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by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Hundreds of Christians in Syria took to the streets of Damascus on Tuesday to protest the destruction of a Christmas tree in the Christian-majority town of Suqaylabiyah, near Hama, Politico reports. The tree was burned down just over two weeks after the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamic insurgent group on December 8.
Highlighting Syrian Christians’ concerns that non-Islamic religious freedom may not be respected under the next government, the protest was sparked after a video was posted on social media showing the tree being burned down by masked fighters on Monday evening.
“We demand the rights of Christians,” protestors chanted. “If we’re not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country, as we used to, then we don’t belong here anymore,” a demonstrator told AFP.
Denying their involvement in the tree burning, the HTS told protestors that the fighters responsible were foreigners, BBC news reports. According to the Syrian Observatory For Human Rights, these fighters were from the Islamist group Ansar al-Tawhid. “Syria is free, non-Syrians should leave,” a number of protestors then began chanting.
Notably, another video showed an HTS religious leader holding up a cross as a sign of solidarity and telling protestors that the tree would be restored and lit up by morning, Barron’s reported.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
The Senate on Monday confirmed Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin as the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, handing President Donald Trump a key leadership change as the agency faces mounting scrutiny and political pressure. Mullin was approved in a 54–45 vote and is set to replace outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem at the end of the month.
Investigations continued Monday into the shooting of a Dutch police employee in the western Netherlands after he publicly criticized Iran’s Islamic rulers, in a case raising fresh concerns that Tehran’s crackdown on dissent is extending into Europe.
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to strike down state laws allowing mail-in ballots to be received after Election Day.
Scores of Colombian soldiers were feared dead and dozens injured after a military transport plane crashed shortly after takeoff in the country’s remote southern Amazon region, officials said Monday, as Colombia’s defense minister urged prayers for those affected in the largely Catholic country.
Iran on Monday denied claims by U.S. President Donald J. Trump that Washington and Tehran were engaged in “good and productive conversations” toward a potential agreement that could bring “longtime peace” for Israel.
Two pilots were killed and at least a dozen people were injured, including nine who were hospitalized, after an Air Canada Express regional jet collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, authorities confirmed Monday, in a crash that shut down one of the United States’ busiest aviation hubs.
Israel’s expanding military campaign inside Iran is now focusing on key pressure points within the regime’s internal control system—specifically targeting checkpoints and street-level enforcement units—in what analysts believe could open the door for a broader uprising against the Islamic government, according to an exclusive report by the Epoch Times.
The Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs encapsulate the beauty, wisdom, and eternal truths found in the Bible, creating an immersive experience that resonates with believers and seekers alike.
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