• German drone maker Quantum Systems says it will double its production capacity in Ukraine in 2025.
• The company has supplied Ukraine with drones since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
• Billionaire Peter Thiel is one of the investors backing the startup.

German drone manufacturer Quantum Systems has said it will double its production capacity in Ukraine in 2025.

In a press release on Friday, the Peter Thiel-backed startup said the planned expansion reflected its "unwavering commitment" to ensure Kyiv gets the technology it needs amid its ongoing war with Russia.

Quantum, which has already established two facilities in Ukraine, produces several uncrewed aerial systems used by Kyiv, including the "Vector" reconnaissance drone and the "Trinity" mapping drone. Since the start of the invasion, Ukraine has ordered hundreds of these systems from the company.

Quantum's Vector drone is primarily used for target identification and surveillance.

It can fly for up to 180 minutes, allows for real-time video streaming over a range of 35 kilometers (almost 22 miles), and has vertical take-off and landing capability, the company says. The "rucksack portable" drone weighs just 18 pounds and is equipped with on-board AI.

The Munich-based company also produces the "Trinity Pro" and "Trinity Tactical," which are used for mapping and surveying.

These drones can cover an area of 700 hectares in one flight and can fly for 90 minutes, Quantum says. They can use a variety of sensors to gather data, such as multi-spectral cameras and LiDAR scanners.

They can be deployed to help with environmental and battle damage assessments, as well as surveying and mapping key infrastructure and terrain, among other things.

Founded in 2015, Quantum has raised more than $200 million, per Crunchbase.

Billionaire and PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel is one of the investors to have pumped money into the company, taking part in a financing round alongside Project A and Sanno Capital in 2022.

Speaking at the time, Thiel said: "The future of UAS is in neither software nor hardware alone, but in the intelligent synthesis of the two."

"With that understanding, Quantum-Systems is a leap ahead of its competition," he added.

Quantum's CEO Florian Seibel previously told Business Insider that the company planned to gain an edge on competitors by taking what he called a "Tesla approach."

"You have to do everything from A to Z," he said. "You are a hardware company, you are a manufacturing company, you are a data service company. That makes it a very complex business case, but that also makes it very defendable."

Drones have played a crucial role in shaping the conflict in Ukraine, providing both sides with standoff weapons and improved surveillance abilities.

Their prominence on the battlefield has led Kyiv to significantly ramp up domestic production efforts and imports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in early 2024 the creation of a separate branch of the country's armed forces dedicated solely to uncrewed systems.

Ukraine's defense ministry said in January that its armed forces would also get an additional UAH 2.5 billion (almost $60 million) a month to procure new drones, in a move designed to enable brigades to purchase the equipment they need directly.

• Investors have been piling cash into cricket in recent years.
• They are targeting the sport's global appeal and new short-format competitions.
• Investors include Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and India's billionaire Ambani family.

Cricket has never quite captured the American audience, but it is fast becoming one of the hottest investments in the US.

Billionaires and tech executives are just some of the investors spending big on the game as they eye up its huge global appeal and new tournaments designed to appeal to younger audiences.

A recent auction of franchises in the UK's The Hundred — a short-format cricket league launched in 2021 — saw investors from Silicon Valley, New York, and India pile cash into the competition.

Business Insider has taken a look at some of the big names investing in the sport.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO

The Microsoft CEO was part of a consortium of 11 tech executives who agreed to a reported £145 million (roughly $180 million) deal for a 49% stake in The Hundred's London Spirit team.

It's not the first time Nadella has put money into the sport. He was among the lead investors in the US's Major League Cricket and co-owns the league's Seattle Orcas team.

Speaking ahead of the 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup, Nadella told Bloomberg that cricket was a "big deal" for him.

"I love the sport, and I'm glad that it's now being played even in the United States," he said.

Sundar Pichai, Google CEO

Pichai was another member of the elite consortium that made headlines with its investment in the Spirit.

The Google exec is also a long-time fan of the sport and has said he dreamed of being a cricketer when he was growing up. In an interview with the BBC in 2021, he put his skills to the test and took up both bat and ball against the outlet's Amol Rajan on the Google campus.

Shantanu Narayen, Adobe CEO

Like Nadella, Narayen was a member of the tech consortium and also previously invested in Major League Cricket. He is part of the MLC's San Francisco Unicorn team, which is owned by Rocketship.vc partners Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman.

Speaking with CNBC-TV18 in June, Narayen said he was continuing to try to build the sport in the US.

"The question is how do you encourage that farm system?" he said. "Whether it's Satya or me, we love cricket, and we'll continue to champion it."

Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks

Arora led the group that purchased the Spirit.

In a post on LinkedIn following the deal, the CEO said he was excited to partner with Lord's — known as "The Home of Cricket" — and his fellow techies to support The Hundred.

"A strong passion for sports brings us all together, Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world. Time to put the hundreds on the map," he wrote.

In an interview with The Times of London, Arora called it a "one-of-a-kind asset."

"We might have paid higher than we thought but we were keen to get the asset and I talked to many of my passionate consortium members and we all figured we'd keep stretching until it became uncomfortable," he added.

The consortium also includes Indian media tycoon Satyan Gajwani and Sequoia's Jim Goetz, per Arora.

India's billionaire Ambani family

Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of the multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries, is India's richest person, with a net worth of nearly $90 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

His company reportedly purchased a 49% stake in the Oval Invincibles team worth £60 million (around $74 million).

Reliance Industries also owns the Indian Premier League's Mumbai Indians, one of the league's most successful franchises.

The Ambani's cricket empire also includes the MLC's MI New York team, which won the first edition of the competition.

Egon Durban, co-CEO of Silver Lake Partners

Durban, co-CEO of the tech-focused private equity firm Silver Lake, was also part of Arora's tech consortium.

It's not Silver Lake's first foray into sports. In 2022, the company invested NZ$200 million (around $113 million as of today) in New Zealand Rugby Commercial, an entity that manages the commercial aspects of the All Blacks. Silver Lake increased its stake in NZR Commercial from 5.71% to 7.5% in 2023.

NFL legend Tom Brady

Outside tech execs and billionaires, Tom Brady-backed investment firm Knighthead Capital Management was announced this week as the preferred private investor for a minority stake in another Hundred team, the Birmingham Phoenix.

Subject to the deal's completion, Knighthead will acquire a 49% stake in the team, at a reported value of £40 million (almost $50 million).

The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback entered into a partnership with the company in 2023 to become a minority owner of Birmingham City Football Club.

• New Zealand is relaxing its "golden visa" rules in an effort to lure investors, its government said on Sunday.
• The visa is set to become "simpler and more flexible," Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said.
• New Zealand's economy has struggled in recent years, with a recession and rising unemployment in 2024.

New Zealand's government announced Sunday that it would be making changes to its so-called "golden visa" in an attempt to lure more wealthy migrants to its shores.

Erica Stanford, the country's Immigration Minister, said the Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa would become "simpler and more flexible" to encourage investors to choose New Zealand for their "capital, skills, and international connections" and as a place to "build a life."

Following the changes, which are set to take effect from April 1, two new investment categories — "Growth" and "Balanced" — will replace the "current complex weighting system for the AIP."

The "Growth" category will apply to those making "higher-risk investments" such as direct investments in local businesses. It will require a minimum investment of NZ$5 million (around $2.8 million) for a minimum of three years.

The "Balanced" category will focus on mixed investments and will require a minimum investment of NZ$10 million (roughly $5.7 million) over five years.

The new rules will also see the removal of the English language requirement.

"Incentivising, simplifying and broadening the investment offerings will make New Zealand more attractive and accessible to more foreign high-value investors," Stanford said. "These changes will turbocharge our economic growth, bringing brighter days ahead for all Kiwis."

Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis added: "We should be rolling out the welcome mat and encouraging investor migrants to choose New Zealand as a destination for their capital."

New Zealand's economy has struggled in recent years, slipping into a technical recession in the third quarter of 2024 and seeing rising unemployment.

HSBC's chief economist for New Zealand and Australia, Paul Bloxham, said in January that the bank's estimates suggested New Zealand's economy had the largest contraction in GDP among developed nations in 2024, per RNZ.

It's not the first time New Zealand has tweaked its visa policies to try to aid its embattled economy.

In late January, the country announced a new "digital nomad" initiative allowing tourists to work remotely for a foreign employer while vacationing.

"Making the country more attractive to 'digital nomads' — people who work remotely while travelling — will boost New Zealand's attractiveness as a destination," Willis said in a statement at the time.

• Taiwan has banned government agencies from using DeepSeek.
• Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs said the technology "endangers national information security."
• The arrival of the Chinese AI lab's R1 model sent shock waves through markets last week.

Taiwan has banned government agencies from using DeepSeek, citing security concerns.

Taiwan's Ministry of Digital Affairs said in a statement on Friday that public sector workers and critical infrastructure facilities should not use the Chinese company's technology, as "its operation involves cross-border transmission and information leakage" and "endangers national information security."

Chinese AI lab DeepSeek made headlines in January after unveiling a new flagship AI model called R1, which it says matches the reasoning capabilities of US models such as OpenAI's o1 but for a fraction of the cost.

Its arrival sent shock waves through markets, with AI stocks tumbling last week.

But the company is already facing regulatory hurdles in some countries.

Italy's Data Protection Authority (called Garante) announced on Thursday that it had blocked access to the DeepSeek app to protect Italian users' data.

Garante said the decision came as it was unhappy with DeepSeek's response to a query about the app's use of personal data.

"Contrary to what was found by the Authority, the companies declared that they do not operate in Italy and that European legislation does not apply to them," Garante said in a statement, adding that it was launching an investigation.

Ireland's Data Protection Commission reportedly said earlier this week that it had also written to DeepSeek for more information about how it processes Irish users' data.

In the UK, Feryal Clark, the AI minister, issued a warning to British citizens thinking of using DeepSeek.

"Ultimately it is a personal choice for people, whether they decide to download it or not," Clark said in an interview with Bloomberg. "My advice will be to make sure if people are downloading it that they are alert to the potential risks and they know how their data will be used."

DeepSeek, which began as an AI side project for Chinese entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng, was founded in 2023.

• A medical transport jet crashed in Philadelphia shortly after takeoff on Friday.
• Six people were on board the Learjet plane when it went down, authorities said.
• The NTSB said investigators have recovered the plane's cockpit voice recorder.

A medical transport jet crashed on Friday in northeast Philadelphia.

The Learjet 55 had six people on board when it went down shortly after departing Northeast Philadelphia Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Flight operator Jet Rescue Air Ambulance said in a statement that four crew members and two passengers — a pediatric patient and her mother — were on the flight.

It said there were no survivors.

Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X that all six people on board were Mexican.

They have been identified as Capt. Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, copilot Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo, paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla, patient Valentina Guzman Murillo, and her mother Lizeth Murillo Ozuna, CBS News reported, citing a spokesperson for Jet Rescue Air Ambulance.

In a press briefing on Saturday, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said that at least one other person died as a result of the crash. The person was in a car when the plane went down, she said.

Video footage of the incident circulating on social media seems to show the plane hurtling toward the ground followed by a large explosion.

Data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft, which was headed to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, had been in service for 43 years. It shows the plane took off shortly after 6 p.m. local time and crashed in less than a minute, "less than three miles from the end of the runway."

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have since launched an investigation into the incident.

The NTSB said on Sunday that investigators had recovered the plane's cockpit voice recorder and its enhanced ground proximity warning system, which may also contain flight data.

The recorder was found at the impact site "at a depth of 8 feet," it said.

NTSB investigator Ralph Hicks said during a press conference on Saturday that the aircraft arrived at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport around 2:15 p.m. on Friday and was on the ground for a few hours before departing at around 6:06 p.m.

The aircraft climbed to about 1,500 feet above the ground before the crash.

Officials are classifying the incident as an "accident," Jennifer Homendy, NTSB chairman, said at the press conference.

The NTSB said a preliminary report would likely come within 30 days, but a final report detailing a probable cause could take between 12 and 24 months.

In a post on Truth Social following the crash, President Donald Trump said: "So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

"More innocent souls lost. Our people are totally engaged. First Responders are already being given credit for doing a great job. More to follow. God Bless you all."

The incident comes days after an American Airlines flight crashed into a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people.

In a video statement posted to X on Saturday, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said it had been a "heartwrenching week in aviation" and promised more announcements on the crashes.

"I want Americans to feel confident in American air travel," he said.

• Bernard Arnault has said LVMH has no plans to relocate the company.
• It follows backlash over his criticism of proposed French tax hikes.
• Arnault had also praised the "optimism" in the US following President Donald Trump's return to office.

Bernard Arnault, the billionaire CEO of the luxury conglomerate LVMH, has said there are no plans to relocate the company after his criticism of proposed French tax hikes faced backlash.

"I never said that we were going to relocate the LVMH group. This statement is false," Arnault said in a statement posted on the company's X account on Friday.

"What I said is that the tax measures envisaged are an incentive for relocation, since they tax Made in France products, but not relocated French companies," he added.

Arnault had expressed frustration over proposed tax hikes on French companies in an earnings call earlier this week.

He warned that such measures could push businesses to move elsewhere.

"When you return to France and you see that they are planning to increase taxes on companies that produce in France to 40%, it's incredible! If you actually wanted them to relocate, that would be the ideal way to do it," he said.

He also contrasted the atmosphere with what he called the "wind of optimism" in the US following the return of President Donald Trump to the White House. Arnault joined a host of other billionaires and executives to attend Trump's inauguration earlier this month.

"Coming back to France is a bit like taking a cold shower," Arnault said.

His comments have been met with some criticism, including from Sophie Binet, the leader of the French trade union the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). Binet said in an interview on RTL that Arnault's remarks were a sign that "rats are jumping ship."

It wasn't the only part of the Tuesday earnings call that made headlines this week.

During the call, Arnault also said he had recently spoken with Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg about the decision to let low-performing Meta staff go.

While drawing parallels between job cuts at Tiffany & Co. and the layoffs at the Silicon Valley firm, Arnault said that the Meta employees were being "promoted outwards, so to speak."

LVMH generated 84.7 billion euros (around $88.2 billion) in revenue in 2024. France accounted for 8% of that figure, while the US accounted for 25%.

• Lyst has dropped its latest ranking of the hottest fashion brands.
• The fashion search platform's Q4 2024 ranking included brands like Miu Miu and The Row.
• Check out the full list here.

The fashion search platform Lyst has dropped its latest ranking of fashion's hottest brands.

Lyst compiled the list by analyzing its 200 million shoppers' behavior in the fourth quarter of 2024, looking at searches on and off the platform, product views, sales, and social media engagement.

Here's a closer look at the companies that made the top 10.

10. UGG

Q4 saw Ugg make the list for the first time in 2024.

While the company is used to seasonal success, Lyst said the footwear brand saw "unprecedented" demand in Q4, with searches up 358% over the three-month period and up 12% year on year.

Deckers Brands, which owns UGG, said the brand's net sales increased 16.1% to around $2.2 billion in the fiscal year 2024.

UGG also tapped into the Gen Z market, partnering with model Alex Consani and taking advantage of TikTok trends.

Lyst said UGG's Classic Ultra Mini Boots were Q4's second hottest product.

9. The Row

The Row was founded by celebrity twin sisters Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen in 2006.

In 2024, The Row reportedly received investments from the Wertheimer brothers — the owners of Chanel — and Francoise Bettencourt Meyers — the billionaire heiress of L'oreal.

The brand has dressed famous faces like Saoirse Ronan, Pamela Anderson, and Dakota Johnson.

8. Moncler

The brand's revenues were around 1.57 billion euros (about $1.63 billion) in the first nine months of 2024, up from around 1.5 billion euros (about $1.56 billion) in the first nine months of 2023.

Remo Ruffini, the CEO of Moncler S.p.A., said the company had focused on building lasting connections with customers and "creating energy and emotions" around its brands, which also include Stone Island.

7. Alaïa

The brand recently opened a new flagship store on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, a high-end street just off the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

It also opened boutique stores in Las Vegas and Costa Mesa in 2024.

Myriam Serrano, the CEO of Alaïa, said in Swiss-based owner Richemont's annual report that retail was experiencing "strong growth" and was being boosted by other store openings in New York, Tokyo, and Shanghai.

6. Bottega Veneta

Bottega Veneta, an Italian luxury fashion house, brought in revenues of 397 million euros (around $413 million) in the third quarter of 2024, up 5% on a comparable basis.

The brand's owner, French multinational Kering, said Bottega's performance continued "to be buoyed by the outstanding success of its Leather Goods range."

5. Coach

Coach finished 2024 hot, moving up 10 places in Lyst's ranking from Q3 to Q4.

Lyst said the brand's rise reflected "an exceptional quarter across all of our key Index metrics," with demand increasing 65% quarter on quarter and 332% year on year.

The brand also targeted the Gen Z market with products such as its cherry bag charm, Lyst said.

Lyst's hottest product of Q4 was Coach's Brooklyn shoulder bag.

4. Loewe

Loewe is a luxury fashion brand from Spain known for its ready-to-wear clothes, accessories, shoes, and fragrances.

2024 was a big year for Loewe. The brand sponsored the Met Gala and dressed celebrities including Ariana Grande and Jamie Dornan. It also dressed the stars of Luca Guadagnino's "Challengers."

Loewe is owned by parent company LVMH. In its annual report, LVMH said its fashion and leather goods section showed "solid resilience" in 2024.

"Loewe was buoyed by growing brand awareness and the bold creativity of its collections," it said.

3. Prada

Prada held a spot in Lyst's top three hottest brands all year round.

The brand saw retail sales rise by 4% year on year in the first nine months of 2024.

Andrea Guerra, the CEO of Prada Group, said in an October press release that the Prada brand had "recorded a solid performance" and showed "resilience against sector headwinds."

2. Saint Laurent

While Yves Saint Laurent's third-quarter 2024 sales were down 12% on a comparable basis, the brand's reputation was bolstered by its segue into film production, with Saint Laurent Productions' "Emilia Pérez" receiving multiple Golden Globes and Oscars nominations.

1. Miu Miu

Miu Miu was the big winner of 2024, however. The brand claimed the No. 1 spot in three out of the four quarterly Lyst rankings.

A sister brand to Prada, Miu Miu saw retail sales up 97% year on year in the first nine months of 2024.

The brand also had the third-hottest product in Lyst's Q4 ranking, a gray fleece sweatshirt.

• The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, took place this week.
• The event saw world leaders, executives, and celebrities come together for a week of networking and parties.
• Business Insider has put together some photos from the event.

With the curtain drawn on yet another World Economic Forum in Davos, the picturesque Swiss town will once again slink back out of the limelight.

But this year's event — which coincided with Donald Trump's return to the White House — will likely linger in the memory.

2025's forum saw a host of world leaders, executives, and celebrities come together in the Alpine town to discuss some of the hottest global topics, including AI, the workplace, DOGE, and social media.

It also saw protests, parties, and a virtual address from Trump himself.

Business Insider's editor in chief Jamie Heller was on the ground alongside BI's international editor Spriha Srivastava, deputy editor Dan DeFrancesco, and senior correspondent Hugh Langley.

Here's a look at the week through their eyes.

The Alpine town, which doubles as a ski resort, has hosted the WEF since 1971.

This year's event saw Donald Trump back in the White House. He made a virtual address to a packed out room.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was among the many execs to make the trip to Switzerland.

Other famous faces included Bill Nye, who spoke with Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis.

AI was once again high on the agenda.

BI's Spriha Srivastava moderated a number of panels at this year's forum.

Security was tight at the event, which included world leaders like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Protesters made their voices heard on issues like the climate crisis.

Some of the latest tech was on display throughout the week, including the Apple Vision Pro.

Robotic dogs also got a runout.

• Diageo has denied reports that it is considering selling Guinness or its stake in Moët Hennessy.
• Bloomberg had reported that the company was reviewing its portfolio.
• Diageo said in a statement on Sunday that it had "no intention to sell either."

Drinks giant Diageo has denied reports that it is considering selling Guinness or its stake in Moët Hennessy.

In a statement on Sunday, the company responded to "recent media speculation" and said that it had "no intention to sell either."

Bloomberg reported on Friday that Diageo was reviewing its portfolio and weighing up spinning off or selling Guinness. The report said Diageo's stake in Moët Hennessy was also being reviewed.

"We will next update the market with Interim results on 4 February 2025 and we look forward to hosting our Guinness investor and analyst day on 19/20 May 2025," Diageo said in its statement.

The company's share price surged by around 4% on Friday following the reports that it was considering a sale.

Diageo is a global leader in alcoholic beverages. Its portfolio also includes brands such as Johnnie Walker, Captain Morgan, and Don Julio.

Guinness has enjoyed increasing popularity in recent years and has captured younger generations of drinkers. Celebrities have also boosted its profile, with stars like Kim Kardashian posting photos with the beverage. Singer Olivia Rodrigo also wore a "Guinness is good 4 U" T-shirt while performing in Dublin last year.

Trends like "splitting the G," a game in which drinkers aim to take a big sip so that the drink comes to halfway down the "G" on the glass, have also helped boost its popularity.

Guinness saw a spike in demand in the run-up to the holiday period — leading to Diageo rationing supplies.

Last year, the company sold its majority stake in Guinness Nigeria to the Singapore-headquartered company Tolaram.

• President Donald Trump has threatened to scrap the emergency agency FEMA.
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency is tasked with responding to disasters across the US.
• Trump's comments came during a national disaster recovery tour that saw him visit Los Angeles and North Carolina.

President Donald Trump threatened to scrap the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during a visit to North Carolina on Friday.

During a press briefing, Trump said he would sign an executive order that would "begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA" or "maybe getting rid of" the agency entirely.

"FEMA has been a very big disappointment," Trump said, adding that the agency — which employs more than 20,000 people across the US — was "very bureaucratic," "very slow," and "cost a tremendous amount of money."

"Other than that we're very happy with them," Trump joked, reiterating that he believed states should be in charge of managing disasters.

After Hurricane Helene hit the US in late September, FEMA received both criticism and praise for its work.

Trump was speaking in Fletcher, North Carolina, as part of a national disaster recovery tour that later saw him visit areas affected by the Los Angeles wildfires.

During his trip to California, Trump met with local leaders and pledged to provide federal disaster relief for people affected by the fires, which ravaged the region earlier this month.

Trump received a warm welcome from California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he touched down in the state, despite a tense relationship between the pair in recent weeks.

They appeared to set aside their differences as Trump said he wanted to work together on the recovery.

Trump had previously threatened to withhold federal funds for recovery.

The LA fires could be some of the costliest in US history. AccuWeather has estimated the preliminary total damage and economic loss to be between $250 billion and $275 billion.

Early estimates suggested the potential economic losses of Hurricane Helene could be more than $50 billion.

• Lebanon elected General Joseph Aoun as president earlier this month, ending a two-year presidential vacuum.
• Just days later, Nawaf Salam was named as the country's prime minister.
• Business Insider has taken a look at what the moves mean for Hezbollah.

Lebanon elected General Joseph Aoun, the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), as president earlier this month, ending a more than two-year presidential vacuum.

Just days later, Nawaf Salam, who had been serving as the president of the International Court of Justice, was named as prime minister, replacing the Hezbollah-backed caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati.

The moves marked a dramatic shift in Lebanon's power balance and highlighted the weakened state of Hezbollah, one of the country's most powerful political players.

Here's what we know about Lebanon's shifting political landscape and what it means for Hezbollah.

The political shake-up in Lebanon — which operates a sectarian power-sharing system — comes in the wake of Hezbollah's costly conflict with Israel.

The group had been exchanging strikes with Israeli forces since October 2023, in the wake of Hamas' October 7 attacks.

But it was thrown into disarray after Israel killed its longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and wounded thousands of its fighters with exploding pagers and walkie-talkies.

A cease-fire deal between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah took effect in November.

However, the group was dealt another major blow by the fall of Bashar Assad's regime in Syria the following month. Syria had offered Iran an important pipeline through which it could transfer weapons and supplies to Hezbollah, but the fall of Assad effectively cut this route off.

These events have come as heavy blows to Hezbollah, depleting its resources and diminishing its ability to project its influence into Lebanese politics.

The appointments of Aoun and Salam may further compound Hezbollah's position.

Aoun was seen as the favored candidate of both the US and Saudi Arabia, which had spent years trying to end Lebanon's political stalemate.

A rival candidate preferred by Hezbollah had withdrawn prior to the vote, paving the way for Aoun's election.

While Aoun could help secure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon, his forces may present a new obstacle for Hezbollah.

"If the Lebanese army expands its presence into areas formerly controlled by Hezbollah, it will be more challenging for the group to rebuild its capabilities," said Will Todman, the deputy director and senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

"And if President Aoun alone is credited with securing international funding for reconstruction, it could further the sense that Hezbollah abandoned its constituents during and after the conflict with Israel," Todman added.

However, Aoun may be reluctant to provoke Hezbollah as he seeks to stabilize a country that has been mired in economic crisis and devastated by Israeli strikes.

"Hezbollah, no doubt, will be sharply watching the new president's moves in the coming months," wrote Nicholas Blanford, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's Middle East Programs. "Aoun is a pragmatist and is unlikely to provoke a confrontation with Hezbollah that, despite receiving a battering in the recent war, remains domestically powerful and potentially dangerous if it feels threatened."

While Hezbollah did not oppose Aoun's nomination, Salam's appointment as prime minister is said to have angered the group — which had sought to get Mikati reappointed.

Mohammed Raad, a Hezbollah lawmaker, reportedly said the group had taken "a positive step" by helping elect Aoun as president and was "hoping to find that hand extended, only to find it was cut off."

Salam has committed to implementing a UN Security Council resolution related to the Israeli conflict with Hezbollah that, in part, says Hezbollah should not have an armed presence near the border with Israel.

However, analysts say Salam is unlikely to risk provoking the group too much while he tends to more pressing needs.

"Salam is highly unlikely to juggle his uphill battle to extract Lebanon from near-total collapse while clashing — politically or otherwise — with one of the country's most socially and politically powerful factions," David Daoud, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, said.

For his part, Salam has said that the formation of a new government would not be delayed, that his hands were "extended to everyone," and that he was committed to starting "a new chapter" in Lebanon "rooted in justice, security, progress, and opportunities," per Reuters.

Aoun and Salam

Aoun joined the LAF in 1983, during the Lebanese Civil War, and he became its commander in 2017. His forces have an important role in maintaining the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.

Aoun is regarded as a "no-nonsense," nonpartisan figure who tends to avoid political discussions, the Associated Press reported.

Bilal Saab, a former Pentagon official who met Aoun on multiple occasions, told the outlet that the president was a "very sweet man, very compassionate, very warm."

"He really was viciously nonpartisan, did not have any interest in even delivering speeches or doing media," Saab said. "He wanted to take care of business, and his only order of business was commanding the Lebanese army."

Salam became Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations in New York in 2007. He held the position for 10 years.

In 2018, he was elected a judge on the ICJ, and he became its president in 2024.

Salam presided over ICJ hearings stemming from South Africa's allegations that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

World leaders and officials from around the world have welcomed the appointments of Aoun and Salam.

President Joe Biden said in a statement that he "strongly" believed Aoun was "the right leader for this time."

"President Aoun will provide critical leadership as Lebanon and Israel fully implement that cessation of hostilities and as hundreds of thousands of people return to their homes and Lebanon recovers and rebuilds," he said.

The Iranian embassy in Lebanon also welcomed the news, saying it looked forward to working with Aoun to strengthen relations between the two nations.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres took to X to congratulate Salam on being named prime minister.

"The road ahead for Lebanon is filled with promise but also great tests," he wrote.

In Israel, the news gave rise to mixed reactions.

Israel's minister of foreign affairs, Gideon Sa'ar, congratulated Lebanon on the appointment of Aoun, but he criticized Salam's nomination.

"The President of the ICJ, just appointed Prime Minister of Lebanon, has called Israel an enemy," he wrote. "How can such a person be expected to judge Israel fairly? President Salam's decisions regarding Israel must be disqualified immediately. Otherwise they might as well take the 'J' out of the ICJ."

• UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Ukraine on Thursday to sign a "100-year partnership" with Ukraine.
• The deal aims "to deepen security ties and strengthen partnership for future generations."
• Starmer pledged to put Ukraine in the "strongest possible position."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Kyiv on Thursday to sign a "historic partnership" with Ukraine, just days before President-elect Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as US president.

During an unannounced trip to the capital, his first since being elected prime minister, Starmer pledged to put Ukraine in the "strongest possible position."

"Our 100 Year Partnership is a promise that we are with you, not just today or tomorrow, but for a hundred years — long after this war is over and Ukraine is free and thriving once again," he said in a post on X.

According to a UK government press release, the treaty will boost military collaboration on maritime security across the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Azov Sea in an effort to deter Russian aggression.

The deal will also seek to advance the countries' scientific and technology partnerships in areas such as space and drones, it said.

In a press briefing following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Starmer also announced that the UK would deliver 150 artillery barrels and a mobile air defense system to Ukraine.

The UK has been one of Ukraine's main backers. As of December 20, the UK had committed £12.8 billion (around $15.7 billion) to Ukraine, including £7.8 billion ($9.5 billion) in military aid since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Starmer's visit comes as Ukraine gears up for the return of Trump to the White House.

Trump — who along with his vice president pick JD Vance has been skeptical of US aid to Kyiv — has said that he intends to bring the war in Ukraine to a swift close without detailing how he plans to do so.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have been racing to put their respective sides in the best possible position ahead of his return to office.

• James Watt, the cofounder of the beer company BrewDog, has criticized the UK's work culture.
• Watt said the UK was "one of world's least work-oriented countries."
• Watt stepped down as BrewDog CEO in 2024.

James Watt, the cofounder of the beer company BrewDog, said the UK was "one of the world's least work-oriented countries" as he criticized the idea of "work-life balance."

Appearing in an Instagram video alongside his fiancée, Georgia Toffolo, Watt initially said he believed "the whole concept of work-life balance was invented by people who hate the work that they do."

Watt said he and Toffolo instead believed in "work-life integration."

Watt received pushback over the post and later deleted it from Instagram, saying "the comments crossed the line from debate to personal abuse." However, he later reposted it with additional context.

In the new post, Watt made it clear that his content was "aimed at founders, entrepreneurs, and people who want to push their careers forward," adding that "most successful leaders I know don't separate work from life."

In a LinkedIn post, Watt then suggested the pushback may be linked to what he described as the UK's comparatively low work ethic.

"As a nation, we love to joke about the French being lazy, but the reality is that our output per hour is 13% lower than theirs," he wrote. "I've heard countless international leaders say that the UK's work ethic just doesn't stack up against other nations, especially the US."

He then went on to cite a 2023 study by the Policy Institute at King's College London that found the UK public ranked among the lowest internationally for the importance placed on work.

The study, which looked at 24 nations, including Italy, France, and Russia, found that British people were the least likely to say work was important in their lives and among the least likely to say that work should always come first.

"This isn't to say nobody in the UK works hard—I know that millions of you do and are relentlessly grafting every day," Watt added.

BrewDog was founded in 2007 in Scotland and soon found success as it shook up the craft beer scene with its bold, controversial marketing and its signature Punk IPA.

The company has since built a network of bars and breweries around the world. Its Columbus, Ohio site features a taproom, hotel, and brewery.

Watt stepped down as CEO of the company in 2024, after 17 years at the helm. His departure followed a number of controversies over the company's alleged treatment of staff.

In 2021, dozens of former employees wrote an open letter accusing the company and Watt of creating a "culture of fear" in which staff were treated "like objects."

Watt later apologized to the former employees, saying the company had "always tried to do the best by our team."

"But the tweet we saw last night proves that on many occasions we haven't got it right. We are committed to doing better, not just as a reaction to this, but always; and we are going to reach out to our entire team past and present to learn more. But most of all, right now, we are sorry," he added.

In January 2024, BrewDog also faced fallout after it emerged it would no longer hire new staff on the real living wage, instead paying the lower legal minimum wage.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers.
• Zelenskyy said the two soldiers were wounded and had been taken to Kyiv.
• South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) has reportedly confirmed their capture.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine has captured two wounded North Korean soldiers.

In a statement posted on X on Saturday, Zelenskyy said the soldiers had been captured in Russia's Kursk region and had been taken to Kyiv, where they were now "communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine." He added that they were receiving the "necessary medical assistance."

Zelenskyy also shared images of two injured men, but he did not provide evidence that they were North Korean.

"This was not an easy task: Russian forces and other North Korean military personnel usually execute their wounded to erase any evidence of North Korea's involvement in the war against Ukraine," Zelenskyy said, adding that he had instructed Ukraine's security service to allow journalists access to the captured soldiers.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) has reportedly confirmed their capture.

The NIS told AFP that it had "confirmed that the Ukrainian military captured two North Korean soldiers on January 9 in the Kursk battlefield in Russia".

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has also shared some details from their questioning of the pair.

The SBU said the North Korean soldiers did not speak Ukrainian, English, or Russian, "so communication with them is carried out through interpreters of Korean," with help from the NIS.

The SBU said that one soldier told interrogators that he believed he had been sent for training, not to fight in the war against Ukraine.

It added that one of the soldiers was found with a Russian military ID card "issued in the name of another person," while the other had no documentation with him.

The soldier with the ID card stated that he was born in 2005 and that he had been serving as a rifleman in the North Korean military since 2021.

The other was born in 1999 and had been a scout sniper in the North Korean army since 2016, the SBU said, citing "preliminary information."

Pyongyang reportedly began sending troops to Russia in October.

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said last month that Russia was using North Korean troops to carry out "human wave" assaults on Ukrainian positions, resulting in heavy casualties.

"It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses," Kirby said. "These North Korean soldiers appear to be highly indoctrinated, pushing attacks even when it is clear that those attacks are futile."

Zelenskyy said last month that preliminary estimates suggested that more than 3,000 of Pyongyang's soldiers had been killed or wounded in Kursk.

He previously said that Russian forces had been trying "to literally burn the faces of North Korean soldiers killed in battle" in an effort to "conceal" their losses.

In December, a North Korean soldier believed to be the first to be captured by Ukrainian forces died from his injuries, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said, per Yonhap news agency.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

• The President of Mexico has suggested renaming parts of the US to "América Mexicana."
• Claudia Sheinbaum's sarcastic remark followed Trump's idea of renaming the Gulf of Mexico as "the Gulf of America."
• Sheinbaum added that she believed she would have a good relationship with Trump.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has responded to President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to rename the Gulf of Mexico as "the Gulf of America," suggesting that parts of North America should be renamed "América Mexicana."

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Sheinbaum pointed to a colonial-era 17th-century map showing parts of US territory that were once part of Mexico.

"Why don't we call it América Mexicana? That sounds nice, no?" she said.

Her remarks came after Trump, speaking at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Tuesday, said he planned to rename the Gulf.

"We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America," he said. "What a beautiful name — and it's appropriate."

Following the conference, United States Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X: "I'll be introducing legislation ASAP to officially change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to its rightful name, the Gulf of America!"

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was willing to work with Trump on renaming the Gulf, but only if Trump worked with Democrats on "an actual plan to lower costs for Americans."

"That is what the American people want us to focus on first, not on renaming bodies of water," Schumer said.

In the press briefing, Sheinbaum also hit back at Trump's claim that Mexico was "run by cartels," saying the "people are in charge" of the nation.

The president added that Trump had "his own way of communicating" but that she believed she would still have a good relationship with him.

• A plane carrying 181 people crashed at an airport in South Korea in late December, killing 179.
• Photos and videos show the aircraft overrunning a runway before being engulfed in flames.
• It will likely take months or years to uncover why the plane crashed.

A commercial aircraft crashed at a South Korean airport last month, killing 179 people.

Flight 7C2216, operated by the Korean budget airline Jeju Air, was carrying 181 passengers and crew when it tried to land at Muan International Airport at 9:03 a.m. local time but overran the runway.

A video broadcast by MBC News, a South Korean news network, showed the plane speeding down the runway, with smoke coming from its belly, before it crashed into what appeared to be a barrier and burst into flames.

The flight was traveling from Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.

The aircraft was a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 that Ryanair, a budget Irish airline, operated before it was delivered to Jeju Air in 2017, according to the Planespotters.net flight tracking website. It was not a Max variant, which has been embroiled in quality and production problems.

Video footage shows the aircraft landed without its landing gear deployed.

Airline News editor and aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas told Business Insider that a bird strike could have caused a mechanical issue on the plane.

"It's possible that the bird strike prevented the standard landing gear operation," he said. "It's possible, however, the pilots could crank the landing gear down manually."

"But if they had multiple failures related to the engines, then they probably didn't have time to do it, and therefore they simply made a belly-up landing on the runway because they had no options," Thomas added.

Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae told reporters on December 31 that the aircraft's pre-flight inspection found "no issues" and "nothing abnormal was noted with the landing gear," the BBC reported.

South Korea's transport ministry said that it planned to conduct a safety inspection of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft in the country, per Yonhap News.

The Boeing 737-800 is a popular aircraft that is used widely around the world.

Cirium data sent to BI found about 4,400 737-800s are used by nearly 200 airlines, representing 15% of the 28,000 passenger planes in service globally.

In a statement to BI, Boeing gave its condolences to families who lost loved ones and said it was in contact with and "ready to support" Jeju Air.

Spokespeople for Jeju Air did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement posted online, Jeju Air said it was "bowing" its head in apology and would investigate the crash.

A total of 179 people died. Two of the plane's six crew members survived and were conscious, according to local health officials. They were rescued from the tail section of the jet.

It was the first fatal crash involving a Jeju plane since the airline was founded in 2005. The last major aviation accident involving a South Korean airline was in 1997 when a Korean Air jet crashed in Guam, killing 228 people.

Reports of birds striking the aircraft

In a televised briefing, Lee Jeong-hyeon, chief of the Muan fire station, said that workers were investigating what caused the crash, including whether birds struck the aircraft.

"It appears that the aircraft wasn't configured for a normal landing — the landing gear wasn't down, and it looks like the wing flaps weren't extended either," Keith Tonkin, the managing director of Aviation Projects, an aviation consulting company in Australia, told BI.

The plane was almost completely destroyed, with the tail assembly the most intact part of the wreckage. After landing, the plane hit a wall, which Thomas said was within international standards, but the plane landed fast and far down the runway.

"The airport complied with international standards," he said. "The landing was anything but international standard."

Officials said that air traffic controllers warned about bird strike risks minutes before the incident, and a surviving crew member mentioned a bird strike after being rescued, The Guardian reported.

Thomas told BI that the pilots reported "mayday" shortly after air traffic controllers issued a bird strike warning. The pilots were then given permission to land on the opposite side of the runway.

Thomas said flight tracking was lost at about 900 feet, suggesting a possible electrical failure.

"I think that could well be one of the pivotal factors in this investigation as to why did it fail," he said. "What does that tell us about what was going on in the cockpit?"

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that Muan International Airport has the highest rate of bird strike incidents among 14 airports nationwide.

Black boxes stopped recording before the crash

The Independent reported that transport ministry officials said they recovered the aircraft's two black boxes: the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder.

These would normally provide investigators with information that could help string together events before and during a crash.

However, Yonhap reported that officials said one of the black boxes, the flight data recorder, was partially damaged. The cockpit voice recorder remained intact.

South Korean authorities said on Saturday that an analysis by the US National Transportation Safety Board found that the black boxes holding the flight data and cockpit voice recorders stopped recording around four minutes before the crash, per Yonhap news agency.

The crash occurred at 9.03 a.m., and the data stopped recording at 8.59 am., the report said.

South Korea's transport ministry said plans were "in place to investigate the cause of the data loss during the ongoing accident investigation," AFP reported.

Crashes typically have more than one cause — known as the "Swiss Cheese Model" in aviation, a string of smaller errors often leads to an accident, not just one.

"The biggest risk is speculation because it obscures the actual causes of a near-miss, incident, or accident," Simon Bennett, an aviation safety expert at the University of Leicester in the UK, told BI.

"I appreciate that the relatives of the dead and injured will want answers. Understandably, they will want closure," he said. "However, rushing the investigation would do a huge disservice to the aviation community and airlines' customers."