While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Jan 5, 2026
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Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello (left) and Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez take part in a Labour Day march in Caracas on May 1, 2025.
PHOTO: AFP
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Venezuela’s interim government stays united behind Maduro after his US capture
A top Venezuelan official declared on Jan 4 that the country’s government would stay unified behind President Nicolas Maduro, whose capture by the United States has sparked deep uncertainty about what is next for the oil-rich South American nation.
Maduro is in a New York detention centre awaiting a Jan 5 court appearance on drug charges, after US President Donald Trump ordered his removal from Venezuela and said the US would take control of the country. But in Caracas, top officials in Maduro’s government, who have called the detentions of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores a kidnapping, were still in charge.
“Here, the unity of the revolutionary force is more than guaranteed, and here there is only one president, whose name is Nicolas Maduro Moros. Let no one fall for the enemy’s provocations,” Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said in an audio shared by the ruling PSUV socialist party on Jan 4 as he urged calm.
Images of the 63-year-old Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed on Jan 3 stunned Venezuelans. The action is Washington’s most controversial intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama 37 years ago.
Trump’s attack on Venezuela rallies US Republican hawks to his side
PHOTO: REUTERS
US President Donald Trump won broad approval for his strike on Venezuela from hawkish Republicans who have sparred with the White House over Ukraine and other foreign policies throughout Mr Trump’s first year back in office.
Jan 3’s attack and the arrest of Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, rallied the party around the president, a far cry from the bruising intra-Republican battles over health care and affordability in recent weeks.
Isolationists within the party, like Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie, balked at the strike, but were in the minority. Senator Rand Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican who frequently battles with Mr Trump, was uncharacteristically tempered in his criticism, even as he bristled at the administration’s decision to bypass Congress on the strike.
At least 16 dead in Iran during week of protests, rights groups say
PHOTO: EPA
At least 16 people have been killed during a week of unrest in Iran, rights groups said on Jan 4, as protests over soaring inflation spread across the country, sparking violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
Deaths and arrests have been reported through the week both by state media and rights groups, though the figures differ. Reuters has not been able to independently verify the numbers.
The protests are the biggest in three years and while smaller than some previous bouts of unrest to rattle the Islamic Republic, they come at a moment of vulnerability with the economy in tatters and international pressure building.
Berlin power grid attack caused by ‘extreme leftists’
PHOTO: REUTERS
A fire in south-west Berlin that has left tens of thousands in the German capital without electricity was likely the result of a far-left extremist attack, officials said on Jan 4.
Grid company Stromnetz Berlin said on Jan 3 that the suspected arson attack could leave up to 45,000 households without power until Jan 8.
On Jan 4, it said efforts to restore power were ongoing, with around 35,000 households and 1,900 commercial entities still affected.
Injury-time Fernandez goal gives Chelsea 1-1 draw with Man City
PHOTO: REUTERS
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez scored a smash-and-grab goal deep in injury time to salvage a 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Jan 4 that cost Pep Guardiola's men precious points in the Premier League title race.
City appeared to have victory all but sewn up with Tijjani Reijnders striking late in the first half. But Fernandez sent City fans home angry when he scored in the 94th minute after Malo Gusto's cross deflected off Nathan Ake into his path at the far post.
Fernandez mis-hit his first shot and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved his second, but the Argentine midfielder's third attempt pushed the ball over the line.
