Prophecy News Watch provided by Worthy Ministries

Prophecy News Watch is a service hosted by Worthy Ministries to provide Christians daily news from a Biblical, and yet Prophetic worldview. Our news is gathered by our Christian News Service, Worthy News. For more about our vision for how we assemble our daily headlines, please read, "What is Worthy News?"

Around the World
Russia’s Putin says Ukraine war could be ‘long process,’ insists he has not ‘gone mad’ on nuclear weapons
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed concern that the threat of nuclear war is rising as his country continues its invasion of Ukraine — a conflict that he said "might be a long process."
Peru swears in new president amid constitutional crisis
Vice President Dina Boluarte was sworn in Wednesday as Peru’s next president after Congress voted out President Pedro Castillo shortly after he dissolved the legislative body.
Iran: Nine people face death penalty for “colluding” with Israel to kill nuclear scientist
Iran’s judiciary has announced that nine defendants are now facing the death penalty after being convicted of “colluding” with Israel to assassinate a top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh two years ago, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports.
Argentina Vice President Sentenced Over Corruption
Argentina faced more upheaval Wednesday after an Argentine federal court found Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner guilty of corruption.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Likud reports significant progress on way to new government
Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party announced Monday that the right-wing bloc had submitted all signatures necessary to replace Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy.

Inside the United States
Warnock’s win in Georgia State Runoff over Walker hands Dems 51 seats
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in Georgia's high-stakes Senate runoff election.
Elon Musk fires Twitter’s general counsel for suppression of Hunter Biden story
Elon Musk fired Twitter's general counsel Tuesday following revelations about his alleged role in suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story on the platform.
Libraries Across the Country Say Yes to Drag Queen Story Time, No to Faith-Based Children’s Book
With a new children's book out that celebrates family, faith, and biblical wisdom, actor-writer-producer Kirk Cameron cannot reach scores of American children or their families in many U.S. cities via the public library system because over 50 public libraries have either outright rejected him or not responded to requests on his behalf.
San Francisco bans use of lethal robots in policing
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday unanimously to reverse its own decision last week to allow police the use of remote-controlled robots equipped with potentially lethal explosives to save lives in extreme circumstances, the Washington Examiner reports.

Christian News
Bipartisan religious freedom commission “outraged” at US failure to add Nigeria and India to list of countries of particular concern
The bipartisan US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has expressed “outrage” over the Biden’s administration’s “inexplicable” decision to keep Nigeria and India off the State Department’s list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) when it added Cuba and Nicaragua to the list on Friday, Christianity Today reports.
Around the World
Putin holds council meeting on domestic security following 3 airbase ‘explosions’
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called a meeting with his security council to discuss the country's domestic defenses after three airbases saw "explosions" this week.
‘Army May Intervene In Brazil’
Brazil’s military could still intervene to prevent leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from becoming the next president, well-informed sources suggested Tuesday.
Russia: Putin signs law banning all LGBT expression in public life
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a law that effectively prohibits any public expression of LGBT behavior or lifestyle in Russia, Reuters reports.
Indonesia Bans Extramarital Sex
Indonesia's parliament has approved legislation that bans anyone from having extramarital sex and restricts political freedoms in the world’s largest Muslim nation.
Ukraine: Civilians without electricity in deep winter as Russia continues strikes on infrastructure
Electricians in Ukraine are scrambling to restore power to civilians struggling amid freezing conditions after Russia launched a fresh wave of missile strikes against essential Ukrainian infrastructure on December 5, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Gantz orders IDF to prepare for escalation in light of new government
Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered the IDF to prepare for the possibility of an escalation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in light of ongoing security tensions and the entry of the new government, the defense minister revealed in an interview with Ynet on Tuesday.
IAF, French air force hold joint strike drills over Israel’s skies
Israeli and French aircraft held a joint aerial exercise this week over Israel’s skies that simulated airstrikes and combating aerial threats, the Israeli Air Force said Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia wants to normalize ties with Israel
Saudi Arabia is looking to normalize ties with Israel, although it will be a while before this ever properly manifests, Israeli news outlet i24NEWS reported Tuesday.

Inside the United States
Real ID Deadline Pushed Back Again
The Real ID deadline has been pushed back yet again. The Department of Homeland Security deadline for enforcement will shift back another 24 months, from May 2023 to May 2025, the agency said Monday. After that date, federal agencies like the TSA will no longer accept driver's licenses and other forms of identification that do not meet federal standards.
US Trade Deficit Widens in October on Weak Exports
The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in October as slowing global demand and a strong dollar weighed on exports.

Christian News
Algeria: Government is persecuting the Church, which continues to grow
While Algeria’s government has now shut down all but a tiny handful of churches in the country, Algerian church leaders say the persecution is causing an increase in the number of new Christians, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Afghanistan: Christians trying to flee the country to escape intense persecution
The US-based aid organization Release International (RI) has reported that Christians in Afghanistan are trying to escape their home country as the ruling Taliban advance a regime of violence against them and other religious minorities, Christian Today (CT) reports.
Around the World
Iran may be able to build ‘crude’ nukes within six months
A new think tank report obtained by The Jerusalem Post warns of the possibility of Iran launching an accelerated effort to achieve a few “crude” nuclear weapons in six months.
Indonesia’s Mount Semeru Erupts, 2,000 Flee
Some 2,000 people were rushed to safety after Indonesia’s feared Mount Semeru volcano erupted Sunday, spewing a cloud of ash 15 kilometers (49,000 feet) into the sky, authorities said.
Iran Abandons Morality Police After Protests; Christians Still Uncertain (Worthy News In-Depth)
Iran’s morality police, which is tasked with enforcing the country's strict Islamic dress code, has been disbanded following weeks of protests that killed hundreds of people, authorities say.
Nigeria: ‘Weapons For Ukraine Reach Islamist Terrorists’ (Worthy News Investigation)
Nigeria’s president has warned that many Western weapons sent to wartorn Ukraine end up in the hands of Islamist terrorists operating in strategic regions of Central and North Africa.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Bahraini FM: Palestinian statehood bedrock of Abraham Accords success
The Abraham Accords will ultimately only succeed if a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is achieved, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani told reporters late Sunday at a special briefing in Manama during President Isaac Herzog’s state visit.
IDF readiness for war compromised by West Bank tension
An official working in Israel’s Security forces said that the need for constant IDF presence in the West Bank is harming the military's readiness for other conflicts.

Inside the United States
Supreme Court grapples with Christian business owner’s objection to Colorado’s pro-LGBTQ law
The Supreme Court grappled Monday with balancing free speech against gay rights, hearing a case involving a Colorado website designer who says she shouldn’t be compelled to violate the tenets of her faith by creating products for same-sex marriages.
White House dismisses Hunter Biden laptop ‘Twitter files’ as ‘distraction’
The White House downplayed Twitter CEO Elon Musk's file dump regarding the social media platform's decision to suppress news stories about Hunter Biden's laptop before the 2020 election as a "distraction."
White House opposes repealing military vaccine mandate through NDAA
The White House opposes using the annual defense spending bill to repeal a vaccine mandate for military service members, national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Monday.
Pentagon urged to build advanced defenses against growing cruise, hypersonic missile threats to U.S.
Rapid advances in Chinese hypersonic missiles and Russian cruise missiles pose major threats to critical infrastructure in the United States and the Pentagon needs to prepare better defenses for the homeland, according to a new report by the Pentagon’s Defense Science Board.

Christian News
Call to prayer for missionary pilot and volunteers imprisoned by Mozambique government
A call to prayer has been sent out for the release of an American Christian missionary pilot and two South African volunteers who have been jailed in Mozambique for a month since being arrested by government officials on suspicion of insurgents in the ongoing civil war, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
California Supreme Court says church cannot be forced to pay over $200,000 in COVID-19 fines
The California Supreme Court has determined that Calvary Chapel Church in Santa Clara County does not have to pay the $217,500 in fines imposed by the state for violating COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
Nigeria: Christian couple and daughter hacked to death by suspected Fulani jihadists in Benue state
A Christian couple and their 17-year-old daughter were murdered by suspected Fulani jihadists during a machete attack last week in Nigeria’s Benue state, the Barnabas Fund reports.
Nigeria: 48 Christians abducted in two attacks on buses, “please mobilize prayer for our brethren”
Suspected radicalized Fulani militants in Nigeria’s Ondo and Edo states kidnapped a total of 48 Christians in two attacks on buses on November 24, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

Worthy Watch
Rachel Levine Calls on Doctors to Become ‘Ambassadors’ to Normalize Transgenderism
“I believe in our role as truth-tellers. And the truth that we need to confront now is that medicine and science are being politically perverted,” transgender Dr. Levine told a group of physicians.
Fauci Says We May Need To Go to Multiple Booster Shots Every Year
“You have to keep up the possibility that we will get a variant that’s very different than the variants we have right now that might require a springtime or summertime boost,” Dr. Fauci told CBS's Face the Nation.
New CRISPR-based tool inserts large DNA sequences at desired sites in cells
Building on the CRISPR gene-editing system, MIT researchers have designed a new tool that can snip out faulty genes and replace them with new ones, in a safer and more efficient way.