Iranians Burn Down Mosques

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Iranian demonstrators set mosques ablaze during heated protests against the country’s Islamic government, according to local video and reports this weekend.

Protesters in Iran have set numerous fires since the riots broke out Dec. 28, with Tehran’s fire department claiming as many as 34 mosques were burned, according to multiple outlets. One video verified by NBC News showed a crowd cheering Friday night while a Tehran mosque became engulfed in flames.

The mass uprising reportedly began in response to economic woes but follows months of instances of women shedding their mandatory headwear in a statement against the country’s forced Islamic norms. Another video posted by Reuters showed a mob vandalizing the Abuzar Mosque in Tehran on Thursday, scattering furniture and laying incendiary devices.

The Iranian regime has massacred hundreds while clamping down on the disorder, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists in Iran reports, according to The New York Post. (Read more from “Iranians Burn Down Mosques” HERE)

Iran Protest Death Toll Rises as Alarm Grows over Crackdown ‘Massacre’

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At least 192 protesters have been killed in Iran’s biggest movement against the Islamic republic in more than three years, a rights group said Sunday, as warnings grew that authorities were committing a “massacre” to quell the demonstrations.

The protests, initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have now become a movement against the theocratic system in place in Iran since the 1979 revolution and have already lasted two weeks.

The mass rallies are one of the biggest challenges to the rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, coming in the wake of Israel’s 12-day war against the Islamic republic in June, which was backed by the United States.

Protests have swelled in recent days despite an internet blackout that has lasted more than 60 hours, according to monitor Netblocks, with activists warning the shutdown was limiting the flow of information and the actual toll risks being far higher.

“Since the start of the protests, Iran Human Rights has confirmed the killing of at least 192 protesters,” the Norway-based non-governmental organisation said, warning that the deaths “may be even more extensive than we currently imagine”. (Read more from “Iran Protest Death Toll Rises as Alarm Grows over Crackdown ‘Massacre’” HERE)

UK Allocates £200m to Prepare Troops to Deploy to Ukraine, France Reportedly Ready to Send 6K Soldiers

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The British government has announced that it has allocated £200 million to begin preparing the UK Armed Forces for deployment to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force in the event of an armistice between Kyiv and Moscow.

Following the signing of a declaration of intent by the British and French governments with Ukraine in Paris this week, the Ministry of Defence said on Friday that £200 million has been allocated to help British troops be “ready to deploy if required” to Ukraine.

Additionally, the funds will go toward upgrading military vehicles and communication systems, as well as purchasing new counter-drone protection systems for the British arm of the Multinational Force for Ukraine (MNFU).

The MoD said that the funds demonstrate “a clear signal to allies and adversaries of the UK’s intent to lead the MNFU, fulfil our promises to secure the peace in Ukraine and deliver a ‘new deal’ for European security to make Britain safer.”

Speaking during a visit to Kyiv, Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: “As we approach the fifth year of Putin’s full-scale invasion, the Ukrainians continue to fight with huge courage – civilians and military alike. (Read more from “UK Allocates £200m to Prepare Troops to Deploy to Ukraine, France Reportedly Ready to Send 6K Soldiers” HERE)

Syrian Army Orders Evacuations as Fighting Intensifies in Kurdish Aleppo

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The Syrian Army on Thursday told residents of Kurdish neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo to evacuate in the face of airstrikes, even as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said it was winning the intensifying battle for control of the city.

Aleppo has been restless since mid-December, when tensions between the Kurds and the military government headed by former al-Qaeda lieutenant Ahmed al-Sharaa boiled over into a skirmish at a security checkpoint.

The SDF was a major U.S. ally during the war against the Islamic State and it has been pushing for a degree of autonomy from Sharaa’s government, which took control after seizing Damascus and ousting dictator Bashar Assad in December 2024.

The autonomous zone claimed by the SDF includes a swath of northeastern territory and portions of Aleppo, the most important city in the region. The SDF has its own internal police force, known as the Asayish, which operates in the Kurdish-majority districts of the divided city. The checkpoint where fighting broke out in December was jointly manned by the Syrian Army and the Asayish. Each blames the other for shooting first and triggering the conflict.

The situation in Aleppo seemed to stabilize after a few days in December, but on Tuesday a fresh round of even more intense fighting broke out, displacing thousands of civilians and killing at least four. Tens of thousands of Kurdish civilians were seen fleeing Aleppo for the presumably safer ethnic enclave of Afrin. (Read more from “Syrian Army Orders Evacuations as Fighting Intensifies in Kurdish Aleppo” HERE)

Reports: China Expected to Replace Venezuelan Oil with Iranian Crude

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Oil industry analysts expect China to replace its oil imports from Venezuela with increased purchases of Iranian crude, following the arrest of China’s ally Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces over the weekend.

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Maduro’s successor, interim president Delcy Rodríguez, and other Venezuelan officials have agreed to sell up to $2 billion in crude oil to the United States. The deal would divert oil coveted by China to U.S. refineries.

Trump explicitly instructed Rodríguez to evict Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and Cuban agents from Venezuela and sever all economic ties with those nations. He also demanded exclusive contracts and favorable prices with American refiners for Venezuelan crude oil. The socialist Maduro regime long ago destroyed Venezuela’s refining capacity, so the oil-rich but desperately impoverished nation is heavily reliant upon foreign refineries.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly told U.S. lawmakers that Venezuela has filled every available tanker and storage facility with crude oil, frustrated by Trump’s blockade on sanctions-defying oil shipments, and the post-Maduro government faces financial collapse in a few weeks if it cannot generate income by selling its crude oil. These two factors would presumably make Caracas receptive to Trump’s demands to divert its shipments from China to the United States.

Trump said on Tuesday that Venezuela would hand over 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the United States immediately. Other administration sources said shipments to American refiners would continue “indefinitely” thereafter, with the profits to be held in U.S.-controlled accounts and shares released back to Venezuela at U.S. discretion. Most of that oil would have otherwise gone to China. (Read more from “Reports: China Expected to Replace Venezuelan Oil with Iranian Crude” HERE)

Judge Presiding Over Netanyahu Corruption Case Killed in Highway Collision

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Judge Benny Sagi, president of Israel’s Beersheba District Court, who presided over the corruption case against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was killed in a traffic accident on Route 6 when a vehicle struck his motorcycle.

Police said the vehicle had been driving off-road, entered the highway, and collided with Sagi’s motorcycle, according to Israeli media.

An investigation has been launched into the circumstances of the crash, which occurred near the Kfar Menachem kibbutz. Officers from the Kiryat Malachi police station, along with traffic accident investigators, are examining the scene. (Read more from “Judge Presiding Over Netanyahu Corruption Case Killed in Highway Collision” HERE)

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Plans to Flee to Russia If Security Team Fails, Turns on Him as Regime Gripped by Unrest: Report

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Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly plans to escape to Moscow if his security team falters or turns on him amid ongoing unrest in his country featuring protesters chanting for his death.

Khamenei, 86, will catch a flight with his inner circle, including roughly 20 aides and members of his family, if the Islamic Republic’s army is overwhelmed by the swelling protests – or if the security forces decide to defect, an intelligence source told The Times.

His son and “nominated heir apparent” would also flee, the source said.

Khamenei’s general escape plan mirrors that of fallen Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who fled Damascus by plane and landed in Moscow with his family – while the country’s opposition forces stormed the nation’s capital in December 2024.

“They have plotted an exit route out of Tehran should they feel the need to escape,” which includes “gathering assets, properties abroad and cash to facilitate their safe passage”, the source said. (Read more from “Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Plans to Flee to Russia If Security Team Fails, Turns on Him as Regime Gripped by Unrest: Report” HERE)

Trump Says US Will Temporarily Run Venezuela, ‘Not Afraid of Boots on Ground’ If Necessary

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President Trump told the nation the US would now take over running Venezuela, after strongman Nicolas Maduro was captured “in the dead of night.”

“We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said at a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort as he provided new details on the stunning military operation.

“We’re going to run it, essentially” through the transition, he said.

The logistics of a US-run Venezuela were still being worked out, but Trump said it might involve military “boots on the ground.”

“We’re not afraid of boots on the ground if we have to,” the president said. “We had boots on the ground last night, at a very high level, actually.”

Later, Trump added, “We’re going to have [a] presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil.” (Read more from “Trump Says US Will Temporarily Run Venezuela, ‘Not Afraid of Boots on Ground’ If Necessary” HERE)

Notorious Socialist Dictator Nicolás Maduro Perp Walked Ahead Of Facing ‘Full Wrath Of American Justice’; Someone Made a Huge Profit Predicting Maduro’s Capture

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By New York Post. Deposed socialist Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro arrived at a New York City jail Saturday night, hours after U.S. military forces captured him in Caracas, and awaits arraignment on four criminal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy.

A 12-second video posted to X late Saturday by the White House’s Rapid Response account shows Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents escorting an apparently handcuffed Maduro, wearing a hat and grasping a water bottle, through the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (MDC Brooklyn). In the video, which the social media account captioned “Perp walked,” the ex-leader can be heard saying “good night” in both English and Spanish, as well as “happy new year” in English — apparently his first public remarks since being taken into U.S. custody.

Another one of MDC Brooklyn’s current inmates is Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. The pretrial detention facility’s previous inmates notably include sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, and cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.

Combs’s lawyers wrote that several courts “have recognized that the conditions at [MDC Brooklyn] are not fit for pre-trial detention” in a 2024 motion for bail. Maxwell also reportedly took issue with the jail’s accommodations during her stay, with the Jeffrey Epstein accomplice having complained of its allegedly abusive guards and plentiful rats.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a Saturday morning post to X, vowed Maduro “will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.” (Read more from “Notorious Socialist Dictator Nicolás Maduro Perp Walked Ahead Of Facing ‘Full Wrath Of American Justice’” HERE)

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Someone Made a Huge Profit Predicting Maduro’s Capture. Here’s What Happened

By Axios. Traders and speculative bettors earned huge profits on prediction markets because of the capture of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro.

Why it matters: Though the capture of Maduro seemed to come out of the blue for many Americans, some were ahead of the curve, netting them thousands of dollars.

These bets — many of which were on Maduro’s capture, and are now on what happens next to the ousted leader — will renew longstanding questions about inside information and access to prediction markets.

Driving the news: Traders on Polymarket appeared to anticipate Maduro’s capture late Friday night, before President Trump announced it early Saturday morning.

The market for whether or not Maduro would be out of power climbed shortly before 10pm ET on Friday, after hovering in the low single digits for weeks, per the Wall Street Journal.

What appears to be a newly created account appeared to invest $30,000 Friday in Maduro’s exit. After Maduro went into custody Saturday morning, that same investor netted $436,759.61.

(Read more from “Someone Made a Huge Profit Predicting Maduro’s Capture. Here’s What Happened” HERE)

One Hour Bombardment of Caracas, Venezuela Accuses US of Hitting Civilian Targets

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Caracas, Venezuela – January 3, 2026 – Multiple explosions and low-flying aircraft were reported in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas early Saturday morning, prompting the government of President Nicolás Maduro to accuse the United States of launching military attacks on the country.

At least seven explosions were heard around 2 a.m. local time, with witnesses describing loud noises and aircraft sweeping through the city. Smoke was seen rising from La Carlota airport, a military facility in Caracas. The Venezuelan government reported that similar attacks occurred in the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira, leading to power outages in southern areas of the capital.

In a statement released shortly after the incidents, the Venezuelan communications ministry declared that the country “rejects, repudiates and denounces” what it described as “military aggression” by the United States. It also accused the U.S. of “targeting civilian” locations. President Maduro responded by declaring a national state of emergency, mobilizing forces to defend against further incursions.

U.S. officials confirmed that President Donald Trump ordered strikes on sites inside Venezuela, including military facilities, as part of an escalation in pressure on the Maduro regime. The actions follow months of threats from the Trump administration, which has accused Venezuela of flooding the U.S. with drugs and has previously targeted drug-trafficking operations, including a recent strike on a Venezuelan dock.

Trump administration officials stated they were aware of the reports from Caracas but provided no immediate further details on the operation. The strikes mark a significant intensification of U.S. actions against Venezuela, moving from maritime interdictions to land-based targets.

Maduro has previously urged Trump to abandon what he called “illegal warmongering” and engage in serious talks, amid ongoing tensions over U.S. sanctions and accusations of regime support for narcotics trafficking. No casualties have been officially reported, and the full extent of damage remains unclear as the situation develops.

This event comes amid heightened U.S.-Venezuela relations under the Trump administration, which has employed tactics including bombings of drug boats to pressure Maduro’s government.

The strikes have drawn criticism for contradicting President Trump’s pre-election promises during his 2024 campaign to avoid engaging the U.S. in new wars. Trump repeatedly stated, “I’m not going to start a war, I’ll stop wars,” and emphasized that “No new wars” was a key pillar of his platform. He pledged to end endless wars and bring about world peace, saying he would prevent conflicts rather than initiate them. America First-aligned political leaders have voiced opposition to the escalation, with Senator Rand Paul criticizing earlier related actions as a “prelude to war” and a “provocation,” warning that such military missions off Venezuela’s coast could lead to an invasion.