INTERNACIONAL
Pope Leo XIV calls for ‘divine gift of peace’ in maiden visit to Middle East
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Pope Leo XIV celebrated Lebanon’s tradition of interfaith coexistence Monday as a beacon of hope for a conflict-torn region, as he asked for «the divine gift of peace» alongside the country’s Christian and Muslim religious leaders.
Leo received a raucous, ululating welcome from the crowds and a sincere welcome from its spiritual leaders on his first full day in Lebanon, where billboards with his image dotted highways around the capital. Thousands of ordinary Lebanese braved a steady rain in the morning to line his motorcade route, some throwing flower petals and rice on his car in a gesture of welcome.
History’s first American pope is on his maiden papal voyage, and it has taken him to the heart of Christianity: First to Turkey to commemorate a founding profession of the Christian faith and now to Lebanon to encourage an ancient Christian community in a country that is unique in the Arab world for its religious tolerance.
The highlight of his day was an interfaith meeting in Martyr’s Square in Beirut, with the country’s Christian patriarchs and Sunni, Shiite and Druze spiritual leaders gathered under a tent. After listening to hymns and readings from the Bible and Quran, Leo praised Lebanon’s tradition of religious tolerance as a beacon for «the divine gift of peace» in the region.
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«In an age when coexistence can seem like a distant dream, the people of Lebanon, while embracing different religions, stand as a powerful reminder that fear, distrust and prejudice do not have the final word, and that unity, reconciliation, and peace are possible,» he said.
Leo’s remarks underscored the vital importance of Lebanon and its Christian community to the Catholic Church, a place that St. John Paul II famously said was more than just a country, but a message of freedom to the rest of the world. At the end of the event, the spiritual leaders planted an olive sapling as a symbol of peace.
While Lebanon is now often cited as a model of religious coexistence, it hasn’t always been that way. The country’s civil war from 1975 to 1990 was largely fought along sectarian lines.
Pope Leo XIV is seen waving from the popemobile on Dec. 1, 2025, in Annaya, Lebanon. (Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)
A visit at a tense time
Leo’s visit comes at a newly tenuous time for the tiny Mediterranean country after years of conflict, economic crises and political deadlock, punctuated by the 2020 Beirut port blast. At a time of conflict in Gaza and worsening political tensions in Lebanon, Leo’s visit has been welcomed by the Lebanese as a sign of hope.
«We, as Lebanese, need this visit after all the wars, crises and despair that we have lived through,» said the Rev. Youssef Nasr, the secretary-general of Catholic Schools in Lebanon. «The pope’s visit gives a new push to the Lebanese to rise and cling to their country.»
More recently, Lebanon has been deeply divided over calls for Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group and political party, to disarm after fighting a war with Israel last year that left the country deeply damaged. Despite a ceasefire, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes targeting Hezbollah members.
The Grand Sunni Muslim Mufti of Lebanon, Abdul-Latif Derian, welcomed Leo at the interfaith event and recalled the good relations forged by his predecessor, Pope Francis. He cited the 2019 joint statement on human fraternity signed by Francis and the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the seat of Sunni learning in Cairo, Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayeb.
«Lebanon is the land of this message,» Derian said.
A top Lebanese Shiite Muslim cleric, Ali al-Khatib, deputy head of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, urged Leo to help Lebanon end Israel’s attacks amid rising concerns in the Mediterranean country of wider Israeli strikes.
«We put Lebanon in your hands so that maybe the world helps us,» al-Khatib said.
POPE LEO XIV BEGINS LEBANON VISIT AMID ECONOMIC CRISIS, HEIGHTENED SECURITY CONCERNS
A prayer at a saint revered by Christians and Muslims
Leo opened his day by praying at the tomb of St. Charbel Makhlouf, a Lebanese saint revered by many Christians and Muslims.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, Christian and Muslim, visit the tomb at the hilltop monastery of St. Maroun overlooking the sea at Annaya, around 25 miles from Beirut.
Bells rang out as Leo’s covered popemobile snaked its way through the rain to the monastery where Leo prayed quietly in the darkened tomb and offered a lamp as a gift of light for the community there.
Leo was moving through Lebanon in a closed popemobile, a contrast with Francis, who eschewed bulletproof popemobiles throughout his 12-year pontificate. Lebanese troops deployed on both sides of the roads all along his motorcade routes, but his warm welcome underscored the joy his visit had brought.
Pope Leo XIV prays by the tomb of Saint Charbel Makhlouf at the Monastery of Saint Maroun on Dec. 1, 2025, in Annaya, Lebanon. (Domenico Stinellis, Pool/AP Photo)
Many Lebanese posted footage of the welcome alongside a widely shared hot mic video of Queen Rania of Jordan, during an October visit to the Vatican, asking Leo if it was safe to go to Lebanon. Leo’s response, «Well, we’re going,» had cheered Lebanese who were otherwise offended by the suggestion that Lebanon wasn’t safe for the pope to visit.
Leo ended the day at a jubilant rally of Lebanese youth at Bkerki, the seat of the Maronite Church, where he sought to encourage them to persevere and not leave the country as many others have done.
«This is an unforgettable moment,» said Nawal Ghossein, a Maronite Catholic who welcomed the pope with a group from her church. «We are so proud because we are Christians. So proud!»
Pope Leo XIV attends a meeting at Martyrs’ Square on Dec. 1, 2025, in Beirut, Lebanon. (Mohammad Zaatari/AP Photo)
A plea for Christians to stay
Today, Christians make up around a third of Lebanon’s 5 million people, giving the small nation on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East.
A power-sharing agreement in place since independence from France calls for the president to be a Maronite Christian, making Lebanon the only Arab country with a Christian head of state
The Vatican sees Christian presence as a bulwark for the church in the region.
Lebanese Christians have endured in their ancestral homeland even after an exodus following the country’s civil war. The region has also seen Christians from Iraq and Syria fleeing in large numbers after the rise of the Islamic State Group, which was defeated in 2019 after losing its last stronghold in Syria.
«We will stay here,» said May Noon, a pilgrim waiting for Leo outside the St. Charbel Monastery. «No one can uproot us from this country. We must live in it as brothers because the church has no enemy.»
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Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay accompanied a group of 60 people from the Lebanese diaspora in Australia not only to welcome Leo and join in his prayer for peace but also to reinforce Christian presence in the country.
«Even though we live abroad, we feel that we need to support young people and the families to stay here,» he said. «We don’t like to see more and more people leaving Lebanon, especially Christians.»
lebanon,associated press,middle east,pope leo xiv,roman catholic
INTERNACIONAL
Las acciones que más ganaron y las que tuvieron peores resultados en Wall Street en 2025
El índice S&P 500 cerrará 2025 con un avance superior al 17%, consolidando un ciclo alcista de tres años impulsado por el entusiasmo en torno a la inteligencia artificial. Este año, la tendencia ligada al sector se amplió. Las acciones de empresas de semiconductores volvieron a liderar el índice, acompañadas por compañías vinculadas a la construcción de centros de datos, fundamentales para el desarrollo tecnológico. Entre los diez valores con mejor desempeño en 2025, tres corresponden a firmas de almacenamiento de datos, beneficiadas por el compromiso de los principales proveedores de servicios en la nube, conocidos como hyperscalers, que han anunciado inversiones por más de 440.000 millones de dólares en los próximos doce meses para fortalecer sus capacidades en inteligencia artificial.
El liderazgo tecnológico experimentó un giro, según el balance anual: las compañías asociadas a la gestión y construcción de infraestructura de datos protagonizaron el crecimiento. Gigantes como Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc. y Meta Platforms Inc. figuran entre los principales impulsores de estas inversiones. Empresas como Sandisk Corp., Western Digital Corp. y Seagate Technology Holdings Plc se ubicaron entre las cuatro acciones más rentables del S&P 500.
La composición del índice también registró novedades relevantes. En 2025, se sumaron firmas como Robinhood Markets Inc., Sandisk, AppLovin Corp. y Carvana Co., todas con revalorizaciones de tres dígitos, situándose entre los veinte mejores rendimientos del año. No todas las incorporaciones resultaron exitosas: Trade Desk Inc. fue la de peor desempeño, con una caída cercana al 70%, mientras que Block Inc. retrocedió más del 20% y Coinbase Global Inc. perdió más del 6%.
El entusiasmo por la inteligencia artificial también favoreció a Palantir Technologies Inc., que registró un alza porcentual de tres dígitos por tercer año consecutivo, impulsada por el interés de inversores minoristas y la gestión de su consejero delegado, Alex Karp. Actualmente, la acción cotiza a más de 180 veces sus beneficios futuros, ubicándose como la tercera más cara del índice, solo detrás de Tesla Inc. y Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.
La escalada de Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. rozó el 175% a raíz de especulaciones sobre una potencial venta. En octubre, la compañía inició un proceso formal de venta, con Paramount Skydance Corp. y Netflix Inc. como principales interesados. El consejo de administración de Warner Bros. manifestó su preferencia por la oferta de Netflix, mientras que Larry Ellison, presidente de Oracle Corp. y padre del consejero delegado de Paramount, respalda personalmente la propuesta rival.
En contraste, la incertidumbre económica y la política comercial de la administración del presidente estadounidense Donald Trump, caracterizada por la imposición de aranceles, afectó negativamente a compañías de consumo y al sector sanitario. Acciones de firmas como Clorox Co., Lamb Weston Holdings Inc., Campbell’s Co. y Constellation Brands Inc. se posicionaron entre las veinte con peores resultados del año. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. sufrió una caída cercana al 40% tras dos años de avances consecutivos.
El entorno adverso también perjudicó a empresas minoristas. Deckers Outdoor Corp., propietaria de las marcas Hoka y Ugg, perdió casi la mitad de su valor, interrumpiendo una racha alcista de nueve años debido a previsiones de resultados débiles y recortes en las recomendaciones de analistas. Lululemon Athletica Inc. encadenó su segundo descenso anual de doble dígito, con una caída próxima al 45%, en medio de un proceso de reestructuración tras la salida de su consejero delegado y la entrada del fondo activista Elliott Investment Management, que adquirió una participación superior a 1.000 millones de dólares.
El sector de seguros de salud tampoco logró recuperarse a pesar de las expectativas de un cambio regulatorio. Molina Healthcare Inc. retrocedió más del 40% por segundo año consecutivo. UnitedHealth Group Inc. y Centene Corp. perdieron más del 30%, situándose entre los veinticinco peores valores del S&P 500. Algunos inversores, como el gestor Michael Burry, consideran que las valoraciones actuales podrían anticipar una recuperación y ven potencial en adquisiciones para 2026 si los precios se mantienen bajos.
(Con información de Bloomberg)
Europe,ZENICA
INTERNACIONAL
Here’s where Trump launched airstrikes around the world in 2025: ‘Protect the homeland’
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Though touting himself as the peace president, President Donald Trump has also not been afraid to unleash lethal rocket strikes on U.S. enemies when he feels the need arises.
In 2025, Trump ordered strikes on nine different countries and regions in the interest of furthering U.S. national security.
Here are the countries, groups and regions that felt the power of the U.S. military in action this year.
Somalia terrorists targeted
Throughout the year, the U.S. has continued to conduct airstrikes against ISIS factions and al-Shabaab in Somalia.
According to a U.S. Africa Command statement, a Feb. 1 airstrike targeting a series of cave complexes in northern Somalia killed 14 ISIS-Somalia operatives, including Ahmed Maeleninine, a key ISIS recruiter, financier, and external operations leader responsible for deploying militants into the U.S. and across Europe.
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President Donald Trump has targeted Venezuelan drug boats with military strikes. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social/AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Houthis in Yemen
Thousands of miles from U.S. sovereign territory, the Trump Department of War unleashed lethal strikes on Iran-backed Houthi terror fighters in Yemen as part of a mission dubbed «Operation Rough Rider.» The strikes were in response to attacks against U.S. military and commercial vessels traveling through the Red Sea.
Sean Parnell, a spokesperson for the Department of War, said in May that U.S. Central Command strikes had been carried out since March and that they had «hit over 1,000 targets, killing Houthi fighters and leaders and degrading their capabilities.»
Parnell called the strikes «hugely successful.» On May 6, the Houthis agreed to a ceasefire with the U.S. and the fighters have not carried out any attacks on U.S. vessels since, though they have targeted ships from other nations.
Top ISIS leader killed in Iraq
On March 13, U.S. Central Command carried out an airstrike in Iraq’s Al Anbar province that killed the number two ISIS leader, Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, and another ISIS operative.
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This image shows an aircraft launching from the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea before airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 15. (U.S. Navy via AP)
Midnight Hammer targets Iran’s nuclear capabilities
At Trump’s direction, the U.S. military launched a strike on three Iranian nuclear sites in a mission that went from June 21 to 22.
During the operation, called «Midnight Hammer,» B-2 stealth bombers departed from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and dropped over a dozen bunker buster bombs and launched more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles on key Iranian nuclear sites.
According to the Pentagon, the strikes decimated Iran’s nuclear capabilities and led to a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. The operation, however, was highly controversial, with some Democratic lawmakers accusing Trump of escalating tensions and downplaying the effectiveness of the strikes.
Iran launched a counterattack on the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, but there were no reported casualties.
Cartel drug boat strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific
As part of what the Department of War dubbed «Operation Southern Spear,» the U.S. unleashed 33 strikes on drug boats traveling in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, killing over 100 traffickers.
UKRAINE–RUSSIA AT A CROSSROADS: HOW THE WAR EVOLVED IN 2025 AND WHAT COMES NEXT
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social in September that he ordered a lethal strike on a vessel linked to a designated terrorist organization operating in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)
The strikes garnered significant criticism, with some Democrats accusing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth of war crimes. The Pentagon described the operation as a counter-narco-terrorism campaign against designated terror organizations «taken in defense of vital U.S. national interests and to protect the homeland.»
Operation Hawkeye in Syria
In response to two U.S. servicemembers being killed in Syria, the U.S. unleashed Operation Hawkeye on Dec.19. U.S. and allied forces employed more than 100 precision munitions targeting over 70 known ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites across central Syria, resulting in the deaths or detention of 23 terrorist operatives.
Hegseth called the airstrikes «a declaration of vengeance» in direct response to the ISIS attack that took place on Dec. 13 in Palmyra, Syria.
According to Central Command, U.S. and partner forces in Syria have conducted operations during the last 12 months that resulted in more than 300 terrorists being detained.
Christmas night strikes in Nigeria
On Christmas night, the U.S. launched strikes on ISIS-linked military forces in coordination with the Nigerian government in Sokoto State, in northwestern Nigeria.
Trump said he ordered U.S. airstrikes in northwest Nigeria against ISIS militants who he says, «have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years.»
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US Attorney General Pam Bondi, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem look on as US President Donald Trump speaks to the press on Aug. 25, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump takes drug war to Venezuela proper
Following months of escalation with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, this week Trump appeared to suggest the U.S. carried out a strike on drug operations inside Venezuela.
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Speaking with reporters on Monday, he said, «There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. They load the boats up with drugs, so we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area. It’s the implementation area. That’s where they implement. And that is no longer around.»
defense,donald trump,terrorism,narco terror,counter terrorism
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Russia’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday released nighttime video footage it claimed shows the wreckage of a Ukrainian drone intercepted during an attempted attack on a residence used by President Vladimir Putin.
The video, filmed in a snow-covered, forested area in Russia, shows a Russian serviceman standing over debris that Moscow said belongs to a Ukrainian-made Chaklun-V drone.
Russian officials also said the drone was shot down before it could strike Putin’s residence near Lake Valdai in the Novgorod region and was carrying a six-kilogram explosive device that failed to detonate.
The footage was released as Moscow faced mounting skepticism over its account of events.
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Satellite imagery shows Vladimir Putin’s residential complex in Roshchino, Novgorod Region, Russia Aug. 31, 2023. (Planet Labs PBC/Handout via Reuters)
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that U.S. national security officials concluded Ukraine did not target Putin or any of his residences in the alleged drone incident.
The Journal said the finding was supported by a CIA assessment that determined no attempted attack on Putin occurred, citing a U.S. official briefed on the intelligence.
Instead, Ukraine, they said, was believed to be targeting a military site it had previously struck in the same region but not near Putin’s residence, the official said.
Ukrainian officials have continued to reject the allegations, with a military drone expert claiming the video provided little evidence of an attempted strike on one of Russia’s most heavily secured locations.
UKRAINE SAYS IT CARRIED OUT FIRST-EVER UNDERWATER DRONE STRIKE ON RUSSIAN SUBMARINE IN NOVOROSSIYSK
Russia releases drone footage of the alleged Ukraine attack on Putin’s residence. (Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via Reuters )
«This footage, unfortunately, does not offer proof of anything other than that there is a wrecked drone on the ground somewhere being stood over by a Russian serviceman,» Draganfly CEO Cameron Chell told Fox News Digital.
Chell, whose firm supplies drones to the U.S. Department of Defense and its allies, said the drone shown in the video looked ill-suited for such a mission.
«The attacks that occurred on Dec. 29 were also hundreds of kilometers away,» he added.
«The engines on the drone in this new footage are very small, and though capable of multiple hours of flight with the type of fixed-wing drone displayed, it would be extremely slow and unsophisticated.
«This drone is not untypical of many Ukraine drones, but these would only be used for infrastructure targets and woefully ineffective in an attack on a facility the likes of Putin’s residence,» Chell concluded.
PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA WON’T LAUNCH NEW ATTACKS ON OTHER COUNTRIES ‘IF YOU TREAT US WITH RESPECT’
The Russian Defense ministry shows a downed drone after an alleged drone attack on Putin’s residence. (Russian Defense Ministry/Handout via Reuters )
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi also dismissed the footage as «laughable,» saying Kyiv was «absolutely confident that no such attack took place,» according to Reuters.
Russia alleges the drone was part of a broader Ukrainian operation targeting Putin’s residence earlier this week.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asserted 91 drones had been intercepted en route to Putin’s residence, a figure that appeared to conflict with earlier Defense Ministry statements.
The ministry initially reported that 89 drones were shot down across eight regions, including 18 over Novgorod, before revising the numbers upward.
RUSSIA ALLEGES ATTACK ON PUTIN RESIDENCE AS UKRAINE DENIES CLAIM AHEAD OF TRUMP TALKS
A Ukrainian air intelligence soldier carries a drone in the direction of Bakhmut, Ukraine, May 10, 2024. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Only after Lavrov’s remarks did the Defense Ministry claim that 49 drones intercepted over Bryansk — nearly 300 miles from Valdai — were also targeting the presidential residence.
The ministry initially reported that 89 drones were shot down across eight regions, including 18 over Novgorod, before revising the numbers upward.
The timing of the allegations has also drawn scrutiny, coming shortly after what Moscow described publicly as a positive meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida.
Zelenskyy also called the alleged drone attack a «complete fabrication,» saying it was designed to justify further Russian strikes and undermine diplomatic efforts.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected Ukraine’s denials and said Moscow would toughen its diplomatic stance.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
russia,vladimir putin,conflicts defense,military tech,ukraine,conflicts,drones
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