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1
Earthquake horror in Japan
Central Japan was rocked by a violent series of earthquakes and hit by tsunami waves on New Year’s Day. 233 people were killed. Mountains of rubble, damaged roads, landslides and aftershocks and wintry weather with snowfall initially made search and rescue work difficult.
2
Death of football legend Beckenbauer
German football legend Franz Beckenbauer has died at the age of 78, the German Football Association (DFB) announced on January 8 in Frankfurt am Main. Beckenbauer had been in poor health for a long time and had completely withdrawn from the public eye in recent years.
Beckenbauer won the World Cup with Germany as a player in 1974 and as a coach in 1990. He started his career as a professional footballer at FC Bayern Munich, with whom he won national and international titles.
Beckenbauer was considered the shining light of German football and was nicknamed “Kaiser”. The affection was explained by his unparalleled elegance as a footballer and later by the fact that as a coach and official he also seemed to succeed in everything in a playful way.
3
The Epstein List
In the abuse scandal surrounding American multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein (1953-2019), a court has published the real names of approximately 170 people who were previously treated largely anonymously. They were named in a civil dispute between injured American Virginia Giuffre (40) and Epstein’s long-time partner Ghislaine Maxwell (62). The more than 900 pages of court documents include the previously known names of former US President Bill Clinton (77) and Britain’s Prince Andrew (63), who were once considered confidants of Epstein.
A mention does not mean that the person was an active part of the abuse network surrounding Epstein, but initially only that the name was mentioned in the civil lawsuit. For example, some of the people on the list are also relatives of Epstein’s abuse victims.
Former President Donald Trump (77) is also mentioned in the present writings – but only in the context of the interrogation of a witness who stated that he had never had sexual contact with Trump.
However, the mentions of the King of Pop Michael Jackson (1958-2009) and the astrophysicist Stephen Hawking seem new. In any case, the celebrities’ one-time presence at one of Epstein’s events seems to have been derived from that.
4
Boeing loses door during flight
At the beginning of January, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 had to make an emergency landing in the US. The plane, flight number 1282, had taken off from Portland in the northwestern US and was en route to Ontario, California when, according to passengers, part of the cabin wall flew out shortly after takeoff. The plane then turned around and made an emergency landing in Portland about twenty minutes later. The American aviation authority FAA subsequently ordered immediate inspections of approximately 170 aircraft of this type. Alaska and United Airlines also found loose fasteners in the area of other aircraft.
5
Queen Margrethe II abdicates
“I will stay on the throne until I fall,” the Danish Queen Margrethe II used to say – that was once. Europe’s longest-serving monarch changed his mind in 2024. In her New Year’s speech, the 83-year-old surprisingly announced her resignation. On her 52nd anniversary, the popular monarch, nicknamed Daisy, left the throne for her son Frederik (55).
Since the death of her distant cousin Elizabeth II (1926-2022), Margrethe was the last queen to rule in Europe. More than 80 percent of Danes describe themselves as monarchists. They came in their thousands to celebrate Margrethe’s 50th anniversary on the throne last year. However, a back operation last February led the monarch to the conclusion that “it is time to pass the responsibility to the next generation”.
6
New symptom of Corona variant
The corona variant JN.1, also called ‘Juno’, was only discovered in the US in September and already dominates the infection process in many countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this is evident from data from the Gisaid science initiative.
And not only that: the variant also brings with it a new symptom: diarrhea. This made headlines, especially in Britain. ‘Juno’ caused a wave of infections there.
7
Chaos in Ecuador
Since mid-January, Ecuador has faced an unprecedented wave of violence from drug cartels, whose members have terrorized the entire country with prison riots, hostage takings and attacks on police officers. The reason was the escape from prison in Guayaquil of José Adolfo Macías alias “Fito”, one of the most powerful drug barons in the country.
President Daniel Noboa (36) declared a state of emergency for the entire country and gave the army extensive powers to fight ‘terrorist’ criminal gangs. Since then, more than 22,400 soldiers have been deployed in the fight against organized crime.
Ecuador, with a population of about 17 million, lies between Colombia and Peru, the world’s two largest cocaine producers, but has long been considered relatively peaceful and stable. In recent years, the country itself has become a hub for international drug trafficking. Since then, violent crime has also increased dramatically. According to estimates, criminal gangs in the country now have more than 20,000 members.
8th
US attacks Yemen
Since the start of the Gaza war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked ships with alleged Israeli connections off the Yemeni coast. The Houthis speak of solidarity with the Palestinians. Yemen is located on one of the most important shipping routes for world trade, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean via Egypt’s Suez Canal. In response to the attacks, the US and Britain had carried out military strikes on Houthi positions several times in recent weeks.
9
Peasant protests in Europe
Farmers are protesting in Germany, France, Italy and Greece. They block roads and highways with their tractors. The farmers are resisting too much bureaucracy, declining incomes and complex European environmental regulations. Spanish farmers said on Tuesday they wanted to join the sector’s European protests. There have also been recent protests in the Netherlands and Romania.
10
Israel must prevent ‘genocide’.
Israel does not need to immediately end its military operation in the Gaza Strip, but it must do everything it can to ensure that no ‘genocide’ takes place there: that is the choice of words and the provisional decision of the highest UN organization. court in the proceedings against Israel on charges of genocide. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) also ordered Israel last week to allow humanitarian aid to pass through the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the UN Palestine Relief Agency has fired several employees for possible involvement in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
South Africa had filed a lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice over the threat of genocide. Israel, the US and the federal government consider these to be unfounded. Israel rejects the accusation and emphasizes that its army’s military action is specifically aimed at the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
11
Death of ‘Milli Vanilli’ inventor Frank Farian
Internationally successful German music producer Frank Farian has died. As his family announced last week, Farian died at the age of 82 in his apartment in Miami in the US.
With his various artists, the producer, born as Franz Reuther in 1941, sold more than 800 million records worldwide. However, in 1990, Farian caused one of the biggest scandals in music history with the duo Milli Vanilli. Milli Vanilli was successful worldwide, even reaching number one in the US charts and winning the world’s most important music award, the Grammy.
The two singers who performed as Milli Vanilli did not sing the songs produced by Farian himself, as it turned out after the Grammy Awards – the award was subsequently withdrawn.
12
Threatening civil war in the US because of barbed wire
The Biden administration and Texas Governor Greg Abbott (66), a supporter of former President Donald Trump (77), have long argued about securing the US-Mexico border. Abbott accuses the government in Washington of doing nothing to stop illegal border crossings. Abbott had the border secured with barbed wire. Now there is a debate about whether it should be removed. President Joe Biden (81) wants it removed. Many conservative Americans are angry about Biden’s decision. At the same time, support for Abbott is increasing: 25 of 26 Republican colleagues across the country support him and his hard migration policies.
Border policy is a particularly controversial topic in the US and is extremely politically sensitive for Biden. Opposition Republicans accuse the Democrat of allowing hundreds of thousands of foreigners into the country unhindered and stoke fears of a rise in crime and drug problems.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
