New Syrian authorities demand Kurdish fighters lay down arms

The interim Syrian government held talks with representatives of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), demanding that they disarm, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.

Two meetings have taken place between the new Syrian authorities and representatives of the PKK, who reportedly sought recognition as a division or corps within the official Syrian army in exchange for disarmament. The new Syrian authorities did not accept any conditions, the Turkish newspaper said.

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❗️Ukrainian forces attempted to attack the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and Energodar with eight drones; all drones were destroyed - Russian Defense Ministry

When one of the downed drones fell, it exploded and caught fire on the roof of the NPP training center, the ministry added.

There are no victims and destruction after the attempted attack; the radiation situation is normal.

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❗️Russian troops have liberated the Dachenskoye settlement in the Donetsk People's Republic, Russia's Defense Ministry announced

🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian MoD daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:    

▪️Ukrainian losses in the area of responsibility of the Russian Yug Battlegroupgroup, where the city of Kurakhovo was liberated, amounted to 265 militants and a Leopard tank;
 
▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 550 soldiers in the area of responsibility of the Russian Zapad combat group;
 
▪️Ukrainian troops lost up to 150 fighters in the area of responsibility of the Russian Sever and Dnepr Battlegroups;

▪️Russian air defense systems shot down a Hammer bomb, 12 HIMARS shells, and 115 drones of the Ukrainian forces.

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Pfizergate: What is EC chief von der Leyen accused of?

A court in Liege, Belgium, is due to consider whether European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has legal immunity against corruption charges related to her murky involvement in the purchase of coronavirus vaccines.

What is the scandal all about?

🟠In 2022, US media reported that von der Leyen had communicated with Albert Bourla, chief executive of the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, about clinching a long-term contract to purchase 1.8 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines worth €35 billion ($37.6 billion), even before they passed clinical trials.

🟠Negotiations on the deal were conducted informally in late 2020 via SMS messages and without prior consent of EU member states.

🟠The European Commission President also texted her husband, Heiko von der Leyen, who serves as the medical director at Orgenesis, a company that collaborates with Pfizer. All the messages were then accidentally deleted, Ursula von der Leyen claimed.

🟠As a result, she has been accused of “usurpation of functions and title,” destruction of public documents, and high-level corruption charges that were initiated by Belgian lobbyist Frederic Baldan.

🟠The first hearing on his complaint was held on 17 May 2024, when the Liege court confirmed that the so-called Pfizegate case is in line with its jurisdiction and should not be handed to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), created on the initiative of von der Leyen herself, due to an obvious conflict of interests.

🟠The second hearing slated for December 5 was actually disrupted due to a demarche by the EPPO, which sent a counter-request to the court for von der Leyen's immunity. The EPPO argues that von der Leyen has immunity from prosecution for corruption.

🟠European Commission spokesperson Stefan de Keersmaecker said on January 5 that von der Leyen had canceled all “external engagements” in the coming days after contracting “severe pneumonia.”

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Israel handed over the published list of hostages to mediators last July, according to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's office

The list of names of 34 hostages that the Palestinian movement Hamas is allegedly ready to release, published in the media, was not prepared by the movement, but was handed over by Israel to mediators six months ago, the office of Israeli PM said.

"The list of abductees published in the media was not passed on to Israel by Hamas, but was originally passed from Israel to intermediaries as early as July 2024. To date, Israel has not received any confirmation or comment from Hamas regarding the status of the abductees on the list," the office said.

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US to lift ban on humanitarian aid for Syria to show support for new government
 
The Biden administration will ease restrictions on humanitarian aid delivery to Damascus but will not lift sanctions imposed on the country until the course of the new leadership becomes clearer, the Wall Street Journal writes.
 
Such a step authorizes the Ministry of Finance to grant benefits to aid groups and companies providing basic services such as water, electricity, and other humanitarian supplies, officials claim.
 
The United States is not the only one in the West that is trying to build bridges with the new Syrian leadership. Earlier, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited Syria, but the results of her trip proved unsuccessful.

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South Korea holds security council meeting over North Korea’s missile launch

South Korea convened its security council on Monday over a missile launched by North Korea earlier in the day, South Korean media reported, citing authorities.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Pyongyang could have launched a hypersonic missile, as it was similar to the North Korean intermediate-range missiles equipped with hypersonic warheads launched last January and last April, despite having a shorter range, Yonhap reported.

In late 2024, North Korea said that it would use the "toughest" strategy to counter the United States, adding that that military cooperation between South Korea, the US and Japan had become an "aggressive military alliance."

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❗️Units of Russia's Sever battlegroup have stopped an attempt by Ukrainian forces to break through into Russia's Kursk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
 
The main forces were destroyed upon approaching the Berdin settlement. Ukrainian losses amounted to over 150 soldiers and four tanks, the ministry noted.
 
Ukrainian forces lost up to 485 servicemen in the Kursk region in one day; ten tanks were destroyed, and four Ukrainian servicemen surrendered, the ministry added.

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Trump’s January 6 clemency pledge: What to expect?

Expectations are high for President-elect Donald Trump to deliver on his promise to swiftly hand out pardons to those involved in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, Bloomberg reports.

“Any early action on Jan. 6 pardons would set the tone for how he [Trump] might wield the presidency to reward loyalists and punish opponents,” the agency pointed out.

GOP member urges release of all Jan. 6 rioters

The report comes as Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she was lobbying Trump to pardon everyone who took part in the siege, saying that “many of these people have been in prison since 2021.”

“Even the ones that fought the Capitol Police and caused damage to the Capitol, I think they’ve served their time, and I think they should all be pardoned and released from prison. […] I think it’s an injustice. It’s a two-tiered justice system, and it’s time to end it,” she added.

What did Trump pledge?

Trump earlier told US media that he would “most likely” issue pardons to rioters within “the first hour” or even in the “first nine minutes” of his presidency, which kicks off on January 20.

What was fallout from Capitol riot?

Thousands of people gathered to attack the Capitol building in Washington on January 6, 2021, to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory, egged on by former president Trump’s claims of electoral fraud. Five people, including one police officer, died as a result of the attack. More than 140 police officers were injured.

More than 1,570 people have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials in connection with the attack, per the US attorney’s office in Washington. At least 645 were sentenced to prison time, with terms ranging from a few days to 22 years.

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Biden announced an official ban on drilling oil and gas wells offshore off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States

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What may be the purpose of China’s supposed 6th-gen warplane?

The sudden appearance of a supposed 6th-generation military aircraft in China’s skies last month prompted media and pundits alike to speculate about what this plane might be capable of and what combat role it might perform.

Some note that the aircraft’s tailless design suggests that it was built for stealth rather than dogfights.

This observation thus led to a theory that the new warplane, already dubbed “J-36” in the media, may be designed to take out airborne targets, such as enemy fighters and transport aircraft, at long range.

And yet others postulate that “J-36” may actually act as a command and control node, helping coordinate operations of various components of China’s air force, such as combat aircraft, early warning aircraft, and drones.

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🇦🇹 Austrian President Van der Bellen said he has given the mandate to form a coalition government to the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria.

On January 4, it became known that negotiations on forming a ruling coalition had failed and that Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer would resign. The politician would also leave the post of chairman of the ÖVP – the Austrian People's Party.

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🇨🇳📈China’s economy to grow 5% this year if Trump renounces trade war
 
External shocks are the key threat to China’s steady economic growth, an analysis by the Institute of International Relations (IMEMO), a leading Russian foreign policy think tank, shows.
 
🔶China has the potential for economic growth at a level of 5% by 2025, but stable conditions and a coordinated economic policy are required.
 
🔶External shocks, namely tariff hikes promised by Donald Trump, may deal a sensitive blow to Chinese businesses, reducing export revenues, slowing down GDP growth, and creating tensions on the job market.
 
🔶Trump had repeatedly vowed to introduce additional tariffs on products from China. On November 25, he specified the plans to add 10% to tariffs on Chinese goods.
 
🔶China will likely respond to US actions with a new stimulus package that will include excessive monetary policy easing and an increase in domestic debt The US may try to isolate China from the advanced technologies market, with Beijing, in turn, responding with an expansion of domestic hi-tech production and import substitution.
 
🔶US economic pressure is unlikely to make China more compliant or persuade Beijing to make economic concessions to Washington, the research concludes.

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Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed agreement with Russia to include defense issues

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement between Russia and Iran encompasses various dimensions in the fields of economy, trade, energy, environment, and issues related to defense and security, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.

Earlier, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic to Russia Kazem Jalali said that the Russian-Iranian agreement would be signed on January 17, 2025 in Moscow during negotiations between the presidents of the two countries.

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Nippon Steel and US Steel initiated legal action against President Joe Biden's decision to block Nippon Steel's proposed purchase of its American counterpart. The two companies are challenging the move, arguing that the Biden administration's intervention is unlawful and unwarranted.

In a joint statement, they announced the filing of two lawsuits aimed at addressing what they described as "unlawful interference" with Nippon Steel's acquisition of US Steel, asserting that the president's actions were driven by political motives rather than legal grounds.

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Nearly 50 people killed in Gaza Strip due to Israeli strikes in past day, according to the Gaza Strip's health ministry.

At least 49 people have been killed, and 75 injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip over the past day, the Gaza Strip's health ministry said.

"Over the last 24 hours, the Israeli occupation carried out three mass killings of families in the Gaza Strip. Hospitals received 49 fatalities and 75 injured individuals," the statement read.

Overall, since the escalation of the conflict in October 2023, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 45,854, with more than 109,000 people wounded, the ministry added.

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