Criminals robbed a branch of the Sparkasse bank in Gelsenkirchen in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, stealing money and valuables worth tens of millions of euros, the Associated Press and Deutsche Welle report. About 3,200 bank safes were hacked at the branch, which affected about 2,700 clients, according to data from the police and the bank itself.

Residents of three cities in the Moscow region - Ramensky, Zhukovsky and Lytkarino - were partially left without electricity on the evening of December 30. As reported by Rosseti Moscow Region, an automatic shutdown occurred at a high-voltage substation. Eyewitness footage shows that entire areas in cities were left without electricity. It is not entirely clear how many people were left without electricity.

Cards of trials on claims to declare people missing or dead began to disappear from the websites of courts in the regions of Russia, Mediazona drew attention. Such claims, the publication notes, were filed en masse by military units. Now on the websites of the courts of 50 Russian regions it is impossible to find a single claim registered in 2025 to declare a person missing.

British actor Idris Elba received a knighthood, BBC News reports, citing the New Year's list of recipients of British state honors. In total, King Charles III awarded 1,157 people this year. The British authorities recognized the actor for his contribution to working with young people. His Elba Hope Foundation, among other things, campaigns against knife crime among young people.

New investigation reveals luxury residence built for Putin in Ukraine’s Crimea According to new investigation by the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), a lavish mansion was built for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the southern coast of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. The FBK estimates the project’s cost at around 10 billion rubles (about $125.8 million).

Yegor Aleyev / TASS / Profimedia Russian conscripts say goodbye to their loved ones at a train station in Kazan. November 20, 2025. Though Russia’s conscription system is separate from its wartime mobilization campaign, completing mandatory military service against the backdrop of the full-scale war in Ukraine remains a major source of anxiety for many Russians.

The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine has chosen bail as a preventive measure for Verkhovna Rada deputy from the Servant of the People party Yuriy Kisel, who is involved in a case of bribes for voting on bills in parliament, Suspilne reports. The deputy said, leaving the court hearing, that he was released on bail. Kisel refused to disclose the bail amount; his defense plans to appeal the court decision. The deputy has pleaded not guilty and denies receiving any illegal benefit.

In Lithuania, bridges located near the border with Russia and Belarus are equipped with special engineering structures for attaching explosives, the country's armed forces told LRT. Residents of Lithuania drew attention to the fact that construction work began almost simultaneously on bridges near the Belarusian border. The military explained that the work is being carried out as part of measures to strengthen the country’s defense, agreed upon in July 2024.

Exports of Russian pipeline gas to Europe in 2025 fell by 44%, to 18 billion cubic meters, Reuters reports, citing data from the European gas transport group Entsog. This is the lowest value since the 1970s. Then the USSR for the first time began to export gas from Siberia to Europe. Thus, in 1973, the Soviet Union supplied 6.8 billion cubic meters of gas, and in 1975 - 19.3 billion cubic meters of gas.

We'll tell you what's happening there AFP / Scanpix / LETA Consequences of the Saudi attack on the port of Mukalla, December 30 Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have for years played leading roles in a coalition that has been helping Yemen's internationally recognized authorities in their fight against Houthi rebels since 2015.

The Belarusian authorities provide sanatorium-resort treatment for Russians who participated in the war against Ukraine, writes the Belarusian Research Center (BRC). Since 2023, the Lepel military sanatorium in the Vitebsk region, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Defense of Belarus, has been involved in the rehabilitation program for war participants.

The trailer for the final episode of Stranger Things has been released On December 30, the streaming service Netflix released a trailer for the final episode of the final season of Stranger Things. In the clip, Jim Hopper (David Harbor) turns to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and asks her to fight one last time: "Let's get this over with, baby." The trailer shows a lot of footage from previous episodes of the series.

The Binance cryptocurrency exchange has suspended direct withdrawals of funds to bank cards for users from Ukraine since December 29, writes RBC-Ukraine, citing a message from the exchange. The platform has suspended several key functions: until further notice, users can no longer withdraw funds directly to VISA and MasterCard bank cards, and automatic recurring purchases of cryptocurrency (Recurring Buy) have also been discontinued.

Former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik filed a lawsuit against the International Chess Federation (FIDE) due to “bullying,” Kommersant reports. According to Kramnik, he was persecuted after the death of the American grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, with whom Kramnik had a conflict. In particular, Kramnik's dissatisfaction caused the FIDE Committee on Ethics and Discipline to consider an official complaint about his public statements about Naroditsky.

Illusionist Emile Keogh has died at the age of 87. This was announced by the director of the Great Moscow State Circus, trainer Edgard Zapashny. Russian Association of Illusionists “I express my words of support to the family, friends and fans of the magnificent illusionist! May you rest in peace,” Zapashny wrote. The real name of the illusionist is Emil Emilievich Renard-Keogh. He is the son of the Soviet circus artist Emil Teodorovich Renard-Keogh.