International
The number of dead and the number of injured in the Israeli attack on downtown Beirut rises to 20
The number of people killed after the attack by the Israeli Armed Forces, in the early hours of Saturday, against an eight-story building in the center of Beirut rose to 20, while another 66 were injured, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health updated in a new statement.
The ministry issued a fourth balance sheet of victims, in which it reported on the new number of people killed and injured in the attack against the area located in the capital’s Basta neighborhood.
According to the statement, volunteers and rescue teams continue to search for survivors with excavators and heavy equipment that clear the debris where they claim to have found “a large number of body parts.”
According to the Lebanese National News Agency (ANN), “a deep crater remained after the use of bunker bombs.”
The attack in that area of the city center occurred in the early morning, after Israeli Army planes intensified their actions against different parts of Lebanon, with special emphasis on Tyre and other southern areas, as well as in Baalbek-Hermel, in the northeast of the country.
In Friday’s attacks alone, counts by Lebanese health authorities speak of 25 people killed throughout the country and another 58 who were injured.
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in its report on Saturday that Israeli aggressions since the beginning of the conflict have caused the death of at least 3,670 people and left 15,413 injured.
At least two dead in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon
In southern Lebanon, at least two people died in an attack perpetrated by an Israeli drone while driving motorcycles in the town of Tora, near the city of Tyre, capital of the demarcation of southern Lebanon that has suffered constant bombing since last night until this morning, official sources reported.
The Lebanese National News Agency (ANN) reported on Saturday that “Israeli attacks intensified against the towns of the Tyre and Ben Ybeil areas from last night until this morning” and detailed that “unmanned aviation bombed the town of Tora targeting two motorcycles causing two fatalities.”
Israel blames Hizbulá for the attack on the FINUL post
On the other hand, the Israeli Army held the Shii group Hizbula responsible on Saturday for yesterday’s attack on a post of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNFINUL) in the Shamaa area, in which four Italian soldiers were slightly injured.
“Hezbulá fired a series of rockets from Deir Qanun that hit and damaged a FINUL post in the Shamaa area, in southern Lebanon, and injured several soldiers stationed there,” a military statement said today.
The Israeli Army also accused the Shiite group, with which it has been waging war for more than a year, of having attacked last Tuesday with projectiles that same FIUL post in Shamaa and another in Ramyeh.
International
Former South Korean President Yoon sentenced to five years in prison
Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison for obstruction of justice and other charges, concluding the first in a series of trials stemming from his failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024.
The sentence is shorter than the 10-year prison term sought by prosecutors against the 65-year-old conservative former leader, whose move against Parliament triggered a major political crisis that ultimately led to his removal from office.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, is still facing seven additional trials. One of them, on charges of insurrection, could potentially result in the death penalty.
On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court ruled on one of the multiple secondary cases linked to the affair, which plunged the country into months of mass protests and political instability.
International
U.S. deportation flight returns venezuelans to Caracas after Maduro’s ouster
A new flight carrying 231 Venezuelans deported from the United States arrived on Friday at the airport serving Caracas, marking the first such arrival since the military operation that ousted and captured President Nicolás Maduro.
On January 3, U.S. forces bombed the Venezuelan capital during an incursion in which Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured. Both are now facing narcotrafficking charges in New York.
This was the first U.S.-flagged aircraft transporting migrants to land in Venezuela since the military action ordered by President Donald Trump, who has stated that he is now in charge of the country.
The aircraft departed from Phoenix, Arizona, and landed at Maiquetía International Airport, which serves the Venezuelan capital, at around 10:30 a.m. local time (14:30 GMT), according to AFP reporters on the ground.
The deportees arrived in Venezuela under a repatriation program that remained in place even during the height of the crisis between the two countries, when Maduro was still in power. U.S. planes carrying undocumented Venezuelan migrants continued to arrive throughout last year, despite the military deployment ordered by Trump.
International
Sheinbaum highlights anti-drug gains after U.S. says challenges remain
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday highlighted her government’s achievements in the fight against drug trafficking, after the United States said challenges remain in combating organized crime.
On Thursday, Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente held talks with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Following the meeting, the U.S. State Department said in a statement that “despite progress, challenges still exist” in addressing organized crime.
“There are very strong results from joint cooperation and from the work Mexico is doing: first, a 50% reduction in fentanyl seizures at the U.S. border,” Sheinbaum said during her regular morning press conference.
The president also said that authorities have seized nearly 320 tons of drugs and that there has been a “40% decrease in intentional homicides in Mexico” since the start of her administration on October 1, 2024.
Sheinbaum added that the United States should implement campaigns to reduce drug consumption within its territory and curb the flow of weapons into Mexico.
“There are many results and there will be more, but there must be mutual respect and shared responsibility, as well as respect for our sovereignties,” she said.
On Monday, Sheinbaum held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss security issues. She said she once again ruled out the presence of U.S. troops in Mexico to fight drug cartels.
Security has been a recurring issue used by Trump to threaten tariffs on Mexico and to pressure negotiations over the USMCA (T-MEC) free trade agreement, which are scheduled for 2026.
The agreement is crucial for Mexico’s economy, as about 80% of the country’s exports are destined for the United States.
Former South Korean President Yoon sentenced to five years in prison
U.S. deportation flight returns venezuelans to Caracas after Maduro’s ouster
Sheinbaum highlights anti-drug gains after U.S. says challenges remain
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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