Seoul - North Korea said Friday that nuclear negotiations with the United States will never resume unless the Trump administration moves away from what Pyongyang described as unilateral demands for disarmament. The statement by an unnamed North Korean foreign ministry spokesman published in state media was the country’s latest expression of displeasure over the stalled negotiations as it continues to press Washington to soften its stance on enforcing sanctions against the North’s crippled economy. It came as President Donald Trump prepares to travel to Japan this weekend for a summit with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in which the North Korean nuclear issue will likely be high on the agenda. In the statement carried by Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency, the N...
Jerusalem - Israel braced for renewed wildfires Friday amid a major heat wave that shows no signs of abating. At an emergency briefing, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had appealed for international help to combat the fires, and that aid has arrived from Greece, Croatia, Italy, Egypt and Cyprus. Israel “really appreciates” the help, Netanyahu said, singling out Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi for pitching in with two helicopters. He added that several others, including Russia and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, offered aid. “I am deeply thankful for the readiness of neighbors to help us in a time of crisis, just as we help them,” Netanyahu said. Thousands of people were evacuated from towns and dozens of homes were torched...
Beijing - Stepping up Beijing’s propaganda offensive in the tariffs standoff with Washington, Chinese state media on Friday accused the U.S. of seeking to “colonize global business” with moves against Huawei and other Chinese technology companies. There was no word from either side on progress toward resuming talks between the world’s two largest economies, though President Donald Trump said he expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next month at a G-20 meeting in Japan. Negotiations over how to cut the huge, longstanding U.S. trade deficit with China and resolve complaints over Beijing’s methods for acquiring advanced foreign technologies foundered earlier this month after Trump raised tariffs on billions of dollars of imports from China. ...
Facebook said it had removed more than 3 billion fake accounts between October and March, a spike in inauthentic activity that the tech giant attributed to “unsophisticated” bad actors that are caught while creating scores of fake profiles in batches. Facebook revealed the new figure Thursday as part of its updated transparency report, which offered fresh insight into the social-networking company’s ongoing battle to stop the spread of hate speech, graphic photos and videos, and other abusive content on its platform. Facebook said that the billions of accounts it removed over the six-month period were “never considered active,” so they did not count toward the company’s total number of monthly active users, a figure that investors track closely to char...
Non-Emergency Lane Closures Suspended on Major Maryland Roads for Holiday Weekend All non-emergency work that would require lane closures on major roads in metropolitan areas in Maryland has been suspended from 12 noon on Friday, May 24th until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28th. MDTA Police Gear Up for Memorial Day Weekend Traffic Maryland Transportation Authority Police will be adding extra patrols to area roads for the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend. Corporal Ed Bartlinski says that additional officers will be on the road and on the lookout for impaired, aggressive and distracted drivers as well as those not wearing seatbelts. Bartlinski is asking beach-bound drivers to stay on US 50 and not try to beat delays by using local roads on Kent Island. He says that some traffic apps direc...
A Massachusetts homeowner came home last week to find that someone had broken into his residence. But after a quick search of the home, he realized nothing was missing. In fact, it was perfectly made up, more perfect than how the family left it when they went out. Nate Roman, 44, of Marlborough, said he had returned home with his 5-year-old son last week when the little boy noticed that the back door was open. "It was terrifying to know someone was in your house," Roman said. The intruder made up all the beds, stacked his son's stuffed animals and even left origami roses made of toilet paper. "They scrubbed everything down. They did the shower, did the toilets," Roman said. Roman said every room in the home had been cleaned except for the kitchen. "I was immediately worried th...
The City of Baltimore processed 462 property deed applications during the first week of the manual workaround put in place to move property transactions forward amid the city's computer system outage, according to a statement released by the Baltimore City Mayor's Office.  Staff at the Abel Wolman Municipal Building processed 42 applications on Monday, 90 on Tuesday, 142 on Wednesday and 188 on Thursday.  According to the statement, the city typically processes between 150 and 175 applications on a typical workday.  This workaround allows the city to issue manual lien certificates given that the applicant signs an affidavit and promise to pay all liens once the computer systems are restored.  Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young announced the workaround recently ...
The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee approved a $750 billion 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Wednesday that includes the continuation of American assistance to Israel for missile-defense programs and at the same time blocks the transfer of F-35 jets to Turkey. The closed-door vote was 25-2. The Pentagon blueprint for the upcoming year allocates $500 million towards missile-defense systems in Israel such as the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow 3. Like last year’s final version, the Senate version of the 2020 NDAA also temporarily halts the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. This comes amid tensions between Washington and Ankara with the latter seeking to purchase a Russian defense system. “The bill sends a clear message to [Turkish President R...
WASHINGTON — Pete Buttigieg told a group of influential liberal Jewish leaders on Thursday that the United States should guide Israel's government away from steps that he says are harmful to both the U.S. and Israel, and said the Trump administration's actions on Jerusalem and the Golan Heights amount to the U.S. intervening in Israel's domestic politics. The Democratic presidential candidate also pushed back on the Republican argument that Jews who are concerned about the rising tide of anti-Semitism should flee the Democratic Party and vote for GOP politicians. He said that "fighting anti-Semitism, like fighting all forms of hate, must be a bipartisan cause," multiple individuals who were in the room for his remarks tell NBC News. "It's pretty rich to see a Wh...
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan held an assessment of the situation following the wave of fires at the emergency and rescue forces headquarters in Tel Hadid. “We have appealed to many countries,” Netanyahu said. “Aid has arrived from Greece, Croatia, Italy, Egypt and Cyprus and we very much appreciate it. I would like to thank my friend the Egyptian president, Sisi, for sending two helicopters.” “We’ve also received offers of aid from others, including the Palestinian Authority,” said Netanyahu. “Four to six countries, including Russia, are already ready to send practical help. They offered us help even before we turned to them. This is very significant for some of these countries. Internat...
LONDON (AP) — Theresa May announced Friday that she will step down as U.K. Conservative Party leader on June 7, admitting defeat in her attempt to take Britain out of the European Union and sparking a contest to become the country’s next prime minister. She will stay as caretaker prime minister until the new leader is chosen, a process likely to take several weeks. The new Conservative leader will become prime minister without the need for a general election, and will take up the task of trying to secure Britain’s exit from the EU. Her voice breaking, May said in a televised statement outside 10 Downing St. that she would soon be leaving a job that it has been “the honor of my life to hold.” May became prime minister the month after Britons voted in June 20...
Baltimore, MD - May 23, 2019 - For the last 16 years, Torah Youth Association (TYA), in conjunction with Shomrei Emunah’s youth department, has held a BBQ and bonfire to celebrate Lag BaOmer. Once again, boys gathered around the bonfire to enjoy divrei Torah from Shomrei's Mara D'asra Rabbi Binyamin Marwick and music led by Pinny Schachter. With close to 60 boys in attendance, the energy was palpable. Gobbie Cohn, founder of TYA, exclaimed, "the boys brought so much ruach and spirituality that you could feel the holiness of the day!" Program Directors Avrumi Reches and Yossi Kohen saw the event as a “smashing success”!
The surprise election victory of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison last weekend not only shook up the country’s political landscape, but also potentially bodes well for another country thousands of miles away, Israel. “We have had a strong and constructive relationship with Scott Morrison personally and had a very good working relationship with the government he led,” Jeremy Jones, director of international and community affairs for the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), tells JNS. “We also have worked with many members of the Opposition and the Cross-benchers. We saw the defeat of a number of racist candidates and MPs who associated with maximalist anti-Israel groups.” The victory by Morrison, who hails from the center-right Liber...
The wealthy DeVos family said through a spokesman Wednesday it was cutting off financial support for Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., the fifth-term congressman who this week called President Donald Trump’s behavior “impeachable.” The Michigan-based family, which made its fortune running Amway, decided to stop donating to Amash before his most recent comments about the president, DeVos family spokesman Nick Wasmiller said in a statement. “Family members have expressed increasing concerns about a lack of representation for their district, the Third Congressional, and I would say an inability to advance efforts connected to important policy matters,” he said. The news was first reported by the Detroit News. Throughout Trump’s presidency, Amash has consisten...
It has been revealed that, a decade and a half ago, Jeremy Corbyn, now the controversial far-left leader of the UK Labour party, defended a speech by then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which he called for Israel’s annihilation. According to the London-based Campaign Against Antisemitism, which cited the work of investigative journalist Iggy Ostanin, the Ahmadinejad speech took place in 2005 at an event titled, “The world without Zionism.” In the speech, Ahmadinejad vowed to “wipe Israel off the map.” Such a statement was not unusual, as Ahmadinejad frequently made genocidal threats against Israel during his eight-year presidency, which ended in 2013. The speech was widely condemned around the world, including by then-British Prime Minister Gordon...
Half of all Americans believe that the United States will go to war with Iran “within the next few years,” according to a Reuters/Ipsos public opinion poll released on Tuesday amid increased tensions between the two countries. While Americans are more concerned about Iran as a security threat to the United States now than they were last year, few would be in favor of a pre-emptive attack on the Iranian military. But if Iran attacked US military forces first, four out of five believed the United States should respond militarily in a full or limited way, the May 17-20 poll showed. Historically tense relations between Washington and Tehran worsened in May after US President Donald Trump hardened his anti-Iran stance and restored all sanctions on Iranian oil exports following his...
Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef revealed that a rabbinate council member urged the removal of a sign that warns people against entering Har Habayis, wanting to replace it with one saying that entering the holy site is subject to halachic dispute. “A sharp argument broke out and I explained to him that we respect every talmid chochom, but must remember: Who forbade entering? All the gedolei hadoros, all chief rabbis of their times from Rav Avrohom Yitzchok Hakohen Kook onwards … strictly forbade this,” Rav Yosef said. Twelve council members voted against the suggested change and two supported it.
An Argentinian rabbi returning from prayer services on Saturday evening was physically attacked by a group of individuals yelling racial slurs against Jews, according to a report in The Jerusalem Post. Rabbi Elyahu Shaman, who serves as a cantor at a Buenos Aires synagogue, was wounded in the face and hand. Witnesses to the assault stood by and laughed, according to a statement given to the Post. The incident comes a month after two Jewish worshippers were attacked outside the Mikdash Yosef Jewish center in Buenos Aires. In February, Argentinian Chief Rabbi Gabriel Davidovich was brutally beaten in his home, suffering nine broken ribs and a punctured lung. Jewelry, a ceremonial pen from Jerusalem, a hat and approximately $4,750 in cash were stolen from his home. Davidovich alleged...
More articles