Worthy News

Villagers of the mainly Christian Karen minority in Burma on Monday, January 5, were mourning the death of a seven-year old girl who was raped and murdered by at least one government soldier, the latest in a series of sexual abuses of minorities in the country, investigators said.

More than half of the United States' Lutheran bishops were on their way to Israel Monday, January 5, amid international concerns that an Israeli offensive against the militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip would lead to more suffering of civilians, including the territory's Christian minority.

A tense calm returned Sunday, January 4, to Kosovo's second largest and most ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, following clashes between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in which at least six people were injured.

The United States faces a financial "time bomb" as its national debt is to jump by $2 trillion this year and United States President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats consider a massive spending package, economists have warned.

As Israel continued its ground assault into the Gaza Strip Monday, January 5, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were on high alert along the country's northern border amid concerns the militant Hezbollah group would fire rockets from Lebanon in revenge for the offensive.

Recovery work continued Monday, January 5, after at least four people were killed and dozens more injured as two powerful earthquakes hit Indonesia over the weekend, cutting power lines and destroying buildings, officials said.

United States President-elect Barack Obama was scheduled to meet with congressional leaders from both political parties Monday, January 5, to discuss a stimulus package aimed at ending America's worst economic crisis in decades.

Five Democratic governors have presented a plan to Obama’s transition team and congressional leaders to pass a $1 trillion stimulus package to help states facing severe budget shortfalls. This year 41 states as well as the District of Columbia are facing deficits totaling $42 billion this year, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in a report seen by Worthy News Monday, January 5.

Alarm bells echo around the world as Israel continues a major ground offensive it says is aimed at ending rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip fired by the militant group Hamas into Israel. Envoys of the European Union, including Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenburg along with the EU's external relations commissioner and Schwarzenburg's French and Swedish counterparts were due to hold talks in the region Monday, January 5.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon tried to bring an immediate end to Israel's ground war in the Gaza Strip by backing a resolution to the Security Council that was drafted by Libya and put forward by the Arab League, calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Teenagers who promise to remain virgins till they marry and others of a religious background, abstain from sexual activity four years longer than other teenagers, according to a new study.

Some of Israel’s largest Websites, including Ynet English and Bank Discount, have been attacked by a pro-Palestinian group, who redirected them to a site with anti-Israeli messages, Worthy News established Monday, January 5.

The European Union was to hold a special meeting Monday, January 5, to discuss a major energy crisis, after Russia accused Ukraine of stealing natural gas destined for Europe.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unveiled new tactics in order to reduce the number of civilian casualties in Gaza. The IDF has dedicated resources calling residents of Gaza of impending strikes giving them a chance to flee before the attack. In some instances, the IDF has used sound bombs to warn civilians before attacks are carried out.

A strong earthquake rattled Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan for about a minute on Sunday. A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck the northeastern province of Badakhshan in the Hindu Kush mountains, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

On Saturday, January 3, Israel launched a ground assault against Gaza on what was the eighth day of its aerial assaults against the seaside strip of desert. Israel's stated objective for the ground confrontation is to end all rocket attacks. The immediate objective of the ground operations, according to Major Avital Leibovitch, a military spokeswoman, "is to destroy the Hamas terror infrastructure in the area of operations."

Minority Christians and other non-Muslims faced potential persecution Tuesday, December 30, as militants linked to Taliban and Al-Qaeda groups imposed Shariah, or Islamic law, in the Orakzai Agency tribal region of the restive Pakistani North West Frontier Province (NWFP), officials told BosNewsLife.

In a unprecedented move, a Chinese court has agreed to hear a case filed by a pastor against government officials who prohibited worship services in his house church, observers familiar with the trial said Wednesday, December 31.