A top Kremlin official on Monday scoffed at a report that Russia could be involved in recent arson attacks on the private home of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a building where he once lived and a car that he had owned. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was responding to a Financial Times report that said U.K. security officials were looking into whether Russia was involved in the attacks. The Associated Press has not been able to independently confirm the FT report that relied on unnamed senior U.K. government figures. But Peskov, who the London-based paper said did not respond to a request when it published the story Friday, was asked about the report at his regular press briefing Monday. “London tends to suspect Russia of anything bad that happens in the U.K.,” Peskov said. “As a rule, all these suspicions are groundless, unsubstantiated and often laughable.” No one was injured in the fires that occurred on three nights between May 8 and May 12 in north London, authorities said. Three men with ties to Ukraine face arson charges and are being held without bail before a hearing June 6 in London’s Central Criminal Court. A prosecutor said there was no explanation for the crimes and no official has publicly said Moscow is behind the fires. But the arsons fit a pattern of disruption that Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of carrying out dozens of times to undermine support for Ukraine since Moscow’s full-scale invasion three years ago and to sow division in Europe. The Associated Press in March documented nearly 60 incidents in which European governments, prosecutors, intelligence services or other Western officials blamed Russia, groups linked to Russia or its ally Belarus for cyberattacks, spreading propaganda, plotting killings or committing acts of vandalism, arson, sabotage or espionage since the 2022 invasion. Richard Moore, the head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service, accused Russia last year of a “staggeringly reckless” sabotage campaign against Ukraine’s Western allies. Two weeks ago, six Bulgarians were sentenced in a London court to lengthy prison terms for carrying out a sophisticated spying operation for Russia. Starmer’s office had no comment Monday about the FT report or Peskov’s comments. It referred the AP to the Metropolitan Police, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Foreign Office also did not immediately respond. Counterterrorism detectives investigated the Starmer-related fires, they said, because the incidents involved the prime minister. The charges were authorized by the Crown Prosecution Service’s Counter Terrorism Division, which is responsible for prosecuting offenses relating to state threats, among other crimes. Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych, 21, is charged with three counts of arson with intent to endanger life. His compatriot, Petro Pochynok, 34, and Ukraine-born Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, 26, were charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life. Starmer and his family had moved out of his home after he was elected in July, and they live at the prime minister’s official Downing Street residence. A Toyota RAV4 that Starmer had sold to a neighbor was set ablaze May 8, just down the street from the house where he lived before he took office. The door of an apartment building where he once lived was set on fire on May 11, and on May 12 the […]
PM Bibi Netanyahu met today with US Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA) and his wife Dina Habib Powell. The Prime Minister thanked the Senator and his wife for their deep support for the State of Israel.
“”לבנימין אמר ידיד ה’ ישכון לבטח Prime Minister Netanyahu is greeted with enthusiastic singing at the Yom Yerushalyim event at Merkaz Harav Yeshiva. Beside him are the Chief Rabbi, HaRav David Yosef, and the Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Yaakov Shapira.
Today, the IDF facilitated the transfer of 170 trucks belonging to the UN and the international community carrying humanitarian aid including food, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical drugs via the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Gaza.
VIDEOS: BMG Rosh Yeshiva Harav Malkiel Kotler shlit”a visited several Cleveland schools today, meeting with and addressing tinokos shel bais rabban ahead of Shavuos. The Rosh Yeshiva will be attending an Adirei Hatorah meeting in Cleveland this evening, along with BMG CEO R’ Yosef Heinemann.
The FBI has announced it is revisiting three high-profile cases that have drawn significant public attention: the discovery of cocaine at the White House in 2023, the leak of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022, and the placement of pipe bombs near the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters on January 6, 2021. The decision to reinvestigate these cases comes under the direction of Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who cited “potential public corruption” as a driving factor for the renewed probes. Cocaine Found at Biden’s White House In July 2023, a small bag of cocaine was discovered in a cubby near the West Wing entrance of the White House, sparking widespread speculation and controversy. The initial investigation, conducted by the Secret Service, concluded without identifying the individual responsible for the substance. At the time, President Joe Biden and his family were away at Camp David, yet then-former President Donald Trump and other Republican figures suggested the drugs could be linked to Biden or his son, Hunter Biden, who has publicly acknowledged past struggles with addiction. Deputy Director Bongino has claimed to have been in contact with whistleblowers who expressed suspicions that evidence from the cocaine bag could point to someone within Biden’s inner circle. However, no concrete evidence has been presented to support these claims. A recent book by House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer alleged that the Secret Service destroyed evidence related to the cocaine, a claim that has fueled calls for a thorough investigation. Dobbs Decision Leak The FBI is also revisiting the 2022 leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which signaled the court’s intention to overturn Roe v. Wade. The leak, which occurred months before the final ruling, was unprecedented in its breach of Supreme Court confidentiality and prompted a wave of political fallout. The Supreme Court’s internal investigation failed to identify the source of the leak, and the FBI’s renewed effort aims to uncover whether the incident involved deliberate misconduct or public corruption. January 6 Pipe Bombs The third case under review involves the placement of pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Republican National Committee (RNC) headquarters in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, the same day as the Capitol riot. The devices, which were discovered and safely disarmed, have remained a mystery, with the initial FBI investigation yielding no arrests despite a $500,000 reward for information leading to the perpetrator’s conviction. Bongino has previously suggested the possibility of an “inside job” and has now allocated additional resources to pursue new leads in the case. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Former Hamas hostage Omer Wenkert gave a harrowing account of his captivity in Gaza, revealing systematic abuse, deliberate starvation, and psychological torment during his 14-month imprisonment underground. Speaking at a Bar Association conference, Wenkert described how the already dire conditions worsened dramatically during Israel’s offensive on Rafah in May 2024. “They intentionally starved me,” Wenkert said, recalling being fed half a pita a day for weeks. “Around the entry to Rafah, [there was] intentional starvation, and intentional abuse. They did things that seriously endangered my life, for fun.” Among the disturbing incidents he recounted: a captor spraying insect repellent directly into his eyes and onto anything he might touch. On another occasion, Wenkert said, he was beaten with an iron rod. “They tried to drive me crazy — to damage my sense of time,” he added. Wenkert, who spent much of his captivity in complete isolation, said he was held in a narrow underground tunnel measuring about 90 centimeters (35 inches) wide and roughly 9–10 meters (30 feet) long. A single small mattress and a hole served as his bed and bathroom. For 420 days, he said, he saw his captors only sporadically. Bathing was permitted once every 50 days with a small bottle of water; it wasn’t until after nine and a half months that he was able to wash properly. He also recalled being moved around 80 days into his captivity to another dark corridor lit only by a small lamp — part of what he described as a deliberate attempt to disorient and destabilize him. On June 13, 2024, Wenkert said, two fellow hostages — Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal — were brought into the same corridor. The two remain in Hamas captivity, 597 days since they were abducted on October 7, 2023. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The upcoming Adirei HaTorah maamad at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia has officially sold out—in just three days—setting a new record for the much-anticipated event celebrating the kavod haTorah and the dedication of bnei Torah. By comparison, last year’s event, which drew a crowd of over 30,000, took 12 days to sell out. Organizers said on Sunday evening that while the main seating is completely booked, a few hundred obstructed-view seats still remain available for those hoping to attend. The highlight of this year’s Maamad will be a keynote address from Harav Ezriel Auerbach shlit”a, one of the most revered poskim in Eretz Yisroel. A son of Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l and a son-in-law of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l, Rav Ezriel shlit”a serves as the Rav of Kehillas Chanichei HaYeshivos in Bayit Vegan. Following the petirah of his brother, Rav Shmuel Auerbach zt”l, and Rav Asher Deutsch zt”l, Rav Ezriel has emerged as a guiding force for thousands of talmidei chachamim and yungeleit worldwide, offering his daas Torah and leadership to a new generation of bnei Torah. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
QUESTION: This year Shavuos falls out on Monday and Tuesday. May I cook and set the table for the Monday night meal on Monday afternoon? ANSWER: The second day of Yom Tov is not Biblically ordained; on a Biblical level Shavuos lasts for one day. The second day of Yom Tov is a Rabbinic enactment. Just as it is forbidden to prepare on Yom Tov for a weekday, so too is it forbidden to prepare for the second day of Yom Tov on the first day, because on the first day the second day of Yom Tov is regarded as a weekday. The Gemara refers to this as hachanah (preparing). This category includes both melachos, such as slaughtering an animal or cooking, as well as actions which involve tircha, extra work, such as washing dishes (Shulchan Aruch and Mishnah Berurah 503:1), setting a table (Rama 667:1) and preparing a Sefer Torah for the next day’s reading (M.B. 667:5).
President Donald Trump honored fallen service members during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, calling them “great, great warriors” who were “America’s best and bravest.” “We just revere their incredible legacy.” Trump said. “We salute them in their eternal and everlasting glory. And we continue our relentless pursuit of America’s destiny as we make our nation stronger, prouder, freer, and greater than ever before.” Trump’s speech veered briefly into the political, referring to the republic “that I am fixing after a long and hard four years.” He said that on this commemorative day, his fixes were not for today to discuss. Prior to speaking, Trump placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a somber tradition for U.S. presidents. The president paused after placing the wreath, then stepped back and saluted during the playing of taps. Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined him. Trump told the story of Senior Chief Petty officer Shannon Kent, killed along with three other Americans by a suicide bomber in 2019 in Syria, leaving behind her husband, 3-year-old son and 18-month old son. She was on her fifth combat deployment, he said, embedded with a team hunting Islamic State group militants in Syria, serving as linguist, translator and cryptology technician working alongside special forces. “She was among the first women ever to do it, and she did it better than anyone,” he said. The crowd also heard of Senior Master Sergeant Elroy Harworth, who went down in enemy territory during the Vietnam War, dying while his wife was seven months pregnant. His son followed his father’s path and has been in the Army for 20 years. Vance said the lesson of these stories and all the gravestones is: “We must be cautious in sending our people to war.” The president began the day with a decidedly different tone. In a social media message in all capital letters, Trump ranted at former President Joe Biden, calling him the “scum” who spent the last four years trying to destroy the country with radical leftism and who, he said, left behind an open border. Trump also went after federal judges who have blocked efforts to enact his mass deportation agenda, calling them “monsters who want our country to go to hell.” That was after he posted a separate message proclaiming “HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!” Wishing people a happy Memorial Day is regarded as verboten because the day is considered a solemn day to honor soldiers killed in service. (AP)
Pandemonium on the streets after 17 are injured when a man plows his car into Liverpool fans celebrating their Premier League win, with crowds attempting to reach the assailant. (Sound muted due to language)
A 53-year-old British man plowed his minivan into a crowd of Liverpool soccer fans who had been celebrating the city team’s Premier League championship on Monday and was arrested, police said. There was no immediate word from authorities on how many people were injured. An air ambulance and other emergency vehicles swarmed the scene to respond to reports that multiple pedestrians had been hit. “It was extremely fast,” said Harry Rashid, who was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters and only several feet away. “Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was being updated on the situation and thanked police for their quick response. “The scenes in Liverpool are appalling — my thoughts are with all those injured or affected,” Starmer said. Liverpool fans had come out in their tens of thousands to celebrate the team winning the Premier League this season for a record-tying 20th top-flight title. Liverpool’s last league title came in 2020 but supporters were denied the chance to publicly celebrate that trophy due to restrictions in place at the time during the pandemic. Dancing, scarf-and-flag-waving fans braved wet weather to line the streets and climb up traffic lights to get a view of Liverpool’s players who were atop two buses bearing the words “Ours Again.” The hours-long procession — surrounded by a thick layer of police and security — crawled along a 10-mile (16-kilometer) route and through a sea of red smoke and rain. Fireworks exploded from the Royal Liver Building in the heart of the city to seemingly signal the end of the parade. The team issued a short statement saying its thoughts and prayers were with those affected. Rashid said after the car rammed its initial victims, it came to a halt and the crowd charged the vehicle and began smashing windows. “But then he put his foot down again and just plowed through the rest of them, he just kept going,” Rashid said. “It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.” Rashid said it looked deliberate and he was in shock and disbelief. “My daughter started screaming and there were people on the ground,” he said. “They were just innocent people, just fans going to enjoy the parade.” (AP)
RELIVE THE HISTORIC MOMENT: 58 years ago, IDF paratroopers advanced through the Old City of Yerushalayim, reuniting the city and restoring Jewish sovereignty over the Har Habayis and Kosel for the first time in 2,000 years.
