Table of contents for December 26, 2025 in Newsweek

A SOLDIER HEARS HIS LEG MUST BE AMPUTATED AFTER STEPPING ON A UKRAINIAN landmine, while Russian special forces guide drones against Ukrainian enemies in a war like no other fought in human history. War photographer Goran Tomasevic of The Globe and Mail spent more than a month in the Russia-Ukraine border regions, picturing members of Akhmat Spetsnaz (Special Forces) in their fight against Ukraine and providing the first such look from the Russian side since Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded in 2022. The pictures were also made available to Newsweek. Tomasevic photographed forces near the front line within Russia and at a hospital in the Donbas, a region of Ukraine that Russia claims as its own. At a field hospital, he saw wounded soldiers who were mostly victims of drone attacks…

THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IS more global today than ever before. Brands from Asia, Europe and North America are selling in each other’s regions and far beyond. Focusing on the rise in prominence of companies from China and decline of competitiveness from U.S. brands doesn’t tell the whole story. As it was at the dawn of the 20th century, the 21st century began with a number of brands entering the market, giving new car buyers more options than ever. Though BYD is commonly mentioned when analysts discuss new Chinese brands aiming for a worldwide presence, the company has been making cars for over 20 years. In that time, dozens of automakers have sprung up in BYD’s backyard: Xpeng, Nio, Leapmotor, Lynk & Co, Wey, Arcfox, Haval, Maxus and Ora among them.…

IN 2026, AUTOMAKERS WILL OFFER A wide variety of new vehicles across the globe that meet a variety of customer expectations, from capable gas-powered pickup trucks to all-electric city cars. Many models that had splashy debuts in 2025 will begin going on sale to a wider audience next year, like the Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Toyota RAV4. Others are expected to have their debut in 2026 and go on sale the same year. The vehicles we recognize on this list are hotly anticipated in the markets they are listed under and expected to meet customer expectations there. While some may already be on sale elsewhere, 2026 will mark the year they arrive for sale in the areas where they are on the list. If a new car purchase is down…

Belongings are left abandoned at Australia’s Bondi Beach on December 15, a day after two gunmen shot at people attending an event celebrating the Jewish holiday Hanukkah. Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, are suspected of killing at least 15 people and injuring 40 in what Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called “an act of pure evil, an act of antisemitism, an act of terrorism.” Sajid Akram was shot dead by police while his son was in critical condition as Newsweek went to press.…

AS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP RAMPS UP diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, a steady stream of reports indicate the White House may be planning its own form of “special military operation,” as Moscow refers to the conflict, to quickly topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. And while analysts believe that Maduro’s position, undermined by accusations of election rigging and complicity in transnational drug trafficking, may prove less resilient in the face of foreign hostilities than that of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, observers also suggest that even his swift ousting may be followed by a prolonged period of insurgency and other measures waged by loyalists and armed allies. Such a campaign could serve as a potentially even greater test to Washington and a nascent partner attempting to establish itself in Caracas.…

From the farthest reaches of the unforgiving Arctic to the heat of the Sahara, vehicle engineering is being put to the test for cars under development. At research and development hubs closer to home, massive wind tunnels and strategically created tracks push vehicles even further. Testing the vehicles of tomorrow requires special scrutiny today. Teams of experts—hundreds, if not thousands, per automaker—put in long days and nights ensuring that aerodynamics, sound, power, ride, handling, lighting, in-car technology and comfort are optimized. The intense scrutiny continues even after a new car has debuted, only ending shortly before production starts, with models receiving final, over-the-air software updates as they leave the factory, and sometimes while on the dealership floor. Each winter, teams of automakers and their key suppliers descend on northern Sweden,…

IT’S BEEN 15 YEARS SINCE OSCAR-WINNING director James L. Brooks has released a film, and his absence has been felt. The architect of classics like Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News and As Good as It Gets is back. He returns to form with Ella McCay, a story rooted in the messy human emotions of complicated relationships—a genre he has mastered, yet one that’s become increasingly rare in modern cinema. Brooks’ decision to make Ella McCay wasn’t sparked by a trend or franchise opportunity, but rather by an emotional irritation. “It was a reaction to so many films ending with, ‘I forgive you. OK, we’re all OK,’” Brooks tells Newsweek. “So I had a little perverse reaction, you know? Because I think some things must be unforgivable for forgivable to mean…

SRI LANKA IS STRUGGLING TO RECOVER FROM DEV-astating Cyclone Ditwah, at a time when the country is already trying to rebuild from a debt crisis and political turmoil, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in an exclusive interview—in which he called for a new approach for debt-burdened countries vulnerable to climate change. The cyclone tore through the Indian Ocean island in late November and left well over 600 people dead and thousands homeless, as well as causing damage estimated by the president to be in the billions of dollars. “The damage may well be beyond any natural disaster that our island has endured. So we will have to service debt while simultaneously rebuilding from climate disasters,” Dissanayake told Newsweek at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. “This is why debt sustainability frameworks…

In Doral, a suburb west of Miami where nearly 40 percent of residents trace their roots to Venezuela, a bust of Simón Bolívar sits mostly unnoticed beside a strip mall parking lot, one block from the popular café El Arepazo. Bolívar, the 19th-century independence hero, has long been claimed by Venezuela’s socialist regime as the ideological father of its “Bolivarian Revolution.” But in Doral—often dubbed “Doralzuela”—exiles have tried to reclaim him as their own. More than 770,000 Venezuelan-born residents now live in the U.S. according to estimates from the Migration Policy Institute. About half of them reside in Florida, including roughly 174,000 in the Miami area. But Doral has become a kind of exile capital, where politics spill over into everyday life. Inside El Arepazo, the energy has shifted. The…

WHILE CHINESE CAR COMPANIES HAVE BEEN THE subject of most of the attention for their global expansion plans, one of America’s oldest automakers has similar ambitions. General Motors is focused on continuing to expand its brand presence and market share, domestically and internationally, using its diversified product portfolio and new Formula One team to attract protentional new car buyers. That hasn’t come without the need to pivot on major strategy decisions as predicted consumer behaviors regarding electric vehicle adoption did not come to fruition. Despite that, GM president Mark Reuss believes that the company is well positioned to continue expanding. “What you see [in the U.S.] is a full lineup of electric vehicles that, frankly, no one else has, punctuated by the $30,000 Bolt that’s about ready to launch, all…