End Times Headline News. December 19 2024

Pentagon comments on General Kirillov assassination. Trump wants to talk to Putin. Syrian Mass Graves. Israel strikes Houthis. Newsom declares Bird Flu state of emergency. A Year Of Chaos

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Russia Says Ukraine Allies Are 'Accomplices' In Moscow Assassination Of A Top General

Scooter bomb killed senior Russian official & NATO stays mum...

Russia has blasted the West for staying quiet after Ukraine openly boasted of assassinating a top Russian general earlier in the day, identified as Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who was killed when a scooter bomb detonated remotely upon his leaving his apartment in the early morning hours: Russia on Tuesday criticised Ukraine's allies over what it called insufficient reactions to the assassination in Moscow of the Russian army's chemical weapons chief, an attack claimed by Kyiv. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the West in a Telegram post of "approval for war crimes by fighters of the Kyiv regime" and said "all those who welcome terrorist attacks or deliberately hush them up are accomplices".

Pentagon comments on bombing ‘operation’ that killed Russian general

The US has distanced itself from the targeted assassination and pointed the finger at Kiev

The United States has firmly denied any involvement or prior knowledge of the bombing that killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his assistant in Moscow. Both the Pentagon and the State Department have distanced themselves from the targeted assassination, which is believed to have been carried out by Ukraine. The commander of the Russian Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces was killed along with his aide in an explosion outside his apartment early Tuesday morning. Multiple media outlets have reported that the assassination was executed on the orders of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU).

Russia Detains Suspect In Assassination Of Chemical Weapons Top Military Chief

29-year-old Uzbek suspect was acting at the direction of Ukrainian intelligence, Moscow says.

Russia on Wednesday has detained a suspect in the killing of a senior Russian general and his assistant in Moscow, which happened when a scooter bomb detonated outside the general's apartment on Tuesday. Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who headed Russia’s radiological, biological and chemical protection forces, is the highest ranking Russian official to have been assassinated since the Ukraine war began. A man from Uzbekistan has been arrested and is being questioned, the Russia’s Investigative Committee has announced.

Medvedev warns The Times over response to Russian general’s murder

The British daily has described Igor Kirillov’s assassination as a “legitimate act of defense” by Ukraine

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday slammed British daily The Times for justifying the assassination of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who headed Russia’s Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces. Medvedev criticized the editors as “lousy jackals” who are part of a hybrid war against Russia. In an article on Tuesday, the UK outlet claimed that its sources within Ukraine’s security services admitted responsibility for the general's assassination. It went on to describe the incident as “a legitimate act of defense by a threatened nation.”

Trump says he wants to talk to Putin

The incoming US president has refused to comment on whether any contact with the Kremlin has already taken place

US President-elect Donald Trump has said that he will speak to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in a bid to stop the “carnage” between Moscow and Kiev. During a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday, Trump refused to comment when asked whether he had spoken to Putin since he won last month’s presidential election. However, Trump said that he intends to do so.

Ukraine’s Zelensky Slams Hungary’s Orbán’s Quest for Peace, Says He ‘Does Not Have Any Leverage’ on Putin, That Kiev Needs No ‘Intermediaries’ To Talk to Trump

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted the peace efforts by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

To begin with, Zelensky rejected the notion of having intermediaries, saying that Ukraine needs – and has – direct relations with the United States. essanews reported: “President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed the importance of Ukraine having direct interactions with the United States. ‘We are currently in a transitional period in the United States. I am in contact with President Trump’, he stated. ‘We have had several meetings and talks. I don’t need intermediaries for this’, Zelensky announced during the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Ukraine.

The Tone Regarding Ukraine's Future Has Shifted Significantly And Fast

"It is again a demonstration of Europe’s infamous lack of true leadership"

While Trump still has to be officially inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States of America, it almost seems he already entered the White House. This has already been demonstrated by Trumps attendance of the formal reopening of one of the pinnacles of French gothic architecture. Indeed, the Notre Dame. In the limelight of this event, Trump, Macron and Zelensky had a meeting where they discussed the future of Ukraine. While no clear deal(s) seem to have been made yet, some would argue that it boiled down to going from a celebrative event organized in a holy place to a meeting that could lead to an unholy deal. While it is unsure yet what has been exactly discussed during the meeting between the three leaders, the tone regarding the future of Ukraine has definitely shifted significantly and fast!

Ex-Soviet state warns of NATO-Russia ‘apocalypse’

No country will be safe if tensions escalate into a direct confrontation, Azerbaijan’s president has warned

Azerbaijan hopes tensions between Russia and NATO will not escalate into a direct war, which would be catastrophic for the world, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told Russian media on Wednesday. ”Pondering this scenario, NATO and Russia engaging in a hot war, is like imagining the apocalypse,” the leader of the post-Soviet republic told journalist and media executive Dmitry Kiselyov. It is clear that there would be no victor in such a confrontation and that “no nation, even those located far from the regions of NATO and Russia, would feel safe,” the president added.

Russia's Crude Oil Shipments Slump By 11% In Two Months

...as the UK and the EU have ramped up sanctions on the so-called shadow fleet used by Russia to ship its crude oil and petroleum products.

Russian crude oil exports by sea have dropped by 11% from a recent high in October, due to maintenance at the Baltic port of Primorsk, pressure for Russia to align with its OPEC+ quota, and increased sanctions pressure. In the four weeks to December 15, Russia’s seaborne crude exports averaged 3.06 million barrels per day (bpd), tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed on Tuesday. That’s 11% lower compared to a recent peak of a four-week average volume of 3.46 million bpd in early October, according to the data reported by Bloomberg’s Julian Lee.

Shares of Russian gas giant fall to 2009 levels

Gazprom’s stock took a hit after Kiev announced it will not extend the gas transit deal with Moscow

The share price of Russian state energy major Gazprom plummeted to its lowest in nearly 16 years on Tuesday after Ukraine announced it will not extend the gas transit contract with Moscow after December 31. Russia still supplies several Central European countries via the Ukrainian gas transmission network. Gazprom was trading at 106.1 rubles ($1.02) per share on the Moscow Stock Exchange at its lowest point on Tuesday afternoon, before recovering some of the losses later in the day. The afternoon low marks the company’s lowest share price since January 26, 2009, when Gazprom shares traded at 101.64 rubles.

Russia Airlifting Air Defense Systems From Syria To Libya

Recent satellite imaging has shown that for the past several days Russia is rapidly packing up heavy equipment at its Khmeimim airbase in Latakia and evacuating it in the wake of the collapse of the Assad government on December 8.

This is happening even as Moscow is in contact with new governing HTS rulers in Damascus concerning the future fate of the bases, which also includes the strategic naval base at Tartous. Concerning the packed up equipment, including anti-air missile systems, the only question is what's the next destination? Western officials are now saying Libya. Moscow is putting pressure on Libyan warlord and rival to the Tripoli government, Khalifa Haftar, to secure a larger Russian military presence at a port in Benghazi.

'Post' unveils Syrian army logs documenting final days of Assad regime – exclusive

Documents detail the moment Syrian soldiers started to flee, their watching of IDF maneuvers, and their feelings on "the beloved leader," Bashar Assad.

From 1974 until December 7-8 of this year, the Syrian border was an extremely dangerous one where neither Israeli soldiers nor journalists would dare set foot, other than rare covert operations which where generally covered in a fog of mystery. Syrian society and the Syrian military themselves were also an opaque mystery to most Israelis and much of the outside world. And yet with the fall of the Assad regime only a few days before, on December 11, The Jerusalem Post participated in a dramatic visit to an abandoned Syrian base at Tel Kudne in southern Syria, embedded with the IDF, as part of the first Israeli media visit to that country since the 1973-4 Yom Kippur War and armistice.

Alleged Syrian Mass Graves Reveal Atrocities Comparable to Nazi Era, Prosecutor Claims

A former U.S. war crimes ambassador has claimed that mass graves have been discovered in Syria, alleging at least 100,000 people were tortured and killed by the former al-Assad regime.

Stephen Rapp, former U.S. war crimes ambassador, described the situation as a “system of state terror.” The graves, uncovered by Syrian Civil Defense teams, known as the White Helmets, reportedly contained remains showing signs of widespread torture and death. Over 100,000 individuals are believed to have been tortured and killed under Assad’s regime, referred to by Rapp as a “machinery of death.” The regime, spanning Bashar al-Assad and his late father’s rule, has been accused of executing political prisoners and conducting systematic disappearances since Syria’s civil war began in 2011. Assad, now in Russia, has consistently denied these accusations.

Turkish FM urges removal of Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from terror watchlists

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says world powers should remove the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group which seized power in Syria from their terror watchlist.

“I think it is time for the international community starting from UN… to remove their name from the terrorism list,” Fidan tells broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Erdoğan: 'Turkey is bigger than Turkey, we can't limit ourselves'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that history assigned Turkey a mission to expand its borders.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday that it is his country's destiny to expand its borders, particularly into Syria. Speaking at the Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK) and Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) Awards Ceremony at the Beştepe National Congress and Culture Center, the President stated: "Every incident that has occurred in our region, especially in Syria, recently reminds us of this fact; Turkey is bigger than Turkey. As a nation, we cannot limit our horizon to 782,000 square kilometers."

Iranian president visits Egypt in rare diplomatic outreach

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has traveled to Egypt to attend an economic summit in a rare visit that may signal thawing relations between the Islamic Republic and the Arab world's most populous nation.

Pezeshkian arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to attend in summit of the eight major Muslim developing countries, known as the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, slated to be held Thursday. "The more we can strengthen relations with Islamic countries, the more we can thwart threats against Iran," said the president as before he departed for Egypt.

Iran slams UN nuclear chief over 'provocative' remarks

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization on Wednesday criticized the director of the UN nuclear watchdog for making what he described as provocative statements regarding Tehran’s nuclear program.

Mohammad Eslami said Wednesday that in spite of Iran accepting limitations on its program in order to build trust and in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, the agency is misrepresenting Tehran. “It is not acceptable for an international institution to address just one aspect of the issue, in a provocative manner at that, and refuse to point to the main aspect, which is the obligated parties’ non-commitment,” he said. “We expect the agency’s director-general, who is a veteran diplomat, to observe these matters.”

George Soros Funneled $50 Million Into Shadowy Iran-Sympathizing Nonprofit

"If you were a regime running a game plan of how to subvert the United States' political system from within, this would be it to a tee."

Among the many nonprofits funded by far-left billionaire George Soros and his even more radical son, Alex, are progressive super PACs, as well as, according to reporting by The New York Post, tens of millions of dollars funneled into a network of groups sympathetic to Iran whose members held top positions within the Biden-Harris administration. NYPost reviewed records from Soros' Open Society Foundations, revealing that the progressive billionaire has funneled $46.7 million since 2016 into the International Crisis Group, a far-left think tank allegedly connected to an Iranian plot to influence US lawmakers and policies. Robert Malley, the former US special envoy to Iran, has been under FBI investigation for allegedly transferring classified information onto his personal email, where it could've slipped into the hands of a foreign actor. Malley was ICG's president until he joined the Biden team in 2021.

Israel Air Force strikes Houthi terror group in Yemeni capital Sanaa

The strikes began less than an hour after the IDF intercepted a ballistic missile launched toward central Israel by the Houthis.

The IDF struck in Yemen against the Houthi terror group in a plan approved by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israel's military announced during the early hours of Thursday morning. It added that the targets Israel struck were used by the Houthis for military purposes, which included smuggling Iranian weapons into the region. The IDF also confirmed that ports and energy infrastructure in Sanaa were hit during the strikes. The Israeli strikes on the terror group were carried out with the direction of the Intelligence Directorate and the Israeli Navy, the IDF said.

Hamas: Prisoner deportations to Turkey, Qatar could be included in 'imminent' deal - report

Asharq Al-Awsat cited a Hamas official as stating that a deal was "imminent," with the main points having already been agreed upon.

A hostage deal could be signed by the end of this week and could include the deportation of senior Palestinian security prisoners to Qatar and Turkey, various Arab media sites reported on Wednesday. A report by Saudi news outlet Asharq Al-Awsat cited a Hamas official as stating that a deal was "imminent," with the main points having already been agreed upon. According to Asharq Al-Awsat, in the first stage of the agreement, which is supposed to last some 45-60 days, Hamas would release some 30 hostages, both alive and deceased, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Mixed signals regarding Saudi normalization with Israel after Trump envoy Witkoff meets with MBS

President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East special envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Saudi Arabia last week to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).

This meeting marked the first official engagement between the two sides since Trump’s re-election in November. Witkoff, a long-time Trump friend and confidant, is expected to oversee the Trump administration’s attempt to expand the Abraham Accords, with Saudi Arabia being the main focus. Trump previously stated that he would like to see a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, as well as an end to the Gaza War.

'The Constitution of Bangladesh Will Be the Qur’an': Jamaat-e-Islami’s Genocidal War on Hindus, Christians, and Women (Video)

Jamaat-e-Islami’s declared ambition to turn Bangladesh into a Sharia-ruled state is fueling a genocidal campaign against Hindus, Christians, and women, as the nation descends into chaos, echoing the horrors of 1971 while the world shamefully looks away.

In a chilling and unapologetic display of Sharia ambition, members of the terror-linked Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami are now going door-to-door across Bangladesh, declaring their intent to impose the law of the Quran upon the nation. Their vision is unmistakable: women stripped of their freedom, placed “under the obligation of the burqa” and confined to their homes, while the foundational pluralism and secular fabric of the country is obliterated.

DEVELOPING: Three UK terror attacks foiled ‘at late stage’ as officials issue urgent warning

The current threat of a terror attack on UK soil is “smoldering,” counter-terror chiefs have warned, with three late-stage attacks foiled in the past 12 months.

Vicki Evans, the Senior National Coordinator of Counter Terrorism Policing, said today some 43 late-stage terror plots had been stopped since 2017, some of which were “goal line saves”. Of the three this year, two were Islamist plots and one was from the far right. Ms Evans said the current threat is classed as “likely” amid the fallout in Syria, where dictator Bashar al-Assad has been overthrown. She said: “History tells us that any instability creates space for extreme violence and acts of terror. You would expect me to be rightly concerned that we could have a growing void that could and may create that in those spaces”.

France’s War on Christmas: Virgin Mary and Joseph Decapitated in Nativity Scene

It’s that time of year again in Open Borders Europe.

While families hope to celebrate the birth of Christ in peace, the grim reality repeats itself: Christmas markets are under terror watch, churches face vandalism, Christmas trees are burned, and even the nativity scene – symbolizing Jesus and Mary – is desecrated, yet again, in a trend that has worsened with every passing year since Europe opened its doors to mass migration in 2015. The latest incident took place in Metz, France, where two of the four figures in the Nativity scene installed outside Metz train station were vandalized. City services discovered the figures’ heads had been ripped off on Tuesday.

Montreal synagogue firebombed for 2nd time in just over a year; Trudeau: ‘Vile antisemitism’

Assailants firebombed a synagogue in a Montreal suburb for the second time in just over a year, the latest in a series of attacks on Canadian Jewish institutions since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel.

As in the other recent attacks on Canadian Jewish sites, no one was injured in the incident. Mordecai Zeitz, the emeritus rabbi at Congregation Beth Tikvah, a modern Orthodox synagogue in the suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, says the congregants met for morning prayers on Wednesday morning outside the synagogue. “We were able to recite the morning prayers in an abbreviated way,” he said.”We did not close even if we had to go outside to avoid the fires on the inside, but we had the fires of Jewish identity and Jewish pride very much front and center, in front of the charred doors of the synagogue,” Zeitz tells the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Trudeau Tries to Brush Off Minister’s Exit as Family Spat

(Bloomberg) -- A defiant Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, all smiles at an end-of-year holiday party for lawmakers, tried to downplay the most serious challenge yet facing his leadership.

“Like most families, sometimes we have fights around the holidays,” Trudeau told a gathering for his Liberal Party’s 153 elected members and their staff in Ottawa on Tuesday. “But of course, like most families, we find our way through it. You know, I love this country, I deeply love this party, I love you guys, and love is what families are all about.” That was a glancing reference to the exit of his longtime No. 2, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who shocked the country by publishing a scathing resignation letter instead of delivering an expected economic and fiscal statement on Monday. Tuesday’s speech was the first time Trudeau has said anything publicly about it.

The Canadian Dollar Is Crashing And Hits 69 CENTS!

Trump: Making Canada the 51st state is a ‘great idea’

The U.S. president-elect continues to bait Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Donald Trump’s trolling again … or is he? Early on Wednesday the United States president-elect suggested turning Canada into a part of the U.S., calling it “a great idea.” “No one can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year? Makes no sense! Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State. They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!!” he boomed on his social media platform. It’s not the first time in recent days Trump has needled Canada and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, which was rocked by the bombshell resignation of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

'CALL THEIR BLUFF': Trump And Vance Slam Pork-Filled Bill, Tell GOP To Stand Their Ground

This spending bill is a crime...

Update (1335ET): Now things are getting interesting - as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is reportedly discussing a 'plan B' to fund the government as a 'clean' Continuing Resolution (CR) without $100 billion disaster aid and the below shitshow of swampy handouts and government overreach, Politico reports. Democrats will of course throw a mega-tantrum, which makes Friday's government shutdown more likely - though as you can see (as of this writing), the odds are currently at 14% 35%. Trump and Vance just came out against the pork too...

Fed Cuts Interest Rates By 25 Basis Points as Dow Tanks by More Than 1,100 Points – Longest Losing Streak Since 1974!

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points or 0.25% – on Wednesday as the Down tanked by more than 1,100 points.

The latest rate cut comes after the Fed slashed rates 25 basis points in November and 50 basis points in September. The benchmark rate is now between 4.25% to 4.50%. CNBC reported: The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point, the third consecutive reduction and one that came with a cautionary tone about additional cuts in coming years. In a move widely anticipated by markets, the Federal Open Market Committee cut its overnight borrowing rate to a target range of 4.25%-4.5%, back to the level where it was in December 2022 when rates were on the move higher…

Power trip: Gavin Newsom declares state of emergency over Bird Flu

The French Laundry Governor misses the days of unlimited power, so he's spinning up a massive testing and tracing apparatus to try to spawn a "pandemic."

Power trip: Gavin Newsom declares state of emergency over Bird Flu

Congress approves 12 new bioweapons labs?!

The plan: Set up 12 regional "biocontainment" labs to research pandemics, viruses, and biological threats. Official goal: faster crisis response and vaccine development.

UK’s Online “Safety” Act Enforced: Ofcom Pushes for Increased Platform Censorship and Encryption Backdoors

Mandated backdoors threaten the integrity of private communications, raising alarms over individual rights and digital security.

UK’s Online Safety Act has come into force and the Office of Communications (Ofcom) regulator has quickly set out to start enforcing it, with noncompliance resulting in high fines. What those opposed to the legislation consider to be a censorship law and a sweeping one at that, is, according to Ofcom, a way to “protect” online users in the UK from illegal harms by legally requiring tech companies to “start taking action to tackle criminal activity on their platforms” as well as “make them safer by design.” But what the law’s provisions in reality do, say critics, is bring in even more censorship, while at the same time providing for possibilities to undermine encryption via backdoors.

Digital Identity Wallets Come Online in Nations Working to 2026 EUDI Wallet Deadline

Wallets are on the EU’s mind, as use cases in identity verification, ticketing and payments grow. Under eIDAS 2.0, EU nations have until 2026 to offer a digital wallet to their residents. Some are ahead of the curve, running large-scale pilots. Others are mired in the fog, with awareness of the EUDI wallet running low. Time is running out to become wallet-ready.

Signicat offers capability to add data, as tested in NOBID pilot. Anticipating the rise of digital wallets in the EU context, identity verification firm Signicat has introduced a new feature to its platform, allowing organizations to add their data to identity wallets. A release from the Norwegian IDV provider says identity wallets will simplify how users control their data. What gives them so much potential is the possibility to add data to them (like a proof of income, insurance policy number, etc.). “Exactly this capability was added to the Signicat platform,” the firm says.

‘Big Brother’ Isn’t Just Watching — He’s Changing How Your Brain Works

Every time you walk down a city street, electronic eyes are watching. From security systems to traffic cameras, surveillance is ubiquitous in modern society.

Yet these cameras might be doing more than just recording our movements: according to a new study that peers into the psychology of surveillance, they could be fundamentally altering how our brains process visual information. While previous research has shown that surveillance cameras can modify our conscious behavior – making us less likely to steal or more inclined to follow rules – a new study published in Neuroscience of Consciousness suggests that being watched affects something far more fundamental: the unconscious way our brains perceive the world around us.

US government tells officials, and politicians to ditch regular calls and texts

The U.S. government is urging senior government officials and politicians to ditch phone calls and text messages following intrusions at major American telecommunications companies blamed on Chinese hackers. Right now.

In written guidance released on Wednesday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said “individuals who are in senior government or senior political positions” should “immediately review and apply” a series of best practices around the use of mobile devices. The first recommendation: “Use only end-to-end encrypted communications.” End-to-end encryption – a data protection technique that aims to make data unreadable by anyone except its sender and its recipient – is baked into various chat apps, including Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp, Apple’s iMessage, and the privacy-focused app Signal. Corporate offerings that allow end-to-end encryption also include Microsoft’s Teams and Zoom Communications’ online meetings.

House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul believes unidentified drones are “spy drones” from China

House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul said Tuesday that he believes that some unidentified drones spotted above New Jersey and New York are “spy drones” from China — after Biden administration officials insisted many of the aircraft are innocent commercial aircraft.

“We want answers but the response I’m getting is we don’t know whose drones these are,” McCaul (R-Texas) told reporters before executive-branch officials offered a classified briefing to members of the House intelligence committee. “I was with the NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, he said that these drones have been reported over military sites, military bases. I would not think those are friendly. I would think those are adversarial,” McCaul said. “We need to identify who is behind these drones,” he said. “My judgment based on my experience is that those that are over our military sites are adversarial and most likely are coming from the People’s Republic of China.”

Multiple drone incursions confirmed over Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton in CA

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in southern California experienced multiple drone incursions over its airspace over the past several days, a facility spokesman told The War Zone on Tuesday morning.

Between Dec. 9 and 15, “there were six instances of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) observed entering Camp Pendleton’s airspace, with no threat to installation operations,” Capt James C. Sartain, a base spokesman, told The War Zone in response to our query on the matter. Sartain could not immediately provide details about how many drones flew over the installation, their origin, what actions were taken in response and if any air or ground operations were affected as a result of the incursions. We have asked for these details and will update this story should any be provided.

Babel 2.0: Meta’s RayBan Smart Glasses Can Perform Realtime AI Language Translation

They work automatically while talking, with the translation coming in via the glasses with a slight delay.

The following report is by Scott Stein at CNET: Meta’s camera-equipped Ray-Bans have had a lot of AI features onboard already, but they’re getting two more big ones. Always-on continuous AI assistance is arriving onto the glasses starting today for owners who have early access to Meta’s features, as well as onboard translation. Both these features were demoed by Mark Zuckerberg at Meta’s Connect developer conference earlier this year.

Roman banquet hall of Herod Agrippa II discovered in Banias cave, northern Israel

Pagan site dedicated to Greek god Pan was converted to an exclusive banqueting site, as described by Josephus

Recent excavations at the Hermon Stream Nature Reserve (Banias), an archaeological site in the Golan Heights, have uncovered new evidence that sheds light on the transformation of a sacred cave into a Roman-style banquet hall built by Herod the Great’s grandson. The cave, long associated with the worship of the Greek god Pan, was repurposed in the late 1st century A.D. by Agrippa II, the great-grandson of King Herod. Researchers believe Agrippa converted the site into a nymphaeum-triclinium, a Roman-style banquet hall, following the Jewish Revolt in 66–73 A.D. The discovery offers a rare glimpse into Roman dining customs in the region and confirms accounts by the Jewish historian Josephus.

A Year Of Chaos: Does A Shocking Magazine Cover Reveal What The Global Elite Have Planned For 2025?

Are we heading into a year that will be characterized by great turmoil? Every year, a magazine known as “the Economist” publishes an issue that is dedicated to what is coming in the year ahead.

In the past, many of these issues have turned out to be eerily accurate. For example, the cover of last year’s issue featured images of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin with very large missiles standing next to each of them. Of course this ended up being one of the biggest news stories of 2024. Ukraine started firing long-range missiles provided by NATO deep into Russian territory, and the Russians responded with long-range missiles of their own. Unfortunately, it appears that the cover for this year’s issue could be previewing some very alarming events that are coming in 2025. The Economist has been one of the most important mouthpieces for the Western elite for decades. It has offices all over the globe, but it is based in the city of London…