Venezuela’s Supreme Court has appointed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as Interim President, a day after the United States launched an attack on the South American nation and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

In a ruling issued by its Constitutional Chamber, the court said Rodriguez would assume the presidency to ensure administrative continuity and safeguard national security following what it described as the president’s “forced absence.”

“The office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the Nation,” the court said, announcing Rodriguez’s temporary assumption of power.

The Supreme Court added that it would deliberate further on establishing a legal framework to ensure continuity of the state, the functioning of government institutions and the protection of national sovereignty in light of the extraordinary circumstances.

Rodriguez, 56, is one of the most powerful figures within Venezuela’s socialist leadership and a close ally of Maduro.

Maduro has previously praised her loyalty and toughness, referring to her as a “tiger” for her staunch defence of his administration.

According to Gulfnews, she studied law at the Central University of Venezuela and has risen rapidly through the political ranks over the past decade.

In June 2018, Maduro appointed her Vice President, describing her at the time as “a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, revolutionary, and proven in countless battles.”

She has since emerged as the country’s chief economic authority.
Reacting to the developments, US President Donald Trump said Washington had left Rodriguez in place as Maduro’s successor for now.

“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump said.

Read more: U.S. to govern Venezuela temporarily, Trump claims after capture of President Maduro in military operation

Rodriguez, however, strongly rejected the US position, accusing Washington of aggression and warning that the move was aimed at exploiting Venezuela’s resources.

“This regime change would also allow for the seizure of our energy, mineral, and natural resources,” she said.

The situation has heightened tensions in the region, as Venezuela navigates a sudden leadership transition amid international pressure and domestic uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV has appealed for calm, justice and respect for human rights in Venezuela following dramatic political developments in the country.

Speaking during the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday as reported by the Vatican, the Pope expressed deep concern after United States forces arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on Saturday and transferred him to New York for trial.

“The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration,” Pope Leo said, urging all parties to reject violence and pursue justice and peace.

He stressed the importance of safeguarding Venezuela’s sovereignty, upholding the rule of law as enshrined in the Constitution, and respecting the human and civil rights of every person.

The Pope also highlighted the need to work collectively toward a future marked by collaboration, stability and harmony, with particular concern for the poor who continue to suffer under the country’s difficult economic conditions.

Addressing the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo invited the global Church to pray for the Venezuelan people and assured them of his personal prayers.

He entrusted the nation to the intercession of Our Lady of Coromoto, the Patroness of Venezuela, as well as St. José Gregorio Hernández and St. Carmen Rendiles.

Pope Leo XIV encouraged believers not to lose hope, calling on them to place their trust in God.

“Let us continue to have faith in the God of peace. Let us pray and stand in solidarity with the peoples who suffer because of wars,” he said.

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President Donald Trump on Saturday said the United States would temporarily “run” Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, pending what he described as a “safe, proper and judicious transition” of power.

Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence, Trump said the U.S. had carried out an unprecedented military operation in Venezuela, describing it as “an assault like people have not seen since World War II.” He did not give a timeline for the transition process.

“We’re not afraid to have boots on the ground,” Trump said. “But we’re going to make sure that country is run properly. We’re not doing this in vain.”

Read more: Venezuela’s president, Maduro, captured, bundled to America after allegations of US eying country’s oil resources

In a report by CBS News, Trump said the U.S. was in the process of designating individuals to oversee governance in Venezuela, adding that discussions were ongoing. He also indicated that no further strikes were expected and confirmed that no U.S. service members were killed during the operation.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described the action as a “massive joint military and law enforcement raid that was flawlessly executed.”

Earlier on Saturday, Trump said Maduro and his wife were flown out of Venezuela following what he termed a “large-scale strike.” In a phone interview with Fox and Friends, he said Maduro had been hiding in a heavily fortified residence.

“He was in a very highly guarded, like a fortress actually,” Trump said.

Trump later confirmed that Maduro was being taken to New York to face charges, after Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Venezuelan leader had been indicted in the Southern District of New York on narcoterrorism charges.

“They’ll be heading to New York,” Trump said. “They were indicted in New York.”

Bondi said Maduro and his wife “will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts.”

Trump also shared an image on social media that he said showed Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima shortly before addressing reporters.

Federal prosecutors first indicted Maduro in 2020, alleging that he and senior Venezuelan officials conspired with the Colombian guerrilla group FARC to traffic cocaine and weapons into the United States. On Saturday, Bondi confirmed that a superseding indictment had been filed.

Prepared by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, the indictment accuses Maduro of conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and possession and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. The charges mirror those filed against him and key aides in 2020.

Trump provided further details of the capture, saying Maduro was seized before he could reach a secure area inside the fortified residence.

“It had steel doors… a safety space, solid steel all around,” Trump said. “He was trying to get into it but he got bum-rushed so fast that he didn’t get into that.”

Trump praised the operation, noting that although a few U.S. personnel were injured, there were no fatalities.

“I think we had nobody killed,” he said. “A couple of guys were hit, but they came back and they’re supposed to be in pretty good shape.”

The president said the operation had initially been planned several days earlier but was delayed due to weather conditions.

“We were going to do this four days ago but the weather was not perfect,” Trump said. “Then all of a sudden it opened up and we said go.”

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The U.S. has struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, who has been taken out of the country, President Donald Trump said on Saturday.

The U.S. has not made such a direct intervention in Latin America since the invasion of Panama in 1989 to depose military leader Manuel Noriega.

“The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the country,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

The Reuters reports that there was no immediate confirmation from the Venezuelan government.

The U.S. has accused Maduro of running a “narco-state” and rigging an election.

The Venezuelan leader, who succeeded Hugo Chavez to take power in 2013, has said Washington wants to take control of its oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Read More: 40 people killed, 115 injured in New Year fire at Swiss bar, police say

The US has long accused Nicolás Maduro of leading an international drug trafficking organisation, something that Maduro denies.

Trump did not give more detail about how Maduro was captured or where he has been taken.

The Venezuelan government have not yet confirmed this.

The US had offered a $50m reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro.

That, along with the huge military build-up in the region over the last few months, were interpreted in the region as encouragement for someone inside the country to turn against him.

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Forty people have been reported dead and 115 injured, “many severely” after the fire at Le Constellation bar overnight in Switzerland, the police commander said.

There were 60 people being treated at a hospital in Sion, and others had been taken to hospitals in other Swiss cities, reports the BBC.

Two officials – including the Attorney General – said they did not know how many people were in the bar at the time, but it’s something the investigation into the fire will be covering

A state councillor described it as having a “young festive population” during the New Year’s Eve party, but would not describe any of the victims as minors.

Swiss President Guy Parmelin called the incident “one of the worst tragedies that our country has experienced”

Read More: Mali, Burkina Faso retaliate US travel ban; bar Americans from entering their countries

Swiss Attorney General, Beatrice Pilloud, told the press conference that she was “not able to give a timeline” for the first results of the investigation into the fire.

She said there were teams working to bring answers “as quickly as possible”.

Asked if they know roughly how many people were in the bar at the time of the fire, municipality president of Crans-Montana Nicolas Féraud said “not at all”.

He said there were regulations covering this, and that the security services had an annual schedule to visit and check venues to ensure that they were complying with health and safety regulations.

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Mali and Burkina Faso have announced that they will bar US citizens from entering their countries in response to travel restrictions imposed by the Trump administration.

The two West African nations were recently placed under full entry restrictions under President Donald Trump’s expanded travel ban.

In statements and reported by BBC, both countries said they would apply the same measures to US nationals.

Burkina Faso’s Foreign Affairs Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré said the government was acting on the “principle of reciprocity,” while Mali’s foreign ministry cited “mutual respect and sovereign equality” as the basis for its decision.

Read more: Doumbouya poised for seven-year mandate as Guinea votes in presidential poll

Mali’s ministry also expressed regret over the US move, noting that “such an important decision was made without any prior consultation.”

The announcements follow a similar travel ban on US citizens by neighbouring Niger.

The three states are all ruled by military juntas that seized power in recent coups.

They have formed their own regional bloc and shifted their foreign relations toward Russia after tensions with other West African countries and Western powers.

Earlier this month, the White House said full-entry restrictions would also apply to citizens from South Sudan, Syria, and Palestinian Authority passport holders, taking effect on 1 January.

The administration described the measures as necessary to “protect the security” of the United States.

In addition, Laos and Sierra Leone, previously under partial restrictions, were moved to the full-entry ban list, while partial restrictions were imposed on 15 other countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

Mali and Burkina Faso’s reciprocal bans signal rising tensions between the US and several West African nations, reflecting broader geopolitical shifts in the region.

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Thieves used a large drill to break into a safe at a high street bank branch in western Germany and steal an estimated €30m (£26m; $35m) in cash and valuables, police have said.

A police spokesman likened the break-in to the Hollywood heist film Ocean’s Eleven, telling AFP news agency it was “very professionally executed”.

In a report by the BBC, during the heist at Sparkasse savings bank in the city of Gelsenkirchen, thieves broke open more than 3,000 safe deposit boxes containing money, gold and jewellery.

Gelsenkirchen Police said they became aware of the crime after a fire alarm was set off in the early hours of Monday morning.

Currently, no arrests have been made and the perpetrators remain at large.

Police said the thieves had used the “quiet Christmas days” to rob the building on Nienhofstrasse in the Buer district.

Initial investigations suggest they gained access to the bank, and escaped, via an adjacent parking garage.

Witnesses have reported seeing several men carrying large bags in the staircase of the garage overnight on Saturday into Sunday.

Police said video footage shows a black Audi RS 6 leaving the garage, on De-La-Chevallerie-Strasse, early on Monday morning.

The hole into the underground vault room was discovered when a fire alarm went off in the early hours of Monday, and police and the fire brigade searched the building.

Affected bank customers have been asked to contact Sparkasse bank, which has set up a hotline. Police secured the entrance of the branch on Tuesday after a large number of customers gathered outside demanding information.

“I couldn’t sleep last night. We’re getting no information,” one man told the Welt broadcaster, according to Reuters, as he waited outside the branch, adding that it contained his savings for old age.

A message on the bank’s website said the branch would remain closed on Tuesday following the break-in.
Sparkasse said 95% of customers’ safe deposit boxes had been forced open by the thieves, so the likelihood they were affected is “very high”.

It added that the contents of each compartment are insured up to €10,300 and told customers to check if they had additional coverage through their home insurance.

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Guineans went to the polls on Sunday in a presidential election widely expected to formalise the rule of Mamady Doumbouya, the former special forces commander who seized power in a 2021 coup, marking the country’s return to civilian governance.

Doumbouya, believed to be in his early 40s, contested the presidency against eight other candidates in a fragmented race that lacked a strong challenger.

Reuters reports that key political figures, including ousted former president Alpha Condé and veteran opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, remain in exile.

Voting concluded peacefully in the capital, Conakry, with ballot counting commencing shortly after the close of polls.

No major disturbances were reported during the voting process, although turnout appeared subdued in parts of the capital, where some voters said the outcome seemed predetermined.

Read more: Opposition alleges campaign obstruction ahead of Central African Republic elections

“The most important thing is that the country returns to normal. I voted for the one who is in office and who ensures continuity of the state,” said shopkeeper Moussa Kaba.

Doumbouya arrived at his polling station in Conakry accompanied by his wife and a heavy security detail, waving to onlookers as he cast his vote.

His leadership has gained support in part due to a wave of resource nationalism, similar to trends in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Guinea holds the world’s largest bauxite reserves and vast untapped iron ore deposits at Simandou, a long-delayed project officially launched last month.

Doumbouya has taken credit for advancing the project and positioning the country to benefit more directly from its natural resources.

His administration also revoked the licence of Guinea Alumina Corporation, a subsidiary of Emirates Global Aluminium, transferring its assets to a state-owned firm after a refinery dispute.

The president’s relative youth has also resonated in a country with a median age of about 19.

“For us young people, Doumbouya represents a chance to move beyond the old political class,” said Conakry mechanic Mohamed Kaba, while acknowledging ongoing concerns about corruption.

However, analysts warn that a Doumbouya victory could further entrench military influence.

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As the election campaign enters its final days in the Central African Republic, opposition candidates have accused the authorities of obstructing their campaign activities, raising fresh concerns over the credibility of the forthcoming vote.

Opposition figure, Georges Dologuélé, claims he was barred from holding a campaign rally at the Bouar Stadium, while former Prime Minister and presidential contender Henri-Marie Dondra says his movements have been deliberately restricted.

According to Africa news, Dondra alleges that he was prevented from boarding a plane to travel to the interior of the country to present his campaign programme.

Speaking to journalists, Dondra said the aircraft he had chartered and fully paid for was blocked by members of the presidential military, describing the incident as a deliberate attempt to undermine his campaign.

Read more: Gunmen abduct 28 muslim travellers in central Nigeria

He warned that such actions were incompatible with democratic principles that require equal access to voters for all candidates.

The ruling United Hearts Movement (MCU) has dismissed the allegations, describing them as baseless and politically motivated.

Party spokesperson, Evariste Ngamana, insisted that opposition candidates continue to campaign freely across the country and rejected claims of travel restrictions, noting that the State does not control privately operated airlines.

Political analyst, Crescent Beninga, said the opposition is grappling with broader structural challenges beyond alleged obstruction, particularly limited financial resources.

He noted that with more than 6,000 polling stations nationwide, opposition parties faced difficulties deploying agents across the country, a factor that could affect election outcomes.

Beninga also pointed to poor transport links and weak internet connectivity in rural areas, which he said have hampered the opposition’s ability to effectively communicate their platforms beyond major urban centres, leaving many voters with limited choices.

With only days left before polling, political tensions are rising in Bangui and other parts of the country, as political actors and civil society organisations continue to call for calm, transparency and a peaceful electoral process.

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The United States has carried out a military strike against Islamic State (IS) militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of the Nigerian government, U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S. military said on Thursday.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the strike targeted IS fighters who he claimed had been attacking Christian communities in the region.

“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorist scum in northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians,” Trump wrote.

Read more: Developing Story: President Trump directs Pentagon to ‘Prepare for Possible Action’ in Nigeria

According to a report by Reuters, the U.S. military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed the operation, saying the strike was carried out in Sokoto State in coordination with Nigerian authorities and resulted in the deaths of multiple IS militants.

AFRICOM initially stated on X that the operation had been conducted at the request of Nigerian authorities, although that post was later removed. A subsequent statement confirmed coordination with Nigeria but did not elaborate on the reason for the deletion.

The strike follows Trump’s warnings in late October that Christianity faces what he described as an “existential threat” in Nigeria.

At the time, he threatened possible U.S. military intervention if Nigerian authorities failed to curb violence against Christian communities.
Nigeria has long battled multiple armed groups, including Islamic State affiliates and Boko Haram factions, particularly in its northern regions, where violence has displaced millions and killed tens of thousands over the past decade.

On Monday, Reuters reported that the United States had been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, citing sources familiar with the operations.

Neither the Nigerian government nor the Nigerian military immediately commented on the strike.

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Armed men have kidnapped 28 people travelling to an annual Islamic event in Nigeria’s central Plateau state, local police told the BBC.

The victims, including women and children, were ambushed in their bus on Sunday night as it was driving between villages.

Police spokesperson Alabo Alfred said the authorities have “deployed assets” to the affected area to ensure that those abducted are rescued.

News of the abductions comes just a day after the Nigerian authorities announced the release of the remaining 130 schoolchildren and teachers from a separate mass kidnapping at a Catholic boarding school in Niger state last month.

A journalist based in Plateau state said the families of the latest victims had begun receiving ransom demands.

The police have not said anything about the identity of the possible perpetrators.

Kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs, known locally as bandits, has become common across parts of northern and central Nigeria.

Although the handing over of cash in order to release those being held is illegal, it is thought that this is how many cases are resolved and seen as a way for these gangs to raise money.

Read More: Nigeria claims 130 kidnapped schoolchildren released in Niger State

The incident in Plateau state was unrelated to the long-running Islamist insurgency in the country’s north-east, where jihadist groups have been battling the state for more than a decade.

The insecurity in Nigeria received renewed international attention in November after US President Donald Trump threatened to send troops to “that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing'”. He alleged that Christians were being targeted.

Nigeria’s federal government had acknowledged the security problems but has denied that Christians are being singled out.

On Monday, Information Minister Mohammed Idris said that recent tensions with the US over insecurity and alleged persecution of Christians had been “largely resolved”, resulting in stronger relations with Washington.

He added that trained and equipped forest guards will be deployed to secure forests and other remote areas used as hideouts by criminal groups to supplement army operations.

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