Christians in Indonesia have appealed for prayers amid fresh concerns about a once-in-a-century earthquake in the country and Japan.

Indonesia observed 79 years of independence from Dutch rule over the weekend with a ceremony in its unfinished future capital, Nusantara, but in the Netherlands, there were mixed feelings.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held separate phone conversations last week with his counterparts in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey about the multiple crises ongoing in the Middle East, the Media Line reports.

Appealing to the international community for assistance, the 16-nation Southern African Development Community has warned that some 68 million people in southern Africa are facing food shortages and damaged economies due to a drought brought on by the El Nino phenomenon, Reuters reports.

United Nations investigators contend in a new report that Iran has perpetrated “crimes against humanity” in attacking ethnic and religious minorities amid its crackdown on women’s rights protests, Christian Today reports.

The European Union is rolling out a European Vaccination Card, sidelining critics who fear it will lead to more central government control over people’s personal lives and decisions.

Ukraine has defended its massive offensive into Russian territory, saying it is designed to persuade Moscow to engage in “fair” talks on ending its war in Ukraine. Additionally, Kyiv denied reports that it was responsible for blowing up Nord Stream pipelines that carried natural gas from Russia to Europe.

Europe’s health authorities are rushing to contain an outbreak of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox after a more severe strain was detected in Sweden. They asked European leaders to issue travel advice for areas impacted by pox, as the potentially fatal virus was declared a global health emergency.

The parliament of Thailand has voted for the heir of a powerful and polarizing dynasty to lead the Asian nation as its youngest prime minister ever.

The globally renowned US-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) has warned that Iran is spending massive academic research resources on nuclear bomb detonation, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Hamas said late Sunday that it rejects new Israeli conditions put forward in Gaza ceasefire-hostage talks, raising concerns there won’t be a breakthrough in efforts to end the 10-month-old war as fears mount of a broader armed conflict in the region.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah did not rule out more massive attacks against Israel on Sunday after his group fired hundreds of rockets and drones into the Jewish nation, following Israeli air strikes in Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Thursday that it conducted “extensive” overnight airstrikes on Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, targeting weapon depots, buildings used by the group, and a rocket launcher across 10 areas, signaling an escalation in the conflict.

While Israel continues to prepare and brace for a threatened attack by Iran, the United States has deployed a second aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, to the Middle East to help defend the Jewish state if necessary.

Continuing a campaign of terror against Israel that it began in solidarity with Hamas’ attack against the Jewish state, the Lebanese Hezbollah terror organization launched 50 rockets at the Golan Heights on Wednesday morning, with several missiles hitting homes, All Israel News (AIN) reports.

Israel Defense Forces bombed several of its arms depots in Lebanon for the second consecutive night, Hezbollah responded by firing over 50 rockets into civilian areas in northern Israel on Wednesday morning.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced the defeat of Hamas’ Rafah Brigade during his visit to troops stationed along the Egypt-Gaza Strip border, emphasizing the destruction of over 150 tunnels.

Within five years of a new program created to prevent deportation of minors brought into the country illegally by their parents, nearly 80,000 were released into the U.S. with arrest records. The majority were between the ages of 19 and 22 when they were arrested, according to the latest available data published by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The US Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday published a new report showing the Budget Deficit for the 2024 fiscal year is now projected to be $1.9 trillion – an increase of around $400 billion from a projection offered in February.

President Joe Biden announced a new plan on Tuesday that will fast track a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals who’ve been living in the country illegally for more than 10 years and married a U.S. citizen. He also expanded protections for DACA recipients, according to several reports.

The US state of Kansas has launched a legal case against the New York-based Pfizer pharmaceutical giant alleging the company violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act by misleading the public about the risks and effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine, Reuters reports.

The U.S. Congress is quietly working on a plan to automatically register young men for military service at a time of mounting international conflicts and threats, Worthy News established Friday.

U.S. President Joe Biden has come under fire after migrants with alleged links to the Islamic State group were detained in major American cities.

A leading pro-life group says Thursday’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold access to a widely available abortion pill shows that the upcoming presidential elections should be about the protection of “unborn children and their mothers.“

A young Christian man who is on death row in Punjab Province, Pakistan, for alleged blasphemy has drawn admiration from those around him for displaying such hope in Christ that he passed a high school examination with an eye to the future, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

Hindu nationalists violently attacked or threatened Christians on three occasions in the same area of central India within the last month, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.

Continuing a campaign of slaughter and horror against Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), terrorists affiliated with Islamic State murdered three Christians and kidnapped others during an attack on their village near Mamove on July 16, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.

Amid ongoing division and disagreement over LGBT issues in the Church of England, the CofE Evangelical Council (CEEC) has appointed “overseers” to provide informal alternative spiritual oversight (ASO) to clergy and parishes that do not accept same-sex marriage and who are struggling with their denomination’s progressive moves on the matter, Christian Today (CT) reports.

Uzbekistan’s draft legislation to “further strengthen the rights of children” will lead to government persecution of Christian parents in the former Soviet nation, well-informed sources told Worthy News.

Christians in Nigeria say their nation has become one of the most dangerous places in the world, with, on average, one believer being killed every two hours by extremists.

Lutheran Christians on the outskirts of Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, faced eviction from their church on Sunday, but their supporters told Worthy News they have appealed for prayers as they want to maintain a presence in this area of the world’s most populous Muslim nation.