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We urgently need to fly Rivka to Vienna for treatment at St. Anna Hospital. The treatment must begin as soon as possible, and no later than November 19. The treatment will involve a series of chemotherapy sessions over the course of three months. We are hopeful that she will not need more than four treatments. Unfortunately, the insurance only covers the hospital stay, but not the medical treatment itself. It is crucial that the treatment begins on time. To start the process, we need to make a down payment to the hospital at least 14 days in advance. Donate now *Please keep Rivka bas Sarah Leah in your prayers for a complete recovery.*

Former President Donald Trump, addressing a crowd in Flint, Michigan, on Tuesday, implied that multiple assassination attempts against him were a result of the significant impact of his presidency. He argued that only presidents who make a substantial difference face such threats.

“You know, only consequential presidents get shot at,” Trump asserted during a town hall event, referring to the fact that the Secret Service had recently thwarted a second assassination attempt against him in two months.

“The endeavor of running for president is fraught with peril,” Trump remarked to Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders, who moderated the discussion.

“Being president brings its own risks,” he continued. “People think race car driving is risky—no. They think bull riding is perilous—no. This job is dangerous, and it’s crucial that we ensure it remains secure.”

“God is not done with President Trump,” affirmed Sanders, who previously served as his White House Press Secretary.

“He’s the toughest guy I know and the fighter our country most desperately needs right now,” she added.

Trump mentioned a “pleasant conversation” with President Biden and received a “very, very nice” phone call from Vice President Kamala Harris following the recent scare at his West Palm Beach golf club.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was apprehended and charged with federal firearm offenses after allegedly hiding in the bushes near Trump’s golf course with an AK-47 rifle.

“These guys do a great job,” Trump commented about the Secret Service’s handling of the situation. “Now – they do need more people. And they’ve been complaining about that for a long time. But they did a great job.”

“This guy was all set to do his number,” Trump said of Routh, describing his setup outside the golf course as “sophisticated.”

Trump also praised the woman who followed Routh and recorded his license plate number, which enabled law enforcement to quickly apprehend him.

“See, women are smarter than men,” Trump said of the observant woman, adding, “I’d like to meet her. I’m going to meet her, I hope.”

On policy issues, Trump criticized the move by Chinese automakers to establish factories in Mexico, seemingly to avoid tariffs and import electric vehicles into the United States.

“They’re owned and built by China in Mexico, and there are a number of them going up right now,” he said of the car manufacturing plants south of the border.

“They think they’re going to make their cars there, and they’re going to sell them across our line, and we’re going to take them and we’re not going to charge them tax – we’re going to charge them,” Trump promised.

“I’m telling you right now, I’m putting a 200% tariff on, which means they’re unsellable, unsellable in the United States,” he added.

“And then you wonder why I get shot at, right?” Trump joked.

“When I say something like that, you have countries saying, ‘This guy,’ but what can you do?” he contended. “You have to do what you have to do, right? We have to be brave. Otherwise, we’re not going to have a country left.”

Trump is among the 15 U.S. presidents who have survived assassination attempts. Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were assassinated while in office, after having narrowly avoided earlier attempts on their lives.

Former President Andrew Jackson survived an assassination attempt in 1835 at the U.S. Capitol when the attacker’s gun misfired.

Former Presidents Gerald Ford and Franklin Roosevelt were shot at close range by would-be assassins, who missed their targets.

During the presidencies of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, shooters fired at the White House, and in 1994, a disturbed individual even crashed a small plane onto the South Lawn in an unsuccessful attempt to kill Clinton.

Former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Theodore Roosevelt, who was also on the campaign trail at the time, were struck by bullets but survived.

Former Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Harry S. Truman, and Herbert Hoover also had assassination attempts thwarted before they could be executed.

In a Fox News segment that aired after the Flint town hall, Trump acknowledged the criticism aimed at the Secret Service and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas following the two recent assassination attempts. However, he expressed satisfaction with the Secret Service’s performance in this particular case.

“In this case, it was something that worked out very well,” he said.

When questioned about whether the Secret Service should have secured the golf course’s perimeter before his outing, Trump said, “I can’t say.”

“I just said, ‘Let’s go play a quick round,’” he told Fox News host Sean Hannity, “because it’s all business for me.”

“It’s my only little bit of a form of exercise,” he said of his passion for golf, arguing that presidents and candidates should be able to pursue their activities safely.

“But Butler is a very different story,” Trump remarked about the first assassination attempt. “You know, somebody should have been on that building, and that’s a different story.”

Trump noted that his campaign has consistently requested additional Secret Service agents at events, and he anticipates that this will be addressed moving forward.

“That’s the weakness, if, if there’s a weakness,” he said regarding the apparent shortage of Secret Service personnel at his rallies.

“We’ve long requested more people … I will say, in Butler, we wanted more people. I heard them say it, you know, ‘We need more people here for security,’ and we never seem to get that. And I think we are getting it now,” Trump said. “Somebody told me that they will be providing more people now.”

{Matzav.com}

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North Korea on Wednesday test-fired multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern seas, the South Korean and Japanese militaries said, adding to its military demonstrations as tensions with Washington and neighbors escalate. The launches come days after North Korea offered a rare view into a secretive facility built to enrich uranium for nuclear bombs as leader Kim Jong Un called for a rapid expansion of his nuclear weapons program. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected North Korea firing multiple short-range ballistic missiles from north of its capital, Pyongyang, and said they traveled about 400 kilometers (244 miles) while flying toward the northeast. The joint chiefs said it was closely communicating with the United States and Japan while analyzing the launches but didn’t immediately provide further flight details. Japan’s defense ministry said it detected at least two launches but didn’t immediately say what types of missiles they were and how far they flew. Japan’s coast guard said the missiles were believed to have already fallen into waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan and urged vessels to watch out for falling objects. Japan’s NHK television said the missiles were believed to have landed outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone. The South Korean joint chiefs condemned the launches as a provocation that “seriously threatens peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.” It said in a statement that South Korean and U.S. militaries were closely monitoring North Korean activities while maintaining a combined defense posture “to respond overwhelmingly to any provocation.” North Korea didn’t immediately confirm the launches. They followed a previous round of ballistic tests last week as Kim vowed to have his nuclear force fully ready for battle with its rivals. The North said the launches on Sept. 12 involved its “super-large” 600mm multiple rocket launchers, which it describes as capable of delivering tactical nuclear warheads. Experts say North Korea’s large-sized artillery rockets blur the boundary between artillery systems and ballistic missiles because they can create their own thrust and are guided during delivery. Since 2022, North Korea has ramped up its weapons testing activities to expand and modernize its arsenal of nuclear missiles targeting the U.S. and South Korea. The allies have expanded their combined military exercises and are updating their nuclear deterrence strategies based on U.S. assets to counter the North’s growing threat. Analysts say Kim’s long-term goal is to force the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength. While disclosing the uranium enrichment facility last week, Kim called for stronger efforts to “exponentially” increase its number of nuclear weapons in the face of what he described as U.S. threats. State media published photos that showed Kim talking with military officials and scientists between long lone lines of centrifuges used to produce weapons-grade uranium, but the reports didn’t say where the facility was located or when Kim made the visit. Analysts say North Korea could conduct a nuclear test explosion or long-range missile test ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November with the intent of influencing the outcome and increasing its leverage in future dealings with the new U.S. administration. (AP)

A poster was released last night announcing an atzeres tefillah in response to growing concerns about threats to the Torah world and the Olam Hayeshivos in Eretz Yisroel.

The poster says that this large-scale gathering, set for this month of Elul, aims to bring together thousands of Jews to cry out in tefillah and protest, pleading to Hashem “lehaavir es ro’a hagezeirah.”

The atzeres is being organized in response to governmental decrees that are seen as endangering the integrity of Torah institutions and the broader Torah community.

The poster does not delineate the date or location of this planned atzeres.

The poster contains various signatories at its bottom half. First listed are admorim, including the Satmar Rebbe Rav Aharon Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe Rav Zalman Leib Teitelbaum, the Pupa Rebbe, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Monsey, the Bobov-45 Rebbe, the Vienner Rov, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Williamsburg, as well as Rav Avrohom Yehoshua  Heshel Bick and other Chassidishe rabbonim.

Beneath those names, the poster lists names of gedolei roshei yeshivos: Rav Malkiel Kotler, rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood; Rav Yeruchem Olshin, rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood; Rav Dovid Tzvi Schustal, rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood; Rav Yisroel Tzvi Neuman, rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood; Rav Elya Ber Wachtfogel, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Gedolah Zichron Moshe of South Fallsburg; Rav Shlomo Feivel Schustal, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Tiferes Yerachmiel of Lakewood; Rav Asher Kalmanowitz, rosh yeshiva of Mirrer Yeshiva of Brooklyn; Rav Yitzchok Sorotzkin, rosh yeshiva of Mesivta of Lakewood; Rav Shlomo Halioua, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin of Brooklyn; and Rav Yaakov Shraga Horowitz, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Bais Meir of Boro Park.

{Matzav.com}

For all the debate about just how rich former President Donald Trump is, one thing is clear: His ownership stake in Trump Media & Technology Group makes him a billionaire. The company behind the Truth Social platform is worth more than $3 billion on Wall Street, and Trump owns more than half of it. So far, Trump and other insiders in the company known as TMTG have been unable to cash in because a “lock-up agreement” has prevented them from selling any of their shares since TMTG began trading publicly in March. Trump’s lock-up deal looks set to expire later this week. But if he sells, Trump risks sending a negative signal to other shareholders and prompting them to dump their shares. For now, Trump says he’s not selling. Here’s a look at what the end of the lock-up could mean and what Truth Social actually does: What’s the latest? Trump on Thursday will be free to start selling his shares of TMTG as long as they don’t close below $12 before then. They closed Tuesday at $16.14. Trump entered into the lock-up agreement in March, when TMTG merged with a shell company named Digital World Acquisition Corp. and took its place on the Nasdaq stock market. Trump does not run TMTG. Its CEO is Devin Nunes, the former Republican U.S. Representative from California. But Trump is the biggest draw for its Truth Social network, posting his “truths” on the social-media platform. How much of the company does Trump own? Trump owned 57.3% of all the company’s shares, as of Aug. 15. Based on the company’s total market value of $3.23 billion, that made Trump’s stake worth $1.85 billion. What is Truth Social? Trump launched Truth Social, in February 2022, after he was banned from major sites such as Facebook and the platform formerly known as Twitter following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He’s since been reinstated to both — and endorsed by X owner Elon Musk — but he still mostly posts on his own platform. While the platform sought to capitalize on the outrage over Trump’s social media bans to attract a broad audience, Truth Social, much like fellow right-leaning social media platforms Gettr and Parler, has not been able to move much beyond an echo chamber of conservative political commentary. Truth Social is marketed as the antidote to mainstream social media apps, which Trump and his supporters say discriminate against their views and limit free expression, said Roxana Muenster, a doctoral student at Cornell University who studies the far-right and digital communication. Its audience, she added, is mainly Trump’s MAGA base. “There is also a lot of hate speech and extremism on the platform due to their lax approach to content moderation.” As part of an agreement that runs until February 2025, Trump has agreed to wait six hours after posting on Truth Social before he can post any “non-political communications” on other social media platforms However, this is at the former president’s sole discretion, and as the company notes in a regulatory filing, as “a candidate for president, most or all of President Trump’s social media posts may be deemed by him to be politically related.” How does TMTG make money? The company said in a recent regulatory filing that it relies on […]

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Israel was responsible for the detonation of pagers used by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.

The report, which cited American and other sources, explained that the operation involved placing explosive material inside a fresh shipment of Taiwanese-made pagers sent to Lebanon.

Hezbollah had ordered the pagers from Gold Apollo, a manufacturer based in Taiwan. However, according to some officials who spoke to The New York Times, the devices were altered before reaching Lebanon. While most of the pagers were from the AP924 model, the shipment also included three other models from the same company.

Two officials detailed that the explosives, which weighed between one and two ounces, were inserted near the battery inside each pager. They also mentioned that a switch was added, allowing the explosives to be set off remotely.

At 3:30 p.m. in Lebanon, the pagers reportedly received what seemed to be a routine message from Hezbollah’s leadership, but in reality, this triggered the explosives, two officials told the newspaper.

Three officials further explained that the pagers were programmed to emit a series of beeps for a few seconds before detonating.

Hezbollah had purchased over 3,000 pagers from Gold Apollo, with several officials noting that the devices were distributed to members across Lebanon, and some even reached Hezbollah affiliates in Iran and Syria.

According to Lebanese reports, the explosions that took place on Tuesday resulted in 11 fatalities and left at least 4,000 people wounded.

Earlier in the day, Sky News’ Arabic division reported that the Mossad had planted the explosive material inside the pagers’ batteries and triggered them by raising the temperature of the batteries.

A security official from Lebanon told Al Jazeera that the pagers had been booby-trapped before being delivered to Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has accused Israel of orchestrating the explosions and has threatened retaliation. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi denounced the incident, labeling it a “terrorist act” and holding Israel responsible.

{Matzav.com}

In what appears to be a sophisticated, remote attack, pagers used by hundreds of members of Hezbollah exploded almost simultaneously in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people and wounding thousands more. Samuel Katz, a counterterrorism expert and author who has written extensively about the elite special forces of Israel’s military, joins NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live” to discuss.

WATCH:

Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is launching her own radio talk show next week on SiriusXM that’s set to air once a week at least through the inauguration of a new president. She’ll do interviews, take listener calls and talk politics on the show, which will be carried Wednesdays from 8 to 9 a.m. ET on the satellite radio system’s Triumph channel. Expect some talk mixed in about Clemson football, her passion for running and music — maybe even Taylor Swift. The former U.N. ambassador’s own politics won’t be a secret, but she said she wanted to get away from some of the tribalism that dominates the media. “My kids, they don’t watch the news, because they think both sides are crazy,” she told The Associated Press. “And they’re not wrong about that. I think we have to take the craziness out. I think we have to take the noise out and I think we have to break things down in a way that people feel empowered.” Haley was former President Donald Trump’s last opponent left standing for the GOP nomination this year. She endorsed Trump and supported him at the convention, but until the last two weeks, Trump hadn’t sought her help on the general election campaign trail. But she said Tuesday that Trump’s team had reached out to hers in the past two weeks to discuss some options for joint appearances, though none have been scheduled. Her radio show, however, “is not going to be about campaigning for a particular candidate,” she said. She said she’d been approached by some partisan news outlets about doing some work for them but wasn’t interested. She didn’t identify them. Her campaign, she said, taught her how the media is tainted and partisan outlets are predictable. “I think that’s what Americans are tired of,” Haley said. “They don’t want to go on and watch a news show and know exactly which candidate they’re pushing and exactly what politics are pushing. They want to know the issues. They want to know exactly how it’s going to affect their family. I want to take all of the politics out and really break it down on a policy level.” Haley said she’s open to continuing the show past January “if Americans like what they hear.” Asked if the show could be useful for her political future, Haley said: “I’m not thinking politics at this point. I’m thinking about what would be fun for me.” Her donors and supporters on Tuesday received an announcement about the show, along with an invitation to join a mailing list and contribute to a political action committee. (AP)

The FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service on Tuesday were investigating the origin of suspicious packages that have been sent to or received by elections officials in more than a dozen states, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or that any of the packages contained hazardous material. The latest packages were sent to elections officials in Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York and Rhode Island. Mississippi authorities reported a package was delivered there on Monday, and the Connecticut Secretary of State’s office on Tuesday also said the FBI alerted them of a suspicious package that was intercepted. The FBI is collecting the letters, some of which contained “an unknown substance,” spokesperson Kristen Setera of the agency’s Boston office said in a statement. “We are also working with our partners to determine how many letters were sent, the individual or individuals responsible for the letters, and the motive behind the letters,” she said. “As this is an ongoing matter we will not be commenting further on the investigation, but the public can be assured safety is our top priority.” It’s the second time in the past year that suspicious packages were mailed to election officials in multiple state offices. The latest scare comes as early voting has begun in several states less than two months ahead of the high-stakes elections for president, Senate, Congress and key statehouse offices around the nation, causing disruption in what is already a tense voting season. Local election directors are beefing up their security to keep their workers and polling places safe while also ensuring that ballots and voting procedures won’t be tampered with. The National Association of Secretaries of State condemned what it described as a “disturbing trend” of threats to election workers leading up to Nov. 5, as well as the second apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. “This must stop, period,” the group said. “Our democracy has no place for political violence, threats or intimidation of any kind.” On Tuesday, the FBI notified the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office that postal service investigators had identified what they described as a suspicious envelope that had been delivered to a building housing state offices. The package was intercepted and isolated, according to state officials. No employees from the secretary of the commonwealth’s office had contact with the envelope, which is now in the hands of the FBI. Packages also were sent to secretaries of state and state election offices in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wyoming this week. The packages forced evacuations in Iowa, Oklahoma and Wyoming. Hazmat crews in several states quickly determined the material was harmless. The Mississippi Secretary of State’s Elections Division said it received a package similar to those sent to other states. It said its office had been on “high alert” for a potential package and that the state Department of Homeland Security was testing the one received. The division said it has notified county election officials to be on the lookout. Oklahoma officials said the material sent to the election office there contained flour. Wyoming officials have not yet said if the material sent there was hazardous. “We have specific protocols in place for situations such as this,” Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said in a statement after the evacuation of […]

The IDF is preparing for the possibility of an all-out war with Hezbollah in Lebanon following the “exploding pagers” operation on Tuesday that wounded over 3,000 Hezbollah terrorists. The IDF decided to transfer the elite 98th Division from the Gaza Strip to the northern front, where it will join the 36th Division under the Northern Command. The decision is significant as the IDF had planned to continue using the Division for further combat in the Strip. The 98th Paratroopers Division, also known as the “Fire Formation” (עצבת האש), is a commando division that specializes in parachute jumps, aerial drops, guerilla warfare, and combat in urban environments. Arutz Sheva reported that soldiers from other divisions have been ordered to deploy north as well. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has revealed that his brain-chip company, Neuralink, has been granted clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a trial of an experimental implant. This device is expected to “allow individuals who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to regain sight.”

Neuralink’s Blindsight device will restore vision, even in cases where both the eyes and optic nerve are missing, as long as the visual cortex remains functional, Musk shared in an early Wednesday tweet. “Provided the visual cortex is intact, it will even enable those who have been blind from birth to see for the first time,” he emphasized.

Musk further explained that while the initial visual experience will be low resolution, akin to “Atari graphics,” the technology has the potential to evolve. “Eventually it has the potential to be better than natural vision and enable you to see in infrared, ultraviolet or even radar wavelengths, like Geordi La Forge,” he wrote. To illustrate his point, Musk included a photo of Geordi La Forge, a character from Star Trek who is blind but uses advanced technology to see.

Neuralink also confirmed the FDA’s approval, stating that Blindsight has been awarded the Breakthrough Device Designation. This designation is given to devices with the potential to treat or diagnose serious medical conditions, accelerating their development and review process.

This news about Neuralink’s device follows Musk’s previous announcement that the company plans to fit brain chip implants in eight more patients this year. These implants are designed to allow individuals with paralysis to control digital devices using only their thoughts.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit announced Wednesday morning the identities of four soldiers who were killed in action in the southern Gaza Strip. The fallen are:

• Captain Daniel Mimon Toaff, 23, from Moreshet, who served as Deputy Company Commander in the “Shaked” Battalion of the Givati Brigade.
• Staff Sergeant Agam Naim, 20, from Kibbutz Mishmarot, a paramedic with the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Brigade.
• Staff Sergeant Amit Bakri, 20, from Yoshivia, a soldier in the “Shaked” Battalion, Givati Brigade.
• Staff Sergeant Dotan Shimon, 21, from Elazar in Gush Etzion, also a soldier from the “Shaked” Battalion, Givati Brigade.

In the same incident where Captain Daniel Mimon Toaff, Staff Sergeant Agam Naim, Staff Sergeant Amit Bakri, and Staff Sergeant Dotan Shimon lost their lives, an officer and two soldiers from the “Shaked” Battalion, Givati Brigade, sustained serious injuries. Additionally, two other soldiers from the same unit were moderately injured.

An officer from the Givati Reconnaissance Unit was also critically injured during combat in the southern Gaza Strip.

All injured soldiers were quickly evacuated to a hospital for treatment, and their families have been informed of their conditions.

On Tuesday morning, news was cleared for release about a reservist from the 846th Battalion of the Givati Brigade who was severely injured in southern Gaza. He was also evacuated to a hospital for medical care, and his family was notified.

In a separate update on Tuesday evening, Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva reported that the conditions of soldiers injured in last week’s helicopter crash near Rafah continue to improve.

Currently, five of the injured from the crash remain hospitalized at Soroka. One is in the internal intensive care unit, two are in the cardiothoracic surgery department, and two are in the orthopedic department. Of the five, four are listed in moderate condition and one is in light condition. Several of the injured still require additional surgeries.

The pilot involved in the crash has been released from the hospital and is now undergoing rehabilitation.

{Matzav.com}

Venezuela’s government Tuesday announced the arrest of a fourth U.S. citizen in connection with an alleged plot to kill President Nicolás Maduro in which authorities claim the CIA, Spain’s intelligence agency, organized crime groups, and members of the opposition are involved. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello revealed the arrest and details of the plot during a speech before the National Assembly, whose members applauded the detention. Cabello did not identify the most recently detained American. The alleged plan joins dozens of other anti-Maduro plans that his government earlier this year claimed to have foiled. “Those who try to mess with Venezuela, we will screw them, regardless of their name,” Cabello said. He spoke hours after an independent panel of experts backed by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council issued a scathing report against Maduro’s government, accusing it of deploying the “harshest and most violent mechanisms of its repressive apparatus” in the wake of the disputed July presidential election. Cabello told lawmakers that the objective of the latest alleged plot “is political.” He claimed the U.S. citizen detained Tuesday in the capital, Caracas, had taken photos of electrical and oil-industry infrastructure and military units. “It is not the first time he has come to Venezuela,” Cabello said, without identifying the man. He insisted, without providing evidence, that the CIA designed, promoted and financed the plot and Spain’s National Intelligence Center was aware of it. Cabello on Saturday announced the arrests of three Americans, two Spaniards and a Czech citizen in connection with the alleged plan. He identified one of the U.S. citizens as Wilbert Joseph Castañeda Gomez, whom he claimed is a Navy SEAL who had served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Colombia. “Any claims of U.S. involvement in a plot to overthrow Maduro are categorically false. The United States continues to support a democratic solution to the political crisis in Venezuela,” the Department of State said in a statement after the initial arrests were announced. Cabello on Tuesday also linked to the alleged plot sex workers who were supposedly in contact with the foreigners, and members of the main opposition coalition. Tensions between Venezuela’s government and the U.S. have increased since the presidential election, whose result sparked protests across the South American country that resulted in the arrests of more than 2,000 people, including minors, and the deaths of two dozen. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, said Maduro won a third six-year term, but it did not provide a detailed breakdown of the results. Members of the opposition, however, surprised the government by collecting tally sheets from 80% of the nation’s electronic voting machines and publishing them online. The tally sheets, they said, indicate that former diplomat Edmundo González won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro. (AP)

Zimbabwe and Namibia have announced plans to slaughter hundreds of wild elephants and other animals to feed hunger-stricken residents amid severe drought conditions in the southern African countries. Zimbabwe said Monday it would allow the killing of 200 elephants so that their meat can be distributed among needy communities, while in Namibia the killing of more than 700 wild animals — including 83 elephants — is under way as part of a plan announced three weeks ago. Tinashe Farawo, a spokesman for the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, said permits would be issued in needy communities to hunt elephants and that the agency also would kill some of the overall allotment of 200 animals. “We will start culling as soon as we have finished issuing out permits,” Farawo said. The elephants will be taken from an area where the population has become unsustainable, Farawo said. The hunting will take place in areas such as Hwange National Park in the country’s arid west where there has been increasing competition between humans and wildlife for food and water as rising temperatures make the resources more scarce. Hwange has move than 45,000 elephants, but now has the capacity to sustain only 15,000, Farawo said. The country’s overall population of about 100,000 elephants is double what the country’s national parks can sustain, park officials say. The El Nino weather phenomenon has worsened the situation, with the parks agency in December saying that more than 100 elephants died due to drought. More animals could die of thirst and hunger in the coming weeks as the country enters the hottest period of the year, Farawo said. Zimbabwe’s Environment Minister Sithembiso Nyoni told Parliament last week that she had given the go-ahead for the culling program. “Indeed Zimbabwe has more elephants than we need, more elephants than our forestry can accommodate,” Nyoni said. She said the government was preparing “to do like what Namibia has done so that we can cull the elephants and mobilize the women to dry the meat, package it and ensure that it gets to some communities that need the protein.” The Namibian government last month approved the culling of 723 animals, including 83 elephants, 30 hippos, 60 buffalos, 50 impalas, 300 zebras and 100 elands, among others. The animals will be sourced from five of Namibia’s national parks, where it is also looking to reduce its elephant numbers amid conflicts between people and wildlife. “This is necessary and is in line with our constitutional mandate where our natural resources are used for the benefit of Namibian citizens,” environment department spokesman Romeo Muyunda said. “This is also a prime example that conservation of game is really beneficial.” Botswana, which is between Zimbabwe and Namibia, has the world’s largest elephant population at 130,000, but unlike its two neighboring countries, it has not talked about slaughtering its elephants to feed its people. Guyo Roba, a food security and agricultural expert with the Kenya-based environmental think tank Jameel Observatory, said government measures in Zimbabwe and Namibia were understandable given the extent of the drought and the state of their animal populations. “They are working against a wildlife population that is above their carrying capacity,” Roba said. “So it may seem controversial initially, but the governments are torn between remaining faithful to some of their […]

Various media outlets reported that hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and Syria lost their eyesight after their pagers exploded on Tuesday in a coordinated series of blasts attributed to Israel. Reports said that the pagers beeped for about 10 seconds before the explosions, causing the terrorists to take them out of their pockets or waistbands and hold them close to their faces to see the latest message. The pagers then exploded, causing thousands of facial and hand injuries, including eye injuries. Those who didn’t take the pagers out of their pockets were injured in more delicate areas of their anatomy. Iran’s Red Crescent organization stated on Wednesday that it sent eye surgeons and other medical professionals to Lebanon to help treat the victims of the exploding pagers. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

A landslide caused by heavy rains has killed six people near Mexico City, authorities said. The landslide on Monday night in Naucalpan, a community northwest of Mexico City, also affected a house and school, the State of Mexico government said in a statement. The victims were four men and two women. Another three people were injured and transported to a state hospital. State Gov. Delfina Gómez ordered the deployment of rescue teams and security task forces to support affected families. The deaths in Naucalpan occurred a few days after another landslide killed nine people on Saturday in Jilotzingo, west of Mexico City in the State of Mexico. A 3-month-old baby was among the victims. Two children, ages 10 and 12, and a 34-year-old woman were rescued. Several homes were affected and authorities had to evacuate more than 100 people for fear of further landslides. The landslides and heavy rains have been pounding the State of Mexico since the start of the rainy season in late July. In cities like Chalco that have also experienced heavy torrential rains, the combination of unchecked growth and failing infrastructure have caused sewage-infused waters to invade streets, homes and businesses. (AP)

Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani suffered a fate similar to thousands of Hezbollah terrorists on Tuesday: his pager exploded in his face as he was reading the latest “message.” However, Amani’s injuries held a certain significance that the others didn’t – he was caught (literally) “red-handed” as being a member of a murderous terror group. A member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told the New York Times that Amani had taken out the pager to read the message when it exploded in his face. He lost one eye and the other eye was severely wounded. He also suffered hand injuries. The report added that the IRGC sources said Amani’s injuries are more severe than initially reported and he will be evacuated to Tehran for medical treatment. Amani serves as a liaison between Tehran and Hezbollah and it is estimated that he even hosts Hezbollah meetings at the Iranian embassy. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them. The AR-924 pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in Hungary’s capital, according to a statement released Wednesday by Gold Apollo. “According to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” the statement read. Gold Apollo chair Hsu Ching-kuang told journalists Wednesday that his company has had a licensing agreement with BAC for the past three years, but did not provide evidence of the contract. Experts believe explosive material was put into the pagers prior to their delivery and use in a sophisticated supply chain infiltration. Media reports said that a tiny amount of explosives, one to two ounces, was implanted next to the battery in each pager together with a switch to be used to remotely detonate the explosives. Two sources, including a senior Lebanese security source, told Reuters that the Mossad planted explosives inside 5,000 pagers months ago. Hezbollah ordered the pagers from Gold Apollo and they arrived in the country earlier this year. “The Mossad injected a board inside of the device that has explosive material that receives a code. It’s very hard to detect it through any means. Even with any device or scanner,” the source said. The AR-924 pager, advertised as being “rugged,” contains a rechargeable lithium battery, according to specifications once advertised on Gold Apollo’s website before it was apparently taken down Tuesday after the sabotage attack. It could receive texts of up to 100 characters. Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said from the beginning of 2022 until August 2024, Gold Apollo has exported 260,000 sets of pagers, including more than 40,000 sets between January and August of this year. The ministry said the pagers were exported mainly to European and American countries and that it had no records of direct exports of Gold Apollo pagers to Lebanon. On February 14, Hezbollah leader Nassan Hasrallah ordered the terror group’s members to avoid using their cell phones after Israel carried out a series of targeted eliminations, killing 170 Hezbollah members, including a senior commander and a top Hamas official in Beirut. Following the speech, pagers were distributed to all Hezbollah members in Lebanon and Syria. “The phone that we have in our hands — I do not have a phone in my hand — is a listening device,” Nasrallah said in the speech. “I tell you that the phone in your hands, in your wife’s hands, and in your children’s hands is the agent. It is a deadly agent, not a simple one. It is a deadly agent that provides specific and accurate information. Therefore, this requires great seriousness when confronting it.” Is Israel about to launch a ground operation in Lebanon? Reuters quoted analysts as saying that they don’t view the daring operation as a signal that a ground war is imminent. Instead, it is simply a sign of how deeply Israeli intelligence services have penetrated Hezbollah. “It demonstrates Israel’s ability to infiltrate its adversaries in a remarkably dramatic way,” said Paul Pillar, a 28-year veteran of the U.S. intelligence community, […]