Venezuela Demands US Provide 'Proof of Life' of Maduro

This file photo shows Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro during a rally in Caracas on December 1, 2025. © Juan Barreto, AFP
This file photo shows Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro during a rally in Caracas on December 1, 2025. © Juan Barreto, AFP
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Venezuela Demands US Provide 'Proof of Life' of Maduro

This file photo shows Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro during a rally in Caracas on December 1, 2025. © Juan Barreto, AFP
This file photo shows Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro during a rally in Caracas on December 1, 2025. © Juan Barreto, AFP

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on Saturday called on the United States to issue "proof of life" of leader Nicolas Maduro who was captured by US forces, according to President Donald Trump, AFP reported.

Speaking by telephone to Venezuelan TV Rodriguez said she did not know the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, following a series of US strikes on Caracas and other cities.

Trump said Maduro and Flores had been captured by US forces and flown out of Venezuela.

The United States hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” early Saturday and said Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country after months of stepped-up pressure by Washington — an extraordinary nighttime operation announced by President Donald Trump on social media hours after the attack.
The legal authority for the strike — and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand — was not immediately clear. The stunning, lightning-fast American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the US invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago Saturday.
UfS Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York.
Trump announced the developments on Truth Social shortly after 4:30 a.m. ET (0930 GMT) and said he would host a news conference at 11 a.m. ET (1600 GMT).



Indonesia President to Join First Meeting of Trump ‘Board of Peace’

Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. (Reuters)
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Indonesia President to Join First Meeting of Trump ‘Board of Peace’

Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. (Reuters)
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto attends the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. (Reuters)

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will attend the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" in Washington this month, Jakarta's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

"The government has accepted an invitation to the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, and President Prabowo Subianto plans to attend," ministry spokesman Vahd Nabyl Achmad Mulachela told AFP.


Brawl Erupts in Türkiye’s Parliament Over Justice Minister Appointment

Newly-appointed Turkish Minister of Justice Akin Gurlek. (Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office on X)
Newly-appointed Turkish Minister of Justice Akin Gurlek. (Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office on X)
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Brawl Erupts in Türkiye’s Parliament Over Justice Minister Appointment

Newly-appointed Turkish Minister of Justice Akin Gurlek. (Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office on X)
Newly-appointed Turkish Minister of Justice Akin Gurlek. (Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office on X)

A brawl erupted in Türkiye’s parliament on Wednesday after lawmakers from the ruling party and the opposition clashed over the appointment of a controversial figure to the Justice Ministry in a Cabinet reshuffle.

Opposition legislators tried to block Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akin Gurlek, who President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed to the top judicial portfolio, from taking the oath of office in parliament. As tempers flared, legislators were seen pushing each other, with some hurling punches.

As Istanbul chief prosecutor, Gurlek had presided over high‑profile trials against several members of the main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party or CHP — proceedings that the opposition has long denounced as politically motivated.

The former prosecutor was later seen taking the oath surrounded by ruling party legislators.

Erdogan also named Mustafa Ciftci, governor of the eastern province of Erzurum, as interior minister.

Hundreds of officials from CHP‑run municipalities have been arrested in corruption probes. Among them was Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, widely seen as Erdogan’s chief rival, who was arrested last year.

The government insists the judiciary acts independently.

No official reason was given for Wednesday's shake‑up, though the Official Gazette said the outgoing ministers had “requested to be relieved” of their duties.

The new appointments come as Türkiye is debating possible constitutional reforms and pursuing a peace initiative with the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, aimed at ending a decades‑long conflict. Parliament is expected to pass reforms to support the process.


US Suspends Flights at El Paso Airport for 'Special Security Reasons'

FILE - A Federal Aviation Administration sign hangs in the tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, March 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FILE - A Federal Aviation Administration sign hangs in the tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, March 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
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US Suspends Flights at El Paso Airport for 'Special Security Reasons'

FILE - A Federal Aviation Administration sign hangs in the tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, March 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
FILE - A Federal Aviation Administration sign hangs in the tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, March 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

The top US aviation agency said Tuesday it is stopping all flights to and from El Paso International Airport in Texas for 10 days over unspecified "security reasons."

The flight restrictions are in effect from 11:30 pm on Tuesday (0630 GMT Wednesday) until February 20 for the airspace over El Paso and an area in neighboring New Mexico's south, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

"No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas" covered by the restrictions, the FAA said in a notice, citing "special security reasons" without elaborating.

El Paso International Airport in a social media post said all flights, "including commercial, cargo and general aviation," would be impacted by the move.

The airport, which is served by major US airlines like Delta, American and United, encouraged travelers to "contact their airlines to get most up-to-date flight status information."

In a separate statement to the New York Times, it said that the restrictions had been issued "on short notice" and that it was waiting for guidance from the FAA.