16 Jan 2024

Five Israeli female soldiers to be released on Sunday in first phase of hostage deal
Five Israeli female soldiers will be released from Gaza on Sunday, coinciding with the first day of a planned ceasefire – according to a report by KAN news, a senior US official announced Wednesday night. The exchange will include Palestinian prisoners as part of a deal mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt.

‘Hope to an entire region’: World leaders react to ceasefire-hostage deal
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed a ceasefire deal in Gaza on Wednesday between Israel and Palestinian terrorists Hamas, stressing that the “priority now must be to ease the tremendous suffering caused by this conflict.” “The United Nations stands ready to support the implementation of this deal ….

Pope Francis all but confirms he chose not to expose Vatican ‘corruption’ and ‘wrongdoing’
Pope Francis reveals that Benedict XVI had presented him with documents ‘relating to the most difficult and painful situations: cases of abuse, corruption, dark dealings, wrongdoings.’ Yet he has not fought that corruption.

Can Lebanon make peace with Israel and join the Abraham Accords now that Hezbollah is shattered? Can Trump help make it happen?
Lebanon was once known as the “Switzerland of the Middle East” – beautiful, stable, peaceful, and prosperous. Now it lies in ruins. Yet I believe there is hope for the Lebanese people if they will seize the current crisis and turn it into an historic opportunity.

Pro-Israel Judge Julia Sebutinde to assume presidency of the International Court of Justice
Ugandan judge, Julia Sebutinde, has strongly defended Israel against accusations of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and is now set to assume the presidency of the institution after the former head has stepped down.

Iran’s Master Plan: Houthi Attacks Revealed as Plot to Overthrow Egypt
For months, governments and military analysts worldwide have grappled with a troubling question: Why are the Houthis, an Iranian proxy terrorist group in control of southern Yemen, attacking international shipping vessels? Drawing on intelligence from veteran Israeli journalist Yehoshua MeIri, Wolicki reveals that the Houthi campaign to disrupt shipping through the Red Sea appears designed to strangle Egypt’s economy by cutting off vital Suez Canal revenue.

UN secretary-general calls UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese ‘a horrible person’
Guterres made the remarks to Lipstadt during a Munich Security Conference, saying twice that Albanese was a “horrible person.” A spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General neither confirmed nor denied that he made the comment, and the Forward emphasized that the UN chief has no authority over special rapporteurs.

‘Hamas cannot have a role’ in postwar Gaza,’ says Trump adviser
Mike Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump’s national security adviser, said that Hamas has no role to play in post-war Gaza and that the terror group must be destroyed to the extent that it can never rebuild. Speaking on the “Call Me Back” podcast with Dan Senor on Wednesday, Waltz said, “We’ve been clear that Gaza has to be fully demilitarized, Hamas has to be destroyed to the point that it cannot reconstitute …..

Netanyahu makes offer to right-wing ministers to support hostage deal, save gov’t
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered a deal to cabinet members who oppose the hostage deal, provided that they remain in the government, according to Kan news reports. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to leave the government over their disagreement with the current hostage release plan.

Netanyahu speaks to Trump and Biden after hostage deal agreed upon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening spoke with US President-elect Donald Trump and thanked him for his assistance in advancing the release of the hostages and for helping Israel bring an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families. “The Prime Minister made it clear that he is committed to returning all of the hostages however he can, and commended the US President-elect for his remarks that the US would work with Israel to ensure that Gaza will never be a haven for terrorism,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

IDF announce first airstrike in Gaza Strip since ceasefire announcement
The IDF conducted an airstrike within the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, a source informed The Jerusalem Post. This is a developing story.

$50 billion to Syria vanished into thin air: Unrest in Iran grows over economic turmoil
“People are very angry with the regime for squandering funds, oil revenues, and resources on Syria, which fell alongside Hezbollah,” he said. “The regime has poured $50 billion into Syria from 2000 until now, all of which vanished into thin air, along with funds sent to Lebanon and other places.” According to Sabti, the Iranian public views this as “a regime failure.”

Make no mistake: Hamas wants to be underestimated by Israel, West –
The terrorist group has thrived for 40 years on being underestimated. When it was founded in the late 1980s, its goal was to challenge the leading Palestinian group, Fatah, and fill a void that it had identified in Palestinian politics. Hamas succeeded in the late 1980s and 1990s by being underestimated and thrived because it was often able to convince some in Israel that it was a positive alternative to the others. Hamas has always been a genocidal terrorist group.

Iran-Russia Strategic Pact to Last 20 Years, Ambassador Says Ahead of Signing
A major comprehensive bilateral agreement that Iran and Russia are set to sign later this week will govern the two countries’ relations for the next two decades, according to the Iranian ambassador to Moscow. “After the agreement is signed, it must be ratified by Iran’s parliament. Once ratified by the parliament, it will be in effect for 20 years,” the Russian state news agency TASS reported …

Israeli leaders say they overwhelmingly support emerging hostage deal
Israeli leaders from both sides of the political aisle came out in favor of a hostage deal announced on Wednesday, which the terror group Hamas has committed to in writing, according to reports. Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition and chairman of the Yesh Atid Party, said: “An entire country isn’t breathing tonight. We are all waiting, and we are all praying. But we cannot stop now, and the deal cannot end in its first part.

Extreme cold forecast to spread over much of U.S. this weekend, persist into next week
A surge of Arctic air is set to spread across much of the U.S. this weekend, bringing dangerously cold temperatures and wind chills as low as -34 °C (-30 °F) in some areas. Snow squalls will likely cause hazardous travel conditions over the Rockies and High Plains beginning on Thursday, January 16, 2025.

One dead, 200,000 homes without power as severe thunderstorms with large hail hit New South Wales Australia
Severe thunderstorms with large hailstorms, approximately 4 cm (1.6 inches), wreaked havoc across parts of eastern Australia on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, leaving one person dead and causing outages for over 200,000 homes.

Alert “Super Toxic” Smoke From The California Fires Could Cause Respiratory Problems For Millions Of Americans
In modern times, we have never seen so many homes and businesses get burned up in a heavily populated metropolitan area in the United States. The fires in California have produced enormous amounts of smoke, and health officials are trying to alert the public to the potential dangers. More than 20 million people live in Southern California, but even those living hundreds of miles away could potentially develop serious respiratory problems as a result of breathing in this smoke. According to an assistant professor at the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, wildfire smoke is “super toxic” to the lungs.

Donald Trump to Newsmax: LA Fire Damage Akin to Nuke Strike
“President-elect Donald Trump decried the neglect that led to the death and destruction wrought by the Los Angeles wildfires, telling Newsmax on Monday it’s as if the area was struck by a “nuclear weapon.

President Trump’s Secretary Of Defense Pick Pete Hegseth Gives Jesus Christ Glory During Confirmation Hearing
Hegseth stated, Thank you to my incredible wife, Jennifer, who has changed my life and been with me throughout this entire process. I love you, sweetheart, and I thank God for you.” He added, “And as Jenny and I pray together each morning, all glory — regardless of the outcome — belongs to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His grace and mercy abound each day. May His will be done.”

House Passes Bill Banning Men From Women’s Sports
The House passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act on Jan. 14, with a vote of 218-206. The legislation excludes males from participating in women’s sports sponsored by organizations that receive federal funding.

Houthis Again Target US Carrier In Red Sea Just As Gaza Truce Deal Announced
Yemen’s Houthis have once again announced that military forces have targeted American warships in the Red Sea. The Pentagon has not offered confirmation, however, and rarely admits to coming under such direct attacks.

Hostages to be released ‘shortly’ in ‘epic’ deal, Trump says reached
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire and hostage release deal, according to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

161 Years Ago, A Farmer Warned US About The Dangers Of AI, And He Was Right! 
On June 13th, 1863, The Press newspaper of Christchurch, New Zealand published an ominous letter that warned that machines would eventually become more intelligent and more powerful than humans. The letter was entitled “Darwin Among the Machines”, and it was written by an English sheep farmer living in New Zealand named Samuel Butler. He argued that humans are literally “creating our own successors,” and he was entirely convinced that at some point in the future, “we shall find ourselves the inferior race.”

Climate and Nature Bill is the UK’s version of the UN’s Agenda 2030
Very much like the WHO Pandemic Treaty, the CAN Bill would give unelected bodies sweeping powers to take over land, prevent travel, and control meat consumption, among other draconian powers, in the event of a “climate emergency.”

US will see more deaths than births over next 10 years: report
Deaths in the United States are expected to outpace births for the first time within the next decade. This comes as birth rates have hit record lows in the country in recent years.

UK Covid Inquiry begins to hear evidence on vaccines
Module 4 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, focusing on the development of Covid-19 vaccines and the implementation of the vaccine rollout program across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, is finally taking place.  Here are some highlights from submissions made by the public.