Month: December 2023

In the land of tinsel and glitter, Where merry spirits dance and shimmer, Beware, my friends, and stay aware, For illusions and tricks lay everywhere.

In this season of joy and delight, Keep your wits sharp, don’t lose sight, For jolly old Santa, with his bag so big, Could bring more than gifts with his joyful jig.

Don’t be fooled by the festive facade, Look deeper, beyond the fa-la-la-la-la, For sometimes, amidst the merriment’s tide, Hidden truths, secrets, may reside.

The grinch’s heart may grow three sizes, But his motives can still catch us by surprise. Be wise, my friends, and take heed, Not every smile is what it seems to be.

𝕄𝕖𝕏𝕩©

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Several NATO member states have boots on the ground in the Ukraine conflict, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has claimed. Western military personnel are operating certain weapons systems, he alleged, and that hundreds of the US-led military bloc’s satellites are providing surveillance data to Kiev.

Speaking at a meeting of Defense Ministry officials on Tuesday, where President Vladimir Putin was also present, Shoigu stated that “NATO service members are directly operating air defense systems, tactical ballistic missiles, and multiple launch rocket systems” in Ukraine. He cited radio intercepts featuring English and Polish speakers. According to the minister, Western officers are also playing an active role in preparing Ukrainian military operations as well as training troops, both in their home countries and in Ukraine.

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India has reportedly deployed two naval destroyers in the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea in the West with the Arabian Sea in the East, as part of maritime security and anti-piracy operations.

The development comes a day after the US set up a multinational task force to protect merchant ships targeted by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in response to the Israel-Hamas war. Two Indian guided missile destroyers, the INS Kochi and INS Kolkata, have been tasked with monitoring and protecting merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden, through which one-sixth of all global commercial shipping passes, Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.

According to the report, the INS Kochi has been tasked with protecting merchant vessels against Somalian pirates at the mouth of the Red Sea, while the INS Kolkata has been stationed in the Gulf of Aden to bolster security in the area.

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A volcano dramatically erupted in Iceland on Monday, with spectacular bursts of lava and smoke illuminating the night sky after weeks of seismic activity prompted the evacuation of a nearby town.

The eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula began at around 10 p.m. local time, following an earthquake around an hour earlier, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said in a statement.

VIDEO: Aerial images of a volcano erupting and spewing lava on the Reykjanes peninsula, north of Grindavik in Iceland pic.twitter.com/RNydvGc83V

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) December 19, 2023

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North Korea launched a possible intercontinental ballistic missile on Monday morning in what analysts said indicated the growing reliability of the reclusive state’s illegal weapons program.

The missile launched Monday exhibited the range to hit anywhere in the United States, according to a preliminary assessment from the Japanese Defense Ministry.

“The ICBM-class ballistic missile launched this time, if calculated based on the trajectory, depending on weight of warhead, could have a flying range of over 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles), meaning the whole of the US territory would be within range,” Shingo Miyake, parliamentary vice-minister of defense, told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo.

North Korea just test-fired a ballistic missile with the potential to reach the entire US. https://t.co/WltQPMtsgi pic.twitter.com/9EfFe7IFaI

— End Time Headlines (@EndTimeHeadline) December 18, 2023

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The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has ramped up its defensive capabilities in recent years as the United States has sought an expanded presence in the region.

The DPRK made a highly-visible show of force Sunday when it fired a short-range ballistic missile on the 12th anniversary of the death of ex-leader Kim Jong Il.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced the incident shortly after the missile’s launch at about 10:38 pm. Although South Korean National Security Advisor Kim Tae-hyo had recently speculated the North could fire an intercontinental ballistic missile in the coming days, the projectile was confirmed as a short-range variety.

The missile reportedly flew about 570 kilometers before landing in the sea.

“While elevating our alert readiness, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture by closely sharing data on the ‘North Korean ballistic missile’ with the United States and Japan,” said the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff in a statement.

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The ex-chief of staff to the Pope, previously a key figure in handling church finances, has been found guilty along with nine co-defendants over a complex real estate transaction in London worth €350 million that resulted in significant financial losses.

In a landmark trial on Saturday, the Vatican court imposed a 5.5-year prison sentence on Italian Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, a once-powerful papal dignitary.

This unprecedented sentencing is the first time a curial cardinal has faced imprisonment by a pontifical court. The case, initiated by Pope Francis amending Vatican law, represents a seismic shift in addressing internal corruption and accountability. It allowed for Cardinal Becciu’s trial rather than by a court of his peers, breaking centuries of tradition with no recent precedent since the 16th century.

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