SYRIA UPDATE

More locals return through Abu al-Duhour passage to their villages

More locals from villages and towns in the countryside of Aleppo, Idleb ad Hama provinces on Thursday returned to their hometowns liberated by the Syrian Arab Army from terrorism through Abu al-Dohour passage coming from the areas controlled by the terrorist organizations in Idleb.

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=154487

A new batch of displaced families in Jordan return through Nassib border crossing

A new batch of displaced families in the Jordanian territories returned on Thursday through Jaber-Nassib border crossing to their villages liberated from terrorism.

https://www.sana.sy/en/?p=154499

UAE Officially Reopens Its Embassy In Damascus

“This step confirms the keenness of the UAE government to restore the relations between the two brotherly countries to their normal course in order to strengthen and activate the Arab role in supporting the independence and sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic,” the ministry said in an official statement released by the Emiratis News Agency, known as WAM.

Abdul Hakim al-Nuaimi, who was appointed as the UAE’s charge d’affaires in Damascus, told reporters outside of the embassy’s building that Syria will “strongly” return to the Arab world.

“The reopening of our embassy today heralds the return of other Arab embassies to Damascus,” al-Nuaimi added.

https://southfront.org/uae-officially-reopens-its-embassy-in-damascus/

Military Situation In Syria On December 27, 2018 (Map Update)

A car bomb explosion was reported in the town of Manbij late on December 26. At least one person was reportedly injured;

Syrian Army reinforcements were recently deployed southwest of Manbij. This development is reportedly linked to an expected deal between the SDF and Damascus in the area;

The SDF claims that at least 236 ISIS members were killed in the recent clashes and US-led coalition airstrikes in the area of Hajin;

Militants claim that at least 20 Syrian Army soldiers were killed in their recent attack in northern Latakia. Pro-government sources deny this claiming that the attack was successfully repelled.

https://southfront.org/military-situation-in-syria-on-december-27-2018-map-update/

Syrian War Report – Dec. 27, 2018: Large Number Of Syrian Troops Deployed Near Manbij

https://southfront.org/syrian-war-report-dec-27-2018/

Video: Russian, Syrian Troops, SDF Members In Village Arima West Of Manbij

Syrian and Russian troops entered the village of Arima earlier this week and restored a local coordination center with the SDF. Pro-government sources speculate that this is a part of the wider deal between the Syrian-Iranian-Russian alliance and the SDF leadership. However, negotiations are still ongoing.

https://southfront.org/video-russian-syrian-troops-sdf-members-in-village-arima-west-of-manbij/

Netanyahu praises Israeli air force after reckless Christmas raid on Syria

Netanyahu commends Israeli air force after alleged airstrike.

Israeli PM and acting defense chief Benjamin Netanyahu has praised the capabilities of his air force a day after IDF jets endangered two civilian flights while carrying out Christmas Day strikes against ‘Iranian targets’ in Syria.

“We are standing steadfast on our red lines in Syria and everywhere else,” Netanyahu told cadets at a graduation ceremony at Hatzerim Air Force Base, noting that the air force’s unmatched potential allows them to reach areas “near and far, very far.”

While singing the praises to the “special capabilities” of his country’s airborne forces and arsenals that can destroy any target, Netanyahu did not directly comment on the latest strikes in Syria. He also failed to respond to the criticism of the Russian military which earlier had accused the Israeli air force of directly endangering two civilian flights over Damascus and the Lebanese capital Beirut during Tuesday night’s raid.

On the evening of Christmas Day, six Israeli F-16 fighter jets used two civilian flights as cover to strike a logistics compound on the outskirts of Damascus from Lebanese airspace, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday. Thus, during the assault, the Syrian military was forced to restrict the use of air defense systems and radio jamming capabilities to avert a possible tragedy. Despite that advantage, only two of the sixteen Israeli-launched laser-guided bombs reached their targets, wounding three people, while the rest were intercepted.

While a potential tragedy involving civilian jets was averted on Tuesday, similar decoy tactics by Israel already led to horrific consequences back in September, when Syrian air defense units struck a Russian Il-20 plane, killing all 15 crew on board. At the time of the disaster, Israel’s F-16s were using the surveillance plane as cover during their raid against alleged ‘Iranian targets’ in Syria.

Yet, despite a record of reckless actions, Netanyahu remains committed to fighting the “Iranian military entrenchment in Syria,” by countering the threat “vigorously and continuously,” even through the holiday season.

http://theduran.com/netanyahu-praises-israeli-air-force-after-reckless-christmas-raid-on-syria/

High-Ranking Chinese Intelligence Officer Jailed For Life in Corruption Case

Ma Jian, the former deputy head of China's Ministry of State Security, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after being found guilty of taking huge bribes, using his position to exert influence on business deals and insider trading.

At the Dalian Intermediate Court in northeast China, Ma confessed to all charges, stressing that he would not be appealing the conviction. The court subsequently revoked his political rights and ordered Ma's personal property to be confiscated. Additionally, he was also instructed to pay more than $7.26 million in penalties, Al Jazeera reported.

Investigators revealed in court proceedings that Ma had accepted roughly $15.8 million in bribes between 1999 and 2014 in exchange for using his political influence to aid the business ventures of Guo Wengui, the chair of Beijing Zenith Holdings Co, who is currently wanted by the Chinese government.

It was also found that between 2008 and 2014 both Ma and Guo worked together to force the sale of shares of brokerage firm Minzu Securities to Zhengquan Holding so that Guo could have a controlling stake in the company.

Another disclosure made during the proceedings was that Ma had provided insider information about brokerage firms Founder Securities Co. and Minzu Securities to his various family members, who, used that knowledge to collect profits upwards of $7.1 million.

"The defendant Ma Jian's bribery amount was extremely large, and the national and people's interests suffered a particularly heavy loss, which seriously infringed on the integrity of civil servants," the court's judgement reads, according to AFP.

During his time with the ministry, Ma was in charge of the country's counter-espionage operations, according to the South China Morning Post. The former intel chief initially came under investigation in 2015 as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive.

The following year, in 2016, Ma was expelled from the Communist Party of China after investigators accused him of interfering in "unspecified law enforcement activities," according to Al Jazeera.

Ma's arrest comes two years after high-ranking security official Zhou Yongkang, China's former state security chief, was sentenced to life in prison at a secret trial in 2015. At the time, Zhou admitted that he'd taken bribes, abused his authority and even leaked a few state secrets, Xinhua reported.

According to the BBC, thousands of government officials have been rounded up in Xi's anti-corruption campaign, which began in 2012 when he assumed office.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/201812271071047018-high-ranking-chinese-intel-officer-corruption-case/

Austrian church attacked and religious monks taken hostage – Five seriously injured

On Thursday, two strangers stormed a Catholic Church in Vienna Austria and attacked and took hostage several monks, newspaper Krone reports.

The men tied up and robbed the monks in a brutal attack. As a result at least five victims are seriously injured.

Afterwards, the suspects fled the scene. The victims were discovered around 4:15 pm and had already been tied up for several hours.

The two perpetrators attacked the church around 1:30 pm. According to Russia Today:

“Police have confirmed that five people, all of them monks, were injured in the attack. One monk suffered serious injuries. A 68-year-old monk was at the premises of the church when the robbers broke in. They threatened the man with a firearm and forced him to lie on the ground.

“The perpetrators then hit him and trampled upon him, inflicting serious head injuries, the Austrian Kronen Zeitung reports. Four more monks, who arrived at the church later, were also attacked and injured, police spokesman Harald Soeroes told Kronen Zeitung.

“The suspects are still on the run, their identities unknown. Soeroes described one of the suspects as a 5.9-feet tall man with dark hair. “Both men speak German and have a foreign accent,” the police spokesman said.”

A Huge police operation started immediately and a Cobra helicopter is circling the area. The area between Langenzersdorferstraße, Anton-Böck-Straße and Krottenhofgasse was cordoned off in a large scale operation. “Please avoid the restricted area and let our colleagues work locally,” the police warned via Twitter.

Currently, according to the investigators there is no suspicion of terrorism, but the exact motive is still unknown. However, according to reports, one of the perpetrators has been behaving suspiciously for days around the church.

Police special forces of WEGA and tactical unit Cobra have come into action.

“According to the currently available information, all the people injured as a result of the attack by unknown persons are staff of the Catholic church. The preliminary information indicates that it was a robbery. We are checking whether there are Russian citizens among those injured,” the embassy’s spokesman Bulat Haydarov told Sputnik.

https://voiceofeurope.com/2018/12/breaking-austrian-church-attacked-and-religious-monks-taken-hostage-five-seriously-injured/

It’s Offensive: Facebook Censors Image of Santa Kneeling Before Baby Jesus in a Manger

Facebook censored an image of Santa kneeling before our Lord in a manger posted by LifeSite News this year.

The image was too damn offensive for Facebook.

They blurred out the image on the LifeSite Facebook page.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/12/its-offensive-facebook-censors-image-of-santa-kneeling-before-baby-jesus-in-a-manger/

See which corporations are funding the killing of BLACK BABIES across America

Recent news about the alleged anti-Semitic leanings of the far-left Women’s March organization has been rocking the internet, drawing much-needed attention to the hypocritical racism of this so-called “resistance” movement. But where’s the outcry against the similarly racist organization Planned Parenthood, the “exclusive premiere sponsor” of the Women’s March, as well as the dozens of major corporations that privately fund it?

As we reported last year, Planned Parenthood has played a pivotal role over at least the past century in the systematic extermination of black people through legalized abortion. As you may already know, Planned Parenthood has long perpetuated genocide against people with dark skin by calling its nefarious eugenics agenda “family planning,” luring black people into getting abortions in the name of “reproductive rights.”

With the spotlight now rightfully on the Women’s March for its seemingly discriminatory policies against Jewish people, it’s only fair that Planned Parenthood and the various organizations that support it be similarly called out for their blatant racism against blacks.

“Of Planned Parenthood’s $1.3 Billion in yearly revenue, over 25 percent comes from private donations, including corporate contributions,” reveals 2nd Vote. “We encourage you to reach out to these companies; let them know why you spend your dollars elsewhere.”

So which major companies contribute to Planned Parenthood? Just in the categories of health care, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology are the following big corporate names, all of which you’ll likely recognize:

• Aetna

• Amgen

• Blue Cross Blue Shield

• Johnson & Johnson

• Kaiser Permanente

• Monsanto

• Pfizer

• Susan G. Komen

https://govtslaves.info/2018/12/27/see-which-corporations-are-funding-the-killing-of-black-babies-across-america/

EXPLOSIVE: Report Says WaPo Reporter Killed In Saudi Consulate May Have Been Foreign Agent

A new report asserts that Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, may have been a foreign agent working for the government of Qatar in order to change U.S. policy against Saudi Arabia and in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Writing in The Federalist, Jim Hanson, president of Security Studies Group, and a former member of U.S. Special Forces, notes that the Post admitted in an article on December 21 that an executive at Qatar Foundation International worked with Khashoggi to influence Khashoggi’s columns so they aggressively targeted the Saudi government. The Post wrote, “Text messages between Khashoggi and an executive at Qatar Foundation International show that the executive, Maggie Mitchell Salem, at times shaped the columns he submitted to The Washington Post, proposing topics, drafting material and prodding him to take a harder line against the Saudi government.” Hanson notes, “The Qatar Foundation denies they were paying him to produce the anti-Saudi material.”

But then Hanson ups the ante considerably as to Khashoggi’s possible status as a foreign agent, writing:

But during Security Studies Group research for our report on the information operation after his death, we heard from reliable sources familiar with the investigation that documents showing wire transfers from Qatar were found in his apartment in Turkey. They were immediately put out of reach by Turkish security services, so they did not show the collusion between Khashoggi, Qatar, and Turkey prior to his death. We have published a new, unredacted set of findings about the case. It is damning to Qatar, Turkey, and the Washington Post. Khashoggi may have been operating in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act by doing this on behalf of Qatar.

Hanson points out Qatar supports the Muslim Brotherhood, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by many Gulf nations; members of Congress have pushed for naming the group a terrorist organization.

Hanson adds that Turkey and Qatar drove the narrative after the killing of Khashoggi, and fed their chosen information to “major Western English-language journalist outlets.”

Hanson points out that Qatar is currently flirting more seriously with Russia, Iran, and Turkey, which is inimical to American interests; that Qatar has hacked into the personal information of Americans; that Qatar is friendly with extremist groups including the Taliban in Afghanistan.

In January 2017, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies delineated Qatar’s support for terrorist groups:

The State Department revealed in its 2015 Country Reports on Terrorism that “entities and individuals within Qatar continue to serve as a source of financial support for terrorist and violent extremist groups, particularly regional al-Qa’ida affiliates such as the Nusrah Front.” Qatar has historically also been described by the U.S. as a site for the private financing of other terrorist groups besides Nusra. Al-Qaeda’s senior leadership is alleged by Washington to have received support from Qatar- based donors, as is al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, al-Qaeda operatives in Iran, and al-Qaeda in Iraq, the forerunner to IS.

According to Treasury, the Islamic State’s “Amir of suicide bombers” made arrangements “to receive approximately $2 million from a Qatar-based ISIL facilitator,” who enlisted his “assistance with fundraising efforts in Qatar.” There is no sign Qatar ever acted against this unnamed financier. Qatar hosts Hamas moneymen under U.S. counterterrorism sanctions and has even directly financed the group. The U.S. has also reported the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba having fundraised in Qatar.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/39725/explosive-report-says-wapo-reporter-killed-saudi-hank-berrien