Maduro makes second appearance at New York courthouse

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made his second appearance Thursday morning in a New York court after his forcible seizure by U.S. troops in a military raid in Caracas in early January.

During his first arraignment on Jan. 5, Maduro pleaded not guilty to all U.S. charges against him, including drug trafficking, and told the court that he was "kidnapped" from his Caracas residence and he remains president of Venezuela.

On Thursday, Maduro's lawyer continued pushing the judge to throw out the charges in court and argued that the United States is violating Maduro's constitutional rights by blocking Venezuelan government funds from paying for his legal fees.

Trump extends pause on striking Iranian energy plants by 10 days, says talks "going very well"

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he will pause planned strikes on Iranian energy facilities for 10 days, claiming that talks between the two sides are "going very well."

"As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time," Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.

"Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well," Trump wrote.

Over 350 vessels awaiting Iran's permit for passage through Strait of Hormuz

More than 350 vessels are waiting for Iran's permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz, 27 days into the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Thursday.

Citing the latest reports and field developments, Fars said the strategic waterway remains closed to the United States, Israel, and their allies, with no vessel allowed to pass without Iran's permission.

According to the report, the vessels have been ordered to power down their systems and remain stationary.

Dutch court bans Grok over AI-generated undressing images, child abuse content

A Dutch court on Thursday banned Grok and X from generating and distributing "undressing" images and child pornography. The ruling applies to content depicting individuals residing in the Netherlands, as well as to the production and distribution of such content within the country.

The Dutch online abuse expertise center Offlimits and the independent civil society group Victim Support Fund announced last month that they had initiated summary proceedings against Grok, an AI tool available on social media platform X. The organizations sought an immediate ban, arguing that the tool enables users to partially or fully undress individuals without their consent and to generate and share images depicting the sexual abuse of minors.

According to the Amsterdam District Court, Grok and X said that they are committed to combating such content and have included prohibitions in their terms of service, along with measures to prevent its generation and distribution. However, the court found that Offlimits has sufficiently demonstrated reasonable doubt about the effectiveness of those measures.

Bangladesh bus plunge death toll rises to 26

The death toll from a bus that plunged into the Padma River, Bangladesh, on Wednesday has risen to 26, a senior official said Thursday.

The incident occurred at a ferry terminal in Bangladesh's Rajbari district, about 125 kilometers south of Dhaka.

Sultana Akhtar, Rajbari's deputy commissioner and district magistrate, told Xinhua over the mobile phone that there were around 40 passengers on board the bus.

"So far, the bodies of 26 people, including 11 women and seven children, have been retrieved," she said.