- 7 months ago
India Today special report 'New Year Old Wounds' covers multiple geopolitical conflicts at the start of 2026. In Venezuela, following the capture of Nicolas Maduro by US forces, President Donald Trump stated, 'We're in charge'. The focus then shifts to rising tensions over Greenland, which President Trump says the US must have for strategic reasons.
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00:00Hello and welcome to this special broadcast.
00:112026 is now officially a week old.
00:14But the new year opened most of the old wounds of geopolitical conflicts across the world.
00:19Some started to ooze while others fester.
00:22Like a simmering fire waiting to rage in full force.
00:25What's happening in Iran is perhaps the best example of all.
00:30Iran has been witnessing biggest anti-government protests for two weeks now.
00:34It's a situation where in a standoff between the people and the clerical leadership,
00:39neither is willing to step down.
00:42Triggered by Iran's faltering economy, Iranians are adamant to bring about a regime change.
00:47An unheard of and unthinkable phenomenon for the clerical regime
00:51who believes that this is all a Western or rather American plot
00:57to upend them and create chaos in Iran.
01:10Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi thanked protesters on Friday
01:15in a video released on social media.
01:17He has been calling Iranians to join together and protest against the current clerical regime.
01:23Iran's government cut off the country from the internet and international telephone calls.
01:46On 8th January night, a demonstration called by the country's exiled Crown Prince
01:51drew a mass of protesters to shout from their windows and storm the streets.
01:57It carried on even after the day broke on Friday morning.
02:00It represented the first test of whether the Iranian public could be swayed
02:07by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, whose fatally ill father fled Iran
02:11just before the country's 1979 Islamic revolution.
02:18The ongoing protests in Iran have included cries in support of the Shah,
02:23something that could bring a death sentence in the past,
02:26but now underlines the anger fueling the protests that began over Iran's ailing economy.
02:34Food prices have started soaring in Iran as the government changes its subsidy policy.
02:45A week ago, I bought a tray of eggs for 2.2 million jayals.
02:49Today, I bought one for 3.5 million jayals.
02:52Prices of other goods like cooking oil and rice have gone up.
02:56Every day, I see customers who can no longer afford some items.
03:03They can only buy main staples.
03:05They can't afford other stuff.
03:08For example, when a pack of fruit juice rose from 2.5 riyals to 12 million riyals,
03:12they would no longer buy it.
03:14They just buy some bread, a bottle of milk, and a tray of eggs and leaves.
03:17While people suffer and continue to protest, the clerical regime of Iran looks the other way.
03:28Iran's supreme leader signaled Friday that security forces would crack down on protesters,
03:33directly challenging U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to support those peacefully demonstrating.
03:38And the solution to people's problems seem far away, while prices soar and so do anger on the streets of Tehran.
03:46Iran has never trusted the Americans.
03:57But with Donald Trump back in Oval Office, in fact, most others struggle.
04:01The whole of 2025 has been disrupted repeatedly, either by his tariff war or peacemaking overtures.
04:07As soon as the new year ringed in, U.S. Delta Force carried out an operation in the capital city of Venezuela
04:14on the 3rd of January, and the sitting president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife were captured by the U.S. forces
04:21and taken to New York to face charges in American court.
04:25Venezuela since that night has been trying to find stability in the country.
04:313rd January, 2026
04:37U.S. Delta Forces raided the fortified residence of Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas.
04:48The Venezuelan strongman was captured along with his wife as part of Operation Absolute Resolve,
04:55bringing a dramatic end to nearly 13-year rule of Nicolas Maduro.
05:01Venezuela right now is a dead country. We have to bring it back, and we're going to have to have big investments by the oil companies
05:07to bring back the infrastructure, and the oil companies are ready to go.
05:12They're going to go in, they're going to rebuild the infrastructure.
05:14You know, we built it to start off with many years ago. They took it away.
05:21Maduro and his wife were flown to New York and were kept at the DEA headquarters.
05:26He was sent to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn before being produced in court.
05:32Maduro and wife are facing federal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy,
05:36cocaine trafficking, and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
05:43Nicolas Maduro has pleaded not guilty.
05:47On 3rd January, 21-year-old Mariana Camargo dashed through the streets of eastern Caracas
05:53as explosions erupted during U.S. Operation Absolute Resolve.
05:57It was 2.05 in the morning.
06:06Suddenly, a woman in an SUV stops and says to us,
06:10Kids, what are you doing there? Go home. They're bombing.
06:13We're like nine people, and we looked at each other, and we began to run and pass through here.
06:19Mariana's image of running through the street, captured by photojournalists of Associated Press,
06:27became viral and the long-lasting symbol of the night.
06:32Venezuela claimed that 100 people died in the U.S. attack that night.
06:39Venezuela was the victim of a crafty barbarian attack,
06:48where up until now, and I say up until now, you have a hundred dead people, a hundred,
06:55and a similar number of injured people.
07:02A terrible attack against our country.
07:04This is true, that's the truth, and no one will hide it.
07:09There is no way this can be hidden.
07:11Today, the world is openly discovering this.
07:14In Venezuela, Vice President Delce Rodríguez has assumed interim power,
07:22condemning the U.S. operation as a kidnapping.
07:25Everything within the Constitution, we learned it from Commander Chavez.
07:32In the face of adversities, in the face of coups diet, in the face of oil sabotages,
07:38we're ready to defend Venezuela.
07:40We're ready to defend our natural resources.
07:43That must be for national development.
07:47Venezuelan opposition leader, Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado,
07:53though praised the U.S. actions,
07:54she has clarified that she has not been in touch with U.S. President since then.
08:02Well, first of all, I'm planning to go back to Venezuela as soon as possible.
08:06As I've always said, Sean, every day I make a decision where I am more useful for our costs.
08:13That's why I stayed in hiding for over 16 months,
08:16and that's why I decided to go out,
08:18because I believed that at this moment I'm more useful to our costs,
08:23being able to speak out from where I am right now.
08:25But I'm planning to go as soon as possible back home.
08:28January 3rd will go down in history as the day justice defeated a tyranny.
08:35It's a milestone, and it's not only huge for the Venezuelan people and our future,
08:40I think it's a huge step for humanity, for freedom and human dignity.
08:47Operation Absolute Resolve killed Cuban soldiers as well.
08:51It has opened up the Latin American can of worms.
08:58From Europe to Moscow to Beijing,
09:01condemnation for Trump action against Nicolas Maduro rings on.
09:07But the Oval Office is jubilant of the successful upending of the Venezuelan government.
09:13The U.S. president declares to be in charge of the country.
09:17Don't ask me who's in charge because I'll give you an answer and it'll be very controversial.
09:22What does that mean?
09:22It means we're in charge.
09:24Have you spoken with her?
09:25We're in charge.
09:27The Maduro doctrine has opened an oily, murky business
09:30between the North and South America as the new year began.
09:35Bureau Report, India Today.
09:37As soon as he was back in the White House,
09:41U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his push to acquire Greenland.
09:45This has sparked alarm across Europe,
09:47with Denmark and other NATO allies warning
09:50that any threat to a member state undermines the alliance itself.
09:54Denmark has warned with a stern,
09:57we'll shoot first, ask questions later statement.
09:59While Trump frames Greenland as vital to U.S. national security,
10:04European leaders and citizens reject the idea.
10:07Reaffirming Greenland's sovereignty
10:09and raising concerns over NATO's future
10:11amid growing Arctic and geopolitical tensions.
10:15We need Greenland for national security,
10:18not for minerals.
10:21U.S. President Donald Trump's fixation for Greenland
10:25has stirred controversy and tension
10:27not only among Danish and Greenlanders,
10:29but has raised concern over the existence of NATO.
10:34Trump's renewed interest in Greenland
10:36and following the dethroning and capture of Venezuelan president,
10:40Nicolas Maduro has forced the nation in the Arctic region
10:43to think seriously about the U.S. president's need.
10:47Trump and his administration are now mulling options,
10:51if needed, even militarily, to annex Greenland.
10:54We need Greenland for national security.
11:00Not for minerals.
11:01We have so many sites for minerals and oil and everything.
11:04We have more oil than any other country in the world.
11:06We need Greenland for national security.
11:09And if you take a look at Greenland,
11:11you look up and down the coast,
11:12you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.
11:15We need it for national security.
11:17We have to have it.
11:18Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen said,
11:22both Denmark and Greenland are NATO members
11:25and if U.S. attacks a member nation,
11:27then the principles of the alliance
11:28and the security of its members will be at stake.
11:31Firstly, I believe that the American president
11:37should be taken seriously
11:38when he says that he wants Greenland.
11:40But I also want to make it clear
11:42that if the United States chooses to attack
11:44another NATO country militarily,
11:46then everything stops.
11:47That is, including our NATO and thus,
11:49the security that has been provided
11:51since the end of the Second World War.
11:53My thought about Trump just wanting to take over Greenland
11:58is absurd, and I think he's the archetype of greed
12:05and we need to push back
12:07and let him know that this is not for him.
12:11And yeah, it's just madness.
12:16In the face of threat against a European nation
12:19and a NATO ally,
12:21seven European countries have reaffirmed
12:23in a joint statement
12:24that Greenland belongs to its people,
12:26stressing that issues concerning Denmark and Greenland
12:29must be decided solely by Denmark and Greenland.
12:39No member of NATO should attack
12:41or threaten another member of NATO.
12:43Otherwise, it would lose its meaning
12:46if conflict or aggressive actions
12:48occurred within the alliance.
12:49And as far as Greenland is concerned,
12:59I can only say that Greenland,
13:01like the Faroe Islands,
13:02is part of the Danish Kingdom.
13:04And since Denmark is a member of NATO,
13:07Greenland will in principle
13:08have to be defended by NATO.
13:10And if there are further requirements
13:11to strengthen defense efforts
13:12with regard to Greenland,
13:14then we will have to discuss this together
13:15within the framework of the alliance.
13:17The U.S. attack on Venezuela
13:26and the subsequent capture of the head of the state
13:28did not have any congressional approval.
13:32While Republicans
13:33faint ignorance
13:34about Trump's next ambition,
13:36Democrats say
13:37the president's aim to include Greenland
13:39as a part of U.S.
13:41will go against the basic principle
13:42on which NATO was founded.
13:44Well, I'm going to go by
13:47what the president says,
13:48and it didn't come up
13:49in his meeting with us today,
13:50and he and I haven't had a discussion about it,
13:52so I don't know.
13:53I think Greenland is viewed
13:55by a lot of people
13:56as something that would be
13:58a strategic positioning for the U.S.
14:01I don't know how it develops from there.
14:03Does anyone really think
14:04that NATO would still exist
14:06if America violated
14:09the territorial integrity
14:11of a NATO ally?
14:12That's totally counter
14:13to the whole concept of NATO.
14:14I think it's very dangerous
14:16kind of language.
14:17You know,
14:18I know the president
14:18doesn't like the leadership
14:19of Colombia or Mexico,
14:21but both of those leaders
14:23were elected
14:24by their own population.
14:26So I think, again,
14:27there's got to be
14:28some red lines here someplace.
14:29Greenland,
14:32located in the Arctic,
14:33is more to home
14:34than 56,000 people.
14:36It's an autonomous territory
14:37of Denmark
14:38and is strategically located
14:39between U.S.,
14:40Europe and Russia.
14:42Rich in natural resources
14:44like gas and oil,
14:45rare earth metals,
14:46it will give United States
14:48an upper hand over China,
14:49which presently
14:50is the world's largest producer
14:52and processor
14:53of rare earth minerals,
14:55controlling over 69%
14:56of global production
14:57and 90%
14:59of refining capacity.
15:00With changes in climate
15:02and the melting of Arctic ice,
15:04accessibility to the
15:05northern shipping routes
15:06throughout the year
15:07will become more important.
15:10With Mahasweta Lala,
15:11Bureau Report,
15:12India Today.
15:15Yemen's main
15:16southern separatist group
15:17has decided to disband.
15:19This was announced
15:20by one of its members
15:21in a statement broadcast
15:22on state media
15:23on Friday in Saudi Arabia.
15:26A delegation from the group,
15:27which appears to be splitting,
15:29has been attending peace talks
15:30in Riyadh.
15:31The UAE-backed leader
15:33of STC,
15:34Aida Roos al-Zubaydi,
15:36fled Yemen on Wednesday
15:37instead of heading
15:38to Saudi Arabia
15:39for the talks.
15:40Their activities
15:40in southern Yemen,
15:41closer to Saudi borders,
15:43has caused the rift
15:44between Saudi Arabia
15:45and UAE
15:46to open up once again.
15:48On the 30th of December,
15:50a Saudi-led military coalition
15:51supporting Yemen's
15:52current government
15:53carried out an airstrike
15:55on two vessels
15:56from Fujairah
15:57in the United Arab Emirates,
16:00which were docked
16:01at the port of Muqalla.
16:03And the wounds
16:03started to ooze
16:04once again,
16:05spilling over
16:06to the new year as well.
16:07A day before the calendar
16:18changed its page
16:20to a new year,
16:21on 30th December,
16:22a Saudi Arabia-led coalition
16:24carried out
16:24limited airstrikes
16:26on the port city
16:26of Muqalla
16:27in southern Yemen.
16:28Saudi Arabia says
16:33the strike targeted
16:34an arms shipment
16:36that arrived by sea
16:37from the United Arab Emirates,
16:40allegedly meant
16:41for southern
16:41separatist forces.
16:44The United Arab Emirates
16:45was given 24 hours
16:46to withdraw its troops
16:48from Yemen.
16:52Unfortunately,
16:53it has been
16:54definitively confirmed
16:55that the United Arab Emirates
16:56has exerted pressure
16:57on and directed
16:58the Southern Transitional Council
17:00to undermine
17:02state authority
17:03and rebel against it
17:04through military escalation,
17:06attacks on armed forces positions,
17:08repeated assaults
17:08on the tribes
17:09of the Hadramaut
17:10and innocent civilians
17:11and the closure
17:12of the Sayyuan airport
17:13to commercial flights,
17:17resulting in serious
17:18violations against civilians.
17:22Following which,
17:23UAE withdrew
17:24its troops from Yemen.
17:26In Aden of Yemen,
17:28demonstrators took to the streets
17:29in support of
17:30Separatist Southern
17:31Transitional Council
17:32or STC
17:33to protest
17:34Rashad Al-Alimi,
17:35the head of Yemen's
17:36Saudi-backed
17:37presidential council's call.
17:41Troops of Yemen's
17:42internationally recognized
17:44government
17:44entered the Arabian
17:45seaport city
17:46of Mukalla
17:47on 4th January.
17:49The government
17:49has declared
17:50that it retook
17:51the eastern port
17:51and capital
17:52of Hadramaut province
17:53from the UAE-backed
17:55southern separatists.
18:00When Aida Roos
18:01al-Zubaydi,
18:02the head of a group
18:03of southern separatists,
18:05failed to show up
18:05in Riyadh
18:06for crisis talks
18:07over turmoil
18:08in southern Yemen
18:08on 7th January,
18:10the Saudi-led coalition
18:11in Yemen
18:12claimed that he had
18:13fled Yemen
18:14by boat
18:14before boarding
18:15an aircraft
18:16to Mogadishu
18:17that landed
18:18at a military airport
18:19in Abu Dhabi.
18:22The drama
18:22escalates a row
18:23between Saudi Arabia
18:24and the United Arab Emirates,
18:26the most powerful countries
18:27in the oil-rich gulf
18:29in the new year.
18:31Bureau Report,
18:32India Today.
18:35Right next door
18:36on the eastern side
18:37of India,
18:37Bangladesh has been boiling
18:39for more than a year now.
18:40What started
18:41with the ouster
18:42of Sheikh Hasina
18:42in August 2024
18:44has now turned
18:45into a killing field.
18:47and in this turmoil,
18:49minorities are being targeted.
18:51More than 10 Hindus
18:52were killed in Bangladesh
18:53in various incidents
18:54in the span
18:55of a month and a half.
18:57The situation
18:57doesn't seem to improve
18:58and has caused
18:59severe strain
19:00in ties between
19:01Bangladesh and India.
19:06Is Bangladesh
19:07becoming unsafe
19:08for Hindus?
19:17That question
19:18is growing louder
19:18after a disturbing
19:19surge in violence
19:20against the minority community.
19:24In the past few days,
19:25several Hindu men
19:26have been killed
19:27alongside reports
19:28of rape,
19:29arson and mob attacks.
19:30The latest shock
19:34came on the 5th of January
19:35when two Hindu men
19:37were murdered
19:37within hours.
19:39In Jaisor,
19:40factory owner
19:41and newspaper editor
19:42Rana Pratab
19:42Bairagi
19:43was shot in the head
19:44and had his throat slit.
19:47Hours later,
19:48in Narsinghdi,
19:49grocery shop owner
19:50Saratmani Chakravarti
19:52was hacked
19:53with sharp weapons
19:54and died
19:54on the way
19:55to the hospital.
19:58Just days earlier,
19:59a 40-year-old
20:00Hindu widow
20:00in Jenaida
20:01was allegedly
20:02gang-raped,
20:03tied to a tree,
20:04filmed and blackmailed.
20:06The video
20:07was later
20:07circulated online,
20:09deepening the trauma.
20:11The violence
20:11did not begin
20:12this week.
20:15On the 18th of December,
20:17factory worker
20:18Deepu Chandradas
20:19was lynched
20:20by a mob
20:20over false
20:21blasphemy allegations.
20:22His body
20:24was later
20:24burnt
20:24and left
20:25on a highway.
20:30Days later,
20:31Khokun Chandradas
20:32was hacked,
20:33doused in patrol
20:33and set on fire.
20:36He died
20:37with severe burns.
20:39Another Hindu man,
20:40Amrit Mondal,
20:41was beaten to death
20:42by a mob
20:43in Rajbari.
20:44In Maivin Singh,
20:45Bajendra Biswas
20:46was shot dead
20:47at his own workplace.
20:50All this comes
20:51as Bangladesh prepares
20:52for its first election
20:53since the ouster
20:54of Sheikh Hasina.
20:57Rights groups say
20:57extremist influence
20:58has grown under
20:59the interim administration
21:00led by Mohammed Yunus.
21:03India has raised
21:04concerns.
21:06Anger is spilling
21:07onto the streets
21:08of Nepal
21:08and fear is spreading
21:13among Bangladesh's
21:14Hindus.
21:14As elections
21:16approach,
21:16the pressing
21:17question remains.
21:18Will the violence
21:19stop or is this
21:20only the beginning?
21:23With Saurik Shah,
21:23Vera Report,
21:25India Today Global.
21:29Those were just
21:30five old wounds
21:31that are bleeding
21:32as the calendar
21:33changed page
21:34to a new year,
21:352026.
21:36There are others
21:37which are festering,
21:39like the Russia-Ukraine war,
21:40like the Israel-Palestine
21:42conflict
21:42and the worsening
21:43situation and conditions
21:44in Gaza,
21:45like the Afghanistan-Pakistan
21:47conflict
21:48and many more.
21:49Here's a quick look
21:50at five more festering
21:51old wounds
21:52in this new year
21:53that continue to simmer
21:54and bleed.
22:13Across three continents,
22:15five conflicts
22:16continue to bleed,
22:17destabilizing regions
22:19and testing the world's
22:20ability to respond.
22:25Some are decades old.
22:27Others are spiraling
22:28right now.
22:29None are close
22:31to resolution.
22:35Start with Gaza.
22:41Since October 2023,
22:43Gaza's health authorities
22:45say over 71,000
22:47Palestinians have been
22:49killed.
22:50Large parts of the enclave
22:52lie in ruins.
22:54Independent satellite
22:55assessments show
22:56widespread destruction
22:57across residential
22:58and civilian infrastructure.
23:02Despite the October
23:04ceasefire last year,
23:05violence has continued,
23:07leaving families displaced,
23:09many living in tents,
23:10as shortages of food,
23:12medicine,
23:13and shelter worsen,
23:14an already dire
23:15humanitarian crisis.
23:16in eastern Europe,
23:27Russia's war on Ukraine
23:28is entering its fourth year.
23:30In 2025,
23:32Russian forces made their
23:34largest territorial gains
23:35since 2022,
23:37capturing thousands
23:38of square kilometers.
23:39Western intelligence estimates
23:43place Russian casualties
23:45in the hundreds of thousands
23:47since the start of the war,
23:49underscoring the enormous
23:51human cost.
23:53Diplomatic efforts continue,
23:55but analysts say
23:56a lasting peace agreement
23:58remains distant,
24:00with territorial concessions
24:01still a contentious issue.
24:07In South Asia,
24:09tensions between Pakistan
24:10and Afghanistan
24:11are escalating.
24:13Islamabad accuses Kabul
24:15of sheltering militant groups,
24:17while cross-border attacks
24:18inside Pakistan
24:19have surged.
24:23Pakistan recorded
24:24more than a thousand
24:26militant incidents
24:27last year,
24:28promoting airstrikes
24:29and retaliatory threats.
24:31Cease-fire efforts
24:32have failed
24:33to bring durable calm,
24:35deepening mistrust
24:36between the neighbors.
24:42In South Asia,
24:43a long-running border dispute
24:45between Thailand
24:46and Cambodia
24:47turned violent
24:48in 2025.
24:51Clashes around
24:52contested temple sites
24:54led to airstrikes,
24:55artillery fire
24:56and mass displacement.
25:02Hundreds of thousands
25:03were forced
25:04from their homes
25:05before a fragile ceasefire
25:07was restored
25:08late in the year.
25:09The colonial era
25:10boundary dispute,
25:11however,
25:13remains unresolved.
25:19And finally,
25:20the Korean peninsula.
25:22More than 70 years
25:23after the Korean war,
25:25the divide endures.
25:27North Korea
25:28has abandoned
25:28reunification
25:30as a policy goal
25:31and continues
25:32missile development
25:33while South Korea
25:34strengthens
25:35its military posture
25:37with U.S.'s backing.
25:38Dialogue is frozen,
25:41hostility
25:41is institutionalized
25:43and yet war
25:44is narrowly avoided.
25:46Five conflicts,
25:48five open wounds.
25:50As the world
25:51moves forward,
25:52the question
25:53is no longer
25:54whether peace
25:55is possible
25:55but how long
25:57instability
25:57will be allowed
25:59to spread.
26:01With Jyoti Shukla,
26:03Bureau Report,
26:04India Today Global.
26:05None of these conflicts
26:11seem to have
26:12a resolution soon
26:13but we'll be
26:13monitoring keenly
26:14what's happening
26:15in every part
26:16of the region
26:17and the world.
26:18That's all we have
26:18time for in this
26:19special broadcast.
26:21It's time for a short
26:21break.
26:22On the other side,
26:22news and updates
26:23continue.
26:24Thank you for
26:24watching India Today.
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