prosecutor’s Office is a very important step in the search for justice,” she said.

Fernández said prosecutors had not set a date to take statements from the women and noted that prosecutors have up to six months to determine whether the information they receive warrants a criminal prosecution. Those six months could be extended to a year, she added.

The prosecutor’s office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

A singer under scrutiny

Spanish online newspaper elDiario.es and Spanish-language television channel Univision Noticias published the joint investigation into Iglesias’ alleged misconduct.

Ríos said the two women initially contacted elDiario.es, which began investigating the allegations but also advised the women to seek legal help.

Spanish government spokeswoman Elma Saiz said that the media reports regarding Iglesias “demanded respect.”

“Once again I can reaffirm this government’s firm and complete commitment to take on any act of violence, harassment or aggression against women,” Saiz said Tuesday after the media reports were published.

Panky Corcino, spokesman for the attorney general’s office in the Dominican Republic, declined to comment, saying he couldn’t confirm or deny an investigation.

By law, any case in the Caribbean country that involves sexual aggression or violence must be investigated by prosecutors, even if no one has filed a complaint.

The 82-year-old Iglesias is one of the world’s most successful musical artists after having sold more than 300 million records in more than a dozen languages. After making his start in Spain, he won immense popularity in the United States and wider world in the 1970s and ’80s. He’s the father of pop singer Enrique Iglesias.

Julio Iglesias won a 1988 Grammy for best Latin pop performance for his album “Un Hombre Solo.” He also received a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys in 2019.

Spain’s culture minister said Wednesday that its left-wing government, which holds women’s rights and equality among its priorities, will also consider stripping Iglesias of the state’s Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts, which he was awarded in 2010.

“It is something we are studying and evaluating, because evidently we feel obliged to do so when faced by such a serious case,” Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun said.

Wilson and Coto write for the Associated Press. Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Associated Press reporters Suman Naishadham in Madrid and Martín Adames in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, contributed to this report.

While it was a poor day for the Brits, it was a day of success for Georgia – who count among their coaching team one of the most controversial figures in ice skating.

The afternoon session contained the men’s short program, and leading the field is another Georgian – Nika Egadze, who registered an impressive score of 91.28.

Egadze is coached by Eteri Tutberidze, who drew headlines for her berating of Kamila Valieva at the 2022 Olympics.

Tutberidze was sat next to Egadze as the results were announced in Sheffield, hugging her charge after his score came in.

He then defended Tutberidze’s training methods in his media conference, telling the BBC: “I really like to work with Eteri, I have skated with her for nine years.

“We are really well connected, as a whole team. And she listens to me more now.”

In the media conference after his pairs win with Metelkina, Berulava revealed they had used Tutberidze’s private rink to practice while waiting for their visa issues to be resolved.

Tutberidze previously worked with the Russian national team, whose athletes are banned from these championships – and will compete as neutrals at Milan 2026 – because of the country’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has travelled to Washington, DC, to meet with United States President Donald Trump at the White House, following the abduction of her political adversary, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Thursday’s meeting was the first time the two leaders encountered one another face-to-face.

But the visit was an unusually subdued one for Trump, who normally welcomes foreign leaders to the Oval Office for a news conference with reporters.

This time, however, Trump kept his meeting with Machado private, away from clicking camera shutters and shouted questions from reporters.

Trump has backed Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, as interim leader of the South American country, despite Machado’s claims that the opposition has a mandate to govern.

Rodriguez’s inaugural state of the union address as president coincided with Machado’s arrival at the White House, a fact that could have contributed to the low-key nature of the meeting.

“We are used to seeing the president ushering in the cameras, making comments, talking away,” Al Jazeera correspondent Mike Hanna reported as evening fell in the capital.

“But on this particular occasion, [the meeting] was held behind closed doors. In fact, we haven’t even had a formal readout from the White House of that meeting with Machado.”

Still, Machado struck an upbeat tone as she exited the White House and strolled onto Pennsylvania Avenue, where she was thronged by reporters and supporters seeking selfies.

She and Trump spent only a few hours together in the White House, as they discussed Venezuela’s future over lunch.

Machado confirmed to the media that she followed through with her plans to give Trump her Nobel Peace Prize, an honour the US president has long coveted for himself.

“I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters.

As she offered Trump the prize, Machado said she recounted a historical anecdote, about an interaction between Simon Bolivar – the Venezuelan military officer who helped liberate much of South America from colonial rule – and the Marquis de Lafayette, a Revolutionary War hero in the US.

“I told him this. Listen to this. Two hundred years ago, General Lafayette gave Simon Bolivar a medal with George Washington’s face,” Machado said. “Bolivar since then kept that medal for the rest of his life.”

The Nobel Committee, however, has clarified that the prize is non-transferable and cannot be shared.

Machado was announced as the recipient of the prize in October, in recognition of her efforts to advance Venezuelan democracy.

“I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause,” Machado wrote on October 10. She secretly left Venezuela, where she had been living in hiding, in December to travel to Norway and collect the medal.

‘Willing to serve’

Machado remains a popular figure within Venezuela’s opposition movement, which has faced oppression and violence under Maduro’s presidency.

Human rights organisations have accused Maduro of systematically suppressing dissent and arresting opposition leaders.

As of January 11, the human rights group Foro Penal estimated there were 804 political prisoners in Venezuela, though some estimates put their population in the thousands.

Machado was formerly a member of Venezuela’s National Assembly, but Maduro’s government had her removed for allegedly conspiring against the presidency.

She was considered a leading candidate for the 2024 presidential race, and during the October 2023 opposition primary, she earned more than 92 percent support.

But in January 2024, she was again disqualified from holding office, and former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez ultimately ran on behalf of the opposition coalition.

After polls closed in July 2024, the government did not publish the usual breakdown of the voting tallies, leading to widespread outcry over a lack of transparency. The opposition obtained voting tallies that appeared to show Gonzalez winning in a landslide, further fuelling the outrage.

But Maduro’s government backed his claim to a third six-year term as president.

After the US military abducted Maduro from Venezuela on January 3, it transported him to the US to face charges of narcotics trafficking.

Machado has since appeared on US television to advance the Venezuelan opposition’s claim that it has a “mandate” to take over the presidency after Maduro’s removal.

“We have a president-elect who is Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, and we are ready and willing to serve our people as we have been mandated,” she told CBS News on January 7.

Dismissing Machado?

But Trump has thrown his support behind Rodriguez, whom he has described as cooperative.

“ She’s somebody that we’ve worked with very well,” Trump said at a news conference on Thursday. “I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

The US president has previously said that the US will “run” Venezuela. Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also told reporters that the Venezuelan government’s “decisions are going to continue to be dictated by the United States of America”.

Still, Rodriguez has denounced the January 3 attack on Venezuela as a violation of international law, and in Thursday’s state of the union speech, she continued to express continued allegiance to “Chavismo”, the political movement Maduro followed.

She has also criticised US threats to her country’s sovereignty.

“We know the US is a lethal nuclear power. We have seen their record in history of humanity. We know and we are not afraid to face them diplomatically through political dialogue as appropriate and resolve once and for all this historical contradiction,” Rodriguez said on Thursday.

“Brothers and sisters, deputies, regardless of political affiliation, it doesn’t matter. We have to go together as Venezuelans to defend our sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and also defend our dignity and our honour.”

She nevertheless indicated she planned to revisit Venezuela’s hydrocarbon law to allow for greater foreign investment.

Renata Segura, the director of the Latin America and Caribbean programme at the nonprofit International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that Rodriguez and her government have consistently maintained that Maduro remains the rightful leader of Venezuela.

“We should not forget that Rodriguez and many other members of the government in Caracas have been very adamant about the fact that the intervention against Maduro was illegitimate. They’ve actually demanded that he be liberated,” Segura said.

“So they haven’t done a 180-degree shift in the tone of their declarations. But it’s not like they have a lot of manoeuvring room. So they are really trying to appease Trump at this moment.”

Still, Trump has long dismissed Machado’s prospects as a replacement for Maduro or Rodriguez, saying on January 3 that she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country”.

Segura believes the Trump administration’s choice to reject Machado as the leader of Venezuela is understandable, in the name of stability.

But, she added, Machado is the clear leader of the opposition, and her coalition therefore needs to be part of the country’s government moving forward.

“It would be very illegitimate if we just had a conversation between the regime of Chavismo, now without Maduro, and the Trump administration, without those people that really represent the Venezuelan people’s feelings,” Segura said.

We have an incredible set of images to share today from our friend Russell Hill (@Sabian404), an aviation photographer out of the Portland, Oregon area. In fact, I would go so far as say this is the most incredible photo of the U.S. Air Force’s new F-15EX Eagle II in existence.

The image was taken at Portland International Airport (PDX), which also hosts Portland Air National Guard (PANG) Base, whose prominent tenant is the 142nd Fighter Wing/123rd Fighter Squadron, better known as the Redhawks. This celebrated unit was chosen as the first F-15EX operator, rapidly transitioning the Eagle II from testing to operational status. In the process, the Redhawks would give up their 40-year-old F-15C/Ds.

You can read all about the Redhawks and their transition to the F-15EX in this past exclusive feature of ours.

The main image in question, seen at the top of this post, shows an F-15EX, part of RAMBO flight, blasting out of PDX in full afterburner and executing a hard pull-up for a fast climb at the end of Runway 10R. According to Hill, this was a ‘fini-flight’ for one of the 142nd’s pilots. These are usually lively affairs marking the end of a pilot’s military flying career.

It’s worth noting that the use of afterburner by PANG-based F-15s is not a daily occurrence. This is largely due to sound abatement and fuel conservation, as well as the airport’s long runways. But for some missions, like when the alert birds launch, or a functional test flight occurs, or for a special occasion, like this fini-flight, the F-15s rocket down the runway in full reheat, often executing a ‘gate climb’ (a vertical climb roughly over the airport’s grounds) at the end of the runway. This is really something to see, and especially hear, inside the terminal where throngs of weary travelers get a sudden wakeup call as the ruckus literally rattles the windows.

With the 142nd FW still in transition, part of Rambo flight included F-15Cs, which also went out with their cans blazing, one giving a deep wingtip drop to those standing on the base’s apron:

Hill was able to capture the departure on video, too. Check it out below:

Scottish actress Simone Lahbib is supporting Strathcarron Hospice’s campaign after losing her brother Stephen six months after his terminal diagnosis

Former EastEnders star Simone Lahbib is encouraging people to “make every moment count” after losing her younger brother to cancer.

The 60 year old Scottish actress, famed for her roles in Bad Girls, Eastenders and Wire in the Blood, tragically lost her brother Stephen just six months after he was given a terminal diagnosis.

Stephen was informed he had only two years left to live in May 2024. He sadly passed away at Strathcarron Hospice in November of the same year. Simone has bravely decided to share her experience with end-of-life care in support of Strathcarron Hospice’s 2026 Campaign ‘What Makes Life Meaningful’, as the hospice celebrates its 45th anniversary.

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She revealed that her parents, both in their 80s, were initially Stephen’s main carers but as his condition worsened, he became unstable on his feet. The family sought help from Strathcarron, whose staff provided daily assistance to wash and dress him and were always available for emergency call-outs, reports the Daily Record.

She expressed: “Strathcarron’s Hospice at Home team was invaluable toward the end. They were so lovely, understanding and supportive. It was a very difficult, distressing time and we came to rely on them.

“When the time came for Stephen to be admitted to the Hospice, I imagined that it would be more hospital-like and sterile, with nurses who were caring and efficient but overstretched. But the staff made not only Stephen, but his family and friends feel welcome and important.

“Stephen was a very sociable man. I believe he made some good friends during his time there. The kindness and support continued towards our family, even after his death. Stephen was not only cared for at Strathcarron Hospice – he was loved. My family and I can’t thank them all enough for all they did.”

Simone recalled in her brother’s final weeks he vowed to make the most of every moment. His main goal was to finish songs for his band Mama Mayhem’s album with his bandmate John Drummond.

Their album, ‘Hangman’ was released on Spotify shortly after Stephen’s death, with a number of vinyl copies printed. Simone said the loss of her brother has made her more aware of how much the people in your life matter.

“Like Stephen I’ve always loved and cared for my family and friends as a priority. Since his death, I’m more aware of how precious and fragile life is,” she continued.

“Stephen wanted to make every moment count and in his music he lives on. It will be treasured forever and played often. He loved his family and friends before anything else. His biggest passion though was his music. He was a singer, songwriter as well as a very talented graphic designer.

“I’ve never seen so many people attend a funeral as I did Stephen’s, including some of the nurses from the Hospice. It says so much about Stephen, and the lovely nurses who looked after him.”

Research commissioned by Strathcarron as part of its campaign revealed that Scots place greater importance on time, relationships and compassion than wealth or achievement when considering what gives life meaning.

The findings showed that nearly six in ten people believe family and close relationships provide life’s greatest sense of purpose, surpassing personal accomplishments. The research also revealed that in everyday life, almost 60 per cent of respondents valued physical and mental wellbeing, whilst nearly half prioritised independence and freedom over their work or career.

However, it appears to be life’s smaller moments that bring Scotland’s population the most happiness – with 59 per cent of people choosing to spend quality time with family, friends and pets.

Mags McCarthy, Chief Executive of Strathcarron Hospice, commented: “This results of this research reflect what we find in our everyday lives at the Hospice. Meaningful connections, finding joy in the little things and making the most of life’s experiences – listening to a favourite song or sharing precious moments with those we love – these are the things that mean the most to people.

“Hospices play a vital role in delivering palliative care, supporting families, and reducing pressure on NHS services.”

For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

The fight over horse racing tracks’ right to legally install slot-machine-like terminals in their facilities to allow betting on past races hit the boiling point on Thursday when Santa Anita installed 26 Racing on Demand machines at the track on the ground floor of the grandstand. They will be in operation after 11 a.m. on live racing days.

At the crux of the issue is the legality of slot-machine-type terminals. Is it pari-mutuel wagering, where the payoff is determined by the amount of money bet, and considered a game of skill? Or is it a game of chance, such as slot machines and most table games? If it is a pari-mutuel game of skill, then it is governed by the state regulatory agency, the California Horse Racing Board. If it is a game of chance, it is governed by the tribes, who hold exclusive purview over most non-pari-mutuel wagering in the state.

“This puts it on a collision course with the tribes,” said Victor Rocha, conference chair of the Indian Gaming Assn., who said he did not have advance notice of this. “They clearly know what they are doing, they are smart guys, but it is clearly gambling. They will get the appropriate response, politically speaking.

“When you put illegal gambling machines in a liquor store, it gets shut down. If Santa Anita has illegal machines, they should be out of business. California didn’t sign up for racinos [the term for race tracks that have casinos].”

The addition of the machines was first reported by the Paulick Report.

Determining if these machines are skill or chance remains the unresolved issue, with each side claiming the view that best suits their advantage. The machines, which fall in the specter of Historical Horse Racing, have the look and feel of a slot machine with a rapid churn of money. You get scant information on the horses or jockeys you are currently betting on. The default on these machines is you just see the last two to three seconds of the race. The tracks contend that because they give you minimal handicapping information, and that you are not betting against the house but other players, it’s a game of skill.

One loophole that the tracks are trying to use on this was the passing of a three-by-three bet in April 2024. In it, you have to pick first, second and third in three pre-chosen races. All the wagers go into the same pari-mutuel pool, where you compete against other bettors. The track does take a percentage off the top, although in this case, the percentage and distribution are not known. In most areas, Historical Horse Racing uses about an 8% takeout. Live horse racing has an average takeout of 20% but it varies by type of bet. This is the first time the three-by-three has been used on past races.

“I think like sweepstakes and prediction markets, everyone has lost their mind when it comes to gambling,” said Rocha. “Everyone is looking for a loophole. [Santa Anita] has been champing to get into digital gaming. This is clearly a violation of state compacts. You can expect a very full-throated reply.”

A couple play a Historical Horse Racing electronic gambling machine at the Nash Casino. Santa Anita Park in Arcadia has installed comparable machines.

(Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) foreshadowed a move like this on page 25, item 41, of its Race Meet Agreement with Santa Anita where it said:

“Wagering on Concluded Races. Track shall not import and conduct wagering on concluded races at Santa Anita Park or Online without first obtaining the consent of the TOC and the CHRB. TOC hereby consents for Track to have at Santa Anita Park up to forty (40) self service totalizator terminals that facilitate wagering on concluded races.”

No one thought much of it at the time as the consortium working on the HHR project didn’t seem to be doing much. If the machines are allowed to stay at Santa Anita, it is expected they will soon be installed at Del Mar and Los Alamitos.

What is expected to go on now is the fight over if the machines can stay there. If it’s a case of winning friends and influencing people, the track is already in a deficit by not telling the group that regulates the sport that this was coming.

“Like everyone else, we had heard rumors, but the CHRB was unaware of this actual move,” a CHRB spokesman said in a statement.

Historical horse racing betting terminals sparked controversy when they were installed in Idaho. Similar machines were installed at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia.

(Otto Kitsinger/AP)

The CHRB was anticipating an ask to amend the track’s license that would allow it to place what they thought would be Historical Horse Racing machines at Santa Anita. It even asked its legal staff to come up with an opinion about if putting the machines in would be legal. The Times request for the document was turned down citing attorney-client privilege.

But neither Santa Anita nor the Thoroughbred Owners of California requested an agenda item by the cutoff 12 days ago.

Santa Anita’s owner, the Stronach Group, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

In fact, no one seems to want to talk about this. Santa Anita did not even put out a news release about this new betting opportunity at the track. And, it did not even mention it in its racing day newsletter “Stable Notes,” which generally touts things for fans such as $2 hot dogs and free parking.

However, in a one-page fact sheet about Racing on Demand, TSG painstakingly tries to explain why it “Does Not Violate Tribal Gaming” and why it has “Existing Authority.”

In a section titled “What It’s Not,” it makes these points about what it isn’t:

“— A slot machine.

“— House-banked gambling.

“— Historic Horse Racing (as operated in Kentucky, Virginia or other states.)”

The tribes have enormous political influence in California, in part, because of the millions of dollars it spends in political contributions. They are known to freely litigate any challenge to their sovereignty over most non pari-mutuel gambling in the state. And they almost always win.

Last year, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 831, which prohibited companies from offering types of online sweepstakes that are seen by the tribes as a threat to their gambling exclusivity. The combined vote was 120-0.

Jan. 15 (UPI) — Eleven Senate and House Democrats on Thursday said T1 Mobile LLC dba Trump Mobile has not delivered phones as promised and made deceptive claims about its origin.

They said the Trump Mobile T1 phone is not made in the United States and want the Federal Trade Commission to investigate potential violations of federal consumer protection laws.

The Trump Organization launched Trump Mobile in June and said the T1 phone is made in the United States on a website promoting the service, the lawmakers said in a jointly written letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson.

Trump Mobile in June said consumers could reserve a T1 phone by placing a $100 deposit, but as of January, no phones have been delivered, according to the lawmakers.

On Dec. 31, Fortune reported that Trump Mobile staff said the 43-day shutdown of the federal government caused Trump Mobile to “pause everything on the [Federal Communications Commission] side of things,” thus further delaying delivery of the mobile phone.

The claim that the phone is made in the United States also is deceptive, according to the lawmakers.

“Trump Mobile initially advertised the T1 phone as ‘made in the USA’ on its website,” the lawmakers said.

“These claims were quietly removed from the website in late June 2025, days after the phone was announced,” they said.

A review of a Trump Mobile announcement for the phone shows it is described as a “sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance and proudly designed and built in the United States for customers who expect the best from their mobile carrier.”

The Trump Mobile website does not include any claims that the phone is made in the United States.

The website also shows T1 Mobile LLC dba Trump Mobile secured a licensing agreement to use the Trump name and trademark.

A Trump Mobile staffer earlier this week said the phone will be manufactured in the United States, NBC News reported.

The lawmakers, though, told the FTC chairman that the United States does not have any facilities capable of manufacturing the cellphone.

The letter is signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Edward Markey and Adam Schiff of California.

Also signing are Reps. Doris Matsui and Robert Garcia of California, Greg Cesar of Texas, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Maxwell Frost of Florida.

Trump Mobile did not immediately respond to an email request for comment made early Thursday evening.

These are the key developments from day 1,422 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Friday, January 16:

Fighting

• A Ukrainian drone attack killed two workers from a state-owned pharmacy as they were transporting medicines to Polohy in a Russian-occupied area of Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, Russia’s state news agency TASS reports.
• A Ukrainian drone strike injured three people in Russia’s front-line Belgorod region, the regional task force reported, according to TASS.
• Russian forces dropped a guided bomb on Bilopillia, in Ukraine’s Sumy region, killing one person and injuring at least four others, the regional prosecutor’s office said on the Telegram messaging app.
• Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy said that new power outages were affecting customers in the Zhytomyr and Kharkiv regions following an overnight Russian attack. Network restrictions remained in place in the capital Kyiv, the Kyiv region, and the Odesa region, the ministry added in a statement.
• Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Ukraine’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv, said on Telegram that Russian forces destroyed a large facility of “critical energy infrastructure”, without specifying which type of facility was struck.
• Kateryna Pop, spokeswoman for the Kyiv City Military Administration, said that 287 residential buildings remain without heating in Kyiv more than a week after a massive Russian attack damaged infrastructure there, and as temperatures continue to fall to -17 degrees Celsius (1.4 Fahrenheit) overnight.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the national government would take over responsibility for Kyiv’s energy as the city had not responded quickly enough to the current crisis, according to the Ukrinform news site.
• A Ukrainian attack left close to 87,000 people without electricity in Russian-occupied Zaporizhia, Russian-appointed official Yevhen Balitsky wrote on Telegram.
• Oleksandr Kovalenko, the spokesman for the Zaporizhia Regional Military Administration, said that more than 500 people will need to be evacuated from two districts of Ukraine’s embattled Zaporizhia region by early February, according to Ukrinform. More than 700 people have already been evacuated since the beginning of January, including 480 children, he added.

Politics and diplomacy

• President Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address that “Ukraine has never been and will never be a stumbling block to peace”, appearing to refute comments made by United States President Donald Trump a day earlier.
• “When Russian strikes are aimed at breaking our energy system and our people, it is Russia that must be put under pressure,” Zelenskyy added.
• Trump told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin was “ready to make a deal. I think Ukraine is less ready to make a deal”.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva told the Reuters news agency during a visit to Kyiv that she expects to ask the fund’s executive board to approve a new $8.1bn lending programme for Ukraine within weeks.

• NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in a post on X that he had spoken to Zelenskyy “about the energy situation in Ukraine, with Russia’s attacks causing terrible human suffering, as well as on the ongoing efforts to bring an end to the war”.

• “We’re committed to ensuring that Ukraine continues to get the crucial support needed to defend today and ultimately secure a lasting peace,” Rutte said.
• French President Emmanuel Macron said that France is now providing two-thirds of intelligence information to Ukraine, largely replacing the US, which until last year had delivered the majority of those services.

Oil and gas

• Greece’s shipping ministry warned its ships to “take the highest possible security measures” in the Black Sea region, following recent drone attacks on oil tankers there, which Russia has blamed on Ukraine, according to Reuters.
• Russia’s federal budget revenues from oil and gas dropped by 24 percent in 2025 to the lowest level since 2020, according to Finance Ministry data, as oil prices fell while the rouble appreciated.

WHEN it comes to thinking of punk’s most memorable monikers, how about Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies?

They’re up there with Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious as top pseudonyms for the rabble-rousers who turned popular music on its head.

Maybe the pair didn’t snarl and spit quite as much as the Sex Pistols but they left a trail of mayhem wherever they went . . . usually with a smile on their faces.

They gave up being toilet cleaners at Croydon’s Fairfield Halls, as you do, to become founder members of The Damned, Sensible on bass and Scabies on drums.

They joined guitarist Brian James and singer Dave Vanian in releasing the first punk single, New Rose, on October 20, 1976, beating the Pistols’ Anarchy In The UK by a month.

“I was neither Captain material nor at all sensible,” the bassist, now guitarist, born Raymond Burns tells me today. “More a liability, if I’m honest.”

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He recalls the band’s fateful trip to the trailblazing Mont-de-Marsan punk festival in south-west France, also in 1976.

“Some of the older pub rockers on the bus heading back to Calais thought my erratic behaviour might attract the attention of customs people and get everyone strip-searched.

“Larry Wallis [Pink Fairies guitarist] remarked to Brian, ‘You’ve got a right Captain Sensible there’, and the name stuck!”

In a separate chat, I ask the drummer — birthname Chris Millar — if he minds whether I call him Rat.

“Yes you can, even my mother called me Rat,” he replies.

So, how did he get the name? “Well, it depends on which story you believe,” he continues. “It’s either that there was a rat in the rehearsal room or because the others thought I looked like a rat.

“Oh, and I had scabies when I went for the audition.”

Having assumed his lurid alter-ego, he remembers thinking, “Well, it’s punk, it’s not going to last. If I become Rat Scabies now, when the bubble bursts in a couple of weeks, I can return to being Chris Millar and get a proper job.”

In 2026, as The Damned celebrate their 50th anniversary, he admits: “Everyone is still calling me Rat.”

The reason I’m talking to these lovable reprobates, both past 70 but still going strong, is all to do with the founder member who kept a “sensible” name, Brian James.

Their latest LP is an affectionate tribute to James, who died last year. Not Like Everybody Else is a collection of covers by artists he loved growing up, drawing heavily on unvarnished Sixties rock — the inspiration for punk if you like.

There are songs by The Kinks, The Animals, The Stooges, The Yardbirds and The Creation.

It begins, however, with R Dean Taylor’s There’s A Ghost In My House, perfect for vampiric singer Dave Vanian’s gothic style, and there’s even room for See Emily Play, prime Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, with the Captain taking lead vocals.

It ends with a rousing and, with hindsight, poignant live rendition of The Last Time by the Rolling Stones, recorded with James in 2022 when the original line-up reunited for five UK shows.

Only five shows were arranged, probably over doubts that old differences might erupt and cause shows to be cancelled. Remarkably, that didn’t happen.

Captain Sensible on the band’s 2022 gigs

Scabies says: “Brian was a big Stones fan and he liked the irony that it really could be the last time.”

As it turned out, The Last Time, which served as the final encore, proved prophetic. When I mention it, Scabies says with genuine emotion: “You’ll have me in tears in a minute.”

The album is an acknowledgment of how important James was, not only within the band but also for punk in general.

He wrote New Rose, “a raucous, blitzkrieg of sound” says Sensible, as well as most of their first two albums, Damned Damned Damned and Music For Pleasure, before quitting at the end of ’77.

The Captain explains the sudden departure: “I’d see people shuffling towards the exit when me and Rat entered the room. We could be quite chaotic and Brian had had about enough. I can’t blame him.”

He considers the impact of the debut album, half an hour in length with it’s indelible image of the four miscreants covered in fake cream pie.

Kicking off with the machine-gun assault of Neat Neat Neat, he thinks of it as “a gloriously gnarled slice of raw punk rock. All the rough edges were intact — just the way it should be”.

Those 2022 gigs with James rekindled the old fire, what Sensible dubs “our wonderful garage vibe”.

“It was back in a magical way and we found ourselves grinning like school kids,” he says. “All the rows the band had in the past — we’ve forgotten what most of them were about now.

“Only five shows were arranged, probably over doubts that old differences might erupt and cause shows to be cancelled. Remarkably, that didn’t happen.

“Brian wasn’t 100 per cent health-wise but we were hoping, when fit again, he could do more. Sadly, it wasn’t to be.”

Now let’s pick up Scabies’ story. He left The Damned in 1995 but also returned for the 2022 shows.

The following year, he became a permanent member again “for two reasons”, as he explains with refreshing honesty.

“One was the money — and the other was that I didn’t want to be standing around a grave saying, ‘You know what, we should have done that reunion’.”

Thankfully, as Scabies reports, “It all went pretty good. Everybody got on well. We had a laugh and the band played great.

“I suddenly realised this is better than I thought it would be.”

Then, early last year, The Damned were touring North and South America — Vanian, Sensible, Scabies, Paul Gray on bass and Monty Oxymoron on keyboards.

On March 6, the day before they were due to play Sao Paolo, Brazil, Scabies took a call from James’ wife Minna to say that their ex-bandmate had died.

From the moment the phone rang and he realised who was calling, Scabies feared the worst.

He says: “One of the ugly things of life is that you know something’s going to happen but you keep putting it to the back of your mind.

“When it does, it comes as a big shock. Even though you’ve cushioned yourself for the blow, it’s a blow.”

He remembers how he and the rest of the band reacted to the sad news. “We just spoke a lot about him, about when we first met him and we told Brian stories to each other.”

By the time The Damned completed the tour’s US leg at the end of May, they decided to head into Revolver Studio, Los Angeles, on a mission to pay tribute to their fallen comrade.

Sensible says: “It was decided to record a bunch of tunes that got Brian into music in the first place — not the raunchy stuff that shaped him as a guitarist but rather the singles he bought with his pocket money.

Rat and myself would often get completely out of control but Brian left us to it because that bit of chaos differentiated us from all the boring stadium prog bands.

Captain Sensible

“Some of these we knew, the rest of the list being supplied by his wife Minna, one or two being quite a surprise.

“Never having played most of ’em and with no rehearsals, five days looked optimistic but the band didn’t hang about.”

I ask Sensible and Scabies to share their memories of James, explaining their affection for him and their compulsion to make an album in his honour.

The Captain tells of his first encounter: “Chris [later Rat] told me he was a drummer and had joined this new band.

“He said it was being formed in London by a bloke who said a music revolution was just around the corner — and this band would help ignite it.

“Long hair down your back wasn’t part of it, which explained why Chris rolled in to work the morning after his audition with freshly shorn hair.

“He told me the band leader, Brian, was also looking for a bassist.

“I thought, ‘Hmm, no potential girlfriend would look at me with short-chopped hair’ but I reluctantly agreed to make the trip to Kilburn where I met Brian in his basement flat.

“He played me New Rose on acoustic guitar and expanded on his vision — a gang playing short, aggressive songs with zero compromise.

“I was impressed, so I had the obligatory haircut, and joined him on his mission. I’m very glad I did ’cos toilet cleaning is, let’s face it, a really s**t job!”

‘Steely glare’

So, what was James like as a person? “Strong, forceful but didn’t need to use fisticuffs,” answers Sensible.

“He had this steely glare that put you back in your place. He was two or three years older than the rest of us. He’d travelled a bit, lived in Brussels, and we looked up to him.

“Rat and myself would often get completely out of control but Brian left us to it because that bit of chaos differentiated us from all the boring stadium prog bands.

“We caused mayhem. Occasionally, we had to spend a night in the cells but, no matter how bad our behaviour got, Brian never became unpleasant or physical.

“He just thought we were kinda funny and, looking back, I guess he was right.”

Scabies says James was “very cool, but without trying. He didn’t work at it, he just was. We’d be sitting around, there’d be wine, and he’d say, have you ever seen Borsalino? [a cult French gangster movie].

Although we got on with the Pistols, that bloke was a total pillock!

Rat Scabies on Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren

“Then he’d put on obscure tracks by the MC5 when I’d only ever heard one of their songs [Kick Out The Jams most likely].

“And he played like something else. I’d never heard a guitar like that.

“On our early records, he and I just hit it off. It was like getting kicked up the a**e.”

Looking at the tracklist for the new covers album, you can see, through the lens of James’ music taste, how The Damned were set apart from their peers by their keen sense of melody, mischief and fun.

Scabies insists there wasn’t “any real rivalry” with other punk bands when they started.

“The whole thing for us was to be different,” he says. “And that meant not being the same as the Pistols. If Johnny Rotten wore a safety pin through his ear, I didn’t.

“The nearest thing to rivalry was a game of football with The Clash one Sunday afternoon — and I’m sure The Clash won!” Sensible chips in with: “We also joined The Stranglers in their cricket match against the music press, with whom they famously didn’t see eye-to-eye. A grudge match with plenty of cheating going on, at Paddington Rec, I believe.”

He maintains that it was the managers who were the real rivals — Bernie Rhodes (The Clash), Malcolm McLaren (Sex Pistols) and Jake Riviera (The Damned).

“They all wanted their boys to be top dogs, whereas the bands got on fine. We went to each other’s gigs, took the p**s but socialised later in the bar.

“If we hadn’t supported each other this way, some of those early shows would’ve been extremely sparsely attended.”

When it comes to The Damned famously supporting the Pistols at London’s home of punk, The 100 Club on Oxford Street, on July 6, 1976, Sensible has mixed feelings.

“We were skint so McLaren charging us ten quid for the using the PA, knowing we’d only got a fiver for the show, didn’t go down terribly well.

“Although we got on with the Pistols, that bloke was a total pillock!”

Next, he reflects on The Damned’s longevity by asking: “Who’d have bet they would still be on the road, 50 years on? As a punk band, you’re expected to crash on to the scene, make one great album and then implode.

“Thankfully, we’ve a loyal fanbase and our audiences are getting increasingly younger, possibly a reaction to the choreographed, overproduced garbage their generation is spoon-fed by the likes of Simon Whatsisname. (Could he mean Mr Cowell, possibly?)

Lastly, how does he explain The Damned’s lasting appeal?

“’Cos we ain’t like everybody else!”

THE DAMNED

Not Like Everybody Else

★★★★☆

Don’t look for Jared Verse to appear bare-chested on Sunday night at Soldier Field in Chicago.

In 2024, before a late-December game against the New York Jets in New Jersey, Verse and other Rams outside linebackers apparently tried to make a point about their toughness by going through warmups in a 20-degree temperature sans shirts.

Verse said Thursday that former Rams linebacker Michael Hoecht instigated the demonstration.

Another is not expected on Sunday when the Rams play the Chicago Bears in an NFC divisional-round game in temperatures that could have a wind chill below zero degrees.

“Hoecht’s not here right now,” Verse said, laughing heartily, “so I don’t feel like taking mine off. It might be in short sleeves like always. But shirtless…”

Verse, the 2024 NFL defensive rookie of the year, made the Pro Bowl for the second time after recording 7½ sacks, a number that does not fully represent his impact on opposing offenses.

Under first-year coach Ben Johnson, the Bears averaged 25.9 points and 369.2 yards per game, which ranked ninth and sixth respectively, among 32 NFL teams. The Bears were third in rushing (144.5 yards per game) and 10th in passing (225.1).

Quarterback Caleb Williams passed for 27 touchdowns, with seven interceptions. He was sacked only 24 times, third-fewest in the league behind the Rams and the Denver Broncos, each of which allowed 23 sacks.

“He looks comfortable,” Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula said of Williams, who also rushed for nearly 400 yards and three touchdowns, “He looks calm.”

Tight end Colston Loveland is Williams’ favorite target. Loveland had a team-best 58 receptions during the regular season, and Loveland and receivers DJ Moore and Rome Odunze each had six touchdown catches.

In the Bears’ 31-27 wild-card victory over the Green Bay Packers, which was played in wind-chill of 26 degrees, Williams completed 24 of 48 passes for 361 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions. Loveland was targeted 15 times, and had eight catches for 137 yards.

Rams coach Sean McVay said Williams has played well in and out of rhythm.

“Those second-reaction plays, where he’s getting flushed to his right or getting flushed to his left and guys understand how to be able to work with him,” McVay said, “those are the ones that are really scary.”

Jumping or lunging at Williams is futile, Verse said, because “he’s very able to get away from anything you bring to him.” So it is imperative to wrap up the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

“It’s impossible to say like he won’t get away from one of us,” Verse said, “but we all have to keep pursuing him and be able to make that tackle on him.”

The weather and conditions could cause both teams to rely on their rushing attacks.

Bears running back D’Andre Swift rushed for nine touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass during the regular season. In the wild-card game, Swift carried the ball 19 times for 55 yards.

Last season, the Rams’ season ended in the divisional round on a cold, snowy day in Philadelphia.

Verse said he would not be affected by the cold conditions in Chicago, citing his youth in Ohio and time spent in New York.

“I’m used to playing in the hail,” he said. “That really doesn’t faze me or anything like that.”

Etc.

Backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo did not practice because of a back issue, according to the injury report … Guard Kevin Dotson, sidelined for three games because of an ankle injury, was limited in his first practice since he was injured on Dec. 18 against the Seattle Seahawks. Dotson said this week that he intended to fully test the ankle, with hopes of playing on Sunday. … Shula, a candidate for several NFL head coach vacancies, said he would participate in interviews Friday after the Rams have completed installing their game plan for the Bears. “Full focus on the Bears, “ Shula said, “and then after practice [Friday] worry about that.”

Jan. 15 (Asia Today) — Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on Thursday called for “proactive and creative” diplomacy to help restart North Korea-U.S. talks, saying progress in South Korea’s ties with China and Japan should feed into planned U.S.-China talks in April and, in turn, encourage dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.

Chung made the remarks at the second meeting of the Korean Peninsula Peace Strategy Advisory Group, a consultative body of inter-Korean relations experts, held at the Inter-Korean Talks Headquarters, the Ministry of Unification said.

“To make this year the first year of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula, we must build on the outcomes of the South Korea-China and South Korea-Japan summits to drive a North Korea-U.S. summit by connecting them to the U.S.-China summit in April,” Chung said, according to the ministry.

Chung also said the government would continue efforts to ease tensions and build trust between the two Koreas, citing what he described as a swift response to a recent drone incident.

Participants at the meeting suggested expanding high-level communication with neighboring countries to support peace on the Korean Peninsula. They also discussed ways to use the current situation, in which indirect communication with North Korea has been established following the drone incident, to help restore inter-Korean channels, the ministry said.

The meeting included 16 experts, including former Unification Minister Chung Sye-hyun and Kim Yeon-chul, chair of the Korea Peace Forum, the ministry said.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

EPA

Secret discussions

Jeff Overs/BBC

The leak

The sacking

Defection decision

Robbie Williams Britpop

★★★★☆

ROBBIE WILLIAMS hopes new album Britpop will be his lucky 16th No1, after he surprised fans by dropping the record today.

He moved the date forward from February 6 to coincide with new tour dates.

Robbie is aiming for the top spot in next week’s charts, which would surpass The Beatles’ record of the most UK No1 albums.

And he has a good chance, as Britpop is packed with punchy, rock-infused tracks which are a departure from his usual fare.

Fans have already been treated to my personal favourite, Rocket, with the highlight of a blistering 16-second guitar solo by Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, but there are some previously unheard gems on the 11-song album.

For those who prefer Robbie’s older work, All My Life captures everything he is best known for, with strong vocals and sentimental lyrics including: “Masochistic but I’m always entertaining. And I know I’ll die, but I’ll never leave the stage.”

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It’s OK Until The Drugs Stop Working follows a similar path, with a distinct nod to his 1997 track Angels – recorded before he went into rehab – with the lyrics: “I have to smile when she offers me protection.”

The reflective song includes the lyrics: “It’s all good until the birds stop chirping, the strangers leave and the drugs stop working.”

You is one of my favourites on the album, with Rob seemingly emulating Liam Gallagher in his blunt, direct delivery.

Fans will no doubt be poring over Morrissey, the song he wrote and recorded in lockdown with his former Take That bandmate Gary Barlow.

It could be easy to pin the lyrics to their own rocky friendship, with Rob singing: “I like the singer, he’s a little eccentric.

“He did an interview, I think what he meant is I’m lost, I’m lonely, I’m hurt, I’m abused. I need love, baby, just like you.”

The pair previously insisted the track was about Morrissey, who went on to have his own successful career after The Smiths disbanded in 1987 and has long been locked in a war of words with his ex-bandmate Johnny Marr.

That doesn’t half sound familiar . . . 

It’s a change from the norm but one I enjoyed.

And even if Robbie’s devoted fans aren’t totally into it, you can guarantee they’ll be doing everything in their power to get it to No1 next week.

WASHINGTON — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said Thursday that she “presented” her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Trump during a private meeting at the White House, but he has not changed his view that she does not have the support to lead her country.

Machado, who won the prize last year for her work to promote democracy in Venezuela, said she presented the 18-carat gold medal to Trump as a “recognition of his unique commitment to our freedom.” It is unclear whether the president, who has been fixated on getting the prize in recent year, accepted it. The Nobel Peace Center has maintained the award cannot be transferred.

The gesture was made on the day the two leaders met for the first time at the White House. The highly anticipated get-together came as the United States has allowed top deputies of deposed president Nicolás Maduro’s regime to remain in charge as Trump oversees the transition of power.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump went into the meeting without any expectations, other than to have a “frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”

Leavitt added that Trump continues to assert that Machado does not have the “support” or “respect” to lead Venezuela, an assessment he first made on the day of Maduro’s capture to the surprise of many Venezuelans.

“At this moment in time, his opinion on that matter has not changed,” Leavitt said at a news briefing.

While Leavitt described Machado as a “remarkable and brave voice for many of the people in Venezuela,” she also said the United States had found an “extremely cooperative” partner in Maduro’s handpicked vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who is serving as acting president of Venezuela.

“They have met all of the demands and requests of the United States and the president,” Leavitt said, noting that the Venezuelan government already agreed to release political prisoners and reached a $100-billion deal to rebuild Venezuela’s energy sector.

As Machado left the White House, the scope of the discussions between her and the president remained unclear. She did not take questions from the reporters, but a few of them were able to capture a moment on video when she was greeted by supporters outside the White House. She told them: “Know that we can count on President Trump for Venezuela’s freedom.”

She then left to meet with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Capitol Hill. It was after this meeting that Machado told reporters she had presented the medal to the president.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) was one of 14 senators who met with Machado. After the meeting Scott said Machado was “very appreciative of the U.S. military” capturing Maduro and was pushing for “free and fair elections and free press.”

“We have got to continue to understand that Delcy Rodriguez is not the leader, she was never elected as a president, she is still the leader of drug cartels,” Scott said. “We need to make sure we hold her accountable.”

It appears unlikely that much will change for Machado after meeting with Trump, who largely has sidelined her and Edmundo González Urrutia, the opposition candidate who won the 2024 presidential election that was stolen by Maduro.

Days after Maduro was captured, Machado told CBS News the people of Venezuela had “already chosen” González Urrutia as the rightful leader of the country and that they were “ready and willing to serve our people, as we have been mandated.”

Trump, however, has maintained that before elections can take place in Venezuela, the United States needs to “fix” the country.

Asked if the president was committed to holding elections in Venezuela, Leavitt said Trump hopes to see “elections in Venezuela one day” but did not have a timeline for them yet.

Trump says he is happy with his administration’s working relationship with Rodríguez. At a White House event Wednesday, Trump called Rodríguez a “terrific person.”

The praise came after Trump said he had a “very good call” with her that morning that left him feeling hopeful that the United States and Venezuela could have a “spectacular” working relationship.

Rodriguez, in turn, used her first state of the union address Thursday to promote oil industry reforms that would drawn in foreign investment, which is in line with the Trump administration’s goals. She also criticized the Washington officials and said there was a “stain on our relations” but said she was open to strengthening the relationship.

“Let us not be afraid of diplomacy,” with the U.S., Rodriguez said in Venezuela.