AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EST

The bombing followed days of tensions over the advance of the separatist forces known as the Southern Transitional Council, which is backed by the Emirates. Despite the warning, the Council and its allies issued a statement supporting the UAE's presence, even as others allied with Saudi Arabia demanded Emirati forces withdraw from Yemen in 24 hours' time.

The confrontation threatened to open a new front in Yemen's decadelong war, with forces allied against the Iranian-backed Houthis possibly turning their sights on each other in the Arab world's poorest nation long stalked by famine and disease.

It also further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neighboring nations on the Arabian Peninsula that increasingly have competed with each other over economic issues and the region’s politics, particularly in the wider Red Sea region.

“I expect a calibrated escalation from both sides. The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council is likely to respond by consolidating control,” said Mohammed al-Basha, a Yemen expert and the founder of the Basha Report, a risk advisory firm.

Escalation in Yemen threatens to reignite civil war and create wider tensions in Gulf region

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen’s port city of Mukalla on Tuesday, targeting a shipment of weapons from the United Arab Emirates for separatist forces — a significant move in a country located along a key international trade route that threatens to bring new risks to the Persian Gulf region.

The secessionist Southern Transitional Council, STC, a group backed by the United Arab Emirates, this month seized most of the the provinces of Hadramout and Mahra, including oil facilities.

Yemen has been mired for more than a decade in a civil war that involves a complex interplay of sectarian grievances and the involvement of regional powers.

The Iran-aligned Houthis control the most populous regions of the country, including the capital Sanaa. Meanwhile, a loose regional coalition of powers — including Saudi Arabia and the UAE — has backed the internationally recognized government in the south.

The war has created a humanitarian crisis and shattered the economy. Still, since 2022, violence had gradually declined as the sides reached something of a stalemate in the war.

Trump says the US 'hit' a facility along shore where he says alleged drug boats 'load up'

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump has indicated that the U.S. has “hit” a dock facility along a shore as he wages a pressure campaign on Venezuela, but the U.S. offered few details.

Trump initially seemed to confirm a strike in what appeared to be an impromptu radio interview Friday, and when questioned Monday by reporters about “an explosion in Venezuela,” he said the U.S. struck a facility where boats accused of carrying drugs “load up."

“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs," Trump said as he met in Florida with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "They load the boats up with drugs, so we hit all the boats and now we hit the area. It’s the implementation area. There’s where they implement. And that is no longer around.”

It is part of an escalating effort to target what the Trump administration says are boats smuggling drugs bound for the United States. It moves closer to shore strikes that so far have been carried out by the military in international waters in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. military said it conducted another strike on Monday against a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people. The attacks have killed at least 107 people in 30 strikes since early September, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

China flexes blockade capabilities near Taiwan on second day of military drills

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China's People's Liberation Army staged a second day of large-scale military drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, unleashing a live-fire show of force as part of what it called “Justice Mission 2025” to demonstrate its ability to deter any external armed support for the self-ruled island that it has long insisted is part of its sovereign territory.

The PLA's Eastern Theater Command sent destroyers, frigates, fighters and bombers to the waters to the north and south of the island to test its ability in sea-air coordination and blockading. Its ground forces carried out long-range, live-fire drills in the waters to the island's north and also organized live-fire training, alongside simulated long-range, joint strike with air, navy and missiles units, in the waters to Taiwan's south, achieving what command spokesperson Li Xi called “desired effects.”

The maneuvers increased tension around the Taiwan Strait as 2025 drew to a close, but the impact extended beyond military pressure into everyday life. Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration was notified that seven temporary “dangerous zones” had been set up around the strait. The schedules of Taiwan’s four international airports on Tuesday afternoon showed over 100 international and domestic flights had revised times, delays or cancellations, according to their websites.

Xinhua, China's official news agency, posted a commentary late Monday saying the drills sent an unequivocal message: That Beijing is always ready to prevent anything that tries to split Taiwan from China. Each escalation, it said, would be met with stronger countermeasures.

“By currying favor with the United States through obsequious loyalty gestures and promoting arms purchases, the DPP is binding the entire island of Taiwan to its catastrophic secessionist chariot, disregarding public opinion,” it wrote, referring to Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

China's top diplomat blasts US arms sale to Taiwan as military drills around the island unfold

BEIJING (AP) — China’s foreign minister on Tuesday slammed a record U.S. arms sale to Taiwan as Beijing conducted the second day of military drills around the island it has long claimed as its own.

Wang Yi, the most senior Chinese official to comment on the sales so far, also blasted the “pro-independence forces in Taiwan” and Japan’s leaders during an end-of-the-year diplomatic event in Beijing.

“In response to the continuous provocations by pro-independence forces in Taiwan and the large-scale U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, we must resolutely oppose and strongly counter them,” Wang said while reviewing a year of diplomacy by Asia’s largest and most influential nation.

He reiterated China’s aim for a “complete reunification” with Taiwan, a self-ruled island that split from China during a civil war in 1949 and evolved into a multiparty democracy.

Taiwan’s government argues the island was never part of China in its current form under the Communist Party and Beijing’s sovereignty claims are illegitimate.

Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is 'stable' after 2 die in car accident in Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Anthony Joshua, the two-time former world heavyweight champion from Britain, was in a stable condition in the hospital Monday after being involved in a car crash in Nigeria that killed two people who were close friends and team members, his promoter said.

Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing said on X that Joshua “sustained injuries in the accident and was taken to hospital for checks and treatment" and he will “remain there for observation.” It named Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele as the two passengers who had “tragically passed away.”

Photos on social media showed Joshua being extricated from a wrecked vehicle while he was wincing in pain.

“Following thorough clinical evaluations, medical professionals have confirmed that both patients (hospitalized after the accident) are stable and do not require any emergency medical intervention at this time,” a joint statement by Lagos and Ogun state governments said.

The Lagos state commissioner for information, Gbenga Omotoso, confirmed the accident in a post on X, adding that the government had sent ambulances to the crash site.

A bomb cyclone brings blizzards to the Midwest before turning east

A strengthening bomb cyclone barreled across the northern U.S. on Monday, unleashing severe winter weather in the Midwest as it took aim at the East Coast.

The storm brought blizzard conditions, treacherous travel and power outages to parts of the Plains and Great Lakes on Monday as sharply colder air, strong winds and a mix of snow, ice and rain swept through.

Forecasters said the storm intensified quickly enough to meet the criteria of a bomb cyclone, a system that strengthens rapidly as pressure drops. The sharp cold front left parts of the central U.S. waking up Monday to temperatures as much as 50 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) colder than the day before.

All that wind and snow created “a pretty significant system for even this part of the country,” said Cody Snell, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center. Dangerous wind chills plunged as low as minus 30 F (minus 34 C) across parts of North Dakota and Minnesota.

The National Weather Service had warned of whiteout conditions beginning Sunday that could make travel impossible in some places.

Tiger Woods turns 50. It's the one time golf's greats can relate to him

Talk to any golfer who played against Tiger Woods and there is sure to be at least one story about one shot so sublime they were certain it could not be hit by them or anyone else.

He was just different. Better.

The 2-iron Woods hit into the par-5 10th hole at the TPC Sugarloaf led Stewart Cink to say, “This is a skill set I don't have.” Padraig Harrington once saw Woods hit an 8-iron so majestic at Firestone that it got in his head and led to the Irishman making triple bogey.

Nick Price played the opening two rounds with Woods at St. Andrews in the 2000 British Open and felt the tournament already was over. Mark O'Meara played a practice round with him at Pebble Beach before the 2000 U.S. Open and told his wife before the championship started, “Tiger is going to win. And not only is he going to win, he's going to blow away the field.” Woods won by 15.

For all those years, so many greats in the game could never relate to Woods. And now, finally, they can.

Khaleda Zia, former Bangladeshi prime minister and archrival of a previous premier, dies at 80

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, whose archrivalry with another former premier defined the country’s politics for a generation, has died, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party said in a statement Tuesday. She was 80.

Zia was the first woman elected prime minister of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh's interim government announced a three-day mourning period. A general holiday also was announced for Wednesday when Zia’s funeral prayers are scheduled be held in front of the country's national Parliament building in Dhaka.

Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus issued a statement Tuesday citing Zia's contributions to the country.

“Her role in the struggle to establish democracy, a multi-party political culture, and the rights of the people in Bangladesh will be remembered forever,” Yunus said.

Russia's nuclear-capable Oreshnik missiles have entered active service, Moscow says

Russia’s nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile system has entered active service, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday, as negotiators continue to search for a breakthrough in peace talks to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Troops held a brief ceremony to mark the occasion in neighboring Belarus where the missiles have been deployed, the ministry said. It did not say how many missiles had been deployed or give any other details.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier in December that the Oreshnik would enter combat duty this month. He made the statement at a meeting with top Russian military officers, where he warned that Moscow will seek to extend its gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies reject the Kremlin’s demands in peace talks.

The announcement comes at a critical time for Russia-Ukraine peace talks. U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Zelenskyy at his Florida resort Sunday and insisted that Kyiv and Moscow were “closer than ever before” to a peace settlement.

However, negotiators are still searching for a breakthrough on key issues, including whose forces withdraw from where in Ukraine and the fate of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the 10 biggest in the world. Trump noted that the monthslong U.S.-led negotiations could still collapse.