UN peace envoy ‘positive’ after talks with Egypt’s foreign minister on Gaza

(Worthy News) – The United Nations envoy for Middle East peace met Sunday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and other officials for talks on calming tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, relieving the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and reviving the long-stalled peace process.

After the meetings in Cairo, Nickolay Mladenov described the discussions on the prospects of peace between Israel and the Palestinians as “positive.”

Mladenov has been shuttling between regional leaders in an effort to defuse a sharp escalation in violence between in Gaza, before it explodes into full conflict. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

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Trump’s fight against ‘unpatriotic’ media intensifies

(Worthy News) – President Trump’s relationship with the press hit a new low after the president unleashed a multi-tweet frenzy Sunday accusing the “unpatriotic” mainstream media of endangering American lives by generating negative coverage on the mechanics of the Trump administration.

“When the media — driven insane by their Trump Derangement Syndrome — reveals internal deliberations of our government, it truly puts the lives of many, not just journalists, at risk! Very unpatriotic!” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Freedom of the press also comes with a responsibility to report the news… accurately.”

Trump’s refusal to dispense with his “enemy of the people” epithet for reporters, used in greater frequency since a February 2017 tweet and his Conservative Political Action Conference speech a couple of days later, capped a week of high drama between the Washington press corps and a combative presidential protagonist. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More…) ]

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Judges banish ‘anything that might resemble prayer’

(Worthy News) – In a ruling that apparently conflicts with U.S. Supreme Court precedent, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a ban on “anything that might resemble a prayer” at board meetings of a Southern California school district.

“This requires the board to censor or otherwise remove individuals who attempt to say a prayer, or anything that might resemble a prayer, during the public comment period,” explained Robert Tyler, a legal counsel representing the Chino Valley Unified School District in a case brought by an atheist activist group.

“Such an overbroad injunction is a clear violation of the right of private citizens to address their local representatives in public meetings and is dangerous to the First Amendment.” [ Source: WND (Read More…) ]

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Turkey’s Erdogan defiant in face of US sanctions threat over pastor

(Worthy News) – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan struck a defiant tone on Sunday in response to US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose sanctions on Turkey if it didn’t release American pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been held in Turkish detention for the past two years.

On Thursday, Trump threatened to impose “large sanctions” against Turkey if it didn’t release Brunson, who has lived and worked in Turkey for more than 20 years.

Turkey has accused Brunson of aiding the perpetrators of a failed military coup attempt in July 2016.

Brunson denies the allegations but he faces 35 years in prison if found guilty. Last week he was put under house arrest after spending 21 months in a Turkish prison. [ Source: Deutche Welle (Read More…) ]

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Second-quarter GDP jumps 4.1% for best pace in nearly four years

(Worthy News) – Gross domestic product grew at a solid 4.1 percent pace in the second quarter, its best pace since 2014, boosting hopes that the economy is ready to break out of its decade-long slumber.

The number matched expectations from economists surveyed by Reuters and was boosted by a surge in consumer spending and business investment. Stock market futures edged lower on the news while government bond yields moved lower.

That’s the fastest rate of the growth since the 4.9 percent in the third quarter of 2014 and the third-best growth rate since the Great Recession. In addition to the strong second quarter, the Commerce Department revised its first-quarter reading up from 2 percent to 2.2 percent. [ Source: CNBC (Read More…) ]

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More than 8,000 Rwandan churches closed following government directive

(Worthy News) – The Rwanda Governance Board continues to close churches it says fail to meet requirements laid down at the beginning of the year. New requirements set in place for those congregations that want to continue ministry are also complicating efforts to comply. Many see the closures as part of an effort by the government to make its aggressive secular stance clear.

According to a report by Rwanda’s pro-government KT Press, more than 8,000 churches have now been closed, and the number keeps growing.

“On checking which churches were included, we learned that all churches are suffering the same fate, and that even churches considered luxurious for local standards have had to close,” a local analyst, who wished to remain anonymous, told World Watch Monitor. [ Source: World Watch Monitor (Read More…) ]

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Gaza will turn ‘deep red’ if Israel is attacked, ‎defense minister warns

(Worthy News) – According to the Israeli military, some 7,000 ‎Palestinians took part in border demonstrations. ‎Troops opened fire to ward off rioters who threw ‎rocks and firebombs ‎and rolled burning ‎tires at the security fence in ‎attempts to sabotage ‎it.‎

On Friday, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman ‎visited Kibbutz Or Haner, some 3 kilometers (1.8 ‎miles) from Gaza. ‎

‎”If we have Color Red here, Gaza will turn deep ‎red, too,” Lieberman said, referring to the rocket warning system that operates across ‎the western Negev.‎ [ Source: Israel Hayom (Read More…) ]

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Death Toll Climbs as Northern California Wildfire Rages Largely Unchecked

(Worthy News) – The deadly Northern California wildfire that has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes burned virtually unchecked Sunday as fire crews surveyed a small town that was reduced to an ashy moonscape of blackened trees and smoldering rubble.

The death toll climbed to six, and authorities worried that another forecast for high winds could fan the flames even further.

“Right now, it’s going everywhere. We still have a lot of open line,” said Anthony Romero, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “Any event could bring this back up again.” [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

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Trump Willing to Shut Down Government Over Border Security

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump said Sunday he’d be willing to shut down the government if Democrats refuse to vote for changes he seeks to the U.S. immigration system, including building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I would be willing to ‘shut down’ government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall!” Trump tweeted. “Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT!

Trump campaigned on the promise of building a border wall to deter illegal immigration. Congress has given him some funding but not as much as he has requested. Trump also wants changes to legal immigration, including scrapping a visa lottery program. In addition, he wants to end the practice of releasing immigrants caught entering the country illegally on the condition that they show up for court hearings. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

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Police enter Al-Aqsa Mosque, clash with worshipers in Temple Mount riots

(Worthy News) – Police forces entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque during clashes with Muslim worshipers Friday afternoon that led to an hours-long closure of the Jerusalem holy site.

The highly unusual decision to forcibly expel Palestinians from the mosque was ordered by Jerusalem police commander Yoram Halevi, police said, and came after dozens of people barricaded themselves in the house of worship.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam and sits atop the Temple Mount, the most sacred place in Judaism and revered as the home of the ancient Jewish Temples. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

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