American held captive in Afghanistan released, Taliban says
(LONDON) — An American held in Afghanistan has been freed, the Taliban said Tuesday.
Dennis Coyle of Colorado was released after a letter from his family was sent requesting his release on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr, the Taliban foreign ministry said. His period of detention was then deemed “sufficient” and his release was approved by a court, according to the ministry.
The Taliban claimed Coyle had been detained for “violating the applicable laws of Afghanistan.”
The Taliban thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping to facilitate Coyle’s release.
Earlier this month, U.S. special envoy for hostage response Adam Boehler said three innocent Americans were currently being held in Afghanistan.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Jeffrey Epstein is seen in this image released by the Department of Justice in Washington, December 19, 2025. (U.S. Justice Department)
(LONDON) — London police said Friday they are “assessing” whether the city’s airports played a role in human trafficking tied to the release of the U.S. Department of Justice’s files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Following the further release of millions of court documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice, we are aware of the suggestion that London airports may have been used to facilitate human trafficking and sexual exploitation,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Friday. “We are assessing this information and are actively seeking further detail from law enforcement partners, including those in the United States.”
The Met Police’s statement comes after Essex Police said on Wednesday that they are also “assessing the information that has emerged in relation to private flights into and out of Stansted Airport following the publication of the US DoJ Epstein files.”
Met Police said that it had previously investigated sex trafficking allegations involving Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell has denied any knowledge of what Epstein was doing with women and girls at his various properties.
Based on guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service and U.S. authorities, “it was clear that any investigation into human trafficking would be largely focused on activities outside the UK and perpetrators based overseas and therefore international authorities were best placed to progress these allegations,” Met Police said.
Met Police said it decided in 2016 not to conduct a full criminal investigation, a decision that was reviewed in 2019, 2021 and 2022 and remained unchanged.
Following the release of the Epstein materials, former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he asked Met Police “urgently to re-examine their decision-making in their investigation and the subsequent reviews,” in a piece published in the New Statesman earlier this month.
“The Epstein emails, which record the visas issued, payments made and transport organised for girls and women trafficked across the world, suggest a number of British girls were on 90 Epstein flights organised from UK airports on what was called his ‘Lolita Express,'” Brown wrote. “Among the many aspects that should sicken anyone looking at the emails is that 15 of these flights were given the go-ahead after his 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from a minor. How the flights were allowed to continue should have been fully investigated.”
Brown further wrote that the Epstein emails “tell us in graphic detail how Epstein was able to use Stansted Airport — he boasted how cheap the airport charges were compared to Paris — to fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia.”
Stansted Airport, located some 30 miles northeast of central London, was where “women were transferred from one Epstein plane to another,” Brown wrote, adding that “women arriving on private planes into Britain would not need British visas.”
Brown also cited a BBC investigation into Epstein’s private planes published late last year that found that from the early 1990s to 2018, nearly 90 flights linked to Epstein had arrived or departed from UK airports — including some that had British women on board who alleged abuse by Epstein.
“It seems the authorities never knew what was happening: evidence the BBC has uncovered shows incomplete flight logs, with unnamed passengers simply labelled as ‘female,'” Brown wrote. “To this day, the names of many of the male passengers are unknown because their names were withheld. In short, British authorities had little or no idea who was being trafficked through our country, and for whom other than Epstein.”
In the wake of the Epstein files release, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — formerly known as Prince Andrew and the younger brother of King Charles III — was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was released after 11 hours and has not been charged.
In late 2010, Mountbatten-Windsor appeared to share sensitive information stemming from his role as the U.K. trade envoy with Epstein, emails released by the U.S. DOJ suggest.
His arrest follows the emergence of documents detailing communication between him and Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor has previously denied wrongdoing with respect to Epstein.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns visits Ahmed al Ahmed, who was identified as the bystander who seized a rifle from one of the gunmen during the deadly shooting at Bondi Beach on Sunday, at a hospital in Sydney, Dec. 15, 2025. (@ChrisMinnsMP/X)
(SYDNEY) — A Sydney man is being praised as a hero for disarming one of the alleged shooters in the Hanukkah attack that left 15 dead and 42 injured at Australia’s Bondi Beach on Sunday, as seen in video obtained by ABC News
The video shows a man, identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed, 43, running towards one of the alleged shooters. He’s then seen disarming the alleged gunman before pointing his weapon back at him, prompting him to walk away.
The fruit seller was having lunch in the area with a friend when the shooting unfolded and he intervened, according to his brother, Huthaifa.
“I’m really proud about my brother,” he told ABC News.
“He’s a good man. He’s brave,” he said.
The father of two was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for bullet wounds. His brother said he is recovering in the hospital, but is not 100% yet.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns called him a “real-life hero.”
“Last night, his incredible bravery no doubt saved countless lives when he disarmed a terrorist at enormous personal risk,” Minns posted on Instagram while sharing a photo with al-Ahmed in the hospital.
“It was an honour to spend time with him just now and to pass on the thanks of people across NSW. There is no doubt that more lives would have been lost if not for Ahmed’s selfless courage,” he added.
At Sunday night’s National Menorah Lighting in Washington, D.C., Rabbi Levi Shemtov, the director of advocacy group American Friends of Lubavitch, praised al-Ahmed’s heroism and asked for prayers for his recovery.
“I ask all those across the community and beyond — here, and around the world — to please pray for the recovery of Ahmed al-Ahmed, someone who is not a member of the Jewish community, but gave up his safety and wellbeing to stop one of the gunmen and thus prevent even further loss of life. May he recover speedy and fully,” Shemtov said.
A GoFundMe page for al-Ahmed has raised almost $1.5 million with thousands of donations.
“We’re seeing an outpouring of love for Ahmed al Ahmed following his heroic actions at Bondi Beach,” the site posted on X.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman also shared the fundraiser on his X account Sunday, donating $99,999.
Mohamed Fateh al-Ahmed told reporters that his son is “a hero.”
“He served in the police, he has the passion to defend people,” he said.
The victims of Sunday’s mass shooting ranged in ages 10 to 87, and the alleged gunmen are father and son, aged 50 and 24, officials said. Their names have not been released, but authorities said the father is dead and the son was hospitalized.
Six firearms were collected from the scene alongside two improvised explosives, according to officials.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the attack “an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism” and “an act of terrorism,” in a video shared on his Instagram account.
The Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) Amuay oil refinery at the Paraguana Refinery Complex in Punto Fijo, Falcon State, Venezuela. (Photographer: Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez announced on Sunday that the country’s first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas had been exported.
The announcement in a post on her Telegram channel on Sunday comes almost a month after President Donald Trump ordered a military operation that led to the capture of Venezuela’s former President Nicolas Maduro, who now faces federal charges in the U.S.
Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, was sworn in as the interim president after his capture in January.
Rodriguez said the ship, the Chrysopigi Lady, had set sail from Venezuela “with the first shipment of Liquefied Petroleum Gas,” in a post, originally in Spanish.
The Singapore-flagged Chrysopigi Lady left from a port in northern Venezuela on the evening of Feb. 1 and is set to arrive in Providence, Rhode Island, according to marinetraffic.com.
“Proud to share this moment: the vessel Chrysopigi Lady has set sail from Venezuela with the first shipment of Liquefied Petroleum Gas,” Rodriguez said in the post. “We are marking this historic milestone by exporting the country’s first molecule of gas; an achievement for the well-being of the people of Venezuela.”
Rodriguez faces key tests in the weeks ahead. Since becoming the country’s de facto leader, she has struggled with her new twin responsibilities of maintaining order at home and managing diplomatic relations with the United States who conducted a military operation on her country’s soil weeks ago.
Last week, Rodriguez appeared to struggle publicly with the appropriate tone to both satisfy Washington and assert Venezuela’s independence.
Rodriguez said Venezuela has “opened a space for political dialogue,” but warned “those who seek to perpetuate harm and aggression against the people of Venezuela should stay in Washington,” in public comments during a ceremony recognizing her as Venezuela’s Commander-in-Chief in Caracas on Jan. 28.
Rodriguez also said “no one” in Venezuela surrendered during the military operation on Jan. 3. “That is why I say honor and glory to the heroes and heroines of January 3, 2026,” she said during the ceremony on Jan. 28.
About 100 people overall were killed during the U.S. military operation on Jan. 3, Venezuela’s interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, said on Jan. 8, according to Reuters. Out of the 100, 32 Cuban security officials were killed during the attack, the Cuban government confirmed on Jan. 4.
