Israeli authorities are set to unveil previously off-limits structures within King Herod’s palace-fortress Herodium, which the tyrannical Roman-era leader interred as his enormous burial plot.
Tech giant and Internet video pioneer YouTube this week announced that it will begin to remove videos challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election, a policy it plans to enforce even as numerous videos remain up challenging the outcome of the 2016 election in which Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations is trying to persuade Iran to resume its obligations under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear arms deal, the Times of Israel reports. In a report to the Security Council published Tuesday, Antonio Guterres called on Iran to address concerns about its decision last year to begin, among other violations, the enrichment of uranium beyond the agreed limits.
In countries where governments already oppress Christians because of their faith, COVID-19 has led to more surveillance of Christians than ever before, says Wycliffe Associates. The Orlando-based international organization empowers mother-tongue Bible translators and partners with local churches in the advancement of Church Owned Bible Translation.
Britain, France, and Germany say Iran’s apparent plan to install additional advanced centrifuges at its main nuclear enrichment facility is “deeply worrying” and contrary to the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
The House on Friday passed a bill to decriminalize marijuana on the federal level with a vote mostly along party lines of 228 to 164 with five Republicans and Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan – a Libertarian – voting with Democrats in favor of it.
The owner of a company that produces audio Bible players in China’s Guangdong province is due to appear in court on December 7 to answer charges of conducting “illegal business operations,” Morning Star News reports. Lai Jinqiang, owner of Shenzhen Cedar Electronics, faces trial after being arrested together with his six employees on July 22 last year.
A Democratic group advising self-declared U.S. President-elect Joe Biden suggests that the new administration will curtail religious freedom. It proposes banning limiting Christian worship and outlawing creationism in education or work, among other measures.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke Thursday for the first time since at least the 2020 election as Congress scrambles to strike a coronavirus stimulus deal and prevent a government shutdown.
A major congressional report has concluded that China is fast expanding its military such that in the next 10 years it will be capable of prosecuting wars in distant countries around the world, the Washington Times reports. In its annual report published Tuesday, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission concluded that the Chinese government is working to turn the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) into “a global expeditionary force in a matter of decades.”
The Trump administration ordered a drawdown of diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq until some time in January due to risks of a potential attack, according to a new report.
European legislator József Szájer, who co-authored Hungary’s new constitution banning gay marriage, has resigned after reportedly attending a gay sex party in Brussels.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid on Tuesday cheered Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s decision to throw his Blue and White party’s support behind a preliminary reading of a bill to dissolve the Knesset and call early elections.
Members of Iran’s parliament Tuesday chanted “death to Israel,” and they voted to increase the level of uranium enrichment to 20% and to halt U.N. nuclear inspections in reaction to the killing Friday of the country’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. At the same time, Arab and Iranian media reported the killings of two more high-level Iranian military and intelligence officials within the past 48 hours.
Six former European diplomats are calling on European governments to coordinate efforts to urge an incoming Biden administration to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, from which President Trump withdrew in 2018, and to agree with the regime in Tehran on steps for mutual compliance.
Saudi Arabia reportedly granted permission for Israeli airlines to use its airspace on Monday, just hours before the first Israeli flight to the United Arab Emirates was set to take off, following a flurry of a diplomatic activity including reported US in.
Amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said Sunday that the army will continue to operate forcefully as needed against Iranian entrenchment in Syria.
An Iranian nuclear scientist, who Israel alleges was in charge of Iran’s military nuclear program until the early 2000s, has been assassinated, the Associated Press reports. Iranian state media have reported that Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed on Friday. Israel has not immediately commented on the death.
The US Supreme voted 5-4 to prohibit New York State from re-imposing COVID-19 restrictions on religious gatherings, Politico reports. The court’s emergency ruling issued late on Wednesday night represents a significant shift away from the decisions it made in May and July, when it upheld restrictions on churches in California and Nevada.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump has pardoned Michael Flynn, his first national security advisor, who pleaded guilty to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about his contacts with Russian officials.