USA - The Thomas Fire, which charred 273,400 acres, is now the largest wildfire in modern California history, according to Cal Fire. The Cedar Fire that erupted in San Diego in October 2003 was the largest wildfire in state history after it burned through 273,246 acres and destroyed 2,820 structures. Since December 4, the stubborn Thomas Fire destroyed hundreds of homes and structures in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. It started near Thomas Aquinas College in the Steckel Park area of Santa Paula, quickly spreading into Ventura and prompting hundreds of evacuations.
SYRIA - In war-torn Syria, there’s little doubt that the conflict has taken a toll on health. Now, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that their attempt at using vaccines to “protect” children against polio has backfired — infecting more children with the devastating disease rather than saving them.
USA - Attorney General Jeff Sessions created a new “senior position” at the Department of Justice Wednesday, director of opioid enforcement and prevention efforts, to help combat what is now far and away the deadliest drug epidemic in American history. “With one American dying of a drug overdose every nine minutes, we need all hands on deck,” Attorney General Sessions said of the decision.
USA - The US ambassador to the UN has warned member states that Donald Trump will take a vote on his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “personally,” and she will report back to him on nay-sayers at the UN General Assembly. The warning was contained in an apparently threatening letter ahead of the General Assembly’s emergency session on the status of Jerusalem, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday.
UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations general assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in a rare emergency session of the global body. The 193-nation general assembly approved the resolution by a massive margin, with 128 nations in favour, and nine against. There were 35 abstentions. Mr Trump threatened on Wednesday to withhold aid to any country which defied the threats.
GERMANY - The chairman of the Social Democrats (SPD) has said a comprehensive approach to the migrant crisis has to involve the return of refugees to North Africa. His words echoed sentiments made by Germany's interior minister. Marking a shift in his party's rhetoric, the chairman of the SPD-Parliamentary Group, Thomas Oppermann, spoke out in favor of sending refugees arriving on boats back to North Africa. In an editorial he penned in the Sunday edition of the German daily newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", Oppermann justified his view arguing that this would be an important step to curb human trafficking. "In order to fight human trafficking gangs more successfully we have to deprive them of the grounds on which they conduct their business, by returning refugees saved in the Mediterranean to North Africa and attending to their needs there," Oppermann wrote.
UK - A former UK ambassador to the UN has warned that British territorial claims around the world could come under increasing challenge as the country loses the diplomatic support of the European Union. The UK currently has several territorial disputes around the world which could be complicated by the process of Brexit. Lord David Hannay posited in reported comments December 19 in The Independent that the European Union may withdraw its support for the United Kingdom in its long-running dispute with Argentina over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, among other places.
INDIA - The Indian armed forces are conducting a major exercise along the border with Pakistan, exhibiting their preparedness to respond to any "provocation" by its neighbor. The massive show of military strength comes two days after Pakistan warned of a possible nuclear war. The exercise is "unique in scope and scale" and being conducted in battle-like conditions, says the Indian Army. Besides conventional warfare, Indian troops are rehearsing responses to chemical and nuclear threats. The drills are aiming to evaluate the capability of the armed forces to strike deep into enemy territory in the event of an integrated air-land battle.
VATICAN - In his homily at Tuesday morning Mass, Pope Francis reflected on the blessing of fertility and the dangers of going down the path of self-imposed barrenness as some modern nations have done. The Pope took inspiration from the biblical readings of the day, both of which — from the book of Judges and the Gospel of Luke — spoke of sterile women, the mother of Samson and Elizabeth, the cousin of the Virgin Mary, who had lost the hope of having them because of old age. “Infertility was a disgrace; not being able to bear children, not being able to have descendants,” he said.
VATICAN - Pope Francis has launched a stinging attack on the Vatican’s top administration and described trying to push through reforms as hard as cleaning Egypt's Sphinx "with a toothbrush". Francis used his annual Christmas greetings to the Roman Catholic Church’s central bureaucracy, or Curia, to urge top officials to be more willing to welcome change. To a muted Apostolic Palace, Francis said: “Reforming Rome is like cleaning the Sphinx of Egypt with a toothbrush. You need patience, dedication and delicacy.” The Pope, in his Christmas message to staff, acknowledged there were good, competent and loyal people working in the Vatican but said others were either incapable or unwilling to consider reforms.
USA - Twitter has begun its long-anticipated purge of right-wing and far-right accounts, under the guise of cracking down on “violent extremism.” Meanwhile, far-left accounts connected to real-world violence remain active on the platform.
USA - CNN’s relentless campaign to destroy the innocence of young children marched on this weekend with a lengthy Sunday morning New Day segment promoting a children’s book that depicts Santa Claus as a homosexual who is married to another man. Above a chyron that read, “Children’s Holiday Book Explores Race, Homosexuality,” New Day co-anchor Christi Paul declared the book a “fresh, new twist” and then appeared to lament the fact that “there are some families though, tsk, not so happy about the book’s maybe not so hidden agenda.” Although the book is targeted at children age 4–8, there was no discussion about whether or not it is healthy to introduce children of that age to the idea of human sexuality. This should not be surprising from CNN, a left-wing cable news network currently in last place in the ratings.
USA - The world knows America is done for. Trump isn’t making America great, he is dancing on the corpse. We could give dates, 9/11 or back in 1913 when America took on an illegal Rothschild central bank. Perhaps it really is 1913 and the America of today, is the result of bleeding that began then. It is always about debt. When nations take on a central bank, and all central banks are foreign owned, all controlled by the Rothschild family, their institutions crumble, the family, religion, their government, the courts, their media, all are targeted.
USA - President Donald Trump’s first National Security Strategy contradicts a major Palestinian propaganda talking point that claims the so-called Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the root problem fueling violence across the Middle East.
GERMANY - Almost half of Germans want to see the Deutsche Mark restored, with just 41 per cent saying they want to keep the euro. The YouGov-Institute survey, commissioned by the newspaper Bild, found that 49 per cent of Germans want their nation to have its own, independent currency again. The development comes as Germany and France agree to push towards deeper fiscal integration including the possible creation of a European finance minister and a single budget for the bloc.