Ancient Wood Fragments Discovered at Noah’s Ark Site Offer New Evidence Supporting Biblical Account

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For generations, the story of Noah and the Ark has been passed down through Scripture. Now, researchers investigating a mysterious formation in Turkey say they have uncovered something remarkable beneath the ground: fragments they believe may be ancient, charred wood.

Could the story of Noah’s Ark be more than an account preserved in the pages of the Bible? A new discovery beneath the soil of eastern Turkey is giving renewed attention to one of Scripture’s most familiar stories.

Researchers working at the Durupınar formation, near Mount Ararat, report recovering darkened wood fragments approximately 30 feet below the surface. The discovery comes after months of investigation at a site that has long been associated by some with the biblical resting place of Noah’s Ark.

The fragments reportedly show signs of cracking and visible wood grain, with some displaying patterns resembling growth rings. Researchers are now submitting the material for carbon-14 dating and further analysis to determine its age and origin.

The investigation is being led by the Noah’s Ark Research Project, which includes researchers affiliated with Turkish universities. Their work has involved soil sampling, deep-core drilling and ground-penetrating radar technology.

The formation itself stretches approximately 515 feet and has attracted attention since it was identified in 1959 because of its unusual vessel-like shape.

Radar surveys conducted by scientist Khosrow Bakhtar have reportedly revealed organized patterns beneath the ground that investigators believe could represent chambers or passageways. These findings remain preliminary, but researchers are continuing to examine the area.

Archaeologist Cenker Atila, a professor at Sivas Cumhuriyet University who is overseeing the investigation, says the newly recovered fragments appear to be extremely old. Their actual age, however, has yet to be established through laboratory testing.

Netanyahu Bloc Challenges Vote as Israel Certifies Results

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Israel’s Central Elections Committee certified the country’s election results Wednesday over objections from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc, as his opponents prepared to try to form a governing coalition.

Netanyahu and his allies have cited two investigations into suspected election interference to challenge the results, with some calling for another vote, The New York Times reported Thursday.

Election officials said neither investigation produced evidence affecting the outcome.

The dispute comes as Netanyahu’s opponents prepare to take a parliamentary majority. His bloc could seek to delay the seating of the Knesset or impede the election of a new speaker, potentially complicating Gadi Eisenkot’s efforts to advance legislation and establish a government.

The parties opposed to Netanyahu won 67 seats in the 120-seat Parliament in the Oct. 27 election, including 19 seats secured by two Arab parties. Former military chief Eisenkot is seeking to assemble a coalition, though the Arab parties’ role remains unresolved. (Read more from “Netanyahu Bloc Challenges Vote as Israel Certifies Results” HERE)

Russia Suffers Record 54K Casualties in October, Ukraine Says — 2.1M Since War Began

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Russia suffered more than 54,000 casualties in October, the highest of any month since the war began, according to Ukraine — with Moscow losing even more ground under Kyiv’s counterattacks.

October saw 54,400 Kremlin troops killed, wounded or gone missing in action, about 8,170 more than the prior month, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.

“This is a record for any month of the full-scale war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky touted on Telegram. “There is also a record for daily losses: the Russian army lost 2,250 people on October 21.”

In all, Moscow is estimated to have suffered between 1.4 million to 2.1 million casualties since it launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, The Economist reported.

The outlet’s estimates show that between 374,000 and 770,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in action so far, a steep increase from May, when it estimated that at most 518,000 troops were dead. (Read more from “Russia Suffers Record 54K Casualties in October, Ukraine Says — 2.1M Since War Began” HERE)

Iran’s Boosted Weapons Capabilities have Caused up to $15B in US Base Damage: Report

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Iran upgraded missile and drone capabilities enough to cause as much as $15 billion in damages on US bases in the Middle East since the war began, according to a new report.

An analysis into the July 17 strike that killed three American service members at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan revealed how well Iran has improved its tactics — to exceptionally devastating and costly degrees, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Unlike previous attacks, July’s nighttime assault directly targeted and hit 19 buildings specifically housing American troops as they slept, according to Journal sources and satellite analysis.

The data indicated that Iran’s aim was growing more precise, with Tehran hitting buildings that were smaller thany those it was able to strike at the start of the war.

The complexity of the attack signaled Iran’s capabilities had been improving, not diminishing, as the Trump administration claimed.

Iran’s heaviest assaults came at the start of the war, when it damaged at least 119 buildings across 13 installations within the first two weeks of the conflict. (Read more from “Iran’s Boosted Weapons Capabilities have Caused up to $15B in US Base Damage: Report” HERE)

North Korean Hackers Steal $6.3B from Binance in ‘Largest Bank Heist in Human History’

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North Korean hackers stole $6.3 billion from Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, in a lightning-fast theft that an insider has called “the largest bank heist in human history.”

Cybercriminals swiped the digital coins out of Binance wallets within a mere 20 minutes starting at 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday, exploiting the system by hacking into an engineer’s laptop, according to analytics firm TRM Labs and industry insiders.

Binance initially said the security incident may have involved a compromised laptop. In an update Friday, Richard Teng, co-CEO of Binance, said the company’s security team has “uncovered additional points of breach,” suggesting it was a complex attack carried out by more than one person.

The culprits targeted just a few accounts, including one crypto wallet holding nearly $800 million, Idan Ofrat, co-founder of Fireblocks, told The Post.

TraderTraitor, the North Korean hacking group suspected of the crime, is known for pulling off unparalleled lootings by using algorithms to spread the riches across global crypto networks faster than any human could – making them virtually impossible to recover. US officials have said cybercrime attacks fund roughly half of North Korea’s missile program. (Read more from “North Korean Hackers Steal $6.3B from Binance in ‘Largest Bank Heist in Human History’” HERE)

Putin Hails Elon Musk’s ‘Genius’ Amid Plans for Russian Version of Starlink

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Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk’s genius and said he was in touch with Starlink’s controlling shareholder as Russia develops its own satellite communications for its military to use against Ukraine.

The Russian president, speaking at a summit with African leaders in Moscow, was comparing the Earth-orbiting network built by Musk’s SpaceX with Russia’s gradual efforts to build its own Rassvet constellation.

“Elon Musk is a genius, a true genius,” the Russian leader said, according to the Tass news agency. “How many of these [satellites] does he have in orbit? More than 5,000, and we’re only taking the first steps.”

The true number of active SpaceX satellites is estimated at about 10,000, which provide the high-speed internet service that has been the subject of a diplomatic row between Musk, the US and Ukraine earlier this month.

A military version of Starlink, called Starshield, was suddenly restricted one night in the middle of October, preventing Ukraine from conducting medium drone attacks and hampering some of its anti-drone air defenses. (Read more from “Putin Hails Elon Musk’s ‘Genius’ Amid Plans for Russian Version of Starlink” HERE)

Netanyahu Loses Seats, Trails Challenger Gadi Eisenkot in Israel Election, Exit Polls Show — Here’s what Happens Next

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By New York Post. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to lose significant support to opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot in the Israeli election Tuesday, according to exit polls — but neither bloc was set to win enough seats to secure a clear majority.

The big story, however, was the huge gain for Israeli Arabs, who make up about 25% of the population.

They were on pace to score 17 seats, a huge increase.

Netanyahu’s Likud party had 25 seats, and his right-wing alliance had 50, according to the Kan 11 exit poll published after voting ended. That would be a massive drop from the 32 they currently hold.

Despite the drop, the party is still projected to get the most votes out of any other single party in the election, according to all major exit polls.

Meanwhile, the “Change” opposition is slated to win 52 to 53 seats. (Read more from “Netanyahu Loses Seats, Trails Challenger Gadi Eisenkot in Israel Election, Exit Polls Show — Here’s what Happens Next” HERE)

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Netanyahu posted election misinformation on X account, expert says

By NBC News. Netanyahu posted a series of messages on X Tuesday that social media users and disinformation experts have called anti-Arab and misinformation.

One post from Netanyahu’s X account depicts a line of people wearing hijabs outside what appears to be a community center in Sakhin, Israel being used as a polling station. A photo under it shows people donned in black niqabs claiming to be in Rahat, Israel.

The caption reads, “This is an emergency call! The future of our Jewish state hangs in the balance. Go out and vote right now! Higher-than-usual voter turnout in the Arab sector compared to the low turnout of right-wing voters.”

According to Achiya Schatz, an online misinformation expert and founder of Fake Reporter, an Israeli organization fighting misinformation, the photo depicting a long line of what appears to be Muslim voters outside the polling station in Sakhin, may be AI-generated. (Read more from “Netanyahu posted election misinformation on X account, expert says” HERE)

Iran Claims It Hit Multiple Ships In Persian Gulf, Warns US Military Of Major Escalation

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Iran claimed Thursday that it struck seven oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and near the Strait of Hormuz, warning that continued American military operations could trigger an expanded Iranian assault on U.S. military bases throughout the Middle East.

Four vessels allegedly caught fire after being simultaneously attacked in the northern Persian Gulf on Wednesday, while three additional ships reportedly struck naval mines west of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, Reuters reported. The claims, which have not been confirmed outside of Tehran, represent a potentially significant escalation in Iran’s ongoing campaign against commercial shipping.

“The forces pulling matters toward another round of war are much stronger than the forces pushing back,” Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Israel is dead set on another war, whereas Trump is oscillating between wanting an exit from the war and an impulse for revenge against the damage Iran has done to Trump’s presidency.”

“On paper, and increasingly in practice, the United States maintains a massive advantage, but in an asymmetric war situation such as this, even the far weaker power can exercise enormous influence,” J.D. Foster, former chief economist at the White House Office of Management and Budget and former chief economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told the DCNF. “For examples, see Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. However, it is misleading to view the state of the conflict in military terms. The “front” in classical military terms is stagnant, relatively quiet, and increasingly irrelevant because the crux of the conflict now lies in the economic domain.”

The IRGC claimed its forces tracked four vessels allegedly conducting illegal ship-to-ship oil transfers before the vessels were simultaneously struck and caught fire, according to Reuters. (Read more from “Iran Claims It Hit Multiple Ships In Persian Gulf, Warns US Military Of Major Escalation” HERE)

Is Israel Gearing Up For Another Offensive?

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By Daily Caller. A meeting with the U.S. Secretary of War, the cancellation of military leave and the arrest of draft dodgers might point to Israel preparing for another offensive against Iran.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers’ military leaves are being canceled, and a group of ultra-orthodox Jewish men were arrested for evading the draft. Additionally, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth quietly met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to the Department of War which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Israeli government also did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

In preparation for Israel’s upcoming Oct. 27 election, the IDF was put on a high alert and service members’ leaves were frozen, the Times of Israel reported.

The IDF is “on the highest state of alert and will continue to maintain a high level of vigilance and readiness across all fronts,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told the outlet. Leave was frozen across IDF units, requiring soldiers to remain on base rather than taking planned leave, “subject to ongoing situational assessments.” (Read more from “Is Israel Gearing Up For Another Offensive?” HERE)

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U.S. ramps up warnings to Americans in Middle East after Houthi strikes

By CBS News. U.S. diplomatic missions across the Middle East have issued a new round of security warnings to Americans amid escalating attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants against Saudi Arabia, including an Oct. 10 strike on Riyadh’s international airport that killed an American citizen.

The alerts, issued Sunday by U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and several other countries, warned that hostilities could rapidly and without warning spread beyond areas already affected by the fighting. The advisories urged Americans to exercise vigilance and prepare for possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and other travel disruptions.

“We are actively warning U.S. citizens about the very real threat the Houthis pose and urging them to heed official guidance,” Edgar Vasquez, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for press, told CBS News.

“These alerts are part of a proactive effort by the Trump administration to ensure Americans are aware of potential risks,” Vasquez said, adding that the safety and security of American citizens remain the department’s “top priority.”

The State Department has maintained restrictions on diplomatic operations across parts of the region since the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran in February. State Department officials have said the restrictions are intended to be temporary and allow embassies to adjust staffing as security conditions evolve. (Read more from “U.S. ramps up warnings to Americans in Middle East after Houthi strikes” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

IDF Reportedly Ignores Hotline For Settler Violence

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The Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) hotline intended for addressing instances of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank has been reportedly rendered nonfunctional.

Civilians, including journalists and diplomats have no reliable way to report settler violence, Israeli outlet Haaretz reported Monday. The issue was discussed by the High Court of Justice last Thursday, following a petition from the legal aid group Yesh Din.

Before the group of European diplomats were attacked by masked settlers on Saturday, a report concerning a violent group of Israeli settlers reached the operations room of the West Bank based Benjamin Brigade. However, the brigade did not respond, according to Haaretz. The Thursday petition came just days before settlers violently attacked both European diplomats and an American female journalist in the span of two days.

The operations room “is intended to receive reports from security personnel only, not civilians. It responds only to authorized personnel, who are not civilians”, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit told Haaretz, “there are other centers designated to receive complaints from civilians.”

The Israeli government did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

However, civilians allege there is not a functional mechanism for reporting settler violence. (Read more from “IDF Reportedly Ignores Hotline For Settler Violence” HERE)