154. Not a very promising beginning

Today marks the start of a new year, but there seems to be nothing new. No good news is expected. But bad news is in abundance. 

First, bad news came from China, which issued a new announcement as the world was already dealing with multiple wars.

During his annual New Year’s Eve speech in Beijing, China’s President Xi Jinping pledged to reunify China and Taiwan. Xi stated, “The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable.”

Xi stated that China embraced the world with open arms and noted several multilateral conferences hosted by Beijing this year. Notably, the Shanghai Cooperation Summit, which brought together world leaders, including Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, and Erdoğan.

China asserts that Taiwan is part of its territory and has repeatedly announced plans to annex it, even by force if needed.

The People’s Liberation Army of China has already conducted military exercises around Taiwan.

Named “Justice Mission 2025,” these drills came closer to Taiwan than previous ones and involved at least 200 warplanes over two days, marking the highest number in over a year. 

Taiwan stayed on high alert as 25 Chinese Navy and Coast Guard ships continued to surround it.

Several governments, such as the UK, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, the EU, and the US, criticized China's military drills. 

Meanwhile, China had an unexpected excuse when the US government approved a record $11bn in weapons sales to Taiwan.

Now, the second one is decent but not quite enough to celebrate. 

Although the UN has gone gaga over the US pledge of $2 billion in aid after a year of significant cuts, the announcement of new funding for the humanitarian system comes with several conditions on how the funds should be managed and allocated.

It has specified that the funds be allocated to 17 priority countries selected by the US, excluding those facing severe humanitarian crises, such as Afghanistan and Yemen.

The U.S. State Department stated that the UN must “adapt, shrink, or die” by making necessary changes and cutting waste. It also insisted that funds be channeled through a pooled fund managed by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs rather than through individual agencies.

And not to miss, Zohran Mamdani’s histrionics, who was sworn in as New York City mayor during a private ceremony in an abandoned Beaux-Arts subway station, with his hand on his grandfather’s Qur’an.

I remember his words: “I don’t think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality, and ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city and across our state and across our country.

I don’t know why, but this guy reminds me of Arvind Kejriwal.

The worst news came from Switzerland, where a fire at a busy bar called "Le Constellation" during a New Year's Eve celebration killed 40 and injured about 100, most critically, in a resort in southwestern Switzerland.

So why should I say "Happy New Year"?