ISRAEL - The Vatican’s ambassador to Israel has been summoned to the Jewish state's Foreign Ministry after Pope Francis criticized the “cruelty” of airstrikes in Gaza, several Israeli media outlets reported on Wednesday. The Pope renewed his call for a ceasefire in Gaza ahead of Christmas, highlighting the civilian death toll from Israeli airstrikes. “This is cruelty. This is not war. I wanted to say this because it touches the heart,” the pontiff said, according to Reuters. Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana was summoned for a conversation with Foreign Ministry Director General Eyal Bar-Tal on Tuesday. Bar-Tal condemned the remarks made by the Pope, but did not formally reprimand Yllana, the report said. West Jerusalem has dismissed accusations of genocide from states and NGOs, insisting that the Palestinian militant group Hamas has used civilians as human shields. “Cruelty is terrorists hiding behind children while trying to murder Israeli children; cruelty is holding 100 hostages for 442 days, including a baby and children, by terrorists and abusing them,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement last month.

GERMANY - For decades, Germany was the envy of the world: a shining example of how a war-torn nation could rise from the ashes to become Europe’s economic powerhouse. This success was no accident. Germany’s prosperity rested on three key pillars: access to cheap Russian energy, unfettered free trade with the United States and other Western allies, and minimal military spending thanks to American security guarantees after the Cold War. These factors allowed Germany to build an unparalleled industrial economy, maintain a generous welfare state, and become a big player on the global markets. But Germany’s decision to sever ties with Russia following the Ukraine escalation threatens to dismantle this carefully constructed foundation. By aligning itself entirely with the US-led NATO strategy against Moscow, Germany has unwittingly sealed its economic fate. The consequences are already visible, and the worst is yet to come. Germany is doomed because of this grave mistake.

USA - Climate realist Tony Heller took to X to highlight the climate misinformation and disinformation campaigns waged by far-left corporate media on the global public. Heller referenced a 2007 BBC News article titled "Arctic summers ice-free 'by 2013'," which warned readers of the supposed threat that "latest modeling studies indicate northern polar waters could be ice-free in summers within just 5-6 years." The BBC article's baseless claim was designed to instill climate fears across the public to ram through a radical de-growth climate agenda across the Western world. Heller then cited NOAA Sea Ice Extent data of the Arctic from September 16, 2012, and September 7, 2024, and found: "This year's minimum Arctic sea ice extent was 26% larger than 2012. They keep this info out of the news because it doesn’t serve the narrative…"

USA - As 2025 approaches, America’s fiscal health is in serious trouble with a ballooning federal debt exceeding 100% of the GDP. It’s projected to get even worse. A year ago, the US national debt amounted to more than $33.8 trillion, according to Senate Republican Joint Economic Committee data. As of December 24, 2024, the debt has climbed to nearly $36.3 trillion, a $2.5 trillion increase within the past 12 months. If the average daily rate of debt growth over the past three years continues, the gross national debt will reach $37 trillion within 5 months, $39.2 trillion in 2026, and $40.95 trillion in 2027, according to the most recent Congressional Budget Office 10-year forecast. Economist Romina Boccia, director of Budget and Entitlement Policy at the Cato Institute, told The Center Square that the “excessively high, and growing unsustainably fast” national debt has “real implications” for the future of the country.

TURKEY - In the latest evidence that the Islamist regime in Turkey is on the wrong side of history, the Turkish president’s son called on Turkey to conquer Jerusalem. According to Pamela Geller, Erdogan’s son declared at an Islamist rally that “Yesterday Hagia Sophia, today the Umayyad Mosque, tomorrow Al-Aqsa.” This call to jihad is the latest in Turkey’s history of Islamist imperialism. Hagia Sophia was an eastern Orthodox Church that the Turks conquered and turned into a Mosque. The Umayyad Mosque is a Mosque in Syria recently captured by Turkish-backed Islamist forces. Al Aqsa refers to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem which apparently The Turks are threatening to conquer. As Geller points out, the irony is that the Biden regime is currently pressuring Israel to recognize the Turkish-backed ISIS gang that has taken over large portions of Syria.

USA - In case you missed it, the annoying illegal aliens are calling Donald Trump a fascist for wanting to close the borders and return people who don’t belong here to their homes. The Progressives promote and encourage aggressive illegal aliens. They have organized them into an army. On January 20th, ICE should have the trucks ready for the next protest. Mayor Adams said he would cooperate with Donald Trump, but the Progressives run the city, not him. New York City was getting 16,000 illegal aliens a month, and many were criminals and gangsters. It has gone down, but the damage is done, and it is still too many. Progressives want to keep criminals and keep the punishments soft because criminals are allegedly just victims of the American system. They want the borders kept open so anyone can stroll in and never have to worry about deportation.

UK - The Bilderberg Group - a secret organization of the global elite - is undergoing a leadership transformation as Donald Trump prepares to retake the White House. The society has selected former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg to chair its 'steering committee.' Founded in 1954, the Bilderberg group has long drawn fascination for its clandestine meetings at exclusive hotels and alpine resorts where attendees hold discussions on international relations, economics and security. Heads of the CIA and MI6 have been among its members, while Henry Kissinger was a regular alongside the likes of Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and then-Prince Charles. It comes as Trump, whose frequent attacks on NATO have sparked outrage in Europe, ascends once more to the Oval Office. The president-elect has been adamant that he will no longer spend billions in US taxpayer money to fund other countries' wars.

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

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

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