A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – South Korea says North Korean leader Kim Jong-un told him that dismantling work at his main rocket launch site meant the “complete suspension” of all future long-range ballistic missile tests.

Senior South Korean official Chung Eui-yong told reporters Thursday that Kim made the comments while reaffirming his commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during their meeting in Pyongyang this week.

Since entering talks this year, North Korea has taken several steps such as dismantling parts of its main rocket launch site and closing its nuclear testing site. But U.S. officials say North Korea must take more serious disarmament measures. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

The post Kim Jong-un's dismantling of launch site means 'complete suspension' of rocket tests: South Korea appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – A powerful earthquake Thursday on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido triggered dozens of landslides that crushed houses under torrents of dirt, rocks and timber, prompting frantic efforts to unearth any survivors.

At least nine people were killed, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. Officials said at least 366 were injured, five of them seriously, and about 30 people were unaccounted for after the magnitude 6.7 earthquake jolted residents from their beds at 3:08 a.m.

Nearly 3 million households were left without power by the quake — the latest in an exhausting run of natural disasters for Japan. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

The post Big quake hits northern Japan, leaving 9 dead, 30 missing appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – In a historic decision, India’s Supreme Court has ruled that gay sex is no longer a criminal offence.

The ruling overturns a 2013 judgment that upheld a colonial-era law, known as section 377, under which gay sex is categorized as an “unnatural offense”.

The court has now ruled discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a fundamental violation of rights. [ Source: BBC (Read More…) ]

The post India court legalises gay sex in landmark ruling appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – US President Donald Trump told Jewish leaders Thursday that the US would not give aid to the Palestinians until they reach an agreement with Israel. He also said the Iranian regime had “lost their mojo” since he withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, and was now fighting for its survival. In quitting the deal, he said, he had done “a great thing for Israel.”

In a conference call with several dozen American Jewish leaders ahead of Rosh Hashanah, Trump noted that he had recently slashed immense amounts of US aid to the Palestinians — a reference to the administration’s recent cuts in overall aid to the Palestinian Authority and its complete defunding of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA. The US would resume funding, he said, but only if the Palestinians reached a deal with Israel.

“What I will tell you is I stopped massive amounts of money that we were paying to the Palestinians and the Palestinian leaders,” Trump said to the Jewish leaders. “The United States was paying them tremendous amounts of money. And I say, ‘You’ll get money, but we’re not paying until you make a deal. If you don’t make a deal, we’re not paying.’” [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

The post Trump to US Jews: I won’t give Palestinians aid until they make deal with Israel appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – The United States and Canada have made progress in talks to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement, and officials from the two sides will work together into the night to flesh out areas for further discussion, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday.

Freeland sounded upbeat as she emerged from a day of talks with top U.S. trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer, although she cautioned that no trade deal was done until the last issue was nailed down.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to push ahead with a bilateral deal with Mexico, effectively killing the almost 25-year-old three-country pact, which covers $1.2 trillion in trade. The United States and Mexico reached an agreement on overhauling NAFTA at the beginning of last week, turning up the pressure on Canada to agree to new terms. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

The post NAFTA talks make progress; U.S., Canadian officials to work into night appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – A wildfire erupted in forest land in Northern California on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of dozens of homes and the closure of a stretch of an interstate highway near where a deadly blaze broke out in July, officials said.

The Delta Fire was burning in timber and brush in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in a canyon along the Sacramento River.

It was near the site of the Carr Fire, which led to eight deaths and destroyed hundreds of homes in the city of Redding and nearby areas. [ Source: Reuters (Read More…) ]

The post Fast-growing Northern California wildfire forces evacuations appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – Turkey is in the process of constructing a site for a Russian missile system despite warnings from the United States to not buy the platform, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of an intelligence report covering the subject.

The assessment, published a month ago, included satellite imagery of a concrete launch facility as well as bunkers, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The new construction fits the pattern for Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile system, the source indicated.

Last year, Ankara signed an agreement with Moscow for S-400 missiles, a deal reportedly worth $2.5 billion. Since then, Turkey’s march toward procuring the Russian missile system has raised concerns among NATO partners, who are wary of Moscow’s increasing military presence in the region. [ Source: CNBC (Read More…) ]

The post Turkey begins constructing site for Russian missile system — despite US warnings appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – Florence, the first major storm of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season, was upgraded to a Category 4 storm Wednesday as forecasters warned it could cause “life-threatening” surf and rip current conditions in Bermuda later this week.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Florence’s maximum sustained winds are estimated to be 130 miles per hour. The storm is centered about 1,295 miles east-southeast of Bermuda and is moving northwest at 13 mph.

Forecasters have said they expect Florence to weaken somewhat over the next couple of days, but the storm is predicted to remain a powerful hurricane through early next week. [ Source: Fox News (Read More…) ]

The post Hurricane Florence upgraded to Category 4 storm as Gordon moves inland appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh voted 93 percent of the time with his colleague Judge Merrick Garland, who President Obama unsuccessfully nominated to the Supreme Court in 2016, when they both heard cases together on a federal appeals court in D.C.

Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, pointed out the statistics during Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing Wednesday, dismissing some cries from Democrats that Judge Kavanaugh is out of the mainstream and Mr. Obama’s pick for the high court should have been given a hearing and a vote.

Both nominees served together on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Judge Garland’s nomination expired when Mr. Trump took office and nominated Justice Neil M. Gorsuch instead for the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

The post Kavanaugh, Garland voted together 93 percent of the time appeared first on Worthy Christian News.

(Worthy News) – Ayanna Pressley cruised to victory in Massachusetts in a stunning primary victory Tuesday, ousting a 10-term House incumbent while promising voters she would abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, create government-run health care and enact free college tuition.

Liberal activists said that platform helped energize voters, giving her a 17-point margin of victory over Rep. Michael Capuano, the second longtime Democratic lawmaker to fall in a primary this year to a more liberal candidate.

It’s also vastly different than the platform Democratic leaders are selling.

The competing agendas could become a problem should the party win control of the House in November, leaving liberal activists salivating over a list of left-wing priorities that party leaders haven’t agreed to. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

The post Civil war looms for Democrats after left-wing upsets: 'This is just the beginning' appeared first on Worthy Christian News.