In addition to reports of other irregularities in electoral procedures, Salvador Nasralla, the centrist candidate for president of Honduras, has accused US President Donald Trump of interference.
The 67-year-old Nasry Asfura, a “borderline communist,” was endorsed by the US president last week, which Nasralla claims could have led to his victory.
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Nasralla, 72, told the Reuters news agency on Thursday in an exclusive interview that “it hurt me because I was winning by a much larger margin.”
Trump has dominated the country’s closely fought election to choose its next leader.
After preliminary and unreliable results revealed a “technical tie” between Nasralla and Asfura, the US president claimed without supporting evidence that Sunday’s otherwise peaceful vote was fraudulent.
On Monday, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Looks like Honduras is trying to change the results of their presidential election.” There will be hell to pay if they do it!
Prior to Asfura’s defeat, the US president threatened to stop providing aid to Honduras and said there would be “hell to pay” if election officials manipulated results.
In the run-up to Sunday’s vote, he also made the unusual move of announcing a pardon for former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who had been found guilty of drug trafficking in the US.
Election officials reported counting 87 percent of the ballots as of Thursday night, but 17 percent of the ballots had “inconsistencies” and were being reviewed, according to Reuters.
According to Reuters, they have until December 30 to submit their final findings.
Reuters reports that Asfura held a 40.27 percent lead over Nasralla’s 39.38 percent in polls on Thursday, but experts claim the outcome is still undetermined.
Venezuela’s Caracas, Caracas, carries on the rhythm of daily life in the city’s buzzing plazas. Street vendors sell chocolates and frozen fruit, while shopkeepers stock shelves amid the afternoon rush. A new level of tension is rumbling beneath this well-known routine.
The capital’s residents are divided by hope, scepticism, and a ferocious instinct to defend their country as a result of US military deployments near the Venezuelan coast and rhetoric rising between Washington and Caracas.
For some, the presence of foreign ships offshore represents a long-awaited answer to prayer. It offends a sovereign nation in the eyes of others, which is considered imperial.
David Oropeza, a 52-year-old farmer and trader who sells frozen strawberries and blackberries he himself sells, declares, “The homeland is the homeland, and my army is my army.” Despite a health condition that requires treatment three times a week, he says he would be willing to fight if the US attacked.
I would be “knee-deep in the dirt” with those people. As he waits for a bus in downtown Caracas and looks at the horizon, Oropeza says, “I would face]the invaders] with them [the Venezuelan army].” “I would help however I could”.
A “positive change” is what.
More than 80 people have been killed by US airstrikes in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean since September. In the latest attack on Thursday, four people were killed. The administration of US President Donald Trump has not provided any proof to back up its claim that the targeted boats had smuggled narcotics or smugglers and that they were headed for the US. Additionally, it has not provided a legal justification for the operations, which many experts believe violate international law.
Meanwhile, Trump has also said that the US is preparing to attack alleged drug traffickers “on land”, suggesting that a direct military operation against Venezuela might be imminent.
In the biggest display of force in the region in a long time, Trump has deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, to the Caribbean along with thousands of soldiers and F-35 military jets.
This US pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is beneficial for the nation for some residents.
Carolina Tovar, 60, sits on a bench in one of the city’s busiest squares. She claims that “Venezuela will be free” under US pressure and is a vendor selling chocolates and sweets.
She claims that “the day will come when we get our freedom.” “I think Maduro already feels a lot of pressure”.
Her remarks reflect Venezuela’s widespread frustrations and desperation. In January, Maduro was sworn in for a third term, after nearly 12 years in office, which was marked by deep economic and social crisis and repeated US pressure to unseat his government.
He was declared the winner of July’s election by Venezuela’s electoral authority and top court, though detailed tallies confirming his victory were never released.
The opposition claims that Edmundo Gonzalez’s record-keeping indicates that their candidate won the election by a wide margin, which has led to the recognition of him as president-elect by the US and several other governments. The election has also been questioned by independent observers.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro gestures after marking his ballot during municipal elections in Caracas]File: Cristian Hernandez/AP Photo]
However, according to polls, Tovar is in the minority in the nation. The majority of Venezuelans are much more concerned with daily living, low wages, and inflation than with geopolitics, and they oppose US pressure or an invasion of their nation.
According to a poll by Caracas-based firm Datanalisis last month, a majority of Venezuelans continue to oppose economic sanctions on the country. Only 21% of respondents to the poll said they disagree with sectoral, financial, or oil sanctions, compared to 55% of respondents.
55% of Venezuelans were against a foreign military attack, while 23% said they would back it.
The reasons most cited by those who oppose an attack are civilian deaths, risk of civil war, chaos and prolonged economic deterioration. Supporters of a Venezuelan foreign push for change said they think it will promote peace, promote democracy, and spur economic growth.
Most Venezuelans, according to the poll, do not support President Maduro or the opposition. Sixty percent described themselves as politically unaffiliated, compared with 13 percent supporting the government and 19 percent backing the opposition.
Because some Venezuelans are not permitted to speak to the media, a government official with a degree in international affairs tells Al Jazeera, “I understand that some Venezuelans believe this kind of pressure from the US could lead to political change and improve the situation.”
According to the official, “from my point of view, external interference never works in any country.” “We’ve seen that in Panama, we’ve seen it in Syria, Libya – and in many countries in the Middle East”.
A new Datanálisis poll conducted between November 14 and November 19, 2025, found that 55% of Venezuelans oppose foreign military intervention and 23% of Venezuelans oppose it. twitter.com/SUV3wYMczv
The phrase “the homeland is the homeland” is used.
Oropeza is cynical about Trump and his intentions, and about Venezuela and its elites, just a few blocks away from Tovar. But he is clear that war isn’t the answer to any of those problems.
Nobody wants war, they say. Oropeza claims that there must be peace. He then reflects and refers to those whom he believes do want war.
He contends that US politics “moves a lot with its weapons,” and that money is used to support whoever wins the presidency, noting that Venezuela’s troop mobilization is likely to benefit the local elite as well. Who is becoming wealthy? Them, and those we don’t know”.
Oropeza claims to not be a fan of the current president and that he was a former supporter of the late President Hugo Chavez – Maduro’s mentor and predecessor.
He still takes a harsh stance on his claim to sovereignty. His scepticism of the government does not translate into support for foreign attacks on his country.
In the midst of rising tensions, a Bolivarian Militia member passes a mural depicting the Venezuelan flag.
Maduro has recently used his own show of force to quell rising tensions. Troops and militia members have been mobilised, and soldiers have tested anti-air systems along the Caribbean coast.
By November, the government had expanded its military and civilian mobilization plans for any potential US action.
On September 15, 2025, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addresses a map of the Americas at a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela.
Scepticism and resources
Some younger people think Venezuela’s interest in the US has to do with the country’s abundance of natural resources.
As he hangs out with his friends, 24-year-old supermarket stocker Diego Mejia says, “I think we are screwed.”
He doubts an invasion is imminent. They would have already arrived if the United States had desired to visit. But he is clear about the goals the US has. “Venezuela is a country with too many resources”, he notes, citing oil and uranium. They are drawn to Venezuela because of its resources, they say.
Venezuela’s energy sector is a pillar of the world’s strategic interest because it has the largest proven oil reserves, more than five times that of the US, and significant natural gas fields.
Beyond hydrocarbons, Venezuela is also rich in gold, diamonds, bauxite, iron ore and rare minerals such as coltan – materials essential for electronics, aerospace technologies and modern manufacturing.
However, Mejia leans on faith in order to deal with the concern over a potential military conflict with the world’s largest superpower, like many others. He claims, “I have my faith that God will not allow anything to happen here.”
The fact that the streets aren’t empty, and people have not started hoarding food, suggests that many share the view that an attack isn’t imminent.
In a public square in Caracas, amid rising tensions between US President Donald Trump’s administration and Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro’s government [File: Gaby Oraa/Reuters]
Venezuela’s fear of the unknown
Others aren’t so sure.
The situation evokes a complex combination of maternal fear and hope for Dalibeth Brea, a 34-year-old homemaker who observes her child play in a park. Even within her social circle, a friend of hers refused to be interviewed because she was concerned about consequences for her government job.
Brea says she hopes the pressure might catalyse modernisation. It appears hopeful because it might contribute something to the nation, according to the author. I want to come here because of some developments that we see outside of our borders,” she says.
However, the prospect of violence terrifies her. Brea has a hiding instinct, in contrast to Oropeza’s willingness to fight.
She admits, “I would protect myself from fear.” Her contingency plan is simple: “Food at home, and keep all my family in one place”.
Brea echoes the uncertainty felt by millions as the sun sets over a city that is in the grip of geopolitics.
She pauses, “I don’t know if something will happen.” “Something tells me yes, but something tells me no”.
(Elizabeth Melimopoulos provided reporting on this article from Canada)
Overview of Caracas in the midst of growing tensions between the US President Donald Trump’s administration and Venezuela’s government [File: Gaby Oraa/Reuters]
After a judge previously rejected charges brought against the prominent critic of US President Donald Trump, a federal grand jury rejected prosecutors’ attempt to bring a criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Following her office’s unsuccessful prosecution of James and his family business, the Department of Justice’s second attempted prosecution of the elected Democrat against whom Trump had vowed retribution.
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After concluding that Lindsey Halligan, the federal prosecutor who secured the indictment, was a liar, US District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie dismissed the case against James in November.
James has argued that her blatant political bent is at play in the prosecution efforts. She once more called for the “unchecked weaponization of our justice system to stop,” and she once more said the accusations against her were “baseless.”
Any attempt to carry on the case, according to her attorney, Abbe Lowell, would be “a shocking assault on the rule of law and a devastating blow to the integrity of our justice system.”
According to Lowell, the grand jury’s decision to re-indict Attorney General James is a wry reject of a case that ought to have never existed in the first place.
Federal prosecutors are still reportedly planning to seek a new indictment against James despite the grand jury’s verdict, according to two unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation, according to the Reuters news agency.
Vows of repentance
A judge in 2024 ordered Trump to pay a $450m fine after James’ office discovered he had defrauded lenders by falsely claiming his net worth.
In August, a judge’s conviction that Trump had been held legally responsible for fraud was upheld by a New York state appeals court.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the case was a part of a “witch-hunt” against him that included four criminal cases that have since been dropped after winning his first term.
Along with former FBI Director James Comey and former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, James is one of three well-known Trump critics who have been charged with federal criminal activity in recent months.
Judge Currie also dismissed a case brought by Comey, who led investigations into alleged collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, citing the same unlawful appointment that Halligan received.
The state of Texas in the southern state of Texas may use a contentious map of congressional districts to support Republicans in the midterm elections of 2026.
The court’s six conservative justices gave the new map the go-ahead, and the three liberal justices joined in dissenting. The court’s decision on Thursday was ideologically divided.
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A lower court’s decision removes a November order that had forbade Texas from using the new congressional map. In violation of the US Constitution, the lower court determined that Texas had “racially gerrymandered” the districts.
However, Texas urged urgent action to lift the hold and submitted an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.
After all, it was claimed that candidates need to understand their constituents’ preferences before beginning their campaigns for the midterm elections in November 2026.
The conservative majority determined that Texas was likely to prevail “on the merits of its claims” in a brief, unsigned order.
Additionally, it cited court precedent that “lower courts should typically not change the election rules on the eve of an election.” According to the order, doing otherwise would “inflict irreparable harm” on the state.
Prior to the crucial midterm elections, a nationwide scramble has been sparked by the map’s alleged map.
The Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday is likely to spur even more political-party-friendly redrawing attempts.
a trend that runs throughout the country
The conflict started in June when it became known that President Donald Trump was urging Texas state legislators to adopt a new congressional map, which would allow Republicans to reclaim five of their seats in the US House of Representatives.
Given its large population, Texas is regarded as one of the nation’s largest Republican strongholds. The state currently holds 38 seats in the House, 25 of which Republicans hold.
However, only 220 of the 435 seats in the House are currently held by Republicans.
In the midterm elections in every congressional district, which will feature a new election in 2026, Democrats are attempting to win the chamber. Trump’s declining poll results offer an opportunity for growth, according to strategists on the left.
The Republican president’s approval rating, according to Gallup, dropped five points to 36 percent just this week, marking his lowest rating since his second term.
However, Trump and his supporters have reacted. Promoting partisan redistricting, a practice known as gerrymandering, has been one of their tactics.
The Texas effort was the start of the trend. Democrats had attempted to stop the process after being outnumbered in the state legislature, even attempting to leave the state entirely.
But they were ultimately forced to turn around. Additionally, the new districts were approved by Texas’ Republican-controlled state legislature in August.
Republicans and Democrats in other states were trying to redraw their maps to compete for more congressional seats, which led to a sort of redistricting arms race across the nation.
Republicans in Missouri passed a new gerrymandered map in September, and North Carolina did the same in October. Republicans are anticipated to each win one more House seat per state.
The state’s independent election commission would be replaced with a new partisan map after California voters approved a ballot initiative supported by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in November.
The new California map is intended to help Democrats clinch exactly five more House seats, making that effort explicit to neutralize any gains made by Texas Republicans.
A legal complication
Voting rights advocates have long expressed concern about how partisan redistricting affects minority communities in the US.
However, gerrymandering is not a crime at all.
States typically elect new congressional districts once every ten years in response to demographic trends in the US census. After all, each state’s representative population is a function of its overall population, so districts must evolve accordingly as the population grows or shrinks.
The legislature is often tasked with creating those new congressional maps, and the results are frequently partisan.
The Supreme Court has ruled that federal courts cannot determine whether legislatures have erected their maps in an excessive manner despite acknowledging that partisan gerrymandering can threaten democracy.
However, there is one rule prohibiting racial discrimination. Both the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the US Constitution provide protections to ensure that voters are not disenfranchised and divided based on race.
The Supreme Court entered into the case on Thursday, Greg Abbott v. the League of United Latin American Citizens.
The US District Court for Western Texas sided with plaintiffs who claimed the state’s new map was intended to erode the electoral power of Black and Latino voters.
The court made reference to statements made by Texas governor Greg Abbott and members of the Trump administration that appeared to be aimed at congressional districts with non-white majority.
However, the district court “feamed to respect the presumption of legislative good faith,” according to the Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday. Additionally, it referred to the lower court’s decision as “ambiguous” and “circumstantial evidence” ().
Justice Samuel Alito, a right-winger, went further, arguing that it was challenging to distinguish between racial discrimination and legal gerrymandering.
Aufgrund of the association between race and racial preference, Alito wrote, “License can easily use allegations of racial gerrymandering for partisan goals.”
If the new Texas map was simply a race-based idea, Alito claimed that the plaintiffs had to demonstrate how a partisan map would differ from a race-based map.
Midterms race
Republican politicians praised the ruling on Thursday as proof of their efforts.
“We won! Governor Abbott wrote on his social media account that Texas is “officially” and legally “more red.”
The Texas congressional redistricting maps that add five more Republican seats have been restored by the Supreme Court. Our representation in D.C. and the values of Texas are more accurately aligned by the new maps.
Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised his efforts to defend the Republican Party’s platform.
In a statement posted online, he said, “I have defended Texas’ fundamental right to draw a map that ensures we are represented by Republicans in the face of Democrats’ attempts to abuse the judicial system to steal the U.S. House.”
“Texas is paving the way, district by district, state by state,” says Texas.
Justice Elena Kagan questioned whether the Supreme Court’s members had given the evidence a thorough analysis in a stinging dissention.
She compared the high court’s quick decision to the lower court’s one.
“The District Court held a nine-day hearing, which included the introduction of thousands of exhibits and witness testimony. It analyzed the 3, 000-page factual record that came out as a result,” Kagan wrote.
“And it determined that the answer was clear after reviewing all the evidence. In violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the Constitution, Texas largely divided its citizens according to racial lines when it created its new pro-Republican House map.
Kagan remarked that the district court’s lengthy 160-page decision also provided an explanation of its reasoning.
Kagan rebutted that decision on the grounds that it was based on a cold paper record that was perused over the weekend. “We are a higher court than the District Court, but we are not a better court when it comes to making such a fact-based decision.”
The plaintiffs in Thursday’s case and other advocates have pledged to fight Texas’s redistricting efforts despite the legal setback.
After Thursday’s ruling, Texas state representative James Talarico, a Democrat, stated in a statement that “voters are supposed to choose their politicians — not the other way around.”
We’re going to continue fighting, Donald Trump and his hand-picked Supreme Court say.
A large chemical plant in the Stavropol region of southern Russia was destroyed by Ukraine’s military’s military’s claims. The Nevinnomyssk Azot plant, according to the military’s general staff, was damaged overnight and contained explosives-making equipment.
Following Russian attacks on Kherson’s capital city and Odesa, Ukraine’s largest seaport, tens of thousands of people were left without power and heating in the southern region of Ukraine.
A heat and power plant in Kherson, according to state oil and gas company Naftogaz, has been “almost completely destroyed.” According to Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi, “This is a purely civilian facility that provides heat to residents.” “Terrorism stems from this targeted bombing.” 40, 500 customers were left without heat by regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin, according to regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
According to state news agency TASS, the Ministry of Defense of Russia claimed that its forces attacked Ukrainian infrastructure and transportation facilities.
According to Oleksandr Syrskii, the head of Kyiv’s top military, Ukrainian troops have been stationed in Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine’s northern region. A special focus, according to Smyrskii, was placed on coordinating additional logistical routes, providing prompt medical evacuation, and preventing Russian drones and artillery.
Dobropillia, a village in southern Ukraine, is close to a front line that Moscow’s forces have recently advanced, but the Ukrainian military has denied that Russian troops are in charge of it.
The Kherson CHP plant has been severely damaged by yet another targeted attack by Russian forces; it is almost completely destroyed following yesterday’s attack. There were injuries to several workers. The only thing this is is that it serves as a residential heat source. Terrorists target bombings of this kind. The image is… twitter.com/jcFHzG4cpN
A peace agreement
Ukraine’s Donbass region will be under Russian pressure unless Ukrainian forces withdraw, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has publicly rejected Kyiv’s claim. Prior to his two-day state visit to New Delhi to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin said, “Either we liberate these territories by force of arms or Ukrainian troops leave these territories.”
According to state news agency RIA Novosti, Putin also claimed that his meeting with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had been “very helpful” and had been based on the ideas that had been discussed with President Donald Trump in Alaska.
At the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which is seeking a position for itself in a post-war Ukraine, foreign minister Andrii Sybiha stated that Ukraine wants “real peace, not appeasement” with Russia.
“We are still able to identify those who betrayed upcoming generations in Munich.” According to him, this should never be repeated, referring to the 1938 agreement between Nazi Germany and Britain, France, and Italy, which allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland of what was then Czechoslovakia.
According to US First Lady Melania Trump, six boys and one girl have been brought back from Russia to their families, totaling seven. I applaud Russia and Ukraine’s leadership and persistent diplomacy in the fight for the reunification of children and families. They have built a tangible collaborative environment that serves as an encouragement for optimism, she said in a statement.
financial assistance
On Friday, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever stated that he wants to talk about a plan by the European Union to use Russian-frozen assets to support Ukraine in the face of Russian invasion. The majority of the assets are owned by Belgium, which has raised a number of legal questions and is still unconvinced of the plan.
De Wever expressed his hope for a fruitful discussion and that a solution will be found that we can present to Europe over the coming weeks.
Chancellor Merz stated that his goal is to speak with De Wever as soon as possible to persuade him to drop his opposition in order for the parties to move forward.
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova once more stated that Moscow was already working on a “package of countermeasures,” and that any “illegal action” by the EU in relation to its frozen assets would “the harshest reaction” would result from.
Sanctions
Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during his ongoing state visit to India, President Putin has argued that US pressure is mounting on India to refrain from purchasing Russian fuel. Putin’s first visit to India in four years aims to expand business connections beyond energy and defense equipment and boost sales of Russian oil, missiles, and fighter jets.
According to a post on the website of the US Department of Treasury, the US has issued a general license allowing certain transactions to be done with Lukoil retail service locations outside of Russia.
Following the passage of a law that authorized the government to impose sanctions on Russian fishing companies in its waters, Russia is considering taking retaliatory measures against the Faroe Islands, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
A law allowing the foreign minister to dock in Faroese waters or dock in one of the country’s largest fishing companies, Norebo and Murman Seafood, was passed on Wednesday, according to the Faroese public broadcaster.
Europe
Turkiye called the acting charges d’affaires of Russia and Ukraine to express their concerns over a number of Russian-linked vessel attacks in its exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea. “The Russia-Ukraine war has recently escalated very significantly, with reciprocal attacks coming in. And lastly, some attacks occurred in our exclusive economic zone, which included the Black Sea,” Deputy Foreign Minister Berris Ekinci told the commission into foreign affairs.
A public inquiry into the death of an innocent woman in the United Kingdom has come to the conclusion that President Putin must have ordered the Novichok nerve agent attack on Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in 2018. After Novichok was applied to the front door handle of his nearby home, Kripal and his daughter Yulia were discovered slumped unconscious on a public bench in Salisbury, southern England, in March 2018. According to the inquiry, mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess passed away from exposure to the poison four months after her partner discovered a fake perfume bottle used by Russian spies to smuggle the military-grade nerve agent into the nation.
The Russian military intelligence agency GRU, which Skripal was once employed by, was sanctioned by the UK government in response to the ruling.
In response to Russian drone attacks in September, Germany sent five Eurofighter jets and about 150 military personnel to Malbork, Poland, according to the German air force.
As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first state visit to Ireland on Monday, an Irish navy ship discovered five drones that were operating close to Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s aircraft, The Irish Times reported on Thursday. A major security alert was issued as a result of the sighting, according to the outlet, amid concerns that it was being used to straddle the flight path.
A lower court’s order is being stayed by a United States appeals court, which requires the administration of US President Donald Trump to leave Washington, DC, in the upcoming weeks.
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Thursday granted the Trump administration’s request for a pause in its review of a previous order.
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The Trump administration was required to end its military deployment by December 11th, according to district judge Jia Cobb, who earlier had issued a ruling in November. The deadline was later extended by 21 days.
The appeals court judges argued in their ruling that “nothing should be interpreted in any way as a decision on the merits” when they paused the order.
As part of what he has described as a campaign against crime and beautification, the Trump administration has sent at least 2, 000 National Guard members to Washington, DC as part of what he has described as a reservists who are not full-time soldiers.
In addition to his efforts to do the same in Democrat-run cities like Los Angeles, California, Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, Illinois, he has faced legal challenges.
The US capital, a federal area where the president has more authority, has seen a slower decision-making process.
However, according to Cobb, the Trump administration “acted contrary to the law” by deploying the National Guard for “non-military, crime-deterrence missions in the absence of a request from the city’s civil authorities.”
The West Virginia National Guard was shot while on duty just blocks from the White House, and the decision was made on Thursday.
Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old woman, passed away from her injuries later. Andrew Wolfe, a 24-year-old member, remained in critical condition.
