A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – Malaysian police have arrested a 21-year-old Islamic State (IS)-linked suspect who received orders from Syria to launch attacks on non-Muslims and their places of worship.

The unemployed man was nabbed during a sting operation conducted in Perak, Selangor and Melaka on Sep 8-10.

He “received instructions from a Malaysian Daesh (or IS) member in Syria to buy a pistol, a M-16 rifle, an AK-47 rifle and hand grenades from a neighbouring country with the aim of launching attacks on non-Muslims and their places of worship”, said Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun in a statement. [ Source: Channel News Asia (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Hurricane Irma caused massive flooding as it ripped its way through Florida and the Caribbean last week — but not for everyone. Tampa Bay residents experienced a bizzare phenomenon that some believe comes straight out of the Bible.

Instead of pummeling Tampa Bay with massive waves, Hurricane Irma’s powerful winds sucked the water away from the shoreline.

“Huge parcels of the Bay became dry enough to walk on,” Tampa Bay resident Aly Yohn told CBN News.

“People were stunned! Manatees got beached because the water receded so fast, and people had to walk out into the bay, put them onto tarps and pull them further out to water,” she said. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – President Trump said Thursday that Susan Rice admitting that she unmasked the identities of Trump transition team officials caught up in national security surveillance was “just the tip of the iceberg.”

He condemned her actions as “wrong.”

Ms. Rice, who was President Obama’s national security adviser, told House investigators that she had spy agencies identify Trump officials when the the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates visited New York in December, when Mr. Trump was president-elect and the transition was underway.

“She’s not supposed to be doing that and what she did was wrong,” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We’ve been saying that. It’s just the tip of the iceberg.” [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The Trump administration is backing legislation that would suspend US financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority until it ends what critics say is a long-standing practice of rewarding Palestinians who kill Americans and Israelis.

In comments Thursday, the State Department says the administration “strongly supports” the bill. The State Department said President Donald Trump raised the issue with President Mahmoud Abbas during meetings in May. “Peace can never take root in an environment where violence is tolerated, funded and even rewarded,” Trump reportedly told Abbas at the time.

The measure is named after Taylor Force, an MBA student at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and a West Point graduate. He was visiting Israel in March 2016 when he was stabbed to death by a Palestinian. Force was from Lubbock, Texas. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Israel asked Russia and the United States to prevent an Iranian presence, or that of any Shi’ite militia operating under Iranian influence, in southern Syria near the Israeli border in any cease-fire agreement. Israel presented its demand during the talks that preceded the cease-fire agreement in July – but the Russians refused.

The buffer zone demanded by Israel in southern Syria is from 60 to 80 kilometers (about 37 to 50 miles) from the border on the Golan Heights, to the west of the road connecting Damascus and the city of Al-Suwayda in southwest Syria.

The Russians agreed only to promise that the Iranians and their allies would not come any closer to Israel than five kilometers from the armistice lines between those of President Bashar Assad’s regime and the rebels. Because the Syrian government still controls the northern part of the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, from the city of Quneitra north toward Damascus, this means in practice the Russians only promised to keep the Iranians away from the actual border. [ Source: Ha’aretz (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump met with emergency responders in Florida today, thanking them for what he called their “incredible” work after Hurricane Irma hit the state over the weekend.

The president and first lady Melania Trump – both sporting white baseball hats — were greeted on the tarmac by Vice President Mike Pence, who landed a bit before the Trumps; Florida Gov. Rick Scott and his wife; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio; state Attorney General Pam Bondi; and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s administrator, Brock Long.

“People thought thousands and thousands of people may have their lives ended, and the number is a very small number, which is a great tribute to you,” Trump said to the first responders.

He praised FEMA and the Coast Guard and “the job you’ve done in saving people and saving lives.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile over Japan into the northern Pacific Ocean on Friday, U.S. and South Korean militaries said, its longest-ever such flight and a clear message of defiance to its rivals.

Since President Donald Trump threatened the North with “fire and fury” in August, Pyongyang has conducted its most powerful nuclear test, threatened to send missiles into the waters around Guam and launched two missiles of increasing range over U.S. ally Japan. It tested its first-ever intercontinental ballistic missiles in July.

The growing frequency, power and confidence displayed by these tests seem to confirm what governments and outside experts have long feared: North Korea is closer than ever to its goal of building a military arsenal that can viably target both U.S. troops in Asia and the U.S. homeland. This, in turn, is meant to allow North Korea greater military freedom in the region by raising doubts in Seoul and Tokyo that Washington would risk the annihilation of a U.S. city to protect its Asian allies. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Military officials in Belarus sought Thursday morning to calm Western fears about major war games taking place with Russia, hours before they got underway.

“We are not threatening anyone,” Oleg Voinov, an adviser to the Belarusian Defense Minister, told journalists.

Despite assurances from Minsk and Moscow, the Zapad (West) 2017 maneuvers have caused concern among NATO nations. Some members of the alliance, including the Baltic States and Poland, have questioned Moscow’s real intentions and said the number of troops involved could be much higher than official figures offered by Moscow.

Russia and Belarus have said that the exercises, which will last until Sept. 20, will involve 5,500 Russian and 7,200 Belarusian troops, but U.S. military and NATO officials have said Russia could mass as many as 100,000 troops along the borders shared with Eastern European countries. [ Source (Read More…) ]

Editor’s Note: Rosh Hashanah begins on the evening of September 20th this year.

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump will take his “America First” message to the United Nations next week and seek support for tough measures against North Korea despite his skepticism about the value of international groups like the 193-member body.

Nearly eight months in office, Trump will stress his belief in the importance of national sovereignty and the limits of global organizations during his debut as U.S. president at the U.N. General Assembly, an administration official said.

“Multilateral fora are useful, but they’re means, not ends,” the official said. The purpose of a multilateral forum is to be “subservient and subordinate. It is a facilitator.” [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – President Trump tweeted Thursday that he did not make a deal with Democrats for children brought to the U.S. illegally, but indicated he has no desire to deport them.

“No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent. Would be subject to vote,” Mr. Trumptweeted referring to the Obama-era immigration program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA.

Mr. Trump hosted Democratic leaders at the White House Wednesday night for a dinner on immigration reform. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi released a short statement after the dinner, saying the meeting had been “very productive” and that they had come to an agreement on DACA. [ Source (Read More…) ]