Switzerland will observe five days of mourning after 40 victims in a resort fire, as investigators rush to identify them
Swiss investigators are rushing to identify the victims of a fire that ripped through a crowded bar, killing about 40 people and injuring 115 others who were celebrating New Year's Eve in Crans-Montana.
The president, Guy Parmelin, has said the country will observe five days of mourning, describing the blaze as one of the most traumatic events in Swiss history.
"It was a drama of an unknown scale," he said during the tributes.
Maduro says Venezuela open to drug trafficking talks with US despite military strikes
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he is willing to negotiate a deal to combat drug trafficking with the United States, but declined to comment on last week's CIA attacks on a port.
Maduro reiterated that Washington wants to force a change of government in Venezuela and gain access to his country's vast oil reserves, through months of pressure that began with a major military deployment in the Caribbean Sea in August.
"What are they looking for? It is clear that they are looking to impose themselves through threats, intimidation and force," Maduro said, later adding that it was time for the two nations "to start talking seriously, with data in hand."
"The US government knows, because we have told many of its spokesmen, that if they want to seriously discuss an agreement to combat drug trafficking, we are ready," Maduro stressed.
Mamdani promises a "new era" for New York and vows to govern "boldly"
Zohran Mamdani vowed to "reinvent" New York City in a speech on his first day as mayor, promising "a new era" for America's largest city and an ambitious start to his term.
Mamdani, who a year ago was a virtually unknown member of the state assembly, is the city's first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. He is also the first to take the oath using the Quran.
"A moment like this comes rarely, and even rarer is it for the people themselves to have their hands on the levers of change," he said.
'Disgraceful' 41,000 people arrived in the UK by dinghy last year, says Home Office
The British government said 41,472 people arrived in the UK by crossing the Channel in 2025, the second highest number recorded after 2022.
The number of crossings was at the highest level ever recorded for most of the year, but the pace slowed in the last two months of 2025.
While running in the 2024 election, Keir Starmer promised to combat migrant smuggling networks and reached an agreement with France that foresees the return of illegal immigrants, with the aim of reducing illegal crossings.
A Home Office spokesman said the number of dinghy crossings was "shameful and the British people deserve better".
