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Year: 2025

Faith leader explains why Charlie Kirk’s final Thanksgiving message matters

Faith leader explains why Charlie Kirk’s final Thanksgiving message matters

Nearly three months after his assassination, Charlie Kirk’s legacy is inspiring many to live their lives with gratitude, prayer and truth. In 2024, just weeks after the presidential election, Kirk delivered a Thanksgiving statement on the importance of being thankful. Communio president JP De Gance says it is a message that is still relevant in 2025. “I think Charlie’s message repeats those messages of Thanksgivings long ago when we were at different times, we’ve had setbacks as a country, we have had sufferings as a country, we had losses as a country and the message of Thanksgiving is that in all things we can be grateful,” De Gance told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “We can look to God above, and thank him both for all of our many blessings and then even, you know, it’s through our sufferings that we so frequently grow to become better men and women.” Kirk said that he loved Thanksgiving, which he called a “uniquely American tradition,” because it was a time when people of all faiths could come together to recognize the importance of gratitude. “I think it speaks very well to our nation that there is a day when we stop and say thank you,” Kirk said in 2024. He believed that “the ungrateful make the world worse” and “the grateful make the world better.” PASTOR RECALLS LAST MOMENTS WITH CHARLIE KIRK: ‘AMERICAN MARTYR’ “Gratitude is the fruit that makes everything else taste sweet. But then you must be thankful to whom? To the Almighty God,” he added. De Gance also spoke about the significance of gratitude in the Christian faith, noting that humility allows Christians to recognize the good things in their lives that emanate from God. He added that while Thanksgiving comes once a year for the nation, it is something that “ought to be part of the daily Christian walk.” In his 2024 Thanksgiving message, Kirk encouraged his listeners to disconnect from technology during Thanksgiving and instead connect with their families. ERIKA KIRK REFLECTS ON LIFE, LOSS AND FAITH IN FIRST TV INTERVIEW SINCE CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH De Gance agreed with the sentiment, saying that it was important for Americans to take time to focus less on the “noise” of the modern world and more on those around them. “There’s so much noise from our technology and from the world around us, and I think it’s a great reminder, a great message and exhortation to disconnect from the devices and take a step back from the daily noise,” De Gance said. In line with the mission of Communio, De Gance advised that this Thanksgiving people look to find ways to invite those who may not have a community to join them. He touched on the importance of seeking out those who may not have people to enjoy Thanksgiving with and extending an invitation to them. CHARLIE KIRK’S BELIEF IN GOD AND THE WAY HE ‘DEFENDED FAITH’ IMPACTS SCORES OF YOUNG PEOPLE “It can give us a chance and an opportunity to invite others into our homes to invite them in, to experience that gratitude,” De Gance said. “We’ve got an epidemic of loneliness that is ravaging our country. . . .  So we can ask ourselves, what are we doing to invite folks in who might not have someone to enjoy Thanksgiving with this season, or someone who might be far away from family and unable to travel, someone who might be a first responder and can’t get back to his family.” For those looking to honor Kirk’s legacy this Thanksgiving, De Gance suggests they look to the late activist’s core messages for inspiration. He also advised young people to go to church on Thanksgiving weekend and for all to invite family and loved ones to join in prayers of gratitude. In his last Thanksgiving message, Kirk said that “the fundamental story of Thanksgiving is to understand that there is a God and that you are not above him.” “We must have the humility to know that God is sovereign,” Kirk said.

The numbers behind UN report on women and girls killed

The numbers behind UN report on women and girls killed

NewsFeed A UN report has found that at least 83,000 women and girls were intentionally killed last year, about 1 every six minutes. Al Jazeera’s Soraya Lennie breaks down the numbers. Published On 27 Nov 202527 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)

US teen Mohammed Ibrahim released from Israeli prison after nine months

US teen Mohammed Ibrahim released from Israeli prison after nine months

Advocates say the 16-year-old’s health had been in decline since his arrest in February for allegedly throwing rocks. Published On 27 Nov 202527 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Israeli authorities have freed Palestinian American teenager Mohammed Ibrahim after more than nine months of detention, in a case that advocates say embodies Israeli abuses against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Mohammed’s release on Thursday came after a months-long pressure campaign from United States lawmakers and civil rights groups. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The teenager from Florida was 15 years old in February when he was arrested and taken from his family home in the town of al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya, near Ramallah. He turned 16 while being held in Israeli jail, where he drastically lost weight and contracted a skin infection. “Words can’t describe the immense relief we have as a family right now, to have Mohammed in his parents’ arms,” Mohammed’s uncle Zeyad Kadur said in a statement. “We couldn’t believe Mohammed was free until his parents wrapped their arms around him and felt him safe.” Mohammed was arrested over allegations that he threw rocks at Israeli settlers, which he denied. His father, Zaher Ibrahim and other relatives told Al Jazeera earlier this year that Mohammed was blindfolded and beaten during February’s raid on his family home. Israeli authorities did not allow him to contact his family while in prison, nor did he have any visitation rights. The only updates his loved ones were receiving were through US officials, who were granted access to Mohammed. Throughout his detention, his family members pleaded with the administration of US President Donald Trump to push for his release — or at least ensure that he had access to adequate food and healthcare. Advertisement “Israeli soldiers had no right to take Mohammed from us in the first place,” Kadur said in Thursday’s statement. “For more than 9 months, our family has been living a horrific and endless nightmare, particularly Mohammed’s mother and father, who haven’t been able to see or touch their youngest child for nearly a year, all while knowing Israeli soldiers were beating him and starving him.” The pressure campaign to release Mohammed intensified over the past few weeks amid reports that his health was deteriorating. Last month, 27 US lawmakers joined a letter urging the Trump administration to push Israel to free him. Individual legislators, most prominently Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, have also been raising awareness for the case and demanding Mohammed’s release. Thursday’s statement thanked those who pushed for Mohammed’s release and said the family plans to celebrate his freedom by celebrating the teenager’s 16th birthday belatedly, with his mother Muna serving his favourite meal. “No mother, father, parent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, or child should ever have to go through what Mohammed just went through,” Kadur wrote. Adblock test (Why?)

Tunisia frees prominent lawyer and critic of President Saied

Tunisia frees prominent lawyer and critic of President Saied

Sonia Dahmani, arrested in 2024 after questioning government policy on African refugees and migrants, says she hopes her release will mark end of ‘nightmare’ for herself and other prisoners. Published On 27 Nov 202527 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Tunisia has freed prominent lawyer Sonia Dahmani, a vocal critic of President Kais Saied, after a year and a half in prison. Dahmani, who is also a media commentator, is widely seen as a leading dissenting voice in Tunisia, and her arrest prompted local protests demanding her release and international criticism. She was convicted over comments during a television appearance that questioned the government’s stance on undocumented African refugees and migrants in Tunisia. When asked whether they would try to stay and “conquer” Tunisia, Dahmani said: “What kind of extraordinary country are we talking about? The one that half of its youth want to leave?” A court said the comments had insulted Tunisia and spread false information intended to harm it. As Dahmani was released from a prison in Manouba near Tunis, dozens of her family members and activists chanted: “The police state’s era of repression is over.” She told reporters, “I hope this is the end of the nightmare for me and all the other prisoners.” Her lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi said the justice minister had issued a release order under a system that enables prisoners to apply for release after serving half their sentences. The National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists welcomed Dahmani’s release and called for the release of other detained journalists. International and local rights groups said Dahmani’s imprisonment last year marked a deepening crackdown on dissent in the North African country. During a sweeping power grab in July 2021, Saied suspended parliament and expanded executive power so he could rule by decree. Since then, the president has jailed many of his critics. Advertisement Many of the powers that Saied had taken for himself were later enshrined in a new constitution, ratified in a widely boycotted 2022 referendum, while media figures and lawyers critical of Saied have been prosecuted and detained under a harsh “fake news” law enacted that same year. Saied says his actions are legal and aimed at ending years of chaos and rampant corruption. Widespread crackdown Amnesty International said this month that a crackdown on rights groups has reached critical levels with arbitrary arrests, detentions, asset freezes, banking restrictions and suspensions targeting 14 NGOs. Human Rights Watch said more than 50 people, including politicians, lawyers, journalists and activists, have been subjected to arbitrary arrest or prosecution since late 2022 for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and political activity. Early in Saied’s tenure, his government focused its crackdown on the Ennahdha Party. Tunisian courts have handed several jail sentences to Ennahdha’s leader, former Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, in cases that his supporters said are politically motivated. Even Saied’s former allies have not been spared in the crackdown. Nadia Akacha, the Tunisian president’s former chief of staff, who was considered one of his closest and most influential aides, was sentenced to 35 years in prison in absentia in July. Adblock test (Why?)