VATICAN - Christians face persecution, discrimination, forced conversion and even mass murder for their faith in many parts of the Muslim world, yet Pope Francis, in his upcoming book called Hope, calls for an investigation to see if the Jews are committing a “genocide” against Palestinian Muslims in the Gaza Strip. The Jews are not committing genocide against Muslims in Gaza, whose population grew almost 3% last year. Muslims, however, are committing mass murder via jihad against Christians in Africa. Yet the pope cowers from defending his own flock. Africa has become the epicenter of radical Islamic terrorism. Murderous jihad attacks against Christians abound in Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Niger, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon. Indeed, Israel is defending its Jewish population from the very same jihadist assaults faced by African Christians.

VATICAN - Pope Francis called for a global ceasefire this weekend while again decrying Israel’s “cruelty” in dealing with Palestinians in Gaza. “Let us pray for a ceasefire on all war fronts, in Ukraine, the Holy Land, in all the Middle East and the entire world, at Christmas,” the pontiff said in his weekly Angelus address Sunday. “And with sorrow I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty; of the children machine-gunned, the bombing of schools and hospitals… So much cruelty!” The pope also called out ongoing attacks on “tormented Ukraine” that at times damage schools, hospitals, and churches. “May the weapons be silenced and Christmas carols resound!” he said. Sunday’s commentary was the second time Pope Francis accused Israel of “cruelty” in just one weekend, having said Saturday that Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza goes beyond warfare and constitutes “cruelty.”

VATICAN - The Pope made an impassioned call to end the world’s conflicts in his Christmas Day address, inviting combatants to step through a “door of salvation”. Delivering his traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) speech from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, Francis, 88, called for “boldness” on both sides in the Ukraine war, asking them “to open the door to negotiation and to gestures of dialogue and encounter to achieve a just and lasting peace”. Turning to Gaza, he said: “May there be a ceasefire, may the hostages be released and aid be given to the people worn out by hunger and by war.” He did not repeat his recent condemnation of the “cruelty” of Israeli bombing, which provoked criticism from Israeli diplomats.

VATICAN - Pope Francis opened the Holy Doors or Sacred Portal on Christmas Eve at The Vatican. This will mark the start of the 2025 Jubilee, a year of forgiveness, reconciliation, and spiritual renewal. Catholics who confess their sins during this time receive absolution, freeing them from eternal or spiritual punishment. The first Holy Year was called in 1300, and in recent times they are generally celebrated every 25 to 50 years. Pilgrims who participate can obtain “indulgences” — the centuries-old feature of the Catholic Church related to the forgiveness of sins that roughly amounts to a “get out of Purgatory free” card.

USA - Christianity today is “paganism” and Christians are “pagans” and “not believers,” according to Florida Imam Abu Usama At-Thahabi, who urged Muslims to reject Western cultural influences and warned them against wishing others a “merry Christmas” or even “happy holidays.” In his Friday, December 20, sermon at the Masjid As-Sunnah mosque and Islamic center serving the Orlando, Florida, area, the American-born Abu Usama delivered a scathing critique of Christianity, declaring it polluted with pagan practices, while urging Muslims to remain steadfast in their identity.

USA - Trump wrote: “Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people in its building 110 years ago), always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in 'repair' money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about 'anything.' Also, to Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, whose Citizens’ Taxes are far too high, but if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World.

USA - Most people including myself are focused on the economy and how it is doing. But the more concerning thing is actually the state of our society and it’s associated cultures. It is pretty clear to me that it is collapsing and may already be collapsed. The structure of our society has always been marriage, family, homes, community, stable work, and social organizations like churches. This was a successful model. One can criticize the model or aspects of this model but it worked.

ISRAEL - Israel promised to “behead” the leaders of Houthi rebels as the terror organisation launched its latest ballistic missile at the country on Monday. Rocket sirens went off in parts of the Negev desert and central Israel at 1.45 am, forcing millions of Israelis to take cover in bomb shelters. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the missile was intercepted by the air-defence system “prior to crossing into Israeli territory”. This marks the third time the Houthis launched ballistic missiles at Israel in the past week. Hezam al-Asad, a senior Houthi official, issued a statement shortly after saying the missile attacks on Israel will continue until the war in Gaza stops. “Netanyahu will learn that his dreams of a new Middle East are nothing but a punishment for him and his imported entity,” Mr Asad tweeted.

SYRIA - Islamic State is ready to rise again from the Syrian desert as it seeks to exploit the fall of Assad with a new wave of attacks, according to the leader of the country’s western-backed troops. The warning from General Mazloum Abdi, head of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), comes amid fears that the jihadists could capitalise on the chaos and the growing spectre of a second civil war in the country’s east. The SDF helped bring to an end Isis’s so-called caliphate in 2019, but Abdi said remnants of the group were now looking to benefit from a security vacuum after Bashar Al-Assad was toppled this month. The SDF, supported by the United States, Britain and other western countries, is in a confrontation with Turkey, which backs Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that has seized Damascus and most of Syria.

UK - UK Armed Forces warning as over 10,000 members deemed 'medically undeployable'. Deployable is defined as personnel who are able to deploy on operations. Some personnel may be limited for medical reasons, restricting the type or location of operation they can be sent to. In total, 99,560 are medically fully deployable, 14,350 have limited deployability and 13,522 are medically not deployable. Britain's Armed Forces were 5,440 personnel (1%) below target, despite recent efforts to fill the ranks.

UK - Britain has failed to match the remilitarisation of Russia, Iran and China over a decade of under-investment in defence, Sir Keir Starmer has been warned. Moscow, Tehran and Beijing have increased defence spending by 34 per cent, 57 per cent and 60 per cent respectively over the past ten years. During the same period, Britain’s defence budget grew by 14 per cent in 2022 cash terms, research from the House of Commons library has shown. Starmer is under pressure to announce a timetable for his pledge to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP. Donald Trump will demand that European countries rearm more urgently when he enters the White House next month and the president-elect could insist that Nato increases its defence spending target to as much as 5 per cent of GDP, according to reports.

GERMANY - Germany could be set for cultural collapse after the nation’s capital, Berlin, made huge ranging cuts to the city’s arts budget. This week Berlin city government approved cuts of up to £108 million from its cultural budget for 2025 despite weeks of protest against the proposed measures. The plans have received vocal opposition from artists, museum leaders, and cultural organisations who fear that the sector could be set for venue closures and a hit to the city’s cultural standing. The cuts represent a 12% cut on the previous year and has sparked fears that the city could lose its status as one of Europe’s foremost cultural capitals. Emma Enderby, the director of the non-profit KW Institute for Contemporary Art, told The Art Newspaper: “Culture and clubs bring people to Berlin. They don’t come here for the food, they come here for the history and the culture."

RUSSIA - Nine countries will officially join BRICS as partner states in January, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov has said, adding that the economic group is open to like-minded partners. Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, Ushakov emphasized the importance of the 'partner state status' approval, saying that Belarus, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Cuba, Uganda, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan will officially become BRICS partners from January 1. Confirmation is expected in the near future from four more countries, which were also invited to become partner states. BRICS initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and was expanded earlier this year to include Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has paused its process of joining BRICS because the necessary “internal procedures” for becoming a full member have not yet been completed, according to Ushakov, citing representatives from Riyadh.

USA - Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong is back with a new round of predictions, and they are not going to make life easy for President Elect Trump. Armstrong says, “Our computer has been projecting that we are going into a depression in some areas and a recession in other areas. A depression most likely in Europe and a recession in the United States up until 2028. At my November conference, everybody was celebrating after Trump won. I stood up and told my clients, ‘I’m sorry, Trump is not going to have a blissful administration, and he’s not going to prevent the economic decline.’

IRELAND - Just days after an attack on a Christmas market in Germany, pro-terrorist protesters stormed a Catholic Church in Ireland to disrupt mass. The anti-Catholic thugs were using Gaza as an excuse for their 'protest', however given that a Cardinal was in Gaza today distributing presents, this excuse is not credible. The media has been woefully silent on attacks against Christianity in Europe. How would the international media cover a group of Christian protestors storming a Mosque to push a political agenda? The most recent protest comes despite the fact that the Irish government, since the Hamas terrorist attacks on civilians on October 7, 2023, has displayed a consistently anti-Israel, pro-terrorist posture. The Gateway Pundit reported that Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Sa’ar, announced that Israel’s embassy in Ireland will close due to the “extreme anti-Israel policy of the Irish government.”