Members of the OPEC + alliance of oil exporting countries will decide Thursday whether to put off plans to pump more crude amid sluggish demand and competing production from non-allied countries — factors that could keep oil prices stagnant into next year. Key beneficiaries of that would be U.S. motorists, who have seen gasoline prices fall to their lowest in 2 1/2 years to near $3 a gallon. OPEC+, which includes Saudi Arabia as the dominant member of the OPEC producers’ cartel, and Russia as the leading non-OPEC member in the 23-country alliance, is holding an online meeting over whether to put off production increases that are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. Eight OPEC+ members planned to start increasing production from Jan.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who according to Forbes is worth about $102 billion dollars, announced that he will donate 100 million shekels, about $27.8 million, to the reconstruction of the areas in Israel’s north that were damaged by the war with Hezbollah The heads of northern cities and towns estimate that the donation is only an initial investment. James Anderson, a senior official at the Bloomberg Foundation, wrote in a letter to the heads of the northern municipal authorities: “We ask to stand by you, the heads of the authorities in the north and the south, and help with the challenges of reconstruction and growth.

A pair of European satellites rocketed into orbit Thursday on the first mission to create artificial solar eclipses through fancy formation flying in space. Each fake eclipse should last six hours once operations begin next year. That’s considerably longer than the few minutes of totality offered by a natural eclipse here on Earth, allowing for prolonged study of the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere. The launch took place from India. “We are a very happy science team here” in India, the European Space Agency’s mission scientist Joe Zender said via email. Billed as a tech demo, the two satellites will separate in a month or so and fly 492 feet (150 meters) apart once reaching their destination high above Earth, lining up with the sun so that one spacecraft casts a shadow on the other.

As President Joe Biden uses his final days in office to boost Ukraine’s defenses, Russia is playing a different game: spreading disinformation aimed at eroding U.S. support for Ukraine before Donald Trump’s return to the White House next month. Since the U.S. election on Nov. 5, the Kremlin has used state-run media and its networks of fake news sites and social media accounts to push divisive narratives about the war and America’s Republican president-elect. Analysts say the content, translated into English for American audiences, is intended to turn sentiment against Ukraine at a pivotal time, with the hope of reducing U.S. military assistance and ensuring a Russian victory.

The Syrian army has withdrawn from the central city of Hama after insurgents broke through its defenses, the military said Thursday, in another setback for President Bashar Assad. The announcement came hours after opposition fighters said they had entered the city and were marching toward the center. The Syrian army said it redeployed from Hama and took positions outside the city to protect the lives of civilians. The capture of Hama, Syria’s fourth largest city, is another blow for Assad days after insurgents captured much of the northern city of Aleppo, the country’s largest city. On Thursday morning, Syrian insurgents said they entered Hama after three days of intense clashes with government forces on its outskirts, part of an ongoing offensive.

In a provocative social experiment, two Israeli influencers, dressed to mimic a Hamas supporter and a Hamas terrorist, staged a performance that spotlighted campus tensions surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict. The influencers pretended to celebrate the graphic footage from the October 7th Hamas attacks, testing the reactions of anti-Israel students who have been vocal in their criticism of Israel. The influencers’ performance involved simulated joy at the harrowing scenes of the attack. However, their act quickly elicited squeamishness among the students. Despite their outspoken political stances, many of the students could not endure watching the disturbing footage for more than a few minutes.

US intelligence officials say that the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, which was significantly compromised militarily by Israel in the recent war, is already engaged in rehabilitating its forces and replenishing its weapons caches, Reuters reported. The officials said that Hezbollah still poses a long-term threat to the US and its regional allies. Four sources updated on US intelligence told Reuters that even while the war between Israel and Lebanon was still ongoing, Hezbollah began to recruit new members and was assessing ways to rearm through domestic production and by smuggling materials through Syria.

President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has initiated high-level diplomatic efforts in Qatar and Israel to secure a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages before Trump takes office on January 20, 2025. According to a source familiar with the talks who spoke to Reuters, Witkoff met separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in late November. The meetings signal Qatar’s reentry as a key mediator after suspending its role last month, citing a lack of progress in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas. Qatar, alongside the U.S. and Egypt, had previously facilitated discussions that failed to achieve a lasting ceasefire or the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

In July 2024, Israel conducted an airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, targeting Mohammed Deif, the elusive military commander of Hamas. The IDF later confirmed Deif’s death, describing it as a major step toward dismantling Hamas’s military capabilities. Following the strike, Hamas reportedly recovered Deif’s body and interred it at a clandestine location to prevent Israel from using it as leverage in ongoing hostage negotiations. Initially, Hamas did not publicly acknowledge Deif’s death. However, by early November, reports indicated that Hamas had privately accepted his demise, having lost contact with him after the July attack. The group detained two individuals, including a courier, on suspicion of aiding Israel in locating Deif.

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman It is always important to broaden our understanding of the Avodah of the Beis HaMikdash, may it soon be rebuilt.  This broadening of our understanding will also help us understand the nature of our prayers as well.  It may even be a fulfillment of the Mitzvah of “Hoping for the Ge’ulah,”  So let’s take a second look at Shabbos Mussaf. THE DINOVER The Dinover Rebbe, Rav Tzvi Elimelech Spira zatzal (1783-1841), is more  famously known as”the Bnei Yisaschar” for his popular sefer on Chumash.   This article refers to another sefer that he wrote on Meseches Brachos called the, “Maggid Taaluma.”  It is a remarkable sefer filled with wonderful insights.