Under the pretext of fighting Ukrainian drones, the authorities of the Smolensk region turned off mobile Internet for an indefinite period. The governor of the region, Vasily Anokhin, asked residents to “treat with understanding” such measures. Internet outages in the Smolensk region have been ongoing for several days. People complain that cash registers do not work in rural areas.

The two main dictatorships of the 20th century divided Europe. One of them deported entire nations, and called the seizure of countries “annexation.” It was the USSR Millions of citizens of the Soviet Union were subjected to forced deportations. Representatives of national minorities, and sometimes almost entire republics, were declared a “threat” and exiled to sparsely populated corners of the USSR on far-fetched charges.

The first ever English-language film adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” was announced at the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia. Famous American actor Johnny Depp will play the main role in the project, Variety reports . According to the publication, filming should start at the end of 2026. Depp, widely known to audiences for his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, will also serve as a producer on the film adaptation.

Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will develop amendments to the law that prohibits holding elections under martial law. A similar initiative was made by the country's President Vladimir Zelensky.

The Ukrainian delegation put forward a condition in the truce negotiations. Ukraine is ready to withdraw the army from the territory of Donbass if Russia makes “mutual concessions,” The Telegraph reports , citing sources. Ukrainian officials with whom the publication spoke do not rule out that such a compromise is the only possibility for achieving a quick truce.

Timur Mindich, a long-time business partner and friend of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, accused by Ukrainian law enforcement officers of corruption, was assassinated. As reported by the Ukrainian publication Strana, billionaire Igor Kolomoisky stated this while speaking in court. “It was an assassination attempt, the criminals were arrested. The housekeeper was wounded,” he said, clarifying that this happened on November 28.

Monuments to two fallen participants in the war in Ukraine were unveiled at Donetsk school No. 115. One of them is dedicated to Private Michael Gloss, the son of high-ranking American military personnel, said Alexei Kulemzin, appointed head of Donetsk. The monument to 21-year-old Gloss was decorated with a sign with the inscription: “A soldier is not a profession, but a calling.

McDonald's has released a 45-second Christmas ad for its Dutch operation. However, having received many negative reviews, the American corporation was forced to remove advertising from all sites, reports Futurism. The commercial was created entirely using artificial intelligence to reimagine Andy Williams' famous New Year's song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." In a video from McDonald's, they say that the holidays, on the contrary, are the worst time of the year.

The French fashion house Hermes has introduced a new product - a luxury sticker for covering the camera on a laptop. The corresponding position appeared in the product catalog on the brand’s official website. The accessory is called Band-Aid, by analogy with the English name for a medical patch. The brand says that three sheepskin stickers are sold as one set.

Popular American singer Taylor Swift became the target of a coordinated cyber attack, the purpose of which was to create a false image of the artist as a supporter of Nazi and right-wing radical ideas. The British newspaper The Guardian writes about this, citing a study conducted by the Gudea platform.

Magistrate Elena Polyanskaya handed down the first administrative sentence in the history of Russian law for searching for “extremist” materials on the Internet. The defendant was fined three thousand rubles, OVD-Info reports . The defendant in this case was 20-year-old nurse Sergei Glukhikh. The accusation was based on photographs of his phone screen, which the security forces themselves took after they seized the phone during his arrest.

Famous opera singer Jubilant Sykes was killed in the US state of California. The police detained the 31-year-old son of the deceased on suspicion of murder. ABC News reported this with reference to statements from local law enforcement. According to police, the murder occurred on the evening of December 9 at Sykes' home in Santa Monica. The security forces arrived there at the call of the murdered man’s wife.

Humans have proven to be one of the most monogamous mammals, roughly on par with beavers and meerkats. CNN reports this with reference to a recent study from the University of Cambridge. According to scientists, the rate of monogamy in humans is 66%. In beavers it is 72%, and in meerkats it is 60%. The authors of the work classify all three types as belonging to the “premier league” of monogamy. At the same time, the rates for a person’s closest relatives are significantly lower.

A sperm donor with a rare genetic mutation has become the biological father of nearly two hundred children. All of them were given a high risk of developing cancer. Some children have already been diagnosed with cancer, some have died. The BBC writes about this. This story first became known back in May. Then it was reported about dozens of children conceived from this donor from 2008 to 2015. Now it has become clear that the geography and scale of the problem is much wider.

Already in the second half of the 21st century, the design of passenger airliners will undergo fundamental changes. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury stated this in an interview with the German tabloid Bild. According to him, instead of the now traditional fuselage and two wings, the standard design will be one large delta wing, inside of which there will be a passenger cabin.