Prophecy News Watch provided by Worthy Ministries

Around the World
Iran Warship Hit By 'Friendly Fire,' 19 Killed
Iran's navy says nineteen sailors were killed and 15 others injured when an Iranian warship accidentally fired an anti-ship cruise missile at another Iranian naval vessel.
Italian Aid Worker Returns Home After 18 Months In Captivity
A young Italian woman arrived in Italy after 18 long months as a hostage in eastern Africa, where she had been an aid worker. Silvia Romano, 24, returned from Somalia late Sunday to a homeland still suffering from the coronavirus pandemic that authorities claim killed more than 30,000 Italians and devastated the economy.
Britain's Johnson Warns Anxious Nation Most Lockdown Measures Remain
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Sunday that most coronavirus lockdown measures would remain until at least June 1, and he announced a "conditional plan" for reopening British society.
Coronavirus Overshadows Europe's 75th Anniversary of War Liberation
Leaders of Europe attended subdued ceremonies over the weekend to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe while facing a perceived new war against an invisible enemy, the coronavirus.
Coronavirus Still Spreading From China to White House
Nations on Monday struggled to balance public and economic health amid mounting pressure to reopen economies despite an uptick in coronavirus cases ranging from China to even the White House.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Germany apologizes after Israel was omitted from a military map of the Middle East
The head of Germany’s Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) has apologized “expressly” for the omission of Israel from a map of the Middle East in his department’s 2019 annual report, the Middle East Monitor reports. A MAD investigation concluded on May 7 that there had been a mistake caused by “lack of diligence and insufficient quality control rather than deliberate action or political intent.”
US Considering Withdrawal of Troops from Sinai
The US Defense Secretary Mark Esper is considering the withdrawal of US troops from the international peacekeeping force in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, World Israel News (WIN) reports. Established in 1981, the purpose of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) organization is to monitor adherence to conditions of the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty.

Inside the United States
Study finds 42% of pandemic layoffs will become permanent job losses
Many of the coronavirus pandemic layoffs will become permanent job losses, according to a new study with alarming implications for the future of the economy.
Eighteen Republican attorneys general press Congress to hold hearings on China's coronavirus 'deceit'
More than a dozen Republican attorneys general called on Congress to conduct hearings about China's "deceit" during the coronavirus outbreak.
Senate to reconsider expired surveillance tools
The U.S. Senate will make a renewed attempt this week to extend parts of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday, two months after the divisive government surveillance tools expired.

Christian News
Families turn to Christian streaming services during lockdown
US Christian streaming services have seen a substantial increase in viewers and membership as families have stayed home in COVID-19 lockdowns, the Christian Post reports.
China Continues Church Crackdown, Destroys Crosses
New footage has emerged of an ongoing crackdown by China's government against devoted Christians, including the removal of crosses and disbandment of churches.

Around the World
Turkey's Erdogan calls to 'revitalize' relationship with EU amid coronavirus pandemic
Turkey has revived its bid for membership in the European Union (EU), calling to 'revitalize' their relationship and citing the coronavirus pandemic as a clear demonstration of the need for unity.
China ramping up COVID-19 disinformation campaign on Twitter, State Dept. says
China’s Communist Party and government are stepping up the use of Twitter to spread disinformation that Wuhan was not the origin of the coronavirus outbreak and that China is helping the world recover, the State Department said.
World Red Cross Day Overshadowed By Pandemic Concerns
The World Red Cross Day celebrating the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement was overshadowed Friday by concerns that the coronavirus would spread to overcrowded refugee camps.
U.S.-led Forces Attack Islamic State in Syria
U.S.-led coalition forces have reportedly hit back against an Islamic State cell in Syria. They captured a midlevel leader linked to increasing attacks by the terror group in the Deir el-Zour countryside, the Voice of America (VOA) network said Thursday.
Freedom House: 'Hungary No Longer Democracy'
A leading democracy watchdog has suggested that Hungary has become the first non-democratic European Union member state, prompting an angry reaction from the government. Washington-based Freedom House also warned that Poland is heading towards the same direction.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Close to half of Israelis back annexation, less than a third think it’ll happen
Slightly fewer than half of Israelis back plans to annex parts of the West Bank, and even fewer people think the government will actually go through with its annexation plans, according to a survey released Sunday.
Pompeo to discuss coronavirus, Iran with Netanyahu and Gantz
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is slated to visit Israel on Wednesday, the State Department officially announced on Friday.

Inside the United States
'Ignored': Barr accuses Mueller of not investigating Russian disinformation in Steele dossier
Attorney General William Barr accused special counsel Robert Mueller of failing to investigate evidence that British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s salacious and unverified dossier may have been compromised by a Russian disinformation campaign.
Encouraging Illegal Aliens To Remain In The US Is A Crime, Supreme Court Rules
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal statute that forbids encouraging illegal aliens to remain in the U.S. unlawfully in a decision Thursday.
House Intelligence Committee releases long-awaited Russia investigation transcripts
The Democrat-led House Intelligence Committee released dozens of witness interview transcripts and related material from its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
White House: US Jobless Rate Could Hit 25% Amid COVID-19
The official U.S. unemployment rate linked to the coronavirus pandemic is already at 14.7%, but top White House officials said Sunday they expect it could reach 25% before the world’s biggest economy begins to improve.
US Clinical Trial Launched to Assess Power of Prayer for COVID-19 Patients
A US clinical trial has been launched into whether multi-denominational prayer can help patients with COVID-19, the New York Post reports. Dr. Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy, a cardiologist at the Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute, is leading a trial involving 1000 coronavirus patients who require intensive care because of the infection. The trial began on May 1 and is due to last four months.

Christian News
Dutch Pentecostal Preacher Ben Hoekendijk Dies At 81
Ben Hoekendijk, the Dutch evangelist who became the face of the Netherlands' post-war Pentecostal movement, has died. He was 81, friends confirmed to Worthy News. Hoekendijk, who was in frail health after suffering a stroke, died last week in his hometown of Harderwijk.
Violence during raid on Christian Church by police in China
Video footage of a violent police raid on a church in the Fujian province of China was posted by Christian watchdog group ChinaAid this week. Broadcast by Fox News, the 11-second video shows members of the Xingguang Church blocking police officers who were forcibly entering the premises and a member being dragged out of the door.
Christian School Director Killed and His Family Shot in Nigeria
Muslim Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria’s Plateau state shot a Christian school director in the head before shooting his wife in the back and his two children in the feet on May 5, sources told Morningstar News.

Around the World
Putin-Trump call focuses on coronavirus, arms control, oil
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed progress in combating the coronavirus pandemic along with arms control issues and oil prices in a phone call Thursday, the White House and the Kremlin said.
US moving Patriot anti-missile systems from Saudi Arabia as Iran tensions ease
The United States will be relocating four Patriot missile batteries from Saudi Arabia that were deployed amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Naikon, Group Tied to China's Military, Deploys Debilitating New Cyberattack Tool
On the morning of Jan. 3, an email was sent from the Indonesian Embassy in Australia to a member of the premier of Western Australia’s staff who worked on health and ecological issues. Attached was a Word document that aroused no immediate suspicions, since the intended recipient knew the supposed sender.
Hungary Rejects Treaty On Violence Against Women
Rights group Amnesty International has condemned the Hungarian parliament's rejection of an international treaty to combat violence against women amid a coronavirus pandemic. "This decision is extremely dangerous," said David Vig, Amnesty's Hungary director. "It comes at a time when reported domestic violence incidents in Hungary have doubled since the start of the [new coronavirus] COVID-19 lockdown" to halt the virus outbreak.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
US promise of Israeli sovereignty in Judea, Samaria enrages Palestinians
Comments by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on Wednesday to Israel Hayom sparked mixed reactions even among Israel’s Right. Not surprisingly, Palestinian leaders were furious.
Israel demands major changes in UN peacekeeping in Lebanon
Israel’s U.N. ambassador said Wednesday that his government is demanding major changes in the way the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon operates on the ground and has support from the United States.

Inside the United States
Nearly 3.2 million new jobless claims across U.S. drives tally during outbreak to 33.5 million
Even as a handful of states have made tentative steps back to normalcy in recent days, new jobless claims continue to flood in across all 50 states, driving the number of unemployment claims to 33.5 million over the past seven weeks.
US Lawmakers Fail to Check Trump on War-Making Power With Iran
The U.S. Senate failed to override a White House veto Thursday, bringing an end to a four-month congressional effort to limit presidential power to unilaterally take the United States into war.
US Justice Department dropping Michael Flynn’s criminal case
The US Justice Department on Thursday said it was dropping the criminal case against President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, abandoning a prosecution that became a rallying cry for the president and his supporters in attacking the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation.
Biden says insurance companies should treat genital reconstruction surgery as necessary
The presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden has stated insurance companies should treat genital reconstruction surgery as a medical necessity for transgender people, the Washington Examiner reports.
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Nuns In Contraceptives Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether nuns could be forced to facilitate abortion-causing drugs and other contraceptives such as sterilizations. Its first liberty case began Wednesday involving the Little Sisters of the Poor organization, which has been supporting the poor and dying since 1839.

Christian News
America’s Unique Bond with Israel on This National Day of Prayer
Today, May 7th is the National Day of Prayer in the United States, a tradition that began as early as 1775. In 2019, President Donald Trump proclaimed “Our Nation's honored tradition of prayer has sustained us and strengthened our trust that God will continue to watch over and accompany us through the best of times and the darkest hours. May we as Americans never forget the power of prayer and the greatness of our Creator. On this National Day of Prayer, let each of us, according to our own faiths, call upon God for His guidance and express our gratitude for the love and grace He bestows on us and our country.”
Federal Judge upholds California ban on church service gatherings
California Gov. Newsom’s executive order banning in-person church services during the COVID-19 pandemic has been upheld by a federal judge, the Washington Examiner reports. The Cross Culture Christian Center near Sacramento had filed a lawsuit stating the governor’s lockdown order violated their First Amendment right to free assembly.
Samaritan’s Purse among volunteer health workers required to pay New York income tax for helping during pandemic
Having been asked to come to New York City to help with the COVID-19 crisis, disaster relief organization Samaritan’s Purse (SP) has been told it must pay state taxes for the time it spent running its free-of-charge field hospital in Central Park.