Abducted Catholic Schoolchildren In Nigeria Escape Captivity

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Fifty schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic school in north-central Nigeria escaped captivity and returned to their families, school authorities announced Sunday.

The students, aged 10 to 18, fled individually between Friday and Saturday after gunmen seized 303 people from St. Mary’s School in Niger state’s remote Papiri community, according to The Associated Press. A total of 253 students and 12 teachers remain in captivity, according to Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Niger state and the school’s proprietor.

“We were able to ascertain this when we decided to contact and visit some parents,” Yohanna said in a statement.

Authorities have not disclosed where the captives are being held or how the 50 children managed to escape. No group has claimed responsibility for the Friday attack.

Pope Leo XIV called for the immediate release of the remaining hostages during a mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. (Read more from “Abducted Catholic Schoolchildren In Nigeria Escape Captivity” HERE)

US Peace Plan Asks Almost Nothing of Russia, Leaving Some American Officials Questioning Why Kyiv Would Accept It

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The US peace plan to end the war in Ukraine contains almost no concessions from Russia aside from it abandoning its vow to take over the entire country — and American officials say they can’t see why Kyiv would accept the proposal.

The plan, devised by President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, after consultations with both Ukrainian and Russian officials, would see Kyiv surrendering the entirety of its Donbas region.

The handed-over area would include territory that the Kremlin hasn’t even been able to secure for more than a decade, since it made a separate land grab for it in 2014.

The proposed pact also calls for Ukraine to pledge to never join NATO, shrink its armed forces from its current estimated 900,000 to 600,000 personnel — and grant amnesty for all parties involved in wartime actions, eliminating any future legal claims over Russian war crimes.

Some US officials and experts characterized the plan as a no-win for Kyiv. (Read more from “US Peace Plan Asks Almost Nothing of Russia, Leaving Some American Officials Questioning Why Kyiv Would Accept It” HERE)

Several NATO Nations Scramble Jets as Russian Airstrike Kills At Least 20 Including Children

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The air forces of several NATO states were scrambled overnight to protect the airspace of the alliance along its eastern border as Russia launched one of its deadliest air strikes against Ukraine’s western regions of the war so far.

Polish, Romanian, German, Spanish, Norwegian, and Dutch fighter jets were scrambled in two deployments in airspace bordering Ukraine over Poland and Romania and the Russian armed forces hammered western Ukraine. According to Kyiv, Russia launched 476 drones, 47 cruise missiles and one ballistic missiles in strikes across the country, but particularly on Western cities Ternopil and Lviv.

At least 20 people have been found dead in Ternopil, which is approximately 225 miles west of Ukrainian capital Kyiv and 110 miles short of the Polish border. Of the killed, at least two are children, and a further 66 were wounded including 16 children in the strikes which badly damaged two apartment blocks.

Ukraine said it scrambled its own Western-built jet fighters including U.S.-made F-16s and French Mirage-2000 jets to shoot down Russian missiles. In all, Kyiv said 41 cruise missiles were shot down, 10 of them by Western-supplied Ukraine Air Force jets.

The BBC notes the unusually large and deadly Russian air raid came one day after Ukraine said it had used U.S.-made ATACMS missiles against targets inside Russia, the first time this has happened under the Trump Presidency. (Read more from “Several NATO Nations Scramble Jets as Russian Airstrike Kills At Least 20 Including Children” HERE)

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China Arrests 18 Church Leaders in Crackdown on Religious Freedom

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Chinese officials on Tuesday arrested 18 leaders of the underground Zion Church. Almost 30 pastors and staffers have been detained, without formal arrest, since the middle of October.

Zion Church is an underground or “house church,” meaning it has not been authorized and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese government is using a technique called “Sinicization” to take control of organized religion and make it subordinate to Communist Party doctrine. “Sinicized” churches, mosques, and temples are forced to teach Communist dogma in addition to their religious beliefs.

Millions of Chinese Christians have bravely chosen to defy the system by worshiping at “house churches,” so-called because they typically hold services in the homes of their congregants. The Zion Church was founded in 2007 by Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, who converted to Christianity after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

Jin’s church grew rapidly during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic by offering services online — and even by defying dictator Xi Jinping’s harsh lockdown policies to hold services in person. Zion Church is now one of the largest remaining underground churches.

Xi’s regime launched its biggest crackdown on house churches in years this October, detaining dozens of pastors and staff members, including Pastor Jin. Five of the detainees were released in October and four more were released on bail in early November, according to Jin’s daughter Grace. (Read more from “China Arrests 18 Church Leaders in Crackdown on Religious Freedom” HERE)

New Zealand bans puberty blockers for transgender minors

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New Zealand health officials announced Wednesday that new prescriptions for puberty blockers will no longer be issued to children identifying as transgender.

Doctors will stop prescribing the gender-affirming medication — gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues — to minors starting Dec. 19, after the health ministry cited a lack of “high-quality evidence that demonstrates the benefits or risks,” Health Minister Simeon Brown said.

Existing patients can still access the medication for gender dysphoria or other conditions, such as early-onset puberty, endometriosis, and prostate cancer.

Officials said 113 people were using puberty blockers in 2023 — down from 140 in 2021.

Hormone blockers can pause puberty and are occasionally used to treat children with gender dysphoria.

Critics slammed the decision, warning the ban will severely impact transgender and gender-diverse youth, arguing medical decisions should be left to the individuals doctor. (Read more from “New Zealand bans puberty blockers for transgender minors” HERE)

Trump Says Saudi Arabia to Get F-35 Jets Under Arrangement Similar to Israel

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By CNA. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (Nov 18) that the United States would sell advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, signalling that Riyadh would receive the same top-tier defence equipment long reserved for Israel.

“As far as I’m concerned, I think they are both at a level where they should get top-of-the-line F-35s,” Trump told reporters at the White House, calling Saudi Arabia and Israel “great allies”.

The comments came as Trump hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks aimed at deepening defence cooperation and expanding a growing US–Saudi security partnership.

Trump said Washington and Riyadh had reached a “defence agreement”, though he offered no details. Saudi Arabia is seeking stronger security guarantees from the US amid heightened regional tensions and has been pushing for access to advanced military hardware.

The crown prince, making his first White House visit in more than seven years, said security cooperation was a core priority of the trip. He also announced that Saudi Arabia would increase its planned investments in the United States to nearly US$1 trillion, up from a US$600 billion pledge made during Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May. (Read more from “Trump Says Saudi Arabia to Get F-35 Jets Under Arrangement Similar to Israel” HERE)

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Israel’s ICC appeal is not about Karim Khan, but Trump – analysis

By The Jerusalem Post. Israel’s appeal to the International Criminal Court’s highest chamber to cancel the arrest warrants outstanding against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on the basis of disqualifying ICC’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan has much more to do with US President Donald Trump than with Khan.

If the only questions were: “Can Israel get Khan disqualified, and can this lead to the arrest warrants being tossed?” the answer would surely be that the arrest warrants won’t be nixed, even if Khan is.

But there are broader issues at stake here, and, though unlikely, the ICC could choose to use disqualifying Khan as a way out from its nearly year-long conflict with the Trump administration.

Since Trump returned to power in January and gave the ICC a brief ultimatum to withdraw the arrest warrants against Israel, the US government has escalated sanctions against ICC officials, one move after another.

Cumulatively, the ICC has lost employees, funding, and general flexibility in operations due to its stance on maintaining the arrest warrants. (Read more from “Israel’s ICC appeal is not about Karim Khan, but Trump – analysis” HERE)

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Report: US To Build $500 Million Military Base in Israel on the Gaza Border

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The US is planning to build a large military base in Israel on the Gaza border, according to a joint report from the Israeli investigative outlet Shomrim and the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

The report said that the construction of the base would cost about $500 million and would be designed to house thousands of US and international troops tasked with maintaining the Gaza ceasefire deal.

The US has already established a military outpost in southern Israel to oversee the ceasefire, known as the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), but the construction of such a large base would mark a significant escalation of the US military presence. It would also increase the US involvement in Gaza, where Israel is regularly carrying out attacks and killing Palestinians despite the truce deal. . .

The US has already deployed 200 troops to the CMCC, which has replaced Israel as the “overseer” of humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza, according to a report from The Washington Post. Israel has continued to restrict aid deliveries to Gaza in violation of the ceasefire deal.

Bloomberg later reported that the US military was exploring the possibility of building a “temporary” base capable of housing 10,000 people near Gaza. The report cited a Request for Information document dated October 31 that said the US Navy was seeking a cost estimate for “a temporary, self-sustaining military base of operations capable of supporting 10,000 personnel and providing 10,000 square feet of office space for a period of 12 months.” (Read more from “Report: US To Build $500 Million Military Base in Israel on the Gaza Border” HERE)

17 Nigerian Christians Killed in Attacks Hours After Trump Called Out Religious Persecution

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At least 17 Christians were killed in Nigeria hours after President Donald Trump designated the nation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for ongoing attacks by radical Islamists, with local media reporting “fresh attacks by gunmen across communities in Plateau and Kaduna states.”

A Friday evening attack in Kaduna claimed the lives of seven people and injured one more, with Nigerian outlet Punch reporting that the assailants “invaded” the Damakasuwa community in Chawai Chiefdom around 8:00 pm and began “shooting sporadically and forcing residents to flee into nearby bushes for safety.”

The chief of Chawai, Alhaji Yahaya Muhammad, told the newspaper that five of the fatalities died at the scene while the other two later succumbed to their injuries.

“The incident heightened tension in the area, but normalcy has since been restored due to the presence of military personnel in the community,” the chief said. “We have urged our people to remain calm and allow the security agencies to carry out their duties diligently to ensure the perpetrators are apprehended.”

In Plateau State, 10 more people were reportedly killed in separate attacks on Friday and Saturday, Punch reported. (Read more from “17 Nigerian Christians Killed in Attacks Hours After Trump Called Out Religious Persecution” HERE)

King of England Goes All in on Military Gay “Pride”; UK Offering Homosexual Ex-Soldiers Up To $93K

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King Charles III has unveiled a memorial to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender military personnel after a decades-long campaign against a ban on being gay in the armed forces.

In his first official engagement in support of the LGBT+ community, the King visited the sculpture, named “an opened letter”, at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

The memorial is dedicated to those from the LGBT+ community now serving in the forces, as well as those who served at a time when it was illegal to be gay in the military. . .

The memorial project was led by Fighting With Pride, an LGBT+ veterans support charity set up to campaign for justice and support those impacted by the ban. . .

Veterans impacted by the ban can apply for a financial redress payment of up to £70,000 [$93,000 USD]. (Read more from “King of England Goes All in on Military Gay “Pride”; UK Offering Homosexual Ex-Soldiers Up To $93K” HERE)

Mexican Mayor Who Stood Up to Cartels Gunned Down in ‘Kamikaze Attack’ Weeks After Haunting Statement

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A Mexican mayor who called for “brute force” against the country’s violent drug cartels was gunned down in public Saturday night during “Day of the Dead” celebrations in his hometown.

Carlos Manzo, 40, the firebrand mayor of Uruapan in Mexico’s Michoacan province, was shot dead by two gunmen in front of shocked supporters in the city’s central square, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the vile assassination of the mayor of Uruapan, Carlos Manzo,” Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum wrote on X. “I express my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, as well as to the people of Uruapan, for this irreparable loss.”

Security consultant David Saucedo described the brazen assassination as a “kamikaze attack.”

Manzo gained fame as head of the city of 300,000 when he stood up to the bloody cartels that have terrorized Mexico for decades — and acknowledged the risk he was taking. (Read more from “Mexican Mayor Who Stood Up to Cartels Gunned Down in ‘Kamikaze Attack’ Weeks After Haunting Statement” HERE)

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