The Israeli government has approved a deal with Hamas that involves a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of Israeli hostages. 24 ministers voted for, eight - against, writes Walla. The government meeting lasted more than seven hours, Yedioth Ahronoth notes . Previously, the deal was approved by the military-political cabinet (however, two voted against it there too - National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich).

Outgoing US President Joe Biden has announced pardons for 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offences. Biden said in a statement posted on the White House website that the measure applies to those serving "disproportionately long sentences" compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law.

Sales director of the sunflower oil manufacturer Blago, Alexander Khaidin, committed suicide in the garage of his house in the Leningrad region, RIA Novosti reported, citing a source, as well as Fontanka and the Baza telegram channel. Baza writes that Khaidin was supposed to pick up his wife after work, but stopped communicating. Then his wife called the manager of the garden where their house is located and asked to check where her husband was.

The inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump will take place not on the street in front of the Capitol building, but in the rotunda. This decision was made due to the cold weather forecast for January 20, Trump himself said . “I don’t want people to get hurt or injured in any way. These are dangerous conditions for tens of thousands of law enforcement officers, first responders, police dogs and even horses, as well as hundreds of thousands of supporters,” Trump wrote.

She is associated with the telegram channel “Zakulisk”, which fights the “liberal party” in culture Oleg Kazantsev / RIA Novosti / Sputnik / Profimedia Olga Galaktionova The Ministry of Culture for the second time in two years changed the head of the Pushkin Museum. Pushkin: the place of Elizaveta Likhacheva was taken by Olga Galaktionova, director of the ROSIZO museum and exhibition center. Galaktionova has already taken office and met the staff.

On December 30, in Lgov, Kursk region, as a result of an attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out by Storm Shadow missiles, at least three officers with the rank of lieutenant colonel who served in the 76th Guards Air Assault Division were killed, Mediazona found out after studying published obituaries. “Mediazona” found one obituary in the “Officers’ Hockey League” public page. It talks about the death of Lieutenant Colonel Valery Tereshchenko.

Your browser does not support the audio element. David Lynch's legacy David Lynch, one of the most important film directors who directed the TV series Twin Peaks, the film Mulholland Drive and other iconic films, has died. He was 78 years old. A few months before his death, David Lynch revealed that he had been diagnosed with emphysema, which forced him to stop leaving the house. Listen to an audio version of the story about Lynch's legacy.

The US Supreme Court refused to overturn a law that would ban the use of the TikTok social network in the country unless it is spun off from the Chinese company ByteDance that owns it. The law is scheduled to take effect on January 19, the day before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump. CNN notes that the document does not require immediate blocking. The law was passed by the US House of Representatives in the spring of 2024.

Alexey Navalny's lawyers' colleagues talk about the verdict against Vadim Kobzev, Alexey Liptser and Igor Sergunin On January 17, the Petushinsky Court of the Vladimir Region handed down sentences to the former lawyers of Alexei Navalny in the case of participation in the “extremist community.” Vadim Kobzev received five years and six months in prison, Alexey Liptser - five years, Igor Sergunin - three years and six months (in the spring of 2024, he pleaded guilty and began to cooperate with the

US President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The conversation was reported by the Xinhua agency and Trump himself. The Chinese agency did not provide details of the conversation. Trump, in a post on the social network TruthSocial, called the call "very good for both China and the United States." “I expect that we will solve many problems together, starting immediately. We discussed trade balance, fentanyl, TikTok, and many other topics.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement on a comprehensive strategic partnership, the Kremlin press service reported. The agreement between the countries, as TASS writes, “covers all areas, including defense, counter-terrorism, energy, finance, transport, industry, agriculture, culture, science and technology.” Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali reported that the document consists of 47 articles.

For the first time in 2025, the Russian Ministry of Justice updated the register of “foreign agents” and included in it several journalists and the anti-war project “Walk through the Forest,” which helps Russians avoid being drafted into the army and being sent to war.

One thousand fifty-nine day. The EU may need the help of the King of Belgium to prevent Russian assets in Europe from being unblocked DSNS of Ukraine / Anadolu / Getty Images Consequences of a missile attack on Krivoy Rog. January 17, 2025 Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. In our daily materials, we dwell in detail on several stories that are affecting the course of the war right now.

On January 16, the administration of US President Joe Biden declassified the last part of the documents on military assistance provided to Ukraine - they relate to a secret program to support the production of drones, writes The New York Times. From these materials it follows that in addition to technical support, the United States spent at least $1.5 billion to help Ukrainian enterprises that produce military UAVs.

Israeli media on January 17 published the names of 33 hostages whom the Hamas terrorist group is going to release in the first stage of a ceasefire agreement with Israel. Their relatives received notification of the release of the mentioned people. The names of the hostages were published by The Times of Israel , The Jerusalem Post and Channel Nine .