Austria’s Nehammer steps down as chancellor, leader of People’s Party as coalition talks crumble

“We have negotiated long and hard. Agreement with the SPOe (Social Democrats) is not possible on key issues. The People’s Party stands by its promises: we will not agree to measures that are anti-performance or anti-business, or new taxes. We are therefore ending negotiations with the SPOe,” embattled Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced Saturday.

Nehammer said he would resign as head of the government, and as leader of the People’s Party, in the wake of the negotiations’ failure.

Austria’s political future has been in limbo since September’s parliamentary elections, where the populist anti-mass immigration, anti-Brussels, pro-neutrality, anti-Ukraine conflict Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) nearly doubled its standing, garnering over 29% of the vote and causing Nehammer’s ruling People’s Party/Green coalition to lose its parliamentary majority.

Nehammer refused to form a coalition with the Freedom Party, and has sought to cobble together a new government with the New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS) and the SPOe, respectively, with both attempts ending in failure.

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Italian PM Meloni will travel to US to meet Trump — reports

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to meet President-elect Donald Trump in Mar-a-lago, European media reported.

On Jan. 9, President Joe Biden scheduled his final presidential trip overseas to meet with Meloni in Rome.

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🇹🇷☢️ Rosatom will sue Siemens over Akkuyu NPP equipment delay

Rosatom plans to sue Siemens for "demonstratively refusing" to deliver prepaid equipment for Turkiye's Akkuyu nuclear power plant, CEO Alexey Likhachev said.

"There will be a court case, of course. The prepaid equipment has not been delivered. This resulted in additional costs for us, as we had to buy the equipment elsewhere and adjust the installation deadlines. These claims will be filed," the Rosatom CEO said.

The replacement was quickly found and ordered from friendly countries. The launch of the first unit is planned for 2025.

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⚡️ Russian Foreign Ministry comments on the killing and wounding of journalists in the Donetsk Republic:

🔶 Media representatives were consciously chosen as targets for a deadly attack by the Ukrainian military.

🔶 The incident is yet another brutal crime by the Zelensky regime, which openly resorts to terrorist methods to eliminate its ideological opponents.

🔶 Russian foreign ministry calls on UNESCO and other international bodies to respond to the attack by the Ukrainian military.

🔶 All those responsible for the attack on Russian journalists in the DPR will be identified and inevitably punished.


📹 The video was filmed at the scene of the Ukrainian attack on a car carrying journalists.

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✋ China calls on US to stop cyber attacks around the world

The United States is an "initiator and master of cyber attacks" worldwide, said a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu.

"We urge the United States to stop engaging in cyber theft and attacks around the world and stop using cyber security issues to smear other countries," he said.

Liu also denied accusations of Chinese government involvement in hacking attacks on the Treasury Department, saying the US is using cybersecurity to "smear" other countries.

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🐦 Sourced locally: NYC food truck worker filmed catching pigeons

Social media footage shows a Queens food truck worker using a plastic bag to catch a pigeon.

Coworkers claim he was rescuing a bird with tied legs, and the Health Department reported no evidence of pigeons after an inspection, the NY Post reported.

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Biden will deliver two major speeches before leaving office - reports

President Biden plans to deliver two major speeches in his final days in office to outline his legacy, NBC reports, citing sources familiar with the plans.

Biden also is expected to issue additional pardons before January 20.

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🏮📹 Lantern festival lights up Nanjing, China

Tourists and locals marvel at Nanjing's Lantern Festival, featuring stunning light installations and drone shows. This year's event celebrates the Year of the Snake, blending tradition with technology. Dazzling displays run until the end of April.

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🐟📈 Tuna auction signals positive outlook for Japan in 2025

At Tokyo's Toyosu market, a 276 kg tuna sold for 207 million yen in the first auction of 2025, the second-highest price after the record set in 2019.

The tuna auction is traditionally seen as an unofficial economic forecast for the coming year.

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Sputnik journalist Maxim Romanenko found a fragment stuck in his clothes near his heart after a Ukrainian kamikaze drone attack in the DPR:
 

“It was only after the evacuation that I discovered a small abrasion on my chest in the area of my heart. In the same place, a small metal fragment got stuck in the clothes,” he said.

 
According to him, thankfully, an examination in the traumatology department of a hospital in Donetsk found no fragments or damaging elements in his body.

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