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Two leading members of Venezuela’s political opposition were freed on Thursday, in a move described by officials as a goodwill gesture amid heightened political tension. Human rights groups welcomed the development cautiously, highlighting the ongoing struggle over political freedoms in the country. The Venezuelan government began releasing detainees classified as political prisoners by rights groups, according to Foro Penal and local journalists. Among those freed were Enrique Marquez, 62, a politician who supported opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez in the 2024 presidential election, and Biagio Pilieri, an opposition party leader and lawmaker critical of the government. Spain’s foreign ministry confirmed the…

Russian drone and missile attacks plunged southeastern Ukraine into near-total blackouts on Thursday, targeting both residential areas and industrial infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the strikes an attempt to “break” the country as residents face freezing winter conditions. Overnight drone attacks hit Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, leaving millions without electricity. Private energy provider DTEK said power was restored to nearly 700,000 households by Thursday evening, though 194,000 households—including much of Kryvyi Rih—remained without electricity. Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskiy’s hometown, suffered one of the heaviest combined drone and missile attacks since February 2022. Twenty-nine apartment buildings were damaged, leaving more than 70,000…

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado is expected to come to Washington next week, and he looks forward to meeting her. The announcement comes after U.S. strikes in Venezuela led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. During an interview on Fox News’ Hannity, Trump was asked whether he planned to meet Machado following recent U.S. military action in Venezuela. “Well, I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” he said, without offering further details. The White House did not immediately respond to requests…

Syrian authorities have imposed a sweeping curfew across several districts of Aleppo as clashes intensify between government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), triggering mass displacement and civilian casualties. The Aleppo Internal Security Command said on Thursday that a curfew has been imposed “until further notice” in the neighbourhoods of Ashrafieh, Sheikh Maqsoud, Bani Zeid, al-Siryan, al-Hullok, and al-Midan. In a statement carried by Syria’s state news agency SANA, the command said the measure was aimed at ensuring civilian safety and maintaining order amid deteriorating security conditions. Strict movement ban enforced Authorities said all movement is strictly…

Google has begun rolling out new Gemini AI-powered features in Gmail, aiming to turn users’ inboxes into smarter, more proactive assistants. The company says the update will help users save time by summarising emails and surfacing key information instantly. Google announced the new features in a blog post, saying the updates will be introduced in phases. Some of the tools will be enabled by default in users’ inboxes as the rollout progresses. “We’re bringing Gmail into the Gemini era and making it your personal, proactive inbox assistant,” the company said. AI-generated email summaries One of the key features is AI-generated…

Samsung may finally be ready to close the fast-charging gap with rivals like OnePlus. A new leak suggests the Galaxy S26 Ultra could arrive with a notable battery and charging upgrade. A reliable tipster has suggested that Samsung could give the upcoming Galaxy S26 Ultra a major boost by increasing its wired charging speed. The claim points to a jump that would mark one of Samsung’s biggest charging upgrades in years. According to the leak, the Galaxy S26 Ultra may support 60W wired charging, up from the 45W seen on the Galaxy S25 Ultra released in 2025. Noted leaker Ice…

Microsoft users on Windows are facing a fresh Outlook issue after a recent software update broke access to encrypted emails. The company has acknowledged the bug and says a fix is under investigation. A new over-the-air software patch from Microsoft — build 19426.20218 of the Outlook (Classic) Windows client — has unintentionally introduced a serious bug. After updating, some users are unable to open emails sent with the “encrypt only” setting, according to a report by TechRadar. The issue affects Outlook (Classic) users on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. What users are experiencing After installing the update, attempting to open…

Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province, has been selected as one of the “20 Cities Towards Zero Waste” under the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Zero Waste, according to Hangzhou Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau. Xixi National Wetland Park, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, east China, August 14, 2025. /VCG In a letter, the board said that Hangzhou’s submission stood out for its strong commitment to zero-waste and its contributions to advancing inclusive, sustainable and innovative waste management solutions. With an annual economic output exceeding 2 trillion yuan (about $286.4 billion) and a population of over 12.6 million, Hangzhou has…

A new book examining the historical basis of China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea was released in Beijing on Thursday. Titled “History and Facts of the South China Sea,” the book is the result of a seven-year research project conducted by a team of more than 10 scholars from across China. The book launch was jointly hosted by the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, based in Sanya City, south China’s Hainan Province; the National Institute for South China Sea Studies; and the Zhejiang Publishing United Group. According to the publishers, the book…

The Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership met on Thursday to hear a series of work reports from the leading Party members’ groups of state institutions, including the top legislature, central government, top political advisory body, supreme court and supreme procuratorate. The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee also heard a work report from the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over and addressed the meeting. The meeting emphasized that China is confronted with profound and complex changes in its development environment over the five-year…