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The immense popularity enjoyed by Pope Francis ever since his election in 2013 has precipitated sharply during the past year, and he no longer ranks among the top ten most admired men in the world, according to a massive new study involving 31,000 interviews.

Christian churches in Germany have reported widespread interest from recently-arrived migrants and refugees who want to convert to Christianity, German newspaper Focus reported.

The Russian average monthly wage has slipped below $450, which is less than the Chinese average, Sberbank chief analyst Mikhail Matovnikov said, the TASS news agency reported Thursday. “Labor in Russia is now cheaper than in China,” Matovnikov was quoted as saying. According to a presentation given by Matovnikov during a meeting with shareholders in St. Petersburg, Russia’s average monthly salary is $433, which is lower than in Serbia, Romania, China and Poland.

The United States and Russia are now proposing to drop food and other emergency aid from the air if President Bashar al-Assad of Syria does not allow trucks to deliver supplies to his besieged cities. Airdrops are a risky and desperate move — costly, hard to deliver accurately and, if poorly targeted, a threat to kill or injure the people they are supposed to help. On the surface the move seems a humanitarian gesture from two nations that are supposedly partners in ending Syria’s bloody civil war. What it really does is highlight, once again, the duplicity of President Vladimir...

This election [Oct 25th] was a stunning rebuke of the last ruling party, Civic Platform (PO- Platforma Obywatelska), which was founded by the current head of the European Council Donald Tusk, and their junior coalition partner PSL (the Marxist farmers party). This ejection from power was galvanized by the widespread acceptance of their brazen years of corruption as well as their loudly telegraphed desire for deeper European Union (EU) integration, which was wholly unappealing to the mass of Poles on the ground. The debate reached fever pitch ahead of the parliamentary elections over the migrant crisis and the Brussels mandated...

Beijing will soon be able to launch nuclear missiles from the sea. And that's going to make it harder to deter any future Chinese aggression. -- China's about to join an exclusive club for nuclear powers. After decades of development, 2016 could be the year the Chinese navy finally sends its ballistic-missile submarines-"SSBN" is the Pentagon’s designation-to sea for the first time for operational patrols with live, nuclear-tipped rockets. (link to full story) http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/19/china-s-nuclear-subs-are-ready-to-terrorize-the-sea.html

It was around noon when a food truck rolled up to a Venezuelan state-subsidized supermarket in the town of Guarenas just east of the capital. But, to the fury of the long line of people waiting out front, the cargo wasn't unloaded. Instead soldiers took it away. "We want food!" the crowd roared in protest, to no avail. Some tried to run after the truck. Under the state of emergency imposed by President Nicolas Maduro, the military, along with government-organized civilian committees, ensures that food packets are delivered door-to-door in order to -- as officials say -- cut out black...

Israel's military said on Wednesday it had developed a version of its Iron Dome missile interceptor system that can be fired from the deck of a cruising navy ship to protect its offshore gas platforms. The augmented defense system passed a live test two weeks ago when it shot down several short-range ballistic missiles from a moving boat, said Colonel Ariel Shir, the navy's head of operational systems. Israel has boosted its naval defenses over the past decade after the discovery of sizeable natural gas deposits off its Mediterranean coast. While the biggest fields are far from shore, the gas...

Smartmatic: All Things Connected By Aleksander Boyd Smartmatic revisited 08.03.2011 London 14.08.05 | The Florida register of companies contains details of the board of directors of Smartmatic Corporation, which is formed by Antonio Mugica, Alfredo Anzola, Antonio Mugica Rivero, Roger Piñate, Antonio Mugica Sesma and Luis Feliu [1]. Its principal place of business is 1001 Broken Sound Parkway, NW, STE D, Boca Raton, FL 33487. The company's history in Venezuela dates back to seven years ago when the venture was "the Research and Development Unit of Panagroup in Venezuela" (sic) and in "2000 we realized the true impact of our...

remarks Published May 16, 2016 FoxNews.com Facebook117 Twitter335 livefyre1070 Email Print Now Playing White House defends Iran deal in wake of Rhodes profile Never autoplay videos The White House confirmed Monday that Obama adviser Ben Rhodes will not be allowed to testify before House lawmakers on the Iran nuclear deal, after a last-ditch attempt by Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz to pry the controversial aide loose for the hearing. Chaffetz and the White House have been engaged in an escalating feud, all on the heels of a New York Times Magazine piece where Rhodes was quoted boasting about the administration’s success...

The US State Department has approved a request by Egypt to purchase 20 Harpoon Block II encapsulated missiles for submarines as well as related equipment and training, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced in a statement. In addition to the Harpoon missiles, the proposed sale, worth approximately USD 143 million, includes two encapsulated harpoon certification training vehicles, technical assistance, personnel training and logistics support provided by the US. The missiles will be used by Egypt’s new Type 209 submarines, built by the German company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, according to military intelligence and analysis website IHS Jane’s 30. “The proposed sale...

A major Islamic researcher, highly respected in her field, has said outright ‘we are going to destroy you completely from your culture down to your biological makeup’ on a taxpayer-funded television station–a German equivalent of PBS or C-SPAN. “No more blue eyes.” “No more light hair.” This video significantly irritates me. I’ve been saying it over and over here, but Merkel is planning a total genocide of the German people by demographics. Merkel & Co. have alluded to it. The average (instead of Joe) “Mohammed on the street” has said it. Now you have a major Islamic researcher, highly respected...

Sen. Tom Cotton ?79% alleged Tuesday that President Barack Obama’s administration officials say one thing in classified briefings with members of Congress and another thing in public to the American people. “It’s time that the administration came clean and told the American people exactly what they tell Congress in a classified setting,” Cotton insisted. Appearing on the Hugh Hewitt Show on Tuesday, Cotton said that he “became public enemy number one at the White House… because I’m telling the truth about the Iran deal.” On Monday, during the White House press briefing, press secretary Josh Earnest claimed that Cotton “time

MIAMI -- For the second time, Venezuela has failed to pay mining company Gold Reserve the $750 million it has been awarded for Venezuela's expropriation of its gold mining operation in 2007.

Venezuelan opposition leaders are rejecting a 60-day state of emergency declared by President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro declared the state of emergency over the weekend, giving himself decree powers to intervene in the economy and protect national sovereignty. He said the expanded powers were needed to guard against U.S. meddling in the socialist country. Opposition leader Henrique Capriles called the move unconstitutional Tuesday because Maduro acted unilaterally. Capriles said Venezuelans should reject the decree. …

Venezuela's army is to be backed by civilians grouped into ancillary security units, to tackle food shortages and public unrest, under a state of emergency decree published on Monday. The decree, published in the government gazette, brings into effect for at least 60 days sweeping powers President Nicolas Maduro announced on Friday. The measures give his government and security forces broad authorization to ignore most constitutional safeguards in a bid to keep order and supply basic food and services, and to counter a crippling energy shortage....

Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles has urged the army to choose whether it is 'with the constitution or with (President Nicolas) Maduro", after a state of emergency was declared. President Maduro has announced a 60-day emergency, giving soldiers and police wider powers to deal with the country's sprialling economic crisis. Mr. Capriles said the decree gave the president unconstitutional powers. He called on Veneuelans to ignore it and take to the streets on Wednesday. "We Venezuelans, will not accept this decree. This is Maduro putting himself above the constitution," Mr. Capriles told journalists. "To impose this, he'd better start preparing...

Venezuela's opposition has urged the public to defy a state of emergency that President Nicolas Maduro decreed over a nation sapped by food shortages and a collapsing economy. Key points: Opposition-controlled parliament rejects the President's state of emergency decree The opposition leader asks army: are you "with the constitution or with Maduro" Polls show 70 per cent of the population wants a new government The opposition-controlled National Assembly rejected the decree in a vote, saying it "deepens the severe disruption of constitutional and democratic order that Venezuela is suffering through".

Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders claims to be a democratic socialist who wants America to be more like Sweden, Denmark and Norway. But is honest Bernie telling you the truth? In 2014 Sanders endorsed longtime communist party supporter Chewy Garcia's bid for the Chicago mayoralty. Sanders spoke alongside Scott Marshall a leader of the Chicago Communist Party. In the early 1960's Bernie Sanders studied at the University of Chicago where he joined the Marxist Young People's Socialist League. In 1980 Sanders backed the presidential campaign of Andrew Pulley a leader of the pro-Cuba Socialist Workers Party.

David Cameron has made Britain a "semi-pacifist" nation more interested in protecting "welfare and benefits" than adequate defences, one of the country’s most senior retired generals has warned. ... The devastating attack came as Sir Richard warned Britain and the West could be at war with Russia within a year if it fails to stand up to President Vladimir Putin’s aggression. ... Sir Richard’s book "2017: The War with Russia" presents a fictitious scenario but based on fact and his experiences as a senior NATO commander, before he stepped down in 2014...