A former US soldier, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, drove a vehicle with an ISIS flag attached to it into a crowd of people in the French Quarter in New Orleans on New Year's Day. He killed 15 people and injured around 30 others. After the attack, Jabbar was killed in a shootout with police. Investigations show that he may have had assistance, and weapons and explosive devices were found. President Biden strongly condemned the act, which may have been inspired by ISIS. As a security measure, the annual Sugar Bowl game was postponed.
On January 1, 2025, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing the driver and injuring seven people. The FBI investigation is ongoing to determine if this was an act of terrorism. Elon Musk confirmed that the explosion was caused by fireworks or a bomb in the vehicle's cargo area and not by a technical problem with the Cybertruck. The vehicle had been rented through the car-sharing service Turo, as was a truck used in an attack in New Orleans in which 15 people died. The investigation is focusing on possible links between the two incidents. The Trump Hotel was evacuated after the explosion.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office on December 14, 2024 for attempting to impose martial law, is facing possible arrest. A court issued an arrest warrant for him on January 2, 2025. Yoon rejects the accusations and calls on his supporters to resist. The opposition party accuses him of continuing to call for “rebellion”. Yoon declared martial law on December 3, but lifted it again after six hours. He is currently suspended from office and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is acting as interim president. The Constitutional Court hearing on the impeachment continues.
Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced his resignation from the Knesset on 1 January 2025. Gallant, who was dismissed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November 2024 due to differences over the Gaza policy, had previously frequently opposed the right-wing government's line. His criticism included controversial exemptions from military service for ultra-Orthodox men. The resignation comes against a backdrop of international tensions, including arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Gallant and Netanyahu for alleged war crimes.
On January 1, 2025, Russian gas supplies through Ukraine pipelines ended, bringing an era of Russian energy dominance in Europe to an end. Gazprom stopped deliveries after Ukraine did not extend the transit agreement. While the EU has built up alternatives such as LNG and gas from Norway since 2022 and remains unaffected, the pro-Russian region of Transnistria in Moldova is suffering from heating and hot water shortages. Ukraine is celebrating this as a historic victory, but is losing transit fees amounting to 1 billion US dollars per year. Gazprom is losing USD 5 billion in revenue, while gas exports from Russia to Europe have fallen drastically since 2018.
In the Montenegrin town of Cetinje, a 45-year-old man with a firearm killed ten people, including two children, and then shot himself dead. Four other people were seriously injured. The crime occurred after an argument in a pub. The perpetrator returned armed and killed first there and later at other locations in the city. Montenegro has declared three days of national mourning. The man had already been convicted of illegal possession of weapons in 2022, but the sentence was not carried out.
The German government views Elon Musk's renewed public support for the AfD as an attempt to influence the federal election in February 2025. Musk's election appeal in the newspaper “Welt am Sonntag” has been met with criticism, as the AfD is being monitored by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a suspected right-wing extremist organization. However, the government emphasized that freedom of opinion is an important asset. The German government is monitoring the activities on Musk's platform X (formerly Twitter) with concern, but remains active in order to reach users and not abandon the public discourse.
The new Ukrainian 155th Brigade recorded 1,700 deserters and suffered from equipment deficiencies, resulting in high casualties. Experts criticize leadership errors and the formation of new units despite incomplete existing troops. Volunteers are trying to replace missing equipment while Western supplies are delayed.
The Palestinian Authority has banned Al-Jazeera in the West Bank, alleging that the channel has broadcast inflammatory material and interfered in Palestinian affairs. This comes against the backdrop of increasing violence between Hamas extremists and security forces of the Palestinian Authority in Jenin. Al-Jazeera had previously been banned in Israel, but continued to report under free status.
Since the turn of the year, Bulgaria and Romania have been fully part of the so-called Schengen area. All border controls, especially at the ground borders, have been abolished, which should make things considerably easier for the freight forwarding industry. The two countries applied to join the Schengen Agreement in 2011, and air and sea border controls were lifted a year ago.
Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur behind Tesla, SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter), has once again made headlines around the world with his bold plans to take over the ABC television station. According to reports, Musk intends to appoint Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host known for his outspoken conservative views, as the new CEO. Musk's alleged motivation? He wants to rid the channel of what he calls “woke ideology” and steer it in a new editorial direction.
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