A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – European Union and Arab League countries insisted on Monday that Jerusalem must be the joint capital of Israel and a future Palestinian state, after US President Donald Trump announced its embassy would be moved to the city later this year.

The US State Department notified Congress on Friday that the Jerusalem embassy would open in May to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel’s independence, speeding up the process by converting a building that currently houses consular services to be the embassy. The State Department confirmed the timing of the move.

The Palestinian Authority responded in anger to the news, saying “unilateral” moves would not contribute to achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Three Arab citizens from the village of Um el-Fahm were indicted on Monday for plotting a terrorist attack on the Temple Mount in the name of Islamic State, the Shin Bet security agency announced.

The suspects, identified as 20-year-olds Muhammad Mas’ud Muhammad Jabarin and Imad Lutfi Muhammad Jabarin, as well as a minor, were arrested during January and February in a joint operation by the Shin Bet and the Israel Police.

The attack was thwarted thanks to accurate intelligence information that enabled the security forces to arrest the members of the terrorist cell before they could obtain weapons and actualize their plans. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The Trump administration is opening talks with Saudi Arabia on a potentially lucrative atomic energy agreement that’s inextricably linked to an Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran. At stake: Billions of dollars in contracts for US companies and bigger questions about America’s ability to keep friend and foe alike from reaching nuclear weapons capability.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry will lead an interagency US delegation to talks with the Saudis in London on Friday, two administration officials and three outside advisers said. The meeting comes as the Arab powerhouse explores a civilian nuclear energy program, possibly without restrictions on uranium enrichment and reprocessing that would be required under a US cooperation deal.

But there’s a catch: The Saudis have indicated they might accept such curbs if a separate nuclear deal with its arch-foe Iran is tightened, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The United States threatened unilateral action against Iran on Monday after Russia vetoed a western bid for the United Nations Security Council to call out Tehran for failing to prevent its weapons from falling into the hands of Yemen’s Houthi group.

“If Russia is going to continue to cover for Iran then the U.S. and our partners need to take action on our own. If we’re not going to get action on the council then we have to take our own actions,” U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley told reporters during a visit to Honduran capital Tegucigalpa.

Haley did not specify what kind of action could be taken. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Florida’s Senate approved a bill Monday imposing new restrictions on gun purchases, but voted down an assault weapon ban and other measures.

The bill, which requires a three-day waiting period for all gun purchases, increases the age limit for buying a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21, bans the sale of bump stocks and makes it easier for law enforcement to take firearms from a potential threat, was approved by a vote of 9 to 4.

The bill will also establish a committee to investigate the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland which killed 17 people. [ Source: UPI (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump is finally expected to go to California.

The president, who has rarely crossed the Mississippi River during his first 13 months in office, is scheduled to visit San Diego in mid-March to see prototypes for a potential border wall and learn more about the construction, according to administration officials involved in the planning.

He will also visit Los Angeles to attend a Republican National Committee fundraiser, these people said, one of a number of fundraisers he is expected to headline in the next two months. [ Source: San Diego Union Tribune (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The Arctic storm dubbed the “Beast from the East” set record temperatures across much of Europe on Monday and brought a rare snowstorm to Rome, paralyzing the city and giving its residents an unusual chance to ski, sled and build snowmen in its famous parks and piazzas.

Rome’s train, plane and bus services were crippled and Italy’s civil protection agency even mobilized the army to help clear slush-covered streets as a city used to mild winters was covered by a thick blanket of snow.

“Beautiful, beautiful!” marveled Roman resident Ginevra Sciurpa, who donned a fur hat and thick scarf to brave the unusual cold. “Even though I’m not a child anymore, the enthusiasm for the snow is still the same. It is always beautiful, and above all I didn’t have to go to work.” [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Syrian forces launched a ground offensive Monday on a rebel-held eastern Damascus suburb despite a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding a 30-day cease-fire across Syria. The U.N. chief denounced the violence in the embattled region, describing it as “hell on Earth.”

The offensive was accompanied by airstrikes that killed at least 14 people, according to opposition activists, and the new fighting in eastern Ghouta did not bode well for the resolution adopted over the weekend at the United Nations.

There was a relative calm in the besieged area in the immediate aftermath of the resolution, which was unanimously approved Saturday by the 15-member council. It demands a 30-day truce in all of Syria but excludes fighting with the Islamic State group and al Qaeda-linked fighters. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]