Author: Ron Chambers

Report: Israel’s Top Rabbi Orders Ceremonial White Robe to Greet Messiah

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz – March 31, 2020

On Saturday night, Yonatan Dadon of Radio 2000, an Orthodox Hebrew language broadcaster, interviewed Rabbi Yaakov Zissholtz on his weekly Melaveh Malkah program.

In the Hebrew language video, Rabbi Zitsholtz gave the following disclaimer:

“I don’t promise anything and anything can change at any moment but I heard the following statements.”

Rabbi Zissholtz then explained several recent statements made by Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the most prominent rabbis of this generation, concerning the Messiah.

“Rabbi kanievsky requested that his people prepare for him a glima (a ceremonial white robe). Since when does the Minister of Torah (Rabbi Kanievsky) wear such a thing? Some Jews wear a similar thing called a kittel for the Passover seder but you don’t order a kittel especially made. It can be bought anywhere for one hundred shekels. But an entire suit made of rich white material? In whose honor will Rabbi Kanievsky wear it?”

It is known that many Jewish sages throughout the ages have set aside special clothes to be worn only to greet the Messiah.

“I am not promising anything,” Rabbi Zissholtz said. “There are other tzaddikim (righteous men) who see it differently and are working to delay the Messiah in order to save more Jews.”

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com

New, larger wave of locusts threatens millions in Africa

RODNEY MUHUMUZA – April 10, 2020

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Weeks before the coronavirus spread through much of the world, parts of Africa were already threatened by another kind of plague, the biggest locust outbreak some countries had seen in 70 years.

Now the second wave of the voracious insects, some 20 times the size of the first, is arriving. Billions of the young desert locusts are winging in from breeding grounds in Somalia in search of fresh vegetation springing up with seasonal rains.

Millions of already vulnerable people are at risk. And as they gather to try to combat the locusts, often in vain, they risk spreading the virus — a topic that comes a distant second for many in rural areas.

It is the locusts that “everyone is talking about,” said Yoweri Aboket, a farmer in Uganda. “Once they land in your garden they do total destruction. Some people will even tell you that the locusts are more destructive than the coronavirus. There are even some who don’t believe that the virus will reach here.”

Some farmers in Abokat’s village near the Kenyan border bang metal pans, whistle or throw stones to try to drive the locusts away. But mostly they watch in frustration, largely barred by a coronavirus lockdown from gathering outside their homes.

A failed garden of cassava, a local staple, means hunger. Such worries in the village of some 600 people are reflected across a large part of East Africa, including Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan. The locust swarms also have been sighted in Djibouti, Eritrea, Tanzania and Congo.

https://apnews.com

Iraq On The Brink Of Civil War Due To Disappearing Oil Revenues

Strange Sounds – April 6, 2020

For many countries, the ongoing oil price depression has brought about a new era of impending economic implosion. Yet no one seems to suffer as much as Iraq nowadays – a country with no appropriate government, battle-bled from its fight against the Islamic State and torn apart by internal conflicts.

With a median age of 21 years, the challenge for Iraq as a federal state within its current borders is all the more complicated as the government has little to offer to large swaths of young people, tired of nepotism and red-tape.

Iraq could mitigate risks by handing out cash – it has none, it could tap into its reserves – again, very little (some $62 billion), effectively, Baghdad’s only survival strategy is to wait and pray for better times.

Just when Iraq hoped to rebuild the country – its 2020 budget has been the largest in history and has focused on revamping the nation’s dilapidated infrastructure – external developments have cut the ambitious targets short.

The massive budget was in many ways a response of the 2019 protest waves which did not subside in 2020 – ultimately, they have led to the ouster of the Abdul Mahdi-led government (who continued as a caretaker until March 02 after the Parliament-nominated replacement candidate, the US-educated Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, failed to generate sufficient parliamentary approvals).

The new candidate for the Prime Minister role, Adnan al-Zurfi, might face a similar future as getting Sunnites and Kurds onboard will inevitable be a major challenge.

https://strangesounds.org

‘Risk of Failure Real’: Italy’s PM Giuseppe Conte Warns Coronavirus Could Bring About EU’s Downfall

Sputnik News – April 9, 2020

As Europe has become the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic, with almost 700,000 confirmed cases, and Italy particularly hard-hit, the pandemic has become a stress-test for EU unity, as stark differences have thwarted an agreement on more support for coronavirus-hit economies, with talks suspended.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has warned that the European Union risks failing amid the coronavirus global pandemic, reported the BBC.

According to Conte, the EU must “rise to the challenge” of what he referred to as “the biggest test since the Second World War” and take concerted efforts to extend much-needed aid to the countries that were worst hit by the spread of the COVID-19 respiratory virus.

The Italian Prime Minister insisted that Europe’s leaders were “facing an appointment with history”.

“If we do not seize the opportunity to put new life into the European project, the risk of failure is real,” said Conte.

As the infection rate in Italy shows signs of decelerating, and the death toll gradually starting to diminish, Giuseppe Conte warned viewers  against lowering their guard and emphasised that the national lockdown could only be eased slowly.

https://sputniknews.com

Boris Johnson leaves intensive care, remains under observation

REUTERS – April 9, 2020

Prime Minister Boris Johnson left intensive care on Thursday evening as he continues to recover from COVID-19, but he remains under close observation in hospital, his office said on Thursday.

Johnson, 55, was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital on Sunday evening with a persistent high temperature and cough, and was rushed to intensive care on Monday where he spent three nights receiving treatment.

“The prime minister has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery,” a spokesman from his office said in an emailed statement.

“He is in extremely good spirits.”

Johnson was the first world leader to be hospitalized with the coronavirus, forcing him to hand control of the world’s fifth-largest economy to foreign minister Dominic Raab just as Britain’s outbreak approaches its most deadly peak.

Raab tweeted that the improvement in Johnson’s condition was “the news we all wanted to hear.” U.S. President Donald Trump described it as “great news.”

https://www.jpost.com

OUCH! Giant Asian Hornets that can ‘kill with a single sting’ to invade virus-stricken US

Kassidy Vavra, Henry Pettit – April 9, 2020

GIANT Asian hornets that have begun to invade the coronavirus-stricken U.S. may cost the economy millions of dollars a year.

The insects, which can kill with a single sting, may have a devastating impact on the already dwindling honeybee population in the U.S.

Experts estimate the pests may cause America a staggering $29.3 million as they invade.

The invasion is projected as a coronavirus-stricken U.S. is already facing economic setbacks.

Millions are out of work – with nearly 17 million applying for unemployment in the last three weeks alone – as more than 432,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed in the U.S. alone.

Many experts have warned of a looming recession, as businesses have been forced to shutter their doors due to stay-at-home orders.

Asian hornets are similar to European hornets that live in the U.S., but they are not native to America.

They are large insects measuring almost 2in long, originally from Southeast Asia, that prey on small creatures – especially bees.

Just one sting is enough to kill someone allergic to their venom.

https://www.the-sun.com

Atheist Loses Attempt to Remove ‘So Help Me God’ From US Naturalization Oath

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BOSTON — A French-born woman who lives in Massachusetts has lost her appeal effort to have the phrase “so help me God” removed from the United States naturalization oath, as the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday that its inclusion is not unconstitutional.

“[W]e hold that, under the most recent framework used to evaluate whether established practices with religious content violate the Establishment Clause, the phrase ‘so help me God’ in the naturalization oath as a means of completing that oath does not violate the Constitution,” wrote Judge Juan Torruella, nominated to the bench by then-President Ronald Reagan, on behalf of the three-judge panel.

The court also noted that the woman can opt out of using the phrase, while not denying the right of others to speak it if desired.

“[T]he government has not prevented Perrier-Bilbo from expressing her atheistic religious beliefs. Nor can Perrier-Bilbo claim that the regulation prescribing the oath prohibits her from having a public ceremony during which she does not have to say the phrase ‘so help me God,’” Torruella outlined.

“Rather, the regulations enable her to alter the oath, and the government has given her alternatives to accommodate her beliefs so that she is comfortable during her ceremony and is able to naturalize.”

“Perrier-Bilbo’s actual complaint seems to be that the Government will not change the oath for everyone attending the public ceremony so that no one utters the words to which Perrier-Bilbo objects. Perrier-Bilbo certainly does not have a protected liberty interest in that,” he added.

https://christiannews.net

Fifth Circuit Court Upholds Texas’ Temporary Halt on Elective Abortions During Coronavirus Crisis

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NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld an order from the governor of Texas postponing “all surgeries and procedures that are not immediately medically necessary,” which includes elective abortions.

The court ruled that the order is not unconstitutional as it does not ban all abortions but only postpones those that are not medically necessary. Christians believe that abortion is never necessary, and a number of doctors and nurses have stated that killing a child is never warranted to save the life of a mother as physicians will simply deliver the baby early should concerns arise.

“[W]e conclude that GA-09 — an emergency measure that postpones certain non-essential abortions during an epidemic — does not ‘beyond question’ violate the constitutional right to abortion,” wrote Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, nominated to the bench by President Trump, on behalf of the 2-1 majority.

“Properly understood, GA-09 merely postpones certain non-essential abortions,” he outlined. “GA-09 includes an  emergency exception for the mother’s life and health, based on the determination of the administering physician.”

The court also found that the order is fair as it applies equally to all elective surgeries, and the fact that it doesn’t mention abortion demonstrates that abortion facilities were not specifically targeted.

https://christiannews.net

“Poisonous Comet” That Witnessed the Construction of Egyptian Pyramids Returns to Our Solar System

Sputnik News – April 4, 2020

Stargazers may soon be treated to quite a spectacle as an ancient comet that hasn’t been seen near Earth for thousands of years is making a return trip to our part of the galactic space.

As Lyudmila Koshman, astronomer at the Moscow Planetarium, explained, the C/2019Y4 Atlas comet, whose core contains poisonous chemical compound called cyanogen, visited our solar system last time during the 4th millennium BC, “back when the great pyramids were being built in Egypt”.

“It may become the brightest one in our sky for the last seven years”, she said. “Due to the solar wind, the comet starts sprouting two tails – one gaseous, the other comprised of dust – which give it an especially spectacular look”.

According to Koshman, the comet will pass the Earth at a distance of about 117 million kilometers on 27 May, and on 31 May, it will approach the Sun at a distance of about 38 million kilometers, which is less than the distance between the Sun and Mercury – the closest planet to the heart of our solar system.

The astronomer noted that the comet’s greenish hue is a product of cyanogen contained within its core becoming fluorescent when bombarded by UV radiation, and that by the end of April, the comet will become as bright as the stars of Ursa Major so it will be visible to the naked eye.

https://sputniknews.com

European leaders warn coronavirus could lead to the breakup of their union

Loveday Morris, Michael Birnbaum – April 1, 2020

BERLIN —The coronavirus pandemic, with its simultaneous health and economic crises, is

deepening fault lines within Europe in a way some leaders fear could prove to be a final reckoning.

The cohesion of the European Union had been battered by Brexit, bruised by the political fallout from the 2015 migration surge and the 2008 financial crisis, and challenged by rising autocracy in the east that runs contrary to the professed ideals of the European project.

Now, if Europe’s leaders cannot chart a more united course, the project lies in what one of its architects described this week as “mortal danger.”

In the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, the response among European Union member states showed that national interests trump more-altruistic European ideals. Border restrictions were reimposed haphazardly, and Germany and France threw up export bans on medical equipment such as masks and ventilators, even as Italy clamored for assistance.

Quick to capitalize were the propaganda machines of Russia and China. Moscow and Beijing have swept in with much-trumpeted — if sometimes defective — medical aid, pushing a savior narrative and providing fodder for the region’s Euroskeptics.

E.U. countries have begun to coordinate their efforts to procure supplies, and they have sent more aid to hard-hit Italy than China has. But the past week has seen a reemergence of a north-south rift over how to handle the economic response. The union is also being pulled east and west, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has used emergency powers to effectively suspend democracy, riding roughshod over Europe’s basic principles of the rule of law.

Collectively, these tensions could overwhelm the alliance.

https://www.msn.com