Meydan TV A trial against 12 Azerbaijani journalists that human rights experts have condemned as politically motivated has begun in Baku. The case started with a series of arrests on December 6, 2024, carried out on charges of illegal currency smuggling. Six staff members of the independent media outlet Meydan TV were detained: Aynur Gambarova, Aytaj Akhmedova, Khayal Agaev, Aysel Umudova, Ramin Jabrayilzade, and Natik Javadly.

Russia has rejected a Christmas truce put forward by Germany, because it would give Ukraine’s forces a chance to regroup, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said on Tuesday. “We want peace. We don’t want a truce that would give Ukraine time to rest and prepare to continue the war,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “If the Ukrainians’ desire to substitute reaching a deal with short-term, unviable solutions begins to dominate, then we are unlikely to be willing to participate,” he added.

US President Donald Trump has expanded the list of countries whose citizens are prohibited from entering the United States, the White House website reported on December 16. The list included Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. In addition, the ban applies to holders of documents issued by the Palestinian Authority. In addition, the US authorities have expanded the list of countries whose citizens are subject to partial entry restrictions.

Vanity Fair magazine released on December 16 a large piece in two parts ( 1 , 2 ) dedicated to the administration of US President Donald Trump. The text is based on statements by White House chief of staff Susan Wiles, with whom the publication's journalist Chris Whipple spoke during 2025. Whipple said he spoke with Wiles about a dozen times “at every moment of crisis” in the administration.

Oksimiron, after a year of silence on social networks, released a new album Rapper Oksimiron (Miron Fedorov) has released a new album called “Nationality: none.” It appeared on streaming services , including VK Music, YouTube Music and Spotify, on December 16. The album included eight songs.

Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images Anti-government protesters in Kyiv guard the perimeter of Independence Square, known as the Maidan. February 19, 2014. Marci Shore When Ukrainians began protesting on Kyiv’s Independence Square in November 2013, historian Marci Shore was watching from Vienna. Ukraine’s then-president, Viktor Yanukovych, had backtracked on signing an Association Agreement with the European Union, triggering massive demonstrations that stretched on for days and then weeks.

Janis Baiks Russia’s cars are getting older, and repairing them has become increasingly slow and expensive — especially for owners of foreign models whose manufacturers left the country in 2022. With no direct supply of original parts, the biggest challenge for repair shops is simply getting the components they need. The independent outlet iStories reported on why Russians aren’t replacing their foreign-made cars and how they’re keeping them running. Meduza shares a summary in English.

Tolyatti City Duma deputy Alexander Dorozhkin left the United Russia party amid a scandal with a video of his wife talking about giving birth in Chile. The day before, a video published on social networks by 42-year-old Lyubov Marchenko was noticed by the Baza telegram channel, which is close to the security forces.

He had a drug addiction. He got rid of her - and then, together with his father, he made a “very personal” film about his life Michael Buckner/Variety/Getty Images On December 15, director Rob Reiner was killed in Los Angeles - he directed the films “When Harry Met Sally,” “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Being Charlie,” and “Before He Played the Box.” His wife, 68-year-old Michelle Singer Rainer, a photographer and producer, also died along with him.

That's what it means On the unloading vest of Timofey K., who attacked a school in Gorki-2 near Moscow, it was written “No lives matter” (“No lives matter”), and on his helmet, among many other inscriptions, there was an abbreviation of the same phrase “NLM”. This is a parody of the slogans “Black lives matter” and “All lives matter”, which were actively used during the 2020 protests and the subsequent protracted sociocultural conflict over racism in the United States. Attention!

One thousand three hundred and ninety-second day. The United States offered Ukraine “platinum guarantees” of security. They demand to agree to them right now Since February 24, 2022, Meduza has been broadcasting live about the Russian-Ukrainian war. We publish your letters in our daily materials because we are sure that we need to continue talking about the war. Share with us the thoughts you have about the war. What feelings are you experiencing?

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ruled in favor of Polina Lurie in the case regarding the apartment of singer Larisa Dolina. Dolina’s claim (she was formally the plaintiff, since she insisted on canceling the deal) was rejected, and the Supreme Court left ownership of the apartment with Lurie. The court's decision comes into force immediately, so Dolina, who is still actually living in the apartment, must leave it.

The Central District Military Court in Yekaterinburg imposed sentences of 16 to 22 years in a maximum security colony to five members of a Marxist circle from Ufa, accused of terrorism and preparing to overthrow the government, Mediazona reports. Otolaryngologist and founder of the circle, Alexey Dmitriev, received 20 years in prison. Donbass veteran Pavel Matisov was sentenced to 22 years, and Donbass Union of Volunteers volunteer Rinat Burkeev was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

This is a poem by Mayakovsky. He is now being fined under the article on “discrediting” the army Ullstein Bild/Getty Images A court in Yekaterinburg fined Dmitry Rykov, a resident of the city of Kirovgrad in the Sverdlovsk region, for “discrediting” the army because of an anti-war picket, which he attended with a poster with a poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky. The picket, as Sotavision writes, took place in Yekaterinburg on December 7, 2025.

The German media company Deutsche Welle is included in the register of “undesirable” organizations in Russia, as follows from the data of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation as of December 16. DW CEO Barbara Masing said the Russian authorities' decision "will not frighten" journalists. “The current, latest attempt by the Russian regime to silence free media shows how little it respects freedom of speech and how afraid it is of independent information.