WorthyNewsBot

(Worthy News) - Even for a country often used as a battleground by regional powers and their proxies, the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri has opened a new period of political uncertainty and fear in Lebanon. The tiny nation has often been caught between the political agendas of more-powerful countries. But it now appears more vulnerable to conflict as Israel and Saudi Arabia try to isolate their shared enemy, the Iran-backed movement Hezbollah. Hariri, a Sunni politician backed by the Saudis, cited Iranian meddling in Lebanese politics as the reason for his decision to step down. [ Source: Washington Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Saudi-led military coalition's blockade of Yemen could lead to "the largest famine the world has seen for many decades with millions of victims," Mark Lowcock, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned on Wednesday. Lowcock's warning came as the UN Security Council met behind closed doors to discuss the most recent escalation in the Yemen conflict after the Saudi Arabia closed off all land, sea and air borders to the Arab peninsula. The blockade has also grounded all UN humanitarian flights into Yemen and prevented ships carrying urgent supplies, such as medicine and food, from docking. [ Source: Deutche Welle (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Germany’s constitutional court has given the country’s parliament until Dec. 31, 2018, to pass legislation authorizing “intersex” birth certificates, the BBC reported Wednesday. The ruling comes after an intersex individual marked as female on their birth certificate brought a lawsuit over the matter. A DNA test conducted on the individual established that they were neither genetically male nor female. “Humans are born with 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs. The X and Y chromosomes determine a person’s sex. Most women are 46XX and most men are 46XY,” according to the website for the World Health Organization Genomic Resource Centre. “Research suggests, however, that in a few births per thousand some individuals will be born with a single sex chromosome (45X or 45Y) (sex monosomies) and some with three or more sex chromosomes (47XXX, 47XYY or 47XXY, etc.) (sex polysomies),” the WHO explained, adding that other intersex cases involve 46XY individuals being born female due to a mutation on the Y-chromosome. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The FBI is investigating how a school website in New Jersey was hacked. It’s one of hundreds nationwide that was plastered with messages supporting ISIS. The district said for about two hours, a hacker sent visitors to an ISIS sponsored YouTube video with Arabic audio and Saddam Hussein’s picture. There was also text reading ‘I love Islamic State.’ The district’s website is hosted by schooldesk.net. The owner said some 800 school districts nationwide, including Newtown, Connecticut, were also hacked. The host site, School Desk, said they’re handing over copies of their servers to the FBI to help in the investigation. [ Source: CBS News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Wycliffe Bible Translators USA is celebrating 75 years of Bible translation. Before Wycliffe came onto the scene, translating the Bible into every language seemed impossible to many, but now, that goal is closer than ever. Mission Network News reports on the momentous occasion for Bible translation. “This is our 75th anniversary. It’s pretty exciting to think about what God has done for the last 75 years through this work. There are just so many great stories,” said Kristie Frieze of Wycliffe USA. To commemorate this milestone, Wycliffe has released a book titled Till All Have Heard, which tells the history of the organization and the work God has helped them accomplish. [ Source: Christian Headlines (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Jenny Durkan won 61 percent of the votes in the mayoral race in Seattle Tuesday, claiming a decisive lead over her opponent Cary Moon, making her the city’s first lesbian mayor and its first woman mayor since the 1920s. Durkan took a big lead over her opponent Cary Moon after initial returns were released Tuesday, earning 60.62 percent of the vote (64,174 votes) while Moon trailed behind with 39.38 percent (41,683 votes). Around 105,000 votes had been counted Tuesday night. "There’s a lot of votes left to be counted, but…we are feeling really, really good about where we are, and I think you guys should celebrate," Durkan told supporters at her election party Tuesday, the Seattle Times reported. [ Source: IB Times (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Virginia House of Delegates candidate Danica Roem (D) has defeated longtime Del. Robert Marshall (R), becoming Virginia's first openly transgender elected official, according to The Washington Post. Roem's win in Virginia's 13th District also means she is poised to become the first openly transgender person to be elected and seated in a state legislature, advocates say. Her win comes alongside Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam's (D) victory in the governor's race Tuesday, the first major victory for Democrats since President Trump took office earlier this year. [ Source: The Hill (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, an organization that orchestrated terrorist attacks that killed scores of Israelis over the years and has been classified by both the United States and the European Union as a terrorist entity, released on Tuesday a threatening video against the Jewish state and in particular its army. The video depicts IDF vehicles moving along the security barrier between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and as one vehicle emerges a text appears in Arabic and in Hebrew on the screen saying: "In the line of fire." The video also shows Palestinian snipers aiming their weapons at Israeli combat engineering units that operate in the area in order to ensure the safety of other military units as well as uncover terror tunnels being dug into Israeli territory with the intent of harming the country's population. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Former government sources have told The Jerusalem Post that Israel’s Operation Harpoon, carried out by a range of Mossad, Shin Bet and other operatives, was revolutionary in that it was “not just about following the money, but about destroying terrorists’ money networks.” Sources who had close personal contact with Meir Dagan (1945-2016) indicate that the idea of elevating the thwarting of terrorism financing to a primary mission of intelligence agencies was an uphill battle for the legendary Mossad chief and Harpoon founder. “When Dagan started Harpoon as part of his role at the National Security Council, no one was interested. Not the Mossad, Shin Bet, IDF intelligence..., and there was almost nothing in place to combat terrorism financing,” the sources told the Post. With his close relationship with then-prime minister Ariel Sharon, his ingenuity and singular will power, Dagan, who later became Mossad chief, turned Harpoon into an operation that dealt Hezbollah, Hamas, Fatah’s Yasser Arafat and other terrorist groups major blows. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Democratic Party’s sweeping victory in Virginia on Tuesday put a major scare into Republicans in Congress and signaled the severe damage President Trump's unpopularity could cause in 2018. Ed Gillespie, the Republican nominee for governor, didn’t just lose. Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, the Democrat, trounced him by nearly 9 percentage points, lifting several Democratic challengers to victory over GOP incumbents in down ballot legislative races. Trump blamed Gillespie, charging on Twitter that he lost because he did not embrace him or his populism. Indeed, Gillespie kept Trump at arm's length, never campaigning with him, although his advertising aped the president’s culture war themes. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Democrats came out victorious in several of Tuesday’s key elections, including gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, leaving the party motivated for the upcoming 2018 election. "The America that Donald Trump comes back to in a few days is far different than the America he left,” DNC Chairman Tom Perez said Tuesday night, referencing President Trump’s absence as he visits Asia. “It’s an America where we are regaining our values.” “The last time Democrats won the governors race in Virginia and New Jersey, in the same year, was 2005,” Perez added. “You know what we did the following year? We took the House of Representatives! That’s what we’re going to do next year.” [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The European Union on Wednesday affirmed support for Lebanon following the resignation of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, echoing U.S. backing for the Beirut government which Saudi Arabia has accused of declaring war. Statements of support from EU ambassadors to Lebanon and the U.S. State Department on Tuesday struck a sharply different tone to Saudi Arabia, which has lumped Lebanon together with the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah as parties hostile to it. Lebanon has been pitched into deep crisis since the Saudi-allied Hariri resigned on Saturday in a speech delivered from Saudi Arabia in which he accused Hezbollah and Iran of sowing strife in the Arab world and cited fear of assassination. [ Source: Channel News Asia (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - U.S. President Donald Trump will ask China to cut its financial links with North Korea and to abide by U.N. sanctions when meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, a senior White House official said on Wednesday. Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon from South Korea for a two-night stop in the Chinese capital as part of his marathon Asia tour. The U.S. president was undecided on whether to declare North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism by the end of his trip, the official said, speaking to reporters on-board Air Force One. [ Source; Channel News Asia (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - After one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings unfolded on their doorstep, pastors and parishioners around the tiny Texas hamlet of Sutherland Springs have begun asking whether guns have a rightful place inside their houses of worship. It is a debate that is echoing across the United States as security experts and some politicians ask churches to consider a wide range of enhanced measures to thwart tragedies like Sunday’s deadly rampage at the First Baptist Church. Barbara Burdette, who knew the 26 people killed in the massacre and as well as the 20 wounded, is ready to see her church hire armed security, or allow congregants to carry their own concealed firearms for self-defense. [ Source: Reuters (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Saudi Arabia is more aggressively confronting its rival Iran on multiple fronts. It's a policy that risks sharpening several conflicts in the Middle East, even though so far it has failed to score any successes in stemming Tehran's influence. The bolder steps are largely seen as the work of the son of King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has consolidated his power. Under his leadership, the kingdom has shown a readiness to shake up the region, launching a military campaign in Yemen against rebels it sees as Iranian proxies and sparking a confrontation with Qatar in part over ties with Tehran. Still, Iran has been able to use wars in Iraq and Syria to build a bridge of alliances stretching from its border to the Mediterranean. The question is whether the Saudis will push even harder against Iran – and what will happen if they do. So far, the kingdom's policies appear to have the full support of U.S. President Donald Trump. [ Source: Globe and Mail (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The gunman accused of the worst mass murder in Texas history escaped from a mental health hospital during his stint in the Air Force — after making death threats against his superiors, according to a 2012 police report. The incident raises new questions about whether Devin Kelley's past should have prompted authorities to make sure that he could not purchase weapons long before he killed 26 people at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs on Sunday. Police took Kelley into custody on June 7, 2012, at a bus terminal in downtown El Paso, Texas, after he broke out of Peak Behavioral Health Services, just over 10 miles away in New Mexico, according to the report, which was first obtained by NBC Houston affiliate KPRC. [ Source: NBC News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip on Friday said that five more of its members, who were previously thought to be missing, died when Israel destroyed a cross-border tunnel earlier this week, raising the number of deceased in the incident to 12. Islamic Jihad said that the five militants had been digging the tunnel leading into Israeli territory “for years.” In the 2014 Gaza war, Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants used tunnels to wage attacks against Israel. “We announce that five heroes from the al-Quds Brigades have risen to heaven,” the al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, said in a statement. The group’s statement came after Israel denied authorities in Gaza immediate access to the Gaza-Israel border area, where the militants were thought to be located. Israel controls a buffer zone near its frontier with the Strip. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pledged that Egypt will continue its efforts to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, according to a statement from Sisi’s office Monday. The statement came after a meeting between the Egyptian president and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Sharm el-Sheikh on the sidelines of an international conference. “Sisi affirmed that Egypt will continue its efforts to resume negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides in order to reach a just and comprehensive solution that guarantees the right of the Palestinians to establish an independent state along June 1967 borders,” the statement reads, according to the official PA news site Wafa. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - After a deadly mass shooting at a Texas church, the Texas Attorney General has said American Christians should arm themselves when they go to church. Republican Ken Paxton said churches should consider “arming some of the parishioners” or hiring security. His comments come after 26 people were shot and killed at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. “It's going to happen again,” Paxton said. 'We've had shootings in churches for, you know, for forever. It's going to happen again, and so we need people in churches, professional security or at least arming some of the parishioner or the congregation so they can respond if something like this – when something like this happens again.” [ Source: Christian Headlines (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Weeks after a pastor led five families to faith in Christ in southern India, masked men on motorbikes intercepted him on his way home from worship and tried to kill him, sources said. Pastor Banothu Sevya, 26, was in a coma for 48 hours after the drunken Hindu extremists beat him in Govindapuram, on the outskirts of Jamandlapalli village in Telangana state, last month. They had threatened him twice before, he said. “But I didn’t pay attention, knowing that when the Lord’s work is taken up, there will be hurdles, and I never complained the police officials,” Pastor Sevya told Morning Star News. [ Source: Christian Headlines (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Fresno police say a suspect, 64-year-old Manuel Garcia, waited for services to end before opening fire on his estranged wife, 61-year-old Martha Garcia, and her 51-year-old boyfriend who she went to church with. The woman was killed by the gunfire and the man was taken to the hospital. Police Chief Jerry Dyer said he is listed in critical condition and is not expected to survive. [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Churches are some of the most vulnerable places on the planet when it comes to crime, security experts say. Sunday's massacre at a Baptist church in Texas drove the point home for many, but for law enforcement--it's been a reality for years. Sheriff Robert Chody oversees law enforcement for half a million residents in Williamson County, just north of Austin, Texas. After Sunday's shooting he began organizing a security summit for local churches. [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - CBN News is learning more about the gunman who opened fire inside First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas Sunday, killing 26 people and wounding 20 more in the deadliest church shooting in U.S. history. Four of the victims are in serious condition and 10 are in critical condition. The youngest victim was just 18-months-old. Authorities say Devin Patrick Kelley of New Braunfels, Texas was dressed in black combat gear with a ballistic vest, was wearing a black mask with a skull on it, and was carrying a Ruger AR assault-type rifle during the attack. [ Source: CBN News (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s abrupt resignation over the weekend was bizarre even by the often twisted standards of Lebanese politics: He made the surprise announcement from the Saudi capital in a pre-recorded message on a Saudi-owned TV station. Stunned Lebanese are convinced Saudi Arabia, Hariri’s longtime ally, forced him to step down to effectively wreck the prime minister’s delicate compromise government with Saudi nemesis — and Iran ally — the Hezbollah militant group. In doing so, the kingdom throws Lebanon into potential turmoil, forcing the small nation to become a new front in the regional fight for supremacy between Saudi Arabia and Iran — at a time when Iran and its allies are seen to have won the proxy war against Saudi-backed Sunni fighters in Syria. Sunni-led Saudi Arabia, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been intensifying its confrontation with Shiite powerhouse Iran. The two camps support rival sides in countries across the region, worsening conflicts in Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. [ Source: Washington Post (Read More...) ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s abrupt resignation over the weekend was bizarre even by the often twisted standards of Lebanese politics: He made the surprise announcement from the Saudi capital in a pre-recorded message on a Saudi-owned TV station. Stunned Lebanese are convinced Saudi Arabia, Hariri’s longtime ally, forced him to step down to effectively wreck the prime minister’s delicate compromise government with Saudi nemesis — and Iran ally — the Hezbollah militant group. In doing so, the kingdom throws Lebanon into potential turmoil, forcing the small nation to become a new front in the regional fight for supremacy between Saudi Arabia and Iran — at a time when Iran and its allies are seen to have won the proxy war against Saudi-backed Sunni fighters in Syria. Sunni-led Saudi Arabia, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been intensifying its confrontation with Shiite powerhouse Iran. The two camps support rival sides in countries across the region, worsening conflicts in Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. [ Source: Washington Post (Read More...) ] View the full article