‘It wasn’t clean’: Mother mourns son killed in US Maduro assault
As the first explosions rocked his military base in Caracas, 18-year-old Saul Pereira Martinez sent his mother a simple message: “I love you. It has begun.”It was the night of January 3, and US forces were invading Venezuela to seize the country’s then-president, Nicolas Maduro, on the orders of US President Donald Trump.Pereira had finished his shift on guard duty at Fort Tiuna, where Maduro was sheltered that night. Nonetheless, he would not survive the assault.Natividad Martinez, his mother, visited on Sunday the cemetery where her son’s remains are buried, recalling the night it happened, and still in shock.The last time she spoke to Saul was at 2:00 am. He repeated that he loved her, and told her to take care of his two brothers, aged two and nine.Trump has repeatedly touted the success of the stunning operation to seize Maduro, boasting that there were no casualties.In truth, at least 83 people were killed in the operation, including 47 Venezuelan soldiers and 32 Cuban security personnel, according to the defense ministry in Caracas.”You can’t come to my country and kill people like that,” said Martinez.”Because (they say) ‘it was a clean operation.’ It wasn’t clean. Do you know how many people died?” – ‘A brave man’ -As the attack began, 38-year-old Martinez heard explosions and began to scream, worried for the safety of her son, her husband said.After she got off the phone with him, she fell to the ground screaming his name, he said.”I told her to stay calm, we don’t know what’s going on,” said Saul’s stepfather, who asked not to be identified because he works as a police officer and government security official. He believes that Saul was killed because his unit was spending the night within the security perimeter around Maduro, which made them a target for US forces.On Sunday, Saul’s parents were joined by his girlfriend and friends at the cemetery in southern Caracas.Saul had just completed his initial training with the Honor Guard in December and was studying at the military academy. They brought flowers, and, to the rhythm of old salsa music, the family cried, recalled anecdotes, and toasted in honor of the young soldier whom they remember as “a brave man.” Saul entered the military following in the footsteps of a childhood friend, who was at La Carlota air base during the US attack and was wounded in the leg. His mother had applauded the decision, having earlier worried about the trajectory her son’s life was on. Saul, says Natividad, went from “partying, going here and there, doing nothing at home” to studying, cleaning the house during his visits, and acquiring discipline. – ‘All human beings’ -Despite the massive US military deployment in the Caribbean, Trump’s bellicose threats against Maduro and strikes on what Washington called drug-smuggling boats off the Venezuelan coast, Martinez’s family did not expect things to get this bad.”The president didn’t always stay in the same place,” his stepfather explained, and the government maneuvered to mislead even the state security forces about Maduro’s whereabouts. US forces found Maduro because of inside informers, the stepfather said.”(The death of) my son was a collateral effect of that infiltration,” he said. Hours after the attack, Natividad brought food for Saul to Fort Tiuna, as per their weekly schedule.She found only silence. Hours later, when the names of the fallen began to circulate, she went to the battalion and stood there, demanding answers. “And they had to tell me,” she said, staring at the cement tomb where mourners had spelled out Saul’s name in yellow, blue, and white flower petals. Her son, like other soldiers, was honored by the government, which promoted him posthumously. Natividad said that some seemed not to mourn these deaths because of the political polarization that has divided the nation under Maduro’s rule, and that of Hugo Chavez before him.”Those who died are also human beings. They are all Venezuelans. On one side or the other, they are all human beings, they all have people who mourn them,” she said. Shaken but still stoic, Natividad said she felt proud of her son.”He died for his country,” she said. “Regardless of what they say, to me, my son was a patriot, and that’s what matters to me.”
Espagne: au moins 21 morts et des dizaines de blessés dans une collision entre deux trains
Un accident ferroviaire impliquant deux trains à grande vitesse a fait dimanche au moins 21 morts et une trentaine de blessés graves dans le sud de l’Espagne, selon la Garde civile, après une collision très violente qui a projeté des wagons hors des rails.Le ministre espagnol des Transports, Oscar Puente, a souligné sur le réseau social X que “le choc a été terrible”.”Toutes les personnes blessées nécessitant des soins hospitaliers ont été évacuées”, a-t-il déclaré ensuite lors d’un point presse tôt lundi matin. “On parle de 30 personnes blessées gravement qui ont été transférées dans des hôpitaux”, a-t-il précisé.Les images diffusées à la télévision publique montraient les deux trains entourés d’une foule de personnes et d’ambulances, tandis que les services d’urgence s’efforçaient de venir en aide aux nombreux blessés.Selon le ministre, “les derniers wagons d’un train” de la compagnie Iryo, parti de Malaga, en Andalousie (sud), pour rallier Madrid, “ont déraillé” près d’Adamuz, à près de 200 km au nord de Malaga, entrant en collision avec un train de la compagnie nationale Renfe qui circulait dans le sens inverse sur une voie adjacente en direction de Huelva.La violence du choc entre les trains, avec des centaines de passagers à bord, a été telle qu’il a “projeté les deux premiers wagons du train Renfe hors des rails”, a-t-il poursuivi, expliquant que “la priorité” pour le moment était “de porter secours aux victimes”.La Garde civile a indiqué à l’AFP, dans un dernier bilan, qu’il y avait au moins 21 morts, les autorités régionales andalouses évoquant au moins 73 blessés, dont six très graves, et “une nuit (qui s’annonce) très difficile”.Le Premier ministre espagnol Pedro Sánchez a évoqué “une nuit de profonde douleur” après “le tragique accident ferroviaire”. Il a précisé suivre de près les opérations, le gouvernement central à Madrid “collabor(ant) avec les autres autorités compétentes” mobilisées sur place.De son côté, la famille royale espagnole a fait part dans un communiqué de sa “grande inquiétude” à la suite de ce “grave accident”.”Tout est complètement détruit”, a déclaré Francisco Carmona, chef des pompiers de Cordoue, à la chaîne de télévision publique TVE.”Nous avons même dû déplacer des corps pour pouvoir accéder à des personnes vivantes”, a-t-il ajouté.- “Un film d’horreur” -“On se croirait dans un film d’horreur”, a raconté un passager, Lucas Meriako, qui se trouvait à bord du train Iryo, à la chaîne La Sexta. “Il y a eu un choc très violent à l’arrière et l’impression que tout le train allait se disloquer (…) De nombreuses personnes ont été blessées par des éclats de verre”, a-t-il dit.C’est comme si “un tremblement de terre” avait secoué le wagon, a témoigné de son côté un journaliste de la radio publique RNE qui voyageait dans l’un des deux trains, à la télévision publique TVE.Les occupants du wagon ont pris les marteaux de secours pour briser les vitres et commencer à sortir du convoi, a-t-il encore raconté. Selon des médias espagnols, plus de 300 personnes se trouvaient dans le train d’Iryo et plus de 100 dans l’autre train de Renfe.Dans la grande gare madrilène d’Atocha, des “équipes de soutien vont être déployées pour accompagner les familles” des personnes touchées, a annoncé la présidente de la région de Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. Le président français Emmanuel Macron a adressé ses “pensées” aux victimes de l’accident, évoquant “une tragédie” et promettant le soutien de la France à l’Espagne.Face à la situation, “le trafic de trains à grande vitesse entre Madrid et Cordoue, Séville, Malaga et Huelva (des villes dans le sud de l’Espagne, ndlr) sera interrompu au moins toute la journée du lundi 19 janvier”, a, par ailleurs, indiqué sur X le gestionnaire du réseau ferroviaire espagnol (Adif).
Limited internet briefly returns in Iran after protest blackout
Limited internet access briefly returned in Iran before dropping again, a monitor said Sunday, 10 days into a communications blackout that rights groups said aimed to mask a protest crackdown that killed thousands.Iran’s president warned that an attack on the country’s supreme leader would be a declaration of war — an apparent response to US counterpart Donald Trump saying it was time to look for new leadership in Iran.Demonstrations sparked in late December by anger over economic hardship exploded into protests widely seen as the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years.The rallies subsided after the crackdown that rights groups have called a “massacre” carried out by security forces under the cover of a communications blackout that started on January 8.Monitor Netblocks said late Sunday that “traffic levels have fallen after a brief, heavily filtered restoration of select Google and messaging services in Iran”.Iranian officials have said the demonstrations were peaceful before turning into “riots” and blamed foreign influence from Iran’s arch-foes the United States and Israel. Trump, who joined Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in June, had repeatedly threatened new military action against Tehran if protesters were killed.While Washington appeared to have stepped back, Trump hit out at supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an interview with Politico on Saturday, saying it was “time to look for new leadership in Iran”. “The man is a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people,” Trump said.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday warned on X: “An attack on the great leader of our country is tantamount to a full-scale war with the Iranian nation.”As leaders in Washington and Tehran have exchanged barbs, Iranian officials have said calm has been restored in the streets. Security forces with armoured vehicles and motorcycles were seen in central Tehran, according to AFP correspondents.- ‘Cannot just stay silent’ -Schools reopened on Sunday after a week of closure.Pezeshkian meanwhile told a cabinet meeting that he “recommended to the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council that internet restrictions be lifted as soon as possible”.Some users reported access to WhatsApp, while outgoing international calls had resumed since Tuesday, and text messaging was restored Saturday. Fars news agency on Sunday reported that the chief executive of Irancell, Iran’s second-largest mobile phone operator, was dismissed for failing to comply with the government’s decision to shut down the internet.Solidarity demonstrations have continued in multiple cities in recent days, including in Berlin, London and Paris.Despite the restrictions, information had still filtered out, with reports of atrocities emerging, according to rights groups.Amnesty International said it had verified dozens of videos and accounts in recent days showing a “massacre of protesters” by security forces.Norway-based Iran Human Rights says it has verified the deaths of 3,428 protesters killed by security forces, confirming cases through sources within the Islamic republic’s health and medical system, witnesses and independent sources.However, the NGO warns the true toll is likely far higher. Media cannot independently confirm the figure and Iranian officials have not given an exact death toll for the protests.Other estimates place the death toll at more than 5,000 — and possibly as high as 20,000 — though the internet blackout has severely hampered independent verification, IHR says.The overseas-based opposition Iran International channel has said at least 12,000 people were killed during the protests, citing senior government and security sources.Iran’s judiciary has rejected that figure.- ‘Not be spared’ -On Saturday, Khamenei said “a few thousand” people had been killed by what he called “agents” of the United States and Israel, and Iranian local media has reported multiple deaths among security forces.Khamenei said authorities “must break the back of the seditionists”, as local media have reported thousands of arrests and rights groups have estimated up to 20,000 people have been detained. On Sunday, judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir reiterated that swift trials would be held, warning that some acts warranted the capital offence of “moharebeh”, or “waging war against God”. “All those who played a decisive role in these calls for violence, which led to bloodshed and significant damage to public finances, will not be spared,” he said.Alarm has grown over the threat of capital punishment against arrested protesters, even as Trump said Iran had called off hundreds of executions.Analyst Arif Keskin cast doubt on Trump’s claim, saying “the Iranian leadership sees executions… as an effective tool to end protests, prevent them and suppress them”.burs-sw/jsa/jxb
Gas discovery provides boost to Philippines fast-dwindling reserves
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos said Monday that a “significant” discovery of natural gas had been made near the country’s sole producing offshore site.About 98 billion cubic feet (2.8 billion cubic metres) of natural gas has been found five kilometres (three miles) east of the Malampaya Field near the island of Palawan, Marcos said, or enough to provide power to 5.7 million homes for a year.The Philippines has some of the region’s highest energy costs and faces a looming crisis as the Malampaya gas field, which supplies about 40 percent of power to the archipelago’s main island, Luzon, is expected to run dry within a few years.The discovery, the first in more than a decade, suggested the potential to produce even more, Marcos said.”This helps Malampaya’s contribution and strengthens our domestic gas supply for many years to come. Initial testing showed that the well flowed at 60 million cubic feet per day,” Marcos said in a statement.The Philippines — regularly affected by electricity outages — relies on imported carbon-belching coal for more than half of its power generation.In 2022, then president Rodrigo Duterte called a halt to oil and gas exploration in areas of the South China Sea disputed with China.Beijing has ignored a 2016 international tribunal decision that declared its historical claim over most of the South China Sea to be without basis.
CAN-2025: le Sénégal et Dakar dans une liesse immense après le sacre des Lions face au Maroc
Des pas de danse endiablés, des cris de joie, des coups de klaxon, des détonations de feux d’artifice: la capitale Dakar, sa périphérie et plusieurs villes à travers le Sénégal étaient en ébullition dans la nuit de dimanche à lundi, avec des centaines de milliers de supporters dans les rues après la victoire 1-0 à Rabat des Lions de la Teranga, à l’issue d’une finale électrique de la CAN face au Maroc.La capitale sénégalaise et sa grande périphérie ont explosé de joie et de soulagement après le coup de sifflet final de la rencontre qui a vu le Sénégal s’imposer 1-0 grâce à un but de Pape Gueye en prolongation. C’est le deuxième sacre du Sénégal, après celui remporté en 2022, au Cameroun, mais également la troisième finale disputée par les Sénégalais lors des quatre dernières éditions.Les scènes de liesse se sont multipliées dans la capitale où des centaines de milliers de supporters sont descendus dans les rues pour célébrer ce sacre dans une ambiance assourdissante, au milieu des drapeaux du Sénégal, omniprésents, accrochés aux immeubles, sur les véhicules, sur les artères et les trottoirs de la capitale, a constaté un journaliste de l’AFP. De nombreux jeunes hommes et jeunes femmes, les visages maquillés des couleurs du Sénégal, faisaient des selfies ou se prenaient en photos en groupe dans une ambiance survoltée. Dans le reste du pays, la victoire était aussi célébrée dans les régions de Tamba, de Diourbel, de Saint-Louis ou encore de Thiès, selon des images en direct diffusées sur les réseaux sociaux.En tenues de sport et affichant des sourires radieux, le président sénégalais Bassirou Diomaye Faye et le Premier ministre Ousmane Sonko sont de leur côté sortis du palais de la République dans le centre de Dakar pour aller à la rencontre de supporters qui s’étaient réunis devant les lieux.- Embouteillages monstres -Ce moment de réjouissance et d’immense joie est l’un des rares qu’ait connu ces dernières années le pays, qui a vécu entre 2021 et 2024 de graves troubles politiques ayant fait des dizaines de morts. Le Sénégal est aussi confronté actuellement à une situation économique et sociale très difficile.L’ambiance était indescriptible sur la place de la Nation à Dakar, où une immense fan zone a été installée depuis le début du tournoi, a constaté l’AFP. Les lieux ont vibré au son des klaxons des voitures, des vuvuzelas, des sifflets, des cris de joie, des pétards et feux d’artifice, des chansons à la gloire de la sélection.Une atmosphère similaire régnait également au Monument de la Renaissance, statue monumentale dans la zone du quartier des Mamelles qui domine Dakar, au pied duquel était également installée une fan zone avec plusieurs centaines de supporters. Des Sénégalais enthousiastes chantaient, dansaient ou s’enlaçaient au milieu de la cohue.Des embouteillages monstres à l’entrée du centre-ville de Dakar et sur l’autoroute menant vers le centre de la capitale se sont formés dans la nuit de dimanche à lundi.- “Emotions fortes” -Torse et pieds nus, Issa Diouf, 23 ans, a parcouru une quinzaine de kilomètres, malgré la fraîcheur du mois de janvier à Dakar et le vent, pour se rendre place de l’Indépendance, où des milliers de personnes ont afflué pour fêter la victoire dans une grande allégresse.”Je suis trop heureux, j’ai longtemps rêvé de cette victoire. Le Maroc a tenté de résister mais le Sénégal était plus fort”, jubile-t-il auprès de l’AFP, un bandeau aux couleurs vert, or, rouge du Sénégal ceignant sa tête.Maillot du Sénégal sur le dos, Maïmouna Sow, elle, n’en revient toujours pas de cette victoire dans ce match marqué par un océan de confusion et une tension électrique qui auraient pu le faire basculer dans le chaos. Comme de nombreux supporters, elle raconte être passée par toutes les émotions: des larmes après le penalty sifflé en faveur du Maroc dans le temps additionnel de la seconde mi-temps… à une joie immense après le but de Pape Gueye (1-0, 94e). “J’ai cru que mon coeur allait rompre. Je n’ai jamais ressenti des émotions aussi fortes”, a-t-elle confié à l’AFP.
Senegal stun hosts Morocco to win AFCON title after final walk-off protestMon, 19 Jan 2026 00:33:38 GMT
Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game.Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end …