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Cortando en pedazos a Agag B

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.




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Gloria mediante sufrimiento

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.




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Noah and the Obedience of Faith A




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Noah and the Obedience of Faith B




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Our God-Breathed Bible




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Our God-Breathed Bible




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Finding Security in a Troubled World A




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Finding Security in a Troubled World B




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Hope for a Doomed Nation




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PDEA driver nabbed for EDSA busway violation

A Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency vehicle and its motorcycle escort were apprehended yesterday by the Department of Transportation for using the exclusive EDSA bus lane in Santolan, Quezon City.




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SIM card scam hub in Pasay raided

The police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group raided a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card scam hub in Pasay last week.




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SC: Sulu exclusion from BARMM takes effect immediately

A ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Bangsamoro Organic Law but excluding Sulu from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is immediately executory, according to the Supreme Court.




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Creatures Born to Be Killed, Part 1




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Creatures Born to Be Killed, Part 2




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Creatures Born to Be Killed, Part 3




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Jesus Feeds the Multitudes




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The Freedom of True Discipleship




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The Betrayed Christ Protects His Own




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Prophecies Fulfilled at Calvary




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Being Filled with the Knowledge of God's Will




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The Fruit of Knowledge




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Reconciled to God




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Eastern Mediterranean Natural Gas Culminations

Countries like Cyprus, Israel and Greece have high expectations of becoming players in world energy markets through natural gas production and export.




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Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu: Turkey's Opposition Candidate

In Turkey's upcoming presidential election, one man represents the country's two biggest opposition parties, and he is largely unknown.




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They Met at Eight Years Old, Married, and Died Together in a Ukrainian Trench

They met at eight years old, married, and died together in a Ukrainian trench




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The Jedwabne Massacre of 1941: An Interview with Marcin Malek

On July 10, 1941, Christian Poles hunted down, clubbed, drowned, gutted, and burned alive 1,600 Jewish men, women, and children-all but seven of the town's Jews.




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Isolated in Greek Camps, Migrants Find Work

The UN High Commission for Refugees estimates that nearly 50,000 migrants are in Greece, awaiting asylum interviews in which they will make their cases for staying in Europe. While many migrants remain without jobs, some have found work in camps, or have even started their own businesses.




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Uyghur Mass Detention Report May Be Delayed Again

Geneva — U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Thursday cast doubt on whether she will release a long-awaited report on the mass incarceration of Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang region before she leaves office on August 31. When she announced her departure in June, Bachelet said she would publish the report before her term ended. In her final briefing as high commissioner, she said she hoped it would be possible but indicated its release, once again, might be delayed. Bachelet said her office has received substantial input from the Chinese government that must be carefully reviewed before the report can be issued. She said that was normal procedure for all country reports published by her office. "In my meeting with high level national officials and regional authorities in Xinjiang, I raised concern about human rights violations, including reports of arbitrary detention and ill-treatment in institutions," she said. "And the report looks in depth on to these and other serious human rights violations concerning the Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang." Human rights activists accuse China of the mass detention, torture, and cultural persecution of a million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in so-called vocational camps. China denies the allegations, saying people in training centers receive skills they need to get good jobs. Bachelet said she raised many concerns with Chinese authorities during her visit to Xinjiang in May. In July, the Reuters news agency reported that China had sent Bachelet a letter asking her not to publish the report. She has confirmed receipt of that letter, which was signed by diplomats of some 40 countries. The high commissioner said such solicitations from countries under the human rights spotlight are not unusual, adding she does not give in to pressure. "I have been receiving pressures from countries who want to publish or not to publish," Bachelet said. "You cannot imagine the numbers of letters, meetings asking for the non-publication. Huge numbers … I have been under tremendous pressure to publish or not to publish. But I will not publish or withhold publication due to any such pressure. I can assure you of that." Work on the report has been ongoing for the past three years. The high commissioner has one week left on her mandate. She assured journalists that she was trying very hard to do what she had promised, namely to release the report before she leaves on August 31.




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UN Weather Agency Predicts Rare 'Triple-dip' La Nina in 2022

GENEVA — The U.N. weather agency is predicting that the phenomenon known as La Nina is poised to last through the end of this year, a mysterious “triple dip” — the first this century — caused by three straight years of its effect on climate patterns like drought and flooding worldwide. The World Meteorological Organization on Wednesday said La Nina conditions, which involve a large-scale cooling of ocean surface temperatures, have strengthened in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific with an increase in trade winds in recent weeks. The agency’s top official was quick to caution that the “triple dip” doesn’t mean global warming is easing. “It is exceptional to have three consecutive years with a La Nina event. Its cooling influence is temporarily slowing the rise in global temperatures, but it will not halt or reverse the long-term warming trend,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said. La Nina is a natural and cyclical cooling of parts of the equatorial Pacific that changes weather patterns worldwide, as opposed to warming caused by the better-known El Nino — an opposite phenomenon. La Nina often leads to more Atlantic hurricanes, less rain and more wildfires in the western United States, and agricultural losses in the central U.S. Studies have shown La Nina is more expensive to the United States than the El Nino. Together El Nino, La Nina and the neutral condition are called ENSO, which stands for El Nino Southern Oscillation, and they have one of the largest natural effects on climate, at times augmenting and other times dampening the big effects of human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas, scientists say.




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UN Chief Urges Rich Countries to Pay Pledges on Climate Action

United Nations — The U.N. Secretary-General appealed Monday to developed nations to make good on their promise of $100 billion a year to support climate action in developing countries, ahead of a November climate review conference in Egypt.   “Funding for adaptation and resilience must represent at least half of all climate finance,” Antonio Guterres told reporters.    Ministers, climate experts and civil society representatives are meeting this week in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, to prepare the agenda for the November meeting, known as COP27, which will take place in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from November 6 to 18.    The United Nations says G-20 countries account for 80% of global emissions, but they have been slow to deliver on their $100 billion annual pledge.   “Taken together, current pledges and policies are shutting the door on our chance to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, let alone meet the 1.5-degree goal,” he said of the benchmarks set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.    The U.N. warns that failure to reach those goals would spell climate catastrophe.   “The world can’t wait,” he added. “Emissions are at an all-time high and rising.”   Guterres said every government, business, investor and institution must step up with concrete climate action plans.    “I am urging leaders at the highest level to take full part in COP27 and tell the world what climate action they will take nationally and globally,” the U.N. chief said.    U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry is among the leaders in Kinshasa this week.   




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More Than 360 Migrants Rescued at Sea Trying to Reach Britain

LILLE, FRANCE — More than 360 migrants were rescued Sunday while attempting the perilous crossing between the north coast of France and the south coast of England, in small boats, French officials said.    Regional maritime boats and a French Navy patrol ship made multiple trips to rescue groups of people in difficulty in the Channel, the French coastal authority Premar said.   In all, they rescued 367 people, taking them to the French ports of Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk.  Increasing numbers of migrants seeking to reach England are trying to cross the Channel in makeshift boats now that officials have increased security at Calais and the cross-Channel tunnel.  The waterway is one of the busiest sea routes in the world, with more than 400 vessels crossing it every day and the weather conditions are often difficult.  Since the beginning of the year, a record 33,500 people have crossed the Channel in small boats.  According to figures from Britain's interior ministry, 94% of the migrants who reached the U.K. in the past four years went on to apply for asylum. Of those who had received a response, most had been successful.  As the law currently stands, a migrant must be physically in the U.K. to start the asylum process. 




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Antigovernment Protesters Encircle Serbian State TV Building, Demand Media Freedom

Huge crowds of antigovernment protesters Saturday encircled the Serbian state television building in downtown Belgrade to press their demand for autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic to ease his tight grip on the mainstream media and allow alternative voices. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters, some chanting slogans urging Vucic's resignation, streamed into the rain-drenched streets a day after the president's followers staged an equally big rally in the capital. Most of his supporters were bused into the capital from all over Serbia and some neighboring states. Outside the RTS TV headquarters, the crowds blew whistles and booed loudly. They say that according to the laws, state TV should be unbiased as a public broadcaster, but that it has been openly pro-government. Held for the fourth time since the early May shootings, the opposition-led protests appear to be shaping up into the biggest revolt against Vucic's autocratic rule during his over 10 years in power. The rallies initially erupted in response to two back-to-back mass shootings earlier this month that left 18 people dead and 20 wounded, many of them children from an elementary school. Other protest demands include the resignations of top officials and the revoking of licenses for pro-government media that air violent content and host crime figures and war criminals. Vucic has accused the opposition of abusing the shooting tragedy for political ends. Earlier Saturday, he stepped down from the helm of his populist party amid plans to form a wider political movement. Vucic named his close ally, Milos Vucevic, the current defense minister, as his successor. Holding umbrellas amid heavy rain Saturday, the protesters walked slowly around the RTS television building in central Belgrade, completely covering the streets in the entire area. Many held flowers in memory of the slain children and wore badges reading "vulture" or "hyena," mocking the expressions that officials used to describe the protesters. Vucic has said the new, national movement will be formed in June to include other parties, experts and prominent individuals and promote unity. Analysts say it is a bid to regroup amid mounting public pressure. Critics say the movement could lead to single-party rule, more or less as the case in Vladimir Putin's Russia, which Vucic supports. During the rally Friday, Vucic offered dialogue as he seeks ways to ease mounting public pressure. Opposition parties have pledged to press on with the demonstrations until their demands are fulfilled. They include the ouster of the interior minister and the intelligence chief; the revocation of nationwide broadcast licenses for two pro-government TV stations; and the dismissal of a media-monitoring body. "If they don't fulfill (the demands) we are not leaving from here," said Milica Tomic, a Belgrade resident. "We will be here, if it need be, every day, every week, whenever."




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The price of gold keeps climbing to unprecedented heights. Here's why

NEW YORK — The rush for gold just keeps coming. Gold hit another all-time high this week. Recent gains for the precious metal are largely credited to ongoing economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and strong demand from central banks around the world. If trends continue, analysts have bullish outlooks on the price of gold for the months ahead. But the future is never promised. Here's what you need to know. Where does the price of gold stand today? The New York spot price of gold closed Tuesday at just over $2,657 per Troy ounce — the standard for measuring precious metals, which is equivalent to 31 grams — the highest recorded to date, per FactSet. That would make a gold bar or brick weighing 400 Troy ounces worth more than $1.06 million today. This week's record high means that the price of gold has climbed hundreds of dollars per Troy ounce over the last year. Tuesday's price is up nearly $145 from a month ago and more than $740 from this time in 2023. The price of gold is up nearly 30% year to date, analysts note — outpacing the benchmark S&P 500's roughly 20% gain since the start of 2024. Why is the price of gold going up? There are a few factors behind the recent gains. Interest in buying gold often comes at times of uncertainty — with potential concerns around inflation and the strength of the U.S. dollar, for example, causing some to look for alternative places to park their money. Gold also surged in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among sources of uncertainty today are geopolitical tensions — which escalated over recent days with Israel's deadly strikes in Lebanon. And the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine have continued to fuel fears about the future worldwide. In markets like the U.S., there's also particular concern about the health of the job market. Last week's larger-than-usual half-point cut by the Federal Reserve signals a new focus on slowing employment numbers, and more rate cuts are expected before the end of the year. And such action arrives in the midst of a tumultuous election year — which could prove crucial to economic policy in the road ahead, too. In the near future, people are considering "any case of turbulence in the economy," FxPro senior market analyst Michel Saliby explained. "This is why they're keeping a decent portion of gold in their portfolio as a 'safe haven.'" Analysts also point to strong demand from central banks around the world. Joe Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, noted last month that central bank demand was well-above the five year average — reflecting "heightened concern with inflation and economic stability." Recent stimulus measures in China aimed at boosting consumer spending are also expected to up retail investments, Saliby added, further boosting gold's performance. Is gold worth the investment? Advocates of investing in gold call it a "safe haven," arguing the commodity can serve to diversify and balance your investment portfolio, as well as mitigate possible risks down the road. Some also take comfort in buying something tangible that has the potential to increase in value over time. Experts caution against putting all your eggs in one basket. Both retail and institutional investors shouldn't be influenced by the "FOMO effect," or fear of missing out, Saliby notes — explaining that people should not risk all their money just because they are seeing others rake in gains. He advises investors to watch the market and always have a clear risk management strategy for their position. If geopolitical tensions cool, Saliby expects the price of gold to correct slightly, perhaps falling around $50 to $80. But he remains bullish overall for the near future — expecting gold's spot price to soon surpass the $2,700 mark previously predicted for 2025, and perhaps reach as high as $2,800 or $2,900 if trends continue. Still, future gains are never promised and not everyone agrees gold is a good investment. Critics say gold isn't always the inflation hedge many say it is — and that there are more efficient ways to protect against potential loss of capital, such as through derivative-based investments. The Commodity Futures Trade Commission has also previously warned people to be wary of investing in gold. Precious metals can be highly volatile, the commission said, and prices rise as demand goes up — meaning "when economic anxiety or instability is high, the people who typically profit from precious metals are the sellers." If you do choose to invest in gold, the commission adds, it's important to educate yourself on safe trading practices and be cautious of potential scams and counterfeits on the market.




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Nigeria resettling people back to homes they fled to escape Boko Haram

DAMASAK, Nigeria — When Boko Haram launched an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2010, Abdulhameed Salisu packed his bag and fled from his hometown of Damasak in the country's battered Borno state.  The 45-year-old father of seven came back with his family early last year. They are among thousands of Nigerians taken back from displacement camps to their villages, hometowns or newly built settlements known as “host communities” under a resettlement program that analysts say is being rushed to suggest the conflict with the Islamic militants is nearly over.  Across Borno, dozens of displacement camps have been shut down, with authorities claiming they are no longer needed and that most places from where the displaced fled are now safe.  But many of the displaced say it’s not safe to go back.  Boko Haram — Nigeria’s homegrown jihadis — took up arms in 2009 to fight against Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law, or Sharia. The conflict, now Africa's longest struggle with militancy, has spilled into Nigeria's northern neighbors.  Some 35,000 civilians have been killed and more than 2 million have been displaced in the northeastern region, according to U.N. numbers. The 2014 kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by Boko Haram in the village of Chibok in Borno state — the epicenter of the conflict — shocked the world.  Borno state alone has nearly 900,000 internally displaced people in displacement camps, with many others absorbed in local communities. So far this year, at least 1,600 civilians have been killed in militant attacks in Borno state, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a U.S.-based nonprofit.  And in a state where at least 70% of the population depends on agriculture, dozens of farmers have also been killed by the extremists or abducted from their farmland in the last year.  In May, hundreds of hostages, mostly women and children who were held captive for months or years by Boko Haram were rescued from a forest enclave and handed over to authorities, the army said.  In September, at least 100 villagers were killed by suspected Boko Haram militants who opened fire on a market, on worshippers and in people’s homes in the Tarmuwa council area of the neighboring Yobe state, west of Borno.  Analysts say that a forced resettlement could endanger the local population as there is still inadequate security across the hard-hit region.  Salisu says he wastes away his days in a resettlement camp in Damasak, a garrison town in Borno state of about 200,000 residents, close to the border with Niger.  Food is getting increasingly difficult to come by and Salisu depends on handouts from the World Food Program and other aid organizations. He longs to find work.  “We are begging the government to at least find us a means of livelihood instead of staying idle and waiting for whenever food comes,” he said.  On a visit last week to Damasak, Cindy McCain, the WFP chief, pledged the world would not abandon the Nigerian people as she called for more funding to support her agency's aid operations.  “We are going to stay here and do the very best we can to end hunger,” McCain told The Associated Press as she acknowledged the funding shortages. “How do I take food from the hungry and give it to the starving,” she said.  Resettlement usually involves the displaced being taken in military trucks back to their villages or “host communities." The Borno state government has promised to provide returnees with essentials to help them integrate into these areas, supported by aid groups.  The government says the displacement camps are no longer sustainable.  “What we need now is ... durable solutions,” Borno governor Babagana Zulum told McCain during her visit.  As the resettlement got underway, one in five displaced persons stayed back in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, and nearby towns but were left without any support for local integration, the Global Protection Cluster, a network of non-government organizations and U.N. agencies, said last December.  Many others have crossed the border to the north, to settle as refugees in neighboring Niger, Chad or Cameroon. The three countries have registered at least 52,000 Nigerian refugees since January 2023, according to the U.N. refugee agency — nearly twice the number registered in the 22 months before that.  A rushed closure of displacement camps and forced resettlement puts the displaced people at risk again from militants still active in their home areas — or forces them to “cut deals” with jihadis to be able to farm or fish, the International Crisis Group warned in a report earlier this year.  That could make the extremists consolidate their presence in those areas, the group warned. Boko Haram, which in 2016 split into two main factions, continues to ambush security convoys and raid villages.  Abubakar Kawu Monguno, head of the Center for Disaster Risk Management at the University of Maiduguri, said the best option is for government forces to intensify their campaign to eliminate the militants or “push them to surrender.”  After not being able to access their farms because of rampant attacks by militants, some farmers in Damasak and other parts of Mobbar district returned to work their land last year, armed with seedlings provided by the government.  Salisu was one of them.  Then a major flood struck in September, collapsing a key dam and submerging about 40% of Maiduguri's territory. Thirty people were killed and more than a million others were affected, authorities said.  Farms that feed the state were ruined, including Salisu's. His hopes for a good rice harvest were washed away. Now he lines up to get food at a Damasak food hub.  “Since Boko Haram started, everything else stopped here," he said. “There is nothing on the ground and there are no jobs.”  Maryam Abdullahi also lined up at a WFP hub in Damasak with other women, waiting for bags of rice and other food items she desperately needs for her family of eight. Her youngest is 6 years old.  The donations barely last halfway through the month, she said, but she still waited in the scorching heat.  What little money she has she uses to buy yams to fry and sell to sustain her family, but it’s nowhere enough. Her only wish is to be able to get a “proper job” so she and her children would feel safe, she said.  “We either eat in the morning for strength for the rest of the day or ... we eat only at night,” Abdullahi said. 




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Syria: Center of a Region Inflamed

Whether driven by humanitarian aims or not, a U.S. military strike on Syria would be perceived as yet another forceful grab for regional and global hegemony.




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Libya Is a Failed State

Instability in Libya, a country where militias rove the land, was demonstrated last week when Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was captured in Tripoli.




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Education Boycott in Israel and Palestine

An anti-normalization boycott of educational organizations in Israel and Palestine is making much-needed education and dialogue more difficult.




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Whispered in Gaza

If you have any doubt that there are Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who despise and oppose the terrorist regime of Hamas, you need only watch the riveting series Whispered in Gaza to prove otherwise.




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Gas Discoveries in the East Mediterranean

Countries in the East Mediterranean can use gas discoveries as a catalyst for regional cooperation, unlocking the region's production potential.




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Khalid al-Asaad Slaughtered by ISIS

Khalid al-Asaad, an 83-year-old caretaker of antiquities in Syria, was beheaded by ISIS, but did not receive the same attention as a slain lion.




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Zimbabwe Food Security Threatened by Tobacco

Droves of small-scale farmers in Zimbabwe are moving away from growing food crops and turning to tobacco, a trend that seriously threatens the country's food security.




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Philly Jewish deli featured in Trump ad, is now setting for Harris spot


Lita Cohen said she was "very upset with that recent Trump ad that stereotypes Jewish people.”




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How the NY Public Library acquired a ‘treasure trove’ of Jewish and Yiddish music


Netsky said he thinks the Yiddish theater music in the archive files is particularly valuable because it was maligned by the classical composers as shund (trash) and neglected.






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Eilat coral reefs are being 'starved' by high water temperatures


The reefs in Eilat displayed widespread bleaching, a phenomenon in which the symbiosis between coral and algae fails, typically due to high water temperatures.




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Meet the medic who understood on Oct. 7 she must do everything to save a child


Dispatch teams gave hotline callers life-saving medical treatment advice over the phone on October 7. One such woman told children where to hide from terrorists.




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Israel’s youth face growing eating disorder crisis, with limited care


Israeli health experts reveal that 1 in 10 youth struggle with eating disorders, highlighting a need for urgent action.




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New medical school at Reichman University to open in February


Reichman University launches a new medical school to address Israel's doctor shortage, with hands-on training from day one.




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Majority of Israelis are concerned about climate change, and the environment - survey


The study surveyed 1,180 participants in Israel about their knowledge and attitudes regarding climate change and its effects on the environment.