1,000 DEAD IN ASIA FLOODING, LANDSLIDES.FROM CYCLONE.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

1,000 DEAD IN ASIA FLOODING, LANDSLIDES.FROM CYCLONE.

WORLD TERRORISM

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP) (HOT SUN, NUKES ETC)
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)

GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)

ISAIAH 14:12-14
12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14  I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)

JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE.

Joel 3:2-King James Version (YOU DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF - YOUR POKING GOD IN THE EYE - GOD SAYS AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH- YOU WANNA DIVIDE JERUSALEM IN HALF -  HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION 4 BILLION DIE ON EARTH.
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

Dozens arrested in early morning police raid of top crime families in Israel, West Bank-Sweep follows year-long operation in which an undercover agent infiltrated the Abu Latif and Hariri criminal organizations to gather evidence on racketeering schemes By Charlie Summers and ToI Staff Today, 11:18 am-DEC 1,25

Hundreds of police officers raided dozens of locations in northern Israel and the West Bank on Monday morning, arresting multiple suspects from well-known criminal organizations amid a spiralling wave of violent crime that has claimed the lives of more than 230 Arabs in the past year.Among those arrested in the early-morning raid were dozens of suspects believed to be members of the Abu Latif and Hariri crime families who are alleged to have run protection rackets involving extortion, shootings, and murder, police said.All in all, 23 people were arrested across northern Israel and the West Bank.The raid was the result of a year-long operation by the Israel Police’s Northern District and the State Attorney’s Office. Over the course of the operation, an undercover agent forged relations with senior members of the Abu Latif and Hariri crime families, two of the biggest criminal organizations in Israel.The operation was centered around suspicions that the crime organizations had been trying to take over state-issued tenders through extortion and threats of violence against public officials and business owners.The crime groups targeted tenders in dozens of locales, including the central Israeli cities of Rishon Lezion and Netanya, as well as in Nesher, Yarka, and Jadeidi-Makr.Monday’s raid followed a similar operation in February, when police arrested 36 members of the Abu Latif ring on suspicion of using violence and intimidation to dominate state-issued tenders worth hundreds of millions of shekels.In April, police announced that state prosecutors planned to indict 12 of the 36 suspects.Police chief Danny Levy said Monday’s raid was another step in the police’s plan to tackle crime in Arab communities.“The whole point of these organizations is to cause harm in the normative world,” Levy said. “You can’t contend with a strong police force. Any organization, wherever it is, will be defeated.”Law enforcement would pursue the crime rings and bring them to justice, he said, “so that the country’s residents can get up in the morning, go to work, and return to their families without fear.”Northern District commander Meir Eliyahu likewise vowed that the police were “determined to bring security to the residents of the northern district.”“We will settle accounts with them, however long it takes and however difficult it may be,” he said.The suspects will be brought before the Nazareth District Court later on Monday, where police will request to extend their detention.Arab society has been caught in an unrelenting, deadly crime wave that has claimed the lives of 234 people since the start of 2025.

Global arms makers see record earnings as Gaza, Ukraine wars fuel demand — report-Researchers say nine out of top 100 arms firms based in Middle East and earned $31 billion last year, with three Israeli companies accounting for half the sum By AFP Today, 3:50 am-DEC 1,25

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Sales by the world’s top 100 arms makers reached a record $679 billion last year, as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza boosted demand, researchers said Monday, but production issues hampered deliveries.The figure was 5.9 percent higher than the year before, and, over the 2015-2024 period, revenues for the top 100 arms makers have risen 26% according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).“Last year global arms revenues reached the highest level ever recorded by SIPRI as producers capitalized on high demand,” Lorenzo Scarazzato, researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program, said in a statement.Jade Guiberteau Ricard, a researcher for the same program, explained to AFP that “it’s mostly driven by Europe,” although “all areas have increased except for Asia and Oceania.”Ricard said the increased demand in Europe was tied to the war in Ukraine and “the threat perception of Russia by European states.”According to SIPRI, demand from Ukraine, as well as from countries militarily supporting it and which need to replenish stockpiles, helped drive demand.Ricard added that many European countries are also now looking to expand and modernise their own militaries, “which will present a new source of demand.”Supply woes-The United States is home to 39 of the world’s top 100 arms makers, including the top three: Lockheed Martin, RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies), and Northrop Grumman.US arms makers saw their combined revenues rise 3.8% to reach $334 billion in 2024, nearly half of the world’s total.At the same time, the authors of the report noted that budget overruns and delays plague several key US-led program, like the F-35 fighter jet and the Columbia-class submarine.The 26 of the top 100 arms makers, which are based in Europe, saw aggregate revenues grow by 13% to $151 billion.Czech company Czechoslovak Group saw revenue spike by 193% — the sharpest increase of all the top 100 — reaching $3.6 billion.The company benefited from the Czech Ammunition Initiative, which provides artillery shells for Ukraine.But European arms makers are also facing difficulties in responding to the increased demand, with SIPRI noting that sourcing materials looks to become more challenging.The authors noted that Airbus and France’s Safran sourced half of their titanium from Russia before 2022 and have had to find new suppliers.Chinese export restrictions on critical minerals have led companies — such as France’s Thales and Germany’s Rheinmetall — to warn of higher costs as they restructure supply chains.Two Russian arms makers are also among the top 100, Rostec and United Shipbuilding Corporation, and they saw combined revenue rise by 23% to $31.2 billion, despite a shortfall of components due to international sanctions, as domestic demand more than compensated for falling exports.The report also noted that the Russian arms industry is struggling to find enough skilled labor “to support the projected rates of production needed to sustain Russia’s war aims.”Israeli weapons still popular-The Asia and Oceania region was the only region to see the overall revenues of the 23 companies based there go down — their combined revenues dropped 1.2% to $130 billion.But the authors stressed that the picture across Asia was varied, and the overall drop was the result of a larger drop among Chinese arms makers.“A host of corruption allegations in Chinese arms procurement led to major arms contracts being postponed or cancelled in 2024,” Nan Tian, Director of SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program, said in a statement.Tian added that the drop deepened “uncertainty” around China’s efforts to modernize its military.In contrast, Japanese and South Korean weapons makers saw their revenues increase, also driven by European demand.Meanwhile, nine of the top 100 arms companies were based in the Middle East, with combined revenues of $31 billion.The three Israeli arms companies in the ranking accounted for more than half of that, as their combined revenues grew by 16% to $16.2 billion.SIPRI researcher Zubaida Karim noted in a statement that “the growing backlash over Israel’s actions in Gaza seems to have had little impact on interest in Israeli weapons.”Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.The war in Gaza began after Hamas-led terrorists rampaged through southern communities on October 7, 2023, murdering some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Hamas commander killed trying to flee Rafah tunnel; slain IDF soldier’s rifle recovered-IDF says early-morning strike killed 4 operatives who emerged from tunnel where dozens remain trapped By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff 30 November 2025, 2:29 pm

The commander of Hamas’s East Rafah Battalion, his deputy, and two other terror operatives were confirmed by the military to have been killed early Sunday morning after attempting to flee a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.The operatives were spotted emerging from the tunnels in eastern Rafah, an IDF-held area where dozens of Hamas fighters were believed to be trapped underground.According to the military, the four operatives were killed by troops and the Israeli Air Force.In recent weeks, the IDF has reported killing over 30 terror operatives and capturing a further eight, after they tried to flee from the tunnels in Rafah. According to a prominent Hamas member in Gaza, the group estimates some 60 to 80 fighters are still holed up in the tunnels beneath the southern Gaza city.In a video circulating online, the commander of the IDF’s Nahal Brigade, Col. Arik Moyal, said his forces, with support from the Israeli Air Force, killed the local Hamas battalion commander, his deputy, a company commander, and a fourth operative he identifies as the son of senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad.Last week, IDF officers told reporters that the Hamas battalion commander and several company commanders were leading the trapped operatives.In the video, Moyal showed a Tavor assault rifle recovered from the slain terror operatives, which he said belonged to Staff Sgt. Or Mizrahi, a Nahal soldier who was killed while battling terrorists on the Gaza border during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught.“This is what happens to those who mess with us. Either they surrender, or we’ll kill them,” Moyal said.The matter of the trapped Hamas fighters has gone without resolution for nearly two months since the ceasefire went into effect in early October, as mediating countries have tried to negotiate terms for their safe passage back to Hamas-controlled areas.According to a Channel 12 report last week, Israel conveyed a proposal to Hamas the week before that would allow the operatives to leave the tunnel, as long as they surrender and agree to be transferred to Israeli prisons.Since the proposal was made, the operatives have not surrendered and have on multiple occasions emerged from tunnels in attempts to flee or attack IDF forces.Israel has resisted giving the fighters unconditional free passage and has insisted that Hamas disarm, a key piece of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.Those who have survived after months of holding out in the tunnels are thought by the IDF to be running out of supplies and starving.

IDF faces manpower crisis as fewer soldiers keen on military career, new data shows-Internal surveys show sharp drop in officers, NCOs who plan to remain in IDF, as army grapples with major personnel shortages; reservists to serve significantly less in 2026-By Emanuel FabianToday, 12:08 am-DEC 1,25

The Israel Defense Forces has been facing a major crisis in keeping career servicemembers in the military, according to statistics aired Sunday, as army officials continued to ring alarm bells about shortages among troops.According to Channel 12 news, the IDF is short of about 1,300 officers at the ranks of lieutenant and captain, and another 300 majors.The report cited internal surveys conducted by the army showing that among officers, only 63 percent are interested in staying in the military, compared with 83% in 2018. Among non-commissioned officers, the number this year stood at 37%, compared with 58% in 2018.The IDF has struggled for years to keep career soldiers in the military, as civilian work has been seen as far more lucrative and less stressful.The issue has been exacerbated recently due to burnout from the war, perceived worsening service conditions, political delegitimization, and discontent over recent appointments within IDF leadership.This month, senior officers in the IDF’s Personnel Directorate told lawmakers that some 600 career soldiers were seeking early retirement, and junior officers are being promoted early to bridge the gaps.“There are gaps. To close some of the gaps, we are promoting young people with less experience to fill the ranks,” Brig. Gen. Amir Vadmani, chief of staff at the Personnel Directorate, told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s IDF Human Resources Subcommittee.“We have a decline in the selection ratio. By 2028, we need to appoint 400 lieutenant colonels out of the 500 candidates currently available, and this will further erode by 2028. We conduct surveys and can see the trends; at all levels, we see an increase in burnout,” Vadmani said.IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the head of the Personnel Directorate, Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa and other top officers have been working on plans to address the growing crisis and prevent legislation that could further harm conditions for career soldiers.The internal survey aired days after the unveiling of a new revision of a government-backed bill regulating ultra-Orthodox draft exemptions, spearheaded by Likud MK Boaz Bismuth.Bismuth released the text of the long-awaited bill on Thursday, prompting criticism from within coalition ranks, opposition figures, and legal advisers over its removal of various provisions from a previous draft intended to ensure that those registered for yeshiva study are actually studying, as well as the cancellation of all sanctions on draft evaders when they turn 26.Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently eligible for military service, but have not enlisted. The IDF has said it urgently needs 12,000 recruits due to the strain on standing and reserve forces caused by the war against Hamas in Gaza and other military challenges.IDF says reservists to serve significantly less, train more in 2026-With the war winding down, the IDF expected that during 2026, reservists would be called up for up to 60 days of reserve duty in total, according to an updated military chart.During the first year of the war, combat soldiers served on average 136 days in reserves, and commanders served 168 days. Before the war, reservists would carry out up to 25 days of operational activity every three years, in addition to annual training.On Wednesday, the IDF’s “combat chart” was distributed to all units after it was approved by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.The chart detailed all tasks, exercises, means, and resources for all units in 2026. The IDF said the chart was formulated based on the lessons learned from the war and “a new concept of defense, alertness and readiness,” and that it would enable “meeting the many challenges.”According to the chart, reservists would be called up for around six weeks of operational activity, with additional days in reserve duty for training and organization. In total, they would be on duty for around 60 days throughout the year.“The deployment plan for reservists in 2026 reflects an increase in training days to strengthen readiness, alongside a reduction in mission days for reservists in order to ease their burden,” the military said.The IDF said that in the coming year, an effort will be made to conduct basic training as planned, and in addition, all units will undergo “dedicated training to improve readiness, which will last several weeks.”Sam Sokol contributed to this report.

Germany to return Nazi-looted artifacts to Poland at diplomatic confab-Delegation led by Merz set to hand back saintly bust and crusader manuscripts, in move expected to smooth over long-held tensions with Poland over valuables looted during WWII-By AFP and ToI Staff 30 November 2025, 10:10 pm

Germany will return valuable artifacts looted during the Second World War to Poland, local media reported Sunday.A meeting on Monday to discuss Polish-German cooperation will include the “historic return of cultural goods looted during World War II,” according to local news website Onet.pl. The Polish side described the return as having “groundbreaking character.”The artifacts are said to include a sculpture of a saint’s head stolen from Malbork Castle, a royal residence in northern Poland. The items reportedly also include documents from the Teutonic Order — a Catholic brotherhood of crusading knights active in the Middle Ages.Warsaw had been asking for the return of the Teutonic Order archives since 1948.During World War II, countless Polish artifacts, including historical archives and works of art, were looted by Nazi Germany.The issue has long caused tensions between the two countries, with conservative-nationalist Polish politicians, including President Karol Nawrocki, demanding reparations from Germany.Nawrocki, a right-wing historian who won office in August 2025, flirted with antisemitism during his campaign, vowing to fight “all the disgusting attacks” on Poland by Holocaust scholars. He had also promised to end Poland’s tradition of lighting Hanukkah candles in the presidential palace.Monday’s meeting in Berlin will involve Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as the Polish ministers of foreign affairs and defense, according to the Office of the Federal Chancellor.The leaders plan to discuss security issues, including the war in Ukraine and cooperation between the governments. Poland’s foreign ministry did not respond to AFP’s request for comment on Sunday.Poland has laws prohibiting hate speech and Holocaust denial, but it has long grappled with its role in the Holocaust and how it is memorialized.A 2018 law made it a civil offense to accuse “the Polish nation” of responsibility for crimes it prefers to blame completely on Nazi Germany, which invaded Poland in 1939, despite substantial evidence of Polish collusion.

Iran and Turkey agree to build key trade rail link along ancient Silk Road-Iranian FM says line will be strategic gateway between Asia and Europe; $1.6 billion project for 200 kilometers of track will take 3-4 years to complete-By AFP 30 November 2025, 5:35 pm

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran and Turkey have agreed to begin constructing a new joint rail link to serve as a strategic gateway between Asia and Europe, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday.The planned route, known in Iran as the Marand–Cheshmeh Soraya railway transit line and running towards Turkey’s Aralik border region, will cover around 200 kilometers (120 miles).It will cost roughly $1.6 billion and is expected to take three to four years to complete, Iranian authorities have said.Earlier this month, Iran’s transport minister Farzaneh Sadegh said the rail line would transform the southern section of what was once the Silk Road into an “all-rail corridor ensuring the continuity of the network between China and Europe.”It would also ensure “fast and cheap transport of all types of cargo with minimal stops,” she added.At a joint press conference on Saturday with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Araghchi said “emphasis was placed on the need to remove barriers to trade and investment between the two countries.”“The two countries also stressed the importance of the rail link… in the region and expressed hope that the construction of this line can start as soon as possible,” he added.The ancient Silk Road was a vast system of trade routes that for centuries linked East Asia to the Middle East and Europe, facilitating the flow of goods, culture, and knowledge across continents.In 2013, China announced the construction of the “Belt and Road Initiative,” officially known as the “New Silk Road” — a project that aims to build maritime, road, and rail infrastructure to boost global trade.Iran has been seeking to expand infrastructure and trade with neighboring countries as part of efforts to revitalize an economy strained by decades of international sanctions.

Activists dismantle Hostages’ Tent in Jerusalem-Father of last Israeli hostage in Gaza: Truce mustn’t advance until final 2 bodies returned-At what may be final weekly rally, thousands gather to demand return of Ran Gvili, Sudthisak Rinthalak; relatives denounce government Oct. 7 probe, demand independent state inquiry By Noam Lehmann and ToI Staff 30 November 2025, 2:20 am

Thousands of people gathered at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv Saturday evening for what may have been the final weekend rally calling for the release of the captives from Gaza, after more than two years of such protests.The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said earlier this week that it would be greatly narrowing its activities now that only two deceased hostages abducted on October 7, 2023, remain in Gaza: policeman Ran Gvili, killed fending off the Hamas invasion at Kibbutz Alumim; and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, who was killed in Kibbutz Be’eri, where he worked in agriculture.Amid chants of “Until the last hostage” and “It’s not right nor left, the hostages are above all else,” Ran’s father, Itzik Gvili, addressed the crowd, saying that there must “no next phase” to the current Gaza ceasefire, and “no ‘day after’ in Gaza,” until Hamas returns the last two bodies.“Hamas says it’s looking” for the bodies, Gvili said, “but we don’t see any progress. They’re messing with us, and it has to stop, now.”During the Hamas-led onslaught — in which some 1,200 were killed and 251 taken hostage — Ran and his fellow officers rushed out to confront the invading Palestinian terrorists, fighting “shoulder to shoulder, as one, out of mutual accountability and unity,” Gvili said. “They didn’t stop to check your background or where you’re from — they valiantly protected anyone who needed help.”“That was their spirit, and that’s the heritage they leave us,” said Gvili.“Now the goal is to bring our Rani back home,” he said. “Enough with the pain and open wounds — we want to get off this rollercoaster.”“It’s time to bring Sudthisak and Rani back and achieve closure,” said Gvili.A spokesperson for the Hostages Families Forum said Friday that it hasn’t yet been announced whether there will be future rallies.Also on Saturday evening, the Hostages’ Tent at the corner of Jerusalem’s Aza Road and Balfour, close to the Prime Minister’s Residence, was dismantled almost two years after it was set up in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre.The tent was dismantled following a farewell event.Jon Polin, father of slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, also spoke in English to the Tel Aviv crowd on Saturday, offering a veiled criticism of the government’s refusal to establish a state commission of inquiry into failures surrounding the Hamas onslaught.He noted that in next week’s Torah portion, Jacob wrestles with an angel who asks him what his name is, to which the patriarch answers, ‘Jacob’ — contrasting the way he had deceived his father, Isaac, by pretending to be his brother Esau.“This time, Jacob owns who he is, and he faces the dishonesty of his past,” said Polin.“Acknowledging our mistakes, speaking the truth — it can be hard. It requires courage and moral strength,” but only in so doing “can we heal our divisions and fulfill the full, tremendous potential of the people of Israel,” he noted.Eyal Eshel, father of slain surveillance soldier Roni Eshel, was more explicit.Every day that passes with the remains of hostages Gvili and Rinthalak still in Gaza “is a national disgrace,” said Eshel, adding that “instead of seeing a leadership eager to wrap up this story, we see a leadership determined to run away from it.”“The government of Israel is doing everything so that a state commission of inquiry is not established,” he said. “It’s not just fear — it’s a manipulation by the authorities.”The government voted to establish its own commission of inquiry last week, arguing that a statutory state commission of inquiry would not enjoy broad public support since its members would be selected by the Supreme Court president, whom the government views as an adversary and as the head of a judiciary it is seeking to weaken.The government claims that the new commission would seek as broad public support as possible, despite public opinion polls consistently showing strong majorities in favor of a state commission.The parameters for the government’s inquiry will be selected by a panel of ministers. It hasn’t yet been announced how the members of the commission of inquiry will be selected.“We demand a state commission — not a political one, not ‘by consensus’ and not by any other name,” said Eshel. “An investigation that will name those responsible and dismantle the mechanisms of debacle.”

US freezes all asylum decisions, visas for Afghans after National Guard shooting-Director of US immigration services says asylum approvals will be paused ‘until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible’By AP 30 November 2025, 12:03 am

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has halted all asylum decisions and paused issuing visas for people traveling on Afghan passports, seizing on the National Guard shooting in Washington to intensify efforts to rein in legal immigration.The suspect in Wednesday’s shooting near the White House that killed Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, both of the West Virginia National Guard, is facing charges including first-degree murder. Investigators are seeking to find a motive for the attack.Rahmanullah Lakanwal is a 29-year-old Afghan national who worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan War. He applied for asylum during the Biden administration and was granted it this year under President Donald Trump, according to a group that assists with the resettlement of Afghans who helped US forces in their country.The Republican administration is promising to pause entry to the United States from some poor nations and review Afghans and other legal migrants already in the country.The two service members were deployed as part of Trump’s crime-fighting mission in the District of Columbia. Trump has sent or tried to deploy National Guard members to other cities to assist with his mass deportation efforts, but has faced court challenges.The office of US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in Washington, said the charges against Lakanwal also include two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed. There were “many charges to come,” she told Fox News.Trump said the shooting was a “terrorist attack” and he criticized the Biden administration for enabling entry to the US by Afghans who had worked with American forces.The director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Joseph Edlow, said in a post on the social platform X that asylum decisions will be paused “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”Experts say the US has rigorous systems to conduct background checks of asylum-seekers. Asylum claims made from inside the country through USCIS have long faced backlogs. Critics say the slowdown has been exacerbated under the Republican administration.Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his department has paused “visa issuance for ALL individuals traveling on Afghan passports.”Shawn VanDiver, president of the San Diego-based group #AfghanEvac, said in response: “They are using a single violent individual as cover for a policy they have long planned, turning their own intelligence failures into an excuse to punish an entire community and the veterans who served alongside them.”The suspect-Lakanwal lived in Bellingham, Washington, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, former landlord Kristina Widman said.Neighbor Mohammad Sherzad said Lakanwal was polite and quiet and spoke little English.Sherzad said he attended the same mosque as Lakanwal and heard from other members that he was struggling to find work. He said Lakanwal “disappeared” about two weeks ago.Lakanwal worked briefly this summer as an independent contractor for Amazon Flex, which lets people use their own cars to deliver packages, according to a company spokesperson.Investigators were executing warrants in Washington state and other parts of the country.Lakanwal entered the US in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that resettled Afghans after the US withdrawal, officials said. Lakanwal applied for asylum during that administration, but his asylum was approved this year under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement.Lakanwal served in a CIA-backed Afghan Army unit, known as one of the special Zero Units, in the southern province of Kandahar, according to a resident of the eastern province of Khost who identified himself as Lakanwal’s cousin and spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.The man said Lakanwal started out working for the unit as a security guard in 2012 and was later promoted to become a team leader and a GPS specialist.Beckstrom ‘exemplified leadership, dedication’Beckstrom enlisted in 2023 after graduating high school and served with distinction as a military police officer with the 863rd Military Police Company, the West Virginia National Guard said.“She exemplified leadership, dedication and professionalism,” the guard said in a statement, adding that Beckstrom volunteered for the deployment in Washington.There was a moment of silence Saturday for Beckstrom and Wolfe before West Virginia University’s football game against Texas Tech in Morgantown.The administration has ordered 500 more National Guard members to Washington. An Army spokesperson said several governors were planning to support the operation and that specific troop announcements would come from their offices. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the president had asked him to send the troops.Nearly 2,200 troops are currently assigned to the joint task force that has operated in the city since August, according to the government’s latest update.

Ahead of Lebanon visit, Hezbollah urges Pope Leo to reject Israeli ‘aggression’Terror group sends message to pontiff who will arrive in Beirut on Sunday, saying that it is committed to peace, but rejects calls to disarm-By Agencies 29 November 2025, 2:18 pm

The Hezbollah terror group on Saturday urged Pope Leo XIV to reject Israeli “injustice and aggression” against Lebanon, in a message to the pontiff who arrives in Beirut this weekend.Hezbollah emerged heavily weakened from more than a year of hostilities culminating in two months of open war with Israel that began when the Iran-backed group started cross-border attacks against Israel a day after the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught in southern Israel that sparked the Gaza war.A ceasefire a year ago was supposed to end the hostilities, but Israel has kept up regular strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, saying that it was targeting efforts by the terror group to rearm and establish itself in violation of the truce. Israel has also maintained troops in five southern Lebanon locations it deems strategic.Under heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, the government has committed to disarming Hezbollah, a move the group has rejected.“We in Hezbollah take advantage of the occasion of your auspicious visit to our country Lebanon to reaffirm from our side our commitment to coexistence,” read Hezbollah’s message to the pope, published on the group’s social media channels on Saturday.But it also affirmed the group’s commitment to “standing with our army and our people to face any aggression and occupation of our land and our country,” adding that what Israel “is doing in Lebanon is unacceptable ongoing aggression.”“We rely on your holiness’s stance in rejecting the injustice and aggression our nation of Lebanon is subjected to at the hands of the Zionist invaders and their supporters,” the statement added.In a speech on Friday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem welcomed Leo’s upcoming visit to Lebanon, saying he had tasked members of the group with delivering a letter to the pontiff that would also be published in the media.He insisted his group has respected the November 2024 ceasefire and called for an end to persistent Israeli strikes on the country.“Do you expect there to be a war later? It’s possible at some point, yes, that possibility exists,” Qassem said, referring to increased fears in Lebanon of a renewed, broader war.After visiting Turkey, Leo is due to arrive in Lebanon on Sunday for a three-day trip that includes an open-air mass at Beirut’s waterfront, which organizers expect to draw 120,000 people, as well as an interreligious meeting in the city center.Qassem said Friday that “we welcome this visit at this pivotal moment, and we pray that the Holy Father will contribute to spreading peace in Lebanon, liberating it, ending the (Israeli) aggression, and standing by it and by the oppressed, as we have always known him to do.”Israel last week killed the group’s military commander, Haytham Ali Tabatabai.Tabatabai was the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel since the truce, and was said to be a key part of the terror group’s efforts to rebuild following the devastating losses it suffered in the war.The Israeli army said Tabatabai was a “veteran and central operative in the terror organization,” after joining its ranks in the 1980s and holding several senior roles, including the commander of the elite Radwan Force and head of Hezbollah’s operations in Syria.

Report: IDF mulling expanded op in Syria, checking whether Sharaa’s forces fired on troops-TV report says Israel believes some of those planning attacks against IDF and Druze work for Syrian intelligence-By ToI Staff 29 November 2025, 6:04 am

The military is considering an expanded operation in southern Syria if it finds that Syrian government forces were involved in gunfire at soldiers during an arrest operation in Syria’s south early Friday morning, Channel 13 said in an unsourced report.According to the network, the Israel Defense Forces could transition to conducting fewer arrest operations against terror operatives active near the border and instead increase airstrikes to eliminate targets.Kan news reported that Israel has identified that some of those planning attacks against IDF soldiers and the Druze community in southern Syria work for the Syrian government’s intelligence forces. It was unclear from the report to what degree they are involved with the government and whether their actions against Israel are known to Syrian authorities.The IDF said troops came under fire early Friday morning in the Syrian village of Beit Jinn, some seven kilometers (4.3 miles) east of the border, after they detained two members of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) terror organization, acting on intelligence information collected in recent weeks indicating that the two brothers were planning attacks on Israel.The military said the troops returned fire, and the Israeli Air Force also provided support with strikes from helicopters and drones. Fighter jets also conducted several strikes on predetermined targets, the IDF said.Six Israeli soldiers were wounded, three of them seriously.According to Syrian media, at least 13 people were killed by the Israeli strikes. The military said that it had killed several gunmen in the fighting, without specifying a number.Additionally, during the clash, a Syrian suspect who ran toward the Israeli forces was detained.The operation came as Israel is reportedly preparing for the possibility of attacks from Syria, either from Syrian troops or terror operatives.Syria condemned the operation as a “war crime.”“Syria denounces… the criminal aggression” of the IDF, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that such acts aim to “ignite the region” in conflict.The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria for nearly a year, since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024. They are mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries. Two posts are on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers (nine miles) inside Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya is a Sunni faction that forms part of the broader Muslim Brotherhood political network.The armed wing of the group, the al-Fajr Forces, established in the 1980s, repeatedly targeted Israel from Lebanon amid the war last year with Hezbollah, often working in conjunction with the Shiite Lebanese terror group.Amid the war, the IDF said it struck members of the group as well as its infrastructure in both Lebanon and Syria.The IDF said the group also closely cooperates with Hamas in both Lebanon and Syria, and maintains military sites in southern Lebanon and infrastructure along the Syria-Lebanon border and in the Beit Jinn area.Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.

Taiwan says test flights of US fighter jets to start this month.

Taipei, Dec 1 (AFP) Dec 01, 2025-Test flights of US F-16V fighter jets built for Taiwan will start this month, a Taiwanese Air Force official said Monday, but warned of "very serious delays" in delivery.The $8 billion deal for 66 warplanes was approved during US President Donald Trump's first term in the White House, with delivery scheduled for 2026.Speaking in parliament, Air Force Chief of Staff Lee Ching-jan said flight tests of the new fighters would be carried out "earlier" than planned this month."For now, 54 aircraft have entered the assembly line, compared with 50 in October. The progress is being accelerated," Lee said.Defence Minister Wellington Koo said last month that Lockheed Martin, the US defence contractor building the jets, had ramped up production, running two shifts every weekday."There are 50 aircraft on the assembly line at the same time, and some airframes have already completed structural assembly," Koo said.But Koo said it would be "challenging" for all the aircraft to be delivered in 2026.Taiwan is seeking to strengthen its defences to deter China, which claims the democratic island is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it.The F-16V -- a fourth-generation multi-role fighter -- is a significantly upgraded version of Taiwan's ageing F-16 A/B jets. Taiwan completed upgrades of 141 older F-16s to the V standard in late 2023.The United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but Washington remains Taipei's most important backer and biggest arms supplier.It has sold billions of dollars in weapons to Taiwan -- including fighter jets, missiles, and warships -- as part of its commitment to help the island maintain sufficient self-defence capabilities.

Trump says will 'look into' supposed follow-on strike on alleged drug boat.

Washington, Dec 1 (AFP) Dec 01, 2025-President Donald Trump said Sunday he would look into reports that the US military conducted a follow-up strike on a boat in the Caribbean that it believed to be ferrying drugs, killing survivors of an initial missile attack.Trump also said he "wouldn't have wanted" a second strike on the vessel from the incident on September 2 -- the first publicized operation in a series of attacks in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that Washington says are aimed at combatting the drug trade.In that incident, the US military saw two survivors of an initial strike clinging to the burning vessel, and proceeded to strike the boat again, The Washington Post reported.Prior to the operation, the troops had been given a directive from US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to kill everyone on board, The Washington Post and CNN both reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the operation."The order was to kill everybody," one of the sources told the Post.Trump defended Hegseth, telling reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday: "I'm going to find out about it, but Pete said he did not order the death of those two men." When asked if he would have wanted a second attempt to kill the survivors, Trump said: "We'll look into it, but no, I wouldn't have wanted that -- not a second strike. The first strike was very lethal."Hegseth has dismissed the reports as "fake news."Since September, US air strikes have targeted alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least 83 people.Trump's administration has offered no concrete evidence to back up the allegations behind its campaign, and numerous experts have questioned the legality of the operations.UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk has urged Washington to investigate the strikes' legality, saying there was "strong evidence" they constitute "extrajudicial" killings.The top Republican and Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers and Adam Smith, said in a statement Saturday that they were "taking bipartisan action to gather a full accounting of the operation in question."Their Senate counterparts issued a similar statement late Friday.Late Sunday, Hegseth posted a mockup cover of a book featuring the children's character Franklin the Turtle, entitled "Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists."The turtle, wearing a US military vest, is shooting from a helicopter at boats crewed with armed men."For your Christmas wish list," he wrote on his personal account on X.

Niger says putting its uranium on international market.

Niamey, Niger, Nov 30 (AFP) Nov 30, 2025-Niger's military regime on Sunday announced it was putting uranium produced by Somair -- a subsidiary of French giant Orana before the regime nationalised it in June -- on the international market.Uranium mining in Niger is at the centre of a standoff between the junta that took power in 2023 and Orano, which is 90-percent owned by the French government and has operated mines in Niger for decades.The news was announced on state television Tele Sahel in a report Sunday evening citing comments by head of the junta General Abdourahamane Tiani.Tiani, the report said, had claimed "Niger's legitimate right to dispose of its natural riches to sell them to whoever wants to buy them, under the rules of the market, in complete independence".Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said in July that Moscow wanted to mine uranium in Niger.Since the junta took power in a 2023 coup, Niger has turned to Russia, which commands the world's largest arsenal of atomic weapons, for help in fighting the west African country's jihadist insurgency.At the same time it has turned its back on former colonial power France, which it accused of supporting separatist groups.In 2024, Niger removed Orano's operational control of its three main mines in the country: Somair, Cominak and Imouraren, which has one of the largest uranium deposits in the world.Orano officially retains a 60 percent stake in the subsidiaries, and has undertaken various arbitration procedures to try to win back operational control.Niger in 2022 accounted for about a quarter of the natural uranium supplied to European nuclear power plants, according to data from the atomic organisation Euratom.

Faraday Effect Reveals Magnetic Role of Light in New Study by Sophie Jenkins.

London, UK (SPX) Nov 20, 2025-Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have established that the magnetic field component of light actively influences the Faraday Effect. The team, led by Dr. Amir Capua and Benjamin Assouline of the Institute of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, provided theoretical proof that the oscillating magnetic field of light contributes directly to the Faraday Effect, challenging a long-standing assumption that only the electric field has influence.Dr. Capua explained, "It's an interaction between light and magnetism. The static magnetic field twists the light, and the light, in turn, reveals the magnetic properties of the material. What we've found is that the magnetic part of light has a first-order effect, it's surprisingly active in this process."The researchers used the Landau - Lifshitz - Gilbert equation to demonstrate that the magnetic field of light can induce magnetic torque inside a material similar to a static magnetic field. Their calculations indicate that in Terbium Gallium Garnet, the magnetic field of light is responsible for about 17 percent of polarization rotation observed in the visible spectrum and up to 70 percent at infrared wavelengths.Benjamin Assouline noted, "Our results show that light talks to matter not only through its electric field, but also through its magnetic field, a component that has been largely overlooked until now."This research suggests new possibilities for optics, magnetism, spintronics, optical data storage, and light-based magnetic control. Additionally, it may advance future technologies involving spin-based quantum computing.

Aerodata debuts AeroForce X MALE UAV for long endurance ISR missions by Robert Schreiber.

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Nov 28, 2025-Braunschweig-based Aerodata AG has developed the AeroForce X, a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle system designed to support armed forces in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions and to enhance force protection. The system targets missions that require improved situational awareness, rapid response, and sustained operational presence.AeroForce X is intended to provide value across the full mission chain, from ISR tasks to electronic reconnaissance and flights with heavy payloads. Its design combines a high payload capacity with long endurance to extend mission range and improve effectiveness.The air vehicle is planned for flight durations of up to 40 hours, with a maximum take-off weight under 5 tonnes and a payload capacity of up to 1.3 tonnes. These parameters allow the platform to support complex, extended operations and a broad set of mission profiles.AeroForce X is built around a modular architecture that supports multiple configurations for different operational scenarios. Networked operation with other systems, including manned reconnaissance aircraft, enables cooperative missions intended to increase efficiency and targeting precision.A key feature of the program is that AeroForce X is developed without ITAR-controlled components, making it available to international customers without U.S. export restrictions. Aerodata positions the aircraft as an option for partners who require a MALE system that can be integrated without U.S. regulatory constraints."With AeroForce X, we offer a tailor-made, rapidly available solution that meets the increasing demands of modern surveillance and reconnaissance missions - especially when it comes to protecting critical infrastructure," explains Neset Tukenmez, CEO of Aerodata AG. "Our platform integrates state-of-the-art sensor and mission system technology and guarantees maximum precision and reliability in the most demanding operational scenarios."The AeroForce X is developed and manufactured entirely in Germany, in line with German aerospace quality and safety standards. Aerodata has scheduled initial ground tests and flight trials for 2026 as the program moves from development toward operational readiness.Aerodata plans to showcase AeroForce X alongside other unmanned and manned airborne surveillance products at the Dubai Airshow from 17 to 21 November 2025. Visitors can obtain further technical details and discuss potential applications of the system at booth 639 during the event.

Children among 4 dead in birthday party mass shooting, California police say-Police asking public for help in identifying a possible suspect-The Associated Press · Posted: Nov 30, 2025 3:36 PM EST | 

Authorities in California asked the public for tips on Sunday in finding the person responsible for a shooting that left four people dead, three of them children, at a family gathering at a banquet hall in Stockton and wounded many more.Three children — ages 8, 9 and 14 — and a 21-year-old were killed Saturday when gunfire broke out at the banquet hall, where at least 100 people were gathered, San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow said.Detectives believe the gunfire continued outside and there may have been multiple shooters.Eleven people were also wounded, with at least one in critical condition, Withrow said. He urged anyone with information to contact his office with tips, cellphone video or witness accounts.Three people are shown working behind police tape, with several yellow, numbered markers on the ground which detail apparent evidence."This is a time for our community to show that we will not put up with this type of behaviour, when people will just walk in and kill children," Withrow said. "And so if you know anything about this, you have to come forward and tell us what you know. If not, you just become complacent and think this is acceptable behaviour."A sheriff's office spokesperson, Heather Brent, said earlier that investigators believe it was a "targeted incident." Officials did not elaborate on why authorities believe it was intentional or who might have been targeted.Adult victim ID'd by relative-Mayor Christina Fugazi told reporters that the eight-year-old victim attended a local school and had a parent who worked for the Stockton Unified School District. The mayor said counsellors would be available this week at city schools.She expressed anguish over the loss of victims so young."They should be writing their Christmas lists right now. Their parents should be out shopping for them for Christmas. And to think that their lives are over. I can't even begin to imagine what these families are going through. Breaks my heart," Fugazi said Sunday.Emmanuel Lopez told the Los Angeles Times that his brother, 21-year-old Susano Archuleta, was shot in the neck and died at the scene.Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said early indications suggest the shooting may have been a “targeted incident.” Police are still searching for the shooting suspect.The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. inside the hall, which shares a parking lot with other businesses.Stockton is a city of 320,000, about 65 kilometres south of Sacramento. With 54 homicides in 2024, Stockton's homicide rate was significantly higher than the state average. As of October, there had been 34 killings this year, according to city data.

Flights, trains canceled in Italy as activists rally against government’s Israel support-Thunberg, UN’s Albanese join the one-day general strike against so-called war budget; activists block access to Italian defense company offices, are dispersed by water cannon By Agencies and ToI Staff 28 November 2025, 10:25 pm

Strikes and protests in Italy on Friday against the government’s support for Israel and increased military spending caused the cancellation of dozens of flights and disrupted train services around the country.Hundreds of protesters marched in Turin, many waving Palestinian flags, and another march in Genoa was attended by UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian rights Francesca Albanese and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who joined two anti-Israel flotillas that attempted to reach Gaza earlier this year, also participated in the protests.Demonstrators held signs calling for “Free Mohammed Shahin,” referring to an imam who is slated to be deported from Italy after calling Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack an “act of resistance” at a rally on the massacre’s anniversary.The one-day action was called by the hardline USB union along with smaller worker organizations.Recent years have seen the emergence of the USB as an aggressive grass-roots union which is challenging the traditional dominance of the three main confederations, the left-wing CGIL and the centrist CISL and UIL.In a video published earlier this month, Albanese, who has a history of antisemitic and anti-Israel comments, declared that the “genocide” in Gaza is ongoing and urged Italians to take part in the strike.Due to the strikes, Milan’s Malpensa canceled at least 27 flights, while Bologna scrapped at least 17. Other affected airports include Milan’s Linate, Naples and Venice. Italy’s flagship carrier ITA Airways said it had canceled 26 domestic flights due to the strikes.Train cancellations were announced in the main stations of Rome, Turin, Milan and Genoa and protests prevented trains from stopping at the smaller Milan station of Lambrate.Urban public transport services were disrupted in Rome and several other cities.In Venice, activists blocked access to the offices of Italian defense group Leonardo before they were dispersed by police via water cannon.The USB has organized another national day of protest on Saturday against what it calls Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s “war budget,” saying the 2026 financial bill favors military spending over much-needed investment in health, education and welfare.Meloni, in power since 2022, has called the budget “serious, balanced and responsible,” pointing to its income tax cuts for middle-earners, which she says can help Italy’s sluggish economy.The more mainstream CGIL, Italy’s largest union, has announced a nationwide strike of its own members over the budget on December 12.

Trump declares all orders signed by autopen under Biden ‘terminated’Legal commentator says president has right to revoke executive orders but nothing else-By AFP 29 November 2025, 2:56 am

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said Friday that all documents signed by autopen under Joe Biden were “terminated,” in a legally uncertain move as the US president escalated a favorite attack line against his predecessor.Trump has often sought to drum up outrage over Biden’s alleged use of autopen to sign pardons, executive orders and other documents — accusing Biden of being too senile to govern while in power.“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect,” Trump said on social media.“I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally.”Various autopen systems have been used by previous presidents, but Trump has said their use under Biden proves the then-president was mentally incapacitated and not in control of the White House.Biden was 82 when he left office, while Trump is 79 and due to leave office in January 2029.Conservative legal commentator Ed Whelan said on social media that Trump was free to revoke executive orders whether or not Biden personally signed them.“But he doesn’t have the same freedom with respect to ‘anything else’ (e.g., bills enacted by Congress, pardons) that Biden directed be signed by autopen.”The Justice Department in 2005 said the president does not need to sign a bill by hand and can direct an official “to affix the president’s signature to such a bill, for example by autopen.”In 2011, The New York Times reported that Barack Obama had become the first president to sign a bill by autopen while in Europe. Paper versions are still sometimes flown to the president for signing.In his last days in office, Biden issued pardons for people targeted by Trump — including Biden’s own son, lawmakers who probed Trump, a military general who had criticized Trump and the country’s top Covid expert.

Sagit Alkobi Fishman-Do Muslim women who cover their faces cut off communication? Religious freedom in the public square is vital, but in the classroom, the 'niqab' gets in the way of dialogue by masking facial expressions-Nov 28, 2025, 7:45 PM

In November 2025, the Adalah Center, which advocates for the rights of the Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel, filed a lawsuit in the Tel Aviv District Court against Bar-Ilan University. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Hala Odeh, an optometry student who was prevented from continuing her studies after she began wearing a niqab, a face covering that leaves only the eyes visible. Odeh was admitted to her program wearing a hijab, a head covering that leaves the face visible, but during her studies, she switched to a niqab. The university refused to accept the change.Odeh claimed a violation of religious freedom – a right grounded in Israel’s Basic Law. The university pointed to pedagogical and security concerns. Yet both frames miss the deeper question. Beyond law and religion lies the basic structure of human encounter: what kind of communication is possible when one participant sees everyone, but allows no one to see her? The niqab is a model of presence in which one side reads the facial expressions of those around her, but they cannot read hers. In a classroom, where discourse is conducted through facial expressions, gestures, a smile of understanding, a raised eyebrow, or a frown of confusion – concealing the face is not a minor detail. Communication becomes asymmetric: not “discomfort,” but a structural gap. There is also a paradox here: the niqab says “I am here” and “I am not here” simultaneously – a presence that refuses to be present, at least not conventionally.And there is a surprising reversal in the question of objectification: the traditional argument holds that the niqab protects women from the objectifying gaze. But one can also ask the opposite – does concealing the face not turn those present into objects? The one who covers her face sees others, reads them, responds to them – but does not allow them to do the same.The distinction between head covering and face covering exists in the Muslim world as well. In Egypt, Cairo University banned the niqab in classrooms starting in 2015, arguing that it hinders pedagogical discourse. In Tunisia, a ban was introduced in public institutions in 2019. In Syria, even before the civil war, the niqab was banned for teachers and students. In Kyrgyzstan, a Muslim-majority country, a law banning clothing that impedes identification in public spaces came into effect in February 2025. The distinction between head covering and face covering is not exclusively Western; it also rests on the plurality of interpretations within the Islamic tradition itself.The lawsuit filed by Adalah claims that there was no actual academic difficulty resulting from wearing the niqab, and that other institutions in Israel allow it. These are claims worth examining. But even if no concrete problem arose in this case, the principled question remains: can a space where communication is central forgo basic reciprocity of visibility?This is not an examination of the possibility of a blanket ban as in France, where over a decade ago, face covering was banned in all public spaces. The European Court of Human Rights upheld the ban in 2014, in the name of “living together” as a legitimate value. In ordinary public space – street, market, square – the freedom to wear a niqab should be protected in the name of religious freedom, just as the freedom to walk around with a hat, wig, and sunglasses that conceal no less should be protected in the name of individual liberty. The question arises specifically in spaces where face-to-face communication is an essential part of the activity itself.This discussion is not a feminist debate about whether the niqab oppresses or liberates women. The feminist debate is important, but it is not decisive here – even if we assume that this is an entirely free choice, the question of reciprocity in communication and the possibility of dialogue in a shared space remains.Where does the boundary lie? Between full exposure and full covering there is a spectrum, and there is no “natural point” where exposure begins or ends. Any boundary will be somewhat arbitrary. But arbitrariness is not a contradiction to rationality – traffic laws and dress codes in courtrooms are also arbitrary in a sense but were established to protect shared conditions of operation.And precisely because the boundary is somewhat arbitrary, a uniform policy must be formulated. If each institution improvises alone, every case becomes a personal confrontation, and every argument devolves into identity politics. The point is not what this or that institution chose to do, but why bodies like the Council for Higher Education have no clear policy on the matter. The issue also requires legal regulation at the national level, one that distinguishes between different spaces according to their conditions of operation.One can imagine a future in which communication takes place even without facial visibility, as we experienced during COVID. Questions of identification and security, incidentally, are technical issues. They can be regulated, as is done in other countries, through one-time identity verification or a separate space where a female student identifies herself before a woman. But in the present, in spaces where communication is central – like a classroom – there are conventions.Conventions are not laws of nature, but neither are they entirely arbitrary: they are the framework conditions that allow shared activity to take place. An equal encounter requires reciprocity, a minimal degree of visibility that enables response, without objectifying the individual or those around her.Religious freedom remains vital – in the street, the market, the public square. But in spaces built for dialogue, policy must also protect the conditions that make it possible.

Analysis-Fewer and fewer Americans support Israel. Will their next president? 2028 is three long years away, but with criticism of Israel, antisemitism and isolationism rising, US candidates may be turning away from the longtime alliance Ben Sales-By Ben Sales 30 November 2025, 3:37 pm

About a month ago, as JD Vance was fresh off a trip to Israel, a young man at the University of Mississippi asked him why the US still supported the Jewish state.Wearing a Make America Great Again hat, the man accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing in Gaza,” then drew applause when he added, “Not only does their religion not agree with ours, but also openly supports the prosecution of ours.”An American vice president of a different era may have rebutted the age-old canard that Judaism supports the “prosecution” of Christianity, or at least noted that the US is a multifaith democracy where Jews are equal citizens, before reiterating that Israel is and has long been a staunch ally.Vance did none of that. Instead, he stressed that Israel was not “controlling” President Donald Trump and boasted that Trump achieved the Gaza ceasefire by “being willing to apply leverage” on Israel. He added, “What I am not okay with is any country coming before the interests of American citizens.”Weeks earlier, Vance’s predecessor, Kamala Harris, was asked by an ABC reporter whether Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. The Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominee answered that she deferred to the courts. But she cited the high civilian death toll in Gaza before saying, “We should all step back and ask this question and be honest about it, yeah.”Harris came close to becoming president last year. Vance may well take the White House in 2028. And they are not alone.Two months ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump Israel’s “greatest friend.” But as the Democratic Party becomes increasingly critical of Israel, the Republican Party becomes increasingly isolationist, and antisemitism spreads on the American left and right, it’s becoming more and more plausible that the next US president will not be pro-Israel — at least as the term has long been understood.Some caveats are in order: Predicting the next US presidential election three years in advance is a fool’s errand. Few people saw Barack Obama coming in 2005, much less Donald Trump in 2013. It’s likewise impossible to divine where Israel will be in three years, or what exactly “supporting it” will mean.But it’s safe to say that gone are the days when the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees would both be willing to ascend the stage at AIPAC’s once-massive annual Washington conference to declare their support for Israel. That happened as recently as 2016. Tellingly, it’s been five years since AIPAC has even held the conference, which belonged to a bygone era of almost wall-to-wall bipartisan US support for Israel.Now, the Republican Party is all about “America First” — which is coming with a large dose of opposition to foreign aid. The Democrats’ latest star politician, meanwhile, is incoming New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, a longtime, dyed-in-the-wool anti-Israel activist who doesn’t accept its legitimacy as a Jewish state.As those and other US politicians on both sides of the aisle accuse Israel of genocide, or call for America to pull back its foreign aid, they’re just following their voters, many of whom have turned against Israel after two years of devastating war in Gaza.In 2016, when Hillary Clinton and Trump spoke at AIPAC, Gallup found that 62 percent of Americans were sympathetic to the Israelis versus 15% to the Palestinians. That gap has now narrowed to 46% versus 33% — the first time the poll found less than half of Americans expressing sympathy for Israelis.In August, 50% of registered US voters said Israel was committing genocide, another poll found. According to yet another, about equal numbers support Israel and the Palestinians, with 40% saying Israel is intentionally killing civilians.The numbers are especially stark among Democrats, 59% of whom sympathize with the Palestinians, versus just 21% with the Israelis. Just 11% of Democrats said Israel was not committing genocide in Gaza.“There has to be a total mindset change in the Democratic Party,” Tommy Vietor, who served as an aide to former US president Barack Obama, said this summer on Pod Save America, a popular Democratic podcast.“When the war ends, we are not going back to the pre-October 7 status quo,” he continued. “Because it’s not where the party is, it’s not where the world is. We’re not going to shovel billions a year in military aid. We’re not going to veto every effort to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN.”Even among Republicans, the trend lines look dim for Israel: A Brookings poll found that half of GOP voters ages 18-49 — in other words, the voters of the next 25 years and more — view Israel unfavorably.“Conservatives — Jewish, Christian, and agnostic — who support Israel are going to have to think very hard about how to proceed,” wrote Rod Dreher, a leading American Christian conservative, in a recent Substack post about the growth of young Republican antisemitism that has made the rounds in Jewish and pro-Israel social media forums.Much of the post is about the return of fascist sympathies and classic, Nazi-inflected Jew-hatred. In it, Dreher implies that Vance needs to do more than he has to marginalize the influence of antisemites like Nick Fuentes among conservatives.Support for Israel has collapsed among the young, and it’s not coming back anytime soon. This is the political reality we have to deal with. We can’t wish it away, or cancel it awayDreher makes clear, however, that pro-Israel sentiment is fading, too. “Support for Israel has collapsed among the young, and it’s not coming back anytime soon,” he wrote. “This is the political reality we have to deal with. We can’t wish it away, or cancel it away.”This is also the political reality Vance, Harris and other politicians are responding to. Of course, they and a slew of other presidential hopefuls would probably describe themselves as pro-Israel. Vance has stood behind Trump’s policy on Israel, and he appeared to get on well with Netanyahu during his visit.Harris likewise did not disavow Israel during the campaign, despite pressure to do so, and was herself once an AIPAC speaker. Her Democratic Convention famously did not allow a pro-Palestinian activist to speak from the main stage.But what “pro-Israel” means in American politics is up for debate.Not too long ago, in the US, “pro-Israel” meant supporting foreign aid to Israel as “sacrosanct,” giving Jerusalem diplomatic cover at the UN, supporting its right to self-defense and at least feigning a good working relationship with the prime minister and IDF top brass. Paeans to the “ironclad” alliance and “special relationship” were once commonplace, along with pledges of “no daylight” between the sides.So while the next president may favor Israel in a variety of ways, it’s also increasingly possible to imagine a presidential candidate from either party departing from more than one of those principles. “No daylight” between Vance and Netanyahu? An assured UN veto from a Democratic White House? Continued billions in aid from either party? Again, three years is a long time. There may be a different prime minister in Jerusalem. Passions may cool from the last two years of war, trauma and antisemitism. A traditional pro-Israel candidate, in the mold of Republicans Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio, or the Democratic Josh Shapiro, may yet be their party’s standard-bearer.It may still happen. But is it a sure thing? Far from it.

NETANYAHU I BELIEVE WILL BE PARDONED. I BELIEVE GOD IS USING TRUMP AND NETANYAHU TO REBUILD THE 3RD TEMPLE.

ExplainerAt stake: The justice system, and Netanyahu’s hold on power-What to know about Netanyahu’s request for a pardon in his corruption trial-President has broad discretion, but a pardon before conviction ‘threatens the rule of law,’ says democracy think tank, and Netanyahu is still insisting he’s innocent By AP 30 November 2025, 11:49 pm

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested a pardon from the president during his trial on corruption charges that has long divided the country. The request was met with indignation Sunday by opposition politicians and government watchdogs, but some Israelis signaled support and indicated it is time to move on.The president’s office called the request “extraordinary,” with “significant implications.” At stake is the reputation of Israel’s justice system, as well as Netanyahu’s hold on power.Here’s what to know.The charges-Netanyahu is the only sitting prime minister in Israel’s history to stand trial. He is charged with fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes in three separate cases, which accuse him of exchanging favors with wealthy political supporters, including a telecom company, a Hollywood producer, and a newspaper publisher.The Justice Ministry announced the indictments in the three cases in 2019, after years of investigations, and the trial began in May 2020.Netanyahu rejects the allegations and has described the case as a witch hunt orchestrated by the media, police, and judiciary.He has repeatedly requested postponements of his testimony, citing diplomatic engagements or security issues around Israel’s wars in the past two years with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. He has not been convicted of anything.Earlier delays in the trial were caused in part by years of political crisis that gridlocked Israel, with Netanyahu returning to office in late 2022.The delays have angered many Israelis, including some parents of hostages long held in Gaza, who accused Netanyahu of drawing out the war with Hamas as part of efforts to stay in office.Netanyahu’s argument-The prime minister has portrayed himself in the trial as the victim of a “deep state” conspiracy trying to oust him.He said his pardon request would help unify Israel at a time of momentous change in the Middle East, and asserted that an “immediate conclusion of the trial would greatly help to lower the flames and promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs.”Some government ministers, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, expressed support for his request.Just weeks ago, US President Donald Trump publicly urged Israel to pardon Netanyahu, turning to President Isaac Herzog during his speech to Israel’s parliament last month. Earlier this month, Trump also sent a letter to Herzog calling the corruption case “political, unjustified prosecution.”Netanyahu mentioned Trump’s request in his statement on Sunday.Herzog is a former political rival of Netanyahu, but the men have a good working relationship. In the past, Herzog said he believed the best way to end this legal chapter would be through a settlement between prosecutors and Netanyahu’s lawyers.Many Israelis are sensitive to issues involving Netanyahu and the law. Shortly after forming his current government in late 2022, the prime minister launched a plan to overhaul the justice system. That sparked huge anti-government protests as opponents accused him of trying to weaken the system of checks and balances and having a conflict of interest while he himself was on trial.The plan was revived earlier this year, after being put on hold after the outbreak of the war in Gaza.The criticism-Opponents of the pardon request said it could weaken democratic institutions and send a dangerous message that some people in Israel are above the law.“He basically says, ‘I’m completely innocent; I’m sure that I can prove this innocence, but not for my own interest, for the country’s interest, I’m requesting this pardon,’” said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute. “So there is no assumption of responsibility whatsoever, and this might project a problematic message to all public figures as to what our public norms might look like.”Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu cannot be granted a pardon “without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and an immediate retirement from political life.”Legal experts said the pardon request cannot stop the trial. The only way to stop it is to ask the attorney general to withhold the proceedings, said Emi Palmor, former director general of the Justice Ministry.What’s next-The pardon request will be sent to the Justice Ministry for opinions and then transferred to the legal adviser in the Office of the President, who will formulate additional opinions.Experts said the president has broad discretion to grant pardons, and oversight is limited.However, “as a rule, the president reviews a pardon request only after all legal proceedings have ended. The possibility of a pre-conviction pardon… is extremely rare,” the Israel Democracy Institute wrote earlier this month. “A pardon before conviction, while legal proceedings are ongoing, threatens the rule of law and seriously undermines the principle of equality before the law.”

Bennett: I support pardoning Netanyahu if it’s conditioned on his leaving politics-NOV 30,25

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett says he will support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a pardon if it is conditioned on the premier’s retirement from politics.“In recent years, the State of Israel has been led into chaos and to the brink of a civil war that threatens the very existence of the state,” Bennett writes on X.“In order to rescue Israel from the chaos, I will support a binding arrangement that includes a respectful retirement from political life alongside the end of the trial,” he says. “That way, we can let it go, unite, and rebuild the state together.”A Bennett- and Yair Lapid-led coalition unseated Netanyahu as prime minister for 18 months from mid-2021, before a Netanyahu-led bloc won the elections in November 2022. Opinion polls consistently indicate that a Bennett-led party and bloc would be best-placed to defeat Netanyahu and his allies in the next elections, which must be held by next October.

Analysis-As Trump and Saudi prince heat up ties, Israel normalization left out in the cold-MBS notched important gains in Washington, rehabilitating Riyadh after it was sidelined by Israel and Qatar and likely stiffening the kingdom’s price for joining the Abraham Accords By Lazar Berman-Today, 2:51 am-DEC 1,25

Sitting alongside the US president, the gold trim of his robes matching the molding of  Donald Trump’s Oval Office, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman radiated regal confidence.Smiling easily, the kingdom’s 40-year-old de facto leader delighted Trump by announcing a nearly $1 trillion investment in the US economy. Trump patted the powerful Saudi prince’s shoulder repeatedly, and angrily defended the royal known as MBS in the face of hostile questions about his record from the Washington press corps.Yet behind the elaborate trappings, the warm physical contact, and the smiles, it was an uneasy MBS who visited the White House on November 18. His grand economic plans, on which he is staking the future of the kingdom, are nowhere close to where he wants them to be. The kingdom finds itself on the back foot while Saudi Arabia’s rivals are driving events in the Middle East.MBS came to Washington to try to reassert the oil-rich kingdom’s position in a region that’s been leaving it behind, and in that regard, the visit was a marked success, consolidating much of what was promised during Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May and cementing the crown prince as one of Trump’s top allies in the region.But by helping add muscle to Saudi Arabia and boosting its stature in the Middle East, the US president may also have raised the price of long-sought normalization between Riyadh and Jerusalem.Saudi Arabia has for years been considered the holy grail of the Abraham Accords alliance, its importance in the region and the world far outweighing the countries that have normalized with Israel under the pact thus far. From the waning days of the first Trump administration, through Joe Biden’s White House and into Trump’s second term, diplomats have described the prize as just beyond reach.Riyadh had long insisted that such a deal be predicated on Palestinian statehood, but there had been signs in recent years that it was willing to compromise and perhaps accept an ambiguous commitment as enough to join up, along with some defense goodies from the US.But with the Gaza war knocking Israel’s standing down a notch and the new deals struck between MBS and Trump stiffening Saudi Arabia’s bargaining position, Jerusalem may now have even further to climb before it can reach this peak of normalization.Riyadh in retreat-Though Israelis were largely focused on the security aspects of MBS’s trip, the crown prince’s prime interest was economic.As he rapidly rose from relative obscurity to the top of the Saudi power structure a decade ago, MBS forged a sweeping social, economic, and religious modernization program, aiming to transform Saudi Arabia from an oil-based kingdom to a world leader in technology and global commerce.But his flagship futuristic megacity NEOM is largely foundering, and he is facing difficulties in positioning Saudi Arabia as an AI powerhouse. Despite vast tracts of empty land, access to cheap energy, and money, Saudi Arabia lacks the top-line indigenous talent or technology to lure data centers for leading international AI companies.On the second count, at least, MBS made major headway during his US visit. The two countries signed a Strategic Artificial Intelligence Partnership, and Humain — the Saudi AI company created by its sovereign wealth fund — signed a flurry of joint ventures with Cisco, Qualcomm, AMD, and Elon Musk’s xAI.MBS also made up ground on the slipping status of his country, and his own standing in the halls of power, after years in which he was personally shunned in world capitals due to international revulsion over the 2018 murder and dismemberment of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, widely believed to have been carried out at the crown prince’s orders.Though MBS is not a head of state, he was still received by Trump with honors reserved for only the most powerful world leaders — and, notably, not for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Even though MBS’s own status improved markedly as the Russian invasion of Ukraine spiked Western demand for Saudi oil, he had reason to worry that Riyadh would fall behind its rivals. Tiny neighboring countries enjoyed new pacts and weapons from the US while Saudi Arabia waited on the sidelines. Qatar — with which Saudi Arabia cut ties for several years starting in 2017 — was designated a major US non-NATO ally in 2022, and received unprecedented defense guarantees from Trump after the Israeli strike in Doha in September.“He’s now playing catch up to a very small country on his border, that has a fraction of the kingdom’s global clout and influence, and whose support for the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremists has been a more or less constant thorn in Saudi Arabia’s side for years,” said John Hannah, senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America and former national security adviser to former US vice president Dick Cheney.“Given the storied 8-decade history of the US-Saudi strategic relationship, finding yourself in a second-tier status to Qatar in terms of Washington’s array of regional security commitments couldn’t have been comfortable,” he added.The main security threat for the Saudis remains Iran. In his first years as a leading Saudi figure, MBS adopted an aggressive posture toward the Iranian axis, going to war against the Houthis in Yemen and kidnapping Lebanon’s prime minister for being too soft on Hezbollah.In recent years, however, MBS has opened diplomatic channels with Tehran in order to mitigate the Iranian threat.The Saudis were undoubtedly happy to see Hamas, Hezbollah, Bashar al-Assad’s Syria, the Houthis, and the Iranians themselves battered by Israel since October 7, 2023.What they weren’t counting on was Iran being replaced by an aggressive Israel, willing to carry out attacks at will across the region, regardless of whether the targets were allied with the US (see: Qatar) or Saudi Arabia (see: Syria’s new regime).“It undermines, or to some extent weakens, Saudi Arabia’s ability to be the regional policeman — as if Israel is becoming responsible for the regional order instead of Saudi Arabia,” said Moran Zaga, a Gulf scholar at national security consulting firm MIND Israel.“Israel has increased its self-confidence here, and its footprint, let’s call it, in the region — and this is something for which Saudi Arabia will want some kind of response or compensation,” Zaga said.Saudis strike back-With Israel and Qatar on the rise, and Iran in retreat, MBS wanted to restore his kingdom as Washington’s premier security partner in the region.He had been insisting on a full Senate-approved defense treaty that would not be subject to changes in administration in Washington. Instead, he left with only the status of major non-NATO ally — a position which Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Tunisia, and Qatar already enjoy — and a vague US-Saudi Strategic Defense Agreement.“He’s going to have to settle for a temporary and highly personalized commitment from a deeply polarizing, mercurial, and increasingly unpopular president who will be out of office in three years,” said Hannah.Nonetheless, MBS still came away with some big wins, foremost among them Trump’s commitment to, at some point, sell F-35s to the Saudis, which would make the kingdom the first Muslim and Arab country to operate the most advanced fighter jet in the world.If the Saudis get the jets, it would likely end Israel’s ability to dominate the region’s skies, though as things stand, the countries are extremely unlikely to use them against each other.“We should admit it’s hard to conjure up any realistic scenario in which MBS would ever make the decision to wage war against Israel,” said Hannah. “But this is the Middle East. Regimes and intentions can change while capabilities remain.”Events in the region over the last 15 years have underscored how quickly even ostensibly stable regimes allied with the US can fall.The potential danger doesn’t mean that Israel has to work now to spike the sale. Israel can push for guarantees on defense cooperation in a new 20-year MOU that Netanyahu is said to be pushing for. The US can also provide a Senate-ratified mutual defense treaty.MBS also sealed a long-sought agreement on civil nuclear energy that “builds the legal foundation for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar” partnership in line with “strong nonproliferation standards,” according to the White House.If Saudi civil nuclear reactors are powered by imported fuel rods, there’s nothing to worry about in Israel. On the other hand, if agreements with the US open the door for the Saudis to master the entire nuclear fuel cycle, Israel would face a transformed security landscape.Harder bargain-For Israel, the possibility of normalization with Saudi Arabia could mitigate any future risks posed by the country.MBS stressed at the White House that he eventually intends to normalize ties with Israel: “We want to be part of the Abraham Accords, but we want also to be sure that [we] secure a clear path [toward a] two-state solution.”But after the two years of war in Gaza, the Saudi leader needs a much stronger commitment from Israel on a Palestinian state than he may have been willing to go with before 2023 if he is to foist normalization on a hostile Saudi public.“The fires of Gaza are too fresh, the ceasefire too fragile, Saudi leaders too concerned about their public’s opinion to move forward absent a credible path ahead for Palestinians, and Israeli leadership is unwilling to offer one,” said Daniel Benaim of the Middle East Institute. “The mood of the US Congress is also less internationalist than before.  Several of these conditions will need to shift — which seems quite possible over time, but unlikely soon.”MBS’s gains in Washington add to the challenge. The defense upgrades he received could have been conditioned on a normalization package. Now, a full mutual defense treaty could be the only way to finalize the Saudis joining the Abraham Accords.Moreover, there isn’t that much MBS requires from Israel right now. The doors to Trump’s office are wide open for him, with no need for Israel to help smooth the way.And in high-priority realms where Israel can be an important asset for Riyadh — like AI — the US has committed to providing Saudi Arabia far more than Israel ever could.For Netanyahu, the most concerning aspect of MBS’s visit may be the indication that Trump’s vision for the Middle East no longer aligns with his own bellicose stance.“Saudi Arabia — and the Gulf states in general — have a distinct view of what the region requires at this moment, with a greater emphasis on de-escalation, diplomacy, trade, and investment,” said Benaim.That approach, and not Israel’s pugnacious post-October 7 posture, lines up nicely with what Trump wants to do in the region and beyond. Gulf states, and Turkey, have become in recent months Trump’s preferred interlocutors on mediation and the future of the region.In the long run, though, Israel likely has advantages for the US as a partner over Saudi Arabia, and the pendulum may well swing back. Trump himself is famously mercurial, and he will be out of office in three years. A Democratic administration could well turn on an autocrat who became one of Trump’s closest partners.Over time, Hannah said, neither MBS’s personal bonds with Trump nor a flood of investment “can substitute for the reliability, performance, and professionalism of the Israeli military and intelligence services, and the world-class character of Israel’s innovation high-tech economy.”“Those are huge and lasting assets for the United States that no other regional state can match,” he argued, “and that have in the last year overturned the Middle East’s balance of power in ways overwhelmingly favorable to the United States.”

THE FALSE VATICAN POPE LEO 14TH

ISAIAH 23:15-17
15  And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16  Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17  And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.(COULD THIS BE 70 YEARS AFTER ISRAEL BECAME A NATION IN 1948)(IF SO THIS SATANIC ONE WORLD WHORE CHURCH WILL MINGLE TOGETHER BY 2018)(AND NOW ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY AND ALL RELIGIONS ARE MINGLING AS ONE PEACE-LOVE-JOY-GET ALONG RELIGION LEAD BY THE VATICAN RIGHT NOW 4 YEARS FROM THE 70 YEAR TIME WHEN ISRAEL BECAME A NATION).AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM.

REVELATION 13:11-18
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;(FALSE VATICAN POPE) and he had two horns like a lamb,(JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD) and he spake as a dragon.(HES SATANICALLY INSPIRED,HES A CHRISTIAN DEFECTOR FROM THE FAITH)
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,(WORLD DICTATOR) and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.(THE WORLD DICTATOR CREATES A FALSE RESURRECTION AND IS CROWNED LEADER OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER).
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

REVELATION 17:1-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:(VATICAN)
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,(VATICAN IN POLITICS) and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.(THATS PEDOPHELIA-FORNICATION IS SINGLES HAVING SEX OUT SIDE OF MARRIAGE)(AND SINCE PREISTS CAN NOT MARRY IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THIS FALSE CHURCH GOES AGAINST THE BIBLE.THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BECOMES A HOMOSEXUAL HAVEN OF PEDOPHILIAS FACTORY).  
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman (FALSE CHURCH) was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,(VATICAN COLOURS)(ANOTHER REASON WE KNOW THE FALSE POPE COMES FROM THE VATICAN) and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:(THE VATICAN GOES AGAINST A PRIEST MARRING A WOMAN-LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS-AND WHATS AN ABOMINATION AGAINST GOD-HOMOSEXUALITY AND PEDOPHILIA JUST LIKE THIS SCRIPTURE SAYS-FORNICATION IS THE SINGLE HOMOSEXUAL PRIESTS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAVING UNMARRIED FORNICATION OR SEX WITH SINGLES-IN THIS CASE ITS SEX WITH CHILDREN OR PEDOPHILIA)
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.(VATICAN-CATHOLICS ALL AROUND THE WORLD OVER 1 BILLION)
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.(GOD HIMSELF GIVES THE OK TO NUKE THE VATICAN)
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.(VATICAN)

HOW THE FALSE POPE IS ELECTED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj3Qnr_30Z4
POPE FRANCIS SISTER (PEDOPHILIA WAY WORSE THEN THOUGHT) (CARDINAL MATEO TERESCO-THE NEXT COVERUP POPE OF PEDOPHILIA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usFshfmBPmY
FALSE POPE LEO 14TH 2012 INTERVIEW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXVkJ5TQi1s
POPE 14TH WILL BE WORSE THAN FRANCIS.
https://banned.video/watch?id=681cf97a22a2c8ae0e09b5d0

Pope Leo: Türkiye has important role for peace in Middle East and Ukraine-Aboard the papal plane flying from Istanbul to Beirut, Pope Leo XIV thanks Türkiye’s authorities for their welcome and answers a pair of questions from reporters, expressing his hopes for peace in Ukraine and Gaza and confirming the desire to celebrate the 2033 Jubilee of Redemption in Jerusalem.Vatican News-NOV 30,25

As the papal plane flew Pope Leo XIV from Türkiye to Lebanon on Sunday afternoon, he took a moment to answer questions from reporters traveling with him on his first Apostolic Journey.The Pope began by expressing his appreciation for his visit to Türkiye, especially the work of the Turkish government.Here follows a working English transcription and translation of the press conference:Pope Leo XIV (in English): Good afternoon to you all. I’ll speak English to start; I think most of you understand. I’m happy to greet you. I hope you all had as good a time in Türkiye as I did. I think it was a wonderful experience.As you know, the primary reason for coming to Türkiye was the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. We had that magnificent celebration, very simple and yet very profound, on the site of one of the ancient basilicas of Nicaea to commemorate the great event of the agreement of the whole Christian community and the profession of faith, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.Besides that, of course, there were many other events that we celebrated. I personally want to express to all of you my gratitude for all the work that went into planning the visit, beginning with the Nuncio, the staff, the whole team from Rome, of course, that did all the organization, but in a very special way the government of Türkiye, President Erdogan and so many people that he put at our disposition in order to make sure that the trip would be a total success, his personal helicopter, many means of transportation, organization, etc, the presence of the ministers in various moments along the visit, so it was, I think, a great success.I was very happy to have the different moments we had with the different Churches, with the different Christian communities, with the Orthodox Churches, culminating this morning with the Divine Liturgy with Patriarch Bartholomew. So, it was a wonderful celebration, and I hope that all of you shared that same experience, so thank you. I don’t know if there are any questions or comments, just a couple because they are waiting for me for more photos.Q: Baris Seçkin (Anadolu Ajansi): Thank you very much. At the beginning of your papal trip you made reference to world and regional peace. In this regard, what is your comment on Türkiye’s role in achieving and maintaining world and regional peace, and what were your discussions with President Erdogan on this matter? To have come to Türkiye, and of course now to Lebanon, on this trip there was of course a special theme of, if you will, being a messenger of peace, of wanting to promote peace throughout the region.Türkiye has a number of, if you will, qualities about it; it is a country with the vast majority being Muslims, and yet the presence of numerous Christian communities there, although a very small minority, and yet people of different religions are able to live in peace. And that is one example, I would say, of what I think we all would be looking for throughout the world.To say that in spite of religious differences, in spite of ethnic differences, in spite of many other differences, people can indeed live in peace. Türkiye itself has had, of course, in its history various moments when it was not always the case, and yet to have experienced that and to have been able to speak also with President Erdogan about peace, I think, was an important element, a worthwhile element of my visit.Q: Seyda Canepa (NTV, in Italian): Your Holiness, with President Erdogan, other than the official declarations, did you speak about the situation in Gaza since the Vatican and Türkiye have the same point of view on the solution of two people, two states? On Ukraine, the Vatican has underlined more than once the role of Türkiye, starting from the opening of the grain corridor at the beginning of the conflict. So, do you see hope for a ceasefire in Ukraine and for a faster peace process in Gaza in this moment? (In Italian): Certainly, we spoke about both situations. The Holy See for several years has publicly supported the proposal of a two-state solution. We all know that in this moment Israel still does not accept this solution, but we see it as the only solution that could offer—let us say—a solution to the conflict that they continuously live.We are also friends of Israel, and we try with the two sides to be a mediating voice that can help draw closer to a solution with justice for all.I spoke about this with President Erdogan; he is certainly in agreement with this proposal. Türkiye has an important role that it could play in all of this.The same with Ukraine. Already some months ago, with the possibility of dialogue between Ukraine and Russia, the President helped a lot in convoking the two sides. We still have, unfortunately, not seen a solution, but today again there are concrete proposals for peace. And let us hope that President Erdogan, with his relationship with the Presidents of Ukraine, Russia, and the United States, may help in this sense to promote dialogue, a ceasefire, and to see how to resolve this conflict, this war in Ukraine.He suggests (Matteo Bruni, ed.) that I say a word after the important ecumenical meeting in Nicaea, and then, yesterday morning, we spoke about possible future meetings.One would be in 2033, 2,000 years since the Redemption, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ; that obviously is an event that all Christians want to celebrate. The idea was welcomed; we still haven’t sent the invitation, but the possibility exists to celebrate, perhaps in Jerusalem in 2033, this great event of the Resurrection. There are still years to prepare it.However, it was a very beautiful encounter, because Christians of different traditions were present and were able to participate in this time.Thank you all.

Pope to Lebanese authorities: Blessed are the peacemakers-Pope Leo XIV meets with Lebanese civil authorities in Beirut as he begins his Apostolic Journey to Lebanon, urging the country's young people to speak “the language of hope,” which he said has enabled Lebanon “always to start again.”Vatican News

At the start of his Apostolic Journey in Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV addressed Lebanon’s civil authorities, representatives of civil society, and the diplomatic corps at the Presidential Palace in Beirut, giving his first speech on Lebanese soil.In his address on the central theme of his journey, “Blessed are the peacemakers”, the Holy Father underlined that peace in Lebanon is not simply an aspiration, but a daily necessity rooted in the country’s complex social fabric and ongoing challenges.He reminded Lebanon’s leaders that peace in their country is not an abstraction but “a desire and a vocation” that must be built daily.Lebanese resilience-Highlighting the perseverance of the Lebanese people, the Pope noted that they “do not give up” even in the face of hardship.He described this resilience as a foundation for rebuilding and moving forward, adding that it is essential for those responsible for shaping Lebanon’s future.Calling on leaders to remain closely connected to their people, especially the younger generations, he urged them to speak “the language of hope,” which has enabled Lebanon “always to start again.”Highlights of Pope Leo's encounter with Lebanese authorities-Reconciliation and truth-Pope Leo went on to emphasise that sustainable peace requires confronting past wounds, insisting that reconciliation must be pursued with patience and honesty.“There are personal and collective wounds that take many years, sometimes entire generations, to heal,” he said.He stressed that truth and reconciliation “only ever grow together,” and warned against remaining “imprisoned by our own pain and our own way of thinking.”Institutions, he added, must prioritise the common good, which he described as “more than the sum of many interests.”The challenge of emigration-The Holy Father went on to speak about the ongoing emigration of young people, acknowledging the uncertainty and difficulty that drive many to leave.He emphasised that while the Lebanese diaspora brings many benefits, “the Church does not want anyone to be forced to leave their country.”He underscored the need for conditions that allow young people to stay and build their future at home, and he invited Lebanon to avoid both “sectionalism” and “nationalism.”Quoting Fratelli tutti, he reminded leaders of the importance of holding together both local identity and global openness, noting that these are “two inseparable and equally vital poles in every society.”Women and young people -Recognising the contributions of women to society, the Pope said women possess a “special capacity for peace-making,” rooted in their ability to support and strengthen bonds within society. Their participation, he said, is a “factor of true renewal.”Young people who remain or return to Lebanon, he added, contribute decisively to ensuring that the country “may once again be a land full of life.”Shared responsibility for peace-Concluding his address, Pope Leo XIV reminded those present that peace requires active commitment from leaders and institutions alike.Dialogue, even amid disagreement, he said, “is the path that leads to reconciliation.”

Ahead of Lebanon visit, Hezbollah urges Pope Leo to reject Israeli ‘aggression’Terror group sends message to pontiff who will arrive in Beirut on Sunday, saying that it is committed to peace, but rejects calls to disarm-By Agencies 29 November 2025, 2:18 pm

The Hezbollah terror group on Saturday urged Pope Leo XIV to reject Israeli “injustice and aggression” against Lebanon, in a message to the pontiff who arrives in Beirut this weekend.Hezbollah emerged heavily weakened from more than a year of hostilities culminating in two months of open war with Israel that began when the Iran-backed group started cross-border attacks against Israel a day after the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught in southern Israel that sparked the Gaza war.A ceasefire a year ago was supposed to end the hostilities, but Israel has kept up regular strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, saying that it was targeting efforts by the terror group to rearm and establish itself in violation of the truce. Israel has also maintained troops in five southern Lebanon locations it deems strategic.Under heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, the government has committed to disarming Hezbollah, a move the group has rejected.“We in Hezbollah take advantage of the occasion of your auspicious visit to our country Lebanon to reaffirm from our side our commitment to coexistence,” read Hezbollah’s message to the pope, published on the group’s social media channels on Saturday.But it also affirmed the group’s commitment to “standing with our army and our people to face any aggression and occupation of our land and our country,” adding that what Israel “is doing in Lebanon is unacceptable ongoing aggression.”“We rely on your holiness’s stance in rejecting the injustice and aggression our nation of Lebanon is subjected to at the hands of the Zionist invaders and their supporters,” the statement added.In a speech on Friday, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem welcomed Leo’s upcoming visit to Lebanon, saying he had tasked members of the group with delivering a letter to the pontiff that would also be published in the media.He insisted his group has respected the November 2024 ceasefire and called for an end to persistent Israeli strikes on the country.“Do you expect there to be a war later? It’s possible at some point, yes, that possibility exists,” Qassem said, referring to increased fears in Lebanon of a renewed, broader war.After visiting Turkey, Leo is due to arrive in Lebanon on Sunday for a three-day trip that includes an open-air mass at Beirut’s waterfront, which organizers expect to draw 120,000 people, as well as an interreligious meeting in the city center.Qassem said Friday that “we welcome this visit at this pivotal moment, and we pray that the Holy Father will contribute to spreading peace in Lebanon, liberating it, ending the (Israeli) aggression, and standing by it and by the oppressed, as we have always known him to do.”Israel last week killed the group’s military commander, Haytham Ali Tabatabai.Tabatabai was the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel since the truce, and was said to be a key part of the terror group’s efforts to rebuild following the devastating losses it suffered in the war.The Israeli army said Tabatabai was a “veteran and central operative in the terror organization,” after joining its ranks in the 1980s and holding several senior roles, including the commander of the elite Radwan Force and head of Hezbollah’s operations in Syria.

Pope at Divine Liturgy: May we continue to strive towards Christian unity-Pope Leo XIV attends the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Church of Saint George in Istanbul, and joins Patriarch Bartholomew I to underscore the bonds that unite us in our Christian faith and the continuing efforts to seek full communion.Vatican News-NOV 30,25

Pope Leo XIV visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Sunday, 30 November, invited by Patriarch Bartholomew, to attend the Divine Liturgy at the Venerable Patriarchal Church of Saint George.Over 400 members of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and members of the Episcopate, made up the congregation at the Divine Liturgy on this day celebrating the patronal feast of the Apostle Andrew.In his address delivered at the celebration, Pope Leo remarked how this pilgrimage together to the places where the First Ecumenical Council in the history of the Church took place, in Nicaea, culminates in this solemn Divine Liturgy on the liturgical feast of Saint Andrew. He remarked how the ecumenical prayer service has brought together the Heads of Churches and Representatives of Christian World Communities, recalling how “the faith professed in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed unites us in real communion and allows us to recognize each other as brothers and sisters.”Despite the “many misunderstandings and even conflicts” of the past and challenges of the present in “achieving full communion,” he said, we must continue to strive towards unity and “continue to consider each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and to love one another accordingly.”Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in his homily for the Divine Liturgy, offered words of joy for this day on which the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Andrew, and he gave warm words of welcome to Pope Leo, Successor of Saint Peter, for this fraternal visit.“As successors of the two holy Apostles, the founders of our respective Churches," said Patriarch Bartholomew, "we feel bound by ties of spiritual brotherhood, which obligate us to work diligently to proclaim the message of salvation to the world. Your blessed visit today, just like the exchange of delegations from our Churches on the occasion of our respective thronal feasts, cannot be reduced to events of mere protocol, but on the contrary, express in a very concrete and personal way our deep commitment to the quest for Christian unity and our sincere aspiration to the restoration of full ecclesial communion.”Both spiritual leaders recalled the visits to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of previous Popes, in particular sixty years ago when Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras solemnly lifted the mutual excommunications of 1054.Pope Leo said that “historic gesture by our venerable predecessors inaugurated a path of reconciliation, peace and growing communion between Catholics and Orthodox, which has been fostered through frequent contact, fraternal meetings and promising theological dialogue.”And given the significant progress that has been made since then, “today we are called even more to commit ourselves to the restoration of full communion.”Both leaders underscored a common commitment as well to respond to our Christian vocation to work for justice, peace, and concretely showing charity and mercy to all people.In particular, the war-torn areas of the world were cited, and how Catholics and Orthodox are called to be peacemakers.Pope Leo noted that “this certainly means taking action, making choices and adopting gestures that build peace, while also acknowledging that peace is not merely the fruit of human effort, but is a gift from God” that we must seek “through prayer, penance, contemplation and nurturing a living relationship with the Lord, who helps us to discern what words, gestures and actions to undertake so that we can genuinely be at the service of peace.”Pope Leo also lamented the grave ecological crisis we all are facing and the need for “spiritual, personal and communal conversion for changing direction and safeguarding creation,” as Patriarch Bartholomew has passionately advocated in his ministry.Pope Leo noted that “Catholics and Orthodox alike are called to work together in promoting a new mindset so that everyone acknowledges responsibility for caring for the creation that God has entrusted to us.”In conclusion, the Pope also mentioned new technologies, especially in the realm of communications, and how they pose a challenge but also great opportunities that Catholics and Orthodox can face in assuring they are “placed at the service of integral human development, and be universally accessible, so as to ensure that their benefits are not reserved to a small number of people or the interests of a privileged few.”Patriarch Bartholomew expressed “our fervent gratitude for Your visit to our city and its Church and Your participation in these solemn festivities.” He said, “May our holy and great founders and patrons – the holy glorious and all-laudable Apostles Andrew the First-Called and Peter the Coryphaeus – intercede for us all before the One whom they faithfully served and preached ‘unto the ends of the world.’ May they continue to inspire us all with the breadth of their ecclesial vision and with the resolve of their apostolic mission, so that we may continue our common pilgrimage in quest of Christian unity and bear witness together so that the world may believe that ‘we have found the Messiah.’”Pope Leo offered his “fervent wishes for good health and serenity” to Patriarch Bartholomew, and expressed his profound gratitude for the warm and fraternal welcome extended, entrusting all to “the intercession of the Apostle Andrew and his brother Saint Peter, Saint George the Great Martyr to whom this Church is dedicated, the Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea and the many Holy Pastors of this ancient and glorious Church of Constantinople.  And I ask God, the Father of mercies, abundantly to bless all those present.”

Apostolic Journey to Türkiye: Day Four-Pope Leo XIV concludes his Apostolic Journey to Türkiye with a visit to the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral of Istanbul and Divine Liturgy with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.By Christopher Wells - Istanbul-DEC 30,25

Pope Leo XIV came to Türkiye not only for a pastoral visit to the nation's small but vibrant Catholic community, but especially to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the first Ecumenical Council in the history of the Church.The Pope's visit to the site of the Council in modern day Iznik was one of the high points of the visit.He was there with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, as well as other patriarchs, heads of Churches and Christian Communities representing the vast majority of Christians in the world today.As part of the ecumenical focus of the Pope's visit, he went to the Syriac Orthodox Church, as well as the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul.He spent time at the Ecumenical Patriarchate, where he signed a joint statement with Bartholomew on the Feast of Saint Andrew, the traditional founder of the See of Constantinople.As part of the interreligious element to the visit, the Pope met with the Turkish Islamic authorities in Ankara and with the Chief Rabbi of the country's Jewish community, and he visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.Now, the Pope has arrived in Beirut, where he continues his first Apostolic Journey.

FINALLY THE EUROPEAN UNION IS TALKING ABOUT HAVING THEIR OWN ARMY.AND IT MUST HAPPEN.
REVELATION 19:16-21
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.(JESUS RETURNG TO EARTH LITERALLY ON A WHITE HORSE WITH THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS 7 YEARS EARLIER)
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.(2ND TIME GOD-JESUS TELLS THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS TO GET READY TO EAT HUMAN FLESH.THE FIRST TIME WAS WHEN GOD TOLD THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS-TO EAT RUSSIA,GERMAN,ARAB, MUSLIM BODIES FOR 7 MONTHS IN EZEK 38 @ 39.
19 And I saw the beast,(E.U WORLD LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies,(HERE IT SAYS THE E.U WILL HAVE ITS OWN ARMY) gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, (JESUS) and against his army.(RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
20 And the beast (E.U WORLD LEADER) was taken, and with him the false prophet (POPE FRANCIS) that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Zephaniah 2:1-15
1 Gather together, yes, gather,O shameless nation,
2 before the decree takes effect[a] -before the day passes away like chaff—before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord.
3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands;[b] seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.
4 For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation; Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted.
5 Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.
6 And you, O seacoast, shall be pastures, with meadows[c] for shepherds and folds for flocks.
7 The seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah, on which they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down at evening. For the Lord their God will be mindful of them and restore their fortunes.
8 “I have heard the taunts of Moab (JORDAN) and the revilings of the Ammonites, how they have taunted my people and made boasts against their territory.
9 Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever.The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”
10 This shall be their lot in return for their pride, because they taunted and boasted against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 The Lord will be awesome against them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations.
12 You also, O Cushites, shall be slain by my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria,(SYRIA) and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert.
14 Herds shall lie down in her midst, all kinds of beasts;[d] even the owl and the hedgehog[e]  shall lodge in her capitals; a voice shall hoot in the window; devastation will be on the threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare.
15 This is the exultant city that lived securely, that said in her heart, “I am, and there is no one else.” What a desolation she has become, a lair for wild beasts! Everyone who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist.Sa'ar: No free meals; talks possible if more hostages freed Israel halts aid into Gaza, citing Hamas refusal to extend first phase of truce
Footnotes-a -Zephaniah 2:2 Hebrew gives birth, b-Zephaniah 2:3 Or who carry out his judgment, c-Zephaniah 2:6 Or caves, d-Zephaniah 2:14 Hebrew beasts of every nation, e-Zephaniah 2:14 The identity of the animals rendered owl and hedgehog is uncertain

DANIEL 2:37-45
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

DANIEL 7:17-26
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.
21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

THE WORLD IN 10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS LEAD BY THE EUROPEAN UNION THE WORLD LEADER, NOT AMERICA.I PREDICT.

THE EUROPEAN UNION AND REVIVED ROMAN WORLD GOVERNMENT
DANIEL 2:31-33,36-43, DAN 7:3-8,17

First From Daniel Chapter 2

1 EGYPT
2 ASSYRIA
3 BABYLON (HEAD OF GOLD) DAN 2:31-32,36-38, DAN 1:1
4 MEDO-PERSIANS (CHEST & ARMS OF SILVER) DAN 2:32,39, DAN 9:1
5 GREECE (WAIST & HIPS OF BRONZE) DAN 2:32,39, DAN 11:2
6 ROME (2 LEGS OF IRON) DAN 2:33,40, ROM 1:6
7 REVIVED ROME (EU) (FEET IRON & CLAY) DAN 2:33,41-43,10 TOES

Now From Daniel Chapter 7

1 EGYPT
2 ASSYRIA
3 BABYLON (LION WITH EAGLES WINGS) DAN 7:4, DAN 1:1
4 MEDO-PERSIANS (BEAR ON HIND LEGS) DAN 7:5, DAN 9:1
5 GREECE (LEOPARD 4 WINGS, 4 HEADS) DAN 7:6, DAN 11:2
6 ROME (HUGE IRON TEETH) DAN 7:7 (10 HORNS), ROM 1:6
7 REVIVED ROME (EU) DAN 7:8,19-20,23-25 10 HORNS, 10 KINGS
REV 17:9,12, 10 HORNS, 10 KINGS, 7 HILLS ROME. REV 13:1 BEAST WITH 7 HEADS. THE E.U LEADER OF WORLD GOVERNMENT DAN 2:40-45, 7:7-8,23-25,27, 8:23, REV 13:3,7,8,12,14,16

REVELATION 17:10-12
10 And there are seven kings (7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY) five are fallen, (EGYPT, ASSYRIA, BABYLON,:MEDO-PERSIAN,GREECE and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS DAY-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh,(FUTURE-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE-EUROPEAN UNION TODAY) he must continue a short space.(7 YEARS OF WORLD DOMINATION-BUT 3 1/2 YEARS OF NEW WORLD ORDER OR ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT)
12 And the ten horns (10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS OR REGIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS-NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind,(WORLD SOCIALISM) and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

We shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent.James Paul Warburg appearing before the Senate on 7th February 1950

Like a famous WWII Belgian General,Paul Henry Spock said in 1957:We need no commission, we have already too many. What we need is a man who is great enough to be able to keep all the people in subjection to himself and to lift us out of the economic bog into which we threaten to sink. Send us such a man. Be he a god or a devil, we will accept him.And today, sadly, the world is indeed ready for such a man. 

DICK MORRIS-This truly creates a global economic system. From now on, don’t look to Washington for the rule making, look to Brussels.

THE CLUB OF ROME FOUNDER AURELIO PECCEI WANTS THE WORLD IN 10 REGIONAL TRADING BLOCKS.

REVELATION 16:1-2
1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, (SLAVE) to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

I KNOW THIS MARK WILL BE A MICROCHIP IMPLANT UNDER THE SKIN. LETS LOOK UP WHAT THE WORD MARK SAYS IN REVELATION 13:16-18, 14:9,11, 15:2, 16:2, 19:20, 20:4-ALL THESE VERSES FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION SPEAK OF THIS DICTATORS MARK. NOW LETS SEE WHAT IT MEANS FROM STRONGS EXAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE OF THE BIBLE. UNDER MARK PAGE 684.MARK UNDER MARK. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS UNDER HEBREW AND THE NEW TESTAMENT IS UNDER GREEK. SO WHEN WE LOOK UNDER REVELATION 13:16-17 WE SEE IT IS UNDER GREEK, SO WE GO TO GREEK IN THE BACK SECTION AND GO TO 5480 TO SEE WHAT IT SAYS THIS MARK WOULD BE. SO LETS GET TO IT.MARK IN STRONGS GREEK 5480 XAPAYUA CHARAGMA, KHAR-AG-MAH: FROM THE SAME AS 5482: A SCRATCH OR ETCHING, I.E STAMP (AS A BADGE OF SERVITUDE), OR SCULPTURED FIGURE-(STATUE):-GRAVEN, MARK FROM 5482 XAPAE CHARAX, KHAR-AX; FROM XAPAOOW CHARASSO (TO SHARPEN TO A POINT; AKIN TO 1125 THROUGH THE IDEA OF SCRATCHING); A STAKE, I.E (BYIMPL.) A PALISADE OR RAMPART (MILITARY MOUND FOR CIRCUMVALLATION IN A SIEGE): - TRENCH FROM 1125 YPAPOE GRAPHO, GRAF-0; A PRIM. VERB; TO "GRAVE", ESPEC. TO WRITE; FIG. TO DESCRIBE:-DESCRIBE, WRITE (-ING, -TEN).G5516-GO TO G4742-666 - STRONGS NT 4742: στίγμα - στίγμα, στιγματος, τό (from στίζω to prick; (cf. Latinstimulus, etc.; German stechen, English stick, sting, etc.; Curtius, § 226)), a mark pricked in or branded upon the body. According to ancient oriental usage, slaves and soldiers bore the name or stamp of their master or commander branded or pricked (cut) into their bodies to indicate what master or general they belonged to, and there were even some devotees who stamped themselves in this way with the token of their gods (cf. Deyling, Observations, iii., p. 423ff); hence, τά στίγματα τοῦ (κυρίου so Rec.) Ἰησοῦ, the marks of (the Lord) Jesus, which Paul in Galatians 6:17 says he bears branded on his body, are the traces left there by the perils, hardships, imprisonments, scourgings, endured by him for the cause of Christ, and which mark him as Christ's faithful and approved votary, servant, soldier (see Lightfoots Commentary on Galatians, the passage cited). (Herodotus 7, 233; Aristotle, Aelian, Plutarch, Lcian, others.) 

THE INVENTOR OF THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT-CARL SANDERS MICROCHIP ENGINEER LEADER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgH9D6n4ZWo

THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT IN YOUR RIGHT HAND OR FOREHEAD.

LEVETICUS 19.28
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

HERES WHAT THE WORLD WOULD LOOK LIKE (SINCE THERE WILL BE WORLD GOVERNMENT IN THE FUTURE)-UPDATED VERSION (10 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)

01 CANADA, U.S.A, MEXICO
02 EUROPEAN UNION,WESTERN EUROPE
03 JAPAN
04 AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND, S AFRICA, ISRAEL AND PACIFIC ISLANDS
05 EASTERN EUROPE
06 SOUTHERN, CENTRAL AND LATIN AMERICAS
07 NORTH AFRICA, AND MIDEAST (MOSLEMS)
08 CENTRAL AFRICA
09 SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
10 CENTRAL ASIA

THE CLUB OF ROME WANTS A WORLD CHARISMATIC DICTATOR (EITHER RELIGIOUS, POLITICAL OR SCIENTIFICAL) TO HEAD THIS WORLD GOVERNMENT. REV 13:3,7-8, DAN 7:23-24

WORLD POWERS IN THE END TIME

NORTH - RUSSIA EZEK 38:1-2, 39:1-2
SOUTH - EGYPT DAN 11:42
EAST - CHINA DAN 11:44,REV 16:12
WEST - EUROPEAN UNION DAN 7:23-24 (NOT THE U.S.A)
http://israel7777777.blogspot.ca/2012/03/10-world-trade-blocs-one-world.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2006/09/how-eu-takes-world-control.html 
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2012/05/one-world-religion-crislam.html 

FINALLY THE EUROPEAN UNION IS TALKING ABOUT HAVING THEIR OWN ARMY.AND IT MUST HAPPEN.
REVELATION 19:16-21
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.(JESUS RETURNG TO EARTH LITERALLY ON A WHITE HORSE WITH THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS 7 YEARS EARLIER)
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.(2ND TIME GOD-JESUS TELLS THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS TO GET READY TO EAT HUMAN FLESH.THE FIRST TIME WAS WHEN GOD TOLD THE 500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS-TO EAT RUSSIA,GERMAN,ARAB, MUSLIM BODIES FOR 7 MONTHS IN EZEK 38 @ 39.
19 And I saw the beast,(E.U WORLD LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies,(HERE IT SAYS THE E.U WILL HAVE ITS OWN ARMY) gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, (JESUS) and against his army.(RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
20 And the beast (E.U WORLD LEADER) was taken, and with him the false prophet (POPE FRANCIS) that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

COUNCIL FOR EUROPE ON DEFENCE
https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/document/download/6d6f889c-e58d-4caa-8f3b-8b93154fe206_en?filename=SAFE%20Regulation.pdf

'We're also friends with Israel; seek to be mediating voice'Pope calls two states ‘only solution’ to Palestinian conflict as he opens Lebanon visit-Leo XIV arrives in Beirut under tight security, urges Lebanese citizens to remain in country, which has seen waves of emigration due to war and sectarian divisions By Agencies 30 November 2025, 8:28 pm

Pope Leo XIV called a two-state arrangement the “only solution” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, doubling down on the Holy See’s longstanding position in his first airborne news conference en route to Lebanon on Sunday.“We all know that at this time Israel still does not accept that solution, but we see it as the only solution,” he said, as he flew from Istanbul to Beirut for the second and final leg of his maiden voyage as pope.“We are also friends with Israel, and we are seeking to be a mediating voice between the two parties that might help them close in on a solution with justice for everyone,” added the pope, speaking in Italian.The American pope arrived in Lebanon at a precarious moment for the country, after years of successive crises. He was fulfilling a promise of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who had wanted to visit Lebanon for years, but was unable to, as his health worsened.At the Beirut airport, where his plane landed with a Lebanese military jet escort, Leo was greeted first by President Joseph Aoun, and then by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, as well as Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. He moved through the streets of the Lebanese capital in a closed popemobile, a highly rare security measure.In an address given in the country’s presidential palace, the pontiff called on the Lebanese people to embrace reconciliation and to remain in their divided, crisis-hit country, which has seen waves of emigration, while urging Lebanese leaders to put themselves fully “at the service of your people.”“There are times when it is easier to flee, or simply more convenient to move elsewhere. It takes real courage and foresight to stay or return to one’s own country,” Leo said.He emphasized the need for peace, using the word more than 20 times during the address, without mentioning any specific international or regional conflicts, including the war between Hezbollah and Israel.“Here, as in other parts of the world, uncertainty, violence, poverty, and many other threats are leading to an exodus of young people and families seeking a future elsewhere, even though it is very painful to leave one’s homeland,” Leo said.Lebanon, a Muslim-majority country where about a third of the population is Christian, has always been a priority for the Vatican, as Christian communities have shrunk amid years of conflict.“The Holy Father is coming at a very difficult moment for Lebanon and for our region,” said Bishop George, archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Beirut. Lebanese are worried about the future, he said, and still fear a possible return to all-out war with Israel. “In this difficult moment, the pope’s visit is a sign of hope. It shows that Lebanon is not forgotten,” he said.Another delegation of some 300 Syrian Christians, led by a Greek Melkite Catholic priest, was set to travel to Lebanon to join a meeting between Leo and youth groups and pray in a public mass on Beirut’s waterfront.“We are in need of someone like the pope to come and give us hope as Christians” at a time of “fear of an unknown future,” said 24-year-old Dima Awwad, one of the delegation members. “We wish that the pope would come to visit Syria as he visited Lebanon, to reassure the people and to feel that we are present as eastern Christians and that we need to be in this place.”Series of crises-In 2019, the country’s currency and banking system collapsed, and many Lebanese saw their savings evaporate. The financial crisis drove shortages of electricity, fuel, and medicine.Another disaster followed in 2020, when hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate improperly stored at the Beirut port detonated in an explosion that blasted through the surrounding neighborhoods, killing 218 people, wounding thousands more, and causing billions of dollars in damage.The highlight of Leo’s Lebanese visit will come on his last day, Tuesday, when he spends time in silent prayer at the site of the blast on August 4, 2020, and meets with some of its victims.There are hopes among the Lebanese that Leo will demand accountability from Lebanon’s political class and insist that there can be no peace without truth and justice.Lebanon’s ongoing conflict with Israel-After the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza, Hezbollah entered into a low-level conflict with Israel that escalated into a full-fledged war in September 2024, killing more than 4,000 people in Lebanon and causing widespread destruction.The terror group’s near-daily attacks displaced some 60,000 residents of northern Israel, until a US-brokered ceasefire requiring both Israel and Hezbollah to vacate southern Lebanon was inked after two months of open conflict.Israel has withdrawn from all but five strategic posts along the border. Since the ceasefire, the IDF said it has killed over 370 Hezbollah operatives and members of allied terror groups in strikes, hit hundreds of Hezbollah sites, and conducted over 1,200 raids and other small operations in southern Lebanon.Before Leo’s arrival, Hezbollah urged the pope to express his “rejection of injustice and aggression,” referring to Israeli strikes, which Jerusalem says are aimed at keeping the terror group from rebuilding.The group urged its supporters to line up along the papal convoy route from the airport to the presidential palace — which is punctuated by bombed-out buildings from the recent war — to pay their respects.Hundreds of them did so, decked out in uniforms emblazoned with the portrait of Iran’s first supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini, while waving the flags of Lebanon and the Vatican.Mounir Younes, the leader of a Hezbollah-affiliated scout troupe, told the Associated Press that they aimed to send a message about “the importance of coexistence and national unity.Hezbollah, a Shiite group, has allied with several Christian groups, including the Free Patriotic Movement and Marada Movement. However, the Christian party with the largest parliamentary bloc, the Lebanese Forces, fiercely opposes Hezbollah and has criticized it for pulling the country into a war with Israel.

Featured Post-The historic new UN resolution is reason for hope-Ever since the important vote on November 29, 1947, endorsing the creation of the Jewish state, the UN has been remarkably unhelpful to Israel - until now-Nov 30, 2025, 2:39 PM-HERZOG

In a moment of diplomatic drama for the ages, the United Nations adopted Resolution 181 on November 29, 1947. Across the Jewish world, the news that the UN had endorsed the creation of a Jewish state in the land of Israel was met with joy, relief, and an overwhelming sense of hope. Our people were now closer than ever to realizing an eternal dream: to return home to the land of Israel, restore Jewish sovereignty, and rejoin the family of nations in peace.Members of my own family were at the heart of these events. Abba Eban, my uncle, was a leading figure in the Jewish Agency delegation in New York that fought to secure every vote in favor of the resolution. This success was a precursor to a stellar diplomatic career that saw him become a legendary foreign minister and leading spokesperson for Israel.Back in Jerusalem, my grandfather, Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, was then serving as chief rabbi of the land of Israel. As crowds thronged into his home to celebrate the result of the UN vote, my grandfather gave voice to the hope felt by millions of Jews in a special radio broadcast. “After the years of bitter exile, which have lasted 2,000 years,” he declared, “the dawn of Israel’s redemption is beginning to rise. Let all the House of Israel unite, with steadfast hope and eternal faith in the Rock of Israel and its Redeemer.”UN endorsement of a Jewish state, however, was not enough to bring the State of Israel into existence. That was achieved by the valiance, creativity, and sacrifice of thousands of men and women who fought to establish and defend the nascent Jewish and democratic state.Sadly, independence did not herald an end to the existential threats to our nation. In the decades since, Israel has been forced repeatedly to defend itself from those who seek our destruction. Rather than recognition of our legitimate self-defense and continual pursuit of peace, Israel instead has faced relentless condemnation at the very institution, the United Nations, that endorsed the right to Jewish self-determination back in 1947. The low point came in 1975. In a moment of infamy, the UN General Assembly endorsed a resolution equating Zionism with racism. My father, Chaim Herzog, then Israel’s ambassador to the UN, responded on the floor of the General Assembly: “Zionism is nothing more — and nothing less — than the Jewish people’s sense of origin and destination in the land linked eternally with its name.” In an iconic moment, emblematic of my father’s lifelong stand against antisemitism, he tore up his copy of that shameful resolution in front of the watching world. These values, combined with his deep Irish roots, earned him a lasting tribute: a Dublin park bearing his name — one that some now disgracefully seek to erase.It took 16 years for the UN General Assembly to revoke the shameful “Zionism is racism” resolution, and today, the United Nations remains a hostile environment for Israel. Rather than fulfilling its purpose and fighting courageously against a global epidemic of jihadist, murderous, and abhorrent terror, time and again, the United Nations has exhibited moral bankruptcy. International forums and institutions have consistently opted for outrageous hypocrisy and protection of the perpetrators of atrocities, rather than the victims they are meant to protect.However, there is a glimmer of hope at the United Nations. Last week, the UN Security Council voted to adopt US President Donald Trump’s Peace Plan to end the war in Gaza. This historic achievement was made possible by the masterful diplomacy of President Trump and his administration. Resolution 2803 paves the way for an opportunity for a real “day after”: a Gaza demilitarized, deradicalized, and free from Hamas.There remains huge work to be done in implementing this plan on the ground. The Hamas terrorist organization is still active in Gaza. It still holds the remains of two deceased hostages, Ran Gvili and Sudthisak Rinthalak, in blatant violation of the agreement. Hamas has also used the ceasefire to embark on a series of violent executions of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, further evidence of the terror group’s violent brutality.However, after two years of a war which began with Hamas’s brutal attack on October 7, 2023 — a war in which our finest sons and daughters have fallen in defense of our homeland — UN Security Council Resolution 2803 provides hope and opportunity that we must seize. This resolution paves the way to broaden the circle of peace in the Middle East and build a future of stability, cooperation, and integration to the benefit of us all. Like the Zionist leaders on November 29, 1947, who embraced hope while remaining clear-eyed about the challenges ahead, we too must approach this historic moment with cautious optimism for a more secure and peaceful future for our region. 

Qatar says Hamas failure to return last two slain hostages can’t ‘obstruct’ Gaza plan-Hostages’ forum slams remarks by spokesman for Qatari Foreign Ministry, says ‘the return of the hostages is the core’ of agreement formulated by Trump for a postwar Strip By ToI Staff 30 November 2025, 2:28 pm

A spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said that the two deceased hostages whose bodies remain in Gaza should not be seen as grounds to delay the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace deal.The comments from Doha, a key mediator of the ceasefire, drew backlash from the organization representing hostages’ families. They came as efforts continue to locate the bodies of the two slain captives, police officer Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, nearly two months after the agreement mandating their return took effect.The bodies of 26 deceased hostages have been returned gradually, without any assurances or fixed timeline, over the course of the past seven weeks. In an interview with an Al-Araby Al-Jadeed podcast that aired Saturday, the Qatari spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, says the issue of the two remaining bodies potentially delaying the next phase “is the most important” right now.“We don’t believe Israel should be allowed to obstruct the implementation of the agreement over these two bodies,” he said. “At the same time, of course, the Palestinian side is working to retrieve the bodies and preempt any Israeli pretexts.”The first phase of the deal, delineated in an October 9 ceasefire agreement, includes the return of all hostages, living and deceased. The rest of the US-backed plan, which has not been formally agreed on, would see Israeli troops withdraw further from Gaza as Hamas disarms and hands control over to a transitional governing body and multinational peacekeeping force.The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement responding to Ansari that Doha should be focusing its efforts on ensuring the remains are released, as per the deal’s first phase.“We remind the mediators, primarily Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, that the return of the hostages is the core of this agreement,” said the forum, which has represented most of the captives’ families. “Instead of pressuring Israel not to ‘use delays as an excuse,’ the mediators should direct their full efforts and leverage all available pressure toward Hamas, the terrorist organization that has failed to meet its commitments under the agreement.”Ansari’s comments are significant because Qatar has acted as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas. The US has also expressed eagerness for the deal to move forward, and it was endorsed by the UN Security Council earlier this month.But Hamas has so far refused to agree on the matter of demilitarization, and few countries have volunteered for the multinational force meant to oversee the Strip’s security.The territory is now split between Israeli and Hamas control. Israel insists the Strip must be demilitarized before Trump’s plan can advance.“The current endeavor for Qatar and its partners in the region is to move from the first phase to the second [of the plan], and thus achieve a sustainable peace that can comprehensively end the state of war in the Gaza Strip,” Ansari said. “There are significant challenges in reaching this stage of truce, but the focus now is on maintaining it long enough to reach a political solution in which all parties in the region, along with the international community and the United States, work together to make this plan a success and end the war.”Gvili and Rinthalak were both abducted in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that launched the war. Gvili, a police officer, was killed fending off the Hamas invasion at Kibbutz Alumim. Rinthalak was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri, where he worked in agriculture.On Sunday, Al Jazeera reported that teams from the Red Cross and from the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, were searching for the remains of an “Israeli prisoner” in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya.Beit Lahiya lies on the Hamas-controlled side of the Gaza ceasefire line. Gvili is the lone Israeli still held in Gaza.“Hamas has proven it knows exactly where all the hostages are located. When it chooses to, it directs recovery teams to recover them,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in its statement.At a rally on Saturday night, Ran’s father, Itzik Gvili, said there must be “no next phase” to the current Gaza ceasefire, and “no ‘day after’ in Gaza,” until Hamas returns the last two bodies.The ceasefire plan, the US president has said, is meant to create an opening for Israel to normalize relations with more of its neighbors. But Ansari said that any potential normalization between Doha and Israel would only occur if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved.“Any normalization with Israel will only occur within the framework of a solution to the Palestinian issue,” he said. “The absence of a peace process for the Palestinians means there will be no stability in the region.”

How the first Bible to include a map helped spread the idea of countries with borders-Chart from 500 years ago reflected European ignorance of Holy Land, with later iterations improving; division into territories of 12 Israelite tribes set stage for international boundaries-By Nathan MacDonald 30 November 2025, 6:56 am

THE CONVERSATION — Five hundred years ago, the first Bible featuring a map was published. The anniversary has passed uncelebrated, but it transformed the way that Bibles were produced. The map appeared in Christopher Froschauer’s 1525 Old Testament, which was published in Zürich and widely distributed in 16th-century central Europe.Yet despite being a groundbreaking moment in the Bible’s history, the initial attempt was hardly a triumph.It is flipped along the north-south axis (meaning it’s back to front). As a result, the Mediterranean appears to the east of Israel/Palestine, rather than to the west. It illustrates how little many in Europe knew about the Middle East that such a map could have been published without anyone in the printer’s workshop questioning it.The map had originally been drawn about a decade earlier by the celebrated Renaissance painter and printmaker Lukas Cranach the Elder, based in Wittenberg in latterday Germany. Written in Latin, it shows Israel/Palestine with various important holy sites such as Jerusalem and Bethlehem. At the bottom, you can see the mountains of Sinai and the path taken by the Israelites as they escaped slavery in Egypt.Look closely and you can see the Israelites and their tents, plus various vignettes of the events on their journey. The landscape is more European than Middle Eastern, though, reflecting the printmakers’ ignorance of this region. There are walled towns with numerous trees and, in contrast with reality, the Jordan meanders rather more dramatically towards the Dead Sea, and the coastline has more bays and coves.In the previous century, Europeans had rediscovered the second-century Greco-Roman geographer Ptolemy, and with him the art of making accurate maps that used latitude and longitude (insofar as longitude could be estimated at that time – it greatly improved in later centuries). With the advent of printing, Ptolemy’s Cosmographia had taken Europe by storm. His scientific treatise on geography was published and his maps of the ancient world reproducedPrinters soon discovered, however, that purchasers desired contemporary maps. Soon, new maps of France, Spain and Scandinavia were published. To our eyes, these are truly modern. North is at the top of the page and the locations of cities, rivers and coastlines are presented highly accurately.These maps rapidly replaced medieval mapping with its symbolic approach to the world, such as the famous Hereford mappa mundi of the known world circa 1300, where it was more about conveying cultural or religious meaning than geographical accuracy. Except, that is, in one case: Israel/Palestine.The early modern printers of Ptolemy also gave their readers a “modern map of the Holy Land” that was nothing of the sort. It was a medieval map produced not by using latitude and longitude, but by using a grid to measure distances between different locations. It was oriented with the east at the top of the page and the west at the bottom. It portrayed the holy sites of Christianity and divided the land of Israel/Palestine into tribal territories.Cranach’s map blends these two types of maps. At its top and bottom edges, it has lines of meridian, but the coastline is slanted so that the entire map is orientated with the north-east at the top of the page.It is as though Cranach couldn’t quite decide what type of map to create. Its portrayal is realistic and modern, but the map is full of symbolic geography: as your eye passes over, you journey with the Israelites from Egyptian bondage to the promised land, with all its resonant locations, such as Mount Carmel, Nazareth, the River Jordan and Jericho.The map was characteristic of Europe’s lack of interest in the land, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. What European book buyers cared for was the strange hybrid space that is the “Holy Land”: somewhere that was in our world, but also not part of it.The towns the map portrayed were those that had flourished two millennia earlier, which for Christians were in some sense more real. They were part of the imaginative space described in their churches and scriptures.That curious juxtaposition of ancient and modern was particularly consequential when it came to the mapping of Israel/Palestine into 12 tribal territories. The 12 tribes that descended from Jacob symbolized Christianity’s claim as the true heir of Israel and its holy sites, and also what the holy sites represented: the inheritance of the heavenly Jerusalem. Lines on the map communicated the eternal promises of God.But in the early modern period, lines began to be used to mark the borders between sovereign states. The maps of the Holy Land, neatly divided amongst the Israelite tribes, set the agenda for cartographers. As the 16th century went on, more and more maps in atlases divided the world among distinct nations with clearly defined borders.The fact that a map divided into territories appeared in the Bible gave apparently religious authorization for a world full of borders. Lines that had once symbolized the boundless divine promises now communicated the limits of political sovereignties.Within Bibles themselves, maps had arrived for good. The following years saw printers experiment with various configurations, but eventually they were to settle on four maps: one of the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites, one of the territories of the 12 tribes, one of Israel/Palestine at the time of Jesus, and one of the apostle Paul’s missionary journeys.There is a pleasing symmetry: two maps for the Old Testament, two for the New Testament. But also, two maps of journeys and two maps of the Holy Land. Such symmetries communicated the connections between events: the Old Testament was fulfilled in the New Testament, and Judaism in Christianity.The first map in a Bible is therefore a fascinating moment in history, but a troubling one. It transformed the Bible into something like a Renaissance atlas, but deeply embedded in assumptions about Christian superiority: the Holy Land of Christian imagination displacing contemporary Israel/Palestine, and Christianity superseding Judaism.It was also one of the agents in creating the modern world of distinct nation-states. In many ways, we’ve been living with the consequences ever since.The writer is Professor of the Interpretation of the Old Testament at the University of Cambridge.Times of Israel staff contributed to this piece.

Scientists tracking impact as desalinated water flows into Sea of Galilee for first time-Laboratory head says amounts of water entering lake still small, any effects will be identified upstream; ‘We haven’t seen anything yet that would make us say stop the flow’By Sue Surkes Today, 10:49 am-DEC 1,25

Scientists have begun testing the ecological impact of the desalinated water being pumped into the Sea of Galilee as part of a groundbreaking project aimed at halting the lake’s decline.In what is believed to be the first example in the world of topping up a freshwater lake with processed seawater, 1,000 cubic meters (264,000 gallons) of desalinated water began flowing into the country’s largest sweet water lake and main emergency drinking water source every hour on October 23. This is expected to raise the lake’s level by around 0.5 centimeters (0.2 inches) per month.Tests conducted before the project’s implementation indicated that the saltless seawater would not have any particularly negative effects on the lake’s ecosystems.However, it is only now that scientists from the Kinneret Limnological Laboratory can start analyzing and assessing the chemical and biological impact of the new water flow in real time.The laboratory’s director, Yaron Be’eri Shelvin, explained that researchers will be examining the effect of chlorine, which is routinely added to water passing through the national water system.Their main focus, however, will be on the chemical and biological materials the water picks up after it emerges from the pipes into the Ein Ravid spring, some four kilometers (2.5 miles) northwest of the lake, and flows into the seasonal Tsalmon Stream before entering the lake at a delta.“We are checking what the water picks up from the dry stream bed on its way to the Sea of Galilee,” Be’eri Shelvin said. The researchers would focus on the presence and quantity of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, also looking for traces of micronutrients such as silica, iron, and sulphates, and for fecal coli bacteria emanating from livestock excreta or sewage leaks.Excess nitrogen and phosphorus can lead to algal blooms, which can deprive aquatic life forms of light and harm fish.As algae form the base of the lake’s food chain, the scientists will be analyzing them for changes that could be linked to the desalinated waterSamples are being taken from several points along the stream, and from three locations in the lake’s delta, Be’eri Shelvi said.“We will need months of data, at the very least, before we can start talking about any trends,” he went on, adding that the monitoring would continue for at least a year.“If there are any effects, they will be minimal as the amounts of water entering the lake are very small, and we haven’t seen anything so far that would make us say, ‘stop,'” he continued.“The lake contains four billion cubic meters of water. You need a lot more water with a lot more contaminants to cause harm. If anything is alarming, we will see it in the delta, where the stream meets the lake.”The project was conceived toward the end of several disastrous drought years, between 2013 and 2018, when the lake’s level approached an all-time low.Last winter, Israel received only half of its yearly average rainfall,  with many places in and around the Sea of Galilee receiving just 40% of the average or less, according to the Israel Meteorological Service.It marked a stark shift from several previous years, which had seen sufficient rain to fill the lake to levels not seen for years.Over the past year, signs of falling water levels at the lake have been clearly visible along its beaches, with large expanses of sand, rock, and soil that would normally be submerged now exposed.The Sea of Galilee lies in the Syrian-African rift valley, below sea level. On. Monday, the lake’s level was at 213.435 meters (700.2 feet) below sea level, having risen above the lower red line of minus 213 meters, the lowest point the water level can drop before pumping risks damaging the ecosystem.

'Who destroyed the Canaanite city-states in the Bronze Age?'Study anchors obscure pharaoh in time, opening research path into dating the Exodus-A PLOS ONE paper places Ahmose’s reign over Egypt decades after the famous Thera volcanic eruption in the Aegean Sea, with vast implications for the region’s history By Rossella Tercatin 29 November 2025, 9:47 am

For the first time, two scholars have used radiocarbon analysis to pinpoint the era in which Pharaoh Nebpehtire Ahmose reigned over Egypt, determining that he must have ascended the throne in the second half of the 16th century BCE.In so doing, they have also opened new avenues for investigating a long-rumored connection between the events described in the biblical Exodus and a devastating volcanic eruption in the Aegean Sea long considered contemporary to Ahmose, said Prof. Hendrik J. Bruins from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the lead author of a new study in which the scholars published their findings.The study, published in the prominent journal PLOS ONE last month, has significant implications for understanding the history of Egypt, the land of Israel, and the wider region.The Thera-Santorini volcano’s eruption has fascinated generations of archaeologists for its potential as a source of stories such as the Greek legend of Atlantis and the biblical narrative of the divine emancipation of the enslaved Israelites from their cruel Egyptian masters.Located some 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Crete, the volcano likely generated days of darkness, tsunamis, and possibly even a pillar of fire visible in Egypt (pumice from the eruption has been found in both modern-day Israel and Egypt).Previous assessments claimed that the eruption occurred around 1500 BCE.Ahmose was the founder of the 18th Dynasty and of the New Kingdom, a period of renewed prosperity in ancient Egypt following several difficult centuries.An important archaeological artifact from the time of Ahmose, the “Tempest Stela,” describes disastrous climate phenomena. In the past, many scholars suggested the inscription refers to the Thera eruption.However, Bruins and his co-author Johannes van der Plicht from the University of Groningen used the same radiocarbon analysis method on samples associated with Ahmose and on seeds and branches charred by the eruption.By comparing the results, the scholars determined that the pharaoh clearly ruled over Egypt several decades after the eruption.“In the last decade, geologists have found ash from the Thera eruption in many places in the eastern Mediterranean,” Bruins told The Times of Israel over the phone. “Eruptions can be very useful as anchors in time, because they happened over the course of a couple of days, and then they are over. Ash from this eruption is a kind of stratigraphic marker.”Scientific methods, such as radiocarbon analysis, provide independent dating to compare with the more traditional methods used by scholars, including historical sources, pottery typology, and archaeological artifacts. These traditional methods often fail to provide exact dating.“In many parts of the Mediterranean, including ancient Israel, the local stratigraphies are floating in time and [scholars] try to connect them to Egyptian history for the simple reason that Egyptian history is more well established in time,” Bruins explained.Yet, even Egyptian chronology, based on when different dynasties and pharaohs ruled over the kingdom, leaves many questions open, even after radiocarbon dating has become more prevalent, offering new tools to support what historians had traditionally dated based on written sources.The Second Intermediate Period, one of the most obscure periods in Egypt’s ancient history, roughly spanned from 1700 to 1550 BCE. Its beginning, duration, and end are debated among scholars.During this period, Egypt was divided into the Upper and Lower Kingdoms. Ahmose was the sovereign who reunited the country, defeated the Hyksos Dynasty that ruled over the Lower Kingdom, marking the beginning of the New Kingdom, and started his own dynasty.“There has been a question about when the 18th Dynasty really began, also in relation to the Thera eruption, and so I was looking for material from the Second Intermediate Period [to date],” Bruins said.“It was quite difficult to find, because these periods are less well known in historical terms, as its pharaohs do not always have records of them, nor do museums have many remains that could be dated with radiocarbon,” he added.The scholar began pursuing this research avenue in 2013, approaching several museums and requesting their artifacts. Many did not respond positively, mainly because the study required extracting samples from the items for analysis. However, the British Museum and the Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology (University College, London) ultimately agreed to provide some artifacts from their collections.“The most important object has been a mud brick excavated around 1900 by British archeologists in the temple of Ahmose in Abydos, in southern Egypt,”  Bruins said. “The brick is stamped with the throne name of the king Nebpehtire. Ahmose was a quite common name in Egypt at the time, and other pharaohs were carrying it, but thanks to his throne name, this marked the first time that we could put our hands on an object that can be confidently related to this particular pharaoh.”The researchers managed to extract a straw piece added to the brick to strengthen it, as was done at the time.“Scholarly opinions about Ahmose’s accession year ranged from 1580 BCE to 1524 BCE,” Bruins explained. “Our radiocarbon dating of the Ahmose mudbrick supports the two youngest Egyptological dating assessments for when the mudbricks for his temple were made, around 1517 or 1502 BCE, or what we archaeologists refer to as the ‘low chronology.'”Since the temple depicts scenes of Ahmose’s battles against the Hyksos, the brick must date to a period in his kingdom after the war, possibly around the 22nd year of his reign.Bruins was also able to study six shabtis, or human figurines roughly carved from wood representing mummies buried with the deceased, which he received from the Petrie Museum.“One shabti carries the name of a person that is also mentioned on an important tomb in Southern Egypt as the mayor of Thebes, and his rule covered part of the time of Pharaoh Ahmose and of his son Amenhotep I,” Bruins said. “The radiocarbon date of this shabti is virtually the same as that of the mud brick. They confirmed each other.”At the same time, the researchers’ analysis of the Thera eruption yielded a time range of 60-90 years earlier.According to the Bruins, therefore, the Tempest Stela must refer to a different meteorological event.A new chronology for the land of Israel? The PLOS ONE paper does not address the implications of the new datings for the history and chronology of the land of Israel, which have generally been based on the Egyptian chronology.However, Bruins told The Times of Israel that they are significant and he is already working on a study on the subject.The transition between the Middle Bronze Age and the Late Bronze Age in Israel has traditionally been linked to the beginning of the 18th Dynasty in Egypt.“At the time, many powerful city-states in the Middle Bronze Age were somehow destroyed or replaced or didn’t continue [to exist] afterward, and usually this transition was linked with the beginning of the New Kingdom and its pharaohs,” Bruins said.According to the researcher, the incursions into Canaan have been generally attributed to Pharaoh Thutmose III, the fifth king of the 18th Dynasty.“We have historical accounts about this pharaoh that he really penetrated into the Levant, in ancient Israel, and also more to the north,” he said.According to Bruins, if Thutmose was not the one responsible for the destruction of the Canaanite city-states, it is important to investigate who else was.“If these cities, or some of these cities, were destroyed before the beginning of the 18th Dynasty, then there’s a question about which Egyptians did this? Because we have no records from the Second Intermediate Period that Egyptian pharaohs made large military excursions into the Levant,” he said.Looking for the Exodus in the right century-According to Bruins, there are questions to be explored around a potential correlation between the Thera eruption, the destruction of Canaanite cities, and the Exodus.Many academics believe that the biblical narrative does not reflect historical events. At the same time, they tend to suggest that the mass escape of the Israelites from Egypt is supposed to have happened at some point in the early 13th century BCE.Bruins, however, disagrees.“I don’t think that is the right interpretation because we do not have any evidence that the 13th century fits with the archeological record they have been looking for,” he said.“There are so many Exodus views by different scholars that have no link to the biblical record anymore,” he added. “If you lose any connection with the biblical record, then it becomes a kind of abstract thinking.”According to Bruins, the strategy for exploring whether and when the Exodus occurred should entail seeking evidence of destruction associated with the Israelites’ conquest of the land under Moses’s successor, Joshua.Asked in which century he would look, he went back to the Thera eruption.“If we take the [biblical] text, one of the features of the Exodus is the darkness in Egypt,” he noted, referring to one of the plagues that God sent against the  Egyptians according to the Bible.“From a scientific perspective, what can cause three days of darkness?” he added. “Some suggest a sandstorm, but after living 35 years in the Negev Desert, I can vouch that no sandstorm causes something like that. Others say a solar eclipse, but that is a matter of minutes, not days.”Bruins said that records from the eruption of the Tambora volcano in Indonesia in 1815 state that the event caused three days of darkness at a distance of 500 to 600 kilometers (roughly 310 to 370 miles).“If darkness in Egypt was really for three days, then the only mechanism we can think of from from the geological or natural science [perspective] is a volcanic eruption, and the only volcanic eruption that was very powerful and could have caused such an effect is the Santorini eruption, that was one of the largest worldwide in the last 10,000 years,” he said.Bruins believes the destruction of the Canaanite cities in the Levant may have occurred in the following years, but he also stressed that this cannot be stated until there is scientific evidence. The scholar is therefore working to collect and date samples from the relevant destruction layers of these cities to understand when they actually ceased to exist.“If we are talking about a theory, anybody can make up all kinds of ideas,” he said. “It has to be proven by hard facts, by dating, and this is something that I’m working on publishing.”

Religious leaders say we need faith in the climate fight-Also: Mapping drought across Canada-CBC News · Posted: Nov 06, 2025 2:00 PM EST | 

Welcome to our weekly newsletter where we highlight environmental trends and solutions that are moving us to a more sustainable world. I’m Nick Logan, exploring the power of faith — faith communities, that is – in urging governments to make serious climate commitments.This week:Do we have some faith in the climate fight.The Big Picture: How bad the drought has been across Canada-Menstrual cups are a greener period product. This accessory could help more women to use them-Do we have some faith in the climate fight? The Pope sits in a throne-like chair as Arnold Schwarzenegger stands at a podium behind a block of ice-Pope Leo XIV, Arnold Schwarzenegger and an iceberg share the stage with a chunk of a melting glacier from Greenland at a climate conference in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, in September. (Alessandra Tarantino/The Associated Press) So the Pope, the Terminator and an iceberg walk into a bar.…OK. Not a bar. But something like that did happen at a climate conference in Italy in September, when Hollywood star and former Republican California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger shared a stage with Pope Leo XIV and a chunk of ice from a melting glacier in Greenland."Every single one of [the] 1.4 billion Catholics can be a crusader for the environment and can help us terminate pollution," Schwarzenegger told the audience at the gathering to mark the 10th anniversary of the late pope Francis’s landmark encyclical on climate action — known as Laudato Si’.Those 1.4 billion Catholics aren't alone, either. In the 10 years since Laudato Si’, many other religions — including Hinduism, Judaism and Islam, among others  — have made their own climate declarations, drawing on the teachings of their sacred texts to connect environmental actions to moral obligations.“[The] climate crisis matters for us. It has a lot of implications for our children, our future generations, our economy,” said Ibrahim Özdemir, an Islamic environmental philosopher and vice-president of academic affairs at the American Islamic College in Chicago. He was among a group of scholars and NGOs that united to issue the Islamic Declaration on Climate Change in 2015, inspired by Laudato Si’. “Based on Islamic principles from the Quran and the life of the Prophet Muhammad, we prepared a declaration, and we [made] a call to all Muslims around the world [that] you have to care about the climate crisis,” he told Laura Lynch, host of CBC Radio's What on Earth. That 2015 declaration eventually led to the creation of Al-Mizan: A Covenant for the Earth, launched in 2024 and translated into 12 languages.Mizan means “balance” in Arabic and Özdemir says it’s a “core concept of the Quran.” “The Quran says God created everything with a balance, with a measure, with a limit,” he said. “We have to use natural resources, which [are] bestowed to us by God, but we cannot waste them,” he said. “We have to care about the balance of nature, the balance of everything.”Because Islam doesn’t have a central figure like the pope, Özdemir said it will take time for the covenant to be adopted widely. But he believes it’s an important step toward bringing awareness about climate action to the world’s estimated two billion Muslims. Meanwhile, at the recent climate conference, Schwarzenegger hailed Pope Leo — who ascended to the papacy following Francis’s death in April — as an “action hero” for taking steps to make Vatican City the first carbon-neutral state on Earth. But it wasn’t all prayers and plaudits.Pope Leo spoke about this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 30, saying it is time for real climate solutions and that it was the duty of Catholics everywhere to make their leaders take notice of the issue.But in the decade since Laudato Si’ was published, progress on curbing the world’s reliance on climate-harming fossil fuels, and efforts to protect those who are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, has slowed or even been reversed.A Canadian who is heavily involved in shaping the Vatican’s stance on climate change, and helped craft Laudato Si’, says it’s “alarming” that governments are “not sufficiently committed” to curbing the effects of human-caused climate change.Montreal-raised Cardinal Michael Czerny is the department head of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, which is dedicated to “taking care of the goods of justice, peace and the safeguarding of Creation.” The department also pays particular attention to issues regarding human rights, disarmament, health and the needs of the marginalized, victims of armed conflict and natural disasters.In an interview with Laura Lynch, he said he senses many people around the world are “disappointed” their governments aren’t taking more meaningful climate action.  “I have the feeling that the governments of the wealthier countries don't have the courage to ask their citizens to make sacrifices,” he said. “And because nobody is asking us to do it in a persuasive way, and because we're letting business set the priorities … we muddle along.” Czerny previously expressed concern about how effective COP30 will be at delivering a significant shift in climate commitments, due to faltering multilateralism. In an interview with The New York Times, he said the conference may be a “charade” and that the world’s “capacity to co-operate” on issues like climate change is "deteriorating rapidly.” While countries may seem divided about what to do about climate change, there is unity heading into COP30 from representatives of many of the world’s major religions. They issued a joint interfaith statement last month calling on their congregations to step up to address the climate emergency even if their governments will not.You can listen to Laura Lynch’s full interviews with Cardinal Czerny and Ibrahim Özdemir on What on Earth this Sunday on CBC Radio at 11:00 a.m. (11:30 a.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador). The episode will be available on the CBC Listen app on Friday and wherever you get your podcasts on Wednesday.  — Nick Logan, with files from Jennifer Wilson.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened,(DAY LIGHT HOURS SHORTENED) there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)(THE ASTEROID HITS EARTH HERE)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

EZEKIEL 32:6-9
6  I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
7  And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
8  All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.
9  I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator and baby murderers by abortion) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

2 Peter 3:6-7 Amplified Bible (AMP) (HOT SUN, NUKES ETC)
6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)

1,000 killed in floods in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia-Rescuers search for flood victims in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Neighbourhoods buried under mud’: Sri Lanka floods death toll reaches 334-By Federica Marsi and Fiona Kelliher-Published On 1 Dec 20251 Dec 2025

Floods across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia have killed more than 1,000 people in less than a week.At least 604 people have been reported killed in Indonesia, 335 in Sri Lanka, 176 in Thailand and three in Malaysia.Sri Lanka and Indonesia have deployed military personnel to help victims of the devastating flooding.The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics has issued a forecast for rain across much of the country.Search and rescue operations have continued in multiple areas across all of the affected countries.

Death toll rises, hundreds missing as Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand struggle to reach flood victims-Sri Lanka authorities say rescuers still searching for 370 missing people-The Associated Press · Posted: Dec 01, 2025 4:57 AM EST |

Indonesia's president told survivors of last week's devastating floods that help was arriving to those in need Monday as Asian governments scaled up their responses to a disaster that has left more than 1,000 dead in three countries.Hundreds more are missing following flooding and landslides in the past week, which killed at least 469 people in Indonesia, 334 in Sri Lanka and 170 in Thailand, authorities said.Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto pledged to rebuild infrastructure while visiting areas impacted by floods and landslides on Sumatra island that left thousands homeless and 474 people missing as of Monday.Some areas of Indonesia remained unreachable Monday after the disaster damaged roads and downed communications lines, with residents in impacted areas relying on aircraft delivering supplies. Flooding displaced 290,700 people in North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh provinces, the National Disaster Management Agency said.Indonesian residents hunt for food and water after deadly floods; 193 dead in Sri Lanka-Prabowo, who visited North Sumatra on Monday and was expected to visit West Sumatra and Aceh during the day, said the government's response is reaching those in need.A man pushes a makeshift raft, which also carries a little girl, along a flooded street."We need to confront climate change effectively," Prabowo told reporters after visiting survivors. "Local governments must take a significant role in safeguarding the environment and preparing for the extreme weather conditions that will arise from future climate change."Sri Lanka authorities said Monday that rescuers are still searching for 370 missing people. Nearly 148,000 people are housed in temporary shelters after being battered in the past week downpours that flooded homes, fields and roads and triggered landslides, primarily in the tea-growing central hill country.In Thailand, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Saturday outlined recovery and compensation plans for the southern part of the country, where the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said severe flooding in 12 southern provinces affected more than 1.4 million households and 3.8 million people.

Cold and snow hit Ottawa Region-By Rachel Morgan-Posted Nov 30, 2025 10:32:20 AM.

While Ottawa has evaded much of the snow fall that has pummelled southern Ontario in an early winter lake effect snowstorm, it certainly does not have reprieve from the cold.The high for Sunday is 0 C, but by the beginning of the week, temperatures will remain in the negatives, reaching a blistering -13 C by Thursday night, according to Environment Canada.High winds could make it feel much colder. Southwest winds of 20 km/h an expected to produce gusts of up to 50 km/h throughout the day. Environment Canada says the wind direction will change after midnight with gusts of up to 50 km/h coming from the northwest.The winds can be expected to die down slightly on Monday, but the wind chill will still make it feel like -14 in the morning.While it may not be enough to spark a snow day, as seen across Waterloo Region late last week, Ottawa can expect some snow to fall. By the end of the day Sunday, Environment Canada forecasts a total accumulation of five to 10 cm.The weather though does remain unpredictable. Across Ontario’s eastern region, especially those areas along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, snow could temporarily switch to rain.The OPP is reminding drivers to be prepared for changing road conditions and to adjust driving to meet those conditions.The latest road conditions can be monitored through 511on.ca or municipal511.ca

Winter storm wallops parts of Midwest on one of the biggest travel days of the year-The Thanksgiving weekend storm system has brought over a foot of snow and strong winds to parts of the Midwest and thunderstorms across the South.Dec. 1, 2025, 12:40 AM EST-By Mirna Alsharif, Christine Rapp and Valerie Castro

A 45-car pileup in Indiana and a Delta jet's skidding off the runway in Iowa are among the travel disasters stemming from a powerful winter storm taking aim at the heart of the country on one of the biggest travel days of the year.Around 25 million people were under winter weather alerts Sunday as a Thanksgiving weekend storm brought more than a foot of snow and strong winds to parts of the Midwest, with thunderstorms hitting the South. By 11 a.m., snowfall totals had reached 15 inches in Fort Dodge, Iowa, 13 inches in Lancaster, Wisconsin, and a foot in Pana, Illinois.The city of Milwaukee declared a snow emergency for Sunday and Monday night because of heavy snow. The city's streets are scheduled to be plowed one to two days after the snow stops.The National Weather Service had warned that a quick burst of snow would affect the Chicago area Sunday morning, reducing visibility on the roads and making travel dangerous.The Indiana State Police said no serious injuries were reported following Saturday’s 45-car pileup of commercial and passenger vehicles on Interstate 70. Vigo County, where the crash occurred, was under a winter weather advisory that expired Sunday morning. The crash caused a temporary closure of the interstate, which reopened later Saturday.Sgt. Matt Ames urged residents to stay home if possible and use caution if they must travel.“People just need to drive smart when the snow starts falling, reduce your speed, make sure you’re buckled up, and let’s just all be safe out there,” Ames said.In Iowa, Delta Air Lines Flight 5087 slid off the end of a runway while it was turning onto a taxiway because of icy conditions at Des Moines International Airport on Saturday night, according to the airline and the Federal Aviation Administration. The passengers got off and were taken to a terminal. The FAA is investigating.Winter weather leaves 53 million under alerts and disrupts travel-Passengers were stuck on the aircraft after it hit ice and slid 2 feet off the runway, one said. Videos on Facebook showed first responders plowing the plane out of the snow so they could get it back on the runway.“Safety comes before all else and we apologize to our customers for the experience,” Delta said in a statement, adding that no injuries were reported.The severe weather affected wildlife, too. The Hoyt Lakes Fire and EMS Department shared video showing workers freeing a deer trapped in the frozen Whitewater Lake in Minnesota on Saturday.A few showers continue Sunday evening across the Great Lakes and the Southeast as a strong storm system finally makes its way offshore. Scattered snow will continue downwind of the Great Lakes overnight, clearing by Monday morning.Snow showers in the interior Northeast will persist before they gradually fade overnight.Rain extends from parts of coastal New England through the mid-Atlantic and into the Gulf Coast through the early overnight hours. Rain may be heavy at times, but no severe weather is expected. Numerous cities may have travel impacts, including Cleveland; Buffalo, New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Atlanta. A 54-minute ground delay at Boston Logan International Airport is expected to persist until 9:59 p.m. Sunday, according to the FAA.While the winter storm for the Midwest will end, another potential storm will follow for New England, the mid-Atlantic and the East Coast, with possible widespread showers and thunderstorms Monday through Tuesday, the National Weather Service said in an advisory Sunday afternoon.The storms are accompanied by colder-than-normal air, federal forecasters said, with parts of the Midwest and the interior East Coast forecast to see temperatures 12 to 25 degrees below normal as the work week starts.The fronts are part of the annual winter weather machine that has been cranking out rain and snow even as astronomical winter is still three weeks away. The latest of the west-to-east storms is expected to strike southern New England on Tuesday.The National Weather Service office in Boston said as much as 6 inches of snow could pile up in the mountainous Berkshires region and in the Worcester Hills.As of Sunday evening, more than 11,000 flights traveling into, within and from the U.S. had been delayed, while more than 800 had been canceled, according to FlightAware.com. Chicago O’Hare International Airport accounts for a large share of the travel issues, reporting 375 cancellations and 1,700 delays. At John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, 79 flights had been canceled and over 400 had been delayed.Officials concerned with snow and ice on taxiways at Chicago O'Hare issued a ground stop late Sunday that was canceled less than an hour later, according to Federal Aviation Administration advisories. Travelers there were subjected to delays of more than 90 minutes Sunday night, according to the FAA.Video from the tarmac shared on social media showed the runways covered in snow Saturday. A record 8.4 inches of snow was reported from the area Saturday, the highest single calendar day snowfall, according to the weather service. The previous record was 8 inches in 1951.The airport was crowded earlier Sunday as travelers arrived to play catch-up after more than 1,000 cancellations Saturday. The road leading into the airport was jammed with cars, and the TSA PreCheck line stretched through the terminal.Sisters Rima and Jasmin Eid's flight from Chicago to Miami was delayed three times Saturday. They were trying to surprise their mother with a cruise they booked for her birthday.“We’re trying to get everything planned out, but unfortunately, we’re very delayed, and they will not help us because we’re basic economy,” Rima said. “They said we will not accommodate any changes.”The sisters said they were stuck at the airport, hoping their flight will go ahead as planned.“It’s very frustrating and very upsetting,” Jasmin said.Mirna Alsharif-Mirna Alsharif is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

Feds set to open new co-ordination centre for disaster response-The main operations room is seen during a media tour at the new Government Operations Centre in Ottawa on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld-By Nick Murray, The Canadian Press-Posted Nov 28, 2025 05:43:09 PM.

OTTAWA — Canada will soon have a new operations centre to help co-ordinate countrywide disaster response.Government officials on Friday offered media outlets a tour of the new facility, which is expected to be open next month. For security reasons, journalists were required to sign a nondisclosure agreement preventing them from revealing the facility’s location.The heart of the facility is the “operational centre” — a room resembling NASA’s mission control, with a pair of massive two-storey-high screens connected to more than 500 different datapoints, space for 80 people and capacity to handle multiple emergencies at once.Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski said the new space brings more people together in the same room, allowing for better co-ordination of national responses to anything from wildfires and floods to terrorist attacks.“Part of what we need from a federal emergency management perspective is to make sure we can assist and provide and co-ordinate resources where there are provinces and communities that aren’t able to manage that on their own,” Olszewski told reporters.Government officials on the tour said the vision behind the new centre includes bringing in private sector partners to help — such as retailers with supplies of food and water.The space provides room for some 150 staff and dedicated space for other government agencies — including Environment Canada, which will use the space for monitoring weather during a hurricane response — and for Canadian Armed Forces liaison officers in the event of a national security incident.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 28, 2025.Nick Murray, The Canadian Press.

Israeli airlines mostly unaffected as Airbus grounds 6,000 jets for software update-Arkia says no flights disrupted by European aviation giant’s emergency recall on some A320 models; 1 Israir plane briefly grounded; El Al untouched as it only operates Boeing jets-By ToI Staff 29 November 2025, 7:51 pm

Israeli airlines were largely unaffected by Airbus’s emergency software recall, which it ordered Friday for thousands of its best-selling A320 passenger jets in a move that temporarily grounded some 6,000 planes, disrupting flights globally.The European aviation manufacturer said the move would affect a “significant number” of A320 models, and a bulletin sent out by the company to airlines said the update had to be carried out before the next routine flight.Airbus said in a statement that an October recent incident involving an A320-family aircraft had revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.Industry sources said the incident that triggered the unexpected repair action involved a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, on October 30, in which several passengers were hurt following a sharp loss of altitude.Arkia and Israir, Israel’s two budget airlines, both operate Airbus jets, though between them, only one plane had to be updated and zero flights were disrupted.Israir said Saturday that it was already updating the only jet in its fleet that needed the software change, and that the jet will be ready for service as early as Sunday morning.Arkia, which operates one A320 model, said the jet did not need updates, though it said it would update its two A321 models, which were also affected by the same issue.El Al, Israel’s main airline, only operates Boeing models.Some 3,000 A320-family jets were in the air worldwide shortly after the Airbus announcement, and thousands of flights around the globe were disrupted during one of the busiest travel seasons of the year.There are around 11,300 A320-family aircraft in operation, including 6,440 of the core A320 model, which first flew in 1987.The setback appeared to be among the largest mass recalls affecting Airbus in its 55-year history and comes weeks after the A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the world’s most-delivered passenger jet.Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury acknowledged that the fix “has been causing significant logistical challenges and delays,” but added its operators were working around the clock to ensure the required updates “are deployed as swiftly as possible to get planes back in the sky.”Several leading European airlines said there had been minimal or no cancellations as a result, although there were indications the situation was more problematic in Latin America and Asia.Agencies contributed to this report.

Death toll in Hong Kong apartment complex blaze rises to 146 as the city mourns-By The Associated Press-Published: November 30, 2025 at 7:54AM EST

HONG KONG — The death toll in Hong Kong’s apartment complex blaze rose to 146 on Sunday as investigators discovered more bodies in the burned-out buildings. A steady stream of people placed bouquets of flowers at an ever-growing makeshift memorial at the scene of the disaster, among the worst in the city’s history.The Hong Kong police Disaster Victim Identification Unit has been going through the buildings of the Wang Fuk Court complex meticulously and has found bodies both in apartment units and on the roofs, said the officer in charge, Cheng Ka-chun.The buildings remain structurally sound, but the search has been slow, he told reporters, still wearing his white coveralls with his hard hat and respiratory mask at his side. “It is so dark inside, and because of the low light, it is very difficult to do the work, especially in places away from the windows.”So far the team has examined four of the seven blocks, Cheng said.The latest searches turned up another 30 bodies, including 12 that had already been discovered by firefighters but hadn’t been recovered, said Tsang Shuk-yin, the head of the Hong Kong police casualty unit.Another 100 people are unaccounted for and 79 have been injured, Tsang said.At the scene, well-wishers bowed and said short prayers, or left handwritten notes among the flowers.“This really serves as a wake-up call for everyone, especially with these super high-rise buildings,” said Lian Shuzheng, who waited in a line of hundreds of people to add her flowers to the growing cluster.People have also donated supplies to those who lost everything in the blaze, which started Wednesday and took until Friday to fully extinguish.The eight buildings of the Wang Fuk Court complex in the suburb of Tai Po had all been clad in bamboo scaffolding draped with nylon netting for renovations, with windows covered by polystyrene panels. Authorities were investigating whether fire codes were violated.Other constructions by the same builder are halted-Hong Kong officials announced late Saturday they had ordered the immediate suspension of work on 28 building projects undertaken by the same contractor, the Prestige Construction & Engineering Company, for safety audits.“The five alarm fire at Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po, exposed serious deficiencies of PC&E in site safety management, including the extensive use of foam boards to block up windows during building repairs,” the government said in a statement.The company did not answer calls Sunday for comment.Three men — the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company — were arrested the day after the fire broke out on suspicion of manslaughter, and police said company leaders were suspected of gross negligence. Police did not identify the firm by name.Those three were released on bail but then rearrested by Hong Kong’s anti-corruption authorities, who have also arrested a further eight suspects including scaffolding subcontractors, directors of an engineering consulting company and the renovation project managers.Faulty fire alarms and foam panels under investigation-The apartment complex of eight, 31-story buildings in Tai Po, a suburb near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China, was built in the 1980s. It had almost 2,000 apartments and more than 4,600 residents.Many are now housed in short-term emergency shelters or city hotels, and authorities are working on longer-term solutions.“It’s heartbreaking,” said Jeffery Chan, a civil servant who came to pay his respects on Sunday.“As a Hong Konger, seeing people in the place where we live lose their families, lose everything in just one night — if you put yourself in their shoes, it is unbearable. They need encouragement, support and help from the people of Hong Kong,” he said.Preliminary investigations showed the fire started Wednesday afternoon on a lower-level scaffolding net of one of the buildings, and then spread rapidly inside as the foam panels caught fire and blew out windows, according to Chris Tang, Hong Kong’s secretary for security. Winds helped the flames jump from building to building and soon seven of the eight were engulfed.First responders found that some fire alarms in the complex, which housed many older people, did not sound when tested, according to Andy Yeung, the director of Hong Kong Fire Services.The dead included seven Indonesian migrant workers, and several dozen are still unaccounted for, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said. One Filipina domestic helper was also killed and 12 others remain unaccounted for, according to the Philippines Consulate General in Hong Kong.On Sunday afternoon, several hundred Filipinos packed a pedestrian street in central Hong Kong, saying prayers and singing hymns in tribute to the fire victims.In Beijing, the Ministry of Emergency Management announced a nationwide inspection of high-rise buildings to identify and remove fire hazards.“Bamboo scaffolding, non-flame-retardant safety nets... and firefighting facilities and equipment such as fire hydrant systems, automatic sprinkler systems and automatic fire alarm systems, will be among the main items to be inspected,” the ministry said.The Wang Fuk Court fire is the worst on record since a warehouse blaze in 1948 killed 176 people.The deadliest fire in Hong Kong’s recorded history was the 1918 Race Course Fire, in which more than 600 people were killed, according to the city’s Antiquities and Monuments Office.AP video journalist Ayaka McGill contributed to this report.David Rising, The Associated Press.