Growing indications that Azerbaijan Airlines plane was indeed shot down by air defence missile.

No official confirmation yet, investigation continues.

For comparison: This is what an aircraft damaged by shrapnel from air defense systems looks like.

People in Latakia held demonstrations in support of the Syrian government.

Embraer 190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines was shot down by a Russian air defense system, claims Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC).

“Russia should have closed the airspace over Grozny but failed to do so. The plane was damaged by Russian forces and diverted to Kazakhstan instead of making an emergency landing in Grozny to save lives.”

Bashar Assad's wife, Asma Assad, is severely ill with leukemia and has been isolated by doctors who have given her a “50/50” chance of survival, The Telegraph reports.

She is being kept away from others to prevent infection.

Assad family members sought asylum in Moscow after their brutal regime lost its grip on power following 13 years of civil war.

Netanyahu continues to threaten the Houthis:

"The Houthis will learn what Hezbollah, Hamas, the Assad regime and others learned."

Governor of Lattakia:

We assure our people, with all its components, that the Syrian government is committed to preserving civil peace and societal cohesion.

Our security forces are carrying out their duties to maintain security.

Donald Trump's Christmas message:

Chinese soldiers are the ones operating the Panama Canal.

If Canada was to become our 51st State, they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World.

Greenland is needed by the United States for National Security purposes and we will be there.

Investigation: Azerbaijan Airlines plane hit by Russia?

Open-source missile range data and distance measurements suggest that Russian air defense systems in Grozny were unlikely to hit the aircraft.

NOTE: The exact cause remains unconfirmed, the investigation is ongoing.

Palestinian security forces uncovered Israeli spy devices in a Gaza hospital, including hidden cameras and surveillance equipment linked to nearby systems for monitoring citizen movements.

Trump:

Panama is ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams.

Trump:

Prime Minister of Canada will soon be known as the Governor of Canada.

It appears Iran-backed Hezbollah participated in today’s protests in Latakia, Syria.

One identified member is Ghanem Diab Al-Qassab.

Iranian Shiite cleric in Syria’s coastal region incites insurgency, declaring:

“Anyone who provokes us, we will cut off his head.”

The background to the incidents in Latakia, Tartous and Homs:

— For the last three days, the Syrian Interim Government's security forces have been searching for regime members accused of war crimes in Latakia and Tartus.

— As these operations continued, a video circulated on social media claiming that the tomb of al-Hasan bin Hamdan al-Hasibi in Aleppo had been burned and destroyed.

— However, this was a video taken during the clashes in Aleppo at the end of November, and the shrine was damaged by regime elements positioned inside the shrine.

— Iranian Mullah Luqman Badrghara incited Alawite groups in a speech in Homs. Ousted regime cell leaders in Hama, Homs, Latakia and others also led protests. Those who gathered chanted slogans of Alawiyya and Ya Ali.

— The interior ministry and the Latakia governorate stated that the issue was not the shrine, but organised provocations by former regime elements.

— The protests largely ceased after the security forces sent reinforcements to the region and arrested the cells that had been identified.

— The security forces were attacked by armed members of the former regime during their search and sweep operations, the report stated.

Equipment captured from Hezbollah by Israel is being exhibited.

Former IRGC Chief Mohsen Rezaei:

Syrian resistance will be revived in less than a year