John J. Xenakis

Nigeria’s Boko Haram terrorists spread into Cameroon; Major escalation in fighting in Yemen; Israel on alert after Iran confirms its general was killed by Israel

Miss Lebanon may lose her title over selfie with Miss Israel; Lebanon on edge after Israeli air strike kills Hezbollah commanders; Europe, under intense financial pressure, expected to start quantitative easing

Fox News apologizes for misreporting on ‘no-go zones’ in Europe; Swiss franc revaluation panics East European currency markets; Troops and police spread across Europe, in fear of terror attacks; Thousands in Muslim countries protest cartoon depiction of Mohammed; Barack Obama describes an American advantage over Europe

In a move that some are describing as purely symbolic, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened a preliminary investigation into war crimes committed by Israel during the summer 2014 Gaza war.

Belgium police raided ten locations where it was suspected that home-grown jihadists returning from Syria were planning terror acts. One location was in the town of Verviers, where two suspected terrorists were killed after a shootout, and the others were spread across the capital city Brussels, which is also the capital city of the European Union.

More than half a million people attended a seafront mass in Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka, on Wednesday, as Pope Francis announced that Reverend Joseph Vaz had been canonized as a saint. Vaz was a 17th century Indian missionary who revived the faith in Sri Lanka during a time of anti-Catholic persecution by Dutch colonists, who were Protestant Calvinists.

It’s far from certain, but the impending Greek crisis rerun during the next month poses a real threat that Greece might have to leave the eurozone and start printing drachmas again, with the result that bankers and politicians are drawing up contingency plans in case it happens.

France has identified 751 Zones Urbaines Sensibles (ZUS – Sensitive Urban Zones). These are sometimes informally called “no-go zones,” because it’s claimed that they’re almost entire Muslim, self-governing with Sharia law, and where even the police never go.

Criticism is mounting against French officials for not doing more to prevent Wednesday’s terrorist attack by means of closer surveillance of the two brothers who carried out the attack.

After a coordinated three-day rampage on the town of Baga in northeast Nigeria, as well 15-20 other nearby towns, up to 2000 resident civilians have been killed.

Russia is on a long-term holiday that started two weeks ago and ends on Monday, January 12. At that time, the banks and the stock exchange will reopen, and it’s feared that both the ruble and the Moscow stock exchange will fall sharply.

It’s Christmas in Bethlehem today (Wednesday). Bethlehem is unique in that it celebrates Christmas three times each year.

In his weekly investors newsletter, investment guru John P. Hussman says that he’s in the camp that believes that “the likelihood of a market loss on the order of 40%, 50% or even 60% in the next few years is quite high.”

In September, the al-Houthi militias moved south and captured Sanaa, the nation’s capital, ousting the Sunni-led government. Since then, they’ve continued to take control of additional mainly Sunni provinces, and it’s now thought that the al-Houthis control about 70% of the army’s capabilities.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has reportedly said that she’s prepared to support Greece leaving the eurozone, and returning its original drachma currency, if Greece abandons the austerity commitments it made in return for the 240 billion euro bailout that has already been paid.

In drama on the high seas, the Italian coast guard has rescued two large merchant ships in the Mediterranean, packed with migrants from Syria, Eritrea, and Africa.

No one can seriously doubt that the world has become a much more dangerous place in 2014, and so now is a good time to review the most three most important dangers to watch out for in 2015

For the first time, Cameroon’s air force conducted air strikes in support of the army against Boko Haram positions in northern Cameroon, forcing the terrorists to retreat.

There’s a frequently heard complaint that while the mainstream media frequently report on jihadist attacks, they seem to ignore the attacks on Christians.

The Darfur genocide has sometimes been called “Everybody’s favorite African war,” since George Clooney and other movie stars, and politicians like Susan Rice, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden have all made “Stop the genocide” and “Save Darfur” and “Enough is enough” part of a very stylish and progressive do-good campaign.

Citizens, schools and even whole towns in China are attempting to curb Christmas celebrations amid a backlash against what is seen as the increasing influence of Western culture.

Indians have expressed shock over the brutality of the barbaric massacre that took place on Tuesday in Assam province, in India’s far northeast.