Cryptocurrency exchange Binance, following the pardon of its founder Changpeng Zhao by US President Donald Trump, held a series of actions that directly supported the USD1 stablecoin issued by the Trump family startup World Liberty Financial. This raised suspicions of a possible conflict of interest, writes The New York Times, citing analysts and crypto market data. In January, the volume of USD1 in circulation reached $5 billion.

Ornithologists have discovered that white-backed swallows from inland Australia are capable of entering a state of deep torpor not previously described for passerine birds. During such periods, their metabolism slows down sharply, and their body temperature drops to extremely low values ​​- down to 18.8 degrees Celsius. The results of the study were published in the journal Current Biology. The publication was noticed by N+1.

Operation Red Wedding Back in November 2024, while battles were going on in Lebanon with Hezbollah and the army was slowly moving towards the Litani River, the Israeli leadership realized that an operation against Iran was a matter of the very near future. The task that was set for intelligence was to achieve surprise and decapitate the military leadership of the Iranian regime, thereby greatly complicating the possibility of a retaliatory strike for Iran.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis supported the idea of ​​limiting children's access to social networks and said that the country should follow the example of France, where a corresponding ban is already being discussed. He announced this in a video message published on Facebook. “I’m in favor because, as the experts I know say, this is terribly harmful and we must protect our children,” Babis emphasized. Later, Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček commented on the initiative.

Security forces disrupted the birthday party of the black metal band “Uncleanness,” which was held at the Moscow nightclub Eclipse. This was reported by REN-TV , Izvestia and the Telegram channel “112” , which is close to the security forces. Security forces detained 10 participants of the event and the organizer.

Bonobos are capable of imagining and pretending during play, such as pretending to use objects that do not actually exist. Previously it was believed that this ability was unique to humans. The BBC reports this with reference to an article in Science magazine. During the study, scientists conducted various tests on a bonobo named Kanzi to find out whether he was able to imagine things that did not exist.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her coalition won parliamentary elections. Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party could win up to 328 of the 465 seats in the lower house of parliament, according to preliminary election commission data. The party independently crossed the parliamentary majority threshold soon after the polls were closed.

The ex-wife of investor and ex-member of the board of directors of Alfa Bank Alexander Galitsky, Aliya, died in the Istra temporary detention center shortly before she was supposed to be transferred to a pre-trial detention center. The day before she was arrested on suspicion of extortion from her ex-husband. According to the official version, the woman committed suicide. RBC reports this.

The conservative party of the Prime Minister of Thailand Anuthin Chanvirakun "Bumyazhtai" won the early parliamentary elections. Early elections were called in mid-December amid a border crisis between Thailand and Cambodia. According to preliminary data from the election commission, after counting more than 90% of the ballots, Bumyazhtai is confidently in the lead. In second place is the progressive People's Party, in third place is the previously ruling Phua Thai.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the US Department of Defense is terminating cooperation with Harvard University: military personnel will no longer be able to receive departmental scholarships or undergo special military educational programs. Those who are studying at university now will be able to complete their education. Hegseth plans to review other similar programs at Ivy League universities.

Reaction to 9/11 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was created in the United States under George W. Bush in 2003. It was created as part of a major reform of the federal government after the September 11 attacks, which resulted in the consolidation of most federal agencies into the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The ICE director is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Formally, he reports to the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Indian refineries are avoiding purchases of Russian oil for delivery in April and are expected to refrain from such deals for longer, Reuters writes , citing industry sources. The move could help New Delhi cement a trade agreement with Washington: The US and India moved closer to a trade pact by announcing a framework agreement that the two sides hope to finalize by March. It involves reducing duties and deepening economic cooperation.

The FSB Public Relations Center (PSC) named the names of three suspects in the attempt on the life of the deputy head of the GRU, Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseev. TASS and Izvestia write about this. According to the intelligence service, the direct perpetrator of the assassination attempt is named Lubomir Korba, born in 1960. He is a citizen of Russia. He was detained in Dubai with the assistance of the UAE police and extradited.