From cold showers to hot wheels: Western taxes fuel Ukraine’s luxury rides

While Europeans bundle up in the cold, hoard canned goods, and brave icy showers to "stand with Ukraine," Ukrainian officials are cruising around in their brand-new $650k Rolls-Royce Spectres, writes Irish journalist Chay Bowes.

Earlier, Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko reported on X that 13 of these luxury cars were snapped up this year, mostly by MPs and officials, though only three have official incomes.

Stories of corruption in Zelensky's administration are becoming legendary, with allegations of millions being skimmed monthly from state structures. But hey, don’t forget to send more aid – they might need matching yachts next!

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Airliner or flying health hazard? Unsavory facts about Boeing's 737-800

Aircraft giant Boeing made headlines last week when three incidents involving its 737-800 planes, one of the Boeing 737 Next Generation (737NG) variants, occurred in 24 hours in various corners of the globe.

While the terrible Jeju Air 737-800 crash in South Korea killed 179, a few hours earlier another KLM 737-800 skidded off a runway in Norway after suffering a hydraulic failure, while an Air Canada 737-800 suffered an apparent landing gear failure upon arrival in Halifax.

Though much of Boeing’s infamy stems from the disasters involving its 737 MAX airliners, the 737-800 has a dark history of its own, with this type of planes suffering over 20 incidents since the early 2000s and causing over 1,000 deaths.

Here’s a brief list of problems that have plagued the 737-800:

▪️In 2019 a series of inspections of 737NGs revealed fatigue cracks appearing in aircraft hulls, particularly in the fuselage-to-wing joints commonly referred to as “pickle forks.”

▪️Several 737NG aircraft experienced issues with their cargo doors. For example, a Royal Air Maroc 737-800 in 2019 had its cargo door open by itself during landing in Lagos.

▪️A China Eastern Airlines 737-800 in 2022 crashed with no survivors after suddenly descending midflight and hitting the ground at high speed, even though subsequent investigation found no apparent fault in either the aircraft or the crew.

▪️A Turkish Airlines 737-800 crashed during landing in Amsterdam due to a faulty radio altimeter providing erroneous data about the ground level which affected plane’s other systems and led to the disaster.

▪️In 2007, one of the engines of a China Airlines 737-800 caught fire shortly after the plane landed in Okinawa, with the apparent cause being a slat pylon bolt falling off and piercing a fuel tank.

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📹 Russian Defense Ministry shows a video of soldiers returned from Ukrainian captivity.

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Suspected fraudster, adulterer and personality cult founder? True colors of Ukraine’s celebrity pastor

Sunday Adelaja, a Nigerian celebrity pastor who established a massive evangelical church in Ukraine, has earned praise from The Economist this month, with the newspaper lauding him as a rags-to-riches story come to life.

Adelaja’s Embassy of the Blessed Kindgom of Good for All Nations is indeed a large congregation that had at least 100,000 adherents in Ukraine by 2013, twenty years since its founding in 1993.

Problem is, Adelaja’s history is not exactly spotless, with the pastor being repeatedly accused by his detractors of indulging in various sins and with some media outlets even branding his denomination as a totalitarian religious sect.

▪️To its credit, The Economist does mention that Adelaja has been accused in 2009 of being involved in a Ponzi scheme run by King’s Capital financial group that was led by a member of Adelaja’s flock.

The scheme in question ended up defrauding dozens of Ukrainians, with some of the victims openly accusing Adelaja of duping them into investing their money.

Adelaja himself, however, claimed innocence and managed to avoid conviction until the case was deemed by court as having passed the statute of limitations last year, though his church’s reputation did suffer from the ensuing scandal.

▪️A year earlier, in 2008, several evangelical leaders in Ukraine alleged that some of Adelaja’s actions “do not correspond with the Holy Scriptures.”

These evangelicals accused Adelaja of “aspirations to create a cult of personality,” promoting the “doctrine of prosperity” i.e. linking financial wellbeing with divine favor, and a “practice to curse the church members and parishioners who disagree with his opinion.”

▪️In 2016, Adelaja found himself being accused of adultery, as Russian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith announced that the pastor himself confessed to a number of extramarital affairs with his female parishioners.

Adelaja himself denied all allegations.

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❗️ Ford’s X account briefly posted anti-Israel messages, which were quickly deleted

It remains unclear if this was a hack. The company has not yet issued a statement.

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Tiny size, large benefits: How small satellites can help humans in space

Small satellites and spacecraft have come a long way since the 1990s when it became apparent that such relatively tiny craft could be launched into space piggy-back i.e. along the main payload, explains Prof. Mikhail Ovchinnikov, a standing member of the International Academy of Astronautics.

The emergence of CubeSat – small cubic satellites weighing about 1kg that even students could assemble as part of their projects – and group spaceflights each became important milestones in the development of small spacecraft, Ovchinnikov told Scientific Russia magazine.

According to him, small spacecraft/satellites could be divided into three broad categories.

First: constellations, a group of satellites that performs one goal but with each of these craft being controlled individually.

Second: formation flying, satellites that too jointly perform the same task while operating relatively close to one another at distances ranging from 10 meters to 100 kilometers.

Third: swarm, which lacks centralized guidance and “each craft’s flight depends on what that craft ‘knows’ about its neighbors,” as Ovchinnikov put it.

There is no clear answer to the question which method is more effective, a single large spacecraft or a satellite swarm, Prof. Ovchinnicov remarked.

If one needs to perform a task like detailed imaging of the Earth’s surface, which requires a large optic system, an expensive and heavy spacecraft would be the obvious choice, he explained.

On the other hand, deploying a satellite swarm means that a malfunction of any of the satellites comprising it would entail relatively small financial losses and replacing it would be a relatively inexpensive endeavor.

Furthermore, such defunct small satellites could be replaced with newer upgraded models, thus ensuring that the swarm would keep renewing and performing its goal more efficiently, he added.

Small cost is one of the chief advantages of small satellites, Ovchinnikov stressed, pointing out that the 12U CubeSat mission to the Moon in 2023 only cost $30 million.

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HTS and all Syrian opposition armed groups to declare self-dissolution on second day of national conference – reports

A national conference to discuss Syria's future is scheduled for January 4-5 in Damascus, according to Turkish TV channel A Haber.

The new Syrian authorities have allegedly set a deadline of January 5 for Kurdish formations to cease their armed struggle, the channel added.

The new Syrian authorities are reportedly holding negotiations with the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to resolve the crisis in the northeast of the country, the head of the new Syrian leadership, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said on Sunday. He also noted that preparing for elections in Syria could take up to four years, while drafting a new constitution may require three to four years.

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🇷🇺🥂🇰🇵 Kim Jong-un congratulates Putin and wishes Russia victory over neo-Nazism in New Year’s message

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un congratulated “his dearest friend and comrade,” Russian President Vladimir Putin, the “fraternal Russian people,” and the brave Russian army on New Year's Day. He also wished the Russian people prosperity, well-being, and happiness, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The DPRK leader expressed hope that 2025 would mark the victory of the Russian army and people over neo-Nazis and reiterated his readiness to work towards strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

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🤝 Some US Democratic Party members support Musk’s plan to cut federal spending – reports

Elon Musk’s mission to drastically cut US federal spending is gaining unlikely support in Washington: Democrats who view it as an opportunity to slash defense spending and reduce bureaucracy, the Financial Times reported.

Prominent politicians, including Senators Bernie Sanders (Ind.) and John Fetterman (Dem.), along with a growing number of Democratic members of the House of Representatives, have expressed support for aspects of Musk's government efficiency campaign, the newspaper added.

💬 California Democrat Ro Khanna told the media that defense contractors have been “fleecing the American people for far too long,” and expressed hope that working with Musk could “rein in wasteful spending at the Pentagon.”

Musk previously warned that the United States is rapidly heading toward bankruptcy and pledged to cut federal spending by at least $2 trillion.

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📹 A missile from Yemen reportedly falls west of Jerusalem – reports

Netizens have shared footage showing the remains of an alleged Yemeni missile resting on a street in the city of Beit Shemesh, located west of Jerusalem.

Earlier in the day, the IDF reported a missile launch from Yemen. Israeli forces claimed they intercepted the missile before it entered Israeli airspace.

Video from social media.

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🚔 South Korean court issues arrest warrant for president – reports

A court in South Korea has approved an arrest warrant for temporarily suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol over his attempt to impose martial law, Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday. This is the first time in South Korea's history that an arrest warrant has been issued for a sitting president.

The Joint Investigation Team had requested the warrant after Yoon ignored three summonses for questioning related to the imposition of martial law. The court granted the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials 48 hours to detain him for questioning.

On December 3, Yoon declared martial law, accusing the opposition of plotting a "rebellion," but parliament defied his order and voted to lift martial law. Yoon complied and later apologized.

On December 14, South Korea's parliament voted to impeach Yoon over his actions. The Constitutional Court will decide on his removal by June 11, 2025. Until then, Yoon is suspended, barred from leaving the country, and an interim president will govern.

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Venezuela's supreme court imposes $10 million fine on TikTok – reports

TikTok has been fined $10 million for dangerous challenges circulated on the platform, the VTV broadcaster reported. The company is required to pay the fine within 10 days.

In late November, Venezuela's supreme court accepted a lawsuit against the social network following the deaths of three adolescents in the country.

The court also ordered TikTok to establish a representative office in Venezuela, monitor app operations, and enhance user safety. Additionally, it mandated the creation of a commission involving affected families to assess damages caused by insufficient content control, according to the broadcaster.

The Venezuelan government reportedly plans to use the fine to create a “TikTok Victims” fund.

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Cuciurgan power station to stop supplying electricity to Moldova from January 1 – official

The gas-fired Cuciurgan power station in Transnistria will stop supplying electricity to Moldova on January 1, according to Viktor Bynzar, adviser to the director of Moldovan energy utility Energocom.

💬 "The contract with the power station was not extended. We were informed that without confidence in the availability of gas for electricity production, they cannot sign a new contract. From January 1, the plant will stop supplying electricity to the right bank of the Dniester," Bynzar told the Moldova 1 radio station.

To address the deficit, Energocom has signed contracts with local renewable energy producers and plans additional purchases through the European Network of Transmission System Operators, Bynzar added.

Since December 2022, Moldovagaz has sourced natural gas from Energocom and Gazprom. Russian gas is sent to Transnistria in exchange for electricity, with the Cuciurgan plant covering 80% of Moldova's electricity needs.

Last week, Gazprom announced it would halt gas supplies to Moldova by January 1, 2025, over Moldovagaz's debt. Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said Chisinau would pursue international arbitration if supplies are cut.

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📹💥Russia's Osa-AKM air defense system crew destroys Ukrainian drones over Kherson region

During combat duty, the Russian Dnepr group detected a Ukrainian reconnaissance drone.

As a result of the competent actions of the anti-aircraft gunners, the target was destroyed in the sky.

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