Caracas (AFP) – Police forces are deployed to the El Helicoide detention centre in Caracas, following an announcement that a significant number of prisoners, including foreigners, are being released from the country’s jails. The site also serves as the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN). IMAGES
Caracas (AFP) – Road traffic passes in front of a poster of deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro at the entrance to El Helicoide detention centre in Caracas, following an announcement that a significant number of prisoners, including foreigners, are to be released from the country’s jails. The site also serves as the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN). IMAGES
Madrid (AFP) – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says the country is open to sending “peacekeeping troops to Palestine.” The Spanish government recognised the State of Palestine in 2024 and has been one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, launched in the wake of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Speaking in Madrid, Sanchez says the deployment could happen “once we can see how to advance this task of pacification.”
Minneapolis (AFP) – Minneapolis residents hold a vigil for a local woman shot dead by an immigration officer in her car. The woman, named by local media as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, was attempting to drive away as officers approached and tried to open the door. One agent fired three times with a handgun as the vehicle pulled away. US President Donald Trump has claimed the agent was acting in self-defense and Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem has accused Good of “domestic terrorism” and “weaponizing” her vehicle. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has firmly rejected the government’s argument and called on ICE to leave the city.
Walwa (Australia) (AFP) – Bushfires burn near Walwa in the Australian state of Victoria, as firefighters warn that fire danger could reach its highest level — “catastrophic” — amid a current heatwave. The rating advises residents to evacuate at-risk areas, with temperatures forecast to exceed 40C in parts of the southeast. Combined with hot, dry winds, the heat could fuel some of the most dangerous conditions since the “Black Summer” blazes of 2019-2020, which razed millions of hectares, destroyed thousands of homes and blanketed cities in noxious smoke.
Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) – Residents of two Kurdish neighbourhoods in the Syrian city of Aleppo have been told to leave their homes as the country’s military prepares for fresh strikes on Kurdish positions. With smoke billowing over the city, thousands of people have already fled and more than a dozen have been killed during clashes between Syria’s army and Kurdish-led forces. The violence erupted on 6 January as the two sides struggle to implement a March deal to bring a Kurdish-led administration and army into Syria’s new Islamist government.
London (AFP) – A new report released by Human Rights Watch warns that the UK has “severely restricted the right to protest” in recent years with a string of measures against peaceful demonstrators. Speaking to AFP, the NGO’s UK Director Yasmine Ahmed desribes the report as “a warning bell,” explaining that “the UK government is silencing the streets” and has, rather than pulling back restrictive legislation brought in by the preceding Conservative party, has “supercharged it and imposed further restrictions.”
Seeon (Germany) (AFP) – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says a ceasefire in Ukraine “is still not on the agenda, quite obviously because Russia does not want it.” Speaking just days after meeting with Kyiv’s other Western allies in Paris, Merz says “we will therefore have to continue increasing the price of this war.”
Chongqing (China) (AFP) – Outstretching his hands in a signature Donald Trump pose, impersonator Ryan Chen mimics the US president’s voice and gestures with such accuracy that he has become a social media phenomenon with his funny videos. The 42-year-old from southwest China does not engage in political satire — a minefield in the country that can lead to account suspension — but has amassed millions of followers across Instagram, TikTok and Chinese platforms.
Cúcuta (Colombie) (AFP) – People protest US attacks against Venezuela at the Colombia-Venezuelan border in Cucuta, Colombia. IMAGES
Bogotá (AFP) – Citizens gather at Bolivar Square in Bogota to protest against US operations in neighboring Venezuela, following a call by Colombia’s President, Gustavo Petro. The Colombian leader called the capture by US forces of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro a “kidnapping” after the attacks in Caracas on January 3. He also rejected the threats from his US counterpart, Donald Trump, who said a similar operation to the one in Venezuela sounded “good” to him in Colombia. IMAGES
Caracas (AFP) – Supporters of deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro march in Caracas to demand his release. Venezuela’s state petroleum firm says it is negotiating the sale of crude oil to the United States, following Washington’s demand for access to the country’s reserves after ousting its president. IMAGES
