BIG Wrap

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Donald Trump has become the first former United States president ever sentenced for a crime. But the US president-elect avoided penalties for his conviction for falsifying business documents in relation to hush-money payments made to an adult film actress. Judge Juan Merchan sentenced Trump to an “unconditional discharge” on Friday, a day after the US Supreme Court rejected an attempt by Trump’s legal team to delay the sentencing, which took place before the Republican...

(BBC News) The latest developments in the Los Angeles fires: A night-time curfew has been ordered tonight in the Palisades and Eaton areas of Los Angeles as police warn people are taking advantage of the wildfires to loot. Officers say anyone caught looting will be arrested. LA Mayor Karen Bass has pledged "aggressively" to rebuild the city, saying red tape and other bureaucracy will have to be swept aside to do this. Firefighters say that as...

(BBC News) The United Nations has expressed its alarm after it received reports of arbitrary detentions and intimidation in Venezuela ahead of opposition marches on Thursday. The office of the UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, wrote on X that "now is the time to work to ease tensions and reduce the risk of more violence." It highlighted the arrest of Carlos Correa, the head of a non-governmental organization (NGO) promoting press freedom, who was seized...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna says the death toll is expected to rise as major blazes burn across the area, forcing thousands from their homes and ravaging communities. Kristin Crowley, the LA County fire chief, says winds are expected to subside, but firefighters are still facing “extreme fire behaviour”. At least five people have been killed and nearly 2,000 structures destroyed, according to preliminary tallies, as the main fires remain out of control. At least...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) When opposition forces ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive on December 8, they inherited a crisis-hit economy. One month later, they are working to restart it, facing the damage of 14 years of war and crippling sanctions that have decimated economic activity. The Syrian pound’s value has been drained, and inflation reached the triple digits. Last month, an unnamed official told the Reuters news agency that the Central Bank of Syria...

(BBC News) Germany and France have warned Donald Trump against threatening Greenland, after the US president-elect refused to rule out using military force to seize Denmark's autonomous territory. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said "the principle of the inviolability of borders applies to every country... no matter whether it's a very small one or a very powerful one." French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said "there is obviously no question that the European Union would (not) let other...

(BBC News) US President Joe Biden has announced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of America's coastline, two weeks before Donald Trump takes office. The ban covers the entire Atlantic coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Pacific coast off California, Oregon and Washington, and a section of the Bering Sea off Alaska. It is the latest in a string of last-minute climate policy actions by the Biden...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Honduras has threatened to expel United States troops, retaliating against incoming President Donald Trump’s plans to carry out mass deportations of refugees and asylum seekers entering the US from Central America. Trump’s plan could affect hundreds of thousands of people from Honduras, a country that hosts a significant US military base. Here is what is at the heart of the dispute between the world’s biggest superpower and its smaller neighbour, why it matters, and...

(BBC News) More Vietnamese attempted small-boat Channel crossings in the first half of 2024 than any other nationality. Yet they are coming from one of the world's fastest-growing economies. Why, then, are so many risking their lives to reach Britain? Phuong looked at the small inflatable boat and wondered whether she should step in. There were 70 people packed in, and it was sitting low in the water. She recalls the fear, exhaustion and desperation...

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Russia has pledged to retaliate after it claimed to have shot down eight US-supplied ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine at its border region of Belgorod. “On January 3, an attempt was made from Ukrainian territory to launch a missile attack against the Belgorod region using US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles,” the Russian Ministry of Defence said on Saturday. “These actions by the Kyiv regime, which is supported by western curators, will be met with retaliation,”...