Daily World Briefing, Dec. 26

U.S. military strikes IS in northwest Nigeria, Trump says

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. military launched a "powerful and deadly" strike against the Islamic State (IS) in northwestern Nigeria.

"Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!" Trump said on Truth Social.

"The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes," Trump said, vowing that the United States will not allow radical Islamic terrorism to prosper.

Somalia's capital kicks off first direct elections in over five decades

More than 500,000 voters in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, cast ballots on Thursday in municipal elections widely seen as a key step toward the country's first direct national elections in more than five decades, scheduled for 2026.

Somalia's National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (NIEBC) said some 1,604 candidates from 20 political parties are running for 390 posts in district councils in Mogadishu, in a vote viewed as crucial to dismantling the country's long-standing clan-based political system.

The vote marks the first direct election held in Mogadishu in decades. According to the electoral body, 523 polling stations across 16 districts opened at 6:00 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) and are due to close at 6:00 p.m. (1500 GMT), with results expected on Friday.

Algeria's parliament approves law declaring French colonization a crime

Algeria's parliament has unanimously approved a law declaring France's colonization of the country from 1830 to 1962 a crime and demanding an official apology and reparations, according to the Algerian state news agency, APS.

The 27-article law, passed on Wednesday, establishes the French state's legal responsibility for its colonial past. It outlines mechanisms to seek formal recognition and apologies for colonial-era crimes as a prerequisite for historical reconciliation. The legislation lists offenses including nuclear testing, extrajudicial killings, torture, and the "systematic plundering of resources," while affirming Algeria's right to "full and fair compensation" for all material and moral damages.

France has not yet commented on the vote.

The law was drafted in May by a parliamentary commission formed in March, representing Algeria's main political groups. At the time, Speaker of the People's National Assembly Brahim Boughali described the legislation as a "moral and historical duty" to honor the sacrifices of the Algerian people and seek truth.

The diplomatic rift between Algiers and Paris has deepened in recent months, fueled by disputes over immigration, historical grievances, and France's backing of Morocco regarding Western Sahara. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has maintained that direct talks with French President Emmanuel Macron are the only path to resolving these bilateral issues.

In 2021, Macron acknowledged that the colonization of Algeria was a "crime against humanity," but he stopped short of offering a formal state apology.

Top DPRK leader guides building of nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine: KCNA

Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), guided the building of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday.

Kim stressed the significance of building a strategic nuclear attack submarine, and "clarified the steadfast will and the strategic and tactical policy to steadily push forward with the nuclear weaponization of the navy," said the report.

He said that South Korea's nuclear submarine development plans would worsen instability on the Korean Peninsula.

White House orders U.S. military to focus on "quarantine" of Venezuelan oil: media

The White House has ordered the U.S. military to focus almost exclusively on enforcing a "quarantine" of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a U.S. official.

"While military options still exist, the focus is to first use economic pressure by enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking," the official said.

"The efforts so far have put tremendous pressure on (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro, and the belief is that by late January Venezuela will be facing an economic calamity unless it agrees to make significant concessions to the U.S.," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Bella I, the third oil tanker pursued by U.S. forces, has turned away from its route to Venezuela to load cargo and retreated into the Atlantic Ocean, according to U.S. media reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a "full and total blockade" of all sanctioned tankers entering or leaving Venezuela last week, announcing Maduro's government as a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.

Venezuela has repeatedly accused Washington of seeking regime change and military expansion in Latin America, condemning the interception of oil tankers as "piracy." ■