Manila, Jan 07: The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said a magnitude 6.7 earthquake hit off Davao Oriental province in the southern Philippines on Wednesday morning.

The institute said the earthquake occurred at 11:02 a.m. local time at a depth of 42 kilometers, with the epicentre about 47 kilometres from the coastal town of Manay.

Tremors were felt across the island.

The institute said the earthquake is expected to generate aftershocks and cause damage, particularly in areas near the epicentre, Xinhua news agency reported.

Police and disaster officials near the quake’s epicentre said there were no immediate ‍reports of damage or injuries ‍from the earthquake.

Earlier on December 22, 2025, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 had jolted waters near the Philippines , the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences had said.

The epicentre, with a depth of 10 km, was initially determined to be at 8.32 degrees north latitude and 127.57 degrees east longitude.

In October 2025, a strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked the central region of the Philippines, leaving behind extensive damage, numerous casualties, and widespread fear. Several structures were damaged or collapsed, while electricity supply was disrupted in multiple locations, intensifying the chaos among residents.

The quake originated roughly 19 kilometres northeast of Bogo, a seaside city in Cebu province, and struck at a very shallow depth of about five kilometres. Following the tremor, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology issued a tsunami warning as a precaution, which was later withdrawn after monitoring confirmed that no dangerous sea waves had formed.

The Philippines experiences frequent and often severe earthquakes due to its location in one of the world’s most geologically active zones — the Pacific Ring of Fire. This vast belt is marked by constant movement of tectonic plates, resulting in intense seismic and volcanic activity.

In the central Philippines, seismic activity is influenced mainly by interactions between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. To the east, the Philippine Sea Plate is being forced beneath the Philippine Microplate along the Philippine Trench. On the western side, the Eurasian, or Sunda, Plate subducts beneath the islands along the Manila and Negros Trenches.

This rare ‘double subduction’ setting builds immense underground pressure. Although Tuesday’s earthquake was triggered by a shallow local fault, the underlying stress from these converging plates played a crucial role, explaining why the country remains highly vulnerable to earthquakes.

Caracas, Jan 07: President Donald Trump has said on his social media site that “Interim Authorities” in Venezuela would be providing 30 million to 50 million barrels of “High Quality” oil to the US at its market price.

The announcement on Tuesday came after officials in Caracas announced that at least 24 Venezuelan security officers were killed in the dead-of-night US military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro and spirit him to the United States to face drug charges.

Trump posted on Truth Social that the oil “will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.” He said the money would be controlled by him as president but it would be used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.

Separately, the White House is organising an Oval Office meeting Friday with oil company executives regarding Venezuela, with representatives of Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips expected to attend, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the plans.

Earlier Tuesday, Venezuelan officials announced the death count in the Maduro raid as the country’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, pushed back on Trump, who earlier this week warned she’d face an outcome worse than Maduro’s if she does not “do what’s right” and overhaul Venezuela into a country that aligns with US interests. Trump has said his administration will now “run” Venezuela policy and is pressing the country’s leaders to open its vast oil reserves to American energy companies.

Rodriguez, delivering an address Tuesday before government agricultural and industrial sector officials, said, “Personally, to those who threaten me: My destiny is not determined by them, but by God.”

Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab said overall “dozens” of officers and civilians were killed in the weekend strike in Caracas and said prosecutors would investigate the deaths in what he described as a “war crime.” He didn’t specify if the estimate was specifically referring to Venezuelans.

In addition to the Venezuelan security officials, Cuba’s government had previously confirmed that 32 Cuban military and police officers working in Venezuela were killed in the raid. The Cuban government says the personnel killed belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the country’s two main security agencies.

Seven US service members were also injured in the raid, according to the Pentagon. Five have already returned to duty, while two are still recovering from their injuries. The injuries included gunshot wounds and shrapnel injuries, according to a US official who was not authorised to comment on the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

A video tribute to the slain Venezuelan security officials posted to the military’s Instagram account features faces of the fallen over black-and-white videos of soldiers, American aircraft flying over Caracas and armoured vehicles destroyed by the blasts. Meanwhile, the streets of Caracas, deserted for days following Maduro’s capture, briefly filled with masses of people waving Venezuelan flags and bouncing to patriotic music at a state-organised display of support for the government.

“Their spilled blood does not cry out for vengeance, but for justice and strength,” the military wrote in an Instagram post. “It reaffirms our unwavering oath not to rest until we rescue our legitimate President, completely dismantle the terrorist groups operating from abroad, and ensure that events such as these never again sully our sovereign soil.”

Trump grumbles about how Democrats reacted to the raid

Trump on Tuesday pushed back against Democratic criticism of this weekend’s military operation, noting that his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden had also called for the arrest of the Venezuelan leader on drug trafficking charges.

Trump in remarks before a House Republican retreat in Washington grumbled that Democrats were not giving him credit for a successful military operation, even though there was bipartisan agreement that Maduro was not the rightful president of Venezuela.

In 2020, Maduro was indicted in the United States, accused in a decades-long narco-terrorism and international cocaine trafficking conspiracy. White House officials have noted that Biden’s administration in his final days in office last year raised the award for information leading to Maduro’s arrest after he assumed a third term in office despite evidence suggesting that he lost Venezuela’s most recent election. The Trump administration doubled the award to USD 50 million in August.

“You know, at some point, they should say, You know, you did a great job. Thank you. Congratulations.’ Wouldn’t it be good?” Trump said. “I would say that if they did a good job, their philosophies are so different. But if they did a good job, I’d be happy for the country. They’ve been after this guy for years and years and years.”

With oil trading at roughly USD 56 a barrel, the transaction Trump announced late Tuesday could be worth as much as USD 2.8 billion. The US goes through an average of roughly 20 million barrels a day of oil and related products, so Venezuela’s transfer would be the equivalent of as much as two and a half days of supply, according to the US Energy Information Administration.