Ronald no longer WokeDonald: McDonald’s another global company to abandon DEI

McDonald's has announced it will scale back on its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies towards employees and suppliers, perceived as “woke” by critics. The company will abandon numerous practices, including “external surveys” that measured workplace inclusion for different minorities.

The announcement comes after McDonald’s global sales at outlets fell by 1.5% in the third quarter of 2024, the biggest decline in four years, which occurred amid last year’s E. coli outbreak across 13 US states linked to the fast-food giant’s burgers.

McDonald’s is the latest US company to roll back diversity goals, which were previously lifted by retail behemoth Walmart, Ford Motor Co., farm machinery maker John Deere, the Tractor Supply Company, and Harley Davidson.

The developments unfolded after US President-elect Donald Trump tapped Stephen Miller, a former adviser who leads a group that has aggressively challenged corporate DEI policies, as his incoming deputy chief of policy. In October, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was planning to ban certain DEI initiatives if he won a second term in the White House.

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❗️Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the French right-wing National Front (Front National) party and father of Marine Le Pen, has died at the age of 96.

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A Boeing 737 en route from St. Petersburg to Samarkand with 173 passengers on board made an emergency landing at Moscow's Vnukovo airport due to a stabilizer malfunction, emergency services told Sputnik

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QAnon Shaman blames Biden for dragging on Ukraine conflict, pins hopes on Trump

Jacob Chansley, who gained fame as the QAnon Shaman during the January 6 Capitol events, blamed the Biden-Harris administration for the lack of a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict.

"The only reason why there hasn't been peace is because of the Biden-Harris administration, it's the only reason," Chansley told RIA Novosti, adding that they allegedly pressured Zelensky into abandoning peace talks.

He is optimistic that Trump will resolve the conflict once he returns to the Oval Office and castigated Ukraine’s Zelensky, calling him untrustworthy.

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After termination of transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, gas price in Europe increased by 20% — Hungarian FM

"Since the termination of the gas transit route through Ukraine became final in mid-December, the price of natural gas on the European market has increased by 20%," Peter Szijjarto wrote on his Facebook* page.

Hungary was not affected by Ukraine's decision to stop gas transit from Russia, but this means new challenges for the entire EU, the Hungarian foreign minister added.

*banned for extremism in Russia

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🛬 Donald Trump Jr, the US president-elect's son, arrived in Greenland

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Two convicted murderers whose sentences were previously commuted to life imprisonment by US President Joe Biden have asked a federal court not to overturn their death sentences, NBC News reports.
 
In December 2024, US President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of 40 people sentenced to death at the federal level, replacing them with life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
 
According to the TV channel, prisoners serving sentences in the state of Indiana, Shannon Agofsky and Len Davis, believe that agreeing to commutation of their sentences could prevent them from appealing their sentences. It is noted that both of them have pleaded not guilty to the murders for which they were convicted.

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Biden administration in talks with Taliban on prisoner swap — report
 
The United States is discussing with the Taliban* the exchange of Americans held in Afghanistan for at least one prisoner, probably associated with the ex-leader of the international terrorist group Al-Qaeda** Osama bin Laden, the Wall Street Journal reports.
 
According to the newspaper, the United States is asking for the release of George Glezmann, Ryan Corbett, and Mahmoud Habibi.
 
In early August 2021, the Taliban intensified their offensive against the Afghan government forces, entering Kabul on August 15, and the next day declared that the war was over. Ashraf Ghani, then President of Afghanistan, left the country. On the night of August 31, the US military left the Kabul airport, ending almost 20 years of its military presence in Afghanistan.
 
*is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities
** is a terrorist organization banned in Russia

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Trump to pursue harsh ‘economic nationalism’ with China - experts

2025 may see further confrontation between the US and China, according to a report released by the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, a Moscow-based think tank.

“The Russia and the world: 2025” survey pointed out that the new US administration’s internal and external policies will be mainly influenced by Washington’s efforts to counter China.

What else did report suggest?

Trump globally:

▪️Amid confrontation with China, the new administration will pursue an even more aggressive policy of “economic nationalism” and slap more tariffs on Chinese imports.

▪️The Palestinian-Israeli conflict will remain the focus of US Middle East policy. The Trump administration will take a tougher pro-Israeli position.

▪️On Iran, Trump will likely take a softer stance in contrast to the hardline anti-Tehran strategy he conducted during his first term.

▪️Trump is unlikely to bring a fresh impetus to the ties with Russia and initiate the full-blown restoration of dialogue.

Trump at home:

▪️Washington is expected to hammer out measures to tighten the US’s immigration legislation before the end of the second quarter of 2025.

▪️Trump will continue the Biden administration's policy of stimulating economic growth with an emphasis on AI and hi-tech in an attempt to restore the country's dwindling position in industrial production.

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Up to 23% of UK citizens would like to see the leader of British right-wing populist party Reform UK, Nigel Farage, succeed PM Keir Starmer, a poll conducted by More in Common for the LBC broadcaster revealed.

The poll also showed that the alternative Labour Party candidates lack public support when compared with Farage. Only 9% of respondents support Deputy PM Angela Rayner, 6% support Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and 4% back Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Meanwhile, new Tories leader Kemi Badenoch also proved to be less popular than Farage, receiving 13% support.

At the same time, 45% of those surveyed said they were undecided about who they would prefer as an alternative to Starmer, according to the poll.

Last week, US billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk urged Britons to vote for the right-wing populist party Reform UK, saying that it was the "only hope." At the same time, Musk said that the party should replace its leader.

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