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May 16, 2019 at 4:29 pm
The mother of the Palestinian terrorist who murdered two Israelis at the Barkan Industrial Park in the northern West Bank in October was convicted in an Israeli military court on Thursday of failing to prevent the attack.
Wafa Na’alowa, the Samaria Military Court ruled, knew her son Ashraf was training with firearms for a terror attack against Israelis. Two weeks before the October 7 killings, the son even informed his mother of his intentions to become a “martyr,” and she shared the information with other family members — but at no point made an effort to stop him or inform Palestinian or Israeli security agencies, the court concluded.
Given her knowledge of her son’s intentions in the days leading up to the attack, Wafa Na’alowa “cannot be rele...
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May 16, 2019 at 4:25 pm
Despite opposition by the Dutch constitutional court, the local animal party has filed its second bill seeking a ban on the slaughter of animals without stunning.
The Party for the Animals filed the bill Monday in the Tweede Kamer, the Dutch lower house, the RTL broadcaster reported. It was after the Council of State, an advisory body on legislation and the Netherlands’ highest general administrative court, had issued an unusual warning about the bill, saying it would unreasonably compromise religious freedoms.
In 2012, the Dutch Senate scrapped a ban, which the party had initiated on the practice. Submitted by the Party for Freedom, the bill received support from various political parties, including the anti-Islam Party for Freedom. But the Senate voted down the bill, citing reaso...
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May 16, 2019 at 4:11 pm
Baltimore, MD – May 10, 2019 - It is with sadness that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petirah of Harold Cohen, Z’L, father of Mrs. Estie Kahn.Mrs.Kahn is observing Shiva at 2325 Blackberry Road, BAltimore, MD, 21209, Thursday 5/16/19 from 9 am -10 pm and Friday 5/17/19 from 9 am- 4pmBila HaMaves LaNetzach...
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May 16, 2019 at 4:03 pm
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May fended off pressure Thursday from Conservative Party lawmakers demanding that she set a date for her resignation, buying herself a few more weeks to try to unblock Britain’s Brexit impasse.
But she agreed to give a timetable next month for her departure, raising the prospect that Britain will get a new prime minister before it leaves the European Union — currently scheduled for Oct. 31.
Leaders of a powerful committee that oversees Conservative leadership contests met May to express growing frustration in party ranks at her refusal to name an exit date following her failure to take Britain out of the EU by the original Brexit date of March 29.
Members of the body, known as the 1922 Committee, have threatened May with a l...
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May 16, 2019 at 4:03 pm
As Iran and the United States square off in the Persian Gulf, Israel will need to take into account that any significant escalation could result in Iranian-ordered attacks on its territory and on Israeli targets overseas.
Even before the latest tensions began, Israel’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau released its annual spring travel advisory in April, which is based on the latest intelligence assessments.
The advisory contained the following warning: “Iran and elements of the Iranian front continue to act, [and] try and to build infrastructure for carrying out terror attacks. They operate mainly against ‘regime dissidents’ in Europe—[yet] in line with an Iranian decision, this infrastructure could also be used to carry out terror attacks against Israelis.”
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May 16, 2019 at 3:59 pm
Stocks marched higher on Wall Street for the third straight day Thursday, erasing the big plunge they took at the start of the week on worries about the worsening trade fight between China and the U.S.
Technology stocks, health care companies and banks accounted for much of the market’s broad gains. Banks were benefiting from higher bond yields, which allow them to charge higher interest rates on loans. Bank of America rose 1.7% and Citigroup gained 1.9%. Bond yields rose following a surprising rise in new home construction in April.
The steady gains mark a turnaround from Monday, when stocks took a nosedive after Beijing issued retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, ratcheting up tensions between the two largest economies in the world.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are now flat for ...
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May 16, 2019 at 3:04 pm
Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott announced the creation of a Committee on Cybersecurity and Emergency Preparedness on Thursday, as the city works to restore the systems taken down by a debilitating ransomware attack last week.
“This cyber attack against Baltimore City government is a crisis of the utmost urgency,” Scott said. “That is why I will convene a select committee, co-chaired by Councilman Eric Costello and Councilman Isaac ‘Yitzy’ Schleifer, to examine the City's coordination of cybersecurity efforts, including the Administration's response to the cybersecurity attack and testimony from cybersecurity experts.”
A type of ransomware known as “RobinHood” took down several of the city’s services ...
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May 16, 2019 at 3:04 pm
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Thursday blamed Tehran for a drone attack by Yemen’s rebels that knocked out a key oil pipeline and a newspaper close to the palace called for the U.S. to carry out “surgical” strikes on Iran, adding a new layer of tension to the standoff in the Persian Gulf.
Tensions have flared in recent weeks after the U.S. sent warships and bombers to the region to counter an alleged threat from Iran. Four oil tankers were targeted in sabotage attacks Sunday off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and drones struck a Saudi oil pipeline Tuesday in an attack claimed by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.
The crisis is rooted in President Donald Trump’s decision last year to withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear accord between...
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May 16, 2019 at 3:00 pm
Yaakov Litzman announced that he would be removing cannabis from the country's list of dangerous drugs, which would allow it to be sold at pharmacies throughout Israel, Channel 12 reported on Thursday evening.
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May 16, 2019 at 2:43 pm
Heresy in Chicago: A couple who recently moved to a Jewish neighborhood has been exposed ad Christians posing as Orthodox Jews, with the mission to influence others.
Rabbi Levi Notik of Chicago has informed the community that the couple who go by the names David and Rivkah Castello were recognized by a visitor from Brooklyn to be a couple who had been exposed there last year.
David and Rivkah Castello moved to West Rogers Park in Chicago a few months ago, and they dress, act and behave like Frum Jews, and Daven in local Shuls, Rabbi Notik warned. Rivkah works as a babysitter for young children in the neighborhood.
David looks like a Frum yid, wearing the traditional clothing and sporting long peyos.
When asked, the couple admits that she is not Jewish, and he claims his matern...
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May 16, 2019 at 2:26 pm
President Rivlin to the Finnish Ambassador:
"As Finland takes up the presidency of the European Union in July, your leadership is even more important. Close EU-Israel relations are in the interests of us all. Israel seeks peace with its neighbors, but the rockets fired on us just last week from Gaza show we cannot compromise on the security of our civilians."
President Rivlin to the Greek Ambassador:
"We face a rising tide of anti-Semitism across Europe, including in Greece, which I discussed recently with your president. It was a great honor to participate with the Mayor of Thessaloniki at the Yom HaShoah ceremony."
Ambassadors from Ethiopia, Finland, Peru, Greece and Nicaragua presented their credentials today, Thursday May 16 / 11 Iyar, to President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin...
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May 16, 2019 at 2:22 pm
London - Amnesty International called on Thursday for Israel’s government to ensure that an Israeli company, whose spyware has been linked to a WhatsApp breach that may have targeted human rights groups, be held accountable for the way its software is used.
Amnesty on Tuesday filed a petition in Israel seeking the revocation of NSO Group’s export licence and told Reuters that it was up to the government to take a firmer stance against export licenses that have “resulted in human rights abuses.”
Israel’s Ministry of Defence declined to comment.
WhatsApp, a unit of Facebook, said on Tuesday that a security breach on its messaging app may have targeted human rights groups.
According to Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at San Francisco-based Electronic ...
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May 16, 2019 at 2:21 pm
Washington - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he hoped the United States was not heading to war with Iran as he prepared to meet with Switzerland President Ueli Maurer, whose nation has served as a diplomatic conduit between the two countries.
Asked if Washington was going to war with Tehran, Trump told reporters he “hope not” as he greeted Maurer at the White House.
Tensions have escalated in recent days with increasing concerns about a potential U.S.-Iran conflict. Earlier this week the United States pulled some diplomatic staff from its embassy in Baghdad following weekend attacks on four oil tankers in the Gulf.
Switzerland, a neutral country, has historically been a liaison between the United States and Iran which have no diplomatic relations. Read more at R...
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May 16, 2019 at 2:13 pm
Washington - Within an hour of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio joining the Democratic presidential race, he and President Donald Trump were already trading barbs.
During a Thursday morning appearance on “Good Morning America,” de Blasio borrowed one of Trump’s favorite tactics by giving the president a disparaging nickname: Con Don.
“He’s a con artist. I know his tricks I know his playbook,” the mayor said.
Trump tweeted that de Blasio is “considered the worst mayor in the U.S.”
The president added, “but if you like high taxes & crime, he’s your man. NYC HATES HIM!”
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May 16, 2019 at 2:00 pm
Tehran - Iran has developed software to protect its industry against the Stuxnet computer virus, the Iranian communications minister said on Thursday, after accusing Israel in November of a cyber attack on Tehran’s telecommunications facilities.
Stuxnet, which is widely believed to have been developed by the United States and Israel, was discovered in 2010 after it was used to attack a uranium enrichment facility at Iran’s Natanz nuclear site. It was the first publicly known example of a virus being used to attack industrial machinery.
“Iran’s university scientists have developed a firewall for industrial automation systems to neutralise industrial sabotage such as that caused by Stuxnet in power networks, and it was successfully tested,” Communications Mini...
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May 16, 2019 at 1:26 pm
WASHINGTON — Being angry or being sad aren’t particularly ideal dispositions for sound mental health, but which is worse when it comes to physical health? A new study finds that anger appears to be much more harmful, with the potential to increase one’s risk for ailments like heart disease, arthritis, and even cancer in old age.
Older adults may be more prone to feeling upset as their health worsens and day-to-day tasks grow more challenging. But for those who seem to become angry over the most trivial things, here’s more reason to show greater concern rather than shrug them off as simply becoming the grumpy old men or angry old ladies in our lives.
Researchers say that older adults who regularly show anger are more likely to have higher l...
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May 16, 2019 at 1:25 pm
Jerusalem - Facebook said Thursday it banned an Israeli company that ran an influence campaign aimed at disrupting elections in various countries and has canceled dozens of accounts engaged in spreading disinformation.
Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, told reporters that the tech giant had purged 65 Israeli accounts, 161 pages, dozens of groups and four Instagram accounts. Many were linked to the Archimedes Group, a Tel Aviv-based political consulting and lobbying firm that boasts of its social media skills and ability to “change reality.”
Gleicher said Facebook could not speculate about Archimedes’ motives, which “may be commercial or political.”
But he said Facebook discovered “coordinated inauthentic behavior,&rdqu...
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May 16, 2019 at 1:20 pm
New York - Walmart Inc said on Thursday that prices for shoppers will go up due to higher tariffs on imports from China as the world’s largest retailer reported its best comparable sales growth for the first quarter in nine years.
Walmart shares rose 1.4% to $101.30 in premarket trade.
U.S. President Donald Trump increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25% from 10% last week. The move is widely expected to raise prices on thousands of products including clothing, furniture and electronics. China retaliated on Monday, though on a smaller scale.
Walmart Chief Financial Brett Biggs told Reuters that higher tariffs will result in increased prices for consumers. He said the company will try to ease the pain, in part by working with suppliers’ “costs st...
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May 16, 2019 at 1:18 pm
Detroit - A Tesla Model S involved in a fatal crash with a semitrailer in Florida March 1 was operating on the company’s semi-autonomous Autopilot system, federal investigators have determined.
The car drove beneath the trailer, killing the driver, in a crash that is strikingly similar to one that happened on the other side of Florida in 2016 that also involved use of Autopilot.
In both cases, neither the driver nor the Autopilot system stopped for the trailers, and the roofs of the cars were sheared off.
The crash, which remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, raises questions about the effectiveness of Autopilot, which uses cameras, long-range radar and computers to detect objects in front of...
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May 16, 2019 at 1:15 pm
Harrison City, PA - A Pennsylvania school district is defending itself after video surfaced of a safety drill that had a teacher posing as a shooter and donning what appeared to be a Middle Eastern headdress.
The video appears to show the actor wearing a kaffiyeh. The Penn-Trafford School District said Wednesday that organizers didn’t intend to portray the shooter as Arab or Muslim at the January training.
The district says that volunteers were provided costumes by a consultant group and that there was no intent to represent any particular culture or religion. The statement pointed out that the person portraying the shooter also wore a long blond wig and a paintball mask.
The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh says “to stereotype the shooter is appalling given the data on active s...
