American companies Lyft and Uber have announced a partnership with Beijing-based Baidu to launch self-driving taxis on the streets of London next year, The Guardian reports . Lyft has become the third firm planning to introduce robotaxis in the British capital in 2026, after Uber and Waymo, the main driverless taxi operator in the US. Lyft has said it intends to begin testing dozens of Apollo Go self-driving cars in London in 2026.

Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a list of instructions following a meeting of the Council on Interethnic Relations on November 5. The Ministry of Education and Science together with the Russian Academy of Sciences must, by March 1, develop a comprehensive program of scientific research related to a comprehensive interdisciplinary ethnographic study of the “state-forming Russian people.” The program will be implemented in 2026–2028.

The US Department of Justice has restored on its website a photo from the archives of the late billionaire accused of multiple cases of sexual exploitation of minors, Jeffrey Epstein, in which US President Donald Trump was. The image was removed on Friday after it was published, but was reinstated amid criticism from members of Congress.

POLITICS Karyna Olykova 22 December 2025 The more than questionable list of wars allegedly ended by Donald Trump since returning to the White House may soon be expanded to include an interreligious conflict in Nigeria. Trump has already threatened direct intervention if Nigerian authorities fail to stop the violence carried out by jihadist groups, whose victims are often Christians. The conflict is growing ever more acute, accompanied by the imposition of sharia law and a humanitarian crisis.

In Moscow, on Yaseneva Street on the morning of December 22, a car exploded. The Telegram channels Baza and Shot , close to the security forces, write about this, and the Investigative Committee also confirms the information. According to the department, the victim is an official of the Ministry of Defense Fanil Sarvarov. According to Baza, the driver managed to drive several meters before the car exploded. The explosion, judging by the photo, hit the front of the car.

The Donald Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 career diplomats from embassy and other senior positions in foreign missions, The Guardian writes . The goal is reportedly to change US diplomatic policy abroad by replacing employees there with those who fully support Trump's priorities in the spirit of the "America First" slogan.

The United States has accused the European Union of discriminating against American companies and threatened to introduce new tariffs and fees in response to a fine imposed on Twitter (X). Reuters reports this. The US Trade Representative's office on Twitter accused the EU of "discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines and directives against US service providers" while European companies such as Siemens and Spotify operate freely in the US.

News The Insider December 22, 2025 The commander and founder of the Espanyola brigade, Stanislav Orlov, known under the call sign Spaniard, whose death became known on December 19, was killed in Sevastopol. As Astra found out , the murder occurred on December 4 in the Flotsky SNT, where he lived in the last weeks before his death.

In the 2026–2027 academic year, Russian universities intend to cut 45 thousand paid places. This was announced by the head of the Ministry of Education and Science Valery Falkov in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel. He is quoted by the Interfax agency. According to him, in percentage terms, the department plans to reduce about 13% of all paid places in Russian universities. The most noticeable reductions will be in non-state universities.

Espanola co-founder and commander Stanislav Orlov, known by the call sign “Ispanets” (lit. “Spaniard”), was first reported dead on Dec. 19. Photo: Artem Geodakyan / TASS Contents 1. What is Espanola? Stanislav Orlov, the commander and founder of Russia’s recently disbanded Espanola brigade, was shot dead at his home in Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea on Dec. 4, according to an investigation by the independent outlet Astra . Orlov, known by the call sign “Ispanets” (lit.

Nine months after taking office, Trump stopped pretending that he did not know who was behind the document — and that he disagreed with its provisions. On Oct. 2, Trump posted an AI-generated video in which OMB director Vought is shown walking through Washington dressed as the Grim Reaper.

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office recognized the activities of Polish non-governmental organizations Fundacja im as “undesirable”. Kazimierza Pułaskiego, Fundacja Wolnosc i Demokracja and Fundacja im. Stefana Batorego, the supervisory authority reported.

Swedish prosecutors have decided not to open a preliminary investigation into suspected sanctions violations against the Russian container ship Adler (IMO: 9179854). This was reported by SVT with reference to the press secretary of the Swedish Customs Service, Martin Höglund. The ship was allowed to leave the country's territorial waters. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the ship is involved in transporting weapons for the Russian Federation.

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday, December 21, that he had appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as his special envoy to Greenland. He wrote about this on his social network Truth Social. "Jeff understands how important Greenland is to our national security and will vigorously advance our nation's interests in ensuring the safety, security and survival of our allies and, of course, the world," Trump said.

The speed of the WhatsApp messenger in Russia has dropped by 70–80% since Monday, December 22. The RBC publication writes about this with reference to a source in the telecom market. During the day, according to the Sboy.rf service, more than 2.2 thousand complaints were recorded about the work of the messenger. As RBC notes, most of the complaints relate to the incorrect operation of WhatsApp alerts, the inability to send messages, as well as non-functioning mobile applications and the website.