|
August 25, 2016 at 12:51 pm
London - An easyJet flight from London’s Gatwick Airport to Belfast has faced an hourlong delay after two crew members got into an epic shouting match.
Shocked passengers tweeted about the argument that grew so heated that the two crew members had to be removed from Wednesday’s flight.
Dan Lobb, a television presenter on the flight, described the scene as “unreal.”
He tweeted: “This is quite incredible. We’ve all worked with people we don’t get on with right? But this tiff means a 1 hr flight is delayed!”
The low-cost carrier confirmed what it called a “verbal disagreement” and apologized to passengers for the inconvenience.
The company said Thursday that the safety and welfare of EasyJet passengers and employees requir...
|
August 25, 2016 at 12:48 pm
Philippines - A Filipino fisherman in western Palawan island has found possibly the world’s biggest pearl, but he didn’t know it.
For 10 years, the 34-kilogram (75-pound) pearl was hidden in a bag under a bed. The fisherman’s family would rub it with their hands before going out to sea in the belief it would bring them luck, said relative Aileen Amurao.
Amurao, who is also Puerto Princesa city’s tourism officer, said Thursday that the man gave her the pearl last month for safekeeping because he was moving to a new place.
The pearl was sitting on a bench in her home for weeks until she found time to check the internet, and she was shocked to learn that it could be the world’s biggest at 2.2 feet (67 centimeters) long and 1 foot (30 centimeters) wide...
|
August 25, 2016 at 12:39 pm
Tehran - Iran’s defense minister said on Thursday four of his country’s vessels accused of harassing a U.S. warship were only doing their job, and Tehran would confront any American ship that entered its waters.
The vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) conducted what a U.S. defense official described as a “high speed intercept” of the warship on Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz.
The official said two of the Iranian vessels came within 300 yards of the USS Nitze in an incident that was “unsafe and unprofessional,” underlining the tensions that remain more than a year after Washington and other Western powers reached a landmark nuclear deal with Iran and lifted sanctions.
Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Thursd...
|
August 25, 2016 at 12:29 pm
Baltimore, MD – Aug. 25, 2016 - It is with deep regret that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petirah of Mr. Chaim Avrohom Benyowitz, father of Rabbi Yoel Benyowitz, Rabbi Yirmiyahu Benyowitz and Rabbi Gidon Benyowitz. The levaya will take place tonight in Eretz Yisroel at 10:00 pm.
Shiva will be observed at the Benyowitz home – 4010 Labyrinth Road beginning this afternoon until after Shacharis Wednesday morning.
Davening times are as follows:
Shachris (Fr, Su, Mo-Wed) - 7:30 am
Mincha (Th, Su-Tu) - 7:00 pm
Maariv (Th, Su-Tu) - 9:00 pm
Friday Mincha - 4:30 pm
Bila HaMaves LaNetzach...
|
August 25, 2016 at 11:38 am
Washington - Mylan NV said on Thursday it would reduce the out-of-pocket cost of its severe allergy treatment EpiPen through a discount program, a day after Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton joined lawmakers in criticizing the drug’s high price.
The company, which did not lower the drug’s list price, said it would reduce the patient cost of EpiPen through the use of a savings card, which will cover up to $300 of EpiPen 2-Pak.
Price of the product, acquired in 2007, has zoomed to $600 from $100 in 2008. For patients previously paying the full list price, the card effectively reduces their out-of-pocket cost exposure by 50 percent, Mylan said.
The company said it is also doubling the eligibility for its patient assistance program, which will eliminate ...
|
August 25, 2016 at 11:18 am
New York - Global messaging service WhatsApp says it will start sharing the phone numbers of its users with Facebook, its parent company. That means WhatsApp users could soon start seeing more targeted ads on Facebook — although not on the messaging service itself.
The move is a subtle but significant shift for WhatsApp, which has long promised to safeguard the privacy of more than 1 billion users around the world. WhatsApp is giving users a limited time to opt out of sharing their information with Facebook, although they must take the extra step of unchecking a box to do so. It also says Facebook won’t post phone numbers online or give them out to anyone.
But the giant social network has been looking for ways to make money from WhatsApp since it bought the service t...
|
August 25, 2016 at 11:01 am
Brooklyn, NY - Police are hoping that a driver with Taxi and Limousine Commission license plates will come forward after hitting a six year old boy yesterday in Borough Park.
The driver of the black Toyota Sienna hit the boy at 4:13 PM Wednesday at the intersection of Fort Hamilton Parkway and 41st Street.
Police said that the boy was crossing the street with his family at the time of the accident.
Britt Argueta, of Eben-Ezer Winner Wireless Video located at the corner of 41st Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway, caught the entire episode on surveillance video.
The video shows the minivan running the red light at Fort Hamilton before striking the boy who had stopped for a moment to pick something up off the ground. The boy was pushed several yards by the minivan which then ...
|
August 25, 2016 at 10:58 am
New York - A Mississippi firefighter who received the world’s most extensive face transplant after a burning building collapsed on him said Wednesday that he feels like “a normal guy” for the first time in 15 years.
Patrick Hardison, 42, said he can now eat, see, hear and breathe normally, thanks to last year’s surgery. He has a full head of hair and hits the gym twice a week.
“Before the transplant, every day I had to wake up and get myself motivated to face the world,” Hardison told reporters at NYU Langone Medical Center. “Now I don’t worry about people pointing and staring or kids running away crying. . I’m happy.”
Hardison was a volunteer firefighter in Senatobia, Mississippi, when a building collapsed on him in 2...
|
August 25, 2016 at 10:51 am
Jackson, MS - Nigel Farage, a key figure in the successful campaign to get Britain out of the European Union, lent his support to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying Trump represented the same type of anti-establishment movement that he masterminded in his own country.
Farage appeared with Trump before a cheering crowd of thousands at a rally in Jackson, Mississippi. Farage partly based his Brexit drive on opposition to mass immigration to Britain that he said was leading to rapid change in his country.
His appearance came as Trump sought to moderate his own hardline stance against illegal immigration. In remarks broadcast on Wednesday, Trump backed further away from his vow to deport millions of illegal immigrants, saying he would be willing to wo...
|
August 25, 2016 at 10:48 am
Ramapo, NY - A fatal collision last night on a major thoroughfare in Monsey took the life of an 18 year old young woman from a well known local family.
Shaindy Mashinsky, daughter of Rabbi Yosef Mashinsky, was crossing Route 59 at approximately 8:50 PM Tuesday near Augusta Avenue just west of Route 306 with her younger sister when she was struck by a minivan traveling eastbound on the busy roadway.
The younger Miss Mashinsky, whose name and age were not released by the Ramapo Police Department, had just reached the south side of Route 59 when the collision occurred, but the elder girl was still in the roadway.
Paramedics treated Shaindy Mashinsky on scene and transported her to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla in serious condition with injuries to her head and body...
|
August 25, 2016 at 10:46 am
Washington - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to slap tariffs on Chinese products to show Beijing that the United States is “not playing games anymore” when it comes to leveling the field on trade.
Addressing a rally in Tampa, Florida, Trump said that if he was elected in November, he would instruct the U.S. trade representative to bring cases against China both in the United States and at the World Trade Organization.
Tariffs would be necessary in some cases “because they have to understand that we’re not playing games anymore,” he added. Trump had previously pledged a 45 percent tariff on Chinese goods.
Trump said on Wednesday that the trade deficit with China was more than $500 billion, although the figure g...
|
August 25, 2016 at 10:41 am
Washington - Hillary Clinton defended her family’s charitable foundation on Wednesday against criticism from Donald Trump, saying it had provided more transparency than her Republican rival’s sprawling business interests.
Clinton called into CNN’s “AC360” to address Trump’s suggestions that the foundation started by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, had been used to facilitate a pay-for-play scheme during her time at the State Department.
“What Trump has said is ridiculous. My work as secretary of state was not influenced by any outside forces. I made policies based on what I thought was right,” Clinton said. She said the foundation had provided “life-saving work,” adding that neither she nor her husband had e...
|
August 25, 2016 at 9:55 am
New York - U.S. retailer Bed Bath & Beyond on Wednesday said it ordered an external audit of textiles from Welspun India, after Target Corp last week accused the Indian manufacturer of passing off cheap sheets as premium Egyptian cotton for two years.
This could compound the woes of Welspun, which supplies to several large U.S. retailers and has seen its shares plummet percent since Target’s announcement on Friday.
The incident also highlights the problems large retailers face with quality control and compliance when procuring from suppliers spread around the world.
Bed Bath & Beyond spokeswoman Leah Drill said the retailer will pursue an investigation and take appropriate action.
Bed Bath & Beyond’s announcement comes after the world’s largest ret...
|
August 25, 2016 at 9:53 am
Toronto - Canada’s national police force recently permitted its women officers to wear the hijab.
The Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police recently approved the change in policy, allowing Muslim women to wear the garment, a veil that covers the head and chest, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale’s spokesman said Wednesday.
Scott Bardsley said it is intended to better reflect the diversity of Canada and to encourage more Muslim women to consider a career with the force.
The Mounties faced a public backlash more than 25 years ago when a Sikh man took the government to court and won the right to wear his traditional turban instead of the usual Mountie headgear. Canadians have long since accepted the change.
Bardsley noted police services in the cities of ...
|
August 25, 2016 at 9:52 am
Yorba Linda, CA - Overseas reaction to President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974 was mixed: The Soviets expressed worry about the future of detente. North Korea reacted brashly, calling Nixon’s exit the “falling out” of the “wicked boss” of American imperialists. South Vietnam put its forces on high alert because it feared the North Vietnamese would take advantage of the vulnerable U.S. political situation.
The international response to the Watergate scandal and Nixon’s fall is noted in 2,500 newly declassified intelligence documents the CIA released on Wednesday. The 28,000 pages — many still with lengthy redactions — represent eight years of the top-secret President’s Daily Brief prepared for Nixon and his success...
|
August 25, 2016 at 9:50 am
Italy - The death toll from a devastating earthquake in central Italy rose to at least 247 people early on Thursday after rescue teams worked through the night to try to find survivors under the rubble of flattened towns.
The 6.2 magnitude quake struck a cluster of mountain communities 140 km (85 miles) east of Rome early on Wednesday as people slept, destroying hundreds of homes.
The provisional death toll has jumped to 247, from the 159 listed on Wednesday night, the Civil Protection department said. Officials said they expected the figure to rise further as the search operation continued. Trucks full of rubble left the area every few minutes, including one in which a dusty doll could be seen lying on top of tonnes of debris.
Hundreds of aftershocks have shaken the area sinc...
|
August 25, 2016 at 9:48 am
Kabul, Afghanistan - Twelve people, including seven students, were killed in an attack on the American University in Kabul that sent hundreds of students fleeing in panic, police said on Thursday, before the assault ended when two gunmen were shot dead.
The attack began at around 6:30 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Wednesday with a large explosion that officials said was a car bomb followed by gunfire, as suspected militants battled into the complex where foreign staff and pupils were working.
Elite Afghan forces surrounded the walled compound and eventually worked their way inside, according to a senior interior ministry official.
Sporadic gunfire could be heard through the night and, before dawn, police said the operation had concluded after they killed at least two attackers.
There wa...
|
August 25, 2016 at 9:30 am
nei Brak, Israel - Hillary Clinton may become the president of Israel’s most important ally, but her image is banished from a significant swath of the country’s media: the ultra-Orthodox press whose deeply conservative readership chafes at images of women.
Clinton’s nomination as Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency is casting light on a longstanding policy that has already applied to other female figures from Germany’s Angela Merkel to Israel’s own prime minister Golda Meir. But whereas the election is causing some discussion among U.S. ultra-Orthodox media, their Israeli equivalents are digging in their heels.
“For us there is no question. We will not publish pictures of women, period,” said Meni Shwartz, editor of the ultra-Or...
|
August 25, 2016 at 8:50 am
I´m a stranger in a strange land..
- Carson McCullers, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
In Parshat Ekev, we are confronted with one of the most compelling – and counter-intuitive – obligations in all Torah. “You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Deut. 10:19) This mitzvah actually appears thirty-six times, double chai, in Torah. We have heard it so often and referred to it so regularly that we often lose sight of its power and unsettling demand. We do so at our peril and diminishment.
Too often, we have “tamed” this mitzvah to fit our needs rather than confront the profound – and gracious – imposition that it places upon us. But listen to this command with fresh ea...
|
August 25, 2016 at 4:51 am
Baltimore, MD Daily Dvar Halacha - Aug. 25, 2016 / 21 Menchem Av 5776 - Bathroom In The Middle Of The Night, Do I Say Asher Yotsar?
