Prophecy News Watch - January 15, 2018

Around the World
Putin: Communist ideology similar to Christianity, Lenin’s body like saintly relics
Russian President Vladimir Putin has likened communism to Christianity and Vladimir Lenin’s mausoleum in Moscow’s Red Square to the veneration of the relics of saints.
Philippine volcano rumbles back to life, thousands evacuated
The Philippines' most active volcano rumbled back to life Sunday with lava rising to its crater in a gentle eruption that has prompted authorities to evacuate thousands of villagers.
Powerful earthquake strikes off Peru's coast, killing at least 1
A powerful earthquake struck off Peru's coast early Sunday, tumbling adobe homes in small, rural towns, killing at least one person and leaving dozens injured, officials said.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
IDF destroys Hamas attack tunnel that penetrated Israel and Egypt
The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday said it had destroyed a border-crossing Hamas attack tunnel, the third in recent months, that penetrated hundreds of meters into both Israeli and Egyptian territory from the Gaza Strip, in an airstrike in southern Gaza on Saturday night.
Abbas confirms Palestinians being offered Abu Dis as capital of future state
The Palestinians are being offered Abu Dis as the capital of a future Palestinian state, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday.
In compromise, US set to cut only some aid for UN Palestinian refugee agency
The Trump administration is preparing to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, cutting the year’s first contribution by more than half or perhaps entirely, and making additional donations contingent on major changes to the organization, according to US officials.

Inside the United States
Trump Says Program to Protect ‘Dreamers’ is ‘Probably Dead’
President Donald Trump said Sunday that a program that protects immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children is 'probably dead,' casting a cloud over already tenuous negotiations just days before a deadline on a government funding deal that Democrats have tied to immigration.
Hawaii says lack of adequate fail-safe measures led to false missile alert
Human error and a lack of adequate fail-safe measures during a civil defense warning drill led to the false missile alert that stirred panic across Hawaii over the weekend, a state emergency management agency spokesman acknowledged on Sunday.
Prayers for California mudslide victims; death toll hits 20
Parishioners prayed Sunday for those killed and for families still searching for missing relatives in a Southern California community ravaged by mudslides, and authorities announced another body had been found, increasing the death toll to 20.

Christian News
Trump Designates $55 Million to Help Christians, Religious Minorities Rebuild in Iraq
In the wake of Vice President Mike Pence's announcement last October that the United States government would provide direct aid to persecuted Iraqi Christians struggling to rebuild following the liberation of the Nineveh Plains, the Trump administration has taken concrete steps to follow through on its promises.
North Korea is Worst Place for Christian Persecution, Group Says
For the 16th year in a row, North Korea tops the list of 50 countries ranked for the worst persecution of Christians in the world, according to the Christian watchdog organization Open Doors USA.