A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – It was the night of August 6, 2014. Fresh from their capture of Mosul, ISIS fighters swept through the Nineveh Plains and overnight drove more than 12,000 Christian families from their homes and ancestral lands. The families fled, quite literally, with only the clothes on their backs.

In Kurdistan, they joined the approximately 15,000 Christians who had fled Mosul just weeks earlier. For the next three years, some 120,000 internally displaced persons, or IDPs, were housed, fed, and clothed by the Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil. Led by Archbishop Bashar Warda, whose herculean efforts were made possible by the steadfast support of an array of faith-based agencies, the local Church was even able to open six new schools so the children would not be deprived of their education.

Now, with the third anniversary of that dark night in view, there is a glimmer of hope. The Iraqi government has just recaptured Mosul, while earlier this year ISIS was expelled from the Nineveh Plains. Iraq’s long-suffering Christians, worn out by many months of living in make-shift conditions, now want to go home. [ Source:National Review (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has started using a new route across the Persian Gulf to funnel covert arms shipments to their Houthi allies in Yemen’s civil war, sources familiar with the issue said Tuesday.

In March, regional and Western sources said that Iran was shipping weapons and military advisers to the Houthis either directly to Yemen or via Somalia. This route however risked contact with international naval vessels on patrol in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

For the last six months, the IRGC has begun using waters further up the Gulf between Kuwait and Iran as it looks for new ways to beat an embargo on arms shipments to fellow Shiites in the Houthi movement, Western and Iranian sources say. [ Source:Israel Hayom (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Thousands of Israelis converged on Jerusalem’s Old City Monday night, marching around the walls of Jerusalem to commemorate the destruction of the Temple.

(Worthy News) – Israel’s Defense Ministry and industry developers have begun early work on what could evolve into the Arrow-4, a new missile-intercepting system to defend against much more sophisticated, future threats from Iran.

In interviews here, defense and industry sources assess the specter of massive salvo strikes, sub-munition warheads and multiple reentry vehicles, or MRV, as the next major technological challenges that Israel’s integrated, multitiered national defense network may have to contend with a decade down the road.

To this end, Israel’s MAFAT Defense Research and Development Authority is working with state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and other firms to evaluate technologies needed to improve the ability to track, target and ultimately destroy such threats. [ Source:Defense News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Thousands of people are expected to march through central Jerusalem Thursday afternoon in the city’s 16th annual LGBTQ pride parade.

This year’s March for Pride and Tolerance will be held under the banner of “LGBTQ and Religion,” and is expected to draw some 4,000 participants to the capital city.

“In a city that has known bloody wars of religion, we have seen and borne the price of hatred against the backdrop of religion,” organizers wrote on their Facebook page. “We will shed light on the complex, deep connections between [various religious groups] and the struggles for partnerships, conflict and dialogue.” [ Source:Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The European Union’s chief executive on Wednesday said the United States had taken into account some EU concerns over new sanctions on Russia but Brussels was ready to retaliate within days if the measures hurt EU economic interests.

Speaking after U.S. President Donald Trump signed the measures, Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU would take counter measures if the U.S. sanctions harmed European companies involved in oil and gas projects with Russia.

“We are ready: we must defend our economic interests vis a vis the United States, and we will do that,” Juncker said, according to a transcript provided by his press team. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump signed a Russia sanctions bill Congress forced on him, adding a statement saying the administration will carry out the law but with reservations about its impact and the constitutionality of some provisions.

In a statement Wednesday accompanying the notice that he signed into law the legislation, which also targets Iran and North Korea, Trump laid out a list of concerns. He said it encroaches on presidential authority, may hurt U.S. ability to work with allies and could have unintended consequences for American companies.

“While I favor tough measures to punish and deter aggressive and destabilizing behavior by Iran, North Korea, and Russia, this legislation is significantly flawed,” the statement released by the White House said. [ Source:Bloomberg (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently confirmed the Old Testament’s account of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian Empire which took place in the 6th century B.C.

The IAA excavation conducted at the Jerusalem Walls National Park found “charred wood, grape seeds, pottery, fish scales and bones, and unique, rare artifacts.”

“These findings depict the affluence and character of Jerusalem, capital of the Judean Kingdom, and are mesmerizing proof of the city’s demise at the hands of the Babylonians,” the IAA described in a YouTube video.

(Worthy News) – President Trump threw his support Wednesday behind a Senate bill that would cut legal immigration in half and impose a merit-based system, giving preference to English-speaking immigrants who demonstrate job skills and curtailing the traditional pipeline that rewarded extended family ties.

Meeting at the White House with Republican Sens. David Perdue of Georgia and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the bill’s sponsors, the president said the legislation would be the biggest change to immigration policy in 50 years. His aides signaled that they expect it to be a major part of the national debate heading into midterm elections next year.

Democrats vowed to resist the changes, and immigrant rights groups said Mr. Trump was catering to “white nationalists” with the proposal, which would slash legal immigration over the next decade from about 1.1 million green cards a year to 500,000. [ Source:Washington Times (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – After fighting Republicans tooth-and-nail for years on their plans to repeal and replace ObamaCare, Democrats have in a matter of days started touting a slew of proposals aimed at improving the ailing health care system.

The Democrats’ scramble to tackle the problem comes after Senate Republicans endured a high-profile failure on their so-called ‘skinny repeal’ replacement bill last week, leaving unclear whether Republicans can ever get the votes to go it alone on health care.

Given the difficulty in locking down GOP support, some Republicans have welcomed the prospect of bipartisan talks. At the same time, some Democratic ideas — such as those that swell the deficit — may find little support on the Republican side. [ Source:Fox News (Read More…) ]