Ahead of the New Year, President Zelenskyy held a meeting with the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations. Among the attendees was Avrohom Bleich, representing the Jewish community. He is the son of Rabbi Yaakov Bleich, the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine.

A tractor trailer has rolled off an embankment on the NY State Thruway south near Exit 8 (White Planes, NY). Two occupants are trapped in the cab of the truck. Expect delays. Please use extreme caution in the Tristate area while driving as the weather conditions have made the roads dangerous.

An ice menorah sculpture in the Siberian frozen tundra

An explosion at an explosives factory in Balıkesir Province, Turkey, has left 12 dead and 3 injured, local reports confirm. Authorities have ruled out sabotage and stated there is no further risk of additional explosions.

Amid the holiday travel rush, American Airlines has issued a nationwide ground stop due to a technical malfunction

Mohammed al-Joulani and leaders of armed factions in Syria have agreed to dissolve their groups and consolidate under the authority of the Defense Ministry.  

Protests reportedly break out in Cairo, Egypt, against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi following his announcement of a multi-billion project for a new administrative capital and presidential palace. As of now, no mainstream media outlets are reporting on the protests and what they are about.

Levaya held today at the “Kol Torah” yeshiva in Beit Vagan, for HaRav Tzion Nadav zt”l, one of the elders of the חכמי תימן and a prominent educator. He was a regular Mispallel at the yeshiva and was Niftar this morning at 92.

Hundreds gathered today to mark the end of the Shiva of Hagaon HaRav Asher Deutsch, z’tl, who served as a Rosh Yeshivah in Ponevezh.