Associated Press
Turkmenistan has officially legalized cryptocurrency mining and exchange by signing a law regulating virtual assets. Digital currencies will not be recognized as a means of payment, currency, or security.
Mamdani became New York's first Muslim mayor, taking the oath of office on January 1. He used the Quran for the ceremony, a first in the city's history.
A UN team visited Al-Fashir in Sudan after its capture, confirming a catastrophic humanitarian situation and signs of mass killings. Hundreds of people remain in the city without access to water, medicine, and food.
On December 27 and 28, severe snowstorms swept across the US and a number of European countries, leading to fatalities in Sweden and thousands of flight delays in the United States. Storm Johannes left hundreds of thousands of people without power in Scandinavia, and 11 centimeters of snow fell in New York.
A tourist boat with 11 people on board sank off Padar Island in Indonesia. Four members of a Spanish family are missing, seven have been rescued.
Residents of Jabo village in northwestern Nigeria witnessed a massive airstrike that shook houses and lit up the sky in a bright red color for hours. US President Donald Trump confirmed the operation, calling it a "powerful and deadly blow" against Islamic State forces.
Separatists in southern Yemen accused Saudi Arabia of airstrikes on their forces in Hadhramaut after a warning about troop withdrawal. This escalates the situation in the country and jeopardizes the coalition fighting the Houthis.
An independent prosecutor is demanding a 10-year prison sentence for ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of obstruction of duty and abuse of power. The court could issue a verdict as early as next month.
The Japanese government has planned a record defense budget of over 9 trillion yen ($58 billion) to strengthen its defense capabilities amid tensions with China. The country is also developing long-range missiles and the SHIELD drone system to protect its coast.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that experts have begun analyzing the black boxes of the crashed plane, which killed eight people, including the head of military units in western Libya. Libyan officials cited a technical malfunction of the aircraft as the cause of the crash.
In Kajiado County, Kenya, four people have died from elephant attacks in a week, sparking protests. Experts attribute this to a severe shortage of vegetation and water in the region.
A court in the Russian Federation found Sergei Udaltsov, leader of the Left Front movement, guilty of justifying terrorism and sentenced him to six years in prison. Udaltsov denied the charges, calling them fabricated, and announced a hunger strike.
Southern California is bracing for a new wave of storms and rains, increasing the risk of floods and mudslides. More than 120,000 consumers are without power, and there are casualties due to the bad weather.
The president of the Turkish football club Fenerbahçe, Sadettin Saran, has been detained in Istanbul as part of a drug investigation. The detention occurred after traces of drugs were found in his hair samples.
The countries of the "Alliance of Sahel States" are preparing for large-scale military operations, having created a joint battalion of 5,000 personnel. The junta leaders emphasize sovereignty and a break with former Western partners, choosing Russia as their main security ally.
The Yemeni government and the Houthis have agreed to release 2,900 prisoners, the largest exchange in 11 years of civil war. The agreement, signed in Muscat with the support of the UN and the Red Cross, includes citizens of Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
The US has suspended the lease of five major offshore wind farms along the US East Coast. The reason cited was classified risks identified by the Pentagon related to radar interference.
Alphabet acquired Intersect for $4. 75 billion to address the electricity shortage needed for the development of AI technologies. Intersect will operate independently, diversifying energy sources and curbing electricity prices.
An Ecuadorian court sentenced 11 servicemen to 34 years in prison for the violent abduction and murder of four minors. The tragedy occurred in December 2024 in Guayaquil, when the children were detained by a military patrol.
Thailand and Cambodia will resume talks this week to develop detailed measures for lasting peace after border clashes. The Thai Foreign Minister criticized the October agreement, calling it vague and concluded for the sake of the American leader's presence.
Two NATO intelligence agencies believe Russia is working on a new anti-satellite weapon capable of attacking Starlink. It could form orbital 'clouds' of debris that could potentially disable satellites and pose a threat to other space systems.
An inter-provincial bus traveling from Jakarta to Yogyakarta was involved in a fatal accident on the Krapyak toll road in Semarang city. As a result of the accident, 16 people died and 18 were injured.
The head of one of Turkey's most titled football clubs, Sadettin Saran, was interrogated in a drug case. He is suspected of providing and facilitating drug use, and has been placed under "forced supervision."
On December 19, the US Department of Justice released a portion of the investigation materials in the case of Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of sex crimes. The documents include photographs of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, Donald Trump, and 50 censored images of nude women.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has been renamed the "Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts." This decision by the Board of Trustees has drawn criticism due to the name being enshrined in law since 1964 and outrage from the Kennedy family.
Denmark's military intelligence service accuses Russia of cyberattacks on a Danish water company in 2024 and DDoS attacks on websites. As a result of the attack on the water company, homes were temporarily left without water due to burst pipes.
Negotiations between the US and Russia on a peaceful settlement of the war in Ukraine are planned in Miami, where the Russian side will be represented by Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev. The meeting will take place after consultations in Berlin, where security guarantees for Kyiv and possible territorial concessions were discussed.
Hubble helped NASA scientists understand where the planet, observed for years near the star Fomalhaut, disappeared to.
In the US, a package of regulatory measures has been introduced aimed at stopping the provision of gender-affirming medical care to minors.
A session of the Albanian Parliament turned into a large-scale clash: the opposition lit flares, threw bottles, and blocked the rostrum. The reason was a protest against election falsification and a demand for the resignation of the Deputy Prime Minister, who is under investigation.