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Venezuela interim leader sacks industry minister allied with ousted president Maduro

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Venezuela interim leader sacks industry minister allied with ousted president Maduro


Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro (left) speaks to supporters while standing next to Alex Saab at a pro‑government rally in Caracas last year. —  AFP
  • Rodriguez reshuffles cabinet after US-backed transition in Venezuela.
  • US pressure mounts as Venezuela drops Maduro ally Alex Saab.
  • US deportation flight returns Venezuelans after Maduro ouster.

Venezuela’s interim president on Friday dismissed businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, from his post as minister of industry.

In a Telegram message, Delcy Rodriguez announced the ministry would be combined with a commerce ministry and thanked Saab — a Colombian-born Venezuelan — “for his service to the Homeland; he will be taking on new responsibilities.”

The change comes amid pressure from Washington following the January 3 US military raid that ousted Maduro.

Saab, released in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States, was appointed to office in 2024 by Maduro.

He had been arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 due to an Interpol notice over accusations that he had served as a money launderer for the socialist leader.

He was subsequently extradited to the US, where he and his business partner Alvaro Pulido were charged with running a network that exploited food aid destined for Venezuela.

Saab’s dismissal is among the latest key changes to Venezuela’s government by Rodriguez since the US capture of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, meanwhile, said her country is starting a “true transition” to democracy and will become free with support from the United States and President Donald Trump.

Trump, however, has sidelined Nobel laureate Machado and backed former vice president Rodriguez as interim leader of the oil-rich country following the seizure of Maduro.

“We are definitely now into the first steps of a true transition to democracy,” Machado said during an event in Washington, adding that this will have an “immense impact on the lives of all Venezuelans” as well as around the region and the world.

“Venezuela is going to be free, and that’s going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States and the president, Donald Trump,” Machado said.

Her party has presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election — claims supported by Washington and much of the international community.

But Trump has said that Machado does not have enough support among Venezuelans, and opted to stick with Rodriguez so long as she toes the line on US access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

Machado said Friday that Rodriguez is “following orders” rather than acting of her own will.

The opposition leader’s remarks came a day after US Central Intelligence Agency chief John Ratcliffe met Rodriguez in Caracas.

Ratcliffe travelled to Venezuela to “deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship,” a US administration official said on condition of anonymity.

Nobel medal

In an indication of that improved relationship, a US deportation flight carrying 231 Venezuelans landed in Caracas on Friday, the first since Maduro’s overthrow.

Trump has made cracking down on undocumented immigrants a major part of his second term, carrying out sweeping immigration raids and deporting migrants.

Machado, 58, on Thursday presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in a bid to win over the US president.

“He deserves it,” she said. “And it was a very emotional moment, I decided to present the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of the people of Venezuela.”

It was not immediately clear if Trump — who said Friday that he and Machado will “be talking again” — kept the award following their White House lunch. The Norwegian Nobel Committee says its prizes cannot be transferred.

Trump had campaigned hard to win last year’s prize, falsely claiming that he stopped eight wars since taking office, but it went to Machado instead.

Trump and Rodriguez had their first telephone call on Wednesday and the White House said he “likes what he’s seeing” from her.

Rodriguez said, however, that her government will stand up to Washington.

“We know they are very powerful… we are not afraid to confront them diplomatically, through political dialogue,” she said Thursday.

Rodriguez was delivering Maduro’s state of the nation address to parliament while the long-time authoritarian leader is in a New York jail facing drug trafficking charges.

By contrast, Machado, who campaigned for years to end leftist Maduro’s rule, was greeted by jubilant supporters in Washington.





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Kanye ‘Ye’ West trips during trial: ‘Is he asleep?’

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Kanye ‘Ye’ West trips during trial: ‘Is he asleep?’


Kanye ‘Ye’ West trips during trial: ‘Is he asleep?’

Kanye “Ye” West had a turbulent day on the witness stand on Friday, repeatedly appearing to struggle to stay awake as he testified in the trial over the disastrous renovation of his former Malibu mansion.

According to Rolling Stone, who was present in the Los Angeles courtroom, the rapper “repeatedly yawned, closed his eyes for long stretches and at times seemed to catch his head falling forward” during his appearance in the second week of the trial. 

The moment reached a peak when the lawyer representing the plaintiff reportedly turned away from the stand and mouthed “Is he asleep?”

The presiding judge also appeared to be in shock, asking them to ask the attorney to “make things a little snappier” with their questioning.

When asked about the work carried out on the property, Ye’s repeated answer was a simple “I don’t recall.”

The trial centres on a lawsuit brought by contractor Tony Saxon, who is suing Ye for unpaid wages, unsafe working conditions, and wrongful termination. 

Saxon claims he was forced to live on the property, a striking four-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot estate in Malibu designed by celebrated Japanese architect Tadao Ando, as Ye attempted to transform it according to a series of unusual demands. 

Those plans included making the property entirely self-sufficient and “off the grid,” and at one point replacing a staircase with a slide. 

Saxon alleges he suffered an injury during the failed construction, was subsequently fired after raising safety concerns, and says Ye is liable for his medical bills.

The results of the renovation speak for themselves. 

The Ando-designed property, which Ye purchased for $57 million in 2021, was stripped down to a bare “concrete shell”, left with no windows, doors, electricity, or plumbing. 

He sold it at a staggering loss in 2024, offloading the estate for $21 million. The Saxon case is one of several legal matters Ye is set to face in court in the coming months.





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Ben Stiller condemns use of ‘Tropic Thunder’ clip in political video

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Ben Stiller condemns use of ‘Tropic Thunder’ clip in political video


Ben Stiller condemns use of ‘Tropic Thunder’ clip in political video

Ben Stiller has publicly demanded the White House remove a clip from his 2008 film Tropic Thunder from a government-produced video promoting the Trump administration’s military strikes on Iran, calling it “propaganda” and declaring that “war is not a movie.”

Stiller posted his objection on X after a White House video began circulating on social media, featuring clips from a string of major Hollywood films and television shows, including Gladiator, Braveheart, Iron Man, Breaking Bad, Deadpool, and Top Gun, intercut with real-life drone strike footage, and concluding with a voiceover declaring “flawless victory.” 

“Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip,” Stiller wrote. “We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie.”

Credits: Twitter/Ben Stiller
Credits: Twitter/Ben Stiller

The video sparked immediate and widespread backlash online. 

Journalist Séamus Malekafzali wrote, “I don’t think a more embarrassing and humiliating thing has ever been produced before by any government in human history. I somehow might be underselling it.” 

ABC Saturday Extra host Nick Bryant asked, “Are there any grown ups in the White House? Is there any understanding of the seriousness and horror of war? This is frat house not White House.” 

Podcaster Vince Mancini drew a sharp historical comparison, questioning why the administration would bother with a supercut of old films as justification for military action.





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MGK bluntly corrects paparazzi over daughter Cassie, Megan Fox mix-up

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MGK bluntly corrects paparazzi over daughter Cassie, Megan Fox mix-up


MGK bluntly corrects paparazzi over daughter Cassie, Megan Fox mix-up

Machine Gun Kelly had to set the record straight with paparazzi in Paris after photographers mistakenly called out Megan Fox’s name as he arrived at the Stella McCartney fashion show with his teenage daughter Casie.

Video posted by Paris Videostars captured the moment on Wednesday as the father and daughter made their way to the show during Paris Fashion Week. 

Photographers shouting Fox’s name were quickly corrected by the rapper, who shot back: “That’s my daughter, not Megan.” 

The mix-up was an awkward one, MGK, 35, shares Casie, 16, with ex Emma Cannon, not Fox.

MGK, whose real name is Colson Baker, was dressed in a tank top with “hardcore” printed across the chest, a green jacket, jeans, and black sunglasses. 

Casie wore a heather grey minidress, pointed-toe heels, sunglasses, and a sparkly mini purse. The pair posed for photos before heading into the show. 

Afterwards, MGK posted a series of snaps from their Paris trip on Instagram, captioning the carousel with characteristic self-deprecating humour: “got mogged by my own flesh and blood.”

The rapper and Fox have had a complicated recent history. 

They reportedly ended their on-again, off-again relationship in 2024 while Fox was pregnant with their daughter, Saga Blade. 

The pair first met in 2020 on the set of Midnight in the Switchgrass, got engaged in 2022, and called off the engagement in March 2024. 

A source told that the exes “haven’t been together in a real way for a long time now and whatever they had romantically is done.” 

MGK himself dismissed the ongoing speculation with a cryptic Instagram Story in January, writing: “Mainstream gossip media is so [corn emoji].”





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