"We just had a great conversation today, and she's a terrific person," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. He has suggested the United States could maintain oversight of the Caribbean country for years. Writing on Telegram, she described her call with the US leader as "productive and courteous" and characterized by "mutual respect." Under pressure from Washington, Venezuela has released dozens of political prisoners in the past week, but kept hundreds still behind bars. Trump has so far sidelined opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from Venezuela's post-Maduro transition, claiming the Nobel Peace Prize laureate does not have enough "respect" in the country.

WASHINGTON, United States, Jan 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Four crewmembers departed the International Space Station on Wednesday after a medical issue prompted their mission to be cut a month short -- a first for the orbiting laboratory. The affected crewmember "was and continues to be in stable condition," NASA official Rob Navias said Wednesday. The Crew-11 quartet arrived at the ISS in early August and had been scheduled to stay onboard the space station until they were rotated out in mid-February with the arrival of the next crew. - Ready for the unexpected -Continuously inhabited since 2000, the International Space Station seeks to showcase multinational cooperation, bringing together Europe, Japan, the United States, and Russia. The four astronauts being evacuated had been trained to handle unexpected medical situations, said Amit Kshatriya, a senior NASA official, praising how they have dealt with the situation.

(Larry Robinson, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel)Instead, the three judges all expressed concern about District Court Judge Matthew Barrett’s statements during Peters’ sentencing. Last month, Peters lost an attempt in federal court to be released from prison while she appeals her conviction. They also are asking the appeals court to recognize Trump’s pardon and immediately set Peters free. The Federal Bureau of Prisons tried but failed to get Peters moved to a federal prison. Marshals would storm a Colorado prison to release Peters unless she is freed by the end of this month.

LOS ANGELES, United States, Jan 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The number of people tuning in to watch the Golden Globe Awards shrank this year, organizers announced Wednesday, as Hollywood's gala evenings continue to struggle with declining viewership. Around 8.7 million people in the United States watched the star-studded ceremony in which Paul Thomas Anderson's conspiracy epic "One Battle After Another" dominated the prizes. The Globes, long billed as Hollywood's biggest party, and the raucous forerunner to the awards season finale Oscars, were beset by scandal and accusations of racism that led to the Globes not even being aired in 2022. Timothee Chalamet and Brazilian Wagner Moura added to their awards season momentum with prizes for "Marty Supreme" and "The Secret Agent," respectively. The Golden Globes are seen as a leading indicator of success in the Oscars, which take place in Hollywood this year on March 15.

RABAT, Jan 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Hosts Morocco will play Sadio Mane's Senegal in this weekend's Africa Cup of Nations final after both emerged victorious in tense last-four ties on Wednesday as Mohamed Salah's dreams of winning the title were again dashed. Morocco have been under enormous pressure to deliver a first AFCON title for their country in half a century and just their second overall. Senegal, champions in 2022, dominated possession against cautious Egypt as the Cup of Nations title continues to elude Liverpool superstar Salah. It will be Senegal's fourth Cup of Nations final appearance overall and their third in the last four editions. Referring to his former Liverpool teammate Salah, Mane said the Egyptian is "one of the best players in the world".

Reading time: about 6 minutesCornell’s rapidly growing digital agriculture efforts, which focus on incorporating technology in agricultural management, could expand further with funding from a potential portion of the University’s $30 million federal settlement. The settlement’s explicit reference to digital agriculture piqued the interest of researchers, including Prof. Julio Giordano, animal science, who researches technological applications in dairy farming and serves as associate director of the Cornell Institute of Digital Agriculture. “My interpretation of the settlement is that the funding is supposed to be for digital agriculture at Cornell,” Giordano said. The Sun spoke to some digital agriculture researchers to better understand what Cornell’s settlement funds may potentially affect. “Exposure to digital agriculture at Cornell … [showed] me how innovation can drive real, tangible change,” Téllez wrote.

Colombian president says will meet Trump in US on February 3BOGOTA, Jan 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced Wednesday that he will meet with his US counterpart Donald Trump on February 3 to address diplomatic tensions and Washington's military campaign in Latin America. "We'll see the results of that meeting," Petro said during a televised meeting with his ministers. Washington and Bogota have enjoyed security cooperation for decades, but ties have deteriorated since Trump began his second term last January. The 65-year-old leftist and former guerrilla, who leaves office this year and is barred from running for re-election, has been among the most vocal leaders to criticize Trump, openly defying the Republican's key goal of deporting migrants. After Maduro's capture, Trump accused the Colombian leader of being involved in drug trafficking, without providing evidence, and his administration has hit Petro and his family with financial sanctions.

HONG KONG, Jan 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Oil prices plunged on Thursday after fears over instability in Iran were eased by comments from US President Donald Trump. "They've said the killing has stopped and the executions won't take place -- there were supposed to be a lot of executions today and that the executions won't take place -- and we're going to find out," he said. Concern that the situation could restrict supplies of crude had caused oil prices to rise around 1.5 percent on Wednesday. "Oil prices dropped... on comments from US President Donald Trump that Iran would refrain from any further killing of protesters, watering down fears of a looming supply shock in energy markets," said Kyle Rodda of Capital.com. Iran makes up three percent of global oil production, analyst Michael Wan of financial group MUFG noted this week.

LOS ANGELES, United States, Jan 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Football's global governing body FIFA said Wednesday it had received more than 500 million requests for tickets to this year's World Cup despite rumbling controversy over sky-high prices to attend the event. The window for submitting requests to be entered in a lottery which will allocate tickets closed on Tuesday. FIFA said fans would be notified of whether their requests had been successful "no earlier than 5 February." "Half a billion ticket requests in just over a month is more than demand - it's a global statement," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. Those criticisms prompted FIFA to introduce a new category of cut-price tickets in December set at 60 US dollars (51 euros) each.

Together, the EU and Mercosur account for 30 percent of global GDP and more than 700 million consumers. Bolivia is also a member, but was not among the bloc's founders and will not be a party to the pact. In addition to host president Santiago Pena, Uruguay's president Yamandu Orsi will also attend the signing. - 'Historic day' -Lula last week hailed an "historic day for multilateralism" after the EU agreement, in the face of "an international context of growing protectionism and unilateralism." After Saturday's signing, the pact must still be ratified by Mercosur members and the European Parliament, where a majority in favor is still not certain.

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With weeks remaining before Bangladesh’s 13th National Parliamentary Election, rebel candidates within the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are creating uncertainty for both the party and its coalition allies. Of the 14 seats reserved for allies, rebel candidates are active in 12, leaving only two uncontested. Analysts note that rebel candidates often enjoy strong grassroots support because of their long-standing presence in constituencies, while coalition-designated BNP candidates, though nationally prominent, may be less familiar to local voters. Meanwhile, rebel BNP candidates remain active in Dhaka-12, Brahmanbaria-2, Patuakhali-3, Jhenaidah-4, Narail-2, and Jessore-5. In Jhenaidah-4, Rashed Khan, the party nominee, faces Md Saiful Islam Firoz, former BNP candidate in 2018, contesting independently.

Symbolic PhotoDHAKA, Jan 14, 2026 (BSS) - The traditional festival of old Dhaka—Sakrain, also known as Poush Sankranti or the kite festival was celebrated today. Every year, the Sakrain festival is celebrated on the final day of Poush. Sound systems, decorative lighting, laser shows and illumination have been set up on rooftops in and around Shankharibazar, Tantibazar, Banglabazar, Sutrapur and Lalbagh areas of old Dhaka. People from different parts of Dhaka city thronged the old Dhaka to celebrate the festival. Local residents said preparations for the Sakrain festival begin several weeks in advance.

The United States said Wednesday it was suspending the processing of immigrant visas from 75 countries, including Bangladesh, President Donald Trump’s latest move against foreigners seeking to come to America. The United States has long rejected visas from people who appear likely to end up needing government welfare, but the State Department said it would now use the same authority for a blanket suspension of immigrant visas based on nationality. A US official said that the other countries affected would include a number of countries with friendly relations with the United States, including Brazil, Egypt and Thailand. The State Department did not immediately release a full list of countries. The State Department said Monday that it has revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump’s return, a one-year record.

A series of incidents involving the harassment and intimidation of university teachers has raised concern across Bangladesh’s public universities, as administrations have yet to take visible disciplinary action against students accused of involvement. In recent months, teachers at Dhaka University (DU), Chittagong University (CU), Rajshahi University (RU), Jahangirnagar University (JU), and several other institutions have reportedly faced public humiliation, intimidation, physical assault, or confinement inside administrative offices. Teachers’ organizations and campus sources have alleged that some of the students involved in these incidents were affiliated with student political groups. Administration’s response questionedSpeaking to Dhaka Tribune, Dhaka University Proctor Professor Saifuddin Ahmed made comments that appeared to justify student actions in certain circumstances. Academics warn against mob justiceRajshahi University Professor Abdullah Al Mamun said the government and university administrations were failing to take sufficiently strong action against harassment of teachers.