Prophecy News Watch provided by Worthy Ministries

Around the World
3 rockets fired toward US embassy in Iraq
At least three rockets targeted the US embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Sunday, Iraqi security officials said, sparking fears of renewed unrest, as next month’s anniversary of the slaying of an Iranian general draws near.
Iran building at underground nuclear facility, new satellite photos show
Iran has begun construction on a site at its underground nuclear facility at Fordo amid tensions with the US over its atomic program, satellite photos obtained Friday by The Associated Press show.
Europe Countries Ban British Flights Over New Corona Strain
Authorities in several European countries banned flights from Britain on Sunday amid mounting fears over an infectious new strain of COVID-19.
Russia Returns Icon To Bosnia Amid Tensions, Elections
Russia says it will return an Orthodox Church icon, presented to the Russian foreign minister in Bosnia-Herzegovina where local elections were held in a strategic city on Sunday. The announcement came after the gift triggered a protest from Ukraine.
China Detains Journalist Amid Corona Crackdown
China has detained a prominent journalist amid an intensified clampdown by the ruling Communist authorities on independent reporting.
America Blames Russia For Massive Cyberattack
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blamed Russia for one of the largest cyberattacks on American government agencies and private companies in recent memory. Russia has denied involvement in the scandal.
Saudi Arabia: Significant reduction in school book anti-Semitism
A monitoring group reported Tuesday that, while there remains work to be done, Saudi Arabia has significantly reduced anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist content in its school books for the coming year, the Times of Israel reports. The Jerusalem-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) published its report amid speculation that Saudi Arabia, a long-time enemy of Israel, may follow Bahrain, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates in normalizing relations with the Jewish State.
North Korea Executes Captain For Hearing U.S. Broadcasts
Authorities in North Korea have publicly executed the owner of a fishing fleet for secretly listening to broadcasts by U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA) and other media outlets, Worthy News learned Friday.
Nigeria Army Rescues Abducted Boys
Nigeria’s army said Friday it had rescued all 344 schoolboys who were kidnapped a week earlier by Islamic militants in the nation’s troubled northwest.


Israel-Palestinian Conflict
PA, Jordan and Egypt call for resumption of peace talks
The Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Jordan on Saturday stressed the need to urge Israel to return to negotiations in order to reach a final settlement on the basis of a two-state solution to ensure the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state along the pre-1967 lines, with east Jerusalem as its capital.
Bethlehem To Celebrate Christmas Despite Coronavirus Crisis
Church leaders and local authorities say they are preparing Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, the Biblical birthplace of Jesus, despite a reported increase in coronavirus cases. "Bethlehem is going to celebrate Christmas. And Christmas will not be canceled," pledged Mayor Anton Salman.
Israel to issue post-vaccination “green passport” allowing citizens into public areas
Israel will be the first country to give its citizens a “green passport” — a card or mobile phone app that will allow them to enter public spaces like restaurants, shopping centers, and airplanes - once they have received the COVID-19 vaccination, All Israel News reports.
Hundreds of ancient oil lamps unearthed in Judean Hills
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced Monday that archaeologists working in the Judean Hills city of Beit Shemesh have unearthed a lost cistern containing hundreds of ceramic oil lamps that are 1,600-1,700 years old, the Times of Israel reports.

Inside the United States
Trump campaign independently filing with Supreme Court over election results
The Trump campaign issued its first independent filing with the Supreme Court on Sunday, in hopes of reversing actions taken by Pennsylvania's high court.
4 Years of Pro-Life Accomplishments: VP Pence Hosts ‘Life Is Winning’ Event
Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the White House team reflected Wednesday on the many pro-life accomplishments achieved during the Trump administration.
Lawmakers have reached a deal on a coronavirus relief package
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday night said that legislators have arrived at an agreement regarding a coronavirus relief package.
Only 56% Say Biden Is Their President
Many anti-Trumpers insisted throughout President Trump’s four years in office that he was not their president, and a surprisingly high number of voters feel the same way about President-elect Biden.
U.S. Approves 2nd COVID Vaccine Ahead of Christmas
The U.S. added a second COVID-19 vaccine to its arsenal Friday, hours after Vice-President Mike Pence received another coronavirus jab live on television.

Around the World
Iran: Ayatollah appears in public, contrary to rumors of health deterioration
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appeared in public, countering unconfirmed publicized claims that his health had significantly deteriorated, the Times of Israel reports. At a meeting in Tehran Wednesday, Khamenei addressed the family of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a US drone strike this year, and senior Iranian military leaders.
EU, British Leaders Concede Big Gaps Remain in Post-Brexit Talks
Britain and the European Union provided sober updates Thursday on the state of post-Brexit trade discussions, with only two weeks to go before a potentially chaotic split.
Putin: Arms race with US ‘has already begun’
An arms race between Washington and Moscow “has already begun,” according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
China infiltrates Western embassies, defense contractors and drug makers with communist operators
A leaked database of nearly 2 million Communist Party members has revealed the lengths to which China’s leaders have gone to place operatives in strategic positions in government and business around the world.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Israel’s Missile Defense chief would consider cooperation with Arab Gulf States
Israel’s head of missile defense said Tuesday that he would consider working with Arab Gulf states on mutually beneficial missile defense programs, World Israel News reports.
Gantz: There is room in Jerusalem for a Palestinian capital
Jerusalem must remain a united city, but there will be a place for a Palestinian capital within its boundaries, Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a rare interview published on Thursday with the London-based Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.

Inside the United States
U.S. Legislators Want Hearing On Voter Fraud
Republican legislators demand an urgent probe into “election fraud” after high ranking U.S. officials reported irregularities and even foreign meddling in the presidential election.
Trump administration to cut $200m from California funding because of state abortion policy
The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it is slashing California’s healthcare funding by $200 million because a 2014 state law requires insurance providers to pay for abortions, the Washington Examiner reports. In a statement, the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said the 2014 law is in breach of federal anti-discrimination conscience legislation that protects insurers from a requirement to cover abortions.
‘Worst hacking in US history’: Agencies said to fear nuclear networks accessed
US officials suspect a massive hacking operation that hit numerous government agencies and has been linked to Russia breached networks tied to the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile, Politico reported Thursday.
Georgia announces signature matching review for presidential election ballots
After three recounts, Georgia certified the 2020 presidential election. But on Thursday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced a statewide move to match signatures to their absentee ballots in all 159 counties in the state.
GOP turns to Georgia evangelicals to save Senate majority
Social and religious conservatives are the GOP’s secret weapon in the high-stakes Senate runoff races in this Bible Belt state.
‘Unbelievable’ snowfall blankets parts of the Northeast
The Northeast’s first whopper snowstorm of the season buried parts of upstate New York under more than 3 feet (1 meter) of snow, broke records in cities and towns across the region, and left plow drivers struggling to clear the roads as snow piled up at more than 4 inches (10 centimeters) per hour.
Soros reshapes prosecutor landscape with crucial victories despite Democratic down-ballot struggles
The Hungarian-born Democratic megadonor and billionaire George Soros has capitalized on a long-held cliche: All politics is local.
Calls for martial law and US military oversight of new presidential election draws criticism
The idea that the U.S. military would oversee a new nationwide presidential election — ordered under martial law by President Donald Trump — is “insane in a year that we didn’t think could get anymore insane,” a defense official tells Military Times.
‘It looks like a war zone:’ Minneapolis developers shy away from city projects after unrest and calls to ‘defund the police’
Developers have long had challenges navigating the aggressively liberal agenda of the Minneapolis City Council, but for some, the move to cut police funding was the last straw.

Christian News
China City Bans Christian Teachers Professing Faith
Authorities in China's Wenzhou City are forcing all school teachers, including Christians, to sign a document forbidding them to profess their faith or any other religious beliefs, rights activists and other sources confirmed.

Around the World
France: ‘14 Terrorists Get Long Prison Terms’
A Paris court has found 14 people guilty of involvement in a series of deadly Islamist terror attacks that shook the nation and much of Europe.
UK and Mexico sign post-Brexit continuity deal
The UK and Mexico signed a continuity agreement Tuesday that will permit trade between them to continue on current terms after Britain leaves the European Union’s common trade policy on December 31, Reuters reports.
International Criminal Court will not investigate China’s alleged abuses against Uighur Muslims
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.
Russia has built up its military forces along border with Eastern Europe
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.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Liberman calls for union with Lapid, Sa’ar and Bennett to challenge Netanyahu
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.
Israel launches first-ever multitier missile defense test
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.

Inside the United States
Declared President-elect Biden’s Son Asked China Millions For Family Business
The troubled son of declared President-elect Joe Biden asked $10 million from a Chinese oil tycoon who he sent his “best wishes” from the “entire family”, new emails suggest.
SCOTUS sides with Houses of Worship again
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.
Record 274 Journalists Jailed Globally
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.
Senate Hearing Examines Voting Irregularities, Ken Starr Points to ‘Clear Violation of the Law’ in PA
The Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing Wednesday to examine irregularities in the 2020 election.
U.S. Confirms Cyberattack Hit Government Networks, Says It’s Ongoing
The U.S. government has confirmed that a recent cyberattack affected its networks and said the attack was "significant and ongoing."

Christian News
Indonesia Detains Islamic Leaders Amid Rising Extremism
Indonesian security forces have detained hardline Islamic leaders with suspected links to terrorism amid concerns among Christians about growing Islamic extremism.
Parents Kidnapped Nigeria Schoolboys Fear Radicalization
Families of more than 300 Nigerian kidnapped schoolboys fear they may face similar pressures as Christian schoolgirls abducted earlier by Islamist militants.