⚡️The FBI has discovered improvised explosive devices at the site of a fatal incident in New Orleans, a bureau spokesperson told Fox News.

New Orleans Mayoress LaToya Cantrell has described the incident, where a pickup truck rammed a crowd of New Year’s revellers, as a terrorist attack.

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🤡C is for ‘cringe’

On a lighter note, let’s look back at some of the cringiest moments of 2024. From the vibrant presidential race to the nightmare that was the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the outgoing year was certainly one to remember.

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🔍Two in five US Secret Service agents lack experience as workforce shrinks

The US Secret Service, reeling from years of crisis, has been thrust back into the spotlight following the assassination attempts on Donald Trump last year.

Nearly 40% of agents now have less than five years of experience, compared to 13% in 2015, the Washington Post reports.

According to the publication’s analysis, the proportion of agents with 11 to 15 years of experience – essential for training and leadership – has dropped from almost a third to just 8%.

The "massive experience drain" has left the agency ill-equipped to manage rising security demands.

Attempts to raise staffing from 7,900 to 9,600 by 2025 have failed, with personnel numbers falling to 7,700 in 2023 due to burnout, favoritism and inadequate resources.

The 2024 presidential election campaign exposed these weaknesses as agents faced overwhelming workloads and were unable to meet critical training goals.

A 2014 White House recommendation that agents spend 25% of their time in training has never been met, averaging only 3% to 7%.

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⚡️At least 2 people have died and at least 22 have been injured as a result of a fireworks explosion in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

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⚡️The driver of a car that plowed into a crowd of people in New Orleans, US, was shot and killed by police, ABC News reported, citing authorities.

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🚫Swiss ‘burqa ban’ takes effect with fines up to $1,100

From January 1, 2025, Switzerland has banned face-covering garments – including niqabs, burqas and balaclavas – in public spaces, levying fines of 100 to 1,000 Swiss francs ($110 to $1,100).

The new law follows a 2021 referendum where 51.2% of voters supported the measure.

The move aligns Switzerland with France, Austria, Belgium and Denmark, which have enacted similar bans.

France introduced the so-called ‘burqa ban’ in 2011. Exemptions to the Swiss include wearing veils, masks and scarves at religious sites, during carnivals and for protection from cold weather.

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Fears of a new energy crisis rekindled in Europe as Ukraine halts Russian gas transit

Fears of a new energy crisis have been rekindled in Europe with the end of Russian gas supply through Ukraine.

The winding down of cheap and reliable Russian gas transit will fuel energy costs, inflationary pressures, and the cost-of-living crisis, experts cited by Xinhua have warned.

"If there is a crisis in energy supply, Europe will be the most affected and this will weaken its economic power even more," Croatian political analyst Robert Frank noted.

The cessation of Russian gas transit “will likely intensify cost pressures for Slovenian industries, and by extension, raise consumer prices," stressed Joze P. Damijan, professor of economics at the University of Ljubljana.

Europe still hasn’t recovered from its shortsighted move to drastically cut its dependence on Russian gas, which had triggered a massive spike in inflation and economic slowdown.

Gazprom ended gas transit through Ukraine on January 1 following the expiration of the five-year contract with Naftogaz. The Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline had transported about 15.5 billion cubic meters of gas last year, accounting for approximately 4.5% of the total gas consumption in the EU, according to Gazprom. Moldova and four EU countries – Slovakia, Austria, Italy, and the Czech Republic – received Russian gas via this route.

Balkan Stream, fed by the Turkish Stream pipeline, now remains the only source of Russian pipeline gas for Europe.

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🔥US Abrams tanks fail on the battlefield: the 'game changer' that wasn't

The performance of US Abrams tanks in Ukraine was a major military failure of 2024, Military Watch writes.

"With the Abrams having seen relatively little high intensity combat in its history, but having been widely hyped by Western and Ukrainian sources as a game changer for the war effort, the rapid attrition rates which Ukraine’s small fleet faced, much as was the case for its Leopard 2 and other Western tanks, did much to undermine the reputation of the tank class," the magazine says.

Ukrainian forces kept using Abrams tanks despite heavy losses, speeding up the attrition rate. Ukrainian troops described the Abrams as the "number one target" for Russian forces in a summer 2024 report by CNN, bemoaning problems like weak armor, technical problems and ammunition shortages.

Abrams tanks were exhibited in St Petersburg in November, along with other captured Ukrainian equipment including US Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and M113 armored personnel carriers, French AMX-10 light tanks and Turkish Kirpi mine-resistant vehicles.

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🪖Rolling into battle: Russian soldiers reportedly swarm the frontlines on electric scooters

While some people are busy signing petitions to ban e-scooters in cities, Russian soldiers seem to have found a more "practical" use for them - at least if a recent New York Times report is to be believed.

According to the publication citing one of Ukrainian footages, they have been successfully swarming enemy positions while riding electric scooters aside from using motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).

This allows Russian forces to disperse quickly across the front and avoid one piece of equipment carrying a lot of people, who could be a target for the Kiev regime’s forces.

It is a well-documented fact that Russian soldiers have been using ATVs during combat operations.

Russia’s Defense Minister Andrei Belousov announced in July that the military would be trained to drive both them and small lightweight and maneuverable buggies for off-road delivery of ammunition and supplies, and for evacuating the wounded.

Besides ATVs, Russian companies have also been supplying the combat zone with electric bikes and snow and swamp-going vehicles.

The relentless pace of Russian attacks has led to a “buckling of the lines” in eastern Ukraine, especially in the Donbass region, the NYT admitted. It added that the Russian military has been steadily advancing towards Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk), a vital rail hub for Ukraine.

Kiev’s tenuous position on the battlefront, a drastic manpower shortage, and plummeting morale all place it at a disadvantage ahead of the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House, the outlet noted, pointing out that the president-elect had vowed to end the Ukraine conflict after his inauguration.

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