- US Captures Maduro: Captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appeared in a Manhattan federal court to plead not guilty to various charges, claiming he was “kidnapped” by U.S. forces, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio moves to oversee the country’s oil interests and political transition.
- Trump Threatens to Annex Greenland: President Trump’s repeated interest in acquiring Greenland has caused a major rift with European allies; Denmark’s Prime Minister warned that any attempt to annex the territory would mean the end of NATO.
- UK and France to Deploy Troops to Ukraine: Following a meeting in Paris, the UK and France signed a declaration of intent to send a multinational “reassurance force” to Ukraine to maintain security if a peace deal or ceasefire is reached with Russia.
- Israel Recognizes Somaliland Independence: In a historic and controversial move, Israel has become the first nation to recognize Somaliland as a sovereign state, followed by a visit from Israel’s foreign minister to the region.
- Malicious Chrome Extensions Stealing AI Chats: Researchers identified two Chrome extensions with over 900,000 users—including “Chat GPT for Chrome with GPT-5, Claude Sonnet & DeepSeek AI”—that were designed to steal private ChatGPT and DeepSeek conversations.
- Deadly Swiss Ski Bar Fire: A New Year’s Eve fire at a bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, killed 40 people and injured 116; local authorities are facing criticism after it was revealed the venue had not been inspected for several years.
- Nestle Issues Global Baby Formula Recall: Food giant Nestle has launched a global recall of certain batches of SMA infant and follow-on formula due to fears that toxin contamination could lead to illness and vomiting.
- Syria and Israel Revive Security Talks: Mediated by the United States, longtime enemies Syria and Israel have resumed security talks in Paris and agreed to a dedicated communication line to de-escalate military tensions.
- Critical Vulnerabilities in n8n and AdonisJS: Security researchers disclosed a 9.9 CVSS-rated flaw in the n8n workflow platform and a 9.2 CVSS-rated path traversal flaw in the AdonisJS bodyparser, both of which could allow attackers to take control of servers.
- Death of Anne Frank’s Stepsister: Eva Schloss, a Holocaust survivor and stepsister of Anne Frank who spent decades educating the public on the dangers of prejudice after being liberated from Auschwitz, has died at the age of 96.