Author: i2wtc

As news spread Saturday of President Donald Trump’s removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a split screen emerged in Congress: Republicans largely celebrated the military operation, while Democrats condemned the president’s actions and questioned their legality. After months of pressure on Maduro, Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S. had assisted in a “large scale strike” against the country and its leader, who was captured along with his wife, Cilia Flores, and is being brought to the U.S. “Trump rejected our Constitutionally required approval process for armed conflict because the Administration knows the American people overwhelmingly reject risks pulling…

Deputy PM/FM is first international dignitary to visit Beijing in 2026 at invitation of Chinese counterpartDar departs for Beijing to co-chair seventh foreign ministers’ strategic dialogue with China Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar departed for Beijing to co-chair, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the seventh Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue. The event is to be held on January 4. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stated that Dar is the first foreign dignitary to visit China in 2026, at Yi’s invitation. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator…

President Donald Trump said the U.S. is going to temporarily take over governing Venezuela after launching a large-scale surprise attack on the country overnight.”We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” Trump said in a press conference Saturday morning from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.The Venezuela operation “was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military,” Trump said. “Not a single American service member was killed, and not a single piece of American equipment was lost, many helicopters, many planes, many people involved in that…

FO accuses India of deflecting blame, reiterates position on Kashmir and water sharingForeign Office Spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi. PHOTO: Radio Pakistan Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday rejected remarks attributed to India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and reiterated its position on the Indus Waters Treaty and the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir. In a statement issued by the Office of the Spokesperson, Tahir Hussain Andrabi said India was “seeking to deflect attention from its own troubling record as a neighbour that promotes terrorism and contributes to regional instability.” The statement referred to what Pakistan described as documented…

Friday marked the end of a lackluster week for stocks and the first trading session of 2026. The market was mixed for the holiday-shortened week: The Dow and Nasdaq shed 0.1% and 1.5%, respectively, while the S & P 500 edged roughly 1% lower, its third back-to-back loss since Monday. It’s unclear what caused the market’s decline because there wasn’t much for investors to digest. They received minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December policy meeting, when the central bank announced a 25-basis-point rate cut. The release on Tuesday afternoon indicated that Fed officials were divided on the cut. The decision…

600km-range air-launched missile boosts Pakistan’s conventional deterrence, ISPR saysTaimoor Air-Launched Cruise Missile is capable of engaging enemy land and sea targets Pakistan Air Force has successfully conducted the flight test of the indigenously developed Taimoor Weapon System, marking another milestone in strengthening the country’s aerospace and defence capabilities, the military said on Saturday. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Taimoor Air-Launched Cruise Missile is capable of engaging enemy land and sea targets with high precision at a range of 600 kilometres. The missile carries a conventional warhead. The ISPR said the missile is equipped…

A federal indictment charging Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, his wife and four other people with narco-terrorism conspiracy and other charges was unsealed and posted online by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday morning after the couple’s dramatic capture by American forces in their own country.”For over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States,” the indictment alleges.The indictment was filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. In addition to Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, the indictment also charges Maduro’s son, Nicolas…

PBS data shows short-term relief from food and fuel prices, but cost pressures persist KARACHI: Pakistan’s weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) recorded a year-on-year increase of 2.41%, highlighting persistent pressure on household budgets despite short-term easing in some essential food and fuel prices, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). PBS data for the week ended January 1, 2026 shows the SPI declined 0.67% on a week-on-week basis, reflecting temporary relief from falling prices of selected perishables. However, the broader annual trend continues to point to structural cost pressures for consumers, particularly low- and middle-income households. The SPI is…

A drone photo taken on Jan. 2, 2026 shows a cargo ship departing from a terminal of a subsidiary of Tianjin Port Holdings Co., Ltd. at Tianjin Port in north China’s Tianjin. Tianjin Port has witnessed a bustling scene during this New Year’s Day holiday, with a steady stream of vessels docking and unloading containers here, marking a fresh start of the new year. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)A drone photo taken on Jan. 3, 2026 shows a view of a container terminal at Tianjin Port in north China’s Tianjin. Tianjin Port has witnessed a bustling scene during this New Year’s Day holiday,…

Six die in unrest over Iran’s economic crisis; Trump threatens intervention; Araghchi, top Khamenei aides slam USScreengrab from UGC posted on social media shows protestors attacking a government building in Fasa, in southern Iran. Photo: AFP WASHINGTON/TEHRAN: President Donald Trump on Friday issued a stark warning to Iran, declaring that the United States was “locked and loaded” to intervene if Iranian security forces killed protesters, drawing swift condemnation from Tehran. As Iran grappled with a nationwide unrest erupted over the country’s worsening economic crisis, Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, said the US would “come to the…