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The Woodlands Fire Department hosted a special blessing ceremony Monday to unveil their new Safe Haven Baby Box!

“Today marks a meaningful step forward for The Woodlands Township, the unveiling of a Safe Haven Baby Box. It’s an initiative that reflects the compassion and care that define our community and strengthens our commitment to protecting those in crisis,” said Vice Chairman of The Woodlands Township, Craig Eissler, at the event. “I’m proud of what this says about our community.”

A Safe Haven Baby Box is temperature-controlled, padded, and monitored, providing a safe and anonymous option to parents wishing to surrender their newborns. When someone opens the door of the box, a silent alarm alerts firefighters, who then take the baby to a hospital for a medical evaluation.

This is Houston’s first Baby Box, and the sixth in Texas! The launch of this box comes after the Houston area saw six infant abandonments reported last summer alone, as well as the heartbreaking discovery of an urn containing a fetus in a pond at Copper Sage Park last April.

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“It really lit more of a fire under us,” said Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, Director of The Woodlands Township Board, reflecting on the urgent need for more life-affirming options for parents facing desperate circumstances.

Texas’ “Baby Moses” law already provides a pathway for parents to safely surrender infants under 60 days old at fire stations, hospitals, or police stations that are staffed 24/7. All 50 states have some form of Safe Haven laws, though the specifics vary.

These laws, and resources like Safe Haven Baby Boxes, offer critical lifelines for parents who find themselves overwhelmed and desperate, ensuring that every child has the chance at Life and safety.

We are thankful for The Woodlands Township and their commitment to saving babies in their area! This new Safe Haven Box is yet another resource to help ensure that another baby is not found abandoned in our state.

LifeNews Note: Ashlynn Lemos is the communications intern for Texas Right to Life.

The post Houston, Texas Opens Safe Haven Baby Box to Save Babies From Infanticide appeared first on LifeNews.com.

The overlords of Carbondale, Illinois seem to run their city like East Berlin.

With the help of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), one pro-life resident may take legal action, after he was threatened with criminal charges for holding up signs in a public area near an abortion business.

Brandon, a sidewalk counselor and founder of Gospel for Life was standing peacefully outside his local baby killing center on April 16, when the city’s thought police, under the direction from their attorney, demanded he remove his signs.

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Why? Because they stated super offensive things, like “Please don’t abort your baby” and “Free baby supplies,” in an effort to convince desperate mothers to seek options other than putting down their unborn children.

It would seem that apparently violates some sign ordinance, according to the officer who approached Brandon. The ACLJ says the Constitution claims otherwise.

Brandon responded that he had the right to constitutionally protected speech, to which the officer reportedly snapped “No, you don’t.”

The authorities called for backup, threatening their pro-life subject with citation and criminal charges.

“Let’s be clear,” wrote the ACLJ in a response.

“The First Amendment protects the right to speak out in public spaces – especially on matters of public concern.”

The center noted multiple courts “have consistently struck down vague ordinances and arbitrary enforcement,” that “chill” that fundamental right,” calling Carbondale’s actions “not only unconstitutional,” but “dangerous.”

If the thought police refuse to correct course immediately, Brandon’s lawyers are promising to sue.

If the thought police refuse to correct course immediately, Brandon’s lawyers promise to sue.

LifeNews Note: Justine Brooke Murray writes for Newsbusters, where this originally appeared.

The post City Wants to Shut Down Man Holding Sign Saying “Please Don’t Abort Your Baby” appeared first on LifeNews.com.

News organizations are increasingly controlled by wealthy owners or governments, the Liberties group has said

Media freedom is deteriorating in a number of EU countries, according to a recent report by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties). The group has claimed that pluralism and freedom of speech are “under attack” as media companies become increasingly controlled by governments and wealthy owners.

In the Media Freedom 2025 report, the authors have outlined a range of pressures facing journalists and independent outlets, including legal and physical threats, declining ownership transparency, and political interference in public broadcasting.

The group has warned that these factors have had a significant impact on the work of the media, limiting the diversity of opinions and the independence of publications, reducing public trust in content.

Liberties has identified Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Croatia, France, Hungary, Slovakia and Spain as among the EU member states where the situation is most alarming. According to the report, public broadcasters in several of these countries are routinely manipulated by political interests, and legal protections for media workers remain weak or poorly enforced.

The group also recorded at least 156 physical or verbal attacks on journalists in 2024, including cases of police intimidation and criminal defamation charges. In some states, the report notes, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) are still being used to silence critical reporting, despite the EU’s recent efforts to curb their abuse.

Liberties also noted that Russian and Belarusian journalists working in the bloc have repeatedly faced threats and harassment and become targets of spyware, raising concerns over their safety and what effect it could be having on their work.

Earlier this month, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that the EU had denied its journalists accreditation for 2025, citing sanctions regulations. The outlet has appealed the decision, referencing the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and earlier EU statements that had assured journalistic activity would not be restricted.

The rejection follows a broader crackdown on Russian media in the EU since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The European Council has banned Russian outlets such as RT, Sputnik and RIA across the bloc. In its 16th sanctions package adopted this February, the bloc also added eight more Russian news outlets to the blacklist, including Lenta.ru and the Zvezda TV channel.

Russian officials have repeatedly condemned the bans, arguing EU officials are afraid of people seeing a viewpoint that differs from the Western mainstream narrative and drawing their own conclusions about current events.

The newly-released documents detail times spent in the country by infamous death camp doctor Josef Mengele and Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann, amongst others

The Argentinean government has made public almost 2,000 declassified secret service files on hundreds of Nazi war criminals who fled to the Latin American country after the Third Reich’s defeat in the Second World War. 

According to estimates, as many as 10,000 Nazis utilized so-called ‘ratlines’ to escape as the Axis powers collapsed. Infamously, around half of them are believed to have chosen Argentina –known for its reluctance to grant extradition requests — as their refuge.

The 1,850 files uploaded online by the Argentinian National Archives (AGN) on Monday included intelligence reports, photographs, and police records. The documents on “Nazi activities in Argentina” are now available to all “thanks to extensive restoration and digitization work,” the AGN said in a statement.

Among other things, the papers depict how the likes of Josef Mengele, Erich Priebke and Adolf Eichmann were able to make it to Argentina and what they did in the country.

Mengele was a physician and Nazi SS officer, nicknamed the ‘Angel of Death’ for his inhumane medical experiments on prisoners at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The published records show he entered Argentina in 1949 under the name of Gregor Helmut and then openly lived in the country.

“References obtained from different sectors of the German community allowed us to learn that he was commander of the Assault Guards and, at the same time, doctor in the German extermination camp of Auschwitz,” one of the files on Mengele read.

The newly-published papers also included the 1995 extradition documents for Priebke, a mid-level SS commander, who had been in charge of a unit responsible for the massacre of 335 Italian civilians at the Ardeatine Caves outside Rome in 1944.

They also shed light on the time that Eichmann, a high-ranking SS official often described as the logistics chief of the Holocaust, spent in Argentina. He was kidnapped in Buenos Aires in 1960 by Mossad agents and hanged for his crimes by Israel two years later.

The files in question were declassified in 1992 under a decree from then-Argentine President Carlos Menem, but they could only be viewed in a specially designated room at the AGN.

READ MORE: CIA files reveal secret search for Hitler in 1950s

The country’s current leader Javier Milei ordered that the Nazi papers be released to the general public in March on a request from the US Jewish human rights organization, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which is currently investigating  links between Swiss bank, Credit Suisse, and Nazi Germany.

The 2025 Federal election resulted in an increase of new pro-life MPs and the re-election of every pro-life incumbent.

“We congratulate and celebrate the 42 pro-life candidates whom we green-lit and who were elected last night,” said Jeff Gunnarson, National President of Campaign Life Coalition (CLC). “We especially congratulate the six new pro-life MPs who ran excellent campaigns and encourage them to bring the pro-life voice into our country’s hall of power.”

While the election was hailed by many as the most important in decades, tragically, the leaders of the mainstream parties abandoned the over 100,000 preborn children targeted annually by abortion.

“Prime Minister Mark Carney, albeit with a projected minority government, has promised to expand the Liberal Party’s ungodly policies that have turned Canada into a death machine destroying countless victims—not only the preborn but also the sick, elderly, disabled, and others who have been let down by the social system and continue to be killed by euthanasia,” said Gunnarson.

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It was last month that Carney publicly declared his “unreserved” support for abortion, stating he “absolutely supports a woman’s right to choose” and would defend it “proudly and consistently.” The Liberal election platform pledged “permanent” taxpayer funding for abortion to continue across Canada and abroad and IVF subsidies of up to $20K per cycle.

Gunnarson also criticized the Conservative Party for treating the preborn child as a political liability and becoming virtually indistinguishable from the Liberals on foundational issues of life, marriage, and family. Poilievre defended abortion on more occasions than Carney and even undermined official Conservative Party policy (which protects free votes on matters of conscience), stating in the party’s election platform that under his leadership there will be “no laws, rules or regulations passed restricting abortion.”

Jack Fonseca, CLC’s Director of Political Operations, noted that Poilievre blew a massive lead in the polls, even losing his seat, by parroting many of the Liberals’ talking points, including Carney’s anti-life, anti-family stances. “This proves, once again, that trying to appear more pro-abortion and pro-LGBT than the Libs doesn’t win elections for the Conservative Party,” he said. “Failure to distinguish from the Liberals on moral issues results in electoral failure, every time.”

Gunnarson warned that difficult times may be ahead for Canadians who cherish life, family, and faith. “If Liberal policies usher in a time of chastisement, it is only God rendering to Canada what it deserves for abandoning His moral order—especially His commandment against murder, as it applies to preborn children, the sick, and the elderly. May God have mercy on our country.”

CLC thanks the almost 160 candidates it green-lit this election who ran principled campaigns in defence of life, including those representing the Conservative Party of Canada, the People’s Party of Canada, the Christian Heritage Party, the United Party of Canada, and others.

LifeNews Note: Campaign Life Coalition is a national, non-profit organization involved in political action and advocacy for legal and cultural change in Canada with respect to protecting human life & the family. For more info visit campaignlifecoalition.com.

The post More Pro-Life MPs Elected to Canadian Parliament Despite Liberal Party Victory appeared first on LifeNews.com.

The US president has claimed he is “saving that nation” by trying to mediate between Moscow and Kiev

Ukraine could face a significant defeat in the near future if it does not sit down at the negotiating table with Russia, US President Donald Trump has warned.

Trump made his comments in an interview with The Atlantic published on Monday. When asked whether he has sympathy for Kiev, the president replied by saying that his policy is aimed at “saving” Ukraine and warned that continued conflict would not bring the country any good.

“I think I’m saving that nation. I think that nation will be crushed very shortly,” he said, adding that Russia has a “big war machine. Let’s face it.”

Separately, US Vice President J.D. Vance also emphasized on Monday that Kiev would not win the conflict against Moscow. “If this doesn’t stop, the Ukrainians aren’t winning the war,” Vance, a US Marine Corps veteran, told Charlie Kirk. He also said it was “weird” to expect Russia to collapse because of the ongoing hostilities.

The US has grown increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of negotiations between Washington, Moscow and Kiev. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned last week that the US could walk away from the talks altogether if the process stalls.

Moscow has said it has always been ready to engage in peace talks, provided they ensure a permanent solution that addresses the root causes of the conflict. It opposed a proposal for a temporary ceasefire, pointing to past experience when Kiev and its Western backers used a hiatus to rearm the Ukrainian military.

Last week, Trump himself also admitted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was easier to deal with than Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky. “I think Russia is ready… I think we have a deal with Russia. We have to get a deal with Zelensky,” Trump told journalists at the time. The Ukrainian leader had earlier publicly rejected a reported key point in the proposed US peace framework by refusing to consider recognizing Crimea as Russian territory.

The Trump administration has been pushing for a resolution to the conflict  since he took office in early 2025. Washington is also seeking to secure a minerals extraction agreement with Kiev to help offset the billions of dollars the US had spent on military and financial assistance to Ukraine under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.

OB-GYNs did not leave states with pro-life laws after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, despite claims to the contrary, a recent study found.

In fact, pro-life states saw increases in OB-GYNs, rather than decreases, The College Fix reported on the study. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study found that OB-GYNs increased by 8.3% in states where life is protected, 10.5% in states that lean pro-life, and only 7.7% in states where abortions are legal.

The study also found that the percentage of those choosing to become OB-GYNs as a career has not decreased since Dobbs v. Jackson returned the issue of abortion to individual states.

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The College Fix reported that the findings contradict certain claims that pro-life laws would drive OB-GYNs out of state and leave pregnant women without any resources.

“As more clinicians leave those states, as more maternity care deserts happen, we will see poorer outcomes,” Dr. Stella Dantas, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), told Mother Jones in May 2024.

The same Mother Jones article reported that 64% of practicing OB-GYNs who responded to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey said that the Dobbs ruling worsened maternal mortality. However, studies have shown that the maternal mortality rate actually fell the year after several states passed pro-life legislation.

The College Fix also reported that Dr. Verda Hicks, the former president of the ACOG, claimed in 2023 that OB-GYNs would get burnt out from being “prevented from providing the expert care that they are trained to provide.”

“Little do they [those making the claims] know that only 14 percent of OB/GYNs inject chemicals into babies to cause them to have heart attacks or rip them apart in the womb,” The College Fix reported. “So while abortion is an important part of what they consider to be medicine, it is not vital to the true healthcare provided by other people, leaving the alleged experts once again sitting alone in their echo chamber.”

LifeNews Note: Hannah Hiester writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.

The post States Banning Abortions Gained More OBGYNs Than States Where Abortion is Legal appeared first on LifeNews.com.

A bombshell study published Monday has revealed nearly 11% of women experience severe or life-threatening complications after an abortion via the drug mifepristone – a rate that is 22 times higher than indicated on the drug’s label approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Our team analyzed 865,727 mifepristone abortions (2017–2023), 28 times larger than all FDA clinical trials combined.

Here’s what we found:
· 10.93% of women experienced severe or life-threatening events within 45 days of taking Mifepristone, including sepsis, hemorrhage, blood… pic.twitter.com/3EAoGf0R75

— Ethics and Public Policy Center (@EPPCdc) April 28, 2025

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A research team at the Washington, D.C.-based Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) analyzed 865,727 mifepristone abortions that occurred between 2017 and 2023, a number that is “28 times larger than in all FDA clinical trials combined.”

“This largest-known study of the abortion pill is based on analysis of data from an all-payer insurance claims database,” write Jamie Bryan Hall and Ryan T. Anderson of EPPC for the study titled “The Abortion Pill Harms Women.”

According to the study, “10.93 percent of women experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion.”

“The real-world rate of serious adverse events following mifepristone abortions is at least 22 times as high as the summary figure of ‘less than 0.5 percent’ in clinical trials reported on the drug label,” Hall and Anderson observe.

The FDA began to gradually relax restrictions on mifepristone during the Obama and Biden administrations, ultimately allowing the drug to be used up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, with no required in-person doctor visits or reporting of adverse events.

The weakened restrictions on mifepristone appear to have enabled a drug-induced abortion to become a “DIY” (do-in-yourself) procedure.

“[A] mifepristone abortion now requires as little as one telehealth visit with any approved healthcare provider (not necessarily a physician),” Hall and Anderson observe. “[A] woman may self-administer drugs obtained from a mail-order pharmacy.”

Easy access to DIY abortions has occurred just as their prevalence has also increased dramatically.

“Chemical abortions—the vast majority of which are performed using a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol—now account for roughly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States,” the researchers explain.

Given the finding that complications from drug-induced abortions appear to be far greater than what the FDA has reported, EPPC calls for the agency to “immediately reinstate its earlier, stronger patient safety protocols to ensure physician responsibility for women who take mifepristone under their care, as well as mandate full reporting of its side effects.”

“The FDA should further investigate the harm mifepristone causes to women and, based on objective safety criteria, reconsider its approval altogether,” the authors assert.

“Many patients obtain mifepristone through the mail through ‘telemedicine’ apps that require little more than a few clicks and virtually no evaluation,” writes psychiatrist and EPPC scholar Dr. Aaron Kheriaty at his column “Human Flourishing.”

“The pill is then shipped across state lines, making it almost impossible for states to regulate or monitor its use,” he explains. “Fierce debates about abortion in our society often prevent objective analysis of data on the topic; however, given that chemical abortions now account for two-thirds of all abortions, these findings deserve close scrutiny and attention.”

Based on the study’s results, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley sent a letter Monday afternoon to FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, urging him to “restore the FDA’s longstanding safety measures” regarding mifepristone.

“You have stated publicly: ‘If the data suggests something or tells us that there’s a real signal, we can’t promise we’re not going to act on that data,’” Hawley reminded Makary. “The time to act is now. It is time to revisit and restore the FDA’s longstanding safety measures governing mifepristone.”

Similarly, Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines reacted to the study’s shocking results.

“The science is clear: the abortion pill is not safe for women, and it never has been,” he said. “This recent study is proof that pro-abortion advocates care more about promoting their radical agenda than they do about women’s health. I urge the FDA to reinstate safety protocols for mifepristone, so that we can protect the health of women and uphold the dignity of life.”

Alliance Defending Freedom and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists likewise posted reactions to the study on the X platform.

LifeNews Note: Susan Berry writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.

The post 11% of Women Who Take the Abortion Pill Experience Major Complications appeared first on LifeNews.com.

Last week, Amna Nawaz of PBS News asked Dr. Marty Makary, new commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, if he planned to impose restrictions on the distribution and use of mifepristone and misoprostol in chemical abortions. The FDA approved mifepristone for chemical abortions in 2000, after a selective, limited study determined that it was “safe and effective.” Since 2016, citing that conclusion, the FDA eroded all safeguards on chemical abortions. Today, chemical abortions can be prescribed in every state, without an in-person visit, by someone who is not a physician, and distributed through the mail. Women self-administer the abortion drusg at home without a required follow-up visit. Clinics or administrating entities are not required to report adverse effects. 

Even so, Dr. Makary said that he “ha(d) no plans to take action on mifepristone,” but then added:  

I believe as a scientist, you got to evolve as the data comes in. 

And, as you may know, there is an ongoing set of data that is coming into FDA on mifepristone. So, if the data suggests something or tells us that there’s a real signal, then I — we can’t promise we’re not going to act on that data that we have not yet seen. 

Almost on cue, a new report was released on Monday by the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

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Whereas the FDA originally relied on data from 10 clinical trials with nearly 31,000 participants, the new data is based on the “largest-known study of the abortion pill” and “is based on analysis of data from an all-payer insurance claims database that includes 865,727 prescribed mifepristone abortions from 2017 to 2023.” In other words, this data is the most recent available and is far more representative of the chemical abortions typically obtained today. The women in this dataset are,  

[B]roadly representative of the women who obtain mifepristone abortions in the U.S.; they are not a prescreened group of generally healthy women recruited into various clinical trials conducted at different times around the world. 

Also, the medical care these women received is common to chemical abortions and not “the carefully controlled regimen of care that ordinarily prevails in clinical trials.” 

The results, according to this analysis, is that the abortion pill harms women. Some of the disturbing findings found that 10.93% of women experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion. The real-world rate of serious adverse events following mifepristone abortions is at least 22 times as high as the summary figure of “less than 0.5%” in clinical trials reported on the drug label. 

Of course, even if the new study suggested that mifepristone is “safe and effective” for women, it would still be a dangerous lie to claim, as proponents have, that it is “like Tylenol.” As Ob-Gyn physician Dr. Christine Francis argued in a What Would You Say video, having an abortion is nothing like treating a headache. When Tylenol works, pain is eliminated. When mifepristone works, a developing human life in the womb is ended. “If the medication is successful,” Francis observed, “someone always dies. That is the furthest thing from safe.” 

Even more, women are not sufficiently warned that they are, to put it gently, likely to see the result of their chemical abortion. What the EPPC study does not quantify is the emotional and psychological trauma that women have experienced. 

Also, like the data used by the FDA to justify its systemic reduction of all restrictions on mifepristone, the comparison with Tylenol is misleading and false. The claim is based on the total number of hospitalizations of each, but that comparison is “terribly misleading” since so many more people take Tylenol than mifepristone. When compared on a per capita basis, there is no comparison.

In the interview with PBS News, Dr. Makary called himself “a data guy.” I believe that he is. At the very least, these data findings require a reexamination of the FDA’s current regulations and protocol on chemical abortions. The Ethics and Public Policy Center further recommends:  

The FDA should reinstate the original patient safety protocols that were required when mifepristone was first approved. Doing so will likely reduce the harms to women and permit better monitoring to determine whether this drug should remain on the market.

Certainly, it should not remain on the market. But this study is incredibly important to reverse some of the damage the FDA has caused. The stakes could not be higher. Today, the vast majority of chemical abortions “are performed using a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol,” and “chemical abortions now account for nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States.” Fifteen years ago, the world learned that the mass-murdering abortionist Kermit Gosnell had been enabled by a severe lack of oversight and regulation. This new report from the EPPC suggests that chemical abortion is its own “house of horrors.” 

LifeNews Note: John Stonestreet writes for BreakPoint.org. This article was originally posted here.

The post New Report Confirms Abortion Drug is Dangerous for Women appeared first on LifeNews.com.

The National High Court will investigate the possibility of a cyberattack being behind this week’s massive blackout

Spain has launched an investigation into this week’s widespread power outage to determine whether a cyberattack may have triggered the blackout that swept across almost the entire Iberian Peninsula.

The Spanish government declared a state of emergency on Monday after a midday outage struck Spain and neighboring Portugal, also briefly affecting parts of France. The blackout left millions without electricity, causing disruption on roads and at airports. While power has mostly been restored, transport services remain affected.

In a statement on Tuesday, Spain’s High Court said Judge Jose Luis Calama had ordered preliminary proceedings to assess whether the blackout was the result of cyber sabotage.

The National Cryptologic Center, grid operator Red Electrica (REE), and the police have reportedly been instructed to submit reports within ten days detailing the causes of the outage and the events surrounding it.

Calama said that although the cause was still unknown, “cyberterrorism is among the possible explanations.” 

REE said on Tuesday that a cyberattack had been ruled out in its initial assessment. System Operations Chief Eduardo Prieto told a news briefing it was possible that the disruption involved solar generation, but that it was too early to draw conclusions.

Portugal’s grid operator, Redes Energeticas Nacionais (REN), earlier said that a “rare atmospheric phenomenon” over Spain, triggered by “extreme temperature variations,” may have caused the blackout.

Spanish officials have yet to confirm the cause. On Monday evening, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said there was no conclusive information.

Power has now been restored across almost all of Spain and Portugal, though both countries remain under states of emergency. On Tuesday morning, REE said electricity had been restored to 99% of Spain. The transport minister warned some trains, including high-speed rail services, would still run on reduced schedules.

Experts say it might take weeks to determine the exact cause of the failure. Some have pointed to Spain’s increasing reliance on renewable energy, particularly solar power, as a potential factor.

Sanchez rejected the claims. “Those linking the blackout to the lack of nuclear power are either lying or demonstrating their ignorance,” he said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

Will it be a valid conclave? Who knows? The sure option is to pray for what would only occur with a miracle– a conclave of unquestionably valid Cardinals appointed by the last two popes. Like I said, not bloody likely. Will the conclave actually planned be valid? Maybe. Wait and see. Others have opined in the positive and in the negative. But getting a Pope Burke or Sarah or dare I say Vigano will take miracle upon miracle. All things are possible with God. He wins. He won, He will win. Got it. But such a papacy is humanly unlikely in the extreme.

Have confidence in Christ’s Church, and very little in her current prelates. While I pray and hope, this recent interview of Archbishop Vigano is enough to sober up the most dedicated drunkard.

The Arab-mediated proposal would allow the group to “rearm,” according to officials

Israel has rejected a proposed five-year ceasefire with Hamas, claiming that a long-term truce would allow the Palestinian group to rearm, according to multiple media reports citing Israeli officials.

Egypt and Qatar have tried to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel broke the previous two-month truce in March by launching a new barrage of attacks on the enclave.

The proposed new deal reportedly included the release of all remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a long-term cessation of hostilities. Hamas is said to have refused to lay down arms for as long as the Israeli occupation continues.

“There is no chance that we will agree to a hudna with Hamas that just allows it to rearm, recover and to continue its war against Israel,” the official said, as cited by The Times of Israel. “Hudna” is an Arabic term that denotes a prolonged period between a ceasefire and a peace treaty, noted the news outlet.

Israel has declared that its primary goal is the total disarmament and elimination of Hamas.

Hamas’ founding charter calls for Israel’s destruction, but the movement has signaled that it might agree to a long-term truce in return for an end to occupation, noted Reuters. Earlier this month, the Palestinian group also said it wanted a comprehensive peace deal and that it would not accept any “partial” agreements.

In response to Israel’s reported refusal to accept the long-term truce, a group representing the families of the hostages stated that “once again the ‘senior political source’ proves that the Israeli government has no plan” for the release of those still in captivity in Gaza.

The Israeli authorities have reported that of the 59 hostages listed as remaining in the enclave, only 24 are thought to have survived. Dozens of others were previously released through ceasefire agreements or separate deals.

Israeli forces have taken control of more than half of Gaza in a renewed offensive following the collapse of a ceasefire and the stalling of hostage negotiations in March. The IDF has resumed air strikes on the enclave in order to increase pressure on Hamas to release the remaining captives.

The ongoing offensive in the enclave was triggered by the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, when the militants killed approximately 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. Since then, over 51,000 Palestinians have been killed amid the IDF military operation, according to Gazan health authorities.

READ MORE: UN must stand trial – Israel

The humanitarian situation has deteriorated sharply since March due to an Israeli-imposed blockade, leading to severe shortages of food, medical supplies, and other essential resources.

Gideon Saar has lashed out at the global body, as the International Court of Justice begins hearings over Gaza

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has demanded that the United Nations and its refugee agency UNRWA face trial at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) instead of Israel.

The UN top court began hearings on Monday on West Jerusalem’s role in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The ICJ hearings aim to examine whether Israel’s ban on UNRWA, the agency that provides food, education and medical care to the residents of Gaza, violates international law, including the UN Charter.

Speaking at a news conference, Saar accused the UN of “double standards” and claimed that Israel had been subjected to “systematic persecution and delegitimization” by the international body.

“I accuse UNRWA, I accuse the UN, I accuse the secretary general, and I accuse all those that weaponized international law” of depriving his country of “its most basic right to defend itself,” Saar said, stating that it’s “the UN and UNRWA that should be on trial today, not Israel.”

The foreign minister went on to slam the New York-based institution as “a rotten, anti-Israel and antisemitic body.”

The Israeli government has refused to take part in the hearings, which are scheduled to run for a week and will hear evidence from 40 states and four international organizations.

A Palestinian representative told the court on Monday that Israel was killing and displacing civilians and targeting aid workers in Gaza. On Tuesday, a South African representative claimed that the “Palestinians are being subjected to atrocity, crimes, persecution, apartheid and genocide.”

Israel designated UNRWA a “terrorist organization” and cut ties with the agency in November. It has also claimed many of its workers have engaged in terrorism in recent years, including taking part in the October 7 deadly attack by Hamas on southern Israel, which triggered the offensive into Gaza.

While the UN has confirmed some individual cases and dismissed nine workers suspected of links to Hamas, it has rejected Israel’s broader allegations.

The conflict in the enclave has resulted in over 51,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Most are reported to be civilians, including a significant number of women and children.

READ MORE: How Israel hunts and executes Palestinian medics

The humanitarian situation has deteriorated sharply due to an Israeli-imposed blockade, leading to severe shortages of food, medical supplies, and other essential resources. International organizations have expressed grave concern over the crisis and its impact on the civilian population.