News from January 3, 2025 at 2 AM

On the morning of January 1, a deliberate vehicle attack occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, resulting in at least 15 deaths and over 30 injuries. The suspect was shot dead. Hours later, a Tesla pickup truck exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, killing one person and injuring seven others lightly. Police found explosives and fireworks launchers. Both incidents involved vehicles rented from the same rental platform. The FBI is investigating the New Orleans incident as an act of terrorism, and President Biden stated that the Justice Department is examining any links between the two incidents. The suspect in the New Orleans attack is suspected of being influenced by ISIS. The incidents have sparked concerns about the security situation in the US.

The South Korean court issued an arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol on December 31, valid until January 6. The High Prosecutors' Office and police are coordinating the execution time and method, likely to act on January 3. Yoon's supporters gathered outside the presidential residence in Seoul, increasing from 6,000 to 11,000, forming a 'block arrest' formation. Opponents also plan to rally, escalating tensions. Despite thorough preparations by the High Prosecutors' Office, the Presidential Security Service refuses cooperation, and Yoon's legal team criticizes the warrant's legality, filing an objection with the court.

On January 1, 2025, Ukraine halted the transit of Russian natural gas to Europe through its pipelines, ending Moscow's decades-long dominance over Europe's energy markets. Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom confirmed that gas exports to Europe via Ukraine stopped at around 8 a.m. local time (5 a.m. London time). This move marks the end of a five-year transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine, with neither side willing to strike a new deal amid the ongoing war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously stated that Kyiv was not prepared to prolong the transit of Russian gas. Russia, which has transported gas to Europe via Ukrainian pipelines since 1991, claims that EU countries will suffer the most from the supply shift. Ukraine will lose up to $1 billion annually in transit fees, while Gazprom is poised to lose nearly $5 billion in gas sales. The European Commission has been working with the most impacted EU member states to ensure the entire 27-nation bloc is prepared. Slovakia, Austria, and Moldova are among the countries most at risk, having been the most dependent on Russian gas transit in 2023. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico warned of a 'drastic' impact on the EU and threatened to cut electricity supplies to Ukraine. Moldova declared a 60-day state of emergency over energy security fears. Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko described the cessation as a 'historic event,' noting Russia's financial losses. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski hailed it as a political victory. EU gas storage facilities are around 73% full, with Germany's inventories at nearly 80%. Analysts suggest the EU will need about 7.2 billion cubic meters of gas from the LNG market. The decision does not threaten EU winter energy security due to preparations and mild winter weather.

The Palestinian Authority temporarily suspended the broadcast of Qatar's Al Jazeera TV over 'inciting material,' as reported by the Palestinian official news agency WAFA. A ministerial committee comprising the culture, interior, and communications ministries decided to halt the broadcaster's operations, citing content that was 'inciting, deceptive, and stirring strife.' The decision is not expected to be enforced in Hamas-controlled Gaza, where the Palestinian Authority lacks power. Last week, Al Jazeera faced criticism from the Palestinian Authority for its coverage of the weeks-long standoff between Palestinian security forces and militants in the Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank. Fatah, the faction controlling the Palestinian Authority, accused the broadcaster of sowing division in 'our Arab homeland in general and in Palestine in particular,' urging Palestinians not to cooperate with the network. In September, Israeli forces issued a military order to Al Jazeera to shut down its operations after raiding its bureau in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

On the first trading day of 2025, speculative sectors of the stock market surged, following the S&P 500's best two-year run since 1998. Stocks tied to the price of bitcoin jumped as the cryptocurrency climbed back over $96,000, with Microstrategy adding 3% after surging more than 360% in 2024. Retail traders on social media speculated after Roaring Kitty posted a cryptic gif, leading to gains in Unity Software and GameStop. Semiconductor stocks like Nvidia continued to lead the market. Topgolf Callaway Brands surged 8.5% following an upgrade by Jefferies. Major indexes rose, with the Dow advancing as much as 300 points. The market's mood resembled the initial rallies after Donald Trump's election victory, but investors remain cautious about the long-term impact of the incoming administration's policies.

Venezuela opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, despite facing an arrest warrant and a reward for his capture, plans to return to Venezuela to be inaugurated as president. He will travel to Argentina this weekend to meet with Argentine President Javier Milei. This visit comes ahead of President Nicolas Maduro's third-term inauguration on January 10. Gonzalez claims he won the July presidential election, but Venezuelan authorities have not published full vote tallies. The opposition and the international community have questioned the election's transparency and called for full publication of ballots. Earlier on Thursday, Argentina's government filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court against Venezuela for detaining one of its security personnel, labeling it a 'forced disappearance.'

On December 21, volunteers were working to clear spilled oil near the Black Sea resort of Anapa in Russia's Krasnodar region. Russian officials reported that oil leaked from two damaged tankers had spread to more beaches on Ukraine’s Russian-occupied peninsula of Crimea. In December, two aging Russian tankers, the Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, were hit by a storm in the Kerch Strait, which links the Azov and Black Seas. The tankers were carrying 9,200 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, with around 40% possibly spilling into the sea, an incident Russian leader Vladimir Putin termed an “ecological disaster.” On January 2, Russia’s emergency situations ministry identified two sites of oil contamination in Crimea, near the city of Kerch and Tobechytske lake. Nearly 73,000 tonnes of contaminated sand have been removed from dozens of kilometers of beaches on the Russian coast since the spill. Officials estimate that up to 200,000 tonnes of sand and soil could be contaminated. The regional cleanup headquarters published images of volunteers in white suits scooping contaminated sand off beaches, including in the popular resort city of Anapa. As of January 2, 2,100 birds had been rescued. Ukraine has called this spill “the largest in the Black Sea region in the 21st century,” blaming Moscow for using unsuitable ships for harsh winter conditions. Under Western sanctions, Russia has resorted to using a so-called “shadow fleet” of mostly old tankers to export its fuels.

Rosita Missoni, co-founder of the renowned Italian knitwear brand Missoni, has passed away at the age of 93. The news was confirmed by Attilio Fontana, president of Italy's Lombardy region, who lamented her death as a significant loss for Italy and Lombardy. Born in 1931 in Golasecca, Lombardy, Rosita founded the luxury brand with her husband Ottavio in 1953. They established a machine-knitwear workshop in Gallarate, northwest of Milan. The brand's breakthrough came in 1958 with a large order from a Milanese department store. Missoni's first catwalk show was in 1966, followed by a presentation at the Pitti Palace in Florence in 1967, which gained global fame due to a controversy over the transparency of the clothing. Ottavio died in 2013, and their daughter Angela took over the fashion house in the late 1990s, while Rosita continued to work on the Missoni Home line.

A worker digging clay in a southern England limestone quarry discovered unusual bumps leading to the find of a 'dinosaur highway' and nearly 200 tracks dating back 166 million years. In June, a team of over 100 people excavated the Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, expanding previous paleontology work and offering insights into the Middle Jurassic period. Kirsty Edgar, a micropaleontology professor at the University of Birmingham, said the footprints reveal details about dinosaur lives. Four sets of tracks show paths of giant, long-necked herbivores, possibly Cetiosaurus, while a fifth set belongs to the 9-meter predator Megalosaurus. Emma Nicholls, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, noted that recent discoveries prove new evidence of these animals remains to be found. Nearly 30 years ago, 40 sets of footprints in the area were deemed scientifically significant, but are now mostly inaccessible. This summer's team took over 20,000 digital images and used drones for 3D models. Duncan Murdock, an earth scientist at the Oxford museum, said the detailed preservation helps recreate the dinosaurs' environment. The findings will be exhibited at the museum and featured on the BBC's 'Digging for Britain' program next week.

Hungarian legendary gymnast and five-time Olympic gold medalist Agnes Keleti passed away in Budapest at the age of 103 on the 2nd. Born on January 9, 1921, she was the world's oldest living Olympic champion. Keleti first won an Olympic gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Games. In 1956, at the age of 35, she secured four gold medals at the Melbourne Olympics. Over two Olympic Games, she amassed five gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals.

Syria's newly appointed Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani arrived in Saudi Arabia on January 1 for his first foreign visit since taking office, accompanied by Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Head of the General Intelligence Service Anas Khattab. Al-Shibani stated the aim was to open a new chapter in Syrian-Saudi relations. Saudi Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed bin Abdulkarim El-Khereiji welcomed the delegation at Riyadh's international airport. Last month, a Saudi delegation met Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus. Al-Sharaa, who heads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that ousted President Bashar al-Assad, recently told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya that Saudi Arabia would play a significant role in Syria's future. Syria's economy and infrastructure have been devastated by over 13 years of civil war. Saudi Arabia, which severed ties with Assad's government in 2012, restored relations last year and helped Syria rejoin the Arab League.

Kenyan officials announced on January 1 that they are investigating metal fragments believed to be from a rocket that crashed into Mukuku village in the country's south on December 30 at around 3pm. The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) identified the object as a metallic ring approximately 2.5 meters in diameter and weighing about 500 kg. The KSA, in collaboration with other agencies and local authorities, secured the area and retrieved the debris, which is now under further investigation. Preliminary assessments suggest the object is a separation ring from a launch vehicle, designed to burn up upon re-entry or fall over uninhabited areas. The KSA stated this is an isolated incident that will be investigated and addressed, emphasizing that the object posed no threat to public safety and commending the nearby villagers for promptly alerting authorities. The KSA is working to determine the origin of the piece. Previous incidents of man-made space debris hitting Earth include a SpaceX Dragon capsule part landing on an Australian sheep farm in 2022, and NASA facing a lawsuit from an American family whose Florida home was hit by falling metal earlier this year, while China has been criticized by NASA for allowing its Long March rockets to fall back to Earth.

In December 1984, one of the world's deadliest gas leaks occurred in Bhopal, India, killing thousands. Forty years later, authorities have removed 337 tonnes of toxic waste from the Union Carbide plant to an incinerator facility 230km away. Officials estimate it will take three to nine months to treat and destroy the waste, but activists are concerned about potential health risks at the new location. A 2018 study revealed groundwater contamination in 42 residential areas near the factory. On December 3, a court ordered the waste disposal within four weeks. The transport was under tight security. Some waste will be incinerated in Pithampur, but local residents and activists protest, fearing pollution. Victims of the Bhopal tragedy continue to suffer, and many believe justice has not been served.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on January 2 that US President-elect Donald Trump could be decisive in the outcome of the 34-month-old war with Russia and help stop Russian President Vladimir Putin. Facing Russian advances in eastern Ukraine, Zelensky, in a Ukrainian television interview, said Trump promised to be one of the first to visit Washington after his inauguration. Zelensky emphasized stabilizing the front line as a top priority and believed Putin feared negotiations as they would equate to a Russian defeat. He also stressed Ukraine's need for solid security guarantees, EU membership, and an invitation to join NATO. Zelensky hoped any US settlement plan would consider Ukraine's views and planned to restore diplomatic ties with Syria. He also expected Trump's administration to quickly engage with Russia, with Putin indicating Moscow's openness to talks conditional on recognizing Russia's war gains and annexation of four Ukrainian regions. Amid rapid Russian advances, Zelensky deemed stabilizing the front critical and reiterated that no new elections would be held during the wartime state of emergency, but he would consider running again when conditions allowed.

Starting January 1, Milan, Italy, has implemented a stricter outdoor smoking ban, prohibiting smoking within a 10-meter radius of others, with fines ranging from 40 to 240 euros for violators. The ban applies only to traditional tobacco products, excluding e-cigarettes. According to AFP, this is the strictest outdoor smoking ban in Italy, aimed at improving air quality and promoting healthier lifestyles. In 2020, the Milan City Council passed a decree to improve air quality, and since 2021, outdoor smoking regulations have been in place at bus stops, parks, cemeteries, and open-air stadiums. The new ban covers all public spaces, but smoking is allowed if more than 10 meters away from others.

The U.S. dollar index hit its highest level in over two years on Thursday as the new trading year began and investors prepared for Donald Trump's return to the White House later this month. The index, measuring the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.8% at 1:00 p.m. ET, reaching its strongest since November 2022. Market focus was on optimism surrounding the U.S. economy, with Wall Street stocks opening higher but later trading mixed. Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, noted that U.S. growth has consistently outpaced forecasts, with consumers and companies shrugging off high interest rates and unemployment remaining low. Investors are hopeful for a 'goldilocks' scenario in 2025, amid promises of lower taxes and deregulation under a second Trump presidency. European currencies were hit hard due to divergent expectations for interest rates and economic growth, with the euro and British pound weakening significantly. The U.K. economy stagnated in the third quarter, and economists warn of political instability and structural issues dragging on Germany, France, and other euro zone nations. Trump's tariff threats could lead to fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2025, while the European Central Bank and Bank of England appeared more dovish in their December meetings. Mohamad Al-Saraf, FX and rates strategy associate at Danske Bank, said the dollar is supported by expectations of Trump's policies and fading conviction in the Fed's rate-cut trajectory, but market pricing for fewer rate cuts this year may be overly hawkish, and negative U.S. data could trigger a dollar correction.

On Wednesday, the online car rental service platform Turo came under scrutiny after being involved in two incidents. Known as the 'Airbnb of cars,' Turo allows individual car owners to rent out their vehicles. In an online statement on Wednesday, Turo confirmed that both the morning's horrific attack in New Orleans and the afternoon's Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas involved vehicles rented through its platform. Turo stated that the individuals who rented the vehicles did not have criminal backgrounds that would identify them as security threats, and there is no indication that the two incidents are related. Investigators revealed that a pickup truck used in New Orleans and the Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas were both rented via Turo. Authorities preliminarily deemed the use of Turo in both incidents a coincidence. Founded in 2009, Turo has faced criticisms over vehicles being used for nefarious purposes. As of September 30, Turo had approximately 150,000 active hosts worldwide, with 350,000 active vehicle listings and 3.5 million active guests on its marketplace.