Yeshiva World News

China’s defense minister defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the world’s top defense officials in Singapore on Sunday that such so-called “freedom of navigation” patrols are a provocation to China. In his first international public address since becoming defense minister in March, Gen. Li Shangfu told the Shangri-La Dialogue that China doesn’t have any problems with “innocent passage” but that “we must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation (patrols), that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation.” U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the same forum Saturday that Washington would not “flinch in the face of bullying or coercion” from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasize they are international waters, countering Beijing’s sweeping territorial claims. That same day, as a U.S. guided-missile destroyer and a Canadian frigate were intercepted by a Chinese warship as they transited the strait between the self-governed island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, and mainland China. The Chinese vessel overtook the American ship and then veered across its bow at a distance of 150 yards (about 140 meters) in an “unsafe manner,” according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Additionally, the U.S. has said a Chinese J-16 fighter jet late last month “performed an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” while intercepting a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, flying directly in front of the plane’s nose. Those and previous incidents have raised concerns of a possible accident occurring that could lead to an escalation between the two nations at a time when tensions are already high. Li suggested the U.S. and its allies had created the danger, and should instead should focus on taking “good care of your own territorial airspace and waters.” “The best way is for the countries, especially the naval vessels and fighter jets of countries, not to do closing actions around other countries’ territories,” he said through an interpreter. “What’s the point of going there? In China we always say, ‘Mind your own business.’” In a wide-ranging speech, Li reiterated many of Beijing’s well-known positions, including its claim on Taiwan, calling it “the core of our core interests.” He accused the U.S. and others of “meddling in China’s internal affairs” by providing Taiwan with defense support and training, and conducting high-level diplomatic visits. “China stays committed to the path of peaceful development, but we will never hesitate to defend our legitimate rights and interests, let alone sacrifice the nation’s core interests,” he said. “As the lyrics of a well-known Chinese song go: ‘When friends visit us, we welcome them with fine wine. When jackals or wolves come, we will face them with shotguns.’” In his speech the previous day, Austin broadly outlined the U.S. vision for a “free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights.” In the pursuit of such, Austin said the U.S. was stepping up planning, coordination and training with “friends from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean” with shared goals “to deter aggression and to deepen the rules and norms that promote prosperity and prevent conflict.” Li […]

The post China Defends Buzzing American Warship In Taiwan Strait, Accuses US Of Provocations appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

Yeshiva Ohr Simcha is truly a unique Makom Torah. Established in 1997 with the goal of providing top-notch chinuch, and a focus on all areas of a Bochur’s growth and self-development. Today we are soaring to greater heights in our Emunah. We are very proud of the Yeshiva we have built BS”D. The Ruach Hayeshiva is one of the keys to the Yeshiva’s hatzlacha. Join us in our quest to continue giving bochurim a Yeshiva where they can continue to shteig and grow into true Bnei Torah. All Donations Matched X2! Click Here to Donate Now

The post Growing Stronger, Reaching Higher -Yeshiva Of Englewood Soaring To New Heights appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

The secret meeting of Mossad and Italian intelligence agents on an Italian boat that capsized last week was part of an operation to thwart Iran’s efforts to obtain advanced unconventional weapons, the Italian La Reppublica newspaper reported on Friday. The agents were posing as tourists celebrating a birthday aboard a boat, which they boarded in Slovenia and then sailed to Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. The party/meeting ended in tragedy when the boat capsized amid stormy weather, leading to the death of four people, including a retired Israeli Mossad agent, two Italian intelligence agents, and the Russian wife of the captain. The La Repubblica report followed a report earlier in the week by the Corriere della Sera news site that the Italian and Israeli agents were coordinating the surveillance of Russian oligarchs who transferred their money to luxury hotels on Lake Maggiore, conveniently located between northern Italy and Switzerland, where oligarchs can bypass international sanctions on Russia. The oligarchs are reportedly involved in the transfer of Iranian kamikaze drones to Moscow to be used in the war against Ukraine. The Russian wife of the captain, Anna Bozhkova, who lost her life in the accident, has a residency permit to live in Italy indefinitely, apparently to serve as a translator in monitoring the Russian oligarchs’ dealings with Iran. A criminal investigation has been launched against the captain Claudio Carminati, who is suspected of negligent homicide as the boat was only licensed to carry 15 passengers and there were 23 aboard at the time of the accident. Dr. Carlo Nocerino, the Italian official heading the investigation into the incident, told Israel’s Kan News that the investigation is not focused on the identities or activities of the victims. “We’re investigating two crimes,” he said. “Causing an accident through negligence and causing death through negligence. That the Israelis involved were Mossad agents is not important to us.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The post Mossad Agents In Italy Were Monitoring Russian Oligarchs’ Dealings With Iran appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin vowed Saturday that Washington would not stand for any “coercion and bullying” of its allies and partners by China, while assuring Beijing that the United States remains committed to maintaining the status quo on Taiwan and would prefer dialogue over conflict. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual forum bringing together top defense officials, diplomats and leaders in Singapore, Austin lobbied for support for Washington’s vision of a “free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights” as the best course to counter increasing Chinese assertiveness in the region. The U.S. has been expanding its own activities around the Indo-Pacific to counter sweeping territorial claims from China, including regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea. “We are committed to ensuring that every country can fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows,” he said at the forum hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank. “And every country, large or small, must remain free to conduct lawful maritime activities.” Austin noted that the U.S. had provided millions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine during the height of the pandemic and is regularly involved in disaster relief and humanitarian assistance efforts in the region. He said it is working to combat climate change, illegal fishing and ensure that supply chains do not suffer disruptions — ticking off many issues of importance to Asian-Pacific nations. “We’re doubling down on our alliances and partnerships,” he said. He said the U.S. is also committed to deterring North Korea’s missile threat and China’s claims on Taiwan, a self-governing island democracy that Beijing says is its territory, and said Washington has been stepping up defense planning, coordination and training with partner nations in the region. “To be clear, we do not seek conflict or confrontation,” he said. “But we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion.” Underscoring Austin’s words, a U.S. guided-missile destroyer and a Canadian frigate sailed Saturday through the Taiwan Strait, “waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law,” the U.S. 7th Fleet said. There was no immediate word of a Chinese response. In Singapore, Chinese Lt. Gen. Jing Jianfeng, a senior member of the delegation accompanying Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu, accused Austin of “overtly or covertly making false accusations against China” in his address. Speaking with reporters after Austin spoke, Jing alleged the U.S. has been “deceiving and exploiting” Asia-Pacific nations to advance its own self-interests to preserve “its dominant position” in the region. He suggested that Washington has been holding on to alliances that are “remnants of the Cold War” and establishing new pacts, like the AUKUS agreement with Britain and Australia and the “Quad” grouping with Australia, India and Japan “to divide the world into ideologically-driven camps and provoke confrontation.” Jing, who took no questions, said that by contrast, “China is committed to the region’s development and prosperity.” Austin sought to assure China that the U.S. remained “deeply committed” to the longstanding one-China policy, which recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations with Taiwan, and continues to “categorically oppose unilateral changes to the status quo from either side.” He added that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had served to […]

The post US Defense Secretary Says Washington Won’t Stand For ‘Coercion And Bullying’ From China appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

When Alexei Navalny turns 47 on Sunday, he’ll wake up in a bare concrete cell with hardly any natural light. He won’t be able to see or talk to any of his loved ones. Phone calls and visits are banned for those in “punishment isolation” cells, a 2-by-3-meter (6 1/2-by-10-foot) space. Guards usually blast patriotic songs and speeches by President Vladimir Putin at him. “Guess who is the champion of listening to Putin’s speeches? Who listens to them for hours and falls asleep to them?” Navalny said recently in a typically sardonic social media post via his attorneys from Penal Colony No. 6 in the Vladimir region east of Moscow. He is serving a nine-year term due to end in 2030 on charges widely seen as trumped up, and is facing another trial on new charges that could keep him locked up for another two decades. Rallies have been called for Sunday in Russia to support him. Navalny has become Russia’s most famous political prisoner — and not just because of his prominence as Putin’s fiercest political foe, his poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin, and his being the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary. He has chronicled his arbitrary placement in isolation, where he has spent almost six months. He’s on a meager prison diet, restricted on how much time he can spend writing letters and forced at times to live with a cellmate with poor personal hygiene, making life even more miserable. Most of the attention goes to Navalny and other high-profile figures like Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced last month to 25 years on treason charges. But there’s a growing number of less-famous prisoners who are serving time in similarly harsh conditions. Memorial, Russia’s oldest and most prominent human rights organization and a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, counted 558 political prisoners in the country as of April — more than three times the figure than in 2018, when it listed 183. The Soviet Union’s far-flung gulag system of prison camps provided inmate labor to develop industries such as mining and logging. While conditions vary among modern-day penal colonies, Russian law still permits prisoners to work on jobs like sewing uniforms for soldiers. In a 2021 report, the U.S. State Department said conditions in Russian prisons and detention centers “were often harsh and life threatening. Overcrowding, abuse by guards and inmates, limited access to health care, food shortages and inadequate sanitation were common in prisons, penal colonies, and other detention facilities.” Andrei Pivovarov, an opposition figure sentenced last year to four years in prison, has been in isolation at Penal Colony No. 7 in northern Russia’s Karelia region since January and is likely to stay there the rest of this year, said his partner, Tatyana Usmanova. The institution is notorious for its harsh conditions and reports of torture. The 41-year-old former head of the pro-democracy group Open Russia spends his days alone in a small cell in a “strict detention” unit, and is not allowed any calls or visits from anyone but his lawyers, Usmanova told The Associated Press. He can get one book from the prison library, can write letters for several hours a day and is permitted 90 minutes outdoors, she said. Other inmates are prohibited from making eye contact with Pivovarov in the corridors, […]

The post Inside Russia’s Penal Colonies: A Look At Life For Political Prisoners Caught In Putin’s Crackdowns appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

The New York Police Department stated that it has closed the complaint filed by a left-wing protester who used her megaphone to harass Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, one of the architects of the Israeli government judicial reform plan, as he walked to his hotel on Madison Ave. According to the NYPD, the woman claimed that the Rothman acted violently by grabbing her megaphone but she had no visible injuries. Rothman said: “A small group of violent protesters attacked me and my wife as we walked in New York late at night. They blocked our way, stepped on my wife Chana’s foot, and cursed us, including death wishes. My security guards called the police, explained where we were, and we continued walking while ignoring the protesters.” Regarding the incident with the megaphone, Rothman wrote: “At one point, the protesters understood that we weren’t reacting to them and then put their megaphone on our ears (which is assault) and yelled. I took the megaphone which the protester shoved in my ear, without touching her, of course. After about half a block, we reached a spot where we could wait for the police. The police accompanied me to the hotel and the incident ended.” “Over Shabbat and during a visit on Thursday, the Jewish community here welcomed me very happily and with respect and appreciation,” Rothman added. “There is a lot of support and encouragement to proceed with the reform plan, but even the few who disagree came and were respectful.” “The violent attackers came from Israel and just like they represent a small and violent group there – here too. It’s permissible to protest but it’s forbidden to physically attack and harass MKs. The fact that Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz fail to condemn these violent attacks on MKs, and even encourage them, shows more than anything else that they have turned into the opposition of the State of Israel.” Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli was also targeted in Manhattan by Israeli left-wing protesters, who yelled “Bushah, bushah” at him at the entrance to a shul. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The post NYPD Closes Complaint Against MK Simcha Rothman appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

The first 2024 Republican presidential debate will be held Aug. 23, the Republican National Committee announced Friday, with a second debate the following night should it be needed. The RNC also detailed the criteria that will be used for candidates to qualify for the debate stage, including a pledge to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee. That requirement could keep some candidates off the stage, including former President Donald Trump, who hasn’t committed to supporting the nominee if he doesn’t emerge from the primary. Trump also has questioned why he would participate since he holds a commanding lead in GOP primary polls. The debate will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which also will be the site of the party’s nominating convention next year. It’s a nod to the importance of the battleground state, which is likely to be key to a presidential victory again in 2024. “The RNC is committed to putting on a fair, neutral, and transparent primary process and the qualifying criteria set forth will put our party and eventual nominee in the best position to take back the White House come November 2024,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said. The list of candidates vying to face President Joe Biden next year has been growing. In addition to Trump, the field includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. Other candidates expected to get into the contest soon include former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. The debate stage can provide the largest audience yet for many presidential hopefuls, but it also can trip up candidates. Already, there have been questions about which candidates will take part and what rules the RNC would impose in order to participate. Trump has said so far that he wouldn’t promise to support the nominee if someone else wins the nomination, telling radio host Hugh Hewitt, “It would have to depend on who the nominee was.” Christie, who plans to launch his campaign in New Hampshire next week, has said he would never support Trump as the party’s 2024 nominee, as he did in 2016. “No way,” he told Axios in March. Advisers did not immediately respond to questions about how Christie would handle the pledge, given his opposition to Trump. Hutchinson, also a Trump critic, said Friday he plans to be on the debate stage. But he criticized the RNC for requiring the “loyalty oath,” saying the pledge should be only that a participant won’t run as a third-party candidate. “The RNC should have minimal criteria for the debates in the early stages of this campaign,” Hutchinson said. “More choices are better.” To participate in the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, candidates must have received campaign contributions from 40,000 unique donors — a relatively high number aimed at winnowing the field. Hutchinson was critical, saying it “benefits candidates who generate online donations through extreme rhetoric and scare tactics.” Among other debate criteria, participants also must receive at least 1% support in three national polls or 1% in two national polls and 1% in early state polls from two separate states. Those states are Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. The polls must meet certain requirements to […]

The post Republicans Schedule 1st Presidential Debate For Aug. 23, But Trump Might Not Attend appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

Chuck Todd said on Sunday that he’ll be leaving “Meet the Press” after a tumultuous near-decade of moderating the NBC political panel show, to be replaced in the coming months by Kristen Welker. Todd, 51, told viewers that “I’ve watched too many friends and family let work consume them before it was too late” and that he’d promised his family he wouldn’t do that. Todd has often been an online punching bag for critics, including Donald Trump, during a polarized time, and there were rumors that his time at the show would be short when its executive producer was reassigned at the end of last summer, but NBC gave no indication this was anything other than Todd’s decision. It’s unclear when Todd’s last show will be, but he told viewers that this would be his final summer. “I leave feeling concerned about this moment in history but reassured by the standards we’ve set here,” Todd said. “We didn’t tolerate propagandists, and this network and program never will.” Welker, a former chief White House correspondent, has been at NBC News in Washington since 2011 and has been Todd’s chief fill-in for the past three years. She drew praise for moderating the final presidential debate between Trump, a Republican, and Joe Biden, a Democrat, in 2020. Her “sharp questioning of lawmakers is a masterclass in political interviews,” said Rebecca Blumenstein, NBC News president of editorial, in a memo announcing Welker’s elevation on Sunday. Now Welker, 46, will be thrust into what promises to be another contentious presidential election cycle. The Sunday morning political interview show has aired since 1947, led by inventor and first host Martha Rountree. Its peak came in the years that Tim Russert moderated, from 1991 until his death in 2008, with its footing less certain since then. Tom Brokaw briefly filled in after Russert’s death, and David Gregory replaced him until being forced out in favor of Todd. Welker will be the first Black moderator of “Meet the Press” and the first woman since Rountree left in 1953. Todd said that he was proud of expanding the “Meet the Press” brand to a daily show, which initially aired on MSNBC but was shifted to streaming, along with podcasts and newsletters, even a film festival. “He transformed the brand into a vital modern-day franchise, expanding its footprint to an array of new mediums, and kept ‘Meet the Press’ at the forefront of political discourse,” Blumenstein said. It didn’t stop critics from jumping on to social media when they didn’t like an interview Todd conducted. Trump even anointed Todd with one of his signature nicknames, Sleepy Eyes, and called on NBC to fire Todd in 2020 for airing an interview clip with his then-Attorney General William Barr that the show later admitted had been cut to leave an inaccurate impression. Todd was roasted at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in 2022 by Trevor Noah, who pointed him out in the audience and said, “How are you doing? I’d ask a follow-up, but I know you don’t know what those are.” Todd alluded to his critics in announcing his exit on Sunday. “If you do this job seeking popularity, you are doing this job incorrectly,” he said. “I take the attacks from partisans as compliments. And I take the genuine […]

The post Chuck Todd Exiting As Host Of NBC’s “Meet The Press” After Tumultuous Decade appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny released excerpts of his correspondence with prison administrators Friday, detailing his sarcastic demands for things like a bottle of moonshine, a balalaika and even a kangaroo. His requests were denied. Responses from prison officials, posted on his social media account apparently by his team, came after he has spent almost 180 days in solitary confinement since last summer at Penal Colony No. 6 in the Vladimir region east of Moscow. Navalny, 46, is serving a nine-year sentence after being convicted of fraud and contempt of court — charges he says were trumped up for his efforts to expose official corruption and organize anti-Kremlin protests. He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin. “When you are sitting in a punishment isolation cell and have little entertainment, you can have fun with correspondence with the administration,” wrote Navalny. Among his denied requests: a megaphone to be given to the prisoner in a nearby cell “so he can yell even louder,” and to award another inmate who “killed a man with his bare hands” with the highest rank in karate. He also was turned down for his requests of moonshine, tobacco for rolling cigarettes and the balalaika. But Navalny expressed particular mock outrage at the administrators’ refusal to allow him to keep a kangaroo in his cell. The politician said inmates can to have a pet if the prison administration allows it. “I will continue to fight for my inalienable right to own a kangaroo,” Navalny wrote sarcastically in his social media post. Navalny will mark his 47th birthday on Sunday, and there have been calls by his team for protests to support him. A Moscow court has set a June 6 date for a hearing for a new trial for Navalny on a charge of extremism, which could keep him in prison for 30 years. He also said an investigator told him that he also would face a separate military court trial on terrorism charges that potentially carry a life sentence. The new charges come as Russian authorities are conducting an intensified crackdown on dissent amid the fighting in Ukraine, which Navalny has harshly criticized. (AP)

The post Jailed Kremlin Critic Navalny Pokes Fun At Prison Officials With Demands Of Moonshine And A Kangaroo appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

Within hours of his historic arraignment this spring, Donald Trump fixed his ire on the judge, complaining that he’s “a Trump-hating judge” with a family full of “Trump haters.” On Friday, the former president’s lawyers doubled down on that criticism, demanding Judge Juan Manuel Merchan step aside from his New York City criminal case because of what they say is anti-Trump bias and a conflict of interest arising from his daughter’s work for some of Trump’s Democratic rivals. Trump’s lawyers allege that Merchan, a respected jurist in Manhattan’s criminal court, tipped the scales in two other Trump-related cases by involving himself in plea negotiations for Trump’s longtime finance chief and requiring him to testify against Trump’s company in exchange for a five-month jail sentence. Trump’s lawyers, Susan Necheles and Todd Blanche, also asked Merchan to explain three political donations totaling $35 that were made to Democratic causes in his name during the 2020 election cycle. In the New York case, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The charges relate to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury allegations that Trump had extramarital sexual encounters. He has denied wrongdoing. Merchan did not respond to inquiries from The Associated Press asking him to confirm or deny if he’s the person who made the donations, which include $15 for President Joe Biden’s campaign against Trump, according to federal campaign finance records. Such contributions are typically prohibited under court rules. The former president’s criminal case is “historic and it is important that the People of the State of New York and this nation have confidence that the jurist who presides over it is impartial,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in what’s known as a motion for recusal. The decision on recusal is up to Merchan himself, who previously rejected such a request when Trump’s company was on trial. Trump’s lawyers could be also making a play to raise the issue on appeal if he’s convicted. Along with their motion, Trump’s lawyers submitted 42 pages of what that say is evidence of Merchan’s political bias. The hush-money case is continuing in state court while Trump’s lawyers seek to transfer it to federal court, which would also remove Merchan from the judicial equation. A federal judge has scheduled a June 27 hearing on that request. A message seeking comment was left with Merchan. A spokesperson for New York’s state court system, Lucian Chalfen, said that since the case is pending in front of the judge, “it would be inappropriate for any further comment.” Merchan has appeared respectful and exceedingly accommodating in his limited interactions with Trump and has refused to issue a gag order, even as the ex-president continued to pillory him, District Attorney Alvin Bragg and others involved the case. At a recent hearing, Merchan said he was “bending over backwards” to make sure he wasn’t limiting Trump from having “every opportunity possible to advance his candidacy.” Trump’s recusal motion expands on the criticism he’s lobbed at Merchan and his family in statements and on his Truth Social platform. Merchan’s daughter, Loren, is a political consultant whose firm has worked on campaigns for prominent Democrats including Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Trump, the leading contender for the Republican nomination […]

The post Donald Trump’s Lawyers Ask Judge To Exit Criminal Case, Echoing Claims Of Political Bias appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed again Sunday to push for a second attempt to launch a spy satellite as she lambasted a U.N. Security Council meeting over the North’s first, failed launch. The North’s attempt to put its first military spy satellite into orbit last Wednesday failed as its rocket crashed off the Korean Peninsula’s western coast. An emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council was still convened at the request of the U.S., Japan and other countries to discuss the launch because it had violated council resolutions banning the North from performing any launch using ballistic technology. On Sunday, Kim’s sister and senior ruling party official, Kim Yo Jong, called the U.N. council “a political appendage” of the United States, saying its recent meeting was convened following America’s “gangster-like request.” She accused the U.N. council of being “discriminative and rude” because it only takes issue with the North’s satellite launches while thousands of satellites launched by other countries are already operating in space. She said her country’s attempt to acquire a spy satellite is a legitimate step to respond to military threats posed by the U.S. and its allies. “(North Korea) will continue to take proactive measures to exercise all the lawful rights of a sovereign state, including the one to a military reconnaissance satellite launch,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. In her earlier statement Friday, Kim Yo Jong said the North’s spy satellite “will be correctly put on space orbit in the near future” but didn’t say when its second launch attempt would take place. South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Wednesday it will likely take “more than several weeks” for North Korea to learn the cause of the failed launch but it may attempt a second launch soon if defects aren’t serious. A military surveillance satellite is among a list of sophisticated weapons systems that Kim Jong Un has vowed to acquire amid protracted security tensions with the United States. Since the start of 2022, Kim has carried out more than 100 missile tests in what he called a warning over expanded military drills between the U.S. and South Korea. Experts say Kim would want to use his modernized weapons arsenal to wrest concessions from Washington and its partners in future diplomacy. North Korea was slapped with rounds of U.N. sanctions over its past nuclear and missile tests and satellite launches. But the U.N. Security Council failed to toughen those sanctions over North Korea’s recent testing activities because China and Russia, both permanent members of the U.N. council, blocked the U.S. and others’ attempts to do so. During the latest U.N. council session Friday, China and Russia again clashed with the U.S. over the North’s failed launch. After repeated failures, North Korea placed Earth-observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016, but foreign experts say there is no evidence that either satellite transmitted imagery and other data. (AP)

The post North Korean Leader’s Sister Vows 2nd Attempt To Launch Spy Satellite, Slams UN Meeting appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

A Chareidi man from Israel was seriously injured and three others were lightly injured in a car accident in Hungary on Sunday afternoon. A group of about 20 chassidim were traveling to Makó, Hungary for the yahrtzeit of the Makove Rav. One car was involved in an accident, trapping one of the passengers in the car. Firefighters extricated him from the car in a difficult rescue operation and then evacuated him via helicopter to a local hospital. Three others in the car, including the victims’s son, suffered only minor injuries. Please daven for the refuah sheleimah of Reb Dovid ben Rivka Henya b’toch sha’ar cholei Yisrael. He is in great need of rachamei Shamayim. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The post Chareidi Man Seriously Injured In Car Accident In Hungary appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

There will not be a livestream of tonight’s Adirei Hatorah gathering at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. However, there will be an audio hookup, and of course, full video and photo coverage from Lakewood Alerts. To listen to the Adirei Hatorah event over the phone, call 605-411-2100 or 712-432-3490. Those in England can call 03-333-661-03 and people in Israel can listen in by dialing 09-375-4300.

The post Can’t Make It To Adirei Hatorah? Listen In Via Live Hookup appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

A top Twitter executive responsible for safety and content moderation has left the company, her departure coming soon after owner Elon Musk publicly complained about the platform’s handling of posts about transgender topics. The departure pointed to a fresh wave of turmoil among key officials at Twitter since Musk took over last year. Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, confirmed her resignation in a pair of tweets late Friday. She did not say in the message why she was leaving, but her departure came shortly after Musk criticized Twitter’s handling of tweets about a conservative media company’s documentary that questions transgender medical treatment for children and teens. Musk was responding to complaints by Jeremy Boreing, co-CEO of the media company, the Daily Wire. Boreing said in tweets and retweets of conservative commentators Thursday that Twitter was suppressing the movie by flagging posts about it as hate speech and keeping the movie off lists of trending topics. Boreing tweeted that Twitter canceled a deal to premiere “What is a Woman?” for free on the platform “because of two instances of ‘misgendering.’” Twitter rules prohibit intentionally referring to transgender individuals with the wrong gender or name. “This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed,” Musk tweeted back. “Whether or not you agree with using someone’s preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws.” Irwin tweeted Friday that “one or two people noticed” she left the company the day before, and she noted speculation about whether she was fired or quit. She teased that she would post 24 tweets to explain her departure. Then she posted that she was just kidding about the long narrative. “In all seriousness, I did resign but this has been a once in a lifetime experience and I’m so thankful to have worked with this amazing team of passionate, creative and hardworking people. Will be cheering you all and Twitter as you go!” Next to Musk, Irwin had been the most prominent voice of the company’s ever-changing content policies in recent months. Twitter has struggled to bring back advertisers turned off by Musk’s drastic changes and loosening of rules against hate speech since he bought Twitter for $44 billion in October. Twitter also has an incoming CEO, Linda Yaccarino, known for decades of media and advertising industry experience, but she hasn’t started yet. Irwin and Twitter didn’t respond to requests from The Associated Press for comment. Twitter has been in turmoil including mass layoffs and voluntary departures since the billionaire Tesla owner bought the San Francisco company and took it private. The company’s head of trust and safety left shortly after the takeover, and turnover in the top ranks has continued. (AP)

The post Twitter Executive Responsible For Content Safety Resigns After Elon Musk Criticism appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

Former Labor MK Omer Bar-Lev, who protested outside the home of HaGaon HaRav Gershon Edelstein, zt’l, leading to the Chareidi boycott of Angel Bakery due to Bar-Lev’s new position as the head of Angel’s board, paid a shiva visit to the Rosh Yeshivah’s sons on Sunday. Bar-Lev was accompanied by Yaron Angel, one of the owners of the bakery. Both of them presented letters of apology to the Rosh HaYeshivah’s sons. Bar-Lev’s letter states: “First of all, I want to express my deepest consolations for the Rav’s petirah. I know what a great leader HaRav Edelstein, zt’l was, that he was moser his life for the fulfillment of Torah in Eretz Yisrael in modesty and pleasantness. The Rav loved each person without compromising on his positions and was zocheh to long life and thousands of talmidim. Consolations to you and to all of his many talmidim.” “As you know, a number of weeks ago, a political protest was held near the Rav’s home. Various – mistaken – reports claimed that the location of the protest was opposite the Rav’s home and was against him and slighted the kavod haTorah and due to this, was an affront to a large sector.” “That was not my intention. I intended to express my personal stance and definitely did not intend an insult against a Gadol HaDor. If I would have been aware ahead of time of the situation we became involved with and the hurt feelings, I would definitely have refrained from doing so – and therefore I express my regret and apologize from the bottom of my heart.” “I view the kiyum of Torah v’lomdeha as an important value in mesorat Yisrael – and I was not protesting against it.” “Our shared lives in the State of Israel obligate all of us to learn more about each other’s sorrows. The moreshet of the wonderful Rav should continue to the next generations.” The letter from Yaron Angel explained that Bar-Lev participated in the protest as a private citizen and not as part of his position as the head of the bakery’s board. It continued by saying that the company could have clarified that fact immediately after it happened but “we thought that such a response would involve the company in political matters from which we’ve avoided being involved with for decades. However, davka this silence developed into another affront. And for this, we feel regret and apologize from the bottom of our hearts.” The letter continued by saying that “no insulting comments or deeds were made on behalf of the company or with the knowledge of people identified with the company or its employees.” “The Angel Company respects and has served the Chareidi sector for many years while being makpid on mehudar kashrus and the preservation of good relations with the varied Chareidi population and employs many people from the Chareidi sector.” “We have no part of the matters attributed to us and we apologize that we were silent until now.” Angel Bakery is also placing a public apology on the streets of Chareidi areas and cities throughout Israel beginning on Sunday evening. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The post END OF BOYCOTT? Ex-Labor MK, Angel Owner Apologize To Sons Of The Rosh Yeshiva, Z’tl appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was sworn into his third presidential term on Saturday, reappointed an internationally respected former banker as finance minister in a sign that his new government might pursue more conventional economic policies. Erdogan, 69, took the oath of office a week after he won a new five-year term in a runoff presidential race that could stretch his 20-year rule in the key NATO country that straddles Europe and Asia into a quarter-century. Unveiling the lineup of his new Cabinet, Erdogan announced the reappointment of Mehmet Simsek – a former finance minister and deputy prime minister – to the helm of the economy. Simsek, a former London-based Merrill Lynch banker, returns to the Cabinet as treasury and finance minister after a five-year break from politics. The appointment comes as Turkey is grappling with a cost-of-living crisis fueled by inflation that peaked at a staggering 85% in October before easing to 44% last month. The Turkish currency has lost more than 10% of its value against the dollar since the start of the year. Critics blame the turmoil on Erdogan’s policy of lowering interest rates to promote growth, which runs contrary to conventional economic thinking that rates should rise to combat inflation. Simsek’s appointment is seen as an indication that Erdogan may abandon policies that many economists have branded as “unorthodox.” In other appointments, Erdogan chose as his foreign minister Hakan Fidan, who has headed Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency, MIT, since 2010. A former soldier who holds a doctorate in international relations, Fidan replaces Mevlut Cavusoglu, who had held the post since 2014. The chief of military staff, Gen. Yasar Guler, meanwhile, will take up the post of defense minister, Erdogan announced. Earlier, dozens of foreign dignitaries attended Erdogan’s inauguration ceremony at his vast presidential complex in Ankara. They included NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Carl Bildt, a high-profile former Swedish prime minister. Stockholm hopes to press Erdogan to lift his country’s objections to Sweden’s membership in the military alliance — which requires unanimous approval by all allies. Turkey accuses Sweden of being too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups that Turkey considers to be terrorists. NATO wants to bring Sweden into the alliance by the time allied leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12, but Turkey and Hungary have yet to endorse the bid. Other leaders in attendance included Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev, Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, Armenia’s Nikol Pashinyan, Pakistan’s Shahbaz Sharif and Libya’s Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. The republic will be celebrating its centennial in October, and so presiding over a new “Turkish century” became an important campaign slogan for Erdogan. During his inauguration ceremony, Erdogan hailed “the start of the Turkish century, a new period of glory for our country.” “I invite all 81 provinces to come together in fraternity. Let us leave behind the resentments of the campaign. Let us find a way to make up for hurt feelings. Let’s all work together to build the Turkish century,” he said. He also expressed his intention to introduce a new constitution, saying: “We will liberate our democracy from the present constitution produced by (the 1980) military coup, and strengthen it with a freedom-promoting, civilian and inclusive constitution.” The inauguration ceremony was preceded by a swearing-in ceremony in parliament. Supporters waited outside despite the heavy rain, […]

The post Turkey’s Erdogan Takes Oath Of Office, Ushering In His Third Presidential Term appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

The nation’s employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations and evidence of enduring strength in an economy that the Federal Reserve is desperately trying to cool. Friday’s report from the government reflected the job market’s resilience after more than a year of aggressive interest rate increases by the Fed. Many industries, from construction to restaurants to health care, are still adding jobs to keep up with consumer demand and restore their workforces to pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the report painted a mostly encouraging picture of the job market. Yet there were some mixed messages in the May figures. Notably, the unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, from a five-decade low of 3.4% in April. It’s the highest unemployment rate since October. (The government compiles the unemployment data using a different survey than the one used to calculate job gains, and the two surveys sometimes conflict.) IS THE LABOR MARKET AS STRONG AS THE GAIN OF 339,000 JOBS SUGGESTS? Probably not. In May, employers added the most jobs since January. So the overall picture is an encouraging one. Yet there are signs that hiring is cooling from the super-heated levels of the past two years. For one thing, the length of the average work week declined, to 34.3 hours from 34.4 in April. That is a seemingly small drop, but economists said it’s equivalent to cutting several hundred thousand jobs. It means that, on average, weekly paychecks will be slightly smaller. The average work week is down from 34.6 hours a year ago. Hourly wage growth also dipped in May, evidence that many businesses feel less pressure to dangle higher pay to find and keep workers. Average hourly pay increased 4.3% from a year earlier. That’s down from gangbusters gains of nearly 6% a year ago. And the rise in the unemployment rate partly reflected higher layoffs. This suggested that not everyone who lost jobs in recent high-profile layoffs by banks, tech firms and media companies has found new work. IS THE ECONOMY HEADED FOR A RECESSION? Not likely anytime soon. The strong, steady job growth of the past several months shows that the economy remains in solid shape despite the Fed’s interest rate hikes, which have made borrowing much costlier for businesses and consumers. A recession, if one occurs, is likely further away than many economists had previously thought. “As long as the economy continues to produce above 200,000 jobs per month, this economy simply is not going to slip into recession,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at consulting firm RSM. More hiring translates into more Americans earning paychecks, a trend that suggests that consumer spending — the principal driver of U.S. economic growth — will keep growing. DOES THAT MEAN THE ECONOMY IS IN THE CLEAR? Not necessarily. Some cracks in the economy’s foundations have emerged. Home sales have tumbled. A measure of factory activity showed that manufacturing has contracted for seven straight months. And consumers are showing signs of straining to keep up with higher prices. The proportion of Americans who are struggling to stay current on their credit card and auto loan debt rose in the first three months of this year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Sales at several retail companies, including discount chain Dollar General […]

The post US Hiring Jumped Last Month. So Did Unemployment. Here’s What That Says About The Economy appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

An investigation of the serious incident on the Egyptian border on Shabbos during which an Egyptian policeman infiltrated into Israel and murdered three IDF soldiers uncovered major lapses in the security on the border and in IDF operations. The terrorist entered Israel via an emergency gate on the border normally used by IDF soldiers in coordination with Egypt. The gate was secured only with zip ties since it is meant to be opened quickly. IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a press briefing that an investigation is taking place into why the sensors on the border fence didn’t issue an alert following the terrorist’s infiltration into Israel. Hagari added that there are several small safe crossings in the security fence for emergencies and the terrorist used one of them. “We will carry out an investigation to improve this. Some of the crossings are coordinated with the Egyptians.” Maariv reported that the terrorist walked about six kilometers (3.7 miles) from his base in Egypt carrying a knapsack with his gear. When he reached the border fence, he cut the zip ties on the gate. The IDF soldiers posted nearby did not notice him and were caught by surprise when the terrorist opened fire. They didn’t manage to return fire before succumbing to their wounds. Ynet reported that the terrorist planned every step of the attack beforehand. He was very familiar with the area due to his position as a border guard and knew exactly how and where he would cross into Israel and where the IDF guard post was located. He even prepared a hiding place for himself in Israel one and a half kilometers east of the fence that he marked with a pile of rocks. According to an IDF assessment, the soldiers were shot at about 6:30 a.m. on Shabbos morning. Their last communication with their commander was about 4:15 a.m., and their bodies weren’t found until almost five hours later, around 9:00 a.m., when the platoon commander arrived at the post at the end of the guards’ shift. In the wake of the discovery of the attack, additional IDF forces were deployed to the area and searches for the terrorist began. A surveillance drone was deployed which located a suspicious figure and the division commander summoned combat helicopters to assist in confronting the suspect. However, after the helicopters were delayed, the commander made a decision to advance without them. IDF forces approached the area to “close the circle” on the suspect but the terrorist opened fire, killing Ori Yitzchak Iluz, H’yd. Several minutes later, another group of IDF soldiers killed the terrorist. A Quran was found in the terrorist’s possession along with two knives and six firearm cartridges. The IDF believes that the terrorist acted independently and was not tied to any terrorist organization. Egypt still maintains that the police officer was chasing drug smugglers into Israeli territory. However, according to the IDF spokesperson, the thwarting of the drug smuggling operation that preceded the terror attack took place at about 2:30 a.m., about three kilometers (1.8 miles) from the scene of the attack. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The post Murdered IDF Soldiers Found 5 Hours Later, Quran Found On Terrorist appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

HaGaon HaRav Meir Tzvi Bergman, who received the bitter news of his son’s petirah after traveling to the US for the first time in four years, will speak at the Adirei HaTorah event during the week of shiva. HaRav Bergman’s speech was initially canceled due to dinei aveilus. However, he remained in the US to sit shiva since his doctors felt it would be too taxing for the elderly Rosh Yeshivah to make another long plane trip so soon after landing. Meanwhile, the Roshei Yeshivos of Lakewood began discussing the issue of whether HaRav Bergman’s appearance at the event would fall under the halachic category of “רבים צריכים לו” – believing that the success of the event may be impinged by the Rosh Yeshivah’s absence. They brought the shaila to HaGaon HaRav Simcha Bunim Cohen, who debated the issue with HaGaon HaRav Ben-Tzion HaKohen Kook, the Rav of Petach Tikvah and the talmid muvhak of of HaGaon HaRav Elyashiv, z’tl. Read the p’sak below: (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The post RARE P’SAK: HaRav Bergman To Speak At Adirei Event During Shiva For His Son appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

YouTube will stop removing content that falsely claims the 2020 election or other past U.S. presidential elections were marred by “widespread fraud, errors or glitches,” the platform announced Friday. The change is a reversal for the Google-owned video service, which said a month after the 2020 election that it would start removing new posts that falsely claimed widespread voter fraud or errors changed the outcome. YouTube said in a blog post that the updated policy was an attempt to protect the ability to “openly debate political ideas, even those that are controversial or based on disproven assumptions.” “In the current environment, we find that while removing this content does curb some misinformation, it could also have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm,” the blog post said. The updated policy, which goes into effect immediately, won’t stop YouTube from taking down content that tries to deceive voters in the upcoming 2024 election, or other future races in the U.S. and abroad. The company said its other existing rules against election misinformation remain unchanged. This could prove difficult to enforce, said John Wihbey, an associate professor at Northeastern University who studies social media and misinformation. “It doesn’t take a genius if you’re on the disinformation ‘we were wronged in 2020’ side to say, ’wait a minute, let’s just claim that voting just generally is not worth it. And 2020 is our example,” he said. “I don’t know how you disentangle rhetoric that both refers to past wrongs and to forward possibilities. The content moderation team, which is going to try to do this, is going to tie themselves in knots trying to figure out exactly where that line is.” The announcement comes after YouTube and other major social media companies, including Twitter and the Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, have come under fire in recent years for not doing more to combat the firehose of election misinformation and disinformation that spreads on their platforms. The left-leaning media watchdog group Media Matters said the policy change is not a surprise, as it was one of the “last major social media platforms” to keep the policy in place. “YouTube and the other platforms that preceded it in weakening their election misinformation policies, like Facebook, have made it clear that one attempted insurrection wasn’t enough. They’re setting the stage for an encore,” said its vice president Julie Millican in a statement. (AP)

The post YouTube Changes Policy To Allow False Claims About 2020 Presidential Election appeared first on The Yeshiva World.