Hard work should pay. Unlock quality journalism that champions free enterprise. | | Nicolás Maduro was escorted to court in Manhattan by federal agents | | Daniel Bates in Daniel Patrick Moynihan US courthouse, New York | Nicolás Maduro smiled as he entered the Manhattan courtroom.
Wishing his supporters “a happy New Year”, he shuffled to his seat, shackled at the ankles, to face narco-terrorism charges. Appearing before 92-year-old federal judge Alvin Hellerstein, the deposed president was asked to confirm his name.
Through a translator, he told the court: “I am Nicolás Maduro Moros. I am president of the republic of Venezuela. I am here, kidnapped, since Saturday Jan 3.” Judge Hellerstein cut him off, ordering him to confirm his name only. It was a humbling moment for a man who, three days earlier, was a head of state.
Maduro, 63, had walked into courtroom 26A wearing a dark top with an orange T-shirt underneath and prison-issued tan trousers.
His wife, Cilia Flores, 69, wore similar clothes and shackles as she sat with her face bandaged. She had visible bruises to her face – one the size of a golf ball on her forehead – red cheeks and what appeared to be a welt over her right eye. | A sketch of Maduro, left, and his wife in Manhattan federal court | Her lawyer asked that she be given an X-ray because she had sustained “significant injuries” during her apprehension. There was a “fracture or severe injuries to her ribs”, he said.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Maduro’s temper boiled over when he was confronted by a dissident who had secured a seat in the public gallery.
Pedro Rojas, 33, was imprisoned by the regime in Venezuela for months in 2019, and as the former leader left the court, Rojas shouted that Maduro was an “illegitimate” president and he would “pay”. Raising his finger, Maduro snapped back: “I’m a man of God” and claimed he was “a kidnapped president” and “a prisoner of war”.
There were signs of the legal strategy Maduro’s defence team will adopt. They argued there were “issues of legality” with the former leader’s “military abduction” on Saturday, and Maduro’s claim that he was a “prisoner of war” appeared to be an attempt to invoke certain rights under the Geneva Convention.
It will play out again on Mar 17 when he is next due in court, but what the geopolitical landscape will look like by then is anyone’s guess.
Read the full story here ➤
Rob Crilly: Trump’s next move on Venezuela? He doesn’t have one ➤
Latina Lady Macbeth: Maduro’s wife was the power behind the throne ➤
Sam Ashworth-Hayes: If we can’t defend Greenland, Europe is truly finished ➤ | | Celia Walden We have never been a feeble country, but our lack of grit when the snow falls is a national embarrassment Continue reading ➤ Jamie Carragher Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United reign could not have been any worse Continue reading ➤ Brendan O’Neill Lewis Goodall’s car-crash phone-in exposes the smug ignorance of liberals Continue reading ➤ |  | | Steve Smith has pressed on after the dismissal of Travis Head | Ah, Sydney. The graveyard of English cricket, the site of so many horrible moments at the end of an ugly Ashes tour. And on the third day of this Test, with Joe Root’s fine century feeling like ancient history, England were ground into the dust, writes Will Macpherson.
There were all the hallmarks of a wheels-off shocker in a grim morning session. A terrible dropped catch (and a couple of other tough ones), a nightwatchman digging in, wasted reviews and boundaries galore. Travis Head helped himself to a third century of the series, then Steve Smith notched his first, and he’ll go again tomorrow on 129 not out.
It was all rather bleak, but at least it was befitting for this tour of horrors.
See how the day’s play unfolded ➤ | | Sorry to kick off the new year with gloom, but Britain’s employment figures really do make for grim reading. By some measures, unemployment is now as bad as during the depths of the pandemic and most experts agree things are going to get worse as vacancies plummet. Labour’s myriad tax rises and (un)Employment Rights Act are clobbering employers and there’s no evidence that Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer are going to conjure up an economic miracle. Continue reading ➤ | | | Immortalised by JMW Turner, Petworth House in Sussex is a jewel in the crown of the National Trust. While the charity manages most of the house, the ancestral owner – Max Wyndham, second Baron Egremont, 7th Baron Leconfield and his family – reside in the south wing. As part of Telegraph Money’s Great Estates series, Eleanor Doughty speaks to Lord Egremont about how he inherited the estate at just 24 – and hears his surprising view on taxing the wealthy. Continue reading ➤ | | | When it was launched in 1932, SS Normandie was the fastest and most opulent ocean liner in existence. Considered by many to be the last great triumph of the Art Deco era, it soon became the darling of the travelling elite, crossing between the old world and the new. However, she would go from ostentation to desolation in just 14 years, ending up a burnt-out wreck off the coast of Manhattan. Gary Buchanan tells the tale. Continue reading ➤ | | | Are you feeling less mentally sharp, finding it harder to multitask or get your words out? It could be a sign that your cognitive health is deteriorating. Ben Parris, a professor of cognition and cognitive neuroscience, shares the signs to watch out for and his tips on how to delay it – from weight training to watching quiz shows.
Continue reading ➤
Plus, in case you missed it in yesterday morning’s From the Editor, try our new games to determine how well your brain is ageing ➤ | | | Molly Parkin, who died yesterday aged 93, was a fashion editor, comic-erotic novelist and painter whose real-life adventures seemed as outlandish as her raunchiest fiction. Read the full story of her life of rackety splendour in her obituary. Continue reading ➤ | | | Madeira, Portugal’s most famous Atlantic island, is renowned for its sheer beauty | The drudgery of January is upon us once more. The reality of scraping the car and sub-zero commutes has hit the nation. Yet you need not travel far to escape the gloom. From Mediterranean favourites to Red Sea retreats, writer Chris Leadbeater identifies the short-haul havens that deliver a serious dose of vitamin D without the exhausting flight. Continue reading ➤ Below are two more helpful articles for you this morning: | | Rose Wylie’s Pink Skater (Will I Win, Will I Win), 2015 will be displayed at the Royal Academy |  | Alastair Sooke Chief Art Critic | I’m really excited about the exhibitions in store for us during 2026, which, given the number of solo shows in prospect for big-name senior living artists (including 88-year-old David Hockney and 91-year-old Rose Wylie), may come to be viewed, in terms of our museums and galleries, as the “year of venerability”.
“Venerable” is certainly how I’d describe the Romanesque masterpiece at the centre of the year’s biggest exhibition, at the British Museum – where, returning to this country for the first time since it was created, the Bayeux Tapestry will go on display this autumn.
Unsurprisingly, given how high it has been riding recently, the National Gallery has announced a series of enticing shows, including a monographic exhibition devoted to the 15th-century Flemish master Jan van Eyck.
However, surprisingly, given its ongoing crisis of confidence, the Tate has unveiled a solid line-up of exhibitions too, starting with a rousing retrospective at Tate Modern, of work by Tracey Emin. At 62, Emin may not be “venerable” just yet, but since she emerged in the 1990s, she’s shed her wild-child image and, still as charismatic as ever, is now a national treasure.
Continue reading ➤ | Hardy hardware While Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, is away, Kate Moore is on hand to share an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Kate writes...
We could all do with someone skilled in the art of hardware resuscitation. For me, growing up, that was my uncle, who could repair a computer or a phone in about the time it took to remember the password. Now that I have entered into adulthood, I remain convinced that a good 30 per cent of child rearing comes down to the ability to restore a beloved toy when the child comes to you with the innards hanging out.
It was gratifying, therefore, to learn from Benedict J Smith’s piece on household appliances how many readers are swimming against the tide of our throwaway culture. The manufacturers may not be making it easy, but a real make-do-and-mend spirit persists. “I am the child of parents who were alive during two world wars,” said Nicholas Hingley. “Old stuff gets repaired. Some stuff that is assembled never to be taken apart again can be a bit of a challenge but I have had successes. Any item I buy has to be simple and basic with the least gadgetry possible. The less there is to go wrong, the longer the service life.”
Under the same article we received tales of venerable Kenwood mixers, hard-wearing washing machines and Hoovers old enough for a seat in the House of Lords. Clare Leigh is fortunate enough to have a friend who is “obsessed with Hoovers”. “He has a collection of models from the 1960s. When my five-year-old Hoover broke he leant me one of his 1960s models. Much lighter and still going strong.”
Some stories leapt out, such as Fran Pitt’s detective work on her inherited dishwasher. “I knew it was fairly old, but didn’t realise quite how old until a friend came across a photograph of Mrs Thatcher in the kitchen at No 10 – with a dishwasher in the picture which is identifiably the same model as mine,” she wrote. “While the photo wasn’t dated, the whole context was the novelty of Britain having its first ever woman PM, so it must be 1979/80. Still working today (fingers crossed), 45 years later.” What’s your longest-wearing piece of kit? And how many of your possessions have gone on to rich, productive afterlives? Send your responses here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of From the Editor PM, for which you can sign up here.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. | | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was DEVILMENT. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. | | Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor | |
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