Corax
Debate regarding Elon Musk's gesture where he pounded his chest and then raised his right arm upward in an angular motion during Donald Trump's inauguration, one commenter says Musk was extending his heart to the crowd while others say it was a Roman salute that soldiers used to greet their commanders as a show of respect and loyalty
World
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
Arctic sea ice extent during this year's minimum was 26% larger than 2012, articles in 2007 said that the latest modeling studies indicate northern polar waters could be ice-free in summers within just 5-6 years
US airstrike in southern Somalia kills two Al-Shabaab members of which one top commander Mohamed Mire Jama, the strike was conducted in coordination with Somalia's federal government
The Biden administration lifts USD 10 million bounty on Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is said to have been pragmatic at a personal meeting in Damascus and has repeatedly promised to lead an inclusive government, al-Sharaa who was formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani was earlier presented by the US government's Rewards for Justice as the leader behind multiple terrorist attacks often targeting civilians such as the kidnapping of 300 Kurdish civilians and the massacre of 20 Druze villagers
US armed forces kill IS terrorist leader Abu Yusif in precision strike in the formerly Russian-controlled Syrian Dayr az Zawr Province, General Michael Erik Kurilla says ISIS has the intent to free over 8,000 operatives currently being held in Syrian facilities and that the US will not allow them to take advantage of the current situation
9 out of 10 drowning deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries according to a WHO report, 68% drop in drowning death rate between 2000 and 2021 in the European Region but only a 3% drop in Africa which has the highest regional rate with 5.6 deaths per 100 000 people, deaths during migration journeys not included in the report
Miscellaneous
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
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
Rupert Murdoch loses bid to change his family trust to consolidate control of his media empire to his son Lachlan instead of dividing it equally among his four eldest children, reportedly wants his companies to continue acting as a conservative media force which Fox Corp CEO Lachlan is understood to be more aligned with, Murdoch's lawyer says they intend to appeal
Politics
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
Elon Musk writes on X that only Alternative for Germany can save Germany – AfD co-leader Alice Weidel replies that he is perfectly right and asks him to have a look into her intervju on President Trump, how socialist Merkel ruined the country and how the Soviet European Union destroys the country's economic backbone
Canada's Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigns, says that she and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau whom she accuses of costly political gimmicks have been at odds in recent weeks and that she concluded based on him wanting her to switch cabinet positions that the only path forward is to resign, the resignation is considered unexpected and another setback for the Liberal Party that had already collapsed in the polls
73-year-old centrist Democratic Movement leader François Bayrou appointed as France's new prime minister, fourth person in the position during 2024, was acquitted in February after a seven-year-long case regarding fraudulent employment of parliamentary assistants by his party and was Macron's first justice minister in 2017 before being replaced after one month because of ethics concerns over the case
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
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wins the Charlemagne Prize for contributions to European unity, is praised for her services to the unity of EU member states, leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic, decisive stance against Russia and commitment to EU's Green Deal, says she is deeply touched and that the prize is a reliable anchor in turbulent times
Blood and Honour becomes the first right-wing group to have its assets frozen by the UK government, the group which was formed in 1987 by Skrewdriver singer Ian Stuart due to him finding National Front to mainstream is accused of being involved in terrorist activities, affiliate groups like security faction Combat 18 and online radio station 28 Radio also affected by the asset freeze
Czech police ask parliament to remove Freedom and Direct Democracy leader Tomio Okamura's immunity to prosecute him for eurocritic poster where an African man holds a blood-stained knife alongside the caption "Deficiencies in healthcare will not be solved by imported 'surgeons'", Okamura says he reacted to the government's policy and to the EU migration pact and that his movement is acting very leniently compared to attacks by migrants across Europe
Austria's Freedom Party (FPÖ) receives a mandate to try to form a new government after attempts to form a governing alliance without them failed but the conservative Austrian People's Party then signaled that it might be open to working with FPÖ, the anti-immigration and eurosceptic party which opposes sanctions against Russia was the largest party last election with 28.8% but was shut out as all parties refused to work with them, President Alexander Van der Bellen says he did not take this step lightly
British Health Secretary Wes Streeting calls Elon Musk's criticism regarding the government's response to child rape gangs that for decades abused mainly white girls in dozens of towns misinformed but adds that they are willing to work with him if he rolls his sleeves up, Musk accuses Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to bring the gangs to justice when he led the Crown Prosecution Service and calls for prison time for MP Jess Phillips who rejected requests for a national inquiry
North America
Starbucks reverses open-door policy that was introduced in 2018 after two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks with a policy where non-paying customers were asked to leave, company spokesperson Jaci Anderson says the new rules help prioritizing paying customers and that they can create a better environment for everyone by setting clear expectations for behavior, in 2022 Starbucks closed 16 stores around the country of which six in Los Angeles due to repeated safety issues
Amazon cuts DEI and LGBTQ program as Trump nears his return to the White House, follows similar recent adjustments by for instance McDonald's and Meta, mentions regarding the company's work at the federal and state level on legislation on protections for transgender people as well as its stand in solidarity with black employees and customers removed from its webpage
Justin Trudeau announces he will resign as Canada's prime minister and as leader of the Liberal Party as soon as his party selects a new leader, has been criticized both externally and within his party with declining popularity culminating in the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in December, has governed the country since 2015
Joe Biden bans new offshore oil and gas drilling in most US coastal waters, uses the authority of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act which requires an act of Congress to repeal, Donald Trump's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt calls it a disgraceful decision that shows that Biden clearly wants high gas prices to be his legacy and adds that the Trump administration will "drill, baby, drill"
Joe Biden honors George Soros and Hillary Clinton with the Nation's highest civilian honor the Presidential Medal of Freedom, notes that he belives great leaders put decency above all else and made America and the world a better place, Robert F. Kennedy and Argentinian soccer player Lionel Messi also among the 19 recipients
One dead and seven injured after explosion in a Tesla Cybertruck outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Elon Musk comments on X that they have confirmed that the explosion was caused by something carried in the bed of the car and is unrelated to the vehicle itself, the event is being investigated as a potential terror attack
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
Argentina's President Javier Milei vows to install nuclear reactors to power artificial intelligence servers, says that nuclear energy is the only source that is sufficiently efficient, abundant and rapidly scalable to cope with the development of our civilization, the country currently has three nuclear power plants in operation providing 9% of the energy consumed
Asia
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
India intensifies border surveillance after reports that Bangladesh has deployed Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones in the area, the development follows intelligence reports indicating increased terrorist activity along the border after the August fall of the Bangladesh government
Martial law declared in South Korea by President Yoon Suk Yeol, recinded 6 hours later after vote by parliament, Yoon claims the political opposition is engaged in anti-state activities and sympathizes with North Korea and that all forces opposing the state must be eliminated
Four members of Pakistan's security services killed as thousands of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's supporters break through government barricades in Islamabad, the protesters demand his release from jail and government resignation over rigged elections, Khan sentenced for graft and revealing offical secrets and faces more than 150 other criminal cases, the clashes follow a court decision to ban rallies in the city, arrests of more than 4,000 Khan supporters and suspended mobile and internet services
Africa
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels capture the town of Masisi in the mineral-rich North Kivu province east of the Democratic Republic of Congo the day after it captured the nearby town of Katale, the Tutsi group that was formed in 2012 has been accused of being used by Rwanda to loot DR Congo of minerals such as gold and tantalum
Ivory Coast asks French forces to leave the country, follows similar orders from Senegal and Chad recently, French troops now only present in Djibouti and Gabon
33 dead and 1,534 people managed to flee the jail after riot in Mozambique's capital Maputo on Wednesday, 150 of the prisoners recaptured, the riot follows unrest where at least 21 people were killed nationwide after Mozambique's top court confirmed the controversial election victory where the Frelimo candidate Daniel Chapo won by a landslide, the socialist Frelimo party has governed the country since its indepencence in 1975
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
US federal appeals court blocks Nasdaq's 2021 boardroom diversity rules as the Securities and Exchange Commission did not have the authority to approve them, the rules required companies to yearly report the diversity of their corporate directors and explain if there was not at least one woman, person of color or LGBTQ member on their boards, Nasdaq comments that they maintain that the rule simplified and standardized disclosure requirements to the benefit of both corporates and investors
Technology
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