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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Worthy News) -The commander of America’s military space operations has warned that Communist-run China’s space military could soon threaten its capabilities.

General Stephen Whiting’s comments highlight concerns about an arms race in space involving China and its ally Russia and others, as well as the United States.

Whiting leads the United States Space Command for military operations in outer space, especially all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and greater above the Earth’s surface.

“We are seriously focused at U.S. Space Command on our pacing challenge, which is the People’s Republic of China,” General Whiting told reporters during a recent conference call from Japan.

“The People’s Republic of China is moving at breathtaking speed in space, and they are rapidly developing a range of counter-space weapons to hold at risk our space capabilities,” he added. “They’re also using space to make their terrestrial forces—their army, their navy, their marine corps, their air force—more precise, more lethal, and more far-ranging.”

The general stressed that “we’ve seen the announcements of China’s ambitions to go to the moon. And those appear to be exploratory and scientific on the surface. But the Chinese aren’t very transparent with what they do in space, and so we hope there’s not a military component to that, but we would certainly welcome more transparency.”

Whiting also spoke about reports that Russia is considering using nuclear anti-satellite weapons, reminding Moscow that “Russia’s a signatory to the Outer Space Treaty just like the United States and most of the international community, and that treaty was signed in 1967, and it prohibits the placement of nuclear weapons or weapons – other weapons of mass destruction on orbit. And we would certainly call on all nations to abide by the terms of those treaties.”

US PARTNERSHIP WITH JAPAN

Whiting stressed that the United States welcomes “the partnership the United States has made with Japan in submitting a United Nations Security Council resolution that essentially asks member states to endorse the Outer Space Treaty.”

He said he was “excited for the Japanese to bring on board their deep-space radar capability that they’ve been working for many years and that we’ve been partnering with them.”

The general spoke to reporters in a phone call after his trips to South Korea and Japan, two key allies of the United States in Asia at a time of growing Chinese influence.

China seeks to put its astronauts on the moon by 2030. Pakistan, South Africa, Belarus, and Nicaragua are among a group of nations that have signed up for a planned moon base led by China and Russia.

The moon project is officially known as the International Lunar Research Station, but the general made clear that Washington will closely watch whether the project will be used for military purposes.

It added to concerns of a new Cold War standoff moving beyond previously known boundaries of military conflicts.

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by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Israel is taking proactive measures to prevent the potential arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Israel’s Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi. Israel has instructed its embassies worldwide to brace for severe anti-semitic backlashes in response to any ICC warrants.

Last week, Israel Channel 12, recently reported that Israel is growing concerned about the likelihood of the ICC issuing arrest warrants. According to the report, the Prime Minister’s Office convened an “emergency discussion” regarding this issue. A government spokesperson did not provide comments on the television report or its specifics.

Over the weekend, in an article for the Walla news site, analyst Ben Caspit noted that Netanyahu is experiencing “unusual stress” due to the potential issuance of an arrest warrant against him and other Israelis by the United Nations tribunal in The Hague.

Caspit reported that Netanyahu was engaged in a “nonstop push over the telephone” to avert an arrest warrant, with a particular focus on the administration of US President Joe Biden.

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted multiple statements on social media.

“Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the International Criminal Court in The Hague to undermine its basic right to defend itself,” Netanyahu declared on Telegram. He added, “While decisions made by the court in The Hague will not affect Israel’s actions, they will set a dangerous precedent that threatens soldiers and public figures.”

Currently, the ICC has yet to issue any formal announcements about forthcoming arrest warrants, however Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan confirmed in November 2023 that investigations were active regarding incidents in Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem. These investigations are tied to the conflict between Israel and Hamas that began on October 7.

Nevertheless, Foreign Minister Israel Katz (Likud) issued a statement regarding the possible actions to be taken by the ICC and stated that Israel complies with “all the laws of war”.

“We expect the [ICC] to refrain the issuance of arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials in the political and security echelons,” Katz said in a statement released by his office.

“There is nothing more twisted than trying to prevent Israel from defending itself against a murderous enemy that openly calls for the destruction of Israel,” the statement read. “If the orders are issued, they will harm the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and give a boost to the terrorist organization Hamas and the radical Islamic axis led by Iran against which we are fighting.”

He also stated that he has directed Israeli diplomatic missions around the world to implement additional security measures and brace for a significant rise in antisemitic attacks in the event that the ICC issues arrest warrants.

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by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The House Judiciary Committee and the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government have found evidence that the federal government coerced at least 13 banks into surrendering information about American citizens without a warrant.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, chaired by Jim Jordan (R-OH), is probing allegations of collusion between U.S. banks and federal agencies following the Capitol riot of January 6.

The committee is investigating how the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) instructed financial institutions, such as Bank of America, Chase, Citi Bank, and Wells Fargo, to screen customers’ transactions for indicators of “extremism.” This included searching for terms like “Trump” and “MAGA,” as well as purchases of the Bible, as potential signs of extremist behavior.

On April 25, Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) issued letters to the 13 financial institutions, demanding they provide documents and communications. This included requests for disclosures of private financial records to federal authorities without legal process.

In the letters to the institutions, the committee expressed its concerns, stating “about how and to what extent federal law enforcement and financial institutions continue to spy on Americans by weaponizing backdoor information sharing and casting sprawling classes of transactions, purchase behavior, and protected political or religious expression as potentially suspicious or indicative of extremism.”

In a new interim report released on March 6, the committee claims to have discovered “startling evidence” that the federal government intrusively examined the private transactions of American consumers without specific evidence of criminal activity.

The committee report revealed to have “obtained documents showing that federal law enforcement’s investigation, predicated on the events that transpired at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, devolved into a fishing expedition for Americans’ financial data. Federal law enforcement agencies, including FinCEN and the FBI, treated lawful transactions as suspicious and shared information with financial institutions through backdoor channels, often circulating materials exhibiting a clear animus towards conservative viewpoints.”

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

KYIV/WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – The U.S. has pledged to provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defense systems after Kyiv urged similar protection as Israel, which recently shot down some 99 percent of rockets and drones fired by Iran and its proxies.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the Patriot missiles provided by Washington are part of a massive $6 billion additional aid package to wartorn Ukraine.

The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot systems, he said.

The package also includes more munitions for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, and additional gear to integrate Western air defense launchers, missiles, and radars into Ukraine’s existing weaponry, much of which still dates back to the Soviet era.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the need for Patriots early Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries gathering virtually in a Pentagon-led meeting, Worthy News learned.

The meeting fell on the second anniversary of the group, which Austin said has “moved heaven and earth” since April 2022 to source millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket systems, armored vehicles, and even jets to help Ukraine halt Russia’s invasion.

Earlier, Kyiv noted that the success of Israel and its allies in essentially thwarting a massive Iranian missile and drone attack shows what Ukraine could achieve against Russian aerial barrages if it had more support from its partners.

AERIAL CAMPAIGN

A recent Russian aerial campaign targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and other targets has wrought extensive damage, and Ukrainian officials pleaded with the country’s Western allies to provide more air defense systems as the war stretches into its third year.

Israel’s defense system, with assistance from the U.S. and Britain — countries that are also supporting Ukraine’s war effort — is credited with preventing severe damage or casualties in Sunday’s attack by Iran using more than 300 drones and missiles.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters that Ukraine’s allies should “give us what we need, and we will do the rest of the job.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the same point referring to the Iranian attack. “The whole world sees what real defense is. It sees that it is feasible,” he wrote on the social media platform Telegram.

Zelenskyy said at least seven Patriot systems are needed to protect Ukrainian cities. “We urgently need Patriot systems and missiles for them,” Zelenskyy added. “This is what can and should save lives right now.”

Yet despite the U.S. support, there has been reluctance among several countries who fear they could face defense issues themselves if they provide more support to Kyiv.

Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump has accused NATO military alliance allies of not paying enough for their defense, leaving much of the spending to the United States.

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By Worthy News’ Stefan J. Bos with Johan Th. Bos reporting from the Netherlands

THE HAGUE/AMSTELVEEN (Worthy News) – Dutch legislators want April 25 to be an annual national day against antisemitism after a rising number of violent incidents against citizens of Jewish descent.

After an emotionally charged debate at the House of Representatives, a proposal was adopted to have a yearly parliamentary debate on that day about hatred towards Jews.

The initiative comes as the Netherlands prepares for the annual May 4 ‘Remembrance of the Dead’ when the Dutch remember Jews and others who died in World War Two and post-war armed conflicts or peacekeeping missions.

Legislators fear pro-Palestine groups will interrupt the live televised two minutes of silence for victims, including the roughly 102,000 Jews deported from the Netherlands and murdered in Nazi death camps.

Caroline van der Plas, who leads the Farmer–Citizen Movement party (BBB), blamed antisemitism at least in part on the massive Muslim migration to the Netherlands, long seen as Europe’s most tolerant liberal nation.

She cited research showing that most people in Islamic nations do not condemn the October 7 Hamas massacre of 1,200 people in Israel. Van der Plas recalled that the “German government requires newcomers to acknowledge the Holocaust and pledge to protect Jews.” She said she wants the Netherlands to demand a similar pledge from asylum seekers.

EMOTIONAL SPEECH

In an emotional speech, she wondered how someone who died in the Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, would feel about the Netherlands now.

Van der Plas noted that the Netherlands had become a nation where supermarkets remove products from Israel, where a rabbi has been mistreated in a shop, where a Jewish singer was attacked on stage by pro-Palestine protesters, where a theater makes a difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Jews, with ‘good’ Jews meaning those who support Palestine.

In addition, there have been reports of people swearing and spitting at Jewish Dutch people, including Holocaust survivors or their relatives, even during the recent opening of the Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam.

Anti-Israel protesters have also been linked to defacing synagogues and shouting slogans such as “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free!” at train stations and other locations.

Dutch police said they received 880 reports of anti-Semitism last year, over 300 more than in 2022.

Critical researchers said rising antisemitism “cannot be seen separately from the ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip and Israel.”

Israel made clear that the Hamas attacks on October 7, described as “the worst atrocities against Jews since the Holocaust,” sparked the war in Gaza in which thousands died, including many Hamas fighters.

MANY ATTACKS

Van der Plas’ and others suggested that Muslim migrants have carried out many attacks, though antisemitic slogans have also been heard in sports stadiums.

Christian legislator Mirjam Bikker of the ChristianUnie (ChristianUnion) recalled that Esther of the Bible risked her life to save her Jewish people.

She made clear that the Dutch should be encouraged by her courage to stand up for the Jewish people. Bikker said that among the up to 40,000 Jewish people in the Netherlands, many are afraid. “At the dinner table, Jewish people ask: ‘Should we stay, or should we leave and go [to Israel]? That is a scandal’,” she added.

She has signed a declaration asking three Dutch to take a stand against antisemitism despite threats.

In recent days, her party’s headquarters was vandalized by anti-Israel protesters with slogans accusing the ChristianUnion of supporting and financing “genocide.”

Bikker and others urged the Dutch not to be intimidated by antisemitism. “History taught us that we must support our fellow Jewish Dutch citizens,” Van der Plas said.

But there are fears her words will do little to change attitudes, including in the Amsterdam suburb town of Amstelveen, where a commemoration was held at the National Dachau Monument named after the Nazi camp.

“MODEL CAMP”

Dachau was described as a “model camp” established by Germany’s Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in the 1930s to train most camp commanders. It had some 170 subsidiary camps, according to historical records.

The Dutch Dachau Committee aims to honor those who lost their lives there or in another death camp and “to warn against national socialism and dictatorship,” especially in 2024.

Amstelveen Mayor Tjapko Poppens laid the first wreath at the monument in the Amsterdam Forest, located in Amstelveen territory.

Many followed after him, including school children, some of whom read poems.

They worried that the “‘never again’ message about the mass murder of Jews seems to have been forgotten at a time of rising antisemitism. “Let’s get up before it’s too late” was a central message.

Poppens listened to, among others, the mayor of the Dutch city of Leeuwarden, Sybrand van Haersma Buma, whose grandfather was murdered in the Neuengamme camp in northern Germany.

For the surviving relatives, it is still war, was his message. “At this monument, the suffering of the past becomes the warning of today,” he said.
——

Photo: The Amstelveen Mayor Tjapko Poppens (center) and others gather at the Dachau Monument in the Amsterdam Forest amid concerns about rising antisemitism. Johan Th. Bos for Worthy News/Amstelveenblog.nl

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By Casey Harper | The Center Square

(Worthy News) – Federal data released Friday showed that inflation remains elevated. The figures came out on the heels of other data showing the U.S. Gross Domestic Product underperformed in the first quarter of this year.

Both the inflation and GDP data points raised concerns among economists and renewed criticism of President Joe Biden among Republicans.

“Given the elevated levels of inflation – and this is the new normal for 2024 – the market is going to need to get over hopes for Fed rate cuts,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance in North Carolina, said in a statement. “Yes, they may cut once (or not at all), but there is no possibility the Fed is going to cut rates 3 or more times, unless we go into recession.”

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released the Personal Consumption Expenditure data Friday, which showed the PCE rose 0.3% last month. The federal Consumer Price Index, another leading marker of inflation, reported prices rising 0.4% last month.

“A lot of people have argued elevated inflation is just because of housing and housing is lagged/inappropriate,” Jason Furman, a Harvard economist and former economic advisor during the Obama administration, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday.

“But even excluding housing, recent inflation is highly elevated…” he continued

That inflation data comes after new federal data this week showed that the GDP increased at an annual rate of only 1.6% in the first three months of this year, much less than the 3.4% growth in the previous quarter and well below experts’ expectations.

“New GDP numbers out – yet ANOTHER depressing quarter under Biden…” Richard Stern, an expert at the Heritage Foundation, wrote on X. “This marks the THIRD quarter in a row of the government growing faster than the economy!

“That’s socialism at work as the woke left-wing government eats everyone else’s lunch off the buffet table – all while the personal saving rate falls off a cliff and is less than half what it was pre-pandemic,” he added.

Republicans heaped on more criticism of Biden after the new economic data.

“Antisemitism is running rampant on campuses,” U.S> Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., wrote on X. “Illegal immigrants are invading both borders. Inflation is rising and draining the pocketbooks. America is experiencing one crisis after another under Joe Biden’s failed leadership.”

Prices have risen nearly 20% since Biden took office.

“President Biden’s recipe of outlandish spending and higher taxes is robbing the American people and hurting the economy,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., said in a statement. “The soaring cost of gas and groceries keeps killing family budgets – leaving Americans struggling to either pay rent or buy a house. The latest GDP report shows an economy sagging under the weight of failed economic policies. With prices continuing to rise and the Federal Reserve likely to keep interest rates at the highest levels in over 20 years, the American Dream is slipping out of reach for more families.”

Biden, though, has rebuffed criticism and pointed to his other economic wins, as The Center Square previously reported.

“Today’s report shows the American economy remains strong, with continued steady and stable growth,” Biden said in a statement last week. “The economy has grown more since I took office than at this point in any presidential term in the last 25 years – including 3% growth over the last year – while unemployment has stayed below 4% for more than two years.”

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

LONDON (Worthy News) – The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has come under pressure over its reporting of an attempt by migrants to cross the English Channel during which five people, including a seven-year-old girl, died.

A dinghy carrying more than 100 people set off from Wimereux, northern France, at about 6 am last Tuesday, April 23, and got into difficulties, according to French authorities, witnesses, and survivors.

Three men, a woman, and a child were killed, the French coastguard confirmed.

Some 49 people were rescued, while 59 others reportedly refused to leave the boat and continued their journey to Britain.

The BBC, the nation’s main tax-funded public broadcaster, was filming in the location on the same day and captured the crossing attempt.

News of the tragedy came just hours after Parliament passed legislation on the government’s Rwanda asylum scheme under which migrants can be deported to Rwanda for asylum, processing, and resettlement.

In remarks carried by Britain’s Daily Express newspaper, the BBC defended its reporting, saying, “There is significant interest in people attempting to cross the Channel to the UK. We believe first-hand reporting is highly valued by audiences.”

‘NO FOREWARNING’

The statement added that “Our reporters near Calais had no forewarning of any particular attempt to make the crossing, but went to locations where boats had previously departed and reported what they found. They did not impede the work of the police, but showed the challenges they faced trying to stop boats departing.”

BBC’s Home Affairs correspondent, Tom Symonds, explained earlier that the coastline in the area measures about 43 miles (70 kilometers), and it is “very hard” to know where the boats are leaving from.

Symonds, who reported from the area, added, “We just got lucky. The boat did come, and people ran across and jumped into it. The police seemed to come at us and say, ‘You knew that this was going to happen…’ They took our IDs. They were quite angry, really.”

He acknowledged that “they were thinking that somehow we’d done a deal with the migrants to film them leaving. We absolutely didn’t and wouldn’t do that.”

Yet viewers are reeling from the footage, commented the Daily Express, a longtime conservative newspaper and online presence.

Television viewer Lynda Draycott wondered: “A question: how come the BBC was on the beach at exactly the moment the illegal immigrants took to the Channel – a trip that cost a child its life?”

Andrew Smith complained to the BBC Newswatch program: “In my opinion, the presence of the BBC reporter and cameras on the beach dissuaded the police from confronting the illegal migrants and smugglers. Leave the French police to do their job.”

DEADLY TRAGEDIES

Yet the BBC made clear it attempted to visualize the mounting migration problem faced by Europe.

The incident was among the deadliest in the Channel this year, taking the death toll to 15 in total, according to official data.

Officials say the Channel is getting more deadly as 25 people have died in crossings since August 2023, according to Home Office figures, out of a total of 73 fatalities in the past seven years.

Thousands of migrants fleeing war, persecution, and poverty are known to have died on their way to Europe in recent years, including in the Mediterranean Sea.

“We want to prevent people making these very dangerous crossings . . . criminal gangs are exploiting vulnerable people,” Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Tuesday.

“They are packing more and more people into these unseaworthy dinghies,” he added. Sunak, a multimillionaire, claims to have learned from his parents the difficulties of migration.

He was born in Southampton to parents of Indian descent who immigrated to Britain from East Africa in the 1960s.

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Dutch politician Geert Wilders, one of Europe’s most outspoken anti-Islam leaders, has pledged to try forming a government despite tensions in coalition talks.

Wilders made the promise at the radical-rightConservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Hungary’s capital Budapest.

“Last November, the world witnessed the rising of the Dutch, the rebellion of the Dutch electorate against the ruling establishment,” he told his audience.

“My party, the Party for Freedom, more than doubled its seats in parliament and became by far the biggest party in the Netherlands. And today, we are negotiating, forming a new government. And I hope that will succeed,” Wilders stressed.

He then asked CPAC delegates to ”please allow” him “to say something to the Dutch press because they are very nervous today: They all wondered, ‘Will Wilders kill the negotiations by speaking to CPAC today?’ And I have to disappoint them. I will not do that because winning the elections and becoming the biggest party comes with a big responsibility. And a responsibility I have is to my country and my people. So to the Dutch press, I say: ‘If you are only interested in that, please go home!’” he said, prompting loud applause and cheers.

Wilders claimed to stand on the shoulders of “giants” such as “Dutch heroes,” including politician “Pim Fortuyn and [filmmaker] Theo van Gogh, both murdered for their views.”

He also referred to other “heroes,” such as then-President Ronald Reagan, who gave an inaugural speech at the first-ever CPAC meeting.

FREED FROM SOVIET DOMINATION

Wilders, 60, added that while East Europe was freed from Soviet domination and communism since then, not everything turned for the better. He cited growing migration from Islamic countries as among the dangers to Europe’s “Judeo-Christian values.”

He reminded CPAC his audience that this year marks the 20th anniversary that he lost his freedom. Wilders and his longtime Hungarian wife Krisztina have been living in safe houses and bunkers after Islamic leaders and others demanded his death.

They have no children.

Wilders also expressed “shock by the Hamas flags” and other “expressions of antisemitism” in the Netherlands and other places in Europe. He noticed “that this is not the case in Budapest.”

Wilders emphasized that he has a long relationship with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose political ideas he shares.

Wilders accused former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and current French President Emmanuel Macron of “having squandered Europe” by admitting migrants from Islamic countries en masse. He noticed that most migrants “are young men” from, among others, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Wilders stressed that 25 percent of the Dutch electorate voted for him because Dutch people and other conservatives now say “enough.” He urged conservatives to remain committed to more sovereignty of nations that are still part of the European Union and to demand less bureaucratic power from Brussels.

MASS MIGRATION

Wilders said he expects that European parties similar to the PVV will achieve the same victory as his party in the recent parliamentary elections in the Netherlands.

He explained that voters have had enough of “the politics of open borders and mass immigration.”

Wilders arrived at CPAC while still mourning his mother, who passed away in recent days, having seen her son becoming an older man surrounded by an extended security detail.

CPAC is a gathering of radical right, conservative politicians from around the world, modeled on CPAC in the United States.

Former President Donald J. Trump addressed his “political friends” in Hungary via a video message. Orbán, who hosted the event, made clear he hopes Trump will be re-elected as president in the upcoming November elections.

CPAC did not allow critical journalists, including a Worthy News reporter, to cover the event, referring instead to its livestreams, saying reporters are “too woke.”

Other speakers were more fierce than Wilders in their migration comments. They claimed the arrival of non-Western migrants was “a deliberate plan” by governments to replace the original Western population, prompting angry reactions. Orbán has previously been condemned for saying that, “We [Hungarians] are not a mixed race … and we do not want to become a mixed race.”

‘NO LONGER NATIONS’

He added in recent years that, countries where European and non-Europeans mingle were “no longer nations”. Orbán’s remarks were seen as being couched in stark, far-right terms.

The prime minister did apparently not repeat those terms publicly at CPAC, and he has recently expressed strong support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd, Orbán urged his audience to support former U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s reelection bid, saying: “Let’s make America Great again! Let’s make Europe great again!”

Orbán suggested that the multiple court cases faced by Trump on allegations such as financial wrongdoing and obstruction of justice were political trials. “If necessary, they will use government agencies against us — as my American friends say, ‘weaponizing state institutions,’” Orbán said. “This happens to us Hungarians constantly in Brussels. This is what is happening to President Trump in America, and we encourage him to fight for his own truth not only in the elections but also in the courts.”

He added: “Go Donald Trump, go European sovereigntists! Let’s saddle up, put on our armor, head to the battlefield, and begin the election battle!”

European Union elections in June and U.S. presidential elections in November, Orbán said, could launch a new “era of sovereignty” modeled on Hungary, which he claimed was a “conservative island.”

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – U.S. troops have begun building a maritime pier off the coast of the Gaza Strip to speed up humanitarian aid into the wartorn territory, White House and U.S. military officials say.

The temporary floating dock in the Mediterranean Sea comes despite fears over how food and other goods will be delivered safely, officials said.

Military leaders say the seafaring aid project, first announced by U.S. President Joe Biden in March, is backed by crucial American military vessels, Worthy News learned.

“I can confirm that U.S. military vessels, to include the USNS Benavidez, have begun to construct the initial stages of the temporary pier and causeway at sea,” said Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder.

About 1,000 US troops will support the military effort, including in coordination cells in Cyprus and Israel, according to officials familiar with the situation.

“Construction of the pier is expected to be completed in early May. Once completed, it will initially facilitate the delivery of an estimated 90 truckloads of international aid into Gaza,” said the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in remarks obtained by Worthy News.

The pier will scale to “up to 150 truckloads once fully operational,” the DOD added in a statement.

ORDERING TROOPS

However, U.S. President Biden ordered American forces not to step foot on the Gaza shore, officials said.

A third party will be driving trucks down the pier onto the beach, Worthy News learned.

Biden, who seeks re-election this year, has made clear he does not want American troops caught up in Israel’s war against Hamas, deemed a terrorist organization by the Israeli government and most of its Western allies.

Yet, dangers for U.S. troops backing Israel were underscored Thursday as news emerged of a mortar attack near the area where the pier will eventually touch the ground.

No U.S. forces were present, but a United Nations team inspecting the site was reportedly forced to take shelter.

Efforts to reach Gaza with aid through the sea come after troubles with airdrops, with medics saying five people were shot dead in recent weeks and dozens more injured during riots over the distribution of aid delivered by plane.

Twelve people drowned trying to get to aid dropped by plane off a Gaza beach in March, several sources said. Others have reported deaths by stabbing, as well as in stampedes.

SEVERAL KILLED

Earlier last month, five were killed near what Palestinians view as the “coastal refugee camp” known as al-Shati, as a parachute failed to deploy properly and aid fell on waiting men, teenagers, and children.

Israel has come under pressure for allegedly not allowing enough aid into Gaza and using hunger as a weapon.

However, Israel has shrugged off these allegations, saying much aid is taken by Hamas or sold at black markets.

Despite the reported human suffering, Israel says it will continue its battle against Hamas.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry said Thursday that it has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, around two-thirds of them children and women.

Those figures have been difficult to verify independently in an area of virtually nonexistent press freedom.

The Israel-Hamas war was sparked by the unprecedented October 7 raid into southern Israel in which Hamas fighters killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages.

Israel says Hamas is still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – One of Europe’s most prominent anti-Islam politicians was on his way to Budapest to address the world’s largest conservative radical right gathering where like-minded leaders seek to chase out “the liberal order” in upcoming elections.

Geert Wilders of the Dutch Party for Freedom, or PVV, arrives in the Hungarian capital for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) amid concerns that growing migration from Islamic nations contributed to rising antisemitism in his native Netherlands.

His ally and friend, Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, shares Wilders views. “He was among the first to congratulate me when I won the recent Dutch elections,” Wilders said in an interview.

Ahead of his arrival, Orbán opened the two-day gathering on Thursday in a speech that stressed the need for right-wing forces to end the world’s “liberal order” and defeat the “progressive world spirit.”

Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd, Orbán urged his audience to support former U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s reelection bid, saying: “Let’s make America Great again, Let’s make Europe great again.”

Orbán suggested that the multiple court cases faced by Trump on allegations such as financial wrongdoing and obstruction of justice were political trials. “If necessary, they will use government agencies against us — as my American friends say, ‘weaponizing state institutions,’” Orbán said. “This happens to us Hungarians constantly in Brussels. This is what is happening to President Trump in America, and we encourage him to fight for his own truth not only in the elections but also in the courts.”

He added: “Go Donald Trump, go European sovereigntists! Let’s saddle up, put on our armor, head to the battlefield, and begin the election battle!”

EU, US ELECTIONS

European Union elections in June and U.S. presidential elections in November, Orbán said, could launch a new “era of sovereignty” modeled on Hungary, which he claimed was a “conservative island.”

“These elections coincide with major shifts in world political and geopolitical trends,” Orbán stressed. “The order of the world is changing, and we must usher our cause to triumph in the midst of these changes. Progressive liberals feel the danger. Replacing this era means replacing them.”

Yet CPAC was also seen as a welcome distraction from his political troubles following several scandals.

In recent months, several senior officials, including the president and justice minister, were forced to resign over a scandal involving a presidential pardon to a man implicated in a child sexual abuse case at an orphanage.

Additionally, more details emerged about corruption following a leaked recording suggesting government officials encourage removing files in corruption cases.

Emerging from the scandals was political newcomer Péter Magyar, a former insider within Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party who shot to prominence through his allegations of massive corruption and cronyism among the country’s leaders.

Magyar this month mobilized about 100,000 anti-Orbán demonstrators in central Budapest, according to Worthy News estimates, and he announced a new party that will participate in EU elections.

CRACKDOWN CRITICIZED

Orbán, Europe’s longest reigning leader, had brushed aside allegations of corruption, rule-of-law concerns, and a perceived crackdown on critical media.

He has been angered over the decision by Brussels to postpone billions of euros (dollars) in EU funding over these issues.

Orbán said his government had been punished over its decision to stand up against LGBTQ+ “propaganda,” its decision to defend traditional family and Christian values and anti-migration policies. Hungary’s refusal to send weapons to Ukraine but instead push for peace talks also created tensions with the West.

Orbán spoke at the third Hungarian iteration of CPAC, an event that this year features numerous radical rights figures, including U.S. media personality Jack Posobiec, Republican Paul Gosar of Arizona, and Wilders.

Another speaker of the rightwing nationalist Vlaams Belang or ‘Flemish Interest’ party, legislator Tom Van Grieken, agreed with Orbán’s assessment. Van Grieken said conservatives will unite in the interest of Europe today.

He joked that although being a politician from Brussels, he “won’t ban CPAC,” referring to a similar conference in the Belgian capital, which was briefly broken up by police last week.

Organizers declared CPAC a “no woke zone” where critical journalists, including from Worthy News, aren’t welcome.

Coverage would be possible at “future events when and if your organization becomes significantly less woke,” journalists were told.

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by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Islamic extremists destroyed homes and property belonging to a Christian community in Minya Province, Egypt, earlier this week after hearing rumors about plans to build a church in the area, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports.

The Christian village of Al-Fawakher in Minya Province was raided by extremists on April 23, CSW said. According to CSW sources, local police and firefighters were called, and they acted fast to bring the situation under control.

A police investigation has been launched to arrest the perpetrators, including those who incited the violence by spreading a false rumor about the church building, CSW said.

Commending the authorities for their quick intervention, CSW President Mervyn Thomas added in a statement: “An unacceptable culture of intimidation and discrimination is still far too prevalent in this region despite positive steps taken by the Egyptian authorities in recent years, and the personal commitment of President Sisi to fight sectarian extremism and promote equality of citizenship. Egyptian citizens should all be free to practice any religion or belief of their choosing without fear of threats or physical violence.”

In a website statement about the situation facing Christians in Egypt, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization noted: “President al-Sisi and his government regularly speak positively about Egypt’s Christian community—which, through the Coptic church, is long and historic. He purposely includes both Muslims and Christians in Egypt’s identity. However, this stance does not always extend to areas outside of major urban centers—authorities are known to ignore or downplay the concerns of Egyptian believers.”

Muslim-majority Egypt ranks 38 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

GENEVA (Worthy News) – The World Economic Forum (WEF) suggests that nearly all central banks plan to have their digital currencies as part of global efforts to remove cash transactions from the world economy.

“Over 98 percent of the global economy’s central banks are researching, piloting or deploying central bank digital currency (CBDC),” added the WEF in a report seen by Worthy News.

“There is an opportunity to harness this innovation in central bank money to enhance systemically important payments and securities transactions between financial institutions,” the WEF stressed.

The report, ‘Modernizing Financial Markets With Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency,’ called CBDCs “ideal for systemically important transactions despite the emergence of alternative payment instruments.”

Additionally, “Wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) is a form of [Central Bank Money also known as] CeBM that could unlock new economic models and integration points that are not possible today,” the report stressed.

“Wholesale CBDCs” would be used mainly by banking institutions, governments, and global corporations, while “Retail CBDCs” would be for the regular population, according to experts.

The WEF urged policymakers and other leaders to investigate the possibilities of digital systems in its report co-authored with Accenture, a global professional services firm.

Yet not everyone shares its enthusiasm. “Every person that cares about economic freedom should be wary of CBDCs as perhaps the biggest threat to human liberty since the attempted introduction of vaccine passports,” said ZeroHedge, an opinionated financial news site.

“After the pandemic agenda was defeated and the plan to exploit public fear to create a perpetual medical autocracy was exposed, [WEF founder] Klaus Schwab and his merry band of globalists slithered back into the woodwork,” ZeroHedge added.

“To be sure, we’ll be seeing them again one day,” the site commented, referring to the report.

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by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News)— Researchers working near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem have uncovered a 2,000-year-old clay token they believe may have been used by Jewish pilgrims to exchange for offerings during visits to the Biblical Second Temple before it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, Christian Headlines reports.

The token was discovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project, an organization that is sifting through more than 9,000 tons of dirt that was dumped in the Kidron Valley following illegal renovations carried out by the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement at the Temple Mount in 1999.

“[The token] depicts a wine jar, aligning with the Mishnaic text that discusses ‘nesachim,’ a term for the wine libation poured on the Temple altar and also used to refer generally to all the offering components,” the archaeologists said in a statement.

“It is plausible that this token was intended for Greek-speaking pilgrims, possibly including Jews from the diaspora.”

The researchers noted that the Jewish Mishna “confirms the presence of Greek writing in the Temple, noting in another chapter of Tractate Shekalim (3:2) that baskets in the treasury chamber were marked with Greek letters.”

The token is inscribed with the word ‘Doulês,’ the name of its owner, Christian Headlines reports. “This name was common in Thrace, Macedonia, and the northern regions of the Black Sea, areas where Jews had settled by the late Hellenistic-Early Roman periods,” the researchers said.

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by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The US Supreme Court is considering whether a near-total ban on abortion passed by the state of Idaho has precedence over a federal law that requires that doctors provide patients with medical care – that might include an abortion – in emergency situations, Reuters reports.

The Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in the state’s appeal against a lower court ruling that the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act 1986 (EMTALA) has precedence over Idaho’s abortion ban in situations of conflict.

Passed in 2020, and triggered into effect in 2022 following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v Wade, Idaho’s law bans abortion in all circumstances unless the procedure is needed to prevent the woman’s death. Doctors who violate the law face 2-5 years in prison and the loss of their medical license.

EMTALA requires that hospitals covered by the federal Medicare program must “stabilize” patients with emergency medical conditions. Hospitals may face lawsuits by patients who do not receive the care they need.

Questions raised by the justices during oral arguments indicated no consensus has yet been reached. “Within rare cases, there’s a significant number where the woman … her life is not in peril, but she’s going to lose her reproductive organs, she’s going to lose the ability to have children in the future unless an abortion takes place,” Democratic-appointee Justice Elena Kagan noted.

Conservative Justice Samuel Alito countered that EMTALA requires the “unborn child” to be given stabilizing care. “Performing an abortion is antithetical to that duty,” Alito said.

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by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – The Democratic-led Arizona House of Representatives have voted to repeal a Civil War-era total ban on abortion which could soon go into effect unless the Republican-led Senate votes to keep it on the books, Reuters reports. The ban was passed by the 1st Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1864, before Arizona became a state in 1912.

The ban was revived by Arizona’s state Supreme Court on April 9: the law can potentially be implemented since the US Supreme Court in 2022 revoked the federal right to abortion up to viability, leaving the issue of abortion up to individual states to decide.

Democratic officials and lawmakers condemned the state Supreme Court’s decision. Vowing that her office would not enforce the ban, Democratic Atty. Gen. Kris Mayes said in a statement: “Today’s decision to reimpose a law from a time when Arizona wasn’t a state, the Civil War was raging and women couldn’t even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state.”

Wednesday’s vote in the Arizona House of Representatives passed 32-28, with three Republican lawmakers crossing party lines to join all 29 Democrats in voting to repeal the 1864 abortion ban, Reuters said.

The GOP holds a 16-14 majority in Arizona’s Senate and could vote on the ban from May 1, Reuters reports. In the event the Senate decides to dispense with the 1864 ban, Arizona’s 2022 law which bans abortion at 15 weeks’ gestation will remain in place.

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by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – In response to escalated attacks during the Passover holiday, Israel targeted multiple sites associated with Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon. Following these operations, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had successfully eliminated half of Hezbollah’s commanders in the region.

The intense military operation featured a major airstrike on the town of Ayta ash-Shab, targeting around 40 Hezbollah positions in just a few minutes. The IDF deployed both fighter jets and artillery in this assault, focusing on weapons depots and other critical infrastructure utilized by Hezbollah for its activities against Israel.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant remarked during a visit to the IDF Northern Command after receiving an operational update and touring the border, “There is continuous offensive action by IDF forces in all of southern Lebanon as well as in other parts of Lebanon. The operational results are very impressive.”

“Half of the Hezbollah commanders in south Lebanon have been eliminated… and the other half hide and abandon south Lebanon to IDF operations,” Gallant stated.

Gallant highlighted that the main goal of the IDF is to facilitate the safe return of the tens of thousands of Israelis who have been displaced due to ongoing attacks by Hezbollah. “We are considering various strategies to secure this goal, and the upcoming period will be crucial,” he stated.

Since October 8, forces led by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah have regularly attacked Israeli communities and military positions along the border to support Gaza during the ongoing conflict. These attacks have led to eight civilian deaths and the loss of 11 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, although they have not resulted in any injuries.

During the ongoing skirmishes, Hezbollah has reported 287 of its members killed by Israel, primarily in Lebanon and some in Syria. Additionally, in Lebanon, 54 operatives from other terrorist organizations, a Lebanese soldier, and at least 60 civilians, including three journalists, have also died.

The IDF has announced its intention to establish a safe and secure buffer zone along the Lebanon border to safeguard residents from the threat of terrorism posed by Hezbollah.

Since October 2023, Israel has evacuated approximately 60,000 residents from the northern border towns, who have been displaced from their homes.

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

NEW YORK/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Thousands shouting “God loves Israel!” and “Israel is not alone!” gathered outside the gates of Columbia University in New York City on Thursday to protest against the “rising antisemitic spirit on college campuses across America.”

American missionary and musician Sean Feucht, who organized the rally, said it was “time to worship, time to take a stand” for Israel.

“We stand here to protest against the rising antisemitic spirit on college campuses across America,” Feucht told the crowd after they marched towards the university carrying Israeli flags.

“We say it started here; it’s going go and here.” It’s necessary, he said, as “All of America has seen is hate and violence.”

He and others arrived at the university following a daring march near police, keeping them away from pro-Palestine crowds that had been occupying the university grounds.

The pro-Israel protest came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced “antisemitism on campuses in the United States” after pro-Palestine Harvard students began staging an encampment in Harvard Yard on Wednesday.

Netanyahu slammed university administrators for not doing more to stop the campus protests and called for widespread condemnation of the demonstrations.

HORRIFIC ATTACKS

“What’s happening on American college campuses is horrific. Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities,” Netanyahu said. “It’s unconscionable. It has to be stopped. It has to be condemned and condemned unequivocally.”

In the past week, students at Columbia University, Yale University, and MIT have engaged in similar encampments and protests on their campuses. Elsewhere in the Boston area, students at Tufts University and Emerson College have set up encampments as well.

Netanyahu the university protests to rallies held in Germany almost 100 years ago, as the Nazi party rose to power on a wave of anti-Jewish hate.

He echoed concerns voiced by supporters of Israel over the safety of Israeli or Jewish students as the protests intensified.

Some have pointed to antisemitic incidents, including attacks against Jewish students, and argued that university leaders are enabling intimidation and hate speech.

“Antisemitic mobs have taken over leading universities,” claimed Netanyahu.

Reports of antisemitic harassment by protesters surfaced over the weekend, with footage showing a masked protester outside Columbia carrying a Palestinian flag which appears to chant, “Go back to Poland!”

STEALING FLAG

One Columbia student wrote on social media that some protesters had stolen an Israeli flag from students and tried to burn it, adding that Jewish students were splashed with water.

Chabad at Columbia University, a chapter of an international Orthodox Jewish movement, said some protesters had hurled expletives at Jewish students as they walked home from campus over the weekend and had said to them, “All you do is colonize” and “Go back to Europe.”

“We are horrified and worried about physical safety” on campus, said the statement, adding that the organization had hired additional armed guards to escort students walking home from Chabad.

A rabbi has urged several Jewish students linked to Columbia University to stay home as tense confrontations on campus sparked condemnation from the White House and New York officials.

The atmosphere is so charged that Columbia officials announced students could attend classes and possibly take exams virtually during Passover, a significant Jewish holiday period.

Tensions at Columbia, and many universities, have been high ever since the October 7 terror attack on Israel by Hamas killed some 1,200 people, including raped women and babies, triggering Israel’s declared war against Hamas.

However, the situation at Columbia escalated in recent days after university officials testified before the U.S. Congress last week about antisemitism on campus and pro-Palestinian protests on and near campus surged.

Christians gathering on Thursday prayed and sang for peace in Israel and beyond.

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by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A UK-based Christian advocacy organization has renewed its calls for India to revoke the harsh anti-conversion laws that have been abused by Hindu nationalist extremists to persecute Christians across the vast nation, Christian Today (CT) reports.

Using India’s ongoing national elections as a springboard, the Release International organization has highlighted the fact that, while India claims to be the world’s largest democracy, non-Hindu religious groups are being targeted both in law and in criminality against them.

“We have seen a dramatic rise in intolerance towards Christians since the BJP first swept to power in 2014,” Paul Robinson, CEO of Release International, said in a statement. “Our partners in India report pastors beaten, churches attacked, and prayer meetings disrupted at the hands of ultra-right wing Hindu militants. At the same time, states in India are passing anti-conversion laws which prevent Christians from sharing their faith with Hindus,” Robinson said.

The Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) confirmed the situation, citing an ‘unprecedented’ 601 cases of persecution against Christians in India in 2023, CT reports. Notably, the EFI said the recorded incidents only “scratch the surface.”

In a current website statement about the situation facing Christians in India, the Open Doors international Christian advocacy group reports: “More and more states are also implementing anti-conversion laws, creating an environment where any Christian who shares their faith can be accused of a crime, intimidated, harassed and even met with violence…Christians who convert from Hinduism are the most vulnerable to persecution across India, particularly communities who have faced historical oppression or discrimination such as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Additionally, church leaders and their families can be particular targets in places that are heavily influenced by Hindu extremists.”

Ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party for nearly 10 years, India now ranks 11 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christian are persecuted.

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by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last week signed into law a bill that allows public schools the option of permitting volunteer religious chaplains to counsel students on campus, CBN News reports. The law has been strongly criticized by the ACLU of Florida, the Interfaith Alliance, the National Education Association, and The Satanic Temple.

Passed by the Republican-led Florida legislature by a wide margin, HB 931 will come into effect on July 1, CBN said. The law allows volunteer chaplains to “provide support, services, and programs to students as assigned by the district school board or charter school governing board.”

Addressing concerns that the law is intended as a means of religious indoctrination, DeSantis said in a statement that school districts are not required to bring in chaplains and neither are students required to see them.

“It’s our view that if school districts want to bring in chaplains to offer voluntary services, they’re within their right to do so,” DeSantis said. “It’s totally voluntary for a parent or a student to participate. No one’s being forced to do anything. But to exclude religious groups from campus, that is discrimination.”

Announcing their intention to push back against the law, The Satanic Temple reportedly announced it would be offering the services of “chaplains” from their organization. Responding to concerns that this might be allowed, DeSantis said: “We’re not playing those games in Florida. That is not a religion. That is not qualified to be able to participate in this.”

In a separate statement criticizing the law, the ACLU of Florida said: “Public schools are not Sunday schools and chaplains are not school counselors. Allowing chaplains to assume official positions — whether paid or voluntary — in public schools as counselors or other support staff will undermine this right by creating an environment ripe for evangelizing and religious coercion of students in violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution.”

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

WASHINGTON/KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States on Wednesday after President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes about $61 billion in military assistance for Kyiv.

“Today’s American military aid package for Ukraine is vital. I thank all Americans who work in defense enterprises and every state that manufactures weapons that are now really protecting democracy and our way of life,” Zelensky wrote on social media platform X.

Zelensky pledged to “make every effort to compensate for the half-year spent in debates and doubts” as his army struggles to keep out Russian invaders.

Earlier in the day, wearing a U.S.-Ukrainian flag pin and speaking from the White House, Biden said it was a “good day for America, a good day for Ukraine, and a good day for world peace.”

Biden said the aid package he signed is “going to make America safer. It’s going to make the world safer. And it continues America’s leadership in the world.”

The package also includes $26 billion for Israel and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific.

TIKTOK BAN?

Separately, the package includes a bill that could eventually lead to the banning of social media platform TikTok in the United States.

It gives the Chinese parent company ByteDance roughly nine months to sell it, or it will be banned from application stores in the United States.

The signing of the aid package was the culmination of months of tense negotiations and personal lobbying from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

It led to a split among U.S. House Republicans that continues to threaten the leadership position of House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Hardline House conservatives opposed further U.S. funding to Kyiv and threatened to oust Johnson over his handling of the negotiations.

Conservatives in Congress have opposed additional assistance for what they view as an “unwinnable war,” an opinion shared by ex-U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who seeks re-election in November.

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MOSCOW/NEW YORK (Worthy News) – Russia on Wednesday declined to help prevent an arms race in space as it vetoed a U.S.-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution.

Moscow’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia vetoed the resolution that called on countries to prevent an arms race in outer space.

The vote came after Washington accused Moscow of developing an anti-satellite nuclear weapon to put in space, an allegation that Russia has denied. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow was against putting nuclear weapons in space.

“Today’s veto begs the question: Why? Why, if you are following the rules, would you not support a resolution that reaffirms them? What could you possibly be hiding?” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council after the vote. “It’s baffling, and it’s a shame.”

Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia countered that Washington is trying “to tarnish Moscow” and said Russia “would shortly begin negotiations with council members on its own, not just [weapons of mass destruction]. But you don’t want that … Let me ask you that very same question: Why?” Nebenzia asked Thomas-Greenfield in the council.

The draft resolution was put to a vote by the U.S. and Japan after nearly six weeks of negotiations.

It received 13 votes in favor, while China abstained and Russia cast a veto, adding to concerns that an arms race among the world’s most influential nations moves toward the stars.

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent

KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – The United States confirmed Wednesday that it secretly shipped long-range missiles to Ukraine for use in its conflict with Russia.

The missiles, which Kyiv already used twice, were contained in a $300 million military aid package for Ukraine that U.S. President Joe Biden approved on March 12, U.S. sources said.

The confirmation came while Biden signed into law an aid package providing military assistance to Ukraine after the Senate passed a bill containing nearly $61 billion in aid to Ukraine.

Additionally, $26 billion in military aid will be transferred to Israel and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific.

However, before the aid package was passed, the U.S. already sent ATACMS, short for Army Tactical Missile System, at President Biden’s order, said U.S. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel.

The missiles were used for the first time in the early hours of April 17, launched against a Russian airfield in Crimea that was about 165 km (103 miles) from the Ukrainian front lines, U.S. officials said.

Ukraine reportedly used the weapon a second time overnight against Russian forces in southeastern Ukraine.

‘SIGNIFICANT NUMBER’

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that a “significant number” of the missiles had been sent to Ukraine and said “we will send more.”

U.S. officials declined to say how many missiles had been delivered.

Yet they have a longer striking distance — up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) than the version of the weapon with a range of roughly 165 kilometers (103 miles) provided by the U.S. in October.

“We did not announce this at the onset to maintain operational security for Ukraine at their request,” Patel said.

Yet the Pentagon initially opposed the long-range missile deployment, fearing the loss of the missiles from the American stockpile would hurt U.S. military readiness, according to sources familiar with their thinking.

There were also concerns that Ukraine would use them to attack targets deep inside Russia.

However, Russia’s use of North Korean-supplied long-range ballistic missiles against Ukraine in December and January led to a change of heart, a U.S. official said.

WARNING RUSSIA

Another factor in U.S. decision-making was Russia’s targeting of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, added the official speaking on condition of anonymity.

“We warned Russia about those things,” the official said. “They renewed their targeting.”

Also high on Ukraine’s shopping list is ammunition, with the U.S. pledging to ramp up production of shells from 30,000 a month to 100,000 by next summer.

Ukraine used over 2 million shells during the 26-month war, a rate of more than 75,000 a month, said General James Mingus, the Army’s vice chief of staff.

Kyiv how hopes it will soon receive more weapons as Russia pushes forward in a war that has already killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people, officials say.

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