FirstUp: Trump to meet Venezuela's Maria Corina Machado and other headlines of the day

US President Donald Trump will meet Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado today. A new hearing for the jailed former mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, is scheduled to take place today.

Presidential elections are set to take place in Uganda today. In India, 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra will head to the polls today. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is set to hear a plea regarding the Tamil film Jana Nayagan.

Here are some of the events taking place across the world.

Trump to meet Machado at White House

US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the White House today. The meeting comes amid an uncertain political transition in Venezuela following the US operation that captured former leader Nicolas Maduro on January 3.

Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has expressed a desire to share or give her prize to Trump. But this is an offer that the Norwegian Nobel Institute has clarified is not possible to transfer.

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The sit-down highlights the complex US strategy, as the Trump administration has been simultaneously working with Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, who was sworn in as acting president.

New hearing for jailed Istanbul mayor

A new hearing for the former mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, is scheduled to take place today. The proceedings will take place in a courtroom within the Marmara Closed Prison campus (Silivri).

On March 18, 2025, Istanbul University annulled Imamoglu’s degree from the English Business Department, citing alleged irregularities in his horizontal transfer procedures decades ago. Under the Turkish Constitution, a university degree is a prerequisite for presidential candidates.

Imamoglu, considered the main rival to President Erdogan for the 2028 elections, has appealed this cancellation as a “political siege” intended to disqualify him from future office.

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Presidential elections in Uganda

Uganda’s general elections are scheduled to take place tomorrow, January 15, 2026. Voters will elect the President and Members of Parliament.

Political tensions are elevated, and there have been reports of repression against opposition parties during the campaign. Internet services have been suspended ahead of the polls, citing security concerns. Travel advisories have been issued urging caution and vigilance.

BMC election to take place

Maharashtra is heading to elections for 29 municipal corporations. All eyes remain on Mumbai, where the  BJP-led Mahayuti is locked in a battle with the united Thackeray front for control of the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Polling for the 2,869 seats spread across 893 wards will begin at 7.30 am and conclude at 5.30 pm on January 15. A total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates, including 1,700 in Mumbai and 1,166 in Pune. Counting of votes will take place on January 16.

More than 25,000 police personnel, including senior officers, will be deployed across Mumbai to oversee elections to the BMC and vote counting. Except for Mumbai, the other 28 urban bodies have multi-member wards.

SC to hear plea of ‘Jana Nayagan’ film

The Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear a plea regarding the Tamil film Jana Nayagan over the film’s censorship and release.

The producers are challenging an interim order from the Madras High Court that stayed a previous directive for the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to grant a U/A 16+ certificate.

The CBFC Chairperson had referred the film to a Revising Committee following complaints that it allegedly misrepresented the armed forces and could hurt religious sentiments. The producers argue this move was unauthorised after the initial Examining Committee had already recommended certification.

A bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Augustine George Masih is expected to hear the petition.

With inputs from agencies