“President Donald Trump stated late Sunday that ‘we’re in charge’ of Venezuela, while warning its interim leader Delcy Rodríguez that she will fare ‘probably worse’ than [abducted] President Nicolas Maduro if she does not cooperate. …. Trump threatened military action against Colombia, drawing backlash from its president, but said there were no plans for immediate intervention in Cuba, predicting its government was ‘just going to fall.’ He again outlined his desire to take over Greenland, drawing widespread pushback including from NATO ally Denmark, which governs the Arctic island nation.” (01/05/26)
“The Israeli army has launched more attacks into parts of Gaza outside its direct military control, despite the ceasefire deal mediated by the United States in October. At least three Palestinians were killed on Sunday in separate Israeli attacks in Khan Younis, medical sources told Al Jazeera. They included a 15-year-old boy, a fisherman, and a third man shot dead east of Khan Younis. In the central part of the besieged enclave, Israeli fire injured several people east of the Bureij refugee camp. In Gaza City to the north, Israeli forces continued to demolish homes and civilian infrastructure within the mostly destroyed Tuffah neighbourhood.” (01/04/26)
“The national debt is moving into unseen territory, with annual interest owed shattering the $1 trillion mark. That’s nearly triple the charge run up just six years ago—$345 billion in 2020—according to estimates from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Quartz reports. The federal government now owes about $38.4 trillion to its lenders, though economists aren’t sounding the alarm just yet about a default or a rapid loss of confidence.” (01/03/26)
“At least 30 villagers have been killed while several others were abducted by gunmen who raided a village in northern Nigeria’s Niger state, police said Sunday, the latest in a cycle of deadly violence in the conflict-hit region. The gunmen stormed the Kasuwan-Daji village in Niger state’s Borgu local government area on Saturday evening and opened fire on residents. They also razed down the local market and several houses, Niger state police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said in a statement. At least two residents put the death toll at 37 and said it could be much higher, as some people remained missing as of Sunday.” (01/04/26)
“President Trump signed an executive order Friday blocking a semiconductor deal between HieFo Corp. and Emcore Corp., citing national security concerns related to China. ‘There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that HieFo Corporation, a company organized under the laws of Delaware (HieFo) and controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China … might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States,’ Trump said in the order. HieFo is based in Delaware, while Emcore is based in New Jersey. Genzao Zhang is HieFo’s CEO and co-founder. Trump’s executive order blocks HieFo from acquiring ‘the assets comprising the digital chips and related wafer design, fabrication, and processing businesses of EMCORE.'” (01/02/26)
“The Myanmar junta will release more than 6,000 prisoners to mark Independence Day, the state media reported on Sunday. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has granted amnesty to 6,134 imprisoned Myanmar nationals, the National Defence and Security Council said in a statement. The amnesty also includes 52 foreigners who will be released and deported from Myanmar. … The amnesty comes during a monthlong, three-stage election process that critics say is designed to create the impression of legitimacy for the junta’s rule.” (01/04/26)
“Britain’s and France’s air forces conducted a joint operation on Saturday evening to bomb a suspected underground arms cache previously used by the Islamic State group in Syria, Britain’s defence ministry said. Western aircraft have been conducting patrols to stop a resurgence of the Islamist militant group that ruled parts of Syria until 2019. Intelligence analysis identified an underground facility believed to be used to store weapons and explosives in mountains north of Palmyra, Britain said.” (01/04/26)
“North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters Sunday, its neighbors said, just hours before South Korea’s president left for China for talks expected to cover North Korea’s nuclear program. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement it detected several ballistic missile launches from North Korea’s capital region around 7:50 a.m. It said the missiles flew about 900 kilometers (560 miles) and that South Korea and U.S. authorities were analyzing details of the launches. South Korea’s Defense Ministry noted the launches violated U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any ballistic activities by North Korea.” (01/094/26)
“Rogue planets — worlds that drift through space alone without a star — largely remain a mystery to scientists. Now, astronomers have for the first time confirmed the existence of one of these starless worlds by pinpointing its distance and mass — a rogue planet roughly the size of Saturn nearly 10,000 light-years from Earth. Planets are typically found bound to one or more stars. However, in 2000, astronomers detected the first signs of a “rogue planet” — a free-floating world that orbited no star. Then, in 2024, researchers detected an object distorting the light from a distant star, simultaneously from both Earth and space using several ground-based observatories as well as the European Space Agency’s now-retired Gaia space telescope. These observations helped scientists estimate that the object was a newfound world found about 9,950 light-years from Earth in the direction of the Milky Way’s center, with a mass about 70 times larger than Earth. (Saturn, on the other hand, is about 95 Earth masses.)” (01/02/26)
“Tesla vehicle sales declined for a second consecutive year in 2025, hitting their lowest point since 2022. Tesla vehicle sales are critical to funding CEO Elon Musk’s AI ambitions, including humanoid robots and self-driving cars. The company on Friday reported a 8.6% drop in deliveries — a close approximation to sales — to 1.64 million for the year. The full-year drop came despite an unexpected boost to sales in the third quarter as consumers rushed to buy EVs to qualify for the federal tax cut before it expired at the end of September. Deliveries are now down 9.5% since their all-time high in 2023.” (01/02/26)
