U.S. raid on Venezuela leaves 100 dead

The U.S. attack against Venezuela has left 100 dead, Venezuela's interior ministry said Wednesday.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, both suffered injuries during the raid, said Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

On a program of a state television, Cabello paid tribute to President Maduro and his wife, as well as those who died in the U.S. military operation.

U.S. Senate advances resolution to limit Trump's war powers following Venezuela strike

The U.S. Senate on Thursday advanced a resolution aimed at limiting U.S. President Donald Trump's ability to take further military action against Venezuela.

The move came days after the Trump administration launched a large-scale military strike in Venezuela on Jan. 3, taking by force the oil-rich South American country's President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, before putting them in custody in New York, drawing worldwide condemnation and concern.

The vote was 52 to 47, with five Republican senators joining all Democrats in support of the measure.

U.S. halts aid to Somali gov't over food aid seizure allegations

The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that it has halted all U.S. assistance to Somalia's government over allegations that Somali officials have destroyed a U.S.-funded World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse and seized food aid for vulnerable Somalis.

"The State Department has paused all ongoing U.S. assistance programs which benefit the Somali Federal Government," the department said in a statement on X.

The U.S. State Department said it is deeply concerned by reports that officials with the Somali government have destroyed a U.S.-funded WFP warehouse and illegally seized 76 metric tons of donor-funded food aid for vulnerable Somalis.

Moscow condemns U.S. seizure of Russian-flagged oil tanker

The seizure of the Russian-flagged Marinera tanker by U.S. military personnel constitutes a gross violation of the fundamental principles of international maritime law, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"The deployment of U.S. troops on a civilian vessel on the high seas, its de facto seizure, as well as the detention of the crew, can only be interpreted as a gross violation of the fundamental principles and norms of international maritime law, along with the freedom of navigation. This constitutes a material infringement of the legitimate rights and interests of the vessel owner," reads the statement.

Moscow is alarmed and dismayed by Washington's readiness to create acute international crises, including with regard to Russia-U.S. relations, which have already been severely strained by differences in recent years, the ministry stated.

U.S. quits 66 int'l organizations under Trump's order

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a memorandum directing his country's withdrawal from 66 international organizations, which "no longer serve American interests," the White House announced on X.

Starting with Trump's "America First" slogan, the statement said they comprised of 31 UN entities and 35-non UN organizations.

According to the list published on the White House website, most of the targets are UN-related agencies, commissions and advisory panels focusing on climate change, global governance, labor and other issues that the Trump administration has categorized as promoting diversity and "woke" agenda.

At least 20 Palestinian families flee Bedouin community in West Bank after settler attacks

At least 20 Palestinian families fled their homes in a Bedouin community north of Jericho, West Bank, on Thursday, driven out by a wave of intimidation and violence by Israeli settlers, according to a local human rights group.

The families abandoned the northern edge of the al-Auja community, leaving behind their homes and livelihoods out of fear for their lives, said Hassan Mleihat, the leader of Al-Baydar Center for the Defense of Bedouin Rights.

The displacement followed an incursion earlier in the day by settlers on horseback who stormed the area and chased residents. One Palestinian woman was injured after being kicked by a horse; she was treated by ambulance crews and later transferred to a hospital in Jericho.

Trump expects U.S. oversight of Venezuela to last for years

The United States expects to run Venezuela and extract oil from its vast reserves for years, U.S. President Donald Trump told The New York Times on Wednesday evening.

"We're going to be using oil, and we're going to be taking oil," Trump said in an interview with the U.S. media outlet.

Speaking to The New York Times, Trump avoided setting a timetable for how long the United States would remain Venezuela's political overlord, indicating instead that the arrangement would extend well beyond the near term. "I would say much longer," Trump answered.

Hezbollah member killed in Israeli airstrike on S. Lebanon

A Hezbollah member was killed on Thursday afternoon in an Israeli airstrike in the Sidon district in southern Lebanon, Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

The airstrike targeted a car located between the municipality of Zaita and the village of Bnaafoul, the NNA reported.

Lebanese security sources told Xinhua the death was a Hezbollah member but did not mention the person's name.

Syrian army launches heavy strikes on Kurdish militia positions as civilian toll rises

The Syrian army on Thursday launched heavy shelling against positions of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods of Aleppo, as the civilian death toll rose amid escalating clashes, state media and local authorities said.

The state-run SANA news agency, citing a military source, said the strikes targeted previously identified SDF positions inside the two neighborhoods, marking a sharp escalation following days of intermittent fighting and security operations in the northern city.

In a later report, the news agency said that residents of contested Kurdish neighborhoods in the city began handing over parts of the areas to Syrian state authorities, as internal security forces prepared to deploy and restore order.