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Caracas (AFP) – Venezuela’s interim government says it has freed more than 800 political prisoners since before last December, but rights NGO Foro Penal casts doubt on the figure. Since the US military ouster of long-time leader Nicolas Maduro in early January, his acting replacement, Delcy Rodriguez, has been under pressure from Washington to free people held for protesting or otherwise opposing the regime. Progress has been slow until January 24, which saw a sudden flurry of 100 prisoners freed. Foro Penal and other rights groups say hundreds of opposition members are still behind bars in Venezuela.

Minneapolis (United States) (AFP) – The owner of a Minneapolis cafe says his restaurant relies on donations and hands out free meals to customers who request them, so long as federal agents are deployed in the city to enforce the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. “It felt like the crimes against the citizens of Minneapolis got to a point of escalation that none of us will ever be the same,” owner Dylan Alverson tells AFP.

Meitar (Israel) (AFP) – Israeli President Isaac Herzog asks the family of the last Gaza hostage, Ran Gvili, for their “forgiveness” during a eulogy at the former captive’s funeral. Hundreds of tearful mourners packed a stadium in southern Israel for the funeral of Gvili, whose burial marks the end of a painful national saga triggered by Hamas’s 2023 attack.

Russia (AFP) – A volcano in Russia’s far east spews ash several kilometres into the sky, creating a spectacular display. The Shiveluch volcano is one of the largest and most active on the remote Kamchatka Peninsula, one of the most intense volcanic regions in the world. This latest eruption has produced an ash column reaching nearly 9,000 metres (29,500 feet) above sea level, according to the local branch of Russia’s Academy of Sciences.

Indians in Mumbai praise a newly announced trade deal between India and the European Union, finalised after two decades of negotiations. EU chiefs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi hope the pact will help shield against challenges from the world’s two leading economies, the United States and China.

US Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar is targeted during a speech in Minneapolis. A man sprayed an unidentified liquid at her from a syringe before being tackled by security guards. Omar is a frequent target of attacks by President Donald Trump.

Journalists at the Persian-language TV station Iran International in London have been working flat out, vowing to “show the truth” about the protests in Iran, despite threats against them and their families. The private broadcaster, housed in a heavily-secured building in west London, was labelled a “terrorist” organisation by Tehran in 2022 along with the BBC’s Persian-language channel. Launched in 2017, Iran International “was created to be the voice of truth, the voice of the people of Iran,” says Editor-in-chief and presenter Reza Mohaddes.

Park City (United States) (AFP) – Actress Natalie Portman slams US President Donald Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for their “outrageous” behaviour after the killing of two US citizens in two weeks by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. “What is happening in our country is just obscene,” says Portman at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, where she is promoting her film “The Gallerist.”

Minneapolis (United States) (AFP) – “Our neighborhoods and communities have been brutalized by them. So any decrease in the numbers and the severity is just a huge relief,” says Kyle Wagner, a protester in Minneapolis, reacting to news that some federal agents conducting immigration enforcement operations will leave the city from January 27. In a marked change of tone, Trump said he had sent his top border enforcer Tom Homan — whom the president described as “tough but fair” — to Minneapolis, replacing controversial Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.

Istanbul (AFP) – For centuries, cats and Istanbul’s residents have been very close, an ancestral culture that remains even today. When stray cat Kanyon’s bed was stolen at a shopping mall, residents decided to build him a new home. He’s not alone: according to City Hall, Istanbul has more than 160,000 cats living on its streets who are regularly fed and fussed over by the city’s 16 million residents. “Istanbulites are animal lovers,” says 57-year-old Gaye Koselerden, adding, “They can even curl up on the most expensive duvet. No one would say a word.”

Hyderabad City (Pakistan) (AFP) – Rusted nails hold used infusion tubes on the wall of a clinic run by one among hundreds of thousands of unqualified doctors operating across Pakistan. Dozens of patients visit the small roadside shop each day in the southern Sindh province. “I have spent so much time in this field. I have worked with several doctors. Thanks to God, I have confidence to diagnose a patient and treat the disease,” says Abdul Waheed, who opened the facility a few months ago outside Hyderabad city.

Rome (AFP) – Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani says that overall security for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Milan will be managed by Italy, with any involvement of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement force (ICE) in collaboration with Italian police. “If they come, they will come to cooperate, not to intervene on the streets,” the minister tells reporters. + COMPLETES 946Z6CQ +