Russia launched three Iranian communications satellites into orbit using a Soyuz launch vehicle. This is at least the second such launch since July. This was reported by the Associated Press and Reuters with reference to Iranian state television. Three satellites, named Paya, Kovsar and Zafar-2, were launched from the Vostochny cosmodrome to an altitude of 500 km. The Paya satellite, weighing 150 kg, is the heaviest Iranian-made satellite launched into orbit.

As a result of the cyclone that passed through the territory of Kamchatka, on the night of Saturday, December 27, a state of emergency was introduced in several settlements. More than 5 thousand people were left without electricity, RTVI writes . In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, schoolchildren were sent on winter holidays several days early; heavy snowfalls made road traffic very difficult. The cleanup is still ongoing.

The practice of detentions continued under the Trump administration as well. According to immigration lawyers, once people are placed under arrest, their chances of being released and of having their asylum applications approved drop dramatically. This is due both to the way immigration judges view those detained at the border and to the difficulty of obtaining legal assistance, especially if migrants have no relatives or acquaintances at liberty who could help find an attorney.

Previously, temporary detention centers mostly held asylum seekers and other migrants taken into custody at the U.S.-Mexico border. Now, however, they are now increasingly holding people who have already applied for asylum and were awaiting a decision while living and working in the U.S. In the past, arrests of migrants inside the country were generally linked to cases involving violent crimes. Now only 7% of those detained had previously been convicted of such offenses.

French actress Brigitte Bardot has died at the age of 91. This was reported by BFMTV and the newspaper Le Figaro . Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born in 1934. She made her film debut in 1952 and gained fame thanks to her role in the film “And God Created Woman” (Et Dieu... créa la femme, 1956), directed by her husband Roger Vadim. In 1950–1960 Bardot became one of the most sought-after actresses in European cinema and a sex symbol on a par with Marilyn Monroe.

POLITICS Ivan Astashin 28 December 2025 In early December, a new criminal case was opened against Yabloko party deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg, who almost immediately ended up on Rosfinmonitoring’s “list of terrorists and extremists.” Since June, the list has increasingly begun to include not only defendants in “terrorist” and “extremist” cases, but also those merely charged under articles concerning the spread of “fake news” and the “discrediting” of the Russian army.

Russian Alexandra Goryachkina took first place at the World Rapid Chess Championship held in Doha. This was reported by the Russian Chess Federation. Based on the results of 11 rounds, Goryachkina scored 8.5 points. Zhu Jin'er (China) and Humpy Koneru (India) had the same number. As a result, according to additional indicators, Koneru became the bronze medalist of the championship, and a decisive tiebreaker was played between Jin'er and Goryachkina, which the Russian woman won.

Apple, at the request of Roskomnadzor, removed the gay dating app Hornet from the App Store. The “Guys+” project writes about this with reference to the Hornet press service. The fact that the application disappeared from the marketplace became known this week. It is still available to Android phone users on Google Play, but is no longer available on the App Store.

The Baltic Garrison Military Court sentenced Vasily Yarmolich, a participant in the war in Ukraine, to 10.5 years in a maximum security colony. They also collected 500 thousand rubles in compensation from him in favor of the victim. While AWOL, Yarmolich robbed a taxi driver, stabbing him 18 times. The press service of the court reported this. According to the verdict, Yarmolich did not return from vacation and was absent from service for almost two months.

More than 20% of the videos that YouTube algorithms offer to new users turned out to be AI-slope or so-called brainrot . Channels with low-quality content generated received a total of more than 60 billion views. This is evidenced by a study by Kapwing, writes The Guardian newspaper. Analysts studied the top 100 YouTube channels from 150 countries (that is, 15,000 channels). The content of 278 of them consisted entirely of AI-generated videos.

German gas transmission company Gascade has converted 400 km of pipeline originally intended for natural gas to supply hydrogen. However, there have been no buyers for it yet. Tagesschau reports . The converted gas pipeline runs from the city of Lubmin (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) on the Baltic Sea coast to Bobbau in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. Previously, it was used to transport natural gas supplied from Russia via Nord Stream.

News The Insider December 28, 2025 Screenshot: Zvezdanews | "Star" The TV channel of the Russian Ministry of Defense “Zvezda” published several videos with Russian military personnel in the city of Kupyansk, Kharkov region. These videos were supposed to confirm the taking of the city under control. In one of the videos, a group of military men leaves the city. The TV channel published footage taken from drones or by the military themselves the day before, on December 27 ( 1 , 2 ).

The Krasnodar administration has introduced new rules for street performances in the city. Musicians and dancers will now have to agree on the repertoire, as well as provide information about the composition of the group. The corresponding document was published on the city administration website.

Russia and Ukraine have reached an agreement on a local ceasefire in the area of ​​the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. This was reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). As follows from the organization's message, the temporary truce is necessary to repair power lines. They connect the Zaporizhzhya NPP with a thermal power plant, which provides it with energy.

In early December, a new criminal case was opened against Yabloko party deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg, who almost immediately ended up on Rosfinmonitoring’s “list of terrorists and extremists.” Since June, the list has increasingly begun to include not only defendants in “terrorist” and “extremist” cases, but also those merely charged under articles concerning the spread of “fake news” and the “discrediting” of the Russian army.