The proposal for a law to develop a plan to provide financial compensation to the Meron victims and their families was knocked down by the coalition on Wednesday afternoon. Prime Minister Bennett entered the Knesset just to vote against the law, for political purposes. When he announced “opposed,” the plenum broke out in screams, with opposition MKs yelling at him “Busha, busha, go, go!” Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy tried to restore order, to no avail, and Bennett left the plenum. Following the decision, UTJ Yaakov Asher, who presented the bill, slammed the government: “You’re playing politics with the blood of those killed.

A small group of extremists vandalized memorial posters of the 45 victims of the Meron tragedy at Meron in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday morning. Footage from the security cameras shows the extremists arriving at the “walkway of death” in Meron at 3:00 a.m. and ripping the posters off the wall. A source told B’Chadrei Chareidim that the group is apparently part of a larger group of extremists, possibly the Neturei Karta, who were in the north as part of a group visit to the tzion of the Arizal in Tzfat. He added that the guards who are supposed to patrol the area day and night weren’t there when it happened. Representatives of the families of the Meron victims filed a complaint to the police following the incident.

For decades, Jewish baseball fans have looked to Sandy Koufax as a role model for refusing to pitch in game one of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. While that stood out as an example for Jews everywhere, one Nevada teen is hoping to take it a step further and become the first Shomer Shabbos, kosher-food-eating professional baseball player. In the final round of the MLB draft, the Washington Nationals selected Elie Kligman, from Nevada, who has said he won’t play on Shabbos. On Monday, Jacob Steinmetz was drafted to the Arizona Diamondbacks. As YWN reported, Steinmetz recently told the New York Post he keeps Shabbos and eats only Kosher food, but plays during the Shabbos and on Jewish holidays – although he walks to games rather than taking transportation.

The death toll from rioting in South Africa rose to 45 on Tuesday as police and the military tried to halt the unrest in poor areas of two provinces that began last week after the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma. Many of the deaths in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces occurred in chaotic stampedes as scores of people stole food, electric appliances, liquor and clothing from stores, officials said. Sporadic violence broke out after Zuma on Thursday began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court. He had refused to comply with a court order to testify at a state-backed inquiry investigating allegations of corruption while he was president from 2009 to 2018.

The death toll from a fire that swept through a hospital coronavirus ward in Iraq climbed to 92 on Tuesday as anguished relatives buried their loved ones and lashed out at the government over the country’s second such disaster in less than three months. Health officials said scores of others were injured in the blaze that erupted Monday at al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Nasiriyah. The tragedy cast a spotlight on what many have decried as widespread negligence and mismanagement in Iraq’s hospitals after decades of war and sanctions. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi convened an emergency meeting and ordered the suspension and arrest of the health director in Dhi Qar provice, the hospital director and the city’s civil defense chief. The government also launched an investigation.

Police are searching for a woman they said slammed her vehicle into a Bronx hotel that was being used as a homeless shelter Monday night. The incident occurred at around 11 p.m. at the Ramada by Wyndham Bronx hotel located at East 151 Street and Gerard Avenue, authorities said. Apparently, this was the end of an ongoing dispute between the resident and the homeless shelter, where at points police had previously been called. It boiled over when the woman left and then returned, crashing her car through the front of the hotel that is currently serving as a homeless shelter. She fled on foot and police continue to search for her. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Heavy rain caused flash flooding in various parts of London, Monday afternoon. Cars were submerged as roads filled with water while train services have also been cancelled. Photos on social media showed parts of south-west London including Barnes, Raynes Park and Richmond had been affected, as had areas of north London including Golders Green and Highgate. London Fire Brigade tweeted it had received over 150 calls about flooding in south-west London alone. Video footage provided to YWN shows the Chabad Yeshiva in Kingsley Way submerged underwater. SEE VIDEOS BELOW: Torrential thundery downpours in London today… yellow rain warning in place until midnight. Some places could see up to 60mm causing localised flooding & tricky driving conditions.

he death toll has reached 94 as operations at the Surfside condo collapse site continue, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said during a Monday morning news conference. Of the 94 victims, 83 have been identified and 80 families of the deceased have been notified, according to Levine Cava. The mayor said 22 people remain “potentially unaccounted” for with 222 people accounted for. “The process of making identification has become more difficult as time goes on,” the mayor said. “The numbers are fluid and will continue to change,” she said. Video from the site of the collapsed Champlain Towers South taken Sunday night showed crews still digging through the debris, with spotlights illuminating their work.

Thrill-seeking billionaire Richard Branson strapped in and set off Sunday on his boldest adventure yet — a bid to reach space aboard his own winged rocket ship. A successful flight would vault the nearly 71-year-old Branson past fellow billionaire and rival Jeff Bezos, who is planning to fly to space in a craft of his own nine days from now. With a crowd of more than 500 people watching, a twin-fuselage aircraft with Branson’s space plane attached underneath took off in the first stage of the flight. Aboard were Branson and five crewmates from his Virgin Galactic space-tourism company.

Authorities said Sunday they are making progress in the painstaking search for the victims of a deadly building collapse in Florida last month. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Sunday that 90 deaths have now been confirmed in the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, up from 86 a day before. Among them are 71 bodies that have been identified, and their families have been notified, she said. Some 31 people remain listed as missing. Levine Cava also said the unrelenting search amid the rubble has resulted in the recovery of over 14 million pounds of concrete and debris.