JUST IN: 🇬🇧🇷🇺 UK Ministry of Defence confirms it provided support to the US in the seizure of the Russian-flagged oil tanker Bella 1.

How do tattoos affect our immune system?


Humans have been tattooing their skin for thousands of years, and the practice has grown in popularity across the world in recent decades.

However, tattoos don’t come without risks to our health and immune systems, experts say.

The risk of contracting an infection or disease via unsanitary or cross-contaminated tattoo needles is well documented, but those risks have declined over time as more sophisticated hygiene standards have been implemented globally.

Less is known, however, about the long-term impacts of tattoo ink once it enters the human body and how it interacts with our immune system once it’s there.

Research has found that certain substances in tattoo ink can be identified by immune cells and carried to the lymph nodes, where they can accumulate over time.

A recent study published in the medical journal Immunity & Inflammation found that this process can “induce a prominent and long-term inflammatory response.”

The study also found that the presence of tattoo ink at the site of vaccine injection “modulated immune responses in a vaccine-specific manner.”

Researchers said they observed a reduced response to the COVID-19 vaccine but an enhanced response to the UV-inactivated flu vaccine, “reflecting differences in the mechanisms of action between these vaccine classes.”

University of Western Ontario chemist Yolanda Hedberg, who was not associated with the study, said anything that causes inflammation is generally not good for tissue, as it can increase the risk of other diseases including cancer and neurodegenerative conditions.
What is in tattoo ink?

Like needle hygiene, tattoo ink itself has become generally less dangerous over time, Hedberg told CTVNews.ca in an interview.

“Older tattoos (from) 100 years ago were containing chromium-6 and nickel and all those bright metal oxide pigments that can be quite highly toxic. Some of them like lead chromate are very toxic – we have gotten rid of most of those,” Hedberg said.

Modern tattoo ink contains a variety of coloured pigments, which Hedberg said are essentially dyes that are contained within a shell so that they remain intact and do not dissolve within the skin once injected.

Those pigments typically contain azo dyes, which are classified as synthetic organic compounds used to add vibrant colour to things like processed food, cosmetics and paints.

Hedberg said that tattoo inks today present significantly lower health risks compared to the older more toxic ones, “but they still have a risk, and the main risks with them are two parts; one is allergy and the other is cancer.”

Allergic reactions, which encompass a wide range of immune responses to substances the body deems unsafe, are the most common negative effects reported by people who have gotten tattoos, Hedberg said.

“The problem with allergies is that you don’t know if you will develop it, and if you develop it, you can’t get rid of the tattoo,” she said.

“Even if you laser it away, it just distributes the dye in your body, so, you get the allergy everywhere. It’s not solvable.”
Do tattoos increase cancer risk?

Hedberg said that the risk of severe reactions or complications from tattoos remains relatively rare, and tattoos have yet to be linked directly to the development of specific cancers. However, recent research has suggested that tattoos can increase someone’s risk of getting the disease.

“In the past five years, we have had several studies that came out that were long term, and they all found a slightly increased (cancer) risk,” she said.

“One of the most convincing studies was a twin study in Denmark, where they basically looked at twins and those that were tattooed versus those that were not, and they clearly saw an increased risk.”

The study, published in January of last year, looked at more than 2,000 twins born between 1960 and 1996. Researchers concluded that the data suggested “an increased hazard of lymphoma and skin cancers among tattooed individuals.”

“It’s not a big risk compared to smoking or something, of course, it’s not that big, but it is a statistically significant increased risk,” Hedberg said.

Despite these findings, current evidence continues to suggest that tattoos represent a “relatively low” overall health risk, Hedberg said, noting that some amount of risk exists in almost every aspect of life.

“Having a #tattoo is increasing some health risks slightly,” she said, “but not very much.”

Shots fired near Venezuela presidential palace: witnesses. Shots were fired late Monday near Venezuela’s presidential palace, witnesses said, days after U.S. forces captured the now-deposed president Nicolas Maduro in a military raid.

A source close to the government said the situation was under control.

Unidentified drones flew over the Miraflores palace in central Caracas and security forces opened fire in response around 8:00 pm (0000 GMT), the source said, hours after Maduro’s deputy Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president following his removal.

Bursts of gunfire rang out but not as strong as in the pre-dawn attack Saturday that toppled Maduro, according to a person who lives five blocks from the palace, who said the incident lasted about a minute.

“The first thing that came to mind was to see if there were planes flying ovehead but there were not. I just saw two red lights in the sky,” the resident near the palace said on condition of anonymity.

“Everyone was looking out their windows to see if there was a plane, to see what was happening.”

The Communications Ministry did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

#Video posted on social media shows what appears to be tracer bullets fired into the sky.

The video showed many security force members rushing to the palace after the shots.

The temporary #US triumph in Venezuela could turn into a disaster for President Donald Trump, #Russian senator Alexey Pushkov said.

"Trump's actions, and especially his statements, cannot be denied their effectiveness. Their efficiency is another matter. Previous US presidents were also delighted with their victories in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. They were all eager to announce their victories, but ultimately, they turned into either defeat, as in Afghanistan, or disaster, as in Libya and Iraq, where the US became mired for many years," the senator noted.

In his opinion, by attacking Venezuela and capturing its president, the US violated all norms, "once again stirring up the whole world, returning it to the savage imperialism of the 19th century." In addition, the US revived the concept of the Wild West, once again claiming the right to "do whatever they want in the Western Hemisphere," Pushkov pointed out.

"But what will be the end result? Won't the 'triumph' turn into a disaster?" the senator concluded.

On January 3, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto said that the US had attacked civilian and military targets in Caracas. He called Washington's actions military aggression. A state of emergency has been declared in the country. US President Donald Trump confirmed that his country had launched large-scale strikes on Venezuela. According to him, Maduro and his wife were captured and taken out of the country. According to CNN, they have been taken to the US and are currently being detained in a center in Brooklyn, south of New York City.

Eric Ham: Canada beware, Trump’s Venezuela invasion is a clear warning shot'

In 2025, Donald Trump tested the reach of his authority, faced down the system of checks and balances and dared the world to push back. Meeting no resistance, the twice-impeached commander-in-chief orchestrated his fait accompli, stealing the world’s largest oil reserves with nary an outcry from the international community.

Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s tinpot dictator that oversaw the invaluable buildup of black gold, is now locked away in an American jail. A violent and stark warning to anyone that stands in the way of a maniacal leader all too willing to use the mightiest military force as his personal marauding gang to take what he wants.

As the beginning of 2026 makes clear, nothing is safe. Sovereignty rests with the powerful. Resistance is useless, especially those in close proximity to America. Only five days into the new year and in blitzkrieg fashion, President Trump has altered the world order.

Abundant energy reserves are firmly in his grip, giving him even more influence and control to shape markets and economies. China could be cut out; Canada’s leverage hangs in the balance; and commodities are in for a bumpy ride.

In fact, China is still owed more than US$60 billion in loan repayments which Caracas was paying off to the tune of roughly 746,000 barrels per day, out of total exports of over 900,000 -- a debt likely to be cancelled by the Trump administration.
Canada’s energy advantage threatened

Moreover, Canadian oil refineries filled the gap due to shrinking oil production from the Latin American nation years ago. However, now that the Caracas spigot is firmly in the hands of Trump, Canada’s crude, which in many ways is similar to Venezuela’s, could be replaced. This would leave the Great White North’s energy coffers with a gaping hole. Still, in the aftermath of such a brazen coup of a nation’s vast natural resources, Trump is not stopping there.

Making clear to other nations a heavy price will be paid if one dares to stand in his way, only a day after the invasion of Venezuela, he reiterated his position on Greenland, making clear the Arctic gateway’s sovereignty too is in doubt. He stated: “We need Greenland. … It’s so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” he said. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”

Not stopping there, he responded to criticism levied by the leaders of Mexico and Colombia, warning that their respective countries could be next, saying, “Colombia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long.”

When pressed by a reporter whether those comments meant there could be an “operation” in Colombia in the future, Trump responded: “Sounds good to me.” Turning his attention to his southern neighbour, he said: “Mexico has to get their act together, because they’re pouring through Mexico, and we’re going to have to do something,” referring to drugs.


Doubling down on his threats, Trump lashed out at Maduro’s replacement, Delcy Rodriguez, making clear that if his intended objectives are not carried out, her fate, too, could be similar to the recently deposed leader’s, saying that “if she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”

More opinions and expert analyses

Buoyed by his latest power grab and not giving an inch, Trump will not stand for Rodríguez’s defiant rejection of the armed U.S. intervention that resulted in Maduro’s capture. Venezuela is the blueprint for President Trump’s grand and ambitious plan to supplant China and lead the world with control of much of the world’s natural resources.
Sovereignty means nothing anymore

The White House has made no secret of its intentions to take Greenland by force and now with an overwhelming abundance of crude at its disposal, the administration’s grand design of “economic force” by which to make Ottawa subservient to U.S. leadership is coming into clear focus. The targets just became more enlarged.

Venezuela fell without a fight, making a pugilistic president more, not less, emboldened. Charters and treaties (Greenland) mean nothing to a man guided by lawlessness and forged through corruption. Equally meaningless are land borders or even proximity (Canada). Once material advantages that benefited national and regional economies are now seen as assets to be devoured by the mightiest.

Mark Carney knows this all too well. The prime minister is acutely aware that congeniality and conviviality are no match for ego, greed, and dominance. For once the threat materializes, much like Maduro, no world leader, no economic engine, no military apparatus will rear its head to stand with Canadians or Greenlanders to ward off the Trump onslaught.

In North America, much like the world, America is still the dominant player, and no global or regional power can withstand an American imperialist willing to use all the tools of hard power in a vast and potent arsenal to force capitulation.

#Canada, like Greenland, is just too attractive in the eyes of an aging, imbecilic ruler ignorant to reality and even less moored by norms and standards. The world is on notice and those in America’s own backyard, especially those sharing a land border, should not only be wary, but beware.

‘That’s enough’: Greenland PM urges Trump to drop annex threats,

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Greenland to become part of the United States drew international condemnation on Monday, with the autonomous Danish territory’s prime minister warning: “That’s enough now.”

Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears about Greenland, the mineral-rich Arctic territory which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex.

“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One late on Sunday.

The island has untapped rare earth minerals and could be a vital player as the polar ice melts and new shipping routes emerge.

Greenland is also on the shortest route for missiles between Russia and the United States, and Washington already has a military base there.

“We’ll worry about Greenland in about two months,” continued Trump. “Let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen took to social media to tell the U.S. leader: “That’s enough now. No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation.”

“We are open to dialogue,” he said. “But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also said over the weekend the United States should stop threatening its NATO ally, and on Monday several European countries and the EU rushed to the support of Copenhagen.

After #Maduro, who’s next? #Trump’s comments spur anxieties about his plans for #Greenland and #Cuba.

The comments from Trump and Secretary of State #Marco Rubio after the ouster of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro underscore that the U.S. administration is serious about taking a more expansive role in the Western Hemisphere.

With thinly veiled threats, Trump is rattling hemispheric friends and foes alike, spurring a pointed question around the globe: Who’s next?

“We do need Greenland, absolutely,” Trump said in an interview with The Atlantic in which he described the strategically located Arctic island as “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships.”

Asked what the U.S.-military action in Venezuela could portend for Greenland, Trump replied: “They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know.” The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump, in his administration’s National Security Strategy published last month, laid out restoring “American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere” as a central guidepost for his second go-around in the White House.

Trump has also pointed to the 19th century Monroe Doctrine, which rejects European colonialism, as well as the Roosevelt Corollary — a justification invoked by the U.S. in supporting Panama’s secession from Colombia, which helped secure the Panama Canal Zone for the U.S. — as he’s made his case for an assertive approach to American neighbors and beyond.

Trump has even quipped that some now refer to the fifth U.S. president’s foundational document as the “Don-roe Doctrine.” . Saturday’s dead-of-night operation by U.S. forces in Caracas and Trump’s Atlantic interview heightened concerns in Denmark, which has jurisdiction over the vast mineral-rich island of Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a statement following Trump’s latest comments on Greenland said he has “no right to annex” the territory. She also reminded Trump that Denmark already provides the United States, a fellow member of NATO, broad access to Greenland through existing security agreements.

“I would therefore strongly urge the U.S. to stop threatening a historically close ally and another country and people who have made it very clear that they are not for sale,” Frederiksen said.

Denmark on Sunday also signed onto a European Union statement underscoring that “the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their future must be respected” as Trump has vowed to “run” Venezuela and pressed the acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, to get in line.

Greenlanders and Danes were further rankled by a social media post following the raid by a former Trump administration official turned podcaster, Katie Miller. The post shows an illustrated map of Greenland in the colors of the Stars and Stripes accompanied by the caption: “SOON.”

“And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Amb. Jesper Møller Sørensen, Denmark’s chief envoy to Washington, said in a post responding to Miller, who is married to Trump’s influential deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

During his presidential transition and in the early months of his return to the White House, Trump repeatedly called for U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland, and has pointedly not ruled out military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island that belongs to an ally.

The issue had largely drifted out of the headlines in recent months. Then Trump put the spotlight back on Greenland less than two weeks ago when he said he would appoint Republican Gov. Jeff Landry as his special envoy to Greenland.

The Louisiana governor said in his volunteer position he would help Trump “make Greenland a part of the U.S.”
A stern warning to Cuba

Meanwhile, concern simmered in Cuba, one of Venezuela’s most important allies and trading partners, as Rubio issued a new stern warning to the Cuban government. U.S.-Cuba relations have been hostile since the 1959 Cuban revolution.

Rubio, in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said Cuban officials were with Maduro in Venezuela ahead of his capture.

“It was Cubans that guarded Maduro,” Rubio said. “He was not guarded by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguards.” The secretary of state added that Cuban bodyguards were also in charge of “internal intelligence” in Maduro’s government, including “who spies on who inside to make sure there are no traitors.”

Trump on Saturday told reporters that he viewed the Cuban government as “very similar” to Venezuela.

“I think Cuba is going to be something we’ll end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now, a very badly failing nation, and we want to help the people,” Trump said.

Cuban authorities called a rally in support of Venezuela’s government and railed against the U.S. military operation, writing in a statement: “All the nations of the region must remain alert, because the threat hangs over all of us.”

Rubio, a former Florida senator and son of Cuban immigrants, has long maintained Cuba is a dictatorship repressing its people.

“This is the Western Hemisphere. This is where we live — and we’re not going to allow the Western Hemisphere to be a base of operation for adversaries, competitors, and rivals of the United States," Rubio said.

Cubans like 55-year-old biochemical laboratory worker Bárbara Rodríguez were following developments in Venezuela. She said she worried about what she described as an “aggression against a sovereign state.”

“It can happen in any country, it can happen right here. We have always been in the crosshairs,” Rodríguez said.

AP writer Andrea Rodriguez in Havana, Cuba contributed reporting.

Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press

Prominent South Korean movie star Ahn Sung-ki has died, hospital says. The death of Ahn, who had been fighting blood cancer for years, was announced by the Seoul-based Soonchunhyang University Hospital.

Ahn had collected more than 20 trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the prestigious Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor” the most.

U.S. lifts #Caribbean airspace curbs after attack on #Venezuela, The U.S. advised airlines on Saturday that its Caribbean airspace curbs would expire at midnight ET (0500 GMT) and flights could resume as schedules are quickly updated, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

The comments on X followed the cancelation of hundreds of flights by major airlines after the U.S. attack on Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolas Maduro.

Key carriers United Airlines, American Airlines, Spirit and Delta were readying to resume flights to the Caribbean by Sunday.

In a statement, United said a flight to San Juan in Puerto Rico was planned for Saturday night, adding, “We expect to operate most scheduled flights to the region for Sunday.”

Delta Air Lines expects to fly its normal Carribean schedule on Sunday, it said in a statement, but adjusted to reposition resources.

American Airlines said in a statement that it was preparing for the Eastern Caribbean airspace to reopen Sunday and had added more than 3,700 extra seats to and from the region on top of resuming scheduled service.

It said it was operating extra flights and deploying larger aircraft, including widebodies, to “add as much lift as possible” to help customers affected by the FAA‑mandated closure.

Spirit Airlines said in an emailed statement that it had resumed flights to and from the Caribbean on Jan. 4, following the expiration of the U.S. FAA’s airspace closure directive.

Even after the removal of curbs, however, airlines will need several days to restore normal operations, said airline analyst Robert Mann, adding, “They have a day’s worth of passengers basically,” already stranded in the Caribbean.

American Airlines, Delta, United, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways began canceling flights, in line with Federal Aviation Administration airspace closures in the Caribbean.

JetBlue canceled 215 flights, an airline spokesperson said. The company said on Sunday it would resume normal operations.

In a notice to airmen, the FAA said it closed the airspace to U.S. carriers “due to safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity.”

In other security notices for non-U.S. air carriers, the agency warned them away from Venezuelan airspace.

It cautioned British operators against “potential risk from anti-aircraft weaponry and heightened military activity” if flying within 100 miles (160 km) of Venezuelan airspace.

The FAA declined further comment.
Non-U.S. airlines also cancel flights

Several European and South American airlines also canceled flights.

The curbs would be lifted “when appropriate,” Duffy had said in a post on X.

American military activity near Venezuela led to a near mid-air crash in November between a JetBlue airliner and a U.S. aerial refueling tanker, media said.

Several carriers waived change fees and fare differences for customers affected by the closures if they postponed travel.

Saturday’s U.S. military operation captured Venezuela’s long-serving President Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump said, promising to put the country under American control for now, by deploying U.S. forces if necessary.

Air Canada said its Caribbean and South American operations were normal, under guidance from Transport Canada, and it was monitoring the situation, adding, “We will update as required if the situation changes.”

Commercial air traffic over Venezuelan airspace appeared to stop after Saturday’s attack, records on tracker FlightRadar24 showed.

Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle, David Shepardson in Washington, Preetika Parashuraman, Gnaneshwar Rajan and Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese, Rod Nickel and Clarence Fernandez.

#MOSCOW, January 3. The #US military operation against Venezuela could trigger a short-term rise in oil prices to $70-80 per barrel, editor-in-chief of InfoTEK Alexander Frolov told #TASS.

The price of March Brent crude futures stood at $60.8 per barrel at the close of trading on January 1 on London’s ICE exchange.

"The oil market may react sharply in the immediate term, with prices surging. However, a pullback can be expected just as quickly, since in real terms Venezuelan production has a negligible impact on global supply," he said.

"If global agencies suddenly start saying that the global oil market will stabilize specifically without Venezuela and that the surplus of supply predicted by international agencies will not materialize, then prices could return to the $70-80 per barrel range. That effect, however, would be driven exclusively by verbal interventions," the expert added.

Frolov explained that Venezuela only nominally possesses the world’s largest oil reserves, as this indicator does not translate into actual production volumes due to high production costs and sanctions pressure.

According to the expert, sanctions have affected about 0.5 mln barrels per day of output, while persistently high costs over more than a decade of crises have resulted in losses exceeding 1 mln barrels per day.

On January 3, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto said that the United States had attacked civilian and military facilities in Caracas, describing Washington’s actions as military aggression. A state of emergency has been imposed in Venezuela. US President Donald Trump confirmed that the United States had carried out large-scale strikes on Venezuela. According to him, the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, along with his wife, was captured and taken out of the country.