Corax
Turkey announces it will export 15,000 tonnes of eggs to the US through July, the US currently impacted by ongoing bird flu outbreak which has affected nearly 129 million poultry
World
Turkey announces it will export 15,000 tonnes of eggs to the US through July, the US currently impacted by ongoing bird flu outbreak which has affected nearly 129 million poultry
Ukraine not invited to the peace talks between the US and Russia according to a senior Ukrainian government source to the BBC, European leaders also not invited and will instead meet on Monday in Paris at a hastily arranged summit, Zelensky says he will never accept any decisions between the US and Russia about Ukraine
India has together with the US identified some 18,000 illegal Indian migrants in the US and is willing to repatriate them to avoid a trade war, some 220,000 illegal Indian immigrants resided in the US in 2022 according to a US Department of Homeland Security report
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz comments on Elon Musk's hand gesture during Donald Trump's inauguration by saying that there is freedom of speech in Europe and in Germany even for billionaires but that supporting extreme-right positions is not accepted, Musk who previously criticized Scholz after the Magdeburg Christmas market terror attack posts "Shame on Oaf Schitz" on X
US withdraws from the World Health Organization due to its mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic and other global health crises as well as the unfairly onerous payments where the US contributes nearly ten times as much as China
France carries out airstrikes against suspected ISIS positions in Syria, seven bombs dropped, Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu says that their armies remain engaged in the fight against terrorism in the Levant
Joe Biden announces USD 2.47 billion in security assistance for Ukraine of which 1.25 billion for the Ukrainian military and a 1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package, says he has directed his administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible including drawing down older US equipment where the Department of Defense is in the process of delivering hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds and hundreds of armored vehicles
Miscellaneous
Japan Post stops delivering live reptiles, says shipping animals in an environment where temperature control and food are unavailable can amount to animal abuse, deliveries of mammals and birds already banned
David Lynch dead at 78 in emphysema, directed Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive as well as many other mainly surreal movies, also avidly practiced transcendental meditation and set up the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace
Leftist theatre Gaîté Lyrique in Paris faces bankruptcy as 250 African migrants have occupied the building for the last five weeks after being invited for a free conference entitled Reinventing the welcome for refugees in France, the theatre comments that it is unthinkable to throw out the occupants and calls for local authorities to find a housing solution, the local authorities say no accomodation is available and call for the government to deal with the problem but President Macron ignores the request
Finnish Customs completes preliminary investigation of suspected illegal import of 36 tonnes of minke whale meat from Norway to Finland in 2022 in the form of sausages for dogs, the sausages that were mixed 50/50 with poultry were ordered by a private operator and fed to sled dogs, five individuals suspected of serious nature conservation and customs clearance offences
Magnus Carlsen confirms that he will participate in the FIDE World Blitz Championship in New York after the organization changed its dress code, withdrew from the World Rapid Championship after being denied to play in jeans, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich notes that following the official dress-code is still mandatory but that elegant minor deviations such as appropriate jeans matching the jacket are allowed and that he hopes that nobody will try to undermine the festive mood by abusing this flexibility
The Italian Football Federation investigates Juve Stabia fans raising their arms and shouting Romano Mussolini's last name after he scored the game-winning goal against Cesena, Mussolini the great-grandson of Benito Mussolini, the club comments that it has celebrated goals the same way since 1907 where the speaker announces the scorer and the crowd then shouts out his last name before raising their arms to the sky in joy
Media
The White House posts video on X showing illegal immigrants being deported and jingling handcuffs titling it "ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight", mixed reception for the post that got six million interaction and 6,000 retweets within two hours, Elon Musk retweets the post writing "Haha Wow"
TikTok shuts down in the US after the Supreme Court upheld a law passed in April preventing American companies from hosting or serving TikTok content unless it sells itself to a buyer from the US or one of its allies, the company says that Donald Trump has indicated working on a solution and Trump has also said he will most likely delay the ban for 90 days, the TikTok app has been used by 170 million Americans
The EU Commission asks X to hand over internal documents about its algorithms, the company has been accused of giving far-right posts and politicians greater visibility over other political groups, EU digital commissioner Henna Virkkunen says they will not hesitate to ban or fine X if it was found to be in breach of the Digital Services Act
Meta dismantles censorship and fact-checking, will instead copy community notes feature from X, announced by Mark Zuckerberg who says Trump's election victory is tipping point toward prioritizing free speech
Meta deletes AI-generated accounts after criticism, Liv the "Proud Black queer momma of 2 & truth-teller" whose profile included pictures of her children among deleted accounts, says bug fixes were needed but has earlier communicated that they see a future where AI users generate and share content just like human accounts do on the platform
Albania blocks social network TikTok for at least a year starting 2025, Prime Minister Edi Rama says TikTok is the thug of the neighborhood and will be chased out
The prisoner CNN helped free from Syrian prison was the notorious torturer Salama Mohammad Salama with a long history of alleged war crimes, CNN comments that they have subsequently been investigating his background and are aware that he may have given a false identity, fact-checkers Verify-Sy notes that the man's grooming and general physical health constitute an incongruous portrayal of someone allegedly held in solitary confinement in the dark for 90 days and that there is no record of anyone in the region with the name he provided
European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) finds that the EU Commission's ad campaign on X breached the EU data protection laws as political views were processed to target the ads, the ad campaign was intended to sway opinion regarding Chat Control where EU wants to scan all electronic communications – keywords avoided by the campaign were for example #Qatargate, brexit, Christian and Vox
Politics
83-year-old Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell says he will not seek reelection, was first elected in 1986 and was the Senate's top Republican leader for 18 years, says representing the Kentuckian commonwealth seven times has been the honor of a lifetime but that he will not seek the honor an eighth time
Young voters drive the rise of Germany's right-wing AfD party which is expected to be the second largest party in Sunday's election, hundreds of young people line up in the eastern city of Suhl to listen to the party's extremist-designated Thuringia section leader Björn Höcke, 26-year-old Dante Reidel who says he idolizes Höcke and that his ideology represents Prussian virtues like diligence and discipline as well as cardinal virtues from antiquity
Karl Nehammer resigns as both Austrian chancellor and as leader of the conservative ÖVP after failing to form a new government along with the social democratic SPÖ, the talks caused by all parties refusing to work with right-wing FPÖ who came first in the September election with 29.2%, snap election now the next step which is welcomed by FPÖ which has increased its support to 35% according to a December survey
German Christian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz criticizes Elon Musk for his article where he stated that right-wing AfD is the country's last spark of hope, states that he cannot recall a comparable case of interference in the electoral campaign of a friendly country in the history of Western democracies and that one can only imagine the justified reaction of Americans if a prominent German businessman wrote an article in the New York Times backing an outsider in the US presidential election campaign
New French Prime Minister François Bayrou announces the country's fourth government of the year, former Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne is the new Education Minister, former Prime Minister Manuel Valls new Minister of the Overseas, former Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin new Justice Minister and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau retains his post
Opinion
Jayant Bhandari: India is about to return to its original state of corrupt, power-hungry sadism, the last remaining pieces of civilisation built by missionaries and the English will soon wither away, what's left is only a cargo-cult like adherence to Western values which still seems to fool many Westerners
EU's health ministers agree on recommending bans on smoking and vaping in many outdoor areas including cafe patios and beaches, all countries voted in favour apart from Germany and Greece which abstained, EU Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi comments that the agreement is a crucial step towards the goal of a tobacco-free generation in Europe
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy: Recent Supreme Court decisions make clear that numerous regulations are unconstitutional because they were not enacted by Congress, we will help Donald Trump identify such regulations so that he can immediately repeal them, this will also cause severe cuts to agencies and major cost savings
Jeff Bezos: Media fails to be seen as credible and is considered by most to be biased, it would be easy to blame others for our long and continuing decline in credibility but victim mentality does not help and I will not allow the Washington Post fade into irrelevance so changes are now needed for us to win this fight
Europe
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte writes on X that Europe is ready and willing to step up regarding leading in providing security guarantees for Ukraine as well as willing to invest a lot more in security, adds that details will need to be decided but the commitment is clear
Germany prepares to open deportation centre in Eisenhüttenstadt on the German-Polish border, will have space for up to 250 people and will be used to speed up the deportation of asylum seekers who have submitted claims in other EU member states but relocated to Germany under the Dublin Regulation
292 people in Britain charged with "speech crimes" under the 2023 Online Safety Act, 23 charged with "illegal false communications" of which several for spreading claims that the Southport mass stabber Axel Rudakubana with Rwandan parents was a Muslim migrant, the Online Safety Act also empowers broadcasting regulator Ofcom to fine platforms up to 10% of the global revenue and ban them altogether if they fail to police content according to the wishes of the British state
German authorities say the 24-year-old Afghan Farhad Noori who injured at least 36 in Munich by ramming them with a car had Islamist motive but no link to terrorist organizations, the Afghan who yelled Allahu akbar to police has admitted to intentionally driving the car into the crowd and has posted on social media wishing to eradicate all those who are bad to Islam
At least 28 injured after car driven into a crowd in Munich at 10:30 during Thursday, 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker arrested
UK to refuse citizenship to refugees who have "made a dangerous journey" by for instance small boats or hidden in vehicles, will potentially bar 71,000 people who have successfully applied for asylum, the Home Office comments that the guidance further makes it clear that illegal immigrants will have their British citizenship application refused
German Daniel Kindl from Lower Saxony fined EUR 1,887 for X post telling Green Party MP Janosch Dahmen to cry quietly regarding worries about the political climate as this is just the beginning, Kindl defends the remark stating that it was meant to express the frustrations of rural citizens over government policies impacting farmers, follows growing trend in Germany where for instance a pensioner was fined EUR 800 for using the Foreign Office’s online contact form to write that Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had hit her head against the ceiling jumping on a trampoline too many times
North America
Pat King who was a key organizer of the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest against Covid-19 vaccine mandates in Ottawa sentenced to a 12-month sentence with nine months credit for time served in jail, is convicted for five of nine charges including mischief and counselling to commit mischief, Crown Prosecutor Moiz Karimjee asked for a 10-year sentence
The Trump administration gives America's schools and universities two weeks to eliminate diversity initiatives or risk losing federal money, comments that the aim is to correct rampant discrimination in education against predominantly white and Asian students
Two armed men shot by child during a home invasion in Kentucky, one man dead at the scene and the other died at the area hospital, the juvenile, who was a resident of the home, saw the men breaking into the house carrying firearms, retrieved a handgun and shot both men before escaping through a bedroom window, police investigate the action as self-defense, exact age of the child not given by the police
US Army bans people with gender dysphoria from enlisting and ends supporting gender-switching procedures effective immediately, between 9,000 and 12,000 troops suffering from gender dysphoria are estimated to be in the army
12% of Liberal women between ages of 18-40 reported being completely satisfied while 37% of conservative women said the same according to the 2024 American Family Survey, liberal women also nearly three times more likely than conservative women to say they experienced loneliness, sociology professor Brad Wilcox says conservative women tend to be more likely to embrace a sense of agency rather than act as a victim of larger structural forces and that they embrace gender differences and prioritze family which also contributes to happiness
Latin America
Chile's President Gabriel Boric visits Antarctica along with his defense minister to reaffirm his country's claim to sovereignty in the area, is the first Latin American leader to visit the south pole, the US state department says seven countries maintain territorial claims in the area but that US and most other countries instead recognize the Antarctic Treaty
Venezuela's government announces USD 100,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González, González in Spanish exile after the election where the opposition claim election fraud and has shown that tally sheets from the voting machines show they won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro, González' campaign announces international tour starting with meeting President Javier Milei in Argentina
Record low 114 homicides in El Salvador during 2024, down from 214 in 2023 and 6,615 in 2015, more than 83,000 arrested since 2022 when President Nayib Bukele's administration was granted a state of exception after street gangs killed 62 people in a matter of hours, Bukele extremely popular due to the improved safety
Venezuela's Supreme Court fines TikTok USD 10 million for failing to control harmful viral inhaling challenge which lead to the deaths of three teenagers and the poisoning of 200 others, President Nicolás Maduro supports the decision citing the need for accountability
Intensified debate regarding Indigenous people after the death of Tanaru who was the last member of an uncontacted group in the south-western Brazilian Amazon, the man who was also called "man of the hole" where his digging was presumed to be linked to his spiritual world lived alone for at least 26 years after the rubber industry among other things spread in the area, Tanaru's 8,000 hectares now contended as the law only protects populated areas, 114 different isolated groups reported in the country of which 85 has not been confirmed
Asia
Australian leaders call the surge in antisemitic attacks across the country a national crisis, more than 2,000 antisemitic incidents in Australia during the year after Hamas' attack on Israel which is three times the figure for the same period a year earlier, cars and schools set on fire or spray-painted with anti-Israel messages and arson attacks against a synagogue in Melbourne as well as against a Jewish child care center in Sydney, two nurses in a Sydney hospital suspended this week for saying on TikTok that they would kill Jewish patients or refuse to treat them
The Cook Islands signs comprehensive strategic partnership agreement with China, contents not disclosed with New Zealand prior to ratification despite repeated requests, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun says the relationship between China and the Cook Islands does not target any third party and should not be disrupted or restrained by any third party
India sets up deregulation commission to further reduce the State's role in governance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says it is his conviction that there should be less interference of the government in the society, hundreds of compliances already ended and the income tax has been lowered and property rights have also been strengthened
Kim Jong Un declares that serving hot dogs constitutes treason and that people caught selling or cooking them could face time in labor camps, Korean-American hot dog hotpot budae-jjigae which was created from meats discarded by US soldiers during the 1950s as well as steamed rice cakes tteokbokki also banned recently
179 of 181 people onboard suspected dead in crash during landing for a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 travelling from Bangkok to Muan International Airport in South Korea, the plane suffered from malfunctioning landing gear and veered off the runway into a wall, witnesses also report seeing the plane collide with birds
North Korea launches aggressive campaign against unmarried couples living together, declares such arrangements symptoms of a decadent capitalist culture and police has legal authority to intervene as it is already branded a non-socialist practice, couples caught face an ultimatum where they can register their marriage within 15 days or face public criticism sessions at neighborhood watch units or workplaces
Economy
Argentina's annual inflation rate falls from record high 211.4% in 2023 to 117.8% in 2024 due to President Javier Milei's austerity program, December marked the third consecutive month with less than 3% inflation, Argentina's Economy Ministry posts that they pulverized inflation in just 12 months
European wind power stocks fall after Donald Trump states that his administration will not build windmills as it's the most expensive energy there is and that it litters the country as they are rusting and rotting, wind farm developers such as Orsted and RWE as well as turbine makers such as Siemens Energy and Vestas close lower
Indonesia admitted as full BRICS member, was endorsed by BRICS leaders in 2023 but opted to wait for the elected government in 2024 to make the decision, the Brazilian government says that Indonesia with the largest population and economy in Southeast Asia will contribute positively to deepening South-South cooperation, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates joined the alliance in 2024 while Saudia Arabia was invited but so far has opted out
The EU car industry needs sharp increase in electric vehicle sales to avoid threat of EUR 15 billion fines, must sell 20% electric cars to avoid penalties according to regulations that came into force on 1 January 2025, sold 13% EVs in 2024 down from 23% in 2023
Turkish defense giant Baykar with 60% of the global UAV export market acquires Italy's aviation giant Piaggio Aerospace which was established in 1884, Italy's Minister for Business and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso says the sale gives the strategic asset a future with a long-term production perspective, Turkey's Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır comments that the collaboration strengthens the bonds of friendship and economic relations between the countries
Qatar threatens to halt LNG deliveries to the EU if the new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is incorporated, Energy Minister Saad Al Kaabi says the threat of being fined 5% of the global turnover is enough to not deliver to Europe, energy expert Mamdouh Salameh says the EU is hellbent on harming its economy because of its militant adherence to climate change goals
World coal use projected to reach new record levels during 2024 according to the International Energy Agency, China alone uses more than half the world's coal and is expected to reach a record 4.9 billion tonnes, emerging economies such as India and Indonesia also contribute to the increase which offsets decreases in the EU and the US
Technology
Apple removes its end-to-end encryption data security tool ADP from British customers after the government demanded access to user data, the company says it's gravely disappointed but that they have said many times they never built a backdoor or master key to any of its products and never will
Technology for lab-grown eggs or sperm on could be a reality within a decade according to UK's fertility watchdog HFEA, the board says solo parenting where the egg and the sperm are created from the same individual should be banned as a complete extreme of incest but that multiplex parenting where for instance two couples produce two embryos and cells from these embryos are used to derive eggs and sperm to create a final embryo could be allowed as it has a social precedent in the form of blended families or those who maintain a relationship with non-anonymous donors, the risks of higher-risk pregnancies in older mothers as well as someone creating huge numbers of embryos are also debated
Switzerland unveils the world's steepest cable car, connects Stechelberg with Mürren in a 4-minute journey climbing 775 meters over 1194 meters of track, the route is fully autonomous and each of the two cars can carry 85 passengers
Federal lawsuit against Google-backed company Character.AI after the bot exposed a 9-year-old girl to hypersexualized content and told a 17-year-old boy that self-harm felt good which changed both children's behaviour, the 17-year-old was also complaining about limited screen time to which the bot replied that it is not surprised when children kill abusive parents and that it has no hope for his parents, ongoing case also for Character.AI where a 14-year-old committed suicide after the chatbot encouraged him to do so
German defense company Helsing announces that the final versions of the HX-2 AI kamikaze attack drone are coming off the production line with 4000 to be delivered to Ukraine, the electrically powered drone which has a top speed of 220 kph and a maximum range of 100 km can be loaded with a variety of warheads depending on target and search and engage targets without a signal or continuous data connection
Science
Rising scurvy incidence in France since 2015 with a 34.5% increase in hospital admissions since March 2020, largest increase among children aged 4 to 10 from low-income families, the study that was published in Lancet connects the increase to the rising food prices driven by Covid-19 as some of the children had not eaten for several days
Ground squirrels observed hunting and eating vole in California, could be driven by an explosion in vole numbers with roughly seven times more voles than the 10-year average reported, squirrels are in general flexible regarding food and eat insects as well as hatchling birds but have never been seen hunting adult mammals before