FAM turmoil deepens as Dollah, Zainal among exco members expected to resign

Former Harimau Malaya legend Datuk Dollah Salleh is among those expected to resign from their executive committee (exco) roles in the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM). - Social media pic, January 8, 2026


FAM turmoil deepens as Dollah, Zainal among exco members expected to resign


Former Harimau Malaya legends are considering stepping down amid rising controversies, with a possible mass resignation leading to fresh FAM elections



Sandru Narayanan
Updated 24 hours ago
8 January, 2026
4:03 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR – Former Harimau Malaya legends Datuk Dollah Salleh and Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan are expected to resign from their executive committee (exco) roles in the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), according to sources.

Sources said the duo, who were only recently appointed to the committee, are considering stepping aside amid mounting controversies surrounding the national football body. “They do not want their names to be tarnished by the ongoing issues revolving around FAM,” a source told Scoop.

“Both Dollah and Zainal have built strong reputations over decades in Malaysian football, and they feel the current situation could reflect poorly on them.” The source added that both former national stars are keen to refocus on coaching, which remains their primary passion. “They want to get back to coaching and contributing directly on the field, rather than being dragged into administrative controversies,” the source added.

Meanwhile, Dollah and Zainal are not alone in contemplating their exit. As many as eight exco members out of the 16-member committee are expected to step down, a move that could pave the way for an extraordinary congress and fresh FAM elections in the coming months. “If these resignations materialise, it will likely trigger a congress to allow for new elections,” the source said.

“There is a growing belief that a reset is needed to restore confidence in the association.” Among those also understood to be considering resignation are FAM acting president Datuk Wira Yusoff Mahadi, deputy president Datuk S. Sivasundaram, and vice-president Datuk Seri Haji Rosmadi Ismail.

It is understood that Tan Sri Hamidin Mohd Amin, who is currently serving as the honorary president, could be reinstated as FAM president should the committee step aside.

Speculation over a possible mass resignation intensified ahead of a ‘special’ FAM meeting scheduled to take place Hilton Hotel in Petaling Jaya, with several exco members seen arriving at the venue earlier in the day. When contacted, one exco member declined to confirm the reports but acknowledged the growing talk surrounding the meeting.

“You’ve heard about the resignation talk? Let’s wait for the meeting to conclude and then we’ll see what happens,” the member said.

FAM has been under heavy scrutiny in recent months following the suspension of seven mixed-heritage players over eligibility issues, which raised serious questions about due diligence, documentation processes, and internal coordination within the association.

The controversy has also fuelled concerns over possible FIFA intervention should further governance shortcomings be uncovered, adding to the pressure on FAM’s leadership as Malaysian football navigates one of its most turbulent periods in recent years. – January 8, 2026

‘A betrayal’: PAS shuts door on Perlis government after leadership crisis

‘A betrayal’: PAS shuts door on Perlis government after leadership crisis



Bersatu’s Abu Bakar Hamzah was sworn in as Perlis mentri besar in Arau December 28, 2025, after the resignation of his predecessor, Mohd Shukri Ramli. — Bernama pic

Friday, 09 Jan 2026 2:36 PM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 — PAS has ruled out joining the Perlis government, saying it will reject any invitation to take up positions in the state administration amid what it describes as an attempt to bring down the government.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said the decision was final, even if overtures were made.

“We have decided not to accept any positions even if we are invited because of the attempt to bring down the state government,” he told a press conference in Marang today, according to The Star.

Hadi said PAS’s stance on not joining the Perlis state administration had been clearly stated and decided by the party’s top leadership.


“PAS considers it a betrayal to bring down the government led by former Perlis menteri besar Mohd Shukri Ramli,” he said, as reported by Berita Harian.

The stance comes as Perlis undergoes a period of political upheaval following a change in leadership.

The state government is now led by Bersatu’s Kuala Perlis assemblyman Abu Bakar Hamzah as menteri besar, with four other Bersatu representatives forming the state executive council.


The transition followed the resignation of former menteri besar Mohd Shukri Ramli in December, who cited health reasons for stepping down.

His departure came after eight statutory declarations were submitted by state assemblymen — three from PAS and five from Bersatu — withdrawing their support for him, The Star reported.

The three PAS assemblymen involved — Saad Seman (Chuping), Fakhrul Anwar Ismail (Bintong) and Mohd Ridzuan Hashim (Guar Sanji) — were subsequently sacked from the party.

PAS has since decided that the three seats will remain vacant, with the next state election not due for another two years.

PAS’s refusal to be drawn into the Perlis administration underscores the party’s effort to distance itself from the manoeuvring that destabilised the state government, even as Bersatu consolidates its grip on the state leadership.

Umno Youth plays down Akmal resignation rumours, says chief is hitting Sabah campaign trail

Umno Youth plays down Akmal resignation rumours, says chief is hitting Sabah campaign trail



Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh (right) and Umno Youth secretary Hafiz Ariffin at the airport as they head to Sabah, amid speculation over Akmal’s political future. — Picture via Facebook/Hafiz Ariffin

Friday, 09 Jan 2026 3:40 PM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 — An Umno Youth leader has moved to dismiss speculation that the wing’s chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh is preparing to resign, using a Facebook post and a planned campaign trip to Sabah to underline that he remains politically active.

Umno Youth secretary Hafiz Ariffin appeared to brush off the rumours in a Facebook post today, sharing a photo of himself with Dr Akmal at the airport and questioning the reports as the pair prepared to fly to Sabah.

“What news is this? There’s so much work that needs to be done,” Hafiz wrote, adding: “Let’s go Kinabatangan and Lamag! Fight on!”

Hafiz later confirmed to Free Malaysia Today (FMT) that the reports were untrue, saying he was travelling with Dr Akmal to Kinabatangan, Sabah, to assist Umno’s campaign for the upcoming by-election.

“It’s not true,” he said.

“In fact, we are heading to Kinabatangan now for (tomorrow’s) nominations for the by-election.”


The denial followed a report by Malaysiakini citing unnamed sources who claimed Dr Akmal had expressed an intention to resign as Umno Youth chief and as the Merlimau assemblyman.

According to the report, the Melaka executive councillor had informed a group of Umno Youth leaders via a WhatsApp message while he was in Shanghai, China, that he would relinquish all party positions and his state seat upon returning.

Speculation over Dr Akmal’s future intensified earlier this week after he hinted that he might step aside, saying “perhaps it is time for me to step aside” following Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s rejection of his call for the party to leave the federal government.

Zahid also dismissed Dr Akmal’s proposal for Umno to revive cooperation with PAS under the Muafakat Nasional charter.

Dr Akmal had tabled the proposal during an Umno political bureau meeting on Monday, framing it as a matter of principle after the party’s continued participation in government.

Speculation swirls, but Umno sec-gen says Akmal is still in Youth chief post

Speculation swirls, but Umno sec-gen says Akmal is still in Youth chief post



‘As an elder brother’, Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said he has counselled Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh to stay the course despite differences of opinion within the party. — Bernama pic

Friday, 09 Jan 2026 4:41 PM MYT


KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 9 — Umno has denied receiving any official resignation letter from its Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, dismissing viral claims on social media as speculation and hearsay.

The party’s secretary-general, Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, said no formal notice had been submitted and stressed that Umno does not base leadership decisions on rumours circulating online.

“There is none. So far, no official letter has been received. As the party’s secretary-general, we do not base our position on what is being said on social media or on talk that is going around,” he said when asked to comment by Harian Metro.

The denial comes amid mounting speculation over the position of Dr Akmal, following reports that he was preparing to step down as Umno Youth chief and as the Merlimau state assemblyman.

Earlier today, an Umno Youth leader sought to play down the rumours by pointing to Akmal’s continued political activity.

Umno Youth secretary Hafiz Ariffin shared a photo on Facebook of himself with Akmal at the airport as they prepared to fly to Sabah, questioning the reports and suggesting the focus remained on party work.

“What news is this? There’s so much work that needs to be done,” Hafiz wrote, adding: “Let’s go Kinabatangan and Lamag! Fight on!”

Hafiz later confirmed to Free Malaysia Today (FMT) that the reports were untrue, saying he was travelling with Akmal to Kinabatangan, Sabah, to assist Umno’s campaign for the upcoming by-election.

“It’s not true,” he told FMT. “In fact, we are heading to Kinabatangan now for (tomorrow’s) nominations for the by-election.”

Speculation was fuelled by a report by Malaysiakini citing unnamed sources who claimed Akmal had expressed an intention to resign from his party posts and state seat.

According to the report, the Melaka executive councillor had informed a group of Youth leaders via a WhatsApp message while he was in Shanghai, China, that he would relinquish all positions upon returning.

Asyraf Wajdi, however, sought to place the issue in context, saying differences of opinion within the party were normal and should not be a reason for leaders to lose heart or step aside.

“On a personal level, as an elder brother to Dr Akmal — and as someone responsible for placing him in that position — differences in views are something ordinary,” he said.

Recalling his own time as Youth chief, Asyraf Wajdi told Sinar Harian there were moments when his views were not accepted by the party’s top leadership, but that this was part of organisational life.

“That did not mean we should resign or become demoralised. That is normal in the tradition of an organisation,” he said, adding that Umno’s guiding principle remained consultation and consensus-building.

“Sometimes our views are accepted, sometimes they are not. What matters is that we are guided by syura — agree to disagree, and if there is disagreement, we eventually reach a consensus.”

Speculation over Akmal’s future intensified earlier this week after he hinted that he might step aside, saying “perhaps it is time for me to step aside” following Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s rejection of his call for the party to leave the federal government.

Zahid also dismissed Akmal’s proposal for Umno to revive cooperation with PAS under the Muafakat Nasional charter, which Akmal had tabled during a party political bureau meeting on Monday as a matter of principle.

***

'Dah takut kaukau, wakakaka

China condemns Maduro capture but some see it as a chance to assert its global position

Thanks 'MF' for "Beijing rhetoric post Maduro is much stronger than usual, coming from keen observers, familiar with language coming out from official circle."

This post has been inspired by that statement:





China condemns Maduro capture but some see it as a chance to assert its global position

Story by Janis Mackey Frayer



Qiu Xiaoqi, China’s special envoy for Latin America, and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on Friday. (Marcelo Garcia/Miraflores Palace / via Reuters)© Marcelo Garcia/Miraflores Palace


BEIJING — An attack on a country after a military buildup and embargo at sea. A leader deposed by a superpower that views them as illegitimate.

While some are drawing parallels between the United States’ dramatic action in Venezuela and China’s ambitions for Taiwan, experts say Beijing is less concerned about the self-ruled island’s sovereignty and instead views the attack as an opportunity to undermine America’s global leadership.

As the Trump administration withdraws from global institutions and upends long-standing norms, Beijing has sought to cast itself as the true champion of the rules-based international order. Chinese state media commentaries on the Venezuela attack argue that the U.S. is now one of the biggest threats to that order, and that its actions have undermined its credibility in Latin America.

“This is a country which just behaved like a hegemon, right?” said Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. “How can you trust a country that would deal with its weak neighbors this way?”

China has strongly condemned the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, saying it violated international law and threatens peace and security in Latin America. It said the U.S. should immediately release Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who are set to appear Monday in a New York court on drug trafficking and other charges.


On Monday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping appeared to refer to the attack on one of his country’s main South American allies, saying the world was experiencing turbulence and that “unilateral bullying seriously impacts the international order.”

“All countries should respect the development path independently chosen by other peoples, abide by international law and the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, and major countries should take the lead,” he said during a meeting in Beijing with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, without mentioning the U.S. by name.



Chinese leader Xi Jinping appeared to criticize the U.S. attack on Venezuela, saying “unilateral bullying seriously impacts the international order.” (Andy Wong / AFP via Getty Images)© Andy Wong


His comments came a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said no country “can play the role of world policeman, nor do we agree that any country can claim itself to be an international judge.”

China has long served as an economic lifeline for the heavily sanctioned Venezuela, accounting for the majority of its crude oil exports. It has expressed support for Venezuela in recent months amid President Donald Trump’s military buildup, though it has no security commitments to the country and experts say it has avoided more concrete action in part to preserve the U.S.-China trade truce.

Maduro was seized hours after he met in Caracas with Qiu Xiaoqi, Beijing’s special envoy for Latin American affairs, in his last publicly reported official meeting.



Maduro being escorted by DEA agents at Stewart Airport in New Windsor, N.Y., on Saturday. (Obtained by NBC News)© Obtained by NBC News


It is unclear whether Qiu and the rest of his delegation are still in Venezuela. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday that there were “no reports of Chinese personnel in Venezuela being affected by U.S. airstrikes.”

In a caption accompanying photos and videos posted on his Instagram account, Maduro described the meeting as “a fraternal encounter that reaffirms the strong ties of brotherhood and friendship between China and Venezuela.”


China, which is already South America’s top trading partner, is seeking to expand its influence in the region, even as Trump has put it at the center of his national security agenda. Though Beijing has emphasized economic ties and nonintervention in its approach to Latin America, there was a greater focus on military and law enforcement cooperation in the policy paper it released last month.

“All the countries in the region have more or less healthy relations with China,” said Bárbara Fernández Melleda, an assistant professor of Latin American studies at the University of Hong Kong. “And if the United States becomes hostile against China through Latin American countries, that’s a new scenario.”

The U.S. attack on Venezuela, where Chinese companies have invested billions, has raised alarm in China, Wu said.

Latin American countries may feel pressured “to be more cautious in dealing with China on the economic front in the future,” he told NBC News in an interview. “And also for the Chinese business community, they see not just uncertainty but rising risk from this region.”

'Two different issues'

The U.S. attack on Venezuela has also raised fears that it could embolden China to move against Taiwan, the self-ruling island democracy that Beijing claims as its territory and has vowed to bring under its control, by force if necessary.

And for some users on China’s heavily censored social media, Trump’s assertion that the U.S. was “in charge” after Maduro was captured was a source of inspiration.

“The arrest of the Venezuelan president set a good example for us. Taiwan’s William Lai must be trembling in fear now!” read one comment on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, referring to Lai Ching-te, the president of Taiwan.

But Venezuela and Taiwan are “two different issues,” according to Wu at Fudan University. “Venezuela is an independent sovereign state, and Taiwan is part of China,” he said, adding that China prefers “a peaceful solution to the Taiwan issue.”


The events in Venezuela will not “dramatically alter Beijing’s calculus on Taiwan,” said Ryan Hass, director of Brookings’ John L. Thornton China Center, adding that China will focus on protecting its interests in Latin America.

“Privately,” he said on X, “I expect Beijing will emphasize to Washington it expects to be given the same latitude for great power exemptions to international law that the U.S. takes for itself” — particularly in the South China Sea, a strategically vital shipping route that China claims virtually in its entirety.


The Taiwanese government has yet to comment publicly on Maduro’s capture.

The island has been under growing pressure from Beijing, which encircled it last week in a large-scale military exercise that simulated a blockade. The live-fire drills followed the announcement of an $11.1 billion arms package for Taiwan by the U.S., the island’s biggest weapons supplier.


The U.S. strike in Venezuela could slow down China’s timetable for an attack on Taiwan, “but may give ammunition to U.S. skeptics” on the island who worry that Washington won’t come to its defense, said Wen-Ti Sung, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub who is based in Taiwan's capital, Taipei.

The U.S. military’s ability to carry out a Maduro-style “decapitation strike,” especially against Venezuela’s largely Chinese defense systems, could make Beijing think twice about testing its military against Washington’s, Sung said via a messaging app.




A fire at Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex, after a series of explosions in Caracas on Saturday. (STR / AFP via Getty Images)© STR

But the strike also reinforces the view that the U.S. is “preoccupied with the Western Hemisphere, and skeptics will wonder in whose sphere of influence Taiwan falls within this Monroe Doctrine 2.0,” he said, referring to Trump’s twist on the 19th-century U.S. foreign policy.


Others say China has refrained from attacking Taiwan not because it lacks global permission, but because it is simply not ready.

“China has never lacked hostile intent toward Taiwan; what it truly lacks is the ability to carry it out,” Wang Ting-yu, a senior lawmaker from Taiwan’s governing Democratic Progressive Party, said Sunday in a post on Facebook.

“China is not the United States, and Taiwan is certainly not Venezuela. If China could really do it, it would have acted long ago!”

Janis Mackey Frayer reported from Beijing and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong.

Trump's ICE shooting own Americans

After ICE kills Renee Good, another Portland US Border Patrol shooting leaves man and woman injured



Portland and Oregon leaders said at a news conference yesterday evening that they had no details on what led to the shootings, even whether the violence was linked to immigration enforcement. — File pic via X

Friday, 09 Jan 2026 12:24 PM MYT


WASHINGTON, Jan 9 — A US ‌immigration agent shot and wounded a man and a woman in Portland, Oregon, authorities said yesterday ;eading city and state officials to call for calm given public outrage over the ICE ‍shooting death of a Minnesota woman a day earlier.

"We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in ‌the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to learn more," Portland police chief Bob Day said in a statement.

The Portland shooting unfolded Thursday afternoon as US Border Patrol agents were conducting a targeted vehicle ‍stop, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

The statement said the driver, a suspected Venezuelan gang member, attempted to "weaponize" his vehicle and run over the agents. In response, DHS said, "an agent fired a defensive shot" and the driver and a passenger drove away.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the circumstances of the incident.


Portland and Oregon leaders said at a news conference yesterday evening that they had no details on what led to the shootings, even whether the violence was linked to immigration enforcement.

While they said the FBI was investigating, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, both Democrats, called for a pause in the federal immigration crackdown pending a full and independent investigation.


"There was a time when we could take them at their ‍word," Wilson said of how federal ‍officials had described the shooting. "That time is long past."

At the same news conference, state Senator Kayse Jama, who arrived in the US 28 years ago as a refugee from Somalia, addressed federal immigration agents: "We do not need you, you are not ​welcome, you need to get the hell out of our community."

In an earlier statement, Portland police said that the shooting took place near a medical clinic in the eastern part of the city. Six minutes after arriving at the scene and determining federal agents were involved, police were informed that two people with gunshot wounds - a man and a woman - were asking for help at a location about 2 miles (3 km) to the northeast of the medical clinic.

Police said they ‌applied tourniquets to the man and woman, who were taken to a hospital. Their condition was unknown. The shooting came a day after a federal agent from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a separate agency from ‍the Border Patrol within the Department of Homeland Security, fatally shot a 37-year-old mother of three in her car in Minneapolis.

That shooting ‌has prompted two ‍days of protests in Minneapolis.

Officers from both ICE and Border Patrol have been deployed in cities across the US as part of Republican ‍President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

While the aggressive enforcement operations have been cheered by the president's supporters, Democrats and civil rights activists have decried the ‍posture as an unnecessary provocation.

US officials contend criminal suspects and anti-Trump activists have ⁠increasingly used their cars as weapons, though video ‍evidence has sometimes contradicted their claims. — Reuters

Maduro is gone, but his regime is intact. What happened behind the scenes?

Guardian:


Maduro is gone, but his regime is intact. What happened behind the scenes?

Alejandro Velasco



In the early fray of foreign interventions, evidence is largely circumstantial. But here the circumstances tell a powerful story

Fri 9 Jan 2026 00.00 AEDT


As late as Saturday afternoon, fires continued to smolder in parts of Caracas. Residents throughout the city, stunned and anxious, filled grocery stores and gas stations, stocking up before a future unknown. Everywhere the question hung in the air like the smoke still clouding Venezuela’s capital: what next?

After months of military buildup, deadly strikes at sea and a looming ground war, the United States made good on its threats to attack Venezuela in a dramatic overnight raid that ended with Nicolás Maduro in a New York City jail cell. Yet 48 hours later, little else appeared different in Caracas: Maduro’s inner circle remained in place; state institutions remained in their control; streets were calm, if tense, while authorities called on people to return to their daily lives. In other words: move along, nothing to see here.



If this is regime change, it seems a strange sort, one that leaves the regime otherwise intact, and which raises a more pressing question than what comes next: what happened? Of course, much remains speculative. But at this point, information available suggests that after over a decade of tight cohesion around Maduro, his inner circle calculated they were better off without him and struck a deal with the Trump administration: Maduro in exchange for staying in power.

In the early fray of foreign interventions, evidence is largely circumstantial. But here the circumstances tell a powerful story. First the raid itself. To be sure, US forces – covert and conventional – have formidable superiority over Venezuela’s military apparatus, whose primary plan to combat US intervention has long been asymmetric rather than head-to-head war. Still, the absence of even minimal organized resistance to a raid that involved multiple low-flying, slow-moving aircraft traversing densely populated and otherwise heavily defended Venezuelan airspace for more than two hours invites speculation not only about prior knowledge of the attack by Venezuela’s military, but about stand-down orders for the bulk of the country’s armed forces.

Then came Donald Trump’s press conference. That he flatly stated the US intended to take control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and “run” the country were striking enough claims. Perhaps most stunning, though, was Trump’s assertion that Maduro’s vice-president – Delcy Rodríguez – would remain in place if she “does what we want”. Summarily sidelined after years of building a government-in-waiting and offering up their country to Trump on a platter was Venezuela’s expatriate opposition, led by the Nobel laureate María Corina Machado. In a bid to placate the US president, she had earlier dedicated her peace prize to Trump. It didn’t work: “She doesn’t have the respect” of the country, Trump said.


More likely for Trump, Machado didn’t have the respect of the people who matter in a transition: military, police, institutions. Here Rodríguez’s own statements over the weekend are key. Though initially striking a defiant tone on Saturday, calling for Maduro’s immediate return and proclaiming him Venezuela’s only president, by Sunday she declared her desire to cooperate with the US. By Monday morning, after a ruling by Venezuela’s supreme court declaring Rodríguez next in line after Maduro’s kidnapping and unlikely return, and surrounded by Maduro’s erstwhile inner circle and newly installed national assembly, she took the oath of office to become Venezuela’s president.

The speed and seamlessness of a post-Maduro transition, especially in the wake of a violent military assault, seems more than extraordinary. It seems calculated if one considers the incentives and agendas of various major actors. Key players in Maduro’s government had just one card to play against the Trump administration’s mounting pressure: only we can ensure stability in any transitional context. As defense minister, Vladimir Padrino López commands the nation’s military and its vast economic interests; as interior minister, Diosdado Cabello can keep police forces as well as sprawling paramilitary groups – colectivos – in check; as national assembly president, Delcy Rodríguez’s brother Jorge Rodríguez can deliver legislative authority; and as former head of PDVSA, Venezuela’s national oil company, Delcy Rodríguez can manage the oil sector directly.

Given this array of institutional and extra-institutional control, the alternative – a full-scale regime change with the opposition installed in power through foreign military intervention – would result in chaos for the US to fend with and manage. As an occupying force, and despite widespread rebuke of Maduro and his government, US troops on the ground would provide ready targets to insurgent sectors of the military, police, colectivos and nationalist groups while an opposition long in exile and with little local standing moved to rebuild the entire state apparatus from scratch. Even if Trump believed in democracy promotion, which he has amply disavowed at home and abroad, a quagmire of his doing would alienate far too many in his Maga base.

In exchange for continuity in power, Delcy Rodríguez and others ultimately provided Trump with two prizes: oil and Maduro. Venezuela’s vast reserves – the largest in the world – have long been in Trump’s sights, especially as his rejection of the climate crisis and renewable energy drives his embrace of fossil fuels. In fact, Maduro himself had offered Trump major concessions for US oil companies to return to Venezuela under favorable terms. Yet his offer came with a condition to stay in power. As the administration mounted an ever louder case labelling Maduro the head of a multinational “narco-terrorist” cartel, striking a deal with him became untenable. That opened the door to others in his milieu to make a move handing Trump not just oil concessions, but Maduro as well.

Maduro proved an especially attractive, and necessary, prize for others in the Trump administration. Since taking office, the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has sought a spectacular display of US military prowess in order to proclaim a supposed return of US might. Lethal strikes against alleged drug boats had some effect. But each day the vast force of 15,000 troops splayed across the Caribbean went unused was a day the US lost credibility and seemed taunted by Venezuela. A made-for-television commando raid offered an opportunity to grandstand the power of the US military. Secretary of state Marco Rubio claimed a prize of his own in the bargain: cutting off the last source of material support for Cuba’s socialist government, leaving it vulnerable as never before to Rubio’s dream of regime change on the island of his parents.


Even with prior collusion between the US and Venezuela, the scenario ahead remains rife with risk for Caracas and Washington. Delcy Rodríguez’s government must now strike the most delicate of balances: following the Trump administration’s orders while holding aloft the banners of independence and even anti-imperialism that have been hallmarks of Venezuelan governments going back 26 years. Further, her government needs to thread this needle with an armada off Venezuela’s coast, resurrecting gunboat diplomacy for the 21st century. But it has been some time since Venezuela’s leaders paid more than lip service to ideology, so the bargain may not be difficult after all. Especially considering the US is under constraints of its own: despite the threat of additional strikes, Trump’s continuing resistance to a full-scale invasion means his own ability to force his will upon Caracas is not unlimited, giving Venezuela’s government some room to maneuver.

For now, the smoke from Saturday’s assault has cleared from Caracas. But the machinations and intrigue behind this extraordinary moment in global politics remain darkly veiled. Through the fog, for the people that matter most – Venezuelans in and out of Venezuela – the tragedy of a nation in the throes of a seemingly endless crisis shows no signs of abating.


Alejandro Velasco is an associate professor of history at New York University

At least 13 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, including five children

Guardian:

At least 13 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, including five children, civil defence agency says

Attacks bring total number of Palestinians killed by Israel to 425 since October ceasefire took effect

Agence France-Presse

Fri 9 Jan 2026 09.45 AEDT

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli attacks in the Palestinian territory on Thursday killed at least 13 people, including five children, despite a ceasefire that has largely halted the fighting.

Four people including three children were killed when a drone struck a tent sheltering displaced people in southern Gaza, agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

In the north of the Gaza Strip, an 11-year-old girl was killed near the Jabalia refugee camp and a strike on a school killed one person, while a drone near Khan Younis in the south killed a man, the agency added.

Two more Palestinians in Gaza, including a child, were killed in other attacks, reported the agency, which operates under Hamas authority.

When asked by AFP, the Israeli military said it was checking the reports.

Later on Thursday evening, four more people were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a house in an eastern area of Gaza City, Bassal said, adding that rescue work to search for several people who were missing had begun.

“The death toll has risen to 13 as a result of Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since this morning in a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement,” he said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli military said a projectile was launched “from the area of Gaza City toward the state of Israel” but that it fell within the Gaza Strip.

“Shortly after, the (military) precisely struck the launch point,” it said in a statement.

Since 10 October, a fragile US-sponsored truce in Gaza has largely halted the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, but both sides have alleged frequent ceasefire violations.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told AFP that the strikes in Gaza on Thursday “confirm the Israeli occupation’s renunciation of its commitment to the ceasefire”.

Israeli forces have killed at least 425 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

At least 21 people were killed on 22 November in Israeli strikes, making it one of the deadliest days in Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect.

The Israeli military said militants have killed three of its soldiers during the same period.

Anwar says Ataturk wreath-laying is mandatory protocol for all heads of state visiting Turkiye

Anwar says Ataturk wreath-laying is mandatory protocol for all heads of state visiting Turkiye



Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the ceremony is not a matter of personal choice nor does it reflect the ideological stance of any leader, but is a long-established diplomatic requirement practised by the Turkish government. — Bernama pic

Friday, 09 Jan 2026 8:59 AM MYT


ISTANBUL, Jan 8 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the laying of a wreath at the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkiye, is a mandatory official protocol that must be observed by all heads of state during official visits to the country.

Anwar said the ceremony is not a matter of personal choice nor does it reflect the ideological stance of any leader, but is a long-established diplomatic requirement practised by the Turkish government.

“All heads of state undertaking official visits are required to perform the ceremony. Whether one agrees or not, it is part of the official programme that has been set,” he said.

He was speaking at a press conference yesterday before he departed for home after concluding his three-day official visit to Turkiye.

Anwar said the practice applies regardless of the political party or leadership governing Turkiye and has been observed by all Malaysian prime ministers who have previously undertaken official visits to the country.

“Regardless of which government is in power in Turkiye, that is the requirement. All Malaysian prime ministers who previously made official visits, whether Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad or Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, also went through the same ceremony,” he said.


Anwar said the act of paying respects should be viewed within Turkiye’s historical context, particularly the role played by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in leading the resistance against attempts by the Allied powers after the First World War to fragment the territory of the Ottoman Empire, which ultimately led to the country’s liberation and the formation of the modern republic.

“Therefore, the Turkish people view Mustafa Kemal within that context. Of course, I have my own strong personal views, because during the period when he led and governed, there were certain decisions that I feel were not in line with my views, particularly on matters relating to Islam, language reform and script changes.

“… however, that does not erase his contributions, his role, or the way the Turkish people regard a great figure who succeeded in liberating their country from attempts to dismantle it and turn it into part of European colonial territories,” he said.

In this regard, Anwar advised the public not to make hasty judgments or pass condemnation without understanding the historical context and established international diplomatic practices that are customary in relations between nations. — Bernama

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I truly despise those Malaysian politicians who exploited Anwar's wreath laying at the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to criticise his (PMX) Islamic credentials - low down guttersnipe disgusting slander

MCA leader pans Pahang MB's 'DAP easier to work with' remark

MCA leader pans Pahang MB's 'DAP easier to work with' remark


Published: Jan 8, 2026 10:50 PM
Updated: 1:50 AM


MCA secretary-general Chong Sin Woon criticised Pahang Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail’s remark that DAP is “easier to work with” than MCA.

This comes after Berita Harian reported the Pahang BN chairperson saying this during his speech at an Islamic religious school in Pahang today.

In response, Chong (above) urged the Umno leader to clarify his intentions and elaborate further on the “difficulty” faced when working with MCA.

"As the Pahang BN chairperson, what exactly is Wan Rosdy trying to express with these remarks?

“Regarding what issue, and who? This is important, so that we, especially those in Pahang MCA, can better understand what he means,” Chong said in a statement today.

Pahang Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail


During his speech, Wan Rosdy also reminded the public to “not be fooled by the opposition’s lies” which claimed that the coalition government in Pahang was “secular in nature”, and that it had abandoned the interests of the Malay-Muslim community.

He mentioned that the presence of DAP state executive councillors in the Pahang government made it easier to handle administrative matters, in comparison to working with MCA.

“Over these past three years, sometimes it is much easier to work with them (DAP) than with MCA.

“Sometimes they also offer good advice regarding our shortcomings, and they inform us of ‘potholes’ in the road ahead,” Wan Rosdy added.

He also said that parties should not allow frequent infighting over political differences, which results in factionalism within the Malay community, adding that “other races will benefit most” from this.

Did DAP admit to their mistakes?

Meanwhile, Chong urged Wan Rosdy to elaborate on DAP’s “advice” regarding BN’s shortcomings.

“Is it because they have admitted their mistakes regarding their smear campaign against the Lynas rare earth processing plant, and the ‘Great Wall of China’ in Kuantan?” he asked, with the latter referring to a perimeter wall at the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park.

Meanwhile, Chong also reiterated that as a BN component party, MCA would continue to work hard for the rakyat, and would strive to regain public support, especially from the Chinese community.

He stressed that they would continue to defend their party's ideology as one of moderation, instead of extremism.

"As for the performance of MCA and DAP, we leave it entirely to the people to judge,” he said.

Military Watch:

Tensions Flare in the U.S. as ICE Executes Unarmed Citizen: A New Paramilitary Force Under the Trump Administration?

North America, Western Europe and Oceania , Ground

Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff

January-8th-2026

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement Personnel

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel on December 6 executed a 37 year old a resident of the Twin Cities, Renee Nicole Good, during an incident that was captured on film and has ignited significant tensions within the United States. The mother-of-three was shot dead in the head during an ICE operation in Minneapolis, prompting calls for the agency’s personnel to leave the state. Footage showed Good inside her Honda Pilot outside her house surrounded by ICE personnel, one of whom opened fire and shot her in the head after she began to move the vehicle. When her neighbour, a medic, sought to administer first aid, she was blocked from doing so, with the lack of medical care leading to Good’s death from her injuries. Although Federal officials have claimed that Good was seeking to ram them with her vehicle when she was shot, analysts have widely questioned this assertion citing on video evidence of the incident.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Personnel

Although ICE is a civilian federal law-enforcement agency, it has increasingly exhibited several traits commonly associated with paramilitary organisations. These include militarised equipment and tactics, use of body armour, helmets, assault rifles, armoured vehicles and tactical entry teams, and dynamic raids using stacked formations and forced entry. It also uses a hierarchical, centralised chain of command, with operational planning that looks closer to military tasking than to traditional local policing. Its operations without local law enforcement participation, in residential neighbourhoods, and using surprise raids, has created widespread perceptions that it functions more like an expeditionary force rather than a community-based police agency. As a result, although it is officially a militarised civilian law-enforcement agency, its several common characteristics with paramilitary forces have contributed to the significant controversies surrounding it. These controversies emerged from early 2025 as the organisation significantly expanded both its manpower and its operations in residential areas.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Personnel

The execution of Renee Nicole Good was far from the first controversy involving  Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, with multiple shootings of unarmed civilians having taken place in the past. The standards used to recruit for the agency and the training standards of personnel, having long been criticised as sub-standard, with multiple U.S. senators having formally raised concerns with the Department of Homeland Security regarding how hiring standards and training protocols are being maintained. These concerns deepened as some recruits were found in training to have disqualifying criminal backgrounds or to have failed failed drug testing. Nevertheless, the widespread and systemic issues stemming from illegal immigration have led these issues to be overlooked to allow the agency to clamp down on illegals and associated human trafficking activities in major cities. Supporters of ICE’s escalated operations have argued that its paramilitary characteristics and recent expansion are necessary to respond to the severity of the threat posed by illegal migration. 

Trump orders his ‘representatives’ to buy US$200 billion in mortgage bonds

FMT:

Trump orders his ‘representatives’ to buy US$200 billion in mortgage bonds

The US president’s plan to buy US$200 billion in mortgage bonds could boost the economy, similar to the Federal Reserve’s pandemic-era quantitative easing program

It was unclear what funds US President Donald Trump meant when he said the two government-backed mortgage firms held US$200 billion in cash. (EPA Images pic)

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he is ordering his representatives to buy US$200 billion in mortgage bonds to bring down housing costs, though he provided no specifics.

“Because I chose not to sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in my First Term … it is now worth many times that amount — AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE — and has US$200 BILLION DOLLARS IN CASH,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“I am instructing my Representatives to BUY US$200 BILLION DOLLARS IN MORTGAGE BONDS. This will drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable,” Trump wrote.


Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said on X that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will execute the purchase.

It was not immediately clear what funds Trump was referring to when he said the two government-owned mortgage finance companies had US$200 billion in cash. The combined cash and cash equivalents listed on the two firms’ balance sheets in their third-quarter earnings reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission was less than US$17 billion as of Sept 30.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for more information on Trump’s statement.

Affordability of everything from groceries to homes has become a hot political issue even as Trump has occasionally dismissed affordability concerns and blamed inflation on his Democratic predecessor.

His public approval has mostly sagged since his inauguration as Americans worry about the economy.

Trump’s call to purchase US$200 billion in mortgage bonds could provide stimulus to the economy akin to what the Federal Reserve did when it also bought those same types of bonds during the pandemic and its aftermath, as part of an effort called quantitative easing.


But in the Fed’s case, it used money it created as the US central bank to fund the purchases. No other entity would have the same ability, which could mean tapping resources that might go to another use.

Trump has pressed the Fed to cut interest rates aggressively and his policy, if implemented, would likely provide some of the lift he’s been seeking.

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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was worth less than US$17 billion as of Sept 30 yet he claimed it is worth US$200 billion - one mighty snake oil salesman