Today

Barcelona begin the defence of their Spanish Super Cup crown against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said that retaining the Spanish Super Cup this week would be a boost for his team’s other ambitions this season.

The record 15-time champions face Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday in a semifinal clash at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Barca won the competition last season as the first part of a domestic treble, the first triumph of Flick’s reign, followed by triumphs in La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

“This tournament is a little bit different [to the equivalent competition] in Germany, but I like it,” said former Bayern Munich coach Flick.

“For us to win the Super Cup [last season] gave us a lot of energy for the rest of the season, and this is also what we want this year.”

Even though significant questions remain about their defending, Barcelona are the favourites to win the Super Cup and lead La Liga after nine consecutive top flight victories.

Despite being outplayed by neighbours Espanyol in a tense derby clash on Saturday, late goals and a sensational performance from stopper Joan Garcia helped the Catalans claim a 2-0 victory.

Flick insisted his team had to perform better at the back if they were to succeed in the sixth edition of the tournament in Saudi Arabia.

“It will not be an easy match [if] we make the same mistakes as on Saturday; it will not be easy, so we have to work on our things,” continued Flick.

“We have to play much better in the defence; we have to play connected as one team, and this is what I missed on Saturday, so we have to make things much better.”

Barcelona target Cancelo could be on the move from Saudi Arabia

Central defender Ronald Araujo could return to action this week after an extended mental health break.

The Uruguayan was granted leave for about a month following a red card in Barcelona’s 3-0 Champions League defeat by Chelsea in November.

“We will see this training [session] today, and I will also want to speak with him, so we have not decided how to do it tomorrow,” said Flick.

“I think it takes time, so if he feels ready for tomorrow, maybe we will change something, but at the moment, it’s not our plan to do this.”

Flick confirmed that Barcelona were close to signing Joao Cancelo from Al-Hilal, who is on loan until the end of the season, but the deal has not been completed.

“With Joao, maybe he can give us more options also as full-back, both sides in the offence, good quality, but [as far as] I know, it’s not done,” said Flick.

Cancelo spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Barcelona from Manchester City.

Athletic, eighth in La Liga, last won the Super Cup in 2021, beating Barcelona in the final, and have lifted the trophy on three occasions.

Only the Catalans and Real Madrid, with 13 triumphs, have a better record. On Thursday, Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid face city rivals Atletico Madrid in the other Super Cup semifinal.

The United States Supreme Court is expected to rule on a case about the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The high court on Tuesday added a non-argument/conference date on its website, indicating that it could release its ruling, although the court does not announce ahead of time which rulings it intends to issue.

The challenge to Trump’s tariffs has been one of the most closely watched cases on the court’s docket amid the broader impact on the global economy.

In a social media post on Friday, Trump said such a ruling would be a “terrible blow” to the US.

“Because of Tariffs, our Country is financially, AND FROM A NATIONAL SECURITY STANDPOINT, FAR STRONGER AND MORE RESPECTED THAN EVER BEFORE,” Trump said in another post on Monday.

However, data on this is mixed. The US gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.3 percent in the third quarter of 2025, marking the biggest increase in two years. Meanwhile, US job growth has slowed, with sectors heavily exposed to tariffs seeing little to no job growth.

“Jobs in sectors with higher import exposure grew more slowly than jobs in sectors with lower import exposure, suggesting tariffs may have weighed on employment,” Johannes Matschke, senior economist for the Kansas City branch of the Federal Reserve, said in an analysis in December.

Legal arguments

Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in February 2025 on goods imported from individual countries to address, what he called, a national emergency related to US trade deficits.

Arguments challenging the legality of the decision began in November. At the time, the court’s liberal and some conservative justices had doubts about the legality of using the 1977 act.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, whom Trump appointed during his first term, was among those sceptical.

“Congress, as a practical matter, can’t get this power back once it’s handed it over to the president,” Gorsuch said at the time.

Chief Justice John Roberts told Solicitor General D John Sauer, who argued on behalf of the administration, that imposing tariffs and taxes “has always been the core power of Congress”.

The act grants broad executive authority to wield economic power in the case of a national emergency.

The matter reached the Supreme Court after the lower courts ruled against the Trump administration, finding that the use of the law exceeded the administration’s authority.

Among the courts that ruled against the White House was the Court of International Trade. In May, the New York court said that Congress, and not the executive branch, has “exclusive authority to regulate commerce”. This decision was upheld in a Washington, DC, appeals court in August.

Legal experts believe it is likely that the high court will uphold lower court decisions.

“My sense is that, given the different justices’ concerns, the Supreme Court will decide that IEEPA does not provide the ability for the Trump administration to adopt the tariffs,” Greg Shaffer, a law professor at Georgetown University, told Al Jazeera.

If the Trump administration were to lose the case, the US would need to refund some of the tariffs.

“It [ruling against the administration] would mean that those who paid tariffs that were imposed illegally would have to be reimbursed. I would think that that would be the outcome,” Shaffer added.

In September, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said on NBC’s Meet the Press that the US would “have to give a refund on about half the tariffs”.

The Trump administration has said that if the Supreme Court does not rule in its favour, it will use other statutes to push through tariffs.

Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Maj. Gen. Chris McKenna spends a good part of his days and nights figuring how to counter the growing threat China and Russia pose to the high north. Cruise missiles, launched from enemy aircraft well into international airspace, count among his biggest concerns. 

McKenna serves as commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, operational commander for the Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Region (CANR) and the Canadian Joint Forces Air Component Commander. As such, he helps oversee an ambitious, $4 billion project to build a new Over the Horizon Radar system designed to sense threats almost 2,000 miles away. He also has many other responsibilities, like preparing for the integration of F-35 stealth fighters into the RCAF.

In a recent, exclusive hour-long interview, McKenna offered details about the radar development program, the mysterious 2023 shoot-down incident over the Yukon, and his biggest worries as Russia and China increase their individual military capabilities and frequently operate jointly.

You can catch up with the first part of that interview here.

Some of the questions and answers have been slightly edited for clarity.

Q: ​​ How confident are you that NORAD can protect the Arctic domain, and what are the biggest threats emanating from this area?

A: That’s a great question, and it starts with the adversary. From my point of view, the acute threat is Russia; from a NORAD point of view, historically, that has been the threat that we have postured ourselves against. But the emerging or pacing threat is certainly China and what they are doing.

And a great example of that is last summer, we had a combined bomber patrol that threatened North America. So you had a Chinese H-6K bomber paired with and bouncing through Russian infrastructure in the north, in the Russian Arctic, and they conducted a run at the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). So we met those bombers, both Canada and the U.S., together. U.S. F-35s and F-16s, my F-18s were postured and met them when they entered the ADIZ and escorted them out. But it’s very interesting to see the collusion between two adversaries in a way that is very different from what we’ve seen in the past. 

Q: What are your biggest concerns?

A: I worry about ballistic missile threats, which continue and persist. Hypersonics as an emerging threat. But the ones that I really worry about are cruise missiles. So air-launched cruise missiles emanating from bombers, and we’re watching Russian bombers shoot those same weapons that we’re concerned about every single day into Ukraine. So we know they work, and we know what their ranges are, and they’re significant.

And I worry about sea-launched cruise missiles in the maritime domain. And what advanced submarines can do in terms of holding North America at risk.

Q: What are the biggest challenges to protecting the Arctic domain, and what has to change from what exists now?

A: In the 1990s, there was a large recapitalization of the radar line in the Arctic North known as the North Warning System, and it fuses Canada and the U.S. We essentially have coastal radars around Alaska and then down the western seaboard of North America. We have radars that go along the north side of the Arctic landmass onto Baffin Island and wrap around Quebec and Newfoundland all the way down to Maine. So we have sort of a radar fence that goes around.

We have 52 total Canadian radars that are up in the north. But they are co-owned. The U.S. co-funds them.

But that fence line was put in place when bombers had to cross it to shoot something, because of the range of their weapons. It’s still relevant in that you will find a weapon crossing that, but bombers don’t need to cross that line. So the fundamental issue is they could be in international airspace, well north of us, and conduct a launch. And so that’s my challenge – how do I domain sense? How am I aware of what’s going on, from a domain awareness point of view, to know that they are there? I think we have to up our game. So Canada’s invested recently in the Over the Horizon Radar project, where we’ve bought the Australian system known as JORN [Jindalee Operational Radar Network]. 

(We’ll discuss the Over the Horizon Radar project in more detail later in this interview)

Q: Have you seen any combined threats from China and Russia since that bomber flight?

A: They continue to conduct combined bomber patrols, but most typically, in the Indo-Pacific, in and around Japan and around the Korean Peninsula. We have not yet seen another return of a combined bomber patrol into the North American approaches.

中俄空中战略巡航现场画面
(微博 央视军事20251209）

12/9に実施の第10次中露合同空中パトロールの映像が公開。中国空軍[PLAAF]H-6K爆撃機や露 Tu-95爆撃機と思われる機体が参加。そのほか、映像内での中国側参加兵力はでJ-11BS戦闘機、Su-30MK2戦闘機、J-16戦闘機、KJ-500A早期警戒機となっている pic.twitter.com/4q3M1M6s0d

— KAROTASU (@type36512) December 9, 2025

Q: Are you seeing any recent joint Chinese-Russian naval patrols?

A: China routinely has these auxiliary general intelligence vessels, which are dual-use vessels, that transit the Bering Sea and end up in what I would characterize as the 10 o’clock to North America, if you look at North America like a clock. So that certainly is an activity that is concerning. Russian research vessels are up there as well. And I think they’re up to some interesting things, and we are present to meet them when they are in the approaches to North America. So I had aircraft deployed up into Alaska this summer, and we were on 14- or 15-hour missions up to 88 Degrees north to make sure we were over top of these vessels as they approached the continent.

Q: You said these vessels are up to some interesting things. What interesting things?

A: Well, I think they, they’re obviously mapping, they’re mapping the seabed for a variety of purposes, both scientific and military. And I think I just leave it at that.

Q: Do you know if they’re looking at underwater cables and that kind of infrastructure?

A: I think yes to all that. I’m not going to get into it in an unclassified setting, but I would just say I’m very concerned about some of the increased activity in that region, and certainly a region that is pristine. It’s also very difficult to navigate through from an underwater point of view. And so there’s a reason they would be up there. I don’t know quite what it is, but it’s concerning from a North American point of view.

Q: Russia has traditionally been the primary threat in the far north, but China’s military expansion in the Arctic is changing this. What role do you see China playing in the Arctic in the coming years?

A: The Russia-China piece is a bit of a marriage of convenience. And we’ll see where this goes. It could deepen, but I certainly don’t see it as close a binational command as we have with the U.S. and Canada, where we have NORAD aircraft flying in tight formation with each other, relieving each other on station, protecting our two countries seamlessly across the border. I flow my fighters into the U.S. and U.S. fighters flow into Canada as required. I don’t believe the Russia-China relationship is that way. I think it’s deconflicted in time and space. They present, obviously, a challenge to North America with these combined power patrols, but I don’t see it anywhere as deep as the relationship we have.

Q: But beyond a relationship with Russia, how do you see China on its own playing a role in the Arctic in the coming years?

A: They have a lot of ambitions, and they’re building a lot of military capability, which we need to pay attention to, in the air domain and the maritime domain, specifically in space, the cyber domain. So I worry quite a bit about the expansion beyond the First and Second island chains of their sphere of influence, and what they wish to do. And I think economic security is national security and vice versa. So you can’t disentangle one from the other, and that’s the advice we give our government.

Q: Can you offer more details about how you view the threats from China?

A: They have fifth-generation aircraft and sixth-generation aircraft and sixth-generation aircraft in development. They have long-range air-to-air weapons, which I get concerned about. Obviously, they have aircraft carrier capability, a Rocket Forces capability, which can reach out and touch into our allies’ homelands. You have a pretty significant subsurface capability that’s growing by the day with the Shang class submarine. 

So I think there are threats that emanate in almost every domain. I don’t worry too much about the land domain, but I do worry about long-range threats that emanate from the land domain, that is to say, Rocket Forces. So maybe just leave it at that. I don’t want to get into an intelligence discussion because it’s probably not the right forum.

Q: Can you provide any new details about the still unidentified objects that flew over the U.S. in early 2023, including one that was shot down in Canadian airspace? Who sent them? Why hasn’t imagery and additional information been released about those objects?

A: I’m tracking one object that was shot down near White Horse using an F-22 under the NORAD agreement, obviously authorized by the Canadian government. I don’t believe they have found the wreckage of that thing yet. It’s a white balloon in the middle of a white expanse of snow, so it is actually hard to find. We had Canadian military folks searching for it for weeks. As far as I know, we did not recover it. It was a balloon, either research or a state actor. It’s not known which. I can’t really give you that detail.

Q: You said you can’t give me that detail. Is it because you don’t know or can’t tell me?

A: I legitimately don’t know (laughs). I will say the way that we executed the engagement, though, is exactly how NORAD’s agreement was crafted to work in the sense that sovereign decision, sovereign soil, but by national best sensor, best shooter. So it actually worked out exactly as scripted.

Q: There were other objects spotted in the skies around the same general time period that we still don’t know what they were or there hasn’t been any additional imagery or information released. Can you talk about those situations?

A: We do track a fair number of research balloons that move around the planet, and you need to sort of run some algorithms on your radar takes to find them. Sometimes it’s very small, like, just imagine, it’s not emitting any heat. It’s got almost no radar reflectivity. These are very hard to detect items. But I don’t have any other information to provide on balloons or UFOs or otherwise.

Q: Let’s circle back to the Arctic Over the Horizon radar. Are there any updates you can provide? What will it bring to the table that doesn’t exist today? And can you talk about the cost overruns associated with the program?

A: I wouldn’t say cost overruns. I just think the understanding of what the system is and what it can do is sort of evolving. So we bought some land in southern Ontario for a transmit site and receive sites. You might be aware that Over the Horizon radar is a bit of dark magic, in the sense that you need about 80 miles between a transmit and receive site. 

The receive sites are these three-kilometer by five-kilometer boxes of many thousands of antennas, in some cases, 30,000 antennas. And you can progressively build out that array to have a higher fidelity in your radar in terms of the rare cross-section size that you can see. The transmit site will be full power when we build that for 2029. The receive sites we will build out over the years, as we get more and more space to build on. 

If you look at the radar picture in the United States, there are so many airports through the center of the U.S. that you never really leave radar coverage, at least in the lower U.S. Canada is not the same. Most of our population is along our border with the U.S., and as you know, the center is quite empty. So you do have little pockets of folks living near an international airport. You get a radar associated with that. And then you have the North Warning System, which is up at around 72ish [degrees] north. So there are large swaths that are sort of unsurveiled, unless you were to put an AWACS aircraft there to go look at it. 

What this will do is give us the ability to sense. Over the Horizon radar is different, though. It’s not like this sort of sweep that you would get with a normal radar. You have to plan it like you’re looking at trapezoids, a couple of hundred miles by a couple of hundred miles that you soak with radar energy. You’re bouncing energy off the ionosphere, into that trapezoid, and then there’s a revisit rate. Every so many seconds, you’re re-irradiating that trapezoid. And that gives you your change detection of a track moving.

Certainly, I’ve seen the Australian system at work. They have three radars in the middle of Australia that look north towards China, towards the Indo Pacific, and their their remote sensing unit down in Adelaide, aggregates those signals, and they present a recognized air picture using that, and it’s pretty, pretty dramatically good. I’ve seen high-end aircraft moving through the South China Sea.

Australia has been operating a version of that for decades now. They’re, quite honestly, world experts on HF over-the-horizon radar. And we’re replacing a couple of sites in the south of Canada. The first few sites are going to look towards the Greenland, Iceland, UK (GIUK) gap​​.

And the second set of sites is going to look to the northwest. And those are going in by 2029 to 2031. We bought the land. We’re clearing the land now. We’ve got a partnership with Australia. So using HF energy to be able to see into the Arctic is useful. And I think space-based sensors, space-based AMTI [air moving-target indicators], space-based intelligence. These are the things we’re going to be using, I think, to look and sense in the Arctic.

Q: What’s the range of the Over the Horizon radar?

A: I believe it’s 3,000ish kilometers, unclassified. But it all depends. You have to have ionospheric sounders that bounce and give you the texture of the ionosphere. So you can tune your radar to bounce it. So again. It’s a bit of a dark art. It depends on the ionosphere conditions of the day. So you want to pair it, obviously, with space-based [sensors] to make sure you have a layered domain awareness approach.

Q: And what does Over the Horizon radar bring to the table that doesn’t exist today in terms of seeing what’s out there?

A: It’s the ability to have a much cleaner and more complete picture of any target that is moving in the air or on the water, and our challenge is maritime domain awareness. Maritime warning is part of the NORAD mission set, so being able to sense on the surface of the ocean at great distances is really important. The challenge with Over the Horizon radar, for the Canadian Arctic context, is a thing called the auroral oval, where all of that energy sits. That gives us those awesome northern lights in Canada. It also prevents HF energy from bouncing into that oval. And so you do need something inside a transmit and receive site, inside of the pole. 

And so we have a signals intelligence base way up north on alert called CFS [Canada Forces Station] Alert, named for a British ship that was stranded there in the 1800s. It’s the most northern permanently inhabited place on the planet. We’ve got about 60ish, very, very dedicated RCAF and Canadian Armed Forces people who live up there on six-month shifts. And that is a great place to put a transmit site. And there are receiver sites potential all over the place. In the Arctic, we have research stations that we’re looking at that have power and that have potentially fiber, depending on where you put it, that would allow you to get that data back south. But we need to transmit and receive in the north.

This is life on Alert

Q: Can you tell us about the development of the Crossbow sensor system and what that includes?

A:  It’s a passive sensor. And so I won’t get into what it can do. I will say, in the Canadian Arctic, the challenge, obviously, is power generation and making sure that can be powered. And that’s what we’re focusing on. It’s the shelter that makes sure that we can feed that sensor.

Q: Where is Crossbow in the development phase?

A: We have some installations that have occurred in the last year or two. I’ll leave it at that.

In the final installment of our interview, McKenna talks about Golden Dome, space-based sensors and the dire need for airborne early warning and control aircraft.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

French President Emmanuel Macron says a security statement endorsed by Ukraine’s allies, including the United States, is a “significant step” toward ending Russia’s invasion of its neighbour as part of a peace settlement.

Following a meeting of more than two dozen countries in Paris on Tuesday, Macron said officials agreed on ceasefire monitoring mechanisms under US leadership.

The countries dubbed the “coalition of the willing” have explored for months how to deter any future Russian aggression should it agree to stop fighting Ukraine.

US ‍envoy ‍Steve Witkoff said there was significant progress made on ​several critical issues facing ‍Ukraine including security guarantees and a “prosperity plan”. Security ‍protocols for Ukraine are “largely ⁠finished”, he added.

“We agree ‍with ⁠the coalition that durable security guarantees and robust prosperity commitments are essential to ​a lasting peace ‌in the Ukraine, and we will continue to ‌work together on this effort,” ‌Witkoff said ⁠in a post on X after talks in ‌Paris.

Ukraine’s ‍reconstruction ‍is inextricably linked to security guarantees, German ⁠Chancellor Friedrich Merz ​said.

“Economic strength will ‍be indispensable ⁠to guarantee that Ukraine will continue to credibly block ​Russia ‌in the future,” Merz said.

British ‍Prime ‍Minister Keir Starmer said peace in Ukraine ⁠is closer than ever though ​the “hardest yards” still ‍lay ahead.

The UK and France will establish military hubs in Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia, said Starmer.

US President Donald Trump says no Americans, but some soldiers ‘on the other side’ were killed in the ‘complex’ military operation that abducted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Israeli forces raided Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank, firing live ammunition to disperse students during a protest and film screening. At least three students were injured as troops entered the campus and classrooms.

The UN human rights office says the US military intervention that ousted Venezuela’s leader violates international law and the UN Charter, warning it undermines global security and risks worsening human rights. It says Venezuela’s future must be decided by its people.

Washington, DC – It has become a familiar pattern. United States presidents conduct unilateral military actions abroad. Congress shrugs.

On Saturday, in the hours after the US military abducted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, Democrats in the Senate pledged to raise yet another resolution to rein in US President Donald Trump’s military actions.

Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the chamber, has said the party will push for a vote within the week. By all accounts, the odds of its success remain long.

Since Trump took office for a second term in 2025, Congress has weighed multiple bills that would force him to seek legislative approval before initiating a military strike.

But the latest attack on Venezuela offers a stark instance of presidential overreach, one that is “crying out for congressional action”, according to David Janovsky, the acting director of the Constitution Project at the Project on Government Oversight.

Experts say it is also one of the clearest tests in recent history of whether Congress will continue to cede its authority to check US military engagement abroad.

“There are a lot of angles where you can come at this to say why it’s a clear-cut case,” Janovsky told Al Jazeera.

He pointed out that, under the US Constitution, Congress alone wields the authority to allow military action. He also noted that the Venezuela attack “is in direct contravention of the UN Charter, which is, as a treaty, law in the United States”.

“Any of the fig leaves that presidents have used in the past to justify unilateral military action just don’t apply here,” Janovsky added. “This is particularly brazen.”

An uphill battle

Since August, the Trump administration has signalled plans to crank up its “maximum pressure” campaign against Venezuela.

That month, Trump reportedly signed a secret memo calling on the US military to prepare for action against criminal networks abroad. Then, on September 2, the Trump administration began conducting dozens of strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats off the Venezuelan and Colombian coasts.

That deadly bombing campaign was itself condemned as a violation of international law and an affront to Congress’s constitutional powers. It coincided with a build-up of US military assets near Venezuela.

Trump also dropped hints that the US military campaign could quickly expand to alleged drug-trafficking targets on Venezuelan soil. “When they come by land, we’re going to be stopping them the same way we stopped the boats,” Trump said on September 16.

The strikes prompted two recent votes in the House of Representatives in December: one that would require congressional approval for any land strikes on the South American country, and one that would force Trump to seek approval for strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats.

Both resolutions, however, failed roughly along party lines. A similar resolution in the Senate, which would have required congressional approval before any more attacks, also fell short in November.

But speaking to reporters in a phone call just hours after the US operation on Saturday, Senator Tim Kaine said he hoped the brashness of Trump’s latest actions in Venezuela would shock lawmakers into action.

Republicans, he said, can no longer tell themselves that Trump’s months-long military build-up in the Caribbean and his repeated threats are a “bluff” or a “negotiating tactic”.

“It’s time for Congress to get its a** off the couch and do what it’s supposed to do,” Kaine said.

In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, US Senator Chris Murphy also agreed that it was “true” that Congress had become impotent on matters of war, a phenomenon that has spanned both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Bash pointed to former President Barack Obama’s 2011 military deployment to Libya, which went unchecked by Congress.

“Congress needs to own its own role in allowing a presidency to become this lawless,” Murphy responded.

Republicans ho-hum about resolutions

Under the US Constitution, only Congress can declare war, something it has not done since World War II.

Instead, lawmakers have historically passed Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) to approve committing troops to recent wars, including the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan and the strikes on alleged al-Qaeda affiliates across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

No AUMFs have been passed that would relate to military action in Venezuela.

When lawmakers believe a president is acting beyond his constitutional power, they can pass a war powers resolution requiring Congressional approval for further actions.

Beyond their symbolism, such resolutions create a legal basis to challenge further presidential actions in the judiciary.

However, they carry a high bar for success, with a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress needed to override a presidential veto.

Given the current makeup of Congress, passage of a war powers resolution would likely require bipartisan support.

Republicans maintain narrow majorities in both the House and Senate, so it would be necessary for members of Trump’s own party to back a war powers resolution for it to be successful.

In November’s Senate vote, only two Republicans — co-sponsor Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska — split from their party to support the resolution. It failed by a margin of 51 to 49.

December’s vote on a parallel resolution in the House only earned 211 votes in favour, as opposed to 213 against. In that case, three Republicans broke from their party to support the resolution, and one Democrat opposed it.

But Trump’s abduction of Maduro has so far only received condemnation from a tiny fragment of his party.

Overall, the response from elected Republicans has been muted. Even regular critics of presidential adventurism have instead focused on praising the ouster of the longtime Venezuelan leader, who has been accused of numerous human rights abuses.

Senator Todd Young, a Republican considered on the fence ahead of November’s war powers vote, has praised Maduro’s arrest, even as he contended the Trump administration owed Congress more details.

“We still need more answers, especially to questions regarding the next steps in Venezuela’s transition,” Young said.

Some Democrats have also offered careful messaging in the wake of the operation.

That included Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat who represents a large Venezuelan diaspora community in Florida.

In a statement on Saturday, Wasserman Schultz focused on the implications of Maduro’s removal, while avoiding any mention of the military operation that enabled it. Instead, she asserted that Trump owed Congress an explanation about next steps.

“He has failed to explain to Congress or the American people how he plans to prevent the regime from reconstituting itself under Maduro’s cronies or stop Venezuela from falling into chaos,” she wrote.

In December, however, Wasserman Schultz did join a group of Florida Democrats in calling for Congress to exercise its oversight authority as Trump built up military pressure on Venezuela.

What comes next?

For its part, the Trump administration has not eased up on its military threats against Venezuela, even as it has sought to send the message that Maduro’s abduction was a matter of law enforcement, not the start of a war.

Trump has also denied, once again, that he needed congressional approval for any further military action. Still, in a Monday interview with NBC News, he expressed optimism about having Congress’s backing.

“We have good support congressionally,” he told NBC. “Congress knew what we were doing all along, but we have good support congressionally. Why wouldn’t they support us?”

Since Saturday’s attack and abduction, Trump has warned that a “second wave” of military action could be on the horizon for Venezuela.

That threat has extended to the potential for the forced removal of Maduro’s deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, who was formally sworn in as the country’s interim president on Monday.

“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump told The Atlantic magazine.

The administration has also said that strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela will continue and that US military assets will remain deployed in the region.

Constitutional expert Janovsky, however, believes that this is a critical moment for Congress to act.

Failure to rein in Trump would only further reinforce a decades-long trend of lawmakers relinquishing their oversight authorities, he explained. That, in turn, offers tacit support for the presidency’s growing power over the military.

“To say this was a targeted law enforcement operation — and ignore the ongoing situation — would be a dangerous abdication of Congress as a central check on how the United States military is used,” Janovsky said.

“Continued congressional inaction does nothing but empower presidents to act however they want,” he added.

“To see Congress continue to step back ultimately just removes the American people even farther from where these decisions are actually being made.”

Multiple video clips offer strong evidence that kamikaze drones were among the capabilities the U.S. military brought to bear during the operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro over the weekend. This may have been the first real-world use of a new slate of U.S. long-range one-way attack drones and loitering munitions. After years of being outpaced by lower-end drone developments overseas, there is now a significant new push across America’s armed forces, and the special operations community in particular, to dramatically step up the acquisition and fielding of various tiers of uncrewed one-way strike aircraft.

Bystanders on the ground in Venezuela captured various videos of the U.S. assault on Saturday, which was officially dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve. In multiple clips, as seen in the social media post below, distinctly terrorizing high-pitched buzzing can be clearly heard, which are then followed immediately by explosions and/or other visual or auditory signs of munitions impacting the ground, all consistent with the use of one-way attack drones.

U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) declined to offer any comment when asked for additional details about the use of drones, in general, during Operation Absolute Resolve. TWZ has reached out to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and the White House for more information.

Similar high-pitched buzzing sounds, which were followed by impacts and detonations, are featured in a mountain of existing confirmed videos of various types of kamikaze drones powered by small piston engines driving single pusher propellers hitting their targets. The distinctive acoustic signature, in particular, has been consistently present in footage of attacks involving these kinds of uncrewed aerial systems that have emerged from multiple conflict zones globally in the past five years or so. Ukrainian forces have even established a network of acoustic sensors to help spot incoming Russian drone attacks across their country to capitalize on this acoustic signature.

This is the footage of the russian Shahed drone attacking an oil mill belonging to the American company Bunge.

As the result, more than 300 tons of oil was spilled, causing serious damage to the mill and environment. pic.twitter.com/JflSn2NkBd

— Oleksiy Goncharenko (@GoncharenkoUa) January 5, 2026

Footage released by Ukraine’s military show electronic warfare units disabling a Russian Shahed attack drone and forcing it to descend intact into the Black Sea, rather than detonating on impact. pic.twitter.com/PQfVscqBIM

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) December 14, 2025

In 2021, Azerbaijan’s Border Guard even released a video, seen below, focused on the sounds produced by the Israeli-made Harop loitering munitions that it had actively employed in a conflict with Armenia the previous year. At that time, TWZ highlighted the knock-on psychological effect this would have. Direct comparisons have also been drawn to the iconic sound of World War II-era dive bombers, and Nazi Ju-87 Stukas, in particular, swooping down onto their targets.

Qarabağ Azərbaycandır!

As mentioned, the U.S. military finally launched a new, concerted effort to expand the use of various types of one-way attack drones last year. The special operations community, which was front and center in this weekend’s operation in Venezuela, has been heavily involved in executing this initiative and has already been at the forefront of fielding other kinds of kamikaze drones within America’s armed forces for years now.

Just last October, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) disclosed the first known operational fielding of long-range one-way attack drones by a task force in the Middle East led by special operations forces. That unit, officially named Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS), is equipped with multiple versions of the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS), a design notably reverse-engineered from the Iranian-designed Shahed-136. However, LUCAS drones can operate collaboratively in a fully networked swarm and beyond-line-of-sight links that enable them to attack targets, including ones that might suddenly pop up, in real time and far from their operators. This makes them far more capable than Iran’s original design, as well as variants and derivatives that Russia is now actively using against Ukraine.

In December, TFSS, together with the U.S. Navy, also demonstrated the ability to launch LUCAS drones from ships. Other elements of the U.S. military have at least been experimenting with LUCAS, and those drones and/or other similar designs may already be in wider service within America’s armed forces.

“Bravo Zulu. U.S. Navy forces in the Middle East are advancing warfighting capability in new ways, bringing more striking power from the sea and setting conditions for using innovation as a deterrent.” – Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM Commander https://t.co/TgQ4WLbph3 pic.twitter.com/WUiAVojTht

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 18, 2025

The extent to which other relevant developments are ongoing in the classified realm is unknown, but this is certainly something that has been occurring in recent years. This includes the Phoenix Ghost kamikaze drones that emerged publicly after examples were delivered to Ukraine, but which trace back to a classified project under the Air Force’s Big Safari special projects office.

It is worth noting that the Shahed-136 was itself directly influenced by Israeli kamikaze drones like the Harop, which were originally designed with an explicit focus on targeting enemy air defenses. Iran has shown Shaheds being employed in this role in exercises, as seen in the video below, though the drones have now proven themselves in real-world attacks on a much wider array of targets on land and at sea.

Баражуючий іранський боєприпас «Shahed 136»

In Venezuela this past weekend, U.S. forces could well have used long-range one-way attack drones, launched from ships off the coast or forward locations on land in the region, as part of the broader suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses (SEAD/DEAD) mission, which we know was central to the operation.

“As the force began to approach Caracas, the Joint Air Component began dismantling and disabling the air defense systems in Venezuela, employing weapons to ensure the safe passage of the helicopters into the target area,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Air Force Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine said during a press conference on Saturday. “The goal of our air component is, was, and always will be to protect the helicopters and the ground force and get them to the target and get them home.”

Caine also said that “numerous remotely piloted drones” were among the U.S. assets employed during Operation Absolute Resolve.

Long-range kamikaze drones would have also offered a way to stimulate enemy air defenses, helping to expose their exact locations and provide emissions to hone in on, after which they could then be struck by other platforms or avoided entirely. The U.S. spent months cataloging Venezuela’s electronic order of battle from standoff distances, but road mobile systems are something of a wild card. If they radiate, they could be rapidly geolocated and destroyed. Similar drones could have been employed purely as decoys or for stand-in (close proximity) jamming of key radars and communications systems, depending on their exact configuration.

Strikes on other targets in Venezuela during the operation that were clearly intended to prevent or disrupt the country’s security forces from responding effectively could also have involved the use of long-range kamikaze drones. Light armored vehicles and other assets on the ground at the sprawling Fuerte Tiuna base in Caracas were destroyed in the course of the mission. This is reportedly where Maduro and his wife were captured. Key communications nodes in the country were also unsurprisingly targeted.

Damaged Venezuelan Dragoon 300 APC at Fort Tiuna following US airstrikes, January 3, 2026.

Note that the vehicle has been modified into similar configuration to Cadillac Gage V-100 Commandos.

2026 United States strikes in Venezuela pic.twitter.com/ThfPnqdC5m

— Buschlaid (@BuschModelar) January 3, 2026

The 312th “Ayala” Armored Cavalry Battalion of the Venezuelan Army appears to have had all of its equipment and most of its armored vehicles entirely destroyed in last night’s strike operation by the United States, which heavily targeting the Fuerte Tiuna Military Complex in the… pic.twitter.com/VXmVHRK4ha

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 3, 2026

Parte de los sistemas de telecomunicaciones destruídos en la zona del Cerro El Volcan a las afueras de Caracas, en la vía Oripoto de Los Guayabitos, Sector El Volcán, Baruta –Edo. Miranda 🇻🇪
Coordenadas 10.416374,-66.849306 pic.twitter.com/Iyo8UObH42

— 𝘼𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙤 (@Arr3ch0) January 3, 2026

There is the additional possibility that what is seen and heard in the videos are smaller loitering munitions, which U.S. forces could have utilized more dynamically in response to threats as they approached their objectives. The U.S. military now commonly uses the term “launched effect” to refer to these munitions, as well as other uncrewed aerial systems configured for other tasks, all of which are designed to be fired from aircraft, as well as ground and maritime platforms.

The U.S. Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), better known as the Night Stalkers, elements of which were at the very core of the operation to capture Maduro, have at least been experimenting with employing launched effects from their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for years now, though this is not an operational capability, at least that we know of at present. This is a capability also planned for the Army’s conventional Black Hawk fleet, but it would not be surprising for the Night Stalkers to receive it first. With launched effects, MH-60s, or other platforms the 160th operates, would have a new way to react to air defenses, either striking them if they pop up along the way or jamming them. They could also strike small mobile targets if need be.

The video below, which the Army released in 2021, includes footage at around the 0:34 mark in the runtime of one of 160th SOAR’s MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters carrying a tube for a ‘launched effect’ under its right stub wing.

The U.S. Army Futures Command’s Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team (FVL-CFT)

At the Association of the U.S. Army’s (AUSA) main annual conference last October, the current head of the 160th SOAR, Col. Stephen Smith, also talked explicitly about the current and future use of uncrewed systems, including launched effects, to lead the way for crewed helicopters, especially in higher-threat environments.

Other elements of SOCOM have been touting the expected importance of air and surface-launched effects in future operations in recent years. These are capabilities that conventional forces across the U.S. military have been working to field, as well.

All this being said, the sounds and subsequent impacts heard and seen in the videos from Venezuela do seem to point more to the use of kamikaze drones that are larger than the ones that typically fall into the category of launched effects, especially air-launched types.

Regardless, the video clips do offer clear evidence of a possible first-of-its-kind use of U.S. kamikaze drones during Operation Absolute Resolve, and more details about their employment may emerge as more becomes known about the mission overall.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Gum arabic is used in many everyday items, from food to paint, yet researchers say it is playing a role in Sudan’s war. Al Jazeera’s Hala Saadani explores how the industry is sustaining the conflict.

ALMOST 200 flights have been cancelled and delayed across the UK today as seven weather warnings remain in place.

A total of 41 flights have been grounded today as a result of the snow and ice, with a further 152 routes experiencing delays.

Nine major airports across the UK have grounded flights due to the current weather conditions.

On Monday, Liverpool John Lennon Airport was forced to close due to a snow-covered runway.

While the Liverpool Airport has since re-opened, cancellations and disruptions continue to plague passengers across the UK after temperatures plummeted as low as minus 12.5C overnight.

Yesterday’s severe weather also led to cancellations and disruptions to flights out of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

GROWING UP

One of Spain’s most underrated cities is in ‘Garden of Europe’ with £17 flights

GOING SNOW-WHERE

UK airport is forced to SHUT snow-covered runway as flights are cancelled

Scots airline Loganair cancelled two flights from Aberdeen, with routes to Kirkwall and Norwich scrapped as an amber warning was issued for heavy snow across north-east and northern Scotland until 7pm.

Meanwhile, air passengers across England are also experiencing disruptions, with London Heathrow currently experiencing departure delays an average of 39 minutes.

The airport has also topped today’s list of cancellations at eight, with a further 87 delays, according to FlightAware.

Aberdeen and London City follow with six cancellations each, and five and two flight delays respectively.

And its not just outbound flights that have been affected, with Edinburgh reporting arrival delays for airborne aircraft at an average of 28 minutes.

These wait times are expected to increase as the Arctic Blast continues into the evening.

Anyone planning to travel is advised to check with their flight’s status with their airline before heading to the airport.

With certain areas of England hit with heavy snow, disruptions have not been limited to air travel.

Rail passengers are also experiencing chaos as National Rail confirmed that disruptions are expected on the Wirral and Northern line services, as well as to trains across Scotland.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen – Dundee railway has partially reopened following closure yesterday due to heavy snow.

Those travelling between Edinburgh and Aberdeen have been issued a “Do Not Travel” warning until at least 2pm today.

The Glasgow subway was also closed this morning due to harsh weather conditions.

Select rail services across England have also been suspended due to snow, with passengers advised to verify their route is still operating before arriving at their station.

And motorists can also expect delays as breakdown companies including the AA and RAC are experiencing high demand.

A spokesman for the Met Office said milder temperatures are expected towards the end of the week, though further snow is possible on Sunday as the warmer air meets cold air.

There is pressure on Chelsea to get this appointment right, with some supporters chanting the name of former owner Roman Abramovich during Sunday’s draw at Manchester City and a fringe group of fans planning a protest against the owners before the next home Premier League match against Brentford.

It is against that backdrop they have turned to a man who is well known to key figures at Stamford Bridge.

Rosenior first met Chelsea‘s co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart more than 15 years ago while playing for Brighton.

And Sam Jewell – Chelsea‘s director of global recruitment – worked closely with Rosenior when he began coaching Brighton Under-23s after retiring.

Rosenior also knew Stewart during his time as an analyst at Hull, where he played and later managed.

Last summer, during the Club World Cup, he travelled to the United States with Strasbourg president Marc Keller to meet Chelsea‘s leadership, and owners Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly have made regular visits to the French club.

He has always been seen as a potential successor to Maresca, but a mid-season change was not planned. Chelsea hoped Rosenior could continue to build experience at Strasbourg, but Maresca’s comments at the end of last year forced the owners into a change.

They see their new man, who favours a similar possession-based style, as the most seamless option.

Sources close to Rosenior also believe he has a more empathetic tone of communication – drawing on lessons from his mother Karen, who is a social worker.

He will face scrutiny over his perceived rawness, but Chelsea will point to the fact he has more experience than Maresca when the Italian was appointed in 2024.

Maresca had won the Championship, of course, while Rosenior has yet to lift a trophy – but the incoming coach has managed 153 senior games at Hull and Strasbourg compared with his predecessor’s 67. Maresca was also Pep Guardiola’s assistant during Manchester City‘s Treble-winning season of 2022-23.

There is also the issue of Rosenior coming to Chelsea on a bad run of form, having won none of his past five Ligue 1 matches, just two in 10, and having dropped 13 points from winning positions this season.

French football expert Julien Laurens told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I really believe the owners put him in the Strasbourg job to get him ready for the Chelsea job one day.

“I think if he showed he could be capable at Strasbourg, which is taking a team which was almost going down into Europe – to taking it close to Champions League qualification, which is what he did last season.

“I think that showed his potential. It showed his development, showed his ability to improve the team and players individually.”

The Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson has said Doha is engaged with mediators to reopen the Rafah crossing into besieged Gaza and deliver aid.

Communications are ongoing, the spokesman said on Tuesday. “We are working with mediator to ensure we reach the second phase of Gaza ceasefire. We demanded that humanitarian aid is not used as a political blackmail.”

Humanitarian groups say that Israeli restrictions continue to hamper aid deliveries, a clear violation of the October 10 ceasefire agreement, while Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt remains closed.

The crossing had long been Gaza’s only connection to the outside world until the Israeli military occupied the Palestinian side in May 2024.

Israel’s Kan broadcaster reported on January 1 that Israeli authorities are preparing to reopen the crossing in “both directions” following pressure from US President Donald Trump.

If confirmed, it would mark a shift from an earlier Israeli policy that stated the crossing would only open “exclusively for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip to Egypt”. The policy drew condemnation from regional governments, including Egypt and Qatar, with officials warning against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.

That Israeli report had left many Palestinians hopeful.

Tasnim Jaras, a student in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera that it was her “dream that the crossing opens so we can continue our education”.

Moaeen al-Jarousha, who was wounded in the war, said he needed to leave Gaza to receive medical treatment abroad. “I need immediate medical intervention. I live in very difficult conditions,” he said.

More to come…

THE price for passenger drop-offs at London’s second busiest airport has jumped 40 percent.

That’s a £3 increase from previous charge of £7 and will apply to all drivers entering the drop off zone, excluding Blue Badge holders.

From today London Gatwick will have the highest drop-off fees in the country thanks to the new £10 charge.

The price has steadily increased over the years since it was first introduced in 2021 and was only £5.

It jumped to £6 in 2024 before being increased to £7 just a year later in May 2025.

“Poor old passengers and drivers are getting another blow to the pocket,” complained travel writer Andy Mossack in an interview with BBC Radio Surrey.

MAKING WAVES

Colossal new seaside town next to UK airport is approved under plans

GOING SNOW-WHERE

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“It is disgraceful.”

London Gatwick, which is the busiest single runway airport in Europe, said it was “not a decision they took lightly”.

However, it cited reasons such as the “doubling of business rates” as one of the reasons for the increase in cost.

A spokesperson for Gatwick suggested passengers could use the free shuttle bus if they are dropped of in the long stay car park.

They added: “We also have excellent public transport connectivity at the airport, with passengers able to connect directly with more than 120 train stations.

“Many local bus routes serve the airport 24  hours a day, seven days a week.”

Drop off fees have also increased at London Heathrow with its drop off fee increasing from £6 to £7 on January 1.

It is also introducing a strict 10-minute drop off time, with drivers charged £80 if they go over.

And London City, the last of the London airports to allow free drop offs, will be introducing a new charge in 2026 as well.

Liam Rosenior says he could not turn down Chelsea but admits unusual situation as a deal has not yet been signed.

Racing Strasbourg coach Liam Rosenior says he has reached an agreement with Chelsea to become their next manager but has yet to sign a contract with the Premier League club.

“I ‍haven’t signed yet. I have agreed verbally with Chelsea. It’s really important – this is different to anything anyone has ever done. Nobody has made a statement before they have signed a contract,” ‍Rosenior said at a ⁠news conference on Tuesday.

“Everything is agreed, and it will probably go through in the next few hours,” he said in Strasbourg, France. “I’m here because I care about this club and I felt it was right to answer your questions physically here today before I move on.”

Rosenior added that he would take his ⁠assistants Kalifa Cisse and Justin Walker with him to the Premier League club.

The 41-year-old, who joined Ligue 1 side Racing Strasbourg in 2024, said his time at the club had been the most rewarding period of ​his career after spells at Derby County and Hull City.

“The ‌last 18 months have been a joy and the best of my professional career,” Rosenior said. “I have met some incredible people, created incredible memories and made history.”

He said he had been transparent with Strasbourg’s ‌ownership about outside interest.

“I have had interest from many clubs, including Champions League clubs, which I have always been open ‌with to our president, Marc Keller, and our ownership,” ⁠Rosenior said. “I will love this club for the rest of my life, but I cannot turn down Chelsea.”

Little-known Rosenior had been widely touted as the front runner to succeed Enzo Maresca since the Italian was sacked on Thursday, not least because Strasbourg and Chelsea are owned by the same consortium, BlueCo.

Rosenior, who has no Premier League coaching experience, will become Chelsea’s fourth permanent boss since BlueCo took control of the Londoners in 2022.

Chelsea has yet to confirm the appointment but held talks with Rosenior in London on Monday.

The forum, which comes after government forces retook two governorates, could help end the conflict with separatists.

Yemeni government troops backed by Saudi Arabia have completed the handover of all military sites in Hadramout and al-Mahra governorates, which they successfully reclaimed from the United Arab Emirates-backed secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) in recent days, according to Yemeni media.

A delegation led by STC leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, was meanwhile expected to travel to Saudi Arabia for a peace forum, the Reuters news agency reported – a potential sign of progress towards ending the conflict that has rocked war-torn Yemen and spiked tensions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

Over the last two days, STC troops have withdrawn from the city of Mukalla, the key eastern port and capital of Hadramout, which Saudi Arabia bombed last week in a limited coalition operation targeting cargo and weapons.

Civilian life has started to return to normal, local sources told Al Jazeera Arabic. Shops have opened their doors, while traffic has gradually picked up again in city streets.

The fractured country has seen soaring tensions since early December, when STC forces took over Hadramout and al-Mahra. The two provinces make up nearly half of Yemen’s territory and share a border with Saudi Arabia.

Last week’s new round of fighting saw Yemen’s Saudi-backed Homeland Shield forces achieve “record success” in clawing back “all military and security positions”, said Rashad al-Alimi, head of the internationally recognised government’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC).

By Friday, the Yemeni government said it had asked Saudi Arabia to host talks with separatists. The STC welcomed the offer, though the timing and details of the talks remain unclear.

Renewed tensions

At least 80 STC fighters had been killed as of Sunday, according to an STC official, while another 152 were wounded and 130 were taken captive.

Skirmishes broke out two days earlier in Hadramout after the STC accused Saudi Arabia of bombing its forces near the border, killing seven people and wounding 20.

An STC military official separately told the AFP news agency that Saudi warplanes had carried out “intense” air raids on one of the group’s camps at Barshid, west of Mukalla.

As fighting was under way, the STC announced the start of a two-year transitional period towards declaring an independent state, warning it would declare independence “immediately” if there was no dialogue or if southern Yemen again came under attack.

The Yemeni government defended the military actions, with Hadramout Governor Salem al-Khanbashi saying efforts to take back bases from the STC were “not a declaration of war” but meant to “peacefully and systematically” reclaim the sites.

The government also accused the separatists of preventing civilian travellers from entering Aden and called the STC’s restrictions on movement “a grave violation of the constitution and a breach of the Riyadh Agreement”, which was intended as a peace deal between separatists and the government.

Outside Yemen, the crisis has continued to upset relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and the STC are part of a decade-old military coalition that Riyadh convened to confront the Houthis, who continue to control parts of northern Yemen and Sanaa, the capital.

But the STC’s increasingly separatist approach – along with tit-for-tat accusations of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi-backed escalations – have stoked tensions among the trio.

Late on Friday, Abu Dhabi said all Emirati forces would withdraw from Yemen. Riyadh officially called for a peace forum early Saturday.

Caracas, January 5, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores have pleaded not guilty to charges of “narcoterrorism” after being arraigned on Monday.

During a short session in a New York court, Maduro told Judge Alvin Hellerstein that he was the president of Venezuela and had been “illegally captured” in his Caracas home.

The Venezuelan leader was kidnapped by US special operations forces in the early hours of January 3 following US bombings against military installations.

He was indicted on charges of “narcoterrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machineguns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machineguns and destructive devices against the United States.” Flores faces the same charges except narco-terrorism conspiracy.

Maduro is being represented by Barry Pollack, who previously defended Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Pollack did not request bail but questioned the legality of Maduro’s “military abduction” and stressed that the Venezuelan leader is “entitled to the privilege” of being treated like a head of state.

Flores’ attorney, Mark Donnelly, said that her client had sustained “significant injuries during her abduction” and requested that she receive medical attention.

The trial is set to resume with a hearing on March 17.

US officials have issued repeated “narcoterrorism” accusations against Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan leaders over the years. However, they have never produced court-tested evidence to sustain the claims. US prosecutors reportedly withdrew claims of Maduro leading the so-called “Cartel de los Soles” in their indictment. 

Drug trafficking reports over the years from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) have found Venezuela to play a marginal role in global narcotics trafficking.

China and Russia condemn US violations of international law

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held an emergency session on Monday to address Washington’s military attacks and kidnapping of Maduro and Flores. The session ultimately produced no resolutions.

Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya accused Washington of seeking to return the world to “an era of lawlessness.”

“We cannot allow the United States to proclaim itself as some kind of a supreme judge with the right to invade any country and hand down punishments with no regard for international law,” Nebenzya said.

Chinese representative Fu Cong accused the US of “trampling Venezuela’s sovereignty” and demanded that the Trump administration cease its “bullying and coercive practices.”

Both Moscow and Beijing labeled Maduro’s abduction a violation of the UN Charter and demanded the Venezuelan leader’s release. Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and several other nations joined the condemnation of the Trump administration’s military operations against Venezuela. 

For his part, Venezuelan UN Ambassador UN Samuel Moncada decried the “illegal and  illegitimate armed attack” against his country that had caused civilian casualties. Unofficial reports have tallied over 80 killed during the January 3 strikes.

In response, US representative Mike Waltz claimed that Washington was not at war with Venezuela and that the military operations constituted a “law enforcement” action.

Delcy Rodríguez sworn in as interim president

Monday likewise saw the Venezuelan National Assembly take office for a new five year term. 277 deputies, elected in the May 2025 elections, were sworn in. Jorge Rodrìguez was once more chosen by his peers to lead the legislative body. During his speech, he emphasized the importance of national unity in the present context.

Rodríguez stated that his main mission is to secure Maduro’s release and return to the South American nation. He likewise pointed out the absence of Cilia Flores, who was also elected to a new term as legislator.

The January 5 session concluded with the swearing in of Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as interim president following a Supreme Court ruling last Saturday.

“This is a historic commitment that I assume with the certainty that national unity and the people’s strength will guarantee our sovereignty,” she said. Rodríguez expressed “pain” over Maduro and Flores’ kidnapping but vowed to “work tirelessly” for peace.

In the wake of the January 3 attacks, US President Donald Trump has issued renewed threats against Caracas, demanding privileged access to oil resources.

In a Sunday cabinet meeting, Rodríguez urged respect for Venezuelan sovereignty and called on the US government to establish an “agenda of cooperation” with Caracas.

Condemnation comes as Nicolas Maduro appeared in a court in New York and pleaded not guilty to drug charges.

Israel has launched intense artillery and helicopter attacks on southern Gaza despite a United States-brokered ceasefire, bombing a tent housing displaced Palestinians and killing a five-year-old girl and her uncle, according to officials.

The killings on Monday brought the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the truce came into effect in October to at least 422, according to Gaza health authorities.

The Nasser Medical Complex in southern Khan Younis said the deadly Israeli strike hit a tent in the coastal al-Mawasi area, and that four others, including children, were also wounded.

Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas fighter who was planning to attack Israeli forces “in the immediate timeframe”. But the military did not provide evidence for the claim, and it was not clear if its statement referred to the tent attack.

Despite the ceasefire, Israeli forces have continued near-daily attacks on Gaza and have maintained restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid. Much of the enclave has been devastated by Israel’s genocidal war, with roughly 88 percent of buildings damaged or destroyed, Palestinian officials say.

Most of Gaza’s two million people are now living in tents, makeshift shelters or damaged buildings in areas vacated by Israeli troops.

The Palestinian Civil Defence said on Monday that another Palestinian home damaged in earlier Israeli strikes collapsed in the central Maghazi camp, killing a 29-year-old father and his eight-year-old son.

But the rescue service said in a subsequent statement that it was unable to respond to requests to remove hazards caused by damaged buildings because of a lack of equipment and continuing fuel shortages.

The Gaza ceasefire, agreed upon after more than two years of Israeli attacks that killed more than 71,000 people, is being implemented in phases. The first stage includes exchanges of captives and prisoners, increased humanitarian aid and the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Hamas has freed all remaining living captives and returned dozens of bodies, except for one, while Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners, including some serving life sentences.

Hopes for Rafah crossing

However, humanitarian groups say that Israeli restrictions continue to hamper aid deliveries, while Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt remains closed. The crossing had long been Gaza’s only connection to the outside world until the Israeli military occupied the Palestinian side in May 2024.

Israel’s Kan broadcaster reported on January 1 that Israeli authorities are preparing to reopen the crossing in “both directions” following pressure from US President Donald Trump.

If confirmed, it would mark a shift from an earlier Israeli policy that stated the crossing would only open “exclusively for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip to Egypt”. The policy drew condemnation from regional governments, including Egypt and Qatar, with officials warning against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.

The latest Israeli report has left many Palestinians hopeful.

Tasnim Jaras, a student in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera that it was her “dream that the crossing opens so we can continue our education”.

Moaeen al-Jarousha, who was wounded in the war, said he needed to leave Gaza to receive medical treatment abroad. “I need immediate medical intervention. I live in very difficult conditions,” he said.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said Palestinians in Gaza have been waiting for the crossing to open for a long time.

“For many, this isn’t about travel, it’s about survival. Parents are asking about medical access they haven’t been able to obtain over the past two years. Students think of this as an opportunity to continue their education,” he said.

“And for many families, this is an opportunity to reunite with family members who have been separated for too long. But hope here is never simple. People here have heard about these announcements numerous times, and many recall how quickly it shut again,” he added.

Israel, meanwhile, continues to retain control of 53 percent of Gaza, and witnesses on Monday reported continued demolitions of residential homes in the eastern Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City.

The Israeli military also said it attacked a Palestinian who had crossed the so-called “yellow line” – an unmarked boundary where the Israeli military repositioned itself when the truce came into effect – in southern Gaza on Monday with the aim of “removing the threat”. It did not provide evidence for the claim.

Israel also said it had carried out strikes against Hezbollah and Hamas targets in southern and eastern Lebanon.

Denmark and Mexico, also threatened by US President Donald Trump, warn that the US violated international law.

Members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), including key US allies, have warned that the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife by US special forces could be a precedent-setting event for international law.

The 15-member bloc met for an emergency meeting on Monday in New York City, where the Venezuelan pair were also due to face drug trafficking charges in a US federal court.

Venezuela’s ambassador to the UN, Samuel Moncada, condemned the US operation as “an illegitimate armed attack lacking any legal justification”, in remarks echoed by Cuba, Colombia and permanent UNSC members Russia and China.

“[The US] imposes the application of its laws outside its own territory and far from its coasts, where it has no jurisdiction, using assaults and the appropriation of assets,” Cuba’s ambassador, Ernesto Soberon Guzman, said, adding that such measures negatively affected Cuba.

Russia’s ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said the US cannot “proclaim itself as some kind of a supreme judge, which alone bears the right to invade any country, to label culprits, to hand down and to enforce punishments irrespective of notions of international law, sovereignty and non-intervention”.

Notable critics at the emergency session included traditional US allies, Mexico and Denmark, both of whom Trump has separately threatened with military action over the past year.

Mexico’s ambassador, Hector Vasconcelos, said that the council had an “obligation to act decisively and without double standards” towards the US, and it was for “sovereign peoples to decide their destinies,” according to a UN readout.

His remarks come just days after Trump told reporters that “something will have to be done about Mexico” and its drug cartels, following Maduro’s abduction.

Denmark, a longstanding US security ally, said that “no state should seek to influence political outcomes in Venezuela through the use of threat of force or through other means inconsistent with international law.”

“The inviolability of borders is not up for negotiation,” Denmark’s ambassador, Christina Markus Lassen, told the council in an oblique reference to Trump’s threat that the US would annex Greenland, a self-governed Danish territory.

France, another permanent member of the UNSC, also criticised the US, marking a shift in tone from French President Emmanuel Macron’s initial remarks that Venezuelans “can only rejoice” following Maduro’s abduction.

“The military operation that has led to the capture of Maduro runs counter to the principle of peaceful dispute resolution and runs counter to the principle of non-use of force,” said the French deputy ambassador, Jay Dharmadhikari.

Representatives from Latvia and the United Kingdom, another permanent UNSC member, focused on the conditions in Venezuela created by Maduro’s government.

Latvia’s ambassador, Sanita Pavļuta-Deslandes, said that Maduro’s conditions in Venezuela posed “a grave threat to the security of the region and the world”, citing mass repression, corruption, organised crime and drug trafficking.

The UK ambassador, James Kariuki, said that “Maduro’s claim to power was fraudulent”.

The US ambassador, Mike Waltz, characterised the abduction of Maduro and his wife as a “surgical law enforcement operation facilitated by the US military against two indicted fugitives of American justice”.

The White House defended its wave of air strikes on Venezuela, and in the waters near it, and Maduro’s abduction as necessary to protect US national security, amid unproven claims that Maduro backed “narcoterrorist” drug cartels.

UK’s King Charles III praises Schloss for her lifelong work on ‘overcoming hatred and prejudice’ around the world.

Eva Schloss, the Auschwitz survivor who dedicated decades to educating people about the Holocaust, and who was the stepsister of diarist Anne Frank, has died aged 96, according to her foundation.

The Anne Frank Trust UK, of which Schloss was the honorary president, said on Sunday that she died on Saturday in London, where she lived.

The United Kingdom’s King Charles III said he was “privileged and proud” to have known Schloss, who co-founded the charitable trust to help young people challenge prejudice.

“The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend, and yet, she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience through her tireless work for the Anne Frank Trust UK and for Holocaust education across the world,” the king said.

In a statement posted on X, the European Jewish Congress said it was “deeply saddened” by the passing of Schloss, who it described as a “powerful voice” for Holocaust education.

Born Eva Geiringer in Vienna in 1929, Schloss fled with her family to Amsterdam after Nazi Germany annexed Austria.

She became friends with another Jewish girl of the same age, Anne Frank, whose diary would become one of the most famous chronicles of the Holocaust.

Like the Franks, Eva’s family spent two years in hiding to avoid capture after the Nazis occupied the Netherlands. They were eventually betrayed, arrested and sent to the Auschwitz death camp.

Schloss and her mother, Fritzi, survived until the camp was liberated by Soviet troops in 1945. Her father, Erich, and brother, Heinz, died in Auschwitz.

After the war, Eva moved to the UK, married German-Jewish refugee Zvi Schloss, and settled in London.

In 1953, her mother married Frank’s father, Otto, the only member of his immediate family to survive.

Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15, months before the end of the war.

Schloss did not speak publicly about her experiences for decades, later saying that wartime trauma had made her withdrawn and unable to connect with others.

“I was silent for years, first because I wasn’t allowed to speak. Then, I repressed it. I was angry with the world,” she told The Associated Press news agency in 2004.

But after she addressed the opening of an Anne Frank exhibition in London in 1986, Schloss made it her mission to educate younger generations about the Nazi genocide.

Over the following decades, she spoke in schools, prisons and international conferences, and told her story in books, including Eva’s Story: A Survivor’s Tale by the Stepsister of Anne Frank.

She kept campaigning into her 90s.

“We must never forget the terrible consequences of treating people as ‘other’,” Schloss said in 2024.

Schloss is survived by their three daughters, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.