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Israel has taken the controversial decision to recognise the breakaway state of Somaliland as an independent nation, sparking condemnation from many other countries. China is the latest to condemn the decision, with its foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian telling reporters: "No country should encourage or support other countries' internal separatist forces for its own selfish interests." China outlined its position ahead of the UN Security Council holding an emergency session to discuss Israel's decision. Israel on Friday became the first country in the world to acknowledge Somaliland as a standalone republic, more than 30 years after the region declared independence...

An Alameda man accused of killing a wild turkey this month is facing felony animal cruelty charges, prosecutors said. The 38-year-old was arrested on Dec. 17 after the illegal hunting was reported to police and animal control by a witness, the East Bay Times reported. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office is now seeking justice for the wild bird, which are seen around some Bay Area neighborhoods, though they are not native to California. Police told the East Bay Times that the man, who hasn't been publicly named, shot the turkey with a 177 caliber BB gun near the 400...

Turkish Energy Minister, Alparslan Bayraktar said on Monday that Turkey intends to seal an energy exploration agreement with Syria in 2026 to assess possible offshore energy resources along the Syrian coast.In an interview with Turkish digital news platform GDH on Monday, Bayraktar said that Ankara and Damascus had already signed a general framework agreement on energy cooperation earlier this year."We plan to sign a specific offshore deal in 2026," he said. "After signing the deal, we may conduct seismic research to see what the field offers us".Bayraktar cautioned that the agreement does not necessarily mean Turkey would carry out drilling...

Yeah, another bombshell. This is a subtle yet significant deal, completely under the radar screen and not reported anywhere, to my knowledge. This is a very slick move, IMO. 1: Israel recognizes Somaliland statehood 2: Who even knew that there was an entity separate from Somalia "Somaliland"? 3: Israel recognizes S-Land well before the UN recognizes it as a state. Very pre-emptive. 4: Israel and S-Land sign cooperation and development deal(s) 5: Possibly this creates a platform where states in that region find out that peaceful cooperation w/Israel can be highly advanatageous. Yeah, sure? 6: While there is certain to...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday announced today the official recognition of the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state. Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, and the President of the Republic of Somaliland signed a joint and mutual declaration. “This declaration is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President Trump,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. Prime Minister Netanyahu congratulated the President of Somaliland, Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed Abdallah, and praised his leadership and commitment to promoting stability and peace. The Prime Minister invited the President to pay an official visit...

Turkish intelligence captured an IS member assigned to carry out suicide attacks in Turkey and Europe, as authorities warned of possible New Year's Eve attack plots. Ten suspects were detained for financing the network. Turkey's national intelligence agency MITcaptured Mehmet Gören, a senior IS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) member assigned to carry out suicide attacks targeting civilians in Turkey, Europe, Pakistan and Afghanistan, security sources said Tuesday. Gören, operating under the codename "Yahya", was apprehended in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and brought to Turkey following intelligence operations, according to sources. The operation thwarted attack plans targeting Turkey and exposed the organisation's recruitment network....

...for over two millennia, the great civilizations of the Mediterranean... possessed copper in abundance. They had gold, timber, and grain... What they did not have was tin... in the early centuries, tin came from... Central and South Asia, from the Zeravshan Valley in what is now Tajikistan and the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan... By the Late Bronze Age, the kingdoms had turned to the sea... In 1982, a sponge diver off the coast of Grand Cape in Turke... found what came to be known as the Uluburun shipwreck... mostly, it carried metal. There were ten tons of copper, in the...

Bit by bit, a Turkish front is forming, more dangerous than Israel’s seven arenas since Oct. 7. Erdogan’s ideology and ambition require Israel to refocus on a higher strategic risk.Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s political and military leadership has claimed that seven different arenas threaten it. It seems that, bit by bit but consistently, an eighth menacing front is forming, one that in many ways is more dangerous than the others.This is the Turkish front. Turkey, which until about 23 years ago was one of Israel’s greatest friends, has become a real enemy since Erdogan rose to power.The main factors...

Emergency workers in Trinidad and Tobago are racing to clean up a massive oil spill after a mystery vessel ran aground near the Caribbean island, casting a pall over Carnival tourism. The spill was "not under control" as of Sunday, said Prime Minister Keith Rowley, who added that the country is grappling with a national emergency. The mystery vessel capsized Wednesday in waters off the Caribbean island, having made no emergency calls, with no sign of crew, and no clear sign of ownership.

Turkish authorities closed Ankara’s airspace as a precaution after it lost contact with the plane and diverted multiple commercial flights away from Esenboga Airport. The commander's death was later confirmed by Turkish and Libyan officials. ============================================================= urkish officials temporarily closed down airspace over its capital of Ankara on Tuesday night after a business jet that carried Libya’s top military commander crashed near the city after he concluded an official visit to the country. The plane carrying Chief of the General Staff of Libya’s armed forces Muhammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad and four others lost contact roughly 30 minutes after departing Esenboga...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made a joint statement this evening following a trilateral meeting in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Netanyahu began: "This is not our first meeting. It's our tenth meeting. But I said in our discussions that I think it's the most consequential. The last time the three of us met was a short time before the October 7th massacre, before terror once again reminded us that stability in this region is never guaranteed, and that strength, clarity and cooperation are not options. They are a must." "The Middle...

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have presented a $112 billion reconstruction plan to Gulf officials to build a “high-tech metropolis” atop the remains of Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The 32-page PowerPoint presentation labeled "sensitive" and titled "Project Sunrise" was developed over 45 days and reportedly presented to officials from Qatar, UAE, Egypt, and Turkiye. The plan envisions turning the Gaza Strip into a "high-tech metropolis" over the next two decades with four phases of reconstruction beginning in southern Gaza. It also calls for turning Rafah into Gaza's new "administrative center," housing over 500,000...

Qatar, Turkey trying to dissuade Hamas from disarming, as Phase II of ceasefire still under discussion. Alternatives proposed would see Hamas give up its weapons to the Palestinian Authority or transferred them to a secure storage under oversight, which could preserve Hamas' influence in Gaza; this is likely to be the main issue discussed at the Trump-Netanyahu meeting in Florida The second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan is still being shaped by the Americans, though nothing has been finalized. Israel and the U.S. jointly drafted the original 20‑point plan, which included a clear agreement that Hamas must be disarmed....

The Communist Roots of Palestinian Terror   By David Meir-LeviFrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, December 14, 2007 The following is chapter from David Meir-Levi's new book, History Upside Down: The Roots of Palestinian Fascism and the Myth of Israeli Aggression. The Terrorism Awareness Project previous printed his history of the "right-wing" influence on Islamic extremism, "The Nazi Roots of Palestinian Nationalism and Islamic Jihad." Taken together (with his entire book), these chapters show that Islamofascism is a political, not merely a religious force; and the potent and deadly offspring of the totalitarian ideologies of the past. -- The Editors. Although many Nazis...

IZNIK, Turkey (AP) — Pope Leo XIV joined Eastern and Western patriarchs and priests Friday in commemorating an important anniversary in Christian history, gathering at the site in Turkey of an unprecedented A.D. 325 meeting of bishops to pray that Christians might once again be united. Leo, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and other Christian leaders met on the shores of Lake Iznik, the site of the Council of Nicaea that produced a creed, or statement of faith, that is still recited by millions of Christians today. Standing over the ruins of the site, the men recited the creed, which Leo...

A series of important new discoveries have been revealed in Southeast Turkiye, announced to the world this week marking the 5th anniversary of the Taş Tepeler project. As well as revealing new structures, carvings and T-pillars at the sites in this video, stunning artefacts and statues from Göbekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe, Sefer Tepe, Sayburç and Gürcütepe have been placed on display at Karahan Tepe's visitors centre all dating back to over 11,000 years old. Major Discoveries at Göbekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe, Sefer Tepe & Sayburç | Taş Tepeler | 17:09 MegalithomaniaUK | 243K subscribers | 38,014 views | November 29,...

Pope Leo visited Istanbul's Blue Mosque on Saturday, removing his shoes in a sign of respect but not appearing to pray in his first visit as leader of the Catholic Church to a Muslim place of worship during his four-day visit to Turkey. The first U.S. pope bowed slightly before entering the mosque and was led on a tour of the expansive complex, able to hold 10,000 worshippers, by its imam and the mufti of Istanbul. Leo, walking in white socks, smiled during the 20-minute visit and joked with one of his guides, the mosque's lead muezzin - the official...

https://babylonbee.com/news/heaven-confirms-people-who-prefer-ham-at-thanksgiving-will-not-enter-the-kingdom HEAVEN — Celestial sources have recently confirmed that people who prefer ham to turkey at Thanksgiving will not enter the kingdom of God. According to the Almighty, preferring ham on the fourth Thursday of November is a sure sign of reprobation and will lead to a person's eternal damnation if they do not repent. "It is harder for one who prefers ham to enter the kingdom of Heaven than it is for a man to thread a needle," said Gabriel, a heavenly spokesangel. "Woe unto them who reject the grace of God by choosing the much-inferior ham to the...

Trump signed an order designating parts of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations. The order focuses mainly on Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan and omits Turkey and Qatar altogether... Conspicuous is the absence of reference to the Muslim Brotherhood's branches in Turkey and Qatar, which in fact are part of the government in those countries...

The 15 States Bustling With the Most Wild Turkeys Wild turkeys were almost wiped out over 120 years ago. But, thanks to unregulated hunting and habitat loss, they’ve made a huge comeback across the U.S. There are even some states absolutely bursting with flocks of turkeys. Thanks to conservation and smart habitat management, wild turkeys have returned to forests and farmyards. Let’s break down the 15 states where you’ll absolutely see turkeys in.