A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – More people than ever are dying from drug overdoses, with death tolls surpassing 72,000 in 2017, according to preliminary data out Wednesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The latest data, which won’t be finalized until the end of this year, show that deaths from drug overdoses continue to rise, surpassing the record 63,632 deaths in 2016. The trend is a sign that public health officials are struggling in their efforts reduce death tolls amid the scourge of highly addictive, deadly opioids.

The increases in drug overdoses are largely propelled by opioids, which caused roughly 40,000 overdoses. Of these, 30,000 were from fentanyl, an opioid 50 times more potent than heroin. Fentanyl is made with chemicals in a lab, while heroin is made from the poppy plant. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities will set up a joint team based in Chicago targeting the leaders and finances of drug cartels that ship opioids into the United States, aiming to stanch a spike in overdose deaths, officials said on Wednesday.

The new effort comes amid strained ties between the neighbors and about four months before Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a left-leaning nationalist, is due to take power.

Lopez Obrador has vowed to shake up Mexico’s war on drug cartels and wants to rewrite the rules, aides have said, suggesting negotiated peace and amnesties rather than a hardline strategy critics blame for perpetuating violence. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented the cabinet with his “2030 Security Concept” on Wednesday, which will add hundreds of millions of dollars to military spending, and outlines the expected threats, military manpower needs, and principles for using force over the next decade.

The full classified version of the document, which has been developed over the past two years, will soon be shared with the Knesset Subcommittee for the Intelligence Services, the Prime Minister’s Office said, as well as with the IDF General Staff, Shin Bet security service, and Mossad.

The unclassified version of the plan addresses security outlays and calls for an increase in defense spending of 0.2 to 0.3 percent of gross national product. According to the plan, the goal aims to reach an average annual growth of 3-4% with an average security budget of 6% of GNP. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will provide advanced defense systems to Israel Navy’s new Sa’ar-6 corvettes to protect strategic maritime assets, the defense giant announced on Tuesday.

The contract was led by the navy, the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) and the procurement administration in Israel’s Defense Ministry. The Barak- 8 system was chosen after it was demonstrated to meet the operational requirements and future challenges faced by Israel’s navy.

The systems will be used to protect Israel’s exclusive economic zone and strategic facilities that are faced with diversified threats in the marine arena. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Court records show a judge this week approved a settlement between the Internal Revenue Service and hundreds of Tea Party groups.

The IRS agreed to pay $3.5 million to groups that were wronged by the intrusive inspections and insists its made changes so that political targeting can’t occur in the future.

“It shows that when a government agency desires to target citizens based on their viewpoints, a price will be paid,” said Edward Greim, the lawyer who led the class action case in federal court in Cincinnati. [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Mexico’s economy minister on Wednesday said that Mexico and the United States may not meet an August goal to finish bilateral talks to revamp the NAFTA trade deal, which is beset by disagreements over automobile trade rules and other issues.

Top Mexican officials started their fourth week of talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington over a new North American Free Trade Agreement.

Asked if the August goal was still viable, Guajardo said, “That is why we are here. We are fully engaged. We don’t know if there will be a successful conclusion.” [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – The Trump administration said Wednesday that neither Israelis nor Palestinian would be “fully pleased” by its long-awaited Middle East peace plan, whose contents are one of the most guarded secrets in Washington.

Jason Greenblatt, US President Donald Trump’s special representative for international negotiations, tweeted a statement from multiple officials that said the only way to achieve a final-status accord was for both parties to accept painful compromises.

“No one will be fully pleased with our proposal, but that’s the way it must be if real peace is to be achieved,” the officials said. “Peace can only succeed if it is based on realities.” [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – More than half a million members of a Mexican Pentecostal church called ‘The Light of the World’ held a massive ‘holy supper’ this week, one of the largest religious ceremonies in the world.

With mass baptisms, 600,000 loaves of bread and 20,000 liters of wine, the “brothers and sisters” of the church celebrated their 80th annual “holy convocation,” a six-day gathering in the city of Guadalajara.

Organizers said participants traveled from 57 countries on five continents to take part. [ Source: Channel News Asia (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Osama Bin Laden has been dead for years and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s “caliphate” in the Middle East has crumbled, but the global jihadist threat continues to boil as extremists retreat underground to plot terror strikes around the world.

Some 20,000 to 30,000 fighters loyal to Baghdadi’s Islamic State movement, also known as ISIS or ISIL, remain active in Syria and Iraq despite no longer holding significant territory there, according to a new U.N. report that also claims affiliates of Bin Laden’s original al Qaeda network are still strong from Africa to Asia.

The report circulated by experts to the U.N. Security Council this week highlighted the staying power of such al Qaeda’s affiliates as al-Shabaab in Somalia, but stressed that extremist followers of the relatively newer ISIS movement pose a rising threat globally. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

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(Worthy News) – Qatar has pledged to invest $15bn (£11.8bn) in Turkey as Ankara rolls out measures to strengthen the lira amid a trade spat with the US.

The move is seen as payback for Turkey’s staunch support after Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Egypt blockaded Qatar last year.

Turkey, which set up a military base in Qatar in 2015, sent more troops as the crisis took hold. It also opened up an airlift to send food to Doha. [ Source: Sky News (Read More…) ]

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