Netanyahu confronts Putin over Iran’s actions in Syria, Lebanon

Netanyahu confronts Putin over Iran’s actions in Syria, Lebanon

(Worthy News) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Monday in Moscow.

The two leaders were meeting at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow, where together they toured a new exhibit on the Sobibór extermination camp.

As they headed into their meeting, Netanyahu said: “I think that the main lesson of the rise of the Nazis and then the defeat of the Nazis is that we have to face murderous ideologies in time and with power.” [ Source: Fox News (Read More…) ]

Trump administration declines to apply new Russia sanctions, for now

Trump administration declines to apply new Russia sanctions, for now

(Worthy News) – The Trump administration said on Monday it would not immediately impose additional sanctions on Russia under a new law designed to punish Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, insisting the measure was already hitting Russian companies.

“Today, we have informed Congress that this legislation and its implementation are deterring Russian defense sales,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. “Since the enactment of the … legislation, we estimate that foreign governments have abandoned planned or announced purchases of several billion dollars in Russian defense acquisitions.”

The administration faced a deadline on Monday to impose sanctions on anyone determined to conduct significant business with Russian defense and intelligence sectors, already sanctioned for their alleged role in the election. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe ‘removed’ from the bureau

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe ‘removed’ from the bureau

(Worthy News) – Top FBI official Andrew McCabe has been “removed” from his post as deputy director, Fox News is told, leaving the bureau after months of conflict-of-interest complaints from Republicans including President Trump.

A source confirmed to Fox News that McCabe is taking “terminal leave” – effectively taking vacation until he reaches his planned retirement in a matter of weeks. As such, he will not be reporting to work at the FBI anymore. [ Source: Fox News (Read More…) ]

Judge halts Texas law requiring burial or cremation of fetal tissue

Judge halts Texas law requiring burial or cremation of fetal tissue

(Worthy News) – A federal judge on Monday placed a temporary halt on a Texas law requiring abortion providers to dispose of aborted fetal tissue through burial or cremation, saying the state has not shown how the measure has a public health purpose.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra in Texas also said the law approved last year by the Republican-controlled legislature may violate constitutional due-process provisions.

“No health and safety purpose has been articulated despite (the regulation‘s) presence in the Texas Health and Safety Code,” Ezra wrote, adding the halt was to remain in place until a decision from a forthcoming federal bench trial. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

Hezbollah threatens attack if Israel doesn’t stop barrier wall construction along border

Hezbollah threatens attack if Israel doesn’t stop barrier wall construction along border

(Worthy News) – Hezbollah sent a threat to Israel this week stating that if the Israeli Defense Ministry does not stop building the barrier wall along the Lebanese border, the terrorist organization will open fire towards Israel. The barrier wall aimed at preventing Hezbollah terrorists from infiltrating into Israeli territory has been under construction for several years. However, Hezbollah only recently expressed its outrage towards the obstacle.

The message exchange began when Hezbollah contacted the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in order to say that the terrorist organization will not accept the actions being taken over the border. Fearing potential military escalation, UNIFIL sent Hezbollah’s communication to the US and British embassies, who then relayed the message to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

In response, Jerusalem sent its own threatening message making it very clear that Israel is operating within its own sovereign territory in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that was approved after the IDF completely withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. According to sources in Israel, Hezbollah will pay a “heavy price” if it attempts to escalate tensions in the area, towards which the the IDF will launch a severe retaliation.[ Source: Jerusalem Online (Read More…) ]

Christian Students Knifed, Beaten in High School Clash in Kenya

Christian Students Knifed, Beaten in High School Clash in Kenya

(Worthy News) – Muslim students at a high school in Nairobi on Tuesday night (Jan. 23) beat and stabbed Christians who refused to convert to Islam, a local source said.

Tensions had been growing for weeks at Jamhuri High School in northern Nairobi, with Muslims primarily of Somali, Boran and Oromo descent complaining of discrimination. Due to increasing hostilities, the boarding school had designated separate bathrooms and separate sections in the library for Christians and Muslims, a source told Morning Star News.

The conflict came to a head Tuesday night (Jan. 23), when Muslim students began speaking in inflammatory terms and tried to force Christian students to recite the Islamic creed for conversion and force students to participate in Muslim cleansing rituals, a source on campus who requested anonymity said. [ Source: Morningstar News (Read More…) ]

Harassment of Messianic Jews’ Center in Israel Begins Anew

Harassment of Messianic Jews’ Center in Israel Begins Anew

(Worthy News) – After opposition shut down a meeting center for Messianic Jews in southern Israel last May, ultra-Orthodox Jews are harassing it again since it re-opened this month, sources said.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews protested the presence of the center in Dimona, Israel on Tuesday (Jan. 23) and threatened some of the Messianic Jews, followers of Jesus, according to advocacy group Middle East Concern (MEC).

“Protests have taken place the last two weeks after the reopening of the center at the beginning of January,” according to a MEC press statement. [ Source: Morningstar News (Read More…) ]

Ben Carson to Atheists: ‘I Refuse to Be Intimidated – My Faith Helps Me Serve the Nation Better’

Ben Carson to Atheists: ‘I Refuse to Be Intimidated – My Faith Helps Me Serve the Nation Better’

(Worthy News) – Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson, is setting the record straight about the weekly Cabinet Bible study he attends.

“I refuse to be intimidated by anti-religious groups into relinquishing my spirituality or religious beliefs,” Carson posted on the Facebook page he shares with his wife, Candy.

He’s responding to a lawsuit filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

Russian jet flies within 5 feet of U.S. Navy plane, State Department says

Russian jet flies within 5 feet of U.S. Navy plane, State Department says

(Worthy News) – The United States is accusing Moscow of unsafe military practices after it says a Russian jet flew within five feet of a U.S. Navy plane over the Black Sea.

The State Department says the incident occurred Monday when a Russian Su-27 jet crossed directly in front of the flight path of the American jet in international airspace. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert says the United States views it with “the highest level of concern.”

Nauert says Russia’s military “flagrantly” violated international law and risked a midair collision. She calls it “the latest example of Russian military activities disregarding international norms and agreements.” [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]