Six people were killed in two separate avalanches in the Austrian Alps on Sunday, Austrian authorities said. Five snowshoers who were hiking in central Austria were hit by one avalanche at about 9:30 a.m., Austria’s APA news agency reported. Several people witnessed the avalanche and immediately informed emergency services, but the hikers, believed to be from the Czech Republic, were already dead by the time rescuers got to them. There had been high winds and heavy snowfall in the area over the past few days, leading to the avalanche. And in southwestern Austria, a police officer who was undergoing Alpine training was killed when he was hit by a separate avalanche. He was hit by a large piece of frozen snow and died at the scene from his injuries, state authorities told APA. (AP)

Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman listed five conditions on Sunday for his party to join a coalition, of which four out of five relate to matters of religion and state. Blue and White leader Benny Gantz quickly agreed to all the conditions. Liberman’s conditions are: 1. Stipends and income support for the elderly would be at least 70% of the minimum wage. 2. Public transportation and business activity on Shabbos will be controlled by local authorities rather than government ministries. 3. Legislation for increasing Chareidi enlistment in the IDF which was approved in the 20th Knesset will be passed. 4. Legislation for civil marriage in Israel will be passed. 5. Local rabbanim will be allowed to establish their own courts for giyur to ease the conversion process.

A cruise ship on Egypt’s Nile River with over 150 tourists and local crew was in quarantine Saturday in the southern city of Luxor, as 45 people on board tested positive for the new coronavirus, authorities said. A Taiwanese-American tourist who had previously been on the same ship tested positive when she returned to Taiwan, the World Health Organization informed Egyptian authorities, who then tested everyone on the ship. Health authorities first found that a dozen of the ship’s Egyptian crew members had contracted the fast-spreading virus, and said they did not show symptoms, according to a joint statement from Egypt’s Health Ministry and the WHO on Friday. At a news conference in Cairo later Saturday, Health Minister Hala Zayed said 33 others tested positive for the virus.

The families of people killed when a missile shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 set out 298 white chairs outside the Russian Embassy on Sunday in a silent protest against Moscow’s lack of cooperation in the investigation into the downing of the passenger jet. The chairs — laid out in rows like seats in an airplane — represented the victims who died when a Buk missile fired from territory held by pro-Russia separatist rebels shot down the Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight on July 17, 2014, killing everybody on board. The families stood in silence for two minutes after arranging the chairs and signs including one that read: “Impunity = unacceptable!

In the decade since Fargo agreed to host a sweat lodge for the many Native Americans who live in the area, the simple structure and its users have suffered a series of indignities: The land set aside for the lodge is in a gritty industrial area, a shirtless user was mistaken for a vagrant and arrested, and police mistook the lodge for a homeless encampment and had it bulldozed. Now, the city has shuttered the lodge because of concerns over its safety and supervision, and the Native Americans who use it are worried about how they will be able to carry out their sacred healing ritual, even if many of them agree that changes were needed.

New City, NY, – Rockland County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert advises residents that two Rockland County residents who have been confirmed to have Coronavirus (COVID-19) potentially exposed others to the disease from February 28 to March 2. Anyone who visited the following locations in Rockland County may have been exposed to Coronavirus (COVID-19): 150 Remsen Avenue, Monsey, NY Friday, February 28, 2020, between 11:00 am and 11:45 pm Saturday, February 29, 2020, between 11:30 am and 4:00 pm The Atrium Ballroom, 401 NY-59, Monsey, NY Monday, March 2, 2020, between 2:30 pm and 11:45 pm STAY UPDATED WITH BREAKING UPDATES FROM YWN VIA WHATSAPP – SIGN UP NOW Just click on this link, and you will be placed into a group.

The SONG OF BERACHOS reviews the highlights & main points of the Mesechta, recapping its’ key klallim and yesodos – all in rhyme! By www.SongsOfShas.com  
The post NEW! Watch: Song of Berachos appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman was shown in state media Sunday in apparent good health and working, just days after the arrest of two senior princes triggered speculation about a possible coup attempt or a sudden deterioration in the king’s health. Two people close to the royal family said Saturday that the two princes were under arrest for not supporting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has consolidated control of all major levers of power inside the kingdom with the support of his father, King Salman.

Italy announced a sweeping quarantine Sunday for its northern regions, igniting travel chaos as it restricted the movements of 16 million people — more than one quarter of its population — in a bid to halt the relentless march of the new coronavirus across Europe. Confusion reigned from Milan to Venice as residents and tourists tried to figure out exactly when and how the new rules were coming into effect. Travelers rushed to train stations and crammed aboard standing-room only trains, tucking their faces into scarves and sharing sanitizing gel. After Italy saw its biggest one-day jump in infections, Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte signed a quarantine decree overnight for the country’s prosperous north.

Kamala Harris endorsed Joe Biden on Sunday and said she would “do everything in my power″ to help elect him, becoming the latest dropout from the Democratic race for president to line up behind the former vice president in his battle with Bernie Sanders for the nomination. The decision by the California senator who was one of three black candidates seeking to challenge President Donald Trump further solidifies the Democratic establishment’s move to close circles around Biden after his Super Tuesday success. Her endorsements comes before the next round of primaries, with six states voting Tuesday, including Michigan. Sanders, a Vermont senator, countered with his own major endorsement on Sunday, announcing that civil rights icon Jesse Jackson was formally backing him.