Prophecy News Watch - April 30, 2019

Around the World
Russian Missiles in Venezuela Heighten US Tensions
Russian military personnel flying into Venezuela in recent weeks were likely sent to ensure the nation's sophisticated S-300 surface-to-air missiles remain a credible deterrent to any U.S. military action against the government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro, according to defense analysts in Latin America, the U.S. and Russia.
Iranian general: We won’t talk to US under pressure of sanctions
The new head of Iran's hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on Monday said the country wouldn’t negotiate with the United States while it maintains economic sanctions on his country.
IS chief Baghdadi emerges on video for first time in five years
The elusive chief of the Islamic State group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appeared for the first time in five years in a propaganda video released Monday by the jihadist organization.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Palestinians on verge of financial collapse
The Palestinian Authority is facing imminent financial collapse over its refusal on principle to accept any tax revenues from Israel, and its dire call for help to the Arab world is mostly going unheeded.
Israeli ambassador calls NYT 'cesspool of hostility'
The Israeli ambassador to the United States linked The New York Times to the 'Jew-hatred of growing parts of the intellectual class.'

Inside the United States
House Democrats move to defund Trump administration rule targeting Planned Parenthood
House Democrats moved Monday to block the Trump administration from cutting off family-planning grants for medical facilities such as Planned Parenthood that also provide and refer to abortions.
320 more troops to be sent to U.S. southern border
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan approved Monday to send an additional 320 military troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to provide humanitarian support, the Department of Defense said.
Michigan Court Overturns State Law Protecting Christian Adoption Agencies
A Michigan court recently overturned a 2015 law that allowed state-contracted Christian adoption agencies to decline placing children with same-sex adoptive parents.

Christian News
United Methodist Court Upholds Ban on LGBTQ Clergy, Same Sex Marriage
The United Methodist Church’s top court has upheld much of the Traditional Plan approved earlier this year, continuing the global denomination’s ban on the ordination and marriage of its LGBTQ members.