Meta is closing its inclusion programs ( DEI ) that were in place during hiring and supplier selection, Axios and Reuters write, citing an internal memo for new employees. The document, signed by the company's vice president of human resources, Janelle Gale, said Meta is changing course because the "legal and policy landscape" around diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the U.S. is changing.

Actor Jude Law said that he will play Vladimir Putin at the beginning of his political career in the film “The Kremlin Wizard,” which is being directed by French director Olivier Assayas, writes Deadline. Chris Delmas / AFP / Scanpix / LETA “I say this with hesitation because I haven’t started working on the film yet.

Metropolitan Ekaterinburg and Verkhoturye Evgeniy, at a meeting with the heads of regional media, proposed assigning a priest to each editorial office, write publications that attended the event. According to the Metropolitan, this practice has already been introduced in universities, and thanks to this, it was possible to obtain “bright and mutually gratifying results.” “We asked ourselves whether we should project this practice onto our media.

Off the coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea, the tanker Eventin is drifting, carrying 99 thousand tons of oil, Die Welt , Bild and Der Spegiel report, citing the Central Maritime Emergency Command. The ship is located about 20 kilometers from the island of Rügen in the southeastern part of the Baltic Sea and is drifting north. According to the command's press secretary, the ship is unable to maneuver for an unknown reason, but it is sealed and there is no danger to the environment.

Climate change, extreme weather and budget deficits have created a “perfect storm” Apu Gomes/Getty Images Los Angeles fire, January 8, 2025 Much of southern California, including the Los Angeles metropolitan area with a population of almost 13 million people, has been engulfed in fires since January 7. Ten deaths are already known; about 180 thousand people were in the evacuation zone. Several prestigious areas burned down, including the homes of many celebrities.

Yandex founder Arkady Volozh hired security in 2023 after Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly wished him “health.” Bloomberg writes about this in a large article dedicated to Volozh. The entrepreneur, the publication recalls, spoke for the first time about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in August 2023.

Theater and film actress, People's Artist of Russia Evgenia Dobrovolskaya has died. Dobrovolskaya was 60 years old. The Chekhov Moscow Art Theater announced her death.

His relatives claim that he was driven to suicide by threats and attempts to force him to commit a terrorist attack. Peter Vetchinkin’s page on VKontakte A first-year student at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Pyotr Vetchinkin, allegedly died after talking with telephone scammers. Russian telegram channels drew attention to messages about this published on the pages of the student and the faculty where he studied on the social network VKontakte.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will visit Ukraine “in the coming weeks” to discuss the possibility of deploying international peacekeeping forces there in the event of a ceasefire, Bloomberg writes . Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky spoke about Starmer's planned visit after a meeting with allies at Ramstein airbase in Germany, without specifying when the British prime minister would visit the country.

The US Treasury has introduced blocking sanctions against Surgutneftegaz and Gazprom Neft. The blacklist also included Gazprom Neft subsidiaries - oil refineries in Moscow and Omsk, production enterprises such as Gazpromneft-Noyabrskneftegaz and Gazpromneft-Orenburg, as well as affiliated foreign structures.

During 2024, Russian courts imposed 81 administrative fines on journalists and readers of independent media that were declared “undesirable” organizations by the Russian authorities. Mediazona writes about this after studying judicial statistics. Among the publications, Meduza received the most reports - 45 fines under Article 20.33 of the Administrative Code. Next come Radio Liberty (12 protocols), Dozhd (nine protocols) and other media.

New York State Judge Juan Merchan ruled in US President-elect Donald Trump's case over payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels and ordered his unconditional release. This punishment means Trump will have a criminal record, but will not face jail time or a fine. Trump was not present at the hearing - the court allowed him to hear the verdict via video link, and he and his lawyer were in Florida.

Your browser does not support the audio element. After the crash of the Azerbaijani airliner, relations between Baku and Moscow are in crisis. How does Aliyev use even this to make Azerbaijan the main power in the Caucasus? On January 8, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) suspended flights from Baku to Kazan and back for an indefinite period. The decision was associated with the regular closure of airspace due to drone attacks. On December 25, an AZAL plane flying from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau.

Officials from NATO countries said they agreed with the need to increase defense spending, which is demanded by US President-elect Donald Trump, but did not approve of his proposed figure of 5% of GDP, writes Reuters. “It looks like there will be a shift. I don’t think it will be 5%, which would be impossible for almost every country in the world right now, but it won’t be the 2% we are trying to achieve now, it will be more than two,” Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told Reuters.

It looks like this is not just rhetoric. There may be a real foreign policy doctrine behind it Carlos Barria / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA US President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to make Canada the 51st state, annex Greenland and take away the Panama Canal. At first, many perceived these words of his as a joke - not the most successful, but quite in his style. However, he seems to be serious.