Dow posts biggest quarterly comeback since 1933
After tumultuous trading in early 2016, two of the three major U.S. averages clawed back to finish the first quarter in the green.
Year: 2016
US, Russia come to agreement on Assad’s departure from Syrian presidency
The United States and Russia have agreed to let Syrian President Bashar Assad seek refuge in another country as part of a future political solution regarding the prolonged civil war engulfing his country, the British- based publication Al-Hayat reported Thursday.
Pakistan: 70 Killed, 300 wounded in Easter bombing
At least 70 people have been killed and more than 300 wounded in a suicide bombing targeting Christians celebrating Easter in Lahore, Pakistan.
US and allies urge UN action against Iran for missile launches
The United States and three allies are calling for a Security Council meeting to formulate an “appropriate response” to Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests which they say were carried out in defiance of a UN resolution and to threaten Israel.
Quartet envoys in Jerusalem to work toward restarting peace talks
Envoys from the Middle East Quartet, made up of the US, Russia, EU and UN, met in Jerusalem earlier this week to work on a report it is expected to release in a number of months on the steps needed to create a political environment conducive to a relaunch of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Nigeria: Pastors kidnapped in Kaduna State
Unidentified gunmen last week kidnapped three United Church of Christ in Nigeria clerics in Kaduna State.
Christian translators killed in Wycliffe office raid
Four Christian Bible translators were killed when Muslim gunmen raided the Wycliffe Associates office in the Middle East last week.
Russian air force bombing Islamic State effectively, Pentagon concedes
After months of condemning Russia’s military incursion into Syria as merely propping up a brutal regime, the Pentagon conceded on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin’s air force has begun to strike the Islamic State terrorist army.
Ga. governor yields to corporate pressure, vetoes religious liberty bill
The influence of the entertainment and business lobbies was powerfully felt Monday when Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal knuckled under to a tidal wave of pressure by vetoing a religious liberty bill.
Why Bernie Sanders’ West Coast Blowouts Matter
Bernie Sanders did not just win all three states that voted this weekend — Washington, Alaska and Hawaii — he won them by overwhelming, impressive margins. The presidential hopeful won every county in Washington, and some of his biggest victory margins came from the state’s most rural and traditionally conservative areas.
Syria army vows to ‘end IS’ in Raqa, Deir Ezzor after Palmyra win
Syria’s army vowed Sunday to follow its victory against the Islamic State group in the city of Palmyra with an advance against the jihadists in their other strongholds.
NSA chief ‘makes secret Israel trip to talk Iran, Hezbollah cyber-warfare’
The director of the US National Security Agency, Admiral Michael Rogers, reportedly paid a secret visit to Israel last week to discuss cooperation in cyber-defense, in particular to counter attacks by Iran and its Lebanon-based proxy Hezbollah.
Clinton and Trump win Arizona; Cruz and Sanders nab Utah
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton each took big wins in Arizona but also big losses in Utah to rivals Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders, respectively, on Tuesday night. Sanders also won Idaho.
China: Pastor of official church sentenced
The pastor of an official church in Zhejiang Province was sentenced after he dared to criticize Communist authorities about China’s ongoing demolition of church crosses.
ISIS has sent 400 fighters to attack Europe, officials say
The Islamic State group has trained at least 400 fighters to target Europe in deadly waves of attacks, deploying interlocking terror cells like the ones that struck Brussels and Paris with orders to choose the time, place and method for maximum carnage, officials have told The Associated Press.
Supreme Court faces 4-4 split in Obamacare contraception case
The Supreme Court on Wednesday headed toward a possible 4-4 split over a legal challenge by Christian nonprofit employers who object to providing female workers insurance covering birth control as required by President Barack Obama’s healthcare law.
Netanyahu: Brussels attacks show it’s not the occupation that drives terror
Speaking via satellite from Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the American Public Affairs Committee’s closing plenary session that the terrorist attacks Tuesday morning in Belgium highlighted Israel’s own struggle against the murderous and extremist imperative of its enemies.
How ISIS terrorists carried out the brazen Brussels terror attacks that killed dozens
The triple terrorist bombings that killed at least 31 people on Tuesday morning in the heart of Brussels — the European Union’s capital – prompted a swift reactions from European leaders, with France’s prime minister declaring that “we are at war” and Britain’s prime minister asserting that “we will never let these terrorists win.”
Iraq: IS burns Christian books
Last week the Islamic State posted an online video showing its jihadists throwing books bearing crosses on their covers into a bonfire in the city of Mosul, in northern Iraq.
Sudan: Another pastor arrested
Last week Sudanese authorities arrested yet another cleric without any charges.