Putin declares ‘everything will be fine’ despite Russia’s growing challenges

C A quarter-century after assuming power, President Vladimir Putin told Russians in his New Year’s Eve address Tuesday that their country was overcoming every challenge and moving forward. But he did not say where Russia was going, even as it takes huge casualties in its war in Ukraine, struggles with rising inflation and absorbs diplomatic blows abroad. The war has claimed the lives of an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Russian soldiers, reshaped Russia’s economy and upended its place in the world. Nor did Putin address inflation, the main concern of most ordinary Russians, or a host of other economic challenges.

In jab at Musk, Scholz condemns foreign interference in German election

(NYTimes) — In his annual New Year’s speech, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany included an oblique reference to a non-German who has taken a strong interest in the country’s politics: Elon Musk. As the German public prepares to go to the polls, Musk, an adviser to Donald Trump, has spoken out on social media and in a newspaper opinion essay in favor of the far-right Alternative for Germany party. Scholz did not call out Musk by name, but one carefully worded section seemed to be squarely aimed at him. “Where Germany goes from here will be decided by you — the citizens,” Scholz said. “It will not be decided by the owners of social media channels.”

South Korea clears way to detain president in martial law inquiry

(NYTimes) — A court in South Korea cleared the way for officials to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning Tuesday, as authorities investigated whether his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, which plunged the country into political crisis, amounted to an insurrection. The court order stops short of a formal arrest warrant. The warrant issued Tuesday allowed investigators only to detain him for questioning for a limited period of time; they need a separate warrant from a court to formally arrest him. But it is a sign that officials have grown impatient with Yoon’s refusal to answer questions about his actions, and could lead to a potential arrest and indictment.

Pentagon releases detainee held at Guantánamo since day 1

(NYTimes) — The Pentagon on Monday repatriated a Tunisian detainee who was brought to the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the day it opened, was never charged at the war court and was approved for transfer more than a decade ago. Ridah Bin Saleh al Yazidi, 59, spent years languishing at the wartime prison because deals could not be made to repatriate or resettle him. He was airlifted from the base in a secret operation that was completed 11 months after the Defense Department notified Congress that it had reached an agreement to return him to Tunisian custody, the Pentagon said. It offered no details on the security arrangements surrounding his return.

Inside the Instagram network that grooms child influencers

(NYTimes) — For the past year, The New York Times has investigated how a drive for online fame has created a marketplace on Instagram of girl influencers managed by their parents and who frequently draw an audience of men. The investigation uncovered reports of dozens of men offering services to child influencers. Almost all declared a sexual interest in minors or fostered relationships, online and in person, with the children and their families. The Times found multiple instances in which allegations of pedophilia and possible criminal conduct circulated widely in the child-influencer world or had been reported to law enforcement with no known consequences.

Chinese Muslims, after finding a refuge in the US, now fear Trump

(NYTimes) — They survived reeducation camps in China’s western Xinjiang region. They were released from detention centers and psychiatric hospitals. They watched loved ones disappear. Then they managed to get out of China and reached the soil of the United States. They are Hui Muslims, a state-recognized ethnic minority group in China, where the government is determined to crack down on Islam. But as President-elect Donald Trump promises to build detention camps and carry out mass deportations, the future of this group of immigrants is precarious. Hui Muslims are now concerned about Trump’s vows to tighten asylum policy. Deportation could mean years in jail or labor camps.

Wall Sreet sees more gains ahead after another bumper year for stocks

(NYTimes) — Investors are heading into 2025 in an optimistic mood, believing that with the economy on a firm footing and the White House in their corner, the stock market will continue to climb. Even after slipping for the final four trading days of the year, down 0.4% Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 23.3% this year, roughly matching its gain in 2023. It’s the first time the benchmark index has risen more than 20% in consecutive years since 1998. On average, analysts are forecasting that the S&P 500 will rise around 10% in 2025.

Chinese companies have sidestepped Trump’s tariffs. They could do it again

(NYTimes) — Some industries that compete with cheap Chinese products — like apparel and cabinet makers — credit Donald Trump’s tariffs with keeping U.S. manufacturers in business. But for many other industries, the tariffs simply spurred a global reshuffling of manufacturing operations, one that did little to strengthen U.S. production or reduce ties with Chinese firms. Companies have merely shifted their factories to other low-cost countries in Asia or Latin America instead, and U.S. imports from those countries have surged. In industry after industry, Chinese companies have found footholds abroad that allow them to bypass trade barriers with the United States — demonstrating the potential limits of the tariffs Trump has promised to impose.

Moviegoers dealt originality a setback in 2024

(NYTimes) —Mass moviegoing swung squarely back to the predictable this past year, with sequels filling nine of the top 10 slots at the North American box office. “Wicked,” a song-by-song adaptation of the first half of the long-running Broadway musical, was the only top-10 outlier, counting as original, if only by a witchy whisker. The hit franchise movies and others — the fourth chapter in the “Bad Boys” series, the 10th “Planet of the Apes” installment, “Gladiator II” — drove ticket sales in the United States and Canada to an estimated $8.75 billion for the year, according to Comscore.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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