Tel Aviv Pardon Protests, Maduro Resurfaces, Diving Santa

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

“Papi leads,” titles Honduran daily La Prensa, devoting its front page to early polling results from the Honduras general election, which show conservative politician Nasry Asfura in the lead with 40.6% of the vote. The 67-year-old former mayor of Tegucigalpa, who calls himself Papi a la Orden (“Papi at your service”), was backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said last week he would cut financial aid to the Central American nation if his preferred candidate didn’t win. Monday’s preliminary figures show Asfura holding a narrow lead over Liberal Party contender Salvador Nasralla, who is projected to have about 39% support.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Zelensky meets Macron as U.S.-Ukraine talks show progress but major gaps remain. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Paris to meet with President Emmanuel Macron, in an effort to reinforce European support toward Kyiv. The visit comes just as Washington pushes a revised peace plan following “difficult but productive” talks in Florida led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukraine’s new negotiator Rustem Umerov. Rubio said progress was made but major issues — including security guarantees and territory — remain unresolved. Meanwhile, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, with diplomats calling this a potentially pivotal week for Ukraine diplomacy. For more, read this analysis by France Inter’s geopolitical analyst Pierre Haski: Facing U.S. Pressure And Domestic Turmoil, Zelensky Turns to Europe.

• Protests erupt as Netanyahu seeks presidential pardon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked President Isaac Herzog to pardon him in his long-running corruption case — a move that triggered immediate protests outside the president’s home and drew fierce condemnation from opposition leaders. Netanyahu is on trial for fraud, breach of trust and bribery in three cases involving allegations that he exchanged regulatory or political favors for gifts and positive media coverage. Netanyahu argues the proceedings are dividing the country and hindering his ability to govern, as he continues to lead Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and faces national and international criticism over the government’s handling of the conflict.

• Maduro resurfaces in Caracas amid flight rumors. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who had not been seen in public since Nov. 26, was spotted at an annual specialty-coffee award. This put an end to days of speculation that he had left the country amid escalating tensions with the U.S. that saw Venezuela slammed the Trump administration over deadly strikes on alleged drug boats, while Maduro argued that Washington aims to seize Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. For more, read this recent piece by Andres Izarra for Confidencial, translated from Spanish and adapted by Worldcrunch: Portable Country, Corrupt State: The Venezuelan Dilemma.

• Hong Kong arrests 13 in fire that killed 151. Hong Kong police have arrested 13 people for suspected manslaughter after last week’s blaze at the Wang Fuk Court estate that killed at least 151. Investigators say substandard scaffolding netting and flammable foam used during renovations helped spread the flames across seven towers.

• Bangladesh jails ex-PM Hasina and UK MP Tulip Siddiq in land corruption case. A Dhaka court sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her niece, British MP Tulip Siddiq, to respectively five and two years in prison for allegedly abusing power to secure a government land plot for family members. Hasina, already sentenced to death in a separate case and living in exile in India, denies all charges, calling the trials politically driven. Siddiq also rejects the allegations as “fabricated,” while Bangladesh’s interim government prepares for elections in February.

• Sri Lanka in state of emergency as Asia death toll floods tops 1,000. Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency after days of heavy monsoon rains forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate. In Indonesia, also hit by the deadliest monsoon seasons in years, authorities have deployed aircraft and troops to reach stranded communities. The wider region, stretching from Thailand to Malaysia, has seen more than 1,000 people killed and millions affected as climate-driven extreme rainfall intensifies.

• News Quiz! In a new ruling by Turkey’s Court of Cassation, what social media behavior can now be used as evidence of undermining trust in a marriage — and thus grounds for divorce?

A. Owning a Tinder account
B. Liking another person’s photo
C. Posting too many selfies
D. Following Sydney Sweeney
[Answer below]

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

$679 billion

A report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released on Monday shows that sales by the world’s top 100 arms makers reached a record $679 billion last year — a 5.9% increase from last year and a 26% jump compared with the 2015-2024 period. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza boosted demand, researchers say, though production bottlenecks slowed deliveries. According to the report, budget overruns and delays have plagued several key U.S.-led programs while in Europe, sourcing materials looks to become more challenging amid Chinese export restrictions on critical minerals. 

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