WorthyNewsBot

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – Continuing their years-long slaughter of Nigeria’s Christians, Fulani herdsmen murdered at least 96 Christians in neighboring Benue and Taraba states since October 22, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. Tens of thousands of Christians have been murdered by Islamist terrorist groups including Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, and Islamic State West Africa Province since Islamic jihadism took hold in Nigeria in 2009. In Benue state, 18 Christians, including women and children, were shot dead on their way to church services in Azege village, Logo County on Dec. 1, MSN reports. “The Fulani herdsmen, armed with deadly weapons, shot sporadically on the Christians, butchered some victims with machetes, and destroyed their crops on farmlands,” Benjamin Uzenda, former member of the Logo Local Government Council, told MSN. Thirty Christians had been murdered a week earlier in Fulani attacks against Logo and Katsina-Ala counties in Benue state on November 24. “They overwhelmingly attacked our people, shooting anyone in sight and killing 30 Christians,” community leader Joseph Anawah told MSN. Benue state terrorists had also previously murdered 15 people in Ayilamo, 25 in Anyiin, and six in Uzer village since October 22, MSN reports. In neighboring Taraba state, Fulani herdsmen murdered Pastor Clement Anthony and student Titi Edward by breaking into their respective neighboring homes the night of Dec. 6, MSN reports. More Christians are murdered on account of their faith in Nigeria than everywhere else in the world combined, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization reported this year. The post Nigeria: Fulani Herdsmen Slaughter 96 Christians, “They Overwhelmingly Attacked Our People, Shooting Anyone in Sight” appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – Following the ouster of Syria’s despotic President Bashar al-Assad by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Islamic rebel forces on Sunday, the United States announced it will maintain a presence in the country and take steps to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, Reuters reports. In a statement Sunday, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Daniel Shapiro called for the protection of Syrian civilians and respect for international norms amid dramatic scenes of jubilant Syrians rejoicing at the collapse of al-Assad’s long, corrupt, murderous, and oppressive regime. “We are aware that the chaotic and dynamic circumstances on the ground in Syria could give ISIS space to find the ability to become active, to plan external operations, and we’re determined to work with those partners to continue to degrade their capabilities,” Shapiro told the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain’s capital. “(We’re determined) to ensure (Islamic State’s) enduring defeat, to ensure the secure detention of ISIS fighters and the repatriation of displaced persons,” Shapiro added. Meanwhile, US Central Command confirmed it has conducted “dozens” of airstrikes on more than 75 sites, including known “ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps” in the hours since the end of al-Assad’s regime. “There should be no doubt – we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,” Gen. Erik Kurilla, head of CENTCOM, said in a statement. “All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way.” The post Syria: US Will Stay to Prevent Return of ISIS, Carried Out Strikes on ISIS Targets appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – A gunman who opened fire on children at a Seventh-day Adventist elementary school in California last week left a note saying he was seeking “child executions” in response to US involvement in the “genocide and oppression of Palestinians,” the LA Times reports. Glenn Litton, 56, took his own life after shooting and severely wounding 5-year-old Elias Wolford and 6-year-old Roman Mendez at Feather River Adventist School in Oroville, Butte County, in northern California on December 4. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said in a statement that Litton was mentally ill and homeless and that he had a long history of criminal convictions including for theft, fraud, identity theft, and forgery, LA Times said. Litton attended a Seventh-day Adventist school in Paradise, California as a child and may have had a relative who went to the Feather River school years ago, Honea added. However, Litton had no known direct connection to Feather River. Although Litton’s note said he acted on behalf of the “International Alliance,” police are not aware of any such organization, LA Times reports. “We believe that this was an isolated incident and he was a sole individual who targeted this school based on the beliefs that he held,” Honea said. The post California: School Shooter Wanted “Child Executions” in Revenge for US “Genocide of Palestinians” appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor (Worthy News) – President-elect Donald Trump’s deportation strategy will include targeting so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, his new border czar, Tom Homan, says. In an interview with The Center Square, Homan said the plan will prioritize national security threats and violent criminals. This includes those with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer requests. According to a recent ICE report, a deputy director in the Biden administration said some local jurisdictions “reduced their cooperation with ICE, to include refusal to honor ICE detainer requests, even for noncitizens who have been convicted of serious felonies and pose an ongoing threat to public safety” due to their so-called “sanctuary city” policies. “However, ‘sanctuary’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victimize those same communities,” he said, The Center Square reported. While many Democratic leaders in so-called sanctuary jurisdictions have said they won’t cooperate with ICE, Homan said that federal immigration law, Title 8 USC 13.24 iii, requires them to do so. Anyone who “harbors or conceals illegal aliens from federal law enforcement officers” are committing a crime, he said. “Impeding a federal law enforcement officer is a crime,” he told The Center Square. Those who “knowingly harbor or conceal an illegal alien from ICE” is also a crime. He’s also asked, “What mayor or governor doesn’t want public safety threats out of their communities? That’s their number one responsibility is to protect their communities. That’s exactly what we are going to do.” Homan says he will work with anyone, Democrats and Republicans, to ensure public safety. “I’m willing to meet with anybody. Our priority on Day One is public safety.” He’s encouraging local leaders to work with him “to make your community safer.” The goal is to have local jurisdictions cooperate with ICE requesting to take into custody any illegal foreign national already in a local jurisdiction’s custody. Removing the alleged offender from a local jurisdiction will also reduce costs for the city, county and state. The plan does not require local officers to be immigration officers but to work with ICE agents, Homan says. ICE agents are able to identify who’s booked in a county jail, for example, because everyone who’s arrested has their fingerprints input into a national criminal NCIC database, which federal agents have access to. Not providing access to those detained in a publicly funded facility is harboring, he argues. Homan is also asking Trump’s nominated Attorney General Pam Bondi, assuming she’s confirmed, to fully review and issue a formal opinion about whether local jurisdictions that refuse to comply with an ICE detainer request are violating federal law. It is also likely under Bondi that sanctuary jurisdictions would face federal prosecution. Other options on the table include Congress imposing penalties on sanctuary jurisdictions, including withholding federal funds from law enforcement agencies and city and county governments that harbor illegal border crossers, Homan said. Homan’s appeal is already working, with New York City’s Democratic mayor saying he’s willing to work with the Trump administration and Denver’s Democratic mayor who backtracked on a claim that he’d direct police to block federal agent operations. Federal agents already operate in Denver, including at a Denver ICE field office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection port of entry at the airport. Todd Lyons, acting assistant director of field operations for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in New England, argues elected officials “preaching their sanctuary city status are making it easier for those who commit sex crimes and fentanyl dealers. We need cities and towns to work with us to keep these criminals out of neighborhoods. “We focus on the worst of the worst and all the political rhetoric is not helping,” he told the Boston Herald. Of the more than 660,000 criminal foreign nationals identified to be deported by ICE, the majority are living freely in the U.S. They include those convicted of, or charged with, homicide (14,914), sexual assault (20,061), assault (105,146), kidnapping (3,372), and commercialized sexual offenses, including sex trafficking (3,971). In Massachusetts, sanctuary policies were implemented in multiple cities including Boston, prohibiting police officers from cooperating with ICE. ICE agents have been arresting violent criminals in Massachusetts, including men convicted of aggravated rape, assault and battery, and fugitives wanted in their home countries for violent sexual crimes. In many cases, sanctuary jurisdictions refused to cooperate with ICE, instead released violent offenders into the community who then committed additional crimes, The Center Square reported. Local officials advancing sanctuary policies “are welcoming criminals to the state. They are doing their own communities a disservice,” Lyons said. “All we are asking for is to make an arrest of someone already arrested.” Homan says to local jurisdictions, “work with us to make your community safer.” Those who won’t, he says, can “get the hell out of the way.” Reprinted with permission from The Center Square. The post Deportation Strategy to Include Targeting Sanctuary Cities, New Border Czar Says appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News DAMASCUS (Worthy News) – Mohamed al-Bashir announced Tuesday that he has been appointed “caretaker prime minister” of the transitional Syrian government until March 1, 2025. He made the announcement in televised remarks. Al-Bashir will form a government to manage the transition period and “avoid slipping into chaos.” However, concerns remain about his ability to unite a nation deeply divided among numerous factions. Al-Bashir, a trained engineer, ran the rebel-led Salvation Government set up in 2017 by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist group that swept into Damascus, the capital, forcing then-President Bashar al-Assad to flee the country. Before the 12-day lightning offensive, Al-Bashir’s administration was headquartered in Idlib to govern the northwestern Syrian city and other territories controlled by HTS. While people in Damascus have been celebrating the rebels’ arrival, the ousted Assad had reportedly warned Christians they would face more persecution if Islamic rebels control Syria. Yet before Al-Bashir officially became Syria’s interim prime minister, Sunni-led Islamist rebels who toppled Assad met elders in the former president’s Alawite hometown of Qardaha. RELIGIOUS MEN After meeting with dozens of religious men, elders, and others at the town hall in Qardaha, located in the mountains of Latakia province in the nation’s northwest, Alawite notables signed “a statement of support,” residents said. The document they agreed upon emphasizes Syria’s religious and cultural diversity. It also calls for state police and services to be restored as quickly as possible under the new rulers, and it is agreed that any weapons held by Qardaha residents will be handed over. “We affirm the unity of the Syrian Arab Republic’s territory and religious and cultural diversity and diversity of thought,” said the statement signed by about 30 of the town’s notables. The rebels did not sign it. People familiar with the talks said the delegation visiting them were members of HTS and the Free Syrian Army, Sunni groups that led the rebellion. Assad said they “were terrorists” who would “massacre Alawites” if he fell, but the document pledged reconciliation. Syrians from the Alawite religion, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, comprise about 10 percent of the country’s population and are centered in Latakia province, close to the Mediterranean Sea and the border with Turkey. TEARFUL REUNIONS Sunni Muslims are about 70 percent of the population, and there are substantial Kurds, Druz, and Christians, some of whom have expressed concern about their future. Yet there were some hopeful signs as thousands of inmates, many of them political prisoners were freed from “President Bashar al-Assad’s pitiless detention system” after he was toppled on Sunday, reporters said. Reporters witnessed sometimes tearful reunions with relatives who believed they had been executed years earlier. However, families still scoured the filthy cells of Syria’s forbidding Sednaya prison on Monday for any sign of long-detained relatives after its gates were flung open by rebels. By that time, however, hope for finding their missing loved ones began to fade. It will now be up to Al-Bashir’s administration to avoid revenge attacks against those who supported Assad’s regime, with the world watching whether the nation moves from chaos to a sense of more stability. The post Mohamed al-Bashir Appointed Syria’s Prime Minister After Reconciliation Talks appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday denied reports that IDF tanks have entered Syria and are approaching Damascus following the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime on Sunday, the Jerusalem Post reports. At the same time, the IDF said it has carried out hundreds of strikes against military targets in Syria to ensure that weapons and equipment that may be used against neighboring Israel do not fall into the hands of “hostile elements” entering the power vacuum left by Assad. On Tuesday morning Arab sources cited by Israeli media asserted that IDF tanks had been seen close to Damascus. “An Israeli military incursion into southern Syria has reached about 25 kilometers (16 miles) southwest of the capital, Damascus, two regional security sources and one Syrian security source said on Tuesday,” JPost explained in its report. “The Syrian security source said Israeli troops reached Qatana, which is 10 kilometers into Syrian territory east of a demilitarized zone separating Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syria,” JPost said. However, IDF Arabic media spokesperson Colonel Avichay Adraee said in a statement that Israeli troops had not breached the official and longstanding buffer zone between Israel and Syrian territory. “It’s not true. The forces have not left the buffer zone,” Adraee said. “Reports circulating in some media outlets claiming that IDF forces are advancing or approaching Damascus are completely incorrect,” Adraee wrote in a post on X/Twitter. “IDF forces are present inside the buffer zone and at defensive points close to the border in order to protect the Israeli border.” Moreover, in a letter to the United Nations Security Council, Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said the IDF had carried out “limited and temporary” operations and for the purpose of securing Israel’s border amid the political uncertainty in Syria. “Israel does not intervene in the internal Syrian conflict,” Danon wrote. The post Syria: Israel Denies IDF Tanks Are Approaching Damascus, “Israel Does Not Intervene in the Internal Syrian Conflict” appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News THE HAGUE (Worthy News) – King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is “in shock” after explosions destroyed apartments, killing six people in The Hague, the world’s judicial capital and seat of the Dutch government and parliament. “My legs are shaking,” the King said after a visit to the partly destroyed three-story apartment building in the Tarwekamp area of The Hague’s Mariahoeve district. He and his wife, Queen Máxima, visited the site where two blasts killed six people, including several family members. The royal couple later stopped at the Lichtpuntjes family center nearby. “The humanity after such a disaster gives an incredible amount of strength,” the king said after meeting emergency responders and affected residents. He praised the efforts of the rescue workers, firefighters, and residents, adding that the consequences of the explosion “defied all imagination.” The explosions occurred in quick succession early on Saturday morning, destroying five apartments. The cause of the explosions remained unknown Monday, but prosecutors suggested it was a deliberate attack, and police were appealing for witnesses. ENDING SEARCH Emergency authorities officially concluded their search for victims on Monday at the site as the final death toll rose to six, with the last victim found in the building’s basement on Sunday. City Mayor Jan Van Zanen said it was the worst tragedy in recent years and that he was shocked by what he saw. Three of the six victims of the devastating explosion on the Tarwekamp come from one family, including a 45-year-old father, a 41-year-old mother, and a 17-year-old daughter, relatives said. The 8-year-old son from the family “was the only one to survive the explosion and is being cared for by family,” the family statement said. “The grief over the loss of the family members is great. At the same time, caring for the young son from the family requires their love and attention”, said spokesperson Bart Visser. He said the family “would like to thank all emergency services for their great efforts during this disaster. The sympathy at the children’s schools also does them good in these dark days.” The family requested that “unnecessary details, names and/or photos of their deceased family members not be shared or published for privacy reasons.” MORE DEATHS In addition to the three victims, three other deceased people were pulled from the rubble. They are a 31-year-old man from Voorburg and two men aged 44 and 63 from The Hague. “Family investigators have informed their loved ones. We wish them much strength,” police said on Monday evening without providing more details. Four people were also injured. “Two are in serious condition,” Mayor Van Zanen announced, adding that they are being treated in various hospitals in the country. Mayor Van Zanen issued an emergency order until Friday, giving police and authorities more capabilities to maintain order in the area. Flags at The Hague’s municipality buildings have been lowered to half-mast in commemoration of the victims. One of the survivors, the owner of a pub in the destroyed building, wrote from the hospital via his Facebook website page: “Dear family and friends, thanks for your visit; I am still alive.” The post Dutch King Shaking As Blasts Hit The Hague, Killing 6 appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News LONDON (Worthy News) – Britain’s government was under pressure Monday to tackle growing hatred towards Jews in the country after a report and tens of thousands of protesters noted “unprecedented levels of antisemitism” at university campuses and beyond. University-related antisemitic incidents increased by 117 percent over the last two academic years, according to figures released by the Community Security Trust (CST) on Monday. The CST findings came less than 24 hours after organizers said 32,000 people marched through London against” unprecedented levels of antisemitism and growing extremism in British society.” The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), which organized the protest, said “the government dragged its feet” on tackling anti-Jewish attacks. Jewish alumni of the prestigious Oxford University testified to hatred being leveled toward them and two Arab colleagues while defending Israel against a union motion that the Jewish state is committing both apartheid and genocide. Broadcaster Jonathan Sacerdoti, the son of a Holocaust survivor, maintained composure and politeness while delivering his carefully researched speech despite the vocal and aggressive hostility filmed in the university chamber. “The experience at the Oxford Union,” a debating society in the English city of Oxford with members mainly from the University of Oxford, “was deeply unsettling,” he recalled. AGGRESSIVE HOSTILITY “The chamber was filled with an aggressive hostility that undermined any chance of reasoned debate, with interruptions and abuse aimed at pro-Israel speakers throughout.” He added, “This wasn’t just a failure of the Union to uphold its standards. It was a stark reminder of how bigotry and hatred are creeping into spaces that should champion open and respectful discourse.” One of the speakers for the motion, Israeli-American activist Miko Peled, is being investigated by counter-terrorism police for calling the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, “acts of heroism,” Jewish sources said. More than 300 academics signed an open letter to William Hague, the newly-elected Oxford chancellor, saying several speeches and lack of moderation during the debate violated the law. Expressing support for a criminal organization is illegal under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000, a point raised during the night by Sacerdoti in response to Peled: “I believe you should invite the police in. His depiction of the acts of Hamas on Oct 7 is, under UK law – the Terrorism Act 2000 – illegal.” The union president and moderator of the debate, Egyptian student Ebrahim Osman Mowafy, who delivered an anti-Israel speech, responded, “I’m not legal enforcement.” To illustrate the atmosphere in the room, Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a senior Hamas founder, asked the question: “How many people, if they had prior knowledge of Hamas’s crimes on Oct. 7, would have reported it to the police?” Witnesses said only around 5 percent of the crowd reportedly raised their hands. BROADER TREND It is part of a broader trend, with a total of 325 antisemitic incidents reported since 2022, the highest ever recorded about universities. According to CST investigators, these include 53 incidents over the 2022-2023 period and 272 over the 2023-2024 time frame. Jewish sources said these figures mark a sharp increase from the 150 incidents logged in the two previous academic years. They include incidents such as physical and verbal attacks against Jewish students and antisemitic slogans in toilets. Ahead of the publication of the report, protesters on Sunday waved Israeli flags and placards and chanted, “Act against hate before it’s too late” and “Say it loud, Jewish and proud.” Speakers said, “We owe it to future generations to raise our voices against this tide of extremism and bigotry and reject appeasement so that we might bequeath them the bright future that once was ours.” A Government spokesperson said: “Antisemitism has no place in our society, and we are committed to tackling it in all its forms, working closely with policing and community partners to ensure the safety of Jewish communities.” Yet, activists suggested the government is slow in tackling threats faced by Britain’s Jews. The post Britain’s ‘Unprecedented Antisemitism’ Sparks Protests appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News DAMASCUS/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel struck more than 100 targets in Syria in less than 12 hours on Monday, a war monitor said, after the Israeli military admitted it crossed into Syrian territory to protect the Jewish nation amid concerns about chemical weapons. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said military sites “of the fallen regime of Bashar al-Assad” were the primary targets in “Israel’s heaviest attacks on Syria to date.” The air strikes hit a research center that Western countries suspected of having links to the production of chemical weapons, weapon depots, and navy boats, the Observatory said. The Syrian air defenses in Damascus, Homs, Hama, Latakia, and Daraa have also been disabled, several sources explained. Israel did not clarify the latest strikes but had pledged to attack pro-Iranian militias in Syria to limit the influence of arch-enemy Iran. Monday’s strikes came while the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said there remained “serious concerns” about “the fate of significant amounts of chemical weapons unaccounted for.” It added that “the Syrian declaration of its chemical weapons program still cannot be considered as accurate and complete.” FRANCE, US CONCERNS France and the United States raised similar concerns Saturday as Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, or HTS, a group formerly linked to terror group Al Qaida, advanced toward the Syrian capital, Damascus. Robert Wood, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, warned that Assad’s chemical weapons were “not a relic of the past.” Yet, the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group condemned Israel’s attacks late Monday, calling the military actions “attacks on the defense capabilities of the Syrian state.” The organization, which Assad had backed, said it stood behind the people of Syria. Separately, the United States struck targets associated with Islamic State, also known as ISIS, in central Syria, while Turkey attacked U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. The apparently conflicting strikes raised eyebrows as both nations are part of the NATO military alliance. A deal for the Kurdish forces to withdraw from the northern city of Manbij was reportedly struck on Monday after an advance by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army. ISLAMIC STATE WARNINGS U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Monday that Islamic State would try to use this period to re-establish capabilities in Syria. Blinken added that rebel leaders’ statements about building inclusive governance were welcome, but the real measure would be their actions. Amid the military turmoil in the Middle East, U.S. President Joe Biden held a telephone consultation with King Abdullah of Jordan on Monday. During that conversation, “the emphasis was on the situation in Syria and Palestine,” the White House said. Abdullah reportedly emphasized the “importance of ensuring the security of Syria and the well-being of Syrians” after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. King Abdullah also urged “rapid international action to stabilize the country.” The king called for “intensifying global efforts” to end the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, where he stressed the importance of humanitarian aid. In Europe, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, and the two expressed their willingness to cooperate with the new rulers. Scholz and Macron “welcome” the fall of Assad because he “inflicted terrible suffering on the Syrian people and caused great damage to his country,” the German government said. Yet they cautioned that cooperation with the new government should be “based on fundamental human rights.” Ethnic and religious minorities must be protected, they said, amid broader concerns about the plight of Christians and other groups in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation. The post Israel Strikes Syria Amid Chemical Weapons Concerns appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Several European nations have paused application procedures for Syrian asylum seekers due to the “fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime” despite reported warnings by Assad’s Christian envoy about Islamic threats to Christians there, Worthy News established Monday. After Germany, Belgium, and Austria, Sweden too decided Monday to postpone all decisions on Syrians. Separately, France and Britain agreed to “temporarily freeze” the Syrian asylum procedures. The Swedish Migration Service said the situation in Syria remains unclear now that rebels have claimed control of Syria. “Given the situation, it is simply impossible to determine how safe the country is now.” In the Netherlands, too, there was talk that the ouster of Assad, who fled to Russia on Sunday, could have consequences for the estimated 150,000 Syrian refugees in the country. Fiercely anti-Islam Dutch politician Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom won last year’s elections, urged Prime Minister Dick Schoof to send the Syrians back. “And also immediately introduce an asylum freeze for Syrians!” he added on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. In Hungary, which is currently holding the rotating European Union’s presidency, the government has been reluctant to grant asylum to people from Syria for years. However, its foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, stressed Monday that “Hungary is committed to the stability of the Middle East and pays special attention to Christian communities in the region, providing them with ongoing humanitarian aid.” HOSTING ‘ASSAD PATRIARCH’ Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán hosted Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II at the Carmelite Monastery of Buda in Budapest, where he has his office. Assad dispatched him to meet Orbán to relay what he sees “as an existential threat to Syria’s Christian minority if Islamist rebels prevail,” according to people familiar with the plan. The intention was that Orbán, an ally of Donald J. Trump, “would convey this danger to the incoming U.S. president,” they added. During their meeting, Orbán said he had “reaffirmed Hungary’s commitment to supporting the Syrian Christian community.” Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II expressed “his gratitude” to Orbán “and the Hungarian people for their ongoing support of Christian communities in need” amid ongoing fighting in Syria and reports that in some areas, Sharia, or Islamic law, has been implemented by rebels. However, Trump was quick to say on his Truth Social media platform, “Syria is a mess, but is not our friend,” before switching to all uppercase letters for emphasis. “THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!” While Orbán’s government hosted Assad’s apparent Christian envoy, it denied involvement in helping arrange his escape to Russia. An opposition Hungarian newspaper wrongly suggested that Assad had landed at Budapest Airport, also known by its lengthy name, Budapest Ferenc List International Airport. (With reporting by the Worthy News Europe Bureau in Budapest.) The post European Nations Pause Syrian Asylum Applications Despite Christian Concerns appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

Friend, sometimes its hard to understand adversity -- but there's a purpose! Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. I suppose one of the hardest questions to answer is: "Why do I have to deal with so much adversity?!" Quite honestly, one of the best answers I've ever come across was written by C.S. Lewis in his book, Mere Christianity. Lewis likened God's use of adversity to walking a dog. If the dog gets its leash wrapped around a pole and tries to continue running forward, he will only tighten the leash more. Both the dog and the owner are after the same end: forward motion. But the owner must resist the dog by pulling him opposite of the direction that he wants to go. The master, sharing the same intention, but understanding better than the dog where he really wants to go, takes an action precisely opposite to that of the dog's will. It is in this way that God uses adversity! We really don't like being pulled and corrected by the Lord -- but when we understand there's a greater purpose involved, then we can pass through adversity with hope, expectation and steadfastness knowing these events are for our greater good! Friend, let's learn from the trials and tribulations we go through because God has a purpose in them. We may not enjoy it, but when all's said and done, enduring trials faithfully will produce perseverance, character, and hope. And hope will not disappoint us for the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit...[Romans 5:4-5] We truly can trust in the God who loves us with an everlasting love because He knows the direction we need to go, AND He knows exactly how to get us there! Your family in the Lord with much agape love, George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Gulfport, Mississippi) Editor's Note: Latest Video: Fall of Assad and the Future of the Middle East Editor's Note: Feel free to share any of our content from Worthy, including Devotions, News articles, and more, on your social platforms. You have full permission to copy and repost anything we produce. Editor's Note: During this war, we have been live blogging throughout the day -- sometimes minute by minute on our Telegram channel. Be sure to check it out! Editor's Note: Dear friends — we are going to be heading WEST!!! Now booking in the following states: Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas …. If you know Pastors, Rabbis or Ministry Leaders who might be interested in some powerful Israeli style Hebrew/English worship and a refreshing word from Worthy News about what’s going on in the Land, please let us know how to connect with them and we will do our best to get you on our schedule! You can send an email to george [ @ ] worthyministries.com for more information. Around the World Britain’s ‘Unprecedented Antisemitism’ Sparks Protests Britain’s government was under pressure Monday to tackle growing hatred towards Jews in the country after a report and tens of thousands of protesters noted “unprecedented levels of antisemitism” at university campuses and beyond. European Nations Pause Syrian Asylum Applications Despite Christian Concerns Several European nations have paused application procedures for Syrian asylum seekers due to the “fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime” despite reported warnings by Assad’s Christian envoy about Islamic threats to Christians there, Worthy News established Monday. Iran Announces Successful Launch of Heaviest Payload on Domestically-Made Rocket Amid the West’s ongoing concerns about Tehran’s nuclear program and suspected intentions to build an atomic bomb, Iran on Friday announced it successfully launched its heaviest-ever payload into space using a domestically manufactured rocket, DW reports. A payload is the cargo or mission equipment that is carried into space on a rocket. Australia: Antisemitic Incidents Surge by Over 300% Since Oct 7 Attack, “Go Back to the Gas Chambers” The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) states in a new report that, in the year since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, Australia saw an unprecedented 316% increase in antisemitic incidents. Israel-Palestinian Conflict Israel Strikes Syria Amid Chemical Weapons Concerns Israel struck more than 100 targets in Syria in less than 12 hours on Monday, a war monitor said, after the Israeli military admitted it crossed into Syrian territory to protect the Jewish nation amid concerns about chemical weapons. Fragment of 16th Century Ming Dynasty Bowl Uncovered on Mount Zion In a remarkable find, archaeologists have uncovered an inscribed fragment of a 500-year-old genuine Chinese Ming Dynasty porcelain bowl on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, Ha’aretz reports. Inside the United States Deficit Soars as Biden Heads Out the Door The latest federal numbers show the U.S. deficit is soaring as President Joe Biden heads out of office. Congress Readies Nearly $900 Billion in Defense Spending The U.S. House is set to vote on a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act which authorizes nearly $900 billion to support U.S. military service members, infrastructure, and defense capabilities during the 2025 fiscal year. Lawmakers, FDA Officials Eye Labels on Unhealthy Foods, Drinks The Food and Drug Administration is proposing front-of-package warning labels that detail the calories, fat, sugar and salt content of processed food and drink products. Christian News Louisiana: Elderly Pastor Sees the “Best” Ministry of His Life After Starting Roadside Prayer Station An 82-year-old pastor in Louisiana is enjoying the “best” ministry of his life after setting up a roadside prayer station at a busy intersection, Baptist Press (BP) reports. Worthy Insights In a War Against China, the US Runs Out of Missiles in a Matter of Weeks, House Committee Finds In a war with China, the United States would expend its stock of advanced missiles and bombs in less than a month—and run out of some critical weapons in a matter of days, according to a wargames simulation conducted by the House Select Committee on China. View the full article

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – Amid the West’s ongoing concerns about Tehran’s nuclear program and suspected intentions to build an atomic bomb, Iran on Friday announced it successfully launched its heaviest-ever payload into space using a domestically manufactured rocket, DW reports. A payload is the cargo or mission equipment that is carried into space on a rocket. Sent from the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Semnan province using the Simorgh two-stage, liquid-fueled satellite carrier, the payload launched by Iran on December 6 comprised a telecommunications satellite and a space tug and weighed about 300 kilograms (660 pounds), DW reports. The Simorgh was developed by Iran’s Ministry of Defense and saw several failed launches before last week’s attempt. The reported success of Friday’s launch has not been independently verified, DW said. However, DW noted in its report: “Iran’s space program has seen significant developments recently. The country’s space agency has conducted multiple successful satellite launches this year. The launches reflect Tehran’s advancing capabilities in aerospace technology.” While Iran says both its nuclear and space programs are being advanced for civilian purposes, the US, Israel, and European states contend that technology used for satellite development and launches may be used to build missiles that deliver nuclear warheads. The post Iran Announces Successful Launch of Heaviest Payload on Domestically-Made Rocket appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – An 82-year-old pastor in Louisiana is enjoying the “best” ministry of his life after setting up a roadside prayer station at a busy intersection, Baptist Press (BP) reports. A third-generation preacher and the pastor of New Beulah Baptist Church in Hammond, Louisiana, Les Fogleman built a tall, wooden cross at the intersection near his church and sat there for around two hours a day, three days a week, inviting people to receive prayer and the Gospel, BP said. In time, volunteers built a prayer pavilion with benches for the preacher and those who stopped by for ministry to sit at. Since beginning the prayer station in June, Fogleman has had more than 440 people stop and ask for prayer, BP reports. Moreover, the pastor has baptized 11 people with whom he shared the Gospel at the prayer station. “It’s just something the Lord gave me,” Fogleman told BP. “It’s the best ministry I’ve ever had in my life.” Many of those who have received ministry in this way have struggled with major problems, including homelessness or having children addicted to drugs. “I never know what I’m going to be praying for when somebody turns in,” Fogleman said. “So, I think it’s a great privilege just to be able to do it.” The post Louisiana: Elderly Pastor Sees the “Best” Ministry of His Life After Starting Roadside Prayer Station appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Casey Harper | The Center Square (Worthy News) – The latest federal numbers show the U.S. deficit is soaring as President Joe Biden heads out of office. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office released its monthly budget review on Monday, which showed that in the first two months of this fiscal year, the federal government has run up a deficit of $622 billion. “That amount is $242 billion more than the deficit recorded during the same period last fiscal year,” CBO said in its report. That figure means the deficit is nearly 40% higher than this time last year. “The most alarming turkey in November was the federal government’s inability to live within its means,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement. “We are only two months into the fiscal year, and we have already borrowed a staggering $622 billion, with $365 billion in the month of November alone.” Deficits never surpassed one trillion dollars before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, they remain well above one trillion and for this next fiscal year are well beyond the pace to surpass $1 trillion. The deficit last fiscal year was about $1.8 trillion. Billionaire Elon Musk, now an advisor to President-elect Donald Trump, lamented the debt, which is about $36 trillion, on X Monday. “If we don’t fix the deficit, everything will suffer, including essential spending like DoD, Medicare & Social Security,” Musk said. “It’s not optional.” CBO did explain that some of the increase is from accounting changes. From CBO: The change in the deficit was influenced by the timing of outlays and revenues alike. Outlays in October 2023 were reduced by shifts in the timing of certain federal payments that otherwise would have been due on October 1, 2023, which fell on a Sunday. (Those payments were made in September 2023.) Outlays in November 2024 were boosted by the shift to that month of payments due December 1, 2024, a Saturday. If not for those shifts, the deficit thus far in fiscal year 2025 would have been $541 billion, or $88 billion more than the shortfall at this point last year, and outlays would have been $38 billion more.” Reprinted with permission from The Center Square. The post Deficit Soars as Biden Heads Out the Door appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Thérèse Boudreaux | The Center Square (Worthy News) – The U.S. House is set to vote on a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act which authorizes nearly $900 billion to support U.S. military service members, infrastructure, and defense capabilities during the 2025 fiscal year. The 1,813-page document released Saturday by the Senate and House Armed Services Committees outlines U.S. defense policy priorities and their costs for 2025. Most of the proposed funds, $849.9 billion out of the $895.2 billion topline, would go to programs within the Department of Defense. Though the result of a bipartisan compromise, some provisions remain a point of contention, including a Republican addition that would prohibit the military’s health program from covering any gender dysphoria treatments on minors that could “result in sterilization.” Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee Adam Smith, D-Wash., has urged House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to “abandon” the provision and allow the House to bring forward a bill that “doesn’t attack the transgender community.” Johnson has argued that the current NDAA will “restore our focus on military lethality and to end the radical woke ideology being imposed on our military.” If the legislation passes, junior enlisted service members would receive a historic 14.5% pay raise and all other service members a 4.5% basic pay raise. The NDAA plan would also address multiple quality of life issues for service members, highlighted in a September report from the Government Accountability Office that revealed unsanitary and rundown living conditions for military personnel. It authorizes $2.7 billion to improve housing conditions, build more housing, and increase oversight. It also increases healthcare access and childcare services for military members by cutting red tape and approving $176 million for the construction of new childcare centers and $110 million for the construction of new schools. “Funding our military is one of Congress’ most important responsibilities,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority Chairman, Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said on X. “Our brave men and women in uniform and their spouses allow us to enjoy the freedoms we have today. They deserve every benefit in this bill.” The legislation authorizes hundreds of billions in defense-related infrastructure and technology investments, including approximately $17.5 billion for military base or industrial construction projects; $33.5 billion to build seven battle force ships; and more than $161 billion for innovation and technology research and related programs. Nearly $16 billion would go to the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, funding new technologies like hypersonic weapons and AI to deter the Chinese Communist Party and mitigate espionage and cybersecurity risks. Anti-terrorism initiatives in the Middle East and overseas U.S. military construction projects countering North Korea and Russia would also receive funding, as well as a U.S.-Israel missile defense program and the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. “We remain determined to confront increasingly hostile threats from Communist China, Russia, and Iran, and this legislation provides our military with the tools they need to deter our enemies,” Johnson said in a statement. “The safety and security of the American people is top priority, and this bill ensures our military has the resources and capabilities needed to remain the most powerful force in the world.” U.S. border security receives a relatively small portion of funds from the NDAA, with $90 million authorized for the construction of a new command and control facility at the U.S.-Mexico border and a $10 million increase in funding for the DOD’s counternarcotics activities. The House Rules Committee is set to vote Monday afternoon on advancing the measure to the House floor, where it can pass with a majority vote. The Senate must vote on it by the end of the month for it to take effect. Reprinted with permission from The Center Square. The post Congress Readies Nearly $900 Billion in Defense Spending appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square (Worthy News) – The Food and Drug Administration is proposing front-of-package warning labels that detail the calories, fat, sugar and salt content of processed food and drink products. Sen. Bernie Sanders chaired a Senate committee where FDA officials testified on a proposal to mandate warning labels on foods and beverages linked to diabetes and obesity. FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf and Deputy Commissioner Jim Jones of the FDA Human Foods Program testified at the hearing. The meeting, led by Sanders, was titled “What Is the FDA Doing to Reduce the Diabetes and Obesity Epidemics in America and Take on the Greed of the Food and Beverage Industry?” and addressed the rising concerns over diet-related illnesses and explored whether stronger labeling requirements could influence consumer behavior. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” Sanders said, suggesting strong warning labels and banning fast food advertising directed at children. According to the American Diabetes Association, the total cost of diabetes in the U.S. was nearly $413 billion last year, increasing 27% over the past six years. Coca-Cola spent $327 million on advertising in the United States and earned more than $9.5 billion in profits. Diabetes-by-the-numbers shows that 1.2 million Americans are diagnosed each year, and 97.6 million American adults are living with pre-diabetes. Califf said the FDA is trying to do its part within its authorities and budget but that “successful change in the trajectory of our health depends on reaching societal consensus that we will do this together.” Califf said there’s not much of a research budget as they aren’t a research industry and rely on other entities. He continued to push for funding during the hearing and said the food industry has research that they have no access to that could help them better understand the situation. Still, he reiterated that it’s in everyone’s best interest for the U.S. food supply to be a source of wellness. The National Academy of Medicine recommended that the food and beverage industry be required to put nutrition labels on the front of their products that were easy to understand in 2010. The agency had planned to make a formal proposal in October, a little over two years after the FDA mentioned implementing a new nutrition labeling system, missing several deadlines. The FDA has yet to release a formal proposal. According to the CDC, the rate of childhood obesity in America has tripled since the 1970s. The hearing on the proposed labels come as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was named president-elect Donald Trump’s pick to serve as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. “Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!” Trump said in his statement. Sanders said that for decades, Congress and the FDA have allowed large corporations to make money off their ability to entice children and adults to consume ultra-processed food and beverages loaded with sugar, salt and saturated fat. Sanders pointed to the British Medical Journal, which states that ultra-processed foods comprise an incredible 73% of the nation’s food supply. The FDA will conduct a workshop with the National Institutes of Health focusing on identifying key priorities and critical next steps for research on Ultra-Processed Food “to help accelerate higher-quality research.” Reprinted with permission from The Center Square. The post Lawmakers, FDA Officials Eye Labels on Unhealthy Foods, Drinks appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) states in a new report that, in the year since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, Australia saw an unprecedented 316% increase in antisemitic incidents. Published on December 1, 2024, the report includes documented acts of antisemitic violence against Jewish people but does not include antisemitic social media content. The ECAJ reports the following among many antisemitic incidents: “A Jewish man was hit by a large rock and injured, requiring medical treatment, by an anti-Israel protester across the road from a synagogue, Caulfield, Melbourne (10 Nov. 2023). “Verbal abuse and harassment and physical assault of a Jewish student in Year 10, by a student in his class who told the Jewish student to “Go back to the gas chambers”, said “Heil Hitler” in his face, Sydney (5 Feb. 2024).” “Physical abuse of a 77-year-old Jewish woman who was spat on, threatened and kicked multiple times, by protesters opposing a rally to counter antisemitism, outside Victorian Parliament House, Melbourne (19 May 2024).” In a statement introducing the report, ECAJ Research Director Julie Nathan urged the international community to guard against antisemitic behavior. “If it was thought that anti-Jewish racism was a thing of the past and defeated, the last 12 months has shown that it has been cynically reactivated and stoked for political purposes,” Nathan said. “The physical, verbal and other forms of attacks on Jewish individuals, families and community venues will continue to worsen unless governments, police and others show some spine by taking resolute action to halt the rising tide of acts of hatred against the Jewish community and bringing those responsible to account,” Nathan stated. The post Australia: Antisemitic Incidents Surge by Over 300% Since Oct 7 Attack, “Go Back to the Gas Chambers” appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – In a remarkable find, archaeologists have uncovered an inscribed fragment of a 500-year-old genuine Chinese Ming Dynasty porcelain bowl on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, Ha’aretz reports. Discovery of the fragment of bowl was announced by the Israel Aniquities Authority on Tuesday December 3. The fragment is inscribed with the Chinese words: “We will forever guard the eternal spring,” Ha’aretz reports. The Ming Dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644. Highly influential and overseeing an important period of Chinese history, the Dynasty was also well-known for its advanced production of porcelain objects, including bowls. In a statement to Ha’aretz, Michael Chernin of the IAA explained that the bowl could have made its way to Jerusalem because trade between China and the Middle East had been ongoing since the 8th century. Indeed, a significant among number of Chinese artefacts have been found in Jerusalem as well as in Ramle, Safed, Tiberias, and other places from about the ninth and 10th century, pottery specialist Anna de Vincenz told Ha’aretz. “Also, Jerusalem had been under Ottoman rule from 1516, and the Ottomans and Chinese had intense trading relations in the 16th and 17th centuries,” Ha’artez added in its report. “The Ottomans were obsessed with Chinese porcelain. So, finding a piece of it in Jerusalem from the 16th century is not surprising – even if finding it in a layer from a thousand years earlier may startle.” The post Fragment of 16th Century Ming Dynasty Bowl Uncovered on Mount Zion appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News MAKASSAR, INDONESIA (Worthy News) – A Christian choir in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province pondered Monday how to perform this Christmas after local Muslims objected to their rehearsal. Last week’s incident in Caile village in the Ujungbulu District of the province’s Bulukumba Regency area underscored anti-Christian sentiments in several regions in the world’s largest Muslim nation. In video footage reviewed by Worthy News, neighborhood association head Andi Arman halted choir members outside the building where the practice was to occur. “I just want to make sure there is no [worship] gathering here,” he said. There had been mounting tensions ahead of the December 1 practice in the mainly Muslim Matajang neighborhood in Caile, according to Christians familiar with the situation. Members of the choir linked to the Catholic St. Yoseph Station Church said the “multipurpose building” where they were rehearsing was built for church worship “but was never used” because of opposition from the local Muslims. Andi Arman, also known as Aplas, told Christians that residents “asked” him to come because they thought there was a worship activity. “It turned out to be a song practice for Christmas.” However, he said Muslim residents and the church had a prior agreement prohibiting the Catholics from worshipping at the site and that he was trying to protect them from mob violence. ‘PROTECTING FRIENDS’ “I came to protect my Catholic friends,” he told Indonesian media. “By having permission, I can ensure that other parties would not disturb their activities.” Although church officials later tried to play down the standoff shared on social media, local Christians remained concerned that they could not prepare for a Christmas performance. Local Muslim leader Ustaz Andi Satria reportedly condemned the incident. “Singing practice for Christmas celebrations must be protected, not intimidated,” Andi Satria said. “Islam teaches tolerance as a blessing for all humans, not just for the Muslims.” ​​ Yet, advocacy group Open Doors has doubts that the situation will improve soon. “The situation for Christians has been deteriorating in recent years, with Indonesian society increasingly influenced by conservative interpretations of Islam,” it said in a recent assessment. The group ranks Indonesia 42nd on its annual World Watch List of 50 countries where it says Christians face the most persecution. The post Indonesia Muslim Villagers Ban Christmas Choir Practice appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

(Worthy News) – U.S. Tech giant Meta acknowledged Tuesday that “harmless content” was too often removed from its social media platform, infringing on “the free expression we set out to enable.” The statement came after it removed from its Facebook site a Worthy News agency story written by Chief International Correspondent Stefan J. Bos, a longtime Budapest-based Dutch journalist because it “goes against our community standards.” In the investigative story, Bos concluded that the United Nations wants to ensure its narrative on climate change and other issues is pushed through artificial intelligence (AI) and media. “I am very sad that Facebook owner Meta is censoring journalism. This story was facts-based and double-checked,” Bos said in a reaction. Citing U.N. statements from the meeting, Worthy News reported that a United Nations committee had agreed to tackle “hate speech” and “misinformation” globally through AI and media, despite worries the approach may “stifle pluralistic debate.” “The U.N. General Assembly Fourth Committee (also known as the Special Political and Decolonization Committee) adopted the resolution as the U.N. seeks to streamline its worldwide narrative on themes like climate change, digital identification, and digital money,” reported Worthy News, a Christian news agency based in the United States and Israel. AGENDA 2030 The Fourth Committee also voted for a resolution on our “Our Common Agenda” plan, which includes rolling out the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs aim to achieve “peace and prosperity for people and the planet.” However, to achieve that aim, preferably by 2030, people must follow U.N. “SDGs” guidelines on, for instance, “climate change,” which critics say will involve more surveillance and censorship. The “Our Common Agenda” resolution also includes rolling out bank account-linked digital identification documents (IDs) that experts warn will give states more control over people’s spending. Yet, with alternative media and other critical voices questioning these policies, the U.N.‘s Department of Global Communications will be asked “to make specific efforts to raise awareness about misinformation and disinformation,” according to the resolution seen by Worthy News. The Department will also be asked to consider “the impact of AI and propose ways to address such a challenge in accordance with international human rights law, within existing resources.” However, “This isn’t the first time this has happened to us,” said Worthy News Director and Founder George Whitten. “We were among the first to report on the laptop contents of Joe Biden’s son, who was later convicted on tax and gun charges. Facebook also removed that story” ahead of the 2020 presidential elections. UNDER PRESSURE Meta and other tech giants have come under pressure over what critics view as censoring conservative and Christian content. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram admitted in a report their error rates were “too high” when enforcing content moderation policies. “We know that when enforcing our policies, our error rates are too high, which gets in the way of the free expression we set out to enable. Too often harmless content gets taken down or restricted, and too many people get penalized unfairly,” Meta President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg wrote. “We will continue to work on this in the months ahead.” Clegg also said Meta regrets the number of posts it removed during the COVID-19 pandemic, censorship efforts that CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Congress in August his company was pressured into doing by the Biden administration. “We had very stringent rules removing very large volumes of content through the pandemic,” Clegg added. “No one during the pandemic knew how the pandemic was going to unfold, so this really is wisdom in hindsight. But with that hindsight, we feel that we overdid it a bit.” In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee dated Aug. 26, Zuckerberg said he regretted not surfacing the pressure to censor from the Biden administration sooner. BIDEN COMPLAINTS “In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree,” Zuckerberg wrote. It came out days later that Rob Flaherty, who transitioned to deputy campaign manager for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, was the point person in the Biden White House who directed the digital censorship of conservative opposition. Whitten suggested that Meta’s behavior is part of a broader pattern. “About a decade ago, while I was preaching in Jerusalem, I had a conversation with a group of Chinese tourists,” he recalled. “Intrigued, I asked a Chinese pastor among them what news sources he relied on, given the communist regime in his home country. His response was unexpected; he told me he followed Taiwanese news and monitored what the Chinese government chose to censor,” he said. “This method of following the news by observing what is omitted rather than what is reported has proven insightful over the years,” he stressed. “For example, observing the censorship patterns of Worthy News has highlighted the significance of what isn’t being shown, offering a unique perspective on what’s truly relevant.” The post Meta Censors Worthy News UN Story Among Others appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News MOSCOW/JERUSALEM/DAMASCUS (Worthy News) – Syria’s ousted President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Moscow after fleeing his country, according to Russian state media and Iranian officials. His opponents saw it as a stunning fall for “a longtime dictator” who lost his hold on power to a lightning-fast offensive by rebels taking control of Damascus, the capital, on Sunday Assad’s ouster was an earthshaking moment in the history of Syria, which his family had ruled with an iron fist since the early 1970s. Islamic rebel factions who tried to unseat him for more than a decade upended his government in a matter of days after years of civil war. Assad and other officials left Syria after resigning and hosting negotiations with rebel groups, Russia’s Foreign Ministry claimed Sunday. Hours later, Russian state media reported that Assad and his family were in Moscow and given asylum. Yet It marked a setback for both Russia and Iran, who appeared unable and, in the end, unwilling to save their long-time ally’s regime. With Assad gone, vast crowds of thousands celebrated in the central squares of Damascus, many shooting in the air, chanting anti-Assad slogans, and others honking cars at the stunning advance from opposition forces. HOPE AND JOY Those celebrating his downfall expressed hope, saying they had been living in fear of a government that had “gassed its own people” during the civil war and used “oppressive tactics” to silence dissent. Video footage also showed anti-government protesters toppling the statue of Syrian leader Assad’s late father, Hafez, in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana. “Our hearts are dancing with joy,” Walaa Salameh, 35, a resident of the Damascus area, said. “We can’t predict the future, and anything is possible, but the most important thing is we got rid of this oppressive regime.” But uncertainty remained over who would rule Syria, raising worries of a possible power vacuum in a country where competing factions have vied for territory against each other and Assad’s forces. Devoted Christians also remained concerned about their future amid reports that Sharia, or Islamic law, had been declared in areas such as Aleppo, a crucial strategic central city. A Christian Evangelical leader told Worthy News he would have preferred Assad as “he ruled with a secular government” despite his affiliation to Alawites, a religious sect that splintered from Shia Islam. The Christian leader supported by the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CAMA) said that Christians remain fearful of Islamic rebels taking over the fractured nation. On Sunday, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the Islamist rebel leader who spearheaded the rebel offensive, declared the group’s achievement “a victory for the whole Islamic nation.” ENTHUSIASM NOT SHARED Yet his enthusiasm wasn’t shared in the United States and Jerusalem amid concerns about rebel links to designated terror groups. U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking from the White House, said that the United States would support the region “should any threat arrive from Syria during this period of transition,” noting “the terrorist roots” of many of the rebels. But he pledged that Washington would engage with “all Syrian groups” to establish a transition “toward an independent, sovereign Syria.” However, as chaos was erupting, U.S. airstrikes struck dozens of Islamic State group camps and leaders in central Syria on Sunday in one of the most significant military strikes in months, the United States Central Command said in a statement. It added that 75 “targets” had been hit. The statement said that the United States would continue to target the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, throughout the “dynamic period in Syria.” The U.S. military said the strikes were intended to make clear the United States was still combating the terrorist group and dissuade the new regime from cooperating with them. ISRAEL IN SYRIA Elsewhere, Israeli forces crossed the demilitarized buffer zone in territory it controls in the Golan Heights, abutting Syria. The Israeli military, which is concerned about the sudden surge in instability near its borders, said it was acting to protect Israeli civilians. Iraq also secured its border with Syria, according to the official Iraqi News Agency, which said on Sunday that the Al-Qaim border crossing was closed. As Assad left power, Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali, Syria’s prime minister, said he would stay in the country and was ready to work with whoever Syrians chose as their leader. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said it would work with Jalali and called on Syrian military forces in Damascus to stay away from public institutions. It said it would remain under the prime minister’s supervision until they are formally handed over. That led to some hope that an American journalist who disappeared in Syria more than a decade ago may be home by Christmas. Biden and the family of Austin Tice, an American journalist who disappeared in Syria in 2012, said Sunday that they believe l he is alive and could be returned to the U.S. after rebel groups toppled Assad. “We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence of that yet,” Biden added. The United States has said it believed Tice had been held captive by the government of Assad, although his regime had long maintained that it had no information about him. The post Syria’s Ousted President In Russia appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

By Casey Harper | The Center Square (Worthy News) – President Joe Biden’s controversial pardon of his son Hunter may give President-elect Donald Trump a blank check to issue his own round of pardons upon taking office. Trump said as much in an interview aired Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press when he vowed to pardon a number of people convicted in connection to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan.. 6, 2021, saying he’d look at each case individually. “These people are living in hell,” he told NBC’s Kristen Welker, noting that some had been in jail for three years and promising pardons on Day 1 in office. More than 1,500 individuals were charged in connection with the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol. “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?” Trump said in a statement last week. “Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” Trump also promised on the campaign trail to set free many Jan. 6 protesters. “I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one because a couple of them, probably, they got out of control,” Trump said at CNN Town Hall in 2023. “I would say it will be a large portion of them and it would be early on,” he added. Many lawyers involved in protesting the 2020 election results have faced prosecution as well. However, defendants facing state charges can receive little help from Trump, barring an extraordinary action from the president-elect. Trump could issue a blanket pardon for lawyers who worked with him broadly covering at least federal crimes for more than a decade, similar to Hunter’s pardon and the ones under consideration for other Biden officials. “Christmas is coming, and as the old saying goes, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” Colin Reed, a Republican strategist, former campaign manager for U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and co-founder of South and Hill Strategies, told The Center Square. “After thumbing his nose at the idea that ‘no one is above the law,’ President Biden has undermined the entire Democratic Party’s messaging apparatus and robbed their ability to claim the moral high ground. The Department of Justice has signaled that its own cases against Trump will be dropped, keeping with a longstanding policy preventing prosecution of sitting presidents. It may be the season of grace because media reports indicate that Biden’s team is considering issuing many more pardons preemptively protecting Biden allies from prosecution by a Trump administration, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci. Democratic Sen. Blumenthal said on CNN this week that he would “strongly oppose” those kinds of blanket pardons. “The way to stand up to a bully like Donald Trump is not to run and hide,” Blumenthal said. “It’s to confront him. And that’s what we ought to do if they misuse the Department of Justice. I was a prosecutor, U.S. attorney and then state attorney, and I believe that the way to confront Donald Trump is to put together a defense team and a defense fund. “I’d be happy to join it,” he added. “And what we should do is support those people who are potentially in jeopardy but there is no way to offer this kind of immunity to anyone who may be a target of Donald Trump because they will go after whoever doesn’t have that kind of pardon, and there are plenty of targets who they can assail.” Despite Trump’s pledges in the 2016 cycle to drain the swamp and prosecute Hillary Clinton, his DOJ never prosecuted political opponents. “By issuing the pardon so early in the lame duck period rather than on his way out the door, President Biden also provided President Trump time to plan his next moves,” Reed told The Center Square. “The Hunter pardon and its implications will live on long after the Biden presidency has reached its final chapter.” Reprinted with permission from The Center Square. The post After Hunter Biden Pardon, Trump Vows to Pardon Many Jan. 6 Protesters appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – Israeli Air Force jets struck dozens of targets across Syria on Sunday, neutralizing weaponry at risk of falling into hostile hands amid the rapid collapse of the Assad regime. Israel also secured the Syrian side of Mount Hermon to expand the demilitarized buffer zone and strengthen key defensive positions along the border. Dozens of Israeli Air Force jets conducted intense strikes targeting advanced missile storage sites, air defense systems, weapon production facilities, and a chemical weapons site, according to defense sources and foreign reports. Israel conducted airstrikes on at least seven targets in southwest Syria on Sunday, according to regional security sources. The strikes included the Khalkhala air base near Sweida, abandoned by Syrian army troops the night before, leaving behind a stockpile of missiles, air defense systems, and munitions that were destroyed. Additional strikes targeted ammunition depots at Mezzeh airbase in Damascus, the sources reported. Later, Israel launched a second wave of airstrikes in Damascus, targeting a security complex and a government research center, according to regional sources. The strikes caused significant damage to the main customs headquarters and nearby military intelligence buildings in the Kafr Sousa district, where Israel previously claimed Iranian scientists were developing missiles. The research facility was also reportedly damaged. The U.S. also capitalized on the shifting dynamics in Syria, conducting extensive airstrikes against Islamic State targets in central Syria on Sunday. According to U.S. Central Command, over 75 targets, including ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps, were hit using a variety of aircraft, including B-52 bombers, F-15 fighters, and A-10 jets. On Sunday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) seized control of the Syrian side of Mount Hermon to expand the demilitarized buffer zone along the Syrian border and secure additional strategic defense points. The Hermon range is highly significant, providing elevated terrain that enables Israel to monitor and anticipate potential threats with greater precision. The IDF also took control of the buffer zone between Israel and Syria, describing the move as a defensive and temporary measure amid the chaos following the fall of the Assad regime. This marked the first time since the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement, signed after the Yom Kippur War, that Israeli forces assumed positions within the buffer zone, although brief entries had occurred in the past. “We are acting first and foremost to protect our border,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to the Golan Heights. “This area has been controlled for nearly 50 years by a buffer zone, agreed upon in 1974, the Separation of Forces Agreement. This agreement has collapsed, the Syrian soldiers have abandoned their positions.” Israel informed the U.S. ahead of its decision to take control of the buffer zone, assuring the Biden administration that the move was temporary, expected to last only a few days to a few weeks, Axios reported Sunday evening. The IDF stated that the deployment was coordinated with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which oversees the buffer zone, and confirmed that UNDOF personnel remained at their posts as of Sunday. The post Israel Launches Airstrikes in Syria and Secures Syrian Side of Mount Hermon appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article

Friend, have obedient faith! Hebrews 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. After spending forty years in the wilderness, the children of Israel crossed into the Promised Land arriving to immediately face what seemed an impregnable fortress and an impossible task. Imagine receiving the instruction to march around the fortified city seven times, then finally be commanded to shout with all your might and sound shofars! It seemed like such a ridiculous warfare strategy...and yet, this time, they followed the instructions, marching around the walled city of Jericho and on the 7th day, after 7 rounds, witnessed the miraculous collapse which opened the way to victory. Obeying the voice of the Lord in faith was met with His supernatural intervening power. The object lesson? Do what God says, follow His instructions, putting your faith into action! Friend, faith that works is true faith, and it reveals the awesome God whom we serve! Respond to God's word obediently, no matter how ridiculous it may seem, and when He is ready your breakthrough will come! Your family in the Lord with much agape love, George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Jacksonville, Florida) Editor's Note: Latest Video: Fall of Assad and the Future of the Middle East Editor's Note: Feel free to share any of our content from Worthy, including Devotions, News articles, and more, on your social platforms. You have full permission to copy and repost anything we produce. Editor's Note: During this war, we have been live blogging throughout the day -- sometimes minute by minute on our Telegram channel. Be sure to check it out! Editor's Note: Dear friends — we are going to be heading WEST!!! Now booking in the following states: Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas …. If you know Pastors, Rabbis or Ministry Leaders who might be interested in some powerful Israeli style Hebrew/English worship and a refreshing word from Worthy News about what’s going on in the Land, please let us know how to connect with them and we will do our best to get you on our schedule! You can send an email to george [ @ ] worthyministries.com for more information. Around the World Syria’s Ousted President In Russia Syria’s ousted President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Moscow after fleeing his country, according to Russian state media and Iranian officials. Trump Talks Peace With Ukraine’s Zelensky Around Opening Of Notre-Dame U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral five years after a fire damaged the Paris landmark. Assad Toppled in Syria; Damascus Falls Syria’s 50-year Assad dynasty abruptly ended this weekend when a lightning 10-day rebel offensive overran government-held territory and seized Damascus with little resistance. Bashar al-Assad, who ruled for nearly 25 years, fled by plane to an unknown destination as rebels took the capital. Ukraine Awaiting Guns Banned In Canada Canada’s Liberal government has pledged to donate banned firearms to Ukraine, which is facing a blood-stained Christmas with Russian troops backed by North Korean forces capturing more territories. Explosions Rock Dutch Flats, Killing Five; Police Searching For Suspects At least five people died, and four others were injured in explosions rocking a block of flats in the Dutch city of The Hague, and local authorities did not rule out a deliberate attack. Romania’s President Declines To Step Down This Month After Controversial Elections Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis says he won’t resign on December 21 as planned but will leave after a new head of state is elected. EU Orders TikTok Freeze Over Romania’s Pro-Russia Presidential Candidate (Worthy News In-Depth) The European Union has ordered social media firm TikTok to freeze data linked to Romania’s elections after the meteoric rise in popularity of a pro-Russia presidential hopeful who says the moon landings “were staged,” soft drinks “include microchips” and disputes the chemical formula for water. Romania’s Constitutional Court Annuls Presidential Vote Romania has plunged into political turmoil as the country’s top court annulled its presidential elections and the upcoming runoff, which was initially scheduled for Sunday, December 8. Israel-Palestinian Conflict Israel Launches Airstrikes in Syria and Secures Syrian Side of Mount Hermon Israeli Air Force jets struck dozens of targets across Syria on Sunday, neutralizing weaponry at risk of falling into hostile hands amid the rapid collapse of the Assad regime. Israel also secured the Syrian side of Mount Hermon to expand the demilitarized buffer zone and strengthen key defensive positions along the border. Israel Strikes Chemical Weapons Factory in Syria Israel struck a chemical weapons factory belonging to the former regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to prevent it from falling into rebel hands. The attack occurred just days after the United Nations Security Council was warned about potentially large quantities of unaccounted-for chemical warfare agents in Syria. Israel Rushing Reinforcements To Golan Heights As Syria’s Fighting Escalates Israel rushed to send reinforcements to the Golan Heights as they border Syria, where Islamic rebels rapidly gain territory, threatening long-time Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s grip on power. Israel ‘Eliminates Hamas Chief Of Aerial Attacks’ Israel's military said Friday it had “eliminated” a mastermind of aerial attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, when 1,200 people were killed by Hamas and other air strikes targeting Israeli forces. Inside the United States Meta Censors Worthy News UN Story Among Others U.S. Tech giant Meta acknowledged Tuesday that "harmless content" was too often removed from its social media platform, infringing on "the free expression we set out to enable." After Hunter Biden Pardon, Trump Vows to Pardon Many Jan. 6 Protesters President Joe Biden’s controversial pardon of his son Hunter may give President-elect Donald Trump a blank check to issue his own round of pardons upon taking office. President-Elect Trump Urged U.S. on Syria; “Let It Play Out” U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump proclaimed Saturday on his Truth Social media platform the end of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s rule and suggested it was a moment of profound geopolitical change. Christian News Syria Christians Face Islamic Challenges After Overthrow Of President (Worthy News In-Depth) There was mounting concern Sunday about Syria’s Christian minority after Islamic rebels captured the capital, Damascus, forcing longtime autocratic President Bashar al-Assad to flee the nation. Worthy Insights Feds Use Bank Loophole To Surveil Americans’ Financial Data Without Warrants, House Judiciary Says Federal law enforcement exploited the Suspicious Activity Report system to access and surveil Americans’ private financial data without warrants or probable cause, according to a report from the House Judiciary Committee. Bible Sales Explode, Beat Average Book Sales Growth by Whopping 2,100 Percent New sales of the “Good Book,” the Bible, grew 21 times more than new book sales overall this year. View the full article

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News BUDAPEST/PARIS (Worthy News) – U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral five years after a fire damaged the Paris landmark. The opening, in the Christmas-decorated French capital, marked a bright spot in a world that Trump said “is going a little crazy right now.” Reporters noted that a red carpet was rolled out for Trump as Macron bestowed the kind of diplomatic welcome that France usually offers only for sitting American presidents, complete with blaring trumpets and members of the Republican Guard in full uniform. Although Trump doesn’t take office until January 20, 2025, the fanfare was a sign that Macron and other European leaders are already trying to win his favor as the U.S. representative on the world stage. He attended a hastily arranged trilateral meeting proposed by Macron at the Élysée Palace shortly before the Notre Dame ceremony as Ukraine faces a blood-stained Christmas with Russian troops gaining more territory. Trump has pledged to end the war within 24 hours of becoming president, though he has remained vague on how that could be achieved. President Zelenskyy and European leaders have been concerned that Trump could withdraw U.S. military aid to Ukraine at a crucial juncture in Kyiv’s battle to repel Russia. WORKING ON PEACE Yet Zelenskyy later described the discussion in Paris as “good and productive,” noting that the three leaders agreed to continue working toward peace. Trump said it was a “very great honor” to be there while hinting at the challenges ahead. “It certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy right now. And we’ll be talking about that,” Trump said. At the official residence of the French president, Macron went out of his way to project an image of close ties, offering handshakes and plenty of back-patting with Trump for the cameras before Zelenskyy joined. In a video posted later on social media platform X, Macron could be heard asking Trump: “You remember?” as both men entered a reception room. “I remember,” Trump answered. Trump spent about 90 minutes inside, meeting first with Macron before Zelenskyy joined them for about 35 minutes. The three leaders reportedly spoke English, but a translator was in the room. CONTINGENT OF ADVISERS Accompanying Trump to Paris was a small contingent of advisers, including incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles and Steve Witkoff, a longtime friend and real estate investor whom Trump has tapped as his special envoy to the Middle East. Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany, who will serve as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, was also accompanying Trump. As Syria’s regime change was underway, Macron said the Middle East would also feature in the talks ahead of Notre Dame’s reopening. When he accepted the invitation to travel to Paris, Trump said Macron had done “a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!” Trump was president in 2019 when a fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old Catholic cathedral. The devastation prevented Notre Dame from holding a Christmas Mass in 2019 for the first time since 1803. In 2020, investigators believed the fire had been “started by either a cigarette or a short circuit in the electrical system.” U.S. President Joe Biden declined an invitation to attend the Notre Dame ceremony five years after the devastating fire, with the White House citing a scheduling conflict. First lady Jill Biden was the official U.S. representative in his place. The First Lady was later seen in a friendly conversation with Trump sitting nearby in the Notre Dame in Paris, the “City of Love” where past misgivings are fastly forgotten. The post Trump Talks Peace With Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Around Opening Of Notre-Dame appeared first on Worthy Christian News. View the full article