by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – Islamic extremists destroyed homes and property belonging to a Christian community in Minya Province, Egypt, earlier this week after hearing rumors about plans to build a church in the area, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports. The Christian village of Al-Fawakher in Minya Province was raided by extremists on April 23, CSW said. According to CSW sources, local police and firefighters were called, and they acted fast to bring the situation under control. A police investigation has been launched to arrest the perpetrators, inc ..read more

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News GENEVA (Worthy News) – The World Economic Forum (WEF) suggests that nearly all central banks plan to have their digital currencies as part of global efforts to remove cash transactions from the world economy. “Over 98 percent of the global economy’s central banks are researching, piloting or deploying central bank digital currency (CBDC),” added the WEF in a report seen by Worthy News. “There is an opportunity to harness this innovation in central bank money to enhance systemically important payments and securities transactions be ..read more

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News)— Researchers working near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem have uncovered a 2,000-year-old clay token they believe may have been used by Jewish pilgrims to exchange for offerings during visits to the Biblical Second Temple before it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, Christian Headlines reports. The token was discovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project, an organization that is sifting through more than 9,000 tons of dirt that was dumped in the Kidron Valley following illegal renovations carried out by the Northern Branch of the Isla ..read more

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – The US Supreme Court is considering whether a near-total ban on abortion passed by the state of Idaho has precedence over a federal law that requires that doctors provide patients with medical care – that might include an abortion – in emergency situations, Reuters reports. The Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in the state’s appeal against a lower court ruling that the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act 1986 (EMTALA) has precedence over Idaho’s abortion ban in situations of conflict. Passed in 2020, and triggere ..read more

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – The Democratic-led Arizona House of Representatives have voted to repeal a Civil War-era total ban on abortion which could soon go into effect unless the Republican-led Senate votes to keep it on the books, Reuters reports. The ban was passed by the 1st Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1864, before Arizona became a state in 1912. The ban was revived by Arizona’s state Supreme Court on April 9: the law can potentially be implemented since the US Supreme Court in 2022 revoked the federal right to abortion up to viability, leaving the ..read more

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – In response to escalated attacks during the Passover holiday, Israel targeted multiple sites associated with Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon. Following these operations, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had successfully eliminated half of Hezbollah’s commanders in the region. The intense military operation featured a major airstrike on the town of Ayta ash-Shab, targeting around 40 Hezbollah positions in just a few minutes. The IDF deployed both fighter jets and artillery in this assaul ..read more

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – A UK-based Christian advocacy organization has renewed its calls for India to revoke the harsh anti-conversion laws that have been abused by Hindu nationalist extremists to persecute Christians across the vast nation, Christian Today (CT) reports. Using India’s ongoing national elections as a springboard, the Release International organization has highlighted the fact that, while India claims to be the world’s largest democracy, non-Hindu religious groups are being targeted both in law and in criminality against them. “We have seen a ..read more

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last week signed into law a bill that allows public schools the option of permitting volunteer religious chaplains to counsel students on campus, CBN News reports. The law has been strongly criticized by the ACLU of Florida, the Interfaith Alliance, the National Education Association, and The Satanic Temple. Passed by the Republican-led Florida legislature by a wide margin, HB 931 will come into effect on July 1, CBN said. The law allows volunteer chaplains to “provide support, services, and pro ..read more

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News WASHINGTON/KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States on Wednesday after President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes about $61 billion in military assistance for Kyiv. “Today’s American military aid package for Ukraine is vital. I thank all Americans who work in defense enterprises and every state that manufactures weapons that are now really protecting democracy and our way of life,” Zelensky wrote on social media platform X. Zelensky pledged to “m ..read more

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News MOSCOW/NEW YORK (Worthy News) – Russia on Wednesday declined to help prevent an arms race in space as it vetoed a U.S.-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution. Moscow’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia vetoed the resolution that called on countries to prevent an arms race in outer space. The vote came after Washington accused Moscow of developing an anti-satellite nuclear weapon to put in space, an allegation that Russia has denied. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow was against putting nuclear weapon ..read more