Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled extensively this year, despite being sanctioned by the West.His meetings were mostly in Russia or Asia. The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.But ICC member Mongolia did not arrest Putin, citing its reliance on Russian energy.Russian President Vladimir Putin was a social butterfly this year, traveling to various countries and meeting foreign dignitaries at home even though he is heavily sanctioned.The Russian leader started the year mostly in his country ahead of the presidential election in March in which he won by a landslide.Soon after, Putin started traveling and hobnobbing with dignitaries, primarily at home and also in Asia.In all, Putin took 11 international trips this year, according to TASS state news agency.Since Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court, his travel was still limited but some world leaders came to him instead. He took part in over 220 events with 54 world leaders, per TASS.In July, Putin met Indonesia's then-President-elect Prabowo Subianto, who was visiting in his capacity as defense minister. Prabowo described Russia "as a real friend" during his visit with the Russian leader.In September, Putin met Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the sidelines of an economic forum.In October, Putin hosted the BRICS summit involving a group of major emerging economies, where he met a number of world leaders including Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.Away from home, here's who Putin met and what he did.Putting on a full bromance display with Xi in MayThe first notable person Putin met this year was Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The Russian leader traveled to Beijing to meet his Chinese counterpart.Xi rolled out the red carpet for Putin in Beijing with a show of pomp and pageantry featuring a marching band, a guard of honor, a 21-gun salute on Tiananmen Square, and flag-waving children.Putin was also treated to a banquet featuring delicacies like Peking Duck, sea cucumber, and sea bass in shrimp cream. Russia's President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping. Sergei Bobylev/Pool/AFP/\Getty Images For Xi, Russia is a strategic partner against Western dominance. For Putin, the Chinese connection is more than geopolitics.China has been a closing trade partner of Russia even before the invasion of Ukraine, and ties between the two have only gotten tighter since the war started.Since the EU's sweeping sanctions against Russia, Moscow has steered the country's trade especially in oil eastward, particularly to China and India.Trade between Russia and China hit a record $240 billion in 2023, a 26% jump from 2022.Putin followed his international itinerary by visiting the former Soviet republics of Belarus and Uzbekistan in the same month.North KoreaIn June, Putin made his way to Pyongyang, where he spent a day cozying up to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.The last time the Russian leader visited the isolated nation was in 2000.Kim showered Putin with presents, a welcoming ceremony involving a large crowd, a banquet, and a concert.Among the gifts Kim gave Putin were what appears to be a portrait of the Russian leader, a bust bearing Putin's likeness, a Russian-made Aurus limousine, several white horses, and a pair of Pungsan hunting dogs for the avid hunter. Putin observes the dogs gifted by Kim. North Korean State Media VietnamIn June, Putin visited Vietnam, a supply chain hot spot for many multinational companies diversifying their operations outside China.The US embassy in Vietnam issued sharp criticism of the visit, saying that "no country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities."During his visit, Putin was gifted with an installation art performance featuring a sculpture of "whinnying war horse, galloping majestically under the canopy of a birch forest," according to information from a Vietnamese government website.The late Vietnamese leader Nguyen Phu Trong, who died the following month, presented Putin with the gift, which was accompanied by a light show. The light show featured images of a young Putin and the Russian leader today.It's unclear if Putin took the sculpture home with him. Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Vietnam's President To Lam. Kristina Kormilitsyna/Sputnik/Kremlin/Reuters MongoliaIn the second half of the year, Putin visited several Central Asian countries, including the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.He also went to Kazakhstan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.Among Putin's trips in the later part of the year, his September visit to Mongolia raised eyebrows. Russia's President Vladimir Putin met Mongolia's President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh in September. Mongolia did not arrest Putin even though the country is a ICC member. Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool/AFP/Getty Images Mongolia is a member of the International Criminal Court, so it is supposed to enforce the organization's arrest warrant for Putin.But that didn't happen.Instead, Mongolia gave Putin a lavish welcome and the Russian leader left a free man.Mongolia explained that Russia is too important for its energy security."Mongolia imports 95% of its petroleum products and over 20% of electricity from our immediate neighborhood, which has previously suffered interruption for technical reasons. This supply is critical to ensure our existence and that of our people," a Mongolian spokesperson told Politico.

Suchir Balaji was a researcher at OpenAI who later accused his employer of violating copyright law.One of his OpenAI colleagues told BI that he was one of the "true geniuses" at the startup.Friends described Balaji as a brilliant person with a passion for artificial intelligence.Longtime friends and former colleagues gathered at a private memorial service at the India Community Center in Silicon Valley on Saturday to remember Suchir Balaji, who many said was an intelligent but humble individual with impressive technical prowess."He was the sharpest person I ever met," Aayush Gupta, who interned with Balaji at Scale.AI in 2019, told Business Insider, adding that he was an "independent thinker." In his speech to the assembled crowd, Gupta said Balaji "seemed like he was entirely self-taught."That brilliance didn't go unnoticed at OpenAI, where the 26-year-old Balaji worked for nearly four years before he left the company in August and later accused his employer of violating copyright law.Tarun Gogineni, a research scientist at OpenAI since 2022, told Business Insider that he often bounced ideas about artificial general intelligence with Balaji and that his colleague was a "contrarian thinker" who could be seen getting into long debates on Slack and expressing his opinion."He was one of the true geniuses at OpenAI," Gogineni said.Gogineni recalled how Balaji worked with key figures at OpenAI, including cofounders Ilya Sutskever and John Schulman, to help launch WebGPT. Gogineni described the project as "in all meaningful ways, a spiritual predecessor" to ChatGPT."He worked closely with Ilya and John Schulman and some of the top people at OpenAI to come up with new algorithms for post-training," Gogineni said, referring to the process of fine-tuning an AI model after its initial training.After Balaji's death, which authorities have ruled a suicide, Schulman wrote in a social media post that Balaji was "one of the three lead contributors" to the WebGPT project."I worked with Suchir on and off since around 2021, and he was one of my favorite and most talented collaborators," Schulman wrote.Sutskever and Schulman left OpenAI in May and August, respectively.They did not respond to a request for comment.Balaji goes public on OpenAITwo months after Balaji left OpenAI, The New York Times published a profile in which the researcher said his employer violated copyright law to train ChatGPT.OpenAI has denied the accusation.In a statement, an OpenAI spokesperson said the company was "devastated to learn of Balaji's death" and that "our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time."Gogineni said he was surprised to read about Balaji's concerns. In the nearly two years he overlapped with Balaji at OpenAI, Gogineni said he never recalled his coworker bringing up concerns about copyright violation."It was very surprising," Gogineni said. "I mean, I can't claim I was best friends with him. He was a work friend. But I had never ever seen him express any concern about copyright." Close friends and family left flowers at a private memorial service on Saturday for Suchir Balaji. Lloyd Lee/Business Insider Friends and Balaji's parents described Balaji as an independent person.Will Gan, who had known Balaji since ninth grade and also attended the University of California, Berkeley, told BI that Balaji usually maintained a sense of humor.If he ever shared concerns about AI, Gan said Balaji would always be "super jokey" and lighthearted."If you ever followed 'Dune,' how they've outlawed machines in that universe, that's what he would joke about that he'd want," Gan said.In serious matters in his life, however, Gan said Balaji could be reserved."I feel like, for example, if he had something serious going on at work or otherwise, he might not necessarily share that openly," Gan said. "I think that was just part of who he was to some extent."Gan said he never talked to Balaji about his plans to speak with a New York Times reporter."He just told us at some point before the article released that he was going to do this, and we were hyping him up and stuff like that," Gan said. "It wasn't like we were discussing, 'Oh shit, what are the ramifications' and stuff like that."Balaji's mom, Poornima Ramarao, previously told BI that she scolded her son for talking with a reporter and doing it so publicly without remaining anonymous. Ramarao said she is working with an attorney to try to get the SF police to further investigate Balaji's death.Balaji also had plans to provide documents to The New York Times Co. for its copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, court filings showed. His name appeared in a letter from the Times' attorney on November 18.Gan said he last saw Balaji during a weeklong trip to Catalina Island on November 22. Authorities found Balaji's body on November 26."We were all together in Catalina," Gan said of the trip. "And he seemed fine on that day."

By Ed Cara Published December 30, 2024 | Comments (5) | A 3D illustration of norovirus particles. Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library via Getty Theres one potential party guest that you definitely want to steer clear of this New Years Eve: norovirus. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that outbreaks of norovirus are being reported across the U.S. According to the CDCs latest surveillance, there were 91 norovirus outbreaks reported nationally during the first week of December, which is up substantially from previous weeks. The data only provides a limited snapshot of how widespread norovirus truly is throughout the U.S. right now, but 2024 was an especially bad year for getting sick with the stomach bug. Though norovirus is often associated with cruise ships, its a prolific source of gastrointestinal misery everywhere. The highly contagious virus is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the U.S., typically sending people to their beds and toilets with diarrhea, vomiting, and other flu-like symptoms that last for up to three days. While cases are rarely life-threatening, about 100,000 Americans are hospitalized as a result of it annually. Like many other diseases, norovirus took a bit of a break during the early years of the covid-19 pandemic, thanks to increased social distancing. As peoples lives and social habits have largely returned to usual, however, norovirus and other germs have made an unwelcome comeback. But 2024 has been an outlier even compared to typical trends.According to the CDC, there were 495 norovirus outbreaks reported in the U.S. between August and December this year, which is higher than the 363 norovirus outbreaks reported during those same months in 2023. Cases of norovirus can occur any time, but the disease tends to peak between November and April in the U.S. And reported outbreaks so far this season are higher than the range observed during the same time period in past recent seasons, dating back to 2012. These reports are just part of the picture. The CDCs surveillance system only includes outbreaks reported by health departments in 14 states (a full list can be viewed here). And most cases of norovirus go unreported in general, since people usually just wait out their symptoms without seeking medical attention. So outside of outbreaks clearly traced to a specific food source (such as a recent outbreak involving certain oysters), it can be difficult to tell when and where norovirus is currently striking.Another important factor is our limited immunity to norovirus. There are several types of disease-causing norovirus circulating at any one time, and being recently infected by one strain might not protect you from the others. Our immunity to a specific strain also tends to wane over time as well, perhaps lasting as little as a few months for some unlucky people. People can take steps to minimize their risk of spreading and catching norovirus, however. If youre currently having or recently experienced vomiting and diarrhea, for instance, you should avoid direct contact with people if possible and consistently wash your hands with soap and water. You should not use hand sanitizer instead, since the viruss physical structure makes it resistant to alcohol. And you should avoid preparing food for others for a while even after you feel better, since the virus can be shed in poop for two weeks or longer.While it might be hard to ward off a party pooper ignoring these tips, you can reduce your risk of catching norovirus from food. You should always wash fruits and vegetables and cook your shellfish thoroughly. You should regularly clean your kitchen utensils, cutting boards, and surfaces, especially after preparing shellfish. And you should thoroughly wash your hands after handling uncooked food, since norovirus or other foodborne germs could be transmitted by your hands inadvertently touching your mouth later. There are scientists and pharmaceutical companies working on norovirus vaccines, with some about to reach late-stage clinical trials. So with any luck, the nightmare of norovirus will someday be a distant memory.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Ed Cara Published December 16, 2024 By Ed Cara Published December 4, 2024 By Ed Cara Published November 18, 2024 By Ed Cara Published November 14, 2024

In the past decade or so geek culture has expanded into the mainstream with more inclusive ways to express your fandom love. Once only marketed through black t-shirts with logos slapped on them or collectible toys, merch has undergone a massive shift. In 2024, repping your fandom became even easier than ever before, thanks to collections inspired by sci-fi and fantasy worlds in nearly every conceivable fashion and lifestyle arena. Between all the bold casual cosplay, subtle streetwear, and even luxury makeup and perfume, there was constantly a collaboration in the wings waiting to go viral. Thats not even mentioning movie popcorn buckets which were also insane this yearso much so they warranted their own post. This year also had some more daring moments with its mountains of fandom merch. Keep reading to see how things got way more experiential and experimental thanks to the stream of unhinged products and social media-driven events. There was a whole month of Nickelodeon celebrating SpongeBob SquarePants by doing Krabby Patty Kollabs at burger destinations nationwide, timed to the shows 25th anniversary. But the Wendys version felt the most authentic to the shows depiction of the type of burger youd get in a fast food place under the sea, especially compared to the elevated foodie stunt versions (they were cool, but Mr. Krabs would never). Wendys brought back the square meat patty for the occasion, and that was genius; it hit double the nostalgia factor so I found myself ordering this one more often. Speaking of food, Deadpool & Wolverine did a pizza line (which is on brand for the merc with the mouth) with DiGiornos that had mixed results. It wasnt the wildest of the Deadpool placements; there were also those Heinz ketchup and mustard bottles, and the bonkers bootylicious Xbox controllers. On the cuter side of things around Halloween, we got the Universal Monsters x Care Bears collection which mashed up the adorable bears with a spooky twist through classic bear plushes, Funkos, and makeup. The plushes are hard to find at their regular price points now, with third party sellers shilling them for questionable prices. I still covet the Creature From the Black Lagoon Bear. For Gen Z goths, Pottery Barn came out with a creepy cute Wednesday collectionfeaturing a Nevermore dorm vibe. We were particularly tickled by the thought of the Thing shaped pillow, which sold out in a snap. Pottery Barn While the above collection is very limited at this point, Dr. Martens still has some of its Wednesday capsule available online. Docs and The Addams family? The perfect match for any goth kids (and kids at heart) shoe collection. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dr. Martens (@drmartensofficial) In the realm of beauty products, our favorite clever match came in the form of Rihannas Fenty x Arcane line inspired by the characters on the Netflix show. The very in-depth collection drew from the leads sense of style and power with a quality makeup capsule from our sci-fi dreams. Anime and fellow Netflix fave One Piece has been featured in a number of fun collections inspired by the Straw Hat Crew, but the most uniquely unhinged was the Casetify collab that turned tech accessory covers into the Devil Fruits from the show. Particularly fun were the Gum Gum fruit headphone cases. View this post on Instagram A post shared by CASETiFY Co-Lab (@casetify_colab) And for Cowboy Bebop fans, Logic dropped a collab with Crunchyroll featuring streetwear fits inspired by the looks of the animes characters and their signature iconography to make you feel like you fit into the world of the classic cartoon. Crunchyroll While Deadpool & Wolverine dominated the shelves for the first half of the year, Wicked took over fall. There was an incredible range of pink and green at every price point, much of it seemingly aimed at Wicked fans whove been waiting 20 years for merch that goes beyond any online theater shop. Eighth grade me with the grey shirt that read Defy Gravity in the tiniest of green-printed letters would be shocked at how many Wicked things adult me got this year, and shed also be very proud. Did I really need the Wicked x Con-Air hair rollers? Yes. Did I really drop an undisclosed amount of change for the Beis x Wicked luggage? Yes, I can use it for work travel. Do I stay up at night haunted by the fact that I was not able to get the Elphaba Stanley tumbler from Target? Yes, and I foolishly check at random hours for a re-stock because goodness knows the wickeds lives are lonely.More Wicked merch is guaranteed to come thanks to 2025s Wicked: For Goodthough were all still waiting forsome sort of official meta Holding Space for Defying Gravity' release. Target The end of the year has brought a few notable collabs that have left me intrigued at what 2025 will bring. Nosferatu came with the most absurd of all, including a vampire coffin bed that was more expensive than a limited edition Nosferatu coffin-coffin to be buried in. Plus, theres also a Nosferatu fragrance collab with Heretic, for those who care to give off the scent of a ghost wandering through a flower-filled funeral parlor. Speaking of bats and the winter chill of the end of year holidays. Uno continues to release unhinged versions of the card game including a Batman: The Animated Series version with chaotic Joker cards for more card-slamming across the table.And Walton Goggins has pulled a Baby Billy Bible Bonkers with his own Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses, perfect for hitting the slopes despite the head-scratching reasons behind just why he came up with this, because the official commercial feels like performance art. (To be honest, we cant wait for an official Fallout collab called Walton Goggins Ghoul Goggle Glasses). And Squid Game season two gets some deeply eyebrow raising collabs with McDonalds in Australia. If fans buy an adult Squid Game Happy Meal theyll get a shot at an exclusive McDonalds Squid Game Green Player Tracksuit or $100,000 if they can carve out their very own Dalgona candy and scan it into the MyMaccas App. Audiences stateside were a little baffled by the Dominos Emergency pizza ad during their binges of the show because thats some chilling late-stage capitalism tone deafness. Theres also official collabs with Puma with new track suits as well as shoes and a tech accessory drop through Casetify. At least with the former you can don gear that will identify your vote to end or continue the games if you were in it, but lets be realwere all in the game. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Nature, Published online: 19 December 2024; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-04164-wA commanding examination of the factors that play into womens mental ill health should prompt soul searching by readers of all stripes.

Nature, Published online: 19 December 2024; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-04163-xFor centuries weve linked what we consume to how we feel about ourselves.

Nature, Published online: 19 December 2024; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-04244-xWe investigate how ancient humans ran and hear from climate scientists who are rising to the challenges of an impending Trump presidency.

Anime compilation films have existed for decades as a unique movie format. They consist of movies that compile or condense content from a TV anime series into a feature-length film, sometimes with added scenes, re-edited content, or improved animation, depending on the circumstances, but typically cutting out filler and 'unnecessary' content to get an anime's story out in less time. These films have played a pivotal role in shaping the anime landscape, offering fans a new way to experience already beloved stories while introducing casual viewers to expansive franchises in a more digestible format before anime hit the mainstream.

An unfortunate long-range hit from a zombie in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 ended one player's attempt to clear the Social Distancing challenge in an extremely frustrating way. The seemingly random nature of the hit underscored some of the problems facing players that tackle some of the toughest Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 challenges.

When they debuted in Helldivers 2, Firebomb Hellpods introduced another anarchic layer to the live-service PvE shooter. Missions like Eradicate or Blitz can take advantage of Firebomb Hellpods as their incendiary impact lays waste to all beneath them, and yet they can often do more harm than good if a squad is uncoordinated and calling in stratagems or Reinforcements in the vicinity of other players. Still, Helldivers 2 struck gold with this premise as pods in general have been underutilized apart from various colorway patterns and were in need of a refurbishment that could make them more exciting in gameplay.