WorthyNewsBot

(Worthy News) - The locations of some of Iran’s military installations in Syria, including some within 30 miles of Israeli territory in the Golan Heights, may be motivated more by Tehran’s desire to provoke an Islamic end-of-the-world cataclysm than for strategic value, contends an expert on Shiite religious dogma. Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project argues the bases near Israel don’t pose an imminent threat of a conventional military strike or even an asymmetrical attack. But he said the motivation is rather a desire to fulfill Shia prophecy of a showdown with the Jewish state that Iran’s religious leadership believes will prompt the coming of a messianic figure, or “Mahdi.” Iran has frequently stated its desire to destroy Israel, claiming the Jewish state is the focus of its nuclear and long-range missile program. Iran has also funneled millions of dollars into proxy enemies of Israel. There are now some 13 Iranian military installations in Syria – some manned by Hezbollah terrorists and others by Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces. [ Source: World Net Daily (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The intelligence that President Donald Trump leaked to top Russian officials in an Oval Office meeting in May concerned a highly sensitive Israeli special forces mission, it has been revealed. The operation, which took place in February 2017, involved commandos infiltrating an area under the control of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), to place a surveilance device. The intelligence obtained through the device prompted a short-term ban on laptops on flights from several majority-Muslim countries to the US and the UK. The target of the operation, according to a Vanity Fair report published on Wednesday, was an ISIS cell attempting to recreate a weapon developed by a top Al-Qaeda bombmaker. The weapon consisted of an explosive device that could be concealed inside a laptop and smuggled past airport security checks, raising the spectre of high-casualty attacks against civilian airlines. Trump’s disclosure at the May 10 meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russia's then-ambassador to Washington Sergei Kislyak has been widely publicised at the time, but details of the operation itself have not previously been disclosed. In particular, Trump is alleged to have revealed the name of the city where the operation took place, leading to fears that the source who alerted the Israelis to ISIS's intentions may be compromised. [ Source: Newsweek (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Abortion numbers fell again in 2014, sinking to their lowest in more than four decades, according to a new Centers for Disease Control report. The CDC reports 652,639 abortions were performed in the United States in 2014, a 2-percent decrease from 2014. Abortions are down 21 percent across the past decade. The abortion rate – the number of abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age – also dropped to 12.1, a 2-percent decrease from the previous year. [ Source: Life News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Republicans and Democrats in Washington are vying to appear the more outraged by sexual harassment on Capitol Hill. Don't be fooled. Groping, suggestive remarks and quid pro quos are business as usual on the Hill, thanks to a cover-up scheme devised by Congress itself using taxpayer dollars. The real scandal is that we the people pay the settlement costs and legal fees when members of Congress get caught with their pants down. On Monday, the website BuzzFeed reported that in 2015 Michigan Rep. John Conyers, top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and the longest-serving current House member, used taxpayer funds to settle a complaint from a staff member about unwanted sexual advances. The $27,000 was paid in exchange for a confidentiality agreement. On Tuesday, Conyers denied harassing anyone, but acknowledged the settlement. This year alone, the U.S. Treasury has confidentially paid $934,754 to settle sexual harassment and other complaints against members of Congress and their staff. Similar hush money has been paid out yearly, since Congress passed the Congressional Accountability Act. The 1995 law makes members and their employees anything but accountable. If they're accused of discrimination or harassment, their settlement costs get bankrolled by taxpayers. Secretly. [ Source: Real Clear Politics (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A U.S. district judge on Wednesday struck down parts of a Texas law that would ban the most common type of second-trimester abortions in the state, after plaintiffs argued the procedure was safe, legal and necessary for women’s health. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin issued a permanent injunction against the provisions that were in legislation known as Senate Bill 8 (SB 8) and set to take effect this year, saying they “are facially unconstitutional.” He added: “The act intervenes in the medical process of abortion prior to viability in an unduly burdensome manner.” [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Russia’s UN ambassador said Wednesday the expert body that has determined responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria “is dead” — but Moscow is ready to discuss “a new mechanism.” Vassily Nebenzia told reporters after a closed Security Council discussion that the Joint Investigative Mechanism, or JIM, “has discredited itself completely.” “But we are ready to talk about establishing a new mechanism that would replace the JIM and do the work in … a truly professional and objective” way, he said. Russia vetoed two council resolutions last week to keep the JIM in operation, and this week it rejected a Swedish-Uruguayan draft resolution before it went to a vote to revive the joint investigative body of the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - An attempt to smuggle tons of explosive material into the Gaza Strip has been thwarted by the Israeli Ministry of Defense's Crossing Authority, it was announced on Wednesday. The attempt was foiled thanks to a new, advanced chemistry laboratory that was set up in recent weeks at Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza. The new laboratory is a joint project of the Ministry of Defense's Crossing Authority, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Israel sees Iranian activity in Syria as “a target” for its forces, and may carry out strikes against Iranian objectives if security needs require it, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call this week. Channel 10 reported Wednesday that it had obtained a transcript of Sunday’s call. In it, Netanyahu is said to have told the French leader that “from now on, Israel sees Iran’s activities in Syria as a target. We will not hesitate to act, if our security needs require us to do so.” “Israel has tried up until now not to intervene in what is going on in Syria. But after the victory over Islamic State, the situation has changed because the pro-Iranian forces have taken control,” the prime minister went on. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Justice Department is battling in the courts to preserve President Trump’s anti-sanctuary city agenda, but it’s already notched some successes just by raising the issue. Several major jurisdictions have said they’ll work with federal deportation officers, forgoing previous uncooperative policies, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions threatened to withhold federal grant money. “Just telling people they are getting serious about it has already helped,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies. “In some ways it gives any politicians who were lukewarm on the sanctuary policies some leverage with the city council or whoever it was who imposed the policies.” [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asked Saudi Arabia to ease its blockade of Yemen, two sources said, just days before the Saudi-led military coalition announced on Wednesday it would let aid flow through the Yemeni port of Hodeidah and allow U.N. flights to the capital. It was not clear if pressure from Washington was the direct cause of the Saudi change of heart but the request from Tillerson to Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was one of several U.S. attempts this month to have Riyadh soften its hawkish foreign policy. Tillerson asked for a loosening of the blockade on Yemen during a roughly 45-minute phone call at the beginning of this week, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Vice President of the US Mike Pence is set to give a speech in the Knesset next month, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein’s office confirmed Wednesday. Pence, an Evangelical Christian who has been very supportive of Israel, will address the Knesset on December 18, after a meeting with Edelstein. The two are considered to be on the same diplomatic rank, because the Vice President of the US presides over the Senate. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is in talks with leaders of Turkey and Iran to end the civil war in Syria that has been raging since 2011. Putin held a summit in the Russian resort city of Sochi on Wednesday with Iran's Hassan Rouhani and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Two days prior, he hosted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to discuss the possibility of a peace deal. The Russian leader has also had conversations with other parties involved in the conflict, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "The militants in Syria have sustained a decisive blow and now there is a realistic chance to end the multi-year civil war," Putin said during the summit with Rouhani and Erdogan. "The Syrian people will have to determine their own future and agree on the principles of their own statehood. It is obvious that the process of reform will not be easy and will require compromises and concessions from all participants, including of course the government of Syria." [ Source: UPI (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Seattle’s income tax on wealthy households failed its first legal test Wednesday, with a King County Superior Court ruling that the measure is illegal. In a summary judgment, Judge John R. Ruhl agreed with multiple challengers that the city ordinance adopted in July is not authorized under state law. Opponents of Seattle’s so-called “wealth tax” immediately hailed the ruling as proof that the city long has known the tax was legally flawed, but nonetheless pushed it into law. [ Source: Seattle Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Iran’s top military officer signed agreements in Syria last month that will keep Iranian forces there indefinitely with a pledge to help the Bashar Assad regime rebuild damaged military bases, according to the main opposition group to Tehran’s Islamic rulers. Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, who became the armed forces chief of staff last year, was photographed in Aleppo visiting Iranian forces and viewing other conflict areas, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran. Iran, and intense Russian aerial assaults, played a big role in what critics say was a brutal siege of the city that broke the back of anti-Assad rebel forces in the west. Behind the scenes, Gen. Bagheri and his staff met three times with Mr. Assad and his high command, the National Council says in an intelligence report. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Russian President Vladimir Putin briefed President Trump by phone Tuesday on Moscow’s plans for ending Syria’s 6-year-old civil war, a development that likely will keep U.S. foe Bashar Assad in power in Damascus and underscores Russia’s growing influence in the Middle East. The Kremlin said Mr. Putin stressed the need to keep Syria’s “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity intact” and that Mr. Assad favors new presidential and parliamentary elections. Mr. Trump, speaking to reporters before flying to Florida for Thanksgiving, didn’t answer questions about Mr. Assad’s fate but said the nearly 90-minute call with Mr. Putin was “great.” [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A single American military airstrike killed at least 100 fighters allied with the Somali-based terror group al-Shabab, the Pentagon revealed Tuesday, adding to an escalating body count as the Trump administration ramps up its counterterrorism campaign in the West African nation. U.S. forces working with the Somalian government on Tuesday confirmed an American sortie against a suspected al-Shabab camp ended with more than 100 fighters dead. The strike, which took place 125 miles west of the Somali capital of Mogadishu, was the largest casualty count racked up by U.S. warplanes operating in Somalia this month. And the Pentagon said the up-tempo pace will not fade quickly. [ Source (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Senate Republicans included $1.6 billion for the first installment of President Trump’s border wall in the new homeland security spending bill they released Tuesday, keeping the president’s marquee immigration promise on track. While avoiding the term “wall,” the Senate bill calls for $1.6 billion in funding for “physical barriers” and border roads — matching Mr. Trump’s original request for money to build or repair fencing along 74 more miles of the U.S.-Mexico line. The homeland security measure is one of a series of spending bills the GOP released Tuesday as they geared up for an end-of-year battle over 2018 funding. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - On a surprise trip to Russia, Syria’s Bashar Assad discussed potential new peace initiatives for post-war Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin who declared that Russia’s two-year military campaign in Syria is wrapping up, the Kremlin said Tuesday. Moscow released footage of Assad warmly embracing Putin, who hosted him in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday, ahead of a summit between Russia, Turkey and Iran and a new round of Syria peace talks in Geneva later this month. The meeting was unannounced and the Kremlin did not make it public until Tuesday morning. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A suicide bomber killed at least 50 people in northeastern Nigeria on Tuesday (November 21) in an attack on a mosque which bore the hallmarks of a faction of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The bombing in Mubi in Adamawa state was one of the deadliest in Nigeria's northeast since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015 pledging to end Boko Haram's eight-year insurgency and attacks by the group on civilian and military targets. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The US military said on Tuesday that it had conducted two air strikes against Islamic States militants in Libya in the past few days. In a statement, US Africa Command said one strike was carried out on Friday and another one on Sunday. It said both strikes were carried out near the city of Fuqaha, but did not say how many militants had been killed. The statement said the strikes were carried out in coordination with Libya’s Government of National Accord. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions against 13 Chinese and North Korean organizations Washington accused of helping evade nuclear restrictions against Pyongyang and supporting the country through trade of commodities like coal. The U.S. Treasury announced the action one day after President Donald Trump put North Korea back on a list of state sponsors of terrorism, on its website. The new curbs show the Trump administration's focus on hurting trade between China and North Korea, which it sees as key to deterring Pyongyang from its ambition to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States. [ Source: Channel News Asia (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - US President Donald Trump described the conversation with the Kremlin chief as a "great call" and said the two leaders spoke "very strongly about bringing peace to Syria." During the call on Tuesday, the Russian president told Trump of "the main results" of his earlier meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Kremlin said. Putin had discussed the civil war with the Syrian leader in Sochi on Monday. Moscow also said that, while talking to Trump, Putin "stressed Russia's willingness to actively facilitate" a settlement in Syria. He also noted the "need to keep Syria's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity intact." [ Source: Deutche Welle (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - US special counsel Robert Mueller’s team is investigating senior White House adviser Jared Kushner over contacts with Israeli officials, according to a Wall Street Journal report Tuesday. Mueller, investigating Russian ties to the US President Donald Trump’s campaign, is looking at overtures Israeli figures made to Kushner and other senior Trump transition team staff surrounding a United Nations Security Council vote in December 2016 condemning West Bank settlements, the newspaper reported. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone about a ceasefire deal in the Syrian civil war and Iranian presence near Israel’s borders with the war-torn country, the Prime Minister’s Office said. The conversation was the latest in a series of high-level contacts between Israel and Russia, amid a dispute between the countries over allowing Iran and Shiite militias backed by Tehran to maintain a foothold near in Syria near the Israeli border. “The conversation lasted about half an hour and dealt with Syria, and Iran’s attempt to entrench itself in Syria,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. “Netanyahu insisted on Israeli security and reiterated his opposition to Iran’s entrenchment in Syria.” [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A second round of reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas, attended by representatives of other Palestinian Arab organizations, began in Cairo on Tuesday. The talks are based on the general understandings reached in October between the two organizations, in the wake of which Hamas dismantled the Gaza Executive Committee and allowed the Palestinian Authority (PA) government in Ramallah to receive authority over Gaza. The PA has since assumed control of Gaza’s border crossings but there are still disagreements, particularly over the fate of Hamas's armed wing. [ Source: Arutz Sheva (Read More...) ] View the full article