COVID-19 could set a new norm for surveillance and privacy
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the ways we interact and has everyone thinking more about our health and well-being. But that shift in mindset means that daily activities like going grocery shopping or simple things like standing in an elevator will come with even more surveillance strings attached. The response by governments and the tech […]
Government swearing-in pushed off to Thursday against backdrop of Pompeo visit
Israel’s 35th government will be officially installed on Thursday, Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz, in his role as Knesset speaker, informed parliament Monday afternoon, bringing to an end 16 months of political turmoil wrought by three inconclusive elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Blue and White had previously said that their “emergency national […]
France pushing for tough EU response to any West Bank annexation
France is urging its European Union partners to consider threatening Israel with a tough response if it goes ahead with a de facto annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, three EU diplomats said. Belgium, Ireland, and Luxembourg also want to discuss the possibility of punitive economic measures during a foreign ministers’ meeting on Friday, the […]
Hamas MP says Israeli annexation ‘violates Allah’s will’
Hamas Parliament member and cleric Yunis al-Astal said in a parliament session last week that Israeli annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria would constitute a crime against the will of Allah, and called for the parliament to recommend the murder of Jews “wherever they may be found.” In the May 6 session, which aired on […]
Fighting Between Syrian Forces and Al-Qaida-linked Group Leaves Dozens Dead
Al-Qaida-linked fighters attacked Syrian government positions Sunday on the edge of the country’s last rebel stronghold, triggering intense clashes that killed nearly three dozen combatants across both sides, opposition activists said. The fighting was among the worst since early March, when an agreement between Turkey and Russia halted the Syrian government’s three-month air and ground […]
White House staffers instructed to now wear masks after coronavirus cases
Staffers at the White House were instructed on Monday to wear masks while at work or on their way to work in order to prevent the transmission of the novel coronavirus after several people working in the building were reported to have contracted the disease, Fox News is told. The White House is now providing employees with masks and […]
Trump Admin. Will ‘Protect’ Churches’ Religious Freedom During Pandemic, Pence Says
Vice President Mike Pence says he supports a Virginia church in its legal battle against the governor for restrictions against houses of worship. Lighthouse Fellowship Church of Chincoteague sued the state in federal court after its pastor was issued a criminal citation for holding a 16-person church service on Palm Sunday inside a 225-seat sanctuary, Christian Headlines previously […]
Opinion: What Pompeo’s High-speed Mid-pandemic Trip to Israel Is Really About
His own State Department remains on lockdown, with most employees working from their homes. The entire world is subject to a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” warning. White House officials who have attended West Wing meetings with him have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. Yet with all that, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will touch […]
Will EU sanction Israel over annexation plans?
The European Commission considers imposing sanctionson Israel if Jerusalem decides to advance its annexation plan this summer. Foreign ministers of the European Union are expected to discuss the issue at their next monthly meeting on May 15, one day after the swearing-in of Israel’s new government. According to the unity agreement between the Likud and Blue […]
Abbas: ‘If Israel annexes a single centimeter, all agreements with Israel, US canceled’
If Israel annexes “even a single centimeter” of land in Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, the Palestinian Authority will consider itself no longer bound by any of the agreements it has signed with Israel or the United States, said P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas last week. In an address posted to Palestine TV’s Facebook […]