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Venezuela frees dozens detained during protests against Maduro | Human Rights News
Families celebrate Christmas releases while calling for full freedom of detainees.
Published On 25 Dec 2025
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Authorities in Venezuela have released at least 60 people arrested during protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s re-election, according to a human rights advocacy group, though campaigners say hundreds remain behind bars.
The releases began early on Thursday, over Christmas, according to the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners, a group of rights activists and relatives of detainees arrested during unrest that followed July’s presidential election.
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“We celebrate the release of more than 60 Venezuelans, who should never have been arbitrarily detained,” committee head Andreina Baduel told the AFP news agency.
“Although they are not entirely free, we will continue working for their full freedom and that of all political prisoners.”
Maduro secured a third term in office in the July 2024 vote, a result rejected by parts of the opposition amid allegations of fraud. The disputed outcome triggered weeks of demonstrations, during which authorities arrested about 2,400 people. Nearly 2,000 have since been released, according to rights groups.
Despite the latest releases, Venezuela still holds at least 902 political prisoners, according to Foro Penal, an NGO that monitors detentions.
Relatives said many of those freed had been held at Tocoron prison, a maximum-security facility in Aragua state, roughly 134km (83 miles) from the capital Caracas. Officials have not publicly clarified the conditions under which detainees were released.
“We must remember that there are more than 1,000 families with political prisoners,” Baduel said. Her father, Raul Isaias Baduel, a former defence minister and once an ally of the late president, Hugo Chavez, died in custody in 2021.
US President Donald Trump said he had ordered the country’s army to launch a “powerful and deadly” strikes against targets of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in northwestern Nigeria.
The strike comes after months of Trump threatening military action over what he labeled as an “existential threat” for Christianity in Nigeria, a claim the local government rejects.
The US army’s Africa Command (AFCOM) said the strike had been conducted at the request of the Nigerian authorities in the northwestern Sokoto State.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said he was “grateful” for the support and cooperation with the Nigerian government.
Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the “precision hits on terrorist targets,” adding that the government is guided by its intention to safeguard all citizens’ life, regardless of faith.
According to a statement posted on the ministry’s X account, terrorism against any of the country’s religious communities “remains an affront on Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security.”
Why did the US launch strike in Nigeria?
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the reason for the strike was the Islamist group’s targeting of “primarily innocent Christians,” which he said had reached levels “never seen for many years.”
“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper,” Trump’s post read.
The US State Department recently announced its intention to restrict visas for Nigerian nationals involved in violence against Christians in the country.
Washington also designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act.
Which militant groups are active in northern Nigeria?
Nigeria has been battling a deadly Islamist insurgency in its northern regions.
According to Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, at least 2,266 people were killed by bandits or insurgents in Nigeria during the first half of 2025 — surpassing the total number of such deaths in all of 2024.
Particularly Boko Haram has concentrated their attacks in the northwestern state of Sokoto.
A splinter group known as the Islamic State in West Africa Province (Iswap) has also carried out attacks in northeastern Nigeria, particularly in the Borno state.
Iswap has also been involved in clashes with Boko Haram, as it is one of at least three Boko Haram splinter groups active in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s security forces under-resourced amid crisis
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Russian forces appear close to being pushed out of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupyansk, with only a small number of isolated troops remaining and even pro-Kremlin voices acknowledging the setback, according to a report.
The Kyiv Post reported Thursday that Ukrainian military officials say Russian units left inside the city are cut off from reliable supply lines and are increasingly surrendering as their position deteriorates.
Viktor Trehubov, head of communications for Ukraine’s Joint Forces grouping, said Russian forces inside Kupyansk now number only several dozen and include foreign mercenaries fighting alongside Moscow’s troops.
“They are surrendering,” Viktor Trehubov said during a televised briefing carried by Ukrainian state media. “There have even been cases of foreigners – foreign mercenaries for the Russians – giving themselves up.”
ZELENSKYY VISITS FRONTLINE UKRAINIAN CITY WEEKS AFTER RUSSIA CLAIMED IT TOOK CONTROL
An evacuation van drives through the largely destroyed frontline city of Kupiansk, Ukraine, on Jan. 6, 2025. (Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
According to Ukrainian officials, the remaining Russian units are surviving largely on limited air resupply, a tactic that cannot sustain long-term operations inside the city.
“Supply by air bridge alone is not something that allows them to hold out for long,” Trehubov said.
While Russian forces continue to launch multiple assaults along the Kupyansk axis each day, Ukrainian officials say those attacks lack the manpower and reserves needed to change the balance on the ground.
UKRAINE, US NEAR 20-POINT PEACE DEAL AS PUTIN SPURNS ZELENSKYY CHRISTMAS CEASEFIRE OFFER
A Ukrainian army chaplain talks to Ukrainian soldiers in a shelter in the direction of Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on March 13, 2024. (Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“At this stage, they simply do not have additional capabilities to somehow restore the situation,” Trehubov said.
The Kyiv Post also reported that Russian military bloggers and war correspondents have begun openly conceding that Kupyansk is no longer under Russian control, marking a notable shift in Kremlin-aligned messaging.
“An entire wave of messages appeared saying that Kupyansk is gone,” Trehubov said. “Even Russian propagandists have switched to a line acknowledging that the city is no longer under their control.”
Ukrainian officials stressed that Russia never fully re-established control over Kupyansk after its liberation in September 2022, aside from a brief occupation during the early phase of the invasion.
US OFFICIALS TOUT PROGRESS IN TALKS TO REACH ‘LASTING AND DURABLE PEACE’ BETWEEN UKRAINE, RUSSIA
Ukrainian servicemen of the 44th artillery brigade fire a 2s22 Bohdana self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions at the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (Danylo Antoniuk/AP Photo)
“In reality, it was never fully taken by them in order to be ‘lost,’ aside from a short period in 2022,” Trehubov said.
Efforts by Russian units to dig in within the city’s northern districts have failed, leaving those forces unable to withdraw or receive reinforcements, Ukrainian officials said.
“They themselves now admit that the defense of the city by the same units that entered and tried to secure positions in the northern districts has failed,” Trehubov said.
MOMENTUM BUILDS IN UKRAINE PEACE PUSH, BUT EXPERTS FEAR PUTIN WON’T BUDGE
Ukrainian soldiers from the 115th Brigade Mortar Unit conduct mortar training, as members of the Anti-UAV unit test an FPV drone inhibitor in Lyman, Ukraine. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Combat continues outside the city, particularly from positions across the Oskil River, though Ukrainian forces maintain control of Kupyansk itself.
Ukraine’s General Staff said Russian troops carried out five attacks in the Kupyansk sector on Dec. 24, all of which were repelled near Petropavlivka, Pishchane, Zahryzove and Kupyansk.
Trehubov said a recent Ukrainian counteroffensive further disrupted Russian efforts to stabilize the front.
“The counteroffensive came as a surprise for the enemy,” he said. “Right now, they simply lack the resources to regain control.”
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Kupyansk, a key rail and road hub in the Kharkiv region with a pre-war population of about 27,000, has long been a focal point of Russian territorial claims.
The city was briefly occupied during the opening months of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 before being liberated by Ukrainian forces later that year, a history Ukrainian officials say Moscow has repeatedly tried to obscure through disinformation.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.
NEED TO KNOW
- A TikTok travel enthusiast is sharing a simple trick that saves her “hundreds of dollars” every single time
- Before an upcoming hotel stay, user @azartravelz says she emails the general manager of the property and asks to make her trip “extra special”
- The content creator says the process takes her less than 10 minutes and results in free breakfast or room upgrades, if not both
A frequent traveler is sharing the one trick she says saves her “hundreds of dollars” in food and free upgrades every time she stays in a hotel.
TikTok user @azartravelz revealed the tip in a “Travel Hack Tuesday” video earlier this year. The self-described “personal finance nerd, school nurse and family travel enthusiast” says she frequently uses the hack, of sorts, for every family vacation.
Azar says the first step is to search for the name of the general manager at whatever property she is staying at. For example, she searched for the “general manager Hyatt Ziva Cancun” prior to her Mexican vacation. From there, she seeks out their email address.
“You might have to do some internet sleuthing, or just call the hotel and ask for the name and email address of the general manager,” she says.
After that, she uses a simple template to inform management of an upcoming stay.
“I send them an email that just says, ‘Hey, we’re coming to your hotel [on] these dates. Here’s our confirmation number. We’re so excited to stay with you. We’ve heard such wonderful things about the property,’ ” she explains.
“ ‘We’re celebrating my birthday and I’m just wondering if there’s anything you could do to make our stay extra special, such as a room upgrade and/or a free breakfast or club access,’ ” referencing some property’s exclusive club-level offerings that sometimes offer breakfast and snacks throughout the day.
A stock image of a large hotel suite.
Getty
Azar says the whole process only takes her 10 minutes, from searching for the email, composing it, to hitting send. Although it takes little effort, she claims it works “100% of the time.”
“At minimum, I’ve gotten a room with a better view or a slightly larger room,” the creator says. But sometimes, the upgrade is much larger.
“My most recent trip, we went to Turkey and we stayed at a Hyatt Regency. They upgraded us to a suite,” she says. “The cash price for this for a whole week was like $6,000, and they gave us [the] free breakfast buffet for my family of five.”
Azar says the family saved “hundreds of dollars” over the course of the week, just in food alone.
A stock image of breakfast served at a hotel.
Getty
“Whether you’re paying for your hotel on points or cash or whatever, do this little trick,” Azar says. “The worst they can say is ‘no.’ And if they say no, you’re staying in the room you booked anyways.”
“Ask for what you want and see what you get,” she says at the end of the video.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
In the comment section, other TikTok users shared their own success stories using the simple trick.
“I did this for our Niagara Falls trip (here now) and the manager upgraded our room to a falls view suite with a bottle of wine,” one user writes.
Another said, “Followed your template with my own twist and our room was upgraded within the hour and when we checked in this morning they also gave us a bar credit.”
Meanwhile a user claiming to be a hotel general manager offered their two cents: “Join the rewards program first. Much better chance of this working. Members will always get first debs on perks and upgrades.”
A 47-year-old man has been named as a person of interest by police after a rabbi’s car was allegedly targeted by an arson attack on Christmas Day.
A family fled were forced to flee their home after a vehicle displaying a Hanukkah sign was firebombed in Melbourne’s south-east.
Emergency services raced to Balaclava Road in St Kilda East , the heart of the city’s Jewish communit, at about 2.50am on Thursday after a car was set alight in their driveway.
A billboard on top of the car read: ‘Happy Chanukah.’ The vehicle was engulfed in flames but was unoccupied at the time. Firefighters evacuated residents as a precaution while they worked to contain the blaze.
Police confirmed no one was injured.
Victoria Police are urging John Argento to come forward as part of their investigation into the targeted blaze.
Argento, who is already wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant for deception-related offences, is well known to police.
Officers say Argento leads a ‘transient lifestyle’ and often moves through Melbourne’s inner southern and northern suburbs.
Pictured is a man police are interested in speaking to regarding the alleged incident
He is described as 185cm tall, with a thin build, blue eyes, grey hair, and a fair complexion.
Police have released an image of Argento and are appealing to anyone who knows his whereabouts to contact Crime Stoppers immediately.
Detectives stress the attack appears targeted but say there is no evidence Argento poses a specific risk to the Jewish community.
Investigators also want to question him about a car break-in that occurred just 20 minutes after the arson.
‘We understand the devastating impact this type of offence has on our Jewish community, and we are continuing to prioritise this investigation. We won’t fully understand the motives of this arsonist until we get them into custody,’ Chris Gilbert the Assistant Commissioner for the Southern Metro Region said.
Gilbert stressed there was no ongoing threat to the community.
‘At this stage, we do not believe there is a broader threat to the Jewish community. We want to thank people in the area for their assistance in this investigation so far,’ he said.
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Man is named as person of interest after rabbi’s car firebombed on Christmas Day
Michael Dickinsin, 69, was killed in a freak accident in the drive-thru lane of a McDonald’s in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Tuesday after he was pinned between his car and the side of the building
The customer was crushed to death while trying to pay (Image: KSNB Local)
A customer tragically lost his life in a freak accident at a McDonald’s drive-through whilst attempting to pay for his order.
Michael Dickinsin, 69, was crushed to death on Tuesday after becoming trapped between his vehicle and the building’s exterior in Grand Island, Nebraska. He was rushed to a local hospital but sadly could not be saved.
Grand Island Police Division Chief Dean Elliott described Dickinson’s death as a freak accident. “It appears the deceased opened the door to further reach out the window for payment purposes,” he told KSNB.
McDonalds drive-thru can be dangerous(Image: Getty Images)
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“We’re not sure if the vehicle lurched forward or what happened, but he got pinched between the door frame and the drive-through window counter.”
It follows another tragedy where a Texas doctor was decapitated when lift doors closed around his neck, leaving his head trapped outside, reports the Mirror US.
Initial inquiries revealed that Dickinson was alone in the vehicle and was the sole person who “sustained fatal injuries,” police confirmed.
Elliott informed the outlet that a McDonald’s worker was also injured during the incident whilst attempting to assist Dickinson by entering through the passenger side of the car. The department’s Accident Reconstruction Team is assisting with the inquiry, the outlet reported.
A comparable incident occurred at a McDonald’s in Vancouver in 2021 when Tony Eyles, 42, was killed by his own vehicle at the drive-through. CCTV footage showed the man settling his bill when he dropped his bank card on the ground, police said at the time.
As Eyles attempted to retrieve the car, it rolled forward, trapping him between the car door and the building. Unable to free himself, Eyles was crushed.
Drive-thru accidents can and do happen(Image: Getty Images)
“This is an absolutely heartbreaking scenario,” expressed Vancouver Police Constable Tania Visintin about the unrelated incident, as per a press release. “Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of this man.”
Visintin informed the Edmonton City News that the incident was a tragic event for the McDonald’s employees who witnessed it. “People aren’t used to seeing this type of incident happen, especially at your workplace.”
She further mentioned that victim services were offered to the staff. “I would assume everyone is shaken up.”
What makes these incidents particularly unusual is that fatal car accidents typically involve more than one vehicle. However, in these instances, only the deceased’s cars were involved.
“The fact that no other vehicle was involved… this seems like a freak accident,” Visintin commented.
This follows a horrifying incident where a group of children, including his own, watched Santa Claus fall to his death.
The US has launched airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Nigeria, Donald Trump has said.
US Africa Command said the strikes were conducted “in coordination with Nigerian authorities” in Sokoto State, while a US official told the Reuters news agency that the strikes killed multiple targets.
Announcing the military intervention on his social media platform Truth Social, Mr Trump said: “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, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper.”
On X, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said: “The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end,” he said. “The @DeptofWar [Department of War] is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight – on Christmas. More to come…”
He added he was grateful to the Nigerian government for its “support and cooperation”.
Following the updates from US officials, Nigeria’s foreign ministry confirmed that precision air strikes by the US had hit “terrorist targets” in the country’s northwest.
It said the country was in “cooperation” and “collaboration” with the US in “addressing the persistent threat of terrorism and violent extremism”.
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Mr Trump said last month that he’d ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria following claims of Christian persecution.
His government also designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act and said it would restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members involved in mass killings and violence against Christians in the West African country.
The Nigerian government previously said Mr Trump’s claims that Christians face persecution there is a misrepresentation of the country’s complex security challenges.
After the US strikes, Nigeria’s foreign ministry said: “Nigeria reiterates that all counter-terrorism efforts are guided by the primacy of protecting civilian lives, safeguarding national unity, and upholding the rights and dignity of all citizens, irrespective of faith or ethnicity. Terrorist violence in any form whether directed at Christians, Muslims, or other communities remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security.”
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DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
US president says ‘deadly strike’ in Nigeria targeted ISIL fighters who had killed ‘primarily, innocent Christians’.
Published On 25 Dec 2025
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The United States has carried out an air strike against ISIL (ISIS) fighters in northwest Nigeria, US President Donald Trump said.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday evening.
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Trump said ISIL fighters had “targeted and viciously” killed “primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!”
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” Trump said.
The US military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM), which is responsible for operations in Africa, said in a post on X that the air strike was carried out “at the request of Nigerian authorities” and had killed “multiple ISIS terrorists”.
“Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media, warning also of “more to come”, without providing details.
In a statement, AFRICOM said the strike occurred in “Soboto state,” an apparent reference to Nigeria’s Sokoto state.
[Al Jazeera]
The US military action comes weeks after Trump said he had ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria following claims of Christian persecution in the country.
Nigeria’s government has said armed groups target both Muslim and Christian communities in the country, and US claims that Christians face persecution do not represent a complex security situation and ignore efforts by Nigerian authorities to safeguard religious freedom.
Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi, reporting from Washington DC, said the threat of US military action in Nigeria had been “percolating for some time” and Donald Trump had accused Nigeria of not doing enough to protect its Christian community in his first term as president.
“But in the last two months or so, with congressional pressure and the State Department, they declared Nigeria a particular country of concern when it came to the rights of Christians and we had heard that the US had begun overflight surveillance of Nigeria from an airbase in Accra, in Ghana, over the last several weeks. And now we have this,” Rattansi said.
“On Christmas day, the Trump administration acts. This will go down very well with Trump’s Christian evangelical base, I am sure,” he said.
Trump issued his attack statement on Christmas Day while he was at his Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago Club, where he has been spending the holiday.
WORLD NEWS
Victoria police name man they want to interview in relation to ‘Happy Chanukah’ car fire in St Kilda | Victoria
Victoria police have named a man they want to interview in relation to a suspected arson attack on a car sporting a “Happy Chanukah” sign in Melbourne on Christmas Day.
Police said emergency services were called to a vehicle displaying a mobile billboard that had been set alight in the driveway of a property in St Kilda East about 2.50am on Thursday.
On Friday they named 47-year-old John Argento as “a person who may be able to assist with their investigation”.
Victoria police said Argento was known to police and had an outstanding arrest warrant relating to other matters.
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“Detectives believe Argento lives a transient lifestyle. He is known to frequent Melbourne’s inner southern and northern suburbs,” the statement said.
“Detectives are treating this arson as a targeted attack but there is no indication that Argento poses as a specific risk to the Jewish community.”
No one was inside the car at the time of the incident but the occupants of the house were evacuated as a precaution, police said.
The Victoria police assistant commissioner for the southern metro region, Chris Gilbert, said at this stage he did not believe there was a broader threat to the Jewish community.
“We understand the devastating impact this type of [alleged] offence has on our Jewish community and we are continuing to prioritise this investigation,” he said.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, said on Thursday she had been briefed by police on the St Kilda incident.
“This is not what any family, street or community deserves to wake up to on Christmas Day in Australia,” she said on X.
“We have a duty to this community: to ensure their families are safe and feel safe right now, and to work long-term in a serious effort to drive anti-Semitism and hate out of our state.”
The incident comes less than two weeks after 15 people were killed in a mass shooting that targeted Jews celebrating the holiday of Hanukah at Sydney’s Bondi beach.
US President Donald Trump said he had ordered the country’s army to launch a “powerful and deadly” strikes against targets of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in northwestern Nigeria.
The strike comes after months of Trump threatening military action over what he labeled as an “existential threat” for Christianity in Nigeria, a claim the local government rejects.
The US army’s Africa Command (AFCOM) said the strike had been conducted at the request of the Nigerian authorities in the northwestern Sokoto State.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said he was “grateful” for the support and cooperation with the Nigerian government.
Why did the US launch strike in Nigeria?
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the reason for the strike was the Islamist group’s targeting of “primarily innocent Christians,” which he said had reached levels “never seen for many years.”
“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper,” Trump’s post read.
The US State Department recently announced its intention to restrict visas for Nigerian nationals involved in violence against Christians in the country.
Washington also designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act.
Which militant groups are active in northern Nigeria?
Nigeria has been battling a deadly Islamist insurgency in its northern regions.
According to Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission, at least 2,266 people were killed by bandits or insurgents in Nigeria during the first half of 2025 — surpassing the total number of such deaths in all of 2024.
Particularly Boko Haram has concentrated their attacks in the northwestern state of Sokoto.
A splinter group known as the Islamic State in West Africa Province (Iswap) has also carried out attacks in northeastern Nigeria, particularly in the Borno state.
Iswap has also been involved in clashes with Boko Haram, as it is one of at least three Boko Haram splinter groups active in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s security forces under-resourced amid crisis
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Edited by: Farah Bahgat
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
President Donald Trump said the U.S. launched airstrikes in northwest Nigeria on Christmas night targeting ISIS militants he accused of killing Christians, calling the operation decisive and warning further attacks would follow if the violence continues.
“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, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump said Thursday on Truth Social.
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper,” he continued. “May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
‘GENOCIDE CAN’T BE IGNORED’: GOP LAWMAKER BACKS TRUMP’S THREAT OF MILITARY ACTION IN NIGERIA
A newspaper vendor pulls a newspaper with an article reporting U.S. President Donald Trump’s message to Nigeria over the treatment of Christians, at a newspaper stand in Ojuelegba, Lagos, Nigeria, Nov. 2, 2025. (Reuters/Sodiq Adelakun)
Last month, Trump threatened to “do things in Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about” and “go into that now disgraced country guns-a-blazing.”
That warning set the stage for the Christmas-night strikes, which Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said fulfilled the president’s demand that the killings stop.
“The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on X. “The @DeptofWar is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas. More to come…
“Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation,” he added. “Merry Christmas!”
Then, nearly a month later, the Trump administration rolled out a new visa-restriction policy in response to a wave of brutal anti-Christian attacks in Nigeria, targeting those accused of orchestrating religious violence against Christians in the West African nation and around the world.
TRUMP ADMIN TARGETS ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE WITH NEW VISA CRACKDOWN POLICY FOLLOWING NIGERIA ATTACKS
A drone view of Christians departing St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church after Sunday mass in Palmgrove, Lagos, Nigeria, Nov. 2, 2025. (Reuters/Sodiq Adelakun)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the policy in the Immigration and Nationality Act will allow the State Department to deny visas to those “who have directed, authorized, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom.”
Immediate family members may also face visa restrictions in some cases.
“The United States is taking decisive action in response to the mass killings and violence against Christians by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other violent actors in Nigeria and beyond,” Rubio said in the statement.
The move followed a surge of attacks on Christians and Christian institutions in Nigeria. Last month, gunmen stormed the Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Kwara State, killing two people and kidnapping dozens. The 38 abducted worshipers were freed nearly a week later.
Days later, armed attackers raided St. Mary’s School in Niger State, abducting more than 300 students and staff. School officials said 50 students aged 10 to 18 escaped in the following days, but 253 students and 12 teachers remain captive.
TRUMP’S WARNING TO NIGERIA OFFERS HOPE TO NATION’S PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS
President Donald Trump announced attacks against terrorists in Nigeria, killing Christians.
The violence prompted Trump to designate Nigeria a “country of particular concern,” though the Nigerian government disputes the U.S. assessment.
“I’m really angry about it,” the president told Fox News Radio last month. “What’s happening in Nigeria is a disgrace.”
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Echoing Trump’s warning, Rubio said earlier this month, “As President Trump made clear, the ‘United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria and numerous other countries.’”
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.
WORLD NEWS
Trump announces strikes against ISIS in Nigeria and wishes MERRY CHRISTMAS to ‘dead terrorists’ he claims are targeting Christians
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President Donald Trump has announced the U.S. military has conducted deadly strikes against ISIS targets in Nigeria after the group is accused of targeting Christians.
“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, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” the president wrote in a Truth Social post the evening of Christmas Day.
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” Trump continued.
“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing. Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper. May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
open image in gallery
President Donald Trump says the US has conducted deadly strikes against ISIS targets in Nigeria after the group targeted Christians (AP)
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also posted online about the strikes.
Hegseth said in a post on X, “The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end. The @DeptofWar is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas.”
The defense secretary added, “Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”
The Nigerian government is yet to comment publicly on the strikes.
open image in gallery
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was grateful for Nigerian support on the deadly ISIS strikes (Secretary of War, X)
Last month, Trump said he was instructing the Defense Department to “prepare for possible action” in Nigeria, claiming the nation’s government “continues to allow the killing of Christians.”
He also declared that Nigeria is a “country of particular concern.” The U.S. government uses this designation for nations determined to have committed “particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” according to the State Department’s website.
Trump said in November, “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,”
Much of northern Nigeria has been struck by conflict in an ongoing security crisis and Trump has singled the country out for what he calls “the killing of Christians” by “radical Islamists.”
Victims and church leaders have reiterated Trump’s claims that Christians are persecuted, saying they’ve long been attacked, kidnapped or killed over their faith.
But many insist the reality isn’t that simple, with experts and residents saying most attacks emphasize the widespread violence that has long plagued the West African nation, where everyone is a potential victim, regardless of background or belief.
With reporting from the Associated Press.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
NEED TO KNOW
- A California man is accused by police of killing his half-brother and trying to kill the victim’s two children by leaving gas burners on in an apartment while they slept
- Zackary A. Brodowski, 32, was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder
- Police found 36-year-old Aaron Richard Rivera dead from apparent gunshot wounds on Tuesday, Dec. 23
A California man was arrested after allegedly killing his half-brother and fleeing the house with the stove burners on while the victim’s children slept inside, authorities said.
Zackary A. Brodowski, 32, was taken into custody on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, the Redlands Police Department said in a statement shared on Wednesday, Dec. 24.
Officers responded to an apartment in Redlands on the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 23, after receiving a report of shots fired. There, they found 36-year-old Aaron Richard Rivera dead from apparent gunshot wounds, per police.
During the investigation, police said they identified Brodowski, also Rivera’s half-brother, as a suspect, citing family members and apparent evidence found at the scene.
Authorities claim surveillance cameras from the apartment complex showed Brodowski fleeing the scene immediately after the shooting in a silver 2008 Ford Focus.
Police further alleged that Brodowski left the stove’s gas burners on while Rivera’s two juvenile children slept inside.
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Brodowski was later arrested “without incident” at his home in Calimesa, police said. While searching his residence, investigators found a “firearm believed to be the murder weapon and clothing matching the clothing worn at the time of the shooting,” the release states.
Police said Brodowski is being held without bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. It’s unclear if he has entered a plea or retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.
WORLD NEWS
TV cop who appeared on Channel 4’s Hunted suspended over ‘sexist remarks to female officers’
A top police officer who has appeared as a ‘hunter’ on Channel 4’s Hunted show has been suspended over allegations he made sexist remarks to junior female officers.
Sergeant Shazad Sadiq, a temporary inspector with Durham Constabulary, is accused of making discriminatory comments which could amount to gross misconduct.
He was suspended on full pay in February and an investigation was launched by the force’s Professional Standards Department. Ten months on, the investigation remains ongoing, with Sgt Sadiq under suspension.
It is understood that, among the allegations, Sgt Sadiq, 49, is accused of telling three female Police Community Support Officers that he did not expect them to have accounts on Only Fans, a website where users can subscribe to people often providing raunchy or pornographic content.
The women alleged they were singled out and men on the shift were not given the same warning.
Sgt Sadiq is also accused of making a derogatory comment towards a female PC about not being able to ‘hide her sexuality’ while gesturing his hands down her body, according to a source.
In another incident, he is alleged to have allocated the same officer to a woman who regularly went missing from her home who was ‘struggling with her sexuality’ and said the PC could ‘relate to the female based on her sexuality’ and would be a ‘motherly figure’.
He is also accused of refusing to allow the same officer to pursue a Taser course because her ‘hormones needed to settle’ after a period of parental leave. It is understood Sgt Sadiq vehemently denies the allegations.
Sergeant Shazad Sadiq (right), a temporary inspector with Durham Constabulary, is accused of making discriminatory comments which could amount to gross misconduct
Sgt Sadiq, 49, is accused of telling three female Police Community Support Officers that he did not expect them to have accounts on Only Fans
Sgt Sadiq has been a police officer for 28 years, working for the Metropolitan Police in London before moving to Durham in 2001. He has served as general secretary of the National Black Police Association and was chairman of the Durham Ethnic Minority Support Association.
In 2021, he began appearing as a hunter on Hunted, where police and intelligence personnel track down contestants ‘on the run’. The contestants must reach an ‘extraction point’ if they survive 21 days on the run, and can win a share of £100,000.
Durham Constabulary said: ‘In February, a sergeant was suspended pending an investigation into allegations surrounding potential breaches of standards of behaviour. That investigation remains ongoing.’ Channel 4 declined to comment.
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TV cop who appeared on Channel 4’s Hunted suspended over ‘sexist remarks to female officers’
Christmas party revellers were left in horror when a colleague collapsed to the ground moments after drinking a potentially lethal cocktail at a corporate Christmas party
A man was rushed to hospital after he drank a cocktail at a Christmas party(Image: BAZA /east2west news)
A man was left fighting for his life after his stomach was “torn apart” by a fancy cocktail served during a corporate Christmas party.
Guests at the swanky bash were being entertained with a theatrical “cryo-show” by an unidentified “celebrity chef” when the horror incident unfolded. The chef reportedly prepared flashy cocktails using liquid nitrogen – a substance commonly used in professional kitchens to quickly freeze ingredients, but potentially deadly if ingested before it fully evaporates.
Witnesses said guests were not warned of the risks, and that the chef allegedly encouraged one man to drink the cocktail immediately. Amid laughter from the group, the guest collapsed at the Igra Stolov ‘Game of Tables’ cooking studio in Moscow.
Sergey, 38, held his stomach before collapsing(Image: BAZA /east2west news)READ MORE: Family-of-nine ‘let down’ after Stoke-on-Trent pub cancels Christmas Day bookingREAD MORE: Mum paid £85 for Grinch visit for son and complains when her home is ‘trashed’
The tragic man, later identified as Sergey, 38, was seen clutching his stomach in agony before he dropped to the ground. He was rushed to intensive care, where surgeons carried out emergency surgery to repair the torn stomach.
The reveller was later reported as conscious and recovering, though doctors described his condition as serious. Medics later determined that the liquid nitrogen caused a rapid expansion of gas inside his body, rupturing his stomach.
What was meant to be a festive office celebration ended in panic, as guests reportedly left in shock as medics scrambled to save the man’s life. Liquid nitrogen boils violently at room temperature, and experts warn that consuming it before evaporation can lead to severe internal injuries or death.
The man is fighting for his life in a Moscow hospital(Image: BAZA /east2west news)
When ingested, it rapidly turns into gas inside the body and expands hundreds of times in volume. This sudden expansion can cause severe internal pressure, leading to stomach rupture, internal bleeding, and organ damage. The extreme cold can also freeze internal tissues, making the injury even worse.
Drinks prepared with liquid nitrogen are only safe once all the nitrogen has fully evaporated. If even a small amount remains, swallowing it can be life-threatening.
The horror incident happened at the Igra Stolov ‘Game of Tables’ cooking studio in Moscow(Image: social media /east2west news)
This comes after a mum-of-three tragically died after drinking a cocktail that was allegedly contaminated with “industrial cleaner”. Holly Hill, 30, had been on a Valentine’s Day date at a Mexican bar, in Oklahoma, back in 2023 when she unknowingly sipped the margarita.
Just moments after trying the drink, Holly rushed to the bathroom to be sick. The alleged harsh chemical caused so much damage to Holly’s throat and oesophagus that she was required to undergo several procedures for two years.
Holly had to be tube-fed and was preparing for a swallow study but, following complications, she sadly passed away in October this year.
Her family claimed the mum’s second margarita that night contained “industrial cleaning solution” and sued the bar before reaching a confidential settlement earlier this year.
WORLD NEWS
Man charged after allegedly performing Nazi salutes at Canberra shopping centres | Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
An 18-year-old has been charged with allegedly performing two separate Nazi salutes at Canberra shopping centres and putting up “propaganda-style stickers” in recent months.
The man is expected to appear before ACT magistrates court on Friday, where police will allege in October a member of the public confronted him as he stuck stickers up at a shopping centre and then performed a Nazi salute before leaving the centre.
The man allegedly performed another Nazi salute on 12 December at a different shopping centre, police said.
The man will also be charged with trespassing at the Australian National University multiple times in August and September where he “stuck propaganda-style stickers on buildings and other property”, police said.
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The man has also been charged with two counts of damaging commonwealth property.
A national security investigations team from the Australian federal police (AFP) executed a search warrant at a property in the Canberra suburb of Weston on Wednesday, where they seized mobile phones, a computer, stickers, storage devices, a video camera and clothing.
The assistant commissioner of the AFP’s counter-terrorism and special investigations, Stephen Nutt, said antisemitism was not tolerated in Australia.
“Anyone allegedly performing Nazi salutes is displaying criminal behaviour that brings pain and anguish to the Jewish community and divides Australian society,” Nutt said.
He said the national security investigations team was established in September to target those causing “high harm to Australia’s social cohesion including attempts to vilify marginalised communities”.
“Antisemitism is a cancer that requires swift and direct action, which is what the AFP is continuing to do,” Nutt said. “Along with our law enforcement partners, we are committed to stopping hate, division and violence in the community.”
Police warned one of the signs a person may be susceptible to radicalisation is if they have distanced themselves from their usual friends and family members.
Other signs include an increase in the extremist nature of their rhetoric or propaganda they share; a child using hateful or emotionally charged language; developing a fixation on conspiracy theories or contentious social issues; displaying extreme reaction to certain news or politics; or spending increasing amounts of time in fringe forums on the internet, police said.