The International Criminal Court has refused calls to investigate alleged Chinese government oppression of Uighur Muslims, saying it has no jurisdiction to do so because China is not a signatory to the ICC, VOA reports. The ICC announced its decision in a report published by the office of prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on December 14.
In another decision that favors churches, the US Supreme Court on Tuesday sent two cases back to the federal courts which had refused to block COVID-19 restrictions on houses of worship, the Daily Wire reports. The Supreme Court instructed the lower courts in the two cases to re-consider their original decisions as, in a pivotal ruling last month, SCOTUS ruled against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s attendance limits on houses of worship.
The number of journalists jailed for their work hit a record high in 2020, with 274 imprisoned globally. The annual survey by press freedom organization Committee to Protect Journalists lists China, Turkey and Egypt as the worst jailers. Unrest in Belarus and Ethiopia led to a surge in arrests, and protests in the U.S. resulted in unprecedented numbers of arrests.
Yisrael Beiteinu leader MK Avigdor Lieberman called on fellow opposition lawmakers to join forces and challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ultra-Orthodox allies in the upcoming elections.
The Israel Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency for the first time demonstrated a multilayered air defense system using the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow weapon systems in a recent series of tests.
The Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing Wednesday to examine irregularities in the 2020 election.
The U.S. government has confirmed that a recent cyberattack affected its networks and said the attack was “significant and ongoing.”
As the U.S. reels from revelations that Russian hackers infiltrated sensitive American computer networks, a new report finds that Moscow in recent years built up and repositioned military forces in a key region that borders countries in Eastern Europe.
U.S. Army bases face the real risk of “deliberate and direct attacks” from enemies and must implement new strategies to strengthen their defenses, the Army warned Monday in a major new report that painted an alarming picture of the threats that confront military installations at home.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, says it would not surprise him if there are more lawmakers in the Capitol beyond California congressman Eric Swalwell who were compromised by the Chinese.
Hungary has adopted an amendment to its constitution that effectively bans the adoption of children by same-sex couples. The legislation also loosens oversight of public funds despite corruption concerns and detailed rules governing war times.
Israel has successfully completed an air defense exercise that tested the abilities of the Iron Dome missile defense system to intercept cruise missiles for the first time, the Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday.
The US is making a mistake by leaving the Middle East to its own devices and this could lead to a conflagration between Israel and Iran, wrote former Turkish MP Aykan Erdemir and former US Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman in an article for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled against President Trump in his election challenge on Monday.
Governments in several European countries have tightened coronavirus restrictions ahead of Christmas despite mounting protests and upcoming vaccines.
Chinese Pastor John Cao, who serves a seven-year jail term in China, has written a poetry book urging believers to realize that Jesus Christ will never forsake them. Christ, he adds, gives treasures nobody can take away.
With just over two weeks to the end-of-year deadline, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Monday it is still possible a post-Brexit trade deal could be struck between Britain and the European Union, Deutsche Welle reports.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that Sudan has been officially removed from a list of countries that the US considers being state sponsors of terrorism, the Jerusalem Post reports. The 1993 US designation of Sudan as a terror sponsor was made during the brutal dictatorship of former president Omar al-Bashir, who was believed to be protecting terrorist groups, and who was finally ousted last year.
A peaceful prayer rally in Washington DC was usurped Saturday by rioters causing violence and chaos, Christian Headlines reports. The “Let The Church Roar” prayer event was held on the same day as several other DC protest rallies attended by President Trump supporters alleging voter fraud in the November 3 election result.
Hamas vowed on Monday to continue the fight against Israel “until the liberation of Palestine, from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River.”