Russians in annexed Crimea could be fined up to a million rubles for launching fireworks due to the fact that the ban on fireworks coincides with the article on failure to comply with the requirements for preventing and eliminating an emergency situation, Mediazona reports . The most restrictions apply in Russian regions that border Ukraine. For example, in the Belgorod, Bryansk and Rostov regions, the ban on the use of fireworks is in effect all year round.

If you think you already know all the dialogues from Home Alone by heart, take the Chills test and prove your knowledge. You've definitely watched "The Irony of Fate" many times, but do you remember the names of Nadya's friends? During the holidays, many people watch the same films every year. But even the most devoted viewer of the New Year's classics may escape some details.

In 50 regions of Russia, all information about cases related to claims to declare a person missing or dead has disappeared from court websites. Previously, the number of such cases exceeded 44 thousand in 2025 alone, Mediazona reports . Mostly, claims to declare a person missing or dead were filed in Russian courts by commanders of military units. Thanks also to this information, journalists calculated the number of losses of the Russian army in the war against Ukraine.

The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has temporarily banned direct withdrawals of funds to bank cards. The restrictions affected residents of Ukraine and came into force on December 29, according to official notifications sent to users. The function of withdrawing money directly to VISA/MasterCard cards has been suspended until further notice. At the same time, automatic orders for the regular purchase of cryptocurrency will not be executed.

At the Georgian border, cases of refusal of entry to Russians with certain places of birth have become more frequent, the Russian Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Tbilisi warned .

Scientists from the University of Amsterdam conducted a large-scale sociological study, which involved more than 800 thousand US residents. The results showed a relationship between Hogwarts house choice and a person's entrepreneurial ability, according to the journal Small Business Economics. The scientific research was led by Professor Martin Obschonka. His team sought to understand how different human character traits could be classified through the famous Harry Potter series of books.

Police officers detained a 20-year-old man who, according to security forces, shot an acquaintance of his mother with an aerosol pistol. This was reported by the TASS agency with reference to the head of the press service of the Moscow police department, Vladimir Vasenin. The incident occurred near one of the bars. According to the police, the 54-year-old mother of the detainee met a 39-year-old man at the establishment. They went outside, after which the woman’s son approached them.

The attackers infiltrated the German bank Sparkasse and broke into about 3,200 safes. The robbery, which could potentially become the largest in German history, took place in the city of Gelsenkirchen, in the west of the country, Handelsblatt reports . According to preliminary data, the criminals entered the bank's treasury room through the parking lot. They broke into several rooms along the way, and made a huge hole in the wall that separated the archive room from the storage room.

Russians will be able to receive salaries in digital rubles from September 1, 2026. This was reported by RIA Novosti with reference to the head of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, Anatoly Aksakov. “There is a plan that was approved by the State Duma. From September 1 next year, from 2026, any citizen who wants to use a digital ruble will be able to do so and receive a salary in a digital ruble,” said the deputy.

Smart lights are susceptible to hacking, so they can easily become a remote miner or part of a DDoS botnet at the whim of an attacker. Cybersecurity experts told RBC Life about this. Smart garlands have become one of the components of a “smart home”. Such devices are sold in huge quantities, and manufacturers are in a hurry to quickly bring their products to the market.

Rostelecom Games and Lesta Games conducted a survey among 1.5 thousand respondents over 18 years of age. The results showed that video game fans plan to spend the New Year holidays more actively than other Russians, CNews reports . Thus, 14.7% of gamers planned a trip around Russia or abroad. Another 21.9% said they would travel within their region. Among those who do not consider themselves fans of digital entertainment, the figures are lower by 4.3% and 4.1%, respectively.

On December 30, radio station UVB-76, also known as “Doomsday Radio,” began playing music. This is evidenced by the live broadcast of the radio station in the telegram channel “UVB-76 logs”, which monitors the activity of UVB-76. So, first, music from the ballet “Swan Lake” by composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky was played on air, and at the time of writing the note, a track by the cult Soviet and Russian group “Red Mold” began to play.

Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe fell by 44% in 2025, reaching their lowest level since the early 1970s. This was reported by the British agency Reuters, citing data from the European gas transport group Entsog. This year, Gazprom supplied 18 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe through the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. This volume is comparable to the figures that were in the early 1970s - in the first years of Siberian gas exports to the West.

The Russian Ministry of Finance has published the main parameters of the state budget for 2026 and the planned years 2027 and 2028. According to the report, more than a quarter of government spending is earmarked for defense next year. According to the department’s preliminary estimate, federal budget revenues in 2026 will amount to 40.28 trillion rubles. In 2027 and 2028 they will grow to 42.9 trillion and 45.87 trillion rubles, respectively.

A man was detained in the Moscow metro for throwing a hot drink in a woman's face after she reprimanded him for trying to pass without a ticket. This was reported by the press service of the capital's department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the metro. The incident occurred at the Yuzhnaya metro station on the Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya line. According to police, the man attempted to gain entry to the lobby for free by following a female passenger.