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Orthodox Christmas will be observed on January 7, by millions of Christians across Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. While much of the world celebrates Christmas on December 25, Orthodox Christians follow a different liturgical calendar, making their celebration fall 13 days later... The difference in dates arises from the use of two calendars. Most Western Christian churches follow the Gregorian calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to correct inaccuracies in the older Julian calendar. This reform fixed the date of Christmas as December 25. However, many Orthodox churches chose not to adopt the Gregorian calendar for...

“Britain and France on Saturday conducted an airstrike on an underground facility in the mountains north of Palmyra, Syria, which ISIS terrorists "likely" used to store weapons and explosives, the British Defense Ministry confirmed in a statement. Western aircraft have been conducting patrols to stop a resurgence of the terror group, the ministry noted. Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to target a number of access tunnels down to the facility," the ministry added, noting that initial indications are that the target was successfully engaged, and that no civilians were put at risk by the strikes.“

Five of the 10 Somali daycare centers that were visited by Nick Shirley in his viral exposé on alleged fraud in Minnesota were also meal sites for the fraud-laden "Feeding Our Future" organization. The case surrounding fraud with "Feeding Our Future" has seen over 90 people charged and at least 60 people have been convicted. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, half of the 10 daycare facilities that were visited by Shirley were also connected to Feeding Our Future as "meal sites." Altogether, the five daycare businesses got nearly $5 million from Feeding Our Future between 2018 and 2021. The...

President Donald Trump envisions a central role for Turkey in Gaza. At the October 2025 Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit, Trump named Turkey as one of four guarantors of the ceasefire, along with Egypt, Qatar, and the United States. In addition, the Trump administration sees Turkey as an important player in Gaza’s reconstruction and stabilization, including by participating in the proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) there. This envisioned role for Ankara is the result of a strategic convergence between Washington’s desire to delegate the burden of overseeing the Gaza ceasefire to capable regional actors and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s willingness...

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,...